Post/Author/DateTime	Post
poxjedi 04-09-07, 07:12 PM	I'm pretty new to DnD, though I have had experience with the SWRPG as well as the KOTOR and NWN games. I have volunteered to DM for my group, as I am pretty familiar with the rules and liked to GM for the Star Wars game. We've played our first 2 sessions in my homebrew campaign world, but I am quickly realizing that I am pretty unprepared. I would like to simply drop the campaign (which has so far been limited to a single tiny island) into a campaign setting, and Forgotten Realms seems to be an excellent candidate. So, my question is: WHERE THE HECK DO I START!?!?! 'The Player's Guide to Faerun' and the 'Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting' are obvious, but... there are so many other resources: 'Lost Empires of Faerun', 'Power of Faerun'... heck, there's even a whole book on Waterdeep. So... where do I start? Is it morally correct to ask the players to buy the Player's Guide? If player A wants to play an epic game, but players A, B, and C have already bought a book to contribute, is it fair to make player D, who is more enthusiastic about continuing with the current characters? How did you start out?
Azar_of_Faerun 04-09-07, 09:58 PM	but... there are so many other resources: 'Lost Empires of Faerun', 'Power of Faerun'... heck, there's even a whole book on Waterdeep. I do recommend City of Splendors: Waterdeep, it's a finely produced book and the city itself can be the springboard for many adventures (and makes a good base of operations too! :) ) I also give support to Lost Empires of Faerun as well. So... where do I start? Is it morally correct to ask the players to buy the Player's Guide? Two players can share a book amicably, so really, 1-2 books total for the players sounds about right. If you do not mind sharing, would there be any difficulties financially with them? As for my own experiences, I first started with the Forgotten Realms as a good many players these days do - the Baldurs Gate PC game series. I then moved onto the novels, then D&D in 2000, and 2003 was when I finally discovered Forgotten Realms as a campaign setting. It really is one of the more epic fantasy worlds ever created, and don't worry if others recommend 2nd edition material and you can't find it - you can make do with 3rd edition and higher products and get the rest filled in here.
Lord Karsus 04-09-07, 10:12 PM	-Here's what I recommend: 1) Read through the FRCS, and when you determine where you want your campaign to take place, you buy the 2e/3e sourcbook(s) that deal with that area. 2) Purchase Faiths and Pantheons, the 3e book on Faerūnian religion. If you want to go one step better, you can purchase Demihuman Deities, Faiths and Avatars, and Powers and Pantheons, which are the three 2e "religion" sourcebooks that F&P borrowed from. Note that the three 2e sourcebooks go into a lot more detail and are much better than F&P, though F&P does have nicer illustrations, if you ask me. ;) -That's really all you need. Of course, add in more sourcebooks to expand/spice-up your adventures.
Alediran 04-10-07, 09:49 AM	LK, you forgot to recommend Races of Faerūn, one of the best 3ed sources for the many races that players can play.
The_Shaman 04-10-07, 10:12 AM	Faiths and Pantheons is very important as deities and their direct agents are much more important in the Realms. Races of Faerun is also a good choice due to the information it has on the major races and the extra options for the game. Magic of Faerun is another very good fit - the Realms have a somewhat particular source of magic, and several specific - and imo quite flavorful - magical props. It's good for all spellcasters, and even the fighters could find something interesting to save for. It's especially useful if you're the DM. Champions of Ruin and CoValor are good for evil-aligned and good-aligned characters and adventures, respectively, although imo any ranger would do well to check the spell list of the former :) . In some ways, they form an acceptable (imo) version of the exalted and vile ideas as they apply to the Realms - only they're not that extreme and deserve to make it into most games. Aside from that, listen to Lord Karsus - if you know where the campaign will take place or you just have a region you really, really fell in love with when reading the FRCS, look at what books offer specific coverage of the region. Power of Faerun and LEoF are great books, and if you're the DM they make for great opportunities, but players would be most interested in PrCs or feats.
Lord Karsus 04-10-07, 11:00 AM	LK, you forgot to recommend Races of Faerūn, one of the best 3ed sources for the many races that players can play. -I left that out on purpose. The FRCS, F&P and one sourcebook, coupled with the PHB, DMG and MM is already costing $100+. The FRCS has the basic information about most of the common races on Faerūn. Of course, if the OP doesn't care about the money, then yes, RoF is a good buy.
Alediran 04-10-07, 11:10 AM	Since all the OP needed was the name of a book I thougt RoF was an important missin piece. P.D: Lucky are those of you that live in the states and play D&D. In Argentina just the three core books cost more than U$D 100 (one of my players owns most of core 3ed books, he spent more than $ 1200 on them. With a conversion value of 3.10 pesos for each dollar it's almost U$D 400).
Lord Karsus 04-10-07, 11:25 AM	P.D: Lucky are those of you that live in the states and play D&D. In Argentina just the three core books cost more than U$D 100 (one of my players owns most of core 3ed books, he spent more than $ 1200 on them. With a conversion value of 3.10 pesos for each dollar it's almost U$D 400). -Jeeze...It's probably cheaper to simply buy the books here, in the U.S., and pay the extravagant international shipping prices.
Alediran 04-10-07, 12:15 PM	Yes. I've done the calculations and it is indeed cheaper (and I preffer the original version, I hate translations because they usually have glaring errors, for example the Swallow Whole ability some mosters have, on the Spanish translation, or worsened breakness in Polymorph), that is why I order novels in Amazon (but I have to wait when books come out to make large purchases, otherwise I end up paying 4 dollars for the book and 30 for the shipment). My next purchase should be: Year of the Rogue Dragon trilogy (important lore for Chapter 3 of my campaign) plus Realms of the Dragons Blackstaff All Erevis Cale Books Depths of Madness Sacrifice of the Widow Something else I'm forgetting And I'm lucky that books don't have import taxes in Argentina.
Lord Karsus 04-10-07, 02:28 PM	Year of the Rogue Dragon trilogy (important lore for Chapter 3 of my campaign) plus Realms of the Dragons Something else I'm forgetting -Don't forget Realms of the Dragons II! :D
DM_Rennick 04-10-07, 03:01 PM	Hey there, thought I'd add me two cents. I got in the the realms 7 years ago when a friend of mine lent me Homeland, the first book in Salvatore's Dark Elf trilogy. I've read lots of the books since then, most admittedly being Salvatore's work. From there I got in to the games Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, both of which I still rate as fantastic games among my favorites. Roleplaying wise I began much like you. I'd played some small D&D and Star Wars games that never took off, then about two years ago I started DMing a Star Wars campaign. That finally ended last January and I started up a Forgotten Realms game. As far as your "what book" question, I can only answer by asking you a question myself, What do you want to do in your campaign? You see with a few exceptions I would say that all the FR books are at least good and provide loads of detail, so give the FRCS a look over and decide what you want to do. If you want a Dragoncentric campaign, I'd say Dragons of Faerun, if you want a dungeon delving romp back in to the relics of the past, Lost Empires is a fantastic sourcebook. Some urban mystery? Waterdeep is the way to be. Eventually, if you're anything like me, you'll want variety and getting more than just one book will be needed, but for now pick what you want to do and buy the book accordingly, that way you won't break the bank. If I could give any other advice for a new DM to the Realms it's this: Do not worry about keeping your campaign "In sync" with the "real Realms" Now there are some DMs I've met on this board who can do this, Myself and most people I know can't keep up with the onslaught of information and changes that the novels bring monthly. So pick a point to start from and from there let the PCs affect the world, not what some author has written. Seriously, Ed Greenwood, the guy who created the Realms, has been running a campaign where the Time of Troubles never happened and the Moonshae Isles aren't a celtic land. Oh and have fun! Hope this helped.
Alediran 04-10-07, 03:19 PM	-Don't forget Realms of the Dragons II! :D Yes, I know there are two of those. It's the other books I don't remember.
Lord Karsus 04-10-07, 07:10 PM	If I could give any other advice for a new DM to the Realms it's this: Do not worry about keeping your campaign "In sync" with the "real Realms" -I'll suggest just the opposite. Keeping your campaign more or less in tune with the canon Realms allows you to utilize more future campaign materials, such as future sourcebooks, future novel plotlines, and so on. Yes, I know there are two of those. It's the other books I don't remember. -I don't know. I've been focusing mostly on Star Wars novels and comic books lately. It's been a while since I picked up my last FR book, and, if I recall correctly, it's going to be a while before a new paperback is published that I think looks interesting.
Altar_Boy 04-10-07, 08:35 PM	As someone who enjoys the realms for its parts and not for the whole, I would suggest basing your campaign on the FRCS and whatever books you have and/or want to get. Faith & Pantheons, Races of Faerun, and even the Player's Guide can be ignored if you and your players aren't well-versed in Faerunianisms. All that flavour jazz will probably make your game less fun. Not because flavour est bad, but it doesn't seem that your group would want to immerse themselves deeply in it. Consider instead getting material that helps you make adventures first. The newly-released Cormyr book can be handy once you reach level 6-7, and future releases can be added on to it. Any regional book can be a great "world" for your PCs to wander through. In short, unless you're flavour nazis, stick with the basics and use only what you like.
DM_Rennick 04-10-07, 10:50 PM	-I'll suggest just the opposite. Keeping your campaign more or less in tune with the canon Realms allows you to utilize more future campaign materials, such as future sourcebooks, future novel plotlines, and so on. I'll be honest, this is a great point I can't disagree with. Though I was referring more to the novels and continuing storylines, I personally haven't had any problems using any of the sourcebooks. Maybe a better way for me to say my point would be don't be afraid to pick and choose, or to focus on one, two or a few sections of the Realms, rather than trying to do everything at once.
Lord Karsus 04-10-07, 11:01 PM	Maybe a better way for me to say my point would be don't be afraid to pick and choose, or to focus on one, two or a few sections of the Realms, rather than trying to do everything at once. -That, definitley. :)
Ramenth 04-11-07, 01:16 PM	Like others have (hopefully) said, It really depends on what you want to do. If you plan to have your entire game set in Calimshan, Amn, and Evereska, you really dont need Waterdeep: City of Splendors. If you plan to have it set more in the north and involve several major cities, Waterdeep is a good thig to get.
poxjedi 04-11-07, 04:47 PM	Well, to answer some questions... My group is supposed to have 7 members, but the first two meetings only had 6 and 4 members in attendance- I think that the party will generally be at 5 players.... but that isn't what I want to say. My group really seemed to want a very difficult game, and since they rest after even the smallest encounter, most of their ELs are at 'Challenging' difficulty setting, and boss fights are 'Overpowering'- at the last meeting we had four level 3s and I pitted them against a trio of Dire Wolves (EL 6). Other than that... well, they generally don't care whether they interact with NPCs, although it does bring out some of the amusing moments (the Monk is fond of using his 'Hand of the Mage' to trick port authorities into jumping into the water after a floating platnium...), so the players really have a sense of humor. The party has a lot of flavors, but it doesn't have anybody who is just there to mess around- I think they can deal with some gritty, serious stuff. Any ideas?
DM_Rennick 04-12-07, 05:43 PM	Well, to answer some questions... My group is supposed to have 7 members, but the first two meetings only had 6 and 4 members in attendance- I think that the party will generally be at 5 players.... but that isn't what I want to say. My group really seemed to want a very difficult game, and since they rest after even the smallest encounter, most of their ELs are at 'Challenging' difficulty setting, and boss fights are 'Overpowering'- at the last meeting we had four level 3s and I pitted them against a trio of Dire Wolves (EL 6). Other than that... well, they generally don't care whether they interact with NPCs, although it does bring out some of the amusing moments (the Monk is fond of using his 'Hand of the Mage' to trick port authorities into jumping into the water after a floating platnium...), so the players really have a sense of humor. The party has a lot of flavors, but it doesn't have anybody who is just there to mess around- I think they can deal with some gritty, serious stuff. Any ideas? While this is useful to an extent, I don't really think that this will help us with the question at hand. You basically asked us "what books should I buy," the basic response was, "Well what do YOU want to do?" This is really what it comes down to and until you can answer that, then there isn't much we can say to help, I don't think anyway. You've told me your group is strong, likes a challenge, likes to goof off a bit but could handle some storyline, Great! But you could still do that anywhere in the Realms. Some folks say that the players decide what happens in a game of D&D, to this I call partial bull. The fact is in my current campaign, which is currently happening in the Silver Marches, my PCs could say "we're packing up and going to Sembia," and I wouldn't stop them, but it's still up to me to figure out what happens when they get to Sembia. DMs are there to shape the story and guide the party through the world, With luck you'll do less and less guiding as the game progresses as PCs come in to their own, but espeacially for new players, I find DMs have to tug on the rope just a little. please note, I'm am not telling you to railroad them, but they'll be looking to you to figure out what's going on and how the world works. Which brings us back to the question: What kind of story do you want to start? The best advice here, that I can only repeat is, buy the campaign setting and look it over, then decide from there.