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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Renshai" data-source="post: 17093" data-attributes="member: 1061">My comments....I usually find that the people who dislike it so much have never so much as given it a chance at the gaming table. They have never, as a DM, sat down and constructed a full campaign using the material that is available to them.  The sheer amount of material is not a hindrance, but rather a boon. For a DM that does not have the time to work on his own setting you can’t beat the Realms. Although there are settings out there that are quickly becoming equally as interesting. Scarred Lands and Kalamar to name two.As far as the so called munchkin/uber/powerful characters, I really don’t get the gripe. Not at all. In fact this is the weakest argument against the setting, in my opinion. We are talking about Dungeons and Dragons here. We are also talking about a world that he seen the rise and fall of countless empires. Empires that attained vaulted heights of magical knowledge. This knowledge made the world a more magical place, thus the proliferation of powerful wizards. It “is” a fantasy world after all. Is it too hard to believe that their would be plethora of powerful beings (good and evil) in that world? I wouldn’t think so.  There is also the gripe that they outshine the characters. This really doesn’t make sense at all. Can you expect a world that has had 9th level spells and magical items around for hundreds, if not thousands of years, to not have a glut of powerful individuals?  If you have a problem with these powerful individuals interfering in your campaign plots, that is your problem as a DM. There are plenty of things to keep those people busy and out of your character’s way. I don’t so much as give them a second thought when I’m running a game. In fact I am running Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil right now, set in the Realms. The characters/players have never once thought about going to try and tell Elminster, or any of the other powerful NPCs that people think overshadow and ruin the Realms. They are only an issue if the DM lets them be, or if the player tries to use them. If they do try this there are always clever ways for a DM to nudge them in another direction. An interesting fact. In over ten years of the running the Realms the only powerful NPC my players have every run into was Storm Silverhand. In that encounter they saved her life rather than the other way around.Psion Wrote:This seems more like a theory rather than fact. Have you run a campaign where this was a problem? Or are you making this assumption because you know the Realms has a lot of powerful NPCs, and you “think” that is the way it would be?  I can tell you, its not like that. It only is if you let it be. It takes no work to leave the powerful NPCs out of your character’s spotlight. Furn_Darkside said:Its comments like that one that usually get the conversation about the Realms heated up. Stupid, I hardly think so. Have you looked at the size of the Realms? I’d hardly call it small.That said. There are a lot of people with legitimate gripes about the Forgotten Realms. I’ve seen several posted here already. The setting has gotten old for some people, and that’s understandable. There are days I consider tucking it all away and starting with something new, but I usually find some new place that makes me think: “I bet I could do something really interesting and long term there.” That is why I stay…Ren</blockquote>

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