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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1927 Posts |
 Posted - 27 Feb 2026 : 17:14:58
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On image of Hundelstone in Magic: The Gathering
The Kobold Bard Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 23/2/2026 11:15 PM
Howdy Ed. I was ecstatic to see ‘Lost Lore of the Realms #41’ last week as it filled in a lot of the blanks as to what I was looking for in defining Hundelstone and what it looks like in the present day. The answer was thorough enough to paint a clear image the community, some of its standout features, locations adventurers can pass through, and even a few potential quest prompts.
I did have one more Hundelstone related question though. In 2021 Wizards of the coast released the ‘Adventures in the Forgotten Realms’ deck for M:TG. Card #274 was called Mountain and had a caption referring to Hundelstone. It read: “You meant to simply rest in Hundelstone, but the miners have told you stories of whispers in the dark below.”
The picture of this card features on the FR wiki as being Hundelstone and it depicts a long causeway well over the ground that leads into a mountain. Much further up the mountain is a series of buildings that seem carved out of the mountainside itself. There also appear to be ramps (or maybe aqueducts?) that protrude from the sides of the mountain.
The image I get from Volo’s Guide to the North, Storm King’s Thunder, and your posts both about the 1360s DR and 1501 DR paint a very different picture than that from what I can tell. Do you think that image is supposed to be Hundelstone? Just the mines? Or do you think the caption and the actual image are unrelated?
If unrelated do you think it better suits another area or hold in the Realms?
Ed Greenwood Role icon, Father of the Realms — 25/2/2026 1:22 PM
The image on the Magic card is Mount Hundelstone, the “Haunted Mountain,” and must depict that peak as it was before 1041 DR (when it was abandoned), as there are “evertorches” (actually oil-fed, lit braziers) burning all along the causeway.
The mountain was greatly hollowed out, and hosted a gnome city with rich mines (and forges, clustered around a magma flow) beneath it, and a deep lake of oil not far away below, that was abandoned after the second orc horde invaded it in 1041 DR. This befell only six years after a first orc horde had slaughtered more than sixteen thousand gnomes, leaving a paltry four thousand to carry on. When the second horde came, the Hundel gnomes chose a fighting withdrawal, and survival, over certain annihilation if they stayed and tried to hold on; the horde numbered upwards of thirty thousand.
The gnomes lost their home, but got their revenge: one of their greatest sorcerers, Rithfaund Ohlvarth, sacrificed his family heirloom, the Ring of Orauntar—and summoned the ancient white dragon Orauntarlivorerauntarr to fight for him. The Great White Wyrm waited until the orcs had pillaged the mountain and flooded forth to stream south down out of the mountains, then fell upon them to bite and rake and breathe, until that horde was no more. Orauntar crashed down out of the skies on its way back to its lair (far to the east along the Spine of the World), and died of its fall, and its plunge happened because of the wounds the orcs had given it—but it had slaughtered twenty-eight thousand orcs earlier that day.
Today, Orauntar’s Bones is a legendary site, in a remote, frozen mountain gorge, and Mount Hundelstone is reputedly haunted—by the undead remains of dragons, wyverns, nagas, and other fearsome creatures; some fell magic within it, perhaps wielded by someone or something sentient (a lich?) is creating undead.
The peak stands well east of the settlement of Hundelstone in its mountain pass (that carries the Ten Trail through the Spine of the World), and although the orcs reportedly ate everything edible and carried away all finished tools and weapons, the riches of the gnome city still lie in vaults and small family coffers inside the mountain, left behind as the Hundel gnomes fled in haste.
The dwarf adventurer Belargarr Stonejack disappeared in 1486 DR, while on an expedition to find the forges of Hundelstone, and shortly thereafter the undead of the mountain started to venture forth; some dwarves and gnomes believe they proliferated until—like many orc hordes—the mountain could no longer hold them, and they “leaked forth across the peaks.” Their presence these days keeps orcs, and raiding and forgaging bands of bugbears, hobgoblins, and goblins, too, well away from the area—which is why the settlement of Hundelstone, well to the west in its mountain pass, has been able to flourish.
If you stand in that settlement today and look east, you can JUST see the top of Mount Hundelstone, between the summits of three nearer, looming-larger peaks, but there’s nothing remarkable about the view. The buildings carved out of the southern face of the mountain are hidden from you behind the great bulk of Skorlfang, the Giant’s Forefinger (you can see some of the other Giant’s Finger peaks in the background of the Magic card painting). |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1927 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2026 : 13:33:36
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On other Gnomish wines and hard drinks
Zonesylvania Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 28/2/2026 10:15 AM
Good saer @Ed Greenwood , while Gogondy is a quite famous gnomish potable, can you please name and describe for us a few other gnomish wines and hard drinks? thankee!
Ed Greenwood Role icon, Father of the Realms — 1/3/2026 10:22 AM
Sure! Savark (a fermented fungi and nut rum that varies in recipe or mixture with every family that makes it) and Talask (a radish wine, which is opaque, cloudy white in hue and fiery hot—clears phlegm and cuts oil a treat) are the most popular—and not just with svirfneblin, but with surface-dwelling gnomes too.
Savark is a translucent brown drink with a nutty, warm-the-innards “afterbite” that tastes almost like a mix of caramel and almonds and (real, not sweet North American “candy”) licorice. It’s considered safe to drink because almost all known poisons are neutralized if mixed with it. It takes the better part of a month to make (to allow time for the fermentation, and skimming) but keeps for centuries, the only indications of great age being that it darkens and then slowly gets fainter and fainter in its mushroom-like scent and its afterbite and taste.
Talask is also made from family-secret mixes, in this case of several sorts of radishes, at least three fruits (of the drupe or stone fruit sort, such as peaches, plums, apricots, or cherries), and—gnomes love to jest about this when non-gnomes have had a few flagons of talask and started to like it—certain squashed spiders, with a handful of various natural herbs. After “sitting” for three days and three nights, it is stirred often on the fourth day, and is then ready to drink. Talask is throat-searingly “hot” when newly made, and mellows to merely stomach-burning after a month or so; it’s usually drunk when new, and declines noticeably in taste after about a year, its hue yellowing.
Both savark and talask are used in gnome baking *cakes, tarts, and “handballs,” which are fit-in-a-gnome-palm soft, chewy, spherical cookies) and cookery (few gnomes would dream of preparing potatoes or yams for the table, if they lacked copious amounts of butter, or cream, or spring onions, if they also lacked savark or talask as seasonings).
One note: gnome palates LOVE bacon fried in savark, which they call “taukken,” but most other palates find this dish vile—especially most elves, who describe it as combining the worst bitterness, sickly-sweet-decay taste, and soapy texture. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1927 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2026 : 13:47:51
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On current state of Akhlaur Swamp
Howardyn Role icon, Legend of the Realms — 28/2/2026 3:43 AM
Dear @Ed Greenwood , a question about Halruaa. What is the current state of Akhlaur Swamp? Is it still flooded and connected with the Great Sea, as it was after the Spellplague cataclysm, or has it returned to it's swamp state after the Second Sundering? And whichever the case, does it still perhaps have a lingering magic about it from the times of Akhlaur and the laraken etc.?
Ed Greenwood Role icon, Father of the Realms — 1/3/2026 10:36 AM
The Akhlaur Swamp is freshwater once more, the salt water swiftly neutralized by ongoing natural chemical reactions between its underlying rock and its thick “bottom muck” of rotted trees and vegetation). It may have swiftly moved from brackish to fresh, and become less acidic and more alkaline in the process, but it certainly retains lingering magic, that manifests as fitful, short-lived, moving glows usually visible only in darkness—but that attract will o’ wisps, who somehow absorb electrical energies from it (the same energies they can discharge upon contact with others).
Few Halruaans like to venture into the Akhlaur, or linger in contact with its waters. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1927 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2026 : 13:58:24
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On menu of Umar Inn in Imnesvale, Amn
Juniper Churlgo Role icon, Scribe of the Realms — 15/2/2026 4:25 AM
In the village of Imnesvale in Amn, in its Umar Inn, what is the menu like? We only know what booze they sell, but what about food?
Ed Greenwood Role icon, Father of the Realms — 2/3/2026 3:20 AM
The Umar Inn—or Imnesvale Inn; both names are visible on the signboards, depending on whether you come in through the porch door (Umar Inn) or the east end door (Imnesvale Inn) serves an unchanging menu of hearty but simple fare:
Umar Soup (a brown soup of lentils, garlic, onions, roasted and diced boar, diced celery, thyme, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and some of the inn’s always-on-simmer vegetable stock)
Cheese Bread (we would call them “cheese buns:” baked hamburger-sized buns with local Amnadar cheese melted over it; Amnadar is a reddish-orange cheese rather like Red Leicester, but sharper: so it’s crumbly, has a nutty and peppery taste with a sweet aftertaste)
Pickle Handplatter (a small oval dish of local vegetables, pickled in wine vinegar with dill and garlic: small cucumbers [so, “gherkins” to us], green beans, carrots, and green bell peppers)
Vegetable Platter (a small oval dish of washed, chopped carrots and radishes)
Roasted Quail (served whole—after plucking and beheading—on a bed of local potatoes, “home fried” after being sliced very thin)
Imnesvale Sausages (small links stuffed with a seasoned mixture of local wild boar, duck, and venison), served with Sulver’s Sauce (a tart brown sauce of local recipe, named for a long-ago hunter, Elmran Sulver; it tastes a little like real-world sweet tamarind chutney sauce, from India)
Roast Venison (when available: thin fillets of wild deer, served with the boiled kidneys, liver, and heart, with Sulver’s Sauce on the side)
Garnishes on the Side (pinch-bowls of fresh sprigs of mint and parsley)
Wild Blueberry Tarts (palm-sized butter-pastry tarts filled with berries seasoned with nutmeg, vanilla bean, ground almonds, honey, lemon zest, and arrowroot)
Apple Tarts (a pinch of cinnamon, honey, lemon zest, butter, with spliced apples, baked in one- or two-bite-sized “pinch-sacks” of pastry)...and there you have it! |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1927 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2026 : 14:58:50
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On the yuan-ti and related Realmslore
kageura necromancer wizard Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 26/2/2026 7:04 AM
Hi Ed! I hope you’re doing well.
I had a few questions about the yuan-ti and related Realmslore, and I’d really value your insight:
1) Gender distinctions among yuan-ti: For purebloods and malisons, their more human traits make gender fairly apparent. But for anathemas and abominations, how is gender determined?
Are there visible physical distinctions similar to human males and females?
Or are the differences subtler or internal?
2) Hlondeth: Is Hlondeth still ruled by yuan-ti, or has that changed in recent years?
3) Primary worship in Hlondeth and Ss’zuraass’nee: In Hlondeth and the Underdark city of Ss’zuraass’nee, which deity is most widely worshiped?
Sseth?
Zehir (Set)?
Another serpent god?
4) Sseth and Merrshaulk: What is the relationship between Sseth and Merrshaulk?
Is Sseth simply Merrshaulk under a new name?
Did Sseth usurp Merrshaulk?
Or is it a succession situation similar to Mystra/Mystryl, where one being becomes the same deity?
5) Sseth’s holy symbol: Sseth’s symbol is described as a flying snake with fangs bared. Is there a clear visual distinction between this and the Zhentarim’s winged serpent symbol?
6) Pil’it’ith: Regarding Sseth’s former Chosen, Pil’it’ith — I’ve read that after betraying Sseth and losing his divine gift, he began aging again.
Is he still alive?
Or has he since died of age?
Thank you very much for your time and for continuing to share your incredible Realmslore.
Ed Greenwood Role icon, Father of the Realms — 2/3/2026 9:57 AM
Just to tackle your first questions, about the genders of anathemas and abominations:
Most anathemas grow the necessary organs and genitalia of both genders, though these may be hidden or even retractible. However, many anathemas are sterile, and a majority of them may not find any creature, yuan-ti or otherwise, who wants to mate with them (fear and revulsion may be strong if an anathema’s appearance is far from the norm for yuan-ti). So they may not produce offspring, or many offspring.
Abominations have the same sort of genitalia as most snakes: hemipenes or hemiclitores on the undersides of their tails, that are usually held within their bodies, inverted, but temporarily thrust out for reproductive encounters by means of erectile tissue (akin to a human penis). So if a particular abomination doesn’t dress in a way to suggest gender, identifying their gender visually most of the time can be difficult. Some abominations are even hermaphroditic, though this is rare.
Most abominations look like snakes with human-like shoulders and arms, who can seem genderless to humans not familiar with them. Their scents are too faint for humans to identify their gender or arousal, though other yaun-ti and some snakes can readily tell, from the sex pheromones given off by yuan-ti that are perfectly clear to them. Female yuan-ti of all sorts (purebloods, malisons, anathemas, and abominations) can lay down scent trails for males to follow if they want to do so.
I'll tackle some of your other questions later. I'm hectic-busy right now! |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1927 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2026 : 16:10:45
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On who created NAL (Not A Lady) Xalyth
Eilistraee's Warrior Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 3/3/2026 10:41 AM
@Ed Greenwood In the Menzoberranzan 2nd Edition box set, who came up with NAL (Not A Lady) Xalyth?
Also, What is she up to and has she had to use her exploding bosoms yet?
Ed Greenwood Role icon, Father of the Realms — 3/3/2026 4:09 PM
I created Xalyth.
She has indeed used her “secret weapon” after her withdrawal from the city, when priestesses of Lolth from Menzo tracked her down to demand her return. She refused, they sought to slay her on the spot, and she fought them, using her lightning burst in the fray; she soon successfully lured them into a trap that killed them by plummeting deadfalls of rock (huge rope-mesh bags of collected stones) down on their heads.
Xalyth left the city during all the tumult that Bob described in his novels, despairing of breaking the hold of malicious priestesses and matrons over Menzo before they destroyed it; she saw that they always put their personal advancement and rewards from Lolth before all else, and decided to find a city that either didn’t venerate Lolth, or worshipped the Spider-Queen in a manner that didn’t result in the frequent elimination of entire houses and the wanton destruction of useful males. As a merchant, she can and does go anywhere, and is till moving about, seeing city after city (she hasn’t decided on her “new permanent home” yet). She’s getting old, and even pondering using magic to shapeshift, and living among humans in Waterdeep, as Skullport and the Promenade intrigue her; this seems to be a place where drow are tolerated, if not lovedm by some, and trade can go on with far more stability than it ever could in and around Menzoberranzan.
The key to Xalyth is that she can’t abide malicious folly and waste, cruelty for its own sake and when it results in vandalism of goods and trade relationships and neighborhoods that were functioning before someone who is “headstrong” and cruel decided to just wreck things because they could, or make others fear them, or to bully.
So she’s now a veteran merchant trader who’s seen a lot of the Underdark beneath western Faerûn, and a little of the surface world, too (Baldur’s Gate, the Border Kingdoms, Scornubel, Waterdeep, and Zazesspur). |
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Ed Greenwood from Greenwood's Grotto
