Full of Glee? Full of something...

I know that Griff already griped about Gleemax, but that doesn't mean I can't, too.

It's because of Gleemax, and the developers' move, in part, to that environment, that I've been quiet here on the blog. While I can still find some information in the old, readable forum-blogs, the disappointment with the Gleemax setup has put quite a damper on my enthusiasm to follow the latest-and-greatest news about 4th edition. To get around that, I've been working on putting together a webpage that collects all of the Gleemax cruft into a single, readable place -- you know, kinda like the Wizard Staff Blogs webpage that we used to have. If I get it to a state that I like, I'll perhaps post a link to it on the right, there.


But enough griping. The last thing I remember reading that I felt was interesting (and remember, I've been slow on reading because of all of this glee), was about the Spellplague, the device being used to introduce the 4th edition changes to the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.

I think it's brilliant, and I really don't know anything about it. Obviously it's going to affect magic in Faerun, which will help to usher in any magic system changes. And the aftermath of the Spellplague, as hinted at in the end of the Grand History of the Realms sure sounds like a good way of changing around the planes and the deities, all in one go. I don't know what the fans' responses have been to this, but it sounds like the devs have found a nice, concise solution to introduce the changes, and have provided some good story material for the novel writers and content writers.

As a side-effect of the 4th edition changes, I'm more likely to start buying the Forgotten Realms novels as they come out (instead of reading years-old books playing catch-up), so I have a basis for the here-and-now when we start playing 4th edition. I know that the Campaign Guide is going to have material I can use to know about the recent events, but I was surprised at how much reading the Avatar trilogy-plus-two helped cement the recent history of the Realms. It's one thing to read a timeline and get some names and ideas, but another to experience the events with the characters, and then bring that to affect your own campaign, however perfunctorily.

A shame Drizzt is still around, though. Perhaps dual-scimitar-wielding characters aren't permitted in 4th edition.