Legends of Aria/Shards Online Alpha 3: What area?

[Mikayla]

I would be happy with any place that allows for a wide variety of characters. Preferably, a wide variety of terrain and encounters as well. Variety being the spice of life and all that. Where exactly should that be? No idea really. I am interested, but lack helpful ideas at the moment.

[Analogkid]

I concur with the sentiment that whatever we end up choosing provides a wide variety of environments and locals. I do like the thought of Neverwinter being included though.

[kmj2587]

In which time frame would we want to start ALFA3? It seems like the sum total of changes being made to FR in 5e will mostly reverse everything from 4e. Either way, time frame would make a big difference as to what areas are preferable, or even still available.

[gonz.0]

I liked the point of Amn.

ALFA likes to do low magic, it helps the DMs keep the games from going out of control cycling up into !!!!!! zone.

Athkatla is a big city, port, and central to the whole country. There is some natural regional barriers which would make it easier to design. There is even a city with a largely halfling population.

[dergon darkhelm]

In which time frame would we want to start ALFA3? It seems like the sum total of changes being made to FR in 5e will mostly reverse everything from 4e. Either way, time frame would make a big difference as to what areas are preferable, or even still available.

If I had my way I would start 1360 ish .... just after time of troubles.

It gives a long run of time to pass before FR canon starts getting totally whacko.

[Arianna]

I would not want to go back in time yet again it seems like we keep repeating the same time frame
I for one would like to see ALFA history and such remain a integral part of a continuing ALFA platform much as it did between 1 & 2

I think we should just take the time line as it now stands in 5e with most the stupidity of 4e having been removed in a IC fashion at this point
Most places are available to play in , some being a bit altered from their original standings like Luskan for instance but still there and suitable for adventure

[Heero]

Somewhere relatively (in FR terms) sparsely populated with some lore but not overly written about. A major city hub would be good with possibly a couple small villages or towns without many, if any, services, to splinter the population and A LOT of wilderness.

Amn with its well developed network of roads and hundreds of towns doesn't seem like a good idea. There is some wilderness, but the vast majority of the region is towns and more towns and a few cities, to boot.

[Stormbringer]

I would say Amn as well.. it's a great place with lots of diverse areas. Mountains north and south of the main city... Which us located on the coast. Plains to the east as well and forest south of the southern mountains.

[causk]

The problem i see with Amn is the extreme anti-nonhuman anti-arcanespellcaster sentiment of the population (if we stick with 2e lore). Its not really the multicultural/muliracial cosmopolitism we might want to have, so that many different character concepts can easily find their place. Its a great setting and enjoyed playing in it considerably (thanks exodus crew), but dont think itll be that easiest to access and understand for people not familiar with the lore already.

[kmj2587]

We also might want to consider what kind of scale we want to employ when planning servers. If you're trying to build at a 1:1 scale, a city like Neverwinter and its immediate environs is probably an entire server on its own. Or you can scale things down and cover a broader area, like Neverwinter, Luskan, and the spine of the world as suggested in Discord last night. Would we prefer a smaller territory with a great deal of detail, or a broader scope where things get shrunk down a bit?

Ultimately I think the exact specifics of the location that gets built is going to be up to whoever is doing the building. You can't make people build areas they don't want to build. I think what might be more useful in the planning phases is to establish a context for building: what year we're starting in, what kind of scale we're looking for, whether or not we intend to keep any ALFA canon or exclude any major FR canon events

[SCI-kick]

Aren't you folks sick of Forgotten Realms YET ?

My true vote would be NO Forgotten Realms at all , and collectively create a world that takes a little from all sorts of fantasy and history so everyone can find something they find interest in. I'd like to see a frontier , broken lands type place that takes some of the interesting aspects of FR, Greyhawk and Krynn , add a little Middle Earth, Westeros, and Hyboria ; then a little Cthulhu Mythos for some dark gods, and some classic Mythology like Norse and Egyptian.

But, that's just me. I'm so sick of Faerun and FR it makes me want to puke.

But, I guess if I had to pick a place in FR it would be Westgate, or somewhere on Sea of Fallen Stars. Some place where builders don't have to worry about replicating FR , and use their own imagination for a change.

And, also the majority of areas be places to adventure and game. Not just a bunch of pretty buildings that nobody ever games in.

[ImStrokerAce]

I cant say as Ive lost interest in FR. In fact, that is one of the main reasons Im here.

[Magile]

Aren't you folks sick of Forgotten Realms YET ?

If... if you joined ALFA, and you looked at the charter, you should see that the whole point of the community is to remake Forgotten Realms/Faerun.

[Arianna]

Aren't you folks sick of Forgotten Realms YET ?

Ummm . . NO . . . if it wasn't Forgotten Realms . . I would probably have no interest in it at all
I love the existing Lore to draw on and build from . . . total home brew turns me off

[dergon darkhelm]

The problem i see with Amn is the extreme anti-nonhuman anti-arcanespellcaster sentiment of the population (if we stick with 2e lore). Its not really the multicultural/muliracial cosmopolitism we might want to have, so that many different character concepts can easily find their place. Its a great setting and enjoyed playing in it considerably (thanks exodus crew), but dont think itll be that easiest to access and understand for people not familiar with the lore already.

Amn with its well developed network of roads and hundreds of towns doesn't seem like a good idea. There is some wilderness, but the vast majority of the region is towns and more towns and a few cities, to boot.

I concur with the sentiment that whatever we end up choosing provides a wide variety of environments and locals. I do like the thought of Neverwinter being included though.

All of these.

That's why I suggested the North. It's a place for adventurers. You need just enough city to allow for services, a bit of intrigue, and player meeting, but beyond that we should want a setting where it would be reasonable to expect PCs of all alignments, races, and classes to wind up. And we want lots and lots of wild places, both above and below ground, where monsters would be expected to hold sway and adventure would happen.

(Feel free to skew the map a bit and swap out my Luskan suggestion for Neverwinter )


Get out of the tavern. Get out beyond the city walls. Explore the wilds.





And on a separate note: No. I am not sick of FR. It is why I joined this community and is probably the most important thread binding ALFA together.