1) Sorry @TheEdVerse, reupload cause I forgot to mention something Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat So in a lot of the Forgotten Realms books & magazines you authored, I’ve seen the word “Naturalist”. As someone interested in the… environmental sciences, is this term the setting's equivalent to a Biologist?
2) Initially I thought that Naturalist = Zoologist.
More recently I began thinking Naturalist = Biology, since some of these "Naturalists" deal with plants. So botanists, mycologists, and zoologists…— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) August 1, 2021
… – all mentioned in the setting before – would be branches of this field of study. 1)
Although modern real-world terms are the most convenient way for us to understand the Realms, things can break down if you pursue accurate labelling into thinking things work the same way on Toril as here; I often run into…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) August 1, 2021
2)
…this problem when trying to explain military matters in the Realms to gamers familiar with the modern American military ranks and structure, who assume the armies of, say, Cormyr or Calimshan are going to “work the same way.” 3)
Nuh-uh, unless it’s convenient for you that they do so at your gaming table.
So, yes, “naturalist” in the Realms means: someone who seriously studies how things work in nature (cycles of life, local drainage and weather, …#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) August 1, 2021
4)
…food chains, etc.) and so can be an equivalent to biologist. However, titles in the Realms are even more self-bestowed (and therefore, varying in meaning and weight from place to place and time to time and culture to culture)… 5)
…than they are in our modern world. Someone in the Realms who calls themself a botanist or mycologist or zoologist is using an invented local term that the published lore, written by a modern real-world writer/designer…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) August 1, 2021
6)
…translating the Common Tongue into “English,” has chosen to translate into botanist, mycologist, or zoologist. Be wary of assuming this means identical job roles, degrees, public regard, etc. for what we’re used to, in the… 7)
…modern real world. “Naturalist” in the Realms is a catch-all term that really means “Velauntra the Naturalist understands why all the fish in Irboar’s Creek died because she knows all about how things work in nature; me, I just tell my…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) August 1, 2021
