D&D General I'm reading the Forgotten Realms Novels- #202 The Howling Delve by Jaleigh Johnson (Dungeons 2)

[Goonalan]

#040 Waterdeep by Troy Denning (Avatar 3)
Read 29/12/19 to 3/1/20



Book 3- and almost immediately it is better than the first two, as in the style of writing is much more descriptive (and therefore emotive and visceral) and things seem less random or plodding. That sounds bad- just to clarify the first two books are not bad, only they seem to meander, or else are (in places) less descriptive (crafted) than this one.

So, the two Tablets of Fate need to get back to Ao, in the game are Midnight, Kelemvor and Adon (Team Good Guys), Cyric (Team Evil Bastard) and Myrkul & Bhaal (Team Dying To Meet You) and the usual smattering of heart-warming heroes of the realm (primarily Elminster, but a bit of Blackstaff at the end).

So the chase is on, specifically (in a very roundabout way) to locate the second Tablet of Fate in Waterdeep (which it isn't), eventually Midnight ditches Adon (lost presumed dead) and Kelemvor (just lost) and makes her own way to in to the Realm of the Dead to go fetch the second Tablet of Fate, which Myrkul is using as a weather vane.

The Realms of the Dead is very good, if your players are going to go there then read this one, I'm loving the descriptions of the forlorn spirits screaming for their gods, or associated avatars, wandering the Fugue Plains wondering why they're not getting their promised portion of afterlife. There's some really excellent description here of Myrkul's Bone Castle and the city surrounding, well worth the effort.

Back to the plot, the Tablets of Fate are gathered, then lost, the squabbled over, then found again and then... lost again, as the three sides of the conflict all try to get what they want. The finale of the piece takes place in Waterdeep, as Myrkul's servants invade the city through a gateway to/from the Realm of the Dead, while the god of Death goes after the Tablets. The action is great, and proves a great backdrop to the main event atop Blackstaff's tower, eventually Myrkul gets a go on his own ride (by which I mean he dies) and then- at last- Cyric gets in to the mix and it all goes wrong/right, depending on your perspective.

Hey, what's the thing with Zombies in this book- they seem to be almost impossible to kill, a gang of a dozen is enough to put the frighteners on the heroes. I get that magic is bust but I once DMed a game in which a 4th level Ranger managed to whittle away easily a dozen of the shambling mindless undead by wandering a circular corridor (keeping ahead of the Zombies) shooting then retreating, repeat indefinitely. D&D rules-wise the Zombies didn't stand a chance.

Anyway...

In the end Adon lives and has his Clerical powers restored- he now worships Mystra, Kelemvor is dead (although I have a feeling we're going to be seeing him again), Cyric is a god and Midnight changes her name to Mystra (she's a god too).

So, happy ending- I really liked it.

Although, and here's the caveat, there is still the usual problem with Kelemvor being an idiot, Midnight even gets in on the act. These two are constantly throwing themselves in to each others arms/beds (while proclaiming their love), and then doing what they can (when they can) to mock their words and (supposed) emotions.

I get it, the plot doesn't work so well with a smooth ride, it just feels wrong-bad when I'm reading it, a little groan escapes- 'not this again', as the pair take it in turns to undermine each other. Oddly, Adon is back, and mostly the voice of reason- after two books of wanting to know what he's for, what part he plays, then this is the one in which he turns up- with something to say.

So, the big epic picture is grand, a nice Campaign to play out, without the squabbling between the three PCs then it'd be a much easier (and possibly more believable- whatever that word is worth when you're writing about a fantasy milieu) ride for the heroes, and a much shorter, and possibly less interesting story.

Read.

 

[Goonalan]

#041 Prince of Lies by James Lowder (Avatar 4)
Read 3/1/20 to 4/1/20



Book 4- and it's a corker, I flew through this one in only two days (although I was also laid low with a terrifying case of man flu- it was touch and go for a while) but the story and the action were excellent. So, here's why- it's a longer book, for some reason I kinda liked that, most of the books are uniformly 312-314 pages long- there was a little more of this (376 pages). There are nice pictures, one page plates, in the edition I was reading; each chapter also has a short preamble- what comes next, like the intertitles from a 1950's episode of Flash Gordon. The structure is good, the layout and delivery better still- it is written well, and it reads well. It's a standout.

To the action, the gods are back in their heavens but all is not well, particularly for Cyric (God of Strife, Lord of the Dead, the Everyman of Evil) who is STILL unable to let go of the past- and in particular to forgive and forget Kelemvor and Midnight/Mystra. So, the big bad is out to find Kelemvor's spirit/soul (who should be somewhere within his realm) to this end we get to visit with the Zhentilar, meet Gond the Wondermaker, Mask & Oghma (more often) and also get to visit with a number of the other the gods- all good, and there's nice explanations of how this all hangs together.

Likewise there are some great moments in the Realm of the Dead, and also in Zhentil Keep, so the insights are great- and although the story is 'epic' (not something I usually like) the gods themselves are suitably mundane with their petty jealousies and self-centred reasons for their actions- again, that just works.

This book introduces plenty of new heroes and enemies to the cause, from Gwydion and his denizen pals, to Jergal the seneschal of the dead- lots of great new NPCs that again will prove useful if you're visiting any of these places in your game. All of the novels are good for this- there's bits and pieces that I can take away as a DM, this one is jampacked with the good stuff.

So, all of that and I've not even touched upon the plot- the manufacture of the Cyrinishad, the holy book of Cyric which will draw out Kelemvor and turn everyone who reads (or hears) the text in to a true-blue believer (even if they're a god- as it works out). There's lots more going on with rebellion/revolution in dark places, contests and alliances within the pantheons of the gods (Mask is a hoot) and the terrible day-to-day suffering of lost souls and those subject to the evil ways of the Zhentilar- all of it makes the story sing.

In summary, after the Dark Elf trilogy this is my favourite book so far... I can't wait to head on in to the next one.

An absolute cracker.

Read.

 

[JLowder]

it's a longer book, for some reason I kinda liked that, most of the books are uniformly 312-314 pages long- there was a little more of this (376 pages).

Prince was supposed to be the roughly same length as the other Realms books at the time--100,000 words, according to my contract--but I wrote long and my editor successfully petitioned for me to be allowed extra pages. With the color map at the front, which ran in the first few printings, and the spot illos throughout, this made Prince something of a prestige paperback release in the Realms line. I still had to tighten the end of the story--I wrote really long--but I greatly appreciated having the extra pages.

Glad you enjoyed it!

Cheers,
Jim Lowder

 

[JLowder]

Was it a Christmas novel/stocking filler?
Who's idea was it?
Why?
And.
WHY?

Once Around the Realms was created at a time when TSR's book department was struggling with some authors and editors over control of their Realms characters--some legal wrangling, mostly skirmishes for creative control. The book department's relatively new lead editor, Brian Thomsen, did not get along with all the authors and editors who had been working on the line, and he did not share what had become the department's philosophy on giving writers as much creative control of their work as possible. There had been a lot of blow-ups with different people, most notably with Bob Salvatore. OAtR was Thomsen's and TSR's way of showing the authors who had control of the world. It was written quickly, and by Thomsen because he was a full-time employee, so TSR could make it clear all the characters who appeared were controlled by the company.

The problems between Thomsen and Salvatore got to the point where Thomsen commissioned a Drizzt novel written by someone other than Bob. Shores of Dusk. There were ads for it in Dragon. If Shores had not been (wisely) shelved by Wizards after they acquired TSR, Salvatore would likely have been done with Drizzt in 1997.

Cheers,
Jim Lowder

 

[Goonalan]

Once Around the Realms was created at a time when TSR's book department was struggling with several authors over control of their Realms characters--some legal wrangling, mostly skirmishes for creative control. The book department's recently hired lead editor, Brian Thomsen, did not get along with all the authors and editors who had been working on the line, most notably Bob Salvatore. OAtR was Thomsen's and TSR's way of showing the authors who had control of the world. It was written quickly, and by Thomsen because he was a full-time employee, so TSR could make it clear all the characters who appeared were controlled by the company.

The problems between Thomsen and Salvatore got to the point where Thomsen commissioned a Drizzt novel written by someone other than Bob. Shores of Dusk. There were ads for it in Dragon. If Shores had not been (wisely) shelved by Wizards after they acquired TSR, Salvatore would likely have been done with Drizzt in 1997.

Cheers,
Jim Lowder

That makes sense.

And I'm loving the inside track here, thanks for sharing Jim- much appreciated.

As I said at the start (I think) I got all the way to 5th Ed without really paying any attention to the realms, sorry Realms. I started at D&D in the late 70s, and took up DMing a few years later. All of my/our campaigns were either in Greyhawk (at the start) then later in various homebrew settings (anywhere I had a map for). Then 5e came around and for the first time proper I had a map of the Realms to ponder, it still took me another 5 years (or however long it has been since the start of 5e) for me to actually get around to reading around the setting.

That's what I'm doing here (at best) finding out what I can about the Realms, and in particular the Sword Coast because I intend to continue DMing in the milieu for as long as I can.

That's also why Prince was a corker, a great story but also lots that I can use in-game, even if its only background material- very real, visceral; Zhentil Keep and/or the Realm of the Dead (Circa the age of Cyric) are going to be holiday destinations for some of my (future) PCs.

Cheers Paul

 

[Nosaje]

Prince of Lies was one of my favs back in the day, top 10 Realms novel for me. The high-point of the Avatar series for sure.

 

[Blackrat]

This here is one of the reasons I love ENW, btw. You speak of books or games and suddenly a wild author appears! I’ve seen Baker appear in Eberron discussions and back when Gygax was alive, he used to participate too. And quite some others too. Thank you mr. Lowder for your insights here.

 

[JLowder]

For a few years I was fortunate to live close to full time in the Realms as a writer and game designer, and as line editor for the fiction. It's gratifying that people are still discovering the books and enjoying them (or discussing why a particular novel or story did or didn't work for them). The community--the people who worked on the books and games, and the people who read the books or play in the world--has always been the best part of the Realms. I'm happy for the chance to continue to be part of that community.

Cheers,
Jim Lowder

 

[Goonalan]

#042 Crucible: The Trial of Cyric the Mad by Troy Denning (Avatar 5)
Read 5/1/20 to 8/1/20



Book 5- well, it's good- but not great, and for a while I just had to stick with it and cling on to the twisty-turny plot. Actually its not so much the plot (but it is a bit) its the fact that the gods, and in particular Cyric & Mask (but also Kelemvor, Mystra, Talos, Oghma and others) can simultaneously occupy multiple manifestations of being, and... wait for it- they can also take on the appearance of other gods (or people, or things- like pillars!)

So, deities are getting duped by other deities, and mortals... well, they don't stand a chance.

The gods are playing silly buggers with the Realms, and all because Cyric (and later Kelemvor and Mystra) are on trial. Cyric is accused of Innocence (in his madness) while K & M are just not fit for purpose (in essence), they're charged with acting all 'mortal' about things.

The glory be element of this book is mostly Malik el Sami yn Nasser (and his man-eating horse) who is the chosen one of Cyric- the Bookfinder General, the book in question being the Cyrinishad- and, at the same time, the other book- the True Life of Cyric, as dictated by Oghma.

In short there's plenty of room for confusion, misdirection and general strangeness- this is a battle of/for/between the gods we're talking about, prepare to have your reality warped.

There's a lot of it at the start in which we're back and forth with the three manifestations of Kelemvor, Mask of many-faces, and a variety of other poor saps (including the reader) who just have to take what they're reading/seeing as real or true.

But keep reading... keep reading... because Malik el Sami yn Nasser is comedy gold, in a good way- as it turns out the paunchy merchant spy with the desirable wife knows what's best for Cyric. He knows better than his deity what the mad god needs, sort of.

As I say, you have to grip tight to this one- it's not so much the twisty-turny, more the fact that you've got to keep in mind what's already happened (been said and done) and by whom... to whom; and there's a lot going on- mostly chatter and threats with various godheads, but... its busy.

In the end... well, same as the beginning- what did you expect. Cyric, K & M complete their six month apprenticeship and get their Deity Licenses.

Read!

 

[Mirtek]

If you like Malik, he's also in a couple of other novels. The return of the Archwizards trilogy and The Sentinel