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
