What is the official and proper style of address for Waterdeep nobles? “The Honble. Lord/Lady [surname]”? “The Lord/Lady [Name] [Surname]”? And in speech, “My lord/lady” followed by “Sir/Ma’am”? It seems every Realms author has their own ideas on this… 1)That's because every Waterdhavian NOBLE has their own ideas on this. (And fashions change over time.) You know the old joke that goes: Q:What do you call a god?/A:Whatever HeSheIt wants you to ?? Applies here. "saer" is what anyone in polite Faerunian society calls someone to..
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 9, 2018
2)…be VERY polite them, and is the norm for when you're not sure of someone's rank/status but don't want to offend. Lord/Lady is standard (and "my lord" and "my lady" for retainers, guards, courtiers WORKING FOR the person). "Lady/Lord Summerstar" would be formal, or usual…
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 9, 2018
3)…at first greeting, with just "Lord/Lady" thereafter. Some individuals will answer the initial greeting with "Call me X," and it's then polite to do so; a Watch officer about to arrest or question you would refrain from saying X and stick with the formal, as a warning…
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 9, 2018
4) I had actually decided things would vary with individuals in Waterdeep and Cormyr (and with the less formal rulers of the Dales) when writing my own stories, before D&D existed, so it was easy, when we started the TSR published Realms, to convey that freedom/variance via…
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 9, 2018
5)…Jeff Grubb to the TSR Books Department. It made things MUCH easier for SSI and other licensees, too. So it's always varied, deliberately. See my own novels, and my collaborative novel with Elaine Cunningham, and the "Eddie Presents" Waterdeep novel; feature, not bug. :}
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 9, 2018
As always, your replies are robust and prompt. I always get excited when I have a Realms question because I get to ask the Archmage himself and will most likely get an answer. Thanks! A pleasure!
True story: early in writing for Dragon, I sent one of the staff a homemade Christmas card written in mock medieval prose style ("To X, Exalted YYY of ZZZ, these: Wish you the brightest of joys this Yuletide, and XXXetc.)…and got a bewildered request for translation— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 9, 2018
…so when TSR started publishing the Realms as an official setting, I knew that things like many characters sharing the same name (how many Jeffs or Johns or Steves do you know, in real life?) would have to go away, to Dispel Confusion. So ALWAYS build in wiggle room so max…
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 9, 2018
…number of writers, designers, artists, DMs, and players can play without having to refer to a "bible" of "exact Realms terms" that's several bookshelves long!
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 9, 2018