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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1289 Posts |
 Posted - 06 Jan 2023 : 22:29:47
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quote:
Originally posted by Gary Dallison
Quite surprisingly, i'm enjoying Dangerous Games.
Its depiction of Netheril as completely broken is much worse than i imagined for Netheril and i like it (I can also see parallels with modern society that i find worrying).
Because of what Eric did with Gelf Darkhearth to bring him into the realms, I am working on including Rill Cleverthrush (also from Races of Stone) as, really, an accidentally created god who is odd by Gnome standards (Gnome god of the sky??). The story flows from the hubris and fractured nature of Netherese society.
Edit: fixed typo. |
"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."
My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
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Edited by - TheIriaeban on 06 Jan 2023 22:30:51 |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6646 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jan 2023 : 07:50:41
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quote:
Originally posted by TheIriaeban
quote:
Originally posted by Gary Dallison
Quite surprisingly, i'm enjoying Dangerous Games.
Its depiction of Netheril as completely broken is much worse than i imagined for Netheril and i like it (I can also see parallels with modern society that i find worrying).
Because of what Eric did with Gelf Darkhearth to bring him into the realms, I am working on including Rill Cleverthrush (also from Races of Stone) as, really, an accidentally created god who is odd by Gnome standards (Gnome god of the sky??). The story flows from the hubris and fractured nature of Netherese society.
Edit: fixed typo.
I've written up the other gnome hero-deity "Elbow-Wick" for a magic item in Eric's campaign. I named him Raelburt Candlewick and he's the gnomish god of knowledge, inspiration, oratory, music and bards.
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1289 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jan 2023 : 05:12:03
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quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
quote:
Originally posted by TheIriaeban
quote:
Originally posted by Gary Dallison
Quite surprisingly, i'm enjoying Dangerous Games.
Its depiction of Netheril as completely broken is much worse than i imagined for Netheril and i like it (I can also see parallels with modern society that i find worrying).
Because of what Eric did with Gelf Darkhearth to bring him into the realms, I am working on including Rill Cleverthrush (also from Races of Stone) as, really, an accidentally created god who is odd by Gnome standards (Gnome god of the sky??). The story flows from the hubris and fractured nature of Netherese society.
Edit: fixed typo.
I've written up the other gnome hero-deity "Elbow-Wick" for a magic item in Eric's campaign. I named him Raelburt Candlewick and he's the gnomish god of knowledge, inspiration, oratory, music and bards.
-- George Krashos
Are you planning on releasing Raelburt in an upcoming DMsGuild product?
I would post what I have for Rill but it isn't complete yet. I have him as the gnome god of invention, creation, and sky. He is the patron of gnome artificers. He isn't widely worshipped because he is associated with the Netherese (deserved or not).
I also have another gnome that is just thought to be a legend that is named The Undying One. He will appear if a gnome settlement is under great threat by a nearby tribe of kobolds, orcs, etc. and will take care of the problem. The method he uses has extended his life, so he is a couple thousand years old at this point. I will finish writing him up after I get Rill done. |
"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."
My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6646 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jan 2023 : 05:38:55
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He won’t come up in a DMs Guild release (although another deity will hopefully soon) so PM me your email address and I’ll send you what I wrote. You can decide what you want to do with it.
— George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jan 2023 : 16:08:58
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Council of Blades (1217 DR to 1218 DR)
By Paul Kidd
Blade Kingdoms
When the snows cleared from the winter passes, and summer sun gleamed down upon the Hills of Apion, it was the custom of the Blade Kingdoms to devote them-selves to war. [1]
The six kingdoms-neat, tiny little city-states sur-rounded by their vineyards, villages and olive groves-still showed the proud vigour of newcomers. Their gleaming new city walls had been built atop Chessentian ruins a dozen centuries old; in the valleys, there ran the aqueducts and mouldering villas left from days long gone. The ruins still yielded a strange harvest of old cogs and bro-ken statues; curiosities avoided by sensible, superstitious souls. [1]
Two hundred years before, the grand mercenary companies of the Vilhon Reach had turned their backs on their honourless Chondathian employers and a worthless war. The huge divisions, with their traveling hospitals, mobile sanctuaries and courts, had moved slowly east into an empty land of yellow hills and fallen stone on the shores of the Akanamere. [1]
All the sciences of the north were brought to bear upon the fallow lands; ancient aqueducts were repaired by skilled military engineers, while soldiers cleared the broken harbour mouths and roads. As years of building passed, the soldiers' tent cities became true towns, and mercenary companies changed into tiny nations. The great captains married camp followers, captives, and whores, breeding heirs to take over their commands in the years yet to come. [1]
For two busy centuries the kingdoms had prospered-locked into the traditions of their freebooting past. [1]
Military discipline readily tucked itself under the covers of democracy. The free-voting mercenary councils became senates of nobility, each captain still having status according to the number of his men. [1]
The free companies soon vanished, and in their place the Blade Kingdoms had been born. [1]
The Blade Councils that ruled the kingdoms were descended from educated men; soldiers who had risen above mere passion, and who had brought the art of warfare to its greatest heights. As they grew, the kingdoms prided themselves on the triumphs of the rational mind; of law and order, sciences and art. [1]
Sumbria and her neighbour Colletro were once again at war. The contention-as it had been in many campaign seasons past-was the ownership of the Valley of Umbricci, its salt mines, its olive presses and its prosperous cattle farms. Burned farms and slaughtered cattle profited no man. The armies, therefore, moved through the passes and down into the valley without offering the inhabitants the slightest bit of harm. Provisions were bought and sold, and local womenfolk made the firesides of both armies merry through the nights. Casualties mounted, though thanks to the laws of war, they remained blessedly light. For in "white war," wounded opponents offered ransom for their lives [1]
Heralds. A single word of command sent a pair of figures strut-ting forward across the grass; haughty youths mounted upon pure white hippogriffs. Coming forward to meet the Sumbrian messengers, Colletro's heralds were mounted on matched palomino beasts of their own [1]
The Blade Kingdoms were a military society; it was their strength, and also their strangest quirk. Each Blade Captain gained votes within the council according to the strength of his own regiments. The loss of military personnel was therefore frowned upon, since it changed the internal balance of power. Far better for men of education to fight through manoeuvre and deceit. Colletro had been manipulated into a poor position; rather than risk a lost battle, her generals would of necessity offer a concession and withdraw. [1]
A lady of the Blade Kingdoms-a real lady, complete with demure expression, flowing gown, and tall pointy hat-most decidedly did not dabble in magic. [2]
Latest fashion for noble ladies is to wear tall conical hats [2]
With his three thousand blades, Prince Mannicci ruled Sumbria's council. In some kingdoms, such as Lomatra, the councils elected the weakest of their number as their prince, knowing the council's votes could overrule his decrees. In other states, a single family held troops enough to dominate the entire balance of power. Here in Sumbria, the balance remained more delicate; the Mannicci family could not quite hold power on its own. The prince needed the support of other houses, who ebbed and flowed into voting blocks as various needs arose. [2]
Like most Blade Kingdom palaces, the Toporello residence was constructed as a hollow square. [3]
gold ducats [3]
The Blade Kingdoms were blessed by a firm grasp of plumbing technology. A gleeful team of fiery salamanders high up in the palace ceiling spent their days snacking on coal and bringing a water tank to the boiling point through the intense heat of their skins. A network of gleaming cop-per pipes-designed by madmen, but installed by efficient, military engineers-brought the water up across the gar-den wall, took a left turn at the outhouses, dripped merciless droplets into the Blade Council's meeting chambers, and finally coughed and spattered itself into Miliana's gigantic seashell bath. [5]
The Valley of Umbricci was deep enough into the cold slopes of the Akanapeaks to already feel the winter's bite. From the passes, the city of Sumbria could be seen basking under a warm autumn sun, while high above the valley, the great mountains shone with crisp new snow. Across the valley floor, the fruit trees hung heavy with the last crops of fruit, while the fields had all been shorn into stiff mats of brittle stubble. [10]
It was unseasonable weather for an attack; an autumn campaign had been utterly unheard of for nigh on a hundred years. Rain might dampen bowstrings, swell the rivers, and churn the roads; snow might block the passes and bring sickness to the men. Only the most furious, impassioned warriors would stir themselves to war at such a time. Few causes couldn't wait for the long winter months to blossom bloodily into spring. Few causes-but for the foulest insult of them all. A bro-ken contract of peace-honour trampled, pride destroyed. [10]
the Blade Families [10]
thanked Tchazzar [10]
His spirit can be welded back into his body! It will cost a kingdom's ran-som, but it can be done [10]
The Articles of Association allow us (armies) to recontract once per year! [10]
At the front of the giant Sun Cannon, the Sun Gem slowly cooled; while in the pass, three thousand Sumbrian troops lay buried under steaming lava. [10]
Sumbria is the most powerful of the Blade Kingdoms. As an individual state, we command the greatest wealth, the greatest intellects, and the finest military equipment. And yet we have found ourselves locked into a futile war for years! Rather than taking our place as rightful leader of the Akanal, we have squan-dered our energies in an endless war with Colletro-and over what? A valley. A single valley. [11]
Two thirds insist on a vote… an immediate vote. The Articles of Association demand that an election be held for the crown [11]
The Sumbrian constitution [11]
Princess Krrrr-poka, of the Akanamere (a nixie or fairy princess????) [12]
The Blade Kingdoms were each quite tiny when mea-sured on the scale of other lands. Each nation consisted of a single town, a few surrounding villages, and their supporting fields. Most could be crossed in less than a day's ride. [13]
Kirenzia, one of the Blade Kingdoms [13,14]
Sumbria
City state. The clean white walls shot upward from the shoreline like rearing foam, while the towers and streets seemed strung with iridescent pearls. [1]
Prince of Sumbria, master of three thousand swords [1]
Lanze Spezzate -mercenary horsemen in half-armours made of burnished steel. To the rear, there rode the Elmeti -the noble horse, decked out in a ponderous grandeur of golden armour and nodding plumes. [1]
The rider's mount-one of the Gens D'Or, the golden horses of the gods [1]
Cappa Mannicci, the prince of Sumbria, swivelled to gaze at his Blade Council. [1]
Blade Captain Gilberto Ilego spurred slowly toward his prince. The man wore armour of venomous green; his horse bore a matching harness, and had a hide of an eerie copper hue. Lord of a mere two thousand swords [1]
third story of the palace's most obscure and ill-regarded tower [2]
Parts one through five of Lady Faveretti's Cookery Handbook for Erudite Young Girls (with an appendix on Poisoning for Beginners) [2]
Lady Ulia Mannicci-fondly referred to as "The Hammer of the Gods" by half the Sumbrian court. Lady Ulia Mannicci, wife of Prince Cappa Mannicci, stepmother to Miliana, and First Lady of Sumbria. A great, fat woman big enough to batter down a castle gate [2]
A firebird stole Lady Ulia Mannicci’s gold collared emerald necklace. [1]
Sofia, Lady Ulia’s maid [2]
The Manniccis' palace looked out across fields of grape vines and olive groves, up on a land of rolling hills and gentle ochre-colored dust. [2]
Sumbria's Blade Captains each boasted a palace of his own-a palace well stuffed with wives and daughters, dowagers and sons, all of whom now claimed a place at the Manniccis' victory ball [2]
Lorenzo Utrelli Da Lomatra, scion of the Blade Kingdom of Lomatra and a visitor to Sumbria's court. He had been lured to Sumbria on false pretenses, but now that he had arrived, he would use the opportunity to its full. The libraries and schools of the city beckoned; Lorenzo's freedom had finally arrived! [2,3]
Luccio Irozzi, Lorenzo’s friend (from Lomatra or Sumbria????). Lanky nobleman. A penniless father had left Luccio the heir to an empty house and a world of debt. Without funds, there were no mercenaries-without mercenaries, no votes, and without votes, a gentleman had no influence at all. [2,5,9]
commanders of the Grand Company of Sumbria. With a nod to the accountant-general, Cappa Mannicci settled into his chair and hammered thrice upon the scarred old table. "By the power invested in me by the company's Articles of Association, as Grand Commander and Prince-elect of Sumbria I declare this meeting opened.". the two-hundred-and-forty-first meeting of Sumbria's ruling body had begun. [2]
Senior among those voting blocks were the nobles allied to Blade Captain Ilego. Unable to wrest the crown from Mannicci's hands, Ilego instead managed to act as a thorn in his prince's side. [2]
the campaign spoils. Twelve blade companies were deployed into active ser-vice. I propose a standard division, with double shares for the active contingents, and single shares for companies remaining in the city for garrison. How does it please? [2]
Old Orlando Toporello, heavy-handed captain of a thousand blades, leaned for-ward across the tabletop. "Reasonable, until we remember that Blade Captain Ilego has the largest investment in these aerial novelties." The old man slammed a hand sharply down against the boards. "Let him feather his nest on someone else's profit, and not ours!" [2]
Blade Captain Zuro. Not, perhaps, the best of choices; Zuro was scarcely a soldier at all, and devoted most of his days to collecting ancient knickknacks and refurbishing his library. Tall, white haired, and sporting a moustache almost six inches long, old Zuro puffed himself up like a rooster before his peers. [2]
Remuneration of all campaign losses can be handled from the common fund [2]
watch out for the glue powder spread atop the battlements [3]
the Toporello family palace-a lavish blockhouse topped by towers, roof gardens, and airy balustrades. House Toporello readied itself for the onslaught. Home to an antique horse bridle studded with star sapphires, the mansion offered an almost irresistible prize. [3]
Night had fallen once again across the city of Sumbria, and once again the streets would see the forces of law and order pitted against this new wave of thievery. [3]
A cat burglar held the city in a reign of terror. Night after night the demon had struck, robbing the palaces and town houses of their very choicest jewels. The streets were trebly patrolled, walls were garrisoned, and the price of watchdogs had quintupled in a week. And yet still the villain managed to pursue his evil trade. [3]
The Mannicci troops formed a tiny army all their own. There were battle mages with their protective squads of apprentices and pavisiers, pikemen, hippogriffs, and crossbowmen in their droves. Billmen with their wickedly hooked blades, perfectly designed for unhorsing cavalry and deflecting pikes, [3]
Prince Mannicci had neither the time nor inclination to bother himself about his daughter. His first spouse had died young; Mannicci's choice of a second wife had done much to line his own coffers, but very little to increase his domestic bliss. He knew he really ought to beget himself a son; unfortunately, Ulia Mannicci was the finest contraceptive device known to the Blade Kingdoms. [3]
Lady Zuggi's Primer of Basic Heraldry (book) [4]
The annual Festival of Blades brought a gay, carefree mood to Sumbria. For the nobility, the holiday celebrated the origins of families and kingdoms; a fine, defiant time where each city-state proudly shouted out its heritage. It would be a week for ambassadors and midnight balls, for tournaments and pageantry. Each noble house would strive to outdo the others in sheer magnificence and generosity. [5]
The Sun Gem-the very heart and soul of the Blade Kingdoms. Colletro's agents must hand it over to us at the festival-their ransom for losing the campaign. But with this jewel thief running unchecked right through the town, we shall break the budget just on security for the wretched bauble! [5]
The Riturba family, owed money to Blade Captain Gilberto Ilego [6]
Groonpeck's Field Guide to Terrifying Denizens of the Air, with special appendices for Acheron, the Elemental Planes, and the Abyss. [6]
Every evening, the offerings from Sumbria's many out-houses and "seats of ease" were collected by the honey carts and driven to the riverside. Here, a stinking, reeking barge took the glutinous mass far along the shore of the Akanamere as a gift to distant farmers' fields. [6]
Rufo, captain of the guard for Blade Captain Gilberto Ilego [7]
Behind the brilliant public rooms there lay the "business end" of the palace: the stables, kitchens, barracks, and armouries that allowed the palace to operate as both a household and a fortress. Here the carriages and riding beasts filled the courts in patient rows as the sounds of merriment swirled past on the summer's air. 
Ilego and Svarezi steal the Sun Gem to use it to power a light beam made by Lorenzo that can destroy anything
Blade Captain Furioso-stout, black-haired and wild [11]
You, Marello-and you, Ambrosi! Join the jackal pack-but make way for better men! (Blade Captains????) [11]
The Velvet Gauntlet Finishing School for Wayward Young Ladies stood coldly isolated from the temptations of the city streets; a blank, monolithic structure that spoke only of despair. Towering walls made from flawless, slick marble-utterly devoid of both window or handhold-had proved insurmountable to hundreds of lovesick suitors. The school balconies looked only inside to the open court-yard, where stood a white, empty pillar, there to remind the girls of the futility of pride. [11,12]
In the city of Sumbria, the civil war between the Blade Houses lasted for eleven savage days. In the early battles of the first violent hours, the citi-zens had flocked into the streets-some to avenge their fallen prince, and some to protect their homes from marauding gangs of soldiers. Gilberto Ilego, now univer-sally acknowledged as the prince's assassin, had rallied his supporters about him, and the city burned and shud-dered as it transformed into a place of surging battle lines. Days passed; alliances shifted, soldiers clashed, and the dead were left unburied in the streets. The crash of magic spells sent rows of houses slumping into rubble, and the citizens abandoned the nobles to their fight. The market quarter became a place of tent ghettos and fright-ened families; women and children stood in the streets and stared up the hill at the palaces of the mighty. One by one, the great houses besieged each other. In the first few days, a half dozen of the small fortresses fell-until the battering rams ran short of soldiers will-ing to man them, and those sorcerers with the power to breach the walls eventually fell victim to each other's spells. The factions split, then split again as each Blade House determined to protect its own affairs, and the great battles of the days before dissolved into street fights and skulking nighttime brawls. Food supplies fell and sicknesses began; finally the sol-diers themselves abandoned the fight. Some dragged them-selves back to their barracks and remained slumped in apa-thy. Others took to looting empty houses, installing them-selves in taverns barricaded into little forts. There they drank themselves into a howling stupor, raiding the sur-rounding streets for women, bread, and gold; rolling in their own filth as the city took on the stench of the damned. Only Gilberto Ilego's house remained at war. It was a savage, mindless battle fought against the entire world. Ilego was blamed for all the nation's troubles, and so he shut himself inside his lair and struck out at anything that dared come near. His men made savage raids into the market streets for food and snatched careless citizens to use as conscripts for their unceasing attacks on other palaces. Like a monster in its pit, Ilego carved himself a niche among the ruins of a better world. [13]
Sumbria's caulker's guild [13]
Colletro
Prince Ricardo of Colletro [1]
the Sun Gem. The pride of the Blade Kingdoms. It was a diamond so large that it would scarcely fit inside a man's clenched fist-a single flawless crystal of pure, unsullied hue. Hacked from the heart of an unageing, unliving emperor in decades long gone by, the Sun Gem had come to symbolize the free spirit of the Blade Kingdoms. [1,7]
General Ugo Svarezi, a single squat, gnarled figure-a man dressed in jet black armour and mounted on a black hippogriff. Blade Captain of Colletro. Urges battle with Sumbria. The council voted not to accept Svarezi as Grand Captain of Arms [1]
Valley of Umbricci, in a sighing stand of grape vines beside a mountain stream [3]
The Blade Council of Colletro prided itself on its sophistication and elegance. Twenty-one Blade Captains had come to coolly supervise the handing over of the campaign spoils. The gentlemen made a gay pretence of absolute disinterest, commenting on the savour of the local vintages, while behind them the fruits of two years hard campaigning were casually tossed away. [3]
Ricardo, Prince-elect of Colletro [3]
Blade Captain Veltro [3]
he fifty highest nobles of Colletro, the Blade Captains and their eldest sons [10]
Prince Ricardo howled in frenzy as he hacked downward with a flaming sword [10]
Ugo Svarezi, now prince-elect of Colletro. He is now the prince-elect both of Colletro and Sumbria [13]
air commander Otorelli Lambruccini [15]
Chessentian free-lancers of Helyos's Renegades rode past along the road below, four thousand strong in articu-lated metal shells. They would be chaff before Blade Kingdom lancers in an all-out charge, but their sheer num-bers would serve to simply overawe most mortal enemies. They had a cruel streak Svarezi had come to admire. [15]
Princess Milana
Princess Miliana Mannicci Da Sumbria. Slim, dusted with freckles and half hid-den behind a vast pair of owlish, expensive spectacles [2]
Miliana's secret hoard of spellbooks had been found while digging about in a mouldy old crypt in the rose gar-dens [2]
After three solid years of practice, Miliana had still not yet managed to master a single sorcerous skill. [2]
Miliana had thus far been betrothed at least three times. Her advantages included a cute snub nose, a sharp wit, and sole heirship to the votes owned by Prince Mannicci-meaning that potential fiances were never in short supply. [2]
The latest betrothal was to a member of the Utrellic clan from Lomatra. The marriage would also give Prince Mannicci the ability to control votes within Lomatra's Blade Council-or better still, would allow him to syphon troops from Lomatra to swell his ranks (and votes) at home. Miliana's father played a subtle game, forever struggling to edge Ilego and his cronies out of power
Lomatra
One of the Blade Kingdoms [2]
peaceful little Lomatra [2]
a very good family! The Utrelli clan. They have votes on Lomatra's Blade Council, and some marvellous little vineyards [2]
Lomatra sought Sumbria as a military ally-a fact that made every devout bachelor in Lomatra's nobility feel intensely nervous. Lorenzo, scion of a noble house, was young, unmarried, and available; assets, the ambassador assured him, which made him an ideal match. [2]
As far as cities went, Lomatra placed itself at the pic-turesque end of the scale. Overlooking the clear waters of the Akanamere and capped off with spectacular lime-stone promontories, the city had the look of a sleepy fish-ing village grown to unmanageable size. It seemed a land of pastel colors and evening hush, of warm lakefront and eccentric little trees bounded by a broad, deep river that masked the city from the mountain pass above. [13]
Welcome to House Utrelli. Contents: One father-heavy cavalryman, retired. One brainless dolt of a younger brother-light cavalryman (Alberto), not retired. The bar-racks house three hundred Lanze Spezzate, four noble-men, five squires, and a gatekeeper with a club. An environment tailor-made to foster hostility and hate." He turned as the sound of silks whispered down a connect-ing hall. "The house also contains one sister: Name-unimportant. Profession-gold digger. [13]
Franco Utrelli, once a cavalier of the realm and now father to a nitwit inventor of a son. Although fully seven decades old, he towered over his own son by some six inches in height and fifty pounds of muscle mass. [13]
Lomatra and Sumbria have been allied for a hundred years [13]
Prince Rosso was a small, mouselike man who had been elected by his peers mostly because he never argued with their plans. He commanded less votes than any other man in Lomatra's Blade Council, and the Utrellis were his main supporters. Lorenzo's father had succeeded in arranging his match with Sumbria's princess simply because his powerless family had made the perfect candidate of compromise. Most of the other families had considered a few hundred troops contributed to the Mannicci bride-price a small cost, particularly if it kept their more powerful rivals from enjoying the advantage a union with the Manniccis would provide. The added power of the Utrellis would hardly be noticed. [14]
Lomatra sported only eleven Blade Captains, all even-ly balanced, more or less, as to numbers of both votes and men. [14]
Spirelli, our only nonhuman Blade Captain. He just cruised out of an enchanted forest-the Satyrwood or somewhere-about ten years ago, bringing enough moth-er-of-pearl to buy himself two palaces and a golden plea-sure barge. He even changed his name. It used to be Boble-boop, or some such sound. Spirelli changed his treasure to cash, hired a thousand troops, and bought himself the vote [14]
the Articles of Association for the Lomatran Free Company. A recess may be declared without a vote, once only, if any member so demands. [14]
The upper balcony above Lomatra's largest tavern, the Besotted Python, scarcely managed to rise above the worst of the noise. The taproom below had packed itself with soot-smeared workers from the powder mills and iron foundries, the joiners' guilds, the seamen's guilds, and masters of apprentice halls. [14]
According to the Articles of Association, any annu-ally paid, armed body of Lomatran citizens who swear oath to accept the command of another Lomatran citizen are deemed to be a legitimate regiment. [14]
potters' guild and the wheelwrights' guild [15]
Trevi River, which emptied past the walls of Lomatra into the sea. [16]
Other Lore
the Do Jang monks of Koryo [2]
Phoenix Nobilus Conflagrata -the sacred, or fiery, phoenix. [5]
Milana’s spellbooks are written in a south-ern language-sort of an early dialect of Akalan [6]
The delegation from the elven nations of the Yuirwood! I present the Lady Lonereed Silverleaf and her escort-of-the-year! 800 years old. Lonereed Silverleaf, of the Clan of Wandering Spray. The slim queen tilted her angry silver eyes. [8,9]
Brightlightning Dragonsbane, escort to the elven lady and Swordmaster of the Hordes of the Tangled Trees.
Old Pappa Floonbat's Patent Medicinal Hair Restorer [11]
Firebird
The bird's name, Tekoriikii, meant many things to many beings. In the ancient language of his close cousin the phoenix, it translated as: "He who rises early, singing." Alternatively, in the various orcish dialects of the northern Akanapeaks, it had come to mean: "Stop that awful racket, you feather-bearing nuisance." [3]
For generations untold, the firebirds had dwelled in peaceful seclusion across the Shining Sea. The creatures were never even bothered by predators. Some Chultan legends put this down to the extreme beauty of the birds, and the curse of the gods that must surely fall upon any-one who brought such flawless grace to harm. An alter-native explanation might be that hunting requires stalking, and stalking meant staying in earshot of the fire-birds for long days at a time… [3]
In essence, the bird consisted of a long length of neck, a stubby body, and acres of glorious tail. This magnificence had then been garnished by adding a beak thick enough to sever a man's hand, and great hooked talons at the ends of cheery yellow feet. [5]
Can produce a scream that buildings and knocks people unconscious [6]
In mating fights-the only combat most firebirds would ever know-the plucking of tail feathers was the coup de grace. [9]
Zutria
Winter on the shores of the Akanamere came in hard and strong. For the tiny city-state of Zutria, it was a wel-come time of unprecedented harvest. For days on end, wild storms and winds would lash against the coast; the fishing fleets would shelter in the city's fine stone harbor while the crews kept the cold at bay with fried fish and hot spiced ale. As the wind dropped-as it always did after three or four full days of violent blow-the city folk, farmers, and fishermen spread out from Zutria's walls. In the pre-dictable calms, the bait fish swarmed in dense clouds along the shore, bringing a fabulous bounty that was net-ted in by wading men. Their wives and children worked the rocky beaches, raking tons of wrack into reeking piles to be carted off as fertilizer for the city fields. Zutria-poor, independent, and proud-made the most of every passing moment of the year. [14]
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
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Seravin
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1265 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jan 2023 : 22:16:45
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Finder's Bane is fun...some good lore in the first half for the Realms but after that it is not really set in the Realms anymore; kind of Grubb's way of transitioning into Spelljammer as a setting.
Although there is an unexplained plothole in Finder's Bane that bugs the bejesus out of me... |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jan 2023 : 00:38:20
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quote:
Originally posted by Seravin
Finder's Bane is fun...some good lore in the first half for the Realms but after that it is not really set in the Realms anymore; kind of Grubb's way of transitioning into Spelljammer as a setting.
Although there is an unexplained plothole in Finder's Bane that bugs the bejesus out of me...
Not Spelljammer, Planescape.
I seem to recall a former TSR person explaining that the third book, Tymora's Luck, was intended to be a Planescape novel and not an FR novel. Aside from the interludes showing what was going on in the Realms at the time (and mostly focusing on the next generation of Wyvernspurs), the book is entirely set in the Outer Planes (though there is a heavy focus on the deities of the Realms, some of whom are characters in the book).
The middle book of the trilogy, Fistandantilus Reborn is set entirely on Krynn. Honestly, I think the book was written independently of the other two, with no planned connections betwixt them, but then squeezed in to make the Finder's Bane and Tymora's Luck duology into a trilogy. The only connection it has to the other books is that it intros a character for Tymora's Luck. And since that character is a kender, you can read Tymora's Luck and learn what you need to know about him from there, without bothering with Fistandantilus Reborn.
I generally skip Fistandantilus Reborn when I read the other two books. It has no Realms content, and I didn't care for the story. It also doesn't help that Douglas Niles just doesn't grab me, as an author -- even the Druidhome Trilogy, which I consider orders of magnitude better than the Moonshae Trilogy, is still not great, in my opinion. Obviously, YMMV; I know some here quite enjoy his stuff. |
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Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 17 Jan 2023 00:38:50 |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2023 : 11:40:03
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Finders Bane has a sentence or two in it that i think perfectly represents how gods actually work.
Finder can sense what his priests are doing. However he only hears Joel when he calls for Finder's aid. This implies the ability to sense what his priests are doing does not mean he has continuous omniscience regarding them, rather he can concentrate on them if he wants, and he can hear them if they call his name (and then concentrate on them).
So, this means heresies are easily allowable / possible, all the priest has to do is stay under the radar of the god in question or avoid their attention.
Then there is when Finder says he wanted to help Joel, but could not do it overtly because Joel was captured by Xvimlar and interfering with Xvim's priests and activities would attract Xvim's attention (and Xvim could kill Finder). So he had to be more subtle and send visions and a gift (of magic).
I believe this is what the Balance is truly about. You cannot interfere with another god's priests or with his goals, because that will then cause conflict and there will be a winner and a loser. More importantly with the large power blocks of allied gods we end up with mutually assured destruction (as said in On Hallowed Ground).
So gods have to remain distant from Faerun and not act overtly, lest they attract the attention of other gods. They can however make secret or fleeting visits (like Tyche wandering the wilderness, or Lolth visiting a random person in Menzoberranzan on a single day of the year). This way the gods are unlikely to step on each others toes and thus prevent conflict.
And then lastly Finder says he is a new god and still has certain urges. That is why Cyric and Mystra were always in prime avatar form, because they were new gods. And since we dont know what is considered new for a god, it may also explain why Bane and Bhaal so often assumed prime avatar form and behaved like petty humans (because they were still new and impulsive even at 1000 years old). |
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Demzer
Senior Scribe
873 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2023 : 14:37:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Gary Dallison
So, this means heresies are easily allowable / possible, all the priest has to do is stay under the radar of the god in question or avoid their attention.
Yes and no. Priests have to pray to get spells, usually have to pray/invoke their gods name when they use special abilities and surely have to pray when they conduct, officiate or participate in rituals. Which means a random priest wandering the wilds alone would have no problem being an heretic but someone in a congregation / organised branch of any church would quite quickly become known to their god as an heretic and probably to their fellows as well in short order ("Didn't hear you at the morning prayer, is everything alright?", "Why did you have so many problems with those restless souls yesterday?", "You should've healed those adventurers, you know we need the funds to repair Grundarn's barn", ...). |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
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Demzer
Senior Scribe
873 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2023 : 16:21:00
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quote:
Originally posted by Gary Dallison
Mime during organised prayer then pray your own way at different times doesnt seem too difficult.
Eh, not really.
I can only speak for Christian mass but people (especially old ladies) notice if you are new, notice if your attendance rate drops, notice if you don't mutter a word and sometimes notice even if you mutter words that are not what they expect (I'm guilty of changing countries a couple of times and not picking up the correct prayers in the new language quick enough). And this is only being a lay worshiper.
If you are part of the officiating body (i.e. a priest) there is no way you don't get noticed for not praying and the more you move up on the hierarchy the more it becomes nigh impossible. Remember this is FR we are talking about and all religious rituals do have a magical component (special effects, yay!) as Ed has often described. This means that if you are somehow an heretic and go to mime your way through a marriage or funeral or holy day of your church then you are going to be exposed, period.
I'm not saying it's impossible for all, I'm saying it gets exponentially more difficult the higher up you are inside your own church. Which means lay worshipers and lowly priests of big congregations can be heretics with a bit of effort and maybe people talking behind their backs and officiating priests and the people in charge have an extraordinary difficult time staying heretics and unknown (and that's why sometimes the higher ups turn the entire congregation heretic and why Cyric and Vhaerun have/had as part of their specialties giving a gentle nudge and helping hand to heretics of other faiths). |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2023 : 18:40:39
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| Except we know that deities are much more mentally capable than mortals and can pay attention to thousands of requests at the same time, and we also know that divine attention is required for anything more than 2nd level spells. |
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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1289 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2023 : 18:49:28
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| Through my research into Iriaebor and its history, I have come to believe that Bron was a heretic. He was the head of the Silent Temple and then used the money from the temple to hire a bunch of mercenaries. Why? That seems like the exact opposite of what a priest of the goddess of peace would do? I believe that Bron was a heretic that believed that peace can be achieved through it being imposed by a military force. Now, why would the goddess of peace allow that to have happened if she can tell that Bron has strayed from the church's teachings? Maybe she was giving him time to see that his beliefs were wrong and to come "back to the fold", so to speak. Bron didn't and took the next step, so he was excommunicated for it. Eldath sent someone to take over the temple to make sure the heresy was stopped, and the priests of that temple stayed on (or returned to) the straight and narrow. |
"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."
My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2023 : 19:16:11
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quote:
Originally posted by Gary Dallison
Well heresies are canon, so it must be possible to be a heretic within a church and not be found out. Unless you can come up with a plausible alternative explanation my suggestion is it being down to a mix of not being noticed by the deity in question and the church (because the heretic is not important enough for the deity to notice and because people can be fooled), being disguised by the heresy patron to a degree (although the rules mentioned by Finder make this less plausible as it could be considered direct interference with another's followers), and a lack of ability on the part of the deity (they are not omniscient, omnipotent, or omnipresent and so can only do so much - at prayer time with many thousands of priests and lay followers all doing the same thing and calling the gods name for power or assistance as well as having to monitor whatever plots the deity is enacting, as well as monitoring favoured people, and just scanning for signs of enemy deity activities i expect even a greater god would be overloaded at times).
The deity chooses, for whatever reason, to let it proceed; another deity is helping conceal it; powerful magic hides it... We know the first and second have canonically happened, and there is powerful magic that overrides/blocks divine influence. So there's no need to violate other aspects of canon when we have canon explanations already. |
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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1289 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2023 : 04:42:00
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quote:
Originally posted by Gary Dallison
Nice spot on the Bron heretic thing, sounds like it is worth exploring. I would imagine even Eldath's followers recognise that not all foes and obstacles can be overcome by being peaceful and perhaps using enemies to fight each other is an allowed tactic. Equally assassination could be an allowable tactic to foster peace, it isnt war but it is a form of conflict - albeit one lasting only a few moments that could prevent months and years of warfare.
Bron wasn't operating in a vacuum here. Iriaebor, like it or not, is a complicated place. Connecting all the dots I could find for what was going on in Iriaebor in the mid-1350s involves Bron/Eldath/The Silent Temple, The Darkhold/Zhents, the Golden Table of Iriaebor/Merchants/Traders, Dragonspear Castle, and the People of Iriaebor. Suffice to say, Eldath may have actually had some sympathy for what Bron did. He was 12 level so he wasn't a nobody but she couldn't let his actions make that kind of change to her church. Bron, for what it's worth, very likely feels like his sacrifice (being excommunicated) was worth it since it brought (what he is working towards) a lasting peace to the people of Iriaebor. Gathering a force that is 3 times what the city had left some in and out of the halls of power feeling that Bron successfully pulled off a coup. Really, the only thing that was keeping Bron in power for the first few years was his 6,000 troops and the support of the people of Iriaebor (Ed described Bron's rule as shaky in FRA).
Oh, as for the dogma of Eldath, Faiths and Avatars says that her priests will use misdirection to try and control things. I don't see them allowing violence to take place (including assassinations) but I do see them using misinformation to have enemy forces go somewhere to engage in combat only to find out that their information was bad and there was no one there to fight. Using violence to prevent violence is not the way to go (the ends do not justify the means). If she allowed that, Tempus would very likely have a different opinion of her than what he has now. |
"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."
My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
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Demzer
Senior Scribe
873 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2023 : 12:32:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Gary Dallison
And yet, during the 1500s and 1600s and beyond, there were plenty of heresies and inquisitive trying to find heretics that had been operating within Christian countries.
Eh, I don't see any of those heretics around, the Inquisition did a thorough job at purging the faith. Without magic.
The only "heresies" that survived were those that had big political backing and developed into the Protestant churches.
As I said, it's not impossible but it's unlikely to be a widespread phenomenon, especially in more organised churches and especially for higher ups in the faiths. Exceptions do happen, of course, but they are interesting only because they're very rare.
As far as canon goes, there have been novels in egregious violation of previously established canon and nobody has ever given me a good reason to believe the novels over the rest of the setting material so I remain persuaded heresies are an interesting thing but rare (and part of why they are interesting is because they are rare).
I don't want to derail the thread further, I'll check out the theory on Bron has it is quite interesting. |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2023 : 20:22:55
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Finders Bane (1368 DR)
By Kate Novak, Jeff Grubb
Daggerdale
paved Northride Road onto the muddy Tethyamar Trail. The bard halted and watched with some reluctance as the caravan moved past him up the road toward Shadowdale. A shrine built by the followers of the god Torm stood at the juncture of the road and the trail. With its walls of stone and thatched roof the shrine doubled as a way station for travellers who couldn't reach Shadowdale by nightfall. [1]
One of the caravan guards guided his horse forward until it stood beside the bard's. The guard, a Dalesman named Branson, was a grizzled twenty-year veteran of the road. He was always uncomfortable watching someone ride away from the safety of his caravan [1]
Soon the Spiderhaunt Woods began to close in about the trail, muffling all sound. The woods were composed mainly of oak and evergreen trees growing very close together, their tangled branches creaking as they rubbed against one another. The undergrowth was dense with vines and saplings and fallen trees. Sticky cobwebs brushed at Joel's face, but fortunately there was no sign of the giant spiders that gave the woods its name. [1]
The Zhentarim shipped their honest goods down the Northride Road through Shadowdale, but there were certain goods that Shadowdale's lord, its wizard, and its people would not stomach. These included mercenaries, arms, and slaves, which the Zhentarim was forced to bring through Daggerdale. To protect this illicit trade, the Black Network sent soldiers to patrol Daggerdale by leave of the puppet rulers it had set up in the town of Dagger Falls. The Zhentilar, Branson had explained, were a menace to any goods not belonging to their masters and harassed travellers on principle. The Zhentilar in the clearing weren't much older than Joel, but they were all armed with swords, and their eyes were cold and pitiless. [1]
Moonteeth and Kurlens, Zhentilar soldiers [1]
Zhent soldiers harass our citizens, their orc mercenaries raid our herds, and their puppet rulers force our lord into exile. [2]
The Zhents have a puppet constable in Dagger Falls . . . Guthbert Golthammer," the paladin explained. "He's an idiot, but his second-in-command, a half-orc called Toren, knows his job. [7]
Giant's Craw in Giant Craw Valley. It's a rock in the foothills of the Desertsmouth Mountains," the paladin explained, "with faerie fire cast on it. It marks the entrance to a valley. Giants used to live there, waylaying caravans, until Lord Randal drove them out. It's supposed to be a lovely valley, teeming with game." It was a great hexagonal pillar of ebony basalt, as tall as a giant, polished to a smooth finish. [7]
Daggerdale folk used to bury their people in crypts in the foothills of the Desertsmouth Mountains [7]
Shraevyn's tomb, in Giant Craw Valley. Has been hidden under landslides. Shraevyn was a mage who created magical weapons for the warriors of the dales a long time ago.
The Lay of Shraevyn, translated from elvish
A stone cast with faerie fire
marked the mage's final resting place.
His apprentices laid Shraevyn in a casket
in the mountain cave at the west end of the valley.
The wizardess and the warrior stood watch
while the worthies of the world
paid homage to the weaponsmith.
Beside him rested the Sword of the Dales,
waiting to shatter the bonds of tyrants
Shraevyn was buried 3 and a half centuries ago. He crafted the Sword of the Dales
Somewhere around here (south of Giant Craw Valley????)," Holly said, "maybe on this very bluff, Lord Randal's great-great-great-grandfather and his entourage died trying to destroy a tribe of vampires that plagued his people. They killed every last vampire, only to be torn apart by wolves.
Anathar’s Dell
Anathar's Dell, it’s a safe place. The trail leading there is hidden. If you know where to look, it's not hard to find, so we try not to draw attention to it. The dell was named for the wizard Anathar, who had perished long ago protecting the local dwarves from a marauding dragon. That act apparently sealed the friendship of the humans and dwarves of the dell, and the small community had flourished ever since. Guarded by a guardian creature that can eat Zhents [2,3]
Firestars, a free-floating ball, about the size of his fist, glowing a radiant orange. Peering more closely, the bard could make out bands and sparkles of blue dancing across its surface. Dangerous, only if you attack them. They have a shocking sting. Otherwise they're harmless. They're wild creatures that eat any light they can get near—firelight or magic light. They quench it somehow, They're more of a nuisance than anything else, except when they bother the Zhentilar. Then they're loyal allies of the people of Daggerdale. They sting the Zhents a lot. The Zhents can't seem to get the hang of ignoring them. [3]
Randal Morn. Daggerdale's beleaguered lord was a tough guerilla fighter who had been harrying the Zhentilar patrols for years now. The Zhents had a sizable bounty on his head. The lord of Daggerdale was several inches shorter than Joel. His physique was more like a farmer's—lean, with muscular forearms. His movements were graceful. His hazel eyes did not pierce one to the bone, but looked dreamy and sad. Known in theses parts as the Rebel Lord [3]
A dwarven woman, Kharva [3]
Bear, arms were like tree trunks. His chest, clad in scaled armor, could have served a small room as a wall. The long black braid hanging down his back bristled with silvered spikes. His thick beard framed a permanent scowl. One eye was covered with a steel eye patch, while the other eye, sheathed below a sullen brow. Secretly a Xvimlar traitor [3]
Jonstan the Rover, a song. [3]
The River of Life," an old nursery rhyme the mortal Finder had set to music. [3]
The Ballad of the Dream Weaver [3]
At the close of "Dalesman'sHoliday ," Joel launched into "The Toasting Song." The tune was an old staple. The Toasting Song" was what bards called a button song. Its chorus was easy to learn and repeat, and the meter of its verses so simple anyone could "button" any number of names and situations into the song. In general, it was used to thank—or tweak—one's host, or to report on everything from the weather to the latest court gossip. [3]
Pigeons and hawks. My people use them as messenger birds in our fight against the Zhentarim. [6]
Joel the Rebel Bard
Bard [1]
Joel had the muscular physique of a man and the sober demeanour of an adult, but the caravan guard could detect the signs of youth in him. The bard's long red hair had the sheen of a child's, and after ten days without a shave, his beard was still sparse, though his moustache stood out well enough. More telling was the way the young man's blue eyes widened with every new vista. He wasn't, Branson judged, a seasoned traveller. [1]
"Market Day," a song he'd written as an apprentice and had earned his former master a fat purse from a delighted merchants' guild. [1]
the priest Jedidiah had taught him after anointing him. Joel knew he was lucky to have found Jedidiah; priests of Finder were almost unheard of. Finder was a new god, a force for renewal and change in all things, but especially in art. [1]
With joy and pride, he'd trained as a bard from childhood and attained his master's ring at a remarkably young age. [1]
the sword felt uncomfortably heavy in his hand. He had only the most rudimentary training in its use in Berdusk [1]
Found a wand of wonder on the body of a Zhentilar mage in Spiderhaunt Woods (ones harassing Holly) [1]
His parents couldn't understand his decision to leave the barding college in Berdusk to join Finder priesthood and go on a pilgrimage. [2]
None of them, students or teachers, had been interested or even tolerant of his joining Finder's priesthood. The college discouraged followers of the new god, fearful they would draw the faithful away from the more traditional barding gods like Oghma or Milil. [2]
Holly
Holly Harrowslough. Her accent marked her as a native of the northern dales, and she held her hand out in dales fashion. [1]
Curved blade. It was my father's blade," Holly explained. "He was from Zhakara. That's far to the south. [2]
When he was a young man, he put on a cursed ring and was teleported to the north, where the Zhents captured him. He was a slave of the Zhents for years. So was my mom's brother, Burl. My dad helped Uncle Burl escape, so Uncle Burl brought dad to Daggerdale and introduced him to my mother." Holly looked away into the woods and added, "They all died in an orc raid last year—my mom, my dad, my Uncle Burl, my grandma Harrowslough. [2]
Paladin of Lathander, Order of the Aster," she explained, "protectors of Lathander’s church. [2]
Brother Robin. That's the priest who teaches me. [2]
Lost Vale
The trail through Daggerdale is the only way to the Lost Vale. The trail's ridden with giant spiders and wolves and orcs and bandits and Zhentish scum, and the Daggerdale folk are none too friendly neither [1]
Finder has a temple there [9]
Accessed through a waterfall (flows into the River Ashaba), which leads into a cave and stairs (with a shrine of Tyr) that travels through the mountains emerging in a valley. A path leads through a wood (avoiding clearings) until a white harp symbol is carved into the valley side above the outline of an archway (opened only by singing an old marching song) – the archway is solid until the song is sung then it becomes an illusionary wall allowing passage into the border ethereal plane [10]
Grypht the saurial created the gates and ethereal pathways to the Lost Vale [10]
the Singing Cave, the only temple to Finder. He would meet the temple's priestess, Copperbloom. [10]
On the northern face of a mountain, across the vale, stood a stone tower. Innumerable small cottages, surrounded by gardens and fields, dotted the floor of the vale. [10]
a black hole in the mountainside . . . the entrance to the Singing Cave. Above the entrance, Finder's symbol had been carved into the mountain. To either side, huge banners of gray silk bearing the same harp symbol fluttered in the wind. [10]
the Singing Cave. Just inside the cave entrance was a carpet of moss and ferns. Condensation made the walls sparkle. Little red and yellow skinks skittered about the floor, walls, and ceiling. Swallows shot in and out, hinging insects to their young in nests built in the cave's nooks and crannies. [10]
Grypht is a powerful wizard," Jedidiah explained for Joel's benefit. He's sort of the unofficial leader here. [10]
The illusion that protects the vale reaches to the top of the mountains [10]
Sapphire the Finback (female) [10]
Moander destroyed so many of our young that every egg is precious to us," Grypht explained to Joel. "Each one is blessed by every priest and priestess we have [10]
Handful, Copperbloom's oldest hatchling, a young finhead saurial [10]
This is the path Moander cleared when he climbed the hill to reach my friends
hiding in the Singing Cave. Something about the way the abomination moved carved out the steps, which the saurials then paved with stone. The part that took the most work was hauling all this dirt up the mountain in order to plant the gardens. The exotic plants are from the saurials' home world. Grypht made a trip there and brought them back." [11]
The young saurials performed a skit, the play Joel had watched them rehearse in the temple. It was about a pact the tribe had once made with a dragon back on their home world. [11]
a shrine to Lathander in the mountains to the east of the vale. [11]
That magic (the illusion that cloaks the Lost Vale) was here before I was even born. Makes it seem as if the vale is rocky and barren (there may also be magic to stop flying things from landing in the vale (if they come from above the mountain line????) [11]
Other Lore
From the black and yellow badges sewn on their leather jerkins, Joel could tell that the men were Zhentilar, soldiers of the Zhentarim, the Black Network. [1]
an askara, a fighting woman from one of the southern empires. [1]
On her cheeks and her chin were diamond-shaped tattoos the color of fresh blood, and set into her forehead was a huge ruby, worth a king's ransom—the telltale markings of one of Bane's chosen priests. [2]
In the centre of the field stood a small stone shrine. A sheaf of wheat was engraved on the stone over the shrine's entrance—an ancient symbol of the goddess Chauntea, the earth-mother. Like many shrines to Chauntea, this one housed a natural spring, and a stream flowed from the shrine across the field to the trail and then through a stone culvert beneath the trail. [2]
Priests of Bane cast all sorts of chilling spells to torture their sacrifices. They say that during their evil ceremonies, Bane himself used to reach out and kill the victims with his chilling touch. [2]
There was no love lost between Iyachtu and the dead god who'd been his father, yet Iyachtu's people considered Banites the property of Bane's heir, their god. They were said to embrace Banites into their fold, willing or not. [3]
"Darkness falls," the priest of Xvim greeted them, holding up his left hand, palm outward. For a brief moment green flame flickered at the priest's fingertips. "And darkness rises again," Bear responded, holding up his left hand. Green flame danced along his fingertips as well. [3]
Before the Time of Troubles, when the Zhents were all united under Bane, their power was nearly unassailable. Since Bane's death, the people of the dales have been given some breathing space. [4]
a song of Finder's about larks called "Birds Who Sing in Flight." [5]
a feather token. You throw it to the ground," Jas explained, "and you grow wings. You can use it only once. Not found very often any more (is it an old Netherese magic ????) [6]
Cassana's lament from the opera Wizards in Love. He sang the sorceress's part in falsetto, then shifted to the tenor range to sing the part of the whiny lich Zrie Prakis. [7]
Favoured of Iyachtu Xvim, known as Dark stalkers (transformed hunters). Bestowed upon faithful of Xvim to fulfil some task, takes away their humanity forever and transforms them into a great black beast [7,8]
A priestess of Bane traveling around with a spelljammer . . . that just might interest the old sage Elminster
The hierarchy of the Black Lord's church was never known for encouraging the ambitions of women, not even talented ones. [9]
the Great Desert, Anauroch," the priestess informed them. "Buried under the sand are the ruins of the fabled kingdom of Netheril. There, among the debris of one of their ruined citadels, is a gate to the Outlands, the shared land of the outer planes. Our goal, the city of Sigil, rises from the centre of the Outlands." The gate you speak of is called Cat's Gate. [9]
One of my godly abilities is always knowing what's happening to any of my priests, I heard you call for my blessing in Daggerdale. I considered stepping in when Bear betrayed you to the Xvimists, but Xvim keeps an eye on his priests, too. If I interfered with one of them, Xvim would interfere with me. I needed to be more subtle in my efforts to help you escape. I don't dare risk attracting Xvim's attention. To put it bluntly, Bear's god can beat up your god. When you were imprisoned in the Temple in the Sky and called on me, I sent you the vision and a piece of magic. [11]
I haven't been a god all that long. I still long for mortal things sometimes. [11]
Other spelljammers land in Waterdeep. [11]
the bird spread its tail feathers in a magnificent display of yellow, crimson, and magenta. It was a ruby peacock, Lathander's bird. [12]
The Palace of Judgement. All the dead of Kara-Tur," the priest explained, "come here to be judged by the Celestial Bureaucracy and sent on to the plane for which the deeds and misdeeds of their lives suited them. That's why there are gates to every plane here. It is also a place of great order. All who serve within report to a bureaucrat, who in turn reports to a higher bureaucrat, who reports to an even higher bureaucrat, who reports to Yen-Wang-Yeh, Illustrious Magistrate of the Dead, the sole ruling power here. His law is enforced by General Pien and his army of men-shen and go-zu-oni. The gods of Kara-Tur, good or evil, orderly or chaotic, and all those in between rely on this part of the Celestial Bureaucracy to provide them with the inhabitants of their realms. Not one would dare disrupt the business that takes place here. So the palace is also a place where powers and their ambassadors can meet to parlay and exchange prisoners. The powers of other pantheons also meet here, knowing that General Pien and his forces would instantly squelch any disorder." [14]
They'd reached the iron gate in the wall surrounding the palace. The gate stood wide open, but standing in the gateway, serving as guards, were a number of fearsome, bull-headed creatures that stood over eight feet tall. Some were orange, some gray, some purple. They wore polished armor and ornate robes and were armed with swords and spears.
"Those are the go-zu-oni. [14]
The palace was the size of a city, with thousands of buildings. Unlike a typical city, everything was orderly. Every building was constructed of red brick and stone, and the people moving between the buildings did so in an orderly fashion. There was bustle, but no pushing or shoving or disturbances. There were throngs of the dead in the entry courtyard waiting to enter different buildings, guarded by the go-zu-oni, yet the spacious courtyard still seemed almost empty. Joel guessed the courtyard could have held more than a few armies. Officials dressed in brightly colored robes carried armfuls of scrolls from building to building. Joel spotted a party of tanar'ri and another of baatezu arguing heatedly, but not fighting. A creature like an elephant standing on its hind legs stood addressing a pair of foxes, who also stood on their hind legs. Everything about the scene suggested duty and harmony. [14]
Shishi is a spirit of a lion-dog. Even though he can't actually drink, he's a big fan of drinking songs of the western Realms. [14]
Chief Stellar Operator Pan Ho will take a bribe for a one-time use of the portal to Sigil, Miss Pan Ho was a grumpy dumpling of a woman who eyed Jedidiah with some distrust until he presented her with the gardenia "to brighten the efficient austerity of her office." A small but flawless emerald shimmered in the heart of the flower. Miss Pan Ho sniffed at the flower with a smile on her face. After pocketing the blossom, she rummaged through a drawer filled with keys and drew out a large one made of lead. She handed it to Jedidiah. There was a tiny slip of paper attached to the key, printed with symbols in the Kara-Tur language. The paper attached to the lead key, Jedidiah explained, instructed the holder of the key that Door Number of the Hall of Confused Dreams was to be locked when people left at noon to eat and rest. The opposite side explained that if anyone found the key it should be slid under the door of Room of the Hall of Confused Dreams. [14]
A phylactery explodes when it's destroyed. [14]
Flaming Tower
The Flaming Tower, and the flying rock above it is called The Temple in the Sky," Holly explained. "No one knows much about the rock except that it's supposed to be inhabited by a beast cult. The beast cult has made an alliance with the people in the tower." [4]
It used to be held by Zhents who followed Cyric, God of Lies, but since Cyric's madness has grown, their power's been slipping. In his last report, Lord Randal said the tower's now held by Zhents who follow Iyachtu Xvim. [4]
A hundred yards beyond the tower lay the edge of the great Border Forest , which, according to Holly, the Zhentarim plundered for the lumber and burned down for the land. [4]
The Temple in the Sky. A great chain fastened it to the roof of the tower, as if it might float off like a dandelion seed were it not moored, yet its mass was even greater than the tower. [4]
The double doors of the tower were some twenty feet high, enough to accommodate the giants, constructed of hardwood reinforced with steel bands. The symbol of Zhentil Keep had once emblazoned the door, but the black and orange paint had long since peeled and flaked away. [4]
Walinda of Bane, led a group of Banites to attack the Flaming Tower. [4]
The Temple in the Sky was once a temple to my dark lord, Bane. I believe that it still contains knowledge concerning an artifact that will serve him. [4]
A greyish haze, like smoke, rose from the dead and mingled with the scent of incense, the stench of blood, and the piteous moaning of the dying. The Xvimist warriors walked among the fallen, dispatching any who were merely wounded, until the grey haze rose from every individual offered up to Iyachtu Xvim. The haze thickened into streams of smoke, which joined other streams until there were two rivers of darkness that moved toward the statue of Iyachtu Xvim, drawn there by some evil power. When the rivers of darkness struck the statue's emerald eyes, they were drawn inside the statue. As the statue fed on the vapours, the corpses grew withered and desiccated, leaving their skin lying wrinkled about their bones. It was as if the Godson sucked out their flesh and blood. [4]
Xvimlar led by a Ruinlord [4,7]
Temple In The Sky
The griffon riders came forward. Beneath the red capes they wore, they were clothed in tunics made of poorly tanned hides, decorated with a circular pattern of nine human eyes. Joel remembered Holly saying that the floating temple was occupied by a beast cult. Then was something far more sinister, though, about the pattern of eyes, but Joel couldn't quite place it. [5]
The priestess, Walinda of Bane, had declared that the Temple in the Sky had once been a temple of Bane . Apparently when the floating rock had changed owners, many of the old passages had been closed off and forgotten. [5]
a giant bas-relief of a man's face. Unlike the rough-hewn statue of Iyachtu Xvim below, this figure was the work of a skilled artisan. The face's smooth, sharp features were handsome but hostile, a traditional representation of the god Bane. There were two divots in the eye sockets that traditionally would hold giant red gems to represent the icon's eyes.[5]
Walinda began slicing pages out from the chained book. Something dark and liquid oozed from the cut edges that remained and pooled and clotted in the book's spine. If you put your ear close," she said "you can hear it weep as well. [5]
Walinda
I'm a Dreadmaster of Bane, the Dark One, first among his priests [5]
Was hiding in a village in the Spiderhaunt Woods (or a village near the Spiderhaunt Woods)
The Black Lord named me to his priesthood himself, before the Time of Troubles," the priestess replied proudly. "After the Black Lord was killed in combat, I remained faithful, knowing that our lord would rise again. The night before the Cyricists began the Banedeath, destroying any true followers of Bane who would not convert to Cyric, a voice spoke to me. The voice warned me of what was to come and decreed what action I should take. I gathered those who were most faithful to Bane and led them away from Zhentil Keep. We traveled until we reached the Spiderhaunt Woods. There, in a cave, my lord's spirit was waiting for his true followers. "When his avatar died in the Time of Troubles, Lord Bane's spirit hid in that cave. We fed his spirit with our worship. Two weeks ago, the spirit brought down this ship from the sky, and we took possession of it in Bane's name. The spirit took command of the ship, and we journeyed north to the Temple in the Sky. In the temple, which was once dedicated to Lord Bane, there were buried secrets that Lord Bane would need to regain his former power and glory (the location of the Hand of Bane). The price was high.... [9]
The Hand of Bane," Jedidiah repeated. "Yes. Its location has been hidden for centuries, yet I was able to find it." Walinda held up the sheets of paper she'd removed from the book in the Temple in the Sky. The edges were scabbed over with dried blood. "So my followers died for a great cause. [9]
Gods are made of many elements. They have a physical body and mind Torm slew my lord Bane's body, but it still exists. It floats in the astral plane beside the bodies of other long-dead gods. Gods also possess an essence—a personality, a spirit that binds them to their followers. They also possess power—huge amounts of raw energy, beyond the ken of mortals. If a god is destroyed, his followers can perform a complicated ritual to bind together these elements-body, essence, and power—and resurrect the god. Some gods have the wisdom to create a magical artifact that will make the ritual simpler and more efficient, so that its performance does not require a year's time, or hundreds of followers, or the blood sacrifice of a thousand innocent beings." "And the Hand of Bane is such an artifact," [9]
Centuries ago he gave the hand to a loyal priest in the Temple in the Sky to hide where no god, not even Ao, could steal it. The priest was charged to keep the location of the hand a secret. On his deathbed, on Bane's orders, the priest passed the information on to his successor. So it continued for centuries. When the beast cult took over the floating rock, the last priest hid in a secret temple and wrote down all the secrets in his keeping, so that Lord Bane might send me to discover the Hand of Bane when it was needed." [9]
Jasmine or Jas
Jas was smaller than Holly and quite slender, but beneath her torn black leather leggings and jerkin, her muscles were as firm as a warrior's. Her short, dark hair framed a pale pink face. A longer strand of bangs curled between her milky brown eyes. [6]
Johenri, Thordis, Gildstar, and my first mate, Arandes. Former crew mates of Jas in her dragonfly ship (spelljammer vessel) all slain by Walinda and her Banites [6]
illithids destroyed the hull of my dragonfly ship, so my crew and I took one of the illithids' miniature nautiloid hulls as payment. The illithids weren't keen on making reparations, though, so they fired on us as we were leaving. That's why the ship's hull is so busted up. We landed here to take on supplies. We were headed for Shadowdale," Jas continued, "but just over the Spiderhaunt Woods, something attacked Gildstar while he was at the helm. The ship came crashing down in the trees. That's when we got into a fight with the Banites. Like I said, that priestess used magic to bring us down. There was also something else with her—something powerful and evil that kept to the shadows. [6]
She was no taller than Walinda, but her body was tough and muscular. She'd seen some hard times— there were scars on her shoulders, her throat, her jaw. She was Joel's senior by a few years, at least [7]
Wings are pink and feather, they change form if Jas travels to other planes [10]
Jedidiah / Finder
a man with white hair and a white beard. his face crinkled in wrinkles. [7]
Has a brass glaur, the valved horn had magical properties that could "bring down the house." [7]
Finder’s Stone. It's a relic, an artifact," Jedidiah explained hastily, "a tool created by Finder when he was mortal. It's half of the finder's stone. Finder took half with him to the Abyss when he destroyed Moander and left the other half with the saurials in the Lost Vale. It's a faultless locator, and it holds power, as you saw.
"I don't think I've encountered a lighter touch since the halfling Olive Ruskettle picked my pipe from my pocket. [9]
the old priest began to transform. His back grew straighter; his skin became unwrinkled; his muscles hardened; his hair darkened to black, with only a few splotches of gray. His features still looked like Jedidiah, but the signs of his age had evaporated, and youthful vitality flowed through his body. Jedidiah is really Finder [10]
Jedidiah, it's a disguise I wear when I travel around the Realms. [11]
This is my only temple—so far. There are several little shrines, most of them set up by people you spoke to on your journey here. More than a few artists have seen fit to evoke my name, giving me a little more power. It's going to take some years, though, before our church gets much larger. For one thing, we have to proceed with caution. There are some gods, far more powerful than I, who don't like the competition I represent. I need to proceed carefully. I need to build a strong framework for my church—one that other churches can't bring down easily. [11]
I can't really hide from other gods, but at least I can try not to attract their attention, or the attention of their churches. [11]
godly ability to know everything that was going on around me. [11]
my ability to sense what's going on around me, and around my priests, my ability to teleport and to cast powerful magic. I wasn't even able to shapeshift to my real form until I took back the little bit of the power I left in this stone. (has he dropped below demipower level????) [11]
in order to gain power from my mortal followers, I have to give power to them, but I don't really have that much to give. [11]
The Tears of Selune," a song the god had written, as a mortal, in honor of the goddess of the moon. [12]
They say that every time someone mentions a god's name, whether in curse or in prayer, he is strengthened. Without his name being spoken, a god fades. But the prayers of the faithful, particularly the prayers of a priest, are much more important. And when those prayers come from the god's chosen priests, that brings a special power. [14]
Bane
A figure stepped out of the shadows. It stood upright, taller than the average man, wearing a chest plate of black armor polished to a mirrorlike finish and engraved with the symbol of Bane in blood-red filigree. The figure's broad shoulders were covered with huge spiked plates, which made the creature seem even more massive. Its arms and legs were covered with black fabric, which in turn was covered with fine scales, as supple as a black dragon's hide. A red cape fluttered behind the figure. The body beneath the armor was even more alarming. The creature, Joel realized, had to be some sort of undead thing. Its skin was as creased as a crumpled piece of paper, yellowed with age and so translucent that brown bone showed from beneath the skin. The flesh around its mouth had worn away, leaving tatters of skin about the creature's brown teeth. Its tongue was black. The sagging flesh of each of its cheeks bore a tattoo of a red lightning bolt. Where its eyes should have been were deep wells with a glimmering white ember of undead hatred at the bottom of each. Dry shoots of white hair sprouted from its mostly bald head. Sparkling on its brow was a white diamond as large as a fingernail. "I am the essence of Bane," the creature said, its voice creaking like the iron gate of a crypt. "See me and fear me." [9]
This isn't the spirit of Bane. It's a banelich, a former High Imperceptor of the church, made undead by Bane—a little gift Bane used to give to his most groveling mortal yes-men. They go a little mad when they realize there is no greater power in death than there was in their pathetic lives. [9]
Centuries ago I was made a banelich by Lord Bane. Since the Time of Troubles, however, I have been much more. When Torm slew Bane, my god's spirit chose to honor me by housing itself in my form. I hold his personality, his ego, his essence. I can even grant this slave her clerical spells. I am now, for all intents and purposes, Bane. [9]
The Hand of Bane is In Sigil," Jedidiah interrupted. "The Hub of the Universe, the Cage, City of Doors, Place of Mazes. [9]
Can you surrender power and still wield it?" he asked sharply. "No," Walinda replied automatically. She looked up, startled, at the old priest. "So you are acquainted with some of the tenets of my faith [9]
The banelich looked no less threatening in the daylight. It had altered its adornment in a most threatening manner. On its forehead, where the large diamond had been, was the stolen half of the finder's stone. In order to affix the larger gem more firmly to its person, the banelich had smashed a hole in its skull and wedged the gem between the shattered edges of the bone. The skin of its forehead flapped in ragged tatters about the glittering yellow stone. [12]
coldfire missile ... a standard trick of all baneliches [12]
The Hand of Bane. a painting of a taloned hand. "The hand is about twice the size of an average man's hand," Walinda explained. "It is carved from obsidian. The claws are fashioned from pieces of garnet." [15]
The statue, a human-shaped creature, sat cross-legged on the altar. Its open mouth was filled with sharp teeth, and great horns protruded over its pointed ears. Two black gems sparkled in its earlobes, while another glittered from its forehead. A fourth, even larger, gem shone from a pendant on the statue's chest. Its hands were positioned in ritual signs Joel did not recognize. The face was smooth and youthful, and the flesh well muscled. It wore nothing but a loincloth. "Is that Bane?" the Rebel Bard asked in a whisper. His voice echoed about the room. "Probably some avatar he sent to some culture outside the Realms," Jedidiah said. "Handsome, but not the suave, sophisticated Bane we're used to, is he?" [16]
Did you think you would be Bane's chosen priest? You? A woman? Lord Bane will be served by me, the banelich who carried his essence. When I lived, Bane had no priestesses. From the essence I carry, I know that time will come again. [17]
Netheril
Behold the pillars of Cat's Gate," Jedidiah said, motioning to the two stone towers. "Or rather, the tops of the pillars of Cat's Gate. The majority of the gate is buried in the sand. According to old texts, the pillars rose higher than the Flaming Tower. When the kingdom of Netheril was in flower, there was a floating citadel here, one that made the Temple in the Sky look like a pebble. The wizards who built the gate commanded a strip of land along the Desertsmouth Mountains five hundred miles long and a hundred miles across. The Lost Vale was one of their outlying colonies. Not satisfied with what they had, the wizards set their sights on the Outlands. They bore into that plane with their magic, built the pillars to hold open the gate, then marched their armies through to conquer the lands beyond in their name." "Other beings, more powerful than the wizards, marched their armies out of the gate into Netheril to conquer it in their name," Jedidiah replied. After a century or so of warfare, the encroaching desert sand became a blessing—covering the surrounding city, making the land useless to conquering armies, and sealing the gate from detection on either side." [12]
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2023 : 20:36:55
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| IIRC, Jasmine's wings also changed when she crossed from one crystal sphere into another. It's been a while since I read the comics, though, and the Spelljammer one ended just as it was starting to get good. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1289 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2023 : 21:52:18
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| Is there any connection between this book and the 2e Daggerdale adventures with the return of Randal Morn? |
"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."
My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
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Novel Lore
