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Message: <blockquote data-quote="LordManshoon" data-source="post: 6701887" data-attributes="member: 6801267">Greetings! As a fellow refugee and longtime FR fan, I'll do my best to help you out. Here we go.The only real wiki that stands out to me is just forgottenrealms.wikia.com, but if you are willing to invest a little more time and effort, I would suggest visiting Candlekeep. It's a site dedicated to Forgotten Realms lore, and in addition to many veteran posters who can help you with lore questions, authors also drop by from time to time to answer questions. Plus they're pretty good at archiving these sorts of conversations.Waterdeep is definitely one of the top areas in the Realms, and although Neverwinter isn't on its level, it can't hurt to look up that either. I honestly don't know if you need to be go beyond whatever names appear in adventure modules, but I would recommend taking a look at Cormyr (FR's most important monarchy), the Dalelands (loose alliance of rural communities in the heart of Faerun), Baldur's Gate (massive super-city that rivals Waterdeep), and Thay (major stronghold of Szass Tam and the land's most dangerous wizards). Divisive is apt. Drizzt gets a lot of publicity and his personality rubs a lot of people the wrong way, but the truth is that he's not very significant in the grand scheme of things. He's tough, but there are far tougher out there, and he isn't shaking up the world with his actions. As for major faces, there are so many major NPCs in the setting that a short list wouldn't do them justice, but off the top of my head, try taking a look at the Obarskyr family (who rule Cormyr), Elminster (because even though he's the setting's biggest meddler, he's worth knowing for sure), and Manshoon (who is totally the baddest mage out there and certainly doesn't lose face every time he goes up against Elminster). If anything, I would say researching groups like the Harpers or the Lords of Waterdeep would probably produce more ideas for stories and campaign ideas, but that's just me.If you specifically want 5E-relevant novels for lore, there isn't much to go on, I'm afraid. The Sundering series is the most obvious, but half those books assume you've read a bunch of other previous books by the likes of Ed Greenwood and R.A. Salvatore, so they can be a tough nut to crack. If you want history, try the novel Cormyr or Evermeet: Island of the Elves. If you want a fairly accessible series that is still pretty relevant even with the 5E time transitions, try Ed Greenwood Presents: Waterdeep. Honestly, I've read close to 200 Realms novels, so if you have specific interests, I could do my best to find a potential match.If console hack n slashes are up your alley, try Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance I and II. They are pretty fun and put a lot more effort into story than your run-of-the-mill hack and slash. If overheard CRPGS are more your style, then you can't go wrong with the Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale series for the PC, which are really cool for letting you control an entire party. My tips would be:1. Don't feel obligated to use lore if you don't want to - There is enough Realmslore to fill a college course. Don't feel like you *have* to acknowledge it. Sometimes the best Realms campaigns are the ones that tear down the upper levels and rebuild from the foundation up. If you find yourself getting swamped because so-and-so is a well-known figure in Town X, don't sweat it. Make of the world what you wish. If you read up on Waterdeep and decide it would be more interesting to have the Lords replaced with a shapeshifter or a dragon, go for it. 2. Forgotten Realms is kitchen-sinky - Most anything can exist in the Realms. The different lands and regions of Faerun are a big patchwork quilt of cultures, technologies, and magics. If a player has an idea that initially strikes you as "out there", odds are that it can make sense in the Realms. Faerun is massive and has plenty of room for your players' ideas, so let them help you flesh out the world.3. The Gods are only as invasive as you want - One of the defining features about religion in the Realms is how in-your-face most of the gods are. They don't exactly keep their existence a mystery. This can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what role you want the divine to play in your games. Even though the Realms' history has been impacted by the direct actions, reactions, and deaths of the gods over the centuries, it can be very interesting to turn the tables and see what happens when an active god goes silent or a god becomes spiteful towards his/her followers.You sound very enthusiastic, so I'm sure that you won't be able to put a foot wrong as you dive into the Realms. I've had a lot of fun playing in the Realms and it's got a little something for most players, so I bet you and your group will have a blast. Welcome aboard! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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