D&D (2024) Forgotten Realms Player Guide

[Demetrios1453]

Hmm? Bane was already back as of the original 3e Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting book. Check page 237.

That's just me misremembering, I knew he hadn't come back during an edition change though.

Remember, 2e to 3e didn't have any major changes either (Bane came back a bit before 3e, and even then, that's hardly "Realms-shaking").

 

[cbwjm]

That's just me misremembering, I knew he hadn't come back during an edition change though.

Remember, 2e to 3e didn't have any major changes either (Bane came back a bit before 3e, and even then, that's hardly "Realms-shaking").

I liked the time of troubles as a reason for changing things up between 1e and 2e (I never played 1e so it's not something that impacted any campaigns I was in) but I was also happy that between 2e and 3e they kept changes pretty light.

 

[see]

Bane came back a bit before 3e

Er, no, not that, either.

Cloak & Dagger, which was released in June 2000 for AD&D 2nd edition (2 months before the 3e PHB), has quite a bit about Fzoul Chembryl and Iyachtu Xvim, complete through the year 1370 DR. The book then had a "Future Expectations" heading that detailed some events involving the Church of Xvim for 1371 DR and 1372 DR on page 11. There is no mention of Bane's return anywhere in the book.

The 3e FRCS, released in June 2001, details that Xvim was replaced by Bane on Midwinter night in 1372 DR (see p.265).

(And between those two publications, as I remember it, there was a guide to the 3e version of Living City campaign released online with a list of gods that had "Xvim" appearing in the alphabetic spot appropriate to "Bane", which resulted in everyone on the Internet correctly predicting the 3e FRCS would have Bane replacing Xvim. Unfortunately, I haven't found any documentation of this.)

It is completely true that the 2e-3e transition in both rules and setting was not explained by a Realms-shaking event (unlike the 1e-2e Godswar, 3e-4e Spellplague, or 4e-5e Sundering transitions).

But it is also true that the return of Bane happened simultaneously with the transition from 2nd to 3rd edition, not notably before or after the edition transition.

 

[Marandahir]

This is heavily reminiscent to me of the first year of 4e. Nerath (Pseudo-Greyhawk) in the core books, then FR Player's and Campaign Guides as the first major setting.

Given that 4e was literally trying to launch the VTT, maybe 2024 is the do-over of 2008?

 

[Henadic Theologian]

This is heavily reminiscent to me of the first year of 4e. Nerath (Pseudo-Greyhawk) in the core books, then FR Player's and Campaign Guides as the first major setting.

Given that 4e was literally trying to launch the VTT, maybe 2024 is the do-over of 2008?

Actually the Nentir Vale was supposed to be apart of FR originally, but then got split off into its own setting later in development.

 

[see]

(And between those two publications, as I remember it, there was a guide to the 3e version of Living City campaign released online with a list of gods that had "Xvim" appearing in the alphabetic spot appropriate to "Bane", which resulted in everyone on the Internet correctly predicting the 3e FRCS would have Bane replacing Xvim. Unfortunately, I haven't found any documentation of this.)

Okay, I realize this is a bit of pedantic historical detail (I put "Pedantic Grognard" as my title over to the left for a reason, people), grabbing the archives of the old Realms-L mailing list off the Internet Archive and doing a search through the late 2000/early 2001 part of the mbox file, I found the following messages (among others):

Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2001 04:30:59 +0100
Subject: Re: FAITHS: Gods of Faerun Sketchbook

At 21:40 2001-03-08 -0500, you wrote:

Maybe I'm hoping against hope (probable, actually) but it looks like
everyone's favorite god-father (pun intended) might be making a comeback.

In the older version of the RPGA FR Guidelines (for Living City), there
were a few mentions of Bane - the Divine Disciple class said that "evil
deities such as Bane have been known to elevate blackguards as divine
disciples", and one or two of the domains mentioned that Bane gave them out
(including the Law domain). Curiously, in the latest version all these
references to Bane have been replaced with references to Xvim (not Iyachtu
Xvim, just Xvim, and he's mentioned before Cyric on the Destruction domain
and between Azuth and Berronar Truesilver in the Law domain - looks to me
like someone just did a search&replace).

and

Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 14:28:26 -0800
Subject: Re: FAITHS: Bane (was Gods of Faerun Sketchbook)

A theory; what if Iyachtu Xvim, having absorbed all of his father's former
power, his father's former position (as primary god of the Zhents and the
Keep), gave good ol' Bane the opportunity to resurrect himself through the
Godson? The cropped picture certainly looks like a Banite's armor. And the
mention of Fzoul, Sememmnon, and Manshoon reaching some sort of agreement.
Who else could do this but Bane (either as himself or Xvim)? Hmm.... it's
gonna be a long three months.

So, as of March 2001 -- after 3rd edition's core rulebooks had been released, but before the release of the 3e FRCS -- it had not yet been officially announced by WotC that Xvim was going to be replaced by Bane in the 3rd edition Realms, but enough information had been leaked through the RPGA guidelines that some people were able to work out quite accurately what was going to happen in the 3e FRCS.

 

[Parmandur]

Okay, I realize this is a bit of pedantic historical detail (I put "Pedantic Grognard" as my title over to the left for a reason, people)

Title checks out.

 

[The Glen]

Both Forgotten Realms has well over 300 novels which have sold tens of millions of copies. It's had dozens of video games. Mystara had about 15 novels I think so it's less true for Mystara, and a video game or two.

It's actually had about 10 video games. It's most famous for the Capcom but there were quite a few computer games

 

[Henadic Theologian]

It's actually had about 10 video games. It's most famous for the Capcom but there were quite a few computer games

See more multimedia action for Mystara then I thought, it makes my given then games can have dozens to hundreds of hours of game play.

 

[Marandahir]

Actually the Nentir Vale was supposed to be apart of FR originally, but then got split off into its own setting later in development.

Oh, so the Elsir Vale on Abeir-Toril predated the Nentir Vale in Nerath? Fascinating detail!