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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 09 Feb 2005 : 15:09:48
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I’m sorry, Sage. I know, but I can’t tell. Remember the 'big eight' I hinted about, earlier? I can say that Ed has offered topic suggestions, WotC has laid out topics they’d like covered, and Ed delivers. At breakneck speed. BTW, I’m seeing a lot of two-parters later on . . . gosh, I’m good. love, THO
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36798 Posts |
Posted - 09 Feb 2005 : 23:30:21
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quote: Originally posted by The Hooded One
I’m sorry, Sage. I know, but I can’t tell. Remember the 'big eight' I hinted about, earlier? I can say that Ed has offered topic suggestions, WotC has laid out topics they’d like covered, and Ed delivers. At breakneck speed. BTW, I’m seeing a lot of two-parters later on . . . gosh, I’m good. love, THO
My dear Lady, do you know if the once-a-week Realmslore trend will continue? |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 10 Feb 2005 : 02:32:09
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Sorry, I can't tell you about frequency of appearances on the WotC website at all. I do know that Ed doesn't know when or sometimes even in what order columns will appear, that he usually writes these columns literally YEARS in advance (Nimbral, for instance, was 'in the can' long before Nimbral discussions arose here at Candlekeep), and that topic approval is necessary at the WotC end (Ed can suggest things, but not "write whatever he wants"). love, THO |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36798 Posts |
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 18 Feb 2005 : 20:39:56
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Maybe Melvos Hammstar is a nod to Rupert. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36798 Posts |
Posted - 18 Feb 2005 : 22:39:00
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quote: Originally posted by Faraer
Maybe Melvos Hammstar is a nod to Rupert.
It's a nice thought, but I find it doubtful. I've never met Ed, and I've not done much to make him notice me... Besides, later in the article it names the guy Melvos Hammerstar. I've no idea why the title and the name in the article don't match... |
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VEDSICA
Senior Scribe
USA
466 Posts |
Posted - 18 Feb 2005 : 22:59:54
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Thanks for the new lore Wooly.I kind of liked this article even though it is a little bit off from what I like to read in articles. |
LIFE,BIRTH,BLOOD,DOOM---THE HOLE IN THE GROUND IS COMING ROUND SOON----BLS |
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Reefy
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
892 Posts |
Posted - 19 Feb 2005 : 01:34:35
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Nice article, some long awaited Sembian lore. And the Realmslore continues to come every week, which can only be a good thing. |
Life is either daring adventure or nothing. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 19 Feb 2005 : 14:53:33
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This is the start of the eight-parter I alluded to earlier. VEDSICA, hang in there. Melvos Hammerstar (yes, an interesting typo in the article header) is a ‘typical’ Sembian merchant of his social class, not anyone earthshakingly-important. Ed uses him as the coat-rack on which to hang a series of articles describing Sembian financial wheeling and dealing, Sembian customs and attitudes, handy Realms terms for financial instruments, and so on. In other words, all the ‘background stuff’ to make Sembia work for a DM or players, beyond the glittering rich revelry and intrigue seen in the Sembian novels. After this series is done, I see a blizzard of two-parters, and then a nine (!) parter. Paid a flying visit to Ed last night, and we waltzed together on his snow-covered deck (I wanted to show him a new gown I’d been given). Wonder what the neighbours thought THIS time . . . love, THO
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36798 Posts |
Posted - 19 Feb 2005 : 17:26:44
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quote: Originally posted by The Hooded One
This is the start of the eight-parter I alluded to earlier. VEDSICA, hang in there. Melvos Hammerstar (yes, an interesting typo in the article header) is a ‘typical’ Sembian merchant of his social class, not anyone earthshakingly-important. Ed uses him as the coat-rack on which to hang a series of articles describing Sembian financial wheeling and dealing, Sembian customs and attitudes, handy Realms terms for financial instruments, and so on. In other words, all the ‘background stuff’ to make Sembia work for a DM or players, beyond the glittering rich revelry and intrigue seen in the Sembian novels. After this series is done, I see a blizzard of two-parters, and then a nine (!) parter. Paid a flying visit to Ed last night, and we waltzed together on his snow-covered deck (I wanted to show him a new gown I’d been given). Wonder what the neighbours thought THIS time . . . love, THO
Feel free to come to Florida to show off your gown, my lady.
Out of curiosity, will we get more info on Melvos himself, or is he only the vehicle by which we'll see Sembia? |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 19 Feb 2005 : 20:03:33
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Oh, no, Wooly; by the end of it, you'll know all about Melvos. Not crunch stats, of course (unless someone at the WotC end contributes some design additions), but his character, many of his activities, most of his aims, organizations he belongs to . . . all of that. The TRUE definition of any NPC. And if I ever get to Florida, you can help me off with my gown. After all, it'll be too hot for anything but lingerie, right? love, THO |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36798 Posts |
Posted - 19 Feb 2005 : 21:50:17
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quote: Originally posted by The Hooded One
Oh, no, Wooly; by the end of it, you'll know all about Melvos. Not crunch stats, of course (unless someone at the WotC end contributes some design additions), but his character, many of his activities, most of his aims, organizations he belongs to . . . all of that. The TRUE definition of any NPC.
Ah, good. Thank you for that info, my lady.
quote: Originally posted by The Hooded One
And if I ever get to Florida, you can help me off with my gown. After all, it'll be too hot for anything but lingerie, right? love, THO
It's certainly hot in here after that comment! |
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VEDSICA
Senior Scribe
USA
466 Posts |
Posted - 19 Feb 2005 : 22:40:51
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Well after all this talk of gowns coming off,and lingerie.I'll defintely hang in thereThough I will say that Melvos does intrigue me somewhat. |
LIFE,BIRTH,BLOOD,DOOM---THE HOLE IN THE GROUND IS COMING ROUND SOON----BLS |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31727 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2005 : 15:21:17
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quote: Originally posted by The Hooded One
This is the start of the eight-parter I alluded to earlier. VEDSICA, hang in there. Melvos Hammerstar (yes, an interesting typo in the article header) is a ‘typical’ Sembian merchant of his social class, not anyone earthshakingly-important. Ed uses him as the coat-rack on which to hang a series of articles describing Sembian financial wheeling and dealing, Sembian customs and attitudes, handy Realms terms for financial instruments, and so on. In other words, all the ‘background stuff’ to make Sembia work for a DM or players, beyond the glittering rich revelry and intrigue seen in the Sembian novels. After this series is done, I see a blizzard of two-parters, and then a nine (!) parter. Paid a flying visit to Ed last night, and we waltzed together on his snow-covered deck (I wanted to show him a new gown I’d been given). Wonder what the neighbours thought THIS time . . . love, THO
It's always as I imagined Sembians would be...
I'm looking forward to the continuation of this series greatly.
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Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36798 Posts |
Posted - 03 Mar 2005 : 05:44:35
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quote: Originally posted by The Sage
I'm looking forward to the continuation of this series greatly.
You're in luck, then. Part Two is up. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31727 Posts |
Posted - 03 Mar 2005 : 05:47:45
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As I've just noticed.
And you beat me to it as well . In fact I'd already posted an URL to the article a few seconds after your post. But, it's deleted now, so Wooly once again stands triumphant... .
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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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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36798 Posts |
Posted - 03 Mar 2005 : 11:25:43
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quote: Originally posted by The Sage
But, it's deleted now, so Wooly once again stands triumphant... .
As well I should. |
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Gerath Hoan
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
152 Posts |
Posted - 03 Mar 2005 : 13:12:55
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I'm loving this new Realmslore series, the first article in particular really won me over on Sembia, and i'm looking forward to exploring its countryside in some future games.
What struck me after reading the second article though, is just how poor all the maps of Sembia i've got are. I know Sembia has been a "hands off" area for quite some time, but i was wondering what Realms product actually has the best maps of the Merchant Kingdom? And does any product go into any greater detail of the area? Or is that the purpose of this Realmslore article, to redress the imbalance created by the long standing hands off policy?
Note: In terms of Realms products I don't have the FR Interactive Atlas, but i can pretty much lay my hands on any other product if i wanted to, so reference whatever you've got!
Thanks in advance,
GH |
Knight of the Order of the Keen Eye - Granted by Ed Greenwood, 30th January 2005 |
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Ty
Learned Scribe
USA
168 Posts |
Posted - 03 Mar 2005 : 14:26:46
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Interesting. The Tallhouses described in the latest Sembia article remind me quite a bit of the homes I saw in Amsterdam proper last summer (despite the explicit rejection of real-world analogies to the Realms by Mr. Greenwood).
Nonetheless, I think it gives me a new take on how to approach the layout and 'ground level view' of say Selgaunt, etc. I'd never have thought of a Sembian city in that light, but I guess it would be a good real-world analogy. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36798 Posts |
Posted - 03 Mar 2005 : 23:03:31
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quote: Originally posted by Ty
Interesting. The Tallhouses described in the latest Sembia article remind me quite a bit of the homes I saw in Amsterdam proper last summer (despite the explicit rejection of real-world analogies to the Realms by Mr. Greenwood).
I think that's simply one of those universal things... When there's not enough room to spread out, people go up. |
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Ty
Learned Scribe
USA
168 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2005 : 17:11:07
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Well Woolpert, you are of course, quite correct.
One impression I was left with from Sembia as a result of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, was a nation not unlike the Italians of the Renaissance (although, again, I know I am committing quite the no-no of putting real life comparisons to Realms locales. ).
More importantly though, I'll have to admit that I like "mixing things up" on my players with respect to their perceptions of culture/local color in the Forgotten Realms. This article did provide me some insight as to another way to look at the physical structure and layout of a Sembian city, which of course, I can then extrapolate into say using the Dutch East Indies Company equivalent as another background piece in developing Sembia for our own home Realms campaign.
I would however, disagree that it was universal to find six story buildings with a narrow width (a room and a hall) that were built as rowhouses. Granted, my foreign experiences in Europe have been limited to the UK, France, Germany and the low countries but, nonetheless, I didn't particularly notice this specific type of architecture as being as prevalent elsewhere in Europe outside of say the Netherlands.
There are of course, biases for my own observations, given the variance of local cultures, the amount of reconstruction required after wars, fires, etc., and the fact that Amsterdam sits on an entirely different type of soil base than say London.
I only mention this because in my particular geographic area, our urban planners/builders have a tendency to build outward from the geographic center in a sprawl rather than building up from the center as you may find in New York or Philadelphia, due to the relatively cheap land costs and of course, numerous other factors. Anyhow, I'm really going off tangent so I'll stop rambling now.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36798 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2005 : 23:38:45
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Ah, but how many of those places are enclosed by city walls?
Certainly, rowhouses would be less common in areas where there was more availabe real estate. But when you limit outward expansion, either thru artificial means (city walls) or thru natural means (lack of flat terrain), then you have to go up. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36798 Posts |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2005 : 05:32:21
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quote: Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Part three is up.
They finally got the title right.
Thanks for the heads up on the update. I can't wait to see what Sembians consider "sly" practices. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31727 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2005 : 07:20:57
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quote: Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Part three is up.
They finally got the title right.
I just noticed .
I'm anticipating the next update eagerly. As Sirius just said, I'm more than interested to see what typical Sembian merchants consider to be sly practices...
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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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Chosen of Moradin
Master of Realmslore
Brazil
1120 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2005 : 18:39:50
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I´m antecipating the next too. What a great collection of Sembian lore this files are!!! |
Dwarf, DM, husband, and proud of this! :P
twitter: @yuripeixoto Facebook: yuri.peixoto |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36798 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2005 : 23:01:11
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quote: Originally posted by The Sage
I'm anticipating the next update eagerly. As Sirius just said, I'm more than interested to see what typical Sembian merchants consider to be sly practices...
That should prove to be quite interesting. |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6662 Posts |
Posted - 31 Mar 2005 : 01:16:29
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Part 4 is now up. And I scooped Wooly and SB. Woohoo!
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 31 Mar 2005 : 03:10:38
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quote: Originally posted by George Krashos
Part 4 is now up. And I scooped Wooly and SB. Woohoo!
-- George Krashos
If you're going to scoop us, be sure to provide a link. And what's with the delay in getting a Realms update today? Most of the time it's posted much sooner than it was today. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36798 Posts |
Posted - 31 Mar 2005 : 03:20:00
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quote: Originally posted by George Krashos
Part 4 is now up. And I scooped Wooly and SB. Woohoo!
-- George Krashos
Hey, no fair! I was out shopping and getting dinner with my girlfriend!
Now to go read the Realmslore. |
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