D&D General The Purple Dragon Knights are tied to an Amethyst Dragon (confirmed)

[Remathilis]

Yeah, I think there is a certain allure to the idea of a metaplot. In theory it could foster a strong shared cultural experience among fans, in much the same way as a good TV serial can, especially in the pre-streaming era. But, I think in tabletop RPGs it ends up clashing with the promise of each table being able to make the game their own. You can’t have a monoculture and have each group have their own private micro-culture. One will inevitably end up invalidating the other. And I think prioritizing the individual micro-cultures is the right call for the medium.

I actually agree. Which is why I prefer the "multiple variants of the same world, each shaped by the DM and players, but all theoretically connected on some grand cosmic scale" system. That way, there is no wrong answer, only multiple right ones.

 

[dave2008]

Literally the only thing linking them is one group is called the purple dragons and the other group happens to be literally purple dragons. That's it. That's not enough to justify a team up

Do we know this? Have we seen the lore being proposed in the book or was it introduced in SCAG? I mean if that is all they do, then sure. But that could just be a starting point for potentially interesting lore couldn't it?

 

[Umbran]

It's on WOTC to prove it's good and since you're defending it it's on you as well. Otherwise all the evidence is currently on it not making sense.

Doesn't matter if it's a strawman or not, doesn't matter who needs to prove if it's good or not - the question has been posed. Can you contemplate the mere possibilty of it being good? Yes or no?

Mod Note:
Folks, I am going to have to ask you to dial it back some.

This is about a subclass. Like it, or don't, as you will. But get in each other's faces over it, and that's a problem. So, like, chill, okay? Thanks.

 

[dave2008]

If the story is good they get my $60. If the story is bad, what do I get from wizards of the Coast for being subjected to bad fantasy? As a member of ENWorld we can all agree THAT is the greatest indignity known to man.

What did TSR give people for all the bad fantasy the piled on us during...well their entire run really. Whatever that was WotC should match it.

 

[Nikosandros]

Gygax would tell people he pronounced it like Bugs Bunny.

Gygax was, after all, playing games, Greyhawk has a certain sense of humor to it.

Yes, but I was simply joking. After all, I'm likely to use an "Italianized" pronunciation for most of those imaginary toponyms.

 

[Azzy]

By the way, while we are talking about the multiverse, I wanted to offer this trivia.

I wanted to call it a "fun fact," but it isn't. It's one of those things I wish I could unlearn. And since I can't, I'm going to inflict it on everyone else.

Oerth (the world that Greyhawk is on) ... how do you think it is pronounced?

Go on.

Oerth. How do you pronounce it? Say it out loud to yourself.

If you're like me, you probably pronounce it something like O-erth. (Slight stress on a long O, followed by earth)

But how was it actually pronounced? By Gygax? Do you really want to know?

I'll put it in spoilers, because, trust me, you can't unlearn this.

OY-th, as if you had a strong Brooklyn accent. I'm sorry.

Interestingly enough, the 5.24 DMG lists both orth or oyth as valid pronunciations of Oerth.

 

[TravDoc42]

A side note about Sammaster: the art resembles a friend of mine very closely! Their name is Cam, which I assume must be short for Cammaster!!

I have been floating the idea of a Faerûn campaign once the books come out (if they're good!); Cam is very intrigued by the Cult of the Dragon, and may play as a member of that faction!

 

[Necropolitan]

I have been floating the idea of a Faerûn campaign once the books come out (if they're good!); Cam is very intrigued by the Cult of the Dragon, and may play as a member of that faction!

I'd be happy to help on that, I know lots about them and can offer the original lore if your friend's not interested in the new lore.

They're a great faction because their entire ideology is based on a mistranslated prophecy their leader refused to admit he got wrong. He didn't even make that big a mistake, but moving the period one word over changed the entire meaning of it.

The Cult's had lots of schisms and internal power struggles and oftentimes deceives new members, so it's easy to justify even a Good PC having been a member before the start of the campaign.

 

[Scribe]

If I decide to make Drizzt a serial killer, you can't really say my version is invalid. Just different. It's a small thing, but the fact that they have pushed the notion that we're all part of the same Multiverse despite playing different games and using different versions of the settings (or our own personal ones) is kinda comforting.

But, he isn't. It's absurd to pretend that's a valid position.

 

[humble minion]

But, he isn't. It's absurd to pretend that's a valid position.

Of course, the same lore body that establishes Drizzt is NOT a serial killer also establishes that the Purple Dragons already have a dragon in their history (a black so old it’s scales had turned purple, as extensively documented by Troy Denning in the Cormyr: a Novel/Death of the Dragon books in which Azoun died).

So why is there the sudden desperate urge to shoehorn an amethyst dragon in there? And how did an order that was basically the Cormyrite in-house knighthood suddenly become multiversal?

Now, I know that modern WotC doesn’t feel itself bound in the least by lore from previous editions, and indeed when it uses such lore it really only makes token Easter eggs of it without engaging in what made the lore interesting in the first place. Lord Soth’s ‘generic bad guy’ role in SotDQ which plastered Ol’ Buckethead all over every piece of art and promotion for the product then failed to have a plot in which Soth’s history or personality were in the least relevant is the classic example of course. And I'm not even against new lore or the evolution of old lore, plus being entirely aware than in my age bracket, I'm not WotCs target audience any more and they don't care what I think.

But this particualr case just strikes me as ... lazy? Shallow? Like the original PDK subclass which got so widely panned, it smacks of the work of someone who only bothered to vaguely browse the FR lore before finding an interesting phrase and riffing off it in the most perfunctory and uninspired direction as possible. Using the shape of the lore without caring or learning what it is.

Edit: not sure where this post started @Scribe , but it probably veered way off from being a response to yours into an unfocused stream-of-consciousness ramble. Sorry about that...