How D&D Completely Changed the Original Unther

[@edgreenwoodofficial]

Do you use real-world analogs in your games? Do you find that they help or hinder you when building stories?

[@Ceaudrious]

It helps actually.. You get free set of settings for free without inventing the Wheel again from the scratch... Specially if it is from high cultures that are not well known in pop culture... For instance most people know of the names of assyrian, Babylon or persia but they don't know nothing of their culture, inventions or life style. It's free fantasy setting to use for dm. For instance persia setting you can use pony express, avventurina smithing armor and weapons or coins, exotic fruits like pomegranate, Pistachio and Saffron. Red wine is national drink that is served in any tavern or inns. As rare types of classes that is common i would say assassins ( read alamut mountain and you learn about assassins orign) and psionic school of magic is learned out in bigger cities University. As entertainment poetry is form of Battle you show when you want attention or win a Battle of arguments.

[@royriley6282]

I do it, but I'm a history nerd who is religious about keeping his biases out of the story. Most writers simply aren't capable. They lack the grounding in history, actual history as in primary source. Moreover modern people, as a type, hold a presumptive and childishly arrogant view of the past and the people in it. It takes a whole heap of hypothetical reasoning to imagine what it's like to live in social systems alien to your own. It is an indisputable fact of demographics that the majority of the population lack that intellectual capacity. Much easier to just paint everything with a nonnuanced brush, get on your writer's pulpit and virtue signal.

[@joshuakanapkey6570]

I do use them in some instances. I find they help advise basic ideas of fashion and such, and I've been blessed over the years to not have players over-analyze the analogs.

[@wolfleclair1399]

Not often, I more often use analogs to some of my favorite fantasy settings-whether I mean to or not. I always try to make something original but aspects of what I enjoy tend to find their way into my creations. =^_^=

[@CyrixOkami]

Only if I am inspired by that general thing if not it's more my own based ideas in a world I made. D&D inspired me to write alot of my own stories and ideas. I love it and still do ever since I was little.

[@meluckycharms321]

I love hearing the real world reasons decisions are made for stories and mechanics. The reason Dragonborn were brought forth is interesting as heck.

[@rpgmatch5726]

Agreed!

[@royriley6282]

Ed's insistence on wanting to know the details of how a people live and how that lifestyle flows from geography and history is a credit to his ability as a writer.

[@kamikazechipmunk]

It's why the Realms are my favourite setting. They're so much more real than any other.

[@Scott.webb64]

Devil commander: Sir, a massive army is attacking the dragonborn of tymanthor! Asmodeus: Lol, who cares about the dragonborn? Devil commander: Sir, its a demon army, largest we've ever seen. Asmodeus: There is no call we do not answer, there is no faith we betray, the dragonborn call for aid, and the Nine Hells shall answer that call!

[@cameronpearce5943]

Exactly how that went down 😂

[@johnstuartkeller5244]

Thank you, Ed, for Unthering these questions!

[@GameTimeWhy]

Boo. Go home.

[@phoenixrising2609]

Nice

[@tentaclestv2476]

Thank you so much for slowly filling in the gaps left in the Realms of 5e’s lore. It’s this stuff and the novel line that my players and I crave. I can’t believe WotC hasn’t put out an updated Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting Sourcebook as high in quality as the 3rd Ed one yet. I think it would do really well as us Realmsheads are starved of information on post Spellplague Faerun.

[@Ceaudrious]

Love the video... Watching the patreon version right now... Happy we are not in sword Coast this time 🎉 So unther is babelon Mulhorand is egypt Calimshan is osmania (otteman) Murghôm is Constantinople Semphar is persia It’s so interesting

[@theophrastusbombastus1359]

The only thing I can find for osmania is a university. Is it an ancient empire or legendary sunken nation?

[@Ceaudrious]

@@theophrastusbombastus1359 it's just another name for Ottoman Empire... Osmania = otteman... I wrote the swedish name of it by mistake

[@iruatlocalhost]

Oh boy I need to watch that patreon video.

[@dwainedwards615]

You guys should also cover mulhorand

[@JohnSmith-o6h9l]

Hail, and well-met fellow adventurer. Back in 2001, my friends and I discovered Dungeons & Dragons. And shortly after that, we found the Forgotten Realms. And we fell in love with the world immediately and started using it for all our campaigns. I want to thank you for creating it and for all the work you put into it. If you would indulge me. There is one aspect of the Realms that I could never find much information on, and that would be psionics. Yes, Wizards of the Coast did publish three books dedicated to the topic: the Psionics Handbook in March 2001; the Expanded Psionics Handbook in April 2004; and Complete Psionic in April 2006, but none of those books were Forgotten Realms specific, and I have always wondered what your lore is regarding psionics in the Realms. Its nature, how it interacts with magic, whether it is magic but misidentified and categorized, religion, civilizations, how rare are psions, and much more. Honestly, I am curious to know everything you are willing to share. Admittedly you and Ivan could turn this into a full interview. Witch I would love. My interest in psionics in D&D stems from my fascination with the Force and Force users in Star Wars. Well, I think that is all I have to say and ask, and I would like to thank you again for the years of fun and enjoyment your world has given me and will continue to give.

[@edgreenwoodofficial]

Psionics is on the "to do" list!!!

[@JohnSmith-o6h9l]

@@edgreenwoodofficial Awesome, thank you.

[@soultron4238]

@@edgreenwoodofficialdoes this mean a journey to the remnants of Jhaamdath and today’s Vilhon Reach? Oh boy that would be cool!!

[@tkc1129]

I am conflicted about using real world stuff in my game. I entirely see what you are getting at, but with Tiamat and Bahamut as popular gods in the Realms it almost feels like it can't be avoided. So the genie is already out of the bottle, IMO. And the lore is interesting. So I have used Mulhorandi culture in my game, although so far not in Mulhorand itself (they are looking after a secret tomb to one of their fallen gods after a self-imposed exodus).

[@jeffreycrowder2866]

As always, thank you Mr. Greenwood for sharing with us.

[@jerichodrumm]

I ran a Unther Game in the 80s. It involved the Cult of the Dragon trying to ally with the Church of Tiamat. The players found a strange alliance with the chosen of Gilgeam (I forget his name. Black robes, mega powerful, big sword, the Reaper?) However before I could get the plot to come together the party suffered a TPK against a random encounter in volcanic lands. Pyrolisks! Save or Die was a bitch! To this day the "fire chicken" encounter is infamous at our table.

[@cameronpearce5943]

Oh man I really like the story of that blue dragon. I can only imagine how horrifying such a change would be for a creature like a dragon to loose many of its drives as another personality develops within its consciousness. Atleast it sounds like they’re doing ok and also benefiting the world around them for the most part

[@christopherbreen9471]

Always dig greenwood talks of the realms.

[@harryrobson4318]

Ah! Well that does explain it. I always felt it was very strange and out of character that Unther and Mulhorand were just boring cut and pastes. I liked the Desert of Desolation but remember when it wasnt attached to any world. It was a great adventure mod. but didnt really seem to fit Ed's realms which was so original. Thanks for restoring my faith in an all original realms.

[@maverickman6486]

Same here.

[@errindel]

I play in Chessenta/unther in 1358, and I agree with Ed. I wish more were done with 'old Unther'

[@Taricus]

I'm in the beginning of Uktar 1368 DR in the Moonsea region ☺

[@Peregrinans]

Always good to see a new video from Ed 😊

[@joshuakanapkey6570]

I've long been a fan of Unther and Chessenta - primarily because I have found Hoar/Assuran to be one of my favorite deities in the Realms!

[@yellowmartian]

I love this. I miss adventuring in the Realms. 😢

[@Kholan95]

Speaking of Gods getting killed, does Greenwood have any insight on the Duergar pantheon and Asmodeus's impersonations? I have heard mixed things as far as the return of Laduergar and Duerra 3:31

[@rpgmatch5726]

Wow. I love the original concept for Unther. 🐍🐍🐍

[@dragonpynk5091]

really enjoying all of these lore videos! Thanks!!!

[@autisticallyaccurate]

I hope to watch a video of Ed talking about Kara-Tur!

[@johngillan4475]

Thank you for your video

[@ReplicatorFifth]

Aww I really want to play in the original setting of now :( also, I like Ed has to point out no country is a monolith xD

[@heyyou193]

I love this lore videos! thanks you so much Ed for sharing it with us ♥ I do have a question tho: .... If the untherians are not magic or technological powerhouses, wouldn't be easier to select and enhance crops that work under the climate of their region instead of trying to... change the whole climate? I would also imagine the local serpents and magical snakes are used to the climate of the region and changing it would be negative for them.

[@docnecrotic]

Vaguely Stygian a la Conan, I dig it... more than what we got (and especially more than 4e's thing). Also kind of reminds me of the trade wars of Darokin and Minrothad in Mystara. Awesome!

[@DIEGhostfish]

More benevolent than Stgia.

[@ricardoandrade1524]

Recently have email asking about Chessenta for a project I'm finishing for the DM's Guild. The region is definitely surrounded by mysteries!

[@CyrixOkami]

I have alot of questions a friend had to find your channel for Me. If any were answered already links are appreciated cause my curiosity is peeked.

[@wolfleclair1399]

Hello, glad I could help. =^_^=

[@subatoistormborn5499]

My new favorite channel

[@marco0445]

If you do take suggestions, could you do the town of Phandalin next? It seems rather quaint and simple but to many new DnD players it means a lot!

[@edgreenwoodofficial]

I do take suggestions, but Phandalin will have to wait a little bit, because it's been updated twice (you've only seen two versions in published lore) and I have to make sure I'm current before I start talking. ;}

[@ReadingDave]

Mulhorland was a favorite place in the realms for me. We spent a few campaigns there. Desert of Destalation is the reason why we started playing with the Mulhorland setting. Unther was a great place to raid and forigners to deal with. Today, I'm using Unther as a mythic birthplace of dragonborn.

[@AlbertoRodriguez-zb3iu]

Fascinating stuff. It's a shame that corporate suits gets in the way of creativity because of their "views"

[@deserk]

Excellent lore! Really like Ed's original Unther. I do wonder with the snake influence though what deity was worshipped by Ed's Untherites? Sseth? Varae? I would love if FR designers could merge Ed's original ideas and the published version of Unther. You could have the Turami snake worshipping cults there that predate the arrival of the Untherites, and then after they were conquered, the snake cults could have always existed on the fringe of Untherite society. However, now with the modern era, with the Untheric pantheon largely dead (except for Gilgeam, Hoar, Tiamat), the old faith could become more pronounced through the awakening of long dormant elder serpents.

[@cyrotek3518]

Enlil does also exist (again). He became the "official" dragonborn god ... that barely anyone knows about because that was ever only used in a novel series, I think.

[@cameronpearce5943]

This is all really good for me to know as my party might be heading to that part of the realms after our current campaign. My pet project at the moment has been adapting Shadow of The Dragon Queen to work as a forgotten realms sequel to Tyranny of Dragons Part of that adventure requires the cult of the dragon to have a large powerbase outside the scope of that specific adventure, and I’ve been writing that they have been transforming desperate Dragonborn and other folk in that region into Draconians (very Wingfeather saga). Another thing is that the big siege at the end is on Waterdeep and the reason this neo-cult needs the death dragons is to mass produce low tier dracoliches immune to the dragonward protecting the city. Also in place of Soth I’m using a revived and corrupted Lord Dragonbane from Bloodstone Pass

[@edgreenwoodofficial]

That sounds very interesting! Please keep me posted!

[@brandondollar]

Thanks Ed!

[@fabio.machado]

Man, this hit me right in the nostalgia! My first FR character was a mage from Chessenta!

[@edgreenwoodofficial]

Chessenta is coming!!!! Well, it's down THERE on the list, but still...

[@ysq724y]

What a great episode! Although the ending got cut off & I wanted to hear that bit of behind the scenes!! Anyway loved hearing all this but especially interesting about Myr.

[@AndreaGiumetti]

Allways loved the concept of Unther, and of the corruption of Gileam from hero/sparacus of it's people to tyrant... and actually setted here two campaigns for 3.5. And also imported Unther for a wannabe son of Gileam asimaar in a recent campaign for v ed. as player

[@evilstermegaman]

I came here because of my new 5.24e West Marches character, who will be a Paladin of Hoar. It's astounding, that there's so few lore about that land on KZbin. Therefore, double the thanks for diving into it.

[@iainhaukka6553]

It took me until this video to realize...does Ed Greenwood have a lisp? I was confused when it was pronounced "unther" at the beginning but then Ed said "Unser." This confusion lasted until Ed said 'Sirteen hundreds," and then it all clicked. Great interview!

[@chadpatrick5112]

I want to play Lords of Waterdeep with Ed. I mean ... ideally, I would love to play D&D with him. But barring that, a game of LoW will suffice.

[@Taricus]

I actually like Ed's version better. I may actually incorporate that into the existing lore for The Old Kingdoms. A previous player had a wife from Mulhorand and was considering travelling there to see it, but they never did. When she last played, she was in the Pirate Isles in the Sea of Fallen Stars. So, she hadn't quite made it there yet. She started out in Shadowdale and her travelling was fun, because I got a chance to make all the regions she passed through to seem unique and bring the world alive. I'm currently doing that in a solo game with another player and it's at the end of 1368 DR, the beginning of Nightal, and headed towards Zhentil Keep. He's headed up to go steal a spellbook back from Nuzar of the Seven Curses to return to The Simbul (or really an archmage who is working on her behalf). It's fun to throw in some extra bits like Mask running from Kezef the Chaos Hound and rumors about goblinoid armies starting to work together when they normally fight each other. Then, rumors of them amassing on the Northern banks of the River Tesh and laying siege to the city. This character is an evil necromancer, so he likes the idea of a city that he can practice his magics a little more freely. He met some Cyricists that were attacking a sect of Orthodox Banites and helped clear a hidden temple under the ruins of Teshwave. As a reward, the Zhentarim agents signed a letter for him saying that he was helping with the cause and it acts as a temporary pass so he can pass the Tesh and Force to the inner Keep proper. They told him to seek out the priests at the Dark Altar and show them the letter, which was stamped with the seal of two different high priests of Cyric that he met along the way. Not only has he inadvertently become an associate of the Church of Cyric, but this opens up an opportunity for him to join the ranks of the Naug-adar. Nuzar is in the Common Quarter, so it solves the problem of him having to be sneaky and align with the Banites to seek passage across the Tesh under the cover of night to the sewers to the North. He says he's loving the story and I'm actually having a lot of fun doing an evil campaign, because it gives this unique twist to it. He's not all murderhobo, so it is working out great. --And, I still get to use all my books that I bought a long time ago and let him learn the lore and places in the Realms. He takes so many notes and he has never done that before. He's trying to piece all the stories together and figure out what this whole thing with Zhentil Keep is. He's about 6 days ride away now, and then he will hit the biggest city he has ever seen in the Realms and then I get to do all the intrigues and shadiness of the city. I'm excited! ^~^ I have people trying to join the campaign, but I am pretty happy with just having the solo player right now, and he's having fun too. He is fine with or without other people, but I'm liking being able to play out all the stories and not have to divide my attention so much. I'm used to huge groups, so a solo game is nice. I can play out the personalities of his henchman, his quasit familiar, and all the people he meets and spend more time with descriptions of the world to make it feel more realistic--like a movie. I notice he interacts with the game world a lot more than he normally would too.

[@subcitizen2012]

One thing I appreciate about the analog realms are their tie in back to earth, which makes for interolannar or intergalactic or planetary plots work just fine. Gygax's Oerth is just a hop and a skip away. A friend of mine, not knowing g akhthi g about dnd, created a character that he based somewhat strongly on a comic series and he wanted the adventures to be based in Italy. And I struggled with that becasue I don't know or don't have the immediate tools to make Italy into fantasy, there's no wiki for that. So I made earth his character's origin story and we went there temporarily from the realms with a time paradox that got resolved, and what he knows as "Italy" is really just Sembia anyway, Rome and Naples are on the Sword Coast too, rememeber? Totally, they're totally there. Just a short walk in the woods and a few random encounters away from Myth Drannor, totally, totally. I spell Earth Faerun sometimes. And a super satisfying tool for writing the campaigns is riffing and reinterpreting favorite movies and other media. It would take a whole, but it would be super thrilling to recreate Lord of the Rings inside Forgotten Realms. Uh, rake this, um, necklace, yeah yeah, to the fire pits of Mt. Boom, yeah totally, totally original. Here's Bildo and his nephew Froyo, and their loyal gardener Spam.

[@DeanNatheos-i2t]

Well done yet again have a good day. Toril is my favorite D&D world it is the best one . 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊.

[@kaijukoopa1248]

@edgreenwoodofficial mr greenwood, thank you for talking about unther. The more i hear the more i want to explore.

[@Suzanne_sf]

Hi! Thank you for mentioning my favourite guilty pleasure, Graz'zt! I had no idea he has had anything to do with Unther, or what Unther is until now. I knew some of the story about how the Dragonborn ended up in Toril, but not like this! I love Graz'zt! Please don't judge me too harshly. I know he is a big bad evil dude with no sense of morality. I'm curious if some of his army is still fighting or if they're home. I mean, they have to go home at some point, right? Graz'zt could not have sent all of his army to fight that forever war. I think that he was originally in the hells and left because of the Blood War. I have come to my own conclusions about Graz'zt's origins, but I was like, Mr. Greenwood said Graz'zt? Immediately, I reversed the video, and yes, the twisted fiend is mentioned! I'm even jealous of Tasha! She got to study under Baba Yaga *and* be with Graz'zt! 🤣🤣🤣

[@edgreenwoodofficial]

I will say more of Graz'zt, in time to come!

[@Suzanne_sf]

@@edgreenwoodofficial Thank you sir. I really appreciate it! 🥰

[@RKGrizz]

Am I the only one who gets the impression that Ed is not a fan of the Dragonborn being in the Forgotten Realms?

[@edgreenwoodofficial]

I don't mind any race, but I DO mind when playable races get introduced without the cultural details attached, so every writer or designer has to "roll their own."

[@Abrahamrengifo]

Dude the one piece hat is super cool, just like this video. If one can be made giving more information about lady jalanvalos will be great.

[@gobzdzilla]

Don't worry, I'll watch it all in a binge.

[@Skorion69]

Could Ed clarify the difference between Dragon born and Saurials?

[@edgreenwoodofficial]

Yes, I really should cover that. Two separate races that just superficially resemble each other...but we need to look at them in far more depth than that.

[@Skorion69]

@@edgreenwoodofficial Cool. Thank you Ed for both reading my post and replying.

[@LordZeromaru]

Dragonborn are draconic humanoids, Saurials are dinosaur-like humanoids. That's the gist of it.

[@helixxharpell]

I love how Ed pronounces Genasi! That imo shud be the correct pronunciation. Not Guh-nasi. They're Jinn kin.. so the G shud be a "J".

[@ReplicatorFifth]

Pretty sure that’s how it’s supposed to be pronounced. I’ve never seen or heard it pronounce “guh”

[@helixxharpell]

@@ReplicatorFifth I think I read online somewhere (I believe by someone at WoTc) that it's pronounced "guh-nasi". Which I thought was wrong. Another pronunciation issue I've always had is "tee-fling". The word just doesn't have any umph to it. "Tee-fling" sounds weak. "Tie-fling" sounds more imposing. I'm an old guy who did well in English in high school & I guess I'm just set in my ways like Ed. 😉

[@TJStellmach]

​@@helixxharpell The pronunciation of "tiefling" is straight from the German. It's literally "deepling," i.e. one from the depths.

[@helixxharpell]

@@TJStellmach Oh! I did not know that! Thanks for responding. I think I can change my opinion on that then.

[@sangheilijedi]

I always felt unther and mulhurand didn't fit, When I heard Ed talking about his idea for the land it so easily could have fit if the barons were dragonborn and the snake people were yuan ti! Have the land, and get your neat player race too! That could have been great!

[@cameronpearce5943]

Now this has me thinking about Dragonborn and the Pre-Gilgeem Unthurians possibly getting along due to the whole snakes thing

[@LordZeromaru]

Even post-Gilgeam Untherites and the Tymantheran dragonborn could get along just well, if you get rid of Gilgeam. The guy is the only reason they are at war.

[@fgetce]

👍Well met Ed, in the 2nd Edition Player's Guide to the Forgotten Realms, we met the adventuring group the Seekers and followed them on their quest to find and liberate the tears of Selune. While they accomplished that part of their quest; they were captured by the Zentarim. Can you tell us their final fates and could they be rescued if still alive? I would also like to know more about the dwarven city of Thunderholme and what evil force is awake there?

[@GameTimeWhy]

Great questions! I hope you get an answer

[@nexusofboredom]

I hate it when things fall in " A Beer" too .. :D just kidding lol

[@nyarparablepsis872]

Thank you for this video! I've always felt that Unther was different in character from the rest of the realms. I was wondering if there is a way to reach you other than twitter? I'm an Assyriologist and am collecting material for a future project about Mesopotamia in popular culture. As a huge D&D nerd there's a wealth of stuff to find, and Unther is among them. Your explanation of what happened to make Unther a Mesopotamia analogue was both exciting and interesting. Could I maybe contact you somehow to ask some additional questions? It would be a chance to combine science with D&D / Realms lore!

[@Eldritch_Heron]

Love how the unther serpent gods motives for helping agriculture is vermin. Feels absurd and realistic at the same time

[@silverbird425]

Uh...no wonder I can't find my way around Unther... What's for dinner? Barley beer??

[@deannatheos4471]

I would like to see mister or master Greenwood talk about grandmaster Kane I think he came up with that monk character. 😊

[@edgreenwoodofficial]

I didn't actually, but I will get around to Kane in time.

[@LeoxandarMagnus]

Executives can be touchy, it seems.

[@LucasTrombiniLopes]

I got FR basic book in 2e (translated to portuguese) and still play in 2e (most of the time using Player's Options). FR was love at first sight and still is my favorite, but I liked a lot of Birthright, and Birthright is exactly this: real-world analog. And it has strong points, because the vos are mongolian and russian, and whatever you want, so, you can use Earth as source but not be limited by that. Recently I was dming and the paladin of the group (from Procampur), had meet his lost father, Ramiel, from Tethyr, and I decide to use a portuguese accent (from Portugal, I'm brazilian), because Tethyr in my mind was compared to european countries under Almoravid dominion (Calimshan). So, analog can be cool, or not. In my worlds I try to balance this, varying according the world or region (with a lot of analogs or near zero).

[@helixxharpell]

Back the 80s I ran my group thru Unther on their way to Thay. They didn't get to uncover one of the "stargates" that were used to bring Egyptian slaves in. Lol My question is this.. what were the other gates to earth in the realms Ed?

[@Kanta82]

I'm actually planning on playing a priestess from Mulhorand (traveling to Waterdeep) in a 2e game coming up and came here specifically looking for the kind of societal info that Ed was saying Unther doesn't really have. Anyone have any book recommendations? (I already have Old Empires and Powers & Pantheons).

[@Davidthestratman7]

Tell us about haluraa

[@edgreenwoodofficial]

It's on the list!

[@digunder14]

is it just me or does original unther sound like a potential precursor to a yuan-ti faction or how one could explain them in their world?

[@cameronpearce5943]

I’d be very curious to know about the current state of Abeir At my table, Abeir-Toril have been reunited and there are several continents in the southern hemisphere that haven’t been discovered yet, but I have plans for displaced sea elves, tritons, merfolk, korinths, and sahaguins to make it to the northern seas in the early 1500s. I also use that to explain why some many primordial have been awakening in the 1490s in the Salvatore novels, hearing the call of their Aberian brethren

[@haydenbsiegel]

Speaking of regions that disappeared and reappeared to and from Abeir I would love a video on Anchorome/Maztica. My current campaign is set in the early 1500s DR and follows yhe Adventurers who colonize the True World. So sort of the 2e Maztica campaign but I wanted to go more North American and use the Wild Elves cuz they look cool

[@shindrak]

wait you cut off the story at the end! I want to hear that!

[@gyorgyor7765]

Unther and Mulhorand and Chessenta are some if my favourite parts of the realms, so I actually disagree with Ed here. I mean the Old Empires Region inspired other fantasy settings like Midgaurd and Golaron. I do get what he's saying.

[@Spiritofzen]

Unther having little written history, allowed me to write my own story within the realms and not violate lore. So im ok that it was pretty undefined lol

[@helixxharpell]

Then why did the designers literally destroy one of the coolest countries in Halruua? 😮 Never understood nor liked spellplague. ☹️

[@theophrastusbombastus1359]

Because corporate

[@ilexgarodan]

It's back, after the Sundering.

[@helixxharpell]

@@ilexgarodan yes, but it's forever changed. Always puzzled me as to why the designers never had aspirations of the Halruaans having a say in the Anauroch. They're actual descendants of the Netherese yet they got the shaft despite having one of the greatest diviners in the realms. So what I did was give the Halruaans a purpose & that was to remake Anauroch. Long story short, (before Steven Schend had a hand in bringing shade back) I had the Halruaans play a racing game with the shade & with the party's help, they beat Telemont to the punch. But.. as we all saw all of the good folk in the realms got the "magic shaft."

[@helixxharpell]

@@theophrastusbombastus1359 Yes, that's the boiled down answer. But even in a corporate world mgtmnt shud demand market research to back up reasons for a wholesale change. The spellplague seemed like a ("I'm in charge now and I'm going to turn it into what I want despite what has worked in the past.") Change. There's market research to support that over 70% of the customer base didn't like spellplague OR 4TH ED for that matter. So to me this sounded like an "ego-driven change" rather than one that should have been backed up by sound market research.

[@theophrastusbombastus1359]

@Steve C Oh, I was certainly being reductive. That was on purpose due to time constraints lol. Your answer was better 👍

[@Trillium_Grandiflorum]

I don't fault people for playing their dreams but I've never understood why would want to play a Dragonborn in the first place, bad breath!

[@yamanuhem.netjer3165]

The Mulani(Egyptians) were taken from Earth by the Imaskari IIRC as slaves... Breaing free from them they established Mulhorand, some of their number, the Mulani migrated further from Mulhornad and would become the very pleasant folks that would enhabbit a large mountain that would becme the land of Thay...

[@CatMunroe71]

I love the Forgotten Realms novels. My sister prefers the Dragonlance novels. Neither of us plays D&D anymore, for different reasons. I cannot play my non-magical psionic elf. She sees it as satanic. 5e made sure I couldn't play my non-magical psionic elf, by making psionics magic. I have had people argue that it was always magic as the 1e AD&D DMG stated to think of psionics as an alternative to spellcasting. Now it's all spellcasting.

[@satanicpanicattheddtable2604]

That's a shame as it cheats psionics out of what it truly is.

[@pce0]

sad that your world gets butchered by people in those secret summits that don't actually care for the lore and cohesiveness

[@jamesberghuis8231]

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE.

[@wolfleclair1399]

That's unfortunate, it sounds like the original Unther would have been far more fun to adventure in. I'm okay with dragonborn but if I had to choose I'd rather have experienced your Unther instead of the dragonborn having a kingdom in the Realms.

[@LordZeromaru]

I think they can coexist. After all, the original Unther was changed into not-Mesopotamia way before the dragonborn were added into the Realms.

[@ReadingDave]

I liked Ki. I had a few clerics of her.

[@RonPower]

BG3 spoiler below: Wait... Is Gale actually Krail? Is Gale an Untheran lich!?

[@Suzanne_sf]

I was thinking the *same* thing! Wow! If so, he is *such* a liar, but I still have a soft spot for him. However, if you don't get magic items for him to absorb, he says spoiler... that he sells his soul to Raphael so that the orb doesn't explode, and blames Tav for it, gets angry at Tav, but what if Gale is lying? 🤔

[@aa-yt7wo]

I liked the uncomfortable real world elements. Flavor of the moment is trash.

[@cernunnos_lives]

Why can't you head WoTC? I'm thinking someone who actually cares about the legacy of the company should head it. The lore should be in the hands of people who care about it. Even MTG fans are screaming about it.

[@christophermills7693]

imo in current age the Settings of the Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk and Dragonlance should be returned to their creators. people would buy them even off of kickstarter and indigogo

[@fleetcenturion]

You lost me at "dragonborn." I'm now not only convinced that AD&D was a better system, but that the original FR setting was far superior, and that game designers should stop messing with the timelines! As much as I despise Eberron as a concept, I must admit they get one thing right: Every adventure or campaign takes place at exactly the same time. It is the heroes that have a chance to shape the world, instead of players and DMs having to constantly adapt the campaign to some idiot game designer's semi-official fan fiction!

[@helixxharpell]

We are 2 people cut from the same cloth.

[@MedievalFantasyTV]

AD&D *IS* a better system.

[@elementzero3379]

Eberron is my favorite setting. It's a very believable setting. As you allude, it hasn't suffered from meddling novelists and designers over the years. Efforts are made to mostly keep it in line with the original vision. While I have enjoyed some of the things added to the Realms over the years, I agree that it has suffered from "too many chefs in the kitchen". WotC pumped out novels and supplements at a prolific rate through the end of 3E. A lot of cruft was bound to be thrown into the pot.

[@fleetcenturion]

@@elementzero3379 - The entire "Spellplague" seems to be nothing more than a way to introduce the Dragonborn.

[@elementzero3379]

@@fleetcenturion That was one thing it did, and maybe one of the least offensive in the grand scheme. The Spellplague destroyed the Realms wholesale and drove away thousands of fans. 😖 I really like 3E FRCS and refer to it when needed. The original is likewise great. The 4E Realms stuff isn't too useful, with a few exceptions. The 5E stuff is annoyingly scattered and too focused on the Sword Coast North. There are great adventures to be had in all the eras, but the Spellplague era is not really appealing to me.

[@joshuaosiris]

Yeah, god forbid the game have something unpleasant in the game. Oh, what that's what they are doing now by calling half-elves and orc racist.

[@StevenNosferatu]

Is anyone working for wizards of the coast that came forward saying that they were uncomfortable with real-world analogs being in any setting should have been instantly fired at that moment right then, and there there is no Reason to keep an SJW like that in any company

[@clavranos]

Dragonborn are terrible.

[@paulofrota3958]

Designer cowardice.

[@michaelgundel8168]

Ctl/alt/dlt. Always works