D&D 5E Why FR Is "Hated"
Not sure how many people *hate* FR, but it does come off as kind of bland compared to other settings. It tries (and succeeds) to be everything to everyone, and ends up feeling like a fast food meal. I've never actually had anyone say they didn't want to play in FR, specifically. But I've also never had anyone say they *did* want to, either. I guess it serves it's purpose, though.
I suppose part of the problem with it is that even the greatest PC's end up just feeling like a cog in a very large and generic wheel. The other problem would be the way the gods have such a direct influence in the world. It's not even done in an interesting way like how the Greek gods would interfere with mortals; FR gods just come across as Soap Opera extras.
Lastly, I think FR has a feeling of being someone else's sandbox. No matter how often WotC claims the DM can "make it their own," the reality is that all the important stuff is handled by the curators of the setting (mostly the book authors, but also adventure authors) and you can't really derail from it too much from campaign to campaign without wondering why not just create your own in the first place. It's sort of like the original Dragon Lance adventure where the books were amazing, but it was pretty weird trying to actually run the adventure yourself.
What 5e really needs is a "generic" setting that's has all the people/places/things laid out, but doesn't come with the baggage of FR published books and lore, rather than a constant stream of official FR AP's that have some nearly-useless blurb about how to port it over to other settings. If I have to save the Sword Coast from another major threat, I'm going to puke.
I suppose part of the problem with it is that even the greatest PC's end up just feeling like a cog in a very large and generic wheel. The other problem would be the way the gods have such a direct influence in the world. It's not even done in an interesting way like how the Greek gods would interfere with mortals; FR gods just come across as Soap Opera extras.
Lastly, I think FR has a feeling of being someone else's sandbox. No matter how often WotC claims the DM can "make it their own," the reality is that all the important stuff is handled by the curators of the setting (mostly the book authors, but also adventure authors) and you can't really derail from it too much from campaign to campaign without wondering why not just create your own in the first place. It's sort of like the original Dragon Lance adventure where the books were amazing, but it was pretty weird trying to actually run the adventure yourself.
What 5e really needs is a "generic" setting that's has all the people/places/things laid out, but doesn't come with the baggage of FR published books and lore, rather than a constant stream of official FR AP's that have some nearly-useless blurb about how to port it over to other settings. If I have to save the Sword Coast from another major threat, I'm going to puke.
Why people don't like it. Psychology time, go!
The Realms are a big place, and ther'es actually a lot about it to not like. I personally have a strong dislike of the default pantheon of gods. Anyways. So, if someone doesn't like Forgotten Realms for some reason or another? They probably would just set it aside and forget about it normally. I feel the same way abotu Dark Suns. Not my thing. But FR? It gets brought up time and again.
Exposure to something tends to have one of two effects. Either it will bring you closer to something, or it will drive you further away. Because it is fairly popular, it gets lots of exposure time. For the people who don't like it, it moves them further towards a stronger dislike.
Now, combine with the tendacy of the internet to serve as an echo chamber. You say you don't like FR, someone else says it, and suddenly, everyone is saying how they hate it. That's called "Group Think."
The Realms are a big place, and ther'es actually a lot about it to not like. I personally have a strong dislike of the default pantheon of gods. Anyways. So, if someone doesn't like Forgotten Realms for some reason or another? They probably would just set it aside and forget about it normally. I feel the same way abotu Dark Suns. Not my thing. But FR? It gets brought up time and again.
Exposure to something tends to have one of two effects. Either it will bring you closer to something, or it will drive you further away. Because it is fairly popular, it gets lots of exposure time. For the people who don't like it, it moves them further towards a stronger dislike.
Now, combine with the tendacy of the internet to serve as an echo chamber. You say you don't like FR, someone else says it, and suddenly, everyone is saying how they hate it. That's called "Group Think."
JeffB
Legend
The Realms as published from day one until today (rpg books, video games, comics, novels) has become every D&D trope and stereotype amped up to "10", thrown together in a quisinart and regurgitated and re-fed to us every 5-10 years (in 5e, "force fed" to us).
That's the problem, IMO.
I stick to the OGB and do alot of my own thing.
That's the problem, IMO.
I stick to the OGB and do alot of my own thing.
On the other hand, they haven't given us any metaplot (to speak of) for 5E, and that's not exactly being greeted with cheers of relief.
Maxperson
Morkus from Orkus
The long and the short of it is, it's by far the most liked setting. The sheer number of people who play it means that more people who don't like it come into contact with it. Being the most hated is meaningless, since it's by far the most popular. It's just a numbers thing, and quite frankly, nobody should have been shocked that 5e went with it.
The FR is ok(ish) when you cut out a very small part of it and ignore the rest. But taken as a whole it is just a gigantic mess with its "everything even remotely related to fantasy gameplay must be in it" kitchen sink approach. The complete chaos of 4E and the hurried 5E retcons made things even worse. It simply does not feel like a coherent world because frankly it isn't.
