D&D 5E Starting the realms

[Scrivener of Doom]

Adventures

I really like Raiders for Galath's Roost by (surprisingly enough) Skip Williams from one of the early 3E issues of Dungeon (84 or 97, IIRC) as an introduction to the Realms. Also, Sons of Gruumsh by Chris Perkins is an excellent Moonsea-based adventure for 3.5E is really good. They would work in any timeframe with barely any changes.

Novels

As much as I enjoy The Crystal Shard (despite not being a fan of RAS otherwise), for me it's not really an introduction to the Realms. However, unlike Eberron where you can point to several trilogies and know that they're going to be a really good introduction to Hellcow's world, FR has always suffered from bad novels, many of which - including The Crystal Shard - were really just branded FR because it was expected to help it sell. And RAS novels also major on really bad names that feel like they belong in a bad FR parody rather than in the Realms themselves.

Spellfire by Ed Greenwood can be painful to read but it provides a lot of FR flavour. Similarly, Ed's Swords for Eveningstar is a difficult read but full of flavour.

For me, FR novels are almost the anti-Realms. The "real" Realms, for me at least, is contained in the sourcebooks especially those where Ed, Eric Boyd, and/or Steven Schend had a lot of input.

 

[fjw70]

I am finding The Crystal Shard decent. It is providing me with a pretty good overview of the Icewind Dale region.

 

[hawkeyefan]

The Crystal Shard is a good book. It's not without its flaws, but all in all it's fun, and certainly has a D&D vibe to it in ways that other books don't always capture.

The only issue with it as a source of info on Forgotten Realms is that it covers what amounts to a very small and isolated part of the FR world. But they expand on that a bit in the two follow up books in the trilogy, and you get a decent view of a few other areas along and around the Sword Coast.

 

[fjw70]

The only issue with it as a source of info on Forgotten Realms is that it covers what amounts to a very small and isolated part of the FR world. But they expand on that a bit in the two follow up books in the trilogy, and you get a decent view of a few other areas along and around the Sword Coast.

Absolutely. I realize that the FR is too big for one novel to cover any significant amount of it, but it's a start.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Absolutely. I realize that the FR is too big for one novel to cover any significant amount of it, but it's a start.

Oh definitely. And If you stick with the series, they start expanding outward quite a bit. More and more as the books go on.

The only problem with that is that the quality of the books fluctuates pretty wildly as the series goes on. Some of the books are vey enjoyable, some are terrible. Most are a mix of the two.

But if you do stick with it, then you'll get a pretty good sense of the NW corner of Faerun, with some trips up and down the Sword Coast, and also a lot of time in the Underdark.

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

I have never played the FR before. I still have the gray box from the 80s and I have only read a few FR books. I enjoyed the Orc King. Back in the 80s I read the Avatar series.

If you have the OBG, then you already have in your possession two classic adventures that are pretty easy to convert to low level play.

Look for Lashan's Fall and The Halls of the Beast Tamers.

If you're looking for a good starter novel, then read the latest edition of Spellfire you can find. The editing process coupled with the Code of Ethics imposed by TSR back in the day butchered the story, which is why you want the cleaned up version published after 2000.

 

[fjw70]

If you have the OBG, then you already have in your possession two classic adventures that are pretty easy to convert to low level play.

Look for Lashan's Fall and The Halls of the Beast Tamers.

If you're looking for a good starter novel, then read the latest edition of Spellfire you can find. The editing process coupled with the Code of Ethics imposed by TSR back in the day butchered the story, which is why you want the cleaned up version published after 2000.

Thanks for the adventure and book recommendations. I will check them out. I am starting with the Lost Mines of Phandelver. We will see where it goes from there.

 

[aco175]

I always like the Under Illifarn module for low- level play. It starts in a small town Daggerford that is south of Waterdeep. The module has several smaller quests before the larger one at the end of the module. I think some of the area was done over with the 5e pre release Dragonspear Castle something.

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

Thanks for the adventure and book recommendations. I will check them out. I am starting with the Lost Mines of Phandelver. We will see where it goes from there.

You're welcome. Good luck with your campaign!

 

[fjw70]

I always like the Under Illifarn module for low- level play. It starts in a small town Daggerford that is south of Waterdeep. The module has several smaller quests before the larger one at the end of the module. I think some of the area was done over with the 5e pre release Dragonspear Castle something.

Interesting, the first adventure written specifically for the realms.

http://www.dndclassics.com/product/...1&filters=0_44710_0&site=&manufacturers_id=44