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Old Man Harpell
Senior Scribe

USA
495 Posts

Posted - 05 Aug 2009 :  04:40:45  Show Profile Send Old Man Harpell a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
...can you find anything...anything at all, that you actually like about it? Apologies if this should have gone elsewhere, but this seemed to be the appropriate place.

I'm looking for self-described Shattered Realms-haters (such as myself) to list things they have found in the FRCG that they think is actually worthwhile, and would want to have retained in the (impossible) event that the Forgotten Realms was given to us the way it should have been (rather than the way it was). Not what you don't like - that would take up too much space, I think, and some elements, we can assume would transfer straight over (like Waterdeep, Cormyr, and so on) - but 'new concepts' that were not really part of Realms canon previously.

For myself:

*Netheril. This is completely in the spirit of FR, I think. Ever since the Netheril boxed set, this has always intrigued me.

*Anauroch is gone (as a desert). For some reason, that just did not make any sense to me. It never particularly bothered me that it was there, but I approve of it going bye-bye.

*High Imaskar. Along with the fact that Deep Imaskar is still there, this is one of the better additions in the book. And overlaying it on top of Mulhorand/Unther was probably one of the compromises they made that likely generated less controversy/hate than it potentially could have (imagine if it had overlaid the Dales or Cormyr - ouch).

*Returned Abeir: One of the few sections of the book that was worth the read, and that I did not want the time I had spent reading it given back to me. I would not have put it where it lies in 'official canon', admittedly (and in any campaign I run, it will be in a roughly Australia-ish location), but everything else about it was an explosion of imagination. It appealed to me in a way that the Dragon Overlords of Ansalon (Dragonlance) did not.

*The lack of horrendous changes in either Kara-Tur or Zakhara (although there weren't actually any changes listed in any detail in the book) - for whatever reason.

*Earthmotes. While I dislike the name 'earthmote', I am an old player of Skyrealms of Jorune, and this was one of the draws the book had for me. The idea of a skyrealm in a game that also didn't include the possibility of someone packing a photonic blaster pistol was a winning element for me.

*Skyships. While I grew up with the Realms, it was not the only world I spent time in (although it is the favored of the two D&D worlds I played any appreciable time in). Another world/game was Talislanta, where 'windships' were available as a means of transportation - and some of whose ideas I have (and will again) brought into the Realms (and make them fit). While I am sour on the concept of wiping Halruaa from the map, the skyships are wholly appropriate in any iteration of the Realms.

I am sure I could find some other things that do not fall into the 'despise' or 'as it should be' categories, but the post is likely long enough.

Jakk
Great Reader

Canada
2165 Posts

Posted - 05 Aug 2009 :  06:11:28  Show Profile Send Jakk a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I like a lot of the same things:

* Netheril and the disappearance of Anauroch are good (although I would have made the geography closer to the pre-desert map in Lost Empires of Faerun, including the restoration of the Narrow Sea; otherwise, where did all the water from the High Ice go?).
(I actually didn't have a problem with the desert being there, once I learned that it was magically created, by what was later (in 2E) essentially identified as defiler magic; I was a big Dark Sun fan then as well, and I might even check out the Dark Sun 4E books; if they make my core books useful and inspire my group to actually play some 4E, that's fine by me.)
* High Imaskar is cool too, but Halaster should be running the place.
* Returned Abeir is excellent, definitely the best part of the Brave New Realms (TM), but I prefer to call it Laerakond.
* The earthmotes are interesting, and I have some storyline ideas involving Eltab for my campaign...

One point of contention:
* I thought the skyships would have been far more appropriate if they had *not* nuked Halruaa...

And one cautionary note:
* I suspect that the lack of horrendous changes in Kara-Tur and Zakhara is simply due to the lack of coverage of those areas. If the Sellplague affected all of Toril, then the rest of the continent likely saw the same kind of shakeups that Faerun proper did... it's just that there was far less established canon to invalidate in those areas, so they received far less attention.

Playing in the Realms since the Old Grey Box (1987)... and *still* having fun with material published before 2008, despite the NDA'd lore.

If it's comparable in power with non-magical abilities, it's not magic.

Edited by - Jakk on 05 Aug 2009 06:16:26
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
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USA
36798 Posts

Posted - 05 Aug 2009 :  07:05:31  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Returned Abeir is the only thing that really strikes me as worth keeping.

I like the idea of a Thayan civil war, but I totally would have gone in a different direction with it (my version would split the Thayans into two factions: Szass rules at home, and the loyal opposition faction, who also control the Red Wal-Marts, are now openly controlling and based out of Mulmaster).

I like the idea of the Five Companies, but I would have likely given them an extra-planar origin.

Oh, and in my ideal Realms, all of this would exist, but without the Sellplague or the timejump. Some of the events of 3E would be rewritten/omitted, as well.

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Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 05 Aug 2009 07:06:46
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
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Posted - 05 Aug 2009 :  07:07:49  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Old Man Harpell


*Skyships. While I grew up with the Realms, it was not the only world I spent time in (although it is the favored of the two D&D worlds I played any appreciable time in). Another world/game was Talislanta, where 'windships' were available as a means of transportation - and some of whose ideas I have (and will again) brought into the Realms (and make them fit). While I am sour on the concept of wiping Halruaa from the map, the skyships are wholly appropriate in any iteration of the Realms.


Skyships were invented by Ed, and have been a part of the published Realms for many years -- going back as far as 1E, I believe. They were definitely in 2E.

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Thauramarth
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United Kingdom
729 Posts

Posted - 05 Aug 2009 :  07:40:32  Show Profile Send Thauramarth a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hmmm... Not sure if Ed invented Skyships as such, even for D&D (I think they were featured in the D&D Old World, where the Alphatian Empire had entire fleets of them), but he did write an article "Sailors on the Sea of Air - The Skyships of the Forgotten Realms" in Dragon #124.
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High

Australia
31727 Posts

Posted - 05 Aug 2009 :  08:11:19  Show Profile Send The Sage a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Thauramarth

Hmmm... Not sure if Ed invented Skyships as such, even for D&D (I think they were featured in the D&D Old World, where the Alphatian Empire had entire fleets of them), but he did write an article "Sailors on the Sea of Air - The Skyships of the Forgotten Realms" in Dragon #124.

No, they're Ed's. As he's said in replies about skyships here at Candlekeep.

"Sailors on the Sea of Air" in DRAGON #124 does mention a few more, and TSR/Wizards probably did save the imagery for MYSTARA, SPELLJAMMER, and EBERRON, though the Realms had 'em first. But see "Realmslore: The Lost Ship" on wizards.com.

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Jorkens
Great Reader

Norway
2950 Posts

Posted - 05 Aug 2009 :  08:27:28  Show Profile Send Jorkens a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Invent is to strong a word, as mentioned in the same article, the skyship are a common feature in old Sword and Planet and fantasy stories. I cant remember them being used in D&D before though. TSR had the Warriors of Mars game, but from what I have read (I have never seen the game)that was more of a strategy game, and I am unsure about whether the flying ships were ever included in that game.

Why do I feel like my english is actualy getting worse with time.
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Old Man Harpell
Senior Scribe

USA
495 Posts

Posted - 05 Aug 2009 :  12:18:42  Show Profile Send Old Man Harpell a Private Message  Reply with Quote
It doesn't shock me in the least that Ed created skyships...I will rephrase my statement to say that the windships of Talislanta were my first exposure to such craft, when the game released it's Handbook in 1987 (ironically, around the time I first encountered the Realms).

And Jorkens...your English is just fine. Better, in fact, than an alarming amount of the products of our domestic education system...
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Snotlord
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Norway
476 Posts

Posted - 05 Aug 2009 :  16:54:32  Show Profile  Visit Snotlord's Homepage Send Snotlord a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Netheril and "imperial" Cormyr seem logical to me. I liked Returned Abeir (although I loathed the map). I also like High Imaskar.

A pretty short list.
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Teneck
Learned Scribe

USA
133 Posts

Posted - 05 Aug 2009 :  17:04:03  Show Profile  Visit Teneck's Homepage Send Teneck a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Old Man Harpell


*Anauroch is gone (as a desert). For some reason, that just did not make any sense to me. It never particularly bothered me that it was there, but I approve of it going bye-bye.



I never really felt either way about it...it was just there as a feature...but I do wonder now what happened to the race/clan of people(can't remember their name atm) that resided in the desert.
As I have not read much about 4e can anyone tell me what happened to them?

"Go ahead...Sleep in the church...the vampires can't get ya in the church" Any DM...any time.

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Mace Hammerhand
Great Reader

Germany
2296 Posts

Posted - 05 Aug 2009 :  20:29:12  Show Profile  Visit Mace Hammerhand's Homepage Send Mace Hammerhand a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Bedine, Teneck

Mace's not so gentle gamer's journal My rants were harmless compared to this, beware!
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Teneck
Learned Scribe

USA
133 Posts

Posted - 05 Aug 2009 :  20:56:19  Show Profile  Visit Teneck's Homepage Send Teneck a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Mace Hammerhand

Bedine, Teneck



DOH !!!!...Yup...that's them. Any info on what happened to them Mace...or can you see 'em from the cave? My spot in the cave is a wee bit far back to see out the door.

"Go ahead...Sleep in the church...the vampires can't get ya in the church" Any DM...any time.

"He's like a trained ape...without the training"
Simon after Jane trashed the Med lab
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arry
Learned Scribe

United Kingdom
317 Posts

Posted - 05 Aug 2009 :  21:10:30  Show Profile Send arry a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Short answer is; no.
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Uzzy
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United Kingdom
618 Posts

Posted - 05 Aug 2009 :  22:04:38  Show Profile  Visit Uzzy's Homepage Send Uzzy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I liked the Treasure Table in the book.

Nothing else though.
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Brian R. James
Forgotten Realms Game Designer

USA
1098 Posts

Posted - 05 Aug 2009 :  23:09:20  Show Profile  Visit Brian R. James's Homepage Send Brian R. James a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Uzzy

I liked the Treasure Table in the book.
You're welcome.

I particularly enjoyed writing that section because I was able to sneak in a few pre-Spellplague references.

For instance it's the only place in the book where the god Helm is mentioned. Other favorite references include: Red Plumes of Hillsfar, Deneir, Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun, Luiren, Syluné (Witch of Shadowdale), Mystra.

Many places beyond Faerūn are also mentioned: Nexalan tabacco, Maztican chili peppers, Ra-khati vellum, Shout silk, Grand Caliph of Zakhara.

Brian R. James - Freelance Game Designer

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Old Man Harpell
Senior Scribe

USA
495 Posts

Posted - 06 Aug 2009 :  01:17:57  Show Profile Send Old Man Harpell a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I'll agree the Treasure Tables were good. In context of the Shattered Realms, they made sense. Some things in them even made me smile (like Maztican chili peppers).

And admittedly, the original question was approached from a geographic and historical perspective, rather than an 'item' perspective (i.e. the Treasure Tables would have been at least slightly different had the Realms been given to us without being cavalierly savaged). Not having specified that is my error.

So, in that sense, Uzzy...nothing appeals to you?
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Mr_Miscellany
Senior Scribe

545 Posts

Posted - 06 Aug 2009 :  11:44:00  Show Profile Send Mr_Miscellany a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I don't subscribe to the "Shattered Realms" concept and I don't hate the Forgotten Realms, so I can't participate in the manner the OP is asking for.

I'll limit myself to thanking Old Man Harpell for this scroll though because it confirmed for me that Brian was behind the treasure table. I always thought that part of the FR Campaign Guide was too juicy to have been written in-house at WotC.
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Uzzy
Senior Scribe

United Kingdom
618 Posts

Posted - 06 Aug 2009 :  13:38:42  Show Profile  Visit Uzzy's Homepage Send Uzzy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Old Man Harpell
So, in that sense, Uzzy...nothing appeals to you?



Correct. And yes, the Treasure Table did seem far too interesting to have been done by anyone inhouse. But the rest of the book? Blarg.
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Hawkins
Great Reader

USA
2131 Posts

Posted - 06 Aug 2009 :  16:49:48  Show Profile  Visit Hawkins's Homepage Send Hawkins a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I really can't comment here because I have not had the money to spend on a book (or books, if you are counting the FRCG and FRPG) that I am pretty sure I will never use. The bits I have read here and there in the FLGS have just made me nauseous (literally).

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Mace Hammerhand
Great Reader

Germany
2296 Posts

Posted - 06 Aug 2009 :  16:53:31  Show Profile  Visit Mace Hammerhand's Homepage Send Mace Hammerhand a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Teneck

quote:
Originally posted by Mace Hammerhand

Bedine, Teneck



DOH !!!!...Yup...that's them. Any info on what happened to them Mace...or can you see 'em from the cave? My spot in the cave is a wee bit far back to see out the door.



I'd think my interest in 4e Realms is public knowledge...so no

Mace's not so gentle gamer's journal My rants were harmless compared to this, beware!
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Teneck
Learned Scribe

USA
133 Posts

Posted - 06 Aug 2009 :  17:03:39  Show Profile  Visit Teneck's Homepage Send Teneck a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Mace Hammerhand

quote:
Originally posted by Teneck

quote:
Originally posted by Mace Hammerhand

Bedine, Teneck



DOH !!!!...Yup...that's them. Any info on what happened to them Mace...or can you see 'em from the cave? My spot in the cave is a wee bit far back to see out the door.



I'd think my interest in 4e Realms is public knowledge...so no



Really???

Your usually so subtle about your opinions?

"Go ahead...Sleep in the church...the vampires can't get ya in the church" Any DM...any time.

"He's like a trained ape...without the training"
Simon after Jane trashed the Med lab
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36798 Posts

Posted - 06 Aug 2009 :  17:20:47  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Mr_Miscellany

I don't subscribe to the "Shattered Realms" concept and I don't hate the Forgotten Realms, so I can't participate in the manner the OP is asking for.


None of us hates the Forgotten Realms. We wouldn't be here if we did.

Many of us hate what WotC is currently calling the Forgotten Realms, and prefer prior versions of it.

I created the term Shattered Realms not to insult the setting, but to reflect my opinion that the Realms of 4E are entirely divorced from the prior Realms, and that it is essentially an entirely new setting that in some ways resembles an older one.

It's great for WotC that some people embrace this new setting, and/or that some people don't regard it as something disconnected from what came before.

But not all of us feel that way, and that's why the term Shattered Realms exists. It's not that we hate the Realms, it's that we love the Realms-that-were.

I do feel that there are some worthy ideas that can be back-ported to the pre-4E Realms, and I've addressed that in an earlier post. And that's mostly what this thread is about: acknowledging that we don't like the whole, but asking what parts we do like.

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Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 06 Aug 2009 17:22:43
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Jorkens
Great Reader

Norway
2950 Posts

Posted - 06 Aug 2009 :  17:28:44  Show Profile Send Jorkens a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Old Man Harpell



And Jorkens...your English is just fine. Better, in fact, than an alarming amount of the products of our domestic education system...



Not when you think about the fact that it took me twenty minutes to write that post. Its a running battle with dyslexia here and as I don't write as much as I did before, I notice that I am getting more and more trouble forming longer sentences. And no Spell check can cover those mistakes.

So if my posts at times can become somewhat incoherent I would just ask readers to bear with me.
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Teneck
Learned Scribe

USA
133 Posts

Posted - 06 Aug 2009 :  17:34:31  Show Profile  Visit Teneck's Homepage Send Teneck a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Jorkens

quote:
Originally posted by Old Man Harpell



And Jorkens...your English is just fine. Better, in fact, than an alarming amount of the products of our domestic education system...



Not when you think about the fact that it took me twenty minutes to write that post. Its a running battle with dyslexia here and as I don't write as much as I did before, I notice that I am getting more and more trouble forming longer sentences. And no Spell check can cover those mistakes.

So if my posts at times can become somewhat incoherent I would just ask readers to bear with me.



I just wish more people took 20 minutes to write their post..it would cut down on a lot of incoherency (I include myself in this mostly because I am usually incoherent ANYWAY)

"Go ahead...Sleep in the church...the vampires can't get ya in the church" Any DM...any time.

"He's like a trained ape...without the training"
Simon after Jane trashed the Med lab
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bladeinAmn
Learned Scribe

199 Posts

Posted - 09 Aug 2009 :  01:14:37  Show Profile  Visit bladeinAmn's Homepage Send bladeinAmn a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
None of us hates the Forgotten Realms. We wouldn't be here if we did.

Many of us hate what WotC is currently calling the Forgotten Realms, and prefer prior versions of it.

I created the term Shattered Realms not to insult the setting, but to reflect my opinion that the Realms of 4E are entirely divorced from the prior Realms, and that it is essentially an entirely new setting that in some ways resembles an older one.

It's great for WotC that some people embrace this new setting, and/or that some people don't regard it as something disconnected from what came before.

But not all of us feel that way, and that's why the term Shattered Realms exists. It's not that we hate the Realms, it's that we love the Realms-that-were.

I do feel that there are some worthy ideas that can be back-ported to the pre-4E Realms, and I've addressed that in an earlier post. And that's mostly what this thread is about: acknowledging that we don't like the whole, but asking what parts we do like.



Bang on. This is my 1st day on a FR-specific mssg board, and am pleasantly surprised to see that so many others feel the way I do. I personally feel that its like WotC is trying to spit in the face, so to speak, of long time FR fans.

As for the question at hand of this thread...

...if you combine the awsomeness of FR that captured our hearts in 2E, had the classic FR map of 3E, and the graphics n stuff of 4E FRCG, and the peices that make for versatile imaginations from 1E and 2E (that've been lacking in 3E, 3.5E, and now 4E), then you've got yourself an ace AD&D world.

I hate to be overly blunt here, but I find 4E to be a farce. I find little virtue in what the decision makers could've been thinking.

I like to think of myself as a relatively young AD&D fan (I'm 31yrs old, w/friends my age, younger, significantly younger, older and significantly older than me that are also FR and AD&D fans), and for the life of me I can't see how WotC targets any demographic, and more importantly, has done anything to truly capture and expand upon the substance, spirit, and beauty of FR, w/the 4E FRCG.

Instead, it juss looks like a big mess. It's juss a bunch of noise that has capitalized on the glory of 2E FR.

It reminds me of a child that's putting his crayons every on the paper with no ryhme or reason, and the teacher is saying "Good job on the drawing, little Johnny! You're learning!".

Edited by - bladeinAmn on 09 Aug 2009 01:18:20
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Mr_Miscellany
Senior Scribe

545 Posts

Posted - 09 Aug 2009 :  13:48:10  Show Profile Send Mr_Miscellany a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

None of us hates the Forgotten Realms.
:snip:
Many of us hate what WotC is currently calling the Forgotten Realms...
Lots of dichotomy there.

:::::::::::::::::

The thing that bothers me is that Candlekeep is playing host to a divisive term that labels the Forgotten Realms as something other than what it is.

It's a term that quietly brushes aside the fact that in its long history the face of Faerūn has been torn up and remade before.

It's a term that pretends whole new races have never come to Faerūn before.

It's a term that feigns surprise at the notion that pantheons could change or overlap.

And it's most certainly a term that ignores those parts of the modern Realms that exist now just as they would had the Spellplague not occurred.

I've read numerous online statements over the years by people who very vocally and sometimes rudely made it known that what the Time of Troubles/TSR did to the Realms and/or what Wizards of the Coast did to the Realms when they first released the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting was wrong, wrongheaded, misguided and certainly not something that belonged in the Realms as these opinionated people saw it.

So you can understand why I'm not impressed when I read, "Many of us hate what WotC is currently calling the Forgotten Realms." I get that there will always be people who will never consider the post-Spellplague Realms as part of The Forgotten Realms (though I hesitate to use the royal "we" and "many of us" ...that's just creepy). People have always expressed discontent with the direction the Realms has taken, here at Candlekeep and plenty of other places.

But regardless of how big some people think the numbers are of those who dislike the Forgotten Realms as presented in the FR Campaign Guide, it's still The Forgotten Realms. Just because "many of you" don’t like it in no way excuses Candlekeep playing host to an effort to mislabel the setting and promote a means of dividing the fan base in these halls.

People didn't do it then and there's no good reason to start doing it now.

Edited by - Mr_Miscellany on 09 Aug 2009 13:55:46
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Uzzy
Senior Scribe

United Kingdom
618 Posts

Posted - 09 Aug 2009 :  14:05:02  Show Profile  Visit Uzzy's Homepage Send Uzzy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Yes there is, Mr Miscellany. The Realms have never changed on this level before, either in universe or on a meta level. I mean, even WoTC admit this. The LFR writing guidelines explicitly say that "The old Realms is gone", after all.

As such, it's good that we have some differentiation between the two settings. The old Realms has as much in common with the new Realms as it does with Eberron.
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Mr_Miscellany
Senior Scribe

545 Posts

Posted - 09 Aug 2009 :  14:28:56  Show Profile Send Mr_Miscellany a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Uzzy,

Where did the Sea of Fallen Stars come from? How many nations and beings perished in its coming?

How did the massive desert of Anourach come about? What of the great civilization that withered away as it advanced?

Was Evermeet always there? What were the consequences of its arrival?

From where came the Eladrin? Or Orcs? How often has the face of Faerūn changed by the hands of these two races alone?

How many pantheons have grown, stabilized, then collapsed over time in the Realms, with like-changes in the outer planes as a result?

There's no question that the Realms have changed on many levels before.

The difference (as I see it) is that it's never happened so completely and abruptly during the published era of the Realms.

Differentiate between that very small sliver of the timeline in which the majority of the published, playable Realms exists, versus the entire history of the setting. That is, take the meta-view.

Great change has always been part of the Realms. No reason to start calling it something different just because we're getting more of the same (heavy handed and head-scratchingly puzzling as some of those changes were).

Edited by - Mr_Miscellany on 09 Aug 2009 14:30:03
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
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Posted - 09 Aug 2009 :  15:00:09  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Mr_Miscellany

quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

None of us hates the Forgotten Realms.
:snip:
Many of us hate what WotC is currently calling the Forgotten Realms...
Lots of dichotomy there.


Nope. Only a simple recognition that the pre-4E Realms and the post-4E Realms aren't the same place.

quote:
Originally posted by Mr_Miscellany

The thing that bothers me is that Candlekeep is playing host to a divisive term that labels the Forgotten Realms as something other than what it is.

It's a term that quietly brushes aside the fact that in its long history the face of Faerūn has been torn up and remade before.

It's a term that pretends whole new races have never come to Faerūn before.

It's a term that feigns surprise at the notion that pantheons could change or overlap.

And it's most certainly a term that ignores those parts of the modern Realms that exist now just as they would had the Spellplague not occurred.


No, the term does not do any of those things. Things have changed before, yes. But those changes always made sense within the context of the game. And those changes were a part of the setting's history, not a deliberate attempt to make the setting into something it wasn't.

quote:
Originally posted by Mr_Miscellany

But regardless of how big some people think the numbers are of those who dislike the Forgotten Realms as presented in the FR Campaign Guide, it's still The Forgotten Realms.



You think it's still the Forgotten Realms. This is not a universal opinion.

In my case, everything that made it the Realms is gone. The rich, detailed history is now irrelevant. The complexity and interconnectivity is gone. And overall, the flavor has changed. It was a place of wonder and mystery, a place where everything made sense and had a backstory. Now there's no connections, no logic, and the setting is more post-apocalyptic than anything else. Sure, some places might have the same name and seem the same, but I honestly can't think of a single section of the Realms that wasn't changed, and in my opinion, none of them were changed for the better.

WotC has apparently forgotten that a setting is more than just a map.

quote:
Originally posted by Mr_Miscellany

Just because "many of you" don’t like it in no way excuses Candlekeep playing host to an effort to mislabel the setting and promote a means of dividing the fan base in these halls.

People didn't do it then and there's no good reason to start doing it now.



No. The mislabeling here is what you're doing. Candlekeep is not playing host to an effort to mislabel anything. One person, entirely on his own, came up with a name for the new setting that other people agreed with -- others have come up with their own names. There's nothing going on there other than people not liking what's been done to the setting.

And regarding the 4E Realms as something different is not the official standing of the site; we have all said, repeatedly, that this site remains and will remain edition neutral.

We are not trying to divide the fan base. The fan base is already divided; WotC did a better job of that than any web site or individual ever could. All I or anyone else is doing is expressing an opinion. And for most of us, expressing an opinion is not advancing an agenda.


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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36798 Posts

Posted - 09 Aug 2009 :  15:02:18  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Mr_Miscellany

Great change has always been part of the Realms. No reason to start calling it something different just because we're getting more of the same (heavy handed and head-scratchingly puzzling as some of those changes were).



It's not about change -- it's about the reasoning behind the changes, and the end result of those changes.

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

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Brian R. James
Forgotten Realms Game Designer

USA
1098 Posts

Posted - 09 Aug 2009 :  17:12:17  Show Profile  Visit Brian R. James's Homepage Send Brian R. James a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I think part of the problem, Wooly, lies with your position as Moderator and thus an official representative of Candlekeep.com. Even if the "Shattered Realms" opinion is only your own as an individual, having it oft repeated by Wooly the Moderator gives the comment more weight than it otherwise would.

Brian R. James - Freelance Game Designer

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