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Therise
Master of Realmslore
1272 Posts |
 Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 00:11:42
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So... uhm. In the new 5ED&D (or D&DNext) Playtest packet that was released a few days ago, there are some interesting new things included as supplementary material for the upcoming "Murder in Baldur's Gate" adventure/supplement.
And I'm a little puzzled and gobsmacked.
Read no further if you don't want these spoilery tidbits to potentially spoil you. In fact, I'll put it all in spoiler tags. Reveal at your own risk, really.
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Abdel Adrian is in there as a lvl 2 (PC or NPC?). Shouldn't he be dead after the timejump, considering he chose mortality? Did the designers somehow forget that Abdel Adrian wasn't very well liked, and the Baldur's Gate novelization was considered pretty horrible?
Why level 2? Why include him at all, if it's post-1479? Where is his lover, Jaheira, if they're going to include him?
And there are other PCs or NPCs that can potentially become Chosen of Bhaal, the circumstances of which aren't described. Bhaalspawn will also apparently be wandering around, given a "Bhaalspawn Slayer" NPC at lvl 3.
I just don't know. I seriously hope that this is some kind of joke. On the other hand, if it's some kind of nostalgic "nod" to novels that were heavily panned, I really have to question what the designers are thinking.
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Female, 40-year DM of a homebrew-evolved 1E Realms, including a few added tidbits of 2E and 3E lore; played originally in AD&D, then in Rolemaster. Be a DM for your kids and grandkids, gaming is excellent for families! |
Edited by - Therise on 06 Aug 2013 00:16:04
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3802 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 00:22:13
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What I get from it is that there's a chance that Bhaal will be back.
I only hope that WotC won't let the result of players' campaigns single-handedly decide stuff as heavy as this, it wouldn't mash well with the concept of inclusiveness of the 5e FR. |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
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Therise
Master of Realmslore
1272 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 00:25:56
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quote:
Originally posted by Irennan
What I get from it is that there's a chance that Bhaal will be back.
I only hope that WotC won't let the result of players' campaigns single-handedly decide stuff as heavy as this, it wouldn't mash well with the concept of inclusiveness of the 5e FR.
I'm all for Bhaal returning, particularly if it puts Cyric out of a job. But to resurrect that particular novel character seems extremely odd to me, and not a very good decision. I just don't get it. Plus, at such a low level, this can't be the same person who, well... did stuff in the 2nd novelization.
I mean, hopefully it's just a joke of some kind.
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Female, 40-year DM of a homebrew-evolved 1E Realms, including a few added tidbits of 2E and 3E lore; played originally in AD&D, then in Rolemaster. Be a DM for your kids and grandkids, gaming is excellent for families! |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3802 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 00:36:28
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I don't know about that NPC, maybe they found some interesting way to involve him in this matter. After all, it's not that uncommon to bring back mortals through cheesy methods, like time stasis or ''god decided so'' and so on. I don't like this kind of approach at all, but it'd be worth, if the results were good.
I'll just wait and see, even tho I'm not really hyped about it. |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
Edited by - Irennan on 06 Aug 2013 00:37:21 |
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silverwolfer
Senior Scribe
789 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 00:46:56
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I would like to heavily remind folks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhaal is LE
Cyric is CE
Who is going to be the CE if cyric is gone, nothing really pops up in my mind for good old fashion slaughter for the fun of it, as far as a god goes. |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3802 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 00:54:29
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Why can't we have both? One for methodical assassination and the other for lulzy killing.
Also, we don't even know what they're going to do with the alignment system (and remember that it is only a -restrictive, IMO- game rule, not an actual setting element).
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Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
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Therise
Master of Realmslore
1272 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 00:55:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Irennan
I don't know about that NPC, maybe they found some interesting way to involve him in this matter. After all, it's not that uncommon to bring back mortals through cheesy methods, like time stasis or ''god decided so'' and so on. I don't like this kind of approach at all, but it'd be worth, if the results were good.
I guess, but he's level 2 in the Playtest supplement. They'd have to unwind quite a lot of his history, considering book two, or snatch him out of an earlier time.
quote:
Originally posted by silverwolfer
I would like to heavily remind folks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhaal is LE
Cyric is CE
Who is going to be the CE if cyric is gone, nothing really pops up in my mind for good old fashion slaughter for the fun of it, as far as a god goes.
Heavily remind? LOL. Yeah, I don't care two whits about that. The only alignment that matters for a deity of murder is Evil.
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Female, 40-year DM of a homebrew-evolved 1E Realms, including a few added tidbits of 2E and 3E lore; played originally in AD&D, then in Rolemaster. Be a DM for your kids and grandkids, gaming is excellent for families! |
Edited by - Therise on 06 Aug 2013 01:01:27 |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 01:32:58
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| Interesting, he lost five levels compared to his 2e stats than where he was 7th level. Huh. Still, after 100 years you'd think he would be dead or something, or they could have used someone else. |
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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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 03:48:04
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Interesting.
I've always found the Bhaalspawn to be curious little rules-artifacts, while at the same time, bringing into greater focus the entire concept of deity-based spawn in the Realms.
I'm keen to see where Wizards will go with this. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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sfdragon
Great Reader
2285 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 04:43:23
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| fascinating |
why is being a wizard like being a drow? both are likely to find a dagger in the back from a rival or one looking to further his own goals, fame and power
My FR fan fiction
Magister's GAmbit
http://steelfiredragon.deviantart.com/gallery/33539234 |
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Lilianviaten
Senior Scribe
489 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 04:52:48
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| Bhaal's been dead forever. I can't see the justification for bringing him back. He was never a great schemer, and didn't have any contingencies in place beyond the Bhaalspawn. I've never been much of a Cyric fan, but Cyric is a great Lord of Murder. They went into overkill giving him all those portfolios, but I think Murder and Lies suit him nicely. |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3802 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 10:16:02
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Again, why can't we have both? Some people enjoy Bhaal more than Cyric and it's not like having the former back would hurt the setting. It could also provide opportunities for stories.
About the ''not a schemer'', well:
1)Not every character has to be constantly scheming to get ''moar powah''. Bhaal is a deity of murder, I don't think he cares about the ''social hierarchy'' kind of thing.
2)The ToT storyline didn't exactly do a great job when adressing the IQ of many deities. |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
Edited by - Irennan on 06 Aug 2013 11:12:23 |
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Gyor
Master of Realmslore
1621 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 11:33:40
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| Bhaal can be the god of assassin guilds and Cyric murder of sorts. |
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Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 15:31:29
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I'm hoping that Elminster's Forgotten Realms is a bellwether in terms of which deities will and won't receive attention in 5E. To that end, Bhaal got a a little over a full column entry in EFR, whereas Cyric got barely more than a quarter of a column entry, and that entry ended with, "the church of Cyric is by no means a predictable or a consistent force for anything."
I know there are some Cyric fans out there, but for this run of the Realms I wouldn't mind seeing him taking a back seat to the likes of Bhaal, Myrkul and Bane.
I take it this adventure will help determine, canonically, Bhaal rising up? |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3802 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 16:02:50
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Yes, it looks like Bhaal is going to rise again.
I see that many people seem to think that Cyric is a bit over the top and that he should be toned down, but I'd be very annoyed if he was removed (not because I like the character -I don't, at all- but because that would mean that WotC didn't learn anything about destroying elements of the setting). |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
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Therise
Master of Realmslore
1272 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 17:14:17
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If they're smart, both Bhaal and Myrkul will rise again and take dominance. I strongly suspect that Cyric's time is done and that he will become something like a vestige power in 5E, but that they will keep space for him in the new Realms guide in case there are people who still want to use him as a deity instead of Bhaal.
Myrkul presents more difficulty, in that he would be replacing a much more popular Kelemvor. But Kelemvor is at a disadvantage because he's... well, fair and nice. Up to a point, anyway; after all, he kept the Wall of the Faithless, which is plainly Evil with a capital E. Although it's "nice" to have a god of the dead that isn't feared widely, Kelemvor is deadly dull when it comes to potential plot hooks. So I'd imagine that Kelemvor will also lose to Myrkul and become either a vestige or demi-power in the new era.
As far as WotC "learning something" in terms of destroying elements of the setting, the bigger issue I'd point out is that they cannot really move forward and re-gain lost customers if they don't ditch many/most of the things that were involved in 4E. If they keep everything, it's just going to be a weird mixture of elements that aren't all fully compatible with each other. And if that happens, I imagine they'll find that retaining lots of 4E elements will cost them pretty dearly.
And since they're retaining 4E as history instead of retconning the whole thing into oblivion, it may end up being unpalatable for prior 2E-3E customers even if they do remove a lot of the 4E elements. Think of it this way: if I didn't like 4E Realms, and 5E retains most everything from 4E, what is my motivation as a customer to buy 5E?
Speaking solely for myself, I never liked the Time of Troubles, and so I never incorporated it into my Realms. Throughout much of 2E and 3E, I lightly cherry-picked only the few new elements that I really liked for inclusion in my home game version of the Realms - and I took nothing from 4E at all. Since 5E is largely about re-visiting the Time of Troubles, enhancing AO's story and putting additional lore into events I disliked, then reviving Midnight-Mystra, and further developing the lore about Abeir isn't a "plus" for me at all.
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Female, 40-year DM of a homebrew-evolved 1E Realms, including a few added tidbits of 2E and 3E lore; played originally in AD&D, then in Rolemaster. Be a DM for your kids and grandkids, gaming is excellent for families! |
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Tarlyn
Learned Scribe
USA
315 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 17:22:32
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Troy Denning mentioned being a big Cyric fan. I doubt he plans on killing him off. I would be surpised if any deities are killed off during the sundering. Status changes maybe, but I think that the current team learned from the mistakes of the past.
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Tarlyn Embersun |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3802 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 17:27:41
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@Therise
Only completely incompatible elements force a choice, and -IMO- that's not the case for Myrkul/Kelemvor and Bhaal/Cyric.
For example, they could do something like making Myrkul the god of death, decay and so on and Kelemvor the deity of the dead. Something similar could be done for Bhaal/Cyric, by giving Bhaal influence over methodical assassination and assassins and making Cyric the god of murder and bloodshed for it's onw sake, the ''watch the world burn'' kind of character.
If I could think of a solution to this, I'm sure that a team of designers could do it far better than me. |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
Edited by - Irennan on 06 Aug 2013 17:28:05 |
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Bakra
Senior Scribe
628 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 18:53:33
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Interesting, he lost five levels compared to his 2e stats than where he was 7th level. Huh. Still, after 100 years you'd think he would be dead or something, or they could have used someone else.
Ahh, time to do some speculation that would make a priestess of Leira proud.
First speculation: It isn’t him. (Imposter?! Shapeshifter??!! Or direct blood descendent?!!!)
Second speculation: It is him. True he decided not to become a god but he still does have the blood of a god running through his veins. This gave him the gift of an unnatural long life.
Third speculation: He chose not to become a god but Bhaal still Chose him.
Fourth speculation: Spellplague…a give everyone a minute to chuckle….seriously, Blue Fire swept through him and triggered something in his blood.
As for the level reduction, it could perhaps be a simple typo missed by the proof reader. The same way the proofer missed ‘Shadowdale’ being spelled as ‘Shadowdell’
Or maybe it isn’t a typo at all. A lot can happen to a being within a hundred year time span.
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I hope Candlekeep continues to be the friendly forum of fellow Realms-lovers that it has always been, as we all go through this together. If you don’t want to move to the “new” Realms, that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with either you or the “old” Realms. Goodness knows Candlekeep, and the hearts of its scribes, are both big enough to accommodate both. If we want them to be.
(Strikes dramatic pose, raises sword to gleam in the sunset, and hopes breeches won’t fall down.)
Enough for now. The Realms lives! I have spoken! Ale and light wines half price, served by a smiling Storm Silverhand fetchingly clad in thigh-high boots and naught else! Ahem . .
So saith Ed. <snip>
love to all,
THO
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Therise
Master of Realmslore
1272 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 19:20:30
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quote:
Originally posted by Irennan
@Therise
Only completely incompatible elements force a choice, and -IMO- that's not the case for Myrkul/Kelemvor and Bhaal/Cyric.
For example, they could do something like making Myrkul the god of death, decay and so on and Kelemvor the deity of the dead. Something similar could be done for Bhaal/Cyric, by giving Bhaal influence over methodical assassination and assassins and making Cyric the god of murder and bloodshed for it's onw sake, the ''watch the world burn'' kind of character.
If I could think of a solution to this, I'm sure that a team of designers could do it far better than me.
Hrrrm... maybe. I could, for instance, see Kelemvor reduced to a lesser or demi-power in service to Myrkul. Similar, perhaps to how Jergal served Myrkul before. "God of the Dead" is really just a single portfolio that would be hard to split IMO, and decay/rot is another god's portfolio entirely. "God of Death" is the technical name for the Lord of Murder's portfolio, which Bhaal and Cyric would have to fight over, really.
So with Kelemvor, I -could- see him in service to the God of the Dead, but he's so passive and unexciting that I wouldn't make him equal to Myrkul in any way. Servant, sure. Perhaps a new portfolio of "peaceful passing" into the afterlife or something.
Cyric, I honestly see as being completely incompatible with the return of the Three. Lord Bane is tyranny and strife, Myrkul is the scary God of the Dead, and Bhaal is the touch of death itself. All that Cyric would have left, I think, would be Illusion and Lies. And if the goddess Leira returns (hopefully!) and claims those, then Cyric has absolutely nothing left.
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Female, 40-year DM of a homebrew-evolved 1E Realms, including a few added tidbits of 2E and 3E lore; played originally in AD&D, then in Rolemaster. Be a DM for your kids and grandkids, gaming is excellent for families! |
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Mournblade
Master of Realmslore
USA
1287 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 19:30:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Jeremy Grenemyer
I'm hoping that Elminster's Forgotten Realms is a bellwether in terms of which deities will and won't receive attention in 5E. To that end, Bhaal got a a little over a full column entry in EFR, whereas Cyric got barely more than a quarter of a column entry, and that entry ended with, "the church of Cyric is by no means a predictable or a consistent force for anything."
I know there are some Cyric fans out there, but for this run of the Realms I wouldn't mind seeing him taking a back seat to the likes of Bhaal, Myrkul and Bane.
I take it this adventure will help determine, canonically, Bhaal rising up?
All good points, but I think with Troy Denning in the sundering mix, we are going to be seeing alot of Cyric. Not that I particularly like Cyric. I only like him for the trouble he caused.
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A wizard is Never late Frodo Baggins. Nor is he Early. A wizard arrives precisely when he means to... |
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Mournblade
Master of Realmslore
USA
1287 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 19:32:37
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quote:
Originally posted by Therise
quote:
Originally posted by Irennan
@Therise
Only completely incompatible elements force a choice, and -IMO- that's not the case for Myrkul/Kelemvor and Bhaal/Cyric.
For example, they could do something like making Myrkul the god of death, decay and so on and Kelemvor the deity of the dead. Something similar could be done for Bhaal/Cyric, by giving Bhaal influence over methodical assassination and assassins and making Cyric the god of murder and bloodshed for it's onw sake, the ''watch the world burn'' kind of character.
If I could think of a solution to this, I'm sure that a team of designers could do it far better than me.
Hrrrm... maybe. I could, for instance, see Kelemvor reduced to a lesser or demi-power in service to Myrkul. Similar, perhaps to how Jergal served Myrkul before. "God of the Dead" is really just a single portfolio that would be hard to split IMO, and decay/rot is another god's portfolio entirely. "God of Death" is the technical name for the Lord of Murder's portfolio, which Bhaal and Cyric would have to fight over, really.
So with Kelemvor, I -could- see him in service to the God of the Dead, but he's so passive and unexciting that I wouldn't make him equal to Myrkul in any way. Servant, sure. Perhaps a new portfolio of "peaceful passing" into the afterlife or something.
Cyric, I honestly see as being completely incompatible with the return of the Three. Lord Bane is tyranny and strife, Myrkul is the scary God of the Dead, and Bhaal is the touch of death itself. All that Cyric would have left, I think, would be Illusion and Lies. And if the goddess Leira returns (hopefully!) and claims those, then Cyric has absolutely nothing left.
the only exciting thing I think there is about Kelemvor is the Gothic Paladins he spawned. I have had quite a few Kelemvor Paladins in my campaign. 3 total at different times. He seems to be a popular choice. |
A wizard is Never late Frodo Baggins. Nor is he Early. A wizard arrives precisely when he means to... |
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore
1842 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 20:22:41
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I'm not fond of Kel as the god of the dead...I would have preferred Myrkul either stayed in power or returned not long after the ToT (which, for the most part, I didn't care for either). I'm also not a fan of Cyric. BUT...coming back and ousting Kel/Cyr in favor of Myrkul/Bhall/Lleira so long after their deaths will most likely be just as bad as the original debacle IMO. I just don't know how good of an explanation can be made for such a(nother) radical change. Frankly, I AM TIRED of the focus on deities and the constant changing of the pantheon.
If the new direction of the FR is inclusiveness, so that players and DMs have choices for their individual campaigns, then GREAT. I'm cool with it. But how do you bring the dead gods back for the canon setting without mucking it all up (again). The only sensible thing to do, IMO, is to bring back those that died as MINOR deities (at least at first). They've been "dead" for too long to automatically regain their power (or even gain it quickly, for that matter). So my opinion is this...
Kel (boring as he is) remains as the God/Judge of the Dead and retains most of his power (as a greater or intermediate deity).
Myrkul returns as the God of Decay and Dusk (part of his original portfolio) and MAYBE, to some degree, death in the form of those 'taken before their time' (as in accidental, died of natural causes but at a younger than normal age, etc). At most he would be a lesser deity.
Bhaal returns as the Patron God of Assassins. Death by contract is his forte. He is a minor god.
Cyric's portfolio is formalized as Mischief and Chaos (i.e. The Joker from the last Batman series). As mentioned above he is the 'let the world burn' type of guy. He becomes the leader of 'Doomsday' cults across Faerun (something that I see as a justified concept given ALL THE HORRIBLE THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED SINCE THE ToT). Since he has always been fairly powerful, and I see radically changing this as a bad thing, let him remain as an Intermediate deity.
Leira returns (somehow? maybe she was never really dead) as the Goddess of Illusion and Lies (but see below for the lie portfolio). She is a minor deity.
I never really cared for Leira as the goddess of lies. Even though it fits with the illusion portfolio it doesn't necessarily have to mesh with her. I prefer Mask somehow gain lies as part of his intrigue portfolio. But that's just me.
Bottom line...I don't want another MAJOR shake up (muck up) of the game or the setting. Honestly, the changes wrought by 4e to the Realms made me run my own homebrew far differently than the canon setting. And I'm not sure even 5e done well will bring me back to it. |
I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one. |
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Therise
Master of Realmslore
1272 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 20:46:25
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Okay... just found this, which explains a question I had in my OP.
Spoilerized below, original here: http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Sundering.aspx#dnd/sundering/main/3
Launch Event Weekend: Murder in Baldur’s Gate
August 17-18, 2013
One Shall Die. Duke Adrian Abdel is a living legend in the city of Baldur’s Gate, and much of the city has gathered to celebrate him and his accomplishments. On this day of festivities, though, the duke’s past will finally catch up with him—with dire consequences. Murder has returned to Baldur's Gate, and brave heroes are the city’s only hope to stop the violence. This adventure is designed to kick off the 2013 August – November season of the D&D Encounters official play program.
So, uhm. Yeah. Kinda derpy.
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Female, 40-year DM of a homebrew-evolved 1E Realms, including a few added tidbits of 2E and 3E lore; played originally in AD&D, then in Rolemaster. Be a DM for your kids and grandkids, gaming is excellent for families! |
Edited by - Therise on 06 Aug 2013 21:08:31 |
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Mirtek
Senior Scribe
595 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 21:26:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Therise
If they're smart, both Bhaal and Myrkul will rise again and take dominance. I strongly suspect that Cyric's time is done and that he will become something like a vestige power in 5E,
Not as long as our man Denning is writing one of the Sundering novels.
quote:
Originally posted by Therise
Lord Bane is tyranny and strife,
Only if AO literally stuffs strife down Bane's throat, otherwise Bane is certainly never going to touch strife again with a 1,000 feet pole. He just has his church together, the last thing he needs is to have to allow another schism due to having to represent strife |
Edited by - Mirtek on 06 Aug 2013 21:29:50 |
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Lord Bane
Senior Scribe
Germany
479 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 21:43:22
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Hm, let me have a hand at it and "explain" it in my version of things:
For the long life and lvl 2 - He got old, with age your abilities suffer. Seeing the troubles befalling Baldurs Gate he decided to turn to potions to extend his life so he may still aid with his knowledge.
As for the deities and possible solutions - Bhaal returns and regains his sphere of murder. Leira could return and gain back Lies and Illusions. Cyric loses in power and i would have to agree with Arcanamach, he gets turned into a deity of "endtimes" with Strife and sponsoring cults and now clashing with any followers of Tharidzun who may lurk in the realms (though i´d love to see him disappear, sadly not likely to happen). Myrkul may return and taking the place as god of undeath and decay, restored in power he raises Velsharoon from death and makes him his tool, if the Laughing Lich is smart he pledges loyalty to Myrkul and becomes his Chosen. Jergal shiftes to govern the Faithless along his other duties and Kelemvor sticks with the dead and dying.
People are free to disagree or nitpick  |
The driving force in the multiverse is evil, for it forces good to act. |
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Therise
Master of Realmslore
1272 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 23:17:16
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quote:
Originally posted by Lord Bane
For the long life and lvl 2 - He got old, with age your abilities suffer. Seeing the troubles befalling Baldurs Gate he decided to turn to potions to extend his life so he may still aid with his knowledge.
This seems reasonable, though potions probably aren't necessary in his case. If I remember correctly, he had an "always on" super-fast regeneration effect similar to Wolverine of the X-men or a D&D Troll.
So that's fine, really. Makes a certain kind of sense. Constant regeneration could easily explain the extended life span.
My primary concern really is about the decision to feature him. He just wasn't well-liked as a character, and the novel series was heavily panned. I'm just not sure it was a good decision. *shrug*
quote:
Originally posted by Mirtek
Not as long as our man Denning is writing one of the Sundering novels.
An entire novel focusing on Cyric and/or his Chosen agent is also a rather poor decision, I think. Too many people dislike Cyric as a concept and character. Of course, if they get Denning to write the story of Cyric's complete fall and loss of godhood, that would be appropriate in my book. I really don't want to see Cyric take on any new role, similar to Tharizdun or as a Loki-like deity that wants to destroy all the gods. I just want him gone, totally out of the picture.
Personally, I would've had Rich Baker contracted to do one of the novels, or Elaine Cunningham.
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Female, 40-year DM of a homebrew-evolved 1E Realms, including a few added tidbits of 2E and 3E lore; played originally in AD&D, then in Rolemaster. Be a DM for your kids and grandkids, gaming is excellent for families! |
Edited by - Therise on 06 Aug 2013 23:31:16 |
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silverwolfer
Senior Scribe
789 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2013 : 23:37:12
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| I think Elaine washed her hands clean of forgotten realms . |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3802 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2013 : 01:15:57
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quote:
Originally posted by Therise
Hrrrm... maybe. I could, for instance, see Kelemvor reduced to a lesser or demi-power in service to Myrkul. Similar, perhaps to how Jergal served Myrkul before. "God of the Dead" is really just a single portfolio that would be hard to split IMO, and decay/rot is another god's portfolio entirely. "God of Death" is the technical name for the Lord of Murder's portfolio, which Bhaal and Cyric would have to fight over, really.
So with Kelemvor, I -could- see him in service to the God of the Dead, but he's so passive and unexciting that I wouldn't make him equal to Myrkul in any way. Servant, sure. Perhaps a new portfolio of "peaceful passing" into the afterlife or something.
Cyric, I honestly see as being completely incompatible with the return of the Three. Lord Bane is tyranny and strife, Myrkul is the scary God of the Dead, and Bhaal is the touch of death itself. All that Cyric would have left, I think, would be Illusion and Lies. And if the goddess Leira returns (hopefully!) and claims those, then Cyric has absolutely nothing left.
Murder is just a cause of death and smaller in scope, so I wouldn't say they are the same portfolio. I still don't see why something akin to what I suggested would be so unlikely
Myrkul could take over death itself, while Kelemvor could be something like the ones who watches over the souls of the dead (it's not like his presence hurts the setting). Bhaal and Cyric could represent two different aspects of the ''touch of death'': one methodical, the other insane, a la ''let the world burn''.
Oh, and I'd be pleased to see Leira return with her two portfolios, they don't seem to fit Cyric that well anyway -IMO-.
I get that this could be a lacking explanation, but a designer could surely pull off better lore for why potentially rival deities manage to coexist than I did in a couple minutes.
@Archanamach
About mucking things up: well, the Sundering is basically Ao writing stuff on the tablets of Fate to fix problems and resurrect gods, so yeah... it's going to dramatically shake the situation. I think that the interesting/popular deities who were removed do need to be brought back, however I'd prefer specific lore written for it, rather than simply having Ao snap its fingers. |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
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Dark Wizard
Senior Scribe
USA
830 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2013 : 03:17:28
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| I saw the BG supplemental materials were listed as having monster stats for 3.5E, 4E, and Next. That's WotC putting their money where their mouth was about supporting more editions. |
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Possible spoilers for "Murder in Baldur's Gate"?
