weird question that came up today, what do you think Halaster Blackcloak’s favorite candy/sweet is? Aha! This was actually established in the home Realms campaign back in 1978: it's licorice root tarts at home, and licorice root "chews" (soft edible candies; think soft toffees) when out and about.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 7, 2020

Then I wasn’t far off, my spur of the moment response was “probably licorice”
Thanks you’re the best! Brilliant!

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 7, 2020

Trying to find information on the timelines of Halaster Blackcloak and his apprentice Trobriand. It seems that the Seven constructed the Hold in 168DR. Halaster takes complete control of the Undermountain in 309DR. The events of the Dungeon in the Mad Mage takes place The events of the Dungeon in the Mad Mage takes place over 1000 years later. For the rest of the surviving Seven, they have canonical reasons to still be alive, but Trobriand is still just a human. How has he stayed alive for 1200+ years or was he not part of the original Seven?

— Nupperibo (@Justincred1ble_) June 18, 2019

The increasingly-rare Potions of Longevity were something many Imaskari archwizards could make, or knew the spells behind, and so could make use of themselves. The ranks of these mages included Halaster and his apprentice Trobriand.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 18, 2019

But potions of longevity cap out at a max possible 120-year age reduction… Nope. Only those latecomer potions that were crafted during a particular game edition. ;}
In-Realms lore (that's "happened" already) trumps later metagaming nerfing; the later rules changes don't undo what's befallen in the world, just govern what happens henceforth (unless…

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) July 11, 2019

…revealing new information that leads to a new understanding of past events (i.e. the earlier chroniclers got it wrong, in light of the limits of their knowledge). In this case, Potions of Longevity vary greatly depending on who crafted them and how (the "secret formula," if…

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) July 11, 2019

…you will). The 120-year-limit applies to the most widespread ("standard") version of the potion, now most widely found in treasure hoards and the like. (That is, the version of which most were made, and so are most "popular" in the Realms.)

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) July 11, 2019

There's also a trick involving combining a potion of longevity and Phezult's Sleep of the Ages, but it's so dangerous I'll leave PCs to discover it for themselves.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) July 11, 2019

Is this what happened to Durnan and Mirt? Mirt was trapped in stasis in a blueflame item (see my Sage of Shadowdale trilogy) for over a century. Durnan's longevity is partly NDA, but when he retired from adventuring to run the Portal, he was sitting on a STACK of Potions of Longevity.#Realsmlore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) July 12, 2019

Do you think Halaster is a countertenor, tenor, baritone, or bass? Asking for a friend. @DnD_AdvLeague @TheEdVerse #SecretProjectVoltaire

— Greg Marks 🐈 (@Skerrit7h3green) March 16, 2019

Heh. Love this. Halaster started as a good baritone, but now he sounds like Tom Waits.
Audio reference: https://t.co/tudB3TfhHc
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Which is why when I portray him while DMing, he's a man of few words.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 16, 2019

While doing some prep-reading for running Waterdeep: Dragon Heist I noticed that Elminster is the current leader of the City Watch of Waterdeep. Since his stats are in the book should he just be given access to all wizard spells, have a spell . . . 1/2) All of Mystra's Chosen are weaker post-Sundering than they were formerly, and Mystra wants them to keep a lower profile in terms of hurling magic about. However, all of the Chosen (El included, of course) are now what you might call "Weavemasters," in that…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 29, 2019

2/2) …they can ride the Weave (merge into it to heal and translocate), call on its energies to shape any magical effect they've previously cast as a spell (so, yes, you can give El access to all spells). I've always left it to DMs to handle the Chosen as best suits their play.

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 29, 2019

@ChrisPerkinsDnD @mikemearls @JeremyECrawford @TheEdVerse Roughly how long does it take Halaster to create a new gate in Undermountain? Temporary or Permanent.

— Wil (@TheKOTM4) January 20, 2019

NOT long. About an hour for a permanent one if there are no strong existing enchantments in the gate locale to contend with (longer for each enchantment, and a lot longer for certain wards and effects, including other…#Realmslore 2/3) …nearby gates [too many gates, too close = dimensional rift tears open). A REALLY temporary gate for his own use (“step through and gone”) = under a minute. Temporary but usable by many, and larger than just a…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 25, 2019

3/3) …person: 20 minutes approx.
All times longer OUTSIDE of Undermountain, mind you.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 25, 2019