Astronomy and the Realms

[Zogg]

So I'm going to be playing a cleric of Grumbar (elemental god of the earth) pretty soon and eventually he may go on to be an Elemental Archon. Well, I anticipate having to make strong RP arguments as to why Earth is the 'dominant' element and I'm wondering what resources, if any, outline Realmsfolk knowledge/thoughts on planets, stars, and astronomy in general etc.

The reason I'm wondering is that there is obviously a Sun and a moon in the Realms - and I imagine my cleric could get confronted by a cleric of Kossuth (elemental god of fire) who would argue that without the *sun* the earth would be nothing but a lifeless ball of ice. But my cleric could respond by saying that the sun, like all stars, eventually (after millions of years) lose their flame and become burnt out balls of, you guessed it earth.

BUT! there are gods/goddesses attached to the sun and the moon, so that throws another wrench into the mix. Ultimately my cleric will say that the earth is the 'cradle' for all the other elements and thus is the dominant one. But if anyone has anything to add please do!

 

[thedangerranger]

[The reason I'm wondering is that there is obviously a Sun and a moon in the Realms - and I imagine my cleric could get confronted by a cleric of Kossuth (elemental god of fire) who would argue that without the *sun* the earth would be nothing but a lifeless ball of ice. But my cleric could respond by saying that the sun, like all stars, eventually (after millions of years) lose their flame and become burnt out balls of, you guessed it earth.]

Well there is always the Underdark that doesn't need the Sun. I guess it all depends on your point of view. What is the most important thing? Humans? Life in general?
No matter which element you pick, total absence of it would result in loss of life. So you could use the rationale that more people live in an Earth-heavy location (in the underdark) than live in a Fire-heavy location. You'll run into Water problems, so just use another rationale at that point.
As to actual astronomy and cosmology, no idea. Old SpellJammer might have some info on that.

 

[Orias]

There's a couple planets adjacent to Toril mentioned in canon, either in passing in the 3rd Ed book, or maybe the 2nd Ed one, I can't remember them right now, but I will look them up when I get home.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Well, the Spelljammer supplement "Realmspace" details the solar system of the Forgotten Realms in great detail - I believe it can be bought online as a PDF file somewhere...

And as for your cleric, just make up some good arguments that support his views. Who cares if they are "real" or not? The important thing is that he believes in them.

And that explains a lot about religions...

 

[Gregor]

So I'm going to be playing a cleric of Grumbar (elemental god of the earth) pretty soon and eventually he may go on to be an Elemental Archon.

Zogg, if you are playing in 3.0, then I would suggest either being a Druid or take the feat "Education" from the FRCS. Why you ask? Well you need lots of ranks in Knowledge Nature to be an Elemental Archon and Clerics have to pay cross-class for that - and clerics dont have that many skill points. Education will let you take all knowledge skills as class skills so that eases things for you.

As for your reasoning as to why Earth is the dominant element...well I think you already hit the nail on the head. Faerun is made from earth and all other elements exist upon, above or below it. Without earth there would be nothing to grow the wood that fire burns or to hold the water etc. I doubt you'll have to deal with a zealous Kossuthian cleric as they are generally busy trying to murder Isthishians (water).

Cheers,

 

[Zogg]

Thanks Gregor, for the advice. I've actually done some research on the Elemental Archon class at Sean K. Reynolds website - he discussed the know:nature 8 rank pre-req. with one of the two Eric/k's that authored the F&P book and apparently they screwed up on that pre-req because they thought clerics started with know:nature as a class skill! So they responded by saying that the know:nature pre-req should be 4 which is more fair...now the elemental clerics can obtain the PrC at 6th level instead of 13th! My DM acquiesced - though if she hadn't I would have taken the "educated" feat as you suggest. But I'm glad I don't have to!

 

[Umbran]

...I imagine my cleric could get confronted by a cleric of Kossuth (elemental god of fire) who would argue that without the *sun* the earth would be nothing but a lifeless ball of ice. But my cleric could respond by saying that the sun, like all stars, eventually (after millions of years) lose their flame and become burnt out balls of, you guessed it earth.

Um, that's real-world knowledge creeping into the game, isn't it? Do the characters have many ranks in Knowledge (astrophysics) to know that start burn out, or that the heat and life in the world is dependant on the sun?

The characters ar more likely to say what they want, rather than what is technically correct, because there's not a lot o scientific rigor in most fantasy worlds. It may be that the earth cleric thinks that, quite obviously, the sun goes around the planet, and thus the planet is the center of all things.