AMIA ARCHIVE • View topic

Last edited by Wyjyn on Tue, Jun 24 2008, 12:08 PM, edited 1 time in total.

Alright, I think we should really have a thread on the forums where people can ask lore questions in the hope others can answer it, and potentially give some of their own lore so here it is.

Rules:

Last edited by Wyjyn on Tue, Jun 24 2008, 12:08 PM, edited 3 times in total.

1. I have read that Eilistraeens may imprison others, just that they do not own them and can only force them to earn their keep (was on Candlekeep). Any information about elves and imprisonment as well as punishments? Ironangel;D?

Reference:

Ed Greenwood wrote:

Yes, Eilistraee forbids the taking of slaves. Prisoners of war can be made to work in return for their food and shelter, but they are not “property” and cannot be ordered around by anyone: only by supervisors assigned by the decision-makers among the Dark Dancer’s worshippers. (Such cases are rare, and generally consist of Lolth-worshipping drow or beings of other races who have “learned too much” and so are being detained for a few months, to prevent the specialized knowledge they’ve gained from being brought to enemies of the Eilistraeens.

From: http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?T ... ichpage=67

Last edited by IronAngel on Tue, Jun 24 2008, 11:55 AM, edited 1 time in total.

You know, I've been planning this for months now. Just yesterday, I was just about to make a Realmslore Trivia topic. You're my hero.

So, let's set the number one rule: you must cite your sources with any answer you give, so others can check and compare it to other sources.

Good initiative!

Sounds like a fancy thought.

Just one thing? Do we get to Smite people that quote Ed Greenwood and then ask if he's right?

Wyjyn wrote:

1. I have read that Eilistraeens may imprison others, just that they do not own them and can only force them to earn their keep (was on Candlekeep). Any information about elves and imprisonment as well as punishments? Ironangel;D?

Cormanthyr: Empire of the Elves, page 59, The Law of Myth Drannor:

Quote:

The penalty for breaking the laws and disturbing the peace of the city vary from case to case. The Coronal or an appointed noble elf usually acts as the judge over a dispute, since they rarely escalate into actual crime; penalties are often set by the demands of restitution by the wronged party (or wronged clan), and vary from confiscation of property to indentured servitude. Heinous crimes result in the loss of titles and privilege, banishment from Cormanthyr (or all elven realms), or even death (though elves prefer to place their criminals on the path of rehabilitation rather than execute them) if a criminal is deemed irreconcilable or too dangerous.

Elves of Evermeet, page 115, in reference to outsiders ending up on Evermeet:

Quote:

Those who came with violent or larcenous intent will have their memories magically erased, and be immediately teleported or gated back where they came from. Known enemies of Evermeet, and those who have committed crimes against the elves in the past, will be imprisoned or summarily slain.

Furthermore, there is a disgraced, exiled son of an Evermeetian family in Erik Scott De Bie's The Greater Treasure, a short story in Realms of the Elves. The background is quite open, but it seems that he has committed some crime or failure, and now seeks an elven relic (Ynloeth's bracers) to retrieve it to the People. The quest is atonement and a way to regain honour, or so I interpreted it.

Either way, it's clear there is no common elven stance on the matter. Some are cruel, some are evil, some are lawful, some are chaotic, some are outgoing. The Eldreth Veluuthra, for example, have no qualms about killing any non-elf who opposes them, but they will not eliminate other elves and especially members of the organization lightly. A corrupt, incompetent cell leader may only be eliminated if the Vel'Nikeryma, the organization's leading council, approves. In general, elves seem to value life and don't like to kill unnecessarily, but they can be very protective of their communities and device quite merciless defences. Imprisonment or death penalty (when it comes to non-elves, at least) is not a universal taboo, or so it seems.

Alright thanks a heap, I wouldnt mind some more lore on the Eldreth Veluuthra either (for those that dont know, they are something of an organization of elves that wish to remove humans from Toril or something along those lines, i cannot really find much ).

So next question from me:

2. Generally how common are members of the Eldreth Veluuthra ?

References:

Eldreth Veluuthra
(not the best source, but alright)
http://www.geocities.com/matt_kruer/Bro ... 7557930443

Wyjyn wrote:

2. Generally how common are members of the Eldreth Veluuthra ?

According to Lords of Darkness, there are about 100 members. They work in fairly individual cells in Ardeep Forest, the Border Forest, the Chondalwood, Cormanthor, Evereska, Evermeet, Graycloak Hills, the Gray Forest, the High Forest, the Methwood, the Misty Forest, the Moonwood, the Neverwinter Woods, Urlingwood, the Wealdath and the Winterwood. (Champions of Ruin.) It seems the list in CoV slightly contradicts the LoD info of 100 members, unless these cells are very small. Several places on the above list also have two Eldreth Veluuthra cells. In addition to actual members, the organization has many sympathizers, especially among wealthy sun elven noble houses. They provide the organization with resources.

Oh boy! This us just zuper phun!

Question 1 out of 1:
How do I find more lore about poisons and what they do to the victim's body/how you might feel if you get poisoned?
I've read the part about poisons in the Book of Vile Darkness, but I'd like to know more. Not just how high the DC is and what amount of drain/damage you get.

Signe Johanne wrote:

Oh boy! This us just zuper phun!

Question 1 out of 1:
How do I find more lore about poisons and what they do to the victim's body/how you might feel if you get poisoned?
I've read the part about poisons in the Book of Vile Darkness, but I'd like to know more. Not just how high the DC is and what amount of drain/damage you get.

I suggest you look for information on real poisons. I doubt you'll find any more accurate canon lore, unless you happen to spot certain poisons in use in novels. Even then, though, I'd take it with a grain of salt. For more non-canon poisons to use in the Realms, especially for the drow, check Alaundo's library. The list also describes the effects of the poisons, which could easily be used for other poisons too:
http://www.candlekeep.com/library/articles/poison.htm

Other than that, I can't help. I simply don't have a clue where to look.

*adds to Iron's post*

though it's not specifically FR canon lore, you can look in the D&D Dungeon Master's Guide (3.0 version) on page 80, table 3-16 for various poisons, with information including the how the poison is used, type and amount of damage resulting from the poisons, and how much they would cost to buy.

I searched through my FR books, and could only find one or two canon poisons: Drow Poison in City of the Spider Queen (pg. 128), and Amaunauth in Silver Marches (pg.40).

aside from those, you can search through the various Monster Manuals for different types of poisons that are made/used by animals/monsters.

Not really a question. More a request.

1. Starmetal lore please.

I think that one needs to come entirely from Robertltoner because as far as I'm aware of, the Starmetal on Amia is homebrew by him.

Because he is a science fanatic.

Questions:

1. What do you know about the city of Yartar and its region, aside from that festival they have about every two years or so?

2. What exactly does the Selunite faith entail of its priests/priestesses? Can they even have priests, as I have in my experience only seen priestesses?

- Neither of those need really, really detailed answer.. but I'd like some general lore.. just some things to go basing a story off of

Which then you get to read, Iron.. since you're finishing up with your tests! Bwahaha..

mairacle_ninja wrote:

1. Starmetal lore please.

Plot from a while ago. And it's not really 'starmetal' as one word, but everyone calls it that.

Requires a fairly high in-game lore skill to know much about it. (40 skill check roll or more)

Empirically, it's metal that's impossibly strong, lightweight, and completely unworkable in normal forges. Its melting point is far too high. You can strap it to normal armor in a crude fashion (Crafting option), but that seems wasteful.

Knowing where it came from, it fell from the 'heavens' (Comet, likely) and was plucked out of the skull craigs. It seemed to poison everyone who came in contact with it at first: A strange sickness not dissease or poison or curse (And not reacting to cure spells that healed those various illnesses).

It requires a certain special hammer to forge, but it's anyone's guess as to who actually knows how to deal with the metal.

What FR year is it on Amia at present?

Also, do Star Elves exist in Forgotten Realms or is that, like Snow Elves, entirely made up?

Estara wrote:

2. What exactly does the Selunite faith entail of its priests/priestesses? Can they even have priests, as I have in my experience only seen priestesses?

Answer to first question:

You can read most of it here:

http://amiawiki.shatuga.com/index.php/Sel%C3%BBne

Second part of question:

Clerics of Selune pray for their spells at night, facing in the direction of the moon when visible. Women vastly outnumber men, and many of the church's rituals honor women's role as teachers and role models in the home and society at large. Selune's doctrine infers that the moon emits a subtle influence upon the natural cycles of a woman's body. A female cleric of Selune believes she is closest to her deity during the full moon, and during this time, conducts morning ceremonies to open herself to special visions, insights, and intuitions. Milk, being a symbol of motherhood and of the sustaining power of the feminine, plays an integral role in most Selunite ceremonies.

Source:

http://amiawiki.shatuga.com/index.php/Sel%C3%BBne

as often stated, its not from official sourcebook so don't rely on it 100%.

soundofastream wrote:

Also, do Star Elves exist in Forgotten Realms or is that, like Snow Elves, entirely made up?

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Star_elf

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Richard Baker, Matt Forbeck, Sean K. Reynolds (May 2003). Unapproachable East, p. 9. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-2881-6.
2. ↑ Brian R. James and Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms, p. 21. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-4039-5.
3. ↑ Richard Baker, Matt Forbeck, Sean K. Reynolds (May 2003). Unapproachable East, p. 104. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-2881-6.
4. ↑ Richard Baker, James Wyatt (March 2004). Player's Guide to Faerûn, p. 21. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-3134-5.

Evidence points to them existing. Sources above taken from the wiki entry references.

soundofastream wrote:

What FR year is it on Amia at present?

Not 100% specified. The Amian timeline hasn't corresponded with the FR timeline for years now, but I use 1375, including some recent events and ignoring others.

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=50839 look at Filby's post. It gives a good idea of what Elven races that are in faerûn and where you can find more about them

To add a bit more to what the wiki says it's page 9-10, 100-101 and 104-105 in the Unapproachable East

Estara wrote:

1. What do you know about the city of Yartar and its region, aside from that festival they have about every two years or so?

According to Volo's Guide to the North:

About 6000 inhabitants. Rivers Dessarin, Surbrin and Laughingflow provide the fishers with fresh goods to sell in the central market. Caravans constantly buzz in and out of the city. Lots of adventurers and traders visit the city.

The city is ruled by the Waterbaron who's elected for life. The previous one was part of the Kraken Society, the current one (apparently chosen/supported by the Lords' Alliance and Harpers) is Bellethee Kheldorna, female paladin of Tyr. The city is defended by 150 mounted Shields of Yartar. She's busy rooting out evil from their ranks.

There's a big temple of Tymora, the Happy Hall of Fortuitous Happenstance. Shieldmeet is celebrated every four years, and the Hiring Fair on the three years between Shieldmeets. During this event, all sorts of people gather to find emplyers or employées. There's also Beldabar's Rest, an underground tavern where a lot of discreet things happen.

Volo wrote:

Yartar is a bubbling cauldron of plots, grand schemes, cabals, alliances, and under the table business arrangements. Everyone in Yartar is after money, or power, or preferably both, and they’d like it in as short a time as possible.

Yartar is located in the Dessarin region, the most fertile and populous place in the North. What might trouble the city are trolls (from the Evermoors mainly) and orcs. While not an immediate threat to Yartar, the Kingdom of Many-Arrows is a topic that's much discussed in the North.

This is neat, I have 2 questions of my own.

1. what do drow and other underdark races generally eat and drink down in the Underdark?

2. What about musical instruments for the drow? what type of musical instruments are common for them to be using?

Actually folks, I think there's two kindsa starmetals. This comes from Complete Arcane, handy little sourcebook I have a pdf of.

Quote:

Once each generation, the comet Alhazarde—the legendary
Green Star—visits the night skies, a portent of great and
terrible events. Beneath its emerald light, kings rise or fall,
weird monsters and magical plagues appear to scour the
land, and strange and ancient secrets are revealed. Glorious
and sinister auroras glimmer in the dusk for weeks on end,
and from time to time shooting stars of burning emerald fall
from the sky. These fallen stars are the only known source
of starmetal, a rare and precious ore infused with mighty
magical power.

I get the feeling that this is the only lore on this starmetal, as this kind seems to only be found in this mention... Explains a far bit.

Anyway, 'nother ask. Can I get some info on hard/rare metals/minerals in the realms? Even if it's just real world minerals? I'm really not good at this kind of generalised research.

Request, as much bebilith lore as you can muster, thankee in advance :lol:

Regards
Craig

Craig deathwalker wrote:

Request, as much bebilith lore as you can muster, thankee in advance

Same here, but about Ilithids.

Illithids I would have to copy the entire Lords of MAdness book.

I'll let Iron do it instead.

TormakSaber wrote:

Illithids I would have to copy the entire Lords of MAdness book.

I'll let Iron do it instead.

There was a really good book at the time the Cult of the Dragon book came out in 2e on Illithids. There was another similar book on Sahuagin too.

I don't know if second hand copies are still around or available...it was a black covered volume from the 1990s. When I used to play as a gothic teen a friend of mine had it. Back in the days where D&D was played by punks and goths as well as nerds. I used to go over my friends house and her boyfriend would DM and even though I couldn't understand half the rules, it didn't matter with a few pints or other substances...ahhh those were the days....

Lords of Madness is 3.0/3.5, so it supercedes the 2e stuff.

But its no where near as detailed as the 2e book which, was purely dedicated to Illithids.

What info that is there in Lord sof Madness beats the 2e stuff though unless there's no provable 3e equivalent.

Hookay!

I just thought it worth mentioning that one. Just in case people might have it...

Don't listen to Tormak! He's a mean 2e-hater! He's right, though: whenever 2e and 3e lore contradicts, it's techincally the latter that wins. There are, of course, honest mistakes in newer material, but they're not quite so common. However, you're 95% sure to find more info on any given subject in a 2e supplement than a 3e one, which is why I always try to use both. This is true for the Realms, at least. Things that are covered in a chapter or two in an old book get two paragraphs at best, in later releases. Which is smart, I guess; no point in reprinting all of the old material if there's nothing new to tell.

Where can i look up god lores, i mean the lore check it takes to recognize a god's idol?

http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Lore well this page describes how lore works in nwn.

But normally you will have to ask the dms for the lore as it can wary greatly from item to item.

I have two questions on Ilithid. One on Ilithid in general, and one on the Amian Ilithid.

1. I have heard two conflicting ideas on Ilithid biology. One states that Ilithid larva must take a host and morph with its mind to create an adult form (through a process called ceremorphosis), such as a parasite would take over another being completely, another implies that Ilithid larva grow naturally to their adult form. Could anyone shed light on this?

2. Are the Underport Ilithid and the Udos (Hostile) Ilithid of the same faction?

Quote:

1. I have heard two conflicting ideas on Ilithid biology. One states that Ilithid larva must take a host and morph with its mind to create an adult form (through a process called ceremorphosis), such as a parasite would take over another being completely, another implies that Ilithid larva grow naturally to their adult form. Could anyone shed light on this?

I can't sourcequote you, but I will say it is 100% in Lords of MAdness. Illithid mature by placing th larva in the brain of a human. It only fully works with humans, and no one knows why, even the illithid. Other races tend to produce grotesque abominations.

Illithid larvae CAN be left alone, and will mature given a looong period of time. In some cases the death of the Elder Brain is required. Incidentally, this also results in one of the strongest illithid "things" in existence. HHow ironic that the way to being a pure illitihd is to remoe yourself from the Elder brain, and let time mature you.

Quote:

Are the Underport Ilithid and the Udos (Hostile) Ilithid of the same faction?

No, the Underport Illithid have their own Elder Brain.

Ah, good, thats what I figured on both of those questions...Also the answers I was hoping for. Thanks. As a sidenote, I heard that there are cases where an Ilithid can not take over its host completely, leaving a human (Or whatever race choice) body with an ilithid's mind and digestion.

I recall there being some other race than drow that worships Lolth pretty much exclusively. Lolth isnt as hung up on her worshippers being drow as drow like to think, she'll take anything, as far as I know.

What is this other race, and does it have a matriarchal society?

The Chitines. (Image from Underdark) Originally the result of cruel drow experiments on Ched Nasadan humanoid slaves, they've spread from the North all across the Underdark. They revere Lolth out of fear, and mostly leave it to the priests of their kind, Choldriths. These are apparently a race of their own, or perhaps better described as a special type of Chitine. They resemble Driders, and it's theorized become one may in fact be Lolth's reward to devoted Chitines. Nothing more is said in the books, so we can't know for sure whether you're born as a Choldrith or can turn into one.

It's unknown whether they're all female, but the Choldrith's are referred to as priests rather than priestesses. The image of one in Monsters of Faerûn is a female, though. Since it's not specified anywhere in the Underdark or MoF, I bet they can be either. Otherwise, you'd think it was mentioned in passing, at least. Either way, the clergy rule the Chitines.

More images from Races of Faerûn, both Chitine and Choldrith:
http://www.iwozhere.com/SRD/images/MonFaePG26.jpg
http://www.iwozhere.com/SRD/images/MonFaePG27.jpg

Didi: The race I belive you are refering to is Chitens. from the underdark source book.

Quote:

The spider like chitins exemplifying the unnatural changes that can be incorporated into a humanoid with the aid of evil inspired magic. Once their ancestors were humanoid in form, but their enforced slavery to the drow entailed more then simple exucusion of duty. The drow of Ched Nasad selectively bred and magically meddled with their slaves; incorporating ghastly "improvements" as well as results of fumbled experiments. Eventually these alterations became permanent, resulting in a race of spider like, four-armed humainiods that can build with webbing in the same way that humans employ stone or wood. formerly found only in northwest regions of faerun, chitens have spread throughout the Underdark in the course of their flight from their drow oppressors.

apparently they have a similar personaltiy to drow, yet they absolutely despies them. they are like drow alot, it seems. yet clerics are of another race, Choldrith, their more spider like cusions that rule over their city in a way matrons do for the drow. I hope that helps.

Thankyou

TormakSaber wrote:

Quote:

1. I have heard two conflicting ideas on Ilithid biology. One states that Ilithid larva must take a host and morph with its mind to create an adult form (through a process called ceremorphosis), such as a parasite would take over another being completely, another implies that Ilithid larva grow naturally to their adult form. Could anyone shed light on this?

I can't sourcequote you, but I will say it is 100% in Lords of MAdness. Illithid mature by placing th larva in the brain of a human. It only fully works with humans, and no one knows why, even the illithid. Other races tend to produce grotesque abominations.

It's also in a book called "The Illithaid", one of three books found in the Monsterous Arcanous trilogy.

Can Half-Drow be played as Crinti on Amia or do they fall into the realms of special request characters? Not that I wish to make one, just seeing an RP opportunity here for those whom make up Half-Drow characters....

What the devil is a Crinti?

Crinti is a drow word for Noble, and is a specific subrace from the area of Dambrath that are drow that have crossbreed with the barbarian tribes of humans there to produce Amazonian-like drow that are bigger and stronger than normal drow, thanks to their human blood.

http://www.candlekeep.com/library/articles/crinti.htm

Well, they're not really drow They're just a certain type of part-drow-elf-human:

Quote:

Intermarriage between Cathyr's followers and drow was common, and today almost all of Dambrath's Crinti (a drow word meaning "noble ones") share a distinctive set of characteristics that blend the drow, half-elf (mostly of moon elf stock), and human barbarian. The Crinti tend to be tall and strong, with dark gray skin, hair of light gray or silver, and blue eyes. No full-blooded elves live in Dambrath, but the degree of elf blood is a major determinant of social class. Physical appearance is also important: pointed ears and dark skin are accepted signs of nobility, and half-elves who are human in appearance are afforded a lesser status. There are a few fair-skinned half-elves, and the females usually attempt to pass as descendents of Cathyr, whatever their actual lineage might be.

It's really not a lore question, but a rules one. I can't make the call alone, but I don't think it's inappropriate to play one using half-drow. It seems to me that they are more of a regional half-drow mutation than an actual race; much like humans of different lineages. Better be safe than sorry, and submit a request, I guess.

Right, forgot the other-elf part of it.

I have the limited info on the water genasi.. most come from the Sea of Fallen Stars yes but.. what kind of culture do they have there in any books? I sort of made a little up on my own but this thread seems perfect for some help-asking. Thanks!

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