Talk:Elminster Aumar
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[edit] Alter ego of Greenwood
It says Elminster is an alter ego of Ed Greenwood on the inside of the back cover for the paperback version of Elminster: The Making of a Mage. Here is the short passage displayed under the title "About the Author":
Ed Greenwood created the FORGOTTEN REALMS® setting nearly forty years ago when he wanted a place to set the stories he was telling to his friends. Since then he's written a heaping pile of novels, short stories, articles, and roleplaying game product set in the lands of Faerûn. Among his most recent novels are Silverfall and Elminster in Hell for Wizards of the Coast, and The Kingless Land and The Vacant Throne for Tor Books. Ed lives in a book-crammed house in Ontario, Canada, but admits he is happiest when walking the shadow-lined streets of Waterdeep with his alter ego, Elminster, by his side.
I hope that clarifies some things. ⇒ JarlaxleArtemis 22:42, 17 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Re: Alter ego of Greenwood
I asked Ed if the last sentence of that blurb accurately reported any statement of his, and here is his reply:
No, of course not. WotC authors are often asked to provide “sell copy” for book jackets, though it NEVER reaches print un-tinkered-with, but in the old TSR days, writers were rarely invited to do so. I had never seen that blurb until a copy of the book was brought to me for signing at a convention, and I certainly never wrote a word of it. No, I have never said Elminster is my “alter ego.” TSR has, many times; a practice that began in GenCon pre-registration blurb booklets, describing the seminars I did in costume, acting the part of Elminster - - ALSO a practice TSR asked me to begin and carry on. When they, many years later, asked me to leave the costume at home, I happily did so. Those robes are hot. :} To reiterate: I have never, ever said that Elminster is my alter ego or wish fulfillment character, or thought that way for one minute. I will never use any Realms characters in that manner, because doing so would ruin the whole fun of creating the world and its characters, and watching what happens and how they evolve. Just as all of the gamers who have played various PC adventurers in my Realms sessions over the years are playing roles, not themselves.
He's clarified as much on several occasions, such as the interview in Dragon #335. 'Elminster is Ed Greenwood's alter ego' is a hoary internet canard that has long ago been debunked and is without basis in the sources. Neither this misconception nor the supposition that it's widespread is verifiable per Wikipedia's criteria; it's misleading and inappropriate to perpetuate such misinformation, which is no more than gossip, on a page purporting to describe the character Elminster.
(As well, look at Wikipedia's own entry for 'alter ego': it doesn't remotely fit.)
If you'd like to discuss this matter with me, other Realms experts, or Ed himself, I invite you to the forums at candlekeep.com, where Ed posted the confirmation above.
Faraer 14:56, 18 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Elminster's Class
Somone keeps changing Elminster's class from a multiclassed Fighter/Rouge/Cleric/Wizard/Archmage. Admittedly I don't currently own a Forgotten Realms Sourcebook, but according to several websites and the Forgotten Realms novels(The Elminster Saga) Elminster is not simply just a wizard. So whoever is changing it back, maybe you could stop?
- In Wikipedia, we don't go by the D&D classes, but by the characters' main profession. Yes, Elminster could fight, and he was once a rogue and a cleric, but his main profession is that of a wizard. ⇒ JarlaxleArtemis 03:20, 8 July 2006 (UTC)
Shouldn't it say Profession instead of Class, then?
- In the D&D world class and profession are two different things. A character can have a profession and any good GM will have their plays pick on for there character. Saying he is a wizard is refereeing to his class and nothing else. The statement earlier is correct though. In the most recent publication of the Forgotten Realms Core Rulebook Elminster is Ftr1/Rog2/Clr3/Wiz20/Acm5/Epic4. A wizard is a class in D&D and should be treated as such. As I stated there are professions in the D&D world and this could confuse people. Thus the sidebar must be changed entirely to reflect the term Class instead of Profession, or include both. For truth to be told, if profession should stay it aught to be changed to Chosen of Mystra.
[edit] What is this ??
{{NovelsWikiProject}} This honestly has any thing to do with Elminster ? Neither a novel nor a story but a fictional character. Does NovelsWikiProject seeks to include EVERY FR or DND character ??
- Hey, if they want to, it's their organizational nightmare. Never get between a fool and his folly, as my papa used to say. --Agamemnon2 18:19, 6 January 2007 (UTC)
