D&D 4E Ed Greenwood working on the 4E FRCS

[Cadfan]

It's highly rational. If you like the original [STAR WARS] stuff, its likely because of the work [GEORGE LUCAS] did, and if what you like about [SW] is [LUCAS], it stands to reason that [SW] work by [LUCAS] will be more to your liking than [SW] work by someone else, no matter how talented that someone else might be.

Therefore, Jar Jar Binks was awesome, and the animated clone wars shorts on cartoon network were rather blah without the hand of Lucas to guide them.

In a shared universe, quality of author matters more than some credo of authenticity.

But really this is rather a moot point, since Greenwood is talented. He's a good author, and I'm sure he'll do a good job. I just think that there's a lot of other people who would also do a good job.

 

[JamesM]

Given the amount of angst surrounding FR and the other threads stating that Ed doesn't like what's been done, what do you all think of this news?

It's pretty much a no-brainer for WotC. Making sure Ed is involved guarantees you not only a very talented and imaginative writer, but also gives you a bit more credibility with people who've been following the Realms since issue 30 of Dragon.

What it does not do, however, is overturn WotC's apparent plans to "simplify" or otherwise change the Realms in ways some long-time fans probably won't like. Ed has little to no control over the direction of the published Realms and hasn't had since the day he signed his contract with TSR back in the day. Being smart and charming, he can often "push" developments slightly this way or that, trying to bringing it closer to what he would have done, but he cannot stop the momentum given it by WotC (or, before, TSR).

I think the 4E Realms will certainly be better than it would otherwise have been if Ed hadn't been involved. He can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. It's just a shame that sow's ears may be the favored materials from which to build campaign settings these days.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Edwork is always good, but he'll probably just be a hired scribe with no influence on the big picture. It increases the chance that the stuff they'll do will be worth it for a FR fan, but it's still a very tall order with what we know so far.

So count me among those who aren't suddenly optimistic about 4e Realms.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Hopeful.

Maybe there will be some... transition periods that players can take part in and influence the final events.

Ed's a great game writer. I'm hoping that his past enthusiasm for ideas and good stuff comes through as opposed to just getting a pay check.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I don't think it really matters.

Let me explain what I mean by that. I don't think there's anything sacrosanct about Ed Greenwood being involved in the project. What matters is that they have good authors and world builders who love the Forgotten Realms. Ed Greenwood is a good author and world builder who loves the Forgotten Realms, so its a good thing he's involved in the project. If they didn't have him, and instead had someone else who was also a good author and world builder, I'm sure things would be fine.

I concur. I'm reminded of Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek. Yes, he created the original vision, and yes, it was nice that he was so involved in TNG, but not everything he created was gold, by any means, including some of the best stuff in the franchise, which only appeared after his death.

That said, if they want to do a new Oerth all-in-one sourcebook in 2010 or something, and have Gygax on board for it, I'll definitely be happy about it, and I can understand why FR fans might be happy about Greenwood's involvement in the 4E FRCS.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I wonder how much control he'll really have though.

Most likely the same exact level he had all through 3e.

 

[Tharen the Damned]

It's highly Knowing what an author's style is gives you a greater certainty that works by that author will appeal to you in the future, much in the same way that if you like The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, you'd probably prefer another LoTR book to be written by Tolkien rather than, say, Terry Pratchett.

Now that would be awesome. With Rincewind instead of gandalf and Carrot instead of Aragorn...

 

[jdrakeh]

I concur. I'm reminded of Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek. Yes, he created the original vision, and yes, it was nice that he was so involved in TNG, but not everything he created was gold, by any means, including some of the best stuff in the franchise, which only appeared after his death.

Note that, like Greenwood fans, many Roddenberry fans still attribute work that the creator had absolutely no part in to his genius alone. For FR, this is especially true of many 2e products, that were conceptualized and written entirely by hired guns (e.g., freelance designers/writers, not Greenwood). For Roddenberry, it's true of every television series bearing his name that proved popular (e.g., Next Generation, Voyager, Earth: Final Conflict, Andromeda, etc).

 

[WhatGravitas]

Now that would be awesome. With Rincewind instead of gandalf and Carrot instead of Aragorn...

...and Nobby as Frodo?

Cheers. LT.

 

[BlueBlackRed]

I am very pleased to hear this.