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LWhitehead1
Learned Scribe
118 Posts |
 Posted - 04 Sep 2022 : 07:55:20
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Hi I need to know if the Sword Saint kit from OA sourcebook can be used in FR 5th version?,
I want to create some official fiction for FR, but my mian character is from 21th century Earth who ends up in FR.
I need to know if real type of Katana is sold in FR?,
LW
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36782 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2022 : 16:32:08
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quote:
Originally posted by LWhitehead1
Hi I need to know if the Sword Saint kit from OA sourcebook can be used in FR 5th version?,
Which Oriental Adventures book are you referring to? There's been more than one by that title.
The original one was 1E and detailed the Kara-Tur area. The world beyond Kara-Tur was left unmentioned. However, in 2E, Kara-Tur became a part of the Realms.
So there's no reason you can't have a kensai in the Realms.
quote:
Originally posted by LWhitehead1
I want to create some official fiction for FR, but my mian character is from 21th century Earth who ends up in FR.
Oh boy...
Well, first of all, there's no such thing as official fiction for the Realms, anymore, unless your initials are RAS.
Second, even when they were still in the business of doing fiction, they didn't take anything unsolicited. They did the occasional cattle call, but other than that, they either stuck with their own established authors or gave the occasional new but still established author a try.
Third, they've kept Realms fiction limited to Realms characters. Some Realms characters have traveled back and forth to Earth, but that's all been in articles in the long-since defunct Dragon Magazine. There is only one reference to Earth that I can think of, and it's in the Spelljammer supplement Realmspace.
Fourth, having a real-world character travel into a setting that is published as fiction in the real-world is... problematic. You'd get a situation rather similar to metagaming, and that's not easy to deal with.
Fifth, a modern real-world character who happens to be highly skilled with a medieval weapon, and then happens to wind up in a fantasy world with that weapon readily at hand? Yeah, that's pushing the bounds of believability right there.
Last, the "real-world person who winds up in a fantasy world/RPG/video game/other not-real place" is a rather overdone trope. Making it stand out from every other novel, movie, anime, and comic book out there is going to be a daunting task in and of itself, and that's before you factor in that you're wanting to do this for a company that isn't publishing fiction and wouldn't accept your unsolicited manuscript if they were.
quote:
Originally posted by LWhitehead1
I need to know if real type of Katana is sold in FR?,
LW
Yes, but only in Kara-Tur or places with regular trade with Shou Lung. You might be able to find one further west, but you'd need to be in a large city like Waterdeep or Baldur's Gate, and then you're really going to have to spend some time looking for one. There might be one or two available for sale, in the entire city, at any given time, and they're likely to be priced rather high, as "a strange weapon from a very distant land."
I'm not trying to discourage you, here -- a lot of us have dreamed about writing something official for the Realms.
But you're a lot better off writing a lot of fiction for non-shared settings, getting yourself published, and getting on the map that way. Make a name for yourself as an author, and then you'll have a better chance getting into shared setting fiction.
It's just not going to be for WotC, unless there are major changes for the company. The company wasn't enthusiastic about fiction even when they had a strong novel line going. |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1301 Posts |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36782 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2022 : 17:45:25
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quote:
Originally posted by Azar
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I'm not trying to discourage you, here
 .
There's a difference between actively discouraging something and trying to set reasonable expectations.
I readily encourage him to keep writing and to try becoming a published author -- but you can't do that if you're solely focused on getting published by someone that isn't publishing fiction. And the more distinctive you make your fiction, the better the chance of getting it published. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1301 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2022 : 18:48:15
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| You shared your honest appraisal of the situation (that is, comparing authorial aspirations with reality) and that's entirely fair. My emoticon was a reaction based on the fact that - on the surface - the whole shebang can come off as discouraging (after all, the task seems so insurmountable under the best of circumstances). Thankfully, nowadays, the internet is one major factor in their favor; self-publishing is easier and cheaper than ever before. |
Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.
Earth names in the Realms are more common than you may think. |
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LWhitehead1
Learned Scribe
118 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2022 : 23:54:01
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So first about the Katana it would cost a lot of Gold Coins since it would a masterwork level weapon not cheap,
Secondly about writing for official for FR it's like Star Wars you have be well known publisher writer a good strong series, to show I've got the chops so to speak.
LW |
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LordofBones
Master of Realmslore
1487 Posts |
Posted - 05 Sep 2022 : 01:53:37
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| ...But why a katana, of all things? |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36782 Posts |
Posted - 05 Sep 2022 : 03:08:18
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quote:
Originally posted by LordofBones
...But why a katana, of all things?
I can't say why, but the katana is worshipped by a lot of people; many seem to think it was far better than any other blade available. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1301 Posts |
Posted - 05 Sep 2022 : 03:15:29
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| Why not a katana? Seriously: among the weirdest elements in The Forgotten Realms - a melange of fantasy equivalents of real-life cultures/cultural influences - this sword from the Orient is relatively tame. |
Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.
Earth names in the Realms are more common than you may think. |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7974 Posts |
Posted - 05 Sep 2022 : 04:00:04
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You can always release your own D&D stories into public domain. On a blog or forum or social media or whatever.
But this is fan-fic, it's fanon. It's not "official", it's not canon. If you publish anything which trespasses on Wizbro's IP then you'll likely get a cnd/takedown notice before it can reach a large audience. If you do it commercially (you intend to make money from it) then you'll likely also end up in court. If you actually do somehow make something popular which "takes" a lot of money from their IP then these probabilities become certainties, they will sue you for everything they can get.
The best policy is to contact Wizbro directly. Ask them if what you want to do is feasible, if they will impose any conditions or requirements onto you, etc.
Or perhaps, if you believe you are truly serious and truly talented, then apply for a job at WotC. Dare to step into the dragon's lair.
They generally ignore unsolicited offerings, refuse to publish anything which has already been published, and only work with established authors. Wizbro today is different from TSR of olden days, and the fantasy/RPG genres (along with the fantasy/RPG markets) have evolved greatly over the years, the success stories of the formative D&D era were based on seizing opportunities which don't exist anymore.
You must understand that the owners of D&D get approached by aspiring authors all the time, this is nothing new and they've set up policies to deal with it. They have a demonstrated history of being aggressively territorial and unreasonably reactionary, they have left quite a long trail of disgruntled authors behind them over the years.
It doesn't hurt to ask. Who knows? Maybe your writings will get featured in an adventure narrative or as one of the filler stories in an anthology or something. Not at all an unreasonable launching point for an unknown new author. You can't seriously expect them to invest in a proper novel from a random internet stray who lacks any published portfolio or recognized resume credentials.
D&D is not just a fantasy, it's also a business.
(I personally think katanas are vastly overrated. A decent gladius would be a far more practical weapon in any era and any circumstance. But that's not really relevant to this topic, lol.) |
[/Ayrik] |
Edited by - Ayrik on 05 Sep 2022 04:29:42 |
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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1301 Posts |
Posted - 05 Sep 2022 : 06:40:19
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| In my experience, the degree to which an ancient weapon is ridiculed is directly proportional to how distant its origin/cultural identity lies from Europe. |
Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.
Earth names in the Realms are more common than you may think. |
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LordofBones
Master of Realmslore
1487 Posts |
Posted - 05 Sep 2022 : 06:53:22
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| The katana is specifically mocked because it's the ultimate weeaboo blade. Wakizashi and naginata don't carry the prejudice. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36782 Posts |
Posted - 05 Sep 2022 : 11:18:08
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quote:
Originally posted by LordofBones
The katana is specifically mocked because it's the ultimate weeaboo blade. Wakizashi and naginata don't carry the prejudice.
I've always liked the naginata, myself... But I'll readily admit I'm no expert on weapons, so I'll not argue that it (or any other weapon) has an inherent superiority. I just think it's a cool weapon.
I'm enough of an otaku to like the katana, but I don't like Japanese food and there are some aspects of their culture I don't like, so I've never been weeaboo -- even when I was a lot more of an otaku than I am now. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1301 Posts |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4686 Posts |
Posted - 05 Sep 2022 : 12:25:55
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quote:
Originally posted by Azar
..."weeaboo"?
quote:
Weeaboo: The Definition
The word weeaboo came as a slang to the term Wapanese, which is a blend of white (or wannabee) with Japanese and defines a “very specific type of nerd that is not of native Japanese culture.”
From https://thejapaneseway.com/what-is-a-weeb-weeaboo/ |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36782 Posts |
Posted - 05 Sep 2022 : 15:24:00
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quote:
Originally posted by Kentinal
quote:
Originally posted by Azar
..."weeaboo"?
quote:
Weeaboo: The Definition
The word weeaboo came as a slang to the term Wapanese, which is a blend of white (or wannabee) with Japanese and defines a “very specific type of nerd that is not of native Japanese culture.”
From https://thejapaneseway.com/what-is-a-weeb-weeaboo/
Generally a weeaboo is overly enamored of Japan, to the point of thinking everything Japanese is automatically awesome, because it's Japanese.
Not that there's anything wrong with an interest in Japanese or any other culture -- I've watched more than a little anime, read more than a few manga titles, and there's a couple of Japanese music acts I quite readily follow (only a couple!). But I also follow some Irish music acts and my preferred alcohol is a cider I discovered in Ireland (and I don't do Guinness). I don't hold either culture as superior or inferior to each other or to American culture.
I don't obsess about it, and it's the obsession that's the general hallmark of a weeaboo.
(And it's partially because of weeaboo that I backed off from calling myself an otaku) |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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HighOne
Learned Scribe
214 Posts |
Posted - 05 Sep 2022 : 18:52:11
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by LWhitehead1
I want to create some official fiction for FR, but my mian character is from 21th century Earth who ends up in FR.
Oh boy...
Well, first of all, there's no such thing as official fiction for the Realms, anymore, unless your initials are RAS.
Second, even when they were still in the business of doing fiction, they didn't take anything unsolicited. They did the occasional cattle call, but other than that, they either stuck with their own established authors or gave the occasional new but still established author a try.
Third, they've kept Realms fiction limited to Realms characters. Some Realms characters have traveled back and forth to Earth, but that's all been in articles in the long-since defunct Dragon Magazine. There is only one reference to Earth that I can think of, and it's in the Spelljammer supplement Realmspace.
Fourth, having a real-world character travel into a setting that is published as fiction in the real-world is... problematic. You'd get a situation rather similar to metagaming, and that's not easy to deal with.
Fifth, a modern real-world character who happens to be highly skilled with a medieval weapon, and then happens to wind up in a fantasy world with that weapon readily at hand? Yeah, that's pushing the bounds of believability right there.
Last, the "real-world person who winds up in a fantasy world/RPG/video game/other not-real place" is a rather overdone trope. Making it stand out from every other novel, movie, anime, and comic book out there is going to be a daunting task in and of itself, and that's before you factor in that you're wanting to do this for a company that isn't publishing fiction and wouldn't accept your unsolicited manuscript if they were.
Dang, Wooly. I'm not saying I disagree with anything you've said, but I can't help but be reminded of this scene from the Simpsons:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik0BPKM9WQg
Anyway, it's definitely true that no unsolicited Realms novel has a chance of being published today. Write a Realms novel for fun if you must, but don't expect anyone to publish it.
If you really want to both write in the Realms and get published, then my advice is to just create your own Realms knock-off. It's not hard to do. I've done it myself on more than one idle afternoon. All you need is a passel of gods and a few medieval-flavored towns and cities. Heck, just take Faerun and throw in a few elements from Shannara, The Wheel of Time, or Thomas Covenant novels and you have yourself a generic fantasy world to call your own. |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4430 Posts |
Posted - 05 Sep 2022 : 20:05:29
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quote:
Originally posted by LWhitehead1
Hi I need to know if the Sword Saint kit from OA sourcebook can be used in FR 5th version?,
You may need to be more specific with what this kit does and how it's diverse enough to include in 5e that can't already be done in a variety of ways that 5e currently has.
quote:
Originally posted by LWhitehead1
I need to know if real type of Katana is sold in FR?,
Yes, they sell Katanas in the Forgotten Realms. Major cities probably have them as well as cities with ports that travel to Kara-Tur and the Unapproachable East. Cities like Westgate, which has a gang of Kara-Tur immigrants, would also have them too.
In 5e, the Katana is treated as a Longsword. A versatile 1d8 (or 1d10 in two-hands) weapon that most likely costs the same. More ornate ones or ones with embellishments and family ties are going to be worth more -but not because of quality.
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7974 Posts |
Posted - 05 Sep 2022 : 20:32:57
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quote:
... my advice is to just create your own Realms knock-off ... All you need is a passel of gods and a few medieval-flavored towns and cities. Heck, just take Faerun and throw in a few elements from Shannara, The Wheel of Time, or Thomas Covenant novels and you have yourself a generic fantasy world to call your own.
I disagree with this advice.
Yes, authors are inspired and influenced by other authors. It's impossible to avoid.
But imitating, emulating, copying, adapting, and stealing the work of others is the easy, lazy path with the easy, lazy rewards. It's uncreative, unchallenging, unworthy of real talents. Just take a look at the drivel in bookshelves and theaters these days - the sad end result of people copying each other's copies of success. Easy come, easy go. If you play stupid games then you win stupid prizes.
Maybe this is indeed good advice is your goal is to sell your work. It seems like people still keep buying into this garbage and you just can't argue with success. The smart thing to do if all you want is to grab the money and run. And a dumb thing to do if you're after money which is legally "owned" by somebody else.
But if your goal is to create something people will enjoy and remember beyond a few hours of boredom-killing - something that people will talk and speculate and argue about, read or watch again and again, demand to get more - then you'll have to do better than just cut&paste elements of other popular works into your own minor redecoration of it. You'll have to actually create something creative which lives in your own setting with its own remarkable features, not in a setting which is furnished with details from things we've all seen before. |
[/Ayrik] |
Edited by - Ayrik on 05 Sep 2022 20:51:46 |
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LWhitehead1
Learned Scribe
118 Posts |
Posted - 05 Sep 2022 : 22:20:22
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Well if they officials don't want a isekai style of story then I could work on Al-Qadim for 5th FR setting, it's good that Calimport is free of the Two Genies and driven back were they came from that's one idea shot for my Outsider who became a Genie Wizard.
LW |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36782 Posts |
Posted - 06 Sep 2022 : 00:53:17
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quote:
Originally posted by LWhitehead1
Well if they officials don't want a isekai style of story then I could work on Al-Qadim for 5th FR setting, it's good that Calimport is free of the Two Genies and driven back were they came from that's one idea shot for my Outsider who became a Genie Wizard.
LW
Al-Qadim hasn't been touched since 2E.
And again, WotC isn't doing fiction, now.
Also, I forgot to mention -- when they were doing fiction, it wasn't the authors saying "Hey, I've got a story to tell!" It was WotC saying "We want this story told, with these types of characters, these NPCs, these specific elements, and this overall plot." |
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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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36782 Posts |
Posted - 06 Sep 2022 : 01:35:29
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quote:
Originally posted by HighOne
Heck, just take Faerun and throw in a few elements from Shannara, The Wheel of Time, or Thomas Covenant novels and you have yourself a generic fantasy world to call your own.
The Sword of Shannara is such a blatant Lord of the Rings rip-off that I'm amazed it got published. |
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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LordofBones
Master of Realmslore
1487 Posts |
Posted - 06 Sep 2022 : 03:14:57
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A theoretical story about Lord Ginsu, insane dual-katana-wielding Kara-Tur nobleman and his hapless, long-suffering adventuring band, would be fun.
Witness him insulting every smith in Western Faerun for inferior steelwork, while praising Kara-Tur smiths and their secret techniques of folding iron 1,000,000 times to create superior katana!
Observe him horrifying Driz'zt as he murderblenders his way through an orcish city, laughing all the way as his teammates and the companions of Mithral Hall evade the rain of viscera!
Watch him shave Elminster and Khelben, disrobe the Simbul and Alustriel, and carve up Manshoon simultaneously through a hundred magical protections just from superior Kara-Tur bladework! |
Edited by - LordofBones on 06 Sep 2022 03:17:37 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36782 Posts |
Posted - 06 Sep 2022 : 04:50:45
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quote:
Originally posted by LordofBones
A theoretical story about Lord Ginsu, insane dual-katana-wielding Kara-Tur nobleman and his hapless, long-suffering adventuring band, would be fun.
Witness him insulting every smith in Western Faerun for inferior steelwork, while praising Kara-Tur smiths and their secret techniques of folding iron 1,000,000 times to create superior katana!
Observe him horrifying Driz'zt as he murderblenders his way through an orcish city, laughing all the way as his teammates and the companions of Mithral Hall evade the rain of viscera!
Watch him shave Elminster and Khelben, disrobe the Simbul and Alustriel, and carve up Manshoon simultaneously through a hundred magical protections just from superior Kara-Tur bladework!
And then he slices up a tomato. |
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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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7974 Posts |
Posted - 07 Sep 2022 : 03:47:12
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| (A good cestus made of good steel can break a katana. It can also do things a katana can't - like inflict actual damage on someone who's wearing chain. Just sayin') |
[/Ayrik] |
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Sword Saint kit in FR 5th version
