Lore Assistance

[nuthouse2k]

cant possibly be a coincidence... also reptilian shapechangers have a secret base on the dark side of the moon from where they control earth by mimicking people in positions of power...

[nlyh]

724 Days until the world ends...

[MasterSilke]

There is a lot of senseless things in D&D which they make up while not thinking about every single detail. Some of them are ridiculous, but that is the lore anyway.

The dire flail is one thing that comes to mind regarding such ridiculous things in DnD.

[magus_taliesin]

I knew I had read why at some point. Ok follow with me here.

The celts used a sword, way back, called a Falcata. It was a curved blade, sometimes described as sickle shaped. They were made of iron, not steel, so less 'technology'. Iron can be had in small amounts without carving huge holes in the earth, and can be forged with low heat and little waste. The closest thing DnD has to a Falcata is the scimitar. In essence you could say that for mechanics purposes the druids in DnD use scimitars, but for RP reasons it's really a Falcata.

For the sickle, that is a holy item of the celtic druids. It was used during rituals to harvest mistletoe. It is also an iron age implement, and a symbol of the harvest, a huge deal with the celts since much of their life was either war or the harvest. Being a small weapon/tool it can also be made from very little iron, and does not require serious mining. It's also not necessarily made of steel, so again, less 'technology'.

You may think there are things that don't make sense in DnD, but rarely are they things that come from the early editions. Most lore/info that doesn't make sense comes from the bastardizations that occurred when WoTC acquired the franchise.

[LeslieMS]

Alright... Since its family history. Here is some pretty acturate info.

My great grand father [on the Irish side of the family] Tells stories of, and to a small extent, practiced -actual- druidism. No place to corellate that here... but... here is some brief history on the Falcata for those who wish to read it.

http://www.weapons-universe.com/Swords/ ... pons.shtml

And a wiki link...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcata

So... not exclusively a -druidic weapon- per say... as you can see. And I don't have a lot of my original source material handy... but, as you can see it is an easy stretch for them to come up with a working theory to support the lore.

[magus_taliesin]

Yah, didn't mean to make it sound like a druid specific sword. Not even sure if they used them or not, the celts were just one of the many groups that had a weapon like that. The reference I had, mentioned several names for the weapon, and multiple cultures they were found in. The most common one we recognize is actually the Greek Kopi. (think I am remembering the spelling right)

If you dig hard enough you can find the obscure research TSR did to give us this game we all love. If only they could come back to us, forcibly remove DnD from all things Hasbro/WoTC, and return it to its former glory.

[LeslieMS]

Well said.

And to answer your question... the only time I ever heard mention of blades within the family was the sickle, which was instrumental in some things, and for very very limited purposes, daggers. Most of the time... From what I understand of my family history anyway... it was staves. Always. That was the weapon of choice.

[Xanfyrst]

Don't blow up your mind with the details. Just let it be.

[magus_taliesin]

Don't blow up your mind with the details. Just let it be.

Haha, some of us can't do that. Funnily enough the 'scimitar' question is all over the internet about druids. That's how I was reminded of the Falcata, I saw it mentioned on another page. What can I say, I'm a history junkie, and a practicing celtic pagan, so it was a topic that interested me.

[nlyh]

Move over here to where the Celtic roots are.

[mute83]

you dont come by iron, nearly as easy as you come by leather. iron has to be mined and go through a process, none of which is natural. getting leather is more natural, why do you think it took humans so long, compared to how long they wore animal hide.
and i found a picture that should also give a reason, though its a modern, though old picture, it should give an idea why.

Ever heard of the Bronze Age, the Copper Age, or the Iron Age?

And by the way, what do you mean getting leather is more natural. You mean that it is easier? What does the level of difficulty have to do with anything?

I didn't think that Druid SRD link helped really. It just re-iterated what I knew. I understand that it is a rule, I just wonder where it came from. Is there a legitimate reason for it or is it pretty much like how Randall insightfully (I honestly thought it was insightful) described?

i have. Have you ever heard of a time before that... how do you think they lived back then.

And im not talking about level. how the hell did you get to that... where do you think leather comes from... Its easyer to find an animal, then it is to find ore. And as others have said, you also eat the meat. And ore mine can cause destruction of natural areas, and some have said that they also use weapons of different materials, it have just not been added to the game. There are still people that live people that live in such a way, or atleast to a certain extend

[Lightseeker]

Hello.

I was interested in joining these Eilistraeeans, but I want to know the date of the truce between Eilistraee and Shevarash, just in case.

[Hydrocarbonated]

Far in the future That's part of the events around Spellplague/4e. We're using a pre-Time Of Troubles timeline, which is before 2nd Ed, even.

[Rainbow Prism]

Ahem...

I watched material in 'Demihuman pantheons' 2ed guide and I believe you are mistaken , Hydrocarbonated. There is mention about the truce of sort with no date, but I believe it was not so far to be mentioned in 2nd edition. After ToT, yes, but definitely not Spellplague. Nooooooo way. Though it does sound fun to know when it REALLY happens.

Give the drow some love, please? They are elves too. *looks at Hydro with teary puppy eyes*

[Aikura]

Background sought:

Looking for two places that might exist in FR lore, roughly matching these descriptions:

1) A forest town/kingdom/society of some sort, either Elven or with strong Elven influence, and with a strong tradition of magic. Magic should be entwined with the governance of this place, ideally with it actually being ruled by a mageocracy or similar. For bonus points, the place would be defended by a guard of local hunters/rangers or other mostly non-magical militia.

2) A coastal human city or colony, renowned for accomplished sea-farers.

Any help from the local loremasters?