Forgotten Realms...

[Drew_Bear]

How many of you play in the FRCS, and have "toned down" the high magic in it. Does it work? The newer edition seems to handle this easier than 2nd ed. Just curious.

 

[Crothian]

We toned it down a lot and it worked just fine. The important thing about the realms is the places and history more then the magic. So, I was able to keep what I felt was the important parts of the Realms together and get the low magic setting I like.

 

[Numion]

I DM in the FRCS with the normal DMG & PHB ("Greyhawk") magic level. I give out treasure as suggested in DMG, and it's working fine. I guess this is low-magic compared to some FR campaigns, but it works.

I guess one can't go wrong with the DMG guidelines. Lower than that, I'd think that the non-spellcasters will be at disadvantage. But in many games the balance isn't that important, and one can have perfectly fun game with low magic.

 

[Ron]

Some of my players, more than once, asked me to run a game in the Realms. My only contact with the setting was the first edition box, which was ok but did not sparked any further interest from me, and a few novels, namely the slightly above average Moonshae triology and the awful Spellfire.

I was thinking of giving FR3 a chance, but my games are kind of low in treasure as far as D&D goes. Usually, I would give something like 10 times less money than the recommended by the DMG. Also, magical items are much less common in my games, although they are always powerful. I am from 1st edition school and never made sense to me why a wizard would invest such amount of resources to make +1 items. I know that 3rd edition has changed it but this already part of my style. My question is, is it possible to tune down FR's high magical feel to my needs?

 

[seankreynolds]

It amuses me that you all keep saying that FR is high magic, when there is nothing in the 3E FR rulebooks that say you should give out any more magic, treasure, or spells than in a normal D&D game. In fact, the FR team was specifically told that FR characters could not be any more powerful than a similarly equipped core D&D character. Yes, regionally-appropriate characters start with about 300 gp of gear more than core characters, but after a level or two that difference is negligible and all the extra gear means is the character is more likely to survive in that critical 1st-2nd level range.

So according to the rules, FR is not high magic. The themes of the setting usually rely on magic, but there's nothing hard-coded into the system to make you play it that way. It uses the core rules.

 

[Wolf72]

I think a lot of it has to do with reading more and more about elminster and other high magic peoples.

yup, I think some of it is an illusion or a preconcieved idea of what realms is like

 

[Drew_Bear]

It amuses me that you all keep saying that FR is high magic, when there is nothing in the 3E FR rulebooks that say you should give out any more magic, treasure, or spells than in a normal D&D game.

Alright. Let me re-phrase somewhat. Do the realms work with the normal rules for magic/treasure allocation in the DMG? Also, the FRCS itself says "the Realms are steeped in magic" in the intro. I guess this is where the impression of "high magic" comes in. That doesn't mean everyone has or uses magic.

In fact, the FR team was specifically told that FR characters could not be any more powerful than a similarly equipped core D&D character. Yes, regionally-appropriate characters start with about 300 gp of gear more than core characters, but after a level or two that difference is negligible and all the extra gear means is the character is more likely to survive in that critical 1st-2nd level range.

So according to the rules, FR is not high magic. The themes of the setting usually rely on magic, but there's nothing hard-coded into the system to make you play it that way. It uses the core rules.

That is what I wanted to hear. Thank you all for responding.

 

[Victim]

It says the Realms are stepped in magic for one reason.

FR seems like one of the first steps to taking all the magical power availible and seeing how it affects the world. It doesn't do a specatular job, but it's a start.

The FR NPCs all seem to be built on DMG wealth guidelines for NPCs. When Drizzt stats were first posted, fanboys complained about how his +5 defender weapon got toned done so he'd fit in the wealth limit. It seems like some of the 20+ characters aren't close to the PC wealth reccomendation for 20th level.

I'd just like to add a laugh abou the immensely toned down Drizzt. He makes the NPC fighter in the DMG look like an inspired character design. Ha ha.

 

[Darkness]

I'd just like to add a laugh abou the immensely toned down Drizzt. He makes the NPC fighter in the DMG look like an inspired character design. Ha ha.

Now that Masters of the Wild is out, though, you can easily trade in a few of his Fighter or Ranger levels for Tempest levels...

 

[ThomasBJJ]

I think another part of the "Realms being full of magic" comes from some of the places where they have magical plumbing and magical lights and common people make use of minor magical items for daily conveiniences. This is not the common way in the Realms, but there are a few places like that (Halruua for example).

I'm running a campaign based on the Realms, but magic is more rare and there are not as many mid to high level characters running around. A small town might rely on a single low level cleric for all magic, and a PC wizard or sorcerer in town in a rarity.

As someone said above, the main thing of the realms is the geography, the history, and the pantheon of deities. Everything else is up to the DM. And even the geography, history, and gods can be changed as you see fit. There is nothing magci dependent to this setting.