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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author

USA
4598 Posts

Posted - 11 Oct 2012 :  15:56:47  Show Profile  Visit Erik Scott de Bie's Homepage Send Erik Scott de Bie a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
Poll Question:
WotC has stated publicly that their novel line post-Sundering they plan to focus on small-scale stories that don't shake the world or revamp whole cities/nations/gods. So basically, this means the end of RSEs.

Of course, it apparently takes a RSE to end the cycle of RSEs (something that was supposed to end with the introduction of 4e), and that's the Sundering. WotC is pouring all of its FR resources into doing that event right and drawing some big talent in to write the novels.

When you read FR novels, do you prefer the big scale events or the small scale? Do you want your Realms to shake, or do you want to read smaller stories that have high personal stakes for the characters but don't leave a lasting impact on the world?

I'll give some specific examples to illustrate the distinction:

RSE-scale stories include Richard Lee Byer's Rogue Dragons or Haunted Lands series, Richard Baker's Last Mythal series, the War of the Spider Queen, Lisa Smedman's Lady Penitent Series, Thomas Reid's Empyrean Odyssey, Paul Kemp's Twilght War, etc.

Recent small-scale stories include Paul Kemp's Erevis Cale series, my Shadowbane series, Bruce Cordell's Sword of the Gods, Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep, Jaleigh Johnson's Unbroken Chain series, etc., as well as the original Harpers novels (such as Elaine's series starting with Elfshadow).

R.A. Salvatore's Legend of Drizzt series straddles the line between RSE and small-scale, so put that out of your mind.

Think back on your purchasing habits. Or just look at your book shelf. Which do you buy more: RSE novels or small scale books?

EDIT NOTE! If your response is "I buy or used to buy every FR novel ever printed (or at least most of them)," then take this poll to be the question "which style do you PREFER?" and then explain it below.

(Partly this is a loaded question, because it's clear that RSE-based novels sell far better than small-scale novels. If there is, as I suspect there will be, a push against RSEs, why is this the case?)

Choices:

I buy exclusively RSE novels
I buy mostly RSE novels and sometimes small-scale novels
I buy equal numbers of RSE and small-scale novels
I buy mostly small-scale novels and some RSEs
I buy exclusively small-scale novels

(Anonymous Vote)

Erik Scott de Bie

'Tis easier to destroy than to create.

Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars"

Edited by - Erik Scott de Bie on 11 Oct 2012 17:44:15

Tanthalas
Senior Scribe

Portugal
508 Posts

Posted - 11 Oct 2012 :  16:31:37  Show Profile Send Tanthalas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I enjoy reading both small-scale stories and RSE.

I can also honestly say that I won't be happy if RSE are out of the Forgotten Realms. I really think that they are necessary to keep the setting from becoming stale.

Sir Markham pointed out, drinking another brandy. "A chap who can point at you and say 'die' has the distinct advantage".
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader

USA
3131 Posts

Posted - 11 Oct 2012 :  16:47:58  Show Profile Send Artemas Entreri a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I purchased Realms novels religiously in the past, but don't anymore. They just don't have the same feel for me anymore.

Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin

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farinal
Learned Scribe

Turkey
270 Posts

Posted - 11 Oct 2012 :  16:48:17  Show Profile Send farinal a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I buy equal numbers of RSE and small-scale novels. I don't actually think like "Let's see if this is a very important event book" before I buy but look at the author and the characters. But I must say books like Avatar Trilogy or War of the Spider Queen are my favorite ones because once these are novels with live characters in it, the whole event becomes a lot more than a few sentences in a campaign setting book. It becomes more important to you. It matters. Because you start to care about the characters too and the event not only shakes the Realms but shakes YOU too.
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Sightless
Senior Scribe

USA
608 Posts

Posted - 11 Oct 2012 :  16:49:49  Show Profile Send Sightless a Private Message  Reply with Quote
And I can't use the buttons... again. so my vote techniquelly wont count, but here's my opinion anyway. I like both.

While I don't expect there to be a lot of realms shaking events, I expect for them, and want to read about them from time to time. they shouldn't be the main stay of the kinds of novels published sure, but they should be there. I also really enjoy the 'small scale' stuff like Ed presents Waterdeep, as well, and frankly I'd like if there were more sort of inbetween, because small scale events can snowball, and that's something authors should take into account.

We choose to live a lie, when we see with, & not through the eye.

Every decision, no matter the evidence, is a leap of faith; if it were not, then it wouldn't be a choice at all.
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author

USA
4598 Posts

Posted - 11 Oct 2012 :  16:52:22  Show Profile  Visit Erik Scott de Bie's Homepage Send Erik Scott de Bie a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Well, I should clarify the concept a little bit: WotC is still planning on having RSEs to keep the setting moving along, but they believe that the driving force behind these events should come from PLAYERS rather than authors/designers. This is to correct the sense that novel characters overshadow PCs because they're the ones who do all the important things in the setting (which isn't correct, but there's an issue to be addressed there).

The concept going forward is to set up big RSE events through adventures, and then have a plurality of actual player choices/decisions determine the course forward in the Realms. I don't know exactly their plan (and I don't think they do either--it's still in development), but here's an example of how I understand it to work:

For instance, say WotC publishes an adventure wherein the PCs delve into Hell to rescue Azuth from Asmodeus. After the event has been in the open for a while, WotC collects a poll of DMs who ran the event to determine the outcome. If 57% of the gamers rescued Azuth and restored him to power, then that's what happens in the canon Realms. If, instead, 63% of gamers FAILED to save Azuth and instead Asmoedus seized Azuth's former divine portfolio and becomes a God of Magic, then that's what happens in the canon Realms. (This is, of course, just a wildly inaccurate hypothetical made to illustrate the point. )

It's sort of like breathing fresh life into LFR, maybe.

So RSEs won't go away--they just won't be the exclusive province of novelists and game designers. WotC wants more on-the-ground input into their RSEs, rather than putting the entire onus on their story planning team.

Cheers

Erik Scott de Bie

'Tis easier to destroy than to create.

Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars"
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author

USA
4598 Posts

Posted - 11 Oct 2012 :  16:55:58  Show Profile  Visit Erik Scott de Bie's Homepage Send Erik Scott de Bie a Private Message  Reply with Quote
@Entreri: Well, when you *did* buy FR novels, what kind did you buy?

@Sightless: I voted for you. No worries.

I won't give exact numbers to prejudice voting, but so far the numbers are skewed toward the middle with a slight predisposition toward small-scale novels. This is not borne out in the sales figures for RSEs vs. small-scale novels, though. Interesting.

Cheers

Erik Scott de Bie

'Tis easier to destroy than to create.

Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars"
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Tanthalas
Senior Scribe

Portugal
508 Posts

Posted - 11 Oct 2012 :  17:16:11  Show Profile Send Tanthalas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
@Erik Scott de Bie

Well, I'm kind of skeptical about polls, more so when I can always devise interpretations that suit my particular views:

- Considering how the Spellplague is a RSE and a large amount of people dislike it (I personally don't) people will shun from choosing the "I only/mostly buy the RSE novels".

- Buying a RSE also usually means buying at least a trilogy. Small-scale books lend themselves to be contained in a single book.

But like I said, people can make the interpretations that they want.

As for real-life sales figures, I think that one has a straightforward answer. Its usually the more recognizable authors that get to write RSE's, so those have name recognition helping them out.

Sir Markham pointed out, drinking another brandy. "A chap who can point at you and say 'die' has the distinct advantage".
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jornan
Learned Scribe

Canada
256 Posts

Posted - 11 Oct 2012 :  17:16:12  Show Profile Send jornan a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I am a fan of both, but the RSE need to be more in moderation. In the past several years the world hasn't had time to change or absorb one event before moving on to the next. I have always liked the fact that the Realms was a combination of small personal stories and then big events that changed everything and maybe bled into the smaller stories. The relationship between continuity and change are what makes the realms a living breathing world. The inter-connectivity of the books, characters and places, both big and small are one of my favourite parts. Some of my favourite Realms books were RSE such as The Haunted Lands, Twilight War, Rogue Dragons, WotSQ, The Last Mythal etc. so I would hate to see them go completely. There just needs to be more moderation and a little more respect for what has come before and where the world is headed.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36779 Posts

Posted - 11 Oct 2012 :  17:18:02  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I'm not sure this is the most accurate poll... I used to buy all FR novels, RSE or smaller tale.

My preference is for smaller tales, but I was, for a long time, buying everything FR related.

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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader

USA
3131 Posts

Posted - 11 Oct 2012 :  17:25:42  Show Profile Send Artemas Entreri a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie

@Entreri: Well, when you *did* buy FR novels, what kind did you buy?




Every single one printed

Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin

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The Red Walker
Great Reader

USA
3563 Posts

Posted - 11 Oct 2012 :  17:36:34  Show Profile Send The Red Walker a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

I'm not sure this is the most accurate poll... I used to buy all FR novels, RSE or smaller tale.

My preference is for smaller tales, but I was, for a long time, buying everything FR related.



Same here.

Now I'd chose a Shadowbane/Fox at Twilight never ending series to any large RSE.

Unless that threesome(intentional choice oword by the way ) get into enough trouble they shake the realms.

I guess it all comes back to characters for me.

That's why if we are blessed enough that Elaine Cunningham ever writes anything in the realms again....small scale or gets to nuke all of Faerun.....I'm buying it.


And my format choice is Anthology, by one author or many.

A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka

"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -

John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963

Edited by - The Red Walker on 12 Oct 2012 01:34:30
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader

USA
3131 Posts

Posted - 11 Oct 2012 :  17:48:01  Show Profile Send Artemas Entreri a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I always preferred the small scale "localized" novels because they felt like I could place my own PC's into the plotline. Not sure why, but I like my Realms novels to read like a D&D campaign and not a regular non-shared-world fantasy novel.

Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin

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Light
Learned Scribe

Australia
231 Posts

Posted - 11 Oct 2012 :  19:00:07  Show Profile Send Light a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I have to say that I most certainly prefer stories that are not a "big deal". I very much dislike when the main character is put on a pedestal as the only person capable of doing something (eg The Chosen One etc). I believe that the best story is one where the main character plays only a small part in a larger plot. I've read books where 13 year olds save the world, it no longer impresses me. He is not important in the larger scheme at all. As for FR novels? I buy them regardless of their scale.

"A true warrior needs no sword" - Thors (Vinland Saga)

Edited by - Light on 11 Oct 2012 19:02:54
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Caolin
Senior Scribe

768 Posts

Posted - 11 Oct 2012 :  20:25:21  Show Profile Send Caolin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I enjoy ALL Realms novels. I don't play the game so the Realms to me is like Middle-Earth or Westeros. So RSE's don't bother me as much. But they have gotten a little ridiculous in recent years. I just want to see good stories.
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader

USA
3131 Posts

Posted - 11 Oct 2012 :  20:29:03  Show Profile Send Artemas Entreri a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Caolin

RSE's don't bother me as much. But they have gotten a little ridiculous in recent years. I just want to see good stories.



I agree 100% here. RSE need to be spaced out WAYYYYYY more. It would be like having another World War on our own planet every few years.

Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin

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Delwa
Master of Realmslore

USA
1268 Posts

Posted - 11 Oct 2012 :  22:05:01  Show Profile  Visit Delwa's Homepage Send Delwa a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I buy anything with a FR logo that doesn't have a 4E label. If it has a 4E label, I get the novels that I hear a lot of "yeah, it's 4E, but it's worth it" reviews of, unless it's written by Ed. Ed authorship trumps all.
But I'm opperating on a budget, meaning until someone trades it into my local used bookstore for me to buy at a buck a copy, it won't get bought until my birthday or Christmas.

- Delwa Aunglor
I am off to slay yon refrigerator and spoil it's horde. Go for the cheese, Boo!

"The Realms change; seldom at the speed desired of those who strive, but far too quickly for those who resist." - The Simbul, taken from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Conspectus
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11701 Posts

Posted - 12 Oct 2012 :  00:23:23  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I more follow the plots and authors that I like. For instance, anything Elaine Cunningham puts out in the realms is a must buy. I really like Richard Lee Beyers too, even though I was unhappy with the RSE done to Thay (I could be biased though, just because he writes in all the areas of the realms I like). Same with Paul Kemp and the Erevis Cale novels. Its kind of similar to the gaming products for me. If Steven Schend, Eric Boyd, or Ed Greenwood actually puts out something themselves for the game, I'm very likely to buy it.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore

Australia
6648 Posts

Posted - 12 Oct 2012 :  00:51:01  Show Profile Send George Krashos a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I used to buy all the novels. With a bulging bookshelf and the advent of 4E, I became much more selective. Looking at my purchases, I avoided most of the RSEs (got some but not all of RLB's Thay stuff but nothing else), have read enough Driz'zt novels to last me a lifetime and bought the little guys (i.e. the "Waterdeep" books and a few others) and Ed. Don't feel like I missed out on much.

-- George Krashos

"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus

Edited by - George Krashos on 12 Oct 2012 00:51:54
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High

Australia
31701 Posts

Posted - 12 Oct 2012 :  01:46:12  Show Profile Send The Sage a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I don't employ much in the way of a discriminatory purchasing method for Realms novels. If it's got a FORGOTTEN REALMS brand, I'm buying it. That's what I've done in the past, and that's what I'll continue to do until these novels are no longer published.

Whether I read an RSE-based novel before any smaller-scaled-styled novels, is another question entirely. And, usually, will depend on the authors involved in writting the novels of either RSE's or the smaller tales.

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scererar
Master of Realmslore

USA
1618 Posts

Posted - 12 Oct 2012 :  02:40:26  Show Profile Send scererar a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I buy them all and equally like small scale storylines as well as epic rse's. I have absolutely loved the realms, regardless of edition, for over 20 years. My oldest son (14) is really into them as well. I dig being able to have our own mini book club conversations. I can't really give a reason for which type I prefer though, in order to fully respond to your inquiry.
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Tyrant
Senior Scribe

USA
586 Posts

Posted - 12 Oct 2012 :  04:02:33  Show Profile  Visit Tyrant's Homepage Send Tyrant a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I think I buy them equally, as far as RSE vs small scale. I like them based primarily on the characters, so in that respect either one can be a winner for me. When it comes to reading order, I do tend to put newer books at the head of the line in front of my 50 or so Realms books that are still in my "to read" pile.

To what I believe is the larger point, I want to keep reading about RSEs. However, I know that that can lead to issues with NPCs and places being blown up. So, I think a possible solution is to write about older RSEs. This way we get more lore on older events and characters to help "humanize" the event. I think Farinal hit this point. The novels help to bring these big events to life by involving (or creating) characters that you care about.

As a total side point, I would love to see more anthologies related to the RSEs (well, more anthologies period, but we're talking RSEs here) to see how other (and sometimes known) characters are dealing with/reacting to the major events taking place. Or whole novels about other characters outside the main action. For instance, what were the rest of the Uskevrens doing while Thamalon was being positioned to become the puppet leader of Sembia under the Shades?

Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.
-The Sith Code

Teenage Sith zombies, Tulkh thought-how in the moons of Bogden had it all started? Every so often, the universe must just get bored and decide to really cut loose. -Star Wars: Red Harvest
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Dennis
Great Reader

9933 Posts

Posted - 12 Oct 2012 :  06:23:28  Show Profile Send Dennis a Private Message  Reply with Quote

The second option. Though it's more of a coincidence than pure choice. In my list of criteria in buying a book, FR or not, the character class (wizard/sorcerer) is on top. In FR, it just so happens that many wizards are involved in a couple of RSEs, which of course, make sense, since what else would literally shake the Realms but unleashed magic?

Every beginning has an end.
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Faraer
Great Reader

3308 Posts

Posted - 12 Oct 2012 :  16:51:12  Show Profile  Visit Faraer's Homepage Send Faraer a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Apart from anything else, I find that authors' need to stage-manage big events takes focus off the texture and characterization I go to the Realms for. And in most cases that stage-management is a highly simplified version of how geomagicopolitical happenings in Faerūn really work, so those books don't fully satisfy even on that level.
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author

USA
4598 Posts

Posted - 12 Oct 2012 :  18:20:53  Show Profile  Visit Erik Scott de Bie's Homepage Send Erik Scott de Bie a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Faraer

Apart from anything else, I find that authors' need to stage-manage big events takes focus off the texture and characterization I go to the Realms for. And in most cases that stage-management is a highly simplified version of how geomagicopolitical happenings in Faerūn really work, so those books don't fully satisfy even on that level.
I do want to clarify that in most cases of RSE writing, authors are following a list of events dictated from the WotC story steering committee. Authors do NOT create RSEs--all they do is give them voice (i.e. how the story gets told).

WotC creates RSEs. It's their setting, their IP, and the buck stops with them about what does or does not happen on a large scale in the Realms. Authors come in to package, shade, and meld these global events to their stories (and vice versa).

If WotC moves to a smaller-scale story paradigm, then authors will have more control over the overall course of their stories, most of which are safely ignorable in the context of IP design, and there will be fewer RSE-type events.

Cheers

Erik Scott de Bie

'Tis easier to destroy than to create.

Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars"
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CorellonsDevout
Great Reader

USA
2708 Posts

Posted - 12 Oct 2012 :  18:48:13  Show Profile Send CorellonsDevout a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I buy both To me, the books have ALWAYS been about the characters. Even when there are big events like WotSQ or Lady Penitent, it was still about how they were affected and how they've shaped it. Even when the gods were involved, they weren't the only characters, and mortals still had to contend with the fact they were dealing with super powers. I like the badass characters. I mean, the fun thing about heros is that they can shape events, right?

That said, I have also enjoyed the smaller-scale novels, like the ones in Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep series. The Last Mythal was about the reconstruction of Myth Drannor--which I was very happy about--but, IMO, it was quite character based.

My issue is that I don't play the game, so, going with the rescusing Azuth from Asmodeus example, I can't really say whether I succeeded in saving him or not, because I don't play. If it was published in novel format, I could post a review on Amazon, but the outcome had already been decided. I feel like novel-readers don't have much say. Now, if WotC or people here on Candlekeep put forward the question: "Azuth needs rescuing from Asmodeus: what do you think?" Then I could give my two-cents, but otherwise...what is a reader like me supposed to do?

Annnnd on the risk of sounding quite ignorant, what is RSE exactly? What does it stand for?

Sweet water and light laughter
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author

USA
4598 Posts

Posted - 12 Oct 2012 :  19:14:49  Show Profile  Visit Erik Scott de Bie's Homepage Send Erik Scott de Bie a Private Message  Reply with Quote
This plan definitely does seem to be more weighted toward gamers than readers, but I think IMO readers have always had a voice in shaping events in the Realms, albeit indirectly. In addition to what books they buy (showing support with their dollar, much like gamers can do), they post reviews, send messages to WotC, etc. But IMO you're right--I'd like to see this become a more formalized process.

If the Realms is everyone's Realms, then I would like to see input from everyone. I also think that a short story model has significant potential to do exactly that.

"RSE" means "Realms Shaking Event"--it's an event that happens in a novel (mostly) or a sourcebook that has far-reaching implications for the setting. These could be small (the renaming of a city, for instance, or a new noble house rising to power in one isolated region) or big (revising the way magic works, or a god perishes or ascends, etc).

The complaint against RSEs is that readers/gamers have to shift to incorporate new events that re-write things they loved about the Realms. TSR/WotC went through a period of telling RSEs with extreme frequency, so that the Realms seemed to be shifting every few months. Telling stories that avoid RSEs means not making these far-reaching changes--limiting stories to the individual struggles of particular characters, limiting or just not altering locations, and generally not breaking toys once you're done playing with them.

This doesn't mean avoiding the big players in the setting. I could write a story where Mystra and Bane go all out and fight in person in the blasted lands, but in order for it not to be a RSE, it has to meet the following qualifications: 1) I don't cause massive devastation/destruction, 2) I don't kill off named characters in other sourcebooks/novels, and 3) I pretty much return the Realms to the status quo.

Do folks think I captured the concept?

Cheers

Erik Scott de Bie

'Tis easier to destroy than to create.

Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars"
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phranctoast
Learned Scribe

USA
151 Posts

Posted - 12 Oct 2012 :  20:12:44  Show Profile Send phranctoast a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I buy both, but would not want RSE's to stop.

Some of my favorite books are RSE's. In fact if you look at recommended books from people here, they seem to gravitate towards RSE's too. I'm bothered that RAS or Ed don't contribute to any RSE's (other than Neverwinter getting destroyed by the primordial, as the Orc War didn't really feel like one to me, though the end result was. Nesmes destruction also didn't feel like one)

Currently reading: Spider and Stone by Jaleigh Johnson: Sequel to Mistshore
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author

USA
1814 Posts

Posted - 12 Oct 2012 :  21:23:56  Show Profile  Visit Richard Lee Byers's Homepage  Reply with Quote
Erik, do you think croaking ANY named character from a sourcebook qualifies a story as an RSE? I ask because I've done that in books I don't think of as RSE's.
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author

USA
4598 Posts

Posted - 12 Oct 2012 :  22:49:53  Show Profile  Visit Erik Scott de Bie's Homepage Send Erik Scott de Bie a Private Message  Reply with Quote
@RLB: Good question. There are lines to be drawn, I think. If the character is significant, like Alusair or anyone else with an actual statblock, that's probably a RSE. If its a small presence without a lot of impact on the realms, that's less so.

The thing about RSE as a term is that it isn't used consistently. People use it as a blanket term to apply to lots of stories, and everyone draws different lines. I guess my definition tends toward being pretty broad.

Cheers

Erik Scott de Bie

'Tis easier to destroy than to create.

Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars"
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author

USA
4598 Posts

Posted - 12 Oct 2012 :  22:57:53  Show Profile  Visit Erik Scott de Bie's Homepage Send Erik Scott de Bie a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by phranctoast

Some of my favorite books are RSE's. In fact if you look at recommended books from people here, they seem to gravitate towards RSE's too.
Well, my theory is that it's a self-perpetuating cycle. Most people read the big blockbuster RSE series (such as RLB's Rogue Dragons) and recommend them. The smaller scale stories have a reputation for having limited appeal, which I don't think is really the case.

quote:
I'm bothered that RAS or Ed don't contribute to any RSE's (other than Neverwinter getting destroyed by the primordial, as the Orc War didn't really feel like one to me, though the end result was. Nesmes destruction also didn't feel like one)
Well, they do, just not all the time. The Cormyr series (which was written by Ed and Troy Denning) was a pretty big RSE. The events in the Orc King, the Pirate King, and even the Ghost King were what I'd consider RSEs. Also, both Bob and Ed are working on the Sundering, which is a pretty huge RSE.

Maybe RSE isn't clear enough a term to use in this discussion without a definition. Hmm . . .

Cheers

Erik Scott de Bie

'Tis easier to destroy than to create.

Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars"
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