D&D 5E How do you feel about the Forgotten Realms?
TheSleepyKing
First Post
I'm a liker. For me, it's the depth of the world - an incredibly rich history that gives adventures in the realms a context that most other settings can't really match (reading the Grand History of the Realms can give you an idea about just how complex the setting is). The Star Wars and Warhammer universes are the only settings that I can think of that have that kind of depth.
I also like its kitchen sink factor, or liked it, before they decided to blow up every country that wasn't psuedo western European. If I wanted an Egyptian, Greek, Babylonian, Persian, Spanish, Aztec, or just about any other adventure theme, there was a place for it in the Realms. Sure, the analogues could tend to be a little too close to the real world, but mostly they worked well and there were plenty of nations that were pure fantasy constructions built into the realms as well. (As an aside, I tend to disagree with people who don't like real-world analogues: I find them an excellent way to instantly evoke a culture, architecture and theme without having to subject players to extended exposition. Cultures without a historical or literary antecedent are very hard to pull off in an RPG. There are a very few settings I can think of that successfully managed to build a "culture" from scratch -- Planescape and Dark Sun come to mind).
Without question, though, the Realms could use a major cleanup. The number of realms shaking events and the proliferation of super-heroes in 2E and 3E made the setting a total mess, while the 4E solution (blow everything up, advance the timeline 100 years) was just awful. I hope that 5E, if and when WotC get around to it, papers over those events and gives us a "clean" setting to work with, one where there aren't a million overpowered good-guy NPCs running around and can serve as a starting point for an epic player campaign that won't be run roughshod over by metaplot and novel characters.
I also like its kitchen sink factor, or liked it, before they decided to blow up every country that wasn't psuedo western European. If I wanted an Egyptian, Greek, Babylonian, Persian, Spanish, Aztec, or just about any other adventure theme, there was a place for it in the Realms. Sure, the analogues could tend to be a little too close to the real world, but mostly they worked well and there were plenty of nations that were pure fantasy constructions built into the realms as well. (As an aside, I tend to disagree with people who don't like real-world analogues: I find them an excellent way to instantly evoke a culture, architecture and theme without having to subject players to extended exposition. Cultures without a historical or literary antecedent are very hard to pull off in an RPG. There are a very few settings I can think of that successfully managed to build a "culture" from scratch -- Planescape and Dark Sun come to mind).
Without question, though, the Realms could use a major cleanup. The number of realms shaking events and the proliferation of super-heroes in 2E and 3E made the setting a total mess, while the 4E solution (blow everything up, advance the timeline 100 years) was just awful. I hope that 5E, if and when WotC get around to it, papers over those events and gives us a "clean" setting to work with, one where there aren't a million overpowered good-guy NPCs running around and can serve as a starting point for an epic player campaign that won't be run roughshod over by metaplot and novel characters.
The Mirrorball Man
Aventurier
I wonder if a good way to solve this problem wouldn't be to release, instead of another version of the Realms, a campaign book focusing exclusively on the Sword Coast, presenting the familiar region from a fresh perspective.
TrippyHippy
Hero
I’m neutral too. It’s a bit of a bland setting, but people like it and it does a job.
If they were going to do a default setting for the game, for my tastes, Planescape would be MUCH, MUCH more appealing.
If they were going to do a default setting for the game, for my tastes, Planescape would be MUCH, MUCH more appealing.
I'm underwhelmed/neutral. There have been a few good books, and certainly enough adventures and seasons of DnD Encounters in the Realms, but it's not a setting I'd run anything other than published adventures. It just doesn't feel like a setting I can make my own, if that makes any sense. I do sometimes resent all the attention it gets, it's the Marcia Brady of DnD settings.
sgtscott658
First Post
You could make the realms your own by changing stuff you dont like. Thats what many have done and I honestly do not think everyone runs the Realms as is. I surly dont, I set my FR campaign in 1370 DR the Year of the tankard thus avoiding some of the latter silliness. The maps, cool adeventures are what sell's me on the realms. I just change the history just a bit. Heck you can run two or three campaigns along the Sword Coast and still have room for more.
Olaf the Stout
Hero
I like the Realms. I've read a number of the Drizzt books, have played Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, so I know a bit about it, but have never run a campaign in the setting. That may change with 5E.
