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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1825 Posts |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1825 Posts |
 Posted - 18 Jan 2026 : 14:26:37
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On Velaharoon's recent activity
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2011930393524478302
Jan 16, 2026
@Fablemaster
Speaking of which, what has Velaharoon been up to?
@TheEdVerse
Vaeza Velaharoon, the notorious festhall madam and pleasure-lady-for-hire of Saerloon, is back in business after her fourteenth hired adventuring band brought her an actual potion of longevity that worked, and a mage she hired (going only by the pseudonym Veiled One) worked a long and painful ritual involving potions of vitality. A younger, more energetic, and far less wrinkled Vaeza is helming Vaeza’s Bower once more, and is the talk of that city these last few months for her—
Oh, wait. Did you mean Velsharoon (sometimes known as Mellifleur), the Archmage of Necromancy, patron of liches?
Ah. Well, in that case…
Velsharoon was restored to divine life by Ao after the Second Sundering, but returned to the Realms much changed by his humbling at the hands of The Simbul.
His arrogance, selfishness, and vanity are almost entirely gone, and his flirtations with Shar are fewer and tempered with fear: he’s now tasted loss, despair, and annihilation, and is far less fascinated by them. His fickleness is gone, too; he now clings to far more loyal service to Azuth and to Mystra, ignores Talos and Sehanine Moonbow, regards his former enmity with Jergal as folly, and despises Myrkul but reserves his disgust and energetic hatred for Szass Tam, whose “misuse” of undead “makes all the rest of we liches look like dangerous, reckless fools.” (He works to warn and otherwise protect some of the rebel Red Wizards inside and outside Thay, to further thwart Szass Tam’s schemes and ambitions.)
Velsharoon retains his clever wits and creativity (devising new undead creatures, processes for bestowing and renewing undeath, and self-renewal among liches), and still acts as a whispering dream-guide for would-be liches. Much of his time is spent in magical experimentations into various aspects of undeath.
He was genuinely touched when Mystra kissed him, imparting a wisp of silver fire into him that both empowered him and made known to him the Simbul’s sorrow at what she’d done to him (for the fire had been hers, ere her destruction). It shattered his old hatreds and world-view.
In short, Velsharoon is changed. He still exults in undeath in all its variety, and extending it into new forms and having new abilities—but is no longer a traitor to every deity he “serves,” nor arrogant in the slightest. He once muttered to Azuth: “I wasn’t just such a fool. I was an insane fool, worthy of being utterly destroyed. I shall strive to do better henceforth.” (Whereupon Azuth replied: “That striving is all any of us can ever manage.”) |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1825 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jan 2026 : 14:33:36
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On c-sections in the Forgotten Realms
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2012784346797576309
Jan 18, 2026
@marshmaru35
@TheEdVerse Hi Ed, do c-sections exist in the Forgotten Realms? Like if a mother is having a life-threatening birth, or having to push out a really big baby? And what's the survival rate for both mother and child?
@TheEdVerse
Yes. Clergy and midwives usually assist at births, as well as mothers, aunts, and grandmothers. Their familiarity with "sword-births" (as they're called on Toril) varies widely, as does their comfort level attempting them. However, having priests on hand who can use spells to bloodquench and heal makes for far less hesitation and trepidation. The Realms does understand cleanliness and why it's needed. The survival rate varies with conditions (hard winter? out in the wilds? in wartime?) and the health of the mother at and during pregnancy, but there's likely about a 35% mortality rate for mothers and 15% for newborns without access to timely priestly healing, down to about 7% and 4% with healing right away.
Aftercare matters a lot, too, in the first 3 weeks, especially. |
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Ed Greenwood on Twitter
