How do I give the "flavor" of the Forgotten Realms to a newbie Player?

[dreaded_beast]

I'm a newbie DM and have a single Newbie Player. I have decided to place our game within the Forgotten Realms, since I have a good grasp of that setting and have been a player within that setting for quite a while. However, my player has virtually no knowledge of the Forgotten Realms.

For example, I believe the impact of meeting Drizzt or Elminister would be lost on her since she would have no idea who those characters were in the first place. I want to be able to introduce the "flavor" of the Realms as we play, but don't really know how to go about and do it.

Right now, the only Realms things that she has encountered are the Monks of the Old Order, Clerics of Selune, and hearing news about the going-ons in the towns around or in the High Forest.

Suggestions are appreciated.

 

[diaglo]

visit some of the web or have her do it. start here:

http://www.candlekeep.com/

 

[Piratecat]

There are doubtlessly lots of sarcastic responses that might spring to mind in response to this question. Let's avoid them, please, and make it a useful thread.

 

[Crothian]

How about having the PCs know a bard that tells them stories of the heroes of the Realms. This might allow for some good role playing, and definant in game way for both the character and the player to be more familiar with everything.

 

[Elf Witch]

I have a question why would she even know about these famous people? I don't think everyone in the realms has heard of them. Think about yourself in today's world with all the access you have to the internet, tv, ect. No you know every famous person? For example in my case I don't follow sports at all so I had no idea who Kobe Bryant was before he was charged with rape. So I could see PCs not knowing who Elmeinster or Drizzit were.

You could use this as a chance to see the realms from a fresh set of eyes. Watch has she discovers things for herself.

 

[d12]

The realms are huge, big, big, really big. I would focus on giving her the flavor of thearea they are in and its sourrounding lands. So, If they are in the High Forest, focus on that plus Cormyr, the Marsh of Chelimber, Aunorach, the big trade route between the Heartlands and the Sword Coast, etc..... Maybe throw in some bardic tales about Halruuan Airships, Thayvian Wizards battling Rashemen, The Zhentarim and viola!

 

[cybertalus]

With only a single player I expect you'll probably be doing more roleplaying than might be the case in a larger group, so you could use that to your advantage. When she meets someone have them ask to exchange news. That gives you an opportunity to drop in little tales and rumors of Elminster, Drizzt, Alustriel, or whoever. Then later if she meets up with one of them she can have that "oh wow, I've heard of you!" moment.

(One specific idea is a kid kind of like the one in the movie Shane who is "playing Drizzt" when your PC encounters the kid's parents. If the PC expresses that she doesn't know who Drizzt is, then the kid could regale her with stories about Drizzt.)

Other options include news from town criers or performances by bards. Perhaps an annoying bard follows her around singing songs and won't go away until she gives him some coin. The songs can sound like throwaways, but might actually contain useful information for later when she encounters the Harpers, Red Wizards, Zhents, or whoever.

Of course not all the tales need be first hand, and tales have a way of getting exaggerated in the retelling....

 

[Derulbaskul]

I would argue that the flavour of the Realms is not to be found in such individuals as Elminster and Drizzt, rather in smaller things like:

- regular festivals (the FRCS has some good ideas here)
- well-described religions (see FRCS and F&P... and the three 2E "god books" if you have access to them)
- religious conflict (ditto)
- magefairs (see Magic of Faerun)
- magical phenomena (eg: dead magic areas, boomshrooms; see Magic of Faerun)

For me, the most important thing about FR is that the pantheon is well detailed and that makes it easier to create campaign arcs because the opposed deities are always seeking advantages against each other.

This doesn't mean involving the deities directly in the campaign (notwithstanding how much space was wasted by WotC in producing divien stats) but it gives the DM an opportunity to consider the campaign from a broader perspective.

My two current campaigns have a backstory that I call, "The War of the Weaves". Basically, Shar and Mystra are clashing through numerous proxies across Faerun. Do the players know this? No. However, whenever I design encounters, events or adventures I consider how it ties into this overall theme.

And when they get to the campaign's inevitable conclusion, much of this will be uncovered and they will have a better understanding of how the Realms works.

 

[Felon]

Well, you've got me concerned right off that you're thinking about having the newbie player meet up with these immensely powerful iconic figures, and even more concerned that you want to instill some sort of gee-whiz reaction into your PC when he meets them. One of the worst stygmas that FR has is that its "flavor" is all about being loaded to the gills with mega-powerful epic characters, to the extent that players wonder if their presence is actually meaningful.

If you're in the Silver Marches region, then there really aren't mighty characters for a player to bump into, except for Alustriel. That's actually the point of having the Silver Marches in the first place; it's a good place for young heroes to carve out their own legends.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I think you have to define what you mean by the "flavor of the Realms", first, and then decide how to introduce it. What elements, specifically, amke the Realms unique to you?

For me, it isn't the NPCs (none of whom existed in my last Realms campaign -- they were at best mythical figures). To me, the Realms were:

(1) A patchwork of intersecting cultures
(2) A vast world underlaid with ruins of ancient cultures and hoards of lost, mysterious magic
(3) A huge land, yet one whose smallest locale can be presented in great detail.

I started small -- one town, then one Dale; three local churches; strange travellers and caravans; a mix of competing political or power groups; rumors of both ancient legends and more recent, more real enemies. Let the characters explore and build the adventures beyond the next horizon as they come to them.