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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1309 Posts |
 Posted - 01 Nov 2021 : 02:22:50
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Hello!
My curiosity is anxious...are there any official (canon?) examples of lessons taught to Forgotten Realms children about the nature of their world? For example: parents that don't want their kids roaming the countryside or streets after dark may say "Be inside when the night shows its face; Shar takes boys and girls that run into her embrace." I'm also open to homebrew material, if you're willing to part with your creation(s).
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Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.
Earth names in the Realms are more common than you may think. |
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bloodtide_the_red
Learned Scribe
USA
302 Posts |
Posted - 01 Nov 2021 : 03:32:03
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Well, Realms Lore is full of lore. So all of that can be taught to kids.
Plenty of books written by Ed Greenwood such as the Volo books an Eliminster presents the Realms are full of lore, often rumors, stories and such told to people. |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 01 Nov 2021 : 05:05:12
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I don't think there are any "schools" for children in the sense we're familiar with. Although wealthier people likely hire tutors and lessons for their children, while professional teachers, instructors, and "academies" are likely found in the large cities to teach specific subjects (music, arts, etc). It's telling that there basically aren't any public libraries, most people are functionally illiterate or semi-literate, they might be able to read a pamphlet or wanted poster or playbill but chances are the only proper books they've read will be some sort of religious canon.
Wizards, priests, sages, and scholars will of course be exposed to more lore from more sources. But it seems likely their esoteric knowledge is the result of years of study (and indoctrination), it's not simple folklore they learned through childhood.
The local temples of the local gods will usually be tended by local priests. Who will likely proselytize and teach their deity's wisdom to all who will listen.
Some places are inhabited by certain creatures - orcs, trolls, undeads, dragons, giants, lycanthropes, elves - which will likely feature prominently in local legends and lores. Likewise, they may be located near some peculiar feature which is an important fixture in their lives.
Some places are frequented by merchants, soldiers, tax-collectors, bandits, bards, tinkers, adventurers, and other travelling itinerants. These will likely have a more wondrous and cosmopolitan knowledge of the larger world beyond. Other places are isolated (by terrain or by stubborn choice), they will know little (and care even less) about anything which happens outside their own village, town, or dale.
Most of the population of the Realms (it is claimed) reside outside cities and towns. They're rural, pastoral, agricultural, even nomadic. Those who must "work for a living" on their crops and livestock are often put to work at a young age and remain far too busy to worry about happenings more than two or three farmsteads down the road. They likely know a lot of local lore (which is mostly gossip about local people and implausibly grandoise stories from the local tavern, lol) and they likely know a great deal about their own vocation - and their children might fantasize about living in a royal kingdom or something - but they really have no other "worldly" lore to pass on. |
[/Ayrik] |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 01 Nov 2021 : 11:47:09
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Yeah, I've always found it funny that in a place where the printing press hasn't gained footing yet, everyone can read. I believe it comes down to a thing where they didn't want to have people roleplaying people who couldn't read OR that they didn't think their customer base would accept the idea, but that's my personal belief.
However, the original question is a damned good one. I think it would depend on region, and it would be more the retelling of "folk tales"... which in 2e we used to get a lot of them, each presented in some vague way, and many of us have tried to figure out "the truth behind them". That being said, there would probably also be stories told to children about beings like the night parade in places like Calimshan. In Rashemen, I'd bet the children are taught stories about hags and being way of what your eyes tell you. In Thay, children may be told horror stories about being lax with your slaves and allowing an uprising (for instance, maybe a story about a little girl who liked to style her slave's hair, which allowed her to escape and later cause mischief). In Mulhorand, they may teach the slaves stories about the poor slave that got his freedom... and how he moved out to live in another land with a king who let everyone live free, so long as they paid their CRUSHING taxes, and how the slave ended up dying in a debtor's prison. You will note I'm going very dark with these, because that's what I believe that's the intent of many such "fairy tales" told to kids.... like the boy who cried wolf, it's intended to scare kids into being more honest... or the story and Hansel & Gretel is to teach kids not to trust everyone and don't wander into the woods.
In the end, I'd bet many of these stories are kind of as Ayrik says... "local stories".... kind of how the fairy tales of our world were for a long time. For instance, before we had Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, there were dozens of stories throughout the world of someone who goes to a celebration, leaves something behind, and then is chased down by a lover to find them. In our own world, one of the complaints is that a lot of these stories are now being lost because of the Disney (and later others) adoption of stories and television making one single adaptation that all kids learn. Then there comes the mangling by authors of the stories which had been fairly standard for centuries that have seen multiple rewrites in modern day (for instance, the number of King Arthur adaptations since I was a kid could easily pass 30... so while the "old stories" were varied, they didn't adapt NEAR as often... same thing with Robin Hood, etc...). |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1309 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2021 : 23:05:19
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quote:
Originally posted by bloodtide_the_red
Well, Realms Lore is full of lore. So all of that can be taught to kids.
Plenty of books written by Ed Greenwood such as the Volo books an Eliminster presents the Realms are full of lore, often rumors, stories and such told to people.
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
I don't think there are any "schools" for children in the sense we're familiar with. Although wealthier people likely hire tutors and lessons for their children, while professional teachers, instructors, and "academies" are likely found in the large cities to teach specific subjects (music, arts, etc). It's telling that there basically aren't any public libraries, most people are functionally illiterate or semi-literate, they might be able to read a pamphlet or wanted poster or playbill but chances are the only proper books they've read will be some sort of religious canon.
Wizards, priests, sages, and scholars will of course be exposed to more lore from more sources. But it seems likely their esoteric knowledge is the result of years of study (and indoctrination), it's not simple folklore they learned through childhood.
The local temples of the local gods will usually be tended by local priests. Who will likely proselytize and teach their deity's wisdom to all who will listen.
Some places are inhabited by certain creatures - orcs, trolls, undeads, dragons, giants, lycanthropes, elves - which will likely feature prominently in local legends and lores. Likewise, they may be located near some peculiar feature which is an important fixture in their lives.
Some places are frequented by merchants, soldiers, tax-collectors, bandits, bards, tinkers, adventurers, and other travelling itinerants. These will likely have a more wondrous and cosmopolitan knowledge of the larger world beyond. Other places are isolated (by terrain or by stubborn choice), they will know little (and care even less) about anything which happens outside their own village, town, or dale.
Most of the population of the Realms (it is claimed) reside outside cities and towns. They're rural, pastoral, agricultural, even nomadic. Those who must "work for a living" on their crops and livestock are often put to work at a young age and remain far too busy to worry about happenings more than two or three farmsteads down the road. They likely know a lot of local lore (which is mostly gossip about local people and implausibly grandoise stories from the local tavern, lol) and they likely know a great deal about their own vocation - and their children might fantasize about living in a royal kingdom or something - but they really have no other "worldly" lore to pass on.
Guys, what I had in mind were parables, fables, aesops, aphorisms and the like. I would be shocked if - for example - there wasn't a Realms equivalent to "The Farmer and the Viper"/"The Scorpion and the Frog". |
Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.
Earth names in the Realms are more common than you may think. |
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LordofBones
Master of Realmslore
1536 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2021 : 01:32:09
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| Thay might have a lot of proverbs and folk tales casting the Simbul as the stereotypical insane, cruel, child-eating wicked witch. |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2021 : 11:14:52
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quote:
Originally posted by LordofBones
Thay might have a lot of proverbs and folk tales casting the Simbul as the stereotypical insane, cruel, child-eating wicked witch.
I doubt that one because people know what she's like, but I would not be surprised if they didn't have a bunch of propaganda that all the witches of Rashemen are hags behind their masks, and that they take the male children who would be a magical threat to their power off to eat.
This is actually a really good topic to discuss, because it can really show how one culture makes a caricature of another. For instance, I can see Cormyrians making stories about Sembians as penny pinchers who end up in binds and can't solve things with their money. Calishites having stories about the ignorant cretins who live beyond their borders. Uthgardt barbarians telling stories of the wise warrior who led a vile wizard into the woods, where the city born wizard didn't know not to go near some den of bears or somesuch. These would be the kind of things that happen in any society (and no, I don't want to go into a real world discussion of this, because it will turn into a fight about north/south, democrat/republican, race, LGBTQ, or something similar).
In addition to "moral" stories involving using different nearby groups that are made caricatures of, I can also see there being of course local stories about some of the more creepy "dungeons" that are near certain communities. For instance, Mulmaster might have a whole range of stories built up around "what's actually in Ironfang Keep, and the children of Damara might have whispered stories about the Rawlinswood being inhabited by demons from ancient Narfell to keep them from wandering into it. There are often the very real threats (for instance drow beneath the dalelands) and then there are perceived threats.... and the DM may know the truth, but the commoners there don't. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
Edited by - sleyvas on 04 Nov 2021 11:23:08 |
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Eldacar
Senior Scribe
438 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2021 : 22:59:07
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quote:
Originally posted by LordofBones
Thay might have a lot of proverbs and folk tales casting the Simbul as the stereotypical insane, cruel, child-eating wicked witch.
I mean, child-eating might be questionable. But an insane witch, and arguably cruel/wicked, is not completely off the mark when describing her.  |
"The Wild Mages I have met exhibit a startling disregard for common sense, and are often meddling with powers far beyond their own control." ~Volo
"Not unlike a certain travelogue author with whom I am unfortunately acquainted." ~Elminster |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 05 Nov 2021 : 03:23:52
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Stories of a reclusive witch who is almost never seen, lives in remote isolation, only comes out at night, and eats unwary small children are somewhat common in European folklores.
But we don't have storm-breathing dragons dive out of the air to snatch our precious animals and precious children away. In front of an entire village of onlookers. Tales of real monsters and real bogeymen predating the localsare probably more frightening than tales of never-/barely-seen angry witch-celebrities from (equally never-/barely-seen) faraway places.
"According to Stephen Stearns, a Yale professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, before the invention of the bicycle, the average distance between the birthplaces of spouses in England was 1 mile. During the latter half of the 19th century, bikes upped the distance men went courting to 30 miles, on average. Scholars have identified similar patterns in other European countries. Widespread use of bicycles stimulated the grading and paving of roads, making way for the introduction of automobiles, trains, and passenger airplanes ..."
Imagine a world where most people aren't likely to look more than a few miles down the road to find their husband or wife. Where their own parents likely came from just a few miles away on the same road. You aren't likely to be very interested in learning or teaching meaningless things from exotic lands when the entire horizon of your own world is so small. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Zeromaru X
Great Reader
Colombia
2476 Posts |
Posted - 06 Nov 2021 : 03:54:14
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By legit Realmslore (from 4e/5e, but, well), the dragonborn of Tymanther and Laerakond do use their ancestors' history as nursery tales for their children. Those stories are crude and harsh, as they are basically retellings of the actual brutal history of the dragonborn race as slaves to the dragon overlords of Abeir. Those stories range from tales of this cunning dragonborn hero who stole food from the Dragon Empress's own Vaults to give to his fellow slaves, to the chilling tales of this dragonborn heroine who used the bones and blood of her father to create a magic weapon to kill that dragon lord, or the tales of the wise dragonborn elders who sacrificed their lives so the other dragonborn slaves could flee from the breeding pits, and so on.
These tales are told to dragonborn children in their formative years and influence their mindset in a fundamental way even as adults. When a problem arises, dragonborn usually look to these tales in search of "traditional answers" ("what my ancestors would do in this kind of situation") instead of trying something new to solve that problem.
You can read a few of these stories in the Brimstone Angels series of novels, specifically in the last 3 novels. |
Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world... |
Edited by - Zeromaru X on 06 Nov 2021 04:03:05 |
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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1309 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2021 : 17:21:30
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| I wonder if "Don't judge a book by its cover." takes on a deeper meaning in a world where illusionists and shapeshifters exist. Also: mimics. |
Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.
Earth names in the Realms are more common than you may think. |
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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1289 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2021 : 19:55:15
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I found this in the 2e Complete Book of Dwarves:
"Until the age of 10, young dwarves are cared for within the hearth. During these formative years, they learn to speak and are taught the traditions and history of their clan and stronghold. The children socialize with others daily, often in a special clan nursery, while their parents and grandparents are at work. In the nursery the children are taught the rudiments of their clan's craft. Children from an armorer's clan will play with miniature suits of armor, those from a baker's clan will play with scales and bread dough. They are allowed to follow their natural instincts and are provided toy tools and allowed to dig tunnels and "hidey-holes" in the nursery.
At the age of 10, more formal education begins. For eight hours every day the children learn runes and local history. Training in crafts begins with basic techniques and skills constantly drilled into them. Their education continues until their 25th year."
Gnomes and Halflings would very likely have something similar only a bit more freewheeling given their "not as ridged" racial outlook. Certainly gnomes will instruct their kids on their treatment by the Netherese and halflings who have ancestors from Tethyr will likely talk of Meiritin. They may even have some "tall tales" of far away Luiren. |
"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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Delnyn
Senior Scribe
USA
958 Posts |
Posted - 12 Nov 2021 : 12:05:56
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IIRC, dwarves tell the tale of Astaroth disguised as a bard. He paid the king a visit and like Midas, every object Astaroth turned to gold. The greedy king invited Astaroth on an extended tour through his kingdom, inviting Astaroth to handle various objects. Sure enough, the king grew extremely wealthy with all the new-found gold.
Unfortunately, the kingdom was invaded. The dwarves fought back as valiantly as they could, but their now-gold armor and weapons not only weighed down the troops, but the soft metal bent too easily under combat conditions. The kingdom fell in short order.
"Gold is nice, but steel keeps the clan and kingdom alive." |
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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1309 Posts |
Posted - 12 Nov 2021 : 22:02:46
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quote:
Originally posted by TheIriaeban
I found this in the 2e Complete Book of Dwarves:
"Until the age of 10, young dwarves are cared for within the hearth. During these formative years, they learn to speak and are taught the traditions and history of their clan and stronghold. The children socialize with others daily, often in a special clan nursery, while their parents and grandparents are at work. In the nursery the children are taught the rudiments of their clan's craft. Children from an armorer's clan will play with miniature suits of armor, those from a baker's clan will play with scales and bread dough. They are allowed to follow their natural instincts and are provided toy tools and allowed to dig tunnels and "hidey-holes" in the nursery.
At the age of 10, more formal education begins. For eight hours every day the children learn runes and local history. Training in crafts begins with basic techniques and skills constantly drilled into them. Their education continues until their 25th year."
Gnomes and Halflings would very likely have something similar only a bit more freewheeling given their "not as ridged" racial outlook. Certainly gnomes will instruct their kids on their treatment by the Netherese and halflings who have ancestors from Tethyr will likely talk of Meiritin. They may even have some "tall tales" of far away Luiren.
That is amazing  !
Dwarves live on average, what...three-and-a-half times longer than humans? A dwarf that is ten years of age is roughly equivalent to a three year old human ("three and change" if we're being technical).
quote:
Originally posted by Delnyn
IIRC, dwarves tell the tale of Astaroth disguised as a bard. He paid the king a visit and like Midas, every object Astaroth turned to gold. The greedy king invited Astaroth on an extended tour through his kingdom, inviting Astaroth to handle various objects. Sure enough, the king grew extremely wealthy with all the new-found gold.
Unfortunately, the kingdom was invaded. The dwarves fought back as valiantly as they could, but their now-gold armor and weapons not only weighed down the troops, but the soft metal bent too easily under combat conditions. The kingdom fell in short order.
"Gold is nice, but steel keeps the clan and kingdom alive."
Is this your own lore? |
Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.
Earth names in the Realms are more common than you may think. |
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Delnyn
Senior Scribe
USA
958 Posts |
Posted - 13 Nov 2021 : 13:26:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Azar
quote:
Originally posted by Delnyn
IIRC, dwarves tell the tale of Astaroth disguised as a bard. He paid the king a visit and like Midas, every object Astaroth turned to gold. The greedy king invited Astaroth on an extended tour through his kingdom, inviting Astaroth to handle various objects. Sure enough, the king grew extremely wealthy with all the new-found gold.
Unfortunately, the kingdom was invaded. The dwarves fought back as valiantly as they could, but their now-gold armor and weapons not only weighed down the troops, but the soft metal bent too easily under combat conditions. The kingdom fell in short order.
"Gold is nice, but steel keeps the clan and kingdom alive."
Is this your own lore?
This is not my lore. The story is from 2e Powers and Pantheons, page 24. I paraphrased the story. Here is the actual quote of the story's moral now that I checked the page: "Gold makes one rich, but steel makes one richer." By the way, Astaroth is an alias for Gargauth. |
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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1309 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2023 : 05:26:19
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| I am toying with an abridged variation of the fable known as "Androcles and the Lion"...but for juvenile Gnomes. What are some examples of more suitable animals? The particular community I have in mind is far from any land where those ferocious felines reside. |
Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.
Earth names in the Realms are more common than you may think. |
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Athreeren
Learned Scribe
144 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2023 : 11:58:31
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quote:
Originally posted by Azar
I am toying with an abridged variation of the fable known as "Androcles and the Lion"...but for juvenile Gnomes. What are some examples of more suitable animals? The particular community I have in mind is far from any land where those ferocious felines reside.
Isn't this the story where a gnome gets attacked by a clockwork dragon, but he notices there is a spanner jammed in the cogs, and when he removes it, the construct starts working as a protector again? |
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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1309 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2023 : 20:20:41
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quote:
Originally posted by Athreeren
quote:
Originally posted by Azar
I am toying with an abridged variation of the fable known as "Androcles and the Lion"...but for juvenile Gnomes. What are some examples of more suitable animals? The particular community I have in mind is far from any land where those ferocious felines reside.
Isn't this the story where a gnome gets attacked by a clockwork dragon, but he notices there is a spanner jammed in the cogs, and when he removes it, the construct starts working as a protector again?
That would certainly be apt for Gnomes that primarily occupy themselves with technological pursuits, but the ones I have in mind are of the "good-natured and surprisingly sagacious forest-dwelling illusionist prankster" variety. |
Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.
Earth names in the Realms are more common than you may think. |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2023 : 23:45:38
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I suppose elves have a greater knowledge of history, legends, myths.
Partly because elven "children" continue education across a whole human lifespan, 75 years or more.
Partly because they live long enough to actually observe these events. Firsthand or through immediate friends and family. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1309 Posts |
Posted - 25 Mar 2023 : 04:48:27
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quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
I suppose elves have a greater knowledge of history, legends, myths.
Partly because elven "children" continue education across a whole human lifespan, 75 years or more.
Partly because they live long enough to actually observe these events. Firsthand or through immediate friends and family.
This poses a problem when attempting to write from the perspective of an elder race. Still, the challenge can be fun. |
Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.
Earth names in the Realms are more common than you may think. |
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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
770 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2023 : 03:42:41
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Azar, feel free to ask your friends, family, and neighbors what they think about J6, 9/11, the Civil Rights struggle or, for your older family members, the Holocaust. Age ain't got nothing to do with it. Not even to those who lived through it.
That's the kind of thing Ed was trying to discuss with works like Elminster In Myth Drannor, where yes, the elves were there for it, but they all came away with very different opinions, based on individual biases.
Old =/= mean infallible.
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AJA
YAFRP
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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
770 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2023 : 03:45:27
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But, (immediately! – or so, given the mandatory 2-min reply policy) back on a topic that won't make Wooly Rupert charge in with ban-hammer raised, I've posted a number of parable-adjacent/myth-type entries in my "5 NPCs You Meet In Waterdeep" thread. I think the following two may be the type of thing you had in mind?;
HOW LLIIRA LOST HER SONG
In days before ken the goddess Lliira was famed far and wide for her masterful dancing and for her singing voice, more melodious than all the harpings of the planetars and the manyfold winds combined. Her steps were light and effortless and she never stumbled, except on one particular occasion when the sly god Mask tugged upon the tasseled hem of her gown while she was pirouetting about a gathering of the gods. In revenge for this slight, Lliira pulled Mask from his concealment in the shadowed corner and compelled him to dance with her until she grew tired. At first Mask was willing to sport, for he was quite light on his feet as well, but as a dancing goddess Lliira's feet never felt heavy and the foolish rogue soon lamented his enthusiasm.
So, round! and round! they went, and right as Mask felt as though his legs would simply fall off he remembered the trick by which he had more than once escaped from the pursuing bloodhounds of Helm the Guardian. And as he twirled he fashioned his black mask into a brilliant shining veil, and inside he rubbed the black pepper which he used to confound the hounds of Helm, and this he presented to Lliira who accepted it delightedly, for she loved all sort of shimmery things. And as she twirled and danced she raised the veil to her face and laughed in delight, and in doing so she breathed deeply of the irritating dust and thus commenced a godly sneezing fit which shook every tavern and festhall from Tharsult to Port Llast. And so their dance stopped and Mask was freed and he wobbled away on the sorest of feet, and the other gathered gods all had a laugh at such spectacle, but then in the midst of Lliira's uncontrollable contortions a most curious thing happened – every time the helpless goddess sneezed, a pretty little songbird flew from her throat, full of the gay notes of the Lady of Joy!
And these birds with newborn freedom under their wings escaped the gathering of the gods and flew swiftly to the far corners of Faerûn, and carried on there the musical laughter of the goddess forever-after. And that is why to this day Lliira is not a god of song (but Milil is, and that is another tale for another time), and is also why all the goodly birds of Faerûn have such a sweet-sounding song.
... and HOW THE CROW GOT HIS CROAK
All except one, that is, and that one was the ever-curious black-eyed crow, who, once escaped from the goddess, was quickly stopped in his swift flight to a far corner of Faerûn as he flew down to land, to see the shining stones collected in the apron of the river-maiden Delimbyr, lounging there on the river-bank that bore her name. These stones seized the eye and inflamed the avarice of the crow, who exclaimed aloud that he simply must possess them. The river-maiden Delimbyr, as sly and treacherous as the waters that bore her name, quickly agreed to trade her river-pebbles to the black-eyed crow in return for his portion of the goddess Lliira's song.
The crow, blinded by his greed for the shimmering stones, hopped from branch to branch in excitement, but, when he tried to exclaim his delight at his good fortune, all that came forth was a terrible black squawk that sent the fish-maids of Delimbyr scattering into the river depths. Thus understanding the terrible mistake he had made, the shamed crow implored the wily nymph to undo the bargain and return his song. The fickle river-maiden, herself quite satisfied with their trade, told him that she would only return his song if he gathered for her a thousand-thousand-fold the original amount of stones, a truly impossible number.
Which is why to this day, the Delimbyr happily sings and warbles and gurgles all through its' travels, and why the black-eyed crow cannot sing like the other song-birds of Faerûn, and why it instead covets and hoards shiny objects, in the hopes of one day finally reclaiming its lost song.
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AJA
YAFRP
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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1309 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2023 : 00:01:54
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quote:
Originally posted by AJA
Not even to those who lived through it.
That's the kind of thing Ed was trying to discuss with works like Elminster In Myth Drannor, where yes, the elves were there for it, but they all came away with very different opinions, based on individual biases.
Old =/= mean infallible.
It doesn't necessarily indicate infallibility, but it ought to result in greater overall wisdom. Still, that aside, I like to convey the idea that these races aren't of humanity. On a scale of one to ten - one being "humans with unusual cosmetic alterations" and ten being "absolutely incomprehensible beings", I prefer that these elder races (and demihumans as a whole) sit at around a five or six: approachable, understandable and in some instances even amenable to romance, yet distinctly different in psychology and sociology to the point where applying human-specific conventions to them is fairly inappropriate. |
Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.
Earth names in the Realms are more common than you may think. |
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TBeholder
Great Reader
2428 Posts |
Posted - 06 Apr 2023 : 00:19:25
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quote:
Originally posted by AJA
Age ain't got nothing to do with it. Not even to those who lived through it.
That's the kind of thing Ed was trying to discuss with works like Elminster In Myth Drannor, where yes, the elves were there for it, but they all came away with very different opinions, based on individual biases.
No age, but baggage. And nobody got as much baggage as the elves.
quote:
Originally posted by Azar
It doesn't necessarily indicate infallibility, but it ought to result in greater overall wisdom.
Does it?
The elves don't appear to exhibit wisdom any more often than anyone else. And even when they seem to do, it coincides either with primitive (stone age grade) specific adaptations or with sour grapes. |
People never wonder How the world goes round -Helloween
And even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.Wood
It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch |
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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1309 Posts |
Posted - 06 Apr 2023 : 02:57:52
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| It should. This prevailing notion among creators that elder races - relatively to mankind - ought to be arrogant by default and oddly stupid/foolish as a necessity (y'know, to preserve "plot balance") is bothersome at best. |
Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.
Earth names in the Realms are more common than you may think. |
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Wisdom/teachings for children of the Realms
