| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Damaja |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 02:42:11
For those of you that run serious Forgotten Realms campaigns, what timeline do you run your campaign in? Original timeline? Spell Plague or Sundering timeframe and whichever you do run, why did you choose that timeline? Just curious what everyone likes in the Realms. |
| 26 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Tarlyn |
Posted - 24 Nov 2013 : 01:27:56
I typically run campaigns starting around 1368-1372. Once I begin a game I aware of canon, but don't necessarily hold to it.
Currently, I am running Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle using the current version of the D&D next rule set. It takes place during the Sundering, but I don't see a particular date associated with it. In general, my group views the canon years from 1385-the beginning of the Sundering as garbage time and have no interested in playing during that time period. We are following the Sundering and will make a decision on that era once it is more clear what the realms look like in the 1480s. |
| Delwa |
Posted - 24 Nov 2013 : 00:05:13
I run two Campaigns. One, is solely my own that is fairly close to the published Realms and it is currently 1385 DR. (Cue evil laugh.) How quickly time progresses depends on what works for the current adventure. Last story started in the late 1370's and ended in about 1383. I may jump to "current" published year after 5E hits the shelves, but the jury is still out.
The other Campaign, I'm co-DM with a friend of mine. He made a lot of changes to the world and I helped him brainstorm/run sessions. To put it briefly, it takes a very different track from the published Realms around 1370 DR. When we are in that campaign depends on the story at hand. Sometimes, it's the 1380's (like the story we're about to embark on) other times, it's in the 1800's, and Faerūn has undergone a semi-steam punk revolution due to the Spellplague causing magic to cease for 500 years instead of the published canon. |
| Kryal |
Posted - 23 Nov 2013 : 23:30:17
Most campaigns i played earlier started around 1358-1362 and often go towards 1375. Lately i've been starting my campaigns around 1462 - 1479. With Murder in Baldur's Gate and such we're moving along to 1485. My slight case of OCD kick in when i don't know what is going on in the world (like with 4th ed) so it's been hard for me to run a campaign straight up in 1479 and so forth. |
| Seravin |
Posted - 23 Nov 2013 : 20:50:15
1357 is just fine by me! Classic Realms. |
| Derulbaskul |
Posted - 23 Nov 2013 : 12:34:28
1479DR and onwards.
I'm running 4E and I like the OGB-like feel of the post-Spellplague Realms.
That said, I draw a lot of material from 1E, 2E and 3.xE as well but 4E mechanics and timeline. |
| Plaguescarred |
Posted - 23 Nov 2013 : 06:19:37
We're in 1368 DR currently doing research on lycanthropy and a reknown bard at the Edificant Library near the Snowflake Mountains. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 20:55:34
If I was running a Realms campaign, it would start at the end of the 2E era, and go from there -- with many of the events in 3E being tweaked or entirely dropped. |
| Damaja |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 19:39:56
lot of interesting timeframes. Good to see people staying with the older ones. |
| deserk |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 17:47:09
quote:
Originally posted by Barastir
In this configuration, which are the portfolios of these two demipowers? 
Well very much like their original incarnation, except that Kelemvor isn't the lord of the dead, and Cyric has far less influence in the world (because the Bhaalite faith wasn't destroyed).
For Cyric: lies, strife and murder (as you'd expect), and for Kelemvor: undead-hunting
The idea we've had is that Cyric acts like the god of betrayals and murders in the most chaotic sense. Kelemvor and his followers principally work to destroy undeath and necromancy in the world (in addition to all the other original responsibilities, like being embalmers and gravediggers).
I know it might conflict with some other god's portfolios, but personally I don't mind gods having similiar portfolios, because it kind of already exists in default FR anyhoo. |
| Emma Drake |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 16:37:19
We started in 1369. We are now in 1371, coming up fast on 1372. |
| Barastir |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 16:10:47
In this configuration, which are the portfolios of these two demipowers? |
| deserk |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 15:55:57
1372 DR with Bhaal, Myrkul and all the other gods that were killed in ToT still alive, and with Cyric and Kelemvor as demigods. It's perfect for our group.
Although Gilgeam the Godking is still dead, because Unther is much more interesting with the chaos that erupted after his death. |
| Renin |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 15:03:16
Like many others, my canon is what is considered canon in the Realms now.
Started somewhere around 1365 (based on the source material), but the 4 campaigns I and my friend have run in the REalms since junior high in the early 90's has only advanced the time frame to, eh, 1373-74 right now. We really crunched down on time. And, the Realms are shaped by our RSE and choices.
And, we pick and choose what we want from official RSE. Too much happening throughout that same period, like how dazzlerdal described. Rage of Dragons? Eh, no thank you. Shades returning and destroying EVERYONE. Nope; mostly because I haven't had a chance to really explore Sembia yet with another adventuring group. We haven't been back to Cormyr yet, so I'm not sure if I want Azoun IV dead or not...although, I could do whatever I want with the Steel Regent...
Spellplague? OH hell no. In fact, I ran an adventure series to bring Bane back before they did. So, that huge upheaval will not occur within my games.
Now, whatever D&D Next FR campaign stuff that comes out, I'm going to get. And probably fold into whatever I am doing. The time jump isn't important; those events can just occur 'tomorrow' in my stuff. |
| Drustan Dwnhaedan |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 14:03:56
My DM usually sets his campaigns in the mid -to-late 1350's, and we proceed from there. Our last FR campaign ran from early 1357 (11 Ches, to be exact) to 1360 (sometime after the war with the Tuigan Horde, but I can't remember the date), with a brief epilogue set in 1362, detailing what had happened to the various party members after the party disbanded at the end of the campaign (aside from my character marrying an Eilistraeen priestess and our druid establishing her own druidic circle somewhere in Cormanthor, nothing really significant happened to the other party members.)
My DM will never run a campaign set post-1375, due to the fact he didn't like the turn of events leading to the Spellplague (or the Spellplague itself, for that matter). This hasn't stopped me from writing my own stories set post-Spellplague/Sundering era (focused primarily on a certain half-dragon cleric/ranger trying desperately to resurrect his deity). |
| SirUrza |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 13:59:10
I enjoy 1368-1372. It's where I like to romp. |
| idilippy |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 13:34:42
I run mostly in the 1350's and 60's, my last finished campaign in the Realms went for multiple in and out of character years and finished I think in 1371. I like this because I can use canon events to get a picture of the Realms, then adjust based on PC actions the local events while using faraway events as caravan clack and as a base for developing and delivering wildly inaccurate speculation and rumors. Plus that is my favorite era of the Realms, and since it is before many RSEs I can work put tor myself based on PC actions or inaction whether a given RSE is appropriate for their world. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 13:01:31
Kind of a hard question to answer, since I am running an amalgam world (but rooted firmly in FR).
Because of the characters present and other events I choose not to use (like the coming of the Shades), I would have to say its probably circa 1370 DR. However, I am not adverse to using events from both the past and the future - since I am not sticking to canon, the timeline becomes irrelevant. |
| Barastir |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 10:17:25
Since I own the 2e boxed set and DM in its timeframe, my campaign started in the middle of 1367, and is now in 1368. Other games vary, but I'm thinking of staring another game in the same year they are, possibly arranging a future crossover.  |
| Demzer |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 09:16:58
Started in 1372 with campaigns all over the place, then i made a long 1373 - 1375 campaign with high/epic level evil characters that messed around a lot until they got tangled inside the crazy (and thanks to their efforts successful) plan of ascension to godhood of a very powerful succubus and got killed by an angry avatar of Lathander (that found their demiplane thanks to informations from the succubus).
We ended the campaign so abruptly (but luckily it was fitting) because we all got tired of the long fights of high level play and i needed some time to rethink things and make it work better without 2 hours of dice rolling just to kill 1 enemy.
From then i gathered all the informations of that campaign and dumped it into the Realms and now we are running various 1375 campaigns were the actions of my players in each campaign echo from one to another (basically they're now picking up the pieces of all the nastyness they did between 1373 and 1375).
My Realms are very different now from the canon 3e Realms because i changed some things i didn't like and because my players are my walking RSEs (so when i want some 2e or 3e mistery/plot point resolved i send them that way and what happens sticks to the setting) so i don't know if this counts as "serious Forgotten Realms" for you. |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 08:43:42
I play from 1361 onwards using 3.75 rules.
I like starting early because i have a comprehensive timeline of events that happen in other places so i know what is going to happen in the rest of the world.
I dont start before 1361 because the time of troubles is not an event i would want to run a campaign through as it would require me to read a novel to know what happens and thats not something i would ever do, plus the time of troubles is a defining moment in the realms and if the players managed to change it then the entire world would change with it.
Also i dislike the Tuigan Horde event because it is far to real world for me so i prefer to not mention it and certainly not let anyone take part in it.
After 1361 is also a no go as thats when events start happening that i may not want to occur because they are RSE's and they were quite frankly all very poorly done. The discovery of Maztica, the return of shade, the rage of dragons. All of these will happen but very differently (i will swap Maztica for a different continent) in my world so that the party can take part and have a meaningful contribution to events that are properly thought out and actually have a lasting effect on the world.
No novels, no novels, no novels, they wreck my plot hooks, kill of my characters and leave absolutely no lasting legacy, or completely destroy the entire planet for no reason, and the amount of deus ex machina objects in them is just unreal. I dont even know why the villains and evil gods bother to get out of bed in the morning. No matter how dastardly a plot or how nasty a monster they create, there is always some goody two shoes a few thousands years ago that predicted just such an event and created a spell or magic item perfectly designed to counter said plot or kill said monster. |
| Nicolai Withander |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 07:53:43
Well we started in 1372... and took a "canon" picture of the realms and went with that. From there things were allowed to progress as part of the natural things of the world. And canon became what the PC's knew. The spell plague as it were did not happen in our campaing though we did have some weave broad ban speed problems so to speak...
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| Diffan |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 06:05:04
Now, mostly in the post-spellplague Realms, circa 1480 DR. If we do an adventure that's written with 3.5 mechanics, we'll do 1375 DR |
| hashimashadoo |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 05:40:13
I play in whatever timeframe is condusive to the plot of the adventure but I've only ever played one game set after the Spellplague so far and none yet around the time of the Sundering...though I am working on something in that era (it's about 3rd on my list of DM priorities at the moment however, I'm still gathering source material). |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 05:09:52
I run games set nominally in Cormyr right after the war against Nalavara, so the mid 1300s.
I do so because the war and it's aftermath have proven to be a great springboard for starting campaigns that can go all over the Realms.
I use Realmslore all up and down the timeline, plus whatever non-Realms material suits my gaming needs. In my last campaign I borrowed people and places from Cormyr of the 1400s with much success.
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| The Arcanamach |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 04:48:01
Same here on the timeline...though I will allow the timeline to progress as far as needed. The Spellplague has not/will not occur in my homebrew. I sometimes begin prior to 1357 to roll play events leading up to the 'official' beginning of the timeline for that era. |
| froglegg |
Posted - 22 Nov 2013 : 03:45:18
I start off at either 1357 DR or 1358 DR and just go from there.
Why? Well because it's my Realms and what lore that comes after the start is made by me and or my player's.
I love The Old Grey Box and when you add FR1, FR2, FR3, FR5, FR6 and N5 it just screams PLAY ME!
I have no time for all of the RSE that came after.
Also I might add EGpEFR to that above list of manna from heaven.
John |
