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Originally posted by Thauranil

The Death of Mask, as it was set during my favorite trilogy and was the most poignant event of all.

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Originally posted by Dennis

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Originally posted by Thauranil

The Death of Mask, as it was set during my favorite trilogy and was the most poignant event of all.

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I don't think of it as death. It's more like a necessary "reboot" for a future "upgrade."

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Originally posted by Chosen of Asmodeus

And while everyone has the right to their opinion, I think there's more than a little nostalgia coloring the ToT for it to be in the lead.

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Originally posted by Chosen of Asmodeus

And while everyone has the right to their opinion, I think there's more than a little nostalgia coloring the ToT for it to be in the lead.

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Originally posted by Aldrick

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Originally posted by Chosen of Asmodeus

And while everyone has the right to their opinion, I think there's more than a little nostalgia coloring the ToT for it to be in the lead.

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I was a bit shocked as well, and I'm going to chock it up to nostalgia. After you see something like the Spellplague and the time jump that accompanied it, it tends to make horrific events like the ToT more acceptable by comparison. In fact, I think the Spellplague and the time jump have impacted people to such a degree that it's redefined RSE - making some of the smaller RSE (by comparison) seem insignificant.

Just using the second most popular RSE on the list as an example, the Reclamation of Myth Drannor might seem like a small regional event. But that's only if you lack an understanding of how interconnected the Realms is and gloss over the short and long term implications. Just the simple act of it happening marks the end to an entire era for the Elves of Toril, which have been in retreat for centuries. It might even seem like a big deal, until you consider the geopolitical and economic impact it'll have on the entire region. Unfortunately, that seems to have been largely danced over.

I mean just try to envision how this would play out in the real world. Let's say that something magical suddenly happens. Over the course of a few months Great Britain and it's citizens are transported to a newly created magical area in the very heartland of the United States. There is no destruction or damage caused. The land simply parts out in the wilderness, roads are magically lengthened as necessary, and a large inner sea is created where Great Britain is now magically located.

Okay, we like the British. They are our allies - perhaps one of our closest allies. We have a very good relationship with them. Everyone even speaks the same language. Yet, I dare say if the British showed up in the middle of the United States, things would become rather interesting rather quickly, and not in a good way. Virtually immediately, disputes would break out. Who controls the air space? Is it against international law for the United States to fly spy drones over London?

Now, let's imagine that the United States couldn't simply curb stomp Great Britain militarily speaking. Let's assume that they were an equal if not greater military force. So, now you have an equal if not greater military force right there in the middle of the heartland. Oh, and by the way... there are some people in Great Britain who are having second thoughts about the Revolutionary War. After all, the United States once used to be their colony; just because it rebelled does that mean it's 'legally' independent, or does that just make everyone who doesn't submit to British rule traitors and therefore criminals?

I'm not saying that a war would break out. I'm just saying things would be.... problematic for everyone involved.

With the Elves of Myth Drannor, you have a powerful military force establishing itself as your next door neighbor. They're just showing up and claiming those lands. They believe those lands belong to them, despite having not controlled them for centuries. There really is no long standing prior relationship, no real shared culture, no reason to really trust one another. On top of it all, you've got groups on both sides who'd LOVE to see an all out war. On the Elven side you've got the Eldreth Veluuthra, and on the human side you've got the Sembian's who have a long standing dislike for Elves due to bad past relationships with the Myth Drannor of old.

So, you'd have the natural tensions that would arise - even if everyone was the greatest of friends - and you've got people who would exploit those tensions to the hilt. Now, I'm not saying there would be a war, but it would be... problematic for everyone involved.

What seems to have happened, of course, was that someone happened to look at the alignments. "Oh, well these Elves are mostly of good alignment, and everyone likes people of good alignment right? LOL! Of course they do! They'll be total BFF's! They'll establish trade, and all of their neighbors will welcome a military powerful group of good aligned elves with open arms! I mean, there might be some ugly evil aligned orcs in those woods or something, right? (You can tell they're evil because they're ugly, and not pretty like the Elves. Pretty people aren't evil, don't have self-interest, and would totally never stab you in the back... or the face. It's a known fact.)"



Okay, that was a bit off track. The good news, I guess, is that everyone who loved the ToT will hopefully love the Sundering since as far as I know they're billing it as ToT v2. I won't bother to list all the objectionable things that took place during the ToT that always seem to be widely criticized. I guess there are just more Cyric fans than I thought.

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Originally posted by sleyvas

Just a note, you're stating that the elves were gone from Myth Drannor for centuries. That may be true that they were gone from that particular section of the woods for that long (which noone was there pretty much that was sane because it was overrun with nasties). However, the elves left the forest in what 1357? They returned in 1374, clearing out a bunch of very bad neighbors in the process. So, not even a full human generation passed, and they had never fully left the forest (there were still elves who stayed behind). So, as I see it, the surrounding nations had never really made any real inroads into the area, and when the elves left the forest only got worse with dark elves, fey'ri, and others moving in..... so yeah, I can see them being kind of happy the elves returned and it not being a major issue. It'd be like your neighbors that you thought were odd but quiet moving away and renting out their house to a bunch of criminals, but then the original neighbors returning. Would there be bumps in the road? Sure. When aren't there bumps in the road?

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