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4thEdition wrote:

Huh, were did you get that from? I don't think their goal is to make all nations, faiths, races and whatever more or less the same. I think they want to trimm the blending fat so that there is more distinction and uniqueness to the strengths of the setting.

From this answer by Richard Baker:

WotC_RichBaker wrote:

* There's not as much common experience of the Realms out there in the audience as we'd like to see. Somebody playing a Halruaa campaign is engaged with an entirely different fantasy than somebody playing a Silver Marches game. Which is the Realms?

Which I would respond: both are part of the realms, just as both Occident and Orient are part of the world. They are different but they are joined. Or another example: which is human, male or female?

For anyone who is interested, here are the results of my poll on Candlekeep after ten weeks (Votes counted so far - 152):

Poll Question:
How do you feel about the changes mentioned at the end of the Grand History of the Realms?

Results:
I hate the changes! What the hell were they thinking? [45%] 69 votes
I dislike them, but I could live with them if they are presented in a manner that makes sense. [26%] 39 votes
I like the changes, but have some reservations about what they entail. [12%] 18 votes
I like the changes and I feel very positive about the direction being taken with the update. [12%] 18 votes
I don''t care either way. (Please mention reason in a post.) [5%] 8 votes

Rauric wrote:

IMO there are alot of people who will buy the initial book because it has FR are it. They are true FR junkies that may not even read the online info about the setting or just don't care how the Realms are different, just as long as it is different. We cannot forget them in the equation. ~ snip~ [/b]

I won't discount that. In fact the first book will be deemed a great success because people will want to give it a try. Even the people who hate what they've heard/read so far. But if what they get isn't fulfilling, will the others that come afterward sell just as well? Will they feel like buying books #2 and #3 afterward?

Once people have a taste there will be a judgement call. And there's that question, will it sell as well among potential new recruits or will they go "Eh, still Forgotten Realms, not my style"...? Will the older gamers look at it and and say, "It's not the Forgotten Realms I know" and put it back on the shelf?

What a rip for the FRDT if they do all these changes to get rid of the misperceptions among non-FR gamers and in the end it doesn't make a noticeable long-term dent in those who made their mind up about FR long ago. I'll have to wonder who or what will leave the stage then. Another pillar or the whole foundation?

Well, sure, of course I'm worried about that. Maybe we're making Star Trek: Next Generation, and we're going to send the setting on a great 7-year run (or however long TNG lasted) that makes it more popular than ever. Or maybe we're making New Coke. We're trying like heck to shoot for the former rather than the latter, but it's not like the New Coke guys set out to create a disaster. They thought they had good reasons for doing what they did, too.

Ultimately, a big revision is a calculated gamble. Given everything I know (and I'm not at liberty to share all of what I know, which is one reason why I may seem more sanguine about the whole thing than some folks here think I should be), I think it will work. But I'm human, and I might be wrong.

Redrake wrote:

They are thinking to the future. Players who played the game for 20 years should be happy with that. But when 4E is going to be released all the 12 year old players of WoW are going to clean the shelves in the stores buying the new rules.:D
Because, it is well known the popularity of the setting among the future players. If the old players get lost in the process, well, though luck to them. The future belongs to Harry Potter fans, who are going to use in the realms as characters wizards running around with wands and yelling "Shazam!".:D
And now comes the real question for Mr Baker: Aren't you afraid that with the new setting you are going to lose more players than gain new ones? By making so many modifications to the setting you are actually cutting all the bridges behind you without actually knowing for sure what awaits you in the future.

Purple Dragon Knight wrote:

Agreed. As I said earlier at Candlekeep, this trimming of the pantheons feels like a very unnecessary "breast reduction" operation: you're about to ruin something big and beautiful.

I don't necessarily agree with the metaphor I do concur with the sentiment. Frankly, the explanation as to why you're removing deities makes zero sense. What you are doing is explaining why removing all of these gods won't significantly impact most campaigns. That is not a logical reason by any stretch of the imagination.

And by the way, the Realms is both Halruaa and the Silver Marches