Kim:
You are one of the most revered people on the Realms list, and the Realms-
Projects list.  You are the father of the Realms.  You have given us years of 
joy and sometimes sorrow.  My first question is:  How did you begin?  What 
sparked your immense capacity for creation?


Ed:
I can't remember a time when I haven't been a reader, a fantasy fan, and a 
writer or storyteller (as in: make up new adventures where the book stops). I 
grew up reading voraciously; there were magical dens full of books in my 
parents' house, my various grandparents' and relations' homes, and once the 
niceties of a visit were out of the way, that's where I headed... to read for 
glorious HOURS!

I was a published author by age 7, but that was (in my family of writers, 
professors, etc.) no big deal. I loved Tolkien, William Morris, Fritz Leiber, 
Lord Dunsany, et al (and all the fantasy classics Lin Carter brought into print 
at Ballantine, as they came out), and wanted to tell new tales of swords and 
wizards and crumbling castles. I particularly liked Leiber's habit of telling 
self-contained, standalone stories that just happened to take place in the same 
world, so 'in the background' the world built itself, if one read more than one 
story... and resolved to do just that with my (horrible) fantasy tales.

I started telling stories of the Forgotten Realms in this manner (concentrating 
mainly on Mirt, who was a Falstaff-like fat rogue of a man, a sort of 'wheezing 
old excuse for Conan') long before there was a D&D game (back around 1967 or 
so), but as AD&D came out, I quietly shifted everything in my fiction to match 
the quantified monsters in the Monster Manual, and the Vancian 'memory limited' 
magic system of the Players Handbook. I also started playing AD&D, it spurred 
more stories, I started using the Realms for 'color' in articles I wrote for 
DRAGON (starting in 1979, though I wasn't published until issue #30), and 
eventually TSR, desiring a new world to be the setting for 2nd Edition AD&D, 
bought it "lock, stock, and wizard." I've never looked back---and never had time 
to!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Kim:
My second question follows the first in that a number of interested people would 
like to know how your own Realms differs from the Realms of TSR/WOTC?  This is a 
very broad question, but could you perhaps pick a few points that the "official" 
material departs from your home-grown campaign.


Ed:
Not a lot, actually. Most of the "bits I hadn't filled in" were skillfully 
extrapolated from my fragmentary or skeletal notes, so they 'match' and 'feel 
right.'

Specifically, my Moonshae Isles were a lot more like the real-world Orkneys and 
Hebrides, or LeGuin's Earthsea: lots of little islands of fisher-folk (rather 
than Doug's Celtic continent), the Whamite Isles (of THE GREAT KHAN GAME game) 
were airlifted into the Realms, Bob Salvatore peeked over The Spine of the World 
to see what was there and add Icewind Dale, and my glaciers were rolled back to 
insert Vaasa, Damara, and the Bloodstone lands.

TSR bought the Realms so as to provide a setting for the 2nd Edition game, and 
for those purposes it makes perfect sense to provide real-world-equivalent 
'steppes,' Mayan, Oriental, Arabic, and Celtic settings, but my own personal 
tastes run to 'no recognizable real-world equivalents' in my own Realms... 
because players tend to make mistaken assumptions (rather than roleplaying to 
the hilt) based on their understandings of real-world feudalism, or gunpowder, 
or stirrups, or Roman galleys, or whatever, if things are "too close." So I 
would not have flavored areas of the Realms in the same way published Realmslore 
has. With that said, I'm perfectly happy with what has developed; every world 
has to be 'alive,' growing and developing, I knew things would be done slightly 
differently than I would have done, and because of the diverse creative hands at 
work, the Realms is broader and richer than my own personal view, and the Realms 
has---at last---the capacity to surprise me (hard to do when you've created it 
all).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kim:
The Knight's of Myth Drannor are some of the most colorful and unique characters 
we have seen in the novels and products.  Were they originally PC's?  Could you 
explain a bit of their growth from inception to what we see now?


Ed:
The Knights of Myth Drannor were all (with the exception of a few "DM-Special" 
NPCs included in the ranks, such as Aumark Lithyl of Ruathym and Mourngrym 
Amcathra) Player Characters, played by my stable of Realms players for the last 
20 years or so. The levels and some history (such as Sharantyr leaving to form 
another adventuring group) have been added by 
TSR designers over the years, but the original Knights began play in Espar, 
journeyed to Eveningstar during their first play session, and began to explore 
the Haunted Halls (the published module, by the way, is a tiny fraction of the 
original dungeon and fully-detailed village). 
There they ran afoul of Whisper, a local Zhentarim agent, explored a lot of 
things, and eventually were given a pendant by Khelben Blackstaff that entitled 
them to the lordship of Shadowdale... if (he neglected to warn them) they 
'cleaned out' the bandit-infested Twisted Tower, and got the locals to accept 
their rule.

For the next four or five years of real time, they clung to power in the dale, 
not rising much in levels (first edition: training necessary, "pinning" of EXP 
applied) because of the time demands of ruling. Doust Sulwood was the first 
lord, and it didn't take long for my players to see that I was forcing them to 
react to crisis after crisis, not letting them set the schedule---so they hung 
the lordship on the young NPC of the party, Mourngrym, and took off adventuring 
again. It was over a decade of real time before they reached 7th and 9th levels, 
and a lot of the color and detail of Cormyr, the Dales, and Zhentil Keep that 
you see has been due to their adventures. The players demanded the detail, and 
the Realms grew from it. Many of them have retired their characters, had 
offspring (to 'grow their own replacements'), and the like...and they are the 
TRUE heroes of the Realms. May you all be blessed with enthusiastic, dedicated 
roleplayers in your campaigns.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kim:
Here is a question I know you have been asked over and over again . . .  I know 
many DM's have their alter-ego used in the campaign, was Elminster a deliberate 
creation or did he sneak his way into the campaign through time?  How have you 
personally used him in your campaign?

Ed:
Elminster was in the Realms from the beginning, both as a mouthpiece in DRAGON 
articles (because I wanted to recount Realms rumors, and leave doubts about what 
really happened, or the whereabouts of the Lost Sword of Kings right now, or 
whatever, to give individual DMs 'design elbow room,' and it's not possible to 
fairly do that when you're speaking as Ed Greenwood the game writer), and as a 
sort of Oliver Hardy player-advice person who was unreliable, incredibly 
frustrating, but occasionally life-saving.

He was always 'unavailable' when the players wanted him to train them, give them 
this or that handy information, or defend Shadowdale, but he'd pop in as they 
struggled up to their necks in a flooded dungeon, fighting skeletons who were 
attacking underwater, and remark (Merlin-style accent from the movie EXCALIBUR, 
please): "Well, THERE ye are! This is another fine mess ye've gotten yourselves 
into, isn't it? If you'd found that secret door three rooms back, of 
course...but ye didn't, being bold adventurers, so--strewth and stop me vitals--
I'm afraid ye're all just going to have to...die."

Elminster is our sole source of information about the Realms (except when Laeral 
sneaks in to visit); even Volo's meanderings come to us edited by him. 
Therefore, all the gripes about killing Elminster, or his unrealistic speech 
(he's visited our real world for centuries, picking up all the slang he fancies, 
okay?), or his unbalanced magic, or the like are just so much wasted air: he's 
telling us all about the Realms, so his accuracy is as suspect as each DM wants 
it to be. So is his sanity--what would it do to YOUR head to be the lover, 
servant, and rescuer of the goddess of magic for a thousand-odd years?

Elminster has always been a Non Player Character, and has never actively 
adventured with PCs, though he has stood side-to-side with them in battles vs. 
the Zhents (want to put 3rd to 5th level PCs in command of a tiny army to try 
and hold off a big one? put Elminster beside them, but give him some far more 
important papers to read and communications-via-sendings to juggle at the same 
time, so as to leave the tactics and running around [=heroism] to the PCs), and 
occasionally shows up to save their bacon when they've run into a doom they 
didn't really deserve.

I love old Elminster, but (despite the fun I have at conventions) I'm not really 
Elminster, nor is he me. He shouldn't figure prominently in campaigns (or annoy 
players or PCs) unless you want him to.

Over the years, I've tried to explore the effects on sanity of serving gods, 
living for longer years than the people (and even kingdoms) you knew in your 
youth, and of loving a world so much that you dedicate your life to it by using 
Elminster. I hope people will appreciate that, and not just see him as a 'stock 
Merlin,' "Gandalf rip-off," or "Ed's favorite character that he always shoves 
into everything."

I've written three novels about him because I was asked to, and featured him in 
Realms short stories for the same reason (readers of the "Realms of" anthologies 
should be able to spot the scene where I made fun of that); other Realms 
designers have used him in game products more than I would have, if given my 
druthers.

When running Elminster, please remember this always: El is about loving others. 
Not in a smothering, do-it-all-for-you way, nor yet in a leer at the pretty 
young things of the other gender way...but as a kindly old man loves all the 
folk around him in a small village, and does things to help them without thought 
of recognition or reward. I wish there were more folk like him in real life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kim:
Again, this is probably a tired question . . . how have you handled the so-
called Realms Altering Events, such as the Time of Troubles and the 
reunification of Tethyr?  Are there any particular events you have personally 
altered for use in your own campaign?

Ed:
Realms-Altering Events, now....well, in  the 'home' Realms campaign, the Time of 
Troubles hasn't happened yet. Not because of my likes or dislikes, but because 
of my players.

Simply put, the task of the DM is to entertain his or her players, giving them 
an entertaining and worthwhile return on the hours they spend sitting playing 
with him or her. To make any roleplaying game the most fun for the most 
participants, I let everyone vote on really major stuff (like 1st to 2nd 
Edition, new rules inclusions, Time of Troubles, etc.) after everyone's had a 
chance to thoroughly discuss it and think it through.

My players voted no, so no it is. It might change to yes later; we haven't 
chronologically reached that time yet in play (another thing that happened in 
the published Realms was the 'jumping ahead' of the timeline, for various 
reasons). When we get there, we might decide differently.

As to the larger issue of change: well, unless excited by the possibilities of 
profit or something shiny and new, humans tend to hate change. We also tend to 
view our fantasy playing as a refuge from the ever-changing real world, 
particularly if we have high-stress jobs or frantic lifestyles. So change comes 
reluctantly... but my players and yours truly also view the Realms as real...and 
real places feature change all the time.

I don't view the Realms as a static landscape that a designer is changing, but 
as a real place where consequences flow from events and actions, and change 
happens. It's a difference in approach that can best be illustrated by a common 
comment on the Realms list: "Your new Exploding Toadstools spell is useless, 
because Shrieker Blaster already does that a level lower and with a shorter 
casting time.

"I don't approach the game like a football quarterback deciding how best to 
wring success out of the rules... who's to say that Exploding Toadstools isn't 
the older, less efficient spell that the crafter of Shrieker Blaster found and 
improved upon? Or that it's just another approach to the same magical situation 
or desired effect, in a vast and varied world?

RAEs and RSEs matter a lot less when the focus is on out-of-a-character's-eyes 
roleplaying...and so do things such as the birthdate of Karsus, or which god did 
what to whom, ages ago. It doesn't really matter, and your character has no way 
of really learning the truth and knowing it to be the truth. We all like to 
cling to absolute truths, yes, but that's an animal that more explorers claim to 
have seen than have actually brought one back to show the rest of us...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kim:
What is your favorite element of the Realms?  We all know it is a magical and 
shifting place.  What magic does it hold for you?


Ed:
My favorite element of the Realms? Aw, do I have to pick just one? Seriously, 
that's really hard (narrowing it down to one). I like considering the 
fascinating intrigues and interactions of people's interests... and the people; 
i.e. making the characters seem alive. I also, of course, like the gosh-wow 
factor of seeing spells work (blam, bah-woom!), a gigantic dragon blot out the 
sky as it flies overhead, breathtaking woods and crumbling castles, guys and 
gals of physical beauty striding around in armor, and so on. Purple sands in the 
deserts of Raurin, achingly beautiful ruby-red sunsets.... all that sort of 
thing. Yet if it has to be just one thing, it's the people: making the highlight 
characters fascinating, as if you'd want to meet them and want them to be real 
and alive (even if, in some cases, at a safe distance!). Hmmm; on this one, ask 
me another day, you might get another answer... but I don't think so.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kim:
As the creator of the Realms and since having sold the license to TSR, we 
understand there is little you can do to directly influence what we see coming 
forth from the realms of Washington.  Have you ever given thought to creating 
another world and keeping rights to it?


Ed:
While it is true that TSR owns the Realms and artistically controls them, the 
folks at TSR have been very good about consulting closely with me through the 
years in regards what's going on in the Realms. Sometimes I've had surprises 
that weren't also delights, but by and large I have no complaints. 'Praise' is 
closer to the right word. Yes, I've thought about creating other worlds (and 
having some spare time to eat, sleep, read, otherwise have a life...and maybe, 
oh yes, create another fantasy setting). I'm a worldbuilder first, and a game 
designer second. It would be fun, but it's hard to delve as extensively into a 
'world' just in fiction, and if I'm doing game products, it might as well be the 
Realms.

I have created other worlds (one, which you may never see, with Lynn Abbey), and 
I have two novels forthcoming from TOR that explore one of them. The first 
novel, which should see print in the winter of 2000, is called THE KINGLESS 
LAND, and it will show you a little of a fallen kingdom in a new fantasy world. 
I say "a little" because in the driving action of a novel that I've been asked 
to keep light and fast, it's hard to find time and space to shoehorn in all the 
detail Realms fans have come to expect. I've done a lot more underpinning 
creation than you'll see in the finished novel...but if it's popular, and the 
second one (yes, a sequel to the first) is, too, who knows?

I love creating worlds, but not the 'hard sf' gravity and solar system 
way...rather, I like to look at a single spot (village, dale, castle) and work 
outward from there...which is, of course, how many 'home' AD&D campaigns grow, 
when one isn't using any commercially sold settings. Oh, yes, I'll walk into 
other worlds in the years ahead...anyone care to stroll with me?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kim:
How has the creation of a successful and well-loved product influenced you in 
everyday life?  Are you the same person today as you were a decade ago while 
writing and compiling enough material to fill a garage?  What, if anything, 
would you have done different?

Ed:
How has the Realms changed my life? Well, it's earned me enough money, as a 
freelancer getting paid for each product (contrary to some rumors, I don't get a 
royalty from every Realms product, and there are no rich freelance game writers, 
only rich game owners...and only a very few, for a very few games), to buy a 
house and cars (I commute 100 miles to my day job, and back, 5 days a week), and 
to be generous to needy family members---for which I'm VERY grateful.

On the other hand, I see very few movies, watch no television, read far fewer 
books than I'd like to (so piles of them are filling up my house), and generally 
have NO spare time. Why? Well, there's corresponding with gaming friends all 
over the globe, writing TSR products every waking moment, and consulting on a 
hundred-and-one Realmslore queries weekly. The shyness and sloth of my early 
youth are gone, swept away by a schedule that has consumed most of my sleeping 
hours. I seldom have much sympathy for gamers who tell me they'd love to write 
up this or that favorite topic for a DRAGON article someday, if they "only had 
the time." Let's go back to 1995, and look at my schedule: a regular 8-hours-a-
day plus 3-hours-daily commute 'real job,' 11 TSR products written or assisted 
on (in 12 months, remember), 14 DRAGON columns and 16 POLYHEDRON columns written 
and banked...and 5 conventions attended. Spare time? What IS spare time?

On the other hand, I get to spend time daily in a world I created...a world I 
love, a world that is therapy and wish-fulfillment and better entertainment than 
most movies and plays I've seen, and a world that continues to delight me, after 
I've been at it for thirty-two-odd years. I also have friends all over the world 
who delight me, too; friends I've made because of the Realms, and with whom I 
can enjoy the Realms. Some of them treat me like a prince, and more (I've been 
asked to father babies at conventions, not just name them [and no, I didn't 
accept the offers; sorry]).

There's NOTHING better in life than good friends. Nothing. Having kept 
reasonably awake and sane thus far in the process, I can proudly say that if I 
had to do it all over again, I could repeat my mistakes precisely. Seriously, 
I'd have done nothing differently except tried to keep more artistic control 
over the Realms so as to have games and novels mesh seamlessly...and that's a 
problem of the past that is going away right now, for which we're all happy.

I'd also have brought out products with squinchy type right out to the margins, 
no white space, crammed everything in...and provided free photocopies for gamers 
with sight problems who can't handle tiny type, so everyone would always feel 
they get value for the money, and then some. (For instance, "if I'd been running 
TSR," the City System box would have included FR1 as its first booklet and 
Volo's Guide stuffed into it, too...but then, they bean counters tell me TSR 
would have lost money with every copy sold, so perhaps it's a good thing I've 
never been near any chance to run TSR!) I'd still have sold the Realms for a 
song, still given all my time since then...because, oh gosh, it's  been worth 
it. For that I owe TSR much thanks, and gamers in general great big thanks. 
Thank you, all of you.

Come and play in my parlor, please---because it belongs to all of us now. 
Drinkables in the corner, keeping hot, cozy armchair and footstools everywhere, 
potato chips and better on every table (and all over the floor, too)...feel 
free. Just so long as you welcome everyone--all ages, hues, and genders; if you 
only play with old friends, how can our hobby grow? How can companies keep 
printing new fun? How will you ever make new friends? Who will you have left, 
when you're old?And that's enough rant from me. The Realms has changed my life 
in wonderful and ongoing ways, because of the gamers who've come to love it. May 
you all be so blessed in life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kim:
Switching to the novels for a minute, we understand you write what is asked for 
you to write.  How much of what we actually see in the novels is what you 
intended to be there?  Some examples would be the nudity and so-called steamy 
scenes.  Are they your intent or are they the intent of the staff that be?  Is 
there anything you would love to write about, but have not been given the 
chance?  (For example, history of the Realms.)


Ed:
If free to write novels about anything and in my own voice, what you'd see from 
my pen would be very close to what Guy Gavriel Kay has done in A SONG FOR 
ARBONNE and TIGANA, with a hint of the madcap humor of Terry Pratchett and John 
Bellairs in THE FACE IN THE FROST. In other words, we'd have slapstick Falstaff-
type humor of brawling adventurers, set against VERY adult (not sex, 
necessarily; I mean complex and slow-paced and exploring everything) scenes of 
tension and intrigue.

I'd also have looked over the shoulder of an average (not rich or noble or 
royal) family, and watched some sons and daughters go adventuring, some become 
caravan merchants, etc. starting from a small-town base and traveling across the 
Realms until one of them was established in Waterdeep; we'd see that great city 
as they do, learning about it along with them. I'd also take you to see Cormyr 
the same way, and then explore some new areas---and every book would have 
Tolkien-style appendices about local trade, life, and lore for gamers to pick up 
on.

Of course, such books might not sell as well to non-gamers and non-fans as the 
present light, fast action approach...so please bear this in mind while I'm 
shoveling out my 'wish list.' I'm not a businessman or even good at counting 
pennies; I'm not competent to tell you folks what will or won't sell. I can say 
I've had to adopt a writing style for TSR novels that isn't what it would be if 
left to myself. Nudity has appeared as a substitute (under the old Code of 
Ethics) for sex, and to show intimacy in shorthand (can't stop the action for 
scenes of husbands and wives weeping and laughing as they embrace and discuss 
the problems and opportunities life has handed them...too much like a romance 
for the tastes of some, though I'd cheerfully go there).

On yet another hand (what is this guy? an octopus?), the challenge of writing 
things differently than you might otherwise have done is good for writers, and 
often good for readers. I want to lay to rest here and now the rumors that all 
TSR editors are keeping us bright creative types in chains...we just gripe, as 
all writers do, when something gets changed that we wouldn't have changed (in 
other words, every little change that's made!). The best way to see novels that 
cover what you'd like to see is to write to TSR, early and often, and demand 
things. They listen. We listen...and in the end, we're all in this together!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kim:
I will end this interview with an open question and let you fly with it.  What 
words can you give the Realmsians to keep the magic in their campaign and do you 
have any suggestions to provoke us to greater heights or deeper valleys?  What 
would you like to see from us?

Ed:
The cheap and easy answer to what I'd like to see from Realms fans is of course 
that you folks buy everything, in ever-increasing numbers, so that everyone ends 
up rich (uh, except your wallets), and TSR continues to publish the Realms with 
enthusiasm forever.

The real answer is that I'd like to go to my grave (preferably a long time from 
now) knowing the Realms will outlive me and carry on giving enjoyment to many 
people after I'm gone. I desire this not out of a deep need for immortality (I 
don't care if folks remember ME, just that they go on using the Realms), but to 
know that a creation intended purely to give joy is soldiering on...because that 
means an ongoing fellowship of shared joy, a Good Thing to brighten the lives of 
some folks, in a way that gives imaginations fire and workouts, not (for 
instance) being a fan of a sports team, where one just watches and pays money to 
do so, and can't really participate actively.

I'd love to see Realms campaigns where DMs quietly play NPCs in the background 
(perhaps as spies on the PCs, not necessarily for sinister purposes but perhaps 
just to make money off these successful adventurers by 'always being there' on 
the spot to sell them healing potions, needed gear, food, or whatever it is that 
they're in pressing need of), and weave subplots galore behind the scenes so 
that the PCs always have mysteries to uncover, and a feeling that the Realms is 
really ALIVE. Family sagas that run 'in the background,' power groups that 
aren't necessarily menacing evil types, but just the local 'lodge' of merchants 
trying to make a few extra coppers for their town, and control life therein, who 
try to manipulate adventurers and everyone else.

I'd love to see Realms campaigns where people concentrate on the roleplaying, 
with acting, and thinking through how characters would react to things, and no 
one worries about the rules. I'd much rather write Volo's Guides-type 
sourcebooks than books full of rules and charts and combat tables; I'd like to 
see Realmsplay that tends in the same 'the rules are the backbone...I'm here for 
the feast, not an anatomy exam' direction.

I'd love to see PCs literally explore the hitherto unseen continents of 
Toril...but at the same time make sure we 'fill in the gaps' of the Faerun map 
by detailing places like the Border Kingdoms and Tunland and the Shining Plains 
and Neverwinter and Everlund and Turmish more fully (of course that list can go 
on for pages and pages, and will never be done with).

On a personal level, as a DM I always wrote short stories (sometimes only a 
single scene) that defined a particular NPC (so you'd "know" them for running 
them correctly), and I'd like to see some of these published. Little glimpses of 
the pasts of Mirt, the Seven Sisters (individually), Sharanralee, Durnan, 
Vangerdahast, the Knights of Myth Drannor (individually), and many of the 
"lesser lights."

>From Realms fans, I'd love to see specific, detailed feedback sent to TSR---
often, and about everything. Let them hear from you, all the time. How can we 
serve your gaming needs better, and TSR know just how much the Realms means to 
folks, if they don't hear from you? Put it in a letter: e-mail is fleeting and 
forgotten. Don't just gripe to friends and fellow gamers; tell designers and 
Customer Service folks specific things you loved and want more of, or could have 
been done better and (PLEASE include this part) here's how.

You may not get solutions written to order to your complaints, but it will all 
go into steering the brave ship that is the Realms on into another decade...and 
the one after that, and the one after that. Then you'll make at least one 
overweight, weary game designer's heart very happy. And, I hope, make your owns 
hearts lighter as well.... 

I'd love to somehow see dedicated Realms fans get recognition (and money) for 
their creative additions to the game, from the invented city of Arylon so many 
of you have worked hard on to the Northern Journey modules project to the other 
Net projects to the often-excellent fan fiction I've read... and yet I know this 
would be very difficult for TSR to do because they must keep artistic control, 
which would of course mean the fan creators losing it, and inevitably spoiling 
some of the fun.

I'd also like to see Bryon Wischstadt's idea of a few years back, a REALMSPEAK 
fanzine, published--in print and not on-line; no matter how plain and no-frills 
it is (black and white photocopied is fine), it becomes an advertising artifact 
and a journal of record if on paper, and not restricted to the already-too-busy 
folk who have computers and Net access and browsing time--to give all Realms 
fans an outlet for their fiction, their back-and-forth ideas, and their creative 
additions to the Realms. This could be TSR's bullpen, a development ground for 
new creators with a more narrow focus than DRAGON. I think it's a great 
idea...but again, I'm not a businessman; I've no idea if it could even be made 
self-supporting.

With that said, how about more DRAGON and DUNGEON submissions from all of you? 
The world is full of talented writers who just never put behind to chair and 
finished a project...and a few boatloads more who never dared or bothered to 
send something finished in to a publisher. Your work may 
be reviled, it may be edited to nubbins, or it may be rejected or published but 
ignored...but then again, it may not, and you'll be just as published and just 
as important to the success of the Realms we all love as I am, or Bob Salvatore, 
or Eric L. Boyd, or Elaine Cunningham... it takes all of us, and we all feed off 
each other's ideas and interest. None of us can create or nurture a shared world 
in a vacuum.

One of the reasons I originally agreed to sell the Realms was the chance to see 
other people do their creative 'thing' in the Realms---showing me something new. 
You are needed, all of you...and you are appreciated, too. As for campaigns, I 
can toss out ideas for keeping play vigorous for hours, but it must be your job 
to judge my wild ideas for suitability to your own campaign; don't follow my 
suggestions if it's going to wreck anything.

With that said, here are a few more:

A product by me, to appear in 2000, will hint (but not feature) the vast 
collection of gates that link various spots on Toril with other places on Toril 
and other planes. A high-level campaign could involve PCs contesting control of 
these gates with the Cult of the Dragon... or the Arcane Brotherhood... or the 
Twisted Rune.... or the Malaugrym... or a cabal of Red Wizards... or someone 
else of your own sinister invention.

As well as cool gates, there are trade routes right out in the open, 
crisscrossing Toril; why not a campaign of merchant trade and intrigue, trying 
to get rich and avoid getting imprisoned or shipwrecked or killed? The elves are 
in retreat, the dwarves largely gone, the gnomes seemingly forgotten, the titans 
and giants vanished from many Realms campaigns. Where did they go? How about 
finding them and trading with them---or discovering what dark secret (besides 
human or orc expansion) made them run and hide?

Why not lead or assist, say, the dwarves in refounding some surface kingdoms? Or 
the 'good' drow who worship Eilistraee? What about those Sharn and Phaerimm? 
What about the inventions of the Lantanna, or the magic used by Halruaans or the 
folk of Nimbral? Both of them have flying ships that aren't spelljammers, 
and....say, what ABOUT spelljammers?

There're a lot of wrecked and just grounded and forgotten ones, lying overgrown 
and forlorn, all over Faerun, you know. One group of adventurers could manage a 
lot of thievery, or Border Kingdom conquering, or fast-valuable-package-delivery 
in one of those...at least until dragons or the Cult of Dragons riding 
dracoliches showed up to dispute the free flying. Realmspace holds the Tears and 
other satellites, too; all of them with possible adventures or lurking power 
groups to cross swords with...

Or why not pile aboard a leaky boat and do the Anchorome campaign thing, from my 
early Realms days? Either seek to find, explore, and win some loot from a new 
continent, or be forced into an epic voyage by storms that drive the ship 
(leaking and with breaking masts, etc.) from uncharted island to uncharted 
island, each one holding an adventure (ruins, active inhabitants, etc.)? If 
you're low on DM time, buy DUNGEON, grab a really good atlas, and whip yourself 
up some island maps, each one home to a 'potted dungeon' from the magazine?

Want to try something from a DRAGON article or one of the Monstrous Arcana 
products, or Ravenloft or Planescape or Birthright or Greyhawk... but don't want 
to leave the Realms? Take the element you're interested in and shove it on an 
island. If it doesn't work or isn't to your taste, sail away...if you like it, 
that next island can have more.

Worried about TSR coming out with products that don't have islands where you put 
yours? Well, islands sink and rise apparently at random...or is there some huge 
magic causing it? If so, why? Not all the Imaskari or Netherese are dead...and 
there are other power groups galore, in a world so drenched in magic... I hope 
some of these ideas have been of help to some of you; thanks for listening.