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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
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Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
 Posted - 18 Mar 2004 : 12:26:34
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Nice. Unless, of course, you're an arcane spellcaster with a low wisdom score . . . in which case it's more "spooky."  |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
Download the brickfilm masterpiece by Leftfield Studios! See this page for more. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2004 : 12:36:14
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I was quite impressed with the rather simplistic, but highly useful 'Mind Poison' spell. It strikes me as odd that in a setting where spellbooks, magical parchments, and other assorted texts of arcane/historical lore, play such a common role in treasure hordes and dungeons crawls, that such a spell that inflicts a kind of mentally debilitating poison upon the subject has never been developed in previous editions...?
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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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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6666 Posts |
Posted - 21 Mar 2004 : 06:55:00
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I'm hugely impressed by this new column by SKR. Goes to show what wonderful FR potential the guy had when they let him fluff it up a tad. I formally take back all my previous criticisms about "Into the Dragon's Lair" and blame his editors!
Good work, Sean!
-- George Krashos
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"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 21 Mar 2004 : 16:41:36
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quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
I'm hugely impressed by this new column by SKR. Goes to show what wonderful FR potential the guy had when they let him fluff it up a tad. I formally take back all my previous criticisms about "Into the Dragon's Lair" and blame his editors!
-- George Krashos
You could always blame the co-author as well. If I recall that tome had two creators. |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6666 Posts |
Posted - 22 Mar 2004 : 09:38:31
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My criticisms were that the adventure, aside from setting, had little or no FR flavour. I argued that more realmslore could have made a decent adventure a good one, and maybe a great one. A few examples:
1. No decent detail on the Freedom Warriors, who could have shaped up as a great post-Dragonwar antagonist group. I mean, their leader Lord Hyraken doesn't even have a surname so we can add to our list of Cormyrean nobility if he was a new noble,etc.;
2. The Cormyrean wizards who trapped Nalavara in her demi-plane and her cohorts in another demi-plane. Who were they? Was Baerauble with them? Which king of Cormyr was reigning in 116 DR? (I know it was King Sacrast, but it would have been nice to tell the greater FR fanbase ...).
3. The list of treasure with an * indicating historical value to Cormyr. It would have been nice to give some examples, i.e. gold diadem with gems gifted to Queen Besmra of Cormyr by her lover, the pirate Kururrdan, etc.
Basically, I didn't think that there was much FR flavour to this product. Of course, SKR didn't quite agree with my sentiments ...
-- George Krashos
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"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 22 Mar 2004 : 12:15:43
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Yes, I remember being a little disappointed as well, with the lack of any considerable source information on the 'Freedom Warriors'. At the time, I had wanted to include them in several campaigns that I had operating in Cormyr at the time.
Can I assume then, that there has been nothing (either official or fan-created) detailed on this group since...?
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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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Garen Thal
Master of Realmslore
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 22 Mar 2004 : 22:20:34
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I've learned quite a bit about Into the Dragon's Lair since its release, both about the production and about SKR. It turns out Sean was the author of the Grodd-related section, while Steve Miller wrote the Cormyr-based stuff. The fact of the matter is that they had to split one copy of Death of the Dragon between them (someone decided they couldn't be trusted not to reveal the secrets), and that Sean didn't have access to the sorts of information that George has- and, as it turns out, I have- with regard to the history of Cormyr. He couldn't tell you who Besmra or Kururrdran are, and has no idea who reigned in 116 DR, because that information isn't available to most WotC staffers, much less the general Realms public.
I also know that Sean is taking extra care to make sure that the Magic Books series is consistent with the Realms, and that it contains a few new surprises for those that are used to some older characters or bits of Realmslore.
I'll agree on the Freedom Warriors information. While I didn't particularly like the execution ("Lord Hyraken of Hilp," for example, is lord of a town that, before Into the Dragon's Lair, never had a lord listed), the Freedom Warriors are an interesting group who could serve as recurring villains or differing stripes throughout the course of a campaign. At first armed resistance, they could solidify their power by becoming a sort of nobles' and merchants' alliance, their name and structure morphing and changing until the group is powerful enough to either draw the attention of the War Wizards, or to challenge the crown itself. |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 23 Mar 2004 : 04:01:21
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quote:
Originally posted by Garen Thal
I've learned quite a bit about Into the Dragon's Lair since its release, both about the production and about SKR.
What's the source for this information? Link to a message board post or something else? |
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Garen Thal
Master of Realmslore
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 23 Mar 2004 : 04:42:21
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quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlackWhat's the source for this information? Link to a message board post or something else?
Any posts on SKR's message boards would long since have fallen off, so I can't link you there. I talk to Sean regularly, though, and he's not that shy about some of his frustrations about ItDL and the lack of access to DotD during its development. You're free to head on over to his boards (located here) and do a deeper search, or to ask him yourself. As for his access to comprehensive histories of Cormyr or familiarity with the royal line, I know about them because I've asked him. You can ask him who Kurrurdan, Besmra and Sacrast were, but he wouldn't be able to tell you without asking someone else.
No one ever told him to begin with. |
Edited by - Alaundo on 23 Mar 2004 08:38:55 |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6666 Posts |
Posted - 23 Mar 2004 : 12:09:13
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I agree wholeheartedly with what you say Garen, but note that a simple e-mail/phone call to Ed would have got him all the information he needed in about 30 minutes. Without blowing my own trumpet, I would have been glad to give him a bunch of stuff that lots of people (including yourself) worked on regarding Cormyr. I know he could have, simply because he e-mailed me out of the blue when he was writing up the Shadowmasters of Telflamm for 'Cloak & Dagger'. I promptly e-mailed him every reference on Telflamm in the published Realms (as I'd collated these references for personal projects more than a year previously) and he made good use of them - see the link between the Shadowmasters and the temple of Mask in Telflamm. I'm not criticising Sean here, I'm sure he was under immense deadline pressure, but I know what excellent unofficial contributions people like Grant Christie, Bobby Nichols, Bryon Wischstadt, Tom Costa and others have made to FR products over the years and what a great untapped resource they were and are. After all, the aim should be to make the best possible FR products, and if that means you ask a few eager fans to lend you a hand (which they do for free and in their own time) then I don't think it's too big an effort. But then again, from your previous post, I think these comments are pointed far more at Steve Miller than Sean. I like Sean and his FR work and as I said before, his new website column is pretty dang good. Hopefully we'll see lots more.
-- George Krashos
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"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 23 Mar 2004 : 15:16:22
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quote:
Originally posted by Garen Thal
I talk to Sean regularly, though, and he's not that shy about some of his frustrations
Sean not being shy about voicing his opinion? Really? 
Thanks for the reply. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 20 May 2004 : 10:00:27
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Thanks for the link Wooly . I haven't visited the FR website for a few days, and so I'd forgotten that a 'Magic Book' update was coming.
The Tar'Ael Veluuthra is quite interesting, and not only because it is tied to the history of the elves. The arcane spells the tome contains could be very useful to many classes, not the least of which would be the rogue.
Is anyone here thinking about including this tome in their campaign?
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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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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 20 May 2004 : 14:17:19
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
The newest book is listed. 'Tis called the Tar'Ael Veluuthra (Whetstone of the Blade), and is a spellbook for everyone's favorite group of xenophobic elves, the Eldreth Veluuthra.
Interesting to see the current bearer is a fey'ri named Threlya Dlardrageth. I wonder if as we get closer to the August release of Richard Baker's first novel in The Last Mythal series, we'll see more of this House featured in some web articles? |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2004 : 07:17:02
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The new book is up. :)
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mb/20040818a |
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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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2004 : 16:20:59
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It's seems we have yet another elf tome...
While I appreciate the amount of detail, and spells presented from the Obsul Ssussun, I would really like to read about other tomes related to the various races of the Realms.
We haven't had any gnome workbooks yet...
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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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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2004 : 16:33:43
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I like this one. The Elf Disguise spell has potential, as does Zulifein T'orgh.
The article was very enjoyable to read. Thanks for sharing the link kuje. |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2004 : 17:24:00
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Tymora's teacups! I was trying to find the scroll so I could post the link, and friend kuje31 beat me to it.
The silent ignored scribe swoops in, slams the book down on the desk, scares the senile scribe and then does a little taunting dance. |
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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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2004 : 17:51:19
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quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
The silent ignored scribe swoops in, slams the book down on the desk, scares the senile scribe and then does a little taunting dance.
Who was that?  Has he been a scribe for long?  |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2004 : 20:47:30
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quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
The silent ignored scribe swoops in, slams the book down on the desk, scares the senile scribe and then does a little taunting dance.
Who was that? Has he been a scribe for long?
It was a joke, hehe remember, a few months ago.... WR was senile..... Never mind. :) |
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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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2004 : 22:36:39
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quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
The silent ignored scribe swoops in, slams the book down on the desk, scares the senile scribe and then does a little taunting dance.
Who was that? Has he been a scribe for long?
It was a joke, hehe remember, a few months ago.... WR was senile..... Never mind. :)
In SB's own senility, he's forgotten that one. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2004 : 22:56:57
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quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
It was a joke, hehe remember, a few months ago.... WR was senile..... Never mind. :)
I know...I was going along with the joke and pretending I wasn't recognizing you. <Sigh> and even WR didn't get it...but I'm used to senility from him. |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2004 : 00:40:40
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quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
It was a joke, hehe remember, a few months ago.... WR was senile..... Never mind. :)
I know...I was going along with the joke and pretending I wasn't recognizing you. <Sigh> and even WR didn't get it...but I'm used to senility from him.
Oh. Grin, well next time add a laughing smiley or some thing. :) |
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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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2004 : 00:44:46
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quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
It was a joke, hehe remember, a few months ago.... WR was senile..... Never mind. :)
I know...I was going along with the joke and pretending I wasn't recognizing you. <Sigh> and even WR didn't get it...but I'm used to senility from him.
Oh, I got it. But it was more fun to run with the other one.
Perhaps we should go back to talking about Magic Books before a certain staff-weilding moderator comes in...
Aren't we supposed to be getting a Waterdeep-related one soon? |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Sarelle
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
508 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2004 : 01:19:05
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| Yes I'm sure his Waterdeep watch one was to be 'next'... But this one is really good. |
Chair of the The Rightful Return of Monster Deities to FR Society (RRMDFRS)
My character, drawn by Liodain: Sarelle / Sarelle (smaller) |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2004 : 02:42:18
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Aren't we supposed to be getting a Waterdeep-related one soon?
You really see the WOTC online staff getting up the Waterdeep Magic book up any time soon? |
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Garen Thal
Master of Realmslore
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 23 Aug 2004 : 07:23:01
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Since I try to help Sean out on these articles, I suppose I can let a little slip: Assuming that Julia and the web team decide to keep putting up the books as they come, and assuming that the Waterdeep book is the one Sean completes next, it would see the light of day some time around mid- to late October.
That's not a promise of when it will be submitted, though, nor of when it will be released. It's just my best understanding of the flow of the article releases. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
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More Magic Books of Faerun
