D&D 5E Forgotten Realms Deities

JohnLynch

Explorer
OK, but where are these practical new inventions?
Different techniques for steel have been discovered and thanks to the effort of Gond have passed throughout the Realms and been taken up by a significant portion of Faerun. Historically it was blacksmiths that discovered the fact that iron could be magnetised which allowed for compasses to be invented which also passed throughout the Realms. New dyes have been invented that can allow a wider range of colours (including much brighter colours) to be used when working various types of cloth. Several cloth workers are trying to replicate silk that doesn't rely on trade with the Far East while blacksmiths are trying to rediscover the process of creating crucible steel that is said to have been known by the dwarves of Delzoun. Several churches have funded expeditions to search for ruins that could hold the secrets of crucible steel.

In civilisations that embrace Gond (such as Lantan) significant advancements made with the Gondar army being outfitted with firearms and Gondsmen being a common sight to see on the streets. Gondsmen were an invention that did extend beyond Lantan however the process wasn't well understood and all sorts of inventors sponsored by the Church of Gond were trying to unlock the secrets when the Spellplague caused most (if not all) of them to deactivate. Recently though, those Gondsmen have begun turning back on with rumours circulating that those temples who have been visited by Lantanna priests of Gond now know how to reliably create Gondsmen. The current debate is how to best use this knowledge in the larger framework of society (as Gondar priests do have some morals and don't simply disseminate all inventions to the wider community without thinking about at least the most obvious impacts). The printing press has also spread a bit wider. Again, created before the Spellplague it was most common in places like Tethyr and Calimshan but has since started spreading to some of the communities around the Sea of Fallen Stars.

Why is the Realms still such a medieval backwater?
There are ethical dilemmas about Gondsmen. Printing presses are quite expensive and laborious to use so this has so far had limited up take until now. However printing presses have also been opposed by monks who see them as a threat to their traditions and governments who are concerned about mass produced works of this nature and the power such works could have. That said they have become pretty ubiquitous throughout the major cities of the Sword Coast and have started to see use in the Sea of Fallen Stars (notably the region that was once called The Vast). They have yet to be introduced successfully to Cormyr (as to why that is the case can be speculated upon by any who wish to). Firearms as a whole have (until now) been unreliable and dangerous to use. Lantan seems to have developed reliable firearms although the government doesn't seem to be rushing to sell this technology to other realms and are actively opposing the Gond priests attempts to do so (the first time in almost a century that the government and Gond have been at odds). Were Lantan to successfully use this technology in a military maneuver it is likely that, assuming the firearms were effective, many governments in the Realms would make overt attempts to secure this technology for themselves. However Lantan has not yet been involved in any major conflicts since resurfacing after the Spellplague.

Ultimately the primary reason though is because people tend to like traditionally medieval settings for their fantasy games and typically play settings that are designed not to replicate the faux-medieval feel when they don't want that medieval feeling. Technology can also go years without any significant advancements. In my realms I'm clearly positioning things so that the Forgotten Realms can make that leap to an industrial civilisation. Given these are major changes to the setting though I will want them to occur on screen rather than in the background. So the players can be involved in seeing such major changes happen to the setting. Of course, there's no guarantee it will. Firearms could be suppressed. Gondsmen could be enslaved and so priests of Gond will have to ask themselves if that is why their God gave them the miracle that are Gondsmen and whether or not they want to bury that knowledge so that it can't be used to create a slave army.

The church of Gond benefits from major advancements being made in technology. Current powers that be may not see such advancements to be in their best interest (people tend to be afraid of change). If it turns out my players absolutely hate the introduction of non-medieval influences into the Forgotten Realms then I've got built in ways to remove them. If the players try to spread the advancement of technology but completely screw it up, then there'll be in setting consequences as a result. You could argue that I should have the technology advance without regard to what the players do, and it will to a degree. But some great stories can be told about the introduction of certain technologies so I'm likely to want to find reasons as to why it hasn't yet and then wait until the players are in a position to explore that story before pulling the trigger. And if my players actively dislike something and it impacts their enjoyment of the setting, I'm going to look for ways to remove that aspect and enhance their enjoyment for the setting.
 

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JohnLynch

Explorer
To be honest, for me it's not so much a question of "Why doesn't the Realms look more like Eberron?" as it is a question of "What purpose does a deity like Gond serve in a world that never seems to change?"
Without changing the current level of technology:
  • To create a single god that characters of multiple different professions can worship and be connected to (believe it or not this CAN cut down on the number of gods).
  • To provide players with yet another reason to explore ancient ruins with a slightly different spin on things.
  • To provide players who do want to play "mad scientists" a god that supports their insane scientific endeavours.
  • To give an in-setting reason for wacky one-off inventions to exist that the players can stumble upon.

Gond is a rather minor god within the setting of the Forgotten Realms. He might seem more important to us as players because he captures our imaginations. And to me, that is the greatest reason to include him. Because for some players he will capture their imaginations and get them excited about the Forgotten Realms setting. As for the never changes? My version of Lantan is quite significantly NOT medieval and would represent a late 19th century/early 20th century level of technology. Yes there are some advancements we have in real life that they do not (electricity). But there are other advancements they have that we still do not (non-biological sentient lifeforms).

Of course, all this is my personal interpretation of Gond and Lantan and is inspired by canon, but may not be supported by canon.

I think the Realms has been designed to be on the cusp of technology taking off but never really getting there. This was fine when the advancement of the timeline was limited to under 30 years. 4th edition sort of threw that out the window. However it did destroy (or hide) the most technological society of all and so having the clergy of Gond take a step back as a result of this isn't really that far fetched. Now that Lantan is back it seems to be on that cusp now more than ever. It's up to DMs if they want to tip it over and finally explore that aspect of the Realms (as it should be IMO).
 

pukunui

Legend
Ultimately the primary reason though is because people tend to like traditionally medieval settings for their fantasy games and typically play settings that are designed not to replicate the faux-medieval feel when they don't want that medieval feeling.
Oh sure. I don't mind that. I'm not saying the Realms *should* advance technologically. Just that it seems weird to have a god of inventions in a world that doesn't ever really change technologically.
 

gyor

Legend
Its not that the realms doesn't advance in technology, its that very little of it gets around because of no mass production.

When technology does start getting around disaster strikes setting the realms back technologically.

ToT made physics go haywire, so that was a set back, spellplague was another tech set back, the countless other realm shaking events in FRs history, major tech set backs.

And as others have mentioned there are various vested interests who hold back tech for various reasons.

If FR had a signicant length of time of peace and without disasters, then its likely that FR would end up way beyond us in tech within a 100 years. All FR needs is time and stablity.

And yeah Lantan is the streampunk nation of the realms, although I'll point out that the realms had stream punk elements long before Eberron was a setting.

It just that Eberron had longer periods of stability and I think someone came up with ideas like mass production.
 

gyor

Legend
The realms is alot more then a midieval setting, it only appears to be midieval at first glance because of places like Cormyr that function that way.

But you have many nations that bear no resemblence to midieval times, not even a bit, like Mulhorand, or Lantan, or Chult, ect...

Actually Mulhorand is interesting because it wasn't technologically backwards despite being based on ancient egypt instead of the midieval times, so you end up with a place with egyptian trappings, but in practice is very different from egypt.
 

pukunui

Legend
And yeah Lantan is the streampunk nation of the realms, although I'll point out that the realms had stream punk elements long before Eberron was a setting.
Going by the little hints in the SCAG, it sounds like Lantan's become even more like Eberron - that is, it's gone magitech, rather than steampunk.

The realms is alot more then a midieval setting, it only appears to be midieval at first glance because of places like Cormyr that function that way.

But you have many nations that bear no resemblence to midieval times, not even a bit, like Mulhorand, or Lantan, or Chult, ect...
Sure sure. "Medieval" is just a convenient shorthand to describe a "generic fantasy setting" like the Realms.
 

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