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jebeddo
Seeker
Canada
69 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 00:40:06
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Does anyone within the halls of Candlekeep know of when (and if) there is going to be a 3.5 Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting?
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"Only half-orcs rush in where devas fear to tread." |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 00:41:27
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quote: Originally posted by jebeddo
Does anyone within the halls of Candlekeep know of when (and if) there is going to be a 3.5 Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting?
There isn't. The Player's Guide and the FR material after that is all 3.5. But the Player's Guide updated what WOTC thought needed updated in the 3.0E FR material. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Jindael
Senior Scribe
USA
357 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 02:07:14
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quote: Originally posted by kuje31
There isn't. The Player's Guide and the FR material after that is all 3.5. But the Player's Guide updated what WOTC thought needed updated in the 3.0E FR material.
Interesting way to phrase that. |
"You don't have a Soul. You are a Soul. You have a body." -- C.S. Lewis |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 02:10:28
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quote: Originally posted by Jindael
quote: Originally posted by kuje31
There isn't. The Player's Guide and the FR material after that is all 3.5. But the Player's Guide updated what WOTC thought needed updated in the 3.0E FR material.
Interesting way to phrase that.
Not sure what you mean..... That is what we've been told and what the Player's Guide says.... |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Jindael
Senior Scribe
USA
357 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 05:35:32
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Maybe it’s my own sarcastic streak putting a tone into your words that you didn’t mean. The phrase “What WoTC thought needed…” just sounds kinda snarky, like tPGtF doesn’t have anything we actually need, just stuff WoTC came up with. |
"You don't have a Soul. You are a Soul. You have a body." -- C.S. Lewis |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 06:37:32
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quote: Originally posted by Jindael
Maybe it’s my own sarcastic streak putting a tone into your words that you didn’t mean. The phrase “What WoTC thought needed…” just sounds kinda snarky, like tPGtF doesn’t have anything we actually need, just stuff WoTC came up with.
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Griselame
Acolyte
France
18 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 08:37:23
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Rumor like this one going on about a D&D4 system ? |
By the power of Tyr !!! |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 08:57:21
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quote: Originally posted by Jindael
Maybe it’s my own sarcastic streak putting a tone into your words that you didn’t mean. The phrase “What WoTC thought needed…” just sounds kinda snarky, like tPGtF doesn’t have anything we actually need, just stuff WoTC came up with.
Oh. Well when you put it that way, I agree. :) I sure and the Hells don't need the Player's Guide and hardly any of it is used for me. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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The Blue Sorceress
Learned Scribe
107 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 12:55:50
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quote: Originally posted by Griselame
Rumor like this one going on about a D&D4 system ?
I really hope there isn't a 4th edition for a good long time. At this point 3.5 has few enough bugs that a complete system overhaul isn't necessary to keep games running smoothly. Rules fixes can easily enough be implemented with errata that can be downloaded from the website, and the class, feat and skill system are easy enough to understand and fiddle with that a DM can adjust things to taste. It allows almost perfect freedom in character creation, so that just leaves it to the DM or setting designers to say, "in this setting x can't do y because of z," or "while in the core rules it say x can't do y, in this setting, because of z, x can do y." 4E will only become necesary if 3.5 runs into the sort of snags that brought down the earlier editions.
On the matter of a 3.5 Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, I don't see the need. The Player's Guide to Faerun fixed the most broken parts of the game mechanics, and while it introduced the new cosmology that some people dislike so much, it's easy enough to house rule the old cosmology (and associated lore) back into your home Realms if you feel the need. Things that weren't officially updated for 3.5 live some of the PrC's, feats and lore from the 3.0 books can be updated by the DM following the procedures outlined in the 3.5 update booklet you can get off the WotC website. All it takes is a little common sense and the ability to read, really. You're not going to have something official, but as long as the updates serve your needs do you really need the WotC stamp of approval? All of the lore can be updated through reading the various novels, or if you don't have time for that you can persuse the threads in the novels forum here or ask the writers over in the Chamber of Sages, the Realms Events or pretty much any forum here, to be honest, and get the scoop on what happened where and make changes to suit (or leave things be if your campaign has progressed such that certain events would be significantly altered.)
The place where you're going to be getting most of the new lore from is the novels, but old sourcebooks are also great treasure troves of lore, as I'm sure many a sage could tell you, and the same goes for old novels. There will be new lore in the new accessories too, and they will no doubt update things in a general way as time progresses, but most of it is probably going to involve the sources I mentioned before.
Come to think of it, this makes me think that the high-level of cruch in the new FR books might be a way to encourage players to read the books to get lore. The accessories provide the rules, the novels provide the detailed information that Realmslore enthusiasts enjoy, sort of like the older mostly fluff accessories, but with a plot and in paperback so they're cheaper; if you buy them in paperback, that is. If you must have everything that comes in hard cover in hard cover then you're still paying about as much as you would for the regional accessories.
I think I would rather have read Volo's guides in the form of a novel with a loose, episodic plot that meanders across the various regions he explored while still giving the relevant game information, short stat lines for important NPCs etc. in an abbreviated form at the end. That would be an ingenious way of incorporating a story into the text that was more immersive that the fluff-driven accessories and would be at the same time one that would leave the reader with a sense of the "places between" cities (what it's like on the road, what a village too small to make it in the Volo's guides would be like). Rumors could be presented as Volo, or whoever, hears them, and maybe the important ones could be indexed at the back. Elminster's little corrections (which I found incredibly amusing in the original versions, by the way) could be kept as footnotes. As someone who likes reading a story better than a guidebook, I think I'd enjoy it if things were done this way, though only if the form was handled by a skilled author or authoress and the sytle, tone and characters were unique throughout. The plot, while not minimal or minimized, would be concerned with Realms shaking events only indirectly. Volo wouldn't get wrapped up in saving the world every time he wandered into a town, but the events surrounding that town would be incorporated into the story. So, if Volo were attacked on the road as he journeyed toward town X, that would bring in the fact that town X is being attacked by bandits, and he might get introduced to the town constable to tell him what he remembered about the attack. This would be a way of introducing the various NPCs of note in the town guard and maybe even taking down estimates of their numbers through things he hears the guards say or sees when he's talking to the constable in his office.
An example conversation might read:
"Isn't anyone doing anything to stop this madness?" Volo asked.
The constable frowned, his already lined brow wrinkling even further. He ran one hand across the top of his head and then itched the back of his neck just below where his iron-gray hair was tied into a tidy pony tail. "Well," he said, drawing the word out almost musically, "the mayor is trying to find a group of adventurers to take care of the problem. There's a handsome reward, two hundred pieces of gold worth of goods he and the other villagers and notables are offering and another fifty in coin out of the city coffers. Some lads from the village are thinking of taking on the job themselves, hoping to get rich and catch the eye of the lasses, but none of them are cut for the work, and I've been trying to discourage them. No sense in the foolish pups getting themselves killed, I say." His frown, which had faded for a moment, returned with a vengeance and the contstable continued, "I'd go myself, and take some of the guards, but there aren't enough of us by half and I don't like the idea of leaving the town unattended. Reports say that there're upwards of twenty men and women preying on the road leading into the town from the south. There's nothing we can do until either we get help from one of the other towns, or some merchant gets his caravan taken and hires a mercenary company to wipe them out, or the mayor manages to find some adventurers willing to take on the task. Problem is that none of the other towns can spare the men either, since they're getting harrassed too, and so far the bandits have been preying only on travellers moving in twos and threes, sometimes more if there's not too many strong looking types. Fellows like you are the usual. When you stop to rest next few towns along the way, could you maybe put the word out that we're looking for folk with good souls and strong limbs to give us a bit of help? Everyone here'd be real appreciative, let me tell you."
Volo nodded. "Why certainly, my good man, I'd be more than happy to oblige." He paused, and scractched his head in what he hoped looked like a thoughful gesture, "I may have a problem though. I was robbed after all, and while they didn't get my horse or any of my important belongings, they did get my purse. I don't suppose there might be a few coins in the bargain for me if I do your people this service?" He smiled, creating a disarming mix of trustworthiness and sheepishness, as if he were almost ashamed of asking in the first place. He wasn't, of course, but what the guard didn't know...
Anyway, it was just an idea that popped into my head after a night without sleep. Won't ever happen, of course, but it would be nice.
-Blue
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Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.
I see your walrus and raise you a carpenter |
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Jindael
Senior Scribe
USA
357 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 19:11:58
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quote: Originally posted by The Blue Sorceress
I really hope there isn't a 4th edition for a good long time. At this point 3.5 has few enough bugs that a complete system overhaul isn't necessary to keep games running smoothly.
Amen to that. However, I'd bet money that we see a 4th edition around 2010.
quote: Originally posted by The Blue Sorceress
4E will only become necesary if 3.5 runs into the sort of snags that brought down the earlier editions.
Management based solely on profit, poorly thought out supplements and the fact that 2nd edition was basically just a set of house rules for a previous edition?
Heheh, sorry, I'm being pessimistic. I'll go over there in the corner and sit quietly.
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"You don't have a Soul. You are a Soul. You have a body." -- C.S. Lewis |
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LordAnki
Seeker
USA
73 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jun 2005 : 20:23:43
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Well, you don't realy need to change anything in fr 3 to fr 3.5 really. It was just core rules that were changed. |
Tip of the Month: don't drink the dirty water. You know what i'm talking about if you know what i mean. |
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Xaean
Acolyte
Austria
8 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jul 2005 : 11:27:39
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Agreed and even more so: The core rules changed so slightly that you have to look closely to notice. What would be the changes in FR 3.5: The class skills paragraph for 2 or 3 prestige classes. At least nothing of significance. |
By Moradin's beard! |
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ode904
Learned Scribe
Finland
193 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jul 2005 : 22:10:53
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aye I agree. If there comes out new edition from time to time DMs have to do lots of works to be up to date. And it takes some money too to buy often new editions |
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Bocklin
Learned Scribe
Germany
151 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jul 2005 : 12:10:16
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I actually hope that 3.5 will stick around long enough so that a 3.5 FRCS will be needed!
In five or six years, it might be relevant to collate all the setting/time line changes and put it out in a full fledged 3.5 FRCS book.
Bocklin |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jul 2005 : 15:06:59
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quote: Originally posted by Bocklin
I actually hope that 3.5 will stick around long enough so that a 3.5 FRCS will be needed!
That's unlikely... since the PGtF is actually meant to update the setting for the year 1373/1374 DR.
quote: In five or six years, it might be relevant to collate all the setting/time line changes and put it out in a full fledged 3.5 FRCS book.
In five or six years... we'll likely see an FRCS 4e .
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Bocklin
Learned Scribe
Germany
151 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jul 2005 : 18:50:51
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quote: Originally posted by The Sage
That's unlikely... since the PGtF is actually meant to update the setting for the year 1373/1374 DR.
In five or six years... we'll likely see an FRCS 4e .
Yeah, well I'll keep my hopes high and pray for the 4th edition to come later... Maybe the "revised 3.5 FRCS" will be covering DR 1374 til 1377 and will come out in 2010. Now, that's an unlikely dream, but one never knows...
Bocklin |
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moon of abyss
Acolyte
13 Posts |
Posted - 05 Aug 2005 : 09:34:00
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the material after player's guide to faerun is based on 3.5 rules. So i do not think that there will be a product named FR campaign setting 3,5. Also in campaign settings generally history, geography , characters, etc are desrcibed, yes i know that those ones' numerical values are shown in the books but it will not be so hard to convert those to 3,5.
i think wizards will go on to publish new FR products in a speedy way as today but i am not waiting a campaign book which is only made in order to convert the small changes which has happened in the game... but another book like player's guide to faerun will come i think... describing the important events after lolth's silence and the return of the archwizards. The year of rogue dragons and so on... |
"Yes my ravenous friend" he said quietly, "but there remains two problems."
"First, I work alone."
"And second," Entreri continued, without missing a breath, "you are dead." |
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