Vanilla Realms and Strawberry Fields

[Buttercup]

I once tried to read a Forgotten Realms novel, but it was so bad that I threw it down in disgust. However, that doesn't mean the game materials can't be of high quality. I own all the 3E Realms stuff so far, and I think it is very well done, but I would never run a game in the Realms. Why? Because too many players know too much about it.

I don't want a player telling me that so-and-so would never do that, or only the Red Wizards can have that power, blah, blah, blah. IMC things are the way I want them to be. The players can't use meta-game knowledge if they don't have any.

 

[Tsyr]

If the above definitions are an indication of what vanilla means then I will stick by my original assertion of the word. The Realms are insulted by virtue of being the first. They have become vanilla because they are so heavily played out that people are just burnt on it. I just started.

And the Realms are the first in... what category again? None that I can think of. Ok, first to have a 1:3 god-to-person ratio, but other than that...

 

[teitan]

First in sales maybe? FIrst in quality (third edition wise, though it is a close battle with the Scarred Lands)? First in popularity and in antipathy as well.

Jason

 

[333 Dave]

"Let me take you down,
'Cause I'm going to
Strawberry feilds.
Nothing is real..."

Now, what does this thread have to do with that famous Beatles song?

 

[evildm]

Why? Because too many players know too much about it.

I don't want a player telling me that so-and-so would never do that, or only the Red Wizards can have that power, blah, blah, blah. IMC things are the way I want them to be. The players can't use meta-game knowledge if they don't have any. [/B]

I had this problem once. I flat-out told the player that I ran FR my way and my way alone, and if I wasn't doing something by the novels, then he should just keep his mouth shut. I'm here to create an interesting story, not reenact some stupid book I never read.

It even says this in the FRCS. Make it your own. It's just a game after all. My PCs have never met Drizzt or his crew in any of my games to date, and it's probably going to stay that way.

 

[NoOneofConsequence]

And the Realms are the first in... what category again? None that I can think of. Ok, first to have a 1:3 god-to-person ratio, but other than that...

I've got to agree with this sentiment. I think that the reason why the Realms sell so well is because they are such a vanilla setting.

After all, it's so obviously just Earth, with a twist, and not a particularly inventive twist at that.

 

[LostSoul]

I haven't read that much about the Forgotten Realms, but I never had the feeling it was a vanilla setting. Maybe a vanilla setting as far as D&D worlds go, though, since it was based on the game's rules. But it's got so much magic that you can drop in whatever fantastic thing you want.

It's just missing a unique "hook". Well, other than "This is D&D".

 

[Nightfall]

Teitan, my friend,

While I don't know if FR is a STANDARD for RPG, I do agree it's a banner for TSR/WotC for the past 15 years. It's certainly endured a lot of changes. That said, I don't consider vanilla but it's hardly my favorite rocky road. That's what I consider the Scarred Lands. In any case, I still hold FR in a dear place for it being one of the few worlds written extensively about. Certainly I hope that it doesn't end up on the trash heap. It would be a terrible waste and loss for many, if not all, RPGers.

 

[Griswold]

I notice a lot of people calling the Forgotten Realms "vanilla". What makes the Realms so "vanilla"?

hehe, analogy.... IMHO as a "main dish", The FRCS is like vanilla ice cream, it's fine by itself, but you can put just about anything with it and it works. As a "spice", The FRCS is like vanilla extract, you can add some of the FR stuff to just about any other setting to enhance it.

Honestly though, I would think the word "safe" would probably be a better choice then "vanilla". I think this because FR has all the elements that you would expect from a "tolkien" type setting and nothing outlandish or too far fetched.

 

[Agback]

I notice a lot of people calling the Forgotten Realms "vanilla". What makes the Realms so "vanilla"?

The fact that in so many ways it is the kind of fantasy setting you get when you don't make any decisions. Nearly everything from the livestock on the farms through the family structure to to the political system is what most people assume a fantasy setting is like when the writer hasn't told them and they haven't got around to asking. There's nothing of substance in the world design: like vanilla ice cream, which a lot of people mistake for 'plain unflavoured'.

Regards,


Agback