A while back I read a blog post (I
can't recall the blog just now ) that hoped that “The Sundering”,
the relaunch of 5e Realms, would basically shatter the Realms into an
infinite number of alternate Realms. This would allow Wizards of the
Coast to have their own official version, and each DM to have his own
version in which events would play out in their own unique way. The
idea would be akin to Marvel's infinite alternate universes.
I love this idea. It feels liberating
to me. For a while now I've had this idea percolating in the back of
my mind of starting with the the Grey Box, City of Splendours, and
maybe a few other supplements and running an Ultimate Forgotten
Realms campaign using D&D 5e.
The idea would be to run a campaign set
in Waterdeep with a fresh take on things. The players wouldn’t be
able to trust anything they previously knew about FR canon. Old
villains, heroes, and history would be rewritten with new takes or
twists and thus allowing the DM to have complete control over the
campaign. I also think it would let many players sit back and enjoy
playing knowing that they are the stars of the show and that they
aren’t going to be shown up by Mary Sues or break the setting by
doing some sort of crazy thing that might have an important realms
shaking event. It would also allow the players and DM to learn about
the world through play as opposed to having to earn a bachelors
degree in FR history.
I suppose that for many groups out
there this isn’t a new idea. Personally though I know this has been
the case for the few groups I been with. Typically theres that guy
that knows more than the DM and another that has no clue whatsoever.
As a DM I can see this offering a happy medium solution. In the
future I think I might begin a series of posts dedicated to my own
personal Ultimate Forgotten Realms. If I suddenly fall off the face
of the internet you know that Ed Greenwood has sent his Realms Lore
Canon Ninja hit squad after me.
