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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
 Posted - 22 Sep 2016 : 16:32:58
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Is there any information available - whether from Ed in old forums or from alternate sources - about Mentor other than the few mentions he gets in the Myth Drannor / Cormanthyr books?
Oddly enough, while I based my primary NPC around The Masked, I never really paid the other members of the Seven Wizards much attention.
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TBeholder
Great Reader
2382 Posts |
Posted - 24 Sep 2016 : 00:05:22
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There's Wintercloak river flowing out of Deepwash SE to Nagawater. Possible clan ties?
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People never wonder How the world goes round -Helloween
And even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.Wood
It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch |
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Quale
Master of Realmslore
1757 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2016 : 18:25:51
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| he's mentioned in the novel Blackstaff, as a part of the high mage circle that created the city |
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TBeholder
Great Reader
2382 Posts |
Posted - 02 Oct 2016 : 09:57:43
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quote:
Originally posted by Quale
he's mentioned in the novel Blackstaff, as a part of the high mage circle that created the city
And then happened to reincarnate as a human 4000-something years later? |
People never wonder How the world goes round -Helloween
And even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.Wood
It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch |
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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
Posted - 02 Oct 2016 : 15:49:35
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quote:
Originally posted by TBeholder
quote:
Originally posted by Quale
he's mentioned in the novel Blackstaff, as a part of the high mage circle that created the city
And then happened to reincarnate as a human 4000-something years later?
Nah, I think he means at the end of the book when they decided to have a high magic ritual that kills Khelben, and has about every other named spellcaster ever sleeping in a cave waiting to do it. Drivel. |
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Arivia
Great Reader
Canada
2965 Posts |
Posted - 02 Oct 2016 : 16:54:24
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quote:
Originally posted by The Masked Mage
quote:
Originally posted by TBeholder
quote:
Originally posted by Quale
he's mentioned in the novel Blackstaff, as a part of the high mage circle that created the city
And then happened to reincarnate as a human 4000-something years later?
Nah, I think he means at the end of the book when they decided to have a high magic ritual that kills Khelben, and has about every other named spellcaster ever sleeping in a cave waiting to do it. Drivel.
I wouldn't call it drivel, personally. I think it worked quite well as an ending to the Moonstars plotline from 2e/3e - it was Khelben calling in ALL his favours and ALL of his allies for one, final, meaningful action in the raising of the city. When an archmage puts all his cards on the table in the Realms (something I don't think we see anywhere else, because usually they're holding something back for this or that other concern) it makes sense that there'd be a lot of people involved, and quite a few unexpectedly. It fit the Realms quite well I think. |
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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
Posted - 02 Oct 2016 : 17:41:10
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Sorry, but it was by far the worst plot of any Realms novel and had the most useless ending. What did we gain? 1 more useless hidden city. We already have like 20 of those that have nothing done with them after 25 years. AND even if you think the ridiculous dark elves into sharn was a good plot line, then if they had waited just a couple more years (hardly anything compared to the 13 millennia) then they ones that were still stuck sharn would be unstuck. Drivel - and it cost the realms numerous interesting plots that could have been made out of all the loose ends he tried to tie into a single, incredibly forced, story. It really makes sense to you that pretty much every major character not protected by another author in the realms were in a secret society dedicated to casting a single spell with the intent of bringing just one city from a whole nation back which was destroyed 13000 years before - about 12500 years before any of them are born? Nonsense.
Best thing that could possibly happen is that WoTC declare this book non-canon (tying into that other convo Woolly :) )
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Quale
Master of Realmslore
1757 Posts |
Posted - 21 Oct 2016 : 17:33:24
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| Sharn core origin from Dragon 373 imo is much better than dark elves/centaurs etc. |
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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
Posted - 21 Oct 2016 : 19:02:31
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For the record - perhaps the think I hated the most with the new edition was the dumbing down of plural forms. Sharn -> Sharns for example. Vomit. And it happens all over the place. Apparently we are all morons that require anything plural to include an S.
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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
Posted - 21 Oct 2016 : 19:12:06
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quote:
Originally posted by Quale
Sharn core origin from Dragon 373 imo is much better than dark elves/centaurs etc.
On the surface, I agree, accept that it creates a giant, elaborate explanation for the sharn where none is necessary. What's wrong with 'the sharn are a type of monster'? By far the best description of the sharn was in the original Undermountain. Everything since then, except perhaps the interesting name of one from the Return Of Archwizards series made the sharn less than they were before because it tried to shove them into a corner.
Also, I never understood the idea of making Thardizun and the Elder Elemental god the same; What's wrong with two old, hidden or imprisoned dark gods? What's wrong with tons of them for that matter?
Plus, while that article creates a huge complicated backstory for Sharn, it then says "why do sharn look like they do?" Simple, because they took the shape of ANOTHER monster species that didn't exist before. WTF was with that?
Sorry - I'm ranting again - my bad. |
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Quale
Master of Realmslore
1757 Posts |
Posted - 22 Oct 2016 : 07:25:13
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| They aren't like any typical monster, even their description in the Undermountain mentions they are sophisticated creatures. I like that there's a connection with Greyhawk and Spelljammer in that article. And I prefer them to be alien, not centaurs/elves/dwarves/..., an amalgamation of Lovecraft's flying polyps and the Great race of Yith, and the Juna. |
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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
Posted - 22 Oct 2016 : 08:37:07
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My point is, instead of 1 unexplained species called sharn, now you have 3 (what are polyps/Yith and Juna I guess we need articles to explain that because we know less about them than we did about sharn in 1e)- though I agree the whole centaurs/elves/dwarves thing (which that article didn't get rid of, btw) was lame.
Anyhoo - we got way off topic on this one. I guess there is not a write up of Mentor anywhere. |
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Brian R. James
Forgotten Realms Game Designer
USA
1098 Posts |
Posted - 26 Oct 2016 : 15:53:33
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| Interestingly, the original article I turned in for the Ecology of the Sharn provided more detail on Rhymanthiin (including a map!). The article was suppose to be entirely Forgotten Realms focused, but then the editor had a change of heart and asked for significant rewrites. I'm very pleased with how the alternate Sharn origin came together (I'm a huge Spelljammer fan, so including a reference to the Juna was a special treat), but as a Realms designer I'm saddened at the lore that was cut. |
Brian R. James - Freelance Game Designer
Follow me on Twitter @brianrjames |
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Mentor Wintercloak
