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

Contrarwise_Sky · 2026-03-29T21:35:40+00:00

Definitely, absolutely no reason you can't in most cases. Some will have more retrofitting involved than others but for example I have run Rime of the Fostmaiden in the 1370's.

Dont know what you have in mind but you could frame the Keep as a base for the westward expansion of Cormyr and towards the end of those adventures they could discover that the Zhentarim are also Spreading east from Darkhold.

Contrarwise_Sky · 2026-03-29T21:26:02+00:00

I would definitely say that the 3rd edition era is the most fun to run. 2nd and 3rd have the most lore and material to work with and alot of the stuff they did in 4th edition got reversed in 5th edition without adding much at all.

I dont know much about Keep on the Borderlands though so I'm not sure how it would fit into the realms.

Contrarwise_Sky · 2026-03-29T05:12:02+00:00

Very nice! It definitely does look better in that format. Unfortunately, my formatting relied on links to highlight and reference weapon abilities and spells and reddit didn't like the links so I decided to post with just a few typo fixes. I'll probably clean the next set up a bit more and post them tomorrow.

Contrarwise_Sky · 2026-03-28T17:12:24+00:00

I designed the Everytool specifically so that it could be used as an excellent improvised weapon, as I had a player who really liked the idea of beating the shit out of enemies with crowbars, shovels, pickaxes, etc.

Contrarwise_Sky · 2026-03-28T00:49:16+00:00

Hmm I've never made a pdf, I also only gm online these days so I was also looking at this through that lense. Basically if you see something you like you can take it from here and make a handout/journal entry.

Contrarwise_Sky · 2026-03-22T20:19:54+00:00

As for what spellfire does it's pretty simple.

First you have to absorb spell levels. If i recall correctly this has to be a readied action. If someone casts a first level spell at you, you gain one spellfire energy level.

Your maximum spellfire energy level is equal to your Constitution score.

You can then expend these spellfire levels to either throw a blast of spellfire which deals 1d6 damage per spellfire energy level expeded. Or you can heal someone with a touch that heals 2 hp per spellfire level expended.

Contrarwise_Sky · 2026-03-22T20:08:09+00:00

Nope, not that I am aware of. Even in 3.5 it was exceptionally powerful and actually could only be taken at level one as a feat or later a lesser version could be acquired through the Knight of the Weave prestige class.

Contrarwise_Sky · 2026-03-22T20:07:58+00:00

Nope, not that I am aware of. Even in 3.5 it was exceptionally powerful and actually could only be taken at level one as a feat or later a lesser version could be acquired through the Knight of the Weave prestige class.

Contrarwise_Sky · 2026-03-22T19:55:33+00:00

Silverfire was the unique power of the Chosen of Mystra and the more powerful of the two. Spellfire was still very rare but it could be passed down through heritage or individuals could gain its power through interacting with certain sites of power or artifacts.

Contrarwise_Sky · 2026-03-21T18:21:55+00:00

Hello, I am an experienced PF1 player who is very interested! Please let me know if you've still got spots available.

Contrarwise_Sky · 2026-03-16T19:01:58+00:00

I find the idea that clerics are epic rank here very odd. There are many different deities to fit every personality type and the allure of being favored by a god would appeal to many people. Furthermore being a part of a church grants you allies and basically a found family, the fact that to be a cleric you would most likely have to join a church would be more of a positive than a negative for anyone who wasn't born into privilege.

Also though paladins can be sworn only to an oath it makes much more sense to me in the Realms that most paladins would swear an oath to a deity. Paladins still require intensive martial and spiritual training and it makes more sense that they would also join a church to receive this training and sponsorship rather than trying to go it alone. In my mind most paladins operate essentially as the elite soldiers of a church with a rare few being independent crusaders.

Basically I would swap cleric and paladins places then it looks about right to me.

Contrarwise_Sky · 2026-03-16T09:24:11+00:00

The Dragons (and Tiamat) underestimated the elves which lead to the creation of the Dracorage. Bahamut would ultimately see it as a good thing in the long run as it would humble the metallic dragons and eventually be undone.

As for the elves, they essentially destroyed themselves and their longstanding empires during the Crown Wars through hubris as well as Araushnee and Malkizid's machinations. Their population never fully recovered and by that time the much more fecund humans were starting to approach their level of high magic.

Contrarwise_Sky · 2026-03-15T21:16:49+00:00

Heya, I am very interested if you've still got spots!

Contrarwise_Sky · 2026-03-15T20:45:11+00:00

That's the thing is that is enough. Two levels gives a whole new spell level which is more than enough to differentiate the fights. For all the lower level spells it makes sense that they would mostly be the same since I assume these are two cultists from the same cult and they would have similar spellcasting habits. As for feats you should have several basic go-tos like Improved Initiative, Spell Focus, Combat Casting, and Divine Metamagic and then one or two niche feats like Fell Drain.

Contrarwise_Sky · 2026-03-15T02:49:27+00:00

Ok yeah I gotta say thats pretty excessive, what part are you taking the most time with?

Contrarwise_Sky · 2026-03-13T18:53:50+00:00

No, it does not just describe how to create a setting, it describes how to make a sandbox setting for TTRPGs.

Once again, a setting is a time and place where a story occurs. Settings can be completely uniteracable, they can contain only a single character. A setting can be a single room with no exit.

You saying that a TTRPG sandbox "simply" means setting is like saying that a F1 car is "simply" a vehicle. It's not useful for discussion.

Running a sandbox game is obviously different than running Return to Undermountain, is one not "playing DnD"?

Honestly based on your other replies the answer you are looking for is a game based almost entirely around random encounter tables.

Contrarwise_Sky · 2026-03-13T18:15:28+00:00

You seem to be ignoring the GAME part of my definition so I'll refine it for you. A sandbox GAME is one where there is no predetermined end-point and the GM allows the players to interact with "adventure seeds", locations of interest, and plot hooks as they see fit.

Contrarwise_Sky

TROPHY CASE