ello! I was reading one of the Lankhmar books, in your opinion which is the most Lankhmar-style city in Faerun? Thanks for you time If you mean the city of Lankhmar itself, it’s a trifle warmer in climate than Waterdeep, but it’s Waterdeep and Baldur’s Gate that I think of, when asked to compare Realms cities with Fritz’s most famous city.#Realmslore
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 26, 2020
Artie Pavlov is staying home, and so should you! @Artie_Pavlov
the Amalgamation from the City of Splendors: A Waterdeep Novel @TheEdVerse
I have questions.
what or who grants them cult(?) secret organization(?) clerical powers?
…— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) August 14, 2020
..
Is the cult/entity of the Amalgamation still lurking in the Realms? The answer to your first question is firmly (and trebly) NDA. Sorry.
The answer to your second is “yes.” Lurking is a good word; think of them as a cult of less than twenty individuals, some widely scattered.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) August 14, 2020
@TheEdVerse Oh Great Sage, do you have any information on the western Lake of Steam region in 5e? I know Suldolphor was destroyed in 1479DR (and presumably Tulmon and Yeshpek as well). Is Mintar still under the control of Banites? How is Saelmur doing? Thanks in advance!
— Brian Bogovich (@bbogovich) June 3, 2020
1)
The Lake of Steam has been very active from 1480 DR to date, water welling up from the Underdark into its basin and increasing river flows feeding it from mountains to the north, as well as heating up (volcanically). Its shores have returned very much to their. 2)
…pre-Sundering locations, and fresh ore deposit discoveries have led to many open-pit mines for iron, copper, nickel, and silver, and the rebuilding and expansion of Suldolphor, Saelmur, Tulmon, and Yeshpek. Durlusk is a major port again.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 6, 2020
MORDENKAINEN: what's really important is the balance between good and evil and preventing either becoming too powerful
DEMON: I want to kill literally everyone
HUMAN: I do not want demons to kill everyoneMORDENKAINEN: ok let's compromise and kill about half the people#DnD
— Oliver Darkshire 🌈 (@deathbybadger) September 4, 2020
Elminster: Killing, always killing. CREATING is what it's about, ye fools. Leave the world BETTER than ye found it, or what was the POINT of thy life?
The truly powerful mage REFRAINS more than spellhurls.
Idiots. Always, the idiots.
Mordy, have ye learned NOTHING? Sheesh.— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 6, 2020
Mystra is dedicated to spreading the use of, and familiarity with, the Art to every being capable of it (no secrets, so no one keeping spells from others). So, more magic use, definitely.
Mystra IS the Weave; 'protect the Weave' = stop reckless abuse of magic.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 2, 2020
And she wants people to use the Art to improve mortal life? Or because pursuit of the Art is pursuit of beauty? Or something else? Because she’s sort of like a god of hammers; lots of things you can do with a hammer, what is it that she wants people using it for and why? Mystra wants mortals to use the Art to improve the lives of all. And "love magic for itself."
This has been her root aim since I created her in the 1960s, before D&D existed. And in every Mystra writeup I've done for the game. I thought it was pretty clear.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 2, 2020
It probably is in a lot of sources, just not the ones I’ve been using. Thanks for clarifying for me! No problem!
The most interesting thing about the gods of the Realms is their underlying aims versus pragmatic short-term decisions, and how "new" mortals stepping into an existing godhood (like the three successive goddesses of magic) think and act differently.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 2, 2020
@TheEdVerse What was unique about Qilué Veladorn's singing sword and did it have a name? Need it for a game.
— Lysbeth Raven (@LysbethRaven) January 17, 2020
2)
…(extradimensional space) and directly and instantly draw it from there, rather than needing to carry it openly with a belt, baldric, and/or scabbard (so she could be ‘unarmed’ or even unclad and yet have instant access to it).#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 17, 2020
3)
Any other being who seeks to trace the sword, or reach into or enter this extradimensional space (save Mystra, Azuth, or a Chosen of Mystra), will find their way barred by a manifestation sent by Eilistraee, equal in effect… 4)
…to an Evard’s black tentacles spell, that materializes right in front of them, and as it does so discharges a 4d4 lightning bolt at every being involved in the attempt to access the extradimensional space. When Qilué died, …#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 17, 2020
5)
…her soul and sentience went into this same ‘hideaway,’ so she survived as a bodiless Voice in the Weave.
Qilué called this blade “Dancing Mistress,” but Eilistraee called it by the name of her drow servitor whose soul and 6)
…sentience was bound into it at the death of her corporeal body, before Eilistraee gave it to Qilué: Iluemeirarra. Iluemeirarra can ‘see’ out of the sword and mentally warn Qilué (or any being who has touched the sword…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 17, 2020
7)
…barehanded (or been wounded by it) of the approach of magic or particular beings. So if Qilué or anyone else is holding the drawn sword, it can ‘speak’ to them, silently, in their mind, to warn of approaches (only).#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 17, 2020
She died. The current year in the Realms is about 160 years after she was born, after all. See https://t.co/m0mLxVCCyJ for her history/life story.#Realmslore
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 12, 2020
And she's a ghost because she has unfinished business: safeguarding her beloved Cormyr.#Realmslore
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 12, 2020
A few questions for you, Ed!
1.) Was Myrkul a mortal, lich, or other form of intelligent undead before his ascent to godhood,
2.) If mortal, why did he not give himself over to undeath, and 3.)
Why did he possess four arms, or…..was this just the case for his avatar?
Matthew Dawkins @clackclickbang
Hi there, Ed! Any thoughts on this subject?— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) August 1, 2020
1)
Sure. Sorry for the delay; due to a video game, there’s actually an NDA attached to Myrkul that I’ve been (slowly) unearthing and examining to see what I can say. Which, it turns out, is a lot, so here we go…
As recounted in… 2)
…the 2e sourcebook FAITHS & AVATARS, Myrkul Bey al-Kursi was Crown Prince of Murghôm, and an adventuring necromancer of some accomplishment. Although he made all but the last few preparations for his own lichdom, and…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) August 1, 2020
3)
…experimented with cloning magic to create spare organs for himself, and even spare arms (having seized notes on magically-assisted grafting and sinew and tendon creation from Haask of Ironfang Keep), he never became undead… 4)
…nor augmented his own body (beyond personal protective magics) ere ascending into godhood.
Instead, he (and the mortal Bane and Bhaal) went adventuring in hopes of slaying gods and seizing their divine power, and so achieve…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) August 1, 2020
5)
…immortality by becoming gods themselves, all of them seeing divine power being preferable to fighting off slow decay as undead (a view reinforced, in Myrkul’s case, by the relative ease with which he and his adventuring… 6)
…companions destroyed great numbers of undead). In the infamous game of knucklebones, the three decided their fates before the deity Jergal, who willingly surrendered his rule of the underworld. Myrkul came second (to Bane)…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) August 1, 2020
7)
…in the game, and became Lord of the Dead, ruler of the underworld.
As a living man, Myrkul looked normal (and only ever had the usual two arms). His divine avatar has four skeletal arms and a skeletal chest, with a scaly face… 8)
…(of skin stretched over an almost-visible skull), and from the waist down he’s wasted flesh and sinew over bone.
Deities can appear as they wish, except in moments of great weakness or overextension of their power, so Myrkul’s…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) August 1, 2020
9)
…avatar is how he wants to seem to others. The skeletal, scaly, and wasted elements are to maximize mortal human fear of him, and the four arms are his preferred number of limbs to carry and wield all sorts of things (all four… 10)
…arms are fully articulated at all joints, as is his neck, so they can all “bend backwards” at the elbows, shoulders, and wrists, and his arms can ‘face’ behind his back, as can his head, if he wishes). This allows Myrkul to… #Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) August 1, 2020
11)
…wield or flourish an oversized scythe and at the same time cast spells or gesture, without awkwardness or loss of style. (And Myrkul is a proud, vain being; style is important to him.)#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) August 1, 2020
So, if a deity willingly surrenders rule of their realm to someone else…what then happens to that deity? Possibly nothing much, possibly a lot. The power of a deity depends on the strength of mortal worship, which is partly a matter of influence/fear/respect/love…but not of territory.#Realmslore
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) August 4, 2020
