Comments on: D&D Burgoo (4.0): Remake the Realms

By: Remaking the Realms, Savage Worlds style - The Seven-Sided Die

Remaking the Realms, Savage Worlds style - The Seven-Sided Die — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:19:50 +0000

[...] magic system; I didn’t like Cyric; and the vague memory of an article on Gnome Stew about using the system-changeover cataclysm of the 4e Realms as an opportunity to rewrite the setting to b...: I recommend that DMs running 4E games take a crack at revising their Realms before the official [...]

By: Omnus

Omnus — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:22:37 +0000

I make my own campaigns, and never had much interaction with the Forgotten Realms except for the video games (Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights 1, 2, and all the expansions). For game worlds, I've always preferred Greyhawk. However, I like the hopeful tone of this article, and I agree...putting your own stamp on the world is never a bad thing, and being proactive is fine in terms of adapting it to suit your tastes. A huge advantage is that your changes can surprise players who may know the world as well as you. I don't worry about the loss of bards because you can make ANY class with about a half-hour's worth of work and a few hours for the write-up. The classes are formulaic, so creating a new one is only an exercise in coming up with names for the powers, figuring which attribute to use for each ability, and porting over abilities that fall in line with the other classes' powers. What I'd savor with the bard would be the opportunity to come up with names. I'd go with classic rock song titles. An encounter attack power, for example, might be Rock You Like a Hurricane, Another One Bites the Dust, or Welcome to My Nightmare. Mwahahahahahahahahahahaah! So singeth Omnus.

By: Scott Martin

Scott Martin — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:02:56 +0000

While I enjoy the realms at times, I've never kept up on all of the many many supplements. A reboot like this is a great way to wipe out the stuff you never learned too-- that character that's beloved by someone in the group, but you've never heard of him? He was tragically killed in a hopeless defense of X.

By: Kavonde

Kavonde — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:24:39 +0000

There’s actually a pretty good fan-made Bard, with powers and paragon paths and what have you, over at the ENWorld forums. I was hoping to test it out, but sadly, none of my players wanted to try it.

Anyway, I think it’s nifty, and encourage ya to check it out:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?t=231413

By: Kurt "Telas" Schneider

Kurt "Telas" Schneider — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:36:03 +0000

A great (and humorous) example of reinventing a setting is taking place over at Darths and Droids. They've done such a good job of recreating that piece of crap The Phantom Menace that the phrase, "Jar Jar, you're a genius" appears. Oh, and the ecology and government of Naboo and the origin of Jar Jar actually makes sense. Now that's genius.

By: Sarlax

Sarlax — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:13:58 +0000

Another reason to remake the setting now is that WoTC seems committed to making D&D worlds places with big, uncivilized areas. In other words, most maps should have huge areas that are undefined. You'll be able to invent anything for those spots, with the great benefit that it won't conflict with the new material that comes out.

By: Martin Ralya

Martin Ralya — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:58:04 +0000

Great article, Troy! I hadn't thought about the calm before the release of an updated major setting product as a good time to fiddle with that setting, but it makes a lot of sense. I've always made the Realms my own. Its depth and mutability are two of the things I love about the setting -- it's just so damn big that you can change stuff without worrying too much about other parts breaking. The original grey box did two things to encourage that which I really loved: left Sembia entirely blank, except to say that it was a trading nation (it really bugged me that they later published Sembia products, but so be it), and indicated which of the Current Clack (rumors) items would not be followed up on in published material.

By: DarthKrzysztof

DarthKrzysztof — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:42:46 +0000

I've never really tinkered with the Realms, but I've written up descriptions for things barely described in early sources, that have since been fully detailed by WotC (the Night Masks, the Knights of the Shield). I've always -wanted- to, though, and this seems like as good an opportunity as any.