Table of Contents (* for new or updated topics)

 1.4.      People of the Realms
 1.4.1.    Who'd win: Elminster or Drizzt?
 1.4.2.    Don't you think Elminster is too powerful?
           No, he has to be to give the PCs a challenge!
           Yes, he's a munchkin! We killed him off five times! etc.
 1.4.3.    Aren't the Chosen overpowered? If they can do everything,
           what's left for the PCs?
 1.4.4.    So. What's the real scoop on Mystra's chosen?
           How can they stay sane for all those centuries?
           And why are they all goody-two-shoes?
 1.4.5.    What's up with the Zhents coming back from the dead?
 1.4.6.    Are Marco Volo and Volo from the Volo's Guides the same person?
*1.4.7.    What's the status of Evermeet's royal family?
           What happened to the children of Zaor and Amlaruil?
*1.4.8.    Who/what are the Malaugrym?
 1.4.9.    Shandril is a *babe*. Where can I find rules to give
           my PC spellfire?
 1.4.10.   My player wants to play a half-dragon.
           Where can I find rules for this?
===========================================================================
1.4. People of the Realms
-----------------------
1.4.1. Who'd win: Elminster or Drizzt?

Depends on who's writing the book.

Seriously, this topic (or a variation with different characters) crops
up all the time. The question's essentially unanswerable; it's always
possible to set up a situation where one person can win and the other
can't--and vice versa. The short answer is that the novelists are
unlikely to ever set up a situation where there's serious conflict
between two major heroes of the Realms, so the question is relatively
moot.

If you're entertained by this kind of discussion, great--but please
don't flood the list with it.

This question has been raised so many times at conventions that Ed
Greenwood once jokingly suggested writing a novel where Drizzt and El
would have a little battle in between chapters, keeping tally on who won
the most (and of course losing count--which was even).

Elaine Cunningham also had a comment:

Say there's a soccer match going on.  The Dallas Cowboys crash through
the stands, trampling several dozen spectators and inadvertently
breaking up several vehement soccer-related arguments.  Their actions,
naturally, go virtually unnoticed until they actually leap onto the
playing field.  They are joined by the NY Yankees, who are fed up with
such indignities as urban decay, blueberry bagels, and George
Steinbrenner.  They are seriously pissed off and are wielding
non-regulation metal bats.  So.  What happens to the soccer players?
Who wins the game?

The answer, if indeed there can be an answer, can only be phrased as
another question:  What set of rules are they playing by?  Oh--and a
followup question:  Who's telling the story?  That's the classic answer
authors give to the perennial Someone-vs-Someone Else question, and it
applies here well enough.
TOP | Intro

1.4.2. Don't you think Elminster is too powerful? No, he has to be to
give the PCs a challenge! Yes, he's a munchkin! We killed him off five
times! etc.

The only resolution I've ever seen to this debate is when the monitors
get fed up enough to ban the topic. Some people love El; some people
loathe him. Usually for the same reasons. :-)

If you think Elminster doesn't need powers approximating most demigods,
tone him down or don't use him at all. If you think your party will need
to be humbled from time to time, keep him around. It's a matter of
personal choice.
TOP | Intro

1.4.3. Aren't the Chosen overpowered? If they can do everything, what's
left for the PCs?

Ed Greenwood writes:

     Many on the list habitually comment that Elminster or other Chosen
are "munchkins" or overpowered...but this often arises from ignoring the
fact that they are divinely-powered servants of a goddess, and viewing
them as "lucky former player characters who were given a superpower by
Mystra...why can't my PCs have it, too?" is the wrong approach for good
game refereeing. Those who find their powers undesirable can simply
leave them 'offstage' in their campaigns. I've lost track of the number
of times when guesting players believed their character, by virtue of
being a PC, could march into a royal court, hurl insults and swordcuts
in all directions, pillage, burn, and butcher a ruler on his or her own
throne, and then say, "Ah, but it's okay by my alignment and nothing can
stop me, hey? I'm a Player Character!" Teaching the lesson that leads to
better roleplaying (and thus, continuing challenge and interest in the
game, for that player) is best done within the game...such as by having
the butchered king get up, blood and wounds vanishing in an instant,
yawn, and say in the tones of Elminster, "Well, now that ye've gotten
THAT out of thy guts, can we be introduced, perhaps? I've met thy SWORD
already..." Heavy-handed, to be sure...but that's one way of using the
overly powerful, and why they're there.

If one views the Chosen as "Ed's favorite super-powered characters,"
well of course they're overpowered anomalies best dropped from the
setting. Yet I find on the list a paucity of posters who look around at
the world they live in and say there should be no presidents, prime
ministers, kings, queens, or governing councils purely because "they're
too powerful to be realistic"...they're part of the setting one finds
oneself in. Now, if a player character thinks one or more should be
removed or replaced by his or her actions, that's another
matter...(driving force for a campaign, anyone?). We do all this to
increase and enrich potential roleplaying possibilities, folks. The
thousands of fans who love the Realms prove this must be the right
approach, but we screw up on specifics and details all the time; that's
why we read and listen, hoping you'll point out the slip-ups to us, so
we can always be better...

To better roleplayers, their mere presence on the scene (and that of
power groups such as the Zhents and Red Wizards and Twisted Rune, as
well as the often-ignored merchant costers and guilds and more mundane
commercial alliances) guides play, offers fascinating possibilities, and
keeps players and their characters speculating and interested in the
setting (as the postings on this list, year after year, prove).

If you read the fiction (and between the lines in non-fiction,
especially in boxed sets Steven has done or Steven and I have done
together), you'll find lots of instances of 'common folk' bitterly
telling the Chosen that such-and-such didn't help them much, or console
them much, or restore things much. Such comments tend to be grim and
terse--but then, those making them fear the Chosen, and the goddess they
serve (the main reason why most rebuffs are muttered and not shouted).

We also underscore often that the information you receive about the
Realms is distorted (through Elminster); this allows any DM to change
things in his or her own campaign without the "canon/non-canon"
arguments ever arising. Our faulty journalists (remember this is by our
modern real-world standards; they're doing nothing wrong by THEIR
standards) are part of this.

As to player characters having free choice taken from them, it's best to
see that as an ongoing attempt to bolster realism and encourage
roleplaying: it's realistic, by the terms of the created setting one is
playing in, that PCs begin as low-level unknowns (unless you choose to
play a royal or noble character), and must build their power and
influence: only a 'lifeless stage set' campaign has static 'target'
people in it and PCs who can act as they please, without consequences,
manipulation from others, stronger folks trying to muscle them around,
etc. Part of becoming true heroes for the player characters is to force
their will and destiny on the world around and on themselves, rather
than being 'acted upon' by the more powerful. Some DMs may not want that
challenge in their play, but we put it there for use by those who do.
TOP | Intro

1.4.4. So, what's the real scoop on Mystra's chosen? How can they stay
sane for all those centuries? And why are they all goody-two-shoes?

Here's what Ed Greenwood thinks:

Mystra believes that the ultimate good comes from the proliferation of
magic and its widespread use, being put into all hands, for good or for
ill...so the Chosen are judged on how much they hurl magic around, give
it to others, teach others, and work against tyrants-of-magic like the
Zhents, not because the Zhents are "evil," but because they try to
restrict control of magic to themselves, and not let potential foes have
it. The Chosen who are Mystra's daughters also had (under the 'old'
Mystra, their mother) a special status, which Elminster (her lover) also
enjoyed...the new Mystra is changing things. Watch what we do in the
years ahead with The Magister (I've turned in an FOR-style sourcebook on
that office and what its holders do) and with Khelben, the most 'ungood'
of "good" Chosen. It's wrong to see the Chosen as necessarily
good...it's more accurate to see them as the veteran-killer-American-GI
or Wild West gunslinger who does good, or fights for 'good,' but in
doing so is twisted far from good him- or herself.

Part of my writing goals have been to underscore the following things:
"do-gooders" often do more harm than good, for the best of motives
(Elaine's also been playing with this one); 'good' to one party is not
'good' to another  (the old saying, "for one man to gain freedom,
another must lose it"); and the best meddlers are those who can see
farthest, not the brute-force-right-now brigade (which is what most PC
parties of necessity are, and therefore their punishments/reward are
immediate).

One postscript I almost forgot: with Elminster in particular and all of
the Chosen, Steven and I (at least) are delving into "how insane do you
go from living so long with godly power and gods messing with your
mind?"  Everything El and the other Chosen do should be read in this
light; they're NOT sane. I've been hinting at this for a long time, but
you have to catch the hints (like the good/happy endings, this was a
Code of Ethics thing, which is why we can't show villains poisoning, or
succeeding, or telling you their detailed plans that someone in the real
world might copy or claim as inspiration, etc.).
TOP | Intro

1.4.5. What's up with the Zhents coming back from the dead?

[Thanks to Ami-Ben Ezra for this section.]
Both Manshoon and Fzoul were killed many times. Manshoon returns to life
by the means of a secret spell-"Stasis clone". Manshoon is known to have
many clones hidden in secret places. Fzoul was resurrected by the
Zhentarim/Bane because he is such a "valuable" person. Even Sememmon was
resurrected by Manshoon a couple of times.

To Conclude this:
All Three leaders of the Zhentarim (The inner circle) returned from death
by various means.
As for the locations:
Both Manshoon and Fzoul lived in Zhentil Keep before it was
destroyed.(Manshoon lived in his own compound "The Tower High") After
the destruction Manshoon moved to the safety of the Citadel of the Raven
and Fzoul stays in the keep, now he worships the Godson of Bane Iyachtu
Xvim. Sememmon is the commander of Darkhold and lived there (since
1312DR) before and after the destruction.
TOP | Intro

1.4.6. Are Marco Volo and Volo from the Volo's Guides the same person?

No, they're not. Marco Volo is a bard of 6th level whose real name is
Marcus Wands (grandson of Maskar Wands of Waterdeep). Volo, whose full
name is Volothamp Geddarm, is the notorious wizard and writer of several
guides to the Forgotten Realms, including Guide to All Things Magical
which has resulted in him being turned into a toad. Marcus Wands changed
his name to Marco Volo to try cash in on Volothamp Geddarm's success.
TOP | Intro

1.4.7. What's the status of Evermeet's royal family? What happened to
the children of Zaor and Amlaruil?

Elaine Cunningham tells us:

One of Evermeet's mysteries and tragedies concerns the Lost Children.
Many of the offspring of Zaor and Amlaruil have died, but the fate of
several of the princes and princesses has not yet been determined.

The royal issue, and their current status, follows in order of birth.

The body of Ilyrana, the first born, a priestess, currently lies in deep
stasis in Moonflower Castle, and her spirit abides in Arvandor.  During
battle she acted in some mysterious, hard-to-define way as an avatar
focus for the goddesses she served, and the result was a titanic battle
maid comprising her spirit as well as power borrowed from the elven
gods.  It is unlikely, but not absolutely impossible, that she will
return to Evermeet. Even before her sacrifice, she was not at all eager
to take the throne.

Xharlion and Zhoron, twin sons.  They are mirror images of each other
and their father, the king.  The rowdy, robust elven lads seemed
destined for the warrior's life.  The queen sent them to the Moonshaes
for fosterage among the elves of Sonoria.  One of them--it is not
certain which one-was slain when the Ityak-Ortheel attacked the
Moonshaes.  It is not known if the other survived, or if so, what became
of him.

Chozzaster, the next-born son, became a High Mage.  He passed on to
Arvandor at a young age, not because of illness or accident, but simply
because the call of the ultimate elven homeland was too strong for him
to resist.

Shandalar became a bladesinger, trained in the art by bladesinger
Shanyrria Alenuath.  She was "accidentally" killed by a fellow student,
a spell-singer, during a training drill.  It is not certain whether
Shanyrria, her mentor, survived.  If so, the bladesinger will be eager
to avenge the death of this princess, her student and namesake.

Tira-allara and Hhora were female twins, both devoted to the service of
Hanali Celanil.  Both were excessively devoted to the cult of love, and
each in her own way met the fate of those who love not well, but
immoderately and unwisely.  Tira-alara became involved with a rogue who
used her wealth and position, then broke her heart.  Elves are capable
of wishing themselves dead, but few take this grim option.  The princess
was an exception, and she literally died of grief.  Hhora left Evermeet
determined to wed a commoner she met and loved during a seasonal
festival.  Perhaps she found her love, perhaps not.  She disappeared
into the High Forest, and no one has been able to learn what became of
her.

Another set of female twins, Lazziar and Genstarzah, both trained as
warriors and served as diplomats to mainland elves. They were lost at
sea, and their fate has never been established.

Amnestria was a battle mage, and King Zaor's favorite child.  She was
betrothed to Elaith Craulnober, a distant kinsman who served as captain
of the King's Guard.  When Elaith broke with her over a personal
disgrace, she followed him to the mainland--and fell in love with his
human friend, Bran Skorlsun.  In secret she gave birth to Elaith's son,
and hid the child in secret fosterage.  She later bore a girlchild to
Bran, but she was slain before she could train her daughter in the
secrets of the moonblade she would inherit. This half-elven child,
Arilyn, was able to claim the sword--the first person of mixed blood
ever to do so.

Lamruil, the youngest son, has been an adventurer for years.  He was not
widely liked by the nobles of Evermeet, considered too young and
frivolous to rule, but he held the throne briefly following the
sacrifice of Amlaruil. He happily abdicated the throne back to his
mother, and undertook the task of planting the Tree of Souls on the
mainland.  He has chosen a hidden valley far to the north, a place
surrounded by incredibly inhospitable terrain.  He will be kept very
busy recruiting a following, subduing the land, and establishing the
colony.  His consort, a mostly-human woman named Maura, will probably
prove to be equal parts help and hindrance.  It is unlikely that their
children will succeed him as ruler.  Maura is a teenager, but she is
also impulsive, a warrior, and a human.  None of those things lend to an
impressive life expectancy.  It is likely that the elves tolerate her,
believing that they can put up with her for a human's relatively short
span.  Lamruil will undoubtedly be urged to take an elven consort and
produce suitable heirs--either before or after Maura's death.

Or perhaps another form of government, one not based on monarchy or
hereditary nobility, will evolve.  One thing is certain:  Lamruil will
return to Evermeet to rule only if he feels the island has no other
acceptible options.  He would gladly throw his support behind a likely
candidate for the throne.  Like most of Toril's elves, however, he hopes
that the end of Queen Amlaruil's reign will be very long in coming.
TOP | Intro

1.4.8. Who/what are the Malaugrym?

The official description of the Malaugrym can be found in the "Villains
Lorebook."  Additional, quite extensive details on the Malaugrym and
their home in the plane of Shadows can be found in the "Shadow of the
Avatars" trilogy of TSR novels by Ed Greenwood.

Bobby Nichols talked to Ed Greenwood and reported back:

Imagine a family of people who all are incredible powerful spellcasters.
Now imagine that they find a source of power previously undiscovered.
Not also imagine that the members of this family grew so powerful that
they became paranoid and suspicious of everything, even each other....

Anyone read the Amber books by Roger Zelezny?  Ed said that the
Malaugrym are the closest things to Amberites that the Realms have.
Which mad me shiver thinking about how powerful they might be....

One last thing, no one Malaugrym is like another.  All are individuals
and specialize in different ways and means of casting spells.  In other
words, Malaugrym A might like ice and cold spells and Malaugrym B might
prefer illusions and mind control spells.  And only rarely do Malaugrym
A and B talk or work with one another.

That isn't to say that the Malaugrym *won't* work together.  Ed hinted
that the Malaugrym might have quite a bit to do with the Harpstar
Wars...
TOP | Intro

1.4.9. Shandril is a *babe*. Where can I find rules to give my PC
spellfire?

The original spellfire rules were published in "Hall of Heroes", long
out of print. There are revised versions in "Heroes' Lorebook", "Volo's
Guide to All Things Magical", and available for free download on the TSR
web site.

Please don't post about how unbalancing, unrealistic, or just plain
silly spellfire is. It invariably starts an argument. Those who agree
with you agree already, and the ones who disagree aren't likely to
change their minds. (Besides, some of the ones who agree may still use
spellfire because it's just so damn cool.)
TOP | Intro

1.4.10. My player wants to play a half-dragon. Where can I find rules
for this?

The Council of Wyrms boxed set (NOT, as in happens, set in the Realms)
has rules for half-dragon PCs. There was a supplement published in
Dragon (no, it wasn't half the magazine), and I believe the rules or
some abridgement thereof are available for free download from the TSR
web site.
TOP | Intro