Post originally by Ravil at 2005-06-20 01:25:15
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You know, I could have sworn that I had already bought this book a couple of years back.

Maybe I'm getting jaded, but releasing a second Forgotten Realms book on the exact same topic as a previous one tells me that either they're running out of ideas or are just praying that their consumer base has collectively developed selective memory loss. Which means either they're retarded or they think we are. But I don't particularly like the prospects of either of those thoughts.

Yes, we know that the Realms are absolutely teeming with evil. They're bad. Bad bad bad. So bad that Wizards of the Coast apparently has to pad the annual release lineup with books reinforcing just how bad the Realms truly are. And yeah, they're trying to put a shiny coat on this one by saying that it's a resource for everyone who wants to PLAY a villain in the Realms, but judging from your review there doesn't seem to be much here that wasn't in either "Lords of Darkness" or "Book of Vile Darkness." New evil races? New evil crunchy bits? A rundown of *gasp* evil organizations? Sample villains? We've seen this zombie before, folks, and while it may be getting prettier (and, as it's hardcover, pricier too!) it still shambles the same familiar shamble.

Judging from this review (whether that's wise or not), "Champions of Ruin" reeks of a bad attempt to separate the apparently-amnesic consumer from his or her money. I'm sure the book itself is shiny and that lots of effort went into it, but...but c'mon Wizards! We already know the Realms are bad! You sold us a couple of books saying so! If you can't give a book a genuine new angle, then what's the point of making it just to retread ground that, let's face it, isn't even that old? Y'all do what you want (you will anyway), but you ought to think hard before rewarding something like this with your purchasing power.