Post/Author/DateTime	Post
matrix_king3 01-16-07, 09:08 AM	I finaly decide to drop my own campaign setting. Because I got only 5 days to build it...so I decide to play in the only DnD campaign I never play. My players know the world better than me so...help? Maybe I could change somethings like...Elminster is dead :P And I surely want to add some years to the history like...maybe 15 years to make up my personnal events... They starting LvL 4 but they starting with 28 points to spend in their Ability, begining at 10 (cost is 1 for 1) Yeah its suicide...but I got good challenge ready for them. The problem is...I dont know where to start. Anyone has a game in play and can give me a synopsis of their game?
Tarus 01-16-07, 09:43 AM	The FR is so vast you have endless possibilities. It would probably be more helpful if you gave some general guidelines. Do you want a remote area, a heavily populated area, a large city, an underground complex? What sort of adventure have you created...that may help find a good place to fit it. Also, do you want somewhere with lots of detailed history that you can build off of or somewhere thats not got much on it? One area I did a brief campaign in was the Bloodstone lands to the north...Damara. Its a frozen land, not heavily populated but enough, lots of mountains and frozen plains to stock with what you want. There is a 2nd edition book you can download called the North or something like that.
Falln 01-16-07, 09:47 AM	You can play on the sword coast. That's where "Baldur's Gate" is played. Neverwinter nights is also played in FR. Waterdeep is a nice city to start in (nice dungeon). and everyone likes Zenthil Keep :D
Seghan 01-16-07, 10:07 AM	Elminster is dead :P Make that Driz'zt too, and you have a winner. :D I left FR for Eberron quite a while ago, but when I did game there I often liked starting in the heartlands, Cormyr and the Dalelands in particular. They are not terribly "exotic" as far as FR goes which allows the DM to build the scale of the adventure slowly or in a more controlled fashion as the party begins stepping out into the wider world. Also, they are quite centrally located, which allows the party to base from there and be able to reach any other part of the continent more easily. Of course, I am talking about a wide ranging campaign, if you want something more geographically and or thematically limited then there are other parts of the continent that probably have more going on.
SCMrks 01-16-07, 10:28 AM	My Forgotten Realms campaign is taking place in Cormyr. In Cormyr we have the remnants of the goblin and orc army terrorizing the country side. The king has recently died as well as many of the nobles and the army so there is some political chaos I can use in adventure plots. Outside nations like Sembia, Zhentil Keep, and the Red Wizards are taking advantage of the chaos to develop footholds in the kingdom. The Shades are exploring the Stonelands for their lost Netherese relics. And the Cult of the Dragon is looking for the Devil Dragon's lair. Also the yaunti are helping some of the noble families regain power for their own plots. Our campaign is in its 3rd year and the mix of dungeon crawl, mystery, and political adventures have been fun. Several of our players have been enjoying the novel series "Song of Fire and Ice" so Cormyr is a good place for us.
Aratex 01-16-07, 10:53 AM	I'm currently running an Amn campaign, mostly dealing with the monster (kobold, goblin, hill giant, and ogre) army invading Amn from the Small Teeth region.. My players just assassinated the leader of the kobold branch of the army, and they'll soon be heading off to Hillfort Torbold to deal with some goblins and giants. I'm not sure where they'll head after they save Amn. I may make the entire invasion an evil plot that takes them down into the Underdark... I've already placed a few clues that both dragons and drow are involved, it's just a question of if my players follow up on them.
Murrdox 01-16-07, 11:19 AM	Just because you're playing in Forgotten Realms doesn't mean that you need to use Elminster and all the other "BIG" NPCs. I had Elminster show up in ONE campaign that I ran. He was there for a total of 10 minutes, and then left. It was just a fun "wow!" moment for the players. I use Forgotten Realms for: 1) Landscape - there is a tremendous amount of pre-defined terrain, cities, ruins, forests, lakes, swamps, etc to put your adventures in 2) Culture - there are lots of different cultures stretched over the realms, from the High Elf enclaves to the rugged Barbarian wastes, to the East where Slavery still exists. Every type of culture you could think of is represented somehow. 3) Lots of Magic - Magic is fun. Forgotten Realms is meant to be a "High Magic" setting, but it doesn't necessarily HAVE to be. You can adjust this to suit your taste. 4) Religion - I LOVE LOVE LOVE the religions in Forgotten Realms. The Gods in Greyhawk are so BORING! My reccommendation for starting in the Forgotten Realms? Pick a random city on the map to start your adventure in. Read the Forgotten Realms Campaign guide entries on that area. Leaf through the other areas on the Forgotten Realms in general, especially the religious system, since it's important to the setting. Then, just plop your Adventure in, and let Forgotten Realms fill in the story gaps of YOUR adventure. Don't be scared to fit your adventure into the Forgotten Realms. Your adventure is more important than keeping true to the setting. And if one of your players complains that the NPC you just named as the Count of the manor isn't accurate, or wants to go off and find Drizzt, I recommend throwing dice at his head.
matrix_king3 01-16-07, 12:42 PM	I think Im going to use Silverymoon as start point. Because I like that the Anauroch is close. Thats adding a ''Mordor'' fealing. To answer the question, my kind of adventures is Dungeons and I like to play in a large city because there is good services. So...for my first adventures...I dont know...there is rumors that said about a Mage never return from a Quest in the High Forest. Why not use the Drow. What was your first adventure in FR? Maybe Ill take some good idea...
matrix_king3 01-16-07, 12:44 PM	And why they dont making a Living Campaign with FR...its more popular and older than many campaign?
Ilthorin 01-16-07, 01:32 PM	I have to agree with Murrdox about what makes the realms great. All the material gives you a wonderful setting to build your own stories in. For Dms that want to make their own campaigns it is a great backbone on which to build and you can choose how much of the novel storylines you want to incorporate into your own story. Personally I stick to the far southern end of the continent because they publish less material for that area. Less chance of glaring inconsistances between what I have written and offical published material. And far fewer Uber-Npcs for the party to sit there wondering...well if this is so important why hasn't so-and-so flown in with their magical underware and saved the day already.
Murrdox 01-16-07, 01:37 PM	So...for my first adventures...I dont know...there is rumors that said about a Mage never return from a Quest in the High Forest. Why not use the Drow. What was your first adventure in FR? Maybe Ill take some good idea... I wrote a low-level adventure that was similar to that awhile back. It wasn't especially "Forgotten-Realmsy", and I hadn't completed it yet. But, the adventure started out with a Mage Guild that was holding a contest during a local Festival. This was somewhere on the Sword Coast, I don't remember what city I started in. Anyways, the Mage Guild had a "test" that various adventuring parties could try their luck on. There was a promised reward for getting through it. Essentially it was a mini dungeon with a few mental puzzles and some monsters. The dungeon didn't actually EXIST, and the combat wasn't REAL - any "killed" characters materialized back at the Mage's Guild. When the players completed the test (as they hopefully did) the Wizards revealed that it was actually a test to find a group determined and powerful enough to find an artifact that was stolen from them. The plot then led to a nearby forest, where a Blight Druid revealed himself, setting various dire animals on the party to scare them away. He succeeds in forcing them to flee, but that night a storm forces the party to take shelter in an abandoned farmhouse, where they find the remains of a wizard wearing a robe of the guild. From there, it goes on and the party finds out that the wizard was murdered by the Blight Druid and tortured into revealing the location of the artifact, etc. Had the party gotten far enough, they would have discovered that the Blight Druid was working for "someone else". "Someone Else" has wererats in his service. The wererats had picked up the artifact from the Blight Druid and taken it back to their lair. That was as far as I'd written out. As I said before, it's not very Forgotten Realmsish. You could put this adventure anywhere really.
primemover003 01-16-07, 04:38 PM	There was a Living City in FR... Raven's Bluff. If I'm not mistaken it was the first Living campaign setting.
lint trap 01-16-07, 04:56 PM	I'd drop them straight into the middle of an Al-Qadim campaign. If you're doing FR, you might as well do it right.
MindLich 01-16-07, 05:48 PM	I am currently running a new campaign in FR located on Bluestride, my newly created island between the Chultan peninsula and Calimshan. They started in Woodseal, a small town in the forest with a lot of political struggles between the Shar and Selūne church. They were sent to investigate recent attacks from a kobold camp. I really like FR, it gives you alot of space to develop your story, and gives you good guidelines on how the world is. Besides, it has got SO much cool conflicts, and a very good storyline.
matrix_king3 01-16-07, 07:21 PM	I just read a little more about character creation. My Wizards, Sun elf lvl 4 from Silverymoon is starting with 5 or 6 feats...its realy powerfull. And I got a free Masterwork Rapier. It is me that dont understand the rules?
Sereno 01-17-07, 11:09 AM	I just read a little more about character creation. My Wizards, Sun elf lvl 4 from Silverymoon is starting with 5 or 6 feats...its realy powerfull. And I got a free Masterwork Rapier. It is me that dont understand the rules? Suggestion: wait to DM a new campaign in an unfamiliar setting until you've actually finished reading the PHB and DMG, cover-to-cover, at least twice AND understand all of the rules. Once you are sure you know how the Core Rules work, then read the Forgotten Realms Campaign setting book, cover-to-cover, twice. Seriously ... just diving into a campaign with little or no knowledge of the actual setting and a shaky grasp of the rules is a recipe for a disastrous game! My favorite part of FR is the Dalelands ... lots of political intrigue, constant threat from Zhentil Keep, Myth Drannor in your "backyard"! Just make sure that you don't end up following everything the Elminster tell you to do!
Brehon 01-17-07, 01:19 PM	I just read a little more about character creation. My Wizards, Sun elf lvl 4 from Silverymoon is starting with 5 or 6 feats...its realy powerfull. And I got a free Masterwork Rapier. It is me that dont understand the rules? I think you're confusing yourself with the regional feats listed in the Forgotten Realms sourcebooks. You don't get those feats for free. They cost one of your normal feat choices. Also, each character can only have one regional feat ever. A 4th level Sun Elf Wizard should have 3 feats (1 for 1st level, 1 for 3rd level and Scribe Scroll as a bonus Wizard feat). But you do get one equipment choice from the region for free though. I am currently running an FR game based primarily in Amn, where the characters have gained possession of their ancestral castle. Sadly (for them) they are also being hunted by an enemy that their ancestors defeated but failed to kill, as he believes in an obscure prophecy whereby "scions of the blood of his enemies" can be used to restore him to his former power. The characters have a general idea where he is (a lost city in the Anauroch), but also know that he is a beyond their reach right now as he is surrounded by a small army of marruspawn (from the Sandstorm book). So they are traveling to various places around Faerun in an attempt to trace their heroic ancestors' history in the hopes that it will help them defeat their foe when the time is right. Meanwhile, they are also trying to rebuild their ancestors' elite guard from the descendants of the original guardsmen (not to mention the magical weapons associated with those guardsmen). Plus any sidequests along the way. As for dealing with the big Realms personalties, remember that these people have bigger concerns than the typical adventuring parties. Elminster is guarding the world from threats that most adventurers don't even know exist. His calendar is pretty full, I bet. My players went to go see Elminster at his tower in Shadowdale once to ask for help. When they got there they found dozens of other adventuring bands camped out nearby. All waiting for a chance to consult with the great sage. A secretary had them complete a written request as to the nature and scope of the help required and then informed them that it would be forwarded to a series of lesser sages until one could be found to answer their query. In the event that none of them could, then Elminster might take a look at it, time permitting.
Sereno 01-17-07, 02:45 PM	My players went to go see Elminster at his tower in Shadowdale once to ask for help. When they got there they found dozens of other adventuring bands camped out nearby. All waiting for a chance to consult with the great sage. A secretary had them complete a written request as to the nature and scope of the help required and then informed them that it would be forwarded to a series of lesser sages until one could be found to answer their query. In the event that none of them could, then Elminster might take a look at it, time permitting. Hey! That's a great way to handle that!! :) Next time I'm DMing FR, I'm going to have to remember that!!