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Originally posted by Arcanus

NDA's are a real pain. Ed could give us so much more lore (much of it already written no doubt) but for these damned roadblocks. About time the powers that be released their counterproductive lockdown!

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Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

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Originally posted by Arcanus

NDA's are a real pain. Ed could give us so much more lore (much of it already written no doubt) but for these damned roadblocks. About time the powers that be released their counterproductive lockdown!

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The thing is, leaving an NDA in place is absolutely free and costs Wizards nothing in regards to time or money. Lifting one, on the other hand, requires examining why the NDA was in place, making sure it doesn't affect any future or potential future plans, having their legal people make sure everything is kosher, and then contacting everyone involved.

So even something as minor as lifting an NDA on who killed the Cormyrean nobleman Lord Arjent Nounsilver in 1357 can still involve hours of work involving multiple people - both on the creative side and on the non-creative side.

That's a lot of billable labor for an end goal that gets Wizards nothing but the goodwill of some curious fans.

I'm no fan of NDAs, and there are a lot of them I'd like to see lifted... Especially the one that Ed told me he thought would be lifted in May of 2013, concerning a particular character I'd emailed him about! But I can understand why WotC leaves them in place once they are set, and I can't really fault them for it.

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Originally posted by Arcanus

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Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

quote:

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Originally posted by Arcanus

NDA's are a real pain. Ed could give us so much more lore (much of it already written no doubt) but for these damned roadblocks. About time the powers that be released their counterproductive lockdown!

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The thing is, leaving an NDA in place is absolutely free and costs Wizards nothing in regards to time or money. Lifting one, on the other hand, requires examining why the NDA was in place, making sure it doesn't affect any future or potential future plans, having their legal people make sure everything is kosher, and then contacting everyone involved.

So even something as minor as lifting an NDA on who killed the Cormyrean nobleman Lord Arjent Nounsilver in 1357 can still involve hours of work involving multiple people - both on the creative side and on the non-creative side.

That's a lot of billable labor for an end goal that gets Wizards nothing but the goodwill of some curious fans.

I'm no fan of NDAs, and there are a lot of them I'd like to see lifted... Especially the one that Ed told me he thought would be lifted in May of 2013, concerning a particular character I'd emailed him about! But I can understand why WotC leaves them in place once they are set, and I can't really fault them for it.

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Its called taking care of your customers. Many nda's are in place because of abandoned story arcs etc. If wotc can't spend a tiny bit of cash on clearing nda's then it just gives me an even lower impression of them.

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Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

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Originally posted by Arcanus

quote:

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Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

quote:

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Originally posted by Arcanus

NDA's are a real pain. Ed could give us so much more lore (much of it already written no doubt) but for these damned roadblocks. About time the powers that be released their counterproductive lockdown!

---

The thing is, leaving an NDA in place is absolutely free and costs Wizards nothing in regards to time or money. Lifting one, on the other hand, requires examining why the NDA was in place, making sure it doesn't affect any future or potential future plans, having their legal people make sure everything is kosher, and then contacting everyone involved.

So even something as minor as lifting an NDA on who killed the Cormyrean nobleman Lord Arjent Nounsilver in 1357 can still involve hours of work involving multiple people - both on the creative side and on the non-creative side.

That's a lot of billable labor for an end goal that gets Wizards nothing but the goodwill of some curious fans.

I'm no fan of NDAs, and there are a lot of them I'd like to see lifted... Especially the one that Ed told me he thought would be lifted in May of 2013, concerning a particular character I'd emailed him about! But I can understand why WotC leaves them in place once they are set, and I can't really fault them for it.

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Its called taking care of your customers. Many nda's are in place because of abandoned story arcs etc. If wotc can't spend a tiny bit of cash on clearing nda's then it just gives me an even lower impression of them.

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So you have a lower opinion of them because they won't spend money on something that gets them nothing? I'm afraid you must have a low opinion of most businesses, then...

Taking care of customers is always a worthy goal for a business, but 99.9% of businesses are going to opt to do so in a way that gets them money.

And examining past plans, future plans, having Legal eyeball everything, and contacting a bunch of people is not something that costs only a "tiny bit of cash". It would involve potentially hours of work from several creative types and the legal types, and then someone to contact the folks affected by the NDA. This could easily be hundreds or even thousands of dollars of pay to everyone involved, when they could be doing something else that actually makes money for the company.

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Originally posted by Arcanus


Wotc have lawyers on staff so that takes care of most of your costs. Erm, unless you missed it, wotc is a creative fiction brand. Its what they do. They employ people to create. Who exactly would need to be contacted about nda secrecy being broken? Most nda's would have little or no impact on the setting as a whole. Ed already has tons of lore to go so why not give it the once over and ok it?
What does it give them? Happy fans, loyalty, thats what. Happy loyal fans are far more likely to spend money, so ultimately, itmakes the company a profit.
Who knows, new adventures and novels might be created through the release.

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Originally posted by Chronos

Not being funny but I come onto this forum to see answers from Ed not for a discussion of NDA' s or corporate policy, rant over.

Question: what basic trail foods would readily be found in the Moonsea north region?

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Originally posted by The Hooded One

Hi again, all. Chronos, popular "prepared" foods (as opposed to foraging for wild game and plants) in the Moonsea North are sausages and "hardloaves" (small round buns, about the size of a large male human's palm), plus "belths" (singular: belth), which is basically a large pickle baked into a Cornish-pasty-style crust (all-around pastry jacket) to keep it from leaking or spoiling. As drinkable water (or in winter, snow) is plentiful, foods can be heavily salted to preserve them. Add to this dried, flattened fruit (figs, apricots, dates), and you have what a lot of wayfarers use for travel food. Source: Ed's campaign notes.
love,
THO

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Originally posted by Irennan

Greetings Ed and THO, I have a question for you.

I know that Eilistraee was created by Ed under commission by TSR, however I was wondering if he decided to include her in his Realms (and if you ever got to meet some of her followers during your campaign) and -assuming so- if his version of the Dark Maiden is any different from the published one.

Thanks for your time.

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Hi, Tommaso. You're very welcome!
Yes, Eilistraee is part of the "home" Realms campaign and has appeared "onstage" and by dream-vision and manifestation in Realmsplay. At the writing of (the first) DROW OF THE UNDERDARK, I was asked to create a deity for "good" drow for the game, and used the opportunity to make official the Dark Dancer female drow goddess I'd already created for my own use.
And, oh yes: Eilistraee lives!
:}
Ed

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Originally posted by Irennan

I've got an answer to this on the Edverse website. If anyone is curious, then yes: Eilistraee is part of Ed's own world and was even before TSR commissioned her.

http://theedverse.com/#comment-1534073727

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Originally posted by Demzer

Gracious Lady, Revered Master,

another Zhentarim-related question after the one about the Pereghost:
when Zhent mercenaries need to show up somewhere without clearly showing their true Zhent colors how do they present themselves? To elaborate, if questioned, do they claim to be unnamed hiresword bands, a random bunch of sellswords, or do they have a list of "usable fake merc company names and backgrounds" to exploit in covering up their presence?
If i was a guard captain of someplace and 20 armed individuals came to my someplace and their leader told me they were "just sellswords" i would be instantly suspicious and calling in all reserves to keep an eye on them, whereas if the same 20 individuals presented themselves as the Bloody Banner Mercenary Company out of Scornubel (with maybe a forged paper for show) i'll probably be more relaxed and maybe check the authenticity of the claim or maybe not.
So, is there any "fake adventuring bands and mercenary companies master list" from which Zhent higher-ups pull names that Zhents field officer then use to cover up their identity? Was something like this ever discovered by the Harpers or Knights of Myth Drannor or other groups opposing the Zhentarim?

Thanks!

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