It's finally here: The Forgotten Realms Wiki Presents Juniper's Companion to Venturesome Cookery—283 pages with 61 delectable dishes and over 120 recipes direct from the Forgotten Realms, as well as cooking tips for the layperson, updated magical items and spells with a culinary theme, classic and new Realmslore, and short tales and adventure ideas, with original artwork and color photographs throughout. It's the first sourcebook—and cookbook!—written, illustrated, and compiled by the talented team behind the Forgotten Realms Wiki, adapting and expanding upon the popular cooking blog by wiki writer Artie Pavlov. Also featuring are contributions by Forgotten Realms creator Ed Greenwood and fellow scribe Steven E. Schend; lore and lyrics for a new Realms song, "Echoes of the Chosen" by Elizaveta; and cover art by 5th-edition D&D artist Brian Valeza. And it's out now on DMs Guild and DriveThruRPG!
Join halfling wizardess Lady Juniper Churlgo of the Churlgo Cheese family business (together with her long-suffering gnome editor Monoselic Wordwrangle and guest writers including the Old Mage Elminster Aumar himself) as she presents in her battered food-stained scrapbook an eclectic smattering of recipes from across the Realms. Inspired by Volothamp Geddarm, Juniper's quill tells (mostly) reliable and true tales of her travels and her research into each dish and gives helpful guidance to take you through each one, all in her inimitable chatty and friendly manner. It's the authentic guide to the flavors of Faerûn by those who know them best.
So, the next time you're cooking, we just might have something tasty and venturesome for you to try out. And when we say venturesome, we mean it: we have genuine recipes for boar, hare, rothé, snail, snake, and even stirge (and the stirges were tricky to catch), plus aggressive vegetables and baked goods for vegetarians. But don't fear: we also have simpler recipes and tips for novice cooks too. Juniper's Companion to Venturesome Cookery is by fans, for fans, and for your friends and family, both in your kitchen and around the dining table, whether for dinner or gaming night. Bon appétit!
This time, Juniper Churlgo brings us a special, commemorative dish: Queen Fee's Last Meal. Enjoy this broth, tarts, and smallbites and remember a great queen. Until next time.
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This tenday's meal is a slight deviation from the norm for us. It is not really a single dish, but a thematic meal... A historic last meal. Queen Filfaeril Selazair Obarskyr, the Dragon Queen, the beloved wife of King Azoun IV, famed for her stately affairs and being featured in a scandalous and popular smutty chapbook, Filfaeril Bound and Willing. She was a powerful woman, the leader of the Forest Kingdom of Cormyr, known for her intellect, alliance forging, and regal presence. Notably, she ran a secret network called the Queen's Blades that was tasked with serving and protecting Cormyr. Sadly, I never got to meet Queen Fee, nor did I ever come across her daughter, Alusair Nacacia Obarskyr, the Steel Regent of Cormyr. According to the royal archives, Queen Fee passed in the Year of the Walking Man, 1390 DR, surrounded by friends, family, and confidants.
Her passing was foreseen, expected, and yet sudden. Alusair, Glarasteer Rhauligan, and Tessaril Winter were present in the Queen's last moments, and, by some accounts, she was even visited by her beloved and long-dead husband, Azoun. The same account of the Queen's last moment also preserved information on her last meal: a simple serving of duck broth, shrimp tarts, grapes, and cheese. And in my attempts to honor this great historic woman, I am recreating her last meal. We are going to prepare a simple and comforting, gently spiced duck broth, with nothing but gently simmered duck meat and fresh greens—a typical recipe from Castle Obarskyr's kitchens, taken directly from Twenty Years of Feasts of Royal Intrigues: One Maid's Memoirs, available from the great fortress-library of Candlekeep. The tart recipe is presented to you courtesy of Selavar's Inn in Suzail, the capital city of Cormyr. It might be different from the tarts made for Queen Fee, but the manuscript never went into such details, so I am willing to do some minor improvisation. Be prepared to spend a good amount of time making the broth, but the rest of the meal comes together quickly and easily for your guests. Shall we begin?
Goliaths were a nomadic race of humanoids who roamed the cold, mountainous regions of Toril, but their exploratory nature occasionally brought individuals or small groups to more temperate and populated areas. A typical goliath stood between 7 and 8 feet (210 to 240 cm) tall and weighed 280–340 lb (127–154 kg). They were very strong and had extremely tough skin that varied in shade from gray to brown with distinctive markings in darker shades. Goliaths believed these markings were an abstract map of their destiny and for this reason never tattooed themselves for fear of altering their fate for the worse.
Fiercely competitive, especially with themselves, goliaths kept a running account of their accomplishments and personal bests, and always desired to improve. Those not familiar with goliath culture could misconstrue this as boasting, but to them it was the matter-of-fact measure of their lives—goliaths looked upon cheating, gloating, holding grudges, and whining with disdain. They lived by the maxim "Today's rival is tomorrow's teammate."
Goliaths tried to get along with anyone that didn't threaten their livelihood, but expected everyone to pull their own weight and contribute to an endeavor. They were particularly fond of dwarves and their weapons-crafting skills, enough that goliaths would venture underground to seek out trading opportunities. They were known to hunt with humanrangers and druids, but were a bit awestruck by elves that were old enough to have first-hand knowledge of their ancestors.
...And then there’s the party's cleric. Baldric has always had an unorthodox approach to divinity. While other folk of faith hitch their wagons to one god or another, this cleric figures that if his magic and might can serve many gods and reap the rewards of the entire pantheon, everyone wins. But there's a price to be paid for the power to protect Faerûn. And every debt must one day be collected. Baldric finds himself cut off from his connection to the divine when a mysterious and otherworldly entity starts to invade his negotiations. And this entity wants more than Baldric's service—it wants his soul.
The Fallbacks race to free their cleric from his shadowy debtholder, but the heat is on—in more ways than one—because the being trying to lay claim to Baldric isn't exactly a god. Forget striking bargains with deities. To get out of this jam, the Fallbacks will have to deal with dragons.
The game begins with the player controlling two heroes in a small village, which comes under attack by evil drow. They follow them into the Underdark to the mighty drow city of Menzoberranzan. Along the way, they encounter companions of varying races, and fight off foes from gnolls to yochlols and assemble the powerful Helm of Spiders. Notably, it is the first video game to star Drizzt Do'Urden.
Penbroc was a tiny kingdom in the Whamite Isles in the Sea of Fallen Stars with multiple monarchs, such as Queen Sweetsia and King Ralph MCVI, and a whole host of colorful nobility. The kingdom fought the other realms of the Whamite Isles in a series of wild conflicts, but was ultimately destroyed.
Xexillidaulgrymm was a fang dragon who suffered from a strange case of split personality, apparently linked to a soul-stealing amulet. The dragon was obsessed with defeating the amulet's "bearers", and terrorized Zazesspur for a while in pursuit of this.
Jarlathin Mantlepard was a big-boned Cormyrean noble who was rumored to have been assassinated in Sembia—according to some accounts, by his own wife and daughter. In truth, he died from heartstop during a particularly festive revelry.
Sultan was a title used for positions of authority across several different cultures. In Zakhara, a sultan often referred to a sovereign ruler, the equivalent to a king. In Calimshan, it usually referred to a "military prince", as opposed to a vizar or "merchant prince".
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