| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 30 Apr 2005 : 18:31:05
Our esteemed THO mentioned in the "ask Ed" thread that Cormyrean millitary dress and ranks and all that good fluff was now the purview of NDA, and hinted that she might be able to shed more light on this in a month or so.
I can only hope this might forshadow a new Cormyr book on the horizon, though if we don't know for sure if its been greenlighted, then I would have to say its not going to hit the shipping schedule this year. I hope my guess is correct on this. I would love to see another, well done, sorcebook on Cormyr, especially if Ed gets to throw his two copper thumbs into the matter. |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Asgetrion |
Posted - 26 May 2005 : 14:31:28
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
I realised that  . I was actually speaking from an in-game perspective.
As I see it, most native Realmsians probably wouldn't bother purchasing any of the Guides by Volo if they were just dry and dull tomes with page after page of consistent facts. Like those of us in the real-world, native Realmsians probably purchase these tomes largely for the Realmslore inside, but also, there is most likely a great passion in many communities for Volo's entertaining writing style.
To many, he makes learning about the world outside their doors... fun and exciting  .
True. Master Volo certainly writes very eloquently. I am glad for Elminster´s notes and corrections, though, since sometimes Volo hasn´t really bothered to "get to the bottom" of things in favor of dramatic and exciting narrative
I poured through his Guide to Cormyr yesterday, and once again I was impressed with his text. The parts concerning the adventuring charters and festivals contained some of the most innovative (and exciting) pieces of Realmslore I have ever seen... though I must note that his estimations for the price of adventuring charters in Cormyr seem a bit high? |
| Asgetrion |
Posted - 26 May 2005 : 14:14:15
quote:
Originally posted by warlockco
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
Hmm, good thing we shelved the "Fat, wheezing, slovenly merchant" PRC. 
-- George Krashos
I think Mirt has levels in that PrC.
I don´t think Mirt could be described as 'slovenly'? Fat and wheezing, certainly |
| warlockco |
Posted - 26 May 2005 : 04:34:54
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
Hmm, good thing we shelved the "Fat, wheezing, slovenly merchant" PRC.
-- George Krashos
I think Mirt has levels in that PrC. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 26 May 2005 : 02:59:57
quote:
Originally posted by Asgetrion
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Asgetrion
Then again, I guess Volo was exaggerating a bit.
For sales more than anything. If the guides were boring, then hardly any Realmsians would purchase them... .
I wasn´t really complaining about the quality and content of Master Volo´s Guidebooks I love them for all the lovingly written quality Realmslore within every page
Sometimes I am just a bit amused with shopkeepers - after all, how on Toril almost all of the smiths have either Helmed Horrors or Animated swords (or even anvils!) defending their shops? And let´s not mention those innkeepers at all
I realised that . I was actually speaking from an in-game perspective.
As I see it, most native Realmsians probably wouldn't bother purchasing any of the Guides by Volo if they were just dry and dull tomes with page after page of consistent facts. Like those of us in the real-world, native Realmsians probably purchase these tomes largely for the Realmslore inside, but also, there is most likely a great passion in many communities for Volo's entertaining writing style.
To many, he makes learning about the world outside their doors... fun and exciting .
|
| Asgetrion |
Posted - 26 May 2005 : 02:38:41
quote:
Originally posted by Reefy
Do you really think that? I have to say that I fear this might happen too but certainly Cormyr and the Dalelands are huge areas and important enough to deserve their own books. They're also popular areas so will still have wider appeal - I don't really have a clue but it wouldn't surprise me if more people have campagins in Cormyr than in the whole of the Shining South. Silver Marches and Waterdeep get their own sourcebooks and these are small but popular areas.
Cormyr definitely would require a region book on its own. And the Dalelands, too. Probably more people have campaigns there than in the rest of the whole Realms (just kidding ;)
But seriously, I might occasionally use Shining South as a reference, but I will hardly ever run a campaign there. |
| Asgetrion |
Posted - 26 May 2005 : 02:32:58
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Asgetrion
Then again, I guess Volo was exaggerating a bit.
For sales more than anything. If the guides were boring, then hardly any Realmsians would purchase them... .
I wasn´t really complaining about the quality and content of Master Volo´s Guidebooks I love them for all the lovingly written quality Realmslore within every page
Sometimes I am just a bit amused with shopkeepers - after all, how on Toril almost all of the smiths have either Helmed Horrors or Animated swords (or even anvils!) defending their shops? And let´s not mention those innkeepers at all |
| Reefy |
Posted - 26 May 2005 : 01:41:17
quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
I doubt Cormyr will get a book all by itself
Id wager that you'll get the following
Cormyr and Sembia in same source book
or Cormyr and the Dragon Coast
or even Cormyr, Dragon Coast and Sembia
I further predict that we will one day see the Dalelands and the Moonsea in the same source book
Do you really think that? I have to say that I fear this might happen too but certainly Cormyr and the Dalelands are huge areas and important enough to deserve their own books. They're also popular areas so will still have wider appeal - I don't really have a clue but it wouldn't surprise me if more people have campagins in Cormyr than in the whole of the Shining South. Silver Marches and Waterdeep get their own sourcebooks and these are small but popular areas. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 25 May 2005 : 02:19:40
quote:
Originally posted by Asgetrion
Then again, I guess Volo was exaggerating a bit.
For sales more than anything. If the guides were boring, then hardly any Realmsians would purchase them... .
|
| Asgetrion |
Posted - 25 May 2005 : 01:44:37
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
Hmm, good thing we shelved the "Fat, wheezing, slovenly merchant" PRC.
-- George Krashos
I was just joking... "Fat, wheezing, slovenly merchant" PrC sounds just fine What are the requirements? I´d hazard a guess that you need at least BAB +9, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, and Improved Critical (money pouch)
I may have some prejudice against merchants ever since half of them in Volo´s Guides seemed to either possess innate magical abilities, loads of magic items, or powerful guardian monsters. Almost all of them seem to be throwing stuff around their shops a lot (since they usually have a +4 to all attack rolls within their shops ;)
Then again, I guess Volo was exaggerating a bit. |
| Kentinal |
Posted - 25 May 2005 : 01:06:24
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
Hmm, good thing we shelved the "Fat, wheezing, slovenly merchant" PRC.
-- George Krashos
Could we get the data that was planed for this very important class ? *wink* I think I need about 20 of them. |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 25 May 2005 : 00:59:50
Hmm, good thing we shelved the "Fat, wheezing, slovenly merchant" PRC.
-- George Krashos
|
| Asgetrion |
Posted - 24 May 2005 : 16:20:42
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Asgetrion
I do not really care for any more prestige classes (or updating them to d&d3.5).
It doesn't seem to matter if we'd care for them or not -- they force-feed them to us, anyway. 
Indeed... My plate is still full from the last serving  ...
Mine too. No more "Halfling Warsnipers" or "Masters of the Invisible Hand" for me
Although I would welcome more "specialty priest"-like prestige classes . Faiths & Pantheons featured some, yet many deities would also deserve theirs. Perhaps Eric could do them? 
I am glad that Eric is designing the "Waterdeep"-accessory... that ensures that there will be no "Waterdhavian Innkeeper", "Dock Ward Brawlers" or "Street Urchin" prestige classes found on its pages
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| The Sage |
Posted - 24 May 2005 : 02:34:46
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Asgetrion
I do not really care for any more prestige classes (or updating them to d&d3.5).
It doesn't seem to matter if we'd care for them or not -- they force-feed them to us, anyway.
Indeed... My plate is still full from the last serving ...
|
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 23 May 2005 : 22:43:26
quote:
Originally posted by Asgetrion
I do not really care for any more prestige classes (or updating them to d&d3.5).
It doesn't seem to matter if we'd care for them or not -- they force-feed them to us, anyway. |
| Asgetrion |
Posted - 23 May 2005 : 17:29:40
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
quote:
Originally posted by Asgetrion
Any thoughts on these?
I like your examples. However, I'd be amazed if a published Cormyr gaming product covered half of what you listed.
Indeed.
In the likelihood that a Cormyr tome were to be published, I'd rather see it contain details on the Dragon Coast. I'd be curious to see whether Anauroch itself would also be detailed in the same tome...
I think the Dragon Coast would demand an independent region book in itself (as would Anauroch). I hope that the Stonelands and Tunlands are featured as much as possible, without losing too much focus on Cormyr.
I do not really care for any more prestige classes (or updating them to d&d3.5). New spells (elven and war wizards) and magic items related to Cormyr (the Wyvern Crown of Cormyr, and the Swords of the State, for example) wouldn´t be "too crunchy" for my taste, if they are chosen and done properly. Mostly I hope background information on the topics I posted above... |
| The Sage |
Posted - 15 May 2005 : 02:41:51
quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
quote:
Originally posted by Asgetrion
Any thoughts on these?
I like your examples. However, I'd be amazed if a published Cormyr gaming product covered half of what you listed.
Indeed.
In the likelihood that a Cormyr tome were to be published, I'd rather see it contain details on the Dragon Coast. I'd be curious to see whether Anauroch itself would also be detailed in the same tome...
|
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 15 May 2005 : 01:48:16
quote:
Originally posted by Asgetrion
Any thoughts on these?
I like your examples. However, I'd be amazed if a published Cormyr gaming product covered half of what you listed. |
| Dargoth |
Posted - 15 May 2005 : 01:36:18
I doubt Cormyr will get a book all by itself
Id wager that you'll get the following
Cormyr and Sembia in same source book
or Cormyr and the Dragon Coast
or even Cormyr, Dragon Coast and Sembia
I further predict that we will one day see the Dalelands and the Moonsea in the same source book |
| Asgetrion |
Posted - 15 May 2005 : 01:07:29
I would happily welcome a Cormyr region book, especially if it is done by Ed, Sean, Eric or George.
Lately there´s just been too much "crunch" in the published volumes, with very little juicy details and Realmslore... *sigh*
If I could make a wish, it´d have similar information as the good ol´ Waterdeep and the Savage Frontier
My players always demand extra attention to little details, so here are some examples of what I would like to know more about:
Cormyrean heraldry : Ed has touched this point on some of his stuff, but I would really love to have illustrated city/town/noble family coat-of-arms, along with some detailed information about cormyrean heraldry rules in general.
Folks, feuds, factions : Politics and power groups, including all new NPCs, both twisted individuals and members of different organisations.
Who were the Mages-Regal mentioned in FRCS? What is their relation to Zhentarim, or the Sword Heralds (who seem to be a very similar organisation)?
Nobility: as mentioned above, detailed and illustrated coat-of-arms, family history (even a short one) existing members, noble ranks, holdings etc.
Cormyrean military and war wizards: More than just military ranks, or the known NPCs. The history of Cormyr´s armed forces, their training processes, layouts of outposts, common tactics etc.
Guilds: Again, briefly mentioned in previous source books that there ARE many guilds operating in Cormyr. What kind of guilds there are - is there a Lamplighters´ Guild in Cormyr? How many members do they have? Are there any general guild laws? Is there a Merchants´Guild, which governs all other guilds? Etcetera...
And, if there would be a ready-to-run adventure within the book, why not something like "Return to the Haunted Halls"? Or perhaps some other haunted mage-hold or ruin within Stonelands?
Any thoughts on these?
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| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 06 May 2005 : 17:10:28
quote:
Originally posted by Snotlord
I agree with the Knight. It seems to me that the "mainstream" D&D are annoyed with the number of elven races (judging by rants on messageboards and reviews), and elves in general, in the realms. Thus making an elven book for FR unlikely IMO.
I find that reaction funny. While it's only my opinion, I feel the "return" of the Star Search elves was done to appeal to "mainstream" D&D fans who don't necessarily run a FR campaign. The Star Search elves provided these gamers a cool new elven race they could put into their campaign even if it's not based in the Realms.
But, that's just my opinion. And from reading comments from two FR authors at this forum, it appears that the novel department was open to a book being centered around the Purple Dragon Knight prestige class. Thus, perhaps in the near future we'll see a Cormyr sourcebook since it doesn't appear WOTC has grown tired of the setting.
How could they? |
| Kuje |
Posted - 06 May 2005 : 16:57:23
quote:
Originally posted by Snotlord
I agree with the Knight. It seems to me that the "mainstream" D&D are annoyed with the number of elven races (judging by rants on messageboards and reviews), and elves in general, in the realms. Thus making an elven book for FR unlikely IMO.
I know I am. With the retconning of the Wood/Wild elves of 1e and 2e in FR. If you didn't know they were one subrace in FR until 3e. I still have no idea why WOTC felt the need to change that. Then they added in Star Elves. How many darn elven subraces does FR need?
Granted there are only seven in my version.
The original five:
Moon
Sun
Wood/Wild
Aquatic
Dark
Then I added:
Winged
Lythari
The rest are unneeded. |
| Reefy |
Posted - 06 May 2005 : 16:10:25
quote:
Originally posted by Faraer
Volo's Guide to Cormyr is terrific, of course, but is end-user-focused and leaves out most of the underpinnings. The FRS-series sourcebooks The Dalelands and Cormyr are just thin (undense), with remarkably little new content or Realms atmosphere for their page count.
I'm slightly fonder of the Dales than of Cormyr, but would love to see a new book on either. (Since 2000 we've had four non-Heartlands regional sourcebooks and no Heartlands ones -- something wrong there.)
With huge voluminous web enhancements with all the stuff George and Garen have been working up with Ed for the last oh these many years.
I have to concur with what all you've said. A Heartlands book has been a long time coming, and while I would personally prefer a Dalelands one, I'd quite happily take Cormyr.
And I think there are many people out there who'd love to see more of Volo and his travels. |
| Snotlord |
Posted - 05 May 2005 : 19:40:51
I agree with the Knight. It seems to me that the "mainstream" D&D are annoyed with the number of elven races (judging by rants on messageboards and reviews), and elves in general, in the realms. Thus making an elven book for FR unlikely IMO.
Lots of elven history and elven races are covered in Lost Empires and Races, which does not help the odds for a book on the elves.
I think our best shot at a book that includes Evermeet, is an island book that includes Moonshae, or a Sword Coast book with both Moonshae and Evermeet.
On the other hand, the folks at wotc clearly like the elves of faerun, so who knows? I would love a book like that. |
| Rudar Dimble |
Posted - 05 May 2005 : 18:29:38
quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
quote:
Originally posted by Rudar Dimble
That would certainly surprise me
Why would it surprise you?
Because I think that WotC is more willing to publish region based sourcebooks that they know are going to be bestsellers. An Evermeet sourcebook would certainly have my interest and probably the interest of many people on these forums. However, the 'normal' or 'regular' D&D player isn't waiting for a Evermeet, but much more likely will they be waiting for Cormyr or the Sword Coast.
Of course, these are just my thoughts. |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 05 May 2005 : 18:24:57
quote:
Originally posted by Rudar Dimble
That would certainly surprise me
Why would it surprise you? |
| Rudar Dimble |
Posted - 05 May 2005 : 18:12:55
quote:
Originally posted by SirUrza
Well isn't Ed's next novel project his Knights series? Seems if they want to tie-in the novels with product prolly that would be the way to go, HOWEVER, we're all forgetting something.
Realms of the Elves
My money is on an Evermeet/Evereska/etc. book.
That would certainly surprise me |
| SirUrza |
Posted - 05 May 2005 : 17:41:18
Well isn't Ed's next novel project his Knights series? Seems if they want to tie-in the novels with product prolly that would be the way to go, HOWEVER, we're all forgetting something.
Realms of the Elves
My money is on an Evermeet/Evereska/etc. book.
|
| Rudar Dimble |
Posted - 05 May 2005 : 09:32:57
quote:
Originally posted by Faraer
Volo's Guide to Cormyr is terrific, of course, but is end-user-focused and leaves out most of the underpinnings. The FRS-series sourcebooks The Dalelands and Cormyr are just thin (undense), with remarkably little new content or Realms atmosphere for their page count.
I'm slightly fonder of the Dales than of Cormyr, but would love to see a new book on either. (Since 2000 we've had four non-Heartlands regional sourcebooks and no Heartlands ones -- something wrong there.)
With huge voluminous web enhancements with all the stuff George and Garen have been working up with Ed for the last oh these many years.
The Volo's Guides are great...I think we all agree on that one. However, I do find The Dalelands to be a very useful sourcebook, although I concur, it's very thin. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 05 May 2005 : 02:30:59
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
The Volo's Guides were the best. I should dearly love to see that series revived.
I couldn't agree with that more.
I always keep the Volo's Guides close at hand. Even when I'm not looking for campaign ideas, they still make wonderful reading material.
|
| George Krashos |
Posted - 05 May 2005 : 01:58:40
quote:
Originally posted by Faraer
With huge voluminous web enhancements with all the stuff George and Garen have been working up with Ed for the last oh these many years.
Credit has to also go to some of the earlier people whose work on Cormyr was seminal, such as Grant Christie and Bryon Wischstadt. Personally, I've stepped back from Cormyr of late, handing over to the very able Garen Thal whose ideas and musings have far overtaken mine.
I've since headed east and am checking out the sites.
-- George Krashos
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