-Khelben
Where's Ed Greenwood these days? I was surprised to see that his name wasn't on the new FR sourcebooks.
Check again. His name is on the cover of the new Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide!
He is also writing a new monthly series of articles for D&D Insider which I believe start next month.
Where's Ed Greenwood these days? I was surprised to see that his name wasn't on the new FR sourcebooks.
-He's a normal person, living a normal life. He can be reached for questioning and such HERE.
Check again. His name is on the cover of the new Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide!
He is also writing a new monthly series of articles for D&D Insider which I believe start next month.
My bad. I'll be looking forward to his articles.
(not talking about the vast Candlekeep threads.. talking about something you can search in :P )
Name's on some new novels as well... Ed Greenwood Presents, or something like that. Struck me as kind of an odd thing to do since it didn't look like he did any writing on them, but its not like I pay much attention to the novels anyway.
The series is called "Ed Greenwood presents Waterdeep" because Ed wrote the 100 page story bible for Waterdeep which the novelists used as a basis for their writing. I used the same document when writing the Waterdeep chapter in the FRCG. It's my understanding that Ed also reviews each novel, serving as a continuity editor in some fashion, but Erik Scott de Bie or other author would know more about that than I.
:evillaugh
:D
FR appears to have lost some of it's luster.
FR appears to have lost some of it's luster.
'Cause Ed's missing....
-There are indexed and compiled lists of his responses from Candlekeep, found at Candlekeep, that can be searched using CTRL + F. I don't go to Candlekeep, though, so I don't know how updated it all is, or anything. HERE.
Last one is from march 08. Is this because the Compilation is behind?
Because he does answer them thereI got a copy of Castlemourn and The Paizo Setting, so what is the 3rd setting he is working on?
To LK and the ORC's I hope this isn't stepping on anyones toes by recommending another Forum site other than WotC's.
-Like I said, I don't go there, I don't know. Inquire there, I guess. They'd know those things, not me.
Come now, LK. Just because you haven't posted there since February doesn't mean you don't know anything about the site...
I need to check Candlekeep out.
I got a copy of Castlemourn and The Paizo Setting, so what is the 3rd setting he is working on?
Falconfar is his novel-setting, and he is working-on releasing another game-setting of his own called Embersea, which is way behind schedule because the man is so incredibly busy.
Come now, LK. Just because you haven't posted there since February doesn't mean you don't know anything about the site...
-I never went there on any regular basis, I haven't been there in months, and I was never "in the loop". The questions that Khelben was asking, I can't answer.
THO has told us a teensy-tiny bit - it is a massive chain of Islands, some of which are quite large, but most are small. It sounds to me like Earthsea, and it appears to be designed for nautically-based campaigning.
Some at CK have theorized that Embersea is really Ed's Anchorome re-named, but we'll never know, because it would b imprudent of Ed to admit that (since Hasbro owns anything Ed has concerning his FR).
So if it comes out, just ignore all the 'Returned Abeir' foolishness and insert Embersea to the west of Evermeet - its all good.
The series is called "Ed Greenwood presents Waterdeep" because Ed wrote the 100 page story bible for Waterdeep which the novelists used as a basis for their writing. I used the same document when writing the Waterdeep chapter in the FRCG. It's my understanding that Ed also reviews each novel, serving as a continuity editor in some fashion, but Erik Scott de Bie or other author would know more about that than I.
Ah yes!
Ed was indeed one of the two editors for every book in this series (6 announced thus far--maybe there will be more). We receive both his comments and our WotC editor's comments.
Ed and I in particular traded a number of emails about such delightful subjects as swearing, magic, and broth--I mean festhalls.
Well, if I'm gonna believe that one, you should post a hundred pages or so of excepts for us to peruse, so we don't just have to take your word for it...
:evillaugh
:D
I'm sure Iakhovas would love to do that (as would I), but unfortunately that particular document is clad in a fearsome NDA and must remain anonymous . . . though the novels and sourcebooks use it very extensively. I personally thought the FRCG did a good job with adapting Ed's 100ish pages on Waterdeep into a short, concise summary. (Well done!)
For now, I can only recommend checking out the Ed Presents Waterdeep novels (each one of which has sample chapters for your reading pleasure) to garner what tidbits you can get there. Steve's Blackstaff Tower appears to have been written alongside Ed's compilation of the bible, so it is spot on, and Mistshore does extremely well in adapting the bits Ed put in about that area (it's left pretty broad, and Jaleigh really hit one out of the park with her delve, IMO). My Downshadow just came out last month, and Rosemary's City of the Dead is due out in a week or two . . . (and trust me, it's going to be awesome!)
'Cause Ed's missing....
I think that's clearly, demonstrably *not* the case (for all the reasons noted above: how he wrote half the FRCG, led the charge on six novels, is producing a monthly article series, and continues to churn out the Realmslore over at CK), but I can see how things are confusing. You'd think he'd be listed first on the FRCG, but it seems they went with alphabetical, so . . .
On the upside, that means my name will usually be first on sourcebooks I help write . . . assuming I can avoid my arch-alphabetical-nemesis Bruce Cordell.
(j/k BC--lotsa love!)
So if it comes out, just ignore all the 'Returned Abeir' foolishness and insert Embersea to the west of Evermeet - its all good.
Not to pick on MT or anything, but I just wanted to point out the inherent irony of this, considering Ed was the author of the entire Returned Abeir section in the FRCG. (And it shows.)
Cheers
:D
Not to pick on MT or anything, but I just wanted to point out the inherent irony of this, considering Ed was the author of the entire Returned Abeir section in the FRCG. (And it shows.)
Well, like so many others who have read the FRCG and don't plan on using the 4e setting, I will admit it was certainly the most entertaining and 'Realmsish' portion of the book.
What I meant was the whole concept of Returned Abeir (and the Abeir vs Toril thing) - I just find the 'duel world' thing so... inappropriate... for the Realms. I have no problem with Ed's writing - its the subject matter I find objectionable.
And to prove my point - the Returned Abeir Map was the ONLY 4e map I have done... because I wanted people to take more of an interest in it (despite my own personal feelings on the matter).
The series is called "Ed Greenwood presents Waterdeep" because Ed wrote the 100 page story bible for Waterdeep which the novelists used as a basis for their writing.
Where can I find the 100 pages?
How big is Returned Abeir relative to Faerun?
-It's smaller than Maztica was, I know that much.
Where can I find the 100 pages?
-At Ed Greenwood's house, for one place. That's isn't 'public knowledge', though.
How big is Returned Abeir relative to Faerun?
Well, I did a mock-up for some folks who wanted to use it without losing Maztica, and also making it more convenient for Faerûnians to access.
The alternate Laerakond Placement (made primarilly with 3e in mind).
Note that although that is FAR from anything official, the sizes are exact; ergo, you can see exaclty the relative sizes of both landmasses. Evermeet, on the other hand, is a wee bit bigger then it should be... Not sure now why I did that...
Nimbral also grew by about the same amount (its size is correct, relative to Evermeet only). Looking at the map right now, I'd say both those Island increased by about 15-20%.
Anyhow, the size relationship between Faerûn and Laerakond is accurate.
How big is Returned Abeir relative to Faerun?
This map of an alternate Laerakond placement is probably to scale, given the care Markus puts into making his maps.
Edit: Darn, beat to the punch by the man himself. Neat!
It seemed smallish even from the map of Returned Abeir alone. It's barely bigger than two average regions of Faerun.
So Laerakond replaced Maztica, which wasn't the entire continent to the west anyway, more like a large region itself. What of "Katashaka," the African style continent to the south of Maztica, or "Anchorome" to the north? Laerakond doesn't nearly have the land mass to cover those areas. So are they still there or are we staring at open ocean where those continents once sat?
Ignore the weird terrain in Katashaka - that was just some stuff I roughed-in awhile back to get some layout idea.
Note that not only is all of Katashaka and Anchorome intact, but a piece of Maztica (Lopango) is as well.
Brian James had yet-another layout - according to the FRCG, its supposed to be off the coast of Evermeet, making it much further north. More 4eFR contradictions - it appears no-one designing the new setting had any cluee about geography. If anything, they should have made Returned Abeir at least a third bigger then it is. As it stands, it's not really much more then a very large island (and Toril has at least three islands bigger then it).
This really doesn't explain why they couldn't just overlay Abeir over Maztica like they did all the other land substitutes. Oddly enough Tymanther is from Laerakond. I just though we'd get more Abeiran variety.
I know Tymanther was part of Abeir, but not Returned Abeir (more confusion).
If Tymanther came from Laerakond, then where was it? Shouldn't there be an empty spot, or a place where something Faerûnian was 'swapped-in'?
That would make very little sense if it came from the same continent as the other stuff.
I know Tymanther was part of Abeir, but not Returned Abeir (more confusion).
-Technically, it would be. If "Returned Abeir" is called "Returned Abeir" because it is a part of "Abeir" that has returned, and Tymanther was a part of "Abeir" that has since returned, it too would be "Returned Abeir". In a roundabout way, of course.
Then again, the whole 'twin world' thing was poor design. The same exact thing could have been done simply by saying places on Toril were swapped with other worlds, and each region could have had different origins, and Maztica could have gotten an overhaul without all the 'musical continents' going on.
But we've beaten this dead horse into sub-atomic particles already...
I used it to get a quick summary of Returned Abeir. The paragraph on Skelkor notes this:
"Some two hundred years before the Spellplague, a rebel group of dragonborn managed to seize a portion of western Skelkor and hold it until the plague ripped their kingdom of Tymanchebar from Abeir and literally dropped it on Unther in Toril. The survivors founded the kingdom of Tymanther. Tymanchebar occupied a portion of what is now the Dragon Sea."
On MT's improved map of Laerakond, there is a bit of land on the western coast of Skelkor named Fallen Tymanchebar. Everything seems like it fits. The FRCG has the actual info. I don't have access to that book at this time.
I've already forgotten all the research I did for that map. :embarrass
Did Ed every say what would be a good place for Castlemorn in the Realms?
With the whole Abeir thing, it's not inconceivable that pieces from elsewhere were transported in.
"Some two hundred years before the Spellplague, a rebel group of dragonborn managed to seize a portion of western Skelkor and hold it until the plague ripped their kingdom of Tymanchebar from Abeir and literally dropped it on Unther in Toril. The survivors founded the kingdom of Tymanther. Tymanchebar occupied a portion of what is now the Dragon Sea."
-Yeah, so it's still "returning" from "Abeir".
-But, yeah, like MT said: Whatever.
Yeah, it was designed to be a drop in sub-setting.
For legal reasons, CASTLEMOURN and the Realms will always be presented as completely separate settings. As anyone who’s talked with Ed knows, Ed has always linked multiple worlds with gates [D&D 3e “portals”], and there’s no reason any DM can’t do the same thing.
Did Ed every say what would be a good place for Castlemorn in the Realms?
Sort of.
From THO:-
"Ed has in the past said Castlemourn could be used as "another continent" in the Realms, for those who want to do so, but it's changed from his non-game-system-or-edition-specific, pure-lore game setting into a d20 setting. However, any DM can still use it with the Realms. As Ed's quote in the press release alludes, it has the same essential "magic" as the Realms: it feels like a real, living place."
...
"The physical setting of Castlemourn is geographically isolated: a long coastal band of countries hemmed in on three sides by mountain ranges. On the fourth side, those ranges arc out into the sea to form a string of islands that shelter a bay. Treacherous shoals, currents, and mists imperil sailing “along the coast” off the map (and the only feature known to be “out there” in one direction is a fell city of wizards.
So this could be placed on any temperate-clime seacoast, and MIGHT (if a DM wished to do so) be put “on the other side of the globe” that holds Faerûn, in one of the seven continents Ed placed there (WotC published far different ones in the FR Atlas without Ed’s approval). It also works as a self-contained, standalone setting."
Originally posted by The Hooded One
[br]Hello again, all!
This time I bring a reply from Ed to Wooly Rupert’s recent query: “Hiya, Ed and lovely Lady Hooded One!
I'm adding yet another question to my ever-growing queue, and this is one that I think may be good for a lot of people...
One of the few high points in the FRCG is the amount of detail and such in the Returned Abeir section. It's quite obvious that that section of the book is pure Ed; his world-building is what makes that area usable.
It occurs to me that Returned Abeir could easily replace one of Toril's undescribed landmasses, rather than replacing something that may not be to everyone's liking but is a part of official canon. The shape isn't right, but since those other landmasses are mostly just blobby shapes on a map, I think that's easy enough to ignore.
However... I'd want to use it as Laerakond, and I'd want to use it in the pre-Sellplague Realms. So all the "Returned" aspects have to be tweaked. I'm thinking the Dawn Titans could be banished/exiled deities, perhaps even one of the groups of Seven Lost Gods. The missing part of the dragonborn kingdom is a bit harder, but maybe it could be an earthquake or the result of an awakened nastybad, perhaps even a Dawn Titan.
So, here's the question, friend Ed: if you had to make that continent work as part of the 1370-ish era, how would you do so?”
Ed replies:
Hi, Wooly! This is a great topic, and, yes, “Returned Abeir” can function just fine as a long-unseen continent of Toril circa 1350s through 1370s with almost no “foreground” changes - - that is, alterations to what mortal adventurers see around them and experience - - at all.
Returned Abeir becomes the identical continent of Laerakond, well southwest of Evermeet, that’s been isolated from direct contact with the distant continent of Faerûn because, yes, the Dawn Titans have been imprisoned there after a long-ago Godswar, behind a mighty Weave-warping divine magic enacted by the familiar Faerûnian gods we all know agreeing and working together (under the direction of Ao, if you use Ao in your campaign).
{If for some reason you want Mystra gone or diminished in your campaign, she could have sacrificed herself to BECOME this magic, retaining power and influence in Faerûn only through her Chosen and her church, as more and more of her divine energy was sapped, as the years passed, in binding and holding the Titans, who are increasingly able to devour it; see hereafter. Or perhaps, if you want to jettison Ao or specific deities from the published pantheon, they made this sacrifice.}
Even deities - - such as Mask, Bane, and Cyric - - who customarily cheat and manipulate to get their own ways in dealings with their fellow gods have no interest in working treachery on this particular deal among the gods, because the Titans, unleashed, are a direct and malicious threat to the gods of Faerûn and all their mortal worshippers. The Titans gain power not through worship, but by devouring souls and life-essence (godhood being their first and foremost desired meal). Letting the Titans go free would eventually mean no deities, and a Toril stripped of all life - - literally bare, windblown earth, with not a plant or beast left.
The Titans entered Realmspace through a rift inadvertently caused by the elven High Magic that cloaked Evermeet, stealing in through the “back door” so to speak, so their point of entry was “behind” (farther from Faerûn than) Evermeet. By chance, it was in the northern part of Laerakond.
Where dragons were already resident, and battling each other in struggles that had long ago reduced them to few in number and forced their conflicts into contests of etiquette, influence, strict rules, and fighting through proxies (lesser beasts, right down to their dragonborn slaves) - - lest their continuing struggles result in no food left for any dragon, or their destruction at the hands of the vastly less powerful but numerically far more numerous other races of Laerakond (such as the giants, humans, et al).
{For a hint of what this dragon society might have been like, recall the evil Skeksis of the DRAK CRYSTAL, and also look to a certain contest introduced in the opening pages of the forthcoming - - and great - - Erin Evans novel THE GOD CATCHER, fifth in the ED GREENWOOD PRESENTS WATERDEEP series.}
The arrival of the Titans shattered this status quo and awakened savage battle among the dragons once more - - and the arrival of the deities of Faerûn, alerted by the shockwaves sent through the Weave by Titans hurling magic at dragons who presumed to defy them, and the subsequent battle between gods and Titans, destroyed much of Tymanther. The dragonborn won free of their dragon overlords, the dragons were reduced to a mere handful, much of Laerakond north of “The Snouts” (the capes projecting into the Dragon Sea east of Marrauk and southwest of Stormhelm) was left a magic-ravaged chaos (not lifeless, but a turmoil of destruction and raging wild magic and wild growth and mutation spawned by it, of monsters wandering the land and no order but that of fang and claw) . . . and the Titans were magically bound into stasis, in deep caverns blasted out beneath Fimbrul and Relmaur.
Where they remain to this day, already awake and scheming but unable to win free of their immobility, not daring to try anything too drastic - - like crashing their spell-chains against each other violently and repeatedly - - for fear of collapsing the caverns around them and perishing under the weight of the mountains above. Yet seeking to reach out and rule all Toril from their prisons, by means insidious. They managed much during the Time of Troubles, luring many creatures to them through dream-visions sent forth while the gods were walking Faerûn, and their power is increasing, as rumors spread in Laerakond lure more and more adventurers and power-seekers to them, to this day.
So we have a longtime inability to pass from Faerûn to Laerakond and vice versa, except through a few secret gates (portals), because the elves wanted Evermeet cloaked not just from Faerûn, but also from Laerakond, and for years used lesser magics to aid and abet the magical experimentations of the great ruling dragons of Laerakond.
The dragons were alarmed by some ships arriving at their shores (from Faerûn and elsewhere), and - - after enslaving the crews, from whom many of the humans of their continent are descended - - raised magical storms in the seas around Laerakond that made sailing to and from it foolishly perilous.
Which left legends in Faerûn of a lost land somewhere across the seas, a vast land of terrible dragons and great riches, that a few sailors found long ago, but that none can find today.
Until recently, if you the DM want it to. Perhaps the Time of Troubles, or the deaths and shifting portfolios and power alliances among the gods since (if you have had any of those happen in your campaign) or any of your own tinkerings with the pantheon, have weakened or ended the “storms at sea” zones, and a few intrepid seacaptains have voyaged between one continent to the other, and back. (Or not, if you prefer; I designed both the continents of Faerûn and Laerakond to function perfectly in isolation, each as a campaign setting.)
Note that none of this (the “what happened” ideas I advanced above) invalidates what’s written in the FRCG as “Abeir’s Past.” Those published words merely become the locally-accepted version of things; what most folk of Laerakond believe happened “before the days we know now.”
The Titans become the source of Shar’s recent success, if you want them to, and of the Shadow Weave, if you want to use it, and can even be the backers of Shade (the Princes may or may not be aware of this). They can also be the source of any monsters or cults you want to add to the Realms (even “don’t fit” elements, such as the dragon kings of DARK SUN or something from RUNEQUEST or another fantasy setting or game, that you just want to experiment with as “one-offs”), or hitherto-unknown links (portals) connecting the Realms with, say, Golarion, or Eberron, or the fictional settings of A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE or the WHEEL OF TIME or the setting of the Eddings BELGARIAD and MALLOREON or whatever you’d prefer.
The point is that the Titans are bound, and although they may individually be too strong to destroy (and their destruction, akin to an atomic explosion of unprecedented proportions, may be too damaging to Toril to dare attempt), they dare not break free and act openly, because the gods will swarm them and imprison them again, in (already explicitly threatened) greater torment. so instead, they work through proxies, seeking to sew discontent and warfare and mistrust, to weaken rulers and order and increase violence and “the wild” right across the face of the Realms, by cults here and monster breedings there. Perhaps they are behind the deepspawn, or the rise of a beholder realm, or both. They are certainly behind cults, cabals, and attempted treason and usurpations everywhere, and seeking to subvert existing merchant costers, brotherhoods, and other established power groups (the Harper, from within? the War Wizards? the Red Wizards?).
And they are certainly behind expedition after expedition of adventurers, both duped “good” bands and grasping evildoers (or adventurers hired by power-seekers in Tarmalune and your choice of the cities and lands of southern Laerakond) into Relmaur and Fimbrul, seeking to find the deep cavern of this or that Titan, and physically free them. Perhaps the imprisoned Titans are aware of a way to substitute a captured dragon or wizard (or even some or all of the adventurers who are rescuing them) for themselves in the bindings, to prevent gods whose attentions are now elsewhere from knowing that a Titan has won free . . .
Ah, such delicious cans of worms, all opened up in a row before you. Your choice of which to partake of, and how much, and when.
Dig in! :}
So saith Ed. Creator of the Realms and Laerakond and lots of crazy, sneaky, fun campaign ideas like this!
GREAT question, Wooly!
love to all,
THO