Should I Play Forgotten Realms? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Should I Play Forgotten Realms? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
The all knowing pyro
09-16-05, 03:40 PM i was wonderingf about playing in the forgotten realms setting but i dont know alot about it. anyone have information about the backstory and how its different from other settings?
The all knowing pyro
09-17-05, 09:43 PM :bump: :help:
Jandar the Druid
09-18-05, 10:36 AM The Forgotten Realms has VERY much backstory. It'll take too long even to summarize it. But if you're interested it won't be too difficult to find a history timeline for the Realms (try Google (http://www.google.com) for example).

As for what makes the realms different from other settings... I haven't really played other settings, but magic (and those who use it) is very strong in the Realms. That's possibly the trait that is most important for this setting.
But that doesn't stop non-magic users from becoming powerful too.

There are a lot of nations and city-states around. Very powerful criminal organizations. Secret organizations for the good side. And a lot of monsters running/flying/swimming around in the wilderness. And many adventurers killing them (and being killed). And many treasures laying about.
Gallameed
09-18-05, 02:10 PM The FR is a great setting, you can do anything with the realms. You can run any genre of game here.

Anything can be found in Toril depending on the region you play in: Tolkieny high fantasy, romantic chivalry, epic, urban, rural, evil, lost world, underdark, H.P. Lovecrafty, street level grit, swashbuckling, horror, arabian nights, old school dungeoneering, plane/reality hopping weirdness, you name it and the realms can deliver.

When our group got tired of Warhammer Fantasy rpg and its "dark, low magic-gothic feel" we wanted to start a new era for other character ideas that could/would have no limits or boundries inflicted on them because of the setting they inhabited.

So we looked at a few of the various D20 worlds and the realms seemed like the right way to go. It looks like a typical euro-centric setting on the surface but read a little and you can do so much more with the realms and have it stay true to the "feel" of the setting, its fan-dabby-tastic!

People may take pot-shots at the realms, give it hate etc but it's just because it's famous.

JOIN USsssss! :D

My only gripe would be that some of the artwork in the books is a little sucktastic and "fluffy" for some people who might want something a bit more hard edged and "cool" looking, just look past that and everythings good.

So tell us, what sort of style are you looking for and what does your group want from a setting?

Maybe we can help you out. :)
Silverpanther
09-19-05, 03:19 AM simple question, simple answer: YES!

believe us, once you are through baldur`s gate I and II, read the campaign setting and some of ed (greenwood)`s stuff... it will have you swallowed totally and completely :)

the realms are more like a place for too many things happen too fast (and secret) then a real continent ;)

try it, you`ll get addicted, i promise :evillaugh
harperman976
09-19-05, 12:17 PM forgotten realms is the only real realms so mutch fluff and back story out already and more out every month. once i started reading the supplements from 2ed and the novels i was hooked it is the only fanasty realm i'll play in

HarperMan
ThornTheWanderer
10-04-05, 09:05 PM simple answer: YES
Beirnadri Magranth
10-05-05, 08:56 AM I was thinking about how Forgotten realms was different than other campaign settings and realized:

-Toril, the world of Forgotten Realms, is much like a standard D&D world. It doesnt have these persistent elements, like Dragons of Dragonlance, magic-machines of Eberron, undead of Ravenloft, dessert of Darksun etc.
Toril has a place for all your planning and conspiracies and represents a natural and realistic balance of forces.

-FR is not magic saturated or magicless. There are parts of the FR where magic was very powerful and widely used but other places are almost devoid of magic.

-Interesting history: the history of FR doesnt just go "ancient battle of good vs. evil" it has many people with different views and even small accomplishes are noted. THE HISTORY IS VAST. there are realms that I cannot even remeber the names of and continents unheard of in FR. There are many cultures that dont just simulate our Earth cultures. for instance, the North, an area of Faerun is not Barbarian land, it has small communities and fishing villages that are just barely scraping by and are trying hard to be remembered by the people in the established lands to the south.

Distinguishing features-

-Portals, there are lots of portals that lead across continents and around corners all over Faerun. Not many campaign setting have this feature. Armies use some portals to manuever quickly and surprise enemies, and knowledge of portals is closesly guarded, and secret.

-Mythals, the elves long ago used to wield high magic, and created living shields of magic over their cities.
these have varieties of abilities such as allowing the citizens to fly or forbidding drow and demons to enter the city. most of hte mythals are old and fading but still some serve their purpose.

-elves dont just live in the woods. elves have been beaten out of Cormanthor, one of the mightiest of their realms (even though it was protected by a mythal).

-NETHERIL: one of the most famous legends is that of netheril, an ancient empire of humans who started as a few fishing villages. The people banded together as the kingdom of Netheril. Elves appeared to them and taught them magic. The netherese also found elven Artifacts in the ruins of a enarby elven city. These were the Nether Scrolls which gave the humans a complete understanding of magic. The empire rose to power quickly and enslaved other races adn conquered old enemies and foreign mage kingdoms. They grew so powerful that they had floating cities and eventually they were targeted bya monster race that lived underground. Karsus, an archwizard, was so powerful that he cast a spell that stole the divinity from the goddess of magic. Magic faltered as "the weave" (the term for the foundation of magic) started to unravel. The goddess sacrificed herself to safe the weave but the cities came crashing down and eventually the empire was destroyed. The monsters buried the land ina magical dessert and now Every adventuring mage in Faerun wants to get the treasures of the Netherese.

-Shadow Weave: this is a dark goddess response to the weave of MYstra (the goddess of magic who was reborn). Shadow magic uses the space inbetween the strands of the weave to make magical effects and therefore cannot be countered with normal magic! This rare form of magic can elude even the most powerful wizard in faerun, Elminster!
WizO_Lyoness
10-06-05, 02:26 PM Just moving this over. No worries. :)

-Lyoness
Mr.Moonrat
10-07-05, 04:12 PM The best thing with FR is that is so many faceted. In many other fantasy worlds there are a cataclysm that all events circles around, or a specific evil organization that everything is about.

But in FR no one, or nothing, have a central part. And for me, it makes it all the more interesting. It makes it more alive and believeble. Many faceted like the real world.

So it really doesn't have any special direction. Some newbies sometimes think this fact make it more mediocre. But nothing can be more wrong.

It have everything a fantasy world needs, and in that way there is nothing you will miss.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
The all knowing pyro 09-16-05, 03:40 PM	i was wonderingf about playing in the forgotten realms setting but i dont know alot about it. anyone have information about the backstory and how its different from other settings?
The all knowing pyro 09-17-05, 09:43 PM	:bump: :help:
Jandar the Druid 09-18-05, 10:36 AM	The Forgotten Realms has VERY much backstory. It'll take too long even to summarize it. But if you're interested it won't be too difficult to find a history timeline for the Realms (try Google (http://www.google.com) for example). As for what makes the realms different from other settings... I haven't really played other settings, but magic (and those who use it) is very strong in the Realms. That's possibly the trait that is most important for this setting. But that doesn't stop non-magic users from becoming powerful too. There are a lot of nations and city-states around. Very powerful criminal organizations. Secret organizations for the good side. And a lot of monsters running/flying/swimming around in the wilderness. And many adventurers killing them (and being killed). And many treasures laying about.
Gallameed 09-18-05, 02:10 PM	The FR is a great setting, you can do anything with the realms. You can run any genre of game here. Anything can be found in Toril depending on the region you play in: Tolkieny high fantasy, romantic chivalry, epic, urban, rural, evil, lost world, underdark, H.P. Lovecrafty, street level grit, swashbuckling, horror, arabian nights, old school dungeoneering, plane/reality hopping weirdness, you name it and the realms can deliver. When our group got tired of Warhammer Fantasy rpg and its "dark, low magic-gothic feel" we wanted to start a new era for other character ideas that could/would have no limits or boundries inflicted on them because of the setting they inhabited. So we looked at a few of the various D20 worlds and the realms seemed like the right way to go. It looks like a typical euro-centric setting on the surface but read a little and you can do so much more with the realms and have it stay true to the "feel" of the setting, its fan-dabby-tastic! People may take pot-shots at the realms, give it hate etc but it's just because it's famous. JOIN USsssss! :D My only gripe would be that some of the artwork in the books is a little sucktastic and "fluffy" for some people who might want something a bit more hard edged and "cool" looking, just look past that and everythings good. So tell us, what sort of style are you looking for and what does your group want from a setting? Maybe we can help you out. :)
Silverpanther 09-19-05, 03:19 AM	simple question, simple answer: YES! believe us, once you are through baldur`s gate I and II, read the campaign setting and some of ed (greenwood)`s stuff... it will have you swallowed totally and completely :) the realms are more like a place for too many things happen too fast (and secret) then a real continent ;) try it, you`ll get addicted, i promise :evillaugh
harperman976 09-19-05, 12:17 PM	forgotten realms is the only real realms so mutch fluff and back story out already and more out every month. once i started reading the supplements from 2ed and the novels i was hooked it is the only fanasty realm i'll play in HarperMan
ThornTheWanderer 10-04-05, 09:05 PM	simple answer: YES
Beirnadri Magranth 10-05-05, 08:56 AM	I was thinking about how Forgotten realms was different than other campaign settings and realized: -Toril, the world of Forgotten Realms, is much like a standard D&D world. It doesnt have these persistent elements, like Dragons of Dragonlance, magic-machines of Eberron, undead of Ravenloft, dessert of Darksun etc. Toril has a place for all your planning and conspiracies and represents a natural and realistic balance of forces. -FR is not magic saturated or magicless. There are parts of the FR where magic was very powerful and widely used but other places are almost devoid of magic. -Interesting history: the history of FR doesnt just go "ancient battle of good vs. evil" it has many people with different views and even small accomplishes are noted. THE HISTORY IS VAST. there are realms that I cannot even remeber the names of and continents unheard of in FR. There are many cultures that dont just simulate our Earth cultures. for instance, the North, an area of Faerun is not Barbarian land, it has small communities and fishing villages that are just barely scraping by and are trying hard to be remembered by the people in the established lands to the south. Distinguishing features- -Portals, there are lots of portals that lead across continents and around corners all over Faerun. Not many campaign setting have this feature. Armies use some portals to manuever quickly and surprise enemies, and knowledge of portals is closesly guarded, and secret. -Mythals, the elves long ago used to wield high magic, and created living shields of magic over their cities. these have varieties of abilities such as allowing the citizens to fly or forbidding drow and demons to enter the city. most of hte mythals are old and fading but still some serve their purpose. -elves dont just live in the woods. elves have been beaten out of Cormanthor, one of the mightiest of their realms (even though it was protected by a mythal). -NETHERIL: one of the most famous legends is that of netheril, an ancient empire of humans who started as a few fishing villages. The people banded together as the kingdom of Netheril. Elves appeared to them and taught them magic. The netherese also found elven Artifacts in the ruins of a enarby elven city. These were the Nether Scrolls which gave the humans a complete understanding of magic. The empire rose to power quickly and enslaved other races adn conquered old enemies and foreign mage kingdoms. They grew so powerful that they had floating cities and eventually they were targeted bya monster race that lived underground. Karsus, an archwizard, was so powerful that he cast a spell that stole the divinity from the goddess of magic. Magic faltered as "the weave" (the term for the foundation of magic) started to unravel. The goddess sacrificed herself to safe the weave but the cities came crashing down and eventually the empire was destroyed. The monsters buried the land ina magical dessert and now Every adventuring mage in Faerun wants to get the treasures of the Netherese. -Shadow Weave: this is a dark goddess response to the weave of MYstra (the goddess of magic who was reborn). Shadow magic uses the space inbetween the strands of the weave to make magical effects and therefore cannot be countered with normal magic! This rare form of magic can elude even the most powerful wizard in faerun, Elminster!
WizO_Lyoness 10-06-05, 02:26 PM	Just moving this over. No worries. :) -Lyoness
Mr.Moonrat 10-07-05, 04:12 PM	The best thing with FR is that is so many faceted. In many other fantasy worlds there are a cataclysm that all events circles around, or a specific evil organization that everything is about. But in FR no one, or nothing, have a central part. And for me, it makes it all the more interesting. It makes it more alive and believeble. Many faceted like the real world. So it really doesn't have any special direction. Some newbies sometimes think this fact make it more mediocre. But nothing can be more wrong. It have everything a fantasy world needs, and in that way there is nothing you will miss.