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Gellion
Learned Scribe
140 Posts |
 Posted - 16 Jul 2006 : 02:41:24
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Heh, I always hear people mention about how they hate Drizzt's Journal Entries. I cant understand why though, they are perhaps my favorite part of the book. They dont seem particularly angsty to me, I find a lot of them inspiring. They are just about a person(well, Elf) who is trying to figure out his role in the world. I find a lot of them very inspiring.
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"Paladine, you see the evil that surrounds me! You have been witness to the calamities that have been the scourge of Krynn... You must see now that this doctrine of balance will not work! I can sweep evil from this land. Destroy the ogre races. Bring the wayward humans into line! Find new homelands far away for the dwarves and the kender and the gnomes, those races not of your creation... I demand that you give me, too, the power to drive away the shadows of evil that darken the land!"- THE REIGN OF ISTAR, Tales IV |
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Shadovar
Senior Scribe
785 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2006 : 02:54:57
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| Hope you don't mind if you could describe how inspiring the entries were to you? |
We have fostered trust, recruited loyalty, and gathered the faithful. We have trained thousands. Our legions can cover the land, fill the sky and travel through the darkness. We can hunt any and all that would deny our heritage. Now is our time, now is the time of the Dark Reign(Rain) of the Empire of Shadows.
- High Prince Telemont Tanthul, Lord Shadow
In a speech given to the citizens of Shade Enclave
At the celebration of the Shinantra Battle victory when he revealed that he was THE Lord Shadow of legend. |
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Gellion
Learned Scribe
140 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2006 : 03:25:24
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quote:
Originally posted by Shadovar
Hope you don't mind if you could describe how inspiring the entries were to you?
Heh, I just liked about how he talked about love and courage and things like that. I liked to read about his thoughts on the other characters. One in Siege of Darkness mentions how having ambition is actually a good thing. |
"Paladine, you see the evil that surrounds me! You have been witness to the calamities that have been the scourge of Krynn... You must see now that this doctrine of balance will not work! I can sweep evil from this land. Destroy the ogre races. Bring the wayward humans into line! Find new homelands far away for the dwarves and the kender and the gnomes, those races not of your creation... I demand that you give me, too, the power to drive away the shadows of evil that darken the land!"- THE REIGN OF ISTAR, Tales IV |
Edited by - Gellion on 16 Jul 2006 03:25:44 |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2006 : 04:00:18
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| A lot of people dislike these journal entries because they are at times preachy, saccharine, and feature an awful lot of navel-gazing. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Winterfox
Senior Scribe
895 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2006 : 09:06:22
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I find them to be horribly trite, meandering, and around the same level as a fifteen-year-old poseur-goth's diary.
And it's not like I can't take first-person, rambling inner monologues, either. I actually like such parts in Perdido Street Station, where the garuda, Yagharek, has at least seven sections of this. The difference is that New Crobuzon's a different kind of setting altogether, and the novel spares no characters: everybody suffers, and everybody is horribly, horribly flawed. The garuda himself is an outcast, but not because he is "better" than his people. Not because he is misunderstood. It's because he committed a freaking heinous crime and there's no excuse for it. He receives neither redemption or forgiveness. Things just are.
Drizzt can rant and whine about things like courage and ambition or evil all he likes, but I don't feel he's earned the right to sound so smug about his pseudo-philosophizing. The very PG-ish nature of Salvatore's books (more PG than most FR books, if anything) makes even the drow (who should be scary, vicious and depraved) prudish. His insistence on keeping Drizzt's morals squeaky-clean scrubs Drizzt of possible flaws (good god, he emerges from Menzoberranzan with a boy-scoutish attitude). Nothing is Drizzt's fault. Anyone who hates him (and isn't evil) like Ellifain is misguided. Everyone otherwise loves him, and even Ellifain's spirit was summoned back just to forgive him, breaking one of the elven taboos ("don't freaking disturb the dead unless there is a really, really urgent need" -- summoning Fflar to help win a war is urgent; assuaging an insignificant drow's conscience is not). In other word, I don't feel he qualifies for all the crap he's spewed. It lacks substance and authenticity, because I'm sorry, but this author's darling has never experienced real pain and tragedy. I'd go as far as to say that he's never faced real evil, either. Evil in his stories is a tame and boring thing.
So he's an outcast of his people? Well durr, he's got shining morals and his people don't; he's risen above them, and on top of that, he's being accepted into the fold of surface elves (!). So he's got a violent alter-ego (the Hunter)? Uh-huh, and when was the last time said alter-ego has actually hurt anyone who's important to him? Please.
Until the character undergoes actual development, his journal entries will just be empty babble to me, as immature as they are pretentious. |
Edited by - Winterfox on 16 Jul 2006 09:11:33 |
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Gellion
Learned Scribe
140 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2006 : 12:33:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Winterfox
I find them to be horribly trite, meandering, and around the same level as a fifteen-year-old poseur-goth's diary.
And it's not like I can't take first-person, rambling inner monologues, either. I actually like such parts in Perdido Street Station, where the garuda, Yagharek, has at least seven sections of this. The difference is that New Crobuzon's a different kind of setting altogether, and the novel spares no characters: everybody suffers, and everybody is horribly, horribly flawed. The garuda himself is an outcast, but not because he is "better" than his people. Not because he is misunderstood. It's because he committed a freaking heinous crime and there's no excuse for it. He receives neither redemption or forgiveness. Things just are.
Drizzt can rant and whine about things like courage and ambition or evil all he likes, but I don't feel he's earned the right to sound so smug about his pseudo-philosophizing. The very PG-ish nature of Salvatore's books (more PG than most FR books, if anything) makes even the drow (who should be scary, vicious and depraved) prudish. His insistence on keeping Drizzt's morals squeaky-clean scrubs Drizzt of possible flaws (good god, he emerges from Menzoberranzan with a boy-scoutish attitude). Nothing is Drizzt's fault. Anyone who hates him (and isn't evil) like Ellifain is misguided. Everyone otherwise loves him, and even Ellifain's spirit was summoned back just to forgive him, breaking one of the elven taboos ("don't freaking disturb the dead unless there is a really, really urgent need" -- summoning Fflar to help win a war is urgent; assuaging an insignificant drow's conscience is not). In other word, I don't feel he qualifies for all the crap he's spewed. It lacks substance and authenticity, because I'm sorry, but this author's darling has never experienced real pain and tragedy. I'd go as far as to say that he's never faced real evil, either. Evil in his stories is a tame and boring thing.
So he's an outcast of his people? Well durr, he's got shining morals and his people don't; he's risen above them, and on top of that, he's being accepted into the fold of surface elves (!). So he's got a violent alter-ego (the Hunter)? Uh-huh, and when was the last time said alter-ego has actually hurt anyone who's important to him? Please.
Until the character undergoes actual development, his journal entries will just be empty babble to me, as immature as they are pretentious.
Meh, what can I say I enjoy them. I dont mind that the Drizzt novels are a bit more tame than other FR novels, in fact just from reading these forums I would hate most of Greenwood's stuff because of the unneccessary sexuality at times. I DO believe that Drizzt has gone through a lot, and I think anyone is entitled to thinking and being introspective. I could care less about FR canon honestly and I liked the bit whrere Ellifain was summoned for him. I actually prefer misunderstood villains to those who are simply one-dimensional and are just evil for the sake of being evil.
So in closing, I am going to like his journal entries and no one is going to stop me. |
"Paladine, you see the evil that surrounds me! You have been witness to the calamities that have been the scourge of Krynn... You must see now that this doctrine of balance will not work! I can sweep evil from this land. Destroy the ogre races. Bring the wayward humans into line! Find new homelands far away for the dwarves and the kender and the gnomes, those races not of your creation... I demand that you give me, too, the power to drive away the shadows of evil that darken the land!"- THE REIGN OF ISTAR, Tales IV |
Edited by - Gellion on 16 Jul 2006 12:35:31 |
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Mace Hammerhand
Great Reader
Germany
2296 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2006 : 13:25:52
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Ellifain was a one-dimensional character, if there was a nil-dimension she'd be that. Whatever little piece of info we got on her didn't make us care more for her.
Unnecessary sexuality... personally, I think that it's far more acceptable and appropriate to have "needless" sex in a story than "needless" violence... if you have violence being celebrated by minute details in the combat it is much akin to close-ups in porn.
Sure, one could argue that violence is a part of life (if you live in a war-torn country), but I very much prefer non-violent sex as a part of life, since it is way more fun to the receiver (if one partner could be called that) than the dude who ends up skewered.
But that's just me... |
Mace's not so gentle gamer's journal My rants were harmless compared to this, beware! |
Edited by - Mace Hammerhand on 16 Jul 2006 20:02:20 |
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Winterfox
Senior Scribe
895 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2006 : 14:03:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Gellion
I DO believe that Drizzt has gone through a lot, and I think anyone is entitled to thinking and being introspective.
When the person doing the thinking and introspection hasn't gone through anything that harsh, said introspection comes out hollow. None of his loved ones has been damaged permanently or killed for a long time (though -- *snickers* -- many of them have had fake deaths). He himself is in perfect condition, physically and mentally. He's loved. He lives in relative comfort. He lacks for very little. What's his problem again?
I'm curious. Have you read much fantasy outside of Salvatore?
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I could care less about FR canon honestly
Yes, I can see that. Quite clearly. The same seems to the case for most Salvatore fans, for some reason, but then again, Salvatore has never been the most accurate when it comes to canon. Some fanfiction writers pay more attention to canon lore than he does and produce far more "Realmsian" works.
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I actually prefer misunderstood villains to those who are simply one-dimensional and are just evil for the sake of being evil.
Ellifain's not even a villain. She's yet another misguided figure who's there to make Drizzt look purer, better, shinier. A spirit is disturbed just so Drizzt's conscience can be soothed? When it is a taboo among elves? Nauseating. It's considered quite abominable. You might as well have asked them to rip out the fetus from a pregnant elf's womb. It's on roughly the same level.
Salvatore's novels operate within moralistic confines. For the most part, good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. Sometimes bad things happen to good people, but they don't last (hence, no character development and no real tragedy). In the end, all is well for Drizzt. Stale, repetitive.
quote:
So in closing, I am going to like his journal entries and no one is going to stop me.
So? Nobody's trying to stop you from enjoying them. You asked why people dislike these meandering verbal diarrheas; you've got your answers. |
Edited by - Winterfox on 16 Jul 2006 14:19:58 |
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Gellion
Learned Scribe
140 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2006 : 14:08:16
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quote:
Originally posted by WinterfoxSo? Nobody's trying to stop you from enjoying them. You asked why people dislike these meandering verbal diarrheas; you've got your answers.
I know, I just felt like saying that. Anyways, for other people who are reading please let me know whether you like them or not. I am beginning to wonder if I am the only one who does. |
"Paladine, you see the evil that surrounds me! You have been witness to the calamities that have been the scourge of Krynn... You must see now that this doctrine of balance will not work! I can sweep evil from this land. Destroy the ogre races. Bring the wayward humans into line! Find new homelands far away for the dwarves and the kender and the gnomes, those races not of your creation... I demand that you give me, too, the power to drive away the shadows of evil that darken the land!"- THE REIGN OF ISTAR, Tales IV |
Edited by - Gellion on 16 Jul 2006 14:13:56 |
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Winterfox
Senior Scribe
895 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2006 : 14:12:04
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| I'm sure you'll find a lot of people who do on the RAS.com boards. |
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Gellion
Learned Scribe
140 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2006 : 14:26:55
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quote:
Originally posted by Winterfox
I'm sure you'll find a lot of people who do on the RAS.com boards.
hehe, I go there every once in a while. It is a pretty cool place.
No hard feeling for you or anything man, we just like different stuff, which is cool.
Am I being too saccharine for you? |
"Paladine, you see the evil that surrounds me! You have been witness to the calamities that have been the scourge of Krynn... You must see now that this doctrine of balance will not work! I can sweep evil from this land. Destroy the ogre races. Bring the wayward humans into line! Find new homelands far away for the dwarves and the kender and the gnomes, those races not of your creation... I demand that you give me, too, the power to drive away the shadows of evil that darken the land!"- THE REIGN OF ISTAR, Tales IV |
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riverc0il
Acolyte
USA
19 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2006 : 15:39:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Gellion
Anyways, for other people who are reading please let me know whether you like them or not. I am beginning to wonder if I am the only one who does.
Sorry, Gellion. Another disliker of the introspection of Drizzt during the journal entries. Actually, I originally enjoyed them for perhaps the first three sets of Drizzt books. The character seemed more dynamic at that point, especially leaving his home world behind and coming to the surface. When the Dark Elf Triology was published, Drizzt was the first dark elf I had read about that dared to leave Mezz and go to the surface. Now it seems like renegade drow are the norm and thousands of drow are running amuck on the surface, good grief. I don't see Drizzt as being deserving of the feelings that are instilled in his journal entries. I just keep thinking to myself "this character should be and needs to be over this by now." Also, the journal entries have become tired in general. Even in Salvatore's non-realms work (Demon Wars... VERY good up through Mortalis), the entries didn't work for me. If a character is well writen, you already know what they think and feel based on their actions and conversations with other characters. Journal entries are best used when the voice of the book is not omniscent. For example, I have been reading Card's Ender Quartet recently, and while not specifically "journal entries," every chapter begins with a diologue between two characters that are not being writen about throughout the book. You get a hint at what is driving unknown characters that don't get much book time despite being a strong influence on the story. It is not that I don't like what the entries once were or potentially good be, but rather the way they are used has become trite and meaningless to the point I feel like skiping over pages that are writen in all italics. |
-steve |
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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2006 : 19:21:14
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I am one that actually did not mind the Journal entries. I read them for what they are intended to be for, good fiction, nothing else. I looked at them from a perpective of the author telling Drizzt's tale, while Drizzt checked in at each journal entry to give his point of view of the story and overall feelings at the time
Anyways, my 2 coppers. |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2006 : 19:32:11
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quote:
Originally posted by Gellion
Anyways, for other people who are reading please let me know whether you like them or not. I am beginning to wonder if I am the only one who does.
Well, I am not that much of a Salvatore fan, so I am not the best person to comment on this. The Journal parts were among the parts I liked the least. As essays I find them uninteresting and as the characters thoughts I find them shallow.
I don't go to Realms fiction for high literature, but, as with poetry, I will judge by genre and when it is a philosophical and essayist written piece I will judge It by those terms.
As to the sex and violence part, I am in full agreement with Mace on this. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2006 : 22:13:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Gellion
I actually prefer misunderstood villains to those who are simply one-dimensional and are just evil for the sake of being evil.
You mean like the villains in RAS's work? Most of them (not all, but most) are evil just cuz they are, not because they are "misunderstood". |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
Edited by - Rinonalyrna Fathomlin on 16 Jul 2006 22:15:02 |
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GothicDan
Master of Realmslore
USA
1103 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 00:34:21
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| I find Elric to be a far more believable paragon of what Drizzt should have been given a stifling CE society. |
Planescape Fanatic
"Fiends and Undead are the peanut butter and jelly of evil." - Me
"That attitude should be stomped on, whenever and wherever it's encountered, because it makes people holding such views bad citizens, not just bad roleplayers (considering D&D was structured as a 'forced cooperation' game, and although successive editions are pointing it more and more towards a me-first, min-max game, the drift away from 'we all need each other to succeed' will at some point make it 'no longer' D&D)." - ED GREENWOOD |
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Ignorance Personified
Seeker
USA
78 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 03:50:43
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quote:
Originally Posted By: Gellion
Anyways, for other people who are reading please let me know whether you like them or not. I am beginning to wonder if I am the only one who does.
You are not the only one who does, but you are in the minority--even among Salvatore fans. I have skipped all of the journal entries since Siege of Darkness. The entries often seem out of place within the works (expecially Drizzt's comments within Servant of the Shard and Spine of the World--books that the character does not appear in) and impede the flow of the work.
quote:
I'm sure you'll find a lot of people who do on the RAS.com boards.
I would not be so sure about that. |
Carthago delenda est. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36803 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 04:00:30
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| I'm just bored with the journal entries, myself... I don't really feel like he's saying much of anything new in them -- it's pretty much the same thing in the newer books as it is in the older books. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31772 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 04:15:02
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I'm not bored with them... but I'd rather they touch upon something new for a change.
I really enjoyed the journal entries when they first came about in the earlier Drizzt books, as they provided some intriguing insights on the drow, at times.
But now I get the feeling that they're just being included... for the sake of being included.
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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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SirUrza
Master of Realmslore
USA
1283 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 04:24:52
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I hate the journal entries for one reason. To me, in the last 5 or 6 books it seems like all the entries were saying the same thing or boiled down to the same thing or problem.
Bruenor needs to hit Drizzt over the head with the blunt side of his axe so that Alustriel can make a man out of the unconscious drow, that's my take on Drizzt's entries.
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"Evil prevails when good men fail to act."
The original and unapologetic Arilyn, Aribeth, Seoni Fanboy. |
Edited by - SirUrza on 17 Jul 2006 04:26:32 |
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Beezy
Learned Scribe
USA
280 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 05:39:42
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| At first there were ok, but as the endless stream of Drizzt novels flows on they become more tedious and repetitive. Every entry deals with the same themes and problems. So they need not include them unless they are going to say something new. |
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jcw928
Acolyte
5 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 08:11:51
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Well, I for one enjoy the journal entries...so don't feel alone in that regard. At times I've even found them inspiring(no I'm not going to describe why that is), although I will echo previous sentiments that they've become somewhat repetitive in the latest novels. Almost as if they're being included simply because they've become a part of the formula for the whole series. Still, I enjoy reading them.
There's a surprising amount of dislike for RAS's "Drizzt and company" novels on these boards really, as you may have noticed. I think a lot of it stems from the fact that his books are so popular and tend to overshadow other Forgotten Realms novels that are (arguably) better written. I've read many books written in the FR setting (as many as I can find) and it is unfortunate that so many other authors and novels don't receive the same attention. Anyway, just my opinion... |
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Mace Hammerhand
Great Reader
Germany
2296 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 08:26:00
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quote:
Originally posted by jcw928
There's a surprising amount of dislike for RAS's "Drizzt and company" novels on these boards really, as you may have noticed. I think a lot of it stems from the fact that his books are so popular and tend to overshadow other Forgotten Realms novels that are (arguably) better written. I've read many books written in the FR setting (as many as I can find) and it is unfortunate that so many other authors and novels don't receive the same attention. Anyway, just my opinion...
Um...if you read our overall comments on the subject in the various threads it is NOT an issue of popularity, far from it... The reason why many of us do not enjoy the books anymore is because:
- RAS ignores specific lore and basically writes in his own little universe
- his characters remain the same, much like in comic books
If popularity is a flaw (which it isn't) then consider them (the books) flawed, but this is not the case.
Maybe you can appreciate characters that remain the same, despite having aged some 15 years (in Drizzt's case 70 or so years), most of us cannot. |
Mace's not so gentle gamer's journal My rants were harmless compared to this, beware! |
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Winterfox
Senior Scribe
895 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 08:30:43
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quote:
Originally posted by SirUrza
Bruenor needs to hit Drizzt over the head with the blunt side of his axe so that Alustriel can make a man out of the unconscious drow, that's my take on Drizzt's entries.
I'm pretty sure raping someone doesn't quite equate to "making a man" out of him. And in Drizzt's case, he'll probably react with even more angst. Ew.
quote:
Originally posted by Mace Hammerhand
Um...if you read our overall comments on the subject in the various threads it is NOT an issue of popularity, far from it... The reason why many of us do not enjoy the books anymore is because:
- RAS ignores specific lore and basically writes in his own little universe
It's reflected in his fans, too, I think. I've encountered quite a few of them who have never read any other FR novels, and as Gellion so charmingly demonstrated, most of them tend not to care much about the FR canon, either. |
Edited by - Winterfox on 17 Jul 2006 08:40:44 |
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Gellion
Learned Scribe
140 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 11:49:15
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| Winterfox: I think the reason is because that most Drizzt fans, or at leasta lot of them dont read any other FR novels other than the Drizzt ones. many are probably not gamers either. So that is why they do not care about FR canon and they just like what makes a good story. You cant blame them for that. |
"Paladine, you see the evil that surrounds me! You have been witness to the calamities that have been the scourge of Krynn... You must see now that this doctrine of balance will not work! I can sweep evil from this land. Destroy the ogre races. Bring the wayward humans into line! Find new homelands far away for the dwarves and the kender and the gnomes, those races not of your creation... I demand that you give me, too, the power to drive away the shadows of evil that darken the land!"- THE REIGN OF ISTAR, Tales IV |
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Mace Hammerhand
Great Reader
Germany
2296 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 12:13:03
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Fair enough...if they were good stories.
The one I liked most was the one with Wulfgar as an alcoholic. |
Mace's not so gentle gamer's journal My rants were harmless compared to this, beware! |
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GothicDan
Master of Realmslore
USA
1103 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 16:59:14
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| I wouldn't mind RAS fans so much if they didn't blatantly toss around their ignorance in a proud fashion; but they don't give a damn when you try to actually enlighten them about aspects of FR lore. RAS did not write an FR bible - if anyone has, it's Ed. |
Planescape Fanatic
"Fiends and Undead are the peanut butter and jelly of evil." - Me
"That attitude should be stomped on, whenever and wherever it's encountered, because it makes people holding such views bad citizens, not just bad roleplayers (considering D&D was structured as a 'forced cooperation' game, and although successive editions are pointing it more and more towards a me-first, min-max game, the drift away from 'we all need each other to succeed' will at some point make it 'no longer' D&D)." - ED GREENWOOD |
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Winterfox
Senior Scribe
895 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 17:15:19
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quote:
Originally posted by GothicDan
I wouldn't mind RAS fans so much if they didn't blatantly toss around their ignorance in a proud fashion
Yes, exactly. Wearing ignorance as a badge of honor isn't, in general, endearing.
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RAS did not write an FR bible - if anyone has, it's Ed.
Again, word. Their attitude that RAS novels are the whole and total of FR is both baffling and painful; at best, his novels often mangle canon and get all kinds of details, from large to small, wrong. |
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Gellion
Learned Scribe
140 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 17:36:24
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That is fine, I know that sometimes it can get on others nerves when people pretend to know stuff they dont. I admit, I do not know as much about FR as many people here because I lack the money to buy a lot of the supplements that come out. I only have the FRCS. From the aspects I do know however, I am not obsessed with what the FRCS or ED says as being absolute. When I run a game I run it for the fun of my players and myself, and if neither group likes having to deal with all of the languages in Faerun, and cutting down all of the Human ones( illuskan,Chondathan) into common then that is what we do.
Oops, I went off on a tangent there.:( |
"Paladine, you see the evil that surrounds me! You have been witness to the calamities that have been the scourge of Krynn... You must see now that this doctrine of balance will not work! I can sweep evil from this land. Destroy the ogre races. Bring the wayward humans into line! Find new homelands far away for the dwarves and the kender and the gnomes, those races not of your creation... I demand that you give me, too, the power to drive away the shadows of evil that darken the land!"- THE REIGN OF ISTAR, Tales IV |
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Mace Hammerhand
Great Reader
Germany
2296 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 19:09:50
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The problem with RAS and the shared world he writes in is that he ignores it...or mostly ignores it. If you write in a shared world, which I have done on a fandom basis for a fandom created world, you have to respect what went before and take it into account...even if whatever went before is silly in your opinion. Had I not done so I would've had at least several score people telling me so, in person.
You do not have to buy a lot of supplements, you do not write in the Realms so whatever you do in your gaming group is cool. If you wrote in the Realms and ignored such basics as the ToT or some other stuff you'd prolly have to rewrite those passages.
In terms of character development, as I stated earlier, there is none. Drizzt maintained his boy scoutish attitude throught everything, that is comic book style, not novel style. If a hero doesn't have to make a personal journey that profoundedly changes him in one way or another, he isn't a real hero, he just goes through motions.
Had Ellifain been made into a person and not just another hack-object and had she instead of attacking Drizzt taken him prisoner and tortured him while telling him all the pain he had caused we would have had a journey for both... a very interesting journey I might add. So she just got hacked to pieces and reappeared later on as a ghost...booohooo...erm...suuure the Seldarine broke their own rule for da drow. EVERY elf who witnesses this must think of Ellifain as an abomination, a being condemned by the Seldarine... |
Mace's not so gentle gamer's journal My rants were harmless compared to this, beware! |
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GothicDan
Master of Realmslore
USA
1103 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 19:20:18
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And there's a difference in intelligently deciding to ignore something for good reason, and knowing absolutely nothing about it and discarding it just because you are ignorant of it. I really dislike people who pretend like something doesn't exist just because they don't know about it.
But maybe that's because I'm a physics student, so I know a hell of a lot exists that 99% of the population doesn't know about.
I'ma' go read Blackstaff now. Mmm, so much lore and creativity and progression and.. Oh yeah, bookgasm. |
Planescape Fanatic
"Fiends and Undead are the peanut butter and jelly of evil." - Me
"That attitude should be stomped on, whenever and wherever it's encountered, because it makes people holding such views bad citizens, not just bad roleplayers (considering D&D was structured as a 'forced cooperation' game, and although successive editions are pointing it more and more towards a me-first, min-max game, the drift away from 'we all need each other to succeed' will at some point make it 'no longer' D&D)." - ED GREENWOOD |
Edited by - GothicDan on 17 Jul 2006 19:22:28 |
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