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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
 Posted - 13 Jan 2005 : 06:53:34
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Warning the following post has spoilers from Cormyr a Novel and elminsters Daughter
At the end of Cormyr a novel Vangerdahast becomes flustered when Tanalasta announces shes wants to become a wizard is this due to flustered state due to Vangerdahast knowing that Tanalasta is Elminsters Grand Daughter? Its been a while since Ive read Beyond the high road but I seem to recall that by the time it started Tanalasta had abandoned the idea of becoming a wizard and was more involved with clergy of Chauntea, did Vangerdahast try and manipulate her into dropping the whole wizard idea?
PS After reading Elminsters daughter I thought with some amusement geee it really isnt a suprise that Alusair ended up "the way she is" with a father like Azoun and a grandfather like Elminster it must be genetic. Azoun 4 should have thanked his lucky stars Alusair didnt end up a cleric of Sharesss  |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
Edited by - Dargoth on 13 Jan 2005 07:03:41 |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2005 : 06:58:16
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quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
Warning the following post has spoilers from Cormyr a Novel and elminsters Daughter
Azoun 4 she thank hes lucky star Alusair didnt end up a cleric of Sharesss
If I were Azoun V's relatives, I'd be praying to the Gods about now considering his lineage.  |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2005 : 07:09:54
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quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
[quote]
If I were Azoun V's relatives, I'd be praying to the Gods about now considering his lineage.
"One day while guarding the infant Azoun V, the royal heir started crying "Whahahawhahaah" Curious the War Wzard guarding him cast a Comprehend languages spell to understand what he was saying.
He was shocked the crying translated as "Im to Sexy for this crib! to sexy for this crib! So sexy it hursts!" |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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Melfius
Senior Scribe
USA
516 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2005 : 10:33:39
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quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
[quote]
If I were Azoun V's relatives, I'd be praying to the Gods about now considering his lineage.
"One day while guarding the infant Azoun V, the royal heir started crying "Whahahawhahaah" Curious the War Wzard guarding him cast a Comprehend languages spell to understand what he was saying.
He was shocked the crying translated as "Im to Sexy for this crib! to sexy for this crib! So sexy it hursts!"
 Melfius bursts into hysterical laughter |
Melfius, Pixie-Priest of Puck - Head Chef, The Faerie Kitchen, Candlekeep Inn
"What's in his pockets, besides me?"
Read a tale of my earlier days! - Happiness Comes in Small Packages |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2005 : 11:31:38
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quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
[quote]
If I were Azoun V's relatives, I'd be praying to the Gods about now considering his lineage.
"One day while guarding the infant Azoun V, the royal heir started crying "Whahahawhahaah" Curious the War Wzard guarding him cast a Comprehend languages spell to understand what he was saying.
He was shocked the crying translated as "Im to Sexy for this crib! to sexy for this crib! So sexy it hursts!"
Good one! |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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Gerath Hoan
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
152 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2005 : 11:32:10
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Thanks again Ed (and THO) for that little hint about what's to come in terms of upcoming fiction (perhaps).
I have a new question now, unrelated to that, for the Hooded One herself. I recently bought a second hand copy of Hall of Heroes, and i was most impressed with the detailed write-up of the Knights of Myth Drannor, but what i couldn't figure out was precisely who was who in the illustration on page 107 (though i could make some educated guesses). Can you give me a l-r of which is meant to be which Knight? And just out of interest, as one of the Knights yourself, how accurate do you feel this picture is in capturing their likenesses?
Thanks again,
GH |
Knight of the Order of the Keen Eye - Granted by Ed Greenwood, 30th January 2005 |
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Kajehase
Great Reader
Sweden
2104 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2005 : 16:29:31
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quote:
Originally posted by Gerath Hoan
Thanks again Ed (and THO) for that little hint about what's to come in terms of upcoming fiction (perhaps).
I have a new question now, unrelated to that, for the Hooded One herself. I recently bought a second hand copy of Hall of Heroes, and i was most impressed with the detailed write-up of the Knights of Myth Drannor, but what i couldn't figure out was precisely who was who in the illustration on page 107 (though i could make some educated guesses). Can you give me a l-r of which is meant to be which Knight? And just out of interest, as one of the Knights yourself, how accurate do you feel this picture is in capturing their likenesses?
Thanks again,
GH
I'm most definately not the Hooded One (for one thing I bet she's a lot easier on the eyes ), but here's what my (probably 100% faulty) guess looks like.
Torm - Ilistyl - Islif - Rathan - Florin - Sharantyr - Jhessail - Merith - Lanseril |
There is a rumour going around that I have found god. I think is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist.
Terry Pratchett |
Edited by - Kajehase on 13 Jan 2005 16:38:46 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jan 2005 : 03:23:58
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Hello again, fellow scribes.
Lauzoril, Ed says thank you very much. It seems that Hasbro is finally pushing WotC into what publishers call “mining the backlist” in hitherto-neglected (sometimes WOEFULLY neglected: in many European countries, the Players Handbook and DMGs fell out of print for years, so of course the “current” game releases suffered sales dips, which puzzled WotC for reasons that, as a book editor, frankly puzzle ME) foreign markets. Great news. A pity WotC hasn’t bothered to share it with Ed, but thanks to you for doing so. As Ed always asks: how good is the translation?
Lady Kazandra, SiriusBlack was quite correct in saying that echoing thunder you hear is the sound of NDAs slamming down. Let me say this much: as far as Ed knows, nothing is scheduled right now - - and as far as *I* know, ‘listening between the lines’ at the last GenCon Indy (senior WotC staffers have this unfortunate habit of thinking the noise that reigns in the crowded PF Chang’s Chinese restaurant prevents diners at the next table from overhearing them), the “possibility” you speak of grows more probable as time passes.
Gods, I sound like a diplomat.
Dargoth, I chatted very briefly on the phone with Ed last night about your ‘Tanalasta flustering Vangey’ post, and he said ‘flustered’ Vangerdahast was in truth less than pleased by the thought of an Obarskyr royal with magical skills enough to detect just how much he was influencing Azoun IV, daily, but satisfied himself that he could, while training her (some of that training was seen briefly in a story in one of the ‘Realms of’ anthologies that I unfortunately can’t recall or go examine at the moment; help, scribes?) as he had her father, convince her that she has utterly no aptitude for magic, whatever the truth about her abilities, and ‘head off this crazy idea.’
He obviously succeeded in doing that, didn’t he?
And as for your comment about Alusair: Hooo-boy! Wait until you read the last story in the Best of Eddie collection!!!
My, that tease was certainly fun. Let me end by answering Gerath Hoans’s question about the Knights of Myth Drannor Hall of Heroes coverage. First, the text: done by John Nephew from Ed’s extensive notes, and fairly good, but DON’T trust any of the dating.
Second, the illustration, which is very nice, but doesn’t depict a single figure resembling any Knight *I* know. As we said to Ed at the time: “Who are these impostors?”
He could only shrug, having provided TSR (who most likely didn’t bother to pass them on to the artist, Ned Dameron) with his own excellent illustrations of our characters. So to answer you: accurate? I’ve no idea; they may be almost photographic likenesses of nine SOMEBONES, but they’re certainly nothing like any of us Knights. 
Here’s whom I’m guessing they’re SUPPOSED to be, left to right:
Back Row: Torm, Mourngrym, Florin, Dove, Lanseril
Front Row: Sharantyr, Rathan, Jhessail, Merith
With Jelde, Sharantyr, Illistyl, and Doust missing from the illustration (the text details twelve Knights).
The only one I’m really sure about is Florin (because it echoes Clyde Caldwell’s Spellfire cover depiction of him). My guesses are based on these elements, left to right:
BACK ROW: Figure 1 is a villainous-looking human male with moustache. Doesn’t look remotely like any of us, and is wearing chain with a sword slung on a baldric down his back. Has moustache, and so could be (out of the twelve Knights covered in FR7) Torm, Lanseril, or Mourngrym. But I’m guessing Figure 2 is Mourngrym because of the crown (a lot of us have crowns, mind you thanks to this thing called “treasure”), though then again it could be Lanseril wearing the Firecrown, although Figure 2 also seems to have a jeweled collar or pendant (the pendant of Ashaba? Could then be Doust or Mourngrym), which Lanseril would never wear, and Figure 4 looks most like Lanseril in hair and features, though again chainmail’s wrong for a druid. Figure 3 could be Dove, Islif, Jhessail, or even Sharantyr, but as depicted most closely resembles Dove (though she’s a little short of stature, compared to Florin), Islif having short-cropped hair and a “hard” face and NEVER wearing anything but armour, Jhessail being small, slender, and having almost elven features. Illistyl ditto, and Sharantyr lacking the ‘big hair’ and the adornment.
FRONT ROW: Figure on the left could very well be Islif, though no she-Knight who wears armour lacks leather breeches, greaves, and so on: when a leg show’s desired, just stripped off clothes, but when wearing armour, don’t forget to put on the bottom half of it! Sheesh! Hair too long and build too slender for Islif, so I guessed Sharantyr, but who knows? Figure 2 looks like a drunken Irish stereotype (or perhaps an elderly hobbit standing on an unseen crate for height), but I’m guessing Ned picked up on Rathan’s constant drinking and meant this to be Rathan, who should be as tall as the rest of us, and NOT white-haired. He’s beefy (big shoulders, hands, and muscles), not just fat. Figure 3 is either Illistyl or Jhessail (the garb and weapons are wrong for either, though). I guessed the latter because she’s shown next to Merith (yes, that horribly simpering Figure 4 HAS to be an attempt to depict a male elf, so I guess that’s Merith without his moustache and dark hair), and because her face and hair most closely resemble the reference illustration Ed handed to TSR back in 1986.
But enough of all this. Gerath, I’m sorry, these people just aren’t us. Perhaps the TSR editors picked up the wrong police lineup and printed it instead of our smiling faces. And no, the illo on page 121 doesn’t show any of us, either. Sorry.
I paged through all of FR7 in hopes of finding you closer depictions of the Knights, but the only thing I could come up with is this: Prince Tristan on page 39 (head only) is pretty good for Doust Sulwood. Sigh.
Enough keyboard-pounding: time for a workout. Get the old sword down off the wall and start swinging; wish Ed was here to spar with. Ne’er mind: I go.
love to all,
THO
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Kajehase
Great Reader
Sweden
2104 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jan 2005 : 06:07:02
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
“Who are these impostors?”
I’m sorry, these people just aren’t us.
(Well I did say my guess would be 100% incorrect)
quote:
(some of that training was seen briefly in a story in one of the ‘Realms of’ anthologies that I unfortunately can’t recall or go examine at the moment; help, scribes?)
The story is in #266 and is called "The Innkeeper's Secret." Don't ask me for details though, as I found it rather dull and quickly forgot most of it. |
There is a rumour going around that I have found god. I think is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist.
Terry Pratchett |
Edited by - Kajehase on 14 Jan 2005 06:08:54 |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jan 2005 : 08:16:47
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Hmm Im seriously begining to wonder about Vangerdahast, Cormyr may well be better off without him, the last few posts you made about him are begining to make me think that his relationship with the cormyr's ruler is really no better than the way Manshoon used to keep Lord Chess 
Makes me wonder though if Vangerdahast would have been able to manipulate Alusair the same way he did Azoun 4. Azoun 4 and Vangerdahast had similar personalities (read alignments, LG and LN respectively)where Azoun could probably have been persuaded around to Vangerdahast point of view on alot of issues, Alusair comes across as being far more Strong headed and Idealistic than Azoun IV. Also there personalities are quite different (again read alignment NG vs LN.) Vangerdahast and Alusair would I suspect be unable to meet at a middle ground on alot of issues. I suspect this is why Vangerdahast replacement Caladnei shares Alusairs alignment (fewer arguments between to the Crown and leader of Cormyrs War wizards) |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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Lauzoril
Seeker
Finland
71 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jan 2005 : 22:14:50
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To Ed, via Lady Hood.
Ed, I'll have to read the translation and the original first to comment on how good the translation is since it's been a while since I read the original. But I can tell this. The blurb on the back of the book seems to give a rather controversial picture on Elminster's career by indicating he wants to become a mage instead of first shying away from it(?). From the few glimpses I've read from it, it seems to be rather accurate.
Clearly it seems Elminster is introduced here from the ground up, since the mage who has been most known here in the past is Raistlin, while El hasn't.
In my opinion, it would've been more appropriate to release Spellfire here first, since that was the first novel by you I read, and that it introduces the way of things in the Realms so well, despite what it turned out to be.
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"Death to the enemies of Bane."
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oldskool
Acolyte
USA
31 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2005 : 00:28:43
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Fascinating. If I'd been aware that Ed O' the Green Wood was answering questions (albeit through proxy) on this board, I would have been here ages ago.
My question is a very very far-reaching one. I am curious... Is there any information about the "Blank Continents" of Toril. I know that the one north of Maztica is called Anchorome, but that's really about it.
I *am* aware of the longstanding campaign setting policy of "leaving regions fallow" for DM-specific expansion. But obviously Ed had something in mind when he drew these places. Is there anything you can tell me about these continents (even very very sketchy info) that will not violate your NDAs???
If not, then maybe you could tell me if there are plans in the works to expand on these blank places (or perhaps even just revisit in third edition the lands of Maztica, Kara-Tur, or Zakhara).
oldskool
*big FR fan since The Gray Box*
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DM: "You see a gazebo ahead of you."
Player: "What is it doing? I draw my weapon and charge!"
DM: "It's not doing anything. It's a gazebo."
Player: "Oh.. um. Then I'll cast a fireball at it!" |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4688 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2005 : 00:37:08
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oldskool
Per the Realms-L FAQ www.candlekeep.com/fr_faq.htm
"3.2. What and where is Anchorome?
In Ed Greenwood's original conception, Anchorome was a joke archipelago; each island was a dungeon, and at the bottom of the dungeon were just enough supplies and a map to the next one. With the release of the Maztica mini-setting, Anchorome became the northern end of the new continent. It has not been detailed in any fashion apart from a couple of brief mentions here and there." |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2005 : 01:14:52
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Hello, fellow scribes. I bring Ed of the Greenwood’s reply to Ulrik Wolfsbane.
Also, Kentinal, I’m afraid that old FAQ entry has a serious error: Anchorome wasn’t a “joke” at all.
Well met, oldskool! I’ll get Ed to reply to you, but please be aware that he has some eight or nine answers lined up to deal with (here) first.
Onward with Ed’s words to Ulrik:
I had barbarians in the Sword Coast North from the first, but mine were Celtic-like or Cimmerian-like only in that they had dark hair, black or brown, brownish skins, and were not fair-skinned and fair-haired. I envisaged them as ‘live off the land’ proud nomadic warrior tribes who worshipped bears and rejected human civilization, which they saw as weak and decadent (but note: a rite of passage for the young males was to venture to Waterdeep, see its sights, and return alive, without advice from any other barbarian, though they could seek advice from anyone else). In other words, they weren’t ignorant of civilization or unable to comprehend it; they measured it and rejected it.
Paul Jaquays gave them the Uthgardt name and the tribes we know in the published Realms today, when he wrote FR5 from my copious notes (he had to: I had just a single paragraph about the barbarians!). (Most of FR5, from ship tables to entries on geographical features, was “the North” part of FR1 that wouldn’t fit, and so got chopped and made into a separate product.) Eric Boyd and later Steven Schend and George Krashos have developed the barbarians from there.
To your specific question: “Did you intend them to be friends or foes of your adventuring bands, or a more unpredictable force, likely to heal as to harm?” my reply is this: in the original, pre-TSR Realms, my barbarians of the North were in the latter, unpredictable category: if you as a non-barbarian treated them right, and didn’t unfortunately blunder into the middle of something where your actions or very presence could be misinterpreted, they could be friendly.
Moreover, they were ALWAYS gentle and rescuing with women and children, because they valued their own so highly (as vital to their survival, particularly in the face of orc battles; they slipped away when orc hordes formed, but otherwise battled orcs daily, therefore saving civilized human holdings much grief by ‘keeping down’ orc numbers and making hordes fewer and farther between). There were many instances in my pre-D&D short stories when barbarians rode into human towns, burst into taverns, and as every man there shouted and grabbed for weapons, silently presented some women or children they’d rescued from wolves or bandit attack or an orc raid to the tavernmaster, and left. Women were NEVER raped or molested by the barbarians, but revered. In many cases observed by “civilized” folk of the Realms, husbands (or guardian uncles or fathers) who beat women were themselves beaten by barbarians, who would then take the woman and children away if (and only if) the woman desired to escape.
As for ginger beer and lamp-fuel in the North:
Ginger beer: yes, mainly in Lapaliiya, the Tashalar, and the southern Vilhon shores (where they have ginger). Considered an acquired taste in the Heartlands, but readily obtainable in Amn, Calimshan (not Tethyr), and in all important ports up and down the Sword Coast (it doesn’t spoil as readily as small beer, and so is a common ship cargo; as crews often grow tired of the taste, it’s usually sold off when ships call at ports, and local spirits purchased in its place).
Lamp-fuel: of old, this was either tallow (mainly rothé rather than sheep) or some tree saps in the North (pine-pitch torches are the rural alternative). Since trade has become so energetic, barrels of cheap, scented oils from Calimshan and all of the other lands around the Shining Sea (Chult is a particularly prolific source of oils derived from the wide variety of crushed and boiled jungle plants) have largely supplanted tallow. Although scented oils are preferred in the South, oils from the South gained initial popularity when certain Calishite satraps were wise enough to add edible (plant gum) preservatives to (unscented) edible oils derived from a mixture of livestock renderings and farmed food plant leaves, and so offer buyers in the Sword Coast North barrels of oil that could be used either for cooking or in lamps.
So saith Ed. Hmm, Realmslore unfoldeth day by day in unexpected directions. Interesting.
love to all,
THO
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4688 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2005 : 01:45:20
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Also, Kentinal, I’m afraid that old FAQ entry has a serious error: Anchorome wasn’t a “joke” at all.
My Lady I request your forgiveness, I sought to take some burden off you and Ed of Greenwood by pointing to that FAQ.
To the FAQ maintainer:
Xal orbben dro wun dosst ofil'nisha
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2005 : 03:58:14
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quote:
Originally posted by oldskool
Fascinating. If I'd been aware that Ed O' the Green Wood was answering questions (albeit through proxy) on this board, I would have been here ages ago.
It's part of what lead me here (as was being wrongfully banned from the other boards).
quote:
Originally posted by oldskool
My question is a very very far-reaching one. I am curious... Is there any information about the "Blank Continents" of Toril. I know that the one north of Maztica is called Anchorome, but that's really about it.
I'm not presuming to answer for Ed, but so far as I know, those other continents have never really been given any detail...
And idea I've had, that some other people have liked: We know that the Netherese enclaves ranged pretty far... When Karsus cast his Ultimate Mistake spell, two enclaves crashed into the Sea of Fallen Stars, and another crashed off the coast of Tethyr. So what if one enclave was dedicated to exploring the world? This enclave could have been parked over one of the other continents when it came down, so this continent would now be peopled by the descendants of the Netherese survivors...
quote:
Originally posted by oldskool
If not, then maybe you could tell me if there are plans in the works to expand on these blank places (or perhaps even just revisit in third edition the lands of Maztica, Kara-Tur, or Zakhara).
oldskool
*big FR fan since The Gray Box*
WotC has thus far shown an unwillingness to revisit the spin-off areas of the Realms... I'd like to see the Kara-Tûr get a full work-up, but I doubt it'll happen. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Melfius
Senior Scribe
USA
516 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2005 : 04:32:59
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Wooly, you were banned from a board? I can't believe that! The Lord High Mischief Maker? NEVER!
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Melfius, Pixie-Priest of Puck - Head Chef, The Faerie Kitchen, Candlekeep Inn
"What's in his pockets, besides me?"
Read a tale of my earlier days! - Happiness Comes in Small Packages |
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Lady Kazandra
Senior Scribe
Australia
921 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2005 : 07:46:41
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quote:
Originally posted by Melfius
Wooly, you were banned from a board? I can't believe that! The Lord High Mischief Maker? NEVER!
You'd likey be surprised by how expansive the reach of our resident Lord High Mischief Maker is. For his mischievousness is not limited to Candlekeep alone . . .
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"Once upon a time the plural of 'wizard' was 'war'." -- The Last Continent, by Terry Pratchett |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2005 : 13:41:57
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quote:
Originally posted by Lady Kazandra
quote:
Originally posted by Melfius
Wooly, you were banned from a board? I can't believe that! The Lord High Mischief Maker? NEVER!
You'd likey be surprised by how expansive the reach of our resident Lord High Mischief Maker is. For his mischievousness is not limited to Candlekeep alone . . .
I'm only active on one other forum... However, on that forum (which you obviously know about, thanks to our "gloomy" friend ), all I have to do is mention the contents of one link I posted, and watch the fun begin. There have been no less than three threads devoted to that one bit of mischief -- an accomplishment for me, if I do say so myself. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2005 : 16:25:15
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Happy new year, everyone.quote:
The actual tribes came from some work I did for an update to Griffin Mountain in the early (I source book I co-wrote for Chaosium's Glorantha world). I had expanded upon the Balazaring tribes in Griffin Mountain and made them more varied and with special features.
I didn't know that.quote:
Second, the illustration, which is very nice, but doesn’t depict a single figure resembling any Knight *I* know. As we said to Ed at the time: “Who are these impostors?”
He could only shrug, having provided TSR (who most likely didn’t bother to pass them on to the artist, Ned Dameron) with his own excellent illustrations of our characters.
Or that. Can we see? How about an Annotated Forgotten Realms Campaign Set?quote:
Of course one is going to want to maintain one's place in the hierarchy while at the same time want to create the perception of being 'buddies' with one's underlings. It just dosen't work...
David Brent... |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2005 : 16:57:00
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Hi, Faraer! Good to e-see you again here at Candlekeep . . .
I'll just explain about Anchorome for Kentinal and everyone: that island-hopping campaign was very much as briefly outlined in the FAQ. The misunderstanding about the "joke" arose because a TSR staffer made a joke at a long-ago GenCon panel that "anchorome" should really have been "Anchor-on-me." Not a bad witticism, but got garbled in writing the FAQ into a suggestion that the campaign itself was a joke. No offense taken, Kentinal.
Anchorome began with PC adventurers aboard a ship, driven they-knew-not-where by a furious storm. De-masted and a-drift, they wind up beached on an unknown island . . . with ruins (a 'dungeon') on it. In order to have time to cut down trees and rig a new mast, chink the leaks in the hull and refloat the ship, etc., they must fight the monsters inhabiting the isle (in one case, a lich in his tower). Then they set sail - - straight into ANOTHER storm that drives them onto another island (lather, rinse, repeat).
Ed made the point in a magazine article, long ago, that you could use the Judges Guild Island book (maps) of the time with any published adventures you wanted, on each island.
There you go: potted Realmslore explanation.
love to all,
THO |
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Verghityax
Learned Scribe
131 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2005 : 23:41:07
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Just in case my question has been squashed by more sophisticated ones ;)
Dear Ed of Greenwood nad Lady Hooded One,
This time I've got a question concerning Ulgoth's Beard:
1) Has Ulgoth's Beard got any heraldic symbol or something of this kind? If yes, how does it look exactly?
2) I would like to draw Ulgoth's Beard map. How many and what kind of buildings I would have to draw and how should I place them? I know this might be really stupid question, yet it's quite of importance to me :) |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4688 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2005 : 23:52:17
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quote:
Originally posted by Verghityax
Just in case my question has been squashed by more sophisticated ones ;)
Be not concerned, your question has been noted and not forgotten. This I have found out for myself when I thought I was forgotten. The answers, even if a non answer because of NDA, will come in time. Some are easier to answer then others so at times a more recent question might be answered. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jan 2005 : 02:04:59
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Hello, all. Patience, Verghityax, patience. Ed’s trying to write six projects at once and keep up with all the queries here, as well as assisting divers other Realms creators and novice authors trying to break into print outside the Realms, too. Your reply is probably going to take twelve days or more, being as it’s a “big” one rather than narrow-focus.
Dargoth, I can try to handle your “what level are the Knights of Myth Drannor” query from late 2004 without pestering Ed directly, for once. He has your comment about Vangerdahast, and will reply (when he gets through some more of the older queries).
I say “try” because Ed doesn’t let us know what levels the NPC Knights (such as Dove) are, or let anyone but the player who owns “Character X” know Character X’s level, XP totals, current hp, and so on. Of course, if the PLAYER spills such beans to the rest of us, that’s up to them - - but Ed won’t.
However, as scribes here will probably have gathered by now, I can (purr) be pretty persuasive when I want to be, and so can tell you: the lowest active Knight I know of, in the ‘home’ Realms campaign, is 9th level, and most of us are around 14th (with one 16th, I believe).
However, this is NOT because of level-draining encounters. Ed hates such mechanisms, because he thinks they’re extremely unfair to players who’ve really earned their XP - - and Ed makes darned sure we fall into that category. He gives XP for good roleplaying, for teamwork and slick tactics and forethought and planning attacks and diplomacies, for coming up with creative solutions to problems, and for adhering to faith-creeds, alignment, and established character (not using information we players know but our characters wouldn’t, and so on).
We do intensive roleplaying, so our play sessions cover hours or a day or two rather than tendays - - and it takes us a long time to accumulate XP. So, no, we’re not 20th level yet, even after two decades of fairly steady play, but by jingo, we can RUN these characters, and know them and their abilities and spells through and through.
If you get the feeling that I’m proud of us, you’re right. It’s not for nothing that Ed won the Best Player award in the 1984 D&D Open at GenCon, back when that tournament really meant something, leading a Best Team that included three or four of us original Realms players. We hated competitive play then and we hate it now, but still mopped the floor with the opposition - - and have never entered the D&D Open since.
Ed was an RPGA Open finalist the next year, just for fun, and then switched to running RPGA events.
As he put it about a year ago, in an explanatory e-mail to someone who asked Ed how many RPGA points he’d accumulated over the years:
Points meant nothing to me, and neither did prizes of a year’s membership extension, given that I was a Lifetime Charter Member. I jokingly asked Frank Mentzer, then head of the RPGA, if he had the divine power to extend my lifetime by a year everytime I won, and when he admitted that he couldn’t [no budget for that, is how he put it] and decreed that I couldn’t give away membership extensions I’d won to other gamers, I decided to design and DM events instead. At various times along the line I had Service Awards and Grand Masterships thrown at me, and at one time was mailed a report that said I was a 12th level judge and a 6th level player (whatever that meant), but the RPGA’s computer system kept crashing and losing all of our points. I was most amused, about a decade later I suppose, to be told by some then-novice RPGA official (Mike Selinker, perhaps, though memory fails me here) that I didn’t have enough points to be allowed to Dungeon Master an event for that year’s GenCon tournament . . . an event that, ahem, * I’d * written.
I’ve never officially been told that I can no longer write certs (yes, I know certs themselves have gone away), and I still have a cert given to me long ago by Jean Rabe, head of the RPGA at the time, that says, “Elminster appears and aids the bearer of this cert in any way they desire, casting any Players Handbook and Unearthed Arcana magic-user spells of the player’s choice, 2 spells per round, for 2 rounds.” I’m looking forward to someday using it in play - - if and only if I can see the expression that comes onto the face of Ian Richards, as I do so.
As Ed’s e-mail is getting at, points and experience and levels are meaningless in an intensive roleplaying campaign run by a good DM. Players stop thinking of rules and stats and “game” terms, and, as their characters, plunge into the middle of a familiar world that seems real and offers them challenges and perils and fun - - wherever THEY choose to go.
So, Dargoth, my Knight character is 14th level, right now, after about twenty years (real time) of play. And believe me, she knows how to shake what she’s got.
Wanna watch?
love to all,
THO
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jan 2005 : 04:40:10
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
And believe me, she knows how to shake what she’s got.
Wanna watch?
love to all,
THO
Yes!
Like player, like character, huh? |
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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daarkknight
Seeker
USA
66 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jan 2005 : 05:56:20
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[quote]Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
And idea I've had, that some other people have liked: We know that the Netherese enclaves ranged pretty far... When Karsus cast his Ultimate Mistake spell, two enclaves crashed into the Sea of Fallen Stars, and another crashed off the coast of Tethyr. So what if one enclave was dedicated to exploring the world? This enclave could have been parked over one of the other continents when it came down, so this continent would now be peopled by the descendants of the Netherese survivors...
As I recall, when I was researching the Maztican boxed set for a campaign I ran on the northern part of the continent (though I guess I should refer to it as Anchorome), the Maztican people told stories of 5 floating cities in that area. Sounds perfect for Netherese survivors...
Daarkknight |
"That's it!"
Quote attributed to Talor Stormhammer, paladin of Helm, when fighting a frost giant. |
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2449 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jan 2005 : 06:00:26
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I doubt she'd have it any other way... :) Though, I think I'd enjoy watching her play an ultra-straight-laced paladin of Tyr like the one that Elaine Cunningham says is now pestering Tempus.
And I'd REALLY like to watch her Knight trying to seduce the paladin. Ahh, schizophrantic roleplaying... :) |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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Verghityax
Learned Scribe
131 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jan 2005 : 21:54:22
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Uhm... I really feel pretty embarrassed now and I know that Ed is surely going to slay me this time but... I made some additional research to make something that could by called "final touches" to my article about Baldur's Gate and it turned out that there is still some info I need  It's quite urgent so I would be very, very grateful if Ed could answer this plead instead of my previous question about Ulgoth's Beard.
In "Cloak & Dagger" sourcebook it is said that the Knights of the Shield are very powerful in Baldur's Gate. What's more, in "Lords of Darkness" it is mentioned that they've got some kind of headquarters within the city (Inselm Hhune's manse or something). Now the question is - where should I mark this manse on the map? |
Edited by - Verghityax on 16 Jan 2005 21:57:53 |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4688 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jan 2005 : 22:26:49
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A minor question.
Who is the father of Maura, daughter of Laeral Silverhand? |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jan 2005 : 02:20:58
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Dearest Woolpert, Ed makes reply to your wild magic queries:
Please bear in mind that what follows is what *I’d* do as a DM, not an official WotC D&D rules ‘ruling’ (there’s something called the Rules Council for that).
The Chosen of Mystra are hampered by dead and wild magic just like everyone else, with three exceptions:
1. Spending Silver Fire.
For ‘brute force’ magics (energy blasts, the creation of magical barriers, healing, and so on) Chosen of Mystra can expend silver fire to manage almost normal effects (and probabilities of effects, though there’s almost always echoing wild-effect ‘leakage’ around their operating spells). Translocation spells (teleportation) are still chancy (though in a wild magic area, silver fire can be burned to create a line intersecting with a nearby ‘strand of the Weave,’ and the Weave then ‘ridden’ out of the wild magic area, in a strange ‘slow teleport’ that third parties see beginning as a fading and shifting of the teleporter, so that, say, Elminster briefly has three heads blended and blurred into one another before he ‘snaps out of sight’), and detection and divination spells nigh-impossible.
2. Feeding Magic With Magic.
Chosen of Mystra have the inherent ability to ‘feed’ one magic into another, draining part of the stored energy of a held or worn item or the entire energy of a memorized spell into another spell, to ‘power it up.’ Because this tends to make magic ‘go wild,’ it’s never done in normal circumstances, but often succeeds in causing a spell to have pretty much normal effect in a wild magic or dead magic area, if a more powerful spell is fed into a lesser one.
For example, Elminster casts a lightning bolt and feels it start to ‘tug wild,’ so he uses his ability as a Chosen to make it ‘hang fire’ until the next round, and during that next round feeds a flesh to stone spell he’s memorized into the lightning bolt. Because of the difference in levels, the lightning bolt is highly likely to ‘go off’ as a lightning bolt, at the end of that second round, though its aim and discharged energy (damage done) may still vary wildly. If El instead burns a ninth-level memorized spell to feed the lightning bolt, it will probably function almost normally. Note that this does NOT appreciably alter the surroundings from being a wild or dead magic area, though doing this thirty times or more would weaken a dead magic area into something much smaller.
3. Feeling Flows, and Familiarity
Chosen of Mystra can sense movements, build-ups, and changes in nature (for example, from a build-up into a discharge) of magical force. This can give them small tactical advantages in a wild magic zone that other beings lack. Also, in a locale VERY familiar to the particular Chosen (such as their usual abode, or a spot where they’ve previously spent a lot of time or cast many magics), their own magical efforts will be at least slightly better than any attempts by mortal spellcasters to battle dead or wild magic because of their familiarity with the presence, precise location, and nature of existing magics, usual local flows of magic, and so on.
Of course, Chosen can call on the Weave to destroy wild and dead magic areas (and planar rifts, too), though this is a long and exhausting process involving the casting of many spells, and ideally the cooperation of several Chosen or powerful spellcasters working together (something akin to several people trying to gather, bunch up, and carry away a gigantic collapsed hot air balloon or fallen field tent or huge parachute, it’s something best accomplished by people who aim their efforts accurately, know what to do, and work together well). It’s not something they can expect to accomplish if lacking many memorized (or otherwise stored) magics, if under attack, or in a hurry.
So most Chosen who find themselves in a wild or dead magic zone will first attempt to get out of the zone, unless there’s some compelling reason for remaining there.
Your next question was: “How do you feel about wild mages, and how would Mystra feel about such casters, who deliberately play fast and loose with the Weave?”
Wild mages have indeed returned in the new Complete Arcane. I make no apologies for introducing wild and dead magic into the Realms in the first place, but when they became a 2nd Ed character class, Jeff Grubb and I both responded with “Uh-oh.”
Why? Well, in short, like spellfire, wild mages can be a campaign-wrecker. Great fun for an encounter or two, but the implications of their presence are far-reaching, so “wild mages” are usually best confined to a rare handful of NPCs - - unless the campaign is a lone wandering PC wild mage adventuring one-on-one with a DM. Consider the presence of wild mages with ‘regular’ arcane spellcasters or priests of any sort in the same party of adventurers. Many accidents waiting to happen. I’m not saying “don’t go there,” I’m saying ‘consider carefully what the character of your D&D play may change into, before you embark on this.’
As for Mystra: The ‘old’ Mystra (LN) was less than pleased with this road of dweomercraeft because of the damage wild mages can do to fellow spellcasters, the Weave, and most importantly to the reputation of arcane spellcasters with others (and therefore, the general attitude [fear] of most intelligent beings of Faerun towards magic and its use).
The ‘new’ Mystra, however, was more than a bit of a rebel as a young mortal woman. Like the keeper of a china shop glumly observing an approaching bull, she’s against wantonly destructive uses of magic, and her alignment gives her a distaste not just for destructive magic but also for deliberately cruel uses of magic. However, Mystra has seen much reckless use of magic by divine spellcasters serving other deities and by selfish mages of various stripes, noted that many of these uses have been both effective and have garnered much respect among the wider populace, and more or less shrugged.
She may be ‘waiting and seeing,’ and she (or Azuth) may well send some of their powerful servants (including Chosen) to curb individual wild mages who seem to turn wholly insane or who “throw their weight around too much.” For now, however, the rare wild mages in the Realms seem free to follow the path they’ve chosen.
So saith Ed. Who seems to never be anything else but busybusybusy, these days.
love to all,
THO
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2005)
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