D&D General Which era and style/flavor of the Forgotten Realms do you play in?

[Laurefindel]

Yeah, I was never a fan of the Time of Troubles, so I 1) re-wrote it and 2) let a few years pass to avoid playing the direct aftermath.

 

[S'mon]

The Time of Troubles always seemed both unnecessary and far too soon to me - such a radical revision only a year in-world after the Grey Box; I guess it was more like 2 years real time - 1987 Grey Box, 1989 2e comes out.

 

[Jer]

The Time of Troubles always seemed both unnecessary and far too soon to me - such a radical revision only a year in-world after the Grey Box; I guess it was more like 2 years real time - 1987 Grey Box, 1989 2e comes out.

At the time people really did think that the differences between 1e and 2e rules needed a huge reality shifting event to "explain away" the differences. Seems kind of funny these days, given how close 1e and 2e are when compared to 3e and later editions.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

One day I will combine Ghosts of DragonSpear Castle, Scourge of the Sword Coast and Under Illefarn Anew into one great campaign. One day.

Same here. I've got about 15 pages of notes so far on how I'd do it.

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

Same here. I've got about 15 pages of notes so far on how I'd do it.

Please share

 

[gyor]

Honestly even though I picked it, I'm suprised that the 5e realms is leading, although I suppose for folks that are newer to FR it's the only Forgotten Realms they've really experienced.

While I picked 5e Realms, with the caveat that it still needs a FRCG book and isn't without flaws, I like that it's draws from all the coolest parts of previous editions with a bunch of new cool twists.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

Please share

Welp, my notes are a hot mess, but I can summarize the broad strokes.

My design goal is to create a light sandbox for levels 1-10 that I could run multiple groups through. I want enough detail to get a campaign kicked off, but leave plenty of blanks that I can customize to fit the wants and needs of the player characters. I very much believe in making the stakes personal for the characters.

Note that my take on the Realms generally is to take what I like, discard the rest, and remix it into a sort of "Marvel Ultimates" version that suits my taste. It might not be to your taste. And it's a continuity nightmare.

Finally, it utilizes a Mike Schley Daggerford map that was commissioned for the 5E DMG but never published. You can find the map on his website.

Also, beware this is full of spoilers, so...

Spoiler

• According to Chapter 2 of Storm King's Thunder Duke Daggerford is apparently dead, Lady Morwen is a captive of Baron Cromm, and Penchaska the succubus rules Daggerford posing as Morwen. Using that as a jumping off point...
• Adventurers, blamed for the death of the Duke, are not welcome in Daggerford.
• The alliance between Penchaska, the Red Wizards, and the Zhentarim has collapsed. Because I don't believe evil organizations can maintain lasting alliances.
• The Red Wizards have withdrawn completely and turned their attention elsewhere after getting their butts kicked in Scourge of the Sword Coast, Dead In Thay, etc. (I'm kind of sick of the Red Wizards and anyway I like their 3E incarnation better.) I might replace the Red Wizards with the Arcane Brotherhood, who are my preferred evil wizards for the Sword Coast.
• The Zhentarim likely back Baron Cromm, who is marshaling her forces to march on Daggerford, slay Penchaska, and claim the succubus killed Morwen. Naturally, Cromm will become Duke.
• Penchaska serves Baazka the pit fiend and is trying to return him to Faerun.
• Artor Morlin has a renewed interest in the ruins of Castle Morlin, upon which Daggerford Keep was built. Morlin could be a patron to the players, under the right circumstance.
• Dragonspear Castle is once again the lair of a dracolich. Or three. They're likely in opposition to Artor Morlin.
• Evil forces yet to be determined by me are moving against Floshin Estate and the House of Long Silences to seize the portal in the latter.
• Lizardfolk are raiding from the Lizard Marsh, goblinkin from the Crags have conquered Julkoun, undead are spotted in the ruins of Delimbiryan, trolls are up to no good, etc, etc, etc.
• The elves and dwarves around Illefarn are under seige from the above monsters and looking for help from local heroes.
• The Blackstaff, smelling something rotten in Daggerford, has dispatched a spy to uncover wrongdoing and recruit adventurers to fix the problem.

Edited for fun.

 

[teitan]

Honestly even though I picked it, I'm suprised that the 5e realms is leading, although I suppose for folks that are newer to FR it's the only Forgotten Realms they've really experienced.

While I picked 5e Realms, with the caveat that it still needs a FRCG book and isn't without flaws, I like that it's draws from all the coolest parts of previous editions with a bunch of new cool twists.

It’s kinda hard not to run a modern FR campaign though since most of the adventures that come out are FR and in their marketing WOTC has really emphasized the adventures and shared experience play. I’d not be surprised if some groups play the adventures by default with pregenerated vs home brew campaigns having a much tighter percentage to each other than previous editions in their market research. Sites like this don’t really reflect the actual play community.

I have said it before and say it again, I agree with you 100% a new campaign guide would be great. While I find the SCAG a decent book and better than reviews give it its becoming clear it’s inadequate as an overview especially since the primary reason people say it isn’t coming out is that they don’t want to repeat themselves or release the same material over and over is obviously invalid with the Eberron book. I wouldn’t be surprised with an announcement of a new setting book in the next year.

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

Welp, my notes are a hot mess, but I can summarize the broad strokes.

Thanks!

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

I've been a fan of FR since the original articles in The Dragon/Dragon. Nevertheless, I prefer the 4E version because it leaves so much more room for the DM and for the players because the map has been cleared, so to speak, of so many of the great powers (including deities). The PCs now know that they matter! That said, the map is a complete sh*tstain; I have no idea how that could be commissioned, paid for, and published. (I am not joking when I tell people that the colour palette reminded me of the contents of my son's nappy/diaper when he reacted to a particular type of food when he was around 6 months old.)

My second favourite is the 3E edition and the 3E FRCS is still, IMO/IME/YMMV, the absolute gold standard for how a campaign book should be written. It's a shame that so many bad novels were then released and disturbing the setting and solving some of its built-in problems.