Introducing Players to the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting [Archive] - Wizards Community

Introducing Players to the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Reverend Duck
04-02-05, 03:45 PM I'm going to run a Forgotten Realms campaign starting in a week or two, and will make sure to describe the world to the PCs before they create their characters so they can have interesting backgrounds.

Here's what I have planned so far:

First, I will describe the world in general, including mentioning the continents and describing the terrain and way of life. This way, they'll know that magic is fairly common and that evil organizations are trying to conquer other lands slowly, opposed by good heroes and organizations.

Then, I will describe almost every region with a sentence or two, showing them the map as I go, and pointing out the most important regions.

Finally, I will briefly describe the ancient and recent history of the world, concluding with a catchy phrase like, "In the coming years, determined individuals will greatly change the face of Faerūn. Will you be one of them?" :)

As a note, the campaign will be set in the Heartlands, and I plan to describe them more in detail when the players have created their characters.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how long the introduction should be and in what order, what to add or remove, or any other advice on this, based on your experience with running the Realms?
Preternatural
04-02-05, 04:45 PM Why not let them look through the FRCS? Even have them look at the old sources available for dowload on the official site. Then give them an intro on the places, history, people, etc. with a focus on what is pertinent to your campaign.
Reverend Duck
04-02-05, 04:50 PM I don't think so.

There's an awful lot to read just to get an overview of the regions, and my players are of the type that prefer having something read to them rather than plowing through the text themselves.

Besides, the players could be reading too much about some parts, finding out secrets that they aren't supposed to know.
Preternatural
04-02-05, 05:01 PM I supposed if they don't want to read, then you'll HAVE to do it for them, lol.
Maybe make it interactive, give them the sentence or two on each region, group, etc. And if they ask for more, tell them more.

If the campaign is set in the Heartlands, maybe have it so that all the characters come from that area. Then looking at it logically, you tell them only what they should know as heartlanders, if the players are like their characters in that regard, it might be easy to slowly introduce them to the Realms.

As for them learning too much, players should be able to keep their own knowledge apart from that of the characters, should being the key word of course. Also, keep in mind that if something big happens, PCs as adventurers are more likely than average commoners to know about it, as it often presents opportunities and the like, perhaps they simply hear rumors of it, but it's still something. Truimphs and blunders have been based on less.
Xavier_of_Cormyr
04-02-05, 08:13 PM perhaps taking choice selections from the timeline in the FRCS and summarizing the recent developments would help. Also, FR is the largest & most detailed fantasy RPG world out there, don't overwhelm them from the get go, focus on the heartlands for now, unless onw of your players wants his/her PC to be a native of a far off land.
Moscone
04-02-05, 10:15 PM And if your players are the bookworm types, lend them the Drizzt books, starting with Homeland. The best series to get any player interested in FR. Its what got me hooked, and most of my friends. After that, it's a matter of them flipping through the game books and going "Okay, that's where Icewind Dale is, and that's the info on Ten Towns", and then, "That's where Calimshan is, and who the Pashas are". Having them read the novels are also a great way for them to decide where their characters are from, since they also describe the outlook of the people of those regions. Sources like Races of Faerun can tell you these things until the cows come home, but nothing beats reading it in a narrative form, since you can also throw in phrases in the native tongue, use the specific magic words for spellcasting, all to get into character. Case in point, the rulebooks tell you what components are needed fopr casting a light spell, but would you have known that the word is shirak until you read Raistlin using it?
They don't tell you how to play the game, but they give you a lot of info on the world and people and really help to get into character. thats my recommendation.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Reverend Duck 04-02-05, 03:45 PM	I'm going to run a Forgotten Realms campaign starting in a week or two, and will make sure to describe the world to the PCs before they create their characters so they can have interesting backgrounds. Here's what I have planned so far: First, I will describe the world in general, including mentioning the continents and describing the terrain and way of life. This way, they'll know that magic is fairly common and that evil organizations are trying to conquer other lands slowly, opposed by good heroes and organizations. Then, I will describe almost every region with a sentence or two, showing them the map as I go, and pointing out the most important regions. Finally, I will briefly describe the ancient and recent history of the world, concluding with a catchy phrase like, "In the coming years, determined individuals will greatly change the face of Faerūn. Will you be one of them?" :) As a note, the campaign will be set in the Heartlands, and I plan to describe them more in detail when the players have created their characters. Does anyone have any suggestions on how long the introduction should be and in what order, what to add or remove, or any other advice on this, based on your experience with running the Realms?
Preternatural 04-02-05, 04:45 PM	Why not let them look through the FRCS? Even have them look at the old sources available for dowload on the official site. Then give them an intro on the places, history, people, etc. with a focus on what is pertinent to your campaign.
Reverend Duck 04-02-05, 04:50 PM	I don't think so. There's an awful lot to read just to get an overview of the regions, and my players are of the type that prefer having something read to them rather than plowing through the text themselves. Besides, the players could be reading too much about some parts, finding out secrets that they aren't supposed to know.
Preternatural 04-02-05, 05:01 PM	I supposed if they don't want to read, then you'll HAVE to do it for them, lol. Maybe make it interactive, give them the sentence or two on each region, group, etc. And if they ask for more, tell them more. If the campaign is set in the Heartlands, maybe have it so that all the characters come from that area. Then looking at it logically, you tell them only what they should know as heartlanders, if the players are like their characters in that regard, it might be easy to slowly introduce them to the Realms. As for them learning too much, players should be able to keep their own knowledge apart from that of the characters, should being the key word of course. Also, keep in mind that if something big happens, PCs as adventurers are more likely than average commoners to know about it, as it often presents opportunities and the like, perhaps they simply hear rumors of it, but it's still something. Truimphs and blunders have been based on less.
Xavier_of_Cormyr 04-02-05, 08:13 PM	perhaps taking choice selections from the timeline in the FRCS and summarizing the recent developments would help. Also, FR is the largest & most detailed fantasy RPG world out there, don't overwhelm them from the get go, focus on the heartlands for now, unless onw of your players wants his/her PC to be a native of a far off land.
Moscone 04-02-05, 10:15 PM	And if your players are the bookworm types, lend them the Drizzt books, starting with Homeland. The best series to get any player interested in FR. Its what got me hooked, and most of my friends. After that, it's a matter of them flipping through the game books and going "Okay, that's where Icewind Dale is, and that's the info on Ten Towns", and then, "That's where Calimshan is, and who the Pashas are". Having them read the novels are also a great way for them to decide where their characters are from, since they also describe the outlook of the people of those regions. Sources like Races of Faerun can tell you these things until the cows come home, but nothing beats reading it in a narrative form, since you can also throw in phrases in the native tongue, use the specific magic words for spellcasting, all to get into character. Case in point, the rulebooks tell you what components are needed fopr casting a light spell, but would you have known that the word is shirak until you read Raistlin using it? They don't tell you how to play the game, but they give you a lot of info on the world and people and really help to get into character. thats my recommendation.