Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Yaeri 04-20-07, 08:18 AM	Does Abeir mean anything? I know about the first letter in the alphabet thing, but did they give it a meaning afterwards? Is there a distinction between Abeir-Toril and Toril? (Something I read on the candlekeep forum made me curious about this)
Old Sage 04-20-07, 08:56 AM	From Ed... referenced in his "Origins of the Forgotten Realms" - "Jeff contributed the name of the planet (Toril, to which he added the prefix Abeir to shift the world entry to the front of the alphabetical listings in the Old Grey Box) from his campaign. I had no world name because the folks in Faerun knew they lived on something that curved, but considered it all one land. Jeff also added a god (Waukeen), and reshaped everything into official rules format. (The gods from Jeff's own campaign had already been used in the Dragonlance setting, I believe.) Jeff and I became very close friends, and he managed the hard task of turning all the Realmslore I sent in to TSR every week (until they yelled at me to stop) into a coherent setting with both wit and humor. I can't thank him enough." ... And this from THO - "Correct. Jeff did create and name Waukeen, and did name "the planet" Abeir-Toril. The name "Faerûn" (which means "home" in a long-ago, forgotten language) refers to the main continent of the published Realms. Ed's thinking was that "everyone" knew about the land they lived in, and its boundary seas, but not every culture "of today," Realmstime, knew it was on a spherical planet. There are various names among the Netherese, modern Halruaans, elves, etc, for the planet, but there was no one commonly-accepted one. TSR needed an "official" label. Jeff was the handler, traffic cop, and "TSR end" of the Realms, and provided one. As with everything, he checked with Ed, and Ed said: fine. Sure. Go ahead. love, THO" ... And another bit from THO - "No, Toril is not (and never was) a moon. But (though NDAs prevent me from saying one word more on this), I remind scribes that the name is Abeir-Toril, and for the last few decades, all we've seen is Toril. Hint. Hint. love, THO"
Iakhovas 04-20-07, 09:55 AM	The 1st-Edition Cyclopedia of the Realms states that the name Abeir-toril is archaic, meaning "Cradle of Life", and is rarely used in everyday life.
Yaeri 04-20-07, 11:15 AM	Thanks. "No, Toril is not (and never was) a moon. But (though NDAs prevent me from saying one word more on this), I remind scribes that the name is Abeir-Toril, and for the last few decades, all we've seen is Toril. Hint. Hint. love, THO" Has there been any speculation on what this last part might mean? It's something along these lines that I had picked up and got curious about.
Old Sage 04-20-07, 11:38 AM	Nothing official. Though, I have a feeling Grand History will prove to be a rather enlightening source when considering such matters.
Yaeri 04-20-07, 01:11 PM	Nothing official. Though, I have a feeling Grand History will prove to be a rather enlightening source when considering such matters. Ah, grand history of the realms was a book on my wishlist anyways. Although it still depends on what they make of it. I already have the free version that WOTC bought up recently. But either way that's still until the end of the year and I'm young and impatient. :D Actually guesses are just fun. You don't happen to have heard any? Aside from an alternate forgotten realms reality, I couldn't think of anything. (Something along the lines of: everything after 1st edition occured in an alternate realms reality where it's just Toril. Abeir Toril still exists and no time of troubles or yadayada took place there) There must be more plausible guesses out there...
Old Sage 04-20-07, 07:42 PM	Actually, the published version of Grand History will contain much more than what's been included in the free PDF version stored at Candlekeep. I would suggest you take a look through this scroll at Candlekeep for the details:- http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8788
Yaeri 04-21-07, 04:20 AM	Actually, the published version of Grand History will contain much more than what's been included in the free PDF version stored at Candlekeep. I know. It's 160 pages :cool: I would suggest you take a look through this scroll at Candlekeep for the details:- http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8788 :) When WotC says it’s "not a game supplement", I presume they imply the Grand History will not include game mechanics like prestige classes, spells, and the like. This book is solidly in the 'fluff' category. :D I like this part. Now I'm itching for the release.