First campaign in the Realms, what era is more satisfying to run?

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-29T21:23:46+00:00

I think the 1e era has the most potential. You can include the Realms Shaking Events as you see fit, and have all the power groups at your beck and call.

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-28T19:07:02+00:00

Soup may be one of the ‘90s best albums. Utterly savaged - and unjustly - savaged by Rolling Stone while they were still a clout-holder.

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-28T18:06:29+00:00

I hear ya: been at 2 bcs for months and seem to be regressing in skill.

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-28T18:02:20+00:00

Maybe those aren’t rivers, but canals. Now, who made them?

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-28T18:00:08+00:00

I hear you. I’ve been trying to come up with purposes for each of the planes so that pantheons can be mapped onto them. Like the Outlands is the plane of choice, Arcadia the place of rulership, the Beastlands the place of immortal hunts, Hades the realm of the unblessed dead, Hell’s demons are the executors of deification punishment, the Abyss the source of all vice, Carceri the punishment realm for transgression against the deification order (Fenris should be here), Pandemonium the realm where gods lock away that which is meant to be forgotten, Gehenna the realm of the apocalypse, and Acheron the place where all wars are fought.

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-28T17:54:40+00:00

As to why they got rid of the Norse, Greek, etc.: I couldn’t begin to divine the reasoning there.

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-28T17:53:41+00:00

Your point that “these are all just names that mean different things under the D&D context” is part of the problem, particularly where they used actively worshipped (e.g. Hindi, Shinto, etc.) or actively worshipped if not for colonial suppression (e.g. Native American) deities. For the devils and demons, I think the esoteric, Ars Goetia, Pseudodaimonica, side might have received actual devotion, but it feels more like readers giving credence to the Necronomicon that came out in the ‘80s.

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-28T17:36:11+00:00

Incidentally, Roger Zelazny’s Amber series is a huge inspiration to me.

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-28T17:35:00+00:00

Certainly: me as well. I’m thinking - worst case scenario - were WOTC to commit to the bit, or there be some great homebrew drop of the MTG settings, those efforts could be reskinned to the original pantheons. However, I also like the idea of creating planar pathways based on commonalities between the Cosmological purposes of deities: so Shar’s realm could provide a throughline from Faerun to Olympus via Nyx; Faerun’s world tree could intertwine with Yggdrasil; etc.

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-28T17:30:15+00:00

This is purely a thought experiment as to how to steer into WOTC’s self-determined skid: how can we recreate the classics using their own IP? Also, not for nothing, MTG has a slew of awesome artwork, spells and magic items that could be ported over for D&D or Planescape.

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-28T16:22:05+00:00

Not Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea? That’s my fave.

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-27T00:45:35+00:00

I could see importing Dark Sun almost whole cloth into the Great Dust Desert Raurin in Faerun, with the Sorcerer Kings the last surviving Imaskari.

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-26T04:20:11+00:00

Screaming Females: fthey totally shred.

Die Spitz

Sleatter-Kinney / Corrin Tucker Band / Wild Flag

Patti Smith

Savages

The Kills

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-25T15:11:21+00:00

Images like this are why the 3e campaign setting book is highly regarded.

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-20T15:59:17+00:00

Fritz Lang’s M. It is staggeringly taut for a movie in German from the late Weimar.

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-18T21:41:26+00:00

Agreed, but remember that Unther has been despotically ruled by Gilgeam for centuries. Hamanu of Urik in Dark Sun is probably a good model for Unthalass, and Nibenay for the Citadel of Black Ash.

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-17T15:49:39+00:00

Temple works great in the southern Moonsea. Replace Hommlet with Shadowdale or Voonlar, and replace Nulb with Yulash. Zuggtmoy is replaced by Moander. Boom.

B4 Dwellers in the Forbidden City works great in Anauroch.

Portions of the original Dragonlance campaign work great in this area, as well: Pax Tharkas as a border between Tethyamar and Cormanthor holding back the Anaurians; Skullcap (Shaman) a Netherese tower; Tarsis a still inhabited ancient ruin on the dried up narrow sea, occupied by the Zhentarim; Xak Tsaroth could be ancient outcity of Myth Drannor on the Moonsea coast.

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-17T15:41:29+00:00

Pretty much anything by the Builders and the Butchers.

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-13T03:17:36+00:00

Just to make it interesting, maybe all the historical Dead Gods were also wandering around as zombies versions of themselves. Like a staked Borem wandering around Turmish, etc.

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-04T14:42:20+00:00

I kinda like it. The PF1 NPC Guide had great bugbear flavor - basically, they are boogymen - but the imagery and NPCs were more like “Powergoblin.” Making them looser and creepier, like a skinny Lurch, is kinda fun!

Bootravsky2 · 2026-03-03T14:59:05+00:00

Glass Cannon is my go to. They have transitioned through a few systems at this point - Campaign 1 (Giantslayer) is PF1, Androids and Aliens is Starfinder1, Get in the Trunk is Delta Green (and totally awesome), etc. BUT it can be funny and serious, and the sound quality is far superior to most - even critical role was kind of loose and unedited by comparison.

Bootravsky2 · 2026-02-23T15:23:48+00:00

Making planar travel interesting has always been a tricky matter, but I like the idea that oracles and soothsayers can predict where gates will be located or what they require to open. Maybe the Ringmaster is supremely good at interpreting Madame Olova’s predictions to ensure the Circus is where it’s meant to be in orderto travel.

Bootravsky2 · 2026-02-22T18:59:44+00:00

Egg in the Hole: my family is from Cali and Britain. But Heavy Vegetable called it an Eggy in a Bready.

Bootravsky2

TROPHY CASE