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Arivia
Great Reader
Canada
2965 Posts |
 Posted - 29 Jul 2016 : 10:52:29
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| Awww, I was hoping I'd found a hidden easter egg! Oh well, thank you THO. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jul 2016 : 17:13:58
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Sorry. ;}
On the plus side, Ed plants so many Easter eggs that we're bound to stumble over more of them eventually...
I know he's working on 3 related DM's Guild November releases set in the Realms: linked fiction, an adventure, and a Volo's Guide-like thingie...
And much sooner than that:
Stormtalons launches! (With, I'm told, a collectors' hardcover edition of Ed's novel WORDS OF UNBINDING...which I for one MUST have!!!)
love,
THO |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6361 Posts |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3806 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jul 2016 : 18:57:00
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quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal
Well that is awesome news, it does prompt a serious question though.
How does Ed manage to write an adventure, a novella, a volo's guide, and an opening novel to a brilliant new setting all in one year and hold down a regular day job.
I spent over a year writing a 42 page sourcebook and i still dont consider it finished.
The man must be a super genius with severe insomnia.
He also takes care of his wife, and he worked on much more than just that this year (AFAIK). And, I've read somewhere (here, perhaps) that he does even more stuff, like ''ghost-writing'' part of some books for other authors. I'm starting to think that he borrowed a trick or two from Manshoon :P |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6361 Posts |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6666 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jul 2016 : 11:55:40
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quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal
Well id still like to know how he manages it. Is it down to sheer hard work. Is his memory so well developed that he can build and correct an entire work in his head so that it only takes one draft, and can he do that for multiple works simultaneously.
Is it a practice thing and he has done it so often its second nature. Is it because he gets others to do the long and tedious bits such as error and continuity checking. Does he need much less sleep than normal people.
Id love to know in case there is any tips or tricks i can use.
I can tell you. It is sheer hard work. And brilliance. And knowing "his" Realms. I ask Ed about stuff all the time more recently - prior to this year and last I was rather reticent knowing how busy he is, but I was open to him about bugging him more often and he hasn't complained yet! - and invariably in a day or so he can provide me with elven words for x, y and z, or give me a name for an ancient forest or just tell me "yep, that sounds great". The man is a creative force that knows no equal, he enjoys what he does, and spends hours upon hours doing it.
Ed will no doubt provide you with some tips in due course (I suspect they will include: write and keep writing!) but he is simply amazing, and I for one have come to appreciate more and more just what a creative wellspring he is. Aspirational and inspirational.
Oh, and he never once in my experience has he asked me to lore or continuity check his work. He may ask others, but I highly doubt it. He thinks Realms better than all of us put together.
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
Edited by - George Krashos on 31 Jul 2016 11:57:35 |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6361 Posts |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 03 Aug 2016 : 21:14:38
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Hi again, all.
dazzlerdal, he is. But it's a happy exhausted. ;} He truly lives to serve others; it's what delights him. He's the sort of gamer who plays to spend time with his friends, and explore an unfolding story, NOT to win or be "the life of the PC party."
Let me tell you a tale, of a long-ago GenCon.
Ed was playing a new, being demo'd 3-4-player boardgame against me and a young, excited teenager (no fourth).
And Ed was winning. Cruising to an easy win. And lo and behold, to the teenager's surprise, his MOTHER and some of her (female, same age) friends from work (in the Federal Building, in downtown Milwaukee) show up to watch, having dropped in to this craziness called Gen Con (something cheap and easy to do, back then) to see what it was all about.
They all (much to his embarrassment) express an interest in the game, so the teenager explains what it's about, something of how to play, and what's going on. He admits he's losing, and the game is almost over. So they say they'll stay to watch it through to the end.
And I sit at the table and play, and watch Ed throw the game so the kid wins.
Subtly. Oh, I could tell what he was doing, and I think his mother (who had a sharp, quick mind) figured it out, too, but the kid didn't, and exploded in triumphant excitement at the end. His prize was a copy of the demo game (you got GOOD prizes at GenCon, back then!), and he went off to the next thing he wanted to see or play in, just laughing and talking a mile a minute; on top of the world.
And after he was gone, and we were helping the game company guy running the demo restore the game to a ready starting state so the demo could be run again, the game company guy and I both looked at Ed and said, "You threw that game."
And Ed smiled back at us and said, "And you see how happy it made him? He'll have that moment to look back at for years. I LOVE seeing people over the moon."
"I think his mom knew what you were doing," the game company guy said, shaking Ed's hand. Ed nodded and told him, "There weren't enough rounds left to be subtle enough. But HE was fooled, so it wasn't spoiled for him. That's what matters."
There. THAT'S the Ed I know, and love. It's never about him, it's always about others. He'll fight you fiercely over the right thing to do in something being written or designed, because he looks ahead to future consequences and possibilities, but he never fights to "get his own way" or to "win."
Which makes him a TRUE winner, in my book. And is why he shared the Realms, and has stuck with it through all the hard times and management craziness all these years, and why he's starting this TEGG thing, a writers' collective. He did it to give his friends, and new writers, a chance at telling stories. (It would have been far easier, faster, and more profitable for him to have just "gone it alone.") Ed isn't about Ed, he's about making the little bit of the world around him that he can reach better for all of us.
Which is why I'm sure it's burning him to miss Gen Con again this year...
love to all,
THO
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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
Posted - 03 Aug 2016 : 22:24:37
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| Now I'm wondering if I ever met you at GenCon back then THO - I was one of those kids from Milwaukee :) |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 05 Aug 2016 : 01:34:41
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It's quite possible, though I seldom had the time to spend all four days at the convention, even back then, and usually "dropped by" for brief flying visits.
(Sidle up, embrace and kiss Ed, then wave goodbye and hit the dealers' area for some loot, then back to the waiting car and driver, and awayyyy!)
Back then, I looked a little like a taller, more slender Katie Nolan (TV sports host). A little. ;}
love,
THO |
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BARDOBARBAROS
Senior Scribe
Greece
581 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2016 : 12:47:26
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| Is there any signed copy of the novel Death Masks, available?? |
BARDOBARBAROS DOES NOT KILL.
HE DECAPITATES!!!
"The city changes, but the fools within it remain always the same" (Edwin Odesseiron- Baldur's gate 2) |
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Cards77
Senior Scribe
USA
746 Posts |
Posted - 08 Aug 2016 : 20:42:18
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Hi again, all.
dazzlerdal, he is. But it's a happy exhausted. ;} He truly lives to serve others; it's what delights him. He's the sort of gamer who plays to spend time with his friends, and explore an unfolding story, NOT to win or be "the life of the PC party."
Let me tell you a tale, of a long-ago GenCon.
Ed was playing a new, being demo'd 3-4-player boardgame against me and a young, excited teenager (no fourth).
And Ed was winning. Cruising to an easy win. And lo and behold, to the teenager's surprise, his MOTHER and some of her (female, same age) friends from work (in the Federal Building, in downtown Milwaukee) show up to watch, having dropped in to this craziness called Gen Con (something cheap and easy to do, back then) to see what it was all about.
They all (much to his embarrassment) express an interest in the game, so the teenager explains what it's about, something of how to play, and what's going on. He admits he's losing, and the game is almost over. So they say they'll stay to watch it through to the end.
And I sit at the table and play, and watch Ed throw the game so the kid wins.
Subtly. Oh, I could tell what he was doing, and I think his mother (who had a sharp, quick mind) figured it out, too, but the kid didn't, and exploded in triumphant excitement at the end. His prize was a copy of the demo game (you got GOOD prizes at GenCon, back then!), and he went off to the next thing he wanted to see or play in, just laughing and talking a mile a minute; on top of the world.
And after he was gone, and we were helping the game company guy running the demo restore the game to a ready starting state so the demo could be run again, the game company guy and I both looked at Ed and said, "You threw that game."
And Ed smiled back at us and said, "And you see how happy it made him? He'll have that moment to look back at for years. I LOVE seeing people over the moon."
"I think his mom knew what you were doing," the game company guy said, shaking Ed's hand. Ed nodded and told him, "There weren't enough rounds left to be subtle enough. But HE was fooled, so it wasn't spoiled for him. That's what matters."
There. THAT'S the Ed I know, and love. It's never about him, it's always about others. He'll fight you fiercely over the right thing to do in something being written or designed, because he looks ahead to future consequences and possibilities, but he never fights to "get his own way" or to "win."
Which makes him a TRUE winner, in my book. And is why he shared the Realms, and has stuck with it through all the hard times and management craziness all these years, and why he's starting this TEGG thing, a writers' collective. He did it to give his friends, and new writers, a chance at telling stories. (It would have been far easier, faster, and more profitable for him to have just "gone it alone.") Ed isn't about Ed, he's about making the little bit of the world around him that he can reach better for all of us.
Which is why I'm sure it's burning him to miss Gen Con again this year...
love to all,
THO
Thank you for sharing that. That's a great glimpse into the kind of man he is. Rare is the genius who can turn their unique perception and intellectual might outwardly to make the world around him better.
A true, humble loving person strives for DOING right, not BEING right. |
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Duneth Despana
Learned Scribe
Belgium
273 Posts |
Posted - 09 Aug 2016 : 21:18:47
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| Can you tell us more about Othorian the 'Last Elf'? |
« There is no overriding « epic » in the Realms, but rather a large number of stories, adventures, and encounters going on all the time. [...]. Each creative mind adds to the base, creating, defining, and making their contribution to the rich diversity of the Realms. [...]. But Ed built the stage upon which all the plays are presented. Thanks Ed. » -FR Comic no.1
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createvmind
Senior Scribe
490 Posts |
Posted - 09 Aug 2016 : 21:21:18
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Hi all,
Ed I'm curious if you could share your realms lore to help me figure this concept out btw it's related to my witch/hag question.
So I'm wanting this hags or witches to dupe their followers into allowing a ritual that basically allows the witches to draw blood and hair from the "victimsz' which they use as components to basically make these victims similar to a vampire spawn implanting articifial "worship" in them but also a cognitive dissonance that won't allow the victims to see the manner in which they are manipulated on top of the victims basically being "fonts" for which thw witches can draw vitality and discharge many forms of damages and curses the witches would be subject to..AGAIN with the victims unaware of this and unaccepting of it even if told. The exchange of damage is spread out amogst the victims accept for certain forms and outright destruction of the witche/witches and when someone does die within this "cult" a ritual is done that prevents the soul from going to its proper afterlife but instead becomes "coin" for the hags to hags/witches to barter with. These hags/witches predominately engage in curses and causes sickness for most part, bassically small power players basically trying to avoid drawing the attention of the big players but unknowingly are fueling something beyond their control. Now my question is would it likely require an artifact of considerable or great power to fuel these passive siphoning and damage transfer abilities and soul-storage abilities along with granting the witches some of their powers or perhaps a archdevil or deity like Talona in disguise?
These rituals were intially more positive until they were corrupted by this particular conclave for their own personal gain, basically imagine a heal spell for instance that gives the witches all the benefits of it even if not present while the victim recieves a meager portion of the benefits and obfuscated damages yet feels and believes he/she is fine. Unbeknowst to the conclave (if it this is powered by an artifact or several component artifacts instruments) is the fact that it is powering or releasing something far beyond the power level they believe they will obtain with this continued ritual.
Appreciate any help you could share on topic.
My other question is are you a fan of Ralph Baskhi and have you two met before? |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2016 : 18:17:59
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Ed,
First and Foremost. Thank you for Death Masks. This is a Waterdeep I can get behind again. I love Laeral as the Open Lord, and I'm glad to see Mirt back where he belongs. I was also touched by the scene where she mind linked to the old lord Neverember. The idea that "its all how you view it" is something I've often tried to get across in my games (i.e. not all Red Wizards, Zhents, or Mulmasterites are evil, and not all Impilturites are holy knights, and not all Witches of Rashemen are good).
Second. Mordenkainen in the realms.... and damned if he doesn't look like Khelben.... well, you know where I'm going... |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3806 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2016 : 20:13:10
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Ed,
First and Foremost. Thank you for Death Masks. This is a Waterdeep I can get behind again. I love Laeral as the Open Lord, and I'm glad to see Mirt back where he belongs.
I second this. I enjoyed that book in a way that I really didn't expect (because I've been almost unable to get myself to read novels for some time). |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
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Jadedgod
Acolyte
USA
9 Posts |
Posted - 15 Aug 2016 : 04:45:34
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| Question for Ed. As someone who likes to adventure in shadowdale, what does shadowdale look like currently? How has it changed in the intervening years? Particularly with recent events? Wanting to run a campaign there and information is scant for 5e shadowdale. Dalelands in general really. |
The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with weary feet,
Until it joins some larger way,
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say. |
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Bruce Donohue
Learned Scribe
Canada
131 Posts |
Posted - 15 Aug 2016 : 18:30:39
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Spoiler Alert, for those that didn't or haven't yet read Death Masks...
On p.12 ... "These days, we Chosen touch the minds of others with magic only when the need is dire. Doing so ruins most minds, so Mystra has absolutely forbidden us from invading the mind of anyone who can wield the Art." for other that are not, "So Mystra made it hurt so dearly that a mage using spells without Weave-aid will collapse before they learn much of anything. WE Chosen can keep going--so she forbade us to probe wizards, and strongly cautioned us against mindreading anyone else. Adding the pain to keep us to that."
Now having mentioned quote that, when did that come into effect in terms of the exact date of Mystra's Commandement?
Mirt than mentions..."So as wizards are now rarer and more precious than ever, you are not to driving any of them insane."
So when did the decline in Wizards start, why are there fewer wizards taking up the Art?
p.21 "If Laeral now admitted to him (elminster)that she was forgetting many spells, the details of casting them simply falling out of her head time after time so they were effectively lost to her..well, she wouldn't be the first of the sisters to reaval as much to him."
Why is that happening? Did something not go right after the Sundering when Mystra came back and magic came back into the world?
P.39 can Ed elaborate on this next passage that Laeral talks about?
"All of Mystra's born Chosen---the Seven--- wear out their distinctive silver-haired bodies over time. Centuries, but eventually the crumbling began in earnest. Then they must take new ones from other as Elminster did, an ethical choice none of them preferred, or return to the Weave and await Mystra "mothering" a new body for them, or put more and more of their energies into maintaining either their magic or their bodies. She'd chosen the latter herself, so her Art now slowly fading."
Having mentioned the above quote, now that Laeral has taken a new body, is she fully restored powerwise to her archmage levels?
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Edited by - Bruce Donohue on 15 Aug 2016 18:33:29 |
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Silent Warrior
Acolyte
1 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2016 : 07:35:08
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| Hello all! So this question might be a bit outdated, but I'd like to know something about the transition from 3e in the realms to 4e. Why, when Mystra was killed by Cyric, did one of the 'other' gods of magic not subsume her portfolio? When Mystryl died it was because Karsus had stolen her divinity and then with his death a new goddess of magic, Mystra, was immediately appointed. When Mystra died it was during the Time of Troubles, so there were no gods who could take over, and at the conclusion of these events the mortal whom Mystra had chosen was ascended to the position of goddess of magic. But when the last incarnation of the goddess of magic died the portfolio was just sort of left hanging for a hundred years. So why didn't one of the other gods of magic take over and work to fix the weave, or institute a new dominion over magic? Corellon could have increased his worshipers and his power by becoming not just chief god among elves and elven god of magic and battle, but the god of magic for all of Faerun plus the chief elven deity. Did the collapse of the weave make her portfolio inaccessible in some way? Or did Lord Ao prevent in some way prevent this? Or are there some racial godly strictures? This last thought seems unlikely since some of the elven gods are aspects of other Faerunian deities. Sorry to bother with this question, but it's something I've been wondering about for awhile. I'm also not quite as current with all the reading as I'd like to be; busy life raising children and such, so if there is something obvious that I'm missing I apologize. |
One often meets his destiny on the path one takes to avoid it. -Master Oogway |
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KanzenAU
Senior Scribe
Australia
763 Posts |
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Bruce Donohue
Learned Scribe
Canada
131 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2016 : 10:00:00
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Hello all,
Don't forget to take a look at Ed's new world and book at:
http://onderlibrum.com/product/st01-words-of-unbinding/
To print this book, we need to reach 250 pre-orders. Check out our target meter and help us spread the word!
Here is the synopsis for all you that might be interested and the perks for ordering it early:
Tanthalas is a crowded, stinking, dangerous place, but to Dustra, it’s home. And all of the world she’s ever known. She serves old Launtelle, an old woman who sells secrets for a living. And when you know too much, enemies swarm to you like moths to a flame. One of them is THE Big Foe, watching from afar like a malevolent stormfront: the Heirophar, the mysterious and all-mighty archwizard. Or is he? What does Launtelle know about him that may doom her, and Dustra along with her? And who is the local vagabond everyone calls “Tavern,” really?
As death closes in to claim more folks than usual, will the secrets whispered by the old witch prove Dustra’s salvation . . . or her doom?
There are extra incentives to buy early! Canadians – check out our dual pricing special! Also, the first 250 buyers will be automatically entered into a draw to win:
•1 of 3 hour-long online chats with The Archmage, Mr. Ed Greenwood. Value: priceless!
•1 of 3 oil-on-canvas Stormtalons map (for delivery in early 2017). Value: $200
•1 of 20 free e-copies of another Stormtalons or Hellmaw title of your choice. Value: $9.99
•Get a character named after you in the second book in Mr. Greenwood’s Stormtalons series (name to be adapted to fit series). Value: immortality unlocked!
Limited Edition features:
•Velum tip-in sheet recording the number of your limited edition, personally signed by Ed Greenwood, featuring a full-color map drawn by Eric Belisle
•Handsome Arlan cover with debossed, gold-rimmed, full-color Stormtalons logo
•Color-treated book edges
•Integrated ribbon bookmark
•Foil on the spine
On top of this beautiful edition, you’ll also receive:
•A free copy of the ebook edition
•A full colour postcard of the map, with the paperback cover on the reverse
•Free shares in Nornar Mining, STC! (details forthcoming)
I know that it is possibly shameless in doing this promotion, considering heehee I just pre-ordered my copy, but I want to support Ed in his new venture and hoping that he gets the target 250 pre-orders so that it can be printed. |
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Shadowsoul
Senior Scribe
Ireland
705 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2016 : 07:22:35
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| I would love to support this book but 49.99 plus 25 quid for shipping is more than I am willing to pay. |
“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisioned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape?. . .If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we're partisans of liberty, then it's our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!”
#8213; J.R.R. Tolkien
*I endorse everything Dark Wizard says*. |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6666 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2016 : 10:29:20
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Well, the site isn't taking my credit card pre-order. Hopefully that can be fixed.
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2016 : 12:08:40
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quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
Well, the site isn't taking my credit card pre-order. Hopefully that can be fixed.
-- George Krashos
Maybe it's a geographical thing. Send me your credit card info, and I'll see if I can place the order for you.   |
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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Bruce Donohue
Learned Scribe
Canada
131 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2016 : 13:04:52
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I managed the Purchase but had this experience (did any of you that tried get the same error message?) I have sent this message to the site to let them know. George if you can, maybe send Ed an email heads up as well?
I made of purchase on the Emporium for Words of Unbinding on August 18, 2016. I couldn't use the site as it is set-up to take my credit card and I know of 3 people that did the same and got the same result. It keeps saying that An Error Occurred. I tried using my Visa Card.
So I completed the order using the Paypal option and used my MasterCard, and it was completed successfully and the order number is 2760.
This morning I received a call from Visa Security, and my Visa Card was cloned and a charge of $600 was charged and linked with a charge from India.
I wanted to advise you as soon as possible since someone is looking at your site and cloning people attempts to complete a purchase using the form that you have completed. |
Edited by - Bruce Donohue on 19 Aug 2016 13:16:46 |
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Bruce Donohue
Learned Scribe
Canada
131 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2016 : 13:14:49
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| Just to add, no security issues using Paypal and my Paypal order went through 100%. So if anyone is wanting to Purchase the Book, my suggestion is use the Paypal option |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
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Baldorar
Acolyte
Spain
8 Posts |
Posted - 21 Aug 2016 : 10:13:03
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Howdy to everyone!
I've been reading these boards for some weeks now and have some questions for Ed. They may have been already answered, but it's kind of hard to look through all the threads till I find it!
I've been playing two campaigns in the Realms in 2nd Edition AD&D and my first question is: to what extent the Volo's Guides have been changed to meet TSRs standards and how much is from the original Ed's home campaign? Are they usable for pre-Time of Troubles campaigns?
The second question is a similar one. I've purchased recently the 1st Edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting and I'm planning to buy the FR modules from 1 to 6. As I want to start my home campaign from a "purer Greenwoodian" perception of the Realms... my question is the following: how much in it is properly Ed's and how much is TSR's?. I know, for instance, that Douglas Niles changed a lot of the Monnshaes, but I don't know to what extent. As for the Grey Box and the other FR modules, don't know anything.
Maybe other posters can give me a hand too.
Thank you! |
Edited by - Baldorar on 21 Aug 2016 10:18:28 |
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore
1847 Posts |
Posted - 21 Aug 2016 : 23:33:54
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Dear Ed & THO, if possible, could you share any information regarding the marriage between Aumry Orbarskyr and Sylune? I'm particularly interested in whether or not they had any children and who they might be, but also general information on Aumry, how he died, was he on good terms with the Orbarskyr family (and how, exactly, he fits into the family tree), what kind of man was he (including his alignment) and how/why did he become lord of Shadowdale? Thanks.
EDIT: And is the name Aumry in any way tied to El's surname? |
I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one. |
Edited by - The Arcanamach on 22 Aug 2016 01:15:55 |
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KanzenAU
Senior Scribe
Australia
763 Posts |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2016)
Topic Locked
