Is it just me, or is evil winning in the Forgotten Realms?

[Darth K'Trava]

Nah, just get the Archfiends and the Paragon Celestials to meet in the Cynosure. Have them revolt against the gods AND Ao, and let them run the damn show. It's sure to be damn better than all these chosen running around.

Plus Orcus gets to come back and run Vassa and Nar again!

The only "chosen" I like is Cadderly. The rest can sod off and screw Cyric for all I care!

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

*doesn't believe for a SECOND Halaster is no longer evil. Merely he's just keeping to himself more after doing a favor for Mystra and got Chosen status for it*

Losing interest ... fast. It doesn't make sense that there's yet another Chosen. I'll be very upset if he became a Chosen of Mystra or any other good-aligned deity.

 

[Darth K'Trava]

Hey, I'm not getting involved in this debate. And there are other fans that have more contact with Ed then I do. Faraer is one of them if I'm not mistaken.

I, for the record, agree with Faraer.

I think you're being referred to for your extensive knowledge of the Realms...

 

[kuje31]

Losing interest ... fast. It doesn't make sense that there's yet another Chosen. I'll be very upset if he became a Chosen of Mystra or any other good-aligned deity.

Halaster isn't a Chosen of Mystra.

 

[kuje31]

I think you're being referred to for your extensive knowledge of the Realms...

I figured that.

 

[Banshee16]

I think evil is winning in the Realms....or, rather, it's finally becoming halfway competent. Not that I like evil, but the Realms felt too much like Disneyland in 2E, with the villains incompetent clones of the worst clumsy villain stereotypes seen in family-friendly movies over the last 15 years. Finally, there's something for heroes to get riled up about, and real risk.

That change alone did wonders for my faith in WotC wrt Forgotten Realms.

Banshee

 

[Lela]

I tend to agree with Faraer as well. I've always had a tendency to read an FR book and say, "Wow, this can be a pretty dark setting." Old and new books alike. I recall, after reading my first book, actually having a conversation with a good friend about how, even though the bad guy was pushed back, there was still a terrible, painful, blow dealt to the good guys (one of the good aligned goddesses died, I believe; while the bad guy was just pushed back).

I haven't read Elminster but I have read every book in the Driz't series. In the early books they win well, with the occasional push back. I thought it was a refreshing change to the world. Finally, the good guys are winning at something.

Now, of course, it's not that simple. Salvatore's gotten a lot deeper and far more realistic in his treatment of the bad guys and they're gaining ground. Bad thing? I suppose for the world. But, when it comes right down to it, nothing truely horendios has really happened there yet.

 

[Sammael]

And in fact, by Ed's original agreement with TSR, what he says is canonical unless contradicted in print.

Sorry, but Rich Baker refuted this statement on the WotC boards. This is either no longer true, or it was never true to begin with.

 

[Felon]

The Drow (shudder) are recovering from the Silence and are cutting loose.

OK, so the silence is over after all these frickin' years of non-disclosure about what the big mystery was? First I've heard of that. What did the deal turn out to be? Lolth imprisoned somewhere? Throw a conniption fit? Get laryngitis?

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

OK, so the silence is over after all these frickin' years of non-disclosure about what the big mystery was? First I've heard of that. What did the deal turn out to be? Lolth imprisoned somewhere? Throw a conniption fit? Get laryngitis?

[sblock]Lolth got pregnant and split herself into many small spiders, which caused her to go silent. She didn't bother to tell her clergy, who weren't too happy about this.

while other groups attacked cities loyal to Lolth*, the spiders ate each other. It was natural selection - for the strongest spiders, and then for those smart enough to hide their strength.

Eventually, the smartest spider somehow turned into a new deity or something like it (I haven't read the last one in the series, and I don't want to anyhow) just in time to save Menzo. Well, I think Lolth's clery did the actual saving, of course. Just what the Realms needed... another deity.[/sblock]

[sblock]*That series had some interesting drow characters (except Halistra, may she be sliced up by a confused Dalesman), but it still had the stereotypes of drow pulling everyone's strings (and if that's bad, what if they're half-dragons ), drow being so "scary" that dragons fear them, and drow being way more skilled than anyone else. Oh yeah, and any female drow exposed to a follower of Eilistraee becomes another follower of Eilistraee due to that weird E-virus. Even Danifae might fall for it, but I don't want to read the last book in the series for fear of being proved right.[/sblock]