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<blockquote data-quote="Barastrondo" data-source="post: 3929263" data-attributes="member: 3820">I think it's really a matter of how they can manage the perception. There are plenty of folks arguing that NPC density and power level isn't a problem, but that doesn't really help much if too many people are taking away the perception that it's a problem, or if the &quot;fixes&quot; aren't widely intuitive or satisfying enough that it corrects the perception of the NPCs as &quot;not problematic.&quot; Given what we hear about this change in the Realms, I would guess that the perception must still be a big problem in WotC's minds. Enough people continue to be of that mind that the designers want the solution (add quotation marks if you think it's more of a &quot;solution&quot;) to stick in people's heads. It's an interesting process to me, since I've been in the business of dealing with settings that may or may not have Big Damn Important NPCs, and watching how the players want or don't want to interact with them. I don't envy the WotC designers the task of figuring out which sacrifices to make in the interest of making the Realms seem more appealing to those that wrote them off a long time ago, and which elements must be retained for the majority of existing fans' goodwill no matter how the detractors hate them. I think they can create something good, though. It's entirely possible to take the basic concept and execute it in such a way that the existing fans say &quot;Hey, that was a pretty cool way for so-and-so to go.&quot; I mean, a story about a crazy old Batman in a tank beating up Superman with Kryptonite fists would sound pretty terrible just as a series of teasers, and it could be bollixed up something fierce, yet the concept doesn't preclude a good story. It's really going to rely on the execution. So I'm awfully curious to see where the arguments are a year from now.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Barastrondo, post: 3929263, member: 3820"] I think it's really a matter of how they can manage the perception. There are plenty of folks arguing that NPC density and power level isn't a problem, but that doesn't really help much if too many people are taking away the perception that it's a problem, or if the "fixes" aren't widely intuitive or satisfying enough that it corrects the perception of the NPCs as "not problematic." Given what we hear about this change in the Realms, I would guess that the perception must still be a big problem in WotC's minds. Enough people continue to be of that mind that the designers want the solution (add quotation marks if you think it's more of a "solution") to stick in people's heads. It's an interesting process to me, since I've been in the business of dealing with settings that may or may not have Big Damn Important NPCs, and watching how the players want or don't want to interact with them. I don't envy the WotC designers the task of figuring out which sacrifices to make in the interest of making the Realms seem more appealing to those that wrote them off a long time ago, and which elements must be retained for the majority of existing fans' goodwill no matter how the detractors hate them. I think they can create something good, though. It's entirely possible to take the basic concept and execute it in such a way that the existing fans say "Hey, that was a pretty cool way for so-and-so to go." I mean, a story about a crazy old Batman in a tank beating up Superman with Kryptonite fists would sound pretty terrible just as a series of teasers, and it could be bollixed up something fierce, yet the concept doesn't preclude a good story. It's really going to rely on the execution. So I'm awfully curious to see where the arguments are a year from now. [/QUOTE]

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