4th Ed. Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide

maxcell · Post by **maxcell** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 11:53 am

Fluff, I wish I could get Ed Greenwoods ear about the whole thing. Is what they've done really what was originally intended as the results and activity of the spellplague?

hollyfant · Post by **hollyfant** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 1:02 pm

Ed has always "toed the party line" in public, I doubt you'd get any controversial statements out of him.

fluffmonster · Post by **fluffmonster** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 2:37 pm

I have no idea what they've done to FR for 4e, but consider the little things like the fact that they've greatly expanded the core races. While there used to be just elves, now there are elves and eladrin. Need a whole lot of "make shit up" to make that work in FR.

Blindhamsterman · Post by **Blindhamsterman** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 5:12 pm

Eladrin are moon and sun elves, Elves are wood elves and wild elves. Thats what the campaign setting says

Eladrin basically get bonuses to dex and int
Elves get bonuses to dex and wis

eladrin make better wizards/swordmages/warlords
elves make better rangers/druids/other nature classes

mother · Post by **mother** » Fri Jul 02, 2010 1:27 pm

I got used to 3e but my heart has always been with 2nd Edition. I was perusing the 4th and have decided to pass. Much like Vista users...lol or Windows ME.
Anyone heard why they decided to change things again? Was it change-for-change's-sake or was there a thought process involved somewhere that I missed?

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Fri Jul 02, 2010 4:36 pm

mother wrote:Anyone heard why they decided to change things again? Was it change-for-change's-sake or was there a thought process involved somewhere that I missed?

I would guess it was for a couple of reasons:

1) MMOs are big business. The first attempt at an MMO crashed and burned (DDO Online) thanks in no small part to the sheer complexity of the ruleset, particularly relating to combat. The combat in DDO is hardly like D&D. DDO makes so many compromises on the ruleset that anyone seriously into the rules would likely quit in disgust five minutes after starting. They needed combat in particular to be a little more friendly and easier to translate over to the video game setting. I have little doubt another MMO will be worked on based on the 4E rules.

2) Additional products. Moving the timeline forward by 100 years and making radical changes to the world keeps the setting interesting for the first and third party authors that churn out all the books based on the setting.

3) Money. Lets face it, more people are likely to have bought 4th Edition campaign guide than would have bought 3.75th edition Campaign guide that was nothing more than minor tweaks and revisions. As with any product, it needs to stay fresh, which updating the world and rules does.

mother · Post by **mother** » Fri Jul 02, 2010 5:29 pm

Yeah, I get that. I wouldn't buy it but I get it.
IMHO, 3E Toril content is so vast and so rich, there is no need for anything else. If ALFA could find a way to woo (great word) lonely ex-PnP players to here, no doubt the original dream of a persistent recreation of the entire Realms would be feasible.

Making it 4E would not increase the available player base, just find the company more ways to make money.

I play DDO every once in awhile. My big gripe there is ZERO role playing and min/max rules lawyering is all that there is.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Fri Jul 02, 2010 5:54 pm

mother wrote:I play DDO every once in awhile. My big gripe there is ZERO role playing and min/max rules lawyering is all that there is.

Welcome to the world of MMOs.

mother · Post by **mother** » Fri Jul 02, 2010 6:35 pm

Yeah, I expect it to one degree or another. In DDO however, the min/maxing goes way beyond the pale. I expected better from D&D. Silly, I am sure but there it is.

fluffmonster · Post by **fluffmonster** » Sat Jul 03, 2010 12:37 am

Okay, I think i actually figured it out...

4e is very much 3.0 DnD made to fit a card game ala Magic:TG along with a total mechanical reinterpretation of the classes. The rules are presented in bite-sized chunks that you could fit on a card. PCs play in a style that is akin to playing cards on your turn, with powers particularly. Its all part of WotC trying to apply what they knew in developing M:TG to the DnD franchise. I'm not entirely convinced this is a bad thing, the franchise seems a little stronger now because of it and I would say more sustainable. Regardless, I think this is a useful analogy for understanding how the ruleset has changed. Myself, I think M:TG is a lot of fun so I'm into it.

Lucifer · Post by **Lucifer** » Sun Jul 04, 2010 3:44 am

I agree Fluff..I al;so like M TG for a while..but am over it now..I understand from the "business" end why WotC is behaving the way they are..but the old PnP player in me dislikes 4th Edition..get it..can appreciate business..but don't have to like it

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Sun Jul 04, 2010 3:46 am

I personally cannot wait for it to be translated to a video game. I think it will play alot better than 3E does.

Veilan · Post by **Veilan** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 8:53 am

Swift wrote:I personally cannot wait for it to be translated to a video game. I think it will play alot better than 3E does.

Yes, since every power (at least in the base book) can be squeezed into the same matrix, it's mucho CRPG friendly, as are the roles.

Holy_Rage · Post by **Holy_Rage** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 7:14 pm

Veilan wrote:
Swift wrote:I personally cannot wait for it to be translated to a video game. I think it will play alot better than 3E does.
Yes, since every power (at least in the base book) can be squeezed into the same matrix, it's mucho CRPG friendly, as are the roles.

Turn based CRPG would be lovely I think. For RP, back to 2E and 3.5 though.

Hialmar · Post by **Hialmar** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 7:42 am

fluffmonster wrote:Okay, I think i actually figured it out...

4e is very much 3.0 DnD made to fit a card game ala Magic:TG along with a total mechanical reinterpretation of the classes. The rules are presented in bite-sized chunks that you could fit on a card. PCs play in a style that is akin to playing cards on your turn, with powers particularly. Its all part of WotC trying to apply what they knew in developing M:TG to the DnD franchise. I'm not entirely convinced this is a bad thing, the franchise seems a little stronger now because of it and I would say more sustainable. Regardless, I think this is a useful analogy for understanding how the ruleset has changed. Myself, I think M:TG is a lot of fun so I'm into it.

Sure. If you watch the videos on the website ( http://www.wizards.com/dnd/videos.aspx ) they actually play with cards. Those cards can be bought IIRC.
The way they play is very similar to M:TG. M:TG with some miniatures, dice and a map...

PS: oh and I can't wait for a CRPG as well. I just wonder why it takes them so long.
3rd was released in 2000 and Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor in 2001.
Okay it wasn't a very good game but still it wasn't bad either.

A Land Far Away

4th Ed. Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide

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