Anauroch

Ascore Pyramids Present at time of city's founding?

Ed 14/4/10

No. Changed by the Spellplague? - THO 2/4/10 The Spellplague hasn't changed anything about those notoriously mysterious pyramids nigh Ascore. Home Game Anauroch - THO 10/2/14 Remember the lifedraining Phaerimm, and the Sharn who kept them confined? Well, the Phaerimm were confined under Anauroch, and the surface above them was a vast dry desert (rock ice waste or "cold desert" in the north, but hotter and sandy just north of the Stonelands) roamed by monsters that could tolerate those conditions. During the mid-1300s, the Zhentarim repeatedly tried to establish a short trade route between the mineral-rich Moonsea and Waterdeep, through the Dales and Cormyr, then through the Dales and the Stonelands, then through Teshendale and straight across Anauroch; they wanted the shortest and cheapest trade route, so they could undercut the prices and "get there first," beating all competitors and alternate routes, and they wanted to control the entire route (so, conquer the Dales and Cormyr, or avoid them) to prevent any other authority from charging taxes or tolls, and/or controlling the flow of goods. There just weren't D'tareg and Bedine in the mix; the only humans Ed had were brigands living on the edges of the desert. Bedine Culture - THO 10/2/14, hashimashadoo 9/2/14 Q: I just re-read The Parched Sea and the 2nd edition sourcebook on Anauroch; Bedine culture is very interesting. I was curious to know Ed's stance on the Bedine treatment of women, as it seems so contradictory to the way women are portrayed in the majority of the Realms. Aside from the drow matriarchy, it seems like gender equality in the most of Faerun and Ed is very gender neutral in his writings/lore. Was the Bedine treatment of women something Ed invisioned in his Realms or was that from Troy Denning/Wizards? I guess women are treated differently in a harsh environment like Anauroch because survival depends on keeping the women and children safe, to the point of treating them like valuable property. Hashimashadoo: the Bedine are a transplanted culture from Zakhara. Zakharan culture is heavily based upon traditional arabic culture and therefore would naturally be abnormal compared to the regions surrounding Anauroch that developed without Zakharan influence. THO: The Bedine (the name drawn from Bedouin; their rival tribe's name is also derived from a real- world tribal name) were created by Troy for that novel, and weren't what Ed originally had in Anauroch at all. Once they were canon, Ed stepped in to round them out in game detail in the Anauroch "FR" book. When Jeff Grubb was developing Al-Qadim, he talked over with Ed which Bedine spells (that Ed had created for the FR Anauroch product) could be used "straight," what extra "wouldn't fit" unpublished spells Ed had created for the Anauroch book could be picked up for use (because Ed always does some extra, to cover for possible shifts in font size, artwork, etc.), and so on. So Troy's Bedine came first, before Zakhara was created - - but hashimashadoo is quite correct: In-game, the Bedine came from Zakhara, which Jeff deliberately based closely on Arabian culture as per the design plans for that product line. (It bears repeating: Ed NEVER based any part of the Realms closely or directly on real-world historical cultures beyond a general "Hollywood European medieval" feel, but many TSR designers did, for various reasons.) However, Ed wants a variety of societal norms in the Realms, so once the Bedine were there, he rolled up his sleeves and started weaving them into the wider tapestry of the world. It's what he does