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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
 Posted - 04 Jan 2024 : 15:39:10
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On distinction between Faerunian pipeweed and Maztican tobacco
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1742276856747872463
Jan 3, 2024
@bittercatte
@TheEdVerse Oh wise sage, help us ring in the new year with your wisdom
What's the distinction between Faerunian pipeweed and Maztican tobacco?
Inquiring scholars wish to know
@TheEdVerse
Two differences: the climate (colder and drier on Faerûn) while the leaves grow, and the drying process (more sun-baking on sun-heated rocks in Maztica), leading to a sharper taste for tobacco versus pipeweed. Also, some hin dry their pipeweed on leaves and roots of other plants, to impart flavors (in Faerûn, not in Maztica). #realmslore
@bittercatte
Glorious, but not a drastic difference in terms of the plants themselves?
@TheEdVerse
Aye, not drastic. Same plant, but different prep, so (slightly) different end taste to the smoke. You can sure tell the difference side by side, but it's all desirable for your pipe bowl. The drier Maztican burns MUCH better tight-rolled (cigar) w/less smoke. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2024 : 11:49:33
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On Mirt and Durnan going to Undermountain
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1743088068804870157
Jan 5, 2024
@severoqjr
@TheEdVerse Hello and salutations! Sorry for the inconvenience, but may you answer this doubt of mine? Did Mirt and Durnan gone as a duo in their famed Undermountain expedition or were they accompanied by other adventurers?
@TheEdVerse
As a duo, unless they met up with, or hired themselves out as guides to, other adventurers down there. They made quite a few expeditions, in two successive years, before "striking it big." |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2024 : 11:53:31
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On festival or holiday
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1743088874585227438
Jan 5, 2024
@asymgains
@TheEdVerse would prefer you say Festival over Holiday. Holy-days belong to religions.
@TheEdVerse
Indeed.
Festivals or "year-days," for choice, and colloquially "upon the feast of Greengrass"...for all of the celebrations that aren't holy days for just one deity, or allied group of deities like the Triad. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jan 2024 : 13:03:06
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On an AI-generated illustration
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1743466788946366942
Jan 6, 2024
@StonedNerd314
What's going on here?
<https://twitter.com/StonedNerd314/status/1742923280066154972/photo/1>
@TheEdVerse
Sure. You’re looking at (left to right):
1. Andred Kuroone, a merchant based in Zazesspur, who sells “thael leaf” (the dried leaves of a plant sold to be added to either temple incense or pipeweed, to flavor the smoke inhaled with an almond-plus-herbs (think amaretto and 2) roast nuts, but not sweet) among other herbs, spices, and dried foods (apricots, et al).
2. Lurandural Veltree, a (kneeling) half-elf representative of The Halanthor, a local merchants’ guild. He’s holding a forouge or “test pipe” for sampling the smoke of inhaled or 3) suffused sales goods. Its odd shape is due to it being carved to resemble a stirge skull (a common style from the 1200s DR onwards). The slate on the ground is his, used for scribbling down trade deals on the spot. He’s here at the invitation of the priestess, and is 4) awaiting a sample of the mix Galannavruk is preparing.
3. Jhalanavress Tanthavur, a priestess of Waukeen, in “everyday” temple wear, who’s smoking the thael leaf the merchants are trying to sell her, and evidently enjoying it. This shipment of thael will be ground up 5) and added to temple braziers, not smoked in pipes. Jhalanavress holds the rank of Preceptress in her temple, equivalent to “chatelaine” of a castle; she’s in charge of all the lay temple staff and the underpriests, and the grounds and fabric (walls, roof, plumbing, 6) structure) of the temple.
4. Orstrar Galannavruk, a (sitting) second “dried sundries” merchant working with Andred Kuroone; he’s the senior partner and the main “coin mountain” of the partnership, but leaves much of the negotiating to the more charismatic and younger 7) Andred. He’s currently blowing some crumbled thael into an incense mixer (the chase-decorated globe) the priestess has loaned him, to mix it and present her with the result for her to inhale and approve or disapprove of. (She’s going to enthusiastically approve.)
8) This scene is taking place in a back temple yard (between the rear wing of the holy house and its stables) of The High Holy House of Coin, a recently-founded temple of Waukeen in northeasternmost Scornubel, in the late 1490s DR.
Kuroone and Galannavruk have trekked 9) straight from Triboar, and are dressed accordingly.
#realmslore
Great illustration, BTW!
@StonedNerd314
I can't claim credit for the picture because a robot made it but thank you for the answer. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jan 2024 : 01:38:56
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On Hin and Mystara
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1744078269069021650
Jan 8, 2024
@plotulus96
@TheEdVerse Aren't Hin native to Mystara? When did the change occur, or did I just miss something?
@TheEdVerse
I coined the name "hin" when doing THE FIVE SHIRES for Mystara, as the shortened name for "halflings" gained me 4.5 PAGES of text in layout. TSR promptly applied it everywhere for the same reason, so it made its way into the Realms. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2024 : 04:46:21
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On Gale becoming a weaveghost
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1747423106828800320 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1747851194330988874
Jan 17, 2024
@Soresire_
Hi @TheEdVerse I was reading up on FR lore and came across Weaveghosts. In BG3 you have the option to let Gale blow himself up with the Netherese Orb to destroy the brain. Could he become a weaveghost or even be resurrected after that? Or does the nature of the Orb prevent it?
@TheEdVerse
He could be, but it would be up to Mystra and/or Azuth. (There wouldn't be enough left of him for him to act, or even be aware.)
@Soresire_
That's what I was thinking, he'd be fragmented. But that should mean a powerful enough mage like Elminster could make him whole again right?
@TheEdVerse
Physically whole, yes. Mentally stable, yes. However, young memories the "mage like Elminster" isn't privy to (from before the restored being started using the Weave/casting spells): no. So the restorer often substitutes their own moral compass. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jan 2024 : 06:09:41
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On campaign ideas that will take place in the Time of Troubles that is not directly linked to the Tablets of Fate
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1750028937365729567
Jan 24, 2024
@Magniiza
@TheEdVerse Could you give me some tips or ideas for a campaign that will take place in the time of troubles and that is not directly linked to the tablets of fate?
Thanks!
@TheEdVerse
Sure.
First: protect home and hearth. It was a time of widespread tumult and strife, so any place or people dear to the PCs may need protection from all manner of villainous opportunists, raiding monsters, etc.
Second: aid law and order: help protect temples, local rulers, guard against brigandry on trade roads, and contain monster outbreaks (raiding out of mountain caverns or dungeons, perhaps driven forth by foes or fear).
Third: Recover important holy relics or magic items that have been lost or looted.
Fourth: Find and bring back or protect vitally important people (such as brilliant inventors Gondite priests want kept safe and alive).
Fifth: foil rebellions or assassination attempts or invasions that have been readied before the Time of Troubles, but are launched to take advantage of the chaos.
Sixth: for bad guys: go on a thieving spree that exploits the widespread chaos. Perhaps in desperation: get badly needed components or riches to buy lives (creditors will kill you if you don't pay them off) or working as hirelings for someone trying to assemble a magic item or make an artifact that may quell the chaos or defend an area.
There: some beginnings! Enjoy! |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2024 : 13:01:50
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On Galadaeros
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1752371261198447085 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1752374589533860006 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1752375518622527943 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1752377464741941700
Jan 31, 2024
@seankreynolds
Back in 2003 I wrote official 3E conversions of a bunch of 2E Realms dragons that @TheEdVerse wrote. The Wizards links eventually faded, but I've found them on the Web Archive. Here's Galadaeros, a copper dragon who watches over an adventuring company. https://web.archive.org/web/20030618181337/http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=fr/fx20020828wn
@seankreynolds
Here's Hoondarh the "Red Rage," a wealthy red dragon with a secret quest. #ForgottenRealms #WyrmsOfTheNorth #3E https://web.archive.org/web/20030702152141/http://wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=fr/fx20021023wn
@VALiant573
I’ve had this mag for a while and now I been commissioned to write a #Dungeoncraft @DnD_AdvLeague Forgotten Realms adventure with The Sunset Flame in it! Part of ‘The Forgotten Wyrms’ effort by Dos Ligas Adventeiros, D&D Org play Brazil!
@seankreynolds
Well that's interesting timing! Good luck on your adventure design! :D
@VALiant573
I read over all the sources I could find including this article, Dragons of Faerun and Fizban’s. I’m sure there could be more tidbits that Elminster @TheEdVerse himself may likely have. The article is just chock-filled with adventure opportunities.
@TheEdVerse
Sure! What would you like to know?
(Opens coat, leans in)
I've got your secret lore right here...
@TheEdVerse
For instance, Galaderos recently acquired (from unknown sources) an enchanted human-palm-sized glowing cube of rock crystal that can cast three hypnotic pattern spells per day. He uses it to throw up temporary traps in his lair, when intruders enter.
@VALiant573
Ooh. Wow! Thank you!
@TheEdVerse
My pleasure!
Oh, and his lair has a reverse gravity trap, but it's stationary and not under the control of Galadaeros (beyond fencing it off and warning folks about it...protections he removes for intruders, of course). #realmslore
@VALiant573
Would The Sunset Flame’s devotion to the Galadran Company extend to their kin? Galadaeros was very protective of them.
@TheEdVerse
It would indeed. They have become his family. And thanks to his own nature, he fully understands and tolerates "wayward" do-your-own-thing tendencies among them.
@VALiant573
Thank you so much for your time! I look forward to bumping into you at Gary Con and Gameholecon this year. Thanks again for the mentorship sit down at Big Bad Con last year! |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2024 : 13:07:47
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On murder from the privy
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1752888870268555372
Feb 1, 2024
@OfficialAPoD
Makes me wonder how many Lord Bladderblats were assassinated whilst in the Privy by shapeshifted assASSins.
Care to comment, @TheEdVerse?
#RealmsLore
@TheEdVerse
It's something hushed up in the Realms, so word won't get around and encourage hirings of shapeshifting slayers.
Dozens before 1339 DR, when the trap (water-filled letter-S-on-its-back, to quell odors) was invented, and the "long drop" you see here got superceded.
Traps are found in grand buildings across the Realms in the 1400s, emptied (by a hapless servant in a little chamber below the garderobe) via removal of a plug at an S "bottom," into a carry-urn.
The trap is then refilled with fresh scented water through the seat. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2024 : 00:43:39
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On Strahd as the first vampire
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1753556850014818725
Feb 3, 2024
@Lrbearclaw
@TheEdVerse I had a question I was thinking about.
Is Strahd ACTUALLY the first Vampire? Or were they created originally by Kanchelsis (and Strahd merely CLAIMS to be the first)?
I'm trying to play it lore-accurate to Toril and was personally leaning on the latter.
@TheEdVerse
Strahd is nowhere NEAR the first vampire. That's PR. No one knows the true origins of vampires; that's lost in the mists of time. So, VERY long ago. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2024 : 07:53:18
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On dragon meat taste
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1753588518264156362 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1753993234194305336 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1754677640672252268
Feb 3, 2024
@RogueScholarRPG
How does dragon meat taste, Ed?
@TheEdVerse
Depends on the dragon, of course. And their age. Hatchlings of all non-aquatic species taste rather like the fine white meat of a well-done pork chop, the bit just before the fat rind.
As they grow older, they taste more like alligator (the tail meat). And then vary.
@Lrbearclaw
This reminds me of a video that @MrRhexx did years ago when he touched on this topic in one of his dragon videos.
@TheEdVerse
Dragon Soup and other recipes (and all about dragon edibility, including eggs) were actually 1980s Realmslore that was part of the first Realms turnover, but because dragons are sentient, the ethical decision was made not to make it part of official Realmslore.
@KnivesWard
Hey Ed, what is the traditional condiment one would enhance their dragon meat with? A sauce, perhaps? Just salt and pepper?
@TheEdVerse
Depends on the dragon. Wine AND spirit -based (a mix, with herbs, too) marinades "make" most dragon dishes. Tamarind sauces and mustards are sometimes added at the "eating from your plate" stage, and soups such as leek and turtle may also be used as sauces.
- Edited on 5/2/2024 to add new tweet
- Edited on 9/2/2024 to add new tweet |
Edited by - questing gm on 09 Feb 2024 13:01:55 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 09 Feb 2024 : 13:04:27
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On what happens when someone without the Gift tries to cast a spell
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1754661104070844588 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1754674922813571355 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1754663509613273271
Feb 6, 2024
@Contiguouskitt1
@TheEdVerse got another query for you. When discussing those with "The Gift" for arcane magic, what happens when someone without The Gift tries to cast a spell? Does it not work because the weave doesn't listen to them, or because they are unconsciously doing it wrong, or what?
@TheEdVerse
It doesn't work because they don't have the mental knack of visualizing the effect (& precise target/location/extent, if applicable) AND symbols formed in their mind by the somatic component AND connection to the Weave. You must do all three simultaneously to cast. 2) (Arcane magic, that is.) Someone who lacks the Gift can't deliberately access the Weave, so even if they PRECISELY mimic an arcane spellcaster, and do everything exactly right, nothing will happen. It's like waving an electric table lamp around and expecting it to light up, 3) when it isn't plugged in. And when you work arcane spells and have the Gift, you are the light bulb. If you lack the Gift, the lamp has no bulb, just an empty socket where the bulb should plug in. Some sages train their powers of concentration, and interview spellcasters 4) about the three-dimensional imagined images (usually lines of floating blue-white fire) that moving the caster's hands through the somatic component of the spell forms in the caster's mind, and so can write accurately about spellcasting...but if they lack the Gift, magic 5) will never happen for them unless Mystra, Azuth, or another deity or servitor of a deity observes them, takes pity on them or wants to work through them, and "just makes it happen."
In the Realms, this rare event most often happens when someone devoted to a place tries 6) to desperately defend it (example: an old caretaker, not clergy, of a temple who tries to keep it from being burned down or looted by raiders), and tries to copy what they've seen priests do, as they frantically call on the god–and the god sees and hears, and sends magic 7) through them that they will likely never be able to work again. #realmslore
@ValetheHowl
Why can't a deity just give the Gift to a mortal? I mean, it doesn't sound like it would be difficult for Mystra to just give the ability to wield magic to someone.
@TheEdVerse
A deity CAN just give the Gift to a mortal. They very seldom do, as Ao frowns on this (he wants to avoid an "arms race" among the deities, as such things never end well.)
@Contiguouskitt1
How does one forge a connection to the Weave, is that part of Wizard training or is it completely inborn?
@TheEdVerse
"The Gift" is the term used to describe those who can innately access the Weave (though some have a triggering event, and can't do it at birth or in youth). Magic items provide that connection for the wielder. Training can enhance the ability to access and work with the Weave. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 09 Feb 2024 : 13:22:36
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On giving the Gift to Giftless characters
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1755285154690417067 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1755296462995439751 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1755297235082854592 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1755286881024020954
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1825244130672267353 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1825252010490270157
Feb 8, 2024
@ValetheHowl
@TheEdVerse Hi there! Sorry to bother you, but I met quite a conundrum and I hoped you could help me. I am currently running a commoner/giftless campaign set in FR, and I kinda wanted to give the players the option to upgrade their commoners to full player characters at the end.
Problem is, all PCs are by definition Gifted, while the NPCs were specifically created to lack any sort of innate gift or talent. I don't really want to use the excuse that they were secretly Gifted all along either, since I established in the session 0 that they weren't.
So, is there a way I can use to give the Gift to these Giftless characters and make them become full fledged Wizards, Bards, Clerics, etc despite the fact that they previously lacked the Gift entirely?
Otherwise the only other option is to have those characters retire to their previous normal lives and have my players roll new characters, but I would have liked to give them the option to keep using them.
@TheEdVerse
Many (more than a third) of all sentient beings in the Realms who have the Gift didn't exhibit it at all at birth, or youth, until an event "awakened" it.
Many such events involve a being getting touched directly by magic for the first time, such as getting caught in the area of effect of a spell (needn't be a combat spell, could be light or faerie fire), handling a magic item or touching an artifact, stepping through a ward they may not even know is there (i.e. across a temple doorway), and so on.
Even if they got tested for the Gift when young, and the test showed nothing at all, that doesn't mean they didn't have it, or wouldn't later get it. Brains change and develop throughout life.
@BrunoLWilliam
How would someone get tested for the Gift? Can one do that without magical aid?
@TheEdVerse
In the Realms, the clergy of local temples or shrines usually test for the Gift (using cantrips/orizons, so it is a magical test). Sometimes mages test others by teaching them a "safe" cantrip that has very simple casting...and seeing if anything happens.
@neverwa54316814
Explains why my fighter might pick up some wizard levels after traveling with one for a while.
@TheEdVerse
Indeed. And every time the party cleric casts Bless on fellow party members, there's a chance one or more of them will manifest their Gift. They not even know it at the time.
@Contiguouskitt1
Are there any lifestyles or practices that might increase one's chances of developing the Gift?
@TheEdVerse
Handling magic items (in an armoury) or holy items in a temple, working with wizards or sorcerers, exploring old tombs and ruins that might have wards, being test subjects for spellcastings (especially shapeshifting or translocation magics), and so on.
@lsalgado97
Could emotions such as great stress, anxiety or trauma (or maybe even some great bliss, to escape the cliché), awaken someone's Gift?
@TheEdVerse
Oh, yes. Many have awakened their Gift in great grief, or rage, because they or their community has suffered great loss. Such as teens who've spied on a local wizard casting spells, and when their village gets raided, furiously try to duplicate that spellcasting–and it works!
@ValetheHowl
Thank you so very much for the answer! So I guess that the Gift is akin to superpowers in a superhero setting: some are just born with it while others can develop them through random accidents (even those who were completely normal).
So, in the end, basically anyone has the potential to develop the Gift, but only very few people actually do. And I guess that interacting with magic stuff a lot, while dangerous, would increase the chances of someone obtaining the Gift.
@TheEdVerse
Indeed.
Kids who play in old ruined castles may well be awakening their Gift...and not even know it for years.
@ValetheHowl
Thank you for the answer! It really helps! So you'd say that a truly Giftless assistant to a wizard who works with magic everyday (using items, scrolls, practicing, etc) would have a good chance at developing the Gift?
@TheEdVerse
No. They are NOT "truly Giftless" if they develop a Gift; they only SEEM Giftless, until it manifests.
To answer your earlier multipart question on this: ...
Sages can come to understand the Weave more than the average person, through intense study (reading the accounts of others who can “feel” and work with the Weave), and by questioning the right individuals (Weavemasters and others who work with the Weave or even live in it, as “voices in the Weave,” like Dove and Syluné). In theory, someone who has a latent Gift (so, NOT “Giftless,” but having no developed Gift yet) could dream enough, and heavily enough, about the Weave, to dimly “feel” it. Someone who is truly Giftless can only work with the Weave, and come to feel its flows of power, by acquiring and using the right magic item or items (one that has enchantments that call directly on the Weave for different results, so the wielder must make guiding choices to awaken and control the item). If an item requires attunement, such attunement requires the Gift.
Many “artifacts” (really powerful magic items) hav sentiences of their own, and can guide a Giftless wielder into communicating with, using, and feeling the Weave.
However, all other routes for a Giftless to know and use the Weave require awakening a latent Gift, even if it’s only a limited, undeveloped “wild talent.”
- Edited on 19/8/2024 to add new tweets |
Edited by - questing gm on 19 Aug 2024 11:34:14 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 09 Feb 2024 : 14:58:26
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On differences between wizards and sorcerers regarding The Gift
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1755424510751228241 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1755672610182934821 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1755673174782386236 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1755771993251577967
Feb 8, 2024
@IValmenor
Hey Ed! Great answer. How do the differences between wizards and sorcerers come into play here regarding The Gift?
@TheEdVerse
Both wizards and sorcerers have the Gift (the ability to personally access the Weave without needing a magic item or the favour of a deity to do it), but sorcerers learn to spontaneously channel the energies into magical effects, whereas wizards learn procedures (= spells) that produce known magical effects, and sometimes tinker with spells to modify the effects, and experiment until they've crafted new spells.
@Stormer455
HI Ed! Wouldn't it be in Mystra's best interest if there was no *the gift* barrier for people to cast magic? Or is there a simple reason like the weave not currently being strong enough?
@TheEdVerse
It would be in Mystra's best interest, but the world doesn't work to serve anyone's best interest.
It's nothing to do with the strength of the Weave (which is all the energies of the world). Rather, it's about the aptitudes of individual entities.
@Jardoin19
Does this mean that arcana clerics don't have the gift, but actually are given the effects of the gift by a deity?
@TheEdVerse
No, arcana clerics have the Gift. Not all clerics, of every sort, do. (But many do.) Regardless, they all customarily get their spells from their deities (or servitors of those deities).
@SirWiseGuy
Hey Ed! With some Rogues being able to use normally Wizard only items does this mean that Mystra sometimes*really* appreciates high quality showmanship? :)
@TheEdVerse
Unless their specific nature dictates otherwise, magic items provide conduits to the Weave so that their wielder need not have the Gift. Rogues who can use "wizard only" items have the dexterity, attention to detail, and (especially) concentration to do so. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 09 Feb 2024 : 15:08:51
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On casting Meteor Shower gently
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1755427094304112891
Feb 8, 2024
@WerewolfFeels
A gentle METEOR SWARM? H-how? How does that— maybe I don’t want to know…
@TheEdVerse
One whose effects are precisely located so as to just scorch from afar. Like toasting a marshmallow as opposed to immolating it, or vaporizing it in an explosion. ;} It sears GENTLY.
@HellcowKeith
I think that Elminster could definitely have a “gentle spellcasting” metamagic option. When you’re struck by a gentled spell, you don’t actually KNOW how much damage you take. It surrounds you like a warm rain of twinkling stars… and then a kitten sneezes and you drop dead.
@WerewolfFeels
I feel like there's an option here for a slowed spellcasting effect too, allowing damage to be spread out over several turns (without holding concentration). You know... so someone has the chance to observe their slow singing over 30 seconds.
Or is that too much?
*singeing. Autocorrect turned that into a musical somehow...
@TheEdVerse
I agree. Any mage who's used a spell a time or six over the years will have the "feel" to tinker with it, and slowing or gentling effects is easy (you just cut back on your pull on the Weave). It's when you try to power up known spells that things get dangerous. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 17 Feb 2024 : 11:00:34
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On questions from Elminster's Daughter
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1757108829634879684
Feb 13, 2024
@ItalianKarsus
@TheEdVerse hey! I read Elminster's Daughter.
1/ "Squeaking, fluttering gorcraws" remind me of the gorscraw Dove was plucking in Spellfire. Are they the same bird?
2/Also, is there anything on the greenfin fish in Elminster's pond or rainbow-fin fish in Haelithtorntowers?
Cont
3/any ideas what tentacled creature attacks Narnra in Waterdeep, early on? And which one in the canals of Marsember?
4/any word on the wyrmtongue-leaf plant?
It's been quite a ride. Thanks for such a great book!
@TheEdVerse
One answer at a time…
1. No.
Gorcraws are like (usually; some grow bigger) sparrow-sized crows: they’d caw loudly if they were larger, but instead mainly squeak.
Gorscraws are like plump, well-fed grouse or pheasant: a dim-witted “good eating” bird that nests on the ground.
Both throughout Heartlands and Sword Coast. The name “Gorcraw” originated in Sembia, and the name “Gorscraws” in Tethyr, and one may well have been carried by caravan merchants and misapplied to “another” bird. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 17 Feb 2024 : 11:04:42
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On southfront Saerdoun Street 3 doors west of Thunderstaff Way
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1757114875409474009
Feb 13, 2024
@aideddorg
@TheEdVerse Hi Ed. Can we talk in DM about your video on Vressa's Sweep Begone? Thx!
Ok, so my concern about "Vressa's Sweep Begone" is that "southfront Saerdoun Street 3 doors west of Thunderstaff Way" is also "Tiger's Eye" in Dragon Heist (https://aidedd.org/atlas/index.php?map=W&l=1&p=Tiger%27s%20Eye), according to me.
Did I miss something?
Can you give me more details about this location?
@TheEdVerse
Sure. This three-floors-plus attic timber-and-stucco old building with a new (three summers back) tile roof is a former pipeleaf shop with offices above and owner’s dwelling suite on the top floor. In 1494 DR the shop closed, and was converted into business offices like the floor above.
The building changed owners, and the current owner (a gnome widower by the name of Hardyn Glorjarn, an investor and wagon fleet owner) lives on the top floor. Vressa got the “back” (larger) ground floor office, Velardar Vincent Trench got the front one, and the four upstairs offices stayed in the same hands: Erro Alhandrar’s Nets (half-elf importer of knotted fishing nets from Sheirtalar and the Tashalar); Demra Samdro’s Best Beds (outcast female dwarf retired adventurer, using an assumed name, and now making and selling grand beds that disassemble for easy movement and installation); Laskalan’s Lamps and Lanterns (fussy old man who fixes and sells new lamps and lanterns and their wicks and oil and candles; an importer, not a maker [his secret is that he adds tiny “secret compartments” in his lanterns for such things as keys, lockpicks, and knife blades]); and Tantra Jaressra’s Fine Gowns (importer, maker, alterer, and cleaner of high-fashion gowns for feast and revel wear; Tantra is a gorgeous human female who isn’t a lady of pleasure, but is a superb actress who hires herself out as “arm candy” for an evening, at high rates).
Many buildings in Waterdeep are like this: multiple tenants and uses, not this building is one person’s home or shop. |
Edited by - questing gm on 19 Aug 2024 11:29:54 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 17 Feb 2024 : 11:06:49
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On how to pronounce Baator?
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1757116304018796734
Feb 13, 2024
@falionna
@TheEdVerse how do you pronounce baator? Or is there nine dialects of pronunciation?
I've always pronounced it as bah-tor, and heard mizoras be-ah-tor in BG3.
@TheEdVerse
Across the multiverse, there are many pronounciations, but "BAH-tor" is almost universally heard in the Realms.
Arls Beatorh ("Bee-AH-tor") is the name of a merchant of Athkatla who infamously drowned in a vat of his own wine. Possibly with help. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 19 Feb 2024 : 14:34:39
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On concentrating on two spells at once
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1759351614756753897
Feb 19, 2024
@MetalMilkMan
@TheEdVerse Mr Greenwood, I have a question if you have a minute?
Are there any persons in the realms beyond God's who can concentrate on two spells at once?
In my headcanon, Laeral Silverhand can as she is a chosen and so in tune with the weave.
Cheers.
@TheEdVerse
Many individuals can concentrate on two spells at once: all of those with psionics, all Weavemasters (incl. all of the Chosen), and all who can use "hanging" spells (magics cast in the past that haven't "gone off" yet). However, no mortal can actually CAST two spells at once. Certain individuals CAN unleash more than one spell (or spell-like magical effect) in the same round, thanks to their innate or acquired capabilities.
An example: From Elminster's current character sheet (source: Wizards of the Coast): "Note that this ability overcomes the usual limitation on spellcasters of only casting one spell in a turn, unless one spell is a bonus action and the other is a cantrip with a casting time of 1 action; so El can cast a “normal” spell and a Master of Magic..." spell in a turn, but cannot also cast a 1-action-casting-time cantrip in that turn to launch three magics. However, in a turn in which he doesn’t use this Master of Magic ability, El can cast a bonus action spell and a 1-action-casting-time cantrip." |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2024 : 00:40:42
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On Midnight left in current Mystra
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1760448057903137259 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1760755202901049589 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1760935187918029009 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1760473715848950127 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1760543254167118128 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1760714120632979856 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1760715329422930378
Feb 22, 2024
@TheBigBlueBox79
I’d love to ask @TheEdVerse whether the current incarnation of Mystra still has any of the mortal Midnight left within her, or has she been completely subsumed.
@TheEdVerse
"Current Mystra" still has Midnight within her.
That's actually Mystra's greatest strength: the mental toughness/sanity she has from her memories of her various mortal lifetimes (different views and perspectives).
@ZeromaruX
"Various mortal lifetimes"? Does that mean Mystra have had other mortals lives beyond the girl who became the original Mystra and Midnight?
@TheEdVerse
Yes.
@OfficialAPoD
Does this mean Myrjala Talithyn is still floating around in there somewhere, even after the business with Helm and Midnight?
@TheEdVerse
It does.
@RedsTemple
So she is there!! Why does Mystra never change regardless of who else is 'in there with her' then? Is it more like she has their memories now a la mindflayer, or how does it work?
@TheEdVerse
Mystra is the Weave, so it's like having every magic-wielding entity in your head at once. "You" would get lost and submerged in the shouting flood if you didn't have an incredible will and concentration: and THAT is the "never-changing" Mystra the wider world sees.
@RedsTemple
So for all intents and purposes, Midnight is no more then? Could she ever go back to just being herself? Ps: thank you for taking the time to answer! It's so interesting to know
@TheEdVerse
1) Mystra COULD send Midnight back into the world in a new body, but it would be as an avatar of herself, because the goddess would not, under any circumstances, deny anyone their memories of being touched by magic. That's her core.
However, when I type these 2) words, I DON'T mean Mystra would put Midnight back on Toril as a mighty, fighting, powerful god in Midnight's body. Not that sort of avatar. I mean that Midnight would know at the back of her mind that she was part of Mystra.
And though such a return is 3) unlikely to happen, Mystra could do it for two good reasons: to give herself another roving Weave anchor, and if she ever wanted to birth new Chosen, setting Midnight up to be their literal mother.
As for the father?
We'll have to leave that for a tale.
@thechairmanxyz
Could someone from our world, get into a moral debate with Shar and warp her mind to realize she's been creating new things trying to warp creation?
@TheEdVerse
Oh, yes. However, she already knows that, and long ago rationalized for herself that the end justifies the means, and as long as it's HER creating, that's fine, because (she thinks) she controls what she creates, and can "unmake" it at will. She's wrong, of course.
@thechairmanxyz
lmao! sounds a bit like Arcturus Mengsk too or modern real life bad folks...
@TheEdVerse
Since I created Shar, I have always thought of her as someone who sees reality differently from everyone else.
It's the only tenable explanation (from a relatively sane mortal POV) for many of the things she's said and done.
She's a "mortal loss and despair" junkie.
- Edited on 24/2/24 to add new tweets |
Edited by - questing gm on 24 Feb 2024 03:03:51 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2024 : 14:13:19
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On if Elminster could use High Magic
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1761985247040712827 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1762367288978571466 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1762524118799258037
Feb 26, 2024
@Simon70115250
@TheEdVerse I have wondered for a long time if Elminster could use High Magic. Since he was involved in creating Myth Drannor Mythal and creating near-like Mythal wards over Hellgate keep. Not to mention his close relationship with Mystra and Srinshee.
@TheEdVerse
Yes, he can. However, as a Weavemaster, he can now achieve the same magical results without the High Magic castings.
@Simon70115250
Thank you for your answer! I appreciate that. And I had never expected that I would get that fast.
Could you also shed some light on who else besides El is a Weavemaster? I would expect Srinshee before her demise and Larloch (if he is still "alive" somewhere). Maybe Ioulaum too?
@TheEdVerse
Mystra's Chosen and Azuth's Chosen and the Srinshee are Weavemasters.
NOT Larloch, and not at all Ioulaum; his brain has gone in other directions, and like Karsus, he fought to conquer the Weave, not become one with it.
@Simon70115250
I see and understand. So, Weavemaster subtly works over Wave and uses it to alter flow rather than wrest and bend it to their will (Larloch, Ioulaum). What about Manshoon before he lost his chosen status in your Spellstorm novel? Was he capable of using the Wave as Weavemaster?
@TheEdVerse
No, he'd never learned how. To do so, you have to surrender to Mystra or Azuth, and they show you how. "Mystra is the Way," literally.
Manshoon consistently either defied or betrayed Mystra.
- Edited on 27/2/24 to add new tweet
- Edited on 28/2/24 to add new tweet |
Edited by - questing gm on 28 Feb 2024 02:39:34 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2024 : 14:17:09
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On lore about Otiluke
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1761987559750545580 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1761987561449210052
Feb 26, 2024
@gimme_grits
@TheEdVerse Hello Ed, I have a question that I’m not sure if you could help with. I am basing a new character on being a descendant of Otiluke from Greyhawk. There is very little lore about Otiluke. Do you know more on his lore? And do you know how he came to be known in Faerun?
@TheEdVerse
Otiluke (who, sadly, is no longer with us) covertly visited Toril several times to visit with Elminster. He became more widely known after his demise, when Mordenkainen was in Toril being nursed back to sanity by Elminster.
What lore are you most interested in?
I play a former apprentice of Otiluke in Lord Gosumba's Greyhawk games, Rhavalantar, a member of the Two-Drink Minimum adventuring band. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1451 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2024 : 13:03:18
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On 11 hours of Realmslore
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1762224753148878920
Feb 27, 2024
@TheEdVerse
For those that haven't seen, I've just published over 11 hours of Realms Q&A footage to my Patreon that is chock full of highly detailed realmslore! It's been a hectic couple months, but I'm glad to be releasing all of this fun new content for my Realms fans. :} |
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Ed Greenwood on Twitter
