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Initial Thoughts on the Two 2025 Forgotten Realms books
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<blockquote data-quote="SlyFlourish" data-source="post: 9789592" data-attributes="member: 54840"><p>I'm gathering my notes together for a talk with Morrus tomorrow and for a segment on my Lazy RPG Talk Show digging into the two new Forgotten Realms books. I thought i'd share my notes, get your thoughts, and answer any questions.</p><p></p><p><strong>Should You Buy Them?</strong></p><p></p><p>Instead of asking if one should buy the books or not, we should ask what our own criteria is to decide if we should buy those books based on those criteria. </p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Are you a fan of the Realms and its lore? If not, these probably aren't the books for you.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Would you run a campaign in the FR soon in one of the five regions? If not, you can wait until you are unless you're a huge Realms fan.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Do you want the in-store special edition covers? Now's the time.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Do you want these as permanent artifacts in your rpg library? They do feel like the kind of book we could pick up and read 20 years from now.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Do you and your players use D&D Beyond in the Realms? Get the Adventurers guide on DDB or get your players to buy it and buy the two physical books for yourself.</li> </ul><p></p><p>Alternatively, pick up the 3rd edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Sourcebook (more later).</p><p></p><p><strong>Observations</strong></p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Heroes of Faerun covers a ton about the FR. It’s more of a campaign sourcebook than I expected for a player-focused book.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I’m still studying the mini adventures but I think I dig the style. They give me enough to riff a session.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Icewind Dale section is different enough from Rime of the Frostmaiden but I still feel like another new (old?) region would have been better.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There’s a lot of the Sword Coast here. If you’re tired of the Sword Coast, these books may not be for you.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Dalelands is a typical European style fantasy setting of small towns and heroes with a big elven ruin nearby. I'd love to run a campaign here. It's a huge meaty section.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The two books reference each other. They’re really one big book.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The heroes guide is probably useful on D&D Beyond but I wouldn’t get the adventure guide there. Pick up the physical copy of both for referencing.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There's lots of use of renown and bastions.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Factions focus on character factions, even for "bad guy" factions, but there's enough lore here to help GMs build them out as villains. Lots of other smaller factions described. Big meaty section.</li> </ul><p></p><p><strong>Page Count per Section</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Heroes Book</strong></p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Character Options, 32 pages</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Guide to the Realms, 48 pages</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Gods of Faerun, 33 pages</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Whole Realms Catalog, 7 pages</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Magic, 11 pages</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Factions, 39 pages</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Total Lore Pages</strong>: roughly 120 pages.</li> </ul><p></p><p><strong>Adventure Book</strong></p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Running the Realms, 6 pages</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Adventures, 32 pages</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Dalelands, 45 pages</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Icewind Dale, 38 pages</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Calimshan, 32 pages</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Moonshae, 29 pages</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Baldur's Gate, 35 pages</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Lost Library of Lethchauntos adventure, 15 pages</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">magic items, 5 pages</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">monsters, 38 pages</li> </ul><p></p><p><strong>These Books are Expensive</strong></p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">$50 for Heroes (192 pages)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">$60 for Adventures (288 pages)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">$110 for the two books</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If you're running a campaign with D&D Beyond, Mike's recommendation is Heroes physical + DDB and Adventures physical for $150...</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Total rough word count of the two books is about 221k words.</li> </ul><p></p><p><strong>Comparing it to the 3rd edition Forgotten Realms book</strong></p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The 3rd edition Forgotten Realms book was roughly 300k words (79k words more)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The 3rd edition FR book cost $39.95 in 2001 – about $73 in 2025 dollars.</li> </ul><p></p><p>Thus...</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">3e Campaign Setting: $0.24 per 1,000 words (inflation-adjusted)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Adventures + Heroes of Faerun, 2025: $0.50 per 1,000 words</li> </ul><p></p><p>About twice the price!</p><p></p><p>The art is way bigger in these books than the 3e FR campaign sourcebook, but it's still pretty expensive.</p><p></p><p>The 3rd Edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Sourcebook is the gold standard:</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">$16 on DTRPG</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">About $35 for a used copy</li> </ul><p></p><p><strong>You Should Get the 3rd Edition FR Campaign Guide if...</strong></p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The price of the new books is too high.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You want to play in the 1372 DR (pre Spellplague)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You're not playing 5th edition D&D but still want to play in the Realms</li> </ul><p></p><p><strong>You Should Get the New Books if ...</strong></p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The price isn't an issue for you.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You plan to run a campaign in one or more of the five focus regions.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You want to play in the most recent timeline.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You dig all the new art.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You want a ton of short adventure outlines.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You really want the new character options and monsters.</li> </ul></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="SlyFlourish, post: 9789592, member: 54840"] I'm gathering my notes together for a talk with Morrus tomorrow and for a segment on my Lazy RPG Talk Show digging into the two new Forgotten Realms books. I thought i'd share my notes, get your thoughts, and answer any questions. [B]Should You Buy Them?[/B] Instead of asking if one should buy the books or not, we should ask what our own criteria is to decide if we should buy those books based on those criteria. [LIST] [*]Are you a fan of the Realms and its lore? If not, these probably aren't the books for you. [*]Would you run a campaign in the FR soon in one of the five regions? If not, you can wait until you are unless you're a huge Realms fan. [*]Do you want the in-store special edition covers? Now's the time. [*]Do you want these as permanent artifacts in your rpg library? They do feel like the kind of book we could pick up and read 20 years from now. [*]Do you and your players use D&D Beyond in the Realms? Get the Adventurers guide on DDB or get your players to buy it and buy the two physical books for yourself. [/LIST] Alternatively, pick up the 3rd edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Sourcebook (more later). [B]Observations[/B] [LIST] [*]The Heroes of Faerun covers a ton about the FR. It’s more of a campaign sourcebook than I expected for a player-focused book. [*]I’m still studying the mini adventures but I think I dig the style. They give me enough to riff a session. [*]The Icewind Dale section is different enough from Rime of the Frostmaiden but I still feel like another new (old?) region would have been better. [*]There’s a lot of the Sword Coast here. If you’re tired of the Sword Coast, these books may not be for you. [*]The Dalelands is a typical European style fantasy setting of small towns and heroes with a big elven ruin nearby. I'd love to run a campaign here. It's a huge meaty section. [*]The two books reference each other. They’re really one big book. [*]The heroes guide is probably useful on D&D Beyond but I wouldn’t get the adventure guide there. Pick up the physical copy of both for referencing. [*]There's lots of use of renown and bastions. [*]Factions focus on character factions, even for "bad guy" factions, but there's enough lore here to help GMs build them out as villains. Lots of other smaller factions described. Big meaty section. [/LIST] [B]Page Count per Section Heroes Book[/B] [LIST] [*]Character Options, 32 pages [*]Guide to the Realms, 48 pages [*]Gods of Faerun, 33 pages [*]Whole Realms Catalog, 7 pages [*]Magic, 11 pages [*]Factions, 39 pages [*][B]Total Lore Pages[/B]: roughly 120 pages. [/LIST] [B]Adventure Book[/B] [LIST] [*]Running the Realms, 6 pages [*]Adventures, 32 pages [*]Dalelands, 45 pages [*]Icewind Dale, 38 pages [*]Calimshan, 32 pages [*]Moonshae, 29 pages [*]Baldur's Gate, 35 pages [*]Lost Library of Lethchauntos adventure, 15 pages [*]magic items, 5 pages [*]monsters, 38 pages [/LIST] [B]These Books are Expensive[/B] [LIST] [*]$50 for Heroes (192 pages) [*]$60 for Adventures (288 pages) [*]$110 for the two books [*]If you're running a campaign with D&D Beyond, Mike's recommendation is Heroes physical + DDB and Adventures physical for $150... [*]Total rough word count of the two books is about 221k words. [/LIST] [B]Comparing it to the 3rd edition Forgotten Realms book[/B] [LIST] [*]The 3rd edition Forgotten Realms book was roughly 300k words (79k words more) [*]The 3rd edition FR book cost $39.95 in 2001 – about $73 in 2025 dollars. [/LIST] Thus... [LIST] [*]3e Campaign Setting: $0.24 per 1,000 words (inflation-adjusted) [*]Adventures + Heroes of Faerun, 2025: $0.50 per 1,000 words [/LIST] About twice the price! The art is way bigger in these books than the 3e FR campaign sourcebook, but it's still pretty expensive. The 3rd Edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Sourcebook is the gold standard: [LIST] [*]$16 on DTRPG [*]About $35 for a used copy [/LIST] [B]You Should Get the 3rd Edition FR Campaign Guide if...[/B] [LIST] [*]The price of the new books is too high. [*]You want to play in the 1372 DR (pre Spellplague) [*]You're not playing 5th edition D&D but still want to play in the Realms [/LIST] [B]You Should Get the New Books if ...[/B] [LIST] [*]The price isn't an issue for you. [*]You plan to run a campaign in one or more of the five focus regions. [*]You want to play in the most recent timeline. [*]You dig all the new art. [*]You want a ton of short adventure outlines. [*]You really want the new character options and monsters. [/LIST] [/QUOTE]
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