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 Kara-Tur, the Eastern Realms
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EltonRobb
Learned Scribe

USA
190 Posts

Posted - 29 May 2025 :  17:08:20  Show Profile Send EltonRobb a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
What do you feel about Kara-Tur? How do you feel about the Eastern Realms? Kara-Tur is certainly in the Realms right now. So, I was wondering if any of you ran campaigns in Kara-Tur?

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6387 Posts

Posted - 29 May 2025 :  18:12:41  Show Profile Send Gary Dallison a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Never run a game there, but as its the only area of the Realms greats won't touch, I've decided to adopt that as my sandbox and transform it from an oriental setting in the forgotten realms into a realmsian oriental setting. And at the same time try and properly plot all the history and fix the mistakes (of which there are many).

Thankfully Ed has added a few tidbits over the years that have filled in a lot of holes.

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Seethyr
Master of Realmslore

USA
1252 Posts

Posted - 29 May 2025 :  20:18:47  Show Profile  Visit Seethyr's Homepage Send Seethyr a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I’m not sure there’s been any updates except minor bits of info since 2e - literally a different century in both Toril and the real world. I’d love to but it’s basically just as relevant as a pure homebrew world at this point. Wish the creators would take a chance for once but we can barely get away from the Sword Coast. IMO even Maztica has a better chance.

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Azar
Master of Realmslore

1331 Posts

Posted - 29 May 2025 :  21:58:08  Show Profile Send Azar a Private Message  Reply with Quote
It is an underappreciated setting bursting with wonderful Oriental flavor; there is much space presently left open-ended just waiting to be utilized. Sadly, both it and Al-Qadim likely won't be revisited...and for silly reasons to boot.

Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.

Earth names in the Realms are more common than you may think.
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EltonRobb
Learned Scribe

USA
190 Posts

Posted - 29 May 2025 :  22:51:14  Show Profile Send EltonRobb a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Azar

It is an underappreciated setting bursting with wonderful Oriental flavor; there is much space presently left open-ended just waiting to be utilized. Sadly, both it and Al-Qadim likely won't be revisited...and for silly reasons to boot.



Yes, Wizards is being silly. There was a lot they could do with Kara-tur.
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Azar
Master of Realmslore

1331 Posts

Posted - 29 May 2025 :  23:57:05  Show Profile Send Azar a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr

the Sword Coast.


It has been commercialized. Tamed. Gelded. What was supposed to be the "fantasy Wild West" of Faerun has become utterly predictable as a fantasy theme park.

To me, the best version of that region is pre-3e (then again, that goes for most if not all of The Realms ): scarcely detailed outside of the few watering holes safe for civilized beings.

quote:
Originally posted by EltonRobb

quote:
Originally posted by Azar

It is an underappreciated setting bursting with wonderful Oriental flavor; there is much space presently left open-ended just waiting to be utilized. Sadly, both it and Al-Qadim likely won't be revisited...and for silly reasons to boot.



Yes, Wizards is being silly. There was a lot they could do with Kara-tur.



It's an unfortunate side effect of capitulating to the insane and the terminally offended.

Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.

Earth names in the Realms are more common than you may think.
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
12055 Posts

Posted - 30 May 2025 :  00:07:58  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Like many things... when it came out, I didn't have the money to buy it. Since then, I've had a little time to look over the main campaign setting. Unfortunately, time is the issue. But in looking it over, there were tidbits I looked into that were interesting in hindsight based on things that came later (i.e. they weren't interesting too much to me UNLESS you combine it with ideas that come later). For instance, Wa as a nation that's tied to spelljamming and developing its own secretive set of spelljammers becomes really interesting if you also combine the story with the fact that there's an island near them with giant vegetation (such that giant bamboo could be hulls for space vessels aka tsunamis) and sticking secret spelljamming facilities on said island.

There is a LOT more spelljamming involvement with that side of the continent. You also have the "ancient ones" that showed up a thousand years ago in Malatra. You also have scro (oscray.... which is kind of pig latin of scro since scr is technically a "consonant cluster"... which may have been a joke since orcs were seen as pig faced at that time I believe) landing there. Then of course Wa and Shou Lung.

I remember talking to ... I think BadCatMan about an idea a couple years back where people might subjectively see the world differently in Kara-Tur based on religious belief. Basically, the land there does NOT touch the astral, but instead the spirit world. Their whole idea of the gods seems to be one of the gods are in the heavens above them. So, with the whole idea of spelljamming, it might have revolved around flying to heaven for them. They may have even seen the moon differently, etc...

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas

Edited by - sleyvas on 30 May 2025 00:26:47
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EltonRobb
Learned Scribe

USA
190 Posts

Posted - 30 May 2025 :  17:07:50  Show Profile Send EltonRobb a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Azar
It's an unfortunate side effect of capitulating to the insane and the terminally offended.



I hear you on that. Sleyvas seems to see the potential in Kara-Tur, if it was properly developed.

Edited by - EltonRobb on 30 May 2025 17:09:49
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