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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 7132033" data-attributes="member: 6785785">I don't know if I wuold agree it's perfectly valid. I can understand it, certainly, but I would also expect such a player to get over it, I think. Maybe that's just me....but I would almost always prefer to play the game than to not play because the map is different than I expected, or because there are no Lords of Waterdeep or whatever. But as much as it probably seems like I am advocating strongly for the Realms, I am not so tied to any setting to care that much. I prefer DMs do what they want with a setting to make it their own or to tell the story they want to tell. Now, I'm sure there's a line that could be crossed in regard to such changes...taking away teh Force from Star Wars would kind of irrevocably change the setting, so that would seem odd.....but generally, I just don't hold settings in such reverence. I'm not trying to dismiss anyone's opinions. I am challenging those opinions a bit, yes, to see if there is more to them or perhaps if those opinions are not based on the factors that we may think. For example, I actually only own three Forgotten Realms gaming products....the 3E Campaign Setting, City of the Spider Queen, and the SCAG. I have read some of the novels over the years, mostly the early Salvatore Drizzt books, and a handful of others. Never any Greenwood books, oddly enough. So I haven't really invested all that much in the setting, really. And the only product I think that actually makes the Realms worthwhile and which suits the needs of an "all in one" type of product is the 3E Campaign Setting. That book is entertaining, and has a lot of different concepts and story ideas that any DM could use. SCAG does so to a lesser extent, and more with a "here's some ideas, make them your own" approach.So my defense is not based on my financial investment in the Realms....or at least I would not have said so. But now that you mention it, perhaps there is something to that. It's hard to say. I've certainly spent more money on other settings that I enjoy more, and some that I enjoy less, to be honest. I'm not trying to ignore your issues. I think it's more that I think your assessment is off. I think you can effectively play a Realms game with only one of a few key products being "required". I don't even know if any product is required given the presence of online info and wikis and the like. I do think having one source makes things much easier, though. My game also takes place on Golarion, the Pathfinder setting. For that, all I own is the Inner Sea World Guide, the Rise of the Runelords adventure path, and the Kingmaker adventure path. There is a plethora of additional books that further detail the world and its elements. I have a friend who runs Pathfinder Society for a local store and he has tons of books on Golarion. I think one comes out every other month or so....it's insane. So many more than I even knew existed. But that doesn't stop me from running part of my game on Golarion. Luckily, that friend doesn't question how I run things since he's a player in my game. I've read the novels when I was a kid. And I can definitely run a War of the Lance game, no problem. I don't even have the Dragonlance Adventures book, although a buddy of mine did back in the day. But I don't even think I need that to run a game. I know the major players, the general sequence of events, the major locations. I can have PCs effectively replace the Companions or I can have them work in conjunction with the Companions, or I can have them doing something tangential to the content of the novels. Mechanically, a few rules tweaks for classes/races, and I'd be good to go. I think the question of timeline is also a big factor. If the powerful NPCs are a problem, then have it take place before they're around. Or after. Have the game take place at the time of the founding of Waterdeep. Or during the days of the New Republic. Or before the Greyhawk Wars. Or in the days leading up to the Cataclysm. It's an easy way to use the elements of the setting that you like, while ejecting those you don't, and also justifying any other changes. I can understand not wanting to buy a bunch of guides. I agree with you there. But the fact that I only have a couple of FR products, and two of the three of them were for 3E, and I am able to run the Realms, I don't agree that all those products are needed. If you think they would be based on the expectations or demands of the players in your group, then I don't blame you for simply shooting down the Realms as an option for your games.</blockquote>

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