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Originally posted by The Hooded One


After all, we wouldn't want just ANY novice wizard monkeying with the very fabric of reality on Toril, would we?
( Would we?)
love,
THO

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quote:

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Originally posted by The Hooded One

Hi again, all.
slevyas: Yes.
(In theory, the weave anchors ARE hammering in the ley lines of Faerun.) Though Ed tells me it's slightly more complicated than that, for very good future-plot-related reasons that he obviously can't share yet.
After all, we wouldn't want just ANY novice wizard monkeying with the very fabric of reality on Toril, would we?
( Would we?)
love,
THO

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Originally posted by NineCoronas

Hi!

I'm roleplaying a Paladin of Mystra (I asked a long time ago if Paladin's had to be in an order or could be directed to run 'solo' by their god(esses)), and had some questions about what Paladin's do and do not do.

1) My understanding is that Paladin's are not to associate with evil characters whatsoever. What of attempts at redemption? Is Mercy not a trait befitting one?

2) Mystra is a CG goddess; does this mean that Paladin's of her order would be more... 'lenient'? Like Paladin's of Sune, perhaps?

3) The server I play on, there is a town, full of innocent NPC's and overrun and ruled by a majority of evil PC's. This is a prime example of a conflict in my mind; Does the Lawful part of Lawful Good mean she would follow their rules and laws if they are unjust or are obviously going to oppress an innocent or result in evil further down the road? Would it be unlawful to strike down a truly evil character within the confines of this town, even if they are a member of a sponsored organization?

Or does the lawful mean they follow the laws/dictates/dogma of their god/goddess, or their own personal code of honor?

4) What if you discovered an official in a mostly 'good' city is corrupt; illegal though it would be to do something about it, would a Paladin fall if they attempted to try to stamp out said corruption?

Thank you in advance for answering my questions!

-NineCoronas

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Originally posted by Foxhelm

Well.. it is Ed's Unbirthday. He still has 364 of those, 365 in a leap year. Sp Happy Unbirthday, Mr. Greenwood!

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Originally posted by The Hooded One

Hi again, all.
Faraer, I'm not sure how much Ed has seen of the forthcoming rules and/or artwork, but off your questions go to him, and we'll see what he has to say.
BenN, Ed did send me replies to your questions, so . . .

SPOILER WARNING!







SPOILER WARNING!







SPOILER WARNING!




QUESTIONS AND ED'S ANSWERS:

1) Now that Shade has landed on top of Myth Drannor & destroyed it, what has become of the Tree of Souls?

Ed: Ah, yes. Over the years, I have been slowly trained to resist including every last game-relevant lore detail in my novels, in the interests of shaping a better narrative storyline. Guess I erred too far in pruning, this time around. Sorry; this should have made it into my final draft, but didn’t (in the interests of keeping the pacing and the “fog of war” feel up). My bad.
When the POSSIBLE danger of Thultanthar crashing became apparent (i.e. when the city started flying towards Myth Drannor, not when what El did became obvious) the Srinshee contacted all the Myth Drannan baelnorn she could and commanded them to get to the Tree of Souls and magically shield and defend it, warping the Weave to form a protective barrier around it (so when Thultanthar came crashing down, it would punch through the city like a spike, and protect the Tree). This was done, and the Tree has survived. There has been some consternation among certain readers about Myth Drannor being entirely in ruins, but not so. Like any city that’s been fought through, a big cleanup is in order, but Thultanthar is a pretty small city, and Myth Drannor, being “at one with the forest” [growing trees as dwellings, trees and moss and open forest terrain everywhere, not human-habit “pave over everything” architecture, is a very large (in footprint) city. So a relatively small area of Myth Drannor was pancaked under the shattered remnants of Shade.

2) Assuming that the 4e Campaign Guide info about Myth Drannor's population (10K) is correct, how many survived along with Ilsevele and Fflar?

Ed: The 4e population figures are ROUGHLY correct, but the siege took some time to develop (mercenary armies being mustered in Sembia and then marched north), so the elves had warning, so many of their skilled artisans, pregnant shes, young children and families with young children, ailing elderly, wounded, and so on, GOT OUT (to Semberholme first and foremost, and to Evereska and elsewhere, too). Anyone who wanted to relocate rather than fight was given that option, without shame or recrimination.
In other words, the city was down to 6,400 or so “determined and able defenders” before the siege started, and they took heavy losses in the fighting by being worn down under the weight of sheer numbers; although they were inflicting very heavy losses on the attacking mercenaries, they were slowly beaten back - - and the very “open” nature of the city made it very hard to defend. The Coronal sent some vital individuals out of the fighting by making them envoys that she sent to elven communities all over the Realms to try to get volunteer reinforcements (few of which arrived on time). So in that way she saved another hundred or so.
However, the defenders died rather than surrender or flee, so the elves still in the city were reduced to around 1000 when it became apparent that the city couldn’t be held, and the children, wounded, and elders still in the city were rushed out through the gates (as seen near the end of THE HERALD). The Coronal and Fflar were literally fighting back to back at the end, with a handful of defenders still standing, when Thultanthar came down - - and almost all of that last handful made it out to Semberholme.
So at the end of THE HERALD, a few blocks of central Myth Drannor are rubble, under the shattered remnants of Thultanthar. Scavengers (monsters) are roaming the corpse-littered vicinity, and there’s minor damage to the outlying city, which is abandoned - - probably not for long. The surviving mercenaries are foraging/pillaging/behaving like brigands, and Sembia is in such disarray that there’s no chance of Sembia (or for that matter, any other realm) “reaching in” to annex or occupy the ruins. Perhaps 5,000 elves perished defending Myth Drannor - - and yes, the Tree of Souls survives. All indications are that the Srinshee did not; she sacrificed herself to save her people and smash Larloch (did HE survive? Unknown, but my bet would be that he did). Did Dove? Doubtful; she was “out of” silver fire, and wanted to die (to be with her beloved Florin), but may end up surviving as “a voice in the Weave” (the same fate as some of the Tanthul princes, and possibly The Simbul).
Many things were left “up in the air” for later stories, or for DMs to decide for themselves, for their campaign. Certain matters will be revealed in my NEXT Realms novel.
Hope this helps. Sorry for causing upset to some Realms readers!
Ed


So saith Ed. And there you have it. Please convey this to Aldrick.
love,
THO

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