Candlekeep Research
Research at Candlekeep
The Avowed
in your employ, Orrin Glass and Fembris Larlancer, spent days scouring the
collection at Candlekeep for the party’s searches. The search terms are listed
out below with the related text that the Avowed brought to you, if the search
turned up anything, from the table of contents.
1.
“Jeremius
Mason” and “The Monarch”
(Notable Waterdavians)
2.
“Platinum
Mine of Innesbyr”
(Mineral Wealth of the Western Heartlands)
3.
“Platinum
Mining Trends” (Mineral
Wealth of the Western Heartlands)
4.
“Metals
industry trends and commodity cycles past 50 years” (Mineral Wealth of the Western
Heartlands)
5.
“The
Lords Alliance”
(The Lords Alliance)
6.
“The
Druid Neervala” nothing
7.
“Melarn”
(Faerûnian
Academies for Magical Training)
8.
“Bedouir
Colain” nothing
you don’t already know or didn’t learn at Melarn’s Door.
9.
“Mootscarp” nothing you don’t already know
10.
“Bhin,
Evil Thief”
nothing
11.
“Mind
Flayers and Elder Brains”
(Volothorp’s Guide too Monsters)
12.
“Road
Building Techniques”
(Conquerer’s Guide to Roadbuilding)
13.
“Fraz’Urb’Luu”
(Demon Lords,
Demonic Lore from the Demonomicon of Iggwilv, The Blood War: Demons &
Devils)
14.
“The
Demonomicon of Iggwilv”
(Demonic Lore from the Demonomicon of Iggwilv)
15.
“Vallzan” nothing
16.
“Telloux
the Pious” nothing
17.
“Talos” (Talos from a Critical Reckoning
of the Gods and their Faithful)
18.
“Chaosborn
and the Kulius of Calimshan”
(The Sands of Chaos)
19.
“The
Planes”
20.
“Faerun
world axis cosmology”
21.
“Religion
in the realms”
22.
“Magic
in the realms”
23.
“Proportional
Faith Theory”
24. “The Illithid Mind”
DISCLAIMER
This is a lot of information, likely with diminishing returns in terms of signal to noise. I present them here because you requested this research at the largest font of knowledge in Faerûn. But bear in mind that the way I’ve been DMing this campaign is pretty darn open-ended and as you add information you may be expanding it even further such that there are suddenly more threads to follow, many of which aren’t relevant (at least to Arumbelle, Doun, Monarch, Mind Flayers, etc. arc). In other words, you may end up putting thing on the table in your brain that don’t have any connection.
It is probably fairly obvious that the most important things throughout the campaign will be things I have written, not external sources. If you see something in an external source that seems critical or changes how you think about things, check in to make sure the way an anecdote or detail or how something works is the same for this campaign. I don’t adhere strictly to some of the details but they do form the basic backdrop / setting for the campaign and I have drawn on most of them at least in the abstract. Maybe another way to think about it is: not everything is related to your goals, there is a wide world turning out there, but that world should be internally consistent.
In that vein, a lot of this stuff you can just google or look through Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide or other source books – some of which I’ve just pasted or linked below. The blog has content that likely provides more targeted clues throughout, from day 1.
Contents
Proportional Faith Theory. 3Notable Waterdavians. 3
Demon Lords. 4
Volothorp’s Guide to Monsters. 5
The Lords Alliance. 8
Demonic Lore from the Demonomicon of Iggwilv. 8
The Blood War: Demons & Devils. 10
The Sands of Chaos. 11
Talos. 12
Early History of the Savage Frontier. 13
Conqueror’s Guide to Roadbuilding. 13
History on High: Tribal Power Struggles of the High Moor. 14
Mineral Wealth of the Western Heartlands. 14
Faerûnian Academies for Magical Training. 15
The Planes. 15
Faerun world axis cosmology. 16
Religion in the realms. 16
Magic in the realms. 16
The Illithid Mind. 16
Proportional Faith Theory
Scribbles in a journal by A’lai Aivenmore
If magic is a thread called "the Weave", the gods
tug on it to influence the inner planes. Proportional faith theory holds that
there is some relationship between the strength of that tug and the strength of
the faithful on Faerûn, the faith’s traditions, the existence of followers, or
of those who mutter prayers to the deity, etc. Or maybe it's that the
faithful providing a tautness to that thread such that the god has an easier
time manipulating the material plane. So much of this exists in the abstract
and beyond mortal ken (models to even describe models of the gods!) metaphor
sometimes serves best but it doesn't help with the concrete.
What's more, this impact is likely to be on the margin, but
when talking about gods, even a marginal impact of such power can be material
on the, well, material plane.
For example, any god that is alive and well will be able to
grant followers divine magic and a god is not destroyed or created by mere
mortals willing them into existence.
However, a widely worshipped god with many temples, a
well-followed dogma, rites and traditions, names on mortal lips, etc. may be
able to produce a stronger avatar on faerun, grant followers more potent
magics, more powerfully influence natural phenomena, or more directly
speak to followers.
A weak or barely living or trapped god may only be able to
speak in whispers on the wind, through clouds clearing to reveal stars
at just the right moment, in whorls of wood, if they are able to tug on
that thread of the weave to influence the material plane at all
In each of these cases, as the "faith" ebbs and
flows, those material plane abilities may increase and diminish
Notable Waterdavians
DR 1536
Volume 226
[Some sort of gossip rag for the idle – an annual
publication that, among the pages of paid sponsorships, guild propaganda, rumors,
gossip, and scandal, describes the “10 Most Notable Waterdavians of the Year”]
#7 -- From
Mason to Monarch: The Academy’s Own Returns After Taming the Savage Frontier
Jermius “The Monarch” Mason
“I remember him from the Academy days – did well enough,
but kept to himself. Then again he would, he didn’t come from a great family,
last name of Mason, if you follow,” Lalaga Dio finishes a firewine as she
recalls the former Academy classmate. “Seemed to have a chip on his shoulder,
thought he could keep up with those of us who had better breeding, a bit too
ambitious for his station, I recall.”
And it’s ambition that has finally paid off for Jeremius
Mason, better known by his self-styled honorific, “The Monarch.” NB has
done some digging, as we always do, and discovered some of the dirty details about
the latest man about town.
·
Jeremius Mason grew up poor (in Field Ward! Imagine!),
was promising enough to be a sponsee at the Academy, and once there was a loner
recluse.
·
One classmate recalled a humiliating episode for
the young Mason when his robes practically unraveled they were so shabby—imagine!.
·
After he finished his wizarding studies, he left
he traveled west to the Vostewylde (it was called the Savage Frontier back
then).
·
He seemed to have abandoned his craft, (can you
believe it? Forsaking everything his betters gave him!) to begin a new business
venture—and a shady one!--engaging the outlawed practice of Underdark mining.
·
He grew wealthy over a couple decades of running
a very successful Underdark platinum mine out of Innesbyr.
·
His wealth was so great he bought the frontier
town and styled himself its Monarch. Innesbyr couldn’t have been worth much, it
was probably no more than a few cow-pastured streets, but still!
·
The Vostewydlers were so provincial they started
just calling him The Monarch, imagine!
·
Over the course of his reign, he cleaned up the
Savage Frontier, renamed it the Vostewylde Alliance, and the towns in the
region prospered.
·
Around 20 years ago he began a serious bid for
the Vostewylde to enter the Lord’s Alliance.
·
One contact of NB reported that during
one of these early visits back to Waterdeep he still looked uncomfortable in
his formal dress – wearing the fashions from decades prior! Imagine! Poor
thing.
·
But the Monarch’s platinum wealth and record on
the frontier were impressive.
·
A few years later, the Lords Alliance sent a few
dignitary inspectors (NB readers will recall Tufus Bell, #9 from Volume
203) to visit the Vostewylde and inspect the Innesbyr platinum mine.
Surprisingly, they found it delightful. Evidently the safety record was
unimpeachable, and so they agreed to overlook the illicit venture.
·
After finishing a tour of the region, including
the sfos-addled degenerate commune town of Old Weir (imagine!), the delegation
returned to Waterdeep and officially welcomed The Vostewylde into the Lords
Alliance.
·
The Monarch “abdicated” his title a few years
later to retire to Waterdeep and create a life he could never have dreamed of,
renovating Boxwood Manse in Mountainside.
·
Since then he has been seen about town, in the
latest fashions, with a few buxom women at his side, including the famous
Partridge Strom.
·
Rumor has it, he stole the halfling from Tufus –
imagine!—slighting the man who was responsible for getting him into the Lords Alliance!
Bad boy, Mr. Mason!
·
The Academy has on record the Monarch giving a
few guest lectures about the intersection of business and wizarding, something
often overlooked by the spellcasting purist…until it is too late and they find
themselves casting prestidigitation on the street corner for coppers!
IMAGINE!
Demon Lords
[an excerpt from the revered Mordekainen’s Tome
of Foes]
While the demons fight for domination among their own
kind in the Abyss, the Material Plane is the most fertile ground for demons to
acquire followers. Even a relatively weak demon can demand obedience and
worship from humans and other mortals through the threat of force. In turn, its
magical abilities allow it to impart boons to its servants, making them more
useful and better able to pursue the demon’s goal in the world.
Sects dedicated to the worship of the various demon lords
are spread across the mortal worlds of the multiverse as well as the Abyss. In
return for a cult’s adoration, a demon receives allies in its struggle against
its rivals. To show their reverence, cultists might offer sacrifices of
treasure and magic items that the demon can use. Taking advantage of that same
reverence, a demon might send its cultists into battle to soften up an enemy
before the demon enters the fray itself.
Many cultists gravitate to a demon lord out of a desire
for power. Others find themselves captivated by a demon’s narcissism, so that
their minds and worldviews become twisted into a pale version of their
master’s.
The most deceptive of all demons, Fraz-Urb’luu is a master
illusionist and weaver of lies. He thrives by luring his cultists and his
enemies alike into lives of self-delusion. He can take on nearly any form,
usually appearing in whatever shape is most pleasing to a potential cultist.
Fraz-Urb’luu considers himself the smartest entity in the
cosmos, the only one who can see through all of reality’s lies and understand
the truth that lies beyond them. Yet the truth that he sees remains known only
to him. He utters cryptic remarks about a grand design that guides the cosmos
toward some unknown end, but none can say whether these statements are another
layer of deception or evidence of a true insight.
Those who worship Fraz-Urb’luu fall into two camps. Most of
his so-called “cultists,” rather than being true volunteers, are unfortunates
duped into honoring him because they listened to his lies. Fraz-Urb’luu might
appear to a desperate paladin and claim to be a saintly figure, or contact a
wizard while in the guise of a wise sage. He tells these folk whatever stories
and promises they want to hear, playing to their needs and slowly drawing them
into his circle of influence. He especially enjoys using the arrogance and
vanity of good folk against them, helping to bring about their downfall.
A few of his followers are illusionists, deceivers, and con
artists who seek him out. Fraz-Urb’luu makes use of their talents, and rewards
these supplicants appropriately, as long as they follow his example in the
campaign to bring about the downfall of all that is lawful and good.
In this regard, Fraz was closely aligned with the god
Felak’Doun, before the latter’s death during the Time of Troubles.
Volothorp’s Guide to Monsters
[the colorful Volo’s entry on Mind flayers]
Mind
Flayers, The Scourge of Worlds
Mind flayers, also known as illithids, are horrific, alien
humanoids that lurk deep within the Underdark. Masters of psionic energy, they
use their mental powers to dominate other creatures. The fortunate among their
victims are slain, their brains devoured. The unlucky ones have their psyches
warped, leaving them as mindless slaves with little hope of being rescued.
A Culture of Fugitives
Despite all their unique and overwhelming abilities, the
mind flayers are a race on the edge of extinction.
Thousands of years ago, the illithids were the dominant
power of the Inner Planes. From their astral domains, they launched flying
vessels called nautiloids, able to cross between planes, so that they could
harvest intelligent humanoids from hundreds of worlds.
The mind flayers relied on a slave race, the gith, to
provide physical labor and sustenance when other sources of food grew thin.
Eventually, the gith revolted. Whether the mind flayers became decadent or the
gith discovered a weakness, none can say. What is known is that after centuries
of domination, the mind flayer empire collapsed in less than a year. The gith
rose up, slaughtered their masters, and destroyed almost all traces of the
illithids’ astral domains.
Only the mind flayers that had infiltrated the worlds of the
Material Plane survived, and their safety was short-lived. Both the githzerai
and the githyanki, two factions that arose from the victorious gith, sent
hunting parties to root out and slaughter the remaining mind flayers.
To this day, isolated clutches of mind flayers remain in
hiding, seeking ways to recapture their former glory but hampered by their
paranoia of being discovered and destroyed by their enemies.
The Elder Brain
Mind flayers use telepathy to communicate with each other
and with other creatures. Among their own kind, they form a network of minds.
Each mind flayer is an individual node of the network, taking on specific
tasks, sharing information, and so on. At the center of this network is the
elder brain. The elder brain is the most powerful member of a mind flayer
colony. Just as mind flayers treat thralls made from captured humanoids, an
elder brain expects perfect obedience from the illithids that dwell in its
colony.
If a single mind flayer in a colony sees or hears something,
the elder brain and the rest of the illithids in the colony learn of it
immediately. The colony relies on a collective memory, composed from the
knowledge, experiences, and skills of all of its members and stored within the
elder brain.
In some ways, a mind flayer colony is like a great library
of lore stored within its members’ minds, with the elder brain as its
librarian. Each individual illithid represents a category or subsection within
the library. One mind flayer might specialize in biology, while another is an
expert in defending the colony. Given that an individual mind flayer has a
near-genius intellect, the extent of its knowledge is equivalent to the highest
levels of scholarship attainable by humans.
There are limits to a colony’s reach. An illithid can be
part of its colony’s network of minds only while it is within five miles of the
elder brain. Beyond that distance, it is on its own. Mind flayers that venture
away from the colony do so only under strict orders from the elder brain.
Although such missions risk attracting unwanted attention, they can yield a
treasure trove of knowledge and insights to be shared throughout the entire
colony when a roaming mind flayer returns.
It is convenient for humanoids to understand a mind flayer
colony by thinking of it as a single individual — the elder brain — directing a
number of subservient, remote minds, which are the individual mind flayers.
Perhaps at one time each mind flayer was independent, but now the elder brain
is the only true power. The illithids know that their continued survival and
their eventual return to power are possible only though perfect coordination
and absolute obedience to the elder brain.
An elder brain is arrogant, scheming, and power hungry, yet
quick to flee or beg for mercy in the face of a powerful foe. It has no
conception of joy, sympathy, or charity, but is well acquainted with fear,
anger, and curiosity. It is an intellect utterly incapable of empathy or
concern for creatures other than itself.
An elder brain has a perfect recollection of its race’s
history. Consequently, it views itself as both a refugee and a victim, forced
into hiding by barbaric monsters. An elder brain also sees itself as a savior
of the mind flayer race and a living memorial that preserves the memories of
the mind flayers’ prey. By its twisted logic, humanoids whose brains are devoured
by the colony are rendered immortal, their memories preserved forever in the
elder brain’s labyrinthine mind.
When a mind flayer grows old, becomes infirm, or is
grievously injured, the elder brain absorbs it — another form of immortality,
as the mind flayer’s mind dwells within the hive mind forever after.
Mind Flayer Thralls
Mind flayers never truly ally with any creatures. They
either attempt to seize control of a population by subverting its leaders, or
they use psionics to dominate a humanoid and turn it into a thrall.
Illithids sometimes infiltrate an Underdark tribe of
humanoids and use their superstitions and traditions as tools to make them
useful followers. A mind flayer might use its psionic ability to send visions
to a humanoid shaman, causing it to proclaim the mind flayers as emissaries of
the gods. With that ruse in place, the “gods” then dictate strict rules that
cause some members of the tribe to be branded as heretics, to provide the
pretense for occasionally seizing a humanoid and devouring its brain. After the
colony depletes and demoralizes the population sufficiently, the illithids
might move in en masse and attempt to turn the remaining followers into
thralls.
The process of transforming a creature into a thrall
requires the entire colony’s energy and attention, making it no small matter.
Although it takes only one mind flayer to perform the process, any illithid not
directly involved in the process is required to donate its psionic power to the
effort while otherwise remaining inactive.
A thrall-to-be is first rendered docile through psionic
means. Using a low-power version of its Mind Blast ability, the mind flayer
bombards the victim with energy that washes through its synapses like acid,
clearing away its former personality and leaving it a partially empty shell.
This step takes 24 hours. Over the next 48 hours, the illithids rebuild the
victim’s memories and personality, and the victim gains the skills and talents
it needs to perform its intended function.
The process that creates a thrall changes almost everything
about the victim. The creature retains its Hit Dice, hit points, racial traits
(but not proficiencies granted by race), and all of its ability scores except
for Intelligence. After the first stage of the process, the creature’s
Intelligence is halved; when the second stage is over, its Intelligence score
increases by 1d6.
To complete the process, the thrall receives a new set of
proficiencies, a new alignment, and a new personality. Some colonies have
learned how to salvage a victim’s psionic abilities during the process or how
to implant psionic powers into their thralls. Also, some colonies know how to
leave a victim’s persona intact while infusing it with a fanatical loyalty to
the colony’s elder brain as well as telepathic power that allows the victim to
communicate with its new masters as if it were a mind flayer. This sort of
thrall makes a perfect spy, since most would never suspect its true nature.
A thrall can be restored to its former self through a
combination of spells and ministration. The thrall must have regenerate, heal and greater restoration cast
on it once per day for three consecutive days. The victim is restored to normal
when the final round of spells is cast.
Mind flayers vastly prefer to use humanoids as thralls,
since they have a good balance of physical attributes and proper anatomy.
Animals, in contrast, require a lot of direct oversight and lack the ability to
use tools to help maintain the colony. Among the variety of humanoids available
to the illithids, they have some preferences and tendencies.
The Lords Alliance
[a short pamphlet on the Lord’s Alliance and its bylaws: from
this tome you get the sense that the Lords Alliance is made up of noble cities
devoted to the protection of the realms and prosperity of their people]
The Lords’ Alliance is a coalition of rulers from cities and
towns across Faerûn (primarily in the North), who collectively agree that some
solidarity is needed to keep evil at bay. The rulers of Waterdeep, Silverymoon,
Neverwinter, and other free cities in the region dominate the Alliance, and every
lord in the Alliance works for the fate and fortune of his or her own
settlement above all others.
To ensure the safety and prosperity of the cities and other
settlements of Faerûn by forming a strong coalition against the forces that
threaten all, eliminate such threats by any means necessary whenever and
wherever they arise, and be champions of the people.
More
information can be found here
Demonic Lore from the Demonomicon of Iggwilv
[This book describes lessons learned about demons and
devils, the hells and the abyss, from the historical sections of the Demonomicon
of Iggwilv]
Spawned in the Infinite Layers of the Abyss, demons are the
embodiment of chaos and evil — engines of destruction barely contained in
monstrous form. Possessing no compassion, empathy, or mercy, they exist only to
destroy.
Spawn of Chaos. The Abyss creates demons as extensions
of itself, spontaneously forming fiends out of filth and carnage. Some are
unique monstrosities, while others represent uniform strains virtually
identical to each other. Other demons (such as manes) are created from mortal
souls shunned or cursed by the gods, or which are otherwise trapped in the
Abyss.
Capricious Elevation. Demons respect power and power
alone. A greater demon commands shrieking mobs of lesser demons because it can
destroy any lesser demon that dares to refuse its commands. A demon’s status
grows with the blood it spills; the more enemies that fall before it, the
greater it becomes.
A demon might spawn as a manes, then become a dretch, and
eventually transform to a vrock after untold time spent fighting and surviving
in the Abyss. Such elevations are rare, however, for most demons are destroyed
before they attain significant power. The greatest of those that do survive
make up the ranks of the demon lords that threaten to tear the Abyss apart with
their endless warring.
By expending considerable magical power, demon lords can
raise lesser demons into greater forms, though such promotions never stem from
a demon’s deeds or accomplishments. Rather, a demon lord might warp a manes
into a quasit when it needs an invisible spy, or turn an army of dretches into
hezrous when marching against a rival lord. Demon lords only rarely elevate
demons to the highest ranks, fearful of inadvertently creating rivals to their
own power.
Abyssal Invasions. Wherever they wander across the Abyss,
demons search for portals to the other planes. They crave the chance to slip
free of their native realm and spread their dark influence across the
multiverse, undoing the works of the gods, tearing down civilizations, and
reducing the cosmos to despair and ruin.
Some of the darkest legends of the mortal realm are built
around the destruction wrought by demons set loose in the world. As such, even
nations embroiled in bitter conflict will set their differences aside to help
contain an outbreak of demons, or to seal off abyssal breaches before these
fiends can break free.
Signs of Corruption. Demons carry the stain of abyssal
corruption with them, and their mere presence changes the world for the worse.
Plants wither and die in areas where abyssal breaches and demons appear.
Animals shun the sites where a demon has made a kill. The site of a demonic
infestation might be fouled by a stench that never abates, by areas of bitter
cold or burning heat, or by permanent shadows that mark the places where these fiends
lingered.
Eternal Evil. Outside the Abyss, death is a minor
nuisance that no demon fears. Mundane weapons can’t stop these fiends, and many
demons are resistant to the energy of the most potent spells. When a lucky hero
manages to drop a demon in combat, the fiend dissolves into foul ichor. It then
instantly reforms in the Abyss, its mind and essence intact even as its hatred
is inflamed. The only way to truly destroy a demon is to seek it in the Abyss
and kill it there.
Protected Essence. A powerful demon can take steps to
safeguard its life essence, using secret methods and abyssal metals to create
an amulet into which part of that essence is ceded. If the demon’s abyssal form
is ever destroyed, the amulet allows the fiend to reform at a time and place of
its choosing.
Obtaining a demonic amulet is a dangerous enterprise, and
simply seeking such a device risks drawing the attention of the demon that
created it. A creature possessing a demonic amulet can exact favors from the
demon whose life essence the amulet holds — or inflict great pain if the fiend
resists. If an amulet is destroyed, the demon that created it is trapped in the
Abyss for a year and a day.
Demonic Cults. Despite the dark risks involved in
dealing with fiends, the mortal realm is filled with creatures that covet
demonic power. Demon lords manipulate these mortal servants into performing
ever greater acts of depravity, furthering the demon lord’s ambitions in
exchange for magic and other boons. However, a demon regards any mortals in its
service as tools to use and then discard at its whim, consigning their mortal
souls to the Abyss.
Demon Summoning. Few acts are as dangerous as summoning
a demon, and even mages who bargain freely with devils fear the fiends of the
Abyss. Though demons yearn to sow chaos on the Material Plane, they show no
gratitude when brought there, raging against their prisons and demanding
release.
Those who would risk summoning a demon might do so to wrest
information from it, press it into service, or send it on a mission that only a
creature of absolute evil can complete. Preparation is key, and experienced
summoners know the specific spells and magic items that can force a demon to
bend to another’s will. If a single mistake is made, a demon that breaks free
shows no mercy as it makes its summoner the first victim of its wrath.
Bound Demons. The Book of Vile Darkness, the Black
Scrolls of Ahm, and the Demonomicon of Iggwilv are the foremost
authorities on demonic matters. These ancient tomes describe techniques that
can trap the essence of a demon on the Material Plane, placing it within a
weapon, idol, or piece of jewelry and preventing the fiend’s return to the
Abyss.
An object that binds a demon must be specially prepared with
unholy incantations and innocent blood. It radiates a palpable evil, chilling
and fouling the air around it. A creature that handles such an object
experiences unsettling dreams and wicked impulses, but is able to control the
demon whose essence is trapped within the object. Destroying the object frees
the demon, which immediately seeks revenge against its binder.
Demonic Possession. No matter how secure its bindings,
a powerful demon often finds a way to escape an object that holds it. When a
demonic essence emerges from its container, it can possess a mortal host.
Sometimes a fiend employs stealth to hide a successful possession. Other times,
it unleashes the full brunt of its fiendish drives through its new form.
As long as the demon remains in possession of its host, the
soul of that host is in danger of being dragged to the Abyss with the demon if
it is exorcised from the flesh, or if the host dies. If a demon possesses a
creature and the object binding the demon is destroyed, the possession lasts
until powerful magic is used to drive the demonic spirit out of its host.
DEMON TRUE NAMES
Though demons all have common names, every demon lord and
every demon of type 1 through 6 has a true name that it keeps secret. A demon
can be forced to disclose its true name if charmed,
and ancient scrolls and tomes are said to exist that list the true names of the
most powerful demons.
A mortal who learns a demon’s true name can use powerful
summoning magic to call the demon from the Abyss and exercise some measure of
control over it. However, most demons brought to the Material Plane in this
manner do everything in their power to wreak havoc or sow discord and strife.
The Blood War: Demons & Devils
For more on Demons and Devils, see Mordekainen.
The Sands of Chaos
By Ittack Kulius
[from a collection of poetry from around Faerûn]
Sand sifts down, one grain at a time,
forming a small hill. When it grows high
enough, a tiny avalanche begins. Let
sand continue to sift down, and avalanches
will occur irregularly, in no predictable order,
until there is a tiny mountain range of sand.
Peaks will appear, and valleys, and as
sand continues to descend, the relentless
sand, piling up and slipping down, piling
up and slipping down, piling up - eventually
a single grain will cause a catastrophe, all
the hills and valleys erased, the whole face
of the landscape changed in an instant.
Walking yesterday, my heels crushed a cardamom pod
and released intoxicating memories of Cailmshan.
Earlier this week, I wrote an old grandfather, flooded
with need to connect to the Kulius. Last month I felt our legacy -
one grain at a time, a pattern is formed,
one grain at a time, a pattern is destroyed,
and there is no way to know which grain
will build the tiny mountain higher, which
grain will tilt the mountain into avalanche,
whether the avalanche will be small or
catastrophic, enormous or inconsequential.
We are always dancing with chaos, even when
we think we move too gracefully to disrupt
anything in the careful order of our lives,
even when we deny the choreography of passion,
hoping to avoid earthquakes and avalanches,
turbulence and elemental violence and pain.
We are always dancing with chaos, for the grains
sift down upon the landscape of our lives, one,
then another, one, then another, one then another.
Somewhere in sands of the desert
Blood out of entropy,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving, swilring, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That centuries of stony sleep have shape.
Its hour come round at last.
Today I rose early and walked by the sea,
watching the changing patterns of the light
and the otters rising and the gulls descending on Calimport
and the boats steaming off into the dawn,
and the smoke drifting up into the sky,
and the waves drumming on the dock,
and I sang. An old song came upon me,
one with no harbour nor dawn nor dock,
no man walking in the mist, no gulls,
no boats departing for the shoals.
I sang, but not to make order of the sea
nor of the dawn, nor of my life. Not to make
order at all. Only to sing, clear notes over sand.
Only to walk, footsteps in sand.
Only to feel the Sands of Chaos swirl within me.
Only to live.
Talos
Stormlord, the Destroyer
Talos is the dark side of nature, the uncaring and
destructive force that might strike at any time. He is the god of storms,
forest fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, and general destruction. He counts the
ravager, the raider, the looter, and the brigand among his followers. Those who
favor him see life as a succession of random effects in a sea of chaos, so the
devout should grab what they can, when they can — for who can say when Talos
will strike and send them into the afterlife?
Talos is portrayed as a broad-shouldered, bearded young man
with a single good eye, the other covered by a dark patch. He is said to carry
a collection of three staffs, made from the first tree cut down in the world,
the first silver smelted, and the first iron forged. He uses these staffs to
raise destructive winds, cause terrible storms, and split the land in acts of
rage. The three lightning bolts of his holy symbol represent these staffs, and
when he vents his wrath on the world, he is thought to hurl them down from the
sky as lightning strikes.
Although Talos is a popular deity, his name is invoked more
often out of fear than out of reverence. He does have priests, mostly traveling
doomsayers, who warn of disasters to come and accept charity in exchange for
blessings of protection. Many of his faithful wear a black eyepatch, even if
both eyes are intact.
More
here.
Early History of the Savage Frontier
[pre-Monarch…here for more on
the Vostewylde]
Conqueror’s Guide to Roadbuilding
There was no ‘one-size-fits-all’ technique for building
roads. Their construction method varied depending on the geographical location,
terrain morphology, geological structure and available material. For example,
different technical solutions were required to build roads in marshy areas or
in areas where the road passed through a bedrock. Nevertheless, there were
certain standard rules that were followed.
The average width of an ancient Roman road was between 5.5
to 6.0 m, and they consisted of several characteristic load-bearing layers,
regardless of the base on which they were built.
Foundation soil – the base on which a road was build was
compressed to be compact and to avoid structure settlement and then covered
with sand or mortar.
Statumen – a layer that was laid on compacted foundation
soil, consisting of crushed rock of minimum granularity of 5 cm. The thickness
of this layer ranged from 25 to 60 cm.
Rudus – a 20 cm thick layer consisting of crushed rock 5 cm
in diameter in cement mortar.
Nucleus – a concrete base layer made of cement, sand and
gravel; 30 cm thick.
Summum dorsum – the final layer consisting of large 15 cm
thick rock blocks.
Roads were purposely inclined slightly from the center down
to the curb to allow rainwater to run off along the sides, and for the same
purpose many also had drains and drainage canals. A path of packed gravel for
pedestrians typically ran along each side of the road, varying in width from
1-3 meters. Separating the path from the road, the curb was made of regular
upright slabs. Every 3-5 meters there was a higher block set into the curb. The
block would allow people to stop, mount horses or load animals into carriages.
History on High: Tribal Power Struggles of the High
Moor
This book provides useful insight into lore, culture, and history
of the Jooschaggi (Hark), Red Tusk, Night Wing, and Serpent Sons.
The basic background may come in handy if a need arises to
interact with the tribes (if you are reading this you can add a feat to
your character sheet giving Advantage on History checks made about the High
Moor and the tribes in particular).
Mineral Wealth of the Western Heartlands
Platinum Mine of Innesbyr (in a section title “Platinum and
Paltinoids”)
The Platinum Mine of Innesbyr (PMI) first began producing in
the 1490s after what some might call a reckless venture into the Underdark to
chase the mercuruial veins of platinum sighted in the nearby Greypeaks. Jeremius
Mason, with the help of his right-hand man, Ol’Kes Rett, founded the mine despite
Underdark mining being outlawed in most lawful civilizations. PMI began
producing quite quickly and bountifully, and made Mason and Rett quite rich.
They more or less bought the town of Innesbyr (later the entire region) and
began calling themselves the Monarch and the Captain. They recruited locals and
paid them handsomely. It was a boom time for the region and many sought the
steady wages and guaranteed work in the mines. Becoming an Innesbyr miner in
the Monarch’s employ was considered a well-respected and cushy position.
Surprisingly, the mine prospered without mishap, which most
attribute to the skilled troops in the Captain’s employ. Owing to this, the PMI
was able to extend deeper into the alluvial sands of the subterranean rivers
below the Savage Frontier. There, the quality of the platinum was rich – mostly
cobaltic with some ruthenic and barely any serpentine formations. At first
survey, the mine was expected to last 30
years, but with the Monarch’s bold or reckless plunge ever deeper to
follow the seams, the mine’s lifespan may end up being 1 and a half times that.
Despite the glut of platinum from the prosperous mine,
platinum and platinoid prices remained quite steady in the region. Our analysis
points to three factors: the quality differentiation of the PMI’s platinum (it was
purer), word-of-mouth marketing and fashion (elite trendsetters insisted on PMI
metal), and steady exports (they distributed the glut across Faerûn.
Eventually, however, platinum prices did come down, though not in any sort of
crash. The PMI seems to have had a much lower operating cost as well, and was
better able to weather price dips than more-costly-to-run mines. The higher
quality, both real and perceived of PMI platinum also helped in this regard.
[The book goes on to describe other metal and
gemstone mining trends in the Western Heartlands region, though none seem
particularly notable or coincident with the PMI]
Faerûnian
Academies for Magical Training
[an excerpt on the wizard Q’arlynd Melarn, a drow wizard who
worshipped Eilistraee, and the founding of Melarn’s Door]
…chance led him to the surface, where he eventually swore an
oath to Eilistraee. It was during this time that he discovered his heritage
which led him to the High Moor. He was at this time seeking patronage to start
his own school, The College of Ancient Arcana, but instead learned of an
ancient college called Kraanfhaor’s Door run by his people. He set about looking
for clues to its location, eventually finding the spot, some buried riches, and
funds enough to re-found the college. This time it was called Melarn’s Door.
The Planes
https://www.dndbeyond.
Faerun
world axis cosmology
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/World_Axis_cosmology
https://www.dndbeyond.com/
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/scag/welcome-to-the-realms#MagicintheRealms
If magic is a thread called "the Weave", the gods
tug on it to influence the inner planes, they can also travel there and take on
physical form (called an avatar)
The Illithid Mind
By Jeremy Mizzen
This notebook contains details on illithid
abilities, their
thinking, and their motivations. It is an amateur work,
clearly written in a very young voice. The poor young author seems to hold them
in quite some esteem.
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