[FR] Everyone take a deep breath...

[M.L. Martin]

The majority opinion that I got off message boards was the change to Saga rules was disasterous for the setting and the Chaos War didn't play well to an audience already stung by the Saga rules changes.

You're got your order backwards. The Chaos War (as in Dragons of Summer Flame) came first; SAGA and the Fifth Age came later and were an attempt to revive a game line that had died with a whimper shortly before DoSF. People talking about the change have a tendency to forget that last part--AD&D DL had already become one of the few settings to be discontinued by TSR. The SAGA System was an attempt--a failed attempt, in the end, but an attempt--to revive the line, in part by drawing in novel readers who might have been put off by AD&D.

(I still think the things that really killed the line were a combination of numerous factors, including not only the alienation of a portion of the small remaining fanbase, but the greater alienation caused by DoSF, the collapse of TSR and six-month stoppage in the production schedule shortly after it launched, the weakness of some of the tie-in novels, the overly high production values for the cost, and the announcement just as WotC found its feet again that Weis & Hickman would be coming back to 'save' the setting.)

 

[Belorin]

What's happening to FR is regrettable, but thats what happens when you let outside sources into the setting, novels should never have become canon. In the beginning it seemed that novels were being used to help flesh out changes in the timeline (Avatar trilogy) then more and more writers began basing stories on the Realms and they may or may not have concidered the impact of their storylines on the Realms. Authors some times write with a larger brush in regards to events in a certain setting and if you have many writers affecting that setting it can get out of hand. The group running a campaign in the Realms can have weeks of play disrupted because the latest novel killed or changed someone or something the DM had set up to be the grand finale.
Sorry if I rambled on, but FR is my favorite CS and I'm concerned.

Bel

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Okay, I'm taking a deep breath, now I can shout out "I WON'T BUY IT!" that much louder!


Sure, we only know a couple of things. All the rest could be wonderful.

But I doubt it. I base that on simple statistics and law of averages. I just can't think of a reason the rest of the changes would appeal to me when I hated every single one of those we already know (Okay, I have to admit that I liked how Helm got offed, but that's because I always hated that deity, not because it made sense, which it didn't), or that the scope of the change will be smaller than all those changes strongly suggest.

It could be a coincidence that they somehow picked the worst parts of the changeover, but that would be quite a coincidence. I also don't think that it was intentional that the worst stuff came first. If it was, then this is a great contender for the worst PR stunt, since I'd think that they want to pick the cherries, make us interested, and not shock us into abandoning their product.



Seriously: After that "the world ends, a new one begins", the part about lots of deities killing each other, the statement that they want to get less deities, and want to shoehorn the 4e changes into the Realms instead of just explaining the mechanical parts of the realms anew with the new tools, I just can't see how the rest can be good.

 

[Blothar]

One of my favorite campaigns has been ongoing since the ToT in 2nd edition. When 3.X came out we changed the mechanics, but did not advance time. Now with 4th ed. looming we are actually thinking about rebooting our entire campaign and restarting the same characters from 1st level and set the time line to 1385. The idea of the campaign fits perfectly aswell, and we are excited to restart the characters since these have been our favorites. In other words, BRING ON THE CHANGE!!!!

 

[Brian Compton]

I agree with the majority here- we've been given a great deal of information, and none of it makes the Realms look good in the end. There have been some designer comments about a wish for FR and Eberron to become more "points of light in a sea of darkness" like the default setting, despite insistence that no one will muck with existing campaign worlds (the little sister on Bionic Woman gave a quote that would fit here, just can't remember it).

Look at the GHotR and you'll see that a few key NPC's are dead or gone, gods are dead (gods that until recently were getting an actual role rather than being throw-away references), and general chaos is the order of the day. Not to mention a plot line which reeks of Dragonlance- I like Dragonlance, but come on, be more original- and you have a scenario which affects the whole world rather than a corner or two.

Many people like the Realms as it is, where big events happen but only affect their immediate environs. When gods and falling celestial bodies get involved, the whole world changes, which doesn't make for useful incorporation into ongoing games. We've heard for years that even Ed's own game hasn't moved into the ToT, so it sounds like he's not been adding ANY new stuff for over a decade- and he's the All-Father of Faerun!

I may like to read about this "brave new world", but I don't know if I want my PC's to live there.

 

[dagger]

If I don't like the changes I wont use them. If I do, I will.

 

[JoeGKushner]

If the setting is 100 years in the future (as opposed to say giving up a look at what the fictional line is like 100 years down the road), I won't be playing it as my standard game. It's not necessarily that I abhor change but I have dozens if not hundreds of ideas that I can still use for my game that allows me to use the fluff I have in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd edition FR books as opposed to playing the "nope, dead, nope, dead, nope, dead" game that a 100 will jump will involve.

 

[Hairfoot]

Can someone remind me where all the FR 4E update info is?

 

[Brian Compton]

The only updates are "fluff," and can be found in the Grand History of the Realms (available at your FLGS ). The last few pages include information in the most recent novels and adventures, as well as a few choice set up details at the very end.

 

[Hairfoot]

So, it doesn't actually specify that the Realms is jumping ahead by a century?