Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Fi'Irdray 09-25-03, 11:30 PM	so, if I buy the FR book(s), what am I getting as opposed to just the three core rulebooks?
Alrunic Silverfyre 09-25-03, 11:36 PM	A campaign setting that has over 115 deities, over two hundred source books and novels, a land rich in magic and history, and millions of unique NPCs. Oh and a really cool toaster oven!
Fi'Irdray 09-25-03, 11:37 PM	in terms of playing D&D though, is it just more dietes to choose from?
Kuje31 09-25-03, 11:38 PM	Yup FR is a premade world where you can play or DM using the D&D rules from the Core books. No it's a whole world filled with races, nations, armies, evil organizations, good organizations, premade NPCs (If you use them!) deities that are setting specific, among many other things.
Adrian Moonbow 09-26-03, 01:56 AM	Fluff AND crunch! More feats, more magic items, more spells, more prestige classes, more... A world to put your characters and adventures in, including more adventure hooks than you'll ever need. Evil NPC's, groups and monsters en masse. Oh and a really cool toaster oven! Man, I knew I didn't get the whole package! :tantrum: :behold:
Fredegar The White 09-26-03, 02:09 AM	Becarefull though! It is an addiction! Once you read a little bit of the history you start buying all the novels (especially the ones with Drow), spend endless hours reading them and become FR Message Board crazed. Oh and a really cool toaster oven! I got a Szass Tam action figure with 250 points of articulation removable skin, evil grin and a frying pan. p.s. Kuje31 roles reversed it seems! :behold:
Kuje31 09-26-03, 02:20 AM	Originally posted by Fredegar The White p.s. Kuje31 roles reversed it seems! :behold: Eh? I didn't do it! :OMG! :ayyyy!:
Meyanna Greenleaf 09-27-03, 12:35 PM	The Forgotten Realms Are the idea's, dreams & imagination of 1 man "Ed Greenwood". The father of this RPG game. I've played this game since the beginning. And I love it, the first time you open the original boxset it has you and it keeps held fast. With the City of Waterdeep, The ruins of Myth Drannor, Cormyr, I can go on and on. Humans, Elves, Drow, and other races to numerous to mention. But most of all it's a escape for our minds to wonder & imagine ourselfs right there seeing it all. Thank You for all this: "Ed Greenwood"
Patrakis 09-27-03, 02:33 PM	Well, it's not a RPG game per say. Just a campaign setting for the D&D game.
Kevin Nash 09-27-03, 03:33 PM	I purchased it primarily for the extra "stuff" that you get in terms of gameplay, an alternate race system to use (additional races to choose from), more prestige classes to select, more monsters, more spells, more feats. That's the best part, there are also a ton of maps, city and regional information (more fluffy but still cool) There are even a couple of adventures in there. Be warned though, once you get into FR you won't go back to plain old D&D settings. My players are no longer allowed to play an "elf", now they have to choose between playing a sun elf, grey elf, star elf, wild elf, dark elf etc....all the campaigns I run are exclusively FR with and I use all of the books. That Sword and fist garbage isn't allowed, only FR material is legal.
High elf Sniper 09-27-03, 05:49 PM	I love FR. But I alow my players to look in sword and fist, the quintesential_____. etc. Really good FR books: FR core sourcebook(just a little important) Magic of Farun Races of Farun Silver Marches At least these r my favorites :angel:
Cli' San Aquanova 09-28-03, 02:45 PM	Remember, it's not a game; it's an adventure!!! http://www.geocities.com/flammabledragon/mermanalright.TXT
protonik 09-29-03, 08:48 PM	Forgotten Realms is a wonderful setting for people who do not have the time to create the details themselves. What is great about it is that it is pretty generic, flipping through the book you can find a location for just about any type of campaign that you can imagine. In a lot of settings generic is a flaw, but in FR it is a boon. FR does have its flaws though. Personally I do not find the novels addicting, if you run a game of FR you do not need to read the books, but if your players do, tell them to ignore them because your game can, and will, go counter the novels. In my own opinion the novels are crap, outside of a few gems. FR had a heavy reliance on NPCs like Elminster and Driz'zt coming in and saving the PCs butts, at least in the published adventures. The big problem is that it has become an Uber setting, a lot of power in what started out as a relatively tame setting magic-wise. The grey box and first edition material are EXCELLENT for classical fantasy games, whereas second edition products had this huge problem with NPCs fighting the big bad and various godly subplots. With third edition they have changed all that... FR is back to its roots, or at least as much as it can be back to its roots considering second edition's sweeping changes and horrid mellowdrama. With the setting book you get EVERYTHING you need to play, including pertinent information about the most important gods and enough adventure hooks to keep you occupied for years on end. The writing is much better, more interesting and the artwork is EXCELLENT. Jason
Faraer 09-30-03, 01:21 PM	FR had a heavy reliance on NPCs like Elminster and Driz'zt coming in and saving the PCs butts, at least in the published adventures.Where does this idea come from? It's false, except for one kind-of instance in "Beneath the Twisted Tower", and maybe in the FRE modules whose plots were dictated by the book department. On the contrary, sources are clear that if your PCs try to enlist Elminster at his tower, he will be out. The big problem is that it has become an Uber setting, a lot of power in what started out as a relatively tame setting magic-wise.I don't think this is true, either. It's just that certain things became clearer when the camera zoomed in. Ed's Realms are pretty much the same, magic-wise, as in 1975. The grey box and first edition material are EXCELLENT for classical fantasy games, whereas second edition products had this huge problem with NPCs fighting the big bad and various godly subplots.This is real, and attributable to the books department.
Kuje31 09-30-03, 02:19 PM	Originally posted by Faraer Where does this idea come from? It's false, except for one kind-of instance in "Beneath the Twisted Tower", and maybe in the FRE modules whose plots were dictated by the book department. On the contrary, sources are clear that if your PCs try to enlist Elminster at his tower, he will be out. I don't think this is true, either. It's just that certain things became clearer when the camera zoomed in. Ed's Realms are pretty much the same, magic-wise, as in 1975. I was going to comment on his points also, but I'm growing tired of arguing those points, which are not true, but are so hard to change peoples minds about. I really wish to know, where people get the idea that the NPC's have to be used and overshadow PC's.
tWiStEdDM 10-01-03, 04:27 AM	I agree that the realms is a wonderful setting, quite possibly the best fantasy setting ever (so why didn't they make the DnD movie based in the Realms, hmm? NEVER figured THAT out)... the fact that it is still growing and expanding after 28 years is testament to the vision and creativity of all the people that have ever worked on it, but I disagree with the comment that it's a setting for people "who do not have the time to create the details themselves" It's an excellent setting, but the details still need to be worked out... all the information given in the Realms Sourcebook is the bare minimum required. To detail everything properly would take volumes... I always spend hours and hours filling in the blanks, making it a living breathing world for my players (and myself). Remember, its' OUR world. We decide how it's run in our gaming sessions. It's a basis for your adventures... not just a lazy way to DM. I really wish to know, where people get the idea that the NPC's have to be used and overshadow PC's. I think it comes down to one of two things... either a bad DMing style, or an over-estimation of your players abilities to deal with a given situation/CR. I can honestly say I've never put my players in a situation where the only way they can get out of it is with the intervention of an NPC... Sure, I've overestimated what they were capable of dealing with, but when it quickly became apparent that they were out of their depth, the whole situation quickly had it's CR lowered on the fly. It's not so hard to do, but I can understand that if you get stuck and begin to panic, it's easy to get Elminster, or Drizzt or any one of the Sisters riding out of the sunset to save your PCs butts. Which, as a long time player, I know can be very dispiriting for the PCs. The other problem is when a DM has made a powerful NPC they've grown attached to, and try to use them as a 'DM PC' which means the PCs tend to get placed in situations where only the DM's Uber-PC can help them... this is quite possibly the WORST mistake a DM can make and is a prime example of a terrible DMing style. Another example is the DM using the NPCs to show the PCs that, even at high level, they're still reasonably insignificant...
Eltharion 10-02-03, 12:27 PM	Originally posted by Kuje31 I really wish to know, where people get the idea that the NPC's have to be used and overshadow PC's. I'm relatively new to the boards and I'm surprised at the number of people who seem to think that just because these ultra-powerful NPCs exist they must be used and invovled in everything. I've been gaming in the Realms on and off for something like 12 years (I didn't play in the Realms until I went to college). In all that time- and this is something like 6 distinct campaigns- I think one of my characters met Blackstaff once. That's it. The rest of it has been uber-NPC free. Why? They're off doing more important things! They can't be bothered with our trifles. And that works fine for us, as players. I assumed that there were probably groups out there who used the characters more often, but it never occurred to me that someone who didn't like the NPCs would be drievn away from the Realms setting by their presence because they felt it was "required" somehow. Elth
Kuje31 10-02-03, 12:40 PM	Originally posted by Eltharion I'm relatively new to the boards and I'm surprised at the number of people who seem to think that just because these ultra-powerful NPCs exist they must be used and invovled in everything. I've been gaming in the Realms on and off for something like 12 years (I didn't play in the Realms until I went to college). In all that time- and this is something like 6 distinct campaigns- I think one of my characters met Blackstaff once. That's it. The rest of it has been uber-NPC free. Why? They're off doing more important things! They can't be bothered with our trifles. And that works fine for us, as players. I assumed that there were probably groups out there who used the characters more often, but it never occurred to me that someone who didn't like the NPCs would be drievn away from the Realms setting by their presence because they felt it was "required" somehow. Elth Excatly. I really don't understand this, "The npc's must die because they overshadow my players." line of thought. There are over hundreds of medium to high level npc's. Use them if you want, other wise ignore them!