My FR setting...tweak or not to tweak!

[jhelivar]

How many other DM's amd fans of the setting are out there that like the idea of 4E and FR but have said yes to some things and no to others..I.e. ok 100 years later, no chosen, no mystra, etc etc but no merging of Abeir with faerun is kind of what I am going with. Actually in all honesty it is the merging of Abeir and Toril that is perhaps the biggest thing that I am uncomfortable with when it comes to the new setting.
Still using all of my 3.5e FR books in game as a means to further flesh out the setting much as I did when playing the previous edition and using the 2nd edition sourcebooks.

I confess to liking change but not that much and was just curious how other DM's and fans of the FR setting are doing with the new system...
Originally many fans of the setting, including myself, was rather doubtful of the entire idea but now with the recent release of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide and the Players Manual what are our thoughts now?

By the way, any custom content out there in regards to converting 3.5 edition spells, especially those of FR, to 4e? And any info on a potential Spellcasting Prodigy feat would be superb also.

 

[TheLordWinter]

I did my best to read the books with an open mind, and the setting changes are just not my cup of tea. I was never big on the Forgotten Realms but I felt the settings main strength was in its history; when people played the forgotten realms it was because they liked the setting and how much history was there. Now that history is sort of... gone and a bunch of new elements have been sort of tacked onto the setting.

Plus the Realms never really worked well for the Points of Light on the global scale. Some areas certainly feel right for the Points concept, such as Icewind Dale or even the Dalelands, but the majority of the setting doesn't feel right with it.

Plus the Dragonborn and Tieflings feel weird. I am hoping that when Eberron comes out, they don't attempt to strongarm them into that setting.

 

[WampusCat43]

I'm going to try and handle the spellplague as an overnight event, rather than deal with the 100 years thing. The PCs are going to experience it first-hand. They've never been to the places that were dramatically affected by the disaster anyway.

 

[The_Warlock]

End result, not going with any of it, fluff or crunch. I've now played the system, looked at the books, and come to the conclusion that I really like none of it.

So, for my use of FR, I'm sticking with the old stuff.

While there is "canon" Realms, it's also your version of the world when you run it, and more than once, even Mr. Greenwood reminds people that you can take things wherever you want.

As always in RPGs, take what you & your players like, ignore the stuff you don't. So, sounds like you are on the right track.

 

[Zaukrie]

i'd already substantially altered the realms during the 3.5, making the inner sea much larger, adding more islands (including an Atlantis type between Thay and the old empires to give Thay another threat to deal with to explain why they aren't more powerful, though this Atlantis is not your father's), and made the results of the godswar much more obvious.

For this iteration, I'm not sure yet how I'll change the atlas. I'll adopt some of the changes (earth motes and some of the inner sea changes, but not all). The spellplague will have a much larger effect on the landscape, and it will only be 50-80 years after the events (the godswar will be much bigger in this, and Ao will be dead - never liked him). Most PCs and NPCs do not yet understand all the powers/abilities that exist are viable....

 

[Derulbaskul]

This is something I am wrestling with too.

I really like the 4E ruleset, and that was largely as a consequence of seeing how easy it was to stat up NPCs. However, the new version of FR leaves me cold in parts but I thing I like least is the map: the map not only sucks (that's a technical term) but its extreme suckitude is compounded by the fact that the profound changes mean that many older maps that don't suck don't match the new map.

I've been thinking about setting a new campaign in the northern Moonsea using the excellent map of Thar from the Tribes of Thar article on the WotC website, however, it just doesn't match up to the new map at all (frex, the ruined city of Hulburg is now underwater... which it clearly is not on the older map).

At present, I'm leaning toward using the 4E ruleset but going back to the year 1372 DR and ignoring anything hellspawned by the subsequent novels, the soap opera detailed in the Grand History and the events of the 4E campaign guide. That way I get what seems to be an easier ruleset to DM but I can keep using the older lore. But I will be using the Warlock Knights of Vaasa....

 

[Cwheeler]

I've only had a quick flick through the books, but it seems to me like they've tried to build a new world by destroying an existing one. The new 'version' of FR looks (at a glance) like a world saturated with magic, at least flavor-wise. While I can see what they where trying to do, they deffinatley went about it the wrong way, gatting on the bad side of the fans in the process.

Something that I don't agree with in realation to 4e as a whole, and a trend that is continued in the FR books, is the tendancy to take fantastical ellements and make them commonplace. It started with dragonborn and teilflings and seems to have continued with genasai. Even the new D&D chosmology seems... commonplace.

Theres a thaught - have they provided a custom chosmoligy for the new FR?

 

[TheLordWinter]

They did include a smattering of the FR Gods, but there's some surprisingly major players missing from the whole business. Amuantor, previously a deceased God in my familiarity, is mysteriously alive and well, and has an entire paragon path dedicated to his service. Asmodeus has wandered over from the core books, while a large number of Realms Gods have bowed out, including Malar, Helm, Lathander and Talos. While there appears to be fiction dealing the deaths of many of these Gods, I suspect it is within the Realms setting guide.

As for me, I can safely say I'll be harvesting the materials I like and dropping most of the setting details. I know I'll be using the Sword Mage class, and definitely the Dark pact. The Spellscarred might be useful, and I like the drow but not the gensai race.

 

[Cpt_Micha]

I most likely would be using the Realms as they are right now. Maybe with some added details here and there (of my choice and making) If I was going to use them. I primarily bought the book to supplement my world building (Player's Guide). So I have a rough idea of how to do my regional benefits.

I wish Mulhorand had not been destroyed though. I thought that was a rather cool place... I have to admit though, High Imaskari (is that what it is?) that replaced it is also nice.

It's your setting, tweak it as you see fit. (And for some reason this feels encouraged, unlike the last go around)

 

[zguillotine]

Tweak or Not - Response

It is my humble opinion that those who refuse to change are left behind. Change is the life's blood of all things. We humans have an entire system of measuring and tracking change that most of us simply cannot get around. It is Time.

All that being said and mentioning that in my town there are not many DMs who currently DM 4E, I would have to say that the amount of material available is immense. I started by trying to tweak the content of one of the old FR books into a campaign and, truthfully, we enjoyed it, both the players and myself. Unfortunately, I have a life, with kids and a wife and all that jazz. This means I do not have unlimited time to tweak old materials into new materials simply because I am not willing to let go of my preconceptions.

Now, I would never deign to say that you are not being open minded, however, I have found that the new content in general, is quite good. It requires a little reading in advance to get the "thread" of the adventure, but no other real preparation. I am not at all sure that I like all of the organizational ideas they have implemented, but that is probably because I am not yet used to the information organization.

But what does this have to do with the question you might ask. Well, I am rather long winded in that department, but I do have a point.

Resistance is futile. Either prepare yourself for a real life eating grind of preparation, preparation, preparation (ad naseum) or use what is being provided. Heck, if you sign up as a GM for LFR, you get free content. You really cannot beat that with a large stick... um, especially since there are currently no Monks.

Anyway, that is my two cents.
-=zguillotine=-