Mystra's Forgotten Realms Question Thread

[Mystra]

Got a Forgotten Realms Question? Ask it here....

[Bakkan]

For someone who's only heard about the Realms but is interested in learning more about it, especially the history, cosmology, and other lore, where is the best place to start? What rulebooks or sections of rulebooks introduce the Realms best? Is there something one should definitely read first, as it sets up the framework that the other sources reference? What sources other than rulebooks describe the Realms well?

[Mystra]

For someone who's only heard about the Realms but is interested in learning more about it, especially the history, cosmology, and other lore, where is the best place to start? What rulebooks or sections of rulebooks introduce the Realms best? Is there something one should definitely read first, as it sets up the framework that the other sources reference? What sources other than rulebooks describe the Realms well?

The Realms is easily the most detailed campaign world. It can be very intimidating and confusing to know where to start. But the best advice here might be: just dive in. Remember that most Realms fans, like myself, just dove in. There was a time, long, long ago when I saw an add in the Sliver Surfer comic for ''on the 3,456 day we rested, after creating:The Forgotten Realms.''

The 3.0 Campaign Guide is not bad for an introduction to the setting. But if you really want to get deep into the lore, you will need to get your hands on the 2E books. The Player's Guide to the Forgotten Realms Campaign(1993) is a great book for new fans. It's not a ''rulebook'', it's more of a novel. And, of course, there are dozens of real novels to read too. You should have little problem finding such books at used book stores, or online.

And speaking of online, don't forget the Forgotten Realms Wiki. It's a great online reference.

[Arcanist]

2 questions:

1. What is Ioulaum's Field Specialization (Variation, Invention, Mentalism).

2. Ao serves someone referred to as The Master. Is he a Time Lord? Why does Ao serve this entity? and for that matter, who is he?

[ksbsnowowl]

Beyond Spellbound, Unapproachable East, and the Daughter of the Drow trilogy, are there any other good sources of information about Rashemen (prior to the Spellplague - 4th edition is an abomination)?

[Mystra]

1. What is Ioulaum's Field Specialization (Variation, Invention, Mentalism).

1.Officially, this answer is unknown. But as he is the creator of the mythallar and that would be ''magic that created or destroyed things'' it would stand to reason that he was a Inventive.



2. Ao serves someone referred to as The Master. Is he a Time Lord? Why does Ao serve this entity? and for that matter, who is he?

Not a Time Lord, of course....that would be a copyright violation. Why Ao serves anyone is a mystery. Officaly the 'master' of Ao, is you or any Forgotten Realms fan/reader/DM/player.

[ShadowFireLance]

2. Ao serves someone referred to as The Master. Is he a Time Lord?

Most utterly true, He must be, after all, Why would a Overdeity serve anything but?

[Tentakel]

Got a Forgotten Realms Question? Ask it here....

Here is one: does Selune have druids?

why I'm asking: in Player's Guide of Faerun, under the Initiate of Selune feat, it reads: "Prerequisites: Cleric, druid, hathran, or ranger level 3rd, patron deity Selune".

and in Faiths & Pantheons under the Silverstar description (p. 101): "Selune demands an individualistic outlook on life that is incompatible with the lawful nature of paladins and monks, and her passionately good and chaotic nature leaves little room for the balance a druid requires".

both of these entries seem to indicate that Selune has druids among her worshipers.

however, there is another FR sourcebook (for the live of me I can't remember which one) that has a sidebar named "nature gods of Faerun" or somesuch that lists all the FR deities that have druidic worshipers, and Selune is not among them.

anyone have a concensus or "official" word? What would make more sense?

[silverwolfer]

Where can I find more info that deals with Gond besides the faiths and pantheons 3.0 book? An any possible mention of lantan and what they may have made that is use able within game?

[Arcanist]

Most utterly true, He must be, after all, Why would a Overdeity serve anything but?

I'm not sure if this was rhetorical or not, but I'll take a crack it...

It was a joke based on the characters name referencing a villain (or THE Villain) from Doctor Who. In no way was I referencing The Immortal's Handbook :smalltongue:

[DeltaEmil]

How does magic and psionic interact together in the Forgotten Realms D&D 3.5 edition?

Why is Knowledge (local) split up in several regions?

Are you incapable of recognizing a human that lives in the dalelands being a human because you don't have Knowledge (local [the dales])?

Will Mystra, the magic goddess return to life in D&D 5th edition?

Will Mystra, the magic goddess die in D&D 6th edition?

Will Mystra then come back to life again in D&D 7th edition?

[Mystra]

Beyond Spellbound, Unapproachable East, and the Daughter of the Drow trilogy, are there any other good sources of information about Rashemen (prior to the Spellplague - 4th edition is an abomination)?

Rashemen is only lightly covered. Other then the books you mentioned you'd want to look at the novel The Shield of Weeping Ghosts.


Here is one: does Selune have druids?


The official answer is: confused. Selune is left off of the nature deity list and no mention of druids is made in her description. Yet, druids and rangers of Selune can be found, for example many members of the Fangshields are werewolf rangers of Selune.

So it would seem the official answer is No. Sort of. But there is no reason that Selune could not have druids, as 'the moon' and 'wanderers' are natural enough. Selune had druids in 2e....


Where can I find more info that deals with Gond besides the faiths and pantheons 3.0 book? An any possible mention of lantan and what they may have made that is use able within game?

In 3X Faiths and Pantheons has just about all the information on Gond. If you go back to 2E, the Faiths and Avatars book has several pages on Gond in very tiny type. Lantan has gotten almost no coverage other then a line or two here or there. The only Gond items ever described were guns, but they were quickly forgotten about.



How does magic and psionic interact together in the Forgotten Realms D&D 3.5 edition?

Officially psionics is magic.



Why is Knowledge (local) split up in several regions?

Are you incapable of recognizing a human that lives in the dalelands being a human because you don't have Knowledge (local [the dales])?

Because local knowledge can only get you so far. Local means around you, not the entire world. Humans are common in the Realms, so they would have a DC of like 10 to recognize.(maybe 5 if the person is human themselves). But to recognize a human is a Dalesman would require a Knowledge Local the Dalelands check.(Though you could also make the check from a border region of the Dalelands too, such as the Moonsea).



Will Mystra, the magic goddess return to life in D&D 5th edition?

Will Mystra, the magic goddess die in D&D 6th edition?

Will Mystra then come back to life again in D&D 7th edition?

Mystra is not, and has never been 'dead'.......

[Alleran]

Here is one: does Selune have druids?

why I'm asking: in Player's Guide of Faerun, under the Initiate of Selune feat, it reads: "Prerequisites: Cleric, druid, hathran, or ranger level 3rd, patron deity Selune".

and in Faiths & Pantheons under the Silverstar description (p. 101): "Selune demands an individualistic outlook on life that is incompatible with the lawful nature of paladins and monks, and her passionately good and chaotic nature leaves little room for the balance a druid requires".

both of these entries seem to indicate that Selune has druids among her worshipers.

however, there is another FR sourcebook (for the live of me I can't remember which one) that has a sidebar named "nature gods of Faerun" or somesuch that lists all the FR deities that have druidic worshipers, and Selune is not among them.

anyone have a concensus or "official" word? What would make more sense?
Little room doesn't mean no room.

[Chilingsworth]

Are the events of any of the WotC-approved games (notibly the first Neverwinter Nights trilogy) canon?

[Jeraa]

Are the events of any of the WotC-approved games (notibly the first Neverwinter Nights trilogy) cannon?


First, its "canon". Cannon is the weapon.

I would say no. Since the events are basically player-controlled, what happens in the game varies. The overall plot would remain unchanged, but the details vary. For example, in quest X you are given the choice of either killing or saving a NPC. Obviously, you can't do both. Which is therefore the canon choice? OR the big bad is killed by the character. But who was the character? An elven wizard? Dwarf fighter? Halfling paladin? It all varies from player to player.

Note that there are novels for some of the games. Those would be canon.

[Deca4531]

Mystra is not, and has never been 'dead'.......

who did Helm kill during the Time of Troubles?

[Psyren]

who did Helm kill during the Time of Troubles?

I believe it goes:

1) Shar and Selune fought at the dawn of time - this conflict created the deities of Fury (e.g. Talos.) Selune finally threw some of her essence at Shar - this weakened her, but it ended the war for existence and allowed reality to stabilize. This essence became Mystryl, who had powers from both goddesses and took over Magic.

2) Netheril happened, followed by Karsus' attempt to take over Mystryl's job. It failed - or rather, succeeded too well - and Mystryl sacrificed herself to save Magic. (1st death)

3) Ao gives Mystryl a quick rez (or maybe she came back on her own?) as Mystra, as she was true to her portfolio to the end. Mystra leans a bit more good than Mystryl did, and also puts tighter rules on use of the Weave (e.g. no more 10th-level spells.)

4) Time of Troubles happened. Mystra gets booted with the rest (except Helm.) She tries to get back into the divine realm early and gets pwned by Helm. (2nd death.)

5) During the craziness, a powerful wizard named Midnight (she probably should have been a sorceress but this was 2e) and her buddies Kelemvor and Cyric, end up achieving divinity through a series of improbable events.

6) Shar and Cyric team up to own Mystra and Azuth, causing the Spellplague and 4e. (3rd death.) Magic becomes unstable and a lot more boring.

[Deca4531]

I believe it goes:

1) Shar and Selune fought at the dawn of time - this conflict created the deities of Fury (e.g. Talos.) Selune finally threw some of her essence at Shar - this weakened her, but it ended the war for existence and allowed reality to stabilize. This essence became Mystryl, who had powers from both goddesses and took over Magic.

2) Netheril happened, followed by Karsus' attempt to take over Mystryl's job. It failed - or rather, succeeded too well - and Mystryl sacrificed herself to save Magic. (1st death)

3) Ao gives Mystryl a quick rez (or maybe she came back on her own?) as Mystra, as she was true to her portfolio to the end. Mystra leans a bit more good than Mystryl did, and also puts tighter rules on use of the Weave (e.g. no more 10th-level spells.)

4) Time of Troubles happened. Mystra gets booted with the rest (except Helm.) She tries to get back into the divine realm early and gets pwned by Helm. (2nd death.)

5) During the craziness, a powerful wizard named Midnight (she probably should have been a sorceress but this was 2e) and her buddies Kelemvor and Cyric, end up achieving divinity through a series of improbable events.

6) Shar and Cyric team up to own Mystra and Azuth, causing the Spellplague and 4e. (3rd death.) Magic becomes unstable and a lot more boring.

*claps* nice round up.

[Alleran]

Are the events of any of the WotC-approved games (notibly the first Neverwinter Nights trilogy) canon?
Games - and events in them - are never canon as far as I'm aware.

For example, the Baldur's Gate game series, despite how good it is, isn't canon. The novels released along with it are, even though they're terrible.

[navar100]

What are the odds that due to the all the shenanigans within 4E Forgotten Realms that to "fix" it and become 5E Ao brings back the Babylonian Pantheon and Unther is a free human nation once again?

[TuggyNE]

Will Mystra, the magic goddess return to life in D&D 5th edition?

Will Mystra, the magic goddess die in D&D 6th edition?

Will Mystra then come back to life again in D&D 7th edition?

Given Psyren's summary, I'd like to ask these again, with the proviso that "Mystra" is considered to include any deity in charge of magic with a name substantially similar to "Mystra", whether or not it's actually the same individual.

[Mystra]

What are the odds that due to the all the shenanigans within 4E Forgotten Realms that to "fix" it and become 5E Ao brings back the Babylonian Pantheon and Unther is a free human nation once again?

Just about Zero. The modern way of doing things is to shy away from real religions and stick with the fake ones. No one much cares if you pretend to worship Mystra in a game.....but to do so for a real life god can cause people problems.


Given Psyren's summary, I'd like to ask these again, with the proviso that "Mystra" is considered to include any deity in charge of magic with a name substantially similar to "Mystra", whether or not it's actually the same individual.

Lets all just hope that Wizards just forgets about the Realms and does not update it to any more editions. After all just look at the mess 4e made. And if every edition needs to destroy the world to fit with the new edition rules, it won't be anything close to the Realms.

[Darius Kane]

I'm making an NPC archivist who documents places that are no more. Because of that I need fairly important or interesting places in Faerun that don't exist anymore, either because they were destroyed or rebuild elsewhere or changed into something else. I'm looking for places not bigger than a small town, so no ancient empires or sunken islands (but individual, smaller places within those empires/kingdoms/islands are okay). They don't have to be built, caves or forests are also okay. Timeline - pre-Sellplague, can date back several centuries (the NPC is an immortal creature).

[shaikujin]

I believe it goes:

1) Shar and Selune fought at the dawn of time - this conflict created the deities of Fury (e.g. Talos.) Selune finally threw some of her essence at Shar - this weakened her, but it ended the war for existence and allowed reality to stabilize. This essence became Mystryl, who had powers from both goddesses and took over Magic.

2) Netheril happened, followed by Karsus' attempt to take over Mystryl's job. It failed - or rather, succeeded too well - and Mystryl sacrificed herself to save Magic. (1st death)

3) Ao gives Mystryl a quick rez (or maybe she came back on her own?) as Mystra, as she was true to her portfolio to the end. Mystra leans a bit more good than Mystryl did, and also puts tighter rules on use of the Weave (e.g. no more 10th-level spells.)

4) Time of Troubles happened. Mystra gets booted with the rest (except Helm.) She tries to get back into the divine realm early and gets pwned by Helm. (2nd death.)

5) During the craziness, a powerful wizard named Midnight (she probably should have been a sorceress but this was 2e) and her buddies Kelemvor and Cyric, end up achieving divinity through a series of improbable events.

6) Shar and Cyric team up to own Mystra and Azuth, causing the Spellplague and 4e. (3rd death.) Magic becomes unstable and a lot more boring.

Can someone let me know which books/novels I can find each of the above events in?

[Andezzar]

How quickly are the souls of the faithless absorbed into the Wall of the Faithless? Can they be raised/resurrected until that happens?

Does the Tarrasque exist on Faerûn?

[Norin]

Does the Tarrasque exist on Faerûn?

Short answer: Yes.

More info here:
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Tarrasque

[Psyren]

Can someone let me know which books/novels I can find each of the above events in?

Novels I can't help as much with, but my game sources for the above are as follows:


1) Magic of Faerun pg. 4
2-3) Lost Empires of Faerun pg. 103
4-5) Faiths and Pantheons pg. 50
6) ...Forgotten Realms Player's Guide? I think. I borrowed that one as I don't play 4e.


These events are referenced in multiple splats but the above are the most detailed source I could recall for each bullet.

[Darius Kane]

Grand History of the Realms has them and much more.

[Mystra]

I'm making an NPC archivist who documents places that are no more. Because of that I need fairly important or interesting places in Faerun that don't exist anymore

The Realms is the most detailed campaign setting ever with 40,000 some years of history. Check out the Grand History of the Realms. Are you just looking for place names or do you want more?



Can someone let me know which books/novels I can find each of the above events in?

The Netheril Trilogy(Swords Play, Dangerious Games, Mortal Consequences and the Avatar Trilogy(Shadowdale, Tantras and Waterdeep).


How quickly are the souls of the faithless absorbed into the Wall of the Faithless? Can they be raised/resurrected until that happens?

Does the Tarrasque exist on Faerûn?

In general, souls move to the afterlife slowly. It generally takes weeks for the soul to make it to the Fugue plane and into the City of the Dead. Once in the City, they have a week to be collected by their god or accept the offer of a devil. After that, they face judgment, though there is no set timeframe for this to happen. A soul can be returned to life at any time, if the appropriate magic or power is used.

Yes, the Tarrasque exists on Faerûn

[Darius Kane]

Names and possibly a short description, if it's not too much to ask. I'll try researching the details myself.

[shaikujin]

*saves book names on phone*

Thx Psyren, Darius & Mystra

[herrhauptmann]

Can someone let me know which books/novels I can find each of the above events in?
Avatar Trilogy: Waterdeep, Tantras, shadowdale. Which were later followed with Prince of Lies, and Crucible: The Trial of Cyric the mad.

Beyond Spellbound, Unapproachable East, and the Daughter of the Drow trilogy, are there any other good sources of information about Rashemen (prior to the Spellplague - 4th edition is an abomination)?
Bladesinger.
Novel takes place in Rashemen, and is better written than Daughter of the Drow. Makes good use of flashback and other literary devices.

To the OP:
How/Why can you answer about WotC plans for a campaign world in a future edition? Do you work for WotC?

[Darius Kane]

To the OP:
How/Why can you answer about WotC plans for a campaign world in a future edition? Do you work for WotC?
I don't think that's the case. He/she is just knowledgeable about the Realms.

[Mystra]

To the OP:
How/Why can you answer about WotC plans for a campaign world in a future edition? Do you work for WotC?

Anyone can answer a question....

[Chilingsworth]

How much is magic used in everyday Thayan life?

Also, what are the highest magic regions of the Realms? (i.e. places where magic is most thoughly integrated into daily life?)

Just how technologically advanced is the island of Lantan (or rather, the nation that calls that island home?)

[Norin]

Also, what are the highest magic regions of the Realms? (i.e. places where magic is most thoughly integrated into daily life?)


Halruua would be my suggestion. (at least in 3.5)

[Diarmuid]

4) Time of Troubles happened. Mystra gets booted with the rest (except Helm.) She tries to get back into the divine realm early and gets pwned by Helm. (2nd death.)

5) During the craziness, a powerful wizard named Midnight (she probably should have been a sorceress but this was 2e) and her buddies Kelemvor and Cyric, end up achieving divinity through a series of improbable events.


Slight correction being that Mystra had previously stored a small spark of her existence into Midnight which helped her "achieve divinity" when the opportunity arose (been a while since I read the books, but I recall it also improving her mastery of magic, the cause unbeknownst to her at the time). This is different from Cyric's murdering of Bane which I think granted him the latter's "currently latent divine spark" in a very Highlander kind of way, again paving the road for his ascension.

[Arcanist]

Halruua would be my suggestion. (at least in 3.5)

Depends on your definition of "life". A more liberal definition of life would be the Warlock's Crypt since most of the... "things" that make it there home are Lich's and are thus sustained by magic.

But if your definition of "life" is "not undead" then it's Thay. They (ha!) use it for everything from cooking to cleaning, to transportation to slave trade/smuggling :smallbiggrin:

[Mystra]

How much is magic used in everyday Thayan life?

A lot. The average Red Wizard uses magic for everything they want to/can afford. From cups that keep drinks cool to animated doors to weather control. Nobles and the middle class use slightly less, but only as they have to buy it and don't cast it themselves. Commoners and slaves have little direct access to magic, but they get exposed to it a lot.





Also, what are the highest magic regions of the Realms? (i.e. places where magic is most thoughly integrated into daily life?)

Any Elven place is the best place for ''most thoroughly integrated into daily life'', as elves see magic as a part of life. As a race, gnomes come a close second.

Almost every place in the Realms is effected by magic in daily life. Cormyr, for example.



Just how technologically advanced is the island of Lantan (or rather, the nation that calls that island home?)

Reminiscence level, at least. They have gun powder and printing presses, for example.

[Kuulvheysoon]

How does magic and psionic interact together in the Forgotten Realms D&D 3.5 edition?

Why is Knowledge (local) split up in several regions?



Officially psionics is magic.

Because local knowledge can only get you so far. Local means around you, not the entire world. Humans are common in the Realms, so they would have a DC of like 10 to recognize.(maybe 5 if the person is human themselves). But to recognize a human is a Dalesman would require a Knowledge Local the Dalelands check.(Though you could also make the check from a border region of the Dalelands too, such as the Moonsea).


Bladesinger.
Novel takes place in Rashemen, and is better written than Daughter of the Drow. Makes good use of flashback and other literary devices.

Correction - Psionics is counted as magic in 3.5e in relation to game terms (SR=PR, etc...). However, psionics is not, and has never been, part of the Weave. Take House Oblodra's attempt to take over Menzoberranzan during the Time of Trouble as an example.

In 3.0e Realms, you could take feats with the [Regional] tag if you had 5 ranks in the appropriate knowledge (local) skill.

+1 for Bladesinger. Fantastic book.

Where is the religion of Hoar/Assuran (featured in the books Venom's Kiss and Blood Magus) centred?

[Beelzebub1111]

I forget, is Mystra the one that's hollow on the inside that holds the last survivors of ancient cultures? There was the Hollow World box, and the Genesis game Red Sun set there...

[silverwolfer]

No , mystra is a god of magic, I know of no god, who holds anything inside them but ego.


What value would a god of magic have now that everything has been topsy turvey and everything is chaotic. Now that shar's weave is gone, would it make sense for selune to try to step in as a goddess of magic, or that magic gets split up among several gods?


Why hasen't the god of sin eaten all the other evil gods yet?

[Psyren]

Slight correction being that Mystra had previously stored a small spark of her existence into Midnight which helped her "achieve divinity" when the opportunity arose (been a while since I read the books, but I recall it also improving her mastery of magic, the cause unbeknownst to her at the time). This is different from Cyric's murdering of Bane which I think granted him the latter's "currently latent divine spark" in a very Highlander kind of way, again paving the road for his ascension.

Thanks, that makes sense.


Correction - Psionics is counted as magic in 3.5e in relation to game terms (SR=PR, etc...). However, psionics is not, and has never been, part of the Weave.

This is sort of correct, in that Mystra/Shar can't turn off a psion's powers (directly anyway - they could still drop an AMF on him). But the difference is so small it may as well not exist. "In Faerûn, psionics and magic are not transparent to each other; they interact exactly as magic interacts with other magic." (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20040305a&page=3) The distinction is pretty fine, enough so that there may as well be none.

[Mystra]

Where is the religion of Hoar/Assuran (featured in the books Venom's Kiss and Blood Magus) centred?

Hoar is centered around the southern Sea of Fallen Stars. Hoar was a god of Unther, but most of his faith is in the border areas. Thay, for example. Or the Villihon Reach(where the books take place).

[Urpriest]

I forget, is Mystra the one that's hollow on the inside that holds the last survivors of ancient cultures? There was the Hollow World box, and the Genesis game Red Sun set there...

Mystara :smalltongue:

[Alleran]

What value would a god of magic have now that everything has been topsy turvey and everything is chaotic. Now that shar's weave is gone, would it make sense for selune to try to step in as a goddess of magic, or that magic gets split up among several gods?
Re-establishing a deity of magic in the vein of Mystra would re-create the Weave (since Mystra = Weave), which was the most stable and efficient means of accessing the natural magic of Toril (yes, there are others, such as Table Magic and so on - Elminster's Forgotten Realms lists a few alternate systems). Similarly, because the Weave was also what (supposedly) kept Abeir and Toril apart using 4E and 5E setting lore, bringing it back would separate the two.

It'd actually be a very good thing for all involved, and supposedly Ao is getting started on doing just that in the novel series leading in to 5E.

[Chilingsworth]

What exactly is Abeir? I know Toril is the planet on which Faerun is located, and that Abeir-Toril is the FR prime material plane.

[Norin]

What exactly is Abeir? I know Toril is the planet on which Faerun is located, and that Abeir-Toril is the FR prime material plane.

It's a split really:
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Abeir

[Alleran]

What exactly is Abeir? I know Toril is the planet on which Faerun is located, and that Abeir-Toril is the FR prime material plane.
Realmspace is the crystal sphere that Abeir-Toril is in, and encompasses a solar system (I forget how big it is exactly, but it has several smaller planetary bodies/asteroids, and Elminster has his Safehold orbiting the sun somewhere in the system). Prior to $E, Abeir-Toril was just the one planet, and the name meant "cradle of life" in elven (IIRC), but was generally shortened to Toril for simplicity's sake. It was retconned in that Abeir and Toril had become two separate planets (according to Rich Baker they were put on two separate material planes, although that mucks up the planar cosmology of FR) in the distant past, held apart by the Weave/Tablets of Fate. When Mystra died, the two smashed back into each other and made life a horrific and terrible mess for everybody on both worlds, and gave WotC an excuse to put vast changes to the setting into play.

[Morrolan]

What is the last known location of the Crown of Horns?

[Norin]

What is the last known location of the Crown of Horns?

Oooh, reviving Myrkul are we? Nice.

AFAIK: last sighting was in the possession of Nhyris D'Hothek, a yuan-ti in Skullport beneath Waterdeep in 1370DR.

I think he became a lich and disappeared shortly after though.

[Krazzman]

Ok, I have a few questions.

First off we play 3.5 and don't use the 4th edition Faerun-changes.
So on a Timescale: How many years have passed between the Mulhorandi invasion of Unther and the Spellplague?
Or is the Mulhorandi Invasion another 4th edition change? (I seem to have them mixed up, if it is, how long until the "first indications for war" show themselves?
How do you integrate the Tome of Battle into Faerun in the sanest way possible. (Currently we are in a Iron Heart "temple"/"school" that has been overrun by hobgoblins somewhere near Eversult and about 1 day travel trough the mountains from that is a Talos Monastery... which I think feels odd.)
If the spellplague should rise in the near future, would an initiator be affected by it?
What are the 10 days called? What are the "months" called? (I remember seeing somewhere a graphic for seasons but can't remember where and if this was faerun altogether)

[Darius Kane]

How do you integrate the Tome of Battle into Faerun in the sanest way possible. (Currently we are in a Iron Heart "temple"/"school" that has been overrun by hobgoblins somewhere near Eversult and about 1 day travel trough the mountains from that is a Talos Monastery... which I think feels odd.)
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/frcc/20070911


If the spellplague should rise in the near future, would an initiator be affected by it?
No. Only a few maneuvers are Supernatural in nature and IIRC Sellplague doesn't influence Su abilities.

[Diarmuid]

I havent played any 4E so I cant answer any of the questions about that stuff, but the calendar stuff is easily found:

Month Name Common name
1 Hammer Deepwinter
2 Alturiak The Claw of Winter
3 Ches The Claw of the Sunsets
4 Tarsakh The Claw of the Storms
5 Mirtul The Melting
6 Kythorn The Time of Flowers
7 Flamerule Summertide
8 Elesias Highsun
9 Eleint The Fading
10 Marpenoth Leaffall
11 Uktar The Rotting
12 Nightal The Drawing Down

The days themselves are simply referred to as First Day, Second Day, etc.

[Morrolan]

Oooh, reviving Myrkul are we?

Ssssssht! :smallbiggrin:

[Norin]

Ssssssht! :smallbiggrin:

Muahahah! I love the idea of such a campaign. Want to run one myself. :smallamused:

Good luck sir!

[Morrolan]

Muahahah! I love the idea of such a campaign. Want to run one myself. :smallamused:

Good luck sir!

Actually, I haven't yet managed to convince other players to participate in this plan. It has however been my goal for several years now.
Maybe an idea for a play by post campaign? (except that I probably don't have time)

[Kol Korran]

interesting thread. I played in the forgotten realms a few years ago and I was intrigued by it. I'm an Eberron fan, but I'm always ready to learn.

1. Is there any source of work that deals with the spiritual life of people in the realms? I'm not talking about the deities stats, domains and such but how religions answer questions of spirituality:
- what happens after death?
- what is good? what is bad/ evil? why should we follow these lines?
- what is of worth in life?
and so on, and so on...

2. Can a faerunian worship multiple gods? or are they beholden to just one? I always found gods that embody just one realm of creation to be a bit limited... "god of storms"? "god of strartegy"?, "god of invention"? won't exactly catch that many believers i'd think...

3. can priests worship multiple gods? if yes, are there any examples? (my character tried at one point to worship two gods, which became... interesting)

my questions for now. thanks in advance! :smallwink:

[Andezzar]

1. Is there any source of work that deals with the spiritual life of people in the realms? I'm not talking about the deities stats, domains and such but how religions answer questions of spirituality:
- what happens after death?
- what is good? what is bad/ evil? why should we follow these lines?
- what is of worth in life?
and so on, and so on... Good/Evil is in the PHB and AFAIK is not changed by any FR books.
Sentient creatures in the FR setting better choose a patron deity lest they be absorbed in the wall of the faithless after death. Everyone else can petition their patron deities for a place in their realms or bargain with the devils.
What's worth in life depends on the choice of patron deity. Those values are mentioned in the deities' description in the related books (FRCS, Faiths and pantheons etc.)


2. Can a faerunian worship multiple gods? or are they beholden to just one? I always found gods that embody just one realm of creation to be a bit limited... "god of storms"? "god of strartegy"?, "god of invention"? won't exactly catch that many believers i'd think...As mentioned above a faerunian should choose a patron deity, but that does not prevent him from praying to another deity if what is asked is in another god's portfolio.


3. can priests worship multiple gods? if yes, are there any examples? (my character tried at one point to worship two gods, which became... interesting)No.

[Psyren]

interesting thread. I played in the forgotten realms a few years ago and I was intrigued by it. I'm an Eberron fan, but I'm always ready to learn.

1. Is there any source of work that deals with the spiritual life of people in the realms? I'm not talking about the deities stats, domains and such but how religions answer questions of spirituality:
- what happens after death?
- what is good? what is bad/ evil? why should we follow these lines?
- what is of worth in life?
and so on, and so on...

Most of the existential questions like these are present in each deity's dogma. Various Faerunites would then choose a patron whose dogma most appeals to them based on their lifestyle, region, social standing, chosen profession etc.



2. Can a faerunian worship multiple gods? or are they beholden to just one? I always found gods that embody just one realm of creation to be a bit limited... "god of storms"? "god of strartegy"?, "god of invention"? won't exactly catch that many believers i'd think...

Yes, and in fact even the evil gods receive veneration from average citizens. For example, a sailor would likely make offerings to both Valkur and Umberlee before a dangerous voyage.



3. can priests worship multiple gods? if yes, are there any examples? (my character tried at one point to worship two gods, which became... interesting)

In a sense; they must choose one and only one as a patron, and that is who they get spells from, but that doesn't prevent them from at least honoring/acknowledging others in most cases. Some deities (e.g. Bane and Kossuth) demand your entire focus as part of their rules, while some have alliances with other deities and expect their clergy to be respectful or even welcoming to those other faiths.

[navar100]

Pre-4E at least a cleric could worship the Triad - Tyr, Torm, and Ilmater

[Diarmuid]

Do you have a rules citing for that?

What domains would they gain access to, and how would spells like "Weapon of the Deity" and "Spiritual Weapon" be represented?

[Chilingsworth]

Actually, I haven't yet managed to convince other players to participate in this plan. It has however been my goal for several years now.
Maybe an idea for a play by post campaign? (except that I probably don't have time)

An evil campaign in the realms centered around returning the god of murder to life? Sounds like fun! If you ever do decide to run this as a PbP, message me so I can apply, please!

[Psyren]

How do you integrate the Tome of Battle into Faerun in the sanest way possible. (Currently we are in a Iron Heart "temple"/"school" that has been overrun by hobgoblins somewhere near Eversult and about 1 day travel trough the mountains from that is a Talos Monastery... which I think feels odd.)

This article might help. (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/frcc/20070911)


Pre-4E at least a cleric could worship the Triad - Tyr, Torm, and Ilmater

No - they can venerate the Triad, but would still be required to choose one and only one of them as a patron. FRCS makes this clear.

There is, however, one "triad" that can be chosen as a patron - Angharradh. But that's because the gestalt is an entity in her own right, rather than merely an alliance. (Angharradh consists of Sehanine Moonbow, Halani Celanil and Aerdrie Faenya.) This was done to give them the weaker goddesses the power needed to counter Araushnee (Lolth) who is stronger than all of them.

[Norin]

An evil campaign in the realms centered around returning the god of murder to life? Sounds like fun! If you ever do decide to run this as a PbP, message me so I can apply, please!

The god of Death, not murder.

Myrkul's portfolio was something like: Autumn
Corruption
The dead
Decay
Dusk
Exhaustion
Old age
Parasites
Wasting

His Nicknames:
Lord of Bones
Lord of the Dead
Old Lord Skull
The Reaper

You get the idea. :smallbiggrin:

Murder was more Bhaal's thing.

[Andezzar]

What's the purpose of the Wall of the Faithless? I.e. Why are the Faithless punished even if they lead good lives?

[Chilingsworth]

The god of Death, not murder.

Myrkul's portfolio was something like: Autumn
Corruption
The dead
Decay
Dusk
Exhaustion
Old age
Parasites
Wasting

His Nicknames:
Lord of Bones
Lord of the Dead
Old Lord Skull
The Reaper

You get the idea. :smallbiggrin:

Murder was more Bhaal's thing.

Right, I tend to get the dead members of Bane's pack mixed up. Still, my previous request stands.

[Darius Kane]

This article might help. (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/frcc/20070911)
I linked it earlier.


There is, however, one "triad" that can be chosen as a patron - Angharradh. But that's because the gestalt is an entity in her own right, rather than merely an alliance. (Angharradh consists of Sehanine Moonbow, Halani Celanil and Aerdrie Faenya.) This was done to give them the weaker goddesses the power needed to counter Araushnee (Lolth) who is stronger than all of them.
I like the concept behind Angharradh. Her, Sharess and Eilistraee are my favorite deities in FR and are part of the reason I like FR in the first place.

[Mystra]

1. Is there any source of work that deals with the spiritual life of people in the realms? how religions answer questions of spirituality:
- what happens after death?
- what is good? what is bad/ evil? why should we follow these lines?
- what is of worth in life?

This is mostly found in Relams fiction. You mostly get just bare bones in rulebooks. What happens after death is very detailed(check out page one of the thread).

What is 'good' and 'evil' is defined by each god, and taken together you get a mass of good/bad rules.



2. Can a faerunian worship multiple gods? or are they beholden to just one?

Yes. And most do. The average person will say a prayer or preform a ritual to the appropriate god when doing anything.



3. can priests worship multiple gods? if yes, are there any examples? (my character tried at one point to worship two gods, which became... interesting)

They can worship multiple gods in the mundane sense like everyone else, but they can only serve and get divine power from a single patron.


What's the purpose of the Wall of the Faithless? I.e. Why are the Faithless punished even if they lead good lives?

To get mortals to worship the gods. It's an all to common way to not exactly force people to do what you want. You set a command (you must worship a god) and then set up a punishment if they don't do it(you will be stuck in The Wall). It's the classic way to force people to do something, but pretend they have 'free will' to choose to do so or not.

[vartan]

What's the purpose of the Wall of the Faithless? I.e. Why are the Faithless punished even if they lead good lives?

The Wall of the Faithless protects the souls of the City of the Dead (Kelemvor's seat on the Fugue Plane) from attacks by tanar'i. So it's purpose is the same of the walls of Sundabar or any other metropolis- to protect inhabitants from hostilities.

Also in a reality where the gods literally walked the earth and grant obvious powers to their faithful how can choose to be faithless with an Int greater than 3?

@Morollan: its always intrigued me that Death has always been a portfolio at the center of.so much deific drama. I myself once planted seeds about the cult of Velsharoon and a group of swayed monks of the Long Death order seeking the Crown of Horns. It's interesting to consider Cyric, Myrkul, Velsharoon, and perhaps even Jergal eyeing the prize.

[Alleran]

What's the purpose of the Wall of the Faithless? I.e. Why are the Faithless punished even if they lead good lives?
The Wall of the Faithless is puzzling. Myrkul and Cyric used it, and then Kelemvor got in. But because he realised he was judging people based on his mortal sensibilities (and not simply on whether they had been Faithless or False, which was his job) he was poaching followers from all the other gods. He changed it so that souls of the Faithless or False would not know pain or loss, but would not know joy either. In his city, they would exist with people "ethically similar" to themselves.

Then 3rd edition brought the Wall back with no explanation, yet it was only mentioned in the FRCS - no other book I can recall offhand used it, making its return a big anomaly. Then 4E took it away again, and now if a soul isn't claimed and is judged as Faithless or False, IIRC it just hangs around on the Fugue Plain until it fades away or wanders Kelemvor's city, exactly how it had been before the 3e FRCS.

There's a note on worship in Elminster's Forgotten Realms:

"Almost all beings in Faerun worship many gods; as a rule, only zealots and clergy venerate just one deity. In other words, a farmer could mainly revere Chauntea, but also pray to appease Talos to keep crop-damaging storms away, Malar to keep beasts from attacking him or his folk in the fields and to send vermin elsewhere, Talona to keep disease and blight at bay, and so on."

"The average Faerunian lives long enough to worship (or serve through one's actions) one deity above all others - though in many cases, which deity a given person has served most might not be clear to a dying mortal or anyone else. If a mortal dies before finishing a mission or a task for a particular deity and it's a matter he felt strongly about in life, he could be sent back by that deity, reborn as another mortal, to try to complete that task. Otherwise, he ends up in the afterlife serving the deity most appropriate to his moral and ethical outlook. Only those who repudiate the gods (or who as a result of their actions are renounced by their gods), despoil altars and frustrate the clerical aims of any deity, or never pray or engage in any form of deliberate worship will qualify as either Faithless or False."

[Chilingsworth]

Wait, does that mean that someone destroying the altar of one of her/her patron's enemies will end up as one of the faithless or false?

(Say, a Torm worshiper destroying the altar in a Cyric cult's hideout?)

[Jeraa]

Wait, does that mean that someone destroying the altar of one of her/her patron's enemies will end up as one of the faithless or false?

(Say, a Torm worshiper destroying the altar in a Cyric cult's hideout?)

No, as he has faith in Torm. As a whole, the gods don't care who you follow, just as long as you follow some god.

The Faithless either deny faith in all gods, or only pay lip service to them. The False intentionally betray their own faith. A follower of Torm destroying an alter of an enemy faith is neither Faithless nor False.

Edit: Unless that is something 4e changed. They changed a whole lot of other stuff about the Realms, so its possible.

[Alleran]

Wait, does that mean that someone destroying the altar of one of her/her patron's enemies will end up as one of the faithless or false?

(Say, a Torm worshiper destroying the altar in a Cyric cult's hideout?)
No. The Tormite won't become Faithless or False from doing so (when it says "any deity" I think the intent is to describe somebody who destroys any shrine to any god they come across, not the "any" as in somebody who has a deity destroying the shrine of his deity's enemy), since he was being faithful to Torm by destroying a site of rampant evil. However, other followers of Cyric will exact revenge for it, which just continues the whole good versus evil fight.

[Morrolan]

@Morrolan: its always intrigued me that Death has always been a portfolio at the center of.so much deific drama. I myself once planted seeds about the cult of Velsharoon and a group of swayed monks of the Long Death order seeking the Crown of Horns. It's interesting to consider Cyric, Myrkul, Velsharoon, and perhaps even Jergal eyeing the prize.

I thought Larloch was also looking for it, which means that Szass Tam probably is keeping an eye out for the Crown of Horns as well. If it ever shows itself again, so many powerful forces are going to come bearing down on it :smallbiggrin:


Right, I tend to get the dead members of Bane's pack mixed up. Still, my previous request stands.

Also known as The Dead Three.
It's nice to see someone else interested in this plot. I wouldn't want to DM though, I've been wanting to play this plan for such a long time :smallwink:

[Vorr]

So what happens to the souls of intelligent undead in the Forgotten Realms? I can think of two possibilities:

1.Their souls depart when they die, and their bodies are reanimated by evil spirits/negative energy which has the memories of their previous life, but isn't actually that person.
2.Their soul is trapped in their undead body and doesn't depart until they're destroyed.

I'm interested in making a misotheist character who becomes undead to avoid the Wall of the Faithless, but if option 1 is true, it's pointless. But at the same time, option 2 has problems of its own. (What if there's a long lag time between death and reanimation? What if they're destroyed, and then brought back to unlife?)

[Mystra]

I don't think there is an 'official' answer. But it would seem that the soul of the person stays with the undead.

It would be a bit odd for the 'personality' of a person it be active in the undead, and also be a dead soul on an outer plane at the same time. (Though on an interesting note: this did happen in the FR Comic when a cleric cast speak with the dead and talked to a dead soul while the ghost of that person was present.)

So I'd say that intelligent undead take the soul from the outer plane and 'trap' it in the undead body. And for a nice twist, the soul of an mindless undead would be effected too. I'd see such a soul as 'sick' or otherwise not having a normal after life.

[Psyren]

It would be a bit odd for the 'personality' of a person it be active in the undead, and also be a dead soul on an outer plane at the same time. (Though on an interesting note: this did happen in the FR Comic when a cleric cast speak with the dead and talked to a dead soul while the ghost of that person was present.)

This actually isn't odd at all - Speak With Dead doesn't ask the soul for information, it asks the memories contained within the body. The soul's presence or proximity doesn't actually affect the spell.

To speak with an actual deceased soul (i.e. a petitioner), you would need Contact Other Plane or Commune. However, in either case you wouldn't be guaranteed of reaching the individual or entity you're trying to reach.

[Beelzebub1111]

Mystara :smalltongue:

Well now I just feel stupid. But really it's the fault of whomever's setting came second for not checking. Unless one is a reference to the other.

[Vorr]

I haven't found any exact ruling on this, so here I go...

Is there any notice in any edition on how Kelemvor and their feelings about good-aligned creatures of the Undead or Deathless types, like Archliches or Tomb Guardians?

I know Kelemvor is just about completely anti-undead, but at least in 3.X Edition, the Judge of the Damned seemed rather benevolent, so any clue how at least his Lawful Good-aligned clergy back then would react?

[Andezzar]

Who had Undeath and Necromancy in his Portfolio before Velsharoon?

Is there a deity diametrically opposed to Velsharoon or his predecessor(s)?

[Psyren]

Who had Undeath and Necromancy in his Portfolio before Velsharoon?

I believe Myrkul had necromancy before Vel, and Jergal before that.


Is there a deity diametrically opposed to Velsharoon or his predecessor(s)?

Pretty much any of them that hate undead, most notably Lathander and Kelemvor. Interestingly, Talos hates him too for being cheated, though Velsharoon is making overtures to him due to being relatively weak.

Azuth and Mystra are kinda covering for him too since necromancy is still a form of magic. The politics of it all can get weird.

[Mystra]

Is there any notice in any edition on how Kelemvor and their feelings about good-aligned creatures of the Undead or Deathless types, like Archliches or Tomb Guardians?

In general, Kelemvor only cares about evil undead. His followers are happy to turn a blind eye to neutral or good undead. While they don't like any undead, they figure they can get to the neutral and good ones last. A banelorn that does nothing but guard an elven crypt, is not quite as important as a vampire that slaughters people nightly.

[Kuulvheysoon]

Actually, were baelnorns every statted up?

I'm assuming that it's a modified lich template, but I want to know if there was ever anything official.

[Jeraa]

Actually, were baelnorns every statted up?

I'm assuming that it's a modified lich template, but I want to know if there was ever anything official.

Monsters of Faerun, page 90.

Standard lich, but without the fear aura or phylactery. They can Turn Undead as a good cleric of their own level, and have a special Projection ability.

[123456789blaaa]

Are there any Forgotten Realms dieties connected in some way with the far realm?

What are The Five Vaeyen?

[enderlord99]

Who, exactly, did Cyrik kill during the spellplague?:smallamused:

[Mystra]

Who, exactly, did Cyrik kill during the spellplague?:smallamused:

He did not kill anyone.....though he did destroy the Mystra clone decoy.

[Invader]

Why has Jarlaxle, being by far the most clever, interesting, and resourceful character the realms have ever seen, not figured out a way to gain divine ranks or at the very least, come to rule all Faerun?

[Andezzar]

Why has Jarlaxle, being by far the most clever, interesting, and resourceful character the realms have ever seen, not figured out a way to gain divine ranks or at the very least, come to rule all Faerun?Because R.A. Salvatore did not want him to (yet).
More seriously though, I think it simply would not be a fitting goal for that character.

[Mystra]

Why has Jarlaxle, being by far the most clever, interesting, and resourceful character the realms have ever seen, not figured out a way to gain divine ranks or at the very least, come to rule all Faerun?

Jarlaxle is very clever, interesting and resourceful.....and you might even say powerful, but that by no means equals being a god or ruling the world.

And if Jarlaxle could do it, then so could at least 100 others. And worse there would be 1,000 more others that would have done it years before Jarlaxle was even born. And any one of the 1,000 could have easily kept Jarlaxle from getting too powerful.

[Invader]

Jarlaxle is very clever, interesting and resourceful.....and you might even say powerful, but that by no means equals being a god or ruling the world.

And if Jarlaxle could do it, then so could at least 100 others. And worse there would be 1,000 more others that would have done it years before Jarlaxle was even born. And any one of the 1,000 could have easily kept Jarlaxle from getting too powerful.

Admittedly that was more of a hypothetical fun question as Jarlaxle is probably my favorite character.

Here's another:
Why do think given the portfolio Mask has that he has never been able to wrangle more portfolios or higher divine ranks from the other gods. Certainly it falls in his wheelhouse to try and he has the ability to succeed.

[Mystra]

Admittedly that was more of a hypothetical fun question as Jarlaxle is probably my favorite character.

I know. But one of the nice things about the Realms is the 1,000 or so powerful characters. It would be near impossible for someone to just 'become powerful' without being noticed.



Why do think given the portfolio Mask has that he has never been able to wrangle more portfolios or higher divine ranks from the other gods. Certainly it falls in his wheelhouse to try and he has the ability to succeed.

FYI, Mask is a she:smallamused:

Thievery is more then a broad enough portfolio that Mask does not need much else.

Mask did ''try''. Before 1358, Mask was an intermediate power(divine rank 11-15), just a step away from being a greater power. When Mask lost intrigue from his portfolio to Cyric he was reduced all the way down to a demipower. And has slowly worked his way back up to a lesser power.

[Invader]

I know. But one of the nice things about the Realms is the 1,000 or so powerful characters. It would be near impossible for someone to just 'become powerful' without being noticed.



FYI, Mask is a she:smallamused:

Thievery is more then a broad enough portfolio that Mask does not need much else.

Mask did ''try''. Before 1358, Mask was an intermediate power(divine rank 11-15), just a step away from being a greater power. When Mask lost intrigue from his portfolio to Cyric he was reduced all the way down to a demipower. And has slowly worked his way back up to a lesser power.

Im not sure what you're referencing when you say Mask is a "she". In any account I can remember reading he was always a male?

I thought he was only reduced to a lesser diety and then lost all divine ranks when he surrendered to Shar.

And it's not that he NEEDS or even wants more power, one would assume that it's in his nature to take what's not his.

[Newoblivion]

Mask's name is Lessinor. Not sure if its male or female though. Not sure if he was ever a mortal to have gender at all :D

I really hope he/she is comming back though.

[Mystra]

Im not sure what you're referencing when you say Mask is a "she". In any account I can remember reading he was always a male?

I thought he was only reduced to an intermediate diety and then lost all divine ranks when he surrendered to Shar.

And it's not that he NEEDS or even wants more power, one would assume that it's in his nature to take what's not his.

Technically Mask is an ''it'' as Mask just about never appears in the same form twice. So no one knows Masks ''true form''.

Mask was never a greater deity. Intermediate is as high as Mask ever got. I''l guess the Mask and Shar thing was just more 4E junk to try and make the Eberron anti god fans happy.

Mask did try for greater power, he just lost the gamble to Cyric.

[Invader]

Technically Mask is an ''it'' as Mask just about never appears in the same form twice. So no one knows Masks ''true form''.

Mask was never a greater deity. Intermediate is as high as Mask ever got. I''l guess the Mask and Shar thing was just more 4E junk to try and make the Eberron anti god fans happy.

Mask did try for greater power, he just lost the gamble to Cyric.

Actually he appears in the entire time of troubles trilogy in the same form as well as the common appearance described in the FRCS and like I said as far I as I know he's always referred to as a "he".

After a little investigation I think we're both a little off on his divine power. It looks like he was only ever a lesser diety even after losing part of his portfolio to Cyric at least as far as I can see. Im not sure he was ever considered an intermediate god which is what I thought he was until his downgrade to a lesser diety.

[enderlord99]

He did not kill anyone.....though he did destroy the Mystra clone decoy.

:smallsigh:

Source?

[Invader]

:smallsigh:

Source?

I thought he actually killed Mystra which is what caused the spell plague to begin with?

I know he killed a couple gods during the time of troubles.

[enderlord99]

I thought he actually killed Mystra which is what caused the spell plague to begin with?

I know he killed a couple gods during the time of troubles.

...Clearly you are wrong because gods are immortal in every campaign setting ever because they are referred to as gods; anyone who has a god die in their campaign is an idiot and clearly playing the game wrong.:smallmad:

[Mystra]

Actually he appears in the entire time of troubles trilogy in the same form as well as the common appearance described in the FRCS and like I said as far I as I know he's always referred to as a "he".

After a little investigation I think we're both a little off on his divine power. It looks like he was only ever a lesser diety even after losing part of his portfolio to Cyric at least as far as I can see. Im not sure he was ever considered an intermediate god which is what I thought he was until his downgrade to a lesser diety.

Well, Faiths and Pantheons has a whole paragraph on how Mask can appear in any form, male or female and of any race.

Did your investigation cover Faiths and Pantheons and Faiths and Avatars? You get the full Mask from Intermediate to demi to lesser power story.....Mask did not just loose 'portfolio' to Cyric, he lost power(divine rank).

[Newoblivion]

...Clearly you are wrong because gods are immortal in every campaign setting ever because they are referred to as gods; anyone who has a god die in their campaign is an idiot and clearly playing the game wrong.:smallmad:

Well... Mystra died quite a lot..

First she was Mystril and she died to stop Karsus. Then she reborned as Mystra and got killed by Helm, and then Midnight took her place as Mystra but she got killed by Cyric, hence the Spellplague.

Right now in the Forgotten realms I think that ther're more dead gods then living ones.

[Invader]

he lost power(divine rank).

So you admit that he's a "he" :smallamused:

I was under the impression that by losing part of your portfolio you lose a certain number of worshipers which lowers your divine rank. So when I say he lost part if his portfolio it's assumed that his divine rank also went down.

[enderlord99]

Well... Mystra died quite a lot..

First she was Mystril and she died to stop Karsus. Then she reborned as Mystra and got killed by Helm, and then Midnight took her place as Mystra but she got killed by Cyric, hence the Spellplague.

Right now in the Forgotten realms I think that ther're more dead gods then living ones.

Bluetext. Sarcasm.

[Mystra]

So you admit that he's a "he" :smallamused:

I was under the impression that by losing part of your portfolio you lose a certain number of worshipers which lowers your divine rank. So when I say he lost part if his portfolio it's assumed that his divine rank also went down.

For Mask it was worse. See, Mask was so deeply enchanted that s/he not only worshiped Cyric, but s/he also fell in love with Cyric. Masks love for Cyric was so all consuming that s/he neglected all of the faithful. Effectively causing a lost in divine rank from the loss of followers. It's was all a plot by Cyric, of course. And in the end Cyric nearly killed Mask and tried to adsorb that divine power into himself. Cyric did succeed in getting a chunk of Masks power and portfolio, but Mask survived, just barley as a demipower.

[Alleran]

Well... Mystra died quite a lot..

First she was Mystril and she died to stop Karsus. Then she reborned as Mystra and got killed by Helm, and then Midnight took her place as Mystra but she got killed by Cyric, hence the Spellplague.
Mystra is alive again as of Elminster Enraged. At first she was just a vestige (it seems that gods have a habit of being very difficult to kill), but Elminster went around collecting enough silver fire (and taking it from people who were trying to steal and hoard it for their own bids at divine power, among them Manshoon) that when he dumped it all into her vestigial state, it finally reached critical mass and brought her back to life. I would presume that the Weave is in the process of rebuilding itself as well, given that Mystra is the Weave.

There's also reference in Elminster's Forgotten Realms to the conflict between Cyric and Bane, where it states that the most likely winner will be Bane (meaning Cyric will either be killed or drastically reduced in power), because Bane is an inherently "stronger" personality and his portfolio is much more unified than Cyric's is (Cyric's faithful are as likely to fight and wipe each other out as they are somebody else, and he has severe problems with properly distributing his portfolio).

[Vorr]

I was flipping through Champions of Valor tonight, and I came across the substitution levels for a Dukar Wizard from the Sea of Fallen Stars in the Forgotten Realms (version 3.5, again).

So my question is:

Is there a Dukar Wizard Prestige Class somewhere? Or is there more information about them in another book (probably one I don't have with my luck)?

[Zubrowka74]

Mystra is alive again as of Elminster Enraged. At first she was just a vestige (it seems that gods have a habit of being very difficult to kill), but Elminster went around collecting enough silver fire (and taking it from people who were trying to steal and hoard it for their own bids at divine power, among them Manshoon) that when he dumped it all into her vestigial state, it finally reached critical mass and brought her back to life. I would presume that the Weave is in the process of rebuilding itself as well, given that Mystra is the Weave.

There's also reference in Elminster's Forgotten Realms to the conflict between Cyric and Bane, where it states that the most likely winner will be Bane (meaning Cyric will either be killed or drastically reduced in power), because Bane is an inherently "stronger" personality and his portfolio is much more unified than Cyric's is (Cyric's faithful are as likely to fight and wipe each other out as they are somebody else, and he has severe problems with properly distributing his portfolio).

Yeah, the way I understand it, Mystra invested parts of her power into "chosens" like Elminster and Midnight. When Helm defeats her, he destroy part of her but the pieces she left behind still remains. Thus she did not really die this one time. Is that correct ?

[Kuulvheysoon]

I was flipping through Champions of Valor tonight, and I came across the substitution levels for a Dukar Wizard from the Sea of Fallen Stars in the Forgotten Realms (version 3.5, again).

So my question is:

Is there a Dukar Wizard Prestige Class somewhere? Or is there more information about them in another book (probably one I don't have with my luck)?

Far as I can tell? No.

A Dukar is a wizard trained in Myth Nantar (at the Dukar's Academy) in the Sea of Fallen Stars. There was originally 4 orders, each specializing in 2 schools of arcane magic. There's more information (fluff) in the 'Threat From the Sea' trilogy by Mel Odom.

[Alleran]

Yeah, the way I understand it, Mystra invested parts of her power into "chosens" like Elminster and Midnight. When Helm defeats her, he destroy part of her but the pieces she left behind still remains. Thus she did not really die this one time. Is that correct ?
Mystra always had Chosen - Midnight was a successor. When Helm killed Mystra, he killed her, but the power she left behind anchored her. When Cyric killed her and started the Sellplague, she was reduced to a vestige, and it was Elminster going around and collecting silver fire, closing rifts and the like that eventually resulted in Mystra's rebirth.

Although the Simbul had to give up all her silver fire and die to make it happen, as did Symrustar Auglamyr.

[enderlord99]

...Clearly you are wrong because gods are immortal in every campaign setting ever because they are referred to as gods; anyone who has a god die in their campaign is an idiot and clearly playing the game wrong.:smallmad:

Do you agree with this statement?

[Mystra]

Yeah, the way I understand it, Mystra invested parts of her power into "chosens" like Elminster and Midnight. When Helm defeats her, he destroy part of her but the pieces she left behind still remains. Thus she did not really die this one time. Is that correct ?

First off, Midnight was never a Chosen. Mystra does give a part of her power(the sliver fire) to each Chosen.

When Helm killed Mystra, he really killed her. Technically Mystra was not even a god at the time as she had been cast down. She did foresee her own death with divination. So before she was even cast down, she took a good part of her divine power and put it into a necklace that Midnight wore. Mystra's idea was that she could pick up the necklace once cast down and return to power. Her plan did not work and she died. Her last act was to give the necklace back to Midnight. Later, at the end of the Time of Troubles, Ao elevated Midnight to a god to replace Mystra.



Is there a Dukar Wizard Prestige Class somewhere? Or is there more information about them in another book (probably one I don't have with my luck)?

For 3E, that is all you get. The 2E Sea of Fallen Stars book is full of tons of fluff.

[Vorr]

So here's a question: Cyric is a god of murder, correct? How does this reach anything resembling respectable worship in a community? I can understand an evil, underground cult...but I gather that a public 'temple' to Cyric is not uncommon, or at least unknown. Why? Do you pay tribute so Cyric will ignore you? I assume it's just my lack of FR knowledge that explains how he fits in.

[Kuulvheysoon]

So here's a question: Cyric is a god of murder, correct? How does this reach anything resembling respectable worship in a community? I can understand an evil, underground cult...but I gather that a public 'temple' to Cyric is not uncommon, or at least unknown. Why? Do you pay tribute so Cyric will ignore you? I assume it's just my lack of FR knowledge that explains how he fits in.

Cyric (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Cyric) is indeed the god of Murder - he's also the god of Strife, Madness, Illusion, Deception, Intrigue and Lies.

Not everyone in the Realms is as Good as your typical Cormyran - Zhentil Keep, for example, worshipped Cyric for a while (when it was thought that the Black Hand was dead).

[Ageir]

Are there any places that worship tempus specifacally? I read that red knight and torm in 4e may be lovers. If that's the case and tempus sees red knight as kind of a daughter does that mean tempus is gonna be shining his halberd when Torm comes to get red knight for the dance?

[Diarmuid]

I havent seen any particular area listed as a main temple for Tempus. You would likely find a small place of worship to him in/near any military environment.

Barbarian tribes (like those in IWD) often venerate Tempus, but due to their nature they likely dont have any big temples or structures devoted to his service.

I cant speak to the Torm/Red Knight thing as I have stayed away from all things 4e to this point.

[Mystra]

Are there any places that worship tempus specifacally? I read that red knight and torm in 4e may be lovers. If that's the case and tempus sees red knight as kind of a daughter does that mean tempus is gonna be shining his halberd when Torm comes to get red knight for the dance?

The most prominent Tempurian temple is the High House of Swords And Banners ("the Bloodhall") in Ormpetarr. This is the site of the first ever altar and temple to Tempus.

[Shalist]

Is it canon that drow (other than the half-drow Crinti) and Lolth are afraid of the Unseelie, or just 'artistic liscense' on the part of the author? (Magehound pg 105 / 196, of the Halruaa triology; contains spoilers)
"Legend has it that once, many thousands of years ago, an Ilythiiri wizard stumbled through the veil that separates the world we see from the unseen world of the Unseelie Court. There she learned some of the magic of the dark fairies, most of it by unfortunate firsthand experience. After much torment, she escaped, now utterly insane but carrying a knowledge of fell magic that surpassed any wizard in the land. She began a rise to power that attracted the darkest hearts of her time to her court. Her name is lost to memory, and she is known only as the Spider Queen. It is said that the evil goddess of the drow, Lolth, assimilated the wizard into her own being, taking for herself both the wizard's name and her dark magic. It is said that something of the wizard's memory remains within the goddess, and as a result, the drow, even Lolth herself, fear the Unseelie folk. What, then, could be more frightening to the Crinti than the songs of the dark fairies?" ...

(later)

"...Tzigone crouched down and began to sing the spell. All around her, the mountains echoed as Unseelie voices echoed her song. The Crinti in the valley below began to flee..."

[hamishspence]

Cyric (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Cyric) is indeed the god of Murder - he's also the god of Strife, Madness, Illusion, Deception, Intrigue and Lies.

There's a detailed explanation as to how Evil clergy run their temples in non-evil communities without being hunted out and slain- in Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster's Forgotten Realms.

The primary examples given were Malar & Loviatar.

Basically, they keep crime to an absolute minimum, and provide useful services to communities- Loviatans help maintain law and order, Malarites help hunt dangerous monsters and outlaws.

Even those that actively work against law and order, like that of Shar & Talos, tend to keep a low profile.

[Mystra]

Is it canon that drow (other than the half-drow Crinti) and Lolth are afraid of the Unseelie, or just 'artistic liscense' on the part of the author? (Magehound pg 105 / 196, of the Halruaa triology; contains spoilers)

Mostly 'artistic license'. Sun/moon elven magic is based of Seelie magic and dark elven magic is based off of Unseelie magic, the two sides of Faire.


Lolth is the 'Spider Queen' as she was once Araushnee the Weaver, elven goddess of destiny and artisans(with spiders as crafters making webs, as after all spiders are not evil). When she fell, she kept the 'spider part', but just twisted it into darkness and evil. The idea that she adsorbed a mortal(?) spider woman seems silly. But she sure would have absorbed a demigod that attempted to move in on the whole 'spider' theme of elfkind, so it's possible.

I doubt Lolth would 'fear' Unseelie, though she'd at least respect their 'ancient power'. But most mortals, like the Crinti, would and should fear the Unseelie.

This sort of stuff never made it in to the rulebooks much, even more so in 3X as 3X was ''all crunch and copy 2E fluff, but be too lazy to make up new stuff'', mostly.

[enderlord99]

This sort of stuff never made it in to the rulebooks much, even more so in 3X as 3X was ''all crunch and copy 2E fluff, but be too lazy to make up new stuff'', mostly.

Even if you don't consider it canon (and neither do I), 4e was at least less lazy.

[Melcar]

Does anyone know what happened the the Grand Staff?

[Diarmuid]

You talking about Halaster's staff, and as of when are you referring?

[Mystra]

Does anyone know what happened the the Grand Staff?


Arguably the Master Staff of Halastar Blackcloak is the same item. See Dragon #213, page 98.

[Melcar]

You talking about Halaster's staff, and as of when are you referring?

Yes Halasters... or rather The Imaskari Artifact... Dont know if its his. It migh be now.

Im talking 1374 ish... 3.5 ed...

[ahenobarbi]

I remember my DM using some kind of pact in a Forgotten Realms some time ago. Could you tell me if this is an official thing or home brew? I don't remember name (and even if I did it would be probably useless because we didn't speak english during session) so I'll give you what information I remember about this:

- It was agreement binding for a demon and a mortal.
- It left a visible sigil on the mortal part.
- It was used only long, longg time ago.
- It was used only by powerful devils.
- It had a guardian who was supposed to make sure mortal fulfills the pact (we had a Devourer).
- It can be pretty long-term (ours was established some thousands years ago).
- If mortal didn't fulfill terms on time it's soul was destroyed/given to the devil/something like that.
- It could be transferred (so someone else would keep your end of bargain).

[Diarmuid]

That doesnt sound like anything that would be specific to the Realms. Especially considering it deals with the outer/inner planes which are the same no matter which world you're working in.

[Melcar]

You talking about Halaster's staff, and as of when are you referring?

Has there ever been an official writeup/stats of the Staff?

[Andezzar]

@ahenobarbi:I wonder that you use the word demon as well as devil. Those are two distinct groups and they have been hostile to one another since the dawn of time in the Forgotten Realms (and any other DnD Setting that I know as well).
Additionally demons are not known for making pacts and even less for keeping them.

Except for the possibility of pact transfer that sounds like pretty standard bargaining procedure of the Baatezu everywhere.

[Kuulvheysoon]

There's a detailed explanation as to how Evil clergy run their temples in non-evil communities without being hunted out and slain- in Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster's Forgotten Realms.

The primary examples given were Malar & Loviatar.

Basically, they keep crime to an absolute minimum, and provide useful services to communities- Loviatans help maintain law and order, Malarites help hunt dangerous monsters and outlaws.

Even those that actively work against law and order, like that of Shar & Talos, tend to keep a low profile.

See Malar's Feast of the Stags (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Malar#Feast_of_Stags) for one example.

In Viper's Kiss (first book of the House of Serpents trilogy), we find a Talosian (?) priest who worships Talos as the Lord of Destruction... and prays for him to destroy elsewhere (as his temple is on a freaking active volcano).


I remember my DM using some kind of pact in a Forgotten Realms some time ago. Could you tell me if this is an official thing or home brew? I don't remember name (and even if I did it would be probably useless because we didn't speak english during session) so I'll give you what information I remember about this:

- It was agreement binding for a demon and a mortal.
- It left a visible sigil on the mortal part.
- It was used only long, long time ago.
- It was used only by powerful devils.
- It had a guardian who was supposed to make sure mortal fulfills the pact (we had a Devourer).
- It can be pretty long-term (ours was established some thousands years ago).
- If mortal didn't fulfill terms on time it's soul was destroyed/given to the devil/something like that.
- It could be transferred (so someone else would keep your end of bargain).

This sounds vaguely like the Pact Primeval.

[herrhauptmann]

This sounds vaguely like the Pact Primeval.
Or modern banking, with the buying and selling of someones debt. :smallwink:

[Vorr]

Has anyone out there made up any rules for the effects of mixing Weave magic and Shadow Weave magic? In the Return of the Archwizards novels, the mixing of the two magics is very messy, but there are no rules whatsoever in the Forgotten Realms game books. Has anyone written anything to duplicate these occurrances, or know where I can find anything like that? Any suggestions for writing my own?

[Kuulvheysoon]

Are there any records of what happened to the survivng members of the Company of the White Star (Last Mythal trilogy) post-Spellplague?

Ilsevele and Starbrow rule Myth Drannor, but what happened to Araevin and Maresa?

[herrhauptmann]

Has anyone out there made up any rules for the effects of mixing Weave magic and Shadow Weave magic? In the Return of the Archwizards novels, the mixing of the two magics is very messy, but there are no rules whatsoever in the Forgotten Realms game books. Has anyone written anything to duplicate these occurrances, or know where I can find anything like that? Any suggestions for writing my own?

What do you mean 'mixing'?
In the game, your spells are either normal weave, or they're shadow weave.
If they're shadow weave, you +1 CL on certain things, and -1 CL on others. Identifying your shadow weave spells has a higher DC for a normal weave caster.
There might be something more about trying to counter a shadow weave spell as a normal caster, or vice versa.

[Alleran]

Has anyone out there made up any rules for the effects of mixing Weave magic and Shadow Weave magic? In the Return of the Archwizards novels, the mixing of the two magics is very messy, but there are no rules whatsoever in the Forgotten Realms game books. Has anyone written anything to duplicate these occurrances, or know where I can find anything like that? Any suggestions for writing my own?
The only one I can recall offhand is in the Scouring of Shadowdale module. In an area affected by the Rite of Unwinding, a Chosen of Mystra (i.e. somebody who has silver fire) takes either 3d6 or 6d6 damage per round (no save), depending on the area of the Rite that they're in.

Given that no series other than RotA, or game book (that I can recall), had anything about Weave and Shadow Weave interaction being so violent, I'd just pass it off as a couple of one-off incidents. After all, in the final book of RotA, Telamont created a shadow-shield that blocked silver fire without creating a giant hole in reality.

[Barmoz]

Mostly 'artistic license'. Sun/moon elven magic is based of Seelie magic and dark elven magic is based off of Unseelie magic, the two sides of Faire.

(snip)

This sort of stuff never made it in to the rulebooks much, even more so in 3X as 3X was ''all crunch and copy 2E fluff, but be too lazy to make up new stuff'', mostly.

Any source for this of any edition? I'm very interested in the relationship between FR Elves and the Seelie & Unseelie courts

[Xzar]

I know this is a really stupid question, I am either ignorant of the magic involved or the basic science, but here goes.

Why is Anauroch a mostly warm desert, I know it has some tundra areas, but why are the southern portions hot, and not as warm, or colder than the surrounding regions?

Also, prior to the return of the shadovar who has started to tinker with it, what effect keeps the desert dessicated. What physically happens to water that is introduced?

Lastly, at what rate is the desert expanding, if at all?

[herrhauptmann]

I know this is a really stupid question, I am either ignorant of the magic involved or the basic science, but here goes.

Why is Anauroch a mostly warm desert, I know it has some tundra areas, but why are the southern portions hot, and not as warm, or colder than the surrounding regions?

Also, prior to the return of the shadovar who has started to tinker with it, what effect keeps the desert dessicated. What physically happens to water that is introduced?

Lastly, at what rate is the desert expanding, if at all?

Regarding climate differences:
Because an author needed a hot section, and a cold section in the desert. Or maybe one author needed a section of a certain temperature, and left it at that. When it got included into a campaign setting description, someone probably realized that not every section of the desert is the same temp, and so introduced the gradient that you mentioned. But probably didn't think to coordinate it with the surrounding non-desert areas.
Fantasy maps tend not to make much sense from the perspective of a meteorologist, and some are worse than others. Gothos from Mystic Eye Games is one such.
Rate of expansion:
At the speed of plot. :smallwink: There might be an actual rate of X acres per year, but no one very few gamers will actually track it, since it'd require new maps every few years within the campaign.

Speculation. I could be wrong.
I was under the impression that the desert was created by the phaerrim essentially leaching first the magic, then the life of everything in the area. As a result, nothing grows because it gets vampired to death, not because there's a lack of water/nutrients. The lack of green stuff then results in the death of most/all animals and birds.
So when it rains, it probably jsut gets absorbed into the sand and joins the water table.

[Zarrgon]

Any source for this of any edition? I'm very interested in the relationship between FR Elves and the Seelie & Unseelie courts

They talk about this in Demihuman Deities, Cromyanthor, the Netheril boxed set and a couple novels.


Why is Anauroch a mostly warm desert, I know it has some tundra areas, but why are the southern portions hot, and not as warm, or colder than the surrounding regions?

Also, prior to the return of the shadovar who has started to tinker with it, what effect keeps the desert dessicated. What physically happens to water that is introduced?

Lastly, at what rate is the desert expanding, if at all?

Anauroch is mostly a cold desert, like the Gobi desert or the Great Basian. The southern portions are hot as they are in the south(closer to the equator) and have no water or clouds to cool them down. (one of the main things clouds do is block sunlight)

Anauroch is not a natural desert. It was created by the phaerrim. The spell used was lifedrain a spell that destroys all water in the area and destroies any water brought into the area. The phaerrim cast this spell at least a couple hundred times. For the most part the lifedrain spells are no long active, so you could bring water in, for example. But the ecosystem is long gone.

The desert is not expanding anymore. The Sharrn stopped the advance of the lifedrain spells and trapped the phaerrim there.

[Barmoz]

They talk about this in Demihuman Deities, Cromyanthor, the Netheril boxed set and a couple novels.



I don't recall anything regarding Elven / Fey relationions in either the Cormanthyr supplement or the Netheril boxed set, but I'll definitely check out Demihuman Deities though.

[Alleran]

I was under the impression that the desert was created by the phaerrim essentially leaching first the magic, then the life of everything in the area. As a result, nothing grows because it gets vampired to death, not because there's a lack of water/nutrients. The lack of green stuff then results in the death of most/all animals and birds.
So when it rains, it probably jsut gets absorbed into the sand and joins the water table.
That's indeed how the desert was first created, although nowadays it is self-sustaining. The Netherese magic was immensely draining on the Weave, so the Phaerimm launched a subtle campaign to wreck Netheril and hopefully drive them off. It didn't work, IIRC, since the Netherese just relocated to their floating cities and began sucking down even more Weave magic, leading up to Karsus' Folly (which was intended to be employed against the Phaerimm).

[Xzar]

So just to clarify, there is no effect to boost anaurochs heat or prevent rain, it is just devoid of life.

[Darius Kane]

Which canon Fearunian city would be best for the following scenario:
Big metropolis. It's human dominated and governed, but at least half of it's population is non-human. The city is overpopulated and for the last few years it lost much of it's wealth and power because of it. The government is evil aligned and although they tolerated non-humans because of the potential work force and other business opportunities, they decided it is time for drastic measures. They forcefully removed all non-humans from the vicinity of the metropolis (and of course they confiscated any possessions they could get their hands on).

[Diarmuid]

Most of the realms is pretty racially ambiguous. I dont think you'd see that kind of upheaval outside of somewhere pretty extreme like Thay.

Most of the major metropolitan cities that are "good" have either or both very strong magics protecting the area or a very strong ruling body that would stop something like this before it got out of hand.

If you wanted to use something like Waterdeep or Silverymoon you'd have to account for some other large change to allow for the unrest to become so prevelant.

[Kuulvheysoon]

Which canon Fearunian city would be best for the following scenario:
Big metropolis. It's human dominated and governed, but at least half of it's population is non-human. The city is overpopulated and for the last few years it lost much of it's wealth and power because of it. The government is evil aligned and although they tolerated non-humans because of the potential work force and other business opportunities, they decided it is time for drastic measures. They forcefully removed all non-humans from the vicinity of the metropolis (and of course they confiscated any possessions they could get their hands on).

Maybe Palanchuk (in Damara), except for the fact that it's good-aligned. But a good half of the city is half-orcs.

[Darius Kane]

I found Hillsfar by the Moonsea and it is perfect for my scenario.

[Diarmuid]

Cool, I hadnt thought Hillsfar was a "big metropolis" but a little research shows it's got approzimately the same population as Silverymoon.

The More You Know

[Vorr]

Does anyone know of a way to increase the number of spells a wizard can add to his spell book when gaining a level, using only 3.5 Forgotten Realms material?

[ahenobarbi]

Being member of Lady's College (in Silverymoon, from Silver Marches handbook p. 62) gives you a "free" spell every quarter. But you have to pay fees (500gp + 500gp/wizard level, max 4000gp at Wizard 7 per year). And attend classes for 4 hours a day for 30 days (there are better benefits to the membership.

[Xzar]

Does anyone know of a way to increase the number of spells a wizard can add to his spell book when gaining a level, using only 3.5 Forgotten Realms material?

Buy a scroll...
Erm... am I being stupid?

[Clistenes]

Buy a scroll...
Erm... am I being stupid?

I guess his DM doesn't like magic shops.

[Xzar]

I guess his DM doesn't like magic shops.

Well I don't like the normal image of a magic shop, but really wizards should be members of guilds and they should probably have an in-house shop.

Also, in lieu of magic shops I go with the idea of auctions, magic items being relatively uncommon and valuable etc. No reason why random scrolls and spell books would not turn up in those.

[Matticussama]

Especially in the FR, I would presume that scrolls and spellbooks should be relatively commonly found as loot. Even if you end up getting repeats a lot (add that to the pile of Scrolls of Fireball that is taking up half the room...) every now and again you should be able to get new spells.

In addition to the Lady's College, there is also the Guild Mage of Waterdeep which gets you access to a spell pool. Once you "borrow" a spell from the Guild spell pool, you can add it to your spellbook using the normal rules of adding a spell to your spellbook. Both of these options are very location-specific, of course, but you may be able to convince your DM to use the same concept elsewhere if you are tied to a particular area in your campaign. For example, it isn't beyond reason that the War Wizards of Cormyr might have similar functions, that the Harpers may be able to pull favors to get you access to a spell pool, etc. If you don't have any particular allegiance to a nation, city, or group it might be a little more difficult to convince your DM, but it is worth a try.

[Clistenes]

I have always thought that most spells would be jealously kept by the wizard guilds. They would keep them for their members and only exchange them for equally awesome spells, and only with permission of the guild's heads.

So, if you aren't a guild member you would have to offer a new spell in exchange for copying the spell you want, and they already have the most common ones...and of course, if you give away or exchange a guild spell without permission, they kill you.

[Xzar]

However most wizards probably should be a member of a guild, and each guild would have differing policies. Not all of them would insist on such exclusivity and not all of them would automatically kill for breaching it.

Want new spells, kill a wizard.

[Andezzar]

I thought Vorr was talking about getting more than the two free ones at level-up.

[ahenobarbi]

In addition to the Lady's College, there is also the Guild Mage of Waterdeep which gets you access to a spell pool. Once you "borrow" a spell from the Guild spell pool, you can add it to your spellbook using the normal rules of adding a spell to your spellbook.

But spell poll explicitly says


A wizard cannot learn a called spell, despite its temporary presence in his consciousness

[Diarmuid]

Not sure what the "all 3.5 FR materials" means, but Collegiate Wizard allows for 4 spells per level to be added to your spellbook. It's not FR specific but it's mostly considered to be 3.5 "core" as it's from one of the Completes.

Not sure if that helps or not.

[Bronk]

Is there a common consensus on the state of spelljamming in the Realms in 3.5 or later?

It was quite prevalent in AD&D, and was incorporated into at least two series of novels: The Lost Gods trilogy and the Cloakmaster Cycle. Then in 3.0 and later support for the system was dropped. The Manual of the Planes has no mention of it, only mentioning travel to alternate Prime Material Planes using the Plane of Shadow. The only continued mention of flying ships since then (that I know of) has been about githyanki and neogi astral ships, and I don't think much explanation was given for how they worked.

So... is Toril still in a crystal sphere? Did all history of spelljamming evaporate between editions? Did all the portions of the ports and the colonies on the moons vanish?

[Alleran]

So... is Toril still in a crystal sphere? Did all history of spelljamming evaporate between editions? Did all the portions of the ports and the colonies on the moons vanish?
The moon colonies still exist, as do spelljammers (they're a big part of Evermeet's history) and everything else associated with spelljamming, which would imply that Realmspace is still a crystal sphere.

[Bronk]

Thanks... do you know where those might be mentioned in a 3.5 product?

[Norin]

It is mentioned on page 93 of the grand history of the realms (3.0 i think). In 623 DR, Amlauril Moonflower witnessed a Spelljammer near the nothern shores of Evermeet.

Before the Spellplague Evermeet had a small fleet of Spelljammers. A version or derivative of the ships was seen near Nimbral and Halruua too. I'm not sure if they exist post Spellplague though.

Very little info can be found, as far as i can see, on these things in 3.0 or newer material.

[magwaaf]

I've loved Faerun for about 15 years now and all i can say is to not acknowledge 4th edition. it had some ok story stuff but overall i am very disappointed. when my group plays a faerun game our DM shapes the world based on prior faerun games and how it affected the world. our current campaign is a good campaign and our last one was an evil campaign. we were a very effective evil campaign and the good campaign is having some issues with some of the havoc we caused.

i can talk faerun all day. anyone wanna keep going?

[BHarkonnen]

I am wondering what books there are in FR that reference Chult. It seems like an interesting area for a druid to begin a campaign in, but there doesn't seem to be very much background as opposed to the dalelands or waterdeep.

[hamishspence]

Serpent Kingdoms, I think.

[Norin]

There is some info on Samarach in Serpent Kingdoms as far as i know.

Also some info here (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Chultan_Peninsula) for you.

Also in Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, on page 103 and onward you can find some info on Chult and the Chultan Peninsula.

[Darius Kane]

Where can I find information on Eilistraee The Masked Lady (Eili after absorbing her brother Vhaeraun's church and powers, but obviously before she died)? IIRC she didn't live very long after becoming The Masked Lady, so there's probably not much if anything, so as an alternative question, how do you think would it play out if Eili didn't get killed so quickly? What would she become? How would her church look like after a few hundred years (for the sake of simplicity ignoring the fact that the Sellplague hit soon after)?

[Norin]

How exactly does one god\diety go about stealing a domain from another god\diety?

And is it possible for mortal worshippers, or clergy, to aid in this process in any way?

[Tokuhara]

Quick lore application question:

In a FR game set in The North, I'm bringing in a Dwarf Ranger 2/Barbarian 1 that will head into Battlerager. I know that normally, the Rashemen Berserker Lodges are human-exclusive, but there is a feat (Ettercap Berserker) I want to take for him. Any roleplaying way of having my dwarf get the feat while staying true to the flavor?

The rough story is that he is basically the FR equivalent of the "Casteless" of Dragon Age, a low-class dwarf of a fallen clan who's family was erased from the history when his ancestor was discovered to have been a liar who basically swindled his way into the higher class. So my dwarf decided to find his fortune and fame above ground, thus meeting the Rashemi Berserkers. He took to them like a pig to mud, learning their ways and soon becoming a force of nature, wielding little more than a pair of axes and brandishing his father's prized Stein of Endless Hooch (Ancestral Relic).

[Diarmuid]

While I could easily see a dwarf taking to the rashemi berserker ways, I don't see as easy a ln explanation for why they would take in an outsider into some of their more "sacred" ways.

If you were to maybe take something like a home brewed "rashemi brother" feat, like the elf friend, and had a god reason for them to accept you in then maybe, but simply hand waving away the regional requirement on the lodge feat feels a bit off flavor to me.

[Tokuhara]

While I could easily see a dwarf taking to the rashemi berserker ways, I don't see as easy a ln explanation for why they would take in an outsider into some of their more "sacred" ways.

If you were to maybe take something like a home brewed "rashemi brother" feat, like the elf friend, and had a god reason for them to accept you in then maybe, but simply hand waving away the regional requirement on the lodge feat feels a bit off flavor to me.

That's the big glaring issue. From what I understand, Rashemen is a very xenophobic nation, looking as how they even have issues with other humans (Thay being the cornercase of this). However, the issue is that I love the fluff of "I wasn't a berserker, but because my people exiled me, I wound up in Rashemen and decided to join up with one of the Lodges" and the feat is crunchy enough for me to say it's worth a feat or two.

[Alleran]

How exactly does one god\diety go about stealing a domain from another god\diety?
They kill them and hope Ao doesn't disagree with what they did. That's how Cyric picked up Leira's portfolio - he used Godsbane to kill her, and Ao decided to let him have what she'd had (although her followers still thought she was granting them spells, because Leira is, after all, the lady of illusions).

[Darius Kane]

Where can I find information on Eilistraee The Masked Lady (Eili after absorbing her brother Vhaeraun's church and powers, but obviously before she died)? IIRC she didn't live very long after becoming The Masked Lady, so there's probably not much if anything, so as an alternative question, how do you think would it play out if Eili didn't get killed so quickly? What would she become? How would her church look like after a few hundred years (for the sake of simplicity ignoring the fact that the Sellplague hit soon after)?
Pardon the bump, but I'm really interested in an answer.

[Lorsa]

That's an interesting question, I'd have to research it a little before I could have an idea myself. I'm guessing it would definitely cause a diversity among her worshippers, not sure it has to change HER though.

[Darius Kane]

Where can I find information on Eilistraee The Masked Lady (Eili after absorbing her brother Vhaeraun's church and powers, but obviously before she died)? IIRC she didn't live very long after becoming The Masked Lady, so there's probably not much if anything, so as an alternative question, how do you think would it play out if Eili didn't get killed so quickly? What would she become? How would her church look like after a few hundred years (for the sake of simplicity ignoring the fact that the Sellplague hit soon after)?
Bump again and an additional questions/request:
Are there female Rashemi barbarians and what is their standing in the Rashemi society?
Also, are there any decent adventure modules related to Rashemen, but not taking place in its borders? Like a witch on a mission or Rashemi adventuring group or something?

[Za'hynie Laya]

The Realms is the most detailed campaign setting ever with 40,000 some years of history. Check out the Grand History of the Realms. Are you just looking for place names or do you want more?




The Netheril Trilogy(Swords Play, Dangerious Games, Mortal Consequences and the Avatar Trilogy(Shadowdale, Tantras and Waterdeep).



In general, souls move to the afterlife slowly. It generally takes weeks for the soul to make it to the Fugue plane and into the City of the Dead. Once in the City, they have a week to be collected by their god or accept the offer of a devil. After that, they face judgment, though there is no set timeframe for this to happen. A soul can be returned to life at any time, if the appropriate magic or power is used.

Yes, the Tarrasque exists on Faerûn

Took a while to locate this (for those who are still interested):
The Tarrasque was encounter in issues #7 & #8 of the old Forgotten Realms comic published in 1990. This was recently reprinted in the Forgotten Realms Classics, Volume One in 2011.

[GoddessSune]

Where can I find information on Eilistraee The Masked Lady (Eili after absorbing her brother Vhaeraun's church and powers, but obviously before she died)? IIRC she didn't live very long after becoming The Masked Lady, so there's probably not much if anything, so as an alternative question, how do you think would it play out if Eili didn't get killed so quickly? What would she become? How would her church look like after a few hundred years (for the sake of simplicity ignoring the fact that the Sellplague hit soon after)?

Well, the whole Eilistraee/Masked Lady thing came long right at the end of 3.5E when all the Wizard folks were thinking ''wow 4E will be so cool'' and making the Forgotten Realms even greater then they are, by changing everything about the Realms. And a big part of the change was to kill off all of FR's ''too many gods'', and as that included Eilistraee, it's not like anyone would write anything about a dead goddess.

I can see three possibilities:

1. Eili stays a 'twin' type goddess. The 'Dark Dancer' for female clerics and the 'Masked Lady' for the male clerics. Eili herself does not change much, other then the fact that she has two sides. The two sides of the church might get along, have a friendly rivalry, or even be hostile.

2.Eili becomes a different person. She takes bits of Eilistraee and Vhaeraun and becomes 'Eilisraun' or even better a god just like 'Mask'. That is an 'unknown' figure in a cloak and hood so no one knows the gender. Might take 'moonlight' and mix it with 'assassins' to get the god of moonlight assassins.

3.Eilistraee slowly absorbs Vhaeraun and his church until they are no more. A good two or three generations later Eilis church just 'always had' male worshipers dancing naked in the moonlight.