Post/Author/DateTime	Post
thedaybreaks 05-28-07, 05:40 PM	Hey there, I've recently become interested in running a planar adventure with my group... I've got Manual of the Planes, but of course, the Realms cosmology is different. The FRCS barely covers the material at all... Where should I go for more in depth material? I read on-line that the Player's Guide to Faerun has a chapter on cosmology, but I didn't know if that was my best bet or not, since I otherwise don't have much interest in that particular book (I'm one of those people that still runs 3.0, although I do use 3.5 sourcebooks, but in any case the updated spells, etc. don't interest me). In all fairness, I guess I'm not really holding my breath for a FR-centric MotP either. - thedaybreaks
XHereticX 05-28-07, 05:53 PM	Ask Grey or shemmy, they will give u more info.
Old Sage 05-28-07, 08:21 PM	*Hmmmph* The FRCS and Player's Guide to Faerūn are the only official sources we have that contain lore on the "Great Tree" cosmology of the 3e FR setting. There are minor planar tidbits published in other 3e FR sourcebooks and novels, but the main sources remain those indicated above. Alternatively, Gray Richardson has presented a wonderful compilation of planar tidbits and thoughts relating to the cosmology of the Realms here at WotC. See here:- http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=302068
NightBreeze 05-28-07, 09:49 PM	Why did they just have to build another cosmology? Argh...
Gray Richardson 05-28-07, 11:54 PM	Thanks for the link, Sage! Hello, TheDayBreaks, as the Old Sage mentioned, Players Guide to Faerūn is your best source for an overview of the cosmology. In addition you might want to check out this thread here: 100 Plot Hooks for a Planar Campaign in the Forgotten Realms (http://boards1.wizards.com/wotc_archive/index.php/t-259611.html). This link has actually a lot more than 100 plot hooks for planar adventures using the Realms' Great Tree cosmology, and spans a goodly number of FR's planes and planar sites. Happy adventuring! :)
Old Sage 05-29-07, 01:24 AM	Thanks for the link, Sage!Hehe... I did actually have a secondary reason for both finding and proving that link -- I wanted to give the revised "SEARCH" function a whirl! ;)
Gray Richardson 05-30-07, 12:43 AM	Great googly-moogly! I did not even notice that the search function is back! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! :w00t: The Old Sage is ever wise and prescient. Thanks for pointing that out!
Lord Karsus 05-30-07, 12:52 AM	-The new Empyrian Odyssey trilogy will be exploring the Faerūnian cosmology as well.
Shemeska the Marauder 05-30-07, 06:50 PM	Aye, the FRCS and PGtF are by and large the only sources of material on the 3e FR cosmology. It's exceedingly thin if you're going to try to run a planar campaign, but I suggest that you've got a trio of options: Option 1: Use the Great Wheel and retain FR/Toril as existing with that cosmology. This gives you the maximum amount of material to work with, by orders of magnitude though some 3e FR sources may then detail things that make no sense in that context. Option 2: Use the elements of both the Great Wheel and its inclusion of FR in earlier editions (and some 3.x books too). As far as most mortals are concerned, there might not be too much different. You can mix them however you want and in whichever proportion you care too as well. Option 3: Use only the FRCS/PGtF material, which lets you keep 3.x FR "canon", though it runs afoul of that lack of detail, and a very large mass of contradictions to earlier FR lore. This might work for you, and some people view its lack of detail and overt connection to previous material as a good thing, leaving them more creative freedom. That might work for you*. Of course 3.x FR doesn't really concern itself with the planes that much, and its cosmology works much better for material on the prime as long as you never leave the prime. It's not tailored to handle planewalking very well, both in terms of adventuring or in exploring the planes as metaphysical and philosophical landscapes, but I would suggest that it was intended to foster campaigns in FR proper with any planar jaunts being more an afterthought. If you're playing a 3.x FR game on Toril, which cosmology you use probably doesn't matter one way or the other, but if you're hitting the planes much in a campaign, I think you'll get more value (and much more material to build upon) with the Wheel as opposed to the Tree. But I'm biased and so is the material I write ;) *then again some people claim that Battlefield Earth was a great movie, "like Star Wars, but even better." I kid. I kid. I kid because I love.
XHereticX 06-01-07, 07:15 PM	-The new Empyrian Odyssey trilogy will be exploring the Faerūnian cosmology as well. Ohh, I am greatly looking forward to more material on the new cosmology. If it becomes more detailed then maybe it will gain a little more respect. And great plot hook link, that will help, but why is there something on Vecna in it?
Gray Richardson 06-02-07, 03:59 AM	why is there something on Vecna in it?The sylvan elf wizard Veloevaera came into possession of the Hand of Vecna sometime back. Tormented by strange whisperings in her mind, she brought it to the other Khelben--Khelben Ravencloak, a planewalker who lives in Greyhawk--to be rid of the abominable thing. Ravencloak entrusted the artifact to his grandfather, Khelben Blackstaff, to take back to Toril, away from Vecna's seat of power on Oerth, for study and eventual disposition. After consultation with Mystra, and several failed attempts to destroy the Hand, he decided the best way to get rid of it was to send it to the Rotting Plain of Laogzed. Which is where the PC's come in... ;)