"With a spiked, slug-like body tapering back from its huge mouth to a thin tail, the creature was the strangest living thing Galaeron had ever seen."
-The Summoning by Troy Denning
"The Summoning" is the first in a new Forgotten Realms trilogy by Troy Denning. This trilogy deals with the accidental freeing of the phaerimm from under the Anarouch, their attack on Evereska and the return of the Netherese archwizards.
All in all, Realms Altering Events by nearly any standards.
Denning is the author of a number of previous Realms books, including the first in the Harper series, "The Trail of Cyric," and he was co-author of "Death of the Dragon." His first Realms novel dealt with Zhentarium, their plots in the Anarouch desert and Ruha the Bedine (a pseudo-Bedouin group of people indigenous to the Anarouch) Witch and Lander, the Harper who helper her. This novel, dealing at least partly with the Anarouch and the Bedine, in some ways has Denning coming full circle and visiting some old stomping grounds.
"Phaerimm, do you know what they are?"
"I do now."
-Vala and Galaeron, The Summoning by Troy Denning
In this story, Galaeron is a native son of Evereska, the last bastion of elf-culture on Faerun. (Evermeet is not part of Faerun) The son of an important man, Galaeron is nonetheless unpopular with the powers-that-be in Evererska and so is assigned the chore of Tomb Guard to keep him out of the way and humble at the same time.
While doing his job (which consists of stopping humans from looting the near-endless elf tombs in the hills south of Evereska) he encounters a groups of humans. His scout is the wood elf Takari, who has hearts in her eyes for Galaeron. Among the humans is Vala, a Xena-Warrior-Princess type of Gal.
In any event, the humans have a housebroken beholder that they are having disintegrate sections of the stone walls from the chamber they are in, through to another chamber on the other side of the Sharn Wall.
So Galaeron’s troupe of elves attack the humans for vandalizing and trespassing at the same moment the mysterious wizards wrapped in shadows, Malgaunt, tries to come through the passage cut by the beholder. Unfortunately, the phaerimm – a truly nasty race that did as much as Karsus to destroy the Netherese – are hot on his heels.
In the ensuing fire-fight, magic from Galaeron and Malgaunt mix and cause a hole to form in the Sharn Wall, or the magic field keeping the phaerimm under the desert. So, now they are free.
From this point on, things proceed steadily down hill for the elves and just about everyone else.
Vala, Malgaunt and Galaeron hussle from Evereska to Karse in the High Forest. Phaerim run absolutely amok. An elf has all his fingers pulled off. Elminster accidentally turns himself into a tree and the ends up in hell. The Everskan army is obliterated. The Blackstaff is blasted in the chest. Wulgreth 1.0 and 2.0 both get angry. And, yes, the Netherese City of Shade returns to the Realms after nearly 2,000 years of immersion in shadows…
"…they think I’m Netherese."
-Malgaunt, The Summoning by Troy Denning
Return of the Archwizards is a Third Edition book, but not screamingly so. Galaeron is a sorcerer and not a wizard, which is why he had such problems at the Academy in Evereska and why his teachers disliked him. Beyond that there is little to differentiate – aside from the discussion of shadow magic, which will get mechanical explanation in the forthcoming revised Realms source book – this novel from any of the ones that appeared during the run of 2E. You certainly cannot hear the proverbial dice Denning’s story progresses book – mechanics do not dictate the story.
Another nice touch is that the Shade wizards are not immediately apparent as another pack of moustache-twirling villains. The Realms are already so top-heavy such icons of evil that you cannot swing a dead-cat without hitting one. Which is not to say the Netherese are good guys, they are not (see below) they are evil, just not an "in your face/babies eating" kind of evil.
The action sequences proceed well and no not tangle up the story. There are a number of guest appearances, including Elminster, Khelben, Turlong and another treant and Malik from the Trial of Cyric. Ruha, one of Denning’s original characters, does not make an appearance.
However, the natural question of "is it worth reading" carries an answer more complicated than might first appear.
"…the Return is at hand."
-Malgaunt and later Galaeron, The Summoning by Troy Denning
First, to address the question of Realms Altering Events or Realms Shaking Events. Does the book have then? In a word, "yes." Does it portend more changes to come. The answer is again, "yes."
A persistent complaint about the Realms literature – be it in novels or game supplements – is that things change. These changes are often described as "Realms Shattering Events" or even "Realms Altering Events."
Calling all such changes "RSE" would seem to be an over statement or making too much of something. While the events detailed in "Death of the Dragon" where quite cataclysmic for the people of Cormyr, their effects beyond that county are limited. The war and the death of Azoun probably effected the Dalelands somewhat. Waterdeep would have been effected not at all. So even calling the story of "Death of the Dragon" a RSE, while true in a technical sense, is still over stating matter. None the less people will protest and complain about a story, no matter how good it is, because it changes things.
More over, the bar has been raised to now be "Realms Altering Events." Under this standard *any* change from previous editions is not so much as just incorrect but actually wrong. Under the standard of opposing "RAE," even books that do not make much of a ripple – like "The Symbul’s Gift" or "The Library of Cormanthyr" are opposed. As are such supplements as "Lands of Intrigue," which changes only one country – Tethyr – from the previous publication.
The demand of those opposed to RAE is not to have any changes but to still get new material. Likewise, many of the people demanding new material but complaining about any kind of deviation from previously published material are the same people who demand that all the publishing attention go to the traditional settings (Waterdeep, the Dalelands, the Heartlands) only, to the exclusions of other settings (the Shinning South, the Unapproachable East). So in essence, their demand is to have new books that change nothing published from previous publications and at the same time only focus of the area’s that have been covered before. These are mutually exclusive terms – if the writers and Wizards of the Coast publish materiel only on area’s they have covered before(Waterdeep, for example) but are limited by not being allowed to say anything new of change anything, what *are* the writers allowed to say or do? Very little it seems.
This is probably why in the Grayhawk setting the timeline has been arrested, so to speak. That way nothing will ever change. So those people who have a pathological dislike of change can have a place where they are content, if not happy.
Another frequent complaint is that the changes *force* home gamers to change. This is almost silly. There is no gaming Gestapo forcing anyone to conduct their games in any fashion – no one is forcing anyone to following any of the changes. To suggest that the writers, artists and publishers are somehow forcing players and DM to game their way and only their way borders on insulting. If you do not like the changes, ignore them. If you truly feel compelled to include them in the over all scope of your campaign, realize that the effects are largely regional only and so unless you happen to be under Shade or in Cormyr, the changes do not effect your character or your campaign.
Lastly comes the complaint that WotC published these changes to boost sales. Well, yes they do. They are a business working in a niche market in a deeply capitalist society. Of course they do things to boost sales. If they did not, they would face financial problems – like the ones back around 1997 that nearly took D&D away. Marvel Comics and DC Comic do the same thing every summer – some crisis their heroes must face that helps to boost sales. This is not a trend unique to Wizards of the Coast.
So, does "The Summoning" introduce Realms Altering Events. Oh yes. Is that bad? It depends on whom you ask. In the mind of this reviewer, it is acceptable and even good. People who are offended by such things are encouraged to pass it by or at the very least, to get a grip.
The second issue is somewhat thornier. Addressing it probably means this reviewer will never again be published by Wizards of the Coast (this reviewer wrote the "Bizaar of the Bizzar" article in the March issue of Dragon). So be it, these questions need to be ask.
Why are the people of Shade – the villains – portrayed as "swarthy" and as having dark complexions? Why are a people (i.e. the people of Shade) who are trying to escape a hellish place and bad conditions (i.e. the demi-plane of Shadow) and to return home (i.e. Faerun and the Anarouch) the bad guys?
Could not a story, still full of fantasy, heroism and conflict, have been written where such people where the good guys? If not, why not?
Who thinks such personification of exiles, dark-skinned people and refugees as the boogie-men is the best way to handle the situation?
Who thinks that such personification might make potential customers of real world groups who are exiles, dark-skinned people or refugees (Jewish-Americans and African-Americans, just to name two groups among many) skip the Realms and role-playing games? While such groups may not be the lion share of the RPG market, they are present in the market, they do have money (those in places like America, Canada and Western Europe, etc.) and so why should they be excluded? Why should they be offended?
Attend gaming conventions or go to a gaming shop (in the States at any rate) often enough and you will see African-Americans, Asian-Americans and other assorted non-Caucasians. They are a part of the market. If the martial were not so endlessly and ruthlessly marketed solely to young white males to the deliberate exclusion of other groups, these other groups would probably be a larger part of the market. That could mean better sales.
These are not rhetorical questions – they deserve answers. These are not questions demanding "political correctness" from the writers. These are not questions demanding a certain, personal ethical or moral system on part of the writers or even from gamers. Such questions inevitably offend people to the point the central issues gets lost in the ensuing flame-war. As it is, these questions will no doubt also elicit such histrionics, however this reviewer is at least attempting to keep the discussion civil and rational.
At this point, these questions are simply economical and business ones.
Why cut off part of the potential market by making them feel more excluded than these people already feel?
If these questions can be answered in a rational manner, then perhaps the ethical aspects of these questions may be addressed.
So, it is worth reading? This jury is still out, debating the merits of the book. However, if you need to keep abreast of Realms events, go on and pick it up. Just consider your self warned.
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(Due to spamming, old forum discussions are no linked.)