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Mkhaiwati
Learned Scribe
USA
252 Posts |
 Posted - 20 Jan 2008 : 00:03:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Well, the way I look at it at this point is this -
They are not going to back-peddle at this point and change everything back for us. In fact, if they did that, it would be SO much worse - just like the way everyone is comparing their current strategy to comic book plots, what would we end up with? Them saying "oh BTW, it was all a bad dream... welcome to the real 1383 DR." 
what?? what really happened during that season of Dallas?
Honestly, I don't believe it either. They burned their ships crossing that sea and can't go back.
quote:
So, since we are never getting the Realms we want back, then the only other choice is to not purchase anything and let it die. I probably won't use a lot of the 4e lore - at least not how its presented - but I want to use 4e rules and the easiest way to do that is to just use the setting pretty much as presented in 4e. I DON'T plan on moving my timeline forward (my game had been in 1390), but I will basically just say all of that stuff took place in 5 years, not 94 - that way I can still use all my favorite NPCs. A century time-jump is a completely uneccessary Deus Ex Machina to get people to believe its a whole new setting, which it clearly isn't.
Also, I'm looking forward to 50.000 words of lore from Ed, which should still be usable either way.
Interesting idea. I won't do it, but good luck and let me know how it works. You will still need to alter rulers and NPCs, like Alusair (unless Azoun V is old enough by... what year was this now?) As I said I won't follow that path, but it seems you found something that works for you.
quote:
Now, after I buy the 4e FRCG, I will most likely not be making any future FR purchases, unless I think they may in some way be helpful to the type of game I want to run (like, perhaps, the Players Guids).
Other then that, I'm just going to concentrate on Core books, and converting all the 3e stats for my favorite NPCs and items in 4e rules. I really hope 4e FR doesn't flop though, because 1, 2 , and 3e aren't coming back, and at least I know as long as someone out there is buying this stuff, I'll still have places like CK to come to and enjoy homebrew lore. I really don't see many fansites staying around more then a couple years after a setting fails, going by what I've seen of other excellent fansites that just petered out after awhile. Without an influx of new fans, the setting will die a slow and painful death.
In all honesty, do you really think most FR fans WON'T buy the FRCG? At this point, its a matter of morbid curiousity.
Another concept to think about are the RPGA people that will buy for the Living Realms campaigns. I don't see the Realms going away, yet. It depends what happens after. I think 4e has damaged the number of fans of the Realms, but if WotC treats it nice in the future, relax the RSE's, play nice, stroke it's belly, whisper sweet nothings in the Realm's ear... er, uh.... and generally try to go out of their way to make the setting grow, then FR can rebound in a few years.
Last item, in my gaming experience, it all comes down to gamemasters and players. If a GM sucks, players either blame the system, setting, and also the GM. How many times has a rabid anti-FR person blame their woes on the setting for what a past GM did? Same goes for gaming systems. If a GM is really good, players look past the flaws in the setting or system. This is where 4E and FR will continue. If people play and end up having fun, then they will flourish; if they don't have fun, then it sucks to be WotC for that is where the blame will be placed. |
"Behold the work of the old... let your heritage not be lost but bequeath it as a memory, treasure and blessing... Gather the lost and the hidden and preserve it for thy children."
"not nale. not-nale. thog help nail not-nale, not nale. and thog knot not-nale while nale nail not-nale. nale, not not-nale, now nail not-nale by leaving not-nale, not nale, in jail." OotS #367 |
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SirUrza
Master of Realmslore
USA
1283 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2008 : 18:23:32
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| Well there's still hope for the Realms. If it does really bad, they could assign a name to pre-spellplague era.. like the Age of the Chosen (or something) and launch a new 4E Realms line under the Age of the Chosen subtitle that adapts 1370s into 4E rules and instead of that timeline advancing any, it just stagnates and allows the fans to play in it with the most current rules, just little to no new material set in that time period. |
"Evil prevails when good men fail to act."
The original and unapologetic Arilyn, Aribeth, Seoni Fanboy. |
Edited by - SirUrza on 20 Jan 2008 18:24:54 |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2008 : 22:45:47
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quote:
Originally posted by SirUrza
Well there's still hope for the Realms. If it does really bad, they could assign a name to pre-spellplague era.. like the Age of the Chosen (or something) and launch a new 4E Realms line under the Age of the Chosen subtitle that adapts 1370s into 4E rules and instead of that timeline advancing any, it just stagnates and allows the fans to play in it with the most current rules, just little to no new material set in that time period.
"Age of the Chosen?" Ugh, no. It's bad enough that people already think the Chosen dominate the setting. |
"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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SirUrza
Master of Realmslore
USA
1283 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2008 : 05:22:05
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That's why it suits it so well Rin.. I mean Mystra et al are all being killed off because of that idiotic mindset. :)
I was just using that as an example.. they could call it anything really. |
"Evil prevails when good men fail to act."
The original and unapologetic Arilyn, Aribeth, Seoni Fanboy. |
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chance87
Seeker
50 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2008 : 13:48:15
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That's one of my peeves about the entire thing...if it was just Mystra's death, and associated "spellplague" to avoid a retcon for the way magic works in 4E, I could understand that.
Axing the major NPCs and advancing the timeline is where I have an issue, as we're told that "SO many people can't play in the Realms because of Elminster, et al."
Why not just write in something for the big players to be doing off-stage? The Chosen and others could be off battling the rising plague of aberrations/undead (Harpstar Wars, anybody?) and too busy to check in day-to-day in Faerun.
This woulda made for some nice epic play too, since at some point, the PCs would have to jump in and save the day (sure beats the heck out of taking down Sharess just because she has stats and they can.) |
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Ardashir
Senior Scribe
USA
544 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2008 : 15:07:54
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OT, but I don't understand why they say they can't play in the Realms because of Elminster or the Seven Sisters or Drizzt or whoever. If you don't like an NPC, then don't use them! It's that darned simple.
Note that this isn't aimed at anyone here; I just wanted to get something off my chest, and this seemed like as good a place as any to do it in. I mean, if WotC really decided that the Realms was 'broken' because it had high-powered NPCs in it... Just imagine what they'd do with a DC Superheroes RPG. "We have to kill off Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, the players hate them." |
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SirUrza
Master of Realmslore
USA
1283 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2008 : 17:28:32
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quote:
Originally posted by Ardashir
OT, but I don't understand why they say they can't play in the Realms because of Elminster or the Seven Sisters or Drizzt or whoever. If you don't like an NPC, then don't use them! It's that darned simple.
Easier said then done. Some people can't get around the part of "Why aren't they doing this" and don't like the answer of "they have better things to do" or "they have faith in the PC characters to deal with it." |
"Evil prevails when good men fail to act."
The original and unapologetic Arilyn, Aribeth, Seoni Fanboy. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2008 : 17:34:49
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| The Chosen "problem" is solved with simple mathematics. Take the number of people in the Realms and divide that number by the number of active Chosen of Mystra. Add to that the fact that it's NOT THEIR JOB to solve the problems of every person in the world. |
"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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SirUrza
Master of Realmslore
USA
1283 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2008 : 20:22:12
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True.. but you'd think Wizards would find a way. Like for example, dragons going crazy all of Faerun.. why weren't they uncovering the mystery of it? Well.. maybe because they're protecting Waterdeep, the North, and the Dalelands from crazy dragons of their own... BUT Wizards with 2 Anthology books that were supposed to be about the Rage, failed to write a single story to cover them.
All I'm saying is that too many times the Chosen have been the go to characters for problems, and then when there is problems, they're not even on the scene and not even explained why they're not. |
"Evil prevails when good men fail to act."
The original and unapologetic Arilyn, Aribeth, Seoni Fanboy. |
Edited by - SirUrza on 22 Jan 2008 20:23:25 |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2008 : 21:24:24
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quote:
Originally posted by SirUrza
True.. but you'd think Wizards would find a way. Like for example, dragons going crazy all of Faerun.. why weren't they uncovering the mystery of it? Well.. maybe because they're protecting Waterdeep, the North, and the Dalelands from crazy dragons of their own... BUT Wizards with 2 Anthology books that were supposed to be about the Rage, failed to write a single story to cover them.
Is that a bad thing? Writing stories about the Chosen dealing with the Rage might only strengthen the case of those who like to say, "My PC can't do anything, the Chosen will just solve the problem before I can get to it, bleh." |
"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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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2008 : 22:35:21
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quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
quote:
Originally posted by SirUrza
True.. but you'd think Wizards would find a way. Like for example, dragons going crazy all of Faerun.. why weren't they uncovering the mystery of it? Well.. maybe because they're protecting Waterdeep, the North, and the Dalelands from crazy dragons of their own... BUT Wizards with 2 Anthology books that were supposed to be about the Rage, failed to write a single story to cover them.
Is that a bad thing? Writing stories about the Chosen dealing with the Rage might only strengthen the case of those who like to say, "My PC can't do anything, the Chosen will just solve the problem before I can get to it, bleh."
To me this would be about the same as starting every DC Comic with a short story explaining what Superman is doing that he can't show up and fix the problem. Heck, even when Steel was based out of Metropolis, there wasn't often an explanation of what Superman was doing while Steel was fighting crime.
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2008 : 20:08:08
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quote:
Originally posted by SirUrza
All I'm saying is that too many times the Chosen have been the go to characters for problems . . .
When?
As I said last year, quote:
You don't need such extreme plot devices to write out good NPCs as here and in the War of the Archwizards novels -- we know that Elminster and the Knights spend much time walking other worlds and planes, or working against still direr threats. These unrepeatable drastic measures suggest and substantiate a non-existent problem by prompting the question 'what about all the times Elminster's tower isn't destroyed?'
As well, we really don't want the Realms drifting further towards a few big continent-spanning 'important' things and away from the weave of many events and relationships. |
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Spree Thunderheart
Acolyte
USA
12 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jan 2008 : 17:32:13
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quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
quote:
Originally posted by SirUrza
True.. but you'd think Wizards would find a way. Like for example, dragons going crazy all of Faerun.. why weren't they uncovering the mystery of it? Well.. maybe because they're protecting Waterdeep, the North, and the Dalelands from crazy dragons of their own... BUT Wizards with 2 Anthology books that were supposed to be about the Rage, failed to write a single story to cover them.
Is that a bad thing? Writing stories about the Chosen dealing with the Rage might only strengthen the case of those who like to say, "My PC can't do anything, the Chosen will just solve the problem before I can get to it, bleh."
To me this would be about the same as starting every DC Comic with a short story explaining what Superman is doing that he can't show up and fix the problem. Heck, even when Steel was based out of Metropolis, there wasn't often an explanation of what Superman was doing while Steel was fighting crime.
Thats why read Marvel. lol |
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Aravine
Senior Scribe
USA
608 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jan 2008 : 17:39:30
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| Is there any particular reason why there are so many references to comics when defending an arguement? Or just posts in general, for that matter. I saw a post a while back comparing the silver surfer to Drizzt. Can anyone offer some explanation? |
The brave don't live forever,the cautious don't live at all |
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Venger
Learned Scribe
USA
269 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jan 2008 : 18:08:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Aravine
Is there any particular reason why there are so many references to comics when defending an arguement? Or just posts in general, for that matter. I saw a post a while back comparing the silver surfer to Drizzt. Can anyone offer some explanation?
Because comic book universes are riddled with inhumanly powerful characters. Superman, for instance. However, despite his power, other comic writers are still able to tell stories without having to account for Superman's whereabouts. If Superman and the Justice League can be ignored to tell a story, then the Chosen can most certainly be ignored. |
"Beware what you say when you speak of magic, wizard, or you shall see who has the greater power." |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36876 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jan 2008 : 18:20:10
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quote:
Originally posted by Spree Thunderheart
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
quote:
Originally posted by SirUrza
True.. but you'd think Wizards would find a way. Like for example, dragons going crazy all of Faerun.. why weren't they uncovering the mystery of it? Well.. maybe because they're protecting Waterdeep, the North, and the Dalelands from crazy dragons of their own... BUT Wizards with 2 Anthology books that were supposed to be about the Rage, failed to write a single story to cover them.
Is that a bad thing? Writing stories about the Chosen dealing with the Rage might only strengthen the case of those who like to say, "My PC can't do anything, the Chosen will just solve the problem before I can get to it, bleh."
To me this would be about the same as starting every DC Comic with a short story explaining what Superman is doing that he can't show up and fix the problem. Heck, even when Steel was based out of Metropolis, there wasn't often an explanation of what Superman was doing while Steel was fighting crime.
Thats why read Marvel. lol
... Where you instead get "sworn to protect and defend a world that hates and fears them!" every three panels.  |
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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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36876 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jan 2008 : 18:24:14
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quote:
Originally posted by Venger
quote:
Originally posted by Aravine
Is there any particular reason why there are so many references to comics when defending an arguement? Or just posts in general, for that matter. I saw a post a while back comparing the silver surfer to Drizzt. Can anyone offer some explanation?
Because comic book universes are riddled with inhumanly powerful characters. Superman, for instance. However, despite his power, other comic writers are still able to tell stories without having to account for Superman's whereabouts. If Superman and the Justice League can be ignored to tell a story, then the Chosen can most certainly be ignored.
And also, because some people think the Chosen and certain other high-level NPCs do exactly what superheroes in comics do: sit around waiting for something major to happen, and then leaping into action to save the world. |
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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Venger
Learned Scribe
USA
269 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jan 2008 : 19:10:06
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quote:
And also, because some people think the Chosen and certain other high-level NPCs do exactly what superheroes in comics do: sit around waiting for something major to happen, and then leaping into action to save the world.
Superman is the major case for why the Chosen aren't as bad as people make them out to be, IMO. This is a guy who, because of his super-vision and super-hearing, quite literally knows pretty much immediately when trouble's going down worldwide. And because of his super-speed, he can appear there in a heartbeat ready to dish out some pain. The same can't be said of the Chosen. They've got magic, sure, but they can't get anywhere near the kind of results from magic that Superman gets from his powers. And yet, despite all the advantages that Superman has over the Chosen in that regard, he still doesn't swoop in and do the job before other super-heroes can get to it. To top it off, he's not even the only one in the DCU who has those kinds of powers. There's also Supergirl and Power Girl. And there're countless other super-heroes with godlike powers running around, like Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Martian Manhunter, Captain Atom, Green Lantern (Not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE of them), Doctor Fate, the Flash, and so on. And yet despite having a world bursting at the seems with characters that can shatter the Earth with one punch, characters like Robin, Huntress, Blue Beetle, the Question, and Red Arrow still manage to get the job done. If Detective Chimp can have a successful career in the DC Universe, then a 10th-level Fighter in the Realms can definitely have one. |
"Beware what you say when you speak of magic, wizard, or you shall see who has the greater power." |
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SirUrza
Master of Realmslore
USA
1283 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2008 : 02:47:57
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All I'm saying is when the **** goes down, the chosen are either solving it or they're too busy with dealing with something else. How many people complain about them because they're the problem solvers? How many people say "well I don't like using Elminster is too busy in my campaign" as an excuse for him not being around.
The "problem" is DMs are lazy and the ONLY products we see are usually about the Chosen because they're what TSR wanted to put out. Now DMs and Wizards apparently are too idiotic to write around them. Well maybe if they ACTUALLY SHOWN as not being available when the C and D quality heroes have to do the heroing, the Lazy DMs wouldn't have an excuse or a reason. Them not being able to help would be acceptable because it's in print that they don't just sit around waiting for trouble, they're dealing with things all the time and YOU have to deal with your own trouble.
It's not feeding the people that hate the chosen, it's showing the people that the chosen aren't there to help, that there are ways of taking them out of the big picture without killing them and bitching about them.
Mod Edit: Watch the language please. 
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"Evil prevails when good men fail to act."
The original and unapologetic Arilyn, Aribeth, Seoni Fanboy. |
Edited by - The Sage on 28 Jan 2008 02:55:05 |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2008 : 19:33:27
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| Not to mention that the whole point of this game is for the PCS to be doing things, not sitting around and wondering why someone else isn't doing them. |
"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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BlackMoria
Acolyte
Canada
36 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2008 : 19:59:03
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Finally, we have some hard information on the Spellplague and its effects from Rich Baker. Here is the complete article from the WOTC site for those who don't have a DnDInsider account or have trouble accessing the Wizards site.
Senior Scribes, if I have overstepped, please delete or edit this.
Rich Baker wrote:
Magical power and fantastic features abound in the Forgotten Realms. Arcane secrets whisper to those with the ears to hear in the eons-long movement of the continents, in rushing river rapids, in every inhalation of beasts great and small, and in the sighing cries of the wind. Raw magic is the wild stuff of creation itself, the mute and mindless will of being, suffusing every bit of matter and coursing within every manifestation of energy throughout the world.
Wizards, warlocks, clerics, sorcerers, bards, paladins, and even rogues, fighters, rangers, and other adventurers call upon personally derived threads of magic to cast mighty spells, enforce pacts with enigmatic entities, heal injury, ward against evil, or accomplish physical feats that transcend purely mortal means.
Dangerous monsters, too, call up frightful magic to accomplish their deceitful ends. Aberrations spawned by ancient magic seethe below the earth and above it, hungry for flesh and knowledge alike, waiting for the chance to feed. Dragons whose blood runs with magic wield abilities so potent that gods and primordials alike fear to face the most ancient of these mighty beings. Undead fuel their mind and protect their corpses from dissolution by powerful necromantic rituals, especially liches, whose never-ending acquisition of arcane knowledge has propelled more than a few into contention with divine designs.
Indeed, magic is so bountiful in Abeir-Toril that even the land bristles with fantastic landscapes. Great motes of free-hanging earth balance on nothing but air, amazing all those who chance upon these mighty demonstrations of nature’s glory.
If fact, the Realms are so awash with magic that the world proved particularly vulnerable to a plague that fed on magic itself.
The Year of Blue Fire
“Learn ye well the lesson of the pebble that begets a landslide. Likewise a single betrayal unleashed the Spellplague, whose consequences yet dance and stagger across Toril, and beyond.”
--Elminster of Shadowdale, 1479 DR, Year of the Ageless One
An appalling magical event called the Spellplague afflicted (and still afflicts) the world in 1385 DR.
Despite its name, the Spellplague was much more than a disease. For one, it did not restrict itself to mere flesh. All things were meat to the Spellplague’s insatiable hunger—flesh, stone, magic, space, and perhaps even the flow of time was suborned. The world of Toril, its lost sibling Abeir, and even the planes themselves were infected with a plague of change.
Most suppose the Spellplague was the direct result of the goddess of magic’s murder at the hands of the god Cyric. Some whisper that Mystra’s death was achieved through the machinations of the goddess Shar, with Cyric her unwitting stooge.
This theory holds that the world’s magic was held so long in Mystra’s Weave that when the Weave lost its weaver, magic spontaneously and ruinously burst its bonds. Areas of wild magic, already outside the constraints of the Weave, touched off first when their boundaries misted suddenly away. But eventually, few parts of Toril and the planes beyond were unaffected.
The plague raged on and on in ever-widening spirals, leaving some places completely untouched (such as many northern lands of Faerûn, including Cormyr and the Swordcoast), and radically altering others (such as Muhorand, Unther, and points south). The plague passed into the realms of demons, gods, and lost souls—dividing some realms, joining others, and generally seeding chaos.
Near-mythical realms that had passed beyond easy reach were pulled back, such as the Feywild (called Faerie in ancient days). The home of demons fell through the cosmology, unleashing swarming evil before the Abyss found its new home beneath the Elemental Chaos.
Even the long forgotten world of Toril burned in the plague of spells, despite having been unreachable and cut off from Faerûn for tens of millennia. Portions of Abeir’s landscape were transposed with areas of Toril in the disaster. Such landscapes included their living populations, and thus places such as Akanûl and Tymanther lie as if new-birthed on Faerûn’s face. Across the Trackless Sea, and entire continent of the lost realm reappeared (called Returned Abeir) subsuming the continent of Maztica.
The Spellplague was a potent direct agent of change, but it also set off a string of secondary catastrophes.
Effects on the Weave
For eons, the use of magic in Faerûn was focused through a god of magic, most recently Mystra. Except for certain Netherese wizards of ancient days who learned the truth, most believed that no magic would be possible without such a deity. However, with the death of Mystra and jealous Shar suppressing the ascension of a new deity of magic, it became common knowledge that magic is accessible without a god to control and codify it. Now when a spellcaster speaks of the Weave, she is just using another term for magic.
Effects on the Shadow Weave
Just as Mystra controlled the Weave, the goddess Shar controlled the Shadow Weave. Not satisfied with her portion, Shar plotted to seize control of both. She miscalculated. When Cyric murdered Mystra, the Weave collapsed so completely that Shar not only failed to gather up the fraying threads, she also lost control over the Shadow Weave.
Just as magic persists without Mystra, so does the dusky power of shadow endure without Shar acting as an intermediary. Powerful necromancers have developed their own unique methods for accessing the dim energies of the Shadowfell.
Effect on Spellcasters
Many creatures that learned to cast spells and channel magic with Mystra’s Weave found themselves powerless in the Spellplague’s wake. Some never regained their power. Others worked to attune themselves to the new magical environment. Many required years to regain this facility, while others never regained the knack. Others took shortcuts to reaquire the power they’d lost, swearing questionable pacts to enigmatic beings in return for the ability to utilize arcane powers.
Today, spellcasters access magic through a dizzying array of methods. Some murmur spells and incant rituals, some forge arcane bargains, and others pray for intervention. In truth, it seems that magic can be accessed in more ways than ever before, fueled by newfound knowledge of arcane, shadow, primal, and other sources of power.
Effect on Items
Most magic items that permanently store magic, such as magic swords, cloaks, and boots, survived the Spellplague and continue to operate normally. Permanent access to magic was "installed" in these devices when they were created, so even though the Weave was used in their making, the Weave no longer played any part in their continuing operation. That said, some items that temporarily stored “charges” of magic, such as wands and staffs created prior to the Spellplague, no longer work. If such items do work, they no longer work in the same way.
The secret of making magic items in a post-Weave world was relearned decades ago. Magic items are as plentiful as ever, as desperately sought by doughty adventurers, and as mysterious as they ever were.
Effects on the Landscape
Where magic was completely loosed, the Spellplague ate through stone and earth as readily as bone and spell. Broad portions of Faerûn’s surface collapsed into the Underdark, partially draining the Sea of Fallen Stars into the Glimmer Sea far below (and leaving behind a continent-sized pit called the Underchasm). The event splintered several of the Old Empires south of the drained sea into a wildscape of towering mesas, bottomless ravines, and cloud-scraping spires (further erasing evidence of the lands and kingdoms once situated there). Historical lands most changed by the Spellplague include Mulhorand, Unther, Chondath, and portions of Aglarond, the Sea of Fallen Stars, and the Shaar. What was once called Halruaa detonated and was destroyed when every inscribed and prepared spell in the nation went off simultaneously. This explosion was partly to blame for destroying the land bridge between Chult and the Shining South—only a scattered archipelago remains.
Tendrils of the Change Plague reached many other corners of Faerûn, sometimes directly across the landscape, othertimes bypassing great swathes of land by infecting both sides of the many two-way portals that once dotted the world.
Pockets of active Spellplague still exist today, most famously in the Changing Land. Referred to as plaguelands, each one is strange and dangerous. No two possess the exact same landscape or features, save for the fact that entering could lead one to be infected by the Spellplague. Luckily, remnant plaguelands possess only a fraction of the vigor demonstrated in the Spellplague’s initial appearance. These lingering Spellplague pockets are secreted away in hard-to-reach locales, often surrounded by twisted no-man’s land. Most of Faerûn and Returned Abeir are entirely free of such pockets, though the plaguechanged and spellscarred may appear in any land.
Effects on Creatures
When the initial wave of Spellplague infected a creature, object, or spell, the target usually dissolved into so much glowing, dissipating ash. However, sometimes living creatures survived the plague's touch but were altered, twisted, or fused to another creature or even a portion of the landscape. The initial Change Plague wave had no regard for boundaries or species, or the ability of a changed entity to survive with its new form, powers, and limitations. The most unlucky of these mewling, hideously changed survivors perished within a few days.
Luckily, the initial wave directly touched relatively few parts of Toril and Abeir. Moreover, not all creatures, objects, or spells touched by the original Spellplague were doomed, but to have survived meant having to accept change. Living creatures so affected are differentiated into two broad groups: plaguechanged and spellscarred.
Plaguechanged
A massive change in body and mind marks a creature that has survived contact with the original wave of the Spellplague during the Year of Blue Fire. Such survivors are called the Plaguechanged. Extreme alterations forge potent monstrosities in even the meekest flesh. Plaguechanged creatures are monsters, driven slightly insane by the viciousness of their metamorphosis. Few of this generation survive today, because the initial plague was so virulent, and the changes wrought were so extreme. What’s more, many decades have passed since the Spellplague’s end, so most plaguechanged creatures simply died in the interim. A few of the horrifying monstrosities remain, though, hidden away in various corners of the world.
Spellscarred
Spellscars are a phenomena of the present, gained when someone moves too close to a plagueland (where active Spellplague yet lingers), though sometimes spellscars afflict people who’ve never had any contact with rampant magic. Some individuals—heroes and villains alike—can gain spellscars and learn to master the powers inherent in them. Player characters can gain spellscars and learn to master the powers inherent in them.
On rare occasions, a spellscar appears as a physical abnormality, but more often it is an intangible mark that only appears when its owner calls upon it. When this happens, a spellscar might appear as jagged cracks of blue fire racing out across a spellscarred’s forearms hands, a corona of blue flame igniting the creature’s hair, a flaming blue glyph on the creature’s forehead, or perhaps even wings of cobalt flame. In many instances, an individual's sudden manifestation of blue fire is a reliable indicator of a spellscar.
Magic in the Year of The Ageless One
The ancient wonder of old magic yet lingers among the ruins of thousand-year-old empires, in crumbling towers of mad wizards, and in buried vaults of elder races. The modern marvels of living wizards, sorcerers, warlocks, clerics, druids, and other spellcasters stride the land as purposefully as they ever did, altering the world in small or large ways with each spell they cast. Indeed, without the divine restrictions of previous ages, magic is more abundant than ever, manifesting not only as inexplicable changes to the landscape, items, and creatures, but even in some of the most fantastic exploits of fighters, rouges, rangers, and other heroes. Magic truly does permeate all things. For all the changes wrought by the Mystra’s death, magic remains the lifeblood of Toril.
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Edited by - BlackMoria on 30 Jan 2008 20:00:48 |
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SiCK_Boy
Acolyte
Canada
40 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2008 : 21:17:39
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| The text was by Bruce Cordell, not Rich Baker... |
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Razz
Senior Scribe
USA
749 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2008 : 21:55:46
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I HATE IT
I can't believe how much is changed. It's horrible.
Maztica is gone!?
Where the hell am I supposed to take my PCs if they ever want to run, or adventure in from elsewhere, in a Mesoamerican/Aztec-styled region?
The Shaar, Chondath, Old Empires...what the hell! What about the Egyptian-like region I'd love to take my PCs on and bestow upon them the wonders of the Realms myriad of cultures?
So, I have two choices--- 1) stick with 3.5E like a grumbling grognard, never receiving new Realmslore ever again, or 2) Play 4E Realms and twist my entire campaign setting around to the point where all previous information hardly memorized by me and my players become useless, and suck it up?
I really want Forgotten Realms to just really be "Forgotten" right now. Let it die in the dignity it was left with prior to this crap. |
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BlackMoria
Acolyte
Canada
36 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2008 : 22:06:10
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Damn my eyes. Yes, it is by Bruce Cordell, but I swear that it was by Rich Baker when I first looked because I always check to see who authored the Realmslore.
So, either I am mis-remembering(a definite possibility given my age)or the intial credit when the article was first put was corrected.
It sucks being a greybeard. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2008 : 22:34:28
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| I think the article actually WAS miscredited--Rich stopped by on the WotC boards to mention that. |
"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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Ardashir
Senior Scribe
USA
544 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2008 : 22:37:08
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
To me this would be about the same as starting every DC Comic with a short story explaining what Superman is doing that he can't show up and fix the problem.
Thats why read Marvel. lol
[/quote]
... Where you instead get "sworn to protect and defend a world that hates and fears them!" every three panels.
[/quote]
Oh my brother, testify! |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2008 : 22:39:30
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quote:
Originally posted by Razz
The Shaar, Chondath, Old Empires...what the hell!
I know. I had love for the Shining South, and I continue to be sad about what's been done to it. |
"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 31 Jan 2008 00:49:03 |
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Hawkins
Great Reader
USA
2131 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2008 : 23:03:26
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I really, extremely dislike that they have pretty much ripped apart the very face of Toril, that and all the drivel about "...its lost sibling Abeir..." I remember reading somewhere "Abeir" was attached to the beginning of "Toril" so it would end up at the top of some list for something. Does anyone else know what I am talking about? Anyways, making it a "lost sibling" of Toril just seems to me as another fine (or atrocious  ) example of how little real logical thought was put into this. Ugh, the nauseous feeling is back. |
Errant d20 Designer - My Blog (last updated January 06, 2016)
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He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back. --Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass
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* Martial Arts Guidebook (forthcoming) (PFRPG, designer; Rite Publishing)
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Ranak
Learned Scribe
USA
190 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2008 : 23:34:16
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I believe Ed himself has made references to the lost meaning of Abeir and I think that this merging of worlds is consistent with lore - just executed rather poorly. This is turning out to be nothing like Ebberon, other planes aren't just passing close by, Abeir is actually merging back into the Realms!
I used to snicker when people complained about the realms being "nuked" and when they took offense to the authors for using the term "nuke" figuring it was just an overstatement, however, after reading this, I can see how utterly fitting the term "nuke" is, particularly in the case of poor old Halruua. I never liked them anyway as a setting, but what a silly, pointless way to go out! lol. I bet those mages over on Nimbral have never been happier they left!
quote:
Originally posted by HawkinstheDM
I really, extremely dislike that they have pretty much ripped apart the very face of Toril, that and all the drivel about "...its lost sibling Abeir..." I remember reading somewhere "Abeir" was attached to the beginning of "Toril" so it would end up at the top of some list for something. Does anyone else know what I am talking about? Anyways, making it a "lost sibling" of Toril just seems to me as another fine (or atrocious ) example of how little real logical thought was put into this. Ugh, the nauseous feeling is back.
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jan 2008 : 00:50:16
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quote:
Originally posted by Ranak
I believe Ed himself has made references to the lost meaning of Abeir...
It may not have been his idea though. Those references you mention are relatively recent (unless there are some that are quite old?). |
"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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4e FR
