I may be starting a new game in the next couple weeks, as a player for once:) However, the DM has said he would like to use FR, which I know next to nothing about. I looked and found the campaign setting, which appears to be 3.0, and the Players guide (3.5). Which is a better intro to the setting? Can you use the Campaign setting book and not run into too many 3.0/3.5 issues? any help is appreciated. Thanks!!
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Which is a better intro to the setting? Can you use the Campaign setting book and not run into too many 3.0/3.5 issues? any help is appreciated. Thanks!!
It kind of depends on what your ultimate goal is -- introduction to Faerun or running into 3.0/3.5 issues.
Either way, I would suggest getting the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. This book has MUCH more information on backgrounds, history, geography, races, classes, and so on.
The Player's Guide to Faerun is largely an update book meant to update a lot of the information in Magic of Faerun, and the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. It updates feats, prestige classes, spells and gives information on epic play. The cosmology section is also kind of nice.
If you had to choose one over the other, I would still choose the Forgotten Realms Campaign setting over the Player's Guide to Faerun -- but both are very useful, especially together.
Thanks for the info. I guess I need to know the backstory more than the rules issues. Ruels you can owkr out w/ your DM, joo know?
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I may be starting a new game in the next couple weeks, as a player for once:) However, the DM has said he would like to use FR, which I know next to nothing about. I looked and found the campaign setting, which appears to be 3.0, and the Players guide (3.5). Which is a better intro to the setting? Can you use the Campaign setting book and not run into too many 3.0/3.5 issues? any help is appreciated. Thanks!!
Not too many 3.0/3.5 issues in the FRCS since 90% of that book is backgrounds, plotlines, history, and information about the world. Its so rich and thorough, I love it! It's been my favorite setting since I started playing back in 1989. I've never really looked at the Player's Guide, so I have no idea what's there, but we get along just fine with the Campaign Setting book alone in our 3.5 campaigns. Shouldn't be an issue.
If you can afford it, I would get both. If you had to choose one, get the Campaign Setting. I haven't run into any major issues with 3.0/3.5 and I've been running a FR campaign for three years now.
If you're looking for an intro to Forgotten Realms, you're really in for something. It's the deepest, richest fantasy setting I've run into. Period. If you have time, get a hold of a copy of the Baldur's Gate computer game. It will give you a great intro. Otherwise though here's a brief touch on stuff you should know.
Look and feel: Faerun (technically the name of the main continent of the Forgotten Realms, but also used by most folk as the name of the whole world--which scholars know is actually called Toril) has a huge history stretching back thousands of years, so there's a lot of powerful legacies, ancient ruins, dead gods, etc. Magic is a palpable thing with the affairs of gods and powerful magics shaping the course of events. Things are always happening. Yet at the same time, the setting is not dark or post-apocalyptic--rather it's a place of bright trees and breathtaking vistas. The biggest thing to happen historically in a while was the Time of Troubles, wherein the gods were kicked out of the heavens and were forced to coexist as powerful but mortal avatars in Faerun. Lots of gods died then, those that lived gained and lost portfolios and a good number of humans rose to godhood. The places where gods died became places of null magic, sometimes concentrating in chunks of antimagical material. Other places suffered from the disturbance of magical energies becoming wildly magical in strange and random ways.
Cultures of note:
The Dalelands- A number of tiny sub-nations with names like Shadowdale, Featherdale, Deepingdale, etc. By and large these are small farming communities, tight knit and suspicious of outsiders.
Sword Coast- A stretch of interesting coastal port cities specializing in trade, bustling and cosmopolitan and surrounded by pretty birch and willow trees and wildflowers, but also rampant with gibberlings, goblinoids, gnolls, and other troublesome monsters.
Chult- Thick tribal jungle like the amazon or deep africa full of yuan-ti, dinosaurs, and lizardfolk.
Calimshan- A nation of lies and intrigue of a middle eastern flavor.
Halruua- A cloistered, embattled community where magic is rich and ancient and towers cluster thick along the skyline in jagged, spikey stalagmites. Mages are the rulers here and the signs of magic are everywhere from the constructs that lumber through the streets to the airships that trawl the skies.
Cormyr- A large and prosperous nation whose existance is tied to a quasi-mythical purple dragon that lives in the deep wilderness areas. The nation has been thrown into flux by political upheavals and the continual attempts by evil organizations to subvert the government.
The Sea of Fallen Stars- A large inland sea, dangerous and savage along the northern rugged frontier coasts, piratey along the western shore, and on the east coast egyptian and exotic african overtones prevail.
Main Antagonists:
The Zhentarim- A secret society gone public whose trade routes criscross Faerun and give them ample opportunities to infiltrate everywhere with their Black Network. They also have a militant army, though mostly they hire themselves as mercenaries or drop below radar as deep cover operatives.
Red Wizards of Thay- A magiocracy of backstabbers and manipulators known by their red robes and extensive black tribal tattooing. They are powerhungry and meglomaniacal and are driven to cutthroat competition to achieve their ambitions over the bodies of those that stand in their way.
Cult of the Dragon- Led by the mad archlich Sammaster, the Cult has been altering ancient elven magics to drive the dragons to beastial rages with the intent of forcing the evil dragons into becoming dracoliches to maintain their sanity. They believe undead evil dragons will someday rule faerun and seek to hasten that day.
That should about do it. If you get a chance to look at Faiths and Pantheons though, do it. The gods are wonderful, perhaps one of the coolest aspects of the game, however there's way too much there to cover in this already long post. Hope it helps.
Wow, thanks for the Info. I have Baldurs gate 1 and 2 for XBox, is that similar to the pc game? Is FR the Drizzt setting as well? I read Icewind dale trilogy, which was pretty good, but not good enough for a second read, you know?
Yes, Driz'zt comes from the Realms. If you can find the Baldur's Gate games for PC from the late 90's/early 00's, those are the ones that are good. The console games are crap.
Things to keep in mind in Faerun:
Deities are more "real" than in other settings. Where Greyhawk uses a powerful archmage to perform some miracle, Faerun uses a god.
Organizations. While there are numerous small cults and sects of good and evil, the FR are also known for their major guilds and factions that span the continent, such as the aforementioned evil groups, along with agencies of good, like the Harpers.
Beautiful, sweeping geographies are an intrigal part to describing and experiencing the Realms in the mind's eye.
The world is vast and diverse. There are many languages spoken by the various human subraces, who have distinct styles and cultures.
City states. The Realms aren't too big on actual unified countries, but rather, are populated by a large number of city states, many in pseudo-national alliances.
Powerful spellcasters. So many that some DMs get annoyed with the frequency of 17th level mages running around. Though it's a gross exaggeration, some have said there is "an archmage on every corner." Nevertheless, they can't be expected to do everything and always save the day, as the numbers are divided pretty equally between good and evil, and others just don't care. Thus, don't be expecting a Deus ex Machina just because Elminster's house is 50 miles away. However, they can serve as good patrons, as these NPCs are always seeking more allies in their networks to counter their foes.
History. Faerun has a deep history, ranging from the fairly mundane founding of this city or that, to the introduction of orcs into the world by ancient Nar summoners in the Orcgate Wars and the fall of Netheril due to Karsus' folly. As Grim said, there are powerful legacies left over from all this, and the past continues to shape the present in subtle, yet powerful, ways.
Magic is potent, revered, and feared. Though relatively common in an overall view, a wizard or priest is still something that the average man has a healthy respect for. And magical "events" of epic proportions aren't that infrequent, either. Along those same lines, it bears note that dragons are also things of terror and beauty. They aren't bandied about at the wyrmling stage and such to provide dragon-themed encounters. No, they get saved up for mature adults and older, when they can destroy kingdoms. And they do sometimes.
If your DM is good, he won't overuse drow, but be aware that the setting has been known to have an addiction to dark elves, although it's gone into rehab a few times now and seems to be staying clean this time.
If your DM is good, he won't overuse drow, but be aware that the setting has been known to have an addiction to dark elves, although it's gone into rehab a few times now and seems to be staying clean this time
Yea... but you know what they say about going black...
If you can find them, check out the Volo's guides that were put out for 2nd edition. Ignore the crunchy mechanical parts of the guides and stick with the flavor. Since my campaign is based out of Cormyr, getting the Volo's Guide to Cormyr is an invaluable treasure trove of adventure hooks.