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Shottglazz
Acolyte
Canada
49 Posts |
 Posted - 20 Aug 2008 : 19:43:10
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So my group and I are starting a new campaign next month...3e Forgotten Realms with a "feel" as close to 2e as possible the plan is to start the timeline just a couple years after the ToT...
The quandary I'm having is whether to use the Moonsea or Waterdeep as the focal point in the campaign...I'm familiar with both settings, have scads of info on both and recognize good points for each place.
My question is: If you were in the same position (as DM) which of the two locations would you use for a campaign starting at 1st level with a group of people who have differing levels of familiarity with the Realms?
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Shottglazz
"Take my love, Take my land, Take me where I cannot stand;
I don't care, I'm still free. You can't take the sky from me." |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3249 Posts |
Posted - 20 Aug 2008 : 19:46:24
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| I'd probably use Waterdeep. I view it as the Paris of the Realms and a good place for the newbie to learn about the world. |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 20 Aug 2008 : 19:53:44
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The two areas are so unlike that I think it would depend on what sort of campaign you and your players want. For a large rambling city Campaign and Fafhrd and Gray Mouser adventures Waterdeep is perfect. For a more "traditional" D&D campaign with a mix of wilderness, dungeons and city's then the Moonsea is perfect. You can of course have any sort of campaign in both regions, but I would say that in general the Waterdeep region has a bit of a lighter feel than the Moonsea.
I think I would go with the Moonsea myself, but that is coloured by the fact that I have allways been a bit intimidated be Waterdeep. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 20 Aug 2008 : 20:54:31
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Not really.
Both are excellent places to run an 'Intrigue' campaign.
Then again, so is the rest of Faerūn. 
If you have trouble deciding, why not have a newly-established portal that the Zhents are using to further their aims in and around Waterdeep?
I would say make it an old Netehreses Portal -recently rediscovered - sitting in the Border Forest, that leads to the Sargauth Enclave (meaning the Zhents will be coming out beneath Waterdeep, possibly in the sewers if you want to avoid Skullport and Undermountain).
Now you get to have the best of both worlds, and you can spin it anyway you like. I think it would be fun to have some Drow trying to take te portal from the Zhents, and having the PCs get caught up in that.  |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 20 Aug 2008 20:57:22 |
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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 21 Aug 2008 : 03:14:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Shottglazz
So my group and I are starting a new campaign next month...3e Forgotten Realms with a "feel" as close to 2e as possible the plan is to start the timeline just a couple years after the ToT...
The quandary I'm having is whether to use the Moonsea or Waterdeep as the focal point in the campaign...I'm familiar with both settings, have scads of info on both and recognize good points for each place.
My question is: If you were in the same position (as DM) which of the two locations would you use for a campaign starting at 1st level with a group of people who have differing levels of familiarity with the Realms?
Waterdeep every time |
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Thauramarth
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
732 Posts |
Posted - 21 Aug 2008 : 08:44:46
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I'd go for Waterdeep, but like other scribes have said, it depends on the campaign you and your players want to have.
In my opinion, given the timeline that you want to play in, events around the Moonsea tend to be dominated by Zhentil Keep and the Zhentarim. You can make a fine campaign out of the PCs starting out and evolving in this Region, but it would involve a lot of Zhent-bashing, Zhent-outwitting, and Zhent galore.
I've always seen the the greater Waterdeep area as a more "neutral" area, where there's no shortage of intrigue - sooner or later everybody ends up in Waterdeep - but there is not really any dominant theme or power group to Waterdeep, which leaves more leeway for "small fry" trying to make a name for themselves.
I've run a campaign in both areas, and though both were great fun to run (not sure if my then-players would agree), from a DM's practical viewpoint, I found easier to insert published adventures (including a lot of material from Dungeon Magazine) in the greater Waterdeep area, than in the Moonsea area. |
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Shottglazz
Acolyte
Canada
49 Posts |
Posted - 21 Aug 2008 : 14:07:35
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quote:
Originally posted by Thauramarth
I'd go for Waterdeep, but like other scribes have said, it depends on the campaign you and your players want to have.
In my opinion, given the timeline that you want to play in, events around the Moonsea tend to be dominated by Zhentil Keep and the Zhentarim. You can make a fine campaign out of the PCs starting out and evolving in this Region, but it would involve a lot of Zhent-bashing, Zhent-outwitting, and Zhent galore.
I've always seen the the greater Waterdeep area as a more "neutral" area, where there's no shortage of intrigue - sooner or later everybody ends up in Waterdeep - but there is not really any dominant theme or power group to Waterdeep, which leaves more leeway for "small fry" trying to make a name for themselves.
I've run a campaign in both areas, and though both were great fun to run (not sure if my then-players would agree), from a DM's practical viewpoint, I found easier to insert published adventures (including a lot of material from Dungeon Magazine) in the greater Waterdeep area, than in the Moonsea area.
Thanks, this is the kind of answer I was looking for... |
Shottglazz
"Take my love, Take my land, Take me where I cannot stand;
I don't care, I'm still free. You can't take the sky from me." |
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Pandora
Learned Scribe
Germany
305 Posts |
Posted - 22 Aug 2008 : 19:51:15
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| I think Moonsea would be a lot easier, because you can start small and add information for those who arent familiar that much with the Realms in smaller bites. Waterdeep is nice, BUT it is also a hugely complex place where you have to explain a lot more than in a small village around the Moonsea. |
If you cant say what youre meaning,
you can never mean what youre saying.
- Centauri Minister of Intelligence, Babylon 5 |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 25 Aug 2008 : 21:08:26
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quote:
Originally posted by Shottglazz
My question is: If you were in the same position (as DM) which of the two locations would you use for a campaign starting at 1st level with a group of people who have differing levels of familiarity with the Realms?
I, personally, would likely choose Waterdeep, but that doesn't mean you couldn't use the Moonsea and enjoy it. There is more information to be found on Waterdeep, IIRC. |
"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) |
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Na-Gang
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
348 Posts |
Posted - 26 Aug 2008 : 00:58:31
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| I've recently started DMing a 'Waterdeep' campaign. The PCs started in the village of Amphail and after becoming local heroes are 'moving up' to Waterdeep's challenges soon. |
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Na-Gang
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
348 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2008 : 09:51:27
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| In hindsight I'm wishing I'd started them in the Moonshaes. |
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Topic |
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Setting for new 3e campaign
