renau1g's Fort Belurian Adventure [Pathfinder] - OOC

[Leif]

This is a prime example as to why I have switched over to using my own campaign setting. Nothing is sacred anymore, and each time someone at Wizards gets a new idea, they change everything.

That's just silly, Rhun! If you liked an older edition of FR, nothing is stopping you from continuing to use it. New editions and updates are NOT mandatory, as you should well know from your boycott of 4E.

Excellent, I'm no Realms scholar, but most of what I do know is old school. I'd much prefer to keep things in the older timeline. I've only flipped through the 4e book. I get the impression they shook things up in the Realms to put it more in line with the 4e 'points of light' concept.

Call me crazy, but I like BOTH 3E and 4E versions of the Realms. (Although maybe part of the reason for that is my partial ignorance of the history that you guys are talking about?) What's amazing to me is that I have fallen off my 'homebrew worlds only' perch and succumbed fully to both FR and Eberron. Egads!

 

[Rhun]

That's just silly, Rhun! If you liked an older edition of FR, nothing is stopping you from continuing to use it. New editions and updates are NOT mandatory, as you should well know from your boycott of 4E.

I suppose that is true. Honestly, I'm just sick of spending my hard earned cash on new books and things that really don't add all that much to the game.

What's amazing to me is that I have fallen off my 'homebrew worlds only' perch and succembed fully to both FR and Eberron. Egads!

You are just moving in the opposite direction from me! LOL.

 

[Leif]

Hmmm. Doesn't add much? I guess that depends on how you use it. For many of the products that I have gladly shelled out bux for, they're not terribly useful for "plug-and-play" use in my games, but they nevertheless provide a quite fertile field of inspiration for me. I get LOTS of ideas from looking at that stuff!

Yeah, we do seem to be heading toward different destinations in that respect. I really only got into the Realms when I started playing at ENWorld. I've found that when you play D&D with people who are spread all across the country or even the world whom you never get to meet in person, it is extremely helpful if you share a common frame of reference with them, and both the Realms and Eberrron provide just that.

 

[renau1g]

Excellent, I'm no Realms scholar, but most of what I do know is old school. I'd much prefer to keep things in the older timeline. I've only flipped through the 4e book. I get the impression they shook things up in the Realms to put it more in line with the 4e 'points of light' concept.

Yeah, the Forgotten Realms were too...explored between all the novels, different sourcebooks (3e) and the NPC's there were very, very powerful, so powerful that most situations boiled down to coming up with an excuse why Elminster or Khelben Blackstaff were too busy to stop the BBEG from completing his plan. Either that or the evil plot wasn't really that bad to not draw the attention of the major players.

In my version of the realms, I did my own version of the Spellplague years ago. In it the Weave was shattered by the strain of too many magic-users utilizing its power, especially those who were powerful. Most of the major wizards were still there, but became either sages, leaders, or went into hiding. I used a non-vanacian spellcasting system as well, only allowing sorcerors and getting MP based on the number of spells they could cast per day. If you can cast 6 0-level & 4 1st-level, as an average lvl 1 Sorceror, you got 7 MP (.5 for 0 level, 1 for level 1 spells). I doubled the spells known and this greatly increased the flexibility of our magic-users. Our highest game only went to lvl 7 so I'm sure this system would break down at higher levels, but for us, it worked.

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

I've long been a fan of homebrew worlds, but that is driven mostly by my . . . well, I'm not sure what it's driven by. However, as I've moved into that stage of life where more and more time is consumed with homework, ballet practice, keeping the house up (and even working on adding to it when the urge strikes), family functions, etc. I've been more and more tempted to move to a Campaign source. There's just no way I (as a single person and an amateur, doing it in my spare time and without the benefit of editors, rules sages, etc) can put the thought and detail into a world that a publisher can.

I've been seriously considering moving over to the Pathfinder world of Golarion - I really like what I've read on it so far. But I think I'm going to wait until the final edition of the rules comes out before purchasing and moving over there because they'll likely put out a second edition of the world to match the final edition of the rules.

I may even e-mail the kind people at Paizo to ask that very question . . .

 

[Leif]

Yeah, the Forgotten Realms were too...explored between all the novels, different sourcebooks (3e) and the NPC's there were very, very powerful, so powerful that most situations boiled down to coming up with an excuse why Elminster or Khelben Blackstaff were too busy to stop the BBEG from completing his plan. Either that or the evil plot wasn't really that bad to not draw the attention of the major players.

In my version of the realms, I did my own version of the Spellplague years ago. In it the Weave was shattered by the strain of too many magic-users utilizing its power, especially those who were powerful. Most of the major wizards were still there, but became either sages, leaders, or went into hiding. I used a non-vanacian spellcasting system as well, only allowing sorcerors and getting MP based on the number of spells they could cast per day. If you can cast 6 0-level & 4 1st-level, as an average lvl 1 Sorceror, you got 7 MP (.5 for 0 level, 1 for level 1 spells). I doubled the spells known and this greatly increased the flexibility of our magic-users. Our highest game only went to lvl 7 so I'm sure this system would break down at higher levels, but for us, it worked.

It's a shame that game had to end. I would have been interested to see how it performed at higher levels. And what makes you think that the system would break down at high levels? I don't see that much diference between your system and the RAW (see? I can too still learn new tricks!), but then maybe you think those break down at higher levels, too?

 

[Leif]

I've long been a fan of homebrew worlds, but that is driven mostly by my . . . well, I'm not sure what it's driven by. However, as I've moved into that stage of life where more and more time is consumed with homework, ballet practice, keeping the house up (and even working on adding to it when the urge strikes), family functions, etc. I've been more and more tempted to move to a Campaign source. There's just no way I (as a single person and an amateur, doing it in my spare time and without the benefit of editors, rules sages, etc) can put the thought and detail into a world that a publisher can.

I've been seriously considering moving over to the Pathfinder world of Golarion - I really like what I've read on it so far. But I think I'm going to wait until the final edition of the rules comes out before purchasing and moving over there because they'll likely put out a second edition of the world to match the final edition of the rules.

I may even e-mail the kind people at Paizo to ask that very question . . .

I have the current version of Golarion, if you'd like to see it sometime.
And, since when are you a 'single person'?? What did you do with Darlin'!!

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

I've got the PDF for Golarion (current version).

Darling's alive and well and fantastic as always. However, while she doesn't raise any (well, not much) ruckus about my hobby - so long as I do my share 'round the house - she also doesn't see much point in it. So she's not much help when it comes to detailing strange new worlds . . .

 

[Rhun]

So she's not much help when it comes to detailing strange new worlds . . .

Or, I would guess, with new life and new civilizations?

 

[Leif]

I've got the PDF for Golarion (current version).

Ok, then. It's nice not to be needed. I guess.