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lowkey13
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D&D 5E Campaign Settings 5e- Why I want to Forget the Realms
Queer Venger
Dungeon Master is my Daddy
1. Its the most popular setting of D&D, the most successful, and the most iconic/recognizable. Its the setting for the most successful video games in D&D, (Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter, Pool of Radiance, Sword Coast Legends, etc., etc., etc.) the most successful fiction/novels franchise in any table-top rpg history, and since its early days in articles of Dragon Magazine, fans have clamored for this setting published, (1e and 2e). Wizards is smart in going with an established brand like the Forgotten Realms and the upcomming movie will also be set in the Forgotten Realms.
2. Dont hate, find a setting, (or create your own). Spending needless energy hating something goes against the spirit of D&D, there is so much productive time/energy you could spend in creating adventures, worlds, than in "hating" something. And no, Al-Qadim and Kara-Tur are very much part of the Realms, you can easily run your adventures there and never have mention of Driz'zt or Elminster.
I dont even know why you are starting a thread like this one, it gains nothing but to seek sympathy about something you dislke/hate. Personally, I dont like the Dragonlance setting, (great as a novel series, but not to play in, too small for creativity, too linear) but Im not going to start a thread about hate-mongering.
So here's some advice: find what you love, what inspires you, and use it. Now go play.
2. Dont hate, find a setting, (or create your own). Spending needless energy hating something goes against the spirit of D&D, there is so much productive time/energy you could spend in creating adventures, worlds, than in "hating" something. And no, Al-Qadim and Kara-Tur are very much part of the Realms, you can easily run your adventures there and never have mention of Driz'zt or Elminster.
I dont even know why you are starting a thread like this one, it gains nothing but to seek sympathy about something you dislke/hate. Personally, I dont like the Dragonlance setting, (great as a novel series, but not to play in, too small for creativity, too linear) but Im not going to start a thread about hate-mongering.
So here's some advice: find what you love, what inspires you, and use it. Now go play.
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Yes, FR is the default and is considered the most popular campaign setting.
There's lots of things to dislike about FR. I personally detest the pantheons of gods of FR. The entire setting has a certain feel to it that just doesn't fit for a lot of people. Doesn't mean anything other than its not for you.
Maybe its the complexity, maybe its the inability to resonate with the signature characters of the setting, maybe its history and background of Forgotten Realms isn't something that interests you personally, maybe its because people that were around when you were introduced to the setting didn't like it and that passed on to you. You clearly don't like Elminster and Drizz't. Maybe you're transferring your dislike of those novels into the actual setting? The Realms have a much larger "everything is epic!" feel to them - maybe the mere presence of all these major players is not to your taste?
While I personally like following the stories of FR (novels, video games, etc), I never want to actually play a character in the Realms. The thought just turns me stomach.
There's a lot of possibilities that its impossible to tell without more input from yourself. Have you tried playing a video game like Balder's Gate or Neverwinter Nights set in the Realms?
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lowkey13
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GMforPowergamers
Legend
well I can tell you why I think (IMO) it is the worst setting every put to paper...
Illogical and overpowered NPCs... It is hard enough to run a game if there is A powerful force for good in the world, but when you have a whole Justice League Ferune, it is extremely daunting. Now the advise given to how to rectify it falls into two categories, bad and worse.
If you only limit your players to people who agree with your understanding, and have similar or lesser knowledge of the realms it can be pretty good. The problem is the same thing that befalls all settings with lore outside the main books, and that's captureing a feel everyone can agree on.
Now because I really don't want to bog this thread down in FR lore arguments, I am going to use an anology...
why I can run a DCU rpg but am very selective in if I will play one... If I tell players to roll up super heroes in the DC comics universe, I can pick and choose from multi points. (I have run a Titans Beyond set in batman beyond time, a GL corp game set in my own alt world, a 90's theme earth 19 where azreal and superboy and kyle Rayner were the mainheroes, and a straight up (well it was a few years ago so pre nu52) dcu game) However if I am playing my extreme knowledge sometimes gets in the way. I know that going in that not everyone is the DCU nerd I am and as such I do better on this side of the screen. I know ahead of time that if you go to Gotham, you have the JSA brownstone, and batman and the birds of prey all there. I also know that if a giant monster attacks metropolis, to expect superman to either show up or have a reason he can't...
If you try to run a DCU game for me, and you change too much without explanation, it no longer feels like the DCU. If you drop spiderman in because he is a cool comic book character, I could go nuts trying to figure out the cross over, that you may not even know you did...
the same is true for the realms, you have a lot of lore, and if you try to make it fit your own vision, and one or more players have more setting knowledge from you it breaks the game... and well that is true of all settings (I had to walk from a darksun game because of it) it is more likely to happen with the realms...
edit: The realms feels like it was made to have stories be told to you, not stories you help build...
Illogical and overpowered NPCs... It is hard enough to run a game if there is A powerful force for good in the world, but when you have a whole Justice League Ferune, it is extremely daunting. Now the advise given to how to rectify it falls into two categories, bad and worse.
If you only limit your players to people who agree with your understanding, and have similar or lesser knowledge of the realms it can be pretty good. The problem is the same thing that befalls all settings with lore outside the main books, and that's captureing a feel everyone can agree on.
Now because I really don't want to bog this thread down in FR lore arguments, I am going to use an anology...
why I can run a DCU rpg but am very selective in if I will play one... If I tell players to roll up super heroes in the DC comics universe, I can pick and choose from multi points. (I have run a Titans Beyond set in batman beyond time, a GL corp game set in my own alt world, a 90's theme earth 19 where azreal and superboy and kyle Rayner were the mainheroes, and a straight up (well it was a few years ago so pre nu52) dcu game) However if I am playing my extreme knowledge sometimes gets in the way. I know that going in that not everyone is the DCU nerd I am and as such I do better on this side of the screen. I know ahead of time that if you go to Gotham, you have the JSA brownstone, and batman and the birds of prey all there. I also know that if a giant monster attacks metropolis, to expect superman to either show up or have a reason he can't...
If you try to run a DCU game for me, and you change too much without explanation, it no longer feels like the DCU. If you drop spiderman in because he is a cool comic book character, I could go nuts trying to figure out the cross over, that you may not even know you did...
the same is true for the realms, you have a lot of lore, and if you try to make it fit your own vision, and one or more players have more setting knowledge from you it breaks the game... and well that is true of all settings (I had to walk from a darksun game because of it) it is more likely to happen with the realms...
edit: The realms feels like it was made to have stories be told to you, not stories you help build...
graves3141
First Post
I grew to like the Realms over the years, I see it as a well made generic fantasy setting with lots of detail that you can either use or ignore. Of course, not everything will probably be to your liking (I certainly don't like everything about it myself)
One thing I don't really care for is the seemingly endless series of cataclysmic events that occur one after another. The Sundering (or Sunderings, I think there were two of them), continents coming back and going away, the Time of Troubles, the Spellplague, etc... the new adventure Out of the Abyss continues this sort of thing by making the most unlikely things happen. That's just me though, other people might like the rollercoaster nature of Realms history.
Sometimes I think, "what do the people in the Realms think about the world they live in?" If I lived there, I'd live in constant fear of the next cataclysm.
One thing I don't really care for is the seemingly endless series of cataclysmic events that occur one after another. The Sundering (or Sunderings, I think there were two of them), continents coming back and going away, the Time of Troubles, the Spellplague, etc... the new adventure Out of the Abyss continues this sort of thing by making the most unlikely things happen. That's just me though, other people might like the rollercoaster nature of Realms history.
Sometimes I think, "what do the people in the Realms think about the world they live in?" If I lived there, I'd live in constant fear of the next cataclysm.
Li Shenron
Legend
graves3141
First Post
I see where you're coming from with that but I wonder if that's just a natural outgrowth of any setting that becomes as popular as the Realms and has so many novels and supplement attached to it.
I know my own version of the Realms (in my mind) is vastly different than how Greenwood and most other people see it... I know that because when I try to read the novels, I start seeing things that are happening that would never happen in my own Realms setting. I guess that's why I could never get into the novels too much.
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lowkey13
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graves3141
First Post
Unfortunately, no one knows what WotC plans to do with any of the other settings right now (they might not even be sure at this point themselves). There might be more Realms books coming after the Sword Coast Adventurers Guide or that might be the only book they produce for the Realms for this edition. It's hard to say. WotC will probably move on to another setting like Eberron or Planescape eventually but we don't know what kind of setting material will be produced for them (if any). It's kind of a watch and wait kind of thing for now.
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