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Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
 Posted - 02 Jul 2004 : 06:30:32
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quote:
Originally posted by Capn Charlie
I had thought that ther were still some castles not so heavily regulated? More than a few I have read stil rent out rooms, but those are likely not in britain.
Several, actually. Remember, Britain is the island, not a country. Most of the English castles aren't open to the public, either because they're too old or they're privately owned. Anne McCaffery owns a Scottish castle she calls Dragonhame, actually. (I think that was the name.) I'm jealous. Though I have to wonder what the heating bill is like. 
The Welsh castles (or rather, English castles built in Wales) are in very good condition. I don't think any of them rent out rooms, but you can get a lot of walking tours.
Smaller castles do rent out rooms; this is both from people who buy the castles for that purpose, or from people who find that it's really hard to keep up their ancestral homes. I can't name any right now, but they're there.
In Ireland, there are at least two castles that are big tourist attractions. One (Dunbire? I can't remember) gives nightly feasts with traditional style (meaning it's finger-food), with mead and wine. Lots of dancing, song, and two people are chosen to be king and queen. (And someone gets thrown in the dungeon.  )
None of these, though, are likely to let people just come in with a gaming table. You might be able to set it up ahead of time, but I doubt it. You'd have better luck with one of the old-style taverns, I think. Even then the price wouldn't be worth it, in my opinion. |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
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Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jul 2004 : 06:38:45
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quote:
Originally posted by Capn Charlie
I have always been enamoured of ITalian food, especially the spices, seasonings and emphasis on tomatoes and carbs, but now find I aam in love wit htheir philosophy as well.
Sadly, anymore, I find I have to go to a good all you can eat joint to be left the hell alone enough to enjoy a lengthy meal, and be finished when I say I am, not some idiot with a spatula and half a high school education.
Well, if you ever come to DC, I'll direct you to a nice Italian resturaunt that I've never been kicked out of. No waiters, though they bring it to you. It's like a fast food place in some respects, but that's hard to do in an Italian way. (You'd be surpised at what the McDonald's places -- all four of them -- in Rome are like. Standard McD fare is less than half the menu.) The owner likes me -- I'm one of the few people whom he talks to that can speak enough Italian to at least order lunch.
(I was surprised at that -- every "Italian" place I'd been to in the US never had Italian speakers. But I decided to try this place and ordered in Italian, as I usually do -- it confuses the staff. But he just nodded and got my food.  ) |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
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Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jul 2004 : 06:40:53
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But we should probably start talking about Realms ethnicities again, don't you think?  |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
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Capn Charlie
Senior Scribe
USA
418 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jul 2004 : 07:04:50
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Or at least an application of some real world styles of eating and philosophies to the realms.
Ever since Ed's writeup of Turmish Cuisine I have been picturing it more and more with a very mediteranean feel.
What portion of the realms has a feel that is conducive to relaxive and drawn out dining? I could see certain parts of Sembia very much like the wy Venice was in the 1300s. With sembia's culture, it might be interesting to develop at least one region there with some old tradition where even in that country the people of a city sit down to a long two hour meal in the afternoon. Perhaps the story behind it is that at some point a god chided the populace for working themselves too hard, never enjoying one of the finest things of life. A commandment that is likely to be followed and embellished upon. |
Shadows of War: Tales of a Mercenary
My first stab at realms fiction, here at candlekeep. Stop on by and tell me what you think. |
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Sarelle
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
508 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jul 2004 : 10:42:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Bookwyrm
quote:
Originally posted by Capn Charlie
I had thought that ther were still some castles not so heavily regulated? More than a few I have read stil rent out rooms, but those are likely not in britain.
Several, actually. Remember, Britain is the island, not a country. Most of the English castles aren't open to the public, either because they're too old or they're privately owned. Anne McCaffery owns a Scottish castle she calls Dragonhame, actually. (I think that was the name.) I'm jealous. Though I have to wonder what the heating bill is like.
The Welsh castles (or rather, English castles built in Wales) are in very good condition. I don't think any of them rent out rooms, but you can get a lot of walking tours.
Smaller castles do rent out rooms; this is both from people who buy the castles for that purpose, or from people who find that it's really hard to keep up their ancestral homes. I can't name any right now, but they're there.
In Ireland, there are at least two castles that are big tourist attractions. One (Dunbire? I can't remember) gives nightly feasts with traditional style (meaning it's finger-food), with mead and wine. Lots of dancing, song, and two people are chosen to be king and queen. (And someone gets thrown in the dungeon. )
None of these, though, are likely to let people just come in with a gaming table. You might be able to set it up ahead of time, but I doubt it. You'd have better luck with one of the old-style taverns, I think. Even then the price wouldn't be worth it, in my opinion.
Ah but you speak of the castles that are restored, or constantly kept up like Windsor, or Tudor to Victorian mock-castles. Medieval castles, for the most part, are in ruins, and are looked after by the national Trust, to serve as tourist attractions. At least to my knowledge.
However, thinking back, I did have the opportunity to play D&D in a castle - one on a Greek island was wholly unregulated, and very often free of tourists. We used to go up there an awful lot. Of course in Greece I didn't have my gaming group, my books or my table.... but looking back I think playing D&D in the castle ruins would have been envigorating.
But yes, back to Realms ethnicities. |
Chair of the The Rightful Return of Monster Deities to FR Society (RRMDFRS)
My character, drawn by Liodain: Sarelle / Sarelle (smaller) |
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Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jul 2004 : 12:37:57
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I mentioned ruined castles. I didn't do any more than that, though, because it was the ones you can actually get into that were in question. I suppose you could sneak into a ruined one to play, but that would require complete stealth -- which means, likely, no lights. And while some of us play characters with darkvision, I doubt any of the players do.
quote:
Originally posted by Capn Charlie
With sembia's culture, it might be interesting to develop at least one region there with some old tradition where even in that country the people of a city sit down to a long two hour meal in the afternoon. Perhaps the story behind it is that at some point a god chided the populace for working themselves too hard, never enjoying one of the finest things of life. A commandment that is likely to be followed and embellished upon.
I don't know much about Sembia. However, I could imagine a goddess like Chauntea saying something like that. Or Lliira, perhaps. This might not mean a two-hour meal every day, but if there were some religious point to it, then perhaps once a week/tenday. And it could have been something very simple that was suggested.
I would point to real life, where the Jews (and some Christians) interperate the command to "Keep the Sabbath holy" as "Don't dare do anything to anger God -- in fact, don't do anything at all." Yes, it's simplistic, and doesn't carry everything. And the Jews were looking for rules like this. Every other people had things like this, where the priests instituted all these rules. I don't even think they knew it, but they probably couldn't imagine religion without it.
Well, I'd been planning on more things to say, but I think I've wandered off enough.  I was even planning on a mention of Judeo-Muslim dietary habits . . . . 
So, any way, the point is that such things can easily come as part of religion, as you pointed out. Of course, it's not necessary. Sometimes normal, secular events produce such traditions. After all, a visitor from the planet Lirot-Riba might look at the United States this weekend, see all the people exploding things in the sky and eating mostly the same type of food -- a long piece of meat (or meat-substitute) in a bit of baked plant matter. Often cooked the same way, outdoors at a sort of small alter, presided over by a priest with a white half-robe at some locations, after which the food is shared among the congregation.
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Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
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Capn Charlie
Senior Scribe
USA
418 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jul 2004 : 13:28:39
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don't even get me started with a theological discussion using real orld religions as examples, we could be here all night, and likely pull down the wrath of more than one faith upon my heads as a result.
THing is, I was suggesting it asa quaint custom in a small town somehere, with perhaps a light nap afterwards. I was picturing it more in the late afternoon, like around four or five o clock. Assuch it is a day capper in the winter, and a respite from working oneself to death in the long summer days. Likely you are right though, however I might stay away from doing it once per tenday, unless this is somehow part of the inspiration for the now opular rest day. |
Shadows of War: Tales of a Mercenary
My first stab at realms fiction, here at candlekeep. Stop on by and tell me what you think. |
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Windancer
Acolyte
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2004 : 03:08:05
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| That is a fact. There are many different people in the realms. I for one am a half elf who travels the realms. |
Windancer |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2004 : 05:26:05
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quote:
Originally posted by Bookwyrm
So, any way, the point is that such things can easily come as part of religion, as you pointed out. Of course, it's not necessary. Sometimes normal, secular events produce such traditions. After all, a visitor from the planet Lirot-Riba might look at the United States this weekend, see all the people exploding things in the sky and eating mostly the same type of food -- a long piece of meat (or meat-substitute) in a bit of baked plant matter. Often cooked the same way, outdoors at a sort of small alter, presided over by a priest with a white half-robe at some locations, after which the food is shared among the congregation.
That's a rather interesting point Bookwyrm. It's also an aspect of gameplay that I've dedicated some significant attention to. I like to think that such "small" cultural customs are at play regularly across many of the cities and nations in the Realms.
I've only put together a few notes so far (and mostly about Waterdeep and other small hamlets in the North), but it's a project that I wish to expand in order to include most of the Western Heartlands. One example includes details on the different eating and dietary habits of the various wards within the city.
It adds depth to roleplay - and depending on the amount of detail one dedicates to the creation of PCs - and, to the character as well.
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"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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jinat
Acolyte
35 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2004 : 19:33:52
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[/quote]
It adds depth to roleplay - and depending on the amount of detail one dedicates to the creation of PCs - and, to the character as well.
[/quote]
Amen to that sage. Its the little cultural details here and there that add atmosphere and depth to your FR setting. And it helps to have comparisions. Do you think that Suneites practice polygammy ? |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36875 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2004 : 22:41:07
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| I'd have to look for the exact quote when I get home, but according to Ed, Faerûnians are a lot more open about such things than we are. I believe his general statement was that so long as all involved are consenting adults, no one is going to pay too much attention to it. |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 07 Jul 2004 00:25:40 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36875 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jul 2004 : 06:41:34
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jinat, to better answer your last question, here's a couple things trimmed out of responses to questions on the "Ask Ed" scroll...
quote:
Alexandra (or Zandilar; which do you prefer?), yes, the "original" Realms had many lesbian, gay male, inter-race, and multiple-partner unions (as a matter of calm, everyday norm), but these were simply omitted from the printed version because of TSR's standards (which even forced the change of the word "brothel" on my maps to be changed to "festhall"). And no, to everyone, I'm not a lust-fixated man, I was merely taking the National Geographic approach: "I'm merely reporting what the natives are, and do..."
quote:
In ‘my’ Realms, there’s no stigma attached to homosexual relationships, only to any sexual behaviour that involves exploiting children, and any sexual behaviour that involves force or coercion (please note: WILLINGLY undergoing pain or bondage doesn’t count).
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Ethnicity
