friendly local fallen angel Two hearts @cali_keftiu
Found an old Candlekeep post with some queer terminology in the Realms from your table, and wanted to ask; is there a particular term for trans individuals? There’s a few for various orientations and one for crossdressers…— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 6, 2020
1)
Transitioning individuals are referred to as ‘poised’ in the later 1400s DR, along the Sword Coast and Heartlands trade routes to Sembia and Chessenta, though others may never have heard the term 2)
Beings who’ve settled into a gender other than their birth gender (or finished transitioning) sometimes call themselves “sildur” (from an Elven word for ‘at rest after changing,’ originally used for animals, insects, and…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 6, 2020
3)
…plants that have reached maturity after passing through life-cycle transformations. So far as I know, there are no pejorative terms in the Realms beyond “ul-faced” (the equivalent of our real-world “two-faced”), and that is 4)
…used almost exclusively to refer to individuals whose loyalties, friendship, or attitude shifts markedly from moment to moment or audience to audience, though those wanting models or actors of a particular appearance have…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 6, 2020
5)
…taken to using it to speak of individuals whose appearance suddenly changes (and in some cases, a gender shift would be the major reason for this).#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 6, 2020
Heh. I always assumed that people born with the unmatching body just hired transmuters to change them into fitting ones so having common names for them was pointless.
— Necrobeardamus (@Final_Dorkness) March 6, 2020
1)
Most folk in the Realms lack the coin to hire anyone to cast spells for them, or don’t know of anyone within reach who works magic at all. They’re scared of mages, who are mighty folk who live in big cities (or haunted castles!) far away 2)
Our published Realms products have the same tendency as real-world journalism: to make the casual reader think everyone flies in aeroplanes, uses cellphones and the Internet, and is easily reached by couriers. Even most modern Americans don't manage all three.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 6, 2020
I'm not understanding something… They take care of the dying, ease the transition, assure loved ones that death is nature — and go out of their way to make people fear death.
These things seem to be at cross-purposes.
— Greysil (@Greysil_Tassyr) March 6, 2020
1)
They are. The Church of Myrkul has been ever thus. He wants his clergy not to be attacked and exterminated (he has few enough, as it is), so he wants people to fear what can happen if you attack a priest of Myrkul, and fear HIM. Fear=respect. But if they were. 2)
…just seen as deathbringers, and not useful or comforting or helpful in some way, they would be attacked on sight. So they have a practical role.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 6, 2020
Heh. I always assumed that people born with the unmatching body just hired transmuters to change them into fitting ones so having common names for them was pointless.
— Necrobeardamus (@Final_Dorkness) March 6, 2020
1)
Like any other interaction, that depends on the situation and the relationships between the individuals involved. In places where many folk work magic, like Thay and Halruaa, access to magical means is increased, but spellcasting still has value/price; it’s. 2)
…currency within the local society. You may want a certain magic worked, but not want to deal with a particular spellcaster, or end up in debt to a particular family. During the casting, you are making yourself vulnerable to someone else, unless casting on…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 6, 2020
3)
…yourself, and you may not want to do that (there’s no one you trust sufficiently, and even if the caster is you, you may worry about the effects on your own body). The point is that our gameplay and writings may convey the impression that using magic is.. 4)
…everyday and casual, with easy access, and it almost never is, on the ground, in the Realms, for most individuals. It's always something to be thought over, and its price versus benefits versus pitfalls and perils weighed.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 6, 2020
5)
Or to put it another way, even among wizards in Halruaa and Thay, someone who says, "I fireball it, whatever it is! I ALWAYS fireball things!" and means it, is going to be treated warily.
Treating magic lightly is ALWAYS playing with fire.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 6, 2020