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)

Oct - Dec 2007

October 15, 2007: Hello, all! Ed hath returned!

And he begins by answering bradc's questions, thus:

1. Why did you create the Forgotten Realms?

I created the Realms purely for my own entertainment. As a young child reading through my father’s library, I wrote many stories about “what happened next” to my favourite fictional characters, then started inventing characters of my own, and telling tales about them. One was Mirt the Moneylender (a mix of Falstaff, Glencannon, Nicholas van Rijn, and others), a fat, wily old merchant swindling his way down the Sword Coast. By 1967, when I was seven years old, I knew that the Sword Coast was in “The Forgotten Realms,” and the world grew from there. I wasn’t trying to create a game setting or a bestselling fictional fantasy world; I was just entertaining myself.

2. Why do you think the Forgotten Realms continues to be so popular with fans?

In my opinion, the Realms is popular because it feels REAL; it’s full of a cast of colourful, well-developed characters with stories of their own, the places where they live are deeply detailed (so actions have consequences, and events affect nearby locales), and the setting offers a welcoming home for a wide variety of stories and styles of play; you can be a pirate, an arctic explorer, a scheming noble or merchant in a large and wealthy city, or explore vast subterranean “worlds” beneath the landscape. The Realms has it all, in great detail, and has built up a history that makes events and character achievements seem to matter.

3. Why do you think the Forgotten Realms continues to be used so often in role-playing games that use D&D rules?

I believe the depth and variety offered by the Realms makes it interesting to many gamers, and flexible enough to offer a home to all sorts of playing styles and interests. Game “worlds” offer time-pressured Dungeon Masters a ready-made setting (with coinage, politics, roads and trade flowing along them, fashion and faiths and all of the rest of “everyday life” already detailed), so players and DMs can focus on adventures, so as to best enjoy their all-too-scarce playing time. The Realms has all the detail anyone needs for a lasting “home” for any campaign.

4. Who is your favorite Forgotten Realms character and why?

Though this many disappoint you, I truly don’t have a favourite. I have some I like more than others, such as Mirt, Storm Silverhand, and the Knights of Myth Drannor (the characters portrayed by my longtime players), but I simply can’t pick any single character out of the literally thousands I’ve created, and the hundreds other creators have added to the Realms. I believe it has to be that way, for me to handle my creation properly as I continue to detail it. If I fell in love with, say, Elminster (as many who are unfamiliar with the Realms mistakenly believe I have), it would distort and stunt the growth and ongoing flexibility of the setting.

So saith Ed.

Who tells me that his Realms-work remains as frantic as ever!

He'll return on the morrow, with a Realmslore reply, of course.

love to all,
THO

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October 19, 2007: Hi, Charles! Thanks for the DRAGONFIRE review, and
your comments about what should/shouldn't be in THE SWORD NEVER SLEEPS. Excellent, as always, and I shall heed.

As for your queries:

1. There will always be some faiths (and therefore, some commoners who believe everything said from the altar), and some nobles (for their own "bring down the Obarskyrs" reasons), who will seize upon evidence or even mere rumors about tomcatting or unfaithful or "wanton" royalty (either trueblood Obarskyrs or those who marry into the family) as a pretext for their being "unworthy" of the throne. However, the vast
majority of Cormyreans rather admire the Obarskyrs for behaving this way ("yes, he's a true Obarskyr, all right!"), and will feel the same way about someone who marries an Obarskyr (""Tis only fair! 'Swhat I'd do, if it were me up there! Sauce for the goose..." and so on). So a Consort having even a very public affair will engender LOTS of juicy gossip, but no overall disapproval of the Consort (again, some priests and nobles will seek to use it, but will receive no general support; and season courtiers will be EXPECTING it). It's not treason or explicity illegal, so "shrugged off" is the closest to correct of your three suggested results.

And yes, Alusair does indeed have political reasons to go on bedding "her boys," and will do so. Making them her staunchly loyal "ride to her rescue or to do her bidding" brigade, more personal support among the nobles than any recent Obarskyr has ever enjoyed. Yes, the War Wizards under Vangey would try to spy on and control all such unions - - but NOT under Caladnei (or Laspeera), who would instead just spy on them so as to know what's going on and be able to swoop in and protect/rescue the royal personage if something goes wrong.

2. I agree with your assessment: Alusair thinks she's barren, but suspects Vangey may be tampering to "make sure." However, she doesn't want to bear children (and certainly doesn't want to endanger the succession), and is glad to stay "barren" even if he alone is preventing her from conceiving.

If Azoun V, Queen Fee, Alaphondar, Caladnei, or Laspeera (but NOT anyone else [except your Consort PC, if you so desire], and NOT Vangerdahast unless some of the above listed characters support him in this) talk to her repeatedly about having a child as "insurance for the succession," she could [reluctantly] ne talked into SECRETLY doing so (i.e. going into seclusion or even out of the Realm, and in all cases giving the child into the keeping of the Chosen or some trusted Highknights or Caladnei or Laspeera, to be raised far from Cormyr and kept VERY secret from the nobles or anyone else [e.g. Zhents] who might use a pretender figurehead to threaten the Dragon Throne.

So, no, it wouldn't shift the power dynamics in the Realm, because even Alusair's proven child would at first be believed by the commoners to be just one more pretender used as an excuse to threaten their Cormyr
by ambitious villains out to seize the Dragon Throne. If Alusair decided to keep the throne herself, now, THAT would be a different story; she would succeed if Azoun V is still a boy, but Queen Fee would oppose her if he was grown to manhood (and Vangey and or the Harpers would whisk her away and "change her mind for her" if need be).

Thanks for the questions. Yes, I'm busier than Grand Central Station right now, with three novels and four other secret projects and the 4e Realms ll on my plate for getting done before Christmas (!!!), but I loved answering these anyway. :}

So saith Ed, and there you have it. Ed obviously won't mind followup questions, by the tone of that.

love,
THO

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October 19, 2007: Hello again, all. Thank you for the questions and your posts as to what you'd like to see or not see in THE SWORD NEVER SLEEPS; please keep them coming! In the other direction, I have two Realmslore tidbits to pass on from Ed this time, to whit:

Scribe Jamello Kreen posted: “Well met! If it's not NDA, will Ed please tell us what specific type of undead the Skulls are (demiliches, perhaps), or are they sui generis?”

And Ed replies:

Sorry, but these are under a specific NDA right now. It may be months before they are “out” of it, but I won’t forget or mislay your question. Skeptic was quite right to direct you to Eric’s CITY OF SPLENDORS work; he and I discussed the Skulls in one of our many private phone conflabs, prior to publication, so you can take what it said therein as “canon gospel.”

So saith Ed.

Kuje also posted a recent query that included this: “However, I'm really interested if Ed could detail how philosophy is different in FR. Or even include some of the more widely used sayings/quotes related to philosophy and subjects related to philosophy.”

Ed replies:

Certainly. When I have more time I’ll get to this. I have touched on it briefly before, and of course many of the “header quotes” I concocted to open chapters in my novels or as frontispieces for FR game products reflect various philosophies of life. In general, those few Faerûnians who closely and devoutly venerate one god above all others follow the views of that deity and the priesthood of that deity; most other folk in the Realms pick up “clever sayings” that they ‘can relate to’ from everywhere (sages, bards, orators, and various faiths), concocting their own personal mixture to serve as a world-view.

In general, these world-views can be categorized into two sorts: the essentially fatalistic “the gods determine everything; except as I can anticipate what they will cause or escape their notice, my life as it unfolds is determined by them, and I should either accept it, drifting along and awaiting what comes, or at best succeed by understanding and anticipating them, and benefitting thereby” and the essentially self-oriented “we are what we make of ourselves; those who act upon the world rather than just reacting, and who try to understand the forces at work in the Realms [from the Weave to the current tides of opinion, the relative powers of countries, and politics] and through that understanding Do The Right Things to benefit themselves, will both succeed and please the gods because we are acting, and thus becoming part of energies that have positive results in the Realms, than than the dronelike, ignorant masses of life who drift and are dragged along, and have no impact that they seek or attempt to achieve.”

Some churches smile upon those who try to think, understand, and act for themselves; others regard such behaviour (as opposed to seeking guidance from their clergy or a priesthood) as near-blasphemy. In general, trading settlements (from Waterdeep, Silverymoon, Athkatla, and Suzail down to Waymoot, Triboar, and Bargewright Inn) have populations dominated by tolerance for the “active” thinkers, who scorn any clerical denunciation of such attitudes.

So saith Ed.

Who is MORE than busy right now with Realms work, believe me!

love to all,
THO

Hello again, all. Warrax, Ed will indeed explore the various Faerunian philosophers and their written works here, when he has the time. That's precisely what he meant by "get to this," because the original questions he's responding to asked about books and the thinkers who penned them.

As to WHEN he has the time; ah, that's the kicker. He's off to Pentacon soon, and horribly busy with writing work between now and the end of January. He's not even sure if he'll be able to keep up with his hitherto pretty-regular schedule of Realmslore replies here at the Keep! Sigh.

On the other hand, at least two of the reasons for his busy-ness are things that would make all Realms fans happy, if he or I were able to identify them.

love,
THO

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October 20, 2007: Hi, Charles! The latest, from Ed:

Hi, Charles. Good questions; herewith, my replies.

1. Caladnei’s romantic life will probably never be detailed in print because she was created by two Wizards staffers with the specific request to me that (I’m paraphrasing here) “you don’t do the randy thing with THIS character of Cormyr like you have with all the others, please.”

Which of course gives you carte blanche. However, here’s the official Realmslore Ed-bible version: Caladnei, as evidenced by some scenes in my short story in REALMS OF SHADOW, is attracted to Alusair personally. However, she’s not lesbian per se; she was just raised in a traditional Turmish way, which means faithfulness to a life partner in all things EXCEPT sex for its own (that is, pleasure) sake (remember, we’re far from Christian real-world morality here). In upland Turmish, girls and boys play together, herbal contraception is common from very early ages, and no one gets very uptight about such things (unless someone is bullied or forced to do something, which is treated seriously). So, yes, Caladnei is “open” to enjoying lots of things, prefers (with the sole exception of Alusair, whom she’s in awe of, anyway -- and who is initially very suspicious of HER) men, and left to her own devices, would probably have half a dozen lovers at any one time, and many male friends. (As an adventuress, she did just that.)

However, she is now constraining herself greatly. She reluctantly ended up as Cormyr’s Royal Magician, under scrutiny, critical reaming, and real suspicion from all sides, and was desperate not to put a foot wrong. So she was very slow to trust anyone, and hyper-suspicious of any advances as fostered by (or even magically compelled by) ambitious War Wizards seeking to bring her down, or ambitious nobles ditto.

She is no longer afraid of treachery within the ranks of the Wizards of War, but she IS still very much on her guard against attempts to woo or influence her by nobles or the (perhaps unwitting, perhaps eager) agents of nobles. Caladnei pleasures herself, and moons over attractive men from a distance, more than she ever dares even be seen “out and about” with any man. She has kept herself under iron control since arriving in Cormyr, and will NEVER do anything indiscreet. Nor will any noble or noble’s agent ever befriend her (or more) without her knowing exactly who they are (thanks to her investigations, the separate investigations of War Wizards launched by Laspeera to protect her, the independent investigations done by Highknights and courtiers at the behest of Alaphondar (who is acting at the command of Queen Filfaeril, who wants Caladnei to neither become a traitor nor “another Vangerdahast”), and the separate-yet-again investigations of local Harpers (who can call on Dove for “point work,” if need be).

So by all means have Caladnei having affairs, but be aware that she will KNOW if someone is seducing her to gain influence over her, and will conduct herself so as to apparently go along with it, but avoid
situations where she can be “caught and exposed” by someone trying to disgrace her at Court. She will be as discreet and secretive as possible, including using magical disguises to look like a man for traveling to trysts or meeting her lover(s) at inns or in upper rooms. She’s quite capable of physically enjoying a lover, pretending to fall under his influence, and using very subtle means to learn more about him and who’s controlling him than she ever reveals to him of the state secrets of Cormyr and her own true feelings.

As for Laspeera, she is something of a “mother figure” to two generations of War Wizards, but is quite happily married to a powerful War Wizard. Who gives her all the sex she wants, though neither of them mind if the other occasionally enjoys sex with someone else. Laspeera gets exasperated with dolts and unsubtle manipulators, though, which means all too few courtiers or nobles are ever going to successfully maneuver her into a bed. She, too, as a War Wizard, will sometimes “play along,” feigning raging hormones and a smitten condition, and letting some lusty Sembian envoy or Zhent agent tear open her bodice and cover her breasts and neck with bites and kisses, as she moves moaningly against him, her ardor entirely an act as she remains alert for anything she can learn. At the same time, she will ALWAYS be expecting, and prepared for, attacks on the War Wizards through her (mounted by Zhents, Red Wizards, independence-minded agents of Marsember and Arabel, wizards hired by nobles, etc.). No one will paralyze, poison, mind-assault, or spellblast her without prepared and ready defenses and means of warning others about what’s happened to her becoming active. So all the while she’s purringly, lip-bitingly letting some man’s (or woman’s) hands wander under her clothing, she has spells and magic items awakened and thrumming on the edge of cutting loose.

Hmm. Steamy stuff, eh?

2. Yes, Alusair is an Obarskyr true; she will do whatever she believes is best for Cormyr. However, that involves her own seizing of the crown only if Azoun the Fifth is slain or subverted into being a monster, droolingly insane, or a halfwit under the control of someone not devoted to the Dragon Throne. Filfaeril and Alusair between them will see to it that Azoun is reared to be a good king; the sort of youth
who wouldn’t even think of shirking his responsibility - - or of misusing his royal rights, either! So by the time he’s old enough to take over, he won’t dream of not taking the crown. Nor will he dream of trying to rule without retaining Alusair as the “war leader” of the kingdom, or of reigning without constantly seeking the advice of Alusair and of Dowager Queen Filfaeril. Yet we “know” (from what little published Realmslore says; I know more, but of course am constrained by NDAs right now against saying anything) that Azoun V turns out “all right” and rules well, so it is all academic.

At the time your campaign is set, however, it need not be so cut-and-dried at all. Though it would be utterly unrealistic for Queen Filfaeril not to be more or less constantly at the side of the boy Azoun V, with plenty of Highknights as a bodyguard, to prevent any shred of possibility that any noble could “get to” the lad to assassinate him, switch him for someone else, wound or poison or sicken him, or gain any sort of influence over him (including magical). Azoun V is the most important treasure in the kingdom at this time, and will be treated as such by all concerned (including Dove, the Harpers, the War wizards, and the Crown-loyal nobles, to say nothing of Elminster). They all view the continued stability of Cormyr to be of paramount importance, with the Shadovar steadily gaining influence in Sembia.
 
That’s not to say there won’t be false (small-of-stature Harper agents, magically shape-altered into duplicates) boy Azouns in play at this time, to distract treason-minded nobles and trick them into open public illicit action, and to provide targets for other enemies of Cormyr.

I know you’ll have fun in your campaign, whatever roads you choose. Thanks for your interest, and thanks for the comments on the new Knights book. It’s nearly finished, but it’s very helpful to know the opinions of the real fans of the Realms, expecially when I’m as rushed as I am now (it helps me make sure I haven’t missed or forgotten anything). And, yes, I look forward to your reviews of all my stuff. Too many writers and designers lose sight of the fact that this is essentially a service industry: we are in the business of giving fans what they want, and ever-more of it (or else!). No one can please everyone but I can at least listen to the most eloquent (and that includes you), and take heed.

Ed

So saith Ed.

Good luck with the campaign, and please let us know what unfolds in it. We original players remain intensely interested in what goes on in Cormyr (not just what happened in OUR play).

love,
THO

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October 23, 2007: Hello again, all. This note from Ed, just received:

Hi. To HawkinstheDM, re grognards: if I can do anything at all about it (and I can), the answer to this is emphatically: YES.

'Twon't be the same, but it WILL be worth "living" and adventuring in. Promise.

To riot the outsider: the current FR logo is an artist's redesign "updating" of the original one, which itself simplified from MY original design, which was the crescent moon encircled by nine stars: my own heraldic badge.

So saith Ed.

Who will return with more Realmslore as often and regularly as possible.

love to all,
THO

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October 24, 2007: Hello again, all. Blueblade, Ed has chatted with me very briefly via phone this afternoon, and here are some answers:
1/
REALMS OF WAR: Ed can't say much about this (NDAs), but I think I glimpsed it on my last visit. If I'm right, it will have something to do with Mirt and Amn, probably in the past (i.e. younger Mirt). But quote me not, okay?

2/
The wedding address: yes, it happened, Ed has a written text, several gamers in Oz have signed copies as collectibles, and Ed will probably share the text more widely someday. When (ahem) he has time for such things.

3/
As for the "goodie" (an interview with Princess Alusair, I believe), I haven't seen it on the site. Ed has provided e-texts to Wizards (twice, I think). As to why it hasn't shown up: I don't know, though I suspect the Gleemax/D&DInsider launch work has something to do with it.

Ed will return with more Realmslore replies when he can. One note to riot the outsider: Ed missed mention of one detail in his reply to you: his original heraldic badge has the crescent moon "on it back," with the curved horns uppermost, not upside down (that was the doing of the 2nd-logo-version artist).

love to all,
THO

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October 27, 2007: Hello again, all! Some short but swift responses from the ever-overworked Ed this time around, as follows:

Scribe Melfius asked this: “I recently read your Q&A on Amazon.com - you stated that one of your top choices for a CD/album you would want on a desert island is "Selling England by the Pound". I'm absolutely tickled that you are a Genesis fan, and this is a great album (Scene's from a Night's Dream being a personal favorite, followed closely by Dancing with the Moonlit Knight - which I once used as an adventure hook!), but I wondered why you wouldn't have selected The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway?

Just curious!”

Ed replies:

I like both albums (and a lot of other Genesis releases, too), but for me (YMMV), “Selling” struck the perfect mix; it has more quasi-medieval melodies and intrumental bridges than “Lamb,” which has more hard-edged synth and parodies. Selling is more soft, misty England, and Lamb is more brassy, pounding Broadway America. However, certain cuts on Lamb (Back in NYC, Anyway, Lilywhite Lilith, Counting Out Time, In The Cage, and The Grand Parade Of Lifeless Packaging) are favourites, too.

So saith Ed.

Who also had something to say in response to this, from Zandilar: “Seriously though (yes, I know the original post was tongue in cheek), I doubt El is straight (in the conventional sense of the word)... After all, he's lived over a thousand years, and spent at least some of that time (probably only a fraction of a fraction) as a woman. I'd be very disappointed if Ed saw the need to "prove" Elminster's "heterosexuality" just because J K Rowling's "Elminster-alike" (which he's really not) wizard, Dumbledore, turned out to be gay. (I personally think it's great, Rowling introduced the idea very subtly, to the point where people didn't realize (though smart people might have picked it up in Deathly Hallows). To the point where she had to politely correct someone writing the screenplay for one of the upcoming Harry Potter films. In some ways, that's exactly the way it should be. Unless someone comes right out and tells you their sexuality, you simply wouldn't know since sexuality is not black and white and one shade of grey, it's a full spectrum of grey. (Kinsey was right.))”

Ed says:

I agree. Unless there’s a STORY need to spotlight a character’s sexuality, there’s no need for a writer to go into detail. (And, yes, in porn there IS a story need. :} ). And no, I don’t feel the need to “prove” anything about El (being as a great majority of gamers seem to believe all sorts of things about the character that are just plain wrong, anyway; I doubt they’d “buy” any explanation I attempted). Elminster was our viewpoint/spokesman/unreliable narrator character for the Realms by TSR’s choice, remember. I created a cast of thousands, not one old guy with a beard and some spells. :}

So saith Ed.

And to Mkhaiwati’s query: “(Anyone ever get the mental picture of poor Ed chained to a wall or dungeon, with an amazingly tall pile of questions before him and the Lady Hooded with a whip behind him?)”

Ed replies:

Yes, I do. But the Lady Hooded with a whip is so distracting that I can’t get anything done until someone snaps me out of THAT particular fugue. Such as (ahem) the real Lady Hooded stepping in front of me wearing [only] a hood, a smile, and boots, with a whip in her hands.

Which reminds me. Lovely one? Ahem? Yoo-hoo?

So saith Ed. You WISH, dear. Now be good and go and write Wizards a few more chapters of whatever they need most urgently, or I WON’T come and lash you. So there.

Ahem.

More from Ed later.

Love to all,
THO

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October 31, 2007: Hello again, all. I just received a Realmslore reply from Ed re. this, from scribe Jamallo Kreen: "Hot on the heels of my astrological question for Ed, I ask another, spurred by my completion of one Realms novel trilogy.

Earthly astrological theory originally posited that each celestial body had a guiding intelligence (spirt, god, aion, mover ... whatever) which kept it in its course and could, in Hermetic theory, be contacted for magical purposes. Ed, for DM knowledge, do such entities exist in Realmspace? More practically, is there -- or are there -- any Power(s) whose "job" is to keep the celestial bodies in their "appointed" courses and resist attempts to move them elsewhere? (I omit details lest this become a spoiler.) One might suppose that Selune (the deity) would care for Selune (the celestial object) and Lathander and/or Amaunator would take care of the sun, but that leaves a lot of celestial bodies in Realmspace unaccounted for, vis-a-vis guardian deities."

Ed replies:

You are quite correct re. Selune and Lathander. Primitive cults and unorganized "folk belief" in the Realms have always believed that the world (including the starry sky, and the Realms Below) have "place spirits" (in rivers, pools, waterfalls, mountain peaks, caves, hills, and so on). All priesthoods of other deities have picked up on this and incorporated it in their prayers and teachings, but tell very different tales about those place spirits (a priestess of Loviatar will tell you place spirits are souls of mortals who especially pleased Loviatar, so she installed them as place spirits to remain "alive" in perpetual torment for her to visit and personally lash - - whereas a priest of Helm will tell you place spirits are all vigilant guardians, rewarded by Helm for their mortal deeds and services by being made place spirits so they can continue eternally in vigilance . . . and so on). The stars and "shooting stars" (plus floating rocks like The Temple In The Sky) are no different from valleys and ponds and other surface features in terms of having place spirits, in the views of most mortals (elves and the fey "know" that place spirits are most closely akin to them, not humans, etc.).

So saith Ed.

Who is hard at work on the Realms, on several fronts.

love to all,
THO

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On November 1, 2007 THO said: I'm inclined to agree, dalor_darden, though of course Ed may see things differently. The wire, however, may well be far rarer and more expensive than rope or cord, unless one is trying to purchase it near a plentiful supply of metal AND a skilled gnome or dwarf smith. I seem to recall strangling wire and jewelers' wire being expensive indeed when we Knights went looking (Torm made a handsome profit buying some "junk" and reselling just the wire, and most stranglers used fine rope, not wire).

As for the Realmslore, I haven't any. Ed is leaving in the morning to drive down to Pentacon in Fort Wayne, Indiana; he'll be there informally Friday night and doing events Saturday and Sunday. He leaves exhausted but upbeat, he tells me, having had glimpses of future Realms fiction and future game lore today that pleased him. He said to tell scribes: "The sky is not falling, folks. We may be bouncing up to meet it a couple of times, but view that as unusual but good fun, and we'll all be okay."
Any day in which he creates two new [NDA] and details enough [NDA] to last any campaign for four years or so is a good one.

I'm hoping he'll be back in touch this coming Wednesday - - but keep the questions coming, scribes. As long as you're asking, Ed knows he's wanted.

love to all,
THO

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On November 10, 2007 THO said: Hello, all. Alorin Dawn, I can answer your latest myself:

Sniffy is alive and well. He was kidnapped to "persuade" him to sell his businesses to a Zhent agent, but the local Harper who was watching and waiting for this stepped in, rescued him, and slaughtered most of the Zhents then operating in Secomber, in the process.

BTW, he has other secrets that might surprise most folk who have dealings with im. No, I'm not telling. Yet.

love,
THO

You take it correctly.

His real name is Snavarel Waeglebotham, but inevitably, from early childhood (he had perpetual colds, and sniffled a lot), everyone but family called him by his nickname - - and even family members used "Sniffy," most of the time.

Yes, we've asked Ed about this.

love,
THO

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On November 12, 2007 THO said: Hello, all.

I bring some sad news: Ed's father died suddenly yesterday. Ed is calmer than anyone I've yet seen under these circumstances (he and his father were very close), but his father was a longtime university professor, chorister who sang in cathedrals all over the world, and one of NORAD's top radar men during the Cold War, so the funeral (next weekend) is likely to be a big affair, and the usual family matters will keep Ed occupied at least for this coming week.

althen artren, being as it may be some time before Ed gets to your question, let me try to take a stab at it from some of Ed's DMing descriptions of elven home interiors for us Knights:

Many rooms will be "growing" things: smooth-sculpted, rounded hollows with living wooden walls upon which grow flowers and mosses, and which have been teased (with magic) out into furniture-like shapes, and "spurs" from which their elven owners hang chiming glass mobiles enchanted to give off light (room illumination).

Most artwork will be of elves or living forest scenes, and the most prized pieces will be magical three-dimensional images (like holograms, that can be stepped through without feeling anything or affecting them).

I'll leave it to Ed to say more, but I know that what little I've said is both correct and typical.

love to all,
THO

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On November 16, 2007 THO said: Ed tells me he received a box from Wizards today (between deliveries of flowers) that contained, among other things, his author's copies of THE ANNOTATED ELMINSTER. According to Ed, it looks "Gorgeous."

Wizards sent "a beautiful" arrangement of flowers, too.

Ed also sent this message:

I want to thank all of you for your love and support. I intend to climb right back into the saddle just as soon as I can, but my replies here at Candlekeep may be both brief and infrequent for a while, I'm afraid. My father's passing has occurred at a very bad time for scheduling of both the last Knights novel and 4e FR work, and I MUST put them first, for all our sakes, the moment I can really get back behind a keyboard. (Yes, I wrote some stuff today, in a few snatched moments, just to try to calm myself by fooling myself that I felt "normal." Unfortunately, as I get older I don't fool as easily. :})

So please forgive me, and don't stop posting those lore queries. THO will send them on to me no matter where and how they reach her, and I will get to them. Eventually.

The doorbell is ringing again, now, so I must go...

So saith Ed.

Who will of course be silent tomorrow (as will I).

love to all,
THO

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On November 18, 2007 THO said: Ahem, yes, Lackey. That one stopped me cold for a moment, too. Yet we're all human, and the typing fingers or the ol' brain slips for a moment, and...

Never mind. On with things.

Damian, good to see posts from you after so long! I can tell you that The Endless Stair was Ed's "try out" module for TSR (as in: Ed, we need you to write lots of Realms stuff for us, so here's how we do modules. Try it, and we'll learn if you can write a module, while you learn how to do one in a week or so, okay?), so the stair was invented by Ed just for the module - - and later swiped by other TSR designers for use in the Time of Troubles, as "celestial stairways." So, no, it wasn't something the Crazed Venturers or the Knights ever explored in play. Ed DID have quite a few small, unguarded invisible stairs left behind from ruins that had fallen away from them, all over the Realms, that open into gates now floating in mid-air, which is a cool wrinkle any DM can use.

And Grimwald was an invented scapegoat among us, a "gremlin" we could blame for all manner of screwups and outrageous behaviour, who later made it into the published Realms as part of the Arcane Brotherhood. He was the only character Ed ever refused Bob Salvatore the use of, in the first few Drizzt books, because of what he meant to us, his gaming group. So thanking Grimwald was really thanking fate and our shared pratfalls.

love to all,
THO

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On November 18, 2007 THO said: Yes. And was invoked or alluded to in many more.

For scribes not familiar with it, THE CAMPAIGN HACK was a small magazine, 8.5" x 11" pages photocopied and stapled together, of art, poetry, reviews, campaign musings, and fiction put together by one of Ed's longtime players, Andrew Dewar (with brief guest editorships by Victor Selby and Ed Greenwood), that almost everyone in that small circle of friends contributed to. It lasted for well over a hundred issues, contains a lot of whimsical short stories (some of them homages to Cthulhu, by way of P.G. Wodehouse and various childrens' writers) and vintage Realmslore (later handed to TSR for use in "building" the published Realms), and of course is a great collectors' item. Some of the illustrations that appear in THE ANNOTATED ELMINSTER were first drawn by Ed for inclusion in the HACK.

I wish it was still being published. And for that matter, I wish a lot more so-called professional magazines were more like the HACK than the soulless, advert-filled slick empty things they have become.

love to all,
THO

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On November 19, 2007 THO said: Hello, fellow scribes. Ed is back hard at work spinning Realmslore for various WotC projects, so second banana [I'm taking a bow, but you'll just have to imagine it; if it helps, I'm not wearing anything while doing it except my wristwatch, a black ribbon choker, and a smile) will have to step in for the nonce.

I'm really busy right now, too, so MY replies will also be sporadic. And further delayed by the need to "check them" with Ed.

However, Mandras happens to have asked about some things (the "water in Waterdeep" queries) that Ed has gone over several times in the past, for TSR designers and various fans. Here, I'm paraphrasing bits and pieces of several of his answers. (You didn't think Ed hadn't thought about all of this, did you?)

First: Waterdeep has a very wet climate. Orographic rainfall occurs as cold sea air blowing onshore hits Mount Waterdeep, is forced to rise, and comes over the mountain dumping its water. And filling cisterns all over the city, well-nigh constantly.

Second: Extensive springs arise deep in the Underdark and come to the surface in two places: high on the slopes of Mount Waterdeep (where they are immediately piped, and used in Mirt's Mansion, Castle Waterdeep, Piergeiron's Palace, municipal pumps in the Market, and throughout Sea Ward) and in the face of the cliff forming the eastern boundary of North Ward (where the water descends into narrow pools at the base of the cliff, and is promptly pumped back up into North Ward, and thence by gravity down into Castle Ward, South Ward, and finally Dock Ward [the most poorly-served ward, water-wise]. The Company of Crazed Venturers encountered "water welling up" many times in their explorations of Undermountain, which even in its fragmentary published form (by TSR and subsequently WotC) has its rivers. A lot of the "black areas" on the sprawling dungeon maps are places where water rises through the rock, under pressure, and no "tunneling in" is possible. Adventurers who tried to "dig their way out" of dungeon areas with Ed as DM quite frequently found themselves starting floods, and fleeing until the water found a way to drain down and away.

Third: People use water quite differently than in modern times. Seawater is used to flush privies (yes, by the bucket method), down into sewers that are flushed out by seawater tides. Public bathing occurs mainly on the beach west of Sea Ward (that's why there's a gate in the wall), in the sea, and is usually undertaken (as opposed to picnics and playing, which occur on sunny days) during rains or heavy mists, when naked bathers emerging from the sea can have the salt naturally washed off their bodies by the freshwater mist and rain). Sand-and-water mixtures are used to scour plates, pots, et al, and there are many soaps, what we would call shampoos, and what we would call grease-cutting detergents in use that drive off grease and sea-salt (Lantanna gnomes and many others constantly invent new ones). Much drinking involves beer, wine, juices and milk brought into the city aboard ships and from around the Sword Coast North interior - - so little "straight water" is drunk. Many noble households have "country estates" that they regularly bring wagon-tanks of water into the city from, for family use in their mansions. And finally, the summertime population of Waterdeep is much higher than the wintering-over population, so water demands drop sharply during times when water is apt to be frozen (though those cisterns keep working; Waterdeep has little insulation, and the crush of crowded-together bodies and cooking and guild-work and animal defecation gives off lots of heat, constantly).

Fourth: the same portal spells that hold the "unseen phantom walls" of the city dimensionally "otherwhere," to be summoned around the city when needed, also hold an opening to a huge lake, which would "pour water from the sky" into the statues around the walls of the Field of Triumph (arena), which contain pipes with various gigantic spigots and drain-holes accessible around the outside edges of the walls (so, into wagon-tanks), that drain on down into Undermountain, should drought, a siege, or other extraordinary conditions of water shortage arise. (This backup has never been needed, but did feature in an adventure Ed ran back in 1982, I think, wherein a Watch patrol got "washed down the street" and a group of PC adventurers managed to escape them.)

So there you have it. Lower demand than you posit, using modern real-world habits, and a very large natural supply with magical augmentation. Trust me, Ed thinks of everything. As for your other questions, Eltan is definitely Ed's invention (as is the Flaming Fist), but I'm not sure about the others. I'll add the "where else are they detailed" query to Ed's massive and ever-growing pile, and we'll see.

love,
THO

Thanks, Kuje.

Reading over my reply, I can see two things I didn't emphasize enough: the constant sea-mists blowing ashore and condensing on anything warmer (read: just about everything), and the "small beer" that Waterdhavians - - most Faerûnians, for that matter - - consume much of the time, as opposed to drinking straight water.

There's also something called "glimmerstrike" that dwarves and gnomes have used for centuries: some sort of natural (not magical) powder, that when added to water, causes suspended grit (sand, rock dust, other small fragments and particles of any sort) to "drop out" of suspension and settle. It works without tainting the water, so if the original water was drinkable, so is the "cleared" (or "cut," Ed's notes tell me everyday Realms speech terms it) result.

love to all,
THO

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On November 20, 2007 THO said: And that's why I find Ed's current Knights trilogy so enjoyable. He's showing our characters as PEOPLE, before we had all that much experience of the world (and almost no experience of fighting monsters).

The problem, Hawkins, is: stats for the Knights WHEN? At the time of the trilogy, or right now, just pre-Spellplague, or somewhere in between?

If it's just pre-Spellplague, using the published Realms and not our "home" campaign (which is still "back in time" a fair ways), most of the Knights are 9th to 12th level "vanilla" character classes (exceptions: Florin is a ranger, and Pennae was a thief/acrobat when she was alive) in 2nd edition. So you can extrapolate into 3rd edition from that starting point. Anything earlier in time, simply cut back on the powers a bit. The Knights are all about being a team and networking (helping the Harpers and other groups, so we can later call on their aid when we need it) more than they are about stats, anyway. One of Torm's favourite tactics was to lead a powerful foe slap-bang into Elminster or Storm or Syluné or another powerful NPC, so they would smash the foe for us.

love,
THO

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November 23, 2007: Hello, all. A Realmslore reply to Kuje and Asgetrion:

I checked with Ed, and he said Berdusk has river-flushed sewers: upstream river-water is diverted for "greywater" uses (washing), drinking water comes from deep wells (some "above" the city and gravity-piped down into it), and dwarven-crafted and maintained pumps within the city siphon water from the flowing river into the sewers, to "wash" material dumped into the sewers (vertical chutes from buildings and alleyway hatches, the latter at low points so rain runoff drains through them rather than flooding streets and cellars) through the sewer system (tunnels about 12 feet tall by 20 wide, usually only a few feet deep in water/sludge), and back into the river.

Ed added that this is fairly typical of river-sited cities throughout the Realms.

love to all,
THO

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November 23, 2007: Hi. An answer to that, from Ed himself:

Because Manshoon's brother was estranged from his family, and didn't want others to assume he was in any way like them.

So saith Ed.

love,
THO

Heh-heh-heh. I'll have to contact Ed to see if I can say more (there was an NDA on this, years ago in the TSR days, but I've never officially heard if it was lifted).
In the meantime, guess away, scribes ...

love,
THO

P.S. No, it does NOT mean he married a "Muth." He was trying to distance himself from his origins, not just step sideways but still confirm for everyone what he truly was. It means he adopted quite a different family name, of a friend he admired, from another city. If I remember rightly (this was a long time ago, and said brother wasn't alive, onstage, in our Realmsplay).

love to all,
THO

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November 24, 2007: Hi again, all. Ed's latest lore replies follow:

Foxhelm, right you are. Dad's been creeping in to some of my characters for years (to see if he spotted it when reading the books [and not only Realms tomes]). He'll be stepping far more vividly into a few of them in the future.

As for genetic or inherited or race memories: NDA, I'm afraid. Which should tell you something, right there. :}

KnightErrant, in the original, "home" Realms nightgaunts did flit through some of the gates from Kadath into the Realms - - and two players, playing other characters than the Crazed Venturers or the Knights, did step from the Realms into the Dreamlands (as portrayed in Lovecraft's classic novel THE DREAM-QUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH). However, none of the New England-based end of the Cthulhu Mythos has appeared in the Realms to my knowledge, other than a certain player having his character swear by Nyarlahotep once, as a non-Mythos monster was eating one of his legs off. :}

So saith Ed.

Who is still cranium-deep in design and fictgion writing work for your future pleasure.

love to all,
THO

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November 27, 2007: Hello again, scribes! Some time back, KnightErrantJr posted this query: "In Swords of Eveningstar, Tanalasta, when discussing what she would do if disaster befell her parents with Vangerdahast, said that she would summon the overpriests of Chauntea, Helm, Torm, and Tyr.

What I am wondering is where these overpriests might be found. I've looked through all of my Cormyr sources, and I can't find any major temples to these gods, but I am curious about this in part because I know these gods are fairly well known and worshiped in Cormyr.

I found a mention in Volo's Guide to Cormyr that Vangerdahast was reluctant to allow the Chaunteans to build a fortified abbey near Arabel to serve as a focal point for their faith, and the only references I can find to Helm are ruined temples and shrines.

So beyond where these faiths' overpriests might be found, are there any abbeys or temples out in the wilderness or off the beaten path in Cormyr of these gods?"

Ed replies:

Not out in the wilderness, no, and the Court of Cormyr has a long-standing objection to temples being built in or near Arabel, Marsember, or the Sembian border without their permission, to avoid Sembian interests using them as a way to infiltrate the realm by shifting monies, armaments, armed agents, and eventually trained warriors into said temples.

The overpriests in question (most of whom appear near the end of DEATH OF THE DRAGON) all have modest apartments (above street-level stores, in buildings the churches own, mostly "one street south" of the Promenade) in Suzail. These are for meetings and short visits (e.g. when appearing at court) in Suzail. All of them actually live and spend most of their time in temples built in the open countryside, just east of Suzail along the main trading road. By decree, these temples CANNOT be walled or fortified, though most have "high hedges" farm fencing around the temple-farms that surround them. The exception is the faith of Malar; their temple is to the northwest of Suzail, in wooded foothills where streams (and therefore critters, and therefore hunting) is plentiful - - and their "holy secret" is that they control a cave with a deepspawn in it, that disgorges large, broad-antlered stags that they can hunt at will, or even magically soothe and pen, for accumulation for their annual fall "Stag Feast" (that they invite nobles and movers-and-shakers to, to win support).

So saith Ed.

Who is still far too frantically busy to return to regular lore replies, folks, but who is trying (and I, by rifling his desk for old notes, etc., will also try to partially answer scribes) to "be there" for Realmslore queries.

love to all,
THO

P.S. Good questions, Laerrigan. I've sent them off to Ed, along with all scribes' postings, and we'll just have to see how soon he replies.

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November 29, 2007: Hello again, all. Poor Ed is still buried beneath mountains of electronic verbiage, and writing hard, but I did get from him a partial reply for Wynna:

The "sigil" of the Lady's College (emblazoned on its doors, and used on banners, bookplates, bookmark ribbons, and stationery) is a circle of nine stars (the seven stars of Mystra, and two more representing a seeker after arcane knowledge and that seeker's teacher or answerer of the seeker's question).

So there you have it. Ed didn't mention the Conclave in his reply, so I'll charge right back in and have at him (he likes that), and see what he says.

love to all,
THO

Whoops, sorry, Wynna!

I didn't highlight all of Ed's answer to you, when copying it into my post! Here are the missing sentences:

"The eight-pointed stars have longer vertical points than the rest of the 'burst,' and are customarily depicted in white on a deep purple background, which continues unbroken across the encircled ring of space. Etched and embossed representations of the sigil have no colour; they are never painted or tinted."

Whew. Sorry about that. I'm not trying to omit or censor Ed's Realmslore, honest!

love,
THO

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On November 30, 2007 THO said: Aha! Gelcur, I can answer this one! (Having asked Ed that very same thing myself.)

The ring would call on The Simbul if Shandril ever activated it, and at the same time instantly make Shandril aware of its powers, which were to:

• Snatch The Simbul to Shandril's side, and/or:

• Englobe Shandril and one other being of her choice (probably Narm) and all the items they are wearing, carrying, or holding in a sphere of force. Or:

• Whisk Shandril and one other being of her choice (probably Narm) and all the items they are wearing, carrying, or holding into The Simbul's presence, if she's in the Realms. If not, it would deposit them in her throne room in Aglarond (where of course there would be one of her apprentices "on duty," ruling, in her absence; they would recognize the means by which the ring-user appeared, and would render any necessary aid).

Ed also said the ring had some other, minor powers (including glowing upon command, feather fall for wearer, could create an equivalent of Tenser's floating disc, and turned purple in the presence of poison [gas, liquid if immersed, food or contact poison if touched to it, or if wearer ingested it; Ed didn't specify them all]. The ring was made by a now-dead Magister, and augmented by unspecified Chosen, and later given to The Simbul's predecessor in Aglarond (whence it came to her).

In Ed's original MS, the ring did have a specified fate, but I cannot recall what it was.

love,
THO

Wooly, I can't get hold of Ed right now to get more exact wording, so I'm just going to paraphrase his lore answer to that very issue, as given to us some time ago.

Translocational spells (teleport, dimension door, et al) "work" by taking the transported beings, items, air in their lungs and immediately around them, etc from their starting place, and then "racing them along the Weave" to a new spot. Somewhat like racing along a spiderweb of interstate highways so blindingly fast the trip seems instantaneous. Sometimes unintended destinations are reached, but that's how the journey "happens." Beings who have spellfire (unless they are Chosen or others able to perceive the Weave and therefore "warp it and ride it," regardless) can't "ride along" the Weave; they instantly burn or fall through its strands (which aren't really strands at all, but flows of natural forces [convection currents, gravity, breezes, decomposition and combustion, etc. etc.]), and so remain where they are. Being seen as "immune" or "unaffected" by translocation magics.

This particular ring, and certain other items and even spells of the highest level (2nd edition: 10th level spells), accomplish such journeys in a different way: they drop the to-be-transported beings, etc. out of contact with the Weave, and then reconnect them with another strand, elsewhere in the world.

In other words, if we see Toril as a chessboard that's actually an open grid of wires rather than a solid surface, these second sort of magics don't enable travel across the game board that is Toril; rather, they lift the board up, leaving a playing piece (the to-be-transported) behind, and then move the board and set it down again so that the piece is now in a new square of the board.

Make any sense at all?

You see, when Ed discusses "metamagic" with us (Realms players, that is), he talks on a whole different level than the published game rules. You can see hints of that in the "toolbox" spells printed in VOLO'S GUIDE TO ALL THINGS MAGICAL. Problems have arisen many times over the years when other designers working in the Realms conceive of magic differently (and why shouldn't they? They are trying to remain consistent with, or augment and alter, only the published game material) than Ed does, and therefore shape magics differently.

Many of Ed's original spells are long, complicated rituals, which players can have their PCs improvise, like cooks in a kitchen substituting different ingredients or the cooking implements on hand - - but very little of those have made it into print.

And no, he does NOT have time right now to elaborate. That much I know very well. There are 3 novels, the 4e Realms, and some other stuff that's NDA'd on his plate, first.

love,
THO

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On December 2, 2007 THO said: Faraer, there was always a back-and-forth argument between these two conflicting needs/desires:

1. To explain EVERYTHING for the paying customers. Drawbacks: VERY long and complicated rules tomes (Book of Ebon Bindings, anyone?) that some gamers will find a turnoff for various reasons, AND stamps out the "awe and wonder" of having some mysteries (especially in Realms fiction).

and

2. That there sense of wonder, and keeping it paramount in a long (three-decade or more) "slow reveal" in novel after novel of Realms fiction, so that there were always new secrets (another layer of "secret lore," if you will) behind the secrets just revealed.

Personally, I'd not be surprised if part of the current reboot of the setting is a desire to open up "design elbow room" again by restoring that time of exploring the new, without lots of accumulated lore to remain consistent to.

I'm not advocating this line of thinking, mind you, just guessing that such a desire for freedom may have played a large part in deciding to relaunch the setting.
And yes, this of necessity endangers the "splendid store of accumulated history and lore" (to use Ed's words) that current fans of the Realms have come to value so much.

However, that's why there has been ongoing design debate about Realms magic at the highest levels. Of course, the easy way out of such arguments has always been the one chosen: just adhere to the current game edition's magic rules. Realms window dressing (prestige classes, feats, etc.) can be added, but the Way Things Work must match the core game rules. "Easy way" is not necessarily a value judgement on my part; others might say "most elegant way" or "most sensible way, given that this is a gaming company and this is a D&D product."

It's also not a debate that ever really ends. Like all of the classic saw-offs (guns vs. butter), it surfaces again and again, having been "settled" only for a given game edition or company administration or design team, or...

love,
THO

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On December 2, 2007 THO said: Thank you for those flattering comments. You'll turn an old gal's head, you will.

I'd just like to remind everyone that Ed isn't dead yet, or dead to the world, so keep those lore queries coming.

In fact, Ed will be reading a new Christmas short story (that he hasn't written yet, I suspect) this coming Friday, December 7th, at the Port Hope Public Library. This is an annual tradition, and eventually Ed will publish a book of these short stories, with the proceeds donated to the library.

One of the stories has been a fantasy, but most of them are heart-warming (tear-jerking, if you prefer) little modern-day-real-world-setting vignettes about the spirit of Christmas. Meant to be read aloud.

The library holds this open House every year, with local childrens' writers doing readings, usually a choir signing carols at some point, and every year Ed and fellow "famous Candian writer" Farley Mowat give readings. This year, Ed is at 2:30pm, and Farley at 4 or 4:30 (they were the other way around, time-wise, last year).

Ed is actually at work, running the library circulation desk, from 1 through 6 (another staff member will relieve him just for the actual reading), so he won't have much time to really talk with scribes or other fans who show up. However, he'll be happy to sign things, answer questions, etc. so long as he can do it in between helping other patrons at the desk.

Ed also wants everyone to know how touched he's been by their sympathies in the wake of his father's death, and to tell you he's very happily writing Realms stuff for us all. AND very happy that certain scribes, cloaked in the secrecy of NDAs, are also hard at work on the Realms, too.

Your questions keep him thinking in the Realms and enjoying it in his imagination, he says. So keep those questions coming!

love to all,
THO

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On December 3, 2007 THO said: A pleasure, Gelcur.

And yes, A Publishing Lackey, I was at that panel. Too small a room (Toronto has the LOUSIEST Convention Centre) for all those seeking to crowd into it. They should have used the "double room" behind it, which was used for the Terry Pratchett panel - - which was, ahem, Ed and Terry Pratchett. I thought it was going to be merry oneupmanship, but Ed rightly let Terry dominate, and just put in comments when the pace flagged.

I thought the funniest bit was after the panel, when fans were crowding forward for autographs. Terry had a huge lineup, and Ed only a few, of course, but because Ed's written so many books, and people know he'll stay and patiently sign everything, some people even brought wheely-carts full of books (few or no multiples), it took Ed as long to sign as it did Terry.

Terry's eyes really widened when the two leather dominatrix-garbed ladies went straight past him to Ed, to get tall stacks of Realms novels signed. Terry frowned at the books (all hardcovers, all different, gamebooks and novels) and then leaned over and asked Ed, "HOW many books have you written?" and Ed said quite honestly, "Er, hundred and sixty-something. I've lost count, really."

Terry rolled his eyes and said, "Well, I'd obviously better get writing!"

And Ed tapped a book and said, "These? These are easy!" He tugged on a page of one of them and said brightly, "These grow on trees, you know!"

"Watch out," one of Terry's fans said to Ed, and then pointed at Terry. "You'll end up in a book!"

"Don't tempt me," Terry told him, and everyone laughed.

Enough of old con stories, however. The important point is that Ed, Guy Kay, Neil Gaiman, and many others are acutely aware of the saw-off between Revealing All and Keeping The Mystery, and that there are many right answers, depending on the book or scene or series marketing plan or movie tie-in or whatever.

love,
THO

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On December 5, 2007 THO said: Thanks, Blueblade. It is indeed, and I have more notes from that session on some other topics, too. Now to FIND them...

Skeptic, your question has of course been forwarded to Ed, who is still eyebrow-deep in "do yesterday!" Realms work, but I can say this much:

Most such towns have wandering dirt roads, ALWAYS wide enough for two wagon-teams to comfortably pass each other; wagons "put up on blocks" (under axles, with wheels still attached but weight-strain thus taken off them) to serve as dwellings, with wagon-to-ground sloping tents to provide cover for entrances and cooking areas; dirt latrines surrounded by loose earth (from the digging) walls for privacy; tents for most additional dwellings; and outdoor cook-ovens made from stone, with mud-brick chimneys.

That much I remember off the top of my head from Ed's verbal descriptions, as he DM'd us. Hopefully he will provide more soon (more likely, he'll provide more when he can).

love,
THO

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On December 8, 2007 THO said: Hi, AlorinDawn. Forwarded to Ed, of course, but I thought I'd share what little I can from my play notes:

In Waterdeep, a "hearthmaster" [archaic: "master of the kitchen"] is what we modern real-worlders would call a "chef."

A "carver" is what we would call a sous-chef, whilst "bakers" are just "bakers."
Most chefs own their establishments, take all the profits, and then pay their staff, their taxes and city fees, and their suppliers. A few work for eateries and clubs, and usually charge a minimum of 25 gp/day (meaning: mid-morning until early the next morning), plus 12 gp/day for each carver they insist on bringing with them (15 gp for bakers or butchers). From that minimum, rates go up to 45 gp for the "top names."

Nobles and rich merchants wishing to hire hearthmasters to do a feast (what we would call "in-home catering") typically have to pay them 75 gp for each day of the event, plus 25 gp for each skilled underling (carver) the hearthmaster insists on bringing. This is just a base salary; food costs, servers, etc. are all on top of that, not paid by the hearthmaster. The rate is high because they are hiring the hearthmaster away from regular work, and because in Waterdeep rivals have always been ready to "bid away" a hearthmaster from another noble or merchant they dislike, or want to "highcrown" (one-up) - - and so, such skilled individuals, particularly if they know the noble is difficult to work for, always CLAIM someone else wants their services for that same day or night, so the noble will overpay to get them.

However, Ed is the only one who can add specific NPCs to this base Realmslore I've paraphrased from my notes, I'm afraid.

love,
THO

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On December 11, 2007 THO said: Hello, all. createvmind, Ed says he would rule that the ring can be removed in an antimagic field (and no, the master ring wearer couldn't harm the slave ring wearer, or act magically to prevent its removal).

Ed also said that the blood of children ("innocents" is really what is intended here) or virgins is just one possible ingredient in the processes of summoning or bargaining with demons (some rituals only require the blood of good-aligned creatures, or offer the creatures [usually bound or chained or otherwise immobilized] to the demon for it to corrupt or slay or dine upon or otherwise gloatingly torment. The game rules tend to be fuzzy about such things for obvious reasons, but Ed says the PCs really can't assume anything about an NPC's involvement with demons on the basis of finding those ingredients to be linked to the NPC. However, many "just plain folks" (not experts in dealing with demons) in the Realms would SUSPECT any possessor of such materials to be planning on working evil magic, probably involving devils or demons. Those non-experts could well include the PCs or local law enforcers the PCs can reach, but should not include priests of 5th level or above (who would know better).

Ed said to put it this way: anyone in your neighborhood who is known to have a gun or a knife is POTENTIAL danger, and already upset persons, or persons with a grudge against the gun or knife owner, could well act on that or spread rumors or otherwise affect others to make that potential danger seem very pressing. However, it is wrong to assume that everyone who has a gun or knife will inevitably and without exception soon become a murderer (most cooks have knives in their kitchens, yet most cooks will never murder anyone).

Again, it comes down to roleplaying: is a "general suspicion" prevailing or is such a condition generated during unfolding play in your campaign?

love,
THO

P.S. to all: Ed had a computer crisis on the weekend, but is fully recovered and happily back plugging away at "Realmslore everyone is going to want to see," and Ed wants Realms fans to know that he is "increasingly excited" about the new Realms stuff he's developing AND that he's seeing from others.

Good to know, yes?

P.P.S.: Has everyone seen the gorgeous ANNOTATED ELMINSTER yet?

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On December 12, 2007 THO said: Freyar, your query has gone off to Ed. In the meantime, here's are MY beginnings of an answer to you:

The Phaerimm are a race, not a monolithic "collective mind," so inevitably, they have a wide variety of motivations. You have hit upon ONE of the reasons they lash out: the pain and negative effects they feel from some Weave use. Others include the frustration of being imprisoned, and in some cases attempts to fry the minds and seize the bodies of strong spellcasters, to try to "escape into them" and thus win free of imprisonment. Other Phaerimm have other origins (elves or Netherese or powerful latter-day human mages adopting Phaerimm form) and therefore may have quite different motivations.

This lore comes from playing under Ed [hmmm, given my reputation, I suppose I should rephrase that]] and talking with him over the years, not from discussing your specific question.

love,
THO

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On December 17, 2007 THO said: Hello, all!

Zandilar, Ed is incommunicado at the moment (I understand the raging snowstorm afflicting most of Northeastern USA and Southeastern Canada has killed his power and telephone lines, so no computer, no e-mail, no phones, and he's likely using the fireplace for heat, and cooking outside with his old charcoal barbie), but I can start to answer your questions about War Wizards.

Ed once told us that the War Wizard recruits rise and fall from year to year, but an average would probably be about a dozen a year that the Crown and other War Wizards considered suitable - - of whom slightly less than half would survive Vangerdahast's treatment/winnowing.

On a later occasion, Ed said Caladnei is much easier on her War Wizards, both novices and veterans, so fewer flee the realm or quit in disgust - - but she's absolutely paranoid about letting a traitor slip into the ranks of the War Wizards, and has been (unofficially) calling on Dove, who in turn calls on other Chosen and Harpers if she needs them, to make certain no Red Wizard, Zhentarim, Cult of the Dragon, or other "sinister power group" agents get into the War Wizards.
Which means Caladnei "breaks" fewer War Wizards, but catches almost all of the bad eggs, so slightly MORE than half of her annual recruits survive the testing and training and "settling in."

War Wizard losses are way down from the Devil Dragon War period, but are rising again as more sinister (Shade-backed) activities from Sembia occur.
Hope this helps. More when Ed can reply.

love,
THO

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On December 17, 2007 THO said: Hi, all!

Damian, Ed is still (literally!) snowed under, but I can have a stab at starting to answer your question, from my experiences playing in the Realms with Ed as DM ("starting" means of course I've still sent your query along to Ed, for his reply in the fullness of time).

AFAIK, there are no formal schools of wizardry in Cormyr. What does exist is a dozen or so mages who are poor enough that they take on apprentices from time to time (especially when approached by rich Cormyrean families; if these are noble families, taking on someone as an apprentice is darned close to a real-world "royal command performance" in that one does NOT refuse). The War Wizards magically spy on ALL resident wizards in the Realm, and covertly approach apprentices (particularly as their apprenticeship ends) if what they have seen (and mind-probed!) of the apprentice strikes them as good War Wizard material.

This is the way most War Wizards are recruited: on an individual, secretive basis, AFTER the candidate has usually been "tested" (manipulated by War Wizards, sometimes with Highknight or Harper or Crown envoy assistance) several times, to see what their true morals, greed, and loyalties are.

Remember, Vangey and Laspeera weren't looking for "good" people so much as "loyal to Vangey first" persons who were gifted in the Art (not necessarily powerful; training the War Wizards can give) and can obey and act well and keep secrets ("their mouths shut," Ed once put it, when speaking as Vangey). Caladnei is a little more picky (she doesn't want evil or ruthless folks, because she thinks she has enough of the latter in the ranks already, and doesn't want any of the former, ever), and Laspeera is utterly loyal to Caladnei, now that she's taken her measure of Caladnei and judged her "just fine" for Cormyr.

There TENDS to be a prejudice against outlanders, meaning they have to "prove themselves" more often and better than native-born Cormyreans, but if a War Wizard is regarded highly by Laspeera or Caladnei, that now means other War Wizards fully respect them, too (this wasn't always the case under Vangerdahast, because many War Wizards thought - - correctly - - he "played favourites," placing loyalty to him above loyalty to the realm, or to an Obarskyr).

Every noble household either has a War Wizard as "house mage" or spies heavily on that house mage, and every "duty mage" attached to a local lord is, again, either a War Wizard or spied upon diligently by War Wizards. In addition, War Wizards wander in disguise everywhere, in the three cities and in Waymoot and Dhedluk and in the way-stops just west of Daerlun especially, watching and listening.

Wherever you are in Cormyr, a War Wizard (or at least their scrutiny) is never far away. Just venturing near certain spots (e.g. some wings of the Royal Palace, Mouth O'Gargoyles) will get you "looked at" immediately, and with suspicion. This means seeing where you go and who you have business dealings with, for at least a short period thereafter.

Oh, and marching up to anyone and expressing a desire to join the War Wizards REALLY gets you watched suspiciously, NOT "invited in."

I hope this helps. Ed will, of course, have more, but I think I've covered all the basics.

love,
THO

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On December 20, 2007 THO said: Hi, Mkhaiwati. Your question has gone on to Ed (who is probably busily wrapping Christmas presents right now, or perhaps taking a break to prepare brunch), but in the meantime, here's what I can quote from what I have of Ed's notes:

The House of Grace is located in a fine old house in Suzail just west of the northward-curving western end of the Promenade (the neighbourhood known in the city as "Sunset"). Laspeera has a floor there in which she can live when not elsewhere (she usually sleeps, dines, and lives in the Palace), and has been known to "hide" distressed youngfolk or adventurers or upset War Wizards therein for some days. The school uses two other floors of the house, at its rear, and the ground (street) level is used for a shop (that rents the premises from Laspeera) that sells gloves, hats, and lacework to "ladies of wealth and high tastes" (i.e. nobility and wealthy, socially-climbing merchant stock).

Anyone who can pay the quite reasonable rates (1 sp/day of classes; length of "working" day and instruction therein determined by the paying participant, one meal and endless drinkables [usually flavoured teas] provided) is admitted to the House, though most clients are young, female, and nobility or wealthy "wannabe" nobility (or at least, want to be seen to be "as good as" nobles in etiquette and deportment, and therefore welcome not just at their revels, but on their arms in dancing, or as suitable mistresses/future partners.

There is a small but steady stream of clientele who are crossdressers, spies or other shady sorts desiring to "blend in" with high society in Suzail (sometimes, it is correctly rumored, even male bodyguards being magically disguised as females), prostitutes desiring to learn the manners and deportment of high-class sorts so as to subsequently attract "better" clients, and so on.

So saith Ed.

As you can see, clients can range in age from about eight (from Realmsplay, I remember bratty kids being sent there for "schooling" [= correction]) to about forty. I'll look around for more lore; I seem to remember some play notes, including the name of the shop on the street level.

love,
THO

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On December 22, 2007 THO said: Hi again, all!

A few days (and pages in this thread) back, AlorinDawn asked me this: "THO, When I was at Pentacon this year, I asked Ed the outward differences from an Amnian and Sembian, as they are both rich mercantile countries that value coin seemingly above all else. Ed provided a very nice separation of the two cultures. From your experience as a player in Ed's game, how would you describe the differences between Amn and Sembia's wealthy merchant folk in looks and behaviors?"

... and I'm sorry I've been so tardy about replying.

From my experiences as a player, I would say that (although all generalizations are
just that; stereotypes that might be dangerous to follow) Amnians are more "old money" (confident investors, old-boys-network "connected," haughty, farsighted/connected, conspicuous consumption only when they want to, diverse in holdings, a little more carefree about their money/looking for things to DO with it) and Sembians are more "new money" (wheeler-dealer types, impatient/overeager to make a coin/exploit "marks," flashy big spenders to impress everyone, restless constant deal-makers and social "measurers" [Am I richer than the Joneses? Am I keeping up? Okay, it's been half the morning since last I asked; am I still richer than the Joneses?], always want to haggle and never want to concede a copper coin - - a Sembian will bowl others over to snatch up a fallen copper, but an Amnian will ignore it because he's no longer so eager to be a copper richer than he was a moment ago).

As I said, these are stereotypes, but they're pretty close to how Ed portrayed them in our play sessions. The Amnians are the Rockefellers of today, and the Sembians are the fresh new rising (and "out of control") teenie pop stars or Hollywood "heartthrob" movie stars, in terms of their behaviour.

So saith me.

love,
THO

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December 22, 2007: Hello again, all!

Back on October 12th of this year, Charles Phipps posted this question: “Well, we all know Gondegal at TSR ended up in the Demiplane of Dread. However, I was curious what would have happened to The Lost King if he'd stayed in the Realms?”

As a pre-Christmas surprise, I have just received an answer from Ed, and here it is:

Well, the easy and flippant answer is of course, “It depends.” That is, of course, also the correct reply, because Gondegal’s fate depended on so many variables that were beyond of his control.

However, let me explore the situation a little.

Gondegal’s main weapon or strength was his charisma: he was very like Azoun IV in his fighting prowess, lack of fear, and ability to inspire loyalty in others. He had managed to acquire a fiercely loyal bodyguard of adventuring companions, but was otherwise really “on his own.” So he made deals with several other parties, including Sembian backers (whose Red Wizard and other sponsors he was largely unaware of), the Zhentarim (whose territory, the Stonelands, he needed to retreat into; never mind who lawfully or formally owns it, Gondegal rightfully saw them as controlling it to a larger degree than anyone else), and a myserious “witch” (or three, or six, who may or may not have had any connection with Rashemen).

Gondegal’s short-term success was his ability to harness the perennial restless dissatisfaction of the folk of Arabel with their standing in Cormyr, perhaps best described on the commoners’ level as “those $%#&! highnosed rich folk in Suzail, led by the Obarskyrs, treat us as a backwater and make jokes about our crude coarse ways, all the while they get richer by exploiting OUR sweat, our honest toil... and we pay heavier and heavier taxes and shiver in the winter without all the luxuries they have in Suzail, without even being kept decently safe against the orcs and bugbears and outlaws, because the Dragon Throne won’t spend the coins on us that they spend on pampering themselves!”

Gondegal’s call for independence acted as a magnet for malcontents and the “have-nothings” of the realm, who flocked to his banner in hopes of getting more for themselves if the Obarskyrs and the War Wizards were “thrown down or thrown out” (defeated entirely, or just driven out of a new kingdom in what was northeastern Cormyr). He received covert aid from opportunistic noble families and certain wealthy non-noble merchants in both Arabel and Marsember (succeed or fail, his doings drew the Crown’s policing and spying attention to him, and away from Marsembans - - and if he could weaken the Purple Dragons and/or War Wizards, it could only aid Marsember in the future).

However, in the field, Gondegal’s army collapsed like the proverbial house of cards; he had nothing to combat the War Wizards and couldn’t match the training, equipage, and discipline of the Purple Dragons. One charismatic warrior surrounded by a loyal bodyguard just wasn’t going to shake the Dragon Throne.

So as Gondegal fled north, into the Stonelands, his fate depended very much on his various allies and sponsors (Sembian, Zhentarim, et cetera). Would they desert or dismiss him as quickly as they’d seized on him? Demand he do various things that would bring him into conflict with the desires of another sponsor? Or aid/rescue him in return for tightening their control over him (which would either have propped him up for some time, or swiftly doomed him by throwing his life away in reckless attacks on Cormyr’s forces (because the sponsors cared about Gondegal only as an expendable tool, and not as a lasting puppet ruler [or saw making him a ruler as too difficult, expensive, or time-consuming to be worth it])?

I suspect the various sponsors would have begun fighting each other as they discovered the extent of each other’s involvement with Gondegal, and that he would have suffered from a lack of their timely support as they bickered, regardless of the outcome of their disputes.

After all, Vangerdahast would NOT have been idle, and would have happily hired outlander adventuring groups to hunt down and slay Gondegal, as well as hurling all the War Wizards he felt he could spend the lives of, at the “Lost King.” So Gondegal’s life would very much have turned into “hide, flee, sleep in your armor, fight for your life, now lather rinse and repeat.”

However, as I said, it depends. If someone had seen a great benefit in a war-torn, weakened Cormyr (Sembian interests, anyone? Particularly with exiled former Cormyrean noble families handy in Westgate and more distant locales across the Realms?), they might well have rushed some hired wizards and a hired adventuring band or two to Gondegal’s side, to protect and aid him, and then sponsored some REAL support among opportunistic nobles and using a mercenary army or two.

The truth is, we’ll never know for sure, given “recorded Realms history” as it has turned out. If your campaign is set back at this time, however, or you want to diverge from published Realmslore, use these mentioned sponsors/allies and perhaps some new ones of your own (I’d mention a handy Cormyrean one, but I know Garen Thal has plans, and I don’t want to ruin them), roll the dice, and... see what happens. I happen to love the Obarskyrs, warts and all, but then I love ALL of my created characters, from Manshoon and Fzoul to Szass Tam, and being as I’ve set them up in various conflicts with each other, they can’t all flourish and succeed as a result of my love.

Oh, and BTW: I am happily at work on future Realmslore, and very much enjoying myself. The old magic is tingling...

And I am so far resisting the urge to make Rich and others twitch by sending them a “Hey! Just got a great idea! A new god has arisen: Gondegal, the Lost God! Yeah! And he has a new Anti-Weave of his own, and Shar is smitten with him, and he’s creating his own Chosen like mad, thinking he needs about two dozen, and being as the sister thing worked so well for Mystra - -"

Joke, scribes of Candlekeep, the preceding sentence is a JOKE. Yes, really. However, the one before that, about enjoying the new Realms design, is very much heartfelt truth. The flame is alive. See? I hold out my palm, and...

Ahem. Better stop now, before I get myself in even deeper. Christmas presents ALMOST all wrapped, and the bank account is emptier than empty, and I have pages to write before I sleep, so … Bye for now! May we all be happy in 2008, and happy with what we see of the Realms in 2008, too!

So saith Ed.

The above answer, BTW, demonstrates the sort of strategic thinking about Realms events and politics that Ed indulges in, and has always encouraged in his players (because he believes that PC adventurers TRULY succeed when they literally start to shape the world around them, not just react to the latest attack on them or go galloping off towards the most recent report of a marauding dragon).

I echo Ed’s sentiments, but of course hope we’ll hear from him again a time or two, before the end of the year.

Love to all,
THO

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On December 22, 2007 THO said: Hi, all.

createvmind, I can answer your first question with a definite "yes" (there have been elven and half-elven Chosen).

As for your second, judging by what I remember from our Realmsplay sessions, spellfire and silver fire can wrestle hellfire to a standstill if it comes from greater devils and archdevils, in the Nine Hells, and cleave or push it back if it comes from lesser devils in the Hells, scattering it to uselessness and blasting through it if it comes from least devils.

In the Realms proper (Toril), everything shifts up a step: spellfire and silver fire can blast through and scatter hellfire coming from least and lesser devils, and cleave through (to strike) or easily thrust back hellfire that comes from greater devils, wrestling with archdevils' hellfire and SLOWLY defeating it.

However, I have of course sent your query on to Ed for the definitive answer, in the fullness of time...

love,
THO

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December 22, 2007: Hello again, all.

Yes, createvmind, we have fun and tons of Realmslore, but to us, while immersed in it, it just seems all REAL. That’s Ed’s genius; he makes his created imaginary world seem like a very real place (a very interesting, more enticing than the mundane everyday real world place).

Fellow scribes, I bring you another Realmslore reply from Ed, this time to a later October request from Malcolm: “Plates and bowls and such (to eat off of, not cook in): metal? Carved wood? Ceramic? Earthenware? What predominates, where made, etc? Thanks!”

Ed replies:

All of the above, made locally wherever the raw materials are available. Ceramic is the rarest (followed by earthenware) because of its fragility and because the really good clay plus proximity to plentiful “free” fuel for firing is a rarer combination than simply wood that can be whittled, or (in the mountains) ore that can be smelted and then beaten out flat, or cast. Carved wood lasts longest in dry regions (e.g. desert), earthenware and metal ditto. [Note: the following is a generalization, and so should be taken with much proverbial salt when applied to specific locales and situations.] Trade in the Realms is abundant and long-established enough that aside from in communities with large potteries or smelters, NOTHING predominates; everything can be found everywhere.

So saith Ed.

Master of Realmslore.

Who I hope will send us more before year-end.

Love to all,
THO

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On December 23, 2007 THO said: Hello again, all.

Jamallo Kreen, Ed conributed a lot of "base lore" to Aurora's, but it was actually written by many, many designers at TSR at the time, each doing their own section.

And from my notes, I can answer your queries about tarred leather jacks: yes, they are (especially popular with rangers, prospectors, peddlers, caravan merchants and guards, and others who travel a lot, because of their durability, but less prized by everyone else because they rot, grow mildew, and eventually start to impart tastes to drinkables quaffed from them; carved wooden (and then fire-charred or otherwise sealed), metal, or ceramic tankards are usually preferred (depending on one's budget).

Tarred leather jacks cost 2 cp in most places, 3 or 4 cp in "scarce markets" like Ten-Towns, and more (up to 1 sp) in very expensive shops or if decorated highly by some well-regarded artist or other in a wealthy city such as Athkatla or the cities of Sembia.

So saith me.

love,
THO

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December 24, 2007: And likewise, back to you!

Hello, all.

I’m back with an Ed Realmslore reply, this time to Faraer, re. this query of his: “We have a Plato's cave situation with Realms magic: lots of example manifestations, but only glimpses and inferences about the underlying structure. Was there ever serious talk of presenting the thing itself?”

Ed replies:

Yes, there was “serious talk,” in-house, and the decision reached was NOT to reveal the underlying structure except in small parts, and then only as necessary as “link to the Realms justification” for new products (you’ll recall that all sorts of formerly independent products, from the Doug Niles Albion material that became the Moonshaes to the Desert of Desolation modules and The Great Khan Game, were shoehorned into the Realms to piggyback on the sales success of the line).

The thinking - - which from a game line development point of view is almost certainly the right thinking, even if it slights the from-the-other-end-of-things “Realms as a coherent world, so how can we present it” approach that I (inevitably, as the creator of the place) have always used - - was that the less said about details of the Weave, Ao, Mystra vs. Shar vs. Selune (and various other godly relationships and relative powers), and so on, the more future new ideas, new product formats (collectible card games, online games, in-your-desktop-computer games, etc.) could be accommodated.

To invent a hypothetical example, if I am an independent console game maker, and the limitations of my gaming format (the state of the industry technology at the time) necessitates my excluding, say, the ability of PCs to teleport into and out of my predetermined path of encounters, it’s easier to come up with an in-game explanation for teleportation magics suddenly and temporarily ceasing to function (regardless of whether or not the explanation is good or bad) if less has been said in print before I design my game, than if a lot of specifics have been printed.
Inevitably, as any game line continues, more and more lore accumulates, inconsistencies become more likely, and carefree design (desirable or otherwise) becomes more difficult.

This is simply the nature of the beast; Star Wars provides us all with a setting that has a clear-and-(relatively)-recent beginning, wherein we can all SEE product after product adding on, fan speculation and desire for involvement growing and creating its own additions and demands for more official lore, and so on (just as with the Realms).

Designers always want to jealously safeguard maximum design freedom for themselves, precisely because they have seen difficulties and inconsistencies occur with other product lines or “worlds” (or with the very one they’re working on, in the past). I have always followed a personal design principle in the Realms of creating three new “loose ends” (unfinished or onsolved mysteries or hints or unfolding events, to serve as adventure hooks or design roots) for every one that published Realmslore ties off and resolves. It has been a delight whenever I’ve encountered both staff designers and freelancers (Jeff Grubb and Steven Schend, and Eric Boyd and George Krashos, just to name two out of many more examples, of both sorts of FR designers) who agree with, and follow, the same approach.

Fans buy new stuff because they “want to know,” so we must not cheat them by not telling them. Inevitably, we impart details. Yet to avoid static growth or stagnant sales and an end to the setting, we must always intrigue the fans with NEW matters they want to know about next. It’s a dance and deceit both sides agree to participate in because they want to, and one that will end if either side becomes dissatisfied either with their role in the dance, or the nature of the dance itself.

So saith Ed.

Who is peeling vegetables for the Christmas Eve feast as we speak. Wish I could be there!

Love to all,
THO

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December 25, 2007: Hello again, all. I bring a Christmas-tide response from Ed of the Greenwood to Jamallo Kreen, re. these two related queries: “Does Araumycos ever produce spores? If it does, may these be planted elsewhere and grow into another fungus-thing, even if cuttings of Araumycos won't transplant? And -- being a mycophile I must ask -- what does it taste like -- at least when sauteed in a light butter sauce?”

and:

“This makes my question about spores even more pressing, I think: if Araumycos "anchors" the Weave, might it be spread to counteract Sharran attacks on the Weave? Given its size, I think that if it just blew out spores from itself it could cover much of the Underdark and thereby "anchor" the Weave in Faerun. But... what do I know?”

Ed replies:

Araumycos does produce spores, very rarely, and yes, they will grow into another Araumycos-like fungus, given the proper conditions (and there’s the kicker: no intelligent beings yet heard from know those “proper conditions”). Araumycos tastes like very nutty truffles; in other word, a cross between real licorice root and smoked-on-a-grill hazelnuts, but some who eat it die horribly as their bodies are poisoned from within, and others are afflicted with fungus growths that if not magically checked, will turn them into various myconids.

The problem with depending on the spores of Araumycos to counteract attacks on the Weave is that in some widespread disaster, like the Spellplague, they might very well become the flaming cinders, shards, and shrapnel of an explosion, rather than anchors. Acting to spread and increase the devastation, rather than mitigating damage, in other words. There’s only one way to find out, and the experiment can quite well be terminal. Myself, in that cataclysm, I’d not bet on the fungus to sustain and protect.

So saith Ed.

Who seems to be hinting rather broadly. And who tells me (sounding happy) that he just finished “detailing a land no one has ever seen before” (presumably for the 4e Realms). I’m starting to get the old excitement back...

Love to all,
THO

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On December 29, 2007 THO said: Hello again, all.

Hoondatha, you've counted right; there's an unwritten "Elminster To Be Named Later" novel to make up the next trilogy. I know what Ed's planning, but I also know that no contracts have been signed yet, so his plans are... just that.

KnightErrantJr, oaths to Mystra, Azuth, and other deities of magic have some sway over arcane spells in the Realms, but oaths to other gods tend to govern only divine spells (and merely influence arcane spells). The key word here is "influence." In any given situation (location, items present, opponents and any oaths or divine allegiances they may have, etc.) there may well be multiple augmenting or warring influences at work... preventing anything from being "certain" or "absolute," and making everything... interesting.

I'm speaking now from Realmsplay experience with Ed as DM. The problem is, most mortal PCs have no way of learning the "whole truth" or even in many cases any shred of the truth, about situations, places, and events they are walking into. So such an oath should be considered a guideline: don't blast a group of characters that includes one you've oathsworn not to affect and "trust absolutely" in that oath to protect them. Do it as a last resort, but don't treat the oath as firm, unbeatable armour.

So saith me.

Consulting once with Ed over this reply to make sure he's in agreement (he is).

love to all,
THO

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On December 30, 2007 THO said: Hello again, all.

Herewith, a reply to this query from createvmind: "Lady I am curious how you guys/gals dealt with summon monster spells, if you summoned a fiendish spider did Ed consider it an evil spell and thus you as a caster risked corruption so to speak and did you only get to summon what was listed as alignment acceptable creatures or were you able to stray from that listing?"

We didn't do much monster summoning, because Ed made it fraught with peril. ANYTHING could show up (including the memorable whale that arrived in our far-from-water location and crushed our foes, dying itself (check the tables in the 1st Edition DMG for said critter; this was a clerical magic), and named individual creatures (e.g. devils) always had namesakes (e.g. demons of the same name, or vice versa) who could show up instead, in an uncontrolled state!

Yes, you could summon anything, with the alignment/sinning consequences. No, it was never wise to summon much more than handy mounts, beasts of burden, carrier-pigeon-like birds or harriers to down an enemy's carrier-pigeon-like birds, or appropriate-to-the-landscape predators to frighten locals (e.g. wolves, bears). Jhessail avoided being slain once by convincing some ophidian and yuan-ti serpent-priests she was "holy" (she summoned snakes when they were too distant to properly see her summoning, stripped, borrowed another Knight's protection against poison magic item ere the rest of the Knights hurriedly departed, hid the item in a body cavity, and writhed around on the ground slapping and stroking her summoned vipers, who repeatedly bit her whilst she pretended to be in ecstasy as a result; it worked).

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