Ask Arkanis

[Hitman Hard]

So you -have- to be a Cleric in order to transform into a shade?

[DM Nilbog]

say Ark how wide are the timezones on Toril and how many does the planet have?

[Truthiness]

Is it alright for a druid that is level 15+ to RP the pnp druid's feat Timeless Body?

I've been RPing that Ivan is 35-40 and looks like he is in his early-mid 20s, should I stop this?

[DM Arkanis]

So you -have- to be a Cleric in order to transform into a shade?

OK I need a bit more to go on - which spell are you referring to?

[DM Arkanis]

Is it alright for a druid that is level 15+ to RP the pnp druid's feat Timeless Body?

I've been RPing that Ivan is 35-40 and looks like he is in his early-mid 20s, should I stop this?

Personally I don't see any reason why you couldn't use it for RP purposes.

[DM Arkanis]

say Ark how wide are the timezones on Toril and how many does the planet have?

Good one Nil... Here's something I found my comments at the bottom:

"How large is Toril/Faerun/the Heartlands?
Let's get our terminology straight first. Toril (Abeir-Toril) is the planet the Realms are found on. It's roughly Earth-sized, according to the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting.
Faerun is the continent on which most Realms adventures take place. It stretches from Waterdeep and the Sword Coast in the west to the edge of the Hordelands in the east. The map in the old Grey Box clearly shows that Faerun is larger than North America by quite a bit. A quick calculation using the FR ATLAS reveals that Faerun has an area of ~ 14 million square miles. The areas of North America, Africa, and Asia are 9, 12, and 17 million square miles, respectively.

The Heartlands (3.5 million square miles) are the central portion of Faerun, centered around Cormyr, the Dales, and the northern Sea of Fallen Stars. They cover roughly the same area as the United States (3.6 million square miles).

3.6. Where is Toril's equator?
Looking at the map in F&A, we can see that the equator runs through the southern part of Maztica (just below the published map), through the northern portion of Zakhara, and through the southern reaches of Kara-Tur. It falls a little south of Nimbral (I think that's Nimbral) and well south of Chult.

Abeir-Toril, according to every published source, is roughly equivalent in size to Earth. However, part of what determines the size of the tropics and the intensity of the seasons is whether or not it has the same axial tilt. Since there are very definite summers and winters, I'd say the axial tilt is the same or perhaps even a little greater (23.5-25 degrees, as a ballpark guess).

Note also, from the same map, that even including Maztica we've only seen about a third of the surface area of Toril. There's a LOT of room for more lands to explore, to the west of Maztica and/or the east of Kara-Tur (as well as to the south of everything).

3.13. Does Toril have time zones?
From: Trent Raley
Toril
• Circumference = 23,400 approx
• 24 time zones
• Axial tilt is ~ 19-25 degrees
• Prime Meridian is Myth Drannor
• Other time zones are based on meridian lines of globe function in Forgotten Realms Interactive Atlas (two per square).
• Time zones are 975 miles wide.
Nit-pick -- that is 975 miles wide at the equator of course. This will dwindle down to zero as you approach the poles."

If you learn better with visuals, then you might want to get your hands on some of the old/original grey box maps. I agree with most of what the fellow says in this post and there are expansion boxed pnp sets that have Mazteca, Chult, and Kara-Tur fold out maps in them that flesh that out a bit.

I remember running a Kara-Tur campaign one time and I introduced some Cormyrian knights and the players went crazy, arguing that Cormyr was a lon, long way from KT. (Basically they were mad because they had hoped to have a pure "Oriental Adventures" style of game and here I had these foreigners... lol!) Anyhow, the knights explained that they had captured a notorious evil NPC of mine and were taking him back to face justice, and of course the same evil NPC was notorious in KT and a fight ensured and everyone was happy...

Two reasons I think that the world is as large (and as mentioned in the quote above, some of it uncharted.) First is so that we can create our own kingdoms, and countries to RP in without being constrained by "what exists" and second so that you can have separate characters in separate parts of the world like my party wanted in KT. It is the genius behind the creation of the map that exceeded Greyhawk in that there will still be more to come...

[Hitman Hard]

I'm referring to (spoiler alert,The Eravis Cale Trilogy, less than a hundred pages left)

[DM Arkanis]

I'm referring to (spoiler alert,The Eravis Cale Trilogy, less than a hundred pages left)

Ah, ok. In the case of these books, Mask is rewarding Cale with powers, and I don't see anything specific in the cleric spell list that would normally allow clerics to turn themselves (or others) into shades. Cale is also the Chosen of Mask, which gives him powerful abilities that have not yet been fully explored to my knowledge. Kemp has indicated that Cale is Shade - Rogue 6, Fighter 3, Cleric of Mask 11, Divine Agent 2.

Ark

[Lockonnow]

what langaueage do a beholder talk and where do a beholder from?

[DM Arkanis]

what langaueage do a beholder talk and where do a beholder from?

According to the Monster Manual (October 2000) Beholders speak their own language and Common. They are considered a Large Aberration here as well, but there is no reference to them coming from anywhere but the Prime Material Plane until this reference I got from WIzards of the Coast for 4th ed. "When the unwholesome plane known as the Far Realm comes into tenuous contact with reality, terrible things boil across the boundary. Nightmares form the thunderhead of psychic storms that presage the arrival of warped beings and forces undreamt of by the maddest demon or the vilest devil. Many aberrant creatures stumble upon the world by accident, pushed in like chill wind through a door suddenly opened. Others crash into reality because it is as loathsome to them as their surreal homeland is to all sane natives of the rational planes. Beholders, however, come as conquerors. Each one seeks to claim all in its sight, and beholders see much indeed."

[Azmodeth]

Do Favored souls exhibit any signs that they are different growing up, would they have divine powers already ?

Could you elaborate, or cite an example.

BTW this thread is friggin amazing, soo much info in here, just absolutely love it !

[Lockonnow]

Deep speech/undercomon is that a language of Prime Material Plane/Astrol plane?

[DM Arkanis]

Deep speech/undercomon is that a language of Prime Material Plane/Astrol plane?

Languages are associated with creatures rather than with planes of existance usually.

[DM Arkanis]

Do Favored souls exhibit any signs that they are different growing up, would they have divine powers already ?

Could you elaborate, or cite an example.

BTW this thread is friggin amazing, soo much info in here, just absolutely love it !

"Being born a favored soul has both advantages and disadvantages. Like a cleric, a favored soul has access to her god's divine magic. Unlike a cleric, however, the magic of a favored soul is natural. As such, it is unlikely to be denied by her god. Because favored souls do not need to pray for their spells, deities don't need to approve or disapprove each and every incantation. This and the many divine powers of a favored soul make members of the class quite powerful. Despite these powers, favored souls are often hindered by a sense of inescapable destiny that surrounds their births. They didn't choose their paths and may not want anything to do with their religion. In this way, the powers of a favored soul can be a burden rather than a blessing."

In my reading I see that there is an idea of "progression" as the FS is born, grows up, and then chooses their path in terms of what they see their destinies to be. I would assume, as with anyone, that their environment growing up would help or hinder them "cope" as they learned about their powers and either sought to embrace them, or reject them.

Another source states, "Becoming a Favored soul is not easy. Essentially this is a meta-gaming decision and requires the spending of Character Points to attain. Once the decision has been made then the character will find themselves "blessed" by the deity through a personal visit. This will forever mark them as being favored." Which would suggest that someone does not necessarily have to be born a FS but can at some point in their lives be "blessed" by a god.

Skip Williams (of Dungeon Magazine fame) had this to say:

Some favored souls allow their link with the divine to define their personalities. Such a character may become such a fervent devotee of her deity that she tries to emulate her patron in every way and concerns herself with little else. But a favored soul doesn't have to become some deity's sycophant. Her relationship with the divine can remain a largely private affair, with the deity's influence adding a hint of depth and color to her personality. Whatever her outlook, a favored soul has access to divine magic that can prove a boon to any adventuring party.

Favored Soul Assets

"The favored soul has access to divine spells that can heal, fortify, or protect her and her allies, as well as many spells that can directly help to defeat her foes. You can turn your favored soul into a street preacher, a holy hermit, a righteous healer, or any other archetype with a hint of the divine. Below are several assets you have going for you when you choose a favored soul."

The theme I am getting here is that the FS, whether from birth or later in life, is gifted in some respect by a divine power.

I have two examples, not from D&D:

1. St. Paul on the road to Damascus in the Bible in Acts chapter 9 is struck blind by God and after a period of study becomes, arguably, the greatest of the Apostles. (A Biblical FS if you will)

2. Superman: comes to earth as a child, raised by human parents, comes into his own as a teenager and learns he is special (aside from being very fast/strong growing up) and comes to Canada (sorry, couldn't resist) and learns how to fly, Xray vision, only Kryptonite can harm him, etc. and determines his purpose is to serve humanity. There is no "god" per se in this particular example but it does illustrate the point.

3. The Jedi religion in Star Wars - children with high midichlorian counts are identified early and sent to train. They are taught a code, and while The Force is not identified as a specific being or god, it does have aspects of good and evil.

4. Harry Potter - similar to the Jedi, grows up a normal kid who sometimes weird things happen around, learns of his true nature, trains, and chooses his destiny. Again no divinity associated.

5. The TV show, "The Legend of the Seeker" 2008-2010, season one episode five, the heroes discover a small boy who has the power to read minds (has always had that power) and he is used by others, and he himself uses the power for his own ends. There is some redemption and falling from grace later in the series, but it shows how someone who is unnaturally gifted from birth can abuse their powers.

6. Hancock (2008 movie with Will Smith) where Will plays John H, a drunken man with superpowers who causes millions in damage to LA where he lives. He finds purpose and then redemption in the end and moves to NYC.

I am sure there are probably a whole pile of more tonical to D&D references out there too. I think the core aspect to RPing a FS is that they have a divine purpose. As such they are granted some innate divine powers, and they can be reall hard cases when it comes to deviating from their role or purpose in life. Personally, I think the class is a pile of fun to play, if for nothing more than to frustrate fellow party members.

Ark

[DM Arkanis]

Despite what some popular culture/convention might say, when you are using the title of, "sir" or "ser" in game, it is not to be capitalized unless it starts a sentence, and then it must me accompanied by a comma if used as a question: "Sir, I was hoping to speak with you." While it does denote a title, when using it, it never begins with a capital, "The Right Reverend sir Anthony Montgomery, Bishop of Kent, Earl of Athos." A knights' title, in using sir is always used in the familiar as well, and never as a predicant to their last name: "Good to see you sir William." Having been raised, "Emily Post" and subjected to diplomatic and military etiquette (Commonwealth) I am keenly, and often painfully aware of proper manners concerning titles and protocol... It is also improper to salute when not wearing your hat, but that is another story...