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Mournblade
Master of Realmslore
USA
1287 Posts |
 Posted - 12 Aug 2005 : 01:11:07
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I was jsut wondering how popular these books were. 2 hours in Borders books pretty much convinced me that they were money making garbage. Fortunately I was able to read them in Borders and figure out they were of no use BEFORE I bought them. I hope they used recycled paper, because i would hate to think some trees died to publish those books.
Was there anything useful in it? Most of the psychology and lore has been printed in a myriad of other sources through the editions. The prestige classes seemed rushed and stretched. No real good idea. Of course I am developing the opinion there are too many prestige classes already.
What did you guys think?
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A wizard is Never late Frodo Baggins. Nor is he Early. A wizard arrives precisely when he means to... |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
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Crennen FaerieBane
Master of Realmslore
USA
1378 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2005 : 01:39:05
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quote:
Originally posted by Mournblade
I was jsut wondering how popular these books were. 2 hours in Borders books pretty much convinced me that they were money making garbage. Fortunately I was able to read them in Borders and figure out they were of no use BEFORE I bought them. I hope they used recycled paper, because i would hate to think some trees died to publish those books.
Was there anything useful in it? Most of the psychology and lore has been printed in a myriad of other sources through the editions. The prestige classes seemed rushed and stretched. No real good idea. Of course I am developing the opinion there are too many prestige classes already.
What did you guys think?
Let me just reply really quick - I thought they were neat in that way that they compiled a whole bunch of information directly in one source. And I really liked the Ruathar PrC - but I didn't understand how an Elf could become a Ruathar!??!
C-Fb |
Still rockin' the Fey'ri style. |
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AlacLuin
Learned Scribe
131 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2005 : 23:41:02
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I've found use for "Races of Faerun".
I've also found use for "Races of Eberron", for Eberron that is :)
I haven't even looked at the others, and don't plan to. |
Edited by - AlacLuin on 12 Aug 2005 23:42:07 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2005 : 00:25:45
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quote:
Originally posted by AlacLuin
I've found use for "Races of Faerun".
I've also found use for "Races of Eberron", for Eberron that is :)
I haven't even looked at the others, and don't plan to.
I love Races of Faerūn. That Eberron one is on my list, but it's a ways down. I'm thinking that the warforged section may prove to have some nifty concepts for an idea I've been tinkering with. |
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Reefy
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
892 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2005 : 00:31:42
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| Races of Faerūn is a top book. Races of the Wild etc I have no use for. |
Life is either daring adventure or nothing. |
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Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2005 : 01:31:13
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RoF has more Realms-specific material than RoE has for Eberron, so in overall use to the setting it's tied to, RoF wins hands down. Of course, if RoE had been tied closer to Eberron, it would have been different, because of the format. I think that the format in the later Races of books make things much more searchable. When I go to Races of Faerun to check on something, I have to hunt a little harder than is really necessary. It's not that it's written badly -- it's just that we now have a format that's so much better it almost seems obvious to use it, and it makes RoF look out of date even though it isn't.
I doubt WotC is about to re-release it, though. Which is a good thing. |
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Mournblade
Master of Realmslore
USA
1287 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2005 : 03:43:09
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Let me just clarify! Races of Faerun is incredible!!! I love it.
Races of Eberron I did not bother with as Eberron is not the campaign world I prefer, so I have no idea about it.
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DDH_101
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1272 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2005 : 06:23:21
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Races of Faerun was very useful for me. Strangely, it wasn't about the other races but actually the parts about human. I liked how just the humans themselves were broken down into so many different types like Chondathan or Calimshite.
Also, I found the different lycanthropes pretty interesting too. |
"Trust in the shadows, for the bright way makes you an easy target." -Mask |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2005 : 17:23:30
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quote:
Originally posted by DDH_101
Races of Faerun was very useful for me. Strangely, it wasn't about the other races but actually the parts about human. I liked how just the humans themselves were broken down into so many different types like Chondathan or Calimshite.
As much as I like some of the other races, I was seriously impressed by the section on humans. I particularly like that it makes humans from different regions different, instead of there being one generic human race scattered around the continent. |
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AlacLuin
Learned Scribe
131 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2005 : 23:25:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by AlacLuin
I've found use for "Races of Faerun".
I've also found use for "Races of Eberron", for Eberron that is :)
I haven't even looked at the others, and don't plan to.
I love Races of Faerūn. That Eberron one is on my list, but it's a ways down. I'm thinking that the warforged section may prove to have some nifty concepts for an idea I've been tinkering with.
The warforged chapter is arguably the best chapter of that book.
I still have issues with warforged in Faerun, even if there has recently been a mention in the Waterdeep book that may be a good place for warforged to come from.
I really wouldn't put this book high on a "to get" list, I got it as I'm somewhat of an Eberron fan. |
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warlockco
Master of Realmslore
USA
1695 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2005 : 23:42:52
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quote:
Originally posted by AlacLuin
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by AlacLuin
I've found use for "Races of Faerun".
I've also found use for "Races of Eberron", for Eberron that is :)
I haven't even looked at the others, and don't plan to.
I love Races of Faerūn. That Eberron one is on my list, but it's a ways down. I'm thinking that the warforged section may prove to have some nifty concepts for an idea I've been tinkering with.
The warforged chapter is arguably the best chapter of that book.
I still have issues with warforged in Faerun, even if there has recently been a mention in the Waterdeep book that may be a good place for warforged to come from.
I really wouldn't put this book high on a "to get" list, I got it as I'm somewhat of an Eberron fan.
Was a bit disappointed in the Races of Eberron book, because to me it focused too much on the new races. To me Races of Faerun was a much better book, in regards to their respective settings.
As far as the other books go, I have picked up Races of the Wild, Races of Stone, but not Races of Destiny. Races of Destiny just seemed very weak to me, so is the backburner of my list of things to eventually get. Races of the Wild has a few interesting things, but Races of Stone is the one of the 3 that has seen the most use by me so far. |
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AlacLuin
Learned Scribe
131 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2005 : 00:04:30
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quote:
Was a bit disappointed in the Races of Eberron book, because to me it focused too much on the new races. To me Races of Faerun was a much better book, in regards to their respective settings.
Wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment |
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warlockco
Master of Realmslore
USA
1695 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2005 : 01:04:21
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quote:
Originally posted by AlacLuin
quote:
Was a bit disappointed in the Races of Eberron book, because to me it focused too much on the new races. To me Races of Faerun was a much better book, in regards to their respective settings.
Wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment
Welcome to the Keep Alac Luin, just realized you have wandered over here from the Wizards boards. That or you just don't post much over here   |
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AlacLuin
Learned Scribe
131 Posts |
Posted - 15 Aug 2005 : 03:43:03
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quote:
Welcome to the Keep Alac Luin, just realized you have wandered over here from the Wizards boards. That or you just don't post much over here
Thanks for the welcome, but I've been here for some time.
It's just that I've been hiding in the corner, yea thats it
It's an ego thing, my limited knowledge of the realms compared to many of those here, I have little to add to conversations.
At wizards, I can usually act like I know something.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 15 Aug 2005 : 04:11:29
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quote:
Originally posted by AlacLuin
It's an ego thing, my limited knowledge of the realms compared to many of those here, I have little to add to conversations.
At wizards, I can usually act like I know something.
Hey, we all had to start somewhere. Only Ed walked into the Realms knowing what he'd encounter, and since it's become a shared world, even he gets to learn new stuff.
Besides, new eyes often have a different perspective.  |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 15 Aug 2005 : 04:14:55
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quote:
Originally posted by AlacLuin
I still have issues with warforged in Faerun, even if there has recently been a mention in the Waterdeep book that may be a good place for warforged to come from.
My idea wasn't for a straight warforged, obviously -- that was just a starting point. And there would only be a couple of them, anyway. And it was tied to a bit of lore from another part of the Realms, which could make it work. |
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Crennen FaerieBane
Master of Realmslore
USA
1378 Posts |
Posted - 15 Aug 2005 : 14:56:01
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The problem I had with the Races books were that it focused too little on the races it was supposed to describe (i.e. Stone - Dwarves) and too much on those new, weird races (Illumian, Raptoran, Goliath, etc). And then, the second half of the book was the obvious WotC "let's drown them in PrCs!".
I don't know... they had a lot of potential, they just failed to meet the mark
C-Fb
P.s. - the above does NOT apply to Races of Faerun, which, as we all agree, was awesome! |
Still rockin' the Fey'ri style. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31773 Posts |
Posted - 15 Aug 2005 : 15:01:24
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quote:
Originally posted by CrennenFaerieBane
The problem I had with the Races books were that it focused too little on the races it was supposed to describe (i.e. Stone - Dwarves) and too much on those new, weird races (Illumian, Raptoran, Goliath, etc).
Actually, I rather liked the coverage of the illumians -- they remind me of the dabus from PS .
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Crennen FaerieBane
Master of Realmslore
USA
1378 Posts |
Posted - 15 Aug 2005 : 15:33:11
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by CrennenFaerieBane
The problem I had with the Races books were that it focused too little on the races it was supposed to describe (i.e. Stone - Dwarves) and too much on those new, weird races (Illumian, Raptoran, Goliath, etc).
Actually, I rather liked the coverage of the illumians -- they remind me of the dabus from PS .
True - but unlike the Dabus, they can't continually make new and different symbols to talk to people, which I always thought was the coolest.
I had a game one time where my players were running around Sigil looking for a key to a portal to Tarterus. They came across a Dabus on a mission from the Lady of Pain and what occured afterwards was 2 hours of me drawing things on pieces of paper to explain the game. PS was a weird, but very fun, campaign setting!
C-Fb |
Still rockin' the Fey'ri style. |
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Mournblade
Master of Realmslore
USA
1287 Posts |
Posted - 15 Aug 2005 : 21:16:01
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AND Torment may have been the best computer game yet!
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A wizard is Never late Frodo Baggins. Nor is he Early. A wizard arrives precisely when he means to... |
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khorne
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1073 Posts |
Posted - 15 Aug 2005 : 21:19:45
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quote:
Originally posted by Mournblade
AND Torment may have been the best computer game yet!
I love Torment. I don`t know which one I like better, Torment or BG2. |
If I were a ranger, I would pick NDA for my favorite enemy |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31773 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2005 : 02:16:06
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quote:
Originally posted by CrennenFaerieBane
True - but unlike the Dabus, they can't continually make new and different symbols to talk to people, which I always thought was the coolest.
There are more than a few "theorists" over at WotC who are suggesting that the illumians may have in fact been an earlier evolutionary stage of the dabus.
For me however, I prefer the origins of the dabus to remain... unknown.
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Edain Shadowstar
Senior Scribe
USA
455 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2005 : 03:18:58
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Anytime I hear the word "theorists" I chringe. It usually means someone is going to turn the Death Star on some sacred idea or belief and send the lot of us purists to Baator. Really, fleshing out Dabus' history? Whoever suggested that should be Mazed. Now. If there's one thing I loved Planescape for its that it had stuff that it more or less said "We're not gonna explain and neither will anyone else. It's unknown and thats the way it ought to be,". You didn't know anything about Dabus except they cleaned stuff, spoke in symbols over their heads and had kicking hair. Thats all you need to know.
Now, as for the Races series: Races fo Faerun was bloody useful. A superlative tome; every Realmsian scholar or pseudoscholar should have it. As for Races of Destiny, Races of the Wild and Races of Stone, I thought they were decent books, not particularly useful for a Forgotten Realms campaign from my viewpoint, but definately useful for other settings, especially custom ones. Of course, I'm always a fan of books that flesh out the mindset and society of the demihumans. It adds depth to the game. |
Edain Shadowstar
Archwizard of Rel Astra and Waterdeep
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Lady Kazandra
Senior Scribe
Australia
921 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2005 : 05:49:49
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quote:
Originally posted by Edain Shadowstar
Now, as for the Races series: Races fo Faerun was bloody useful. A superlative tome; every Realmsian scholar or pseudoscholar should have it. As for Races of Destiny, Races of the Wild and Races of Stone, I thought they were decent books, not particularly useful for a Forgotten Realms campaign from my viewpoint, but definately useful for other settings, especially custom ones. Of course, I'm always a fan of books that flesh out the mindset and society of the demihumans. It adds depth to the game.
I rather enjoyed Races of Faerun. And George's further comments on the sourcebook posted here in the past have only reinforced my positive opinion of this work.
I for one am just glad that the concept of upper and lower Netheril was successfully entered into the "official" FR lore.
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khorne
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1073 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2005 : 13:04:01
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quote:
Originally posted by Edain Shadowstar
Anytime I hear the word "theorists" I chringe. It usually means someone is going to turn the Death Star on some sacred idea or belief and send the lot of us purists to Baator. Really, fleshing out Dabus' history? Whoever suggested that should be Mazed. Now. If there's one thing I loved Planescape for its that it had stuff that it more or less said "We're not gonna explain and neither will anyone else. It's unknown and thats the way it ought to be,". You didn't know anything about Dabus except they cleaned stuff, spoke in symbols over their heads and had kicking hair. Thats all you need to know.
I have a feeling that if some clueless berk would try too hard to find out the dark about the dabus, then the Lady would either maze or flay him. |
If I were a ranger, I would pick NDA for my favorite enemy |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31773 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2005 : 15:03:25
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quote:
Originally posted by Edain Shadowstar
Anytime I hear the word "theorists" I chringe. It usually means someone is going to turn the Death Star on some sacred idea or belief and send the lot of us purists to Baator. Really, fleshing out Dabus' history? Whoever suggested that should be Mazed. Now. If there's one thing I loved Planescape for its that it had stuff that it more or less said "We're not gonna explain and neither will anyone else. It's unknown and thats the way it ought to be,". You didn't know anything about Dabus except they cleaned stuff, spoke in symbols over their heads and had kicking hair. Thats all you need to know.
I find them rather assuming actually, especially those "theories" that try to connect totally disparate planar elements.
But yes, as I said (slightly) before... the entire premise of PS works best when all things are UNEXPLAINED.
And now that we've slightly diverged from the main topic, I think I'll have to put on my MODERATOR cap and head us back over to the discussion of the various Races sourcebooks.
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Chosen of Moradin
Master of Realmslore
Brazil
1120 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2005 : 19:56:07
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| And, going back to topic, I want to echo the opinions of the other scribes: Races of Faerūn is one of the greatest 3rd edition FR books! It is the real "Player“s Guide to Faerūn", IMHO. Races of Eberron I don“t look (I have said this in Paizo boards, and repeat here: there“s no market for Eberron here in Brazil. Dragonlance? Yes! Ravenloft? Yes! Forgotten Realms? Ooh, yes! But Eberron? Until now, no, thanks...). The generic Races of..., in my opinion, was a waste of a good idea. And this is a pity. The general concept was good, but the final product stay, IMO, too much distant of the target... |
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Mournblade
Master of Realmslore
USA
1287 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2005 : 22:26:28
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It was bad enough having to keep your voice down so Alaundo would not hear.
But Sage has better ears! I should of known Sage was going to follow in Alaundo's footsteps. All you organized scribes. Sometimes a mess is nice, it lets you know the library is being used! In my laboratory My tomes may be all over the place but I know EXACTLY what spell is in each and what I did with it.
As long as SAGE does not come in to straighten it up, my organization is infallible.
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A wizard is Never late Frodo Baggins. Nor is he Early. A wizard arrives precisely when he means to... |
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warlockco
Master of Realmslore
USA
1695 Posts |
Posted - 17 Aug 2005 : 00:08:58
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quote:
Originally posted by Mournblade
It was bad enough having to keep your voice down so Alaundo would not hear.
But Sage has better ears! I should of known Sage was going to follow in Alaundo's footsteps. All you organized scribes. Sometimes a mess is nice, it lets you know the library is being used! In my laboratory My tomes may be all over the place but I know EXACTLY what spell is in each and what I did with it.
As long as SAGE does not come in to straighten it up, my organization is infallible.
Ah, so you use the organization by Chaos method too? |
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Mournblade
Master of Realmslore
USA
1287 Posts |
Posted - 17 Aug 2005 : 01:29:05
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Indeed! I always find what I need!
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A wizard is Never late Frodo Baggins. Nor is he Early. A wizard arrives precisely when he means to... |
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Topic |
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Did you find any use for the RACES OF X books?
