D&D 5E Campaign Settings 5e- Why I want to Forget the Realms

[Greg K]

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.

Well, the Brownstone was not always in Gotham. From what i understand, in the 2000's it is also not in Gotham, but in a city north of Central Park.
As for the Birds of Prey, if the game is set in a continuity based on writings prior to anything written 1995 or later, the Birds of Prey would not exist (which would be the case if I were running a game in the DC comics universe as I would focus on DC during the mid to late 1970's or the first two years after the first Crisis and ignore everything thereafter as I have no interest).

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...

Why? Superman and Spider-man crossed over back in the 1976 (Superman vs. The AmazingSpider-Man #1). Batman and the Hulk crossed over in 1981 (DC Special Series v1 #27). The Teen Titans and X-men crossed over back in the 1980's as well.

 

[Greg K]

If i were running the Realms, I would start with the original 1e Grey box set and 1e FR line supplements for it and tell everyone to forget later editions and everything else they have read in novels.

 

[Agamon]

I don't like cilantro. In fact, I hate, hate, hate it. So when a recipe calls for it, I replace it with something else, like mint, parsley, or basil.

I could complain about the cilantro, something lots of people like, but I find it more constructive to just use something else. Just sayin.

To be honest, I just don't have the time I once did. Should I bite the bullet when this campaign ends and learn to, if not love FR, at least use the maps?

Just to make sure no one thinks I'm accidentally posting on the wrong forum, it's easier than simple to use these books in a campaign that isn't FR. No need to bite any bullets.

 

[lowkey13]

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[Uchawi]

FR has the most bloat when considering a setting, so it fits well into the scheme for 5E. Oh wait ... But on a serious note, as least from my perspective, it is a setting that has received the most attention in reference to rules, modules, books, games, etc. Whether it will work out in the end as the flagship setting is anyone's guess. I worry more about 5E as a game when considering the rules, classes, etc. versus the setting. So if you are happy with 5E overall, just continue to use Greyhawk.

 

[Mercurius]

Having been out for a while, I didn't grok that FR was considered the most popular setting. Part of me wishes they had gone even more campaign agnostic, but then the core books would have lost a little flavor.

"A while" must be a long time, because the FR has probably been the most popular D&D setting for most of its existence, going back to 1987 and the Grey Box.

The FR is the ultimate kitchen sink setting - there is something for (almost) everyone. I personally run homebrews but have tons of FR setting material because I enjoy reading it. Yes, it is unwieldy, yes the Realms-shaking events are annoying, but there is so much lore, so many little details that it is a lot of fun to explore from an armchair perspective.

What confuses me, though, is when people get bogged down by small details - like Elminster and/or Drizzt. It is really quite simple: If you want to run the Realms, make it your own. Maybe Elminster or Drizzt never existed in your FR. The whole point of campaign settings is to make it your own, to bring it alive in your own way. If you want mine it for ideas or just read it for fun, well, every setting will have elements you don't like. No need to fixate on Elminster and Drizzt (just as when I'm looking at Greyhawk products, I'm not fixating on "the Duchy of Geoff" and thinking, grr...what a stupid name! I just think, ahh, Gygaxisms...how cute).

 

[lowkey13]

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[KingsRule77]

I'm not a Realms fan, but have no problem playing/running games in them. I discard all cannon/lore and Reskin/discard things we don't like. I do like that the skeleton/framework of various locations and organizations are there.

 

[KingsRule77]

?

To be honest, I just don't have the time I once did. Should I bite the bullet when this campaign ends and learn to, if not love FR, at least use the maps?

In answer to this question I would say "sure!". For my part I am currently running Hoard of the Dragon Queen. If I could do it over I would pluck out the individual chapters and run it less 'by the book'.

 

[lowkey13]

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