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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
770 Posts |
 Posted - 02 Aug 2021 : 01:13:25
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Aglashaun Fairfain
Sune's Fisherman. The Tongue That Slays With A Smile. Dark curly ringlets, downdagger moustache, dashing smile. Eyes "of bright Faelûne" (the word breathless poets use to describe the eyes of the goddess Tymora; a sort of blue-gold-green-violet that does not exist naturally in Faerûn). Has a fearless (and often foolish) nature, and a love of flirting, danger and romance rarely found outside of ribald bard tales and lurid chapbooks. Could have been one of Durnan's greatest Red Sash agents in the city, except for his refusal to keep a low, unassuming profile. Currently believed to be championed by Lord Challas Amcathra and to be under the protection of Ssaeryl Shadowstar of the House of Beauty. A regular at noble's balls and feasts although no one seems to know why, as he tends to repay their invitation by absconding with their handsomest sons or daughters.
Alûvhae Fire-Eyes
The half-elven Alûvhae was trained in the Art by the mage Ahghairon. In the latter half of the thirteenth century DR she served as one of the first "black-robes" (magisters) and was later appointed a Hidden Lord of the city by Baeron and Shilarn. It is her soul that animates the Walking Statue that customarily perches at the top of the Cliffride, the one that was found curled like a sleeping babe at the base of Blackstaff Tower in Uktar of 1367DR (a magical compulsion brought about by the whims of the Maid of Misrule, the goddess Beshaba).
Amalasanae Whitemantle (CG ½EF SP6 of Lliira)
"Mala" (as her friends call her) is most often remembered for the mass of luxuriant, curly auburn hair which she continually attempts to push out of her eyes (a usually futile gesture). Her locks serve to frame a youthful, impish face with just a hint of freckles. She likes to dress in the manner of the caravan-folk of the Western Heartlands (long skirts slit for easy mobility and loose blouses that bare her gold-freckled cinnamon shoulders), and to go about barefoot whenever possible (obviously not possible in Northern winters, when she happily piles on layers of furs and fur-lined boots; nor when danger is nigh, where she maintains a set of enchanted leathers and a sensible armored helm). She is an excellent dancer, cook, and musician, and has quite a liking for strong dwarven spirits. Once a follower of the Knights Errant adventuring company she now travels the North with the rogue Corynn Threefinger (CG HM F3/T6), spreading the Lady's joys and and free coin and wine (and relieving those too miserly or grumpy to appreciate such things in turn).
Anaulghra
The Harpy of the Hedges. A fat, sagging, wheezing old hedge witch. Keeps a small farmstead and midwifery outside Rassalantar. Long before she knew the Art she knew how to use her fists, and is still capable of giving any swaggering blade who crosses her path a lesson in brawling. Spits equally copious amounts of blackroot and invective. Keeps the yellowish remnants of a once-flowing head of hair pinned under both headcloth and floppy, large-brimmed hat. Squinted eyes, the right one of which is squeezed shut so often most assume it to be lost. Has run through a number of young, fresh-faced lasses as both apprentices and bed-warmers, the latest of which is Thanessra Gulthroon, a pug-nosed, copper-haired, willful half-elf from Nesmé.
Yadren
Spindly-limbed, pot-bellied. Balding black pate, bushy black muttonchops. Cheery and glib to paying customers, sullen and withdrawn to all others. Proprietor of The Remmelee (abbreviated by regulars to The Rem'lee, but more often bowdlerized by the same as The RUM'lee), the Dock Street tankard-and-flop that replaced the old Harp-Sounder House, after the owner was slain during the Great Sea Invasion (torn in half fleeing a giant crayfish in truth, though those who knew him still glamorize a valiant last stand against massed sahuagin warriors). The tap offers the standard drinks of ale, red wine and zzar, with mugs of spiced (and fortified) wine available in the winters. The meager choice of fare is all seafood pulled fresh from the sea and quickly thrown on the grill; sardine, northern sweet-squid, ice bass, and oyster (grilled in shell, boiled and thrown with cream in bread trencher, or in a watery soup with potato bits, capers, and a drizzle of oil). They also once offered a lovely sea bream with a buttery lemon-parsley dressing and side of garlic-spiked fists of toast; it was the personal pride of Raurlora, the lady of the house, and it was the kind of dish that none of the rough sorts that come in to drink down their last coppers ever appreciates, and it is probably the reason that she left Yadren and took up her pots and pans and her talents and moved over to the kitchens of the Blushing Mermaid, instead.
'The Remmelee' the place is named after is the title of an enduring sailor's stomp-and-clap sing-along, about the master of a northern sailing ship who encountered a sea-unicorn that was actually an enspelled elf-maid of the ocean (as they all are), and how he wooed her with his rugged northern looks and charm and thereby won her horn, which was really a magic sword (as they all are also), and took her beneath the waves to her kingdom where he defeated her father, an evil sea-spirit, and then forever-after ruled atop a pile of gold and pearls and sea-maids (as you do). Spontaneous sing-alongs break out regularly in the taproom during the course of any given afternoon or evening and everyone present is expected to join in (and those who don't – or aren't enthusiastic enough about it, in the opinion of the regulars – are probably in for a bit of trouble).
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AJA
YAFRP
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 03 Aug 2021 : 02:27:44
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quote:
Originally posted by AJA
The Tattletrees
An unwelcoming forested reach west of the Star Mounts, "where bird and branch both work to alert of the trod of man." This was once Waelendrial, the elven steadfast of Quiver-Eaves ("The House whose Sign was The Unshaken Tree beneath the Seven Steadfast Stars"), a house of magicians and craftsmen (for the elves, of course, see no difference between the two) still renowned for their elfcloaks of Tattletree Grey (the name now given to a mottled color distinct from the more common variety, with largely the same results), and for Entheriel, Lady of Love and Wonder (see below). Now fallen and desolate, but not undefended; still watched over and avenged by the Nonalorn "pale and vivid and drear" (a circle of nine spectral baelnorn) who lie in chambers interwoven of durmast and birch and await the whisper and rustle of the trees and the cawings of the birds to alert them to tresspassers.
So, the tattletrees was roughly where the present day dire wood is today in the high forest? And a noted sign of it resembles to a strong degree Mystra's symbol? 'Twould be almost as if there was a reason that Karsus may have been directly above said area when attempting his later magics. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
770 Posts |
Posted - 04 Aug 2021 : 01:20:40
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
So, the tattletrees was roughly where the present day dire wood is today in the high forest? And a noted sign of it resembles to a strong degree Mystra's symbol? 'Twould be almost as if there was a reason that Karsus may have been directly above said area when attempting his later magics.
No no, your other "west" (stop taking directions from Leirans, sleyvas  )
That said, the High Forest is a truly immense area. Especially if you use the older maps before the 3E designers decided, in their infinite wisdom, to include it among the "useless"/"empty"/"uninteresting" areas of Faerûn and clear-cut it by about 2/3rds. Multiple things can lie within the same general direction away from another thing and not overlap. That said, you've come in with an intriguing premise and I'd be open to a reconsidering-of-direction, but I'm not sure the descriptions of The Dire Wood would match up properly, given things like the petrified trees and the city of Karse that is already located there.
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AJA
YAFRP
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 04 Aug 2021 : 13:17:10
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quote:
Originally posted by AJA
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
So, the tattletrees was roughly where the present day dire wood is today in the high forest? And a noted sign of it resembles to a strong degree Mystra's symbol? 'Twould be almost as if there was a reason that Karsus may have been directly above said area when attempting his later magics.
No no, your other "west" (stop taking directions from Leirans, sleyvas )
That said, the High Forest is a truly immense area. Especially if you use the older maps before the 3E designers decided, in their infinite wisdom, to include it among the "useless"/"empty"/"uninteresting" areas of Faerûn and clear-cut it by about 2/3rds. Multiple things can lie within the same general direction away from another thing and not overlap. That said, you've come in with an intriguing premise and I'd be open to a reconsidering-of-direction, but I'm not sure the descriptions of The Dire Wood would match up properly, given things like the petrified trees and the city of Karse that is already located there.
DOH! I knew there was something fishy about that map I got on the cheap.
You nailed me, and you wouldn't believe how many times I've messed that up. Funny thing, I was looking at some work I was doing on Katashaka for about a year... and I had a map drawn up, etc... and one day I looked at the "Eastern Pridelands" that I had referenced.... maybe 100 times... and realized I had it on the western coast.
On relocating the tattletrees as a concept.... A) they can be a very big area, and B) this reference would have been before the fall of Netheril. So, Entheriel may have come here to access a resource in order to become a demigod, and it worked. Karsus then comes here because he wants to draw on the same resource. Maybe said resource is some kind of special stone/metal that fell from the sky, and possibly the reason why he turned to stone had more to do with what he was linked to (though its just as likely that "he turned to stone because all dead gods turn to stone... only he didn't go to the astral". Perhaps even, this "stone" that fell from the sky.... maybe it fell from the sky VIA a portal that opened in space..... a portal in the astral... where the dead stone body of a god was shattered, and through which a portion of its body came through to the material plane.
Taking this a little further.... what if the tattletrees were all telepathically connected trees, because the "godstone" that fell from the sky was from some dead elven god who died in the Seldarine conflict with Lolth and others (maybe at the hands of Moander). Maybe a lover of Sehanine Moonbow or somesuch. Maybe there is more than one similar shard.... for instance, another may have even further pierced the earth and come to reside where modern Araumycos is. Therefore "leakage" of this dead (maybe elven, maybe faerie, maybe a tree god) god may have created the sentience of Araumycos as well. This might make the storyline of Zuggtmoy wanting to "marry" Araumycos in Out of the Abyss a little more interesting/believable as well (i.e. a "ritual" to "bond" her with the power of a dead god). Just some ideas to throw around.
Also, using this same idea IF WE WANTED TO .... Lurue is noted as being in the High Forest around the Unicorn Run/Star Mounts. We COULD have Lurue somehow ascended to godhood as a result of this object as well (somewhat making the concept that she's a "child of the moon goddess" a bit true).
Finally, given the symbology between this and Selune's and Mystra/Midnight's symbols, other things could be done as well. I won't ponder those so much without seeing how you like the above (not even sure if I'd want to do that much). |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
Edited by - sleyvas on 04 Aug 2021 14:28:19 |
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PattPlays
Senior Scribe
469 Posts |
Posted - 05 Aug 2021 : 09:08:20
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quote:
Originally posted by AJA
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
So, the tattletrees was roughly where the present day dire wood is today in the high forest? And a noted sign of it resembles to a strong degree Mystra's symbol? 'Twould be almost as if there was a reason that Karsus may have been directly above said area when attempting his later magics.
No no, your other "west" (stop taking directions from Leirans, sleyvas )
That said, the High Forest is a truly immense area. Especially if you use the older maps before the 3E designers decided, in their infinite wisdom, to include it among the "useless"/"empty"/"uninteresting" areas of Faer#251;n and clear-cut it by about 2/3rds. Multiple things can lie within the same general direction away from another thing and not overlap. That said, you've come in with an intriguing premise and I'd be open to a reconsidering-of-direction, but I'm not sure the descriptions of The Dire Wood would match up properly, given things like the petrified trees and the city of Karse that is already located there.
The 3rd edition changes to the high forest are quite a mess to me.
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/b/b5/Delimbyir_vale-2e.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20190421150209
This is the vale from the 2e maps, and in the third edition it's like they moved the entire mountain range and river southward just so they could fit "The High Forest" in big dumb letters over the northeast side.
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/c/c8/High_Forest.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110408001541
The horror..
And 5e here.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/93/53/ce/9353cebaca8b4193583d04cc30365da8.jpg
So whenever someone brings up The Star Mounts, there are a northern variant and a traditional variant for their location. Kind of a big deal for those in the vale.. |
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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
770 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2021 : 01:11:11
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
I won't ponder those so much without seeing how you like the above (not even sure if I'd want to do that much).
No worries. You do the same thing I do, throw some random thoughts out there and see what sparks other peoples imaginations. No need to go on when brief thoughts and splashes of evocation do the job. That "leave 'em wanting more" is what Ed did in his old DRAGON articles, it's what Ed and Jeff did in the Old Grey Box, and (IMO) it's what the best of Realms designers and fan-writers still do now (even while weaving in and out around mounting canon lore).
The only other thought I've had since the original entry is this:
quote:
And much like Lashrael and Felarathael, Entheriel is a being of a far older age than Shaarven and Waelendriel. She is found, under another name, in the elven sagas of the ancient War of Elf and Orc (and The Great Battle where Corellon took out the eye of the dark and terrible orc-god Gruumsh, and the foul Betrayal of the goddess Araushnee, which nearly undid Corellon and indeed all of elven-dom, and whose wroth banishment caused a great split, and a great stain, upon all the elves forever-after), where she is known as Lluriendel ("who equipp'd the ranks not with arms or rainment, but with song, and with courage of heart, and for as long as her song held they fought on in wild battle, every one brave and proud"). Her song, as is said, held until she was grasped and drained directly by the orc god Yurtruus, whose pustulent foulness brought her beyond death and is why, even after she was returned to Faerûn as Entheriel by the divine writ of Sehanine, she clad herself in long, flowing rainments that covered her limbs and body entirely, and why she faithfully followed the terms of her mortal resurrection (that being the fight against Siluvanede and the ensuing salvation of as much of Shaarven as possible) before finding her way back to the bosom of Faerie, where once she was content.
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AJA
YAFRP
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Edited by - AJA on 12 Aug 2021 01:11:58 |
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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
770 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2021 : 01:13:35
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quote:
Originally posted by PattPlays
The 3rd edition changes to the high forest are quite a mess to me.
This is the vale from the 2e maps, and in the third edition it's like they moved the entire mountain range and river southward just so they could fit "The High Forest" in big dumb letters over the northeast side.
The horror..
And 5e here.
So whenever someone brings up The Star Mounts, there are a northern variant and a traditional variant for their location. Kind of a big deal for those in the vale..
I freely admit that it's been awhile since I've measured out the changes to the High Forest myself, and that I'm drawing that "2/3rds" number from an uncited source on the FRWiki. Also, that those words in my post in quotation marks are soft quotes as I don't have the old links (most likely long gone, now) to provide proof for them.
That said, there were definitely changes made as a result of the 3E designers changing the maps; the Shaar, as a whole, was the most brought up and discussed; less so the even-more-drastic squishing of the Trackless Sea (bringing both Evermeet and Maztica much closer to the Sword Coast dnd excising out Ed's oft-stated but "un-canon" "endless waves" and "endless island chains"); and, even more unremarked upon, the shrinking of the wooded boundaries of the High Forest. Pretty sure they made a mess of the Erlkazar region too, but it's been awhile since I've looked over that way.
(and any standard DnD campaign has access to Fly and Teleport in relatively short order, and then distance will never matter again. And what did it accomplish? They shrink areas and they still continue to complain that there is no space to tell their stories. *sigh*)
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AJA
YAFRP
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2021 : 23:54:28
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quote:
Originally posted by AJA
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
I won't ponder those so much without seeing how you like the above (not even sure if I'd want to do that much).
No worries. You do the same thing I do, throw some random thoughts out there and see what sparks other peoples imaginations. No need to go on when brief thoughts and splashes of evocation do the job. That "leave 'em wanting more" is what Ed did in his old DRAGON articles, it's what Ed and Jeff did in the Old Grey Box, and (IMO) it's what the best of Realms designers and fan-writers still do now (even while weaving in and out around mounting canon lore).
The only other thought I've had since the original entry is this:
quote:
And much like Lashrael and Felarathael, Entheriel is a being of a far older age than Shaarven and Waelendriel. She is found, under another name, in the elven sagas of the ancient War of Elf and Orc (and The Great Battle where Corellon took out the eye of the dark and terrible orc-god Gruumsh, and the foul Betrayal of the goddess Araushnee, which nearly undid Corellon and indeed all of elven-dom, and whose wroth banishment caused a great split, and a great stain, upon all the elves forever-after), where she is known as Lluriendel ("who equipp'd the ranks not with arms or rainment, but with song, and with courage of heart, and for as long as her song held they fought on in wild battle, every one brave and proud"). Her song, as is said, held until she was grasped and drained directly by the orc god Yurtruus, whose pustulent foulness brought her beyond death and is why, even after she was returned to Faerûn as Entheriel by the divine writ of Sehanine, she clad herself in long, flowing rainments that covered her limbs and body entirely, and why she faithfully followed the terms of her mortal resurrection (that being the fight against Siluvanede and the ensuing salvation of as much of Shaarven as possible) before finding her way back to the bosom of Faerie, where once she was content.
I like this for two reasons
So, Entheriel is the "rebirthed" "fey" goddess Lluriendel who has to walk around covering her body because of "sickness" in her limbs. I'm picturing some story where her unicorn mount walks up as she's dying (and her body's sickness is draining into the earth
around her), touches her with her horn, purifies her, and absorbs the intellect of Lluriendel... to become Lurue aka Luruendel. The power of the tattletrees awakens through her and she starts giving animals the power of speech or something.
Second (and this is just a maybe), I picture then this unicorn travelling south to the lands of the Ilythiir.. maybe... and freeing some halfling slaves. They name their homeland Lurien after this being that saved them.
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Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
770 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2021 : 00:36:30
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Biskra Blaemeer
Proprietor of The Flame of Majesty (highcoin fashionry, Street of the Singing Dolphin, Sea Ward; "apparel beautiful and golden to the eye, and lightsome to the touch. Splendid garb, fashioned of brilliant weave, and deeply a-glow in all the bright dyes of the recognized Ninety-and-Nine-Score Colorings of Elf and Dwarf and Man"). Sweet, calm, immaculate. Speaks in quiet tones of flattery and deference. Has a secret brazier-lined chamber in her basement dedicated to The Twelve Beheld in Flame (the "Twelve Lords Arcane of Netheril" who escaped the fall of that ancient realm and now lie in deathless slumber, bestowing visions and power to those who seek them in the flames – as well as promise of slaves and riches and powers beyond comprehension when the day of their awakening comes. This is an ancient cult in the North, kept alive by a succession of demon and devil lords for their own manipulative ends, granting just enough boons to true believers to keep the cult – and attendant sacrifices – going).
Millathren
A good-natured old peddler and life-long native of South Ward. Full white moustache, sparse stringy white hair, and watery blue eyes that no longer see as well as they once did. Commonly found dressed in a worn leather smock and knee-high "fisherman's boots," wading through the malodorous debris piles of the Rat Hills or trudging his refuse-laden pushcart through the streets towards his cluttered workshop. He makes a primary living off selling feed (mainly chickweed, groundsel, seed-grasses, and round green tufts of grass) to owners of songbirds or other caged avians in the city, and supplements that with his "treasures" (worn, broken or castoff items from the Rat Hills), mending and intricately etching old pots pans and cutlery, and crafting small children's toys or beautiful religious icons and wind-catchers for sale.
Millathren worships Oghma and Gond as the twin forces of "inspiration and invention"; his small shop can be easily identified by the front picture-window, in which representations of both deities' holy symbols are constructed from many-colored castoff pieces of glass. The oft-damp midden outside the back door of his shop is home to a number of mottled toads which Millathren claims speak to him. The old man considers them his good friends, and has names and favorite phrases for each one (only one, the lordly red-and-bronzed Resplendant Gesk, with the keen black eyes, has ever been said to talk to anyone else – but as that was the local sail-seamstress Tonska, self-admittedly 'staggeringly-drunk and in need of a place to relieve m'self sometime after midnight', well, no one really believes her, either).
Tandashae Urmmyth (CG HF T9/Sor6)
Sevenscaled. Also known as Tathandalae, Tannathla, and Tannae. A dusky-skinned beauty of slender grace, piercing blue-green eyes and smoky voice. A native of Tethyr. Her parents, adventurers whom she never really knew, met their doom in some far-off dungeon when she was young. Tann fled Tethyr and the grasping clutches of a lecherous uncle soon thereafter, never to return. She took with her a prized artifact discovered by her parents (The Seven Scales of Aragauth, a magic item fashioned from the hide of the dracolich that still seeks them, and the source of her nickname). Her wanderings took her along the caravan routes of the Western Heartlands and, eventually, to Waterdeep, where her skills found abundant employment. It was during this time that she first encountered the elven rogue Vespaeren. The pair immediately took to each other and they were lovers for a time. She bought a run-down caravel from an Amnian merchant, and turned it into a house-ship (and occasional coin-den) named The Silken Lady. She often posed as an adventurer and Underdark-trader (to cover for her true occupation of roguery), and had numerous contacts in the pirates' haven of Skullport, where she sometimes provided information to Laeral and Mirt, under the alias "Mlara." Tandashae was killed by Vesper while the elf was under the murderous influence of the sword Tlashlara. Her body was placed in the Lady and towed out to sea, where it was turned into a grand funeral pyre by the gathered Knights Errant.
Var, House of
One of the earliest raiding clans of Nimoar's Hold (the House sigil, rarely remembered these days, is a right fist, clenched fingers facing, with unadorned red bracer, holding aloft a hand-axe, black haft horizontal and red head upright and to the dexter, on a brown field). Of Ruathen blood (the ancient clan-name, Tavvar, echoes in the vanished city of Tavaray). Never ennobled, always just a tier or two below consideration. Long-time bond-swords and compatriots of House Moonstar (dating back to the brotherhood between Valadorn Moonstar and Thorel Var) and later dedicated supporters of the warlord Raurlor. Lost two generations to plottings (both treasonous and financially ill-advised) against Ahghairon and the Lords after Raurlors' death. What remained was a much poorer and humbler family devoted to Waterdeep itself. Their old holding, the walled manor called Oakenpillars (once famed for the dark and rich wood panelling hewn from the corpse of the towering forest guardian, Thaulmog the Many-Whorled) is long lost to what is now eastern Trades Ward. Never great wizards or priests, retain their Northman battle-lust and pride in their sword-arms to this day.
See also: Ammathan Var, Emmerund Var, Enavrun Var, Kordhoun Var, Laraekh Var, Ryandur Var, Vannashae Var, Vehn Var.
The Wonder of the West Gate
The Warden of the Western Gate, The Black Warden. The Guardian of Gull Leap. Perhaps the best-known of the Walking Statues of Waterdeep. Crafted of grey hardstone (granite) ninety foot tall, in the image of a regal human with an impassive face. The Wonder is sometimes illuminated by the wizards of the Watchful Order and used as a guiding beacon for expected ships during very rough storms. [ Source: Volo's Guide to Waterdeep, p.9. Description given. Additional detail by me. ]
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Belnimbra [ Source: Ed Greenwood, Mages & Sages 02/20/21 Twitch stream <twitch.tv/videos/921018224>. Name/Description given ]
Taloc Sailson [ Source: Realms By Night - Introduction. Name/Description given ]
The Talons [ Source: A 09/21/05 posting to the Candlekeep.com message boards by Ed Greenwood. Name/Description given ]
Tamaeril Bladesemmer [ Source: The novel Elminster in Hell. Name/Description given ]
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AJA
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Edited by - AJA on 09 Oct 2022 16:31:22 |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6666 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2021 : 01:33:30
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quote:
Originally posted by AJA
Hybilgreen's Words for Common Things: or, A Hin-Book for Humans, and Other Races That Use the Common-Speech (939DR, Douglath Hybilgreen)
Conversational treatise on historical halfling contributions to the Common-tongue, and other entries the author felt would make good additions. Widely read across the Heartlands in the years after initial publication. The first time the Hin words andarbuck (something extra or left-over; a gift, gratuity or small bribe), grummaush (bugbear), descant (discourse or discussion, especially over a round of drinks), and orcweed (cheap, unpleasant-smelling pipeweed) – all now commonplace – were widely entered into the Common language.
Do you mind if I use these hin words for some work I'm doing? You'll be appropriately credited if it ever sees the light of day.
Although "orcweed" sounds like a Common term rather than anything in hinspeech.
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
Edited by - George Krashos on 16 Aug 2021 01:39:41 |
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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
770 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2021 : 04:45:58
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quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
Do you mind if I use these hin words for some work I'm doing? You'll be appropriately credited if it ever sees the light of day.
Of course, George, use away. Full disclosure, andarbuck was re-skinned from lagniappe and descant my portmanteau of discuss and decant.
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
Although "orcweed" sounds like a Common term rather than anything in hinspeech.
Well yeah it sounds common, silly, halflings are everywhere. 
(orcweed was directly adapted from something like sot-weed or sot-weed, though I remember the specific entry referencing words like "cheap" and "unpleasant" tobacco which is where I took the orc- part from. Feel free to change it around – "sot-weed, from besotted, itself also a hin loan-word popularized by Hybilgreen, and later further bastardized into common as orc-weed, etc.")
"Grummaush" similarly, as "bugbear," I am certain I took from some old obscure English or Scottish dialect dictionary. I'm coming up empty on finding the source tonight, but I would swear it was actual slang and not something I came up with whole-cloth. "Be-grumpled" rang a bell as well, but no luck there, either.
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Edited by - AJA on 16 Aug 2021 04:48:15 |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6666 Posts |
Posted - 17 Aug 2021 : 12:35:55
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I liked "andarbuck" the most. Sounded very properly halfling. Will go with "sotweed" if that's okay with you. Very nice.
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
770 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2021 : 00:20:49
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quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
I liked "andarbuck" the most. Sounded very properly halfling. Will go with "sotweed" if that's okay with you. Very nice.
Well, may I propose;
Gerenwaul
GERREN (hard 'g')-wall (also Gerenwail, or [rarely] Gerenwillow in Turmish and the Gulthmere lands)
Blanket name for all variety of cheap, unpleasant-smelling pipeweed. Named for folk legends of the first were-hin, Geren, and the belief that smoking such low-quality pipeweed would leave you barking (or "wail/wauling") at the moon – a condition not far from repeated coughing fits as the acrid smoke burns a smoker's lungs.
Note: Feel free to replace "Geren-" if you've got a more halfling-esque name you prefer there. Also, your could use this as the "orc-weed" version and still keep sotweed as name for a slightly pleasanter variety (if you go with the "besotted" explanation)?
(I mean, lets not pretend that halflings don't have as many different words for pipeweed as Inuit Scots do for snow)
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AJA
YAFRP
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Edited by - AJA on 23 Aug 2021 00:42:29 |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6666 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2021 : 12:15:51
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We can have gerenwaul for the unpleasant pipeweed and we can have sotweed for the high-quality, addictive stuff.
And yes, I agree that it's likely the hin would have more than a few words for pipeweed.
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2021 : 15:04:03
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I've heard that halflings also have a term for a type of weed that they use near their fields. They call it "trollvine", though elves have some other name for it. Its a vine that produces sticking thorns and very much twists all amongst itself, making a briary thicket that they use to make barriers to hold in cattle/sheep/goats somewhat like a fence. However, they must also near constantly chop of portions of it and they then dry this vine. They then burn this vine in small pole-mounted braziers in the middle of their fields, and it produces a "greasy" smell that works to drive away insects that would gorge themselves on the hin crops. The hin I was talking to seemed to indicate that these "braziers" are often just old plates with a hand drilled hole in them, and that halfling females often use the excuse of "needing new trollvine braziers" to force their husbands to buy them new tableware. Is this true? If so, what's the elven name?
Is it also true that while rabbits and other small mammals make their homes amongst this trollvine happily.... snakes and other poisonous predators that enter areas of trollvine for some reason are ripped to shreds by the sharp thorns of the plant? Is there any truth that all such dead poisonous predators are considered a sacrifice by the hin to Sheela Peryroyl, and there's even a small sect of hin who deliberately toss snakes into the brambles?
Is there any truth in any of this? I ask because it was a priest of Brandobaris that was telling me this, and he kept winking and snickering, but I took that to be the effects of the pipeweed he was smoking. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
Edited by - sleyvas on 19 Aug 2021 16:18:00 |
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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
770 Posts |
Posted - 23 Aug 2021 : 00:31:19
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
They then burn this vine in small pole-mounted braziers in the middle of their fields, and it produces a "greasy" smell that works to drive away insects that would gorge themselves on the hin crops.
I would think that "driving away insects that would otherwise gorge on the crops" would be a small price – in braziers or in fineware – to pay for the halflings (doubly so if that effect extended wholly or in part to monstrous varities). Would certainly open up quite a trade in these quality braziers, especially in those pieces tough enough, or formed of just the right materials, to bear the flames and toxins of the burning trollvine (and thus much adulation to the first hin-wife who in desperation used her fine chinaCalishite barakkan glazeware, and thus inadvertantly discovered the secret of such things).
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
and that halfling females often use the excuse of "needing new trollvine braziers" to force their husbands to buy them new tableware.
Not going to say that never happens, but I figure more often the conversation is something like this:
"if then the crops are well enough for ye to be expanding with new fields and new barakkan, then ye've enough coins to put a suitable set of elevensies-ware on the table as well! 'Tis your parents are coming for a visit in two tendays, and ye know how yer father gives a look when the fineware gets that ochre tint ta it! Eh? We're 'a bit short o' coin this month'? Well then, I expect ye'll just have to stop for a bit with the sot-weed and the cricket-racing with the fellows down at Mulberry's, hadn't ye?"
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Is there any truth in any of this? I ask because it was a priest of Brandobaris that was telling me this, and he kept winking and snickering, but I took that to be the effects of the pipeweed he was smoking.
Judging from the above, I'd say there both is and 'tisnt truth to be had there. But, bad news is, the real reason that Rapscallion kept snickering is that he already had in his possession your quite-full coin pouch.
(...seriously, why else did you think he kept offering to buy the drinks?) 
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AJA
YAFRP
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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
770 Posts |
Posted - 23 Aug 2021 : 00:41:37
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MISC'LLANEA
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"It has been the boast of some travel books to contain nothing that can either instruct or improve their readers. The boast is one I should like to make." (Robert Byron, First Russia, Then Tibet, 1933)
Bor Narndan
The ancient Low Netherese City of Agates (named for the prolific mines close by and also for the quantities of finished gemstone polished and shipped from here). Later Bohlnarn of the Age of Discovery and Naulsk of the short-lived Free Folk Dominions after the Fall. Now only unremarked stones around and under the beautiful ice-oasis the Anaur peoples call Antalgroun (The Red Rust Pools), hot springs formed by magma flows near to the surface. Bor Narndan lay south-east of the port city of Scourge, nestled in the high foothills of the southern Channel Mountains. The gems mined here were a rare stone of rich red, orange, and yellow coloring called rust agate or fortified agate (similar to what we might call Lake Superior agate).
In the time of Netheril, local folklore claimed that these unique stones were formed from all the rusting iron in Scourge that blew deep into the mountains. As with banded agate, rust agate is also believed to deal with matters of soothing and sleep, although the latter was said to focus primarily on protection from adverse sleep affects and bad dreams. It was especially worn by warriors to relieve them of the recollections of war and slaughter they faced in their dreams, and also by those rare arcanists who delved into matters pertaining to the Demi-Plane of Nightmares or the unconscious effects of the Invisible Art. The high-coined of Scourge, who believed that the agates were indeed formed from their lost metals, often wore brooches or ring-bands of stylized rust-monsters (or gurlaga,* as they knew them), inset with rust agates and enspelled with charms protecting from tarnish and rust. There are also notes in the cryptic journals of the 11th-century mage Chandarthaun, of enchanted blocks of incense infused with powdered rust agate (noted as found in the ruins near Ascore and which, when set smouldering, brought forth visions of "She Who Counts Her Children / from her wounds lovely flowers grow / guards against slumb'rous pain / and leaves memories free of woe"). Finally, before Naulsk was swallowed into the Anauroch Desolation, the survivor city-state of Anauria crafted many swords inset with their stones, which is where many instances of it today are known from.
* In the regional dialect gur=iron, urlag=devour, so a portmanteau of "one who gorges on iron." Later scholarly works of High Netheril decided to classify them as ferumvorax instead (which certainly sounds fancier, but still means the same thing).
Bruinbramble
A well-attended walled hunting lodge and small collection of crofters in the tenantry of the Ammakyl noble family of Waterdeep (and, since 1374DR, an attached Luruarran guard outpost against the goblins and marauding monsters of the region). Found on the Evermoor Way, close to the eaves of the High Forest, fairly equidistant between the Holds of Noanar and Olostin.
They are best known for their harvests and exports of the mushrooms called klavars (from the goblin iklauvra, "broth-mothers," called-so by the goblinfolk of the forest, who feature them heavily in all their soups and stews. The caps have a peppery, meaty flavor when simmered and a sharp, distinctly iron taste when seared). The farmers here also have the usual northern assortment of livestock and crops, and lay (highly-contested) claim to the best blackberry and gooseberry wines north of Secomber. Wagon-loads of cured hides, hay, greens, and table vegetables regularly leave here bound for Everlund and The Gem of the North, attended by armed outriders.
The lodge offers comfortable opportunity for Silvaeren highcoin to stalk deer and boar and bruin; they offer accommodations to passing adventurers too, though the bedding and the fare is slightly less than the wealthy get; offerings of caught game (mostly deer and rabbit), slightly scorched before the fire, and rough crofter stews of chicory, leek, potato, turnip and carrot, along with simple (but dry) sleeping in the haylofts or a makeshift cot in the servants quarters (determination of which quarters decided by how many coins a passer-by is willing to offer). They do have a constant need of both forest guides and able-swords, and anyone interested in such employment should inquire at the office of the Master of The House (currently Dandalausk – don't call him "Dandelion," not to his face or while within his fiat domain – Nlemmar, proud, eagle-eyed, flame-haired and fiery-tempered).
Those of a more scholarly bent may know that it was not too far from here where the wizard Tannar Ard once studied the stars, in a haphazard, ramshackle, squat tower – not too dissimilar to the tumbled, overgrown pile of stones that lies there in the present day – on a rocky, treeless rise which juts out from the forest a brisk walk from the outer steading of Wary Shoulder. This is where the vengeful of Selûne came seeking (and somehow, improbably, found) the Mlarenquor (Memories of Wind and Wave, The Book of Those Who Never Came Back To Shore). It is commonly said that the stars seen that night were more akin to balls of fire and lances of lightning, and are why the Tower of Ard is in such scorched dishabille today.
In the forest nearby is also the Harskstone (The Keen Grey Eye, a plinth of vertical hardstone, carved high up on both primary sides with a single, horizontal, unadorned, staring human-like eye), standing ridged and offended in a forest clearing liberally dotted with wild nimblecorn, selfheal, yellowdown, ox-eye, yarrow, and Tyr-and-Tymora. What the Eye observes is unknown, though the goblins bring midnight offerings of red clay and black opal and call to Shargaas; local rutting bucks frequently lock horns here in season, under its shadow (Bruinbramble hunters do not take advantage of this gathering spot, as they know that would offend Silvanus); and every now and again a paladin of Helm is called to the clearing to fast and meditate for a number of days, often enough that faithful of that god believe this to be one of The Places Where Helm Stood Watch (locations across Faerûn said to be where the man-before-the-god carried out the tasks that led him to divinity).
The Place Between the Tides
In southern Tethyr, on the coastal flats where the River Blackmare empties into the sea (beyond which lie the treacherous Mares of Aumthask, so named for the waves on the prominent breakers here), lies the tidal salt marshes of the Maresmouth, full of cordgrass and sea-oats, concealed roots and swarming mosquito and blackfly and, to one side, the Horsetail Sands, a narrow sand-beach, bounded by stunted sea-pine and brightened by flowering sea-pink, climbing precipitously up to the overshot bluffs commonly known as the Mareshead. There is a portal here in the shallows, an ingress-point for the ancient gate-road known as The Long and Winding Road, the elf / wizard's road the Netherese called Onthemenndûr.
This particular opening, called The Place Between the Tides by those who know, once stood on solid ground but now lies submerged, knee-length deep amid the grasping, treacherous mud and sand of the slowly-advancing marsh. Its' ineffable energies have leaked into the marsh over the centuries, producing gloriously iridescent mudfin and, more terrifyingly, what the locals call greatclaws or shardshells (giant fiddler crabs whose shells explode in deadly hails when pierced or crushed). The Place Between the Tides can be easily found, submerged in a clear and coruscating tidal pool which seems somehow simultaneously shallow and immeasurable, but any means of transit are believed to have been lost to all but the most elder of elves and the most puissant of mages (and, given the damaged nature of the gate, may likely necessitate a roll on a wand of wonder/wild magic effects table upon entry or exit).
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AJA
YAFRP
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 23 Aug 2021 : 01:56:10
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quote:
Originally posted by AJA
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
They then burn this vine in small pole-mounted braziers in the middle of their fields, and it produces a "greasy" smell that works to drive away insects that would gorge themselves on the hin crops.
I would think that "driving away insects that would otherwise gorge on the crops" would be a small price – in braziers or in fineware – to pay for the halflings (doubly so if that effect extended wholly or in part to monstrous varities). Would certainly open up quite a trade in these quality braziers, especially in those pieces tough enough, or formed of just the right materials, to bear the flames and toxins of the burning trollvine (and thus much adulation to the first hin-wife who in desperation used her fine chinaCalishite barakkan glazeware, and thus inadvertantly discovered the secret of such things).
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
and that halfling females often use the excuse of "needing new trollvine braziers" to force their husbands to buy them new tableware.
Not going to say that never happens, but I figure more often the conversation is something like this:
"if then the crops are well enough for ye to be expanding with new fields and new barakkan, then ye've enough coins to put a suitable set of elevensies-ware on the table as well! 'Tis your parents are coming for a visit in two tendays, and ye know how yer father gives a look when the fineware gets that ochre tint ta it! Eh? We're 'a bit short o' coin this month'? Well then, I expect ye'll just have to stop for a bit with the sot-weed and the cricket-racing with the fellows down at Mulberry's, hadn't ye?"
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Is there any truth in any of this? I ask because it was a priest of Brandobaris that was telling me this, and he kept winking and snickering, but I took that to be the effects of the pipeweed he was smoking.
Judging from the above, I'd say there both is and 'tisnt truth to be had there. But, bad news is, the real reason that Rapscallion kept snickering is that he already had in his possession your quite-full coin pouch.
(...seriously, why else did you think he kept offering to buy the drinks?)
WHY THAT SNEAKING SNEAK-THIEF! I hope he enjoys the magic mouth message I put on that bag full of lead that I use as a blackjack, since I keep my coinage under my hat, accessible only by command word. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
770 Posts |
Posted - 06 Sep 2021 : 00:08:02
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Alûvethil of the Elves
Star-Eyed, The Wandering Star, "who had a hand heavy on the hilt, yet light upon the string." Slew the Dread Beast of Ilgost, the mad necromancer's creation that ravaged the western High Moor for a number of years. Said to have been laid to rest within the Mereldelf, a forgotten elven fastness deep inside the confines of Ardeep. Of his sword Adauntlûn, blue-spangled with fire, there is no record.
Ars Ardabloon (CN HM Aris)
A minor noble of House Ulbrinter (younger grandson of Iorlas, and a cousin of Nomus, patriarch of the clan). Bright, close-set eyes. Thin, hawk-like nose and bushy black moustache. Getting too old to continue on as just another young noble wastrel and adventuring dilettante. Prefers black half-cloaks and "buckleswash" gloves, embroidered and trimmed in whatever the color of the moment is. Wears a ring linked to the four magical flying daggers in his belt, which he can control with mental commands (daggers+2; FL15'[A], attack w/ owners THAC0; on a Nat.20 or a hit for full damage the victim is affected as if by a sleep spell). These items were formerly in the employ of one Minzapur of Volothamp, an importer of rare blacksmoke obsidan from the Tashalar and Chult, unmasked in 1368DR as a member of an illicit slaving ring by the Hin adventurer Dimvel Stoutkeg and the Tymorite priest Jorynn Halstaff.
Cordaevence "Flying Vence" Halfarest (NG ½EM Ra6)
A member of the Frontier Flyers, the griffon-mounted couriers and scouts of the Lord's Alliance. Flying Vence's route takes him the length of the Dessarin valley, and he and his mount Longflight are well known in the villages along the way (especially in Yartar, where he has been known to dally in the company of Deluné, one of the daughters of Alikk Dannath, of Dannath's Pickles, Nuts & Foods).
Davyd "Red" Redifor
Hin merchant, owner of Redifor's Generals and Sundries Shop (if you've been on Snail Street between Soothsayer's Way and Fillet Lane, you've heard their coin-cry, amplified above the crowd noise by hired street-callers; "Redifor's! Buy Anything, Sell Anything! Everything Available, Everything a Bargain! Aurora's Affiliated!"). He also owns a trio of long-term rental rooms and boarding houses in Castle and Trades Wards (Randraeda's Hedgerow, Dellin's Warm-House [The Sign of the Nestled Goose], and Candleglow Manor) which are often full-up on visiting priests and local acolytes of Lathander, thanks to his wife's connections within the Spires of the Morning (the same connections that also encourage local faithful of the Morninglord to shop at Redifor's). Husband of Merelanda Barberry.
Merelanda Barberry
Prolific Hin writer, author of Glories of Crimson and Gold (Glories I-IV), By Bold Desire (Desires I-III), In Bright Splendors (Splendors I-XII), Fruits of A Brilliant Tree, In Sun And In Shade, and Enlightened Horizons (all allegories and praise and parables glorifying the tenets and philosophies of the Morninglord, specifically in his aspects of self-improvement and self-reliance). Has a seat on the inner councils of Ghentilara and the senior priesthood of the Spires of the Morning, volunteers as a helper in Lathanderite orphanages and hard-luck houses. Wife of the Hin merchant, Davyd "Red" Redifor.
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The Clutching Skeleton [ Source: Ed Greenwood, Mages & Sages 07/30/21 Twitch stream <twitch.tv/videos/1103332783>. Name/Description given ]
Cooth the Cleaver [ Source: A 02/01/20 Twitter reply to @TheEdVerse by Ed Greenwood. Name/Description given ]
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AJA
YAFRP
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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
770 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2021 : 00:42:12
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Auskerl
The Spenglid Spear. A rather new martialist at the Field of Triumph. Unnaturally tall (standing near seven-foot), rail-thin and long-limbed. Pale-skinned and -haired, watery blue eyes. Wild blonde beard. Field criers trumpet his parentage as "the frost-spirits of the Frozen Northern Wastes." Favors spear, glaive and weighted net, weapons that take advantage of his agileness and long reach.
The Company of Wine and Dancing Girls
Local fellowship of bored nobles and wastrel sons. Lurk menacingly in festhalls and darkened alleys, swash their buckles and blades upon many up-Ward tavern tables, and have recently begun to lower themselves from the Yawning Portal into the first few chambers of the Undermountain (which is where later blade-fellowships will most likely encounter their foolish corpses). Named after the lurid memoir, In The Company of Wine and Dancing Girls, penned by Eskra the Never-Satisfied, whom they have taken as a sort of patron saint.
Led by the bladesinger Belzoun Malask, self-titled "Singer of Satisfactions and Stabbings"; notable members include the well-tutored warriors Yethrel Wavesilver and Aeldren Stormweather, and the quiet, no-nonsense invoker, Merrimul Phul.
Denby "Dapper Den" Wilderapple
A charismatic, engaging, and endlessly creative halfling. As well-dressed as his nickname might imply. Sole heir to the honey-and-meads empire of Over-Sweet Manors ("pleasantries from the green lands of wave and leaf", vast Hin mercantile holdings in the Purple Hills of Tethyr). Took his family fortunes and absconded to Waterdeep to build Candletop Scriptorium, his broad Trades Ward attic workshop, where he enlisted the middling talents of a legion of apprentice scribes and largely-untrained type-setters and block-carvers to set to print his vision of a chap-book empire; endless "dreadful coppers" with lurid titles such as The Man In High Boots, The Moonlight Sleeps White, The Ever-Seeking Hand, In A Silvered Sleep, A Long And Lonely Sea, O Death A-Tremble, With A Sudden Flame, The Demon With Red-Shod Feet, and The Purple-Robed Moon.
While he was quite a success in terms of inspiring the myriad of dreadful coppers and fantasticals and truthdelver chap-book publishers that infest Waterdeep today, his passions far outstripped his finances and in 1344DR he hung himself, naked, in a shoe-and-boot closet (although it should also be noted that it was whispered in certain circles that he owed "a few many-hundred" to the Lord Serpent, one of Waterdeep's notorious "under-lords"). It was also discovered after his passing that he was owner of The Patched-Work Quilt, which was equal parts song of celestial accompaniment and crystal hypnosis ball, a Thing of Lliira and Deneir, a vampiric engine of inspiration and merriment and artistic madness. The Quilt disappeared soon after this discovery, taken away by unknown hands (and is currently highly sought-after by agents of the lesser god Finder, who would pay handsomely for any information of its whereabouts).
Iron-Eye, The Throat of Fire
An enchanted siege weapon of blood and flame the orcs liked so much, they took to worshiping (this behavior is likely encouraged by either Talos or Tempus – someone is collecting those prayers; this would seem similar to Fire-Crake, a comparable ancient construct the orcs of the Stonelands dug out of the sands of the Netherese Desolation, near to fallen Anauria). An engine of fiendish device, iron and blackened brass, fashioned into wicked angles and cruel hungers. Long in use by the orcs of the High Moor in their endless battles against the encroaching realms of the Sword Coast, later recovered by the forces of the Citadel of Many-Arrows, who used it to similar ends. The sooty wretches who man it and load it with hardstone and heavy magic are mostly captured slaves overseen by whip and club; while the orcs who give Ol' Iron-Eye devotions are appreciative of it, they are by no means fools to its' rapid wheezing, choking, and soul-draining effects.
The Merry Lantern-Flames
Local adventuring trio, bound together by the shared trauma of the death of most of their original company (of the same name) at the soul-freezing clutches of sea-swollen ghouls in the catacombs deep under Risen Olcheoth, which clawed its' way up from the storm-darkened waves of the Sea of Swords, fashioned of wet pebble and shell and seaweed once fastened to the rocks below and animated by a singular, malicious purpose.
In their surviving incarnation they are Narran Blackbramble (halfling Planetouched [D'hin'ni] sneak-blade; bright-eyed and rosy-cheeked; keeps his head shaved and his tongue liberally oiled with whatever alcoholic libations are at hand); Llaeril Oddsbear (Uthgardt warlock; as she lay on an icy ledge below the Ever-Mounting Stair, her lifesblood flowing out, she swore a blood oath to Nammarnaera the Unquelled, a great primal Lady of the wild North, who granted her succor and fearsome powers; formerly a warrior of the Black Raven clan); and Ilnavé Wyrmfrost (gnomish priestess of Garl Glittergold [ of a sort – speaks of the prosperities of Garl and the self-improvements that come about, and are rewarded, through it ]; vain, superior, condescending; regards dungeon-delving as the only true path to self-enrichment, both of the monetary and spiritual kind).
[ Note: For info on d'hin'ni, see "Legacies of Ancient Empires: Planetouched of Faerûn," Eric L. Boyd, Dragon Magazine #350 ]
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AJA
YAFRP
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2021 : 02:33:38
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quote:
Originally posted by AJA
The Company of Wine and Dancing Girls
Local fellowship of bored nobles and wastrel sons. Lurk menacingly in festhalls and darkened alleys, swash their buckles and blades upon many up-Ward tavern tables, and have recently begun to lower themselves from the Yawning Portal into the first few chambers of the Undermountain (which is where later blade-fellowships will most likely encounter their foolish corpses). Named after the lurid memoir, In The Company of Wine and Dancing Girls, penned by Eskra the Never-Satisfied, whom they have taken as a sort of patron saint.
Led by the bladesinger Belzoun Malask, self-titled "Singer of Satisfactions and Stabbings"; notable members include the well-tutored warriors Yethrel Wavesilver and Aeldren Stormweather, and the quiet, no-nonsense invoker, Merrimul Phul.
Wasn't Eskra the Never-Satisfied that bard the ended up married to Askrig the Ever-Giving, a noted manager of High Coin Lasses in Neverwinter? |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
770 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2021 : 00:43:08
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Wasn't Eskra the Never-Satisfied that bard the ended up married to Askrig the Ever-Giving, a noted manager of High Coin Lasses in Neverwinter?
Ah! You know of her? Excellent!
So then, let us recap: Eskra was the nom-de-plume of a rotund, outspoken, rowdy female dwarf whose close friends and lovers knew her by her given name of Dorutha (often shortened to 'Dorra' or 'Ruthie'). She crafted the persona of "Eskra the Never-Satisfied" as both public alias and wish-fulfilling alter-ego (and one in which she did, indeed, achieve satisfaction). She was also known to use the pseudonym of 'Valausk' when she wrote poetry for the journals of the Order of the Lambent Tongues (a local gathering of Selûnite scribes and bards: "graceful fire and expressive vehemence," as described by the Order elder Tuirlaugh "Old Ink"), and also when she wrote paid lyrics for local bardic fellowships*. She was never known to have given out her clan-name, and in necessary social situations would use the common dwarven generics of 'Ironhammer' or 'Farhall' instead. To anyone inquiring if her appellation survived her post-marriage years, her standard response was a very droll, "dearie, never say never."
Eskra outlasted not only the fellowship that took inspiration from her, but both of their later emulators (The Company of Wine-Dancers and The Fellowship of Feared-Goings**). She eventually met her death, hip-deep in a ballroom awash in buttercream-and-flamefruit cake, at the birthday party of a Wavesilver noble, swinging both wine bottles and halfling wait-staff around by the neck and laughing at the top of her considerable lungs. Brought down three of the Thayan redrobes arrayed against her (one of whom enlarged the already-towering name-day presentation of pastry and frosting, and another of whom had hidden a pair of shrunken, obedient abishai within), and died, with a smile on her face at least.
* You've probably heard the popular 80's(DR) ballad "Neveren Boys and 'Dhavian Girls" by the Xoblob Shop Boys (which, despite common rumor, was not a reference to her marriage to Askrig). Or the evergreen festhall standards of the spellsinger duo Hael and Ootes (specifically, "I Can't Roll For That (No Can Do)" and "Out of Touch Range").
** Who were individually inspired by too much wine indeed, and by the following passage;
"Those too near night
Have eyes on feared-goings
Those who dread the night
Set blades on blood-flowings"
(just the sort of stuff angsty young Waterdhavians adore, really)
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AJA
YAFRP
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2021 : 13:12:35
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quote:
Originally posted by AJA
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Wasn't Eskra the Never-Satisfied that bard the ended up married to Askrig the Ever-Giving, a noted manager of High Coin Lasses in Neverwinter?
Ah! You know of her? Excellent!
So then, let us recap: Eskra was the nom-de-plume of a rotund, outspoken, rowdy female dwarf whose close friends and lovers knew her by her given name of Dorutha (often shortened to 'Dorra' or 'Ruthie'). She crafted the persona of "Eskra the Never-Satisfied" as both public alias and wish-fulfilling alter-ego (and one in which she did, indeed, achieve satisfaction). She was also known to use the pseudonym of 'Valausk' when she wrote poetry for the journals of the Order of the Lambent Tongues (a local gathering of Selûnite scribes and bards: "graceful fire and expressive vehemence," as described by the Order elder Tuirlaugh "Old Ink"), and also when she wrote paid lyrics for local bardic fellowships*. She was never known to have given out her clan-name, and in necessary social situations would use the common dwarven generics of 'Ironhammer' or 'Farhall' instead. To anyone inquiring if her appellation survived her post-marriage years, her standard response was a very droll, "dearie, never say never."
Eskra outlasted not only the fellowship that took inspiration from her, but both of their later emulators (The Company of Wine-Dancers and The Fellowship of Feared-Goings**). She eventually met her death, hip-deep in a ballroom awash in buttercream-and-flamefruit cake, at the birthday party of a Wavesilver noble, swinging both wine bottles and halfling wait-staff around by the neck and laughing at the top of her considerable lungs. Brought down three of the Thayan redrobes arrayed against her (one of whom enlarged the already-towering name-day presentation of pastry and frosting, and another of whom had hidden a pair of shrunken, obedient abishai within), and died, with a smile on her face at least.
* You've probably heard the popular 80's(DR) ballad "Neveren Boys and 'Dhavian Girls" by the Xoblob Shop Boys (which, despite common rumor, was not a reference to her marriage to Askrig). Or the evergreen festhall standards of the spellsinger duo Hael and Ootes (specifically, "I Can't Roll For That (No Can Do)" and "Out of Touch Range").
** Who were individually inspired by too much wine indeed, and by the following passage;
"Those too near night
Have eyes on feared-goings
Those who dread the night
Set blades on blood-flowings"
(just the sort of stuff angsty young Waterdhavians adore, really)
a blue ghostly female wielding a staff whose top was a candle with an eye in it's base fades into view.
Wait... she wrote "Neveren Boys and 'Dhavian Girls"? I must say I loved the beat to that, and the vocals of the bard were wonderful. I acted a bit like a kid in dancing about the house, pregnant as I was with the twins at the time. Life was good then, as I worked as the secret editor of the "Waterdhavian Herald", one of numerous rags
of the same name which spread the city's gossip at the time. I must admit to being infatuated for a few weeks, such that I went down to the Xoblob shop in hopes of meeting them, only to find out they no longer worked there. I did buy a cat there that was in a cage out of pity, only to discover that it was a Paka. Ah, but those were good times, when I thought myself a detective, and before I ventured into the sewers to chase down the mystery of where Mirt had disappeared to.
But the '80's you say? I recall that to be around 1373. Maybe you mean when they became so much more popular with the song outside of Waterdeep? I must admit, at that time, in my late twenties, I had a thing for singers. My heartbond at the time was a song mage, who I believed at the time to be trying to be mysterious by saying he came from another world, only to find out when I met his father, the exiled Thayan bounty hunter Sleyvas, that it had in fact been true.
In fact, did you know that a lot of the singers you mention are extraplanar? For instance, Hael and OOTS (the proper spelling by the way), some say that they were taught by an otherworldly bard of great reknown, who was believed to be an Elan, and Hael may even be his son, named after Hael's mother.
Lady Jillian Doncastle of Neverwinter |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
Edited by - sleyvas on 30 Sep 2021 14:12:18 |
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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
770 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2021 : 02:08:28
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
But the '80's you say? I recall that to be around 1373.
Quite possibly. There was a lot of this peculiar white powder floating around in the air back then. Made everyone's memories a bit unreliable. "Nothing within these pages is false, but not all of it may prove to be true" and all that. A plot by the Thayans, some say. Or just ol' Eldath, having a good laugh. Anyhow, better don't trust any history or narrative past, say, mid-1370's. Just common sense.
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
For instance, Hael and OOTS (the proper spelling by the way), some say that they were taught by an otherworldly bard of great reknown, who was believed to be an Elan, and Hael may even be his son, named after Hael's mother.
Well done!
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AJA
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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
770 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2021 : 02:11:10
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Aleena Paladinstar (LG HF Aris6/W9)
A tall (tall enough that she once wore her father's armor and decieved people into thinking him present by aping his stride and movements), striking woman with a reclusive, thoughtful nature and a brow that is frequently furrowed in thought. Sole child of the Open Lord Piergeiron (whose finely chiseled features and bright, unflinching olive green eyes she inherited) and his late wife, Maethiira (who gifted her with curly auburn locks and an unmistakable sense of grace and poise). Aleena is every bit her father's daughter, headstrong and adventurous yet highly intelligent and educated. She acted as Khelben's agent for awhile (which led to her joining both the Knights Errant adventurers and Force Grey, as the cloaked Anaskurl, or "Lady Raven"), but now keeps her distance from the scheming archmage. Aleena is rarely to be found in Waterdeep these days as she has taken to travelling across Faerûn, attending various courts and gatherings of the powerful, and studying at centers of learning. In this manner she acts as a "goodwill envoy" for the city, and manages to gain quite a bit of information to pass back along to her father. It is commonly believed that Piergeiron is grooming Aleena to someday take a place (his place) among the ranks of the Ruling Lords of the City. [ Source: City of Splendors: Who's Who in Waterdeep, p.80. Name/Description given. Additional detail by me. ]
Dannil Balambar (LG HM Pal10 of Helm)
A great bear of a man, with a riotous handlebar moustache holding up a nose that had been violently broken more than once during his adventuring career. Member of the Knights Errant adventuring company. A product of one of Waterdeep's overcrowded orphanages. Dedicated his life to protecting the weak and helpless, especially fellow orphans, whom he habitually gathered around him. Was overly friendly with a number of Tcharess Brandeth's "Merry Bold Maidens," which earned him more than one rapier-thrust to his backside from the half-elven swordswoman. A goodhearted soul who never took himself too seriously, loved drinking and feasting and the telling of tall tales, yet was steadfastly loyal and was never known to have abandoned a promise nor foresworn an oath.
Rescued the bullyblade Per Dayan from the streets, making him his squire for a time. The latter eventually came under the tutelage of the elven rogue Vespaeren and renounced his squireship (which crushed the paladin, who regarded Per as a "little brother," though he never disclosed his true feelings on the matter). Dannil later adopted Darnos the Axe, another young Waterdhavian malcontent, as his new squire.
Wielder of the intelligent (and righteously vociferous) broadsword Asûnedra Bold Clamor ("fly to a brother's aid whoever they may be, exhort those who goeth astray, raise them that falleth, never bear malice or enmity toward thy brother") and the (thankfully quiet) three-headed morningstar Helm's Hydra. Died fighting the heretic Helmites of the Griffon Hammer Banner in Amn.
Darnos the Axe (CN HM F5)
A rather unattractive, squat and muscular man. Thought to have orcish blood somewhere in his ancestry. Darnos grew up in the poorer sections of Dock Ward and was leader of a group of street toughs (the Headsmen), until he challenged Dannil, a member of the Knights Errant adventuring company, to combat, and lost. The paladin, still wounded over being rejected by his first squire, picked Darnos up by the scruff of the neck (all 5'7, 220 pounds of him) and set about transforming the bullyblade into his new squire, and a respectable member of society. While he never quite accomplished those goals (from that point on, Dannil and Darnos fought each other far more than any foes the Knights encountered), Dannil did manage to civilize the young Axe (short for "The Tyrannical AND Titannical Bloody-Axe of Blackcobbles," as Darnos used to boast), until the pair met their end fighting the heretic Helmites of the Griffon Hammer Banner in Amn.
Jorynn "Lady's Luck" Halstaff (CG HM T2/P13 of Tymora)
One of the fastest-rising stars in the Tymoran hierarchy (where he holds the title of "Wandering Fortune of the Goddess"). Jorynn is a true believer in the Lady of Fair Chance; brash, good-humored, defiant and utterly fearless. He has already died three times following "The Lady's Way" to a fault, and shows no signs of slowing down yet. Possessed of short, unruly hair, shining eyes, and a toothy grin. Jorynn's adventuring career began early on when his elder brother, who had inherited their Moonshaen estate, returned from inspecting the herds one evening to find Jorynn engaged with his wife. Swiftly boarding a merchant caravel travelling to the mainland, Jorynn became one of the founding members of the Knights Errant adventurers. Now that the Knights have largely disbanded, Jorynn travels the North, doing the bidding of Tymora and Her church. When in Waterdeep, he can frequently be found in the company of the ladies Corinna Dezlentyr and Kyriani of Selûne, and the Hin adventurer Dimvel Stoutkeg. Rides the chestnut mare Merrylegs. Wielder of The Beljuril Blade and the Ebony Mace of Icerim.
Per Dayan (N HM F6)
A swordsman of sardonic temper and grim humor. Medium height, thin, wiry build. Mop of dark black hair, large sideburns, surprisingly youthful face. Wears a variety of bracers, ornamental bands and leather wraps on his forearms, to cover extensive scars, burns and acid damage. Once the squire of the paladin Dannil Balambar, spurned him for the tutelage of the elven rogue Vespaeren. He is extremely deadly with knives and daggers and other small-bladed weapons. A former henchman of the Knights Errant adventuring company.
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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
770 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2021 : 02:17:35
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"I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Candlekeep."
– J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King [ citation needed ]
Well, not like, for real THE END, but lets be honest, we've been scraping that barrel of "yes, this author here or that adventuring group there are kinda interesting, but so were the thirty-four before them" for awhile now.
Entries will continue every so often as I make effort to finish out the list (we're getting down into things that need more of an IMC explanation than an entry, and I'm not really a fan of those) and dredge old notes (and thunk up new ones!), so there is that ... just enough to avoid calling it 'officially done' and having to bother with compiling and formatting and .pdfs'ing it into a finished product.
Other than that, it's Candlekeep's problem now, and I officially stick Alaundo with the bill for maintaining it and Wooly with the responsibility for moderating it so, Hah! Suckers!
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2021 : 18:21:45
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quote:
Originally posted by AJA
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
But the '80's you say? I recall that to be around 1373.
Quite possibly. There was a lot of this peculiar white powder floating around in the air back then. Made everyone's memories a bit unreliable. "Nothing within these pages is false, but not all of it may prove to be true" and all that. A plot by the Thayans, some say. Or just ol' Eldath, having a good laugh. Anyhow, better don't trust any history or narrative past, say, mid-1370's. Just common sense.
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
For instance, Hael and OOTS (the proper spelling by the way), some say that they were taught by an otherworldly bard of great reknown, who was believed to be an Elan, and Hael may even be his son, named after Hael's mother.
Well done!
The blueweave ghost nodded her head in understanding at the statements of being unable to trust history
Yes, I've heard from some that with the resurrection of Amaunator's sun in the early 1370's, and thus the resurrection of a second god of time, that numerous "timelines" have burst off around 1374..... though what exactly a "timeline" is is something I've yet to get an answer for since we all know that there is only one plane of time associated to a crystal sphere of the prime according to Chronomantic principles. One would think that they were trying to say that something started happening to the realmspace crystal sphere around that time, but by Deneir's Glyphs, I don't know what they believe. Some even say that Deneir died when the spellplague occurred and the Great Glyphs the shell of the sphere changed, but I know I heard his voice when I awoke from the blue fire that sucked me into the weave onto Abeir.
In fact, there are those, who say that the Snarl, sung of by Hael and OOTS in their song Sunderings of Wonderings, may be the source of these calamities. Its believed that only the Hilt of Many Colors attached to the Blade of Thickened Plots wielded by the Man of the Woodland Green can truly stop it. But, what do I know... I serve Deneir, and through him Lady Mystra, just as my companions, Lorey Hisstory and the Red Book of Spell Strategy, serve Auppenser and the Red Knight.... and we have not the sight of the gods, but only those glimpses that they allow us.
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Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
770 Posts |
Posted - 09 Oct 2021 : 18:38:36
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A bit of housekeeping; the remainder of the "minor published NPCs" list
Andlazara [ Source: Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast, p.136. Name/Description given ]
Bormor Ruldegost [ Source: Eric L. Boyd, Mages & Sages 07/30/21 Twitch stream <twitch.tv/videos/1103332783>. Name/Description given ]
Bormor II Ruldegost [ Source: Eric L. Boyd, Mages & Sages 07/30/21 Twitch stream <twitch.tv/videos/1103332783>. Name/Description given ]
Glorarra Summermantle [ Source: A 09/27/21 Twitter reply to @TheEdVerse by Ed Greenwood. Name/Description given ]
Glorindel [ Source: "Picture This: Many Magical Paintings," Nigel D. Findley, Dragon Magazine #179, p.13-14. Name/Description given ]
Glormae Indranth [ Source: A 09/27/21 Twitter reply to @TheEdVerse by Ed Greenwood. Name/Description given ]
The Hanging Tree of Ravencourt [ Source: Realms By Night, Part Three: The Magistree <archive.wizards.com/forgottenrealms/DnD_RBN_003.asp>. Name/Description given ]
Imber Felhaur [ Source: A 09/21/21 Twitter reply to @TheEdVerse by Ed Greenwood. Name/Description given ]
Iylas Phindrel [ Source: A 09/27/21 Twitter reply to @TheEdVerse by Ed Greenwood. Name/Description given ]
"Lady Mask" [ Source: A 05/09/21 Twitter reply to @TheEdVerse by Ed Greenwood. Name/Description given ]
Rognor Gost (Ruldegost) [ Source: Eric L. Boyd, Mages & Sages 07/30/21 Twitch stream <twitch.tv/videos/1103332783>. Name/Description given ]
Taszeana Sultlue [ Source: Ed Greenwood Presents: Elminter's Forgotten Realms, p.130. Name/Description given ]
Thraea [ Source: A 09/14/21 Twitter reply to @TheEdVerse by Ed Greenwood. Name/Description given ]
Yunth Hothemer [ Source: City of Splendors: Who's Who In Waterdeep, p.92. Name/Description given ]
Yvvik Chourm [ Source: Realms By Night, Part Seven: Kahla the Ghost of Heroes' Garden <archive.wizards.com/forgottenrealms/DnD_RBN_007.asp>. Name/Description Given ]
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AJA
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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
770 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2021 : 23:24:17
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NONSENSE
(and your own fault for reading it)
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BY THE BOOK
Where They May Roam, or; Calamitous Callithumps, Frigorific Flailers and Duran Durians
A Naturalists Guide To All Manner of Fantastic Beast and Wizard-Weird
Being A Long and Most Careful Study of The Many Wondrous Creatures of Southernmost Faerûn
As Presented Through the Eye of Wizardly and Alchemical Enlightenment
And Delivered Here, This Day Upon the Seventh of Tarsakh, In The Year of the Sylvan Wardings
–Agatharn Brightsilver, "Observer Foremost of Peryton and Poltergeist," Third-Most Pinioned of the Fellows of Pinguid Hall, 1134DR
Creative Created Foods & Water
A Guide to The Best Delectable Foods and Dishes
As Can Be Summoned By Any Clever and Faithful Priest of Any Lawful Deity
(a part of the collected Know Thy Deity and Thy Abilities series)
– Compiled and Edited by Eleskaul the Creative Inflector, under the gracious auspices of Tym Ltd., Waterdeep, 1359DR
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DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Dark Comforters / The Ladies of Little Solace(s)
An order of Shaarans found in cities throughout the Western Heartlands (the Waterdhavian chapter is specifically known as The Ladies of Little Solaces, and is a circle of six or seven women run out of the Trades Ward domicile of Nelorva Nonsk, their unquestioned leader). The Comforters come around after deaths and family tragedies and offer consolation and comforts for sorrow, distress, loss, and misery (and sometimes misfortunes, but this is often hotly contested by Beshaba). They can also be called on for daily woes and exhaustions. While their words are soft and soothing they are also carefully chosen to raise and exacerbate painful emotions, like picking at an old scab (or a fresh wound). There are some who whisper that the Comforters feed on these despairs and sorrowful emotions much as a vampire on fresh, hot blood. In Waterdeep, the Ladies are great enemies of lily-gilders and Thayan smoke-dens (they want emotions raw and open, not smothered under numbing agents) and any other priestly organizations that offer genuine support and healing (though the latter opposition is done discreetly, under the public-facing logic that faithful of Shar are best prepared to handle such matters).
The Unshorn
An order of Ruathymaar berserkers who wear their beards as priests do their holy symbols (and in as many varieties). Said to flagellate themselves with the flat of their blades until their skin is as tough as iron, and to rage and trance in battle beyond the point where an ordinary man would drop dead from his wounds. Found at the prow of every North Isle warship, the slapping of their blades forming a gruesome synchronization with the beating oar-drums and the chants of the Ruathymaar war shamans.
Anskauril
Anskauril the Half-Red, who once clove the Twin Realms of Abeir and Toril in twain in a fit of jealousy, and whose uncontrollable passions threatened to burn and boil all of the mortal realms, until the Elder Gods imprisoned him in a cage in the heavens and forbade all from uttering his name, which is why he is only remembered by mortals now as The Sun; Soon, light, sometimes thought to be the root of Sune, as passion and emotion and source of the wizardly school of enchantment/charm (one of the most outlandish claims ever made by the mad cultists of Imaginary Ao is that further similarity in pronunciations prove that Anskauril is not Sun but Son, progeny of the Overwatcher themselves, but that is considered nonsense of the highest order by all others).
Of those others who defy the gods to remember him, it is said that he is still visited to this day by his love Chauntea, who lays with him in his imprisonment and is fertile, until her hair and body is terribly singed and she must withdraw and turn her face from him for a time until she recovers, and thus the link between the Twin Realms survives and endures.
Finally, it should be noted that, of all the gods, in all the ages, from the most-mad to the most power-hungry, only one has been so reckless as to try and lay claim to Anskauril's terrible burning mantle, and that being the brash Lathander, the Morninglord, the Dawn-Bringer, he who would fancy himself as far more. There are many among his celestial peers who look dimly upon these efforts, but, as followers of The Golden One are quick to remind, "few masters are understood – or admired – by their servants."
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SELÛNITE FUN-FACT!
Lunar eclipses are the greatest terror for any faithful of the Moonmaiden. These are not the usual time-honored cycles of waxing-and-waning, this is visual proof of the Enemy Shar overwhelming their favored goddess, a clarion call to support and succor.
During such times they rush out en masse, to find the nearest Shaaran and kill them in the name of Embattled Selûne.
In the old days they did this in the belief that the enemy blood spilled in "holy combat" would serve to fortify and strengthen the Moonmaiden in her struggle. Nowadays they know this isn't true, but that the fewer worshipers of a god there are, the weaker that god is so, hey, same result.
True priests of Shar are the target of course – active servitude being preferred ("worth more" in matters of ritual and blood) over regular old observance or acknowledgment – but if a true worshiper is not soon found the moon-mob may just go to the next most prominent target. If the eclipse is a short one, this isn't much of a problem. If it lasts long or is unnatural in nature (the Missing Moon of 1043DR and the Moon-Dark Riots of 1345DR being prime examples) then that may become a bit of an issue, as increasingly frantic Selûnites seek to drag anyone with even a hint of association with the Dark Lady out of their beds.
Interestingly, Lawful or Tyrran governments that are against religious slaughter in general tend to look the other way in these times. Sure the moon-mob may have killed a few tangentially-Shar-related citizens, but overall the Selûnites are good allies. Especially against the horrid things that go bump in the night. And much more fun at parties than those overbearing Baneites or foul-smelling Myrkul-men. Plus, they were obviously "moon-mad" at the time, and everyone knows that that is a real thing, from love to rage to lycanthropism. Can't be helped, really.
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FAERÛNIAN GRAMMAIRE
A faeries' dozen: thirteen of course, have ye never been told a bed-time tale? Ah, also sometimes nine, though only in older, colder, antemosaic sources. And...and, perhaps seven, though I warn ye against speaking as such, and take no responsibility for what may befall ye after…
Ker-ek!: the famous battle-cry of the bullywug (not to be confused with "Ger-ek!," their equally famous laughing croak)
Thaun-whistle: halfling device which produces much the same shrill RWEEE as does a RW-electric guitar. Mostly a war-whistle designed to be played from concealment, to strike fear into the hearts of enemies, but some recent Hin music has begun to incorporate it as well.
'Wave and flame': Ruathymaar farewell, relating to the proper funerary rites for a warrior (laid in a coracle and set alight and set adrift, into the sea)
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AGAIN, NONSENSE
"Four Portals to the Garden Lead
Where Elf and Sprite and Fey-Kin Dance
Four Portals far from Settled Men
Through Branch and Wind and Starr'd Expanse
Four Portals sought by Those of Greed
To spacious Halls of Glittered Lees
Four Portals beyond Mortal Ken
Under Silver-topp'd Moon Lit Trees"
– Augathra the Mad
"The Prophecy of the Portals" (apocryphal title, first applied during the Seventh Council of the Black Emendations, 1074DR, now commonly accepted)
Pages 221 and 222 of The Book of the Black
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2021 : 00:49:33
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| I like the idea of the dark comforters coming around and actually "opening old wounds" as it were in their attempt to comfort. That's a good addition. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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The Five NPCs You Meet In Waterdeep
