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Mirtek
Senior Scribe
595 Posts |
 Posted - 17 Aug 2013 : 22:30:05
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Just received my copy of Murder in Baldurs Gate and want to share my thoughts on what is happened there and about the "we players can shape the sundering" idea.
If you want to avoid spoilers, don't read any further.
1. Bhaal is back     (you get it, I am really unhappy about that)
This is not open to be decided, that's definitive happening and actually happens before the heroes get to do anything of note. It's the secret premise of the start of the adventure
2. Bhaal is weak and looking for a chosen
Here the players actions come into play and depending on what they do they can decide who from among a list of candidates will be Bhaal's chosen (and then slay him immediately  ) or have one of them become the chosen instead (and then be slain by his former party members )
This I think confirms what many people thought about the extent of us being able to shape the sundering. IMHO it was always clear that we don't get to call the really big and important shots, because WotC simply needs to prepare them too far in advance to have to wait until our feedback decides major plotpoints just a few month before the novel releases. The novels simply need to have the major plot points down much earlier.
So our feedback can't stop/help Bhaal, but we get to decide which NPC will be his chosen (I think the PC as chosen option won't make it into canon, even if that were the majority outcome WotC would just select whichever NPC scored second).
So I can't say I am surprised about the impact we can have on the new realms and I am not displeased (except that Bhaal is back )
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Edited by - Mirtek on 17 Aug 2013 22:31:12
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Foxhelm
Senior Scribe
Canada
592 Posts |
Posted - 17 Aug 2013 : 22:46:25
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| Look on the bright side... now you can run an adventure where you kill the spoiler man you hate! Perhaps in the most cruel and/or humilitating way you can imagine. |
Ed Greenwood! The Solution... and Cause of all the Realms Problems! |
Edited by - Foxhelm on 17 Aug 2013 22:47:07 |
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore
1885 Posts |
Posted - 17 Aug 2013 : 22:51:28
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| I'm not upset by this at all. I wont go into why as I don't want to spoil anything for others. |
I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one. |
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Gyor
Master of Realmslore
1632 Posts |
Posted - 17 Aug 2013 : 23:32:22
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| Good, so more goofy players can make a messy of things. |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3823 Posts |
Posted - 17 Aug 2013 : 23:42:14
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It makes sense that players can shape the published Realms only to an extent, I'm not displeased with this either.
LOL at point 2, tho... |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2013 : 01:16:46
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This seems to be really hard to discuss without hinting at the spoilers, but I'll try...
The person this is about is supposedly weak, and yet is trying to do something major that actually drains them of a significant portion of their power (how significant depends on that person's 'level').
So I'm not upset at that person still being around (I'm real good with it, in fact), but I don't understand this rather blatant flaw in the logic. I guess I'd need to read the thing to get the whole picture.
This "you get to make the canon" approach was tried before - most recently in the RPGA games, and the 'powers that be' nerfed it (presumably because the dirty little buggers were creating a plethora of hard-to-read canon all over again!)  
So here's what I think - its a load of crap. They've already decided whats going to happen, and their just stroking us. Its painfully obvious. How would we even know? They say "this is the one the fans picked!", and we say, "ummm... I guess so..."
It just wreaks of 'gimmicky' to me. |
"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 18 Aug 2013 01:18:54 |
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Gyor
Master of Realmslore
1632 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2013 : 01:25:47
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Oh I think they really will change things based on the results, its just that it will be safe things fromna limited selection of choices.
That's the only real way of doing that won't cause them nightmares. |
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Gyor
Master of Realmslore
1632 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2013 : 01:37:15
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Oh I think they really will change things based on the results, its just that it will be safe things fromna limited selection of choices.
That's the only real way of doing that won't cause them nightmares. |
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Lilianviaten
Senior Scribe
489 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2013 : 07:20:59
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I don't care one way or the other about the aforementioned event. However, it raises a few interesting questions.
1) Why do gods bother to kill each other if it's unlikely that they will stay dead?
2) If gods can come back so easily (and after so long), why are any gods still dead? Surely Leira wasn't less clever than Bhaal? Why can't she come back?
3) Why does every god in existence get more screen time than Selune? For crying out loud, Ghanadaur gets more screen time than her, and he's a giant mound of evil jello!
4) What will his portfolio be? To my knowledge, he only ever had Murder in his portfolio. Cyric is a greater god, so I'm not sure how he plans to swipe that. Maybe make a deal with Mask when he comes back? |
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ksu_bond
Learned Scribe
New Zealand
214 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2013 : 07:59:35
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quote:
Originally posted by Lilianviaten
3) Why does every god in existence get more screen time than Selune? For crying out loud, Ghanadaur gets more screen time than her, and he's a giant mound of evil jello!
Yeah...don't even get me started on this one... |
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore
1885 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2013 : 08:51:00
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Questions 1 & 2 can be answered as unthinking WotC crap.
Question 3 I dunno why, Selune has always been one of my favorite deities. She needs more screen time (though I am, frankly, sick of deity stories these days).
Question 4 will be whatever "Ao" gives him at the end of the Sundering methinks. |
I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one. |
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Venger
Learned Scribe
USA
269 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2013 : 08:58:04
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I've been doing the Happy Dance ever since I heard about Point 1.  Now all I need is to hear that his other buddy is back and I'll start doing the Super Duper Happy Dance to the tune of...
http://youtu.be/JvL8xPxUwSU?t=15s
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"Beware what you say when you speak of magic, wizard, or you shall see who has the greater power." |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3823 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2013 : 10:27:57
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quote:
Originally posted by Lilianviaten
I don't care one way or the other about the aforementioned event. However, it raises a few interesting questions.
1) Why do gods bother to kill each other if it's unlikely that they will stay dead?
2) If gods can come back so easily (and after so long), why are any gods still dead? Surely Leira wasn't less clever than Bhaal? Why can't she come back?
Sadly, all your questions (but the 4th) can be answered by saying: ''it's a WotC's/TSR's/whoever owns the FR decision''. They wanted to sell novels, so started to blow up gods and. Now that they're not happy with the monetary result of that approach, some deities will be back, some others won't, according to what they want (not that I'm sad to have Bhaal back, tho).
However, we could answer to the first question by saying that having a deity ''slumber'' for quite a bit of time could translate in a huge advantage for a rival god (loss of power and followers for the former, hard to recover from). I don't have an actual answer for the 2nd question (it's truly a WotC decision here), maybe ''slumbering'' gods are waiting for the ideal opportunity to ''wake up'' without attracting undesired attentions, which could be devastating, considering that -generally- returned gods are weaker than the previous version of themselves.
About the portfolio, I guess that it will be assassination (as in methodical, ruthless killing) and assassins, or smth like that.
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Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
Edited by - Irennan on 18 Aug 2013 10:36:17 |
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Gyor
Master of Realmslore
1632 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2013 : 15:45:27
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Gods kill each other for rank in the case of evil dieties and good gods kill bad ones to protect thier followers even if only temporarily.
Also thier is always room for jello and plenty of Gods don't get screen time. When was the last time you saw Gargos or Garuths in a novel. Or anyone from the Mulhorand Pantheon (okay Sharess kind of makes her presence felt in a couple of novels, but that's it and its surprisingly subtle).
Bhaal's porrofolio could be assassins or even murder if he's just a demigod. |
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MiBG and us affecting The Sundering - spoilers -
