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Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
 Posted - 27 Jul 2005 : 08:31:14
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Well met! I have a few queries which I hope Ed will answer for me.
Ed hath said (and I include the quote to allay any suspicion that I have not read the ought-four answers):
quote:
"'Zelzing!' [a word from an old, now-lost battle song of Tempus, that poetically described the sound of ringing swords in battle; this is now used triumphantly to mark a blow struck, or battle joined, or a foe struck down]"
Ed, will you please share the lore of "this now-lost battle song" and perhaps some examples of other celebrated lost songs? I want to have some genuine lost works to be sought by a bardic character in one of my games, rather than ones I simply made up.
Also, to what RW composers may we listen to for an idea of what "contemporary" pop music sounds like in various parts of the Realms? I imagine that some of John Dowland's works may be similar to what is in the current Realms Top 40, but in what geographical regions and for what social classes would his tunes be appropriate mood music? What of more advanced Baroque composers? Are there any regions where music is as well-developed as it is with Lully and his contemporaries?
(For the edification of my fellow scribes, I post these links -- http://www.diabolus.org/guide/guide-m.htm, and http://www.la.unm.edu/~davies/MAA/instruments.html -- to a couple of pages illustrating Medieval and Renaissance musical instruments. The Musica Antiqua of Iowa page is -- alas! -- not working; it had sound bites of the instruments, too. Still up, however, is http://www.recorderhomepage.net/crumhorn.html -- the Crumhorn Home Page. More bards should play crumhorns and racketts, I think. Many more.) |
I have a mouth, but I am in a library and must not scream.
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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jul 2005 : 13:20:54
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Greetings to the Wise and Bearded Loremaster of the Realms, and his faithful scribe, Lady Hooded One!
I would like to ask Ed about rain pipes/drain pipes/rain gutters in the Realms (hopefully these are proper terms for what I am asking about - english is not my native language ;)
We have read about stone gargoyles spouting water from their mouths as rain flows from the roof gutters... which material are these gutters/pipes usually made of? If they are iron/steel, is the roof gutter also made of iron/steel? Is stone more commonly used by the wealthy?
My thanks for thy patience - I am pestering thee again with architectural details in the Realms 
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"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
-- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jul 2005 : 15:13:48
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Hello, all. Ed gives swift reply to Dargoth’s questions:
1)Ed is Power of Faerun a book on psionics in the realms?
2)Ed is Power of Faerun a book on FR religion?
Let me state this, categorically and upon oath: I’m not aware of ever having written, or being about to write, a book entitled “Power of Faerun.” I cannot speculate as to what a tome would contain with any more insight than any of you reasonable citizens.
It is within the bounds of possibility - - nay, reasonable probability - - m’luds, that someone who bears a passing resemblance to an upstanding bough of the family tree of Logan, together with your good and voluble servant, have collaborated our divers talents (such as they are) in the production of Realmslore intended for the printed page, to whit public circulation of same. By now all of you should be heartily familiar with Non-Disclosure Agreements and all that they entail, and I must warn you that I shall not entertain an endless series of ever-more-pointed questions designed to lay bear that which should now remain mysterious.
However, to answer thy specific questions, questor Dargoth:
1. No.
2. No.
With the usual caveat that any screed bearing the names Boyd and Greenwood tends to cover many topics in passing, and may include mentions of both of the above. M’luds, I’ll try thy indulgences no farther. If I may? Yes, same again, thanks. Don’t bother with the glass, just the bottle, thanks . . .
So saith Ed. 
So let the wild speculation veer from this book being “all about” either psionics or religion.
love to all,
THO
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Athenon
Acolyte
USA
43 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jul 2005 : 15:32:46
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THO and Ed,
I have a question: I notice that (as reported at EN World) there's a Realms product at Canada's Amazon.com called "Powers of the Realms." The site says it's written by Ed and Eric Boyd. Details please!
I'm also looking forward to listening to Ed talk at Gen Con again this year. Maybe I'll even work up the courage to say hello!
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Will Maranto
Representing the Realms in the Wilds of Northern Louisiana |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jul 2005 : 17:19:53
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quote:
Originally posted by Athenon
THO and Ed,
I have a question: I notice that (as reported at EN World) there's a Realms product at Canada's Amazon.com called "Powers of the Realms." The site says it's written by Ed and Eric Boyd. Details please!
Uh, the previous post pretty much states that no further information will be coming, at least not from Ed...  |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jul 2005 : 18:02:11
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Oh, I'd not go THAT far, dearest Wooly. Ed has consented to play NDA tease a LITTLE longer (or farther, or . . . deeper . . .)
Ahem. At the right time(s), Ed will probably reveal a trifle more. Not so as to offend NDAs, of course.
love,
THO |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jul 2005 : 01:33:47
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
By now all of you should be heartily familiar with Non-Disclosure Agreements and all that they entail, and I must warn you that I shall not entertain an endless series of ever-more-pointed questions designed to lay bear that which should now remain mysterious.
However, to answer thy specific questions, questor
I forgot that Ed doesnt see the smiley face Icons when the Hooded One fowards them to him. Ed the post was intended to be in jest not a "ever-more-pointed question" |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jul 2005 : 04:11:30
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Hello, all. (Good point, Dargoth; I'll have to remember to type my own "primitive" versions back in.)
Ed makes reply this time to the VERY patient scribe Borch:
Hi, Borch. Shavinar time at last. There is very little extant lore in my private notes, I’m afraid, and you already have the only two published Realmslore sources I’m aware of.
Here then, is “everything” on Shavinar:
The realm of Shavinar was founded in the Year of the Raised Banner (227 DR) by a local adventurer, Orluth Tshahvur (possibly-exaggerated bards’ ballads describe him as a “swift sword” who “won many blood victories” and was smart as well as deadly in battle), in an attempt to unite human steadings (ranches and farms) for common defense against marauding monsters, frequent troll raids, and outlaws cast out of more southerly Sword Coast cities.
Tshahvur built a crude keep near what is now Baldur’s Gate (and was then a nameless cluster of fisherfolk huts), lured a shipwright fleeing from Calishite persecution to settle, and established what was really a pirate port: he was ruthless with anyone who used violence against anyone else there, but otherwise “welcomed all and let anything pass.”
The place became known as Gaeth (the Thorass local word for “rivermouth” or “inlet”), the obvious derivation of the “gate” part of the name “Baldur’s Gate” today. Gaeth was home to perhaps 120 people (dwelling in fieldstone-and-thatch or wood-and-thatch huts, situated on three wandering dirt streets) when “Lord Tshahvur of Shavinar” died (in 242 DR), an iron-hard man worn out by almost countless hard riding and harder sword-swinging, as he fought trolls, trolls, and more trolls to keep Shavinar from being overrun.
Orluth’s son, the proud and pompous King Arlsar (chiefly remembered for his indefatigable wenching ways and his mirror-bright, gem-studded, ornate “show” suit of plate armour) inherited a kingdom that stretched from the sea-mouth of the northbank River Chionthar along the coast as far north as the Troll Hills, and “four days’ ride” east (probably 80 to 100 miles, as we moderns would reckon it). Arlsar abandoned most of his father’s hilltop forts (little more than ring-ditches around summits that sported barrow-like “weather shelter” chambers) as too expensive (along with the warriors who defended them; as they fell in fighting, they weren’t replaced), and during his short reign Shavinar shrunk - - under persistent troll and outlaw raids - - to less than forty miles across.
Arlsar was murdered by ambitious merchants (who’d begun to settle in Gaeth in some numbers, to carry on all manner of business too unsavoury or too highly taxed to be profitable “back home” in Calimshan and the Tashalar) in 256 DR, and the realm almost disintegrated in the struggle for power that followed.
A cabal of local families viciously poisoned and stabbed various outlander merchants to put forward one of Arlsar’s many sons to be king. The glib-tongued, handsome, promise-all Raulovan reigned for four months before one of the Calishite factions ended his pretty words forever - - but a wizard who’d settled on the coastal headlands had grown weary of all the strife, and started spellslaying claimants to the throne and the outlanders promoting them, clearing the way for Arlsar’s youngest son, sometimes called “Stonehead” for his terse manner and slow speech: Kondarar.
No one disputes that Kondarar was King in every sense of the manner: just, firm, and a tireless mountain of a man whose strength could overmatch most monsters in blade-to-blade battle, he almost single-handedly kept Shavinar in existence (just as his grandsire had done, by spending his days in the saddle, hewing trolls wherever he found them) from his ascension in late 256 DR to when it all ended in 277 DR, and Shavinar was swept away (Gaeth and all) by trolls and “monsters beyond numbering, all wandering in their own snarling bands.”
In short, Shavinar was typical of hundreds of short-lived realms in Faerûn, that have risen and fallen again down the years: they founder if the successors to those who establish them are not stronger - - or far luckier - - than their predecessors.
So saith Ed. Who’s still doggedly forging Realmslore replies.
love to all,
THO
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6666 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jul 2005 : 05:35:59
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That was just wonderful. The Heartlands need more back-story and history. It looks like the history and development of Baldur's Gate is slowly happening - which will make lots of computer game fans happy indeed.
-- George Krashos
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"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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Herr Doktor
Seeker
52 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jul 2005 : 06:38:15
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quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
That was just wonderful. The Heartlands need more back-story and history.
Agreed. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jul 2005 : 02:02:57
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Hello, all.
Zandilar, this time Ed replies to this query of yours: “Why is Darmos Lauthyr still in power? He comes across like a madman in the stories I've read that have included cameos by him... And his idea to "unite the church of Tymora" doesn't really seem... well Tymoran to me. Though, perhaps, it is a rather bold idea. Perhaps there's something about him I've missed?”
Ed speaks:
Yes, Darmos IS a zealot, close to frothing madness at times and just intense (a steamroller or bulldozer trundling through the world) most of the rest of the time. Even fellow faithful of Tymora fear him a little, and think him . . . unsuitable.
However, they also view him as “Touched By Tymora” and hence, in a sense, holy: he shouldn’t be gainsaid or prevented in his words and deeds. Like a weapon wielded by the goddess, he may do much damage but also achieve much that more prudent, tolerant, mindful-of-consequences folk could not. The general consensus among other senior clergy of Tymora is that he will be a brief flame that ultimately consumes itself.
HOWEVER, both they and lowlier clergy of Tymora are quite prepared to cooperate with Darmos (even if they do so rolling their eyes behind his back and muttering under their breaths when they’re sure he can’t hear), because the man visibly radiates the Favor of the Goddess: if he drops something, it will never break. His errors turn into triumphs, he need only casually toss dice or a dart to win the best result - - the man EXUDES luck. For now.
(Note that I said he exudes luck, not tact or prudence, understanding, common sense, regard for laws or rules or customs or courtesies or the needs of others.) He’s a walking disaster waiting to happen - - that just doesn’t happen. Yet.
If it sounds like I’m hinting like fury that he has a destiny to play that may soon be fulfilled, whether or not you get to see it specifically dealt with in print: bingo. He does. NDAs prevent, and all that.
So saith Ed. VERY interestingly, too . . .
love,
THO
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Zandilar
Learned Scribe
Australia
313 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jul 2005 : 02:12:11
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Heya,
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Yes, Darmos IS a zealot, close to frothing madness at times and just intense (a steamroller or bulldozer trundling through the world) most of the rest of the time. Even fellow faithful of Tymora fear him a little, and think him . . . unsuitable.
However, they also view him as “Touched By Tymora” and hence, in a sense, holy: he shouldn’t be gainsaid or prevented in his words and deeds. Like a weapon wielded by the goddess, he may do much damage but also achieve much that more prudent, tolerant, mindful-of-consequences folk could not. The general consensus among other senior clergy of Tymora is that he will be a brief flame that ultimately consumes itself.
HOWEVER, both they and lowlier clergy of Tymora are quite prepared to cooperate with Darmos (even if they do so rolling their eyes behind his back and muttering under their breaths when they’re sure he can’t hear), because the man visibly radiates the Favor of the Goddess: if he drops something, it will never break. His errors turn into triumphs, he need only casually toss dice or a dart to win the best result - - the man EXUDES luck. For now.
(Note that I said he exudes luck, not tact or prudence, understanding, common sense, regard for laws or rules or customs or courtesies or the needs of others.) He’s a walking disaster waiting to happen - - that just doesn’t happen. Yet.
If it sounds like I’m hinting like fury that he has a destiny to play that may soon be fulfilled, whether or not you get to see it specifically dealt with in print: bingo. He does. NDAs prevent, and all that.
*eyes go wide* Oooh!  That additional information about him makes everything else I've read make sense. I can hardly wait to see what happens (or the results of what happens, even if we don't see what actually happens)...
*tries very hard to be patient*
Thank you! |
Zandilar
~amor vincit omnia~
~audaces fortuna iuvat~
As the spell ends, you look up into the sky to see the sun blazing overhead like noon in a desert. Then something else in the sky catches your attention. Turning your gaze, you see a tawny furred kitten bounding across the sky towards the new sun. Her eyes glint a mischevious green as she pounces on it as if it were nothing but a colossal ball of golden yarn. With quick strokes of her paws, it is batted across the sky, back and forth. Then with a wink the kitten and the sun disappear, leaving the citizens of Elversult gazing up with amazed expressions that quickly turn into chortles and mirth.
The Sunlord left Elversult the same day in humilitation, and was never heard from again. |
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warlockco
Master of Realmslore
USA
1695 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jul 2005 : 07:14:55
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Greets Ed and THO,
Just recently picked up my copy of Dragon 334 and was looking at the article on Crimmor.
Is there a chance of getting an ethnic group for each of the NPCs that were given a stat line?
They are listed as only human, but nothing about if they are Calishite, Tethyrian or some other ethnic group.
Many Thanks,
Warlock |
News of the Weird
D20 System Reference Document
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jul 2005 : 16:19:46
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Oh:quote:
Power of Faerun
Ed Greenwood and Eric L. Boyd
A new guidebook for high-level play in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
Power of Faerun is a comprehensive guidebook to playing high-level heroes and running high-level campaigns in the Forgotten Realms. This supplement introduces new options to players and Dungeon Masters as well as guidelines for startig a temple, running a guild, leading an army, serving the crown, and participating in political intrigues.
160 page hardcover, $29.95
This stands to be our first in-depth exploration of the strata of the mighty in Faerûn, what they do, how they relate to others, the dynamics of how intrigues are conducted, laying bare much of what Ed's novels have instanced. (It will doubtless be an epic-rules expansion too.)
Zis so? |
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webmanus
Learned Scribe
Sweden
338 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jul 2005 : 18:57:14
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| Is it possible to get DR dates for the Morn events (from Colderan to Randal) above? Dates would be birth and death, rulership, etc. |
Link to my homepage: http://user.tninet.se/~bsu242v/ |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jul 2005 : 01:25:07
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Hello, all. My, Faraer, that description looks like it might bear some passing resemblance to a few things my snooping has uncovered, in Ed’s scribbled pencil notes on his desk. He’s writing SOMETHING with Eric Boyd, I believe. However, he stands by his “that title is news to me” stance, and I haven’t yet tried your message on him. There’s this strong smell of incipient NDA in the air . . . 
As for the Crimmor character ethnicities: good point, warlockco, and Ed thinks so too.
[Attention all scribes interested in more lore on Crimmor!]
Wherefore here are “expanded with ethnic derivations” character entries for most of the individuals specifically named in Ed’s recent Crimmor article:
Aumra Sorntalar: LN female Tashalan human Com3 (hard-working, no-nonsense, “respectable” innkeeper)
Bustran Telbanner: NG male Chondathan human Exp5 (Str 16, a genial, burly carpenter who does a bustling trade making containers for caravan use; he drinks like two dwarves but doesn’t show the effects, and secretly hires Jalantha and other escorts to paint them in the nude [becoming an accomplished portrait-painter, of full-length, life-sized depictions, is his secret passion, and he’s getting pretty good])
Corlyn (“Corl”) Braen, Alandor-Lord and Thaele of Crimmon (mayor): NG male Tethyrian human Rgr4 (pleasant, fair-minded, and well-meaning; burly, florid, swiftly getting both fatter and shrewder)
Darvo “the Dwarf” Lhoadren (sometimes called “Clan Lodestar” by bards, and now some clan members): LG male Great Rift gold dwarf Ftr6/Exp14 (Str 18, Dex 17, a gruff, swift-working smith who loves smithywork challenges, can identify metals at a glance or taste, and takes great pride in his work; secretly loves romantic books, ballads, plays - - and spying on real-life lovers [not sex, but flirtation, courtship, and quarrels]; has much hidden wealth)
Ethram Woazgoaz (“Woazgoaz the Weaver”): NG male Mulan human Exp10 (Dex 15, a wheezing, shuffling, usually humming man, now stooped and bespectacled with age [wears a headband with projecting arrays of curved and layered glass lenses], possessed of a very long, beaklike nose and a constant tic or habit of blinking; tends to be cynical but soft-spoken and forgiving, and is beloved by older female patrons, who feel safe and comfortable in his friendly presence; he serves teas and little nutcakes of his own making to his regulars, who often spend several hours a day in his shop, where he primarily sells little mats, shawls, and bed-curtains)
Imaego Invarr: LN male Calishite human Exp6 (well-respected, loves-his-work, tireless “always scuttling” butcher who also slaughters and prepares bulk meats by smoking and marinating; a practised hurler of knives and cleavers, with which he dispatches rats and meat-stealing dogs and thieves; so successful that he’s quietly buying up Crimman and Athkatlan warehouses and rooming houses)
Jalantha Truard: CG female Tethyrian human Exp2 (good-looking, lushly-proportioned, vivacious “hostess,” who makes a good living organizing revels - - and providing escorts and dancers thereat, including herself - - for hard-working Crimmans who lack the time or skills to arrange such entertainments themselves; on the side, concocts cheap scents and sells them cheaply in secondhand bottles)
Lady Lamia Crytrapper: NG female Tethyrian human Rgr6 (Int 17, a kindly, aging, shrewd and worldly country-loving lady of a prominent Amnian family; weathered and hearty, who loves Crimmor and has a long history in the city, sponsoring many minstrels and start-up businesses [particularly women-only, and concerns run by widows]; knows where many “skeletons are buried” and can wield great influence when she wants to)
Mandivvur Taeruld: LN male Tethyrian human Exp12 (sage, now deceased)
Melgor Darsander: NE male Vaasan human Rog3/Exp11 (Str 16, Dex 16, a sly, smiling crafter of expensive, cunning locks and fastenings; never lets slip any trade secrets or information about clients, but enjoys flamboyant revelry and hired lasses)
Mikaal Krimmevol: NG male Tethyrian human Wiz9/Rog2 (Dex 17, Int 17, Wis 17, Cha 18, consummate actor; is the lover of Tehrinna and best friend of the mayor, is also (secretly) the herald Sable; handsome and merry, plays the role of a wealthy idle hedonist; of a prominent Amnian family)
Rhieldra Zoldaftel: LG female Tashalan human Sor2 (unmarried daughter of Zan, and capable business manager of his wagonmaking business; quiet, “sees all,” has glossy long black hair and pale good looks; dreams of rising to respectable prominence, and being like Lady Crytrapper in her “graying years”)
Tehrinna “the Towering” Shuldar: NG female Illuskan human Ftr5 (Str18, red-haired, 7’ tall; an adventuress growing restless in Crimmor, but unwilling to part from her lover Mikaal; alert, forceful, beautiful, and usually well-armed, even if apparently weaponless; forgets nothing, and “gets even” though she tries not to ever visibly lose her temper; loves an occasional dockside brawl)
Yauncel Darth: NG male Damaran human Exp7 (Int 18, Wis 17; tall and scrawny, near-sighted and murmuring; a sage whose library is small but whose learning is fairly close to this: Knowledge (arcana) +16; Knowledge (architecture and engineering) +18; Knowledge (geography) +18; Knowledge (history) +16; Knowledge (local) +18; Knowledge (nature) +16)
Lady Zharnn Ophal: CE female Tethyrian human Rog7 (Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 16, ruthless, icy-tempered, scheming, and oh-so-refined; a middle-aged woman possessed of all the good looks money can buy; delights in subtly exercising her influence [reassuring herself it remains strong and far-reaching]; seeks to eliminate the mayor and install her own puppet; of a prominent Amnian family)
Zan Zoldaftel: LG male Tashalan human Ftr2/Exp6 (Str 18, Con 17, aging but still-tireless and matchless famous wagonmaker; gruff, has many-times-broken fingers, seems to never sleep but always to be striding around his noisy wagonworks)
Zorn Selvyn: LG male Durpari human Ftr2/Exp7 (Str 18, Dex 16, Con 16, respected and always-busy finesmith; terse and devoted to his work, paying little attention to events in, and gossip of, the wider Realms)
Ed apologizes for not stuffing this level of detail into all of the NPCs presented in that article; the wordcount restriction necessitated lots of “mouse type” footnotes and lore omissions and skimping, to make room for the graphic elements DRAGON wanted. Watch the WotC website, later this year, for a longer (but still what Ed considers “light introductory”) treatment of a different Faerûnian locale.
love to all,
THO
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jul 2005 : 01:50:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Nighthawk08
i am just wondering what the measurments are in the realms. i know from some books from various authors wrote distance lengths by the tenday. what about height? would it be in inches or something else like a handspan or something??
Edit: I moved this to this thread, since it's a question for Ed. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jul 2005 : 05:34:58
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quote:
Originally posted by Faraer
Oh:quote:
Power of Faerun
Ed Greenwood and Eric L. Boyd
A new guidebook for high-level play in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
Power of Faerun is a comprehensive guidebook to playing high-level heroes and running high-level campaigns in the Forgotten Realms. This supplement introduces new options to players and Dungeon Masters as well as guidelines for startig a temple, running a guild, leading an army, serving the crown, and participating in political intrigues.
160 page hardcover, $29.95
This stands to be our first in-depth exploration of the strata of the mighty in Faerûn, what they do, how they relate to others, the dynamics of how intrigues are conducted, laying bare much of what Ed's novels have instanced. (It will doubtless be an epic-rules expansion too.)
Zis so?
You have spurred ME to research, now! Yours was from ENworld, mine is from Random House of Canada. Vide:
quote:
Power of Faerun
Written by Ed Greenwood and Eric L. Boyd
Category: Games - Role Playing & Fantasy
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Format: Hardcover, 160 pages
Pub Date: March 2006
Price: $42.95
ISBN: 0-7869-3910-9
Random House of Canada Limited
For those using American money, here it is as decribed by Random House, Inc.:
quote:
Power of Faerun
Written by Ed Greenwood and Eric L. Boyd
Category: Games - Role Playing & Fantasy
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Format: Hardcover, 160 pages
Pub Date: March 2006
Price: $29.95
ISBN: 0-7869-3910-9
Available March 14, 2006
I eagerly await this!
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I have a mouth, but I am in a library and must not scream.
Feed the poor and stroke your ego, too: http://www.freerice.com/index.php.
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warlockco
Master of Realmslore
USA
1695 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jul 2005 : 06:54:45
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Ed apologizes for not stuffing this level of detail into all of the NPCs presented in that article; the wordcount restriction necessitated lots of “mouse type” footnotes and lore omissions and skimping, to make room for the graphic elements DRAGON wanted. Watch the WotC website, later this year, for a longer (but still what Ed considers “light introductory”) treatment of a different Faerûnian locale.
love to all,
THO
THO and Ed,
Thanks!!
And I completely understand the wordcount causing problems, as long as we can get further information here, its all good. |
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D20 System Reference Document
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Zandilar
Learned Scribe
Australia
313 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jul 2005 : 08:09:44
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Heya,
I was just pondering this... and decided to see what Ed thinks.
Eilistraee is a drow goddess, because she's drow. She has an inactive realm that is shrinking in the Demonweb pits.
Eilistraee's active Realm is in Arvandor, but she's not a member of the Seldarine.
Eilistraee's write up appears in the Major Deities of Faerûn section of Faiths and Pantheons. (Lolth does too, but she's the Grand Dame of the Drow, so it's obvious where she belongs.)
Eilistraee's dogma seems to be a very inclusive dogma that can easily apply to all races.
My question... To which pantheon does Eilistraee belong? The Drow pantheon? I'd hardly think Lolth would welcome her wayward daughter into the Pantheon she nominally rules. The Seldarine? She's too accepting of all races, and there are a few of the Seldarine that would not welcome her with open arms (Shevarash comes to mind immediately here). The Faerûnian pantheon? That's the only one she seems to really fit in (IMHO).
Lastly, my question about Eilistraee's clergy is still outstanding... So I'll reitterate it here, since it's related... In 2nd Edition, Eilistraee's clergy were all female (stated in her Demihuman Deities write up), but in Faiths and Pantheons, no mention of gender exclusivity has been mentioned. Some people say this (and a single reference to a "he" cleric of Eilistraee in a piece of flavour text in Lords of Darkness, which is literally just the word "he" that could have easily been an editing error) indicates that Eilistraee has opened her clergy to both genders. If this is the case, when did this change occur, and why? If it's not the case, please say so and settle this question that's been burning in my mind for ages! |
Zandilar
~amor vincit omnia~
~audaces fortuna iuvat~
As the spell ends, you look up into the sky to see the sun blazing overhead like noon in a desert. Then something else in the sky catches your attention. Turning your gaze, you see a tawny furred kitten bounding across the sky towards the new sun. Her eyes glint a mischevious green as she pounces on it as if it were nothing but a colossal ball of golden yarn. With quick strokes of her paws, it is batted across the sky, back and forth. Then with a wink the kitten and the sun disappear, leaving the citizens of Elversult gazing up with amazed expressions that quickly turn into chortles and mirth.
The Sunlord left Elversult the same day in humilitation, and was never heard from again. |
Edited by - Zandilar on 30 Jul 2005 08:11:15 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jul 2005 : 17:56:28
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Eilistraee is a willing exile from the Seldarine. She is a drow goddess, and is properly part of that pantheon. But she is more Seldarine in nature, and has allies among them, so she choose to live with them.
Just because Lolth is the head of the drow pantheon doesn't mean she totally controls it. If Lolth had her way, there would be no drow pantheon -- just her. But significant numbers of drow worship Ghaunadaur, Kiaransalee, and Lolth's wayward children (Vhaeraun and Eilistraee), so they are in the pantheon, where Lolth likes it or not.
Actually, saying Lolth is head of the pantheon is a bit misleading. She is the most powerful of all the drow deities, but saying she's the head implies a sort of control, which she really doesn't have. It'd be more accurate to describe the drow pantheon as a schoolyard, and Lolth is its bully. She can throw her weight around very well, and anyone who challenges her usually does so in small ways, behind her back. But she can't be everywhere at once, so certain activities in the schoolyard escape her attention. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jul 2005 : 03:17:39
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Hello, all. Ed makes reply to Elfinblade’s Calimport-based query: “. . . about methods and ingredients for marinating meat and/or fish. Have you got any local (realmsian) herbs and oils used in marinating?”
Ed speaks:
Hi, Stig! Most meat in the Realms is marinated simply and cheaply, in stale beer (with sugar, garlic, salt, and mustard, or the cook’s preferred handful of herbs, to taste) or fruit juices (most often the wet “mash” of grapeskins left over after grapes have been pressed and the fluid poured off for winemaking). Meat that’s been salted to preserve it is soaked overnight, and the water then poured off, to “cut” its saltiness. Lamb and boar are often scored, and cloves or garlic buds thrust into the slits, before cooking. The outsides of most meats are “painted” with a mix of powdered spices (sages, rosemary, et al) before being spit-roasted, and Calishite cooks even add certain (secrets of the cook; most are tinctures or “tissanes” [teas] made from rose petals or the leaves and petals of other flowers) substances to the hearth-coals so the aromatic smoke will permeate the meat as it’s roasting. Blood from slaughtered animals is always saved to be cooked as “drippings” or used in making gravies (sometimes with a few drops of vinegar added to prevent congealing).
In other words, all read-world stuff.
In Calimshan, the word “asarth” (almost always shortened to just “sarth”) means what modern real-world cooks use the word “sauté” for: cooking in oil or butter to which seasonings have been added. Diced onions, leeks, garlic, chives, and ginger, and the leaves of limes, basil, and bay are familiar staples among those seasonings, and the liquid they and the meat are introduced into is often local butter added to oil (often olive or sesame) into which a little wine (red) or sugary liqueur is stirred. It’s a great way to use up “ends at the bottom of bottles.”
Herbcraft and cookery in the Realms is as complex and far-reaching as real-world herblore and cuisine (I could write a long bookshelf of tomes, but WotC wouldn’t want me to and life is, yes, too short), but to give you a swift answer specific to Calimshan:
Three other oils are locally popular in cooking: asaev (a strong-smelling, translucent amber oil derived from crushing fish, just as real-world pilchards were harvested for their oil), darsreed (a VERY greasy, water-repellent oil derived from boiling down certain small offshore squids (taken in deck-filling heaps by Calishite fisherfolk in drag-nets), and subbru, gleaned from some very bitter nuts about the size and hue of real-world macadamias (in the same way as peanut oil is gleaned in the real world).
Two additional Faerûnian seasonings are very popular in Calimshan: orthin and talbud. Orthin is an okra-like vegetable (cheap and grown in great abundance in northern Calimshan, where it flourishes in ditches and along the verges of cart-tracks, or the walls of buildings, as a “wild weed” spreading vine. Plucked from the vine, the “daggers” of orthin are dried to yield a smoky-flavored but scorching hot “flame” like a jalapeno pepper. Diced fine or powdered for more subtlety, these flames are stirred into most marinades and sarths.
Talbud is the mashed result of certain (otherwise bitter, fibrous, and inedible) river-reeds that freshwater inland turtles in Calimshan instinctively eat to “keep themselves regular.” In other words, they chew the greens into shreds that pass through them as slimy little balls that have a very pleasant, flavourful taste. How someone first thought to try to eat them, only the Watching Gods know. Talbud thickens water or wine into a rich broth, bringing out the tastes of everything else in the broth. Radishes soak up this rich taste when (and only when) talbud is present, and can be ladled out of a hearth-simmer broth and sold by themselves as an inexpensive, satisfying, very popular street snack (a heaping handful for 1 cp is a daily “full meal” for many servants).
Talbud is expensive and used sparingly, because Calishites also love to eat turtles (usually in a thick stew), so there’s never enough talbud to go around, even with turtles being reared in controlled ponds.
So there’s a quick answer. Palm oil is also known in Calimshan but used more for waterproofing and preserving (by keeping air away from something it’s applied, in an unbroken coating) more than for cookery. I’d better stop now, because more and more things keep crowding into my memory, and I don’t know precisely where in my huge, dark basement the lore-notes that go with them are!
So saith Ed. And there you have it (tummy rumbling sigh).
love to all,
THO
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Edited by - The Hooded One on 31 Jul 2005 03:22:04 |
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warlockco
Master of Realmslore
USA
1695 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jul 2005 : 05:30:24
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My take on Lolth and Eilistraee.
Both are part of the Drow and Faerunian Pantheons. As to what exactly grants status in the Faerunian Pantheon, I can't say. Just from their locations in the Faiths and Pantheons book, that is where they are.
Lolth is banished from the Seldarine, or her own actions.
Eilistraee is outcast from the Seldarine by choice, knowing that the good-aligned Drow would need a beacon to guide them. |
News of the Weird
D20 System Reference Document
D20 Modern System Reference Document
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Senbar Flay
Learned Scribe
185 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jul 2005 : 06:03:31
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Hello Mr. Greenwood i have just a few qwestions about Sossal if you would please answer them when you have time.
I want to know basically about sossal culture specifics what type of goverment or rulers theocratic monarchy etc..
Are there cities or just small villages and towns in the region. Or are they nomadic and primitive like the Ice hunters and Rehgedmen(i think i spelled that wrong)
Finally are they unified or more independant cities like in Vassa.
Based on this i think I can come up with something.
Well thats all thanks! |
Imagination is more important than knowledge for knowledge is limited imagination encircles the world.- Albert Einstein |
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webmanus
Learned Scribe
Sweden
338 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jul 2005 : 10:32:45
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Hi,
If possible, I would like to know who owns the land in Daggerdale and how taxes are handled. And, this land owning issues and laws, are they written down somewhere, in for example, the "Land Book" and the "Law Book of Daggerdale".
In my Daggerdale, the land, for example, the farmland is owned by families. For example, Flarar from Urgarham in southern Daggerdale owns a 30 ft x 20 ft cottage and four acres of farmland. It is he and his family that owns the land, and not lord Randal Morn. But, I have also the case were farmland is owned by a "major landowner" (great farmer, upper middle class) and part of the land is leased out. For example, Durnan "Greatfarmer" from Urgarham owns a manor house and 40 acres of farmland. And, twelve families, living in cottages, lease 2 - 4 acres of Durnan's farmland.
But, if the "remaing" land all over Daggerdale is not owned by anybody, then, what stops families that lease land to get some own land and work for themself. My explanation is safety.
I have not yet decised on how to handle the issue of taxes. I could imagine that taxes are not payed at all for farmland. And, that the Morns have to live by the land that their family ownes (200 - 400 acres?!?) and by taxes from trade. But then, I can also imagine that tax collectors travel from village to village to collect the taxes, and that in each village, there is somebody responsible for collecting taxes from hamlets and thorps.
Thanks in advance.
Best regards,
Manuel the webmanus |
Link to my homepage: http://user.tninet.se/~bsu242v/ |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 01 Aug 2005 : 01:12:05
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Hello again, fellow scribes of Realmslore. To Jamallo Kreen, Ed makes reply to this query of thine: Is there an overlap between the ranks of the watchlords “and the Hidden Lords, or are they kept separate? I'm curious to know if Waterdeep, a merchant state with a strong military, deliberately excludes Watchlords from the Hidden Lords, or tries to have a representative one among them, since they are appointed by the Open Lord? . . . The Hidden Lords are supposed to be a representative cross-section of the City, but some may want to exclude that particular section for fear of a coup or corruption.”
Ed speaks:
There’s no prohibition on personnel of the Watch or the Guard being Hidden Lords (the Open Lord is of course ceremonial head of both, and in the time of Piergeiron, a capable “real” head of both, too), but in practise no actively serving members of either the Watch or the Guard tend to be made Masked Lords. Elaine Cunningham and I have written an about-to-be-released novel, CITY OF SPLENDORS, that touches on some discussion of who may be, or should be, a Lord of Waterdeep (NDAs forbid more specific information from my quill here and now), but the thinking is that the Hidden Lords should be a counterbalance against those who wield daily authority in the streets, and should represent most strongly those who don’t get a strong voice in Waterdhavian society (courtesans and housemaids and other workers who don’t have guilds, housewives, independent merchants and moneylenders, widows of the wealthy, shunned members of the nobility (the “drones” who may have wealth enough to live in idleness, but who are shut out of running or speaking for their families) - - and so on.
Perhaps it’s most accurate to say it’s frowned upon, among the Lords, to admit to their ranks members of the military or police, high-ranking officers in particular. To put it in real-world terms, if a club open only to janitors who clean large bank buildings was looking for a president, they’d be very unlikely to choose the president or vice-president of any bank (and very uneasy if such a personage was somehow installed in their presidency). Waterdeep views lawkeepers as necessary evils, and money (and the freewheeling acquisition of same) as “lord of all,” rather than glorifying its military strength or preparedness, or thinking thoughts of empire. The flag-waving, proud-of-our-strong-military stuff that, say, the modern real-world USA indulges in would puzzle a Waterdhavian (to them, that’s what Tethyr and Luskan and Calimshan do, not “we sensible coin-chasers”).
So saith Ed. Another little piece of Realmslore slides deftly into place. (*CLICK*)
love,
THO
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Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 01 Aug 2005 : 03:49:03
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Hello again, fellow scribes of Realmslore. To Jamallo Kreen, Ed makes reply to this query of thine: Is there an overlap between the ranks of the watchlords “and the Hidden Lords, or are they kept separate? I'm curious to know if Waterdeep, a merchant state with a strong military, deliberately excludes Watchlords from the Hidden Lords, or tries to have a representative one among them, since they are appointed by the Open Lord? . . . The Hidden Lords are supposed to be a representative cross-section of the City, but some may want to exclude that particular section for fear of a coup or corruption.”
Ed speaks:
(ker-snip)
So saith Ed. Another little piece of Realmslore slides deftly into place. (*CLICK*)
love,
THO
Thank ye much. Now I have another incentive to ... get ... that ... book! |
I have a mouth, but I am in a library and must not scream.
Feed the poor and stroke your ego, too: http://www.freerice.com/index.php.
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Damian Naïlo
Acolyte
Colombia
13 Posts |
Posted - 01 Aug 2005 : 05:18:26
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Hello.
This is the first time I write a comment in this topic, and I was trying to wait a little longer (until I deemed myself "worthy" of it), but there has been a question that has been nagging at me for a long while (a year or so).
I was wondering about the Lady's College and the Conclave of Silverymoon in general. How is it organized? How are teachers and staff members selected to work at the College? How often does the College change teachers or hire new ones? How is a normal day in the Lady's College? And (maybe the most important question) just how much control does Alustriel (or Taern Thornblade, for that matter) have over the Lady's College (if she has any control over it at all, which I seriously hope so)?
Thanking both Ed and his kind messenger, The Hooded One; sincerely hoping not to be much of a bother; and apologizing in advance if this has been previously discussed in some other source (I'll probably die reading every little bit of Realmslore...it would be a wonderful way to die, though),
Damian Naïlo of Excelsior Town |
"Why won't you look at me!? It's always Alustriel this, Alustriel that......look at me, for Mystra's sake!"
-Ilya Silverstar, from my campaign |
Edited by - Damian Naïlo on 01 Aug 2005 05:20:17 |
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Pipers Youth
Acolyte
11 Posts |
Posted - 01 Aug 2005 : 09:13:17
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Mister Ed Greenwood,
First let me start off by saying...Gods above, how come I haven't stumbled upon Candlekeep years before wandering the Wizards forums!? This is such a great site, and I had no clue that there was a way for us readers to contact our favorite Forgotten Realms authors. It's so comforting to know that you aren't afraid to idly chat with fans, get to know what they think, and be so...open. I'm sure that's the word I was looking for. I'm a rabid fan of your work, and I just wanted to say thanks for giving me days of splendid literature. Your truly a good man Ed.
Anyway my first question refers to the government of Waterdeep.
After a criminal is convicted, and sentenced to execution by a magister, whether it be commoner, solider, or noble, do the magisters keep a record of their deaths? Or is it judge, and strait to the gallows?
Lastly when you wrote your article on the character profile on Silverfall, did that come from a dream? Where did you get the inspiration for that? While reading it, I was succumbed by bouts of laughter.
Thankyou Ed, and Hooded One!
Jason |
"I...I truly wish Vangerdahast was still irritating half of Cormyr by running things in his usual capable fashion. He'd handle things so much better than I do."
-Caladnei, Mage Royal |
Edited by - Pipers Youth on 01 Aug 2005 22:33:42 |
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webmanus
Learned Scribe
Sweden
338 Posts |
Posted - 01 Aug 2005 : 12:23:01
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Hi again,
I am elaborating Daggerdale, and would like to have some guidelines regarding dwarves and clans in Daggerdale. Using figures from Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, there are c 1,400 dwarves in Daggerdale.
I have, for example, written the following text:
The Dwarven Clans of Tethyamar
Of the numerous clans (c 20) from Oghrann that settled in Tethyamar remains only ten clans. Five clans stayed in the Dale and the other five moved on and settled in Cormyr, other parts of the Dalelands, the Moonsea, and other lands of the Inner Sea. The clans that remained in the Dale are the Brightblade, the Greatanvil, the Oreseeker, the Timekeeper, and the Vanguard. The clans that left the Dale are the Deepdigger, the Doubleaxe, the Iron House, the Steellink, and the Truehammer.
Please note that, I base the above text, with information from "Lost Empires of Faerûn" (sidebar about the Mines of Tethyamar, page 134 - 135) and added my own stuff (interpreting "numerous clans" as 20 clans and, making up ten clan names).
My definition of "stayed" and "moved" is that, wether the chief and the elders of the clan have moved or stayed. For example, although Deepdigger Clan moved from Daggerdale, some Deepdigger families may have stayed in the Dale. The clan chieftan and the elders might have settled down in, for example, Cormyr, and built a new hold or settled down in a unoccupied hold (maybe, after killing one orc or two). The Deepdigger dwarves in Daggerdale, recognise the chieftan in Cormyr, and some members of the clan might travell between the Deepdigger communities. Of course, the clan could be stronger if all its member were located in the same place.
Furthermore, although some clans might have become completly extincted (all members of the clan are dead). I can also imagine the case when a clan has almost become extincted. An almost extincted clan would have families left, here and there, but no new chieftan would have been elected, and there would be no clan council of elders. How big could such a clan be? Well, all from 1 - 1,000 members ...
Thus, those c 1,400 dwarves in Daggerdale, would they all be members of one and the same clan, or could they be members of up to 20 clans?!? Guidelines, please?
Aaahh ... the Brighblade ... if I interpreted your answer to Dargoth in "Questions for Ed Greenwood (2004)", they were not a Tethyamar clan ...
Best regards,
Manuel |
Link to my homepage: http://user.tninet.se/~bsu242v/ |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2005)
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