| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 11 Dec 2014 : 19:31:15
As always, props to ENWorld for bringing us the news: http://www.enworld.org/forum/content.php?2148-WotC-s-Chris-Perkins-Talks-Realms-Sundering#.VInv2Ifqk7A (EN World news for the interview).
The interview at Den of the Geek: http://www.denofgeek.com/books-comics/dungeons-dragons/32990/chris-perkins-interview-dungeons-dragons-the-sundering-and-shared-worlds |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Dark Wizard |
Posted - 01 Jan 2015 : 21:42:35
I think we're all quite aware of the shrinkage in the 5E team compared to past D&D teams. WotC seems ever more focused on Magic, understandable given it has always outperformed the other product lines of Wizards (except perhaps for a short time when they had the Pokemon license at the height of that wave). It's an unpopular thing to say, but I think 4E did much more damage to the D&D brand than anyone wants to admit. Not only did it deliver a significant segment of the 3E fan base to a former associate company turned competitor (now turned industry leader); it also showed to Hasbro that D&D can't breakthrough like its other product lines. Not to say D&D cannot ever breakthrough, but corporations are generally risk adverse and 4E overreached in the one good chance it had to show its potential. The retraction in production for the comparably conservative 5E roll-out is likely the result of this.
The 4E transition squandered their budget by making mildly amusing commercials done in an irreverent manner that tried to be revolutionary for a 35 year old product. RPGs and IP aren't technology, they don't become obsolete in quite the same way. Instead of having fun with D&D, they made fun of D&D. How much more successful would 4E have been had the tone they tried to sell it with was in cooperation with its respectable age and history instead of seeking to throw off its old features using references only regular players would understand anyway.
Granted movies seem to be the primary way for IP to reach the next level, but apart from that, a few digital animated shorts probably won't break the bank (and not tied up in litigation as far as I know). They could solidify D&D's presence on the net. That would be something no other RPG or tabletop game company has and something all tabletop RPGs are quite weak at.
If Hasbro seeks to keep the brand alive by spending no money, that's their prerogative, but this isn't the 80s when there was no real competition. Not only is D&D competing with other pen & paper games in the form of traditional D&D-like RPGs (PFRPG, Numenera/Cypher, 13th Age/Archmage), but also truly 'revolutionary' RPGs like Fate, Fiasco, FFG's Star Wars line (any well-produced game that uses an entirely different engine than d20 derivatives) and even boardgames with RPG features; they're actually all contending with the titans of the video game industry where even the most modest game (indeed even indie games) will trounce any tabletop game in terms of multi-media coverage.
Leave D&D to simmer for too long with a shoe-string budget or inappropriate advertising, especially the novels, and Hasbro might find their brand worthless despite preceding the new hot fantasy franchise by decades. Look at what happened to Disney's John Carter (of Mars), a venerable pulp sci-fi IP that was a foundational source for countless other IPs (including D&D), but despite the big budget movie, its poor marketing sunk it before it could regain its space in the cultural consciousness.
Look at other IP like DC and Marvel, who are not only into movies, but TV animation, live action TV, video games, etc. We've suffered through a lot of poor material on those channels, but they keep going at it and when a great TV show like Batman the Animated Series comes out, it becomes an icon for a generation. Look at how the Arkham Asylum games have carved out its space in the video game market. Much the same way the Infinity Engine games defined Western CRPGs for a generation and have the longevity to be released on tablets. The games uplifted the name Baldur's Gate amongst an audience wider than just tabletop RPGs, they were important enough that the city and characters were featured in the Sundering adventures, and Minsc being only a sidekick character in the games has his own comic now. How many D&D characters not created for comics can say that (aside from cameos by Elminster and the like)? Probably only Drizzt, who gained his popularity through novels, another media avenue apart from RPGs.
Wizards and Hasbro could be doing a lot with D&D that doesn't involve movies or spending money on advertising. |
| Neil Bishop |
Posted - 01 Jan 2015 : 14:14:59
The fundamental problem with your ideas, Dark Wizard, is that you're making an assumption that WotC wants to spend money promoting D&D.
Remember, they're owned by Hasbro. Hasbro doesn't care about ongoing support, per se; they're looking for a major score from a movie with its spin-off products and, until that happens, I suspect that they're just pumping in enough support to keep the D&D brand alive. Of course, anyone who disputes this assessment will correctly point out that there is no publicly available evidence to support my assertions but look at these facts:
- D&D has gone from having a SVP or similar title as its head in the person of Bill Slavicsek to Mike Mearls carrying the title of senior manager (although titles at WotC seem to change a few times a year). In corporate-speak, that's a major downgrading of the business unit.
- The design and development team numbers about 10 people. The brand team seems to be running around with 6-8 people.
- There was absolutely no effort made to try and turn the 40th anniversary into something. Compare that to the 25th anniversary where, inter alia, we got some really nice reprints in a silver case.
- Novels are just about dead. I think there are three authors working on FR right now. That's unprecedented!
In short, D&D is on life support pending the resolution of the movie rights issue.
Oh, and I like your ideas, Dark Wizard. I wish WotC was private again so we could have seen some or all of the things you suggest. |
| Dark Wizard |
Posted - 25 Dec 2014 : 22:05:58
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
How about this - Lets see what they do.
True, we haven't seen the full extent of their 5E plans, and the upcoming releases may push Wizards' game (as in whole operation) up another notch. This is something I've always felt Wizards had the best chance to pull off out of all the tabletop RPG companies, mostly because they're at least nominally backed by a relative titan in the toy industry.
Still, what they have shown us tells us a lot and it has been somewhat meek even by industry standards. This year was the 40th anniversary of D&D and the premier of a new edition. There really should have been an exponentially larger bang associated with this momentous set of events. GenCon should have almost been D&D-Con given the significance of this year.
I don't know, maybe instead of just interviews with game designers and TSR alumni, maybe reach out to gamers working in the video game industry (games like WoW, FF, LoL, DA, etc. or associated companies, including the people at places like Obsidian, where they've shown themselves gaming). Reach out more towards writers outside of WotC's network, similar to Mark Zug who is writing the Minsc comic speaking about the influences of D&D on his career, but how about creative people WotC doesn't have on an actual job/assignment right now. Show the impact of D&D beyond those immediately working for you (even if the interviewee is compensated).
What about celebrities, hire them to play a game with other celebrities and film it like Tabletop with Wil Wheaton. The one episode of Tabletop featuring an RPG was Green Ronin's Dragon AGE, WotC should have paid for a special episode featuring D&D. Find ways to get the word out there beyond the typical tabletop RPG gaming circles.
I don't even recall 5E getting animated shorts like 4E had. A change of pace would have been to have a few shorts done in a more serious and cool (actually cool, now "4E cool") manner to show the change in attitude from irreverent (4th wall breaking) to getting down to the roots of gaming (fighting evil and being heroes).
Maybe have each member of the party premier in their own minutes long vignette, the design of the character is drawn from a prior edition of D&D (Original or BECMI, 1E, 2E, 3E, 4E, even the D&D cartoon) but updated. Their mini adventures eventually draws them together into a big finale where they team up in the 5E era to defeat a shared villain (drawn from a classic D&D adventure). They win and strike the dynamic party pose, only to be interrupted by a looming evil arriving to challenge them. One of the characters says something witty and we break away into the first steps towards action. Maybe a bit cheesy, but done well it could really inspire people and show the history of the game. This stuff writes itself.
The D&D aspects might enter in with the narrator doubling as a disembodied DM pausing at intervals with a gaming or skill decision. The character makes a choice in character and the effect is visualized as the typical sparkling magical effect with stylized die rolls and attributes incorporated into the design.
The Sundering CGI intro was nice, but it was all set up and no execution and it featured a new character absolutely no one knew anything about or cared about. Plus he was older and a passive quest giver. If anyone pays attention to video game trailers, the focus is usually on the possible player avatars, show people what they can be and become. That is unless you can hire the voice talent and likeness of Kevin Spacey, but that's outside of the budgets of most games save for quadruple-A-level mega-franchises. |
| Irennan |
Posted - 25 Dec 2014 : 17:27:13
As long as they do something of substance with the Realms. As Dark Wizard said, they don't have unlimited time and there are competing alternatives out there, while WotC is cutting published FR material more and more (to the point where their yearly FR releases plan mostly consists of Drizzt novels and like 2 generic adventure paths). |
| Markustay |
Posted - 25 Dec 2014 : 16:56:54
How about this - Lets see what they do. |
| Irennan |
Posted - 25 Dec 2014 : 11:26:12
Thank you. |
| Dark Wizard |
Posted - 25 Dec 2014 : 05:02:35
quote:
Originally posted by Irennan
Forgive my ignorance, but what did Marvel do?
It wasn't any specific event or reboot, but a branding style known as Marvel NOW! that restarted the numbering with new creative teams and a pseudo-reintroduction of the character or team.
This was also the refresh point for some characters, notably the switch of Ms. Marvel to Captain Marvel, and the start of the new Ms. Marvel taking over the old title, etc. It is also a reason to given some of the characters more modern costumes, mostly more inline with the cinematic universe. In general, that involved less spandex all around.
The purpose was probably to give new readers, and lapsed readers, a good entry point to get back into comics. |
| Fellfire |
Posted - 25 Dec 2014 : 03:38:20
Forgotten Realms/Quantum Leap?! |
| Irennan |
Posted - 25 Dec 2014 : 02:52:00
Forgive my ignorance, but what did Marvel do? |
| Dark Wizard |
Posted - 25 Dec 2014 : 01:55:12
Which is silly because the superhero characters from the Big 2 comicbook publishers are up to 75 years old (and most others reaching their 50th anniversary) with countless more material (more art, more everything) written about them. They still got rebooted. DC did a hard reboot to mixed results. Marvel continues with their rolling continuity, which may present a model for Wizards to have their cake and eat it too. |
| Irennan |
Posted - 25 Dec 2014 : 00:12:46
IMHO, WotC is against the idea of a reboot mostly because part of the Drizzt (or other) novel-line. All the ''respect to the previous lore'' thingy is just empty words IMO, otherwise all the pointless destruction/changes/ridiculous cheesy RSEs would have never happened (also, they already rebooted Dark Sun, so...).
But at this point, reboot via random magical thing (''Ao did it'') or ''honest'' reboot are the same to me, as long as we actually get to see all that was lost restored. |
| Dark Wizard |
Posted - 24 Dec 2014 : 23:48:53
Just took the time to skim this interview. It's hilarious and that's not a knock against Chris Perkins or Wizards. They were operating under a different business plan for 4E and that didn't work, so they have to change gears for 5E and everyone is just following the script.
This bit from the Chris Perkins was particularly amusing:
quote:
"We know that every Realms fan has favourite characters, conflicts, and moments in history. We didn’t want to undo or overwrite something that might be a fan’s favourite part of the setting. Our guiding principle is to embrace the past and not pass judgment or rewrite history."
Me thinks it's a bit late to not want to:
"...undo or overwrite something...": The Old Empires, Halruaa, Lantan, Nimbral, parts of Chult, Evermeet, Vilhon Reach, the Shaar, the Great Rift, Maztica, did I miss any?
"...embrace the past...": Quick, Time Jump away before the past catches up to us!
"...not pass judgement...": Slaying of holy cows, kill them and take their stuff, clearing away the baggage for new players, no more stories to tell in the Realms, etc.
Wizards meet the 4E Transition, 4E Transition meet Wizards.
Hi, you look familiar, have we met before.
I don't believe we have, I must have one of those faces.
quote:
"The time jump that accompanied the Spellplague allowed us to tell some interesting stories, such as Drizzt Do’Urden’s pain and isolation in the wake of losing his beloved companions. Fortunately, in a magical world, it’s possible to restore that which was lost. I liked how R. A. Salvatore’s The Companions handled the return of Bruenor, Wulfgar, Regis, and Cattie-brie. Jim Zub’s new Legends of Baldur’s Gate comic series brilliantly tackles the return of Minsc and Boo. Time has also allowed us to revive the Harpers, the Zhentarim, and other popular elements of the Forgotten Realms setting. Other familiar faces will undoubtedly return as well."
Emphasis mine.
Usually bringing things full circle is a good and clever thing. This is just ridiculous. It's cutting off your nose out of misplaced frantic madness then getting plastic surgery to restore a facsimile in the hopes no one really notices. Except you've been interacting with people for 5 to 6 years trying to sell them on your novel technique to clearing your sinuses.
---
The interviewer pointed out the (supposedly unpopular) trend of setting reboots or re-imaginings for some of the most popular shared fiction worlds (all of them more popular than the Realms and that's not a rib at the Realms, just reality).
I say supposedly unpopular because those reboots often led to record setting premiers (or will soon enough) and fans are eating it up with the doors opening to more fans and wider popularity than before.
The Realms will fall on the wrong side of this movement by bucking the reboot trend. These reboots are an unfortunate (and sometimes awkward) necessity to modernize these settings for a wider audience. Some of these properties haven't had anything fresh added to them since the 80s or earlier and include all the perspectives and social norms of those eras. Everyone is getting their growing pains over with now while everyone is doing it, grabbing as many fans as they can before everyone settles back down.
The Realms tried to get on the re-imagining bandwagon with the Spellplague and jumping the century, but what it did was taken an prospective exclusivity route, which moves existing IP aspects beyond reach of the current iteration. The only way to include many aspects from the old version is to resort to magical shenanigans and time-traveling techniques, where we're reaching a saturation point and moving into jarring territory. If every character is a time-traveler, I thought we were playing D&D and not some off-brand Doctor Who.
A full reboot takes a retroactive inclusivity approach, which moves the audience entry point to an earlier time with the existing IP aspects becomes part of an indeterminate future where they may likely reappear, perhaps the same or perhaps with some alterations, but they can still be easily included in the regular day-to-day progression.
When the Realms do go through their full reboot, it will be a latecomer amongst its competitors. By then Wizards cannot be sure if another rival setting covering the same concepts hasn't appeared in a more popular medium and presentation, taking further attention away from their work. That may have already happened as Warcraft is filming its big-budget movie. If Golarion gets a movie before the Realms, its relevancy will diminish further.
The Realms may not even be a contender at that point as its own the continued re-imagining complications (baggage) adds additional layers of confusion, diluting whatever coherency it had before.
We are already well on our way towards this dilution with the returning of prior era characters in novels and even in comics, where D&D presence has not been as steady as with novels. The Lords of Waterdeep boardgame (being a well regarded game breaking into an audience the Realms had not made as much headway into before) relied mostly on the prior era lords of Waterdeep characters.
Wizards wasn't kidding when they said fans didn't think they were the best stewards of this brand. Where Wizard has it wrong is to believe they've made superior plans to address the issues. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 24 Dec 2014 : 15:18:45
Thanks.
Someday, when Eric unchains me from my desk (and I get to see the sun again)*, I will get back to it. Its not just the maps - which I love doing - I also have a complete backstory for the world itself, and heavily merged all the lore together. Its truly a work of art (the campaign, not necessarily the map, which is still 'borrowed art').
Basically, its the Planet Arium (I love puns) in the Amalgam system (there are several other 'merged worlds' there, including an Abeir/Athas planet). The weird part is that it exists in the same universe as the rest of D&D, so the beings of this system have 'dopplegangers' of themselves elsewhere in the multiverse (although the people from those other worlds consider the folks of this crystal sphere to be the 'knock-offs'). Very few (permanent) planer connections exist (NONE to other prime worlds), and Spelljammers tend to avoid it (they find if very disconcerting). Upon meeting his 'double', FR's Elminster merely commented, "I was unimpressed".
NOTHING is too far-fetched, and everything has been woven together, from the Time War - when 'The Doctor' posed as the Chronomancer for several centuries in order to defeat the Dalekforged (cyborgs created by the Cross-time Kangs) - to the the 'Vamps vs lycans' trope, to an ancient 'Sundering' (God war) that started at the beginning of time (when the deities had to fight together {at first} against hordes of Lovecraftian horrors) and destroyed 'The First (True) World' - which continues to this day, but who's sides are now made up of many and varied 'cliques' (pantheons).
But wait! There's more! If you act now you get not one but TWO campaign settings! I even have a future history to go with it, wherein some 'cosmic occurrence' has merged all the Crystal spheres into one, and Dark Vader (a descendent of Sauron) and his army of Cyberclones fights the last vestiges of the Federation (Republic), and only Babylon Five (with its ragtag fleet and Battlestar) can possibly save them all!
Crap... forgot to take my meds again... 
*Just joking. It is a pleasure working with the man. I am trading my (boring) retirement for loads of cool Realmslore, so it is well worth whatever small contribution I am making.  |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 23 Dec 2014 : 20:29:26
I'm always looking for contributors and Markustay's stuff is exactly the kind of thing I want to include. |
| BEAST |
Posted - 23 Dec 2014 : 20:19:08
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
And, of course, in MY (Misbegotten) Realms, it will still be MUCH cooler. 
Ooh, that sounds like a great topic for dazzler's Alternate Dimensions project!
quote:
It hailed from a time not recorded, in lands no longer on any map, lived out by souls whose deeds have since been disavowed by the greatest sages, concocted through the revisionist meanderings of one wayward cartogropher.
'Twas . . . THE MISBEGOTTEN REALMS™!"
|
| Markustay |
Posted - 23 Dec 2014 : 13:32:15
For what its worth - I think the Authors may have been 'taken aback' a bit by anything Eric (or other gurus) came up with, and I think the WotC guys simply honored their wishes. I know absolutely nothing about this point - just a feeling I get from everything being said, and knowing from personal experience how 'artists' can be.
Basically, when it comes right down to it, 'creative types' do not like to be given rules - they want the freedom to express themselves completely in the way they want. Now, IMO, writers in a shared-world SHOULDN'T feel that way... but they do.
So what Eric wrote (and others said) may have made perfect sense and had an extreme logic to it from a past-lore standpoint, the writers (and perhaps in-house guys) did not want to feel 'constrained' by all of that. I hope I am wrong about this, because now we are going right back to what forced the 4eFR changes upon us in the first place.
Its great to give artists freedom, but when their freedom cost you fans, you can't eat self-satisfaction. Consistency is key in a shared world; if you don't get that, perhaps you shouldn't be writing in one.
And this whole thing reminds me of a recent conversation with Eric Boyd about Highstar lake and The High Moor. My version was 'much cooler' (he even acknowledged that that might have been so), but it didn't fit past lore. I so desperately wanted to improve it (as an artist, I feel thats my obligation), but in the end he was right - if we just start stomping all over past lore to improve it, where does that end? (Not that I did any stomping - I merely 'reinterpreted' how it should sit on the Moor). If we went around tossing all our homdbrew 'kewl' ideas into the Realms just because we think they are better, you know what we end up with? The mess that was 4e (not knocking the individual bits of lore or designers, just the utter chaos of it all - it was 'all over the place', with no focus or direction).
And, of course, in MY (Misbegotten) Realms, it will still be MUCH cooler. |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 23 Dec 2014 : 11:19:23
What George and Eric are doing is amazing and may well be the only way quality realmslore will ever be delivered by WoTC. So lets hope other realms guru's follow suit, write a complete sourcebook and send it to WoTC for publishing. I just hope those at WoTC have the sense to release it without editing it or converting it to 5e or the new timeline.
Long live the sweet spot of the realms |
| xaeyruudh |
Posted - 23 Dec 2014 : 08:20:00
People who want to impose their wonky vision on all of our Realms will get resentful with people who put a high value on consistency and depth... or just hold up a torch and point out that stupid stories are stupid.
Also: this is beautiful.
quote:
Eric Boyd and I are having a blast playing in the pre-Spellplague Realms and I think anyone can do it. In fact, you can pick most any era of the Realms and set a campaign in it, rules be damned. I would happily play a pre ToT campaign using 3E rules, just as I would play a game set post-Spellplague using 2E rules. The Realms and the stories it contains always transcends the mechanics IMO.
|
| Matt James |
Posted - 23 Dec 2014 : 02:06:35
Somewhere along the line, someone got really defensive about Realmslore gurus. I don't know what happenstance caused it, but there is a distinct distrust of the circle. |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 22 Dec 2014 : 23:14:29
I toyed with the idea of updating Impiltur for 4E but chose not to after realising that from my point of view the "sweet spot" for the kingdom was right up until the accession of Imbrar II. In my mind this is the perfect jumping off point for any campaign set there. Any Impiltur sourcebook penned by me would have a Current Clack section for 1374 DR with month by month events ending with the coronation. After that, it would be up for the DM to play and have fun.
Whatever is done to Impiltur in 5E concerns me not a whit. Eric Boyd and I are having a blast playing in the pre-Spellplague Realms and I think anyone can do it. In fact, you can pick most any era of the Realms and set a campaign in it, rules be damned. I would happily play a pre ToT campaign using 3E rules, just as I would play a game set post-Spellplague using 2E rules. The Realms and the stories it contains always transcends the mechanics IMO.
-- George Krashos |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 22 Dec 2014 : 14:48:42
Well it may be a double edged sword but i hope Impiltur remains untouched by novels. It is an excellent playground for DMs already and has tons of amazing history from George that has ramifications right up to the 1370s (whereupon it all disappeared). I wouldnt want anyone to wreck the carefully crafted plot hooks and interesting NPCs with something so brutish as a novel storyline. Its bad enough that they turned Impiltur into a republic with demon worshippers everywhere.
I am dreading the contrived explanation they produce as to how all the demons suddenly became reimprisoned and a member of the royal dynasty suddenly appeared and just so happens to be on the cusp of adulthood with his great aunt as the mage royal and is unwittingly the target of a soneillon lookalike in service (but not really) to Eltab who was also rebound to Toril (the ending of all magic surely must have released Eltab from his imprisonment).
It would appear i am feeling particularly gloomy today because it is nearly christmas, and i appear to have put my "I want a Reboot" christmas hat on. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 22 Dec 2014 : 14:25:50
Goerge - would you want them to explore Impiltur and write novels there?
Right now Impiltur seems to me to be the perfect kingdom for a DM to homebrew, even though it has its own history. Its close enough to most stuff (in the Eastern heartlands) to be useful, yet still not as 'lore burdened' (ouch... hope I didn't just coin that awful term) as a lot of other parts of the heartlands.
And if you move it down to where Turmish used to be (IMG), its even more centralized. 
quote:
Originally posted by BEAST
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
I'm pretty sure Eric Boyd scared the bejeezus out of them when a couple of days later he came up with a lore-laden, over-arching explanation for the Sundering dynamic. He's scary like that.
Be careful what you wish for, right?
He IS scary like that. I name something on a map... and suddenly yards of lore coming rolling forth. |
| BEAST |
Posted - 21 Dec 2014 : 22:02:07
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
I'm pretty sure Eric Boyd scared the bejeezus out of them when a couple of days later he came up with a lore-laden, over-arching explanation for the Sundering dynamic. He's scary like that.
Be careful what you wish for, right? |
| Shemmy |
Posted - 21 Dec 2014 : 14:08:28
quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James
I have not been asked to consult as an "expert" on the 5E Realms, and as far as I'm aware, neither has George Krashos, Eric Boyd, Tom Costa, Steven Schend or anyone else you might name. The only folks contributing to the 5E Realms beyond WotC employees Matt Sernett and Chris Perkins are the Sundering authors themselves.
Many of you may recall that James Wyatt invited many of us Realms lorelords to a design summit roughly three years ago. Sadly, the meeting was little more than a PR stunt to get us "old guard" on board with the Sundering. No such meeting has been held since, so it comes as no surprise to us that the realmslore that trickled out thus far has been sparse and underwhelming.
Preserving continuity is only a challenge for WotC because their pride prevents them from reaching out to the very individuals with the knowledge to help.
*wince* |
| xaeyruudh |
Posted - 21 Dec 2014 : 07:44:01
Come to think of it, their passive decision to not explore Impiltur in novels seems kinda misguided. It's got the same "prototypical fantasy kingdom" underpinnings as Cormyr, with more toppings: worse humanoid and demonic threats than Cormyr has, oh and pirates too, plus vibrant and interesting neighbors. (Sembia and the Tunlands have not been made interesting in the 1e-3e sources I'm familiar with, whereas Damara and the Vast were born interesting.) And while it has knights superficially similar to the Purple Dragons, it lacks an internationally infamous crew of War Wizards and the constant watching eyes of many Harpers. And Ilmater as a state religion? Who else does that?
So in a points-of-light sense and on a looking-at-the-unusual-details level, Impiltur is actually more ripe for novels than Cormyr, by virtue of being nearer a frontier and less conventional.
|
| George Krashos |
Posted - 21 Dec 2014 : 07:19:46
Well I guess you have to have gaming products in the works to even be considered for "consultation". As that isn't happening, I guess that is that.
As for consulting for the fiction line, Ed doesn't need handholding clearly. I know that Erin Evans asked for and received some able feedback from our own Garen Thal (Brian Cortijo) on Cormyr. I personally haven't been tapped on the shoulder by either RA Salvatore or Troy Denning for any input, so they are either getting help from somewhere else, don't need it or are, as Markustay noted, going straight to the source in Ed.
Impiltur doesn't really seem like a place the fiction line will be visiting soon, so my chances of a call up are slim, I reckon!
I'd love to help out with the 5E Realms if that ever comes to fruition, but as Brian pointed out, the original group enlisted to comment on the Sundering hasn't been reconvened. I'm pretty sure Eric Boyd scared the bejeezus out of them when a couple of days later he came up with a lore-laden, over-arching explanation for the Sundering dynamic. He's scary like that.
-- George Krashos |
| BEAST |
Posted - 21 Dec 2014 : 04:40:10
quote:
Originally posted by Eilserus
And like a drunken dwarf, on I ramble. hehehe
That's the best kind of dwarf there is!
I don't have the range or breadth of Realmslore knowledge that those heavyweights mentioned have. But I know my RAS/Drizzt stuff pretty darn well. I offer it up to whomever can put it to good use.
Heck, maybe it even won't be omitted from the next book.  |
| Eilserus |
Posted - 21 Dec 2014 : 03:46:40
It's all good. I know Ed is optimistic and that's a good thing.
It's not like I'm going anywhere anyways. I've been a Realms fan since 1990 when at the tender age of 10 I was introduced to the novel Homeland by my cousin. First book I ever bought was Streams of Silver because I didn't know what a trilogy was back then. But hey it had a dwarf with skulls and that looked like it was cool.
And here I am almost 25 years later still knocking around Faerun. Mostly below ground, because I might be part dwarf. Or drow, depends on if I've had my coffee yet. ;)
And like a drunken dwarf, on I ramble. hehehe |
| Markustay |
Posted - 21 Dec 2014 : 02:44:05
It all comes down to Ed. 'They' talk to and listen to Ed.
And Ed talks to and listens to us (and confers with people like Eric, Krash, Steven, etc).
Like I said above, Ed isn't just the captain, he IS the ship at this point. If you can't trust him, you can't trust anyone. All roads lead back to him. The Authors tap Ed, and Ed has the knowledge to tap the right people for the right information.
Don't get depressed yet - give it a bit more time. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, me thinks. |
| Eilserus |
Posted - 21 Dec 2014 : 02:37:40
quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James
I have not been asked to consult as an "expert" on the 5E Realms, and as far as I'm aware, neither has George Krashos, Eric Boyd, Tom Costa, Steven Schend or anyone else you might name. The only folks contributing to the 5E Realms beyond WotC employees Matt Sernett and Chris Perkins are the Sundering authors themselves.
Many of you may recall that James Wyatt invited many of us Realms lorelords to a design summit roughly three years ago. Sadly, the meeting was little more than a PR stunt to get us "old guard" on board with the Sundering. No such meeting has been held since, so it comes as no surprise to us that the realmslore that trickled out thus far has been sparse and underwhelming.
Preserving continuity is only a challenge for WotC because their pride prevents them from reaching out to the very individuals with the knowledge to help.
That's really depressing. :( |
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