Best Forgotten Realms books (any edition)

[Yora]

It's a slam dunk for The Savage Frontier. Not just the best FR sourcebook, but perhaps the best campaign setting book ever made for any game.
It's almost a complete setting in itself that is written to provide GMs with a starting point to create their own content for their own campaign, not a tome of details that restrict what you can do.

 

[Divine2021]

It's a slam dunk for The Savage Frontier. Not just the best FR sourcebook, but perhaps the best campaign setting book ever made for any game.
It's almost a complete setting in itself that is written to provide GMs with a starting point to create their own content for their own campaign, not a tome of details that restrict what you can do.

The first edition version?

 

[DarkCrisis]

The grey box is amazing. You can’t read a paragraph in it without getting an adventure idea.

Plus all the inserts in the box are great.

 

[jdrakeh]

1e Campaign Setting box set.
The Grand History of the Realms.
Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster's Forgotten Realms.

 

[Zardnaar]

My favorites.

1. Faiths and Avatars, Powers and Pantheons, Demihumsn deities.

2. 3.0 FRCS

3. Lost Empires of Faerun

4. Serpent Kingdoms

 

[Andvari]

What, no mention of Spellfire?

 

[Voadam]

What, no mention of Spellfire?

Its in the 3.0 FRCS

 

[Yora]

The first edition version?

Yes. The 2nd edition box that is an expansion on the Savage Frontier material is called The North. The additions are okay, but the timeline advances are not. For some reason, The North frequently mentions cool things from The Savage Frontier that no longer exist, but doesn't replace them with anything else that would be interesting.

The setting in which Hellgate Keep, the Citadel of Many Arrows, the Blue Bear Tribe, and The One still exist is just a way more exciting place.

 

[R_J_K75]

Anything written by Dale Donovan, Steven Schend and Eric Boyd. After those 3, Ed Greenwood.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue (2e) - The best equipment guide ever made for D&D, any setting, any edition. Even when I'm not running Realms, and no matter the edition (or even system, as long as it's a medieval fantasy game), that's the definitive "stuff" book to use.

Faiths and Avatars series (2e) - Faiths and Avatars, Powers and Pantheons and Demihuman Deities were the best treatise ever written about the Faerunian Pantheon. The sheer amount of lore in there is one of the things that really fleshed out and defined the setting in a colorful and interesting way.

Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (3e) - Best compilation of the Realms into a single volume ever done.

These are among the best books ever written for D&D.