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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 22 Sep 2020 :  12:29:40  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
On the manifestations coming to Toril via some kind of magic ships, I have no problem with. There was a lore issue that could use some kind of explanation (i.e. why are there physical manifestations of the gods only in two countries). They created this artificial boundary as a result with lore, and they created a solution around the artificial boundary at the same time. In many ways, it was an elegant answer. The question I've always had was, where did the gods come FROM in their magic ships. Off the record, we've had several authors nod that it is Earth that they came from, so we do have the intent, though that may have been because that's what they were being asked as well (I don't propose that I can read minds, so I don't truly know the original intent).

So, people point out that our world had those gods. I like to think, well, what if some of the people from those regions went to earth? They might have come over with stories of these gods and their powers, and they could have brought the religions with them. Also, if the people of Mulhorand had advanced technology (which we've been led to believe they USED to study technology more), that might explain some of the amazing construction miracles that modern scientists wonder about (and if they did bring some limited magical ability, that might also help such). Furthermore, IF such were to happen, then in Toril the discussion wouldn't be about "where did these people come from", it might be just randomly that some people disappear..... (before someone tries to conflate that with what happened during the spellplague, remember then that OUR world and Toril are also supposed to be roughly in some kind of time sync, so unless those people got sent into our past.... not outside the bounds of possibility mind you.... then that's not what happened, because Ed's supposedly talking to Elminster in the 1350s-1370's).

To add to this, what Ayrik just pointed out, yes it could very much make sense if some things (dragons, giants, leprechauns, fairies, etc...) that were exceptionally rare things in our world that few ever saw.... well they might be much more common in the realms, but they crossed to this world because of some portal or fey crossroad on accident, and their myths dried up in a century or two because no more of them came through.

Also, Ayrik asks a very good question in why don't we have something more on other races, cultures, or civilizations claiming origins from other settings? I'd speculate that maybe a lot of them have forgotten that history from so long ago, because I find it hard to believe that so many intelligent races would spring into being in the same world (again, not impossible with magic, especially since magic can GIVE intelligence to even a dumb animal, just harder to believe).

I guess in the end, a good question to ask is what do we feel like we NEED to have come from earth? I mean, if we say that just having trees and such similar, well then that's going to mean that earth needs to touch nearly everything. If its that there's certain cultures or words that are just too similar, then which ones are they that we can't explain away in some other means? While I'm not averse to having contact between our worlds, the more "ties" we have between them, the harder it becomes to maintain credulity when fact A and fact B don't line up timeline wise, etc... whereas using some totally made up world allows us to play with facts at our whims. Having numerous points of origin for cultures allows even more flexibility (for instance maybe some avariels came from Mystara, but others came from the feywild, and a third group which was killed off came from Greyhawk.... and then maybe we find out that Mystara is to Greyhawk in a manner similar to how Abeir is to Toril).



I

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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cpthero2
Great Reader

USA
2285 Posts

Posted - 22 Sep 2020 :  15:04:11  Show Profile  Visit cpthero2's Homepage Send cpthero2 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Great Reader sleyvas,

I certainly don't think it is needed. I believe people with their proclivity to know where they come from have an innate fascination with their origin. It's why humans keep trying at it to discover if it was creation or pure evolution with nothing else.

Best regards,



Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36779 Posts

Posted - 22 Sep 2020 :  17:23:33  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas

On the manifestations coming to Toril via some kind of magic ships, I have no problem with. There was a lore issue that could use some kind of explanation (i.e. why are there physical manifestations of the gods only in two countries). They created this artificial boundary as a result with lore, and they created a solution around the artificial boundary at the same time. In many ways, it was an elegant answer. The question I've always had was, where did the gods come FROM in their magic ships. Off the record, we've had several authors nod that it is Earth that they came from, so we do have the intent, though that may have been because that's what they were being asked as well (I don't propose that I can read minds, so I don't truly know the original intent).

So, people point out that our world had those gods. I like to think, well, what if some of the people from those regions went to earth? They might have come over with stories of these gods and their powers, and they could have brought the religions with them. Also, if the people of Mulhorand had advanced technology (which we've been led to believe they USED to study technology more), that might explain some of the amazing construction miracles that modern scientists wonder about (and if they did bring some limited magical ability, that might also help such). Furthermore, IF such were to happen, then in Toril the discussion wouldn't be about "where did these people come from", it might be just randomly that some people disappear..... (before someone tries to conflate that with what happened during the spellplague, remember then that OUR world and Toril are also supposed to be roughly in some kind of time sync, so unless those people got sent into our past.... not outside the bounds of possibility mind you.... then that's not what happened, because Ed's supposedly talking to Elminster in the 1350s-1370's).

To add to this, what Ayrik just pointed out, yes it could very much make sense if some things (dragons, giants, leprechauns, fairies, etc...) that were exceptionally rare things in our world that few ever saw.... well they might be much more common in the realms, but they crossed to this world because of some portal or fey crossroad on accident, and their myths dried up in a century or two because no more of them came through.

Also, Ayrik asks a very good question in why don't we have something more on other races, cultures, or civilizations claiming origins from other settings? I'd speculate that maybe a lot of them have forgotten that history from so long ago, because I find it hard to believe that so many intelligent races would spring into being in the same world (again, not impossible with magic, especially since magic can GIVE intelligence to even a dumb animal, just harder to believe).

I guess in the end, a good question to ask is what do we feel like we NEED to have come from earth? I mean, if we say that just having trees and such similar, well then that's going to mean that earth needs to touch nearly everything. If its that there's certain cultures or words that are just too similar, then which ones are they that we can't explain away in some other means? While I'm not averse to having contact between our worlds, the more "ties" we have between them, the harder it becomes to maintain credulity when fact A and fact B don't line up timeline wise, etc... whereas using some totally made up world allows us to play with facts at our whims. Having numerous points of origin for cultures allows even more flexibility (for instance maybe some avariels came from Mystara, but others came from the feywild, and a third group which was killed off came from Greyhawk.... and then maybe we find out that Mystara is to Greyhawk in a manner similar to how Abeir is to Toril).



I



It wouldn't even require a mass exodus to Earth to bring those religions here, if they originated elsewhere. It could have been just a handful of people, spreading the word as they integrated into an existing society.

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cpthero2
Great Reader

USA
2285 Posts

Posted - 27 Oct 2020 :  06:49:52  Show Profile  Visit cpthero2's Homepage Send cpthero2 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Master Rupert,

quote:
It wouldn't even require a mass exodus to Earth to bring those religions here, if they originated elsewhere. It could have been just a handful of people, spreading the word as they integrated into an existing society.


I agree with that. I've seen it just as easy to consider that, like in Stargate the deities in question came from 'x' and they may have hit the Forgotten Realms just as easily as they did Earth, at different times, etc. I mean, I kind of think on it as well, with those good ole fashioned Traveller/GURPS star maps that covered enormous areas. Perhaps the deities are fleeing technologies growth, and they hit these primitive landscapes and try to keep them free from technology so they can maintain power.

Best regards,





Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring
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cpthero2
Great Reader

USA
2285 Posts

Posted - 07 Nov 2020 :  18:04:33  Show Profile  Visit cpthero2's Homepage Send cpthero2 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Great Reader Ayrik,

Jumping back in here to revitalize this a bit later...

I agree with you there on the cross pollination idea. You really would think that people would be moving back and forth between those settings more often. I think if I had to guess though, that it is predicated upon the idea that WotC wanted to keep things clear and concise, though of course, that hasn't always been the case. haha I think it was that they felt they were keeping it that way, whatever their rubric for that was.

Best regards,






Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring
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bloodtide_the_red
Learned Scribe

USA
297 Posts

Posted - 09 Nov 2020 :  05:43:22  Show Profile  Visit bloodtide_the_red's Homepage Send bloodtide_the_red a Private Message  Reply with Quote
There is always the possibility that many people will hide or obscure where they came from and how.

You can find this world wide, but a great example are the people living in the Americas before 1492 or so. A great many of these people will claim with no question that their people have been there forever. Science shows people walked to the Americas or took a boat or two. And yet they will still say they have always been there and never came from anywhere. And this does not even scratch the surface of each group saying that their group was their first.

A Realms example is the Djen: who brought human and halfling slaves from elsewhere(maybe several places) to Toril 8,000 years ago. But most Realmslore says nothing about them. And very little is said about the halflings at all, but they would seem to be the ancestors of most of the Sword Coast and Heartland halflings.
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cpthero2
Great Reader

USA
2285 Posts

Posted - 09 Nov 2020 :  06:37:54  Show Profile  Visit cpthero2's Homepage Send cpthero2 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Learned Scribe bloodtide_the_red,

I can certainly appreciate the reality that due to something being "pre-history", it is... well... not written about, haha.

There are a variety of reasons for that, so that makes sense too. It's the bane of most humans, I think, when it comes to stories: we want the mystery, but we must figure it out too!

Best regards,






Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 09 Nov 2020 :  21:36:06  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by bloodtide_the_red

There is always the possibility that many people will hide or obscure where they came from and how.

You can find this world wide, but a great example are the people living in the Americas before 1492 or so. A great many of these people will claim with no question that their people have been there forever. Science shows people walked to the Americas or took a boat or two. And yet they will still say they have always been there and never came from anywhere. And this does not even scratch the surface of each group saying that their group was their first.

A Realms example is the Djen: who brought human and halfling slaves from elsewhere(maybe several places) to Toril 8,000 years ago. But most Realmslore says nothing about them. And very little is said about the halflings at all, but they would seem to be the ancestors of most of the Sword Coast and Heartland halflings.



You know what.... I hadn't considered this until you just said it, but I think it was Dalor Darden the other day who was talking about adapting the five shires content to the realms (since Ed said he originally meant it to be there). I wonder if he took this into consideration, because where he's putting it is right next to Calimshan.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 09 Nov 2020 :  21:39:42  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by bloodtide_the_red

There is always the possibility that many people will hide or obscure where they came from and how.

You can find this world wide, but a great example are the people living in the Americas before 1492 or so. A great many of these people will claim with no question that their people have been there forever. Science shows people walked to the Americas or took a boat or two. And yet they will still say they have always been there and never came from anywhere. And this does not even scratch the surface of each group saying that their group was their first.

A Realms example is the Djen: who brought human and halfling slaves from elsewhere(maybe several places) to Toril 8,000 years ago. But most Realmslore says nothing about them. And very little is said about the halflings at all, but they would seem to be the ancestors of most of the Sword Coast and Heartland halflings.



You know what.... I hadn't considered this until you just said it, but I think it was Dalor Darden the other day who was talking about adapting the five shires content to the realms (since Ed said he originally meant it to be there). I wonder if he took this into consideration, because where he's putting it is right next to Calimshan.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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cpthero2
Great Reader

USA
2285 Posts

Posted - 10 Nov 2020 :  02:54:56  Show Profile  Visit cpthero2's Homepage Send cpthero2 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Great Reader sleyvas,

quote:
You know what.... I hadn't considered this until you just said it, but I think it was Dalor Darden the other day who was talking about adapting the five shires content to the realms (since Ed said he originally meant it to be there).


Indeed, Great Reader Darden was, but I believe Ed was talking about it being where Luiren was (if you refer to page 1 of 8 in that scroll). From what I saw of Master Markustay's map, the Five Shire's was placed alongside Turmish.

quote:
I wonder if he took this into consideration, because where he's putting it is right next to Calimshan.


As above, I thought that it had been placed alongside Turmish, and thus, across from Sembia.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/fd/69/f9/fd69f97f4bf5d7a159eb371bec2a8cb9.jpg

Best regards,






Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring
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ElfBane
Learned Scribe

USA
275 Posts

Posted - 10 Nov 2020 :  07:59:02  Show Profile Send ElfBane a Private Message  Reply with Quote
This thread has been fun, but when we get down to it, the whole entirety of the FR world is anthropic. We have magic in FR because we have magic superstitions in our past. We have pantheism because pantheism is in our past (and present for some cultures). And so on... you get the drift.
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Lord Karsus
Great Reader

USA
3736 Posts

Posted - 15 Nov 2020 :  21:04:07  Show Profile Send Lord Karsus a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ElfBane

This thread has been fun, but when we get down to it, the whole entirety of the FR world is anthropic. We have magic in FR because we have magic superstitions in our past. We have pantheism because pantheism is in our past (and present for some cultures). And so on... you get the drift.


-Literally everything we as a society create is, because we know nothing else.

(A Tri-Partite Arcanist Who Has Forgotten More Than Most Will Ever Know)

Elves of Faerūn
Vol I- The Elves of Faerūn
Vol. III- Spells of the Elves
Vol. VI- Mechanical Compendium
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cpthero2
Great Reader

USA
2285 Posts

Posted - 15 Nov 2020 :  23:16:43  Show Profile  Visit cpthero2's Homepage Send cpthero2 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Great Reader Karsus,

Deep words for sure. Metaphysics in epistemology is some crazy stuff. I am assuming you are pulling that from something Immanuel Kant wrote in the Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics? I can't say that I remember that quote, but the way it comes across is very Kantian.

A brutal read that was for sure.

Best regards,





Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring
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Lord Karsus
Great Reader

USA
3736 Posts

Posted - 19 Nov 2020 :  17:33:38  Show Profile Send Lord Karsus a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by cpthero2

Great Reader Karsus,

Deep words for sure. Metaphysics in epistemology is some crazy stuff. I am assuming you are pulling that from something Immanuel Kant wrote in the Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics? I can't say that I remember that quote, but the way it comes across is very Kantian.

A brutal read that was for sure.

Best regards,



-Haha, it does sound deep, doesn't it? Never read any Kant other than basic categorical imperative stuff in Philosophy 101 years ago. Regardless, it's just something I've noticed in any fantasy/sci-fi/alternate setting, regardless of how different the in-setting world wants to be from Earth. Geography might be different, technology might be different, societal mores might be different, but when you get down to the nitty-gritty nothing is ever that revolutionary and radical because it's always based off of the way we look at things and do things in the actual world.

(A Tri-Partite Arcanist Who Has Forgotten More Than Most Will Ever Know)

Elves of Faerūn
Vol I- The Elves of Faerūn
Vol. III- Spells of the Elves
Vol. VI- Mechanical Compendium
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cpthero2
Great Reader

USA
2285 Posts

Posted - 19 Nov 2020 :  18:12:24  Show Profile  Visit cpthero2's Homepage Send cpthero2 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Great Reader Karsus,

quote:
-Haha, it does sound deep, doesn't it? Never read any Kant other than basic categorical imperative stuff in Philosophy 101 years ago. Regardless, it's just something I've noticed in any fantasy/sci-fi/alternate setting, regardless of how different the in-setting world wants to be from Earth. Geography might be different, technology might be different, societal mores might be different, but when you get down to the nitty-gritty nothing is ever that revolutionary and radical because it's always based off of the way we look at things and do things in the actual world.


I can certainly understand what you mean there. I find it interesting though when you think of things as Kant tended too: at what point does the point of initial observation and understanding become something more? Seeing it is never enough I think is what his point was; rather, it had to be interacted with to be understood. At what point is that interaction enough? I think that is the fun thing that allows us to engage with imagination, the things in the Realms. Why magic is so awesome.

Best regards,



Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring
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