is divine magic the only way to magically manipulate energy from the positive and negative energy plane? i dont hear much about wizards making fireballs of nercotic energy explode, elemental mostly. maybe there is something somewhere i can read on it? There are many ways; the problem with using arcane magic is that few know the right spells. Trying to devise your own is like trying to cook with an active forest fire: the positive or negative energy floods like a gushing fire hose as the caster fights to control it.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 4, 2019

Hi @TheEdVerse ! I wonder what is the frequency of town markets in the Realms ? Is there a fixed "market day" for all lands ? Does permanent market exist ? I would love to know specifically for Eveningstar for my campaign but answer the way you want 🙂 Take care.

— Corentin Palanchini (@Sartana87) December 3, 2019

@TheEdVerse Hello from England. Are there any famous/infamous "dungeons" or ruins in Sembia that might be shared? As always, best regards~ GG

— Gareth ! (@garethgarfoot) November 26, 2019

1)
Certainly! The most infamous are in northern Sembia, in the forested hunting preserves of wealthy Sembians (many of whom have “country estates” with mansions or hunting lodges, some of which are castles in all but name). 2)
Most are places where Sembians relax, drink and scheme with other wealthy Sembians, and hunt or fish—but there are quite a few ‘haunted’ and abandoned/ruined sites among them that opportunistic clever monsters, such as…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 27, 2019

3)
…beholders, illithids, and doppelgangers, took over after their owners died. Sometimes these new dwellers install real or fake undead to ‘haunt’ the upper/outer areas of a ruin, to prevent other humans from taking over such 4)
…properties, then use them as lairs…or even foment secret societies (of humans, in Sembian cities) to worship them (worship the ‘prime mover’ monsters, that is), using the country estate ruins as gathering places and the…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 27, 2019

5)
…cultists as defenders (sometimes live-in defenders) to keep would-be new human owners at bay.
The existence of these ‘dungeons’ is overshadowed in public regard by the Ghost Holds in Battledale, but right now northern Sembia… 6)
…hosts at least seven: Alond’s Haven, Briarposts, Culark’s Hall, Faereld’s Hold, Landreltowers, Rurethtowers, and Yaeraunt’s Keep. To avoid a massive thread, I’ll tweet descriptions separately, under a SembiaSeven header.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 27, 2019

One question: a character in Steven Schend's "Blackstaff Tower" had mentioned Caladorn Cassalanter as a former Open Lord. Is that still canon or can we assume this (like a lot of its stories about extinct/merged houses that exist again by 1492) was incorrect?

Thanks!

— Murder Hobo Games (@MurderHGames) December 2, 2019

1)
I left a LOT of details out of that already-overlong-for-Twitter recital, and one of them was a ruse pulled during the long tenture of Athlynxthlas Ultrumpet: he had Open Lords named to ‘shadow’ him and so learn on the job, 2)
…so they could be trained (and vetted by the Masked Lords) as successors. Most of them—there were more than a dozen, and on two brief occasions, two at once—were mediocre, and those who grew too popular or seemed too competent…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 2, 2019

3)
…Ultrumpet covertly framed for crimes, or arranged for fatal fatal ‘accidents’ to befall them.
Caladorn Cassalanter was one of these Open Lords, announced in 1398 DR by Ultrumpet and serving until 1406 DR, when he resigned his 4)
…Open Lordship to be at his mother’s side and support her, upon the death of one of his older brothers (shortly after the death of his father; Caladorn’s other brother had died some years earlier).
For most of 1399 DR Caladorn…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 2, 2019

5)
…was the only public face of the Lords, as Ultrumpet was in seclusion recovering from an attempt to kill him by means of a ’rotting disease’ from Mhair, introduced into his food by unknown hands (belonging to agents of the 6)
…Xanathar, UItrumpet believed). Three other of these ‘tryout’ Open Lords named by Ultrumpet survived their tenure in the Open Lordship, two resigning openly because they could see they were about to be framed, and a third…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 2, 2019

7)
…simply fleeing the city covertly for a new life in Tethyr, under a new name (so to Waterdeep, he simply disappeared). As Ultrumpet became (rightfully) more paranoid, he took to sending his ‘right hand’ Open Lords to stand in… 8)
…for him at public appearances, so they’d be the target, and not him.
Caladorn Cassalanter became the respected backbone of his family, and died in ripe old age, never losing his taste for fun or his interest in naval matters.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 2, 2019

I was curious about that too, honestly. Well, Ed? Heh. On it. Still canon. See Ultrumpet's ruse. ;} And I haven't even mentioned all the Open Lord candidates various noble houses secretly groomed "just in case." It was something they could do with younger sons and daughters disinterested in family businesses.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 2, 2019

Hi @TheEdVerse, I'm going to be playing a cook in a 5e campaign in the new year who's from Neverwinter. Are there any sources of what recipes/cuisine can be found in the city so that I can play my character more authentically?

— PawnRenegade (@PawnRenegade) November 24, 2019

1)
Yes, lore about the cuisine of the Moonstone Mask in particular. Let me summarize, because that lore amplifies the twin themes of local Neverwinter cuisine: fish and marine edibles in hot soups, sauces, and broths, and the 2)
…serving of hot savoury pies and sweet dessert tarts.
Augmented by hot meat dishes (roast boar, fowl, and oxen cooked on spits) and crusty handloaves of bread spiced with garlic or nuts, and served with cheeses).#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 26, 2019

3)
With sides such as fried dulce (seaweed), mushrooms doused in herb-and-garlic sauce, and scallions and fennel soaked in a parsley-and-mint chicken broth 4)
Popular examples of the marine viands: mussel-and-basil soup, chowders, turtle soup, and octopus broth. Places like the Mask would serve signature dishes like the Mask’s Daintyfish dish: twenty tiny fish known as…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 26, 2019

5)
…silverflashes, slid onto a single skewer, dipped in herbed butter, and sizzled over a flame until crunchy. 6)
The hot pies served in Neverwinter tended to be boar, veal, bacon and kidney (lamb’s kidneys preferred), chicken liver, or goat. Poorer folk ate eel pies, lamprey pies, fish pies, or rabbit pies.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 26, 2019

7)
Sweet pies were usually made and served in grander houses or commercial eateries, and were dominated by sugar and fruits, such as blackberry-and-apple pies, topped with cream and sliced almonds. 8)
In inns, taverns, and the kitchens of private homes, small “hand tarts” (palm-sized) were usually produced, and these tended to have fillings of gooseberries, and almonds.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 26, 2019

9)
As a special treat, when chocolate was available, strawberries might be served, each fruit in a chilled chocolate coating.
Hope this is of help.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 26, 2019

@TheEdVerse, why didn't the Netherese exterminate the remaining orcs in their territory after Ioulaum's first campaign against them? They'd suffered from orcs for a long time. Ioulaum's campaign was costly, but when the enclaves rose and Netheril grew in power, why'd they stop?

— William Strong (@William21Strong) November 11, 2019

1)
They didn’t stop, but their extermination efforts became increasingly brief and slapdash (and therefore, were failures) as they got interested in their various projects. (The downfall of the Netherese was their decadence; they hunted after many sorts of power, 2)
…these hunts consuming their energy and thinking, so like all fanatics they increasingly left the practical, everyday world behind. As orcs did what orcs have always done: endure, no matter what, and breed like rabbits, so they're VERY hard to wipe out.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 12, 2019

@TheEdVerse happy that you are recovering well and continuing to answer #realmslore questions. How deep are Waterdeep’s sewers below the surface and why don’t the main and secondary lines follow the main streets but instead run underneath buildings?

— Michael O'Brien (@MichaelNSCan) October 5, 2019

1)
The depth of the sewers varies, around the city (for one thing, the city is far from flat, what with Mount Waterdeep and its spur out into Castle Ward, and the plateau that the northern end of the city stands on), but is… 2)
…always below what we real-world modern types might call ‘basement level’ (and to Waterdhavians is “cellar level,” by which they mean one fairly deep level below ground, not several subterranean levels down). It’s important…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 6, 2019

3)
…bear in mind that a lot of the sewers are flushed out by the ocean tides, coming into the harbor and ebbing out again, aided and abetted by spells cast long ago (by Ahghairon and others) and bound into the wards that help the 4)
…flows of water carry sewage (so the entire harbour doesn’t become a stinking cesspool that sickens the city and kills the resident merfolk).
In our real world, main sewer lines follow the route of streets above them purely for…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 6, 2019

5)
…ease of construction (and later access). They don’t do this in Waterdeep for two reasons: most of the sewers predate the current layout of the streets (i.e. the streets were different, back then), and because the sewer routes 6)
…are dictated more by where springs rise and flow down to the sea, and where sewers should be sited and sized best for the tidal flushing…rather than following the routes of streets above them.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 6, 2019

In the Harptos Calender, every month has a common name. But Hammer and Flamerule already seem to be English. Would you translate them into another language (Italien, German, etc.) or keep the official names like that? In 1e/2e D&D, the Common Tongue in the game was design-considered to be English. Hammer and Flamerule were the Common names for "Hamaer" and "Flaenrûl," respectively, and had 'taken over' in Faerûnian daily usage.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 17, 2019

So I'd either leave all the names as is, or translate if it works better for your purposes. Clarity and a medieval/Renaissance fantasy setting 'feel' are the goals; for your gamers, what works best has to be your call. :}

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 17, 2019