| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Tio |
Posted - 01 Feb 2007 : 16:10:32
Well met,
I'm currently running a campaign in the Realms situated in the Vast. One of my players is an agent of Alustriel and he needs to keep her up to date of the situation.
My question is: would he be able to send her written messages along with caravans? Is there a mail service delivering messages (for a hefty price)? How long would a message take to travel from Tantras of Raven's Bluff to Silverymoon?
Thanks for your attention and I look forward to reading your replies. |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Jamallo Kreen |
Posted - 01 Mar 2007 : 21:49:13
Well met. I herewith endeavour to justify my "Senior Scribe" status by providing Ed's own definitive answer from 2004:
quote:
The Hooded One hath related:
November 3, 2004: Hello again, fellow scribes. I bring Ed’s latest:
Blind Ranger, you’re quite welcome. Oooh, and a Lordship! Thank you, I’ll take very good care of it . . . I’ll just put it on this shelf over here, and . . . there we are . . .
There’s no “official” postal service in the Realms, with stamps and uniforms and suchlike, but all peddlers, minstrels, caravan wagon-merchants, trading coster offices, and caravan masters have traditionally taken verbal messages, written messages, and small packages (usually a canvas ‘purse’ sewn together and sealed against damp with pitch or sap before being sewn inside a second layer of canvas) for delivery to distant places, in return for quite steep fees (so common folk use such means only in emergencies). The cost reflects the fact that the delivery person may pay someone else, partway along the route, to do the last leg of the delivery, and still wants to make a few coins of profit after doing this. It would be rare to find any tangible message being delivered for less than a 6 gp ‘up front’ charge, unless it’s “just to the next village or two along” a shared road.
Heralds and court envoys regularly deliver official messages and royal communications, of course.
All priesthoods maintain a regular message service between temples (and can use spells to deliver short verbal messages ‘directly’), and often offer a cut-rate service to faithful worshippers (who have already given regular or substantial offerings to the temple) for including their messages along with the temple reports, written prayers and sermons, and holy decrees.
Lastly, shippers of large cargoes will often make several copies of a message for their intended recipient, and slip it inside crates or coffers that are then closed and sealed. Sometimes these are of the “If the finder of this delivers it unopened to Durth Merrilees of Merrilees Tapestries on the Way of the Dragon, Durth will pay a reward of 4 dragons” variety (this example obviously being for a message inbound to Waterdeep).
Note that this can take some time, and many messages never arrive. Note also that there’s really no such thing as privacy unless codes are used, because in many cases a ‘local village scribe’ does the initial writing for the sender, and anyone can open and read (or even alter) the message en route. Many folk employ ‘private codes’ of this sort: plain everyday writing, but certain phrases have a previously-arranged ‘private meaning’ (example: “Aunt Maerl continues to do well, and asks after you” really means: “Our investment scheme is flourishing, and that extra money you offered to put into it is now needed”) There are armed, experienced, mounted couriers within Cormyr and Sembia (operating only within the boundaries of those countries), because there’s enough wealth and population density to support such services. They typically deliver small packages swiftly and reliably, in return for 25 gp or more fees.
As for the general spread of information (news and rumors), it spreads by priests spell-talking to distant priests, via ‘wandering’ peddlers and minstrels and the Harpers, via trading costers, and with every ship and caravan (alert readers of my accounts of the Realms from 1979 onwards should recall what THO knows well: every arrival of a caravan to stay the night at the Old Skull spurred most of Shadowdale to turn out to “hear the latest” news).
There are even newspapers (“broadsheets”) published in many cities (see my Realmslore WotC website column for some details of those printed in Waterdeep), and these travel with all of the above. The arrival of a ‘new’ (sometimes seasons-old) broadsheet in a remote village is cause for a social gathering at the local tavern for the best reader to entertain everyone for an evening.
Thanks for the question, Blind Ranger, and keep ’em coming!
So saith Ed, who's enjoying spinning the Knights novel right now. I can't WAIT to read it. Sigh.
love to all,
THO
Ed also related how most people seeking answers from Candlekeep (the physical one in the Realms) actually go about it: they send their questions (usually through clerics of Oghma) to Candlekeep, and (just as in the cyber-Candlekeep, when a scribe has time to answer the question, the books are consulted and the answer relayed back by return messenger (who may well be the next Oghmanite cleric headed in the general direction of the questioner). The books themselves are never allowed to leave Candlekeep, but scribes (for a fee) consult the stacks and copy out the pertinent information, and the questioner must await a response which may take months in coming (just like here in cyber-Candlekeep).
For great high muckety-mucks (especially those in good standing with Oghma) magic may be used to relay information in emergency situations.
I hope (!) I have correctly summarized Ed's answer vis-a-vis Candlekeep's correspondence. I'm sure someone will correct me if I didn't. Yes. Of that, I am very sure!
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| Jamallo Kreen |
Posted - 15 Feb 2007 : 03:28:31
quote:
Originally posted by Kentinal
There is no formal mail system realm wide.
Rulers would tend to use couriers.
Messages indeed would be carried by caravans, bards and perhaps a few individuals that offer the service for a fee. The price would vary greatly depending on merhord one decies to use. A can see caravans carring messages from merchants they trade with for not fee at all. Just a part of doing business, because at least some of these letter would indicate items wish to be traded for.
An adventurer asking a caravan to transport a message might be charged a silver peice, they do not weigh that much. The price might be higher depending on whom letter to to be given to. Travel out of the way, deliver to an insane mage, etc. could be factors that would increase the price.
As for time for message to travel that also depends some on the caravan. If it makes many trade stops it will take longer, also time of year can effect speed of travel.
A PC Doombringer in my campaign sent a sensitive message back to his superiors in Chessenta, asking a PC "fighter" whose player was leaving the game and whose character was headed west to Daggerford to pass on the package to a caravan headed east on the Trade Way. After the cleric's player left for the day, I immediately started placing bets with the other players on how far "the fighter" would travel before opening the package. Estimates ranged from "just out of visual range" to "one mile" to "until she camps." We were all wrong. ... She was surprisingly reliable: she waited until she was all the way to Daggerford before she opened it up,, noted its contents, and then sent it east.
My advice for those wanting to send mail? Do a lot of favors for your local heralds!
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| ShadezofDis |
Posted - 13 Feb 2007 : 17:04:52
Heh, this is actually the basis of how my game started. I have an NPC (who was an old PC of mine, because I love to pepper my games with my old PC's *g*) who started a horse farm and is building a "pony express" in Turmish which he hopes will expand throughout the Reach and beyond.
Gonna be a while before that's complete though, but he's an elf so he can take his time ;D
(Now I'm just hoping the PC's don't go and mess everything up *g*) |
| Diideral |
Posted - 13 Feb 2007 : 01:51:32
In my game the characters have set up (so far) 2 mirrors of communication (DR327)between everlund and waterdeep and are charging rather stiff fees. A variety of services are offered and the security levels vary...all for the right price. a message with less than 50 words with only warning to the receiver :his name pined on the office wall is 10 gp...for other prices well...sky is the limit!
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| The Sage |
Posted - 01 Feb 2007 : 23:30:40
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
quote:
Originally posted by WalkerNinja
Further, I seem to remember that the chosen can 'screen their calls.'
They can and besides most people don't know that the Chosen are Chosen. It's not like it's a well known fact, even if some novels make it seem like this is the case.
Indeed.
And it's important not to make blanket statements about the Realms regarding what people "know" and what their "opinions" may be about a particular aspect of the setting. Diversity and intimate subtleties give the FR setting so much more depth, and allows plenty of options for intrigiuing and unusual campaigns.
Thus, your common Realms folk may not know of or about such beings of incredible power -- either by name, reputation, or what your grandmother said she once saw. It's important to remember also that anything individuals *do* learn about the Chosen is likely almost entirely based on bards tales, rhymes, or just fanciful speculations for example, which largely form the basis of most of the "public" knowledge regarding the Chosen. Not intimate details, and certainly nothing specific, just rumor, hearsay, and idle speculation in the local tavern on a cold and wintry night.
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| The Sage |
Posted - 01 Feb 2007 : 23:24:32
The lack of a true and dedicated Faerun-wide communication network makes communication between cities, and regions for that matter, difficult... though not impossible.
Bards can ferry messages, just like news, between their various stopover points, from various points of interest.
We shouldn't forget merchants and adventurers either. While not always as "reliable" as a news/message-carrying bard, merchants and adventurers from foreign lands are often easily able to access different cities and places around the Realms, making the transportation of messages and news fairly easy along well-travelled trading routes. Visiting more remote regions however, that don't often attract a lot of trade, may mean paying a few extra gold pieces to make it worth the merchant's effort to carry the message to the desired remote destination.
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| Kuje |
Posted - 01 Feb 2007 : 22:25:37
quote:
Originally posted by WalkerNinja
Further, I seem to remember that the chosen can 'screen their calls.'
They can and besides most people don't know that the Chosen are Chosen. It's not like it's a well known fact, even if some novels make it seem like this is the case. |
| WalkerNinja |
Posted - 01 Feb 2007 : 22:18:29
Further, I seem to remember that the chosen can 'screen their calls.' |
| Skeptic |
Posted - 01 Feb 2007 : 21:25:12
quote:
Originally posted by marchingpig
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
It wouldn't matter, with Mace's suggestion. Chosen of Mystra can hear their names whenever they are spoken, plus the next nine words.
Ah. That´s true.. I remember wondering how many "prank calls" the Chosen get every single day...
I think that the majority, even among adventurers, would fear to provoke the wrath of the Chosen doing so. In fact, many people surely use a nickname to talk about them (e.g. the Old Sage). |
| marchingpig |
Posted - 01 Feb 2007 : 21:10:44
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
It wouldn't matter, with Mace's suggestion. Chosen of Mystra can hear their names whenever they are spoken, plus the next nine words.
Ah. That´s true.. I remember wondering how many "prank calls" the Chosen get every single day... |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 01 Feb 2007 : 17:12:58
quote:
Originally posted by marchingpig
What if he isn´t a mage?
It wouldn't matter, with Mace's suggestion. Chosen of Mystra can hear their names whenever they are spoken, plus the next nine words. |
| Kentinal |
Posted - 01 Feb 2007 : 16:35:43
quote:
Originally posted by marchingpig
What if he isn´t a mage?
Well in the past there were magical devices that would allow communication between two points without being a spell caster. Not sure what items might exist now in the realms that would provide the same feature.
It also would seem posible carrier peigons or homing peigons might be used if the DM permits them. |
| Kentinal |
Posted - 01 Feb 2007 : 16:30:45
There is no formal mail system realm wide.
Rulers would tend to use couriers.
Messages indeed would be carried by caravans, bards and perhaps a few individuals that offer the service for a fee. The price would vary greatly depending on merhord one decies to use. A can see caravans carring messages from merchants they trade with for not fee at all. Just a part of doing business, because at least some of these letter would indicate items wish to be traded for.
An adventurer asking a caravan to transport a message might be charged a silver peice, they do not weigh that much. The price might be higher depending on whom letter to to be given to. Travel out of the way, deliver to an insane mage, etc. could be factors that would increase the price.
As for time for message to travel that also depends some on the caravan. If it makes many trade stops it will take longer, also time of year can effect speed of travel. |
| marchingpig |
Posted - 01 Feb 2007 : 16:26:49
What if he isn´t a mage? |
| Mace Hammerhand |
Posted - 01 Feb 2007 : 16:19:31
If he is an agent of Alustriel's he can Send everything to her, provided it isn't longer then...what?...20 words or so. It would be a one-way communication, starting every sentence with "Alustriel" |
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