[FR] Forgotten Realms Setting products discussion

[Myconid Sage]

Yep, I agree that FR is best. I happened to pick up the old "Grey Box" the day it came out at my FLGS (were I still shop) and I haven't looked back since. I have been running a FR campagin with the same group since '90! Sure occassionaly it has been a little irritating, when somebody at the table knows a little more game info than the should...but it's nice on the other hand because of the familiarity, makes FR seem more "real".

As for my favorite 3eFR book, I gotta go with Unaproachable East. The old Spellbound box set did not do much for me personally. So the 'east is great, my next campagin well be in Thesk for sure, can't wait.

JP

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

As someone who generally thinks that 3e does almost everything better than 2e, I reckon the 2e Realms god books just demolish the 3e F&P.

Agreed. Less god stats and more Specialty Priest-to-PrC conversions would have been awesome. The text -around- the god stats was well done though, and made me want to see more.

Races of Faerun RAWKS. Finally, a race book that treats humans with as much variation as dwarves and elves.

And everytime I crack open the FRCS, I find something new. Literally. Everytime I think I've read it cover to cover, I come across something like the Tashlutans' love for practical jokes and spicy food. Great stuff.

 

[JEL]

I absolutely loathed Forgotten Realms in the previous two editions of AD&D, but the new stuff has actually gotten me interested in the setting. I think the writers/editors have done a great job of making the setting approachable and interesting. If I can get a group together, I'll probably use FR as the setting, but I'm not actually sure on details as yet.

My only nitpick is that the game information is a bit too spread out. Having to go through a half dozen books to get all the available feats and PRCs is a little annoying.

 

[Mithriltooth]

Ive been DM'ming FR adventures since the original Grey box myself. Ive always loved the setting, the plots, the Legends etc.

The only flaw imo, is that good modules from other settings (RttToEE, Necromancer Games modules, etc) are sometimes difficult to implant, being that most FR areas are well described and in a sense a tad "busy".

Im still in the planning stages for running RttToEE for my group. Ive finally shoehorned Hommlet, Nulb and Rastor into the edge of the dales.

examples...
Hommlet- on the Northride, NE end of the Shadow Gap, 10mi SE of the Spiderhaunt Wood

Nulb- 30m NE of Hommlet, between Spiderhaunt and Desertmouth Mountains, 45mi W of the Tethyamar Trail (which leads N to Dagger Falls)

Moathouse- 10mi SE of Hommlet, on the edge of the Southermost Desertmouth mountain range.

Rastor- Thunder Gap along the Moonsea Ride, 40mi or so E of Tilverton.

ToAC/CRM- 10mi S of Rastor into the Thunder Peaks, on the Northeastermost edge of the Immerflow.

I juggled the Silver Marches as an alternative, particularly Winter's Edge as a possible Hommlet, and the Dead Trees area as a possible location for Nulb etc. Area was too busy in general.

The Realms are still excellent .

 

[d12]

I really dig the bad guys. Red Wizards, Zhentarim, Cyricists, Cult of the Dragon...this only scratches the surface.

Tidbit from Magic of Faerun - Undeath After Death (page 129). What a great way to keep the BBEG coming back.

 

[d12]

Mithriltooth

I just ran RttToEE in the FR and put the whole thing in the Western Heartlands. Hommlet was betwen Hill's Edge and Triel. Moathouse was some miles to the east. CRM was just east of the Serpent Hills. I used Scornubel as my Verbononc.

Yes, this spread things out some but it worked.

 

[rounser]

Unless it's my imagination, the FRCS seems to have had a lot of love and care go into it's production, which shines through in the finished product. It seems to have been made during the 3E honeymoon period, might have influenced it's consistently superb standard of quality as well. Hard not to be too glowing about it; I'd say it's the best book 3E has produced, if not the best book D&D has produced...

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Unless it's my imagination, the FRCS seems to have had a lot of love and care go into it's production, which shines through in the finished product. It seems to have been made during the 3E honeymoon period, might have influenced it's consistently superb standard of quality as well. Hard not to be too glowing about it; I'd say it's the best book 3E has produced, if not the best book D&D has produced...

I agree on that - I'd say that the FRCS is by far the best FR product that has come out for 3E.

Don't get me wrong - most of them are pretty good. But personally, I don't care all that much for new "rules bits" unless they really add to the flavor, and I don't really need new locations to be with complete floorplans and with full stats for every NPC. Just give me a more general description and use the saved space for more locations, is what I'm saying...

 

[NiTessine]

What draws me time and again to Realms is the sheer detail and size of the setting. I sometimes have fun by taking a generic adventure and then thinking up ways how to tie it seamlessly into Realmslore. The great size allows me to throw the party into wildly different settings, from the cold north to a steaming jungle or a dry desert, without troubling the suspension of disbelief too much. The setting also has the honour of holding the greatest superdungeon of all time.

I consider the 3E FRCS to be the best setting book I've seen for D20. It really has everything you need to start a campaign in the setting, right down to a starting adventure.

I remember my first contacts with Forgotten Realms, so many years ago... The Dark Elf trilogy, the Baldur's Gate game, and the 2E setting box, in that order. All three were excellent, in their own ways. In Dark Elf, Salvatore brought the backstabbing drow society and the Underdark to life in a believable way. Baldur's Gate did the same to the aboveground Realms, and though it wasn't all that faithful to Realmslore, it still ranks among the best computer games I've played.

The 2E boxed set, then... I recall how I, all 14 years of age, read it in the bus, and adventure hooks kept jumping off the pages and into my head. It was also fun spotting things referenced in BG and the DE trilogy.

And now, I must finish this post... I have an idea about Ghostwalk and Velen...

 

[Celtavian]

re

I play FR exclusively. There books are always better than any of the other D&D books produced by WotC IMO. The only book I have been disappointed in so far is the Races of Faerun. They had decent information, but none of it really grabbed you.

When the FRCS came out, and I may be considered a power gamer for saying so, I was thoroughly impressed with the Archmage Prc. It may not be balanced, but the Prc definitely turns you into a fearsome Archmage wielding powerful magic that allows you devastate lesser wizards and beings. When I think of Archmages, I think of that Prc.

I have always felt that mages were supposed to more powerful than other classes, and in the FR, this is true. Magic is powerful and wizards rule the roost, just like in Fantasy novels.