Candlekeep Forum
Candlekeep Forum
Home | Profile | Register | Active Topics | Active Polls | Members | Private Messages | Search | FAQ
Username:
Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

 All Forums
 Forgotten Realms Journals
 General Forgotten Realms Chat
 What If Poll Question: Indulge Me
 New Topic  New Poll New Poll
 Reply to Topic
 Printer Friendly
Author Previous Topic Topic Next Topic  

KnightErrantJR
Great Reader

USA
5402 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  02:38:47  Show Profile  Visit KnightErrantJR's Homepage Send KnightErrantJR a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
Poll Question:
This is something that has occurred to me recently. I doubt I would have received it well at the time, but thinking about 4th edition and the drastic changes and potential time jump, it dawned on me that, if given the option, I think I might have been more inclined to have given 4th edition a shot if they had really gone back to basics, completely.

So, my question is, if there were a choice between the current changes, and another option, that of rebuilding the Realms, from scratch, starting in the Year of the Prince and essentially using the Old Grey Boxed set as the starting point for the "new" setting, which would you rather have had?

The second option has some merit, as you could, if everything was "reset" easily reimagine wizards working the way they do in 4th edition, for example, and if you use the original boxed set as the starting point, there would be no need to mention the lands beyond the immediate ones in Faerun. Plus, many contentious events would not be assumed to have happened.

The down side to this would be that Realms fiction would either have to be "reset" as well, or the fiction line would have nothing to do with the campaign setting anymore at this point.

Just curious to see people's thoughts on this.

Choices:

I would prefer a complete reset to the Year of the Prince.
I prefer the current, as presented 4th edition way of dealing with this.
I like both options equally.
I dislike both options equally.
I do not want to make a decision until I have seen more of the 4e Realms.

(Anonymous Vote)

Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader

USA
7106 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  02:48:49  Show Profile  Visit Rinonalyrna Fathomlin's Homepage Send Rinonalyrna Fathomlin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I'm rather surprised at myself, but I voted for option 4--I dislike them both about equally!

Why? Because I like much of the development that has occured since the Year of the Prince. It's true that the Realms has accrued plenty of baggage over the years and become "bloated" as a result, not all of the baggage is bad. If it were all thrown out, I would feel like I've been slapped in the face just as the new revelations felt like a slap in the face to me.

"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time)
Go to Top of Page

KnightErrantJR
Great Reader

USA
5402 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  02:52:22  Show Profile  Visit KnightErrantJR's Homepage Send KnightErrantJR a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I understand what you are saying. I even thought of starting my last FR campaign back in the Year of the Prince and not counting anything as canon unless I wanted to use it, but the more I thought about it, there were lots of things added since then that I really liked.

But the thought occurred to me that this was the other way they could have done the same thing, so it made me curious as to if anyone would have preferred that instead.

Thanks for the answer RF. I'm looking forward to seeing other comments as well.
Go to Top of Page

Brynweir
Senior Scribe

USA
436 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  02:58:36  Show Profile Send Brynweir a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I have to be honest - I don't know enough about the changes to have an opinion yet. Sorry.

Anyone who likes to read something that's really dark and gritty and completely awesome ought to read The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. You can check out a little taste at www.BrentWeeks.com I should probably warn you, though, that it is definitely not PG-13 :-D

He also started a new Trilogy with Black Prism, which may even surpass the Night Angel Trilogy in its awesomeness.

Go to Top of Page

Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader

USA
7106 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  02:59:18  Show Profile  Visit Rinonalyrna Fathomlin's Homepage Send Rinonalyrna Fathomlin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR

I understand what you are saying. I even thought of starting my last FR campaign back in the Year of the Prince and not counting anything as canon unless I wanted to use it, but the more I thought about it, there were lots of things added since then that I really liked.

But the thought occurred to me that this was the other way they could have done the same thing, so it made me curious as to if anyone would have preferred that instead.


I guess I can say that the Year of the Prince option gets a slight edge if only because it guarantees that certain characters I love won't be killed off. But still, it's like picking your poison.

quote:
Thanks for the answer RF. I'm looking forward to seeing other comments as well.



You're welcome--and me too!

"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time)
Go to Top of Page

KnightErrantJR
Great Reader

USA
5402 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  02:59:54  Show Profile  Visit KnightErrantJR's Homepage Send KnightErrantJR a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Brynweir

I have to be honest - I don't know enough about the changes to have an opinion yet. Sorry.



Nothing to be sorry about, that's why I put the option in there . . .
Go to Top of Page

scererar
Master of Realmslore

USA
1618 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  03:16:23  Show Profile Send scererar a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I voted for the wait and see.
Go to Top of Page

turox
Learned Scribe

USA
145 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  04:25:38  Show Profile  Visit turox's Homepage Send turox a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I also voted for the wait and see option, it's mainly due to the fact that since they moved the forums over to gleemax I haven't been able to read all the new stuff about the 4th edition (work blocked them and I don't spend much time at home reading those boards). I am keeping my mind open about 4th edition but I didn't start playing D&D again until about a year ago and the current group I play with have no intention of switching over after all the money they have spent on 3rd edition. When a 4th edition book finally gets released I will mosey over to Borders and sit down and read it over until then to me everything said about this edition is nothing but rumor.

Edit: Put too much thought into my answer so hid the majority of it.

Turox Antas Dragonslayer -
"People will believe anything they want to believe, or fear to believe."
Wizard's First Rule: Chapter 36, Page #397, US Hard Cover (revealed by Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander).
Explanation by Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander: "People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true. People’s heads are full of knowledge, facts, and beliefs, and most of it is false, yet they think it all true. People are stupid; they can only rarely tell the difference between a lie and the truth, and yet they are confident they can, and so are all the easier to fool."

Edited by - turox on 28 Nov 2007 05:34:54
Go to Top of Page

KnightErrantJR
Great Reader

USA
5402 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  04:49:40  Show Profile  Visit KnightErrantJR's Homepage Send KnightErrantJR a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hm . . . I just want to make sure this doesn't turn into a "do you want to convert to 4th edition" thread, which wasn't my intent. What I'm asking is not so much if you will get 4th edition or not, but rather, if you were in on the 4th edition design meetings, and you had the option to go one of two ways, either what we already know for sure about 4th edition (dead gods, no weave, etc), or hitting the complete reset button back to the Year of the Prince, which way would you want to go.

I don't want to accidentally spread out another yea or nay on 4th edition. I guess I'm looking at a specific aspect, which is, if drastic change has to be made, would it make more sense to start over instead of do a massive overhaul.

Go to Top of Page

GRYPHON
Senior Scribe

USA
527 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  05:06:11  Show Profile Send GRYPHON a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Sounds interesting, although I would have to wait and give 4E a look before I could make an honest choice...

'Everyone dies...I only choose the time and place for a few.' --Eric Destler
Go to Top of Page

Jorkens
Great Reader

Norway
2950 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  07:04:25  Show Profile Send Jorkens a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I went with the first choice years ago. I had a tendency to begin my campaigns in the late fifties/early sixties anyway, so when WotC more or less ruined it for me ( this is not a comment of quality, it is a matter of taste) I went back and did it my own way, based on the grey box. Some changes from the grey box where kept, most where not. the only canon here is me.

Go to Top of Page

Ergdusch
Master of Realmslore

Germany
1720 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  10:41:38  Show Profile Send Ergdusch a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR

Hm . . . I just want to make sure this doesn't turn into a "do you want to convert to 4th edition" thread, which wasn't my intent. What I'm asking is not so much if you will get 4th edition or not, but rather, if you were in on the 4th edition design meetings, and you had the option to go one of two ways, either what we already know for sure about 4th edition (dead gods, no weave, etc), or hitting the complete reset button back to the Year of the Prince, which way would you want to go.

I don't want to accidentally spread out another yea or nay on 4th edition. I guess I'm looking at a specific aspect, which is, if drastic change has to be made, would it make more sense to start over instead of do a massive overhaul.




Looking form this point of view I'd have to say - roll with the bunch and see what 4th Ed. has to offer. To make a massive overhaul by turning back the time to the Year of the Prince would really be taking several steps back. And as you mentioned it, and RF did too, it would render the novels meaningless. True, some were not very good and an overload of RSE lately was not that satisfactory to me either, but to cancel them all would be a slap in the face of what the Realms are - a living place. Therefore, I'd voted for the second option - 4th ed., even though I am not very fond of seeing the chances that it will bring about. And after all - stillstand is death.

"Das Gras weht im Wind, wenn der Wind weht."
Go to Top of Page

frapast1981
Acolyte

Italy
29 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  12:28:05  Show Profile  Visit frapast1981's Homepage Send frapast1981 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I think that either options are good in their own way.
If one reset all to the Year of Prince....it may lead to a better integration of the new rules with the setting...without too much discontinuity.
If one stay with the actual timeline of 4th. Ed. ....you have a white ticket in front of you and could make any major change that you want to incorporate the new rules with the NEW Faerun.
Go to Top of Page

Alisttair
Great Reader

Canada
3054 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  13:52:44  Show Profile  Visit Alisttair's Homepage Send Alisttair a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I say wait and see but I'm not a fan of setting resets like Marvel comics would do.

Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)

Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023
Go to Top of Page

AlorinDawn
Learned Scribe

USA
313 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  15:26:49  Show Profile  Visit AlorinDawn's Homepage Send AlorinDawn a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I don't care for either option. WotC/Hasbro has IMO mishandled the Realms in many ways. IMO they have far too many folks with their hands in the mix that don't have the background or knowledge to do the Realms justice.
Go to Top of Page

Crennen FaerieBane
Master of Realmslore

USA
1378 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  15:31:52  Show Profile Send Crennen FaerieBane a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Once again, I just don't get the big deal behind this. 4th edition will happen. The lore put forth will be canon, as it comes from the developers and designers at Mother WotC. As I've said in other threads, if you don't like it, don't read it. :)

I personally like what happened throughout the 3.x edition Realms, and I would hate to see that removed. The only thing I want in 4th edition is long ears on elves. Like as in Blood Elf long (rawr). And to be honest, a lot of the WotC art has gone that way anyway. Always jump on a good thing.

As to the lore and such. If you like it, make it happen in your game no matter what. If you don't like the City of Shade coming back, well.. keep them in the demiplane. I actually never used the drought and famine that was supposed to occur afterwards because I hear enough negativity in real life about starving people.. I don't need it in my games.

Anyway, in essence, I like what happened since the Year of the Prince, so bring on 4th Edition and let's see what we can shake up. :)

- C-Fb

P.s. - just think, what if the campaigns had started around Myth Drannor flourishing and then someone told you X edition - no, sorry, Myth Drannor's been invaded. Same concept, imo.

Still rockin' the Fey'ri style.
Go to Top of Page

freyar
Learned Scribe

Canada
220 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  15:50:15  Show Profile  Visit freyar's Homepage Send freyar a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I'm with RF. The main reason is not the developments before or after 3.5 but that I like having the option to mine a lot of books, websites, etc, for detail. Resetting or wiping things clean would make a lot of the currently available info irrelevant, and that would mean I'd have to make things up completely myself. Since the collective mind (esp Mr. Greenwood's part!) has done such a good job with the Realms so far, I'd rather stick with a slow, sane, kind of progression.

My DnD Links and Creations
Go to Top of Page

Aravine
Senior Scribe

USA
608 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  16:46:32  Show Profile  Visit Aravine's Homepage Send Aravine a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Wait and see.

The brave don't live forever,the cautious don't live at all
Go to Top of Page

BARDOBARBAROS
Senior Scribe

Greece
581 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  20:59:46  Show Profile  Visit BARDOBARBAROS's Homepage Send BARDOBARBAROS a Private Message  Reply with Quote
i want to see more about 4th edition and then decide.. But something tells me that things will get worse in my beloved campaign setting with the 4th edition...
i smell it in the air !!!

BARDOBARBAROS DOES NOT KILL.
HE DECAPITATES!!!


"The city changes, but the fools within it remain always the same" (Edwin Odesseiron- Baldur's gate 2)
Go to Top of Page

Uzzy
Senior Scribe

United Kingdom
618 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  21:45:06  Show Profile  Visit Uzzy's Homepage Send Uzzy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Resetting to the Year of the Prince would be not something I could get behind, as it would remove a lot of the things I find interesting in the Realms. I quite like the NG Mystra, Kelemvor and even the concept of Cyric (though he could do with a few changes!). I quite like the Harper Split, the Manshoon Wars, the Zhentish revival under Fzoul and Scyulla.

I'm a child of the 3rd Edition Realms. A reset to the Year of the Prince would be just as annoying as the current 4th Edition proposals.
Go to Top of Page

Faraer
Great Reader

3308 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2007 :  23:59:50  Show Profile  Visit Faraer's Homepage Send Faraer a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by CrennenFaerieBane
As I've said in other threads, if you don't like it, don't read it. :)
This is specious: the problem is not that the new Realms will be published but that the current Realms won't be.
Go to Top of Page

Chosen of Moradin
Master of Realmslore

Brazil
1120 Posts

Posted - 29 Nov 2007 :  09:59:35  Show Profile  Visit Chosen of Moradin's Homepage Send Chosen of Moradin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I, too, want to see exactly what will be the 4th Ed. FR, before to make some serious judgment about what I“ll do.

But, based in what I see until now, I prefer to stuck with my 3.5 Realms as it is now. Some of the novels and the tomes (Power of Faerūn, Lost Empires, etc.) are very good to be denied - even with some things that I don“t like. =)

Dwarf, DM, husband, and proud of this! :P

twitter: @yuripeixoto
Facebook: yuri.peixoto
Go to Top of Page

Hawkins
Great Reader

USA
2131 Posts

Posted - 29 Nov 2007 :  18:21:49  Show Profile  Visit Hawkins's Homepage Send Hawkins a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Though I am trying not to judge the 4e Realms before it is released, I had to go with option #4. The changes as currently described for the 4e Realms leave a bad taste in my mouth, but there is a lot that has happened since the Year of the Prince (would you mind adding the actual year for those of us who do not have the Roll of years memorized) that I do like.

Errant d20 Designer - My Blog (last updated January 06, 2016)

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back. --Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass

"Mmm, not the darkness," Myrin murmured. "Don't cast it there." --Erik Scott de Bie, Shadowbane

* My character sheets (PFRPG, 3.5, and AE versions; not viewable in Internet Explorer)
* Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Reference Document (PFRPG OGL Rules)
* The Hypertext d20 SRD (3.5 OGL Rules)
* 3.5 D&D Archives

My game design work:
* Heroes of the Jade Oath (PFRPG, conversion; Rite Publishing)
* Compendium Arcanum Volume 1: Cantrips & Orisons (PFRPG, designer; d20pfsrd.com Publishing)
* Compendium Arcanum Volume 2: 1st-Level Spells (PFRPG, designer; d20pfsrd.com Publishing)
* Martial Arts Guidebook (forthcoming) (PFRPG, designer; Rite Publishing)
Go to Top of Page

BARDOBARBAROS
Senior Scribe

Greece
581 Posts

Posted - 29 Nov 2007 :  20:37:19  Show Profile  Visit BARDOBARBAROS's Homepage Send BARDOBARBAROS a Private Message  Reply with Quote
But if i judge from the book Dungeon Survival Guide d&d core which has recently released then i have to say that if the books of 4th edirion look like this then it's going to be TERRIBLE!!!

BARDOBARBAROS DOES NOT KILL.
HE DECAPITATES!!!


"The city changes, but the fools within it remain always the same" (Edwin Odesseiron- Baldur's gate 2)
Go to Top of Page

Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36802 Posts

Posted - 29 Nov 2007 :  21:48:54  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by BARDOBARBAROS

But if i judge from the book Dungeon Survival Guide d&d core which has recently released then i have to say that if the books of 4th edirion look like this then it's going to be TERRIBLE!!!



I don't think it's fair to judge an entire product line on an earlier, unrelated product. Would you judge all Chevy Corvettes by checking out a Model T Ford?

Candlekeep Forums Moderator

Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com
-- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct

I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!
Go to Top of Page

RIMV
Acolyte

USA
16 Posts

Posted - 29 Nov 2007 :  22:07:08  Show Profile  Visit RIMV's Homepage Send RIMV a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I've decided I'm just going to stick with 3.X (I have nearly all the 3.X books). I've just recently started buying old 2E materials as well. Therefore, between all the 2E-3.X source books and information on this site, I'll have plenty of Realmslore to keep my group and I busy for a LONG time. 4E can bugger off for all I care.



Go to Top of Page

Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 29 Nov 2007 :  23:10:48  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
This is a tough call - I think I would LOVE to see a 4e "Grey Box Edition" - you know, like a limited edition re-release of the original material, but with 4e rules applied (which really wouldn't effect most of what was in there anyway). Geeez - just getting another 'box' for old times sake would have me shelling out a $60-$70 for it. It would almost be like a "What If" - only a single box and nothing more, for people who wanted to run old-school FR with the new rules.

However, I think to do it as THE 4e setting would be a mistake, probably on par with a hundred-year time leap (if thats what they intend). They both accomplish the same thing - one obliterates the lore that came after, and the other makes it irrelevant. I don't think I care for either very much, but I will wait and see what they hand us in Aug before I make my final judgement.

The other option this thread make me think about is that they reset the setting to the OGB, and then add back in the good parts over the next few years. But then a brand new problem arises - who gets to decide what the 'good parts' were? The Shades? The ToT? A dozen other novel plots that have come and gone? On the surface it sounds like a dream come true, but I doubt any two people could agree on what set of lore should get worked back in.

quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

I don't think it's fair to judge an entire product line on an earlier, unrelated product. Would you judge all Chevy Corvettes by checking out a Model T Ford?

Of course not - Fords and Chevys are nothing at all alike. I would autoamtically pick the SUPERIOR vehicle - the Model 'T' Ford.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 29 Nov 2007 23:13:09
Go to Top of Page
  Previous Topic Topic Next Topic  
 New Topic  New Poll New Poll
 Reply to Topic
 Printer Friendly
Jump To:
Candlekeep Forum © 1999-2024 Candlekeep.com Go To Top Of Page
Snitz Forums 2000