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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
 Posted - 11 Oct 2007 : 02:29:24
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quote:
Originally posted by Aewrik
I think he's in the design team in order to provide an unattached perspective on the events.
I think it's good to have someone without knowledge, as he or she may raise questions that the other designers wouldn't ever think of. He's probably not the one who says "this is how it should be" , but rather "why is it this way?".
Good point. I, for one, was a bit startled to see someone who isn't interested in the Realms on the FR design team. |
"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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Kentinal
Great Reader
4693 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2007 : 04:19:56
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quote:
Originally posted by scererar
quote:
Originally posted by aravine
Just a quick question about Spellplauge. If the weave is coming apart, doesnt that mean all magic users, including Divine spellcasters, will be affected?
I am thinking only weave users, which would not include clerics
But in FR the Clerics used the Weave as well. Perkins claims advid fans of the realms made the changes, if the bloody forum unlocks I can even post it.
http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.php?p=14049296&postcount=16
quote:
Hints aside, I'd like to take a moment to share 10 important things worth knowing about the 4E Forgotten Realms:
(1) It's a D&D campaign setting and an FR campaign setting. It feels like FR, but also it uses 4E game mechanics and incorporates all 4E races and classes. The Spellplague and its effects on the world enable us to integrate new 4E mechanics and world elements into the setting in a manner that doesn't require us to ignore canon or rewrite history. Large parts of the world won't be affected horribly. We're not going to destroy Cormyr, level Waterdeep, or blow up Silverymoon, for instance. We like these places as much as anyone. However, there are some parts of the world that aren't quite so beloved and don't have much happening in or around them. Many of these areas are likely to undergo some level of change.
(2) 4E FR embraces, at least in part, the "points of light" concept talked about on D&D Insider. There will be places in 4E FR that haven't been explored or mapped. Some of these "dark areas" may be explored in novels; most will be set aside for DMs who want to insert their own cool stuff into the campaign setting. In effect, the Spellplague allows us to put some of the "forgotten" back into the Forgotten Realms.
(3) In 4E FR, the PCs matter. The PCs are the ones accomplishing the truly heroic quests. There aren't a bunch of high-level NPCs running around who can step in to clean up the PCs' messes or do things the PCs can't.
(4) FR novels will remain part of the FR canon. As with previous editions, DMs are free (even encouraged) to run FR campaigns that ignore canonical elements that don't suit their individual campaigns.
(5) Running adventures and campaigns in 4E FR doesn't require encyclopedic knowledge of Realms history. Anyone who reads the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide will feel like they can run a Realms-based adventure or campaign without treading on thousands of years of history. The Grand History of the Realms nicely encapsulates all of the setting's pertinent historical moments; the 4E books will focus more on the present and provide DMs with the tools they need to run exciting FR adventures across all of Faerūn.
(6) The 4E FR setting will have a smaller pantheon. In general, there will be less overlap in the gods' portfolios. Consequently, some 3E deities have been 'demoted,' effectively becoming agents or emissaries of more powerful gods. A handful of deities have been killed off. There are also a few new deities to fill holes.
(7) Elminster and Drizzt are still around in 4E FR, as are several other iconic FR characters (including many popular campaign villains). On that note, FR wouldn't be FR without the contributions of Ed Greenwood and R.A. Salvatore. Two years ago, Ed and Bob expressed some initial concern about advancing the FR timeline; however, they quickly realized that the change gave them the "space" to tell more interesting stories, reveal some new characters, and write about some new places in the world. Ed and Bob are on deck to receive the 4E rules documents shortly, and in addition to his other FR commitments, Ed will be contributing 50,000 words to the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide releasing in August 2008.
(8) Writing of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide began in early 2006 with the geography chapter, and we intend to have a complete first draft before the end of the year. The book's format is much more user-friendly; the book also features an index.
(9) 4E FR will receive a lot of continuing support on D&D Insider, in the form of an official wikipedia, regular Dragon® articles, Dungeon® adventures, and online tools (including FR race options for the D&D Character Creator). In all, there will be more Realms support online than we were ever able to provide in the printed magazines, largely because we're no longer limited by page count.
(10) Numerous individuals have contributed to the shaping of 4E FR. If you don't like what you hear, I urge you to point your accusing finger at me. I am the D&D story manager, so world design pretty much falls to me and collaterally to my team of designers (see my closing remarks, below).
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Closing Remarks
Some FR fans have accused Rich Baker of killing FR with this latest revision, probably because Rich has been R&D's voice to the FR community for the past several years (a role he fulfills voluntarily, I might add). I don't know anyone who loves the Realms more than Rich save Elminster himself, so let's not wallow in ignorance here. As I said above, there is no one person leading the 4E relaunch of the FR campaign setting. It's a team effort. Rich has certainly been involved in 4E FR from the start, but so have Bruce Cordell, James Wyatt, and others. Rich, Bruce, and James all report to me, so if you have issues, send them my way. That said, we in R&D are tickled by the "Rich Baker must be stopped!" campaign. In fact, we're thinking about getting t-shirts made. (Our "Scott Rouse must be stopped!" t-shirts are looking a bit worn out.)
Seriously, guys, Rich is tremendously invested in the Realms (his FR novel Condemnation made the New York Times best-seller list, ya know!). Please don't make him wish he was an Eberron fan!
Let me close by saying that we'll be shedding more light on 4E FR in the coming months (mostly on D&D Insider), as we get closer to the release date. The story we've cooked up for the Realms is really cool I'm talking Hollywood blockbuster cool and I guarantee that new fans and old fans alike will have good reason to play in FR campaigns.
Understand this how you like. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2007 : 04:23:05
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Since Kentinal didn't quote the whole post, I'm reposting it. It's also from Perkin's journal.
"For the past several days, I've been fighting off the plague that's creeping through the office. Congestion, runny nose, sore throat, restless nights. I didn't need to take sick days, but I've had just about all the chicken soup I can stomach.
Speaking of plagues, I'd like to use this blog entry to talk a little bit about the 4th Edition incarnation of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. For the past year, we've been seeding our books with hints of what's to come, but rumors and spoilers really started to fly with the recent release of The Grand History of the Realms (which advances the FR timeline by 10 years) and R.A. Salvatore's The Orc King. Both books make reference to something called the Spellplague.
Before I talk about the origins of the Spellplague, let me back up. As R&D began work on 4th Edition mechanics and world-building, we knew that decisions made would have a ripple effect on our existing campaign settings. For example, changes to the 4E magic system would require us to revisit how magic behaves on our shared worlds.
Two years ago at Gen Con, members of the R&D and Book Publishing teams (Bill Slavicsek, myself, Phil Athans, Rich Baker, and others) met secretly with several FR novelists (including Ed Greenwood and R.A. Salvatore) to present our thoughts about 4E FR, gather feedback, bat around ideas, and talk about "the big stories" that could be told in novels. Following this summit meeting, Phil Athans (our manager of Book Publishing), Rich Baker, and Bruce Cordell started to put together a first draft of the 4th Edition FR Story Bible, which FR novelists could then use as a reference guide. This bible contained, among many other things, the first words written about the Spellplague.
The Spellplague is an event that allows us to incorporate 4th Edition elements into the existing scheme of the world. The Grand History of the Realms very briefly describes the events that trigger the Spellplague, so I won't steal that book's thunder here. However, I believe the Spellplague is a very elegant way to merge the current campaign setting with 4E. It allows us to keep all the things about FR that are good about the Realms and jettison the things that are bad for the Realms or haven't gained much traction with the FR community.
There are things about the Spellplague that we deliberately haven't revealed yet. Once we realized the impact of 4E revisions to the FR world, we dove deep into existing Realmslore to find something that would enable us to merge 4E and FR in a way that didn't involve gods stomping across the face of Faerūn. And we found it. We even dropped a hint in the final print issue of Dragon magazine earlier this year. Don't believe me? Check out the "Unsolved Mysteries of D&D" article in Dragon #359. (Hats off to the fan on the FR message boards who actually picked up on it.)
We've also dropped a hint or two in recent book products, including Expedition to Undermountain (which ties the fate of Halaster to the impending Spellplague) and the adventure trilogy of Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave, Shadowdale: The Scouring of the Land, and Anauroch: The Empire of Shade.
Hints aside, I'd like to take a moment to share 10 important things worth knowing about the 4E Forgotten Realms:
(1) It's a D&D campaign setting and an FR campaign setting. It feels like FR, but also it uses 4E game mechanics and incorporates all 4E races and classes. The Spellplague and its effects on the world enable us to integrate new 4E mechanics and world elements into the setting in a manner that doesn't require us to ignore canon or rewrite history. Large parts of the world won't be affected horribly. We're not going to destroy Cormyr, level Waterdeep, or blow up Silverymoon, for instance. We like these places as much as anyone. However, there are some parts of the world that aren't quite so beloved and don't have much happening in or around them. Many of these areas are likely to undergo some level of change.
(2) 4E FR embraces, at least in part, the "points of light" concept talked about on D&D Insider. There will be places in 4E FR that haven't been explored or mapped. Some of these "dark areas" may be explored in novels; most will be set aside for DMs who want to insert their own cool stuff into the campaign setting. In effect, the Spellplague allows us to put some of the "forgotten" back into the Forgotten Realms.
(3) In 4E FR, the PCs matter. The PCs are the ones accomplishing the truly heroic quests. There aren't a bunch of high-level NPCs running around who can step in to clean up the PCs' messes or do things the PCs can't.
(4) FR novels will remain part of the FR canon. As with previous editions, DMs are free (even encouraged) to run FR campaigns that ignore canonical elements that don't suit their individual campaigns.
(5) Running adventures and campaigns in 4E FR doesn't require encyclopedic knowledge of Realms history. Anyone who reads the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide will feel like they can run a Realms-based adventure or campaign without treading on thousands of years of history. The Grand History of the Realms nicely encapsulates all of the setting's pertinent historical moments; the 4E books will focus more on the present and provide DMs with the tools they need to run exciting FR adventures across all of Faerūn.
(6) The 4E FR setting will have a smaller pantheon. In general, there will be less overlap in the gods' portfolios. Consequently, some 3E deities have been 'demoted,' effectively becoming agents or emissaries of more powerful gods. A handful of deities have been killed off. There are also a few new deities to fill holes.
(7) Elminster and Drizzt are still around in 4E FR, as are several other iconic FR characters (including many popular campaign villains). On that note, FR wouldn't be FR without the contributions of Ed Greenwood and R.A. Salvatore. Two years ago, Ed and Bob expressed some initial concern about advancing the FR timeline; however, they quickly realized that the change gave them the "space" to tell more interesting stories, reveal some new characters, and write about some new places in the world. Ed and Bob are on deck to receive the 4E rules documents shortly, and in addition to his other FR commitments, Ed will be contributing 50,000 words to the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide releasing in August 2008.
(8) Writing of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide began in early 2006 with the geography chapter, and we intend to have a complete first draft before the end of the year. The book's format is much more user-friendly; the book also features an index.
(9) 4E FR will receive a lot of continuing support on D&D Insider, in the form of an official wikipedia, regular Dragon® articles, Dungeon® adventures, and online tools (including FR race options for the D&D Character Creator). In all, there will be more Realms support online than we were ever able to provide in the printed magazines, largely because we're no longer limited by page count.
(10) Numerous individuals have contributed to the shaping of 4E FR. If you don't like what you hear, I urge you to point your accusing finger at me. I am the D&D story manager, so world design pretty much falls to me and collaterally to my team of designers (see my closing remarks, below).
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Closing Remarks
Some FR fans have accused Rich Baker of killing FR with this latest revision, probably because Rich has been R&D's voice to the FR community for the past several years (a role he fulfills voluntarily, I might add). I don't know anyone who loves the Realms more than Rich save Elminster himself, so let's not wallow in ignorance here. As I said above, there is no one person leading the 4E relaunch of the FR campaign setting. It's a team effort. Rich has certainly been involved in 4E FR from the start, but so have Bruce Cordell, James Wyatt, and others. Rich, Bruce, and James all report to me, so if you have issues, send them my way. That said, we in R&D are tickled by the "Rich Baker must be stopped!" campaign. In fact, we're thinking about getting t-shirts made. (Our "Scott Rouse must be stopped!" t-shirts are looking a bit worn out.)
Seriously, guys, Rich is tremendously invested in the Realms (his FR novel Condemnation made the New York Times best-seller list, ya know!). Please don't make him wish he was an Eberron fan!
Let me close by saying that we'll be shedding more light on 4E FR in the coming months (mostly on D&D Insider), as we get closer to the release date. The story we've cooked up for the Realms is really cool I'm talking Hollywood blockbuster cool and I guarantee that new fans and old fans alike will have good reason to play in FR campaigns.
__________________
Chris Perkins
Design Manager, RPGs and Miniatures
Wizards of the Coast, Inc." |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Aewrik
Seeker
80 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2007 : 04:31:36
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| Let's just hope they make the godly soap-opera into a hollywood blockbuster cool story, as well. :) |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4693 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2007 : 04:40:11
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Since Kentinal didn't quote the whole post, I'm reposting it. It's also from Perkin's journal.
Hey at least I provided the URL, though I do conceed I did not consider it that important that Mr. Perkins said he and most in the office were sick.
Of course the fully list of players could have been useful and I should have included that. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Ayunken-vanzan
Senior Scribe
Germany
657 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2007 : 06:52:20
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| Point (3) and Point (6) sound like the typical complains and misconceptions some have with the Realms. The designers seem to hear a little bit to much to the wrong voices. |
"What mattered our lives now? When our world had been torn from us? Folk wept, or drank, or stood staring out over the land, wondering what new horror each dawn would bring."
Elender Stormfall of Suzail
"Anyone can kill deities, cause plagues, or destroy organizations. It takes real skill to make them live on."
Varl
FR/D&D-Links 2ed Downloads |
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Sian
Senior Scribe
Denmark
596 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2007 : 07:02:20
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| well ... allmost the most interesting is the recton (of former saying) that there would pop up some new gods ... is that generaly or in the FR pantheon and supplied from the other pantheons (muldurandi) ... and if thats so ... which characters pop up and go be new gods ... i for one would like a dwarven lesser god of magic since that after thunder twins started popping up at least 60 years ago, a fair share of dwarves started being mages but they have no real god to favor (and Mystra is/was prehaps a bit to wishy-washy for the somewhat traditional Lawful good dwarf) |
what happened to the queen? she's much more hysterical than usual
She's a women, it happens once a month |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11999 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2007 : 17:36:12
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quote:
Originally posted by Sian
well ... allmost the most interesting is the recton (of former saying) that there would pop up some new gods ... is that generaly or in the FR pantheon and supplied from the other pantheons (muldurandi) ... and if thats so ... which characters pop up and go be new gods ... i for one would like a dwarven lesser god of magic since that after thunder twins started popping up at least 60 years ago, a fair share of dwarves started being mages but they have no real god to favor (and Mystra is/was prehaps a bit to wishy-washy for the somewhat traditional Lawful good dwarf)
Yeah, that's why I would have liked to see Deep Duerra live on. It would have been more interesting to me if she would have turned on Laduguer, especially since it seems like they're trying to make the duergar and dwarves get along better. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2007 : 18:50:23
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To repeat what I said on the WotC boards, how did they decide which Realms weren't so "beloved"? Just because an area didn't get much attention in past sourcebooks (the amount of which was decided by WotC, not fans) doesn't mean no one liked it!
Point 3 is all about catering to player narcissism. |
"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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Sian
Senior Scribe
Denmark
596 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2007 : 19:04:53
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Yeah, that's why I would have liked to see Deep Duerra live on. It would have been more interesting to me if she would have turned on Laduguer, especially since it seems like they're trying to make the duergar and dwarves get along better.
well ... in that case Laduguer is a better bet since he is about magic whereas Deep Duerra is about Psionics ... but still ... it's a bit of hard to beleive that he would go from LE to LG and loved by Dwarven mages and at least respected by the rest of the pantheon and dwarves in general |
what happened to the queen? she's much more hysterical than usual
She's a women, it happens once a month |
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BlackMoria
Acolyte
Canada
36 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2007 : 19:59:19
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quote:
(1) It's a D&D campaign setting and an FR campaign setting. It feels like FR, but also it uses 4E game mechanics and incorporates all 4E races and classes. The Spellplague and its effects on the world enable us to integrate new 4E mechanics and world elements into the setting in a manner that doesn't require us to ignore canon or rewrite history. Large parts of the world won't be affected horribly. We're not going to destroy Cormyr, level Waterdeep, or blow up Silverymoon, for instance. We like these places as much as anyone. However, there are some parts of the world that aren't quite so beloved and don't have much happening in or around them. Many of these areas are likely to undergo some level of change.
The first two sentences are most telling. Basically, the old FR campaign setting is dead and they are rolling out a new campaign setting with the FR logo on it. You don't use terminology 'feels like FR' when refering to the changes. He didn't use the term 'It IS FR'. 'Feels Like' and 'Is' have two different meanings.
Interesting....
quote:
(2) 4E FR embraces, at least in part, the "points of light" concept talked about on D&D Insider. There will be places in 4E FR that haven't been explored or mapped. Some of these "dark areas" may be explored in novels; most will be set aside for DMs who want to insert their own cool stuff into the campaign setting. In effect, the Spellplague allows us to put some of the "forgotten" back into the Forgotten Realms.
Flies in the face of what Rich Baker said to voiced concerns that the existing settings will be retcon to 'points of light'. In a nutshell, Rich issued a denial that the existing campaign settings will be retcon to 'points of light'. Rich Baker and Chris Perkins should have gotten together beforehand on what they were selling because this comment by Chris just made Rich Baker appear to be a liar.
quote:
(3) In 4E FR, the PCs matter. The PCs are the ones accomplishing the truly heroic quests. There aren't a bunch of high-level NPCs running around who can step in to clean up the PCs' messes or do things the PCs can't.
Seems the old fallacies still have legs. What is worst, Chris seems to be listening to the wrong people because he has bought into this fallacy with this statement of his.
quote:
(5) Running adventures and campaigns in 4E FR doesn't require encyclopedic knowledge of Realms history. Anyone who reads the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide will feel like they can run a Realms-based adventure or campaign without treading on thousands of years of history. The Grand History of the Realms nicely encapsulates all of the setting's pertinent historical moments; the 4E books will focus more on the present and provide DMs with the tools they need to run exciting FR adventures across all of Faerūn.
This statement supports my first supposition. It isn't the old Realms anymore. It is a new campaign setting with the FR logo. The only way you can ignore years of previous lore, history and canon is if there is a 'clean' break.
quote:
(9) 4E FR will receive a lot of continuing support on D&D Insider, in the form of an official wikipedia, regular Dragon® articles, Dungeon® adventures, and online tools (including FR race options for the D&D Character Creator). In all, there will be more Realms support online than we were ever able to provide in the printed magazines, largely because we're no longer limited by page count.
Hopefully the support will be better than it is right now. Two Realmslore articles (The Purple Halls & The Astronomer) were released after the 4e driven website change. Try to find them now. Go ahead. The only way I could find them was by searching on the article name. Basically, they messed up doing the archives and they messed up doing links. In short, unless you know the name of the Realmslore article, you can't find them once they go 'off' the main page.
Secondly, two Realmslore articles does not alot of 'continuing support' make. The two articles game out about two weeks apart after the website change. Since then - nada, zilch, zip.
quote:
(10) Numerous individuals have contributed to the shaping of 4E FR. If you don't like what you hear, I urge you to point your accusing finger at me. I am the D&D story manager, so world design pretty much falls to me and collaterally to my team of designers (see my closing remarks, below).
Thanks for fessing up that you are the BBEG in this. I respect that. Therefore I point my accusing finger at you. You killed the Realms and are replacing it with a Doppleganger with the same name.
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Edited by - BlackMoria on 11 Oct 2007 20:01:30 |
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Mumadar Ibn Huzal
Master of Realmslore
1338 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2007 : 20:21:59
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Laduguer could have gone to LN without too much 'reworking'...
That aside, from Chris Perkins' article
quote:
(6) The 4E FR setting will have a smaller pantheon. In general, there will be less overlap in the gods' portfolios. Consequently, some 3E deities have been 'demoted,' effectively becoming agents or emissaries of more powerful gods. A handful of deities have been killed off. There are also a few new deities to fill holes.
I had thought about this point recently without having seen this actual post.
If for D&D consistency reasons the Planes and the FR Pantheons had to be re-shaped, it could have gone without striking out several deities. Lesser deities that now seem to be brushed away could always have been aspects of the Greater Deities that they report to.
Example Red Knight could be a LG aspect of Tempus that has its own following. Tempus grants the spells to the priests of Red Knight and behaves towards the church of Red Knight in a manner fitting for this aspect.
The common man, and even the vast majority could be none-the-wiser on this whole structure and life could be as we always believed to be the case under. This even has Realmslore precedents with one deity masquerading as another including the granting of spells (e.g. Shar/Ibrandul).
Greater Deities are complex beings too often viewed IMHO in a too human way and could very well sanely act in such a multi-personality situation.
On the other hand, given the leap into the future that FR is heading to, adding some casualties amongst the myriad of deities gives the opportunity to add some new lore, lost temples etc to FR. After all, how else do we see newer versions of Borem and the other lost gods; we cant keep going back to history and dream-up extinct pantheons from the past only
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Mumadar Ibn Huzal
Master of Realmslore
1338 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2007 : 20:44:53
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Yeah, that's why I would have liked to see Deep Duerra live on. It would have been more interesting to me if she would have turned on Laduguer, especially since it seems like they're trying to make the duergar and dwarves get along better.
Actually, in the 2e adventure The Wyrmskull Throne, there is a link buried that one could have extrapolated (with maybe a little stretching of the imagination) to the Duergar and the Shield Dwarves reconciling at some point in the future. One of the few rightful heirs to the Wyrmskull Throne is mentioned to be a Duergar.
I cannot recall the second source (a 3e product) that I recall, but in a 3e product (maybe F&P) a Duergar in Gracklstug (sp) began converting to the worship of Moradin. |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2007 : 20:54:07
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Rich's newest reply from the WOTC boards, which was posted today.
"Logan's assigned for mechanical work, not story work. For example, he'll be working on stuff like our background/regional feat system, monster mechanics, advanced character options, race mechanics--all in partnership with story designers who are more familiar with the setting.
No warforged in FR, I promise.
By "promoted races" I think he was referring to drow and genasi PC options (in the core Monster Manual drow are really only presented as monsters, so it's a "promotion" to think of them as a valid player character choices)."
and
"Hi, Keahi, welcome aboard!
To answer your questions:
1. Yes, the basic premises of Forgotten Realms are staying more or less the same in 4th Edition. It's still a world of high fantasy, wondrous magic, terrible monsters, and colorful, evocative locales and characters.
2. If we didn't touch on something in 3e, we're not likely to get to it quickly in 4e... although we have a lot more room for Realms support on D&D Insider, so something that might have been a corner-case printed sourcebook (say, the Moonshaes) could make a fine Dragon article or DDi series.
3. We generally don't accept unsolicited manuscripts. We do have some submission guidelines laid out in the D&D Insider home page (I'm pretty sure they're there), so take a look at 'em. If you're trying to break in for the first time, your best shot is to write for DRAGON or DUNGEON first."
and
"You know, I don't know off the top of my head. It's not something we talked about much in our early story planning, and I'm not actually "on" the new Campaign Guide.
I sort of feel that the Harpers got a little off-course at the end of 2nd Edition and haven't really lived up to what we would want out of them in quite some time. The easy answer would be to throw 'em over the transom, but I'd like to see us take another shot at getting them right first. Patching up the Moonstars-Harpers schism seems like a good place to start." |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
Edited by - Kuje on 11 Oct 2007 21:38:14 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36875 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2007 : 21:47:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Patching up the Moonstars-Harpers schism seems like a good place to start."
What?!? They already brushed aside this great story line, and now they're going to patch it up like it never happened? No, I am not happy about that.  |
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Mace Hammerhand
Great Reader
Germany
2296 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2007 : 21:58:16
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I'm pondering about starting my own Realms timeline...if there's some interest I might go ahead with it and post it here
In the light of 4events it seems more and more likely. |
Mace's not so gentle gamer's journal My rants were harmless compared to this, beware! |
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Zorro
Seeker
Germany
82 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2007 : 22:28:42
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Please, do go ahead. I'm grateful for every little bit of input I can get in order to come up with a timeline myself 
Zorro |
I think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his ability. - Oscar Wilde |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4693 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2007 : 22:40:41
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http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.php?p=14053353&postcount=21
quote:
Re: Rich Baker's Blog
Guess it's been a few days, time to catch up!
This week I'm starting to work on a new D&D adventure, codenamed H2 (because it's the second adventure we're coming out with for heroic-level characters, the folks who are level 1-10). My co-author is Mike Mearls, who is out this week and part of next for his honeymoon. That means a lot of things about the adventure are up to me... mwah, hah, hah. Ironically enough, I wrote the 2nd adventure for 3rd Edition D&D (the Forge of Fury), and here I am again. Even more ironically, I think I've got good reason to feature duergar in the story. I really hadn't set out to do that, but it just makes sense given the "back cover text" we've already generated for the adventure. I'll try to make sure the new adventure isn't just a reprise!
I spent a little time here and there polishing up some Player's Handbook bits. Yesterday I cast my eye over our list of fighter powers, and spent a couple of hours patching up placeholder names and writing up better flavor text. We had a 1st-level power called "Wallop" that had a knock-you-prone rider on it; I changed the name to "Dragon's Tail Cut" and flavored it as a crouch down and make a long looping swing through target's legs power, sort of like the way a dragon might use a tail whip to knock someone down. Maybe it's dorky, maybe it's cool; hard to tell with flavor you write yourself.
In War at Sea news, we're almost done with our sculpting rounds on Set 2 -- we just have a couple of problem children that need one more pass to get 'em right. The next stage I'll be reviewing closely are the paint masters -- basically, one example of each model painted in the way we want all of that model to be painted. That might be a little ways off yet. Mons Johnson is heading up development of the set right now (I designed it, but it's time for me to back off so that other folks can call my baby ugly if that's what it is). Kamikazes are proving a little challenging, but we've got some ideas on how to tackle 'em.
A word about community relations, the various FR message threads, and Chris Perkins' recent blog post... I appreciate all of you folks who are making an effort to remain civil, even when I say things you don't agree with. I know you're worried about what we're doing with this setting you love. We've had several great conversations this week about Realms 4e here in the office (the second Realms 4e product is kicking off, so we've been working on the concept and outline), and I'm really stoked about some of our secret plans. I wish I could share them right now, but I'm going to have to wait a little bit -- I don't want to scoop preview articles that are coming up for DDi in a month or two.
More later!
So within two months we should hear things that some of us will like to compensate for changes we now know about that some of us dislike.
Mark your calenders. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2007 : 00:48:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Patching up the Moonstars-Harpers schism seems like a good place to start."
What?!? They already brushed aside this great story line, and now they're going to patch it up like it never happened? No, I am not happy about that.
I liked the idea of the Moonstars too :-(
But with Khelben getting the axe...I guess the Moonstars might die out without him.
Sometimes I favored Khelben over Elminster as a Chosen because he was more gritty and willing to mix it up to get things done...I'll miss the fella.
The reason I say this: I see Khelben saying something to the effect of: "Over my dead body..." |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2007 : 02:00:46
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Patching up the Moonstars-Harpers schism seems like a good place to start."
What?!? They already brushed aside this great story line, and now they're going to patch it up like it never happened? No, I am not happy about that.
I agree, I was none too happy about hearing that, myself. I like the two distinct groups as they are.
Rich Baker tells me YET AGAIN that 4E Realms won't be for me. |
"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 12 Oct 2007 02:02:34 |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2007 : 02:01:55
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quote:
Originally posted by Mace Hammerhand
I'm pondering about starting my own Realms timeline...if there's some interest I might go ahead with it and post it here
In the light of 4events it seems more and more likely.
Do it! Do it! Do 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) |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2007 : 02:04:24
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quote:
Originally posted by Kentinal
So within two months we should hear things that some of us will like to compensate for changes we now know about that some of us dislike.
I wonder if that's even possible (in my case, at least).
Gee, the 4E FR design team sure is knockin' my socks off, all right... |
"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 - 12 Oct 2007 : 03:21:49
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quote:
Gee, the 4E FR design team sure is knockin' my socks off, all right...
**dryly** I know what you mean. I'm just feeling the love from the 4e FR design team. |
Edited by - BlackMoria on 12 Oct 2007 05:12:07 |
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Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2007 : 03:40:14
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Well, I liked what I read in Rich Baker's blog of 09-27-07, 10:23 PM about Cosmologies.
I hope they give us something Spelljammerish about the original crystal sphere of humanity (or possibly all sentient races), rather like the quest of the Cloakmaster, but (hopefully) with a good pay-off, even if it is just a blasted wreckage, provided that we can know (or at least delude ourselves into thinking that we know) that it is the Ancestral Egg laid by the Great Cackler (or whatever your cosmology may call it).
As for Mr. Baker's statement that he appreciates our efforts to be civil, I hope he appreciates that in some cases our civility is a necessary veneer to cover GREAT anger. When Mongoose Publishing royally screwed up the first printing of the Conan RPG, they went to very great lengths to mollify owners of that first printing, including offering them huge discounts on the revised Atlantean Edition. All I feel from Wizards and Hasbro is utter contempt for me as a rational person and as a head of household with disposable income (i.e., they oughtn't to gamble on how stupid they think we are!).
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I have a mouth, but I am in a library and must not scream.
Feed the poor and stroke your ego, too: http://www.freerice.com/index.php.
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Arkhaedun
Senior Scribe
869 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2007 : 06:42:21
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A reminder . . . while some of us might not be happy with the changes coming up, or alluded too, please try to be careful when ascribing "blame" to any one person. As has been pointed out several times, most of these changes have been the result of teams. We want you to be able to express your opinion, but we don't want to needlessly assign "blame" when we dislike a given change.
Not singling anyone out, just wanted to make sure that this point is reiterated before anything drifts off too far.
Thanks all. |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2007 : 08:41:02
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quote:
Originally posted by Mace Hammerhand
I'm pondering about starting my own Realms timeline...if there's some interest I might go ahead with it and post it here
In the light of 4events it seems more and more likely.
Go ahead Mace, the more alternative versions of the Realms the more to ignite the imagination. Looking forward to reading it. |
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Ateth Istarlin
Seeker
United Kingdom
80 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2007 : 10:12:16
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Ditto! |
The more I read about 4FR, the more depressed I am.
Politician - An elected official who tries to be all things to all people, while always looking out for his/her own interests first. |
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Wizbane
Acolyte
36 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2007 : 14:32:16
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The inner marketing oriented fragment of my personality is calling for a Forgotten Realms Arcane Age Campaign Guide (sort of...), to be released in August 2009, with a new beginning and, why not, 4E rules...
DM:
"1 Elesias, 1309 DR - Year of Sunset Winds.
While travelling on the road, your party is approached by a dark dressed priest. He wears a necklace with an emblazoned symbol..a skull, against a black field...and you recognize it as the symbol of Myrkul, the current Lord of the Dead..."
PLAYERS:
"Huzzah!" 
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Edited by - Wizbane on 12 Oct 2007 14:35:44 |
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Uzzy
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
618 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2007 : 16:01:21
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I've already been thinking about a new timeline, starting from the end of 1375 DR, which incorporates a ingame reason for the whole magic system change and runs with all the plots currently going. While it would be nice to scrap a load of them, I was thinking from the PoV of Head FR designer.
My main aim was stabilisation, giving the Realms some breathing room from the constant RSE's. I'll post it up after work, if anyone's interested in seeing my ideas.  |
Edited by - Uzzy on 12 Oct 2007 16:06:35 |
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Sian
Senior Scribe
Denmark
596 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2007 : 17:21:32
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as others said before ... would be interesting if some of the brilliant people hanging around in these halls made a unofficial version of FR timeline explaining all the things (or practicly all the things) in another manner than the Offical does ... but still supplying it to 4e
could someone kick Alaundo when he comes back to get a dedicated forum for it? |
what happened to the queen? she's much more hysterical than usual
She's a women, it happens once a month |
Edited by - Sian on 12 Oct 2007 17:22:12 |
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4e FR
