Whats up with the sharns? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 serphet Nov 26, 2008 13:29:36	I'm not an FR walking library.. but I have found some ... inconsistencies. I'm not talking about the regular 4gotten realms ones either. Netheril : empire of magic Their first appearance on Faerûn coincides with Netheril’s Shadowed Age, and many believe that Netherese arcanists actually transformed themselves into the sharn in an attempt to combat the threat of the phaerimm.
#2 lord_karsus Nov 26, 2008 13:32:56	-Keep in mind, the first two sources are not absolute (no 2e products are, and that 3e product was phrased in a way to create misinformation, if need be). The third one is, after a bunch of new information was "dropped", mostly in Steve Schend's novel Blackstaff. I believe that Steve knew all along how the Sharn were created, and things of that nature, but did not release said information, because there were no opportunities to. Anyway, Brian wrote an article on the Sharn, Ecology of the Sharn, and that'll be released sometime soon on the DDI. I don't necessarily agree with some of the hints we've been given, but, it is what it is.
#3 old_sage Nov 26, 2008 18:01:15	Here's some further focus on the Sharn from Sage Schend himself:- "Sheesh. A week to come back and answer this. I'm ashamed. My bad. Well, I'll confess that I'd never really made a study of the Sharn Wall, but here's my take on it and why elves couldn't repair it. The Sharn, at least as I've always posited them since the summer of 1991, are a uniquely amalgamated race with unique mindsets due to the collective consciousness of it all. Given that WotC never officially set the sharn up as X+Y+Z creatures and instead left it wide open, that allowed me the freedom to set up BLACKSTAFF and its climax the way I did. Thus, my take should not be seen as excluding any other interpretations, just adding details as I see `em. The simplest answer--it's not JUST Elven High Magic. It's MORE than that, though elven High Magic formed the skeleton on which it's built. The long answer--Remember that the sharn are a combined 3 GRAND Mages, perhaps an additional elven High Mage here and there, plus a whole lot of elves (of all stripes, including sea elves, IMO), AND a whole lot of other races, each of them bringing their own magics and potentials with them. Once merged, the collective understanding of magic within the sharn increased and they were able to do things they'd normally never be able to do....like create a construct like the Sharn Wall. So, if elves were ever willing to share the knowledge of High Magic with gnomes and dwarves and centaurs, they might learn that there are other thoughts and other processes that other cultures know about that could work with their High Magic. But since many elves with High Magic see themselves as above all that and/or unwilling to share tel'quessir secrets, they don't get to learn about other races' secrets and magics. Stray ideas--The above isn't to suggest that every race has its own version of High Magic. It's more that the Sharn Wall is the culmination of special tricks and a unique mixture of ideas and spells woven together by High Magic. With their new and unique perspectives, sharn could take dwarven rune magics and carve them inside the Sharn wall in three dimensions, creating entirely new runes never seen carved into rock before. Sharn could also take advantage of gnomish understandings of illusions and build very special, very sturdy illusions that served also to bulwark the Sharn Wall (and to delineate what they were would ruin the illusion, ja?). Get the idea now? That's the true power of the Sharn, and some of that power got pulled into use in restoring Rhymanthiin. All Khelben and his assembly of wizards et al restored a 50 mile radius plot of the High Moor to health and they helped restore the original bodies/races/minds of many within the Sharn. It was the Sharn itself/themselves (using those same wizards et al as magical support and mental support ala supporters of High Magic) who created the city of Rhymanthiin with their unique magics. Steven"

Post/Author/DateTime

Post

serphet

Nov 26, 2008 13:29:36

I'm not an FR walking library.. but I have found some ... inconsistencies. I'm not talking about the regular 4gotten realms ones either.

Netheril : empire of magic

Their first appearance on Faerûn coincides with Netheril’s
Shadowed Age, and many believe that Netherese arcanists actually transformed
themselves into the sharn in an attempt to combat the threat of
the phaerimm.

lord_karsus

Nov 26, 2008 13:32:56

-Keep in mind, the first two sources are not absolute (no 2e products are, and that 3e product was phrased in a way to create misinformation, if need be). The third one is, after a bunch of new information was "dropped", mostly in Steve Schend's novel Blackstaff. I believe that Steve knew all along how the Sharn were created, and things of that nature, but did not release said information, because there were no opportunities to. Anyway, Brian wrote an article on the Sharn, Ecology of the Sharn, and that'll be released sometime soon on the DDI. I don't necessarily agree with some of the hints we've been given, but, it is what it is.

old_sage

Nov 26, 2008 18:01:15

Here's some further focus on the Sharn from Sage Schend himself:-

"Sheesh. A week to come back and answer this. I'm ashamed. My bad.

Well, I'll confess that I'd never really made a study of the Sharn Wall, but here's my take on it and why elves couldn't repair it.

The Sharn, at least as I've always posited them since the summer of 1991, are a uniquely amalgamated race with unique mindsets due to the collective consciousness of it all.

Given that WotC never officially set the sharn up as X+Y+Z creatures and instead left it wide open, that allowed me the freedom to set up BLACKSTAFF and its climax the way I did. Thus, my take should not be seen as excluding any other interpretations, just adding details as I see `em.

The simplest answer--it's not JUST Elven High Magic. It's MORE than that, though elven High Magic formed the skeleton on which it's built.

The long answer--Remember that the sharn are a combined 3 GRAND Mages, perhaps an additional elven High Mage here and there, plus a whole lot of elves (of all stripes, including sea elves, IMO), AND a whole lot of other races, each of them bringing their own magics and potentials with them. Once merged, the collective understanding of magic within the sharn increased and they were able to do things they'd normally never be able to do....like create a construct like the Sharn Wall. So, if elves were ever willing to share the knowledge of High Magic with gnomes and dwarves and centaurs, they might learn that there are other thoughts and other processes that other cultures know about that could work with their High Magic. But since many elves with High Magic see themselves as above all that and/or unwilling to share tel'quessir secrets, they don't get to learn about other races' secrets and magics.

Stray ideas--The above isn't to suggest that every race has its own version of High Magic. It's more that the Sharn Wall is the culmination of special tricks and a unique mixture of ideas and spells woven together by High Magic. With their new and unique perspectives, sharn could take dwarven rune magics and carve them inside the Sharn wall in three dimensions, creating entirely new runes never seen carved into rock before. Sharn could also take advantage of gnomish understandings of illusions and build very special, very sturdy illusions that served also to bulwark the Sharn Wall (and to delineate what they were would ruin the illusion, ja?).

Get the idea now? That's the true power of the Sharn, and some of that power got pulled into use in restoring Rhymanthiin. All Khelben and his assembly of wizards et al restored a 50 mile radius plot of the High Moor to health and they helped restore the original bodies/races/minds of many within the Sharn. It was the Sharn itself/themselves (using those same wizards et al as magical support and mental support ala supporters of High Magic) who created the city of Rhymanthiin with their unique magics.

Steven"