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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
 Posted - 26 Dec 2023 : 00:15:41
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On Starmetal Hills
Juniper Churlgo — 06/19/2023 3:46 PM
Hey Ed. Found your old post about Swordkrypt Mountains and having trouble placing them as all mountains and hills in the area seem to already have been named. Is it an old name for Starmetal Hills?
ericlboyd — 06/19/2023 8:22 PM
I would have guessed the section of the Sword Mountains that overlooks Kryptgarden Forest.
Ed Greenwood — 06/21/2023 7:05 AM
And Eric's guess is correct! |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 26 Dec 2023 : 00:18:13
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On lore just hoping someone asks
Reedhalloran Duskfellow — 06/21/2023 10:59 PM
@Ed Greenwood what piece of lore, history, character or location are you just dying hoping someone asks about so you can drop some mind-blowing secrets? #128518;
Ed Greenwood — 06/22/2023 12:31 AM
Hey, if I TOLD you, it would ruin the fun. ;} |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 26 Dec 2023 : 00:23:00
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On Foodomancy
Juniper Churlgo — 06/21/2023 10:45 AM
So I discovered Foodomancy, and I'm sure Ed knows why I'm interested in it. It's placed solidly in the Realms and I want to know if Ed has any foodomancy lore for me atop of that one polyhedron article.
Ed Greenwood — 06/22/2023 12:38 AM
Right. I'll have to do some hunting for my detailed lore, but the bases are: folk who ingest the "special" food gain temporary protections or buffs (usually effectively lasting for a day/24 hours, with only +2 or +1 or "with advantage" saving throw adds for about 7 hours after that) that do such things as: minimize undead attack effects like drains and necrotic damage, confer minor self-healing (1 to 2/even/odd roll hp per round), protect against good and/or evil, "soak" 1d4 hp off damage in excess of 10 hp suffered in 1 round, confer VERY short-range darkvision (arm's length distance), and so on. I should write these benefits, and some of the rare ingredients and how they should be used in dishes, up as a free Patreon entry... Another important aspect: although some effects can be enhanced by the eater having prepared themselves beforehand by eating or drinking or other actions, foodomancy works on EVERYONE of a particular race (certain races have higher or lower benefits from certain ingredients); no "attunement" or class membership or requirements or levels apply. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 26 Dec 2023 : 00:25:33
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On fighting instructors gaining fame that spreads beyond their community or region
JoeChang — 06/22/2023 4:56 PM
Hi @Ed Greenwood , a question and a Patreon suggestion (depending on the answer). Do any fighting instructors gain fame that spreads beyond their community or region? If so, one day please reveal to us who some of those martial masters are, and what a PC would have to do to qualify for tutelage.
Ed Greenwood — 06/23/2023 12:21 PM
I did famous weapons masters back in the 3e days, but yes, it's high time for an update. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 26 Dec 2023 : 00:27:57
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On other canonical shapeshifters in the Realms
Reedhalloran Duskfellow — 06/24/2023 11:09 PM
@Ed Greenwood aside from doppelgangers, are there any other canonical shapeshifters in the realms? Like Changelings perhaps?
Ed Greenwood — 06/25/2023 1:17 AM
There are many, from numerous doppelgangers and hags (everyone always seems to forget them! There are LOTS), changelings, shifters (yes, they're in the Realms), lycanthropes, some dragons, and all of the many, many beings who can use spells to change their own shape. And three or four dozen "monsters" who can change to human shapes, to lure. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2024 : 14:00:18
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On nobles being openly in a relationship with / married to someone of the same gender
BlissfulSavant (he/they) — 06/25/2023 4:57 AM
Hello Ed #128578;
I know you intended for FR to be a pan-normative and a largely inclusive space w.r.t. queer folks. Gay people are generally not looked at oddly. But how does this play out amongst nobles, esp. the Cormyreans? You spoke of Narnathra Barelder some time back, and her dalliances with two ladies that her husband knows of (but is it known publically?). Maranth Goldfeather is gay, and this seems to be known to at least those close to him.
For nobles, is it socially and politically acceptable to openly being in a relationship with / married to someone of the same gender? Or are these maintained as open secrets? Or instead, could Lord Whats-His-Face openly proclaim he will find a figurehead wife for legal / title / making-heir reasons, but that he goes to bed with a certain male consort?
I'd imagine adoption is not seen as acceptable, since the child would not carry the noble blood they likely pride themselves in.
Ed Greenwood — 06/25/2023 1:32 PM
Older nobles in Cormyr are more "traditional," meaning: everyone could have any bedpartner that wasn't a "monster" or "evil" (so, no night hags or drow), but no one publicly talked about it. In other words, open secrets. Anyone can adopt, but as with blood nobles brought back from the dead, they can't inherit. So adopted children can be full nobles, just as commoners who "marry in" can, but they can't be heirs, so can't carry on the main family line. Younger nobles might be more open in their talk/public discussion and proclamation, but for most, it's still "open secret" time. For your Lord-Whats-His-Face example, he wouldn't openly proclaim his wife is any sort of figurehead. Even if he openly went to bed with a male consort, his wife would still be his wife in every sense, and it would be the children she bore him that would carry on the family line. And there would be no deception on his part when they were courting. If she wanted to have lovers openly, and ended up pregnant as a result, the War Wizards and the Heralds would be magically checking genetics to make sure the children that resulted were "blood" or illegitimate. Like most kingdoms in the Realms, blood inheritance has strict rules. However, there ARE variances from family to family about heirs: in some, eldest child regardless of gender, in some, eldest female, in most eldest male. (I.e. families have their own rules.) In the same way, an Obarskyr (the royal family) can't inherit the crown if they've been brought back from the dead. (On paper, anyway.) |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2024 : 14:06:57
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On noble families on the Sword Coast with connection to the Elemental Plane of Fire
Reedhalloran Duskfellow — 06/15/2023 12:07 PM
Dearest @Ed Greenwood, so appreciate your presence here. Wondering if you have any good rumors or secrets about Noble families on the sword coast specifically relating to any connection with the elemental plane of fire. I imagine there's been many a deal with an Efreeti over the centuries.
Ed Greenwood — 06/26/2023 1:16 AM
Oh, yes. The wealthy, successful Kadantur and Shaur merchant families of Athkatla are both known (repeated gossip, down the years) to be able to “stroll unscathed through fire” (after the Shaur family rescued ledgers and deeds from a mansion fire, seen by many). There’s also the Barandur family in Baldur’s Gate, who’ve recently ‘miraculously’ survived some devastating fires. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2024 : 14:16:54
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On the nature of the "hard luck" that befell Victoro Cassalanter
Reedhalloran Duskfellow — 06/26/2023 4:45 AM
@Ed Greenwood thank you as always for your wonderful responses to us all.
I was curious if you had any non-NDA insight into the nature of the "hard luck" that befell Victoro Cassalanter (and Ammalia by extension?) that led them to join a cult of Asmodeus to regain their standing. It seems like a great distance to fall especially from the height of Caldorn Cassalanter being Open Lord. (unclear if Victoro is a son or later descendant from the wiki).
Ed Greenwood — 06/26/2023 7:06 AM
I do have insight, but it’s heavily NDA’d (a tale someone at Wizards may have wanted to tell). I will try to check and see how much I can say, and get back to you (and of course, this will take a while). |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2024 : 14:19:03
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On vampires seeing someone vomit up blood or have bloody stool
Melody — 06/26/2023 6:39 AM
@Ed Greenwood I'm going to leave this one here in the hopes it makes you laugh. I couldn't get this off my mind the other day and it become a very silly discussion in the game world I play on.
We know that vampires eat blood and get hungry by the sight of it. But ...
What happens if they see someone vomit up blood or have bloody stool? :MelodyTeehee: Is that "ew, gross, I'm leaving the room now" or are they still somehow hungry?
Ed Greenwood — 06/26/2023 7:12 AM
Heh. The sight and “iron tang” smell of red blood makes vampires hungry, human blood most of all regardless of what race the vampire is, but being hungry isn’t the same as starving and will eat anything, RIGHT NOW. Vampires who aren’t brain-damaged or mentally influenced by magic or poison or whatever to not be thinking clearly are always thinking of quality blood meals at the right time, and procuring and protecting a reliable future supply of same. So they might stealthily drink from one person but not reveal their presence to others, even though it means bless now, because it means more blood later.
I DO see vampire “camp followers” in the Realms traveling with armies, not drinking blood from a single living, hale soldier because they can sup from the battle dead and the dying left on the battlefield to get all they need.
Blood makes vampires hungry but they are NOT insatiable; they can get “uncomfortably full” and just stop imbibing.
Which is a very long-winded answer of saying only a desperate vampire would likely rush to consume vomited blood or a bloody stool; the quality of blood in such sources is lessened. It’s like eating spoiled food when you think good hearty food can soon be had. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2024 : 14:24:55
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On Gond knowing everything about Technology
Jenzar El — 06/28/2023 10:56 AM
@Ed Greenwood How much does Gond know about technology Oddly, the Realms of 5,000 years ago has about the near exact same technology in 1500DR.
So, does Gond know 'near' everything about Technology? And what exactly is his limit? It would seem he knows more then all mortals in Realmspace. But to what limit? Would Gond know about radio? Electricity? Quantum Computers? Some might say Gond only "knows" what mortals know. Does he just sit around and wait for mortals to invent things and then he looks at it and goes "oh". So Gond would not know anything about a computer until some mortal invents it first?
Ed Greenwood — 06/28/2023 11:49 AM
Gond can foresee potential: what raw materials can work with which others (in alloys and amalgams), but NOT infusions or collisions with magic. Gond knows all about electricity. He knows about radiation and waves moving through ether. He does not know about radio as a tech, but he does know about natural radio waves (radiation; our tech is a means of capturing, modulating, and generating our own). Gond knows about jigs and automating processes, mechanically, but not about semiconductors and the miniaturization of circuit boards into chips. Tech in the Realms is not our real-world tech, and may not develop the same way (as we don't in our real world have "zap" instant magic). My father was a radar physicist who ended up a university prof teaching it after a long career in military and commercial applications, and we had long conversations about tech developing atop tech; he cautioned me not to assume our real-world tech is "absolute" and historical was more primitive, and that the way our world had gone was "the" way. Battery technology, for example, has lagged behind "what we want to do" for decades. And mortals, in the Realms, cannot know what gods know and don't know. WE know that the gods of the Realms are fallible, and their foreseeing is really good guessing, not absolute and mistake-free. Gond inspires his clergy to talk to inventors about this and that, and to experiment with this and that themselves (and sometimes prohibits experimentation [e.g. gunpowder], to try to "steer" innovation, so he obviously can know what mortals can't see yet. However, it's best for DMs to leave this as nebulous/fuzzy as possible, not have guiding principles and limits set in stone. The fine art of worldbuilding NEEDS wiggle room as breathing space. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2024 : 14:29:25
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On the official language of Neverwinter
Genghis Sean — 06/27/2023 5:22 AM
Hello Ed! What is the official language of Neverwinter? Is Chondathan or Illuskan more common?
Ed Greenwood — 06/29/2023 3:50 AM
Neverwinter has no ‘official’ language. Most folk speak and write Common, as do Lord Dagult Neverember and other recent rulers and notable local citizens. Most decrees and documents are in Common. Both Chondathan and Illuskan dialects and pronunications are heard, but most folk use them as useful additions to Common, in the same way that real-world English borrows phrases and words from French and other languages for everyday use. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2024 : 14:31:49
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On how complex is the Common tongue
Genghis Sean — 06/29/2023 4:27 AM
Thank you so much for the response! I do have a follow up question then, since I was under the impression common was more simple. How complex is the common tongue compared to the other languages of the realms? If two people had common as their only shared language, is there anything they would have a hard time communicating? Is there anyone who's native language is common?
Ed Greenwood — 06/29/2023 11:12 AM
The Common Tongue is like English in our real world: where it has gaps, it borrows words or entire phrases from other languages (like lumps not stirred into a stew), and so it's always becoming larger, broader, and more versatile. There are racial traits (like differences in acuity of vision, and therefore shades of color) that can be hard to explain to someone who can't experience them, which is why those "borrowed" words and phrases get borrowed, but otherwise there wouldn't be all that many difficulties unless situations impose word limits (cutting down on explanations to overcome vocabulary shortfalls). And of course occupations and guilds use their own jargon. And yes, there are increasing numbers of urban dwellers whose native tongue is Common.
Ic3hell — 06/27/2023 9:45 AM
Hopping onto this, do countries usually speak more common than the official language, or is it usually only spoken by merchants and the likes?
Ed Greenwood — 06/29/2023 11:17 AM
Except in rural areas or in situations where speakers are trying to exclude someone (an outlander, someone lower class, or someone not part of a guild or society), Common is increasingly, in the 1490s DR, spoken more than anything else. In cities, particularly ports and cities on major trade routes, Common (with a sprinkling of local words and phrases) is predominantly spoken. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2024 : 14:34:48
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On a breeding program result in unusually powerful mages
JoeChang — 07/02/2023 7:49 AM
Hi @Ed Greenwood We know from families like the Wands and Margasters that there's a hereditary factor to spellcasting ability. In the Realms could a breeding program (like the Gene Gesserit from Dune) result in unusually powerful mages? So in game terms, faster level progression, more spell slots, and spell bonuses.
Ed Greenwood — 07/03/2023 4:39 AM
Yes, a breeding program could result in more individuals born with the Gift, and a stronger Gift in some of them (more ability to wield the Art, rising faster in mastery either self-taught as sorcerers, or under tutelage as wizards, with their personal experimentations being more often fruitful and less often failures or disasters).
However, even when Mystra and Azuth take a personal hand in breeding programs, they are chancy and unpredictable. What works better (see Laeral) is when the deity can personally implant an ability, through mind-sharing and mind-tinkering, with someone who already has the Gift. The “imbue with spell ability” spell is temporary at best if the Gift is lacking.
So most breeding programs, which seek to pair powerful or accomplished spellcasters, in hopes (and that’s all they are, “hopes”) their offspring or subsequent descendants will be more powerful wielders of the Art, are failures or faint successes. Even more so with spellfire. (Hereditary Gift seems to be recessive for generations, and “wild talents” like spellfire or far less powerful things like darkvision or a spontaneous ability to detect magic or have true sight, even moreso.) |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2024 : 14:41:09
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On why Queen Filfaeril didn't start helping Alusair until 1379
returnip — 07/03/2023 9:53 PM
Hello Ed. In your video about Queen Filfaeril you mention that she helped Alusair run the show from 1379 to 1384 (when Azoun V was old enough to take the crown). With Azoun IV passing away several years before that, how come she didn't start helping Alusair until 1379? Was this a mistake on your end or is there some other explanation, like maybe she was in grieving in those years after his death up until 1379?
Ed Greenwood — 07/04/2023 1:33 AM
Queen Fee was doing what she always did in the months and years following her beloved’s death: keeping the nobles in line through constant personal networking, and making “for Suzail” decisions and running the Court (with Laspeera), reassuring everyone that “Cormyr is still here.” She knew her daughter’s character, and so knew she had to give Alusair an unfettered chance to BE Regent for a bit and wield real power—and she did.
And when Alusair tired of being supreme power in the kingdom, Fee was there to be hostess for envoys and nobles, the part of the job that Alusair detested…and cannily waiting until Alusair came to her, to ask her to take on more. So that’s why it was 1379 DR before they were really a daily, mutually-supportive team. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jan 2024 : 10:01:29
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On the special (magical) properties of brass in the Realms
rweston_DnD — 07/04/2023 1:16 AM
Hello @Ed Greenwood, I hope the day is treating you well!
I was wondering if you could share what the special (magical) properties of brass might be in the Realms. Many of the magic rings in your novels are described as being made of plain brass, or is that just a final illusion on some magic rings to make them seem inconsequential?
Ed Greenwood — 07/04/2023 1:37 AM
The “plain brass ring” feature comes from the root D&D game: that’s how Gary described almost all magical rings as appearing. So when writing my own new contributions to the game, the lore had to “fit.” Yes, it makes magic rings seem mundane, and brass, an alloy, can be crafted to either be magically neutral (so, a good, stable base to build on) or magically receptive to certain sorts/schools of enchantments—that is, to match whatever functions the ring has—(and so, a better base to build upon). |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jan 2024 : 10:04:10
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On Null the Draconic God of Death
Jace Walker, Planar Traveler — 07/04/2023 10:53 AM
Hail and well met @Ed Greenwood , I've got a question about Null the Draconic God of Death. Is there anything you can tell us about the entity as I haven't been able to find much on them and I'm looking to possibly use them as a final BBEG.
Ed Greenwood — 07/06/2023 7:06 AM
Congratulations; you’ve just spurred me to do a new Patreon entry on Null, as my answer to you become longer, and longer, and longer. ;} As befits a lore reply here, it should end up as a free Patreon thing, not behind the paywall. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jan 2024 : 10:09:29
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On the Order of the Steel Fang
Melody — 07/03/2023 8:44 AM
@Ed Greenwood Hey Ed! Is there anything more you can tell us about the Order of the Steel Fang, an elite militant order within the church of Tempus active around 1372 DR?
I'm curious about how often they were hired, by whom, any particular history or members you can reveal?
Ed Greenwood — 07/06/2023 7:13 AM
Part 1 The Order of the Steel Fang was founded in 1352 DR, but was inspired by an in-church ad hoc group of adventuring clergy assembled as a ‘strike force’ and known as the Steel Fang of the God, so mentions of the Fang before 1352 are of this group, not the Order that sprang from them (and was initially headed by their senior surviving members).
Officially, the church preferred to hire out the Order as bodyguards for royal heirs or other important persons (to ensure their survival), or as guards for the regalia of a kingdom (they already performed this function for sacred objects being transported from temple to temple or shrine, within the Church of Tempus), rather than as “aggressive” mercenaries, but over time, patrons hiring them grew increasingly skillful at deploying Steel Fang elements in situations where the best defense was a swift and decisive offense.
Concern within the Church grew over the increasingly political profile of the faith (seen by others not caring about who hired whom first, as the faith of Tempus “taking sides” in various secular disputes, notably the seemingly-endless “small wars” within Chessenta and up and down the Vilhon, as family heirs feuded over who would rule, and barons sought to slay neighboring barons and annex their baronies. So what was initially a few and hesitant hirings, by the wealthiest and most desperate royalty (and rebel nobility) soon became scores and then hundreds of petty hirings, of a score of Fangs or less to “just do this one little thing.” The coffers of the Church of Tempus had never been so full, but the senior clergy—and Tempus himself—were less than pleased.
Inevitably, the situation arose (in the fall of 1466 DR) where elements of the Steel Fang hired by different patrons clashed with each other on the battlefield, at a battle now known as “The Tempuswrath.” Fang shedding the blood of Fang for coin angered Tempus, who appeared on the field, rising in height to tower over the forces. He ignored...
Part 2 …the arrows and spears pincushioning him and reached down to personally slay the patrons who’d hired the Fang members, then told His Fangs, in a voice heard clearly for miles, to “go home to your altars, and leave these leaderless folk to fight their own battles.” He then vanished, in a clap of thunder. The result was that the Fang members promptly departed the battlefield, and the leaderless remaining combatants settled some personal scores, milled about for a time, then wandered away in confusion.
The Steel Fang survives to this day, but no longer as a mercenary force for hire by outsiders. Rather, its few survivors became, in 1467 DR, a “strike force” and enforcement arm of the Church of Tempus used for discipline within the faith (to stamp out schisms) and to protect temples and assets of the Church of the Wargod.
Early leaders of the Order include Prestrur Tharaldron, Neztralarra “Mighty Mace” Maesadrar, and the hulking Holkur Obrannath (all veteran fighting clergy), and later “sword” leaders (battle groups of the Order became known as “Swords of The God” after initial naming of them as Fangs grew too confusing; using that one word, was one speaking of the Order, of individual members, of a patrol or bodyguard detail, or of a strike force or small army?) included Bors Andrurvelkh; Cadalanth Norvruu; Faraelra “Manyfangs” Varurshield (so named because she wore dozens of knives into battle that she hurled in all directions with deadly accuracy, more than once slicing bowstrings of foes); Erendralon; Farlon “Firehammer” Adalon, who was infamous for erupting in fury at bloodthirsty patrons who wanted his Sword to ride down and slaughter fleeing civilians after a victory, to eradicate “the other side;” and Galadaera Mrorsun. Most of these Sword leaders were quick-witted expert tacticians who responded instantly to battlefield threats, to both preserve the lives of the Fang members fighting under them, and to snatch victory out of likely defeat...
Part 3 …(often due to stupid tactics on the part of the patrons hiring them).
In the 1490s DR, the Order has no one leader, but is directed by a Council of senior Wargod clergy, but prominent Sword leaders serving in the Order include Havalorn “Old Sword” Jeztorren; Nathamurra “Nineswords” Kloevrylda [“Cl-OWE-vrild-ah”], her nickname derived from the magical swords she’s battle-captured and then given to the Church; and Junster Tarvrabuld (who in looks and manner, seems to be a younger echo of Mirt the Moneylender).
Melody — 07/06/2023 7:20 AM
Thank you Ed, this is wonderfully expansive!
Ed Greenwood — 07/06/2023 7:21 AM
My pleasure! SO happy to be able to finally answer one for you! ;} |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jan 2024 : 10:14:21
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On how moving is (legally) conducted in the Realms
Nameless801 — 07/04/2023 10:19 PM
Hello Ed! I am in the midst of a move, and it made me wonder how moving is (legally) conducted in the Realms. By this I mean, down payments (or rent deposit), paperwork, address change, etc. Do any of these aspects exist in the Realms?
Ed Greenwood — 07/07/2023 10:45 AM
Usually not. In most places in the Realms, the authorities (aside from egregious tenant behavior, like fire-setting) are concerned only with owners: who registers or transfers (fee involved, and sometimes temple cleric witnesses) the deeds, and pays the taxes.
So an owner rents to tenants on their own, collects taxes “out of” the rents, and remits them. Businesses have signed leases (shops, rented space in warehouses or the whole warehouse) with paperwork that includes renters’ [business] addresses, etc.) but most tenants have nothing in writing and no rights; a landlord can turf them out on a whim, or even send a hired gang of toughs (“bullyblades”) to do so. On the other hand, deposits are rare: you secure a place by paying rent. Many tenants, when they need or want to move, simply leave (no notice to the landlord, as none is required). Exceptions to this tend to be either new accommodations built and rented out by a local lord, baron, or wealthy and powerful merchant, in towns or rural areas, and properties in large cities (such as Waterdeep, and Suzail) where either the local authorities are diligent and organized, or there have been problems in the past (in Waterdeep, for example, many problems arose when guilds got pushy and nobles objected, and in Suzail, Sembians started quietly buying up all vacant or rundown city properties and then jacking up the rents). The response to problems is always: regulations with regular inspections, and paperwork for everything, and fees for it all—so the poor lose out, and often have to move (away). |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jan 2024 : 10:18:03
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On the greatest places of learning and sources of knowledge in Faerun
Gahbreeil — 07/04/2023 11:28 PM
@Ed Greenwood I had one more question during the last Q&A that I didn't ask. Besides Thay and Candlekeep, what are the greatest places of learning and sources of knowledge in Faerun?
Ed Greenwood — 07/07/2023 10:47 AM
“Greatest” always turns into a reputation competition, and sources of knowledge isn’t the same thing as greatest places of learning. For instance, I’d put the Heralds Holdfast neck-and-neck with Candlekeep as a source of knowledge, but narrower in scope, and far less in learning because it’s restricted to the Heralds.
However, for places that combine both, there’s the Leaves of Learning temple of Oghma in Highmoon, Deepingdale. A smaller settlement than many, and so, often overlooked or considered inferior to libraries or temples of Oghma and Deneir in larger cities. Yet it has a superb collection, and senior clergy who really know their way around it, and so can guide a learner to the most factual writings, selectively, to learn what they’re interested in quickly.
Its collection pales, however, before both that of Candlekeep and The Master's Library, which many sages say has the best book collection on Toril. It’s a temple of Deneir on Iron Dragon Mountain in the Earthfast Mountains (between Impiltur and the Vast).
Among the foremost “working” libraries open to the public is Agharaunt’s Tomes in Tarmalune Great Port, in Laerakond. Here, anyone can browse the collection by hiring a khoront (library staff guide) to accompany them, and act as their scribe, and the place is set up to swiftly retrieve specific facts (names, dates, amounts, salient wordings of legal agreements) for patrons.
And if it’s pleasure reading you seek in a library, Zazesspur hosts a new club (a branch will be opening in Waterdeep soon) called the Lordly Lion’s Den, where patrons who pay an entry fee, and for their drinks separately, can lounge in a chair or couch, reading whatever they find on the shelves of donated and purchased chapbooks. Which can be anything from lurid accounts of serial murders to hilarious novels of social satire involving idiot nobles in imaginary baronies to romance—lots and lots of romance, some of it lustily explicit and involving improbable...[Part 2 follows]
[Part 2]: unions of tentacled beings, dragons, pixies, and even amorous gelatinous cubes. The Den has had to expand thrice, by knocking holes in the walls to connect the adjacent, newly-purchased buildings, and has become a vast labyrinth of cozy corners for readers, where the only affronts that result in swift ejection are harming books or making too much noise for readers to enjoy their reads. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jan 2024 : 10:21:22
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On "Freezefire" in Ice Peak Island
Lucio — 07/04/2023 12:16 AM
Hi Ed, while still reading "The North guide" any lore about the White Dragon "Freezefire" in Ice Peak Island?
Ed Greenwood — 07/07/2023 10:48 AM
See the “Treasures of the Savage Frontier” video game (SSI, Stormfront, 1992) for more about Thlaaklauthimir (Freezefire), who was an ancient white he-dragon resistant to much magic—and immune to all cold, poisons, and death magic effects. Freezefire had a huge hoard of treasure, and had prolonged his life by falling into stasis for long periods thanks to the magic in a huge faceted gemstone he clutched.
Eventually (1358 DR) he was slain by adventurers, and soon afterwards butchered (dismembered) to make certain of his demise—but as no one destroyed the gem, he’s not gone forever, but will return over time thanks to the gem’s magic. This has happened at least twice already, and he may well be arising into life somewhere in Faerûn even now.
If the gem itself is attacked, it emits rolling-outwards walls of fire (two in swift succession, about ten feet apart), or ice storms (again, two moving, arc-shaped “wall” storms separated by about ten feet). These emissions move about twice as fast as most humans can move, and they are where the nickname “Freezefire” came from, not the fact that Thlaaklauthimir [“Thlack-LOTH-im-meer”] is a white dragon.
Lucio — 07/07/2023 9:04 PM
@Ed Greenwood Thanks a lot for those answers, they bring some followup questions though. About Freezefire such mechanics remind a lot of a phylactery, is Freezefire a dracolich of some sort thanks to that gem or the gem is a different kind of artifact altogether? About Berranzo, who discovered the Island and the mines within? I mean how did Calimshan knew of such a rich mining site in the Frozenfar basically a continent away and in a territory that even today is pretty much uncharted?
Ed Greenwood — 07/07/2023 9:28 PM
The gem is still largely mysterious, the stasis field for those holding it (which can be mentally “set” for a given duration, so you can choose how long you’ll be in stasis if left undisturbed) being just one of several properties. Freezefire isn’t a dracolich, but a “normal” dragon who just used the gem to last a long time.
Various ambitious satraps of Calimshan have a long tradition of hiring adventuring bands to explore the Realms for investment and exploitation opportunities (akin to real-world European nations establishing empires for what they could extract from the conquered or occupied areas), that began during the djinn rule. Berranzo was one such discovery—so it was adventurers exploring natural caves on the island who discovered the uppermost reaches of rich gold veins, and were amazed, as they went deeper, to find the vein widening as it descended. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jan 2024 : 10:25:11
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On snow at the tops of the Storm Horns and Thunder Peaks
JoeChang — 06/30/2023 1:50 PM
Hi @Ed Greenwood are the tops of the Storm Horns and Thunder Peaks white with snow?
Ed Greenwood — 07/07/2023 10:49 AM
In winter, yes. In summer, only the highest points of the tallest peaks in the ranges are permanently snowclad, except in deep ravines and clefts where the sun never reaches.
For the Stormhorns, this means the southernmost and westernmost two-thirds of the range (so if you’re using the Mike Schley map, that’s “The Stormhorns” but not “The Eastern Stormhorns”), and for the Thunder Peaks, some clusters of peaks on either side (north and south) of where the East Way crosses the range (so on the Schley map, right under the “unde” of the “Thunder” tag, the westernmost third of the spur of peaks that curves to the northeast, and four mountains under and immediately bracketing the “derh” of the “Thunderholme” tag. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jan 2024 : 10:28:41
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On elvish warriors who used two handed weapons
Razgriz — 07/03/2023 11:20 AM
Hey Ed!
Looking at older editions, most moon blades references are longswords which makes sense due to elvish training in them. However, in older editions some weapons, like great swords, were significantly better versus larger creatures.
For elves that hunted dragons, or other greater beasts that threatened their forest realms, was there any renowned elvish warriors whom used two handed weapons even if they did not support the bladesong style? And did elves create any moon blades of greatswords or other forms of elvish artifacts / enchanted weapons with such?
Ed Greenwood — 07/07/2023 10:49 AM
Over the great sweep of history, some elves have used whipswords (very long, thin blades made to lash and curl when swung, with barbs at their ends), great swords, and two-handed swords against large foes, but the long and complicated series of enchantments that create a moonblade have thus far only been perfected for longswords. I’m sure some elf is trying, somewhere, to successfully confer similar powers on other sorts of weapons, and certain dwarf and gnome smiths have long labored to try to make their own moonblade-equivalents, but so far they’ve succeeded only in making…rough equivalents that share some properties with moonblades. Gnome-crafted versions of these in particular tend to be daggers or other smaller-than-longsword edged weapons. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jan 2024 : 10:30:55
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On Gontal and Queen Imreera
The Director — 06/27/2023 3:05 AM
@Ed Greenwood Question about Gontal and Queen Imreera.
Her main interest in the barrens is that just an academic's curiosity or is she hoping to unearth something to defend her land from the Dragons? Or does she have more nefarious intentions?
Ed Greenwood — 07/07/2023 10:50 AM
Queen Imreera Hethkantan wants to make Gontal prosperous and great (that is, able to export bulk amounts of something valuable like gold or other metals, or enchanted material), and to increase her personal magical power, as she’s always fearful that someone will realize she’s a formidable mage but not a truly powerful one, and will seek to slay her and take the realm.
Her many hirings of adventurers to explore the perilous, monster-haunted Barrens and bring her back lore began when she personally breached a tomb while lore-seeking, and spoke with the ghost of a servant of the dawn titan Nehushta who told her of some of the weapons, magic, and “making means” (manufacturing processes) that were to be found when the fortress of Glaur was at its height. Imreera seeks to recover some of these, and make Gontal rich, influential, and more populous. She’s long wondered if she can trust her dream-visions of the future: are they echoes of things likely to come to pass, or is some fell entity in the Barrens—perhaps some vestige or remnant of Nehushta herself—sending them to manipulate Imreera into plundering the Barrens in such a way as to unleash, or restore, Nehushta or some other entity imprisoned there?
Cunning and fearful, Imreera has decided to proceed, as it’s the only glimpse of greater power on offer to her. (She hasn’t invited large parties of dwarves or gnomes to explore the subterranean “deeps” of the Barrens, because she fears they will just keep what they find and cut her out of any magical and ore spoils.) An early adventuring band she sent in was reduced to just two battered survivors who came back out, and they fled rather than face a second expedition—but they did tell Imreera that they’d found all-metal guardian automatons twice as tall as most humans, whose bodies, melted down, could be made to yield great “pure metal ingots” wealth, even if nothing else was brought up out of the Deeps. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jan 2024 : 10:37:31
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On Berranzo in the Frozenfar
Lucio — 07/03/2023 12:01 AM
@Ed Greenwood Was reading "The North" supplement and I found out about Calishite's colony and mining site Berranzo in the Frozenfar, what brought Calimshan soo far in the North? The little tidbits suggests such a colony was born during the Genie's ruling as wizards used fire elementals to refine the ore immediately. Is there any secret about that location you can share? What kind of metals/ore were they mining?
Ed Greenwood — 07/07/2023 10:51 AM
The mining colony of Berranzo in the Frozenfar was established to exploit huge veins of nigh-pure gold, platinum, and silver found at the site, running northeast-southwest in a long and “tall” (from the Upperdark all the way down to the Lowerdark) column. These deposits have been almost entirely worked out now (so Berranzo lies abandoned), but at the time were the largest and purest known anywhere in western Faerûn, and sufficient in size to turn Calimshan from a rich empire into the wealthiest power known, able to outspend anyone else effortlessly while barely noticing any depletion of the high-heaped gold and silver. Which meant they could fund any amount of mercenary armies to conquer anywhere, or do what they did instead: build the best large irrigation and sanitation systems ever seen, and so expand their farm production both in yields and in worth-farming area, and truly rule the Lake of Steam cities on a daily basis instead of dominating them and sending decrees that were often ignored.
One of the reasons Berranzo was so swiftly abandoned, rather than delvers being sent to dig and explore in all directions to see if more deposits could be found when the main lode ran out, was that something was unleashed by the mining—something fell and sentient, that slew mages as well as miners, so swiftly that only a few Berranzans got out alive. Their tales of what they faced conflict, which either means these foes were varied, or that the foes made much use of illusions and mind-deceptions…or both. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2024 : 09:32:06
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On Shaengarne Ford in 15th century DR
Juniper Churlgo — 06/23/2023 3:37 AM
Icewind Dale Q for Ed. How's the logging village of Shaengarne Ford doing in 15th century?
Ed Greenwood — 07/07/2023 10:53 AM
It’s flourishing, largely because orc and goblin attacks have been nigh-unknown since the 1450s DR. So the village is growing, with large timber-frame, earth-berm-sheltered homes, with turf-over-board roofs planted with herbs and edible vine fruits and vegetables being built here, there, and everywhere, and the older ones expanded.
The (relatively) mild weather of the last three decades has resulted in “wild” tree growth, and so, plentiful supplies of timber for the sawmill, which has become the main supplier of dressed lumber for Targos and the Ten Towns, which are also booming.
So this is the closest thing to a “golden age” Shaengarne Ford has yet experienced. Move in while you can! |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2024 : 09:36:40
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On Kossuth and Gond banning gunpowder together
Sheepy — 06/14/2023 7:34 AM
Friend @Ed Greenwood, I find there is some apparently conflicting information from your pen. On Twitter, on April 22, 2017, you said "the Firelord (Kossuth) decreed it so; natural or creature-made attempts to combine ingredients into what we would call gunpowder are absorbed by him (no blast as he takes energy)." On April 29, 2019, you said "Gond is the being who banned gunpowder from EXPLODING (burning very rapidly) and igniting (burning with an open flame)."
So are both working together to ban gunpowder, or do those in the know, in-setting, disagree on which one it was – or am I misunderstanding something? Also, you explained why Gond did this; why would Kossuth do this?
Ed Greenwood — 07/07/2023 10:54 AM
You have come upon conflicting common knowledge in the Realms that arises from the claims of rival priesthoods (Gond and Kossuth) both saying THEIR god did it. Strictly speaking, there’s no contradiction: Kossuth told his clergy that he would absorb the energy of gunpowder blasts (that is, explosions resulting from the flame-ignition of the right mix of charcoal, saltpeter, and sulfur) so no explosion would occur, only a steady burning, and Gond told HIS clergy that he used his divine power to render gunpowder inert (exploding or burning). In the Realms today, other mixtures (“smoke powder,” which is NOT the same as real-world historical “smokepwoder”) do explode or burn, but gundpowder does neither.
Kossuth did this because he’s Lord of Flame, and explosions so shorten the experience of flames for beings nigh an explosion (and often also shorten their lifespans, drastically!) that they “lose reverence for his power, and the power and beauty of all-consuming flame” in favor of respecting and fearing explosions. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2024 : 09:39:07
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On Kiputytto as Bane's wife, companion or lover
Evrat — 05/18/2023 5:31 AM
Hi Everyone and @Ed Greenwood ,
A few years ago, I remember reading that Kiputytto (former Goddess of Disease, killed by Talona) had been Bane's wife, companion or lover.
My brain may have misfired. Could you please enlighten me if I was dreaming or not.
Ed Greenwood — 07/07/2023 10:55 AM
Kiputytto was indeed briefly the lover of Bane, but their time together ended when she realized he was trying (vainly, though he did weaken her, which is what aroused her suspicions) to work magic on her to steal her divine powers during their couplings.
Their clergies told different versions of the relationship, and as it was both fleeting and private, likely only have what the deities said, plus priestly embroiderment, to go on. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2024 : 09:41:44
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On international relations between Waterdeep and the Lands of Intrigue
Ic3hell — 07/07/2023 4:09 AM
Hello to all. @Ed Greenwood, could you tell us more about how international relations are between Waterdeep and the Lands of Intrigue? (Specifically Tethyr).
Ed Greenwood — 07/08/2023 12:23 AM
Certainly! International relations between Waterdeep, Tethyr, Amn, and Calimshan are superb during the 1490s DR, with trade thriving in an unrestricted manner. Historically, there have been rivalries between Waterdeep and Athkatla, and a certain degree of frostiness between Calimshan and Waterdeep (over what the Masked Lords, nobles, and guilds in Waterdeep have seen as Calimshan’s attempts to imperially dictate weights, measures, methods of payment, etc. as if superior to Waterdeep), but Calimshan’s recent economic downturns and internal strife put an end to those attempts, as the humbled Calishite humans, free of Skyfire warring and genasi rule, were eager to trade with anyone and everyone, and in no position to try to dictate or dominate anything. Rural Calimshan remains dangerous, with many opportunities for mercenaries and adventurers to swing swords or stand guard for hire.
Under the Council of Five, Amn is eager to have friendlier trade relations with all neighbors than they enjoyed previously, as they saw themselves falling behind economically thanks to being outcompeted by Baldur’s Gate, Waterdeep, and Tethyr, and due to ongoing skirmishes with the “monster kingdom” of Muranndin (which is now reduced to scattered monsters who’ve fled into the Small Teeth and the Wealdath, making the latter in particular perilous at this time).
For its part, Tethyr has enjoyed both relative peace (though rural bandits and “highwaymen” remain a problem in rural eastern areas) and bumper harvests throughout the 1480s, with the result that coffers are more than full and Tethyrians have excess xoin to invest aboard and in ships and shipping cargoes. This has led many Tethyrian sailors to dare long voyages to Laerakond, and bring back goods from there that have further enriched Tethyr; its caravan companies are booming, and the authorities have embarked on a concerted campaign to rebuild bridges and improve roads and roadside amenities (from campsites... [Part 2 follows]
[Part 2] to inns with night-lit paddocks) all over Tethyr. Certain Tethyrian merchant families have risen sharply in wealth from the 1470s onwards, and three of them (the houses of Cathlodar [“Kath-LOW-dar”], Mulhanaer [“Mull-HANN-nair”], and Sarshoal [“SAR-show-ll”]) have grown so bold as to send their own envoys to important Sword Coast ports, from Neverwinter on south to Calimport, and the Tashalar beyond, to make trade deals (without the blessing, oversight, or permission of the Queen or her court—who have not reacted with any public anger, or any public statements at all, but are believed to be spying to discern motives and loyalties ere doing anything).
The Crown doesn’t have to worry about any challenges to the throne, as the most prominent speaker for, and face of, these “Risen Three” families is the elderly, gruff, limping, short, gravel-voiced, and ugly Gustavar Sarshoal, a trade-greedy pragmatist who wants nothing to do with politics or power, when he can toy with new goods, new ways of doing things, and new trading opportunities overseas—and frequently says so. “Don’t be a dolt” is what he often says to anyone who wants lower taxes or fewer laws and rules, and it has become a catch-phrase you’ll hear many folk in Tethyr say to each other.
Zazesspur has recently seen a rise in population and prosperity, and its shopkeepers are employing more and more crafters rather than merely repairers, so it’s becoming a source of household goods exports such as good chairs and mattresses.
In recent months, word has spread of new finds in the Starspire Mountains: large deposits of coal and potash (there are already copper and nickel mines). |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2024 : 09:45:06
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On the nature of the beef between Phalse and Moander
DMHFzoulf — 06/19/2023 5:00 AM
Hola @Ed Greenwood just wondering if you can detail the nature of the beef between Phalse and Moander? Thanks #128591;:)
Ed Greenwood — 07/08/2023 2:24 AM
Moander delights in being a tyrant, controlling lesser beings, often destroying them, and always if possible coercing or deceiving them into ruining individuals, places, things, and organizations or friendships dear to them.
Phalse (a hordling fiend from Carceri who in “true” form looks like a gigantic beholder with lamprey-like fanged mouths at the ends of his ten eyestalks rather than eyes (he does have a large central eye with a wide fanged maw under it, though his eye has no ant-magic powers, and he can grow more eyestalks than his customary ten at will, as well as regenerating lost eyestalks over about half a day, and injured ones within hours). Like Moander, Phalse also delights and tormenting his “playthings,” lesser beings he manipulates for his satisfaction.
Both Moander and Phalse often shift shape as they go about their ambitious business. And therein lies the origins of their centuries-old feud: Moander mistook Phalse (when Phalse was in halfling form, on Toril) as a lesser being to be toyed with, and tried to manipulate and mistreat him. In doing so, he interrupted a complex and long-drawn-out deception Phalse was enacting in Calimshan, stirring various satraps up against other satraps, with his end goal seeing how much open violence would break out in the land. Phalse’s work was wasted, and he was furious. He lashed out at Moander, then set about planning (as he always does, meticulously planning ahead) ways of duping, manipulating, and ultimately tormenting the Darkbringer.
And he succeeded, managing to bring about a collapse in a dwarven mine that plunged Moander (who was slithering along the surface in Abomination form, devouring a herd of cattle before he planned to swoop down on barns of gathered barley and consume them) down a rift into a lava flow the dwarves had uncovered in their delvings and were preparing to use as an ongoing forge-fire. Moander was horribly burned, fully two-thirds of his bulk being reduced to ash and... [Part 2 follows]
[Part 2] ...boiling-off gases. Greatly diminished, what was left of him vowed eternal vengeance on the cause of his calamity—and Phalse, in triumph, confronted Moander to gloat and take credit for the Jawed God’s agony.
And thus the feud began. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1449 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2024 : 09:47:36
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On theme song for Volo
Doc Webb — 06/12/2023 4:36 AM
@Ed Greenwood Hello sir! If you were to pick a (modern, non-Faerun) song as a theme for Volo in your games, what song(s) spring to mind? Thanks!
Ed Greenwood — 07/08/2023 2:36 AM
Heh. A fitting tune (instrumental, no lyrics) would be "Yakety Sax" (a saxophone hit by Homer Louis “Boots” Randolph III that was used as the theme for Benny Hill’s show, because of those real-world associations.
A fitting song (with lyrics) for Volo to sing would be “Feats Don't Fail Me Now” by Little Feat. And a fitting song for others to sing about Volo would be “Jackass” by Green Day. |
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Ed Greenwood from Greenwood's Grotto
