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Varl
Learned Scribe
USA
284 Posts |
 Posted - 27 Aug 2012 : 22:22:52
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I read a scroll here and there, now and again, and I'm confused on what should be considered official Realmslore vs. Things I'd Rather See Happen/Happening/Have Happened In My Game.
Take the scroll on Eilistraee's demise. People in that scroll are talking about the hows and whys she might be dead, maybe, if these very specific events happened, but possibly not due to this happening over here. Or she might be merely banished from the Realms, or perhaps Ao had something to do with her "disappearance", or maybe, she's just on vacation. Who the heck really knows? Answer. I do. She's alive and well in my Realms, but that choice instantly makes my Realms different from official/core.
Regardless of all that, don't rulings like this ultimately come down to each and every one of us? I know mine do, as I really enjoy the goddess Eilistraee, her faith and what she stands for. To have "official" Realmslore undermine that doesn't ever feel like progress in my Realms; it feels like someone else's progress. Progress which I don't always prefer or agree with and choose not to embrace.
It is fun to talk about, though.
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I'm on a permanent vacation to the soul. -Tash Sultana |
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Brian R. James
Forgotten Realms Game Designer
USA
1098 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2012 : 22:38:36
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The purpose of canon lore is to serve as a world bible, or baseline set of truths, for professional writers and designers working within the Forgotten Realms (or any shared world).
For home D&D campaigns, canon realmslore is useful primarily as a creative catalyst for a DMs further customization. Official realmslore should never trump a home campaign (unless so desired by the DM and the players). |
Brian R. James - Freelance Game Designer
Follow me on Twitter @brianrjames |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3823 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2012 : 22:39:37
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| Such things are indeed (and obviously) up to the specific groups, because ''the Realms are yours to use and model''. However, when the published setting is concerned, people could discuss and speculate all day long, but at the end of the day the decision about how something is lays with WotC. And with it possible support and story development of events concerning that fact. If we take Eilistraee as example, she can be alive and well in our Realms and her fate is left vague in the novels, allowing for speculation, but WotC has the ultimate pull on whether she and her quest will continue to live in stories and novels in the ''official'' setting (and she was supposed to live on, as archfey, but the decision was changed of recent, and I'm not sure on whether we will see the new lore that was in store for her...) |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2012 : 22:40:00
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We've been down this road before. 'Canon' really only applies to the novel Realms, which is what the sourcebooks are based on (or vice-versa). Each of us runs a different version of FR (or whatever), so canon doesn't apply to gamers at all (accept as a springboard).
The idea that anyone is running a 'canon game' is preposterous. You can run a game that tries to stay true to canon, or is 'based on canon', or is 'as close as possible to canon', but its not canon. Not until every last thing your players do during a session gets published somewhere as Realms canon. Even the in-house guys working for WotC are running games 'heavily steeped in canon' (which is about as close as you can hope for).
So yeah, when we are discussing 'canon', its more in terms of the novel Realms, and not D&D. This overlaps into the sourcebooks, since both are canon (considered taking place in the same world).
In the Realms I run, the ToT never happened. I just chose to ignore it. And if it did happen, it just had a very different outcome (I use all the 1e gods). If you played in one of my FR campaigns, you may never even notice how far from canon I stray (because its actually unimportant to playing the game itself).
Yet at the same time, I am one of the biggest grognards when it comes to the lore. I cherish the canon, because without it, FR goes from being a wonderful, realistic world to being 'Scooby Doo'. What I do to the Realms doesn't matter except to a handful of people, but what authors and designers do matters a LOT. I don't want to read novels set in a world where the canon doesn't matter. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 27 Aug 2012 22:42:08 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36982 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2012 : 23:56:05
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
We've been down this road before. 'Canon' really only applies to the novel Realms, which is what the sourcebooks are based on (or vice-versa).
It's a little broader than that, especially since some sourcebooks have covered topics or areas not yet covered in novels.
Canon includes adventures, magazine articles, web content, the DC/TSR comics of old, sourcebooks, and novels. Unless otherwise stated, just about anything printed by or thru TSR/WotC, with the FR logo, is canon Realmslore -- and a few things that weren't printed with the FR logo are also canon Realmslore, like the original Lords of Darkness. |
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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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2012 : 02:06:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
We've been down this road before. 'Canon' really only applies to the novel Realms, which is what the sourcebooks are based on (or vice-versa).
It's a little broader than that, especially since some sourcebooks have covered topics or areas not yet covered in novels.
Canon includes adventures, magazine articles, web content, the DC/TSR comics of old, sourcebooks, and novels. Unless otherwise stated, just about anything printed by or thru TSR/WotC, with the FR logo, is canon Realmslore -- and a few things that weren't printed with the FR logo are also canon Realmslore, like the original Lords of Darkness.
Of course, the subject of canon is always murky.
In the case of Baldur's Gate, the novels are canon. WotC lists them as taking place in 1368 DR and 1369 DR. As well, the characters from the novels were stat’d up in DRAGON #262 for 2e and there is the Bhaalspawn template for 3e in DRAGON #288. Ed wrote a sourcebook that complements the novels -- Volo's Guide to Baldur's Gate II. In addition, Jim Butler answered this question in 2000 on the FR Mailing List. There's also some tidbits Lost Empires of Faerun.
And finally, the author of the last novel chimed in on the topic -
"<Ulairi> <Howdy> Are the BG games considered canon Forgotten Realms history by WotC?
<Drew2_Bio> Because of our multiple endings, the BG games can't be considered "official" in the FR world. However, the novels (including the upcoming TOB novel - another free plug for me!) are considered canon."
...
Typically, if Ed had provided the game developers with any lore for the games themselves, that TSR/WotC did then overwrite with their own material, falls into canon.
Basically, the novels are considered canon. You'll see that some of the characters that have featured in those games in that past, have been written-up in DRAGON, some even provide some lore on the games themselves. This also is canon. The video games themselves almost always fall into the non-canon category. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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combatmedic
Senior Scribe
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 03 Sep 2012 : 21:01:47
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quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James
The purpose of canon lore is to serve as a world bible, or baseline set of truths, for professional writers and designers working within the Forgotten Realms (or any shared world).
For home D&D campaigns, canon realmslore is useful primarily as a creative catalyst for a DMs further customization. Official realmslore should never trump a home campaign (unless so desired by the DM and the players).
QFT
I don't get hot and bothered about RSEs. Nothing the designers write has any affect on my home game/s, unless I chose to incoprorate a given 'official' item. That's it. I'm the DM. I use what I like, and I change or discard the rest.
As far as killing Elistraeee, I like that part of recent FR canon. I'd probably keep it if I ran an FR game based on the 4E version of the setting.
(I tend to favor the OGB and some of the 1st ed AD&D FR materials, so I don't necessarily use Elistraee or a lot of other later Realms stuff).
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YMMV= Your Mileage May Vary. I'm putting it here so I don't have to type it in every other post. :) |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36982 Posts |
Posted - 03 Sep 2012 : 22:34:02
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quote:
Originally posted by combatmedic
quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James
The purpose of canon lore is to serve as a world bible, or baseline set of truths, for professional writers and designers working within the Forgotten Realms (or any shared world).
For home D&D campaigns, canon realmslore is useful primarily as a creative catalyst for a DMs further customization. Official realmslore should never trump a home campaign (unless so desired by the DM and the players).
QFT
I don't get hot and bothered about RSEs. Nothing the designers write has any affect on my home game/s, unless I chose to incoprorate a given 'official' item. That's it. I'm the DM. I use what I like, and I change or discard the rest.
As far as killing Elistraeee, I like that part of recent FR canon. I'd probably keep it if I ran an FR game based on the 4E version of the setting.
(I tend to favor the OGB and some of the 1st ed AD&D FR materials, so I don't necessarily use Elistraee or a lot of other later Realms stuff).
Later Realms stuff? Eilistraee dates back to an early 2E source, written by Ed himself. Ditto Vhaeraun.
Both were from the original The Drow of the Underdark -- the one from 1991, with the black cover. |
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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combatmedic
Senior Scribe
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 03 Sep 2012 : 23:59:41
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by combatmedic
quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James
The purpose of canon lore is to serve as a world bible, or baseline set of truths, for professional writers and designers working within the Forgotten Realms (or any shared world).
For home D&D campaigns, canon realmslore is useful primarily as a creative catalyst for a DMs further customization. Official realmslore should never trump a home campaign (unless so desired by the DM and the players).
QFT
I don't get hot and bothered about RSEs. Nothing the designers write has any affect on my home game/s, unless I chose to incoprorate a given 'official' item. That's it. I'm the DM. I use what I like, and I change or discard the rest.
As far as killing Elistraeee, I like that part of recent FR canon. I'd probably keep it if I ran an FR game based on the 4E version of the setting.
(I tend to favor the OGB and some of the 1st ed AD&D FR materials, so I don't necessarily use Elistraee or a lot of other later Realms stuff).
Later Realms stuff? Eilistraee dates back to an early 2E source, written by Ed himself. Ditto Vhaeraun.
Both were from the original The Drow of the Underdark -- the one from 1991, with the black cover.
Yeah, and that stuff came out later than the early Dragon magazine articles, the OGB, or the first edition AD&D sourcebooks.
Thus, 'later' Realms.
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YMMV= Your Mileage May Vary. I'm putting it here so I don't have to type it in every other post. :) |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2012 : 02:07:07
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quote:
Originally posted by combatmedic
quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James
The purpose of canon lore is to serve as a world bible, or baseline set of truths, for professional writers and designers working within the Forgotten Realms (or any shared world).
For home D&D campaigns, canon realmslore is useful primarily as a creative catalyst for a DMs further customization. Official realmslore should never trump a home campaign (unless so desired by the DM and the players).
QFT
I don't get hot and bothered about RSEs. Nothing the designers write has any affect on my home game/s, unless I chose to incoprorate a given 'official' item. That's it. I'm the DM. I use what I like, and I change or discard the rest.
As far as killing Elistraeee, I like that part of recent FR canon. I'd probably keep it if I ran an FR game based on the 4E version of the setting.
(I tend to favor the OGB and some of the 1st ed AD&D FR materials, so I don't necessarily use Elistraee or a lot of other later Realms stuff).
Eilistraee dates back to Ed's creation in FOR2 The Drow of the Underdark. Which suggests that they may have existed prior to that particular official take in Ed's home Realms campaign. [I think he might have already touched on this previously, in fact.] Which also means, possibly, prior to the OGB. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
12194 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2012 : 02:45:10
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| We all like to see things happen in the realms in story lines and in the game itself. Sometimes half the fun is speculation on ideas. I know the ideas I post will likely never be "officially" canonized in a realms product (unless one day WotC would be interested in hiring me out to do some realmslore, which I doubt will ever happen). However, I do know that they read them, and it gives them ideas... and those ideas may spin into things that do end up being something that interests me in the end. That to me is the fun of these forums. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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combatmedic
Senior Scribe
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2012 : 03:12:16
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by combatmedic
quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James
The purpose of canon lore is to serve as a world bible, or baseline set of truths, for professional writers and designers working within the Forgotten Realms (or any shared world).
For home D&D campaigns, canon realmslore is useful primarily as a creative catalyst for a DMs further customization. Official realmslore should never trump a home campaign (unless so desired by the DM and the players).
QFT
I don't get hot and bothered about RSEs. Nothing the designers write has any affect on my home game/s, unless I chose to incoprorate a given 'official' item. That's it. I'm the DM. I use what I like, and I change or discard the rest.
As far as killing Elistraeee, I like that part of recent FR canon. I'd probably keep it if I ran an FR game based on the 4E version of the setting.
(I tend to favor the OGB and some of the 1st ed AD&D FR materials, so I don't necessarily use Elistraee or a lot of other later Realms stuff).
Eilistraee dates back to Ed's creation in FOR2 The Drow of the Underdark. Which suggests that they may have existed prior to that particular official take in Ed's home Realms campaign. [I think he might have already touched on this previously, in fact.] Which also means, possibly, prior to the OGB.
If it isn't published, it isn't canon.
Adding to, altering, or retconning the 'official Realms' of canon does not retcon reality. Publication dates aren't subjective. Elistraee doesn't become canon until some time later than the sources that I mentioned. Greenwood no doubt used all sorts of ideas from his home campaign in his later (post OGB) FR articles, books, and so on. That isn't relevant to my statement.
It is interesting, though.
Do you use a lot of material or ideas drawn from Ed Greenwood's non-canon comments on his home campaign?
Are you going to buy the new FR book that includes (if I understand it correctly) some of his notes and previously unpublished material?
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YMMV= Your Mileage May Vary. I'm putting it here so I don't have to type it in every other post. :) |
Edited by - combatmedic on 04 Sep 2012 03:42:49 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36982 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2012 : 04:06:19
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quote:
Originally posted by combatmedic
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by combatmedic
quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James
The purpose of canon lore is to serve as a world bible, or baseline set of truths, for professional writers and designers working within the Forgotten Realms (or any shared world).
For home D&D campaigns, canon realmslore is useful primarily as a creative catalyst for a DMs further customization. Official realmslore should never trump a home campaign (unless so desired by the DM and the players).
QFT
I don't get hot and bothered about RSEs. Nothing the designers write has any affect on my home game/s, unless I chose to incoprorate a given 'official' item. That's it. I'm the DM. I use what I like, and I change or discard the rest.
As far as killing Elistraeee, I like that part of recent FR canon. I'd probably keep it if I ran an FR game based on the 4E version of the setting.
(I tend to favor the OGB and some of the 1st ed AD&D FR materials, so I don't necessarily use Elistraee or a lot of other later Realms stuff).
Later Realms stuff? Eilistraee dates back to an early 2E source, written by Ed himself. Ditto Vhaeraun.
Both were from the original The Drow of the Underdark -- the one from 1991, with the black cover.
Yeah, and that stuff came out later than the early Dragon magazine articles, the OGB, or the first edition AD&D sourcebooks.
Thus, 'later' Realms.
So just 4 years after the OGB is "later"? Heck, for many Realms fans, that was the golden age of the Realms! |
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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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2012 : 04:08:39
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quote:
Originally posted by combatmedic
Do you use a lot of material or ideas drawn from Ed Greenwood's non-canon comments on his home campaign?
Oh, yes, very much so. But I've a very bizarre notion of Realms-canon. For me, if it's written by Ed -- regardless of whether it's been featured in an officially published product -- it's canon Realms content.
quote:
Are you going to buy the new FR book that includes (if I understand it correctly) some of his notes and previously unpublished material?
Yes. I've pre-ordered three copies -- one for daily reading, one for storage, and one for the table-top. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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combatmedic
Senior Scribe
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2012 : 04:33:58
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by combatmedic
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by combatmedic
quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James
The purpose of canon lore is to serve as a world bible, or baseline set of truths, for professional writers and designers working within the Forgotten Realms (or any shared world).
For home D&D campaigns, canon realmslore is useful primarily as a creative catalyst for a DMs further customization. Official realmslore should never trump a home campaign (unless so desired by the DM and the players).
QFT
I don't get hot and bothered about RSEs. Nothing the designers write has any affect on my home game/s, unless I chose to incoprorate a given 'official' item. That's it. I'm the DM. I use what I like, and I change or discard the rest.
As far as killing Elistraeee, I like that part of recent FR canon. I'd probably keep it if I ran an FR game based on the 4E version of the setting.
(I tend to favor the OGB and some of the 1st ed AD&D FR materials, so I don't necessarily use Elistraee or a lot of other later Realms stuff).
Later Realms stuff? Eilistraee dates back to an early 2E source, written by Ed himself. Ditto Vhaeraun.
Both were from the original The Drow of the Underdark -- the one from 1991, with the black cover.
Yeah, and that stuff came out later than the early Dragon magazine articles, the OGB, or the first edition AD&D sourcebooks.
Thus, 'later' Realms.
So just 4 years after the OGB is "later"? Heck, for many Realms fans, that was the golden age of the Realms!
Yes, of course four years is later.
What else could it be, earlier?
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YMMV= Your Mileage May Vary. I'm putting it here so I don't have to type it in every other post. :) |
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combatmedic
Senior Scribe
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2012 : 04:34:53
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by combatmedic
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by combatmedic
quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James
The purpose of canon lore is to serve as a world bible, or baseline set of truths, for professional writers and designers working within the Forgotten Realms (or any shared world).
For home D&D campaigns, canon realmslore is useful primarily as a creative catalyst for a DMs further customization. Official realmslore should never trump a home campaign (unless so desired by the DM and the players).
QFT
I don't get hot and bothered about RSEs. Nothing the designers write has any affect on my home game/s, unless I chose to incoprorate a given 'official' item. That's it. I'm the DM. I use what I like, and I change or discard the rest.
As far as killing Elistraeee, I like that part of recent FR canon. I'd probably keep it if I ran an FR game based on the 4E version of the setting.
(I tend to favor the OGB and some of the 1st ed AD&D FR materials, so I don't necessarily use Elistraee or a lot of other later Realms stuff).
Later Realms stuff? Eilistraee dates back to an early 2E source, written by Ed himself. Ditto Vhaeraun.
Both were from the original The Drow of the Underdark -- the one from 1991, with the black cover.
Yeah, and that stuff came out later than the early Dragon magazine articles, the OGB, or the first edition AD&D sourcebooks.
Thus, 'later' Realms.
So just 4 years after the OGB is "later"? Heck, for many Realms fans, that was the golden age of the Realms!
Yes, of course four years is later.
What else could it be, earlier?
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YMMV= Your Mileage May Vary. I'm putting it here so I don't have to type it in every other post. :) |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2012 : 04:41:55
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Now you've gone and made Wooly blue!
quote:
Originally posted by combatmedic
If it isn't published, it isn't canon.
<snip> Technically, this isn't true.
According to Ed's contract, anything Ed says is canon, so if its published anywhere (especially and including here), then it is indeed canon.
On the other hand, I agree with everything else you say. I only care about the canon because I care about The Forgotten Realms as a published setting, and bad continuity is just one way people will lose interest in an IP, fast. I use whatever the heck I like, form just about everywhere. My games are only very loosely based on the Realms canon.
However, when they do something terrible, like blow up the world, then there is less 'goodies' for me to pick from. Thats another reason why the canon is so important, whether I decide to stick to it or not. You wouldn't go to a crummy buffet and hope to find something tasty - you'd go to one that was good, so you have more choices (and ones that don't make you sick). |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 04 Sep 2012 04:43:16 |
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combatmedic
Senior Scribe
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2012 : 04:54:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Now you've gone and made Wooly blue!
quote:
Originally posted by combatmedic
If it isn't published, it isn't canon.
<snip> Technically, this isn't true.
According to Ed's contract, anything Ed says is canon, so if its published anywhere (especially and including here), then it is indeed canon.
On the other hand, I agree with everything else you say. I only care about the canon because I care about The Forgotten Realms as a published setting, and bad continuity is just one way people will lose interest in an IP, fast. I use whatever the heck I like, form just about everywhere. My games are only very loosely based on the Realms canon.
However, when they do something terrible, like blow up the world, then there is less 'goodies' for me to pick from. Thats another reason why the canon is so important, whether I decide to stick to it or not. You wouldn't go to a crummy buffet and hope to find something tasty - you'd go to one that was good, so you have more choices (and ones that don't make you sick).
Indeed.
If Ed Greenwood declares tomorrow that Lantan has always been inhabited by giant space hamsters and their tinker gnome overlords, or that Elminster has always sported a mohawk under his big wizard hat, none of that stuff would have any bearing on my statement. His comments and notes would still be a 'later' source, relative to the OGB and the other sources I mentioned in my previous post.
Just so there's no confusion, I'm referring to time in the real world. 1991 came after 1987. It's later. |
YMMV= Your Mileage May Vary. I'm putting it here so I don't have to type it in every other post. :) |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36982 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2012 : 05:04:29
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quote:
Originally posted by combatmedic
Yes, of course four years is later.
What else could it be, earlier?
No need for the sarcasm. 
It's just that it's a rather odd stance: 25 years of published Realmslore, and you don't use anything but the first, basic overview... It's most unusual. That's a lot of material to ignore.
A lot of people don't use all of the published Realmslore, but for most of those people, the cut-off point is much later. |
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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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2012 : 05:09:16
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I never mentioned time anywhere in my post.
Canon is canon - you can't arbitrarily decide what is canon because you, personally, are unwilling to accept something past a certain point.
For instance, most of us greatly dislike a good deal of the 4e lore... but we must all still accept it as canon. Canon is what the company says it is, not us. We can only control what goes on at our tables (which isn't canon at all - it is Homebrew). |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 04 Sep 2012 05:09:46 |
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combatmedic
Senior Scribe
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2012 : 05:14:40
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I never mentioned time anywhere in my post.
Canon is canon - you can't arbitrarily decide what is canon because you, personally, are unwilling to accept something past a certain point.
For instance, most of us greatly dislike a good deal of the 4e lore... but we must all still accept it as canon. Canon is what the company says it is, not us. We can only control what goes on at our tables (which isn't canon at all - it is Homebrew).
I think you need to go back and read my previous post.
I never said that later stuff wasn't canon. I said I didn't use all of it.
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YMMV= Your Mileage May Vary. I'm putting it here so I don't have to type it in every other post. :) |
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combatmedic
Senior Scribe
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2012 : 05:16:23
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quote:
Originally posted by combatmedic
quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James
The purpose of canon lore is to serve as a world bible, or baseline set of truths, for professional writers and designers working within the Forgotten Realms (or any shared world).
For home D&D campaigns, canon realmslore is useful primarily as a creative catalyst for a DMs further customization. Official realmslore should never trump a home campaign (unless so desired by the DM and the players).
QFT
I don't get hot and bothered about RSEs. Nothing the designers write has any affect on my home game/s, unless I chose to incoprorate a given 'official' item. That's it. I'm the DM. I use what I like, and I change or discard the rest.
As far as killing Elistraeee, I like that part of recent FR canon. I'd probably keep it if I ran an FR game based on the 4E version of the setting.
(I tend to favor the OGB and some of the 1st ed AD&D FR materials, so I don't necessarily use Elistraee or a lot of other later Realms stuff).
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YMMV= Your Mileage May Vary. I'm putting it here so I don't have to type it in every other post. :) |
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combatmedic
Senior Scribe
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2012 : 06:20:48
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by combatmedic
Yes, of course four years is later.
What else could it be, earlier?
No need for the sarcasm.
It's just that it's a rather odd stance: 25 years of published Realmslore, and you don't use anything but the first, basic overview... It's most unusual. That's a lot of material to ignore.
A lot of people don't use all of the published Realmslore, but for most of those people, the cut-off point is much later.
I'm sorry if I have offended you, Sage. I put in the confused emoticon in an attempt to soften the joke, but I guess it didn't work.
As far as 'cut off date' goes, I don't really have a fixed date. I prefer to use much of the material from the earlier sources, mainly the OGB, with selected bits of later stuff added,
Stuff I tend to ignore or not use in FR:
Elminster (killed him in my last FR game, will probably replace him entirely or develop him in an alternate fashion in my next one)
The Chosen
The Seven Sisters
Time of Troubles
most other metaplot and RSEs
Realmspace
lots of drow stuff
the add-on settings
Sembia or other DM preserve areas as developed later by TSR or Hasbro
I do use:
the saurials (but not Finder Wyvernspur)
some of Eric Boyd's background stuff on the gods
Gilgeam, in some form
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YMMV= Your Mileage May Vary. I'm putting it here so I don't have to type it in every other post. :) |
Edited by - combatmedic on 04 Sep 2012 06:52:09 |
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Realmslore
