D&D 5E The case for (and against) a new Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting book

[Xenonnonex]

I am not trying to comment on people's competence as DMs (you're the one name-calling, not I).

If your ability to create your own adventure is broken by missing a god's portfolio (I assure you I need no such thing), then you may be googling for more help regardless of what setting book you buy.

Yep. You are doing nothing of the sort.

What I am trying to point out is that people are throwing out the word "need" for something like adventure building, and then saying their ability to make adventures suddenly breaks down with the simplest of requests. Which is demonstrably false; I explicitly explained how one could easily solve this simple riddle of the player wanting to worship Ubtao by using your handy Player's Handbook.

There are a couple of us pointing out the inaccuracy of the claim that ToA "has everything we need to run adventures in Chult". To say the ability to make adventures suddenly breaks down with the simplest of requests is your own assumed projection. It also demonstrates you do not understand the disagreement to the claim. But you do like to assert your opinion over others so I guess that is normal.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Ubatau's only 5e domain is Nature. You don't need an expensive book to work that out. If you know enough to have heard of Ubatau you know enough about him to work out which 5e domain fits.

 

[Xenonnonex]

Ubatau's only 5e domain is Nature. You don't need an expensive book to work that out. If you know enough to have heard of Ubatau you know enough about him to work out which 5e domain fits.

Ubtao is equally about the Life domain. And about Protection. It seems like people do need additional material.
The point is someone unfamiliar will hesitate to assign the relevant domains. Especially because of the vagueness of information.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Ubtao is equally about the Life domain. And about Protection. It seems like people do need additional material.
The point is someone unfamiliar will hesitate to assign the relevant domains. Especially because of the vagueness of information.

5e Has no protection domain. But it doesn't matter, because in 5e a cleric choses their domain and selects a deity they think matches. It does not have to be listed in a deity stat block. So if a player decides they want to choose Ubtao for their life domain cleric they are free to do so, they do not need to buy an expensive book to give them permission.

And if someone is unfamiliar with Ubatao, then they aren't going to choose him for their cleric, so they don't need to know anything about him at all.

 

[Aldarc]

The Forgotten Realms is, I'd say, uniquely well-suited to this strategy of providing mini-Setting/Adventure books: it has a large quantity of high-quality information that is specific enough to be helpful for someone who wants to run it straight, while being generic enough to be transportable to other Settings including Homebrew.

If the Forgotten Realms didn't exist, WotC would have to invent it.

Yeah. Even as someone who is not a fan of the Realms, I could easily see how adventures set in regions could further expand the rules. A Cormyr adventure, for example, could provide additional rules for heraldry, nobility, and courtly adventuring.

 

[Xenonnonex]

5e Has no protection domain. But it doesn't matter, because in 5e a cleric choses their domain and selects a deity they think matches. It does not have to be listed in a deity stat block. So if a player decides they want to choose Ubtao for their life domain cleric they are free to do so, they do not need to buy an expensive book to give them permission.

Unearthed Arcana.
You have it backwards. The PHB has players select the deity first. Then they select the principles they want to embody. Which deity is the most important. If you do not have enough information for this this does not become feasible.

And if someone is unfamiliar with Ubatao, then they aren't going to choose him for their cleric, so they don't need to know anything about him at all.

Player -> Hey DM. What is an appropriate deity for a native Chultan?
DM -> Ubtao looks about right
Player -> Great. Where can I find more about him?
DM is checking -> Not in ToA for sure.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

If you do not have enough information for this this does not become feasible.

If you do not have enough information, then you cannot choose it. You cannot choose something you do not know exists.

Player -> Hey DM. What is an appropriate deity for a native Chultan?
DM -> Ubtao looks about right

The DM would be wrong, since Ubtao is absent. But that doesn't matter because there is no canon anymore so the DM can rule Ubtao or whoever they like as a popular god in their game.

Player -> Great. Where can I find more about him?

What century are you living in?!!!

The first thing the player would do would be to google Ubtao on their phone.

 

[Xenonnonex]

If you do not have enough information, then you cannot choose it. You cannot choose something you do not know exists.

"Do not have enough information" is not the same as "Do not know exists". At all. You should know this.

The DM would be wrong, since Ubtao is absent. But that doesn't matter because there is no canon anymore so the DM can rule Ubtao or whoever they like as a popular god in their game.

Their home games are wrong? You should them that. If they choose Ubtao that is their choice. They then have to actually find the relevant information.

What century are you living in?!!!

The first thing the player would do would be to google Ubtao on their phone.

It is called communicating as a group. I know it is a novel concept.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

"Do not have enough information" is not the same as "Do not know exists". At all. You should know this.

A difference that makes no difference is no difference. No one needs to be a cleric of Ubtao to play in Chult. If you know enough about Ubtao to be interested in playing one you can easily find out more. If you aren't interested enough to google it you certainly aren't interested enough to go out and buy an expensive book.

It is called communicating as a group. I know it is a novel concept.

No, it's called being a dinosaur, which is appropriate enough for Ubtao I guess.

Their home games are wrong?

On page 14 of ToA is a section entitled "gods of Chult". It's six paragraphs long, a brief extract says "more than a centrury ago, Ubtao simply abandoned Chult..."

So yes, ToA deals with Ubtao, and gods in general.

 

[Xenonnonex]

A difference that makes no difference is no difference. No one needs to be a cleric of Ubtao to play in Chult. If you know enough about Ubtao to be interested in playing one you can easily find out more. If you aren't interested enough to google it you certainly aren't interested enough to go out and buy an expensive book.

"I know about the name Ubtao. But I do not know enough information about him" is not the same as "I do not know Ubtao exists". There is a great difference. I do not need to spell this out.
Case in point are your posts on Ubtao. You know about Ubtao but not enough information about him. You do know he exists.
Case in another point is someone wanting to play exactly that. If someone wants to play a cleric of Ubtao they need that information. This information they need to find is elsewhere.

No, it's called being a dinosaur, which is appropriate enough for Ubtao I guess.

Talking to others is being a dinosaur? Is this you or quarantine talking?