D&D General Initial Thoughts on the Two 2025 Forgotten Realms books

[SlyFlourish]

I'm gathering my notes together for a talk with Morrus tomorrow and for a segment on my Lazy RPG Talk Show digging into the two new Forgotten Realms books. I thought i'd share my notes, get your thoughts, and answer any questions.

Should You Buy Them?

Instead of asking if one should buy the books or not, we should ask what our own criteria is to decide if we should buy those books based on those criteria.

• Are you a fan of the Realms and its lore? If not, these probably aren't the books for you.
• Would you run a campaign in the FR soon in one of the five regions? If not, you can wait until you are unless you're a huge Realms fan.
• Do you want the in-store special edition covers? Now's the time.
• Do you want these as permanent artifacts in your rpg library? They do feel like the kind of book we could pick up and read 20 years from now.
• Do you and your players use D&D Beyond in the Realms? Get the Adventurers guide on DDB or get your players to buy it and buy the two physical books for yourself.

Alternatively, pick up the 3rd edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Sourcebook (more later).

Observations

• The Heroes of Faerun covers a ton about the FR. It’s more of a campaign sourcebook than I expected for a player-focused book.
• I’m still studying the mini adventures but I think I dig the style. They give me enough to riff a session.
• The Icewind Dale section is different enough from Rime of the Frostmaiden but I still feel like another new (old?) region would have been better.
• There’s a lot of the Sword Coast here. If you’re tired of the Sword Coast, these books may not be for you.
• The Dalelands is a typical European style fantasy setting of small towns and heroes with a big elven ruin nearby. I'd love to run a campaign here. It's a huge meaty section.
• The two books reference each other. They’re really one big book.
• The heroes guide is probably useful on D&D Beyond but I wouldn’t get the adventure guide there. Pick up the physical copy of both for referencing.
• There's lots of use of renown and bastions.
• Factions focus on character factions, even for "bad guy" factions, but there's enough lore here to help GMs build them out as villains. Lots of other smaller factions described. Big meaty section.

Page Count per Section

Heroes Book

• Character Options, 32 pages
• Guide to the Realms, 48 pages
• Gods of Faerun, 33 pages
• Whole Realms Catalog, 7 pages
• Magic, 11 pages
• Factions, 39 pages
• Total Lore Pages: roughly 120 pages.

Adventure Book

• Running the Realms, 6 pages
• Adventures, 32 pages
• Dalelands, 45 pages
• Icewind Dale, 38 pages
• Calimshan, 32 pages
• Moonshae, 29 pages
• Baldur's Gate, 35 pages
• Lost Library of Lethchauntos adventure, 15 pages
• magic items, 5 pages
• monsters, 38 pages

These Books are Expensive

• $50 for Heroes (192 pages)
• $60 for Adventures (288 pages)
• $110 for the two books
• If you're running a campaign with D&D Beyond, Mike's recommendation is Heroes physical + DDB and Adventures physical for $150...
• Total rough word count of the two books is about 221k words.

Comparing it to the 3rd edition Forgotten Realms book

• The 3rd edition Forgotten Realms book was roughly 300k words (79k words more)
• The 3rd edition FR book cost $39.95 in 2001 – about $73 in 2025 dollars.

Thus...

• 3e Campaign Setting: $0.24 per 1,000 words (inflation-adjusted)
• Adventures + Heroes of Faerun, 2025: $0.50 per 1,000 words

About twice the price!

The art is way bigger in these books than the 3e FR campaign sourcebook, but it's still pretty expensive.

The 3rd Edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Sourcebook is the gold standard:

• $16 on DTRPG
• About $35 for a used copy

You Should Get the 3rd Edition FR Campaign Guide if...

• The price of the new books is too high.
• You want to play in the 1372 DR (pre Spellplague)
• You're not playing 5th edition D&D but still want to play in the Realms

You Should Get the New Books if ...

• The price isn't an issue for you.
• You plan to run a campaign in one or more of the five focus regions.
• You want to play in the most recent timeline.
• You dig all the new art.
• You want a ton of short adventure outlines.
• You really want the new character options and monsters.

 

[GarrettKP]

A good breakdown, though I disagree about not getting Adventures on Beyond. I would add that, if you use the Maps VTT or you project digital maps to your table via a projector or a screen on your table, then the Adventure book is a must buy because it gives you a huge number of maps, including those with tokens already added, for the various adventures in the book.

 

[Sulicius]

Thanks for the writeup! I have access through a buddy who shared them with me on D&DBeyond, but since I don't use DDB for the games I run, I am still on the fence whether or not I should get the books on Roll20 or physical, since that's what I use for my online and in person games.

For me the biggest thing is, price IS an issue for me, but I don't care about the Forgotten Realms beyond things I can steal for my own campaign. Are the books useful enough for people who want to scrap it for parts?

I don't think there is any chance I will get a 3e book, since they are not as user friendly as the new books, and I would have to do a lot of work to turn them into something 5e.

My view is: would these books give me and my players more fun options and inspiration for my current game? For that I want to know:

1. Are there broken character options? If I bring this book to the table, will I regret it like twilight clerics or silvery barbs?
2. Are the monsters interesting?
3. Are there good hooks, tools, quests and systems that I can drag and drop into my campaign next session?
4. Will the character options excite my players?

I haven't delved too deep, but it's looking pretty good. Now the question is how I will buy the books. The player book for Roll20 is a pretty sure bet. The DM book for Roll20 is a little less certain, but I like dropping new monsters in easily. Physical for the player book maybe? And if I have it on Roll20, do I really want the DM book?

I'm curious what other people think about this so far.

 

[darjr]

The physical quality of the books from looking at them at the FLGS is pretty high. From the gorgeous end papers to the binding and even the paper.

 

[SlyFlourish]

A good breakdown, though I disagree about not getting Adventures on Beyond. I would add that, if you use the Maps VTT or you project digital maps to your table via a projector or a screen on your table, then the Adventure book is a must buy because it gives you a huge number of maps, including those with tokens already added, for the various adventures in the book.

Access to the maps is a good point. I'll add that in.

 

[SlyFlourish]

Thanks for the writeup! I have access through a buddy who shared them with me on D&DBeyond, but since I don't use DDB for the games I run, I am still on the fence whether or not I should get the books on Roll20 or physical, since that's what I use for my online and in person games.

For me the biggest thing is, price IS an issue for me, but I don't care about the Forgotten Realms beyond things I can steal for my own campaign. Are the books useful enough for people who want to scrap it for parts?

I don't think there is any chance I will get a 3e book, since they are not as user friendly as the new books, and I would have to do a lot of work to turn them into something 5e.

My view is: would these books give me and my players more fun options and inspiration for my current game? For that I want to know:

1. Are there broken character options? If I bring this book to the table, will I regret it like twilight clerics or silvery barbs?
2. Are the monsters interesting?
3. Are there good hooks, tools, quests and systems that I can drag and drop into my campaign next session?
4. Will the character options excite my players?

I haven't delved too deep, but it's looking pretty good. Now the question is how I will buy the books. The player book for Roll20 is a pretty sure bet. The DM book for Roll20 is a little less certain, but I like dropping new monsters in easily. Physical for the player book maybe? And if I have it on Roll20, do I really want the DM book?

I'm curious what other people think about this so far.

I wouldn't get them if I wasn't planning to run games in the Forgotten Realms. You can always find stuff to steal for your home game but I don't know that there's a lot of value here. The work you'd need to do to reskin a lot of this stuff into a homebrew campaign is a lot more than turning FR 3e stuff into 5e.

There aren't that many monsters. The character options might be nice if you really want to expand out but for me, I wouldn't include them if I wasn't running a FR game.

If you have access to them, take a look and see what you think!

 

[Crit Hit The Giant]

Very great write up and breakdown on this and I think your recommendations are spot on. As someone new to the hobby, I have enjoyed playing in the FR and I picked up both the new books and the 3rd Edition books.

I agree that I want to see more of Faerun and Toril. These books seem to expand outside Sword Coast more, but I'd love to see more of the FR beyond that setting. Maybe they are wanting to keep it untouched to give us room to develop our own stories without hitting against lore, but I think there's still so much they can do for 5th Edition and Beyond.

I am also said my Barbarian didn't get a subclass. Karlach is a huge draw and yet... lol

I'll also add that I wasn't planning on getting the alt covers for the books but seeing and feeling them in person made me decide to get it. Im glad that they dont charge extra for them!

Thanks again!

 

[AlViking]

Thanks for the writeup! I have access through a buddy who shared them with me on D&DBeyond, but since I don't use DDB for the games I run, I am still on the fence whether or not I should get the books on Roll20 or physical, since that's what I use for my online and in person games.

For me the biggest thing is, price IS an issue for me, but I don't care about the Forgotten Realms beyond things I can steal for my own campaign. Are the books useful enough for people who want to scrap it for parts?

I don't think there is any chance I will get a 3e book, since they are not as user friendly as the new books, and I would have to do a lot of work to turn them into something 5e.

My view is: would these books give me and my players more fun options and inspiration for my current game? For that I want to know:

1. Are there broken character options? If I bring this book to the table, will I regret it like twilight clerics or silvery barbs?
2. Are the monsters interesting?
3. Are there good hooks, tools, quests and systems that I can drag and drop into my campaign next session?
4. Will the character options excite my players?

I haven't delved too deep, but it's looking pretty good. Now the question is how I will buy the books. The player book for Roll20 is a pretty sure bet. The DM book for Roll20 is a little less certain, but I like dropping new monsters in easily. Physical for the player book maybe? And if I have it on Roll20, do I really want the DM book?

I'm curious what other people think about this so far.

I'm in the same boat. Some of the options sounded interesting but I run a homebrew campaign so based on @SlyFlourish's response it's probably a pass.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

Very practical breakdown, Mike. Keen to hear your thoughts in more detail!

This is an unpopular opinion, but I don't think the 3E FRCS is all that great. It's a lot of: "This place has a powerful wizard. And a forest. In the forest are ogres and trolls." Wash, rinse, repeat. It may be comprehensive, but I just don't find it very gameable.

In contrast, the new FR campaign setting books are eminently gameable. I was prepared to be hugely disappointed by the mini-adventures in Adventures in Faerun, but they're actually pretty good. I have no doubt I will use many of them. Likewise, the focus on a handful of regions isn't a division by geography, it's a division by genre. Want to play a standard game? Go to the Dales. Want to play high magic? Calimshan. Etc. These books feel like a DM's toolbox.

Finally, between the FR campaign setting, the Starter Set, and the new core books -- the 5.5E design team is a hit machine. They are delivering quality stuff, consistently.

 

[bedir than]

I'm gathering my notes together for a talk with Morrus tomorrow and for a segment on my Lazy RPG Talk Show digging into the two new Forgotten Realms books. I thought i'd share my notes, get your thoughts, and answer any questions.

Should You Buy Them?

Instead of asking if one should buy the books or not, we should ask what our own criteria is to decide if we should buy those books based on those criteria.

• Are you a fan of the Realms and its lore? If not, these probably aren't the books for you.
• Would you run a campaign in the FR soon in one of the five regions? If not, you can wait until you are unless you're a huge Realms fan.
• Do you want the in-store special edition covers? Now's the time.
• Do you want these as permanent artifacts in your rpg library? They do feel like the kind of book we could pick up and read 20 years from now.
• Do you and your players use D&D Beyond in the Realms? Get the Adventurers guide on DDB or get your players to buy it and buy the two physical books for yourself.

Alternatively, pick up the 3rd edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Sourcebook (more later).

Observations

• The Heroes of Faerun covers a ton about the FR. It’s more of a campaign sourcebook than I expected for a player-focused book.
• I’m still studying the mini adventures but I think I dig the style. They give me enough to riff a session.
• The Icewind Dale section is different enough from Rime of the Frostmaiden but I still feel like another new (old?) region would have been better.
• There’s a lot of the Sword Coast here. If you’re tired of the Sword Coast, these books may not be for you.
• The Dalelands is a typical European style fantasy setting of small towns and heroes with a big elven ruin nearby. I'd love to run a campaign here. It's a huge meaty section.
• The two books reference each other. They’re really one big book.
• The heroes guide is probably useful on D&D Beyond but I wouldn’t get the adventure guide there. Pick up the physical copy of both for referencing.
• There's lots of use of renown and bastions.
• Factions focus on character factions, even for "bad guy" factions, but there's enough lore here to help GMs build them out as villains. Lots of other smaller factions described. Big meaty section.

Page Count per Section

Heroes Book

• Character Options, 32 pages
• Guide to the Realms, 48 pages
• Gods of Faerun, 33 pages
• Whole Realms Catalog, 7 pages
• Magic, 11 pages
• Factions, 39 pages
• Total Lore Pages: roughly 120 pages.

Adventure Book

• Running the Realms, 6 pages
• Adventures, 32 pages
• Dalelands, 45 pages
• Icewind Dale, 38 pages
• Calimshan, 32 pages
• Moonshae, 29 pages
• Baldur's Gate, 35 pages
• Lost Library of Lethchauntos adventure, 15 pages
• magic items, 5 pages
• monsters, 38 pages

These Books are Expensive

• $50 for Heroes (192 pages)
• $60 for Adventures (288 pages)
• $110 for the two books
• If you're running a campaign with D&D Beyond, Mike's recommendation is Heroes physical + DDB and Adventures physical for $150...
• Total rough word count of the two books is about 221k words.

Comparing it to the 3rd edition Forgotten Realms book

• The 3rd edition Forgotten Realms book was roughly 300k words (79k words more)
• The 3rd edition FR book cost $39.95 in 2001 – about $73 in 2025 dollars.

Thus...

• 3e Campaign Setting: $0.24 per 1,000 words (inflation-adjusted)
• Adventures + Heroes of Faerun, 2025: $0.50 per 1,000 words

About twice the price!

The art is way bigger in these books than the 3e FR campaign sourcebook, but it's still pretty expensive.

The 3rd Edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Sourcebook is the gold standard:

• $16 on DTRPG
• About $35 for a used copy

You Should Get the 3rd Edition FR Campaign Guide if...

• The price of the new books is too high.
• You want to play in the 1372 DR (pre Spellplague)
• You're not playing 5th edition D&D but still want to play in the Realms

You Should Get the New Books if ...

• The price isn't an issue for you.
• You plan to run a campaign in one or more of the five focus regions.
• You want to play in the most recent timeline.
• You dig all the new art.
• You want a ton of short adventure outlines.
• You really want the new character options and monsters.

I really enjoy this format for a review.