Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Absinta Jan 14, 2010 1:04:44	Just something I think would be cool as a resource for people to add little touches to their characters, I'm not sure where to start or if there's enough material to really bother, so I thought I'd make a thread for people to contribute if they want to. You know how fantasy writers sometimes drop in a bit of made-up language into the dialog to lend color, like Tolkien's dwarves yelling "Baruk Khazad! Khazad ai-menu!"?( I suspect plenty of people have used that for their dwarf characters).  I just thought it would be cool if we had a thread where, when you come across references like that in the novels, etc., you can make note of it for others to drop into their gaming sessions.   I thought of it the other day because of a situation where two PCs and the bad guy in a combat encounter all had Primordial as their language other than Common, so we said we were cussing him out in Primordial.  Just would have been even funnier if we had had a couple of actual words to toss in. The 'Ecology of the Genasi' article in Dragon lists one word, "szuldar" which is supposed to be what the genasi themselves call their energy lines.   I'm nearly sure there have to be a few references to Elvish and drow words floating about somewhere...Anyone?
#2 The_Silversword Jan 14, 2010 1:19:16	Excellent Idea! I'll have to keep my eyes peeled the next time im reading one of the novels, I keep meaning to make little notes while I read a novel when ever i come across something interesting like goblin swear words or herb or what ever, so far though it always slips my mind. They have had some Elven, Drow, and Dwarven words in some of the older Realms source books, I could dig some of those out and post some. The main one i can think of right now is Takasi, an Elven swear word, its from the video game Neverwinter Nights, so some people may argue that its not cannon.
#3 Imruphel Jan 14, 2010 5:02:55	I think this is a great idea. I love using the various racial dictionaries that have appeared in various products to try and give meaning to NPC names, in particular. Is it necessary? No. Do the players notice? No. But I enjoy doing it and sometimes the proverbial easter egg is found. (snip) The main one i can think of right now is Takasi, an Elven swear word, its from the video game Neverwinter Nights, so some people may argue that its not cannon. Yes, because it is not a big gun. However, I would argue that it is "canon" despite being sourced from NN. (Sorry, I know nobody cares about spelling, punctuation, grammar, syntax or even the English language on these boards, but the cannon/canon error must be put to death.)
#4 The_Silversword Jan 14, 2010 7:13:03	D'Oh! yes i meant canon, somewhat of a difference there. But yeah im one who doesnt care much for spelling, syntax, punctuation, etc. just as long as the meaning behind the post is made clear. In this case i think everybody understands what i meant. But just so this doesnt devolve entirely off topic some greetings/farewells of the Realms. All from the original box set, so definitely cannon canon. Braeunk vhos trolkh! (If you die while I'm gone, do it quietly) - Hobgoblin, with the unspoken addendum "because I wouldn't want to miss the fun" Aluve (Ah-LOO-veh-"I/we leave you") -Drow Olore' (Oh-LOR-ay-"Well met"/ "Good Day") - Inner Sea Lands Alavairthae (Al-ah-VARE-thay- "May your skill prevail") - Red Wizards of Thay Amarast (Ah-mah-RAST-"Fare well until next we meet!") - Sailors of the south
#5 gray_richardson Jan 14, 2010 18:27:23	You will want to check out the Elven Dictionary at Candlekeep.com in which Steven Sypa has meticulously compiled elven words from FR canon into a glossary: www.candlekeep.com/library/articles/dict... Also there is a glossary of Dwarven words in the back of Dwarves Deep, an FR accessory from 1990 written by none other than Ed Greenwood himself.  Also there is a list of Drow vocabulary in the sourcebook Drow of the Underdark (2e) also written by Ed Greenwood. Ed Greenwood has revealed occasional new words in Elven and Dwarven and other various FR languages in his posts at the Candlekeep forums.
#6 suin_bahhar_02 Jan 15, 2010 6:42:57	While on several tropical islands I read Eric's excellent Depth of Madness and the character Davoren was quite creative with his elven cuss words. He called Fox at Twilight a Filikin which translates to open skirt(!).
#7 makrothumeo Jan 16, 2010 6:47:55	My favorite word from anywhere, anytime is "Tanstaafl" (I pronounce it Tan-staffle)--"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch"--Robert A. Heinlein, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
#8 Mr_Miscellany Jan 17, 2010 12:57:43	Mr. M starts hunting through his Cormyr notes for words and phrases to add...