Countdown to the Realms: Magic in the Forgotten Realms

Shroomy · Jan 30, 2008

Read the newest article here:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080130a.

Maztica is gone.

Mirtek · Jan 30, 2008

Personally I a little bit bothered by the so potent that gods and primordials alike fear to face the most ancient of these mighty beings. sentence about dragons. I really hope that this is just meaningless fluff.

30 levels is of course a short range and if a mere pitfiend is already lvl 26 and we know that Orcus is also in the MM1 (and is a primordial which means on the level of the gods) the difference between them can't be that big.

I would prefer anything but the weakest demigods grossly outclassing anything lvl 30 and theses weakest of demigods the stepping stone for an immortals supplement taking the PCs from level 31-xx.

Nymrohd · Jan 30, 2008

Well I have been getting the feeling that many gods in FR and beyond will be demoted to exarchs as servants to greater gods (and FR had several such hierarchies in it anyway). So maybe those creatures are actually on par with demon princes.

kennew142 · Jan 30, 2008

We are slowly getting a little more information about the spellplague. IMO, it makes more sense, the more information we're given. A lot of folks still won't like it, but seeing it in context is a good thing.

I'm more upset over the loss of Maztica than I was over the loss of Unther, but I'm curious to see what the new lands look like. I'm glad that I decided not to hold off on that high level Maztica adventure until the next edition.

Thaumaturge · Jan 30, 2008

Halruaa... every inscribed and prepared spell in the nation went off... simultaneously. Ouch.

Thaumaturge.

Sir Brennen · Jan 30, 2008

FR Article said:
That said, some items that temporarily stored “charges” of magic, such as wands and staffs created prior to the Spellplague, no longer work. If such items do work, they no longer work in the same way.

Interesting... no more wands of cure light wounds? Is "no longer work the same way" in reference to wands becoming implements, basically the wizard's "sword"?

Nymrohd · Jan 30, 2008

Most likely yes. After all adding wands in a game that features at-will abilities sounds unbalancing.
I am fully expecting this article to escalate the 4E FR hate among certain canon fans.

Irda Ranger · Jan 30, 2008

"Primal" is a power source? Is that a new word for "Elemental" (because Primal is like Primordial), or is that what Druids use?

As for Halrua ... whoa. I didn't see that coming. And the Old Empires now sounds like Robert Jordan's Aiel Waste.

They really did a number on Faerun, didn't they? This is the most drastic setting reboot I've even seen.

And I have very mixed feelings about forcing the new cosmology (which I like) onto a setting that isn't "the implied setting." How is FR not the Implied Setting now, other than a slightly different list of Gods?

The concept of "Plaguechanged" though really opens the door to totally unique and weird monsters, which is only a Good Thing to a DM like me.

I would prefer anything but the weakest demigods grossly outclassing anything lvl 30 and theses weakest of demigods the stepping stone for an immortals supplement taking the PCs from level 31-xx.

And I agree with this. It would be cool if a 30th level PC could take on an Exarch (like the Red Knight, I imagine), but not the "true" Gods. That's too much.

Nahat Anoj · Jan 30, 2008

Today, spellcasters access magic through a dizzying array of methods. Some murmur spells and incant rituals, some forge arcane bargains, and others pray for intervention. In truth, it seems that magic can be accessed in more ways than ever before, fueled by newfound knowledge of arcane, shadow, primal, and other sources of power.

Bolding mine. This is the first time I've heard of the "primal" power source by name from WotC.

All in all it looks like a cool article. I may actually want to play in the Realms again.