Is it a good idea to bring Halruaa back? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Is it a good idea to bring Halruaa back?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Mr_Miscellany
Sep 04, 2012 14:28:43 As the thread title asks: Is it a good idea to bring Halruaa back in the post-Sundering Forgotten Realms?

If no, tell us why you think it's a bad idea.

If yes, what’s your opinion on how WotC should make this happen?

Should they, for example, describe Azuth as erupting out of Asmodeus by command of Ao as the Tablets of Fate are re-forged, with Azuth’s first divine act being to call out to his few remaining followers to gather and learn the secrets of the divine locks he put in place throughout Halruaa’s ruins*.

These divine locks preserve and prohibit activation of magical portals made of stone that stand seemingly untouched amongst Halruaa’s many blasted ruins. All lead to a single, massive extradimensional realm frozen in time and forged from the magic of those formerly active portals by Azuth himself. Into that place all or most of Halruaa’s magic-capable citizenry were whisked away before the destruction of the Spellplague hit.

The act of forging such a realm cost Azuth most of his power, so he could not maintain his own divine realm. Thus he fell into hell (literally) as the Spellplague ravaged mortal and divine realms with equal ferocity, and was consumed by Asmodeus, whose agents up until now have been trying desperately to unwind the portal locks and turn the magic-capable occupants of the realm beyond into powerful servants of the Hells.

Anway, that’s one way to do it (with some openings for printed adventures if WotC chooses to do it that way).

How would you go about returning Halruaa and/or how would you want WotC to do it?

*The assumption here being that with the re-forging of the Tablets, blunt or otherwise overt acts of divine intervention—like breaking divine seals set in place through the sacrificial act of a deity—are now a no-no in the post-Sundering Realms; only mortals of great power can attempt such things.
#2
LordManshoon
Sep 04, 2012 16:08:32 I would say yes, but my idea is to leave the gods out of it and for Halruaa to be a "frontier" of sorts. Halruaa was ravaged by the destruction of Mystra and Azuth, and was subsequently engulfed by the Spellplague. To everyone's knowledge, what didn't go *boom* was rendered too dangerous to access thanks to the shroud of blue fire that practically descended on the land.

My take is that the Spellplague's presence in Halruua begins to recede following the return of the Tablets of Fate and the Sundering. The "why" of it doesn't matter as much; perhaps it is a sign of the world's healing, or perhaps the energies of the Spellplague are being drawn to one particular spot, which might in time yield a great interplanar gate or perhaps spawn a concentration of sentient plague. Those situated around the borders of Halruaa notice that the plague is receding and that what was once inaccessible now seems safe. Not all was destroyed, and the first wave of explorers discovers that much of what lay on the fringe of Halruaa has, in fact, survived to some extent. Safe from the plague, which has receded and shows no signs of returning after a period of time, these explorers set up base camps in these "safe zones". Their goal - to monitor the recession of the Spellplague and observe any changes in the landscape.

The main hook is that if certain parts of Halruaa survived, then perhaps so did a great portion of its arcane lore. Historians will see Halruaa as a civilization waiting to be reborn, and opportunistic entrepreneurs will sponsor expeditions to see what can be salvaged or established. Heroes will come to watch over these attempts and strike deeper into the heart of the increasingly-accessible Halruaa. The main threats would be in the form of lingering pockets of plague, as well as whatever denizens survived the disaster. Perhaps spellscarred undead wander the ruins, or berserk monstrosities crouch in the shadows of once-glorious shrines and halls.
#3
sfdragon
Sep 04, 2012 16:25:19 I think it would be a good idea to bring it back. They can be brought back in a long forgotten flying enclave either of halruuan make of of netherese make.
#4
Mr_Miscellany
Sep 04, 2012 18:02:33
I would say yes, but my idea is to leave the gods out of it and for Halruaa to be a "frontier" of sorts.

A nation-sized ruin on par with Myth Drannor in terms of magic, monsters and just-waiting-to-be-discovered history? I.e. the Next Great Ruin of the Realms?

I'm down with that.

I think it would be a good idea to bring it back. They can be brought back in a long forgotten flying enclave either of halruuan make of of netherese make.

OK this would be really awesome too.

I'd like it if they did it the traditional way: by cobbling together many massive pieces of rock to form an enclave, instead of the shearing-off-a-mountain-top method.

#5
sfdragon
Sep 04, 2012 19:56:52 or steal it from the elemental chaos/plane of earth
#6
hyrsam
Sep 04, 2012 20:25:14 Maybe the Spellplague recedes and as it does so the land and the creatures are restored, but spell scarred. Maybe towns and villages weren't destroyed so much as transformed and the spellplague disappearing allows them to revert back to normal, the people becoming human again, instead of distortions of spellplague. Kind of like a stone to flesh spell on someone whose been turned to stone for a thousand years.
#7
daron_haldar
Feb 28, 2013 22:24:28

These divine locks preserve and prohibit activation of magical portals made of stone that stand seemingly untouched amongst Halruaa’s many blasted ruins. All lead to a single, massive extradimensional realm frozen in time and forged from the magic of those formerly active portals by Azuth himself. Into that place all or most of Halruaa’s magic-capable citizenry were whisked away before the destruction of the Spellplague hit.

Meh.

This sounds so much better: "A nation-sized ruin on par with Myth Drannor in terms of magic, monsters and just-waiting-to-be-discovered history? I.e. the Next Great Ruin of the Realms?"

If we are just going to erase changes from the spell-plague that occurred it really diminishes the signigicance of world events with players expecting the gods to save the day all the time.

The ruins idea really ads a nice unsettled dangerous area for players to explore. With old towns on the borders of the region affected growing with an influx of adventurers, and new towns springing up. With the frontier and ruins too dangerous to resettle as of yet.

There also may be several contingents of Halruaan's to deal with, with some hiring adventurers to help them seek out treasures and reclaim parts of their heritage. Too others that may be fanatically opposed to any exploration disturbing the remains of the kingdom, opposing adventurers and treasure seekers.
#8
Mr_Miscellany
Mar 01, 2013 0:01:46
This sounds so much better: "A nation-sized ruin on par with Myth Drannor in terms of magic, monsters and just-waiting-to-be-discovered history? I.e. the Next Great Ruin of the Realms?" (snip) The ruins idea really ads a nice unsettled dangerous area for players to explore. With old towns on the borders of the region affected growing with an influx of adventurers, and new towns springing up. With the frontier and ruins too dangerous to resettle as of yet.

I like this. It sounds pretty fun.

It doesn't directly address Azuth's fall or the concerns of those who'd like to see Halruaa return in all its glory, but your idea does cleave to one of the Realm's core design principles: that the Realms must change, and not be forever the same.

I'd love it if we got lots of adventures set in Halruaa that are like the old Myth Drannor sourcebooks and adventures: one part history lesson (complete with maps) and one part modern day ruin.

#9
Imruphel
Mar 01, 2013 5:27:43 It's because of posts like this, Mr_M, that I think:

1. There are so many Epic campaign arcs begging to be run in the post-Spellplague Realms like the one that has been suggesting about working for Azuth's return by defeating Asmodeus and then restoring Halruaa.

2. I love the 4E Realms... and all that went before. I have no intention of playing Next or running games in the next version of the Realms (but I will buy everything). With my biases declared, I think it is a huge mistake not to take the Realms back to 1374 DR or 1375 DR. For the diehard fans, that's where the Realms ended. Just go back there and have the Spellplague as one possible future.

OK, that's not answering the original question.

I think it should stay ruined. Let it be 5E's Ruins of Myth Drannor... and then some.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Mr_Miscellany Sep 04, 2012 14:28:43	As the thread title asks: Is it a good idea to bring Halruaa back in the post-Sundering Forgotten Realms? If no, tell us why you think it's a bad idea. If yes, what’s your opinion on how WotC should make this happen? Should they, for example, describe Azuth as erupting out of Asmodeus by command of Ao as the Tablets of Fate are re-forged, with Azuth’s first divine act being to call out to his few remaining followers to gather and learn the secrets of the divine locks he put in place throughout Halruaa’s ruins. These divine locks preserve and prohibit activation of magical portals made of stone that stand seemingly untouched amongst Halruaa’s many blasted ruins. All lead to a single, massive extradimensional realm frozen in time and forged from the magic of those formerly active portals by Azuth himself. Into that place all or most of Halruaa’s magic-capable citizenry were whisked away before the destruction of the Spellplague hit. The act of forging such a realm cost Azuth most of his power, so he could not maintain his own divine realm. Thus he fell into hell (literally) as the Spellplague ravaged mortal and divine realms with equal ferocity, and was consumed by Asmodeus, whose agents up until now have been trying desperately to unwind the portal locks and turn the magic-capable occupants of the realm beyond into powerful servants of the Hells. Anway, that’s one way to do it (with some openings for printed adventures if WotC chooses to do it that way). How would you go about returning Halruaa and/or how would you want WotC to do it? The assumption here being that with the re-forging of the Tablets, blunt or otherwise overt acts of divine intervention—like breaking divine seals set in place through the sacrificial act of a deity—are now a no-no in the post-Sundering Realms; only mortals of great power can attempt such things.
#2 LordManshoon Sep 04, 2012 16:08:32	I would say yes, but my idea is to leave the gods out of it and for Halruaa to be a "frontier" of sorts. Halruaa was ravaged by the destruction of Mystra and Azuth, and was subsequently engulfed by the Spellplague. To everyone's knowledge, what didn't go boom was rendered too dangerous to access thanks to the shroud of blue fire that practically descended on the land. My take is that the Spellplague's presence in Halruua begins to recede following the return of the Tablets of Fate and the Sundering. The "why" of it doesn't matter as much; perhaps it is a sign of the world's healing, or perhaps the energies of the Spellplague are being drawn to one particular spot, which might in time yield a great interplanar gate or perhaps spawn a concentration of sentient plague. Those situated around the borders of Halruaa notice that the plague is receding and that what was once inaccessible now seems safe. Not all was destroyed, and the first wave of explorers discovers that much of what lay on the fringe of Halruaa has, in fact, survived to some extent. Safe from the plague, which has receded and shows no signs of returning after a period of time, these explorers set up base camps in these "safe zones". Their goal - to monitor the recession of the Spellplague and observe any changes in the landscape. The main hook is that if certain parts of Halruaa survived, then perhaps so did a great portion of its arcane lore. Historians will see Halruaa as a civilization waiting to be reborn, and opportunistic entrepreneurs will sponsor expeditions to see what can be salvaged or established. Heroes will come to watch over these attempts and strike deeper into the heart of the increasingly-accessible Halruaa. The main threats would be in the form of lingering pockets of plague, as well as whatever denizens survived the disaster. Perhaps spellscarred undead wander the ruins, or berserk monstrosities crouch in the shadows of once-glorious shrines and halls.
#3 sfdragon Sep 04, 2012 16:25:19	I think it would be a good idea to bring it back. They can be brought back in a long forgotten flying enclave either of halruuan make of of netherese make.
#4 Mr_Miscellany Sep 04, 2012 18:02:33	I would say yes, but my idea is to leave the gods out of it and for Halruaa to be a "frontier" of sorts. A nation-sized ruin on par with Myth Drannor in terms of magic, monsters and just-waiting-to-be-discovered history? I.e. the Next Great Ruin of the Realms? I'm down with that. I think it would be a good idea to bring it back. They can be brought back in a long forgotten flying enclave either of halruuan make of of netherese make. OK this would be really awesome too. I'd like it if they did it the traditional way: by cobbling together many massive pieces of rock to form an enclave, instead of the shearing-off-a-mountain-top method.
#5 sfdragon Sep 04, 2012 19:56:52	or steal it from the elemental chaos/plane of earth
#6 hyrsam Sep 04, 2012 20:25:14	Maybe the Spellplague recedes and as it does so the land and the creatures are restored, but spell scarred. Maybe towns and villages weren't destroyed so much as transformed and the spellplague disappearing allows them to revert back to normal, the people becoming human again, instead of distortions of spellplague. Kind of like a stone to flesh spell on someone whose been turned to stone for a thousand years.
#7 daron_haldar Feb 28, 2013 22:24:28	These divine locks preserve and prohibit activation of magical portals made of stone that stand seemingly untouched amongst Halruaa’s many blasted ruins. All lead to a single, massive extradimensional realm frozen in time and forged from the magic of those formerly active portals by Azuth himself. Into that place all or most of Halruaa’s magic-capable citizenry were whisked away before the destruction of the Spellplague hit. Meh. This sounds so much better: "A nation-sized ruin on par with Myth Drannor in terms of magic, monsters and just-waiting-to-be-discovered history? I.e. the Next Great Ruin of the Realms?" If we are just going to erase changes from the spell-plague that occurred it really diminishes the signigicance of world events with players expecting the gods to save the day all the time. The ruins idea really ads a nice unsettled dangerous area for players to explore. With old towns on the borders of the region affected growing with an influx of adventurers, and new towns springing up. With the frontier and ruins too dangerous to resettle as of yet. There also may be several contingents of Halruaan's to deal with, with some hiring adventurers to help them seek out treasures and reclaim parts of their heritage. Too others that may be fanatically opposed to any exploration disturbing the remains of the kingdom, opposing adventurers and treasure seekers.
#8 Mr_Miscellany Mar 01, 2013 0:01:46	This sounds so much better: "A nation-sized ruin on par with Myth Drannor in terms of magic, monsters and just-waiting-to-be-discovered history? I.e. the Next Great Ruin of the Realms?" (snip) The ruins idea really ads a nice unsettled dangerous area for players to explore. With old towns on the borders of the region affected growing with an influx of adventurers, and new towns springing up. With the frontier and ruins too dangerous to resettle as of yet. I like this. It sounds pretty fun. It doesn't directly address Azuth's fall or the concerns of those who'd like to see Halruaa return in all its glory, but your idea does cleave to one of the Realm's core design principles: that the Realms must change, and not be forever the same. I'd love it if we got lots of adventures set in Halruaa that are like the old Myth Drannor sourcebooks and adventures: one part history lesson (complete with maps) and one part modern day ruin.
#9 Imruphel Mar 01, 2013 5:27:43	It's because of posts like this, Mr_M, that I think: 1. There are so many Epic campaign arcs begging to be run in the post-Spellplague Realms like the one that has been suggesting about working for Azuth's return by defeating Asmodeus and then restoring Halruaa. 2. I love the 4E Realms... and all that went before. I have no intention of playing Next or running games in the next version of the Realms (but I will buy everything). With my biases declared, I think it is a huge mistake not to take the Realms back to 1374 DR or 1375 DR. For the diehard fans, that's where the Realms ended. Just go back there and have the Spellplague as one possible future. OK, that's not answering the original question. I think it should stay ruined. Let it be 5E's Ruins of Myth Drannor... and then some.