| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Firhyanda |
Posted - 09 Nov 2005 : 09:17:07
Greetings All
There is nothing more dangerous in the world then a carefully crafted question with a subtle purpose. So for the daring and or terminally thoughtful here’s one. What makes the forgotten realms campaign setting better than any other published champagne setting ever? Well here we go, my two copper theory for what its worth.
1. The realms lore lends itself to rich detail and gives it the feeling of a living place.
2. The large number of excellent novelists who have written books about the setting bringing it to life for us.
3. Regional feats lead to regional flavor and superior emersion in the world.
4. An expansive time line with a rich and fantastic history full of wonder.
I believe these are the key components to the setting; perhaps there are more, what in your opinion make the realms stand head and shoulders above the rest? Look for part two.
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| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 10 Nov 2005 : 15:08:23
What makes it a very well respected world for me is
A) tons of material to draw from.
B) tons of different kinds of areas. For instance, if I want a very political campaign, I can do it in Silverymoon, Waterdeep, Cormyr or Tethyr. Crimelords and gangs? Calimshan, Waterdeep. Rival wizards trying to gain power? Thay, Shade, and Luskan. Viking'ish? Ruathym and Luskan. Noble knights protecting their land? Impiltur and Cormyr. Noble mages protecting their land? Halruaa and Nimbral. Slavery, oppression, and chicks with whips? Dambrath. Ancient Empire seeking to expand? Mulhorand.
As a result, I can be running one kind of campaign for a while and then just totally switch gears on a party when they go somewhere else.
C) A very complete history such that if I wanted to start before the present time I could actually have a guideline of "what's going to be happening in the area". Granted,if someone had a player that knew the timeline like the back of their hand, they might know something was about to happen... but I've yet to run into that issue. For instance, my last campaign was in Damara and started in 1356. My players knew that the horde would be coming in a few years to the surrounding territory... but it didn't help them... it did add some flavor. One of them even knew the rough story of Gareth, but since they didn't know Gareth during their adventures and only heard rumors... it didn't affect the game.
D) Wonderful loving authors who appreciate the realms and actually try to keep things canon. |
| Kianna |
Posted - 10 Nov 2005 : 14:55:33
True. Age may have something to do with it's popularity.
And everyone is going to have a differing opinion about why FR is so great. Many gods, many characters, many books, lots of maps, its been around forever. To state an opinion is not a waste of board space. I thought that was why were are all here. |
| Beirnadri Magranth |
Posted - 10 Nov 2005 : 02:57:23
why is there so much semantics about this?? its interesting to think about what makes us attracted to one thing over others...
alot of these replies are wasting board space and are not interesting or valuable!
anyhow... i think that detail can be manufactured... eberron for example cranks out tons of detailed stuff... the thing that makes fr so unique is taht it is the most typical of d&d it most reflects the common ideas of what middle age fantasy would be like.
plus its so old and play tested that it has a personality and all the components balance each other and seem real that way |
| Kianna |
Posted - 10 Nov 2005 : 02:22:59
Unfortunately there are some crappy writers as well. I need not bring up the elf-who-shall-not-be-mentioned.... |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 10 Nov 2005 : 01:21:22
quote:
Originally posted by Winterfox
Which part of this question is "carefully crafted" and which part of its purpose is "subtle"?
Good point. Saying what one likes about the Realms isn't exactly "daring" either--it is, not surprisingly, a subject that is spoken of often here, this being a Forgotten Realms forum and all.
The FR setting certainly benefits from some very talented writers and sourcebook designers--when I first learned of the Realms, I just connected with it on an emotional level. It's a place I like to spend some of my time in (mentally, of course). |
| Crennen FaerieBane |
Posted - 09 Nov 2005 : 18:03:23
quote:
Originally posted by Winterfox
quote:
Originally posted by CrennenFaerieBane
You know, after reading you non-fiction essay on Skyehawke, I am beginning to understand you a lot more. 
C-Fb
Yes...? What about it?
It was an honest question, because "What, in your opinion, makes FR stand out/better than other published settings?" strikes me as neither well-crafted nor subtle. No more than "What makes you think book/movie/song [X] is better than others?" is.
Wasn't meant to offend - I rather liked you essay and I just understand better where you are coming from when you criticize and pick apart some replies. That's all.
C-Fb |
| Firhyanda |
Posted - 09 Nov 2005 : 17:09:34
Agreed it does seem to me that the detail and the number of deities is indeed one of the things that make the setting stand out. There needs to be a distinction made between choices of mechanic like regional feats and volume of detail like realms lore on the nature of roof topes in Aglarond. Both of these are a part of what makes the realms great, but neither is the soul reason for its success. Each of us brings our personal preferences to the realms in terms of how we interpreted them for our own champagnes.
When I say that the realms are the best setting I mean both in terms of literary artistry and being a commercial success.
My hope in posting my straight forward question, was (A) to see which of the mechanical choices wizards have made for the setting have been embraced by the community and ( B) to see which bits of realms lore the community feels make the most impact on the realms. I think CrennenFaerBane makes an excellent point that sometimes the sheer volume of realms lore can be overwhelming.
My thought was that this question would go along way toward defining what people enjoyed about the realms in there individual campaigns. I would eventually like to write a fan based adventure path something like age of worms in dungeon magazine that would take characters from first to twentieth level. The secondary question is how much of a set of realms modules would fans like to be lore and what kind of lore, history, sociology , animal husbandry and how much would they like to be crunchy bits new classes revamps of old ones, new spells and what not.
I think that one of the things that make D&D great is a sense of shared culture one gets from having done the same modules. Even if I have never met another gamer the first time we meet we can have a good chat about our time in the city of the spider queen or the time we were arrested in the city state of the invincible overlord. Modules make the most impact on the realms of any type of material produced in my humble opinion.
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| Winterfox |
Posted - 09 Nov 2005 : 15:56:05
quote:
Originally posted by CrennenFaerieBane
You know, after reading you non-fiction essay on Skyehawke, I am beginning to understand you a lot more.
C-Fb
Yes...? What about it?
It was an honest question, because "What, in your opinion, makes FR stand out/better than other published settings?" strikes me as neither well-crafted nor subtle. No more than "What makes you think book/movie/song [X] is better than others?" is. |
| Crennen FaerieBane |
Posted - 09 Nov 2005 : 14:42:04
Sometimes Realmslore can be a bit overwhelming. Especially when you have some people who are always trying to show you they know more than you.
I do think the world is crafted well - but sometimes the sheer amount of information makes it almost to complex to run a game and include everything.
C-Fb |
| Crennen FaerieBane |
Posted - 09 Nov 2005 : 14:39:17
quote:
Originally posted by Winterfox
Which part of this question is "carefully crafted" and which part of its purpose is "subtle"?
Are you being ironic?
You know, after reading you non-fiction essay on Skyehawke, I am beginning to understand you a lot more.
C-Fb |
| Khaa |
Posted - 09 Nov 2005 : 14:23:30
SOme people have problem with deities. I myself am a christian, but I dont have too much of a problem. I only dabble in them though. But the detail is awesome in them. My characters are sometimes religious, but i cant say i put a lot of emphasis on them. |
| Chosen of Bane |
Posted - 09 Nov 2005 : 14:13:10
To me the best part about Forgotten Realms are the Deities. The number of deities in FR and the amount of detail given to them is outstanding.
In all of my years playing D&D prior to becoming a Realms fanatic I would NEVER play a cleric. I thought they were boring. I was more of a fighter or thief guy.
Since discovering FR I play some sort of Divine character every time. My most memorable characters are a cleric of Gond and a Paladin of Moradin but seriously, all of my PC's in the Realms are religious. I think the deities are too well detailed and important to leave out.
In my experiences, other settings do not put as much focus/importance on the gods. |
| Khaa |
Posted - 09 Nov 2005 : 14:04:05
Kianna is right. |
| Kianna |
Posted - 09 Nov 2005 : 13:53:35
Too much sometimes can be hindering to a setting as well, as it could stiffle personal creativity and freedom.
I don't think its any of those you listed, rather just a personal preference. One setting isn't better or worse than another, what makes it goood or enjoyable is how you use it. |
| Winterfox |
Posted - 09 Nov 2005 : 12:31:38
Which part of this question is "carefully crafted" and which part of its purpose is "subtle"?
Are you being ironic? |
