Let's Forget the Forgotten Realms

[Zaukrie]

Those arguing for a setting free rules set .... you do know that pretty much limits the hobby to existing players and a slow death, right? The story is what makes the experience, and new DMs and players need a story.

As for the OP, if you've never actually read or played in a setting, I have no idea how you can judge it. I've played or DMd the FR since forever, and not once has Drizzt or Elminster shown up. There is no reason why they should, if you don't want them to. I've never understood the argument that "there are powerful good people on the planet, why should the characters even exist" argument against the FR. Heck, if there were no powerful good characters, wouldn't all the powerful bad guys just take over the world, while the PCs were growing up?

The FR has all kinds of kewl names, and regions to use. I don't get that argument either.

As a matter of fact, I really don't get the argument against any setting....they can all be what the humans playing the game want them to be.

 

[Ranes]

I prefer Greyhawk to FR but I would prefer an entirely new setting to be the default, and I'd also rather not see it permeate the rule books. There are advantages of having an entirely new setting.

Old and new D&D players alike are all on an equal footing. A new setting is equally unfamiliar to everyone. There are far fewer preconceptions.

Veteran GH, FR or whatever fans don't have to worry about reboots or anything else coming along that diminishes their idea and the fans' shared idea of their favourite setting.

 

[Ranes]

Those arguing for a setting free rules set .... you do know that pretty much limits the hobby to existing players and a slow death, right? The story is what makes the experience, and new DMs and players need a story.

WotC can easily release starter modules, free or otherwise. Don't get me wrong, though: I'm sure there will be support for a setting built into rule books right from the outset.

But I don't buy the argument that the alternative limits the game to existing players either.

 

[Azzy]

Well, I'm a Greyhawk fan and I've introduced the setting to a whole new generation.

I'd love to see support for the setting--if it's done right. The last thing that it (or any other setting, the Realms included) needs is some heavy-handed, apocalyptic change like the Realm's Time of Troubles or the Spell Plague, or Dragonlance's 5th age and subsequent Chaos war. Just because the editions change or whatever doesn't mean that there needs to be some large-scale changes to the setting.

If there are any changes to the settings, they should advance the time in rather small steps and the changes should be an organic outgrowth of established fluff instead of some needless, heavy-handed deus ex machina.

I don't begrudge anyone support to their favorite setting. In fact, I'm all for it. I'd just like to seem some support for my favorite setting---just done right and by people that have the same love for the setting as me.

 

[CM]

Never quite understood the hangups people have on Drizzt and Elminster. I've run probably a dozen multi-year campaigns (concurrently) over the last 20 years and I think Elminster made one appearance (where he needed the PCs' help).

What I like about FR is that there's so much room for campaigns of different themes that it never gets stale. I've had campaigns set in Waterdeep, the Silver Marches, the Great Dale, the Dalelands, Chult, Cormyr, Phlan, Tashalar and other places and they all had their own unique flavor but were still identifiably set in Faerun.

That said, I think the spellplague was a bit overkill, but now the recent Cormyr articles in Dragon have given me a positive outlook. For those not familiar, some of the articles had both pre- and post-spellplague information on Cormyr. If that is a sign of things to come, then that should go a long way to mending the rift between pre- and post-spellplague FR fans.

 

[gyor]

Another FR fan who hopes core uses FR at least in part. I liked how in the previews for heroes of the elemental choas they had Primordials from multiple settings. I think this will be the template for the phb.

As for what's FR's theme its right in the title. Forgotten Realms. It works on multiple levels. A lots of places and culture originated from earth, different planes, or other worlds, from cultures now dead in the places they originated.
Other cultures started on Toril, built great civilizations, which fell, they're forgotten ruins offering fun for exploration. Some of these civilizations try to reemerge making understanding what has been forgotten even more vital.

A side theme is divine politics and major characters, both a side effect of the novels and as such why the setting is so much more popular. FR=money. Its also why dimishing the characters, including the gods, created the bashlash in 4e and why reconning the spellplague would cause a backlash too.

Btw ddo expanding into FR is a stupid move, eberron is a great setting and FR will only get them more competition, and anger the eberron loving base. Neverwinter will have a much more advanced game engine and the foundry. Heck I don't even think ddo is lienced for FR.

 

[Gerrin]

Perhaps instead of looking at what the first six books (novels) of DL made it, people should look more into Dragonlance's history before passing judgement on if it could be a default setting.

If you go the route of the War of the Lance you could do stories there, but whats the point you know the end result of the war and there's nothing new there to trend on to create real adventures. How many copies of the original adventures, and reworked original adventures do I need to own.

If people seriously want real adventure and that feeling of being on the frontier then a sourcebook detailing Dragonlance post Cataclysm would be amazing for stories. This time period of DL is mostly unknown with the whole Dark Age feel of knowledge lost, information no longer flowing, starvation is rampart and so much more.

What would be the struggles of this time period "true" clerics no longer walk the land, those that do are considered fakes. With the announcement though that clerics would no longer be that needed part in the party, I think that this modular could be very successful with the idea that clerical magic is unheard of, and in fact clerics showing their ability are hated by people. For those of you who follow DL it is known that the Gods did not turn their backs to humanity following the Cataclysm but the other way around.



Another time period of DL that would be great for adventuring would be before the founding of Istar. A world of titans, high ogres, and high adventure.

These periods can be easily worked into great default settings.

If a current setting would be needed for DL then Taladas or Adlatum would make great default continents in DL.

 

[Tymophil]

In fact, I have never been interested in Greyhawk, nor Forgotten Realms, because I always thought that I could do better than what I read about those settings in the first place. I may lack humility, but they feel so bland, so obvious, that I could create one of those settings every week. Developping them is anarchic as should be : they try to encompass all the styles. Golarion is no different...

In fact the only time a setting surprised me was with PlaneScape. I bought all I could, even though I never played it much. This setting is brilliant, unfonately it was slaughtered by the infamous "Faction Wars" written by some one that I'd better not mention...

 

[rounser]

Be careful what you wish for, Morrus.

I don't think WOTC has the time or staff, and maybe not even the requisite passion or morale, to do a good FR or WoG version at this stage. IMO they should use something the size of Thunder Rift as the 5E setting. Pack it to the gills with adventure and detail to rival a CRPG, make that handful of miles D&D's "new car showroom". Enable it to be dropped into any of the "big worlds". Make it the setting you use when you don't have one in mind. The big worlds hand you a training wheels area like Shadowdale or a Hommlet for that purpose anyway, rather than the whole world. The whole world is too big.

The big furphy that has gone unchallenged for decades is that D&D needs a world, whereas every popular adventuring site I can think of in any setting (with the exception of the rare "Road to Athas" or "War of the Lance" or Planescape roadtrip) would fit somewhere Thunder Rift in size. You can fit all of Age of Worms there. Setting is mostly irrelevant where the rubber meets the road, as hinted at in the conversion notes between settings for Paizo's adventure paths - adventures and campaign arcs are what is important.

As far as WoG versus FR versus DL goes, I like all three. TSR was good with settings. All three have got something special going on. But given the handling of FR 4E, I think that WOTC should try something a bit more bite size, and where they're less likely to tip over apple carts. A generic fantasy microcosm would tick all the boxes. You could even have sidebars saying "in FR, throw in this detail or monster; in GH this".

 

[Aenghus]

I've played in and used FR for decades, and have enough material to continue doing so regardless of what world is supported in the new edition.

I suppose it's because the first setting I learned something about in D&D. Greyhawk always feeled too old-fashioned and peculiar to me.

God knows FR has flaws, and I hated the Avatar Trilogy with a passion when that came out, but I'm past most of that now. Any change I can't live with, I just won't, I can house rule it.