D&D 5E (2014) Kobold Press: Can They Take On The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting?

[Jester David]

Didn't Green Ronin tease that they had an announcement brewing that would be the biggest RPG news of the year?

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

Didn't Green Ronin tease that they had an announcement brewing that would be the biggest RPG news of the year?

"Green Ronin Kidnaps Ed Greenwood!"

That'd be interesting.

 

[Queer Venger]

Thanks for the recommendation.

I see that Jeff Grubb worked on Midgard. I'd be super delighted to see him working on the Forgotten Realms again.

If any 3PP could do it it could be Kobold Press. It would be an amazing thing if Greenwood-Grubb teamed up to do this project, IMO they are the real gods of FR.

 

[HobbitFan]

Greenwood and Grubb working on the campaign setting would be awesome.
Based upon the Tyranny of Dragons adventures, I think the campaign settings would likely be farmed out to freelancers..I just don;t know who.

 

[mach1.9pants]

Both Green Ronin (Freeport) and Kobolds (Midgard) have produced some awesome stuff. But I reckon it is much harder to produce good stuff whilst having to toe the line of the IPs owner. Look at ASoI&F and DA, both good but took ages to come out. If they have a tight production timetable AND a strict oversight, I reckon quality would suffer.

I'd prefer to see Midgard converted to 5E and a 5E Freeport guide personally (Freeport already has every other system so it should happen)

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

As I understand it Salvatore is scheduled to write one or two novels a year for the Realms. It would appear he has time for other fun things as well.

Truth be told I would like to see him write sourcebook content for the Realms. (snip)

Superfluous apostrophes and brain-damaged dwarves with speech impediments? I want FR to feel like it was written by Ed, not by George Lucas in his gungan phase.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

Greenwood and Grubb working on the campaign setting would be awesome.
Based upon the Tyranny of Dragons adventures, I think the campaign settings would likely be farmed out to freelancers..I just don;t know who.

Rich Baker could also do it over at Sasquatch.

He already has a really good grounding in the Realms and he was arguably WotC's best designer before they indulged in one of their more moronic lay-offs and got rid of him.

Providing Ed is on board, contracting out the campaign setting makes a lot of sense, far more sense, in fact, then leaving it in the hands of the eight people still working at WotC.....

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

Superfluous apostrophes and brain-damaged dwarves with speech impediments? I want FR to feel like it was written by Ed, not by George Lucas in his gungan phase.

I am convinced that if Salvatore as part of a writing team that put out a great sourcebook, you'd find something in it to bitch and moan about and to pin on him.

I know we all have game designers or writers whose style we don't prefer, but constantly drilling down on what you don't like while ignoring everything else about a writer's style that's good, as well as his significant contribution to the Realms...let's just say all that petty sniping gets tiresome. It's also a little dishonest.

Mind you I am by no means Salvatore's biggest fan. I would happily risk the possibility of a whole clan of brain addled dwarves being inserted into the Realmsif it meant Salvatore got the chance to work on the game design side of things for one book, because he'd write so much else that would be awesome.

 

[Astrosicebear]

Lets not kid ourselves here.

Besides stat blocks for NPCs and monsters and the occasional special race/spell, the BULK of the material generally goes unchanged from edition to edition in settings. Usually its just re-writes for consistency or editorial, or continuity.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

I am convinced that if Salvatore as part of a writing team that put out a great sourcebook, you'd find something in it to bitch and moan about and to pin on him. (snip)

I would bitch and moan about the bits I didn't like because, IMO, they were worth bitching and moaning over. And if it involved superfluous apostrophes, inappropriate real world names, and brain-damaged dwarves with speech impediments then I am certain those bits I would be pinning on him for quite obvious reasons....

(snip) I know we all have game designers or writers whose style we don't prefer, but constantly drilling down on what you don't like while ignoring everything else about a writer's style that's good, as well as his significant contribution to the Realms...let's just say all that petty sniping gets tiresome. It's also a little dishonest. (snip)

Are you sure you understand what the word dishonest means? Whenever I have offered my opinion of RAS's writing I have explained honestly why I don't like it. Anyway, if you consider my post to be petty sniping there is a little ignore button on the left: use it.

Oh, and what do I like about his writing style now? Nothing. His combat scenes were revolutionary when Crystal Shard was first released; I lost interest in them about six books later when they seemed to devolve, like much of the rest of his writing, into a parody of his earlier work.

But I love Crystal Shard. That's one of my guilty pleasures. The idea of the Crystal Shard itself: an artefact of evil that draws its power from the sun. The battle with Icingdeath and the 4E-like creative use of terrain to kill it. Even Bruenor's creation of Aegis-Fang (such a stupid name) was a revelation at a time when D&D was so mired in Gygaxian impotence when it came to magic item creation.

And his understanding of drow society as revealed in Homeland was almost perfect. Yeah, he has had some big wins as an author, IMO.

He also strikes me as a really decent guy who appreciates his fans. So none of my comments are personal barbs; they are aimed purely at his work from the perspective of my own subjective opinion and taste. YMMV.

(snip) Mind you I am by no means Salvatore's biggest fan. I would happily risk the possibility of a whole clan of brain addled dwarves being inserted into the Realmsif it meant Salvatore got the chance to work on the game design side of things for one book, because he'd write so much else that would be awesome.

What makes you think it would be awesome? I mean, seriously?