| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| questing gm |
Posted - 05 Nov 2023 : 14:05:37
Since starting up his own Discord server (https://discord.onl/greenwoods-grotto/), Ed Greenwood has been answering Realms-related questions in the #q4ed channel. Although it's free to join the Discord and view his answers, but I believe it requires a subscription to Ed's Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/EdGreenwood) to be given access to ask him questions there.
So since his answers are free to view by anyone on his Discord and for the benefit of those who are not on Discord, I'm starting and updating my compilation of his answers in this scroll. I'll leave it to the wisdom of moderating scribes if anything should be changed or removed.
I won't be able to put down everything (I already have 300+ answered questions to put down), so consider updates here will be intermittent, and will take a while before it catches up to the latest questions answered. (Or just join the Discord if you want the latest  )
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| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 May 2024 : 09:47:03
On how well seasoned adventurers stay warm and keep their trails hidden
Reedhalloran Duskfellow — 01/07/2024 5:40 AM
Well met @Ed Greenwood, I hope your holiday break was restful and you got some lovely presents (perhaps some mead?).
I was wondering about how folks of varying levels of ability manage their trails in the wilderness. With so much danger in forests, plains, etc... Your average traveler that leaves a footprint but more importantly a campfire smoke trail is very likely to be targeted. Just coming back from the mountains myself, I know that if there's enough people with fires the smoke kind of blends in and sits there but with the right conditions it can act like a beacon letting everyone know exactly where you are.
I imagine well seasoned adventurers know better and of course of magic to help them but for average folk of the realms... What kind of adaptations have they come up with to stay warm and keep their trails hidden from orcs, goblins, trolls and all manners of flying monstrosities?
Ed Greenwood — 01/08/2024 4:09 AM
Most folk, and game, follow game trails (mingling their prints witg everyone else). For one thing, if you keep alert for ambushes, established trails usually follow the best footing/gradients. If you know you’re being followed and the water or its temperature aren’t dangerous, step into a stream and backtrack for a bit to discourage pursuit. Most fires, warmth or cooking, are banked with turf or rocks in the wild so they won’t be beacons (and the hot rocks can share sleeping-cloaks for warmth). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 May 2024 : 09:26:04
On flavor of Shoodra sauce
Juniper Churlgo — 01/07/2024 2:09 PM
Hi Ed. Finishing up Shoodra sauce tonight. Any recommendatiosn on the flavor?
Ed Greenwood — 01/08/2024 4:01 AM
Pears to the fore, but ALMOST roast almond or cinammon base flavor, without the excessive sweetness (i.e. NOT like vanilla). It’s a chutney. Hint of mixed spices (of the nutmeg and cloves mix sort). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 May 2024 : 09:21:24
On how wealthy are Waterdivian nobles
Xeroe — 01/08/2024 12:59 AM
@Ed Greenwood How wealthy are Waterdivian nobles, when looking at their total fortune? The city of splendors book mentions "resource limits" in the range up to 60k but i guess thats not their actual wealth but rather "spendable income"?
Ed Greenwood — 01/08/2024 3:35 AM
That is indeed "spendable income" (liquid assets). The wealthy of Waterdhavian nobility varies VERY widely, from struggling to feed selves and servants to stupendous; most own very valuable city property and extensive "upcountry" holdings (mainly country places up the Amphail road) that they usually don't rent out through hauteur...but starvation tends to overcome pride in a hurry. Many nobles who must be "careful" with their daily coins are worth scores of millions if you liquidate all their property judiciously, over time, not in a "fire sale." The city at large does tend to equate nobility with wealth. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 May 2024 : 09:09:10
On how purple is the Plains of Purple Dust and Raurin
The Director — 01/05/2024 9:51 AM
@Ed Greenwood If I were to stand on one of Selune's Tears and look down on Toril how purple would the Plains of Purple Dust and Raurin actually be?
Ed Greenwood — 01/05/2024 2:10 PM
Very. As in, royal purple. Temporarily lightening to ruby-red in full "high" sun. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 May 2024 : 09:02:32
On a god of half-elves
stormer454 — 01/05/2024 4:30 AM
hey howdy hey@Ed Greenwood sir, is there a god of half-elves in the realms? if there is, I'd find it rather funny if they got along with the would be god of half-orcs (if there exist one of them too)
Ed Greenwood — 01/05/2024 2:07 PM
No. Half-elves, like nigh everyone sentient and sane in the Realms, actively worship many deities, and no one deity is "theirs." The same goes for half-orcs. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 May 2024 : 08:27:51
On Elminster becoming aware of Qilue's existence
ericlboyd — 01/04/2024 12:29 PM
Hi @Ed Greenwood! When did Elminster become aware of Qilue's existence? Birth? 1350s or 1360s? Somewhere in between? Specifically, I'm trying to figure out if he knew she existed prior to 1171 DR. (Hoping he did, but I'll make it work either way.)
Ed Greenwood — 01/05/2024 2:05 PM
Within moments of her birth. :} |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 May 2024 : 04:30:21
On Elminster communing with his mother and father’s spirits
Cdawg — 12/31/2023 1:36 PM
Rereading Making of a Mage for the umpteenth time and wondered, did Elminster have an opportunity to commune with his mother and father’s spirits after he became a Chosen? That he survived, avenged them, and thrived?
Ed Greenwood — 12/31/2023 1:42 PM
The short answer is: yes. A longer answer is NDA, as TSR retains a short story I wrote about that in 1995. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 May 2024 : 04:26:56
On an Abeir map
Gustavo Tortato — 12/29/2023 9:07 AM
Hello @Ed Greenwood! We've had this awesome map done by @Kalontas based on your description of Abeir in a recent video.
Would you say it's accurate? Any major improvements that would need to be done?
<https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1072136642162343986/1190098651834495067/Abeir-2.png?ex=6642b93d&is=664167bd&hm=e57c0e0d7fc70d61d4025fc832bee0267ba17dd1977b1390220df850e02037e8&=&format=webp&quality=lossless&width=1277&height=668>
Ed Greenwood — 12/31/2023 12:53 PM
I like this map very much. To make it "perfect" (ha) I would make the following changes: 1. in the sea just viewer's right of the central meridian (between the lowest latitude mark-like and the one above it), an arc like a flattened "C" of islands, with a few scattered either side of it, and three big islands along the center of the arc = The Ranthram chain/2. The Ice Run needs more islands to the uppermost right (i.e. thicken the line of islands into a belt)/ and lastly, 3. Marranth needs to look SLIGHTLY less like a drooping pizza slice, by "bumping it out" westwards in a bulge shaped a little like Senegal and Guinea and the coastal countries (The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Liberia) of real-world Africa, located along the west coast of Marranth from the second red squiggly line south of the legend "Marranth" down to the fourth squiggly line south of that word. Then I'd be REALLY happy with the map. :} |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 May 2024 : 04:21:04
On Thay Rangers
Black Rabbit (coinín dubh) — 12/31/2023 2:13 AM
Hello saers @Ed Greenwood, @ericlboyd and @George Krashos :
I was recently reading Elminster’s Ecologies, particularly the Great Gray Land of Thar volume. In it, the narrator, Tylssa Strongbow, mentions they belong to the “Thay Rangers” who serve as guides, scouts, rangers and hunters “to protect and look after the interest of freelancers in the region.” Is “Thay” a misprint and it should be Thar Rangers? If not a misprint, what is their connection to Thay? Is there any more information about them outside of Elminster’s Ecologies and are they still active in late 15th century DR?
Ed Greenwood — 12/31/2023 10:25 AM
It is a misprint. "Thar Rangers" it should be. Unfortunately, they were wiped out as an organization in 1394 DR; a few scattered individuals survive, and have trained replacements (often their children), but in the 1490s DR they are a handful, not a formidable fighting force. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 May 2024 : 04:18:14
On Pink Dragons in the Forgotten Realms
Melody — 12/28/2023 7:33 AM
@Ed Greenwood Ed! I can't help it. I have to ask. Do Pink Dragons actually exist in the Forgotten Realms? :MelodyTeehee: They're so derpy I love it. And if they do, are there any named Pink Dragons that live in particular locations?
Ed Greenwood — 12/28/2023 2:25 PM
Oh, yes, but they are VERY rare; perhaps twenty in all are known to exist “now” (circa the end of the 1490s DR). When they breed, with any other sort of dragon (and they are choosy, detesting aggressive or vain wyrms), their offspring is usually that of the other sort of dragon; their innate magic has to “come alive” as they are internally producing their eggs for the hatchlings (1-3, but almost always only one) to be pink dragons.
“Pink dragon” is the colloquial name, of course; to sages, they are rosrarr dragons.
And as of 1496 DR, we know of these pink dragon individuals:
Galahlahothlor, an adult female, dwells in a series of mountain caverns high in the easternmost peaks that flank Raurin (on the south).
Meeiarrora, an ancient female, dwells under Mount Urelhond, in the mountains juest east of the southern end of Icelace Lake, in Narfell.
Sazeztlorund, a young male, lives in caves under Azrrhat, in Anauroch.
Mahront, an adult male, lives in “the Maw,” a large cavern visible in the eastern face of the Nountfang, in the Graypeak Mountains overlooking the forests that mark the northern edge of the Lonely Moor.
The folk of Sammarash have seen a “gigantic, and vigorous” pink dragon hunting over the Mhair Jungles, and its flights suggest it doesn’t lair far away, but its precise lair, and its name, aren’t certain. The sage Halvaerand Beltorn of Lushpool believes that this is the adult male known as Pelarrand, but other sages say this is mere conjecture on his part. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 May 2024 : 04:15:58
On the mightier archmage between Elminster and Santa
Cdawg — 12/27/2023 11:35 PM
Who is the mightier archmage between Elminster and Santa? Santa displays astonishing magical speed, transportation, strength, divination, and appetite abilities. You've written nearly all of Elminster's mighty feats and know others we have never seen. They both appear to have a tailor in common.
Ed Greenwood — 12/28/2023 1:52 PM
Santa, of course. He IS a deity, on many worlds. Elminster is merely a "special" servitor of the most powerful deity of one world. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 May 2024 : 02:51:46
On what do members of the Cult of the Dragon call their own organization
Doc Webb — 12/28/2023 12:37 AM
Happy Hogswatch, @Ed Greenwood ! A decidedly non-seasonal question, if I may: what do members of the Cult of the Dragon call their own organization? Do they really call it a cult internally? If so, does that term have different connotations in the Realms? If not, what name(s) do they prefer?
Thanks so much for everything you do!
Ed Greenwood — 12/28/2023 1:51 PM
Happy Hogswatch to you, too! They refer to themselves as The Wearers of the Purple formally, and "Scalesworn" in daily parlance. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 07 May 2024 : 07:12:15
On wearing a hood up
Malarite — 12/19/2023 7:29 PM
In different locations of the realms including cormyr: How common is constantly wearing a hood up? What weather and situations would that behavior be suspicious to guards or the average tavern goer?
Ed Greenwood — 12/20/2023 6:27 AM
Not common, but not a red flag; it would lead most folk to conclude that the wearer was disfigured and sensitive about it, like someone who got their nose or an ear or both sliced off in battle, or someone with leprosy or another disfiguring disease. It is NOT the habit of some celebrity (like royalty) trying to go out in public in disguise, as it's hardly a subtle disguise. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 07 May 2024 : 07:07:09
On a streamed Q&A specifically about the Forest Kingdom
Brian Cortijo — 12/16/2023 12:39 AM
So, @Ed Greenwood : what are the odds of us opening up the floor to some Cormyr questions in preparation for a streamed Q&A specifically about the Forest Kingdom (which questions submitted in advance so we can provide fulsome answers and screen for NDA topics)?
Ed Greenwood — 12/16/2023 3:25 PM
Really good, I'd say. ;} Or to put in another way, let's do it: bring on thy Cormyr questions, all, here and now. My personal availability is scant this weekend and the week to come, and given the holidays and family, many of us will be under similar constraints. I'm also busy at New Year's (Toronto-area public Realms event New Year's Eve, details to be announced soon), and then unavailable again from the 10-27th of January, filming. However, we should be able to schedule around those obstacles! I've been holding off on heavy Cormy content in my lore videos for a chance at something like this... |
| questing gm |
Posted - 07 May 2024 : 07:03:50
On when El gets to use his secret hideout on Coliar
stormer454 — 12/11/2023 5:08 PM
@Ed Greenwood How often does El get to use his secret hideout on Coliar and at this point what would he even use it for?
Ed Greenwood — 12/12/2023 2:48 AM
It's used these days mainly to hide relices and artifacts and particular magic items for a time, taking them "off the table" on Toril to prevent their misuse. So El doesn't visit it all that often. (He's the one being who makes me look lazy.) |
| questing gm |
Posted - 07 May 2024 : 07:00:09
On how various faiths go about proselytizing people
Melody — 12/10/2023 12:54 AM
Hey @Ed Greenwood! I've always been curious about how priests, divine champions, and the general faithful of various faiths go about proselytizing people. Since my understanding is they don't really have "Bibles" complete with various stories, wisdoms, etc, how do they convince people to join?
Is it simply word of mouth and personal experiences? Demonstrations of magic? Do they have any literature at all?
I'm particularly curious how, say, Milil's Harmonious Order might go about reaching people for the faith, or Tempus' Order of the Steel Fangs. Do they wander about the countryside simply doing heroic deeds? Do they even bother trying to convert people?
I'm trying to grapple with "First Principles" in the way the faiths get their points across and induct people.
This is mostly for my own edification, to be sure I'm roleplaying Melody correctly as a member of the Harmonious Order and a Mililan. But I'm curious writ large for various faiths!
Ed Greenwood — 12/10/2023 1:26 PM
Here’s a short version: all sane sentient beings in the Realms old enough to speak and understand speech around them “believe in” all the gods. No one needs to be proselytized. There’s no “joining” one faith at the expense of another.
What there is, is…competition among faiths for offerings, services to (or assistance for) a temple or shrine or traveling priest, and for attention. As in, listening to what mortal clergy preach, or tell you the deity wants, or what the church of that deity (i.e. them, the mortal clergy) want you to do, or sponsor, or participate in.
And for all of those, mortal clergy do tend to have holy books (of things the deity has said or done, or tales of how mortals were aided or guided by the god) that they read from, show, and sometimes hand out free chapbooks of extracts from.
Clergies do use magic to demonstrate the power or favour or disfavour of their deity, they do repeat holy sayings and wisdoms, they do travel and do both heroic and helpful deeds, and they do try to awe and inspire laity so the inspired will spread by word of mouth reverence of, and respect and awe for, “their” deity.
Members of the Harmonious Order will often play music, sing, and perform for entertainment, or at a funeral to soothe and comfort, or in a community in turmoil, to guide and uplift and placate, and they will often sing or chant “charms” to reassure parents that ill luck or disease/illness is being driven away from a sick child/infant, and so on.
For some folk in the Realms, they turn from one church to another on a “what have you done for me lately” fashion. Others remember lifelong—and even longer, within a family or clan, by tales told and retold and passed down—of when a particular deity “was there for us, in our moment of need.” |
| questing gm |
Posted - 07 May 2024 : 06:26:46
On free will in predetermined fate
gdallison — 11/29/2023 6:36 PM
Hi @Ed Greenwood , a question about prophecies if you will.
One of my assumptions is that mortals have free will. It is the basis for the soul economy of the outer planes (mortals choose to believe and that generates power, also fiends bargain and corrupt souls which again provides power or currency and all requires free will and for fate to be undetermined).
Yet we have prophecies that predict certain events. Sometimes these prophecies are vague and could be met by any number of events, and yet sometimes (the bhaalspawn saga and the threat from the sea prophecies) the prophecy is quite specific.
How does free will work with an almost predetermined fate. And how do prophecies and a predetermined event work.
My own personal theory revolves around belief. If enough people believe something is going to happen then it is more likely to happen, although those key individuals involved in the event can choose not to take part in which case the prophecy / event has to change to include new people or occur later.
So as an example, in threat from the sea we have a lot of prophecies about iakhovas return (which I believe he created and spread to make events turn out a certain way). The belief in that prophecy caused things to turn out the way they did, especially because iakhovas was willing to take part. Jherek however also had a part in the prophecy and while he chose not to believe then iakhovas would survive. Once he used his free will to believe then the event changed to cause iakhovas death (I believe eldath and oghma and lathander spread this part of the prophecy and altered the original prophecy iakhovas spread).
Am I close? Do prophecies and free will work differently. Do certain mortals not have free will and their fates are predetermined. Or are we just not meant to think about these things too hard.
Ed Greenwood — 11/30/2023 12:07 AM
I've written about this many times. Prophecies (and curse warnings) in the Realms tend to be propaganda spread by clergies (or guilds, or wizards) to sway the behaviour of others, including well into the future. No Realms deity is infallible, all-seeing, and having absolute power, so prophecies CANNOT be iron-clad destiny for anyone. Clergy also "edit" the pronouncements they've heard (presumably from "their" deity) in altars and at prayer, to leave out lots of "unless this" branches (and this is where the deeds and decisions of free-willed mortals come in: they can, however unwittingly, "sort through the branches" to decide outcomes). So, yes, free will prevails, prophecies are more guidance than reliable prediction, and many prophecies are cryptic or more warning than prescription. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 07 May 2024 : 06:11:08
On funerary rites of dwarves in Galena Mountains/Moonsea North
Black Rabbit (coinín dubh) — 11/29/2023 11:36 PM
@Ed Greenwood a somber request: in our last session, a young Shield Dwarf NPC bystander died and the Paladin in the group wants to make a side quest to return the young dwarf’s body to her family. I have looked online and briefly in the Candlekeep forums with no consensus answer. Would you know what the shield dwarves of the Galena Mountains/Moonsea North do for their funerary rites or point to a source to find this information?
Ed Greenwood — 11/30/2023 12:01 AM
See my sourcebook FR11 DWARVES DEEP (pages 11 and 29) for some details. When a body can't be recovered, a weapon or tool used by the fallen is interred, with a runestone marker briefly telling their tale (e.g. "Faelra, daughter of Jundra and Ilbromm, fair of hair and kind speech, slayer of orcs, staunch shieldmaiden, fell protecting her kin [date]. A good [clan] dwarf.") A body goes into a stone sarcophagus with the same sort of inscribed runestone set into a recess in the top (just resting there, it can be freely lifted out and put back). The funeral service itself varies with family wishes, the clan customs, and the officiating clergy (which deity), but always includes a mourners' chant as the body processes to its burial, and a presiding priest standing over the body telling of the death and of the importance of the dwarf in life, ere the body is put into the sarcophagus (by family members, if any are available and willing; they arrange the body with any funeral goods such as favourite weapons or tools or art objects the fallen made, e.g. paintings or statuettes). After the interment, clergy sing a dirge, then everyone goes to where the clan (or family, only if no clan is involved) has prepared a feast, which usually turns into a wake. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 07 May 2024 : 06:07:33
On lycanthropes' black blood
Malarite — 11/27/2023 12:20 AM
Followers of Malar will sometimes refer to their lycanthrope kin/selves as 'Black Blooded' for example when huntmaster Rusk says in Black Wolf: "You cant hurt me with mortal weapons. Mine is the Black Blood." ... Is this literal? Do lycanthropes actually have black blood? If so, when would that start being the case? Are there any other ways a werewolf might know to confirm who is of their kind? (I imagine the public is absolutely filled with both true and false rumors about how to parse out a werewolf).
Ed Greenwood — 11/29/2023 2:34 AM
No, it refers to the (correct) belief that the blood of a lycanthrope shifts hue from reddish to black AS THEY ARE SHIFTING SHAPE, and then is red once more. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 07 May 2024 : 06:05:02
On prime movers of the multiverse
cuddlypooface — 11/28/2023 8:43 PM
Hi @Ed Greenwood ! I'm new here so apologies if this has been asked before... I recently read through the Avatar series and personally loved the characters and dynamics between Cyric, Mystra and Kelemvor in particular. At the end of the 5th book is the line from Cyric "You helped me see that I am not the Prime Mover of the Multiverse... But that can be changed". What is / are the Prime Mover(s) of the Multiverse? Is this a reference to Ao / more powerful beings in general or is this a term for actual beings that can control the fates beyond the gods / Ao / those in this crystal sphere?
Ed Greenwood — 11/29/2023 2:28 AM
This is in reference to a belief, popular among the ambitious/those who seek power, that there is a being or title/position of Prime Mover of the Multiverse. Various priesthoods have said that "their" god is secretly the Prime Mover, so this has been written down in many holy texts. However, if we can believe Ao (and it's "if" because EVERYONE is an unreliable narrator), there is no such being, or title/position, and never has been. Cyric is less than sane now, and was self-centered/a little delusional about his own capabilities and importance then, so he may have meant what he said literally. If, say, Mirt or Elminster or even Khelben had uttered those words, they would clearly have been speaking ironically. And would have meant the term to apply to uber-powerful beings beyond the constraints of Ao. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 07 May 2024 : 04:21:22
On other surnames a traveling Minstrelwish might use
Sheepy — 11/20/2023 1:57 AM
Friend @Ed Greenwood, the Minstrelwish family continues to intrigue me. Are there any other surnames a traveling Minstrelwish might use, like perhaps the name of a lesser branch of the family?
Ed Greenwood — 11/26/2023 11:58 AM
Yes. The most popular surname used by Minstrelwishes who don't want to advertise their infamous lineage is "Ryvel." Another is "Tanornorn." Both are legit last names borne by branches of the vast Minstrelwish family tree. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 07 May 2024 : 04:18:37
On name given to the war in the Vast
Juniper Churlgo — 11/15/2023 1:45 AM
Hi Ed, is there an official flowery name given to the war in the Vast - Ravens Bluff vs Myrkissa Jalain? dry "war of ravens bluff" sounds too nondescript, especially compared to other conflicts in the realms with propper names.
Ed Greenwood — 11/26/2023 11:54 AM
I wouldn't say "flowery," and it's a local term in the city, not something embraced by sages, but folk of the Bluff call it "The Three Women War" (yes, they know all three were really one; the phrase is sardonic). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 06 May 2024 : 06:55:13
On republics in the Realms
Aravalar Eveningfall — 11/26/2023 11:02 AM
Unto the High Master of the Realms @Ed Greenwood and all and sundry others unto whom these presents shall come, a question. Why are there so few republics in the realms? Other than Turmish and a few of the Dales, the concept seems mostly alien to the Realms, although I guess an arguement could be made that Myth Nantar is one. Is the influence of Siamorphe and Nobanion part of the reason?
Ed Greenwood — 11/26/2023 11:49 AM
The reason we see so few republics in Faerûn these days (above the city level; there are LOTS of cities that have openly-elected ruling councils composed of representatives of the people) is that the Realms has seen many that squabbled, making decisions slowly or not at all, because there was no "party" system, and if voting blocs are evenly matched or too small to obtain majorities, consensus can be hard to reach...and then someone with wealth and power, like a "big" merchant or a guild or "old money" (nobles, titled or not) gets impatient and starts assassinating or mounting coups...and away goes the republic. The Realms is not an analogue of the real world, and is not going to progress historically as the real world did, because the real world lacked widespread zap-bang magic, and has had a lot more chicanery in the name of faith (hard to manage in the Realms, where gods can step in to stop it). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 06 May 2024 : 06:44:12
On tea leaves and flavors in Waterdeep
Reedhalloran Duskfellow — 11/15/2023 2:44 PM
In the city of Waterdeep, I would imagine there's much more than just local infusions especially in the winter. Where are the primary sources of leaves coming from and do we have any flavor descriptions?
Ed Greenwood — 11/26/2023 11:41 AM
Teas have been covered in official Realmslore, and ibn my replies at Candlekeep. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 06 May 2024 : 04:06:03
On Ed's Appendix N
Busy Bob — 10/14/2023 12:14 PM
My son and I attended Candlekeep Presents at GenCon 2023. My son asked if Ed had an equivalent to Appendix N he would like to share. Ed paused and asked Ivan to take a note that he needed to create one. Did that happen? Or will it happen? (First post-not sure I’m posting in correct channel)
George Krashos — 10/15/2023 11:58 AM
Appendix N?
Brian Cortijo — 10/15/2023 12:12 PM
Ed was asked if he had important/foundational books that he would recommend as part of his worldbuilding, similar to the Appendix N in the original Dungeon Master's Guide. He began to rattle off some books, before I warned everyone that Ed's day job is recommending books, and that we would be there the whole seminar just listing sources if we let him.
Busy Bob — 10/15/2023 2:50 PM
@Brian Cortijo forgive me for not knowing all the players in this arena, but I think you may have been the gentleman up front who shared some details about your two(?) kids. A detail my son shares. Of course we wouldn’t want to press over hard, he was just genuinely interested in how that appendix may have expanded over the years. He’s exhausted my physical library and my kindle collection. He went right out and read all of Erin’s books. He is currently burning through Moorcock. We all recognize that people are busy but a part of him is thinking “any day now.” So I was just curious.
Busy Bob — 11/16/2023 12:36 PM
Thought I’d give it another check in.
Ed Greenwood — 11/26/2023 11:38 AM
I remain CRAZY-busy, but when it comes to fantasy fiction classics, here are some foundational go-tos of mine, in no particular order (warning: these are all “adult” books), that show you worldbuilding:
The Face In The Frost by John Bellairs
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
A Song For Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay
The Amber Saga (10 books: Nine Princes In Amber is the first) by Roger Zelazny
Jack of Shadows by Roger Zelazny
Roadmarks by Roger Zelazny
A Night In The Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny
The Saga of Pliocene Exile by Julian May (4 books, the first being The Many-Colored Land) [sf]
The Well World series by Jack Chalker (the first one is all you need: Midnight At The Well of Souls) [sf]
The Boreal Moon Tale (trilogy) by Julian May (the first is Conqueror’s Moon)
The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner
The Fire’s Stone by Tanya Huff
A Riddle of Stars/The Riddlemaster of Hed trilogy (the first one is The Riddlemaster of Hed) by Patricia McKillip
The Hero And The Crown and The Blue Sword by Robin S. McKinley
Showboat World by Jack Vance (prequel is a novel called “Big Planet”)
The Dying Earth series by Jack Vance (the first one is the short story collection The Dying Earth)
The (first) Earthsea trilogy by Ursula K. LeGuin (A Wizard Of Earthsea is the first)
The Fahrd & the Gray Mouser series by Fritz Leiber (the first two, Swords And Deviltry and Swords Against Death, are the most useful in this context)
................................................................Part 2 follows...............
The Lord D’Arcy series by Randall Garrett (there’s one novel, Too Many Magicians, the rest are short stories that have been collected under various titles: the Baen “Lord Darcy” has them all in one book)
The Gossamer Mage by Julie E. Czerneda
The Phoenix Guards by Steven Brust (part of a series, but start with just this one)
The Merovingen Nights series by C.J. Cherryh (the first is Angel With The Sword)
The Morgaine stories (4 books) by C. J. Cherryh (the first is The Gate of Ivrel)
The Witch World series by Andre Norton (long series: all you need in this context is the novel The Crystal Gryphon and the short story “The Toads of Grimmerdale”)
The Warlock In Spite Of Himself by Christopher Stasheff (first in the long Warlock series, but just this one will do as a start)
Brian was right: I can on for pages, so this list is by no means exhaustive. No Discworld books, for one thing, and no sampling of Conan, and no “stuff in all the essential classics” (yet ;} )
Busy Bob — 11/27/2023 1:56 AM
You’ve made a young man very happy. Though he is a bit impressed with himself for the ones he’s already read. You were very generous and patient when we attended the panel and here as well. Thank you.
Ed Greenwood — 11/27/2023 5:44 AM
You're very welcome! I wish him the joy of reading the ones that are new to him for the first time!!!! |
| questing gm |
Posted - 06 May 2024 : 04:01:45
On catching Elminster's Traveling Spellbook
Melody — 11/02/2023 8:21 AM
@Ed Greenwood Because I have to ask the important questions:
Did Alias and Dragonbait ever catch Elminster's Traveling Spellbook? :MelodyTeehee:
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Ed Greenwood — 11/02/2023 9:41 AM
Yes, and discovered it had a swapout defense: if you weren't Elminster, you found yourself in possession of a spellbook containing 17 first level spells, not the real thing. ;} |
| questing gm |
Posted - 06 May 2024 : 03:57:59
On the doppelganger in the Haunted Halls
rweston_DnD — 11/01/2023 4:44 AM
Hi @Ed Greenwood ! Hope Halloween is treating you kindly,
Another Haunted Halls query- what is going on with the doppelganger? Is he alone? Working for whisper? Stumbled through a gate? Does he even know about Eveningstar?
Ed Greenwood — 11/01/2023 11:06 AM
You speak as if there’s only one doppelganger. ;} |
| questing gm |
Posted - 06 May 2024 : 03:51:29
On how Asmodeus is categorized in Ed's home Realms campaign
Zeph — 11/01/2023 7:58 AM
Hello @Ed Greenwood ! It's become a recurring question for me and my friends as of late so I was curious. In your home forgotten realms campaign or how you run him, what is Asmodeus currently categorized as. I've seen differing opinions ranging from Archdevil, to Lesser Deity, to Greater Deity. If you are at liberty to elaborate, roughly where is he as far as your concerned. Additionally is his true from the traditional devil avatar in Nessus?
Thanks for your time!
Sheepy — 11/01/2023 8:40 AM
My classification for him is "big bad evil guy you don't want to come anywhere near messing with."
Ed Greenwood — 11/01/2023 11:04 AM
Heh. I agree with Sheepy when it comes to a practical working classificiation for Asmodeus (whose name can be pronounced “Az-moe-DAY-us” or “Azz-MOE-dee-us,” BTW; either is correct and will be heard by him, though he prefers the latter). He is both “the” Archdevil (by far the most powerful archdevil) and a deity, his power magnified by the Nine Hells so that within the Hells, he’s a greater deity, but the moment he reaches or travels beyond them, he’s a Lesser Deity at best. His true form is a horned, faceless tall and gaunt satyr-like figure (goat’s legs with cloven hooves, and a goat’s tail), but he prefers to appear as a burlier, taller, long-neat-beard-adorned man with a face rather like that of the real-world actor Vincent Price (see the illustration in the original Monster Manual). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 06 May 2024 : 03:47:57
On tips for getting reinspired when you have to plan as a DM
Reedhalloran Duskfellow — 10/24/2023 10:29 PM
Hi @Ed Greenwood, as a forever DM (More than anyone else in the world probably), what are your tips for getting reinspired when you have to plan but you're not feeling it?
Ed Greenwood — 10/24/2023 11:55 PM
I put myself mentally into the head of, or over the shoulder of, one of the NPCs/monsters involved and think about what they're striving for, or most want out of what's going to be the next PC/them encounter. Or if clashing factions/cabals/guilds/authorities are involved, what might happen if various outcomes ensue. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 03 May 2024 : 04:13:26
On percentage of the Realms worked out that is not yet published
Reedhalloran Duskfellow — 10/02/2023 11:22 AM
Hello dear @Ed Greenwood just a note to say thank you. But if I must ask a question I'll make it non-lore specific one:
If you had to estimate, What percentage of the realms do you have worked out that is not yet published? Feel free to tease us mercilessly and let our imaginations run wild.
Ed Greenwood — 10/06/2023 12:34 PM
I do have outlines of the lands on several continents, an overview coming up as a video and Patreon writeup, and a lot more lore on places like Sossal than has been published thus far; my vids and Patreon efforts seek to fill in a lot of those gaps in a bare-bones manner. I’ve never worked out percentages, though: I’m just too busy. |
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