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Joran Nobleheart
Senior Scribe
USA
495 Posts |
 Posted - 18 Jun 2010 : 04:11:37
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I voted post-ToT. I came into the Realms while that was happening, and I "grew up" on the 2E Realms. Despite the bolt-ons of near-Earth cultures, I still feel that 2E was the high mark of Realmslore. We had good stuff in 1E, but 2E put so much polish on that. We had some good stuff in 3E, too, but even the best 3E material was only on par with 2E stuff.
I completely agree, which is why I voted as I did. It's also the era I grew up with, too. That always helps.  |
Paladinic Ethos
Saint Joran Nobleheart |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36809 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jun 2010 : 06:10:46
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Despite the bolt-ons of near-Earth cultures, I still feel that 2E was the high mark of Realmslore.
Personally, I like the add-ons, but mostly as independent settings and/or worlds separated from the Realms. And that's usually how I run them should I establish campaigns set in Kara-Tur or Zakhara, for example...
Oh, I actually don't mind most of the bolt-ons, save for Maztica. They were part of the Realms when I came aboard, so I accept them. I added that line, though, because I know that those and the ToT are the aspects of 2E that are most disliked by some. |
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Quale
Master of Realmslore
1757 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jun 2010 : 07:36:16
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2e Realms, specifically near it's end, the era of Cloak and Dagger. I like the real-world analogies, the Realms would be much poorer without them, only they need to be better placed and organized and more fantastic/twisted. From what I've heard about Greenwood-only Realms I prefer the Moonshaes and the Great Glacier receding.
Old Grey Box hasn't got enough detail, it's a decent start, I don't get why is it so glorified. 3e was the second best era, the problems were that it ruined a good idea with the shades, changed the Zhentarim, the elven crusade  , reduced the mystique of the past (the Creator Races), wasted space on ridiculous npc stats, surfaced the drow, most of the events from the novels were better ignored.
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Sill Alias
Senior Scribe
Kazakhstan
588 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jun 2010 : 08:04:30
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| Just saying: I would vote for 4th ed, but I don't know the details about it, so I voted for the most understandable for me. |
You can hear many tales from many mouths. The most difficult is to know which of them are not lies. - Sill Alias
"May your harp be unstrung, your dreams die and all your songs be unsung." - curse of the harper, The Code of the Harpers 2 ed.
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jun 2010 : 12:25:43
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| Looking at the poll, we can see how varied the interests are. To me that is a good thing overall as long as there are no wars between scribes associated. All FR lore is good |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Sylrae
Learned Scribe
Canada
313 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jun 2010 : 12:33:40
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#1: Late 3e (Return of Shade):
but not around when the campaign setting is set. I like right in the midst of all hte RSEs. They suck if you're running a game in the current date and it messes up your plot, but if they already got publishd and happpened, having that many of them so close together is interesting. Especially if the players aren't realms novel-readers. For them, wild and unexpected things are happening. As a DM, it's all expected and par for the course. "Vhaeraun dies on this day? No problem." I think my next FR game may well incorporate an FR Calendar I'll give to the players, They can write poopy in as it comes up. *I'll have one filled in*. I know the next FR game I run will have a tightly tracked timeline, and this seems like a good way to do it.
#2: Arcane Age: Myth Drannor:
I read Cormanthyr: Empire of elves a few years back and fell in love with the time, as well as the notion of having a party timetravel back there. Reading the last mythal trilogy made me like it even more, and fleshed out the details alot. Plus, some of the details in C:EoE, including the shiny map at the back, are going to allow me to set up my 1380s Cormanthor in detail for my players to explore.
#3: Post Time of Troubles:
I never got to play around here as a player, but I liked many of these novels, and I liked most of the rpg books I read. Lots of good fluff. Some of the condensed stat blocks were too small for me in modules. I can deal with condensed in the campaign setting, but I always thought modules shouldn't involve building the NPCs. Some weren't too bad. The stapled on human cultures got largely ignored for the most part. I have the Kara Tur boxed set, but I've never used it. I avoided Zakhara, and I avoided maztica. I've used the menzoberranzan boxed set, the myth drannor adventures boxed set, and the 2e frcs. All good stuff.
Mod edit: Language, please.  |
Sylrae's Forgotten Realms Fan-Lore Index, with public commenting access to make for easier improvement (WIP) |
Edited by - Sylrae on 18 Jun 2010 19:35:10 |
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woodwwad
Learned Scribe
USA
267 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jun 2010 : 20:18:42
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| I like all the stuff (with the obvious exception of anything 4e which I clearly do not consider D&D at all or use in any way). I've run dr 1363-1377, so those are the years I know the best. I use a lot of the 2e matterials (played in two 2e campaigns back in the early to mid 90s), and most of the 3e & 3.5 matterials as well. I'm currently running my 2nd FR campaign. |
Check out my reviews on youtube of Forgotten Realms and other rpg products. http://www.youtube.com/user/woodwwad?feature=mhum |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jun 2010 : 20:29:54
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quote:
Originally posted by Quale
<snip> Old Grey Box hasn't got enough detail, it's a decent start, I don't get why is it so glorified.
You answered your own question, and it is the very reason why the 4e realms were created - to wipe the slate clean and return the Realms to a more 'pristine' state for DMs.
The Old Grey box wasn't written for fans - there WEREN'T ANY. Neither were the new Realms - both settings were presented in such a fashion to excite a prospective DM's imagination and leave lots of elbow-room for that DM to add in all his own goodies. It was a game-setting before it became a grand tapestry (except to Ed's players, of course).
I love settings like that - Greyhawk was just such a setting, and the Old Grey box presented FR as such. It is the best place for DMs to 'do their own thing'.
Now, weather I agree that a setting that evolved into such a detailed and intricate world should be then deconstructed to serve it's original purpose is another question entirely.  |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Mr_Miscellany
Senior Scribe
545 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jun 2010 : 00:09:34
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<nitpick>
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
The Old Grey box wasn't written for fans - there WEREN'T ANY.
Not quite, Markus. Not quite. Ed's Dragon articles featuring the Realms predate the Gray Box, as did Darkwalker on Moonshae (iirc).
Yes, the setting wasn't properly presented to gamers before the Gray Box, but that doesn't mean people weren't aware of it and eager to get their hands on whatever information they could about it.
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Edited by - Mr_Miscellany on 19 Jun 2010 00:10:19 |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jun 2010 : 01:35:36
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I knew someone would mention that, but being as I read those articles and could care less, I really didn't see a large groups of fans forming-up behind something as tenuous as those.
If it didn't pertain to my Greyhawk campaign, I only perused the other stuff for ideas. I read Dragon for years and never realized someone named Ed Greenwood contributed so many of the articles I found entertaining. I never paid much attention to the authors of articles until I started hanging out at the WotC site a few years back.
I may have made a mistake thinking most folks were 'like me'.  |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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froglegg
Learned Scribe
317 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jun 2010 : 02:18:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
quote:
Originally posted by Quale
<snip> Old Grey Box hasn't got enough detail, it's a decent start, I don't get why is it so glorified.
You answered your own question, and it is the very reason why the 4e realms were created - to wipe the slate clean and return the Realms to a more 'pristine' state for DMs.
The Old Grey box wasn't written for fans - there WEREN'T ANY. Neither were the new Realms - both settings were presented in such a fashion to excite a prospective DM's imagination and leave lots of elbow-room for that DM to add in all his own goodies. It was a game-setting before it became a grand tapestry (except to Ed's players, of course).
I love settings like that - Greyhawk was just such a setting, and the Old Grey box presented FR as such. It is the best place for DMs to 'do their own thing'.
Now, weather I agree that a setting that evolved into such a detailed and intricate world should be then deconstructed to serve it's original purpose is another question entirely.
Well said Mr.Markustay.
John |
Long live Alias and Dragonbait! Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb the Realms need you more then ever!
On my word as a sage nothing within these pages is false, but not all of it may prove to be true. - Elminster of Shadowdale
The Old Grey Box gets better with age! |
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Sylrae
Learned Scribe
Canada
313 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jun 2010 : 06:36:34
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
quote:
Originally posted by Quale
<snip> Old Grey Box hasn't got enough detail, it's a decent start, I don't get why is it so glorified.
You answered your own question, and it is the very reason why the 4e realms were created - to wipe the slate clean and return the Realms to a more 'pristine' state for DMs.
The Old Grey box wasn't written for fans - there WEREN'T ANY. Neither were the new Realms - both settings were presented in such a fashion to excite a prospective DM's imagination and leave lots of elbow-room for that DM to add in all his own goodies. It was a game-setting before it became a grand tapestry (except to Ed's players, of course).
I can agree that the old grey box, and even the 2e box, left alot of room to change things for the DM.
quote:
I love settings like that - Greyhawk was just such a setting, and the Old Grey box presented FR as such. It is the best place for DMs to 'do their own thing'.
Definitely a YMMV sort of situation. You mention that that drew you to greyhawk. That same thing was the reason why I have never run or played in a greyhawk game.
I don't want a world with a few detailed areas and lots of blank space to fill in. If I wanted that I wouldn't be using a published setting.
What drew me to FR was that you can go so far, and find information on pretty much any place in the setting. It's that same thing that drew me to Golarion. all the areas for play are heavily detailed. I have to admit it helps them out to detail the world using modules. The world started rather barren, but has quickly filled up and had areas with lots of things detailed.
It's big problem is the same one I saw with Forgotten Realms. The lore is too decentralized.
I understand that all the stuff comes in small books, but I think it should be like the encyclopedia brittanica, where all the setting information gets compiled annually.
Wikis help for this sort of thing, but they are usually far too bare. Something like the FR Wik,i, but put out by the world owners, with a VERY detailed world. searchable, and (hopefully) downloadable as a massive pdf.
What makes Fr appealing for a game setting (to me) is that if I want to know how the people of town X behave, I can just look up town X. It's all there. It's a pain to find sometimes, but it can be found.
[Edit: Censoring myself, since Wooly did it last time. I curse alot in my regular speech, and it tends to show up online. Up until Wooly edited a curse word out of my last post, it had never come up as an issue. I'll try to kep the curse worse from slipping into my speech every couple paragraphs. Wish me luck.] |
Sylrae's Forgotten Realms Fan-Lore Index, with public commenting access to make for easier improvement (WIP) |
Edited by - Sylrae on 19 Jun 2010 06:40:15 |
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Knight of the Gate
Senior Scribe
USA
624 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jun 2010 : 06:46:07
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| I voted OGB, even though I play exclusively in the post ToT Realms using 3E rules. The Return of____ was never any part of my game, though I'm considering making it so, and my next campaign being the Return of Shade, with the PCs being residents of Opus, who have to decide whether or not to 'return' as well to combat their ancient enemies. |
How can life be so bountiful, providing such sublime rewards for mediocrity? -Umberto Ecco |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jun 2010 : 07:26:18
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Return of Shade... |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Brace Cormaeril
Learned Scribe
294 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2010 : 21:00:11
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I have some problems with the way the poll is set up. The post-Spellplague Realms is not 4e. 4e begins in, in, I believe, 1479DR. The Spellplague occurs in 1385DR. That's a massive gap, and one which Hasbro/WotC has stated many times that they will never support with source books, supplements, etc.
While grognards and others will certainly disagree, the genius of the Spellplague and the time-jump is undeniable.
Scribes, raise your quill if you thought the Forgotten Realms was *perfect* prior to the Spellplague. Now, I know there are some who have chugged the Kool-aid around here, who have allegedly seen the "big-picture", but c'mon... Don't we all have some gripes about design choices heretofore?
That problem is gone. And we have the Spellplague to thank for it. You have almost 100 years to fix everything you didn't like! And if you are *really* fanboy, and you just *must* sync your campaign with canon, that's possible, due to the narrowness (incompleteness?) of the 4e FRCG.
Don't like WotSQ? S'ok, wait until you hear about the Second War of the Spider Queen.
Didn't like Mulhorand and Unther? No problem. You did like Muolhorand and Unther? Wait 'till you here about the Mulan Diaspora.
Anything else you didn't like about FRs... No longer a problem.
I've been told repeatedly why most pre-4e grognards don't like 4e. (I'm one of them, I won't play 4e.)
Too much change, too fast for old grognards like us.
But it's a gift. Almost 100 years of work to be done; "retcons" to "fix", stoopid design choices to be rectified, sagas to be (re)told. All for the fans to decide, with Candlekeep as it's vanguard.
Or, we can bemoan the fact that Hasbro/WotC is not producing more crap for us to consume. |
The Silver Fire's Blade: A Novella in Nine Parts, Available Soon, in the Adventuring Forum!
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3567 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2010 : 21:11:22
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quote:
Originally posted by Brace Cormaeril
I have some problems with the way the poll is set up. The post-Spellplague Realms is not 4e. 4e begins in, in, I believe, 1479DR. The Spellplague occurs in 1385DR. That's a massive gap, and one which Hasbro/WotC has stated many times that they will never support with source books, supplements, etc.
While grognards and others will certainly disagree, the genius of the Spellplague and the time-jump is undeniable.
Scribes, raise your quill if you thought the Forgotten Realms was *perfect* prior to the Spellplague. Now, I know there are some who have chugged the Kool-aid around here, who have allegedly seen the "big-picture", but c'mon... Don't we all have some gripes about design choices heretofore?
That problem is gone. And we have the Spellplague to thank for it. You have almost 100 years to fix everything you didn't like! And if you are *really* fanboy, and you just *must* sync your campaign with canon, that's possible, due to the narrowness (incompleteness?) of the 4e FRCG.
Don't like WotSQ? S'ok, wait until you hear about the Second War of the Spider Queen.
Didn't like Mulhorand and Unther? No problem. You did like Muolhorand and Unther? Wait 'till you here about the Mulan Diaspora.
Anything else you didn't like about FRs... No longer a problem.
I've been told repeatedly why most pre-4e grognards don't like 4e. (I'm one of them, I won't play 4e.)
Too much change, too fast for old grognards like us.
But it's a gift. Almost 100 years of work to be done; "retcons" to "fix", stoopid design choices to be rectified, sagas to be (re)told. All for the fans to decide, with Candlekeep as it's vanguard.
Or, we can bemoan the fact that Hasbro/WotC is not producing more crap for us to consume.
Many would argue hasbro is producing more crap than ever! |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Kilvan
Senior Scribe
Canada
894 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2010 : 21:46:16
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What I don't understand, and the point came up on other scrolls, is that if people disliked the realms so much, why don't they just play in another setting? I don't like Dragonlance, I don't play in it. I don't like Eberron, I don't play in it. I don't want WotC to change them to fit my needs, I've got the Realms (or should I say had...). I don't know, it just blows my mind to think that they had to litteraly destroy years of lore to claim back customers uninterested in their product, at the cost of those who were loyal to it, almost worshipped it.
EDIT: sorry for being off topic |
Edited by - Kilvan on 03 Jul 2010 21:56:25 |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2010 : 23:01:31
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Too true Kilvan - thats the 'big question' I and everyone who liked the setting the way it was has been asking ourselves for the past year and a half.
I want to know who this big bully was that were forcing all those poor gamers to play in a setting they obviously despised? Was the owner of their LGS a tyrant, who only carried the much-hated FR sourcebooks?
I love FR, but I personally own setting books to nearly 100 settings, and I borrow stuff from ALL of them (except Kalamar - Gods, what a bland piece-of-c**p that was). Some of those settings I like a lot, many, not so much, but I have never written to the publishers and asked them "Please totally nuke and then change your setting so that I will like it better".
That would be absurd.
And yes Brace, FR was not perfect; far from, actually - only my own setting is perfect.
I don't think Volkswagons are perfect either, but that doesn't mean I want the company to start selling Go-carts next year. Some people like Volkswagons (too small for me), and more power to them - I'll keep my Ford trucks and be happy (and hope no-one writes Ford and asks them to turn them into quads, or something else less-useful).
And as for what drew me to the Realms? The shear size of it, and the immense amount of lore. As I got older, I didn't have the time (or inclination) to create big gobs of lore anymore - which is what I had to do to fill-in all the holes in Greyhawk (amongst other settings). With FR I could just jump-in anywhere and start running a session. BECAUSE OF THE VAST QUANTITIES OF FLUFF, it was far easier to run - I know whats going on everywhere, without how to to make it all up.
The 4e realms can't do that for me - I'm back to being 16 again, and having to make everything up myself. I can't be bothered, and if I did start running a game again (haven't run one since just before 4e was released), it certainly wouldn't be in the Realms. Not now.
I also don't like to run a 'dead setting', which means I won't run FR in an older era, because it is unsupported officially, and knowing full-well whats going to happen down the road (seriously, why should the PCs bother to do anything? We all know its pointless now).
I still have some interest in the novels and the setting itself as a stage for them, but as far as an RPG setting, that ship has sailed, as far as I'm concerned.
EDIT: Oh, and before I get in trouble for going off on a tangent -quote:
Originally posted by Brace Cormaeril
Scribes, raise your quill if you thought the Forgotten Realms was *perfect* prior to the Spellplague. Now, I know there are some who have chugged the Kool-aid around here, who have allegedly seen the "big-picture", but c'mon... Don't we all have some gripes about design choices heretofore?
Accent mine - I didn't start this. |
"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 03 Jul 2010 23:04:38 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36809 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2010 : 01:37:35
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Sigh... People, do we really want to walk this path for the 56,093,255th time? Can't we have one discussion that covers multiple eras without getting snarky and rude?
This discussion will stay civil, or it will be closed. Consider this a warning.  |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Jakk
Great Reader
Canada
2165 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2010 : 05:23:14
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Old Grey Box, followed by post-ToT... although I never cared for the pantheon changes that resulted from that RSE, which is why I found ways to bring Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul back well before 3E... so maybe my answer should be OGB, followed by Other...
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
<chop>
And as for what drew me to the Realms? The shear size of it, and the immense amount of lore. As I got older, I didn't have the time (or inclination) to create big gobs of lore anymore - which is what I had to do to fill-in all the holes in Greyhawk (amongst other settings). With FR I could just jump-in anywhere and start running a session. BECAUSE OF THE VAST QUANTITIES OF FLUFF, it was far easier to run - I know whats going on everywhere, without how to to make it all up.
The 4e realms can't do that for me - I'm back to being 16 again, and having to make everything up myself. I can't be bothered, and if I did start running a game again (haven't run one since just before 4e was released), it certainly wouldn't be in the Realms. Not now.
I agree entirely... particularly on the "having to make everything up myself" note. But see my response to the second bit...
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I also don't like to run a 'dead setting', which means I won't run FR in an older era, because it is unsupported officially, and knowing full-well whats going to happen down the road (seriously, why should the PCs bother to do anything? We all know its pointless now).
I still have some interest in the novels and the setting itself as a stage for them, but as far as an RPG setting, that ship has sailed, as far as I'm concerned.
<snip>
I have no problems with running a "dead setting" because the pre-Spellplague Realms are only as dead as we choose to let them get. Project Isle on these boards is a perfect example of this... and yes, I am still working on my contributions. I moved a month ago, and in that month my hours at work took a big jump, so I haven't had the time to work on things that I had before. That's starting to change, mostly because I'm adjusting to my busier schedule; I hope to resume churning out material for Project Isle shortly.
The biggest reason I've stuck with the pre-Spellplague Realms instead of switching to the 4E Realms or another world altogether like Golarion is simple: I know the setting, and I'm comfortable there. Golarion is brilliant, and there are some interesting features of the 4E Realms too, but I don't want to have to create all the details from scratch (which I would be forced to do if I played post-Spellplague Realms, simply because all of that living detail is not present in 4E format; yes, you can use all the older books with it, but that seems like cheating; if you're going to do that, why not just play pre-time-jump instead of transplanting 100-year-old source material into the future?). The only other reason I didn't make the switch is because I didn't care for the canon storyline that accompanied it.
I agree entirely with Brace that the time jump gives us an opportunity to fix things we don't like... but we can do that with the same mechanism the designers have been using since before the Time of Troubles... the almighty RetCon.  It's far simpler, and if you're implementing the changes at the outset of a new campaign, it's no different in effect from a time jump. The advantage of the RetCon is that you can (if necessary) throw one in mid-campaign; we've already heard volumes about what a century-long time-jump does in the middle of an established campaign, and I won't go there.
Anyway, that's basically all I have to say on the matter; I'm trying to be another voice of reason in this discussion, so if anyone perceives me to be doing otherwise, you have my apologies in advance. |
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 04 Jul 2010 05:52:35 |
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Kyrene
Senior Scribe
South Africa
757 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2010 : 09:43:59
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
quote:
Originally posted by Brace Cormaeril
chugged the Kool-aid
Forgive my ignorance. I've even tried Googling that one, but it didn't really help me to understand that vernacular.  What does this saying mean? |
Lost for words? Find them in the Glossary of Phrases, Sayings & Words of the Realms
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Edited by - Kyrene on 04 Jul 2010 09:46:06 |
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Brimstone
Great Reader
USA
3287 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2010 : 10:51:57
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| Jim Jones...Jonestown...The Peoples Temple... |
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Jakk
Great Reader
Canada
2165 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jul 2010 : 06:05:24
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quote:
Originally posted by Sylrae
<chop>
I don't want a world with a few detailed areas and lots of blank space to fill in. If I wanted that I wouldn't be using a published setting. <chop>
My thoughts exactly. This, more than anything, is why I refused to give WotC my money for the 4E Realms. I don't like the ruleset, and I definitely don't like the emphasis on crunch in the new material, but what I have always loved (and still love) about the Realms (before the time-jump, anyway) is the level of detail.
True, the Old Grey Box wasn't nearly as detailed as later versions of the setting, but it was a map-lover's dream in ways that no later version of the setting came close to matching. I have all of the large-scale (1" = 30 miles, I believe) maps from the OGB and subsequent early supplements taped together into one big ubermap that (since moving) I no longer have a wall large enough for. Fortunately, I also have a 6' long PVC map tube that contains it and the assembled maps for Waterdeep (from TSR 1040) and Myth Drannor (from the Ruins of Myth Drannor boxed set), among other assembled maps from various editions and worlds, including the four-part Dragon magazine maps of Faerun and Greyhawk. My fascination with maps is probably on par with that of Markustay and HandsomeRob... the biggest difference between me and them is, I have no talent for making maps of my own.  (I know this because I've tried. Repeatedly. I've built my own world from scratch three times, twice as a teenager and once as a college student.)
Anyway, to keep this post on topic, I've already voted, but the era I voted for is my favourite only by the slimmest of margins. What I love the most about the Realms is the grand tapestry that is its history, and what I would love more than anything else is a true historical atlas of Toril, preferably in boxed-set format with poster maps of Toril representing six (at least) different historical periods: pre-Sundering, pre-Crown-Wars, pre-fall-of-Imaskar, pre-fall-of-Netheril, pre-Spellplague, and post-Spellplague. Major events outside of Faerun should be represented in such a map set as well, but non-Faerunian history is not my strength as a Realms scholar.
Okay, I've said enough, and I'll shut up now. In brief, my era of choice, ultimately, is all of them, even post-Spellplague, because it's now part of the Realms, whether we like it or not, and I believe that there is something worth exploring in all of these time periods. I'm far more picky about my ruleset, but that's not the topic here. |
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. |
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The Last Guardian
Acolyte
10 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2010 : 18:31:17
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| I chose Shade Returns as that was when I started DMing FR and started buying gaming products. Though I've been a supporter of FR through love of the novels years before I even started playing D&D. |
Edited by - The Last Guardian on 06 Jul 2010 18:32:07 |
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Judd
Acolyte
USA
24 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2010 : 20:24:06
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I'm not a fan of the novels but having just recently started to dig into the gray boxed set and the FR 1-14 series of supplements, I am really digging them. I like the rumors, the vagueness and the named adventuring companies.
I dig the enthusiasm, the 1-3 paragraph summations of a place with the rest left to occur in the game and the warts, the parts I'd like to see re-done and the bits I disagree with.
I don't want a setting's timeline to advance unless it advances through play at my gaming table. |
Githyanki Diaspora: gaming blog |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2010 : 20:33:03
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Shade's Return made a lot of interesting changes in the Realms, without having to rid of all the existing pretty much interesting ones.
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Every beginning has an end. |
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Alystra Illianniis
Great Reader
USA
3750 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jul 2010 : 21:59:25
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quote:
Originally posted by Joran Nobleheart
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I voted post-ToT. I came into the Realms while that was happening, and I "grew up" on the 2E Realms. Despite the bolt-ons of near-Earth cultures, I still feel that 2E was the high mark of Realmslore. We had good stuff in 1E, but 2E put so much polish on that. We had some good stuff in 3E, too, but even the best 3E material was only on par with 2E stuff.
I completely agree, which is why I voted as I did. It's also the era I grew up with, too. That always helps.
I third that. I loved the late 2nd ed era, ToT, and all that, so I voted for it. After taht, I'd say the Return of Shade would be second, if only because 3rd ed introduced some things I really loved. |
The Goddess is alive, and magic is afoot.
"Where Science ends, Magic begins" -Spiral, Uncanny X-Men #491
"You idiots! You've captured their STUNT doubles!" -Spaceballs
Lothir's character background/stats: http://forum.candlekeep.com/pop_profile.asp?mode=display&id=5469
My stories:
http://z3.invisionfree.com/Mickeys_Comic_Tavern/index.php?showforum=188
Lothir, courtesy of Sylinde (Deviant Art)/Luaxena (Chosen of Eilistraee)
http://sylinde.deviantart.com/#/d2z6e4u |
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BARDOBARBAROS
Senior Scribe
Greece
581 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jul 2010 : 14:17:15
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| Post Time of Troubles Realms (2E) |
BARDOBARBAROS DOES NOT KILL.
HE DECAPITATES!!!
"The city changes, but the fools within it remain always the same" (Edwin Odesseiron- Baldur's gate 2) |
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Icelander
Master of Realmslore
1864 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2010 : 13:20:32
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Hmmm...
I answered Return of Shade, as I use 3e Realslore in my games, but whenever that lore conflicts with published older lore (or Ed's answers), I let the version that better fits the consistency of the setting stand (that's rarely WotC lore). I also reject most of what happened after 1373 or so and some of that which happened before it. |
Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela!
Forgotten Realms fans, please sign a petition to re-release the FR Interactive Atlas
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idilippy
Senior Scribe
USA
417 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2010 : 22:23:57
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| I play post-ToT as well, mostly setting my games in the mid to late 1360's, though I also have run a game in the later 3e area I have stayed away from Sembia and returned Netheril so far in that one and haven't included the elven return since I like Myth Drannor to be an abandoned and deadly ruin more than the center of another elven nation. I've never run a game using only the old gray box or 4e material though I would be interested in using parts of the former, like Myrkul, with the loads of additional lore the 2e realms offered that expanded the setting. |
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Era of Choice
