| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Aerik DeVallo |
Posted - 19 Mar 2009 : 15:41:06
I've been playing/DM'ing for about ten years now, but no matter how hard I try, I can never seem to do the Realms games I run justice. I have a hypothosis that states I've just read to many of the FR novels to be able to enjoy a good game in the Realms. And because since I'm one of the only players/DM's that reads the novels, it makes it difficult for the other players to know what's going on.
I was interested to know just how other DM's find the expierence of doing a good Realms Campaign and how they feel that they do the masterpiece born of Ed Greenwood the justice it's due. |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 26 Mar 2009 : 18:59:12
Actually, Wooly and I both posted it on the previous page. But here it is again: Forgotten Realms Calendar Tool
Mod edit: Fixed the link so it would be all pretty.  |
| Aerik DeVallo |
Posted - 26 Mar 2009 : 18:41:00
I have a lot of those problems, too, Falconhand. The way I usually do things is not to even HAVE a plot line until higher levels. That way the characters are getting some expirience, some items, and getting a feel for their character's in general. With the party getting to know one another, I'm less likely to hear, "Can I make another character?" or, "I hate this, let's do something else." lol
Brutal? Yes. True? Yes. I'm not knocking them. I've had a lot more luck since I made character history, description, personality archetypes and personality traits a manditory thing for all character's I DM for.
Ashe, I appriciate the info, but I know nothing about HTML. Hahaha.
Maybe I can let my little bro take a look at it, because he does it all the time. Did you provide a link or did I just miss it? |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 26 Mar 2009 : 14:31:32
If anyone is interested here is a bit of code change for the index.html of the Calendar tool so that it give a 'rough estimation' of a current date in the Realms instead of the default Hammer 1, 1372:
Just change this:
var xMonth = 1
var xDay = 1
var xYear = 1372
to this:
var now = new Date()
var xMonth = now.getMonth() +1
var xDay = 1
var xYear = now.getFullYear() - 633
It will match up months roughly. If it's March 31st, it will still show Ches on the tool. It's not giving a 1:1 date transformation. And I based the year (as you can see) as 633 years previous to our year (making the current year 1376). |
| Gang Falconhand |
Posted - 26 Mar 2009 : 09:59:18
My problem as DM is always trying to weave multi-layered plots into a believable tapestry. With all the different power groups and lone manipulators of events in the realms I always feel the need to get as many of them involved as possible. I love it when something a player wrote in their background as a throwaway remark can be used to tie them into a greater conspiracy, but I've found myself doing it over and over again until there are so many ties and threads that the "believable tapestry" I thought I was weaving looks like an explosion in a wool shop.
I'm taking steps to bring the threads back together sooner rather than later just so it feels more coherent for the players. This is meant to be entertaining for everyone not just the Dungeon Master.
My NEXT campaign will be more simple. I promise myself this. |
| Kuje |
Posted - 26 Mar 2009 : 03:56:51
quote:
Originally posted by Archmagus Brandon
Kuje, let me know when you start doing another e-mail game. I'd love to participate, if that's ok with you!
Will do if I ever start another one. :) Only have my long running one going right now because some of my other email games fell apart because replies became sporadic. |
| Aerik DeVallo |
Posted - 26 Mar 2009 : 03:02:37
Well, it's good to know with a little practice, I can be awesome at it! 
So, all the seasons really do fall in the months like our's, just different names? Cool, I can deal.
Have my thanks, all of you, for providing me with all this info. It's to bad that I NEVER play...*uhgz*
I <3 using weather rules lol. Nothing like a good downpour while your fighting orcs on the road! Hahaha!
Kuje, let me know when you start doing another e-mail game. I'd love to participate, if that's ok with you!
Wooly, Ashe, Kuje, you're the men. lol
Nerfed, what's DM Secretary? |
| Kuje |
Posted - 26 Mar 2009 : 02:05:33
I was thinking about this a little more while working on my time line and if there was any other way I could give some advice and I thought of a way.
Keep track of the weather is my advice. :) When I write my email games, for example, I always have a header on them that looks like this:
Day/Month/Year: # day of # tenday of month in the year # - The Year of
Time:
Location:
Weather:
So one header for one of my games might look like this:
Day/Month/Year: 6th day of 1st tenday of Flamerule in the year 1373 - The Year of Rogue Dragons
Time: Morning to Evening
Location: Waterdeep
Weather: Temperate |
| Nerfed2Hell |
Posted - 25 Mar 2009 : 22:53:58
I use DM Secretary to keep track of the months and tack on the in-between-month days as day 31 of the months they come after. When I see a day 31, I know its a special day and not one more day of the month. |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 25 Mar 2009 : 17:36:42
The Calendar is very similar with twelve months. After that, it takes a right turn at Albuquerque.
Weeks have ten days instead of seven, and there are three weeks to each month. Every month, therefore has 30 days. There are 5 'special' days that fall outside the months (Greengrass, Midsummer, Highharvestide, Feast of the Moon and Midwinter). They are considered holidays by most. Additionally, they have a 'leap year' every four years, and introduce Shieldmeet as a holiday that occurs right after midsummer. Since it's every four years, many people use it as a point of reference in contract renewals and such.
There's a pretty good jpg of the calendar here that should be able to help you. If not, I know you can also download a calendar tool from Wizards (here) that details all the days, plus the lunar cycle of Selūne. It's a pretty good tool that allows you to add notes and such to it, making it pretty useful for timelines.
Edit: Dang Wooly and his quickness! |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 25 Mar 2009 : 17:33:29
Basically, January equals Hammer. Since the FR months are always 30 days, everything doesn't always line up, but it stays pretty close. I made a simple spreadsheet, myself, setting the first of Hammer and the first of January as the starting point, and went from there.
One difference, though, is that there are five holidays that occur between months, and Shieldmeet, the equivalent of Leap Day, occurs mid-year, instead of closer to the beginning.
There are a couple of diagrams that exist online, showing the months... And the Forgotten Realms Calendar Tool is one of the niftiest freebies WotC ever gave us. It's got the calendar, lunar phases, and the Roll of Years. |
| Aerik DeVallo |
Posted - 25 Mar 2009 : 17:08:52
Awesome, Kuje.
I personally have trouble with the Calendar of Harptos. Any one have any pointers? Is it similar to our own calendar? If it is, can you explain? Or, really, just explain in general lol.
Thanks! |
| Kuje |
Posted - 25 Mar 2009 : 16:27:19
quote:
Originally posted by Archmagus Brandon
What time periods do you guys usually run your games in/play in?
Hard for me to answer because I've been running FR games in my version of FR for.... oh my, 10 years or so now..... But in general most of my campaigns take place in the 1360's to 1370's but I've had some campaigns that involved time travel, so some PC's have influenced the past even if their characters started in the 1360/70's.
Edit: But I generally keep updated time lines for my campaigns, or at least a notebook filled with dates, so I can keep track of what happened and when during each campaign. Right now, for example, I'm working on another timeline for a email game that I've been DMin for a single player for over 5 or 6 years of our years. His character has done a lot since the game started in 1373 and now it's getting to the point that its getting hard to remember all the NPC's and actions that have happened, so I'm compiling them into a detailed time line. |
| Aerik DeVallo |
Posted - 25 Mar 2009 : 13:40:04
The more and more I'm glad of that, Ashe.
If I had to follow the new timeline, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't play any more.
I think I'm going to be relying heavily on Lost Empires of Faerun in the future. Run through the entire previous time line.
What time periods do you guys usually run your games in/play in? |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 22 Mar 2009 : 22:42:20
quote:
Originally posted by Archmagus Brandon
I mean no offence to WoTC. After all, they have provided me with endless hours of entertainment and woudln't know what I would do with out them, I just think that we as fans, who buy every thing we can get our hands on that Wizards publishes, we should be entitled to our own fancy-free.
Everyone already is entitled to their own personal "vision" of what the Realms is, we just don't own the setting. |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 22 Mar 2009 : 20:58:07
The difficulty is that the very nature of Roleplaying Games means you're inviting your customers in as owners and designers. Until they find a way to have a Wizards employee at every gaming table (hmm... Virtual Gaming table? Interesting...), they cannot tell us what we can and cannot do with the product they sell us. |
| Nerfed2Hell |
Posted - 22 Mar 2009 : 19:37:57
WotC probably feels like they own the Realms now... you know, having bought it along with the D&D brand from TSR. I know, I know... they're crazy, but people feel a sense of entitlement when they give money away. |
| Aerik DeVallo |
Posted - 22 Mar 2009 : 12:38:04
You got that right...
It's to bad that WoTC probobly doesn't agree...lol |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 22 Mar 2009 : 06:00:25
Ah, but you see, we do own and invent the Realms. Ed simply opened the door to Faerūn, showed us inside and said 'Go play!'. I believe he loves hearing as much about what we do in the Realms as we love the lore he provides. |
| Aerik DeVallo |
Posted - 21 Mar 2009 : 19:00:23
I mean no offence to WoTC. After all, they have provided me with endless hours of entertainment and woudln't know what I would do with out them, I just think that we as fans, who buy every thing we can get our hands on that Wizards publishes, we should be entitled to our own fancy-free.
I don't see the problem as long as we don't plaigerise or claim we invented or own the Realms. lol
Is there any more news on that topic, btw? |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 21 Mar 2009 : 13:17:15
Concept of a Star Wars RPG should die in a fire
I just posted this over on the WotC FR boards as well. It's good advice for any uber-fan when running or playing in the setting they love. |
| Nerfed2Hell |
Posted - 20 Mar 2009 : 22:34:26
Almost everything I run in Forgotten Realms could just as easily be set in a generic campaign world, but I enjoy the Realms as window dressing. Its very rare that established characters of the Realms are used as NPCs unless absolutely necessary... which usually ends up being key figures of Cormyr since that's where the majority of our adventures start or end up. |
| Kuje |
Posted - 20 Mar 2009 : 20:29:52
quote:
Originally posted by Archmagus Brandon
To the very bottom of the Nine Hells with 4e. Right in to Asmodeus' lap.
That shouldn't mean that we can't keep going on all the rest of the time lines. Bah, I say...Bah!
Unless of course the changes move ahead in the time lines where it interjects with 4e.
Whatever. I look forward to whatever is published. Do you think we could probobly share it amongst ourselves? I mean, whatever it is that they don't publish will it be shared in some way/shape/form?
We all might want to ignore 4e but FR is still owned by Wizards and they are gracious enough, at this time, to allow anyone to write material for the Realms. Even during 3e what we all published was technically illegal because the Realms was never included in the public domain. So, truly, we should all be happy that Wizards even allowed this site to create the past issues of the Compendiums and as I've said before, personally I won't step on Wizards toes and I'll wait to see what they allow or don't allow because publishing material on the net is still professionally publishing material even if it is fan material and if we are sued, we will lose because, again, Wizards owns the Realms because it is their property. |
| Aerik DeVallo |
Posted - 20 Mar 2009 : 20:24:38
To the very bottom of the Nine Hells with 4e. Right in to Asmodeus' lap.
That shouldn't mean that we can't keep going on all the rest of the time lines. Bah, I say...Bah!
Unless of course the changes move ahead in the time lines where it interjects with 4e.
Whatever. I look forward to whatever is published. Do you think we could probobly share it amongst ourselves? I mean, whatever it is that they don't publish will it be shared in some way/shape/form? |
| Kuje |
Posted - 20 Mar 2009 : 19:59:27
quote:
Originally posted by Archmagus Brandon
What do you mean, Ashe?
What fansite policy dictates they can't publish something? Is it because it's non-cannon or something?
Can you explain in a little more detail?
The articles are non canon, of course, since they are created by us fans. At the moment Wizards of the Coast is creating a fan site policy about what might, or might not, be written about and so some of us have decided to keep our articles on hold until we find out what we can, or can't, write about due to the changes with forth edition and the changes to FR because of 4e. |
| Aerik DeVallo |
Posted - 20 Mar 2009 : 19:32:00
What do you mean, Ashe?
What fansite policy dictates they can't publish something? Is it because it's non-cannon or something?
Can you explain in a little more detail? |
| Aerik DeVallo |
Posted - 20 Mar 2009 : 19:30:29
That was a very good idea. Them playing for the bad guys with out even knowing it. Or was that the point?
Nevertheless, "throwing the Realms at them in all of it's glory" is something that I've become accustomed to doing and not even reolizing it.
A huge problem I have as a player in the Realms is that it never lives up to my expectations, from whoever is DM'ing, because no one I know know's more about Realmslore than me. Not tooting a horn of some kind or anything, it's just a fact lol. Example:
"Brandon, what's in Halruaa?"
"Oh, that's where the decendents of ancient Netheril live. An empire of wizards. They traveled there on the remnents of the floating cities that they created through epic magic. It's pretty awesome--are we going there???"
"....Nevermind. *shakes head frustratedly* How about Rashamen?"
"A land known for it's berserker's, smoked cheese, and the elite group of female spellcasters that are the acctual power behind the Iron Throne? It borders Thay, which will stop at nothing to learn the mysterious powers its Witches wield in battle against the Red Wizards to devastating---"
"Shut up--nevermind! *closes book* Ok we're in Cormyr--and don't you say a word!"
It's not really that hateful, but sometimes it is. Can I help it if I want to know everything there is to know about it??? Gah!!! I've had them not even play before, sometimes.
It's the biggest reason I never play, or get to play, for that matter. I'm not putting off some kind of blame on my buddies, but I can't hold a gun to their head and make them do research lol.
........or can't I? *eye gleams dangerously*
I would love to play in any one of your guys' campaigns, though. |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 20 Mar 2009 : 19:24:53
They are a series of pdfs on the main site with lore, stories and all kinds of great Realmsian detail. Unfortunately the latest bundle of knowledge has been stalled by the lack of a proper fansite policy to determine what the scribes can and cannot publish. |
| Aerik DeVallo |
Posted - 20 Mar 2009 : 19:14:45
Awesome! Thanks for letting me know.
Exactly what ARE the compendiums? Are they just a place in the site or are they like real books? |
| Kuje |
Posted - 20 Mar 2009 : 19:10:08
I just want to point out that Wooly and I have created about three or four dozen one shot ideas that people could use as ideas to create adventures with. They are in the Candlekeep Compendiums. :) |
| Markustay |
Posted - 20 Mar 2009 : 16:55:22
quote:
Originally posted by Archmagus Brandon
I will try and endevour to follow this valuable advice. Tell me, did you ever have the same problem as I, or know any one who did?
No worries - you can only grow as a DM (and a person) from mistakes - always being 'right' doesn't teach us anything. Lord knows I've made more then my share of blunders - the trick is to learn from them.
And yes, I've run FR campaigns from BOTH sides of the fence. When I first got into FR, I was trying to teach D&D to a bunch of teens who were dead-set on playing in the Realms, when I myself ran Greyhawk. I was stuck with the problem of backwards-engineering all my GH stuff (which I knew very well) into FR, WITHOUT the players catching on to what I was doing... and all the while they new far more about the Realms then I did. I managed to pull it off by saying all the stuff was homebrew, and learned as much as I could about the local area where I was placing the adventure, which was mostly the area in and around the Dales.
Fortunately I only had one player who was more concerned with "where the heck is the Valley of the Mage in the sourcebooks?" (), then with having fun, and eventually even he gave-up on trying to figure out what I was doing (which is the whole point - players should NEVER know more then the DM).
When I got the 3e books a few years back, I decided to start another campaign with a new group, building a campaign-arc from the ground-up. I never really got that chance with the 2e game I ran, because I was co-running with someone else (the person I was teaching), and we were just taking one adventure at a time, in an unrelated series of scenarios. I dug far deeper into FR then I ever had before, including finally reading all the 2eFR sourcebooks I bought but had never bothered to read - imagine... I had a virtual treasure-trove for years and didn't know it!
Anyhow, aside from hearing about 'Drizzt' from MORPGs, these new players had no clue what FR was. This is when I faced the challenge you are right now - I wanted to throw the Realms at them in all it's glory.
The only problem was, they wouldn't unerstand ANYTHING I was doing. However, I decided I liked that... A LOT... and ran with it. The very first adventure we had they were hired as caravan gaurds by the Red Wizards of Thay, and had no clue who hired them (the Thayans were traveling incognito). By involving them immediately with one of the iconic Realms-groups, I was able to teach them stuff along the way: for instance, their employers nearly all wore cloaks with hoods... and they accidently saw them without them, and noticed they were bald (it was night, and they couldn't see the tattoos).
They were traveling north overland to Mulmaster, where they were suspected of being Thayan agents by the Harpers (introduction #2). Once all of that was sorted out in a few sessions, they beame embroiled in a second plot involving the Thayans... who were now coming back to the PCs for their help. The Mulmaster enclave had been attacked, and the Thayans wanted to know who was behind it (the PCs immediately suspected the Harpers, but found-out through their new contact that the Harpers were merely keeping an eye on the RWs).
Which of course lead them to the Zhents with some Harper-provided intel.
This was spread over about 15 sessions - my rule of thumb is some minor fluff every session, with a major piece of lore every 3-5 sessions. You can't really shove the big stuff down their throats every time you get together - the Realms are best enjoyed in little bites, and giving your players time to digest each new morsel.
Like fine wine, the Realms are meant to be 'sipped', not 'chugged-down'.
Also, I still kept all of the Greyhawk weirdness I had added to my Realms, and continue to add new stuff all the time. In fact, I prefer to make-up my own BBGs - I NEVER use the iconics of the game (thus saving them for the writers and designers, and avoding any possible future conflicts). Don't be tempted into throwing Szass Tam or Manshoon at them - there are legions of lesser minions they can meet long before they ever get near guys like that.
The best advice I can give you is - If you like something, then use it... if you don't, then don't. It doesn't matter where it comes from, as long as you like it and can turn it into a part of the game your players will enjoy as well. |
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