For those of you haven't been following the updates to the Forgotten Realms for the 4th edition, many changes are planned that will please some people but annoy and aggravate the majority of faithful fans. I think I'm one of latter who doesn't like what I see.
Below is the teaser excerpt from the online Dragon that was just released January 11th at D&D Insider that leads to a detailed description of the changes:
Countdown to the Realms Year of the Ageless One Cities burned, kingdoms fell, luckless people were changed into monsters, and mages went berserk. This was the Spellplague, a rippling outbreak of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of magical catastrophes that left no corner of Faerûn untouched.
Click here to see what's got dDA upset now.
The New Forgotten Realms When WotC produced the new Forgotten Realms sourcebook for the 3rd edition of D&D, they incorpated the updates from the Times of Trouble that rocked the Reams. Some gods died while others changed. The storyline was one of the ways used to justify how the 3e changes came to be. This smoothed the way for new stats, powers and magic.
So now with the 4th edition being introduced, WotC has created the Spellplague storyline which will be used in the same way to explain the differences. The new Forgotten Realms jumps 94 years into the future and describes what has happened during that time. For the complete story, read the full story Dragon article here at www.wizards.com/default.asp.
News about the Spellplague isn't just recent, only the fine details that were just released. Basically, the Nethril Empire has returned to its original place in the Anauroch Desert, its people ruled by a "noble caste of shades" under the "dominion of shadow". It's not clear that this is what causes the Spellplague but it is a good possibility. Change occurs all across Faerun caused by magical storms. Jeremy E Grenemyer summarized the changes:
Baldur's Gate stands as the largest city in Faerûn, for its willingness to take refugees during the Spellplague.
Where the Landrise stood, a miles-wide pit now exists.
Thay's plateaus are thousands of feet higher up now.
The Spellplague was marginally resisted by areas with persistent magical wards, such as Mythals.
Where Sespech and Chondath once stood, the Changelands now exists: an area of active Spellplague that did not go away as time progressed.
Waterdeep stands as before, though its walking statues wrecked much ere they stopped after a day's worth of destruction. The Lords of Waterdeep exist, with the Blackstaff advising them still.
Sembia stands as the crown jewel in the Empire of Nethril. The sands of Netheril are slowly being taken over by water and vegetation, as the lords of Netheril spend much time to erase what the Phaerimm wrought.
Cormyr controls the former Sembian cities of Daerlun and Urmlaspyr, has battled the Empire of Netheril to retain its borders and has alligned itself with the Dalelands and Myth Drannor. King Foril, Grandson of Azoun V, sits upon the throne.
Where Unther stood, Tymanther, Land of the Dragon Warriors exists.
Things Will Never Be the Same It was made clear early on by WotC that it would not be possible to convert your current FR campaign to 4E, but few people realized the why and the how. It's clear that the Realms have changed in a major way and its population is dealing with the effects of the Spellplague, past and present. It effectively has created a new slant to all storylines that must address the changes and current dangers. It is obvious that most of the characters in your current campaign will be dead and buried 94 years later.
Change is a Good Thing Change doesn't have to be all bad. I was actually looking forward to the new release of the Campaign book. Updated storylines in the source book provide me with fresh ideas for my campaign. I can follow them or not and even ignore completely the new changes. I like the idea of evolving stories that may affect me.
At any given time, I'm usually only playing in one little corner of the Realms. So if a new story updates Cormyr, it has no impact on my adventures in Thay. And when we do return to Cormyr, maybe I want to incorporate the changes and maybe I won't.
Change is a Bad Thing The problem with the Spellplague is that it is widespread and affects all of Faerun. It's not just the rise of a new super-villain in one city in one country, it's everywhere. I can't ignore these changes. Any future storytelling about the Realms will now continue from this disaster point on. All modules from WotC will probably investigate the cause of the Spellplague leaving other storylines by the wayside. Heck, they've already jumped 94 years into the future so any stories I was following have long been resolved.
The SpellPlague Decision Don't get me wrong, I think the Spellplague is a fascinating story and can produce many interesting adventure. But to me it would be a campaign arc to be resolved, not a permanent, underlying condition to a whole world. I mean a whole new campaign setting world could have been set around this premise.
I feel like the Forgotten Realms has ended for me. I will continue to use the Realms the way they were and incorporate ideas into them as I decide. I will probably even use the Spellplague idea somewhere in my story for a localized area. But I'm guessing that this is where WotC and I part company about my favorite setting.
Someone on the Forgotten Realms forums described this update as an evil, parallel universe that has similar names to Faerun. The hope is that WotC comes to its senses and returns to the original Realms for 5E. Me, I`m hoping that someone steps out of the shower and we discover it was all a dream.
dDemonicAngels is the online identity of Bil White, a freelance writer living in Montreal. The Forgotten Realms has been the home for his campaign settings from day one so he has a long history with Faerun.
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