Orcs and Art

With the nod to inclusivity in the 5E Basic Rules, the art has come under additional examination to see if WotC could walk the walk now that they've talked the talk. So how does the art fare?

Numerous sites and blogs have done in-depth frequency and focus analysis and for the most part the numbers are good in terms of diversity and inclusivity. It's obvious with even a flip through of the 5E PHB, so much so some people stuck on a narrow mode of thinking actually comment on there being too many women or persons-of-color (POC)/minorities/non-whites in the art. Seriously.

This post on the Go Make Me A Sandwich blog documents one such exchange and does a good job of highlighting the positive and active depictions of women and POC in 5th edition art. I definitely agree with what the author has to say regarding the topic of inclusive art.

However, I did come across one statement that didn't sit right with me:

CHECK IT OUT, A HALF-ORC PALADIN. This is something I never expected to see! The treatment of race in the Forgotten Realms setting has always been… problematic at best. Orcs and half-orcs have always been depicted with traits that read as a very thinly veiled analogue for blackness. So to see Paladins, who are the literal embodiment of good, being represented by a righteous-as-fuck looking half-orc? That’s revolutionary!

The image being commented on was of this half-orc paladin found in the 5E PHB:

Half-orc paladin, D&D 5E Player's Handbook

There are a number of hyperboles within the statement that could be interpreted as portraying D&D and the Realms as distinctly anti-inclusive (even downright unintentionally racist) throwbacks. While I will not say the game or setting are perfect in every way regarding this issue, I feel there is much more nuance and inclusivity to the game and setting than the statement gives them credit for. Things just aren't as bad as that one statement makes it out to be, though I understand it's exaggerated for the sake of expressing excitement for the recent art direction.

Half-orc paladin aren't revolutionary in D&D and the concept is not foreign in the Forgotten Realms. Whatever this concept may be, it's far from the first instance and not breaking any barriers that still exist.

One example of Forgotten Realms having already knocked down the barrier before 3E came to sweep away the restrictions of older editions was Shield of Innocence an orog* paladin of Torm from the War in Tethyr (1995) novel, the events of which are summarized for the game setting in the Lands of Intrigue (1997) boxed set. Shield of Innocence became the patron saint of the Loyal Order of the Innocents, suffice to say, to earn such an honor meant this orog paladin made the sacrifice needed to live up to his name.

*An orog is an orc/ogre offshoot in 2nd edition (if I recall correctly), later adapted into a type of Underdark-based 'uberorc' in 3E.

As it pertains to the art, let's set some limits at art pieces from the 3E era (or pre-4E) and from WotC and affiliates only. We'll keep things to D&D Core or FR only (as they share the same art trends and cross-pollinate). We'll exclude Eberron because it has a purposefully divergent take on orcs that is in part a reaction to this supposed problematic depiction of orcs in Core and FR. A quick Google search reveals the following:

- We have the half-orc paladin on the cover of Dragon #275, the September 2000 issue. This came on the premier of 3rd edition (released in the summer of the same year, during Gen Con, I assume) when the new edition opened up every class and race combination. So from the onset, the concept found purchase in the main periodical publication for the game for the issue immediately scheduled to follow the wide release of the 3rd edition game.

Dragon #275, September 2000

- There was a half-orc paladin for the D&D miniatures line, released with the Underdark set in 2005.

Half-orc Paladin miniature, Underdark set

- Bringing it back to the Forgotten Realms, in Player's Guide to Faerun, we have art showing line-ups of the different races and ethnicities. For the half-human line-up, shown below, we get a good look at a half-elf, a half-orc and a half-drow. Take a closer look at the half-orc with his sword and armor with the holy symbol of Tyr (scales on a hammer) emblazoned on his breastplate. This half-orc is very likely a paladin of Tyr (or arguably a cleric of Tyr with the War Domain, or maybe a Justiciar). Not that any order or subsect of Tyr's clergy have less stringent commandments, they're all paladin-like.

Half-humans, Player's Guide to Faerun
by Steve Prescott

- Now paladins are most-righteous folk, but it doesn't mean other types of holy warriors are lesser in discipline and devotion.

Races of Destiny gave us a half-orc cleric on its cover.

Races of Destiny cover art
by Adam Rex

Complete Divine gave us the Pious Templar prestige class and the art and sample character provided us with Graaghya, a badass armored half-orc female. While she's still a worshiper of wily old Gruumsh, the Pious Templar is a less barbarian-esque take on one of his followers.

Pious Templar, Complete Divine
by Wayne Reynolds

- Then we have a few depictions of half-orcs in non-savage or less savage images. These characters may not all be good or even lawful, but they seem like honest, 'civilized' people going about their business. These pieces offer some respite from the raging, axe-wielding, berserker foaming at the mouth archetype we're so used to seeing with orc art.

Half-orc Samurai, Complete Warrior
by Doug Kovacs
(Now artists for much of the DCC RPG line) 

Half-orc Bouncer, Races of Destiny
by Jim Nelson

Occult Slayer, Complete Warrior

Bloodhound, Complete Adventurer
by Steve Belledin

In the early days of 3E, WotC offered an extensive series of character portrait sketches by many different artists, many of them TSR staples. Amongst them were these non-standard orcs by Sam Wood, one of the initial concept artists for 3E.

Half-orc Wizard, DnD website
by Sam Wood

Half-orc Bard, DnD Website
by Sam Wood

Half-orc Dragonrider, DnD website
by Sam Wood

Lest we think all the non-standard orc depictions were found in the Core books, here are some more Forgotten Realms examples, beginning with the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting book that started it all for 3E FR:

Racial Line-up, FRCS
by Todd Lockwood
(Note: Female half-orc warrior in sensible armor, more fighter than barbarian.)

Trademeed in Narfell, FRCS
by Carlo Arellano
(Looks like a half-orc inspecting a weapon for purchase.
A marauding orc would just raid the place for steel and goods.)

Further continuing with other FR 3E/3.5E supplements:

Imperfect Companions, Champions of Valor
by Ralph Horsley
(A half-orc in armor with a mace, more cleric than barbarian.)

"Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous", Power of Faerun
by William O'Connor
(Bodyguard/Chaperon or former adventuring companion)

More civilized seeming orcs were also present in the video game side of the D&D and FR franchise.

Half-orc portrait, Icewind Dale 2 CRPG
(Plate armor, metal shield, and a serene pose and expression.)

As we can see, the notion of righteous and/or civilized half-orcs has been an ongoing concept before 5th Edition was an inkling in Wizard's business plan (indeed before WotC brought out TSR). The recent illustration is another good addition to this trend.

Half-orc paladin, D&D 5E Player's Handbook

Let's just keep in mind it's a trend that was started at least 14 years ago, two D&D editions back (three editions (and almost 20 years) if you count the Shield of Innocence character).

Half-orc Paladin
by Mark Zug

 Make that at least 15 years ago when it comes to illustrations.

Half-orc Paladin
by Todd Lockwood

Sure there are plenty of foaming-mad, barbarian-type 'primitive savage' orc and half-orc illustrations in D&D and FR, but to say that one 5E art piece is revolutionary while imply the setting has done a poor job at offering non-problematic depictions as a contrast is being unfair to the setting and the people who worked hard to inject inclusive and progressive art and lore into the game over the decades.

Didn't see those Kobolds strike.

By now everyone and their animal companion are lighting up the social media and blogging about the official announcement for the release date of D&D 5th Edition (5E, Next, etc.). In addition we get images of the cover art and design, the trade dress, page count, the staggered release dates, the presence of the starter set, the three core rule books, the deluxe DM screen, and the first adventures at release with the Tyranny of Dragon. Through it all, people are analyzing the released information with fine-tooth combs. That's all fun and distracting, but much of it was as expected.

What really seemed to come out of no where was the reveal that the designers for the two Tyranny of Dragons adventures, Horde of the Dragon Queen and The Rise of Tiamat, were none other than Wolfgang Baur and Steven Winter, but it was actually Wolfgang's company Kobold Press that was hired as a third party developer for the adventures. The press release and Q&A on KoboldPress.com explains this arrangement was similar to the video game industry setup of having games developed by one company but published by another (and sometimes the publisher does own the IP of the game being developed). The Kobold blog post notes this is a one-time deal and does not mean KP has rights to write more official D&D adventures or if this is the model going forward for D&D adventures or even if this is a hint at the OGL equivalent for the upcoming edition.

Kobold Press's involvement is significant because although both authors have written adventures for TSR/WotC previous, in the capacity of employees and as freelancers, this is the first time they've been included as part of a third party company. Not to say KP had free reign over this project as I'm sure WotC had guidelines and requirements they desired for these adventures, but inclusion of a third party company does seem to indicate the possibility of allowing KP more freedom in following through with the entire chain of design, from content creation to writing to art direction. Certainly this doesn't mean the designers will necessarily write differently, but there could be an alternate mentality going into this as another company versus as freelancers hired by the publisher. Either way, congratulations to Wolfgang and Steven and the whole Kobold team involved in this. This is a profile raising contract and really goes to show the support Kobold Press has even amongst the major RPG companies. As always, I'm looking forward to new adventures from Kobold Press and am doubly curious due to the tie-in with the new D&D.

Magic: The Gathering Movie confirmed. Is D&D Next?

Hollywood Reporter has an article (Link) about Hasbro inking a deal with 20th Century Fox for a Magic: The Gathering movie franchise. They've signed writer-producer Simon Kinberg (Fox's X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises) to lead the development.

I noticed the article said Hasbro, which means it's the head office making the movie decisions, not Wizards of the Coast. Makes sense as these are expensive efforts and they need the big shots calling all the shots. The potential benefits reach into the billion dollar range if they launch a successful movie franchise (and sell more Magic cards, novels, merchandise) and that's not even talking about LotR or Harry Potter numbers. I'm sure Hasbro is hoping for Transformer numbers or even GI Joe numbers (and not Battleship numbers).

The relevance to the D&D? Well it gives extra urgency to the lawsuit Hasbro has with the previous (current) D&D movie producer and the studio he's signed with, since Hasbro wants to launch its own D&D movie effort. It seems the Hasbro giant has awoken and is hungry for more big movie franchises made from its IP.

It's D&D's 40th Anniversary this year, and MtG's 20th Anniversary. Despite the card game doing better business, it's D&D that holds more cultural significance.

If Hasbro cannot get a generic D&D movie off the ground, do you think they would resort to using one of the settings to launch a movie instead, such as Dragonlance or Forgotten Realms?

I think if the holdup for D&D drags on and Hasbro sees good numbers for Magic, then they will certainly do everything in their power to cinematize more IP. If the numbers are good enough, they might even settle to expedite the release of rights for D&D.

Musings on Forgotten Realms Icons for 13th Age (Archmage Engine)

A discussion came up on the Candlekeep Forums (a Forgotten Realms fansite) asking about 13th Age (Archmage Engine) Icon implementation for the Realms setting. There are some differences between FR and the 13th Age setting that would make a 1-to-1 correlation between Icons less than precise.

I hadn't thought about the topic with any earnest effort, so instead I pointed them towards the Icon system applied to Kobold Press' Midgard campaign setting (Link) written by Wade Rockett. I hoped it would provide an additional example to show the flexibility that could be introduced to the Icon system. Whereas the 13th Age Icons are almost entirely individuals, Midgard Icons introduced a few more councils and secret societies.

After a brief search, I found this topic was discussed briefly before on Candlekeep with one participant providing a comprehensive outline of options. The different threads and examples got my brain jumpstarted on the topic and I came up with a list of my own. Of course this is not a formal write-up in the proper format, but just a quick list with some thoughts on the matter. If one wanted a gameable summary, there's enough lore floating around for each proposed Icon on the FR Wiki to make a worthy "official" Icon write-up.

There are a multitude of rulers, archmages, liches, ancient beings, and clergy leaders to choose from, but not all of them fit the Icon role. With some archetypes lacking an equivalent in the Realms, I choose a best fit group or figure followed by my explanation. I held the obvious 'Icon-ability' of Realms figures or groups above their suitability as a direct match to an existing 13th Age Icons (as the Midgard Icons played loose with the direct matching). Overall I tried to avoid actual deities (as both 13th Age and Midgard have avoided) or most of the traditional Chosen (of Mystra), given their unusual roles in the setting. Also, I gave an attempt to spread the Icon allotment out amongst the different alignments.

Using the 2E/3E era Realms (Because.) I would short list the following as Icons of the Realms with the intent of treating them as "universal" setting-wide Icons, rather than more regional Icons as suggested in some of the above linked discussions.

Waterdeep

The Lords of Waterdeep: Few cities are as indicative of the Realms as the setting's preeminent city and a hallmark of Waterdeep is its council of masked rulers. The city is a setting unto itself, but even then, the city's reach of trade is long and its influence relatively widespread. Plus the Lords have a board game themed around them. ; ) The Lords of Waterdeep also incorporates the machinations of Khelben/Blackstaff, Laeral, and the Moonstars.

Queen Amlaruil: The archetypal elf queen. Though she is aloof and isolated in Evermeet, she has agents promoting the elven agenda throughout the Realms. She is technically/nominally the ruler of all the elves. She is also the chosen of the Seldarine, making her something of a proxy or demigod, right at the boundary between mortal and deity.

The Princes of Shade: Though we could easily single out Telamont Thanthul. Love them or hate them, there's no denying the Shades are striving to be a major power in the setting (with the capability to accomplish that goal) and the princes are suitable iconic faces for the Shadovar.

Purple Dragon of Cormyr

King Azoun IV (or later the Steel Regent Alusair): After the events of the the Tuigan Horde, Azoun had expended and reacquired a considerable amount of political capital and fame. He is the leader of one of the most stable longstanding kingdoms in the Realms, and is a central figureheads for law and order, but also good. After his death, Alusair is a capable successor for the role. 

Sammaster, the Cultist: He IS the Cult of the Dragon and through the cult, he is everywhere. Cult leaders have the proper cult of personality for Iconhood. Plus he holds great personal power and finds a way to return every time he's destroyed. He has a lot of unique things going for him being the most well known (only?) ex-Chosen. He's been a mainstay villain of the setting since the beginning.

The Magister: Ideally Azuth is the Archmage Icon role, but we're drawing the line between icons and deities. The various chosen could work, some better than others, but their actual role in the setting is controversial. The next logical choice is the office of the Magister, sort of the poor man's Chosen. The Magister has been sort of ignored in all the hubbub revolving around the monolithic Chosen, which is good for gaming flexibility, plus it's an official title with rules of succession rather than the more freewheeling Chosen.

In this Icon role, the Magister would be responsible for promoting and protecting magic, possibly to the exclusion to traditional 'goodly' notions. We can substitute in the Blackstaff here, but his role is more limited than the Magister's general focus on promoting magic, even if he is a more manipulative and interventionist figure. It also doesn't matter who the Magister is, though there's no reason to remove Talatha Vaerovree from the office.

The Zhentarim

The Black Network (the Zhentarim): As opposed to Manshoon or Fzoul since leadership is shared, split, or exchanged between them at various times. The one constant through the different renditions of the Realms is the Zhentarim itself in one form or another.

Tchazzar, the Dragon Tyrant: Hand waving this one a bit. There are many powerful dragons in the Realms, but few with a noticeable influence beyond a small local region. While that holds true for Tchazzar, he is one of the most historically active dragons in the setting and one with actual skin in the game amongst mortal nations. In this Icon role, Tchazzar would take on something of a more active draconic and nation-building agenda. Doesn't matter that he's dead through much of the 3E era. Magic can fix that. He also doesn't need to be the absolute ruler of Chessenta.

The Emerald Enclave: Also another hand waving bit. There are localized druid orders throughout the Realms and the Emerald Enclave is one such sect, but they're probably the most powerful. Their influence is also spreading beyond their traditional turf as they've enforced their presence in the Realm of the Purple Staff along the Dragon Coast and much of the Vilhon Reach/Chondalwood area.

The Red Wizards of Thay

Szass Tam, the Red Wizard: The Red Wizards are a logical choice, but they're still an unwieldy and disparate lot. Tam, on the other hand, is the most powerful Zulkir and supposed true ruler of Thay and thus the de facto leader of the Red Wizards (whether the other Zulkirs realize or admit it). Stately and surprisingly cordial, he is also the only overt lich to rule a powerful nation.
There are liches more powerful than Tam, such as Larloch, Aumvor, and Ioulaum, but they are withdrawn and unknown to most of the world. Others like Shoon VII and the Twisted Rune prefer working from the shadows or have still yet to make their presence known to the wider world. 

The Demon Lord: Here we'll go with Eltab, being one of the better established Realms-specific demon lords with a long history in the east between the time of the Nar Demonbinders and his activities in Thay and beyond. His presence in the Citadel of Conjurers revitalizes the Narfell as an ever active threat to neighboring kingdoms of which there are many (Impiltur, Rasheman, perhaps Damara, Narfell itself, even Thay and the Endless Waste/the Raumviran/Yaimunahar).

We could go with Malkizid, but he seems more concerned with elven affairs (likewise Wendonai with the Drow). Many of the other elder evils mentioned in Champions of Ruin are not quite as coherent as Eltab (some are closer to forces of nature than sentient antagonists). Alternatively we could exchange Eltab with a version of Errtu if we're looking for someone with roots in the North. Another alternative is a return of the Trio Nefarious (but elf focused again).

The Harpers

The High Harpers: Few groups have their meddlesome hands in the affairs and secrets of the world like the Harpers. This is a good compromise between the Harper semi-secret organization as a whole and the few Chosen who take up the inordinate amount of spotlight within said secret society. If one likes, the remaining Chosen (El, Dove, and Storm) can be rotated out (not a new concept seeing as Khelben, Laeral and Alustriel departed) and replaced with new members, or the non-Chosen members can be emphasized. Pre-schism, the Chosen are mostly accounted for here.

The High Lady: Alustriel is not only the leader of the Silver Marches, she holds sway over the complex alliance necessary to keep such a confederation together. She also maintains a network of consorts, lovers, relatives, friends, children, allies, and apprentices ready to act as her agents. She can also stand in for the interests of the Chosen and the Seven Sisters, giving those concepts a focal point rather than having them seem to meddle overmuch across the entire setting.

***

The above makes 13 Icons. Here's my rough break down of where they fit on the Heroic/Ambiguous/Villainous spectrum:

Heroic: Usually the Lords of Waterdeep, King Azoun IV, Queen Amlaruil, the High Lady; possibly the Magister, and the High Harpers

Ambiguous: Usually the Magister, the High Harpers, the Emerald Enclave; possibly the Lords of Waterdeep, Queen Amlaruil, and Szass Tam

Villainous: Usually the Black Network, the Princes of Shade, Sammaster, Szass Tam, Tchazzar, the Demon Lord; possibly the Emerald Enclave

***

The list is not comprehensive, but attempts to serve as a quick snapshot or summary of what the Realms has to offer in terms of power groups and movers-and-shakers (without letting deities and Chosen dominate the list).

There are some major holes in my list: 

- There is no Dwarf King icon equivalent, but that sort of holds true for Midgard (and they have Dwarves up the wazoo), so they resorted to a dwarven secret society. The dwarves of the Realms are in a more disarrayed state than those other settings.

- There is no Orc Lord icon, but King Obould of Many-Arrows or Sythilis/Sothilis ogre-mage ruler of Murandinn don't quite have enough far-reaching influence. 

- The lack of a good CN ambiguous Icon (or generally more neutral Icons), which the Simbul is suited for as mentioned below.

- There is a Northern bias as most of the Icons have their power base north of the Sea of Fallen Stars. 

***

The following few can work in the Icon role, but I feel are a bit more limited than the above for the various position.

The Blackstaff: Easy to slot into several Icons roles, but I covered above why I would select others over him/her.

The Witch-Queen: The Simbul has a fierce reputation, the raw power to back it up, and she commands the resources of a nation, but is restrained by the interests of the very nation she protects. She is somewhat less influential than Alustriel, in my opinion, even if I think she's a more interesting character than her sister. If there was one replacement I would make, this would be it, especially since the High Lady archetype overlaps with Queen Amlaruil's Elf Queen archetype.

The Sunmaster: Daelegoth Orndeir is basically a cult leader as fanatical as Sammaster after casting the Eternal Sun over Elversult, just with less dracolichdom and murder (maybe not by much, depending on who's at the receiving end). His influence is a bit limited in geography and theological scope (Amaunator is still a dead god or a Lathanderite heresy at best in the 3E era).

The Lord Who Watches: The Hidden Lord Gargauth represents the diabolical influence in the setting (replacing Asmodeus' role as given in the 4E Realms). This move magnifies his current status in the 3E Realms. As a demipower and former archdevil, he fits perfectly in that middle ground. However, we already have a LE Icon in the Black Network and their close association with Bane, we also already have a fiendish Icon in Eltab.

The outline given in the other Candlekeep thread linked earlier in this post provides good additional options (and more of them), some better tailored to certain games (especially regional ones or those looking for a direct 13th Age Icon match) than my outline here attempting broad setting-wide icons. 

* One more idea before concluding, take the malleable 13th Icon role (occupied by the Prince of Shadows in 13th Age, who doesn't make it onto the d12 Icon die) and make it swappable with any of a number of alternative Icons to cater a game to a specific region. Or keep it open to show the gradual shifts playing out across the complex relationship between the power groups. In this way, it's not the 13th Icon himself who is unknown, but the position of the 13th Icon that is ever fluid.

---

(Image Credits: Organization emblems (Waterdeep, Cormyr, Red Wizards, Harpers) from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, 2001; except the Zhentarim emblem, which was obtained from Candlekeep's archives and cropped from the original.)

(Dungeons and Dragons, the Forgotten Realms, and associated materials, trademarks, copyrights, names, organizations, characters and their distinctive likenesses are intellectual property of Wizards of the Coast. This blog is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored, or specifically approved by Wizards of the Coast.)

A New Year

We've shot way past this didn't we?

Welcome to 2014.

We're a 111 years (give or take) from the flight of the first airplane, a hundred years from the start of World War I, thirty years beyond the dystopia of 1984 as imagined in '48, and five years after the Near-Apocalypse of 2009, by some reckoning.

It's a new year and with it comes resolutions I'll probably procrastinate and second guess.

Hey everyone running down their list and will actually follow through with cool gaming-related stuff. I'll put up my list of wishful thinking.


Kickstarter: The Dissection
I'll continue to ramble about things that arrived from Kickstarter projects and discuss things that have fewer sightings than blind terrestrial rodents on days other than Groundhogs Day. 

Pathfinder: The Butchery
I'll make some attempt at posting junk for the Pathfinder system because the system is satisfyingly crunchy I won't be able to avoid breaking some eggs just to join in the cacophony.

The D20 Detritus Deluge
In which I will delve into my growing collection of materials from the D20 boom ... and examine it. What is it? Is it any fun? What is it doing on my shelf anyway?

Let's Read: The Forgotten Realms Campaign Boxed Set (2nd Edition)
Why 2nd Edition? Why not! There are plenty of defenders for the Old Grey Box (1st Edition version) as to the setting's old school credibility. I'm not going to say that continues with the second version, but it was my first introduction to the setting and I found it enough to make me a fan of the setting. I've learned much more about world building in the years since and I've grown quite sick of the more recent stuff. We'll see how it holds up.

Pseudo-Projects
I wouldn't get my own hopes up for these, they are so far term they make the Realms Beyond feel cozy and proximal.

~ The Homebrood
A mutating homebrew setting that probably isn't anything like I originally started out with.

~ Realmsfinder
A related carnage to the above mentioned Pathfinder butchery. An attempt to convert to Pathfinder some elements of the now Misbegotten Realms liberally mixed with Golarion and Midgard, perhaps hammered out into a veneer of a setting which is not much worse than the Realms people paid money for. It's not the setting you deserve, it's the setting composed through market research and misplaced 4xtreme post-90s angst. We have low standards on this blog.

~ The Vicious Coil
Continuing the snake-themed world building from the random races experiment of yesteryear.

~ Glamouriana
A dark fantasy side-project drawn from the remnant ichors of the discards above. Or basically me cobbling a lot of crap together into something weird in the absence of creative ideas. An Elizabethanesque swashbuckling and sorcery clockpunk setting with mythos elements diluted into pre-deluvian seafaring bloodlines in overt competitive intrigue against a faux Europe.

~ Project 44
A vestigial outgrowth of the mess above. A sci-fantasy setting where 'unspace' alters the people traveling through it but presents the only feasible method for interstellar transportation. Our intrepid explorers meet strange races in the dark cold void of other space. Weird shenanigans ensue.

~ Liminal Verge
Coming from an extensive time in freeform PBeMs, I've always wanted a way to frame freeform games in some semblance of non-arbitrary action resolution. This is intended for a near post-scarcity, humanistic, cyberpunk lite, space opera that pretends to be thought-provoking science fiction. Not that any of this matters as I know most participants in such games and the associated setting universe would rather wank poetic in their debauched freeform decadence.

Indeed as the list of projects progresses, I have a diminishing notion of how I'm going to even approach them. Though, it was a blast to give them evocative or ominous monikers.

Thirty Days of D&D, Day 8 & 9: Favorite character

Day 8: Favorite Character You Have Played

This is a tough one, like a parent choosing amongst their children. There are rascals you think you'd love less, but if you really consider the question, you find each person indispensable. I'll spare the details in the customary list of names, classes, and adventure summaries and just say I find many of my characters interesting and favored for different reasons.

As PbP/PBeM is a medium that allows room for lots of character development (the staccato pace is well suited for more 'writerly' players), it is easy for me to spin a character who I will get attached to. Given the pace of PbP/PBeM, you have to play a character you're willing to return to regularly over a long time frame. Heavy character development also presents the player with plenty of roleplaying opportunities and plot hooks, necessary for the slower games, which require players to pick up the slack in terms of driving impetus. Combat being one of the slowest aspects of gaming, the GM can't toss a random battle into the mix at will to draw in players attention like in a face-to-face or even a chat game.

That wasn't much of a solid answer, even if it is how I feel. Since the next day includes a similar topic, I'm going to roll it into this post.

Day 9: Favorite Character You Haven't Played

I've tried to get this one character concept off the ground in several games but all the games fizzled either before they began or very shortly after. The character is Gedregan Dalaraster, with some variations on the name depending on the game. Originally set up as a wizard, but soon switch to an archivist (the prepared divine caster class from Heroes of Horror), he was alternatively a 'freestaff' from Halruaa (a southern magocracy in the Forgotten Realms) or a more secular follower of the deities of knowledge and lore (possible Realms patrons include Azuth, or Oghma, maybe Deneir). Something about the lore-based specialization of the class and character fit like a glove into the Realms setting.

I find the archivist to be a fun take on divine magic, a scholar who sees divine magic distanced from the deities that power them. The flavor of pouring over musky tomes in search of forgotten or sometimes forbidden spells and information from deities or entities long dead has an excellent dark fantasy vibe. The knowledge-based monster vulnerability identification abilities also alight perfectly with the archetype.

The archetype is so much fun,
even Blizzard had a go at it in Diablo III,
albeit as an fairly elaborate April Fools joke.

The archivist also leans towards a more modern class design ideal possessing scaling class abilities that diversify with increasing levels. This is very new school, but if we're playing 3E or later era games, I'd rather the classes be along this design style than ones that encourage prestige or multi-class min-maxing. Largely Pathfinder has realized this and their classes fall within this style. The class would convert easily to Pathfinder and I'll have to see if I can play the character via that system.

Thirty Days of D&D, Day 6: Favorite Deity

Favorite deity? There are many quantifiers one could and should put on to these topics. Following the theme of the last few posts, I'm going to limit this to the Realms.

My favorite Realms deity is Helm, the watcher, god of guardians. He makes for a great player character patron deity because his portfolio clicks with what most players do, whether the goodly paladin on a righteous quest or just an honest guard looking to do his job. The most likely "adventurer" deity in the Realms is probably Tymora, goddess of luck with her happy-go-lucky ne'er doer followers. While Tymora has the slackers covered, Helm provides a more pragmatic alternative to those not of the lovable roguish persuasion.

As a lawful neutral deity, he's not as limited in his scope as the good or evil deities. When followers of these other deities, especially good ones, start to reinterpret their divine teachings in malleable ways we're headed into heresy territory or outright corruption. Helm's followers can be both and that's just a normal day for them.

In aiming for a grittier darker points-of-light setting for 4E Realms, I was surprised WotC decided to kill of Helm. Here was this grim grey god who's ethos was to hold these flickering points-of-light at all costs. This perfectly supports lawful badasses in a life & death struggle against the grim-dark. This guy is pure anti-hero fuel.

Demon, you have too many arms.
Here, allow me to fix that for you.

It gets harder and harder to make excuses for the odd 4E Realms changes. A case can be made to trim the pantheon down sure, but offing one of the deities that most embodies the tone you're trying to establish is quite ridiculous. Instead of choosing deities that simply overlap, it wouldn't have been too much effort to go through the list and strike off entities of far more limited reach and exposure.

Or why kill gods to begin with? Why not shuffle the ones you feel redundant off into the sidelines for an edition. See if people just forget about them. I understand deicide if there was some epic metaplot to be accomplished (at least Mystra 2.0's death had that going for it), but Helm died at the hands of Tyr over a misunderstanding over Tymora. All this amounted to an awkward not-quite-love-triangle that one might find in an uninspired afternoon soap opera plot (cause some inspired soap operas plots will give the X-Men a run for their money). There's character flaws and then there's just stupid. There's classical tragedy and then there's plain silly. Guess which one this development falls under.

This all quickly became meaningless as the event sullied Tyr's name (in the eyes of fans) to the point where during the the 4E transition activity, the designers actually listened to the hordes of WotC forum goers and decided to kill Tyr as well. The net utility of this sound and fury (oh, we're killing gods left and right, tremble!) was zilch.

Hi, my name is Kalen
and I'm a Helmite.

Hi, I'm Kleef.
I too am a Helmite.

Not all is lost, however. Some of the authors know where the potential is at. Erik Scott de Bie has two or three FR novels out centered on his protagonist Kalen Dren, a paladin of Helm, known as Shadowbane. How is someone worshiping and empowered by a dead god? Well, death hasn't really stopped deities before.

To transition us from 4E Realms to Next Realms (5E), Troy Denning's contribution to The Sundering series, The Sentinel, features Kleef Kenric, an embittered paladin of Helm. You know, the dead god who's not really that dead seeing as how his worship base probably eclipses most major deities if novel characters are a representative sample. If they're not, well just goes to show all the interesting stuff is happening with his clergy (paladins can be considered clergy, right?).

Goes to show, can't keep a good god down.

Or in this case, lawful neutral with good tendencies. Except for that conquistador thing down in Maztica, but they Spellplagued that away to Abeir (or otherwise blew it up, who knows) so no need to make a big fuss about it.

Most Disliked RPG Setting

Tenkar had a post up at the Tavern that is an interesting side discussion to the topic from yesterday (Favorite Gameworld), what is your most disliked gameworld.

Just realized this was a
Silver Anniversary item.
Of all the things...

His choice was Council of Wyrms. I could definitely see it being a contender. I own the hardback*, but never used it. The premise seemed interesting, but it never inspired me enough to roused my group to attempt to game with it. Expected something a bit ... More ... seeing as dragons are the mascot creature for D&D.

* Can't believe the boxed set actually did well enough to warrant the hardback, which I was suckered into purchasing. I guess anything with dragons in it does sell books, worked on me. Thankfully it was the waning days of 2E. I'm pretty sure I grabbed for a few bucks.

Still, it's not my least favorite. Now, I try not to rag on most setting as I realize they're a matter of personal taste. I also find gems in each setting adaptable for other purposes in every setting I've encountered. No matter how much it doesn't strike my interest. Council of Wyrms was uninspiring but it didn't rub me the wrong way.

I reserve my ire for a particular transgression to settingdom. None other than the 4th edition version of my favorite gameworld not so freshly wrung through the cataclysmic Spellplague - the New "Forgotten Realms."

"They told me the portrait was for a
"Save the Dragons" charity.
Those bastards!"

There are many things to dislike about the setting, from the oddball changes to arbitrary shenanigans used to bring about those changes to the ugly as mud map. For a setting supposedly trying to divorce itself from the baggage of the prior edition, it sure spends much of its limited word count (in larger font size and big blank margins) trying to describe how things changed and why people should care now. Trying to please everyone meant it appealed to no one*.

* [Mini-rant] Or not enough people. I'm supposed to be careful not to tread on the eggshell sentiments of 4E Realms fans, lest I be labeled a hater and troll.

Actually, hold on. 

*CRUNCH* 

Oops. (By 'oops' I mean 'up yours', excuse my gnomish.)

I've been dealing with Realms hate and anti-Realms trolls since before 4E, Drizzt killed my puppy that, or Elminster seduced my character's mother this. You will deal with setting negativity as I had for years as a Realms fan. Get in line, it's your turn. [/Mini-rant]

The 4E transition for the Realms is something I wish on no setting. To take something with a fanbase and change it so thoroughly, so obtusely, and then use negativity to sell the new product by standing on the remnants of the previous work is just insulting. I surmise Greyhawk fans felt the same after the last few TSR products before publication switched to the Realms (mind you, at least they didn't say Greyhawk was now the Realms a hundred years later, which is what 4E Realms is to the old Realms.) Dragonlance fans have experienced this as well with the different ages. Even Realms fans had the Time of Troubles as the poor precedent, but the ToT was a school-yard scuffle compared to the Spellplague and century timeline jump.

Look! I found out who ate all the split pea soup.

Fans riled against the transition at the onset, loud and clear, voices upon ears which heard but didn't give a damn. Quite a bit of arrogance there to assume the words of proven fans are worthless and there exists some other imaginary fanbase willing to sweep up the franchise due to your big relaunch, which focused on how the setting is different but the same as before. How's that working out WotC?

Now 4E Realms apologists would say the setting is actually doing quite alright and the upcoming Sundering event is by no means an admission of issues or a rescinding of the 4E/Spellplague-derived problems. Of course corporations never apologize, but the writing is on the walls. They used the same marketing to convince people the 4E Realms would be different, except there's less immature "Holy Cow Slaughtering" and "Kill it and take it's stuff" talking points.

If this uber-RSE doesn't work, well I expect a reboot to the Grey Box era Realms, which would be an excellent choice.

Of course they could make things worse by going for a Spellplague II equivalent. What are they going to do then? Kill Mystra (4.0 by now) again (death #4 by then)?

Either way it will be interesting, the latter more comical than anything. At least the setting would still provide entertainment value.

We need a BIGGER Realms Shattering Event.
A Realms *Sundering* Event!

Thirty Days of D&D, Day 4: Favorite Gameworld

"TSR Jam" by Todd Lockwood

Gameworlds.
Campaign Settings.

This was intended to be the meat and potatoes of this blog ... if I ever pick my brain off the floor and gather any momentum in writing half the things I want to.

I've dabble in a bunch of gameworlds over the years from Dark Sun to Ravenloft to Planescape to Eberron to a veritable library of settings during the d20 boom to Golarion and beyond.

As in previous posts, there's a short answer to the question: The Forgotten Realms.

Why the Forgotten Realms? Some people hate the Realms (and I mean red hot, teeth-gnashing, it killed their mothers, violated their fathers, shoved a puppy up their kitten's rear, while yammering too loudly on a phone in a foreign language and breathing second-hand smoke into an orphanage kind of hate). It (merely) doesn't work for others, some find it okay and nothing special. Some, like myself, love it despite its noted shortcomings and recent upheavals.

Then what about the Forgotten Realms makes it my favorite setting? Let's gloss over the novels and related characters and the preponderance on big Realms Shaking Events (RSEs, even the authors and design team has adopted the term, it's that prevalent). Let's take it as a setting presented in most of its gaming sourcebooks and in its articles (often by its creator).

To me it feels like home or a place I wouldn't mind living in, therefore a place I see my character living in and a place worth fighting for. Other settings often try too hard to establish these goodly places, makes them boring or too mushy. Others do this then slathers on layers of corruption and intrigue to the point where the good guys are worse than the bad guys. Others don't bother at all and revel in their supposed grim-dark. FR gets the balance right, nice places are threatened (both from without and within, don't mistake lack of extremes for lack of complexity), but there's a chance to make a difference.

I've heard the setting described as a typical Tolkienesque setting at its core that expands into a rather Howardesque or more accurately Leiberesque periphery and these areas get even more dangerous, exotic, and weird. I find that's pretty accurate. The world is not without its horrors, of both mortal/human and immortal/inhuman varieties. There is never a lack of things or people who will make your day a terrible day. There are plenty of troubles large and small, it's a setting that lives because there is no single monolithic trend but lots of factions, peoples, religions, cultists, individuals out for themselves.

It has a suitable juxtaposition of safe and unsafe that established a natural 'points of light' setting, which the 4E version missed entirely and scrapped in favor of its own take on the setup. It's also not just this binary black and white world as so often explained in summary. I once read a brief blurb by Ed Greenwood on the fate of one Halruaan wizard and I came away realizing the setting at times has a cold gray callousness that few settings can manage to capture even on their best examples.

It's not just a place, it's a set of characters (not just the Chosen or the pantheon either). In a couple of paragraphs, Ed showed humans not thinking or acting like humans we know would act in this modern day and age, but they sure as heck sound like what humans would act like given the same circumstances. The Realms became real in that instance and there are many instances like it throughout Realmslore. Ignore the marketing (the events and some of the novels), there's a sharp gem of a setting past the facade.

Forget other settings espousing their ambiguous pulpiness, their harsh pseudo-medieval grittiness, their cool fantasy punkiness, their hard-rated adult maturity, or whatever zeitgeist they've latched onto. The Realms doesn't say what it's about, the Realms shows it. The setting is pure sword and sorcery goodness albeit its own take on the genre.