Candlekeep Forum
Candlekeep Forum
Home | Profile | Register | Active Topics | Active Polls | Members | Private Messages | Search | FAQ
Username:
Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

 All Forums
 Forgotten Realms Journals
 General Forgotten Realms Chat
 What needs to happen to make you happy with 5e FR?
 New Topic  New Poll New Poll
 Reply to Topic
 Printer Friendly
Previous Page
Author Previous Topic Topic Next Topic
Page: of 4

Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader

USA
2717 Posts

Posted - 26 Jul 2014 :  03:14:01  Show Profile Send Jeremy Grenemyer a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Eltheron

Dude, you specifically singled out my post in your reply on (24 Jul 2014 : 23:56:06) and told me that my opinions were wrong. Not that you disagreed with them, but that they were flat out wrong.
For most people, what I did is called “replying to a post.”

This will be my last reply to you, because I’m pretty sure that you’re convinced I am out to get you.

I’m not going to waste my time arguing with your imagination.

Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver).

Edited by - Jeremy Grenemyer on 26 Jul 2014 04:56:58
Go to Top of Page

Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36779 Posts

Posted - 26 Jul 2014 :  04:51:37  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Enough, please.

Candlekeep Forums Moderator

Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com
-- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct

I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!
Go to Top of Page

Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36779 Posts

Posted - 26 Jul 2014 :  05:01:18  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr

quote:
Originally posted by Eltheron

I see a lot of people paying lip service to this idea of "keep everything" inclusiveness. But then half a breath later, they'll say, "even though I really don't like ___ personally."

When the "keep everything" 5e Realms come out, will you actually buy it if it contains a large number of things you "don't really like personally"? IMO it's better to be completely honest with WotC and tell them what will prevent you from buying their products.


I think I am a total oddball. There is really very little I dislike about the Realms. Call me an eternal optimist or whatever, but my ONLY complaint has been when stuff got taken out. Nothing added has bothered me to the point of "dislike." If the theme of 5e is really about inclusiveness, I will be throwing my money at every product that comes my way. I can't wait for the "big three" (PHB, DMG, MM).

I guess the time jump is my one real dislike because by its nature, it wiped out so many of my favorite characters. Ones I got invested in somehow, be it in novel or campaign.



I'm also a bit of an oddball... Because out of all the things I disliked about the 4E Realms, the timejump was the thing that bothered me the least. I've read other settings and such that had timejumps, so skipping a few generations isn't an automatic black mark, for me. What bugs me the most when a timejump occurs is when plotlines are left unresolved, or in the case of the FedCom Civil War, abruptly brought to a very sudden close because someone at the top decided it was more important to get to the new stuff NOW, rather than properly handle existing plots.

As long as the core of what drew me to the setting still remains, I can deal with it with the calendar skips a whole bunch of pages.

And as I said before in this thread, that's what I want and hope for most with the 5E Realms: I want the same feeling when I read the 5E stuff that I felt when I read the 1E/2E stuff. Some of that remained in the 3E era, but 2E was where it was strongest, for me.

Candlekeep Forums Moderator

Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com
-- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct

I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!
Go to Top of Page

KnightErrantJR
Great Reader

USA
5402 Posts

Posted - 26 Jul 2014 :  05:35:55  Show Profile  Visit KnightErrantJR's Homepage Send KnightErrantJR a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr

quote:
Originally posted by Eltheron

I see a lot of people paying lip service to this idea of "keep everything" inclusiveness. But then half a breath later, they'll say, "even though I really don't like ___ personally."

When the "keep everything" 5e Realms come out, will you actually buy it if it contains a large number of things you "don't really like personally"? IMO it's better to be completely honest with WotC and tell them what will prevent you from buying their products.


I think I am a total oddball. There is really very little I dislike about the Realms. Call me an eternal optimist or whatever, but my ONLY complaint has been when stuff got taken out. Nothing added has bothered me to the point of "dislike." If the theme of 5e is really about inclusiveness, I will be throwing my money at every product that comes my way. I can't wait for the "big three" (PHB, DMG, MM).

I guess the time jump is my one real dislike because by its nature, it wiped out so many of my favorite characters. Ones I got invested in somehow, be it in novel or campaign.



I'm also a bit of an oddball... Because out of all the things I disliked about the 4E Realms, the timejump was the thing that bothered me the least. I've read other settings and such that had timejumps, so skipping a few generations isn't an automatic black mark, for me. What bugs me the most when a timejump occurs is when plotlines are left unresolved, or in the case of the FedCom Civil War, abruptly brought to a very sudden close because someone at the top decided it was more important to get to the new stuff NOW, rather than properly handle existing plots.

As long as the core of what drew me to the setting still remains, I can deal with it with the calendar skips a whole bunch of pages.

And as I said before in this thread, that's what I want and hope for most with the 5E Realms: I want the same feeling when I read the 5E stuff that I felt when I read the 1E/2E stuff. Some of that remained in the 3E era, but 2E was where it was strongest, for me.




One of my favorite elements of the Expanded Universe in Star Wars was the Legacy Era Dark Horse Comics, because of the time jump, which still managed to pull in a lot of elements from previous eras and make the whole thing feel a lot like Star Wars, but Star Wars with a fresh cast and setting.
Go to Top of Page

sfdragon
Great Reader

2285 Posts

Posted - 26 Jul 2014 :  06:56:22  Show Profile Send sfdragon a Private Message  Reply with Quote
like him or not, they are not likely to get rid of him as he sells.


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
Go to Top of Page

Sylrae
Learned Scribe

Canada
313 Posts

Posted - 26 Jul 2014 :  08:50:39  Show Profile Send Sylrae a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hmm.

I want to see rules-light campaign supplements, sortof like the 3e FRCS, but maybe more akin to the 2e FR Books. I'm not yet sold on 5e, but they could secure FR Purchases from me even if I hate 5e if they do it right.

Campaign Setting:
As for Priorities, though: Bring back the gods, races, regions and factions of the 3e era, and bring back Khelben Blackstaff in Waterdeep. I want Evermeet Back. I would love to have a rebuilt Myth Drannor. Give me a rebuilt elven empire in Cormanthor, even if it's not built on the ruins of Cormanthor the city. I want all of the subraces mentioned/supported even if they don't all have unique statblocks. I'm fine with moon/sun elves having the same stats but being different culturally and visually, for instance, but I dont want the fluff to treat them as the same. And un-merge the monsters you merged in 4e. for god's sake, Eladrin are outsiders, not fey, not an elven subrace. Undo the weird arbitrary race changes, I'm never going to be okay with them. Then, actually publish all of the actual D&D/Forgotten Realms monsters that I never got in 4e, like Dragon-kin.

I also have a strong dislike for the 4e cosmology. Give me something reminiscent of 2e, or the planescape cosmology, or the 3e realms pools thing. Those are all interchangeable enough, and they have the same planes, at least.

I would LOVE to see books for the different Eras, though, and more Arcane Age stuff. Those are some of my favorite supplements.

Modules:
Release a chapter of an Adventure Path each month, like Pathfinder does with Golarion. It's a better business model than redesigning the whole ruleset every 5 years, and it gets people into your setting. Additionally, people don't need to be familiar with all of the setting's history to run an adventure path, you're doing the historical research for them.

Specialist Priests: They should be not only back, but widespread. For instance, it's never made sense to me that the Vhaeraun has priests who suck at thieving and have a spell list 80% full of healing spells. I can understand not having a different class for each god. There are too many gods for that. But you could build it around the domains granted by said god. Just have a very small list of universal cleric spells. (Cure/Inflict, Resurrection, Cure/Inflict Disease, Hallow/Unhallow, Plane Shifting) Planar Ally can be replaced with a version specific to a deity, in the deity's writeup.

Novels:
I want more novels about the following characters:
Araevin Teshurr, Jack Ravenwild, Pharaun Mizzrym, Liriel Baenre. Give me a novel about Gromph Baenre written by Elaine Cunningham. He's a secondary character in a bunch of novels, he's always fantastic. Give me more Gromph.

And if 5e AND the new FRCS are crap I'll continue collecting the <=3.5e FR Setting books I don't own, and continue using them for other game systems. Maybe one of the many d20 spinoffs out there, maybe Pathfinder with a bunch of houserules, maybe Shadowrun with fantasy-themed equipment and custom races, maybe some variant on FATE, or maybe some other system or something I make for myself..

Sylrae's Forgotten Realms Fan-Lore Index, with public commenting access to make for easier improvement (WIP)

Edited by - Sylrae on 26 Jul 2014 09:14:05
Go to Top of Page

Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36779 Posts

Posted - 26 Jul 2014 :  14:51:02  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Khelben was my fave of the Chosen, and I'd love to see more of him... But I also don't object to the manner of his passing. If that was to be undone, it would have to be handled extremely well to make it work. Obviously I'm not a Realms author, but I personally don't see a good way to do it.

Candlekeep Forums Moderator

Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com
-- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct

I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!
Go to Top of Page

CorellonsDevout
Great Reader

USA
2708 Posts

Posted - 26 Jul 2014 :  19:36:11  Show Profile Send CorellonsDevout a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I agree with Sylrae about the novels/characters. Phaeraun died in WotSQ, was brought back in Empryean Odyssey, only to get a cheap, anticlimactic death in that one too. I vote bring back Phaeraun!

As for Khelben, I agree with Wooly. I was unhappy about his death, too, but he's in Arvandor (which is far better than Lolth's realm where Phaeraun is), and they would have to come up with a convincing way to do it.

Sweet water and light laughter
Go to Top of Page

Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader

USA
2717 Posts

Posted - 26 Jul 2014 :  20:03:20  Show Profile Send Jeremy Grenemyer a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I'll be purchasing the 5E Realms no matter what, but there are things that make me happy in any adventure or sourcebook that I would enjoy finding in the 5E Realms:

Maps, for starters. But not big regional overview maps. Instead I enjoy cutaway maps of inns. Of the hand-drawn type with people and occupants.

Also dungeon maps. For small dungeons found all over the Realms. The maps need not be accompanied with a full list of what's inside, but instead have a page of rumors about the dungeon, who's thought to have died inside and what's in it. If the maps look aged and are incomplete, that's all the better.

Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver).
Go to Top of Page

Sylrae
Learned Scribe

Canada
313 Posts

Posted - 27 Jul 2014 :  03:56:25  Show Profile Send Sylrae a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Jeremy Grenemyer

I'll be purchasing the 5E Realms no matter what


I'm curious; what makes you take the "No Matter What" stance? If it turns out it doesn't have any material you don't already own that you actually want, why would you buy it?

I like the idea of the sort of maps you describe; but I don't think they're a good fit for a campaign setting book. I think they're more the sort of thing I would expect from modules or adventure paths; and ideally they should not be attached (make the back cover be a folder to hold the maps). For the campaign setting, I'd rather have a world map and a series of regional maps.

And if the maps are supposed to be generic and reusable rather than tied to specific to a single FR location, why in *THIS* product? I mean, I would actually really like that sort of thing, I just don't think it makes sense in a campaign setting unless it's important to the setting. Otherwise I would rather see a maps supplement of some kind.

Ideally I'd like to see them put up their City and Dungeon Maps online, rather than in my books. (make sure they'll work on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper) If they're putting them out regularly, that might get me to actually resubscribe to DDI. I could use HD printable maps that have a DM version and a player version. I'd get them printed at staples or kinkos or something and use them as handouts in game.

Sylrae's Forgotten Realms Fan-Lore Index, with public commenting access to make for easier improvement (WIP)

Edited by - Sylrae on 27 Jul 2014 04:17:34
Go to Top of Page

Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader

USA
2717 Posts

Posted - 27 Jul 2014 :  05:22:13  Show Profile Send Jeremy Grenemyer a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Sylrae

I'm curious; what makes you take the "No Matter What" stance?
I’ve been enjoying the Forgotten Realms since the mid eighties. That’s what, nearly 30 years of fun?

Which is to say it’s not a stance that I'll be purchasing the 5E Realms, it’s me intending to enjoy more of what I’ve always enjoyed.

I mean that’s like asking someone who’s done something that they’ve more often than not enjoyed for a good three quarters of their life why they’re going to keep doing it. The question makes no sense to me.

quote:
Originally posted by Sylrae

If it turns out it doesn't have any material you don't already own that you actually want, why would you buy it?
That’s impossible.

I get where you’re coming from: who needs another Calendar of Harptos description when we’ve already got that four times over, plus all the custom fan versions, the website calendar downloads through the years, etc.? And who needs yet another quick summary of the deities when most of us already own campaign guides and sourcebooks from four editions that talk about them?

But even this last has me excited thanks to Ed Greenwood Presents: Elminster’s Forgotten Realms, because that book gave me something I haven’t gotten from deity writeups in a long time: hooks for adventure and story ideas that are immediately useful in a campaign.

I expect more of the same in whatever form the introductory product to the 5E Realms takes, because I think Ed’s writing all or most of it.

This, plus we’re all but guaranteed to get a brilliant new map of the (reconstituted) Realms. As you know, I like maps.

Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver).

Edited by - Jeremy Grenemyer on 27 Jul 2014 06:08:35
Go to Top of Page

Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36779 Posts

Posted - 27 Jul 2014 :  05:24:02  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Sylrae

quote:
Originally posted by Jeremy Grenemyer

I'll be purchasing the 5E Realms no matter what


I'm curious; what makes you take the "No Matter What" stance? If it turns out it doesn't have any material you don't already own that you actually want, why would you buy it?


I cannot and would not presume to speak for Jeremy, but I'm in the same boat as he: I will be buying the 5E Realms campaign book when it comes out. There is no doubt about that.

For me, it's partially based on the hope that it will be something that I want. The designers have been making noises that make me happy, and Ed himself has shown enthusiasm, so that's more than enough for me to be hopeful.

But even without that, until I read the book for myself, I'm not going to know whether or not it has material I want. I'm not going to know what I will and will not want to use from it.

Heck, I knew going into it that I was going to have a lot of issues with the 4E Realms. But until I read it for myself, I was just going off of the words of others. That is not making an informed decision.

Until I read something for myself, I cannot pass judgment on it, and I cannot say what is and isn't good about it.

When I read it, I may think the 5E campaign book is the greatest thing since sliced bread.* I might think it is utter crap, unworthy of being used as kitty litter.

I won't know for certain until I read it. And I won't be reading it until I buy it. So buying it is a certainty, so I can make an informed decision.

And that's something I have more than once encouraged others to do: give something a chance, then decide whether or not you like it. I've taken fire for that stance before, and I'll likely take fire for it again, but I don't see how anyone can make a decision based on limited data -- especially when they refuse to get all of that data.



*(invented in July of 1928, I recently discovered)

Candlekeep Forums Moderator

Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com
-- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct

I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!
Go to Top of Page

Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader

USA
2717 Posts

Posted - 27 Jul 2014 :  05:25:00  Show Profile Send Jeremy Grenemyer a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Sylrae

I like the idea of the sort of maps you describe; but I don't think they're a good fit for a campaign setting book. I think they're more the sort of thing I would expect from modules or adventure paths; and ideally they should not be attached (make the back cover be a folder to hold the maps). For the campaign setting, I'd rather have a world map and a series of regional maps.
I didn’t get a chance to expand on my earlier post. When I talk about maps, I’m talking about what you just mentioned (all of which I want, in their respective books), but I’m also talking about blending maps and art, and using some of the artwork budget for the 5E campaign guide to render up and present what’s being talked about in the thousands of words that will fill the book.

Don’t just tell us, for example, about Ganrahast and his role in Cormyr. Show us where he resides in Suzail. Give us a piece of cutaway artwork that accurately portrays Ganrahast’s abode, shows whatever other castle walls or towers are near it (perhaps with a view that takes in the Dragonmere and Suzail), along with some line drawings of the layout of the floors below (and above, if applicable) off to the side.

Dare me as a DM to put my players in Ganrahast’s home.

That doesn’t happen from a paragraph, it happens when you get good artwork, and DMs can get so much mileage out of art that depicts a place in detail.

There's a section in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting hardback that starts on page 293 called "Known Dungeons of the Realms" and goes for about three and a half pages.

I'd love it if a section like this was expanded to fill a quarter of the 5E campaign book, with text that talks about the surrounding area in some detail, artwork and portraits set in the with the text like that found in the DM's Sourcebook of the Realms (see page 53 and 65) that show what a place is like (above ground at the entrance, or inside a given room), and include dungeon maps.

Not all of the maps need to be keyed. Some should just have the opening rooms.

Some should be complete, like the adventure "Lashan's Fall" on page 54 of the DM's Sourcebook of the Realms.

--------

I realize a lot of people want a book that "sets the Realms right," and that's fine.

But I don't care so much about that. The Realms will sort itself out.

What's more important to me is that I get a book I can use.

I want a book that new-to-D&D fans can be inspired by, and look back on after the passing of years with nostalgia, appreciation and pride.

And if I don't get that, then that's OK too. My happiness when it comes to the Realms isn't contingent on WotC delivering all the goods (but I think they will ).

Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver).

Edited by - Jeremy Grenemyer on 27 Jul 2014 05:46:05
Go to Top of Page

Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36779 Posts

Posted - 27 Jul 2014 :  05:27:04  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ah, Jeremy replied at roughly the same time I did; we both must have been typing at the same time. Hopefully, my post did not step on his toes.

Candlekeep Forums Moderator

Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com
-- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct

I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!
Go to Top of Page

sfdragon
Great Reader

2285 Posts

Posted - 27 Jul 2014 :  05:34:59  Show Profile Send sfdragon a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I'll wait and see.....

if I like what I see than I'll get it when I can. If not that oh well for wotc, Ill stay in golarion for a while longer...

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
Go to Top of Page

Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader

USA
2717 Posts

Posted - 27 Jul 2014 :  05:41:03  Show Profile Send Jeremy Grenemyer a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

Ah, Jeremy replied at roughly the same time I did; we both must have been typing at the same time. Hopefully, my post did not step on his toes.

Not at all.

Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver).
Go to Top of Page

Sylrae
Learned Scribe

Canada
313 Posts

Posted - 27 Jul 2014 :  09:02:37  Show Profile Send Sylrae a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Jeremy Grenemyer

quote:
Originally posted by Sylrae

I'm curious; what makes you take the "No Matter What" stance?
I’ve been enjoying the Forgotten Realms since the mid eighties. That’s what, nearly 30 years of fun?

Which is to say it’s not a stance that I'll be purchasing the 5E Realms, it’s me intending to enjoy more of what I’ve always enjoyed.

I mean that’s like asking someone who’s done something that they’ve more often than not enjoyed for a good three quarters of their life why they’re going to keep doing it. The question makes no sense to me.

...

But even this last has me excited thanks to Ed Greenwood Presents: Elminster’s Forgotten Realms, because that book gave me something I haven’t gotten from deity writeups in a long time: hooks for adventure and story ideas that are immediately useful in a campaign.

I expect more of the same in whatever form the introductory product to the 5E Realms takes, because I think Ed’s writing all or most of it.

This, plus we’re all but guaranteed to get a brilliant new map of the (reconstituted) Realms. As you know, I like maps.



I do also like maps.

I've been enjoying the Forgotten Realms since Baldur's Gate (I'm younger than some of the people here) but to me, enjoying more of what I have enjoyed in the past isn't necessarily going to mean getting whatever the new publications are, just like I didn't end up getting the 4e FRCS. I can enjoy the forgotten realms with the 3e and 2e books I already have (as-is, or I can convert stuff to whatever system I want to use to run the game); I can collect more of the out of print books on my wishlist; I can take a couple paragraphs out of a handful of sources and run a full-blown campaign around the crown wars, filling in the blanks as I see fit. I can run a campaign that's a sequel to some of the novels, and diverges from the official timeline immediately following the completion of the novel. I can run a game around the plot of one of the campaigns in Neverwinter Nights; the rest of my group never played the game, and it's got all the NPCs, and Maps, and Portraits I might want, and I can grab the plot and sidequests from there as well if I want. There is a literal ton of realmslore out there. If there is a dryspell where there's no new material coming out that I want to use, there's enough old material that I can draw from that I'm okay with not getting the new thing.

I can see your point about adventure hooks, those are always good to have, just like maps.

If it's largely a repeat of the 3e and prior material, I will probably still pick it up; the only way I see myself not picking it up is if I dislike what I see of the new FRCS so much that I'm considering opting out of another entire edition of the setting - and the thing most likely to make me do that is having the setting make most of my 3e and 2e setting books be irrelevant. I dont care if time has passed; that's fine. I dont care if borders shift, or the political situation changes a bit. That's also fine. But I want my major factions and cultures and races to all be available, and I would prefer some of the more prominent and interesting NPCs be supported in the new material - which a timeskip could make difficult.

quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

I cannot and would not presume to speak for Jeremy, but I'm in the same boat as he: I will be buying the 5E Realms campaign book when it comes out. There is no doubt about that.

For me, it's partially based on the hope that it will be something that I want. The designers have been making noises that make me happy, and Ed himself has shown enthusiasm, so that's more than enough for me to be hopeful.

But even without that, until I read the book for myself, I'm not going to know whether or not it has material I want. I'm not going to know what I will and will not want to use from it.

Heck, I knew going into it that I was going to have a lot of issues with the 4E Realms. But until I read it for myself, I was just going off of the words of others. That is not making an informed decision.

Until I read something for myself, I cannot pass judgment on it, and I cannot say what is and isn't good about it.

When I read it, I may think the 5E campaign book is the greatest thing since sliced bread.* I might think it is utter crap, unworthy of being used as kitty litter.

I won't know for certain until I read it. And I won't be reading it until I buy it. So buying it is a certainty, so I can make an informed decision.

And that's something I have more than once encouraged others to do: give something a chance, then decide whether or not you like it. I've taken fire for that stance before, and I'll likely take fire for it again, but I don't see how anyone can make a decision based on limited data -- especially when they refuse to get all of that data.

*(invented in July of 1928, I recently discovered)



I respect your position of getting the information before you make a decision, and even share it. I just don't agree on the execution. When the new FRCS is released, I'm going to go downtown to my local gaming shop, look at the table of contents, skim some sections of interest, see what I think about the page/word count and the price and the art quality.

If, after a cursory skimming, it seems like I'm interested in the new edition of the realms, I will buy it, and after that point, I will likely start buying more of the new books just based on the synopsis on the back.

If on the other hand, after skimming it I get the same impression I got with 4e, I will put it back on the shelf without making a purchase, come back another day and skim it again to see if I'm willing to change my mind on the topic, and if not, I won't pick it up, and won't pick up the subsequent books either unless it looks like they're not based on the stuff I don't want. I suppose it didn't help that I really didnt like the 4e rules, and therefore didn't get any use out of the mechanics either - if I was buying them, it was explicitly for the setting and story.

The only 4e Realms books I ended up buying were Menzoberranzan City of Intrigue, and Elminster's Forgotten Realms. I considered Neverwinter but ended up not being interested enough to pick it up, and I am still contemplating a purchase of some of the new FR Modules, like Murder in Baldur's Gate.

I spent the 4e era just collecting more of the 2e & 3e books I wanted that I missed when they came out. Actually, I think I bought a few off of you, Wooly.

And I also agree with SFDragon. Golarion is pretty damn good. Largely because it has a similar feel to the realms in many ways. My FR games often have Golarion Cities added in these days, the Pathfinder Society shows up a fair bit, and sometimes entire Golarion Countries will get plopped down, and I'll reshuffle borders to accomodate them. It doesn't hurt that Golarion has so many good adventures. It has many more good adventures than the realms does, so I've run golarion games several times because it doesn't take as much prep as a realms game does (its not that the realms adventures are bad, its that there aren't that many of them, and there are very few that run you from 1st level to near max level). I can read through the module once and go. All the stats are done, the plot of an entire campaign is sitting there for me, and the Realms really needs more of that.

Sylrae's Forgotten Realms Fan-Lore Index, with public commenting access to make for easier improvement (WIP)

Edited by - Sylrae on 27 Jul 2014 09:10:15
Go to Top of Page

Nicolai Withander
Master of Realmslore

Denmark
1093 Posts

Posted - 28 Jul 2014 :  23:29:25  Show Profile Send Nicolai Withander a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Well... its hard to say, but possible revert into post Time of Troubles. Stop killing my favorite deities and heroes. And advance the lore. Much, much more lore.
Go to Top of Page

Arcanus
Senior Scribe

485 Posts

Posted - 29 Jul 2014 :  01:31:24  Show Profile  Visit Arcanus's Homepage Send Arcanus a Private Message  Reply with Quote
More novels about the plain folk and the more powerful figures (including the gods). I don't like the 'we are only focusing on the little people' approach. That is in itself limiting.

The realms are plenty big enough for stories to be told about any of its inhabitants. Just stop messing with the world (RSE) and let the writers write.
Go to Top of Page

Lilianviaten
Senior Scribe

489 Posts

Posted - 29 Jul 2014 :  03:08:17  Show Profile Send Lilianviaten a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Arcanus

More novels about the plain folk and the more powerful figures (including the gods). I don't like the 'we are only focusing on the little people' approach. That is in itself limiting.

The realms are plenty big enough for stories to be told about any of its inhabitants. Just stop messing with the world (RSE) and let the writers write.



I think more novels, period, would kill many birds with 1 stone. We would get:
1) more lore
2) more opportunities to see our favorite heroes and villains in action
3) if our favorites are dead, authors will have the space to develop new heroes and villains for us to fall in love with
4) greater exploration of unused areas in the Realms (on this note, I really enjoyed Phillip Athans' portrayal of Innarlith)

The Realms has a LOT of talent, even aside from the heavyweight sellers (RAS, Greenwood, Cunningham, Denning, Kemp).

Examples, you ask? Here we go:

1) Tim Pratt - Venom in her Veins was a great book. If I don't see a followup, I'll be disappointed for sure (and surely I'm not the only person who thinks the yuanti are underused like a MF).

2) Erik Scott de Bie - his Shadowbane books bear a lot of similarities to Kemp's Erevis Cale books. Personally, I think the 5e sourcebooks should leave the fates of Helm, Tyr, Torm, Hoar, and Beshaba mysterious. Let his books play out, because I think he's got the most interesting scenario going out of anything dealing with the gods.

3) Jaleigh Johnson - the Unbroken Chain books are perfect for showing that dark side of the Realms. I want to see a continuation of this series too.

4) Erin Evans - Do I even need to say anything? I don't often enjoy reading about angsty teenage girls, but she makes it cool.
Go to Top of Page

CorellonsDevout
Great Reader

USA
2708 Posts

Posted - 29 Jul 2014 :  04:38:22  Show Profile Send CorellonsDevout a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I too would like to see a sequal to the Unbroken Chain books and Shadowbane novels.

Sweet water and light laughter
Go to Top of Page
Page: of 4 Previous Topic Topic Next Topic  
Previous Page
 New Topic  New Poll New Poll
 Reply to Topic
 Printer Friendly
Jump To:
Candlekeep Forum © 1999-2024 Candlekeep.com Go To Top Of Page
Snitz Forums 2000