How is YOUR Forgotten Realms Different?

[Pozatronic]

Do you run a FR campaign? What have you changed about the basic setting? Have you imported classes/races/gods/nations/ from other game settings (Scarred Lands,Eberron, Arcana Evolved,etc.). Have you changed entire countries to your liking?

I've always had a love/hate relationship with FR. I like the basic world, but can't stand most of the named characters. The FR pantheon has always been a little "loose" for my tastes, but a few of the gods interest me. On the backburner in my mind is a homebrewed FR setting. I'm thinking of either changing the gods completely, or porting in gods from other settings to take over the places of some "native" gods. I like Chardun from the Scarred Lands much better than I like Bane. However, I've always been a fan of Mark Smylies (spelling?) pantheon from his Artesia series.
I'm also thinking about changing some of the nations and geographical features (that gigantic #^$&ing desert annoys the hell out of me). I'll probably get rid of the Chosen, also, although I've always had a soft spot for the Seven Sisters.

Tell me what you've done to change your Forgotten Realms Setting.

 

[Land Outcast]

I'm pretty liberal with what I do in my FR, named NPCs are -almost- nonexistant, towns (from hamlets to large towns) crop up where I need them, as well as geographical features (If I can't find what I'm looking for in the area currently visited by the PCs).

Sorry I can't give specifics .

 

[Shieldhaven]

When I run campaigns in the Realms, NPCs from the FRCS dwell in Off-Camera-Land, where I believe they belong - heard of but never seen. Though Alustriel did make one appearance in her role as a leader of the Silver Marches.

The next time I run the Realms, the first plotline I run will be something to the effect of making the PCs figure out what horrible thing has murdered Elminster or one (or more) of the other Chosen of Mystra.

Other than that... well, avatars don't tend to run around doing as they please all the time, because that sounds amazingly lame to me. Instead, the myriad religious conflicts of the Realms crop up in nearly every other sort of conflict - a tendency that I'm trying to weed out of my plotlines, to be honest.

Haven

 

[marune]

If you believe you have to murder the Old Sage before starting a campaign in FR, then choose another setting.

If you're DM uses the Old Sage or others Mystra's chosen to ruin the show, then play with another DM.

How many times we have to say that your FR campaign doesn't have to be like a RSE (Realms shaking event) in a novel ?

Also, don't forget that these "famous" characters (El, Drizzt, etc.) appear in novels because WOTC knows that the novels portraying them are sure to be sold in numbers.

 

[Pozatronic]

If you believe you have to murder the Old Sage before starting a campaign in FR, then choose another setting.

If you're DM uses the Old Sage or others Mystra's chosen to ruin the show, then play with another DM.

How many times we have to say that your FR campaign doesn't have to be like a RSE (Realms shaking event) in a novel ?

Also, don't forget that these "famous" characters (El, Drizzt, etc.) appear in novels because WOTC knows that the novels portraying them are sure to be sold in numbers.

I'm not really sure what this post is about. I started this thread simply because I wanted to know how other people changed their FR setting. I plan on doing it and I wanted some ideas. If you like the FR setting as is, that's great, I'm not knocking it. I've played in the Realms as is. I've DM'ed in the Realms as is. Also, I'm kinda tired of the setting as is so I'm reacting accordingly. I know MY campaing doesn't have to follow the established line. Don't be such a skeptic, Skeptic.

 

[The Levitator]

Our FR world is pretty much un-FR like. It's a fairly low-magic world, with a very low frequency of low powered magic items although we MW items are pretty common for those who can afford them (this would include the players who are the heroes of the story). We've created some houserules that make spellcasters more rare, but more powerful.

Magical items have an instability built into them that gives them the chance of reacting to other magical items already bonded to you. Each time you acquire a new magical item, there's a 20% that the new magic item will react with 1 you already possess. 1 of 3 things happen; either the new item explodes, doing 1d6/1000gp value of the item, or 1 of the items drains the power of the other, making the drained item non-magical while making the draining item even more powerful. or it releases its energy harmlessly back to the weave. Spellcasters have the ability to notice disharmony between items long before they react, giving them time to separate the items.

Combat is much more diverse as we've incorporated many variants including the Opposed Roll variant, the Clobbered variant, ArmorDR variants and several things from Iron Heroes like Attack/Defense Challenges, Stunts, and Tokens. At the same time, sorcerers get more slots per day (+1 per level per slot) and Wizards Spellcasters have the recover slots in half the normal time. The tradeoff is that spellcasters gain EXP at 80% of other classes.


Religion is faith-based in our version of FR, with no known existence of the gods (they intervene, but anonymously). This gives favor to the faithful. Clerics don't know how or why their prayers work, just that they do. Healing is also much more miraculous in our world. I've developed a healing rate chart. There are 5 levels of recovery rate for potions or prayers, depending on the cleric's level. 1-4th lvl. clerics can heal at the rate of 1 HP/8 rds. 5-8th lvl. clerics heal at the rate of 1 HP/4 rds. 9-12th clerics heal at the rate of 1 HP/2 rds. 13-16th clerics heal at the rate of 1 HP/rd. and 17-20th heal at the rate of 2 HP/rd. Potions are more expensive in relation to the cleric that created them. The lack of "instant heal powerups" make combat more dicey and dangerous, and really encourages strategy and planning over just kicking the doors in with potions strapped to your chest. I should also mention that there is no Resurrection either.

I've left the epic and uberfantastical stuff alone for the most part. I just wanted magic to be rare, unstable and precious in my world. I think I'm biased because I'm a professional magician in real life.

 

[Nightfall]

I killed every god, and installed their new representives, the Archfiends, the Paragons, and of course the Slaadi and the Inivetibles as the new powers.

Poz,

I prefer to keep my Scarred Lands and FR separate.

 

[Question]

Manshoon is a crossdresser and runs aorund in a wedding dress blasting things.

 

[demiurge1138]

Well, first off, my FR connects to the Great Wheel. I just like it better, that's why. Also, I like pulling FR material into Planescape, and vice versa.

Then, ignore published "Realms-shaking events". Make up my own.

Season with liberal excuses for why the PCs are the best people for the job and add a dash of Lovecraftian horror.

Bake at 375 for four hours. Let sit fifteen minutes before serving. Serves up to six and one Dungeon Master.

Demiurge out.

 

[exile]

I play far more often than run games, but the last game I ran was set in a slightly modified version of the Forgotten Realms. It ran only four weeks (designed as a brief story arc, not an incredibly bad game). I set the game in the Silver Marches and most details were pretty much as written.

I purposefully stayed away from powerful/recognizeable NPCs (not because of any ill-will toward them, just thought 1st level characters woudl have no reason to encounter them). Low-power NPCs of my own making served admirably for interaction with the characters; higher-powered NPCs of my own creation lurked in the background as ultimate bad guys (to be encountered during a later arc).

I made an effort to inject a pulp feel into the game. To accomplish this, I used action points (a la Unearthed Arcana), focused the initial adventure on an overland trek (with more travel to exotic locales just over the horizon, future arcs), included lots of tribal baddies (orcs and goblins), included two wily nemeses for the initial arc (an aged orc called Kingmaker, a brutal goblin wolf rider), and included a monstrous (really big anyway) spider- nothing says pulp like oversized animals.

I also made an effort to infuse the game with a Cthulhu-esque horror feel. To accomplish this, I put the BBEG in the background (far removed from early interaction with the PCs, though in pulp style I gave one of the PCs some history with the BBEG) fronted by innumerable minions (many of which don't even know they are serving the ends of the BBEG). I included lots of mysterious books- nothing says Cthulhu-esqu horror like mysterious books. I created a sense of distrust between the characters (each of them started the game with a slightly different fund of knowledge related to the backstory and most of them had reason to keep this to themselves). I made magic as strange and unknowable as possible without actually limiting it and making my Realms a lower magic world. I did this by playing weave users against shadow weave users (had both in the party).

Alright, I'm rambling...and I should be reading stuff for work. Enough for now. I hope this helps (at least a little).

Chad