Jon Forel @Jon_4L Feb 21@TheEdVerse can you give some background on divine heritage? Say someone was the son of a god and a mortal, and that son had a son, etc, and they were all adventurers. Would they always be born with enough power to be above level 1, or is there a…

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 24, 2019

1)
…point where a level 1 is born? Most sentients in the Realms BELIEVE the offspring of a god and mortal will be special in some way, yes, but the truth is that everything varies when it comes to the divine. SOME offspring of gods and mortals are “special”…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 24, 2019

2)
…(are demigods, or have wild talents, or are “better than a mortal” in some way). But not all. (I.e. it’s up to an individual DM or storyteller, not something there can be a hard-and-fast, reliable rule about.)#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 24, 2019

Ah, so it’s more or less a DM’s discretion kind of issue. I was under the impression that it was a hard and fast rule that direct deific heritage affected things so they couldn’t simply start as a beginning adventurer. Nope.
However, if it's widely known that someone is the "son or daughter of a god" they may well get treated as special. Which unfortunately all too often means murdered or captured for exploitation.

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 24, 2019

@Tia Simfray @Roleplayers_TV
@ The Dadbodbarian @N3rdM3tal
Hi, Tia!@r_a_salvatore is THE definitive source for such things, but I designed a sigil for House Simfray a while back; here's a scan. If it’s all right with the Master of Menzoberranzan, it’s all right with me. ;} pic.twitter.com/F9xibW8CbX

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 9, 2019

This is the coolest and I immediately want to know everything that inspired this.l from your brilliant mind. 🖤🕷 Praise Lolth. I started by thinking of Bob's GREAT character Zaknafein; what sort of symbol evoked his unbending endurance and patience, while still saying 'drow' (really: 'elegant spiderlike'). Then I doodled, keeping it different from the sigils I did for the Menzo boxed set long, long ago.

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 9, 2019

I still have a desire to get my hands on the physical box set. I’ve seen digitized versions but nothing beats the real thing.

If elegant is what you were going for say say you captured it masterfully. There is beauty in chaos. Heh. I drew stalagmites (circles) on 17"x35" pages for DAYS with my trusty Staedtler drawing pen. Didn't ruin the white, poplin-covered bedspreads I laid it all out on TOO much. Menzo's design is Bob's, I was just redrawing large for the set. ;}
Elegant? Thank you! Big hugs!

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 9, 2019

I don’t know why it brings me such a large amount of glee trying to picture you drawing your own world on your bed a D&D map. I think it’s because all of us at some point have lost ourselves in creation and it’s a connecting experience for all of us ‘nerds’. I think you've put your finger on it, precisely. Creating is THE high. I have gleeful memories of two gals among my players snatching down swords off my walls to demonstrate attacks they wanted to launch in-game, sliding down my bannisters. They did it for real=succeeded in play.

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 9, 2019

We created foam wrapped PVC pipes and would take play breaks for our characters. We had a full point system and even painted runes along the sides of our “weapons” we did this till our early 20’s when finding time for games became harder and I miss this so much! good memories! Sounds GREAT!
We used to play Call of Cthulhu on hot summer nights up at my cottage, by candlelight (candles stuck into the necks of bottles we'd emptied, ahem), and when we saw a Great Old One, would burst outside and circle the cottage, gibbering and writhing and clawing…

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 9, 2019

Stay super chill, Ed Greenwood just tweeted a custom sigil for House Simfray. Stay cool.
.
.
.

THATS SO FUCKING AWESOME OH MY LOLTH I LOVE IT AND ITS PERFECT. https://t.co/UQskppuWNj

— Lady Tia Simfray (@Roleplayers_TV) March 9, 2019

Certainly!

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 3, 2019

Deneir's temple, too.

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 3, 2019

couple of complex questions. I’ll split them up to keep Twitter from going mad.
1th•
How diverse are the elven cultures from one another?
I get the impression that Wild, Dark, and Sea are all pretty unique. Moon & Sun are their own joint thing with the sun being/ Pretty obnoxiously snotty.
But within this. Is there a sociological difference between a Wild Elf from the Moonshaes vs … Elvencourt, say?
And to what extent do elves try to retain a distinctive cultural identity when living among other races? For example is a Cormyrian/

— 🌈Jaye🦄Em🌹Edgecliff🏳️‍🌈 (@jayeedgecliff) February 24, 2019

1)
I’d say your overview impression is spot-on for the Realms. An elf tends to trust another elf, even one obviously of ‘another sort,’ over non-elves because they know the strange elf fundamentally understands them; elves…#Realmslore 2)
…in general see life and their place in the world the same way.
In general; in specifics, elves are as diverse as humans.
So, yes, there are sociological differences between wild elves from different regions. They embrace/live…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 24, 2019

3)
…closely with the natural environment in the same way, being different only so far as flourishing in that environment and enriching it (maintaining it in ways that improve it, rather than exhaust it) is different from…#Realmslore 4)
…microclimate to microclimate/place to place. Yet the layers of local slang, fashions, shared ‘perceived wisdom’ built up from shared experiences, aims, politics, and view of non-elves around them will…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 24, 2019

5)
…necessarily be different. All sentient races have a tendency to establish ‘pecking orders’ among themselves, though longer-lived races like elves do it more gently than humans, but among elves this is based far more on…#Realmslore 6)
…individuals and far less on groups, meaning a wild elf from one place won’t start out by thinking herself superior or inferior to a wild elf from another locale.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 24, 2019

@TheEdVerse
Running a wizard. He is doing Azuth’s will by discovering magic, using it in daily life, and spreading it when he can. I was able to harvest an Aboleth brain. If he eats it, will he gain knowledge going back to the beginning of the realms? Risks? Maybe he can help. I know The Sage of Shadowdale himself ate a mindflayer’s brain (volo’s guide).
Wonder what would happen here…

— Adam (@TheOneXalted) March 1, 2019

1)
Heh. Can help, because Gary Gygax and I discussed this very thing (humans delving into dead beholder, mind flayer, and dragon brains, as opposed to sharing the thoughts of a living being) long, long ago. Consensus: he will gain confusingly fragmentary visions (vivid moments… 2)
…of the life experienced by the aboleth), that he can try to interpret. NOT coherent knowledge, as human and aboleth brains are 'wired' so differently. If brain devoured, visions will come in a rush, then 'pop up' from time to random time, jarringly.

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 1, 2019

Hi, @TheEdVerse I'm asking this question on behalf of someone else (who doesn't have a Twitter account)

Considering this dragon is more than a thousand feet long and only 60 feet tall at its shoulders, it must be almost serpentine, no?

— Jon Gomez (@ZeromaruX) February 25, 2019

It is almost serpentine, and as mentioned, can't fly. Nor does it go raiding; it sleeps, dreams, ponders, entertains itself by devising and trying new magics, and husbands/shepherds its (herd) food supply. Gray dragons are also known as fang dragons (the name I gave them when…

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 25, 2019

…I created them and added them to the game back in 2e days), and are an official dragon type described in many places.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 25, 2019

@TheEdVerse a few Spellscarred questions:
1. Are any still alive and unchanged?
2. What happens when they bear children?
3. How long does their transformation take?
4. Is Scar Company still around?

— Jon Forel (@Jon_4L) March 4, 2019

2. Their children may have a “wild talent” or have the gift to wield the Art or be a sorcerer, or have some other unusual ability…or not. Just as with non-spellscarred, genetics varies from birth to birth. Giving birth almost…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 5, 2019

2b) never changes the spellscarred state of the mother.#Realmslore 3. As with everything else genetic, transformation time varies. Many spellscarred don’t externally show (no deformities). If you mean time to master their spellscars to manifest arcane powers, that varies wildly. Some never do.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 5, 2019

4. Oh, yes. Due to what Scar Company is charged to do, and does, the wider Realms (those not near the Chasm) see little of them, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 5, 2019

How exactly did the Spellscarred and Plaguechanged come to be? As in, what beings were affected by the Spellplague in that regard and how?

— Xyn Raven (@XynRaven) March 6, 2019

1)
The Spellplague’s effects seem random and wildly variable; it twisted awry most active magics, but some arcane spellcasters went mad, some had their heads literally explode, and some seemed untouched…and may be, or may now have wild talents they didn’t have…#Realmslore2)
…before (or that were latent before, so they were entirely uanware of them), and all other mortal creatures MAY be affected…or may not. Like real-world lightning, the Spellplague might destroy one thing and leaving something right beside it untouched–or any…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 6, 2019

3)
…alteration in between. So the Spellscarred and Plaguechanged all came into being as a result of the Spellplague and/or its effects mingled with the Sundering, but the effects are a huge spectrum (think of the range of effects a wand of wonder can unleash), …#Realmslore 4)
…and the answer to 'what beings' is: all sorts/anyone, but truly random (aside from arcane spellcasters, who were HIGHLY likely to be affected), so, some will be killed, some destroyed, some maimed or physically deformed, some look untouched but have internal…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 6, 2019

5)
…changes, and some really will be untouched. Who? Up to the DM; there's no discernable pattern or "the Spellplague is more/less likely to affect" vector EXCEPT arcane spell use.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 6, 2019

So the greater the power of a spellcaster, the higher the chances they’re affected by the Spellplague, thus the more drastic the effects? Roughly true. And DEFINITELY true: the more they tried to do with lasting enchantments (build castles, bridges, etc.) the more likely there was drastic destruction (i.e. all that stuff falling apart).#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 7, 2019

That doesn't really explain, though, what they'd mean by say, "last season"or "a few seasons ago". Do they mean it in an approximate sense or does the word actually imply the one season, as in a summer and a fall if they said "two seasons ago"?

— Xyn Raven (@XynRaven) March 1, 2019

No, "two seasons ago" to a Realms speaker means whatever season the speaker is speaking in at the moment, but two of them in the past. (If it's spring, the speaker means two springs previous, if it's summer, the speaker means two summers before this current one.)#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 2, 2019

2)
It's a colloquialism, not a precise term encompassing a set slice of past time. It might be used when saying, "We haven't had a windstorm this bad for three seasons, at least." to mean: the last bad windstorm was sometime in this same season, but three of them ago.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 2, 2019

Let me see if I finally have it right: they refer to the season itself, but since seasons vary in length, that means that sometimes, in some places, the one season cycle doesn’t last a whole year? What? NO.

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 3, 2019

*Facedesks with a groan* But if the season cycle always lasts a whole year and they refer to the last time they had a summer before the summer they’re in now, doesn’t that mean a year ago? Indeed. It does. Most folk in the Realms, if not speaking formally (in court or at Court) won't say "X years ago" but will say "X summers ago" or "X winters back" (depending on what season of year the incident being referred to happened in, OR "counting from now/this season."

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 4, 2019

Oh, so it DOES mean a year, just that it’s an informal expression. Thank you! FINALLY I get it. A little strange they use that for a whole cycle, but given the setting, it kinda makes sense. YES. You've got it.
You see, when you're closely tied to the land (the Realms we've seen detailed are all still really an agricultural economy), the (physical) seasons matter more to you than anyone's formal calendar.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 5, 2019