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Message: <blockquote data-quote="takyris" data-source="post: 1064821" data-attributes="member: 5171">Paul, a couple additional notes, based on your replies.You said:"I can ask this though -- is it really the world that shines in fantasy that you enjoy, or the characters/plot/prose? Sometimes it's the former, but often it's the latter."That's the thing, though.  It's something different for everybody.  Some people read fantasy because they really like the setting, and for them, it's all about epic theme characters and archetypes moving through a beautiful, well-realized world.  Frankly, that kind of story would bore the snot out of me -- I'm all about good dialogue and clever plots.  But that's just me, and as a writer and a reader, it's taken me awhile to understand and accept that it's just me. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />What you said makes me more likely to read you, because it sounds like you treasure the kinds of things I treasure -- but it doesn't make someone who reads for setting/archetypal themes any less of a reader.You also said: "This, I think, is just wrong. There is no objective, Platonic, *thing-in-itself* that is the Forgotten Realms (or any other world, for that matter). There is only the result of the creative process, a process, in the case of FR, that involves many voices. What you see and read *is* FR, not a translation of it."That's a writer perspective, and as a writer, I agree with you completely.  As a reader, I disagree somewhat, since I get annoyed with authors who retcon their universes to make room for more expansions or sequels.  As a gamer, I disagree vehemently, because I paid good money for a campaign setting that should be everything I need to run my own game, and if someone comes along and violates it, that's a pain.  Many if not most gamers today also play computer games, and computer games are pretty clear about what it and is NOT the product.  The novel tie-in for a computer-game is NOT the computer game.  If it deviates significantly, it's wrong, plain and simple -- even if the novel tells a better story.I'm not saying that I personally agree with that -- like I said, I'm a writer, and I see where you're coming from -- but it's definitely possible for the gaming reader to have a different opinion, and that's something that must be respected.I mean, look at how much more flack Lucas is catching these days.  In the old days, everyone was waiting to see what he would do next.  Now, he does a movie and people shout, "Wait, Coruscant doesn't have that!  That alien can't breathe oxygen!  Those guys are described as weak and docile -- does he look weak and docile to you?"  There's a Star Wars campaign setting out there now, and people want to see it done right -- their kind of right.I'm not saying that they're right, but there are a lot of them, and they, ultimately, are the ones who decide whether or not to shell out the dollars.  Being right is only good if they decide to buy.EDIT: No matter how stupid they often seem. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />ALSO EDIT: And yeah, I think that each author deserves his or her own chance.  I'm buying a lot of new fiction these days so that I'm not just reading bestsellers.  Sometimes I'm surprised in a good way.  Other times, not so much.  But I'm still checking things out.</blockquote>

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