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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
 Posted - 16 Mar 2004 : 22:26:20
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Hello, all. Presenting the words of Ed once more:
Well met, DarkPsion. Yes, part of me wants to publish two Knights novels a year, treating their careers as an endless saga -- and then again, there’s this other part of me that worries I’m overloaded right now, and however would I meet THOSE deadlines, too?
As far as I know, stats for the Knights have never been updated in print beyond those places you’re already familiar with, now that Kuje31 has swooped in done the swift Realmslore note for you (mentioned elsewhere, yes: FRS1 The Dalelands, Volo’s, but not really updated). My ‘home’ campaign still uses 2nd Edition (because we vote on such things, and the majority of my players prefer 2nd Ed), so we’ve never ‘recast’ things for the new rules.
As for Nimbral, well, I strongly suspect you’ll be seeing more about this place soon, but with an accent more on the place and less on magic or psionics or treasure.
So saith Ed. The Hooded One fondly remembers her in-character visit to Nimbral, and meeting a certain unicorn there . . . (happy sigh of remembrance)
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2004 : 22:32:06
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Dargoth, the Hooded One once more reveals unto thee the words of Ed:
Okay, let me deal with the smaller matters first: officially, we don’t know who controls the Flaming Tower now. In the ‘home’ Realms campaign, the Knights of Myth Drannor slew the giants who were dwelling there as a Zhent garrison, and then returned several times to “harvest Zhents” (of later garrisons) until the Zhents decided it would be more prudent to just withdraw.
The large, unlovely levitating rock whose hollowed-out interior was The Temple In The Sky was also scoured by the Knights, though again, several beholders in succession took up residence and had to be slain. The Zhents see this site as far more strategically important, and are very reluctant to relinquish it. The magic that causes it to ‘stay up’ is almost certainly Netherese, given its location, but could possibly be even more ancient. What is certain is that no one alive today has quite deciphered what that magic is (it resists normal dispels, attempts to manipulate the Weave in its location, and so on -- and utterly prevents the operation of all translocation [teleport, dimension door, etc.] spells within its confines and between any part of it, including the outer surface of the rock, and anywhere else in the known planes). Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice might say. :}
And now the biggie: Scyllua, Scardale, and all that. I agree that merchants would welcome stability and a strong leader, but I don’t think many of them, regardless of alignment, would want “another tyrant fresh out of Zhentil Keep,” not only because all Dale folk (merchants desiring to engage in unfettered trade in particular) dislike harsh, all-seeing, and competent authority, but also because they’d expect her to lead them straight into another war -- which for them simply means eventual impoverishment, destruction of their homes and wares and other property, and death. With all the wealth of Sembia pitted against anyone rising in Scardale who isn’t a weak ruler or a puppet for Sembian interests, they can’t see her as the ultimate victor in any dispute: Sembia will just go on hurling mercenaries at her (adventuring bands, Thayan Red Wizards willing to do this to establish another trading enclave, whomever). And with the ruler of Hillsfar not wanting Sembia to gain any greater influence in Scardale, the dale would inevitably get caught between the hammer and the anvil in any dispute between them, with disastrous results.
To put it plainly, the folk of Scardale are tired of occupation and fear and knife-wielding intrigues, but they’re even more fed up with tyrannical rulers of any sort. Most of them would love Faerun to be a place where there were no rulers at all, and everyone could just get on with the business of working, eating well, and getting slowly wealthier, with intrigues just being spicy gossip to wash down one’s evening ale with.
Yet of course we all know that’s not the case, so: let’s have a look at those other claimants. :} Anyone can, of course, feel free to create their own characters to add to this list; just consider this one mine.
--Maukthyn Harthin (NE hm Rog2/Exp6): a sly, swift-tongued, ugly man from a family that long ago branched off from the Aumersair clan (Lashan’s bloodline), this longtime investor in Scardale spends most of his time in the capital of Sembia. He’s grown VERY wealthy (enough to hire agents and spies in plenty, who are active throughout the Dalelands), and is said to trade in drugs and poisons (via some pirates of the Sea of Fallen Stars), as well as gemstones stolen from the Moonsea North, that pass into Sembia through Scardale and other ports (Scardale being his favorite because it avoids all Sembian scrutiny and taxation, and the Sembian port of Yhaunn being his fallback).
--Imbar Darthaun (CN hm Rgr4): a handsome, charismatic adventurer who recalls the more carefree Scardale of his youth (he’s almost reached forty summers in age, though he looks and acts half of that), and would like to ‘retire’ to rule a cleansed, more peaceful dale in which Sembia, Cormyr, Hillsfar, and Tantras would together establish law and administer justice, leaving Scardale as a ‘free port’ (that he could enjoy all the ladies of, more than one dark rumor insists). Darthaun can call on some longtime adventuring companions and allies (most of whom see conquering Scardale as one last, wild challenge that could win them a home for their declining years, and perhaps trade-riches with which to enjoy those graying seasons).
--Jamrithra Sparmeth (CG hf Wiz2): this quiet, no-nonsense woman is plain, studious, and dignified. She came to Scardale only a summer ago, but claims descent from the lords of Scardale of old (about which, thanks to the tales told by some Aumersairs, there’s much dispute). Some old local beliefs claim that the olden-times rulers of Scardale trained monsters, bred monsters to be even more horrific, and even bred WITH monsters -- and because Jamrithra is known to study the Art, some folk of Scardale believe she’s one more “monster-tamer who’ll terrorize us all, once she builds herself a tower and stocks it with her pet beasts.” Those who’ve had more to do with Jamrithra doubt she has the character or the necessary magic to do anything of the kind, but say her temper and habit of insisting others obey her whims may well keep her from ever ruling the dale, even if Hillsfar and Sembia agreed tomorrow-morn that they’ll both support her (which of course is very far from ever befalling).
--Peldra Ammarask (LN hf P3, of Tyr): this bewitchingly beautiful, petite woman is both blessed and cursed with childlike good looks, which makes many folk want to mother or humor her, rather than seriously considering her for ever holding any position of authority. She arrived from Cormyr earlier this year, and is widely seen as a “dunderhead” agent for that realm (most folk of Scardale are certain the Forest Kingdom has designs on Scardale [“They’ll take Mistledale, and then Battledale, and then US!”], and believe the Cormyreans are up to something subtle and long-term and devastating, but are sending ambitious little emptyheads like Ammarask in the meantime, mainly to keep anyone else from establishing a firm rule over Scardale). Peldra is, in truth, far from an emptyhead, and undertook to ‘straighten out’ Scardale after a suggestion from a senior priest of Tyr, who said he saw this both as a test of her and of great benefit to the dale, because “all places should know the security of clear, firm law and the alert, tireless enforcing of that law.”
--Sturtle Telarandon (LN hm Exp4): this pompous, drenched-in-visible-wealth merchant of Sembia would love to turn Scardale into his personal fiefdom. Hailing from Urmlaspyr, he has made fortunes upon fortunes, and after sending some agents in to buy everything in sight, can’t believe that so many folk in Scardale are so stubborn as to not accept his blandishments and just clear out, so he can tear down their hovels and build grand mansions for all of his friends and toadies. Said stubborn locals fear that Telarandon is so beholden to other Sembian investors and trade-allies that every last one of them would be sent packing -- and, as a rule, they neither like nor trust rich Sembians. The clack in Scardale is that Telarandon is quite likely to give them a wagon full of gold and an empty one to pile all their belongings onto, let them start out of town, and then accuse them of stealing the wagons and all the coins and swording them on the spot (claiming both loaded wagons as his own).
These five are just the most vigorously visible current claimants. Someone like Torm of the Knights would be just brim-gleeful watching the fun of all the unfolding scheming, but a lot of the folk of Scardale (who can’t escape being caught in the middle of it, day after night) fervently wish and pray that all of these “ambitious daggers” would just GO AWAY.
Wow. No wonder Ed had so many NPCs discourage us from getting caught up in the messes of Scardale. He’s right about Torm, and Victor would no doubt have dragged us all into protecting Scardale, as well as Shadowdale, Myth Drannor, and most of Mistledale.
A relieved Hooded One, signing off. :}
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2004 : 22:34:43
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Hello, simontrinity. To you, Ed of the Greenwood doth make this reply:
Lanseril Snowmantle, the druid of the Knights of Myth Drannor (played by Ian Hunter, the first Lorelord of the Realms), was off in the Border Forest during the Time of Troubles, already engaged in a massive personal undertaking to cleanse that wood of the damages being done to it by the Zhents (who’d gotten tired of stopping arrows and similar attacks during their attempts to carve a trade-road right through the forest, to Anauroch, and released divers monsters into the place, to slaughter its inhabitants -- as well as setting many fires). So Lanseril was off busy being a druid at the time; as I’ve said before, my original players are all GOOD roleplayers. This fit in neatly with the TSR editors, who wanted me to keep the number of characters ‘in play’ in my novels as small as possible.
So saith Ed, and there you have it, etc. Exit the Hooded One for only a short time, because there’s another Ed reply to post.
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2004 : 22:38:10
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To The Sage, Ed replies thus:
Note the Shadow adept suggestion in the FRCS. This is probably not far off the mark, though I’d like to also retain my own views of some of the activities of the mages of Ironfang Keep: that they magically captured all sorts of monsters and used them as partially-magically-controlled forces in attempts to control various gates (portals) and regions around them in various planes. I see these mysterious wizards as not being interested in conquest or rulership, but rather in controlling Area A to get gems and gold with which to purchase (through servitor creatures) influence and substances useful in spell research from Area B.
Their true nature, their hierarchy, and the extent to which they act in unison or struggle amongst themselves must all, for the nonce, remain . . . mysterious. :}
Gosh, I can HEAR his light, mocking DM’s voice, there. I recall once, during a play session, the most beautiful among us female players (not me) responded to such a tone from Ed by getting up, shimmying over to his table, leaning over and starting to unbutton her blouse, and inquiring throatily, “You’ll not reveal a little more? Even if * I * reveal a little more?”
Whereupon Ed got up, minced around the table to grind his pelvis against hers, undid a few buttons of HIS shirt, leaned forward until they were nose to nose, and replied throatily: “No. But thanks for trying.”
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Shadowlord
Master of Realmslore
USA
1298 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2004 : 22:39:16
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Very interesting.....
So Nimbral is soon to be featured in a novel or somesuch in some way then?
And I too have a few questions for Ed.
1) How did the idea of Faerûn come to you? Did you just wake up one morning and say, 'I'm going to create a fantasy setting', or did you think it out carefully, plan every last detail, etc...
2) Of all the FR races, which is/are your personal favorite(s)?
This part of the post is for the Hooded One:
I say you deserve a break. Diligently serving as a go-between for Ed and the scribes must be hard work. I say, take a break from being the voice of Ed, and be 'The Hooded One' for a while... |
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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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2004 : 22:45:14
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Thank you, Shadowlord. That's very nice of you. I shall.
Besides, Ed appended a note to his last e-message: "I'm really going to be slowing down on the answers for a time, Sweethips. Elaine and I are really starting to go at it hot and heavy."
Now, let's all avoid the OBVIOUS comments on that last line, shall we? :} |
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Lord Rad
Great Reader
United Kingdom
2080 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2004 : 22:49:16
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Thank you, Shadowlord. That's very nice of you. I shall.
Besides, Ed appended a note to his last e-message: "I'm really going to be slowing down on the answers for a time, Sweethips. Elaine and I are really starting to go at it hot and heavy."
Now, let's all avoid the OBVIOUS comments on that last line, shall we? :}
hehehehehe
Ed, Ive been harping on about this numerous times over the months here at Candlekeep and another topic surfaced just recently to remind me.... thus, I thought id ask again here in the hope that a little light can be shed and allow me to sleep at night  ....
...What of the Tree of Life? Nothing has been mentioned (to my knowledge) since Evermeet:Island of Elves, and a titbit in the FRCS (IIRC). Is there any hope? Where did it end up? Are we to see a new elven land devlop anytime soon? |
Lord Rad
"What? No, I wasn't reading your module. I was just looking at the pictures"
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Edited by - Lord Rad on 16 Mar 2004 22:50:05 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2004 : 03:10:11
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Hello, all. The Hooded One, passing on Ed’s latest reply:
Well met, Thom. You’re very welcome, and thanks for calling it “great stuff.” I’ve had a blast crafting it, always, and hope to do so for years to come.
1. In the field: black cloaks with red “fist of Bane” in the center back (below and between shoulder-blades), with a breastplate of the same colors and decoration over black armor when going into battle.
Casual dress: anything (dark clothing preferred), with a fist of Bane [in those days, a closed human right hand, wearing a gauntlet, with fingers towards the viewer and spikes on the knuckles, with three drops of blood depending from the horizontally-severed wrist; note that this has since changed into a bare hand with fires or lightnings leaking from between the fingers] worn either as a hidden locket, somewhere on the body (if concealment was absolutely necessary), or (preferred) with a black sash tied at the hip so the red fist of Bane design is clearly visible.
In the temple: varied from temple to temple (poorer rural temples could get pretty casual, sticking to black cloaks as a minimum). Most elaborate height of ceremonial clothing, under the High Imperceptor’s rule: supreme priest in temple: all black/senior officers of temple: black with purple sashes/senior priests: black with red sashes/upperpriests: black with fiery orange sashes/general clergy: black, with fist of Bane gorgets denoting rank (schemes varied, but generally followed the rule of more fists meant higher rank, usually from 2nd through 7th level)/newly-accepted priests [ = 1st level]: black tunic over crimson breeches/novices: crimson robes/lay brothers: orange robes (newly-accepted priests and lower allowed to wear only black half-cloaks, not full black cloaks as other ranks).
All priests of Bane carried at least two consecrated holy symbols of Bane at all times: in a hollow boot-heel and mounted on their belts (when undressed, at least one symbol, worn on neck-chain).
2. Maces: all priests of Bane (magical weapons for highest ranks). Morningstars: temple officers, priests of any rank assigned to doorguard duties. Whips and Spiked Lashes: upperpriests. Novices and lay brothers: hammers and cudgels.
3. See my answer to 1.
4. Stationary defence: Hammerguard, a variant of Evard’s black tentacles wherein tentacles didn’t grasp, but wielded maces (actually part of the spell, not actual weapons that could be detached from the tentacle). Battle: Flailing Cloud (moving by caster’s will cloud of darkness that bludgeons all creatures it touches [except those bearing a holy symbol of Bane], Mystic Lash, Flame Blade (black flames variant, same effects). These are the favourites, but Banites could wield almost any spell. Higher level priests always carried some formidable cause wounds spells, and the ‘real bad ones’ usually had flame strikes AND blade barriers ready to go.
Quiet confidence, and cold, clipped speech (whispers dripping with menace) was the preferred “style” among most Banites; swaggering, shouting and ranting were for lesser clergy of lesser gods. Note that in the Zhentil Keep mix, the clergy and the wizards tended to loathe each other, the beholders keeping both groups from erupting into open strife by “making examples” of those individuals who did. (This hatred wasn’t divinely-dictated: in Darkhold and other outposts, certain clerics and wizards who had to work together daily became firm friends, or even lovers.)
Have fun! ;}
So saith Ed. My, but I’m feeling all tingly, being called a “channel into Ed.” Let me just pass over THAT mental image and try to answer your questions. :} Hmmm. We Knights fought lots of helmed horrors, dark nagas, and banelar, but usually only when creeping into their lairs or Zhent strongholds (helmed horrors were used as “terrorize all commoners” doorwardens for Zhent caches in caves and old tombs, in Zhent strongholds, and in naga lairs. When encountering Banite priests in the open (i.e. a road patrol near Voonlar or Yulash), we usually faced twenty or so Zhentilar warriors, commanded by a priest (sometimes with an underling) and a wizard of lesser power than the priest (sometimes accompanied by an apprentice). If neither priest nor wizard had a lackey, they’d instead be accompanied by at least one mounted crossbowman of skill.
We invaded many Banite temples, shrines, and covert bases, of course, and generally found more priests there (especially outside the large temples, the Banites seemed never to work in groups of less than five or six, and often had ‘errand runners,’ too).
And we did our share of hacking and slashing, though it became almost a party prank to dress up in the garments of priests or wizards we’d slain and go around issuing orders that would direct other Banites into traps or elf ambushes (or just order them to camp on a road on a foggy night, knowing a smugglers’ caravan was rushing along that road with lanterns out :}).
And yes, get them more interested in the roleplaying. Toss lots of mysteries at them, from missing people to why that dead Banite is wearing your sister’s face to what sort of treasure is this weird broken thing, and what happens when I push THIS?
(Answer: no, not an explosion or a genie popping out, but a ghostly face coalesces, speaks a cryptic message, and then races away like a comet into the night, obviously to deliver that message to someone else -- but who? And now what?)
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2004 : 03:12:13
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Well met again. The Hooded One here, passing on another Ed answer:
Lashan, those factions should all be dabbling in everything, rather than specializing in and cornering one industry versus another. Covert competition on all fronts, so that a few bewildered independents and visitors can get caught in the middle and used by various ‘sides’ without things erupting into open civil war inside the city walls. Bribes, changing sides, double agents, all of that. Pitting the lumbermen against the dockers and suchlike would last about a month before Tantras would become a battlefield and then a mass graveyard. (Some in Calaunt might of course argue that that would be an improvement. :})
So saith Ed, ye social engineere. The Hooded One, now seeking a warm bath and my laptop to catch up on Ed’s next missive . . .
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2004 : 03:13:58
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So here I am again, Shadowlord, still toiling for Ed. Yes, ye olde slavedriving lash comes down on my bared hide again and again; ’tis a good thing I like it. :} Tell you what: you can flog me, too, for not just being myself.
In the meantime, Ed speaketh:
Why, it certainly SOUNDS like Nimbral will soon appear in something, somehow, but I can neither confirm nor deny . . . :}
As for the tale of how I created the Realms, well, one more time: me writing fantasy stories featuring the fat merchant Mirt, travelling along the Sword Coast from city to city working swindles and suchlike. (Following Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd & Gray Mouser tales in FANTASTIC, which are self-contained tales but share the same setting, and if you read enough of them, you can piece together ‘the world behind the action.’)
Expand outwards from there (if this ship is carrying this and taking on a cargo of that, and these caravan wagons ditto, then in Distant Place X they must have a lot of this to sell and need a lot of that, whereas in Distant Place Y they need textiles but can spare timber, and here in this port folk obviously need . . . and so on. So then it gets thought out carefully, climate and trade winds and currents and geology and all -- and then TSR publishes it and entire continents later get grafted on and many minor changes are made and it may no longer look quite so cohesive and planned.
There. That’s the whirlwind reply. :}
My favourite ‘deployable and fiction fodder’ race would have to be humans, with elves as the ‘gleam and glitter race’ to write about. I have a soft spot for the tomb tappers and wingless wonders (of the intelligent races among the literally hundreds of monsters I’ve created, down the years). I think the most neglected race of the ‘big intelligent core races’ is the gnomes, with halflings not far behind -- and I think the most neglected races with intriguing potential are the dragons.
My two personal favourites of my own racial creations are the Malaugrym and the weredragons. Someday I’ll do a novel that includes a malaugrym/weredragon romance and pairing . . . heh-heh.
Oh, NOW you’ve done it! Happy dancing hobgoblins, Shadowlord, d’you know what he’s emailing me? “Diabolical glee” just about covers it. Yeesh! As if the Knights didn’t have ENOUGH problems!
Exeunt, muttering (and checking quickly behind self).
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2004 : 03:16:28
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Here I am back again, Hood and all, with Ed’s latest reply (my bath is growing cold, but at least I haven’t splashed the laptop yet):
Rad, I’m afraid that it’s going to be some time before you see the Tree of Life itself in print again (I know the waits seem long for all Realms fans, but we’re writing just as fast as we can, believe me!), and Dawntree in my Realmslore WotC web columns is just an idea for DMs to run with if they want to, BUT . . . there’s a superb Realms novel coming out by year-end (not by me) that is going to point the way in the direction you’re hoping for . I shouldn’t say more yet, but . . . consider the patience of elves, and try to do likewise, and in the fullness of time . . .
So saith Ed. Isn’t he just the sort of tease you occasionally want to just whack? (Warning: he never whacks back, but he TICKLES.) The Hooded One, who shares your desire for a new elf realm, Rad, and is impatient, too . . .
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
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Phoebus
Acolyte
18 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2004 : 06:26:50
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Well Met from the Land of the Morning Calm (for another moon or so, at any rate)--
I have a couple of questions for you, oh Hooded One, and Ed as well.
The first, for Ed:
I am planning a relocation for our campaign, and am strongly leaning toward centering our adventures in the woods of Cormanthor, and the surrounding Dalelands in general. Until this point, I have chosen to keep the Elves (and the Dwarves, to a lesser degree) more or less hidden from day-to-day action in order to accentuate their rarity and the sense of them being a race in its twilight. Now, however, the valiant band will be roaming in a land that has somewhere near 50,000 Elves in Cormanthor alone. The long and the short of it is that I am trying to settle on a vision of what these Elves will be like. I am hesitant to populate their woods with the "Monster Manual standard" community for reasons of realism (I can't see average Elf commoners returning to a home once razed by the Army of Darkness, and currently besieged by unrepentant Drow raiders), but at the same time, I don't wish to make every new stronghold a small citadel of fighters with the skill of centuries behind them.
I know that the Realms "are mind to toy with as I wish" (), but I wanted to see your vision of an Elf community in an enterprise (the Return?) such as this--both hope-filled and dangerous at the same time. Would it be more akin to Tangled Trees (bands of adventurer/champion-types of various types and levels of skill), or are the Elves trying to re-create a number of miniature Myth Drannors (the city, if not the ideal), with powerful (as I remember them from the Cormanthyr supplement) hosts vying for control of the Elven Court?
And for the Hooded One:
Which Villain (with a Capital V) truly "made" the Realms for you? Or, at least, which one did you feel came closest to being a living, complex creature with ambitions, merits, flaws, etc.?
Thank you in advance,
Phoebus |
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Lord Rad
Great Reader
United Kingdom
2080 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2004 : 08:59:16
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
While this is a response that both Rad and I (and I'm sure many others) weren't hoping for, at least it is enough to keep him happy...(we can only hope... )
Yup, my day seems much brighter now Thanks Ed! |
Lord Rad
"What? No, I wasn't reading your module. I was just looking at the pictures"
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2004 : 15:51:41
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To Rad, The Sage, and others: re. the elf realm, Ed asked me to add one thing to his patience request:
"Remember, please, that dire darkness comes before brightening dawn."
There. Cryptic enough? :} |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2004 : 16:35:30
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
To Rad, The Sage, and others: re. the elf realm, Ed asked me to add one thing to his patience request:
"Remember, please, that dire darkness comes before brightening dawn."
There. Cryptic enough? :}
Would that be a dire darkness borne from the elven past? |
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RevJest
Learned Scribe
USA
115 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2004 : 18:25:08
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Hello, simontrinity. To you, Ed of the Greenwood doth make this reply:
Domo arigato, Ed and Hooded One. *bows*
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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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Kameron M. Franklin
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
228 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2004 : 20:10:54
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| I had a question related to the creation of the Realms and spurred by upcoming release of Eberron: how did TSR's "purchase" of the setting come about? Totally empathizing with the deadline issue, if someone could point me to a link where this topic may have been discussed would be just as welcome. |
"You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." --Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2004 : 03:32:35
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
To Rad, The Sage, and others: re. the elf realm, Ed asked me to add one thing to his patience request:
"Remember, please, that dire darkness comes before brightening dawn."
There. Cryptic enough? :}
Hmmm...it is indeed cryptic, although not unexpected, at least to me. I've come to expect such trends in most of the novels I read, especially those dealing with an ancient and beleaguered people whose trials through the past have greatly shaped their present and will come to shape their future as well. If any race in fantasy fits that trend, it is the Faerunian Elf...
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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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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2004 : 03:46:05
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Well met, all. The Hooded One returneth with more words from Ed (who is sick as a dog, but soldiering zombie-like through his working day at the library because it’s Spring Break off school up in Ontario, Canada, so all the kids who aren’t outside getting into mischief are in the library asking him to referee Pokemon and Magic rule disputes to them, despite him telling them frankly he’s completely unqualified to do :}):
Hi, Phoebus. Well, if I was detailing elves in Cormanthor right now, I’d lean towards this: women, children, and commoners dwelling around Lake Sember, with ward-spells, ‘instant mist’ spells, and strong armed perimeter patrols. Elsewhere in the forest, I WOULD have Tangletrees-style bands of adventurer/champion-types of various types and levels of skill, going on ‘wide patrols’ lasting a tenday or more, looping through the forest from encampment to encampment. They’re still exploring the woods, making sure that ALL the demons and devils are gone, and taking careful note of where human activity is occurring -- because they’d rather NOT confront humans before they’re strongly rooted and situated (they see it as “buying unnecessary trouble”). So, around the various dales, and around Myth Drannor’s ruins, elves are going to flit along keeping to cover as much as possible, in warbands that are ready for almost any sort of trouble, but under orders to avoid combat if at all possible.
I don’t see any buildings being erected (treehomes, yes) or elves vying for control of anything with each other yet. I urge you to rush out and buy Rich Baker’s THE FORSAKEN HOUSE the moment it sees print, but in the meantime this ‘softly, softly’ approach to the elves allows you as DM to jump either way in the future (towards either “we hide” or “here come the little fortresses, all Myth Drannors of the future”). I DO see elves contacting the Harpers and other agents to work against any Sembian investors who make any moves to “just move in an harvest this or that bit of forest,” or “make it our own personal hunting preserve, or only for our rich clients.” I hope this helps.
So saith Ed. Interestingly, the ‘home’ Realms campaign is touching on this very subject at the moment. But as for your question to me: I’ve always been most impressed with Manshoon.
Except for glimpses in Ed’s fiction (which were of course trammeled by the Code of Ethics ‘evil can’t win or even be seen to benefit from their evil deeds’ dictates), you’ve never seen the REAL Manshoon in print.
We’ve met him in play many times, and from the first he came across as a menacingly polite, sinister, utterly-controlled gentleman who just happened to be plotting several decades ahead to bring most of Faerun under his personal dominance. All lives but his own were disposable, every entity existed to be manipulated or exploited outright (with the subtle former being vastly preferable to the crude latter), and outfoxing Zhentarim underlings or opponents in games of wits was his daily entertainment. He REALLY scared me, without ever raising his voice or uttering curses or being more rude to my character than offering her some gold to betray the Knights (“I’m merely interested in where you set your price, my lady”) . . . and he still does.
I wounded him in battle, once, and he merely looked pained and murmured, “Regrettably, there will be a reckoning for this, and I never just get even. Permanent disfigurement won’t be enough. Don’t bother taking precautions. One day, when you’re defenseless, I’ll just be there. Right behind you.”
Cheery fellow.
Ed has made me jump several times since by sidling up behind me and saying, “Well met” in his Manshoon voice, just before play sessions begin. Creeped me out but good, I tell you.
And to Rad and simontrinity, Ed says: “You’re most welcome. Glad to be of help.” To SiriusBlack, he replies: “It could well be. It could very well be.” :}
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2004 : 03:48:35
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Hood adjusted and bells on my ankles, I skip onstage once more with Ed’s latest:
Hi, Kameron! Well, this tale has been told again and again, so I’ll keep it short. Starting in 1979, I started contributing articles to “The Dragon,” as the magazine was then called, and most of these articles made references to my own world, the Forgotten Realms, which actually predates D&D by some years, having begun as a fantasy fiction setting for my own pleasure in 1967. I wrote a LOT of articles for Dragon (so many that Kim Mohan made me a “Contributing Editor”) [TSR joke: “What exactly is a Contributing Editor?”/”You’ll see when you get your paycheck.”] and some of the TSR folks read DRAGON regularly.
I made those references to the Realms for two reasons:
1. Using a mouthpiece (Elminster) I could hint (e.g. “There are rumors of orcs being seen near the old ruins”) rather than speaking with the omniscient rules author voice otherwise preferred for Dragon articles at the time (“Six orcs live in this room in the ruins . . .”).
2. I could write up a monster and have it deemed “official” (as every Featured Creature was in those days; it said so right on the page it was printed on, in the magazine) and then throw it at my players feeling morally right in doing so. Extra fun for them, too, reading all about what had savaged them. Throwing new monsters at them forced them to roleplay, but if any of them had read the monster in their issue (EVERYBODY bought Dragon in those days) and remembered details, that simulated their character hearing about this monster in tutoring or tavern tales.
It seems TSR was looking for an “campaign world setting” for the forthcoming 2nd Edition of AD&D right about then (in the end, the Realms beat that edition into print, which brought about the Time of Troubles/Avatar adjustments, but that’s another story), and TSR designer Jeff Grubb telephoned me one day and asked: “I’ve been reading your articles in Dragon. Do you really have a complete, detailed fantasy world, or do you just make it up as you go along?”
“Yes,” I replied, “and yes.”
“Good,” he said, “send it!” (Actually, I’m telescoping here. Jeff and I talked for a bit, so he had a better idea of what beast they’d be buying, and then he asked me to call his boss, Mike Dobson, at home that night. I did, and TSR bought the Realms and me as a consultant for what is by today’s standards a tiny amount, but I was quite happy because I was looking forward to getting professionally-printed maps for my players; if I did my own with pencil crayons, there was no way not to have the seas and deserts show pencil-strokes.)
I spent most of the spring and summer of 1986 sending weekly or bi-weekly typed packages to TSR (some 800 pages or so, in all), until they frantically told me to STOP (Jeff would say: “Do you have anything on dungeons? Holy symbols?” and I’d write up what I had and send it along, whereupon he’d say: “Okay, now we’d like . . .” It all started with the master map of Faerun and the various dale and city maps). Then Jeff and Karen Boomgaarden [yes, that’s the correct spelling these days, and she’s a heckuva good editor, if anyone wants to hire a freelancer] set about turning all my lore into what became the Old Grey Box. Bruce Heard (then acquisitions manager, which meant “guy who hires freelancers”) assigned me to do a D&D module (which became The Endless Stair) to ‘learn the ropes’ (Karen doing the edit), and then I handed in my magic stuff (which got turned into FR4 The Magister, just as my stuff on the North became FR5 The Savage Frontier), whilst I got to work on FR1 Waterdeep And The North. I warned them and warned them that this was a REAL city, not “eight buildings and a dozen NPCs,” and they were, well, flabbergasted when the 153 pages of maps (photocopiers distort at the edges, and I wanted all the distortions to end up in streets rather than making buildings misshapen, so I deliberately did overlaps) arrived and Jeff crawled around on the floor taping them together. The result impressed a TSR vice-president enough to make CITY SYSTEM happen -- and impressed the female design staff for quite another reason: they couldn’t get to their washroom, with the assembled map all over the floor! That’s why FR1 is in tiny or “mouse type,” and my contracts for a time after that included the line: “Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Use Mouse Type.”
Those were different days; I customarily cheerfully over-wrote on a subject by thousands of words, and it just got pruned and dropped into a bucket and tossed into a future product by someone else.
And (as you can see, looking upwards) that’s the Short Version. :}
Wanna co-write a novel? Say, “Storm Silverhand In Love,” aka “Raging Bosoms of the Realms”? Or even something serious, rather than that title?
We could suggest it at GenCon, in person, and watch Peter Archer start to tear his hair out. That’s always fun. :}
So saith Ed, and I don’t think he’s joking. Advice from Ye Hooded One: Finish and hand in the contracted one first, Kameron, before you take part in any such stunt. Ed’s . . . well, Ed, and he’s legendary for the fun he gets up to at GenCon.
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2004 : 04:13:34
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Question for Ed (for once only one question!)
Are the Devils still in Myth Drannor or have they been destroyed? |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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Karth
Seeker
USA
81 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2004 : 05:03:05
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Greetings again, Ed. More questions, if you will. My questions assume YOUR campaign, not necessarily the published Realms...
1) How does an ambitious individual, say an adventuring thief or mage or fighter of common birth, go about getting himself made a recognized noble with the de rigeur coat of arms and rights of heredity? Who decides what qualifies for elevation to nobility and what does not in a free city-state like Waterdeep that is not ruled by a monarch? What would it take to get a monarch like Azoun to elevate you from nobility-minima like a knight to something more permanent and hereditary, like a duke or baron? Once you do manage to get yourself recognized as nobility, how does that status transfer from, say, Waterdeep to Cormyr or from Cormyr to Amn? Are there instances in which wealth can be the only qualifier or are deeds/service done at the behest of some ruler the only real way? What part do the Heralds play in all this?
2) How would the trading of magical items and arcane lore (spells, item and construct fabrication techniques) reasonably take place among the membership of a guild of mages such as The Watchful Order in Waterdeep? Why would the individual members of such a guild trust each other in such trading and how would it be regulated by the guild? How would introductions be made? What would occur if a member tried to cheat or attack another member in their dealings? In general, how would the accepted social protocols between members of such a guild work? What would monthly meetings be like? Are any of these sorts of lore/item transactions standardized in the guild bylaws?
I know that's alot, Ed. But I'd rather throw it all at you to answer as you will than share out a bunch of related questions piecemeal...
Hooded One: Sweethips, is it? ;) Thanks for the inside notes on Manshoon. Nice to know that Ed makes him all the debonair black-hat he can be in the 'real' realms. Question: is it fair game to guess who you are? Would you tell me if I guessed right? Expiring minds wanna know... ;)
-KN
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Prince Forge of Avalon
Learned Scribe
USA
117 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2004 : 05:21:24
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Hooded One, Ed, and all the other Lords and Ladies of the Realms(Authors,Designers etc), here at Candlekeep. I wish to express a truly heartfelt gratitude and apprecaition for your time and courtesy in sharing and allowing me to interact with you all!!!!
Again my deepest gratitude!
PFoA |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2004 : 05:21:55
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Expiring Minds?
I think Karths trying to tell us hes an Alhoon |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2004 : 05:41:50
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quote:
Originally posted by Karth
Hooded One: Sweethips, is it? ;)
That nickname slipped out from Ed Greenwood some time ago when he attended a WOTC chat that was being held to highlight one of Mrs. Cunningham's releases.
As I thought then, I do believe there is a story behind the nickname, but I will not be asking for any clearance. Rather, I will simply hope one day I get to meet one or both of these talented authors and perhaps then I will be bold enough to inquire. Probably not still as I'm too polite, but the temptation..... |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2004 : 05:56:39
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'Allo!
Okay, so it's my first time venturing on to these forums... So I don't know if this question has been asked before, or not.
Exactly how old are Mirt and Durnan? Going by what's published (the FRCS says they came out of Undermountain in 1302), both should be, at bare minimum, into their 90's. But I seem to recall reading that both had an active adventuring career before going to Waterdeep, so it's quite possible that both could be closer to 120. And if they are that old, how is it that they both seem to be much younger, like in their 50's or so? |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 18 Mar 2004 06:06:27 |
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Karth
Seeker
USA
81 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2004 : 06:20:46
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Expiring Minds?
I think Karths trying to tell us hes an Alhoon
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Not at all. However, when asking impertinent questions of a lady, it is often useful to minimize any perception of yourself as a threat by being self-deprecating. Not that I think the gesture would fool our Hooded One into admitting anything she doesn't want to. Rather, sometimes the gesture alone is enough to win favor where your own cleverness is clearly lacking... ;)
-KN
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Phoebus
Acolyte
18 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2004 : 13:05:51
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Many thanks, Hidden One & Ed, for the prompt replies to my queries.
Hidden One, I have to agree with you when it comes to Manshoon... he is by far my favorite villain of the Realms (with very close competition from Sememmon and Ashemmi). To the best of my ability, I have delivered him to my players as an evil sort of James Bond (if you will), if James were to take up the role of villainous mastermind. Up until now, however, he has made only a couple of all-too short appearances (being geographically separated and all that). Our campaign's transition to a nearby area has me somewhat salivating at the prospect of introducing him as a recurring nemesis for the heroes. 
Ed, one last question concerning Cormanthor. Much as I hate to ask you a "technical" question, do you feel Cormanthyr: Empire of Elves would be a fair source for portraying modern-day Elven forces? I'm trying to finalize encounters for incursions into the woods, and I'm curious if the template of the average Akh'Velahrn footman of past (a Fighter of 1d6+2 levels) would be applicable to today's defenders of the realm. I believe you've said in the past that you and your long-time fellow players have continued gaming using 2nd Edition rules... would you say that this sort of man-at-arms is appropriate for a 1372 DR campaign; is too powerful (given the new "warrior" demi-class); or is too weak (given the increased dangers of modern day Cormanthor)?
Again, I hate to bug you with such a "crunchy" question, but I only recently found out that you give advice and opinions here... and I can't help but feel excited about getting long-standing questions answered by the man that who sired the Realms.
Hooded One, should you find the time, I have one more question for you as well:
As a player (one the originals, at that), over the years, which development of the Realms has most touched a nerve in you (it can be either good or bad; an interpretation of Ed's work, an event, or anything of the sort)? |
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Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2004 : 13:54:15
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quote:
Originally posted by Karth
Question: is it fair game to guess who you are?
If I might answer for her: No, it's not.
The Hooded One has said several times that she wants to remain anonymous. Whether that's out of a wish to be out of the spotlight (as I thought originally) or because she wants to be all "mys-terrrrr--ee-us" (far more likely), has not been made clear. Either way, we should respect that. (That's not to say that she hasn't dropped enough clues for Watson to hazard a guess without Holmes leading him around by the nose.)
Since you are new, of course, you probably hadn't seen those posts. No matter. Now you know. |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2004)
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