What should the Realms Lose?
- Thread starter The Grumpy Celt
- Start date
Squire James
Explorer
1. Take out the Realms Shaking Events that are not adventure modules with PC protagonists.
2. Re-define the Uber-NPC's so they are a bit more spread out in power level. I favor creating about 4 "possible Elminsters" at differing power levels (say 9, 18, 27, and 36), and supply ideas and scenarios appropriate for each. Do the same for the other major NPC's. Different NPC's may be different versions, even ones you think of as associates of each other. For instance, the Seven Sisters may very well be MUCH more powerful than their Little Brother Elminster!
3. Involve the Uber-NPC's directly in the plot only if they're needed. There are more mages in Waterdeep hiring adventurers to do things than just Khelben Blackstaff (who may just be 12th level anyway).
4. Shake up the Evil Organizations and make them nasty, but organize them so lower level PC's have a hope of offending them and staying alive (if only because Team Evil has bigger fish to fry). Speaking of such, allow them to Fry a Big Fish once in a while to help with the Uber NPC problem.
5. Keep the gods, and keep them meddling. Just don't let them meddle in a manner that can be described by game mechanics. They can't drop Bolts from the Blue on people, nor can they convert their favorites into Uber Sock Puppets. However, Tyr coming by and making snarky comments to a PC paladin once in a while has some appeal. One expects such behavior from gods rather than guys like Elminster.
"Why do I have to do that? Why don't you do it yourself, Lathander?"
"Because Bane would come and try to stop me, and us fighting would make a ten-mile hole in the planet. Even Bane doesn't particularly want that, but he will do that to stop me from having my way. I'd kinda prefer just sending you to do it. Neither you nor that guy Bane's sending make ten-mile holes. Also, because I told you to do it, and I'm bigger than you."
2. Re-define the Uber-NPC's so they are a bit more spread out in power level. I favor creating about 4 "possible Elminsters" at differing power levels (say 9, 18, 27, and 36), and supply ideas and scenarios appropriate for each. Do the same for the other major NPC's. Different NPC's may be different versions, even ones you think of as associates of each other. For instance, the Seven Sisters may very well be MUCH more powerful than their Little Brother Elminster!
3. Involve the Uber-NPC's directly in the plot only if they're needed. There are more mages in Waterdeep hiring adventurers to do things than just Khelben Blackstaff (who may just be 12th level anyway).
4. Shake up the Evil Organizations and make them nasty, but organize them so lower level PC's have a hope of offending them and staying alive (if only because Team Evil has bigger fish to fry). Speaking of such, allow them to Fry a Big Fish once in a while to help with the Uber NPC problem.
5. Keep the gods, and keep them meddling. Just don't let them meddle in a manner that can be described by game mechanics. They can't drop Bolts from the Blue on people, nor can they convert their favorites into Uber Sock Puppets. However, Tyr coming by and making snarky comments to a PC paladin once in a while has some appeal. One expects such behavior from gods rather than guys like Elminster.
"Why do I have to do that? Why don't you do it yourself, Lathander?"
"Because Bane would come and try to stop me, and us fighting would make a ten-mile hole in the planet. Even Bane doesn't particularly want that, but he will do that to stop me from having my way. I'd kinda prefer just sending you to do it. Neither you nor that guy Bane's sending make ten-mile holes. Also, because I told you to do it, and I'm bigger than you."
Drowbane
First Post
Holy FR Bashers Convention, Batman!
I'm seeing alot of "make it Greyhawk" in these posts above.
No thanks.
Long live Drizzt, and El, and Gods, and Gods, and Gods, and the Weave, and randomly attached micro-settings...
edit: The Realms is too damn old to try to redefine and mold into your ideal setting. It is what it is... and rightly so, its damn popular!
I'm seeing alot of "make it Greyhawk" in these posts above.
No thanks.
Long live Drizzt, and El, and Gods, and Gods, and Gods, and the Weave, and randomly attached micro-settings...
edit: The Realms is too damn old to try to redefine and mold into your ideal setting. It is what it is... and rightly so, its damn popular!
Last edited:
Simply use the new "points of light" concept.
In my mind, the allure of the Forgotten Realms was at its peak when all we had were hints, scattered across dozens of Dragon magazine articles. When the stories were passionate, the characters were isolated and mysterious, and the world was dark, mythical, and unknown menaces lurked around every corner. Now it's simply too cosmopolitan and homogenized. Everybody of power knows everybody of power, and there are no rocks left unturned.
Bring back the mystery. Make the Chosen scary, meddling, dangerous powers-behind-the-scene with unclear motivations. Nobody knows what they're up to, nobody knows if they're working for weal or woe, nobody even knows for sure who they are... it's all just fearful rumors whispered in the back of taverns. Make the characters more ambiguous. Is Elminister a senile 3rd-level expert with a passion for stories of adventure, or an ancient, malevolent 26th-level multi-class wizard with his hands in too many pots?
Just turn out the lights. Throw the whole Realms into the dark.
-Pat
In my mind, the allure of the Forgotten Realms was at its peak when all we had were hints, scattered across dozens of Dragon magazine articles. When the stories were passionate, the characters were isolated and mysterious, and the world was dark, mythical, and unknown menaces lurked around every corner. Now it's simply too cosmopolitan and homogenized. Everybody of power knows everybody of power, and there are no rocks left unturned.
Bring back the mystery. Make the Chosen scary, meddling, dangerous powers-behind-the-scene with unclear motivations. Nobody knows what they're up to, nobody knows if they're working for weal or woe, nobody even knows for sure who they are... it's all just fearful rumors whispered in the back of taverns. Make the characters more ambiguous. Is Elminister a senile 3rd-level expert with a passion for stories of adventure, or an ancient, malevolent 26th-level multi-class wizard with his hands in too many pots?
Just turn out the lights. Throw the whole Realms into the dark.
-Pat
