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Thangorn
Seeker
New Zealand
84 Posts |
 Posted - 31 Oct 2006 : 11:29:10
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This was definitely the best of the bunch for my money. Character development was excellent and it kept me on the edge of my seat enough. I'm really interested to read more now..
only minor criticism I might have is what happened to Glen? I did some serious homework on this village as I am about to use it in my campaign.. where did my beloved dwarves go? 
all in all, you outdid yourself again Richard. Well done. |
Ex-A Land Far Away (ALFA) DM/Builder
Faerunian Canon Despot |
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RichardBaker
Forgotten Realms Designer & Author
129 Posts |
Posted - 31 Oct 2006 : 18:08:20
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Thanks, Thangorn, I'm glad you liked the story!
Regarding Glen... I should've used another name for the village I had in mind. I'll explain how I made the goof: Back in 1992 I wrote the 2nd Edition FR supplement "Dalelands." In that book I described a number of small hamlets and villages throughout the Dales that hadn't ever been discussed before. (The Dales needed more villages and small towns, given the population and "feel" they were supposed to have.) So I came up with places like Glen and Peldan's Helm in Mistledale. When I wrote the Bladesinger's Lesson, I relied on my memory of "Dalelands" and a quick look at that sourcebook, not realizing that later products had come along and added even more detail to Glen. (Little description about Glen appears in "Dalelands", but I recall I wrote a paragraph or two for it that wound up not going into the sourcebook. That's the Glen I remembered.)
So, there you go--I was using an older source for Mistledale and forgot to check more recent material. For what it's worth, I think the story still "works" if you assume it's "random small Mistledale village we never named before" rather than Glen. But I am sorry for making the mistake in the first place. I should have gotten it right.
quote:
Originally posted by Thangorn
This was definitely the best of the bunch for my money. Character development was excellent and it kept me on the edge of my seat enough. I'm really interested to read more now..
only minor criticism I might have is what happened to Glen? I did some serious homework on this village as I am about to use it in my campaign.. where did my beloved dwarves go?
all in all, you outdid yourself again Richard. Well done.
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Rich Baker
Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
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Thangorn
Seeker
New Zealand
84 Posts |
Posted - 31 Oct 2006 : 20:19:01
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quote:
So, there you go--I was using an older source for Mistledale and forgot to check more recent material. For what it's worth, I think the story still "works" if you assume it's "random small Mistledale village we never named before" rather than Glen. But I am sorry for making the mistake in the first place. I should have gotten it right.
Not a worry Richard. I assumed "a human village in the vicinity of Glen who call their village Glen aswell" when I read the story, theres some 5,000 people scattered all over that dale after all and that village couldnt have had more than 400 people who regularly visit/live in it.
It also made me think of when I was in Papua New Guinea, theres quite a few villages that have a 1 and 2 incidence in the Owen Stanley Ranges(eg. Efogi 1 and Efogi 2) they can be some 20km apart at times and the locals will just say they are from "Efogi" for example.
I think I'll add your little village in somewhere in my campaign since I liked the richness of your characters there.
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Ex-A Land Far Away (ALFA) DM/Builder
Faerunian Canon Despot |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 01 Nov 2006 : 00:02:59
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OK, I finished this story (and in the process, finally finished this anthology!). I have to say...it was actually pretty good. There were no parts of the story that I thought were boring, and I actually liked some of the characters, too. I really thought Nilsa should have gotten more screen time--especially considering the fact that she is so crucial to the plot--but what I did see of her made her both strong and sympathic. I'm not entirely sure why she would be chosen by the moonblade, because brave girls who defend their hometowns aren't exactly unique in the Realms...again, I really wished the story explored her character (and perhaps, her heritage) a bit more. There's only so much room in a novella, but still. The moonblade likes her character--give the reader a better glimpse at it, too.
The true nature of Lord Sarthos did surprise me...although at the same time, not really, since I've read the Last Mythal series. It's a device that's been used before, but I have to admit I didn't expect it. All in all, it was a good tale, and stands well enough on it's own. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
Edited by - Rinonalyrna Fathomlin on 01 Nov 2006 00:03:12 |
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Hawkins
Great Reader
USA
2131 Posts |
Posted - 01 Nov 2007 : 23:36:02
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I really enjoyed this story, but did anyone else find it odd that the Fey'ri were allied with devils instead of demons? They are supposed to owe their fiendish bloodline to fornicating with demons, and normally, devils have nothing to do with demons or their spawn (other than to attempt to gut them and wear their entrails as jewelry), so why were they allied with the Fey'ri?
Also, I have not had the pleasure of reading The Last Mythal trilogy, so I do not know if this is a current theme in those novels. It was at the used book store last weekend, but I did not have the money to buy it.  |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 01 Nov 2007 : 23:56:46
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quote:
Originally posted by HawkinstheDM
Also, I have not had the pleasure of reading The Last Mythal trilogy, so I do not know if this is a current theme in those novels.
It is. In the LM trilogy, demons and devils are both allied with the fey'ri (devil Malkizid works with half-demon Sarya), and that is a lore issue that other readers of the books have been upset by. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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turox
Learned Scribe
USA
145 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2007 : 08:04:01
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If I am remembering correctly, both Demons and Devils were trapped in MD without a way out. (Or was it just Demons that were trapped?) So the way I see it if you were trapped in with your enemy after a few centuries I would align with them just to find a way out, then I would continue putting them where they belong.  |
Turox Antas Dragonslayer -
"People will believe anything they want to believe, or fear to believe."
Wizard's First Rule: Chapter 36, Page #397, US Hard Cover (revealed by Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander).
Explanation by Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander: "People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true. People’s heads are full of knowledge, facts, and beliefs, and most of it is false, yet they think it all true. People are stupid; they can only rarely tell the difference between a lie and the truth, and yet they are confident they can, and so are all the easier to fool."
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36878 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2007 : 10:23:01
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Not only that, but Sarya needed someone to fight for her. It wasn't about morality, it was about having bodies to put on the front lines. Devils may not have been the first choice, but they were readily available.
...But... We're straying from the topic. |
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Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 02 Nov 2007 11:34:47 |
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Realms of the Elves: "The Bladesinger's Lesson"
