Anyone play FR campaign or Living City?

[Llabak Tharr]

Just curious...I just started playing Living City at a local game store, a level 2 wizard, and was toying with the idea of buying the FR campaign setting book and/or the spellcaster guidebook, but I'm really not interested in all of the backstory so much as I am character stuff (new spells, prestige classes, feats, etc.).

Does anyone feel strongly for or against getting those? Bear in mind that I'm a pretty casual gamer - I get to play at most once a month, and usually ever other.

Thanks.

[Jhani Vandolay]

If you want to continue playing LC, you're gonna need what's in those books. However - The FR campaign books are remarkably expensive compared to Greyhawk stuff now. WotC's official response about this was something along the lines of "Well we make less of those, so we have to keep the price high to offset higher printing costs." Most LC players tend to consider it more of a "Haha, you have to buy these books or throw away the chars you've been playing for all those years.", but.. eh.

So like I was saying, you will need the content, but I don't advise buying them. If you have friends that play FR, go in with them and buy one set to pass around. PDFs are available of most of the class books and some of the FR specific ones, but it might take some looking.

I love FR, and LC, but yeah.. I'm a little bitter.



(I realize you said you don't play much, but most LC players start with small intentions. Think Living Crack.) Not to claim the status of a "real professional" in any one endeavor has been a small price to pay for the many benefits and pleasures of trespassing. ~Leo Lionni

[Llabak Tharr]

LOL Jhani thanks for the info

I play rarely, but not by choice *grin*. The group I play with plays 2 mods 1 saturday each month, and because of my wife's work schedule, I can only play 1 of the mods every other month or so. *grin* I can believe the crack thing though...I want to get more magic items LOL.

Disappointing - the first mod I played, because of the character distribution of people who showed up, I ended up playing with a group of people in their teens, and 1 other first level, so it was CR 10 (LOL got 1500 exp and levelled on that one adventure). Anyhoo, I was the only magic user, and there were some GREAT items - a headband of +2 or +3 int, for instance, but we fux0red the adventure and ended up not getting any of it.

Alas, I can't escape the phat lewt...

[EZ_Heartsong Steelsoul]

I actually run a living city game day (in Fort Wayne, IN) and I know a LOT of people who don't own the forgotten realms books. Basically if they really need them, they borrow them, but for the most part they're really useful to spell casting classes, since they have quite a few new spells. Before aiming at a prestige class in LC, I hope you've read over the guidelines for what's allowed (www.livingcity.organizedplay.com).

Good luck, and maybe you'll be here for Winter Fantasy!

Heartsong
aka
Indrani Rivak of the Red Knight
Cleric/Divine Disciple, Squire to the Knights of the Griffon

[Llabak Tharr]

Heya heartsong

I play over in Greenwood at Game Times - the folks I play with are the ones who ran the con this weekend (though I had baby duty this weekend so couldn't get out to play ...there were a couple good low level mods this weekend too).

When is winter fantasy this year? The wizards site doesn't have the 2003 cons up yet. New baby due next month though, so LOL I suspect I won't be able to disappear for a weekend to FW to play

[Nenjin]

Only played LC at a couple gaming conventions. I liked it, though I don't think I liked the system well enough to do full blown campaigning on it.

[Dragynphyre]

I find Living City to be too limiting, it keeps you in one place (Raven's Bluff) so that you don't go out changing the history of Faerun too much, reason being that there are still novels being written about the Realms and they don't want you messing with the storyline they've already laid out. Delissandra Splitshadow - Half-Elven Assassin - "Far Seekers" - The Rathe

"Camping leads to phat lewt, Phat lewt leads to twinking, Twinking leads to the DARKSIDE."

"So do I feel superior to any druid-twinked post-Kunark still-sucking-at-his-mother's-teat rogue? You better believe I do!!" - Delissandra Splitshadow

"All you whiney crybaby twink bastard ass camping ravenscale back in the day wizards can kiss my ass." -Caiwin Khanduras

"I played a rogue when it wasn't cool, we were the s#!+tiest class in the game, I backstabbed for 1 a lot." - Shanar Nefandus

[Jhani Vandolay]

Well of course you don't change history...

But if you follow LC, you'll see there have been a number of epic realm events which were shaped by the campaign as a whole, sourcebooks (and novels) have had PCs written into them, and yes, you leave Raven's Bluff plenty.

Since anyone can play, and so many people play the same modules, no your little gaming group is probably not going to change the plotline all by yourselves. (I say probably because it has happened, but I doubt that's a subject to go into in the common campaign discussion.) The event summaries that go into many events get tallied however and the FR plotline does change based on what the majority does. (NPCs can live or die in the ongoing plot based on how many tables killed them vs letting them live, etc etc..)

Not to mention, when new FR storylines are forming, the campaign follows that and your chars get to experience it first hand, instead of just reading the book afterwards and incorporating it into your char's history. (Some examples being Waukeen being rescued from the Abyss, Bane's reformation, the Harper split.)

And lastly, you can write your own mods, and see not only your own personal group experience it, but players all over. If you're willing to work with what's already going on (and a good module writer..), you can get really involved in plot this way.

[EZ_Heartsong Steelsoul]

Yes, periodically there are mods where they fill out results sheets and the prevailing ending is incorperated into the plot - for example, there was someone who masqueraded as Mayor of Raven's Bluff - her whole story came out in a module called "Amber's Story" which included a vote for execution, exile or possibly even just letting her go, and exile won - this was mentioned in later prints of the module, and in some more recent ones.

Hmm, you know, I haven't heard when WF is either.

[Jhani Vandolay]

Ugh.. I just checked the Wizards site and I don't see any new con info at all. The last thing up is this past GenCon.

And just to go into some detail on what Heartsong mentioned, for example of what I was talking about.. that Mayor (Lady Amber Theoden) was voted in by players several years ago. (Elections take place at Gencons.) Plot developed based on that, (during all kindsa modules and events) and now what's gone on is mentioned in books about the recent history of Raven's Bluff.

[Llabak Tharr]

www.wizards.com/default.a...x20011107a

Looks like there are going to be 3 Winter Fantasies this year, at different places.

I wonder how likely it would be to get them to move it to Indy...

[Jhani Vandolay]

Bah, what does England need a WF for? They don't even play in the same city!

[Llabak Tharr]

Do they even have winter in England? Doesn't Iceland have the monopoly on winter over there?

[EZ_Kintire]

Iceland doesn't have seasons. It's snow and ice all year round, with just a few patches of barely arable soil near the hot springs.

[Nenjin]

I thought Iceland was nice and green, and Greenland was the one that was snow and ice 99% of the year.

[Krimzan]

Mighty Ducks 2...

Greenland has snow and ice, Iceland is very nice.

(May not be 100% correct quote, but it was that blond bimbo talking to the coach) Krimzan
Like anyone confronted with the harshness of robbery on the high seas, you can be pessimistic at times. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!Take the quiz ye lubbers! "In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
-Douglas Adams, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Pirates of the Salisbury Plain messageboard

[Llabak Tharr]

I just played online last night - a starter mod for levels 1-2, and it went really well. The DM was well prepared, and was able to handle 9 of us (since the other DM didn't show up). Took us about 3 hours. There were 3 combats and a couple other plot encounters, and people had a good run of roleplaying their characters (the tabletop LC game I play in is about 85% powergame 15% roleplay).

This is the yahoo group if anyone's interested.

[EZ_Kintire]

If I was to ask who RPGA is, would I look dumb?

[Jhani Vandolay]

Role Playing Games Association. (Or is it gamers?)

www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=rpga

And it's kinda creepy seeing so many familiar names on that list Llabak.

[Llabak Tharr]

Yeah...CREEPY LIKE A FOX!!!