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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
 Posted - 26 Apr 2021 : 01:11:16
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Would you run/play in the Realms with a system other than D&D? Is the system so interlinked with the setting that it cannot be done?
Which system would/have you use? Any unexpected systems that jives better with the setting's lore than D&D?
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HighOne
Learned Scribe
214 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2021 : 01:35:05
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I was considering it just the other day. If I did, it would be with an OSR system, or something similar. Mostly because I've now reached the grognard phase of my life and I need a way to filter the younguns out of my games -- running a non-5E system might be a good way to do that.
Maybe it's just me, but I'm getting tired of trying to play traditional fantasy in Faerun and having people show up to games with weird races and classes that don't exist in the Forgotten Realms (except in the sense that everything's connected through the multiverse, which is beside the point). The Forgotten Realms is the default setting at the moment, so people just assume that anything published by Wizards of the Coast is welcome at the table. Sigh... |
Edited by - HighOne on 26 Apr 2021 02:04:07 |
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Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3736 Posts |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4427 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2021 : 02:38:46
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It's been done with a variety of systems other that Dungeons and Dragons, I think the most common being Pathfinder 1st and probably Pathfinder 2nd Edition. Now, granted I believe that's a bit of cheating (especially for PF1) since they're both based off the D20 model and how close it resembles certain editions of D&D. PF2 is further removed, but I feel that's still in the same wheelhouse.
For me, I've done the Realms with 13th Age, a non-D&D system that I absolutely LOVE as both system resources and setting aspects, plus the system's mechanics speak to my enjoyment of games like 4th Edition. Other systems that quickly come to mind are the HERO system, but I kind of detest really complicated (in terms of quickly adding/applying and absorbing the systems mechanics), so something like that irks me. There's also GURPS, which could easily work for a setting like the Forgotten Realms. I'd have to check with this more often because it seems sound enough.
quote:
Originally posted by HighOne
Maybe it's just me, but I'm getting tired of trying to play traditional fantasy in Faerun and having people show up to games with weird races and classes that don't exist in the Forgotten Realms (except in the sense that everything's connected through the multiverse, which is beside the point). The Forgotten Realms is the default setting at the moment, so people just assume that anything published by Wizards of the Coast is welcome at the table. Sigh...
This is why boundaries and Session Zero are so important to today's games, regardless of edition or system used. In any campaign I set out to run, I set a baseline of acceptance for all things common or expected in the game. If I'm running a Forgotten Realms game using 5e, I'm letting players know that SOME options just aren't available in this game. I don't use Dragonmarks or Deities from Eberron in my games, or Kalashtar either. I'll allow Warforged, Artificers, Shifters, and Changelings since those base elements are also prevalent in the Realms and lore is easily obtained.
I also make sure certain restrictions are in place like Bladesingers are elves and half-elves. No exceptions. Battleragers are Dwarves. No exceptions. No one is playing races (and in some aspects, classes) that don't fit the genre of the setting. Luckily, the Realms is pretty vast in terms of diversity, so it's usually not hard to OK most concepts. I can't think of anything that's totally off-the wall in the current system that really puts a kink in that? Even Loxodon from Ravnica can be quickly "swapped" with the Loxo from the Shining South area. Same with Thri-Kreen. Cat-like People are prevalent in the Realms too with Wemics and I can't see why certain other ones like Leonin or Tabaxi don't make sense.
Even in 4E, where we had literally walking "Shards" of psionic energy, I could see that as some sort of psionic crystal or even an awakened Kiira (akak Lore Gem) becomes sentient and somehow finds a way to grow into something special? Odd, yes. Completely outside the realm of Possibility? nah.
I just don't get this notion of allowing everything under the sun and why some DM's don't just say "No."? |
Edited by - Diffan on 26 Apr 2021 02:39:43 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2021 : 02:47:56
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quote:
Originally posted by HighOne
I was considering it just the other day. If I did, it would be with an OSR system, or something similar. Mostly because I've now reached the grognard phase of my life and I need a way to filter the younguns out of my games -- running a non-5E system might be a good way to do that.
Maybe it's just me, but I'm getting tired of trying to play traditional fantasy in Faerun and having people show up to games with weird races and classes that don't exist in the Forgotten Realms (except in the sense that everything's connected through the multiverse, which is beside the point). The Forgotten Realms is the default setting at the moment, so people just assume that anything published by Wizards of the Coast is welcome at the table. Sigh...
I myself would limit available races to the FR-specific stuff, and even then, I might disallow certain things -- like drow. |
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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HighOne
Learned Scribe
214 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2021 : 04:27:40
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quote:
I can't think of anything that's totally off-the wall in the current system that really puts a kink in that? Even Loxodon from Ravnica can be quickly "swapped" with the Loxo from the Shining South area. Same with Thri-Kreen. Cat-like People are prevalent in the Realms too with Wemics and I can't see why certain other ones like Leonin or Tabaxi don't make sense.
I think part of the problem is that if the party's racial and class makeup doesn't represent the setting demographics in general, then the tone is radically different, even if all of the party's races and classes technically exist in the setting.
For example, a party consisting of a Thri-kreen, a Tabaxi, a Genasi, and a Dragonborn don't feel like a Forgotten Realms party, even if all of those races exist in the setting. Throw in an Artificer and some of the weirder subclasses from the non-core books and you're left with something that feels nothing like the Forgotten Realms.
That's why I think running a game in a completely different system, such as Adventures in Middle Earth, might result in a game that captures the Forgotten Realms feel better than the average 5E game, even though 5E was built to run games in FR and AiME was not. |
Edited by - HighOne on 26 Apr 2021 05:00:18 |
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keftiu
Senior Scribe
656 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2021 : 05:04:01
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quote:
Originally posted by HighOne
For example, a party consisting of a Thri-kreen, a Tabaxi, a Genasi, and a Dragonborn radically alters the tone and feel of the campaign, even if all of those races exist in the Forgotten Realms. Throw in an Artificer and some of the weirder subclasses from the non-core books and you're left with something that feels nothing like the Forgotten Realms.
The thri-kreen can canonically come from either the Hordelands or the Shaar, the genasi have an entire nation in Akanul, the dragonborn have an entire nation in Tymanther, and Tabaxi live in Chult; those nations are all in a straight line across the South (though Chult is admittedly a bit of a hike). The Imaskari were famed artificers, and if your campaign features the High Imaskari, they're actively sending out artificers adventuring, while the dwarven nation of East Rift features the largest faith of Gond remaining in post-Spellplague Faerun.
It's a party that makes perfect sense battling agents of the Abolethic Sovereignty, the necromancers of Thay, plaguechanged horrors and evil druids in the Vilhon Wilds, the yuan-ti cultists of Hlondeth, or a dozen other Realmsian sweeing stories.
This is all a mix of 3.5 and 4e lore. You might not play with it, but the oldest stuff there is over 20 years old, and the most recent is from 13 years back; it's been the Realms plenty long to enough people. |
4e fangirl. Here to queer up the Realms. |
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keftiu
Senior Scribe
656 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2021 : 05:11:35
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Back on topic: high school me had the time of my life running Eberron campaigns in FATE Core, and I think that kind of character-focused ruleset really lets characters with deep hooks into the lore shine. Invoking your "Harper On The Run" Aspect to declare that you have a hidden contact in this city feels really, really satisfying, compared to the more rigid structure of a d20 game.
13th Age excels at heroic fantasy and d20 combat that doesn't make me want to curl into a little ball. Pathfinder 2e feels like a second swing at a true sequel to 3.5 with more modern design influences and it mostly sticks the landing, and has the added bonus of a setting that has a lot of fun stuff to steal (also: black powder firearms, coming in September). Some heavy reskinning could make the upcoming Stonetop work exceptionally well, though part of me suspects I'm the only PbtA fan on these forums. Blades in the Dark would work with minimal reskinning for a game in 4e-era Impiltur, a pitch I almost made happen once, and also formed the bones of an ill-fated game of Harpers in 4e-era Sembia I was going to run; the FitD engine also powers Blades Against Darkness, a solid game about weird fantasy dungeon delvers, and Band of Blades, a grim military fantasy about an army in a fighting retreat from an undead horde. I've recently fallen in love with the Itch.io "24XX" movement (3-page microgames that all share the same core mechanics of 2400), which has the excellent 1400 line of high fantasy games in the classic Realmsian mold (with an excellent bootleg Planescape supplement). |
4e fangirl. Here to queer up the Realms. |
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Zeromaru X
Great Reader
Colombia
2442 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2021 : 05:20:05
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| I don't have played FR with another systems myself, but I've seen people playing it with 13th Age rules. It seem fitting to me, as 13th Age is a fusion of 3.x and 4e. |
Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world... |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2021 : 05:57:47
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quote:
Originally posted by keftiu
quote:
Originally posted by HighOne
For example, a party consisting of a Thri-kreen, a Tabaxi, a Genasi, and a Dragonborn radically alters the tone and feel of the campaign, even if all of those races exist in the Forgotten Realms. Throw in an Artificer and some of the weirder subclasses from the non-core books and you're left with something that feels nothing like the Forgotten Realms.
The thri-kreen can canonically come from either the Hordelands or the Shaar, the genasi have an entire nation in Akanul, the dragonborn have an entire nation in Tymanther, and Tabaxi live in Chult; those nations are all in a straight line across the South (though Chult is admittedly a bit of a hike). The Imaskari were famed artificers, and if your campaign features the High Imaskari, they're actively sending out artificers adventuring, while the dwarven nation of East Rift features the largest faith of Gond remaining in post-Spellplague Faerun.
It's a party that makes perfect sense battling agents of the Abolethic Sovereignty, the necromancers of Thay, plaguechanged horrors and evil druids in the Vilhon Wilds, the yuan-ti cultists of Hlondeth, or a dozen other Realmsian sweeing stories.
This is all a mix of 3.5 and 4e lore. You might not play with it, but the oldest stuff there is over 20 years old, and the most recent is from 13 years back; it's been the Realms plenty long to enough people.
They are all canonically part of the Realms, but I myself would only allow that mix if the party started in an area mostly central to the areas you named. Starting in the Heartlands, or any other area not central to what you named? Unless you can build a damn good reason for all these one-offs to come together so far from home, then no.
The Rogue Dragons books were kinda like that. A half-golem, a song dragon, an avariel, and an arctic dwarf, all in one group. Sure, it's doable, but as soon as you list out all those races, I'm expecting to hear the punchline that comes after them all walking into a bar. |
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! |
Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 26 Apr 2021 05:58:33 |
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keftiu
Senior Scribe
656 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2021 : 05:58:34
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quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X
I don't have played FR with another systems myself, but I've seen people playing it with 13th Age rules. It seem fitting to me, as 13th Age is a fusion of 3.x and 4e.
13A's Warlord-equivalent, the Commander, is a joy. I'm also incredibly fond of their Sorcerer, and the Demonologist (a sort of modular mix of fiend summoner, flame mage, and antipaladin) is super cool.
It's my d20 system of choice, though Lancer is coming for that throne. |
4e fangirl. Here to queer up the Realms. |
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keftiu
Senior Scribe
656 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2021 : 06:01:19
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by keftiu
quote:
Originally posted by HighOne
For example, a party consisting of a Thri-kreen, a Tabaxi, a Genasi, and a Dragonborn radically alters the tone and feel of the campaign, even if all of those races exist in the Forgotten Realms. Throw in an Artificer and some of the weirder subclasses from the non-core books and you're left with something that feels nothing like the Forgotten Realms.
The thri-kreen can canonically come from either the Hordelands or the Shaar, the genasi have an entire nation in Akanul, the dragonborn have an entire nation in Tymanther, and Tabaxi live in Chult; those nations are all in a straight line across the South (though Chult is admittedly a bit of a hike). The Imaskari were famed artificers, and if your campaign features the High Imaskari, they're actively sending out artificers adventuring, while the dwarven nation of East Rift features the largest faith of Gond remaining in post-Spellplague Faerun.
It's a party that makes perfect sense battling agents of the Abolethic Sovereignty, the necromancers of Thay, plaguechanged horrors and evil druids in the Vilhon Wilds, the yuan-ti cultists of Hlondeth, or a dozen other Realmsian sweeing stories.
This is all a mix of 3.5 and 4e lore. You might not play with it, but the oldest stuff there is over 20 years old, and the most recent is from 13 years back; it's been the Realms plenty long to enough people.
They are all canonically part of the Realms, but I myself would only allow that mix if the party started in an area mostly central to the areas you named. Starting in the Heartlands, or any other area not central to what you named? Unless you can build a damn good reason for all these one-offs to come together so far from home, then no.
The Rogue Dragons books were kinda like that. A half-golem, a song dragon, an avariel, and an arctic dwarf, all in one group. Sure, it's doable, but as soon as you list out all those races, I'm expecting to hear the punchline that comes after them all walking into a bar.
High One made the mistake of picking all their outlandish options from the part of the Realms I have a special interest in  Why would you ever go anywhere else?
(The 4e Alamber Sea/south and east Sea of Fallen Stars is a killer little heap of plot threads, and I will gladly gush about it given the smallest excuse to!) |
4e fangirl. Here to queer up the Realms. |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3240 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2021 : 13:19:57
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The only classes I disallow for Pathfinder 1E/2E in the Realms are Oracle and Gunfighter. Oracle because they are Faithless and Gunfighter because there are too many gods/powerful people against smokepowder to make them viable. Alchemist is very doable, although I tend to push them to have a background in Lantan.
The Ancestries are pretty good, just modify/create heritages to mimic the D&D subraces. If an Ancestry doesn't fit in the game (even if it's set in Pathfinder), then the player and I talk about why use that Ancestry. If it's a good story, then I'll allow it. Not too mention, Pathfinder 2E makes this a bit easier with the Uncommon/Rare tags on Ancestries that aren't everyday. And, on a final note, I do love that elemental and planar heritages are available to all Ancestries, allowing Aasimar Dwarves and Tiefling Elves. |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
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Renin
Learned Scribe
USA
290 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2021 : 14:46:22
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To me, the system is merely what is needed to make the mechanical game work.
Lore is lore, and I have never cared on the system. Someone begat someone else, some war was fought there between them and those, this thing was lost somewhere, and some evil threatens evil yet again over there. A rules system changes none of that for me.
I don't know how often everyone else has played, but even with starting play back in '91, my friends and I are STILL not through all published lore and events of AD&D or 3e. There is so much to mine, never minding we wrote all our own adventures and campaigns for everything, with our own lore continuing to influence future play.
We skipped 4e due to financial irritation, and then to not liking the game system. We liked 3e a lot, so we easily went over to Pathfinder. We still play Pathfinder rules for all our Realms adventures. I've just started a PF2e campaign right now in Waterdeep, and everything is fine.
I used to real anal and uptight about "No aarakroca! No Kobods! No alchemists! It's MY Realms" I would be wont to say. I've changed that tune; for as much or as little as we play- let's have some fun. That's what I want. In my Pathfinder group that I call 'Once around the Fallen Stars' campaign, there is a Samsaran Magus, Aasimar Cleric with a Golarion god, Sembian Enchanter, Kobold rogue, and Half-drow Contri Swashbuckler. We having fun? We're having fun.
I've even let loose my stranglehold on the alchemist, and even the gunslinger. You want to have fun in a game? I'm all for it. |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4427 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2021 : 15:15:19
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quote:
Originally posted by HighOne
I think part of the problem is that if the party's racial and class makeup doesn't represent the setting demographics in general, then the tone is radically different, even if all of the party's races and classes technically exist in the setting.
That's why there's a session zero. Establishing the tone and theme of the type of campaign you want to run is paramount for people making characters. The Forgotten Realms is VAST and diverse, with loads of different thematic qualities that can easily suite a dozen different playstyles and concepts. A swashbuckling hero with the ability to easily walk along the rocking deck of a ship is a cool concept, but not when said character is trekking the Anauroch desert. A full plated knight with a focus on Mounted Combat is a classic archtype, but sucks when you're traversing and adventuring in the tight corners and urban setting of Waterdeep. And that's not even getting into the multitude of races and other class abilities.
quote:
Originally posted by HighOne
For example, a party consisting of a Thri-kreen, a Tabaxi, a Genasi, and a Dragonborn don't feel like a Forgotten Realms party, even if all of those races exist in the setting. Throw in an Artificer and some of the weirder subclasses from the non-core books and you're left with something that feels nothing like the Forgotten Realms.
keftiu has beautifully shown us that such a diverse racial mix certainly works, in specific parts of the Realms where such creatures exist more naturally. I'd dare-say Dragonborn (either ones formed via Bahamut's Blessing, ones derived from Dragon-Kin, or ones who are from Returned Abeir) can easily find a place in most areas of the Realms, due to the lore established in the past 10-15 years. The others certainly makes sense in a campaign centered around the Shining South areas, far more than say a Damaran Human from Vaasa or a Dwarven heir to Delzoun from Neverwinter.
quote:
Originally posted by HighOne
That's why I think running a game in a completely different system, such as Adventures in Middle Earth, might result in a game that captures the Forgotten Realms feel better than the average 5E game, even though 5E was built to run games in FR and AiME was not.
I have Adventures in Middle Earth but it's....bland? I enjoy the Tolkien setting for what it is, but it certainly lacks the dynamic concepts that are so encompassing of the Forgotten Realms. To have the old-school feel of your typical "basic Fantasy Group" (ie. Human, Dwarf, Elf, Halfling - Fighter, Cleric, Wizard, Rogue) then you can't go wrong with just the basic rules for 5e. You have Human (no feat-variant), Elves (just High elves), Dwarves (just your Shield Dwarf), and Halfling (strongheart, I believe). For classes, you have the Fighter (champion only), Cleric (Life and Light domains), Wizard (Evocation school), and Rogue (thief). That's it.
This party easily fits into 99% of the Realms and is "classic". From there, you can slowly add in things that you'd feel make it more Realm-ian, like the Bladesinger school for Elves. Maybe a Battle Master Fighter from Baldur's Gate or the Purple Dragon Knight of Cormyr. The Sun Soul monk works well, being initiates of Lathander or Amaunator. Things that have a deep history within the setting and just stick to those options. No Echo Knights, no Artificers (despite there existence in places like Lantan), no Dragonborn or Tieflings or Aasimars. |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4427 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2021 : 15:21:58
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quote:
Originally posted by keftiu
quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X
I don't have played FR with another systems myself, but I've seen people playing it with 13th Age rules. It seem fitting to me, as 13th Age is a fusion of 3.x and 4e.
13A's Warlord-equivalent, the Commander, is a joy. I'm also incredibly fond of their Sorcerer, and the Demonologist (a sort of modular mix of fiend summoner, flame mage, and antipaladin) is super cool.
It's my d20 system of choice, though Lancer is coming for that throne.
How do you handle Icons using 13A in the Realms? Are they compromised of Deities? Organizations? High powered NPCS? All three? One of the things that I'd love to invest is more 13A (though I'm doing a half-dozen projects, so it's hard) but setting the concepts of what the Icons are somewhat problematic. In 13-Age core, I always felt the Icons were extremely well-known NPCs or at least semi-mortal beings that held domains in certain parts. Would that apply to the Realms? |
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Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3736 Posts |
Posted - 27 Apr 2021 : 02:47:54
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quote:
Originally posted by Diffan
I just don't get this notion of allowing everything under the sun and why some DM's don't just say "No."?
-This is one of the things that annoyed me to no end about the 4e (or 5e?) marketing campaign or fan reaction. A huge thing that I remember people being being very hyped about was that the new rules brought things back to the basics and put role-playing and the social aspect of the game back into the spotlight or whatever. I was always like, "Dude, 'do whatever the hell you want to do in your own games' is always how it's been." Shit, I've been playing 3e for like 15+ years now and I still make half of it up because who cares, I do what makes sense to me and foster a fun game. Grapple rules are complicated? Make something up, who cares. A race kinda screws something up? Bye. |
(A Tri-Partite Arcanist Who Has Forgotten More Than Most Will Ever Know)
Elves of Faerūn
Vol I- The Elves of Faerūn
Vol. III- Spells of the Elves
Vol. VI- Mechanical Compendium |
Edited by - Lord Karsus on 27 Apr 2021 02:49:16 |
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keftiu
Senior Scribe
656 Posts |
Posted - 27 Apr 2021 : 04:51:18
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quote:
Originally posted by Lord Karsus
quote:
Originally posted by Diffan
I just don't get this notion of allowing everything under the sun and why some DM's don't just say "No."?
-This is one of the things that annoyed me to no end about the 4e (or 5e?) marketing campaign or fan reaction. A huge thing that I remember people being being very hyped about was that the new rules brought things back to the basics and put role-playing and the social aspect of the game back into the spotlight or whatever. I was always like, "Dude, 'do whatever the hell you want to do in your own games' is always how it's been." Shit, I've been playing 3e for like 15+ years now and I still make half of it up because who cares, I do what makes sense to me and foster a fun game. Grapple rules are complicated? Make something up, who cares. A race kinda screws something up? Bye.
Sounds like youre the target audience for the OSR movement. |
4e fangirl. Here to queer up the Realms. |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4427 Posts |
Posted - 27 Apr 2021 : 14:58:58
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quote:
Originally posted by Lord Karsus
quote:
Originally posted by Diffan
I just don't get this notion of allowing everything under the sun and why some DM's don't just say "No."?
-This is one of the things that annoyed me to no end about the 4e (or 5e?) marketing campaign or fan reaction. A huge thing that I remember people being being very hyped about was that the new rules brought things back to the basics and put role-playing and the social aspect of the game back into the spotlight or whatever.
I don't think this was a 4E thing, maybe 5th? The design team for 5th Edition emphasized the three pillars of play (social/combat/exploration) and that each part should have a significant portion of the rules and adventures cater to them. I don't know how people got the notion that role-playing and social aspects weren't present in any previous iterations (3e, 3.5, 4e?) but they certainly were. Yet this is one of those points people who only played 4E once or never did and still have strong opinions about the system - despite their ignorance - that there's no "role-play" and that it's all 99% combat 
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Karsus
I was always like, "Dude, 'do whatever the hell you want to do in your own games' is always how it's been." Shit, I've been playing 3e for like 15+ years now and I still make half of it up because who cares, I do what makes sense to me and foster a fun game. Grapple rules are complicated? Make something up, who cares. A race kinda screws something up? Bye.
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Pretty much. Making up your own lore or mechanics or concepts is certainly the bread-and-butter of what makes D&D so amazing as a whole (certain elements need to be better -absolutely- but I'm talking from a general perspective here). And that's what I really never understood from perspectives complaining about the amount of options present in any given D&D Edition.
The setting and tone are the baseline. In my Ravnica game, since it's Magic: the Gathering, I was really picky about what races and clases to allow. Some were easy to accept (Loxodon, Humans, Goblins, Vedalken, Elves, Tieflings, Dragonborn-aka-Viashino, and Aasimar) and even created my own Ravnica Angelic Races that focused on certain Guilds. I didn't allow Dwarves, Halflings, Gnomes, or Half-Orcs from the PHB. They're just not represented well or have much focus in the Magic: the Gathering game and especially on Ravnica. One could say Kithkin are similar to Halflings (and you'd be right) but they're not prominent on Ravnica. Same with Dwarves and Orcs.
Basically the DM has the final say and it's important to establish what that is from the get-go. To my horror, I've found that some 5E DMs still require their Paladins to declare their Smite attempt before attacking (a significant nerf to the class overall) and as a player, I'd need to know that prior to creating a character (so I'd never play a Paladin in that particular game). |
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Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3736 Posts |
Posted - 28 Apr 2021 : 05:43:16
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quote:
Originally posted by keftiu
Sounds like youre the target audience for the OSR movement.
-Had to look what that meant up...Eeehhhhh. Only insomuch as the rules are secondary to the players doing stuff and me reacting. I want to understand the rules and I want the players to understand the rules, but things that is overly complicated, things that seem like they'll take too long, it's easier to just hand wave it away and do something that's easier than get down to the nitty-gritty and do everything "by the book". Last time we played, a couple of weeks ago, the players arrived in a city during a summer harvest festival and one of the players basically participated in a wrestling contest. The 3e grapple rules are complicated. Rather than figure all that out, we just rolled d20s. Whoever had the higher on the first had the advantage and if they got a second higher roll, they pinned the opponent. No need to spend maybe upwards of 10 minutes and a million rolls on basically what was a thing I made up on the spur of the moment that they say at the festival. |
(A Tri-Partite Arcanist Who Has Forgotten More Than Most Will Ever Know)
Elves of Faerūn
Vol I- The Elves of Faerūn
Vol. III- Spells of the Elves
Vol. VI- Mechanical Compendium |
Edited by - Lord Karsus on 28 Apr 2021 05:44:22 |
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Derulbaskul
Senior Scribe
Singapore
408 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2021 : 11:18:32
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quote:
Originally posted by Diffan How do you handle Icons using 13A in the Realms? Are they compromised of Deities? Organizations? High powered NPCS? All three? One of the things that I'd love to invest is more 13A (though I'm doing a half-dozen projects, so it's hard) but setting the concepts of what the Icons are somewhat problematic. In 13-Age core, I always felt the Icons were extremely well-known NPCs or at least semi-mortal beings that held domains in certain parts. Would that apply to the Realms?
I use deities and organisations as icons, as well as the occasional major NPC (coronal of Myth Drannor, IIRC). I basically ignore 13A's explanation of icons and look at them functionally. Not surprisingly, it works and it is so much easier to grok. |
Cheers
D
NB: Please remember: A cannon is a big gun. Canon is what we discuss here. |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4427 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2021 : 13:25:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Derulbaskul
quote:
Originally posted by Diffan How do you handle Icons using 13A in the Realms? Are they compromised of Deities? Organizations? High powered NPCS? All three? One of the things that I'd love to invest is more 13A (though I'm doing a half-dozen projects, so it's hard) but setting the concepts of what the Icons are somewhat problematic. In 13-Age core, I always felt the Icons were extremely well-known NPCs or at least semi-mortal beings that held domains in certain parts. Would that apply to the Realms?
I use deities and organisations as icons, as well as the occasional major NPC (coronal of Myth Drannor, IIRC). I basically ignore 13A's explanation of icons and look at them functionally. Not surprisingly, it works and it is so much easier to grok.
That's a decent idea. There's only so many Icons in 13A that Realms deities alone quickly dwarfs that. I guess there's no real issue if there's overlap and just a plethora of them. |
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Running/Playing in the Realms, other than D&D?
