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Lashan
Learned Scribe
USA
235 Posts |
 Posted - 13 Mar 2004 : 22:44:28
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| Mr. Greenwood, you have been most helpful in answering my many questions. Still, I have more! This time, I am curious about Dragons in the Vast. I have always enjoyed the Dragons of the North articles, but frankly, I don't usually play in the North. I've always been a bigger fan of the Inner Sea area. So, I'm curious about dragons of the Vast (and consider this a request to perhaps do a few extra articles about dragons in other areas :) ). Now, I figure that there are some black dragons in the Flooded Forest. I image that the silver and red dragons fight in the mountains, but I would love to hear more about them. Also, are there white dragons in the Glacier of the White Worm? I know that is not how the glacier got its name, but perhaps some reside there? |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 13 Mar 2004 : 23:49:28
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quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
Frankly, I think it's rather unfair to Volo...
Nice to see I wasn't the only one thinking that.  |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 14 Mar 2004 : 00:20:53
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Got a question for Ed
If Scyulla Darkhope went to Scardale to press her claim as Lashans daughter how would they go about determining that she was or wasnt Lashans Daughter?
The obvious solution would be to cast a Legend lore spell however who would be an exceptable caster the current ruler of Scardale is a follower of Torm and Scyllua is follower of Bane so thats going to eliminate any spell caster from the Zhentrim or a follower of Torm from casting the spell as there likely to be biased. The obvious solution would be to goto Leaves of Learning the church to Oghma in Deepingdale, its possiable this that the church would have Birth records for the people of the Dales also Atlar the High Priest of the Church could cast a Legend Lore spell however Atlar is LG and therfore going to be morally oppossed to telling a servant of Bane that they are the rightful ruler and then theres also the churchs links to the Harpers
It would make an interesting moral delihema for a cleric of Oghma
He could
1) Cast the spell and if it comes out that Scyllua is Lashans daughter then tell them the truth.
2) The "Moral" choice cast the spell hope Scyllua's not Lashans Daughter and if the spell says she is then lie and tell everyone she isnt. This option is likely to drop the High Priet in hot water with his god concealing Knowledge and lying are big no nos for followers of Oghma.
3) He can refuse to cast the spell and thus avoid a conflict between his morals and his gods Dogma
Also what was Lashans patron deity? Id assume either Tempus (After all he did start a huge war in the Dalelands) or Bane (Lashans was quite Tyranical and the war caused alot of Strife) perhaps an othodox Banite after all the Reformed Banites fought against Lashan |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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Steven Schend
Forgotten Realms Designer & Author
USA
1715 Posts |
Posted - 14 Mar 2004 : 17:34:00
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quote:
Karth, Steve Schend catalogued Alustriel’s sons elsewhere and elsewhen, and to avoid stepping on the toes of folks currently at work on must-remain-mysterious-for-now things in the Realms, I’m going to bow out of giving you names, order of birth, levels, et al. Sorry.
Hail and well met. With some insistence on Ed's part (and Eric Boyd's and a few other who shall remain nameless), I'm ending my sabbatical and returning to the Realms as a fan and fellow Waterdhavian by proxy. 
As for Ed's comment above, I did a dig through the hard drive to find the info I had set aside long ago (circa 1996-1997ish, during the design of Cloak & Dagger). Even so, no reason to leave it buried.
Bear in mind though, folks, that none of this lore is at all official, since I'm no longer affiliated with Wizards save by old friendships and some very occasional work. With that in mind, here's what my old brain came up with for Alustriel's Sons aka the Tall Ones.
Steven Schend
Who unofficially adopted Silverymoon as a pet project for a few years before leaving WotC in 2000
At 05:06 PM 3/18/99 -0500, you wrote:
>
>North boxed set for Alustriel's sons? Bob in Streams of Silver? fr5
>Savage Frontier? Don't know where that ref might be, myself....
Actually, I found it in the back of 7 Sisters, under Alustriel's bit in the campaign use chapter. They allegedly all use the surname Aerasume, which translates to Silverymoon, though I'm going to amend that and scatter their surnames among our three options now (though all with the same father). Their names are (alphabetically) Andelver, Boesild, Dolthauvin, Elinthalar, Ghaelryss, Inthylyn, Lilinthar, Methrammar, Naerond, Raerilarr, Tarthilmor, and Uoundeld. They seem to have connections to the Harpers (since they can contact Cylyria Dragonbreast and Sharanralee of Everlund as well as Mom....).
Tarthilmor Aerasume (CG hem F11/W12) is set as one of the two Captains of the Spellguard under Jorus Azuremantle. DRAGON ANNUAL #1, p60
Methrammar Aerasume, the Shining Guard (LG hem F14/W12) and commander of Luruar's armies. THE NORTH, Cities p55
At this point, here's my suggestions for birthdates and whatnot on these guys (of whom there are now 17, but 5 of them are either unknown to the Silverymoon folks but famous within the Moonwood and their father's people or are dead:
Alustriel Silverhand + Taerntym Tanagathor/"Taern Moonweather" (sorta married, at least as elves go...)
Dalbrant Tanagathor (1240 - 1313?) Disappeared while on quest for Taerntym
Hardorbryn Tanagathor (1242 - 1343) Twin of Alondel; died in battle with the Moonlight Men
Alondel Tanagathor (1242 - 1343) Twin of Hardorbryn; died in battle with the Moonlight Men
Boesild Aerasume (1244 - ?) Oldest known/acknowledged surviving son of Alustriel; former apprentice of Khelben the Elder just after he left Waterdeep in 1256; now part of the Teukiira/Moonstars.
Elnriyr Moonweather (1250 - 1347) Priest of Sehanine; died in the fire that destroys Everdusk Hall
Baerndar Tanagathor (1266 - ?)
Uoundeld of Silverymoon (1269 - ?) Teacher at the Lady's College (Tactical & Strategic Spellcasting)
Dolthauvin Aerasume (1295 - ?) Wanderer in the Moonwood & Coldwood
Elinthalar Tanagathor (1299 - ?) Twin of Andelver; wanderer of Lurkwood
Andelver Tressymfriend (1299 - ?) Twin of Elinthalar; wanderer of Lurkwood
Methrammar Aerasume (1304 - ?) The Shining Guard & most recognized son of Alustriel
Inthylyn of Silverymoon (1314 - ?) ?????????????????
Lilinthar Moonweather (1337 - ?) Triplet brother of Naerond & Tarthilmor; huntmaster of Moonweather clan in Moonwood?
Naerond Aerasume (1337 - ?) Triplet brother of Lilinthar & Tarthilmor; crusader/mage for Mystra?
Tarthilmor Aerasume (1337 - ?) Triplet brother of Naerond & Lilinthar; Spell Captain of the Spellguard in Silverymoon
Raerilarr Aerasume (1340 - ?) Smallest of Tall Ones at 6'7" and nicknamed "Tiny" by brothers; most hot-tempered of brothers, rabid drow hunter (and prejudiced vs. dwarves for some reason)
Ghaelryss the Bold (1345 - ?) Uses no surname, raised in Silverymoon, living in Everlund?
I see the younger ones bonding more like brothers, while the older ones (especially those among the elves) are almost more like uncles or foster fathers to the others, as Alustriel got too busy to help raise the children in the 1270s and 1340s (see Silverymoon timeline). How their levels and abilities differ, and how their deific backgrounds (as grandchildren of Mystra) might be reflected along with their half-elven blood is yet unknown--I see a few with silver hair, all of them with longer lifespans than average half-elves, and enhanced abilities almost equal to full elves (due to ties to Weave, including reverie rather than sleep).
How's that? With this being the case, I've adopted Boesild as my regional contact for Khelben, and we can easily ensconce him in the Vault of the Sages or the Lady's College in Silverymoon. That work for you?
SES
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2004 : 02:56:26
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Ed has sent me his latest responses, and accordingly:
Foxhelm, I’ve no idea if there will ever be a collection of the Wizards Three tales. Given that 2nd Edition is fading into the publishing past, I doubt it. I’ve always intended to write more of those wonderful evening get-togethers, and the fate of Dalamar was the impediment that slowed and then stopped them. As far as I understand the current Dragonlance licensing situation, there may still be an impediment. I do have a future DRAGON column in the works, but no time, just now, to get to work on it.
As I’ve said before, I’ve no control over what Realms products get published. To play the time-honored-among-all-gamers-of-a-certain-age “If * I * Ran TSR” game: if I’d been controlling Realms publications, you’d have seen a Border Kingdoms sourcebook, an expanded Wyrms of the North collection, a Wizards Three product, and a Nine Hells sourcebook long ago, to say nothing of about another dozen Volo’s Guides, a Cormyr sourcebook -- and probably my tombstone, too: Here lies Ed, dead of overwork. :}
As for an all-Realms moot of mages, that’s an intriguing idea that I’ll have to talk to WotC about. (The original Wizards Three series began when the then-editor of DRAGON asked me to do something that would link all three TSR campaign ‘worlds.’) Thanks for thinking of the Wizards Three tales. They were LOTS of fun to do, even if (by the end, with changes in editorship) I was being forced to cut back on repartee and characterization, and give more and more spells. (Originally, I’d intended to put in a lot more magical processes, such as how to make spell inks, the order in which to cast warding spells to create magical defenses around a keep or a tent, and so on.)
So saith Ed. The Hooded One, continuing with her promised glimpses of Realmsplay in the original ‘home’ campaign:
One session, the Knights spent a frustrating day travelling through Tilver’s Gap and battling “highroad-blades” (brigands) and monsters all along the way. Just before nightfall, we reached an isolated way-inn (not on any Realms maps) just west of Daggerdale -- and, still hearing bugbear and hobgoblin calls around and ahead of us, and darkness swiftly drawing down, we decided to spend the ruinous prices and stay the night.
The Helm and Hearth looked like the onetime fortress it had once been, and its common-room was a tense, unhappy assembly of travellers (rival merchants, Sembians demanding debt-repayments from Cormyrean traders, Zhent agents, a family fleeing Hillsfar for reasons of their own, some half-orc hireswords who’d been firmly disarmed at the gates, a few dwarves who didn’t think much of the ale on offer, and so on) who’d have been at each other’s throats in an instant if it hadn’t been for the numerous and well-armed inn guards.
Our problem was this: not only did some of the other guests recognize us and want us swiftly dead, Florin recognized some of the guards as longtime Purple Dragons -- AND was certain he’d seen the innkeeper lying dead (in bodies he expected the Zhent-ordered orc patrols would have soon gathered, cooked, and eaten) at the north end of Daggerdale on our trip out.
So there was a LOT of creeping around the creaking old upper floor (and roof) of the inn, all through that night, with daggers being plunged enthusiastically into bodies, someone setting a fire that someone else quenched with a spell (and we’d seen no other wizards!), and so on. Ed was masterful at playing all the NPC parts, and we all ended up in a very interesting confrontation in the inn pantry, with Jhessail and an undercover War Wizard both threatening to blast each other to greet the gods (with all the rest of us, and most of that end of the inn, too), RIGHT NOW.
When it all got sorted out, it was revealed that a Cormyrean ‘under the cloak’ (undercover) force had infiltrated the inn because of fears that the longtime smuggling base had been taken over by the Zhents. That wasn’t true -- yet. However, they were suspicious of the innkeeper for the same reason we were: they’d arrested the man and carried him off to prison in Tilverton, so why was he here again, large as life, when they thought he was still safely manacled miles away?
The truth was that the inn was owned by a longtime trading family whose treasures included six masks that bonded to the flesh of anyone who put them on (though they could be removed at will), and these masks made their wearers all look like the same man. The innkeeper we’d collared was the third son of the original, who’d been killed by the Zhents for refusing their offer. The eldest son was the one we’d found dead in Daggerdale, the second son had taken over and promptly been captured by the Cormyreans, and now the third son was trembling with fear at his own impending death, and wondering what his two young sisters were going to do (after all, there WERE two masks left).
Learning of this, the War Wizard wanted the entire set of masks in the worst way (and settled for seizing all that were left to hand), the remnants of the family wanted to stay alive (and accepted an offer of accompanying us to a new life in Shadowdale), and we wanted a decent night’s sleep. So in the morning, all the other guests were ushered out, the Purple Dragons fought and slew the Zhent agent and those inn guards who objected to losing their jobs, and then scoured the place for all signs of smuggling—and we barricaded ourselves in a stone granary with horses, wagons for the family’s belongings, and the family themselves. When we emerged, the Cormyreans were gone, so we left too, arriving in Shadowdale safely.
Within the tenday, the Zhents stormed the place and burned it to the ground. A typical Realms adventure that left some of my fellow players busily making notes of the names of all the new War Wizards and Purple Dragons we’d encountered -- and all of us wondering just where those masks are now, and what use is being made of them.
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2004 : 02:58:51
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Herewith, Ed’s next reply:
Lashan, I think my opportunity to do dragons articles has largely slipped away, though I’ll discuss your idea with folks at Wizards (Eric Boyd and Sean Reynolds have both tinkered with updating some of my Realmslore into 3rd Edition form, on the WotC website, and doing new dragons should be right up the old alley, so to speak).
I’ve always viewed the Vast as being rather ‘dragon light’ (in part due to the harvestings done by the mysterious power resident in Ironfang Keep), but you could certainly put a few keeping-low-profiles dragons in all of the places you mention, including the glacier. After all, the orcs and various herds in the ‘eastern tongue’ grasslands of the Vast (the Fire River valley) provide ready food sources for some dragon types.
So saith Ed. The Hooded One, recounting very briefly another memorable night of Realmsplay: Shaerl Rowanmantle was hosting some of her fellow Rowanmantles, other noble Cormryreans, and courtiers (a visiting embassy to her and her husband Lord Mourngrym, whom the Forest Kingdom was most anxious to subvertxx ahem, gain as an ally in the Dales). Mourngrym asked we Knights to attend (and prevent any War Wizard funny business), and we did so—only to discover that a powerful War Wizard was present in the delegation and using magic against us that went awry when clashing with our spells. The result was a wild evening of people’s minds temporarily inhabiting other people’s bodies, without warning or control. Thankfully, most of us Knights ended up swapping with each other, most of the time, but the results were still dangerous and at the same time screamingly-British-farce-funny, as a Shaerl who wasn’t Shaerl went off to bed with a Mourngrym who wasn’t Mourngrym, a War Wizard tried to plot with another War Wizard who was actually Torm, an overamorous courtier tried to seduce a chambermaid who was really Rathan, another courtier tried to bribe information out of the scullery maid who was really Jhessail, and the sly, snivelling junior War Wizard whom everyone in the Cormyrean party disliked even more than his hosts of Shadowdale did ended up in Jhessail’s body talking to a VERY suspicious Merith, whilst Florin ended up in HIS body.
We literally laughed ourselves to tears a couple of times, but agreed that there was no way Ed could do this in a novel and not give editors too much of a headache to ever inflict it on readers. Ed capped the joke, months later, by having an ‘aftershock’ that only affected the junior War Wizard and Florin, who briefly swapped bodies again at a moment when Dove was angry with her husband and forcefully telling him so -- and the War Wizard was being caught red-eared eavesdropping on the marriage-arrangement negotiations of two Cormyrean noble patriarchs planning the hitch the daughter of one to the son of the other for purely financial reasons. The results were, well, hilarious all over again.
And to SiriusBlack and to Lady Elaine: point taken, but I was trying to polite -- and if you knew what Volo did to one of my characters, in-game, you’d know why I have no reason at all to be either charitable or polite to him! :}
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2004 : 03:01:14
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Here's a question for Ed Greenwood:
I am reading the sample chapter for Elminster's Daughter and liking what I have read so far. However, on the title page, I've noticed underneath a certain author's name there is a symbol now that I don't recall ever being there before. Is the pipe something new or did I fall asleep and miss its addition? If new, is this something just for the Elminster series? Only for when you write a Realms novel?
Thanks in advance and from the few pages I've read so far, Wow! Remind me never to borrow money in Waterdeep. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2004 : 03:02:29
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Yes, I’m back with another of Ed’s replies:
Dargoth, I’m a little puzzled by your question. Why would Darkhope’s parentage matter to the current rulership of Scardale, one way or the other? Despite his claims at the time of his attempted conquest, Lashan isn’t seen by many in the Dales to have been the “rightful” ruler of anywhere except by brute force -- and there haven’t exactly been a shortage of brute-force rulers in the Dragonreach lands over the last few centuries. :}
Yet if this matter of lineage is important in your campaign, Atlar probably would be the nearest acceptable arbitrator. My reading of his alignment would be that he couldn’t do anything but tell the truth about her heritage, as he saw it (it’s up to you how good his temple records will be), and I believe you overestimate public knowledge of, or regard for, ties to the Harpers. (It’s a little like hearing vague rumors that someone might once have voted for a fringe political party without quite daring to ask them, and not having any real evidence as to their politics at all, one way or another. Remember, rumors about the Harpers and other power groups and shadowy organizations fly around the Realms like birds in spring.)
As I’ve said before, it’s quite incorrect to view most Realms NPCs (who aren’t priests or paladins or something of the sort) as having a single deity: everybody makes appeasement prayers to all sorts of deities, tending to worship a single one only if their situation dictates it (farmers praying mainly to Chauntea and appeasing mainly Talos, for example). However, my play notes indicate that Lashan did openly pray to Bane on one occasion in his battles around Essembra, if that helps.
So saith Ed. The Hooded One, signing off with just one more little Ed memory: we Knights carefully stalked, planned, and laid a trap for a certain wily Zhentarim wizard -- and when the time was right, we pounced. The place was a farmhouse on the northern outskirts of Voonlar, the battle was fierce (there were other Zhentarim mages with him, plus a nasty little spell-lure that we dubbed “beholder in a box”), and the place ended up as an inferno. We were satisfied that we’d finally managed to eliminate this murderer, and Torm was really pleased because he’d managed to loot the place first. His biggest prize was a gem the size of a small fist, which -- fighting still being fierce -- he stowed in his codpiece.
He was quite perturbed when the gem just vanished, after he’d put it on his mantle to admire back in Shadowdale and be called out of the room by Storm Silverhand (Ed) to apologize for a prank he’d played. We were ALL perturbed when we figured out that Torm had helpfully smuggled our intended Zhentarim target out of danger and into our midst (temporarily spell-disguised as the gem, of course). :}
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2004 : 03:24:21
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As it happens, Ed and I are e-catching up, so here’s an arrow-swift reply, SiriusBlack:
Glad you’ve enjoyed the little glimpse. I had a blast writing it; romp time! Romp time!
Yes, that little logo of Elminster’s Eversmoking Pipe denotes a novel in the Elminster series. May there be many more. :}
Ed
And there you have it. Gods above and below, I can’t wait for the Waterdeep book. I’ll just have to make do with The Silent House, I guess.
THO
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2004 : 03:51:36
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| Saw that sample chapter, too. Loved it! Great! More, more! |
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ElaineCunningham
Forgotten Realms Author
2396 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2004 : 04:13:57
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
And to SiriusBlack and to Lady Elaine: point taken, but I was trying to polite -- and if you knew what Volo did to one of my characters, in-game, you’d know why I have no reason at all to be either charitable or polite to him! :}
What heinous thing could Volo have done to evoke such ire? Hmmm... Perhaps he broadcast information about troop movements, thereby endangering the entire party? |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2004 : 04:15:33
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Ed said: "Dargoth, I’m a little puzzled by your question. Why would Darkhope’s parentage matter to the current rulership of Scardale, one way or the other? Despite his claims at the time of his attempted conquest, Lashan isn’t seen by many in the Dales to have been the “rightful” ruler of anywhere except by brute force "
Wasnt Scardale a Heridatory monarchy?
The Scardale entry in the grey boxset says Lashan Aumersair inherited the dale from his father Uluf which I assume means it was a monarchy. If thats true and Scyllua is Lashans daughter then she would have a "legitimate" claim to Scardale. |
“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 - 15 Mar 2004 : 08:35:28
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Well, it´s been quite some time since your reply, THO and Ed, but anyway... Thank you so much for your inspiring response to my "visualizing" question.
Some of your answers (what area resembles which area on earth) I really could have anticipated, the most ones invoked my urge to travel even more than I do already.
According to some parts you described of the Silver Marches, I now have the answer why ceratain places "felt" so familiar when I was in Alaska last summer... (Honeymooning in Alaska, simply great!!)
Now you really made me want to travel the British Islands. (mmh.. maybe in conjunction with a short visit of GenCon Europe, I think...) |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2004 : 14:55:55
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Lady Elaine, Volo did the prying journalist thing, publicly trying to worm information out of some Cormyrean nobles that would have endangered Shadowdale in the face of Zhent mobilizations – and the worm did it in MY name (claiming he’d gotten this info and that info from my character, and just wanted confirmation, because “after all I was but a woman, and woman are given to such wild fancies.”
I believe I judge him rather charitably, because he does such outrageous things with not a whit of Torm’s charm.
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2004 : 15:01:01
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Dargoth, here’s Ed’s reply:
Ah, my apologies. Here’s where the simplification of the Realms to put it in print slaps us all. In the ‘home’ Realms, there were and are (though no one is daring to pursue them, any longer) several claims from various members of that family, and Lashan’s was by no means the strongest/most direct. So there are persons still alive in Faerun who have a stronger claim to the throne than a daughter of Lashan, and the counter-argument that “yes, but he actually ruled” brings us right back to “might makes right/possession is all.”
The public view of Lashan in the Dales is the same in Scardale as elsewhere: he brought death and strife and lawlessness and loss to us all by his cruel, grasping ambition . . . so now you want to give us MORE of same? If his daughter is anything like him we want no part of her, and if she’s a shy, retiring flower, how could she make a good ruler? No, let the past be the past and a burial to all that – just as we buried so many because of Lashan’s ambitions. Go from this house, and lash our ears no more with such foolishness!
And so on. There’ll be malcontents who’d back Darkhope, but Sembia, the Harpers, Hillsfar, and Tantras (just to name a quick few) want no part of renewed strife in Scardale, and will act firmly to stop it.
So there you have it. Of course (she said teasingly), an attempt to put her in charge anyway looks like great roleplaying opportunities galore to me, and Ed agrees with that. :}
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2004 : 15:03:10
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Alexander, Ed says thus unto thee:
Great! Everyone should travel, but good travel books will give you photos enough to just ‘see what I mean’ if you want to fix the terrain in mind in a hurry. Yet I say again: go and see England, any chance you get. It was the founder of the Jesuits who said we all inhabit imaginary worlds . . . and whether or not anyone uses the Realms as one of them, the more reality one sees, the more colourful all of the worlds in our minds. Go for it, Alex!
So saith Ed. The Hooded One, signing off. (Hello, Blueblade. Yes, I loved that chapter too.)
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Elfinblade
Senior Scribe
Norway
377 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2004 : 18:12:08
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greetings mr greenwood.
what is your favourite FR novel, trilogy? besides those yourself have written of course :D
later -Stig- |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2004 : 19:13:51
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Hello, Elfinblade. Here’s Ed’s reply:
Choosing my favourite Realms novel or Realms trilogy is a bit like choosing between children, or which of my hands or ears or feet I prefer (and yes, I only have two of all of those body parts :}), but I’ll have a try at this. Please bear in mind that this is very hard for me to do, and the answers may change from time to time.
Fave lone novel: HOMELAND by Bob Salvatore, with strong competition from ELFSHADOW by Elaine Cunningham (sentimental fave because she got Waterdeeop so right, and because Arilyn Danilo and Elaith are ALL fun), and a new challenge by THE FORSAKEN HOUSE by Rich Baker (when it’s published, you’ll see why).
Favourite trilogy: again, this is a squeaker, but I’d have to say Jeff Grubb and Kate Novak’s Finder’s Stone trio.
My fave series was the Harpers, but the strength of the writing in the Sembian saga is so strong that it’s taken that crown, for me.
And my fave of the books I co-wrote, thus far, is CORMYR: A NOVEL (though that could soon change, too :}).
Yet please always bear in mind that these are personal preferences and they’re all VERY close races, not clear walkaway winners in any of these cases.
So saith Ed. Your Hooded One has very different choices, because I DO include books by Ed, and think STORMLIGHT is his best-written book, ELMINSTER’S DAUGHTER his most fun romp, ELMINSTER IN HELL his most ambitious book (and just a darn good fantasy book period, in any company or competition), SPELLFIRE his most important-to-the-Realms book, the Elminster Saga his most important series and THE most important Realms series so far, and the Shadows of the Avatar trilogy his best Realms trilogy, and winner by a nose over R.A. Salvatore’s trilogy of Homeland, Exile, and Sojourn.
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Lashan
Learned Scribe
USA
235 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2004 : 21:23:05
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| Mr. Greenwood, you have been most informative! My thanks (even though you say enough to them). It seems that you have mentioned the strange and enigmatic mages of Ironfang Keep on several occasions. While I dare not expect to get a treastie on them from you, I was wondering if you could help me understand how much of an influence they have on the surrounding area. I always figured that they sat in their iron keep and practiced magic. I never figured that they harvested orcs at all, but they do. I never figured that they delt with dragons in the Vast, but they do. Would you mind shedding some light on what type of events that they do or do not interfere with? |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2004 : 23:08:43
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Ed speaks:
Hi, Lashan. The mages of Ironfang Keep are a real mystery. Originally Ironfang Keep was a "hands off" location because of a planned computer game tie-in that ended up be located somewhere else, but we'd already hinted that it was a mysterious, shunned place whose magic-using inhabitants had to be of VERY great power (to make Mulmaster, Zhentil Keep et al just go away and not keep trying ton conquer them; the inhabitants had to be SO powerful that they could casually 'scare off' Manshoon, Fzoul, and so on). 'Mages who dabbled in plane-hopping activities' was a view advanced later, to support the then-not-yet-quite-published Planescape line. I had always used them as "beast experimenters" who from time to time, at random and totally without warning, would magically 'swoop' and collect dragons, orcs, dragon turtles, terrasques...whatever.
So they remain that sort of mystery today. :}
Go wild!
So saith Ed. hope that reply helps. :} |
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DarkPsion
Acolyte
USA
8 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2004 : 01:44:30
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| I am glad to hear that there is a Knights of Myth Drannor series of books coming out, but saddened to see that they are so far off. I guess I will have to hope my copy of Spellfire holds out till then. Have the stats for the Knights ever been updated? The only one's I know of are 1st edition AD&D from the Grey Boxed Set and Hall of Heroes. I would love to see some updated and expanded versions (including Illistyl's and Merith's psionic levels as well)In 3rd edition psionics, I see her as a Telepath level 1 or 2, with the Psychoanalyst feat and Merith as a Seer. Also in that grey boxed set, the island of Nimbral was desribed as a land of wizard lords with spells that duplicate psionic disciplines. Was there ever an option of it being a land of psions and psionics? |
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Shadowlord
Master of Realmslore
USA
1298 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2004 : 01:58:57
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| Hmmm, something tells me you favor the 'Psion' class..... |
The Chosen of Vhaeraun
"Nature is governed by certain immutable rules. By virtue of claw and fang, the lion will always triumph over the goat.Given time, the pounding of the sea will wear away the stone. And when dark elves mingle with the lighter races, the offspring invariably take after the dark parent. It is all much the same. That which is greater shall prevail. Our numbers increase steadily, both through birth and conquest. The dark elves are the dominant race, so ordained by the gods." Ka'Narlist of the Ilythiiri. |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2004 : 02:26:01
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quote:
Originally posted by DarkPsion
I am glad to hear that there is a Knights of Myth Drannor series of books coming out, but saddened to see that they are so far off. I guess I will have to hope my copy of Spellfire holds out till then. Have the stats for the Knights ever been updated? The only one's I know of are 1st edition AD&D from the Grey Boxed Set and Hall of Heroes. I would love to see some updated and expanded versions (including Illistyl's and Merith's psionic levels as well)In 3rd edition psionics, I see her as a Telepath level 1 or 2, with the Psychoanalyst feat and Merith as a Seer. Also in that grey boxed set, the island of Nimbral was desribed as a land of wizard lords with spells that duplicate psionic disciplines. Was there ever an option of it being a land of psions and psionics?
They were updated in Heroes Lorebook. The Ranger's Three are also stat'd in that book. :) |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2004 : 10:36:05
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Interesting
Who where the other claiments to Scardale?
As for Scyllua I figure she might have some support from the people living in Scardale town as its in Anarchy and would probably find a strong leader attractive, there would probably be a bit of support from the Evil and maybe neutral merchants..
Who controls the Flaming tower in 1373 do the Zhentrim still control it or did the People of Daggerdale manage to drive them out? Also was the Temple in the Sky a piece of Netherese city?
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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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RevJest
Learned Scribe
USA
115 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2004 : 13:30:43
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The Hooded One,
A question for Ed.
Whatever happened to the druidic half-elven Knight of Myth Drannor, Lanseril Snowmantle? He doesn't show up in the 'Shadow of the Avatar' books with the other Knights.
Thanks!
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"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2004 : 14:46:23
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
'Mages who dabbled in plane-hopping activities' was a view advanced later, to support the then-not-yet-quite-published Planescape line.
Now that, is particularly interesting.
Would Mr. Greenwood care to expand upon that sentence a little more...?
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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thom
Seeker
USA
69 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2004 : 16:04:31
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Hey Ed! Well met! It's a pleasure AND a privilege to get to ask you questions! Right now, in the sincerest form of flattery <sg> I'm 'lifting' the ENTIRE set of villains from Halls of the High King (IMHO still one of the >best< modules you ever wrote (along with the original Undermountain) and making them the main bad guys in my upcoming campaign, based in the town of Nathlekh near the Gulthmere forest.
What I wanted to ask you for was some of your technques and styles of running the Banites and the Zhentarim in the 'home' campaign. More specifically, and without violating your NDAs or tying other developer's hands in the future, can you tell me:
1] did your banite clerics wear distinctive clothing, colors, symbols etc?
2] did they use any specific weapons over others (maces seem to reign in Halls of the High King)?
3] did they have symbols of rank that PCs might figure out (i.e. all 'clerics of the 5th order [5th level] wear a purple cummerbund <eg>) and thus be better prepared?
4] what were the favorite spells you had you clerics use against the Knight?
What I'm trying to get is a 'feel' for your banites, because I want them to 'stand out' when my PCs meet them. I've <always> loved Bane (being a LN w/ 'slight' LE tendencies DM <g>) and his hierarchy of clerics and wizards.
And for you, oh wise & leggy Hooded One <g>, again without violating any NDAs, could you tell us of some of your battles with the Banites, their tactics, and how you overcame them? Were the Knights constantly wrapped up in (2nd Ed) mystic lash spells, slogging through hordes of helmed horrors, or fighting dark naga & banelars left and right? I know, that may be more 'hack-n-slash' than you generally like, but my upcoming group is a little more interested in that aspect of D&D right now (I'll work on getting them liking roleplaying more as we develop the game!)
Thanks again for the opportunity Ed, and for >all< the great stuff you've written over the years; and thanks to you, gracious lady for being a channel into Ed...(hmm "Being Ed Greenwood" - sounds like a <great< movie to me! <g>)
thom
thomas@jtbs.net |
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Lashan
Learned Scribe
USA
235 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2004 : 17:16:13
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Good enough! Thanks. Now, I was hoping you could settle something about Tantras that I have not been able to resolve. There are three factions of merchant-nobles in Tantras, as listed in the FR Adventures book (a great book, by the way). How are the factions divided up? Are they by industry? An example would be that one cabal of nobles is involved all in fishing and sea shipping. Another faction is heavily involved in the wool industry and some livestock, while the third faction is economically vested in the crafts trade. So, are the merchant-noble factions divided by economic interest?
The other model that I have developed is that all three factions are invested in all forms of industry and act as competitors. In other words, The Aldimers are involved in fishing and sea shipping, while the Mathlins are involved in the wool industry, and lastly the Baraedin are involved in wood-working and craft oriented products. The other main factions are similiarly spread out to form almost a competing company and compete at all levels with the others.
In other words, are the factions grouped due to tied economic interests or are they banded together to compete against other economic blocks? I can see arguments for both, but haven't been able to make up my mind as to which I prefer. Any clarification is great. |
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Steven Schend
Forgotten Realms Designer & Author
USA
1715 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2004 : 17:28:42
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quote:
Originally posted by thom
Hey Ed! Well met! It's a pleasure AND a privilege to get to ask you questions! Right now, in the sincerest form of flattery <sg> I'm 'lifting' the ENTIRE set of villains from Halls of the High King (IMHO still one of the >best< modules you ever wrote (along with the original Undermountain) and making them the main bad guys in my upcoming campaign, based in the town of Nathlekh near the Gulthmere forest.
I'd have to agree that Halls of the High King was a lot of fun, though Ruins of Undermountain (and what it spawned) certainly maxed out the usual Greenwood "bang for your buck" ratio.
quote:
What I wanted to ask you for was some of your technques and styles of running the Banites and the Zhentarim in the 'home' campaign. More specifically, and without violating your NDAs or tying other developer's hands in the future, can you tell me:
1] did your banite clerics wear distinctive clothing, colors, symbols etc?
2] did they use any specific weapons over others (maces seem to reign in Halls of the High King)?
3] did they have symbols of rank that PCs might figure out (i.e. all 'clerics of the 5th order [5th level] wear a purple cummerbund <eg>) and thus be better prepared?
4] what were the favorite spells you had you clerics use against the Knight?
What I'm trying to get is a 'feel' for your banites, because I want them to 'stand out' when my PCs meet them. I've <always> loved Bane (being a LN w/ 'slight' LE tendencies DM <g>) and his hierarchy of clerics and wizards.
Thom, I know I'm not Ed, but this query sparked old ideas in my head and I thought I'd share.
While on staff at TSR/WOtC, I left the gods well enough alone because they were really more to Eric's & Julia's interests. Still, I had some ideas that never got into print. One of them was a disinformation and/or embarrassment campaign that took place among the Cyricist and Banite clergies.
The only good thing a Cyricist has over the average Banite is a sense of humor. Thus, numerous satires came into being to embarrass Bane and Bane's faithful in the years between Cyric's rise and the present day. Cyricists took old Banite legends and bastardized them into bawdy farces. Some even went so far as to create corrupted tomes of slightly edited/altered religious tracts (and get wizards to magically age them and/or hide them to give them some artificial gravitas) and then "reveal the falsehoods" in the faith & ritual of the current church.
My favorite of these "heretic" texts is "On the Care and Feeding of Banites," by Melthras of Semphar (allegedly written in 1285 DR with copies at Candlekeep and the Heralds' Holdfast). The date is suspect, as most attribute Cyricism as the source of most Bane-bashing, though a few historians talk of previous faiths or brave/foolish souls who sought to reduce the Black God's power by ridicule even before his first Fall. Still, the Oghma-worshiping Melthras, as a matter of record, died soon after the book's writing. He was found nailed to the ceiling beams of his rooming house, his heart and liver removed and his skin seared with multiple brands of Bane's hand.
As in all things historical for the Realms, there's as much confusion as confirmation. And Elminster simply gives up a sly smile, puffs on his pipe, and blows a smoke-shape of a grinning kobold as comment.
Steven Schend
Who thinks it's time to add a few more titles to that old book list he did years ago re: Candlekeep's shelves |
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thom
Seeker
USA
69 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2004 : 19:49:12
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THANKS for the input Steve - that's a wicked idea! It's really good to have you back in the Realms. And I definitely want to see that list of tomes expanded!
thom
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2004)
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