D&D 4E Things wrong with 4e: The Far Realm

[Grimmjow]

A lot of powerful monsters come out of the far realm, and a lot of PC paragon paths, epic destinies, races and classes were made to battle these monsters, but it never really got looked at like the other planes did. Granted the other planes are more important than the Far realm but i still feel like wizards could have done a better job with their far realm info.

 

[dkyle]

I think you missed the point of the Far Realm. It's not supposed to be a place you go. It's a realm outside conventional reality, of incomprehensible, Lovecraftian horror, that produces hideous beasts through mere brushes with the material realm. It's not supposed to be as well-described as the other planes.

 

[Grimmjow]

They Made an epic destiny where you enter the far realm (topaz something).
But i do understand that, i just think more needed to go into the far realm

 

[SkidAce]

They Made an epic destiny where you enter the far realm (topaz something).
But i do understand that, i just think more needed to go into the far realm

I understand your point of view, however I have the opposite feeling about it.

They started using and clarifying it too much. For some DMs it was popular due to their inclusion of The Gates of Firestorm Peak in their campaigns.

Plus the Far Realm was a natural fit for the Cthulhu mythos from the original Legends and Lore.

This "used" to be a unique feature for some DMs to style their campaign. Now with the profusion of monsters, kits, etc that they developed because they knew it was popular with some campaigns, it actually took away from the campaign "twist" that the DM and players liked.

Now its everywhere, and to be honest it bothers me personally. Some would say I wanted my campaign to be a special snowflake, fair enough. Before the mass communication of the internet, even though other DMs had the same brilliant idea, we were special.

Now when I get a new player I hear "Cthulhu, mind flayers, far realm, yawn...been there done that" even though they started with 4e!

Back to the point....something that is mysterious and unknowable should remain that way in production, and only be clarified by individual campaigns.

/ramble off.

 

[dkyle]

They Made an epic destiny where you enter the far realm (topaz something).
But i do understand that, i just think more needed to go into the far realm

The Topaz Crusader's "Immortality" is entering the Far Realm. That is something that happens after the campaign is over. You're not supposed to actually play the character any more once the Immortality has happened, so as a player, you're not actually playing in the Far Realm, and it is still a mystery. The Immortality is basically just the ending scene where the character goes off into the sunset.

I really don't see what more should have been added about the Far Realm, that wouldn't fundamentally undermine what it is, and the role it's designed to play in setting.

 

[Piratecat]

I have a general concern about character options that only kick in with certain monsters. Remember the old ranger combat bonuses vs certain favored enemies that you had to pick at 1st level? If your DM never used those monsters you were screwed, and if you picked a powerful monster and he used it before you were ready you were screwed. This was especially true because (iirc) the first favored enemy you chose kept getting more powerful as you added a second, and then a third. So a high level ranger could kick ass against orcs, a monster he could now kill trivially anyways, or he could have spent many levels with a bonus against giants that he'd never use.

The same crops up in 3e and 4e. Specializing against a particular foe - fire creatures, or aberrations - is kind of a crap shoot. I tend to prefer options that always give you a small benefit over options that give you a large benefit you rarely use.

 

[Doug McCrae]

A lot of powerful monsters come out of the far realm, and a lot of PC paragon paths, epic destinies, races and classes were made to battle these monsters, but it never really got looked at like the other planes did.

That's because you lose 1d100 SAN if you look at it.

 

[Doug McCrae]

They started using and clarifying it too much.

Yeah, but that's always happening. Remember, a looong time ago, when drow were mysterious? Then they became a PC race, and the protagonist in a series of popular novels, and the mystery was gone. Same will happen with the Far Realm, if it hasn't already. Frankly I think the Cthulhu Mythos stopped being scary about ten to fifteen years ago, around the time they came out with Plush Cthulhu and those 'Why Vote For The Lesser Evil?' presidential posters.

The unknown rapidly becomes the known, and then you need a brand new unknown.

 

[Minigiant]

I love the Far Realm and am really hoping for a Sanity module. As a DM, I love torturing players with mindsets so alien that they have to burn SAN to figure out the army of grue just want the royal chef's strawberry cake recipe.


They did start defining it a bit too much though.

 

[CAFRedblade]

If mortals were to travel to the Far Realm, it might look a little like this..
as our brains try to comprehend what happens around us.
Octodad Glitching Out Is A Thing Of Nightmares

Barring perhaps the music...

Thus why mortals go mad when visiting the Far Realm...