The work contained on this page has been penned over time by the creator of the Forgotten Realms - Ed Greenwood, and kindly provided to us here at Candlekeep by The Hooded One on the Candlekeep Forum. The collection presented here is a digest version which has been collated by Scott Kujawa, presenting all Ed's responses and omitting other posters discussions which followed.

(Answers from Ed Greenwood)

Jan - Mar 2007

On January 2, 2007 THO said: No, Toril is not (and never was) a moon. But (though NDAs prevent me from saying one word more on this), I remind scribes that the name is Abeir-Toril, and for the last few decades, all we've seen is Toril. Hint. Hint.

love,
THO

Correct. Jeff did create and name Waukeen, and did name "the planet" Abeir-Toril.

The name "Faerûn" (which means "home" in a long-ago, forgotten language) refers to the main continent of the published Realms. Ed's thinking was that "everyone" knew about the land they lived in, and its boundary seas, but not every culture "of today," Realmstime, knew it was on a spherical planet. There are various names among the Netherese, modern Halruaans, elves, etc, for the planet, but there was no one commonly-accepted one.

TSR needed an "official" label. Jeff was the handler, traffic cop, and "TSR end" of the Realms, and provided one. As with everything, he checked with Ed, and Ed said: fine. Sure. Go ahead.

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 4, 2007: Hello again, scribes. This time, Ed deals with a recent query (because he can do so swiftly and easily, and is VERY busy right now but trying not to fall silent here at the Keep) from Mythrainer, to whit: "Wanted to ask Ed or anyone else who might have the answers to a couple of questions about Lone Rock in the Sea of Fallen Stars.

Did Ed put it there or was it added by someone else.

And, secondly, did Ed have anything specific in mind when/if he created it (i.e. what/who lives there, if anything? how big is it? is it habitable or is it just some huge craggy rock jutting up from the water? is it dangerous to approach by ship due to underwater rocks or freak storms/currents, etc?)

thanks, Mythrainer"

Ed replies:

Hi. Yes, I put it there. :}

Lone Rock is a bare rock, so no one lives there except seabirds and the organisms that can live in their plentiful droppings. It's about half a mile long (oriented NE-SW) and about a third of a mile across for most of its length, and rises at one end to a 'horn' or pinnacle that rarely gets swept by waves (though the rest of Lone Rock does). That pinnacle is carpeted in seabird nests atop old nests. Sorry, no monsters of note are known to lurk in the vicinity.

Lone Rock is named for the aid to navigation its presence gives. It's only dangerous if sailors run right into it and smash their ships; it's the top of a submerged mountain, and rises almost sheer out of the deeps, with no dangerous surrounding rocks. It causes turbulence in the "swells" (long, sweeping open-water sea waves) by its very presence, of course, but doesn't cause any dangerous storms. In lightning storms it gets hit by lightning a lot because of its height, but there's nothing "freak" about that.

Boats can "drag anchor" (put out a sea anchor rather than actually anchoring) in the lee of Lone Rock, and a pirate punishment of old (usually enacted upon murderers or thieves among crews) was to maroon someone on the rock without food or water, and just sail away. In olden days, many mages practicing teleportation would take ship to Lone Rock, to make it a "known location" they could use as a temporary stopping-place, to drink healing potions or sleep or study spells where very few folk could find them (obviously, this is a fair-weather option only). A few of them sporadically used the Rock as a prison, by bringing captives with them as they teleported in, and then teleporting away and leaving the victim behind.

There's rumored to be a vein of rich gems somewhere in the many, many cracks and clefts that crisscross Lone Rock, crystals that can be dug out with a knife, but tales disagree as to just what sort of gems these are.

So saith Ed.

Creator of Lone Rock, the Sea of Fallen Stars, and a lot of pirates, too.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 5, 2007: Ahhhh, a PRIVATE communication from my favourite hamster (purrrr)... * [Ahem]

Oh. Heh-heh. Hello again, scribes. This time Ed responds very swiftly (because he had the lore right at hand) to Uzzy's query: "Does Alusair Obarskyr have a name for her own, personal sword?"

Ed replies:

She uses several, but was presented with a beautiful +2 keen longsword by her father upon her twenty-second birthday, that she calls "Royal Kiss." It has an everbright silvered blade and bears her name and the Purple Dragon of Cormyr on both sides, just below the hilt. There is also a rune on the pommel placed there by Vangerdahast, that alerts the Royal Magician of Cormyr (Caladnei, now) of the precise location of the blade whenever any living creature other than Alusair touches it.

Alusair customarily leaves Royal Kiss hanging in her bedchamber wardrobe (a walk-in room), or under her bed (hidden by its skirts) or atop its canopy (where about a dozen healing potions, in unlabelled stainless steel vials, also live), and uses a far more utilitarian (and battered) +1 mighty cleaving longsword that she privately refers to as "Wartusk" or "Old Tusk." It does not bear this name or any engraving at all.

As Steel Regent, she can, of course, use any of the thousands of swords in the royal vaults and Obarskyr family armory (including many magical blades), but it's rare for her to do so. She DOES keep two swords scabbarded and ready, with matching sheathed daggers, one hidden in the Palace and one in the Royal Court (hung where she can easily reach them, on wall-pegs behind hangings in particular passages).

So saith Ed, Master Armourer of the Realms.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On January 5, 2007 THO said: Very good point, Wooly. That's exactly what Ed said. "It may on first glance seem a happy ending, but it's the worst hell Elaine and I could give the character."

Ed also told me that if he and Elaine ever get the chance to revisit the characters, Beldar would almost certainly face the worse problem of someone (by mind-eavesdropping, at some point) magically finding out he isn't who the city thinks he is, and then trying to exploit him.

Of the main characters, only Lark really comes out of it well.

As for the nobles being self-absorbed young prXXcks, Ed said that's exactly what they were supposed to be. In the novel, they're forced to grow up (a bit), but not necessarily to become shining heroes.

It's a book where everyone is "shades of gray." Sometimes heroics are just what people do to get through a bad day.

Now, with that pithy saying uttered, Ed agrees with you about the dropped plot threads (and muttered again about how much he had to trim; we're talking, if I recall correctly, over 40,000 words), and of course, agreed with and liked all the nice things you said.

He says when re-reading it, the monster cult thread was the element that most didn't seem satisfactorily resolved or sufficiently interwoven with the rest of the book.

Would he do it again? You bet!

Will Ed and Elaine get the chance? Probably not, I'm afraid. Because of the way bookstore chains now consult earlier BookScan sales figures when ordering new titles, tacking CoS onto the Cities series was a drastic error on WotC's part, that killed a lot of its sales. It was written to be a book non-gamer fantasy fans might try and like, but never really got the chance to perform that way.

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 6, 2007: Hi again, scribes of the Realms. This time Ed tackles a recent question from Rinonalyrna Fathomlin: "Hello again Ed! My latest query comes as a result of browsing the forums related to the new Neverwinter Nights 2 CRPG. Basically, there is an argument going on that attracted my interest about whether or not Lord Nasher of Neverwinter (as depicted in the official campaign) is a bad person/ruler, and one subject that was brought up in that thread is the use of trial-by-combat as a last resort when the player character is accused in court of having burned a Luskan village and slaughtering its inhabitants. Apparently, even if the player character successfully "wins" the trial, the prosecutor from Luskan will make a last ditch effort to appeal the case, and calls for Trial by Combat, which turns out to be mandatory. Also brought up was the subject of whether or not a good person in the Realms could believe that people are "guilty until proven innocent". This scenario, and the various arguments brought up by people in that thread, had me wondering about three things:

1) How prevalent (if at all) would trial by combat be in an official criminal court of a major city (like Neverwinter) presided over by the likes of Lord Nasher? I am wondering if the game gets its Realmslore right, here. Do many cities really have "obsure old laws" that allow someone to fight to prove someone's guilty or lack thereof?

2) There were arguments about the morality of trial by combat as is relevant to the social mores of a setting. I've known for a long time that social mores in the Realms are not identical to those of medieval Europe, but some put forth the argument that in such a setting trial by combat would be a common and/or legitimate way of determining if a person is guilty of commiting a crime. Is this the case? As I understand it, the whole idea is that the gods make sure the innocent person wins...but this seems strange to me, because as I understand it most cities in the Realms run by moral governments seem to have court systems much like our own which make use of actual evidence and facts to determine the outcome of a case, not fighting.

3) Is it really a common belief amongst moral people in the Realms--who are educated about the law, and very concerned about justice--that only a bad person would be accused of a crime and it's up to them to prove their innocence, and not vice versa (the modern notion that someone is innocent until proven guilty)? Again, some people were positing this idea, even though personally I find that very hard to believe, based on what I know of the Realms setting. For example, do followers of Tyr prefer to assume that a person is innocent until they are proven guilty, rather than risk doing harm to an innocent person "just in case" they really DID commit the crime? My gut feeling says yes, they would, but I'll defer to your thoughts on this.

I know this is a complex question and a bit of a tall order, but as someone who is both interested in the Realms and laws/justice in general (I work in the legal field), I am most interested in hearing your own thoughts and opinions.

Thank you,
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin"

Ed replies:

Hi! Good queries; okay, here we go...

1. No; any such claim is a distortion of true Realmslore; "obscure old traditions," yes, but "obscure old laws," no. However, this is not necessarily a lore mistake by the game's creators; please note that the prosecutor character in the game may very well fudge "tradition" into "law" to try to press his claim (successfully, obviously; in Luskan, the truth has never been very highly valued; getting one's own way is always the goal in any situation). In other words, he lies and the authorities go along with him because it's much easier to trade with a Luskan that believes you respect its belligerence as opposed to a Luskan that believes you belittled and dismissed its claims.

Many places in the Sword Coast North and in Calimshan have VERY old traditions of trial by combat, dating from times when (and locales where) there was no functioning temple system, policing, or legal system, and thus very little way of investigating crimes and "proving" guilt.

In Neverwinter, today, only among the nobles would trial by combat be a custom (i.e. one noble settling a dispute with another). Even then, it is restricted to both combatants being adults, strict rules for the duel (seconds, witnesses drawn from all local walks of life [guilded merchant, unguilded shopkeeper, noble, city watch, a local herald, one envoy of a foreign city or realm, etc.], priests standing by to give aid and enforce rules as to how the duel shall end [to stop good fighters or cheaters using duels to murder foes], etc.).

Outlanders MIGHT be allowed standing under this tradition IF they claimed noble status and no local could refute it, but Neverwinter itself barely has a surviving nobility, and there's certainly no widespread right-now-Realmstime acceptance of trial by combat, ESPECIALLY when either side can employ champions not directly concerned with the crime (i.e. accused fighting victim or victim's spouse might be thought "just" by the average citizen; accused fighting a trained, court-appointed warrior would NOT).

2. You are correct. The Realms is not medieval Europe, and most intelligent and civilized folk in the Realms would believe that "the gods determining guilt or innocence" would be a matter of the god DIRECTLY signalling guilt or innocence by manifesting (e.g. Lathander's rosy glow surrounds accused) or speaking (voice from altar or avatar, NOT from mortal priest), or sending dream-visions to any judge, jury, executioner, prosecutor, and all witnesses, defendants, etc. of what really happened or what the god wants done now - - and in the case of an imminent sentence (i.e. hanging, hand about to be chopped off), the visions would be immediate, waking ones, not visions sent later when every surviving concerned individual falls asleep.

Certain secular governments in the Realms (such as olden-days Thay and some of the Chessentan cities) had trial by combat, but no one ever advanced the fiction that this had anything at all to do with the gods other than it being a practice they didn't frown on.

3. No, there's no such "common belief." Faiths embrace the presumption of guilt (and, occasionally, the notion of trial by combat) differently, and their positions change from time to time, but there's no general, overall belief at all. This is a case of some gamers projecting "their take" on the Realms (perfectly legitimate, of course; we all bring our own experience and therefore understanding to every game we try, and roleplaying games leave far more leeway in that than do, say, the rules of checkers) into "what the Realms should be and is, for all, because I say so." Even *I* don't get to do that, untrammeled, and I created the beast. :}

So saith Ed.

Who hopes that helps, Rinonalyrna (and who agrees with you, BTW, that in the race to trim down SWORDS OF EVENINGSTAR, the grieving over Martess, Agannor, and Bey got short shrift).

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On January 7, 2007 THO said: Hi, all. Ergdusch, the Realms of the Elves short story occurs during Rich Baker's Last Mythal trilogy (it's "where the Knights went" rather than being front and center battling, for the latter half of those books), whereas the "Swords" trilogy Ed's currently writing about the Knights (oh, and AlorinDawn, I believe SWORDS OF DRAGONFIRE includes passing mention of a Halruaan exiled for his use of a certain procedure) is set decades earlier, starting in the Year of the Spur.

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On January 7, 2007 THO said: Rollo Ruttikin,

Ed has always taken the view that the Dungeon Master is there to serve the players, not rule over them.

In that light, he insists that in all major decisions (such as rules and of course game edition elements used) we vote, and later revisit things some players think "aren't working" and vote again. We collectively chose to remain with 2nd Edition (it took us a long time to stop using 1st Edition bards with 2nd Edition, as suggested by TSR during the 1st to 2nd changeover). We ARE "largely retired" (as in, play very seldom now, what with being scattered worldwide) so rules issues arise far less frequently; playing time is far too precious to waste on "out-of-game" matters.

Rinonalyrna, Ed has told me you'll see a LITTLE more grieving in SWORDS OF DRAGONFIRE, "coming out at emotional moments."

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On January 8, 2007 THO said: Yay! You liked it!

I will certainly pass this on to Ed, Charles. I pass on all of these Book Club threads to him, actually; he's very interested in what readers liked or didn't like, what they misunderstood (and therefore he has to make clearer in future books) and what "worked" for them.

Now, one minor cavil: Florin wants to "have fun taking down the high and mighty lass" AND "meet a real live stuck-up noble, up close and personal, for the first time." He DOESN'T consciously want to bed Narantha (UNconsciously, of course he does!); remember, he "unmans" himself for days with that herb so he can pleasure her with lovemaking, but he certainly can't get an erection. (If I'm not being too blunt in my speech here.)

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 8, 2007: Hi again, scribes. This time, Ed replies to the most recent query by scribe Rolindin: "Mr. Greenwood do the purple knights of corymr have all the same banners (company flags), or is there some differance's between the companie Banners of purple knights.

And do the sir coats the purple knights wear: is all of them the same design, or is there some differance's in them?

By this I mean are the sir coats the light lancers wear the same as the heavy lancers companies? are the light cavarily and heavy cavarily wear the same sir coats (if they wear them at all.)

If this is not too much trouble to ask for.

Then thank you in advance then Mr. Greenwood."

Ed replies:

First of all, I'd like to remind everyone of the difference between a Purple Dragon Knight (the prestige class, which doesn't necessarily have any direct connection with formal knighthoods in Cormyr), knights of Cormyr who happen to hold various ranks in the Purple Dragons (soldiery), and the Purple Dragons (the army of Cormyr, who are mainly untitled commoners but include some knights within their ranks). Rolindin, your questions seem to concentrate on military units (the Purple Dragons as a whole) rather than knights per se.

But let me answer your specific questions, in turn: yes, companies have different banners, as follows: each company includes one person who carries an overly-long, light (and therefore "whippy" or "bendy" in a wind) spear (pike length, but having a spear head). This is always topped by a long Purple Dragon pennant, of "the" Purple Dragon device of Cormyr on a field of gold (for veteran battle units, this status being conferred by the monarch, usually after the unit has fought in at least four battles ["blooded four times"]) or of white (for militia, untried, irregular, or "scratch" [hastily thrown together from elements of other units] units).

Affixed immediately below this long pennant is an individual unit banner, often the personal arms of the noble commanding the unit, or the garrison it's based in, or the function it's performing. Specific designs for these haven't been published yet, but are in the possession of WotC and therefore owned by them and will be revealed at their pleasure. I can tell you that none of them can show any part of a dragon, or a dragon wounded, maimed, chained, etc., and that they often include swords, flames, galloping horses, the heads of horses, spearheads, or some combination thereof.

Stained, torn, or otherwise soiled banners are promptly retired but kept and valued as trophies, by retired common soldiers in their cottages as well as in army mess halls and barracks.

The surcoats of Purple Dragons are shown in the Stephen Fabian illustration on page 72 of the 2nd Edition FORGOTTEN REALMS ADVENTURES hardcover. This scene clearly shows the Purple Dragon device of Cormyr I referred to, above.

All Purple Dragons (except Blue Dragons; I mentioned their insignia in a recent reply) wear essentially the same surcoat, but the surcoats are differenced in two ways: a unit emblem on the sleeve (shoulder) and back, and a rank insignia on the breast (that is, alongside the Purple Dragon; it occupies the breast proper, and the rank insignia is small and usually more or less centered on an (imaginary) diagonal line connecting the wearer's left armpit and left nipple.

Rank insignia are of two sorts: Purple Dragon rank and noble or courtly (arms of a court title, knighthood, or realm office rank. The noble or courtly rank is usually shield-shaped, and is worn (as a sewn-on patch) above the Purple Dragon rank. As you can imagine, falsely wearing a rank to which the wearer isn't entitled (or a Purple Dragon surcoat when one isn't an active Dragon, as brigands like to do) is a severe crime.

The only difference between cavalry and infantry surcoats is length; those who go into battle mounted wear a surcoat that ends at the waist or above, as opposed to the longer ones shown in the FRA illustration. "Light" and "heavy" cavalry designations don't formally apply to the Purple Dragons (at least, not in the real-world American Civil War or more modern sense), though informally, heavy cavalry in Cormyr is almost entirely clad in full coat-of-plate and usually has lots of knights, nobles, or at least standing Dragon veterans (mainly based in Arabel or High Horn) in it, and carries a full range of weaponry plus lances, whereas light cavalry comes from anywhere, uses lighter armor and javelins (throwing spears) or bows rather than lances, and are usually smaller units used as scouts, messengers, skirmishers, and to chase down fleeing foes. Again, these are practical what-the-eye-sees definitions, NOT formal unit designations.

So saith Ed.

Creator of Cormyr, the Purple Dragons - - and most of their foes, for that matter.

P.S. To Ergdusch, KOMD Book 3 is currently under FULL ironclad, spiked-gauntlets-wearing NDA.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On January 8, 2007 THO said: And used them with great pleasure, too. As often as they'd surrender to us.

Seriously, Dargoth, they weren't that overpowered in Ed's hands. He made us roleplay all the singing, creating ballads, improvising new lyrics for difficult tavern crowds, going to all the bardic schools and doing all the "services" (adventuring tasks) they wanted done in exchange for training us, and so on. Remember, in Ed's hands, the Realms isn't stats and rules and rolling dice so much as it is acting and delving into all the "hard work" of each character class.

But yes, we loved 1st Ed bards for their powers. Wheee!

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 8, 2007: Hello, all. Ed is at a conference, and sat down at a computer and read this thread at Candlekeep, and then sent me this e-mail:

WalkerNinja,

Of course I can provide such a list. Here it is:

1. All matters and topics pertinent (or possibly pertinent) to planned future, or written but not yet published, or licensed but not yet activated, FR products.
2. Same as above.
3. Same as above.
4. Same as... and so on.

Sorry, but all joking aside, I am legally bound, and there are good reasons for NDAs, for any company dealing in Intellectual Properties. It's just a condition of my working life, and certainly governs all my postings here via THO.

Ed

So saith Ed.

And there you have it; just what I expected. If Ed reveals lists of specific NDAs, it can very easily reveal an overall pattern of not just specific future products, but entire product lines or product directions. Definitely a no-no. If pressed, Ed will simply have to fall silent; he's a man of his word, and lives by the agreements he makes.

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 9, 2007: Hi again, scribes. This time, Ed answers Sage of Stars, re. this end-of-year 06 query: "I'd like to thank Ed and THO for another year of answering Realmslore questions for us all. It must eat up a fair amount of time; and for Ed that's writing time, and so, money out of his pocket.

So, of course, I'd like to cost him some more.

In Cormyr, Sembia, Amn, and Tethyr: do swordsmiths and armorers need "special" licenses or permits from the authorities? Do shops selling secondhand or imported weapons or armor need them?

By "special," I'm really asking: do the governments of these lands seek to specifically control or limit supplies of such goods?

Thank you in advance!"

Ed replies:

Yes, it does, and you're all very welcome; I don't mind in the slightest. Goes with the territory (of creating a properly-detailed fantasy world setting; the detailing is NEVER done).

In all four of the lands you mention, the authorities require special permits for both the makers and the shops, but only in Cormyr and certain Tethyrian duchies have any of these ever been used to overtly control weapon supplies. The permits are for government taxation purposes (and they tend to tax those who deal in war materials highly).

There are of course guilds in all of those places except Sembia, that further limit "who's in the business" (though the reach of guilds is patchy in Tethyr and urban-areas-only in Amn). Most governments negotiate with guilds almost constantly on trade matters, and thus influence weapon and armor supplies almost constantly.

Moreover, Amn has other means (covert agents of the government) of limiting and controlling flows and supplies of weapons and armors within its borders (I'm of course excluding all monster-held areas, here).

So saith Ed.

Who does think about all of this stuff; implications are meat and drink to him (along with all the stuff that actually makes his belly bulge).

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On January 10, 2007 THO said: Now THAT'S a loaded last sentence, Sage.

Ed will be back with another Realmslore reply later today (perhaps tomorrow, Keep time), but in the meantime...

First: For me, top AND bottom (though not both at once; that tends to cause bruising and straining whilst trying to "pass through" each other), and I don't mind discussing such matters at all. However, I'll be guided by Alaundo and Sage in how descriptive I get; I don't, above all, want to have this forum blocked for any scribes by parents or screening software. Yet be aware: you can ask me ANYthing.

Second: wills are a fascinating subject that Ed has been avoiding so as not to hamper novel authors crafting plots concerning various characters in myriad Realms locales. In the case of Azoun, however, his will would be fairly short and simple; Cormyrean Crown law and tradition governs most regalia, property, etc.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On January 10, 2007 THO said: Glad you liked it; I will, of course, pass this on to Ed. I'm glad you read it; although SWORDS OF DRAGONFIRE is a direct sequel, these books are more character-driven than plot-driven, and are rich enough to "stand alone." No longtime Realms fan should delay reading them, because they give us such telling glimpses of familiar Realms characters (Vangerdahast, Tanalasta, Filfaeril, Dove, and of course the Knights and Knights-to-be) when younger. DRAGONFIRE should show us a feisty thirteen-year-old Alusair.

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 11, 2007: Hi again, scribes. Ed swiftly tackles a very recent question this time, from Kaysae: "Greetings, Ed! Thank you for answering my query about the Stonelands and the barony thereof, I greatly enjoyed it! I now have a new question, and I hope you have an answer!

I bought the Menzoberranzan box set (an excellent product by the way) in PDF format several years ago, and there is just one thing that has always nagged me. I finally noticed your name on the cover (I'm slow), and decided to ask.

What is the requirement to make the rank of High Priestess? I notice in the Houses section of the book that the females a separated by Priestess and High Priestess. And in some of the entries of the Matron Mothers it takes about how only X number of daughters were destined for greatness (which happenes to be the number of high priestesses in the house).

I assume it is more than level based, though I could be wrong. Please enlighten me!"

Ed replies:

With pleasure. Yes, it is far more than level-based (though level advancement does in this case indicate experience in the service of the Dark Goddess, and is a factor.

Here, however, are the two far more powerful factors in determining when a given drow priestess becomes a high priestess:

1. The Favour of Lolth ("Favor of Lolth" in American spelling): the goddess likes you (right now). This is paramount; a child could become High Priestess if Lolth wanted her to.

2. Intra-House Dynamics (aka "Last Drow Standing"): if heavy losses (deaths, exiles, etc. for whatever reason) disable many family members, those remaining may ascend to titles, ranks, and positions they might ordinarily be years away from achieving. If you're the newest priestess and everyone else gets wiped out, you're High Priestess (until someone takes it away from you). In other words, as always in Lolth-worshipping drow society, you will use your rank (and, usually life along with it) if you don't demonstrate loyalty to Lolth and capability.

So saith Ed, Low Detailer of Menzoberranzan.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 12, 2007: Hi, all. I sent your extensive comments on to Ed, Charles, and herewith is his response, moving through your reply responding to points in the rough order you made them.

Ed says:

Glad you liked SWORDS OF EVENINGSTAR, Charles. It's my favourite among my Realms novels, thus far, because I'm a better writer than I was when I started doing them, and because I was allowed much greater freedom than hitherto, on the journey from title concept to final printed page. There are some "grrr" moments for me, such as editorial changes of "chatelaine" to "reticule," but on the whole, I'm fairly pleased with it.

Fairly, I said, because I ran out of wordcount, as usual (something that hasn't happened to me on SWORDS OF DRAGONFIRE, so I'm finally learning :}), which is why the last third of the book is such a headlong rush of nonstop action. (Even then, I had to chop entire subplots, not just themes!) It was always intended to have battles and deaths, but I was intending more of a slow, inexorable "incoming doom" build between such moments.

The first part of the book, that you loved so much, is also my favourite. A "dream Ed Greenwood Realms novel" (to me, that is) would be almost all this sort of almost leisurely, editorially-chatty, close-in focus on just a few characters bouncing off each other (the same thing Elaine achieved in ELFSHADOW with Danilo and Arilyn). Doing that sort of tale is * FUN * for me; for too many years, I'd hear editorial snarls of "It's been eight pages and you haven't killed anyone! The Realms is guys fighting monsters, with magic whooshing around! Never forget that!" when I tried what I did with Florin and Narantha in the forest at any great length.

I, too, think my Tanalasta versus Vangerdahast is the strongest scene in the book. That and the Spurbright noble father and son scene, plus the various demonstrations of Vangey terrorizing his scribes and junior War Wizards, are the "I've gotta put this in" Realmslore backbone of the book. That and showing readers the REAL Filfaeril for the first time.

My Lady Hooded is quite right when she stated that Florin's deliberate taking of the herb had made his body temporarily physically incapable of production or delivery of seed. You were correct in thinking it a contraceptive (it is), but it also prevents erections (again, something I should have been less coy about, but was trying not to run into problems with my new and very good editor over). Florin of course desires Narantha, but he really is being heroic in denying himself any possibility of "having" her, so he can get the chance to meet, really get to know, and "tame" a noble (this isn't a misogynistic thing, it's a "we right-headed country folk who live in the real world can PROVE we're better than these stuck-up, ridiculously out-of-touch nobles, and mayhap fix one of them, at least, to know and understand Cormyr better so she isn't one more part of the problem - - and I can prove to self, elders like Delbossan, and my friends that I managed that feat, and really Am Something!"). If I hadn't been recounting "true" Realmslore (rooted in the deeds and written-up past histories of Player Characters), the genders could just as easily have been the other way around, with the female slipping the herb to a male noble to protect herself from his lust.

I'm afraid bringing all the other characters onstage of necessity pulled the spotlight away from Florin in the latter stages of the book, which is when he goes from "Hey! I can do this!" to "Wow, can it be this easy?" to "Oh, sh*t, am I in over my head! Help! No, no, I can't let anyone know I need help! I've gotta be the strong silent type, or we're all doomed! Mielikki, PLEASE HELP ME!"

Rickman as Vangey? Oh, ho! Well, he's a little more growly [Willard Brimley? No, too nice; hmmm] where the Snape act would be sneeringly sardonic, but otherwise...

[blinks, throws up hands] No, no, I'm NOT going to go down the "casting the Realms" road again. No no no. :}

Back to the book. Yes, something of the vignettes-succeeding-yet-more vignettes nature of the second part of the book was forced on me by the telescoping (my trying not to go WAY over my wordcount) of the story, and part of it was my realization that I can't tell this story with its proper grounding and impact at all if I don't share with the reader something of the Cormyr that's always been in my head, but hasn't made it into print. Hence the Tana/Vangey scene, the Spurbright scene, the Crownsilver scenes, the Espar as backcountry touches, Dauntless growling his way around Arabel, and so on. You'll see more of Dauntless in DRAGONFIRE, by the way. I also had to show a little of Jhessail mastering magic (editorial changes at that "blasting the monsters at the pit" scene, by the way, clumsily turned my "battlestrike" [what folk IN THE REALMS often call a magic missile spell, into "magic missile").

Azoun remains of necessity a little distant in this book, and appears only briefly in DRAGONFIRE, but between the two books and the framing scenes in the Realmslore web columns, throughout most of 2006, I'm determined to bring him increasingly into focus for Realms readers, as a real and understandable guy.

And yes, the book was of course meant to shock and stun with the losses in its final third. Deaths are meaningless to modern readers (and television watchers) if they aren't allowed to (and guided into) caring about the characters before they get taken down. Remember, my hands are SOMEWHAT tied in SWORDS OF EVENINGSTAR, in that I'm retelling "real" Realmslore (i.e. home campaign "what the PCs did" roleplaying history). Certain characters died, and I had to include those "facts," however I might have wanted to alter things for the sake of the unfolding story.

You're quite correct in seeing that MOST Cormyrean nobles privately grumble and gossip about unseating the Obarskyrs (or at least whichever particular one is on the throne, just now), or even leisurely plot and scheme about it (as a drinking and chuckling sport) far more than they ever actually DO anything that'll get their heads chopped off (nobles are beheaded with swords for high treason, and exiled for low treason like trying to besmirch the reputation of a royal by spreading lies or luring a royal into imprudent behaviour). It takes an outside agent aiding, abetting, or sponsoring, or organizing, or otherwise goading them to get most REAL dangers to the throne (as opposed to just opportunistic murder attempts) into the "working" stage. Yes, you were meant to pity Lord Crownsilver - - and HIS tale isn't over yet, either. :}

I avoided playing the "Azoun's host of bastards" card because I only had one book to work within, not a shelf full of novels I'd be allowed to write, and it was supposed to be titled (and therefore - - truth in advertising, y'know - - had better BE the story of the) SWORDS OF EVENINGSTAR. Not all those illegitimates. Now, there IS an adventuring company running around the Realms right now that's almost entirely made up of Azoun's illegitimate children, but that's another story...

As for their being invisible, that's just it: darn near every large noble house, and a lot of common-born families, too, has one. So they don't stand out as unusual - - and of course they function as full members of the families they're formally part of (remember, some older male nobles are enraged by the King's dalliances with their wives, but lots of Cormyreans are PROUD that he visited their beds, or a bed just down the street from them, and don't frown on either Azoun's behaviour or the result. So in one sense writing a book concentrating on Azoun's bastards would be like writing a book concentrating on half the men in an average-sized town: they may share a common sire, but they're all different from each other, doing different things, living different lives, and NOT all wanting to end up at Court with a title and royal recognition, either.

Not every adventuring band has the "ripple effect" that the Swords did, here. That's part of why they rose to prominence; they happened to be in the right place at the right time (or, you know, the wrong place at the wrong...), to be the catalyst for a lot of things that had been building. So not every adventuring company has the impact they did, and in particular very few NOVICE adventuring bands stir up things anything like the Swords did.

The telescoping is why all the deaths seem to pile up thick and fast in the later chapters of the book; it isn't typical of adventuring sessions, where PCs very rarely die, and Total Party Kills only occur if parties really do stupid things and then stubbornly don't try to back out or flee. Good roleplayers who know the Realms rarely even think of doing those "stupid things."

As for doing a young Alusair trilogy: I'd LOVE to. For a variety of reasons (yes, those shields suddenly looming close, all around us, are indeed NDAs, so spare your questions), I don't think I'll get the chance, but... ah, it would have been nice to write about nine or ten Cormyr trilogies that all dovetail into a tapestry of Cormyr from about the time of Azoun IV setting off as a youthful adventurer up to right now, Realms time. I'm sure everyone's noticed by now how I keep sneaking back to the Forest Kingdom, in book after book (Elminster's Daughter? Got to get her out of Waterdeep straight away and into Cormyr, of course).

The "guest stars," as you term them, are to me a vital part of any Realms novel. I don't mean that Elminster or Drizzt should wander through the pages of every book, I mean that to capture the illusion of this fantasy world as a living, breathing place, it's very important not to have main characters wander through what seems like a passive pastoral backdrop until they show up, with all the "big guns" away on vacations, missing, bedridden, busy behind locked doors, etc. I don't mean the guest stars should each become the handy deus ex machina of every plot, nor that every book should peer at rulers or nobles or other "peak of power" characters, but the world should feel as if everyone's active in it doing lots of interesting things, not that Faerûn holds its breath and watches One Big Event that the novel follows.

I will answer your question about the right way to start courting Cormyrean princesses in the Ask Eddie 07 thread, when I get to it (it's near the top of the heap of queries, but that's a big heap), but entering the peerage is NOT the right way to go about it EXCEPT in the way you mention (when noble is an adventurer personally ennobled for deeds). In general, recent Obarskyrs have wanted to wed commoners (especially wealthy ones) or nobles from other lands far away, where such unions don't give the other land any claims to the Dragon Throne. Filfaeril was an exception (a return to the old way of doing things, which is considered unwise because it pits established noble family against established noble family, increasing social tensions for generations).

You'll see more of Arabel (albeit briefly) in SWORDS OF DRAGONFIRE, and yes, it is a city that, like Marsember, is inhabited by a lot of people that just want to get on with their lives, a lot more who welcome the protection against outlaws and roving monster bands and orc hordes and marauding monsters, and the law and order within the walls, that Cormyr's rule gives them, and a small minority that fiercely hates this "oppression" and will seize any chance they get to "throw off the yoke" and rebel. Again. The timing of this trilogy isn't quite right for Gondegal, and his rising really deserves an entire book, which (given that he escaped into the mists of Ravenloft) couldn't have a narratively very satisfying ending. However, there is a long, long list of "stories I'd love to tell someday," and that's on it. I'm not expecting that particular someday to ever come, but who knows?

Thanks for the praise and the critical look, and I'm glad you enjoyed the book; I hope you'll like SWORDS OF DRAGONFIRE, which inevitably involves a lot more character vignettes and the ever-burgeoning cast featured in them.

So saith Ed.

Who for my money is a far better writer than most who've risen within the gaming field. I know many like to sneer at his work, but that "many" includes very few editors, because he's one of the busiest working writers I've ever encountered (and I've been involved in various professional ways in publishing for the last thirty years or so).

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 12, 2007: Ask and ye shall receive (ahem, as has been said before).

Hello again, fellow scribes. This time Ed tackles one of those thorny questions of faith, as posed by Ethriel and amplified by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin, as follows:

Ethriel: "Here's a question: Is every last soul that doesn't have a faith simply doomed no matter what? Including children that die before they can embrace a deity? In one short story, a mother commits suicide to save her child on the Fugue Plane, is the kid done for anyways? Later on, another kid dies and finds himself on the Fugue Plane without God's guidance, ending with him walking off with the kid... are we to expect a 'and they burned in hell' coda?

Also, how about Zaknafein in the Drizzt books, since he's apparently at peace in a 'better place?'

Is there light that can be shed?"

and:

Rinonalyrna Fathomlin: "I just want to comment that this subject greatly interests me as well... and comes very close to certain real-world beliefs about what happens when innocent children die before being inducted into a particular religious faith."

Ed replies:

Firstly: I cannot comment on Zak; that's a question for Bob to answer in his own way, at a time of his choosing.

Secondly: please remember there's no "God's guidance" in the Realms in a singular sense; the Realms has many gods, not One. Nor does the Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian, etc. "burn in hell" coda to be expected or necessarily follows.

Thirdly: No soul is doomed through an inability to make choices, only by the choices that soul has made.

In other words, innocents do not have a single predetermined fate (despite the propaganda of some Faerûnian sages and churches; i.e. what you may have read in various published adventures or sourcebooks).

There are (obviously) many gaps in the knowledge folk of Faerûn have of their own cosmology, and even more in what we gamers and readers know of it; there are errors and omissions in the published canon (and NOTHING is eternal, as the changing divine roster and multiverse views prove).

I cannot (NDAs again) close all those gaps, clean up all the fuzzy bits, and Reveal All, here or in print anywhere soon. So you'll just have to trust me when I say that all souls have fates, mortals cannot yet know all of those fates nor reliably know what fate a specific innocent soul will end up experiencing. So whatever a DM decides, holds true for that campaign and that soul - - but any wise DM will discuss religious beliefs with all of his/her players beforehand, and establish the "comfortable for all" ground rules. This is definitely a place where the game should be tailored to each group of gamers. I have never been a fan of either predestiny or absolutes - - and if you examine the D&D rules carefully and dispassionately, throughout all their editions, neither is the game system. It embraces concepts of good and evil, of achievement and teamwork, of ethical and religious belief and system, but it is posited on player characters having freedom in their actions (hence, "beating" predestination), and having to make life choices continually (arguing against absolutes).

This "wiggle room" or "elbow room" is the space we all need to tell stories and have adventures.

So saith Ed.

In yet another classic reply. I'm very glad he never wanted to go into politics except on the local, "fix this problem or injustice" level; we might never have had the Realms...

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 13, 2007: Hi again, everyone. Ed continues to deal with short, easily-answered recent queries, this time turning to Malcolm's query: "Dear Ed and THO,

Mention of the Heralds made me wonder: do actors putting together costumes, assassins and thieving guilds making up disguises, etc. run into problems with the Heralds?

If an actor playing Azoun IV (in a theater in Westgate or Sembia, where the authorities wouldn't mind an unflattering portrayal of Obarskyr kings at all) uses the royal arms to tell the audience he's pretending to be King Azoun, is that a Heralds' "no-no"? Or a tolerated exception?"

Ed replies:

It's a tolerated exception, on a stage, or in a tavern taproom or inn common-room, wherein costumes and minicry (the satirical social comment of the day) is perfectly allowed (i.e. ignored by the Heralds) for actors, bards, minstrels, and just plain folks.

What worries the Heralds is deliberate, intended-to-fool-an-audience deception (someone writing a letter purporting to be the king, or trying to give orders whilst passing himself off as a knight, noble, or monarch).

Assassins and thieves are by nature 'in trouble' with the Heralds but usually don't care a whit about being so; actors are indeed "tolerated exceptions."

So saith Ed, Creator of the Heralds and King Azoun (and Cormyr and Westgate, too).

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On January 14, 2007 THO said: Oh, Charles, you've made this aging girl VERY happy.

*[happy sigh]*

At last, AT LAST, a post from a reader who 'gets it.' I'm so pleased to read this passage, in particular:

"It's a tragedy now and actually explains why he's such a huge lech, the guy needs every human connection he can. It also explains him and the Simbul which had me confused for a while....both are utterly crazy over the power they wield and want to be rid of it but dare not."

I'm sure Ed will eventually have a reply to send back to you, but I couldn't wait that long to express my pleasure.

Ed has been writing things at this level for years, and I get SO tired of reading all the "Elmonster is obviously Greenwood's wish fulfillment, bring on Driz-zit and chop the dirty old man up" posts.

Thank you.

love,
THO

(Reply about the Temptation of Elminster novel)

*************************************************************************************

January 14, 2007: Exactly, Charles. Well said. (Ed, of course, will reply on this, too, in the fullness of time.)

Well, hi, all!

I bring you another lore answer from Ed, this time to WalkerNinja's question: "Are the three major families of Melvaunt significantly invested in Melvauntan real-estate? If so, what percentage is owned by them?"

Ed replies:

They are indeed, and although percentages change over time, their expansion as landlords was sharply curtailed about a decade ago when local shopkeepers started allying with outlander investors to thwart loan foreclosures and to outbid the "True Masters" (as folk of Melvaunt took to calling the Nanthers, Leiyraghons, and Bruils). This secretly relieved the Leiyraghons and Bruils, who'd been bleeding themselves white trying to keep up with the Nanthers - - and very much relieved independent landowners all over the city, who feared being squeezed out of their own city, particularly after the Nanthers started using beatings and arson (via hired agents hired by other agents rather than directly, of course) to "persuade" landowners to sell, rather than their former tactic of just offering so much coin that only a fool would refuse (though a greater fool would accept and then try to continue living in Melvaunt, without expecting another agent of the Nanthers to come along and try to steal or coerce the money right back out of their coffers).

So for the last eight to ten years things have been rather stable, and are as follows (SHOP means percentage of shops and retail spaces; WARE means percentage of warehouse, shipping, and goods storage cellars; PH means private housing space, not including rental rooms above shops, which are included under SHOP; in all cases, we're speaking only of property within the walls of Melvaunt):

Nanther: SHOP 49, WARE 56, PH 31

Leiyraghon: SHOP 27, WARE 21, PH 12

Bruil: SHOP 19, WARE 11, PH 16

So saith Ed, Creator of Melvaunt, and there you have it.

The City of Swords is a tense place, as you might imagine.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 15, 2007: Hi again, all. I bring you this time Ed's response to a question from Thangorn: "Greetings Ed & THO, I trust the creation of new facets of the realms is coming along smoothly. Further to my question regarding Zhentish "nobility" I wanted to ask you a quick question about Storm Silverhand.

When you think about Storm's musical abilities and what she actually might sound like when performing are there any real life contemporaries/parallels that come to mind? Thanks"

Ed replies:

I love this question, though answering it properly has been (as you'll read) something of a struggle for me.

Storm has a deep, rich voice. She lacks the "shrieking edge" that, say, Loreena McKennitt or Maddy Prior achieve all too often, or Sinead O'Connor or Candice Night (of Blackmore's Night) take on when "pushing" their voices, but her harping is often similar to McKennitt's. Her lute-work is close to Paul O'Dette (as on ROBIN IS TO THE GREENWOOD GONE).

Her voice tends to be gentle and clear (like much of Enya's singing), though again, lower-pitched than Enya. About the pitch of Chrissy Hyde's singing voice (at least in her lowest passages on the "unplugged" live version of "Chain Gang"), but Storm has a richer, fuller voice than hers.

Actually, Gordon Lightfoot in his prime had a pitch that's "pretty close" for Storm, but of course a different (male) vocal quality.

Many alto opera singers have the pitch I'm trying to describe, but of course have trained, full, "finished" voices, and I'm trying to convey that Storm instead has a soft, smooth, clear, usually gentle voice ("Enya delivery," I've heard it called). When I try to describe it in terms of popular singers, I'm trying to avoid people who become shrill when they go up in pitch (something you'll hear in everyone from Joni Mitchell through Buffy and Baez to Carole King) and also trying to avoid the "whiskey 'n' cigarettes" roughness of many black female blues vocalists, from, say, Bessie Smith on.

Storm can also mimic the voices of others, as well as birdcalls, trumpets, and so on, and often works these effects into her performances. So she CAN sound like a trilling bird or a breathy little girl when she wants to.

I'll keep searching for performances I think capture the vocal quaity I'm trying to describe, and post it via THO when I find them.

So saith Ed.

I've heard some of this before (before his throat surgery, Ed was an accomplished choral singer, and could and often did imitate Storm and other NPCs singing; since then, he mainly describes them).

love to all,
THO

Hello again, fellow scribes. This time I come bearing a surprise from Ed, a follow-up for Thangorn:

Aha. Your mention of music for Storm put me in mind of a 'set' of music I cobbled together for use for Storm's performances. Here are a few real-world musical selections I've used, in the format: song/ group/one of the CDs or albums the song appears on. An asterisk indicates music I feel is especially "key" or "core" to Storm.

The Prickly Bush/Steeleye Span/Time
The Weaver/Steeleye Span/TheCollection: Steeleye Span In Concert [live version]
*Dawn of the Day/Steeleye Span/Tonight's The Night
[[Maddy Prior's vocals on "Dawn of the Day" are a little high in pitch and on two passages too "sharp/piercing/edgy," but otherwise, this IS Storm]]
Honest Work/Maddy Prior/Flesh & Blood
Who Am I?/Maddy Prior/Flesh & Blood
Reynardine/Maddy Prior/Arthur the King
Elspeth of Nottingham/Focus/Focus III [note: instrumental]
Lord Baker/Sinead O'Connor/Sean-Nos Nua
Push/Sarah McLachlan/Juno Awards 2005 [live version]
Unrelated Thing/They Might Be Giants/John Henry
Afterglow/Genesis/Seconds Out [live version]
More Fool Me/Genesis/Selling England By The Pound
*Broadsword/Jethro Tull/Broadsword and the Beast
Minstrel Hall/Blackmore's Night/Shadows of the Moon [note: instrumental]
Home Again/Blackmore's Night/Fires At Midnight
Crowning of the King/Blackmore's Night/Fires At Midnight
Bonny Portmore/Lorenna McKennitt/The Visit
The Lady of Shalott/Lorenna McKennitt/The Visit
*I Cried For Us/Kate & Anna McGarrigle/Love Over And Over
*The Bike Song/Kate & Anna McGarrigle/Matapedia
*Alexandra Leaving/Leonard Cohen/Ten New Songs
Love Itself/Leonard Cohen/Ten New Songs
The Faith/Leonard Cohen/Dear Heather
*Isabella/Enya/Only Time: The Collection
Anywhere Is/Enya/Only Time: The Collection
*Cheerio/Jethro Tull/Broadsword and the Beast

Please note that these aren't "Eddie's Musical Favourites" (and are by no means all "medieval" in sound. But they DO evoke Storm for me and for my "home" campaign Realms gamers.

So saith Ed.

Whose eclectic taste in music (everything from Kipper Family to Ketelby, Barenaked Ladies to Bonzo Dog Doodah Band, and Rush - - who played at his high school back when he was attending it - - to Respighi) has always amazed me.

He has been, at various times, a lousy piano player, adequate recorder player, nice deep bass chorister, good mimic of others (Stanley Holloway, Flanders & Swann - - and he once imitated Noel Coward well enough for a high school play for the recording to fool some Coward-fan parents in the audience into thinking it WAS Coward, and storming the stage after the performance to find out where to get this "unknown" Coward recording they didn't own!), adequate rock bass player, and a bad rock drummer.

Now, he tells me, he's launched a new career as a sometime singer in the bathtub.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 16, 2007: Hi again, all. This time I bring an answer from Ed to Charles Phipps, re. this query (which Ed loved, by the way): "Well, third time's a charm, and let's hope Ed can find the time to answer this one since I have NOOOooooo idea how to answer this one when my player introduced it.

What would be the requirements of someone to genuinely pay court to Alusair for a potential husband as opposed to just another of her many consorts (which doesn't seem that difficult)?

The players are heroes in Cormyr even as I'm considering helping the need along for a royal match with poor King Azoun the Fifth, ill-fated boy that he seems to be (Gods help whomever is successfully in ending his young life)"

Ed replies:

I'm going to begin by assuming that in your Realms campaign, Alusair is Steel Regent, Filfaeril is the Dowager Dragon Queen, and the infant Azoun the Fifth is alive and well. I am further assuming that the suitor is a human male (non-humans or half-breeds are another can of worms entirely, as would be a same-gender or multiple-partners union).

The first requirement to be a genuine suitor for Alusair is to meet with her approval. She's a VERY shrewd judge of self-interested manipulators, can and has taken her sexual fill of almost anyone she wants, when she wants (yes, both male and female, though she vastly prefers the lads), has been taught very well by her parents and Vangerdahast as to Cormyrean law, lore, and where skeletons are buried or in closets realm-wide. She is very strong-minded, and will marry no one she doesn't want to. (In MY Realms campaign, she'll probably never marry, and certainly not while still Regent.) In short, she isn't "burning to be loved or cherished," and won't easily fall for anyone.

The second requirement to be a suitor with any hope of success is suitability for the realm. Alusair is NOT going to go for a Sembian (Cormyr sees Sembia as trying to take it over, and the people would definitely see such a union as a way to do this) or a powerful arcane spellcaster (the commoners are already a little unhappy about the War Wizards in general and Vangerdahast in particular, like Caladnei because she's young and not seen as anything like Vangey's match in magical power or love of scheming; they would see any powerful wizard or sorcerer suitor as someone who'll use magic to control Alusair, and turn the kingdom into a tyranny). Powerful priests are "out" for the same reason; the realm has long resisted a state religion or any dominant role of one faith, preferring the secular leadership of the Crown, enforced by the Purple Dragons bolstered by the necessary evil of the War Wizards, because they see every Dragon as "one of us."

In like manner, a blood member of one of the major noble families is also unacceptable, because of the very real fear of civil war: advance one noble family (plus its noble allies; more will quickly leap onto the bandwagon) over the others, and pretenders to the throne will pop up all over the realm, thrust forward by ambitious nobles (it's a regency, remember, with over a hundred known bastards of Azoun in every noble family and many common-born ones, too). A minor noble heritage - - as long as the individual is clearly NOT a bastard of Azoun (because if he is, we'll be plunged back into the "well, our bastard is just as good as your bastard, and probably better" - - bolstered by the fact that Alusair is unlikely to "go for" the oldest of her father's bastards, given that they're much her senior in age, which means her chosen one will have a lesser, junior claim to the Dragon Throne than many of the rival claimants) WOULD be acceptable, but even then risks the "dark danger" of civil strife, because outcast noble families in Westgate and elsewhere, Inner Sea pirates who want freedom to operate, and Sembian interests who want to see Cormyr go down or be conquered by them, will all see a lovely opportunity to sponsor rebellions or at least rival claimants, whispering to, and working through, noble families of Cormyr they trade with daily (promising THEM the throne, if the bid succeeds).

Alaphondar, the Highknights, the War Wizards, and all of the Obarskyrs know this danger very well, and Alusair has been raised to be ever-wary of it; she's NOT going to imperil her realm because of any potential mate. So the only "acceptable" sort of nobility, in her eyes (and those of the realm, though the nobles will sneer) is a commoner - - yes, even an adventurer - - raised to the nobility for their service to Cormyr. An outlander adventurer with a "respectable" past (nobility or wealth) would be ideal, so long as they're from some place too far away (such as Waterdeep) to be seen as gaining a dangerous claim to Cormyr through the marriage. (Amn WOULD be seen as a danger, as it's large, ambitious, trades extensively with Cormyr, and has long wanted an "arm touching the Inner Sea.")

Finally, folk from Thay or Zhentil Keep or Calimshan haven't much hope: the former two places are seen as corrupted by the Red Wizards and Zhentarim (so any representative "must" be a spy or tool of those evil organizations, who want to enslave - - and experiment on - - us all), and there's sufficient racism in Cormyr against Calishites ("they're all slavers, aren't they?") to make them truly unpopular in any position of power.

The third requirement for suitors is a clean local past: since arriving in Cormyr, has the individual publicly butchered any "just plain folks" (law-abiding Cormyreans who aren't running amok with weapons, or nobles scheming against the Crown, or agents of the Zhents or other outlander sinister powers)? Have they spoken out against guilds or nobles or Crown laws or institutions? Have they worked too closely with one noble house (especially of Arabel or Marsember)? Have they demonstrated a brutal, mad, or disloyal to Cormyr personal character? Cormyreans admire those who stand up for themselves, or for justice (as opposed to "blindly-applied law" or "nobles throwing their weight in coins around"), but they are wary of tyrants and all who consider themselves "better than the next man." They will also mistrust anyone who's made a living by thievery.

Then, of course, matters will proceed according to the performance of the would-be suitor: how does he approach Alusair? Does he anger key courtiers, or make enemies of powerful nobles? Can nobles manipulate him into blunders? Does he do anything that can be seen as seeking Alusair's hand for personal gain?

This could be a great long-term, ongoing roleplaying opportunity. Alusair is independent and likes her freedom; she won't mind a marriage to someone who will be a good, loyal war-leader for the realm, her trusted eyes when she has to be elsewhere, and who isn't so submissive as to bore her, but does give way to her doing just as she pleases in matters of bedding partners she chooses, maintaining her close friendships with "her lords" (the young male nobles she's always ridden with, and latterly commanded). Does her suitor want her to bear his children? Will he agree beforehand to a morganatic marriage (wherein his children are specifically and formally NOT part of the succession to the Dragon Throne)? Alusair would prefer a man who doesn't want children, and will agree to such conditions "before all the Court," with written contract and all, before their wedding.

I could on for pages and pages of this thread discussing possibilities and permutations, but would quickly reach the "if this, then that, but on the other hand, if this other thing, then blah blah blah" stage; I can say little useful until I know more specifics of the unfolding situation. (So, if you want to keep me posted as your campaign play unfolds, and would like my "okay, that'll cause X and Y" comments, go right ahead...)

Everything I've said here could be learned by a would-be suitor who sat down with a friendly (or well-paid) local sage, senior Purple Dragon, War Wizard (who'd promptly report the entire conversation, earning the PC spies and magically farscrying eavesdroppers, from that moment on), senior courtier (ditto the War Wizard's reporting-in), elderly noble patriarch or matriarch of a minor no-axe-to-grind house, or one of the Suzail-based wealthy retired men and women who view doings at Court as their daily entertainment - - and follow all the gossip avidly.

You've got me interested, Charles; go for it!

So saith Ed.

I, too, want to hear what happens! What say, Charles?

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On January 17, 2007 THO said: Easy, Dargoth, easy, there!

Ed tells me the delay is his fault.

Wizards still have Waterdeep News items by him, but have run out of both Realmslore and Border Kingdoms entries (assuming we've had all three High Mukshar instalments; I've not checked)

- - and he's been too blamed busy with [NDA and NDA, so assume still-secret WotC projects, as well as helping XXX with NDA] to get any more ready, yet.

Ed says this past year has been scheduling hell for him; 4 novels, 3 game products and assists with others, about 30 webcolumns, a dozen or so short stories, and lots of "incidental writing, editing, and critiquing." (And, of course, he does have a day job, chairs a library board, helped get a local mayor elected, speaks to school classes, at cons, and seniors' and literary groups, yadda yadda heaping yadda...)

So please be patient; Ed will get new lore to Wizards as soon as he can!

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 18, 2007: Hello again, all. This time Ed gives a swift response to a question from Rolindin: "First Mr. Greenwood I would like to say I enjoy reading your writings on the FR page. The question I have for you; have you thought about writing a part three to the Coinkind?"

Ed replies:

As per my Realms agreements and NDAs, I can't confirm forthcoming Realmslore column topics, but let me hint: I HAVE entertained such thoughts, yes. :}

So saith Ed.

Such a subtle hinter, eh?

This dovetails with WalkerNinja's suggestion. By all means run such a poll, because Ed now has more freedom than he started out with. Initially, he would suggest a long list of topics and send it in, and at the WotC end, topics would be approved or nixed, and Ed would then set to work on the surviving ones. I understand things have become more flexible.

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 19, 2007: Hi, all. Another swift-n-simple answer from Ed this time, to Kuje re. this: "Ed, I'm curious about something. :)

Has any dracolich ever turned into a dragon form of a demilich? So, I guess it would be a demi-dracolich."

Ed replies:

Yes. Details (monster stats, name of this sort of beast, etc.) are currently NDA. The reason? A staff designer contemplating writing a Realms novel asked me about this before 3e. We talked, certain things were decided, along came 3e, and nothing's yet appeared - - but of course that means the NDA is still in force. I'll check privately, but please don't try to 'read' anything into my silence if I fail to speak again on this matter (for the reasons given here most recently in a response to WalkerNinja).

So saith Ed.

"Aha!" and so forth.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 20, 2007: Hello again, scribes. This time Ed tackles the first of several related questions about wills posed by Charles Phipps and Rinonalyrna Fathomlin.

This one's from Charles Phipps: "And for a completely random question. Did Azoun have a will? Was there anything left to his rather extensive spawn?"

Ed replies:

I'm assuming here that by "rather extensive spawn" you mean his illegitimate offspring. On the legitimate side of the roster, Azoun and Filfaeril had a son who died very young and two daughters, who would seem to be about the bare minimum for securing the succession in a perilous, often-at-war kingdom.

Yes, he had a will, although as THO rightly pointed out, it covers personal possessions and wealth rather than "state" property like the crown jewels, thrones, castles, palaces, et cetera (which are inherited or passed along according to specific Crown laws or long-standing tradition).

Azoun left a tiny amount to "any issue of my three children Foril, Tanalasta, and Alusair, whether recognized by me or not" (in other words, legitimate grandchildren he might be unaware of, if any).

However, he left absolutely nothing at all to his numerous illegitimate offspring.

It would be a Very Bold Political Move Indeed (on the dead monarch's part) if Azoun left anything to any bastard offspring (as opposed to quietly giving them money, lands, or a building during his lifetime, which is "okay," often done, and by tradition overlooked by the Court, other Obarskyrs, the rest of the nobles, etc.) in his will, and he didn't.

Azoun has so many bastard offspring that gifting things to a few of them would probably turn out to be an unofficial death sentence for any illegitimates thus 'anointed.'

If a monarch of Cormyr only had one to four bastards, or one plus some legitimate children, or any combination of legitimate and a handful of bastards, recognizing the bastards in a will would be a very likely way to start a civil war (as opportunistic nobles "backed" rival bastard claimants).

Monarchs of Cormyr are taught this, and their Court Wizards (the "other hat" worn by Vangey) and Royal Sages (Alaphondar) know it and hammer it home to all royals they're training; no sane Obarskyr would do such a thing except perhaps out of spite, as a deliberate attempt to wreck the kingdom after their own passing.

So saith Ed.

Who will reply to the other related queries over the next few days.

love to all,
THO

Hi again, all. Discussion of wills continues herein, as Rinonalyrna Fathomlin posted: "You know, I work in my county's Surrogate's Office (where we probate wills, handle administrations, and so forth), and I've actually wondered about what wills are like in the Forgotten Realms, and how similar they are to our own...and what the wills of certain characters would be like (including Azoun)."

and Charles Phipps responded: "Yes, some will info would be lovely in general though I meant specific.

I can imagine given some of the Realms events that plenty of interesting will sessions could be read. Elminster has seemed to have died so often that I imagine that he uses it solely to clean out his Hut of Junk. I also assume there's an equivalent of "Do not resurrect" in some wills. I further wonder if one loses all property on death even if one is resurrected ;-)

(Hopefully, relatives will be nice enough to give it back)"

Ed replies:

I'll say more in general about wills later, when I can. Suffice it to say that they vary widely in specifics from place to place, but wherever there's an entrenched nobility in the Realms, and a wealthy merchant class, clear rules and rights of inheritance soon develop - - or disputes tear that city or realm apart.

To get a little specific about Cormyr: Cormyrean law holds that nobles can't be resurrected AND retain their "blood rights" (i.e. they can come back, but they lose inheritances, even if "the last one" of a family; property reverts to the Crown; so if they die when young and are raised, this is usually kept secret in an attempt to avoid later problems; for non-royals, there's an exception in the case of children who've not yet been presented at Court; they CAN be raised and still be considered "legitimate," but the moment they've been confirmed as heirs or fullblood family members In the Royal Presence, death will thereafter disinherit them).

Obarskyrs can be resurrected, but again, reigning monarchs who are "brought back" lose their crowns and all blood status, and the act of bringing them back is high treason (i.e. persons doing it will be executed).

The "returned" former monarch is gelded (if male) and magically made barren (and in at least one case, was sewn up physically), and exiled, often after War Wizard mind-tampering to remove some of their memories.

In most cases, the returned monarch either openly and deliberately committed suicide or submitted to being magically blasted to ash, for "all to see" (to prevent endless strife with nobles kidnapping them and forcibly breeding them, or magically controlling them as puppet rival monarchs), or was quietly watched, followed, and "killed off Cormyrean soil" a few days after being exiled.

Yes, I know this is all "news" to most scholars of matters Cormyrean. 'Tis a subject I'll say more of, someday.

Royals who aren't reigning in their own right when killed, can be resurrected without losing their inheritance (full status). By saying "reigning in their own right" here, I'm pointing out that any Regent (such as Alusair) could be killed, brought back, and would still count as a legitimate heir if the deaths of others later left her with the closest claim to the throne.

Most of this is academic Court and sage debate, by the way; when real crises of succession happen, in Cormyr and elsewhere, the sword (as in, support of the most nobles, for bastards or usurpers or whomever) will usually rule the day.

So saith Ed.

Who has yet another related question (from Rinonalyrna Fathomlin) to answer tomorrow.

love to all,
THO

Well met again, scribes. As promised, this time Ed tackles a query from Rinonalyrna Fathomlin about inheritances: "Thanks for the information--I can see why wills and laws regarding them might be better off staying on the less-detailed side. I would love it if Ed could give a teensy-bit more information about how Cormyrean law would distribute the assets of an estate (ie. does it always go to next of kin no matter what the deceased person desired?). If not, I understand."

Ed replies:

If a Cormyrean dies and no legitimate blood relative (cousin is closest) survives, property reverts to the Crown. In any event, land, money, and goods are held and administered by the Crown until an heir is located (for nobles: search forever if there's any doubt ("doubt" meaning missing persons who are recorded in the rolls of the Heralds and/or in the ledgers at the Royal Court in Suzail, which are duplicated at another hidden, secret location in the kingdom, thought by most to be a vault in or beneath High Horn, but by some to be an underground "dungeon" reached via portals from somewhere near Jester's Green); for kin of knights: search twelve summers; for commoners: search three years).

Titles, surnames, and the like can't be denied by a deceased: you can leave your son or daughter nothing (or the rebuking "single used copper coin of the realm"), but you can't literally "disown" them. However, the desires of the deceased are generally followed absolutely regarding dispositions to children, with two exceptions: wedded spouses can't be left with little or nothing while children reap the loot; nor can disabled parents, relatives, or spouses; they "must be provided for." The Crown will do this for the truly poor, but it will exact a share from willed property to "ground" its support if Court pursers judge that a deceased tried to leave property to some beneficiaries without "discharging obligations" for support of others (note that the Court considers all matters carefully, dismissing the claims of false relatives or persons who sponge off their kin for years, and then claim they have a right to go on doing so from the estate; War Wizards will mind-read claimants and priests examine their bodies to make sure they're infirm).

With all of this said, when it comes to able-bodied children old enough to fend for themselves (age 12 for males and puberty or 13 for females, whichever comes later), a deceased parents' wishes are usually considered absolute.

If dear old Pa gives Rory the eldest a sack of silver coins and the words "This is more than I started with; go out and win a good life for yourself!" and gives Launcein the younger lad "my wagon and horses, to be given to Master Traevyn in return for prenticing Launcein for two years, as we agreed to" [note: as long as there's either a written agreement, or guild witness, or Traevyn confirms the bargain; otherwise, Launcein just gets the wagon and horses, to do with as he pleases] and gives the youngest, his daughter Mrelda, "the house, such as it is, and with all else therein," to dwell in or sell off or try to make a living taking lodgers or doing laundry or starting a brothel or trying to lure a husband - - the Court is going to accept this, even if the three kids aren't happy. The three kids are free to swap or reach altered distributions among themselves, IF they agree without coercion or dispute - - but if there's any dispute, Court bailiffs (veteran Purple Dragons and senior courtiers, working together and with the support of priests and War Wizards, if they need such) will step in and enforce dead Pa's wishes.

So saith Ed.

That do to work with, Rinonalyrna? I'm sure Ed can say more if you ask narrow-scope specific followups; again, this is a topic he's been as vague as possible on for years, to avoid trammeling novel writers (though he set the Obarskyr rules down years ago, and amended them only slightly when working with Jeff Grubb on that classic of Cormyr lore, CORMYR: A NOVEL).

love to all,
THO

Oooh, good question, George! Off to Ed it goes!

Hello again, all.

This time Ed answers Rinonalyrna Fathomlin, re. this followup: "Actually, there is one more thing I was wondering about: I know that most newer wills contain a self-proving clause that states that the testator was not a minor, was of sound mind, and was under no undue influence or constraint. Is there anything similar to that in Cormyr? Being the fastidiously lawful realm that it is, I figure there might be. Thanks again, Rinonalyrna"

Ed replies:

Yes and no. That is, there are no such written clauses, but there ARE witnesses who sign, mark, stamp, or seal the documents attesting to the very things you mention. As I revealed some years ago, most contracts, trade agreements, and wills in Cormyr (and in wider settled and civilized Faerûn, too) are made before witnesses at a temple (priests) or before magisters (local justices) or "local lords" (administrators installed by the Crown, the equivalents of mayors and police chiefs).

Their marks on a will are only placed there if they believe the testator (not a Realms term, by the way; in the Realms, such persons are known as "utterers") is either of age or is the last living heir of a family (underage nobles can make wills, if they are "the last of their line," as can the sole eneficiaries of family wealth if more than one land property is part of that wealth), is of sound mind, and isn't under constraint or undue influence (this last part is their primary focus; Crown clerks and the local lords they work for will often "guest" an utterer for days, chatting with them over meals and walks alone, to make sure they're not influenced by someone else, as well as making the usual magical examinations).

Except, of course, in cases where no controversy or difficulties are thought to exist. Which from time to time (when hitherto-unknown or thought-to-be-dead heirs or claimants arise) causes future complications, yes.

So saith Ed.

Who thinks things through in the Realms, and over forty years has built up a fair depth of thinking for us all.

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 22, 2007: Eldath is female.

Red Knight is female but has on occasion used male avatars.

When Ed "invented" divine portfolios (which really means: formalized the concept for the D&D game by assigning specific interests to deities and using the word "portfolio" for them), he speculated on the existence (or not) of a Divine Balance.

His take on it (see many GenCon seminars) is that mortals can only imperfectly understand the nature of divinity.

There may be no balance in a pantheon.

There certainly aren't an orderly array of equally-offsetting portfolios (or as this thread expresses it, "portfolios and their opposities") in the Realms pantheon. Given the chaos factor, there probably can never be.

Yes, having deities opposed on a particular matter (Silvanus vs. Chauntea over plants, as posted) makes for great roleplaying opportunities, but trying to extend this "direct opposition exists" to all topics, and all deities, becomes futile.

This is not my opinion, BTW, this is Ed's take on the world and pantheon he created, as expressed at GenCon seminars and agreed with at those seminars by the successive Realms traffic cops of Jeff Grubb and Steven Schend, and by other TSR and later WotC designers such as Steve Winter, David Wise, Frank Mentzer, etc.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 25, 2007: Hi again, all. This time, Ed replies to Wooly Rupert, in regard to my mention of Alusair at age thirteen appearing in the forthcoming SWORDS OF DRAGONFIRE: "Speaking of which, how old was she on her visit to the Inn of the Dripping Dagger (the visit mentioned in Volo's Guide to Waterdeep, when the patrons taught her profanity and how to throw daggers)?"

Ed replies:

Late fourteen, as I recall. I can't check all of my relevant notes right now, and one of them implies she might have been "just" fifteen, but I believe fourteen is more likely.

So saith Ed, and checking back on some of my sporadic pencil scribbles, I'm thinking fourteen, too. "Fourteen going on fifteen," as they say.

P.S. Rolindin: the Highknights are the "James Bond" types of secret agents for Cormyr, the War Wizards do most surveillance (aided and abetted by loyal retired Purple Dragons dwelling all over the realm), and (especially outside the borders of the realm) the Harpers assist, too (through the personal relatiponship between Dove and Filfaeril, as shown in Ed's current trilogy about the Knights of Myth Drannor). Ed will of course provide you with a proper reply eventually.

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 27, 2007: Hello again, scribes. This time Ed makes answer to Rollo Ruttikin, re. this: "Well met Hooded One! I have always wondered about the various Volo's Guides and the assorted recipes for different things like Dragon Stew.

Aside from some of the FR ingredients, are these recipes real or imaginary? Are they inspired by true dishes that one could possibly concoct if one had the time and talent to do so? Of course I realize that certain ingredients would need to be subsituted. Whatever the case may be, Ed sounds like he would be an amazing chef!

This is important to me because I am fat. Thanks!!"

Ed replies:

Amazing eater, yes (or was; for health reasons, I'm having to be far more careful now than I used to be). Amazing chef, no. I've never lived in a household where I've been allowed to do my own thing in the kitchen (except for washing dishes; I wash a LOT of dishes). I learned to cook on Scout camping trips, and am "okay" preparing a VERY limited roster of meals. However, I've watched and listened to many good cooks, read lots of recipes and herblore, and could probably become an average cook, given the opportunity. I'm a fantasy writer, and although I understand seasonings quite well (herbs and spices and how they work or don't work have always fascinated me), those recipes are inventions. I'd treat them with great caution.

If you wanted to make Dragon Stew, for instance, I'd substitute beef or pork for the dragon meat, and then sit down with a large selection of good cookbooks (use a public library if you don't have your own selection already) and compare beef or pork dishes, the procedure and the seasonings, and adjust amounts (and substitute ingredients for my sometimes-fantastical ones). Many published recipes have to be tinkered with, in the kitchen, to make them better, or to work at all - - but when comparing my recipes with "real" recipes, go with the real one, every time!

See page 15 of the 2005 vintage of this thread for my earlier reply on this topic.

So saith Ed.

Whom I know enjoys watching RESTAURANT MAKEOVER or even GOOD EATS and IRON CHEF AMERICA from time to time, when in hotel rooms.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 27, 2007: Hello, all. This time I bring you Ed of the Greenwood's response to scribe Jamallo Kreen, regarding the 2e sourcebook entitled REALMSPACE: "Who conceived the idea of Those Who Walk -- the hundreds of thousands of people who walk endlessly in a perfect (?) circle within the crystal sphere of Realmspace? Ed? "Slade"? Some long-forgotten editor at TSR? Inquiring DMs want to know."

Ed replies:

So far as I know, Slade created Those Who Walk. When in arrived at TSR pre-GenCon one year, Bruce Heard (then Acquisitions Manager for TSR, which meant he handled all freelancers, including me) asked me to review Slade's draft manuscript for the book, and Those Who Walk were in it then.

So saith Ed.

Who is often nostalgic for the zany TSR past (from the safe distance of someone who never had to work there).

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

January 29, 2007: My, it's gone all quiet, all of a sudden...

Hi again, all. This time I have Ed's answer for Tormtar, re. this: "Dear Ed and THO, a couple of questions based around the same main theme: A member of my group recently asked me about the state of education in Faerun. Now, as a university history lecturer, it got me thinking. How are the offspring of nobles educated in Faerun (although I know it will vary geographically and culturally)? Are they taught by a number of personal tutors (probably drawn from relatives, local lower ranking clergy, specifically employed sages and even specialised family retainers) or are they sent to organised institutions (colleges or universities) as is hinted at in the 'Enlightened Student' entry in Champions of Valour? Also, how do the merchant classes educate their children (in cities with extensive guilds I would imagine that they play a role in organising and perhaps delivering education)? Finally, not to leave the common folk out, how are the children of commoner's educated (if at all)? Are there certain faiths out there which attempt to provide education?

Thanks to both of you for providing any info you can amidst your hectic schedules and thanks for taking the time to provide us with so much Realms Lore in the first place."

Ed replies:

The simple answer is: it varies greatly from place to place.

Everyone can receive VERY basic instruction in tasks from local guilds (along the lines of "don't do this, or you'll blow yourself up/cut yourself; instead, call in the guild!"), in local lore from local courtiers/civic scribes ("that property belongs to Lhannath the miller, from the old dead felsul down to the creek; formerly it belonged to the weaver Rustragus, and before that - - I have all the dates here"), and from priests of almost all faiths about who the gods are, what their portfolios and beliefs are, where their temples and current civic projects are, and so on (with emphasis on the beneficial importance of their own faith, of course, but with very little "lying" propaganda; in the polytheistic Realms, it's considered a sin by all to deceive about any faith).

There are "high" sages (researchers, too expensive for most folk below the wealthy merchant or guild level, and often consulted by rulers and nobles) and "low" sages (neighborhood shopkeepers who dispense small-scale information from their acquired knowledge and personal libraries; the former sort of learning tends to be very good, and the latter repeats any errors that might be in their books; most commoners hire low sages to tutor their children, on specific matters, building on what they can get for free from priests). The high sages are the ones who debate with each other, write chapbooks, and sponsor adventurers to recover lost books (or pay well for books brought to them "on spec").

Much common knowledge is built up locally from gossip, rants and facts in chapbooks, and from talking with peddlers and caravans stopping in town overnight; minstrels and caravan workers make many coins carrying or delivering messages, and telling "the news" (sometimes colorful invented stories). That's why caravans are so socially important in waystop settlements like Shadowdale.

Bards, heralds, and various faiths (particularly monastic orders) set up organized schools, but the vast majority of these are in large cities (e.g. Waterdeep and Silverymoon), and of these urban schools, the majority are "academies" (which function as what we could call "finishing schools" - - that is, although they impart lore, their primary purpose is to teach etiquette, deportment, an accent, fashion do's and don'ts, a world-view, and so on, so as to aid in social climbing or success).

Private tutors are much used among the nobility, who often want to have their young disciplined without doing such distasteful work personally, AND want all the results of a good academy [see above] without "the rabble" knowing their little Launsarra went to Madame Theorla's Peerless Academy of Social Quality [if Launsarra does turn up at such a place, it either means her family is too impoverished to hire a good tutor, or more likely Launsarra beats and terrorizes tutors, or even poisons them or pushes them off balconies, when her temper gets the better of her].

You are quite correct as to the origins of most tutors (add old impoverished nobles from elsewhere, plus retired military officers, to the list for weapons-training and discipline).

Yes, the larger guilds often establish tutors in more than just the "hands on" work of the guild, but these tend to be for guild members only, and not made known to the wider public at all. Some guilds "grow" this arm of their staff into private investigators (because they want to know what rival guilds are up to, courtiers are planning or thinking about them, and so on), and said staff often hire adventurers "of discretion" to handle the more dangerous eavesdropping, kidnapping, spying, and thieving assignments involved.

Lastly, the level of common education varies greatly from place to place, depending on the attitudes of rulers. In general, the trading places (such as Amn, Sembia, and Waterdeep) want a literate populace who can do basic math; it cuts down on cheating, unrest, and theft, and provides more customers hungry for "wonders from afar" and with coin enough to buy such things. Commoners in places with militias (such as Cormyr) are trained and drilled in local geography, map-reading, discipline and taking orders, the local chain of command/how to access local lords and their staff to report or demand things, how to read and write, how to draw way-symbols and interpret them, and so on. Purple Dragons get posted all over the realm, and so have a wider world-view and pick up all sorts of local lore, such as the brands used by local horse-breeders, where specific sorts of caravan-goods come from, and so on; as so many folk everywhere have done military or militia service, this gives most of the population a shared grounding in lore.

So saith Ed.

Who added to me that he could go on for pages and pages, but simply hasn't the time. As usual.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On January 29, 2007 THO said: Yes, they can, Jhiroth, and yes, at least four have. We Knights encountered them once, with Ed as DM in the "home" Realms campaign. So far as I know, Ed (who created archliches, dracoliches, and illithiliches [Alhoon], among others), has never published stats or details anywhere. I believe they are part of an NDA for a now-stalled project; sorry.

love,
THO

(Phaerimm liches)

*************************************************************************************

On February 1, 2007 THO said: Sorry, WalkerNinja, but as I said earlier: Ed simply hasn't had the time, whilst juggling three novels, two game products, and a big NDA at once (and holding down a real-life job that has nothing to do with gaming, don't forget), to write more articles. He's very sorry about that, but he just CAN'T invent more time for his day. As it is, he's down to about three hours sleep a night, cramming as much extra writing time into his life as he can. It's quite likely that his lore replies here at the Keep will become more sporadic, too, in the month ahead. Sigh.

On the bright side, I see 2007 hosting the publication of THREE new Ed Greenwood novels. Only one is a Realms book, but, hey, it's SWORDS OF DRAGONFIRE.

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 1, 2007: Quite correct, Rinonalyrna! Individual instances of in-family censorship can and do occur, but in general (polytheistic setting) "pious" literature has little dominance beyond "look up the handy code" chapbooks, and folk in the Realms value learning (and basic math skills) highly for their children.

As it happens, the Realmslore answer I bear this time is to an earlier query by Jamallo Kreen. Ed says he will certainly continue to slip in "fashion and costume tidbits" whenever he can, in future published Realmslore.

Also, though he promises a proper future answer to your query about information-gathering groups, he did send this:

I have largely avoided publishing lore about those who seek knowledge for its own sake, for three reasons:

1. This is perfect "DM's special" territory; that is, to work best within a given campaign, such elements should be created by the DM and tailored to match current PC locations, power levels, and specific activities. So as to bring PCs in contact with such individuals but to avoid the "run to Elminster's Tower and ask Lhaeo this, that, and the other, for the third time today" problem. (Allowing lazy players to avoid sending their characters on adventures to learn information, rather than just going to handy NPCs.)

2. Two years ago, when I completed the overall design for Castlemourn, such seekers after knowledge became a vital part of the nature of that setting. I did NOT want Castlemourn to just be a copy of the Realms, so I turned away from that topic in the ongoing detailing of the Realms.

3. This one's NDA, big time!

So there you have it. A non-answer, of sorts, from Ed.

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 1, 2007: Stop the Keep quills! This just in!

I have received wholehearted confirmation from Ed for Garen Thal's reply, posted above, re. matters Cormyrean. In the words of Ed: "Consider it as definitive as if it came from my pen."

So there you have it.

Love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 2, 2007: Hi again, scribes. This time I bring you the words of Ed to AlorinDawn, re. this: "Hooded One, Since you say The Knights of Myth Drannor are largely retired, I have some question about your home campaign. I'm asking out of curiosity of what you and your fellow players do and hopefully not about canon events with the published characters to avoid being NDAed here =)

Are the Knights just frozen in time in your campaign until you all can meet the next game session, or have the characters gone off to live more domestic lives if they can? If the later where do the respective members call home now?/Cheers"

Ed replies:

Yes, I know you asked THO this one. :}

She thought I should handle it, and tossed it along to me.

Yes, everything is frozen in time between play sessions, these days; chronologically, the "home" campaign is back before the Time of Troubles. As I've said before, I think campaigns work best when the DM serves the players, and major parameters are voted on, not dictated by the DM; this was their decision, and I stand by it. Of necessity, the published Realms and "my own" Realms are going to diverge, and this was the common consensus as to how to handle the situation.

Most of the senior Knights are semi-retired: Doust and Islif are married and living back in Cormyr; Semoor Wolftooth (Jelde Asturien) is also back in Cormyr, dwelling at the temple of Lathander in Eveningstar; Florin and Dove are married and have a (now grown) son, and so on. Of the characters created Knights at the end of SWORDS OF EVENINGSTAR, Florin is still actively adventuring and based in Shadowdale; Pennae is dead; Doust, Islif, and Semoor are as retired from adventuring as Faerûn will allow them to be, and certainly retired from the Knights (Doust and Semoor primarily serve the needs of their churches now); and Jhessail is based in Shadowdale, but goes adventuring less and less often (she's busy tutoring apprentices, and has Illistyl to "go spellslinging" for her).

When I say "based in Shadowdale," by the way, I should make it clear that although all of the living Knights have rooms given over to them in the Tower of Ashaba, they spend almost all of their time elsewhere (when in the dale, they're usually in Storm's farmhouse or Elminster's Tower), and have actually been establishing hidden homes all over the wooded Dragonreach lands (including taking over several Sembian "country estate retreats" from rich, evil Sembians they've relieved of their lives), and searching for a site for a new "home base."

So saith Ed.

Who's simplifying here of necessity; there are so many subplots, romances, entangled NPCs, and so on in the "home" Realms campaign that it would literally take pages to cover what's going on.

Come to think of it, as we all age and time increasingly passes, we're all going to NEED those pages.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 3, 2007: Hi, all. A brief Ed answer this time, to Ergdusch. I originally answered Ergdusch's question about the chronology of Ed's short story "Tears So White" from REALMS OF THE ELVES thus: "Ergdusch, the Realms of the Elves short story occurs during Rich Baker's Last Mythal trilogy (it's "where the Knights went" rather than being front and center battling, for the latter half of those books), whereas the "Swords" trilogy Ed's currently writing about the Knights is set decades earlier, starting in the Year of the Spur."

Ergdusch then replied: "Thanks for the quick answer, THO. However, your answer is somewhat unsatifying as it still leaves the question open to when that trilogy will end? Before or after the short story mentioned above? If you are allowed to talk about such details........ I would like to know."

Well, I don't know said "details," so I passed this on to Ed, who now replies:

Hi, Ergdusch. Except as editors approve of such 'leaks,' imparting public information about future products is a no-no. NDAs almost always govern them. EDITORS can talk, mind you, and the tradition has been that once they do, my lips are loosened on the specific topics they have spoken about (many GenCon seminars over the years have featured unofficial verbal games wherein audiences try to get staffers to let slip something of interest). So although I've been allowed (by the former head of Publishing at WotC) to say a few things about SWORDS OF DRAGONFIRE, the not-yet-published sequel to SWORDS OF EVENINGSTAR (and I mean a FEW things, such as that it begins immediately after the previous book, the Knights are in it, and the Princess Alusair and Dauntless are both in it). From those fragments, and some less firm hints I've dropped here at the Keep (such as Lord Crownsilver's tale not being over yet), anyone can guess that the book at least begins in Cormyr. Longtime Realms fans know from reading FR7 HALL OF HEROES something of what lies in the Knights' future. Readers of EVENINGSTAR can guess as to likely content of DRAGONFIRE, just by recalling the unresolved villainous plots and other "loose ends" remaining at the end of EVENINGSTAR.

However, I can't yet say more about either DRAGONFIRE or the third Knights book. All I can do is hint, so I'll hint this much: the Knights of Myth Drannor trilogy opens many years before most of the action in The Last Mythal trilogy. The first book didn't cover all that much passage of time, and I expect that trend to continue.

From that, I'm afraid you must draw your own conclusions.

So saith Ed.

Who I know would LOVE to say more.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On February 5, 2007 THO said: Because, like any teenager hanging out in a semi-wilderness "hideout" with other teenagers, she ignored the law. Remember, she doesn't even have a proper belt and scabbard for the thing yet!

There are many "casual exceptions" to the law. The man who made the blade for her (and all smiths, asked to make or repair blades) is lawfully allowed to have it and even (in his workplace, to test balance, temper, etc.) brandish it; she could have "covered" herself, if questioned carrying it from him to her home or to the Stronghold, by saying (honestly) that it was her payment to him. (Cormyreans are VERY strong on debt repayments.) Sword vendors are likewise allowed to have weapons unbound in their possession -- and so on.

The right way to regard peacestrings laws are that they are the sort of thing Watch officers and Purple Dragons apply when they WANT to; in other words, against a suspicious character, not old Aldo the one-legged veteran who fetches down his old sword from his wall and waves it while telling of his valiant part in an old battle on behalf of the Crown, years and years ago. Most of the time, "authorities" turn a blind eye, enforcing only when it's useful to control malcontents, drunkards, crazies, bandits, and thieves.

Garen Thal is correct; almost all of the sword waving in SWORDS OF EVENINGSTAR is done by "exempt" persons; even Florin, as a forester in the woods, or Delbossan and his guards, as arms of the Crown charged with guarding and protecting Narantha, are "allowed" to draw unbound steel. So are nobles in their own homes (includes walled grounds immediately around them, such as gardens). Anyone hunting, noble or otherwise, who can give just cause why they're allowed to hunt where they're found, is also "allowed." And so on.

The regulation usually gets levied against folk in a city, tavern, or inn, who walk around with bared steel to menace others, or who draw steel at a guild or club meeting. "Don't place that wager, or else..." or "Better pay up, or else..." (Response: someone slips out to fetch the Watch.)

One place where folk will always run into trouble with unbound weapons is when meeting a road-patrol on a road in Cormyr, or trying to pass through any city gate, in or out. If there's a brawl at a tavern or an inspection by the Watch or arriving Purple Dragons, patrons had better have their weapons bound, too.

I'm basing this response on years of play with Ed as DM, much of it in Cormyr -- or involving Knights "twitting" Cormyreans who are in the Dales.

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 5, 2007: And hello again, scribes; Ed's latest lore reply just arrived (with a thump) in my inbox.

This time Ed answers Charles Phipps re. this: "An odd question Ed but one I'm really curious about.

Can you tell us what Fzoul's style of leadership is like? I'm interested as to how the Chosen of Bane interacts with his followers in the Church and Zhents."

Ed replies:

Charles, I've always tried to keep this topic as "fuzzy" as possible, so as to give Realms novel authors maximum freedom. However, let me speak in overall generalizations rather than specifics.

Whereas Manshoon played one underling off against another, using implied threats and dire examples to "train" loyal behaviour (and had as many as fourteen "contingency plans" in place at all times, constantly altering and dovetailing them so as to smoothly control everything without seeming to), Fzoul is the ultimate political animal: he'll say and do anything to get his own way, right now, in every situation.

This of course means none of the gods he serves trust him; they know his loyalty is ultimately personal, and he has kept his life and position only because the priests under him supported him as a religious superior, AND the beholders supported him personally, as the man they could best precisely order about. Fzoul uses the beholders to crush personal threats against him, and the priests to keep the Zhentarim wizards (who so tested and sought to undermine Manshoon, repeatedly) in line.

Fzoul has risen far and fast, by being a lucky, swift-witted, and ruthless opportunist. However, in cunning, foresight, and strategy Manshoon is always about eight steps ahead of him; some observers (such as Elminster) even believe Manshoon engineered his own "downfall" so as not to be in charge and on the firing line when "something big" happens, soon. Just what that is, and how Fzoul's going to handle it, of course remain mysteries Yet To Be Revealed, for us all.

So saith Ed.

Who has spoken and written about this topic a time or two before, and is carefully dancing around both NDAs and future plans, here.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 6, 2007: Hello again, scribes. This time Ed responds to Uzzy, re. this: "Hello again Ed! I'm currently reading Crown of Fire (and enjoying it thoroughly), and have a few questions about the Zhentarim wizard Gathlarue and her apprentices, Mairara and Tespril. I was wondering firstly if there was more you could tell us about them and the relationship between them all, which seemed to be rather close. Secondly, Gathlarue mentions that 'no woman, it seemed, rose high in the robed ranks of the Zhentarim' and that she needed to appear as a man around the other wizards. Ashemmi in Spellfire was similar mentioned as a 'him'. Is there any historical reason why women could not rise highly in the ranks of the Zhentarim in the time of Manshoon, or just cultural bias and has such changed, or are Syculla Darkhope and Ashemmi the exception to the rule? Thanks once again for your replies and excellent novels."

Ed replies:

You're quite welcome. I enjoy writing both, and hope I'm steadily getting better.

No, there's no historical reason for a bar on the advancement of women within the ranks of the Zhentarim, but there is (see hereafter) something of a cultural bias. Here we go...

The conditions that existed from Manshoon's founding of the Brotherhood until he was "overthrown" by Fzoul were, among ALL member wizards, a seething, constant struggle for supremacy.

Because a lot of the more powerful wizards had come from backgrounds where male wizards (their former tutors) habitually exploited females (including apprentices--and yes, some female tutors sexually used and "kept down" both male and female apprentices, just as some male tutors did the same with both male and female apprentices), these "senior Zhentarim" used the gender of female wizards against them, as one more way of "keeping down" potential rivals.

Manshoon saw all of this striving as good for the organization (and his continued control of it), and so didn't intervene except in particular cases, as he personally desired to do so. As a result, female wizards got raped, dominated, and belittled as a matter of course, and many of them succeeded only by taking lovers and working with them in a team.

The Shadowsil (Symgharyl Maruel, as seen in SPELLFIRE and the forthcoming SWORDS OF DRAGONFIRE) "slept her way to the top" by becoming Manshoon's lover and vaulting past the senior wizards in effective rank, but most female wizards didn't get very high in the ranks EXCEPT through being every bit as efficient and ruthless as the men. Ashemmi used a male disguise for most of her career, and so did Gathlarue; both saw it as one way to overcome this handicap.

As for Gathlarue's relationship with her apprentices, Mairara and Tespril: Gathlarue liked both males and females, but among the Zhentarim dared only enjoy females for fear of being "used" by males--so she exploited her apprentices and confined herself to that sexual outlet for her own "career safety." She came to truly love her appentices, though she always put herself first. Mairara and Tespril also came to love their tormentor, and to really enjoy her cruel attentions. Yes, they're the masochists in an S&M relationship; I didn't see the need to try to battle TSR editors to make things more explicit, because there was no "story" need to do so; as Elaine and I once agreed to say: "We titillate and move on." :}

So saith Ed.

Who in the past often wrote fully detailed, frankly pornographic love scenes for his novels, and sent them in to his editors along with all the rest of the prose, so they could share them around the office for laughter and chuckles (yes, he's always had male AND female editors). Nowadays, with the editors so overworked, he won't waste their time in that manner without being specifically asked to do so.

(So, do they ask? NDA!)

love to all (and frequently),
THO

*************************************************************************************

On February 6, 2007 THO said: Faraer has (as usual) got it "spot on" correct.

The Lords' Alliance is just that: an alliance of lords who generally share the same goals. They have spies and go-betweens/envoys who work for them (swearing personal allegiance to a particular lord), as information gatherers and sharers between the lords. Think of it as behind-the-scenes diplomacy, where they report a political event or outbreak of raiding or fighting to each other, and often decide on a united position to take regarding the event.

So, Marquant: no headquarters, no formal meetings, no badges and uniforms, and so on. The "structure" you're looking for just isn't there. This isn't the EU or the UN; it's more the Bildenberger Group or a "Red Phone" or "Hotline" network among various heads of state.

The public knows about the Alliance because of the peace its members work to maintain and the trade alliances and easy flows they foster (generally in the Sword Coast North and father south down the Sword Coast and east along the Heartlands trade routes).So, yes, they are the ultimate "behind the scenes" power group.

I hope this helps to explain the Alliance a bit better. How do I know all of this? Because we Knights (of Myth Drannor; my PC and other PCs) briefly found ourselves used as "go-betweens" to guard-and-carry items and documents from Lord to Lord, in Ed Greenwood's "home" Realms campaign (or as I like to think of it, THE [real, original] Forgotten Realms).

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On February 6, 2007 THO said: The colored-with-marker, taped-together map is now in the keeping of Julia Martin, and was displayed at Ed's roast at GenCon two years ago. It's a TSR creation (they taped together Ed's 8.5" x 11" b&w photocopied pages, 55 or 56 of them, as I recall).

Sets of those photocopies have been given out to charity donors or convention prize winners at least three times over the years, as have at least two sets of Ed's 30-odd 27" x 35" Waterdeep building-by-building maps, AND two sets of his original maps of "here, there, and everywhere." Ed is a SUPERB freehand mapper; when he turned over his maps to TSR, they advanced the standards of the field (now, of course, there are CAD programs, etc.).

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 7, 2007: Thanks, WalkerNinja. I will pass these on to Ed. My general feeling is that all of these topics are too "big" for Realmslore web columns (series, yes, though both Ed and the WotC web folks seem happiest with one- , two- , or three-part coverage of topics), but we'll see what Ed says.

Oh, hi again, all!

Foxhelm recently posted a barrage of questions for Ed, and he's tackled some of them now, leaving others for later. Here we go: "Has Ed read Eric L. Boyd's article in Dragon 350 (Legacies of Ancient Empires: Planetouched of Faerun)? If so, could he spin some lore about the planetouched that lie within, with my interests being with Azerblood and the Celadrins in particular?

Also what do the Seven Sister and the other Chosen of Mystra react to the news of the ending of "Blackstaff"? Do they even know? And what is their opinion of Khelben now?

Now a couple of humourous question...

Does Elminster have groupies? Like with sexy wizardresses who are turned on by skillful hands or warrior women that hunger for a man with the ability to become very dangerous? And what would the Simbul think of that?

Also a who would win question: The Simbul...or Granny Weatherwax from Discworld?

These are all of the questions I have for the moment. Thanks and good health.

Foxhelm, who still wonders if the Realms word for Librarian is Ed?"

Ed replies:

Of course I read Eric's article, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait quite some time for follow-up lore from my pen regarding the planetouched; I'm way beyond wildly busy, right now.

As for the reactions of the Chosen to the events of BLACKSTAFF: yes, they know. How do they feel? NDA. And think of Khelben? NDA. (Sorry, but to say anything more would reveal too much of forbidden-right-now future Realmslore.)

Yes, Elminster has groupies. I'll write some scenes touching on that, some day. The Simbul finds it amusing. (And understands his needs in responding to them; see THO's reply to Charles Phipps in the novel thread, in his review of THE TEMPTATION OF ELMINSTER.)

You are correct about two of the sorts of groupies he gets. There are others, including non-spellcasters fascinated by powerful wizards and/or shapechangers; by those who lust after men who've been alive for centuries and personally known heroes and heroines now dust, that said groupies idolize; and those fascinated by humans who have been both genders.

As for your "who would win" query; that's hardly fair unless you also get Terry's reply, but for my money: The Simbul would win ONLY if she got in a devastating surprise attack or first strike; otherwise, my coins would be on Esmerelda Weatherwax, all the way.

As for the Realms word for librarian: there are many. Ook, indeed.

So saith Ed.

No, Ed is the Realms word for "Creator." Librarians are the beautiful, intelligent, capable women Ed has worked under for over three decades (and yes, I chose the words "worked under" deliberately).

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 8, 2007: Ah! There are maps of both the Tower and Longsaddle in the old Fonstad print-version FR Atlas. The Longsaddle can best be described as "partial," though.

Hello again, scribes!

This time Ed answers createvmind, re. this: "Hello Ed, In your games how do you deal with Players who have traveled 8 hours, been forced into combat thereafter then chosen to stand watch for the remainder of the night, basically being up almost 24 hours. I know they are fatigued but at what point do they make Con checks to see if they take nonlethal damage?

Whats your house rule?"

Ed replies:

By Players I assume you mean PCs, here. I try not to mistreat my players like that, because I want them to come back. :}

My house rule regarding PCs depends on the nature of the combat (extreme heat or cold? lightning damage? spell effects on them?) Otherwise, I leave the checks until highsun of the next day (so, up and active more than 24 hours), because they ARE heroes. Veteran adventurers standing watch know how to relax muscles, lounge against supporting walls and trees, change their breathing, shifting their eye focus, massage each other's muscles, etc. AND "cat nap" with their eyes open, gaining all the benefits of relaxation without deep sleep. Novices, on the other hand, usually can't do all of these things, and would be at risk sooner.

I once experienced a GenCon D&D Open play session in which 1st level PCs had to walk overland for five days on a well-travelled road to reach a town to begin the scenario. The novice DM ruled automatic loss of 1 hp a day for sleeping in the open (camping with fires and tents), killing both of the party's magic-users (1st level, so both had the maximum of 4 hp under the game rules of the time), and reducing most of the rest of the party to 1 or 2 hp (before any roleplaying had begun).

This was an early round of the Open tournament (team elimination), and when all of the players--politely, mind you--disagreed with the DM's interpretation of the rules, he killed all of the surviving PCs on the spot with an angry god's lightning bolts.

When one of the by-then-angry players informed him he'd just killed characters run by Ed Greenwood, head TSR mapper Dave Sutherland, and Nigel Findlay, and was disagreeing with their rules interpretations, the DM was elated, and couldn't wait to get home from the con and boast about who he'd "beaten" in play. Sigh.

So saith Ed.

Not a GenCon I attended, which is probably why that DM is still alive today. Way to ruin the con experience for paying customers (events were free in those days, but there was still an admission/registration fee).

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 9, 2007: Well met again, all. This time I present Ed's answer to Jamallo Kreen: "Well met! I have what I hope is a simple question on blazonry: will the Heralds allow a worshipper of the Red Knight to use a querterly or checky field without it counting as a first "blazon" if there is one charge on the field? (I.e., can a worshipper of the Red Knight use a quarterly or checky field without having to pay the Heralds big gold for it?)"

Ed replies:

To keep the answer short and simple: yes. "Patterns of simple" (e.g. bends, repeated shaped colored areas such as checked patterns, "plain" quartering, etc.) are not considered "charges" by the Heralds of Faerûn. However, a repeated pattern of a charge (such as a badge or any detailed depiction of something [e.g. a star, gauntlet, moon, hunting horn]) WOULD constitute multiple charges, yes.

So saith Ed, Heralde Extraordinaire and Supreme of Faerûn.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 10, 2007: Hello again, everyone.

Some great queries, and although Ed is chained to his computer frantically writing, writing, writing as we speak, I can confirm that he certainly INTENDS to attend GenCon Indy 07. Every year he has an increasing struggle with the GenCon website to register, however, and I don't expect this year to be any exception. So he can't confirm until he's managed it, which sometimes includes e-mails back and forth with the GenCon staff!

As for Realsmlore replies, this time I present a brief response by Ed to this query from Blueblade: "At the most recent GenCon, Ed (just before the young WotC lady jumped into your lap --brave girl!), you answered a question about how loving and gentle and open Alustriel seemed to be by saying, "Ah, but she has more than a few daggers in her garters."

Now, was this just a figure of speech, meaning she has powerful spells or magical defenses? Or magical daggers? Or "skeletons in closets"? Or psionics? Or she's insane? Or... something else?

Thanks!"

Ed replies:

It's a Faerûnian figure of speech, meaning someone has hidden depths, or "something up her sleeve," or another side to her personality or experiences or preparations that someone meeting her for the first time might not expect, from the initial outward show that they see. The apparent airhead who's acting that part, and is in truth a calculating, shrewd manipulator, for instance.

So saith Ed.

Who for an example used something I have been guilty of, a time or two. You wiggle your behind, you make your eyes shine, you speak breathlessly... and WAY too many males fall for it, every time. Watch the bright shiny thing, fellows -- THERE'S a good pack of dogs... watch those tongues, now!

Ahem.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 11, 2007: Hi, all. This time Ed tackles a query from RodOdom: "What colors are the seas of Faerun? Would it be determined by phenomena similar to our real world ( green where phytoplankton blooms, clear where waters are poorer in nutrients, etc.)"

Ed replies:

The seas of Faerûn are very like our own; the hue is primarily dictated by the sunlight and sky hue (from black to wine-dark, to crystal clear blue), and secondarily by what's in the water, and thirdly by the depth and the nature of the bottom (fine white sand? Or a deep ocean trench? Or rocks festooned with algae and weed?).

The only (real but slight) differences are that some areas of Faerûn have purple sands (this will affect the southeasternmost arm of the Sea of Fallen Stars), and that the water appears clearer and cleaner (because there's more translucent and lightly-colored microscopic aquatic life, and greater numbers of efficient weed-devourers).

So saith Ed, Master of the Seas of Faerûn.

A Big Fish in Oceans He Created (ooh, THAT will look good on the resumé!).

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On February 11, 2007 THO said:

I passed this thread to Ed, and he verbally responded to me with some points:

The percentage figures he gave are for ALL drow, so it would be incorrect in the extreme to look for 10 percent or more of drow IN MENZO to worship Eilistraee. Almost all Eilistraean worshippers are on the surface (and no, the Promenade is not the surface; it, BTW, is of course NDA because of the forthcoming Undermountain book).

Ed still holds the opinion that Lolth is the "strongest" and most dominant drow deity, and always will be (at least underground). He just chuckled at all of this debate, saying drow and the gods are the topics that always seem to get Realms fans in such an uproar. He finds it especially ridiculous when gamers try to portray him as the champion of Eilistraee, pitted against Bob Salvatore as the champion of Lolth.

Yes, everything Ed says is canon until or unless contradicted by WotC-published lore. He IS the CREATOR of the Realms, folks (and the principal designer of the Menzo boxed set and the writer of DROW OF THE UNDERDARK, too).

All of which leads me to be very puzzled when anyone takes issue with Ed's opinions or statements regarding the drow. I don't recall any great rush of people telling Tolkien he got the Nazgul wrong, or telling McCaffrey she just doesn't understand the dragons of Pern...

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 11, 2007: Hi again! createvmind, Ed responds to your plea for help:

I would run it like this: the Periapt cures the Vargouille-conferred malady instantly, but in doing so is delayed in its other functions: the PC remains wounded and in whatever battered state they currently enjoy; if walking, they can continue to do so (dazed, so being led is good), otherwise, they lapse into unconsciousness (if they aren't there already).

Then make a Con check every quarter-hour. The moment three in a row have succeeded, the Periapt goes right to work (so, yes, they can "miraculously" spring back to operancy by the time a fourth check would otherwise be made).

Some DMs are far less lenient and merciful than this, but I believe the best gaming and fun is to be had when PCs are up and functioning.

So saith Ed.

And there you have it: lighting-fast Realmslore!

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On February 12, 2007 THO said: VERY nice, WalkerNinja, and very well put. I have sent your post off to Ed for his response. I can see where some of the topics (PrCs or a different rules approach to expressing regional magic use differences, for instance) might run into territory where Ed is NDA'd, or will be reluctant to forge ahead when he KNOWS he'll be getting in the way of future products, but I'll leave those concerns for Ed to put in his words.

A new Realmslore reply should be coming along from the Creator himself very shortly (he is BLINDINGLY busy right now), but he did want me to report that he will be attending GenCon Indy 07. He ran into the registration computer hassles he was expecting, but fired off an e-mail to customer service (as the website suggests), and wants to praise their prompt and superb assistance in taking care of him. In Ed's words: "If the GenCon folks were an airline, I'd fly with them in an instant. If they were a mail-order business, I'd use them. Top notch!"

So he'll see you all at GenCon, except for those of you he sees in Fort Wayne at Pentacon (November 07; Ed AND Elminster should be guests of honour there), and the few he sees somewhere warmer that he doesn't want to talk about just yet, until the organizers have had a chance to announce it first!

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 12, 2007: Hi again, everyone. I bring you more words of Ed, this time in response to WalkerNinja's question: "Ed, I know that you are supremely busy these days, that you DM your Knights about once a year, and that you all live pretty far apart these days. I wonder, do you ever ponder setting down one of your projects to make room for a regularly recurring game on a weekly or monthly basis? How tempting is said pondering?"

Ed replies:

Yes, I do ponder playing more often from time to time. I do miss it. However, I'm asked to DM or play or both at every gaming convention (and many of the librarians' conventions, too!) I'm asked to attend, so I "get my fix" that way.

Yes, it's tempting, but as of right now I'm really enjoying getting caught up on the increasingly long line of creative projects on my desk--and most of those projects pay, which is an essential when I'm earning my living at this writing stuff. Gaming's not a lucrative field down at the creative level, so I don't get paid all that well--and so I must manage a respectable volume of work if I want to eat... and eating is still something I'm a big fan of.

So I can't see myself playing weekly again in the near future, if ever. I love DMing, and a good DM prepares for three to four hours for every hour of playing time, and I just don't have enough time left in my life to chisel out that much every week. To say nothing of the logistics of getting four or more players of both genders together in suitable surroundings that often. Especially if they can't be my "original" players.

Sigh.

So saith Ed.

I can hear him getting emotional at the end, there. Yes, it matters a lot, to us all, but... "real life" eats up gobs and gobs of time. And the way Ed is living right now, we all get a lot more fiction and game delights out of him than we would if he went back to running the world's best Realms campaign. As much as I (sniff) miss it.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 14, 2007: Hi, all.

createvmind, I sent your question to Ed, but before he could reply Wooly did, and I thought Wooly's reply was so perfect that I sent IT on to Ed, too, and here's his response:

Perfect! createvmind, I can't possibly improve on Wooly's post; do as he suggests, and that should take care of it (also, remember that whenever the character gets something out and uses it, he either has to take the time to restow or resheathe it [using up action time in combat, that you have to ride herd on him about] or drop it to grab the next item he wants. Those dropped items are tripping hazards for everyone, and will probably be left behind if the action in combat moves quickly, or the character flees. Either way, keep bringing them into play, as "check" hazards and time wasters, until the OTHER players, if not the one in question, get fed up with it and tell him to mend his ways!

So saith Ed.

Ah, this whole thing brings back memories (a canary in a cage, lashed to the top of Tolgar Anuvien's mountainous backpack, in Ed's Crazed Venturers lore).

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 15, 2007: And I'm afraid I must disagree.

To quote Ed's internal TSR guide to the Realms (which he adapted from the "starter guide" given to we players in his home campaign):

Although there were (and are still) some "alternative local names" for some years, in general, the Roll of Years is known to all sages, all heralds, and copies are kept at all temples. Most bards and even travelling minstrels are aware of the next dozen or so upcoming years, and it is a popular pasttime among many guilds and most nobles, everywhere in Faerûn, to speculate on (and invest or direct activities accordingly, even to placing wagers in some situations) what year names may mean.

So saith Ed.

The way Ed runs the Realms, the "average farmer or city dweller" might not give two hoots, most of the time (unless dragons are flying overhead or armies are on the move), there are plenty of rumors flying around about conspiracies, the drow coming up from the depths, lost kingdoms rising bubbling out of the sea, dragons or dwarves surging to carve out new realms, and so on, linked to various year names.

Sorry, Kentinal, but that's the way Ed has always run it. This has been de-emphasized in published Realmslore so Realms game designers and especially novelists could "make up a plot" if they needed or wanted to, tied to a year name, without having every Realms fan "know what was coming" because said plot has already been published.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On February 15, 2007 THO said: And, yes, Ed did run us through it. A mini-dungeon, with a shaft, animated swords hanging vertically in it, and blades swooping at you point-first of you did the wrong thing.

It is mapped and fully detailed (2nd Ed) and is NDA (Wizards has it, and could use it at any time).

I survived the Dungeon of Swords, but have no T-shirt to prove it. Probably because Ed knows the thing I like to do most wit T-shirts is... take them off.

:}

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 16, 2007: Hello, all. This time, Ed has sent a lightning-swift response to vajumperdude, regarding his unpublished novel:

Yes, I'm afraid Kuje is entirely correct. Wizards doesn't accept unsolicited novels for its "worlds" (the Realms, Eberron, et al). So as you can't publish a Realms novel with any other publisher, and can't peddle it to Wizards, your novel is doomed as long as it remains a Realms novel.

Sorry.

Wizards will, however, always need "new blood" in its writing stable, so all is not lost.

In the "good old days," I used to recommend that a new writer take some of the characters from their unpublished novel, write a short story for DRAGON, and use it to impress the heck out of the TSR editors - - and then spring the novel on them.

That won't work anymore, either, because DRAGON now doesn't (sigh) take unsolicited fiction.

Which leaves me recommending this: take a good long and hard look at your novel. Is it a tale that can ONLY be told in the Realms? (In other words, it's a character-driven novel that heavily uses well-known Realms characters who personally spur the action of, and feature as, the centerpiece of the essential tale you're trying to tell.) If AND ONLY IF this is true, set it aside for now, and write another fantasy book to aim at another publisher.

However, if the tale could be told in another setting by filing off the serial numbers, do that. If it's a plot-driven novel, you take the Realms anchors and replace them with your own (Cormyr-style kingdom becomes your own Cormyr-style kingdom, Waterdeep becomes Waterdeep-like city, and so on), and your story can then easily be told as a non-Realms tale.

Rewrite it as such. When you get back to the States, hit a large library or three, and examine half-a-dozen books recently published by Tor, Del Rey, DAW, Baen Books, etc., and see if your story looks like it "fits" with one publisher best. Try to place it with that publisher (most of the larger publishers now require you to be represented by an agent; you'll have to decide on that yourself), and if it is snapped up, do whatever the editor wants, with an eager smile, EVEN IF YOU THINK IT RUINS THE STORY (point out your disagreement, but do it the editor's way). Get it published, keep copies to send editors if they ask for them, and it will be a strength if you then approach Wizards (because if nothing else, it tells them that you can finish a novel and deal professionally with editors).

Tell me the title of the book, and I'll go out and buy it (hey, a sale's a sale). If I like what I read, I will turn around and add my voice to all the others constantly suggesting new writers to the overworked Books Department people.

Eventually, if you pester them often enough (nicely!), you may get an e-mail invite to a short story anthology, "Realms Of Your Grandmothers" or some such. Come up with a dynamite idea, follow the instructions for participating PRECISELY and EAGERLY, and you should be "in" (if you have to rewrite, do so).

THEN pitch your Realms novel to them. NOT as if you have it all written and waiting, but as a "hey, this is a story I've always wanted to tell in the Realms."

The rest might just turn out to become history...

So saith Ed.

Who's really saying nothing new here, but trying to be helpful and specific. Good luck, vajumperdude!

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 17, 2007: Tom, Ed says: you're very welcome, good luck, and get yourself safely back home; the world can never have enough tale-tellers!

Hello once more, fellow scribes! Ed answers Asgetrion this time, re. these questions: "Well met again, most respected Lady Herald and Master Greenwood!

I finally got my copy of the Swords of Eveningstar and I am loving every page of it! Actually, the novel has prompted me to as several questions that (mostly ;) concern religious issues:

1) Do novice priests usually craft their own holy symbols? Doust and Semoor apparently did so, but is this a common practise among the faiths of Faerûn? There is also the reference to Doust having a "blank" disc as a novice, and I was thinking if other faiths have similar customs for junior and senior clergy (i.e. holy symbols lacking certain features to notify your position within the church, and also having some silvered/gilded/jeweled/engraved extra features for senior priests)?

2) Is it possible for a cleric to be "self-educated" (=become a 1st level priest/cleric) on his own, without any official anointment? There is no mention in the novel about Doust or Semoor being "officially" trained by their respective churches. Or are "small/backwoods village" (=places with no major shrines or temples nearby) clerics usually trained by wandering prosetilyzers/clerics who teach them the basics of the faith and how to pray for spells? ("Now that yer basic lessons are over, get ye to the nearest temple and enlist there as a novice. Tell them that Rierdan trained and sent ye. ")

3) Myrkyr of Eveningstar holds the title "Bright Banner" in the novel. Is this a unique title within the Morninglord's faith, or does it exist among other faiths, too? What does this title mean, and are there similar titles among other faiths?

4) Is it possible that the complete 'Haunted Halls of Eveningstar' (as you originally wrote it) would be re-printed in its full (160 pages?) length, now that the novel is out? Ptolus has (hopefully!) shown WoTC that DMs are EAGER to buy giant-sized, detailed campaign settings, and I feel it would be only natural to follow up the Knights novels with appropriate gaming products..."

Ed replies:

1. Novices of many of the less authoritarian faiths often craft their own holy symbols as demonstrations of their devotion to the deity, who will "shape" them as they work on the symbol. (So Bane, Torm, and similarly "strict" faiths would eschew this practice, but Tymora and Lathander would certainly encourage it.)

These symbols are often (so yes, other faiths cleave to this practice, too) simple or "lesser" in some way than the temple-crafted (usually magical, and often of precious metal) symbols that will be given to the novice when they are confirmed or advanced in rank; Doust's "blank" disc (of the untested novice) is an example of a lesser symbol.

Exalted rank does indeed often involve more elaborate, valuable, and magically-powerful holy symbols. Some senior priests of Silvanus have symbols of rare sorts of symbiotic living plants, growing together, for example; senior clerics of Mystra have elaborate, multiple-power magic items as their holy symbols, often taking a form different from "normal" magic items having similar powers, and usually having one or more powers "keyed" to the individual bearer and accessible only by her or by Mystran clergy of equal or higher rank.

2. Yes, it's quite possible, through diligent prayer and obedient heeding of visions sent by the deity, for a cleric to be self-educated, theoretically up into 3rd level (thereafter, the god will "treat with" the individual directly, if mortal clergy are lacking).

However, rural believers rarely get to more than 1st level without receiving specific instruction (as opposed to just participating in worship with other lay believers) from local priests, or--just as in the example you give--wandering clerics of the faith who are sent around by the priesthoods in part to give such instruction.

Someone of dedication and promise will eventually, either from such a person or through dream- or altar-vision, be urged to go to a specific temple, shrine, or holy site, and there meet with clerics of the faith who will instruct them further.

These are exceptional cases, of course. Usually someone who feels a "calling" (or just gets visions they can't understand, or that seem to feature a particular deity) will inform their parents, and village elders or rulers will in turn be consulted, and the "someone" will be sent off, often with a passing caravan, to the temple of the deity for the priests there to decide. As novices are the drudge labourers of every temple and can be made to gather their own food and construct their own shelter, few are turned away unless they are seen as spies or malicious troublemakers.

3. "Bright Banner" is an office (job title) as opposed to a religious rank (level title) in the church of Lathander. It means "envoy" or "spokesperson;" one who's empowered to speak for the church (usually, that really means his or her own temple; patriarchs of the faith who can decree doctrine are much more exalted in rank, and have the titles to match). "Bright Banner" and close equivalents (such as "Bright Horn" for Tempus and Red Knight, and "Bold Defender" for Torm and Helm) do exist in most other faiths (evil faiths, such as that of Bane, often use the "Mouth of" construction; thus: "Mouth of Bane" and in the olden days, "Mouth of Myrkul;" there were several notoriously energetic and widely-feared holders of this latter title).

4. Possible, but not likely. I would have to find the time to dredge out. type into my computer, and draw new maps for, the complete dungeon AND the entire village of Eveningstar. It would take me about three months that I don't have, and I could do it only if a quarter of a year were set aside in my schedule for that, which would in turn only happen if WotC asked for such a project, and they haven't. I would LOVE to, if anyone is reading this who can thrust a product idea through the mill at Wizards and get it put on the schedule. However, I don't see it happening in the time it would have to happen in, to appear in a timely manner to accompany the Knights books--which are already leaving Eveningstar behind for other locales. Sorry.

So saith Ed.

Great questions, Asgetrion; Ed enjoyed them.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 18, 2007: Hello again, all. This time Ed answers Charles Phipps, re. this: "This is a villainous question. Do you see the Zhents growing in power significantly in the coming years now that Bane is back, Manshoon and Fzoul have reconciled their differences (at least to the REAL Manshoon's satisfaction), plus all of the dissenting elements but one small faction have been cleaned out?

How are they going to react to the Red Wizards cutting in on their monopoly of evil merchantalism?

And to be perfectly crass, given recent developments with the Cult of the Dragon, are they going to be taking over there?"

Ed replies:

The "short answer" to these questions, I'm afraid is: NDA to them all. I simply can't speak fully of the future of the Zhentarim in the published Realms (although no one should interpret this reply of mine to mean this future hasn't been thought about). All I can give you is my opinion, based on what I would do as DM.

So here it is. :}

Yes, in the short term, I do see the Zhentarim growing in power. Note that I said "short term." The stronger and more influential they get, the more they get seen as a "serious threat" by rival evil power groups (the shades, the Red Wizards, etc. etc.) who will eventually reach a point where they decide to "do something" about the Zhents.

And being as the Zhentarim of "now" are inherently unstable (Fzoul plus Bane priests, allied to beholders, uneasily keeping the lid on a lot of independent-minded, scared-of-and angry-at-the-Banites wizards [with Manshoon playing a manipulative background game, plus unknown power factors such as Hesperdan, and possible troubles within the ranks of Zhent priests over the Cyric vs. Bane matter]), anyone who does a good job of attacking them will exploit those differences and set the Zhents to being at war with themselves, BEFORE moving openly against the Zhents and therefore encouraging the Brotherhood to "stand together" against them. The Zhents WILL end up savaging each other, and ending up much reduced in power. (Which will sadden no one outside the Brotherhood, so no one will act to prevent or minimize this.)

I think the most rash, stupid, and youngest-and-most-ambitious of the Zhents may want to lash out against the Red Wizards to defeat them and "show all watching Faerûn" Zhent supremacy, but Fzoul and veteran Zhents have taken a better measure of the Thayans than that, and will desire to avoid open confrontation, probably shifting the Zhents more into drugs, kidnapping, and slavery, seeking to "buy" influence over local authorities so that if push comes to shove and Red Wizards try to act against Zhents in those locales, the rulers will side with the Zhents.

I also see many priests of Bane as seeking guidance from the god on how to "deal with" the Red Wizards, and receiving divinely-guided suggestions on how to murder individual Red Wizards, tyrannize ditto, and even how to get specific Red Wizards drug-addicted and dependent on Zhent handlers.

However, I see these efforts being more "quiet preparations for a last-ditch defense" rather than "preparations for a war on all Red Wizards." I don't see the Zhents making much headway in open strife against the Red Wizards, regardless.

Nor do I see the Zhents succeeding in taking over the Cult of the Dragon--just because I see Cult members (powerful evil dragons in particular) wanting nothing to do with Zhent control over them, or welcoming any stranger-wizards or clergy of Bane or beholders of any alliance or origin. If the Zhents try, I'd see an ongoing struggle developing that will end only when the Zhent side realizes that they'll never win loyalty or any useful amount of command and control, and that the struggle to do so is sapping too much of their strength to be worth it.

Again, just my opinion. Yet certainly the way I would run it. The Zhents of today are far more capable and less concerned with internal strife than the Zhents of yesteryear, but they are fewer in numbers, and have been riven by internal struggles while strong rivals (the shades, the Red Wizards, yadda yadda) have appeared on the scene or grown stronger.

So saith Ed.

Creator of, and expert on, the Zhentarim, from Manshoon to Fzoul (and most of the other members, between).

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 19, 2007: I'd just like to back up Garen Thal here: he has stated the War Wizards rank situation with perfect accuracy.

Sorry, Purple Dragon Knight, I don't know where those War Wizard equivalencies came from, in your post of the military ranks, but they are indeed spurious.

I checked with Ed to see if he's developed anything more on this or changed his mind, and he replied:

Nope. Some scribes (and indeed, some WotC designers) seem to ache with the powerful urge to assign a rank hierarchy to the Wizards of War. Some of them, worse yet, seem to want it to boil down to something akin to the modern, real-world U.S. military rank structure. However, it hasn't changed: except for the alarphons, Vangey (later Caladnei), Laspeera, and various "task-based titles" ("For this mission, Phaerland, Vangey wants you to call yourself Lord Spellbinder Most High - - but don't forget, when we're working on the Marsember thing, I'M Master Wizard of the Robes, and you're Underwizard Postulant!'). In other words, War Wizards may (with Caladnei's permission) assume any number of false titles to use when dealing with non-War Wizards (like stuffy nobles or Purple Dragon commanders), but they don't have any formal ranks at all.

They DO have experience and where they stand in Vangey's (later Caladnei's) favour, but although such factors may function informally as ranks do, they are not the same thing.

So saith Ed.

Garen Thal is correct on this. Sorry, PDK.

love,
THO

A postscript: Vangerdahast (and so, of course, now Caladnei) DOES have a number of formal court ranks and titles, of which the two main ones are: Court Wizard of Cormyr (sometimes styled Court Wizard of the Realm) and Royal Magician of Cormyr. Ed has explained elsewhere precisely what all of these court titles mean, but the point is that they are specific to the individual. One of them means in part "head of the War Wizards," but aside from that, they have no connection to the Wizards of War.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 19, 2007: Hi again, all. This time Ed makes reply to Jamallo Kreen. re. this post: "Having voiced my enthusiastic support for a book of "artist's conceptions" of various characters, the Sage of Stars makes me also want to suggest an illustrated book of Torilian Costume Through the Ages -- Featuring Jewelry and Other Acesories. The Netheril boxed set gives us the dates of some inventions (such as full plate armor) which might enable one to place an adventurer in historical context by clothing, but one supposes that over thousands of years the Elves have had fashions come and go, and one might readily encounter a portrait (or even some old codger) with old clothes which would serve to date him or her. (I am thinking now of Whatshisname, the ancient Elf-lord in Cormyr: A Novel.) If one has survived a visit to Spellgard or to the Warlock's Crypt {sic}, one might notice that a contemporary wizard was dressed in a certain style suggestive of Netheril (and might well be able to expose an impostor by means of careful observation of such things as the width of a cuff or the amount of ankle shown by a robe).

Since such a book must remain vaporware for years to come, Ed, would you please give us -- at your own pace, and in your own good time -- some noteworthy fashion highlights of Toril through the ages? (Ahhh, I can hear the PCs now: "Hey, Teraseer! That style of robe went out twenty thousands years ag ... oh oh....")"

Ed replies:

Yes, I agree that such a book would be a beautiful thing to have, and is a dynamite idea (which is, ahem, why I've pitched it to TSR and now Wizards dozens of times). I also agree that it will remain vaporware for years, if not forever. So I will impart some fashion highlights, here and in Realmslore web columns to come, over the next few years.

I'll begin this monumental task, today, by commenting on your query about elven fashions, by saying your notion of dating an elf portrait or image through garb is doomed. Although in general, over time, elves have moved from near-nakedness adorned with growing plants worn as semi-garments, through diaphanous flowing to-the-wrist and to-the-ankle robes, to increasingly practical garments (leather boots, belts, carry-pouches, and form-fitting clothing), one CAN'T date elves by their fashion.

The reasons are twofold: elves have embraced a bewildering variety of fashions, somewhat like the pace of our real-world haute couture "a new trend every time you turn around," and the strong elven embrace of individuality: except for priestly or very practical (e.g. fighting, scouting) wear, or garments dictated by ritual and custom (royal robes during specific ceremonies), individual elves tend to wear what they want. Fashions may "sweep" a city or realm, but not since Cormanthor have elves scorned other elves as "out of fashion." Nowadays, there's really no such thing as that, among elves, because every elf picks and chooses what they like from the passing parade of fashion. Therefore elves can be encountered wearing just about anything.

So saith Ed.

Master clothier of the Realms (and no, that DOESN'T mean he wants all the ladies nude; just most of them).

P.S. althen artren, thanks for your kind sentiments and excellent questions; I've sent them Ed's way. He is incredibly busy right now, but I hope he'll be able to reply before we all die of old age.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On February 20, 2007 THO said: MaxKaladin,

Ed has indeed written up at least six adventuring company charters that I know of.

Unfortunately, all of them are NDA because TSR asked for sample charters in 1986 (and again, more, in 1987) and Ed sent them in via TSR's FedEx account. Which means TSR owns them and controls their publication. Whether or not they can still FIND them is another matter, but doesn't change their legal status.

I have sent your question on to Ed (and Walker Ninja's, and everybody else's). Ed is rushing to finish six major projects (yes, at once; I don't envy the man - - plus he has to draw up and promote the annual budget of the library board which he chairs; sheesh) right now, so how soon he'll reply is anyone's guess.

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 21, 2007: Hi again, fellow scribes. Jamallo Kreen recently posted this: "Reading Blackstaff, I saw Steven's use of the word "incunabula," whose meaning I know, but whose application in Faerun I question. Just how long has printing been around in Faerun? Is there a prejudice against printed books (as opposed to hand-scribed books)? Do some parents now try to keep their children ignorant of the art of reading lest they waste their time reading scurrilous chapbooks and other questionable materials which are now available to anyone with a few coins? On the other hand, do some parents (or heads of households, at least) actively seek out "pious" literature and insist that their household members read nothing but morally edifying books and pamphlets?

Which spawns the question: what are the better-known works of printed piety, and, conversely, what are the more notorious books of religious parody (or outright pornography), which hide behind a pious title (maybe with "uplifting" woodcuts on the cover and title page, too, just to throw Pa off'n the scent of sulfur)?"

The last paragraph was subsequently pretty much answered, but Ed now essays a reply to the rest of Jamallo Kreen's questions:

No one is sure how long printing has been around in the Realms, because it keeps being reinvented and then "lost" again as cultures (such as Netheril) fall. Most recently, printing has been going on for at least three centuries in Calimshan, Murghom, and nearby independent cities, but gaining popularity along the Sword Coast just for a few decades.

Yes, there is a prejudice among some (mainly older, more conservative sages and wealthy (often noble) collectors against printed books (versus hand-scribed), but it's not prevalent; "most" folk of Faerûn are happy that they can get books, chapbooks, and broadsheets swiftly, easily, and far more cheaply than they would if printing wasn't available.

Very few parents now try to keep their children ignorant of the art of reading, because reading and bookkeeping are seen as vital by guilds and in trade. As learning to read is often done through perusing broadsheets or little books of "fireside tales" (some cautionary, some erotic, but mainly "funny human nature farces") that parents have purchased and used already (so a child is "reading along" with a parent a story they have heard read aloud to them before), "keeping scurrilous stuff" from kiddies is a losing game from the start and an attitude rare in polytheistic, closer-to-nature Faerûn than in our real world.

A rare few heads of households will try to censor reading, but rarely with success (and they're doomed from the start in any busy-trade-route community or large city, where reading opportunities are so widely available). Don't forget that there are actually "gentle comfort lasses" (what we might call "friendly escorts for older men who want kisses and cuddles more than sex, but in many cases won't mind a striptease or even a lap dance") who attract business by going to inn feasting halls, tavern taprooms, or clubs clad in form-fitting bodysuits upon which stories or jokes or even poems and song lyrics have been written in small characters. This allows everyone to have a pretext for staring intently at their bodies (for free), and "readers" who are interested enough can sidle around later to purchase a better look at the bared bodies. :}

So saith Ed.

We Knights have encountered such ladies more than once. Torm grew quite fond of asking them to roll over, or stretch into wanton contortions, so he could better read "the tail end of that sentence," or "this little passage here that I can't quite see."

Subtle lad.

love to all,
THO

February 24, 2007: Hi, all. Ed couldn't resist replying to Jamallo Kreen right away:

Sure. Lots of places. Scornubel. Throughout the Tashalar. Dambrath (!), and certain cities in Calimshan and Tethyr. Luskan (bestiality, snuff, mutilation, forced human/monster matings), Mulmaster (ditto). Telflamm, some cities in Chessenta.

Of course, such things tend to cater to local tastes. Yes, caravan merchants are known as sources of such things - - and you can "pay to view" in a tavern back room, late at night, as well as buying. :}

So saith Ed.

Torm has quite a collection, BTW. Surprise.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On February 24, 2007 THO said: Ed was and is a charter lifetime member, and promises to continue the Border Kingdoms stuff as soon as he can. Faraer, Ed fondly remembers a dynamite Glathricon session of "Bond, Fluffy Bond" in which (gasp!) he actually got the girl.

He had to enjoy her with a wet and amorous Fluffy sharing the circular bed with them, but will never forget the GM doing the "wet, snuffly nose in various crotches" roleplaying. Ahem.

love,
THO

(The RPGA)

*************************************************************************************

February 26, 2007: Hello, all. Ed has emerged for a breather between one top-secret project and another (he's allowing himself three hours, but eating dinner and doing the dishes are part of that), and is pleased to have the opportunity to answer WalkerNinja re. this recent question: "Lady THO, This is less a Realms related question and more an Ed related question. It is the practice of some professional authors (Dan Brown for example) to write the final chapter or epilogue first when writing a novel, and then to trace the route up to that point. Similarly, my History professor recently revealed to us the method by which one should read a book (from his perspective, a perspective shared by many of my professors, no less): That one should begin by reading the introduction, then the conclusion, then re-read the introduction... ponder it, then read the remaining chapters in order. Does Ed share this writing formula? Would he tend to agree with the method proscribed by my professors?"

Ed replies:

I've written or co-written somewhere over 170 books in my life thus far, and have tried many, many different ways of doing it (not just in a probably futile search for "the right" way, but also just for plain old fun).

I once co-wrote a novel from (my) last chapter backwards towards the front (DEATH OF THE DRAGON); I was awaiting my angioplasty and wanted to do the chapter that mattered most (see the book title) first, in case I didn't make it, so to speak.

Usually, I don't have the luxury of using the Dan Brown method you cite, although I have done it. If I'm writing a game book, an outline or structure is provided for me, often with page-count breakdowns ("22 pages on Skydiving Sex, 3 on Getting Insurance, 2 for Dry Land Practicing"), and if I'm writing a novel, I must submit an outline of the story to the editor before starting to write. (Obviously, I could still write the ending, work backwards, and then pretend I'd gone in the other direction when dressing it up as an outline, but I'm simply too busy to play games of that sort. Most professional writers manage a book a year, "plus a little bit" (a start on the next one); I haven't done less than five in any year since I started writing professionally, and I've always had day jobs throughout, as well (I did or co-wrote eleven books one year, but I darned near broke me).

It's been said that there are as many ways to write a book as there are writers; whatever works for you is the right one, for you, for that book. We all try different things, or are forced into different things, but tend to settle on one or two "usual ways" and stick to them. The hardest projects are those that involve fighting with editors or others over the way to create something ("I need the first six chapters, completely finished in final draft, tomorrow, and I'll start typesetting them while you write the rest" is a comment that can paralyze some writers; others merely shrug, nod, and keep writing).

Your history professor is outlining a reading method that works ONLY for non-fiction books; it will utterly ruin enjoyment of most fiction (and if you aren't enjoying fiction, why are you reading it? If the answer is "I hate this book, but I have to read if for school," then maybe that dissection method will work, though if it's a "difficult" book for you, it won't help much because it shatters the experience of reading along as the author develops his / her arguments and presents his / her case).

Your history professor's method is very useful to someone seeking to decide swiftly if a (non-fiction) book is worth reading at all for them; in other words, it's a superb elimination method, that can also be useful in ranking books that escape being eliminated ("The Jason volume seems more interesting and relevant, so I'll read it before the Whitsun.").

I would never, ever apply your professor's method to a fiction work I was reading for pleasure; it would ruin every book for me. (I know some people who enjoy whodunits by reading the final chapter first so they know who's guilty, and then going back to the beginning and reading to see how the writer tries to trick the reader, but far, far more people HATE knowing who did it before they get through the story in the usual manner.)

However, a professor reading a new release in his field will sometimes read the preface to see the approach, tone, and scope of the book, jump to the end to see what conclusion is reached, and then sit in judgement (again, on whether or not the book bears reading, and how urgently). I worked with plenty of veteran journalists who never read anything for pleasure, who would apply this same method to a shelf of novels to see if something was relevant for yielding a quote, or could be alluded to when "faking" a scholarly review (mentioning ULYSSES or LEAVES OF GRASS without actually bothering to read them). It's not ethical, but it's often done. When deadline is ten minutes away, ethics all too often go out the window. :}

So there's my agreement and lack of it.

Look at it this way: if you'd written the book your professor is handling in this manner, would you want it examined in this way? If you can answer 'yes,' then the method is okay with you, but if you answer 'no'...

So saith Ed.

Who is embarking, remember, on reading literally hundreds (perhaps thousands) of fantasy works published in 2006 so as to judge the World Fantasy Awards. My, he's a glutton for punishment; I should drop by some day with a few whips, and we can explore that...

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On February 28, 2007 THO said: We're all hoping Ed will get the chance to write more books that "fill in the gaps" in Elminster's Saga.

The problem is WotC's packaging of the books. They are not, and never have been, a neat chronological series the way Bob's Drizzt books have become (trilogy, followed by trilogy, followed by trilogy; I say "become" because even Bob "went back in time" to write a trilogy set BEFORE the one first published). Ed has always been so busy with a desk-full of Realms projects that he's written books covering "key" events or times Elminster was involved in, and not even all that many of those.

So you're not missing any books. Yet. I hope one day that books from Ed's pen will appear to fill those gaps. All of the series you listed in the second sentence of your post were PLANNED and written as coherent chronological series. If Ed tried to cover Elminster the same way, we'd be looking at a string of about six hundred novels (hope you have a lot of time to sit and read).

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

February 28, 2007: Hi again, scribes. This time Ed answers Mkhaiwati, re this: "I have another question to add to the pile. I was thinking about the film Gosford Park, and was interested in the movie for the view of the servants. I was interested in the servants quarters and passageways that the servants used, and the sheer number of servants one family had. Is there a Realms equivalent (Cormyr or Waterdeep spring to mind) of the British method of servants?

The novels that I have read that touched on the goings on within a noble estate (Stormlight and Waterdeep, for example) servants outside of a seneschal, head cook, or maid rarely make an appearance, possibly because, like in Victorian or Edwardian society, people rarely take notice of them. They blend into the background.

In the Realms, I expect they would also include a multitude of guards and possibly a pet mage or priest on hand, too, just to show off their wealth and give neighbors something catch up to; a version of "keeping up with the Joneses"

Anything that you could add would be most enlightening."

Ed replies:

Well, the main reason you rarely read about other servants in my books is that they get edited out because I overwrite. :}

Glancing at pages 22 through 24 of POWER OF FAERUN should give you a skeletal outline of the "bare minimum" servants for a duchal "and up" household. Let me scale things down.

Anyone in Waterdeep or Suzail with wealth enough (not just nobles) will have the following servants:

1. A housemaid (cook and cleaner, may also act as dresser, kitchen gardener, and errand runner).

2. If they gave more wealth, they will usually (this of course depends on whether or not the household contains children and / or invalid parents, etc.) add a cook.

3. If they get still more money, the third servant will be a "houseman" or "jack" (acts as gardener, doorguard, errand runner, coachman or conveyance hirer, handyman), unless there's an urgent need for a tutor / governess (i.e. children in the household).

4. "The other one" (either the jack or the tutor/governess, whichever comes second), or a chambermaid (laundress and cleaner, also fetch-and-carry server of meals and drinkables).

5. Gardener or Hosteler (stable-keeper) or "back door jack" (does dirty work, yard work, butchering and smoking of meats, errands, doorguarding).

6. Scribe (accountant, letter-writer, ordering of stores, often fetching them and shopping around town for household necessities).

7. Chatelaine (female household manager) or seneschal (male household manager/ butler)

8. From here on, maids (personal dressers, and maids-of-chamber) and doorjacks (footmen) and stable lads get added as necessary.

Usually a butler-like impressive person will be foremost among them, either to add gravitas to the "overall show" for visitors, or in the case of aging female 'masters' or aging or ugly male masters, a sexy male or female servant who dresses and acts in a "hot" manner to imply that the master can personally attract such a person.

Larger households add dedicated-task servants such as coachmen, gardeners, armsmasters (who train and head personal bodyguards), scullery and pantry maids, limners (painters), seamstresses, and bedwarmers (live-in personal sexual companions). Paranoid nobles and wealthy merchants even employ body doubles, if they can find them.

Some young wealthy men (especially noblemen searching for a wife and not wanting to be trammeled with a female servant, or noblemen living on their parents' coin, who have servants chosen or hired for them) will have just "a man" to be their cook, dresser, and butler (Jeeves style) all in one. In the Realms they often refer to such servants as "my jack." If there is a LITTLE more money, a "come in" cook and / or cleaning lady will visit for a few morning hours to prepare meals, take away mending and laundry to be done, and dust or clean the rooms, supervised by the jack, NOT the master.

"Swinging" young men with coin enough often hire two or three doxies (good-looking prostitutes) to keep house for them, but this seldom lasts long, unless the young man either doesn't mind being stolen from, or doesn't mind them entertaining other men on the premises for pay (turning tricks behind his back). There are of course some men who turn themselves into brothel keepers in this manner, or even arrange for slavers to come and "take away" doxies they've become tired of, or come to hate but can't see a good way to be rid of.

I can go on and on with this topic, but this should be enough for you to DM with. Just determine what a character can afford, what "show" they want to present to the wider world, and their real needs, and pick a spot on this scale for them.

So saith Ed.

Great question, solid useful answer. Bring more on!

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

March 2, 2007: Hello again, all. This time Ed responds to Daviot regarding this recent query: "Dear Ed and the lovely hooded lady, I finally got around to reading my copy of The Best of the Realms, volume 2, having read volume 1 a few months ago. I severely enjoy the wry quotes (usually courtesy of Volo) at the beginning of the stories. On that note, on the story "Bloodbound"; beyond Fzoul and his temptation over the armlet, what exactly happened to Tace (Tantaraze) after her fateful meeting with Storm?"

Ed replies:

Ah, I'd love to tell you, but the answer to that is NDA. I CAN say that Bloodbound, two DRAGON editors ago, was originally supposed to be the launch story for a series of adventures of Tantaraze (short stories to be published in the pages of DRAGON, a project now abandoned), from which you can easily guess that her story isn't over.

Hence the NDA. MY hopes is that you'll certainly read more some day. Where and when, I'm not so sure.

So saith Ed.

Ah, yes, the lovely Tace. I could tell a tale or two about this character, too, but NDA, as they say. Sigh.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

March 3, 2007: Hello again, fellow scribes.

This time Ed responds to createvmind and to George Krashos, respectively, re. these queries: "Mr. Greenwood I was curious as to what are the various types of peacestrings used in the north, Heartlands and the South, and in terms of game mechanics, how long does it take to untie them to pull weapons? What are the equivalent for casters besides the thumb-tie, exactly how is the thumb or fingers tied to prevent somatic casting. And one more thing, do druids have to prepare spells at a certain time of day regularly if at all? Thanks"

and: "Yes, I must say this was something I was going to bring up: where are the peacestrings in "Swords of Eveningstar"?"

Ed replies:

To answer George first, quickly: Edited out. Really; those sorts of details got cut. A lot.

Please also remember: the Swords need not use peacestrings because of the conditions of their charter, no Purple Dragon, War Wizard, Obarskyr, King's Lord, or herald need use them, no "badged" forester need use peacestrings when in the King's Forest (includes on any road within the forest, though settled areas are excepted), and no nobles need use them when in walled parts of their own lands (i.e. their mansions) or when hunting; their servants need only use them if the noble orders them to. So there are a LOT of exceptions, and everyone in the realm is allowed a "belt knife" (short-bladed eating knife, though certain dagger designs, such as stilleto types, will earn you arrest right away, because Purple Dragons deem them to have only a killing-another-person use) exception. If you glance at SWORDS OF EVENINGSTAR closely, you'll see that a great amount of the book actually involves places, situations, or characters that fall under the exceptions.

As to types of peacestrings: anything that passes through rings or holes in a scabbard or swordbelt and in a hilt, and is then knotted, that prevents a blade being drawn clear of its scabbard (it can be drawn a few inches out, to expose enough of a cutting edge to saw at a rope or cord, but never to expose the point or the "bearing edge" just above the point) is valid. Rope, cord, twine, wire, or even a vine or torn strip of cloth. In one memorable Torm moment, when he was in disguise, Jhessail's thong-like undergarments. :}

A suspicious Purple Dragon will take hold of the weapon's hilt and tug solidly; if the binding doesn't part, and allow the weapon to be drawn, it's okay.

Failing the presence of holes for a binding to secure through, a knot that binds the weapon from being swiftly and easily drawn is required (in 2nd edition terms, it takes a character a round to untie it, though they can also hunker down, or move steadily in one direction while undoing the knot). Usually such knots are ornate and "showy," though adventurers are warned that most veteran Purple Dragons (e.g. almost all First Swords and up) are familiar with the majority of knots that look complicated but can be pulled open at a single tug, just at a glance. White or cream-hued silken cords as thick as a man's thumb are often used in "dress" situations for peace-stringing.

It should be noted that Cormyr has peacestrings, but most "mercantile" crossroads or port cities such as Waterdeep, Crimmor, Westgate and Scornubel do not. It's by no means widespread.

Handbinding for casters is even less used. Where used, however, it often consists of three things: one hand is thumb-bound (thumb to palm) AND waist-tethered (on a cord that allows that wrist to be moved about a foot out from the waist), and the other hand is bound flat to a "paddle" called a "strontor" (a triangular wooden board to which the hand is tied down flat, often with leather loops for the fingers and thumb to be slipped through, and just a tied binding for the wrist, to keep the hand from readily being slipped out of the strontor).

Years ago, it was briefly popular to construct enspelled strontors of shavings and sawdust, with a drop of wine or urine being used in the spell; this meant that a touch of wine or urine to the strontor later would make it disintegrate instantly, freeing the hand without any need for untying. However, that works only where there are no War Wizards or similar "lots of wizards on the street or at city gates, as part of the authorities," because such "cheating strontors" radiate a dweomer and so can be magically detected.

As for druids: in some rare cases, certain spells should be prepared at a time that coincides with natural events (moonrise or in the moonlight, during a rainfall or at dusk or at sunrise, in full sun or during an eclipse, and so on), but in general, a "certain time of day regularly" doesn't apply. Unless, of course, your DM wants it to. :}

However, various nature deities may want their devout followers to fulfill certain conditions before seeking spells. Silvanus may want a druid to water or otherwise tend a wild-growing plant first, for example. See FAITHS AND PANTHEONS for stipulations (e.g. Mielikki: morning and evening, plus a certain ritual).

So saith Ed.

Who once had Mielikki require Florin to perform a ritual involving a horn she caused to appear on his forehead; he had to chase down and gore her, to shed her blood. It upset him greatly, which raised him in her estimation, confirming her choice of him for the more intimate task he later performed (trying to be delicate in my wording here, Sage).

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

March 5, 2007: Hi, all. A few very swift replies from Ed for divers scribes:

First, in answer to Jamallo Kreen's query: "Ahem! A question! -- about dice level caps on spells cast by Netherese survivors. Mystra, Mark I, imposed a cap on the number of damage dice for most spells (5Dx, 10Dx, or whatever), but when Netherese survivors cast the original versions of the spells, are they limited by those same caps? For example, when Larloch casts "General Mattick's Missile," does he cart out all of the D4s in Warlock's Crypt, or is he limited to the same maximum number of dice as anyone casting the contemporary spell, "Magic Missile," because Mystra has altered how all spells interact with the Weave?

Inquiring arcanists want to know!"

Ed replies:

Yes, Mystra has altered how all spells interact with the Weave, so unless the caster of an original Netherese spell can convince her or Azuth to 'bend' the Weave for just their casting (good luck on that!) they are capped, too.

So saith Ed.

Who adds a response to Delzounblood's queries: "Why, apart from standard structure do nearly all novels have the good guy's winning??

Surley in the Realms there has been a time where one evil faction or another has been on the winning side? or else how did the the Red Wizards for example or the Zhents or any of the others start and grow there base of operations?

When will ED write a novel on Bad Guy's winning???

If Ed would like? I have part of a novel written he can read, where the main character is a Fallen Angel! A Paladin gone BAD! which I am working on. I would like to hear his (and yours THO) views on it so far!"

Ed replies:

"Nearly all novels" have that structure because most human readers want to know that good triumphs, and publishers know that (unless there's a clear promise of a later book in which good might win, as in a labelled trilogy or saga, e.g. "Book One of") sales will suffer if good doesn't win. (Or, in a romance, if the hero and heroine don't wind up with each other.)

TSR/WotC Realms novels have that structure because strict sets of Code of Ethics have applied, down the years, mandating that. In short, we were forced to write "good guys win" novels (hence the Keystone Kops-incompetent Zhents of early books). That has slowly been relaxed (as for how CRUCIBLE got that way, it must have had full editorial approval).

You're quite right that evil must triumph to set up those established powerful evil organizations - - and if you check Realmslore, you'll see many, many historical instances of the bad guys winning (fall of Myth Drannor, etc.).

I will write such a Realms novel when I receive editorial approval to do so (if you don't consider HAND OF FIRE to be that already). Check out my next Tor Books novel, DARK WARRIOR RISING, due out in September 07, for a '"sort of" good guys winning, but a lot of bad guys winning, too' novel.

So saith Ed, who to createvmind says:

Yes, Torm was traumatized by Florin goring Mielikki. Traumatized that he wasn't invited to do the goring himself, somewhat lower down, with another part of his anatomy. Ahem.

So saith Ed again.

And, last but not least, Ed saith thus to Alorin Dawn:

Very nice pic. Money well spent, I'd say. The Pentacon website you were directed to in this thread is of course last year's. I will check with my friend, Lisa Adams, the heart behind the con, for news of an updated web presence for the 07 version of the con, and report back to you here when I have news.

So saith Ed.

Who's done for now, as am I.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

March 7, 2007: Hi again, fellow scribes. This time Ed responds to this, from EricKRod: "Mr. Greenwood, Thank you for the response. Your detailed information definitely will help me in the future. I have been a Forgotten Realms fan since it first came out in the 80's. However I will have to admit that I am a Robert E. Howard fan first. I current am a freelance writer for Mongoose Publishing working on the Conan rpg and have written and published several adventures and articles. Still, I will have to admit that the Forgotten Realms still holds my attention more and I can't read enough of the Realms. I was wondering if you were going to be at Gen Con Indy this year? Did you know they were going to have a Robert E. Howard Day? If you are interested in reading anything from the new Conan rpg and don't have access, just let me know and I will send you some stuff, free of charge.

Anyways, enough babbling. About the campaign.

There are three main characters, who all happen to be related. There are cousins and one is a Ranger of Mielikki, a Warrior/Priest of Lathander and finally a Paladin of Lathander. The Paladin is the one who claims he is a descendent of the Dusk Lord.

He has led his two cousins, followers and retainers along with priests of Lathander and Chauntea to Sessrendale to reclaim the land. The paladin, Justerian Whitehelm, having had a dream from Lathander, re-named the dale "Dawndale". The Warrior/Priest, Lars Bloodsworth, has begun construction of a keep on the north end of the dale to counter threats from the Zhentarim. The Ranger, Advorcass Darkbow, has strong ties with Mistledale and has convinced several half-elves and humans to build a village on the southern edge of the Cormanthor woods, west of Deepingdale.

Justerian has begun construction of a fortress that abuts the Thunder Peaks near the base of the river that flows out of those mountains and eventually empties into Lake Sember. The fortress, Immarel, is named after his deceased mother. A temple of Lathander will reside within it and a large plot of land with an abbey to Chauntea on it is being built about three miles east from the fortress. Dwarves from the lost clan (is Patrakis a dwarven clan name or a different type of humanoid?) are helping with the construction of the fortress as well as providing mineral and ore from the Peaks.

(I had the dwarves provide iron, copper and some semi-precious stones. I didn't want the characters to have access to gold, mithral or something so valuable that they would be filthy rich too quick or attract the attention of some very powerful individuals).

So far relations with Archendale have been strained and the other dales are indifferent. Cormyr has been very forthcoming with promises of aid if needed and the characters are unsure if the help is genuine or if Cormyr is just looking for a reason to extend their influence beyond the Thunder Peaks. Since the characters started out in Cormyr and have some ties there, they are taking the support in good faith... at least for now.

All the undead wandering around make it easy for me to keep the characters occupied. I mean followers of Lathander and Undead just go hand in hand. However I was going to have the Dusk Lord appear from time to time as either an information npc or help out the characters when they might need it. However since he is Undead, and very powerful I find it difficult to justify him staying around or even helping the characters out.

What do you think?"

Ed replies:

Eric, you're very welcome. I'm a longtime Howard fan, too (including Kull, Bran Mak Morn, and even Breckenridge Elkins, not just Conan), and I'd love to see the new Conan RPG. However, I do plan to be at GenCon Indy (I didn't know about the REH day, but then my Net access is so lousy I can barely even see the GenCon site, let alone navigate around in it), and I like to buy my games. For one thing, it helps to make sure the manufacturers are around to produce more great games, next year. :}

I would not have the Dusk Lord stay around or directly help players if I was DMing the situation you describe. I'd have him appear in dream visions, speaking cryptically or showing places (where a secret door or lost key is, for example) by "walking and doing" in the dream vision. In the PCs waking time, I'd have him appear only as a momentary silent apparition (as a guide: e.g. the secret door is where he was standing, or the body or treasure is buried under where they saw him standing), or whisper timely advice "in their ears" (he can't be seen or felt) if they've gotten themselves into a desperate situation, and need help. (He could warn them about a trap, ruse, or hidden foe ahead, for example.)

Otherwise, he may be just as suspicious of them as they should be of Cormyr. :}

So saith Ed.

Who once wrote an issue of Conan for a comic book that got cancelled before it got drawn. (No, it's not Ed's to release or display; Conan has been "heavily lawyered" since before Ed was born.)

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

March 11, 2007: Faraer is right on: "Well enough" or "Aye, then." (The former is used more often between family, friends, and acquaintances, the latter between strangers, but this isn't a hard and fast rule.)

Oh, hello! Hi, all.

This time, Ed briefly surfaces from some VERY hectic writing times to answer this recent query from WalkerNinja: "Wow, I seem to be getting a lot of enjoyment out of Ed Questions instead of Realms Questions lately.

Ed, as a fellow R.E.Howard fan, I was wondering what you perceive to be Howard's "magic?" What makes him a solid author? How have his writings affected yours?

I'm interested in this question because it seems that so many fantasy authors can lay all of their accomplishments at the foot of the altar of Tolkien, and I think REH gets shorted some credit sometimes. Of course, I'm from Texas and I like to see Texans get their due.

Which leads me to another related question...

In Howard's writings magic seems to be "broken," or not balanced. Given a couple of years study and the right book, you can learn some tremendously powerful stuff and make people VERY afraid (I speak of the literature, not of the Game System). This is contrasted by the D&D system which tries to balance everything as best as possible. Since FR predates D&D, I was wondering how you originally conceived of it? Were wizards and sorcerers "cheating" their way to swift power, or did they have to slowly develop skills as surely as anyone else?"

Ed replies:

To me, Howard's "magic" is his sheer verve and colour. The man is a strong, vivid, driving storyteller. Because he was writing primarily for the pulps, the need to tell "hero triumphs" tales in a fairly short wordcount means that a lot of his plots are very much the same - - but then, ALL writers' plots, stripped down to bare bones, are very much the same; it's what we hang on those bones that makes a story entertaining, memorable, or not.

I believe that the four "poles" of modern North American fantasy literature are Tolkien, Howard, Poe feeding into Lovecraft, and the lure of King Arthur; much of the verve and strength of the genre comes from the sheer room between those four writers, for later writers to "move around in."

You're quite correct in observing that in most Howard tales magic is evil or corrupting, and its users are to be defeated (even magic items tend to be treacherous or undeserving of trust, and allies who may use magic "pay for it"). To Howard, brawn and wits and self-reliance are the hallmarks of heroism (with "being there for your buddies" the echo note to the self-reliance). Now, not all of Conan's (or Kull's, or Solomon Kane's, or . . .) opponents learn their magic from books; Howard was far more enamored of the secret cult or brotherhood that passes on knowledge in secret for centuries, or users-of-magic who can survive for centuries or even pass into undeath and "live on" that way.

Yet past these superficial categorizations, and bearing in mind that Howard loved keeping his villains as mysterious as possible because it made them more alluring, one can look at his writings and see a great variety of magical powers or results. So aside from them being "unbalanced" (in game terms, although I acknowledge this is also a literary problem lampooned by many critics of Tolkien: good just CAN'T win against this too-mighty evil - - but does), his evil magic-hurlers need not be seen as all the same.

Neither are mine. In the original Realms, magic took all sorts of forms, from table magic and spellsinging (the original spellsinger was a female with a gift for magic; she was almost powerless when alone, and did magic with nothing but her body, dancing nude around a focus, usually a fire - - so if you captured her, you had a nude female who was largely powerless; you couldn't coerce her into working any useful magic, because she didn't have the power to work any useful magic alone; she needed to dance with others; the more dancers, the more powerful the possible magic) to book learning and ritual (the classic wizard) to the "strange gift" of draining life energy or stored spell energy or magic item magic and converting it into a discharge, to "magic comes from within and drains me to hurl it" (the sorcerer) to sex magic, to candle magic - - I had all of these. Deliberately.

I never wanted MY Conans to "know" what they were facing. It makes for better storytelling (AND roleplaying) if the heroes are always facing the mysterious and unpredictable. Are they witnessing a rape on an altar? Or a horrific evil ritual? Or a consensual act of consecrated magic designed to work good ends (even at a possible cost of personal pain and sacrifice)? Having that doubt there makes charging the altar a moral choice instead of merely a tactical one, and therefore it "means more," is more colourful and vivid, and more interesting.

I had some VERY powerful magic (the shoe-shine boy who when bullied by adventurers in the street can obliberate city blocks with his eye-beams) and some very minor (fat, short, lurching old man who can clean and fix shoes at a touch; he doesn't do this in public, of course; he goes muttering into the back of his shop, works the magic, then comes back out to the customer with the "fixed" shoe and calmly demands his coins). Some of it SEEMED unbalanced (it wasn't, but then the published Realms has never reflected the true balancing act between opposed power groups, cults, merchant trading guilds, and militaries and police forces), but then, I've always tried to teach adventurers that there's always someone more powerful than you are, there's always someone to aspire to be as accomplished and powerful as; just because you're the adventurers, don't expect to swagger through life knocking everyone over with your little fingers. :}

I had some people who "learned" magic instantly by touching a skull and being possessed by the mind of an ancient wizard, who possessed and controlled them. I had folk who studied for years and built up their magic slow piece by piece (and used it to make money by building and fixing things, never going adventuring). I had folk who hid their magical aptitude and used it to rise in a royal court to exalted levels, and only revealed it when menaced by the PC adventurers they'd hired to be their outside-the-law "fix unpleasant little problems" group. And so on; the variety is the spice.

So saith Ed, who hopes he's covered the question sufficiently.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

March 16, 2007: Hello, fellow scribes. Ed's finished one project and took a breather (ha!) by participating in a Game Designers Social at Ryerson University in Toronto last night (with Robin Laws, Malcolm Campbell, etc. etc.) before plunging into his next project. He also took the time to answer some Candlekeep queries.

Patrakis, did you miss Ed's reply to you about the Dusk Lord? You asked on page 27 of the 06 thread, and reposted your query again on page 43, and Ed answered you on page 83 of the 06 thread, and again on Page 11 of this year's thread. Reading them through, I think he covered what you asked about on March 8th - - but if not, let us know, okay?

Penknight, in regards to your question: "Oh, how often do they look for fresh ideas and new authors (if you happen to know). Thank you!"

Ed had this to say:

In one sense, Wizards of the Coast is ALWAYS looking for fresh ideas and new authors. In another: it varies, because any publisher is constantly juggling what they want to publish, what they think might be successful if they published it in the near future, known authors, projects "in hand," and new talent. So if they have more upcoming product slots than tried-and-true writers who are "free" (time-wise) at the moment, of course they will look to new talent. Also, if they don't think authors in the "stable" are right for a planned project, they'll look to someone new (and having your stuff published, in a place where they'll find it, is obviously a strong positive factor at such times).

Check the Books "front page" at the Wizard website every few weeks. Down near the bottom center will be any announcement regarding what lines are open, if they're looking for new submissions at the moment, and guidelines. (Obviously, FOLLOW those guidelines. :} )

Far more than some other fantasy publishers, Wizards looks for, and publishes, writers who aren't yet well established. Try to get yourself "on the radar" of the folks who handle WotC's book publishing, and be polite, professional, write the best darn stuff ever seen, AND BEAT YOUR DEADLINES - - and they'll love you.

So saith Ed.

Who has published somewhere around 160 books, and written over 170 (most publishers take a minimum of nine months to go from a completed manuscript handed in and accepted to a published book sitting on the store shelves).

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

March 17, 2007: Hello again, scribes.

Here's a quote from Ed on Sammereza:

Sammereza travels the Realms on behalf of Waterdeep (and himself); picture a younger, more agile Mirt; a wheeler-dealer who is a much better actor than Mirt now bothers to be. In other words, a cheerful swindler, but with good intentions and a soft heart--who can be merciless when he has to. THAT'S Sammereza.

So, got it? :}

This time Ed formally answers createvmind, re. this: "Ed how does one determine if an item is cursed in Faerun if the only spell they have available is Identify, I assume the answer is the hard way by donning it. Though I've allowed c of Mystra and the young mage to ramble on about magic this and things going wrong or being corrupted, they have developed a habit of once Identifying item, of donning it if it's useful. They currently came into possesion of a cursed item and I want to make sure if they cast identify they get all relevant info so if they choose to use it then it's on them.

Thanks again"

Ed replies:

Fair enough. One can of course use Legend Lore, Stone Tell if the object is of stone (or partially of stone, or has always been stored in a stone casing), Augury, and - - best of all but rarely thought of - - taking the object to a temple of Mystra, or the altar of a shrine consecrated to Mystra, and making a generous offering. At the temple, the priests will pray to Mystra; at the shrine (unless the PCs are lucky enough to encounter a priest of Mystra there), they'll have to do the praying themselves, calling on Mystra to reveal if the item has a curse, or "bears magic designed to harm the user." If this is done, I have always as a DM, using priests of either Mystra or Azuth, ALWAYS revealed to petitioners if the magic item they want examined either: bears an actual curse, is primarily (or entirely) designed to harm or trick the user / wielder, or can do harm to the user /wielder but also has a beneficial use or power that is as strong as the harm. The petitioners don't learn the nature of the harm unless they are already personally close to the deity (i.e. the Chosen, or a mortal who's temporarily serving Mystra or Azuth as a personal champion in a task, including fulfilling an atonement or holy duty).

Otherwise, yes, trying it on is the (hard) way ahead.

If I was DMing this situation, I would have an older NPC wizard, scribe, herald, or priest of Mystra, Azuth, or Oghma "warn" the PCs that "'tis always best to pray properly to Mystra, at a temple of the Lady, when one handles unknown magic; she's not called the Lady of Mysteries for nothing." If they ask what the heck that means, have the NPC explain fully, as I have done, above.

Then, if they ignore that advice and try to use or don the item, your conscience can be clear.

If cursed items strongly bother you ethically, do what I almost always do, instead: don't introduce them into your campaign; hand out "real" magic items instead, but have them crumble to dust after a single use, or shatter when used (producing a wild magic effect while doing so).

So saith Ed.

A kind, tender-hearted storytelling DM.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

March 18, 2007: Ooooh, createvmind, I *itch* to DM your player, and throw NPCs at him that talk and behave EXACTLY as he does, and see if he thinks that's fair and polite behaviour when it's done to him. :}

Ahem.

Hi again, all. This time I bring you an Ed of the Greenwood answer to Kajehase's query: "Greetings Ed and Our Lovely Lady of the Hood, today I bring yet another question regarding Aglarond.

Races of Faerûn gives us the percentages for how many of the various human ethnicities that dwell in the Altumber and Aglarond regions. However, since the Altumbel region (in the 3rd edition sense) wasn't introduced until [i]Unapproachable East[i], we only have the population figures for Aglarond as a whole - so what I'm wondering is: How large a part of the Aglarondan population dwells in Altumbel? (And while I'm at it: How large a part of the population lives in the Yuirwood? and what is the Half-elf/Human ratio?)"

Ed replies:

Not counting castaways, deliberately-marooned prisoners, and visiting pirates who spend most of their time elsewhere, Altumbel (including the Thousand Swords) is almost entirely populated by humans, and most of them (as given in RACES OF FAERUN) are Damarans, though the pirate and other naval visits have resulted in tiny numbers of almost every sort of human. No one has ever done an accurate count of those who dwell in Altumbel, so I stand with the best estimates known at the court in Velprintalar: that only about 2 in 10 Aglarondans live in the peninsula (and archipelago), and that the population there has been declining for a long time (it was 2.5 in 10 as little as a century ago). Although military depredations tend to fall more heavily on other parts of Aglarond, the weather is harshest (coldest in winter, dampest always, and with the least shelter, firewood, and edible vegetation and protection from wind, ice, and beating sun), and pirates, lawlessness, and malcontents (including blood-feuding longtime local families) wreak more havoc in Altumbel than elsewhere in Aglarond.

Very few Aglarondans, relative speaking, live in the depths of the Yuirwood (as opposed to around the fringes), but I'm going to avoid going into specifics because of what MIGHT be in certain future Wizards of the Coast products. The half-elf to human ratio in Aglarond is 7 half-elves to one human in the Yuirwood fringes, and 3 half-elves out of every 10 Aglarondans in the immediate border between the unbroken forest and farmlands to the north (as far west as Urst). That drops to 2 or 1 in 10 as one goes north to the coast, except in the immediate vicinity of towns and cities with a higher ratio (they're detailed in UNAPPROACHABLE EAST).

If all of this makes Altumbel sound inhospitable but prime adventuring territory: yep.

So saith Ed.

Creator of Altumbel, Aglarond, the Yuirwood, and all those little bitty islands, too.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

March 19, 2007: Hi, all. This time responds to MaxKaladin's query: "I was wondering if Ed could tell us what sort of things one might find in an adventuring company charter. Also, has Ed ever actually written up a charter?"

Ed replies:

I've written eight charters that I can recall, but all now belong to TSR (Wizards of the Coast), and I can't reproduce them here without permission.

So let me just run through the basics: usually written on the best vellum or parchment, signed by the issuer (usually a ruler, but sometimes a Lord Marshal, Grand Vizier, or other lofty officer of the Court specifically empowered to grant charters - - and because not every reader may know this, the charter will always specifically say so, e.g. this century-old Chessentan example: "Expressly empowered by His Majesty Harhoun the Exalted to grant a charter of the right to bear arms within the territories and protectorates of") AND also bearing a royal or Court seal or Herald-witnessed (in writing, on the charter) rune, and will always contain a roster of members of the company [so if your name isn't on it, you aren't covered by it; though note that many charters contain an "alljack" name (a modern American might say a "John Doe pseudonym") that any new or trial member assumes so that they're covered; typical Faerûnian ones include "Jack-of-Blades" and "Harl Amendall"].

Each charter usually begins with something along the lines of: "Know ye all, by this good and true document, that the bearers are entitled by the Crown of [[place]] to bear arms within the lands under our writ and hand."

From this beginning, the charter may well exhaustively list all such lands, and will always specify the name of the company and "spell out" the rights, privileges, and obligations it confers upon the adventurers.

Then will follow the roster of the company, each name customarily bearing beside it a signature, personal rune, or mark (even if it's just an "X") signifying that the named being has agreed to the charter, and the "authority" (the signing, seal or rune, witnessing, and explanation). This should present a polite but firm threat that messing with these adventurers means messing with the authority of the ruler and accepted civilized behavior ("as witnessed by Heralds of note and standing") everywhere, so "consider and conduct thyself accordingly."

Some rulers, especially in the Shining South, have engraved such charters on metal plaques, shields, or even swords, but the practice somehow never "catches on" to achieve widespread acceptance.

So saith Ed.

Who wrote us up a beautiful charter that is so personal that I think I'll keep it to myself. It brings a warm smile to my face whenever I read it.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

March 21, 2007: Hello again, all. This time Ed answers createvmind re. this: "Quick question, are there Dire Horses in Faerun, a PC of mine has out of the clear blue floated this Dire horse idea around with the others now they are asking if they wished to go Dire-horse hunting where would they find such a creature.

I said simply cause a template exists doesn't mean it applies in Faerun but I want to be sure of this, even though if they were to find such a creature I don't see anyone capable of riding or training it."

Ed replies:

Yes, there are Dire Horses in Faerûn, and among some of the peoples of the Shaar and the Murghom/Semphar region, there have been cults and folk tales and even fireside ghost stories regarding such powerful equines. I'd of course not expect to find a Dire Horse anywhere in the Realms near settled areas, and they'd need large grasslands in which the herds of lesser wild horses they'd head could outrun predators and find plentiful forage. Where I located my examples suggest two obvious regions to seek Dire Horses, but as far as your PCs go, I'd leave guessing at, asking around, and otherwise trying to find out where to look for Dire Horses up to them; that'll be half the adventure fun, right?

And yes, taming, training, and even successfully riding such a beast shouldn't be simply-accomplished matters. I'd leave it up to the players to decide if just seeing a Dire Horse in full gallop is enough - - and if it isn't, just how much of a personal price they're willing to pay to accomplish any domination of a Dire Horse they contemplate. If they try to use brute-force magical mind-control, I'd make them rue it if they aren't VERY careful (foresight, multiple spells ready, etc.). And who's to say that there aren't horse cultists, or just a few lone horse-worshipping individuals who'll become a murderous foe of anyone who treats "their" horse in such a way? They need not be crazies, but could be formidable rangers, druids, or wealthy rulers who happen to be horse fanciers - - or Conan-like barbarians who regard the Dire Horse as their totem or spirit ancestor or even "theirs alone" to tame or ride?

So saith Ed, embracing those infinite possibilities.

I love to see him unfolding another closet of bright, shiny ideas, every time he answers one of these. New worlds for old?

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

March 22, 2007: Hi again, fellow scribes. This time I present Ed's reply to Anonymous Realmsguy: "A Cormyr question, if you will, O Creator:

If I am a middle-class shopkeeper in Suzail, who's never left the city in my life and has little contact with adventurers or caravan merchants, how much do I really "know" about the western end of the realm (west of High Horn) or the far northeastern (Hullack Forest)?

Thanks!"

Ed replies:

You have certainly seen detailed maps and probably accurate paintings of the Hullack Forest and the road west of High Horn (and curving south from there), with its backdrop of wilderlands and mountains. (For one thing, at least one popular dining club on the south side of the Promenade, the upper-floor DARMETH'S PLATTERS, has a large painted map of the realm on its ceiling.)

Neighbours and business associates (from merchants you actually transact business with, to fellow shopkeepers whose shops are near to yours) may well include persons who've been to both "backlands" of the realm, or even spent extensive time there as serving Purple Dragons (not every Dragon is a career soldier; many are short-service "swords" who serve for three years or less, or serve as "wild patrols" in such frontier areas (unofficial but approved-of militias who can best be described as local guides and scouts).

So you have an accurate mental picture of the terrain, weather, how settled such areas are and the sort of people (by disposition and occupation) dwell in or frequent them, what monsters maraud in them and generally how "dangerous" they are, and if there are persistent outlaw / brigand / spies of other lands problems. If you have an eloquent acquaintance familiar with either backland area (or the Stonelands, for that matter), they may well communicate the "feel" of the areas well enough that you can picture them vividly (and probably fairly accurately).

"News" of events occurring in the backlands can easily take three months to reach someone in Suzail who isn't a Court or Purple Dragon officer, or in frequent contact with caravan merchants or travelling peddlers.

And of course, during the retellings before it reaches your ears, outright fabrication and "natural gossip distortions and exaggerations" can twist or embellish such news greatly. Nobles and other individuals with financial and political interests at stake will try to "spin" all news to further their own standing and aims. (Though this is more of a problem in Arabel and particularly Marsember than in Suzail.)

In short, folk in Suzail may cling to a few prejudices about the backlands, but they don't and won't swallow wild tales or believe myths about them. You could hold your own in an intelligent discussion of tactics or possible future Cormyrean settlements / development in such areas when speaking with, say, a Purple Dragon officer recently arrived in Suzail from one of those areas.

So saith Ed.

Who has this knack of making all of his fantasy worlds seem real; he can truly "put his head inside" what it would like to live in (specific places in) them, and convey that to the rest of us.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

March 23, 2007: Hello again, scribes.

Delzounblood, Suzail has both a daily and a once-a-week "high society" paper ("scandal sheet" to commoners). Ed meant that most cities in the Realms don't have foreign bureaus or reporters far afield: those same caravan merchants and travelling peddlers are the sources the local newspapers get their "news from afar" from - - and the remote frontier fringes of Cormyr ARE "afar" to Suzail!

This time, Ed makes a start on replying to althen artren, with warnings that he may not be able to get to the rest of althen artren's questions for some time:

althen artren: "Ed, thank you so much for giving us so many wonderful toys for us and for inspiring so many great writers to give us more (Steven Schend being one of my favorites) on DD in general and the Realms specifically.

I would like to give a hand drawn city map and dungeon I am proud of back to you for all the cool stuff you have given us as a token of gratitude, but have no idea how to send it. Do you have a PO box in Canada for something for fans to send stuff to you? Or do you have somebody you trust to receive your fanmail?"

Ed: You're very welcome. I would love to have that map and dungeon, but let me put my head together with THO and see if I can come up with a mail-drop solution. I'm being frowned upon heavily by my local Post Offal right now because the World Fantasy judging involves all sorts of publishers and authors flinging books at me from all over the world, THROUGH said post office. I live in a rural area, and don't want to be more of a problem than I am already.

althen artren: If NDA'd, are there any projects in the works to identify her in the future?

Ed: I hope so. There is a project in the works that will come close. IF it has a sequel (which might not happen), this answer will change to "Yes." ("Oh, I'm just doing the NDA dance, the Bob and Weave shuffle, the little misdirection prance...")

althen artren: "When was the last time you had less than 2 projects at the same time you were working on. If I were you for the previous posts, I'd be dead from exhaustion.

Thanks for time you put in here with your fans. I know you care, but it still refreshing to see it on a daily basis."

Ed: Hey, again, you're welcome. I enjoy doing it, as I hope scribes can tell. The last time I had less than 2 projects at once was 1985. If you count DRAGON articles as "projects," please alter that answer to early 1979. So I'm used to it. Being crazy, that is. And to think that I used to worry, as a young boy who loved to read books, and not much else, that I worried I'd be too lazy to ever hold down a job. :}

I'm not trying to duck your lore questions, I'm trying not to step on some toes re. future Wizards products. I'll have to check with [NDA] about [NDA] and [NDA] before I [NDA] and get back to you.

So saith Ed.

Who, believe me, is NOT trying to toy with you, althen artren, or with any other scribes reading this, for that matter. He's trying to be of some help while obeying his NDAs, which he considers crucial to the continued prosperity and therefore survival of Wizards of the Coast. They may bug us all at times, but they're necessary.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

March 24, 2007: Hi again, all. This time Ed tackles this, from createvmind: "Are there any little hovels, hamlets and such on road between Asbravn and Hluthvarr, with the mountains so near I assume nothing that managed to last too long, year is Flamerule/1372 just in case you had conjured up something of note during that year."

Asgetrion then posted: "There might be some inns and wayhamlets (some of them around these inns) as Ed has said that in civilized lands (along major roads) there should be at least one inn per day's travel..."

createvmind responded: "That I am aware of, I am wondering if the proximity of such hostile regions with Far Hills and Sunset Mountains to East and Plains to the West. That as well as increased Zhent activity resulting in such Hamlets having to pay for protection or being taken over outright, I can go with the latter.

As part of the same question, in our world the myth is that diamonds in particular and some other precious stones are rare thus reason for cost. Do mine owners and/or merchants practice similar strategies in Faerun to make buyers think they are getting rare stones, what stones are truly rare or hard to come by in Faerun?"

Ed replies:

As it happens, Asgetrion is correct. On the road between Asbravn and Hluthvarr, there are eight or nine fortified inns, all having this same general configuration:

A large inn plus stables plus a row of rental stalls (typically occupied by smiths who shoe horses and make repairs, makers of wagon wheels, tack and harness makers and repairers, saddlers, carpenters specializing in making and selling strongchests and coffers), plus several covered-by-locked-wellhouses wells, plus granary cellars, plus a shrine to a deity whose clerics readily heal for coin, often also plus a brothel, plus lookout towers, all inside a rough oval of stone crenellated walls, with what we might call "airlock" entries for wagons, with inner and outer doors, both sets readily brace-able and sheathed in overlapping iron plates. The "long" side of the oval lies along the road, so archers and catapult and ballistae crews on the walls can command a good stretch of the road adjacent to the inn. The walls aren't much more than thirty feet high, and the fortified complexes aren't all that large or impressive. What they are is: battered.

These places (which have names such as Mickle Ryll, Orstantor, Erebolden, and Torn Shield [often named after their long-dead founders, a nearby battle, or a corruption of the name of a steading or inn that once stood on the same site], and are interspersed with the ruins of inns (overgrown, fragmentary stone walls) that have been breached and thrown down, often by besiegers seeking to evict outlaws, large hobgoblin or other monster bands, or Zhent forces) exist because Iriaebor wants them to, to preserve the trade-road that helps to enrich it. (Translation: Iriaebor will send mounted patrols along the road, that use these inns as way-bases, will break any sieges on these places and resupply them in fierce weather or when attacks from the mountains are particularly bad, and will seize and govern any of these places that shows signs of "going brigand.")

Mineral wealth has come down from the mountains and been shipped to wider Faerûn along this road before there were Zhentarim, and will probably do so after there are no more Zhentarim (and there are many locals who fervently wish that the latter state of affairs would come about soon).

And yes, gem-merchants in large cities far from mines often try to spread rumors about orc tribes recently having occupied or destroyed gem-mines, (so there's a scarcity, so pay more). They tend to scoff at caravan merchants who try the exact same fib on THEM. However, this dodge works less well in busy ports (such as Waterdeep) and other "crossroads" trading cities, because there's more competition (and always someone around who will undercut any artificially high price in order to make a sale). The comments in the FORGOTTEN REALMS ADVENTURES (2nd Edition) sourcebook as to scarcity and difficulty of working gemstones remain accurate; to repeat all that here would take pages!

So saith Ed, painting in another fascinating little corner of the Realms to adventure in.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

March 25, 2007: Hello, all.

Well said, George. boddynock, you've stumbled on a topic that's been covered many a time before down the years since Ed's classic Nine Hells articles in issues 75, 75, and 91 of DRAGON. Ed will give you a proper reply in the fullness of time, but the crux of what's causing the confusion here is: Ed wants "in game" Realmslore to stand unchanged, as history (we can paint in explanations and new details, as Marvel and DC comics writers have done for years), but when something happens, it happens; whereas different editions of the D&D game just "change things" and contradict what was written before. To understand this particular case, you have to go back to issue 17 of DRAGON, and the "Politics of Hell" article by Ed's longtime friend, Alex von Thorn, and build back from there through the 1st edition MONSTER MANUAL to Ed's Hell articles. Nergal and the other "outcast" devils exist because they defied the rule of Asmodeus, sometimes because of their very existence: they are unique or "arch"devils, and that's a threat to the status quo in the Nine Hells (so it follows that BIRTHING archedevils is a crime). For the rest, you'll have to wait for Ed's definitive words, I'm afraid.

As for Realmslore from Ed, this time, I present Ed's response to Delzounblood's post: "If Ed would like? I have part of a novel written he can read, where the main character is a Fallen Angel! A Paladin gone BAD! which I am working on. I would like to hear his (and yours THO) views on it so far!"

Ed replies:

I would love to read your novel-in-progress, BUT: I have seventeen major projects of my own to do before the end of 2007, about twice that many little ones, probably about a dozen new, not-yet-released books to read and blurb (write those little quotations on the covers that say things like "Best book I read this morning!") and there's this little matter of World Fantasy judging, which could very well mean I have to read about 5,000 (yes, five thousand!) fantasy poems, short stories, scripts, novellas, novels, etc. between now and late October.

So you'd probably be better off continuing to work on the novel, because there's no way I'm going to be able to get to it before mid-November (and, eyeballing my schedule and seeing the usual three-novel traffic jam at that time of year, probably not even then). This year, it took me until yesterday to work my way out of the jam, so you should be well onto your NEXT novel by the time I'll have any opportunity to look at this one.

So saith Ed, who's not kidding, Delz.

You got to him about two decades too late to find him with time enough to easily stop and read something unexpected. Sorry. Ed's wife is constantly complaining that if she reads something and then passes it to him to read, so they can discuss it, she's forgotten all about the particular book by the time he gets around to reading it.

It ain't easy, being Ed.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On March 25, 2007 THO said: I asked Ed again about the Mazzanoble "Confessions" book, as I know he received and read an ARC.

He tells me this is a slender, humorously-written tome written for the COMPLETE and UTTER beginner to D&D (and roleplaying games in general). Said "beginner" is presumed to be, I gather (but perhaps incorrectly), what some would call a "girly girl" or young professional woman (lots of mentions of pedicures, fashion designers' names for handbags, cosmetics).

Ed said it was the best introduction to the extreme basics (these are "dice," these little model figurines are called "minis") he's ever read, and ends by nicely capturing the excitement and comradeship of playing a PC as a member of a party of adventurers.

With all that said, it's NOT for gamers. At all. It's for outsiders, to give them (with lots of jokes and quizzes and fashion comments along the way) the right idea of what D&D is really about. Most of us who already play D&D would consider it a waste of money if we bought it for ourselves.

Ed told me he wishes this book had been written and published way back when, at the height of the first "fad" popularity of D&D with Gygax at the helm, to attract lots of females into the gaming community. It would have had a huge impact then (but would have been written slightly differently, of course).

So there you are.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

March 26, 2007: Hello again, scribes. This time Ed answers Blueblade, re. this: "Suzail is a wealthy and bustling port and a capitol city, but how many of its citizens are poor/underclass/struggling labourers? (As opposed to stable-employment, well-fed but underpaid shopkeepers assistants, etc.?) Thanks!"

Ed replies:

Suzail has lots of poor folks living near the docks at its western end; many of them make livings as dockhands (casual day-laborers, loading and unloading cargoes), repairers and makers of simple household goods, or through illicit trade (forgery, drugs and other smuggled goods), or prostitution. Around 20 percent of citizens, in all.

If you factor in all the maids (and other non-live-in houseservants) to middle- and upper-class homes, who clean and cook and fetch and act decorative (they may or may not be well-fed or well-treated, but they are underpaid and are NOT stable-employment; the more stupid and poorly educated a "master" or "lady master," the more apt they are to mistreat - - and fire on the spot - - a servant when they are angry), plus shop assistants (who restock goods, fetch and carry, sweep up, etc.) add another forty-five percent of citizens.

There's about another 8 percent who are skilled casual laborers (governesses, really superb cooks, excellent seamstresses, etc.) and therefore highly-sought-after, so they have VERY stable employment.

Which leaves not much over 25 percent of citizens to be middle-class landlords (and investors, crafters, and shippers), shopkeepers, courtiers, and nobility (Purple Dragons and Blue Dragons in barracks are NOT considered citizens, and not counted in these percentages). Even with a concentration of nobility in Suzail, they don't quite make up 2 percent of all citizenry, but courtiers are more numerous than in many cities, and shopkeepers are the most numerous middle-class folk (whereas in some cities, crafters outnumber shopkeepers).

Suzail is a wealthier and more open small trading city than most cities of its size, but (aside from the variances note above) these percentages aren't far off for most Faerûnian Heartlands cities.

So saith Ed.

Master worldbuilder (and not a bad sorter of household garbage, recycling, and compost, too).

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

March 28, 2007: Hello again, scribes of the Candles By the Sea, I bring you Ed of the Greenwood's response to RodOdom, re. this: "We know that there are human merchants who venture into the bazaars of the Underdark. Are there merchants who dare to trade with goblins and other savage communities on the surface world?

And a separate question: have there ever been instances where ordinary humans have tried to offer mundane services to wealthy dragons? For example, house-keeping, scale-cleaning, vermin-control."

Ed replies:

Yes. And yes.

Thanks for the questions. :}

Ahem, seriously: there are many merchants who dare to trade with goblins and other fierce, evil creatures. A lot of them get killed every year, but that doesn't stop others from trying. The thirst to dicker, trade, and make coin is very strong, especially among the poor--so there's never a shortage of travelling merchants willing to risk their necks. The surprising thing is how many goblins are smart enough not to break, chop off, or bite such necks (seeing the usefulness of such traders).

As for your second question: there have been humans before the Cult of the Dragon who venerated dragons and served them willingly. There have also been adventurers who formed alliances, pacts, and trade agreements with dragons. (If you include dragons who can take human form, but only count instances where humans KNOWINGLY [knowing they were dealing with a dragon, that is] tried to offer services to such dragons, the number of instances still shoots right up to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of cases. The question then becomes: Do you still judge such people "ordinary humans"? Or are they crazies, cultists, or intrepidly daring adventurers? There are many instances of dragons protecting human villages in the remote valleys where they lair, in return for the villages working against all arriving dragon-hunters (guiding them astray or into traps, poisoning or otherwise slaying them, sabotaging their equipment, etc.). They are many instances of humans worshipping dragons and willingly becoming their slaves (and in some cases, even lovers - - and becoming either slaves and lovers when they knew it would mean their eventual deaths). There are fewer (but still many) occurrences of human/dragon mercantile trade, of services as well as goods. So I would answer this question with a firm "yes."

So saith Ed.

Who will never have enough opportunities to explore and give examples of all the intricacies of the Realms - - but sure keeps trying.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

March 29, 2007: Hello again, all. This time Ed answers AlorinDawn, re. this: "Ed, I have a question about what locales the following creatures (from Dragon #89 Creature Catalog) can be found in the Realms in their greatest numbers: Bohun Tree, Calygraunt, Cantobele, and the Flailtail. I'm just trying to get an idea of where you placed these creatures in your home campaign, if you have used them, and a few places you envision their larger populations living.

THO, If you can, please tell us of any encounters you Knights had with these creatures if it doesn't fall in the dreaded NDA territory.

Thanks" and this, too: "Ed & THO, Yet another question for the stacks about Ed's creatures from Dragon #89's Creature Catalog article. Can you tell us about the Sind populations in the Realms and where they are found? Can you provide any additional information on Sindar? I vaguely remember yyyyyyears ago finding out the hard way about the Sind's imprisonment ability. Thanks"

Ed replies:

None of these beasties are particularly numerous in the "known" Realms (that is, the continental areas described and detailed in published products thus far) any longer. Many of them are flourishing far better on offshore islands than they are anywhere on the mainland, and some of them (the Bohun Tree in particular) seem to be evolving in their outward forms.

Here you go; a roster of the "locales in which most numerous," as requested:

Bohun Tree: Sharawood, Shaarwood (in the Heartlands: a few in the wooded, lower north slopes of the mountains bordering Amn on the north)

Calygraunt: Chondalwood (in the Heartlands: the western High Forest)

Cantobele: Bandit Kingdoms (in the Heartlands: mountain foothills around Tunland)

Flailtail: Vast Swamp, Marsh of Chelimber

Sind: Lhespenbog

Sindar communities tend to be tiny and well-hidden, existing in many swamplands and keeping to themselves. They retreat when possible rather than fighting foes, but almost always arrange alarm systems (intruding creature trips or upsets something that makes a loud noise, often a falling box full of salvaged scrap metal, such as rusting armor gleaned from intruders) and even wounding traps (sharpened stake pits under water, along trails or in likely "crossing areas." Sindar are more numerous in warmer, more southerly swampy areas, such as those found in Veldorn and Luiren (note that most small swamplands don't appear on the published maps). Sind in general want to be left alone, aren't interested in travel or trade with and in the wider Realms, and so aren't very "deployable" in adventures.

So saith Ed.

We Knights have encountered all of these critters, but only the Sind and Flailtails more than once. We learned how to respectfully treat the Sind (ranger and druid among us, remember) and so don't encounter any problems with them; flailtails have proven to be recurring pests that Torm always complains loudly about (getting muddy and wet AGAIN, and they're not even good eating) as Ed gleefully makes sure he gets whapped good and solidly by those pesky tails. Nothing really memorable to share, AlorinDawn; sorry. The adventures worth relating tend to be encounters where we have to negotiate, or tackle a mystery, and so on.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

On March 29, 2007 THO said: Hi, Zandilar! Glad you got Ed's reply; he COULDN'T reply to you earlier than he did, because of NDAs and internal design decisions at WotC that were still "slowly being made" (one of the real curses of this "answering things" gig I got him into, here; sometimes he knows he can't tackle a topic until something he's not allowed to talk about has happened - - and sometimes even revealing that this sort of delay exists is itself "Revealing Too Much"). Welcome back, please keep "looking in" on this thread from time to time, and let this be a reminder to all scribes that Ed will get to all questions eventually, if he doesn't die or events in the publishing line don't make the queries obsolete before he gets there. Promise.

love,
THO

*************************************************************************************

March 30, 2007: Hi again, everybody. This time Ed responds to this recent post from MaxKaladin: "I thank Ed profusely. I note that the answer implies that many governments issue charters. I'd previously been under the impression that this was not a typical practice, but one confined to fairly powerful and centralized states like Cormyr."

Ed replies:

You're welcome. And you're right, too: charters were until recently issued by only a relatively few places (including Cormyr, some duchies of Tethyr, Impiltur, and some of the cities of Chessenta). The general attitude of other places was anger at the issuance of such instruments, as they were viewed as one government meddling in the affairs of another land by conferring some sort of legitimacy on "lawless brigands" who might stray far afield and try to use the charter as a justification for their adventuring behavior in those "other places."

Gradually, however (aided and abetted by the Heralds), more and more rulers have come to see the usefulness of such charters as controls upon the behavior of otherwise unpoliced (as in, beyond the resources of the local state to follow and try to control) adventurers, and in the last decade we have seen two trends: many independent cities and hitherto disinterested countries (such as Sembia) start to issue their own charters, and lands begin to formally accept as valid the charters issued by certain other "friendly" lands. This hasn't much made it into print, for two reasons: space has increasingly been at a premium in published products, and so has been filled with more directly adventure-relevant (or longterm-campaign-useful locale details); and various designers have wanted to keep things as vague as possible so as to give individual DMs the maximum freedom to shape politics in their own Realms campaigns without potential disagreements with players who may buy and read the published products and feel "cheated" by a DM who changed something from "canon lore."

Wars could of course change the situation overnight; the rise of an orc horde or border skirmish or something like the Tuigan Crusade could mean a charter cheerfully accepted today will be seen as worthless tomorrow.

As always, have fun. :}

So saith Ed, adding another little stone to the Great Wall that is the Realms.

To AlorinDawn: great latest question! Ed will get to it soon, as he thinks it's a very useful one to answer for a lot of DMs. And he's looking forward to talking with you at Pentacon. He doesn't mind devoting a lot of time to talking Realms with anyone, because, in his words, "Hey, along with shopping, gaming, and eating too much, that's what cons are FOR."

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

March 31, 2007: Hi again, all. This time Ed responds to Jamallo Kreen, re. a post that made reference to a DUNGEON #88 article "about a broken Netherese portal system," as follows: "Ed, reading that article thoroughly prompts a significant question (for my campaign, anyway): the article gives the laws and rules for mid-1372, but in 1360, when Azoun called his Crusade, did wizards who were enrolled in mercenary companies or who were passing through on their way to join the Sembian or Hillsfar forces have to register themselves? If so, who would have been the registrar, Vangey being somewhat busy at the time?"

Ed replies:

No, neither wizards nor any other participant in the armies gathering to fight in the Crusade had to register with anyone. The Wizards of War were indeed very busy, because they "kept tabs on" everyone moving around or through Cormyr, with an eye to three things: preventing brigandry; preventing traitor nobles from assembling private armies or strike forces in all the confusion, to work mischief then or later; and training young lads and lasses and retraining greybeards (as new militia reinforcements who would have to help defend and patrol the kingdom once the bulk of the Purple Dragons had marched off on the Crusade) in HOW to stand sentinel, report suspicious things and movements of specific persons and wagons to superiors, how to "tail" and spy on folk without being seen, and so on.

As it happened, it was a great training exercise, and resulted in a lot of "common citizens" becoming far more intimately familiar with the topography of the wilder stretches of their nearby surroundings than they would otherwise ever have become (so people needing to hide; or tryst with others; or conceal stolen goods, bodies, or other things; or "drop" items and messages for others, all acquired valuable information to aid them in doing so - - as did some would-be poachers, who learned where certain trails went because they finally had a legitimate excuse to walk down them, and so on). All in all, a good (though tense) time was had by all.

So saith Ed. THE Master of Realmslore, as always.

love to all,
THO

*************************************************************************************

Match 31, 2007: Quoth Ed (after a roar of laughter):

Why, YES.

And an even larger one, a little later, nine months after the victorious surviving Cormyrean Crusaders returned home.

(No comment needed, I believe.)

love,
THO

(Kuje's Note: Baby boom after the Crusaders left)

Back to the So Said Ed index Page

Return to Traveler's Notebooks

Return to Alaundo's Library