@TheEdVerse
Hey Ed. What is some common wines in menzo? Not just Lichen wine

— WitnessToHisOwnDemise (@nobile_bill) February 1, 2019

After lichen wine, common Menzo vintages, as opposed to secret house recipes, are but two:
Luthquil, a syrupy-thick, smoky-flavored translucent emerald green wine derived from a particular crushed Underdark mushroom.#Realmslore 2)
And:
Roavrae, a blended wine of a particular boiled cave moss mixed with the internal juices of a specific Underdark spider, the “roave” (a plentiful small black scuttling spider; five can fit on a typical adult human palm).#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 3, 2019

@TheEdVerse I should preamble a little, because for reasons that break the gods’ brains some would ask this looking to trap a creator or some similarly juvenile nonsense. I’m an author, I know well that setting & characters are not the creator not reflective of her values /1

— 🌈Jaye🦄Em🌹Edgecliff🏳️‍🌈 (@jayeedgecliff) February 1, 2019

By the same measure I’m aware that in the grand scheme of The Realms every conceivable answer is represented *somewhere* because divers peoples, tribes, nations, etc. I grok.
Across … Classic Realms: Faerûn, principally the Sea of Fallen Stars, Cormyr, Waterdeep 1e grey box /2 Maps region.
What is life like for a transgender or non-binary individual? Especially the former given the existence to such a thing as polymorph magics?
Is it significantly different for rich vs impoverished? Noble vs common, regardless wealth? Zhentilar vs Sembian? /3

— 🌈Jaye🦄Em🌹Edgecliff🏳️‍🌈 (@jayeedgecliff) February 1, 2019

I’d always made certain generalised assumptions about gender equity which I translated over to such matters but then I got to thinking about how on-screen War Wizards seem as much as 4/5 male, Purple Dragons almost exclusively so. Waterhavian Watch not exactly 50/50 but nearer /4 Zhentarim vibe a might more female, Red Wizards the opposite, and so on. So given a seeming wide swath of mindsets on the roles of sexes perhaps … gender affirming spellcraft? is maybe a less dull topic than previously envisioned?
I dig if you’d rather pretend this /5

— 🌈Jaye🦄Em🌹Edgecliff🏳️‍🌈 (@jayeedgecliff) February 1, 2019

Question doesn’t exist. Regardless what you answer *someone* is going to probably have something horrid to say. But I hope even a ha’penny’s worth gem could be begged of you. /fin Perhaps I should ask: does human vs other make any remarkable differences?
/fin+1

— 🌈Jaye🦄Em🌹Edgecliff🏳️‍🌈 (@jayeedgecliff) February 1, 2019

Hi! Great question, because a topic that almost never gets directly addressed in published Realmslore. The Realms is, as you say, a big place, with many regional variations and just as much racism, sexism, and mistrust of “the other” and change than our real world. Bigots are.. 2)everywhere, it is the nature of most to be at least a touch cynical, and so on. Yet to offset that, beings of any one race in most surface locales in the “classic” Realms coverage areas live with a variety of other races, and see “monsters” from time to time, too (albeit mainly

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 2, 2019

3)dead, as wall-trophies). And the effects of magic, if not seeing spells hurled in your presence, is widespread, too.
For reasons of body weight and strength, some professions (smithing, professional soldiery, rowing) tend to be dominated by large-bodied males, but by and large 4)(once you get away from Lolth-dominated matriarchies, the Rashemi, and the like) there is gender equality. As in: individuals may be discriminated against on the basis of age/experience, height, hardiness/have all their limbs in working order, and whether or not I like your…

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 2, 2019

face, BUT there’s no societal bias of role on the basis of gender. There ARE recruiting officers who go looking for guards of a particular build, size, and even hair color, and the units they assemble reflect that. Vangerdahast wanted female War Wizards “implanted” at Court and 6)as “house wizards” in the households of the nobility he wanted watched over because he thought they were better at fitting in, acting, and being subtle than his young, ambitious male War Wizards (whom he deployed more in combat/action/military support functions, which is why…

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 2, 2019

7)you see them more on-screen), and his too-few really trustworthy and competent senior War Wizards he needed for vital roles (Laspeera being one of those).
Having wealth or status (e.g. nobility) provides a measure of freedom to “be yourself” in every meaning of the word—indulge 8)your eccentricites/hobbies, and so on—so we see more nobles habitually doing “odd” things. Wealth allows those without the Art (gift of wielding magic) to hire spellcasting, so they can experiment with changing their own bodies in various ways, having sex while body-flying, and

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 2, 2019

9)so on. Such “freedoms” are limited by disapproval/your own thinking depending on your local society (Sembia is very much “do what you want if you have the coin,” whereas modern-day Zhents are always aware of the Zhentarim and their scrutiny and war-readiness and supremacy of… 10)wizards and Bane and Zhentarim objectives.
However, magic is most often hired by the non-magical to change their own bodies, usually to make themselves more functional (overcome a withered or malformed or damaged limb, increase handsomeness). More than a few use it to switch..

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 2, 2019

11)gender, either to experiment or fulfill themselves (because they don’t feel comfortable as they are) or to escape persecution (by changing looks and often gender and taking on a new identity, sometimes to elude justice). “Everyone” has seen or at least heard of someone doing.. 12)this, and it’s not considered crazy so much as “restless.” So although individuals who put on “camp” voices and lisps, and dress and use cosmetics to “outrage” may be ridiculed for such over-the-top behavior, there’s no stigma about changing your gender, nor would most folk in

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 2, 2019

13)the Realms be repelled by discovering someone they have the hots for as one gender was once another. Nor is homosexuality, “swinging both ways” and dwelling in family groups of several “mates” of mixed races and genders frowned upon, societally. Individuals may find it too… 14)much for themselves to handle, but the laws and general attitudes of society don’t frown on it. There are strict laws regarding inheritance among royalty and nobility, but that’s purely to cut down on strife within powerful families and the resulting chaos.
This is, of course,

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 2, 2019

15)given who was first publishing the Realms (that is, the time and place of publication, and the game and literary market of the time/societal attitudes of the time) something downplayed or even written out of published Realmslore, but from the outset, I thought racism (as in,.. 16)prejudice against people who have a different skin color than you, or “talk funny” was ridiculous in a world in which elves rub shoulders with dwarves and scaly lizardfolk and talking dragons and talking bugs), and I thought my Realms would be a lot more tolerant than our real

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 2, 2019

17)world of individuals who weren’t the one-man-one-woman-two-point-five-children-in-house-with-white-picket-fence family.
In my own background, I grew up in a very wealthy neighborhood filled with people from all over the world temporarily stationed in Canada as executives, and 18)my mother died when I was young so I was raised by a tag team of VERY competent and strong-willed grandmothers and maiden aunts, and from age 14 on to right now I have worked in public libraries where almost all of my bosses and co-workers were women, many of them openly…

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 2, 2019

19)lesbian or bisexual, so none of this seemed unusual to me.
Which is a very long-winded way of saying that transgender and non-binary folk can live comfortably and accepted in the Realms, though they may have to pick their neighbors and friends to do so. [fin]

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 2, 2019

In Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes it said that Corellon still offers his blessing to some of his children that allows them change their sex after a long rest. Most elves in Forgotten Realms it is seen as a blessing but to the drow a cures that must be purged…..interesting indeed Indeed. ;} There are layers and layers in lore. Use the threads that seem bright or useful to you, and leave the rest for later. They're all part of the grand tapestry. The Weave. ;}

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 3, 2019

hello Ed. Where my fellow dwarf can find smth like “The Ultimate Guide To What The Heck Was Going On With The Realms During 1350-1490”? I mean, it was like “crazy 60s”: all these god deaths, sunderings, spellplagues, new races… So hard to navigate through the times. There is no such definitive written record, I'm afraid. There was a Wizards website "Backdrop: Cormyr" article that covered what happened with that realm, and the Sundering novels take you into the heart of the "big changes." For more on Cormyr, read the Brimstone Angels series..

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 29, 2019

…that @erinmevans wrote, for what happened with Drizzt and those he hangs out with and fights, see @r_a_salvatore 's recent Realms novels, and for post-Sundering "big shot" mages and Waterdeep, see my novels Spellstorm and Death Masks. Then go to the Sword Coast Adventurers…

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 29, 2019

…Guide sourcebook for "how it is now, post-Sundering" on the Sword Coast. Then turn to HoardOfTheDragonQueen and all the official hardbound adventures since, to see what unfolded after that. The last few pages of The Grand History of the Realms cover the Spellplague's arrival.

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 29, 2019

Hi Mr. Greenwood, I actually have a question: it’s kinda hard to find out about kingdoms/governments established by Sea Elves, Tritons, Fey, and a few other sentient creatures. It’s almost as if only the land kingdoms and Underdark kingdoms have any lore around them. I could imagine Sea Elves and Tritons don't exactly want people to know where they are, but for all I know, Sea Elves are extremely nomadic. Maybe a small bit about those groups and their trading outposts could get released at some point, but it's all up to you and WotC.

— Jon Forel (@Jon_4L) January 18, 2019

I don’t have those, actually. It’s been hard for me to find out about materials that explore certain aspects of The Realms, so I look forward to getting those. Thank you. A pleasure! The Realms has been going as a published game world for long enough that some game lore is now hard to get or too far in the rear view mirror to get noticed, I'm afraid…

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 18, 2019

At least three of the people in this law firm are from the Forgotten Realms. https://t.co/fYHp2qwPZv

— Matt Colville (@mattcolville) January 18, 2019

@TheEdVerse , your take good sir?

— Miles Main (@MileyMan1066) January 18, 2019

1/7) Hmm. Elminster frowns on worldhopping legal shenanagins. Pretty sure Skadron the bandit leader and sometime pirate hasn’t the temperament for legal work; “Harps” is a half-elf exotic dancer known for her musical…#Realmslore https://t.co/MhQ07oFq4y

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 18, 2019

2/7) …accompaniments to her own performances on stage; the “Slate” I know in Toril is Dannath Durslate, a wealthy and respected dwarf builder who’s been erecting ever-taller and -grander stone mansions and business premises…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 18, 2019

3/7) …in the cities of Sembia for two centuries; “Meager” was the nickname of a long-ago Lord of Sessrendale, Maryn Ameigrar (also known as “the Miser” and “Lord Starvation”) whose crackpot ideas that his people should live… #Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 18, 2019

4/7) …on handfuls of cheese, nuts, and bread eventually got him walled away and starved to death at their hands; and Amratha “Flom” Flombarr was a successful adventurer of the 1200s DR who had a hand in the slaying of at least one…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 18, 2019

5/7) …dragon, and retired rich to a well-hidden and modest country compound in the shade of the Wealdath where she died in 1296 DR. Perhaps Matt is mistaking them for the litigious half-orc roofers Skuddren and Halark Slates,…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 18, 2019

6/7) …Tiles, and Mareigur, active in the rural Vilhon (“mareigur” is rothe-dung-and-lime thatch used to roof homes cheaply throughout the north; half-orcs have some secret treatment, likely involving their own urine, that…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 18, 2019

7/7) …renders it resistant to flame, whereas the mareigur of others is notorious for being unquenchable, once something ignites it).#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 18, 2019

PastorGall @PastorGall@TheEdVerse is bowstring in the realms made like to how he used to do it back then? Also, are there special types of bowstring in the realms?

Short answer: Yes, and yes. But here we go…

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 25, 2019

1/3) Bowstrings are made of a wide variety of materials across the Realms, many of them the same as historical real-world fibers: linen, hemp and other plant fibers, rawhide and sinew (warning: lose elasticity when wet!), …#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 25, 2019

2/3) …and silk. In the Realms, drow use spidersilk (giant spider types of the Underdark) to string their bows, and elves have special bowstrings made of combinations of wood-dwelling spidersilk, squirrel and even deer rawhide, …#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 25, 2019

3/3) … long elven hair, spun silver (treated with spells and moonstone). The Tuigan and wemics use horsehair in combination with long-grass fibers, and so on, in many regional variations (e.g. jungle plant fibers).#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 25, 2019

is there any known Dwarves/Dragonborn clans, meaning a duel-raced clan? In Forgotten Realms is there any existing lore that would condemn this? I’d like to play a Dragonborn with a family-like connection with dwarves, to go along with his Clan Crafter background. Hi, Chris. So far as I know, there's nothing in Realmslore about a dual-raced dwarf-anything clan (although the dwarves has occasionally "adopted" non-dwarf INDIVIDUALS as clan members). But that means there's nothing against/condemning dual-race dwarf/other clans, either. :}

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 22, 2019

Cormyrean noble cleric talking about Vangey: He really *does* think every time he goes to the privy or washes his backside it’s in the service of the realm! #DND #ForgottenRealms @TheEdVerse is she right? 😀 Oh, yes! I've written scenes about this in published Realms fiction: both his very real and dedicated service to Cormyr, and his now-effortless habit of rationalizing that his every personal preference and druthers is what the realm truly needs. ;} That's what makes Vangey so…

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 22, 2019

…effective…and scary. ;}#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 22, 2019

Oh my … and my Truesilver-replacement-family scion said this, aloud to herself & her goddess, while shouting at him, too 🙃
She loves cousin Azoun. War Wizards & Vangey she has rather sharp words for. To be fair she DOES feel that he’s endangered dear Daddy (bluedragon cmdr) Now here's the strange thing about Vangey: he'd be irked at hearing this, but NOT show it, and would think this Lady Truesilver would bear closer watching from now on (traitor? ALL nobles have the tendency!) BUT would respect her more…as someone who sees shrewdly ("no fool").

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 22, 2019

Ah, that's sweet to hear!

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 22, 2019