@TheEdVerse Help me!
Recentrly I started Principes of Apocalypse and I wondering why 1491DR is called the "Year of the Scarlet Witch". Is there a lore-level motivation aside from the Avenger Age of Ultron link?

— Filippo Riccardo Baretta (@FB_Drakens) February 28, 2021

1)
Considering that year was named decades before any MCU movies were even planned, there’s no link. Steven Schend and I are both comics fans, but Wanda has never been part of the Realms. “Scarlet Witch” was a phrase in folklore long before Timely Comics gave way… 2)
…to Marvel (I'm oooolld).
The hidden lore reason behind Alaundo giving 1491 that name has yet to come to public attention, but it's up to the good folks at Wizards to reveal it. If I was a hinting man, I'd direct you to a realm that has "witches," and a nearby…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 28, 2021

3)
…realm that has a ruling class that dresses in scarlet. But as I'm not a hinting man, I won't. ;}#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 28, 2021

Why the lack of a “South Pole” continent for Toril? It would be below Zhakara but those maps show nothing. Also where is Toril’s prime meridian, since we already know where the equator officially is. Thank you! There's a landmass at the "South Pole," but those maps are NDA.
A Prime Meridian requires multiple realms to agree on not just the concept of longitude, but where to measure from (in real-world history, England and France long reckoned from "their own" meridians).#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 25, 2020

1)
Thorsar
Patriarch: Palimond Thorsar, a handsome man who never smiles, but glares at the world from under heavy brows, his face set in a perpetual scowl. He drinks constantly from huge, ornate goblets without ever seeming the slightest bit tipsy, and never seems… 2)
…to concern himself with matters of earning coin. What does seem to consume nigh all of his waking energy is carrying on feuds (with the Athagdals and many, many wealthy merchants he judges have crossed him or failed to properly respect him in some way); he…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020

)
…remembers every slight and is determined to pay all of them back fivefold, or more. Which he works at doing; as a result, he’s become—and seems to enjoy being—one of the most detested men in Westgate.
Matriarch: Thoumea (“THOO-may-uh”) Thorsar, a warm, … 4)
…affectionate hugger of a woman who seems determined to cuddle and kiss her way into softening her husband’s every rudeness. She isn’t wanton, but does like skin-on-skin contact and befriending anyone who’ll have her as a friend; many who would otherwise loathe..#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020

5)
…House Thorsar are mollified and softened by her embraces and friendly converse, and wind up thinking that Palimond Thorsar is “impossible” to deal with, but the rest of the Thorsars are…tolerable. Thoumea is very shrewd and perceptive, and well-read besides, .. 6)
…not to mention benefitting from the reports of a small network of good, well-paid spies she’s developed over the years to look into everything unfolding in Westgate, but she takes care to act like a simple, direct person. She may know more about everyone in…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020

7)
…Westgate, high and low, than anyone else—including the Night Masks; she just takes great care not to show it. She does, however, steer family investments and policies according to what she knows, so they tend to profit from just about every situation—nothing… 8)
…takes House Thorsar by surprise.
Heiress: Vuloushaea (“Vell-OO-shay=uh”) Thorsar is a taller, younger, slimmer version of her mother in looks, and admires her mother greatly. She also loathes her father almost as much, but takes care to always be polite to…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020

9)
…him. She thinks feuds and holding grudges and trying to get even or more than even is utter life-wasting foolishness, and that one should live in the moment, and work towards satisfactions, and ignore all the misfortunes and times when others do you dirty as… 10)
…just part of life, the “tests of the gods upon us all.” Personally, she laments that she doesn’t seem to have the Gift for wielding the Art, so can never become a great wizard (or sorceress), so she’ll have to covertly acquire enough powerful magic items to… #Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020

11)
…have some magical power that way. She longs for the day when she can use magic to alter her appearance and stop being a Thorsar long enough to get things done for herself in Westgate, and to taste life and adventure beyond Westgate. Perhaps she could journey… 12)
…to fabled Waterdeep, and meet and marry one of its nobles, winning him as herself, and not as the Thorsar heiress.
Notable Rakes/Adventurers: Sarandra (“Sar-ANN-drah”) Thorsar, “Lady Bloodrake,” now semi-retired from her days as a sorceress-adventurer who… #Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020

13)
…earned her nickname slaying pirates of the Sea of Fallen Stars and seizing or sinking their ships, so as to stop them preying on Thorsar shipping. Sarandra has firm friends in most of the cities in Cormyr and Sembia from her adventuring days, and often rides… 15)
…the owner of two dancing longswords that she’s been known to use in battle at the same time, to even the odds when outnumbered. She’s also one of the few nobles of Westgate to go drinking in the worst taverns on occasion, to openly bed both men and women, … 14)
…to their aid; when not doing so, she lounges around the Thorsar mansion in Westgate, nettling her older brother Palimond (and quietly making amends for some of his rudenesses, behind his back, in a more practical and serious manner than Thoumea does). She’s…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020

16)
…and even to enjoy watching the goings-on in festhalls.
House Thorsar first rose to wealth by importing small wares from the Sword Coast to the Sea of Fallen Stars, but long ago diversified into becoming a major investor in farming (in Turmish and the Vilhon)…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020

17)
…so as to guarantee itself a plentiful supply of crops to ship to the Sword Coast on return journeys, and then gradually abandoned the shipping and importing, to focus on food-growing and foodstuff warehousing and preservation to feed Westgate, Cormyr, … 18)
…Sembia, and the Moonsea cities. Thorsar granaries remain vital in bad winters.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020

Hey Ed. Since my digging hasn’t revealed much past 1375 DR, I thought I’d ask the Master Sage. Is there still an official process for joining the Harpers in the 1490s? And who, if any, are the active Senior/High Harpers on…..the Sword Coast in the 1490s?

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 26, 2020

1)
It’s never been “official” in the formal public ceremony sense. What usually happens is that the Harpers spy on likely candidates for some time, and if they think at the end of that time that someone is suitable (senior Harpers have a veto over this), a senior… 2)
…Harper will approach the candidate in private (usually trying to arrange circumstances where no one will observe the Harper approach or depart the meeting, so it’s often at night, wherever the candidate is sleeping, or returning from a privy) and ask them if…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 26, 2020

3)
…they’re interested. If they want time to think it over, any later approach will have the same privacy but the Harper will bring reinforcements, nearby but usually hidden, to deal with any ambushes. On acceptance, the candidate is given a Harper pin and a… 4)
…Harper mentor, who gives them their first mission, accompanies them on it (often spied on by another Harper), and answers any questions the candidate may have/renders them aid/becomes their once-a-tenday-or-a-month contact.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 26, 2020

Would the process be any different if the candidate was infamously competent and experienced, for instance Drizzt Do’Urden?No. It's still a one-on-one, in private (in front of
Guenhwyvar counts as private) ask, and there's still a mentor and a spy. How CLOSE a role a mentor plays is always up to the candidate.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 26, 2020

So it’s essentially about seeing the candidate’s performance first-hand and verifying its level of competence, regardless of their No, the competence of the candidate has been determined long before they're approached.
It's about their loyalty to the idea/aims of the Harpers, and helicoptering so as to swoop in and prevent their first Harper foray/mission being a fatal one for them.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 26, 2020

Purience @Purience1@TheEdVerse
Hello Sir, is there a Bard's Guild in Daggerford?

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 3, 2020

1)
No, Daggerford is much too small to support almost any sort of guild, and certainly a bard’s guild. However, that wouldn’t stop someone who really wanted to form one from trying. However, it’s up to any local ruler, or the… 2)
…laws of a realm, if guilds have any “standing” (legal recognition) at all (a matter for roleplaying in individual campaigns).#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 3, 2020

I was telling my wife about the Xanathar when she misheard and said “what, the janitor?” I can’t help but to think that perhaps that’s where it comes from with Xanathar living in the water system and all. It’s too good to not be true! Maybe it was my accent.Beware The Janitor!
The mop that flails, the cleanser that melts all foes…
Speak not this lore too loudly, or the Xanathar's every agent shall be sent to silence you…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 24, 2020

this art is a cover for a 2e Forgotten Realms book. Who is this character and and is this place? Is it on Faerûn? Does she have a backstory? The art’s named Alissa of the Mists. Is it the Lake of Mists? And who’s Alissa? 1)
This 1990 artwork is by Clyde Caldwell; I think he named the character. She’s “ALLISA of the Mists,” BTW. The backstory we came up with was that, with or without her unicorn steed Skuldreir, she could walk through any mist or…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 16, 2021

2)
…fog in the Realms to access a domain in Ravenloft of her choice. So she was a “mistrider,” or “mistwalker” if you will, and Clyde depicted her in front of the stone citadel of a Darklord, somewhere in one of the domains of… 3)
…Ravenloft. (Dave Sutherland nicknamed Skuldreir “Binky” after Death’s mount in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels; when Terry found out, he was tickled.)#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 16, 2021

Her unicorn is called “Cissl” if I remember correctly. At least according to the 1991 Forgotten Realms trading cards. 🙂 #Realmslore Yes, the trading cards added another layer of lore, later. (Some of it regarded as canon, some not.) I remembered that they contained another name, but not what it was.
So perhaps she has a stable of unicorns…

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 17, 2021

And she’ll be the one to connect the group to the storyline. 2e stats her as a level 17 Paladin. Would you keep the same level for 5e? And thanks again, your background made the piece of art more inspirational for me. I would keep her that powerful. So, same unless you want to delve into Tasha's for something special…

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) January 18, 2021