Random mind blowing facts:

[CragOneEye]

Post here any D&D facts that you think the general reading audience would not expect.

Drow is derived from the word trow, and trow is derived from the word troll.

[P Three]

Drow is a bastardization of "dhaerrow", which means "traitor".

[gilescorey]

Drow is a bastardization of "dhaerrow", which means "traitor".

;_;
we dindu nuffin

[Hunter548]

Drow is a bastardization of "dhaerrow", which means "traitor".

He's talking the real life origins of the word, not the FR origins.

[P Three]

Then shouldn't they be svartalfen?

[CragOneEye]

Then shouldn't they be svartalfen?

D&d stole the word and bastardized it's original meaning like they always do. Also are more than one word and one kind to historical evil fey folk. For example goblin also usually is a reference to evil elves in the historical sense.

But while we're discussing svartalfen, svirfneblin probably derived from the word svartalfen, so D&d already used that word for another race already and bastardized it as well.

[Seven Sons of Sin]

The reason why bards can cast the "Cure" line of spells is because way back they were in supplementary material as a Skald. Skalds, like Druids, were heavy into the whole Celtic ethos of D&D. When Druids got implemented into AD&D, Skalds got changed into Bards - something to do with making some jack-of-all-trades class. However, the new Bard class kept its roots by still being able to cast arcane Cure spells.

Rangers were modeled off of Aragorn.

Theories that clerics were originally so powerful early on, as a counter to pop culture thinking D&D was occult and satanic.

The fall of Asmodeus is an allegory to the fall of Lucifer in John Milton's Paradise Lost. This is why infernalists are forever more popular than abyssals - because Milton.

When Faerun was originally conceived by Ed Greenwood, the continents of Kara-tur and Zakhara were not present. They were added later on. In particular, Zakhara was known as Al-Qadim, the Land of Fate, and was a separate campaign setting that was later bought out and integrated into 3.0. This is why they were integrated so poorly.

Tyr is an interloper deity from real-life Norse pantheism.

Most Mulhorandi, Untherians and Thayans are actually descendants (or splinters) of the ethnic group "Mulanese" who were actually imported quite literally from Earth. Yes, Isis is the same Egyptian Isis.

The Tuigan Horde is the Mongol Horde. (hurrah originality)

The only reason why elves are so short in D&D is to off-set confusion with Tolkien. If Gygax had tall elves, then that'd be two-for-two. (below)

Halflings were printed as hobbits. Just treants were ents. This was not good. That's why we now have halflings and treants. (also see why elves have to be shorter)

All elves are alien. They do not exist naturally on the Material Prime. Same goes for orcs, likely. (Is Faerun just a story of colonialists?)

Evermeet is a clear carbon copy of the "Blessed Realm", or "the West" in Tolkien. (but what does that make the Grey Havens?)

[Stath]

20 ftr/7 wm/3 bard/rogue isn't op

[CragOneEye]

20 ftr/7 wm/3 bard/rogue isn't op

Wrong thread, it belongs here: Newbie Guide for real

[Baron Saturday]

Mega mind-blower: Stath is still allowed to post.

Also Elminster's build breaks Arelith rules.

[gilescorey]

Mega mind-blower: Stath is still allowed to post.

Also Elminster's build breaks Arelith rules.

Well, he's also higher than level 30, so there's more than one rule being busted here.

[CragOneEye]

Mega mind-blower: Stath is still allowed to post.

Also Elminster's build breaks Arelith rules.

Well, he's also higher than level 30, so there's more than one rule being busted here.

Well that and the nwn engine doesn't allow for more than three classes per level.

[livingNPC]

There once was a DM named Phi, who would break the server upon resets. We called it a "Phiset"

[Naiphe]

There is no such thing as a 'human coloured' elf.

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Sun_elf
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Moon_elf
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Wild_elf
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Wood_elf
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Drow

I can't find the source but I believe this was because of the Tolkien lawsuit, and d&d needing to have different colouring on the elves due to copyright. The closest thing is a half elf, or perhaps one of those elf-orcs (half elf, half orc)

There have been several 'mystras', the first goddess Mystra was slain by Helm during the time of troubles. The current 'Mystra' is her former friend, a spell caster called 'Midnight', though she took the original 'Mystras' name when Ao made her the new 'Mystra'.

[Rodent]

So Mystra is the robin of the Forgotten Realms Pantheon? "Let's get a new one."

[Naiphe]

basically :p also she died in later editions and came back, if its the same one. So in theory there have been 3 mystras