Joining a Forgotten Realms game. What do I need to know?

[NMcCoy]

I'm joining a 4th Edition Forgotten Realms game on Sunday, and I don't really know much about the setting. I've got Compendium access, but not the FR books. I'm playing a Deva Wizard.

What do I need to know in order to not be totally lost when I join the game?

 

[Mircoles]

If I were in your situation, I would ask the Dm about the specifics of his campaign. There are a lot of options with the Realms.

 

[questing gm]

There's really nothing to know about the 4E Realms (anymore). I'd say just let your group fill you in and borrow the Player's Guide if they have a copy and read the entry on whichever region the campaign is set in.

 

[Armadillo]

Wikipedia has some useful info on the Realms:
Forgotten Realms - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Hunter In Darkness]

Well there was a FR wiki but the editing wars between 4e and pre 4e realms got ugly and I have not been in months. Alot of the info would not be of much use to you anyhow. Good luck and have fun

 

[Herschel]

Nab a Player's Guide and find a good background area that fits the campaign and build a backstory. The only real difference is the geography/maps so far as the "default" world isn't really established yet either.

And find or paint a cool, other-worldly miniature. If you use a Raistlin/Mordenkainen/Elminster/Generic for a Deva mini Mariah Carey will smite you.

 

[wingsandsword]

For 4e Forgotten Realms. . .there is nothing you need to know.

Once, the Forgotten Realms was the most detailed, most lavishly drawn out D&D world ever, but when 4e came out they smashed the world with a big 4e-shaped hammer and killed a litany of gods, redrew the map, smashed most of the major cities and kingdoms, shoehorned in 4e concepts like Dragonborn out of nowhere, advanced the timeline more than a century to ensure that everything that already existed was outdated, and generally broke the setting to be just another generic 4e "points of light" setting with some Realms-flavored names on it.

(I'm trying to contain my bitterness over wrecking Toril, this is the toned down version. Now I know how Dragonlance fans felt after Dragons of Summer Flame destroyed their entire setting in much the same way.)

 

[Sammael]

There really isn't anyone in the world who can tell you much about the 4E FR setting, because it isn't really FR anymore. All the information available for it is contained within the 4E sourcebooks and the occasional Dragon article; all the older information has been rendered obsolete, with dramatic changes in geography, politics, demographics, theology, cosmology, and the way magic works. At best, some of the older stuff may appear in the form of ancient ruins and such, and I'm sure your DM wouldn't be appreciative if we gave you the rundown on the major adventuring locations of the FR of old (to whit, many of which no longer exist at all, having been destroyed or changed by the Spellplague).

Approach it as a generic points of light game and you won't do much wrong. The rest is up to your DM to fill in. That was the stated goal of 4e FR designers - to make the setting more accessible to new players by eliminating most of its "overly rich" history and details.

 

[Mean Eyed Cat]

I'll echo what others have said. If you can get your hands on the 4th edition FR Players guide, you'll do great. However, in my opinion, you don't necessarily need it. I've had player's come to the table who knew abolutely nothing about the campaign. A good DM will help fill in the details. I've been running FR off and on for 20+ through all the editions and I'm still having a blast with it.

If you want the basics, check out the wikipedia page that Armadillo pointed out. I tend to like the wikia pages better, but like Hunter In Darkness said, it used to be kinda messed up. Slowly, its gotten better. If you find yourself really interested in FR, pick up some 2nd/3rd/3.5 edition books or visit Candlekeep.com