Zhentarim, and Cormanthor Drow, and Everyone we know... A little help/advice here? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Zhentarim, and Cormanthor Drow, and Everyone we know... A little help/advice here? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
AffableDoomwalker
04-23-07, 10:59 PM My current FR campaign is coming to a close, t'was a good one, a homebrew LN Empire with heavy ties to the Church of Helm. I put it far away from any of the "happening" FR locales (on the Peninsula south of Dambrath, and the Bay of Dancing Dolphins), and it allowed for a great deal of freedom in regional plot development, but at the same time, cut me off from region immersion, there was a nation, it had a name, the characters affected it, but it felt like there was no... "meat" I guess is the term I'm looking for. The game went well, it just wasn't as good or in-depth as I'd have liked it to be.

I'm preparing a new campaign, this time I fully intend to use a more famous locale in order to allow for a more in-depth regional experience, and hopefully, a better game. I want the game to be a simple level "1-God only knows" romp through the Realms, where I'll develop a plot based on character action and interaction within the world, probably RP heavy after the plot gets rolling.

The region I had in mind was Mistdale and its surrounding area; I'll set a campaign in and around that particular area (probably in Ashabenford, simply because there's a detailed map :w00t:). I own the FRCS, but I was hoping for a bit more information that might expand on the following (I'll divide this into ABCs and 123s for clarity's sake):

Is Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave a worthwhile investment? If so... Why/Why not? What did you like/dislike about it most?
Is the Player's Guide to Faerūn a worthwhile investment? If so... Why/Why not? What did you like/dislike about it most?
Are there any other official sourcebooks or adventures out there that are worth looking into or even outright buying? If so... Why? What did you like/dislike about them most?

Info on the Zhents/Zhentil Keep and the Zhentarim, beyond what the FRCS provides cocerning people, places, plots and rumors, so on and so forth.
Info on the Cormanthor Drow (specifically: faction-specific info, as well as the vanilla people, places, etcetera), beyond what the FRCS provides.
Additional info on Mistdale, Shadowdale, Sembia, Cormyr, The Stonelands Cormanthor, Anauroch; people, places, dungeons, plot rumors, organizations, maps, again, beyond what the FRCS provides.

Thanks in advance for your answers, and feel free to include websites and links to other forums if you feel they'd contain info I'd be interested in!
Old Sage
04-23-07, 11:35 PM 1 - Cloak & Dagger, Ruins of Zhentil Keep, both the Heroes' and Villains' Lorebooks, 1e/2e/3e FRCS, any of the FR novels which feature Manshoon and the Black Network, 3e's Lords of Darkness

3 - For the Dales... Volo's Guide to the Dalelands and The Dalelands 2e supplement. The Shadowdale sourcebook from the 2e FR boxed set as well.

For Sembia... Sembia isn't a heavily detailed region in the older Realmslore... mostly because TSR left it as a area for DM's to detail, mostly. Forgotten Realms Adventures has some info as do the novels set in Sembia -- the "Sembia" series. The 1e/2e FRCS, and the 3e FRCS also. As well, head over to Ed's Realmslore column archive here (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/archfr/rl) and read through "The Matchmaker of Sembia" series and "The Flourishing Career of Melvos Hammerstars" series. See Ed's Candlekeep replies also. As well, see "Land of Merchants" (Polyhedron #94), Cult of the Dragon pgs. 33–34, and "Rand's Travelogue:- Caravans and Trading Companies in Sembia" -- here (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=fr/fx20010905b).

For Cormyr... Cormyr appearances in novels:- Crown of Fire, Stormlight (Firefall Keep), Murder in Cormyr, Lost Library of Cormanthyr, Tymora's Luck, Crusade, Elminster's Daughter. Don't forget Ed's and Garen Thal's extensive replies about Cormyr from over at Candlekeep. And Volo's Guide to Cormyr available as a free PDF download (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads) here at WotC. The 1e and 2e FRCS, 3e FRCS, Haunted Halls of Eveningstar. And the "Cormyr" trilogy of novels.

For the Stonelands... Most of the Cormyr sources should be relevant for that. Particularly Death of a Dragon, Volo's Guide to Cormyr, Haunted Hills of Eveningstar, and Ed Greenwood's Candlekeep replies. Crown of Fire also. The "Stonelands and Goblin Marches" supplement from the full Elminster's Ecologies boxed set is also useful, though not as appropriate as the sources already listed. There's also some tidbits in the Anauroch supplement as well.

For Cormanthyr... see my replies here (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=834876).

For Anauroch... the aforementioned Anauroch accessory. The "Return of the Archwizards" trilogy.

As for "people, places, dungeons, plot rumors, organizations, maps"... is there anything you're looking for in particular? I'm asking because there are simply too many sources to list here...
AffableDoomwalker
04-23-07, 11:48 PM As for "people, places, dungeons, plot rumors, organizations, maps"... is there anything you're looking for in particular? I'm asking because there are simply too many sources to list here...

Just that, sources, I'm a big reader, so stuff like the novels you made mention of are the kind of thing I'm looking for, anything I can read to learn about and get a feel for an area, specifically, the Dalelands area; novels, websites, free PDF downloads (which were awesome, thanks for directing me to those) sourcebooks, and the like, pretty much the kind of stuff you just listed.

If you know of any more sources/fonts of knowledge(and I figure you do by the way you spoke, you do), I'd appreciate them.
Fingoldfin
04-24-07, 03:43 AM For info on the Zhents check out Lords of Darkness and Champions of Ruin.
AffableDoomwalker
04-24-07, 03:29 PM Cool, cool, thanks, but there are still two questions that are as of yet unanswered:

Is Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave a worthwhile investment? If so... Why/Why not? What did you like/dislike about it most?

Is the Player's Guide to Faerūn a worthwhile investment? If so... Why/Why not? What did you like/dislike about it most?
Faraer
04-24-07, 05:57 PM As well as the Volo's Guide, Spellfire, Shadows of Doom and All Shadows Fled will give you the feel of the Dales; online, see "Semberholme" and "Storm Silverhand's Quieter Days" in "Realmslore" (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/archfr/rl), and one of the Faiths and Pantheons web enhancements (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20020529a).

I haven't read Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave all the way through. Are you interested in running it straight through or for source material and encounters? The so-called Player's Guide is mainly 3.5E rules updates (character regions, prestige classes, spells), plus an expanded write-up of the new Realms planes, and the events of the Return of the Archwizards and War of the Spider Queen novels. If those sound worthwhile, you'll probably like it.
Khaelieth
04-24-07, 06:46 PM Cool, cool, thanks, but there are still two questions that are as of yet unanswered:

Is Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave a worthwhile investment? If so... Why/Why not? What did you like/dislike about it most?

Is the Player's Guide to Faerūn a worthwhile investment? If so... Why/Why not? What did you like/dislike about it most?

PGtF is definetly a worthwile investment. It updates a lot of feats, classes, gathers spells from all FRCS books etc. I wubs my PGtF
AffableDoomwalker
04-24-07, 07:39 PM I haven't read Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave all the way through. Are you interested in running it straight through or for source material and encounters?
Possibly the former. It would be more of a pick-up adventure down the line, after the PCs have gained some fame/infamy and fortune in their travels, if and wen they decide to take a romp through Cormyr for, say a dungeon dive into the Caverns of the Claw (just because; maybe they heard a rumor; maybe on a quest), then after they've wrapped up their business with the trolls (or what have you), a hook of some sort of another will serve to reel them into the Cormyr adventure. Or maybe I'd just use it for source material, ideas, and encounters, unfortunately my local Barnes&Noble and Waldenbooks aren't too gamer-friendly, and the gamestore I play WFRP at is mostly tabletop (and WFRP, of course). So coming by the book so's I can just take a gander at it myself is a bit of a hassle currently. Unless I get some reliable info, or hands on viewing - aside from Wizard's sales pitches (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=products/fracc/956857200) and the preview links that go with them - I can't really see me dropping $30 I could spend on beer, and food in stead of a pre-pay order, no matter how much I like my local gameshop owner.

PGtF is definetly a worthwile investment. It updates a lot of feats, classes, gathers spells from all FRCS books etc. I wubs my PGtF
Wunderbar! Danke.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
AffableDoomwalker 04-23-07, 10:59 PM	My current FR campaign is coming to a close, t'was a good one, a homebrew LN Empire with heavy ties to the Church of Helm. I put it far away from any of the "happening" FR locales (on the Peninsula south of Dambrath, and the Bay of Dancing Dolphins), and it allowed for a great deal of freedom in regional plot development, but at the same time, cut me off from region immersion, there was a nation, it had a name, the characters affected it, but it felt like there was no... "meat" I guess is the term I'm looking for. The game went well, it just wasn't as good or in-depth as I'd have liked it to be. I'm preparing a new campaign, this time I fully intend to use a more famous locale in order to allow for a more in-depth regional experience, and hopefully, a better game. I want the game to be a simple level "1-God only knows" romp through the Realms, where I'll develop a plot based on character action and interaction within the world, probably RP heavy after the plot gets rolling. The region I had in mind was Mistdale and its surrounding area; I'll set a campaign in and around that particular area (probably in Ashabenford, simply because there's a detailed map :w00t:). I own the FRCS, but I was hoping for a bit more information that might expand on the following (I'll divide this into ABCs and 123s for clarity's sake): Is Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave a worthwhile investment? If so... Why/Why not? What did you like/dislike about it most? Is the Player's Guide to Faerūn a worthwhile investment? If so... Why/Why not? What did you like/dislike about it most? Are there any other official sourcebooks or adventures out there that are worth looking into or even outright buying? If so... Why? What did you like/dislike about them most? Info on the Zhents/Zhentil Keep and the Zhentarim, beyond what the FRCS provides cocerning people, places, plots and rumors, so on and so forth. Info on the Cormanthor Drow (specifically: faction-specific info, as well as the vanilla people, places, etcetera), beyond what the FRCS provides. Additional info on Mistdale, Shadowdale, Sembia, Cormyr, The Stonelands Cormanthor, Anauroch; people, places, dungeons, plot rumors, organizations, maps, again, beyond what the FRCS provides. Thanks in advance for your answers, and feel free to include websites and links to other forums if you feel they'd contain info I'd be interested in!
Old Sage 04-23-07, 11:35 PM	1 - Cloak & Dagger, Ruins of Zhentil Keep, both the Heroes' and Villains' Lorebooks, 1e/2e/3e FRCS, any of the FR novels which feature Manshoon and the Black Network, 3e's Lords of Darkness 3 - For the Dales... Volo's Guide to the Dalelands and The Dalelands 2e supplement. The Shadowdale sourcebook from the 2e FR boxed set as well. For Sembia... Sembia isn't a heavily detailed region in the older Realmslore... mostly because TSR left it as a area for DM's to detail, mostly. Forgotten Realms Adventures has some info as do the novels set in Sembia -- the "Sembia" series. The 1e/2e FRCS, and the 3e FRCS also. As well, head over to Ed's Realmslore column archive here (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/archfr/rl) and read through "The Matchmaker of Sembia" series and "The Flourishing Career of Melvos Hammerstars" series. See Ed's Candlekeep replies also. As well, see "Land of Merchants" (Polyhedron #94), Cult of the Dragon pgs. 33–34, and "Rand's Travelogue:- Caravans and Trading Companies in Sembia" -- here (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=fr/fx20010905b). For Cormyr... Cormyr appearances in novels:- Crown of Fire, Stormlight (Firefall Keep), Murder in Cormyr, Lost Library of Cormanthyr, Tymora's Luck, Crusade, Elminster's Daughter. Don't forget Ed's and Garen Thal's extensive replies about Cormyr from over at Candlekeep. And Volo's Guide to Cormyr available as a free PDF download (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads) here at WotC. The 1e and 2e FRCS, 3e FRCS, Haunted Halls of Eveningstar. And the "Cormyr" trilogy of novels. For the Stonelands... Most of the Cormyr sources should be relevant for that. Particularly Death of a Dragon, Volo's Guide to Cormyr, Haunted Hills of Eveningstar, and Ed Greenwood's Candlekeep replies. Crown of Fire also. The "Stonelands and Goblin Marches" supplement from the full Elminster's Ecologies boxed set is also useful, though not as appropriate as the sources already listed. There's also some tidbits in the Anauroch supplement as well. For Cormanthyr... see my replies here (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=834876). For Anauroch... the aforementioned Anauroch accessory. The "Return of the Archwizards" trilogy. As for "people, places, dungeons, plot rumors, organizations, maps"... is there anything you're looking for in particular? I'm asking because there are simply too many sources to list here...
AffableDoomwalker 04-23-07, 11:48 PM	As for "people, places, dungeons, plot rumors, organizations, maps"... is there anything you're looking for in particular? I'm asking because there are simply too many sources to list here... Just that, sources, I'm a big reader, so stuff like the novels you made mention of are the kind of thing I'm looking for, anything I can read to learn about and get a feel for an area, specifically, the Dalelands area; novels, websites, free PDF downloads (which were awesome, thanks for directing me to those) sourcebooks, and the like, pretty much the kind of stuff you just listed. If you know of any more sources/fonts of knowledge(and I figure you do by the way you spoke, you do), I'd appreciate them.
Fingoldfin 04-24-07, 03:43 AM	For info on the Zhents check out Lords of Darkness and Champions of Ruin.
AffableDoomwalker 04-24-07, 03:29 PM	Cool, cool, thanks, but there are still two questions that are as of yet unanswered: Is Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave a worthwhile investment? If so... Why/Why not? What did you like/dislike about it most? Is the Player's Guide to Faerūn a worthwhile investment? If so... Why/Why not? What did you like/dislike about it most?
Faraer 04-24-07, 05:57 PM	As well as the Volo's Guide, Spellfire, Shadows of Doom and All Shadows Fled will give you the feel of the Dales; online, see "Semberholme" and "Storm Silverhand's Quieter Days" in "Realmslore" (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/archfr/rl), and one of the Faiths and Pantheons web enhancements (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20020529a). I haven't read Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave all the way through. Are you interested in running it straight through or for source material and encounters? The so-called Player's Guide is mainly 3.5E rules updates (character regions, prestige classes, spells), plus an expanded write-up of the new Realms planes, and the events of the Return of the Archwizards and War of the Spider Queen novels. If those sound worthwhile, you'll probably like it.
Khaelieth 04-24-07, 06:46 PM	Cool, cool, thanks, but there are still two questions that are as of yet unanswered: Is Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave a worthwhile investment? If so... Why/Why not? What did you like/dislike about it most? Is the Player's Guide to Faerūn a worthwhile investment? If so... Why/Why not? What did you like/dislike about it most? PGtF is definetly a worthwile investment. It updates a lot of feats, classes, gathers spells from all FRCS books etc. I wubs my PGtF
AffableDoomwalker 04-24-07, 07:39 PM	I haven't read Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave all the way through. Are you interested in running it straight through or for source material and encounters? Possibly the former. It would be more of a pick-up adventure down the line, after the PCs have gained some fame/infamy and fortune in their travels, if and wen they decide to take a romp through Cormyr for, say a dungeon dive into the Caverns of the Claw (just because; maybe they heard a rumor; maybe on a quest), then after they've wrapped up their business with the trolls (or what have you), a hook of some sort of another will serve to reel them into the Cormyr adventure. Or maybe I'd just use it for source material, ideas, and encounters, unfortunately my local Barnes&Noble and Waldenbooks aren't too gamer-friendly, and the gamestore I play WFRP at is mostly tabletop (and WFRP, of course). So coming by the book so's I can just take a gander at it myself is a bit of a hassle currently. Unless I get some reliable info, or hands on viewing - aside from Wizard's sales pitches (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=products/fracc/956857200) and the preview links that go with them - I can't really see me dropping $30 I could spend on beer, and food in stead of a pre-pay order, no matter how much I like my local gameshop owner. PGtF is definetly a worthwile investment. It updates a lot of feats, classes, gathers spells from all FRCS books etc. I wubs my PGtF Wunderbar! Danke.