Why we love the Forgotten Realms [Archive] - Wizards Community

Why we love the Forgotten Realms [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
RatoncitoGris
12-05-03, 12:31 PM After you spend soem tiem of this bard, you begin to really notice the sheer number of negative posts out there (Kill Elminster! Cyric sucks! I want to destroy Waterdeep!), until you get the impression than this boar is full or Realms-haters. It is not true, of course; all (well, most) of us love the realms, and precisely for that we tend to overreact absurdly with the things we dislike, while taking for granted those we do like. (I wil stand up and plead guilty; a mention of the new cosmology puts me in full-rant-mode)
But, while understandable, this soemtimes makes the board very unhospitable. So let's waste some posts in repeating what we like most form our favorite game world.

I'll go first. Since I like so much, I'll settle in just one think, and (why not), one than many people seems to dislike. I love the sheer number and variety of dods in the Realms. Big Gods, Small Gods, great detities of foreboding porftfolios (Ta-da-da! Justice! Beauty!), homely deities of insignificant events (Hedonism! Talking animals!). They allow me to ignore them in an agnostic game, or create a multiverse-encorpasing epic quest with godly intrigue and seduction (and smiting) everywere.
Devlin_StormWeave
12-05-03, 12:36 PM I like the large amount of organisations fighting for power, it makes it feel more alive.
Shade
12-05-03, 12:57 PM I like the scope, in geography and character. Waterdeep to Vaasa, a northman barbarian to a daleland farmer, the red dragon Klauth to the halflings of Luruar (sp?). The Realms is big enough, rich enough, alive enough, to tell any campaign story you want, on any scale you want, with any combinations of characters you may want. I've seen on other message boards comments like, "the Realms is tired; there's too much material out there and it's exhausted itself. I think that is just silly. A world, even a make believe world, cannot have too much detail. The detail adds to the richness, and there's always more room for a DM to make his own mark.

But that's just me. :)
Kuje31
12-05-03, 12:58 PM Gods my list would take to long to write. :)

I love the details (yes this turns a lot of people off.) Aurora's catalog, the Volo Guides, just the details. (Sadly WOTC has pretty much dropped this for crunch :()

The vast history that spans centuries.

The NPC's (Another that puts people off hence the "The Chosen are to powerful." threads or "All the high level NPC's take the spot light from me or the PC's in my game.) But to me the NPC's make the setting, and if they are used right they add greatly to the world.

The many deities and pantheons (Another that 3e has removed :(). Wait I think I am seeing a pattern here. :) Draconic, faerie, human, demihuman, maztican, kara-tur, zakhara, and others.

I'll add also most of the novels. I've never had a problem with the novels and the ones I don't want to use then I don't but they do help flush out FR.
Yamo
12-05-03, 01:47 PM I want to destroy Waterdeep!, etc.

In all fairness, these sound more like attempts to wring some real drama out of the setting than expressions of dislike. It's interesting that you would interpret it that way. FR is only FR if Waterdeep isn't sacked by an enemy army and Elminster gets to live another thousand years? How so? I always though roleplaying campaigns were supposed to be dynamic and unpredictable, not arbitrarily static with other peoples' untouchable sacred cows littering the landscape.

Seems like if these people were really "Realms-haters" they wouldn't use the setting in any form. That's just common sense.

So don't be so quick to condemn radical interpretations of the setting. That's a big part of what creative roleplaying is all about: Taking somebody else's work and making it your own.
Kezghan
12-05-03, 02:34 PM I love the feel, ever since the Olde Grey Box, the world just had an energy of all its own.

I agree with Kuje31 on all his terms.

This place is just too good for its own good maybe.

Yeah Kuje it sucks that the fluff has slowed to allow for crunch but they way i see it *thankfully owning about 98% of the entire product line* i have most of the fluff ill ever need now, so im happy with the bits we get and the crunch lets me give the players all the options they ever will want.

Im mostly happy. heh
Faraer
12-05-03, 02:52 PM This introduction (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Castle/2566/wellmet.htm) answers the question better than anything I could write easily. Singly, the love with which it's made. I doubt anyone likes the Realms purely for its quantity of material, though they might use it for that; but good analysis is difficult. Certainly, when people say they change this, or dislike that, it doesn't mean they really dislike the setting, which is better judged by what they do (in games, on messageboards) than what they say; though blowing stuff up is a pretty limited way of adding dynamism and is often mean-spirited .and the crunch lets me give the players all the options they ever will wantI think this is mistaken. Those options exist just as much without detailed rules variants to delimit them, and such rules tend if anything to restrict play to what is defined in the rules. It's an illusory, consumerist freedom, in my view.
Kezghan
12-05-03, 03:00 PM I think this is mistaken. Those options exist just as much without detailed rules variants to delimit them, and such rules tend if anything to restrict play to what is defined in the rules. It's an illusory, consumerist freedom, in my view.

Well in 1e and 2e sure you could do just about anything but you had to break rules, have grey spaces and such, i find it just so much easier for me as DM that 3e does most of that stuff for me, I get to game once every 2 weeks and with a family and very little time to even work on a campaign i am greatful that i dont need to take extra time to bang out all the additional rules, id rather spend the time working on the story.

But your fully entitled to your opinion and i respect that.

Keeping this thread on topic id also like to say that the maps provided thru out the realms life span are awesome, I remember when i used to have the FULL (and old skoolers will know what ai mean) map of Waterdeep on my wall.. that was cool.
sanishiver
12-05-03, 03:54 PM Originally posted by Kezghan
Keeping this thread on topic id also like to say that the maps provided thru out the realms life span are awesome, I remember when i used to have the FULL (and old skoolers will know what ai mean) map of Waterdeep on my wall.. that was cool.

Now here's a statement that brought back great memories.

I can remember gaming with my high school friends in one of their parent's basements.

We hung all the Realms maps on the walls, but the best was the Waterdeep Map. It was so easy to imagine adventuring in (and under) the place when looking at that map. We could game for hours with no outside distraction, totally imersed in the world and its perils.

Kinda makes me nostalgic for the Yawning Portal and a chat with old Durnan. :sigh:

I suppose that's what I like most about the Realms; how vibrant the place is and how easy memories of past adventures can come unbidden to mind. (And by that I don't just mean memories of sitting around a table with friends, but of being in the Realms.)

:whatsthis
Lashan
12-05-03, 05:06 PM I agree with the comment about the feel of the old grey boxed set. I think that is the best supplement for FR that they have come out with.

I like the level of detail that there is for the FR. I mean mostly for the amount of fluff detail. I don't care about NPC stats or PrC's. I like the amout of fluff from things like Volo's Guide series or the history and detail of magic items created in FR. Even a lowly +1 sword can be a great weapon to have.
Tythanil
12-05-03, 07:59 PM I'm with Lashan on the fluff sentiment.
As a starving artist and a struggling writer suffering from a permanent case of writer's block the thing that drew me to FR in the first place was the great detail and imagination and wonderfully worded texts bringing this wonderful setting to life in all those books.
I don't know the source of or understand the need for the sudden push to give us all this 'Crappy Crunch' (Trademarked, 2003), but I don't like it.
Doc Filth
12-06-03, 10:40 AM I like the comic-book style feel of it: the shared universe where you have a multitude of groups and solo characters who occasionally "cross over" and encounter each other, the high-level villains who never stay dead for long, the variety of cultures and storytelling moods ...
kedi
12-06-03, 11:45 AM Why I love it? Our DM played us Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, not in Greyhawk but in Faerun. We used thesk. This means Faerun is competible. Is reasonable. Is enjoyable. Is big enough. Has anything that a good fantastic world needs: Dragons, elves, dwarves, halfling, goblins, orcs and faeries. Has many, reasonable, fair NPCs (ok, seven sisters, zulkirs, Larloch, Elminster, Blackstaff are overpowered but face it, every good world needs over/uner epic heros and villians) I love it. Ed couldn't do better. That's why he needs to do better. We love the world. God saves Ed Greenwood.
Aiden2
12-06-03, 11:47 PM I think what draws me to FR is the semi-realism and the number and variation of organizations, governments, etc. that ties the entire realms together. Good ol' brotherly-love style! That's about it, I think.

Signing out...:turkey:
Thysl
12-07-03, 03:05 AM Hmmmm...

I like the gods, yes. They really bring a sense of near-reality for me, becuase of my love of theology.

I like the feel... though a better term eludes me. Mr. Greenwood has done an excellent job of staying true to that 'feel', as have the multitude of editors, writers, etc.

I like the stories and novels. Accordingly with my sentiments above, the writers - for the most part - have remained true to the fantastical notions set out by Mr. Greenwood.

What I love the most about the Realms is this. Conversing with others, even at great distant, about our shared world. Enlightening and entertaining, this world is not a pantheon nor a set of stories nor a map on a page, it is the culmination of many fan's interest and insight. I can think of nothing better to bring people together than this and, when considering the qualities of the Realms, can think of no brighter trait.

P.S. Trogdor rules...
Bifford
12-07-03, 02:49 PM Because there are so many iconic epic NPCs that you just can't wait to fight once you become powerful enough. :D

You goin' down, Elmo!
Selgaunt
12-07-03, 05:53 PM Originally posted by Kezghan
Well in 1e and 2e sure you could do just about anything but you had to break rules, have grey spaces and such, i find it just so much easier for me as DM that 3e does most of that stuff for me, I get to game once every 2 weeks and with a family and very little time to even work on a campaign i am greatful that i dont need to take extra time to bang out all the additional rules, id rather spend the time working on the story.

But your fully entitled to your opinion and i respect that.

Keeping this thread on topic id also like to say that the maps provided thru out the realms life span are awesome, I remember when i used to have the FULL (and old skoolers will know what ai mean) map of Waterdeep on my wall.. that was cool.

I have all ten maps of Waterdeep. We still use them whenever our campaign is in that City!!!. We also have the maps to pretty much all the regions of Faerun. That's got to be one of the aspects of this world i really love. the details are just amazing and bring the world to life!!!
BrokenRulz
12-08-03, 01:50 PM I love the FR because of all the many different talents that continue to breathe life into it from source books to novels. It keeps growing and while we have our old favs with writers, characters, etc they still make room for new folks with new ideas, characters, etc. We'll always have our Drizzt and El, but now we have our Erevis Cale and while some characters are seemingly unstoppable, there are still those lesser guys that while not as powerful, still manage to hold your attention and still make a game fun, like the folks in the Rogues books, etc.

Long live the Realms and keep that universe growing!
GoblinWarrior
12-09-03, 01:38 AM There is a big world to explore, especially showed off in books and computer games. But what about the lands outside of Faerun? It is like middle-earth, you are wondering what its like outside of the borders of the map. The most common areas go from the spine of the world down to amn.

I like this world because anything goes, magic, evil, bandits, and lotsa fantasy stuff. This world also has a history and a detailed showcase of each city and race.
Kuje31
12-09-03, 02:15 AM Originally posted by GoblinWarrior
There is a big world to explore, especially showed off in books and computer games. But what about the lands outside of Faerun? It is like middle-earth, you are wondering what its like outside of the borders of the map. The most common areas go from the spine of the world down to amn.

I like this world because anything goes, magic, evil, bandits, and lotsa fantasy stuff. This world also has a history and a detailed showcase of each city and race.

2e had quite abit of material for the other lands like Maztica, Zakhara, Kara-Tur, and the Hordelands......

There is no sourcebook planned at this time to update these lands, which as many of us will tell you kind of stinks. :)

Sigh I wish they would update the Moonshae's also, since that sourcebook was one of the first FR sourcebooks.
GoblinWarrior
12-09-03, 02:28 AM Is there a map of the whole official world of the forgotten realms outside of faerun? Cause everything is based upon the faerun part of the forgotten realms and the only places of other mention are books from the 80s telling of maztica and other places.

Besides, every place on faerun is based on a place in our earth, maztica is like mexico, spine is like siberia, the eastern lands are like the middle east, so on
Kuje31
12-09-03, 03:01 AM Originally posted by GoblinWarrior
Is there a map of the whole official world of the forgotten realms outside of faerun? Cause everything is based upon the faerun part of the forgotten realms and the only places of other mention are books from the 80s telling of maztica and other places.

Besides, every place on faerun is based on a place in our earth, maztica is like mexico, spine is like siberia, the eastern lands are like the middle east, so on

Page 231 of the FRCS.......
WizO_BigSister
12-10-03, 03:43 AM I love the way that the Realms has a sense of not just being pulled out of thin air. The climate and geography makes sense - you don't just have a desert plumped down somewhere for no reason other that somebody wanted a desert. The politics also seem grounded in the history of the land, which isn't surprising as the history is intricat, many layered and above all DEEP!
Mr. Wilson
12-10-03, 04:12 AM I love, much like Kuje, the fluff of the world. One of the main turn offs I have with 3.0 and 3.5 is that WoTC seems to believe that Crunch sells far more than fluff. While maybe that's true, I also believe that it is unfortunate. For example, I thought Lords of Darkness was the most ubercool of the new FR books (campaign setting aside).

My favorite things on the board are Ed's Realmslore. I'm slowly acquiring most of the old books either by downloading them from Wizards, or by picking up the Volo books at a local gamestore.

I like how it feels like their is a history to the world. I like being able to play in a new area and never really feel like I've played in it before. I like the political aspects of it.

And, I love the fluff, if I haven't mentioned that before.
KismetRose
12-10-03, 04:38 AM First of all, I love the feel of the FR. It permeates everything.

I love the detail given to the world after all this time; it is truly amazing to see how much work has been done on it.

I enjoy the gods very much. The pantheons of FR have a lot of personality in their members. Oh, and I like domains and their spells a lot.

I adore the history of the FR, and how the game has a sense of history built into it. I am a history buff so I can't help myself.

I have found the mapping to be extremely helpful, not to mention decorative. I have the FR map from the 3e book on my living room wall; I am looking for a special frame so I can hang the map of the same continent from the Netheril boxed set next to it.

I like the mix of races to be found and the multitude of cultures.

I like that it is a heavy-magic setting because, well, I like magic.

To be fair, I am one who doesn't care for some of the icon characters of FR, namely the seven sisters. Elminster, being so like Gandalf, is easier for me to deal with. What is best about the FR is that I've been able to adjust the game to suit my group. You can move dates around, obliterate the sisters and Cattie-Brie along with them, and the flavor of the setting isn't bothered at all. The FR setting is bigger than the voice of Volo and the reach of Elminster, big enough so that my players can become names there and write in some history.
ender
12-13-03, 06:13 PM Hands down, my favorite aspect of the Realms is its dynamism. The years roll by, seasons change, heroes grow and die, villains are defeated and replaced by even bigger bad guys, plots are seeded and ferment and grow to fruition. There is mystery and suspense, but it is not just left dangling like a bad episodic series: the conflicts are eventually resolved, and then new ones arise. THe Realms lives, just as much as earth. It is big enough to roll on despite (or because) of the actions of our characters, and small enough for us all to have a place there.
Io, Lord of Wyrms
12-14-03, 12:36 PM I like the realms because they are so detailed. The history, deities, characters, geography - the realms are much more detailed than any other campaign setting.

I also like it's high magic, and the fact that Toril is an entire world like Earth instead of just one European-style continent. (I like Kara-Tur and Zakhara a lot, and Matizca is quite interesting).

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
RatoncitoGris 12-05-03, 12:31 PM	After you spend soem tiem of this bard, you begin to really notice the sheer number of negative posts out there (Kill Elminster! Cyric sucks! I want to destroy Waterdeep!), until you get the impression than this boar is full or Realms-haters. It is not true, of course; all (well, most) of us love the realms, and precisely for that we tend to overreact absurdly with the things we dislike, while taking for granted those we do like. (I wil stand up and plead guilty; a mention of the new cosmology puts me in full-rant-mode) But, while understandable, this soemtimes makes the board very unhospitable. So let's waste some posts in repeating what we like most form our favorite game world. I'll go first. Since I like so much, I'll settle in just one think, and (why not), one than many people seems to dislike. I love the sheer number and variety of dods in the Realms. Big Gods, Small Gods, great detities of foreboding porftfolios (Ta-da-da! Justice! Beauty!), homely deities of insignificant events (Hedonism! Talking animals!). They allow me to ignore them in an agnostic game, or create a multiverse-encorpasing epic quest with godly intrigue and seduction (and smiting) everywere.
Devlin_StormWeave 12-05-03, 12:36 PM	I like the large amount of organisations fighting for power, it makes it feel more alive.
Shade 12-05-03, 12:57 PM	I like the scope, in geography and character. Waterdeep to Vaasa, a northman barbarian to a daleland farmer, the red dragon Klauth to the halflings of Luruar (sp?). The Realms is big enough, rich enough, alive enough, to tell any campaign story you want, on any scale you want, with any combinations of characters you may want. I've seen on other message boards comments like, "the Realms is tired; there's too much material out there and it's exhausted itself. I think that is just silly. A world, even a make believe world, cannot have too much detail. The detail adds to the richness, and there's always more room for a DM to make his own mark. But that's just me. :)
Kuje31 12-05-03, 12:58 PM	Gods my list would take to long to write. :) I love the details (yes this turns a lot of people off.) Aurora's catalog, the Volo Guides, just the details. (Sadly WOTC has pretty much dropped this for crunch :() The vast history that spans centuries. The NPC's (Another that puts people off hence the "The Chosen are to powerful." threads or "All the high level NPC's take the spot light from me or the PC's in my game.) But to me the NPC's make the setting, and if they are used right they add greatly to the world. The many deities and pantheons (Another that 3e has removed :(). Wait I think I am seeing a pattern here. :) Draconic, faerie, human, demihuman, maztican, kara-tur, zakhara, and others. I'll add also most of the novels. I've never had a problem with the novels and the ones I don't want to use then I don't but they do help flush out FR.
Yamo 12-05-03, 01:47 PM	I want to destroy Waterdeep!, etc. In all fairness, these sound more like attempts to wring some real drama out of the setting than expressions of dislike. It's interesting that you would interpret it that way. FR is only FR if Waterdeep isn't sacked by an enemy army and Elminster gets to live another thousand years? How so? I always though roleplaying campaigns were supposed to be dynamic and unpredictable, not arbitrarily static with other peoples' untouchable sacred cows littering the landscape. Seems like if these people were really "Realms-haters" they wouldn't use the setting in any form. That's just common sense. So don't be so quick to condemn radical interpretations of the setting. That's a big part of what creative roleplaying is all about: Taking somebody else's work and making it your own.
Kezghan 12-05-03, 02:34 PM	I love the feel, ever since the Olde Grey Box, the world just had an energy of all its own. I agree with Kuje31 on all his terms. This place is just too good for its own good maybe. Yeah Kuje it sucks that the fluff has slowed to allow for crunch but they way i see it thankfully owning about 98% of the entire product line i have most of the fluff ill ever need now, so im happy with the bits we get and the crunch lets me give the players all the options they ever will want. Im mostly happy. heh
Faraer 12-05-03, 02:52 PM	This introduction (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Castle/2566/wellmet.htm) answers the question better than anything I could write easily. Singly, the love with which it's made. I doubt anyone likes the Realms purely for its quantity of material, though they might use it for that; but good analysis is difficult. Certainly, when people say they change this, or dislike that, it doesn't mean they really dislike the setting, which is better judged by what they do (in games, on messageboards) than what they say; though blowing stuff up is a pretty limited way of adding dynamism and is often mean-spirited .and the crunch lets me give the players all the options they ever will wantI think this is mistaken. Those options exist just as much without detailed rules variants to delimit them, and such rules tend if anything to restrict play to what is defined in the rules. It's an illusory, consumerist freedom, in my view.
Kezghan 12-05-03, 03:00 PM	I think this is mistaken. Those options exist just as much without detailed rules variants to delimit them, and such rules tend if anything to restrict play to what is defined in the rules. It's an illusory, consumerist freedom, in my view. Well in 1e and 2e sure you could do just about anything but you had to break rules, have grey spaces and such, i find it just so much easier for me as DM that 3e does most of that stuff for me, I get to game once every 2 weeks and with a family and very little time to even work on a campaign i am greatful that i dont need to take extra time to bang out all the additional rules, id rather spend the time working on the story. But your fully entitled to your opinion and i respect that. Keeping this thread on topic id also like to say that the maps provided thru out the realms life span are awesome, I remember when i used to have the FULL (and old skoolers will know what ai mean) map of Waterdeep on my wall.. that was cool.
sanishiver 12-05-03, 03:54 PM	Originally posted by Kezghan Keeping this thread on topic id also like to say that the maps provided thru out the realms life span are awesome, I remember when i used to have the FULL (and old skoolers will know what ai mean) map of Waterdeep on my wall.. that was cool. Now here's a statement that brought back great memories. I can remember gaming with my high school friends in one of their parent's basements. We hung all the Realms maps on the walls, but the best was the Waterdeep Map. It was so easy to imagine adventuring in (and under) the place when looking at that map. We could game for hours with no outside distraction, totally imersed in the world and its perils. Kinda makes me nostalgic for the Yawning Portal and a chat with old Durnan. :sigh: I suppose that's what I like most about the Realms; how vibrant the place is and how easy memories of past adventures can come unbidden to mind. (And by that I don't just mean memories of sitting around a table with friends, but of being in the Realms.) :whatsthis
Lashan 12-05-03, 05:06 PM	I agree with the comment about the feel of the old grey boxed set. I think that is the best supplement for FR that they have come out with. I like the level of detail that there is for the FR. I mean mostly for the amount of fluff detail. I don't care about NPC stats or PrC's. I like the amout of fluff from things like Volo's Guide series or the history and detail of magic items created in FR. Even a lowly +1 sword can be a great weapon to have.
Tythanil 12-05-03, 07:59 PM	I'm with Lashan on the fluff sentiment. As a starving artist and a struggling writer suffering from a permanent case of writer's block the thing that drew me to FR in the first place was the great detail and imagination and wonderfully worded texts bringing this wonderful setting to life in all those books. I don't know the source of or understand the need for the sudden push to give us all this 'Crappy Crunch' (Trademarked, 2003), but I don't like it.
Doc Filth 12-06-03, 10:40 AM	I like the comic-book style feel of it: the shared universe where you have a multitude of groups and solo characters who occasionally "cross over" and encounter each other, the high-level villains who never stay dead for long, the variety of cultures and storytelling moods ...
kedi 12-06-03, 11:45 AM	Why I love it? Our DM played us Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, not in Greyhawk but in Faerun. We used thesk. This means Faerun is competible. Is reasonable. Is enjoyable. Is big enough. Has anything that a good fantastic world needs: Dragons, elves, dwarves, halfling, goblins, orcs and faeries. Has many, reasonable, fair NPCs (ok, seven sisters, zulkirs, Larloch, Elminster, Blackstaff are overpowered but face it, every good world needs over/uner epic heros and villians) I love it. Ed couldn't do better. That's why he needs to do better. We love the world. God saves Ed Greenwood.
Aiden2 12-06-03, 11:47 PM	I think what draws me to FR is the semi-realism and the number and variation of organizations, governments, etc. that ties the entire realms together. Good ol' brotherly-love style! That's about it, I think. Signing out...:turkey:
Thysl 12-07-03, 03:05 AM	Hmmmm... I like the gods, yes. They really bring a sense of near-reality for me, becuase of my love of theology. I like the feel... though a better term eludes me. Mr. Greenwood has done an excellent job of staying true to that 'feel', as have the multitude of editors, writers, etc. I like the stories and novels. Accordingly with my sentiments above, the writers - for the most part - have remained true to the fantastical notions set out by Mr. Greenwood. What I love the most about the Realms is this. Conversing with others, even at great distant, about our shared world. Enlightening and entertaining, this world is not a pantheon nor a set of stories nor a map on a page, it is the culmination of many fan's interest and insight. I can think of nothing better to bring people together than this and, when considering the qualities of the Realms, can think of no brighter trait. P.S. Trogdor rules...
Bifford 12-07-03, 02:49 PM	Because there are so many iconic epic NPCs that you just can't wait to fight once you become powerful enough. :D You goin' down, Elmo!
Selgaunt 12-07-03, 05:53 PM	Originally posted by Kezghan Well in 1e and 2e sure you could do just about anything but you had to break rules, have grey spaces and such, i find it just so much easier for me as DM that 3e does most of that stuff for me, I get to game once every 2 weeks and with a family and very little time to even work on a campaign i am greatful that i dont need to take extra time to bang out all the additional rules, id rather spend the time working on the story. But your fully entitled to your opinion and i respect that. Keeping this thread on topic id also like to say that the maps provided thru out the realms life span are awesome, I remember when i used to have the FULL (and old skoolers will know what ai mean) map of Waterdeep on my wall.. that was cool. I have all ten maps of Waterdeep. We still use them whenever our campaign is in that City!!!. We also have the maps to pretty much all the regions of Faerun. That's got to be one of the aspects of this world i really love. the details are just amazing and bring the world to life!!!
BrokenRulz 12-08-03, 01:50 PM	I love the FR because of all the many different talents that continue to breathe life into it from source books to novels. It keeps growing and while we have our old favs with writers, characters, etc they still make room for new folks with new ideas, characters, etc. We'll always have our Drizzt and El, but now we have our Erevis Cale and while some characters are seemingly unstoppable, there are still those lesser guys that while not as powerful, still manage to hold your attention and still make a game fun, like the folks in the Rogues books, etc. Long live the Realms and keep that universe growing!
GoblinWarrior 12-09-03, 01:38 AM	There is a big world to explore, especially showed off in books and computer games. But what about the lands outside of Faerun? It is like middle-earth, you are wondering what its like outside of the borders of the map. The most common areas go from the spine of the world down to amn. I like this world because anything goes, magic, evil, bandits, and lotsa fantasy stuff. This world also has a history and a detailed showcase of each city and race.
Kuje31 12-09-03, 02:15 AM	Originally posted by GoblinWarrior There is a big world to explore, especially showed off in books and computer games. But what about the lands outside of Faerun? It is like middle-earth, you are wondering what its like outside of the borders of the map. The most common areas go from the spine of the world down to amn. I like this world because anything goes, magic, evil, bandits, and lotsa fantasy stuff. This world also has a history and a detailed showcase of each city and race. 2e had quite abit of material for the other lands like Maztica, Zakhara, Kara-Tur, and the Hordelands...... There is no sourcebook planned at this time to update these lands, which as many of us will tell you kind of stinks. :) Sigh I wish they would update the Moonshae's also, since that sourcebook was one of the first FR sourcebooks.
GoblinWarrior 12-09-03, 02:28 AM	Is there a map of the whole official world of the forgotten realms outside of faerun? Cause everything is based upon the faerun part of the forgotten realms and the only places of other mention are books from the 80s telling of maztica and other places. Besides, every place on faerun is based on a place in our earth, maztica is like mexico, spine is like siberia, the eastern lands are like the middle east, so on
Kuje31 12-09-03, 03:01 AM	Originally posted by GoblinWarrior Is there a map of the whole official world of the forgotten realms outside of faerun? Cause everything is based upon the faerun part of the forgotten realms and the only places of other mention are books from the 80s telling of maztica and other places. Besides, every place on faerun is based on a place in our earth, maztica is like mexico, spine is like siberia, the eastern lands are like the middle east, so on Page 231 of the FRCS.......
WizO_BigSister 12-10-03, 03:43 AM	I love the way that the Realms has a sense of not just being pulled out of thin air. The climate and geography makes sense - you don't just have a desert plumped down somewhere for no reason other that somebody wanted a desert. The politics also seem grounded in the history of the land, which isn't surprising as the history is intricat, many layered and above all DEEP!
Mr. Wilson 12-10-03, 04:12 AM	I love, much like Kuje, the fluff of the world. One of the main turn offs I have with 3.0 and 3.5 is that WoTC seems to believe that Crunch sells far more than fluff. While maybe that's true, I also believe that it is unfortunate. For example, I thought Lords of Darkness was the most ubercool of the new FR books (campaign setting aside). My favorite things on the board are Ed's Realmslore. I'm slowly acquiring most of the old books either by downloading them from Wizards, or by picking up the Volo books at a local gamestore. I like how it feels like their is a history to the world. I like being able to play in a new area and never really feel like I've played in it before. I like the political aspects of it. And, I love the fluff, if I haven't mentioned that before.
KismetRose 12-10-03, 04:38 AM	First of all, I love the feel of the FR. It permeates everything. I love the detail given to the world after all this time; it is truly amazing to see how much work has been done on it. I enjoy the gods very much. The pantheons of FR have a lot of personality in their members. Oh, and I like domains and their spells a lot. I adore the history of the FR, and how the game has a sense of history built into it. I am a history buff so I can't help myself. I have found the mapping to be extremely helpful, not to mention decorative. I have the FR map from the 3e book on my living room wall; I am looking for a special frame so I can hang the map of the same continent from the Netheril boxed set next to it. I like the mix of races to be found and the multitude of cultures. I like that it is a heavy-magic setting because, well, I like magic. To be fair, I am one who doesn't care for some of the icon characters of FR, namely the seven sisters. Elminster, being so like Gandalf, is easier for me to deal with. What is best about the FR is that I've been able to adjust the game to suit my group. You can move dates around, obliterate the sisters and Cattie-Brie along with them, and the flavor of the setting isn't bothered at all. The FR setting is bigger than the voice of Volo and the reach of Elminster, big enough so that my players can become names there and write in some history.
ender 12-13-03, 06:13 PM	Hands down, my favorite aspect of the Realms is its dynamism. The years roll by, seasons change, heroes grow and die, villains are defeated and replaced by even bigger bad guys, plots are seeded and ferment and grow to fruition. There is mystery and suspense, but it is not just left dangling like a bad episodic series: the conflicts are eventually resolved, and then new ones arise. THe Realms lives, just as much as earth. It is big enough to roll on despite (or because) of the actions of our characters, and small enough for us all to have a place there.
Io, Lord of Wyrms 12-14-03, 12:36 PM	I like the realms because they are so detailed. The history, deities, characters, geography - the realms are much more detailed than any other campaign setting. I also like it's high magic, and the fact that Toril is an entire world like Earth instead of just one European-style continent. (I like Kara-Tur and Zakhara a lot, and Matizca is quite interesting).