Ed Greenwood

Ed Greenwood (born July 21, 1959) is a Canadian fantasy writer and the creator of the Forgotten Realms game world. He began writing articles about the Forgotten Realms for Dragon magazine beginning in 1979, and subsequently sold the rights to the setting to TSR, the creators of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, in 1986. He has written many Forgotten Realms novels, as well as numerous articles and D&D game supplement books.

Early life and the Forgotten Realms Greenwood grew up in the upscale Toronto suburb of Don Mills. He began writing stories about the Forgotten Realms as a child, starting in the mid-1960s; they were his "dream space for swords and sorcery stories". According to Greenwood, his players' thirst for detail pushed him to further develop the Forgotten Realms setting: "They want[ed] it to seem real, and work on 'honest jobs' and personal activities, until the whole thing [grew] into far more than a casual campaign." Greenwood's articles in The Dragon often featured the wizard Elminster describing magic items, monsters, and spells. The following year, Greenwood and coauthor Jeff Grubb wrote and published the Forgotten Realms Campaign Set (1987).

Personal life and other activities Greenwood has published over two hundred articles in Dragon Magazine and Polyhedron Newszine, is a lifetime charter member of the Role Playing Game Association (RPGA) network, and has been a Gen Con Game Fair guest of honor many times. Greenwood has written over thirty-five novels for TSR, and written, co-written, or contributed to over two hundred books and game products from other publishers. Greenwood has also contributed to The Book of All Flesh (2001), an anthology based on All Flesh Must Be Eaten, He is co-creator (with fantasy novelist Lynn Abbey) of the Mornmist fantasy setting.

Setting Castlemourn is a land searching for its past. Its people are unaware of their origins, the greatness of their history, or what disaster brought about the Dark Age that has engulfed the land. Some three hundred years before the setting's current era, there existed a magical place of shining towers and marvelous wonders called the Realm of Castles. Legends tell of a great war against fell creatures that destroyed the realm, leaving scorched ruins and crumbling citadels. Whatever befell this realm was so terrible that the gods have "cordoned" it off. No one is permitted to leave Castlemourn and those who find their way there, do so at their own peril, as adventurers, treasure hunters, and questors scour the land searching for relics, artifacts, and clues to their past. Castlemourn is a post-apocalyptic fantasy setting where kingdoms fight for power through political intrigue and outright warfare; where the brave seek their fortunes in dangerous ruins, and where everyone fears the unspeakable evil that shadows their land.

Races In Castlemourn, one can find almost all of the core races, except half-orc. However, their base abilities all changed in some ways. Dwarves: Dwarves are a stout miner race, just like in the core settings. However, they perceive the world as an illusion, so they are more prone to be affected by illusions, but can ignore real dangers, as if they were only illusions. Elves: Elves are lithe creatures of the woods, who glow with light, and therefore hardly can hide from others. Half-Elves: Just like their elven ancestors, they glow, but with a dimmer light. Halflings: Small people, who are the masters of forging magical items. Gnomes: Gnomes are little humanoids, who swore to commit a great task in their lives. Godaunts: Fell beasts, who are looked down by other races. They are the equivalent of the half-orc. Thaele: Vampire-like mysterious race.

Classes There is only one extra class beside the core classes of D&D: the buccaneer. The buccaneers are pirates, seafaring swashbucklers. There are six prestige classes as well: dusked, faithless one, rhymesword, servant of the Seven, truesword knight and waymaster.

Awards and honors Greenwood won "best player" at the 1984 Gen Con AD&D Open tournament and several Gamer's Choice Awards and Origins Awards for his game design. He received the Port Hope Civic Awards Arts & Culture Award 2019. He was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association Hall of Fame in 2022.