Interesting, Ed Greenwood’s first article detailing the Cult of the Dragon, seems to present it as an alternative to Krynn’s treatment of dragons.
“Krynn is too polarized a world for casual adventuring”. pic.twitter.com/ePNcCLLDBB

— NewbieDM (@newbiedm) October 7, 2020

That’s hilarious. I’m not sure I agree with 1986 @TheEdVerse 😛

— NewbieDM (@newbiedm) October 7, 2020

I still do. ;}
Looking back from now, you’re forgetting that all we’d seen of Krynn in 1986 was War of the Lance fiction and adventure modules. No other side of the globe, no “what’s this world like at peace.” Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home hadn’t been published yet. To directly quote the TSR design dictum of the day: "The entire world is caught up in a great war that will save the world–or end it."
Polarized. ;}

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 7, 2020

1)
Cormaeril
Patriarch: Atraeth Cormaeril “the Valorous,” the epitome of the handsome, kind and cultured nobleman, fearless and just, farsighted and wise in the ways of the world thanks to a worldly adventuring youth now firmly behind him. The youngest but last… 2)
…surviving of three brothers (both of whom MAY still be alive, but have never been seen in Westgate, nor contacted their family in more than a decade), Atraeth was trained to run family businesses, understand margins and swindles and the cyclical manner of some..#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 30, 2020

3)
…types of business endeavours, and to be patient and know when to withdraw, keep silent, and be inscrutable. He has made the Cormaerils very wealthy in Westgate, Turmish, and Chessenta as a result, investing in crops, farmland, urban holdings in cities that are.. 4)
…expanding, and in herds of edible livestock. Profits are then reinvested in clothing concerns, superior cobblers who make “fine boots,” and rental urban real estate, and by these strategies the Cormaerils are now (very quietly) stupendously wealthy. Atraeth…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 30, 2020

5)
…remains a soft-spoken man of few words, who loves reading and quiet discussions of world affairs over maps, with weary Harpers and others in want of a good bed, secure roof, and a fine meal for a night. The Cormaerils are one of the few families to pay for a… 6)
…private family Triad chapel in their Westgate mansion so they can have priests in the household to “heal all who need it.”
Matriarch: Atraeth’s wife, Raeleira (“Rail-LEER-ah”) Cormaeril, was born a Thalavar, and the two noble families are growing closer as a…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 30, 2020

7)
…result of their happy marriage (and six daughters). Known for her long, glossy mane of black hair and her unfailing courtesy and impeccable “blush” (makeup) and wardrobe, Raeleira has a brilliant, creative mind and is a shred judge of individuals, so she can… 8)
…see new ways of doing things, trends, and foresee how many folk will react to changes. Atraeth is wise enough to, since their marriage, let his wife make all major business and investment decisions for the family, and admires her wits. She has rather plain…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 30, 2020

9)
…features and a slim, almost boyish build, but he loves her deeply for the bright and kind person she is, and they remain smitten with each other, romantic lovers still tenderly intimate (as Aunt Arautha says cattily, “tenderly intimate every damned night, all…10)
…over the house!”).
Heiress: Eirlandra (“AIR-lan-drah”) Cormaeril, a shy, beautiful, tall blonde romantic who has an unfortunate tendency to fall head over heals in love with handsome strangers who dress and act like adventurers, even when they’re really timid..#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 30, 2020

11)
…merchant clerks or dock laborers on holiday. Raeleira has assigned no less than four very-well-paid family servants (former adventurers, all female) to be Eirlandra’s maidservants and to follow and spy on her and swoop to the rescue if she gets herself into… 12)
…danger (including the danger of being deflowered by the latest guy or gal she’s hopelessly in love with), and luckily Eirlandra falls out of passion as quickly as she falls in, and learns a little more about the world with each passing “smite” and so is…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 30, 2020

13)
…becoming more discerning about who she falls for. Eirlandra is fascinated by arcane magic, and can wield the Art, though her parents are slowing her training in hopes she’ll become worldly-wise and sensible before she starts hurling fireballs everywhere. 14)
Notable Rakes/Adventurers: Arautha (“Arr-OTH-ah”) Cormaeril, an unwed, fiery-tempered, cantankerous, cigar- and pipe-smoking and garrulous old gossip who dresses revealingly in all the latest fashions despite being a leathery seventy-odd winters, and has a…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 30, 2020

15)
…teasing or sarcastic opinion on everything and everyone. She escapes being tiresome because she takes life with such good humor, and because she’s as smart as Raeleira but doesn’t resent her or anyone, so her opinions are often informed and well-founded. She… 16)
…also has a wild talent for deflecting hostile spells and “having a feeling” when someone has mastery of the Art and/or is wearing or bearing a magic item, even covertly. She can be good company and has been known to lead outlander adventurers on tavern…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 30, 2020

17)
…crawls, on a whim, or even join them on adventurers (armed with her alert wits, deep knowledge of Westgate’s shadier establishments and alleys, and her personal collection of combat-handy magic items—known to include a corset that can fire sleep-poisoned…8)19)
…better for all. Not only do they believe this is the duty of all nobility, they think life in any city or realm is better if the poorest folk have better lives and see ready means of making coin, and so avoid lawlessness and lift themselves out of squalor.
…breast-spikes).
Widely held to be a ‘good’ noble family (folk of their word, who behave honorably and avoid shady activities), the Cormaerils are on the quiet and aloof side, though they contribute generously to noble causes and work to make life in Westgate…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 30, 2020

just double-checking here: these are the early 1370s Cormaerils? This doesn't match up with anything else published – Cloak and Dagger, Lords of Darkness (3e), or your article in Dragon 276. These feel like 1400ish ones, when the Fire Knives are done and they've grown wise.

— Erika Muse, Ascendant (@icequeenerika) September 30, 2020

Oops, yes, good catch, these are later Cormaerils.
I'm grabbing old notes in haste, to try to get you stuff ere game time, and a lot of what I generated got shifted to "still fit in with" what others designed, in various places, at various times.

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 30, 2020

Merry Christmas, Ed. I hope you are doing well.

If you don’t mind my asking, in Waterdeep and the North, I think page 52, Hlam is mentioned. Is the White Master of Dragons a monk tournament title or a position of authority over White Dragons? It's a monk title (from the original PHB); if it included any measure of authority or influence over white dragons, nothing much about that ever appeared in published official game lore.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 25, 2020

Hey Ed, another question for you! I was just reading about Haela Brightaxe, whose portfolio is luck in battle. Though she died battling Duergar gods, I am wondering if she has any lore connection with Tymora or Beshaba? An ally, rival, or unassociated? 1)
Haela is back, like seemingly all the deities who perished in the Spellplague or before. Haela was an ally of Tymora; on rare occasions, they took tea together and discussed events in the unfolding Realms, how the way in which…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 3, 2020

2)
…they dispensed good fortune lifted morale, and such things. Haela and Beshaba despise each other, so no relationship has developed beyond sneering from afar, or more often just pointedly ignoring each other. 3)
(Beshaba is the more powerful deity, but would lose any one-on-one combat with Haela, and knows it.)#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 3, 2020

1)
Vhammos
Patriarch: Jaraedren (“Jar-RAY-drenn”) Vhammos, a balding, aging but still-vigorous man who is one of the slow-to-decide-anything ditherers of life, a man of few and guarded words, no hobbies, and not much thought. He eats the same things most evenings, … 2)
…drinks himself into a near-stupor, and tells the same tales and jests of his youth that he’s told every evening. To the same bored servants, and his wife.
Matriarch: Brezmra Vhammos, a fiery-tempered, long flame-orange-haired buxom beauty who has flashing…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020

3)
…brown eyes and a purring, alluring voice and manner. Brezmra is a spitfire who grew bored with being a trophy wife for Jaraedren but had no interest in carrying on any affairs with the “twisted” noblemen of her city—so, after an unfortunate incumbent got… 4)
…assassinated, or more likely killed by accident while being mugged in the street, she seized the merchant council seat for the lesser nobles, claiming she’s holding it as a member of House Sumbra, which is the lesser noble house she was born into (and which…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020

5)
…now consists of herself and an impoverished aunt, Mareera Sumbra, who lives in a rented upper room paid for by Brezmra, in a bad part of Westgate), not as the matriarch of House Vhammos. This is causing much pushback from the other senior noble houses, who see.. 6)
…this as a not-so-polite fiction to let House Vhammos have two council seats, as Jaraedren currently holds the seat for Vhammos. Brezmra is doing this not because she cares about policy, or wants the power, but for her own entertainment (deliverance from…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020

7)
…deepening boredom), and she’s currently hugely enjoying every cut and thrust of the conflict she’s created and is in the midst of. Suddenly, the arm candy of the most boring senior noble of Westgate is important, and everyone is paying attention to her!8)
Heiress: Paerendra (“Pair-ENN-drah”) Vhammos is a vivacious, bored, beautiful young woman desperate to escape the prison of being a pampered noble and see the wider world and have adventures in it. She knows she’s very fortunate to never want for warmth in…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020

9)
…winter, cooling in summer, a comfortable bed, attentive servants, and steady, superb food—but she is seething at the boredom, and now sees her mother hugely enjoying herself; why can’t she, too, have adventures? So if any adventurers stray within reach and… 10)
…want to kidnap her, she’ll hurl herself into their arms, just so long as they get her OUT of here!
Notable Rakes/Adventurers: none living
Formerly notorious as a crooked noble house, adroit at swindling—and at poisonings, when caught—House Vhammos long ago…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020

11)
…shifted direction in a bid for respectability, and their fortunes rose by doing diligent work in their new investments: they now invest with great care (and constant spying on their assets, which keeps them performing efficiently, so they’re value for money… 12)
…to those who hire them) in mercenary, bodyguard, and warehouse- and caravan-escort-guardianship.

And there you have it, brief glimpses of the senior noble houses of Westgate, back in the day. Enjoy, I hope!#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020

Sardior is still active in the Realms, but does he have any particular mission, other than simply knowing more? Does he have any particular foes? Does he actively oppose any specific Elder Evil or anything? @TheEdVerse #dnd

— D&D Adventure Ideas (@DnD_Ideas) December 7, 2020

1)
Oh, yes. He has always worked covertly against the Phaerimm and certain human rulers who sought to imprison and make use of psionicists, and openly against giants who seek out and try to destroy dragons, dragon eggs, and to… 2)
…occupy and hold dragon lairs.
Some of what he’s up to are among “the” Great Secrets of the Realms (still NDA), but I can share that he works to manipulate unions in all sentient races that will increase the number of…#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 7, 2020

3)
…individuals who have psionics (in other words, Sardior is trying to “breed” widespread psionics into existence, deeming this better for the world than users of arcane and divine magic coercing or ruling beings who lack… 4)
…access to these magics, without widespread psionics to ‘balance out things’).
And I'll add just this: why do you think the likes of Xanathar keep a low profile, rather than encouraging daily strife in the streets?#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 7, 2020

What sort of ‘manipulation’ does he perform? Are we talking divine genetic intervention, or more like sending agents to help foster psionic communities? Is this a eugenics sort of deal or a fostering knowledge OF psionics sort of deal. 😬 Like all dragons, Sardior thinks long term. He seeks to nudge, by circumstances, males and females who have strong psionic bloodlines into marrying and having offspring. Not coercing, just trying to get them together so they have a chance to fall for each other.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 8, 2020

So for instance, Sardior might send two clerics out on the same quest, where they are destined to meet and become blood brothers, and their respective children might end up together as a result, and thus their grandchild will receive psionic power as part of some divine destiny? Exactly. It's a patient, behind-the-scenes, "pushing psionically-gifted mortals into contact with each other and letting what happens, happen" strategy. No destiny, no "you must," and no Sardior-direct-contact.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 8, 2020

Sardior is creating opportunities, not forcing anything to happen.#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 8, 2020