smarmy1 wrote:Two announcements from Goodman Games at Gencon (posted on the Goodman website)

Goodman Games to Publish "Ed Greenwood's Fantastic Worlds"

Goodman Games Announces the $1,000 Module

Enjoy

Who is this Ed Greenwood of which they speak? And the $1000 would be nicer if they covered gas money.

JasonZavoda wrote:
Who is this Ed Greenwood of which they speak? And the $1000 would be nicer if they covered gas money.

No emoticon so wondering if you really don't recognize the name.  Ed's the creator of Forgotten Realms.  I think GG are using him in a similar way Troll Lords did Gary to put his name on books that he approves and hope to sell more that way.  But maybe he'll write a lot for the series, who knows.  Haven't read much of Forgotten Realms, but he did write the Five Shires Gazetteer and I thought that was very good.
What was that company that did that silver dragon, gold dragon hidden thing back in the day? That's what I think GG are copping for this other announcement.

ShaneG.

Badmike wrote:Much like EGG, Ed is able to write a paragraph or two about a location and drop about 3-4 great adventuring ideas there without even trying. There are more good adventuring hooks on one page of "Volo's Guide to the North" than in entire boxed sets written at the same time.

There was some solid old-school discussion of Greenwood's contributions to 1e over at Mike Curtis' blog @ http://poleandrope.blogspot.com/search/ ... lms%20Week back in May-June.  Good stuff!

Badmike wrote:I hope the stuff is edition neutral, though.

I agree.  And, Goodman does have editionless books, so perhaps we'll get lucky?  OTOH, I'd be surprised if he didn't support whatever the current edition is when they're released, too.

The PR says "Ed Greenwood to publish Ed Greenwood's Fantastic Worlds, a line of rules-neutral role playing supplements slated for release starting in spring 2010" so perhaps we're in luck

FormCritic wrote:No magic for me in the Greewood name.  

And these world-builder books have already been done and done and done.  

Wow, not even his Dragon magazine articles before he ever sold Forgotten Realms to TSR?  Some really good stuff there.

Ed can drop a bomb now and then (Halls of the High King, FRE series) but it's far offset by the magic of the original boxed set and supplements like FR1, Ruins of Undermountain and the Volo's Guide series. Forget the bad fiction and stick to his core products.

I agree about the world building stuff though. I'd much rather have Ed doing settings (like the Volo Guides), scenarios, or plot hooks.  I can see him doing a "Points of Light" type supplement with great success, Robert has the same sort of ability to inspire or intrigue a reader in just a few lines or a paragraph.

Mike B.

FormCritic wrote:It is not fair.  

My general dislike of Greenwood's work is not really his fault.

I associate his work with Forgotten Realms (which replaced Greyhawk) and all of the schlock of 2nd Edition.

I think a lot of people equate Ed with 2E in general and Forgotten Realms products in particular. As for being the face of 2E, not a gamer on the planet...NOT A SINGLE GAMER....wouldn't have jumped at the chance to have their campaign world chosen to be the face of the organization.  Not to mention FR was 1st edition when it was first published, Ed was made to adjust his campaign with the "Time of Troubles" event (which, BTW, never happened in his own home campaign if I remember correctly).  As for the Forgotten Realms, Ed gets bashed for a lot of junk that came afterwards....Ed has gone on record as saying the stuff without his name on it was NEVER developed in his own campaign (which stuck mostly around the Dalelands, Cormyr and Waterdeep) and most anything with his name on it is a pretty good product.

Ed is a pretty average to below average fiction writer, and some of his modules can read like a railroad rolling through.  He also is a convenient whipping boy for 2E haters, Lorraine haters, and FR haters.

Mike B.

Soulcatcher wrote:(like people who come all the way from Australia to Gen Con).

Just don't be surprised if you find me wondering around your neighbourhood, trying to match street directions to a DCC mod