Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ankhwearer 08-30-07, 06:42 PM	I think this non-splat book in going to see pretty decent sales, given that thousands of LG players are far behind in their campaign knowledge for the upcoming campaign. Being new to LG (nine months) I always lamented the lack of in-print background on Greyhawk. At least this time I'll be able to get in on the ground floor. Although I'm not likely to run out and get RA Salvatore's twelve books; do I really need to know the details of the drow intrigues to get starting in LR?
WotC_Tulach 08-30-07, 07:11 PM	I would pick up the Orc King, which is due out in September. It is absolutely not required that you have tons of knowledge (or really any knowledge) of the Forgotten Realms in order to get enjoyment out of the new campaign.
ankhwearer 08-30-07, 07:30 PM	It is absolutely not required that you have tons of knowledge (or really any knowledge) of the Forgotten Realms in order to get enjoyment out of the new campaign. Thanks for the reply. I'm only trying suggest that reading some of the background will add to the enjoyment of the new campaign. Certainly it should get players more excited about their regions when they can follow the development of their cultures.
githmorien 08-30-07, 09:25 PM	I, personally, am a bi-i-i-g fan of "background info", so I do appreciate the heads up! But tell me: what's a splat/non-splat book? And do we know yet if the 4e Realms will be quite the same place we've known up to now? If they set the 4e Realms a couple thousand years down the line from where it is in 3e, that could stand to make a pretty big difference in what we know about the Realms vs. what we *think* we know about the Realms! :thinks:
Tribble 08-30-07, 11:12 PM	Splatbook (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splatbook) :: sourcebooks containing additional rules beyond that which is contained in the core books (ie Complete Champion and Races of Destiny) Non-splat :: any other related book, ie novels, mapbooks, etc. (ie Orc King)
nony2klerch 08-30-07, 11:49 PM	Crunchy = rules, prestige classes feats magic items and the like Fluff = background NPCs other stuff Splat books are normally crunchy in nature and non splat books are fluffy... at least that's how I reference them YMMV
Eric Anondson 08-31-07, 12:02 AM	I would pick up the Orc King, which is due out in September. It is absolutely not required that you have tons of knowledge (or really any knowledge) of the Forgotten Realms in order to get enjoyment out of the new campaign.From what I'm reading about the prologue and epilogue of The Orc King, yeah, older novels and recent novels, plus past accessories are going to be kind of obsoleted for basic knowledge of regions. At least according to this thread (http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?p=3743488#post3743488) where someone claiming to know about them has been posting. For instance, the prologue and epilogue of The Orc King, according to the linked thread, is written 100 years in the future from the events in the book. If you don't mind spoilers, follow through the link and highlink the spoilered blocks. The person posting the info seems to be mixing his knowledge of what's in the prologue and epilogue with comments made at a (GenCon?) seminar. Such as, while the Spellplague takes place in 1385 DR (a 10 year leap ahead) no one said that the 4e FRCS "is set in 1385". So, could the 4e FRCS be set as much as 100 years ahead, long after the Spellplague decimated Faerun? Intriguing possiblities. I'd bet no one at WotC wants to reveal how far the leap in timeline is in case it might hurt sales of Brian James book. I mean, if suddenly Grand History of the Realms isn't just recent history by distant history, folks may just not want it because it would be less relevent to their 4e FR campaign. Just speculation until more facts are known of course. :)
Vamroc 08-31-07, 01:51 AM	Will we have to buy new 4E FRHBs books or can we use the current ones and just aply the new rules. Here's a list of races I'd like to see Orc, Troll, Ogre, Centuar, Drow, Duragar, Human, Elf, Dwarf, Teifling, Assimar, Hafling, and Gnome. These are the most common races players like and reflect D&D as a whole. The rules for Centuars in LG could easly be applied to other races like Ogres.
Reneshat 08-31-07, 06:44 AM	Will we have to buy new 4E FRHBs books or can we use the current ones and just aply the new rules. Here's a list of races I'd like to see Orc, Troll, Ogre, Centuar, Drow, Duragar, Human, Elf, Dwarf, Teifling, Assimar, Hafling, and Gnome. These are the most common races players like and reflect D&D as a whole. The rules for Centuars in LG could easly be applied to other races like Ogres. The idea of a Savage Species system, while brilliant at the time, is going to be pretty much obsolete from what I understand of 4E. Apparently, using the ideas of Savage Species, for the first 10 levels of your character, you will have dual progression. One progression on your class, and one progression in your race. This allows people to play classes like Ogre, Centaur, or Drow without having to worry about clunky level adjustment rules.
RanielK 08-31-07, 07:30 AM	The idea of a Savage Species system, while brilliant at the time, is going to be pretty much obsolete from what I understand of 4E. Apparently, using the ideas of Savage Species, for the first 10 levels of your character, you will have dual progression. One progression on your class, and one progression in your race. This allows people to play classes like Ogre, Centaur, or Drow without having to worry about clunky level adjustment rules. I heard (yep gotta love RUMINT) that the gith races were a close approximation, along with the ideas of racial substitution levels and talent trees of Saga. Think along the lines of "at 4hd get spell-like ability w 1/day, 7hd get Special Abilities x and y, 11hd get spell-like z 3/day. If you are a "insert race" fighter you can choose these racial talents in place of normal fighter talents."
Geodragon 08-31-07, 12:03 PM	In reference to that spoiler block about the upcoming 'The Orc King'.. I went to Amazon.com and read their summary.. One thing to note in that summary when added to the other information. So, here's some presumtions. 1) 1385 is when the spellplague seems to hit. 2) Orcs and Dwarves may have co-existed peacefully and after the plague, may be able to again. (Thus allowing Orc hero characters). 3) While Time of Troubles had a shorter duration, the plague could be very devastating, and giving it 100 years to subside is probably a good idea and would explain many of the changes to all the classes, as time has been given to adjust to the new environments. 4) Using the points of light, sounds like many areas were devastated and the population centers (that survived) are still recovering and distances between points of civilizations (lights) have grown wild and there are now more ruins to explore. I'm hoping Waterdeep survived to some degree, tho I suspect it may still be recovering. :cip: :ton: :cip:
ankhwearer 08-31-07, 12:13 PM	You could put that in spoiler tags, like this: I have a secret
ankhwearer 08-31-07, 12:20 PM	So, could the 4e FRCS be set as much as 100 years ahead, long after the Spellplague decimated Faerun? Intriguing possiblities. Living Greyhawk happens eons after the Suel empire was destroyed in a cataclysm. But that ancient history still creeps into plots. For that matter, the ancient ruins in Xen'drik (in the Eberron setting) are 40,000 years old. Knowing who made the dungeons and stuctures that dot the landscape, even if it isn't relevant to the storyline, is quite intriguing to me. So I'll probably pick the book up to get jump started on learning about the Realms.
Geodragon 08-31-07, 12:33 PM	You could put that in spoiler tags, like this: I have a secret Thanks.. I didn't know how to do that until now.. Changed it.. :cip: :ton: :cip:
Butterface 09-02-07, 03:59 PM	I'd be really, REALLY surprised if the 4E FR was set 100 years ahead on the timeline. That's quite a bit different from every other report I've heard. A neat idea, maybe, but I don't think that's happening.
scon40 09-05-07, 02:18 AM	It is absolutely not required that you have tons of knowledge (or really any knowledge) of the Forgotten Realms in order to get enjoyment out of the new campaign. While this is true, I highly recommend the Grand History of the Realms anyway. It's an amazing book, even for those who haven't been big followers of the Realms. The way things connect over the years in the book are great inspirations for home campaigns. And for those into the Realms, they've added lots of goodies that are not to be missed. Wish they did a version of the book for GH.
Jonathon_M_Johnson 09-05-07, 04:01 PM	I think this non-splat book in going to see pretty decent sales, given that thousands of LG players are far behind in their campaign knowledge for the upcoming campaign. Being new to LG (nine months) I always lamented the lack of in-print background on Greyhawk. At least this time I'll be able to get in on the ground floor. Although I'm not likely to run out and get RA Salvatore's twelve books; do I really need to know the details of the drow intrigues to get starting in LR? Hello all- Is that the "Grand History of the Realms" book? I guess that that would be a good buy. Hey Chris- Someone made a comment in a post in another area about the Forgotten Realms books that are out now won't be converted to v4.0. Does that mean that I should go out and get the PHB, DMG, MM of the Forgotten Realms today and it will be good when LFR starts up? Or should we just wait until next year? Thanks Jonathon M. Johnson Colorado
TimRat 09-05-07, 06:36 PM	i agree with steve about the history of the realms. its a great read and just overall good collection of info thats all into one book. now granted its not super detailed but i mean it collects everything that you could want! read the history of the realms and you may understand why things are going to change quite a bit. it does give you a glimpse into the future of the realms as well.
scon40 09-05-07, 10:49 PM	Someone made a comment in a post in another area about the Forgotten Realms books that are out now won't be converted to v4.0. Does that mean that I should go out and get the PHB, DMG, MM of the Forgotten Realms today and it will be good when LFR starts up? No. It means that any FR books out now are 3.5 edition and won't receive a conversion guide (which they did do for the 3.0 to 3.5 update). So anything FR used in the LFR campaign will be written for 4.0 directly, not translated from 3.5 versions.
KoboldChieftain 09-06-07, 07:00 AM	No. It means that any FR books out now are 3.5 edition and won't receive a conversion guide (which they did do for the 3.0 to 3.5 update). So anything FR used in the LFR campaign will be written for 4.0 directly, not translated from 3.5 versions. Ah, but wait! The rules are 3.5 but what about the other stuff? Are the major characters not the same? Are the Dalelands suddenly changing their name to "Elminsterland"? While it is true that we do not know MANY of the particulars of the new campaign, the existing FR material could give you a feel for the realms, a sense of it's history, and a grounding in the mythos. Of course, they could tweak that stuff to all heck as well. Does that make buying the existing FR stuff a good idea or not? That is your call. I do see value in it but I can also see where we simply do not have enough information to say one way or the other for certain. Unless Chris wants to drop some more tidbits? (Hint, hint!)
bjdaredevil01 09-06-07, 09:49 AM	Being new to LG (nine months) I always lamented the lack of in-print background on Greyhawk. At least this time I'll be able to get in on the ground floor. Although I'm not likely to run out and get RA Salvatore's twelve books; do I really need to know the details of the drow intrigues to get starting in LR? Yes, you should. Not only does it gives you a rich background history but also they are some of the best books that you will read, at least in my short reading interest i aquired so far the best books i've read.
Eric Anondson 09-06-07, 11:35 AM	Yes, you should.We don't know that. LFR could get a timeline leap that makes the presented past unimportant. I know the Realms has a detailed history. But the starting player in Living FR should NOT feel they need to buy a library of out of print product just to get themselves comfortable. Folks in LG complain loudly about feeling they need to keep up with the cargo train of Complete/Races of/Environment books. If the RPGA is just going to trade that for yearly PHB #/MM #/DMG #, and expansion books, and a back catalog of out of print novels and accessories, . . . then we can expect a disaster. So my comment regarding whether someone is on the fence about details of the drow in the Realms . . . don't bother. Wait for the 4e FRCS, then make your call after you buy that.
cetiken 09-06-07, 03:15 PM	Yes, you should. Not only does it gives you a rich background history but also they are some of the best books that you will read, at least in my short reading interest i aquired so far the best books i've read. Eh... They aren't bad. I wouldn't go running around calling them great works of literature. But I'd say they are at least on par with Ann McCaffery's Pern series and perhaps better than most of Mercadies Lackey's fantasy works. At least the first trilogy which while good didn't inspire me to run out to B&N and buy the rest of them.