Obryn
Hero
Oh, I think you can go a little bit after this. Some of the FR series are pretty good and serve as decent gazetteers. But that's really about it, I'd say.
Heck, I have a big soft spot for the Hordelands, too, despite everything.
-O
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D&D 5E Forgotten Realms - How would you publish this setting this time?
- Thread starter howandwhy99
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Heck, I have a big soft spot for the Hordelands, too, despite everything.
-O
JeffB
Legend
I was speaking as far as Novels go,.actually
should have been more clear.But the FR series started to get a little squirrely after Savage Frontier or Dreams,for my tastes.
That said, I have some.2e material I use all the time- Volo's Guides,.the 2e Box,Ruins of Adventure, eveningstar, Pirates of the FS, and even Lost Empires from 3.5. I just pick and choose what I like, ignore the rest
Volos Guide to the Dalelands has been especially useful over the past year or so. I mine it ruthlessly for plot hooks, as the campaign has settled into that area.
3catcircus
Adventurer
Couple of thoughts.
1. Really amazing maps with some "realistic" information - lat/long lines, timezones, accurate distances, etc - both a high-level map included in the campaign book and an electronic mapset that will allow a drill-down - basically the Forgotten Realms Atlas using current technology and art standards.
2. The 3e FRCS book as the standard for the core campaign setting.
3. Multiple "levels" of product accessories - a series of gazetteer-style books for each nation and then lower-level accesories for specific cities/regions with more detail. Let there be a russian doll-esque approach to allow DMs to use the amount of detail they are happy with.
4. Lots of really good adventures with some thought put into how to link all of them together into a series of potentially-overlapping campaign arcs or adventure paths. The DCC World of Aereth setting hinted at this in their product with a list of 3-4 different adventure paths - each of which shared 1 or 2 adventures (i.e Adventure Path 1 may have used one module that was also used for Adventure Path 2, etc.)
5. A well-thought out "living" campaign that uses the above adventure paths as their basis - every group that chooses to participate would go online and report out certain things (did the BBEG escape or die? Did the party get the McGuffin to their benefactor or sell it for the gold? What unusual or unexpected thing occurred?, etc.) that would then be averaged to drive any potential change to the campaign world in future products. This way, DMs know exactly how the campaign world will change rather than having to deal with ToT, SpellPlague, or other RSEs.
1. Really amazing maps with some "realistic" information - lat/long lines, timezones, accurate distances, etc - both a high-level map included in the campaign book and an electronic mapset that will allow a drill-down - basically the Forgotten Realms Atlas using current technology and art standards.
2. The 3e FRCS book as the standard for the core campaign setting.
3. Multiple "levels" of product accessories - a series of gazetteer-style books for each nation and then lower-level accesories for specific cities/regions with more detail. Let there be a russian doll-esque approach to allow DMs to use the amount of detail they are happy with.
4. Lots of really good adventures with some thought put into how to link all of them together into a series of potentially-overlapping campaign arcs or adventure paths. The DCC World of Aereth setting hinted at this in their product with a list of 3-4 different adventure paths - each of which shared 1 or 2 adventures (i.e Adventure Path 1 may have used one module that was also used for Adventure Path 2, etc.)
5. A well-thought out "living" campaign that uses the above adventure paths as their basis - every group that chooses to participate would go online and report out certain things (did the BBEG escape or die? Did the party get the McGuffin to their benefactor or sell it for the gold? What unusual or unexpected thing occurred?, etc.) that would then be averaged to drive any potential change to the campaign world in future products. This way, DMs know exactly how the campaign world will change rather than having to deal with ToT, SpellPlague, or other RSEs.
Scrivener of Doom
Adventurer
... except for a functional map.
The map really was crap which reduced the utility of the setting. I actually like the 4E version of FR and run it, but I generally run games in areas where other maps have been produced because the ones in the FRCG are just crap.
the Jester
Legend
I am not an FR fan, but if I was going to publish it (probably with a reboot or something) there are two huge issues I would avoid and one major thing that I would include.
I would exclude metaplot that is advanced through novels, game products and the like that might mess with someone's home campaign.
I would excise absolutely all the damn Mary Sue DMPCs that run rampant through the Realms and somehow need to be mentioned in every product ever involving the Realms- Elminster, Khelben, etc. No more of that! Powerful npcs, sure, but no more Mary Sues.
What I would include is a gigantic poster map, at scale, that would be the definitive map for the FR... and then I would never redraw that map for arbitrary reasons. (Hi there, 3e FR map.)
I would exclude metaplot that is advanced through novels, game products and the like that might mess with someone's home campaign.
I would excise absolutely all the damn Mary Sue DMPCs that run rampant through the Realms and somehow need to be mentioned in every product ever involving the Realms- Elminster, Khelben, etc. No more of that! Powerful npcs, sure, but no more Mary Sues.
What I would include is a gigantic poster map, at scale, that would be the definitive map for the FR... and then I would never redraw that map for arbitrary reasons. (Hi there, 3e FR map.)
JRRNeiklot
First Post
Republish the grey box. Done.
Scrivener of Doom
Adventurer
Like so many others, I have been wanting the metaplot removed since it first started. The sad fact is that the novels seemingly contribute more to the bottom line than the RPG products and so there seems to be some sort of pressure to include the latest RAS-crafted gungan, for example, in the next FR RPG release (probably to try and drive further FR novel sales). If the metaplot was excised, it would make FR so much more accessible as there would be no Drizzt- or Elminster-created plots to keep track of.
I have enjoyed every iteration of FR from the OGB (actually, from the original Dragon articles) to the new 4E version which I am still running games in. I understood why the 4E changes were made and am happy to run with them.
Nevertheless, I still don't know why the Next reset doesn't simply either go back to the Old Grey Box or to 1375 DR. Wipe out the Spellplague and associated events entirely. (Actually, I do know why: the novel authors, particularly RAS, are too important to the brand.)
JRRNeiklot
First Post
Actually, Salvatore is on record somewhere with a proposed "fix" to FR. It's on Youtube somewhere.
billd91
Not your screen monkey (he/him) 🇺🇦🇵🇸🏳️⚧️
I wouldn't completely excise them. They retain some popularity, I'm sure, so I'd use them as Elminster was in some of the early 1990s supplements - as a means of framing the information in the campaign supplement, to give the narration a voice. The Kara-Tur boxed set's country information had introductions as if local natives were writing to Elminster and providing him the information for his library. Use the Mary Sue's to provide narrative voices and continuity between products and then downplay them as actual actors in the settings.
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