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Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
 Posted - 26 Mar 2004 : 17:48:40
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quote:
Originally posted by BrokenRulz
Hooded One:
I wanted to bring up something I believe you touched briefly upon in an earlier post. It has to do with the appearance of the Chosen.
You said something to the effect that the Chosen can look whatever age they want to be. Elminster, at the moment, choses to look like a man in his 50s. To me this coincides with the portrait of him in the Realms Campaign setting. Yet in the past he has appeared much older with a longer beard, etc. I just want to clarify that this is no illusion or polymorph effect and rather a gift that the Chosen simply have. Could the Simbul look an old lady if she wanted? Storm a young girl? Could Elminster reverse himself to a lad in his 20s with all the youthful exuberance and stamina a person that age would have and stay that way for as long as he/she wanted?
If so, why do you believe they choose to look their respective ages and why does Elminster now want to look younger? Or am I wrong and do artists simply take liberties without consulting you? Or do they take these liberties anyway and you run with it? Sorry for the deluge.
There was a touch on that in a book by David Eddings. Belgarath the Sorcerer (7,000 year old man, oldest in the world) suspected that his "brothers" (the other sorcerers, followers of one of the gods) froze at fifty-ish because a man of that age is considered "wise" and "learned." His daughter Polgara the Sorceress (3,000 years, but it's impolite to ask her age  ) stayed young, likely because an old woman is called a "crone," and that was hardly what Pol wanted to be.
All that aside, wouldn't they all loose more than a bit of their mystique if they switched apparent ages?
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Of course, being tinker gnomes, they had to basically go crazy with the concept... And so they bred many, many variant breeds -- including the Miniature Giant Space Hamster, which looks remarkably like a regular hamster.
Let me guess, they're actually extradimensional beings making amazingly subtle experiments on humans, right? |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2004 : 18:24:35
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quote:
Originally posted by Bookwyrm
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Of course, being tinker gnomes, they had to basically go crazy with the concept... And so they bred many, many variant breeds -- including the Miniature Giant Space Hamster, which looks remarkably like a regular hamster.
Let me guess, they're actually extradimensional beings making amazingly subtle experiments on humans, right?
Which, the Giant Space Hamsters, or the tinker gnomes?
I just re-read that trilogy last week, too. All four books -- I refuse to acknowledge the fifth book of the trilogy. |
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2004 : 18:33:47
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Ed came up with a lot of the year names 'to start with' (by 1987). The web-published Roll of Years was compiled by a group of people, called the Monks of Candlekeep, led by Steven Schend, gathering scattered names in Ed's and others' work and making up many new ones.
http://oracle.wizards.com/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0001D&L=realms-l&P=R3924
There's a big difference in counting years (as a quantity) and naming them (as real things with natures and characteristics). As soon as you use the numbers your mind starts thinking mathematics, causation, history -- not fantasy and legend; and though those numbers are needed for record-keeping, the names are far more evocative and suited to sword-and-sorcery fantasy and to game play. I think we can assume Realms folk have much better memories than literate, computer-using modern people.
This relates in my mind to
And then they did this, and then they did that
Yes, please. So much modern fiction is so twisted by teleological purpose and pattern -- epic fantasy by predefined meaning and destiny, 'mainstream' literature by nice demands of subtext, and the dominance of the shape of the novel -- that I'd LOVE to see more fiction that trusted itself to produce meaning and resonance without such girding structure. I hope the success of the Del Rey trade paperback of the first beautiful Wandering Star Conan book presages a sword and sorcery boom.
The FRCS picture of Elminster is just the result of 'let's shake up the look of the Realms, see what you can come up with' -- it doesn't come from any pre-existing conception of Elminster. Ed has graciously accepted it as a possible variant appearance, but I don't have to. Khelben already looks like Sean Connery, it's daft for Elminster to as well.
Edit: I think I'll make that teleontological. |
Edited by - Faraer on 26 Mar 2004 21:28:06 |
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thom
Seeker
USA
69 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2004 : 18:35:11
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Tell Ed "thanks again!" Oh Hooded Lady, for the Banite curses! They'll come in very handy shortly!
I'll have more questions after I finish absorbing Ed's latest, and I promise to keep them short, to the point, and not open-ended, so as to not overwhelm Ed! Thanks again!
thom
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Rick Day
Acolyte
USA
9 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2004 : 21:21:30
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Hello Lady Hooded One,
My question seems to be along a similar train of thought as Lashan.
In Mr. Greenwoods previous post about Tantras he states that the watch of Tantras are masked?
I would love to know why?
and how heavily they patrol the streats if It would not be too much.
I am very interested in everything about the Vast right now and am trying to find the Ravens bluff product in my area for purchas.
Thank you again for your time. |
Three things we live by: truth within our hearts, strength in our hands and fulfilment on our tongues |
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Lashan
Learned Scribe
USA
235 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2004 : 21:40:32
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Rick Day,
If you are looking for the City of Raven's Bluff, then you have no further to go then the Wizards' download page at:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/downloads
If you really want a hard copy of it, you can always go to Kinko's (or similiar establshment) and have a copy printed out at about whatever quality you want.
I was curious about the masks, too. I figure that it is a great way to be keep the guard from being corrupt. Its hard to know who you are trying to bribe when you don't see their face. No more of that "Well, just wait till ole 'Red Faced Johnny' is the sargeant, and then try to bribe him enterance".
Still, if someone else is asking more questions about the Vast and Tantras, then I can quit feeling guilty for bombarding Ed. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2004 : 02:30:53
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Hail, all. Your Hooded Lady again, with Ed’s latest.
Prince Forge, we visited the High Forest twice (briefly, both times: the first involved a northwestern fringes foray in which we met korred and Turlang, and spoke with him about a matter we Knights pledged to keep secret; and the second time, a heartlifting, lovely visit to the Unicorn Run, where certain of us spoke with some divine beings, and that, too, must remain private. Ed has read draft text of Rich Baker’s forthcoming THE FORSAKEN HOUSE and recommends it highly to all Realms fans, but he’ll say nothing about what locales it uses or who features in it. Mr. Baker has imparted some information about it here at Candlekeep; if you want more, he’s the one to wheedle. :}
Now, heeeere’s Ed:
To Dargoth and to Crust: I confirm and echo The Hooded One’s replies. She’s exaggerating not a whit when describing my bucket-and-string computer hookup. I moved from all-fibre-optic, thousands-of-competing-ISPs Toronto to . . . nothing. Just getting a ‘touch tone’ phone was big news locally, when we first moved here. There were even still party lines then. I had to wire the house for phone jacks myself. And so on.
As for Realmslore:
BrokenRulz, Faraer has answered your query very ably. As it happened, my ‘in game’ explanation predates WotC’s “new look” for Elminster by over twenty years. :} My players all remember my habit of mentioning passing birds or squirrels, and much later revealing that certain parties knew all about their activities -- whereupon they’d look disgusted and say, “That crow -- that was The Simbul, right?” At Christmas we even exchanged postcards of stumps, and tulips, and canoes on tranquil lakes, rusting old jalopies, wagonwheels, cowskulls in deserts, and fashion models strutting down runways in the most ridiculous garments, all with gag captions like this one: “The Simbul, as she appeared on the fourth of Mirtul, just east of Ashabenford.”
Yes, it’s an inherent natural power, using the silver fire to effect a shapechange on their bodies, NOT a magical effect. (Distinction: a healing spell mends a wound by magical means, but the actual changes that magic wreaks: restoring cell walls, moving blood back to where it should be and cleansing it, expelling infections and foreign objects, knitting together damaged or severed organs and tissue, are the same natural processes that psionics could bring about, or [far more slowly] a body could in some cases manage by itself in the right conditions. The force that does the healing is magical, but the healing itself might not always be -- and in the case of the Chosen, their internal control of the silver fire, which mixed with their blood upon accepting Mystra (or, in the case of the Seven, as they were growing in the womb) and circulates in their bloodstream, is now a natural process for them. Their bodies have changed from the human norm.
That’s the ‘how.’ As for the ‘why,’ the governing rule is this: the Chosen have all been alive long enough to outlive their childhood friends and acquaintances, and to have experimented with dwelling in different cultures, climates, and even being different genders. They’ve settled on the bodies that they like, that best fit the image they want to present to the world. Alustriel and Storm like making love, for instance, and find it easier to end up with willing partners when their own shapes are pleasant and enticing. And so on. One thing DMs should bear in mind when running the Chosen: their experience and their shapechanging powers allows them to make subtle changes in their looks that can strongly influence the reactions of beings they meet (Dove once fooled a murderous noble into thinking she might be related to him by subtly shifting her eye color and face to resemble that of his dead mother, and Storm made a man fear her by knowing what his aunts who’d reared him looked like, and changing her features JUST enough to remind him of their strict authority).
Re. space hamsters and Wooly Rupert’s response: “Let me guess, they're actually extradimensional beings making amazingly subtle experiments on humans, right?”
To this, Elminster replies, “Indeed. And that should lead ye to readily accept this advice of mine, freely given ye: don’t breed with them, no matter what they offer ye. Just don’t.”
What he had to say about tinker gnomes I won’t pass on, even in this broadminded and tolerant forum. :}
Wooly Rupert, re. the Roll of Years, Faraer’s posted a nigh-perfect answer. I postulated that many realms would have different year-numbering systems (to commemorate the founding of a kingdom, etc.) but that the year-name method (besides sounding more cool; note that such a thing was in the first line of the first Fritz Leiber Fafhrd & Gray Mouser story) would be the commonly-accepted-across-the-Realms method, to make trade-talk easier.
I named about 120 years, as I recall, and Steven flew up to my farmhouse for a winter Realmslore visit and we sat at my keyboard adding several hundred more, together, and THEN the Monks went to work.
To Rick Day: Lashan is right about why the Watch are masked: to prevent corruption and to prevent their faces being noted and reprisals taken against them (“Ah! THERE he is! That’s him, aye . . . so NOW we know where he lives! And that lovely lass must be his wife! Heh-heh; well, now, I think we’ve the means to stop him from ever asking us inconvenient questions about what’s in our cart again! In fact, why don’t we make HIM bring the cart to the smuggling dock for us?”).
As for how heavily they patrol, it goes roughly like this: in peacetime when there’s no known peril inside the city (like rival ships’ crews both in port at the same time, lots of traders cramming the city, or -- gasp! -- adventurers known to be ‘in town’) or outside the walls, minimal patrols apply. Scale up from these in frequency and strength of patrols if any gongs are rung, murders or thefts-and-chases occur, or known perils ARE present.
Assume seven Watch barracks around the city: a main, central citadel (armory/jail/courthouse), and six smaller ‘posts’ (jail cells, ready room, tiny armory in each).
From these bases, the twelve-man Watch patrols pass along main streets and the ‘inside the walls walk’ the equivalent of about once an hour (twice an hour at dawn and dusk). In addition, two ‘roaming’ patrols take different-every-time routes through alleys and side-streets throughout the dark hours, roaming right across the city. Patrols carry shuttered lanterns, cudgels, grappling hooks and lines (mainly used for fishing drunks out of the harbor before they drown), capture-nets, and manacles. They’ve been known to shackle miscreants to handy hitching-rings and leave them to pursue other suspects, when necessary.
Roardragon Way and all of the dockside streets ALWAYS receive heavy patrols, as do the lanes around certain warehouses (to prevent thefts, arson, and smuggling). ‘Heavy’ means about every ten minutes or less, at unpredictable intervals. Taverns and inns receive almost as heavy a watch (about once every fifteen to twenty minutes).
Temples are policed lightly, because temples are assumed to police their own grounds and buildings.
Which brings me to the question about paladins and temple guarding. If a temple is large or grand enough, its guards might be commanded by a paladin, and priests of most faiths can call on paladins to render appropriate-to-the-faith military aid whenever the need arises, but as a general rule paladins work ‘out in the world’ to defend believers and further the faith, not do guard duty in a temple (except on special occasions such as particular holy rites, presiding over the choosing of a new high priest in circumstances where there’s controversy or a voting system, and so on). Most temple guards will be skilled warriors (certain prestige classes are naturals, if you’re using 3e or 3.5e) who devoutly believe in the deity, and are closely supervised by priests of the temple. They may be TRAINED and occasionally tested by paladins, yes.
And I’m afraid that’s all for now. Must finish novel . . . must finish novel . . . must finish novel . . .
So mutters Ed, shuffling off into the distance with his manacles trailing. I’ll be back with a second missive from him VERY soon, I promise.
THO
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2004 : 02:32:12
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Well met again. THO, with the promised second message from Ed:
Well, I have some good news, and some not-so-good news. Alexander, re. Silverymoon: I’m afraid that thanks to some future WotC plans, my Silverymoon replies are going to be shockingly brief and terse. Sorry, but that’s the way it is. As you read these, please bear in mind that my brevity now means that, in half a year or so, you may end up with something FAR more substantial, okay?
1. No official wards or districts, but local citizens speak of various ‘neighborhoods.’ The Market clearly divides the eastern end of the city (which contains the Palace and some important civic buildings) from the remainder, and the river of course divides Northbank from Southbank.
2. Within the ‘old city proper’ (Northbank west of the Market), the stretch between the remnants of the old city wall and the river is the oldest part of the city, and buildings here tend to be smaller, less fanciful, and more fortified. Otherwise, there isn’t a lot of visual difference in architecture that lets a traveller know at a glance what part of the city he’s in. Yes, there are a lot of buildings with fieldstone street levels and half-timbered upperworks.
3. Striking sights depends on where a visitor goes: there are exquisite gates and miniature garden waterfalls and other beautifully-crafted things EVERYWHERE, and everyone’s tastes are different. Myself, I’d like to visit Alustriel’s room-sized pool when it’s in enthusiastic use, and see one of the ‘dancing floors’ by moonlight (courtyards throughout Northbank where spells allow dancers to levitate, ‘dancing’ on air).
4. No, flooding and the resulting laws and drainage system and protective spells have all made underground cellars as small as the buildings above them, and prevented much in the way of passages EXCEPT well-guarded and -warded ones in the part of the city east of the Market. Most dwarves live in homes ‘dug into hillsides’ (said hills being artificial, and often the gardens of someone else’s abode, next door), or in normal aboveground structures -- but in both cases, the interiors are of carved stone, and often made to look cavern-like.
5. Many nobles from elsewhere visit Silverymoon, but its past history of abuses by those in power has aided Alustriel in making sure that there are no true nobles or ruling merchants or merchant families. The wealth, personal powers, and widely varying backgrounds of the traders, crafters, and artists attracted to Silverymoon also works against families or even stable cliques holding power. There are moves to set up shadowy trading cabals, but there are a LOT of Harpers in the city, and they watch for such things and try to thwart them (usually by sewing suspicions within said cabals, until they break apart from within). They also make VERY sure that any guilds that form are guilds in name only, and have no true power to set prices or control supplies of goods or the behaviour of their members.
6. Yes, Silverymoon is made up mostly of free citizens, crafters being the most numerous and artists (musicians, singers, dancers, actors, students of magic) the next most numerous, with shop-owners and repairers being the next two most numerous groups (before Alustriel, crafters and artists were far less numerous and important).
In Silverymoon, everyone wears weathercloaks (solid, dark hues preferred, usually greens, dark blues, and browns) against the morning and evening river-mists and damp weather, and has heavy fur outergarments for winter. Most folk go about booted up to the knee, and with to-the-elbow gloves. Underneath, they wear whatever they want to, usually whatever they wore where they came from. Silverymoon is a riot of different forms of dress, not conformist: i.e. there’s a high degree of tolerance for partial nudity or hairstyles and dress far different from ‘your own,’ and only a small strata of folk care about ‘following fashion.’
7. Priests in Silverymoon dress as everyone else does: their usual vestments or approved garb underneath weathercloaks or winter furs, high boots, and those big gloves.
8. Silverymoon’s from-everywhere-in-Faerun populace has brought their various cuisines with them, and the result is a cosmopolitan mixing of dishes from here and there, drink ditto. Food and drink. You can get almost anything. Local fare includes moose, bear (a strong-tasting meat usually served smoked), the various fish of the river, and deer.
9. Coinage from all over the Sword Coast is circulated and accepted in Silverymoon. For details of its local coinage, I’m afraid, you’ll have to wait. The Market opens everyday with an ‘outer ring’ of stalls manned by visiting merchants, and whenever trappers, hunters, and farmers come in with ‘raws’ to sell (pelts, or dead or captured-live animals, or livestock, butter, cheese, eggs, and vegetables), they go to the Market and use the waiting pens and tables there.
Local citizens sometimes peddle small wares (especially hot food and drink) in the Market, but usually sell from their homes or shops, or by arrangement in the shops of others.
10. Adventurers, like everyone else, are tolerated as long as they don’t like to drink and then fight or smash things or engage in open butchery. In winter, they’ll often get offered (hirers coming to them personally by word of mouth, or visiting the inns and taverns, or posting ‘wants’ in the Market) missions as armed escorts for persons who MUST travel, or supply caravans. Merchants are almost always the clients adventurers’ll be working for. City authorities will offer pay to adventurers willing to stay and fight (under orders) if the city is threatened by orc hordes or other attacks, but otherwise won’t hire adventurers.
And yes, there are Harper “bases” or “safehouses” in the city. :}
11. If there’s warning of an orc raid, some folk will be offered a chance to leave (sledging along the river ice, etc.) but warned that once escorted to a certain point, they’re on their own. Yes, there are both ‘must bear arms’ laws and detailed defense plans. The gates are to be blocked by cartloads of stone rubble dumped on their insides, and the walls manned. The fallback is to certain fortified buildings east of the Market, and ultimately to the granary, armory, and defensible living-quarters caverns beneath that part of the city.
12. The University is an integral part of everday life, with little ‘town and gown’ friction. Students are obliged to help with one inquiry from a visitor to the city or a local citizen, per day. Outsiders can only use the library with student guides AND payment of fees (depending on what they’re asking, either something simple or something requiring a lot of research). Students do everything they need to, to pay for their fees and lodgings, from working as crafters’ assistants to dancing nude in festhalls (most work stocking shelves in shops, as musicians and table staff in taverns, or as cleaners in inns).
The University sells nothing but single-page-copying services (from books in its own library, and only pages NOT bearing spells or magical instructions or processes) but quietly sells a trickle of scrolls, potions, spell components to city shops, who resell them at a markup.
13. Yes, there are at least a dozen good shops in Silverymoon that adventurers MUST check out. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for more about these establishments, however. :}
So saith Ed. This Hooded One isn’t going to spill more about Silverymoon, despite some ah, interesting memories. :}
Ciao for now!
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2004 : 14:22:53
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Good morning, simontrinity. Ed is off at his library job by now, and will be pounding out Waterdeep chapters for the rest of the day, but he e-spoke to me about your Eilistraee questions, and says as follows:
What happens in Ravens Bluff depends on the fate of that city in your campaign, but in general the followers of She Who Dances have been worshipping and dwelling in sylvan rural areas, leaving the urban experience to followers of Vhaeraun. A (very) few she-drow of the faith work as exotic dancers in Scornubel and Starmantle by night, and dwell in the woods by day (thus earning coins to buy goods from traders), and a few more harvest woodland herbs, berries, and roots and sell same for alchemical uses in various communities, but these are the exceptions; most of the faithful keep to the woods, and hold a very low profile. This in turn means very little 'hot news' to pass on to you -- with one exception: certain faithful of Eilistraee are reported to have begun clearing out old elven ruins in deep forest areas to reinhabit them, and in at least one case unleashed a long-imprisoned and fearsome monster in the process.
So saith Ed. Have fun, all
THO
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2004 : 14:30:31
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Your Hooded Lady once more, with a reply from Ed to Bruce D:
Hi, Bruce! I'll post details about the "wheres" and "whens" of the tour as they get finalized, okay? THO is a little miffed at you (her words were: "He thinks I'm JHAELE? ME?!?" [Her character and Jhaele once engaged in an impromptu mud wrestling match in the stableyard of the Old Skull, but they're friends now.]
As for the Srinshee: sorry, classified (WotC plans).
So saith Ed. I'm going back to bed.
THO |
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Silas the mariner
Acolyte
United Kingdom
4 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2004 : 15:42:10
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quote:
Originally posted by Silas the mariner
If you were a first-time DM running an adventure for a group of first-time players, whereabouts in the Realms would you base the adventure, and what kind of encounters would you employ?
Mornin' THO :)
Did you ever get a reply from Ed as to my above question?
And my, hasn't the board's popularity increased recently!! :P |
It's not the stone you see that trips you... unless you're a complete idiot. |
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Bruce Donohue
Learned Scribe
Canada
131 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2004 : 16:07:09
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Oops, heehee, I guess I have some back peddling and grovelling to do then.  Sorry THO, if I thought you were Jhaele, just some of the funny comments kind of reminds me of the character in personality. I therefore do apologise if in any shape or form I offended thee, but now that Ed opened that wonderful little can of worms, please due tell us how that all came about in regards the mud wrestling match between your character and Jhaele? You don't have to mention if you don't want to (would be fun though) what your character name is, because come to think of it... in all 17 pages of this forum, you have never once mentioned which one was indeed the character you played? If you chose not to, well no harm, no foul in asking, a Madame is indeed entitled to shrouding herself in the allure of mystery.  |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2004 : 18:00:36
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
As for the Srinshee: sorry, classified (WotC plans).
Were these plans proposed by Ed or came from another contributer to the Realms?
Thank you again for all your time and patience in replying.
Mud wrestling? Hmmm..... |
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digitalelf
Acolyte
USA
9 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2004 : 18:11:40
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Seems me question hath been overlooked 
quote:
Originally posted by digitalelf
Hail and Well Met, Mr. Ed of the Greenwood 
What lore of The Red Knight can you offer?
Specifically, what prayers and offerings would a young follower offer to her?
Also, a few oaths would be much appreciated
-That One Digitalelf Fellow-
(DM of the Realms since 1987)
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-That One Digitalelf Fellow-
(DM of the Realms since 1987) |
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thom
Seeker
USA
69 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2004 : 18:45:25
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Bruce if you'd read all the pages of this post, you'd know our Hooded Lady is not going to mention her name OR anything about her character, for personal reasons!! Let her be!
Sheesh! Alaundo, mebbe you could put an advisory about this at the beginning of the post so new posters won't keep bugging her?
Sorry, Oh Hooded Lady, I just don't want to lose our 'channel' into the great one's mind!
thom |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2004 : 21:27:40
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quote:
Originally posted by thom
Bruce if you'd read all the pages of this post, you'd know our Hooded Lady is not going to mention her name OR anything about her character, for personal reasons!! Let her be!
Given that this thread is now at 17 pages, I think it's possible for even the most diehard Realms fan to not catch clearly that fact upon scanning the pages. Moreover, since Bruce is new to Candlekeep, as are many these days, I think we can politely point out to him even without exclamation points that THO wishes to remain anonymous in all shapes or forms including characters played.
quote:
Sheesh! Alaundo, mebbe you could put an advisory about this at the beginning of the post so new posters won't keep bugging her?
A possible way to forestall future queries. Have you emailed Alaundo this idea?
quote:
Sorry, Oh Hooded Lady, I just don't want to lose our 'channel' into the great one's mind!
I'll take a wild leap of faith and say given Bruce's polite tone in his messages, which is also not always found in others, and the fact it's clear he did not know her preference for not wishing to disclose this information, that THO will give him a reprieve and not unleash a wicked spell from Elminster upon him. Call me crazy, but as friendly and charming as she's been throughout these 17 pages, I think I'll make this wild hunch. |
Edited by - SiriusBlack on 27 Mar 2004 21:28:33 |
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thom
Seeker
USA
69 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2004 : 21:51:56
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You're right Sirius; I just know how tired I'd get answering the same question over and over again
I didn't think to e-mail Alaundo...
Hmmm...I guess I hadn't realized how many pages this thread was; but I'm a fast reader and I've reread it from the beginning at least twice in order to not miss any of Ed's or our Lady's pearls of wisdom!...
thom |
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RevJest
Learned Scribe
USA
115 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2004 : 22:17:21
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Re: My question wasn't answered ...
I would council patience. The guy has other things to do besides field our questions. :)
- Simon
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"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2004 : 22:52:59
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quote:
Originally posted by thom
You're right Sirius; I just know how tired I'd get answering the same question over and over again
I didn't think to e-mail Alaundo...
Hmmm...I guess I hadn't realized how many pages this thread was; but I'm a fast reader and I've reread it from the beginning at least twice in order to not miss any of Ed's or our Lady's pearls of wisdom!...
thom
:) Well I can't tell you the countless times I've answered the same questions over and over again on the WOTC boards, in the past two years I have been posting on them. Yes it does get a bit annoying, but it doesn't do to yell at the poster for asking some thing that he might not have known. This isn't an attack on you, cause believe me, I've had my share of debates with people that really bug me. :) |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2004 : 23:07:02
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Hi, all. The Hooded One here.
Yes, Bruce, I have real-world reasons for not confirming who I am, or my character is (which will allow someone to easily figure out who I am).
digitalelf, your Red Knight query has been passed on to Ed, who will reply as soon as he can.
Silas, Ed fired back a barrage of questions about YOUR question, which go like this:
Sorry, to do a half-decent job of answering this, I need to know more. How many players? What level characters at start? What classes of characters? What SORT of adventures preferred (hack’n’slash, endless dungeon crawl, intrigue, other)? What setting(s) preferred (urban, wilderness, Underdark, desert, arctic, tamed countryside, underwater, seaborne, piracy/evil power group)? What races of characters (monster races? Mix? The usual human-dominated with a few demihumans?)? Stay in the Realms, or planehopping? What do your players want (or don’t you or they know yet; i.e. do you want to serve up a variety of things to try, or settle in on an existing favourite style or setting or direction)?
Will you be using commercial adventures/modules/DUNGEON magazine, or mix-n-match, or crafting your own challenges entirely? How much DM design time can you devote to this campaign, and how long do you want it to last (real-world time)?
So asketh Ed. For the record, putting on my editor’s hat (or corset :}), I agree with him; he needs these design decisions made by you before he can give you a proper answer. So write back soon. :]
THO
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 28 Mar 2004 : 00:48:58
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quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
*chuckles*
taxs?
Next time Elminster drops by get him to bring a Cleric of Waukeen with him, if you let him do your taxs the Goverment will end up OWING YOU money
Got a Question
Has Manshoon replaced Orlgaun the Dragon Mount which he lost in Spellfire? and if so with what?
Hooded one did you pass on my question about Manshoon to Ed? |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 28 Mar 2004 : 03:29:55
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’Lo, all. Your Hooded Lady back again, with my own reply to Bruce and SiriusBlack: no, this mud-wrestling wasn’t any sort of sexual fun thing.
It began as a misunderstanding, in which Jhaele thought I’d stolen a key left in her care, and was racing off to use it to unlock a coffer hidden in a particular chamber in the Twisted Tower.
The truth was that a Zhent agent staying at the Old Skull had already stolen the key and gone to the Tower to try to use it, but been intercepted by Shaerl, who knew her of old (and had no idea she was now working for the Zhents). Shaerl had invited her to dinner, and the Zhent was trapped into dining, but awaiting a chance to slip away (or get invited to spend the night as a guest at the Tower).
A Harper mage who’d met us at the Old Skull and revealed the woman’s Zhent loyalties had by spell communicated with a (very low level) War Wizard who was also visiting the Tower (as a part of a Cormyrean delegation bringing private Rowanmantle business matters to Shaerl, not affairs of state) to learn about the dinner and the whereabouts of the Zhent agent.
After some swift conflab, my character was given a false key and told to get it to the War Wizard and help him temporarily ‘sleep’ or somehow bewilder the agent so we could switch keys (the false replacement had been personally made by the Harper mage, and so was a ‘familiar object’ if he wanted to trace its whereabouts and movements with a spell).
Jhaele thought my character was stealing her key, and came out the back door of the inn like a tigress to pounce on “me,” downing me right in the muddiest part of the stableyard. I was in a hurry and didn’t want to be stopped, so a brief wrestling match ensued (Rathan and Torm OF COURSE came to the back door to make bets and dispense smart comments). I’ve always found that temporarily blinding people with their own clothing AND removing their footwear tends to make them slow to pursue, and tried to do this to Jhaele -- and she was bound and determined not to let the “thief” get away.
In the end, not wanting to hurt her, I appealed rather profanely to Torm to ‘deal with her,’ and he, well, being the outrageously irrepressible imp that he is, decided that this would be his best ever chance to er, become intimate with the half-naked, slick-with-mud, and furious Jhaele (who was quite sharp-tongued in rejecting his endless teasing advances), and joined in.
I left them wrestling and sprinted for the Tower, deciding to just plunge into Elminster’s Pool on the way and so clean off the worst of the muck.
Jhaele brained Torm in a few seconds flat and came running right after me -- and it was the Old Mage himself who rescued me.
It seems Elminster was floating on his back in his pool, bathing, when I came crashing through it. He sat up in startled anger just in time to become an obstacle that Jhaele was running too fast to avoid.
There then occurred what Ed described variously as a “meaty thwack” and a “splat,” and . . . Jhaele was no longer chasing me. :}
Considering the reputation I’m already giving myself in this forum, can you see why I neglected to tell this entire tale the first time around? :}
By the way, Ed has always injected this farcial element into play. It doesn’t dominate play the way it must seem to when I’m just relating these ‘highlight’ stories, but he sneaks it in whenever we get too upset about bad things happening or puffed up over our successes, as a reminder that no matter how high and mighty the Knights or anyone else in the Realms becomes, we’re all just a pratfall away from our own humanity. :}
(That’s an Ed-quote, too: “We’re all just a pratfall away from our own humanity.” Just another of the reasons I love and respect him so much.)
And to Bruce, thom, and SiriusBlack (well put, sir): it’s okay, I don’t mind explaining over and over why I’m being mysterious about my identity. Really. I don’t get upset about it (and really wish I COULD level with you all). But being as I’m stuck with it, there IS this tiny little thrill that goes with it -- as in: I’m sitting typing this entirely nude . . . EXCEPT for my full-head iron mask that conceals my identity completely, so I could be your co-worker, lady boss, that nice lady at the bank, one of your teachers, or that lady who stared at you on the street, just for a moment, a week ago, or . . . any female at all, in fact. Whoo-hoo. :}
But enough teasing. To avoid that weird formatting problem (it creeps back for me from time to time, so just in case I’m not the only one), I’ll end this post now and come right back with Ed’s latest.
Love to all,
THO
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 28 Mar 2004 : 03:33:31
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’Lo again. Your Hooded Lady, bringing the words of Ed:
Hi, SiriusBlack. The Srinshee plans aren’t mine, but have come to involve me. (There. That ought to be cryptic enough. :}) Sorry, but I can’t say more at this time.
digitalelf, typical offerings on the altar of Red Knight are coins won in wagering over games of skill (such as lanceboard) but never in ‘games of chance,’ and [the greatest possible offerings of all, if the games themselves are well-designed] new strategy games (board, pieces, and rules) personally devised by the worshipper.
If given in a temple, these always vanish from the altar (taken by the clergy of the temple, of course). If offered in private, in the open or at a shrine, such offerings are to buried with a symbol of the goddess (a crude horsehead chesspiece design scratched into a piece of bark or onto a stone will suffice, if nothing better can be had), in earth into which a single drop (or more) of the worshipper’s blood has been spilled.
It is sinful to the goddess for the same worshipper to unearth such things and re-use them as offerings, or for other faithful of the Red Knight to knowingly use the previously-used offerings of another in their own prayers to the goddess, but it’s quite acceptable to use them in other ways (spend the coins, and play, sell, give away, or bet on the games).
Note that devout faithful of the Red Knight often have scores of red horse-headed lanceboard pieces made for them to carry, and use in just such situations. If non-clerical worshippers of the Red Knight are travelling with a priest of the Lady of Strategy and make prayers to the goddess, it IS acceptable for the priest to collect and carry along all such offerings, to turn them over to a temple of the goddess at the first opportunity. If this becomes impossible, such ‘sacred goods’ are to be buried if this can be managed.
Typical prayers to the Red Knight are whispered pleas for insight into the thinking of foes when planning strategies against them, and requests for inspiration (and a true follower of Red Knight believes that all tactical thinking or dreams of battles and battle-strategies are bestowed by the Red Knight, and will thank her for her aid: in other words, a devout worshipper of Red Knight NEVER takes credit for brilliant strategies or tactics, believeing they have all come from the goddess).
When a devout follower suffers defeat, overlooks some stratagem of an opponent, or is outwitted, they typically make offering to the goddess by procuring a shard of good-quality battle armor, gashing themselves with it, and leaving the bloodied metal on the altar with a prayer, not binding their wound or seeking healing for it until their prayers are complete. Many worshippers of the Red Knight take good armor from opponents they’ve personally felled and shatter it, so as to have a ready supply of such shards awaiting times of failure, in order to properly ‘square their standing’ with the Lady of Strategy.
Great victories are also celebrated on an altar of Red Knight by placing trophies of the defeated foes on it, with prayer (weapons, armor, and even blood and body parts). If no altar is handy, the prayer may be offered literally ON the body or trophy of the fallen, on the battlefield or place of death.
Prayers to the Red Knight often begin “Oh, Lady of clear calm” or “Great Lady of Armor Blood-Red” and the goddess betimes gives long-worshipping individuals a secret name by which they can call her (imparted in dreams, these names are different for every individual, and are NOT thought to be even echoes of her true name, but rather a personal token or ‘pet-name’ symbolizing her favour of the devotions of the individual; typical examples are: “Divine Arlanna” and “Divine Elmrara”).
Formal priestly prayers often include the lines “Lady whose armor is drenched in blood for us” and “Armor blooded to remind us of our faults and defeats, but eyes bright to make us mindful ever of unquenchable spirit and battlemastery of fields to come.”
Battle-oaths to the Red Knight (given when smiting foes or launching an attack) include these:
“Bright wit, clear thought, keen sight!”
“Forward the Game Undying!”
“Let this game now be ended!”
“Smite smart!”
Obscenities uttered by faithful of the Red Knight when personally upset include these:
“Alavaerthus!” (equivalent of “G*d-damn-it!” or “Jesus f*cking Christ!” [this word, pronounced “Alah-VAER-thus,” was the name of a member of the Fellowship who had a large hand in founding the church of Red Knight, but went mad in a battle and sent his forces to their dooms through a series of stupid or reckless commands; “playing Alavaerthus” is an informal Fellowship expression meaning to ‘totally screw up’)
“Blood of the Lady!” (equivalent of “Oh my [insert strongest personal obscenities here] G*d!” [used as a stronger replacement for “Alavaerthus!”)
“Checkmate!” (formal, usable-in-polite-company equivalent of “Damn!” or “Sh*t!” or “Blast!” [invoking the name of the Lady’s blade])
“Keltor!” (equivalent of “Damn!” and pronounced as “KEL-tor” [spat out swiftly])
“Teskyre!” (equivalent of “Sh*t!” and pronounced as “Tess-kEYE-ur”)
“Witless!” (equivalent of “F*ck!” [the strongest personal oath of a faithful of the Red Knight alludes to stupidity in strategy or tactics])
So saith Ed. Hmm; almost all of this is new to me, and goes straight into my Realms notes. By the way, Ed recently gave a public reading of ‘A Small Sort of Dragon’ from ELMINSTER IN HELL for a library charity fundraising event, and reportedly wowed an audience of non-fantasy-reading, non-gaming seniors (largely because he did what he always does: put on voices for the various characters and ACTED his way through the scene). I miss the author reading sessions from the old GenCons, which were always lots of fun.
Yes, Dargoth, I’ve passed your dragon mount query on; poor old Ed is just up to his eyeballs in Waterdeep and is taking longer to reply. He’ll get back to me ASAP, I promise.
THO
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 28 Mar 2004 : 03:44:31
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Hi, SiriusBlack. The Srinshee plans aren’t mine, but have come to involve me. (There. That ought to be cryptic enough. :}) Sorry, but I can’t say more at this time.
Understood. If I was one to speculate, I'd dare say that perhaps Richard Baker consulted a few people including Ed before or during the writing of an upcoming novel series. |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6646 Posts |
Posted - 28 Mar 2004 : 03:46:41
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Greetings Ed. And a most hearty hello to the Hooded One. Nice to chat out "in the open". Saves me having to pass on answers to realmslore queries, if they get posted here straight away!
Seeing how details re faiths are coming up with some brilliant FR enhancing tidbits, I'm wondering what Ed has for us on the Triad - Tyr, Torm and Ilmater. I'm hoping to add some stuff to my Impiltur musings.
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 28 Mar 2004 : 05:24:46
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Well met again, all. The Hooded One posting a reply from Ed once more:
Hi, Dargoth. As you know, there have been several Manshoons since the ‘one’ who appeared in SPELLFIRE. Yes, Orlgaun has been replaced several times by various Manshoons (with various dragons, war bats, and the like; one of the Manshoon clones perished while trying to tame a hellfire wyrm to do his bidding). One of the Manshoons surviving today uses a magically-bound ‘very old’ black dragon by the name of Hauthendrammagarh. It formerly laired in a vast marsh on another continent of Toril. This same Manshoon is said to have trapped various lesser black dragons in stasis, and hidden them in caverns, so he can replace his steed with a dragon of inferior powers at short notice, or even unleash a flight of black dragons under his command (in fact, the threat of doing so is one of the weapons that has kept Fzoul from destroying this Manshoon, who also demonstrated his ability to cause magical explosions over great distances -- blasts that slew several beholders and priests of Bane).
To Bruce Donohue: in your calendar example, Ches is the month, and “Ches 23” is indeed the 23rd day of Ches. “Ches of the Sunsets” is the poetic name for this month. An earlier month (Alturiak, now rendered “The Claw of Winter”) once had the poetic name “The Claws of the Cold,” and later scribes mistranslated ellipses in the names of several of the subsequent months of the calendar to mean “The Claws of the X” instead of just “of the X,” but this misnaming has ‘stuck.’
The Realms equivalents of weeks are ten days long, hence “tenday” (also known as “rides” and by several less popular names), but I’ll leave the rest of the explanation for another time; must run now and get this novel done.
So saith Ed. This Hooded Lady recalls that Fleetswake is a later addition; could any of the scholars perusing this (George Krashos? AJA?) step in and answer Bruce? And a hearty hello back to you, Mr. Krashos! Ed regards you, Eric, Steven, Grant, Tom, and Bryon as his Merrie Masters of Realmslore, and says you’re always welcome!
THO
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 28 Mar 2004 : 06:08:51
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Thanks Ed
If you where to restat Manshoon for 3.5 would you give him levels of the Zhentrim Skymage PrC in Lords of Darkness or would you just give him the Dragon Cohort Feat from Draconomicon? |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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Bruce Donohue
Learned Scribe
Canada
131 Posts |
Posted - 28 Mar 2004 : 06:16:08
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| oops double post |
Edited by - Bruce Donohue on 28 Mar 2004 19:09:22 |
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Bruce Donohue
Learned Scribe
Canada
131 Posts |
Posted - 28 Mar 2004 : 06:20:47
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Well since this is an FR in theme, I would like to take this opportunity to do my best Realmsian version of an apology and thank you.
Lady The Hooded One (please picture this in an Irish drawl with possibly Moonshae inflections), it does indeed bestill my heart to know that faith in humanity and its kindness thus prevails unto this very day.
Knowing that jests with the movitive joy and spreding of humour are indeed still appreciated. Yes, though I may be but a man and flawed like many a woman says our gendre may be; I do take full responsibility that being a lover of intrigues and a good mystery that I sometimes tend to pursue the matter at a two steps pace indeed when one shall suffice.
Thank you for your generosity, your kind heart, in accepting my humblest of apologies. I hereby appreciate all the more, the desire to remain an enigma to all, and shall enjoy further musings and examples, of how your silver tongued spirit shall spin more tails to peek our curiosity, our interest, and above all for the foundness of sharing with thee Lady, admist this forum your humble future company.
Aye, back to reality now, I think I am still recovering from Saint Patty's somehow. Ah, got to love Celtic roots and being Irish. Heehee
Glad, I didn't offend you THO, and to all on the site, yes I do like a good mystery. So since you all do not yet know my personality, I tend to sometimes think that THO was indeed just being coy, and playful, yet I fully understand the situation now. I will enjoy further discussions with THO and you all without having to ask the question once more.
Cheers!
Bruce |
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digitalelf
Acolyte
USA
9 Posts |
Posted - 28 Mar 2004 : 06:25:16
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Wow!
Simply amazing... Ed's response to my question goes above and beyond the call
Hooded One, you simply must inform "He of the Greenwood" of my greatest heartfelt thanks. |
-That One Digitalelf Fellow-
(DM of the Realms since 1987) |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2004)
Topic Locked
