D&D 4E Chris Perkins on Forgotten Realms 4e

[Lackhand]

Who can tell? Too much acid to see straight.

 

[Simia Saturnalia]

catsclaw: In your opinion, what is the general view of the Realms changes and 4E in general on the WotC boards? (IOW, what % would you say are in favor of the changes and what % are not in favor?)

Rough estimate from my poking around?

Of those talking about it, 5% very positive, 25% a little positive, 50% "unnecessary!" negative, 15% quite negative, 5% soiling themselves in anger.

 

[Cam Banks]

Given the fact that Weis & Hickman did the actual destruction (Dragons of Summer Flame was wholly their conception and work; the only change we can document TSR making was not letting them expand it into a trilogy), your mad fury would have been misdirected.

That's OK. It's all better now.

Cheers,
Cam

 

[WhatGravitas]

I can see how the per-encounter mechanics of 4e could lead to that. Generally stories in novels don't dwell on things like "I'm out of spells for the day, I have to rest overnight before I can fight Blackdoom the Dark." And has Elminster ever said "I could get past this door, but I didn't prepare knock today. Let's try again tomorrow."?

That's true. But there is also another concern with the Magic of the realms. Eberron can do the retcon, because the novels are tie-ins for the world. In the Realms, the novels drive the setting (partially). Gamers can swallow a retcon, because they see the mechanics behind it.

Novel readers will cry foul, if a massive comes out of thin air. And FR has a huge novel line, so not every reader is also a gamer, and possible completely baffled, why changes in a game change their favourite novel line.

ahem:


I stand by my characterization. If anything, I was charitable.

Okay... that's almost a bit scary. I feel bad for Mr. Baker, because he does good work, and I usually don't think ill of persons I've never met in person - unless they're voicing their opinion like a certain fan.

Cheers, LT.

 

[lukelightning]

That's true. But there is also another concern with the Magic of the realms.

That's the thing; I'm not too familiar with the FR novels. I've read a few random ones (Curse of the Azure Bonds, I think), but not in-depth. Is the magic described in the novels so explicitly tied into the D&D game system? I recall them useing the names of spells but not anything about getting tied into "uses/day" and that sort of thing.

 

[RichGreen]

Hi,

I thought Chris' blog post was good -- I'm keen to see how all this turns out since we still don't know whether the timeline is advancing 10 years or 100 years. The bits about making some of the Realms more forgotten sounded pretty cool although I realise this won't appeal to that part of the fanbase that like to know what's on the menu in every tavern in every village. I was one of those people that liked the fact that Sembia, the Wood of Sharp Teeth and other places were left for the DM to develop in the Old Grey Box. Thinking about it, maybe 100 years forward would be fun -- there's going to be more to write about for that version Realms than one where the timeline didn't advance much. Let's hope we find out more soon.

I've spent a bit of time on the FR board at Wizards recently and a lot of the people on there need to calm down and remember that no matter however much we love it, it's only a GAME! Some of the comments about Rich Baker who's always been willing to spend time answering fan questions (way more than any other game designer AFAIK) have been out of order!

Cheers


Richard

 

[catsclaw227]

Rough estimate from my poking around?

Of those talking about it, 5% very positive, 25% a little positive, 50% "unnecessary!" negative, 15% quite negative, 5% soiling themselves in anger.

This is fairly close to what I have seen, and I am a lurker, only posting a few times.

Though I think there is more leaning towards the positive site than a straight curve like above.

My remark was essentially pointing to the 5% soiling themselves in anger. They are the ones that have really lit him on fire.

 

[Khairn]

I've read the blog, can see where CP is coming from, and agree that the individual attacks are uncalled for. The changes have been on the drawingboards for years with a committee working on them, not any single individual. The FR changes are a done deal, and input from fans was neither required or requested. Unlike 4E rules where WotC is saying they want input from customers, complaining about the changes to FR is a useless waste of time.

Having said that, the changes are significant enough and eliminate enough key elements in my campaign that its become another reason why not to switch to 4E. If you like the FR as it is now, stick with 3E. It's tough to admit that WotC has drawn this line in the sand, but everyone is either going to have to change or come up with another alternative.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I can see how the per-encounter mechanics of 4e could lead to that. Generally stories in novels don't dwell on things like "I'm out of spells for the day, I have to rest overnight before I can fight Blackdoom the Dark." And has Elminster ever said "I could get past this door, but I didn't prepare knock today. Let's try again tomorrow."?

If you ask me, spellcasters (even in non-RPG novels) are almost never portrayed reasonably. They're almost always either too weak (I get tired after casting one spell; I'm an apprentice who can cast three mystic bolts a day), never around (got to fight the balrog now) or too powerful (the gale destroyed a hundred demons). Ironically the too-weak and too-strong examples were from various Warcraft novels, but I could use almost any fantasy setting the same way. I would like to see spellcasters use something like Lightning Bolt more often

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

5% soiling themselves in anger.

I would like to make a motion that "Soiling myself in anger" be the new official ENworld poll answer for "Really really don't like."

Brad