4th Edition Forgotten Realms

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Jaenoic
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Post by Jaenoic » Sat Sep 15, 2007 8:55 pm

Ah, but Gods and Men are not subject to the same impulses. Passion is a mortal characteristic, unless it is within the God's portfolio(IE Sune). Gods tend to only be passionate about what they stand for.

And besides, if anyone is going to argue over Tymora... Helm and Tyr? I feel like that wasn't too well thought out. :roll: I could see like Lathander and Tempus fighting over someone, because Lathander is a romantic god while Tempus fights for what he believes in. But the two strictest, no-nonsense Gods in the pantheon? Come on. :?
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Post by Tobias » Sat Sep 15, 2007 9:21 pm

rofl They shoulda just fused Tymora and Beshaba back into one woman again! Then he'd live eh?
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Post by Horace » Sat Sep 15, 2007 10:12 pm

They kept the wizard and the drow around, no one will notice the gods dieing off. Plus could anyone really tell the difference between Tyr and Helm in any practical sense? They just took two gods that were practically the same and killed one.

I do like the sound of this new spell system...though I'm interested in how they're gonna go about it, to keep the balance there
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Post by Sairaven » Sat Sep 15, 2007 10:15 pm

Jaenoic wrote:I'm sorry, Tyr killing Helm over a love dispute of Tymora? That's just lame. I don't EVER see the strict god of justice, who relies on codes and laws, becoming romantically involved with Tymora, who stakes everything on chance and being bold.
Actually, I could see this as the "Everything I'm not" type of love. That whole opposites attract thing.
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Post by Neriadin » Tue Sep 18, 2007 7:25 am

Any new author who contributes to WOC worlds can tell you that they are pretty much told by WOC what their plots will contain. Although the writer may argue a point or two, the bottom line is that WOC gets what they want. Established authors get much more leeway in what they do, but still get "that's not where we want you to go" from WOC once in awhile. If nothing else, the monkey-wrench that 4thEd changes throw into everyone's story line will get the creative juices flowing for those authors who don't jump ship. Expect a wild ride as the writers take the chaos handed to them and run with it. You can also expect to see new worlds created outside of WOC from some of those same authors as a byproduct of threads they were working on that can't be used in a WOC setting, as it happened when 3rdEd came out.

Before anyone asks, "How the heck does he know, did he ever write for them?" the answer is "Yes." However, I decided I did not like the restrictions they wanted to place on me and withdrew my material before any of it was published by WOC. I took my creativity elsewhere.
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Post by Saradin » Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:49 am

Solaghar wrote:It's really nice to see Forgotten Realms being given the respect it deserves by being the first of the campaign settings to be updated.
I'd agree, if the updates didn't look like they're going to be...horrible. :P
If even half of that stuff is true I can safely say my tabletop campaign will never be leaving 3.5. :x

I wonder if this is WoC's way of saying that they're in the market for a new campaign setting to focus on. :cry:
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Post by Hrosskell » Sun Sep 23, 2007 11:27 pm

The main question I'm seeing over all this is:

Where does FK go with this? We've recently just made leaps and bounds to a new casting system, and to implement new deities. There is a LOT of time before this stuff goes down on OUR timeline, if it ever even does. I'm just wondering, and I guess Dalvyn can answer - how are WE responding to this?

P.S. - Kelemvor would've saved Mystra, bleh. SAVED HER AND DESTROYED CYRIC.
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Post by Glim » Mon Sep 24, 2007 1:31 am

Since we are still changing to 3rd ed, I don't think FK will be changing to 4th ed anytime soon.
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Post by Alvirin » Mon Sep 24, 2007 10:18 am

Changing to fourth edition would mean a great overhaul of areas and quests since some deities, npc's and places are likely to be killed/destroyed, and new ones will take their place.

Particularly I really hope that in 4ed Leira returns and takes back his portfolio of Illusion
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Post by Dalvyn » Mon Sep 24, 2007 11:08 am

There's 4th Edition rules, and there's 4th Edition Forgotten Realms.

We can use some things of one of them while ignoring the other one. There is much leeway/freedom here.
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Post by Alvirin » Mon Sep 24, 2007 12:36 pm

One of the things that it could be worth having a look is the skill system that would be probably used.
Trained/Untrained

Though it may be considered a radical change, Saga Edition eliminates the concept of skill ranks. Instead of investing resources and micromanaging skills, a character is either trained or untrained in a skill, period. Our research into how players created their characters showed that they typically maxed out their ranks in a couple of skills and put only a few points into other skills. That led to disparities between their favored skills and their "leftover" skills. Moreover, players who created "jack of all trades" characters typically chose classes that received a lot of skill points and spread them evenly over many skills.

Skill points were one of the most complicated parts of character creation. Not only was it prone to error, but it also meant that creating high-level NPCs could take up to an hour. Eliminating skill points allowed us to streamline character creation and keep skill bonuses consistent with what most players were accustomed to.

So, what does it mean to be trained? When you're trained in a skill, you can perform any of the "Trained Only" uses found in many skills. While some entire skills were "trained only" in the previous version of the game, now only certain uses of the skills require training. Moreover, being trained in a skill provides you with a flat bonus that, when combined with a bonus based on your class level and your ability score modifier, determines your final skill modifier. Essentially, being trained in a skill means that you can do things that other characters of the same level might not be able to do, bumping you up to the next tier of skill DCs.

The formula for determining a character's skill bonus is as follows:

1/2 character level + relevant ability modifier + 5 (if trained) + 5 (if Skill Focus)

One advantage of this system is that characters who aren't trained in a skill can still use it in some cases. Since part of your skill bonus is based on your level and ability modifier, as you advance in levels, you essentially gain "free" bonuses to skills you aren't trained in. Thus, you become able to do simple things that previously were available only to those trained in the skill.

For example, a 1st-level character trained in the Use Computer skill can slice computers, open doors, and reprogram droids right out of the gate. But imagine that later in the campaign, when the hero is at 10th level, he becomes disabled during a battle just as his fellow heroes need to hot-wire a door. Another character who is not trained in Use Computer can try to open the door. Her success depends on how well she rolls, but at least the group isn't completely stymied. Essentially, lower-level challenges can be attempted by any higher-level hero, even if the character is untrained in the needed skill.
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Post by Zilvryn » Thu Oct 11, 2007 6:32 pm

Man, when's the Campaign Setting book coming out? It's a tad exciting this..
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Post by Astriya » Sat Jan 19, 2008 6:27 pm

I picked up my copy of The Grand History today. I have to say that the recent events have left me feeling a bit perturbed. I find is unrealistic based on the past history that Tyr would kill Helm based on rumor. If Helm was given the duty to escort Tymora that is exactly what he would do. Not only is he devoted to his duty but he is a deity and particular traits are overemphasized within deities to the point that they cannot deviate. I understand the desire to reduce the pantheon but doing so in a way that does not make sense leaves the fans feeling a bit cheated.

I have a personal dislike for the events that take place because my two favorite FR deities are Helm and Tempus. So, here's to hoping that Forgotten Kingdoms remains within the glory days of the realm.

On a side note....

This book is fantastic and I am very happy that they came out with it. It is exactly what I needed to add to my FR library.
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Post by Orplar » Sat Jan 19, 2008 6:50 pm

*cough*
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Post by Horace » Sat Jan 19, 2008 7:45 pm

Yeah Astriya, it doesn't really make sense...but it's just following along the lines of older real life polytheistic pantheons. Where we monotheistic folk are so quick to assume immutability and infallibility among certain paradigms, polytheistic gods generally have more human (read imperfect) characteristics, at least way more so than the abrahamic god. And while they may champion one thing, they can be coerced into doing something against their nature just like a human can.

Tons and tons of stories about gods doing dumb stuff because of seductions of this and that. Ao's boss is the only infallible one - and that's only because he is heavily suggested to be the dungeon master ;)
Last edited by Horace on Sat Jan 19, 2008 8:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Dalvyn » Sat Jan 19, 2008 8:14 pm

Horace wrote:Yeah Astriya, it doesn't really make sense...but it's just following along the lines of older real life polytheistic pantheons. Where we monotheistic folk are so quick to assume immutability and infallibility among certain paradigms, polytheistic gods generally have more human (read imperfect) characteristics, at least way more so than the abrahamic god. And while they may champion one thing, they can be coerced into doing something against their nature just like a human can.

Tons and tons of stories about gods doing dumb stuff because of seductions of this and that. Ao is the only infallible one - and that's only because Ao is heavily suggested to be the dungeon master ;)
Just because it has been done in the real world pantheons does not mean that it fits the FR pantheon. Yes, both the Greek pantheon and the FR pantheon are polytheistic, but that does not mean that such nonsensical actions are justified.

They have already explored the "human weaknesses" of humans-made-gods in some novels, but never did they make FR deities act in such strong opposition against what they stand for. Sune, deity of love and passion, arranging a wedding? Tyr, god of Justice, killing Helm without seeking to find what happened really?

Yes, this kind of events can and did happen in old pantheons where deities were just "evolved mortals" with passions, envies, jalousy, and so on. But here, we're talking about (for most) creatures embodying ideals and ethos. Those events definitely have no place in the Forgotten Realms as I see them.
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Post by Horace » Sat Jan 19, 2008 8:33 pm

If that was the case, there would be no need for Ao's edicts.

The gods in faerun are bound by laws put onto them by a greater god, if they break the laws they are punished. These laws do not bind their actions. If they were bound by their nature, there would be no laws, or a need for Ao to intervene.

I'm not saying the story is great, or that they couldn't have done it a better way. I'm just saying that the faerun pantheon is modeled off the greek and norse pantheon...the gods are of the same mold. In the forgotten realms setting you can travel to their planes and talk to them, and in many cases the planes themselves are named after real life heavenly realms of existence. The god's do have physical bodies, and they do have their own motivations, and in plenty of cases they do act outside of Ao's laws and the expectations Ao puts onto them.

Especially with the addition of divine rank as a mechanic, the gods became much more human like - when more and more supplements were geared toward god war storylines.
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Post by Dalvyn » Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:27 pm

I disagree. The FR gods have never been described as petty as the Greek gods. For example, the stories of the Greek gods are full of gods sharing beds with mortals left and right and gods being jealous because of that. There's no such things in FR.

Sure, gods wage wars between them, because their ethos are opposed, or they represent opposed elements, but not just because of hating each others. Actually, I would think the hate is a consequence of the ethos's opposition rather than the contrary.

I definitely do not buy into the "suddently, the gods start acting like spoiled children" idea when nothing in the past history of FR even alludes to that.
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Post by Horace » Sat Jan 19, 2008 10:59 pm

I think it's more of "gods suddenly started acting human". Which I think they always have been portrayed as, much like in greek and norse traditions.

Mortals can and do become gods, they don't change in any way other than becoming more powerful, and they retain their human desires. They still eat and drink and enjoy themselves in whatever way they want to even though those things are outside their duties of being a god. They have lives outside of serving their faithful. All these things are in common with the popular norse and greek pantheons.

Yes the story still stinks, but the story is true to real life mythos soap operas. That part I like, and have always liked. I think we may be focusing on different things in the same material.

I know you hate Spelljammer, but much to my enjoyment it's still canon to FR since WotC never overwrote the suppliments TSR made which is riddled with SJ references along with 3 full books with forgotten realms logo - One for Faerun, one for Al-Qadim, and one for Kara-tur. Take a look sometime at the Spelljammer view on gods - Spelljammer is the key to finding out the reality of all the older settings. It's like White Wolf's Mage to the Old World of Darkness. Seeing the setting through the eyes of a race who has much more advanced magic and technology.
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Re: 4th Edition Forgotten Realms

Post by Kregor » Fri Apr 04, 2008 2:25 pm

dnd4.com wrote: Paladin.(Defender, Divine)
• Paladins have had their alignment restriction removed so you can have non lawful good paladins.
What is the freakin' point, then??
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