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Kuldahar and the Ten Towns

So I was reading on the Forgotten Realms wiki, just to catch up with the geography of the Spine of the World. I alse read the article about the Ten Towns, and Kuldahar was not counted among them.

Is Kuldahar at all canon outside of the Icewind Dale games? If it is, then why is it not one of the Ten Towns?
booinyoureyesQuartzJuliusBorisovlolien
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  • JarrakulJarrakul Member Posts: 2,029
    I have no idea how canon Kuldahar is outside of IWD (it's on the FR wiki, but all the citations are to IWD), but it's not one of the Ten Towns. I suspect this is because it's a tiny druidic village, more a holy site than a town. It's also located in the Spine of the World, which I don't think is quite Icewind Dale proper (although it is where almost the entire game is set). That also explains why it's not on that map. The Spine is further South.
    The_New_RomanceJuliusBorisovlolien
  • OlvynChuruOlvynChuru Member Posts: 3,075
    I think Easthaven is oriented differently on this map than it is in Icewind Dale. On this map, Lac Dinneshere is north of Easthaven, but in the game it is south of the town. I'm guessing the map of Easthaven in the game is rotated about 180 degrees from this map.

    Anyway, back on topic, Kuldahar is probably to the southeast of this map.
    lolien
  • MathsorcererMathsorcerer Member Posts: 3,037
    Like many ancient maps, we can probably state that the in-game maps are really just approximations--from Kuldahar go generally northeast for a day, turn east by the triple-forked tree, and a two-day hike will bring you to Dragon's Eye, for example. In "reality", D&D would allow for mages to use the third-level spell flight to scout an area, or for rangers/druids to speak with the birds to get a feel for the general feel for the area outside the visual range of a person on the ground.
    elminsterlolien
  • FardragonFardragon Member Posts: 4,511
    I seem to recall the original IWD developers saying that the isometric game maps where not always oriented with North at the top.
    jackjacklolien
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
    booinyoureyeslolien
  • scriverscriver Member Posts: 2,072
    Generally, if it's not in a novel or campaign setting guide, it's not considered canon. Which is a shame, because the sites in ID are pretty cool.
    The_New_Romancejackjackbooinyoureyeslolien
  • MathsorcererMathsorcerer Member Posts: 3,037

    Minor objection: Kara-Tur is present in some detail in the Forgotten Realms Atlas; however, you are correct in that Al-Quadim is not, nor is Maztica--those places hadn't been invented yet when the Atlas got published.


    I have absolutely *no* idea what the updated canon map looks like. I suppose I should find one and see what things look like now.
    elminsterlolien
  • The_New_RomanceThe_New_Romance Member Posts: 839

    I have absolutely *no* idea what the updated canon map looks like. I suppose I should find one and see what things look like now.

    Is there such a thing as a comprehensive map of the realms? All the maps I've ever seen omitted things. I guess they just have to. MarkusTay on Candlekeep does maps which incorporate many places and sites from official publications, and they are really busy! A standard map of Faerun features maybe 10 per cent or so of the places that are actually there. Just like our real world maps...
    lolien
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    booinyoureyes
  • BelgarathMTHBelgarathMTH Member Posts: 5,653
    edited September 2014
    I'm for expanding the definition of "canon" to include texts and maps from the computer games as well as from the original source books. It's rare that the games directly contradict the source books. Instead, they add new areas, characters and stories, to make good computer games. If the game is good and isn't riddled with contradictions against the source books, let's add it to the canon.
    QuartzbooinyoureyesJuliusBorisovThacoBell
  • scriverscriver Member Posts: 2,072
    I completely disagree. That would mean developers would be forced to comply to even stricter sense of canon and constantly bounce things off of Wizards rather than be (relatively speaking - they're still not free to do whatever they wish, after all) free to do their own thing. I see computer games much as I see pnp campaigns - they're your adventures and you're free to what you want in them (as far as the game mechanics allows, of course), but Wizards isn't going to care what happened in them.
    The_New_Romance
  • DreadKhanDreadKhan Member Posts: 3,857
    Shandyr said:

    DreadKhan said:


    A famous tree in the North would be the Grandfather Tree. Which iirc is a treant.

    That sounds interesting to me. Do you have any more information on this?

    Not very much, its an ancient Elder Treant living in the High Forest that serves as a totem of the Uthgardt of the Tree Ghost tribe. I think the barbarians defend the tree from undead or something.
    [Deleted User]jackjackbooinyoureyes
  • DreadKhanDreadKhan Member Posts: 3,857
    Just took a look at the Grand History... no mention of the goings on in IWD. BG saga is canon in some ways, but not sure IWD is official. Yet. ;)
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