Modern Realms

[dm4hire]

I'm getting ready to start up a new campaign for my group. I ran one for about 8 months and then we shifted to some other stuff for awhile. I'm ready to get back on the show and after some thought have decided to do a modern version of the Forgotten Realms. I was planning on putting together a short source guide for my players so they would know what the changes were, but after some thought realized that it was too good of an idea to just keep to ourselves. Has anyone else thought of doing a modern spin on FR? I'd be interested in hearing any thoughts or suggestions. I have already come up with a few ideas as to what is going on in the realm.
Here is what I have come up with so far for my players:

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I have enjoyed these last few hundred years in relative peace. Now with the passing of the mantle by Ao and the dwindling of our Lady it is time that I bid my ado. I shall miss all of you and ask that you worry not for the safety of Toril. It is in good hands. Our children and their children shall continue where we failed, picking up the pieces and building a new. Our world has grown beyond us and it is no longer the one we know. The time has come my friends to look beyond our world and into the world our grandchildren shall inherit from us. No more shall there be magic as our fathers wielded. Gone will be the great battles of wizards and dragons, great knights on horses who roam the wilderness in search of damsels in distress, and the times when the gods themselves mingled in the affairs of men first hand. Instead there shall be the clashing of steel and steam; the magic of science and invention mixed with the little magic that shall remains, until it too fades into obscurity. The inventions of man will become a magic in itself, which will grow as our grandchildren do. A magic, which shall grow to replace the magic we relied upon until our magic is the stories of legend and we ourselves are reduced into myths. I’ve never been a fan of goodbyes so I will bid you fare winds and safe return. May the Goddess smile upon you.
The Farewell to Shadowdale and Faerun
Elminster, The Sage of Shadowdale
Nightal, Year of the Coming Twilight


Welcome to Modern Realms or the modern world of Faerun. Modern Realms is the mix of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting and Urban Arcana setting for the D20 Modern game system, both by Wizards of the Coast. Modern Realms is the vision of what would happen if technology finally began to win out in a world filled with magic. Magic has become low keyed and technology has begun to pass it. Monsters and men fear the person holding the gun more than they fear the wizard, unless the wizard is casting a fireball.
Faerun is still a place of great heroes and greater evil; the land is still full of hidden danger and lost fortunes to be found. Knights on horses have been replaced with warriors on motorcycles. Adventurers seek great tomes of arcane magic hidden away in dungeons along with computers full of arcane and techno-magic wonders they have yet to discover. Faerun is a world where dragons and magic once ruled supreme, but now are slowly fading into legend. New fears include: companies worrying about hostile takeovers by Thayan conglomerates. Merchants who fear for their lives as they submit to the pressures of the Zhentil Krypts, who use mob tactics to force them to pay large fees for the promised protection against rival gangs and stave off the wrath they will visit if they don’t pay up.

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Let me know what you think.

DM4Hire

 

[ThoughtBubble]

As long as you can keep a coherent vision for yourself it'll be allright. The last time I toyed with this sort of idea, I spent two weeks resarching and imagining the effects of magic on guns and gun development. Needless to say, I never actually got into the campaign world.

 

[NeuroZombie]

I would love to see this! I have wanted to run a fantasy world as modern camapiagn for a while now, ever since the Greyhawk 2000 in Dragon actually!

 

[nobodez]

well...

I've tried to do this myself, and failed miserably. Of course, I tried to do it on PlayByWeb, and without really playtesting it.

First thing I recommed you do is outline how magic and tech interact. Then, identify which Modern Earth goodies are there, and which aren't. Do they have a space program? What about Caster Shells? (See Outlaw Star for thsi one) Flying cars might be possible, but are they?

Then, after you've identified the magic and tech, and their potential interactions, then fill in the time-line. And don't forget the include interaction with the rest of Toril. Do the Kara-Tur's have large amounts of exports to Faerun, or has Maztica been colonized and become the dominant player in the world's politics? These are the questions you need to figue out, and then answer how they got thay way. A good suggestion is to look at both the timeline in the book, and an Earth timeline, and compare the two. Then, take any similarities you like and run with them, and create what you want to fill in the rest.

Of course, that's just how I should have done it, so that's jsut me. You can tackle it anyway you want.