#Erevis Cale | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wanderingnork · 4 months

Text

Githyanki History Timeline

After MUCH research, I present: a timeline of the history of the gith! Starting from their earliest known appearances in history, spanning multiple planes, and ending at "the present day." Sources below the cut.

The subterranean empire of Zarum is founded on the Material Plane world of Oerth. The gith inhabitants, likely originally human, are highly religious, live deeply ritualistic lives, and claim complete control over many other peoples.

A patron deity of the gith dies and is buried somewhere under the material plane world of Pharagos. Presumably this, and possibly other deaths, are why the gods didn't intervene in what came next.

The illithids invade from a parallel, destroying the empire and enslaving the gith. The gith are forcibly dispersed across many planes of existence. Some are taken to the planet of Penumbra, where they'll remain and miss out on the rebellion, remaining in the long term as the "forerunners."

The great rebellion: Gith leads her people to shatter the entire illithid empire across every plane and leave it in ruins.

The githyanki relocate from the Material Plane to the Astral Sea.

The city of Tu'narath is founded on the body of a dead god and the gith begin forging their famous silver swords.

If Baldur's Gate 3 is treated as canon, somewhere in here Gith's son Orpheus is born.

Zerthimon objects to Gith's attempts to continue a war now that the gith are free. A civil war of the gith ensues and they split into the githyanki (children of Gith) and githzerai (those who spurn Gith). In some sources this is called "The Pronouncement of Two Skies." The githzerai depart for the plane of Limbo. A small splinter faction, the githvyrik, break off from both sides.

Gith and Vlaakith travel to the Hells to negotiate for aid from the archdevil Dispater. He denies them, but the dragon goddess Tiamat accepts a deal for the souls of githyanki rulers in return for the service of red dragons. Gith remains in the Hells as the first sacrifice. Vlaakith returns to the Astral Sea as regent in Gith's name, carrying the Scepter of Ephelomon as symbol of the pact.

If Baldur's Gate 3 is treated as canon, Orpheus tries to overthrow Vlaakith and is imprisoned, thought dead by the general public.

The extended regency of the line of Vlaakith begins and will last for 156 descendants. Vlaakith promises the githyanki the Material Plane as a "garden" for harvesting. At some point, Zerthimon disappears and it's unclear exactly where he went. Suggestions range from enlightened transcendence to death to lichdom.

The faction of the gul'othran, githyanki who seek total conquest and death of all aberrations rather than mere raiding and plunder, appears.

At some point after this, a significantly-sized githyanki ship breaks through into the planar-locked world of Athas. It's stranded there and all aboard are mutated permanently by psionic energies of that world, with no way to get back. The ship is considered lost.

The forge of Kamyn-Dhun, where the best silver swords were forged, is lost by sinking into the ocean. The githyanki remaining there undergo magical adjustments to allow them to survive underwater in their now-sunken city.

Approximately 1,000 years prior to the present day, Vlaakith CLVII (157) undergoes a transformation to become a lich. She will reign unchallenged until the present day, when either the events of The Lich-Queen's Beloved will take place or the events of Baldur's Gate 3 will take place, depending on the setting.

Baldur's Gate 3, Larian Studios, 2023 Chainmail Miniatures Game: Blood and Darkness - Set 2 Guidebook Dark Sun Campaign Setting, 2nd Edition Dark Sun Creature Catalog, 4th Edition Dawn of Night (Erevis Cale Trilogy, Book II, 2009) Dragon Magazine #294 - Underground Scenarios Dragon Magazine #298 - Vault of the Drow and Wizards' Workshop: Chainmail Dungeon #100 - The Lich-Queen's Beloved Dungeon #116 - The Death of Lashimire Dungeon #125 - Seeker of the Silver Forge Dungeon #168 - A Tyranny of Souls The Illithiad 3, Masters of Eternal Night The Illithiad 4, Dawn of the Overmind Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, 5th Edition The Plane Above, 4th Edition The Plane Below, 4th Edition Planescape: Torment, Black Isle Studios, 1999 Polyhedron #159 - Chapter 5: The Invasion of Pharagos

#githyanki #baldur's gate 3 #d&d #this leaves out some of the later stuff #like what happens AFTER lich-queen's beloved #if you wanna know that #get into the scales of war adventure path #utterly bonkers stuff #and this is just the stuff that runs up to the current vlaakith #her reign has had some WILD things going on

34 notes · View notes

delwaaunglor · 6 months

Text

So, curious. What fictional character's death has impacted your life the most? I don't mean who's death made you weep the most. I don't mean who's death made you not okay for days. Such emotions can be brought on by pure shock. I'm asking which fictional character's death made such an impact on you that it influenced your worldview, the way you approach life, your philosophy, the way you breathe from day-to-day. When I sat and pondered the question, the first fictional character's death I thought of was Jak Fleet from the Erevis Cale novels. But Jak didn't really change the way I looked at things. He was inspiring, to be sure. But his death didn't change the way I thought of anything. He just confirmed ideals I already held, and I look to him as a heroic example of what sacrifice for a greater good looks like. So as I thought about the question, I realized it was a character I didn't cry over the first time I read the scene. I didn't cry over him the 20th time I read it, either. But as I get older, his death scene becomes more and more poignant. That character, if you haven't already guessed, is Thorin Oakenshield. When he charges out of the Lonely Mountain's gate in the battle of Five Armies, he's a king come into his own. All the years of wanting revenge on Smaug, to reclaim the gold and the throne that was his birthright is accomplished in that moment. He is King Under the Mountain. He's got everything he ever wanted. But then he falls. He dies. And his last words to Bilbo aren't the words of a proud king who has everything he ever wanted. They're the words of a dwarf who's gained wisdom that pains him to admit. "If more of us valued food and cheer above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. But sad or merry, I must leave it now. Farewell." This is a dwarf. A king of a people known for their craftsmanship and love of beautiful things, particularly those made of metals precious and mundane. Yet, at the end of his life, his dying words almost echo Ecclesiastes in its subtext. "Vanity of vanity." He's fought, lost friends and kin, all for a mountain of gold. And he's naught to show for it, because in a few minutes he will draw his last breath and not be able to enjoy one single coin of his conquest. That quote has changed the way I look at life in ways I can't even begin to exhaustively list. It's changed the way I look at politics and economics. It's changed the way I look at friendships and who I choose to spend time with. It's changed the kinds of theologians I give ear to. It's impacted so many of my personal choices in what I decide to do with the time that is given to me. So who's your character?

#tolkien #thorin #character death #influential fictional characters #the hobbit #battle of five armies #thorinoakenshield #thereandbackagain

7 notes · View notes

artemis-entreri · 1 year

Note

Hello! I am super new to the Forgotten Realms and very happy to have found your blog. I'm currently going through your posts like daily reading material :) I was wondering if you happen to have a recommendation of a sort of "people, places, customs" book or site for a beginner like me (wiki has honestly been a bit overwhelming) and also which true-to-character Artemis books you would recommend outside of the Sellswords trilogy. Thank you!

[[ Greetings and well met!

I feel that the best way to get to know the Forgotten Realms is to start small. I've found that to truly get a feel for what a world is like, one should get to know those who give it life: its inhabitants. There are over 300 novels published in the Forgotten Realms setting, I would suggest finding something you're interested in and starting from there. You might not be getting the broad strokes right away, but it's a lot more personal and interesting this way, as reading sourcebooks can be horribly dry. 😜

A lot of people who start their foray into FR novels with Drizzt find other drow-related novels the easiest to branch out into, so if you like drow, the War of the Spider Queen series is a suitable second step. There are some issues with that series, but it's mostly lore-related so I won't delve into them here. For an FR beginner though, it also lets you experience six different authors' writing styles, and if you especially like any particular author, you can look up what other novels they've written in the Forgotten Realms to read next. An author who didn't write any of the WotSQ books but who nonetheless is a must read is Elaine Cunningham, whose Starlight and Shadows trilogy bring more life and nuance to the drow than any Drizzt book does, which is saying a lot given that there are only 3 drow-centric books by Elaine compared to ~40 Drizzt books (and counting).

If you don't care much about drow, Azure Bonds by Jeff Grub and Kate Novak is a good place to begin. It is the first of The Finder's Stone trilogy, so you can continue the tale if it interests you, but Azure Bonds also works well enough as a standalone if you're not interested in continuing. More often than not however, many find that three books is not enough and wish for a continuation of their story, but sadly there are not more books continuing that tale.

The Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep series, which consists of six stand-alone novels, is also something I'd recommend for expanding your knowledge of the Realms. Like WotSQ, it's penned by six different authors, but unlike WotSQ, each book tells a separate story, all set within one of the most well-known and iconic cities of the Realms. So much about Waterdeep is so representative of the feel of the world in general that it's no wonder that a lot of FR products visit the city, such as the 5e adventures Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage. Some of the books in the Waterdeep series spin off into their own series, so if you liked any of them it might be possible to continue. For those that don't have spin-offs, their authors have published other books in the Realms, so you can follow those for new reading material.

Other FR series that are regularly praised are the Erevis Cale books by Paul S Kemp and the Brimstone Angels books by Erin M Evans. The Erevis Cale books follow a morally gray protagonist and in general feel more mature than some of the FR novels. Brimstone Angels feature a pair of tiefling sisters and contains a lot of dragonborn lore. I enjoyed both sets of books well enough, but I'm mostly recommending them because a lot of other people enjoyed them. I personally feel that the Brimstone Angels books are wordy and juvenile, reminiscent of some books I read in middle school called "Sweet Valley High", but a lot of people absolutely love them. Elaine Cunningham also has books aside from the Starlight and Shadows trilogy that are very good as well; I wholly recommend all of her books. Elaine's book on Waterdeep, penned together with Ed Greenwood (and not part of the Waterdeep series) does start off somewhat slow, but grows into a deep, compelling, and moving work, in other words, Elaine's signature type of writing.

My personal favorite trilogy in the Realms is Blades of the Moonsea by Richard Baker. It is set in the 4e era of D&D, which is a very unpopular edition due both its rulesets and what it did to the setting. I love it because it embodies through and through what made me fall in love so hard with the Realms. The protagonist, Geran Hulmaster, is just your average Joe in the world. Sure, within his own circle he's got some traits that elevate him from his peers, but he's far from the all too often trope (especially in the Drizzt books) of competing to be the biggest Mary Sue he could be. It's easy to slip into Geran's shoes and experience the problems that, for him, are bigger than the world, but in the global scheme are barely a blip. I find this sort of scenario really relatable because in real life, all we can do is strive to do the best that we can with what we're given, celebrating our accomplishments even when they aren't world-shaking, and enduring our failures even when they aren't world-breaking. Not everything is nor has to be, "And the whole world will never be the same again", and it's really not much different in a high fantasy world with tons of magic. Worlds are made of individuals, and there's no better way to understand it than seeing the world through the eyes of those who live within it.

If reading a bunch of novels don't appeal to you, video games are another good way to get to know the Realms, for the same reason of starting up close and personal. The classic games are definitely a step up in difficulty compared to modern games, for instance the original Baldur's Gate games will absolutely murder you if you go into them unprepared. Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 aren't as bad in terms of difficulty, but they start slow, and definitely show their age to those who are accustomed to modern games. Sadly, there aren't that many options as far as modern FR games are concerned. Baldur's Gate 3 looks extremely promising, but it isn't complete yet (and I've not played the beta to know how complete the story will be upon release). Sword Coast Legends had good voice acting but was a big flop otherwise. Neverwinter Online is a pay to win MMORPG that requires as much understanding of the lore as it gives (which is to say, not a lot). I do mention Idle Champions on my blog, but it isn't really an interactive game as it belongs to the "idle clicker" genre that differs a lot from what most people would consider gaming.

If video games also do not interest you and you just want a general overview, a good starting sourcebook would be Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster's Forgotten Realms. For disambiguation, it's the one that looks like this:

Please note that it is dry if not paired with a narrative. The 3e Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting is also good, but is more suitable as a step 2 after Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster's Forgotten Realms, for it is a bigger scope. Both of these resources are several editions out of date, but it is unfortunately the case that the current edition (5e) has all but reduced the Realms to only the Sword Coast, and not a really deep coverage of it at that. 3/3.5e was really the golden era for FR, and with 5e all but resetting everything back to what it was then, it's almost never wrong to pull a 3/3.5e sourcebook for some deep lore delving.

I realize that I've probably beaten the dead horse to a pulp about this 😜, but the best way to get to know the Realms is really through the novels. I personally had a lot of fun looking up things I'd encounter in the novels that I didn't understand at the time on the FR Wiki. It totally isn't necessary to do so, that was just my personal approach; you learn a lot about the world just reading the books and enjoying the journey they take you through. Depending on what kinds of creatures/characters/subjects/areas you're interested in, I can point you in all kinds of directions on what to read.

As for Artemis, I would say that Night of the Hunter would be the last book in which his characterization is consistently true (even if the back side of the cover shows him as a white guy yet again 😑). The first dramatic decline of the quality and consistency of his characterization is in the Homecoming Trilogy, with the final book ending in what I felt to be the worst of all time in those regards. That, however, was before the Generations Trilogy came into being, and performed what I didn't think was possible: the worsening of Artemis' characterization than in Hero. The current The Way of the Drow Trilogy feels very much like RAS is taking a stance with Artemis the way that he did with Wulfgar post-reincarnation: He has no idea what to do with him but includes the character for old time's sake, then moves him around without putting any thought into if it makes sense and/or is consistent with his past development. RAS might not have ever been the pinnacle of literature, but he has demonstrated the ability to write quality that isn't the trash that he's been putting out recently. I continue to read each book hoping that things will improve, or at the very least go back to the quality that they were in the past. It might be a foolish endeavor, as those older books were written by a man who still knew humility and humbleness, but at the very least, I want to know what's happening to the character that I love, if for nothing other than to figure out sensical ways to reconcile what's being done to him with what's going on in the wider world and what would be reasonable/sensible. ]]

#Forgotten Realms #legend of drizzt #Artemis Entreri #the legend of drizzt #book recommendations #ooc #ama

26 notes · View notes

fithragaer · 1 year

Text

wasnt tagged but i did that one picrew w/ my one-off video game girlies...ezzik fiddler (nwn2), nyrie (tyranny), erevis cale (battlespire), smooth by santana ft. matchbox 20's rob thomas (aka smooth by santan, elden ring)

#image #alma’s liveblog tag #<- they live there #perso #OCs #im so sleepy

17 notes · View notes

andijustcantstay · 1 year

Text

shadowbred by paul kemp ( 4 / 5 stars )

the shadovar , led by rivalen tanthul , are planning on plunging sembia into civil war in order to help their goddess shar bring about the return of the ancient empire netheril . erevis cale receives a message from his friend magadon asking for help , and finds that this is connected to rivalen .

i had a lot of trouble making that little summary i'm not gonna lie , there was a lot going on in this book yet somehow nothing at all until the last third or so . for some reason the book began by almost solely focusing on the acts of the shade enclave instead of cale , who i only found out was supposed to be the main character after googling the book when i finished it .

i think part of the reason for this taking me so long to read was that there were simply way too many characters and names to keep track of , and almost no connections between them until closer to the end of the book . i personally enjoy really complicated books like this one , but it was to the point that at some times i just had no idea who we were talking about .

that being said , what this book lacks in plot it makes up for in pretty much everything else . the characters and world are all fleshed out very well , and when i was reading i was incredibly immersed . i also wasn't even aware that there was an entire trilogy just about cale before this trilogy began , because enough is explained in this book that reading the previous ones isn't necessary .

not sure yet whether i'll pick up the rest of the series , but if i happen to see them in a bookstore then i definitely will

#andijustcantstay #andijustcantstay reads #books #book review #shadowbred #paul s kemp #paul kemp #fantasy #speculative fiction

0 notes

never-a-president · 6 years

Text

Erevis Cale was never president of the United States.

#president of the united states #Erevis Cale #book character #forgotten realms

2 notes · View notes

gold-is-trying · 4 years

Photo

why did i start designing d&d persona users? fuck if I know, but now I need to bully my friends into starting a campaign so i can play them

anyways I love these children

here’s a link to the homebrew class I’m using for them --> https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Persona_user_(5e_Class)

#d&d #dungeons and dragons #persona #oc #my art #i think i should make morgana older but i digress #also their personas are both from d&d media #Pike is pike trickfoot from critical roll #and erevis is erevis cale from the forgotten realms series #also have ideas for their ultimate personas #BUT THAT WONT MATTER IF NO ONE PLAYS WITH ME #i guess I should tag those series too #critical role #forgotten realms

1 note · View note

aramis-dagaz · 5 years

Text

I sprained my ankle earlier this week, and it got me thinking: what healing spells would heal a sprained ankle?

My first guess would be the cure wounds spell. I may be mixing my knowledge of 3rd Edition with 5E, but in general it seems that a lot of minor injuries and ailments can be healed by receiving 1 hp’s worth of magical healing (this was why cure minor wounds in 3rd Edition, a 0-level spell which only healed 1 hp of damage, was still a handy spell to have prepared. Stabilize dying friends and heal injured feet without wasting a 1st-level spell if you don’t have to). In 5E, injuries caused by caltrops reduce your speed until the creature regains at least 1 hp. So rules-wise, this supports using cure wounds spells to heal sprained ankles and probably other similar injuries, good if you’re using a critical hit table that could result in injuries like this.

There’s also some support in thinking about what a cure wounds spell actually does. Rules-wise, it heals hit point damage. So what is that? To me, that involves things like sealing up cuts, healing contusions, and otherwise healing injuries that result from getting slashed, stabbed, or whacked with something blunt and heavy. So if a cure wounds spell heals a sword slash, then it stands to reason that it should also heal a torn ligament in your ankle. And if it can heal a torn ligament, then strained or pulled ligaments and tendons should be no problem, right?

The closest other spell in 5E that could be used instead of cure wounds is lesser restoration, but looking at the spell description it only cures diseases, blindness, deafness, paralysis, and the poisoned condition. Only paralysis is a mobility-related condition, and that’s more than just having a joint wrenched around a bit. Greater restoration reduces exhaustion levels, ends charmed and petrified conditions, one curse, or reduction of an ability score or hp maximum. While taking dexterity damage could be represented by a twisted ankle, it seems strange that one would use a 5th-level spell capable of breaking a curse to heal a sprained joint while a 1st-level spell can easily heal a knife to your gut.

And while this was during the 3rd Edition era, there was a short story about Erevis Cale in Dragon Magazine #277 where he sprains his ankle in a fight and downs two healing potions to fully heal it. Apparently drinking only one brought him from barely able to walk on it to it still feeling a little weak. Sounds good to me.

So, how much hp would you need to restore before a character’s sprained ankle is healed? Going back to the example of the caltrops, that’s an iron spike in your foot, and yet restoring 1 hp is enough to get you to stop limping. So I’d say that 1 hp’s worth of healing will also heal your bad ankle. Maybe 2 hp if it’s more of a torn ligament and simply can’t walk on it. This is more of a concern for paladins rationing out their lay on hands ability as most other healing spells will heal at least 2 or 3 hp even with a cleric or druid with a horrible Wisdom score.

This does have some interesting worldbuilding implications. If a low-level healing spell can easily heal a twisted ankle, then torn ligaments in shoulders and knees, which can take intensive surgery and long convalescent periods in the real world, can be healed in short order or at least have recovery periods drastically shortened by mere acolytes. Clerics of gods that delight in friendly competition, sports, athleticism, and even war would be in great demand by those leading active lifestyles. While the cost of a 1st-level spell would be beyond most peasants, it still would be within reach of a lot of people, especially those who are willing to go into debt so they can go back to work right away instead of potentially losing working hours or even their job due to such injuries.

Could cure wounds also heal broken bones? I’d say so, though depending on the nature of the fracture and if it’s a compound fracture, I’d say you’d have to roll pretty high if casting at just 1st level if it’s a particularly bad one. I’ll have to think more on this, as there are many aliments that could be covered by all manner of healing spells.

#dungeons and dragons #homebrew rules #worldbuilding

5 notes · View notes