Hello! Mr. Greenwood, I have a question about Baldur’s Gate. We have “Murder” for D&D Next and “Heroes” for 5e from DMs Guild. What book is more canon for us? What should we read before Descent to Avernus? "Murder" is the book for which I did a writeup of the city itself (I had no hand in crafting the adventure), and it had a big update of the maps. James Ohlen, now with Wizards, did "Heroes" and worked on the original Baldur's Gate computer games. My advice? Get both! ;}
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 28, 2019
ForgottenRealms
Which Forgotten Realms deities are currently dead and floating in the astral sea?
Good tidings wise sage. I beseech your insight on all things divine. Which Realms deities are currently dead and floating in the astral sea? If possible, what were their portfolios? I might add, I am aware goddess Tyche is gone (split in two as it were) and the vile mass known as Moander is there, but who else?
So far as folk in the Realms have heard, all of the dead deities are alive again and have returned, in some guise or other. Or so sages and clergies say, and that’s all they’ve ever had to go on when it comes to matters divine.#Realmslore
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 24, 2019
Are there clam beds in the broken down boats nearby Suzail?
#AskElminster
Dear Old Mage,
I've read about eels living in droves inside broken down boats here on Earth, so I was wondering if the same might be true for the ship graveyard of Margrath's rest, to the west of Suzail. Also, are there clam beds in the waters nearby?
Thank you!— Jeremy E. Grenemyer (@sanishiver) May 30, 2019
What is the level of medical know how in the Forgotten Realms?
what is the level of medical…know how in the realms? No x-rays machines, obviously, bur how about antibiotics in some form? Maybe knowledge on germs or something? It varies from place to place, but most healers (most large temples have clergy and laity good at tending the sick and wounded) understand cleaning wounds, healing herbal ointments, bandages, splints, and natural substances that "eat" infections. A Realms…#Realmslore
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 30, 2019
…first aider in many places and times is as good as a modern real-world first aider. And for local problems (i.e. known local poisonous plants and critters), treatment is usually superb. Healing magic is a "big gun" last resort for many, so they're ready to do everything else.
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 30, 2019
Bane’s pre-Time of Troubles holy symbol
In Elminster’s Forgotten Realms, you describe Bane’s pre-Time of Troubles holy symbol as being a severed hand in a spiked gauntlet. I couldn’t find any art of that version of his holy symbol, so my wife gave it a shot. Is this right? YES! There were a row of "about to drip" crimson blood droplets along the (bottom) severed edge.#Realmslore
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 18, 2019
Got it. We’ll make the adjustment. Any significance to the length of the blood droplets? Are all three the same size and length? And should their size be more exaggerated than what we have currently? Central droplet longer than the others, and about twice as big as your originals. Gauntlet is PERFECT.
:}— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 19, 2019
PERFECT! Thank you, to you and Jessica!
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 19, 2019
You’re more than welcome, Ed! So glad you approve.
Though this begs the question … assuming this was Bane’s holy symbol in your home Realms, how did his published holy symbol get changed into what I think of as a “don’t walk” sign? Definitely not as cool or intimidating. Heh. I don't know. Changed in-house. Everyone who works on the Realms wants their chance to be creative, and I'd rather have the wonderful benefits of that than authoritarian control. Just look at the joy and fun of the live D&D events! (My guess is that, this being the era of…— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 19, 2019
…D&D is Satanic, or witchcraft, they took one look at the droplets of blood and said: THAT must go away! (That's just my guess, mind you. I've never been a staffer at TSR or Wizards.)
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 19, 2019
What being in Forgotten Realm is *in charge* of making sure gunpowder doesn’t work?
1)
A few days back, Void_Null @VoidNull6 tweeted:
Alright, let's offer an alternative.
What being in FR is *in charge* of making sure gunpowder doesn't work?
If it's an existing god, I should be able to convince it to cancel the "gunpowder ban"…— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 30, 2019
3)
…doesn't fulfill its purpose?
2)
…just for me, right? And what about nitroglycerin? Is it banned as well?
So, lemme get this straight. Gunpowder exists in Faerun. But it does not burn.
Then what is it used *for*? What is the point in making a compound that… If gunpowder doesn't combust, then what is it even used for? Why do gnomes make it?
The only logical explanation I can think of is "Some Elder God got pranked with a firecracker, so he\she\it forbade gunpowder…— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 30, 2019
5)
5) What kind of force prevents people from combining all these?
[[enter Ed, putting on sage hat]]
All good questions. Right then, some lore answers:
4)
…to work, ever”.
That begs much more important questions about FR:
1) Does charcoal work the same in FR?
2) Does sulfur work the same in FR?
3) Does saltpeter work the same in FR?
4) Does deflagration work the same in FR? Gond is the being who banned gunpowder from EXPLODING (burning very rapidly) and igniting (burning with an open flame).
…— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 30, 2019
6)
He did this because of many deaths among his clergy and most devout lay worshippers, when they experimented with gunpowder whilst creating new mechanisms for the greater glory of Gond. The deity feared he would lose too many followers, … 7)
…too fast, and frighten all other mortals into shunning his worship. So he tinkered with gunpowder (and later, several other compounds—including nitroglycerin, or “halamda” as it’s known in the Realms to the gnomes who devised it) to…— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 30, 2019
8)
…prevent them from being explosive. Smokepowder is the Realms equivalent of gunpowder; it ignites and explodes because of a magical ingredient that circumvents Gond’s prohibition (and this is acceptable to Gond because the magic is a… 9)
…NOT-widely-known “secret” and the proportions of ingredients must be precise to make smokepowder that works, so the substance remains rare and expensive and not easily made by “just anyone,” and the manufacture and sale of smokepowder…— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 30, 2019
10)
…by devout of Gond is something Gond can control by holy decrees, protecting most of his clergy while at the same time generating temple income).
So, why do gunpowder and halamda exist in the Realms? They both have other uses in the… 11)
…Realms different from their real-world ones.
Gunpowder, applied as a powder (like dry “meal powder”) polishes all ferrous metals by removing ALL rust from their surfaces. Wetted gunpowder, applied as a paste (usually metal items are…— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 30, 2019
12)
…encased in it; it’s put in a dish or bucket or even a larger cask and the item or items are buried in the paste, so “all sides” are in contact) for a sufficient time, permeates ferrous items to banish all corrosion, no matter how deep, 3)
…so an item removed from the paste is rust free (at that moment, not forever).
Halamda, a clear jelly, permeates living flesh and tissue, and removes all infection/stops rot/neutralizes acids as it is/they are at the moment of contact, …— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 30, 2019
14)
…so it halts flesh-eating diseases and decay. It is itself harmlessly edible, and doesn’t “taint” what it’s applied to for human consumption, and so can be used as a preservative for meat and fish being transported long distances to… 16)
4. It does.
5. Nothing, but if combined in the wrong proportions, they won’t work for much of anything except scorching (as in the real world), and if mixed in the “right” proportions, won’t ignite/explode in the Realms as they do in the… 15)
…serve as food, and to keep viable severed body parts for later surgery, and to preserve evidence/unfamiliar corpses for examination.
1. Yes, charcoal works the same in FR as our world.
2. Yes, so does sulfur.
3. Yes, saltpeter ditto.— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 30, 2019
17)
…real world, thanks to Gond’s power. And Mystra’s cooperation; she subsumed his meta-spell shifting what gunpowder does into the Weave, so it now permeates Toril. As does the magic that makes smokepowder work.
To confuse matters further, …— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 30, 2019
18)
…“gunpowder” has come into use in language in the Realms as another name for smokepowder. Most folk of the Realms have no idea that anything called “gunpowder” explodes and so has weaponized uses in any place called “Earth,” remember, … 19)
…but there’s just enough covert travel between the Realms and Earth that words can make the trip.
Clearer, I hope. This was a fun trip down Memory Lane, because all of this was covered years and years ago at Milwaukee-era GenCon official…— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 30, 2019
20)
…TSR panels; gamers who’d read my gunpowder-related articles in The Dragon always wanted to discuss why they couldn’t have blunderbuss-armed forces making war in the Realms. :}
Clearer? I hope. ;}— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 30, 2019
Interesting.
So were the claims that Kossuth was behind gunpowder not working in the Realms just 4E era propaganda from his clergy, trying to take credit from a weakened Gond while the primary center of his worship (Lantan) was in another world and believed destroyed? Yep. :}
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 31, 2019
So Gond is Alfred Nobel with foreknowledge?
He knows what terrible destruction and death explosives will cause if they are easily mass produced, so he prevented that? Smokepowder is magical, so can’t be industrialized (can it?), so firearms and explosives can’t become ubiquitous I see Gond as not wanting to lose his priesthood and lay worshippers to explosions (and fear among the survivors) as everyone went wild experimenting with gunpowder at the same time. Thereafter, he had a situation where rarer, more expensive "smokepowder" becomes a big temple…
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 31, 2019
…income stream. Yes, smokepowder COULD become industrialized, but at prohibitive prices for most, because of the mage-work. (I.e. instead of going on a dangerous adventuring career, a wizard could choose drudgery but relative safety and high income by churning out smokepowder.)
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 31, 2019
I’m a little confused about Jergal, The Lord of the End of Everything
I’m a little confused about Jergal. His alignment is NE and he represents the lack of caring that death brings, along with nihilism about life’s purpose. But he’s also the god who records mortals’ times and methods of death, so my question is how he acts upon his 1/2 Alignment, or does he STILL not care enough, even with Kelemvor in charge? I read the knucklebones story, but how have recent events affected his activities?
— Jon Forel (@Jon_4L) May 26, 2019
The answer to your last question: NDA. The first question: mortals are oft puzzled re. the views, behaviour, and aims of many deities. Gods can be cryptic and can be varied in their deeds and thinking…but there's nothing in what Jergal does that is at odds with NE.#Realmslore
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 27, 2019
I can live with that as a player. I’ll admit though, as a DM it’s a little frustrating, since I want to make sure I roleplay deities with a good idea of what there intentions and plans might be. I like to be accurate, even with the idea of “making The Realms yours”. I’ll make do. Jergal tired of being deity of death (and detested fighting w/other gods), but finds mortals fascinating. So he watches and toys more than anything else. No one knows his aims but him. He sometimes aids mortals, seemingly on whims. He is amused by mortal strivings.#Realmslore
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 27, 2019
What is the temperature in Waterdeep at the peak of the summer?
@TheEdVerse hey Ed thanks for everything. Quick Q. What is the temperature in Waterdeep at the peak of the summer? Do we have heavy heatwaves making impossible every day activities flow as normal as they could? Do guards wear plate armors?
— Lexar (@Lexar131) May 16, 2019
1)
USUALLY the cooling shore breezes (winds blowing from the sea) make life bearable (70s in Fahrenheit) at the height of the summer, but when those winds die the city can turn into a sauna in the sunlight (hot damp; high 80s). Guards would go down to…#Realmslore 2)
…"back-and-breast" (plates, held on with leather straps), plus gorget (throat) and cup (groin) plates, with white-hued surcoats to NOT absorb heat. No gauntlets. Light helms ARE usually worn.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 17, 2019
I always assumed Waterdeep was fantasy Toronto by the sea and the weather was about the same. Waterdeep's a little warmer, thanks to warm ocean currents (keeps the harbor open longer). But close. :}#Realmslore
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 17, 2019