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Xnella Moonblade-Thann
Learned Scribe
USA
234 Posts |
 Posted - 06 Jan 2015 : 23:45:38
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Xnella Moonblade-Thann
To our Gracious Lady THO and Revered Master Ed of the Greenwood, well met and may the new year bring prosperity, good health and happiness to you!
I came across a scroll which had the following in the timeline it presented of the end of the years of the Spellplague:
1469 DR Year of the Splendors Burning
I was wondering if the year name above from the Roll of Years was an indicator of if Waterdeep had a massive fire within the city? One that would destroy not just neighborhoods or blocks, but the different wards as well? The reason why I ask if there is a connection between the Year Name and Waterdeep is because Waterdeep in known as "The City of Splendors", and I hold the city dear in my heart. (If I ever wished for a fantasy place to be real, Waterdeep and the Forgotten Realms in general is first place I would wish for!)
While that is an obvious conclusion, we've had plenty of other year names that did not have obvious events matching the name. "Splendors Burning" could be the destruction of art objects or beautiful natural locations, or it could be picturesque lava flows like we see in Hawaii, or even something minor like the death by immolation of Bahb "The Sword of Splendors" Nounsilver.
True, Wooly, true. But I'd still like to hear from the Master of the Realms himself. You never know what he might know or have heard about it from Elminster! |
"Sweet water and light laughter until next we meet." - traditional elven farewell
Please forgive any spelling and grammer errors, as my android touch-screen phone has no spellchecker. If I do make a grammer mistake, please let me know and I'll try to fix it.
New laptop, still trying to sort my "scrolls" on its shelves...and when will this cursed thing stop doing things I tell it not to?  |
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore
USA
1853 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jan 2015 : 23:59:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
something minor like the death by immolation of Bahb "The Sword of Splendors" Nounsilver.
Maybe Bahb matters to some of us! *sniff*
Okay, I'll stahp. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jan 2015 : 00:38:20
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quote:
Originally posted by xaeyruudh
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
something minor like the death by immolation of Bahb "The Sword of Splendors" Nounsilver.
Maybe Bahb matters to some of us! *sniff*
Okay, I'll stahp.
I'm very fond of Bahb, myself.  |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jan 2015 : 02:11:27
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A follow-up query for the Lady Hooded One:-
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
And a followup:
Maereska Thongolir (of, yes, the noble house), a young and spirited daughter, recently caused a scandal in the city when she was revealed to be the mistress of no less than THREE older heads of other Waterdhavian noble houses. And a guildmaster, for good measure. 
love,
THO
I can't recall at the moment... but was it ever revealed who the THREE older heads were? |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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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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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jan 2015 : 02:12:11
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quote:
Originally posted by xaeyruudh
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
something minor like the death by immolation of Bahb "The Sword of Splendors" Nounsilver.
Maybe Bahb matters to some of us! *sniff*
Okay, I'll stahp.
Bahb always reminds me that it's easy to sometimes take the Realms too seriously. |
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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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore
USA
1853 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jan 2015 : 02:35:20
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
it's easy to sometimes take the Realms too seriously.
You surprise, me, Sage. I didn't expect such blasphemy from you.
Another query born of my mad indexing project:
Stong, a merchant of Selgaunt in the grey box, is said to be of Sarbreen. Was he born there, or is he perhaps a descendant of a family that once lived there? What does he talk about, if a traveler buys him a drink? |
Edited by - xaeyruudh on 07 Jan 2015 14:34:56 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jan 2015 : 20:43:34
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Hi again, all.
I bring this reply from Ed to Xnella Moonblade-Thann:
All of the year names "mean something" in the Realms, but sometimes it's something minor and local, and might not even receive coverage in the published Realms.
The "splendors" that burned in 1469 DR are NDA for at least a short time more, but let me say this: you should not worry about major destruction in Waterdeep at that time.
Which is NOT to say that we won't see substantial fires in Waterdeep in the future, or see or not see more of Waterdeep at all. That may sound cryptic or unbearably coy, but it's really just a gentler way of saying: I can't say more now, but aside from troubles pertaining directly to wizards during the Spellplague, and the usual bustling turmoil of local politics and mercantile skirmishes, Waterdeep survived just fine up through The Sundering, and we should be getting some sort of look at it in the future.
So saith Ed. Who is hard at work on something Realms-related right now...
love,
THO |
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Eilserus
Master of Realmslore
USA
1446 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jan 2015 : 21:50:32
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Hi again, all.
I bring this reply from Ed to Xnella Moonblade-Thann:
All of the year names "mean something" in the Realms, but sometimes it's something minor and local, and might not even receive coverage in the published Realms.
The "splendors" that burned in 1469 DR are NDA for at least a short time more, but let me say this: you should not worry about major destruction in Waterdeep at that time.
Which is NOT to say that we won't see substantial fires in Waterdeep in the future, or see or not see more of Waterdeep at all. That may sound cryptic or unbearably coy, but it's really just a gentler way of saying: I can't say more now, but aside from troubles pertaining directly to wizards during the Spellplague, and the usual bustling turmoil of local politics and mercantile skirmishes, Waterdeep survived just fine up through The Sundering, and we should be getting some sort of look at it in the future.
So saith Ed. Who is hard at work on something Realms-related right now...
love,
THO
[In my evil Darth Vader voice!]:I sense something, a presence I've not felt since....Volo!
Well, I can hope anyways. Or a campaign guide! ;)
One quick question, is there anything that can be said about the fate of the Forging the Realms line? |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jan 2015 : 02:03:29
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Heh. Volo . . . hmmm. We'll just have to see.
(And no, that's NOT a hint.)
Eilserus, Ed guess that the Forging columns ended with the website redesign, but there are at least half a dozen submitted columns that never saw e-publication (their current fate/future is unknown). This does continue the tradition of long-running columns series getting abruptly ended and leaving coverage unfinished (e.g. the Border Kingdoms) and finished, often edited and illustrated columns to just . . . not appear.
Myself, I most mourn the FR Cities series in DRAGON, of which Ed managed to complete just Crimmor and see it into print (Teziir was completed, with maps and banners and all, but died in limbo when the DRAGON license that Paizo had ended).
Ah, well. Ed will just have to sneak more Realmslore into print here.
love,
THO |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jan 2015 : 17:03:48
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Hi, all.
I bring you the words of Ed in reply to Cards77 and his wife, re. the tabaxi and the gates in "The Halls of the Beast-Tamers" - - and here they are:
The gates lead to:
• the middle of a very long corridor on the uppermost “main level” of Undermountain (the level that the shaft in the taproom of The Yawning Portal drops down into). The corridor isn’t all that far from the Hall of Sleeping Kings.
• Several places, depending on whether or not whoever is using the gate is bearing a magic item or not, or is a pureblood elf or not, or is bearing a moonblade, or is carrying a specific gate token or “key” (enchanted palm-sized stone bearing a particular rune).
Bearing a magic item not a moonblade: A wilderland dell (grasslands) just north of Secomber (within sight of it), very near the edge of the High Forest.
Pureblood elf (overrides above): A garden in easternmost Evereska, beside a pond.
Bearing a moonblade (overrides above, so this result includes a non-elf carrying a moonblade): a guarded (by elves, warriors AND high mages) clearing in Evermeet, far from main settlements, and unmapped (referred to by the elves as “Threshold”).
Gate token: a rundown warehouse cellar in northeasternmost Scornubel (which, unbeknownst to the warehouse owners, was once a dwarf hiding-cache, which was when the gate was established).
And the tabaxi was magically snatched by a slaver working with a wizard, and left bewildered (not knowing where she was or how she got there) when a spell laid on her wore off, after the slaver and wizard were both murdered (in separate feuds). (In game design terms, she functions to broaden horizons (lure PCs in many possible directions, depending on their reactions to her).
And there you have it; so saith Ed.
love,
THO
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jan 2015 : 17:17:40
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... And I’m back, with lore replies from Ed to xaeyruudh: “Also, where/what is Lalambril? (Laramond Stillsilver, Lord Bard of Lalambril, from the ballad My Dark Rune Gone Away, chapter heading in Elminster Must Die!)”
And later: “I might have to ask you about Barrowhill”
Ed heareth your lore-hunger, and now shares:
Both of these places are in the Border Kingdoms.
The first is a short-lived (and small) realm, and the second a “new” name for an old hill with a tomb in it that has had other names over the years.
Lalambril is on the Lake of Steam coast, nigh the eastern end of the Border Kingdoms, and Barrowhill just south of Applegarth.
Confusingly, many humans give the name “Barrowhill” to a local hill that has a tomb or underground chamber(s) or entrance in it - - or is just rumored to. And there are lots of candidate places, so you’ll find locals calling hills “Barrowhill” or “the Barrowhill” all over the Sword Coast North, eastern Tethyr, and the Dragon Sea coast near Starmantle.
So saith Ed (again). The man’s on a roll right now, answering what he can, when he can (Sage, he has to check about the three nobles and NDAs, but thinks it may turn out to be okay…)
love,
THO
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jan 2015 : 18:27:32
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And a surprise message from Ed:
Whoops! Forgot that the Border Kingdoms realm isn't the only "Lalambril" place-name in the Realms. But the other one is, I'm afraid, NDA right now.
Hmmm. Mysteriouser and mysteriouser, as Alice said. 
love,
THO |
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Xnella Moonblade-Thann
Learned Scribe
USA
234 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jan 2015 : 19:16:30
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Hi again, all.
I bring this reply from Ed to Xnella Moonblade-Thann:
All of the year names "mean something" in the Realms, but sometimes it's something minor and local, and might not even receive coverage in the published Realms.
The "splendors" that burned in 1469 DR are NDA for at least a short time more, but let me say this: you should not worry about major destruction in Waterdeep at that time.
Which is NOT to say that we won't see substantial fires in Waterdeep in the future, or see or not see more of Waterdeep at all. That may sound cryptic or unbearably coy, but it's really just a gentler way of saying: I can't say more now, but aside from troubles pertaining directly to wizards during the Spellplague, and the usual bustling turmoil of local politics and mercantile skirmishes, Waterdeep survived just fine up through The Sundering, and we should be getting some sort of look at it in the future.
So saith Ed. Who is hard at work on something Realms-related right now...
love,
THO
Thank you, THO. I can relax now that I know my beloved city is all business as usual up until The Sundering. Although, I am waiting to see what it will look like when The Sundering and 5e have finished with it. I guess I can wait patiently until it is revealed. |
"Sweet water and light laughter until next we meet." - traditional elven farewell
Please forgive any spelling and grammer errors, as my android touch-screen phone has no spellchecker. If I do make a grammer mistake, please let me know and I'll try to fix it.
New laptop, still trying to sort my "scrolls" on its shelves...and when will this cursed thing stop doing things I tell it not to? |
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jan 2015 : 21:08:31
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| It seems to me that Ed has been "incredibly busy" for at least the last 6 months writing FR material, when are we going to see it? |
Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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Edited by - Fellfire on 08 Jan 2015 21:10:55 |
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A Gavel
Seeker
USA
53 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jan 2015 : 01:28:57
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And I would think that's a question that the answer almost has to be NDA'd. As in, Wizards will reveal who's been working on what before it appears if they want to, and otherwise we'll find out as it appears or goes up on Amazon and other e-websites...and everyone else involved (designers, writers, etc.) is bound by their NDAs not to spill anything.
Personally, I suspect Ed has had a hand in everything, because as a consultant he would provide details, lore, etc. to anyone working on anything Realms-related who asked him. We know, from posts made by Erin M. Evans here at the Keep, that she's consulted with Ed, and from hints and scuttlebutt from scribes who've attended various conventions, and from other posters elsewhere on the Net, that Ed has talked extensively with, for example, Chris Perkins this year. Now they might just have been discussing the weather, various sports teams, and cool board games they've both recently discovered...but I doubt the Realms WASN'T mentioned.
And to remind everyone: from the very beginning of the Realms as a product line, Ed's work has been part of, or the basis for, a LOT of Realms material that didn't have his name on the credits. And as I spot Ed-created monsters in the new MONSTER MANUAL, his influence lingers even where he (perhaps) didn't have direct involvement.
But I doubt your question, Fellfire, can be directly answered in this thread, by Ed or THO. Perhaps we can entice Wizards staffers who lurk (and I know they do!) to drop by and lay a few teasers on us.
But I fear that's the style of the TSR of yesteryear, not the corporation Wizards is now. Though my measure of Greg Leeds, their current president, when I met him at GenCon a few years back, was: what a nice guy. How'd he rise to be a CEO in corporate America?
Just sayin.' |
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Baleful Avatar
Learned Scribe
Canada
161 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jan 2015 : 01:36:47
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A query for Ed or THO:
I recently ran into an old friend who attends Ad Astra every year, and she recalls sitting in on a talk about epic fantasy by Steven Erikson and Ed Greenwood, hosted by Peter Halasz. Afterwards, she and some other fans chatted with Ed about the Realms and fantasy and writing in general, and he read them a story he'd written, that he had with him. She said the title had "the King's Skull" or something similar in it, and wants to know if it was a Realms story, and whether it is or isn't, where she can buy a copy.
I, too, want to know if it's a Realms tale and where I can buy it, so . . .
Please?
BA |
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore
USA
1853 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jan 2015 : 18:56:14
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Yay! Thank you very much!
Now... about Applegarth... I'm assuming you don't mean the one near Dumfries, in Scotland?
Might Lalambril have occupied land now known as the Realm of the Smoking Star? Closer to Alamontyr or Ythtym? I'm looking at this lovely map from the Wizards site. ...And though I seem to recall seeing Applegarth printed somewhere on a map or in an article, I'm unable to find it now.  |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11692 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jan 2015 : 00:35:34
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Ed,
Is it true that Volo was turned into a vampire and has continued to roam the realms, stopping off for short visits to tell people about his travels.... and leaving dead bodies in his wake? |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore
USA
1853 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jan 2015 : 00:55:59
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Elminster might scoff and say Volo was a vampire even back in the 1350s... always draining the life out of Truth and Prudence.
On a tangent, are there other lesser-known Volos around the Realms? For example, I'm writing my own for a "Tour of the Coaster Cities" and another for a "Traveler's Guide to Elversult." Might your voluminous and wonderful notebooks contain the Knights' interactions with any similar um... sages, THO? |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jan 2015 : 02:11:26
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quote:
Originally posted by xaeyruudh
Elminster might scoff and say Volo was a vampire even back in the 1350s... always draining the life out of Truth and Prudence.
On a tangent, are there other lesser-known Volos around the Realms? For example, I'm writing my own for a "Tour of the Coaster Cities" and another for a "Traveler's Guide to Elversult." Might your voluminous and wonderful notebooks contain the Knights' interactions with any similar um... sages, THO?
I've actually got a Volo-esque character I've written up... I need to formally share him, one of these days.  |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6645 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jan 2015 : 03:17:07
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I created a Volo-wannabe named Varlo, mentiond in my dragon write-up of Ouranalathra in my thread here in the Chamber of Sages.
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jan 2015 : 05:27:02
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And I created his granddaughter Volarra, when 4e first came out.
Her parents were just 'normal folks', and they would have loved their child to be the same (Volo's son was embarrassed by his father's reputation in Waterdeep). But then one day, while rummaging through some old things in the attic, the young girl came upon some of her grandfather's journals... and she was hooked.
I picture her being a Rogue/Ranger combo with some small magic, better fighting skills then her grandpappy ever had, with a sarcastic wit and irresistible sense of adventure. She'd actually become better traveled (and better received) then her famous (notorious?) ancestor, and eventually with more guide-books under her belt as well.
And she could drink most men under the table... a handy attribute when one is trying to pry information out of folks.
That was one of my 4e contributions to (un-canon) Realmslore. I really did try to support it, at first. Sometimes its better to pay homage to a beloved character, then to actually bring them back. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Eilserus
Master of Realmslore
USA
1446 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jan 2015 : 05:42:46
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Regarding Volo most likely ending up in Waterdeep in disguise, instead of being on the end of an Imprisonment spell, maybe he's a stone statue in Mirt's garden. Or quite possibly polymorphed into a chamberpot and languishing in the apprentice quarters of Blackstaff Tower. Halaster might have turned him into one of those bum scrubbers to be used at the Yawning Portal too.
I still hold out hope for the guy!
Sorry all, in a bit of a goofy mood tonight. ;) |
Edited by - Eilserus on 10 Jan 2015 05:43:16 |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jan 2015 : 07:21:20
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Volo has certainly inspired a great many variations and identities -- both official and unofficial, I'd suspect. Some of which haven't even seen print.
In my own humble way, I've even touched on the subject. Nothing too definitive, of course, to play to the strengths of "never being too certain when it comes to lore about Volo," but there are a few ballads swinging around the taverns in my Realms that lay the suggestive groundwork for one or three offspring that the Great Travelogue *may* have left spawned here or there on his travels. It deviates from what's know of the character, I suppose, but, then, that's what great ballads are about. Half-truths and "lies-you-can-almost-believe."
Besides, I'm sure Ed would be the first among us all to admit that there existthe possibilities that Volo could have found himself in situations where the fathering of illegitimate children *might* have unexpectedly resulted from certain travels taken perhaps... a little "too far." |
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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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jan 2015 : 16:04:24
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Heh. I happen to know Ed wrote at least one Forging column featuring Volo (or at least his name was in the title) because I saw it on his computer screen when I dropped in on him one day (about a year ago). I don't think that column ever went up on the website - - but if it was a "Volo is alive and kicking at the end of the 1400s DR" piece, that continuity (Volo surviving somehow into that time period) would have had to have been okayed in-house (unless things have changed markedly from the state of affairs discussed by Wizards staffers in the various GenCon Sundering seminars).
love,
THO |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6351 Posts |
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Duneth Despana
Learned Scribe
Belgium
273 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jan 2015 : 14:40:52
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| @dazzlerdal: I've sent you George Krashos' brilliant 'The Magic of Mantles' ... I'd link to it but I forgot where it was hosted (here in the keep probably but my google-fu fails me). |
« There is no overriding « epic » in the Realms, but rather a large number of stories, adventures, and encounters going on all the time. [...]. Each creative mind adds to the base, creating, defining, and making their contribution to the rich diversity of the Realms. [...]. But Ed built the stage upon which all the plays are presented. Thanks Ed. » -FR Comic no.1
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6351 Posts |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2015 : 13:58:09
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Dazzlerdal - your question just gave me a spark of an idea. Could even be a great fix for Quasi-magical items, if I work out all the details.
They weren't 'quasi-magical' at all... they weren't nerfed; magic just changed since then. 
Think about it - Arcane magical devices get powered by the Weave, and we have evidence that Shar got at least some of her power back when Netheril fell. Mystra's Weave wasn't the same as Mystryl's - it would be like plugging an American made electronic device into a European outlet (without an adapter). Could simply not work... could go 'BOOM'. The Mythallar are simply smaller versions of that original Weave - their functionality as a 'power battery' is just a fortuitous accident. Shades only tapped-into the 'dark side' of The Weave, so their stuff should have been just fine.
Just theorizing here - sorry for doing it in Ed's thread.
Guess I should ask a question: Ed, lots of folks ask you about 'The East' in YOUR Realms, but I don't recall anyone asking you about the south. What did you imagine being where Zakhara is now? |
"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 12 Jan 2015 14:00:55 |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2015)
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