D&D General Forgotten Realms Book preview from NYCC

[Misanthrope Prime]

Had a good read, by screenshotting the video. I’m sure others can do it better but it was enough to get a good glimpse.

Myth Drannor restored to its former ruined glory: That section hits all the 2ed buttons - the Onnaglym, broken malfunctioning mythal, temple of moonbow, castle cormanthor. Looks like shade falling on it only added weirdness without taking away any of the good stuff. Definitely feels like the shennanigans from 3e and 4e that spoiled it as an adventure location have been undone. Plus that beautiful map we saw in Beadle and Grimms is in the book. Which is great.

Speaking of maps. That is the best quality map of the Dalelands released to date. Detailed enough that the towns and villages are mentioned but it also covers the whole of the area - including Daggerdale and Archendale. If you can believe there wasn’t one that ticked all those boxes released until now. As someone who thinks Daggerdale is the most interesting Dale that makes me very happy.

Can’t wait to see inside the player book.

What are those gigantic metallic things that are stretching over the ruins of Myth Drannor? I've had some people say they're part of the mythal of the city, others say they're ruined parts of Thultanthar.

 

[TheSword]

What are those gigantic metallic things that are stretching over the ruins of Myth Drannor? I've had some people say they're part of the mythal of the city, others say they're ruined parts of Thultanthar.

It’s parts of the wrecked city of shade. Has the same shapes and design aesthetic as Ythryn

The mythal isn’t a physical entity it’s an invisible bubble of magic.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

It’s parts of the wrecked city of shade. Has the same shapes and design aesthetic as Ythryn

The mythal isn’t a physical entity it’s an invisible bubble of magic.

I was under the impression the Mythal still needed some physical support structure

 

[Parmandur]

That sounds very familiar! I know it describes the Dalelands as "Classic Heroic Fantasy" but that seems a bit too on the nose!

To be fair, Tolkien was intentionally copying the inciting incident from a 1200 year old poem, so it has vintage.

The cult of the Dragon have always had a big presence in the Dales. I would be surprised if there wasn’t a reference.

He means the Hobbit.

 

[Parmandur]

Here are some screenshots:

 

[Yaarel]

Yup, seems pretty similar to what they did with Greyhawk in the DMG.

I strongly prefer this make-it-your-own approach to settings.

Lore-hoarders are going to lore-hoard. They will build their dedicated fansites on the internet. Which is fine, this is how they choose to make the setting their own.

The only setting that matters is the ones the group of players see during gameplay at the table.

 

[Yaarel]

Except for elven Myth Drannor, I am less familiar with the Dales region. What are the main cultural differences between the Dales and the Sword Coast?

 

[TheSword]

I was under the impression the Mythal still needed some physical support structure

That link doesn’t work for me but this is from Lost Empires of Faerun.

Not all have them but they can exist.

IIRC from Pool of Radiance there is a gem or a number of gems that act as control mechanisms for Myth Drannors mythall. But that was a pretty lousy product linked to the computer game.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Except for elven Myth Drannor, I am less familiar with the Dales region. What are the main cultural differences between the Dales and the Sword Coast?

Its kind of dominated by Elminster and his do-gooding cronies (also: less sea).

 

[Yaarel]

Its kind of dominated by Elminster and his do-gooding cronies (also: less sea).

So no real cultural differences? Between Coast and Dales?