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I've read many, not all, but many posts suggesting varied rules, classes, tweaks, and insights for the Pathfinder RPG. Some are fine but most make me very uncomfortable when I consider the potential of Pathfinder. These shiver-my-spine suggestions usually start with referencing an existing book from a different publisher (WoTC, Iron Mountain, etc) and how Pathfinder RPG should do something similar. Folks, this is a chance for a unique RPG. I don't understand why the trend is to create a Pathfinder/4e/Iron Mountain/Eberron/<enter your source here> RPG. We are in a wonderful position with a publisher requesting and reading our suggestions for a new RPG. Why are we suggesting to create is mish-mash of every other campaign system out there? If Pathfinder RPG were to become a hodgepodge of varied sources the playability and shelf life of the campaign is numbered.
I would like to see an RPG that is complementary to the wonderful world of Golarion. I've read many of the Pathfinder Chronicles modules and supplements. Each Pathfinder adventure read is a pleasurable experience and not pages of room descriptions and combat statistics. While I'm reading I wonder how the Pathfinder RPG would work in the module. I am literally saddened when I consider the possibility of running Legacy of Fire using powers from 4e, points from Eberron, tweaked classes from WoTC builder books, and variant rules from Iron Mountain. I don't believe the staff at Paizo intended solicitation on how they can copy other publishers when they opened the new RPG for public comment. I would venture they hoped to receive critical feedback on what Jason wrote to improve the RPG and unique proposals to complement the campaign world.
I sincerely wish I struck a key with some and perhaps motivated many individuals, like myself, who read, moaned, and didn't provide any feedback. I hope my comments are well received, either supporting my opinion or otherwise. Looking into the future, after the Pathfinder RPG is released, I hope to see many of you at the tables enjoying a very unique and strong RPG. In game terms, standing together overlooking the horizon of the Inner Sea from the spires of Absalom, with our pouches filled, our chronicles published, and our adventuring careers with the Pathfinder Society looking bright.
Rene
I've read many, not all, but many posts suggesting varied rules, classes, tweaks, and insights for the Pathfinder RPG. Some are fine but most make me very uncomfortable when I consider the potential of Pathfinder. These shiver-my-spine suggestions usually start with referencing an existing book from a different publisher (WoTC, Iron Mountain, etc) and how Pathfinder RPG should do something similar. Folks, this is a chance for a unique RPG. I don't understand why the trend is to create a Pathfinder/4e/Iron Mountain/Eberron/<enter your source here> RPG. We are in a wonderful position with a publisher requesting and reading our suggestions for a new RPG. Why are we suggesting to create is mish-mash of every other campaign system out there? If Pathfinder RPG were to become a hodgepodge of varied sources the playability and shelf life of the campaign is numbered.
I would like to see an RPG that is complementary to the wonderful world of Golarion. I've read many of the Pathfinder Chronicles modules and supplements. Each Pathfinder adventure read is a pleasurable experience and not pages of room descriptions and combat statistics. While I'm reading I wonder how the Pathfinder RPG would work in the module. I am literally saddened when I consider the possibility of running Legacy of Fire using powers from 4e, points from Eberron, tweaked classes from WoTC builder books, and variant rules from Iron Mountain. I don't believe the staff at Paizo intended solicitation on how they can copy other publishers when they opened the new RPG for public comment. I would venture they hoped to receive critical feedback on what Jason wrote to improve the RPG and unique proposals to complement the campaign world.
I sincerely wish I struck a key with some and perhaps motivated many individuals, like myself, who read, moaned, and didn't provide any feedback. I hope my comments are well received, either supporting my opinion or otherwise. Looking into the future, after the Pathfinder RPG is released, I hope to see many of you at the...
While I agree that the Pathfinder RPG should center on Golarion as a default campaign world I also think they should strive to capture other fantasy iconics usable in any setting. I think that a lot of people will continue to play in their favorite setting, but update the rules to get a better and more streamlined gaming experience. Although I currently play in Golarion I have used the Pathfinder rules in a lot of different settings, and my players have been complaining about some of the older content not being up to par with the Pathfinders level of power and balance.
While I don't think that the Pathfinder team should blatantly rip off ideas from other companies I do believe that some iconic elements apart from the core should be given a Pathfinder treatment. This could include new and updated classes and prc's as well as feats, character options, skills etc. A lot of the things covered in the various splatbooks, but with a definite Pathfinder twist.
I am inseparable from Forgotten Realms (all pre 4e of course) and have my own Candlekeep library of purchased books about me right now as I type in my office. So I am one who will definitely apply Pathfinder outside of Golarion - good as I'm sure it is.
Welcome, new posters!
AFAIK, one of Paizo's goals is maintaining backwards compatibility with the rest of 3.X's SDR... for better AND worse.
The good news is that you can still use all of your old splatbooks with Pathfinder just fine (with minimal tweaks, but there's no Windows' syndrome), the bad news is that, in keeping themselves in line with a "core" system, IMHO they're forgoing the chance to grow beyond the boundaries and become all PF could be, and the other good news is that, if you don't like something from the game you can just use a substitute from the SDR instead and there's still plenty to love. =)
PF was never intended to be a completely new RPG.
PF was never intended to be a completely new RPG.
You nailed it. :)
Part of the appeal with Pathfinder for me is the fact that I can continue to play with all my old 3.5 books with little tweaking needed. To me Pathfinder is like a new and improved 3.5, a version 3.75 as has been stated many times.
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I am inseparable from Forgotten Realms (all pre 4e of course) and have my own Candlekeep library of purchased books about me right now as I type in my office. So I am one who will definitely apply Pathfinder outside of Golarion - good as I'm sure it is.
Don't people realize that 1e/2e/3.0/3.5/PF/4e are all independent of campaign worlds? Sure it helps when modules are released that stat favorite NPCs, but 70% of most campaign specific material is independent of the gaming system, the King of Cormyr is the same guy, and has the same attitudes, regardless of the underlying stats. Sure adventures are a little bit more throw away, but the world on the whole is the same. Can you play 4e in FR pre spellplauge, of course. Can you return to Dragonlance during the time period of the Wies and Hickman's Novels with the PF rules, of course. Its because most of these rules are combat oriented, the roll play part as it were, and the campaign settings are the role play part.
Its a shame when people assume they have to throw out all that material just because the rule systems don't match. I just wish I could find the box of 2e Planescape material I lost sometime during University.
While I agree that Pathfinder doesn't need to steal rules from other products verbatim, I would also say that Pathfinder shouldn't refuse to fix a glaring problem just because another product fixed the same problem in a similar way.
Ya, I think we can have a comfortable gap between "Running a Pathfinder World Campaign" and "Using the Pathfinder Ruleset." It always struck me that the rules revisions were designed not just to suit Golarion but also be of use for people who just want a good revision of 3.5. I don't think there needs to be... for lack of a better term... competition between people who are into the campaign setting and people who just want the rules to apply to their own whimsies.
I don't see expansion of the rules impinging upon the development of the already very rich setting in any way. That's good fluff/crunch design--they taste delicious together but are also lovely on their own (as well as mixed with other things besides).
(*tangentially, is suddenly hungry for a fluffer-nutter sandwich with a dash of chocolate syrup*)
Anyway, what I'm getting at is, as long as the setting material continues to come out (and I see every sign that it shall), you can use it and delight in it, never mind what some GM who lives somewhere across the internetz far from you is doing with it.
As for "borrowing" mechanics from other settings, if there's something that can be applied universally to the ruleset without violating someone else's IP, that's fine. Good rules is good rules, and the setting shouldn't matter in that particular case.
PF was never intended to be a completely new RPG.
Exactly.
Is it that you do not want it to drift too far from WotC 'core'?
PF isn't an unique new game. It's the true successor of D&D and strives to pick up where D&D 3e left off.
I agree that it shouldn't be turned into 4e, or Eberron, or WoD, but if they have good ideas, and it works well with D&D as we know it, and it fixes something D&D needs fixing in, then it should be considered.
I am inseparable from Forgotten Realms
I was like that until they butchered the Realms. I moved to Golarion and haven't looked back.
But PF the RPG still must stay as neutral as 3e was, since that's one of D&D's big appeals.
PF isn't an unique new game. It's the true successor of D&D and strives to pick up where D&D 3e left off.
I agree that it shouldn't be turned into 4e, or Eberron, or WoD, but if they have good ideas, and it works well with D&D as we know it, and it fixes something D&D needs fixing in, then it should be considered.
I am inseparable from Forgotten RealmsI was like that until they butchered the Realms. I moved to Golarion and haven't looked back.
But PF the RPG still must stay as neutral as 3e was, since that's one of D&D's big appeals.
Ahh thats the beauty of bein' the DM - there's no 4e spellplague for me. The current year in my setting DR 1376, and I have enough 3e and 2e material to last me the rest of my life or even longer. I wonder if I'll be DMing when I'm 80. Hmmm...what's that in elf years about 1500?
Ahh thats the beauty of bein' the DM - there's no 4e spellplague for me.
Yeah, but once "my" Realms lost all official support, they lost a lot of their appeal. I liked how things happened in the Realms even without me running campaigns in every part of it or thinking up developments for other places. But now that's gone, unless I want to play soap opera or read about that crap.
So for me, the Forgotten Realms are now aptly named. All hail Golarion, new King of Campaigns!
Besides, if you can play in a world where one god had his apotheosis while he was dead drunk, why would you play somewhere else? ;-)
I wonder if I'll be DMing when I'm 80. Hmmm...what's that in elf years about 1500?
Depends on the elf, but for general D&D (not 4e) elves I'd say it's more like 600 - ripe age, but not quite the top of what's commonly possible.
When Wotc decided to kill the Realms to fit with their 4th edition vision,, I almost quit D&D altogether. I had been playing the Realms since the old gray box and to me it was almost like losing a good friend. Then I discovered Golarion and my interest in D&D once again sparkled to life. Now I'm not going back, Golarion IS the new realms for me.
When Wotc decided to kill the Realms to fit with their 4th edition vision,, I almost quit D&D altogether.
Well, I did quit WotC and everything that has written "D&D" on it altogether. Didn't quit D&D though. I just saw that it's now called "Pathfinder".
Yeah, but once "my" Realms lost all official support, they lost a lot of their appeal.
Clearly others think differently.
I'm sticking with my long-running FR game, too. MOre campaign worlds added to an already huge number of settings (most forgotten and ignored) = meh. I've already long since chosen my setting. My players are less than interested in spending years re-learning about a new setting when they haven't explored a fraction of the setting they currently enjoy the most.
It is imperative Pathfinder not tie itself too closely with Golarion.
When Wotc decided to kill the Realms to fit with their 4th edition vision,, I almost quit D&D altogether. I had been playing the Realms since the old gray box and to me it was almost like losing a good friend. Then I discovered Golarion and my interest in D&D once again sparkled to life. Now I'm not going back, Golarion IS the new realms for me.
'Yeah a stab at the heart for me too - like killing my younger memories. I have to admit I am intrigued by Golarion now with all the high regard from such sophisticated collegues. I suppose I could build a portal in FR...
Hmmm where might be a good place for a level 9 PF party-o-six to pop into Golarion at? Ie. where to build the other end of the portal? Oh and you all can use my portal once I finish it in case you want to see the High Forest and Faerun again.
Clearly others think differently.
Nah, impossible. I'm always right after all.
I'm sticking with my long-running FR game, too.
We finished our campaigns, too, but generally don't start up new ones. The fact that I'm the main GM and I use Pathfinder doesn't help the Realms there, either
MOre campaign worlds added to an already huge number of settings (most forgotten and ignored) = meh.
Yeah, but a kickass campaign world created and supported by a crew of kickass designers and writers and whatnot = woohoo!
I've already long since chosen my setting. My players are less than interested in spending years re-learning about a new setting when they haven't explored a fraction of the setting they currently enjoy the most.
I thought so, too. For my general fantasy D&D needs, there were the Realms, and nothing else.
But after wizards made it clear that they don't want my money, I got a new world. It's that I enjoy reading new books, and there will be no more books for the FR (at least for what I call FR. The crap wizards is selling doesn't qualify).
So I decided to give my money to a company that is more than happy to take it and very prepared to make me feel welcome.
And since I was pretty much the only one who knew more than a bit about the Realms, anyway, it isn't such a bad thing to get used to a new setting. After all, we're all still young and adaptable, and the information about Golarion is offered in nice bite-sized chunks.
It is imperative Pathfinder not tie itself too closely with Golarion.
No. It is imperative that Pathfinder (RPG) doesn't tie itself at all to Golarion. Rules that are fused to the settings (or vice versa) can be nice, but they cannot be D&D.
I don't want to read a story in a couple of years that tells how Mhar broke loose and killed everyone with a supernatural ancestry just because Paizo decided that PF 2e won't contain sorcerers any more.
But I'm fairly confident that nothing of that sort will happen with Golarion.
Hmmm where might be a good place for a level 9 PF party-o-six to pop into Golarion at?
Basically, any place at all. It's all good. But more precisely, it depends on what kind of game you want to run.
Want urban intrigue? Let them arrive knee-deep in water, surrounded by sagging buildings, only to realise that they are actually in the biggest city of the world. (I.e. the Puddles in Absalom, City at the Centre of the World).
Want action in a wild, untamed wilderness frontier region? Set up the portal so they arrive looking at the ruins of an immense bridge that is hundreds of feet high, and hundreds of feet wide. (I.e. the Irespan in Magnimar, City of Monuments, in Varisia)
And so on, and so forth. Golarion hasn't been described as "The best of all possible worlds" for no reason: It supports a very wide range of possible play styles.
Tell me what your players enjoy and we'll give you a couple of pointers.
When Wotc decided to kill the Realms to fit with their 4th edition vision,, I almost quit D&D altogether.
Never been a big fan of FR myself, to me it was the DB-Z of DnD settings... but what they did to the setting on 4E IMHO was more of a "spite kill" than an adaptation... so conveniently killing all the FR iconics because the people that wrote for them left them. It's like a player that fights with his GM and leaves the gaming table, then the GM kills or maims his now-vacant character in the worst possible way out of spite.
The only thing I'd still take from DnD, however, is Bahamut... it sounds just wrong somehow using Tiamat but not Bahamut, it's like a Tremere player getting acquainted with the new WoD and hearing from the ST "Ha! They brought back every other clan -but yours-!"
Since Bahamut belongs to mythology and not WotC, help yourself, Dogbert. You can even make rude gestures while doing so, if it amuses you.
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When Wotc decided to kill the Realms to fit with their 4th edition vision,, I almost quit D&D altogether.Never been a big fan of FR myself, to me it was the DB-Z of DnD settings... but what they did to the setting on 4E IMHO was more of a "spite kill" than an adaptation... so conveniently killing all the FR iconics because the people that wrote for them left them. It's like a player that fights with his GM and leaves the gaming table, then the GM kills or maims his now-vacant character in the worst possible way out of spite.
I don't like some of the changes in 4E, but I do understand why they made some of them. The easiest change they made was they moved the campaign setting forward 100 years, and why? Well the realms was getting crowded. Every rock you overturned had 12 heroes under it, half of which had such epic exploits that their tales are told in our world (aka WOTC wrote a novel about them.) Within that framework it became harder and harder to suspend disbelief that the Harpers/Elimster or any of the hojillion other key characters would need other adventures to save the realms, when all they needed to do was lift a pinky.
I mean the hero density was already so high in 2e that they published a book that just detailed the heroes of the realm, 2-3 page spread each.
So bump the campaign forward 100 years and boom that clears things up a little.
Now, kill half the gods, release magic plague, and drop a planet(Abier) on Toril, that's just overkill, Dragonlance Cataclysm style.
When Wotc decided to kill the Realms to fit with their 4th edition vision,, I almost quit D&D altogether.Never been a big fan of FR myself, to me it was the DB-Z of DnD settings... but what they did to the setting on 4E IMHO was more of a "spite kill" than an adaptation... so conveniently killing all the FR iconics because the people that wrote for them left them. It's like a player that fights with his GM and leaves the gaming table, then the GM kills or maims his now-vacant character in the worst possible way out of spite.I don't like some of the changes in 4E, but I do understand why they made some of them. The easiest change they made was they moved the campaign setting forward 100 years, and why? Well the realms was getting crowded. Every rock you overturned had 12 heroes under it, half of which had such epic exploits that their tales are told in our world (aka WOTC wrote a novel about them.) Within that framework it became harder and harder to suspend disbelief that the Harpers/Elimster or any of the hojillion other key characters would need other adventures to save the realms, when all they needed to do was lift a pinky.
I mean the hero density was already so high in 2e that they published a book that just detailed the heroes of the realm, 2-3 page spread each.
So bump the campaign forward 100 years and boom that clears things up a little.
Now, kill half the gods, release magic plague, and drop a planet(Abier) on Toril, that's just overkill, Dragonlance Cataclysm style.
Well Realms was a big place, and most of the heroes from the novels were low-mid level. Throughout all the years I played in the realms it never once occurred to me or my players that someone else should be doing their job. The realms were big enough for all of them IMO.
But I agree about the overkill statement, I'm sure they could have handled it in a better way.
Did anyone ever liked any campaign setting timeline advancement?
I miss my realms... :(
Did WotC-gestapo come to your home and wrecked your apartment to get the now illegal and subversive 2nd and 3rd Ed books from you?
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Did anyone ever liked any campaign setting timeline advancement?
I miss my realms... :(Did WotC-gestapo come to your home and wrecked your apartment to get the now illegal and subversive 2nd and 3rd Ed books from you?
How did you know! I've never been so annoyed by so many nerds except for when I saw a street fight between Mac and PC users.
it's like a Tremere player getting acquainted with the new WoD and hearing from the ST "Ha! They brought back every other clan -but yours-!"
He got mad and sucked out everyone's sould to fuel his magic, right? That was how the new tremere liches work, wasn't it?
I don't like some of the changes in 4E, but I do understand why they made some of them. The easiest change they made was they moved the campaign setting forward 100 years, and why? Well the realms was getting crowded.
Some people like it that way. And a lot of those some people were long-time and loyal fans. And they god a kick right in the nadgers, being sold out for a WoW-happy Yu-Gi-Oh crowd who'll probably stick to Yu-Gi-Oh and WoW, anyway.
Plus, what do you mean with crowded? Let's say there were 600 named character in there. That's one named bugger for every 10.000 you never hear about.
So bump the campaign forward 100 years and boom that clears things up a little.
And closes too many doors.
They wanted to eat thair cake and have it, too. Seems they wanted to cash in on customer loyalty and brand recognition but at the same time draw a crowd that didn't like their old stuff. Does not work. They should either have stayed the course or grow a pair and do a new world without the baggage of the old.
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How did you know! I've never been so annoyed by so many nerds except for when I saw a street fight between Mac and PC users.We have two mouse buttons!
Freeeedoooooooooooom!
*dies*
Instead of snapping their fingers and using switch blades like in west side story they clicked wireless mice and hurled sharpened AOL cds.
@KaeYoss
Honestly, I was thinking about Eberron and realized what an almost brilliant idea it was to create a new campaign setting using a gamers perspective as the basis but then creating something that everyone should be able to pick up.
Too bad it didn't work. I disliked as much about Eberron as I liked...
Did anyone ever liked any campaign setting timeline advancement?
I miss my realms... :(Did WotC-gestapo come to your home and wrecked your apartment to get the now illegal and subversive 2nd and 3rd Ed books from you?
Yeah black armbands with WOTC on them...then of course that vacuous content look. Or would they look like Red Wizards of Thay? I have a longsword on my wall just for such an event! Yeah they're definitely LE.
You know WOTC could fix all this and make more profit. Here is all they need to do: Release a new Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game. They could use a fixed up version of 3.5 (hmmm like our beloved PF). I bet many people who left them would flock back because 1) wotc would kinda be admitting they were wrong - at least profitwise, 2) 3.5 based rules, and 3) the name. Thus, we could play AD&D again. They could keep that crummy 4e and call it Basic D&D and let the orcs play it (no offense to you one-tusks out there). Then they could release more 4e books ($) and call it Expert D&D. Sound familiar?
I dont know how they can fix the realms though at this point, but like many have pointed out it doesn't matter as we have the 2e and 3e FR material and Golarion.
At this point, even such an extreme turn-around wouldn't change my spending one little bit. I'm happier giving my money to the golem.
Basically, any place at all. It's all good. But more precisely, it depends on what kind of game you want to run.
Want urban intrigue? Let them arrive knee-deep in water, surrounded by sagging buildings, only to realise that they are actually in the biggest city of the world. (I.e. the Puddles in Absalom, City at the Centre of the World).
Want action in a wild, untamed wilderness frontier region? Set up the portal so they arrive looking at the ruins of an immense bridge that is hundreds of feet high, and hundreds of feet wide. (I.e. the Irespan in Magnimar, City of Monuments, in Varisia)
And so on, and so forth. Golarion hasn't been described as "The best of all possible worlds" for no reason: It supports a very wide range of possible play styles.
Tell me what your players enjoy and we'll give you a couple of pointers.
Well, I'm thinking of perhaps when they are lvl 9 coming to Golarion, however, I will have to weave that into the plot somehow; they're currently lvl 7. I've already got a few modules ahead of such an endeavor: CC#40 Devil in the Mists and then S2 Tomb of Horrors 3.5 version - both of which I am locating in FR of course. As for what kind of adventure....hmmm not urban..definitely prefer the dungeon crawl. There's a lot of anti-goblin sentiment in the party after the recent journey through Chult jungle, so are there some really nasty high level gobs somewhere? No volcanos... already had enough of that with White Plume mtn. How about an underwater city - got anything like old Seros? After a Golarion adventure I have the old G1-2-3 giants modules planned - after I convert them that is.
definitely prefer the dungeon crawl.
This is a D&D campaign setting, meaning that you can find dungeons everywhere!
Especially if you have a little less narrow definition of dungeon.
There's a lot of anti-goblin sentiment in the party after the recent journey through Chult jungle, so are there some really nasty high level gobs somewhere?
High-level goblins? Not really. They're goblins, after all. But you can always have some high-level goblins.
Burnt offerings, the first adventure in the first adventure path, is about goblins. It takes place in western Varisia. They have lots of goblins in that region.
Generally though, goblins can be found more or less everywhere. Mostly they'll be goblins, though hobgoblins (millitaristic, larger goblins, fond of slavery) will also be around. And there will be the occasional bugbear (loners and living on their victims' fear).
For more about the awesome goblins, and hobgoblins, and bugbears (and 7 other classic monsters), see Classic Monsters Revisited. great book with tons of new ideas for goblins, kobolds, ogres, minotaurs, lizardfolk, and so on.
How about an underwater city
There's alwas a chance of submerged ruins in the Arcadian ocean, in the place where the continent of Azland used to be (before the Earthfall - an aboleth-induced meteor strike - sank the whole continent).
There's also a a bunch of nations that have been partially submerged ever since the Eye of Abendego (a huge, permanent and stational tornado off the coast of Garund) formed about 100 years ago.
And finally, there are a number of submarine races, of course. You get your sea elves, sahuagin, tritons, the works. And also Gillmen, which are descendants of the old Azlanti.
I have the old G1-2-3 giants modules planned - after I convert them that is.
Rise of the Runelords has a majore Giant theme. It starts with ogres in part three, continues with stone giants in part four (Fortress of the Stone Giants - it has been described as a stone giant version of the old Against The Giants modules), and finishes in part 6 with real giants - with that I mean giants that deserve to be called giant. None of this large or huge nonsense...
Rise of the Runelords has a majore Giant theme. It starts with ogres in part three, continues with stone giants in...
Hey that sounds good, a modern giant module without me spending the time to convert. Then again I can always located G1 in Golarion. 'So many choices and only 4 decades of life left max.
I think a major part of the appeal is that PF-RPG is backwards compatible, 3.75 D&D.
Me and my buddies started playing D&D again, been playing our old familiar 2E, to see if we were going to play enough.
We've been playing a lot so I decided to upgrade to slightly newer D&D that would confuse the less-D&D-saavy folks less.
I wanted to run some War of the Lance era Dragonlance in a newer system. 3.5 is out of print and books are now going for orig. MSRP or higher on ebay/Amazon. 3.0 is cheap but apparently has some issues. Or there was Pathfinder which should play nice with Dragonlance. And apparently no Dragonlance for 4E any time soon. Besides, some of the 4E stuff like Healing Surges, makes absolutely no sense in Krynn.
Besides, some of the 4E stuff like Healing Surges, makes absolutely no sense in Krynn.
Oh, never fear: Should they do a Dragonlance 4e, they'll torture and butcher the setting until it works perfectly with 4e. Might be against everything we learned about world-building (rule one: Make the rules work with the setting, not vice versa), but hey, who needs long-time, loyal customers?
Well the realms was getting crowded. Every rock you overturned had 12 heroes under it, half of which had such epic exploits that their tales are told in our world (aka WOTC wrote a novel about them.)
...and actually that was the setting's premise: Epic heroes under every rock, magic item malls in every corner, pamphlets in the streets with the Lich' formula, and every iconic having exactly 36 levels (except for Elminster, who had a level aproaching Avogadro's number, what with the decree of him must having 3-6 levels of every other class contained in every other book published under the DnD license). Yeah it may sound silly, it may sound muchkin (or muchking even), but still, that was the setting's premise, and they changed it on a move I can only call whimsical (and I still say was motivated out of spite). Furthermore, for over two decades Forgotten Realms was the fat cow of DnD, their most widely-adored setting, such way of destroying the premise was the most crystal-clear way of telling all their previous market "Don't let the door hit you on your way out".
Furthermore, for over two decades Forgotten Realms was the fat cow of DnD, their most widely-adored setting, such way of destroying the premise was the most crystal-clear way of telling all their previous market "Don't let the door hit you on your way out".
Someone suggested earlier that they'll sell off the D&D line soon, perhaps to a real fan - we can only hope. Based on the shameful quality of the 4e core books, it sounds like they're getting ready to dump it. The deluxe versions didn't event have leather covers - hmmmph. Now I did find the 3.5 MM deluxe leather version for $30 bucks american which I quickly purchased as my original 3.5 MM was pretty beaten. Hey I know! The new owners of the license could have Elminster wake up from a bad dream. 'Tis a cheap way to solve a plot problem, but I'll take it!
This is teh interwebs! Take whatevery you want. For every fan, there are two haters.
Did WotC-gestapo come to your home and wrecked your apartment to get the now illegal and subversive 2nd and 3rd Ed books from you?
They came and took all my D&D to Hero conversion notes…the jerks.
Beg, borrow, mutate, steal, thieve, burgle and almost-infringe on ANYTHING that is Open License FTW.
YMMV :P