Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Mr_Miscellany Aug 31, 2011 12:12:19	Hello All,   Was wondering if any of you have pondered why Cormyr weathered the Spellplague better than other regions of the Forgotten Realms?   Plot armor comes to mind, of course; how else can Ed Greenwood write post-Spellplague stories about Elminster that involve Cormyr if Cormyr doesn’t exist, right?   This real world meta-view makes sense, but it’s not satisfying to me (or you, I hope); I’m far more interested in the story of the Spellplague and how it unfolded in the Realms.   Some ideas I have follow:   Randomness Aka: Cormyr just got lucky. It’s equally likely Cormyr could have gone the way of Halruaa, but things just didn’t work out that way.    Divine intervention Aka: one or more divine beings saw Cormyr as worth saving (to protect worshippers, holy sites, etc.) so one or more divine beings lent some of their power (or perhaps sacrificed themselves) to keep the Spellplague from wiping Cormyr off the map.   Location Interference Aka: Cormyr’s location and geological features played a part in protecting it. Perhaps the constant storms produced by the mountains (Thunder Peaks and Storm Horns) surrounding Cormyr were always after-effects of some long ago magic created by the Dragons and Giants that claimed Cormyr in eons past, so this old, powerful magic got eaten up by the Spellplague, leaving the lands of Cormyr the mountains cradled relatively unscathed.   Spellplague Deferred Aka a great mass of Spellplague still exists in the Underdark below Cormyr, where it’s been slowly eroding the core of magic that has always graced Cormyr and made it unique. Shadovar and other powers have learned of this and are working steadily to speed the effect along so as to destroy Cormyr once and for all.   Unique Magical Nature Aka Ed Greenwood has often hinted at Cormyr’s special/unique nature vis-a-vis magic and the land of Cormyr itself. An example of this is how the land is mysteriously/magically linked to the Obarskyr family that rules over Cormyr. So that magical uniqueness in some way kept Cormyr froms suffering the worst of the Spellplague. I think these questions can apply to other parts of the Realms too, which I find exciting to think about.   For example: Halruaa, much like Cormyr, was surrounded by mountains on three sides and a water border on its fourth, yet the whole place detonated like a bomb. Why the difference? What do you think? Any ideas on why Cormyr might have survived the Spellplague so well relative to other lands and places in the Realms?
#2 Mr_Miscellany Aug 31, 2011 12:16:49	Forgot to mention each of these ideas could make for an interesting adventure. For example: if a divine being sacrificed themselves to prevent the Spellplague from blowing Cormyr away, could followers of that dead deity demand Cormyr recognize the sacrifice? Could their efforts to re-awaken the deity pose a threat to Cormyr? Perhaps divine essence is what held the Spellplague back, and it’s still holding back the Spellplague (locked away in all those extra-dimensional spaces the Sword Heralds created centuries ago in Cormyr). So if the divine being awakens and reclaims its power, Cormyr is screwed.
#3 LordManshoon Aug 31, 2011 15:36:09	In my game, I had Finder Wyvernspur intervene to deflect the worst of the Spellplague, at the cost of his own life. The people of Cormyr had no clue it happened; they simply thought fortune smiled upon them. It was a sidenote that was mentioned in my group's campaign, so I didn't delve into it and write a whole narrative on the event, but it provided me an excuse to warp Finder's very essence, which would later be harnessed to resurrect Moander elsewhere. Moander decided to stick to the divine realms, but his less-than-pleasant-to-behold minions swarmed the countryside for a time, forcing people to convert or be forcibly twisted into abominations. The folk of Cormyr thought the mutants were spellscarred victims, but in truth, they were those who tried to refuse Moander's cultists. Naturally, the cultists weren't interested in mentioning Finder's death, nor did they make a strong (if false) case for Moander intervening. The idea of a dead/K.O.ed deity serving as a focused prison of Spellplague energies is interesting. Had I not played out Finder's death as I did, that would be a cool objective for a campaign. Who knows? Maybe I should retcon my own homebrew.
#4 Mr_Miscellany Sep 01, 2011 12:27:54	In my game, I had Finder Wyvernspur intervene to deflect the worst of the Spellplague, at the cost of his own life. Aha! So you cottoned on to the idea before me, eh? ;) I hereby dub you FIRST! The people of Cormyr had no clue it happened; they simply thought fortune smiled upon them. It was a sidenote that was mentioned in my group's campaign, so I didn't delve into it and write a whole narrative on the event, but it provided me an excuse to warp Finder's very essence, which would later be harnessed to resurrect Moander elsewhere. Moander decided to stick to the divine realms, but his less-than-pleasant-to-behold minions swarmed the countryside for a time, forcing people to convert or be forcibly twisted into abominations. The folk of Cormyr thought the mutants were spellscarred victims, but in truth, they were those who tried to refuse Moander's cultists. Naturally, the cultists weren't interested in mentioning Finder's death, nor did they make a strong (if false) case for Moander intervening. OK, this is pretty cool. Not only did you bring Moander back (Moander is awesome), but you tied it in with the Spellplague perfectly. I like mysteries involving divine beings that are layers within layers. The idea of a dead/K.O.ed deity serving as a focused prison of Spellplague energies is interesting. Had I not played out Finder's death as I did, that would be a cool objective for a campaign. Who knows? Maybe I should retcon my own homebrew. Rock on! Are there any other deities with ties to Cormyr that you think might have sacrificed all or some of their power to save it? I'm trying to remember who the deities were that helped to found the Harpers (somewhere in the Thunder Peaks, right?) so I can cross reference that list with deities thought to have perished in the Spellplague. That way I can more easily declare "they died saving Cormyr".