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D&D Older Editions
[COMPLETE] Looking back at the leatherette series: PHBR, DMGR, HR and more!
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<blockquote data-quote="Alzrius" data-source="post: 8359863" data-attributes="member: 8461"><p>Okay, now <em>this</em> is more like it!</p><p></p><p>While <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16799/PG2-Players-Guide-to-the-Forgotten-Realms-Campaign-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>PG2 Player's Guide to the Forgotten Realms</em></a> keeps to the same overall style as its predecessor volume - overviewing a game world, a lack of stats or mechanics, the use of fiction as a framing device, etc. - it makes use of those things in an altogether different manner than PG1 did. The result is a volume that, to my mind, is more accessible.</p><p></p><p>One of the things I complained about with regard to the last volume was that it should have used the fiction as a framing device for the various localities that it covered. The alternative suggestion wasn't idle on my part: I actually read PG2 long before I read the Dragonlance version, and that's how it sets itself up. Unlike that book, this one doesn't use reprinted text the way PG1 does (as far as I know, nothing here is lifted from the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/283992/Forgotten-Realms-Campaign-Setting--Revised-2E?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting</em></a>), and the result is a book that strikes me as being much more worthwhile for it.</p><p></p><p>The book is written in a vaguely-epistolary format. While not truly put down as letters, we're presented with the journal of Furian Arcanus, a half-elf multiclass wizard/priest of Mystra from back when advancing in two character classes was still viable. On a point of pedantry, I'll note that while Furian describes himself as a priest of Mystra - and uses several clerical spells, such as <em>silence 15' radius</em> and even resurrects a fallen companion at one point - he also uses arcane spellcasting, i.e. casting a <em>lightning bolt</em>, so I stand by the idea that he's a multiclass character. Take that, <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Player%27s_Guide_to_the_Forgotten_Realms_Campaign" target="_blank">Forgotten Realms wiki</a>.</p><p></p><p>Furian's journal isn't particularly concerned with dates, but it does detail the adventures of his group, the Seekers, to recover the <em>Tear of Selune</em> artifact. In that regard, it's mostly an excuse for them to wander from place to place, giving us a tour of the Forgotten Realms. I'll note with some amusement that Furian's adventuring party just so happens to have one member of each PC race - a human, a half-elf, an elf, a dwarf, a gnome, and a halfling - which lets the book start off (after a surprisingly nice map of Faerun) with an overview of the people of the Realms.</p><p></p><p>What makes this more than just a collection of adventures is that each entry comes with a blue boxed text that serves to focus on some aspect of what Furian's journal is discussing. Visually, this helps create a very nice contrast between the in-game and meta-game context, so you can ignore the characters' adventures and just focus on the bits of Realmslore if you want, or vice versa. Similarly, the boxed text isn't limited to overviews of races or places, often going over things like notable mercenary companies, the nature of the elven Retreat, or even cheeses of the Realms!</p><p></p><p>I also have to give a shout-out to how the book ended, mostly because it's a combination of downer/cliffhanger that openly invites the reader to act as the backup to save Furian and his party. Given that you've spent over a hundred pages following along on the surprisingly-engrossing adventures they've had, it's more effective than I expected it to be. While I wasn't surprised to find confirmation that we never hear from these characters again, I confess that I was a bit disappointed. Would a companion adventure really have been too much to ask? Or maybe tie it into something like <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/282259/The-Complete-Starter-Set-Advanced-Dungeons--Dragons-Game-2E?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>The Complete Starter Set</em></a>? Given how this book really seemed to do a good job of drawing the reader in, more should have been done.</p><p></p><p>As it stands, this was also the last of the Player's Guide series. Whether that was because TSR felt that the other campaign worlds weren't developed enough to warrant one (though I am reminded of "The Wanderer's Journal" in the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17169/Dark-Sun-Boxed-Set-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Dark Sun Boxed Set</em></a>), that it wasn't cost-effective, or something else again is something we'll probably never know. But if they would have been like this, that's kind of a shame.</p><p></p><p><em>Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Alzrius, post: 8359863, member: 8461"] Okay, now [I]this[/I] is more like it! While [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16799/PG2-Players-Guide-to-the-Forgotten-Realms-Campaign-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]PG2 Player's Guide to the Forgotten Realms[/I][/URL] keeps to the same overall style as its predecessor volume - overviewing a game world, a lack of stats or mechanics, the use of fiction as a framing device, etc. - it makes use of those things in an altogether different manner than PG1 did. The result is a volume that, to my mind, is more accessible. One of the things I complained about with regard to the last volume was that it should have used the fiction as a framing device for the various localities that it covered. The alternative suggestion wasn't idle on my part: I actually read PG2 long before I read the Dragonlance version, and that's how it sets itself up. Unlike that book, this one doesn't use reprinted text the way PG1 does (as far as I know, nothing here is lifted from the [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/283992/Forgotten-Realms-Campaign-Setting--Revised-2E?affiliate_id=820'][I]Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting[/I][/URL]), and the result is a book that strikes me as being much more worthwhile for it. The book is written in a vaguely-epistolary format. While not truly put down as letters, we're presented with the journal of Furian Arcanus, a half-elf multiclass wizard/priest of Mystra from back when advancing in two character classes was still viable. On a point of pedantry, I'll note that while Furian describes himself as a priest of Mystra - and uses several clerical spells, such as [I]silence 15' radius[/I] and even resurrects a fallen companion at one point - he also uses arcane spellcasting, i.e. casting a [I]lightning bolt[/I], so I stand by the idea that he's a multiclass character. Take that, [URL='https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Player%27s_Guide_to_the_Forgotten_Realms_Campaign']Forgotten Realms wiki[/URL]. Furian's journal isn't particularly concerned with dates, but it does detail the adventures of his group, the Seekers, to recover the [I]Tear of Selune[/I] artifact. In that regard, it's mostly an excuse for them to wander from place to place, giving us a tour of the Forgotten Realms. I'll note with some amusement that Furian's adventuring party just so happens to have one member of each PC race - a human, a half-elf, an elf, a dwarf, a gnome, and a halfling - which lets the book start off (after a surprisingly nice map of Faerun) with an overview of the people of the Realms. What makes this more than just a collection of adventures is that each entry comes with a blue boxed text that serves to focus on some aspect of what Furian's journal is discussing. Visually, this helps create a very nice contrast between the in-game and meta-game context, so you can ignore the characters' adventures and just focus on the bits of Realmslore if you want, or vice versa. Similarly, the boxed text isn't limited to overviews of races or places, often going over things like notable mercenary companies, the nature of the elven Retreat, or even cheeses of the Realms! I also have to give a shout-out to how the book ended, mostly because it's a combination of downer/cliffhanger that openly invites the reader to act as the backup to save Furian and his party. Given that you've spent over a hundred pages following along on the surprisingly-engrossing adventures they've had, it's more effective than I expected it to be. While I wasn't surprised to find confirmation that we never hear from these characters again, I confess that I was a bit disappointed. Would a companion adventure really have been too much to ask? Or maybe tie it into something like [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/282259/The-Complete-Starter-Set-Advanced-Dungeons--Dragons-Game-2E?affiliate_id=820'][I]The Complete Starter Set[/I][/URL]? Given how this book really seemed to do a good job of drawing the reader in, more should have been done. As it stands, this was also the last of the Player's Guide series. Whether that was because TSR felt that the other campaign worlds weren't developed enough to warrant one (though I am reminded of "The Wanderer's Journal" in the [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17169/Dark-Sun-Boxed-Set-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Dark Sun Boxed Set[/I][/URL]), that it wasn't cost-effective, or something else again is something we'll probably never know. But if they would have been like this, that's kind of a shame. [i]Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.[/i] [/QUOTE]
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[COMPLETE] Looking back at the leatherette series: PHBR, DMGR, HR and more!
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