Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Plunderer_of_the_planes 01-01-04, 06:43 PM	I recently have had a chance to pick up some FR supplements I have wanted for awhile. I have gotten Monters of Faerun, Magic of Faerun and have Faiths and Pantheons coming. I will be getting a few more but I have a question about a couple. So, could anyone tell me about Lords of Darkness and Races of Faerun. I understand LoD is about the evil organisations there but I need to know if it's worth the price. And is RoF an FR savage species? Also I have noticed that the events of the Baldur's Gate series is not recognised as canon ( a shame) is there anyplace to get a general breakdown of these events anywhere? One last thing, Has anyone brought Bhaal back in there game and how did you set his church up? Thanks.
Cunning Linguist 01-01-04, 07:12 PM	I see Lords of Darkness as the best FR supplement out there. Its full of all that Fluff info that everyone is screaming about. It was picked up at the local game store, since they where fresh out of Races of Faerun, but after reading reaces of Faerun, I would say I, as a DM, liked Lords of Darkness much more. My players on the other hand, do not feal that Lords of Darkness has given them much, (so much they don't know), and they like Races of Faerun more. Races of Faerun is not a Savage Species, its about the races of Faerun, Humans, Gnomes, Halflings, Elf, and all kind of player races of the realms. They give a indeept answer to why why Teiflings should be from Thay, and whats the diffrence between a noble in Waterdeep and a noble in Cormyr or Amn and questions of this sort.
Kuje31 01-01-04, 07:21 PM	Originally posted by Plunderer_of_the_planes I recently have had a chance to pick up some FR supplements I have wanted for awhile. I have gotten Monters of Faerun, Magic of Faerun and have Faiths and Pantheons coming. I will be getting a few more but I have a question about a couple. So, could anyone tell me about Lords of Darkness and Races of Faerun. I understand LoD is about the evil organisations there but I need to know if it's worth the price. And is RoF an FR savage species? Also I have noticed that the events of the Baldur's Gate series is not recognised as canon ( a shame) is there anyplace to get a general breakdown of these events anywhere? One last thing, Has anyone brought Bhaal back in there game and how did you set his church up? Thanks. Races is a fairly nice book if you want info on some of the races. :) Lords is also a nice book if you are going to DM..... but Races is more of a both book. And sigh, here we go again but there was Baldur's Gate material printed in 2e. Three novels, a sourcebook (Volo's Guide to BG 2. Which is also a actual book that exists in FR also), and at least two Dragon articles, so yes the novels, sourcebook, and Dragon articles are canon even though they are not mentioned in 3E. But there is only so much room to mention things in the 3e sourcebooks. The best bet is to read the novels that are based on the BG games since the novels are canon. Or if you email me I can send you some info on the characters that were in the novels. Bhaal never died in my game since I don't use ToT so there was no reason for me to change his church since I have the old material.
Zarffyn 01-01-04, 07:58 PM	I don't have Races of Faerun, but I love Lords of Darkness. A good deal of some good stuff, especially for a DM, or if you're playing an evil game. My favorite section is "Tools of Evil." As for it being worth the price? Don't take my word on it. I found Lords of Darkness, Magic of Faerun, and Oriental Adventures (3E) at Babbage's for a grand total of $25.00. I personally think I definately got my money's worth! But if I had to pay $29.95 for LoD? I probably wouldn't buy it, simply because I refuse to put that much money into it. I always get my material on sale. If you have a Babbage's near you, run and check to see if they have anything there first. :)
Plunderer_of_the_planes 01-01-04, 10:32 PM	Wow, thanks for all the help. I'll try to respond best I can here. Races of Faerun is not a Savage Species Thank the Lord (lol) And sigh, here we go again but there was Baldur's Gate material printed in 2e. Three novels, a sourcebook (Volo's Guide to BG 2. Which is also a actual book that exists in FR also), and at least two Dragon articles, so yes the novels, sourcebook, and Dragon articles are canon even though they are not mentioned in 3E. But there is only so much room to mention things in the 3e sourcebooks. And sigh, here we go again but there was Baldur's Gate material printed in 2e. Three novels, a sourcebook (Volo's Guide to BG 2. Which is also a actual book that exists in FR also), and at least two Dragon articles, so yes the novels, sourcebook, and Dragon articles are canon even though they are not mentioned in 3E. But there is only so much room to mention things in the 3e sourcebooks. The best bet is to read the novels that are based on the BG games since the novels are canon. Or if you email me I can send you some info on the characters that were in the novels. Sorry to make you sigh(lol). I hve the first novel and am trying to get the other two as well. Bhaal never died in my game since I don't use ToT so there was no reason for me to change his church since I have the old material. I wasn't going to either but I have a nice sub-plot going now with a Bhaal cult so I find myself needing to brush up some...Expect that e-mail.... If you have a Babbage's near you, run and check to see if they have anything there first. None near me but I use e-bay and other online stores So I usually get my stuff cheap. Again thanks for the help. Am I right in thinking that LoD and FaP compliemnt each other somewhat?
Kuje31 01-01-04, 11:07 PM	Originally posted by Plunderer_of_the_planes Wow, thanks for all the help. Sorry to make you sigh(lol). I hve the first novel and am trying to get the other two as well. I wasn't going to either but I have a nice sub-plot going now with a Bhaal cult so I find myself needing to brush up some...Expect that e-mail.... Nah it's not your doing, but i've seen the "is the BG material official" debate rage back and forth usually every other month or two for the past year or so. So I was just trying to nip it in the bud before this thread turned into that debate again..... :) And I expect you got my emails. :)
Plunderer_of_the_planes 01-02-04, 02:02 AM	Yes I did. And again thank you very much. From what you sent I see I will have to fudge some to get what I had planned up and going but no big there. (considering what I have done already anyway it won't hurt that much) I have loved the Realms since the first grey box and have really come to enjoy most of 3e's take on them as well. I have not been on this board much due to the fact what was being talked about wasn't in books I had. Now that I have them expect me to be around more.
Kuje31 01-02-04, 02:10 AM	Originally posted by Plunderer_of_the_planes Yes I did. And again thank you very much. From what you sent I see I will have to fudge some to get what I had planned up and going but no big there. (considering what I have done already anyway it won't hurt that much) I have loved the Realms since the first grey box and have really come to enjoy most of 3e's take on them as well. I have not been on this board much due to the fact what was being talked about wasn't in books I had. Now that I have them expect me to be around more. Cool, well welcome aboard and don't mind us opinionated posters! (like me. :))
Plunderer_of_the_planes 01-02-04, 02:21 AM	Originally posted by Kuje31 Cool, well welcome aboard and don't mind us opinionated posts! (like me. :)) Can't be any worse than the 3e v 3.5 opinions running around on the main one can it? ;)
Kuje31 01-02-04, 02:25 AM	Originally posted by Plunderer_of_the_planes Can't be any worse than the 3e v 3.5 opinions running around on the main one can it? ;) Ah, yes it can. :). We've had two threads locked in the last two days and we were warned not to discuss the topic that shall not be mentioned, for at least a week. :) See BigSister I didn't mention the topic........ Sorry...............! I've never seen a 3e vs. 3.5 debate get that warning.
Plunderer_of_the_planes 01-02-04, 11:13 AM	Ahhh I see.
Israfel666 01-03-04, 06:33 AM	Originally posted by Plunderer_of_the_planes Can't be any worse than the 3e v 3.5 opinions running around on the main one can it? ;) Of course. We could have "Which would win: Drizzt or Elminster?" debates ;) If nothing, many 3e vs. 3.5e threads (as long as conducted on the appropriate boards, by mature, if opinionated, people) were productive, allowing us to learn much about, e.g., how to use the new DR system (which I had initially opposed), or about what there was to fix in 3.5 (eg the now-useless Arcane Archer)
Lashan 01-03-04, 09:56 AM	Speaking of opinionated posters, I'm one too! Welcome to the boards. If you are interested in the religious organization of Bhaal, then I highly recommend that you get the old 2E Faiths and Avatars series. There are 3 books that deal with the major gods, then one on minor deities, and the last on demi-human gods. Each of these books goes into detail about the church and religious belief of each god. That means the info is good no matter what version of DnD you are playing. As I am sure you guessed, Lords of Darkness is very helpful as a DM. It's chuck full o' bad guys and bad guy organizations. AS for Races of Faerun, I was waiting for it to come out for a while. I have to admit that I don't have to worry about the price of a book too much, though. Races of Faerun talks about all the different sub-races of Faerun. It goes into details and talks about cultural differences, where they live, what weapons they like to use, etc. The part that I really like is that for the first time it talks about the human sub-cultures. What is the difference between Chondathan and Damarran? What is the human culture of Calimshan really like? How has the god-kings effected the peoples of the Old Empires? These are all "fluff" questions that I have been wanting answers for. In all the years of FR products, there hasn't been anything that details the human cultures.
Plunderer_of_the_planes 01-03-04, 08:20 PM	I guess I will have to look into it then. One thing I have noticed is how much better the FR books are put together compared to the regular D&D books ( in terms of fluff, rules, and presentation)