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Skeptic
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1273 Posts |
 Posted - 09 Mar 2006 : 18:32:38
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quote:
Originally posted by RodOdom
Dear Mr. Greenwood,
How much of a secret is the city of Skullport? Would the average person in Waterdeep or the Sword Coast have heard of it? How many would believe it?
And I'll add this to RodOdom resquet :
The secrecy problem I run into in my current campaign is about the main entrance of Skullport.
I can't get a clear picture of how ships can go from the docks to the near south sea caves in clear sight of the City guard.
I know that the Lords tolerate Skullport to keep the worst under, but I can't believe they don't have to answers citizen questions about these obvious illicit ships.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2006 : 19:13:00
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I just found this bit from Ed, from July of last year (at least, that's the date on the file):
quote:
Now, as for Skullport: I doubt Waterdhavians would ever go into unrest over the mere existence of Skullport; I can only see unrest occurring if nightly raids on the city that clearly came from Skullport(such as by bands of Drow or other "known to be of the Underdark" creatures, coupled with the inevitable lurid rumours) began and went on for days without any response from the authorities.
The existence of Skullport is common knowledge in Waterdeep, and has been for years.
So have the publicly-given reasons for the Lords of Waterdeep tolerating its presence: it enriches Waterdeep greatly, making possible all the wealth and great selection of wares and bustling progress that “advances us all," and it neatly provides a place for dangerous beings (wizards and drow and illithids and the like) to trade in valuable and sometimes dangerous goods, and "keep all that away from all of us who never have any reason to venture down there." In other words, you as a citizen or resident of Waterdeep enjoy great prosperity and safety that you would not, if Skullport didn't exist. Among all the lurid legends and tall tales of goings-on in Skullport are tales "planted" as reassurance, such as: "And if anything ever gets out of hand in Skullport, the Blackstaff has all sorts of spells 'hanging ready' to take care of it all: invaders from there will get blasted to dust! In the meantime, he and Laeral take their apprentices down there for training, and Watchful Order magists, too, so they can blast a few monsters and remind everyone not to try anything with Waterdeep, or - - blam!"
So if adventurers did "tell everyone else about it “they’d probably get responses of: "Uh-huh. 'Sware the bad folk trade, and go, and they deserve whatever befalls them. Glad the Lords keep it all out of OUR hair, anyroads!"
Ed
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 09 Mar 2006 19:13:27 |
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Skeptic
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1273 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2006 : 21:03:59
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| I still keep my specific issue on Ed's evergrowing stack of lore request. |
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Mace Hammerhand
Great Reader
Germany
2296 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2006 : 21:53:36
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Ed and/or THO,
back in the day when I GMed D6 StarWars there was a little module out there called "Fragments from the Rim" it contained tidbits, odds and ends a GM could incorporate easily into his campaign. Drinks, Music, Food, Bars that sort of thing.
I know that the Volo's Guides helped some in that department, but is there any possibility that we'll get to see a use-full book that contains more in the vein of wines, meals, Shou fortune cookies, herbs, plants and so on?
To me as a DM it's always kinda difficult to describe some things because I'd have to make up names on the fly etc. Sometimes they work...sometimes they don't. If I could present my players with a menu of a fine restaurant in Silverymoon I am fairly certain they will get a kick out of it. Heck, when I first introduced miniatures and battlemaps they were awed at actually *seeing* that they were surrounded by 24 monsters and they realized that it would not be easy.
If I could decribe to them how which flower smells and what its pedals look like...well you get the idea...
Always a fiddler for details
Mace |
Mace's not so gentle gamer's journal My rants were harmless compared to this, beware! |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2006 : 22:16:38
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Mace,
A lot of what you describe can be found in Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog from 2e. :) A lot of these items were also updated for 3e's Arms & Equipment Guide. |
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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Mace Hammerhand
Great Reader
Germany
2296 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2006 : 22:43:10
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Thanks, Kuje...uh the arms and equipment guide has wine lists and menues? Dwarf Battlebread maybe? (you have to know Pratchett to know of Battlebread ;-) )
Nonetheless, it'd be great to see such a thing in one way or another, sorta like Volo's Guide to Plants, or the "Brehms Tierleben" for Faerûn, sorry I do not know if there is an equivalent title in English.
Now for something I need to find an answer to. (don't you hate it when you cannot let go of a thought/idea until you got the answer, talking about obsessive compulsive ;-) )
Ed,
do all souls go to the Fugue Plane first? If so how can a deity like Lolth threaten to torture a 'renegade' soul, the chap will be in the wall of souls quickly enough... or does Kelemvor barter with anyone else except the baatezu when it comes to False or Faithless souls?
For more information please check my Fugue Plane...-Post here on this board.
Fiddling for world building logic since the 20th Century and still unable to figure out our own world.
Thanks in advance
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Mace's not so gentle gamer's journal My rants were harmless compared to this, beware! |
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Neriandal Freit
Senior Scribe
USA
396 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2006 : 22:44:49
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| I think the Fugue Plane has been talked about before and not really needed an answer from Ed. |
"Eating people is wrong...unless it's on the first date." - Ed Greenwood, GenCon Indy 2006 |
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Mace Hammerhand
Great Reader
Germany
2296 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2006 : 22:57:11
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I am merely confused regarding the problem that arose during WotSQ.
If the Fugue Plane, by Ao's decree, is home to Kelemvor, his faithful, as well as the Faithless and False and a turnover point for all deceased it only seems logical that dead drow stop there as well to be sorted there.
Unless Kelemvor is only responsible for the human dead, and thus the Fugue Plane is only for humans...which would be illogical because then the threat of belonging to the False and Faithless if you are a demihuman would lack in severity... |
Mace's not so gentle gamer's journal My rants were harmless compared to this, beware! |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2006 : 00:52:14
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Hi, all. Jamallo Kreen asked several questions back on January 15th, and Ed has replied to one of them, to whit: “I also have a question about Mystra/Midnight's memories: does Mystra-sub-2 remember the lives of Mystryl and Mystra-sub-1 as if they had occured to Her? Does She have a personal recollection of what it felt like to have Karsus attempt to usurp Her powers?”
Ed replies:
The latest Mystra (the former Midnight) is awash in a sea of memories, so bewildered most of the time that she’s nigh-insane or perhaps helplessly overwhelmed (think of being blindfolded and put in an unfamiliar room with ALL of your own clothes [yes, the socks and underwear and all the childhood things that don’t fit that you may be keeping for sentimental reasons] poured in loose around you, on top of all the clothes of two other persons who had much, much larger wardrobes than you did . . . and then be expected to blindly sort out of all those heaped clothes half a dozen particular garments and put them on . . . too easy? Well, new clothes keep getting added [both by you and every one of the Chosen whose mind you touch], and the old ones, of course, move around constantly, as all the clothes change subtly). The first Mystra’s memories often scare Midnight/Mystra 2, because they come with emotional baggage that she sees as changing HER upon contact (for instance, pull up a “Mystra 1” memory of Elminster, and with it comes the intense love and lust of Mystra 1, welling up inside Mystra 2 and changing how she regards Elminster). However, the memories of Mystryl feel so alien and different that Mystra 2 shuns them instinctively; when they happen to be memories charged with great emotion or tinged with great flows of power, they literally overwhelm her and can’t be “viewed” directly. So, she DOES “have a personal recollection of what it felt like to have Karsus attempt to usurp Her powers,” but she’s never experienced it, and probably never will.
All of this is why she’s so uncertain of herself (see the mountaintop scene I put into ELIMINSTER’S DAUGHTER) and so withdrawn (as compared to Mystra 1).
So saith Ed, who plays Mystra in a manner that evokes real awe around our gaming table.
love to all,
THO
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VonRaventheDaring
Learned Scribe
USA
197 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2006 : 01:13:32
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Wow Ed that is awsome! I mean i love the way that you answered that question concerning mystra. I have to say that you have developed a potent curse (weither you ment to or not is for other scholars to debate), and yes the curse is the ability to answer a question and create an almost infinite amount of new questions spawned from the ashes of the old. Anyway i have two questions for you ed (at least i am starting with two ). What do you think of the god auppenser and the kinda optional addition of psionics to the realms. and by that i mean do you like Auppenser and the idea of a sleeping god of psionics, or do you just ignore it, or even dislike it. I understand that it might not be kosher to ask as you have to work with WoTC but i have to ask for my own personal sanity. Yes i know that is in question as well hahaha. Anyway the second question is Auppenser related as well. How would you play the relationship of Auppenser to the current Mystra. By this i mean how would they interact i mean Auppenser has known both Mystral and Mystra the first. Maybe he could help her deal with those memories and what not. Also (yes i know a third question) What do you think or feel about the time portfolio being out of commission with no current god claming it, is that planned or just happened?
Also i have to say as a side note that the lovely Hooded One is doing an excellent job as your represtitive here at Candlekeep, of course that could be because she is so succubus like...... |
"Develop the latent abilities within you for that is your power alone. Psionics is the ultimate art of magic and you are its practitioner. Through lifelong dedication, strive to unite your will with your physical form to become one. Only through the unrestrained union of one’s mind and body can the magic of psionics truly be mastered. Throw off the yoke of any who would impose tyranny upon you. Likewise, do not ever force another to submit to your will. Free your mind, free yourself and you have only just begun the path to true psionic mastery. Free others, open their minds to the Invisible Art, and you will show them way to Auppenser."
---Dogma of the Church of Auppenser |
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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2006 : 07:35:39
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quote:
Originally posted by Bakra
Egads, how many of us are librarians in training or librarians??
Ahem, here's one who takes pride in his noble profession  |
"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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thom
Seeker
USA
69 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2006 : 15:58:10
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
I swear, Ed, someday I will manage to get the rest of those rituals out of you. :) Even if it is through private buggings and private replies.... hehehe.
Yes, dammnit! I've got a Cleric of Lathander at 2nd level, he's the party leader and a great roleplayer to boot. I'd give body parts (THO-you pick) to know all the rituals, creeds, taboos(especially!) etc. I should be putting him through!
Speaking of which, I was perusing the OGB again and I noticed that "Jelde Asturian" got his name at 3rd level, THO can you or Ed elicidate on the why of this requirement? And while you're at it, I know that "Gentle Father" is the (2nd Ed) title for a 3rd level cleric of Lathander, can you remember what the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th etc. ones are? And I don't mean the ones in Faiths & Pantheons--I'm guessing they didn't have access to Ed's notes. I'd like to know what Ed calls them in the home realms. Thanks a bunch! |
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thom
Seeker
USA
69 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2006 : 16:01:24
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quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
[brGood thing I updated it for you last year, Steven!
-- George Krashos
Wonderful!! Can we have it, please, please, please! |
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Neriandal Freit
Senior Scribe
USA
396 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2006 : 16:05:26
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I have a pondering question to THO.
I dont know how much you get to roleplay these days and what not, but I have a feeling yourself, Ed and the rest all manage to get together once and a while and have fun (out of bed ).
Is there any small chance that you could do us the honor of giving us ideas and suggestions? Or things you've encountered and have done in roleplaying terms over these years? Even if it's just like every other month or three months. Maybe like a Hooded Corner that doesn't involve anything naughty 
Have I mentioned how wonderful your looking? |
"Eating people is wrong...unless it's on the first date." - Ed Greenwood, GenCon Indy 2006 |
Edited by - Neriandal Freit on 10 Mar 2006 16:13:57 |
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Jindael
Senior Scribe
USA
357 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2006 : 16:09:33
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Ahem. I really MUST reply to this, from Jindael: (Then there are the perks; “Why, Hello Lady Hooded. That’s a lovely skirt you’re wearing. Oops, I seemed to have dropped my pen.”)
Sigh. Librarians.
You don’t have to go through that charade and all that unpleasant bending. It can be hard on the pens.
Just say, “Why, hello, Lady Hooded. That’s a lovely skirt you’re wearing, but I’d like to see what’s under it even more.” And I’ll smile and strip. It’s that easy.
With me. You probably wouldn’t want to try that conversational gambit on most other females.
But that would deprive us of that interesting “pretend-to-be-completely-oblivious” non-subtle flirting that I find so invigorating. (Especially coupled with interruptions of steel-melting passion.)
However, having managed a Nightclub in Miami for a while, I’ve found that the “Whatcha got on under that?” gambit occasionally does work really well.
And speaking of nightclubs….
quote:
Originally posted by Karth
Ed and/or THO,
Another easy one that you can probably rattle off the top of your heads: tavern/nightclub terminology and slang. Looking for Realms-equivalents of the following, along with anything related that occurs to you in the process:
1)'Wingman' - There is likely a shortage of fighter pilots in the Realms, so: a friend who covers your flank while you go into a perilous situation, such as picking up girls.
2)'Tab' - Ongoing tally of what you owe a bartender or shopkeeper with whom you do regular business.
3)'Coat-check' - Storage of not only coats, but also weapons or other gear not permitted in some taverns, festhalls and nightclubs. Related: what is typically done about magic items that are too dangerous/valuable to be turned over to an innocent woman/young man at the door, but are not appropriate to be carried into the taproom? Staves limned in crawling green flames, for example.
4)'Bouncer' - This may well have been covered in canon as 'doorguard' or some such, but surely some more colorful Realms-flavor term has evolved in the Home Realms campaign?
This is coming up in reference to the Copper Cup, in Waterdeep. If that jogs the memory for further detail: so much the better.
Thanks to you both,
-Karth
*******************************
As it happens, I ran a game for a pair of friends of mine who wanted to do something different than our normal game during the week. Our normal game was the standard fantasy fare, but the side game was much different. It was based on the characters owning a festhall (well, running a festhall; the establishment was actually owned by someone else who gave the PC’s the job of running it.) The short version of what the game was based around was the PC’s were Harper fronts who spent a lot of their time in finding and recruiting adventurers to do tasks for them, as well as deal with the local Zhents. Mostly trade stuff and the like. As such; we peppered our game with festhall terminology. I’m not Ed, of course, but this is what we used during the game.
Wingman became “sheildbearer”
Tab was Tab, but was also known as your “nailcheck”, as the tabs were kept on scraps of leather nailed to the back of the wall.
Coatcheck was divided up. We had the simply named “Cloaker” who had the mundane task of taking your cloaks and other bulky outer garments from you, but that was mostly when it was raining, and your cloak would be to soaked to sit around it. The room itself was also simply the cloak room, and shared a fireplace with the kitchen, so that the cloaks would dry. It was also used for snowshoes and skis.
For the longest time, the fellow who checked weapons at the door (in a room opposite the cloakroom) was simply “The fellow who checks weapons at the door”. However, during gameplay, one of the players came up with the phrase “the bladecheck” and it stuck. The bladecheck also had a set of lenses that allowed her to detect magic and she often required patron’s to turn over any evocation or necromantic items they were carrying. A supply of stout, but mundane staves were kept on hand to prevent the old “Would you deprive an old man of his walking stick?” line. (“No, I wouldn’t. Here, take this, old father, and pass over your staff topped with the cackling human skull that’s vomiting blood.”
Bouncers were “toughs” and “door guards” depending on their position in the hall until, after a pretty violent brawl, the toughs became known as the “roomsweepers”, at least locally.
And of course, Barkeep, Barmaid, Tablelass (which didn’t get said that often because of the way it sounded) and all the others that I’m sure people are familiar with.
What I call a barback at the club I worked at (the people who run to get ice, full bottles from the cellar, tap kegs, clean tables, etc) were called the same, officially, but more often then not, they were referred to as the “kitchen kobolds”. (The pair of teenagers who had this task were a half-elf and a human, not actually kobolds. )
quote:
Originally posted by Neriandal Freit
Is there any small chance that you could do us the honor of giving us ideas and suggestions? Even if it's just like every other month or three months. Maybe like a Hooded Corner that doesn't involve anything naughty ;)
This is a great idea. ^_^ I’d understand if you don’t have the time, THO, but it would be fun. And can be naughty if you like. ;)
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"You don't have a Soul. You are a Soul. You have a body."
-- C.S. Lewis |
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2449 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2006 : 18:37:23
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| Uhh... I'm an archivist/conservator-in-training... does that count? |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 11 Mar 2006 : 00:15:56
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Of COURSE it counts. C'mere, big boy; * I * like to count with my fingers.
Ahem.
Hi, all. Kaladorm recently responded to this from Ed: “And no, he CAN’T disguise his holy symbol and still have the spell work, if it’s a spell above 2nd level. Bane expects him to publicly bear witness to his faith, so as to impress (or cow) others. Bane is the god of tyranny, remember?” by asking: “How would this apply to a priest of Mask say? (or in older times a priest of Leira (sp?))”
Ed replies:
Mask loves deceit, but loves himself and the power of his enhanced reputation even more. Mask wants mortals to fear and respect him, and so wants his clergy to use his holy symbol in their spells (though, as it’s a mask, a sly priest can often downplay what he’s doing, wearing the mask and just pulling it down to his lips to kiss as the incantation begins, putting it back up into place on his face as the casting continues). Many priests of Mask try to do all of their “formal” castings and devotions by night in concealment (secret cellars or other spaces reached by concealed or secret ways are most favoured, but rooftops will do if nothing else is available).
Leira, on the other hand, prizes deception, so any holy symbol could be used as long as it contained a real holy symbol of Leira (the smoky-mist triangular plaque), of any size (yes, tiny would do; some clergy glued such symbols to their fingernails and covered them with bandages or gloves, revealing them only during castings). For the spells to work, such concealed holy symbols had to be consecrated to the goddess in prayer, touched by the user’s spittle or tears or blood, and put into direct contact with the user’s skin for at least two continuous days and nights (most priests made several at once, taped them to their bare bodies, and then went to sleep, in seclusion [a hermitage vigil or retreat], lying still and praying whenever awake, for the requisite time).
Spellcasting constructions were even created and practiced by Leiran clergy that purported to be one spell, calling on another god, when they were really a different spell, calling on Leira: there were “empty” or false words mixed with “true phrases” (not something that would fool a priest familiar with either the real spell or the spell it purported to be, or a priest of the god falsely invoked, but most “average mortals” would be fooled or misled).
So saith Ed, creator of the gods. (Not something most of us can put on our resumés.)
love to all,
THO |
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Akashayana
Acolyte
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - 11 Mar 2006 : 20:40:54
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Hey there!
I am currently in the midst of character creation and am attempting to establish a home for my wizard within the Icerim Mountains north of Rashemen and Thay. He has a bit of Frost Mage in him so he's at home in the cold and is powerful enough to flee from fights he can't win.
Unfortunately, aside from a small paragraph in the Unapproachable East, there isn't a whole lot published on this mountain range.
I was wondering if Mr. Greenwood would be so kind as to expound upon the Icerim area a bit. That is, if it doesn't compromise any future works..
Thanks!
-Tlazcotl |
-America is the only country in history to go from barbarism to decadence without civilization inbetween. |
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Trace_Coburn
Learned Scribe
New Zealand
137 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2006 : 01:45:22
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Me again.  Another odd notion occurred to me a couple of days ago, and I'm desperately curious to know more.
Following a question by Zandilar in 2004 regarding single-sex and polyamourous relationships, there was a lengthy and involved discussion on the subject (with input from THO herself, and Ed through her) telling us that there's no especial stigma attached, especially in the adventuring community. I've long since bookmarked those posts (indeed, they were part of how I stumbled onto the Candlekeep Forums in the first place - long story ). But I was wondering how common/accepted formalised same-sex/polyamourous marriages are, and which Faerûnian religion(s) would be most likely to perform them.
Now, this is just me thinking aloud, but Sune's portfolio seems to make Her more-or-less a no-brainer for this, and Tymora might like the 'you're really pushing your luck here!' aspect involved. For some reason, I get the feeling that Eilistraee might not be opposed, either - the whole 'spread happiness' part of her creed.
Confirmation/contradiction? Did I miss anyone?
And, of course, while I understand the workload the Sages are under, I'm still desperately eager to find out more on the matter of elven settlements in the Semberholme region of Cormanthor, per my post on p.16 of this thread. Did I get overlooked in the shuffle, somehow? [plaintive sob]
If it helps ease the demands of ferreting out any such information, I can shrink the focus of the inquiry from the region as a whole and would settle for a thumbnail sketch on the (former?) settlement of Aluiantl (as found on the map at the back of Cormanthyr: RotE), which seems to be fairly well-situated for my purposes. |
D&D collection: Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster Manual I, Complete Arcane, Arms & Equipment Guide.
FR sourcebook collection: Dragons of Faerûn, Faiths & Pantheons, FRCS, Lords of Darkness, Monsters of Faerûn, Player's Guide to Faerûn, Power of Faerûn, Races of Faerûn, Silver Marches.
I just got back into this, okay? Give me time (or better yet money) - I'll catch up soon enough. |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2006 : 02:00:58
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| Ed has already told me that Sharess's clergy would perform such marriages and that reply is in the 2005 files. Do a search for it in the index in my sig. |
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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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2006 : 02:35:20
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Hi, all. Trace_Coburn, rest assured that your question was received by Ed, and his reply is probably only about five posts (in this thread, from me) away. The strange thing is that he was both enthusiastic - - and he groaned. I don't know what that means. Yet.
Kuje recently posted this: “Ed, I saw this on the WOTC boards. selunatic2397 said, "I always tell the local dm's in my town that the constant creation of new names is the hardest part of my job. I am in a constant state of awe regarding the ability of Ed Greeenwood to literally pour out new names in a tsunami-like torrent and to always have them fit the situatuation and locale seamlessly [Kuje if you are reading this please pass my kudos to Ed for me and I will be eternally gratefull]"”
Ed replies:
Thanks, Kuje, and please thank selunatic2397 for me. Yes, it seems to be a knack I have, and as the FRCS name charts (for space reasons) chopped out a LOT of the names I’d generated for them, I have lots of names in reserve to sneak into various posts, such as those here and the columns on the WotC website. I’ve actually been spending a lovely week thinking up new ones and sticking them on new characters that you won’t see for a while, for still-secret purposes I’m very excited about (and no, won’t say more about, so please don’t ask). Rest assured that even if I get run over by a mad reindeer tomorrow (the snow up here is fierce again), a flood of new names is still to come. All DMs should remember that their home campaigns don’t have to follow the please-don’t-confuse-us-all needs of the published Realms: lots of characters can (and should) have the same names, and be easy to confuse with each other. (Heh-heh.)
So saith Ed. Yummy, yummy, floods of Realmslore to warm us all well into the future. Love the sound of that.
love to all,
THO
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2006 : 02:52:22
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Ed,
You best not get run over by a reindeer until you send my file back to me. :)
And will try to hunt down that poster and send your reply to him/her. |
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 12 Mar 2006 02:52:49 |
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Trace_Coburn
Learned Scribe
New Zealand
137 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2006 : 03:38:56
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Hi, all. Trace_Coburn, rest assured that your question was received by Ed, and his reply is probably only about five posts (in this thread, from me) away. The strange thing is that he was both enthusiastic - - and he groaned. I don't know what that means. Yet.
Cool! I'm sorry to appear so impatient; it's just that on other forums I inhabit, questions to TPTB can languish unanswered for months or years, and seeing Ed and thee provide Candlekeep denizens with their desired lore often within a week or less of being asked... well, I got carried away. Much groveling in apology for the unseemly haste. [Awaits the lash....]
@ Kuje: thanks for the link. The specific situation I was thinking of in asking the question related more to the three Goddesses I named (for various in-character reasons), but a wider view of the matter (and your contribution thereto) is much appreciated. |
D&D collection: Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster Manual I, Complete Arcane, Arms & Equipment Guide.
FR sourcebook collection: Dragons of Faerûn, Faiths & Pantheons, FRCS, Lords of Darkness, Monsters of Faerûn, Player's Guide to Faerûn, Power of Faerûn, Races of Faerûn, Silver Marches.
I just got back into this, okay? Give me time (or better yet money) - I'll catch up soon enough. |
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Volo
Seeker
Canada
58 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2006 : 06:34:57
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Well, I have a question for Ed that may be a bit out of the norm. What are the legalities surrounding ambassadors/embassies/diplomats in the Realms? For a very long time on Earth, the land of an embassy, and the immediate surroundings of an ambassador/diplomat have been considered legally the territory of the nation they represent, and the acts of a diplomat/ambassador have been considered exempt from prosecution. So, in the Realms, have such legalities developed, and if so, which nations respect this theory, and which ones don't?
Oh, and THO? I'm training to be an archivist as well. So, yes, there's another librarian in Candlekeep. |
Volo's misunderstood. He's not an idiot. He's a FLAMING idiot! |
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Thauramarth
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
729 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2006 : 07:16:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Volo
Well, I have a question for Ed that may be a bit out of the norm. What are the legalities surrounding ambassadors/embassies/diplomats in the Realms? For a very long time on Earth, the land of an embassy, and the immediate surroundings of an ambassador/diplomat have been considered legally the territory of the nation they represent, and the acts of a diplomat/ambassador have been considered exempt from prosecution. So, in the Realms, have such legalities developed, and if so, which nations respect this theory, and which ones don't?
Oh, and THO? I'm training to be an archivist as well. So, yes, there's another librarian in Candlekeep.
Well, actually... (putting smartass lawyer cap on ) - have to balance the flood of librarians) On Earth, the embassies of a foreign nation are NOT considered the territory of that foreign nation. The grounds of a diplomatic mission are considered inviolable (the host country may not enter it without the permission of the head of the mission) and diplomatic personnel are considered to be immune from some (by no means all) laws of the host country. To illustrate the difference: under the Law of some countries, if a child is born on its territory, it automatically has the nationality of that country, by operation of law (I believe the United States are one of those, but feel free to correct me if I am wrong). If the embassy of such a country were considered the territory of that country, children born on the embassy grounds would have the nationality of that country. The embassy grounds are simply inviolable, the laws of the host country apply. It's just that the host country cannot send its troops in to enforce the laws. (Ducking rotten tomatoes, taking smartass cap off  ).
As a follow-up question - does the Realms have the equivalent of customary international laws, i.e., are there things that all countries / states more or less agree to, even if no one has ever stated the rule? (Earth's examples: many of the laws of war were customay laws, until the international community started codifying them, end of 19th century, and into the 20th)?
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rweston
Acolyte
Canada
19 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2006 : 07:51:40
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Volo, Thauramarth,
I suspect those horns you hear are the horns of the Heralds of the realms.
My guess would be the Heralds are considered by many to be the enforcers of "international custom" - going by what was written up in the Code of the Harpers & the hints in the latest articles by Ed on WOTC's website (the ones where Azoun & his Queen are teleporting about the realms).
Just a guess...
:)
Rory Weston
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Grey Box sensibilities
3.x rules |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2006 : 15:21:39
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Hi, all! Rory’s quite correct guess neatly sets up this, from me: be sure to buy and read POWER OF FAERUN. Wherein heralds, marshals, and divers diplomatic matters are lightly covered. Earlier in this thread, Ed gave some ‘general conventions/popularly-accepted general behaviour’ lore, too.
love,
THO
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Skeptic
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1273 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2006 : 15:31:43
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| Volo, take a look at the Thayan embassy entry in CoS. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 13 Mar 2006 : 01:24:21
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Hello again, fellow scribes of the Realms. Tor Drakeclaw posed this “fairly simple” question: “Do black halflings exist? Are there variations in skin colour within that race like there are between humans with different ethnic backgrounds?”
And Ed now makes reply:
In a word, Tor: yes.
The halflings of Faerûn are of three ‘breeds’ (sub-races), detailed in RACES OF FAERUN: the ghostwise, the lightfoot, and the strongheart.
The most common halfling, in the eyes of other races (because they’re most often seen by other races, dwelling with them and wandering the Realms) is the lightfoot. They’re about three feet tall, with athletic build, ruddy skin, brown or black eyes, and hair that’s black and straight. They’re also the breed of hin most likely to interbreed with other races, and so acquire different hues of skin, hair, and eyes.
And they’ve done that, which is why you’ll encounter hin in the Realms with (natural, not just dyed, though if you see vivid purple or green, you’re seeing a dye job) straw-yellow, deep blue, or even flame-orange hair (and many treatments can make that hair curly, too). You’ll also see eyes that range from butter and soft yellow through to sapphire-green (green and blue are rare, amber less so, but the vast majority of hin have black, brown, or deep red eyes). And you’ll see skin hues from pale white with blue tinges (like certain elves), through snow-white, all the way to black.
However, “black” in this case really means skin of a deep purple hue, not obsidian (drow) black, and often goes with red eyes. Hin with this colouration usually have chestnut or darker hair (though they may streak or dye it lighter), and usually come from Raurin and places south and east of that. In other words, in the Heartlands, Inner Sea lands, and the North, they’re VERY rare.
Please note that in a world that often sees magical disguises and also often sees hin making coin as traveling entertainers (acrobats, clowns, et al), a black halfing is something to stop and watch, but NOT something to draw sword and slay, or shout for the Watch or the nearest wizard to do something about.
The game rules describe norms, and acceptable “tournament, at conventions” standards, just as real-world biology texts describe humans as having two genders, and two arms and two legs - - ignoring the fact that hermaphrodites and individuals born with more or fewer limbs do exist. So there ARE black halflings, but:
* 85 percent of halflings have ruddy skin, black straight hair, and brown or black eyes
* another 5 percent have lighter (tawny to tan) skin, black straight hair, and eyes that are brown, black, or so dark red as to look black except at closest examination
* another 5 percent have still paler (but not white) skin, brown or black straight or wavy hair, and eyes of yellow, amber, butter, brown, red, or black
* the last 5 percent is “everybody else” in terms of coloration and build, including, yes, your black halflings.
So saith Ed. And lest you think this is all invented on the spot, we Knights encountered a traveling tumbling troupe of entertainers in Voonlar, who’d been hired by the Zhent garrison (and were robbing said Zhents blind) soon after our arrival in Shadowdale. In other words, in the real-world year 1980 or so. (Always remember, folks: the Realms predates D&D.)
love to all,
THO
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 13 Mar 2006 : 06:07:36
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Hi Ed,
I was wondering if you can give us some details about wills and last testaments. :) Who, as in which races and or which wealth limit, usually has such? Who gets the items/wealth/etc if no one has a will and or last testament? Where are the wills stored? How do they work? Are there any conflicts about having such a thing after the person and or persons have passed on? Are any of the clergy involved and I figured that the clergy of Oghma might be. Maybe, if wills do exist, you can give us a example of one. :) And as usual, I'll leave this reply with: If you think there needs to be more details then just my questions, have at it. :) |
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 13 Mar 2006 06:49:50 |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2006)
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