Post/Author/DateTime	Post
SarnorSerra 04-07-07, 01:44 AM	Does anyone know where to find more info on the continents on Toril other than Faerun? (not that listed in the FRCS) Or has anyone created area's out of the unknown continents
Old Sage 04-07-07, 02:20 AM	Exactly which continents are you wondering about? Most, apart from those that exist as the featured settings for the 2e campaign expansions like Maztica and Zakhara, have received little true attention in the Realmslore. We assume that Osse is one of the "unknown lands" marked on the world map on pg. 231 in the FRCS... likely the larger continent at the bottom SE of the map itself. All we know about the land itself has been revealed in Lady of Poison. Aside from a few obvious examples in the book, I wouldn't say that Osse is a direct translation of, or heavily influenced by, Australian Aborigine culture -- Gunggari's mannerisms aside (as well as his dizheri), the supposed "ways" of the Osse people could very well be associated with many other examples of Polynesian tribal cultures. I always thought the actual name "Osse" was a bit of a joke as a matter of fact... And, of course, Ed's detailed Anchorome, which was [unfortunately] largely overwritten by TSR's version. "Ed's original Anchorome" - "Plan before you play" (Dragon #63): quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If a DM lacks the time or the confidence to work out a detailed social situation, or wishes to utilize commercial modules when placing them in his existing world would disrupt affairs greatly, the “Anchorome campaign” is a solution. This campaign, named for a legendary island far over the sea to the west, further from the mainland than most sailors ever dare to go, is simplicity itself. The party is provided with — hired, conscripted, ordered, or bequeathed — a ship. This vessel (if properly maintained) is adequate for them to live on, and to carry a respectable amount of trade cargo. Due to the menace of pirates or warships, or because of a storm, or because rumors of treasure are eagerly followed by the party, the ship is sent off the normal trade routes into the unknown. Play can include a single voyage, like that of C. S. Lewis’s Dawn Treader, or (like the owners of a Traveller free trader) the party can carry on voyages for many years, concerned with trade, continually provisioning and maintaining the ship, avoiding seizure and shipwreck, and so on. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forgotten Realms Adventures p. 77: quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The city is named for the legendary seafaring explorer Balduran, who long ago sailed past Evermeet in search of the rich, fabled isles of Anchorome (pronounced "Ang-kor-OH-may"). Balduran returned with tales of strange, vast lands across the seas. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ed Greenwood from the Forgotten Times #1 interview (1999): quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Or why not pile aboard a leaky boat and do the Anchorome campaign thing, from my early Realms days? Either seek to find, explore, and win some loot from a new continent, or be forced into an epic voyage by storms that drive the ship (leaking and with breaking masts, etc.) from uncharted island to uncharted island, each one holding an adventure (ruins, active inhabitants, etc.)? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Hooded One at Candlekeep: quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anchorome began with PC adventurers aboard a ship, driven they-knew-not-where by a furious storm. De-masted and a-drift, they wind up beached on an unknown island... with ruins (a 'dungeon') on it. In order to have time to cut down trees and rig a new mast, chink the leaks in the hull and refloat the ship, etc., they must fight the monsters inhabiting the isle (in one case, a lich in his tower). Then they set sail - - straight into ANOTHER storm that drives them onto another island (lather, rinse, repeat). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- As I see it, the loss of Ed's Anchorome is just one reason why Maztica was a bad idea.
SarnorSerra 04-07-07, 02:28 AM	From what I understand Kara-Tur, Maztica, and Zakhara have downloadable info. If anyone knows the links to them it would be apriciated
Old Sage 04-07-07, 04:06 AM	WotC offer a small selection of free PDFs (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads) of several 2e FR products for both Kara-Tur and Maztica. There's one or two Al-Qadim products also freely available [that concentrate on Zakhara] as well. The rest are available, for just $4US, as PDF downloads at paizo.com.
lavekkia 04-07-07, 08:44 AM	Aside from that there s some unofficial info here and there: - Grand History of The Realms which has details about some undetailed continents - Some update on Kara Tur recent events on Candlekeep - A non official article about Anchrome here: http://web.archive.org/web/20050318221137/www.masterao.com/articles/get_article.asp?id=169 - Threads on this boards relating them
The Ubbergeek 04-07-07, 04:23 PM	Exactly which continents are you wondering about? Most, apart from those that exist as the featured settings for the 2e campaign expansions like Maztica and Zakhara, have received little true attention in the Realmslore. We assume that Osse is one of the "unknown lands" marked on the world map on pg. 231 in the FRCS... likely the larger continent at the bottom SE of the map itself. All we know about the land itself has been revealed in Lady of Poison. Aside from a few obvious examples in the book, I wouldn't say that Osse is a direct translation of, or heavily influenced by, Australian Aborigine culture -- Gunggari's mannerisms aside (as well as his dizheri), the supposed "ways" of the Osse people could very well be associated with many other examples of Polynesian tribal cultures. I always thought the actual name "Osse" was a bit of a joke as a matter of fact... And, of course, Ed's detailed Anchorome, which was [unfortunately] largely overwritten by TSR's version. "Ed's original Anchorome" - "Plan before you play" (Dragon #63): quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If a DM lacks the time or the confidence to work out a detailed social situation, or wishes to utilize commercial modules when placing them in his existing world would disrupt affairs greatly, the “Anchorome campaign” is a solution. This campaign, named for a legendary island far over the sea to the west, further from the mainland than most sailors ever dare to go, is simplicity itself. The party is provided with — hired, conscripted, ordered, or bequeathed — a ship. This vessel (if properly maintained) is adequate for them to live on, and to carry a respectable amount of trade cargo. Due to the menace of pirates or warships, or because of a storm, or because rumors of treasure are eagerly followed by the party, the ship is sent off the normal trade routes into the unknown. Play can include a single voyage, like that of C. S. Lewis’s Dawn Treader, or (like the owners of a Traveller free trader) the party can carry on voyages for many years, concerned with trade, continually provisioning and maintaining the ship, avoiding seizure and shipwreck, and so on. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forgotten Realms Adventures p. 77: quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The city is named for the legendary seafaring explorer Balduran, who long ago sailed past Evermeet in search of the rich, fabled isles of Anchorome (pronounced "Ang-kor-OH-may"). Balduran returned with tales of strange, vast lands across the seas. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ed Greenwood from the Forgotten Times #1 interview (1999): quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Or why not pile aboard a leaky boat and do the Anchorome campaign thing, from my early Realms days? Either seek to find, explore, and win some loot from a new continent, or be forced into an epic voyage by storms that drive the ship (leaking and with breaking masts, etc.) from uncharted island to uncharted island, each one holding an adventure (ruins, active inhabitants, etc.)? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Hooded One at Candlekeep: quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anchorome began with PC adventurers aboard a ship, driven they-knew-not-where by a furious storm. De-masted and a-drift, they wind up beached on an unknown island... with ruins (a 'dungeon') on it. In order to have time to cut down trees and rig a new mast, chink the leaks in the hull and refloat the ship, etc., they must fight the monsters inhabiting the isle (in one case, a lich in his tower). Then they set sail - - straight into ANOTHER storm that drives them onto another island (lather, rinse, repeat). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- As I see it, the loss of Ed's Anchorome is just one reason why Maztica was a bad idea. Maztica was better - a more united, playable realm. Ed's idea was mostly a joke. Often, TSR writters have good ideas, and too creative minds are often not as usefull as more standardised things.
Old Sage 04-07-07, 08:33 PM	It wasn't a joke. Anchorome began as a legitimate destination for the PCs in Ed's campaign. It had plenty of early potential [which Ed discusses somewhat in his replies at Candlekeep], which was later, unfortunately [as I see it], overwritten in favor of the Maztica-inspired material.
Lord Karsus 04-07-07, 08:49 PM	-Ah, Osse... Maztica was better - a more united, playable realm. Ed's idea was mostly a joke. Often, TSR writters have good ideas, and too creative minds are often not as usefull as more standardised things. -Yeah, too bad the TSR writers didn't, you know, actually have those ideas, and they instead grabbed a history book. For the most part, anyway. It wasn't a joke. Anchorome began as a legitimate destination for the PCs in Ed's campaign. It had plenty of early potential [which Ed discusses somewhat in his replies at Candlekeep], which was later, unfortunately [as I see it], overwritten in favor of the Maztica-inspired material. -I, too, always saw Anchorome as a little "light hearted", but most details are very sketchy. Fill in the blanks, and I'm sure it can be as interesting as everything else.
The Ubbergeek 04-08-07, 10:38 AM	Maztica is more playable and more fleshable. Not as creative, but then, maybe better for the game. And it's a reminder D&D should not just egal european-style fantasy, maybe a reason why it was sadly blasted. We should accept the fact that TSR/WOTC had brought not just bad but good also, and both company had writters who where excellent. Forgotten Realms is not Ed Greenwood's baby, but everyone in a way. He can make blunders or be not as good as otehrs at times.
Lord Karsus 04-08-07, 06:08 PM	Maztica is more playable and more fleshable. -Maztica is certainly more "playable", since there is more published information on the continent than Anchorome, but Anchorome is more "fleshable" than Maztica, again, because there is not much written about it. With Maztica, you have to conform to certain ideas. With Anchorome, you can literally throw in whatever you want, since there is nothing written that contradicts you.
ShadezofDis 04-09-07, 12:41 PM	So, what I'm reading here is basically; Anchorome was basically a place to put games that didn't "fit" properly in published Realmslore. (ie. I want to run Dragon Mountain, I don't feel that Dragon Mountain would be sustainable on Faerun and doesn't seem to fit elsewhere in the realms so I can throw it over on Anchorome, make up a reason for the PCs to get there and have a blast running Dragon Moutain) I like the idea and if I ever have a request for a few "noncampaign" games I might just use it (what I think the idea is, if I'm incorrect then I'll just use the idea as I see it right now and call it something different from Anchorome . . . though I probably won't have to call it anything *g*)