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Originally posted by TheIriaeban

It took Azoun 15 years to get cheesed enough to go do something about it? Maybe they didn't start taxing trade until the early 370s?

Also, is the Tun river navigable by ship for some distance inland from the Lake of Dragons? Maybe they were getting goods up that way until there was an earthquake or something that shut down that route and they HAD to build the road.

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Originally posted by Gary Dallison

A short novelette by RAS appears to be a fight scene followed by some Twilight Movie level of brooding and soul searching.

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Originally posted by Gary Dallison

Not much lore in the last two novelettes.

Grandfathers Toys was a missing person novel, showing off Galvin (from Red Magic) and his druid abilities as he tries to find a missing girl.
Not an excellent book, not filled with lore either, but going fairly well until it mentions a sea elf city of Mercia just off the Dragon Reach that make mechanical machines to harvest kelp etc. Why would a sea elf create a mechanical sea crab to harvest kelp when such a creature would operate poorly underwater (they'd be better off doing it themselves), and they build these sea crabs with controls inside and make them air tight (which would be mostly useless to aquatic elves).


The Curse of Tegea is very divine focused. A duke cast a spell in the time of troubles and was transformed into a hideous beast, he then cursed Tegea and cut it off from the gods.
However, Adon's spells work after a fashion so its not clear how the curse works. Spells work but talking to deities dont (and i hate talking to deities, especially when Adon claims Mystra told him that Midnight is just an avatar and is nothing more than a memory now).
I think i might make the curse just a wild magic area rather than a divine barrier, works better (even though Adon claims Mystra's clerics can cast spells in wild magic areas).
Lord GOrgias being trapped in a mirror fragment seems like a decent opportunity to introduce a nasty item with a fell sentience and a recurring villain if he ever escapes his imprisonment.

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Originally posted by Gary Dallison
Well, it's a long way from the Western Heartlands to Cormyr, especially when that land was forested wilderness at the time.

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Originally posted by TheIriaeban

Valashar was founded in 361 DR. Azoun and his army fought them in 376 DR. It was in response to me saying it took 15 years before Azoun got angry enough to do something about Valashar taxing merchants.

Edit: Oh, and if the history of the Darkhold as delineated in the Secrets of the Darkhold DMs Guild product is accurate (Ed was listed as being involved in that product so it is possible it could be canon), there was a Giant Emperor in the Darkhold up until around 400 DR. That could be a significant power in the area.

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Originally posted by George Krashos

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Originally posted by TheIriaeban

Valashar was founded in 361 DR. Azoun and his army fought them in 376 DR. It was in response to me saying it took 15 years before Azoun got angry enough to do something about Valashar taxing merchants.

Edit: Oh, and if the history of the Darkhold as delineated in the Secrets of the Darkhold DMs Guild product is accurate (Ed was listed as being involved in that product so it is possible it could be canon), there was a Giant Emperor in the Darkhold up until around 400 DR. That could be a significant power in the area.

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Valashar was founded in 321 DR.

And Ed provided the Pereghost backstory and advice re the geography of the region to the developers of that product, not the history part.

-- George Krashos

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Originally posted by TheIriaeban

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Originally posted by George Krashos

quote:

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Originally posted by TheIriaeban

Valashar was founded in 361 DR. Azoun and his army fought them in 376 DR. It was in response to me saying it took 15 years before Azoun got angry enough to do something about Valashar taxing merchants.

Edit: Oh, and if the history of the Darkhold as delineated in the Secrets of the Darkhold DMs Guild product is accurate (Ed was listed as being involved in that product so it is possible it could be canon), there was a Giant Emperor in the Darkhold up until around 400 DR. That could be a significant power in the area.

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Valashar was founded in 321 DR.

And Ed provided the Pereghost backstory and advice re the geography of the region to the developers of that product, not the history part.

-- George Krashos

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So, the notes in the FR Wiki, which specifically mentions you, is incorrect? https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Valashar_(kingdom)

And THANK YOU for that clarification.

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Originally posted by George Krashos
Well, as a fan I can do what I want - and have - but as a scholar of the Realms, I don't like to invalidate the dates in GHotR unless I have to absolutely do so. But in checking my "home timeline", I can see I did absolutely that - I have gone with the 361 DR founding date.

And delving back further, I can see that the last draft GHotR timeline that we handed in went with the 361 DR date. Someone after that went back and looked at Lands of Intrigue obviously (and Demihuman Deities as well, p.164) and added in the 321 DR date again. On top of that they added in in an anomalous 356 DR date as well which is ... plain wrong and clearly given the "35 years" reference, someone struggling to tie it all in. No idea who that might have been at TSR although Kim Mohan (who did a great job) was our editor.

So in a nutshell, yes, you are right. 361 and 376 are THE dates and the 321 and 356 in GHotR should be consigned to the historical dust bin.

And in relation to the 15 years bit, the 361 DR reference makes it clear that it's sorting out its neighbours first before expanding north - hence the Meiritin reference. It should also be noted that when Valashar was founded Shoon VII was still in power - a far more subtle and calculating individual than his successor Shaani in 367 DR who was very expansionistic and clearly gave Ashar the "green light" in 376 DR; and then was too weak to do much about Crown Prince Azoun's marauding foray into Shoon lands, Alexander the Great style.

-- George Krashos

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Originally posted by Gary Dallison
So here's my thought. The shadevar are detailed in the malebdar, it's an encyclopedia, but it was written by many authors over many centuries and I doubt verraketh allowed it to be written while he was alive (containing secrets about his best stuff) which means it was written after the events, probably by everard farseer, hence his love of the book.

The authors confused the pets of verraketh with the shadevar of legend which they probably heard of from netherese migrants. It cant be a coincidence that shadovar and shadevar are similar words and that there are 13 shadevar and 13 sons of telemont tanthul.

So these shadevar were just monsters created by verraketh, possibly out of his own children and time corrupted the tales

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Originally posted by Gary Dallison

Spoil away, I'm reading it for the lore, not the experience. I dont recall much more being revealed in the crypt novels so perhaps it's in the next one but I'm a good few novels away from that

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Originally posted by ericlboyd

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Originally posted by Gary Dallison

Spoil away, I'm reading it for the lore, not the experience. I dont recall much more being revealed in the crypt novels so perhaps it's in the next one but I'm a good few novels away from that

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I would recommend readding both novels and all the short stories together. You get a comprehensive view of the lore from the region and there are lots of ties between them you might not remember if you space them apart.

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Originally posted by Gary Dallison

One in realms of valour featuring tyveris

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