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Realms Lore:How important is it?


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Poll: How close to official Forgotten Realms lore should mods try to be? (61 member(s) have cast votes)

How close to official Forgotten Realms lore should mods try to be?

  1. Add what you want, as long as it's fun (11 votes [18.03%])

    Percentage of vote: 18.03%

  2. As close as a normal PnP campaign (12 votes [19.67%])

    Percentage of vote: 19.67%

  3. As close as BG1, BG2 and TOB (23 votes [37.70%])

    Percentage of vote: 37.70%

  4. As close as a Salvatore novel (1 votes [1.64%])

    Percentage of vote: 1.64%

  5. As close as possible (14 votes [22.95%])

    Percentage of vote: 22.95%

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#21 Zandilar

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Posted 04 August 2004 - 03:44 AM

Heya,

Not to mention Greyhawk is the "default" 3rd Edition world (the general 3E D&D handbooks refer to Greyhawk deities, etc), and consequently there are probably far more campaigns set in it than the Forgotten Realms.


I can't remember the last time I saw a map of Oerth. Which would seem to indicate that there are a lot of homebrewed worlds using the Greyhawk pantheon. :)

#22 Archmage Silver

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Posted 29 September 2004 - 07:45 AM

As long as the thing brought to the game has a good reason to be there, its okay.

#23 -Carnage-

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Posted 29 September 2004 - 07:57 AM

Some degree of lee-way has to be granted surely. If the yardstick of being correct to the point of an obsecure reference in "canon literature" or following a book series by an exact, pre-defined chronology is what's needed when modding, then count me out. Some mods like Deano's excellent FRV or Charlie's Check the Bodies would never have been made.

And an elf with a lamb obsession? I'd rather play that in BGII then read about it in a FR setting.

I also get the impression that conceptology is coming into play here. Baldur's Gate and its sequel had a sense of feeling right, even if some of the more obsecure references were fallible. When faced with compromising points that are of little or no importance to the end player, ie ~you~, I think it is entirely acceptable that the publishers went for the right "feel of the game, even at the expense of "attention to detail.

And you can never have too many Easter eggs..!

#24 Stone Wolf

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Posted 29 September 2004 - 08:27 AM

GMs typically have house rules, so a mod can have the same. The only problem is if the base game and the mod have different approaches, it feels like a different game. Sooo..., a little wiggle room, but not too much.

#25 Archmage Silver

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Posted 29 September 2004 - 08:33 AM

Yes, I would not accept Roger the Rabbit in BG II...

#26 Stone Wolf

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Posted 29 September 2004 - 10:42 AM

Really? He could be put into the group with the Chinchilla very easily. ;)

#27 -dorotea-

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Posted 29 September 2004 - 10:56 AM

I was told by one of the FR writers that Suldanessellar does appear in a 3rd Edition book.


I hope not... Since the only reason they would touch any elven settlement in 3rd ed would be to turn it into another charred ruin like Evereska or Evermeet. Sul is mentioned in the Lands of Intrigue 2nd ed btw -- as a tiny village with 20 ~ 80 elves population.

#28 NiGHTMARE

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Posted 29 September 2004 - 12:50 PM

The Lands of Intrigue entry in question:

Suldanessellar (Elven Forest City)

While there is a primary area where the tribes come together to aid each other and create an elven community, it is even more hidden than that of Talltrees. All of the elves of the forest call Suldanessellar home at one time or another now, but they are all citizens of the forest first, their families and clans second, and the settlement third.

Nestled around and above the Swanmay's Glade, the settlement's lowest dwellings are 50 feet above the ground, and the first bridges among the branches begin another 50 feet above that. There are only three entrances to the settlement above from the forest floor, and these tree-trunk secret-doors are well-hidden (-1 on all chances for all who are not SyTel?Quessir) and well-guarded (interior stairs up to low guard posts; stairs and posts defended by at least 8 F4 or R4 and 1 or more W4). Alarms are easily sounded among the elves to warn of intruders or approaching dangers, though to many outsiders, the alarm sounds like they disturbed a flock of birds.

The elves maintain constant patrols of 8-12 elf warriors (2nd level and up) against intruders for up to a 10-mile radius about the glade. They do not prevent animals or their allies (centaurs, satyrs, dryads, etc.) from approaching the glade, but no orc or goblinoid has set foot near this glade in six years. Between the patrols set by Korrigash and the roving bands of Foxfire to the west, few monsters have ventured near the elven lands, and none have successfully ended any lives but their own.

In all, Suldanessellar consists of over a dozen huge trees hollowed out for homes (or built-up huts attached to the trunk), and all are connected by branches or rope bridges. The settlement ranges from 50-300 feet above the forest floor, and if the fortunes of the Tethir elves increase, it may yet grow great.


Doesn't sound much like a tiny village to me (the "Elven Forest City" was my first clue :P) and if there are "constant patrols of 8-12 warriors" then they probably have more than just 20-80 citizens...

#29 Stone Wolf

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Posted 29 September 2004 - 02:06 PM

It does refer to S. as a settlement, so I don't imagine there are too many people there. Still, I think there's probably be around 80 people in the patrols alone, given the size they're covering.

#30 NiGHTMARE

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Posted 29 September 2004 - 02:37 PM

Well, if the homes cover 50-300ft of the threes then thats about 30 stories (bearing in mind elves are usually around 5ft tall). Obviously the homes won't be stacked right on top of each other, so lets say there's a gap of roughly 20 feet between each home. That equates to 10 homes per tree, and there are 12 trees. So that's 120 homes, and even if there's only 2 elves per home (and there are probably more) that's 240 :).