D&D (2024) Forgotten Realms Player Guide

[Parmandur]

The D&D Beyond write-up specifically says the book will focus on "five in-depth setting guides for iconic locations in the Forgotten Realms" and then mentions:

• Baldur’s Gate
• Calimshan
• The Dalelands
• Moonshae Isles
• Icewind Dale

Those are the areas it will cover in-depth, they made that clear.

Oh, alright, missed that part. Thst was not the impression I got from the video.

 

[Demetrios1453]

Yeah. When I posted that I knew it wasn't technically part of the sword coast, just like the far north isn't as well. My point is that almost all of the noted locations are along that coastline.

What gives me a bit of hope is the mention of the elven megadungeon. The only one I can think of is Myth Drannor and that is farther east near Sembia, Cormyr, the Dales and the Moonsea. If we're getting Myth Drannor, then perhaps we will see the central lands in more detail.

They are specifically stating the Dalelands will be covered in-depth. We may see some incidental spill over in-depth coverage of surrounding areas, and I assume we'll get some sort of coverage in the adventurer's book.

 

[Parmandur]

They are specifically stating the Dalelands will be covered in-depth. We may see some incidental spill over in-depth coverage of surrounding areas, and I assume we'll get some sort of coverage in the adventurer's book.

Also depends what "in-depth" means, as such.

 

[Demetrios1453]

Also depends what "in-depth" means, as such.

Which, now that I think about it, I'm wondering what material, outside of what we know, will be in each book? And, more importantly, how many pages will each book be? I'd have to assume they must add up to more than Eberron's 320 pages, or they'd print them as one big book.

One point of comparison we can make now is that the Baldur's Gate guide in Descent to Avernus was 50 pages long. Assuming similar sizes for all 5 mentioned areas (and they may just reprint or slightly modify that same Baldur's Gate guide in this upcoming book, as it's pretty decent, and would save them a lot of time and effort, although no doubt there would be some outcry by some quarters if they did), that would be around 250 pages. If some are a bit shorter, we'd have room for a bestiary and make it 256 pages, which is one of the most common 5e book lengths. Granted, the Waterdeep guide in Dragon Heist was only 25 pages long, but that did seem to be pretty light coverage for the city.

That would mean the general geography would be in the player's book (which does make sense; players will want some idea of where their characters might be from, where they're adventuring, and so on). I'd also assume that we'll get some information on the deities of the setting, which wasn't mentioned as being covered, but would have to go somewhere. All of what was mentioned in the article, plus the geography and deities, was covered in the first 281 pages of the 3e FRCS. With some judicious trimming (for instance, we don't need 24 pages on the Dalelands when they will be covered in the other book - maybe just 4 - 5 for an overview instead), that could probably be walked back to 256 pages as well.

Granted, that might just be wishful thinking on my part for 512 pages of FR goodness, but I'm hoping that they won't go below say 196 each.

 

[pukunui]

... and they may just reprint or slightly modify that same Baldur's Gate guide in this upcoming book, as it's pretty decent, and would save them a lot of time and effort ...

If they do, it would be the third time they've published it, as the one in Descent is an updated version of the one from Murder in Baldur's Gate (taking into account the canonical [read most common responses to the organized play survey] outcomes of that playtest era adventure).

 

[Eyes of Nine]

So, Calimshan, Dalelands, and Moonshae Isles - NICE.
Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale - do we really need to do these?

However I hope these are the start of more and more books further exploring FR, and not a one and done release like SCAG

 

[Demetrios1453]

Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale - do we really need to do these?

Popularity and name recognition, of course. They'd be foolish to ignore the immediate audiences BG3 and Drizzt bring to the table. And they do epitomize two important setting types: the gritty medieval city and harsh survival genre.

 

[Valetudo]

I don't want a book full of drizzle and emmaminster stats. Brief descriptions will do. Oh yeah, if they are just gonna redo 6e subclasses,do them right this time.

 

[Zardnaar]

And Fantasy Australia (literally called “Osse” in the FR)! I want Drop Bears! Fiendish Tasmanian Devils! And magic kangaroos with pocket dimension pouches!

Fantasy NZ got left off that map as well.

 

[reelo]

Popularity and name recognition, of course. They'd be foolish to ignore the immediate audiences BG3 and Drizzt bring to the table. And they do epitomize two important setting types: the gritty medieval city and harsh survival genre.

Baldur's Gate is not a "gritty medieval city". Nothing in current D&D is medieval (nor even gritty), and even less so the Sword Coast of Færûn.