Epic Meepo
Hero
Trails and Tribulations
The Forgotten Realms trail guide I’m writing includes overviews of hundreds of locations in Faerun, Kara-Tur, and Zakhara. Prior to the release of the 2024 edition of the Dungeon Master’s Guide, I wasn’t sure how much detail I wanted to include when describing these locations. I want my trail guide to be a useful, big-picture reference guide to the many cultures and regions of the Realms without becoming redundant with any current or anticipated Forgotten Realms products.
Having seen and studied the Greyhawk Gazetteer section in the new DMG, I believe I’ve found the answer I need. As it so happens, the format used in that gazetteer dovetails almost perfectly with the system I’ve used to organized my notes for this project. By rewriting a few sections of the trail guide to match the gazetteer format, I’ve been able to create the type of concise summary I’ve been aiming for during the latest editing pass on my manuscript.
Before reformatting the relevant parts of the trail guide, I had focused a fair amount of word count on on detailed setting guides describing the Great Sea (between Faerun and Zakhara) and the Silk Road (between Faerun and Kara-Tur). After adopting the gazetteer format, those sections are less detailed, but I now have room to expand my coverage of the world. Instead of setting guides exploring two major trade routes, I now have a gazetteer exploring seven major trade routes.
Following the example provided by the new Greyhawk Gazetteer, I’ve divided the Realms into seven large-scale regions. Since my product is a trail guide, each of my large-scale regions is a collection of lands that lie on the same trade road or the same navigable sea. I still provide overviews of the Great Sea and the Silk Road, but I now also describe five other major trade routes: the Eastern Sea, the Golden Way, the Sea of Fallen Stars, the Southern Ocean, and the Trackless Sea.
I believe this approach will keep my trail guide from covering the same ground as the official Forgotten Realms campaign guide scheduled for release at the end of next year. I expect that guide will include a gazetteer which divides Faerun into regions based on thematic and geographical proximity. By focusing on long-distance trade routes which span the entire breadth of Faerun, Kara-Tur, and Zakhara, I believe I’m examining the setting from an entirely different perspective.
Despite the number of delays and rewrites it’s taken to get to this point, I think the process was worth it. I’ve cut and replaced nearly a hundred pages of content now. That was quite painful, but my manuscript is better for it. I now have the opening chapter I needed for this project. Instead of dwelling on city-level setting details, I now have a concise trade route gazetteer that better frames the top-level information I wanted to convey. I’m getting excited about this project again.
The Forgotten Realms trail guide I’m writing includes overviews of hundreds of locations in Faerun, Kara-Tur, and Zakhara. Prior to the release of the 2024 edition of the Dungeon Master’s Guide, I wasn’t sure how much detail I wanted to include when describing these locations. I want my trail guide to be a useful, big-picture reference guide to the many cultures and regions of the Realms without becoming redundant with any current or anticipated Forgotten Realms products.
Having seen and studied the Greyhawk Gazetteer section in the new DMG, I believe I’ve found the answer I need. As it so happens, the format used in that gazetteer dovetails almost perfectly with the system I’ve used to organized my notes for this project. By rewriting a few sections of the trail guide to match the gazetteer format, I’ve been able to create the type of concise summary I’ve been aiming for during the latest editing pass on my manuscript.
Before reformatting the relevant parts of the trail guide, I had focused a fair amount of word count on on detailed setting guides describing the Great Sea (between Faerun and Zakhara) and the Silk Road (between Faerun and Kara-Tur). After adopting the gazetteer format, those sections are less detailed, but I now have room to expand my coverage of the world. Instead of setting guides exploring two major trade routes, I now have a gazetteer exploring seven major trade routes.
Following the example provided by the new Greyhawk Gazetteer, I’ve divided the Realms into seven large-scale regions. Since my product is a trail guide, each of my large-scale regions is a collection of lands that lie on the same trade road or the same navigable sea. I still provide overviews of the Great Sea and the Silk Road, but I now also describe five other major trade routes: the Eastern Sea, the Golden Way, the Sea of Fallen Stars, the Southern Ocean, and the Trackless Sea.
I believe this approach will keep my trail guide from covering the same ground as the official Forgotten Realms campaign guide scheduled for release at the end of next year. I expect that guide will include a gazetteer which divides Faerun into regions based on thematic and geographical proximity. By focusing on long-distance trade routes which span the entire breadth of Faerun, Kara-Tur, and Zakhara, I believe I’m examining the setting from an entirely different perspective.
Despite the number of delays and rewrites it’s taken to get to this point, I think the process was worth it. I’ve cut and replaced nearly a hundred pages of content now. That was quite painful, but my manuscript is better for it. I now have the opening chapter I needed for this project. Instead of dwelling on city-level setting details, I now have a concise trade route gazetteer that better frames the top-level information I wanted to convey. I’m getting excited about this project again.
