WotC FR vs. Ed's FR? [Archive] - Wizards Community

WotC FR vs. Ed's FR? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Dielzen
06-26-05, 02:24 AM Prolly require someone who knows/talks to Ed to answer this (like Kuje)

If they bought FR "today" instead of years ago, how much of the stuff that's happened in the last 20ish years of Realmslore would have actually happened?

In other words, does WotC use Ed's "vision" when writing new stuff, or do they just do whatever they want, so that Ed's vision is lost and in tatters?

Just idle curiousity :cool:
Gray Richardson
06-26-05, 03:24 AM All the writers and designers are very respectful of Ed and the FR setting in general. I think they try to honor Ed's vision as best they can. Most of them research their stuff very thoroughly and try to stick with the lore that has gone before.

That said, they don't run everything past Ed and he doesn't read or sign-off on everything that sees print. And some authors and designers are known for a very high degree of faithfulness to Ed's vision and a meticulous research of established lore, moreso than perhaps some others.

But overall I would say that Ed's vision is not in tatters, but rather is thriving and continues in the spirit of the world that Ed designed so many years ago.

I would further suggest that the designers have been much more attentive to Ed's vision in recent years under 3E than they were in 2E. The few major indignities that Ed's vision has suffered happened in 2E with the addition of real-world analog nations such as Mulhorand, Unther, Kara-Tur and Maztica. Ed never wanted real-world analogs in his world. Although these realms with time have built up a decent amount of lore around them that they have been well accepted into the Realms and reflect the flavor of the Realms overall.

Ed says that part of the fun of creating a shared world is that sometimes the other designers throw you a curve and go in a different direction than he would have, and that is to be expected, but often this actually makes for great lore. Ed has said he has very much enjoyed a lot of the interesting characters and lore created by the other writers and designers and that they have added some really wonderful parts to his world that he could never have thought up on his own.

Ed continues to write sourcebooks and articles for WotC and Dragon magazine, and I would say the Realms are still one of his greatest loves. So all in all I imagine Ed is quite pleased with the status of the Realms today.
Ranger REG
06-26-05, 04:51 AM The few major indignities that Ed's vision has suffered happened in 2E with the addition of real-world analog nations such as Mulhorand, Unther, Kara-Tur and Maztica. Ed never wanted real-world analogs in his world. Although these realms with time have built up a decent amount of lore around them that they have been well accepted into the Realms and reflect the flavor of the Realms overall.
I'm certain that Ed is like Gene Roddenberry. He may not like what Harve Bennett did to Star Trek II -- taking on a very militaristic motif -- but I consider The Wrath of Khan one of the best Trek film to this day.

That can be applied comparatively with TSR's creativity to Ed's Realms.

Ed continues to write sourcebooks and articles for WotC and Dragon magazine, and I would say the Realms are still one of his greatest loves. So all in all I imagine Ed is quite pleased with the status of the Realms today.
Still, if only he himself undertaken the task to pen a FR region sourcebook outside of Faerun. That would impress me even more.
Kuje31
06-26-05, 12:05 PM Still, if only he himself undertaken the task to pen a FR region sourcebook outside of Faerun. That would impress me even more.

He has. He helped work on Zakhara and Spelljammer and Planescape and countless other sourcebooks. Just because his name isn't on it doesn't mean he hasn't helped with lore, writing, etc. :)
Kuje31
06-26-05, 12:10 PM Prolly require someone who knows/talks to Ed to answer this (like Kuje)

If they bought FR "today" instead of years ago, how much of the stuff that's happened in the last 20ish years of Realmslore would have actually happened?

In other words, does WotC use Ed's "vision" when writing new stuff, or do they just do whatever they want, so that Ed's vision is lost and in tatters?

Just idle curiousity :cool:

As was said in the other replies. Zakhara, Kara-tur, The Horde, Maztica, some of the North, Bloodstone Lands, Moonshaes, Evermeet (in that it would be further west), Desert of Desolation, and other places would not exist or would have been different.

AO wouldn't have been invented. The Faithless and False wouldn't have been invented. The one Patron deity wouldn't have been invented. I'm STILL not sure why they came up with the one step rule for 3/3.5e when there was a perfect system in place from 1e and 2e. Many of the NPC's would be different because of TSR/WOTC's hands off policy on showing sexual stuff, etc.

Some game designers and authors, through the years, do try to stay true to the Realms that is Ed's version and then there's the others...... Well let's not comment on that. :D :P
Faraer
06-26-05, 04:19 PM REG, for your Star Trek analogy to hold, major aspects of the non-Ed Realms would have to be either artistically or commercially more successful than Ed's. Apart from Bob Salvatore's novel sales, where did that ever happen? Certainly not in the bolt-on Earth analogues.
Ranger REG
06-26-05, 05:03 PM Actually, it's more of a personal thing. I happen to like those add-ons, including Kara-Tur (I may be biased since I am Asian, Filipino to be exact).

Besides, just because we haven't seen 3e version of non-Faerun regions doesn't mean there are no fans demanding them, despite WotC's decision. :smirk: Heck, I lobbied for a new OA since 2e. Now we got one for 3e. :P Persistence paid. :cool:
warlockco
06-26-05, 05:13 PM Actually, it's more of a personal thing. I happen to like those add-ons, including Kara-Tur (I may be biased since I am Asian, Filipino to be exact).

Besides, just because we haven't seen 3e version of non-Faerun regions doesn't mean there are no fans demanding them, despite WotC's decision. :smirk: Heck, I lobbied for a new OA since 2e. Now we got one for 3e. :P Persistence paid. :cool:

Yeah but the new OA isn't set in Kara-tur.
Cli' San Aquanova
06-26-05, 06:15 PM Yeah but the new OA isn't set in Kara-tur.
And that's the reason why it sucks. :P I want to play pseudo-Japanese characters in Faerun, not Rokugan.

By the way, whatever happened to that petition for that one magazine (was it Dragon?) to 3.5-ize Kara-Tur, Maztica, and Zakhara?

-C'SA
:u:Bring Back Merfolk!!!:u:
Kuje31
06-26-05, 06:22 PM By the way, whatever happened to that petition for that one magazine (was it Dragon?) to 3.5-ize Kara-Tur, Maztica, and Zakhara?

-C'SA
:u:Bring Back Merfolk!!!:u:

Dragon has made that a regular feature because the Old Campaign Settings issue was a smash hit. The next Dragon like that should be out sooner or later. :)
Gray Richardson
06-26-05, 07:02 PM Erik Mona of Dragon magazine has said they plan to make an annual theme issue devoted to presenting articles for old campaign settings such as Dark Sun, Kara-Tur, Planescape, Ravenloft, Maztica and Al-Qadim, Spelljammer, etc. Don't know when the next one is going to be but he promised we would see such an issue later this year.
BrianCritchley
06-26-05, 09:01 PM I've had the pleasure of playing in a game writers personal campaign for another game before and it was pretty differnt from the Norm, as he explained "I can't go with the normal canon timeline exactly as I have a Non-disclosure agreement"
Lashan
06-27-05, 08:47 AM I hope they don't detail any of those non-Faerun settings in anything other then Dragon Magazine. I think it's a waste of effort (in my humble opinion). There are only so many products that come out a month and to see one for an area that I will never use is a waste.

But back on the original topic, I think it is wrong to try to create a divergance between "Ed's World" and "WOTC World". Ed has worked on almost every single FR product that has come out and is happy that his torch has been carried on by many other people and gained a life of it's own.

I am a big propenant of not playing the "official" FR, but that doesn't mean I think it's different from "Ed's Vision".
Faraer
06-27-05, 12:37 PM Well, certainly the post-1357 DR timeline is a collage of various creative decisions and accidents by TSR and WotC, and not what it would be if Ed had written it. Is it like what it'd be if Ed had written it? Look at what we know of the 1340s and 50s and decide for yourself. To me, the mosaic of hotshotted gimmicks, different creative directions, and RSEs make the 'recent' official timeline a sad, paltry, unbelievable thing next to the years before.

As mentioned above, there's non-Ed stuff that builds the Realms cooperatively and satisfactorily, and there's stuff that doesn't gel well at all and has weakened the integrity of the setting overall.
Lashan
06-27-05, 01:18 PM I admit that I always play my games before 1360 DR. Sometimes back as far as 1340 Dr.
Ranger REG
06-28-05, 05:22 AM Yeah but the new OA isn't set in Kara-tur.
Meh. You take whatever victory you can. Still I'm pushing for a new OA (v.3.5e) or better yet, a Kara-Tur sourcebook for FR for use with OA.
Ranger REG
06-28-05, 05:25 AM Erik Mona of Dragon magazine has said they plan to make an annual theme issue devoted to presenting articles for old campaign settings such as Dark Sun, Kara-Tur, Planescape, Ravenloft, Maztica and Al-Qadim, Spelljammer, etc. Don't know when the next one is going to be but he promised we would see such an issue later this year.
Last I heard, they pushed back the second Campaign Classic issue to next year. Major bummer. :(
Nynshari
06-28-05, 02:25 PM AO wouldn't have been invented.

The thought of Ao's non-existence is very appealing to me. But I guess that's the pagan in me ;)

The Faithless and False wouldn't have been invented. The one Patron deity wouldn't have been invented. I'm STILL not sure why they came up with the one step rule for 3/3.5e when there was a perfect system in place from 1e and 2e.

What was the rule in 2E for that?
Lashan
06-28-05, 02:58 PM There wasn't a rule about it. That's the beauty. You didn't have to pick a patron god. You could really just worship the entire pantheon all at once in a true polytheistic concept. You could just ignore the gods, as well, with no concerns. You could make up whatever you wanted.
Nynshari
06-28-05, 03:00 PM Oh yeah, I'm liking that much better.

(said with seriousness, not sarcasm :) )
Kuje31
06-28-05, 03:47 PM The thought of Ao's non-existence is very appealing to me. But I guess that's the pagan in me ;)

What was the rule in 2E for that?

Ditto on the pagan in me comment.

And in 1e and 2e some divine casters were not restricted to three alignments. Some deities allowed 6 or more. :) Or some allowed all alignments.

Let's take Azuth for example, since he's the first deity listed in F&P. In 3/3.5e he only allows LE, LG, LN divine casters while in 1e and 2e he allowed LG, LN, TN, CN, LE.
Lashan
06-28-05, 04:16 PM Or when Shar was branching out and had that kit for Chaotic Good worshippers. They focused on the "forgetting" part of Shar's personality. They were suppose to help those with painful memories to forget the pain in hopes that they would slip further into Shar's embrace.

I actually used that in a plot for a campaign once. A lot of children at this finishing school in Scardale were secretly trained to worship Shar as CG clerics. Shar hears all and sees all that happens in the shadows. She learned of Lashan's plot to take over the Dalelands and knew that it would end badly. So, she sent some clerics to start the school and start this sect of new clerics to attend to the people of Scardale after the war. It worked out brilliantly.
Mula
06-28-05, 06:31 PM What if you copied Eberron and removed deific alignment restrictions completely? Would it work in the Realms? I have my doubts...
Kuje31
06-28-05, 06:37 PM What if you copied Eberron and removed deific alignment restrictions completely? Would it work in the Realms? I have my doubts...

I don't know enough about Eberron to say but for me some Realms deities just would not have good aligned divine casters nor evil aligned divine casters. I can't see Bane, Cyric, Loviatar, etc having good aligned divine casters. Nor can I see Lathander having evil aligned ones. :) Mystra, sure have fun since she also has a high priest that is a LE necromancer. :) Granted he isn't a divine caster but he's still the head of one of her major churchs.
Alac Luin
06-28-05, 06:56 PM We can talk deities all day long on the difference between Ed's realms and WotC's realms.
I sort of remembered Ed saying once something about Larue and Narbolion (ok, I slaughtered the spelling) originally having a more prominent role.
Though note, not all deities in F&P follow the one step rule, it's still note the same as 1ed and 2ed.

But there are also many other differences.
Ed's realms has a darker feel then TSR felt it should publish.
Ed's realms has more fighting from the back of Dragons, TSR wanted to keep that in the Dragonlance setting.
Ed's realms has more psionic “wild talents”.
etc, etc, etc...
Faraer
06-28-05, 06:58 PM Free choice of alignment and gods works fine unless you have abusive players, in which case why play with them anyway?

I don't see how the published Realms differs at all from Ed's in regard to psionic wild talents. They seem just the same, not at all common, in both.
Mula
06-28-05, 07:05 PM I don't know enough about Eberron to say but for me some Realms deities just would not have good aligned divine casters nor evil aligned divine casters. I can't see Bane, Cyric, Loviatar, etc having good aligned divine casters. Nor can I see Lathander having evil aligned ones. :) Mystra, sure have fun since she also has a high priest that is a LE necromancer. :) Granted he isn't a divine caster but he's still the head of one of her major churchs.Well, in Eberron the existence of deities is a bit questionable, so alignment-free faiths (and spellcasting, too!) works like a dream in the setting. Since the gods and goddesses of FR are a whole lot more personal (and there’s no doubt about their existence), it doesn’t seem very viable. I’d like the ambiguity the approach would bring, though!
Kuje31
06-28-05, 07:20 PM Well, in Eberron the existence of deities is a bit questionable, so alignment-free faiths (and spellcasting, too!) works like a dream in the setting. Since the gods and goddesses of FR are a whole lot more personal (and there’s no doubt about their existence), it doesn’t seem very viable. I’d like the ambiguity the approach would bring, though!

Ah. Hmm, that doesn't interest me for FR. Just seems out of place. :)
Nynshari
06-29-05, 10:35 AM Hmmm - I wouldn't remove the restrictions, necessarily, but would definitely widen the available alignments. I much prefer the way 2E was, as it was described to me. It seems to fit better, especially with the chaotic deities. Maybe they'll go back to the old system eventually.

Eh, one can only hope ... :)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Dielzen 06-26-05, 02:24 AM	Prolly require someone who knows/talks to Ed to answer this (like Kuje) If they bought FR "today" instead of years ago, how much of the stuff that's happened in the last 20ish years of Realmslore would have actually happened? In other words, does WotC use Ed's "vision" when writing new stuff, or do they just do whatever they want, so that Ed's vision is lost and in tatters? Just idle curiousity :cool:
Gray Richardson 06-26-05, 03:24 AM	All the writers and designers are very respectful of Ed and the FR setting in general. I think they try to honor Ed's vision as best they can. Most of them research their stuff very thoroughly and try to stick with the lore that has gone before. That said, they don't run everything past Ed and he doesn't read or sign-off on everything that sees print. And some authors and designers are known for a very high degree of faithfulness to Ed's vision and a meticulous research of established lore, moreso than perhaps some others. But overall I would say that Ed's vision is not in tatters, but rather is thriving and continues in the spirit of the world that Ed designed so many years ago. I would further suggest that the designers have been much more attentive to Ed's vision in recent years under 3E than they were in 2E. The few major indignities that Ed's vision has suffered happened in 2E with the addition of real-world analog nations such as Mulhorand, Unther, Kara-Tur and Maztica. Ed never wanted real-world analogs in his world. Although these realms with time have built up a decent amount of lore around them that they have been well accepted into the Realms and reflect the flavor of the Realms overall. Ed says that part of the fun of creating a shared world is that sometimes the other designers throw you a curve and go in a different direction than he would have, and that is to be expected, but often this actually makes for great lore. Ed has said he has very much enjoyed a lot of the interesting characters and lore created by the other writers and designers and that they have added some really wonderful parts to his world that he could never have thought up on his own. Ed continues to write sourcebooks and articles for WotC and Dragon magazine, and I would say the Realms are still one of his greatest loves. So all in all I imagine Ed is quite pleased with the status of the Realms today.
Ranger REG 06-26-05, 04:51 AM	The few major indignities that Ed's vision has suffered happened in 2E with the addition of real-world analog nations such as Mulhorand, Unther, Kara-Tur and Maztica. Ed never wanted real-world analogs in his world. Although these realms with time have built up a decent amount of lore around them that they have been well accepted into the Realms and reflect the flavor of the Realms overall. I'm certain that Ed is like Gene Roddenberry. He may not like what Harve Bennett did to Star Trek II -- taking on a very militaristic motif -- but I consider The Wrath of Khan one of the best Trek film to this day. That can be applied comparatively with TSR's creativity to Ed's Realms. Ed continues to write sourcebooks and articles for WotC and Dragon magazine, and I would say the Realms are still one of his greatest loves. So all in all I imagine Ed is quite pleased with the status of the Realms today. Still, if only he himself undertaken the task to pen a FR region sourcebook outside of Faerun. That would impress me even more.
Kuje31 06-26-05, 12:05 PM	Still, if only he himself undertaken the task to pen a FR region sourcebook outside of Faerun. That would impress me even more. He has. He helped work on Zakhara and Spelljammer and Planescape and countless other sourcebooks. Just because his name isn't on it doesn't mean he hasn't helped with lore, writing, etc. :)
Kuje31 06-26-05, 12:10 PM	Prolly require someone who knows/talks to Ed to answer this (like Kuje) If they bought FR "today" instead of years ago, how much of the stuff that's happened in the last 20ish years of Realmslore would have actually happened? In other words, does WotC use Ed's "vision" when writing new stuff, or do they just do whatever they want, so that Ed's vision is lost and in tatters? Just idle curiousity :cool: As was said in the other replies. Zakhara, Kara-tur, The Horde, Maztica, some of the North, Bloodstone Lands, Moonshaes, Evermeet (in that it would be further west), Desert of Desolation, and other places would not exist or would have been different. AO wouldn't have been invented. The Faithless and False wouldn't have been invented. The one Patron deity wouldn't have been invented. I'm STILL not sure why they came up with the one step rule for 3/3.5e when there was a perfect system in place from 1e and 2e. Many of the NPC's would be different because of TSR/WOTC's hands off policy on showing sexual stuff, etc. Some game designers and authors, through the years, do try to stay true to the Realms that is Ed's version and then there's the others...... Well let's not comment on that. :D :P
Faraer 06-26-05, 04:19 PM	REG, for your Star Trek analogy to hold, major aspects of the non-Ed Realms would have to be either artistically or commercially more successful than Ed's. Apart from Bob Salvatore's novel sales, where did that ever happen? Certainly not in the bolt-on Earth analogues.
Ranger REG 06-26-05, 05:03 PM	Actually, it's more of a personal thing. I happen to like those add-ons, including Kara-Tur (I may be biased since I am Asian, Filipino to be exact). Besides, just because we haven't seen 3e version of non-Faerun regions doesn't mean there are no fans demanding them, despite WotC's decision. :smirk: Heck, I lobbied for a new OA since 2e. Now we got one for 3e. :P Persistence paid. :cool:
warlockco 06-26-05, 05:13 PM	Actually, it's more of a personal thing. I happen to like those add-ons, including Kara-Tur (I may be biased since I am Asian, Filipino to be exact). Besides, just because we haven't seen 3e version of non-Faerun regions doesn't mean there are no fans demanding them, despite WotC's decision. :smirk: Heck, I lobbied for a new OA since 2e. Now we got one for 3e. :P Persistence paid. :cool: Yeah but the new OA isn't set in Kara-tur.
Cli' San Aquanova 06-26-05, 06:15 PM	Yeah but the new OA isn't set in Kara-tur. And that's the reason why it sucks. :P I want to play pseudo-Japanese characters in Faerun, not Rokugan. By the way, whatever happened to that petition for that one magazine (was it Dragon?) to 3.5-ize Kara-Tur, Maztica, and Zakhara? -C'SA :u:Bring Back Merfolk!!!:u:
Kuje31 06-26-05, 06:22 PM	By the way, whatever happened to that petition for that one magazine (was it Dragon?) to 3.5-ize Kara-Tur, Maztica, and Zakhara? -C'SA :u:Bring Back Merfolk!!!:u: Dragon has made that a regular feature because the Old Campaign Settings issue was a smash hit. The next Dragon like that should be out sooner or later. :)
Gray Richardson 06-26-05, 07:02 PM	Erik Mona of Dragon magazine has said they plan to make an annual theme issue devoted to presenting articles for old campaign settings such as Dark Sun, Kara-Tur, Planescape, Ravenloft, Maztica and Al-Qadim, Spelljammer, etc. Don't know when the next one is going to be but he promised we would see such an issue later this year.
BrianCritchley 06-26-05, 09:01 PM	I've had the pleasure of playing in a game writers personal campaign for another game before and it was pretty differnt from the Norm, as he explained "I can't go with the normal canon timeline exactly as I have a Non-disclosure agreement"
Lashan 06-27-05, 08:47 AM	I hope they don't detail any of those non-Faerun settings in anything other then Dragon Magazine. I think it's a waste of effort (in my humble opinion). There are only so many products that come out a month and to see one for an area that I will never use is a waste. But back on the original topic, I think it is wrong to try to create a divergance between "Ed's World" and "WOTC World". Ed has worked on almost every single FR product that has come out and is happy that his torch has been carried on by many other people and gained a life of it's own. I am a big propenant of not playing the "official" FR, but that doesn't mean I think it's different from "Ed's Vision".
Faraer 06-27-05, 12:37 PM	Well, certainly the post-1357 DR timeline is a collage of various creative decisions and accidents by TSR and WotC, and not what it would be if Ed had written it. Is it like what it'd be if Ed had written it? Look at what we know of the 1340s and 50s and decide for yourself. To me, the mosaic of hotshotted gimmicks, different creative directions, and RSEs make the 'recent' official timeline a sad, paltry, unbelievable thing next to the years before. As mentioned above, there's non-Ed stuff that builds the Realms cooperatively and satisfactorily, and there's stuff that doesn't gel well at all and has weakened the integrity of the setting overall.
Lashan 06-27-05, 01:18 PM	I admit that I always play my games before 1360 DR. Sometimes back as far as 1340 Dr.
Ranger REG 06-28-05, 05:22 AM	Yeah but the new OA isn't set in Kara-tur. Meh. You take whatever victory you can. Still I'm pushing for a new OA (v.3.5e) or better yet, a Kara-Tur sourcebook for FR for use with OA.
Ranger REG 06-28-05, 05:25 AM	Erik Mona of Dragon magazine has said they plan to make an annual theme issue devoted to presenting articles for old campaign settings such as Dark Sun, Kara-Tur, Planescape, Ravenloft, Maztica and Al-Qadim, Spelljammer, etc. Don't know when the next one is going to be but he promised we would see such an issue later this year. Last I heard, they pushed back the second Campaign Classic issue to next year. Major bummer. :(
Nynshari 06-28-05, 02:25 PM	AO wouldn't have been invented. The thought of Ao's non-existence is very appealing to me. But I guess that's the pagan in me ;) The Faithless and False wouldn't have been invented. The one Patron deity wouldn't have been invented. I'm STILL not sure why they came up with the one step rule for 3/3.5e when there was a perfect system in place from 1e and 2e. What was the rule in 2E for that?
Lashan 06-28-05, 02:58 PM	There wasn't a rule about it. That's the beauty. You didn't have to pick a patron god. You could really just worship the entire pantheon all at once in a true polytheistic concept. You could just ignore the gods, as well, with no concerns. You could make up whatever you wanted.
Nynshari 06-28-05, 03:00 PM	Oh yeah, I'm liking that much better. (said with seriousness, not sarcasm :) )
Kuje31 06-28-05, 03:47 PM	The thought of Ao's non-existence is very appealing to me. But I guess that's the pagan in me ;) What was the rule in 2E for that? Ditto on the pagan in me comment. And in 1e and 2e some divine casters were not restricted to three alignments. Some deities allowed 6 or more. :) Or some allowed all alignments. Let's take Azuth for example, since he's the first deity listed in F&P. In 3/3.5e he only allows LE, LG, LN divine casters while in 1e and 2e he allowed LG, LN, TN, CN, LE.
Lashan 06-28-05, 04:16 PM	Or when Shar was branching out and had that kit for Chaotic Good worshippers. They focused on the "forgetting" part of Shar's personality. They were suppose to help those with painful memories to forget the pain in hopes that they would slip further into Shar's embrace. I actually used that in a plot for a campaign once. A lot of children at this finishing school in Scardale were secretly trained to worship Shar as CG clerics. Shar hears all and sees all that happens in the shadows. She learned of Lashan's plot to take over the Dalelands and knew that it would end badly. So, she sent some clerics to start the school and start this sect of new clerics to attend to the people of Scardale after the war. It worked out brilliantly.
Mula 06-28-05, 06:31 PM	What if you copied Eberron and removed deific alignment restrictions completely? Would it work in the Realms? I have my doubts...
Kuje31 06-28-05, 06:37 PM	What if you copied Eberron and removed deific alignment restrictions completely? Would it work in the Realms? I have my doubts... I don't know enough about Eberron to say but for me some Realms deities just would not have good aligned divine casters nor evil aligned divine casters. I can't see Bane, Cyric, Loviatar, etc having good aligned divine casters. Nor can I see Lathander having evil aligned ones. :) Mystra, sure have fun since she also has a high priest that is a LE necromancer. :) Granted he isn't a divine caster but he's still the head of one of her major churchs.
Alac Luin 06-28-05, 06:56 PM	We can talk deities all day long on the difference between Ed's realms and WotC's realms. I sort of remembered Ed saying once something about Larue and Narbolion (ok, I slaughtered the spelling) originally having a more prominent role. Though note, not all deities in F&P follow the one step rule, it's still note the same as 1ed and 2ed. But there are also many other differences. Ed's realms has a darker feel then TSR felt it should publish. Ed's realms has more fighting from the back of Dragons, TSR wanted to keep that in the Dragonlance setting. Ed's realms has more psionic “wild talents”. etc, etc, etc...
Faraer 06-28-05, 06:58 PM	Free choice of alignment and gods works fine unless you have abusive players, in which case why play with them anyway? I don't see how the published Realms differs at all from Ed's in regard to psionic wild talents. They seem just the same, not at all common, in both.
Mula 06-28-05, 07:05 PM	I don't know enough about Eberron to say but for me some Realms deities just would not have good aligned divine casters nor evil aligned divine casters. I can't see Bane, Cyric, Loviatar, etc having good aligned divine casters. Nor can I see Lathander having evil aligned ones. :) Mystra, sure have fun since she also has a high priest that is a LE necromancer. :) Granted he isn't a divine caster but he's still the head of one of her major churchs.Well, in Eberron the existence of deities is a bit questionable, so alignment-free faiths (and spellcasting, too!) works like a dream in the setting. Since the gods and goddesses of FR are a whole lot more personal (and there’s no doubt about their existence), it doesn’t seem very viable. I’d like the ambiguity the approach would bring, though!
Kuje31 06-28-05, 07:20 PM	Well, in Eberron the existence of deities is a bit questionable, so alignment-free faiths (and spellcasting, too!) works like a dream in the setting. Since the gods and goddesses of FR are a whole lot more personal (and there’s no doubt about their existence), it doesn’t seem very viable. I’d like the ambiguity the approach would bring, though! Ah. Hmm, that doesn't interest me for FR. Just seems out of place. :)
Nynshari 06-29-05, 10:35 AM	Hmmm - I wouldn't remove the restrictions, necessarily, but would definitely widen the available alignments. I much prefer the way 2E was, as it was described to me. It seems to fit better, especially with the chaotic deities. Maybe they'll go back to the old system eventually. Eh, one can only hope ... :)