Lore Assistance

[MrDeadman]

RP lore - only Halflings call themselves Hin. It is their word for each other. Other races, with the possible exception of elves, would call them halflings. I add in elves because hin is the elven word for children.

[ZStreeter]

RP lore - only Halflings call themselves Hin.

Is this a 'rule' or could someone that knows this call Halflings Hin just 'cause he/she feels like it?

[Sir_Carnifex]

And here's another one:

Everyone knows who Duke Eltan is. Little seems to be said about the others except that Belt is a powerful warrior, Liia Jannath is a powerful wizard, and Entar Silvershield is the richest man in Baldur's Gate. I also seem to have heard that Entar is associated with the Merchant's League.

Is there any more light to shed on these? Political leanings? Affiliations?

Thanks!

[Maecius]

Everyone knows who Duke Eltan is. Little seems to be said about the others except that Belt is a powerful warrior, Liia Jannath is a powerful wizard, and Entar Silvershield is the richest man in Baldur's Gate. I also seem to have heard that Entar is associated with the Merchant's League.

Is there any more light to shed on these? Political leanings? Affiliations?

I have searched all over, going as far back in source material as 1987, and I can find very little on the governing figures of Baldur's Gate.

AD&D Adventures has the following to say about Baldur's Gate's government:

Baldur's Gate
Independent City

Who Rules: The Council of Four (elected for life or until resignation by the populace). All council members take the title of grand duke or duchess. The present grand dukes are Entar Silvershield (Lawful Good; human; Fighter 21), Liia Jannath (Chaotic Good; human; Wizard 16), the adventurer known only as Belt (Chaotic Neutral; human; Fighter 19), and Eltan (Lawful Neutral; human; Fighter 20).

Who Really Rules: The Council, backed by the Flaming Fist (who serve as unofficial secret police/enforcers). The current dukes are part of the Lords’' Alliance (with Waterdeep, Silverymoon, and other cities).

The second edition Campaign Setting has this to add:

This important independent city is known as one of the most tolerant but quietly well-policed places in the western Realms, and is home to many adventurers and entrepreneurs as a result. It is ruled by the Four Grand Dukes,” though the title of Duke” is an honorific taken upon ascending to the Council, and is given even if the candidate is female or of a race that uses other titles.

The present Dukes of Baldur’s Gate are:
Entar Silvershield, a 20th level cavalier,
Liia Jannath, a 16th level female magic-user of chaotic good alignment,
Belt, a 17th level fighter, and
Eltan, a 20th level lawful neutral fighter. Eltan is commander of the Flaming Fist Mercenary Company, one of the most powerful such companies in the Realms, which is based in Baldur’'s Gate.

I have a glut of information on the Flaming Fist, on Duke Eltan, on Scar, and on Moruene from the AD&D Campaign Setting, which I can post if the Flaming Fist faction would like me to. For now, I will just answer the question asked.

If anyone has more information on Entar, Liia, and Belt, feel encouraged to post it!

I know that the Dukes are part of the Lord's Alliance, with Neverwinter and Waterdeep. But im sure Maecius has deeper info.

Some information on the Lords' Alliance, from the Third Edition Campaign Setting:

Also known as the Council of Lords, this group was formed to oppose the Zhentarim and other sinister factions that seek to dominate the North through trade or treachery. Primarily a lawful good organization, it represents the interests of rulers of cities in the North and the Western Heartlands. The rulers of Waterdeep, Silverymoon, Neverwinter, and other free cities and towns in the region make up most of the Alliance.

The various Lords differ on issues of trade, magic, relations with foreign nations such as Thay, and even the treatment of humanoids such as orcs and goblins. The members of the Alliance are all equal in discussing Alliance matters, regardless of station outside the group. Given the increase in Zhentarim holdings in the North, the Lords have been trying to encourage other cities to join their cause, but so far such efforts have been met with little success. Luskan is notoriously independent and feels threatened by the new nation of the Silver Marches [Lore Assistant Note: the Confederacy of Luruar, or the Silver Marches, does not yet exist in our timeline; it is founded in 1371], one of the major members of the Alliance. The Shadow Thieves of Amn are the antithesis of the Alliance, and Calimshan does not consider the Zhentarim (or the Shadow Thieves, for that matter) to be serious threats to its trade.

The agents of the Alliance include sophisticated bards, zealous paladins, talented sorcerers, and grizzled warriors. They are chosen primarily for their loyalty and then trained in observation, stealth, innuendo, and combat. Backed by the wealthy and the privileged, they carry quality equipment (often disguised to appear common), and spellcasters tend to have a large number of scrolls with communication spells.

The Alliance has a history of hiring adventurers, both to raid Zhentarim strongholds and to scout out sources of Zhentarim activity. Local adventuring groups with an interest in combating evil have quickly gained status and valuable contacts by their association with the Lords' Alliance, and just as quickly made enemies of the Black Network because of it. The Alliance pays these groups in information, travel arrangements, and masterwork items, as well as in cold, hard gold.

I have a lore question or two for you regarding necromancy and necromantic spells.

Is there a particular way these spells are learned or is it done like every other arcane spell out there and is a part of just using the weave? (not including the shadow weave): As in there isn't anything really evil about learning and conjuring the spell, just it's end result?

All arcane spells are learned and cast -- with some exceptions -- the same way (that particular way being dependent on your arcane spellcaster class).

There is nothing innately evil about learning and casting a necromancy spell.

Spells (of any school of magic) that are innately evil are described as such in their descriptor. For example, if you look up Animate Dead, it will be listed as "Necromancy [Evil]" in the Player's Handbook, and "Descriptor: Evil" in your in-game spellbook. If you look up Ghoul Touch, it will not be described as evil. Nor will Avasculate, nor will Cloudkill, et cetera.

Just because something is not innately evil does not mean it cannot be turned to evil ends, though. A Fireball spell can be far more destructive than a Vampiric Touch spell, after all. But necromancy has a stigma attached to it just because of the types of specialists it draws, as a field of study: would-be liches or mad animators. Which brings me to another anonymous question.

How do liches become what they are? Do they make some kind of a pact with the Dead Three or something?

Now this is a good question, with a complicated answer.

One detailed process has been described in AEG Publishing's Undead; another, different process is described in Mongoose Publishing's Encyclopaedia Arcane: Necromancy. The basics of becoming a lich, however, are described in the core rulebooks, particularly in the Monstrous Manual:

The process of becoming a lich is unspeakably evil and can be undertaken only by a willing character. A lich retains all class abilities it had in life.

THE LICH'S PHYLACTERY:

An integral part of becoming a lich is creating a magic phylactery in which the character stores its life force. As a rule, the only way to get rid of a lich for sure is to destroy its phylactery. Unless its phylactery is located and destroyed, a lich reappears 1d10 days after its apparent death.

Each lich must make its own phylactery, which requires the Craft Wondrous Item feat. The character must be able to cast spells and have a caster level of 11th or higher. The phylactery costs 120,000 gp and 4,800 XP to create and has a caster level equal to that of its creator at the time of creation.

The most common form of phylactery is a sealed metal box containing strips of parchment on which magical phrases have been transcribed. The box is Tiny and has 40 hit points, hardness 20, and a break DC of 40. Other forms of phylacteries can exist, such as rings, amulets, or similar items.

The Forgotten Realms campaign setting complicates matters by adding other types of lich: the best known being the dracolich (an undead dragon) and the demilich (a more powerful variant of lich).

Two other evil lich variants include the alhoon (an illithid, or mind flayer, lich) and the banelich (a cleric of Bane granted lichdom by their god).

A strange variant of the lich is the archlich, which is, essentially, a good guy lich. A lich with a Good alignment. The elven variant of this is called a "baelnorn."

There is also the dry lich, lich fiends, the psionic lich, the elemental lich. And my favorite, just because I am awed by how many variants there are, the the drow lich (and the drow demilich, the drider lich, the drow priestess lich, and the drow wizard lich).

In short though, great magic is drawn upon, you kill yourself, you transfer your soul into your phylactery, and you thereafter are an undead spellcaster: I.E., a lich.

[Chaotic]

Wall of text incoming, and I've two subjects to bring up.

The "too long; didn't read" version is the following:
1a) I believe that knowledge of the very existence Shadow Weave in our server time is likely to be limited to very few people, who would not be spreading this knowledge for various reasons.
1b) I'm not sure how noticeable the differences between a Weave and Shadow Weave caster is, but it seems that it shouldn't be visibly apparent.
2) There's some inconsistencies in how reliant divine casters actually are on the Weave, namely whether they even need it to function. If anyone could clarify, now's the time to step forward.

See, now you can make input about the matters you care about!

First Matter

Something to keep in mind is that the very existence of the Shadow Weave might yet not be widely known. The Magic of Faerûn sourcebook has the following to say on the subject:
"While the Shadow Weave has existed for quite some time, only recently has its use begun to spread rapidly and its power become known to many." (page 7 if you care to/can check).

This opens up the possibility of debate what constitutes "recently" and how many might actually know of it. I would argue that most people wouldn't know of it yet, and my reasoning is the following:

The people who find out about the Shadow Weave generally come in three categories:
1) Shar's own worshipers.
2) Those who are allowed to discover it as part of Shar's schemes.
3) Those who accidentally stumble upon it during their Weave-based research.

If you're part of 1, you're not going to talk about Shar's secrets to people no matter what.
If you're part of 2 or 3, spreading something that Shar wishes to keep secret (so far) is to invite terrible retribution from her devotees. Indeed, it is mentioned that most who do so keep it to themselves for various reasons, of which I suspect this fear is the primary one.

I'm thinking that the Time of Troubles seems like a logical break point where knowledge might start spreading; when Mystra briefly dies, Shar could be among the first to try to use the sudden power vacuum and start to offer the hordes of now magic-less casters an alternative that might work once the deities are restored. In the end a new Mystra is chosen, but the offer has become known and knowledge of the Shadow Weave could now begin spreading for real and evil-aligned casters start flocking to it.

Finally there's the matter of if Weave casters would even notice any differences in a Shadow Weave caster. I've managed to find nothing that explicitly says whether the visible effects change enough for normal casters to even realize something's wrong. On the other hand, there's no evidence that it's not noticeable either. The closest thing we get to anything is a Shadow Weave-related feat that makes certain spells they cast harder to detect via divination magic; but that doesn't extend to or even state to begin with that the magic is visibly difference.

There's a lack of lore (that I've found) to support it going either way, which I don't quite like, and if anyone has anything saying one way or the other I'd be glad if it was shared here. The only difference I've read and can remember for sure is how it feels for the caster to cast Weave and Shadow Weave respectively, which obviously doesn't include visible clues.

I'd argue that it'd make some degree of sense that it's not as easily visible as just looking and listening, as it's essentially a secret and masking it as the ordinary would go far to keep it. Instead, it would require more in depth analysis. For instance, there's mention that when you cast with the Weave, you create some sort of rippling effect in it. Finding out a Shadow Weave caster by noticing that there's no such effect on the Weave, via detect magic and a Spellcraft check combined, would be a good way to go about it.

Second Matter

Second, here's something that might possibly require some pretty in-depth research to sort out. It probably goes more into the exploratory territory more than being a real question as well, but perhaps we can reach a conclusion here.

On one hand I've read an explicit mention about divine casters that goes thus: "Unlike masters of the Art, those who use the Power have
no skill in using the Weave. Their spellcasting knowledge is
planted directly in their minds by deities in response to their
fervent prayers" (Magic of Faerûn, p. 8). Note that it doesn't say that the Weave is entirely unnecessary for them; merely that they do not need to know themselves how to use it.
For the uninitiated who wish to make some input, "the Power" refers to divine magic and "the Art" to arcane (and both these terms are indeed those used by in day-to-day speech on Faerûn; good to know!).

Magic of Faerûn also has this to say (p. 11): "Mystra can also bar a deity from accessing the Weave, which would prevent the deity from using magic while in Faerûn but not while the deity was on another plane where the Weave does not exist, such as any of the planar homes of the deities. Such an act is very draining to her, and she only does it to reduce the power of a deity intervening directly in Faerûn.
She cannot block a deity’s ability to grant spells to worshipers without negating the ability of each worshiper to draw on the Weave."

As I see it, there's some problems caused here, namely as to the degree divine casters are themselves reliant on the Weave. The implications I've read seem to say that the Weave is indeed necessary for all magic, arcane or divine, but it's partially circumvented as the deity simply provides everything necessary to the divine caster - all the caster needs do is trigger it and the Weave conforms accordingly. The second quote above seems to me to imply that if a divine caster was denied Weave access, the attempt to trigger the magic they have been granted would fail just as if he were an arcane caster, which would make them as reliant as anyone else on it functioning.
Again, if anyone knows the actuality of the matter, I'd be really happy if it was shared here as it's likely an important part of magic philosophy on Faerûn.

[Wulfenote]

How canon are the Forgotten Realms books and novels? I do recall a few that I've read so far that has featured Shadow Weave casters, and accompanying different visual effects from that of a normal Weave caster.

[Chaotic]

Another good question, actually. They mention in one of the player RPG sourcebooks that they plan to use novels to advance the timeline (or something like that, I'm too lazy to find that tiny footnote now), but I don't remember what's been said - if anything - about artistic details. So... Anyone?

[Wulfenote]

If novels were canon, then there'd be a lot of questions that would probably be able to be answered just by that alone.

[Maecius]

I believe that knowledge of the very existence Shadow Weave in our server time is likely to be limited to very few people, who would not be spreading this knowledge for various reasons.

I have to agree with this sentiment.

Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition is set in 1372, after the Time of Troubles, and even it lists the Shadow Weave as "secret lore" in its Campaign Setting (alongside Elven High Magic, Rune Magic, and Circle Magic).

That said, the DMs and the PCs alike have hit this server with numerous Shadow Weave-related plot lines, and, as such, many adventurers have already been exposed to the Shadow Weave. I suspect that most players can thus get away with having at least heard of it: The general population, however, will have no idea what they are talking about when they say "Shadow Weave."

I'm not sure how noticeable the differences between a Weave and Shadow Weave caster is, but it seems that it shouldn't be visibly apparent.

So far as I can tell, Shadow Weave casters do not utilize a different methodology for the actual casting of their spells. That is to say, the verbal, somatic, and material components for their spellcasting ought to be identical to the verbal, somatic, and material components of a Weave-user's spellcasting.

Perhaps an epic caster, or someone with active Arcane Sight, can tell the difference between Weave-working and Shadow Weave-working, but a specific feat exists that seems to suggest most spellcasters cannot tell what Weave (Mystra's of Shar's) a caster is drawing on (without said feat):

DETECT SHADOW WEAVE USER

You can determine if a magic item or spellcaster is using the Weave or the Shadow Weave.

Prerequisites: Knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks, Spellcraft 5 ranks.

Benefit: Whenever you observe spellcasting or a magical effect you can make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell level) as an immediate action to determine if the effect comes from the Weave or the Shadow Weave. When using detect magic, you automatically identify the Weave or Shadow Weave origin of any aura you detect. (Champions of Valor, 28)

There's some inconsistencies in how reliant divine casters actually are on the Weave, namely whether they even need it to function. If anyone could clarify, now's the time to step forward.

All magic on Abeir-Toril requires the Weave. I'll let the Campaign Setting do my talking for me on this one:

All spells, magic items, spell-like abilities, and even supernatural abilities such as a ghost's ability to walk through walls, depend on the Weave and call upon it in different ways.

And more directly:

The Weave is the conduit spellcasters use to channel magical energy for their spells, both arcane and divine.

How canon are the Forgotten Realms books and novels? I do recall a few that I've read so far that has featured Shadow Weave casters, and accompanying different visual effects from that of a normal Weave caster.

Tough question with an entirely subjective answer.

I suspect it depends, in part, on how well the author knows Dungeons & Dragons. I have been told that reading Laurell K. Hamilton's Death of a Darklord (from TSR's Ravenloft books) can make a grown man cry with rage and sadness.

Well, if that grown man is a fan of Dungeons & Dragons. "Man-child" may thus be a better term.

That said, there is a feat that allows a spellcaster to aesthetically adjust their spellcasting. Surprised? Of course you're not, there's a feat for everything in 3.5 Edition:

SPELL THEMATICS [GENERAL]

Your spells have a distinct visual or auditory effect in their manifestation.

Prerequisite: Must be able to cast at least one illusion spell.

Benefit: Choose a theme for your spellcaster, such as "ice" or "fire" or "screaming skulls." All spells you cast have this theme in the manifestation of their effects, although this does not actually change the spell in any way. You cannot use this feat to make your spell manifestations invisible, and it never causes your spell to deal more damage because of the visual change. (You may still cast spells without this thematic manifestation if you so choose).

For example, if your theme is "fire," then your magic missile spell might appear to produce bolts of fire, although the bolts still are a force effect and cause normal damage, not fire damage. If your theme is "screaming skulls," your fireball might manifest as a small screaming skull that impacts the target and explodes into a fiery ball that momentarily resembles a 20-foot-radius burning skull, although it causes damage exactly like a standard fireball (and doesn't cause any sonic damage, despite the screaming skull).

Add +5 to the DC of any Spellcraft check made to identify a spell cast in this manner. (Magic of Faerun, 22-23)

What is the benefit of becoming a lich?

This is a follow-up question to the earlier inquiries on lichdom. Answer is as follows:

"Lich" is an acquired template that can be added to any humanoid creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature), provided it can create the required phylactery.

A lich has all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Size and Type: The creature's type changes to undead. Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged.

Hit Dice: Increase all current and future Hit Dice to d12s.

Armor Class: A lich has a +5 natural armor bonus or the base creature's natural armor bonus, whichever is better.

Attack: A lich has a touch attack that it can use once per round. If the base creature can use weapons, the lich retains this ability. A creature with natural weapons retains those natural weapons. A lich fighting without weapons uses either its touch attack or its primary natural weapon (if it has any). A lich armed with a weapon uses its touch or a weapon, as it desires.

Damage: A lich without natural weapons has a touch attack that uses negative energy to deal 1d8+5 points of damage to any living creatures; a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 lich's HD + lich's Cha modifier) halves the damage. A lich with natural weapons can use its touch attack or its natural weaponry, as it prefers. If it chooses the latters, it deals 1d8+5 points of extra damage on one natural weapon attack.

Special Attacks: A lich retains all the base creature's special attacks and gains those described below. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 lich's HD + lich's Cha modifier unless otherwise noted.

Fear Aura (Su): Liches are shrouded in a dreadful aura of death and evil. Creatures of less than 5 HD in a 60-foot radius that look at the lich must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by a fear spell from a sorcerer of the lich's level. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same lich's aura for 24 hours.

Paralyzing Touch (Su): Any living creature a lich hits with its touch attack must succeed on a Fortitude save or be permanently paralyzed. Remove paralysis or any spell that can remove a curse can free the victim. The effect cannot be dispelled. Anyone paralyzed by a lich seems dead, though a DC 20 Spot check or a DC 15 Heal check reveals that the victim is still alive.

Spells: A lich can cast any spells it could cast while alive.

Special Qualities: A lich retains all the base creature's special qualities and gains those described below.

Turn Resistance (Ex): A lich has +4 turn resistance.

Damage Reduction (Su): A lich's undead body is tough, giving the creature damage reduction 15/bludgeoning and magic. Its natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Immunities (Ex): Liches have immunity to cold, electricity, polymorph (though they can use polymorph effects on themselves), and mind-affecting attacks.

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +2. Being undead, a lich has no Constitution score.

Skills: Liches have a +8 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks. Otherwise same as the base creature.

Organization: Solitary or troupe (1 lich, plus 2-4 vampires and 5-8 vampire spawn).

Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +2.

Treasure: Standard coins; double goods; double items.

Alignment: Any evil.

Advancement: By character class.

Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +4.

There is also the obvious benefit of being close to immortal.

Who DOES run Beregost? What would the common folk/adventurers know about the town?

My character is a [high-level] cleric of Lathander, and is moving to Beregost. Does he or she get any special attention there?

The short answer is that Kelddath Ormlyr (the high priest of Beregost's temple of Lathander) runs Beregost, with the assistance of a five-person town council.

A high-level or well-known priest of the Morning Lord would likely be welcomed into the fold, and have some authority in that town. You will have to work that out with DMs on an individual and case-by-case basis, or work on getting a Beregost faction started up, to really see any "special attention," however.

The long answer, though I won't quote it all here, is the write-up on Beregost and the Temple of Lathander found in Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast. As follows:

Tired travelers on the Coast Way between Baldur’'s Gate and Amn often stop in Beregost. Beregost is located just off the road about a day’'s travel on horseback south of where the Way of the Lion that leads to Candlekeep branches off from the Coast Way. It’'s within reach of the northern borders of Amn. Merchants of that land often use it as a rendezvous for caravan assembly before attempting the perilous overland runs north to Waterdeep or east to the Sea of Fallen Stars. As a result, this small town gets very crowded at unpredictable intervals.

Begun as a farming village under the protection of a school of wizardry, Beregost is now dominated by the Song of the Morning, a major temple to Lathander. The mage Ulcaster, a conjurer of note, founded his school over 300 years ago— -- but grew too successful, attracting would—-be wizards from all over the Sword Coast. Calishite mages came to fear the school’'s power and destroyed it in spell battle, though Ulcaster himself disappeared during the fray and was never found. The school burned to an empty shell, which still stands on a hill east of the town. Local fear of the ruins, which are said to be haunted by phantoms who are still able to cast spells, has caused Beregost to be expanded to the west of the Coast Way road, leaving the hills east of it to the sheep.

Beregost has only one tavern. It is called the Burning Wizard, of course. It has no signboard, but the traveler can easily find it. It’'s the building with the crowded hitching rail that stands just north of where the small rivulet known as Wizard's’ Doom Creek— -- which rises on the hill where the ruins stand against the sky -- —crosses the Coast Way. That'’s where I heard of the two chief dangers to the curious and to young magelings hoping to gain spells or items who approach the ruins too closely. There’s a wizard shade who hurls random spells at folk, sometimes appearing as a thin, wraithlike, impossibly tall, bearded man and sometimes just as a battered wizard'’s hat. There’'s also another wizard wraith— -- a haunt— -- who tries to lure folk into the depths of the ruin’'s cellars and possess their bodies. Old villagers also speak of magical traps deep in the ruins and at least one gate that leads to unknown destinations. This last claim has been confirmed as truth by no less a pair of magical personages than the Lord Mage of Waterdeep, Khelben “"Blackstaff"” Arunsun, and Elminster of Shadowdale.

Beregost’'s governor strongly disapproves of explorations of the ruins. Although there is a five-person town council, the governor'’s word is law in Beregost, and he is a tireless proponent of farming, starting up new businesses, and improving the place. He is also Most Radiant of Lathander (high priest of the temple) Kelddath Ormlyr, and his temple troops police the town, keeping it safe so that trading, meetings, and spending at the shops are brisk. In this, he has two powerful allies: the wizard Thalantyr, a conjurer of great repute who unfortunately wasn'’t at home when I visited, and the smith Taerom “"Thunderhammer" Fuiruim. Kelddath has also successfully encouraged several important Amnian merchants to establish estates around Beregost— -- notably the Craumerdaun family, whose fine horses (now bred here) are highly prized in Amn and Tethyr.

The visitor today will find the following local features of note. (Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast, 27-28)

I won't go into all of Beregost's sights and sounds right here, but because the question is primarily about how a cleric would fit in here, I will quote the description of the Lathander's temple in Beregost:

The Song of the Morning

This large temple to Lathander consists of a fortified church surrounded by stables, refectories, guesthouses, and outbuildings. It rises up right beside the east side of the road in the center of town, and its distinctive rose-red spires can be seen for miles. Its many clergy and 200 lay-member militia assist local businesspeople and farmers, and in return the temple receives regular and large offerings.

The servants of the Morninglord also tend temple fields of potatoes and herb flowers east of the road, and keep sheep on the slopes of the hill topped by the ruined school of wizardry. They keep them there ostensibly because these fields are more open to view than those of local farmers. The sheep are thus more easily watched, preventing theft and raiding beasts from ravaging them. The real reason that the sheep are kept here is that the servants of the Morninglord want to keep some control over expeditions into the ruins and to prevent uncontrolled expansion of Beregost. (Over the years, various Amnian merchants have shown a distressing tendency to lay claim to all land within easy reach of the Coast Way that’'s not strongly defended.)

The folk of the temple are vigilant, and stand for no lawlessness or aggression, but are otherwise helpful to strangers. Those willing to give 20 gp or more to the temple are welcome to stay in its guesthouses for two nights. People may stay longer if they are sick or injured. Priests will tend them and won’'t expect any more money, although most folk do give something. Temple fare is simple but good, and baths and stabling are available.

And that's it for now!

[KoS]

From what I can gather from briefly reading Wotc's boards. Books written are considered canon. Of course, the book has to be offically supported by Wotc and not fan work.

I could be wrong, but that was my impression.

[Chaotic]

I'm glad to have received the answers I wanted, and that they gave me the answers I hoped to see.

[Hydrocarbonated]

I'll see if I can dig up WOTC's "Order of Precedence". Basically errata trumps everything, the core books win for the current edition in the case of a dispute with later material, and older edition material may be used only where it does not contradict newer publications. Novels in this scheme are considered canon, and usually take place later than the events described in sourcebooks so as not to conflict.

The process writers go through with WOTC to get a book or other publication written (The Spanish Inquisition, basically) ensures that Wizards gets the most out of their 'property'. Games are exempt from the canon schema because they have less authorial oversight.

TL;DR: Novels are canon. In some cases this may cause you to weep.

[Sir_Carnifex]

Quick one: What year does the Amnish plague start? I'm pretty sure I heard it's between 1344 and 1346 but I'd like to be sure.

Thanks!

[Chasted]

What happens to a stone golem when you cast stone to flesh on it?

(And the opposite on a Flesh Golem)

[Hnefi]

What happens to a stone golem when you cast stone to flesh on it?

(And the opposite on a Flesh Golem)

From http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/stonetoFlesh.htm :

The spell also can convert a mass of stone into a fleshy substance. Such flesh is inert and lacking a vital life force unless a life force or magical energy is available. (For example, this spell would turn a stone golem into a flesh golem, but an ordinary statue would become a corpse.)