D&D 5E (2014) How I think HoTDQ should of been handled.

[Scrivener of Doom]

(snip) I just wish WotC would show a tad more creativity than dusting off yet another old thing from the old days, putting a few new bows and bells on it, and selling something repackaged.

I've recently been digging into Eberron for the first time in a series way and it definitely has that new feeling, even if it is now 10 years old. Ditto for Dark Sun, even though it's older! That said, clearly kitchen sinks sell well because both WotC with FR and Paizo with Golarion are doing that.

Both HotDQ and the Sundering were new ideas.

I would argue that they're not. HotDQ and RoT are very much the Daughter of Khyber campaign arc sketched out in 3.5E's Dragons of Eberron (Tiamat is trapped and needs to be freed) and otherwise adapted to FR. (I hope to run them in Eberron at some point.) Also, Tiamat as the BBEG has been done before in:

• Dragonlance;
• the crappy 80s cartoon;
• Red Hand of Doom; and
• Scales of War.

I am almost certain I have missed at least one major example.

As for The Sundering, it uses the name of an event from early Realms history when the elves did something bad and may actually be the third such event with that name but my mind is blank on the second. It also is not a new idea in other ways in that all it does is correct something that WotC now sees as a mistake in the form of the Spellplague and the entire 4E era.

So, no, neither represent something new but, if they sell well, that's great because it keeps D&D alive as a published TRPG.

 

[Staffan]

I've recently been digging into Eberron for the first time in a series way and it definitely has that new feeling, even if it is now 10 years old. Ditto for Dark Sun, even though it's older! That said, clearly kitchen sinks sell well because both WotC with FR and Paizo with Golarion are doing that.

The way I see it, Eberron is built to inspire you to tell a particular kind of stories, and it's very good at doing that. Golarion and, to a lesser extent, FR are built to allow you to come up with your own stories and find a place where they fit.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

The way I see it, Eberron is built to inspire you to tell a particular kind of stories, and it's very good at doing that. Golarion and, to a lesser extent, FR are built to allow you to come up with your own stories and find a place where they fit.

That's a really good point, [MENTION=907]Staffan[/MENTION]. I definitely agree with that. That's been my experience as well.

 

[Derren]

The way I see it, Eberron is built to inspire you to tell a particular kind of stories, and it's very good at doing that. Golarion and, to a lesser extent, FR are built to allow you to come up with your own stories and find a place where they fit.

Too bad that the FR is a bit crowded with epic level NPCs.

 

[Sailor Moon]

Too bad that the FR is a bit crowded with epic level NPCs.

Well you know they don' just stand around with their hands in their pockets waiting on the bat signal.

They have their own affairs to tend to.

 

[Wepwawet]

Too bad that the FR is a bit crowded with epic level NPCs.

Not on my world!
I've never read a FR novel, and I use the campaign setting books as guidelines. There's definitely no epic level NPCs unless they're there to develop the story and make my players look awesome.

(the truth is I never managed to run a group over epic levels... but when it happens, I'll keep my word )

 

[Derren]

Well you know they don' just stand around with their hands in their pockets waiting on the bat signal.

They have their own affairs to tend to.

Like stopping the summoning of an evil goddess?

 

[Laeknir]

Well you know they don' just stand around with their hands in their pockets waiting on the bat signal.

They have their own affairs to tend to.

Which are always going to be more epic, more important, more heroic than anything the PCs will do. They're part of the metastory in the novels, which you and I and others can never be. They'll always be higher level, more powerful, more connected and knowledgeable - it's who they are.

Unless you go rogue and do part-FR and part homebrew, this is always going to be the case for the Realms. Why? Because NDA. The Realms is a novel setting where PCs can only truly ever be tourists. That's how it's designed now, and how it's been designed for over 20+ years.

And I'm not trying to be confrontational - this is just the truth of the Realms.

 

[Sailor Moon]

Which are always going to be more epic, more important, more heroic than anything the PCs will do. They're part of the metastory in the novels, which you and I and others can never be. They'll always be higher level, more powerful, more connected and knowledgeable - it's who they are.

Unless you go rogue and do part-FR and part homebrew, this is always going to be the case for the Realms. Why? Because NDA. The Realms is a novel setting where PCs can only truly ever be tourists. That's how it's designed now, and how it's been designed for over 20+ years.

And I'm not trying to be confrontational - this is just the truth of the Realms.

Then don't use the lore. I don't how much simpler it needs to get. Elminster and other epic NPC's are there if you put them there. WoTc ninjas don't just show up and write them in when you aren't looking.

All campaign settings have their high level NPCs and have for years.

 

[Laeknir]

Then don't use the lore. I don't how much simpler it needs to get.

I would, except that FR is now the flagship/core setting and "the lore" has been folded into all of the 5E manuals. It's infected everything, like a (spell)plague.