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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Epic Meepo" data-source="post: 9457034" data-attributes="member: 57073">Plots and RumorsOne of the main goals of the Forgotten Realms Trail Guide is to compile and curate setting lore from older sources, especially setting lore which isn’t likely to appear in upcoming releases from Wizards of the Coast. My objective is to present that information in a new format with a fresh perspective. Ideally, even readers familiar with the sources I’m using will come away with new ideas for characters and adventures after seeing the trail guide’s take on established lore.Because my goal is to curate and present existing information, I’ve placed a fairly significant constraint on the content I write for the trail guide: I will avoid changing old lore or inventing new lore unless absolutely necessary. For the most part, I consider changes absolutely necessary only when the existing setting lore is problematic from a real-world perspective, usually because it appropriates the name or title of a real-world country, ethnic group, or religious leader.The first chapter of the trail guide—which provides overviews of over one hundred Realms cultures and related character origins—was relatively easy to write within these constraints. Some Realms cultures and nations aren’t described in great detail, but there’s enough information in older sources to fill in most of the gaps. In a few cases, I ended up extrapolating logical conclusions from details implied in older sources. The rest of the time, I just needed to compile information already in my notes.The next two chapters—setting guides describing major trade routes—are proving to be more of a challenge. When describing a culture last mentioned in-world over a century ago, I can simply provide historical details about that culture. When writing a setting guide, I don’t have the luxury of glossing over missing information in that manner. To fulfill its intended purpose, a setting guide needs to provide Dungeon Masters with detailed information about the current state of the world.To resolve this problem, I’ve added “Plots and Rumors” sections throughout the setting guide chapters. These sections list rumors and adventure suggestions which may or may not be true in a given Dungeon Master’s campaign. Since the content of these sections is explicitly called out as speculative, I can use it to fill in missing details about a particular location, even if those details aren’t covered in existing setting lore. Meanwhile, everything else in the chapter is grounded in established history.Speaking of history, you may be wondering: what in-game year does the trail guide consider current? As it so happens, the guide’s narrator has already addressed this question sometime in the future. For more on that, stay tuned.</blockquote>

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