1494 DR in Faerun is the Year of Twelve Warnings.
Q for you: What are the 12 warnings?
(Do they warn of 12 different things? Or are they 12 different ways of warning about the same thing?)
— Justin Alexander (@hexcrawl) March 8, 2020
1)
The warnings are about twelve different things. They will take several forms (not several each, but a different form for each): direct divine utterances from temple altars, or signs or portents that can be interpreted in 2)
…various ways, and may well be misunderstood until “after the fact.”
In the Realms, a “sign” is something anyone can see who’s in the vicinity, and that lasts long enough for many folk to witness, like the water in a harbor…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 8, 2020
3)
…changing hue markedly, or a sunset dominated by six bright stars when usually those stars aren’t visible through the light of the setting sun, or a rain from the sky of fish or frogs or locusts.
Whereas a “portent” is 4)
…something more fleeting, like unusual observed behavior: a candle is lit and flies upwards and consumes itself, or poured water “falls” upwards until a jug is emptied, or someone walking across a room levitates unexpectedly…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 8, 2020
5)
…for a few moments.
(Note that in our real world, these definitions are less precise.)
The problem with almost all predictive uses of the Roll of Years is that year-names may hint at major things or very minor things, withou )
…distinguishing between them. And like all omens, there may be great disagreement over the meanings of what’s observed, until the true meaning becomes obvious (“too late”). I’m reiterating this because such disputes almost…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 8, 2020
7)
…always arise, as clergies compete to promote the ‘right’ interpretation that increases the importance of ‘their’ deity, and may prevent or overshadow useful predictions (so the actions of adventuring PCs may make a 8)
…difference). If a deity momentarily possesses the mind of a mortal to make them ‘speak in tongues’ (utter words in a language not their own) or in a voice or manner not usual for them, it bespeaks urgency, when a god can…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 8, 2020
9)
… foresee something the god very much wants prevented. Note that in the Realms, the gods are NOT infallible; they can foresee little better than attentive mortals can. In other words, a god can see out of the eyes of many of…#Realmslore 10)
…their own priests, paladins, and sworn zealots if they want to, put together those observations, and so predict better than any lone mortal. It does NOT mean gods can “see the future.” They’re just better anticipators.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 8, 2020
Even Savras? How divination works then if theres no "seeing into the future" in any form from a god?
I just can guess the future is too variable to directly point at one and only possibility— Viktor Gray (@VikGray) March 8, 2020
1)
Savras has always been worshipped as a god of divination and fate, but this was a way by his clergy of making him seem vital and important. He has really always been all about uncovering and clearly communicating the truth. 2)
By clearly seeing the true natures of all beings, and how things work in the world, Savras was better at anticipating outcomes and therefore what would most likely happen in the future than other deities, and this was seen as…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 8, 2020
3)
…being paramount at divination, so he attracted the worship of diviners, and became the divine patron of divination. Mortals have feet of clay; deities in the Realms have feats of clay. ;}#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 8, 2020