Brian Cortijo is getting some long overdue face time with his Swords of State: The Royal Blades of Cormyr and Crowns and Mantles: Cormyrean Ranks and Titles articles in Dragon magazine. That issue also features Character Themes: Heroes of Cormyr by Dan Anderson and Eye on the Realms: A Surprising Vintage by Ed Greenwood.
Man did I ever pick a good time to re-up on my subscription!
Ooh, and before I forget there's another article by Brian Cortijo in Dungeon: Cormyr Royale, while Eric Menge handles Backdrop: Suzail.
Just a heads up for y'all that there are MULTIPLE articles on Cormyr in both Dragon and Dungeon magazines for this month (the month of January).
Brian Cortijo is getting some long overdue face time with his Swords of State: The Royal Blades of Cormyr and Crowns and Mantles: Cormyrean Ranks and Titles articles in Dragon magazine. That issue also features Character Themes: Heroes of Cormyr by Dan Anderson and Eye on the Realms: A Surprising Vintage by Ed Greenwood.
Man did I ever pick a good time to re-up on my subscription!
Ooh, and before I forget there's another article by Brian Cortijo in Dungeon: Cormyr Royale, while Eric Menge handles Backdrop: Suzail.
Thank you!
You're most welcome!
Chris is right: this is "a good start." We'll have to see how people like it, to determine what, precisely, it's the start of...
Well, the grand Cormyrean Lineage (my name for it) you've been working on with various noteworthy individuals is something I'd like to see these articles of yours lead to.
When I think about the lineage, my mind recalls the Recent Royal Lineage of Cormyr found on page 34 of the venerable Cyclopedia of the Realms from the Old Gray Box set, as well as the Obarskyr Dynasty entry on page 76-77 of the Grand History of Faerun.
In the Recent Royal Lineage, you have a simple branching layout from top to bottom, showing Pryntaler's descendants, their wives and children through to Azoun IV and Azoun's children, as well as a side branch that ends with Dukes Bhereu and Thomdor.
The Obarskyr Dynasty list is just that: a list of Cormyr's Kings, along with some very useful notes about each King's reign.
If I may ask, would you be willing to talk a little about the lineage you've created? Is it more like the Recent Royal Lineage or more like the Obarskyr Dynasty list? Or perhaps some of both?
Looking at it, would you say it has the potential to "pose three questions about the Realms for every one it answers"?
Can it be easily tied in to any of your January articles or Ed's Eye on the Realms articles? The Lineage seems like it would go well with Ed's article about "turnshields", aka bastard offspring of nobility (Tarmel Drouth: Outcast Noble, Dungeon Magazine #176). As well for players who want to adapt the Neverwinter Noble character theme from the Neverwinter Campaign Setting book for use in Cormyr. Any others you can think of?
Lastly, are there any unknown-to-the-public-at-large elements to the Lineage that you can talk about (or just hint at) which might cause a good portion of DDI subscribers/Realms fans to start a drive to see this Lineage find its way onto Dragon or Dungeon magazine?
Regardless, you have my vote: I want to see the Lineage in print. It will be useful to me as a Realms DM for developing NPC plots and creating NPC factions for my players to face off against. That, and all the cool names will make my game feel more authentic and Realmsian.
Chris is right: this is "a good start." We'll have to see how people like it, to determine what, precisely, it's the start of...
Well, the grand Cormyrean Lineage (my name for it) you've been working on with various noteworthy individuals is something I'd like to see these articles of yours lead to.
When I think about the lineage, my mind recalls the Recent Royal Lineage of Cormyr found on page 34 of the venerable Cyclopedia of the Realms from the Old Gray Box set, as well as the Obarskyr Dynasty entry on page 76-77 of the Grand History of Faerun.
In the Recent Royal Lineage, you have a simple branching layout from top to bottom, showing Pryntaler's descendants, their wives and children through to Azoun IV and Azoun's children, as well as a side branch that ends with Dukes Bhereu and Thomdor.
The Obarskyr Dynasty list is just that: a list of Cormyr's Kings, along with some very useful notes about each King's reign.
If I may ask, would you be willing to talk a little about the lineage you've created? Is it more like the Recent Royal Lineage or more like the Obarskyr Dynasty list? Or perhaps some of both?
Looking at it, would you say it has the potential to "pose three questions about the Realms for every one it answers"?
Can it be easily tied in to any of your January articles or Ed's Eye on the Realms articles? The Lineage seems like it would go well with Ed's article about "turnshields", aka bastard offspring of nobility (Tarmel Drouth: Outcast Noble, Dungeon Magazine #176). As well for players who want to adapt the Neverwinter Noble character theme from the Neverwinter Campaign Setting book for use in Cormyr. Any others you can think of?
Lastly, are there any unknown-to-the-public-at-large elements to the Lineage that you can talk about (or just hint at) which might cause a good portion of DDI subscribers/Realms fans to start a drive to see this Lineage find its way onto Dragon or Dungeon magazine?
Regardless, you have my vote: I want to see the Lineage in print. It will be useful to me as a Realms DM for developing NPC plots and creating NPC factions for my players to face off against. That, and all the cool names will make my game feel more authentic and Realmsian.
The Recent Royal Lineage is a actually just a family tree. The Obarskyr Dynasty list from Grand History of the Realms is mainly a list of dates.
The Royal Lineage of Cormyr (which is the unofficially-official working title) is neither of these.
What it is, in its current form, is a 31,000+ word document chronicling the entire history of Cormyr's royal house (it was a bit longer, but the Swords of State article was actually formed from the end portions of the Lineage). It deals with more than 120 different persons of the Obarskyr line, the royal magicians, and various related individuals. It talks about some key events and enemies of the realm, but for the most part, it's a Who's Who of Cormyrean royal history, and the key events of each of their lives, descriptions of personality, and for what (if anything) they are now remembered.
It doesn't currently have a full family tree, although it does have a brief family tree of the early Obarskyrs, showing how they relate to the Silver families.
Looking at it, I'd say it adds a good 100 questions to the Realms. How many it answers... well, that depends on what you were asking, doesn't it?
Given that the Lineage covers fifteen centuries of Cormyrean history, it's a gold mine for anyone wanting tidbits about royal or noble families, random events on which to build ruins or relics or lost weapons, names of Cormyreans past (and possibly future), or shadowy connections they didn't know existed. There are specific references to characters that have appeared in previously-published Realmslore that no one knew had anything at all to do with the Obarskyrs.
The Lineage speaks well to the Swords of State and Cormyr Royale articles (naturally), and can tangentally touch on the other three Cormyr articles for January 2012.
Personally, I find that the Lineage scratches a great many itches for me, both as a designer and as a Realms fan, but all I did was edit and revise several years worth of notes, compile the data from almost a dozen novels and countless game supplements, write (or rewrite) several thousad words of Realmslore, and hammer on every date, name, event, and personage in the thing until it made sense as a history of a living, enduring realm, ruled by the same family for almost a millenium and a half.
Or something...
Any specific questions?
I can see that the Royal Lineage is a lot more than I thought of it as and that's a good thing. The part about, "...specific references to characters that have appeared in previously-published Realmslore that no one knew had anything at all to do with the Obarskyrs," has got me pretty excited.
I posted a question or two at Loremaster.org about the Lineage and how it might be possible to expand on it to include related articles for Dragon magazine. I was wondering if you had any ideas also.
One thing that does come to mind: I'm guessing here, but if the average article is 5,000 words or so, it would follow that your document could be broken up into multiple parts. If Ed Greenwood needs a break from writing his Eye on the Realms column, maybe your Lineage could take over for a three to six month run? (Ideally I'd like to have both Ed's column and one just for you going, of course.)
Ooh, and before I forget there's another article by Brian Cortijo in Dungeon: Cormyr Royale, while Eric Menge handles Backdrop: Suzail.
Cormyr Royale is not an adventure, right?
Asking as recently I have been busy adapting Dungeon adventures for LFR.
Gomez
One thing that does come to mind: I'm guessing here, but if the average article is 5,000 words or so, it would follow that your document could be broken up into multiple parts. If Ed Greenwood needs a break from writing his Eye on the Realms column, maybe your Lineage could take over for a three to six month run? (Ideally I'd like to have both Ed's column and one just for you going, of course.)
For the Lineage to be run in Dungeon or Dragon, it would need to have a significant appeal to non-FR readers, which I'm not 100% sure exists. One of the ideas that's been bandied about in the past is possibly offering it as a separate item for sale (similar to Rosemary Jones' serial novella, Cold Steel and Secrets), but that's never gotten past the "hey, maybe we could..." phase of conceptualization.
Ed tends to write his "Eye on the Realms" columns in batches, sending an annual crop off to WotC for inclusion as the year progresses. I, for one, hope he doesn't stop.
Ooh, and before I forget there's another article by Brian Cortijo in Dungeon: Cormyr Royale, while Eric Menge handles Backdrop: Suzail.
Cormyr Royale is not an adventure, right?
Asking as recently I have been busy adapting Dungeon adventures for LFR.
Gomez
Cormyr Royale is not an adventure.
Having seen this mighty Lineage of which Brian speaks, I can assure you, it is not only detailed and awesome but also something you want, whether for gaming in/out of the Realms or writing or just reading. It provides a wonderful template for any royal family in any setting, and just reading single sections of it has inspired me to write whole novels, either about Cormyr or one of my own settings, borrowing some of the concepts therein to apply. (Ahem, highest form of flattery, Brian!)
If I were in WotC's shoes, I would put up the Lineage on DDI or sell it through Amazon as a $3-$5 download (similar to Rosemary's novella, "Cold Steel and Secrets"). To get that many words of packed lore for the price of your morning latte? Sweet.
And as a diehard Realms fan, my biggest priority is seeing this fine work see the light of day, and be added to the lexicon for the greatest fantasy campaign setting ever crafted. You want to kick the 4e FR into high gear? Here's the ticket.
Cheers
I am just a tiny green fish, but in my experience so far getting Wizards interested in something is not all that easy.
That said, if we can provide some positive feedback on this months issue, maybe they will see the possibilities.
Gomez
For the Suzail article, I was very pleased to receive input from Brian C., Brian James, and Ed himself. I've never gotten an email from Ed before so I geeked out a bit. They provided so much information that I spent most of my time trying to figure out what I could include on the magnificent city of Suzail. I only hope I did it justice.
Eric
Eric
Welcome! :D
Enjoy!
Your information presented about the Royal Court of the Steel Regent is exactly what I need as I am currently running a Forgotten Realms game set in Cormyr, just after the war that saw King Azoun IV's demise. This is just what I need to present the Court to my players, none of whom have read of or experienced it before in play.
As a Dungeon Master, your article really is perfect for me.
Well done sir!
And here it is, Cormyr Royale.
Enjoy!
I really enjoyed this article and found a lot of information in there that I think is really going to help me in the very near future.
I'd also love some Realms articles covering what is happening as the spellplague plays out and right after, so it's easier to play in that time period.
But this article is awesome.
This is so making me want to subscribe NOW! I am planning on subscribing towards the end of the month. Two months for the price of one...;)
And what's wrong with subscribing now, hmm?
The best way to let Wizards know you'd like to see more of this stuff is to sign up, download it, and then let them know--through message board posts and emails.
I'm more than a little flattered by the overwhelmingly positive response so far, but it's important that as many people as possible read the article(s). Otherwise, how will they ever know to give me more work?
so tell me.... Brian, anything good coming up in the next three months or should I jsut get the one month????
MORE REALMSLORE! WE DEMAND MORE REALMSLORE!!!!!
So I went and subscribed for a year.
I got some coming up! Nothing too major. ;)
... I hope I can afford it this friday there are some back articles I want to go get....
so tell me.... Brian, anything good coming up in the next three months or should I jsut get the one month????
I know there's some very interesting stuff coming up, but I can't promise it's in the next three months; it all depends on release schedule.
All I can say, without geting in trouble, is that there's at least one article I think a lot of people in the Realms will be very interested in reading. Many of them are already dead, but it's never stopped them before.
I find myself wonderin if "Lady" Irlingstar is the mother of all malaugrym; the one I recall Elminster having an "if you don't behave, I shall regretably have to slay thee" chat with back in Waterdeep around the Time of Troubles.
Great work Brian.
@Brian: Irlingstar is a masterful touch! Well done sir! A dark, remote prison for the worst of Cormyr's enemies is an awesome idea.
I find myself wonderin if "Lady" Irlingstar is the mother of all malaugrym; the one I recall Elminster having an "if you don't behave, I shall regretably have to slay thee" chat with back in Waterdeep around the Time of Troubles.
Great work Brian.
I can take no credit at all for Irlingstar as an idea; Ed created the prison, and its name. It was at his suggestion that I included, and the indignation of the nobles was a natural outgrowth of its function.
During editing, the folks at WotC asked whether there was a connection to the Waterdhavian noble family of the same name. Ed had a tale in mind (as to how the castle was acquired), and I had a different one (of its first inhabitant)--that hinted back to Eric Boyd's adventure "City of Wyrmshadows." We combined the two tales into one cohesive whole, which is what you see in the article.
"Lady" Irlingstar is not, in fact, the mother of all malaugrym. But that is a tale for a much different conversation. I'd recommend reading through that adventure for a secret little hint of... something, though.
I did a google search and discovered that the adventure you mention is a web enhancement to Dragons of Faerun that's still available for download.
I'm surprised I missed that enhancement before now; I'd made it a point to download all of them.
Busy reading the adventure. Thanks for making this fun and including all the lore links, Brian. This sort of history/research seems like the sort of thing players could do in an adventure, one way or another.
An excellent article, and a joy to see so many names that I had thought had evaporated into legend, along with a little more of their history. Thanks Brian!
I will continue with my reading, I am looking forward to what is coming next.