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Thyrkill
Acolyte
United Kingdom
2 Posts |
 Posted - 28 Apr 2014 : 21:30:44
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Hello,
I'm about to start a campaign after about an eight year absence from the Realms (last used the 3.5 setting), and I wanted to get some thoughts on what time period would be best to run it in. Is the present good? (I am vaguely familiar with the changes in 4th and bits of the Sundering) Or is it worth going back to the gray box beginnings?
The group of players I have haven't played in the Realms before, other than video games, and I wanted to give them a good introduction.
Your thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated,
Matt
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4702 Posts |
Posted - 28 Apr 2014 : 22:00:27
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Well the best answer is what you know and feel comfortable with. As a DM you need to know the Realms far more then your players might discover because of the choices they make.
Clearly if you do not know Realms as current published year at all , it would not be a good game for you to conduct. You would need to know the changes well before you introduce the players to it.
The going with gray box beginnings certainly can work, if you use the beginning rules, however if you wish to use more current rulesets (as many players have adjusted to) you would need to adjust the Realms to the rules you decide to use.
All in all, there is no best answer that any can provide you. Each gaming group agree on the rules to use, the DM gets to choose the year. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 28 Apr 2014 : 23:11:27
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Different editions of the rules are tied to different eras of the setting.
We're I you, I would pick what era to use based on the edition of D&D you plan to use.
You're fortunate that your players don't know much about the Realms. Thus you can borrow liberally from all eras to construct a memorable game.
Best of luck. |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4491 Posts |
Posted - 28 Apr 2014 : 23:37:50
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quote:
Originally posted by Thyrkill
Hello,
I'm about to start a campaign after about an eight year absence from the Realms (last used the 3.5 setting), and I wanted to get some thoughts on what time period would be best to run it in. Is the present good? (I am vaguely familiar with the changes in 4th and bits of the Sundering) Or is it worth going back to the gray box beginnings?
The group of players I have haven't played in the Realms before, other than video games, and I wanted to give them a good introduction.
Your thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated,
Matt
It really depends on how in-depth your group wants to start their immersion with the Realms. Despite a lot of the anger towards the Post-Spellplague Realms, it's quite easy to get engaged with the current times (1480's DR) because the lore isn't quite so deep. But I will say that it's always easier to go with what you know. So if your knowledge of the pre-Spellplague Realms is pretty extensive you might want to stick with that so that you have less time flipping through books and it'll cut down on the amount of questions you might not know the answer to.
The edition of the game you play, I've found, has relatively little consequence on the era of the Realms you play in. For example, I have known those who dislike the post-Spellplague Realms but switched over to 4E, thus they use 4E rules with their pre-Time of Troubles Realms games and it seems to work fine for them. |
Diffan's NPG Generator: FR NPC Generator
E6 Options: Epic 6 Campaign |
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore
USA
1853 Posts |
Posted - 29 Apr 2014 : 02:05:01
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quote:
Originally posted by Kentinal
Well the best answer is what you know and feel comfortable with. As a DM you need to know the Realms far more then your players might discover because of the choices they make.
Best advice I've seen for picking a time frame. Go with what you know. I would add: balance that against what you like. That complicates it, but I just mean if you know the 3e Realms but you're excited about the 4e setting and your players are cool with it, then go with that. Yea, the DM needs to bring the A-game, but if you're motivated to read between game sessions then you're golden. As stated here and elsewhere, there isn't much new lore involved in bouncing into 4e. 4e also flattens the learning curve for new players, though I've never experienced any complaints in the earlier editions.
And I'm with Diffan on the rules. Others obviously differ here, but I don't find that the rules have anything to do with the setting... beyond which NPC stat blocks you use. If you're willing to rewrite those, you can play any ruleset/timeframe combo you want.  |
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Thyrkill
Acolyte
United Kingdom
2 Posts |
Posted - 29 Apr 2014 : 08:08:20
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Thanks very much for the replies and advice. I will be using Blood and Treasure (with some 13th Age bolted on) as my system, so it's simple enough to use any of the eras for my setting. What I'm struggling with is making sure my players have enough background to play with as I get caught up on my reading. It sounds like the 4e setting isn't too much to deal with and I have recently picked up the Sundering modules to read. I wonder if starting them in the "Next" era might be my best bet and let them learn from there.
Matt
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Cbad285
Learned Scribe
161 Posts |
Posted - 29 Apr 2014 : 15:18:40
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| grey box |
"Beware the Dream Fever!" |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6447 Posts |
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hashimashadoo
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1155 Posts |
Posted - 29 Apr 2014 : 17:01:58
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| I tend to play in the decade before the Spellplague. You have all the 3e lore to work with and 10 whole years before everything goes to pot. |
When life turns it's back on you...sneak attack for extra damage.
Head admin of the FR wiki:
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/ |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
8035 Posts |
Posted - 29 Apr 2014 : 22:32:46
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| There‘s really no requirement to adhere to canon events and history. Nor necessarily that particular canon events will occur (or have occurred) in your Realms in the same order and chronology as published by WotC - if at all. |
[/Ayrik] |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6688 Posts |
Posted - 30 Apr 2014 : 01:12:02
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It would depend on whether your group are renowned for long campaigns or short ones. If the former, then I would indeed start with the Ol' Grey Box and move forward in the timeline. If the latter, then the timeline doesn;t really matter. Pick a locale that suits you best and go with it - most of the 'core' ones (Waterdeep and Cormyr) are little changed. I've always said that if I started a campaign it would be set in Amphail, down the road from Waterdeep, from about 1352-ish onwards.
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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Cards77
Senior Scribe
USA
751 Posts |
Posted - 01 May 2014 : 18:23:01
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quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal
Anywhere between 1357 and 1371. You get all that depth and history and plenty of secrets and ideas and freedom.
I'm still discovering things i never noticed in the 2nd edition sourcebooks even after reading them for nearly 20 years.
this +100. You'll get all the exploration, incredible depth, sandboxy freedom, the greatest heros and NPCs in their prime, without having to explain all the messy events and changes to all the gods. It twas a much simpler time, and the golden age of the setting. |
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When to run the Realms
