Template:Current Clack/archive/2018

23/01/2018

 * It's been a while since the last (increasingly inaccurately named) Current Clacks; real life really does intrude on our fantasy worlds. But the FRW made a fine start to 2018, with an amazing 1.2 million total page views in the first week of January and a new peak rank as 26th best gaming wiki. Keep reading those pages, but more importantly, keep adding the lore!
 * We also welcome several new and returning members. From listing the gods of various pantheons to locations on the chilly Great Glacier, SilverTiger12 then got claws into Maztica, exploring the steamy rainforests of Far Payit and documenting the Maztican pantheon.
 * Hearing the Storm King's Thunder, Falren1 explored far and wide, from living among the Tribe of the Wolf, to enjoying a stay at Everwyvern House and at Newfort, learning of cyclopes, and sailing to Port Nyanzaru in Chult. Falren then infiltrated the Kraken Society, and seems to have fallen under the kraken's sway...
 * After a decade-long absence, Johnnyriot999 was found wandering the plains of the Shining South, whispering of nomads like the Hyena Tribe, the brave Maquar crusaders, and the brutal scourge maidens. He'd also acquired the magical secrets of the South, such as dweomered doors and many spells, like Darsson's chilling chamber and Kyristan's malevolent tentacles, for which he'd earned the enmity of a Halruaan magehound.
 * So-called "Featured Videos" are being added to high-profile pages by FANDOM/Wikia. Unfortunately, they have some major faults. Don't blame us; we had no say in them. Please give your feedback here, like I already have. Instead, perhaps visit the superior Faerûn History channel on Youtube for your video needs. (I prefer to read myself.)

6/02/2018

 * Sirwhiteout rocketed into Realmspace aboard a man-o-war spelljammer, and saw the Galleon Nebula up close, visited the baked world of Anadia, and passed the orbiting castle Caer Windlauer. Sirwhiteout tried to investigate the disturbing Skull of the Void, but was forced to flee from the mind flayers' nautiloid.
 * In a marathon effort, Regis87 added all remaining Dragon magazine issues to the library and has now started on the Dungeons. Not only that, but Regis87 has also gone monster hunting, adding to the menageries bunyips and bichirs, belabras and berbalangs, and more.
 * Arriving in Calimport, Ir'revrykal stopped at the popular Jet Jambiya tavern for a drink, met a halfling spy known as Hamhock, and arm-wrestled with Kahim el Tunril, the skilled armorer and owner of the Shields Italazar store. The evening ended when an unlucky thief lost their knife to the mysterious Jet Jambiya itself.
 * Moviesign continues to explore Khôltar, reading the history of Shieldlord Angloam Dubrin before dining at Munsrum's Ready Ladle, beside the Turthtraal. Moviesign supped on vauge tea, mantara, and claevur, perhaps wishing a wiki writer's budget extended to better eateries. Or anything, really.
 * The problematic "Featured Videos" added to high-profile pages by FANDOM/Wikia have been taken down! But now we have to write our own scripts to do this right, and polish those high-profile pages. See the saga here and get involved.

17/03/2018

 * Lhynard left the wilderness and entered the city of Silverymoon for a break. He strolled around the streets of Southbank and Northbank; admired the great Moonbridge, the mighty House Invincible, and the impressive Rhyester's Matins; and gone shopping at the Shining Scroll; among other things. He now drinks ale at the Dancing Goat.
 * Dark T Zeratul returned to Neverwinter to learn firsthand of the city's battle against the villainous Cloaked Ascendancy, as well as their research into the death curse in Chult. Tracking the activities of the necromancer Morlanth of the Shroud, Zeratul studied the grim Shroud of Souls.
 * Johnnyriot999 has been traveling the Dales, thinking he can write a better travel guide than Volo (albeit by ripping him off first). He toured Scardale along the eponymous Scar, and entered Scardale Town under Northend Tower with the proper bribes, then rested at Four Dolphins Fountain. After shaking off the Shaking Plague, he went rafting down the River Ashaba.
 * At the behest of his masters in the Kraken Society, Falren began trekking through the Chultan jungles, exploring ancient ruins such as Ishau, Hisari, and Orolunga. After making contact with the aarakocra of Kir Sabal and escaping capture by the goblins of Yellyark, he eventually cozied up with the pirates of Jahaka Anchorage and settled down for a drink at Bosco's Bilge.

20/03/2018

 * We've got movie sign! Somehow we missed some news about the upcoming D&D movie (blame Google). It has a new script, the director of The Lego Batman Movie and Nightwing is in talks to direct, and Paramount is looking at filming in the United Kingdom.

18/05/2018

 * Have you ever wondered how to pronounce that "ch" sound in Fochlucan ( Loudspeaker.svg listen )? Or how to say remorhaz ( Loudspeaker.svg listen )? Wonder no more! After a huge effort led by Sirwhiteout and Lhynard, now articles from Aarakocra to Zuggtmoy include both IPA and English phonetic respellings, and many more will include audio samples over the next few weeks/months. Enjoy learning how to say the many strange names found across Toril.

26/05/2018

 * BadCatMan studied the ancient elven realm of Siluvanede but, after escaping plant creatures in Telardon, was hunted by the fey'ri of House Aelorothi. Hiding in Myth Adofhaer, he was frozen in stasis. He emerged months later, wondering where the time went.
 * Saya222 tracked the elusive drow god Vhaeraun to his realm on Colothys, but immediately forgot where it was and much about it. Upon leaving, Saya was taken prisoner by demodands, but escaped with the aid of stolen Vhaeraunite magic, like bladebend and darkfire.
 * With less danger, Daranios documented many other gods and their realms, from Valkur's Safe Harbor to Savras's The Eye. Then Daranios went for a walk and was swept up in the disturbing Wild Hunt, and later came face to unseen face with the Shadow Giant.
 * Regis87 added many more works to the archives, from the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Forgotten Realms, and Avatar comics series; to the Lords of Waterdeep, The Legend of Drizzt, Betrayal at Baldur's Gate, and Tyrants of the Underdark board games.
 * Once again, we remind everyone of the FRW's Past-Tense Policy. It doesn't mean everything's dead and gone, it's just an easier way of telling the stories of the Realms, just like in novels.

21/07/2018

 * Special planes issue! An intrepid team of planeswalkers—Moviesign, Sir Whiteout, Lhynard, and Daranios—visited divine realms and mapped the infinite planes (in less time than you'd think) in an endeavor to reconcile the various cosmological models so they make a modicum of sense, or at least are easier to navigate. They visited the Forbidden Plateau on Krigala, the Deep Forest in Tir na Og, and the Court on Lunia, among others. Meanwhile, Saya222 risked health and hope trekking across Oinos on Hades, visiting the spinal tower of Khin-Oin, home of the daemons, and then Glitterhell, before leaving impoverished too.
 * The planeswalkers were joined by newcomer Bloghdaw, who spoke in awe of the eladrin Court of Stars, led by Queen Morwel and her Consort Faerinaal.
 * We also welcome a Possessed Priest, who introduced us to the enchanter Vermulean, the centaur Maeldithar, and the guard captain Baldassar. The Priest has yet to say which fiend ails them, but I don't think heading down to Menzoberranzan will help.
 * Awakened from a sandy slumber in Zakhara, Artemaz slipped past Al-Amzija, a deadly black cloud of vengeance, to explore the wondrous ruins of the giant necropolis of Sokkar.
 * During another long stretch without clacks (sorry!), BadCatMan recovered from the featherlung plague (the excuse he's going with) at the House of the Moon. From the priests there, he learned of the goddess Selûne's travails during the Time of Troubles.
 * Finally, the Forgotten Realms Wiki cannot and will not use plagiarized text. It might look easy to copy-and-paste a passage from a sourcebook, but it's lazy and, more to the point, illegal. Copied passages and articles will be deleted and serial offenders blocked until they understand why this is a problem. If you find a copied passage, alert us or rewrite it, thanks.

7/08/2018

 * The Forgotten Realms Wiki saw its 26,000 article, with Arrow of Justice from the always-impressive Sir Whiteout. The good knight blasted back into Realmspace again, flying aboard the elven armada that fought in the great War of the Spheres, but the only conflict he saw was trading for spelljamming lore from a pushy dohwar. Going above and beyond, Sir Whiteout also conducted actual astronomy, making calculations of orbital periods and distances, the gravity of planets, and the atmospheric properties of Coliar. (Personally, I wonder if the cosmology is a highly complex 3-manifold.)
 * Meanwhile, Johnnyriot999 was kidnapped by pirates of the Inner Sea. While swabbing the decks, he heard tales of the great pirate captains—Immurk the Invincible, Methlas, and Thevren—and of the battle of the Fallen. Fortunately, he was rescued by his old friends in the Knights of the North, and hustled away, well, northward.
 * Regis87 has emerged from shadow-haunted crypts bearing back issues of Polyhedron! From Polyhedron #36 to Polyhedron #59, and onward, she's checking which magazines (sorry, "newszines") could give us Realmslore, from The Living City to Maskyr's Eye, and beyond.
 * Finally, remember that the Forgotten Realms Wiki is, as our name says, dedicated to the canon Forgotten Realms setting. We don't cover Eberron, Dragonlance, Greyhawk, or Nerath. Well, okay, we do, but only when Realmslore directly relates to those settings. But we definitely don't cover your tabletop game, player-character, or favorite streaming campaign. Try searching for a wiki dedicated to them, or make your own.

29/09/2018

 * Yes, I know: "current". Anyway, the FRW continues its crawl up FANDOM's rankings, jumping four places to a new peak rank as 20th top gaming wiki in the first week of September. We also receive 1.2 million total page views in a week.
 * Saya222 escaped from Carceri with a copy of the Book of Vile Darkness itself. Risking soul and sanity (if any yet remain), Saya read the tome and learned dark magic like apocalypse from the sky and Lahm's finger darts (eww). Slinking back among the drow, Saya made an exhaustive survey of their magic, learning of spells like spidereyes and summon spider, the attunement ritual, and items like the drow house insignia, the wand of viscid globs, and the literally creepy walking chest.
 * Johnnyriot999 ("Ruf" for short) and the Possessed Priest (of Oghma, I hear) collaborated on events of the Bhaalspawn crisis. Ruf explored Athkatla, capital of Amn; he noted the curious lack of temples in the Temple District, had saravva and dinner at the Harfin Draether tavern, then caught a play at the Crown Aflame theater. Meanwhile, the Priest went to Amkethran, a village in Tethyr, and stayed at the Zephir, while meeting Mayor Omar Haraad, hearing the sad story of Malla, and having a run-in with Captain Erelon.
 * We welcome barbarian editor Sturma, who's clashed with several notorious adventuring companies: the brutal mercenaries and assassins of the Four and the pranksters of Halfling Inc., as well as the Hunt and the Company of the Wolf.
 * If you're interested in editing the FRW, and you should be, we recommend using the Source Editor. The default Visual Editor doesn't work well with our templates or show our notices. The Source Editor is faster, easier, shows you how the simple code works, and is much less likely to go catastrophically wrong. If you're not logged in, use the drop-down menu next to the Edit button, then choose the Source tag. Or make an account and set the Source Editor as your default editor. Find a page to correct or expand, and get to work!

13/11/2018

 * Look up: do you like our restyled menu? We've been looking to polish and update the Main Page. If you have any thoughts or ideas, post a note at Forum:New Front Page.
 * Sailing north from the River District of Athkatla (and somehow crossing land), Ruf landed in Ravens Bluff and explored its luxurious Temple District. He went sightseeing in Altarside, visiting the Helmite Citadel of Protection and the Turning Wheel of Gond before grabbing a bite to eat at the famous Kettle of Many Things.
 * On fall break from teaching alchemy, Lhynard instead studied comparative biology, focusing on some of the strange mollusks of the Realms, including the dangerous stalactoids&mdash;the simple piercer and its magical and more highly evolved cousin, the darkmantle.
 * Returning to the matter of Siluvanede and the Seven Citadels' War, BadCatMan explored the ruins of Telardon, but had to flee the horrific greenbound trolls. He went next to the Temple Beyond Time to consult the Timespinners, but when he emerged, two months had passed and he'd forgotten to update the Clacks.

26/11/2018

 * The FRW has passed its 27,000 page! Lucky number 27,000 was Lhynard's Quasi-Elemental Plane of Salt, but don't get salty that it's a stub. Check out the Fountains of Creation and Swamp of Oblivion for other obscure elemental planes that helped him make that thousand.
 * After proving adept in Dungeon Command, Regis87 has thrown down the gauntlet, challenging her fellow editors to uncover lost spells in the Missing Magic Project! She added dying curse, stumble, and army for a strong start.
 * Artemaz ventured down the High Walk, meeting a dwarf actually named Surly Grumble. Boating down the Goliad River and Great Imphras River, he explored Damara, taking in the Halfling Downs, Waukeshire, and Soravia.
 * Ir'revrykal (named for a githyanki greatsword, we learned) documented twig blights, the dwarf cleric of Grumbar Boon Silverhoarde, the Tyrran Order of the Even-Handed, and the amulet of the planes, not to mention the books The Prince of Al-Qadim, Red Bess and the Kelpie's Regret, and How to Kiss Better. But who am I to judge guilty pleasures?

24/12/2018

 * Season's Greetings! We wish everyone a happy holiday tomorrow as we celebrate the return of our savior Waukeen, Our Lady of Gold and Liberty's Friend, on the day of her escape from Graz'zt's clutches in the Abyss, when she presumably comes bearing gifts for all.
 * Recently, BadCatMan, Lhynard, and Sir Whiteout ascended to the upper planes to continue a survey of celestial matters. We present this special celestials issue of the Clacks!
 * BadCatMan met with members of the orders of angelic devas—astral, monadic, and movanic—and was allowed to examine (but not touch) their celestial maces of disruption, rods of smiting, and swords of flaming (not the actual name).
 * Lhynard petitioned the throne archons for an audience with some of the supreme tome archons: Barachiel, Domiel, Zaphkiel, and Pistis Sophia. He was granted a vision of heaven and a mere taste of ambrosia, found to be literally distilled joy.
 * Meanwhile, Sirwhiteout explored more of the upper planes, boating down the River Oceanus through Elysium, passing through pleasant Amoria and rugged Eronia and into the swamps of Belierin, where he sighted the legendary hydra imprisoned there. However, he had nothing to show for his earlier work on the cloak of invisibility.

26/12/2018

 * Now, after all the gift-giving and sales, we hope everyone has a somber and reflective Orbar, remembering the darker sides of consumerism, greed, and miserliness.