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Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
4463 Posts

Posted - 16 Aug 2016 : 07:35:41

Morning Brix,

Glad you found something you like. The Bloodstone Lands work was a very early attempt at world building and i like to think i have refined my craft since then.

So in short yes i will be continuing it but not in the fan mag (which unfortunately died because i couldnt get anyone else interested and because i changed jobs and couldnt work on it 8 hours a day. Thabkfully the dms guild succeeded where i could not and got everyone interested in creating their own stuff.

My plan is to do a sourcebook on the bloodstone lands and do a complete rewrite of the region (but still make it fit into existing history). It will have a complete history, lots of intrigue and murder and shifting alliances etc. Then i plonk the witchking on it and seemingly wipe that all away but instead ot just makes the political situation worse.

Of course this is just a plan. Its not even in rough draft (although i have some geography and history done). And when finished it will go up on the dms guild. First of all however i need to finish Netheril: The Nether Age, start Netheril: the Mythallar Age and Netheril: The Silver Age. Then i might consider doing the Bloodstone Lands.

Lots of plans but i will get there (assuming i dont meet with an untimely demise first).

Oh and check out Netheril the First Age on the dms guild (shameless plug i know). Its what the mag has evolved into and the unofficial 10th issue, and its free.

And finally, cheers George. I dont normally read the novels but i suspect i may have to read the few there are about netheril, such as this and the one about negarath. If anyone has names for any novel touching on netheril then id really appreciate it.

George Krashos
Master of Realmslore

Australia
5477 Posts

Posted - 16 Aug 2016 : 08:43:53

You should read a few of the short stories in "Realms of the Arcane".

-- George Krashos

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

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
4463 Posts

Posted - 16 Aug 2016 : 09:40:28

Will do, hopefully i will pick up a few more netherese words to add a bit of depth.

Thanks again George.

Brix
Learned Scribe

142 Posts

Posted - 17 Aug 2016 : 21:34:44

With regards to your AP I had a similar idea:
Start with level 1 PCs and go all the way up to H1, H2, H3, H4.
Of course the pre-H campaign should be Orcus/Zhengy/Red Wizards/Bloodstone/Damara/Vaasa - themed.
But level 1 to H1 is a long way.
So I used a couple of Necromancer Games modules, and everything I could find in Dungeons/Dragons magazines.
But your AP is even better to set the stage for the H-events.

Anyone share your ideas for a pre-H campaign in the spirit of dazzlerdal's AP and earn a bunch of karma points :)

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
4463 Posts

Posted - 08 Dec 2016 : 08:48:42

My brief foray into the dms guild is over so i will resurrect my alternate dimensions project.

Im working on a campaign guide to playing in the alternate realms and then regional books probably starting with Damara and Vaada. Might be a good few months before either is finished.

Oh and they come with their own rules system (d20 based) because i really dont like 5e.

Wrigley
Senior Scribe

Czech Republic
460 Posts

Posted - 11 Dec 2016 : 14:12:28

what changed your mind if I may ask?

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
4463 Posts

Posted - 11 Dec 2016 : 17:40:11

Well the short answer is that it did not help me achieve my goals.

I wanted to make something that could be read by and be useful to as many people as possiblr and hopefully draw them into loving the richness and detail of FR.

The DMs Guild only got me a few hundred downloads and judging by the complete lack of feedback i doubt any of them read or used it. By putting the work on the DMs Guild i lost control of that work. I cant put it anywhere else or detail it with anything other than 5e rules.

I dont like 5e rules (they are artificially constrained which was my big beef with 2e) and it is apparent to me that the DMs Guild is primarily for those interested in 5e rules and era.

I can achieve everything i want with googledrive, hosting it here at the keep amd enworld. I get to keep control of it. I dont have to use horrible 5e. And i get more feedback from you lovely folks.

So ill stick to doing it my way. The guild is a nice idea, but its not for me.

Wrigley
Senior Scribe

Czech Republic
460 Posts

Posted - 11 Dec 2016 : 20:01:26

So Damara and Vaasa it is then. That is still in my area of interest so keep going :-)
I would like to ask you to give some more flavour to Damara in your take. For me it is now only a goody good country with more wild than Implitur. Baronies squabbles have been played too many times and father of assasins is dead... Not much left but I think that it might be nice to rise up some legacies of old Narfell.

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
4463 Posts

Posted - 11 Dec 2016 : 21:10:59

Im intending to give Damara a total reinvention.

Im going to detail the major settlements, detail the noble houses, put in ruins, stick in monsters (its a frontier nation after all). Add a ton of history and NPCs.

Hopefully it will be a place people want to adventure rather than just oass through.

A lot of it is going to be political squabbles though. You have the native Damarans in the south, the Sembian Damaran mix in the centre, the Suren Nar in the north, and the ancient Nar in the far west. These people dont always get on and have some deep rooted feuds.

As for ruins i figure there are dwarven ones in the west along the Galenas, the ancient Nar are in the south and are probably noe beneath a settlement or two, the Suren Nar have their burial chambers beneath Heliogabalus, the giants probably have a few mountain ruins as well. Most of the ruins will be more recent though but no less dangerous (Damara wasnt formed all in one go after all). Plus there are all the demons hiding there from Impiltur.

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
4463 Posts

Posted - 11 Dec 2016 : 21:22:02

Oh and im doing Damara before the WitchKing kills the King and before he is killed.

The way i see it there is little point in having a story if you dont get to play through it (yes it has already been done but im not that fond of the adventures that exist for it).

Then i can do a separate adventure that details the witchkings destruction and Damaras destruction. And this adventure can detail the new Damara as well with all the changes brought about by the adventure.

Thats how i want to proceed with it anyway. Sourcebooks that detail a region in 1356 dr. Then event/adventure books that change the region and detail the new updated region.

Wrigley
Senior Scribe

Czech Republic
460 Posts

Posted - 12 Dec 2016 : 18:17:57

Total reinvention...seems almost like a 5e 14th century :-D

Your mix of cultures sounds nice, I am looking forward to reading it.

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
4463 Posts

Posted - 12 Dec 2016 : 18:43:19

Definitely not 5e 14th century. Just d20 and 1356 but without thunkers and thunker of thunkers or non realms names and concepts.

Wrigley
Senior Scribe

Czech Republic
460 Posts

Posted - 12 Dec 2016 : 22:40:10

BTW just the idea I have been playing in my mind about Great Glacier - it has moved several times through ages in cycles (hint, hint) so there is great opportunity that there will be previously unaccesible ruins from different era.

(I was just kidding with 5e likeness)

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
4463 Posts

Posted - 13 Dec 2016 : 06:43:02

Im also thinking something similar.

The great glacier began in -25500 and covered the heart of ostoria.

Then it receded at some point in history after the giants went on a quest to recover the amulet of ulutiu.

Then it was replaced around -2550 and the glacier began to grow again but slowly because netherese mythallars were impeding its growth on the western side.

It expanded much more in ther first few centuries after the raising of the standing stone. Im wondering if this was not down to the arrival of something new.

The elves of riildath worked great magic presumably to neutralise whatever caused the sudden growth. It has now shrunk back to its amulet induced size.

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
4463 Posts

Posted - 13 Dec 2016 : 07:17:19

Oh and please drop any ideas you have in this scroll or the Damara, Vaasa, and Narfell scroll in the Running the Realms.

If it fits ill work it in somehow.

VikingLegion
Senior Scribe

USA
408 Posts

Posted - 15 Dec 2016 : 06:53:04

Interesting thread. It's fun to see alternate takes on lands and histories, so here's a truly off-the-wall one I came up with:

[Disclaimer: My FR knowledge ends somewhere around the year 2000, so I know nothing of 4th/5th edition, the Sundering, or the Spellplague other than in the vaguest of concepts. So I apologize if anything I mention here has already come to pass]

I envision a Realms where the elven decline continues to such a drastic degree they are forced completely off the mainland. Furthermore, they are so weakened as a people they can no longer maintain the island defenses that keep Evermeet inviolate. To alleviate their crippling poverty, the Council has opened up Evermeet to outsiders as some kind of "Paradise on Toril" resort island (blasphemy!!!) Curious humans from Waterdeep, bored nobles from Sembia, even jaded officials from far off Kara-Tur have purchased seasonal vacation homes on the island, enjoying elverquisst toasts while receiving deep tissue massages from the oh-so dexterous hands of elven servants.

These often boorish human "guests" think nothing of throwing wild parties, trashing the resorts, overhunting the forest glens, and generally making a mess of everything. But their gold is good, so while the locals may seethe inwardly at the invasion of their once sacred isle, they are forced to put on smiles of obsequiousness as they wait hand and foot on their only viable means of income.

A younger generation of hotheads tries to re-establish elven pride and form small terrorist cells that ambush the resort towns and injure/kill the humans to discourage their visitation. Some of these elves are true adherents of the old ways and seek to return to past glory, but many are simply hooligans who join gangs for no other reason than to give vent to their pent-up rage, doing damage to their own peoples just as often as to the outsiders. Regardless of cell type or motivation, all of them are hunted ruthlessly by the Council, who realize the human tourists, distasteful as it may seem, represent the last gasp chance to revitalize a dying people.

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
4463 Posts

Posted - 28 Dec 2016 : 11:02:09

Its an intriguing idea. I personally make my speciality in the grey areas between realmslore and taking the words of realmslore and twisting them into different interpretations (a quote out of context can have many interpretations).

The next and hardest part is taking an idea and detailing it into something concrete. Its also the most rewarding part but many people give up due to the sheer amount of time it takes.

If you want to go forward i can only impart what has helped me. Which is to immerse yourself into the region or era or character. Collect everything you can find about it and then read it with extreme scrutiny. And finally write every idea down. Some may be useless but others can become gems with a bit of tweaking. Its horrible trying to remember an idea you have forgotten and didnt write down.

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
4463 Posts

Posted - 14 Aug 2017 : 18:31:13

Well my new site is up and running. A bit low on detail at the moment but i have a page Divinity and a page on Dalath with growing detail (needed to detail how the gods work before working on Unther it is a special case when it comes to godhood).

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
4463 Posts

Posted - 10 Sep 2017 : 21:01:00

Just in case anyone is interested.

I now have details on the Old Empires taking shape (specifically Unther, TiaMa'at, Dalath at the moment) as well as a rule system (ARRGS) to accompany the alternate version of the Realms.

I'm not sure which of the links work below (so please let me know which is more useful for accessing it). It may also require a wordpress login to access (but I'm not 100% certain if that is correct).

https://alternaterealmsblog.wordpress.com/

https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/125303490/posts/2

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
4463 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2017 : 21:19:03

Went on a bit of a rules drive today. I finished Classes today

Only 3 classes available that cover the range of roles for players; experts, magic users, and warriors.

Each class has a variety of options that can be chosen at each level and should allow a player to mould his character into whatever he wants.

Experts cover those characters that focus on skills.
Warriors are obvious.
Magic Users cover anyone that wishes to cast spells. The only distinction between the traditional cleric and wizard is the spell list they have available.

I'll be adding Themes in another section that add make much more specialised options available and basically allow a character to choose a kit or a prestige class (by being able to select these weird options if they want).

The idea is that every character will be unique if the player wants it to be. No more pigeonholing players into a particular role, you can take what you want and mix it up how you wish to make whatever character you like.

For my version of the Realms, less classes makes it easier to detail (I don't have to spend hours thinking about what classes a character has, only the role he fulfils). I also won't be making every priest a spellcaster (they don't even need the Magic User class - just have knowledge about Religion). Likewise not every Sage will be a Magic User, they are just knowledgable individuals. Finally not every fighter will be a Warrior, an Expert makes a fairly good Warrior, and most NPCs will actually just be a 1st Level human and possess no class beyond their Race (you can advance your Race as a class).

This page is under the ARRGS Rules section. Races next.

Any comments or feedback on how easy it is to read and understand would be great

Edit: Also added some races. Back to Old Empires tonight I think.

Edited by - Gary Dallison on 13 Sep 2017 12:53:36

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
4463 Posts

Posted - 14 Sep 2017 : 14:34:20

Working on the Cult of the Queen of Chaos, a cult that serves TiaMa'at and is the third incarnation of cults that have served her over the millennia (the earlier being the Cult of the Dark Lady and the Cult of the Nemesis).

Here's a link if anyone fancies a gander. I will be updating it more.

https://wordpress.com/page/alternaterealmsblog.wordpress.com/368

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
4463 Posts

Posted - 21 Sep 2017 : 08:26:52

Anyone have any skills with wordpress i can borrow. Im trying to use a link to an anchor on another page. I can do it in html easy but it doesnt work on wordpress.

Zeromaru X
Master of Realmslore

Colombia
1312 Posts

Posted - 10 Jan 2018 : 23:33:57

Dazzler, I'm wondering if you don't mind if I use your Laerakond stuff from the older Alternate Dimensions Issues. I'm planning to tweak some stuff, as I like Laerakond being in Abeir before the Spellplague, but most of it is really useful for an idea I have.

Long ago, in the distant past, they fell into decay. The philosopher�s path... The river of glory... Even the saints resting in the darkness rise up without response and block the way...

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
4463 Posts

Posted - 23 Jan 2018 : 05:47:37

Hi Zeromanux, i somehow seem to have become unsubscribed from my own topic without noticing.

By all means use anything you like in any way you like.

Usually i have other ideas stashed away for future unfinished issues but unfortunately thats not true with laerakond.

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
4463 Posts

Posted - 22 Mar 2018 : 14:21:23

So what should go into race/subrace article.

I looked over Races of Faerun but there is a lot in there that is more specific to nations than a subrace of people.

For example a list of gods for a subrace does not seem appropriate because gods are regional and a subrace can be split across multiple regions. Names do not seem appropriate either because that is again regional. Language is not appropriate because it can be regional (for instance Unther and Mulhorand are Mulan but have two different but related languages.

So I've got history, I've got the outlook (Mulan agree with slavery and following law and order). What else is there that needs including?

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