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Originally posted by Irennan

Maybe they had other projects, or their price is higher than WotC is willing to pay (which, last time I checked, was below market standard). IIRC, Kemp spoke about this some years ago (and this isn't to say that Jaleigh Johnson is worth less than other authors, of course).

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Originally posted by Irennan

I don't think Salvatore is on Wizards' paybook, they merely farmed the Drizzt IP to Harper Collins. As for why they decided to make this exception for him, it's likely due to the cult of Drizzt among readers, and perhaps even due to many of the WotC people being Salvatore fanboys. Remember when they actively tried to get readers to dislike Eilistraee and erased everything drow that wasn't Salvatore's (the overwhelming majority of it), just so that Drizzt could be "more special"? Remember a couple years ago, nwhen they chose to retcon away all drow and elven history, supposedly remove any Lolthite city that wasn't Menzo, and reduce the drow to a vision that Salvatore claimed "has always been his"? Yeah, I think it's safe to assume that there are people at Wizards that like Salvatore in the most toxic manner. While it isn't the design team that chooses how much authors should be paid, or whether IPs should be farmed or not, I think it would have been easy for them to convince the higher ups that farming Drizzt to Harper Collins was a profitable idea.

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Originally posted by Caolin

I really don't like this light-hearted & goofy theme that is indicative of the whole Critical Role genre. My favorite Realms novels were those that were dark and adult and dealt with serious subject matters. This novel seems like something safe and uninteresting. I mean the pet otyugh is just there for comic relief and it's quite lame.

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Originally posted by Athreeren

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Originally posted by Caolin

I really don't like this light-hearted & goofy theme that is indicative of the whole Critical Role genre. My favorite Realms novels were those that were dark and adult and dealt with serious subject matters. This novel seems like something safe and uninteresting. I mean the pet otyugh is just there for comic relief and it's quite lame.

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Although the setting does lend itself to many epic stories on serious topics, is it actually possible to tell such stories through the game, when any attempt at a serious scene can be destroyed by uncooperative dice? The D20 can lead to such a wide variety of outcomes independently of the character's skills, and not necessarily the most interesting ones (compared to a system like the White Wolf one, where a competent character is highly unlikely to fail at something they're proficient at, unless the task is actually hard or they are facing opposition).

My experience of playing D&D is that if you do not expect to be playing some kind of buffoons, you are going to be disappointed with the resulting story. And since this world is meant to be played with this system, it make sense that the novels set in it would emulate the games you can have there.

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Originally posted by Dalor Darden

I would say it is kinda hard to be critical of a thing...when it hasn't been read yet.

Just my two coppers.

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Originally posted by Kentinal

AS to using descriptions to consider buying, this
"a cleric who refuses to tie himself to a single deity"
is very off putting. A world where most people have a favorite deity, it is jarring to see a cleric of many or really no deity,

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Originally posted by Ayrik

I'd always thought clerics worship a pantheon. They might have some preference for a particular deity or deities, or they might not. A cleric in the Realms might worship the Faerûnian pantheon (or the Mulhorandi pantheon, or the Elven pantheon, or whatever other pantheon accepts the cleric's race, alignment, etc). The standard "Cleric" class, requirements, powers, spells, etc from the PHB.

While priests worship a single deity. Or perhaps, maybe, a few closely allied deities. Every deity of any station has priests dedicated to its service - priests with different requirements, powers, spells, etc that are specific (and often unique) to that deity. Druids are a type of priest, there are many other types of priests which are just as similar and just as different to clerics.

Or at least that's how things worked in 1E, 2E, 3E. If WotC changed it then I would blame WotC, I wouldn't blame the authors they outsource.

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Creating a Cleric
As you create a cleric, the most important question to consider is which deity to serve and what principles you want your character to embody. The Gods of the Multiverse section includes lists of many of the gods of the multiverse. Check with your DM to learn which deities are in your campaign.

Once you’ve chosen a deity, consider your cleric’s relationship to that god. Did you enter this service willingly? Or did the god choose you, impelling you into service with no regard for your wishes? How do the temple priests of your faith regard you: as a champion or a troublemaker? What are your ultimate goals? Does your deity have a special task in mind for you? Or are you striving to prove yourself worthy of a great quest?

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Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

This doesn't sound bad, but I cringe at the description of the characters -- especially a bard named Lark. And an otyugh named Uggie that loves giving hugs sounds like something out of a young adult novel.

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