Keep your filthy points of light away from me!

[cignus_pfaccari]

The OP said that WotC is ramming this down EVERY player's throat and that they're marketing it as "the only way to set up a world".

True.

The PoL setting philosophy is pretty much tailor-made for running D&D games, with things to do and reasons for abandoned or occupied dungeon complexes to litter the landscape. That's the primary purpose for a setting, to guide what you do and how you do it.

Now, I do sympathize with Kae'yoss and the other FRites who're miffed about it, because with current knowledge, it does rather sound like they're jumping up and down on the world, when they don't *actually* need to. After all, 2e -> 3e did not require a specific RSE to explain why there were always dwarven wizards and prestige classes, so why should 3e -> 4e?

On the other hand, perhaps the new rules changes are significant enough that the setting reboot is necessary to make sense. And, to be honest, FR has a boatload of baggage in the 25-30 (or however many) years it's been in existence, and a reboot will help new DMs use the setting without the staggering burden of needing to know about all the backstory and novels and such...but at the same time, you still have the lore available to use in your own games and convert if you feel like it.

Brad

 

[Bayushi Seikuro]

My two cents

It seems to me that there's a lot of hot air on both sides on this. Which is okay, for speculation.

In the Realms I've ever played or ran, things are much more 'regional'. A Vaasan in the Dalelands is unusual. A Luiren halfling in Luskan is very strange. To me, that's a lot of the 'points of light'. Things are more insular; the heroes, being more prone to get bored and need excitement, move area to area, solving issues and becoming rich.

I don't know or think that it'll all be as shocking or traumatic as the Time of Troubles ended up being. I remember those modules; quite the railroading effect to make sure that Lil Missy becomes Mystra, and that Cyric survives no matter what, etc.

So, all in all, I just don't see the concern; your mileage may vary

 

[delericho]

Who else doesn't like that 4e forces the Points of Light campaign philosophy down our throats?

No, but then I'm done with playing in someone else's setting. I'll be homebrewing from here on out. If I were a FR fan, I might be more bothered.

(Although, if I were a FR fan, I wouldn't be bothered about 'points of light'. There's plenty of darkness in the 3e FRCS to do that already, so the upcoming RSEs aren't about doing that - they're about shifting to the new rules, and making the setting more accessible to new players.)

 

[Zurai]

Now, I do sympathize with Kae'yoss and the other FRites who're miffed about it, because with current knowledge, it does rather sound like they're jumping up and down on the world, when they don't *actually* need to.

For the record, I agree with this. I just wanted to point out that the OP is taking the hyperbole a little far.

I don't see any need to chop up the Realms to prepare for 4E; I also don't see how WotC is ramming Points of Light down any non-FR players' throats, though.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Now, I do sympathize with Kae'yoss and the other FRites who're miffed about it, because with current knowledge, it does rather sound like they're jumping up and down on the world, when they don't *actually* need to.

Funny how everybody's making that assumption. The truth is, we don't know that.

We don't know what all the changes in 4E are going to be. Maybe there are some that are better served by a system-wide reset than by simply being ignored. We don't know.

Maybe the sales of FR stuff have tanked in the past couple of years, and it was this or cancel the RPG-portion of the line, leaving it novels only. This could be a last-ditch attempt at regaining some market share. Again, we don't know.

I understand people being disappointed if their favorite setting is being changed. I really do. But the anger and the hatred? Both excessive and premature, if not downright inappropriate. Because we don't know why.

 

[jollyninja]

I for one don't see the problem here. They are doing it with their own IP and to be blunt, a large part of the Iconic material for the realms involves checking out the ruins of old civilizations. I never played in myth drannor as a civilization, I did play in the silver marches. Going through the ruins of silverymoon might be kind of neat. Anyway, it is possible that the changes will be far less overwhelming then has been theorized.

I mean having adventurers travel through the wilderness is more fun then having them travel along patrolled roads anyway isn't it?

 

[Kae'Yoss]

It's because of the Realms, true, but not only because of them.

It's in part due to the Realms because they seem to change several of the things in order to make the Realms more PoL (there's already an official acronym for it, and probably it's own theme song for the news). I know the Realms, and thus know that they're already pretty much that way. No need to make it more so.


But it's also because they seem to emphasise how the standard setting is "Points of Light". The standard setting should not have such assumptions.

 

[Rechan]

But it's also because they seem to emphasise how the standard setting is "Points of Light". The standard setting should not have such assumptions.

The standard setting of 3.x was Greyhawk. It made many assumptions.

Did having Wee Jas in the PHB effect FR?

 

[Gwathlas]

I have to say, as long as WotC is planning on making Fourth Edition Eberron-compatible, they won't be hardcoding "points of light" into the rules design. (I have no idea how they'd do this in the first place, but that's another matter.)

The only sense in which I can see the setting assumptions being written into the system is with magic items. 3.x assumed that people could sink money into purchasing magic items with relative ease. You didn't have to play that way, but in my experience, going against that pattern caused some odd things to happen. Of the many changes they're making, the changes to magic items strike me as being the point on which they have been the most silent. (Obviously my own curiosity should be factored into that bias.)
Haven

Well as pointed out previously wotc are altering the FR setting radically and not changing eberron setting at all.

 

[Zurai]

But it's also because they seem to emphasise how the standard setting is "Points of Light". The standard setting should not have such assumptions.

They've also said that the standard setting is entirely new. Why is Points of Light so bad for an entirely new setting? Why should it not have the PoL assumptions when, in fact, it makes for a mechanically perfect default setting that they never, ever have to release sourcebooks for?