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Brian R. James
Forgotten Realms Game Designer
USA
1098 Posts |
 Posted - 10 Aug 2010 : 03:08:34
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quote:
Originally posted by Dalor Darden
I think the Varm are a tribe now...
Centuries past The Ride was indeed known as the Varm, named after the predominate tribe of horse nomads in the region. Today the Varm tribe is greatly diminished, their numbers ever lessened by more aggressive tribes like the Vaegould. Despite their current ill fortune, the Varm remain the only trueblood descendants of the progenitor culture which founded the Citadel of the Raven.
So, yes the Varm is both a geographic location and the name of a human tribe with a storied legacy. |
Brian R. James - Freelance Game Designer
Follow me on Twitter @brianrjames |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 10 Aug 2010 : 03:37:32
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Wait...the Varm are "pureblood" of the original race eh?
Sweet! I nailed that one on the head...
Now...what about these Horreb eh?  |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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Brian R. James
Forgotten Realms Game Designer
USA
1098 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2010 : 16:22:02
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I'm impressed by all the research you're doing for The Ride Dalor. I look forward to reading your work on the region when it's completed. As to your PM (which I cannot respond to because my Candlekeep mailbox is full), I have no plans currently to write anything more for the region. Though at some point I'd welcome an opportunity to write a sequel to Monument of the Ancients.
As to the Horreb: I like the path your following with the Thri-kreen and the Spellweavers. I'd also suggest to you that the Horreb likely had contact with the empires of Mulhorand and/or Unther. I envision the pyramid on Sorceror's Isle being an embassy of sorts within Horreb controlled lands. |
Brian R. James - Freelance Game Designer
Follow me on Twitter @brianrjames |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2010 : 18:13:18
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quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James
I'm impressed by all the research you're doing for The Ride Dalor. I look forward to reading your work on the region when it's completed. As to your PM (which I cannot respond to because my Candlekeep mailbox is full), I have no plans currently to write anything more for the region. Though at some point I'd welcome an opportunity to write a sequel to Monument of the Ancients.
As to the Horreb: I like the path your following with the Thri-kreen and the Spellweavers. I'd also suggest to you that the Horreb likely had contact with the empires of Mulhorand and/or Unther. I envision the pyramid on Sorceror's Isle being an embassy of sorts within Horreb controlled lands.
I had thought about the origins of the Pyramid too...especially because it is metallic.
Then I found this in Dragon #338 concerning the Spellweavers:
quote:
"...In this forgotten time, the Spellweaver empire consisted of a vast league of colonies, called nodes, which spanned the multi-verse. Huge pyramids of stone and steel..."
Now, the pyramid on sorcerers isle isn't as massive as these; but it goes on in the article to speak about the collapse of the empire and the left behind remnants founding small enclaves.
I've considered the origins of the Spellweavers heavily, and the Thri-Kreen as to how they are intertwined, and I think I've come to a wonderful idea.
More soon for all. The ideas have meshed and coalesced, so now I just have to fine tune the writing. |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3563 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2010 : 18:40:48
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quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James
SNIP...... As to your PM (which I cannot respond to because my Candlekeep mailbox is full),
Brian,
Markus, The Sage or another scribe gave me a cheat around the full box. Just click on the scrbes name , them click to send them a pm and it will let you send one regardless of how many pm's are stuffed in your inbox! |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Bakra
Senior Scribe
628 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2010 : 19:04:36
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quote:
Originally posted by Dalor Darden
quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James
I'm impressed by all the research you're doing for The Ride Dalor. I look forward to reading your work on the region when it's completed. As to your PM (which I cannot respond to because my Candlekeep mailbox is full), I have no plans currently to write anything more for the region. Though at some point I'd welcome an opportunity to write a sequel to Monument of the Ancients.
As to the Horreb: I like the path your following with the Thri-kreen and the Spellweavers. I'd also suggest to you that the Horreb likely had contact with the empires of Mulhorand and/or Unther. I envision the pyramid on Sorceror's Isle being an embassy of sorts within Horreb controlled lands.
I had thought about the origins of the Pyramid too...especially because it is metallic.
Then I found this in Dragon #338 concerning the Spellweavers:
quote:
"...In this forgotten time, the Spellweaver empire consisted of a vast league of colonies, called nodes, which spanned the multi-verse. Huge pyramids of stone and steel..."
Now, the pyramid on sorcerers isle isn't as massive as these; but it goes on in the article to speak about the collapse of the empire and the left behind remnants founding small enclaves.
I've considered the origins of the Spellweavers heavily, and the Thri-Kreen as to how they are intertwined, and I think I've come to a wonderful idea.
More soon for all. The ideas have meshed and coalesced, so now I just have to fine tune the writing.
The pyramid on Sorcerer’s Isle may be bigger than it looks. There could be hidden levels leading deeper into the earth or the hidden levels could be residing on a pocket plane. Yarash spent most of his time building large equipment then running mutation experiments. So it could be possible he never had a chance to fully explore the place. Or maybe he has fully explored it. We really don’t know how deep the machinery went in the game.
Some extra information you probably don’t need to know: I believe Yarash experimentations on the lizardmen came from old scrolls from one of the Creator Races. (the Sarrukh)
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I hope Candlekeep continues to be the friendly forum of fellow Realms-lovers that it has always been, as we all go through this together. If you don’t want to move to the “new” Realms, that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with either you or the “old” Realms. Goodness knows Candlekeep, and the hearts of its scribes, are both big enough to accommodate both. If we want them to be.
(Strikes dramatic pose, raises sword to gleam in the sunset, and hopes breeches won’t fall down.)
Enough for now. The Realms lives! I have spoken! Ale and light wines half price, served by a smiling Storm Silverhand fetchingly clad in thigh-high boots and naught else! Ahem . .
So saith Ed. <snip>
love to all,
THO
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2010 : 20:20:44
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Funny you mention that!
I had thought that it could only be the tip of the iceberg!
I don't want to muck up Brian's area; so I'll start a new thread.  |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2010 : 04:43:26
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Hey Brian,
You wrote the bit on Vaasa, and you and your brother Matt wrote the Monument of the Ancients adventure; so I thought this would be a good one for you:
The Vercy Wood. What can you tell me about it. Pre-Spellplague it did not exist at all...so I'm guessing it is a woodland of new growth that has grown over the past hundred years OR it is a magical wood of some sort that sprang up. What have ye fine sage? |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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Rhewtani
Senior Scribe
USA
508 Posts |
Posted - 24 Aug 2010 : 23:44:43
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quote:
... possibly Tyranthraxus (though the details of that entity's subjugation haven't seen print yet).
Wonder if Bane's name had been Baron Schodt long ago. |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 24 Aug 2010 : 23:50:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Rhewtani
quote:
... possibly Tyranthraxus (though the details of that entity's subjugation haven't seen print yet).
Wonder if Bane's name had been Baron Schodt long ago.
Man...I tell you what...you are really thinking outside the box today Rhewtani! |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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Brian R. James
Forgotten Realms Game Designer
USA
1098 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2010 : 22:10:43
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quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
[quote]Originally posted by Brian R. James
Brian,
Markus, The Sage or another scribe gave me a cheat around the full box. Just click on the scrbes name, them click to send them a pm and it will let you send one regardless of how many pm's are stuffed in your inbox!
Thanks for that kind sir. That "feature" has been driving me nuts! |
Brian R. James - Freelance Game Designer
Follow me on Twitter @brianrjames |
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Brian R. James
Forgotten Realms Game Designer
USA
1098 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2010 : 22:15:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Dalor Darden
The Vercy Wood. What can you tell me about it. Pre-Spellplague it did not exist at all...so I'm guessing it is a woodland of new growth that has grown over the past hundred years OR it is a magical wood of some sort that sprang up. What have ye fine sage?
You could look at it in one of two ways. A) The woods have always been there, just never before appeared on a map of the region B) The woods appeared sometime over the last hundred years, possibly as a result of the Spellplague.
The reason why the woods appear on the Monument of the Ancients map is because they also appear on the 4E Campaign Guide map. As far as unpublished lore on the Vercy Woods? Nope. I have none. Feel free to expand upon it as you wish. |
Brian R. James - Freelance Game Designer
Follow me on Twitter @brianrjames |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2010 : 23:24:36
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quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James
SNIP...... As to your PM (which I cannot respond to because my Candlekeep mailbox is full),
Brian,
Markus, The Sage or another scribe gave me a cheat around the full box. Just click on the scrbes name , them click to send them a pm and it will let you send one regardless of how many pm's are stuffed in your inbox!
That would be me. 
When you've been a die-hard gamer as long as I have, you learn a LOT about cheating at stuff.  |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Matt James
Forgotten Realms Game Designer
USA
918 Posts |
Posted - 08 Dec 2010 : 01:04:12
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| I have lore for it including it's namesake. It revolves around a Gnoll tribe that inhabits the area. |
Edited by - Matt James on 08 Dec 2010 01:04:46 |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 08 Dec 2010 : 01:13:15
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Do tell.  |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Matt James
Forgotten Realms Game Designer
USA
918 Posts |
Posted - 08 Dec 2010 : 01:35:07
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Do tell.
Well it's not official but I can do a write-up if you want. I wanted to expand upon it in a Realmslore article but never got the chance. |
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
Posted - 09 Dec 2010 : 16:56:10
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So is a master timeline of all revealed events that occurred during the Spellplague publicly available? Or is that just for DDI subscribers?
There was a great article that, I believe, Brian or Matt wrote on the WOTC site a few years back entitled "The Spellplague: The Wailing Years", which gave a good overall summary of the event. But now it appears to have been swallowed up by DDI. Even an attempt to use the Wayback Machine to find an archived version of the page leads to a DDI wall.
I'm mainly looking for an official source to link to regarding the Spellplague's start and end for my Drizzt Chronology. The Ghost King and "Iruladoon" both tie in closely with the event, and I want to be able to point to external online documents, if possible. |
"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)
<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works"> |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3240 Posts |
Posted - 09 Dec 2010 : 17:07:53
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quote:
Originally posted by BEAST
So is a master timeline of all revealed events that occurred during the Spellplague publicly available? Or is that just for DDI subscribers?
There was a great article that, I believe, Brian or Matt wrote on the WOTC site a few years back entitled "The Spellplague: The Wailing Years", which gave a good overall summary of the event. But now it appears to have been swallowed up by DDI. Even an attempt to use the Wayback Machine to find an archived version of the page leads to a DDI wall.
I'm mainly looking for an official source to link to regarding the Spellplague's start and end for my Drizzt Chronology. The Ghost King and "Iruladoon" both tie in closely with the event, and I want to be able to point to external online documents, if possible.
From over in the Previous Edition Downloads scroll:
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
From the Wayback Machine (remember to copy & paste starting at http, the link info doesn't work because of the nature of the link):
Countdown to the Realms
Magic of the Realms - www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080130a&pf=true" target="_blank">http://web.archive.org/web/20080217023703/www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080130a&pf=true
Spellplague: The Wailing Years - www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080227a&pf=true" target="_blank">http://web.archive.org/web/20080304014127/www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080227a&pf=true
Year of the Ageless One - www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080111a&pf=true" target="_blank">http://web.archive.org/web/20080310195729/www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080111a&pf=true
I linked to the Printer Friendly versions so it saves on ink. If you want, email me through my account here with your email address and I can send you the PDF copies I made.
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I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 11 Dec 2010 : 06:03:50
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quote:
Originally posted by Matt James
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Do tell.
Well it's not official but I can do a write-up if you want. I wanted to expand upon it in a Realmslore article but never got the chance.
Don't feel constrained by having to have great ideas be "official" because none of us do! LOL
Seriously, share what you can! |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
Edited by - Dalor Darden on 11 Dec 2010 06:05:45 |
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Matt James
Forgotten Realms Game Designer
USA
918 Posts |
Posted - 12 Dec 2010 : 13:59:38
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| I don't want to ink up Brian's scroll too much. Maybe I'll put it in another section or we can petition Sage to give me a scroll to use. |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 13 Dec 2010 : 04:43:24
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| I'm for you having a scroll...I don't see why you shouldn't when you've obviously authored canon material. |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 13 Dec 2010 : 05:15:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Matt James
I don't want to ink up Brian's scroll too much. Maybe I'll put it in another section or we can petition Sage to give me a scroll to use.
Ask, and ye shall receive. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
Posted - 13 Dec 2010 : 07:22:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
From over in the Previous Edition Downloads scroll
Thanks for those links, Ashe. I'm glad that at least you were able to kick the Wayback Machine and get it to work!  |
"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)
<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works"> |
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Brimstone
Great Reader
USA
3286 Posts |
Posted - 13 Dec 2010 : 08:25:09
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| Or see my sig... |
"These things also I have observed: that knowledge of our world is
to be nurtured like a precious flower, for it is the most precious
thing we have. Wherefore guard the word written and heed
words unwritten and set them down ere they fade . . . Learn
then, well, the arts of reading, writing, and listening true, and they
will lead you to the greatest art of all: understanding."
Alaundo of Candlekeep |
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althen artren
Senior Scribe
USA
780 Posts |
Posted - 25 Feb 2011 : 21:50:28
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Question Bryan, did your word document of the Grand History
have more entries in it than the published Grand History had? |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2011 : 00:25:44
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AFAIK, No - more was added to the printed version.
The only parts 'left out' were the nifty color-coding (by region), and some of his speculative work pertaining to Toril's 'pre-history', which prologued the timeline in his original work.
Bryan's timeline was 100% drawn from canon sources, and I believe they left all of that intact. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 26 Feb 2011 17:59:28 |
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althen artren
Senior Scribe
USA
780 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2011 : 02:19:48
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well, thats nice. I felt like I missed something because I thought
a lot in the book would end up on the cutting room floor. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2011 : 05:26:32
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| I know of at least one entry in the pdf Grand History that didn't make it to the printed version. I happened to find one when I was consulting both sources for something. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 26 Feb 2011 05:28:41 |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2011 : 18:14:41
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Really? Would you care to elaborate?
I thought only his pre-history stuff was left-out (being homebrew), and even a good chunk of that remained in (the stuff Gray theorized, I believe).
A lot did wind-up on the 'cutting room floor', from what I understand, but i was lead to believe it was all newer material.
I'd love to see an expanded, leather-bound version with all that stuff put back in, and maybe a bit more.
They can leave out all the stuff on Seros... seriously... it has ZERO impact on 99.9% of the games out there, and unless you read that specific series of novels, it also matters NOT AT ALL to non-gaming fans of the Realms. What a major waste of space that was - they should have put it all in a WE and kept more juicy bits in.
And NEW artwork.... PLEEEEEEEEEEASE!
My stomache still turns when I see the Warforged (I can't turn the page fast enough). And no more "this is what Storm would look like if her hair were blonde", and "This is what Gondegal's armor looked like", or "here's a pebble that Elminster once walked past".
Okay, that last one was an exaggeration, but you get the point. If cows could read, even their intelligence would have been insulted by those captions.
Anyhow, I would still like to know what previous-canon entries were left out, and what was behind those decisions. There were quite a few that could have been left out (like ALL the Seros material), so I have to wonder at the reasoning behind whatever cuts were made.
In other words, were certain 'holes' left in-place so that future plans could over-write past lore without contradicting the GHotR?
And Bryan - make them get to work on my leather-bound, 'Director's Cut' edition. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 26 Feb 2011 18:34:50 |
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althen artren
Senior Scribe
USA
780 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2011 : 21:50:22
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I've noticed some elven items that didn't make the
book, but they weren't real important except to
a devoted Elfquest gamemaster like me. |
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Questions for Brian R. James
