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Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
 Posted - 05 Mar 2004 : 17:15:24
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Unfortunately, time and again that’s been shelved (in the early days because of the “bad satanic press” argument[...]
Shoot. I'd actually managed to put that out of my head. And I should have remembered that, since my recent paper on D&D debunked the idea that D&D was teaching Satanism (or at best paganism) since it didn't actually describe rituals. Of course, I believe that I'd covered my rear by only refering to the core books, since I might have missed a D&D book that actually did describe a ritual. (Which was a good thing, because I'd forgotten about the moonfire ritual for clerics of Selune.)
Oh well. I guess I'll take it as evidence that I'm thinking like a student of Realmslore, and not like an idiot nincompoop.  |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
Download the brickfilm masterpiece by Leftfield Studios! See this page for more. |
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zeathiel
Acolyte
15 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2004 : 19:56:30
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Question for Ed or The Hooded One,
I would love to get more Realmslore on the various apprentices (both good and bad) of Mages Mighty such as Elminster, Khelben, and the Seven Sisters....especially Alustriel. I think such characters would make great NPC's to interact with; without the shock and wow of meeting a Chosen.
My thanks |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2004 : 23:05:41
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| zeathiel, Ed recently wrote a long, exhaustive list of Khelben and Laeral’s Blackstaff Tower apprentices for use in two WotC novels, but I’m afraid they’ll have to stay “off limits” until those novels are published (in case the authors make changes). Elminster’s ‘new Lhaeo’ is an upcoming Realmslore WotC website column topic, and the same column is currently running a series on Alustriel’s consort (not an apprentice, but offers access to the High Lady for your PCs if they run into him). I’ll fire your request off to Ed, and see what happens. Considering how many of the ‘Mages Mighty’ are being used by Realms fiction authors and his dislike of screwing up forthcoming novels with contradictions, he may avoid answering about some of the listed NPCs, but…we’ll see. :} |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2004 : 23:54:35
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quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
A couple more questions for Ed
1) Due to most adventures starting with that old cliche "you all meet in the town's inn and decide to form a party" the following requested info would be quite handy. Have you ever made up a menu of names for drinks and what are there real world equivelants? (For example what does Elverquisst taste like) Ive had to make up a few names myself an Orcish slaughter is a Bloody Mary and a Black Dragons Breath is Guiness.
2)What where the events that lead up to Maxers death while fighting the Marilith? As I recall from Stormlight it involved a Serpent cult, Bane and of cause the Marilith
3)Im about to run an adventure set in western Mistledale using the old Skeletons adventure you wrote for the origional Lords of Darkness, Im going to use Peldans Helm as the village and replace Kendra with either a Shade Necromancer (given closeness of the Barrowfields and its reputation for being burial mounds for Netherese Warrior wizards its highly likely that the Shades would show up sooner or later) the other option Im considering is using a Drow cleric of Kiaransalee (as the Pc will eventually be doing James Wyatts City of the Spider Queen)
Which bring me to my question Do you have anymore material on the Barrowfields? (Ive already got the FRC and Volos guide to the Dalelands) any additional info would be much appreciated!
Thanks in advance Ed!
I have a suspecion I got missed |
“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 - 06 Mar 2004 : 03:55:40
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Missed, Dargoth? Never! Ed speaks:
Kameron, no coverage of the Adder Swamp city in Serpent Kingdoms, as I recall, but I do vaguely remember 2nd Edition coverage of it. I’ll have to check my notes, and with Eric (who created much Realmslore when at work on POWERS AND PANTHEONS and sourcebooks of that ilk). Hmmm . . . you’ve got me looking forward to your novel . . . :}
Hi, Dargoth. Well, here’s the best I can do right now, re. answers to these:
1. I’ve created extensive lists of drinkables, recipes, and suchlike for inns, but always avoided doing direct real-world equivalents, especially for “mixed drinks” or “cocktails.” However, you will find many notations in my published writings along the lines of ‘firewine tastes somewhat like a cross between RealWorldA and RealWorldB.’
To help you with this specific query, however, here are the general guidelines: in the warmer climes (ending, as one goes northwards, at about Amn), drinks may sometimes be blended for taste reasons (or mixed with fresh fruit juices), but are almost never deliberately made stronger by combining one alcoholic drinkable with another.
However, from Westgate northwards, and Beregost northwards on the Sword Coast, most inns and taverns serve fortified drinkables. These are of two sorts: the booze that ‘the house’ adulterates habitually and ‘everybody knows about,’ and mixed drinks that are done on the spot, at the request of a patron or upon a patron accepting a clear offer of “warming” a drink.
The first sort of “warmed” drinks include zzar and what’s called “deep ale” or “fire ale” (beer to which a grain-based spirit has been added). These may be watered to make them go farther if the taste is harsh (and of course to save the establishment some coins), and also often fortified with distilled spirits (usually potato-based, in other words close to what we’d call vodka: essentially clear, colorless, and tasteless).
The second sort of “warmed” drinks only approach the elaborate recipes of our real-world cocktails in places like Waterdeep, Silverymoon, Luskan, Neverwinter, Sembia, Westgate, and the coastal ports of the Dragonreach. Usually they’re simple “warm your wine by stirring in a little throatslake, goodsir?” concoctions (“throatslake” being the generic term for a distilled spirit such as gin, bourbon, vodka, whiskey, et al). If the throatslake has a strong taste that clashes with the wine, the result can be, well, horrible. :}
Years back, one of my players spent a gaming weekend at our cottage serving us all various cocktails and giving them Realms names, so I can give you here what I can remember of her admittedly short list (of course, you’d have to rename all the ingredients to make them fit the Realms, too, and I’ve never bothered):
Angel’s Kiss: Tansar’s Dance
Buck’s Fizz: Marthoun’s Flagon
Cherry Sling: Dragondown
Daiquiri: Ladydagger
Gimlet: Bright Blade
Margarita (Strawberry): Wyvernblood
Mint Julep: Sea Ward Slake
Pina Colada: Snowfire
Port and Starboard: Nightfire
Rickey (Gin): Lightning Bolt
Rob Roy: Battle Banner
Rusty Nail: Merchants’ Tears
Rum Eggnog: Harbour Foam
Stone Fence: Stag At Bay
Tequila Sunrise: Caravan Lantern
I accept NO responsibility for what happens if these are used in play sessions. * My * players are more than crazed enough without alcoholic aid.
2. Storm’s longtime consort and adventuring companion, Maxan Maxer, died in the Year of the Broken Blade in Dloemen, a ruined, long-uninhabited city north of Escalant (that is now, with the magic of the demons gone, flooded by the waters of the Umber Marshes). At the time, the marilith Araunrhee was using it as a base, and from it commanding a sizeable force of tanar’ri to raid the surrounding lands. Her servitors were allowed to devour all animals they found, but were under orders to seize all humans and bring them to a “temple” at the heart of Dloemen. There the marilith sacrificed them in a ritual designed to gain their life-force for her own, so she could increase her personal powers and rise to dominance over all mariliths. Araunrhee had been performing the ritual for some years with apparent success; it’s not known if she was manipulated into this (or given knowledge of the ritual by) a deity or a more powerful demon. Maxer fought his way to Araunrhee and wounded her gravely, whereupon she beheaded him and then teleported herself away—taking his body and head with her.
The destruction of Araunrhee’s tanar’ri force, temple, and magically-charged altar led to destructive “spell storms” in southern Thay for more than a year, as the violently-released magic surged across the land like ripples in water.
A SPOILER for STORMLIGHT follows: Maxer returned to Storm, alive and whole, at the end of the novel, and from then until now, has remained her consort.
However, Maxer gained a magical means of invisibility when escaping from Araunrhee (during a pitched battle between Araunrhee and a balor, Olorkroth). He grew so comfortable using invisibility as he made his way back to the Realms and his lady that he uses it still, preferring to hide from most folk of Shadowdale and observe. In this way he can spy for Storm, guard her farm when she’s away, fetch and carry for her -- and have her to himself when she has privacy and leisure (which is seldom). As a result, very few people in Shadowdale know of his return, though (thanks to the doings of Sylune, Maxer, and some Harpers) word has spread that her farm is “haunted.” Maxer is a sensitive, understanding, and kind man who foresees and anticipates very well. In the 2nd Edition shorthand Jeff Grubb and I devised for FRA, he’s a CG hm Bard of unknown levels (7+); if twisting that into 3rd Edition terms, he should have fighter- and thief-related prestige classes involving agility, juggling, and/or entertaining. He should not be confused with either the beholder Manxam, or the Cormyrean wizard Maxer.
Sorry, no Serpent cult or Bane involvement in his demise -- and sorry, I can’t (yet) provide more information as to how he got his head back and regained life. Heh-heh; pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
3. I’m glad you like the skeletons adventure in the original, award-winning LORDS OF DARKNESS. So did I, but I’m afraid I had no hand in writing it. I wrote the lich adventure and all of the “framing chapters” of that book (the spells, the wardings and antidotes, the alternative draining rules, and so on).
As to the Barrowfields, however, there I can be of (minor) help. The FRCS, Volo’s Guide To the Dalelands (the most extensive entry: you don’t need the other two if you have this one), and The Dalelands 2nd Edition accessory all mention the Barrowfields, but let’s recap: about thirty miles east of Peldan’s Helm is a large, grassy glen (in this case, a broad stream valley or basin whose stream has ‘gone under,’ leaving no visible surface water) in which “a dozen or more” old mounds stand. Mists from the River Ashaba often cling to them, and (of course) they’re said to be haunted.
There are actually sixteen grass-covered mounds, each about two hundred feet long and rising about twenty feet from the surrounding earth with fairly gentle side-slopes and more abrupt end-slopes. They all run in the same north-south direction, parallel to each other, like glacial drumlins.
If adventurers visit the barrows by day, they’ll be aware of nothing more than an unpleasant feeling of being watched. If they try ‘prying magics,’ or sleep near the barrows, their minds will be invaded by disturbing visions of silently menacing robed watchers -- who if confronted will prove to be wraiths with skull-heads that melt away when revealed.
If any of the barrows (all of which lack visible doors, though many have grassed-over pits in their sides from early diggings) are dug into or blasted open, skeletons will be revealed (in 3rd Edition, “Human Warrior Skeleton” undead, about ten percent having odd magical abilities such as: split into two intact skeletons if touched by a spell; able to blink about to attack, able to deliver various touch-attack magics, and so on). These will all attack fearlessly and tirelessly, pursuing all living creatures to the edge of the glen or until destroyed. “Slain” skeletons will crumble into dust. If you introduce a Shade necromancer, of course, these skeletons would become perfectly obedient troops under the necromancer’s command.
The main ‘monsters’ of the barrows are wraith-like undead Netherese who are linked to specific magic items (mainly wands and scepters) buried in the barrows -- if the items are carried off, the wraiths (which can’t be turned) go with them. If a wraith is destroyed, it vanishes back into the magic item, only to emerge some days later and attack again. (Adventurers can wield the item and call on its powers, but don’t gain any measure of control over the wraiths linked to it.) Items with wraiths “inside” them become more difficult to destroy, but breaking such an item releases the wraiths in a VERY powerful, item-is-ground-zero explosion of withering unlife. In 3rd Edition terms, I’d make these dread wraiths, except that their ‘spawn’ rise instantly as controlled zombies, not wraithlike creatures, they aren’t harmed in any way by sunlight, and they can’t be turned, rebuked, commanded, or bolstered (they can be ‘destroyed’ in battle, but not disrupted -- except by breaking the item they’re linked to, which destroys them in the explosion I referred to earlier).
Hidden in the heart of some of the barrows are whatever variants of powerful liches you want to introduce into your campaign. In the ‘home’ Realms campaign, one of the inadvertently-freed inhabitants of the Barrowfields was a “flying skull” type of lich that lurked unseen, as much as possible, observing the living and manipulating individuals (often wizards of low level) by means of silently-cast spells into doing things it wanted done or even becoming thralls who served it for years. This entity became a long-term behind-the-scenes foe of the Knights just because they were present in the Dales as do-gooders, and it wanted to expand its influence across the Dales, ruler by ruler, without hindrance.
There is a ‘dungeon’ of sorts linking two of the barrows (a single-level labyrinth of burial chambers and passages), but as the Knights were never foolish enough to delve that far, my notes on it are safely packed up and lost in the infamous Basement Boxes. So have fun putting whatever you want down there. An ancient portal to somewhere interesting in Faerun would be fun.
If you have access to the EPIC LEVEL HANDBOOK, a Worm That Walks can ‘stand in’ for the unique undead mage I had lurking near the Barrowfields in the ‘home’ Realms campaign. This fell creature, Halamorthaun, came to be in the battles that laid waste to Cormanthyr (though it lay dormant and unnoticed for centuries) and during the present day lurks near the barrows, observing who visits and revealing itself in attacks only on those it judges weak and isolated enough to destroy without being seen by others.
Heh-heh. Enjoy. :}
So endeth the words of Ed. The Hooded One here, with just one additional comment: “My players are more than crazed enough without alcoholic aid” is putting it mildly. He may recall my once dissolving chocolates into the whiskey after the Bailey’s ran out. :} None of us are drinkers these days, I hasten to inform the world, but we were younger then, and Ed’s cottage sessions tended to be in very hot weather, and two of us DID work in breweries one year, and had our own microbrewery the next year. Their “best bitters” was about 12 percent alcohol, I believe (none of your ‘water in a can’ American light stuff). In fact, I remember the windowsill of the gaming cottage displaying a neat row of about twenty 1-litre plastic empties after a long, hard day of gaming. :}
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 06 Mar 2004 : 04:39:17
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
zeathiel, Ed recently wrote a long, exhaustive list of Khelben and Laeral’s Blackstaff Tower apprentices for use in two WotC novels, but I’m afraid they’ll have to stay “off limits” until those novels are published (in case the authors make changes).
Is the Waterdeep novel one of those two novels this list was created for? |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 06 Mar 2004 : 05:50:43
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Why, yes, SiriusBlack, I cannot lie to thee. :}
Waterdeep IS one of those two novels . . . but the list was REALLY needed for the other one.
Your mysterious servant,
The Hooded One
[exit, winking] |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 06 Mar 2004 : 15:22:53
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Why, yes, SiriusBlack, I cannot lie to thee. :}
Waterdeep IS one of those two novels . . . but the list was REALLY needed for the other one.
Your mysterious servant,
The Hooded One
[exit, winking]
Of course you'll wink and gladly tell me that. You know it just drives my anticipation for that novel up even further. I'm a race car in the red, to quote one of my favorite movies. 
Thank you for answering. I enjoyed reading about one of the apprentices in Elaine Cunningham's novel, Windwalker. In fact, Sharlarra is a character who can bring a great deal of potential mischief to any novel. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 06 Mar 2004 : 19:15:43
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Ed speaks once more:
zeathiel, that’s one BIG request. :}
And, yes, I’m going to slice it down to something a lot smaller. First off, The Hooded One is correct: Khelben is off-limits right now (and of necessity, Laeral with him).
I’m going to chop things down still farther. All of the Mages Mighty you list have been around for centuries, if not longer. They have collectively acquired thousands of apprentices who are now ex-apprentices (Vangerdahast being one of Elminster’s, for instance), some of them friendly towards their former tutors, and some of them decidedly hostile. However, the thrust of your query implies access to the ear or cachet of the Mage Mighty without the actual presence, on-stage in play, of said Grande Fromage, so I’m going to sweep my hands and clear those thousands of ex-apprentices off the table. (Ah, ’tis GOOD to be King!)
So that leaves us with current apprentices of Mages Mighty, and me still staring at a roster list that tops a hundred individuals, and at a calendar that indicates very clearly when my next novel is due (and, for that matter, the one after that). So something(s) else must give.
Let’s dump Elminster, because the Realmslore column is going to eventually get around to the current impostor who wears Lhaeo’s face in Shadowdale, and because the Old Mage tends to keep other apprentices in a somewhat unorthodox fashion: he leaves them residing wherever they are and ‘drops in on them,’ often unexpectedly, to teach a single spell or aid them in solving or practicing something, dispenses some (manipulative) information to them, and vanishes again. Such apprentices are hardly going to provide access to Old El himself, nor dare to impart much gossip about him or words he’s said to them. All of the Seven enjoy such relationships with various longtime apprentices (and Harpers who’ve never formally entered into an apprenticeship arrangement, too), and I’m going to exclude all of them, too.
If I sound slippery here, well: yup. I’m acutely aware of the danger of damaging other writer’s as-yet-unpublished Realms projects, and revealing too much for the comfort of various Dungeon Masters (who may well have created their own apprentice NPCs, and strung plots thereto). So I’m also going to categorically state that any apprentices I mention aren’t the ONLY current apprentices of the Mage Mighty in question (and also quietly drop some of the other Mages Mighty, such as Halaster, because of other writers’ projects).
Furthermore, my postings via The Hooded One are already wordy enough, so forget 3.5e stat blocks: I see nothing wrong with my old 2ndEd FRA shorthand (“NG hm W16” being a neutral good human male wizard of sixteenth level). You don’t even need that much for the four apprentices of the Simbul (see page 111 of UNAPPROACHABLE EAST and a few scenes in ELMINSTER IN HELL for their speech and characters).
So I’m down to Alustriel (see how unadroit that was? :}), which by happy chance was your particular interest. Now, Alustriel is in the habit of teaching all sorts of folks in Silverymoon who’ve pleased her a spell or two (in the casual manner referred to above), and (with Taern and various members of the Spellguard or even Laeral) “testing” both Spellguard members and mysterious visitors to the city to determine their loyalties and characters, often with “a spell new to them” as a lure. However, among all her former-and-not-yet-quite-ex apprentices in the Marches, she does have three hitherto-unrevealed current apprentices:
Jemmethra Halatorn: NG hf Sor4/W6, a petite, plain-looking young woman who has disconcertingly large and bright blue eyes (and a poker face), speaks softly and sparingly, habitually dresses in unadorned dusty gray cloaks, gowns, jerkins, and breeches (she has black velvet for formal wear), and always walks or trots (some servants would say “scuttles”) about quietly (preferring to go barefoot indoors whenever etiquette doesn’t forbid it). Jemmethra came to Silverymoon from mistreatment as a ‘house servant’ (unofficial slave) in the household of a High Captain of Luskan. Her magical abilities both thrill and terrify her, and she fled to Silverymoon -- alone, afoot, and overland -- because she heard it was “a city of wizards and minstrels and laughter.” Encountering Alustriel in the streets at night by chance, she boldly asked the High Lady for apprenticeship without quite knowing who Alustriel was -- and to the astonishment of most Silvaeren, Alustriel accepted her to gave her living quarters in the Palace. Jemmethra has come to worship Alustriel, and often (zealously) serves her as an errand- and message-runner, spy, and fetch-and-carry servant. She has access to Alustriel at any time of day or night, and in any circumstances except private moots with other Chosen. However, Taern is as suspicious of Jemmethra as he is of anyone who can get close to Alustriel, and Jemmethra’s mind is magically probed twice or thrice daily by various Spellguard ‘on duty’ mages. Thus far, no one has tried to impersonate Jemmethra, and her loyalties have proven stainless.
Narandar Torstin: LG hm W10, a tall, broad-shouldered, amiable-looking young man cursed with a “misshapen potato” of a nose and long, luxuriously-flowing blond hair that he dyed silver in a successful attempt to attract Alustriel’s notice (but which now crumbles and breaks under the dye, so he has shoulder-length, brittle piebald-looking locks). He’s a trifle hesitant of speech and manner, and has just a touch of haughty pride, and came to Silverymoon on a caravan from Amn six seasons ago seeking someone who could teach him wizardry. The son of a merchant who’d stolen a dozen spellbooks years before, Narandar sought audience with Alustriel because he didn’t know who the tomes belonged to, and wanted to study from them -- but also didn’t want to break any Silvaeren laws or be accused or attacked as a thief (a Zhentarim mage launched several magical attacks on the caravan to get at a trade rival, but Narandar thought the spells were aimed at him, and were the work of a mage trying to recover a spellbook). The High Lady examined both Narandar’s mind and his books, and decided his best fate would be to stand as her apprentice, if he desired to. He very much desired to, and has served her as a confidant, personal envoy, and dresser ever since (he not only helps to select clothing for Alustriel, he orders garments made, pays for them and picks them up, and sees to her clothes-cleaning -- seeing nothing at all undignified in this).
In return, she’s stood at his side through several weepingly unsuccessful attempts to find a ‘lady love’ in Silverymoon, and through some spectacularly embarrassing spellcasting humiliations (such as the time he tried to adorn Alustriel’s garments with a handful of gems at a revel, and succeeded only in melting away the garments of everyone in the room), and they’ve become good friends. Narandar is the only person in the Palace who daily dares to joke with Alustriel and speak to her with the casual rudeness and blunt criticism of a street friend -- but he worships her, and she knows it.
Zelauma Telthornstars: CG half-e f W9, a free-spirited, always-laughing imp of a bouncy lass with large, liquid blue-green eyes, lush figure and features. She sees the safety and beauty of Silverymoon as a cradle of mirth and ‘human nature’ amusement, and intrigues as fascinating entertainments. The most recent of Alustriel’s apprentices, Zelauma was orphaned when a disease carried off her mother (orc blades had reaped her human father years before), and found her own way overland from their wilderland steading to the only place she knew of that had an abundance of food, warmth, and folk: Silverymoon. There she indulged her love of climbing things to scale buildings and peer in windows, watching Silvaeren private life and considering it one great passing parade of entertainment. Sleeping on rooftops and occasionally hiring herself out as a roof-tile replacer and painter (thanks to her fearless and nimble climbing skills), Zelauma was noticed by a Spellguard mage long before her coins ran out and she’d have been forced to either steal or starve.
Thinking her a thief but not wanting to blast her without proof, the mage reported Zelauma to Taern -- and Alustriel happened to arrive, overhear, and take an interest. Finding Zelauma watching revel through a window from atop an ornamental spire some seventy feet above the street, the High Lady greeted her cordially, they talked, and a few minutes later descended magically together, with Zelauma now Alustriel’s apprentice.
She’s still an impish (but gentle, not cruel) prankster, and loves to climb (especially when restless or upset), but she’s also rapidly becoming a mage of skill, and (to put it bluntly) is hopelessly in love with Alustriel. She’s aware that she’s third in rank among the High Lady’s apprentices and quite content to remain so -- but fully intends, decades from now, to still be serving Alustriel when everyone else has departed or turned away.
And there you have it. I’m revising my own Silverymoon notes right now.
The Hooded One
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 06 Mar 2004 : 19:22:28
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| Oh, almost forgot. Ed told me the queries re. Athalantar and other “vanished Realms” are off-limits for now because of forthcoming products (and that after certain products see print, he’ll be happy to provide more lore if they haven’t). Do you have the DRAGON issue that deals with Athalantar? |
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Narad Bladesinger
Learned Scribe
Finland
170 Posts |
Posted - 06 Mar 2004 : 20:04:06
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So here is the usual thing about how great Ed is:
Forgotten Realms is (in my mind) the best fantasy setting so far. It must have been a hard thing to set up, but now there are tons of people who are fans to the setting. I really enjoy especially the novels and that the setting allows them to grow on their own.
And to my real question:
Why is there a place called Vaasa in FR? Its just that theres a city called Vaasa in Finland. Is it intentional?
I mean no offense, I was just wondering.
Oh, and forgive my bad english! |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 07 Mar 2004 : 03:39:12
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Narad Bladesinger, that's a question Ed can't answer. Vaasa, Damara (a country name also used by fantasy author Robin McKinley) and Bloodstone Pass were all added by TSR to Ed's Realms (as was the name "Galena Mountains," after a retreat the TSR execs went to, I'm told). They rolled back Ed's glacier to put them there.
Maybe Mike Dobson, who was the creative head honcho of TSR at the time, knows who came up with the name. I asked Ed, and he confirmed that the first he knew about it was when products started coming out with those names and places in them. His Assassin's Run module from DRAGON was put into a Bloodstone module, and was a complete astonishment to him, as I recall. :} |
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 07 Mar 2004 : 03:55:11
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So, Dargoth, now that Ed’s answered you, are you gonna mix up all those drinks for real, during your games? ‘Cuz if so, is there an empty seat at your gaming table?
Can’t get that picture of The Hooded One dissolving chocolates in the whisky out of my mind. Hot summer in a cabin, T-shirt and cutoffs, right? Legs up to here and down to there? But wearing a hood? :)
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 07 Mar 2004 : 04:01:03
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Now, now, down boy! No hood, no top -- hey, we’re all old friends, and it gets HOT in that cottage. I WAS wearing my bikini briefs.
Blueblade, I will say this: in just my skin, I’m easier on your eyes than Ed is. But then again I will NEVER have a Santa beard. :}
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1073 Posts |
Posted - 07 Mar 2004 : 08:49:30
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Hi Ed
Bards - given their importance in the your Realms campaign did you just keep the 1E bard class for the ongoing campaign when (if?) you changed over to 2E? As you know there is a major difference between the classic bard and the rogueish-mages they have become, and IMO they are a lot poorer for it (BTW folks there is a 3E conversion in the latest Oerth journal on Canonfire that is 'true' to the 1E bard)
Also did you use the Bardic Schools as laid out in 1E, and if so could you let slip a couple of places the schools are?
many thanks
Damian and Liz
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So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 07 Mar 2004 : 15:10:25
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Ed writes:
Yes, Damian & Liz,
I did keep the 1st edition bards. From a game design standpoint they “progress” in levels too quickly, but that doesn’t matter a whit in a ‘roleplaying over rules’ campaign of the sort I run, and every rules choice is done by votes. My characters took one look at the “you can use 1st Ed characters alongside 2nd Ed” TSR text and said, “Right-o! So we pick and choose what we like of the new, right?”
So, of course, we did. :}
Play never took us to a bardic school (“directly onstage” as it were), but I did locate a few, Jeff Grubb and I discussed this briefly, and Steve Schend pinpointed them all. I’m deep in Waterdeep now and don’t know if I dare call Steven (our phone calls tend to last for literally hours, which just please our phone companies very much) right now, but perhaps you can hail him on the REALMS-list and he can dredge up the complete list. I must confess I’ve forgotten, other than there was a bardic academy of some sort in Silverymoon.
The Hooded One (who thanks you for not asking about hoods and bikinis and drinks. :} )
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 07 Mar 2004 : 15:46:50
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Okay, okay, I was just joking, not trying to pry or be a lech. Hey, I already AM a lech. Never mind.
Could you please ask Ed if he can tell us anything about the three books he's writing about the Knights of Myth Drannor? |
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Elfinblade
Senior Scribe
Norway
377 Posts |
Posted - 07 Mar 2004 : 17:58:54
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Greetings mr.Greenwood. (and the hooded one, for obvious reasons.)
i have a few questions, and a few for the wishlist.
questions:
1. i just finished reading Elminster in Hell, and i was mezmerised by the whole book, (and its contents  ). but most of all by Halaster. This character that i knew almost nothing of before. will he (now that he is sane)become an asset, or a threat to the goodly folk of the realms? and did i get it right on the end there, that he is now a chosen of mystra? any plans for a halaster novel?
2. The return of Bane. dont you think this would make a great avatar book nr.5?
3.now that we have embraced third edition for real, what is the plan regarding the so-called realms-shaking events? i`ve heard one each year? last year it was the shades, and this year its the reptilian creatures and so on?`
Wishlist:
1. Halaster! more on Halaster! Halaster i tell you!
2. i reeeeally want to hear more about the return of bane. i cant believe how this crucial event has been neglected so bad? one could be led to believe that this fellow had some influence of gargantuan proportions on the realms? give me details man!
Later -Stig-
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Edited by - Elfinblade on 07 Mar 2004 18:00:52 |
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zeathiel
Acolyte
15 Posts |
Posted - 07 Mar 2004 : 18:34:09
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Ed and Hooded One,
Thank you for the reply, the information you imparted was....wonderful!
Thanks again
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 07 Mar 2004 : 18:56:18
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Here respondeth Ed:
Well, Blueblade, let’s see. You won’t see the first of the Knights trilogy until 2006, I believe, and the plan is that they be published once a year after that. However, the outline for the first book has been approved, so I can tell you a very small amount about it.
As things stand right now, with the book unwritten, the narrative should begin in upland Cormyr, looking over Florin Falconhand’s shoulder, as events unfold that will lead to the formation of the adventuring band that will later become known as the Knights of Myth Drannor, and the granting of their royal charter.
If you have access to the old FR7 HALL OF HEROES tome, you know a little about the early history of the Knights, and who the major surviving Knights are. A glance at that book should also tell you that I haven’t a hope in the Nine Hells of covering even a twentieth of the Knights’ adventures (assuming you wanted to read endless “and then they did this, and then they did that” accounts) in three books, even if every volume was allowed to be longer than the three LOTR tomes (which they’re not) and even if I was in Tolkien’s league as a writer (which I’m not). So you are NOT going to see anything approaching a comprehensive chronological novel covering the careers of the Knights. As you know, I like to ‘pull in’ the focus of the story to follow individual characters, rather than doing the DeMille-style “rock the Realms” grand catastrophes, so you can guess at the storytelling style.
Hard news about the content, and which Realms NPCs are going to appear? Nope, sorry, not yet. If the head of Book Publishing reads this and implores me to Spill All, okay, but I won’t be expecting his call. We have several other projects to take care of first.
On the other hand, it’s early enough along yet that if there’s something you’re dying to see in the Knights trilogy, post it here. That goes for everyone, of course, and there’s no guarantee I’ll follow any of the suggestions. As I said, the outline for the first book is firm, and I know what ground I want to cover in the trilogy. But I DO listen. After all, I do this for you folks. (My grandparents wanted me to be a doctor or a lawyer, and make millions more than the Realms has ever made me. One judge who presided over a mock trial and saw me perform said I was the best trial lawyer she’d ever seen in all of her years on the bench. And I hated every moment of it, and would much rather be spinning tales of the Realms for all of you.)
Right now, it’s back to a certain tense confrontation in a room somewhere in Waterdeep, where an angry Master Stoneworker is tongue-lashing young nobles . . .
So endeth the words of Ed. In May, BTW, he’ll be doing the ELMINSTER’S DAUGHTER book tour (mainly in Ontario, Canada, I believe). So if any of you want books signed, and a chance to chat with the Bearded One himself . . . I hear that the store in Cobourg even plans to have an open bar. :}
Yours as ever,
The (full dressed, SORRY there, Blueblade :}) Hooded One
(P.S. Please Alaundo and everyone, don’t jump down Blueblade’s throat. I’m having fun flirting, and don’t mind what he or any of you ask me.)
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1073 Posts |
Posted - 07 Mar 2004 : 21:00:14
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Thanks Ed and thank you too Good Lady for being so forthcoming (ahem)
Knew you would, I did the same and for Rangers and Druids too, they got watered down too much for me and I concur re the roleplaying, its the character that counts not what edition etc it is.
anyhoo I will go and badger Steven on the Realms-list, he seems very talkative at the mo (esp about Tehtyr - surprise huh?? ;))
Best wishes
Damian & Liz
(both wondering if the Hooded One was the Model for most of Clyde Caldwells Bikini chainmail chicks ;))
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Ed writes:
Yes, Damian & Liz,
I did keep the 1st edition bards. From a game design standpoint they “progress” in levels too quickly, but that doesn’t matter a whit in a ‘roleplaying over rules’ campaign of the sort I run, and every rules choice is done by votes. My characters took one look at the “you can use 1st Ed characters alongside 2nd Ed” TSR text and said, “Right-o! So we pick and choose what we like of the new, right?”
So, of course, we did. :}
Play never took us to a bardic school (“directly onstage” as it were), but I did locate a few, Jeff Grubb and I discussed this briefly, and Steve Schend pinpointed them all. I’m deep in Waterdeep now and don’t know if I dare call Steven (our phone calls tend to last for literally hours, which just please our phone companies very much) right now, but perhaps you can hail him on the REALMS-list and he can dredge up the complete list. I must confess I’ve forgotten, other than there was a bardic academy of some sort in Silverymoon.
The Hooded One (who thanks you for not asking about hoods and bikinis and drinks. :} )
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So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 08 Mar 2004 : 02:05:12
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Hello, Elfinblade. I passed your post on to Ed, and his reply has come back:
1. Halaster has been around for a LONG time, and for almost all of that time he’s been an enigma. Steven Schend and I pretty well agreed that he was only insane as long as he was in Undermountain, and it seems that ‘the new’ Mystra has freed him from the worst magical effects of its thrall, returning him to sanity. She did NOT make him a Chosen, but instead made a ‘separate peace’ with him, giving him the status of a free-willed agent (from time to time she’ll ask him to do something for her, with new spells or augmented powers as his reward or price, but she will do absolutely nothing to coerce him into service, nor look upon him unfavorably if he refuses).
Whether he’ll become a threat to the wider Realms, or a ‘good guy,’ depends on him. Right at the moment, I personally have no plans for a Halaster novel, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the good folks at WotC are pondering this topic for some scribe’s pen. He is a perfect main character for a pull-out-the-stops spellhurling novel, after all. :}
2. SPOILER ALERT! “STORMLIGHT” NOVEL SPOILER ALERT!
Yes, I do think the return of Bane would make an excellent novel, and it’s something some fans have been clamouring for, lo these passing years. Unfortunately, I don’t decide what novels get written, so I can’t ‘make it so.’ I DID hint for years that Bane had survived within his son Xvim, and even wrote a novel (STORMLIGHT, published back in 1996) that featured an attempt by an avatar of Bane to re-ascend to godhood, but I personally prefer ‘smaller stories’ about individual mortals who don’t have great personal power, and don’t get involved with the gods. Looking back over the Realms novels I’ve published, you can see that my personal preferences don’t have all that much to do with what gets published. :}
3. I am not now, and have never been, an employee of either TSR or WotC (freelancer, yes, consultant, yes, but not on staff, various magazine editor titles notwithstanding), so although the original Realms agreement means I’m SUPPOSED to be kept fully informed about all forthcoming Realms products, licenses, and plans, in practise it doesn’t always reliably happen. I do work with the Realms book team whenever and however possible, on the understanding, of course, that I keep silent about what I know.
I can confirm, because it’s already been revealed by WotC, that the Year of Rogue Dragons will be marked by a trilogy of dragon-related novels by Richard Lee Byers, an anthology of Realms short stories entitled Realms of Dragons, and that dragons will appear in ELMINSTER’S DAUGHTER. If you look back over the Roll of Years and the ‘real years’ in which the Realms has been published, you’ll readily see that the year names I devised so long ago (the decades surrounding ‘Year Zero’ for the Old Gray Box are all on my original yearname-roster) have inspired all sorts of Realms-shaking fun. In fact, we’ve done GenCon seminars at which panels of Realms experts speculated about what an upcoming year name might mean, in terms of Realms events. So, keep pondering those year names . . .
Wishlist entreaties duly noted. I’ll see what I can do through the Realmslore column and other channels, but it will take some time before you see anything, for two reasons: I must make sure I’m not blundering through secret WotC product plans that are already under way, and I have a year or so ‘lead time’ (between handing in a finished manuscript and seeing it published) on the web columns, novels, and game products.
And there you have it. Ed sinks once back into the flowing scenes of Waterdeep, and I return to happily reading my way through all the fantasy novels he’s recommended. Peace reigns over Winterkeep as the snow gently falls, and in the time I’ve typed this, Ed has probably finished another chapter to send to Elaine, so I’ll get out of his e-way. Mustn’t hold up the grand parade of Realms delights for us all!
Ye Hooded One (Yes, Blueblade, before you ask: yes . . . :})
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 08 Mar 2004 : 02:57:33
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
As things stand right now, with the book unwritten, the narrative should begin in upland Cormyr, looking over Florin Falconhand’s shoulder....
That sounds great. Feel free to continue.... What's the next scene?
quote:
Right now, it’s back to a certain tense confrontation in a room somewhere in Waterdeep, where an angry Master Stoneworker is tongue-lashing young nobles . . .
Has there been a Waterdeep adventure where some nobles weren't in trouble? 
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 08 Mar 2004 : 03:03:18
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
I am not now, and have never been, an employee of either TSR or WotC (freelancer, yes, consultant, yes, but not on staff, various magazine editor titles notwithstanding)
This is a personal preference, correct? Were you ever offered by anyone at TSR or WOTC a chance to become an employee?
quote:
dragons will appear in ELMINSTER’S DAUGHTER.
Helping or causing havoc?
quote:
In fact, we’ve done GenCon seminars at which panels of Realms experts speculated about what an upcoming year name might mean, in terms of Realms events. So, keep pondering those year names . . .
Any speculation you care to share on what the Year of Risen Elfkin might refer to? |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 08 Mar 2004 : 04:59:34
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Interestingly enough theres a Exalted Feat in the PGTF that seems suitable for the Apprentices of the Seven sisters
Blessed of the Seven Sisters [Exalted]
As a result of a personal connection to one of the Seven Sisters, you have a taste of Mystra's special favor.
Prerequisite: Able to cast 6th-level arcane spells.
Benefit: You may add the following spells to the spell list of one arcane spellcasting class that grants you access to 6th-level spells.
1st Level: Ray of hope, vision of heaven.
2nd Level: Ease pain.
3rd Level: Blessed sight.
4th Level: Sword of conscience.
5th Level: Crown of flame, sacred guardian.
6th Level: Crown of brilliance.
7th Level: Righteous smite.
If you have a spellbook, you may add these spells to your spellbook as normal. If you cast spells spontaneously in the manner of a sorcerer or bard, you may immediately, as an additional benefit of this feat, swap any one spell that you know for a spell of the same level from the above list. After you take this feat, you may swap spells known according to the usual rules for your class.
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“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 08 Mar 2004 : 05:01:48
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Oh, almost forgot. Ed told me the queries re. Athalantar and other “vanished Realms” are off-limits for now because of forthcoming products (and that after certain products see print, he’ll be happy to provide more lore if they haven’t). Do you have the DRAGON issue that deals with Athalantar?
Would that be due to the "Lost Empires" source book that Rich B mentioned was in the works? |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 08 Mar 2004 : 05:07:53
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quote:
Originally posted by Blueblade
So, Dargoth, now that Ed’s answered you, are you gonna mix up all those drinks for real, during your games? ‘Cuz if so, is there an empty seat at your gaming table?
Actually we are short one player but you may find traveling all the way from the US to Sydney Australia abit pricey for a D&D session! |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 08 Mar 2004 : 05:47:57
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Thanks ED
the drinks list should come in handy.
When reading Stormlight I laways found it odd that LE Bane was involved with CE demons.
I also like your idea for Barrowfields, however I ran the skeletons module last week and the PCs where able to kill the Drow cleric before she could escape form the Mausolem in the Peldans Helm cemetary to Barrowsfield so they never went there.
A few more questions
1) Do you have any info on the 35 odd Bane Lichs that have existed?
2) What ever became of Shandaril of Shandarils workbook fame (or should that be infamy)is she still around in 1373 and if she is what is the last known location of her workbook?
3) Did Xvim sire any Tiefling bloodlines? He seemed to spend alot of time on the Prime material plane (30 odd years ruling Westgate and an unknown amount of time serving as Banes assasin in Thay)
4) In the novel Pools of Twilight the author writes that Bane and Shar are brother and sister but later we find out in Faithes and Avatars that Shars origins are much older ie the war between her and Selune. Was Shar origionally Banes sister or did the the POT author take a few liberties with realms lore when he wrote th novel?
5) James Wyatt has aparently fleshed out the new FR cosmology in the soon to be released Players guide to Faerun, have you had a look at it and what do you think? |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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Alexander Heppe
Seeker
Germany
62 Posts |
Posted - 08 Mar 2004 : 13:59:48
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Some more questions for Mr. Greenwood
1) Where did your inspiration came from for the following
-Silverymoon
-The goddesses (or power?) Selúne and Shar
-the Harpers
2) Will we hear more from the northern parts of Faerún, especially the Silver Marches (best supplement to date!), and Alustriel and the Harpers in that particular area? And what are the Shades up to in Ascore? Can´t wait for any "official" explanation about what they are digging out...
3) Was the dwarven god "Marthammor Dúin" your invention as well, and if so, why needed the realms a god for overground-travelling dwarves? Despite Deadsnows, is his clergy strong in other parts of the realms as well?
4) And what I really wanted to know, will there ever be published novels/sourcebooks telling tales from faerún in the view of a commoner? What does a hunter/trapper in the silver marches think of the different adventuring classes, what does he know about the gods, what does he think of the multitude of organizations, like the harpers or the zhentarim? Has he ever heard of the shades? What does he eat/drink, and what ballads does he like to hear from the occasional travelling bard? |
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Adrian Moonbow
Seeker
Denmark
64 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2004 : 10:44:40
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Hi Ed
I would love to hear something about Larloch. What is he up to? Is he frequently disturbed by pesty adventurers?
Some information from Lantan would be nice too. What fantastic gadgets find their way into the Realms from that island? |
"I would have wanted not to die.
I would have wanted never to grow up!"
-Quidam
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2004)
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