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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
 Posted - 26 Aug 2008 : 23:37:24
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WOTC released a new excerpt:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4ex/20080826a
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For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3563 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2008 : 00:56:15
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
WOTC released a new excerpt:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4ex/20080826a
Thank Coo-gee!
What is the race of the swordmage in the pic? A genasi of some type? |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2008 : 01:13:00
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HAHAHA.
And I have no idea. :) Only saw that the preview was up.
quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
Thank Coo-gee!
What is the race of the swordmage in the pic? A genasi of some type?
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For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2008 : 02:03:33
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first thing I asked myself as well, What is the race of the swordmage in the picture? cool picture, but difficult to place. I imagine a genesai as well.
I personally like the Swordmage class and plan on using it. It excerpt is just that. I will wait to see what the entire picture looks like with the published FRPG next month.
The novel caught my interest of this class first. adding some mechanics makes it fun. |
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Skeptic
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1273 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2008 : 03:04:22
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It's cool to see a arcane defender that is very different both from the fighter and the wizard. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2008 : 04:05:54
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Are there any normal looking people around post-Spellplague, or does everyone look "Kewl". 
And I thought the hairy, Dwarven Red Wizard was weird. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2008 : 05:04:27
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Are there any normal looking people around post-Spellplague, or does everyone look "Kewl".
And I thought the hairy, Dwarven Red Wizard was weird.
if I wanted normal, I would just walk outside...
I think we all commonly dig the realms at least in one aspect, and that is to use our imaginations. We are not playing modern (is that even the name for it)?
So, in my best teenage girl imatation, I like KEWL.
Edit: I used the wrong imatation. I looked it up, should have sounded more like my son and his buddies riding skateboards in the driveway
[b]kewl 1[b] sound cool awesome kool sweet rad great nice amazing wicked awsome neat hot dope lame good tight wow uncool stupid radical sick fun crazy |
Edited by - scererar on 27 Aug 2008 05:09:02 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2008 : 06:30:58
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Are there any normal looking people around post-Spellplague, or does everyone look "Kewl".
And I thought the hairy, Dwarven Red Wizard was weird.
Didn't you know that one of the 4E stats was kewl points? It replaced Charisma.   |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Daviot
Senior Scribe
USA
372 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2008 : 08:06:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Didn't you know that one of the 4E stats was kewl points? It replaced Charisma.
And to be sure, Swordmages and Warlocks run on kewl points.
And I almost missed the fact that Experience Points were phased out by (Totally) Radical Points (RP). |
One usually has far more to fear from the soft-spoken wizard with a blade and well-worn boots than from the boisterous one in the ivory tower.
My Tabletop Writing CV. |
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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2008 : 08:37:28
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| Why don't they just call these guys Shadow Raiders and be done with it? this shate pushes the envelope of good old medieval fantasy as far as anyone has pushed it before... |
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Snotlord
Senior Scribe
Norway
476 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2008 : 10:53:19
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| It could be stoneskin and bad hair. |
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Pandora
Learned Scribe
Germany
305 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2008 : 11:35:00
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quote:
Originally posted by scererar
if I wanted normal, I would just walk outside...
If everything is "special" it becomes "normal" (and thus boring and requiring more extreme "special stuff" to be special). This is the part where games will - over time - become really ridiculous IMO. This ridiculousness is easily demonstrated by THIS ...
On the topic of the class (well not really):
I noticed you need a proficiency to wear cloth in 4e ... |
If you cant say what youre meaning,
you can never mean what youre saying.
- Centauri Minister of Intelligence, Babylon 5 |
Edited by - Pandora on 27 Aug 2008 11:36:39 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2008 : 14:31:32
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quote:
Originally posted by Pandora
On the topic of the class (well not really):
I noticed you need a proficiency to wear cloth in 4e ...
It takes years of special training and skills to be able to dress yourself. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Christopher_Rowe
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
879 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2008 : 15:00:07
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quote:
Originally posted by Purple Dragon Knight
Why don't they just call these guys Shadow Raiders and be done with it? this shate pushes the envelope of good old medieval fantasy as far as anyone has pushed it before...
Well, to be fair, Dungeons and Dragons in general and the Realms in particular have never been particularly "medieval" in their published incarnations (I'm sure there are thousands of medieval-flavored campaigns, though). The Realms are liberally spiced with elements from throughout human history, aren't they?
Besides, even if we do confine ourselves to viewing the Realms through lenses labeled "Western" and "medieval" (lenses that must themselves be ground "white" and "male" almost by necessity), well, even thus confined, there are some pretty odd things to be found in medieval histories and anthropological studies. Human expression has historically always found extremes--from body modification to self-induced delusion. Why should the Realms be diffent? |
My Realms novel, Sandstorm, is now available for ordering. |
Edited by - Christopher_Rowe on 27 Aug 2008 15:03:18 |
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3563 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2008 : 16:19:18
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quote:
Originally posted by Christopher_Rowe
quote:
Originally posted by Purple Dragon Knight
Why don't they just call these guys Shadow Raiders and be done with it? this shate pushes the envelope of good old medieval fantasy as far as anyone has pushed it before...
Well, to be fair, Dungeons and Dragons in general and the Realms in particular have never been particularly "medieval" in their published incarnations (I'm sure there are thousands of medieval-flavored campaigns, though). The Realms are liberally spiced with elements from throughout human history, aren't they?
Besides, even if we do confine ourselves to viewing the Realms through lenses labeled "Western" and "medieval" (lenses that must themselves be ground "white" and "male" almost by necessity), well, even thus confined, there are some pretty odd things to be found in medieval histories and anthropological studies. Human expression has historically always found extremes--from body modification to self-induced delusion. Why should the Realms be diffent?
Thats why I loved the Old Realms, it wasn't the same as anything else.
Ahhh, well.....all things must pass. |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Christopher_Rowe
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
879 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2008 : 16:33:44
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quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
Thats why I loved the Old Realms, it wasn't the same as anything else.
Ahhh, well.....all things must pass.
Or, I'd say, it was and is the "same" as everything else. In the sense that the Realms have always worn their incredibly diverse influences and antecedents proudly and openly. |
My Realms novel, Sandstorm, is now available for ordering. |
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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2008 : 23:00:18
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Chris,
I get the feeling you're just trying to piss me off here. There's no way in Hell you can convince me that this bastard-looking thing even remotely has some shred of a Realmsmian feel to it. If you think so, I'm sorry, but you just haven't been in the Realms long enough to have an opinion about what feels like the Realms or not.
This things needs a ray gun and a spacesuit... not a MW potion belt.
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Christopher_Rowe
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
879 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2008 : 23:35:25
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quote:
Originally posted by Purple Dragon Knight
Chris,
I get the feeling you're just trying to piss me off here. There's no way in Hell you can convince me that this bastard-looking thing even remotely has some shred of a Realmsmian feel to it. If you think so, I'm sorry, but you just haven't been in the Realms long enough to have an opinion about what feels like the Realms or not.
This things needs a ray gun and a spacesuit... not a MW potion belt.
Eh, I'm not trying to make you (or anybody else) mad. Maybe the Realms are big enough for more than one aesthetic is all.
--Christopher (not "Chris")
"In the Realms" since 1986 |
My Realms novel, Sandstorm, is now available for ordering. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
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Ranak
Learned Scribe
USA
190 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2008 : 01:15:36
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Don't judge a book by its cover! I agree the cover of Swordmage is hardly Realmsian, but there was a pretty big change in art between all editions of DnD, 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd.
Nowhere in the text is anything so outlandish described. "His 9 foot tall black iron armor with superfluous spikes" never once appears in the actual prose, which reads pretty much like a Realms novel.
quote:
Originally posted by Purple Dragon Knight
Chris,
I get the feeling you're just trying to piss me off here. There's no way in Hell you can convince me that this bastard-looking thing even remotely has some shred of a Realmsmian feel to it. If you think so, I'm sorry, but you just haven't been in the Realms long enough to have an opinion about what feels like the Realms or not.
This things needs a ray gun and a spacesuit... not a MW potion belt.
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Brimstone
Great Reader
USA
3285 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2008 : 01:19:26
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
Let's keep it civil fellow scribes. 
-Thank you Sage.
BRIMSTONE  |
"These things also I have observed: that knowledge of our world is
to be nurtured like a precious flower, for it is the most precious
thing we have. Wherefore guard the word written and heed
words unwritten and set them down ere they fade . . . Learn
then, well, the arts of reading, writing, and listening true, and they
will lead you to the greatest art of all: understanding."
Alaundo of Candlekeep |
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Christopher_Rowe
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
879 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2008 : 01:37:25
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quote:
Originally posted by Ranak
Don't judge a book by its cover! I agree the cover of Swordmage is hardly Realmsian, but there was a pretty big change in art between all editions of DnD, 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd.
Nowhere in the text is anything so outlandish described. "His 9 foot tall black iron armor with superfluous spikes" never once appears in the actual prose, which reads pretty much like a Realms novel.
I've lent my copy to a player in my campaign whose character is from Hulberg, so I can't check who the artist was, but the cover art of Swordmage reminded me of Planescape. I wonder if it was someone who did some work on that setting.
Also, the critter on the cover is meant to be the King in Copper, the lich Aesperus, I think. Not the titular swordmage, Geran Hulmaster. That was my "read" of the cover anyway. |
My Realms novel, Sandstorm, is now available for ordering. |
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Ranak
Learned Scribe
USA
190 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2008 : 04:49:37
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The cover was by Raymond Swanland - and yes, I agree, it does look like some of the Planescape art. I knew it had a familiar feel to it!
quote:
Originally posted by Christopher_Rowe
quote:
Originally posted by Ranak
Don't judge a book by its cover! I agree the cover of Swordmage is hardly Realmsian, but there was a pretty big change in art between all editions of DnD, 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd.
Nowhere in the text is anything so outlandish described. "His 9 foot tall black iron armor with superfluous spikes" never once appears in the actual prose, which reads pretty much like a Realms novel.
I've lent my copy to a player in my campaign whose character is from Hulberg, so I can't check who the artist was, but the cover art of Swordmage reminded me of Planescape. I wonder if it was someone who did some work on that setting.
Also, the critter on the cover is meant to be the King in Copper, the lich Aesperus, I think. Not the titular swordmage, Geran Hulmaster. That was my "read" of the cover anyway.
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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2008 : 05:27:34
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quote:
Originally posted by Christopher_Rowe
quote:
Originally posted by Purple Dragon Knight
Chris,
I get the feeling you're just trying to piss me off here. There's no way in Hell you can convince me that this bastard-looking thing even remotely has some shred of a Realmsmian feel to it. If you think so, I'm sorry, but you just haven't been in the Realms long enough to have an opinion about what feels like the Realms or not.
This things needs a ray gun and a spacesuit... not a MW potion belt.
Eh, I'm not trying to make you (or anybody else) mad. Maybe the Realms are big enough for more than one aesthetic is all.
--Christopher (not "Chris")
"In the Realms" since 1986
--Christopher (not "Chris")
"Probably playing xephs, drow, kobolds, genasi, minotaurs and other things annoying to DMs In the Realms" since 1986
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
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Kyrene
Senior Scribe
South Africa
728 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2008 : 07:44:00
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quote:
Originally posted by Ranak
The cover was by Raymond Swanland - and yes, I agree, it does look like some of the Planescape art. I knew it had a familiar feel to it!
He's done a lot of work for recent covers. I know a lot of people don't like his art, but I quite do.
A quick "swanland site:o-love.net" search on Google, netted me this. |
Lost for words? Find them in the Glossary of Phrases, Sayings & Words of the Realms
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Christopher_Rowe
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
879 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2008 : 14:04:35
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quote:
Originally posted by Kyrene
quote:
Originally posted by Ranak
The cover was by Raymond Swanland - and yes, I agree, it does look like some of the Planescape art. I knew it had a familiar feel to it!
He's done a lot of work for recent covers. I know a lot of people don't like his art, but I quite do.
A quick "swanland site:o-love.net" search on Google, netted me this.
Ranak and Kyrene, thanks for the information. And wow, that cover gallery really pops. I like this guy's stuff.
I also see--I should have thought to check this--that I was misremembering the details, and that Geran Hulmaster is on the cover as well. Though the situation looks a little grim for him.
(Kyrene, I also like your .sig line. I'm hoping that'll be a wardrobe option to add to my "I am a sexy shoeless god of war!" t-shirt the next they add stuff to their shop.) |
My Realms novel, Sandstorm, is now available for ordering. |
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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2008 : 14:11:50
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quote:
Originally posted by Kyrene
quote:
Originally posted by Ranak
The cover was by Raymond Swanland - and yes, I agree, it does look like some of the Planescape art. I knew it had a familiar feel to it!
He's done a lot of work for recent covers. I know a lot of people don't like his art, but I quite do.
A quick "swanland site:o-love.net" search on Google, netted me this.
excellent. I was thinking this cover more resembled Kemp's books and some of the other newer FR novels. |
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Swordmage
