| Author |
 Topic  |
|
Alaundo
Head Moderator
United Kingdom
5695 Posts |
 Posted - 06 Dec 2004 : 22:17:58
|
quote:
Originally posted by Blueblade
Alaundo, if there’s not some terrible technical reason for not doing this, could you leave this 2004 thread here in Novels, in the Sticky category, but locked? That way we scribes can find stuff quickly as well as hunting down your compilation.
So, start a new one Jan 1st or so: yumm, 2005, ANOTHER 75 pages of building Realmslore! It’s like having Ed trapped inside my home computer! 
Well met
Yet again, that is certainly what I will be doing, Blueblade. I have no intention of removing this amazing collection of scrolls  |
Alaundo
Candlekeep Forums Head Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
An Introduction to Candlekeep - by Ed Greenwood
The Candlekeep Compendium - Tomes of Realmslore penned by Scribes of Candlekeep
|
 |
|
|
Kentinal
Great Reader
4688 Posts |
Posted - 06 Dec 2004 : 23:16:34
|
quote:
Originally posted by Alaundo
quote:
Originally posted by Blueblade
Alaundo, if there’s not some terrible technical reason for not doing this, could you leave this 2004 thread here in Novels, in the Sticky category, but locked? That way we scribes can find stuff quickly as well as hunting down your compilation.
So, start a new one Jan 1st or so: yumm, 2005, ANOTHER 75 pages of building Realmslore! It’s like having Ed trapped inside my home computer!
Well met
Yet again, that is certainly what I will be doing, Blueblade. I have no intention of removing this amazing collection of scrolls
FWIW, having just searched all 75 pages and getting maybe 6 relevent hits, such threads in my opinin should not be allowed to get so large, or the search engine enhanced so that, in my case, only the 6 pages would be listed or at least highligted in some way so that I would not have to view all 74 pages.
If it was me, I would limit to no more then 20 pages before locking, of course starting a new one. Also it might be considered the idea of an new catagory archive novels, because of how many stickies there already exist here.
Just a few thoughts, do as you will. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
|
|
|
George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6666 Posts |
Posted - 07 Dec 2004 : 00:24:36
|
quote:
Originally posted by Alaundo
'tis indeed my intention to do this, George. Hast thou been peering at my private notes?!  
Well, it's good to see that my new Netherese scrying crystal is in good working order. I'll have to pass on my thanks to Rhaugilath the Ageless the next time he sends something through to Candlekeep. That is, as long as his 'controller' allows.
-- George Krashos
|
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
|
|
|
Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 07 Dec 2004 : 00:37:55
|
quote:
Originally posted by Kentinal
FWIW, having just searched all 75 pages and getting maybe 6 relevent hits, such threads in my opinin should not be allowed to get so large, or the search engine enhanced so that, in my case, only the 6 pages would be listed or at least highligted in some way so that I would not have to view all 74 pages.
If it was me, I would limit to no more then 20 pages before locking, of course starting a new one. Also it might be considered the idea of an new catagory archive novels, because of how many stickies there already exist here.
Just a few thoughts, do as you will.
I will add a bit to this statement... It would be really great if the search engine took you to the exact page a word was in, rather than just to the thread in general... |
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!  |
|
|
|
Kentinal
Great Reader
4688 Posts |
Posted - 07 Dec 2004 : 00:55:44
|
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I will add a bit to this statement... It would be really great if the search engine took you to the exact page a word was in, rather than just to the thread in general...
It would also save bandwidth if search engine can be modified to make search more focused.
Oh I misstated 75 for this thread, it certainly felt like 75 or more. ;-)
I of course had hits in other threads as well. I must have done over 150 views for pehaps 20 hits that contained search word. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
|
|
|
The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 07 Dec 2004 : 03:38:25
|
Hello, all. The second part of Ed’s Northkeep reply to Metis follows:
Over the years, Northkeep was home to a variety of peoples, most of them Damaran humans. From the first settlement, halflings and gnomes dwelt in Northkeep; families of the latter worked tirelessly to build and rebuild the city, quarrying stone from cliffs around the Moonsea and from the spine of Northkeep Isle itself to make the fitted blocks of which the city was built (they were fond of carving the top of a block with a slight ridge or spine, onto which a corresponding ‘trough’ in the base of the block placed atop it fitted, to help bind walls together). Their architecture was simple, oversized, massive, and durable, made with ‘expansion cracks’ and the like to withstand the cruel cold, ice, and everpresent chilling winds of the island. Most buildings were entered through doors shielded from the passing wind by a small L-shaped ‘cloak wall’ that projected out from the outer wall of the building the width of a stout man, and then turned to parallel that outer wall for some twelve feet or so. Such windbreaks never guarded all entrances to a building (there were always larger, unencumbered ones for the passage of furniture, mounted men, wagons, and pushcarts), but they did shield the most commonly-used entrances, and were usually bedecked with climbing vines of edibles (such as the draeldagger, a close Realms equivalent to what we might call a ‘scarlet runner bean’).
Except during the harshest winter storms, large numbers of traders were always coming and going, but from the first Northkeep retained a permanent, year-round population. It became a city of hardy folk (overwhelmingly humans, most of an athletic, warlike or entrepreneurial bent) who never lost the feeling of being a garrison against cruel weather and more cruel foes. ‘Northel,’ as this citizenry were collectively called, wore their hair long and seldom shaved, preferring to stay hairy and thereby keep warm. They customarily wore furs, knitted hoods, and huge woolen cloaks, stripping down to leather breeches and vests over thick doeskin jerkins only in the warmest months.
Northel drank much small beer and wine (none of it distinguished; for such purposes, they bought something finer than local ‘warmbelly’ from visiting traders), ate much locally-made goat cheese (many goats were kept on the island) and roundloaves of bread, dined on both meats of the then-numerous wild herds of beasts (rothé and the like) around the Moonsea and fish netted in the Moonsea, and spiced their cuisine with much sage and mint and other mainland wild plants. Almost their only distinctive dish was ‘braethyn,’ a thick broth of mushrooms, sea ivy (the salty seaweed of the Moonsea that so often fouls fishing nets), wild onions, shoreleaf shoots (green young roots, very similar to potato sprouts), and diced wildfowl. Braethyn tastes like something between a stir fry and beef stew, and is still popular around the Moonsea today. Northel must have dined often on eels, because they almost exterminated them in the formerly ‘teeming with blackslitherers’ waters around the mouth of the River Duathamper (better known to humans of the time as the Elvenflow).
Entertainments in Northkeep were dominated by gambling games, betting on goods-investments for the coming season, and betting on which Northel hunters would kill the most stags (or monsters, or the most powerful monster) during the long winters. Northel also played elaborate wargames using Moonsea maps, stone tokens for fleets and armies, and cards depicting storms, beast raids, thaws, and treasure discoveries. These were most popular in the cold months, because in the warmer days such games were played ‘for real,’ in an ongoing struggle to get rich swifter than thy neighbor, and be ‘in the know’ (informed of unfolding events first and fastest, and thus able to invest more shrewdly than those slower to hear news, by using what we moderns would call “insider information”).
So saith Ed. I’ll post the last of his Northkeep lore next time.
love to all,
THO
|
|
|
|
The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 08 Dec 2004 : 01:43:47
|
Hello, all. Here’s the rest of Ed’s Northkeep lore:
Northkeep was governed by ‘the Wise’ (a council of wealthy merchants and caravan masters), who commanded ‘the Lords Protector (a hired professional garrison of defenders, who in times of attack were to command a general citizen militia), but increasingly real power was held by certain independent wizards brought to the city by various merchant cabals. In time, these mages came to dominate and even hold covert power of life and death over ‘their’ merchants, and either control members of the Wise as puppets or openly become members of the Wise themselves.
These wizards were rivals, never a cohesive power group, and sages record no collective name for them except the disparaging term ‘Farspells’ (meaning: hurlers-of-spells-who-come-from-far-away) given to them by some Northel who saw their selfish machinations as an increasing peril to Northkeep.
In this view, they were ultimately correct (see the Portals of the Moonsea web article by Skip Williams, on the WotC website); one wizard ultimately betrayed the city (by giving information about some of the spells defending the island - - notably those strengthening the bedrock of the island, cast after certain mages learned of the existence of the Underdark ‘sea under the Moonsea’ - - to some humanoids, in return for fabulous wealth and a promise of rulership over Northkeep), making its doom possible.
Before that cataclysmic ending, Northkeep grew wealthy, crowded, and bustling day and night, its folk full of energy and ideas and ambition, the gem and mineral wealth of the lands north of the Moonsea flooding into its streets. Trade-rivalries were fierce, but most folk were too busy to carry on lasting feuds or try to establish a nobility; if one job or business venture didn’t work out, most folk simply turned to another. The most powerful or swift-rising Northel were always in need of new folk to work for them, and there was work and wealth enough for all (no matter how many folk flooded into the city in search of riches). The Farspells crafted gates (portals) to other Moonsea cities, even before some of those cities were more than rough outpost settlements. These magical transports were used mainly by (trade agents of) the merchant patrons of the powerful wizards who created them (and details of them appear in the Portals of the Moonsea web article).
A typical Northkeep building in the later days, when the city covered its island, was a tall rectangular block built of fitted stone, with few windows on the north or west sides (from which most winds blew) and balconies in its upper levels only. To its rear was situated a small walled yard housing an ‘on poles’ garden of edibles and a stables (with egress onto a mews-like shared back alley). It would have one level of cellars suited for food storage, a shop or business offices on the ground level, and three levels of living quarters above; a goodly number of Northel lived above shops they owned, in buildings they owned. The roof would be of fluted metal, tile, or slate, steeply pitched from a central ridgepeak to shed water, ice, and snow; its corners would have carved stone ‘beast-face’ downspouts, and the roof-sides would be fitted with periodic sharp out-thrusting vertical fins to break winter ice into small ‘tumbles’ instead of letting huge sheets of ice slide off and fall on the heads of passersby below (a frequent occurrence with unbroken metal roofs in cold climates). The building would have a central bank of chimneys, screened at the top to keep nesting birds from clogging them, with hearths on every level (so rooms were coldest at the outside walls, which were often hung with thick tapestries, and warmest near the center of the building, which is where most beds and lounge-chairs were situated). Furniture was usually of wood and of simple, massive construction -- though traders brought all manner of variety from afar, and most Northel bought at least some ‘exotic’ things from elsewhere in Faerûn to demonstrate their worldly-wise sophistication (where they in fact possessed such, or not).
Northel roads began as simple two-wagon-wide strips of loose-laid cobbles, always ‘crumbling away at the edges,’ and by the time the city had grown to cover the island, had advanced to being a little wider, built with a center ‘crown’ or high spot/ridge, sloping to drainage gutters at both edges consisting of two rows of cobbles laid on edge, on either side of a row of cobbles laid flat. One edge-row ran along the edge of the cobbled road, and the other along the edge of building-curbs, and the lower-down flat row between them was sealed with cement (yes, this ‘hard sand’ mix is known in the Realms, particularly among gnomes and dwarves) to form a smooth-ish channel for water runoff. The early roads were laid directly on soil, and the later ones atop a layer of tamped-hard fine gravel put on the soil under the cobbles.
The south shore of the Moonsea closest to Northkeep was dominated by dozens of privately-built wharves that were usually crowded with large barges and ‘storm-wallow’ cogs (so named for their handling in rough seas). These developed over the years, in muddy competing profusion, and the Wise were careful to make sure (by covert murders, if need be) that no one person or cabal came to own, control, or dominate a majority of them, so as to keep access to Northkeep as cheap and easy as possible (and prevent any treachery through any dock-owner having private dealings with humanoids or Northkeep’s rival trading cities farther south).
This area was known simply as ‘the Docks’ (though elves called it ‘the Stinking Mud’ for good descriptive reasons), and though the Lords Protector eventually established large armed patrols and an armory there to keep order, it always had a certain air of lawlessness, with bodies turning up floating in the shallows or found huddled behind wagons on many a morning. Many roads and wagon-trails converged on the Docks, and although there were usually many caravans encamped and mustering (or dispersing), and enough human trading traffic (complete with warehouses, wagon-makers, blacksmiths, and brothels) to make elves more or less permanently withdraw from the shoreline, few folk actually lived in the vicinity of Northkeep along that south shore. For one thing, there were always a few lurking brigands, and for another, the land was thick woods swiftly being cut down for firewood and reduced to rutted mud rather than being cultivated and looked after.
There were exceptions: about a day’s ride west of the Docks was Smiling Lady Well, where the Faithful Sisters of Tymora had a temple-farm (the closest thing to ‘nuns of Tymora’ that Faerûn has ever seen) that provided a lot of table vegetables, herbs, and grains for Northkeep, and west of there (and starting about three days’ ride east of the Docks) were several small coastal fishing-hamlets, most housing no more than forty-odd humans. Sages know the names of some of them: the first west of Smiling Lady Well was called Rorthimur, and the one west of that was Ryll’s Rocks; and the closest one east of the Docks was Marthelspike.
All of these places sank along with Northkeep, and no trace of them (visible ruins) can be seen on the Moonsea seabed now.
So saith Ed. Whew; another thick slice of Realmslore, once you pile the three posts together. Metis, hope this is of help, and comes not too late for your play purposes. Ed continues to be the World’s Busiest Freelance Worldbuilder . . .
love to all,
THO
|
|
|
|
Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 08 Dec 2004 : 03:33:07
|
I have another question for the "World’s Busiest Freelance Worldbuilder"
Where in the Dalelands/Cormyr/Sembia/Moonsea regions would one find Copper Dragons? (aside from Glen in Mistledale)
Monster manual says the Copper Dragons enviroment is Warm Hills now looking at the map on page 117 of the FRC it looks like there might be "Warm hills" in Tassledale, Battledale and Featherdale or maybe the Hills between Shadowdale and Daggerdale.
One of my players running a Half Elf Sorcerer has decided to take the Dragon Familar feat from the Draconomicon and has decided he wants a Copper dragon so Im currently trying to throw together a module that would allow him to come in contact with a Copper Dragon.
At the moment Im thinking of making the PC have to beat the Copper Dragon at some sort of contest before it will concent to being the Sorcerers Familar. So feel free to throw in any Draconic Riddles or puzzles you may have come up wioth over the years. |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
|
|
|
George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6666 Posts |
Posted - 08 Dec 2004 : 11:55:07
|
quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
Where in the Dalelands/Cormyr/Sembia/Moonsea regions would one find Copper Dragons? (aside from Glen in Mistledale)
There's Othauglarmar, an old copper he-dragon who dwells in the Desertsmouth Mtns, north of the Spiderhaunt Wood. He's a friend of Dove Falconhand - see "Seven Sisters", p.25.
-- George Krashos
|
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
|
|
|
The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 09 Dec 2004 : 01:49:38
|
Hello, all. Ed and I both hold high regard for Faraer, one of the most erudite scribes among us, and he’s been waiting a LONG time for some details of two ladies of the Realms: the Harper Sharanralee, and the innkeeper Jhaele Silvermane. Well, one at a time, and the Knights trilogy takes Jhaele out of the running for some time to come. Mindful of Faraer’s earlier request not to show us ‘too much’ of Sharanralee until she’s made her Realms novel debut, Ed provides this careful ‘softly, softly’ answer:
Sharanralee Crownstar is legendary among Harpers. A tall (6-foot-four-inches), slender fighter of (to use Elminster’s words) “quiet grace, great dark eyes, and a magnificent fall of glossy dark brown hair that when unbound usually reaches the backs of her knees,” Sharanralee has a sunny disposition, is gentle of speech and unassuming of manner, and (to quote Storm Silverhand) has “been everywhere, seen everything, and remembers all the back trails and alleys - - and who dwells or lurks along them.”
Her knack is to easily befriend everyone she wants to, and make them feel special (a morale-building touch for many young Harpers, many of whom revere her), and her greatest skill is having a perfect, never-failing, apparently-limitless memory: Sharanralee DOES remember every last detail of snatches of conversations she overhears, particular smells, peoples’ faces, tiny items worn or displayed on crowded market tables [the configuration of the ‘business end’ of a key glanced at momentarily, for instance], and so on. She spent her youth travelling the Realms widely and having many adventures, often in the company of rangers and explorers. She’s always loved maps and seeing new places (and squaring the two, to make maps ever-more-accurate), and has proved herself very useful in guiding travellers or telling folk about navigational details of distant, unfamiliar cities and trade-routes.
Her mother, Miralee, was ‘a dark beauty’ from Mintarn (Sharanralee was named for her grandmother, dead for some years before she was born), and her father Taerazaun the head of the proud and wealthy Crownstar merchant-trading family of Athkatla (many Crownstars are now gem-dealers in cities along the Sword Coast from Baldur’s Gate south to the Tashalar). They were slain by caravan-raiders (while travelling outside of Amn, with their daughter left ‘safe’ at home in their Athkatlan mansion) when Sharanralee was young. Her servants and relatives soon conspired to steal much of the Crownstar wealth and discredit Sharanralee (as an impostor, not a true Crownstar, and hence entitled to nothing of the family wealth and houses). When she refused to be thrown out of the Crownstar mansion in Athkatla (or rather, was thrown out several times but kept climbing back in unattended upper-floor windows and trying to resume her life as if she’d never been expelled), attempts were made to murder her. She escaped several such, but when she overheard (from hiding) one of her uncles conspiring with the grooms to have them abduct her, ride her to the mountains, and there take their pleasure of her before slaying her and bringing back her heart and eyes as proof, she decided to run away - - and did so.
Harpers took her in, Harpers took her all over the world, and she grew to love the life of adventuring in the wilderness.
At some point she gained a small, wearable magic item of some sort that enabled her to alter her looks (including stature and apparent gender), and the disguises this has helped her assume have aided her greatly in Harper work and in travelling to many places without being identified as Sharanralee, or molested as an outlander, a woman, or a non-member of whatever group she’s walking among.
She has become a veteran of Harper missions and life in the wilderness, famous among Those Who Harp and a trusted friend, confidant, and agent of Alustriel. She’s also acquired a husband, to whom she’s very happily and passionately married, considerable wealth (on her own; she’s apparently never tried to take any revenge upon her Athkatlan relatives, or gain a single coin of her inheritance ‘back’ from them), and owns several businesses and many properties in Everlund.
And yes, I’m very much glossing over the great bulk of her life and career thus far. Having sketched out her roots, I’d rather leave the rest until, as you requested, you see her walking and talking in the pages of a Greenwood-penned Realms novel. She’s based in part on a real person (no longer living), and, like Storm Silverhand, I love her more than a little, despite her being an imaginary character I created. I’m sure that will be readily evident when you see her ‘alive’ in my Realms fiction.
So saith Ed. Who showed we Knights this Sharanralee of his only for a few brief occasions. I, too, hunger for more of her (not THAT way, Wooly, so stop tugging on that leash!  ). Soon, Lord of the Realms?
love to all,
THO
|
|
|
|
Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 09 Dec 2004 : 03:39:44
|
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
So saith Ed. Who showed we Knights this Sharanralee of his only for a few brief occasions. I, too, hunger for more of her (not THAT way, Wooly, so stop tugging on that leash! ). Soon, Lord of the Realms?
love to all,
THO
I am ever awaiting your call, my Lady. |
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! |
|
|
|
Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 09 Dec 2004 : 15:23:02
|
| Shining line curves round from Toril's unlit side and intersects the pulsing webwork. |
|
|
|
The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2004 : 02:36:18
|
Hello, all. Ed replies to The Blind Ranger:
Dueling is widespread across the Realms, especially within the nobility of a realm (it’s usually discouraged or expressly forbidden ‘across borders’ because of the danger of causing family feuds that all too easily become wars between realms), and even (in the past, though some ultra-conservative zealots still cling to beliefs that dueling is fine with the deity, merely disallowed by “decadent superiors desiring to maintain their lofty ranks”) within certain priesthoods (Bhaal, Hoar, Myrkul, Shar).
Among commoners, because of the possibility of unrest (and particularly in ports, where trade could be permanently disrupted if the place acquires a ‘too dangerous to venture there’ reputation) dueling is usually illegal. This means no duels in public, not no duelling; persons having disputes go outside the city or town walls, to places where patrols from the city or town won’t see them (or meet inside private clubs [who may use such combats as entertainments for their members] or warehouses, by night) and duel there. There are even some guilds that formally specify duels as a means to settle certain disputes.
Honour is viewed very differently from place to place and race to race: an orc duel is almost always a duel to the death, by any means (there’s nothing considered “unfair,” including goading bystanders to take part), whereas a duel between elves is more often until “first blood” or “yielding” or “four touches” rather than death (although in cases of hatred, death of course often occurs). Many human duels between nobility must be conducted in the presence of royalty or a particular court official, who governs the rules of the duel and will often specify that a duelist who slays an opponent will be executed, so the duel MUST be to some lesser defeat.
To most commoners (especially farmers), dueling is viewed as vicious stupidity, a waste of life (hands that could be put to work). Brigands and thieves are to be killed or ‘run off’ (pursued out of the district, with captured thieves often being forehead-branded ‘THIEF’ and/or having hands broken so they won’t be nimble-fingered for a long, long time), but everyone else is simply beaten up to settle scores - - in other words, there aren’t duels so much as frequent fistfights.
Beowulf is quite correct in his partial listing of historical real-world reasons for dueling, and Lashan has put his finger on not just a Mulmaster example, but the general principle I use when crafting customs in the Realms for places where dueling is ‘viewed as a public sport:’ local authorities are always involved in adjudicating the duels. Again, this to make sure things don’t get out of hand and become a general street brawl that could grow into mob violence or a wider uprising of the local downtrodden (in other words, said local officials will have large and well-armed bodyguards with them who are under orders to quell violence right away with, well, violence. :} )
As an extension of Beowulf’s examples, there have been instances (in the past during the elves-vs.-dragons struggle for early Cormyr, and in Tethyr and the Vilhon region, as well as others that don’t spring to mind just now) of champions battling each other to decide something that would otherwise plunge their peoples into a war. (For such contests to truly settle matters, of course, both sides must REALLY believe in, and abide by, principles of honour.)
There are no universally-accepted standards for dueling, but usually in the Realms it’s one-on-one fighting, with adjudicators but NO ‘seconds’ (in other words, one being battles another being; both may have supporters watching, but those supporters will not be expected to fight under any circumstances). The contest will be under rules (particularly governing the ending: yeild, wounding, first blood, or death) decided by local law and enforced by the adjudicators (often a local priest, if there’s no Watch commander, garrison commander, or judge handy), or decided by the adjudicator, or agreed-upon by the two duelists in the presence of the adjudicator. In most of the Heartlands duels tend to be: one hand weapon (usually a short sword) plus a dagger, and light armor, or: daggers only, with duelists both stripped to the waist. Some sadistic clubs customarily blindfold duelists for extra fun, and others drug them to make the duel slow, with single weapon-strikes less likely to be instantly fatal. Smokepowder and any sort of missile weapon duels are almost unheard-of (and would be deemed ‘not really dueling’ by most folk of the Realms, I’d say), and yes, a public challenge (usually by the hurling down of a glove or gauntlet, complete with SHORT public oration (one ro two lines identifying the complaint and the complainer, plus perhaps an insult) is the usual manner in which formal duels (especially between nobles) are announced.
Please be aware that in most places in the Realms there’s no dishonour at all in refusing a duel from someone of different rank (i.e. youngest knight or baronet who challenges an aging duke would be sneered at by all, not just his intended foe, but if the duke WANTED to ‘teach the young puppy a lesson,’ he’d be perfectly free to do so).
So saith Ed. Who’s got plenty of Realmslore requests to wade through, but also these little things called novels . . .
love to all,
THO
|
|
|
|
Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2004 : 02:58:24
|
Oh, Lady Hooded: if YOU were given the chance to write a Realms novel, what (and who, and where, and when) would you choose to write about?
And no, I'm carefully NOT joking about near-porn or anything like that. This is a serious question.
Thanks,
BB |
|
|
|
Shemmy
Senior Scribe
USA
492 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2004 : 03:17:43
|
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
In my opinion, Planescape materials are often (because of the ‘give us funky adventure stuff, and none of the boring stuff’ design philosophy that reigned at the time, and the absence of outlets such as web enhancements for publishing the boring-but-necessary foundation stuff) inferior to some of the root materials they drew on, because when examining them I see precious few balanced ecologies in the Outer Planes. How do devils ever get enough to drink? Where do their droppings go? What causes changes in the weather in the Hells? (And so on.) I provided biological details of the effects of the Styx and the Lethe, but in Plaenescape products, such things were simply tossed aside to make room for the next cool battle encounter.
I meant to ask for a clarification from Ed here but I've been tremendously busy with finishing some thesis work.
First of all I'd like to thank Ed for his lengthy and courteous response to the previous question, but a bit of it that I've quoted above made me more perplexed than anything else, among a number of other folks on Planewalker and the WotC planes boards.
Given what's above, I find the opinion that Planescape tossed aside ecology information in the name of making 'room for the next cool battle encounter' well... odd considering that Colin McComb's 'Faces of Evil: The Fiends' is generally regarded as being both the seminal work on the ecology of the fiends in DnD, and one, if not the, most detailed and best written monster ecology ever written in DnD. It goes into everything from Tanar'ri sleep patterns, Baatezu bone structure, Yugoloth standards for ascention to higher castes, etc.
I simply have to take Ed's opinions above and think to myself, 'what Planescape are you talking about?' because it's certainly not the one I found and adored after getting into DnD (in 3e). As for boring details being pushed aside in the name if any 'funky design philosophy' or urging for 'the next battle encounter', the entire philosophy behind Planescape was that of belief = power, the clash of philosophies and alignments, and that not everything could be penned into the dead book by someone with a grudge and a sword in their hands. Combat in some instances was suicidal and it was downplayed most often that direct hacking and slashing simply wasn't going to work on the planes.
So perhaps some clarification of ideas here if Mr Greenwood could find the time, because I'm honestly curious here what's the basis for his previous statements. I hate to presume, but I have to wonder if you aren't wholly familiar with all of the wealth of lower planar material written for Planescape, not just having been reviewed over any Baator materials by the line editors, but works like Faces of Evil, Hellbound:The Blood War, etc which are typically regarded as some of the finer 2nd edition products made by TSR. I think you're in for a surprise at the level of detail therein if you're not yet familiar with it.
With all respect,
Shemmy |
Shemeska the Marauder, King of the Crosstrade; voted #1 best Arcanaloth in Sigil two hundred years running by the people who know what's best for them; chant broker; prospective Sigil council member next election; and official travel agent for Chamada Holiday specials LLC.
|
|
|
|
Capn Charlie
Senior Scribe
USA
418 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2004 : 03:26:09
|
quote:
Originally posted by Blueblade
And no, I'm carefully NOT joking about near-porn or anything like that. This is a serious question.
Thanks,
BB
and from what I have gathered about our precious Hooded One, she would most definitely *not* be joking if she gave such a reponse. |
Shadows of War: Tales of a Mercenary
My first stab at realms fiction, here at candlekeep. Stop on by and tell me what you think. |
|
|
|
Lauzoril
Seeker
Finland
71 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2004 : 20:05:07
|
To Ed, who is so busy it makes me feel bad to ask this right now but I feel it's better to ask this now than carry it to the new year.
What's the point of Candlekeep (the Realms equivalent, not the one in here)? I know it's to preserve the knowledge and history of Faerun and all but it feels kinda weird that most of the ordinary people who might want to know about some things, mundane or otherwise, never have the chance to access that knowledge because of Candlekeep's strict entry policy.
I mean, where on Faerun could some commoner find a rare book or some other knowledge which would satisfy the monks to let them in? To me it feels like they're hoarding the knowledge mainly for themselves and those with means and privilege to access them. Who benefits from knowledge which is locked away?
And what about magic. Doesn't it bother Mystra at all that Candlekeep is storing magic spells in its walls instead them being shared around and put to use. Or are they too powerful and dangerous to see the light of day?
What options do those commoners have who manage to travel to the Candlekeep in search of knowledge to gain entry? Even some very steep entrance fee or performing a deed would be nice a option to those who can't acquire rare knowledge. Or do they have to ask someone who can access the place freely to find out something for them e.g. priests of Oghma. Or then I've misunderstood something about the Candlekeep's function entirely.
Thank you kindly for your time.
|
"Death to the enemies of Bane."
|
Edited by - Lauzoril on 10 Dec 2004 20:09:38 |
|
|
|
The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2004 : 20:26:59
|
Hello, all. Ed replies to Shemmy:
Well, quoted out of context like that, yes, I can certainly see why you (and others on other boards) would find my contention puzzling. I trust you’ll pass this entire reply along to those same forums to clarify matters.
If you ‘got into D&D’, as you say, with 3e, then of course the Planescape that’s been available to you from your beginning is the complete, mature product line. Colin’s superb product (published in 1997) is an example of the necessary design infill work that had to be done to give gamers enough hard information so that they could run a campaign wholly or largely set in the Planes (as opposed to “your characters in a dungeon on the Prime Material step through a doorway and ZAP, you’re briefly visiting ‘Somewhere Else’” play that necessarily dominated D&D campaigns before Planescape came along).
I wasn’t discussing or disparaging the merits or collective achievement of Planescape. I was specifically disagreeing with your contention that the Nine Hells had been largely developed and detailed in Planescape products, speaking as an insider who knew just how many hundreds (yes, hundreds) of manuscript pages of my Hells material were tossed into the trash or put into computer files that got used in the Manual of Planes and/or passed on to the designers of the first few Planescape products. I was privy to design discussions in which the then-Creative Manager of TSR expressed his amazement at the level of detail (and sheer AMOUNT, which was what triggered the “hey, we could do entire BOOKS of this stuff, you know?”) that I’d generated for the Hells (and, with Stephen Inniss, for Limbo, a project that was never used, though Stephen’s lillend did squeak through into print, and still appears in the 3.5e game today). You can of course only see the published results, not eavesdrop on the design genesis from those (1982 through about 1989) discussions.
Some of the other posters on the Elminster In Hell thread were obviously active gamers back then (when everybody in FRP gaming read The Dragon every month, and game store owners carried the rumors from GenCon and Winter Fantasy and Spring Revel back to their local faithful, and “everybody discussed everything”) and obviously recall what leaked into public hearing of the saga of my Hells designs (involving Gary Gygax, Frank Mentzer, Kim Mohan, and Jim Ward among others).
My complaints with the early Planescape products centered on the problem Jeff Grubb wrestled with when doing the Manual of the Planes: the moment you introduce ‘different’ planar environments than the familiar Prime Material into the game, you are dealing with inspiring ‘sense of wonder’ (or ‘gosh-wow,’ if you prefer) settings and possibilities that can make for marvellous gaming, but published products covering such settings quickly become very hard to use, without a LOT of DM preparation, if you don’t clearly answer all the life-cycle, ecological details I referred to, from the outset.
If the approach had been from the previously-used “your characters get plunged from the Prime Material Plane into Plane X, now what?” then the “okay, I’m on Avernus and my character’s thirsty/has to go to the bathroom/wants to build a hut; now what?” questions would have been covered right away. Instead, the earliest Planescape products made the same mistake the Manual of the Planes (and many of our 3e Realms products) have done: setting too wide a scope, and as a result covering “too much too lightly.” What was intensely frustrating to me - - and to many others involved - - was the ‘too much white space, too much “cutter-berk style” where we wanted more substance’ appearance of the early Planescape products. That was my complaint when I posted here, and my complaint as a consumer as the Planescape line started to unfold - - and in the case of the Nine Hells, I KNEW a lot of the work I’d done was missing.
If you infer from this that I’m criticizing Colin or any other game designer, you’re wrong. I know (believe me, I know!) that the final title, size, scope, and specific content of gaming products are only rarely determined by the folks who design them. Designer (or designers plural) writes, developer or editor chops a lot of that and rewrites the remainder, someone else reviews and rewrites again, and the result may bear very little resemblance to what the designer initially handed in. This can be very good, because multiple viewpoints and scrutineers make for a better-written, more widely-balanced product, but it often results in lots of material ‘going away.’ Today we have the web enhancement, but in those days, losses were either shoved into a future product (and yes, this happened with Planescape as well as with the Realms) or vanished forever.
I have, so far as I know, all of the TSR/WotC published planar materials. I’m familiar with them all, have used them in (2nd Edition) D&D play, and all in all, I love them. Yet I would still have preferred, rather than the line we got, a succession (right from the outset, not now in 3.5e) of hardcover rulebooks (not boxed sets), starting with an overview book (call it, ahem, Manual of the Planes), a full-length book on Sigil, a full-length adventurers’ book (call it, ahem, Planar Handbook), and full-length books on all of the other planes, one plane to a book. (If the line started to ‘run out of gas’ sales-wise after the first dozen or so planes were covered - - and of course the Nine Hells and the Abyss and Limbo and Hades should be ‘right up there’ in the first few books of the sequence - - then certainly start putting shorter coverage of several planes into one book.)
You are looking at Planescape ‘from the other end,’ so to speak, examining its coverage once everything had been published and the details filled in. I agree that Colin’s FacesFiends is the definitive coverage of matters devilish, and I don’t disagree with “these planar adventures of Ed’s Realms should really go into a separate high-level campaign line, along with the other planar ideas we’ve been toying with” thinking that won the day back then (it was certainly superior to the other design approach of the day, which was to take many things that weren’t originally part of the Realms and weren’t “sandpapered down to fit,” slap a Realms logo on them, and so ‘make’ them part of the Realms :} ).
To give a purely design example of the problem I was speaking of in my original El in Hell explanation, let’s look at the 3.5e FR Players Guide to Faerun. Flip to the Cosmology section, look up Brightwater (nice place, my PC wants to go there!), and: I’m not given enough. Show me some sights, at least give me a paragraph describing my initial sensations (color of sky, smells, fauna and flora, topography). Why isn’t there enough? Well, because we’re trying to cover every plane in a little bit of this one rulebook, that’s why. Planescape was guilty of this too: PRECISELY the same problem or deficiency is obvious in ON HALLOWED GROUND. It provides much better coverage than the PGtF does, giving aerial views of planes if not maps, but there’s still not enough flora and fauna. Spare me the endless deity-games-stats stuff [which should be, and had been, previously covered in other rulebooks] and provide instead a couple of pages of “On this plane, Resident Deity X can do thus and thus, even if you try this, or Resident Deity Y tries this. Here on this plane, Resident Deity X tries to/wants to/spends his-her-its days doing . . .” (I believe this sort of focus is what you’re alluding to when you speak of Planescape’s philosophy, and combat often being suicidal.) In short, as a DM, I can’t pick up either expensive rulebook and quickly run an adventure set in a plane they 'cover' without filling in a LOT of details myself. And as you might have noticed over years and years of Realms products, filling in lots of details is the hallmark of the Realms.
You have every right to prefer the Planescape version of the Hells. I have the right to prefer mine (and yes, as a designer, “I speak for the Realms,” as enshrined in the original agreement that gave TSR copyright ownership of the Realms; TSR and now WotC can ‘correct’ me by subsequently publishing different details on topics [remember that, aside from here at Candlekeep, I can’t just “say whatever wild thing I want to” about the Realms; in DRAGON and on the WotC website and in Realms products, I’m always working through editors], so the 'first word' on an aspect of the Realms is often mine).
The differences in cosmology are one of the reasons Planescape became a different product line: the fact that Planescape and the Realms are two distinct product lines allows two differing cosmologies to exist.
You can certainly choose the one you prefer, but when writing a Realms novel set in, yes, the Realms, I’m going to stick to the Realms cosmology, and I’m going to disagree with criticism of that Realms novel advanced by you that tries to deem me “wrong” in my coverage of the Nine Hells because I in some manner don’t follow Planescape cosmology. To me, it’s as if you aren’t happy that Captain Kirk doesn’t seem to follow Darth Vader’s command structure. :}
I hopes this makes things clearer. I neither wanted Planescape to be a different product line nor did I want two different cosmologies to develop, but we’re stuck with them. If you’d like me to follow Planescape, then I need the Planescape materials republished with Nine Hells-specific details changed to match all of the already-published Realms work, because consistency MUST trump all. As it was, I danced around a lot in plotting and writing ELMINSTER IN HELL so as to contradict differences as little as possible, yet you obviously still weren’t happy with the result. Well, so be it, I’m afraid - - but if you’d like to e-chat about this some more, I’m perfectly happy to do so.
Good luck with the thesis work. Are you deep in writing, or defending?
So saith Ed. Who’s busybusybusy right now, but promises to continues answering scribes as usual.
love to all,
THO
|
|
|
|
Jerryd
Acolyte
USA
33 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2004 : 22:12:24
|
I've got a question for Ed.
In the Sea of Swords, there's a little grouping of islands just northwest of Candlekeep and southwest of the Cloakwood. There are three islands roughly 10 miles across in a line northwest to southeast, and if extended that line would extend straight to Candlekeep. Ther are also three small islands about 1 mile across, in an east-west line, a few miles south of the southeasternmost 10-mile island. Is there any lore about these islands? Are any of these islands named? Are there any permanent inhabitants or dangers?
Thanks for any lore you can provide!
Jerry |
|
|
|
Jerryd
Acolyte
USA
33 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2004 : 22:27:47
|
I've got a question for Ed.
In the Sea of Swords, there's a little grouping of islands just northwest of Candlekeep and southwest of the Cloakwood. There are three islands roughly 10 miles across in a line northwest to southeast, and if extended that line would extend straight to Candlekeep. Ther are also three small islands about 1 mile across, in an east-west line, a few miles south of the southeasternmost 10-mile island. Is there any lore about these islands? Are any of these islands named? Are there any permanent inhabitants or dangers?
Thanks for any lore you can provide!
Jerry |
|
|
|
George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6666 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2004 : 23:50:35
|
quote:
Originally posted by Jerryd
I've got a question for Ed.
In the Sea of Swords, there's a little grouping of islands just northwest of Candlekeep and southwest of the Cloakwood. There are three islands roughly 10 miles across in a line northwest to southeast, and if extended that line would extend straight to Candlekeep. Ther are also three small islands about 1 mile across, in an east-west line, a few miles south of the southeasternmost 10-mile island. Is there any lore about these islands? Are any of these islands named? Are there any permanent inhabitants or dangers?
Thanks for any lore you can provide!
Jerry
Ed might have already answered this JerryD. Try here:
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Castle/2566/ed-eskember.htm
If they're not quite the correct islands, you can at least use the lore!
Oh, and another thought. They might be the islands of "Toaridge-at-the-Sun's-Setting". See FR4 The Magister, p.60.
-- George Krashos
|
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
Edited by - George Krashos on 10 Dec 2004 23:57:30 |
|
|
|
The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 11 Dec 2004 : 01:26:37
|
Hello, all. Ed doth make reply to Lord Rad, hereafter:
That early Realms article of mine on poisons does exist and was purchased by TSR, so it’s still NDA-covered, I’m afraid. I suspect it was ‘suppressed’ for the usual ‘we don’t want any lawsuits’ reasons that has kept real-world poisons from being discussed overmuch in Realms products.
Let’s glance very briefly at those real-world poisons. Being in the UK, you have a lovely (if that’s the right word) resource not easily available to gamers not on the Sceptered Isle: the Poison Garden at Alnwick Castle, in Northumberland. (By the long arm of inane and entirely irrelevant coincidence, I live in the namesake county of Northumberland in Ontario, Canada.) There you can go and see many poisonous plants growing (literally like weeds: remember, in medieval times these plants would rarely have been cultivated, so hardy wild plant species were the only plants folk had to test and try and build up lore about), some of them caged and guarded around the clock for public safety.
I’ll list a few poisons known and used in medieval times, in no particular order: monk’s-hood (wolfbane, foxglove: aconite), deadly nightshade (belladonna), box tree, giant hogweed, hemlock, castor oil plants (ricin), mandrake, darnel (a poisonous GRASS!), henbane, hellebore (green and black, two different plants, both poisonous), laburnam (cytosine), monk’s pepper, hemp (cocaine; yes, overdoses poison, causing memory loss in particular), and Quaker’s Button (the plant has many other names, but its poison usually gets called either strychnine or curare [yes, this is the ‘death rictus’ grin-causing stuff]).
Please note that all of these plant-derived substances also have beneficial (or believed at times to be beneficial) medical uses. There are MANY good reference books on this topic, but one of the most pleasant to read and therefore inspiring for DMs who don’t want to devote more than an hour or so of reading to such matters is BROTHER CADFAEL’S HERB GARDEN (1996; Little, Brown and Company; by Rob Talbot and RobinWhiteman, various ISBNs for various editions, but two of the hardcover ISBNs are 0-316-88224-0 and 0-8212-2387-9, available at many libraries in the UK and North America). Another good ‘quick and popular,’ but not as inspiring, text that North American libraries may have is MAGIC AND MEDICINE OF PLANTS published by Reader’s Digest (1986, written by “Reader’s Digest,” ISBN 0-89577-221-3).
In Realmsplay, I’ve always assumed that these are present in the Realms, and used much as they were in real-world medieval England (in other words, I’ll never invent effects for them, or distort their real effects into something different). In the Realms as in real life, priesthoods, cults, guilds, and other power groups such as private clubs and cabals often make use of the hallucinogenic effects of herbs and concoctions. The state of seeing hallucinations [this also touches on Verghityax’s query about diseases (on which I’m working :})] is known in the Realms, by the way, as ‘godmad’ (because all visions, nightmares, etc. are believed to be sent to mortals, for one reason or another, by the gods).
On to the imaginary poisons.
I trust you’re familiar with the drugs published in the 3e LORDS OF DARKNESS tome (I contributed some of them, but Sean Reynolds fixed and fine-tuned all of their game rules details) and the poisons that appear in various e3 D&D rulebooks. Earlier in this thread (back on Page 23) I provided names and effects - - sans specific game rules - - of some other drugs, including both poisonous ones and poison antidotes.
Faraer kindly listed poisons (usually of my creation) that have appeared in earlier rulebooks: belpren, drow sleep poison, dwarfbane, huld, jeteye, lhurdas, night sleep, orvas, prespra, saisha, ulcrun, and varrakas. Do you need references or details for these?
Lastly, here are two ‘new’ poisons from my files, both of them principally derived from entirely imaginary plants.
Horel: a distillation of the leaves of a certain lilypad-like floating freshwater weed called “halfling’s hand” or “oxhrel,” mixed in particular (and secret) proportions with dried and powdered horseradish. This greenish liquid does no harm by contact or ingestion, but if insinuated into the bloodstream (by means of a sharp or pointed weapon), it causes violent, involuntary convulsions, onset 1d2 rounds and lasting for 1d4 rounds (effects: 4-point penalty on victim’s AC and attack rolls, inability to remain still or complete delicate tasks such as pouring liquids without spillage, putting a small key in a lock, arranging beads, tying or untying knots, buttons, or pouch-toggles, etc.).
Tharace: a precise and secret mixture of the powdered roots of two grasses (“talltuft” and “marath”), a streambank plant known for its tiny three-leaf white flowers (“lurteasel”), and a groundvine known for its many tiny red edible berries (“blood-drops” or “bloodfall”). This brownish powder NEVER clumps or cakes, even if wet or frozen. If ingested or insinuated into the blood (but not by mere contact), it numbs all bodily sensations and entirely disrupts all commands sent by nerves to body limbs and extremities (onset time 1d4+1 rounds, duration 3d4 rounds). The head and always torso are unaffected. In other words, a victim can speak, breathe, and swallow, but can’t cling to anything or hold anything (weapons will be dropped). The total blanketing of pain greatly lessens shock, so tharace is often administered before amputations or other surgery. It has also been slipped into food to make an intended murder victim helpless to defend himself or to prevent him from involuntarily crying out when struck (e.g. when stabbed from behind) due to the pain. Any quantity of tharace that gets baked in desert heat or beside a campfire (i.e. in garments being dried out) or cooked in food, or that comes into contact with alcohol, loses all of its effects forever - - but not when such contact occurs in the body of a victim upon whom the tharace is working (in other words, drinking much wine or eating food before or after eating tharace-laced food doesn’t stop tharace effects, but tharace can’t be slipped into wine, ale, or food that will then be cooked, and still be effective when ingested). Only pine gum and various tree saps can ‘bind’ powdery tharace to a metallic weapon such as a dart, needle, or dagger blade without harming it; water just washes it off, and most sauces and glues react with both the metal and the tharace to neutralize the tharace. (This effect doesn’t occur with wooden weapons, thorns, or the like.)
So saith Ed. Who tells me he’s busily at work on more Realmslore replies.
love to all,
THO
|
|
|
|
Jerryd
Acolyte
USA
33 Posts |
Posted - 11 Dec 2004 : 08:24:28
|
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
Ed might have already answered this JerryD. Try here:
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Castle/2566/ed-eskember.htm
If they're not quite the correct islands, you can at least use the lore!
Oh, and another thought. They might be the islands of "Toaridge-at-the-Sun's-Setting". See FR4 The Magister, p.60.
Thanks for pointing me to that, but those aren't the islands I was speaking of. Based on what Ed wrote at that link, Eskember is far to the west of the Moonshaes, and the little islands I'm referring to are hugging the Sword Coast by comparison. The three large islands are a chain that run only 30 to 80 miles northwest of Candlekeep. Also, "Toaridge-at-the-Sun's-Setting" is part of the Nelanther islands, and the islands I'm speaking of are about 290 miles East-Northeast of it. Actually, the islands Eskember, Sarambril and the islands of the Hael don't seem to exist in the Forgotten Realms Interactive Atlas, which is what I base my mapping on. Where Ed put them in his original Realms seems to be about where TSR planted Maztica, unless I'm misreading it badly. |
|
|
|
Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 11 Dec 2004 : 09:09:16
|
Another question for Ed
Do you have any details on the Cult of Frost? (The Evil organisation that featured in the FR Novel The ring of winter)
Ive already gone through the Ring of Winter, 2ed Heros Lorebook, 2ed Villians Lorebook and Volos Guide to all things magicial.
|
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
|
|
|
The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 11 Dec 2004 : 14:56:02
|
No, Jerryd, although you’re quite correct about the islands you’re interested in being neither Toaridge nor Eskember, Eskember is far to the east of Maztica. The earliest (Fonstad atlas) map projection is probably the best seen so far, but even it ‘narrowed the seas’ somewhat. I’ve passed your request on to Ed, but I know he has to check this one for NDA reasons (!). The FR Interactive Atlas is superb for mapping mainland Faerunian features, thanks in large part to Eric Boyd’s tireless tracking-down of many, many references (and ProFantasy’s willingness to include them), but it quickly goes ‘wonky’ the moment one heads offshore.
Dargoth, I know Ed has nothing about the Cult of Frost, out of respect for Jim Lowder (whom Ed has always hoped would pen a sequel or two to The Ring of Winter). I know Mr. Lowder reads and posts on these boards, so if I were you, I’d ask him about this in his own thread.
love to all,
THO
|
|
|
|
Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 11 Dec 2004 : 16:03:31
|
I have a question...
When in the course of writing about the Realms did Elminster and the Seven Sisters become Chosen of Mystra? The earliest references in print to El and Storm and Khelben and the rest mentioned them all as being some powerful sorts, but it wasn't until well into 2E that they became something rather much more than normal... So were they Chosen from the beginning, or was that something that was decided later on? |
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! |
|
|
|
SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 11 Dec 2004 : 17:12:58
|
To THO and EG:
Did a manuscript sent by Ed's co-author ever show up? I hope so otherwise I have this fear of custom officials adding the name "Elaith Craulnober" to a watch list as they go over the work page by page.
SB |
|
|
|
Lord Rad
Great Reader
United Kingdom
2080 Posts |
Posted - 11 Dec 2004 : 19:26:10
|
Thanks very much Ed for the write up on the poisons. Fantastic  (and thanks Hooded One for delivering this scroll).
This will help me out greatly and is just what I needed. Thanks also for the book references and for bringing the garden at Alnwick Castle to my attention, I had never heard of this before but i'll be heading over there as soon as possible |
Lord Rad
"What? No, I wasn't reading your module. I was just looking at the pictures"
|
|
|
|
The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 12 Dec 2004 : 05:32:13
|
SB: Yes. Partially. No worries, Ed says.
Dargoth, you asked me what elements would feature in a Realms novel that I might write, given the chance (VERY slim; though I could easily handle the writing demands, real-world work rather precludes such a project).
I’ve thought about it, and decided I have two replies for you: my “If I could write absolutely anything” novel, and the “What I’ll settle for, considering that Ed can write this and that and the other so much better than I can.”
The Anything Novel: Mirt the Moneylender when he was Mirt the Merciless, swaggering like Conan the Barbarian, and first hooking up with Durnan.
What I’ll Settle For: Storm Silverhand and Maxer, falling in love. Torrid romance and full, in-depth Realmslore. OR: Elminster and The Simbul, ditto: the blow-by-blow (ahem, Wooly and Blueblade, I did NOT mean ‘blow’ in THAT sense of the word) romance.
Not that romance is my only style. I’d love to do a heavy-political-intrigue book centered on the struggle to succeed Alustriel as ‘boss’ of the Silver Marches, or a ‘great adventurers go gray’ book about the Comapny of Crazed Venturers in recent years.
Hmmm. Think I’ll e-mail this to Ed, and tell HIM to start agitating to get to write these books.
|
|
|
|
Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 12 Dec 2004 : 05:56:31
|
Considering how you once said you had to sign away your Realms characters when Mr. Greenwood sold the setting (oh, the rights he gave up!  ), I think that writing the latter might be hard. Though of course, I don't know the terms of the contract, nor do I know what the people at WotC would want. Regardless, the political intrigue is something I'd really like to read -- Cormyr had some good parts to it, but I think that the Silver Marches, with its fledgling nature and quasi-democratic elements, as well as its position on what is still very much the frontier (and all the independant attitudes that go along with it), would be even more interesting . . . . |
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. |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
|
|
Questions for Ed Greenwood (2004)
Topic Locked
