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RodOdom
Senior Scribe
USA
509 Posts |
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createvmind
Senior Scribe
490 Posts |
 Posted - 28 Jun 2007 : 02:23:07
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Hello All,
Would a arcane caster who has a familiar know all the creatures abilities due to the rapport they share as in how strong or agile it is and such (stats-wise)? Is this something that will develop over time and commitment to wanting to establish such a bond? The PC has just acquired a psuedodragon as a familiar and from reading about them in MM 3.5, psuedodragons are quite a handful to begin with which is why I haven't given him the creatures stats and skills and also this dragon being a exceptional specimen at that. I'm sure there are spells that could give him this information but will he over time learn the creatures stat info as well as he knows his own strength and weaknesses?
Basically how do you handle such things when PC's gained companions, there is a magic item in MIC that lets a druid/ranger know the condition of his companion as long as the item is worn which makes perfect sense to me which prompted me to ask you the question.
Thanks, safe travels
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jun 2007 : 16:34:18
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Well met again, fellow scribes. This time I present Ed’s response to these queries from Jamallo Kreen: “Well met, Master Ed and Lady Herald!
I'll bet that you thought that you were over and done explaining the various forms of address for those whom I called "bedded, but not wedded." Far from it! As I have said before, every answer of Ed's generates at least one other question, and this one concerns lickhips, boldshakes, and coin-lasses and laddies. Aside from the vernacular English words which we all know (or which most of us know), what are specifically Realmsian terms for prostitutes? I don't mean the specialty ... ah ... ladies ... such as Calimport's bearded entertainers (whom you have already dealt with at length), but the everyday, run-of-the-mill sex professional. Also, are there specific "terms of art" to refer to the entertainers from Kara Tur and other such exotic locales who might be considered prostitutes by the undiscerning, but who really do "just" entertain in intimate situations without doing the wild thing?”
Ed replies:
Just like the recent query about snacks, this one has so many replies that I’m sure I’ll miss a lot of the euphemisms employed in the Realms. However, let’s have a go at a fragmentary list:
• low-coin lasses
• high-coin girls (obviously, this term and the preceding one refer to rates charged - - and, usually, “quality of presentation,” which is to say: to charge high rates, a female usually has to be pretty if not beautiful, actress enough to enjoy her work and to portray what the client wants [from fear to innocence to tenderness, and a liking for whatever the client’s preferences are], to be clean and provocatively dressed, and to operate in less than squalid surroundings)
• ladies of the evening (implies the ability to function as escorts in social situations; i.e. know how to behave at a feast or formal gathering as ladies of breeding, not merely - - or perhaps not even - - sexual partners)
• bedwarmers (entirely neutral and open-society-polite term, as it can imply either gender, and everything from a personal maid who literally warms a rented bed with a bedpan and then departs, perhaps never being seen by the renter, to a regular companion hired repeatedly by a given traveler on every visit to a given establishment; usually means “good, hard-working, trustworthy prostitute”)
• alley girls (implies low and coarse street workers, often women who literally ply their trade in alleyways by night, usually swift “offerings” for a few coins; young boys who can scrape up a copper coin between them usually get their first sight or fondle [only] of bared female flesh by visiting an alley girl in daylight)
• festhall downdancers (“festhall dancers” are usually just that: dancers, though they may flirt and dance unclad or partially so; “downdancers” is the usual shorthand term for “MORE than just dancers”)
• lightskirts (a mild term, usually implying prostitution but can mean merely promiscuous)
• looseskirts (need not be a professional; this term really means “willing woman,” but is often employed to mean prostitute by folk who dare not, or don’t want to be, more explicit)
• snakehips (an exhibitionist and willing sexual partner who is either contortionist or acrobatic, or “willing to try” precarious sites for trysts, such as rooftops, high tree boughs, atop wagons, high windowsills, hanging from ropes or balconies, on horseback, and so on; again, need not be a professional)
• low-lantern ladies (refers to the Southern [the Vilhon, Calimshan, and points south] practice of dancing, disrobing, and then lovemaking all to the subdued amber or red light of almost-shuttered lamps that have panels of one of those two hues)
• willing-arms (usually used to refer to a village whore, as in “ah, this’ll be the local willing-arms”)
• escorts (implies the acting ability and training to function as “arm candy” in social situations such as revels, feasts, and formal gatherings as persons of breeding, not necessarily sexual partners)
• hard-currency girls (a term rarely heard these days; it implied that this particular prostitute wouldn’t extend credit - - but almost no one does, any more, so the term is dying out except as a leering, over-the-top “scandalous” term used in some plays - - usually by a “shocked, utterly SHOCKED, my dear!” character)
• courtesan (a professional “hostess” employed by a ruler at his court, to entertain important visitors; need not have a sexual role at all, but usually does; tone of voice or local knowledge implies sexual side of profession if it exists)
• warmflanks (a very “polite” way of referring to prostitutes; can be said in polite social conversations by or in the hearing of anyone, including disapproving old matrons and children)
• whiplovers (originally only a slighting way to refer to worshippers of Loviatar, or S & M -enjoying cultists of Shar and Bane, its use broadened to include masochists venerating Ilmater, and finally all sexual masochists; recently, has seen use in Amn, Tethyr, and Calimshan as a term for those who offer their bodies to be whipped in return for coin)
• kisscoin (a polite, affectionate term for those willing to make love for pay)
• footwarmer (an utterly neutral term for a paid companion of the opposite sex, who is willing to sleep with clients; usually sex is implied, but the term literally means to provide companionship in bed for the lonely, so they have a warm body to warm their feet against; increasingly, this term is applied to aging, less athletic and adventurous prostitutes)
• she-eel (a snarled near-curse, implying someone who teases, takes coin, and then slips away [or robs clients], OR an approving advertisement for someone very supple and willing to use her skills for adventurous sex or to increase the pleasure of clients)
• banner (a male prostitute)
• skilled-laces (a prostitute of satisfying skills and performance; the term refers, of course, to unlacing garments)
• darksail (someone who makes love for pay while masked, or with identity magically disguised; originally many elves and half-elves of Waterdeep used a “shiftmask” spell that covered their faces - - except for their eyes - - in amorphous darkness; this spell is sometimes cast for hire on wealthy wives and husbands who want to “cheat” at masked revels, so if their masks are torn off, their faces still can’t be seen; the spell can also be cast to cloak most of the body, so once garments are removed, the body can be felt more than it can be seen, an aid in concealing wrinkles, or identifying marks that betray identity)
• slyblade (prostitute who dresses as a man, to woo female clients or as protection against the disapproving or lawkeepers, when meeting male clients who know her true identity and profession very well, or are “tipped off” by prearrangement plus a card, message, or signal)
• catclaw (prostitute who likes rough sex or domination, or who will for coin try to seduce others, or act the role of a slave, spouse, conquered war-captive or former rival who is now a willing lover [in other words, benefit or enhance the status of a paying client by her acting, from wearing chains and willingly accepting abuse to pretending to have been smitten by the sexual prowess of the client)
• bell-ankles (a Southern term referring to the dying practice of wearing chiming bells on the ankles when dancing or lovemaking, as audible advertisements; this custom is dying out, but the phrase still sees popular use to mean prostitute willing to entertain “walk-in” clients)
• slapthighs (low-rate or coarse or willing-to-be-abused prostitute; the term is descriptive, NOT pejorative)
• smilecoin lass (polite term for a friendly, “nice” prostitute, especially one who will cook for, provide conversation for, and provide a bed for the night for, a client - - not just providing sex)
• goldglint darling (poetic or “overly polite” term for anyone who provides sex for payment)
• playpretty (a female paid for sex by soldiers or sailors)
• doxy (mistress or prostitute, especially applied to women who are the shared mistresses of a select roster of men)
• warmvelvet (a young, pretty or beautiful prostitute who likes to tease or act alluring or foster an air of mystery; in Silverymoon or Waterdeep, this also means a noble or wealthy young woman “playing” at being a prostitute for the thrills [or to see if she can use this as a “road away” from an unhappy home situation])
• chalice (a poetic or very polite term for a prostitute, based on the poetic reference to the female as either a cup that a male drinks from, or a vessel that receives his seed)
• glimmersheath (a strikingly beautiful prostitute, or a male crossdressing prostitute; in either case, the term refers to eyecatching beauty and willingly receiving the “dagger” of the male physique)
• gold tigress (a prostitute who likes to wrestle with or fight [to be “conquered”] clients, or to bite and claw them; a “tigress” without the word “gold” refers to a female who is not a prostitute but has similar sexual preferences]
I could go on and on and on, because the euphemisms are endless, but these given here are the most universally understood (even if some of them are used only regionally, travelling merchants have spread word of their meaning across Faerûn). If one adds insults and curses to modify these, an entire new roster of phrases opens up, but I’d rather leave those to the inventiveness of individual DMs so as not to upset too many scribes reading this thread.
So saith Ed. Who flirts outrageously, but has never employed a prostitute, though a (gaming!) business partner once sent a lap dancer to visit him for a “private dance” as a joke (Ed kept his hands to himself and let it be just that: a dance), and on another (gaming convention!) occasion Ed was taken to a club where ladies dance nude and then ask clients to buy them drinks; drinks were duly purchased, pleasant chat was enjoyed, and further offers politely declined. Ah, self-discipline. 
Or as Ed put it: “My eyeballs certainly enjoyed that.”
And no, I’m not going to “name gaming names.”
love to all,
THO
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jun 2007 : 02:25:06
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Those are a lot of words--thanks for sharing.  |
"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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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jun 2007 : 05:15:25
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So, Ed "was taken" to a club hey? did they finally manage to twist his rubber arm far enough to risk dislocation?
Oh, and Lady THO: keep those posts coming!
PS: and no, I do not "keep her downstairs", or anywhere... SHE is quite free... to order me around like the half-German SHE is! |
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Calrond
Learned Scribe
USA
118 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jun 2007 : 05:56:14
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My question is for THO and Ed, concerning the home Realms campaign that Ed DMs. I know that by a vote of players, the Time of Troubles hasn't happened yet. That means that unless some other disaster has befallen her, Mystra (not Midnight) is still the goddess of magic. From the scenes in Elminster's Daughter, we learn that Midnight is still trying to fit into Mystra's role and doesn't know much more than her Chosen. So in the home Realms campaign, what has happened differently (with the Chosen, RSEs, etc.) just because it's the original Mystra in place?
Thanks, and it's always good to hear about Ed's campaign.
Calrond |
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jun 2007 : 15:23:12
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Hi, everybody.
Just got a voice mail from Lady THO. She can't get in the doors of Candlekeep to post Ed's latest reply just now. Apparently the Server Time Out message that so plagues us all is hitting her hard right at login, and won't even let her on. Sage? Wooly? Alaundo? Is it time to take the server out back for a long rest (or a good whacking)? |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
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Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jun 2007 : 19:47:46
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Well met again, fellow scribes. This time I present Ed’s response to these queries from Jamallo Kreen: “Well met, Master Ed and Lady Herald!
... Aside from the vernacular English words which we all know (or which most of us know), what are specifically Realmsian terms for prostitutes? ...
Ed replies:
(Snip)
• glimmersheath (a strikingly beautiful prostitute, or a male crossdressing prostitute; in either case, the term refers to eyecatching beauty and willingly receiving the “dagger” of the male physique)
(snip)
Ah, self-discipline.
Or as Ed put it: “My eyeballs certainly enjoyed that.”
And no, I’m not going to “name gaming names.”
love to all,
THO
Oh, thank you very much! I like the sound of "glimmersheath," and some of the other "terms of art" will come in very handy for one of my characters who can afford the very best, but who likes to be ... well ... "Steady!"
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I have a mouth, but I am in a library and must not scream.
Feed the poor and stroke your ego, too: http://www.freerice.com/index.php.
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Alaundo
Head Moderator
United Kingdom
5695 Posts |
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Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jun 2007 : 19:54:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Blueblade
Hi, everybody.
Just got a voice mail from Lady THO. She can't get in the doors of Candlekeep to post Ed's latest reply just now. Apparently the Server Time Out message that so plagues us all is hitting her hard right at login, and won't even let her on. Sage? Wooly? Alaundo? Is it time to take the server out back for a long rest (or a good whacking)?
I have seen duplicate posts of mine appear several times over the last two days when a "server busy" error message cropped up. If that happens to a message poster, I have found that the best way to get rid of the extra messages is to start at the first duplicated message, click the trash can icon, and work down from there. If the server is busy, going from the bottom up may lead you to accidentally delete the original message which you intended to post.
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I have a mouth, but I am in a library and must not scream.
Feed the poor and stroke your ego, too: http://www.freerice.com/index.php.
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jun 2007 : 23:58:56
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Hiya Ed,
I was just glancing through the new issue of Dragon and was wondering if you have any comments in the Green Ronin sourcebook: Hobby Games: The 100 Best. I see that James Lowder is editing it and it says Gary Gygax, Steve Jackson, and others have supplied comments for it, so was curious if you had as well. |
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 30 Jun 2007 00:00:41 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2007 : 02:12:40
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Thank you, Alaundo! I'm back, without the slightest problem this time. Your magic touch worked!
(And that's not something I say to ALL the guys . . .)
This time, i bring a swift reply from Ed to Kuje's query, just above:
Jim has asked us to keep mum about this project for now - - so *cough* you can probably infer some sort of involvement of mine from that, yes? (The book should be a "must" purchase for public libraries, and I doubt gamers will ever have seen such a roster of Big Gaming Names between two covers before. If you're attending GenCon, buy it!!!) And that's ALL I'm going to say until Jim gives permission for more to be said.
So saith Ed. Whom I believe has seen at least the final table of contents, to be so certain about the roster of writers. I'm looking forward to this one AND to the 40 Years of GenCon book, which should both be out at GenCon this year. Wheee!
love to all,
THO
P.S. However, I still got the ASP 0113 Script Timed Out error when trying to post this. Sigh. |
Edited by - The Hooded One on 30 Jun 2007 02:15:37 |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2007 : 05:15:12
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Cool,
Snds good. :) |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2007 : 19:13:09
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quote:
January 27, 2006: Hi, all. This time, Ed replies to Jamallo Kreen's post: "Thank ye kindly for the answers thus far, and rest assured that I shall continue to poke, prod, and otherwise disequilibrate the applecart in the future.
There was one tripartite question of mine which may have been answered and the answer lost in the shuffle of my cyberdesk, and which I therefore repeat: What the heck was that magic black curtain across Yellow Snake Pass during the Time of Troubles; what happened to things that passed through it; is it still there?
I await your answers on tenterhooks. (Or at least on osteophytes.)"
Ed speaks:
Oooh, tenterhooks. This's going to hurt, because I'm going to have to leave you hanging. However, feel free to disequilibrate away... :}
Seriously: I hadn't forgotten your query, but was sitting on it in hopes the NDA would end when the project that was going to pick up on this "loose end" was published. However, it hasn't yet, and so the NDA continues. For now. Sorry.
So saith Ed.
Just to be on the safe side and not miss something which has left me curious for years, I think I'll re-post my query every 18 months or so, in the (perhaps vain) hope that WotC will finally provide the gist of the answer and the NDA will go away, so that Ed may give us the details. So there it is ... again. :)
(I do recall reading recently -- where my vacuous memory cannot recall -- that the Zhents had sent one or more expeditions into Yellow Snake Pass, so is it safe to say that the black whatever-it-was isn't there any more?)
(By the way: many, many thanks to kuje for codifying "So saith Ed" into pdf files; I was able to retrieve Ed's answer to my question within a few seconds.)
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I have a mouth, but I am in a library and must not scream.
Feed the poor and stroke your ego, too: http://www.freerice.com/index.php.
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2007 : 19:53:24
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quote:
Originally posted by Jamallo Kreen
(By the way: many, many thanks to kuje for codifying "So saith Ed" into pdf files; I was able to retrieve Ed's answer to my question within a few seconds.)
Thanks. :) Sometimes I wonder if it's worth my time.
Speaking of, *looks at the date*, and realizes that Alaundo needs the last three months updated and sent. Adds that to the list of things to do. |
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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Penknight
Senior Scribe
USA
538 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2007 : 21:26:36
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| Out of recent curiosity, what are the Realms zodiac symbols, and do they bear any significance on characters at all? Hmm... maybe I should just ask, "Hey Lady THO, what's your sign?" |
Telethian Phoenix
Pathfinder Reference Document |
Edited by - Penknight on 30 Jun 2007 21:27:47 |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2007 : 22:29:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Penknight
Out of recent curiosity, what are the Realms zodiac symbols, and do they bear any significance on characters at all? Hmm... maybe I should just ask, "Hey Lady THO, what's your sign?"
Ed has answered this in the past, I believe they are still under NDA. Check his compiled replies. :) |
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 30 Jun 2007 22:31:34 |
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Danimus Darkcloud
Acolyte
Canada
1 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jul 2007 : 01:00:30
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This may be innapropriate for or unanswerable in this forum, but if anyone has ever tried to ask WoTC anything and get a straightforward response, you'll understand my coming here to ask this.
Master Greenwood, (or whatever all the other overzealous Greenwood fanboys like to call you - i am a big fan, but am not good with formalities.) is it you or Wizards that owns the rights to Forgotten Realms? I have quite a few asperations, one of which is to write - particularly, i am interested in writing Forgotten Realms. How would one go about acquiring copyright? Would i have to submit my first thirty pages during the timeframe that Wizards accepts new authors, only to have it likely tossed aside and never even considered, or is it you that would give the nod?
I hope you take the time to read and consider my inquiry.
Thank you. |
Danimus's left foot snaps into the air with blinding speed, catching the poor rebel benieth his mandible. The man staggers with hollow eyes, before collapsing to the hard, well travelled earth - his shattered jaw hanging in a strange, grotesque mannor. With a bare grin of satisfaction, Danimus growls "And that, my friend, is why i am lord - and you are peasant". |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jul 2007 : 04:13:16
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quote:
Originally posted by Danimus Darkcloud
This may be innapropriate for or unanswerable in this forum, but if anyone has ever tried to ask WoTC anything and get a straightforward response, you'll understand my coming here to ask this.
Master Greenwood, (or whatever all the other overzealous Greenwood fanboys like to call you - i am a big fan, but am not good with formalities.) is it you or Wizards that owns the rights to Forgotten Realms? I have quite a few asperations, one of which is to write - particularly, i am interested in writing Forgotten Realms. How would one go about acquiring copyright? Would i have to submit my first thirty pages during the timeframe that Wizards accepts new authors, only to have it likely tossed aside and never even considered, or is it you that would give the nod?
I hope you take the time to read and consider my inquiry.
Thank you.
While many of us would love to write in the Realms, it's a sad fact that Wizards does not "accept unsolicited submissions for our shared-world fiction lines: Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Eberron, and Magic: The Gathering." That's a direct quote from their Book Publishing Writer Resources page. However, that page does mention they'll accept submissions for their "speculative fiction imprint", and has a link to the guidelines for such submissions. They also have a FAQ and a list of recommended books for writers.
Your best bet is to do as much writing as possible, send it to a variety of publishers, and at least try to get on the map, first. And get used to rejection letters. I know little of the publishing industry, but I do know that every day, a small forest is turned into rejection letters for aspiring authors. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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Solomon
Acolyte
New Zealand
23 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jul 2007 : 05:43:42
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Dear Ed,
First of all, a long-delayed thank you for your response back in 2006 on Arkhon the Old - very enlightening. Thank you again to THO for bringing us this wealth of knowledge, and thank you again to Ed for sharing it.
This time I have a question on the use of the rapier and fencing, particularly in the Sword Coast North and the North itself. I have a rogue character born and raised on the streets of Luskan who I had intended to use a rapier, but wasn't sure if he would even have access to such a weapon in this city - I wouldn't have any trouble picturing it in the lands to the south (Waterdeep, for example, where fencing is a common fighting style) but for some reason I have trouble imagining the rough, tough northmen of Luskan adopting this style or using such a weapon. I was wondering if Ed could shed some light on how common fencing and the use of the rapier is in the region.
Thank you again,
Solomon |
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createvmind
Senior Scribe
490 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jul 2007 : 23:29:23
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Hello All,
Sir Greenwood I have a cleric of Azuth who thinks he has the option of when he can pray if at dusk he is doing something like discussing treasure distribution and so when he's done then he will pray even if it's several hours later. The player constantly refers to the text of praying at the next available moment and I always state he can pray at dusk, nothing is stopping him at all from disengaging from talking and show dedication to his deity. I want to know how deities handle those who's piety is somewhat based on convience, is it an abrupt disconnect from the divine or is he sent a dream letting him know impending wrath or dismissal from the diety is coming? How would you handle this, he's done it for past 4 days straight even though I inform him every sundown is approaching. The next game is friday and if he dpes it again I want to be able to have some insight as to how to approach it.
Thanks as always |
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Penknight
Senior Scribe
USA
538 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jul 2007 : 23:49:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
quote:
Originally posted by Penknight
Out of recent curiosity, what are the Realms zodiac symbols, and do they bear any significance on characters at all? Hmm... maybe I should just ask, "Hey Lady THO, what's your sign?"
Ed has answered this in the past, I believe they are still under NDA. Check his compiled replies. :)
Ah, thank you Kuje, I appreciate the information. |
Telethian Phoenix
Pathfinder Reference Document |
Edited by - Penknight on 01 Jul 2007 23:50:42 |
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Foxhelm
Senior Scribe
Canada
592 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2007 : 01:26:26
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I was listening to "I feel Lucky" and the line "The stars may lie, but the numbers never do" made me think of numerology in the Realms. What numbers are unlucky and lucky to the different groups in the realms?
I know that Four is unlucky in some asian countries due to it being similar to the word death and thirteen is unlucky as that was the day they attacked the Templars. But what are the numbers that mean good fortune or foul to dragons, elves and dalesfolk?
What might the story behind the reasons that these numbers are considered important would also be nice, please and thank you.
Foxhelm |
Ed Greenwood! The Solution... and Cause of all the Realms Problems! |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2007 : 01:55:11
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Hi again, fellow scribes. This time I bring Ed’s response to a query from Rinonalyrna Fathomlin. It was the last of several questions (the earlier ones all relating to paladins), and so, of course (Ed being Ed) the one he tackled first: “My next question is solely my own, and something I've been wondering about for a long time. Is Faerûn much like the real world (the Western world, at least) in the sense that there's a lot of anxiety about aging and the way growing older affects one's appearance? I know that some old characters, like Elminster, don't seem to be uncomfortable with looking old as well as being old, but this doesn't seem to be the case with many others! It's very common, as far as I can tell, to come across characters who look younger than they actually are. I was wondering why that might be the case--it definitely seems to suggest that some people in the Realms, as in the real world, think that a person hits their peak at a very young age, and after that one needs to struggle to erase all signs that one is not a spring chicken. I was also wondering if there are human cultures in the Realms that actually see growing older (and even perhaps looking old) as a good thing, and that people hit their peak in their later years as opposed to when they are young and untried (and kind of stupid).
Thanks once again,
Rinonalyrna”
Ed replies:
Excellent question. I love this sort of query, that peers at Realms attitudes. The short answer is: it varies. There are vain people in the Realms as in our real world, and there are professions (courtesan, clothes-model, and prostitute, for example) where good looks are a must for high earnings). There are also competitive social cliques (such as the Waterdhavian nobility, or the wealth social climbers of Suzail) within which some men and women compete in matters of appearance, and value “real” good looks over magically gained or enhanced good looks. Moreover, within some wealthy human societies (Amn, Calimshan, Sembia, and Waterdeep, in particular) in the Realms (as in our world) naive youths look down upon “old folks” and want to be different in dress, habits, manners, and looks, with wrinkles and fallen beauty being regarded as “curses of the gods” or worse. Such attitudes usually fade swiftly as such individuals mature, and the first blush of unblemished youth starts to fade from THEM.
However, in general, across most of the Realms, folk live close to the land, have harder lives than in our modern “Western” real world, and although striking beauty is still valued and attracts attention, signs of having lived a life (scars, age spots, wrinkles, drooping bust, et al) isn’t regarded nearly as negatively as in our real-world Western “celeb media culture.” To choose a real-world example and put it into the Realms, Katherine Hepburn in her wrinkled old age would be regarded as sexy by most Faerûnian males. Remember, in the Realms there’s no television, nor films, nor even widely-circulated “popular” literature (except holy books, read aloud in temples to the devout, in fragmentary form, as scripture). Bards and minstrels retell popular tales often, but those are verbal image-painting; only a few of them carry little paintings of people to show. As a result, a swift wit and fairly pleasant disposition are standout attractions. In that regard, the aging male or female IS seen as sexy, and is also seen as wiser (as long as the mind is perceived as “open” to new ideas and paying attention to current events, not merely muttering about how good things used to be) than the youth. Far-traveled folk of all ages are valued for “what they’ve seen” as well as being mistrusted as “outlanders.” So, yes, growing older is seen as a good thing.
In Turmish and the Dales (and to a lesser extent elsewhere), females see “the Change” as a good thing because they can be sexually active (perhaps with the minor fuss of lubricants) without the need for trying to avoid pregnancy or (if they’re prostitutes) enduring monthly “lost days of earning” from men who find menstruation distasteful.
Most men see their sexual prowess fade with age, but as this is widely expected, lovemaking becomes slower and gentler and more affectionate (an “evening together” rather than wild, fast lust), and as most females prefer such “style” to rougher manners (and agreeable companionship to athletics), there’s little disappointment (less “expectations not being met” than in our real world).
As a result, though many INDIVIDUALS in the Realms may prize youth and shun old age (particularly when one looks across the entire range of published Realms novels, many of which have been written with younger readers in mind, deliberately or unconsciously mirroring our current “youth-crazy” North American culture), the Realms IN GENERAL does “smile upon age and experience” rather more than the real world. In Faerûn, surviving to older ages is rarer, those who do so tend to be “tougher” and more active, and they are seen as having achieved something that makes them “beloved of Tymora” or very skilled, or both. (In much upcountry lore, there are various tales passed about that intimate “Lie in the arms of one who is lucky, and the luck may rub off on you.”)
One striking difference between the real world and the Realms: there is no GENERAL disgust or disapproval of older women having much younger men as lovers (not children, mind; I’m speaking here of the seventy-something woman and the twenty-something man). The reverse of course also holds true - - and in the Realms is less likely than in our real world to be seen as “gold digging” or the equivalent.
So saith Ed, whom I know to be one of those real-world men who has never found older women unattractive. Or those younger than himself, either.
love to all,
THO
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2007 : 02:47:51
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| Awesome answer! Thanks so much. It also kind of proves once again that the novels don't always show the "full picture". |
"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 03 Jul 2007 02:48:31 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2007 : 04:54:31
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A pleasure, good lady! And I believe Ed's next lore reply will tackle your paladins-in-love questions, too . . .
love,
THO |
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2007 : 19:21:50
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Dear Ed and Lady THO,
Some Dming pointers, if you will...
I want to incorporate a murder mystery into a nobles' revel in Cormyr. How should I foreshadow, or should I?
Build up characters without being obvious?
Etc.
Thanks! |
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Penknight
Senior Scribe
USA
538 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2007 : 23:40:20
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
A pleasure, good lady! And I believe Ed's next lore reply will tackle your paladins-in-love questions, too . . .
love,
THO
Ah, even I am looking forward to this one! |
Telethian Phoenix
Pathfinder Reference Document |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2007 : 01:28:38
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Hi again, all. Once more I bring you the Words of Ed, this time in response to Rinonalyrna Fathomlin’s paladin questions (oh, and BTW, RF: Ed hasn’t forgotten your 2006 Harrowsmouth request; he’s just been patiently waiting out another NDA): “My first question is about "paladin love"--what is appropriate behavior for a paladin regarding relationships and love-making? I frequent the forums for the Neverwinter Nights 2 CRPG, and not surprisingly, one of the topics that players love to discuss all the time is the subject of the in-game romances. The romance option for female player characters happens to be a paladin, and there is a particular group of players (mostly female) who love to talk about him (and the other male characters in the game), and a recent topic that came up is how paladins are "supposed" to act in matters of love? Although I'm fully aware that Faerun has very different sexual mores than the real world, I have to admit that I--and many of the other ladies--tend to have an old-fashioned, idealistic view about how paladins form relationships and how they behave towards the people they are in love with. My rationale for this is that since paladins aren't supposed to act like the "average joe" in all the other aspects of their life, they probably shouldn't behave in all the same ways many other people do when it comes to love. I also am sort of a sucker for the idea of "courtly love". I was wondering what your opinion is about this topic: for example, do you think most paladins would be comfortable with the idea of being "friends with benefits" with someone? Or, having a one-night stand if both parties agreed ahead of time that that was all there was to it--just one night of enjoyment in each other's company, but no further obligations besides that? How would most paladins approach the subject? I, and several other ladies, look forward to hearing your opinion.”
Ed replies:
Acceptable “paladin-in-love behaviour” in the Realms varies greatly by faith, but let me begin with (and confine myself in this answer to) the traditional “lawful good, akin-to-Christian” paladin, as exemplified in the Realms by Torm, Tyr, and Helm (with Tempus not too far off in one direction, and Ilmater in the other).
Firstly, this sort of paladin (male or female) must conduct all relationships with complete honesty: not necessarily full disclosure, but no “little white lies” and no breaking of rules, from known laws and social customs of the geographical area, to the paladin’s own code. The paladin WILL NOT set aside their principles “for love,” unless this love overwhelms their paladinhood (they “fall” to being a fighter, albeit probably still dedicated to that faith, and abandon their holy standing).
A paladin may well keep information from their loved one (see Kipling’s Ballad of Bo Da Thone: “And little she knew the arms she embraced/Had cloven a man from the brow to the waist”) FOR THE PROTECTION OF THAT LOVED ONE (so as not to imperil them by letting them know information that might get them slain, AND so as not to harm them emotionally; please note that “looking good” in the eyes of a loved one or potential partner is NOT sufficient justification for a paladin to withhold information). Paladins do not “tease and deceive” in love; they are “straight arrows” who plainly state matters (“what you see is what you get; this is what I am, and I cannot change what I am; take me if you can accept this”).
If a paladin is silent on a subject and the loved one asks them a direct question about it, the paladin can plead not to be made to answer, express their unhappiness at being questioned, or (only if this is the case) refuse to answer because of church instructions (revealing what agents of a temple are planning to do about something, for example), but it will be a sin for them to lie (and if I was DMing and a paladin tried, I’d provide an instant manifestation of divine displeasure, from a roll of thunder that shakes the paladin on up to far more severe things, if the falsehoods or deliberate misleadings continue).
Paladins by their nature stand in judgement of most individuals they meet, but the true paladin does so ever mindful of the harm done by hasty or intolerant judgements, and the inability to give individuals an opportunity to explain, repent or change (somewhat in the way that Peter Pan in the movie HOOK repeatedly spares the temporarily-beaten Captain Hook, though not necessarily for the reasons that movie character did his sparing).
At the same time, paladins are very mindful of their own special status, and (unlike a lot of real-world so-called “holy folk” or for that matter law enforcers) are VERY afraid of misusing their status (they are NOT gung-ho, “we’re in charge here! Perish, evil one!” bellowers, unless they know exactly who or what they’re facing).
This means that a paladin who recognizes their growing feelings for someone is going to pray to their deity (often and deeply, with vigils and perhaps self-imposed penances or self-mortification, from hair shirts to floggings; I have played two NPC paladins in such circumstances, one of either human gender, and both of them secretly applied rough bark and or stinging nettles to their genitals for days, so that pain was a constant reminder of what they should be pondering, and the importance they must place in all decisions regarding their feelings of love) for guidance (are my feelings real? Am I being magically influenced? and if yes, then: Is this for the best? Is it acceptable? and if yes, then: How should I conduct myself? What should I say and do, and do you demand a price be paid on my part?)
These will be private prayers, seeking dream-vision or outward sign responses from the deity or a divine servant (e.g. a eagle or stag or other “identified with the deity” creature or thing, such as a cloven rock or lightning-scarred tree or spilled blood) rather than from priests of the deity. (The paladin may request floggings from a cleric of their deity “with no questions asked” in an attempt to aid them in prayer or to pay a price they believe the deity has asked them to pay; a priest should agree not to pry if thus approached, recognizing it as part of a personal process of peity, NOT something that necessarily involves confession.)
Whatever the specific personal responses, two rules should be followed: the deity will never demand a “love-price” that is to be paid by the partner (any task or penance is the duty of the paladin, not the paladin’s loved one), and the paladin will always declare honestly their feelings BUT THEN WAIT for the loved one to “go farther.” That fear of misusing one’s “holy status” means the paladin will not “press themselves upon” the loved one (in the words of Torm’s temple teachings: “When loins-fire takes hold of you, rape a rock or tree, never the living one who so excites you”). So the loved one must make matters more intimate, at all stages of the deepening relationship (the paladin can ask them to, and explain that their own behaviour is constrained).
All of this means “one-night stands” are VERY unlikely for paladins (if they truly are one-night stands, as opposed to trysts that happen suddenly after a long time of adventuring or travelling together has built up strong feelings in both participants).
There is a distinction to be drawn here between love and lust. Many faiths understand that paladins and priests have physical needs, and they want love to be given first to the deity, so that “passion” must often be tamed or given an outlet. As a result, there are temple rituals that involve masturbation, and there are approved opportunities for sexual trysts between paladins of the same faith (or in some cases closely-allied faiths), and between paladins and clerics of the same faith. These are “lust, not necessarily love” moments, are usually kept to the privacy of inner temple rooms where non-believers of that faith can’t go, and are the closest thing to “friends with benefits” that the Realms allows. They DO involve enjoyment but no further obligation, though many paladins and priests who participate in such activities develop long-term, comfortable, recurring “moments of release when we meet, and the deity seems approving” relationships that are distinct and apart from feelings of love for others (that may, for example, be unrequited or unexpressed for years; Thalamond the Just Blade of Torm could very well lie in the arms of Braelra, Altar Guardian of Torm, after fierce lovemaking, and weep softly to her of his love for another woman, who does not yet know of his feelings, or whom he has “made known” his feelings to but received no positive response, and so on; this would be quite understandable to Braelra, who would honour him for so confiding in her, not be angered or feel scorned).
So you are quite correct in seeing paladins as “different” from most other intelligent creatures, in holding themselves to a far more strict code of personal conduct, even when “overwhelmed with love.” Paladins often do indulge in the long-chaste “courtly love” of the romances, though again an important note must be made: it is acceptable to “exaggerate” the praise and charms of a loved one in writing poems and singing songs (comparing them favourably to a famous beauty when the comparison flatters them highly, for example), but during actual courtship (face to face speech and dealings), honesty must trump flattery. If a paladin swears they will be true or will perform a duty, they are bound by those vows; renouncing them usually means resigning their paladinhood. Dying before they can fulfill them often dooms them to become undead until they can fulfill whatever they promised - - and as a result, they will be far more reluctant to make flowery promises than was apparently done (if we can believe the epics) in the courtly love described by real-world historical troubadors.
So saith Ed, who picked his way very carefully around a VERY sensitive topic. I can add one memory from Realmsplay that he didn’t mention: two male NPC paladins who “fell for” the same PC woman, who knew they dare not say or do anything at the time (a time of war against Zhentil Keep in the Dales, when the PCs could ill afford any distractions) whom a certain other PC adventurer stealthily followed one night, and observed them to go to a remote forest glade, disrobe, and flog each other simultaneously with furious energy, gasping out their shared misery to each other as they did so. It was a striking contrast to the calm, assured “fronts” the two paladins had presented to the PCs earlier - - and a real jolt to witness.
I’ve never forgotten that particular scene, and the moral dilemma it handed the PC. One more reason Ed is a superb DM.
love to all,
THO
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Edited by - The Hooded One on 04 Jul 2007 01:31:04 |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2007)
Topic Locked
Anyway, apologies to THO and anyone who has had problems of late. I ran a table rebuild earlier which should hopefully speed things up a little.