 Cover | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Published | 1996 |
| Media type | |
Tangled Webs is a fantasy novel by Elaine Cunningham, set in the world of the Forgotten Realms, and based on the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. It is the second novel published in the "Starlight & Shadows" series. It was published in hardcover in April 1996, ISBN 978-0-7869-0516-4 and in paperback in May 1998, ISBN 978-0-7869-0698-7 with a paperback re-issue in March 2003, ISBN 978-0-7869-2959-7).
Tangled Webs follows drow wizard Liriel Baenre and Rashemen berserker Fyodor on a journey, which include escape from the Underdark and a sea voyage. [1] Due to finding a mysterious amulet windwalker, Liriel stumbles upon a mysterious runecraft, which supposedly would allow her to retain her drow magic on the surface. During the hectic escape, she meets Fyodor, who also searches for the amulet, as the witches of Rashemen told him it is a solution for his own problem. As a berserker, Fyodor is able to call upon magic, which allows him to fight despite injuries. However, as a child born in Time of Troubles, he cannot control his rage and see a difference between ally and enemy. The two heroes make an alliance, travelling together to the land of Rashemen with windwalker, while avoiding forces which would claim its power for themselves.
Trenton Webb reviewed Tangled Webs for Arcane magazine, rating it a 7 out of 10 overall. [1] He commented that "B-movies aren't just fun because you can spot the wires, invariably predict the clichéd plot and see the sets wobble from time to time. They're enjoyable because you get the feeling that the crew had a brilliant time making them. Tangled Webs shares this sense of tongue-in-cheek, self-mocking, gung-ho fun in a non-stop barrage of increasingly hostile situations hung extremely loosely around a sketchy plot. Liriel, the oddest Drow you ever met and Fyodor, her Beserker boyfriend, hex and hack their way through an overly long sea voyage from Skullport to Ruathym. The obligatory political intrigue is supplied by the conspiracies of the Northern powers of the Forgotten Realms." [1] He felt that "It's not the destination nor the schemes which are employed that are especially important though. It's the spirit that makes the book happen - the gut-spilling sword action, flashy spell casting and ensemble of characters pushes Tangled Webs from chapter to chapter with a wanton disregard for anything but having fun. The trip on the grand ship Elfmaid is made not just bearable but quite brilliant by the good Captain Hrolf setting up and solving all kinds of situations with a deft flick of a blade, a knowing glance or an impressive show of sheer bravado. His First Mate supplies sour-faced cynicism, and Xorsh the Sea-elf is your off-the-peg innocent. Together they roll across the ocean battling everything from Laskan pirates to vast Water Elementals." [1] Webb added that "With the principals foiling deadly threats at the last second while the supporting cast wander about inadvertently creating yet another world of trouble, each chapter of the book is an exciting adventure in itself. Unfortunately, some of the spells cast or actions taken are less than convincing, but nevertheless, it's pleasantly easy to get carried away with this wild romp." [1] He continued: "Sadly, the bubbling wave of ever-increasing adventuring energy falters short of the final chapter, which results in the villains it's taken Liriel 300 pages to meet being dispatched in a mere line or two. This really is a shame, because the archetypal adventure heroes developed in this book deserve a much bigger showdown, and these few lines seem woefully inadequate for the job at hand. What's more, these evil controllers of mighty magic and vast armies fought in the final battle prove less threatening than the ghoul on page four!" [1] Webb concluded his review by saying "Purists are bound to condemn Tangled Webs for Liriel's complete lack of Drowness. DMs trying to run the new Forgotten Realms North campaign may well curse it for giving away too many secrets of this new land. Literature heads will no doubt have a pop at it because it's a Dungeons & Dragons book and not a proper novel. But if, when you're completely honest, you prefer B-movies to art-house cinema, then you should give Tangled Webs a shot!" [1]
Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories. Several years later, Greenwood brought the setting to publication for the D&D game as a series of magazine articles, and the first Realms game products were released in 1987. Role-playing game products have been produced for the setting ever since, as have various licensed products including novels, role-playing video game adaptations, comic books, and the film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
The drow or dark elves are a dark-skinned and white-haired subrace of elves connected to the subterranean Underdark in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. The drow have traditionally been portrayed as generally evil and connected to the evil goddess Lolth. However, later editions of Dungeons & Dragons have moved away from this portrayal and preassigned alignment. More recent publications have explored drow societies unconnected to Lolth.
Drizzt Do'Urden is a fictional character appearing in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Drizzt was created by author R. A. Salvatore as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale Trilogy. Salvatore created him on a whim when his publisher needed him to replace one of the characters in an early version of the first book, The Crystal Shard. Drizzt has since become a popular heroic character of the Forgotten Realms setting, and has been featured as the main character of a long series of books, starting chronologically with The Dark Elf Trilogy. As an atypical drow, Drizzt has forsaken both the evil ways of his people and their home in the Underdark, in the drow city of Menzoberranzan.
Menzoberranzan, the "City of Spiders", is a fictional city-state in the world of the Forgotten Realms, a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. The city is located in the Upper Northdark, about two miles below the Surbrin Vale, between the Moonwood and the Frost Hills. It is famed as the birthplace of Drizzt Do'Urden, the protagonist of several series of best-selling novels by noted fantasy author R. A. Salvatore. Menzoberranzan has been developed into a video game and a tabletop RPG setting. Menzoberranzan has been described as "a perfect unjust state" and compared to Glaucon's vision of a state that is held together only by the fear of retribution.
Faerûn is a fictional continent and the primary setting of the Dungeons & Dragons world of Forgotten Realms. It is described in detail in several editions of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting with the most recent being the 5th edition from Wizards of the Coast, and various locales and aspects are described in more depth in separate campaign setting books. Around a hundred novels, several computer and video games and a movie use Faerûn as the setting.
The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in Dungeons & Dragons role-playing campaigns and Dungeons & Dragons-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore. It is described as a vast subterranean network of interconnected caverns and tunnels, stretching beneath entire continents and forming an underworld for surface settings. Polygon called it "one of D&D's most well-known realms".
Mystra is a fictional goddess in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
Volothamp "Volo" Geddarm, created by Jeff Grubb, is a fictional character of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
Elaine Cunningham is an American fantasy and science fiction author, especially known for her contributions to the Dungeons & Dragons role playing game campaign setting of Forgotten Realms.
Passage to Dawn is a 1996 fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore. It is the fourth and final book of his Legacy of the Drow series.
Starlight & Shadows is a series of novels by Elaine Cunningham, set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
The Lady Penitent is a series of novels by Lisa Smedman, set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting based on the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
City of the Spider Queen is a 160-page adventure module set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, for use with the 3rd edition of the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.
The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1996.
Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue is a system-neutral supplement to the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game published towards the end of 4th edition.
Daughter of the Drow is a fantasy novel by Elaine Cunningham, set in the world of the Forgotten Realms, and based on the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. It is the first novel in the "Starlight & Shadows" series. It was published in hardcover, August 1995, ISBN 978-0-7869-0165-4; and in paperback, September 1996, ISBN 978-0-7869-0514-0; paperback re-issue, February 2003, ISBN 978-0-7869-2929-0.
Curse of the Shadowmage is a fantasy novel by Mark Anthony, set in the world of the Forgotten Realms, and based on the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. It is the 11th novel published in the series "The Harpers". It was published in paperback, November 1995.
Cormyr: A Novel is a fantasy novel by Ed Greenwood and Jeff Grubb, set in the world of the Forgotten Realms, and based on the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. It is the first novel published in "The Cormyr Saga". It was published in hardcover in July 1996 ISBN 978-0-7869-0503-4, and in paperback in April 1998 ISBN 978-0-7869-0710-6.
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Corellon Larethian is the leader of the elven pantheon, and the god of Magic, Music, Arts, Crafts, Poetry, and Warfare. Corellon is also considered a member of the default D&D pantheon. Corellon is the creator and preserver of the elven race, and governs those things held in the highest esteem among elves. Corellon's symbol was originally a crescent moon; in the 4th edition Corellon's symbol is a silver star on a blue field.