Post/Author/DateTime	Post
pedr 02-29-08, 07:41 PM	There is an unofficial posting of the LFR regions on the SE-USA Yahoo group: http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/lfrseusa/message/84 Pacific US=East Rift Western US=Moonshae Isles Southwest US=Tymanther (returned Abeir place) North Central US=Waterdeep Northeast US=Cormyr Southeast US=Aglarond Canada=Akanul (returned Abeir place…genasi) Latin America=Baldur's Gate UK/Ireland/South Africa=Luruar (Silverymoon) Northern Europe/Russia=Dalelands Southern Europe/Turkey=Impilitur Australia/New Zealand/Pacific=Dragon Coast
Mind Flayer Monk 02-29-08, 10:47 PM	What regions/places comprise the East Rift? Is that the great rift by chance or a combination of several places? I was having a look here and was having trouble narrowing down the East Rift. http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Portal:Geography
NiTessine 03-01-08, 01:58 AM	Were the regions given any descriptions? East Rift is probably the portion of the Eastern Shaar that fell into the Underdark.
The_Jester 03-01-08, 11:07 AM	Wow... Canada got SHAFTED. No history. Not traditional fantasy (still). Apparently heavy thematic overlap with the Southwest US. For a large country with a heavy gamer population that also speaks english (making its adventures easily playable elsewhere) you'd think we'd get a solid cool region like the Gate or Dalelands.
Grimslade2001 03-01-08, 01:30 PM	Or Canada could be blessed with a region that they can truly make their own. Rewarding the strong roleplaying presence in the Great White North with a blank slate that they can turn into canon. But then again, I am in NEUS, so I went from Keoland to Cormyr. Everyone has their own cross to bear.
chesspiece 03-01-08, 02:09 PM	I don't mind the "clean slate" or the dominant race being non-human. At least there are plenty of ruins and adventuring opportunities. Playing a descendant of Chondath refugees might be a good back story. I believe I saw a reference to enemy Aboleths harassing the genasi - and I love to hate abominations. But I don't get the impression that Akanul will be strong in urban adventures. And I'm guessing they'd =like= to allow us Canucks to create genasi, but even once they are published in September (Forgotten Realms Players Guide), it might not be "fair" without RPGA Rewards cards. :rolleyes: Hmmm - maybe they can give each region a PC Creation option. Or maybe they'll let us play using Human stats until the Genasi rules are released and then convert. At any rate, the (presumably) limited quantity of background information might make it harder to immerse ourselves in the region right away. Still, if I may ask our Canadian Regional Admins one question, it would be: Why do you think this will be a good Home Region and not just somewhere to visit? I suppose I should put my words into context. I'm a longtime Greyhawk fan but I've gotten into the Realms. However, I am optimistic about the LFR campaign and I'm trying to put write my above thoughts in a positive tone. Cheers.
WoodstockBR 03-01-08, 05:09 PM	I believe every Brazilian, as me, and my fellows Latin Americans are very happy with Baldur's Gate!!!
GreenKnight 03-01-08, 11:01 PM	Northern Europe/Russia gets the Dalelands? What a colossal waste. I'm not to thrilled with my choices, either. If I stay in Florida, I've got Aglarond. But if I move out to California, I've got the East Rift. Either way, talk about completely uninteresting. I got no clue what the East Rift even is. *sigh* Oh well. Least you can play in any region, if you can find a group who wants to play in that region.
Norg 03-02-08, 01:22 AM	What's wrong with Aglarond? Atleast we'll have the highest level wizard in the Realms as are ruler if she's still alive. :weep: Aglarond also has some of the best bad guys in all the Realms as their neighbors. Who just doesn't like a good Thayian BBQ. ;) Aglarond has some established history but not alot compared to The North and Dalelands/Cormyr areas. That will give us alot to play with. ---> Norg <---
warfteiner 03-02-08, 01:47 AM	Three cheers for the midwest getting Waterdeep! We only had to trade our economy to get it, too. ;)
NiTessine 03-02-08, 02:20 AM	Northern Europe/Russia gets the Dalelands? What a colossal waste. Neener neener neener. :P
GreenKnight 03-02-08, 02:23 AM	What's wrong with Aglarond? Atleast we'll have the highest level wizard in the Realms as are ruler if she's still alive. :weep: Pretty sure she's no longer around, so we won't have her. Aglarond also has some of the best bad guys in all the Realms as their neighbors. Who just doesn't like a good Thayian BBQ. ;) Eh, Red Wizards. I'm already bored. Cormyr or the Dalelands would've been vastly superior, as you got not one major threat but two. The Shades and Zhentil Keep (Or hell, three if you want to count the Sembians as a separate opponent). Oh well. I may be moving to California, anyway. Just wish I knew what the East Rift was. Doesn't sound very appealing, though. Especially if it's that hole that opened up in the Shaar near the Great Rift. Neener neener neener. :P Damn you. Damn you TO HELL! *shakes fist impotently* :P
Simpi 03-02-08, 02:35 AM	Damn you. Damn you TO HELL! *shakes fist impotently* :P Worry not, regions are more for administrative purposes since modules are playable anywhere. We will welcome all players to our mighty region that spans from sea to shining sea, from Strait of Bering to Port of Rotterdam :D Sampo Haarlaa LFR Dalelands POC
Puggle Halfwine 03-02-08, 04:25 AM	AAaaaaand Australia gets a blank sheet *yet again*. I sometimes wonder if WotC just uses us to fill in the blanks of their empty regions... Oh well. Everything we've gotten so far has turned out to be fantastic, so I have no doubts this one will as well, just... yeah. Would have loved Tymanther. Or the Dalelands. Or something.
Iswald 03-02-08, 04:35 AM	Three cheers for the midwest getting Waterdeep! We only had to trade our economy to get it, too. ;) Three boos for the midwest getting Waterdeep. I'd rather it were a blank slate to work with.
gomeztoo 03-02-08, 07:01 AM	Northern Europe/Russia gets the Dalelands? What a colossal waste. That is an odd remark. One seems to be lacking confidence a bit.
Simpi 03-02-08, 07:44 AM	That is an odd remark. One seems to be lacking confidence a bit. I agree, perhaps the poster could elaborate a bit what he meant. Sampo Haarlaa LFR Dalelands POC
darrell_uk 03-02-08, 07:48 AM	Personally, having lived "near" Northern Europe* all my life, and knowing just how much effort the two of you have put into your LG regions, was happy to see you with The Dalelands. *[To (poorly) quote the old newspaper headline, "fog in the channel, Europe cut off".]
Puggle Halfwine 03-02-08, 09:39 AM	Well, given that Australia was one of the few places to receive a new region in Living Greyhawk, and both of our Living Greyhawk regions were blank sheets, I'm surprised that we got another one... we had more authors than we knew what to do with, heaps of players in most of our capital cities, almost a convention a week if you were looking... Again, not saying Dragon Coast will be bad. In fact, I'm confident it'll be the best region out there. ;) Just... yeah. Another blank sheet...
The_Jester 03-02-08, 10:54 AM	Three boos for the midwest getting Waterdeep. I'd rather it were a blank slate to work with. Trade ya for Canada's region. Or Canada could be blessed with a region that they can truly make their own. Rewarding the strong roleplaying presence in the Great White North with a blank slate that they can turn into canon. But then again, I am in NEUS, so I went from Keoland to Cormyr. Everyone has their own cross to bear. Which might be fun except for a few big problems. 1) Information. Everyone will need to buy the FR Campaign Setting and FR Player's Guide for information, especially the authors. To maintain a consistent feel we'll need some solid up-front info before even attempting adventures to avoid quick contradictions. Since RPGA staff isn't provided with advanced copies, how will contacted authors have adventures ready for release? 2) Extra work. Someone's going to have to sit down and write lengthy Player's Guides, like had to be done with Zief. Thankfully that turned out well but it has the potential for one person's vision dominating the region or a product of so-so quality. 3) Pointless. The novel authors and future expansion book writers aren't going to read our modules or care about what we've done, no matter what the PR says. We'll fill in the blank slate only to have it all eventually ignored. There might be a token effort early on, but eventually in 2 or 3 years someone's going to look at that nice big blank slate and set a published adventure or novel trilogy there and they won't be interested in reading through 400 pages of adventure module notes to check details. 4) No easy ideas. When someone says Cormyr you get some quick ideas. Knights, war wizards, medieval clothing, kings. When you say Akanul... nothing. What do they wear? How do they act? I know nothing. I don't even know where it is on the map! I wouldn't even know where to start until August and September when books I wasn't planning on buying just became a must-have to play the campaign. Good-bye $80.
The_Jester 03-02-08, 11:49 AM	eh... I'm probably just needlessly jaded. I've just been itching to know where I might be adventuring in the Realms, as that might/is/was the make-or-break for my getting 4e right out of the gate. If I needed the books to play LFR and was interested enough to throw myself into the campaign I'd do it. Region is something I've been curious about since 6 and a bit months. Since the announcement. Then it's finally there's the grand announcement on the message board post that's not on the official site anywhere. Although this could be a hoax. And Canada gets Akanul. Or as I saw it... Canada gets lhfjkhaflkhskjfhkjhfjshfkh Akanul. Okay, Canada gets where?! Not a place I know, but I've been doing Greyhawk and homegames so my Realms is rusty. Google it. No map. No information. First few links go nowhere. Canada apparently gets a place best summed up in a "link not available" website. Yeah.... Then I search through all the Countdown articles and find it. So Canada is apparently getting a place populated by a race that won't be in the Core rules, whose ground is unnavigable, and main dungeon area drives everyone who enters insane. A place of floating islands with a big-ass jungle in the south populated by "feral elves". Interesting. Can't say I'm filled with enthusiasm. Not enough to really care once the campaign is released.
JamesMaissen 03-02-08, 02:19 PM	Worry not, regions are more for administrative purposes since modules are playable anywhere. We will welcome all players to our mighty region that spans from sea to shining sea, from Strait of Bering to Port of Rotterdam :D Sampo Haarlaa LFR Dalelands POC Yeah, I've been wondering this for awhile.. what exactly is the 'assigning of regions' if you can play anywhere? Is it simply who is in charge of putting out modules set in certain regions? So are the admins more or less wearing two hats: 1st hat deal with players in the real world location and 2nd hat deal with modules set in the FR setting location? Is it more 2 separate roles rather than the LG system where they were tied together? If that's the case, why should anyone (outside of the admins) care about the assignments? (Unless of course they like/dislike an individual admin's style/vision of play?) -James
pneumatik 03-02-08, 04:02 PM	Then I search through all the Countdown articles and find it. So Canada is apparently getting a place populated by a race that won't be in the Core rules, whose ground is unnavigable, and main dungeon area drives everyone who enters insane. A place of floating islands with a big-ass jungle in the south populated by "feral elves". Interesting. Can't say I'm filled with enthusiasm. Not enough to really care once the campaign is released. I don't understand how someone could not be excited by a region like that. It seriously sounds like 100% awesome. A region where the PCs aren't the dominant race (assuming we can't play genasi), where you travel around on floating islands, where you can have expeditions to a southern jungle full of savages? Imagine a region where the majority population of playable races were PCs? Man, I can't wait. Lots of exploring to do and foreign culture to learn. To each their own, obviously. I just think it's worth trying out each of the regions before writing one of them off.
Glowwrym 03-02-08, 04:11 PM	East Rift? Where is East Rift? Is this the same as Eastern Shaar? Anyone have a reference from the FR books?
Infernal Scribe 03-02-08, 05:30 PM	the East Rift is probably a new region, that was once the Great Rift of the Lands of the Shining South. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shining_South so Shaar savannah barbarians, Great Rift dwarves, the descendants of Halruaan mages, hindu-themed dungeons of Durpar and Estagund, wild elves of the Chondalwood, the halfling nation of Luiren, the drow of Dambrath, the Underdark and so on.
Glowwrym 03-02-08, 05:44 PM	the East Rift is probably a new region, that was once the Great Rift of the Lands of the Shining South. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shining_South so Shaar savannah barbarians, Great Rift dwarves, the descendants of Halruaan mages, hindu-themed dungeons of Durpar and Estagund, wild elves of the Chondalwood, the halfling nation of Luiren, the drow of Dambrath, the Underdark and so on. That's what I'm assuming too. I hope someone from the 4e Con can post to confirm or deny this. BTW, here's a better public space than wikipedia for FR, its WIKIA: http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Shaar
The Ubbergeek 03-02-08, 08:42 PM	I wonder if there will be subregions for local administration... Maybe Quebec will have an independant state, hopefully. ;) It's quite high on the fantastic. I wish that I knew more... But I like genasi, it sounds vaguely eastern or something. I'd have prefered the East or Waterdeep, but well, it offers a blanker state, which may be a plus.
bhale187 03-02-08, 09:54 PM	Three boos for the midwest getting Waterdeep. I'd rather it were a blank slate to work with. I agree. I wish Waterdeep had been a Core region like the city of greyhawk was for living greyhawk.
Bravesword 03-03-08, 08:16 AM	I´m very very happy and proud with the region selected to Latin America, Baldur´s Gate. The biggest city in the continent (bigger than Waterdeep?? :D) will be very well represented by the Latin Americans (I´m Brazilian!), and I´m sure that BG translates the cosmopolitan feel of great cities in Brazil (Săo Paulo and Rio de Janeiro), México (Mexico City), Colombia (Bogotá), Argentina (Buenos Aires), and other great cities in Latin America! Wheeee!!!!
WolfStar76 03-03-08, 08:53 AM	Just skimming the thread real quick before a class I'm in begins, so I may have missed a couple things, but wanted to comment on a couple things. The East Rift was mentioned at DDXP as being part of what used to be the Great Rift. During the spellplauge the Underdark collapsed, and now where the Great Rift was, well, I'm assuming there's now an East and West rift. Regions are assigned, I heard, mostly for administrative reasons. However, the RPGA is still working on a system for granting bonuses of some sort to people for playing in their physically geographic region.
pedr 03-03-08, 09:06 AM	Can others confirm that the list is accurate, by the way? I only have it from one source (the lfrseusa yahoo group) and it'd be nice to have some more voices saying that the list reflects the actual allocations.
Kithran 03-03-08, 10:01 AM	OK I can confirm that the list given on the first post in this thread is correct - this matches with both the information I've received and what was announced at the LFR meeting at DDXP. With regards to some of the other comments in this thread: You will be able to play modules from any region, so the fact that (for example) Northern Europe and Russia have the Dalelands won't stop anyone else either playing adventures set there or writing adventures for there. For those of you looking for information on some of the regions check some of the articles on the Wizards site - I know there is one that covers (amongst others) Tymanther (found it - http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080111a). With regards to the involvemnt (or otherwise) of authors I will say that there was a meeting for all the LFR admins at DDXP so we actually had a chance to chat with each other and put faces to the names. As well as Crhis Tulach being present there was also a certain Ed Greenwood who was excited as the rest of us about LFR and was perfectly willing to be kidnapped by myself and Mike Rizzo (POC for the Pacific region) for dinner and a much longer chat about all things Realms. Kithran LFR POC UK / Ireland / South Africa
GreenKnight 03-03-08, 10:22 AM	I got a question about the Regions. Will the regions be made up of just those lands, or will they also encompass surrounding areas? For instance, is Waterdeep just the city of Waterdeep, or does it include some of the Sword Coast? Is Baldur's Gate just the city of Baldur's Gate, or does it include some of the Western Heartlands as well? And so on.
Bravesword 03-03-08, 11:14 AM	It's a very good question, GreenKnight. I was wondering the same, because they didn't mention the Lands of Intrigue in any of the regions listed. So, being Baldur´s Gate situated near Amn, Tehyr and Calimshan, will these regions be independent or will they be part of a greater region formed by everything south of Baldur´s Gate?
JohnduBois 03-03-08, 12:28 PM	The biggest city in the continent (bigger than Waterdeep?? I'm trying to think of how Claire put it... Biggest doesn't mean best? :P
JohnduBois 03-03-08, 12:30 PM	I got a question about the Regions. Will the regions be made up of just those lands, or will they also encompass surrounding areas? For instance, is Waterdeep just the city of Waterdeep, or does it include some of the Sword Coast? Is Baldur's Gate just the city of Baldur's Gate, or does it include some of the Western Heartlands as well? And so on. I've been told (and keep in mind that for LFR, I'm just a nobody who talks to somebodies) that the maps aren't completely set. It has been confirmed, though, that Waterdeep gets Undermountain. :D
Dempster 03-03-08, 01:25 PM	Three boos for the midwest getting Waterdeep. I'd rather it were a blank slate to work with. I agree, although I am happy we did not get Cormanthor. We just had a big sparsly populated forest region and I didn't want the same thing. I guess I can live with Waterdeep but I would have prefered a less well established region. At least we didn't get the Dale lands.:)
JohnduBois 03-03-08, 02:35 PM	I agree, although I am happy we did not get Cormanthor. We just had a big sparsly populated forest region and I didn't want the same thing. According to Tulach, Highfolk being a big forest region is part of the reason that North Central US didn't get a big forest region. When selecting regions, they went out of their way to ensure that locations got a different flavor in LFR than their Living Greyhawk regions had.
Keith53 03-03-08, 02:44 PM	I repeat my previous post on these boards -- all of the regions are very cool, including East Rift, Akanűl and Dragon Coast, etc. The List: Australia/New Zealand/Pacific Asia – Dragon Coast Northern Europe – Dalelands Southern Europe – Impiltur UK/Ireland/South Africa – Luruar (you know it as Silverymoon) Canada – Akanűl Northeast US – Cormyr North Central US - Waterdeep Western US – Moonshae Isles Latin America/Caribbean – Baldur’s Gate Southeastern US – Aglarond Pacific US – East Rift Waterdeep adventures may venture into surrounding areas although we are not quite sure where the outer boundaries are yet. For instance, can we fashion adventures into the High Forest? Not sure just yet. However, we have lots to occupy us in (and below) Waterdeep. Claire and I are looking forward to producing a great line of adventures. :-) However, players will be able to play every regional (and core) adventure in LFR no matter where the player resides in the real world. Or skip some regions if the player decides he or she does not care for those adventures. Keith Hoffman LFR NC-USA Co-Writing Director (Waterdeep)
Cmarco 03-03-08, 06:06 PM	I'm really excited about having Akanűl as the region for Canada. There's already a sense of the regional flavor that can be found in this article: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080227a&authentic=true There's really no other place like it in the Realms. The adventures from the Akanűl region should reflect that. My greatest hope in this is to capture that regional flavor and to deliver an awesome play experience at the same time. I can't wait, it's going to be awesome.
The_Jester 03-04-08, 09:58 AM	The region does pop with atmosphere and is truly unique, although the idea of floating islands, a fallen empire and a massive jungle full of ancient ruins does seem more pulpish and Eberron-esque than Realms-ish. Really, in a brass tacks way, it's a shoe-horned in nation to give the new race a land of their own, like the dragonborn nation. "Gee, they'll be in the Core rules come September, so they need their own nation on the map." But again, I'm being overly cynical because, after three years of sultans and arabs (er, I mean baklunish) I was looking forward to traditional fantasy.
Keith53 03-04-08, 10:11 AM	Brian James speaks to the Forgotten Realms tone and feel in a side bar, in his Countdown to the Realms, Spellplague: The Wailing Years article on the RPGA website. Keith
Keith53 03-04-08, 10:40 AM	1) Information. Everyone will need to buy the FR Campaign Setting and FR Player's Guide for information, especially the authors. To maintain a consistent feel we'll need some solid up-front info before even attempting adventures to avoid quick contradictions. Since RPGA staff isn't provided with advanced copies, how will contacted authors have adventures ready for release? 2) Extra work. Someone's going to have to sit down and write lengthy Player's Guides, like had to be done with Zief. Thankfully that turned out well but it has the potential for one person's vision dominating the region or a product of so-so quality. 3) Pointless. The novel authors and future expansion book writers aren't going to read our modules or care about what we've done, no matter what the PR says. We'll fill in the blank slate only to have it all eventually ignored. There might be a token effort early on, but eventually in 2 or 3 years someone's going to look at that nice big blank slate and set a published adventure or novel trilogy there and they won't be interested in reading through 400 pages of adventure module notes to check details. 4) No easy ideas. When someone says Cormyr you get some quick ideas. Knights, war wizards, medieval clothing, kings. When you say Akanul... nothing. What do they wear? How do they act? I know nothing. I don't even know where it is on the map! I wouldn't even know where to start until August and September when books I wasn't planning on buying just became a must-have to play the campaign. Good-bye $80. In regards to your concerns, as best I can reply: 1) Yes, all authors will need to buy or borrow the 4E FRCS in order to understand the Realms as they are. I don't see how they can write an LFR adventure w/o such insight. Your assumption that the RPGA staff does not get advance copies is in error. Probably the first two sets of LFR adventures will need to be written by the LFR admins (or other folks who have NDAs and access to the draft FRCS and 4E material). I don't see this as a major handicap. 2) In the regions which are "brand-new," yes, some one may have to sketch out a few more details, building upon what is in the FRCS. Some of this could be gradually rather than fill in all details at once. Since all 3 admins in a region are encouraged to build consensus on the major items, and the global for the region must approve, and Chris Tulach must approve, and some details may run back to WotC story folks, I think the fear of a region being designed by one person is groundless. 3) It is speculation as to how well and for how long the communication between the LFR campaign and the WotC story department will be sustained. Certainly key people at WotC have stated they want to incorporate LFR efforts into their story. I certainly want to build the relationship that they see it as valueable to the company and worth sustaining. 4) Players will need some feel and I would expect each region's admins will tackle that. I think that falls under the POC duties. Keith Hoffman LFR USA-NC Co-Writing Director (Waterdeep)
Keith53 03-04-08, 11:00 AM	Yeah, I've been wondering this for awhile.. what exactly is the 'assigning of regions' if you can play anywhere? Is it simply who is in charge of putting out modules set in certain regions? So are the admins more or less wearing two hats: 1st hat deal with players in the real world location and 2nd hat deal with modules set in the FR setting location? Is it more 2 separate roles rather than the LG system where they were tied together? If that's the case, why should anyone (outside of the admins) care about the assignments? (Unless of course they like/dislike an individual admin's style/vision of play?) -James Some of the answer is still in development about what options/activities or significance of playing in the real world regional counterpart to the Realms region. To be discussed privately by the LFR admins during the next couple of months. Chris Tulach has not yet provided the formal duties descriptions for the admins (which we will be evaluated on for retention or dismissal) so this may clarify some of the aspects below. Part of the LFR regional assignments was to make sure the people who would run the respective regions came throughout the world (not just from one area, such as Ohio or Michigan.) There is a big advantage for the POCs and the Event Managers to be local to the real world region. The POC will help answer questions, both structural and probably about their regions, maybe the story so far. they will be the keepers of websites/boards, etc. We expect the players will first contact the POCs. The Events Manager will probably be split between the worlds: he/she will be helping real world players and event organizers get LFR out there, AND he/she will set up/sustain meta-orgs or activities (which falls under the above to be discussed). The regional Writing Directors will be mostly immersed in the Realms world, and whether an author is local to them in geography or not is immaterial. However, because Writing Directors from different parts of the real world will likely have some style differences, it helps add diversity to the campaign adventures. So yes, there is a two hat aspect, but varies from admin to admin. I can't give a more definitive answer until more has been developed and approved for release. Hope this helps. Keith Hoffman LFR USA-NC Co-Writing Director (Waterdeep)
JamesMaissen 03-04-08, 04:08 PM	I can't give a more definitive answer until more has been developed and approved for release. Hope this helps. Keith Hoffman LFR USA-NC Co-Writing Director (Waterdeep) It does as far as it seems that you can answer it, which unfortunately is not all that much. Thank you for answering. It helps. Basically you are saying that what a FR region means to the players that are geographically in the corresponding part of the world has not been decided. I wish you guys the best of luck. Its a big unchartered area that you're trying to sail in there. All I can say is try to learn from the campaigns that have come before you. For example, the Events Manager (who is in charge of MetaOrgs) would be best served by setting the MetaOrgs in stone now and allowing player control of them to a great extent when the campaign starts. Whenever the alternative occurred in LG it was disastrous. You would have tiers of the orgs that required you to be in them for X number of years, when you had no expectation of them lasting a full year in that incarnation. Instead of adding immersion they detracted from it in many places... especially with random requirements that were ever-changing. Likewise, delegate as much as you can. LG, imho, suffers and has suffered from a severe lack of infrastructure. LFR has the potential to suffer far more in this respect. Anyway, best of luck, and thanks for giving me an 'unknown' answer.. its better to answer that way that to leave something unanswered, James
The_Jester 03-04-08, 08:43 PM	1) Yes, all authors will need to buy or borrow the 4E FRCS in order to understand the Realms as they are. I don't see how they can write an LFR adventure w/o such insight. I was afraid of that. Full-time job or not, I can't buy 4 $35-45 books (probably $35USD, $45CAD despite the USD=CAD...) over a 2-3 month period... Your assumption that the RPGA staff does not get advance copies is in error. Probably the first two sets of LFR adventures will need to be written by the LFR admins (or other folks who have NDAs and access to the draft FRCS and 4E material). I don't see this as a major handicap. Fair enough. I remember hearing the Circle didn't receive advanced copies so I'm glad this has changed somewhat. 2) In the regions which are "brand-new," yes, some one may have to sketch out a few more details, building upon what is in the FRCS. Some of this could be gradually rather than fill in all details at once. ... I think the fear of a region being designed by one person is groundless. Less fear and more unease. But I realized shortly after that a world with a published book probably did have less need of free Player's Guides, unlike Greyhawk. * * * I realize I'm probably be a bit of a dick: needlessly unreasonable, argumentative, and overly opinionated. I'm still thinking like a LG player where region denotes where you'll be playing 1/4 of the time and where you need to be "from" to avoid eating up TUs. And less like a LFR player where region is a tool for dividing up the work and geographical area for pulling authors from. Or maybe it's because I've never been more than apathetic about gesani, they never held my interest so an entire nation of them does nothing for me. They might be interesting as individuals, but I can't picture them as a cohesive race with a unified nation.
JJeff 03-04-08, 10:11 PM	I have had confirmation as to the Dragon Coast being assigned to Australia and the Pacific region. And we have had warning as to what to expect, we are to watch the following movies/Shows: 1) House of flying Daggers 2) Kung Fu the TV Series etc.. Guess Asia gets Asian stuff.... Crouching Balors, Hidden Succubi...
gomeztoo 03-05-08, 03:09 AM	I was afraid of that. Full-time job or not, I can't buy 4 $35-45 books (probably $35USD, $45CAD despite the USD=CAD...) over a 2-3 month period... We'll start off with a small pool of authors, but I expect there be enough people that will be able to write scenarios within a few months time after release. So you needn't rush. I'd rather you get the book because you are interested in the setting, and at your own time, that would prompt me sooner to ask you to write then if you bought it reluctantly because you 'have to'. You can always step in later, after all there are only so many scenarios to write. I realize I'm probably be a bit of a dick: needlessly unreasonable, argumentative, and overly opinionated. Ever considered becoming a Writing Director? :P Pierre van Rooden, Writing Director/Plot coordinator for Northern Euope and Russia (the Dalelands)
Simpi 03-05-08, 11:59 AM	Northern Europe/Russia gets the Dalelands? What a colossal waste. I would still like to hear why you think this is a colossal waste? Is this perhaps something personal, just a general distaste toward Europeans or assumption that there are not enough players in Europe? (which should not really matter in LFR) Sampo Haarlaa LFR Dalelands POC
Cmarco 03-05-08, 01:08 PM	Ever considered becoming a Writing Director? :P Ha! True enough... :D
GreenKnight 03-05-08, 01:09 PM	Just an overreaction on my part, as my eyes zeroed in on the "Russia" part of "Northern Europe/Russia". I just found it hard to imagine there being very many RPGA players in Russia. I forgot about the other countries encompassed within the area, though. Although yeah, the areas with the most gamers should get the better areas. My personal opinion, of course, but I think it's a good one. :D Thankfully, leastways you can play in whatever region you like (though how things will be handled with events in local game stores is up in the air). Is this perhaps something personal, just a general distaste toward Europeans :rolleyes: Jump to conclusions much? I overreacted, but at least my reaction didn't involve slandering other posters. :mad:
RanielK 03-05-08, 01:45 PM	Or Canada could be blessed with a region that they can truly make their own. Rewarding the strong roleplaying presence in the Great White North with a blank slate that they can turn into canon. But then again, I am in NEUS, so I went from Keoland to Cormyr. Everyone has their own cross to bear. Yeah, there is that. By the bye. Dibs on the first War Wizard, er, I mean swordmage.
RanielK 03-05-08, 02:00 PM	I believe every Brazilian, as me, and my fellows Latin Americans are very happy with Baldur's Gate!!! And if you're not, don't cry to me when the Canadians jack the 'Gate from you.
RanielK 03-05-08, 02:13 PM	Yeah, I've been wondering this for awhile.. what exactly is the 'assigning of regions' if you can play anywhere? Cause someone's gotta herd the cats, er, I mean get the authors to write mods which match the flavor of the region. Someone's gotta manage the metaorgs from the region. Someone's gotta organize the cons and make an appearance. Hmm, Tri . . . er, Regional Administrators anybody? If that's the case, why should anyone (outside of the admins) care about the assignments? (Unless of course they like/dislike an individual admin's style/vision of play?) -James Well, your physical region will likely be the one you can affect the most through play and direct contact with the admins. But thats just throwing something off the cuff.
NiTessine 03-05-08, 07:26 PM	:rolleyes: Jump to conclusions much? I overreacted, but at least my reaction didn't involve slandering other posters. :mad: As for the size of the region, I'm not sure what's our exact population, since I got tired of counting at three hundred million. I'd say ours is the second largest in terms of population. Latin America clocks in at something like half a billion. It's true there is little Russian RPGA activity. Then, they were never granted a region in Living Greyhawk, so why would there have been any? The Moscow RPG scene is quite lively, to my understanding. It's an untapped reserve. As for the non-Russian RPGA activity in our region, we have three of the consistently best module writers of Living Greyhawk who have done a truly staggering amount of quality work for no pay. We have extant RPGA player bases in six countries that I'm aware of, and the will and the ability to communicate with each other and the campaign administration in a language that's not our own. Your initial comment was uncalled for, offensive and lacked a sensible reason in light of the lack of region restrictions in LFR. Don't try to make yourself up as the one slighted.
JJeff 03-05-08, 07:29 PM	OK guys, don't start the first Regional war before the game even starts officially... So, Do you all think the regions are going to make a big difference since everyone can play anywhere?
GreenKnight 03-05-08, 10:41 PM	Your initial comment was uncalled for, offensive and lacked a sensible reason in light of the lack of region restrictions in LFR. Don't try to make yourself up as the one slighted. My initial reaction didn't involve flaming any posters here. Nor did I continue to bring it up again once the Nerd Rage (TM) wore off. I was disappointed, was surprised by a plum region going to somewhere which at first glance didn't seem like a place with a whole lot of gamers, and I overreacted. Honest mistake. I haven't made any noise about that, since. I didn't answer the initial responses to my post as I didn't want to veer the thread off-topic, nor was I interested in wasting any more time on an overreaction. That Simpi brings it up yet again several days later, and takes a cheap shot in the process, makes it pretty clear that he was looking to pick a fight. And yes, I am the one slighted. He's the one who took a complaint about regional assignments and turned it into a personal attack.
GreenKnight 03-05-08, 11:26 PM	Getting back on topic, thought I'd repeat this question, as it's something that I'm really curious about. I got a question about the Regions. Will the regions be made up of just those lands, or will they also encompass surrounding areas? For instance, is Waterdeep just the city of Waterdeep, or does it include some of the Sword Coast? Is Baldur's Gate just the city of Baldur's Gate, or does it include some of the Western Heartlands as well? And so on. I've been told (and keep in mind that for LFR, I'm just a nobody who talks to somebodies) that the maps aren't completely set. It has been confirmed, though, that Waterdeep gets Undermountain. :D I ask because the area that I really want to play in is the Vast. So will the Vast be included as part of another region? The Dalelands, Impiltur, or maybe the Dragon Coast?
Simpi 03-05-08, 11:43 PM	I didn't answer the initial responses to my post as I didn't want to veer the thread off-topic, nor was I interested in wasting any more time on an overreaction. Two of the Dalelands regional admins wonder about your comment on the same day after you posted your initial message. I did ask why you had formed such an opinion and there was no answer so I don't see how it is possible "I just bring it up several days later". And yes, I am the one slighted. He's the one who took a complaint about regional assignments and turned it into a personal attack. hhhmm....yet you initially say that us getting a Dalelands is a colossal waste which can be read in many ways, thanks to limited form of communication that internet offers. And what can be said about your comment "Although yeah, the areas with the most gamers should get the better areas." ?
GreenKnight 03-06-08, 12:01 AM	Two of the Dalelands regional admins wonder about your comment on the same day after you posted your initial message. I did ask why you had formed such an opinion and there was no answer so I don't see how it is possible "I just bring it up several days later". I said "bring it up yet again". The conversation had moved on for three days since then. If you were really so curious about the answer, then you could've taken the question to PM. Or you could've asked again without the added insult. I overreacted and I got mad for a moment. That's on me. Hell, I'll probably regret this post five minutes from now. You had three days, and at the end of it you come back with a personal insult? hhhmm....yet you initially say that us getting a Dalelands is a colossal waste which can be read in many ways, thanks to limited form of communication that internet offers. And you assume it's because of bigotry? Huh. Good thing I'm not a huge Silverymoon fan, otherwise I would've gotten a thinly veiled comment about being a KKK member, or bigoted towards Irish, or something equally silly. :rolleyes: And what can be said about your comment "Although yeah, the areas with the most gamers should get the better areas."? What's wrong with the maximum amount of players getting the most bang for their buck? If the player base is as large as NiTessine implies, then it makes sense that the maximum amount of players get the best that can be offered, or for the size of the player base to at least be a factor in the decision making process. Although on reflection, a smaller player base would probably be more appropriate for the Dalelands.
Keith53 03-06-08, 03:12 AM	I ask because the area that I really want to play in is the Vast. So will the Vast be included as part of another region? I believe Rich Baker has stated that the Vast still exists, but it was not assigned as an LFR region. Perhaps a LFR core, special or adaptable adventure might be based there? Keith
gomeztoo 03-06-08, 03:14 AM	So, Do you all think the regions are going to make a big difference since everyone can play anywhere? I think it will take getting used to the fact that everyone can play anywhere. We probably will run into that a few more times. I do think that the regions may encourage authors to be from a certain geographic area. I will take authors from anywhere, but if given a choice between two equals I would probably pick the one closest to me as it seems easier to communicate. A face-to-face meeting or a chat at times that don't take one to be in at midnight helps tremendously if you wish to go over some details. As an aside, I don't think the Vast are part of a region. Definitely not Dales. Gomez
AlaricTorm 03-06-08, 03:33 AM	I believe Rich Baker has stated that the Vast still exists, but it was not assigned as an LFR region. Perhaps a LFR core, special or adaptable adventure might be based there? Keith I would hope there would be something there, at least a few of us still miss old Raven's Bluff... Nice to see some old names also, now I have to go find all my material on Moonshae :) - Mike Garis
GreenKnight 03-06-08, 04:23 AM	I believe Rich Baker has stated that the Vast still exists, but it was not assigned as an LFR region. Perhaps a LFR core, special or adaptable adventure might be based there? Keith That's a shame. The Vast would've kicked all kinds of ass. I remember reading a post by Rich Baker a while back in which he said that the Vast has a Casablanca like feel to it now, what with all the Sembian nobles taking refuge there. Between that, a hostile Sembia on the other side of the Dragon Reach, Zhentil Keep's domination of the Moonsea, and pirates from the Sea of Fallen Stars, that makes for tons of adventure opportunities. Not to mention that I'm pretty fond of the city of Tantras, and would love to play a Human Paladin of Torm based out of Tantras. Defending Tantras from pirates, Shade controlled Sembians, Banites, and Zhents. It doesn't get any better then that! :) As an aside, I don't think the Vast are part of a region. Definitely not Dales. Probably not a part of Impiltur, either. Ah well. I had another question, though. When it comes to character creation, do you have to play a character from one of the regions? Or can you play a character from outside those regions? For instance, could I create a character who hails from Chult, Evermeet, or Lantan? Also, can you take one character from one region to another? For instance, say I created a character for play in Cormyr. Is it possible to then play a game in the Dragon Coast, Tymanther, and the East Rift? Or are characters limited to their home regions? Probably a bit to early to get answers to these questions, but hey, doesn't hurt to ask. :)
Simpi 03-06-08, 04:43 AM	I said "bring it up yet again". The conversation had moved on for three days since then. If you were really so curious about the answer, then you could've taken the question to PM. I did not bring it up to PM since you brought your initial comments to public forum. Even if it was not your intention, you said "Dalelands for North Europe = Waste" and did not explain your statement, despite being asked to. Simply because you don't want to dwell on it, does not mean that those who were on the receiving end of the comments want it to be so. And as for bigotry, I am a man enough to apologise for my second line of questioning. Can you apologise for your initial comments? Sampo Haarlaa LFR Dalelands POC
Simpi 03-06-08, 04:47 AM	I had another question, though. When it comes to character creation, do you have to play a character from one of the regions? Or can you play a character from outside those regions? For instance, could I create a character who hails from Chult, Evermeet, or Lantan? Also, can you take one character from one region to another? For instance, say I created a character for play in Cormyr. Is it possible to then play a game in the Dragon Coast, Tymanther, and the East Rift? Or are characters limited to their home regions? I don't see why these would be restricted. Living Greyhawk had no such limitations and nothing would prevent you making a, for example, Ahlissan character for Keoland. Only limitation would be extra TUs and of course those are no longer a problem. Note, I don't know yet what the final rules in LFR will be in regards to this but making things stricter than LG does not seem to be target. Sampo Haarlaa Dalelands POC
GreenKnight 03-06-08, 07:01 AM	And as for bigotry, I am a man enough to apologise for my second line of questioning. Can you apologise for your initial comments? I never intended to insult anyone, so sure.
Keith53 03-06-08, 07:18 AM	I had another question, though. When it comes to character creation, do you have to play a character from one of the regions? Or can you play a character from outside those regions? For instance, could I create a character who hails from Chult, Evermeet, or Lantan? Also, can you take one character from one region to another? For instance, say I created a character for play in Cormyr. Is it possible to then play a game in the Dragon Coast, Tymanther, and the East Rift? Or are characters limited to their home regions? To the first, unknown right now. To the second, yes. BTW Chris Tulach stated at DDXP he estimated that playing 25-30 LFR adventures (successfully) would take a PC from 1st level to 11th level (Paragon Tier). Keith Hoffman LFR USA-NC Co-Writing Director (Waterdeep)
tombollis 03-06-08, 07:33 AM	As I see it, there are clearly 4 aspects to regional assignments: a) administrative, b) adventure setting, c) PC origin, and d) player. a) The real world was broken up so that the reions might have similar numbers of players to administer in related geographical areas, with administrators relatively close to each other for easier coordination. b) The LR regions are diverse settings for adventures, each with separate administrators to coordinate the production and running of the adventures. They seem to be quite diverse in nature, but with anticipated similar desirability as a place to adventure, and with similar numbers of adventures coming out for each. Which administrators got which isn't that important, as they will all presumably do a good job with what they got. c) It has been indicated that all PCs can adventure in all regions. There may be benefits for coming from a specific region, and a PC that comes from outside of the regions might be playable, but without regional benefits. Create your PCs with their origins in mind, and with the different regions they might adventure in in mind. Corresponding RW regions don't seem important. d) Player real world regions don't seem very important. There may be benfits from having a PC from the corresponding FR region, or adventuring in the corresponding FR region, but none have been specified. Availability of the regional administrators to appear at cons, chances to put together tables with similar PC origins, etc. seem more likely in RW home regions. Tom Bollis
Verenal 03-08-08, 05:01 PM	BTW Chris Tulach stated at DDXP he estimated that playing 25-30 LFR adventures (successfully) would take a PC from 1st level to 11th level (Paragon Tier). That's a shame. It means less than three adventures per level. I liked LG's slow advancement, it made being high level special. (In my case high level means above level six when PC's abilities stop making sense from a realistic point of view.) Although the difference between levels in 4e is said to be smaller than in 3.5e, advancing too fast might not let me familiarize myself with my characters because they're constantly gaining new abilities to try out.
Kagehito 03-09-08, 01:49 PM	Hmmm.... East rift eh? Sounds interesting... So I have a question that might be slightly off topic, but fits in somewhat. I Live up in the Northwest, only a 40 minute drive from WOTC headquarters... And I have found almost NO REGESTERED RPGA stuff going on in the area! Is anyone here around the same area going to be running some games on a regular basis? If so sign me up ASAP!
The_Jester 03-09-08, 05:45 PM	That's a shame. It means less than three adventures per level. I liked LG's slow advancement, it made being high level special. (In my case high level means above level six when PC's abilities stop making sense from a realistic point of view.) Although the difference between levels in 4e is said to be smaller than in 3.5e, advancing too fast might not let me familiarize myself with my characters because they're constantly gaining new abilities to try out. Well, even in LG you could easily get to second level in 3 mods. Less if you played a double rounder or core special. And APL6 is high? That's less than 1/2 through the camapign and less than a 1/3rd of total levels.
woobyluv 03-10-08, 01:52 AM	I live in CA, and personally I don't care to adventure in East Rift at all. Is there going to be a way our local group can just pick a different Region to call our home since all Regions adventures will be available for everyone to play? I really want to play out of Westgate and so do the members of my local group.
Surgebuster 03-10-08, 02:06 AM	I live in CA, and personally I don't care to adventure in East Rift at all. Is there going to be a way our local group can just pick a different Region to call our home since all Regions adventures will be available for everyone to play? I really want to play out of Westgate and so do the members of my local group. May I suggest you read your post again? You managed to answer your own question before you even finished the sentence! :P Joe
woobyluv 03-10-08, 02:13 AM	May I suggest you read your post again? You managed to answer your own question before you even finished the sentence! :P Joe No, well I guess I'll have to clarify... Will there be a penalty for those local groups that choose not to adventure in the "official" region assigned?
tombollis 03-10-08, 06:51 AM	Will there be a penalty for those local groups that choose not to adventure in the "official" region assigned? I have the impression that you can have your PC come from any region, can adventure in any region, and can DM in any region, but there nmay be some regional benefit that is exclusive to your real world region, such as how soom modules are avilable for your DM or where interactives are available. There may be some insentive for basing your PC in assigned home region; it has only been specified that you will be abl to play adventures from any region. I don't think the administrators have had a chance to finalize the details yet. Tom Bollis
MatteBlack 03-10-08, 09:17 AM	I live in CA, and personally I don't care to adventure in East Rift at all. Is there going to be a way our local group can just pick a different Region to call our home since all Regions adventures will be available for everyone to play? I really want to play out of Westgate and so do the members of my local group. From everything we have heard. It seems like you should be able to play out your characters in a non-local region. I imagine there will be some sort of benefit for playing in region but, it might be as minor as earlier access to to downloading the mods, exclusive access to interactives or reduces expenditures of gold or TUs or something.
Dempster 03-10-08, 01:33 PM	And APL6 is high? That's less than 1/2 through the campaign and less than a 1/3rd of total levels. There was a time when I thought of a 6th level character as High level. I remember when I started playing my characters would get 3-5 adventures in and then I would be seated at the table of death. It consisted of 3 teenage kids who were some of the least clever role players alive. Week after week they would split the party and suffer TPK after TPK. As a low level character you always ran the risk of being placed on the table of death. So on those weeks when I was unlucky enough to sit there I would die and start again. I played for a year(15-20 mod) before i got a character to 4th level. 4th level APL4 and safety away from the la mesa de la muerte. Back then I though of 6th level as high level.
Loremistress 03-12-08, 02:58 PM	BTW Chris Tulach stated at DDXP he estimated that playing 25-30 LFR adventures (successfully) would take a PC from 1st level to 11th level (Paragon Tier). Did he say anything about how many adventures would come out each year for each region or anything like that? Enquiring minds want to know... :)
dimonic 03-12-08, 05:00 PM	I don't mind the "clean slate" or the dominant race being non-human. At least there are plenty of ruins and adventuring opportunities. Playing a descendant of Chondath refugees might be a good back story. I believe I saw a reference to enemy Aboleths harassing the genasi - and I love to hate abominations. But I don't get the impression that Akanul will be strong in urban adventures. Airspur is a fantastic city with very interesting architecture - Earth motes, suspension bridges etc. I would like to see at least one Urban adventure featured in Airspur. once they are published in September (Forgotten Realms Players Guide), it might not be "fair" without RPGA Rewards cards. :rolleyes: Hmmm - maybe they can give each region a PC Creation option. Everything in the books will be in the LFR campaign. Still, if I may ask our Canadian Regional Admins one question, it would be: Why do you think this will be a good Home Region and not just somewhere to visit? 1. We are committed to making Akanűl the best region to play in, with the best adventures that take advantage of the various cool features of Akanűl. 2. For adventuring sites there are exposed Jhamdaath cities (the level of the Sea of Fallen Stars has dropped at least 20 ft), there are old Chondath and Chessenta ruins to explore. There is the spellplagued Chondalwood. 3. For geopolitical stuff, there are border troubles with Tymanther. The long standing hatred of the Abolethic Sovereignty, an unusual dragon living in the region, and some wild elves still mad about forestry in what is left of the Chondalwood. I suppose I should put my words into context. I'm a longtime Greyhawk fan but I've gotten into the Realms. However, I am optimistic about the LFR campaign and I'm trying to put write my above thoughts in a positive tone. Cheers. I hope you stick around, because it promises to be an awesome ride!
Keith53 03-12-08, 06:06 PM	Did he say anything about how many adventures would come out each year for each region or anything like that? Enquiring minds want to know... :) In a normal year, each region will produce 5 adventures (the 5th is a bonus for meeting schedules). There are also cores, specials, quest and adaptables. So you might hit 75-80 adventures in a normal year. Keith
The_Jester 03-12-08, 08:19 PM	Airspur is a fantastic city with very interesting architecture - Earth motes, suspension bridges etc. I would like to see at least one Urban adventure featured in Airspur. ... 3. For geopolitical stuff, there are border troubles with Tymanther. The long standing hatred of the Abolethic Sovereignty, an unusual dragon living in the region, and some wild elves still mad about forestry in what is left of the Chondalwood. Okay, the city does sound cool. Maybe a tad to Eberron for my taste, but still cool.
Cmarco 03-12-08, 11:00 PM	Okay, the city does sound cool. Maybe a tad to Eberron for my taste, but still cool. It's a great city in a great region. I hope you'll enjoy some of the stuff we'll be doing in the city and beyond. I'm thinking an urban adventure in Airspur would be very interesting indeed. It might even be the best way to introduce players to the region. :)
woobyluv 03-17-08, 06:00 PM	AAaaaaand Australia gets a blank sheet *yet again*. I sometimes wonder if WotC just uses us to fill in the blanks of their empty regions... Oh well. Everything we've gotten so far has turned out to be fantastic, so I have no doubts this one will as well, just... yeah. Would have loved Tymanther. Or the Dalelands. Or something. Dude! I would so trade the Dragon Coast for East Rift any day! I mean you have Westgate, the Sea of Fallen Stars, Cormyr, Sembia, the Western Heartlands right there! The Dragon Coast IMO is the best place to be because it is right in the middle of everything, its a crossroads of sorts. In fact, though I live in California (US), I'm not planning to run stuff in my own region because I just don't like that part of the Realms. The Border Kingdoms would have been much more interesting even than East Rift...
Kwll 03-18-08, 12:04 PM	According to Tulach, Highfolk being a big forest region is part of the reason that North Central US didn't get a big forest region. When selecting regions, they went out of their way to ensure that locations got a different flavor in LFR than their Living Greyhawk regions had. That explains Canada's new FR region then. Playing in Ket in LG meant being part of a fringe society in the campaign world with strong elementatist ties and having to deal with a forest full of xenophopic savage elves in the south. Playing in Akanul will be very different because ....er...well....things float there. ;) Kwll (P.S. Yes, I'm joking around)
Shular 03-25-08, 05:52 PM	Kwll, you made me laugh. Truth is, the Ket setting is one of the reasons why I (and several friends) stopped going to RPGA events. Arrested for killing the bad guys? PLEASE! Akanul sounds much more interesting (as long as Genasi law is less restrictive than Ketian), but we've really not been told what the regional effects WILL be. Primarily what I want to know is, will characters we make be FROM our designated region, and if so, will Genasi be a payable race for Canadians (since they're apparently the large majority)?
Keith53 03-25-08, 10:00 PM	Kwll, you made me laugh. Truth is, the Ket setting is one of the reasons why I (and several friends) stopped going to RPGA events. Arrested for killing the bad guys? PLEASE! Akanul sounds much more interesting (as long as Genasi law is less restrictive than Ketian), but we've really not been told what the regional effects WILL be. Primarily what I want to know is, will characters we make be FROM our designated region, and if so, will Genasi be a payable race for Canadians (since they're apparently the large majority)? I don't know the situation or circumstances in Ket (LG) so I have no comment on it. In regards to the Realms, I would hope most/all players would realize that while there are wilderness and nearly lawless areas, there are some areas where law exists. Within Waterdeep is a prime example. I would hope that most players would realize that attacking/killing a suspected bad guy (or a random orc, for instance) walking down the street without provocation in Waterdeep itself would get the PCs in trouble with the City Watch. However, defending oneself from attack is, of course, quite reasonable. Rescuing someone who is in danger is entirely appropriate. But if you break up a fist fight by fireballing the entire group, that might be a bit over reaction. :( We are not trying to trick players into placing their PCs in a bad position, but if you want unrestrained mayhem without thought if it is appropriate, you might want to keep your PCs to the less civilized areas. (Of course, the City Watch does not go into Undermountain or much beyond the city.) Each region is a bit different and there may be civilized areas within the region, typically a major city, and less or uncivilized areas elsewhere. Once the FRCS is released, this should become clearer. Certainly ask the region admins for more insight about the extent of law in their region. :) Keith
Shular 03-25-08, 10:18 PM	Heh, well in Ket, if you went into a dungeon and killed the evil necromancer that was raising corpses and attacking the party, and the law "found out" about it, you would lose time units serving time in the mines. Even if an orc attacked you in the street, you kill him, you serve time. I remember one time my fighter/sorcerer actually grappled a mage to subdue him because I was afraid of killing him. Fortunately he wasn't armed so didn't get an attack of opportunity. Actually, I don't know anything about Genasi, but would it be safe to assume they tend to have a more "chaotic" society (i.e. less restrictive of personal freedoms)?
JamesMaissen 03-27-08, 03:10 AM	I don't know the situation or circumstances in Ket (LG) so I have no comment on it. Ket is a wonderful Lawful Neutral society that's quite civilized by modern standards. Someone attacks you (rather than a wild beast) then you subdue them and bring them to the authorities. If it's a creature there are no such restrictions. Makes a lot of sense, actually. They can just be somewhat strict and unswerving in it's application (i.e. the LN outlook). But I take it that we still don't know what the region assignments will mean, if anything? -James who had at least one character do time in Ket.
The_Jester 03-27-08, 09:55 AM	Primarily what I want to know is, will characters we make be FROM our designated region, and if so, will Genasi be a payable race for Canadians (since they're apparently the large majority)? Genasi are in the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide, due out in September. So expect playability then. Of course this means Genasai will be alts as people will make their mains in August...
Keith53 03-27-08, 06:12 PM	Genasi are in the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide, due out in September. So expect playability then. Of course this means Genasai will be alts as people will make their mains in August... You might want to wait for the LFR campaign standards before you make a final choice for the design of your first PC (or not as you think best). ;) Keith
MatteBlack 03-27-08, 09:57 PM	Genasi are in the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide, due out in September. So expect playability then. Of course this means Genasai will be alts as people will make their mains in August... It wouldn't be unheard of them to be allowed via the next release of rewards cards.
dimonic 03-27-08, 10:03 PM	It wouldn't be unheard of them to be allowed via the next release of rewards cards. It wouldn't be impossible for them to appear on DDI before September either.
The_Jester 03-27-08, 11:21 PM	What a crappy reward card that'd be. "With this card you can play a Genasi three weeks early". At least with the gnome card you'd get a full year of cardy goodness before PHB2 when everyone can have one. I can see them in the Campaign Standards, but only if the base stats are also in the MM.
Penn 04-09-08, 04:40 PM	Well, here in Canada we have a monopoly on Ed Greenwood, as he lives here. If we could just convince him to write adventures.... and then could get them past the censors. :) I'm looking forward with curiosity to what the Akanul region offers. One thing it does have is a completely different flavour. Sure there's superficial similarities, but Ket is defined by Law and Akanul appears to be a pretty chaotic place from what I've seen so far. --Penn
Cmarco 04-12-08, 02:56 PM	Well, here in Canada we have a monopoly on Ed Greenwood, as he lives here. If we could just convince him to write adventures.... and then could get them past the censors. :) I would love to see an adventure written by Mr. Greenwood. That could be great fun. :D Awesome idea, Penn.
The_Jester 04-13-08, 01:28 PM	Oh great, like it wasn't hard enough to get a spot as a writer. Now we have to compete against the guy who made the setting.;)
gomeztoo 04-13-08, 02:52 PM	While I would love for Ed to add to our region's scenarios (especially as I a working with elements he created), I do not expect he has that much time available - even though he has shown interest in the campaign. So, as long as you have the luxury of NOT being swamped with work already, your position is quite good when it comes to competing with mr. Greenwood ;) Now, you just have to prove your qualities as a writer, and the ability to make deadlines... Seriously, if anyone is interested in writing for the Dalelands region, drop me a line (pvrooden@gmail.com). Note that we probably won't be able to seriously contemplate authors until 4th ed is out (when we will likely request a sample 4th ed encounter write-up for a first impression). If you wrote a scenario for 3rd ed, i.e. for another living campaign, it might help if you submit that. Gomez
The_Jester 04-13-08, 04:33 PM	Has Greenwood ever written an adventure or module? Or has his work only been novels and campaign settings?
NiTessine 04-13-08, 08:41 PM	Has Greenwood ever written an adventure or module? Or has his work only been novels and campaign settings? FA1 Halls of the High King and FRQ1 The Haunted Halls of Eveningstar are both Ed's. Can't name any others off hand, but he has done modules, and they're not bad.
Keith53 04-14-08, 07:09 AM	Ed wrote the three FR adventures Shadowdale, Tantris, and Waterdeep. He also wrote as part of team (as I recall), Undermountain, Expedition to Undermountain (the latter being a superadventure). Keith
Cmarco 04-14-08, 04:29 PM	Oh great, like it wasn't hard enough to get a spot as a writer. Now we have to compete against the guy who made the setting.;) Jester, I'm going to be needing authors soon enough. I am currently building my list up as we speak. If you want to get in on the adventure writing, in the near future I will be putting out a link where you can contact me. :)
Cmarco 04-14-08, 04:33 PM	double post
The_Jester 04-14-08, 08:00 PM	Jester, I'm going to be needing authors soon enough. I am currently building my list up as we speak. If you want to get in on the adventure writing, in the near future I will be putting out a link where you can contact me. :) Squeaky wheels DO get the grease. :D Of course, I'm not really as disgruntled as I might come off (darn lack of tone in message boards), just a tad concerned mixed with sarcasm. I look forward to submitting.
Brenlot 04-21-08, 01:09 AM	Akunal!?! This is just another example of how RPGA hoses Canadian players. When they set up LG, they placed the province with the most players, Ontario, in the land of Ket, a place where if you wave a sword around they place you in jail. And after 9/11, it became an even more unpopular place to have your PC hail from. Of course, the Ontarioans took this all in stride and made the best of it that they could. I have to admit that on occasion that I took some pleasure from goading some knee-jerk reactions from a few "patriots" at the table. So in setting up LGR, what does RPGA do now? It groups all the Canadian malcontents into one place that no one's heard of, some backwater called Akunal. (Hmm..sounds like the plot to the Great Escape. That has some possibilities...) What have the Canadian RPGA players done to deserve the ire of the main RPGA executive, that they can't give us some fine northern location that would be more befitting? The Savage Frontier would have been a fine choice, or even the Icewind Dale. Hell, make the Orc the default PC race for all Canadians! That we could deal with. But to stick us into some piece of Faerun that no one has ever heard of, given that the creater of the campaign world was a Canadian, seems particularly cruel. Akunal?!? Ed, they might as well have said called it Keswick.
tombollis 04-21-08, 03:10 AM	Akunal!?! This is just another example of how RPGA hoses Canadian players. A part of Abair has been swapped for much of Chondath and Chessenta. Akunal would seem to be this new territory and the remains of these old nations, including The Chondalwood, which still contains active spellplague. With the fall in the level of the Sea of Fallen Stars, coastal land that used to be submerged has been added, including ruins from aquatic races. Airspur, formerly on the north coast of Chondath and former home of half-orcs living with humans, remains as the capital of the new nation, but with moptes of land now floating above the ground. holding at least part of the city. Genasi from Abair and all over Faerun have gathered in Akunal. It seems to me an interesting land, with lots of unique potential. As we aren't going to be retricted to play in our home region, Canadians can adventure in whatever regions interest us, if we can get a table together, anf others can adventure in Akubal, so I don't feel slighted by being given such an unusual region. The land shouldn't have longstanding traditions, though their should be indiginous people from both worlds, ruins from both, etc., so we shouldent be locked into old traditions as in Ket, with more freedom for writers and players to shape the culture. We aren't far from the part of the world where LC was set, and aren't far from Tymanther, East Rift, Aglarond, Dragon Coast, or even Cormyr. Dalelands, or Impiltur.
Penn 04-21-08, 09:03 AM	Akunal!?! This is just another example of how RPGA hoses Canadian players. When they set up LG, they placed the province with the most players, Ontario, in the land of Ket, a place where if you wave a sword around they place you in jail. And after 9/11, it became an even more unpopular place to have your PC hail from. Of course, the Ontarioans took this all in stride and made the best of it that they could. I have to admit that on occasion that I took some pleasure from goading some knee-jerk reactions from a few "patriots" at the table. I don't believe that the prohibition on attacking NPCs was part of the canon of the Ket region until after the campaign started. However it does make sense. Essentially, the region was noted for being LN (LE) and slavers, and rather than make the player base deal with living in an evil slaver society the Triad at the time decided that they would instead emphasize the lawful aspects of the country. The legal system is predicated on the idea that why you do something is irrelevant, all that matters is what you do. If attacking a citizen is illegal, then it's always illegal even if they attack you first. Since that time various Triads have softened the laws somewhat so that justifications can lessen the sentence you recieve, but the basic concept remains. I like playing in Ket, it's like no other campaign anywhere and that leads to interesting interactions. Taking Kettite characters to other regions can be lots of fun, and if the DM runs things properly then playing a Ket adventure should also be balanced and fun. I'm looking forward to those things about Akanul that will be different from standard fantasy, and I'm expecting it to be very different from Ket. --Penn (current Ket Triad)
dimonic 04-21-08, 09:07 AM	Akunal!?! So in setting up LGR, what does RPGA do now? It groups all the Canadian malcontents into one place that no one's heard of, some backwater called Akunal. (Hmm..sounds like the plot to the Great Escape. That has some possibilities...) Akanul can hardly be described as a backwater. A place partly transported from another plane, with races in conflict with abberations dropped in with it, calling all Genasi from across Faerun to their new home. Built on top the ruins of the city-states of Chondath and Chessenta (which was once led by a dragon), which in turn was built atop the ruins of the Jhamdaath empire. What have the Canadian RPGA players done to deserve the ire of the main RPGA executive, that they can't give us some fine northern location that would be more befitting? The Savage Frontier would have been a fine choice, or even the Icewind Dale. And had they done so, some other worthies would just have soon complained that we were being stereotyped. Not only that, but wouldn't Finland or Denmark (Greenland) have just as good a right to Cold Northern areas? Akunal?!? Ed, they might as well have said called it Keswick. It is more like Atlantis than Keswick - and besides, Keswick is a very nice place - for a holiday ;) .
RanielK 04-21-08, 11:33 AM	I don't believe that the prohibition on attacking NPCs was part of the canon of the Ket region until after the campaign started. However it does make sense. Essentially, the region was noted for being LN (LE) and slavers, and rather than make the player base deal with living in an evil slaver society the Triad at the time decided that they would instead emphasize the lawful aspects of the country. The legal system is predicated on the idea that why you do something is irrelevant, all that matters is what you do. If attacking a citizen is illegal, then it's always illegal even if they attack you first. Since that time various Triads have softened the laws somewhat so that justifications can lessen the sentence you recieve, but the basic concept remains. I like playing in Ket, it's like no other campaign anywhere and that leads to interesting interactions. Taking Kettite characters to other regions can be lots of fun, and if the DM runs things properly then playing a Ket adventure should also be balanced and fun. I'm looking forward to those things about Akanul that will be different from standard fantasy, and I'm expecting it to be very different from Ket. --Penn (current Ket Triad) Heh, being a Ketite outside of Ket is a lot like being a Palish Pholtan outside of the Theocracy. Seen alot of people getting looks like they had a third eye and might suddenly go into a ranting fit. Course, I was never big into "Pholtus is All" line of thinking. Though when my wife ran that Cleric of Kelanen with the Greater Holy Symbol of Kelanen through a Pale mod, it was fun to watch the fear go across his face when he realized that having your holy symbol of a "heathen" god broken is colorful when it is a wooden or silver holy symbol. It is tragedy when it is a +2 Flaming Sword! Luckily, someone else volunteered to keep it in a Handy Haversack while loaning him a sword.