Returned Abeir—the continent left behind in the wake of the Spellplague—is still a land of mystery, ripe for exploration. In this article, explore the land of Gontal, a region was dominated by an unnamed primordial, but newly settled by humans and dragonborn. The region of Gontal will fit immediately into your new Realms campaign, using the new Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide.
See it now! (579 Kbs PDF)
Isolated from the bustle of Returned Abeir, Gontal is a western land that hunkers behind its mountainous border and reveals little of itself to outsiders except for irregular trade that trickles out of Gontal Pass east across the Esmur Flats into the Dusk Ports. The trade consists primarily of lotions, oils, wines, and specialty herbs, as well as the occasional magical elixir and oddly ornamented golemwork toy.
-Link added to the 4E FR Handy Links Thread.
-So its a part of 'Returned Abeir'.
18DELTA :P
As I said on CK, this was a nice article, but if I used it at all I'd prefer to just use it in a different setting.
I hope the FRCG is more like these articles and the reason the excerpts are so dry is that they're showing areas less traveled (and detailed).
It does not feel at all connected to the Realms, however. I realize Abeir is, technically, only recently connected to the Realms, but there is no shared cosmology or anything. WHy did Faerun and Abeir meld if there is not even tenuous connections?
It sounds like a fantastic campaign setting. Intrigue, exotic locations, dangerous landscapes abound. Gontal would provide a great backdrop for a campaign.
It does not feel at all connected to the Realms, however. I realize Abeir is, technically, only recently connected to the Realms, but there is no shared cosmology or anything. WHy did Faerun and Abeir meld if there is not even tenuous connections?
It doesn't feel connected to the realms, yet look at the name at the top... It's Ed's (well Ed's and Bruce's) so your statement is heresy... :D
Seriously though, there were minor links, just not ones we are familiar with yet, plaguemarks (apparently one that affects spells and enchantments negatively) and the Blue Breath of Change (Blue Fire) that swept over the land. We have no idea what Abeir's cosmology was, so we don't know if it was similar to Toril or not.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080806a
Beat you to the punch, Delta! :P
Read the article at 5:55, could have beat you both:P
Good article, and those wastelands up north sounds interesting. This would be far more useful in a homebrew game than a FR game however because I coudn't see any Realmslore ties whatsoever in it.
I won't bother reading it, then...
Plus the map is, once again, puke-worthy.
EDIT: Hope This guy doesn't sue them. :D
This is the first glimpse of the new Realms that leaves me completely uninspired. No connection to existing realmslore, no idea where on the face of Abeir-Toril it's supposed to be... nothing.
Hopefully it will be situated on that brand new continent that replaced Maztica. That way I can pretend it never existed. ;)
Blech!
This is the first glimpse of the new Realms that leaves me completely uninspired. No connection to existing realmslore, no idea where on the face of Abeir-Toril it's supposed to be... nothing.
Hopefully it will be situated on that brand new continent that replaced Maztica. That way I can pretend it never existed. ;)
I agree some of the other stuff (like the Cormyr deal) was OK. Certainly not dumb like this
-So, anyway...Who are these "Estelar'? And the 'Dawn Titans'? All seem to be new players.
One would assume that the regions will be organized by location, and we'll have world maps where we'll see where everything goes. It may not say it, there, but it'll probably be far clearer within the context of the FRCG.
-This is a DRAGON magazine article, not a FRCG/FRPG preview, don't forget. Maybe, maybe not.
Can't say if this was a worthwhile replacement or not, kind of expected more. I ask myself, how could I not help but like anything that replaced Maztica (given my constant bashing of the place). Well, unfortunately, this just doesn't do it. Ed has provided better material just answering questions at Candlekeep.
Sure there is some of Ed's style in Gontal, the names particularly, as well as his usual conflict types and troupes, the dynamic between monarch and nobility, rival houses clandestinely struggling against each other, urban intrigue coupled with an open wilderness area once belonging to a fantastical ancient civilization or powerful being. Yet it all falls flat. There is no life to the place, no interesting characters, few details, no complex relationships or multi-dimensional conflicts. This just goes through the motions. It's like if an amateur wrote an article who can get the basics down, but it's the experienced designers (or DMs) that are able to put that extra layer that makes a place feel lived in, fought for, bleed on, dead buried under, yet still pulsing with vitality and opportunity.
The article name-drops a lot, but it comes off as trying too hard to be mysterious. It's a type of info-dumping. In novels it's a failed attempt to appear descriptive and to quickly portray a character. In a setting it's trying to make a place seem more detailed and rich in history and conflict than it is.
It is hard to care who or what the Dawn Titan or the Estelar are because we know so little about them. Nor do I care what was in his oft mentioned Fortress, nor his supposedly deadly constructs. Nor do I root for the Queen or the Twelvefold (which is an interesting name if not concept) because they have no personality.
Is it me or did the map not mark the location of Rimlost? The small but most important town for adventurers heading into the Glaur Barrens. The map, because of it's rushed appearance, is very fitting for this article. It seems rough and unfinished. It's as if the cartographer banged the thing out over his coffee break and still had time to finished the daily crossword. Likewise, compared to the other places of the Realms, this feels like a very early outline. I hope this is just a highly edited version meant for a teaser and the real entry is much more interesting.
I just am nit sure if the whoel returned Abeir thing is worth the trouble. It may be nice and cool and the ideas that dragons rule is a fair idea, but imo it would have worked much better as a seperate setting.
Gomez
Isolated from the bustle of Returned Abeir,
Gontal is a western land that hunkers
behind its mountainous border and reveals
little of itself to outsiders except for irregular
trade that trickles out of Gontal Pass east across the
Esmur Flats into the Dusk Ports.
Given the context that must surely be provided in the FRCG, that's a perfectly good description - I'm guessing that "Gontal" is just a name on the map of Abeir in the book. This reads like a section from the book that got cut and reissued as DDi material.
Why, why, why would locations on Abeir have connections to existing Realmslore? At least it's better than Maztica.
Why, why, why would locations on Abeir have connections to existing Realmslore? At least it's better than Maztica.
I didn't said tehy should. But Returned Abeir semss so different and seperate, that I think it would have worked better as a separate setting - even if it shares the same planet. Like Zakhara and Kara-Tur were made seperate settings.
Describing the whole world in one book seems to mean (given the the excerpts) that neither continent will get the attention it deserves.
I am sure interested in Abeir as a dragon-ruled continent, but if Iwish to do it right, I would not quickly use it in conjunction with old Realms country. SO I'd rathe rhave two books - one on Faerun, one on Returned Abeir.
Gomez
Bel
Bruce Cordell's names comes before Ed's?
I won't bother reading it, then...
Plus the map is, once again, puke-worthy.
EDIT: Hope This guy doesn't sue them. :D
If you ever get around to coauthoring a book or game article, I suggest making sure the other authors first and last name doesn’t start with the letter A. :P
I see nothing wrong with the map but I’m not an amateur/professional cartographer. The map delivers the basic information for the player or DM needs to stomp through the area.
Bruce Cordell's names comes before Ed's?
I won't bother reading it, then...
Many of the NPC names and concepts did scream "Ed Greenwood" to me, I have to say.
Bruce Cordell's names comes before Ed's?
I won't bother reading it, then...
well, it could be just because Cordell starts with a "c" and greenwood starts with a "g"
-I liked the article. Its was lore and fluff lite. I would have prefered a 10 page article like BRJ's Cormyr article. ;) This is WotC's way of making past editions useless. Lore from 3E propably wont have any place in 4E. Look at the Driders in the 4E MM. Those are not the Drider's I know and liked to use. Look at the Giants, Dragons, ectera. 18DELTA :P
Abeir doesn't have gods. They have primordials.
18DELTA :D
Anyway, it's a place light on lore and feel. It just feels like a bunch of words in a PDF, doesn't give me any inspiration or feel for what Gontal actually is. Sure, the names are nice, the Royalty and Noble Council idea is always good but.. meh. Just nothing too it really.
Gond and Talos have merged in 4e, and this is their Realm.