Points of Light and the Forgotten Realms

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'm sure that that the events in "Transitions" will have this apocalpytic "alternate future" Realms as a possible endpoint, but at the very end of the series the heroes will save the day and save the Realms and we'll have our traditional setting back.

It will be different, maybe in some cool and fundamental ways. But in the end, not all that different, really.

That's my bet! We'll just have to wait and see!

I suspect you're right. Drizzzzt is just setting up the worst case scenario that the non-PC heroes will have to prevent from coming to pass.

 

[Dice4Hire]

See, this is what I don't get. Its no insult to you, and I know not every setting appeals to every person, but in order to get you interested in the setting, they have almost made it unrecognizable to me, who has been faithfully following it for 20 years. Perhaps they know something I don't, but it seems like a big risk to bank on a gain/loss ratio that has to do with gaining fans that were never interested in the setting before.

Yeah, it is a hard way to go, isn't it. I understand where you are coming from, and I have no problem with 4E giving FR a big piece of the pie, as long as it is not the default setting. It is just for me, the way the realms are now makes me not want to set games in the world.

I will not go into why as it has been hashed out a hundred times before.

 

[Sunderstone]

To start, Ive been a fan of FR since the grey box. I gave up FR this past year (even though I still buy FR sourcebooks to keep my collection going) and returned to Greyhawk for a few reasons.
1) I was tired of all the super hero NPC's running amok in the setting. Even average shopkeepers felt like retired archmages and warlords.
2) I was tired of all the novels changing canon every other day.


That said, Im kind of excited about a possible "reset" of the realms. I just wish they would have done this a long time ago for 3.5.

I think the current ideas/rumors about the changes in store for FR will be great if WotC doesnt alter canon too much with novels anymore, and maybe lose a few super powered folks in the process.
Another welcome change would be to reduce the number of deities as well. There are way too many.

Never thought Id say this but this is the only part of 4E I will probably like if it's well executed. It would at the least get me interested in the setting again.

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

Don't worry Chicken Little, the sky is certainly not falling. But let's have a glimpse into an alternate future where it did!!!

I wish I could believe that, I truly do.

It seems counter intuitive that WotC would turn the setting into a proverbial train wreck (including demolishing whatever the PCs accomplished during their games) in an effort to draw more people to the setting (your characters only get to clean up the mess, how much fun is that, man?). Also, Drizzt’s monologoues have always been written at some point in the future – maybe they are all part of his memiours published ‘round about 1480 D.R.

I wish I could believe that, I truly do.

But because it seems the product of dubious thinking (namely a poorly thought out plan to get money), something of a slap in the face to long-time fans, an attampt to fix something that is not broken, I think this will happen to the setting. And everyone will go with it because, well, its official.

This is, afterall, the state of affairs that produced 4E, the introduction of 4E and so forth and so on.

Such is the way the real world works.

 

[phadeout]

Well, it's easy enough for me... I stopped buying FR when 3E came out. So my timeline will be where 2E left off.

The thing that really erks me is when the "take over" published material for the DM. Like Myth Drannor... that's my favorite High-Level adventure for the Realms, but then "it gets reclaimed?" They need to stop writing history for the Realms... hope they fix that in the 4E Realms. Doesn't mean I'll ever touch it, but, at least those that get into will have that hope.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

If advancing the setting is a slap in the face of fans, FR has been doing this since the first novels came off the presses with Doug Niles' Moonshaes series. The Time of Troubles once before took away PCs' accomplishments. Sembia was once designated as a preserve for DMs to make it whatever they wanted, then that rug was pulled out from under folks when they changed their mind and decided to make an official Sembia. And it has been a longtime complaint of the setting that PCs only get to clean up after NPC mover-and-shakers get done with things. It's not new.

And, IMO, it is only an issue if someone feels the need to keep their Forgotten Realms inline with everything newly published. Its only an issue for folks who aren't comfortable putting up a wall around their own version of FR. I think that is clearly a minority of fans of every setting be it FR or Greyhawk or Eberron or whatever.

WotC would like folks to move up to 4e, they aren't sending in the SWAT teams to make gamers do it. WotC would like existing FR-fans to come along with the 4e FRCS, but they aren't going to arm twist people into doing it. There is enough material published out there now that people can keep playing 3.x FR, just like when 3e came out there was enough material out to keep playing AD&D 2nd ed FR.

Personally, even with 3.5 books coming out for FR, I still set my personal FR in 1358. I just reversed-engineered things.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Well, it's easy enough for me... I stopped buying FR when 3E came out. So my timeline will be where 2E left off.

The thing that really erks me is when the "take over" published material for the DM. Like Myth Drannor... that's my favorite High-Level adventure for the Realms, but then "it gets reclaimed?" They need to stop writing history for the Realms... hope they fix that in the 4E Realms. Doesn't mean I'll ever touch it, but, at least those that get into will have that hope.

Why? The 2E material doesn't catch fire and burn up. Creating new events and new resources means it's ALSO available, not that it replaces what was. Lots of people play at different points in the timeline, and through the magic of PDFs and used bookstores, especially over the Internet, any choice in the timeline is viable.

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

The 2E material doesn't catch fire and burn up.

Of course it won't. But people will buy these new books - and WotC will read into that a moral and material victory - while the old ones will ever increasingly be out of date and be obsolete. So this treatment of the fans becomes the rule of the land.

If advancing the setting is a slap in the face of fans, FR has been doing this since the first novels...

Yes, but this is doing it at a new level. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'm too old and tired to go for this kind of thing, where someone metaphorically kicks me in the balls, takes my milk money and then I'm supposed to say "Thank you sir can I have another."

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Of course it won't. But people will buy these new books - and WotC will read into that a moral and material victory - while the old ones will ever increasingly be out of date and be obsolete. So this treatment of the fans becomes the rule of the land.

So what? People play at different points in the timeline. Heck, that's probably why the Grand History of the Realms was greenlighted.

Who gives a crap about "moral victories?" Are you still playing at the point in time that you enjoy?

 

[grimslade]

Of course it won't. But people will buy these new books - and WotC will read into that a moral and material victory - while the old ones will ever increasingly be out of date and be obsolete. So this treatment of the fans becomes the rule of the land.
Yes, but this is doing it at a new level. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'm too old and tired to go for this kind of thing, where someone metaphorically kicks me in the balls, takes my milk money and then I'm supposed to say "Thank you sir can I have another."

The Forgotten Realms Setting getting new materials is a kick in the balls? Ask the Planescape, Dark Sun and Known World fans fans how they like having nothing published. Or even better the blackmail of "buy Expedition to Greyhawk Ruins or they will never publish anything Greyhawk again". At least the Realms has a choice between supporting the new stuff or sticking with the old stuff. Horrible WotC, to support their most popular setting. The sheer evil of their mind/wallet control making millions buy the novels. Dirty, dirty heathen monkeys that they are. Pardon me I have run out of hyperbole, maybe everyone could spare some of theirs.

The whole of Abeir-Toril has been covered in source books. Unless something big happens there is no impetus to buy a new splat. How many different versions of Waterdeep and the North are there? 4? 5? How different are they? Not much, except stats. With The Grand History being released there is more info out there for playing FR than at any point of its 20+ year history. Blow the setting up and write some new material rather than cribbing from old splats. I think Ed Greenwood's campaign runs as if the ToT never happened. We could emulate Ed. Pick a point and go from there.

Personally, the future of the Realms revealed in the prologue looks a heck of a lot like the old Grey box setting in 1E. I loved 1E FR. I am excited about the setting getting a tweak. Maybe the villains will be a threat to be opposed versus chumps to be knocked down. The Realms will need every Super-Novel-PC and all the home game PCs to fight for the good of Faerun. Sounds good like an FR campaign to me.