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Eldacar
Senior Scribe
438 Posts |
 Posted - 11 Feb 2022 : 17:40:21
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I've been doing some reading on Cormyr recently, catching up on what's been happening there up and into the 5e era and 1490s DR. Cormaeril now being a "good blood" family I found mildly amusing, given what happened back in Azoun IV's time, but that's not the purpose of this topic.
One thing that caught my eye was the Huntsilver family. According to Dungeon #198, they are all but wiped out:
"In the last half-century, the fortunes of the three Silver families have shifted. Although the Crownsilvers and the Truesilvers maintain great wealth and influence, they are no longer ascendant stars among Cormyr's nobility. The Huntsilvers have fared worse, first losing their sons in the Sembian wars, then seeing their last two daughters married into Houses Crownsilver and Truesilver. They hope to restore the family name by the production of heirs. However, neither daughter has yet borne a child, and time is running out."
This is in addition to the Suzail backdrop article:
"Crownsilver: One of the two remaining royal houses, the Crownsilver family is growing tired of the games of the Royal Court and the positioning that plays out as Foril's reign draws to a close..."
Truesilver is noted later on, making it the second. Huntsilver also doesn't even get a mention in the part of the Suzail article dealing with the noble houses (from the sounds of the article, the Truesilvers seem to be doing better than Crownsilvers, but it's hard to tell). The four great houses are Crownsilver, Illance, Rowanmantle, and Truesilver (second tier is Alsevir, Cormaeril, Dauntinghorn, Dracohorn, Emmarask, Greatgaunt, Goldfeather, Hawklin, Huntcrown, Marliir, and Wintersun). Furthermore, Huntsilver House on the map of Suzail is explicitly stated to be empty. Nobody lives there now.
On top of this, the year in which the Sembian wars ended was 1441 DR. The entry for that year very clearly says that the Huntsilvers are all but exterminated and their remaining two daughters marry into Crownsilver and Truesilver by the end of the conflict. Even if we assume the daughters were barely into adolescence at that point (13-14, which may be too young, but still), that means by the 1480s (four decades later) those two daughters would both be into their fifties. Magic to enhance or restore fertility or provide longevity and forestall passage beyond childbearing age (or reignite it) may be an option, but even if it is, that entry plus the later articles is not a good sign. If the daughters were older when they married, let's say 20-25, then they would be past sixty.
The strong impression I get from Brian and Eric (Brian wrote one article, Eric the Suzail backdrop), to me, seems to be that in 4E times (1470-1485), Huntsilver had time running out and was on the verge of extinction. But in 5E (1490+), it's no longer running out. It's gone. Huntsilver is extinct.
Does this all sound accurate? I don't think there are any other sources on the current state of Cormyrean nobles, or at least not these Cormyrean nobles, but I admit that I don't know if I have tracked down everything yet. In any case, here is when my curiosity comes into play.
There are plenty of examples, both in real life and in Forgotten Realms, of noble houses or interested parties (with a stake in the matter) going out of their way to find distant relatives to bring in, to legitimise bastards, and in general do whatever is possible to ensure that the title and House remains intact. It's occurred in Waterdeep, for example, with the Lords going looking for heirs if one of the noble families was at risk of dying out. It's even happened in Cormyr itself! Lord Erzoured Obarskyr, the Baron Boldtree, is officially legitimised through an elder Obarskyr prince (Emvar), but those events didn't happen until after the younger Obarskyr prince (Foril) had ascended the throne - the crown has subsequently gone to Raedra, Foril's granddaughter.
One might say that you wouldn't go digging up bastards if it was a minor house. But the Huntsilvers are not a minor house; they are one of the three Silver families, one of the royal houses, have a history stretching back to the founding of Cormyr, and are or were tightly entwined with all manner of forests and the wilderness across the expanse of the kingdom. It seems strange, to me, that for all of this, that they wouldn't be able to find one bastard child for the Obarskyrs to legitimise or a distant relative somewhere to keep it in existence.
It would indebt Huntsilver to the Obarskyrs for keeping their house alive, allow Huntsilver to continue their government and management of all the forests and wilderness of the kingdom (which is a lot of ground, who deals with it if Huntsilver is gone?), and ensure a balance is still maintained with the other two royal houses, namely Crownsilver and Truesilver (particularly since the current queen, Raedra, dissolved a betrothal to a Crownsilver as soon as she ascended the throne).
Are there any thoughts from other people here about the situation, where it might go, or the possible behind-the-scenes intention in removing Huntsilver from the board?
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"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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Zeromaru X
Great Reader
Colombia
2476 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2022 : 19:26:41
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1441 DR was the year were the first Sembian wars ended. The second Sembian wars were quite recently (1484 - 1486 DR). Thought, at that point Sembia was just a puppet state under the Shadovar rule. IIRC, the articles in Dun 198 are set in 1484 DR.
I hope this can help you with the timeline issues.
EDIT:
Checked the articles. They are set in 1479 DR. So, I guess the Huntsilvers are gone. |
Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world... |
Edited by - Zeromaru X on 11 Feb 2022 19:36:06 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2022 : 21:05:20
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| I'm curious how a family that was one of the most prominent noble families for almost all of Cormyr's existence suddenly dies out in such a short span of time. You'd think, given how long they've been around, that there would be hundreds, if not thousands of people around who are direct descendants or cousins or whatever, who could easily be brought back into the main family. Their family tree must have dozens of branches, even just going back a couple centuries. |
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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1309 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2022 : 22:22:11
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I'm curious how a family that was one of the most prominent noble families for almost all of Cormyr's existence suddenly dies out in such a short span of time. You'd think, given how long they've been around, that there would be hundreds, if not thousands of people around who are direct descendants or cousins or whatever, who could easily be brought back into the main family. Their family tree must have dozens of branches, even just going back a couple centuries.
It feels like someone cut off the end of a piece of paper. |
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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Zeromaru X
Great Reader
Colombia
2476 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2022 : 23:13:45
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I'm curious how a family that was one of the most prominent noble families for almost all of Cormyr's existence suddenly dies out in such a short span of time. You'd think, given how long they've been around, that there would be hundreds, if not thousands of people around who are direct descendants or cousins or whatever, who could easily be brought back into the main family. Their family tree must have dozens of branches, even just going back a couple centuries.
Big clans can die out in a short time span, but that usually happens in some big, catastrophic way. I guess there is some history there that we haven't heard out yet. |
Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world... |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2022 : 23:49:05
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| Bear in mind that someone being noble can change in a literal heartbeat with kings and all their lands can be taken away just as quick. It may very well have been that several of the Huntsilver lines were deliberately delanded and the properties given to someone else. The old Huntsilver house might be empty because the king just didn't feel like making any of the surviving members noble. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2022 : 02:54:06
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Bear in mind that someone being noble can change in a literal heartbeat with kings and all their lands can be taken away just as quick. It may very well have been that several of the Huntsilver lines were deliberately delanded and the properties given to someone else. The old Huntsilver house might be empty because the king just didn't feel like making any of the surviving members noble.
That doesn't end the family line, though. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2022 : 03:11:49
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quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I'm curious how a family that was one of the most prominent noble families for almost all of Cormyr's existence suddenly dies out in such a short span of time. You'd think, given how long they've been around, that there would be hundreds, if not thousands of people around who are direct descendants or cousins or whatever, who could easily be brought back into the main family. Their family tree must have dozens of branches, even just going back a couple centuries.
Big clans can die out in a short time span, but that usually happens in some big, catastrophic way. I guess there is some history there that we haven't heard out yet.
Yeah, it can happen -- if the referenced clan is all in one geographic area.
After 1300 years, there should be Huntsilvers all over the Realms. Cadet branches more closely related to the main family in Cormyr, of course, but other branches in other nations, too -- especially Impiltur, Tethyr, and Waterdeep.
That's why I find it odd that the Huntsilvers are no more. Either there were a hell of a lot of deaths, or there's been a generations-long trend of having just one kid.
Think about it. If you go back just 200 years, and have a particular generation with two sons, and each of those two sons has 1 or 2 kids, who go on to start their own families, and so on, you've got dozens of them, if not a few hundred Huntsilvers by present day. Sure, some of them are going to be "my grandfather's uncle's great-grandchildren" but that's still direct descent from a titled Huntsilver and someone that can be brought back into the main branch of the family.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2022 : 03:11:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I'm curious how a family that was one of the most prominent noble families for almost all of Cormyr's existence suddenly dies out in such a short span of time. You'd think, given how long they've been around, that there would be hundreds, if not thousands of people around who are direct descendants or cousins or whatever, who could easily be brought back into the main family. Their family tree must have dozens of branches, even just going back a couple centuries.
Big clans can die out in a short time span, but that usually happens in some big, catastrophic way. I guess there is some history there that we haven't heard out yet.
Yeah, it can happen -- if the referenced clan is all in one geographic area.
After 1300 years, there should be Huntsilvers all over the Realms. Cadet branches more closely related to the main family in Cormyr, of course, but other branches in other nations, too -- especially Impiltur, Tethyr, and Waterdeep.
That's why I find it odd that the Huntsilvers are no more. Either there were a hell of a lot of deaths, or there's been a generations-long trend of having just one kid.
Think about it. If you go back just 200 years, and have a particular generation with two sons, and each of those two sons has 1 or 2 kids, who go on to start their own families, and so on, you've got dozens of them, if not a few hundred Huntsilvers by present day. Sure, some of them are going to be "my grandfather's uncle's great-grandchildren" but that's still direct descent from a titled Huntsilver and someone that can be brought back into the main branch of the family.
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Zeromaru X
Great Reader
Colombia
2476 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2022 : 03:31:53
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Well, as sleyvas said, most of these branches may have been stripped of their titles and lands, what makes them unable to claim anything from the Kingdom of Cormyr (something like what happened to the Dukes of Sussex, but massively). Now, while that means that there are a lot of descendants of the Huntsilvers out there, their existence means nothing to the survival of the Huntsilvers as nobility, as they have no rights to claim, unless someone reinstate such rights. It seems the surviving Huntsilver sisters don't want to do this for some reason.
And when I said "catastrophic way" I didn't mean a natural disaster, just an extraordinary event with huge repercussions. While something like that is nearly impossible to happen in a real world, is more likely in a world were magic exist. "I want all the Huntsilvers to die childless" is something a Wish spell can make possible. Like I said, there is a story there that they haven't told us yet... and given WotC's treatment of the Realms, they will never do it, at this point. |
Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world... |
Edited by - Zeromaru X on 12 Feb 2022 03:33:57 |
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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1309 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2022 : 04:02:53
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quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X
"I want all the Huntsilvers to die childless" is something a Wish spell can make possible.
That sounds like a Wish that is almost assured to backfire; what you'd need is something analogous to "Epic-level" spellcasting. |
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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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2022 : 04:25:33
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| Sounds like a good question to ask Ed, or a Cormyr expert. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2022 : 04:49:02
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quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X
Well, as sleyvas said, most of these branches may have been stripped of their titles and lands, what makes them unable to claim anything from the Kingdom of Cormyr (something like what happened to the Dukes of Sussex, but massively). Now, while that means that there are a lot of descendants of the Huntsilvers out there, their existence means nothing to the survival of the Huntsilvers as nobility, as they have no rights to claim, unless someone reinstate such rights. It seems the surviving Huntsilver sisters don't want to do this for some reason.
That's not what it says, though -- "They hope to restore the family name by the production of heirs." That's not a property or title thing, that's a statement that there are only a handful of Huntsilvers left.
And then, as mentioned, there's the 1441 timeline entry: "The Huntsilver noble family has been all but exterminated by the end of the conflict, its remaining two daughters marrying into the Houses of Crownsilver and Truesilver."
Exterminated.
That means that somehow, a family that's been around for more than a thousand years, has been almost entirely wiped out.
And since they had daughters to marry off, if there were other branches of the Huntsilver family, those other branches could have been tapped for potential husbands. There would be no worries about inbreeding or anything, if the branch in question split off a few generations ago. Since the daughters married into other families, instead, this further reinforces that family has been wiped out.
So it is clearly not a title or property thing, it's a lack of available Huntsilvers. |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2022 : 15:19:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X
Well, as sleyvas said, most of these branches may have been stripped of their titles and lands, what makes them unable to claim anything from the Kingdom of Cormyr (something like what happened to the Dukes of Sussex, but massively). Now, while that means that there are a lot of descendants of the Huntsilvers out there, their existence means nothing to the survival of the Huntsilvers as nobility, as they have no rights to claim, unless someone reinstate such rights. It seems the surviving Huntsilver sisters don't want to do this for some reason.
That's not what it says, though -- "They hope to restore the family name by the production of heirs." That's not a property or title thing, that's a statement that there are only a handful of Huntsilvers left.
And then, as mentioned, there's the 1441 timeline entry: "The Huntsilver noble family has been all but exterminated by the end of the conflict, its remaining two daughters marrying into the Houses of Crownsilver and Truesilver."
Exterminated.
That means that somehow, a family that's been around for more than a thousand years, has been almost entirely wiped out.
And since they had daughters to marry off, if there were other branches of the Huntsilver family, those other branches could have been tapped for potential husbands. There would be no worries about inbreeding or anything, if the branch in question split off a few generations ago. Since the daughters married into other families, instead, this further reinforces that family has been wiped out.
So it is clearly not a title or property thing, it's a lack of available Huntsilvers.
No, it means that let's say there are 1500 descendants of the Huntsilvers around. The king decrees that "all the Huntsilver lands east of river x and north of village y are remanded back to the crown for treasonous acts of <insert treasonous act>. Their lands shall be given to the noble knights Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y, and Z to steward until such time as replacement nobles can be found. They are no longer ennobled and it is recommended that they leave the realm with haste. All children found to trace their bloodline from these particular former nobles shall henceforth NEVER hold title in Cormyr. This act does not affect the Huntsilvers of P, who remain ennobled, and who are hereby ordered to reproduce new heirs of suitable character posthaste in order to reoccupy the lands held by their cousins. Failure to do so will force me, as king, to remand these lands into new noble families for the security of the realm."
It might need a little wording change, but you see where I'm going? It might have been that they backed a bastard of their own blood to replace the king. It might have been that they just didn't send aid/soldiers to the king in time of war. It might have been that they were supposed to protect a princess of the realm, and they let her get killed, and the king just went overboard. It may have been that they were spreading treasonous lies (or truths) about the king and his activities. It could have been they just didn't pay their taxes because they blew it on themselves because they felt entitled. Any number of things may have happened. Once they were no longer ennobled, especially if it involved money and debts, a lot of those Huntsilvers may have gotten killed by people not happy with the situation (even if just to send a message to other nobles).
Then the remaining "noble" Huntsilvers may have done something... maybe they got involved with their exiled kin? That could have just flipped the king out and he may have taken the final Huntsilver holdings and detitled the lot or something. Admittedly, I'm not as much up on the lore of Cormyr, so maybe I'm missing something, but this seems viable at a high level. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
Edited by - sleyvas on 12 Feb 2022 15:24:37 |
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Eldacar
Senior Scribe
438 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2022 : 16:33:30
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quote:
Originally posted by questing gm
Sounds like a good question to ask Ed, or a Cormyr expert.
Brian Cortijo did write one of the articles, so if he is still stopping by and happens to read this I would be interested in whatever he can say on the “why” of the decision, certainly.
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Then the remaining "noble" Huntsilvers may have done something... maybe they got involved with their exiled kin? That could have just flipped the king out and he may have taken the final Huntsilver holdings and detitled the lot or something. Admittedly, I'm not as much up on the lore of Cormyr, so maybe I'm missing something, but this seems viable at a high level.
I tend to side with Wooly on this - the entries and information that we have (or that I have found, like I said there may be more information I don’t have) doesn’t suggest your scenario is what happened. It does suggest that the Huntsilvers were basically exterminated during the Sembian Wars, but nothing in the wording hints to me that they actually betrayed the crown or anything of that sort; just that all their sons got killed and it was down to, somehow, only two daughters who subsequently failed to bear new heirs.
Additionally, the Huntsilvers are an old, and great, house. A royal house. Even the Cormaerils, when they were stripped of their lands, kicked out of Cormyr, and thoroughly exiled and de-nobled, were still a house with more than enough resources to survive quite easily and be restored almost exactly as they were less than a century later. It seems to me that it would be extremely difficult, and likely a major event, for the Huntsilvers to somehow be exterminated completely and totally, with all lesser branches and distant relatives removed (with all the heirs that have probably married into other houses back through the generations any mass removal of Huntsilvers would probably send immense shockwaves through the entirety of Cormyr’s nobility). If it didn’t happen to Cormaeril, I question how it could happen to an older, and stronger, and more entrenched in Cormyr, house.
Hence my curiosity!
quote:
Originally posted by Azar
That sounds like a Wish that is almost assured to backfire; what you'd need is something analogous to "Epic-level" spellcasting.
I could see a wish succeeding on one or two people, perhaps, or a small group, but I agree that all is a bit of a stretch, I think too much of one without terrible consequences (and anybody casting a spell like that I would also assume will get all manner of interested parties breathing down their neck for what they did and investigating, which again should be something that information exists and is presented detailing).
And it wouldn’t explain why they don’t have any distant relatives available either. |
"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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Kentinal
Great Reader
4689 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2022 : 17:59:28
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Well one idea occurs to me.
That war resulting in the Huntsilvers calling in all kin to fight in the war. They might have fought as units. The war went poorly for them and most kin died in the war, maybe a sneak attack to explain the use of the word exterminated.
This might explain how most were dead by end of the war.
Other explanations are possible like a House War, however I do not recall fair elves being involved in many if any House wars to exterminate, that is more Drow like conduct. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Garen Thal
Master of Realmslore
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 15 Feb 2022 : 23:42:04
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You know, s'funny. I've spent a decade recommending this article to folks. Someone's finally read it!
The short answer to all of this is that everything was intentional, planned, carefully plotted amongst the "keepers of the Blood Royal" (including Ed Greenwood), and laid out in sufficiently vague detail so that DMs, future authors, and individual gaming groups would have enough to play with. (It was also not written thinking that two years after publication, we'd be advancing the timeline more than a decade.)
The longer answer is that, like the Obarskyrs, the Huntsilvers did not have a sprawling family tree. By the mid-15th century DR, they found themselves with a number of warlike cousins who had inherited minor fortunes and major wanderlust, most of whom decided to serve Cormyr at the head of its Purple Dragons. By the time the Sembian wars of the mid century were over, there were just a handful of Huntsilvers left. Most were far too old to consider marrying anyone, but two, the young girls Dalorna (9) and Pelarra (8) were each given to the trust of one of the other Royal families of Cormyr to try and restore their line. Dalorna, when she was of age, married into the Crownsilvers, and Pelarra into the Truesilvers. The Crown took the family's holdings in and near Suzail in trust, and allowed the other Silver families to control the remaining family wealth based on which of the girls they were warding.
By 1479 DR, neither union had been successful in producing an heir. In very early 1480 DR, Pelarra bore twins—Roatha and Glorin (Roatha was born nearly an hour earlier than her brother). The twins are 6 years old when Roatha makes an appearance in Fire in the Blood, and while technically a Truesilver, is also Lady Regal of House Huntsilver, expected to assume the title of the house at some point upon her majority (no earlier than 1496 DR, possibly later).
Agents of the Crown have very quietly tried to encourage Glorin to engage in peaceful pursuits rather than riding to war, and hopes to find him a bride to soon keep him close to Suzail and creating potential secondary heirs for his house while his sister searches for a rare kind of suitor: one who is not interested in ruling a house of his own, but is happy to support an intelligent, ambitious young wife with decades of machinations ahead of her to preserve the posterity of her family.
Meanwhile, Helindra Crownsilver has spent a decade fuming over her grandnephews inability to sire an heir on Dalorna...
That's all I'm going to reveal for now, except to point everyone to the section on the Silver houses from Alusair's court, earlier in the artcile, which may suggest that things are more complicated than it all appears:
quote:
The Silvers Ascendant
After the Obarskyr line, Cormyr has three “royal” families—the Crownsilvers, the Huntsilvers, and the Truesilvers, all descended from the Silver brothers whose offspring married into the Obarskyr clan. Since the death of Azoun IV, the three Silver houses have grown dramatically in influence and wealth, capitalizing on mercantile opportunities and overly public acts of loyalty to the Crown.
Many of the nobles of the realm are jealous of these ascendant stars. Rumors speak of plots that might see at least one of these august houses fall, rapidly and dramatically, in the near future.
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Eldacar
Senior Scribe
438 Posts |
Posted - 16 Feb 2022 : 16:58:12
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Hello there!
quote:
Originally posted by Garen Thal
(It was also not written thinking that two years after publication, we'd be advancing the timeline more than a decade.)
This issue definitely seems to interfere with the article, or at least creates a lot of unanswered questions. The article works for 4e around 1479, but the jump into the very late 1480s at the start of 5e, and subsequent movement into the 1490s, means there's a sudden dearth of information on "what happens next" for Cormyr.
quote:
The longer answer is that, like the Obarskyrs, the Huntsilvers did not have a sprawling family tree.
This is interesting; is there a reason why? And is this something the Crownsilvers and Truesilvers share in any way? Even if you aren't trying to have a sprawling family tree, having merely two children per generation for a few generations will still rapidly snowball for a noble house, and that doesn't even count the potential for legitimising bastards along the way. It seemed bizarre that they wouldn't have had a fairly large family tree simply through circumstance.
I also have not read Fire in the Blood, so I'll investigate that if I can. In your mind, what do Roatha and Glorin look like, as they grow up?
quote:
Meanwhile, Helindra Crownsilver has spent a decade fuming over her grandnephews inability to sire an heir on Dalorna...
I mentioned in my first post the possibility of magic to help fertility, longevity or similar; is this simply not an option for her? Was it tried only to fail for unspecified reasons? Similarly, the leftover Huntsilvers you mentioned who were "too old" to marry - was longevity magic or pressure just for a political marriage to simply produce heirs in the time they had left not considered or attempted? The idea may be distasteful to 21st century sensibilities, but also isn't uncommon or unknown.
Thank you, though, for answering! It at least helps fill in some of the blank spaces for me on the otherwise-disappearance of Huntsilver from the 1480s. The "two remaining royal houses" line in particular did strongly seem to suggest that Huntsilver wasn't just held in trust, but actually defunct.
I also believe the timeline is currently edging very close to 1496 in the 5e years. The latest FR specific adventure was Descent Into Avernus, and that starts in 1494 DR. The Baldur's Gate 3 game by Larian is a few months or so after that adventure concludes (some of the early quests and plots are dealing with the fallout from it), and Acquisitions Incorporated material is set five years after Lost Mines of Phandelver (which is early 1490s DR) if I recall correctly.
With the FR timeline now firmly in the 1490s DR either way, it seems like the Huntsilver issue is a plot point that is rapidly becoming relevant (and 1493 is also "the Year of the Purple Dragons"). |
"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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Zeromaru X
Great Reader
Colombia
2476 Posts |
Posted - 16 Feb 2022 : 19:01:10
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quote:
Originally posted by Garen Thal
while his sister searches for a rare kind of suitor: one who is not interested in ruling a house of his own, but is happy to support an intelligent, ambitious young wife with decades of machinations ahead of her to preserve the posterity of her family.
I'm going to officially present one of my characters (Dorn Cormaeryl, adventurer and wandering chronicler) as a candidate, lol |
Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world... |
Edited by - Zeromaru X on 16 Feb 2022 19:01:43 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 16 Feb 2022 : 21:46:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Eldacar
quote:
Originally posted by Garen Thal
The longer answer is that, like the Obarskyrs, the Huntsilvers did not have a sprawling family tree.
This is interesting; is there a reason why? And is this something the Crownsilvers and Truesilvers share in any way? Even if you aren't trying to have a sprawling family tree, having merely two children per generation for a few generations will still rapidly snowball for a noble house, and that doesn't even count the potential for legitimising bastards along the way. It seemed bizarre that they wouldn't have had a fairly large family tree simply through circumstance.
This was my thinking. I'm also surprised to learn that over 1200 years, there's (apparently) never been any cadet branches of the family. |
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Eldacar
Senior Scribe
438 Posts |
Posted - 21 Feb 2022 : 11:05:31
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As a minor note on finding more information about the Huntsilvers in the 1480-onward era, I did pick up Fire in the Blood after all. While jumping into something halfway through can be messy, and I'm not a fan of the very 4e-referential material, I did come across one line in particular so far:
"There is no chance you're going to top Varauna's tale of the two brothers she was juggling for sheer depravity, nor Florelle's dalliance with a certain Huntsilver heir for blind passion she would rather we forget. Maranth will always surpass you for missing..."
Florelle (House Ambershield, I am fairly sure) is a young lady in waiting to Raedra, who is speaking. So I suppose my initial theory was wrong from lack of having all the information; there is still a reference to Huntsilvers after all (although I am halfway into the book and at least this one was a very throwaway reference, if I wasn't looking for it I may well have missed it entirely). Given the apparent age of the Huntsilver children in 1486, I presume, or most sincerely hope, that it was one of the two much older daughters. |
"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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Cormyr Huntsilvers in 1480+ DR
