Thema: FR - in 4E ... einige Information

[Zanan]

... von George Krashos auf Candlekeep's Seiten

Hey everybody. This report comes to you due to the generosity of Jeff Thetford and the computer assistance of Brian Cortijo (Garen Thal) with the supervision of Eytan Bernstein. Basically, they are all here as I post this.

Firstly, this was my first GEN-CON (but not my last) and was an absolute blast. Getting to meet Ed, Steven, Eric, the guys mentioned above and a host of others, was a dream come true.

On my first day I caught up with Steven, Eric, Jeff and Eytan for breakfast. At the CON shortly after I got to meet Ed and Brian almos immediately. Ed being the great guy he is had presents for me: photocopies of his original material including maps - can anyone say "Haunted Halls"? Things to be treasured.

Given that you guys are interested in matters Realmsish I won't regale you with further information save about the two FR seminars that were held.

The first of these was "Spin a Yarn" which was what I would describe as an "interesting experience". I'll be truthful and say that as a series of more and more ribald and inane suggestions flowed from the gathering I found it to be something of what I can best describe as a loss of opportunity. It goes without saying that the "Spin a Yarn" tales are a lot of fun and Ed does "fun" better than most, but I kept thinking that here we had a situation where we can get Ed to write a story on a topic of our choosing, and the topic of our choosing is "codpieces of doom", "flatulent dragons" and "halfling plumbers". I was thinking that we could get another story on Larloch, Hesperdan, the Lost Crown of Nuvorene - things of substance - and we were letting it go begging. I'm sure that there are many fans who do enjoy this format and what comes out of it but I was more than a little disappointed.

The "Secrets of the Realms" seminar was very interesting given the announcement of 4E. Firstly, in relation to upcoming products, the following was said:

GRAND HISTORY
- The timeline provided would stretch beyond the "current date";
- There will be new dates provided ove and above what was in the PDF GHotR;
- The prose "vignettes" that feature will be 'point-of-view' excerpts that put the reader 'in' that historical timeline event that is being showcased or give them a look at that event from the POV of an observer;

ANAUROCH
- Not much said but the plot has its origins in a "ruined city now reclaimed and a great magical treasure that the 'bad guys' shouldn't get".

SWORDS of DRAGONFIRE
- Ed describes it as his 'best balanced' novel that he's written for WotC;
- The KoMD won't actually get to Shadowdale by the end of the trilogy but this book and the next ("The Sword Never Sleeps") are a fantastic aid to any Cormyr campaign. Several of the movers and shakers of the Zhentarim are featured and Hesperdan play a role also;

ANNOTATED ELMINSTER
- Many extra bits with long essays nd also some of Ed's own personal artwork;

FRCS (4E)
- Will be available at GEN-CON 2008 and we will be seeing some "pretty significant changes";

Also mentioned were two further unnamed FR 4E products highlighting races and classes in the Realms and a major 4E adventure respectively.

SWORDMAGE
- A HD novel by Rich Baker which is the first of a trilogy in the 4E Realms. It's set in Hulburg in the Moonsea and has a smaller focus and isn't associated with any RSE;

READER'S GUIDE TO RA SALVATORE'S LEGENDS OF DRIZZT
- Coffee table book (like a Marvel encyclopedia) with descriptions the world, characters and art.

After the products the floor was open to questions and answers. These were as follows:

Q. Will there be a map or gazette?
A. Further map products will be associated with the 4E FRCS. The focus will be on Faerun. The rest of the Realms can be explored in the DI. The are also considering an official FR Wikipedia. Chris Perkins of WotC said that he would love a globe of Toril (which was met with cheers from the fans) but that this was unlikely.

Q. Is there anything happening to Mystra or the Weave?
A. The 2E to 3E change was one done on a retconning basis (i.e. "it was always like that") - they've decided that the 3E to 4E change wll be more in line with th 1E to 2E change. An in-game story/explanation will showcase the rule changes. As to what this explanation will be, it will be a catastrophe called the "Spellplague". It was noted that 'Expedition to Undermountain' and what happened to Halaster was a foreshadowing of this event - Halaster was trying to do something about it, but failed - badly. It was also noted that something akin to this "catastrophe" had happened before and had been mentioned in the 1E FR boxed set.

Q. Real time ad Reams time. Will the progression be faster, slower or the same?
A. Going forward, the current tme progression will still remain true. The Spellplagu will occur in the Year of Blue Fire (1385 DR).

Q. Will there be a poster map in 4E?
A. Yes there will be a poster in the 4E FRCS and in future adventures. The DI will have tactical maps, town maps etc.

Q. Will we get the real map of the Yawning Portal?
A. Chris Perkins was going to look into it - likely would be avalable on the DI.

Q. Will WotC publish regional/general books or adventures?
A. The adventure focus lately in the schedule was because of 4E. There is no regional or theme book on the 2008 schedule because of 4E. The 4E FRCS will handle the need for regional/theme books in 2008. In the transition, the DDI is happy to support articles along those lines (and they invite suggestions and submissions). Every two weeks there will be a column on the DI called "Realmslore" which will be game mechanics free till the release of 4E (i.e. 'pure' realmslore) and will initially feature various small, geographic locations throughout the Realms. Suggestions re locations are sought also.

Q. Will there be more Volo's Guides?
A. Not likely to see printed products of this nature. Volo's style articles could be done for the DI and Ed was keen to do so.

Q. Will there be 4E changes or races that will be class specific?
A. WotC's view is that the Realms benefits where the core mechanics and the FR mechanics are consistent with each othe and not divergent For example, subraces in the Realms will be a cultural difference rather than a game mechanics difference. There might be FR specific racial feats.

Q. Will there still be a regional focus for PCs in FR?
A. The regions will not be constraining as they were in 3E and will again be background, story flavour, not game mechanics.

Q. Will the 4E game mechanics gel with the novel characters?
A. The 4E ranger will have two weapon fighting because they know who the most popular ranger is in the Realms! The adical novel exploits of some characters will be dealt with in terms of character classes being able to do something like a "heroic exploit".

Q. How will long-running campaigns be suited to the 3E to 4E changeover? Will those campaigns be able to continue with just the new game mechanics?
A. People will be best suited to ending their campaign and starting anew.

Q. Things like spellwebs, mythals, mantles and High Magic in 3E are not true the lore. Will 4E be better?
A. Yes and no. Some tools will help and one of them will relate to "unique magics" - in circumstances where one off magics are needed. They don't want to ramp up abilties for wizards to the detriment of the other classes.

Q. Will the Spellplague affect the ability for campaigns to be set earlier in the timeline?
A. You have the option to introduce the effects of the Spellplague earlier.

Q. Will some of the 'staple NPCs' of the Realms be replaced in the 4E transition?
A. Yes, because the Realms is a living world. There will be a changing of the guard but Drizzt and Elminster will still be around.

Q. The Spellplague or the ToT - which is the worse RSE?
A. The Spellplague can be seen as related to the ToT and something of a ripple effect. Not worse or better, just different - but Waterdeep won't be sinking anytime soon. However, some places will get "played with".

Q. Will he next bunch of novels be set in the 4E Realms?
A. Depends on the writer. Swordmage will be. Other novels, like Ed's latest trilogy, will be set in the past. Eventually further novels will be taking place on the edge of the 4E timeline.

Q. Indexes in sourcebooks?
A. Tension between content and index. Indexes can go in and they can now put the content out with the DI.

Q. Will there be an effort to have rules and game mechanics that are grounded in realmslore?
A. WotC's question in response is if something is so great that it needs rules of its own, why isn't that in the core products? They dislike having differentiation between FR and the core as this inhibits crossover gaming. Keep in mind that the Realms is a campaign setting and not a ruleset in its own right. Is something like a mythal a game mechanic or a story element?

Q. Will there be adventures in 4E?
A. Yes. They've realised that not all DMs have the time to do their own.

Q. Lore v crunch - what will be the balance?
A. Ratio is going to change. Focus in 3E has been on mechanical elements. Now they want to write and present story elements, new flavour and adventure/realmslore hooks.

Q. Will there be a novel series to explain the Spellplague?
A. Not really. The Spellplague is a realms-wide event and story elements in relation t it will be featured in many products and the DI.

Q. Will there be changes in how magic items are dealt with in 4E?
A. The 3E system will be abandoned in 4E. The new system is more intuitive and less mathematical.

Other matters discussed were as follows:

- There will be FR adventure support in the DI both now and when 4E arrives.

- A suggestion re a short story anthology regarding the effects of the Spellplague was thought to be a good idea.

- As to Ed's Teziir "Cities of the Realms" articl - they are currently in "talks" e featuring this in the DI.

- A focus on the less-visited parts of the Realms will be addressed by the DI. The 4E FRCS will have new material and there will be a focus on the "forgotten" in Forgotten Realms.

Well, that was it for the FR events. The seminar was somewhat shellshocked by the 4E announcement and seemed to focus on the transition changes but there was much information provided.

I recommend to anyone who can go to one of these that they should do so. It was a blast.

-- George Krashos

http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9775

[Thalas]

Q. Lore v crunch - what will be the balance?
A. Ratio is going to change. Focus in 3E has been on mechanical elements. Now they want to write and present story elements, new flavour and adventure/realmslore hooks.

Das freut mich seeeehr zu hören....nachdem die 3E nichts im Vergleich zu den Fluff-Teilen der 2E war. Aber man soll den Tag ja bekanntlich nicht vor dem Abend loben...also erst einmal abwarten.

[Pestbeule]

FRCS (4E)
- Will be available at GEN-CON 2008 and we will be seeing some "pretty significant changes";

Früher würde  ich nicht umsteigen. Ist etwas ähnliches auch zu Eberron bekannt?

[Zechi]

FRCS (4E)
- Will be available at GEN-CON 2008 and we will be seeing some "pretty significant changes";

Früher würde  ich nicht umsteigen. Ist etwas ähnliches auch zu Eberron bekannt?

Ja, Gen Com 2009!

[Thalas]

FRCS (4E)
- Will be available at GEN-CON 2008 and we will be seeing some "pretty significant changes";

Früher würde  ich nicht umsteigen. Ist etwas ähnliches auch zu Eberron bekannt?

Ja, Gen Com 2009!

Hui hui hui...wenn das mal nicht viele Eberron-Spieler verärgert.
Aber warum dauert es ein Jahr länger - es arbeiten doch zwei verschiedene Teams an den Settings...oder nicht?

[Zechi]

Hui hui hui...wenn das mal nicht viele Eberron-Spieler verärgert.
Aber warum dauert es ein Jahr länger - es arbeiten doch zwei verschiedene Teams an den Settings...oder nicht?

So wie ich das verstanden habe wollen sie doch jedes Jahr ein Setting rausbringen und da die FR vermutlich das beliebtere und erfolgreichere Setting ist, kommt das zuerst raus. Hinzu kommt, dass das FRCS der 3E ja schon recht alt ist im Vergleich zu Eberron und der Nachholbedarf da also größer ist.

Gruß Zechi

[Xiam]

Spellpleague hört sich spannend an. Ansonsten lese ich definitiv viel zu oft "Digital Initiative" in diesem Artikel. Früher nannte sich das mal "Realms Lore"...

[AlexH]

Ich bin ja mal wirklich gespannt, in wie weit "Anauroch", der dritte Band der FR Abenteuer Trilogie kommende Ereignisse ankündigt...

Ich mag es, dass die Realms die Realms beleiben, und dennoch dynamisch sind. Ich hoffe bloss, dass in den 4E Realms nicht sämtliche Drow inzwischen als "normales" Volk an der Oberfläche angekommen sind und debil grinsend und geradezu zwanghaft "Dancing in the Moonlight" von Toploader singen...

Spoiler (Anzeigen)

:urgs :urgs :urgs
We get it on most every night
when that moon is big and bright
its a supernatural delight
everybodys dancing in the moonlight
:urgs :urgs :urgs

[Jilocasin]

Ich hätte absolut nichts dagegen, dass Drow als alltägliches Übel angesehen werden, denn diesen Rank haben sie zwischenzeitlich ja inne.
Die Tendenz dahin war ja die letzten Jahre deutlich zu spüren (CoSQ, WoSQ, aktuelle Abenteuer und Storyline).
Ist ja auch blöd, immer nur auf diese Grünhäuter zu hauen  


Dancing in the Moonlight
Och komm, so viele Elistraeeschl*mpen gibt es nun auch wieder nischt....

[Zanan]

Wißt ihr, wenn ich die Vorankündigungen zu Lady Penitent II und III lese, wird mir ganz ...

Storm of the Dead
 As the followers of Eilistraee fall one by one to Halisstra's wrath, Lolth turns her attention to other gods.
Naja, viele sind ja nicht mehr da ...

Ascendancy of the Last (June 2008)
The dark elves of Faerûn must finally choose between a goddess that offers redemption and peace, or a goddess that demands sacrifice and blood. We know what a human would choose, but what about a drow?

Redemption? Die Drow? Weswegen und weshalb? Sie waren es nicht, die verbannt worden sind, sondern die Vorfahren, vor 12.000 Jahren! Ein Drow von heute sollte von davon völlig ausgeschlossen sein. Oder, mit anderen Worten: Wer würde die Deutschen (sic!) heute dafür verantwortlich machen und entsündigen wollen, wenn so ein Sumpfhüttenbewohner-Häuptling des Spreewaldes von vor 10,000 Jahren seine Mitdörfler zum Abfackeln der Nachbarhüttensiedlung "aus niederen Beweggründen" veranlaßt hat?
Generell ist dieses ganze Schwarz & Weiß - Zeichnen der Kulte und eine ultimative Entscheidung seitens der Drow völlig absurd. Rasseneinleuchtung von heute auf morgen? Selbst Menschen brauchen dazu Jahre und ca. 2 Tonnen Marihuana etc..

[Plüschi]

Wißt ihr, wenn ich die Vorankündigungen zu Lady Penitent II und III lese, wird mir ganz ...

Storm of the Dead
 As the followers of Eilistraee fall one by one to Halisstra's wrath, Lolth turns her attention to other gods.
Naja, viele sind ja nicht mehr da ...

Ascendancy of the Last (June 2008)
The dark elves of Faerûn must finally choose between a goddess that offers redemption and peace, or a goddess that demands sacrifice and blood. We know what a human would choose, but what about a drow?

Redemption? Die Drow? Weswegen und weshalb? Sie waren es nicht, die verbannt worden sind, sondern die Vorfahren, vor 12.000 Jahren! Ein Drow von heute sollte von davon völlig ausgeschlossen sein. Oder, mit anderen Worten: Wer würde die Deutschen (sic!) heute dafür verantwortlich machen und entsündigen wollen, wenn so ein Sumpfhüttenbewohner-Häuptling des Spreewaldes von vor 10,000 Jahren seine Mitdörfler zum Abfackeln der Nachbarhüttensiedlung "aus niederen Beweggründen" veranlaßt hat?
Generell ist dieses ganze Schwarz & Weiß - Zeichnen der Kulte und eine ultimative Entscheidung seitens der Drow völlig absurd. Rasseneinleuchtung von heute auf morgen? Selbst Menschen brauchen dazu Jahre und ca. 2 Tonnen Marihuana etc..

Wir können ja mal darauf wetten, wie die Serie ausgeht. Aber nachdem die Subraces nur noch durch Fluff unterschieden werden, glaube ich nun immer mehr, dass Eilistraee den ganzen Kampf gewinnt und Lolth am Ende wieder zum Spiderqueen Tanar'ri verkommt. Und so wie es klingt, könnt ich mir gut vorstellen, dass es zu einem Dunkelelfen(nicht Drow)reich an der Oberfläche kommt.

Ob das nun gut oder schlecht ist muss man sehen, aber nächsten Monat werden wir schon alle mehr wissen mit dem GHotR.

[Fabius Maximus]

Wir können ja mal darauf wetten, wie die Serie ausgeht. Aber nachdem die Subraces nur noch durch Fluff unterschieden werden, glaube ich nun immer mehr, dass Eilistraee den ganzen Kampf gewinnt und Lolth am Ende wieder zum Spiderqueen Tanar'ri verkommt. Und so wie es klingt, könnt ich mir gut vorstellen, dass es ein Dunkelelfen(nicht Drow)reich an der Oberfläche bekommen.

Year of the Risen Elfkin...

[Blackthorne]

Das heißt, dass dann die ganze Rasse nur noch aus chaotisch guten Außenseitern mit zwei Krummsäbeln besteht?  

[AlexH]

Das heißt, dass dann die ganze Rasse nur noch aus chaotisch guten Außenseitern mit zwei Krummsäbeln besteht?  

Quatsch, heißt es natürlich nicht, es gibt ja auch noch diese Mondsüchtigen, die an Epilepsia saltatoria leiden, exhibitionistisch veranlagt sind und einen Schwert Fetisch haben...

[Berandor]

Das heißt, dass dann die ganze Rasse nur noch aus chaotisch guten Außenseitern mit zwei Krummsäbeln besteht?  

Davon gibt es zumindest genug für ein Reich...