| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 14 Aug 2008 : 16:37:48
FRCS Excerpts: Amn, War Wizard (the War Wizard one is at the bottom of the page, under the map). |
| 23 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Uzzy |
Posted - 19 Aug 2008 : 05:23:02
quote:
The only real difference between this Amn and the older Amn, as far as I can see, is that this Amn is just an extreme of the old Amn. Otherwise, what's the difference?
Which is the point, and probably applies to the rest of the Shattered Realms. Namely that it's gone from a place of nuance to a place of 'extreme, in your faceness'.
There's a term for things like that. A trope, called the Planet of Hats, where everything is defined by one or two traits. It's sad to see. |
| Pandora |
Posted - 19 Aug 2008 : 05:12:40
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
quote:
Originally posted by Pandora
Well I am a fan of enabling people to think for themselves and be creative instead of suggesting stereotypes. Thus I would think a general non-country-specific book would be great, which aims at making people think about the environment and about what is needed to survive in a society.
Well yes, that would be useful too.
The "problem" with a generic work of this type is that you cant really sell it to the same people again ... and again ... and again, like many of us have several generations of Forgotten Realms campaign books and boxes. That is the main reason why no one ever does it I guess, and because its difficult to write. |
| ShadezofDis |
Posted - 18 Aug 2008 : 15:59:53
quote:
Originally posted by Uzzy
It's sad to see Amn turned into such a silly place. Black Isle did such a good job with it too, as did Schend.
And it seems the War Wizards are now one trick ponies. That's also sad.
The only real difference between this Amn and the older Amn, as far as I can see, is that this Amn is just an extreme of the old Amn. Otherwise, what's the difference?
A few more Halflings. A more corrupt government. Still have the Cowled Wizards, still have the Shadow Thieves (at least they didn't draw a direct tie to Shar . . . yet).
I really, honestly, see no real difference. |
| Uzzy |
Posted - 15 Aug 2008 : 18:30:54
It's sad to see Amn turned into such a silly place. Black Isle did such a good job with it too, as did Schend.
And it seems the War Wizards are now one trick ponies. That's also sad. |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 15 Aug 2008 : 15:29:24
quote:
Originally posted by Pandora
Well I am a fan of enabling people to think for themselves and be creative instead of suggesting stereotypes. Thus I would think a general non-country-specific book would be great, which aims at making people think about the environment and about what is needed to survive in a society.
Well yes, that would be useful too. |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 15 Aug 2008 : 15:15:36
quote:
Originally posted by ShadezofDis
Oh, I didn't pick that up from the excerpt, I took it to mean that you'd have to bribe a corrupt official, which are legion. Which is just a bit more extreme than Amn tends to be presented as. I'll have to check it again, only read it once. :)
That part is actually in the FRCG excerpt. |
| Tyranthraxus |
Posted - 15 Aug 2008 : 14:41:46
quote:
Originally posted by Fire Wraith
Looking over so much of this stuff of late, I'm tempted to draw up a tongue-in-cheek Faerūn of the year 2000 DR - complete with modern nation states, weaponry (magic-based technology analogues of course), modern-style politics, probably in something of a Cold War, or world-war II era, type... After all, I could probably abuse enough parallels and reuse enough place names, right? It's a 500 year time jump, anything's possible. 
Of course, WotC's upcoming fan policy would probably render it all unpostable anyway...
...that is, if they didn't miss the joke, and try to use it for the 5th edition setting. 
When I first read about the spellplague I started a side project. A steampunk campaign in the Realms, but we never started... |
| Pandora |
Posted - 15 Aug 2008 : 07:59:25
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
It is, although I'm always a fan of roleplaying suggestions, and it's possible to get a good idea from them even if most of them are "obvious". What's obvious to one person might be something another person never even thought of.
Well I am a fan of enabling people to think for themselves and be creative instead of suggesting stereotypes. Thus I would think a general non-country-specific book would be great, which aims at making people think about the environment and about what is needed to survive in a society.
An easy example is my art classes in school from some decades ago: We always painted watercolor pictures and never got any hints on how to achieve effects with that technique. Only very rarely (mabye 5-6 times spread over 13 years) did we create something with a different technique and didnt get help on the how to "work with a technique". A much better way would be to split the lessons into "learn a technique" sessions and "be creative and choose which technique you want". I would have used simple crayons most of the time if given the choice.
Now - after seeing the series "Palettes" on ARTE - I have developed a much bigger interest in the subject, because this series describes how some of the old masterpieces were created and that is a very interesting story for many of them. It sometimes took years to finish the paintings compared to the 45 minute lessons we had. Incidently I will have a much bigger focus on the subject of creating artwork in a campaign now than simply taking it for granted. |
| Fire Wraith |
Posted - 15 Aug 2008 : 04:30:31
Looking over so much of this stuff of late, I'm tempted to draw up a tongue-in-cheek Faerūn of the year 2000 DR - complete with modern nation states, weaponry (magic-based technology analogues of course), modern-style politics, probably in something of a Cold War, or world-war II era, type... After all, I could probably abuse enough parallels and reuse enough place names, right? It's a 500 year time jump, anything's possible.
Of course, WotC's upcoming fan policy would probably render it all unpostable anyway...
...that is, if they didn't miss the joke, and try to use it for the 5th edition setting. |
| chance87 |
Posted - 15 Aug 2008 : 04:24:41
Is it just me, or do these (especially the Amn excerpt) read like the pick-a-path books I read when I was a kid?
Looks like they dialed back the reading level a bit...guess that'll help pull in some younger players. (Looks woefully at the growing number of gray hairs on that poor guy in the mirror.) |
| ShadezofDis |
Posted - 15 Aug 2008 : 02:36:12
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
quote:
Originally posted by ShadezofDis
So. . . Amn is the same?
Not quite. Apparently, any crime is legal as long as you pay a price for it (and I don't just mean a covert bribe--I'm talking about a legal price). With a government like that, I'm honestly surprised that anyone would want to live there.
Oh, I didn't pick that up from the excerpt, I took it to mean that you'd have to bribe a corrupt official, which are legion. Which is just a bit more extreme than Amn tends to be presented as. I'll have to check it again, only read it once. :) |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 15 Aug 2008 : 01:53:30
quote:
Originally posted by Faraer
The write-up is headed by a chest-beating action-movie-style quote glorifying not Cormyr but the speaker.
True--I guess they decided to quote one of the more arrogant, egotistical war wizards. |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 15 Aug 2008 : 01:48:16
quote:
Originally posted by Pandora
Reading the description of Spellhold I saw the invisible sign which says "The module for Spellhold is already in the making". Too obvious for my taste.
Heh.
quote:
A background of "your grandfather was an adventurer and thats why you wanted to become one too" is one which a braindead zombie could have come up with ...
It is, although I'm always a fan of roleplaying suggestions, and it's possible to get a good idea from them even if most of them are "obvious". What's obvious to one person might be something another person never even thought of. |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 15 Aug 2008 : 01:43:23
quote:
Originally posted by ShadezofDis
So. . . Amn is the same?
Not quite. Apparently, any crime is legal as long as you pay a price for it (and I don't just mean a covert bribe--I'm talking about a legal price). With a government like that, I'm honestly surprised that anyone would want to live there. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 14 Aug 2008 : 23:44:56
Let's not get into real-world politics, please. |
| Faraer |
Posted - 14 Aug 2008 : 22:52:39
So the War Wizards have been redefined in lore from investigators to the 'marching' battle mages of the FRCS prestige class that read as if someone had read the name 'War Wizard' but nothing about them (much as the gods have now become the telenovela characters the least representative earlier sources drew them as). The political situation of Cormyr has shifted, seemingly, to accommodate that shift in play. The write-up is headed by a chest-beating action-movie-style quote glorifying not Cormyr but the speaker. The anachronistic and unRealmsian term 'surgical strikes', combined with the 'us-vs-Netheril' theme, is horribly evocative of modern US-led war. |
| Pandora |
Posted - 14 Aug 2008 : 22:19:45
Even though they add something called "Roleplaying Tips" in there they manage to get the worst possible job done by giving pretty precise lists of how to behave. The much better version would be a general version of "how to roleplay" and then have people figure it out how to combine a character of "background X" with the rest of the group.
Reading the description of Spellhold I saw the invisible sign which says "The module for Spellhold is already in the making". Too obvious for my taste.
A background of "your grandfather was an adventurer and thats why you wanted to become one too" is one which a braindead zombie could have come up with ... |
| The Red Walker |
Posted - 14 Aug 2008 : 21:49:18
Ohh Ohhh can I be an "Enigmatic Vigilante" and a "Hunter of Monsters" at the same time????
BLEECH......how creative. |
| Lord Nemes |
Posted - 14 Aug 2008 : 20:16:52
Just to note that it's from FRPG and not the FRCS |
| ShadezofDis |
Posted - 14 Aug 2008 : 19:19:18
So. . . Amn is the same? |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 14 Aug 2008 : 19:02:01
quote:
Originally posted by HawkinstheDM
*winces and determines to read later*
Heh, I can't even get the excerpt to come up.
EDIT: I see it now. Interesting, how Spellhold from the BG2 CRPG made it's way in there (that said, it's now abandoned). |
| Hawkins |
Posted - 14 Aug 2008 : 18:59:50
*winces and determines to read later* |
| ShadezofDis |
Posted - 14 Aug 2008 : 18:53:56
*cross fingers*
*download*
;) |
