D&D 4E The Realms being the first 4e setting

[Nebulous]

Originally, i wasn't too keen on a 4e FR conversion...but now that i think about it, THIS is the time for them to take that disparate jumble of gods, kingdoms and societies, and try to weave some coherency into them.

If the designers approach the Realms from the ground up, starting with its 10,000 (?) year old history, and tie that into the current times, they might have a campaign worth restarting.

If, and only if, they can make the PC's feel important again. You just can't compete with so many high level NPC's around. It takes away the player's thunder.

 

[qstor]

I have no problem with this -- I like FR. But I'm concerned about the departure of Greyhawk as the "default" setting. From the news page it seems like there really isn't a default setting.

I don't mind there not being a default setting. What I mind is that with 4e will come a ton of new Realms books something we DON'T need. A new Magic of Faerun, Player's guide to Faerun etc etc. Just one CORE FR book and one Magic/Players book and maybe a religion book and thats IT. I don't think we need 4e to see a ton of new hardbacks.

What I would like is some new setting books like Dark Sun and GREYHAWK in hardbacks. That would be cool. But 20 new FR books NO.

Mike

 

[Nebulous]

I don't mind there not being a default setting. What I mind is that with 4e will come a ton of new Realms books something we DON'T need. A new Magic of Faerun, Player's guide to Faerun etc etc. Just one CORE FR book and one Magic/Players book and maybe a religion book and thats IT. I don't think we need 4e to see a ton of new hardbacks.

What I would like is some new setting books like Dark Sun and GREYHAWK in hardbacks. That would be cool. But 20 new FR books NO.

Mike

I'm in agreement here, i don't want to see a ton of FR supplements either, but...if they're making WotC loads of cash... :\

I would also like to see Dark Sun fully supported over just about anything. Greyhawk too, although i'm not a diehard GH fan. I never really played in the setting much, although i do enjoy the flavor.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

its 10,000 (?)year old history

That doesn't quite cover it. The Crown Wars ended at about that time. They lasted 3000 years. And the elven realms were there a couple of millenia before the Crown Wars started. And they were predated by the dragons and several Creator Races. More than 20,000 Years is closer to the mark. Not that much of it is very detailed, mind you. We probably have more information about the major goings-on of some days than we have about all the millenia before the start of the Corwn War combined.

If, and only if, they can make the PC's feel important again. You just can't compete with so many high level NPC's around. It takes away the player's thunder.

I never felt unimportant in the Realms. I never played the most powerful character in the Realms, but that's okay. That would be boring.

I love the idea that there's always someone bigger than you, with more power than you, more influence, more levels - and more important and difficult tasks to attend. To each his own.

After all, even if the most powerful characters in a game world were 10th-level, you could argue that 1st-level characters were totally insignificant - after all, those 10th-level superheroes could just barge in and do the stuff we take days in an hour or two.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

What I mind is that with 4e will come a ton of new Realms books something we DON'T need.

YOU don't need. (Well, no one needs them. They're not something we'd die without, like air, water, food. We don't need any D&D, for that matter, but that's beside the point). Others will disagree, me included. There's still hundreds of topics, organisations and regions that haven't been covered recently - or at all.

Just one CORE FR book and one Magic/Players book and maybe a religion book and thats IT.

Then don't buy more. I'm probably going to buy every single FR book they'll release (I did so for 3e, and with a single exception - Champions of Ruin - I consider them all top notch.

And stop shoutyping.

What I would like is some new setting books like Dark Sun and GREYHAWK in hardbacks.

There's talk about that. Maybe they'll do it.

But they abandoned most Settings when they switched to 3e, and they probably had their reason.

The thing is: If they don't think that the books will sell, they won't make the books. It's not a case of "FR books taking away the GHCS's spot".

 

[Scribble]

Well, they've mentioned 4e will be that whole points of light in the darkness thing... A large mostly empty map...

I'm hoping they go the route of almost destroying the realms, and when it comes back, it's a much darker, less happy, creepy thing under the bed version of itself...

Some of the main places would still exist... but who knows what's just up the road (or even where that road goes anymore...)

Shadowdale would maybe have a little more meaning... It's a little oasis of happy in an otherwise dim world...

Maybe even make Elminster a little more humble afterwards...

 

[Mouseferatu]

Well, they've mentioned 4e will be that whole points of light in the darkness thing... A large mostly empty map...

I'm hoping they go the route of almost destroying the realms, and when it comes back, it's a much darker, less happy, creepy thing under the bed version of itself...

Just to be clear...

You do know that FR is not the default 4E setting, yes? It's the first published setting, but the core books will have their own implied setting, like 3E did. (It just won't be Greyhawk.)

 

[Scribble]

Just to be clear...

You do know that FR is not the default 4E setting, yes? It's the first published setting, but the core books will have their own implied setting, like 3E did. (It just won't be Greyhawk.)

Yes... I didn't mean to imply that FR would be the default setting, if in some way I did...

My point was simply that since 4e itself will have this value, perhaps when they redo the settings with the new 4e style, they we keep this value in mind.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Yes... I didn't mean to imply that FR would be the default setting, if in some way I did...

My point was simply that since 4e itself will have this value, perhaps when they redo the settings with the new 4e style, they we keep this value in mind.

Ah, I see what you mean.

However, I can't agree. The whole point of published settings is to be different than the implied default. Otherwise, they wouldn't serve different segments of the market.

I agree that I'd like to see some changes in FR, but I don't think making it fit the design paradigm of the "core setting" is the way to go.

 

[Jer]

but the core books will have their own implied setting, like 3E did. (It just won't be Greyhawk.)

Ari -

Is there a pointer to where they talk at all about this "implied setting"? I was assuming that this was the case, given that James Wyatt (I think) had the designation somewhere of "Story Team Lead" - but I haven't seen where they've said anything more about it beyond "Greyhawk is not the "default" setting in 4e". I'd like to know more about this "implied" setting and what they're doing with it.