#ed greenwood

[prokopetz]

Ed Greenwood certainly doesn't need me to defend him, but I will point out that the Forgotten Realms is atypical for settings of its type in that it's not just the designated "evil" civilisations that are presented as magical matriarchies ruled by immortal-but-visibly-middle-aged sorcerer queens with interesting ideas about rehabilitative justice – a lot of the ostensibly utopian polities are also Like That. The Realms are a safe space for dommy mommies of all alignments.

[manyworldspress]

Clyde Caldwell, cover illustration for Spellfire, by Ed Greenwood (TSR, July 1987).

__________________________________________________ Our shop: https://bookshop.org/shop/manyworldspress

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Elminster in Myth Drannor - art by Ciruelo Cabral (1998)

[oldschoolfrp]

"Allisa of the Mists" by Clyde Caldwell, cover art for AD&D supplement Forgotten Realms Adventures by Jeff Grubb and Ed Greenwood, 1990

[vintagerpg]

Drow of the Underdark (1991) follows the Draconomicon in the Forgotten Realms sourcebook series. Shockingly, considering my general ambivalence to FR, I mostly like this series, probably because they are mostly by Ed Greenwood. I like FR best when Greenwood is writing about it.

This book is about drow, in case you hadn’t noticed. It appeared in the fourth year of the drow-mania ushered in by Drizzt’s appearance in The Crystal Shard and subsequent books by R. A. Salvatore. Drow had, since the first hints of their existence in Monster Manual, captured a certain sort of player’s imagination, but Drizzt pushed that interest to a fever pitch. Good, bad, it didn’t matter: as long as it involved drow, people would buy it. At the same time, drow were no longer playable and D&D was firmly in the “don’t make moms angry” phase of its existence. That makes this book…odd.

Greenwood is pretty emphatic that drow are bad. Very bad. They have bad super powers and bad magic items and are the products of a society that is unforgivably bad. Setting aside the 21st century re-evaluation of drow and absolute alignments (which I tackle in my book, which you should go buy!), there seems to be some confusion here between bad and cool. Because for as unredeemable as this book wants drow to be, it really doesn’t impact their cool factor. Not even a little bit. I was never under the ‘90s spell of the drow and reading through this, they still come off as pretty cool. Except that portrait of Drizzt on the cover. I never thought that guy looked cool, with his poofy hair and the metal plate in his head. Isn’t he a good guy, anyway?

This is maybe the pinnacle of self-contradictory early-‘90s D&D products, a real head scratcher that remains rather compelling in spite of itself.

[shaneplays]

Ed Greenwood's original hand-drawn map of the Forgotten Realms, sent to TSR in 1986… on Map Monday aka Dungeon Day! Credit: Photo taken by D&D Sage Advice, map from Alex Kammer's collection

[painted-thumbs]

Yo Ed Greenwood just complimented my miniature

@jupiterdescendingg

(The mini in question)

[sandmandaddy69]

Ed Greenwood

[pennyblossom-meta]

Incoming analysis on The Temptation of Elminster by Ed Greenwood and how Elminster's relationship with Mystra is a direct parallel to Gale's. Should be able to get it out soon. EDIT:(currently a bit overloaded with work, but working on the analysis. Might need to split it since it's turning rather monstrous).

As a very short summary of the bigger piece of meta, I'll say this:

The way Mystra, in her infinite wisdom, is placed on a pedestal is quite... something. It's certainly unique to see how her Chosen (i.e., Azuth, Elminster) are happy to be "tempered tools for her to use". Here's a quote from Azuth, to Elminster:

"We are her treasures, lad...we are what she holds most dear, the rocks she can cling to in the storms of wild Art. She needs us to be strong, far stronger than most mortals ... tempered tools for her use. Being bound to us by love and linked to us to preserve her very humanity, she finds it hard to be harsh to us...to do the tempering that must be done. She began the tempering of you long ago, you are her 'pet project,' if you will, just as the Magisters are mine. She creates her Chosen and her Magisters, but she gives the training of them to others, chiefly me, once she grows to love them too much or needs them to be distant from her. The Magisters must needs be distant, that creativity in Art be untrammeled. You, she has grown to love too much."

That being said, Ed Greenwood is a so-so writer with an enviable imagination. But after reading this book, I now understand Mystra's allure to wizards better and the power dynamics between Gods and mortals in Faerûn. It's not pretty and there's a lot of whimsical fancy going about that she indulges because Mystra herself sometimes falls prey to her mortal side and the Chosen are a link to that remnant of humanity.

However, Mystra has the following twist: she is a woman who is primarily a goddess, being described as an unfathomable first love with superpowers, a mother figure, a teacher, a lover while being petty — and suffers from the idealistic narrative perspective of the Male Gaze.

At the same time, it's important to understand that Mystra's plans are for the long run, and possibly in league with Ao's commands to maintain the balance of her portfolio; otherwise all magic might collapse.

In the main post, I've an in-depth analysis of Azuth's message to Elminster. I'll highlight some of the more important passages:

"You are the dearest of her Chosen, yes," Azuth said with a smile. "She speaks often of you and of the joy you've brought her in the times she's spent playing at being mortal."

"All who work magic serve Mystra whether they will or no," he said. "She is of the Weave, and every use of it strengthens her, reveres her, and exalts her. You and I both know a little of what is left of her mortal side. We've seen traces of the feelings and memories and thoughts she clings to in desperation from time to time, when the wild exultation of power coursing through the Weave...that is the Weave...threatens to overwhelm her sentience entirely. No entity, mortal or divine, can last in her position forever. There will be other Mystras, in time to come."

"Mystra loves you as no other," the god told the mage, "but she loves many, including myself and others neither of us know about, some in ways that would astonish or even disgust you. Be content with knowing that among all who share her love, you are the bright spirit and youth she cherishes, and I am the old wise teacher, None of us is better than the other, and she needs us all. Let jealousy of other Chosen...of other mages of any race, station, or outlook...never taint your soul."

And this describes very well how Mystra's relationship with Gale went. My perception is that most Chosen (if not all of them) are in love with Mystra and that this love comes from the nurturing feelings that the Weave produces.

By the end of the book, after trials and tribulations aplenty, Elminster says this:

"Oh, Mystra, ye've been my lover, my mother, my soul guide, my savior, and my teacher," Elminster said aloud. "Please, hear me now."

Are wizards generally in lack of nurturing, motherly figures or is it just the Chosen? Mystra seems to turn her relationship with the Chosen into a dysfunctional, co-dependent mother-son-lover-teacher situation. When she needs the men who are her Chosen to "grow up", she distances from them and gives them tasks, while keeping them fondly within her reach — as they look after her fondly from afar, remembering the romance of youth.

[dragonagitator]

BG3 companions: Talking about their gods

My "Modern Girl in Faerun" author self-insert: Your gods suck. They aren't even real gods, they're just more NPCs. There's only one God you should be worshipping, his name is Ed Greenwood, I think he lives in Canada. Build a temple to him! Where the Kuo-Toa at, I gotta tell 'em about Ed.

BG3 companions: Start quietly discussing amongst themselves how they need to find a nice temple of Ilmater specializing in treatment of the mentally infirm to take me to when this is all over

[dndhistory]

184. Various Authors - Dragon #69 (January 1983)

Welcome to 1983! A big year for AD&D which will see among other things the debut of the animated TV series and the Ravenloft module, we have some 72 entries on my list to get through this year of D&D products, so let's get to it! 

We start off with issue 69 (nice!) of Dragon magazine, with a great Clyde Caldwell cover and a bunch of really good articles inside, it's a great way to start the year. The magazine opens with a double article on Runestones, first with an historical overview and then with Ed Greenwood chiming in with a fantastical take on the runes, which if you are a Forgotten Realms fan you will know as Dethek, the Dwarvish script, a great article for FR fans. 

Gygax then introduced the concept of the Thief-Acrobat, which seems to be the first time that there is a development of a character subclass, something which is now very much an integral part of D&D. Gygax also brings us a further instalment in the Gods of Greyhawk series, and more fungoid monsters. Other articles are Lakofka's exploration of the NPC class Entertainer, and Moore's comparison of the various classes in AD&D. Last but definitely not least is Greenwood's article bringing us 4 more magical tomes from the Realms as related by Elminster to the author, in a long article full of lore and information about the FR. 

[titleknown]

...Okay, so recently I learned that the Forgotten Realms literally has an elven word for transformation fetishist (derogatory).

Which to that I say, A) Goddammit Ed Greenwood, this is why we bricked you up in the wine cellar and B) How dare you call me out like this.

[artemis-entreri]

[[ There has been countless articles about BG3 since its official release, and while I'm far from having read all of them, I did find a troubling trend that none of the articles that I've read contained so much as a mention of Ed Greenwood, the father of the Forgotten Realms. If anyone finds an article that includes even just a mention of his name, please link me.

I was interviewed for this article on Dazed by Alim Kheraj. I decided to rectify the above problem a little, as well as give a bit of history on the Realms in hopes that it'll attract BG3 players to the world that I love so much. ]]

[oldschoolfrp]

The crawling claw -- Ed Greenwood’s full page “Dragon Bestiary” entry in Dragon magazine 32, December 1979, introduces stats and explains how this necromantic servant is created and controlled, how it fights, and what tasks it can perform.  If I’m reading the initials in the corner correctly, Ed may have illustrated this himself.  The crawling claw still appears in the 5e Monster Manual with minor changes.

[mrkapao]

“Still, the first duty of a knight is to make the realm shine in the dreams of small boys - or where else will the knights of tomorrow arise, and what will become of the realm?”

- Ed Greenwood ‘Elminster: The Making of a Mage’

[candlekeep]

Transcript:

February 8, 2023

illuminatirob — Hello @Ed Greenwood! I am so happy to be here. I've been a heavy user of Candlekeep's forums over the years, and I have some questions that have been argued extensively, and I'd love to have the ultimate input on then I might be so fortunate?  (Even though, I may get flak over this, haha) Is Khelben evil? I ask the question from the lens of normative ethics, regarding his having taken the Scepter of the Sorcerer King, and giving it to Fzoul. The ensuing carnage and problems were extensive, and in light of them, and the fact that Khelben is one of the Master Harper's that came up with the code of the Harper's, how can he say he lived by those tenets and doing the right thing, with everything that came of his actions in the end? I mean no disrespect: I just love analyzing characters, and I've run through this a million times in my head. Khelben is one of my favorite characters ever. So compelling!

Ed Greenwood — Khelben is an "end justifies the means" person, who (like, say, James T. Kirk of STAR TREK fame) won't hesitate to break laws or rules to "win." He can be harsh and arrogant, too, as he believes he KNOWS the right end goal, and will push for it against the "blindly ignorant." Whereas most of the Seven believe it's not just what you do, or why, but HOW you do it; if you run roughshod over "little people" to forge a better kingdom for them, how are you better than the next tyrant? So Khelben can certainly be seen as evil. That's the thing about the Realms: everyone is a shade of gray. We watch their moral journeys in the novels, and lore, and adventures, and none of them are static. Elminster is generally nicer and more whimsical than straight-shooter Khelben, but also more sly. It takes all sorts to make (and mar) a world.

illuminatirob — Hey @Ed Greenwood, Thank you so very much for that answer, and right away too! I'm honored. I figured Khelben was a consequentialist, and I've had long debates about it, but this is great: thee answer. That's the most amazing thing about ethics: you're "good" in someone's book, and "evil" in another's, simply by the fact that the rules set is different for evaluating morality. Thank you!

Ed Greenwood — You're very welcome! Steven Schend "adopted" Khelben and has penned novels starring him, and he and I have discussed Khelben's character extensively over the years. One other thing to bear in mind: Mystra's Chosen are all very old, and "play the long game," and have suffered much grief, as they outlive kin, friends, and even the realms they grew up in; they're not sane by how we judge things. My Realms tales look at how power corrupts, and how long life claws at psyches, and so on. Khelben became a "hardcase" because it worked for him, to serve Mystra best; the ruthless manipulator and negotiator. Others took different paths.

– From the Greenwood’s Grotto Discord server.

Please support Ed Greenwood’s Patreon for Forgotten Realms lore! The Discord server is open to the public, however only patrons can ask Ed questions directly. Become a patron for as low as $3/month!