| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Lord Rad |
Posted - 06 Dec 2002 : 15:44:17
Although there is already a topic for the regional sourcebook speculation I thought id open another one based on peoples views on this..
I hear that the product will be a hardcover sourcebook. I dont understand the reasoning behind this! Silver Marches is a regional sourcebook and is softcover, so whats the difference?! I can understand why the FRCS and Faiths and Pantheons are hardcover as theyre core rulebooks that will get a lot of use, but why this new sourcebook?! Its going to look a bit out of place next to all the others on my shelf for a start  |
| 26 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Jerard Doonsay |
Posted - 15 Sep 2004 : 13:32:53
huh, I always felt that Mulhorand was in the east. Thanks though. |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 11 Sep 2004 : 00:58:59
Umm, Mulhorand is in the south, not the east. UE was never going to deal with Mulhorand other than incidentally (due to that nation's historical ties with the region).
There is a huge clamour on most message boards for updated information on Mulhorand/Chessenta and Unther - especially given the developments revealed in FRCS. I would think that an "Old Empires Mk.II" sourcebook is on the WotC "Possible" list, but I doubt it will get the green light much before 2007 (in terms of a release date).
If it is on the cards, I fervently hope they give the project to Scott Bennie again. His work since FR10 (and more importantly, his thoughts and conceptions for a development of Mulhorand) looks great.
-- George Krashos
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| Jerard Doonsay |
Posted - 10 Sep 2004 : 16:57:14
I really hate to resurect this thread, but I couldn't find the other UE thread, and making a new one would just be too much trouble.
I'm here to complain that Mulhorand was barrely mentioned in the book. How dare they do that. I doubt it will be showing up in the ancient Empires book, so where are they going to cover it? Give the Mulhorandi a chance people! |
| Bookwyrm |
Posted - 08 Jun 2003 : 02:54:46
Okay Mr. George. 
If you're interested in the explanation, I was raised half as a upper-middle Southerner (Yes, Sir, No, Ma'am, etc) and half as a lower-middle Idahoian. (Maternal and paternal, respectively.) So, I'm a curious mix between formal and irreverent. In your case, as a person of more formal (regarding FR) background, you get a Mr. almost automatically. With a few exceptions (the other authors, both as source and story) everyone else (including Alaundo) is more informal in origin, so they don't get it.
I told you I was a strange mix.
Anyway, I much like your idea on that. It's even a parallel with life. Plenty of towns were founded for no other reason than they were near to a part of an old empire. Everyone wants the mystique that comes with that territory. |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 08 Jun 2003 : 02:22:59
Mr Krashos? My dad has been posting here? As Bookwyrm has posted over a thousand times on these Boards, it is I who should be using the Mr. ... George is better.
The reason I came up with that degraded mythal suggestion is that when I did a historical breakdown of the North I had to somehow reconcile the fact that Roger Moore had placed the capital of the elven realm of Illefarn at the site of present-day Waterdeep. I also had to deal with Elaine's reference in her novel Evermeet about the first colonists to that island also leaving from "Deepwater harbour". The solution was simple and elegant. The capital was built after the colonization of Evermeet (maybe the elves liked the spot when they left from there and earmarked it for future use) and when Illefarn began to fragment as a unified nation (it continued to exist in name only as a scattered grouping of elven sub-realms) then High Magic was used to raze the site. The the humans moved in ....
Essentially, this thinking made me realise that there must be a lot of hidden history of the demi-human races that is a useful back stop and back story for the present-day Realms.
-- George Krashos
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| Bookwyrm |
Posted - 07 Jun 2003 : 11:38:10
Myself, I'd sort of gotten the sense that it was a kind of exageration. Sort of a white lie. Kind of like the US trend to lable things as "all-natural" (boy, you can have a lot of fun poking at that phrase!). I'd understood it as a pale, very human (dispite elven aid) attempt to bring back the glories of the past. Calling the wards a mythal, when it is at best an imitation, would help in their mission to be a kind of new Myth Drannor.
However, Mr. Krashos, I must say I like your explanation better. Not only does it paint the inhabitants in a more flattering light (they're not just imitating a long-gone time, they're preserving a piece of the past by making it their own), but it also makes a lot of sense. After all, consider the layout of the city, especially the location. It's basically a perfect place for an inhabited area. Easy transportation, good trade route, defensible . . . frankly, now that I think about it, I would find it hard to believe that the ancient elves didn't build a city there. It could have been razed to the ground, but the effects of the mythal would have lingered. Cue the latter-day humans and elves to buttress it in place, and viola! A half-strength mythal, but still more powerful than any ordinary ward. |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 07 Jun 2003 : 05:14:40
So, do you want me to pass on this lambasting re incorrect terminology to Ed? After all, this is the second time he's used mythal inappropriately (the first was in the write-up of the Mere of Dead Men in Volo's Guide to the North)...
Seriously, the mythal reference is very explainable. First, a DM has to choose whether they want it to be a mythal or spell wards. If they go the latter then all the info re this phenomenon (and when the wards were put in place) can be found in the North boxed set. If they go with the mythal thing, then basically make up some elven history at the site of present-day Silverymoon.
It is clear that the High Forest would have encompassed the area where Silverymoon is found in ages past. Why wouldn't there have been a mythal there? If it was created by Aryvandaar, then by the time humans settled the area the mythal would have been much decayed. What the humans have done is bolster the shreds of the mythal with their own spell craftings. It's not a fully functioning mythal (not many of those left in the Realms ...) but that doesn't mean it can't be described as such ... after all, Myth Drannor's mythal is described as such and it also has degraded dramatically in only 600 or so years.
Don't let minor details like that get you down. Everything is explainable - and most times, to the benefit of the campaign setting.
-- George Krashos
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| Edain Shadowstar |
Posted - 06 Jun 2003 : 23:22:26
First, allow me to ferverently apologize for the blatent and shameful spelling and grammer errors in a post meant to point out errors in something out. For shame. Now that I have fully prostrated myself before the other Scribes, yes it was that bad. When I shell out on a product I expect them to at least, at least use the right word (wards) as oppossed to the glaringly wrong one (mythal). Some might not nickpick over it, but after spending quite a bit of effort expounding on the rarity and profoundly potent nature of the myuthal, and on how it takes the sacrifices of several (in some cases a dozen or more) elven high mages to create. Simple error in terminology doesn't cut it for me to, the typical angry consumer. However, they did make up for some of it with the articles posted on the Wizards website that added a bit more depth to the Marches, but still, I am noticably perturbed. As for other errors, most other were excusable to me (it is difficult to be constantly consistant) but the mythal one is unjustifiable. I mean, it's not like Wizards doesn't know what a mythal is, they published a trilogy with the word all over it (Return of the Archwizards). Well, at least Unapproachable East is better. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 02 Jun 2003 : 12:13:59
George Krashos said -
quote:
It wasn't that bad an effort was it..??
I didn't think it was that bad. Sure it had some inconsistancies and contradictions, but the rest of the material presented more than compensated for the errors. Besides I just filled in the contradications and gaps with my own material, so it worked out great for me  .
May your learning be free and unfettered
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| Bookwyrm |
Posted - 02 Jun 2003 : 10:45:40
I found that Xara bit frustrating at first. The character I was constructing (with difficulty -- at first all I had was the PHB and Volo's Guide to the North to aid me) was a knowledge-freak. I figured that Xara would have been someone he'd met and who helped him along.
When she ended up evil, I almost deleted that. But then I figued that she's so good at hiding it, he never would have noticed. And besides, this leaves . . . opportunities for the DM later on. (I basically handed Mumadar a list of my character's weaknesses and gave him advice on how to use it against him.  I'm a right weird player, huh?) |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 02 Jun 2003 : 10:20:33
Well, the only errors I picked up in Silver Marches were the referral to Silverymoon's 'mythal' (easily explainable as an error in terminology), the write-up of Tulrun (didn't match Eric Boyd's Polyhedron work - but again, explainable: netherese curse is what's going to help me there), the change in alignment for Xara in Silverymoon (again, easy - curse, helm of opposite alignment, etc.) and poor stuff re keeping up with novels (which I didn't pick up in any case as I don't really get fussed about FR novel personalities in the real Realms). It wasn't that bad an effort was it..??
-- George Krashos
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| Edain Shadowstar |
Posted - 02 Jun 2003 : 06:20:05
Shame [b]Silver Marches[b/] didn't recieve better editing, the glaringly obvious errors, isprints,and contradictions were enough for me to banisht he tome to the bookshelf of shame. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 31 May 2003 : 08:09:42
Thanks for the information Rad, I appreciate it alot.
Anyway I should have the sourcebook by next week, so let's hope everything proceeds right.
May your learning be free and unfettered
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| Faraer |
Posted - 31 May 2003 : 03:30:13
Magic of Faerūn was going to be hardback but was printed as paperback because of an administrative glitch. I don't know about Silver Marches -- maybe the company felt the need to economize that month. Hardcover is firmly the norm now.
As for the Dissolution ad, if it's not a mistake it's because they think there's a bigger market hooking RPGers on the series than promoting the latest volume mostly to those who've read the first two. |
| Bookwyrm |
Posted - 31 May 2003 : 02:59:48
Maybe they thought it looks more impressive?
When I wrote the post waaaaay up there, I hadn't known about the prices; I was very surprised, when I finally went out and shopped for a Player's Handbook, that there was basically no difference between same-sized hard- and softcover books. Very strange to me.
But that doesn't bring in any motive on why they would make The Unapproachable East a hardback. After all, that makes the cost go up for them. If there's no difference in price, where's the extra profit? It would make much more sense, in this pattern, to do everything in softcover and pocket the difference. It would fit in with their focus on crunchness these days. |
| Lord Rad |
Posted - 30 May 2003 : 16:49:44
quote:
Originally posted by Sage of Perth
Rad, I have a few questions,
It is a vast improvement over the material contained in the Spellbound campaign expansion?. And also, does it contradict anything detailed in that old tome?.
Thanks,
Good learning...
- The Sage of Perth: For all your Realms Lore needs
Well I havent fully cross-referenced UE with Spellbound, but on first impressions the information and layout is much much better. The credits page in UE states that Spellbound was used for material so obviously quite a large chunk of material is taken from the old box set. Im really impressed with UE and im sure ill devote a lot more time to reading it, ill post more here as I find it worthwhile to mention.
Shame Silver Marches wasnt done in hardcover too. What makes UE so superior to warrant this? Any ideas? |
| The Sage |
Posted - 30 May 2003 : 07:56:13
Rad, I have a few questions,
It is a vast improvement over the material contained in the Spellbound campaign expansion?. And also, does it contradict anything detailed in that old tome?.
Thanks,
Good learning...
- The Sage of Perth: For all your Realms Lore needs
|
| Bookwyrm |
Posted - 30 May 2003 : 01:46:14
Publishers often get this sort of thing mixed up. You know how new books often have printed on the cover 'by the author of (x)'? I still find it strange to see one that uses the title of a book that isn't even out yet! Why would we judge this book by something we know nothing about? ::sigh:: -_-" |
| Lord Rad |
Posted - 29 May 2003 : 22:40:14
This isnt really a post about the product itself, but thought id post it here anyway. As you know from my above post, Ive just bought a copy of Unapproachable East, and there on the back page is an advert for Dissolution! Dissolution, I say!! Its a novel from LAST JULY! Why are WotC still shouting out about this novel?! Dont get me wrong, its a fantastic novel, one of my favorites, but why not put an advert for the more recent release of Condemnation? Dissolution has had an advert in the back of all sourcebooks etc. for ages now. |
| Lord Rad |
Posted - 29 May 2003 : 21:34:51
Well I picked up Unapproachable East today and have to say from first glances, im very impressed and find it a useful sourcebook. Ive spent around 40 minutes with it some far and struggled to put it down but felt I should report back to my fellow Scribes
The geography chapters of the book take up just over half the number of pages..... which is just fine by me There are some nice Prestige Classes and spells featured too, although I felt slightly disappointed in the Monsters chapter....nothing meaty and rugged enough Nice maps in the usual FR style, cover art is nice also...although the colors a little bright and wishy-washy.
Overall, a very worthy addition to any FR collection. |
| Lord Rad |
Posted - 12 Feb 2003 : 18:03:42
quote:
Originally posted by Mumadar Ibn Huzal
Neah, knowing Rad he'll talk about the availability in the UK first
hehehehehe! No doubt the rest of you will have this product a good couple of months before me and will start talking about it on the forums..... then ill start whinging |
| Mumadar Ibn Huzal |
Posted - 12 Feb 2003 : 14:59:00
Neah, knowing Rad he'll talk about the availability in the UK first |
| Bookwyrm |
Posted - 12 Feb 2003 : 13:21:25
quote:
Originally posted by Rad
Its going to look a bit out of place next to all the others on my shelf for a start
I felt the same way when they started printing up new covers for the novels. Oh, and why aren't you complaining about the sure-to-be-higher cost yet? |
| Mumadar Ibn Huzal |
Posted - 12 Feb 2003 : 12:52:46
Hmmm a certain Rashemmi Witch is going to like this book... (A Twilight Dawn character)
This publication fits in nicely with some half-formed longer term goals for the campaign which would have the characters travel into these regions. In other words, I ain't complainin' 'bout this book. Seems there is a wealth of detail to learn, not all of which is limited to the area alone...
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| Lord Rad |
Posted - 21 Jan 2003 : 17:28:07
Heres the contents list, released by Rich Baker of WotC:
Introduction
Chapter 1: Races
(CENSORED)
Gnoll
Hagspawn
Spirit folk
Taer
Volodni
Age, Height, and Weight
Chapter 2: Prestige Classes
Aglarondan Griffonrider
Black Flame Assassin
Durthan
Master of the Yuirwood
Nar Demonbinder
Nentyar Hunter
Raumathari Battlemage
Runescarred Berserker
Shou Disciple
Talontar Blightlord
Telflammar Shadowlord
Thayan Slaver
Chapter 3: Regions and Feats
Character Regions
Altumbel
Shou Expatriate
Star Elf
Taer
Volodni
Wizards' Reach
New Feats
Battle Jump
Draw from the Land
Ettercap Berserker
Great Stag Berserker
Ice Troll Berserker
Improved Grapple
Extended Rage
Long Reach
Owlbear Berserker
Rashemi Elemental Summoning
Snow Tiger Berserker
Vremyonni Training
Wolf Berserker
Woodwise
Craft Contingent Spell
Fortify Spell
Transdimensional Spell
Chapter 4: Magic and Spells
Chapter 5: Magic Items
Chapter 6: Monsters
Blightspawned
Blooded One
Dread Warrior
Hag, bheur
Hag, hagspawn
Hag, shrieking
Juju Zombie
Orglash
Nilshai
Shadow-walker
Spirit Folk
Taer
Telthor
Thomil
Troll, fell
Troll, ice
Troll, mur-zhagul
Uthraki
Volodni
Chapter 7: Adventuring in the East
Chapter 8: Aglarond
Chapter 9: The Great Dale
Chapter 10: Rashemen
Chapter 11: Thay
Chapter 12: Thesk
Chapter 13: Border Areas |
| Mumadar Ibn Huzal |
Posted - 09 Dec 2002 : 10:08:05
I'm not complaining about another hardcover... wish they'd done the others in hardcover as well .
The choice for hardcover might have come from the number of pages. In the size the supplements com, you can only put that many pages in a softcover before it becomes unwieldy and prone to damage.
As for the region choosen... true, I might not venture in that direction for quite a while in my games, but having collected a lot of FR material so far, it does bring a nice expansion to the collection. I'm still using the 2e books for reference and as source material. Their information value hasn't dropped when 3e came about. |
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