Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Shy_Guy 08-15-05, 11:50 AM	Got the FRCS a couple o' weeks ago and its unbelievable. Im now thinking of picking up Lost empires of faerun simply b/c the history section and geography section of the CS really intrigued me. I am very interested in FR history as it relates to D&D. So my question is - is LEOF really worthe the money? I know there are a couple of other great books as well. Better yet, if i could only get one FR's sourcebook, what would you suggest it be (as a new DM)? Thanks.
dragonfriend 08-15-05, 12:43 PM	Got the FRCS a couple o' weeks ago and its unbelievable. Im now thinking of picking up Lost empires of faerun simply b/c the history section and geography section of the CS really intrigued me. I am very interested in FR history as it relates to D&D. So my question is - is LEOF really worthe the money? I know there are a couple of other great books as well. Better yet, if i could only get one FR's sourcebook, what would you suggest it be (as a new DM)? Thanks. LEoF is a Great Book...but if you are a new Realms DM a regional sourcebook it's better...something like 'Silver Marches' or 'Unapprociable East'.
Shy_Guy 08-15-05, 12:56 PM	LEoF is a Great Book...but if you are a new Realms DM a regional sourcebook it's better...something like 'Silver Marches' or 'Unapprociable East'. yeah i know those are pretty good but i have already decided that we are going to adventure in Cormyr and mabey even a couple other Heartland locations and currently there is no location sorcebook for the Heartlands. So i figured a book like LEOF would really be good since that area and the areas around it has alot of history.
Darrian 08-15-05, 01:50 PM	This advice comes from a guy that has bought all of the books, but if I had to buy one as a DM, it would be the Players Guide to Faerun. The reason is that it is essential for the DM to know as much as the players about all the resources that the players use. That way, you as a DM, are never suprised. ymmv, Darrian
Gray Richardson 08-15-05, 02:05 PM	Hell yeah it's worth it! LEOF is awesome! That said, if you are a new DM the first sourcebook I would buy is either a regional sourcebook as suggested above (Silver Marches is maybe my favorite) , or Lords of Darkness. Lords of Darkness is chock full of bad guys, monsters and adventure hooks to throw against your players, and it is full of lore and history too. In addition it has lots of dungeons and lairs and maps and NPC stats that make DMing easy and really save on prep time. I found it super helpful in my campaign. :)
Crust 08-15-05, 06:05 PM	Lost Empires is important if you really want to inject a campaign with lots of historical fluffy AND crunchy bits. If you want the scoop on Netheril, Myth Drannor, etc., Lost Empires is a must.
Yom Beekus 08-15-05, 06:34 PM	Though LEOF is an excellent read, I recomend either Unapproachable East, Silver Marches or Shining South as a first purchase. Get your players involved in the world, and then let the start learning the history of the area. This will be tons of fun for your players and yourself, I'm sure. My group ran all over the Realms during 2e but only since 3e and 3.5e's releases, have they started exploring the history of it. They are thoroughly enjoying themselves. For an added kicker, pick up Serpent Kingdoms. The info on the Sarrukh is invaluable if you want a "true" history of the Realms.
ElGrecoETAC 08-15-05, 06:49 PM	Player's Guide to the Forgotten Realms or Races of Faerun would be your best bet. One gives you a lot of extra options and 3.5 updates, while the other goes a long way toward bringing the world and its cultures to life.
Alac Luin 08-15-05, 07:29 PM	Races of Faerun has a surprising amount of history in it. This history deals with where a people were, and how it relates to the race now. Lost Empires, is a "history" book, great when designing old ruins. But if you can only get one book, I will agree with Darrian and ElGrecoETAC, "Players guide to Faerun", just to stay current on the rules, if you are playing 3.5. Also head over to the Classic Downloads page, and get yourself Volo's Guide to Cormyr for FREE!!! http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads
The Simbul 08-15-05, 08:04 PM	Lost Empires of Faerun is a very good book, and can be used to add alot of depth to your campaigns. Its is both a good leisure read as well as something that can greatly enhance a campaign involving dungeons, ancient towers, ruins, or ancient evils (which is like 99% of standard D&D/Fantasy adventure hooks anyways). As far as DM tools are concerned, I would consider Lords of Darkness a valueable asset for creating non-monstrous NPC antagonists, and Lost Empires as a good asset for adding a sense of depth to the campaign setting. As far as regional books are concerned, Silver Marches is probably the best IMO, and and Unapproachable East comes in at a very close contender. The Silver Marches is farmore of a traditional fantasy setting whereas Unapproachable East is very 'exotic' in it's aesthetics in culture and more high-magic in terms of the groups of powerful spellcasters who dominate that part of Faerun City of Splendors is by far the best location-based book I have seen, and between it and the Urban Encounters tables in DMG and the Ruins of Undermountain online articles, you could run your entire campaign out of the city with the players hardly ever leaving the region. The Players Guide to Faerun tells you virtually nothing about the campaign setting, and IMO is a grossly overpriced re-print of older material combined into one big book. Almost everything within it is pure statistical material, and IMO the greatness of a campaign isnt measured by the breadth of available prestige classes or whether or not everything is 100% 3.5. The only major difference between 3.0 and 3.5 FR are; spellpower no longer increases the save DC, but instead boosts caster level for all caster level checks and level-dependent spell variables; Deity Specific spells are accessed via Initiate feats; Regions and regional feats have been slightly revisited and you can only have one; several spells feats and prestige classes have been tweaked, edited, or nerfed. Beyond the handful of new material, information on the planes, and the convinience of having all of the latest generic FR material in a single book, IMO such a book still isnt worth its full $32.95 price tag. If you can get it used and/or with a big discount, then go for it, but dont put it at the top of your list. If the players really want to use somethign within it, then have them shell out the cash. Beyond the handful of timelines and adventure hooks (which dont really belong in a book titled as a 'Players Guide') the book really isnt going to be of much use to a DM other than as a resource for checking-over a PC's character sheet, unless every NPC you introduce has a litany of feats or any prestige class levels from that book.
Faraer 08-15-05, 08:45 PM	I agree with pretty much all of that. Though as always, what you're interested in matters more than our recommendations, with the caveat that Champions of Ruin, Player’s Guide to Faerûn, Underdark, and Unapproachable East are somewhat poorer in well-implemented Realmslore than the other books.
GothicDan 08-15-05, 11:25 PM	I agree with Farear, here. The books that he listed are actually those books I particularly dislike from 3E FR. Those which I like the most include Serpent Kingdoms, Races of Faerun, and I am sure I would like both the Shining South and Waterdeep if I got them. Lost Empires of Faerun I'm still a bit wary on, though, simply due to having older lore. However, Kuje assured me that the identities of the consistency/fact-checkers are quite well-lauded, so I'd have to say that it was worth it. If only I had 120 or so dollars to toss around on FR books instead of textbooks.
BrianCritchley 08-15-05, 11:47 PM	I agree with Farear, here. The books that he listed are actually those books I particularly dislike from 3E FR. Those which I like the most include Serpent Kingdoms, Races of Faerun, and I am sure I would like both the Shining South and Waterdeep if I got them. Lost Empires of Faerun I'm still a bit weary on, though, simply due to having older lore. However, Kuje assured me that the identities of the consistency/fact-checkers are quite well-lauded, so I'd have to say that it was worth it. If only I had 120 or so dollars to toss around on FR books instead of textbooks. what we need are college courses ON forgotten realms. then we can buy FR books AS text books :D
runestar 08-16-05, 12:09 AM	I have always been a sucker for fluff, which is why I blew all my money in those FR specific supplements like UE and LoD rather than dnd supplements like the complete or races of X series. I just purchased Champions of ruin and should be getting LEOF in a few weeks time, but flipping through it revealed a wealth of info. It was a pity that the sole copy the store had wasn't in mint condition so I am waiting for them to bring in a newer copy.
ksbsnowowl 08-16-05, 12:30 AM	It was a pity that the sole copy the store had wasn't in mint condition so I am waiting for them to bring in a newer copy.Ah, another OCD book freak like myself.... I enjoyed LEoF, though I've done little more than a cursory look at some of the sections. I agree with other posters though about Silver Marches (great book!), and I quite enjoy UE too (but I do like my crunch, of which UE has plenty).
conjurer_lord 08-16-05, 12:36 AM	LEoF is excellent, although I must agree with those who have said that, as a newcomer to FR, Races of Faerun, Player's Guide to Faerun, Champions of Ruin, or Lords of Darkness would be better choices. Especially PGtF and LoD. About Unapproachable East: is there material in there that can be used away from the East? I never play there, but the book seems like it has tons of good material.
The Simbul 08-16-05, 01:41 AM	About Unapproachable East: is there material in there that can be used away from the East? I never play there, but the book seems like it has tons of good material.What do you mean by material? The regional information, stat blocks for cities, timelines, encounter charts, organization info, and the like occupy alot of the book. Most of the spells and feats can pretty much be used in most campaigns, although many are regional feats. Most of the Races, prestige classes, magic items, and monsters are largely tied to the region, but could be adapted into a non-UE campaign. I basically suggest Unapproachable East as a DM rescource for DM's who plan on running a campaign there. Same goes for Silver Marches or City of Splendors.
Shy_Guy 08-16-05, 07:57 AM	Thanks for your help guys. :)
conjurer_lord 08-16-05, 06:31 PM	What do you mean by material? The regional information, stat blocks for cities, timelines, encounter charts, organization info, and the like occupy alot of the book. Most of the spells and feats can pretty much be used in most campaigns, although many are regional feats. Most of the Races, prestige classes, magic items, and monsters are largely tied to the region, but could be adapted into a non-UE campaign. I basically suggest Unapproachable East as a DM rescource for DM's who plan on running a campaign there. Same goes for Silver Marches or City of Splendors. Ok, thanks. I like the regional sourcebooks, but if most of it is timelines, cities, and such, maybe I'll go for Silver Marches.
Belissaire 08-16-05, 08:46 PM	I just bought LEoF and I am reading the part on the Imaskari... Pretty cool! Being a history student, this is the kind of book that I like. Go buy it! Bel.
runestar 08-17-05, 10:22 AM	Ah, another OCD book freak like myself.... And now for the obligatory anticlimatical post: what does OCD stand for?
Faraer 08-17-05, 11:37 AM	Obsessive-compulsive disorder. It trivializes a serious ailment to compare it with the entirely rational wish for an item you buy not to be worn or damaged.
RogerWilco 08-20-05, 08:11 PM	If you're playing 3.5 you probably need someone in your group with a Player's guide to Fearun, as it contains basically the stuff from the 3.0 books that needed updates (mostly PrC's and spell descriptions). Of the books I have (FRCS, PlayerGuidetF, RacesoF, MagicoF, Underdark, ChampionsofRuin, LostEmpiresoF, SilverMarches) I like the Campain Setting itself, LEoF and SilverMarches the most. The Players Guide is by far the least interesting one, as it only contains updated tables and statblocks basically, and has the worst editing and art of all the FR books I have. I can recommend any of the other ones. When playing in the FR, you basically need the Campaign Setting and the Player Guide. As a DM I realy want the first one, but the second one should be available in the group, so specific PC/NPC builds can be checked for compliance with 3.5 (get the Errata from the WotC website though!) LEoF isn't the most useful book, Races and Magic are probably more useful, as they are more general. LEoF however realy is very flavorful. I'd rank em like this (on 1-10): FRCS - 9 PlayerGuidetF - 6 RacesoF - 8 MagicoF - 7.5 Underdark - 7.5 ChampionsofRuin - 7.5 LostEmpiresoF - 8.5 SilverMarches - 8.5
Roland Falantyr 08-21-05, 03:01 AM	Personally. i think every group should have one copy. Its the best bathroom read out of all the FR books.