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TheHermit
Seeker
USA
60 Posts |
 Posted - 01 Oct 2004 : 12:49:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Karth
THO and PDK,
I experienced similar frustration through a fair bit of searching. I eventually struck gold, relatively speaking. Go here:
Karth, any way you can edit this post with a http://tinyurl.com/ or something? That big URL makes my screen width all wonky. |
- "Glitz & Klax's Potions & Elixirs"/"The Sandmen", Inside Ravens Bluff, The Living City; 1990; TSR, Inc.
- "The Far Guardians' Traveler's Mission", Port of Ravens Bluff; 1991, TSR, Inc.
- "Signs Painted", Polyhedron #70; April, 1992; TSR, Inc.
- Communications Director, Coliseum of Comics, Orlando, FL - http://coliseumofcomics.com/ |
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Karth
Seeker
USA
81 Posts |
Posted - 01 Oct 2004 : 14:58:04
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Looks like it's already been taken care of. Alaundo's work, perhaps. Thanks, Alaundo.
Tiny URL, eh? New one on me. Sorry folks...
-K |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 01 Oct 2004 : 14:59:36
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Hello, fellow scribes.
Ed e-sent me his handout notes for his Worldbuilding workshop at Phantasm, with permission to share with you all. He stresses that this is just a framework for discussion/list of reminders of "elements and topics not to forget" rather than hard 'how to' data -- and that it's just one approach to crafting a setting. Here follow Ed's words:
First, what do you AND YOUR PLAYERS (as DM, it’s your job to entertain them, remember) want in play? How much acting, how much game-rules? Intrigue in a city, or exploring wilderness? Mainly fighting horrible monsters, or mainly fighting sinister NPCs? Lots of traps/no traps? Lots of magic/little or no magic?
Era: Medieval? Three Musketeers? Exploring the unknown in a fantasy equivalent of the time of Columbus? Gates to our modern world? What?
From these things, you can decide the tone of your setting.
Anything special about the landscape (wild magic, dead magic, mountains, desert, caves or deep woods or ravines or other difficult terrain teeming with monsters, etc., mountains as barriers, endless seas with islands so you spend all your time sailing except when you’re fighting pirates or BEING a pirate, perhaps a central lake or sea for easy travel across the setting) that affects play.
If you’re going to use a lot of published adventures (what we used to call “modules”) what elements (kingdoms, particular monsters, specific priesthoods or types of faiths) do they incorporate/demand?
These are basics, but think about them and WRITE YOUR DECISIONS DOWN. Most people don’t bother, and it shows.
From these basics, it’s time to plan.
For every topic, decide what’s common knowledge (what most inhabitants know) and then your DM secrets.
First, your ‘heartland’ setting or main country.
A quick overview of how most inhabitants live their lives (farmers? miners? fisherfolk? loggers? crafters? city or rural or frontier?) and the economy works, and laws and their enforcement, if any. What races live there? How do they regard each other (the cliché ‘dwarves and elves hate each other, everybody hates the orcs’ standard, or something else)?
Who rules? Who REALLY rules?
What’s the general attitude towards adventurers? If you need healing, where do you go and how do you get it? Ditto, supplies. Do adventurers immediately get enemies (evil priests, outlaws watching them to pounce, heavy-law-enforcing nobles who don’t want armed swaggerers in their lands)
Rival kingdoms? Establish ongoing and ‘right now’ CONFLICTS, both inside your ‘heartland’ country and between it and others. Trade and travel: routes, easy/hard, how done [wagons, dragonback flying, sailing on seas or rivers], does it allow smuggling, adventurers getting in and out of a country quickly, and so on.
Time to START drawing a map. Where’s the treasure going to be? Why hasn’t someone taken it years before your adventurers were born?
What are the favourite legends about treasures and monsters and adventurers and outlaws? Who are the people (rulers, nobles, high priests, whoever) that everyone “knows about” and gossips about, even if they’ve never seen them; who are the ‘big wheels’ in this world? Who are the power groups, especially hidden outlaw or rebel bands and secret societies?
Any local flavour you want to add (to make you and your players FEEL like your imaginary places are real) like strange names, customs, and so on?
When thinking about character deeds and misfortunes, don’t forget to cover CONSEQUENCES (like diseases, disfigurements, reputation). This goes double for PCs and their ongoing relationships with clergy.
Which brings us to gods, priesthoods, and holy rules and rituals. Decisions must be made, because PC and NPC personal freedoms are determined by setting (climate, weather, monsters, terrain, need for food and water), rulership (laws and monarchs or equivalent), and faith (personal beliefs and how much priests or holy messengers or the gods themselves ‘horn in’ and dictate or threaten people into particular behaviours)
For the usual D&D setting, we start with ‘where you go for healing and what’ll it cost’ and quickly progress into: major clergy, ‘key’ spells, creed (the rules characters must follow: do’s and don’ts, attitudes to particular races, deeds, and events), the personal aims (and views) of priests, the ambitions of the powerful priests and the church as a whole, and so on.
So, we end up with:
• Country (climate, topography with dominant flora and fauna, industries, brief overview tour)
• People (racial makeup of populace, general attitudes, overall nature of everyday life [rural farming])
• Faiths
• Rulership
• Authority (the court and/or bureaucrats)
• Laws and Law Enforcement (plus armies, if any)
• Power Groups
• Powerful People: NPCs and groups (social status: nobles?)
• Locales (cities and other settlements, or in a city-based campaign, individual neighbourhoods)
• Flavour/Colour Stuff: coinage, customs (births, deaths, weddings), strange names, Cool Stuff like enchanted wells and shapechangers, and suchlike, legends, how do people dress, some notes on how news/rumor travels and how fast
• Intrigues that PCs are going to get mixed up in
• Adventures: what will the PCs start off wanting to go and see? Why? (Do they need cash? Respect? What are the goads?) . . . and what will you as DM end up running them through? How will this feed into future adventures and intrigues?
So saith Ed. Nothing new here, and lots missing, but hopefully a helpful summary.
love to all,
THO
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 02 Oct 2004 : 15:28:13
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Honored Ed and THO,
I have a question for the Creator of the Realms: how in the name of all the gods you created, Mr. Greenwood, do you find TIME to do all the stuff you do?
Okay, two questions.
Will the Knights books be Elminster books in disguise, or not? |
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 02 Oct 2004 : 15:40:29
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Blueblade,
I'll relay your questions to Ed in the usual way. He's still entertaining, and so might take most of the day to reply, or even longer, but I can start to answer for him:
Question 1: When he gets going, Ed is one of the FASTEST writers I have ever met, heard of, or worked with. A throwback to the pulp writers who wrote a (much shorter than today's, but just as complex) book a week, or even two a week (e.g. John Creasey).
Question 2: I have asked Ed this very same question myself. He replied that although the Old Mage will have to put in an appearance from time to time, he emphatically does NOT intend these books to be dominated by El.
THO |
Edited by - The Hooded One on 02 Oct 2004 15:44:46 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 02 Oct 2004 : 15:43:03
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Faraer,
I'm not sure any rights for Falconfar have been sold yet. So it might be a far-future novel series.
THO |
Edited by - The Hooded One on 02 Oct 2004 15:45:47 |
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Bakra
Senior Scribe
628 Posts |
Posted - 02 Oct 2004 : 16:45:20
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Faraer,
I'm not sure any rights for Falconfar have been sold yet. So it might be a far-future novel series.
THO
Well that allows me to get caught up on my reading then! And tell Ed thanks for the notes he provided above and to enjoy his time off.
Take care,
Bakra, Lord of the Outlying Thread |
I hope Candlekeep continues to be the friendly forum of fellow Realms-lovers that it has always been, as we all go through this together. If you don’t want to move to the “new” Realms, that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with either you or the “old” Realms. Goodness knows Candlekeep, and the hearts of its scribes, are both big enough to accommodate both. If we want them to be.
(Strikes dramatic pose, raises sword to gleam in the sunset, and hopes breeches won’t fall down.)
Enough for now. The Realms lives! I have spoken! Ale and light wines half price, served by a smiling Storm Silverhand fetchingly clad in thigh-high boots and naught else! Ahem . .
So saith Ed. <snip>
love to all,
THO
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 02 Oct 2004 : 16:47:23
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| You're right -- must read whole page. (I found it while checking Ed's bibliography to see which of the LC modules he wrote for.) So it's either a future novel series or, worst case, a contribution to the library of non-existent books. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2004 : 02:50:12
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LC modules?
Ed contributed the Vast to LC2, did the City of Ravens Bluff accessory, and wrote at least two of the LC modules handed out to RPGA members for tournament use (Ed is a Charter Life member of the RPGA, and at one time was empowered to write certs, like Wes Nicholson in Australia, but I've no idea what part he takes in current RPGA doings; the constant "computer crash and loss of all our points" was a source of ongoing hilarity amongst the 'original' Realms players, but I do recall Ed receiving a Grand Master ribbon at one point, and at another time seeing a GenCon tournament printout that listed him as a 9th level judge and 6th level player, and I also seem to remember him receiving a service medal). "Spellstorm" was the first of Ed's for-tournament-use modules, I believe, and "The Gauntlet of the Sisterhood" and "Thraldigar's Tower" may have been others. BTW, the RPGA version of Spellstorm, with all of his visual aids removed so as to strip it of its mystery-solving character, displeased him very much. Sigh.
THO |
Edited by - The Hooded One on 03 Oct 2004 02:52:49 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2004 : 16:24:07
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Hail, fellow scribes. I bring you some words of Ed;
As my delightfully hooded lady commented, NDAs prevent me from revealing overmuch about Elven High Magic or its practitioners, but I can say that Evermeet holds AT LEAST 26 elven High Mages, and that the mainland holds more than that, widely scattered (and no, I’m not going to say more: that’s where the NDAs come in. :} )
And I echo THO’s reply to your third question. “Yes,” and no more. :}
None of the Knights of Myth Drannor trilogy novels are finished yet, but I don’t want Elminster to feature prominently in them. He must ‘be there’ in several scenes, but this is the Knights’ story, not his, and I hope to keep it that way.
And yes, I produce things at a great rate because I can write quickly, and because I’m still learning how to say “No.” :} Seriously, I love to write, I live to write, and far more than many people, I’ve managed to arrange both myself and my life so I manage to do a lot of putting my bum on a chair and my fingers on a keyboard and actually writing, instead of just talking about it or planning to do it.
Falconfar is a “vaportome” trilogy at the moment, and may remain so for some time (some deals fell through). It seems some publishers (not WotC nor Tor Books; this series was offered to neither of them) are seizing on the current downturn in the publishing industry to try to roll back payment scales and contract conditions to the 1930s or so (claiming to be unable to afford to pay advances, and to only be able to pay royalty rates of a few percent MINUS all publishing costs; conditions that leave writers who accept them unable to even pay for enough food to survive the time it takes to type the works), and although I’ve been known to do gaming products ‘for free’ out of friendship and because of interest in participating in a particular setting or project, I won’t let publishers who I know to already be fat and rich despite a history of crying the financial blues continue that act on my back. Not when I can concentrate on my first love, the Realms, and on projects over which I’ll have a little more artistic control. No hard feelings towards them; they’ll just have to find other suckers to write for them, that’s all. :}
So saith Ed. He did e-mention that he hopes to have a leetle more time for converse in the weeks ahead—but then, hope is a shining horse that many dreamers ride.
love to all,
THO
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fourthmensch
Acolyte
USA
32 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2004 : 06:31:02
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Hello, fellow scribes.
Athenon, you have the Lis correct. Let me quote from Ed’s unpublished ‘What Your Character Knows’ notes:
Hm... this sounds extremely interesting. May I ask, of either Ed or the Lady Hooded, more about these notes?
And no, I won't ask you to send me a copy of them or anything like that (although... no, I'll resist :)); I'm more interested in what funcion they served? Are these notes to introduce new players? Were they used to introduce the original Knights to the Realms? Did they cover just geography, or also history, politics, religion, etc? And were they really that detailed? Because such a collection of "notes," if one entry for a river would go into such detail, could quickly become practically encyclopedic. |
I want you to go home and ponder the meaning of the word subversive.
Gully Foyle is my name
And Terra is my nation
Deep space is my dwelling place
The stars my destination. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2004 : 22:43:44
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fourthmensch, Ed’s ‘What Your Character Knows’ notes were furnished to each of the Knights with their character background. The Lisen details came from Lanseril’s notes, because he spent some time in a hut very close to the west bank of the River Lis, being trained by a senior druid (and so knew all about the fauna, flora, and natural processes and cycles of the terrain right in front of him during his instruction). At a later time, we Knights journeyed to this area, and Ed agreed that Ian Hunter (who played Lanseril) could share this portion of his notes with the rest of us, to game-simulate Lanseril Snowmantle telling his fellow Knights what they were heading into.
So the Notes WERE encyclopaedic, but also had big gaps. I’ve seen the ‘Player Pack’ that Ed prepared for The Company of the Stag (one of his later library program groups: a chartered band of PC adventurers whose careers were fated to last for thirteen weekly four-hour play sessions), and it was some forty pages long, with an index. He gave the TSR designers a copy of it, as I recall.
Which reminds me of an idea discussed elsewhere: a party of PC adventurers who were ALL bastard offspring of Azoun IV. Ed did just this with a library PC group, although only the Cormaeril and the Thundersword sons knew their true parentage by the end of play. He’s not sure just how suspicious the other players were as to the bloodlines of their characters, but said the whole thing made for fascinating roleplaying, “even better than I expected, despite a recurring player tendency to just say to the Nine Hells with it all and hack something, rather than wading into the intrigues and trying to worm out more truths.”
Just one more spicy little slice of Realmslore.
THO
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Melfius
Senior Scribe
USA
516 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2004 : 02:15:08
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Fair Hooded One, and through you the All-Wise Ed (yes, a blatent attempt at flattery to get info I am after!):
What additional information can Ed (or yerself!) provide on the history of Halaster (that the the NDAs will permit)? What were the names of all of the Seven and where were they from? Are we still holding the mystery of where exactly Halaster is from, or has it finally been revealed in some obscure publication I have missed?
ANY info would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you |
Melfius, Pixie-Priest of Puck - Head Chef, The Faerie Kitchen, Candlekeep Inn
"What's in his pockets, besides me?"
Read a tale of my earlier days! - Happiness Comes in Small Packages |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2004 : 03:07:57
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quote:
Originally posted by Melfius
Fair Hooded One, and through you the All-Wise Ed (yes, a blatent attempt at flattery to get info I am after!):
What additional information can Ed (or yerself!) provide on the history of Halaster (that the the NDAs will permit)? What were the names of all of the Seven and where were they from? Are we still holding the mystery of where exactly Halaster is from, or has it finally been revealed in some obscure publication I have missed?
ANY info would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you
The Seven Sisters, and their origins, are fully covered in the 2E source The Seven Sisters. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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Taelohn
Acolyte
36 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2004 : 03:50:05
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| I believe he was referring to Halaster's seven apprentices. :) |
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Melfius
Senior Scribe
USA
516 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2004 : 04:18:30
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| Yes, the Seven apprentices. I know (off the top of my head) Trobriand, Kestleharp, Muriel (was he an apprentice? Or just a body guard?), and Arcturia. There were more listed somewhere, like in Escape from Undermountain, but I don't remember them. I wanted to do a story with Halaster, something like The Making of a Mage, so I'm digging up as much Realmslore as I can! |
Melfius, Pixie-Priest of Puck - Head Chef, The Faerie Kitchen, Candlekeep Inn
"What's in his pockets, besides me?"
Read a tale of my earlier days! - Happiness Comes in Small Packages |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2004 : 06:02:17
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| Ah, my bad... Muiral, Trobriand, and Arcturia were all detailed in the first Undermountain boxed set. Muiral and Trobriand were also covered in the second boxed set. Arcturia died during Halaster's Harvestide. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2004 : 07:00:19
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One of them is also in Secrets of the Magister, since well she became a Magister at one point. :)
To Ed and THO: Aluroon sends her/his thanks for the quick replies to the High Mage question. |
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 |
Edited by - Kuje on 05 Oct 2004 17:48:57 |
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RevJest
Learned Scribe
USA
115 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2004 : 09:18:52
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Which reminds me of an idea discussed elsewhere: a party of PC adventurers who were ALL bastard offspring of Azoun IV.
THO & Ed,
Has a Cormyrian nobleman never reacted with hostility to discovering that his wife is with the king's child? Maybe even told his wife to hit the bricks? If so, does the man end up dead? Is there any sympathy for a man who has been cuckholded by his monarch?
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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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Edited by - RevJest on 05 Oct 2004 09:24:33 |
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Melfius
Senior Scribe
USA
516 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2004 : 14:02:11
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Yes, kuje31, Kessleharp (I think her first name was Jessalia, but don't quote me on that!) went on to become Magister in Myth Drannor. Arcturia died, huh? Maybe I should look into that as well.
Thanks folks! |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2004 : 15:30:16
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quote:
Originally posted by Melfius
Yes, kuje31, Kessleharp (I think her first name was Jessalia, but don't quote me on that!) went on to become Magister in Myth Drannor. Arcturia died, huh? Maybe I should look into that as well.
Thanks folks!
Yeah, her death was mentioned in the Stardock module. She was killed by four frost giants.
Also, during Halaster's Harvestide, Trobriand was attacked and had to flee from his automatons.
Steven Schend wrote that module, so he may have further info on those events. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Steven Schend
Forgotten Realms Designer & Author
USA
1715 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2004 : 15:49:04
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Melfius
Yes, kuje31, Kessleharp (I think her first name was Jessalia, but don't quote me on that!) went on to become Magister in Myth Drannor. Arcturia died, huh? Maybe I should look into that as well.
Thanks folks!
Yeah, her death was mentioned in the Stardock module. She was killed by four frost giants.
Also, during Halaster's Harvestide, Trobriand was attacked and had to flee from his automatons.
Steven Schend wrote that module, so he may have further info on those events.
Jhesiyra Kestellharp was the one of "the Seven Halastran" and she was the Magister from 658-667 DR. (Secrets of the Magister pp47-48).
Trobriand and Muiral were two others named, as was Arcturia, whom I did kill in Stardock....or did I? After all, these people were trained by Halaster and he's definitely been reported dead at least 313 times in the past 1000 years...though no one's believed it after the 40th report in 792 DR.
Therefore, if you want her alive, she's done the clone shuffle, which allows her to leave a body in Room #20 of Level 1 as noted. She may or may not have wings and scales as previously noted, however, depending on when she set up her clone spell.
I don't recall if we've ever named the rest of the apprentices; this product was written back in the day of "leaving some slots open for the GM" so the three blanks within the ranks may be for your development.
Then again, in some ways, the Manshoon clone down in Undermountain might be considered one of his modern apprentices or at least a pawn on whom he spends some attention. One wonders what Manny learns from the Seven as well....
SES |
For current projects and general natter, see www.steveneschend.com
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2004 : 16:49:10
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quote:
Originally posted by Steven Schend
Jhesiyra Kestellharp was the one of "the Seven Halastran" and she was the Magister from 658-667 DR. (Secrets of the Magister pp47-48).
Trobriand and Muiral were two others named, as was Arcturia, whom I did kill in Stardock....or did I? After all, these people were trained by Halaster and he's definitely been reported dead at least 313 times in the past 1000 years...though no one's believed it after the 40th report in 792 DR.
Therefore, if you want her alive, she's done the clone shuffle, which allows her to leave a body in Room #20 of Level 1 as noted. She may or may not have wings and scales as previously noted, however, depending on when she set up her clone spell.
I don't recall if we've ever named the rest of the apprentices; this product was written back in the day of "leaving some slots open for the GM" so the three blanks within the ranks may be for your development.
Then again, in some ways, the Manshoon clone down in Undermountain might be considered one of his modern apprentices or at least a pawn on whom he spends some attention. One wonders what Manny learns from the Seven as well....
SES
Friend Steven, has anyone ever told you you're evil sometimes? |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Melfius
Senior Scribe
USA
516 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2004 : 01:05:38
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After some digging, I located my copy of Mark Anthony's wonderful novel "Escape from Undermountain". Here is the list of apprentices he used in the novel:
Jhesiyra Kestleharp - left Undermountain and became Magister (thanks Mr. Schend!)
Murial - Half-man/Half-spider - creator of Murial's Gauntlet
Talastria - female apprentice who teamed up with Orannon
Orannon - male apprentice (both he and Talastria were demi-liches [or so I assume])
Arcturia - female apprentice into 'bodily modifications' similar to Murial
Trobriand - the Metal Mage and responsible for the automatons (like Squch)
He also included one unnamed apprentice (male, played a game of deadly lanceboard with the heroes).
Again, I would like to thank everyone for their help, especialy Mr. Schend who's knowledge of Realmslore, as well as the ability to keep Ed and Jeff Grubb in check during GenCon seminars, is the stuff of heroic legend!
And, again, Mr. Greenwood (if you get this) PLEASE send some more Halastran info (Halastran, I like that word!) my way!
Thanks again! |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2004 : 02:49:10
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Hello, all.
simontrinity, Ed tells me he’s just sent what he called “a rambling screed” on Cormyr off to the Realms-List (or rather, to Jeff Thetford, to post there) that will answer your question. So after it appears there, I’ll repost it here (if that’s okay with you, Alaundo; it’s okay with Ed).
Melfius, Ed warns me that a lot of Halastran info is behind his NDA wall. Apprentices (beyond what’s been dug up thus far by my able fellow scribes) in particular. So, what precise narrow-focus questions would you like answered? (The narrower the better, as it allows Ed to pick his way through the NDA minefield and answer all he can.)
Love to all,
THO
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Melfius
Senior Scribe
USA
516 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2004 : 03:30:09
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Thank you for your response, Dear Hooded One! I have brain-stormed and come up with what I hope are some “precise narrow-focus questions” for you to relay to Mr. Greenwood. I understand I should not expect answers to all of them, (although one could hope!) but maybe they can light a path through the morass of NDAs!
So, without further flowery prose, here’s my questions:
1. What is the name of the seventh apprentice? Was it Ezzat as detailed in the Ruins of Undermountain II? Or is Nandel Greenward? Hmmm. That makes eight. I hate mysteries.
2. Do any of the aforementioned apprentices have last names?
3. Has there been documented anywhere any descendants of any apprentices?
4. Did Halaster begin holding the MageFairs on his own, or was he working with a group?
5. At what point did Halaster decide to change his name from Hilather?
6. Where/When was Halaster born?
7. What changes have been made to Halaster since Elminster in Hell? (i.e. Is he sane now?)
8. When Halster claimed to have been touched by Shar, does this mean he has access to the Shadow Weave?
9. Are there any anecdotes about any of your gaming groups’ encounters with Halaster?
10. Where/When did Halaster begin training his apprentices?
11. Who trained Halaster?
12. What would Halaster’s alignment have been a)when he began training his apprentices b)when he created Halaster’s Hold?
Well, I think an even dozen is enough (maybe too much, but you know I just have to try!)
Again, I want to thank you for your time, both Hooded One and Mr. Greenwood. I appreciate any info given. |
Edited by - Melfius on 06 Oct 2004 04:07:48 |
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Beowulf
Learned Scribe
Canada
322 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2004 : 05:22:40
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Well met!
I was hoping that Ed might have some lore on the famous artists, and their works of art and architecture, in the realms? Are their Sistine Chapel like paintings on the roofs of Lathanderite temples? Armless (or otherwise) sculptures of Sune? Great, technically astounding cathedrals of Gond? The cream of the crop... past, "contemporary"...
Also, are there any "Wonders of Faerun" like the Great Wonders of our own world? |
"Ill tempered the wretch, who laughs at everyone. He cannot recognize, as he should, that he is not without faults." the High One, Poetic Edda |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2004 : 06:03:40
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Hello, all.
simontrinity, Ed tells me he’s just sent what he called “a rambling screed” on Cormyr off to the Realms-List (or rather, to Jeff Thetford, to post there) that will answer your question. So after it appears there, I’ll repost it here (if that’s okay with you, Alaundo; it’s okay with Ed).
Good Gods! That was an essay about Cormyr! |
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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fourthmensch
Acolyte
USA
32 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2004 : 07:56:38
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Ed, I'm really curious to hear your thoughts about the Shadovar in the Realms. I'm not sure to what extent you were involved (if at all) with their creation or development, but I have noticed that you have included them in some of your most recent works.
In Elminster's Daughter, for example, the Red Wizard Zlorn mentions that "shadow-sorcerers blast things at will up in the Stonelands--Purple Dragons included--" during his list of Cormyr's current ills. Is this the sort of activity in which you see the Shadovar engaging? Or would you consider this to be simple hyberbole from an admittedly dubious source?
I ask because I am trying to get a handle on what kinds of things the Shades would be up to these days. Lords of Darkness mentions that the Higb Princes are divided on the question of whether to begin open hostilities or to subtly maneuver the kingdoms of the Heartlands towards destabilization. Is it possible that they are doing both?
This is kind of a random assortment of questions, I know. What I'm really getting at is: how do you see the Shadovar fitting into your Realms? |
I want you to go home and ponder the meaning of the word subversive.
Gully Foyle is my name
And Terra is my nation
Deep space is my dwelling place
The stars my destination. |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2004)
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