| Author |
 Topic  |
|
Talinthonis
Acolyte
Canada
6 Posts |
 Posted - 29 Sep 2005 : 04:50:01
|
| I know I already have a question pending, about that Blackened Fist, but reading some of your old answers had me wondering : are there any specific oaths or swears that can be heard around Thay? |
 |
|
|
Zandilar
Learned Scribe
Australia
313 Posts |
Posted - 29 Sep 2005 : 05:16:44
|
Heya,
quote:
Lady Zandilar, Alustriel’s daughters are indeed under NDA restrictions right now (which of course POSSIBLY means someone MAY have plans to use or mention one of them in Realms fiction being written as we speak: more I Cannot Say, other than to look innocent and say that I personally am not writing anything at this time involving any character I know to be a daughter of Alustriel).
Thank you. 
I was kind of being fascetious with my "surely not!" comment. I figured if there was something going to prevent the disemination of such knowledge, it would be an NDA. (OH NDA! How I dislike you intensely!  )
Oh well, I guess that means I'm making things up. And speculating on WHO is writing WHAT with one of Alustriel's daughters being mentioned or perhaps even making an appearance! 
*wanders off lost in thought...* |
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. |
|
|
|
Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 29 Sep 2005 : 20:01:42
|
Well met once again, Lady Herald and Most Exalted Ed o' the Greenwood! Your reply to my questions about the Cormyrean guilds was fantastic! My humble thanks, and a deep bow, to Ed for all the great Realmslore he provides us on this forum. I am still waiting for the City of Splendors to hit the shelves at my local bookstore, but I know that it is more than worth its price (as usually), as many sages and scribes have spoken highly of it
As for the "Best of Eddie", I simply loved it! I'd hate to pick favourites from this treasure trove of Realmslore and fantasy fiction, but the three stories that affected me emotionally most were "Living Forever", "The Long Road Home" and "Not The Most Successful of Feasts". I think the main...hmmm... character in "Living Forever" was very interesting, and gave me a whole new perspective on some matters... (I will not say more here, since I don't wish to spoil anything). Marvelous work, Ed!
Hopefully we will see "The Best of Eddie, Part 2" as soon as possible... hey, I am even prepared to sacrifice my rude and loud neighbours to all the dark gods (or Wizards), if this modest wish will one day be granted |
"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 |
|
|
|
Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 29 Sep 2005 : 21:16:13
|
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
quote:
Originally posted by Jamallo Kreen
Apropos of Ascarle, I'd like more information about the motives of "the Kraken" (if they aren't NDA). The Kraken Society is repeatedly called an information gathering network, but it is so surprisngly violent and unscrupulous that I want to know more about its deepest motivations. We know quite a bit about the Regent's intentions, but none (that I've seen) about The Kraken's.
Have you read the write-up of the Kraken Society in the 2E product "Cloak & Dagger"? It provides quite a lot of information re motivationand activities of the big slimy one and his minions.
-- George Krashos
No, I haven't. I don't think I have it, either. I shall seek it out. Thank you for directing me to it. |
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.
|
|
|
|
Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 29 Sep 2005 : 21:47:04
|
Player's Option: Skills & Something-or-other suggested the Shadow Mage as a type of specialist. Creating such a spellslinger in 3E is easy enough, but one wonders: how do Shar and Mask interact vis-a-vis Weave-using spellcaster-worshippers who use "spells with the 'shadow' descriptor," since Mask claims that all which happens in shadow is within his purview? Also (and I hope I'm not heading for NDA territory!), has Mystra begun to cultivate Weave-using spellcasters who specialize in "magic with the 'shadow' descriptor," to somewhat counteract Shar and her "Shadow Adepts"?
Also apropos of Mask and Shar, both deities of secrets, is there any Torilian deity whose portfolio specifically includes learning secrets or revealing them? (Vecna and Odin spring to mind as this type)? In Ed's opinion, is that a viable portfolio for a deity created during game play, or does it conflict too much with the portfolios of Cyric, Mask, and Oghma? |
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.
|
|
|
|
David Lázaro
Acolyte
Spain
37 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2005 : 00:25:34
|
Just a quick comment: the questions of the past weeks have been fantastic, almost on par with the answers. I'm not just waiting to see my questions responded, I'm waiting to see all the others too. For the first time in years I'm interested in all of them.
Cheers, fellow scribes.
(And Wooly, thanks for the obscure references, you are a scribe of the highest level indeed!). |
|
|
|
The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2005 : 03:58:51
|
Hello again, fellow scribes. Herewith, the third part of Ed’s reply to Asgetrion about the guilds of Cormyr:
THE SCULPTORS AND MASONS GUILD
Guildmaster: Thaerevho Londurmaskur (LN male human Exp8; tall, bearded, grandly-spoken, impressive; grudge-holding, thirsts for power and respect, but hates unrest and perils to a prosperous Cormyr)
Headquarters: Highstone Hall (Suzail, south side Promenade)
Portfolios: stone work, statuary, quarrying, and all plastering, mud-daub, and waterproofing
Badge: inverted shield (arched top, flat bottom, curved sides) of gray stone-block border, field of maroon, gray stone fist (clenched human right hand, thumb and fingers towards viewer, wrist rising from bottom of border
Notes: Polite and no-nonsense, dislike arrogant nobles even more than Crown laws and nosy Crown officials (will work ever-more-slowly and VERY carefully for clients who annoy them), the guild that knows its true power more than any other, but is steadfastly loyal to the Obarskyrs for their striving to maintain a fair, prosperous Cormyr; contains many former Purple Dragons
THE GUILD OF CARPENTERS AND JOINERS
Guildmaster: Ryze Halonder (NG male human Exp8; weatherbeaten, laconic, acts like a yokel but is a very shrewd judge of character and situation, and has grown vastly wealthy through astute investments and cultivating contacts among adventurers who can ‘police’ all who swindle guild members; seeks a just, well-governed, ever-more-prosperous Cormyr
Headquarters: Longbeam Hall (Suzail, south side Promenade)
Portfolios: wood cutting, curing, staining, furniture-making and fitted carpentry and joinery
Badge: long-axis-horizontal scarlet diamond, on it a horizontal silver axe with blade down at right end, and clenched human fist (fingers and thumb towards viewer) clutching a thick iron bar that projects just a little from both ends of the hand, to form a hammer shape
Notes: Wealthy, energetic, “into everything” (like new styles of coffers, chairs, and stools) guild that’s fractious; Halonder faces almost constant challenges to his authority from various “pompous fat little trumpet-mouths” (five or six very similar guild members who’re always quarrelling among themselves, including Rarvor Telbrae, Haldon Mornhand, and Yaskel Daroun) who think they can do a better job, and see the guild as their road to nobility; most guild members just see it as their road to riches and a waited-upon old age
THE ARMORERS GUILD
Guildmaster: Darronder Firebrow (LN male human Ftr8/Exp12; a tall, wide-shouldered, immensely-strong bull of a man of bristling white brows, growl-gravel voice, piercing eyes, and worldly wisdom, who always does what’s best for Cormyr and has little use for prancing nobles or prancing anyone else, for that matter; a quiet preparer-for-disasters-ahead who keeps hidden caches of weapons and armor in many places about Suzail, guarded by Helmed Horrors that obey him thanks to a magic ring Vangerdahast gave him decades ago; Firebrow can tell at a glance where the weakest part of any armor SHOULD be, by design and normal wear (but not, of course, from hidden flaws or specific battle damage that’s not outwardly obvious)
Headquarters: Helmfast House (Suzail, north side Promenade west of the Court)
Portfolios: armor and weapon-making, plus the making of tempered tools (from sewing needles to bell-strikers and tiny gears and cogs)
Badge: a gray “scorn” helm (the local name for a bucket-shaped full-face helm that’s bolted into one piece (no visor), but covers the wearer’s head completely except a horizontal eyeslit connected in a “T” with a single central vertical slit from eyeslit down to the “chin” of the helm), face-on to the viewer (“staring” impassively at the viewer), on an shield-shaped, gray-bordered field of crimson
Notes: this guild is VERY closely watched by the War Wizards to prevent any noble from managing to equip a private army without the Crown knowing; members resent the scrutiny even as they accept the necessity for it: as one armorer grumbled, “Iff’n I take my wife to bed, it’s more likely than not that some longnose wizard is spell-watching our every gasp’n’grunt. Just once, I’d like old Vangey to drop by, hand me a tankard of Proper Dark, and promise me no one’d be watching for the night. Just once, n’I could die a happy man!” members of this guild are VERY well paid by the Crown to make them loyal and to keep their rates high enough that every second merchant of Cormyr WON’T order personal suits of armor so as to gain the benefits of this guild’s especial pride: building concealed weapons into armor
That’s all that Ed’s sent me thus far. He apologizes, explaining that today he had to tour the local sewage plant (don’t ask), shop for a month’s worth of groceries plus furniture and top soil (again, don’t ask), learn to play an organ (no, don’t ask, REALLY), clear up fallen tree limbs after a vicious storm, look after his very sick wife, and undergo a battery of “are you diabetic yet?” tests.
I told him dealing with reality was no excuse when millions were waiting for essential Realmslore. He agreed, and promised to let me flog him when I see him next (hmmm, at a large wedding; THAT will provoke some intense interest among the bystanders there, I’m sure). Anyway, we WILL get the rest of the guilds in the days ahead.
Gerath Hoan, your only question in the queue is a request from March 28th of this year, wherein you asked: “. . . So who is the Realms’ Lucifer and what happened to him?” (And khorne promptly and correctly answered you, at that time.) Feel free to add new questions, so long as you can live with Ed taking months to answer them. He is truly snowed under, despite it being only September. Sigh.
love to all,
THO
|
|
|
|
Sanishiver
Senior Scribe
USA
476 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2005 : 06:18:58
|
It feels good to be right.
Or rather 'not entirely wrong'. :P |
09/20/2008: Tiger Army at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz. You wouldn’t believe how many females rode it out in the pit. Santa Cruz women are all of them beautiful. Now I know to add tough to that description.
6/27/2008: WALL-E is about the best damn movie Pixar has ever made. It had my heart racing and had me rooting for the good guy.
9/9/2006: Dave Mathews Band was off the hook at the Shoreline Amphitheater.
Never, ever read the game books too literally, or make such assumptions that what is omitted cannot be. Bad DM form, that.
And no matter how compelling a picture string theory paints, if it does not accurately describe our universe, it will be no more relevant than an elaborate game of Dungeons and Dragons. --paragraph 1, chapter 9, The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene |
|
|
|
Gerath Hoan
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
152 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2005 : 09:53:07
|
Thanks THO,
Can i ask that you add my questions about Knighthoods and Hersperdan from my pervious post onto Ed's mountain? I don't expect swift replies, of course, but any Realmslore to come from those would be truly fascinating.
GH |
Knight of the Order of the Keen Eye - Granted by Ed Greenwood, 30th January 2005 |
|
|
|
Wenin
Senior Scribe
585 Posts |
Posted - 01 Oct 2005 : 03:54:55
|
quote:
Exactly. If the Weave has no effect on the things that it is present in, then why bother telling us that the Weave is present in those things because otherwise there's no point to print that if it has no effect on anything.
I have the suspicion that if the weave was to no longer exist, that the world would "feel" different. Kinda of like the taste of stale water.
The example given of Elves dying with the destruction of the Weave. Was that weave destroyed in their presence? If so, I'd imagine that such a shock could kill such magically enchanted creatures.
In my view of things the absence of the weave would lead to the Elves leaving Toril long before they'd die of its absence... if they were to die strickly because of its absence. They would leave because the world would feel "dead", "eerie", "bland", etc.. to them. It would be as stale water tastes to us.... but to a dog... they'd lap that water up and think of it as the best thing they'd tasted. They'd wonder why we'd turn such a thing away.
Think of today's world as a world without magic... well unless you subscribe to the enchanting thought that technology is just another form of magic. =) We're only able to talk with each other over such long distances, because we have faith... but that's a different RPG system. =) hehehehe Anyway, writers speak of times long past as being more "enchanted". They talk of it as if there was a different feel to the world.
Thank you for your time Ed, and his sage. =) |
Session Reports posted at RPG Geek.
Stem the Tide Takes place in Mistledale.
Dark Curtains - Takes place in the Savage North, starting in Nesmé. I wrapped my campaign into the Hoard of the Dragon Queen, but it takes place in 1372 DR. |
Edited by - Wenin on 01 Oct 2005 03:59:31 |
|
|
|
The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 01 Oct 2005 : 04:26:18
|
Hi, all. Gerath Hoan, of course I’ll add your queries to Ed’s mountain (well put). He’s still digging where whim takes him, yonder on its slopes, continuing his Cormyrean guilds reply to Asgetrion:
THE GUILD OF COACHLARS, CARRIERS, WAYMEN AND LOCKSTERS
Guildmaster: Lady Guildmaster Sarissa Lathtyll (CG female human Exp3; the strikingly tall, beautiful, graceful, and soft-spoken widow of the guild’s recently-deceased and greatly loved guildmaster, Tethaero Lathtyll, allowed to run the guild by the majority of elder members who didn’t want any of three squabblingly ambitious junior members [Thael Maerynn, a coldly shrewd and grasping Sembian-sponsored coachlar; Malagar Tolluth, a fat, greedy Suzailan who wants to establish a hierarchy within the guild, with coach owners - - of whom he is one - - at the top; and Eskurr Valanth, a smilingly sly trader from Westgate widely {and correctly} thought to be a thief in the employ of certain criminals of that city] to wear the Master’s cloak, but now recognized as the hitherto-unacknowledged brains that guided Tethaero, and firmly supported by all except the cliques of the ambitious three; Sarissa has been wooed by Maerynn, but rebuffed him, defending herself with a coachwhip, in tales that are still making the rounds in Suzail, growing swiftly more lurid in the retellings
Headquarters: Tallgates House (Suzail, south side Promenade)
Portfolios: locksmiths, wagon-makers and owners, coachlars (coach-drovers), carters (those who operate local delivery wagons), and draymen (deliverers and loaders, of ships at the docks, wagons everywhere, and Suzailan warehouses; “locksters” are the owners and guardians of warehouses)
Badge: A white wagon-wheel (with eight spokes), displayed side-on, on a copper lone-point-uppermost triangle
Notes: Traditionally a guild of corruption (some members once regularly charged “surety” fees to make sure a client’s shipment arrived unbroken, to the right place, and uninspected by business rivals) and ambitions to weaken the power of the Crown (so as to lessen both laws and taxes), the “Coachcowls” (as most of Cormyr refers to this guild) were sharply curbed by the War Wizards and certain Highknights in the wake of the battles against the Tuigan Horde - - whereafter Tethaero Lathtyll was installed by the members as Master, and set about trying to make this guild the most daily-essential and respected among Suzailans, building trust and purging corruption, a task he largely completed (with the covert aid of the War Wizards); the Lady Guildmaster’s personal steward (and lover) is a War Wizard, though only she, of all the Coachcowls, knows this
THE TRUEBREEDS GUILD
Guildmaster: Askalho Theer (NE male human Exp6; a fat, snarling glutton of a man given to scowling bombast, who dislikes anyone who disagrees with him, but is too lazy to pursue any purges of members or ways of making his own views more palatable and thus accepted, within “the Breeders” (as Cormyreans call this guild); rich food and drink, and comfortable surroundings to enjoy them in, matter more to Theer than anything else in the world, and he fears engaging in any real conspiracies or even overhauls of his own guild because unfolding events might then somehow threaten his comforts; nevertheless, he’s only too willing to be bribed and ‘used’ by ambitious nobles seeking to weaken the Crown if not overthrow it
Headquarters: The House of the Bull (Suzail, south side Promenade)
Portfolios: horses, oxen, sheep, cattle, guard-dogs, sheep-dogs: the breeding, care and sale of, and maintenance of the pedigrees of, all “kept beasts”
Badge: A green triangle, horizontal across the top and with an elongated point at the bottom, on which is displayed a gray beast-leg (ending in a black cloven hoof, pointing to the outside) “standing” with the leg rising diagonally from the hoof at lower left towards the upper right, that “vanishes” as it passes through a gray “spiked collar” oval, slanted from upper left to lower right, and with the arc closest to the viewer at the bottom, that arc (only) displaying three blunted spikes
Notes: An often-fractious association of ranchers who breed, train, and sell livestock, this guild has bought Crown favour over the years by providing splendid royal mounts (to all Obarskyrs, and to important Court officials) as gifts, and by undertaking to keep “guarded in seclusion” (at various remote farms across the realm) breeding stock to regularly replenish Purple Dragon cavalry mounts and draft animals (which are ordered and paid for by the Crown, and are not gifts), on a “the needs of the realm come first” basis (which really means: don’t sell any large numbers of animals to buyers in Sembia or anywhere else outside Cormyr without obtaining prior Crown permission); well-regarded by most Cormyreans, who see the splendid animals guild members provide, never the surly Guildmaster (who’s privately considering breaking the guild rule Vangerdahast forced on his now-dead predecessor Belivaerus Daethul: that members of the guild would never attempt to crossbreed species nor make any use of magic enabling features of one beast to be added to another - - in short, to try to ‘make monsters’)
THE SEAFARERS GUILD
Guildmaster: Orthan Staramuranter (LN male human Ftr5/Exp12, a white-haired, white-bearded, gauntly impressive retired seacaptain who tolerates no “nonsense” [by which he means dissension, even slightly treasonous grumbling about conditions in the Realm, and any innovation]: “Old Orthan” retains his legendarily keen eyesight, and can see not only for great distances over water, but also that the status quo enriches members of his guild, and shouldn’t be shifted or unsettled in any way
Headquarters: Starsails House (Suzail, north-front Silverscales Street, across from [but “a few doors along east”]) the Black Rate tavern (feature 51 on the 2nd Edition Realms boxed set Suzail map)
Portfolios: sailors, captains, fleet owners, navigators, mapmakers, ropers (the local name for ropemakers), sail-makers, shipwrights (boat builders) and ship repairers
Badge: A vertically-elongated oval of light blue, with a tall, tip-curving-to-the-viewer’s-right central wave rearing up - - and a single eye staring straight-on (and calmly, this emotion suggested by the flattened top and bottom curves of the eye) out of the heart of the upper curl of the wave, at the viewer
Notes: Under Staramuranter’s firm, diligent hand (the Guildmaster employs street youths and “eyes and ears,” to confirm any information he doesn’t trust, and is constantly trying to learn EVERYTHING members of his guild are up to - - not out of any maliciousness, but to protect his members and anticipate coming trouble whenever possible), this guild is courteous, guildrule- and Crown law-abiding, and cultivates a “trustworthy, stolid, reliable, no changes please” image that has led Suzailans to rely on it, and shippers in Arabel and even Marsember to send their wares to Suzail’s docks for shipping, rather than through any other port; the only violence the guild condones is fighting pirates and salvagers (those who pick over shipwrecks): salvagers have been angrily, repeatedly, and often savagely (with alleyway and high seas slaughters) excluded from the guild over the years, despite their frequent attempts to join
So saith Ed, who’s obviously doling out the guild descriptions in trios as he struggles to get back up to speed on his writing schedule. He hasn’t said anything about “falling silent” for a bit to me, yet, but I’m afraid I wouldn’t be surprised if he does. Sigh.
love,
THO
|
|
|
|
The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 02 Oct 2005 : 01:09:48
|
Hi again, fellow scribes. Ed has interrupted his guilds of Cormyr descriptions to briefly reply to another scribe:
Well met to The Simbul. Great questions about your namesake, and I’ll answer them all in time, but for now, I’m just going to deal with your queries about that infamous tattered black gown.
Briefly put, The Simbul (not you, the character :}) doesn’t give a fig for her appearance, but does “like what she likes,” which is why she’s usually barefoot, with wild hair and wearing only (yes, no undergarments) a plain black gown.
And it’s not so much one gown as it is a wardrobe of twenty-some such gowns.
Those gowns take a lot of beating, because Alassra’s shapechanging ways place her up in trees, perched on sharp rocks, and in other dirty or overgrown places from time to time, when she changes back to human form.
She pulls free without any care for her clothing, because she just doesn’t care, and doesn’t mind mild pain (thorn-pricks and scratches from sharp branches, etc.). Yet she prefers the familiar comfort of her “little black gowns,” and therefore rarely reaches for any other garment (though she owns rooms full of clothing, some of it stunning - - in part because some folk of Aglarond think she looks terrible in those tattered gowns, and often gift her with fine clothing).
The Simbul is genuinely delighted to receive such gifts, if the clothing is flattering and isn’t some sort of poisonous or magical trap, but tends to hang them up unworn. She is, after all, a queen and can wear whatever she pleases.
So she strides to her wardrobes and puts on any tattered black gown that isn’t absolutely falling apart - - not because she cares if folk see her skin or not, but because she uses the particular weave of the cloth in her gowns to ‘root’ a lot of her spell triggers (and thus, her “hanging” spells). So they have magical uses, and one or two innate magical powers, like [NDA] and [NDA] and [oooh, a BIG NDA], too.
The Simbul mends her gowns by hand (needles and thread, personally, never employing magic) when she has time and sees the need. Often, her mending job will make sure the garment won’t fall apart, but will still leave some holes (and, yes, she’s been known to tease unwanted envoys and ambassadors by wearing too-revealing gowns and watching them struggle not to look).
Usually, she just lets a truly shredded gown fall to the floor of her wardrobe, shrugs, and reaches for the next (already slightly tattered from previous wearings) one.
Her servants know very well never to throw away the slightest scrap of thread of any of her gowns, nor let it fall into the hands of lurking Thayan wizards or anyone else.
The gowns can get filthy, but The Simbul does wash them between wearings. Sometimes, she dives into a soap-filled laundry vat still wearing a gown, and washes it and her hair and self all at once; she once cheerfully told a scandalized laundry maid that she did this “when the lice really get going, and I can FEEL them eating each other, all over me.” (She MAY have been joking.)
Perhaps there is some sort of sentimental attachment to “the look,” if not to a particular one of her many identical-except-for-where-the-holes-are gowns. It WAS how she dressed centuries ago, and has been her usual clothing ever since.
So saith Ed. Who will return with more guild details tomorrow.
love to all,
THO
|
|
|
|
Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 02 Oct 2005 : 03:22:59
|
Another question for Ed since he's discussing guilds.
I've been pondering guilds in FR and especially in Waterdeep and I had some questions:
1) Do the guilds pay rent or the bills for the members that are sick and unable to do thier jobs while they are sick?
2) Do the guilds take care of moneylending and storing for thier members? What about the storage of goods?
3) Do the guilds take care of the family of the deceased guild member?
4) What other privilages are guild members entitled to?
5) And anything else you might want to add that fits the topic. :) |
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 |
|
|
|
Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 02 Oct 2005 : 06:30:41
|
| You know, I've long wondered about the Simbul's choice of attire. Thanks for answering the questions that I never asked. I suppose I should thank the Simbul (the scribe, not the character! ) for asking them. Thanks to all! |
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!  |
|
|
|
The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 02 Oct 2005 : 07:16:59
|
Here's another for Ed:-
A couple of weeks ago I was reading a book that included in-depths accounts about the war strategies and tactics employed by Napoleon during many of his latter campaigns in central Europe. They were reports utilising his own writings on the topics and included brief details about how he might consider conflicts fought in environments his armies were not familiar with. So this got me me thinking about how some of the more powerful and unified nations in the Realms -- like Cormyr for example -- wage large-scale battles. What can you tell me about the overall use of military tactics and strategies that realms like Cormyr may have employed in the past?
Now I know we've learned tidbits here and there in the various sourcebooks, and the Army of the Alliance during the Tuigan invasion provided some serious details about how such techniques are employed in the Realms. But I'm really hoping for your take on this Ed.
Obviously, given what we know of armies and military campaigns in the Realms, we can assume the strategies of previous realm-rulers and military commanders are studied, just like in our world. In Cormyr, the war planners of the Purple Dragons likely spend months studying the tactics of enemies and allies alike... searching for vitual points that their military forces can exploit to their nation's advantage.
But what are the actual techniques used? That's what I'm looking for here. Simply put, how does a nation like Cormyr wage large-scale battles, or even wars, in the Realms?
|
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
|
|
|
khorne
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1073 Posts |
Posted - 02 Oct 2005 : 17:24:03
|
I`d like to thank both Ed and Jerry. Recently I got very interested in the war wizards, but I couldn`t find any place with detailed information about them(my budget doesn`t allow me to buy those expensive sourcebooks ). Then I skimmed through this thread, and Halleluja! Thanks again, Ed. |
If I were a ranger, I would pick NDA for my favorite enemy |
|
|
|
The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2005 : 04:17:21
|
Hi again, fellow scribes. I bring you the fifth part of Ed’s reply to Asgetrion about the guilds of Cormyr:
THE VINTNERS AND FALCONERS GUILD
Guildmaster: High Taster and First Gauntlet Lyonar Sorander (LN male human Ftr5/Exp9, a tall, white-haired, patrician man of sophisticated tastes, good manners, a splendid wardrobe, a neatly-trimmed white beard - - and a mind like the proverbial steel trap, shrewd and always alert and usually three steps ahead of everyone else in Faerűn; a consummate actor with a magnificent, mellifluous voice who seeks to persuade others to adopt his views, and wants to slowly, smoothly make his guild the most wealthy - - and most influential and trusted, by rulers and all who hold true ruling power - - guild in Cormyr)
Headquarters: The Mastery (Suzail, south side Promenade)
Portfolios: falconry, raptor breeding and trading, winemaking, vineyard-owning and -tending, wine blendings and sales
Badge: a triangle of gold, lone point down, with two joined scarlet spread (but curved in flight) wings inset “across its top”
Notes: Traditionally the guild whose clients were almost all royalty, courtiers of exalted rank, and nobles, the “Winewings” (as Suzailans generally all them) are now making “great stacks of coins” (as one member put it) providing falcons and drink to swift-rising, wealthy merchants who want either to be noble, or to act as if they are; because the falconers and the vintners aspired to serve the same noble clientele, they were the first to join ranks and form a guild; their successes led to the other “anvil-and-flower” (we real-world types would say “chalk-and-cheese”) combined disparate-trades guilds
THE BREWERS AND CHEESEMAKERS GUILD
Guildmaster: Oldvruk “Old Buck” Faerahowe (CG male human Ftr2/Exp12, a fat, jovial mountain of a man with a witty tongue and a love of revelry that extends to holding guild meetings with a scantily-clad lass on either knee or entwined around him; is never seen without a huge tankard of ale in his hand or within easy reach; is a semi-retired brewmaster who makes VERY good coin each year providing Cormyrean royalty and nobility with what we real-world types would call “designer brews” for their largets revels: ales with special flavours [involving apples, or cranberries, or woodsmoke sugar-sauce, or any of a score of odder ingredients] obtainable nowhere else); views his guild as an essential service whose members can only prosper when Suzailans are happy and growing more numerous - - so if the Obarskyrs can keep the peace and the harvests are good, we all benefit
Headquarters: The Caskhouse (occupies a floor above a guild-owned tavern, The High Tankard [the center Promenade-front building in the block that contains Danain’s hardware shop] that serves only ales and cheeses)
Portfolios: brewers and spirits blenders and importers, cheesemakers
Badge: A gray tankard (no handle visible, inward-sloping-to-top sides, capped with white foam) atop a wedge of golden cheese with a red rind, on an oval brown field
Notes: The Caskhouse often hosts drinking-revels (for members and one guest per member) that last several days and involve hired highcoin girls, much retching into buckets, exotic desserts, and unclad surfing tables (and down stairs) atop huge platters of cheese; the Old Buck has been shrewd enough to endear himself to all Suzailans by irregular, unannounced “processions” through several blocks of a Suzail street, handing out free samples of exotic cheeses and ales to everyone he sees (and by arranging with the Watch that anyone found starving in the streets during the hard months of winter is to be quietly brought to the Caskhouse for a “warm-up” meal of ale and cheese; and given a cloak and a sack of small cheese-ends to take away with them); so of all the guilds in Suzail, this is the one citizens will fiercely defend, no matter what mischief its members may do or trouble drunken guild clients may cause
THE ROOFERS, THATCHERS, AND GLAZIERS GUILD
Guildmaster: Ullvor Mharivven (NE male human Rog2/Exp11; a thin, darkly handsome, prissy fop of a man much given to wearing maroon cloaks over high-booted finery [that’s more fashionable than most nobles], making sarcastic or cutting comments, and sighing theatrically when clients complain or members dare to disagree with him); he sees his guild as not having enough respect, and is planning exhibits (we real-world types might call them “open houses”) to display spectacular stained glass windows and roofing trim (“gingerbread”), in an attempt to start new fashions (he’s also busily spreading rumors that ghosts accumulate in old houses in Suzail, and can be banished by periodically renovating or tearing down and building anew)
Headquarters: Hardshutters House (Suzail, north-front Market)
Portfolios: roofers, slate-masons, shingle-cutters, thatchers and thatch-cutters, glaziers, “sandglass” makers, glass stainers
Badge: three disembodied (ending at the wrist) pink human hands, on a diamond-shaped field of crimson: a right hand at the bottom, situated vertically reaching for the center of the diamond, where it’s curling its finger and thumb to outline (most of) an oval; while just above this oval, two hands (a matching left and right pair) reach vertically down from the top of the diamond, touch ‘heels’ together, and angle their fingers out diagonally downwards, to form a ‘roof’ over the oval
Notes: this guild is perhaps the most easygoing of all Cormyrean guilds, which means “often late for a job, or prone to vanish for half a day or even several days on end without warning or explanation,” and also means that guild members are the most ready to work alone or with just one trained assistant, and readily “day hire” interested youths, oldsters, and layabouts (for roofing-work, NEVER glazier-tasks); Mharivven long ago hired a wizard to craft a spell that he can activate (by means of a finger-ring) to animate glass shards (from the inevitable window breakages of guildwork; useful shards and pieces are brought back to Hardshutters for attic storage, and salvage by members doing “crazyshards” leaded glass skylights and transoms): he can readily open an attic hatch when anyone breaks into Hardshutters, and unleash a whirlwind of glass shards equal in effects to a BLADE BARRIER spell
Oooh. Wince at that last one.
Ahem, so saith Ed, who will return (he promises) with more Realmslore tomorrow. Busy, busy man.
love,
THO
|
|
|
|
Garen Thal
Master of Realmslore
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2005 : 06:08:39
|
Knowing well enough that Ed will have much to add on this topic (give the time and breath to do so), I'll briefly and generally speak on matters military for Cormyr, to help answer the Sage's question:
As to how Cormyr fights large-scale battles, there is a frustratingly simple answer. They don't. At least, not on Cormyrean soil. Given the vast natural defenses of the nation (mountains on three sides, Anauroch and the Stonelands beyond that, and a well-patrolled sea to the south), the inherent advantages of defending troops, and the rather intimidating title of the nation's magical defenders (they were named the Brotherhood of Wizards of War for a reason), most enemies aren't daft enough to attempt an actual invasion of Cormyr. This is why all the major conflicts you read about for the Purple Dragons--the Dragonfall Battle, the Witch-Lords, the war against Magrath and Salember's civil war--are all cases in which someone wishing to conquer Cormyr got in and had to be forcibly removed. None of them were ever met "at the border."
The only wars where Cormyr engaged in recognizably "set-piece" battles (the sorts you see in Braveheart, for example, or in accounts of the Hundred Years' War) were during the Crusade (which took place well outside Cormyr) and against the Witch-Lords of the Wyvernwater, where the Purple Dragons and every other capable hand was whelmed against a force that needed to be wiped out with finality. In nearly all other cases, conflicts in Cormyr are fought in smaller, more managable skirmishes, with units small enough that their tactics, commanders, and abilities are all familiar to the Cormyrean participants. This is due both to the nature of the combats (Cormyreans know Cormyr better), and of the opponents--who usually make themselves a threat by infiltrating the nation separately, and are usually fairly disorganized (goblins, rebels, etc.) preventing true, unified assault that a whelmed army with formed ranks is even necessary.
That isn't to say that Cormyrean commanders don't plan for set-piece battles where the terrain is known. A favorite practice is to think up ways of overcoming Arabel's defenses. There is, of course, a practicality in this, considering how often Arabel has rebelled in the past, and it served the nation well in retaking the city following Nalavara's horde taking over.
In general, however, Cormyr's forces keep to smaller units, more guerilla-style tactics: quick, mobile strikes that exploit vulnerabilities rather than large, clunky, overwhelm-by-numbers strategies that tend to get lots of men killed. When you have a group of War Wizards, having all your men standing in one place is generally a bad idea anyway, and set-piece battles tend to allow for far more "expendable casualties" than the Crown or Cormyrean people are willing to accept. |
|
|
|
The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2005 : 08:03:26
|
I was hoping you'd chime in Garen .
And I appreciate the analysis .
quote:
In general, however, Cormyr's forces keep to smaller units, more guerilla-style tactics: quick, mobile strikes that exploit vulnerabilities rather than large, clunky, overwhelm-by-numbers strategies that tend to get lots of men killed. When you have a group of War Wizards, having all your men standing in one place is generally a bad idea anyway, and set-piece battles tend to allow for far more "expendable casualties" than the Crown or Cormyrean people are willing to accept.
The smaller unit sizes are crucial to such military strategies. With short chains of command, the response and deployment times for these units make for effective use of the forces comprising these units. And with higher mobility comes the ability to respond more quickly to local threats which may intially overwhelm other Cormyrean militia units that are assigned to counter the threat.
Since Cormyr has well defined borders in the west and south, it makes it easier to station smaller units in these areas, as they can respond quickly to invasive threats -- concentrating more rapidly than a much large force from inside Cormyr.
|
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
Edited by - The Sage on 03 Oct 2005 08:10:25 |
|
|
|
Garen Thal
Master of Realmslore
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2005 : 16:10:31
|
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
I was hoping you'd chime in Garen .
Me? Whyever me?
quote:
The smaller unit sizes are crucial to such military strategies. With short chains of command, the response and deployment times for these units make for effective use of the forces comprising these units. And with higher mobility comes the ability to respond more quickly to local threats which may intially overwhelm other Cormyrean militia units that are assigned to counter the threat.
Since Cormyr has well defined borders in the west and south, it makes it easier to station smaller units in these areas, as they can respond quickly to invasive threats -- concentrating more rapidly than a much large force from inside Cormyr.
Well, sort of.
In the west, the only place to get a force of any size into Cormyr is through a single mountain which is (quite intentionally) dominated by High Horn. The Lake of Dragons to the south is patrolled both by the Imperial Navy and the far more numerous Freesails. In the east and north (northeast, really) the Stonelands, Thunder Gap and southern shore of the country do provide enough room for troops to come through, which is why Thunderstone is a fortified town, why Arabel has both a local garrison and the armies of the Warden of the East (and the reason for such a Warden in the first place), the motivation behind the annexation of Tilverton and so forth.
With these few locations for armies to gather, it becomes very simple for Cormyr to plan for its defense, and to discourage invaders: if you have only two or three viable spots from which to mount an assault, your enemy knows where those are, is likely to patrol them heavily, and when you do gather your forces there, may very well summon those cursed War Wizards to blow you up, assuming you ever get there in the first place. Because most of the "weak points" in Cormyr's natural defenses are to the east, the real threats they consider are Sembian invasion and a Zhent wave down from the Moonsea. Thus, they try to keep the Dales strong (both for their own sake, and as a "buffer zone" of sorts) and watch grasping Sembia very, very closely. |
|
|
|
Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2005 : 18:40:45
|
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
(snip)
Gerath Hoan, your only question in the queue is a request from March 28th of this year, wherein you asked: “. . . So who is the Realms’ Lucifer and what happened to him?” (And khorne promptly and correctly answered you, at that time.) Feel free to add new questions, so long as you can live with Ed taking months to answer them. He is truly snowed under, despite it being only September. Sigh.
love to all,
THO
(snip)
Is there a sense among demonologists in Faerun that demons and devils are fallen "angels"? Or are they regarded as inextricably linked to the substance of their Hellish planes, as in some other campaign settings? The Tragickal Historie of Doctor Faustus would take on a whole different tenor if Mephistopholes was a native of one of the Nine Hells and not an exile there, while Paradise Lost would lose almost everything which gives it literary power if it were a account of Hellish denizens trying to conquer a Prime Material Plane (or one particular world in a Prime crystal sphere) with which they have no prior connection.
May we have a word or so, if you please, on Faerunian demonology from the man who wrote the book (or at least several articles) on Hell itself? |
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.
|
|
|
|
Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2005 : 18:51:30
|
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
Here's another for Ed:-
A couple of weeks ago I was reading a book that included in-depths accounts about the war strategies and tactics employed by Napoleon during many of his latter campaigns in central Europe. They were reports utilising his own writings on the topics and included brief details about how he might consider conflicts fought in environments his armies were not familiar with. So this got me me thinking about how some of the more powerful and unified nations in the Realms -- like Cormyr for example -- wage large-scale battles. What can you tell me about the overall use of military tactics and strategies that realms like Cormyr may have employed in the past?
Now I know we've learned tidbits here and there in the various sourcebooks, and the Army of the Alliance during the Tuigan invasion provided some serious details about how such techniques are employed in the Realms. But I'm really hoping for your take on this Ed.
Obviously, given what we know of armies and military campaigns in the Realms, we can assume the strategies of previous realm-rulers and military commanders are studied, just like in our world. In Cormyr, the war planners of the Purple Dragons likely spend months studying the tactics of enemies and allies alike... searching for vitual points that their military forces can exploit to their nation's advantage.
But what are the actual techniques used? That's what I'm looking for here. Simply put, how does a nation like Cormyr wage large-scale battles, or even wars, in the Realms?
I have a character who is a devotee of the Red Knight and have considered writing analyses of famous Toriliean battles from a tactical perspective (Metagame Lore: how real world battles were fought when the terrain or the combatants were similar to Realms battles).
If Ed and the other sages were to supply some details of some decisive battles(rather less than we have for the Battle of the Bones), I would be willing to write up a few battles as Realmslore for others outside my own campaign -- *IF* people were interested. Who knows? "Marek Ilsor's Fifteen Decisive Battles of Faerun" may one day be a classic!
(deflate gently my ego. deflate gently!)
.
|
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.
|
|
|
|
KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2005 : 01:01:41
|
Good Ed, Master of all things that go bump in the Realms . . .
Are the Phaerimm suppose to have rows of eyes running from their maw down to their tails, as they are illustrated in their first appearance in FR13 Anauroch. Current illustrations show them as plain looking funnels with arms and a mouth, but I rather liked the rows of eyes and spikes. Was this just an artistic flourish from Valerie Valusek, or did you discribe the rows of eyes originally, but it just didn't make it into the description of the monster in their MC entry?
Thanks Ed! |
|
|
|
Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2005 : 01:22:26
|
Ive always thought of Tempus Red Book of War as being a cross between the real world books On War by von Clausewitz's and the Art of War by Sun Tzu
"Fireball spells are the continuation of diplomacy by other means"
Delcor the Invoker
|
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
|
|
|
The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2005 : 04:23:33
|
Hi again, all.
Ed takes another brief break before finishing up his Cormyrean guilds descriptions, to deal with a few more questions about The Simbul from . . . The Simbul.
Ed speaks:
The Girdle of Rods has magical powers of its own, but they are [NDA]’d except for this one: it can cause up to four rods that have been carried within it for more than a day at a time (anytime in the past) to levitate in a ring around the girdle-wearer, and “fire” simultaneously, under the girdle-wearer’s mental command (i.e. he or she need not hold them, can aim them mentally, at a seen target or a known location, and can do other activities while using them, such as running, leaping, or even spellcasting.
The Girdle has nothing to do with The Simbul’s power of taking certain sorts of magic items ‘inside herself;’ that’s her personal power, and I plan to say more about how she got that power someday, if I get the chance (for now, consider it NDA’d). And yes, she can store many sorts of magic rods (and certain other sorts of magic items) inside her AND call on their powers, without taking harm from their discharges or altering their effects (i.e. you read the novel correctly), but I’m going to keep the precise details of what, how, and limitations secret for now. After all, it’s not as if SHE’S going to tell you (and if she shows you, it’s usually the last thing you ever see :} ).
Regarding the Spell Trigger scrolls and written spellbook inscriptions spread by Magister Lawkland: The Simbul did nothing to recover them, because she was specifically forbidden to do so by Mystra. Which is indeed why they are now, as per the 3e Realms sourcebooks you cite, “available to anyone” (er, who can find them, of course). The main task Mystra sets her Chosen is spreading magic more widely among intelligent beings of Faerűn, and working to make access to magic possible for more of them (in other words, acting against tyrant-wizards who try to restrict magic use or keep copies of spells only for themselves, denying them to others).
And yes, The Simbul learned how to wear (and use) a large number of rings at once (one per toe and thumb, and two per finger; they still won’t function if worn as earrings or piercings, though they can be “carried inert” in such a way), though not from that now-deceased Magister (again, NDA time). The Chosen are reluctant to just “let fire” with lots of magic items and spells simultaneously, by the way (although The Simbul, enraged and spell-battling Red Wizards, is perhaps the most reckless of them all in this regard), because they know (and can “feel”) the potential damage to the Weave this can cause (wild magic echoes, instability and even Shadow Weave tears or small dead-magic zones).
So saith Ed. Who knows your spellstoring gems query is still outstanding, The Simbul, and will get back to it after he’s answered a few more pending queries.
love to all,
THO
|
|
|
|
Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2005 : 04:32:05
|
Speaking of queries.... :)
I believe I have some from last year still floating out there? And who knows how many from this year..... |
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 |
|
|
|
The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2005 : 00:07:02
|
Hi again, all. Ed replies to Gareth Yaztromo’s question: “are there any subcultures in Toril?” hereafter:
Yes, of course there are. Wealthy youths (we might call them “teenagers”) who because of their family prosperity have time (freedom from working to feed themselves) and coin enough to pursue fashions and interests that disgust or unsettle their parents often do so, as a form of rebellion. This happens all the time in Waterdeep, Athkatla, Suzail, the cities of Sembia, and so on. Some young nobles go through a “play at being a street beggar” or “gang member” or even worse “prostitute” phase, or join weird cults (or even CREATE weird cults, complete with “shocking” clothing, secret passwords and catch-phrases, and preoccupations with drugs, arcane sagecraft or herblore or desires to “go wild” and live with packs of wild animals in forests, adopt the bygone fashions, manners, and mores of ancestors from several centuries back, and so on. For many individuals, these are just “passing fads,” but because so many of them try it, there is always a group of people sharing such an interest in existence (thus, a “subculture”).
For instance, in both Athkatla and Waterdeep, nobles and the youth of wannabe-noble rising merchant houses play at “Farforevermore,” which is wearing the fashions popular among nobles of their cities more than a century ago, courting in the old ways, playing at keeping (and flogging) slaves as the nobles once did . . . and so on. “Forevers” adopt persona names while playacting, often maintain hidden or private garret rooms where they can change clothing from their everyday selves to their personas, and pool funds to host revels or even rent mansions where they can play at Farforevermore (though of course most of them would hotly deny that they’re “playing” at anything, insisting instead that they’re improving themselves, and ultimately their cities, by cleaving to the “better” ways of yesteryear.
This is just one subculture, out of many others (consider doppelgangers and dragons who dwell shapechanged among humans not to hide or to blend in, but to try to shift human attitudes towards accepting doppelgangers or dragons - - not just as social neighbours, but as sexual and family mates). We just haven’t dwelt much on these in print because the nature of the game sourcebooks, adventure “modules,” and novels TSR and now WotC publish just haven’t (beyond the “here’s an evil or deluded cult” facet) had the right opportunities to delve into them.
So saith Ed. Who’ll return with a quick reply to KnightErrantJR tomorrow, and then get to the last trio of guilds.
love,
THO
|
|
|
|
The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2005 : 01:31:07
|
Hello again, fellow scribes. Ed replies to KnightErrantJR about the ORIGINAL gaming group of mainly-PC adventurers to explore the Realms: the Company of Crazed Venturers. Ed speaks:
I would LOVE to feature or explore the Crazed Venturers (nearest and dearest to my heart) in a fiction trilogy. However, right now, it just doesn’t seem likely that I’ll have the chance. The Knights books are coming out one a year, from 2006 through 2008, and then the Books Department guys’n’gals and I already have more than one “hot project” (no, of course I can’t say more, for obvious reasons) agreed-upon. Sales figures tend to indicate that for all the moaning and kvetching about Elminster as Ed’s Ego-Fulfillment Perfectly Tireless Lover And All-Powerful Fix-The-World-While-Being-A-Jackass Wizard, you folks love to buy Elminster books. So I’m sure there will be pressure for me to return to Elminster . . . and the Crazed Venturers haven’t had nearly as much contact with the Old Mage as the Knights have.
However: yes, the Crazed Venturers are important, and yes, I have a very soft spot for them. I guess we’ll just have to see . . .
So saith Ed, who REALLY WILL return with the last trio of Cormyrean guilds tomorrow. (Or else.)
love,
THO
|
|
|
|
Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2005 : 01:50:09
|
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Sales figures tend to indicate that for all the moaning and kvetching about Elminster as Ed’s Ego-Fulfillment Perfectly Tireless Lover And All-Powerful Fix-The-World-While-Being-A-Jackass Wizard, you folks love to buy Elminster books. So I’m sure there will be pressure for me to return to Elminster...
love,
THO
I love this part, especially since someone over on those other boards tried to claim that Ed doesn't know how to read sales figures and WOTC doesn't use them to base thier decisions on which NPCs to keep alive and who to kill off or to no longer write about. :) |
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 |
Edited by - Kuje on 06 Oct 2005 01:50:47 |
|
|
|
The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2005 : 02:13:17
|
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Sales figures tend to indicate that for all the moaning and kvetching about Elminster as Ed’s Ego-Fulfillment Perfectly Tireless Lover And All-Powerful Fix-The-World-While-Being-A-Jackass Wizard, you folks love to buy Elminster books. So I’m sure there will be pressure for me to return to Elminster...
love,
THO
I love this part, especially since someone over on those other boards tried to claim that Ed doesn't know how to read sales figures and WOTC doesn't use them to base thier decisions on which NPCs to keep alive and who to kill off or to no longer write about. :)
 What?!
That's ridiculous  . This particular part of Ed's reply really needs to be quoted over there then.
'Tis a strange place... that other world  .
|
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
Edited by - The Sage on 06 Oct 2005 02:14:14 |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
|
|
Questions for Ed Greenwood (2005)
Topic Locked
