I picked "rewrote" - too extensive changes
I picked "rewrote" - too extensive changes:
First I cut way down on magic items. I go for a world with few (but also often powerful) magic items, where all magic items have a history. No magic shops. No wizards advertising for custom items. No temples selling potions, or even giving bulk discounts. Most people use either mundane gear, masterwork items, or buff themselves and allies with spells.
Second, less treasure. There are no orc tribes possessing tons of gold, no bandits amassing a fortune just ripe for the picking. Not many tombs filled with gold. People pay less for "adventuring services" as well. Having 1000 gold from pure loot at level 10 is pretty good for an adventurer. On the other hand, the skills and abilities of the PCs support a pretty or even very good life, be it the bard entertaining, the swashbuckler gambling, the paladin supported by her church (and being the fiancée of a very rich noble), the rogue dealing in information and the elf bounty hunting. The adventures and heroic deeds of the PCs also do not net them plain gold, but titles and status, which improve their lot in life far more than a flat sum (and which do not lead to inflation and gold-rush adventurer economics) Basically, the PCs don't have to care about money to live, anything they loot can be used for their pet projects.
Less spellcasters as a whole. There are no dozens of high-level wizards tending bars. No legions of high-level clerics polishing idols and statues in every temple. I don't always use the stats from the FRCS for the existing high level spellcasters, and usually do not define their levels. Elminster is a sage, pretty sure a capable wizard, but nothing past that is known for sure. The tales always get exagerated anyway. As long as no one needs him to cast Elminster can be a level 5 wizard for all I care.
Certain spells are banned, others are almost nonexistent. Teleport and Teleport without error and all the instant relocation spells with a greater range than Dimension Door are only available to NPC-mages that take a prestige class like the wayfarer from T&B, but without spell progression. People in need of a fast transport can either look for such a mage - and hope they have enough money or services to compensate his time should they arrive at convincing him to aid them - or they can look for ancient, semi-reliable portals scattered among ruins and the like.
Resurrection and similar spells are rare. Dead usually is dead. Harm is banned. Haste is banned. Divine Power just gives you 18 strength, nothing more. Persistent spell does not exist. Improved Invisibility and Fly are very rare. People do not usually cast Polymorph Other on allies as there are side effects. There are other spells banned as well - anything that results in combats that are basically dogfights between stealth-fighters on afterburner, or nuclear exchanges between superpowers (i.e. hasted invisible flying characters battling each other in the 1.5 rounds until the first save is failed against the save or die spell waves.)
The societies of the realms are a lot more grim than the FRCS suggests. Peasants don't live a good life, nobility means a lot or all in most countries. The dales are modelled after the medieval swiss, a bunch of rather backward peasants good at fighting, sought after as mercenaries. Cormyr is a centralized monarchy modelled after France. South of Baldur's Gate and Cormyr slavery is the norm. Death or enslavement is a common punishment for many crimes in almost all civilized countries. True good states are very rare - most leaders are neutral, having to compromise their morals for politics. The true power, money, lies with the (noble) landholders, or with merchant companies or houses, not with some eccentric mage living in an out of the way tower.
Racism and to a lesser degree sexism run rampant.
Elves have no second wind, they are a people rooted in traditions, often unable to cope with the rapidly advancing humans. Elven magic is on the verge of becoming outdated compared to human-driven magic research. In some countries, namely Halrua, with the red wizards close behind, the magic knowledge available to humans has mainly surpassed elven traditions due to 3000 years of research driven by humans zeal for progress. Elves generally look down on humans, but with far less reason than 1000 or even 200 years before. Stuck between the chaotic, carefree attitude of eternal children, and the stiffling taditions of long-lived beings that hamper progress they have not much to look forward to. The elven items - most very old - are more graceful and more beautiful than comparable items from human or dwarves, but dwarven items, especially metal, are clearly better, of higher quality.
Dwarves are also a people whose time is past. The Thunder Twin event never happened, dwarven numbers keep declining. They have kept up, however, with progress in metalworking and mining, and are still the best at their craft.
Halflings are basically as they are presented, but not too common.
Gnomes are rare. There is no odd tinker gnome in every city.
One campaign is set in Mulhorand/Unther, which I modified even further. Both countries are structured after egypt, and are almost twin cultures.
Religion-wise, I remodeled the Mulhorandi pantheon and culture. There are still gods walking the palaces in Skuld. No good gods though, only neutral gods. Mulhorand is a theocratic society modeled after communist russia, with the clerics of the different temples instead of the party. Unther was a manchester-capitalistic society controlled by their godking, and fell apart after the godking died, ripe for the picking by Mulhorand. Arcane casters in Mulhorand are, due to the belief that magic is god-granted and use of it without clerical backing is heresy, and due to the long-standing conflict with the Red Wizards of Thay, persecuted and very rare. The church of Toth, however, is mainly composed of mages with a few levels of cleric, for appearance's sake. The Goddess Isis was struck by Set through a plot and her personality fragmented. Her different fragments - each a diferent aspect of her portofolio, and a shard of her mind - compete with each other. The result is a Goddess with split personalities. Good thing she can have multiple avatars.
Historically, many events have not happened yet, or will not happen at all. King Azoun still lives, and since one campaign is centered in Cormyr, he may keep on living if the party gets involved. Shade has not yet appeared, and if they appear they may have a different agenda. The elven retreat is still going on.
