I am coming back to D&D after a number of years away from the game/brand/books. From the looks of things the new version of the game is going to start in the Forgotten Realms. Unfortunately for me, I haven't read anything since the War of the Spider Queen and before that all of the Time of Troubles material.
So, what source material should I check out now to get caught up on what's been happening in the FR's? I'm open to any ideas. Novels, hard back gamebooks are all fine.
Thanks!
In terms of novels, I can lay them out by subject, so you can look into whatever sounds interesting to you:
The Abolethic Sovereignty - Impiltur, Sea of Fallen Stars, Warlocks, Abolethic Sovereignty*
Blades of the Moonsea - Moonsea region (especially Hulburg), Myth Drannor, Vaasa
Brotherhood of the Griffon - Chessenta, Tchazzar, Tymanther*, Rashemen [Connected to the events of The Haunted Lands]
Chosen of Nendawen - Feywild*, Primal Spirits*, The Far North
Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep - Take a guess
The Empyrean Odyssey - The Spellplague*, Deicide, The Divine Homeplanes [Connected to the events of WotSQ]
The Haunted Lands - Thay, Szass Tam, Aglarond, the Zulkirs
The Lady Penitent - The Drow Pantheon, Their Respective Churches, Mass Deicide [Connected to the events of WotSQ]
Neverwinter Series - Drizzt & Company, Neverwinter [Connected to the events of the Transitions trilogy]
The Sage of Shadowdale- Cormyr, Mystra, Elminster, Manshoon
Transitions - Drizzt & Company, Luskan, The Spirit Soaring, Kingdom of Many-Arrows*
The Twilight War- Sembia, Netheril, Mask, Shar, Sembian Civil War [Connected to the events of the Erevis Cale trilogy]
The Wilds - Random dangerous locations throughout Faerun
Red = location/region
Green = Person/People/Deity/Monsters
Blue = Event
Anything marked with an * is something introduced or heavily emphasized in Fourth Edition, so you probably have never heard of any of them if you haven't read anything since WotSQ. I'll provide more information on whatever ones catch your eye, if you like. In terms of their actual quality of writing, the best of the aforementioned would have to be the Brotherhood of the Griffon, Chosen of Nendawen, Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep, and The Twilight War. Blades of the Moonsea is also quite good, so I would place that just a step below those fours.
Well, the best source of information on the Spellplague would be the 4E Campaign Guide, but it's not the most heavily-detailed book. In case you don't know, the transition from 3E to 4E was marked by a century time-jump. Whereas the 3E Realms took place in 1374 DR, the current Realms is set in the 1480s DR.
In terms of novels, I can lay them out by subject, so you can look into whatever sounds interesting to you:
The Abolethic Sovereignty - Impiltur, Sea of Fallen Stars, Warlocks, Abolethic Sovereignty*
Blades of the Moonsea - Moonsea region (especially Hulburg), Myth Drannor, Vaasa
Brotherhood of the Griffon - Chessenta, Tchazzar, Tymanther*, Rashemen [Connected to the events of The Haunted Lands]
Chosen of Nendawen - Feywild*, Primal Spirits*, The Far North
Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep - Take a guess
The Empyrean Odyssey - The Spellplague*, Deicide, The Divine Homeplanes [Connected to the events of WotSQ]
The Haunted Lands - Thay, Szass Tam, Aglarond, the Zulkirs
The Lady Penitent - The Drow Pantheon, Their Respective Churches, Mass Deicide [Connected to the events of WotSQ]
Neverwinter Series - Drizzt & Company, Neverwinter [Connected to the events of the Transitions trilogy]
The Sage of Shadowdale- Cormyr, Mystra, Elminster, Manshoon
Transitions - Drizzt & Company, Luskan, The Spirit Soaring, Kingdom of Many-Arrows*
The Twilight War- Sembia, Netheril, Mask, Shar, Sembian Civil War [Connected to the events of the Erevis Cale trilogy]
The Wilds - Random dangerous locations throughout Faerun
Red = location/region
Green = Person/People/Deity/Monsters
Blue = Event
Anything marked with an * is something introduced or heavily emphasized in Fourth Edition, so you probably have never heard of any of them if you haven't read anything since WotSQ. I'll provide more information on whatever ones catch your eye, if you like. In terms of their actual quality of writing, the best of the aforementioned would have to be the Brotherhood of the Griffon, Chosen of Nendawen, Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep, and The Twilight War. Blades of the Moonsea is also quite good, so I would place that just a step below those fours.
Thanks for this. I have decided to start reading 4e books with the news of the sundering. Hopefully the sundering books will resonate better. What books were about the Tiefling? Or at least by that author.
Brimstone Angels is currently available as a paperback and as an ebook. That introduces Farideh, her pact, her devil-patron, and her family. And some villains who carry through the series. It's also set in Neverwinter, and has some small connections to the Neverwinter Saga.
The sequel, Brimstone Angels: Lesser Evils, comes out December 4th. It also features the Harpers and the Zhentarim as major elements, as well as some cool ancient history stuff. That's paperback and ebook as well. Those will lead directly into The Adversary (although I'm putting every effort into making it accessible to unfamiliar readers too).
And--if you want to read 'em all--my first book was The God Catcher, which is part of Ed GReenwood Presents Waterdeep. That is currently only available in ebook and in the second Waterdeep Omnibus (which includes City of the Dead and Circle of Skulls, too). Last, I had a short story in Realms of the Dead that introduces Tam "the Shepherd" Zawad, my silverstar super-spy. You can read that for free (although no one's stopping you from getting the anthology) here.
And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that WotC Novels Book Club had some great discussions about both God Catcher and Brimstone Angels--and I'm fairly sure Lesser Evils will be coming up.
Hope you enjoy your return to the Realms!
[Edit: WHOOPS! Mixed up Mournblade and Rhone. The latter enjoy the return; the former, enjoy yourself some books and whatever degree of newness is appropriate.]but thats another matter.
I enjoyed Godcatcher.
As a side-note, Mrs. Evans, I must confess that Brimstone Angels is still sitting on my shelf, waiting to be read. It's at the top of my list, though. Once I finish Bruce Cordell's Sword of the Gods, it's on to BA.
^ As did I. It's been ages since I read The God Catcher, but I distinctly recall enjoying it and finding it very well-written. Of course, all the books of EGPW were fantastic, but that just makes it all the more impressive as a series. Each and every book holds up well on its own.
I think it turned out really fantastic--they got six different voices, but I think they're all (or at least the other five; I won't pretend I'm objective about my own) really solid examples of "Realms stories," you know? They all have the right feel, while having their own feels.
As a side-note, Mrs. Evans, I must confess that Brimstone Angels is still sitting on my shelf, waiting to be read. It's at the top of my list, though. Once I finish Bruce Cordell's Sword of the Gods, it's on to BA.
Another good book! How are you liking it? (And, hey, you have it on hand--that's halfway to read).
But, dude, "Mrs. Evans," is my grandmother. You can call me Erin.
Hi! Those would be my books.
Brimstone Angels is currently available as a paperback and as an ebook. That introduces Farideh, her pact, her devil-patron, and her family. And some villains who carry through the series. It's also set in Neverwinter, and has some small connections to the Neverwinter Saga.
The sequel, Brimstone Angels: Lesser Evils, comes out December 4th. It also features the Harpers and the Zhentarim as major elements, as well as some cool ancient history stuff. That's paperback and ebook as well. Those will lead directly into The Adversary (although I'm putting every effort into making it accessible to unfamiliar readers too).
And--if you want to read 'em all--my first book was The God Catcher, which is part of Ed GReenwood Presents Waterdeep. That is currently only available in ebook and in the second Waterdeep Omnibus (which includes City of the Dead and Circle of Skulls, too). Last, I had a short story in Realms of the Dead that introduces Tam "the Shepherd" Zawad, my silverstar super-spy. You can read that for free (although no one's stopping you from getting the anthology) here.
And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that WotC Novels Book Club had some great discussions about both God Catcher and Brimstone Angels--and I'm fairly sure Lesser Evils will be coming up.
Hope you enjoy your return to the Realms!
Thank you so much!
They sound great! Thanks for that, and I look forward to reading them!
Then I look for the sequel on Amazon, and find the sequel is e-book only...
Oh well. Maybe one day. Regardless, onwards to Brimstone Angels.
You want to get started somewhere in the Realms?
You can get started by scrubbing the mud of Lord Manshoon's boots.
The preceding was a joke
The following is a joke
You want to get started somewhere in the Realms?
You can get started by scrubbing the mud of Lord Manshoon's boots.
The preceding was a joke
I chuckled.
Blades of the Moonsea - Moonsea region (especially Hulburg), Myth Drannor, Vaasa
Lord Manshoon or anybody really, could you tell me how big a part Myth Drannor plays in that series?
@ErinMEvans- I saw your book Brimstone Angels today in a US Army post exchange in Germany. I was really tempted to get it but put it back on the shelf until I could check to see how much bag space I have in my luggage so I can lug it back to my home station. Your next paycheck will be happy to know that I do indeed have the space.
Blades of the Moonsea - Moonsea region (especially Hulburg), Myth Drannor, Vaasa
Lord Manshoon or anybody really, could you tell me how big a part Myth Drannor plays in that series?
It plays a major role in the backstory of the main character, Geran Hulmaster, because his time spent there and subsequent departure help provide the major framework for one of the novel's biggest dynamics. There are references to it throughout the series. Myth Drannor also plays a significant role in the third book, Avenger, and yes, certain characters do visit there, in order to retrieve something important.
Baker also reintroduces a couple familiar faces in Myth Drannor, so if you have read his Last Mythal stuff, it will be nice to see them.
Blades of the Moonsea - Moonsea region (especially Hulburg), Myth Drannor, Vaasa
Lord Manshoon or anybody really, could you tell me how big a part Myth Drannor plays in that series?
@ErinMEvans- I saw your book Brimstone Angels today in a US Army post exchange in Germany. I was really tempted to get it but put it back on the shelf until I could check to see how much bag space I have in my luggage so I can lug it back to my home station. Your next paycheck will be happy to know that I do indeed have the space.
Awesome! Hope you enjoy it!
What a waste of a great setting with a lot of potential.
Don't bother starting a campaign in Returned Abeir. You won't have material to support it after 5e.
Where did you read that WotC won't be supporting Returned Abeir in 5E?
Can you provide a link?
Don't bother starting a campaign in Returned Abeir. You won't have material to support it after 5e.
Where did you read that WotC won't be supporting Returned Abeir in 5E?
Can you provide a link?
Hope?
From the look of it the clean slate they pulled on FR was a marketing mistake (alot of unhappy fans, and a few happy ones) so anything they do to get away from it in the new edition has caught my attention. Haven't seen anything official though, unfortunately.
Where did you read that WotC won't be supporting Returned Abeir in 5E?
Can you provide a link?
That's what "The Sundering" implies (i.e. the original Sundering is what separated Abeir from Toril in the first place). Also, Paul S. Kemp said:
"To clarify based on what I heard at the “What is the Sundering” panels: That Abeir and Toril are separating does not mean that all elements of one world are gone on the other world. I believe James said specifically that Dragonborn would remain in Toril. FWIW."
However, check out "What is the Sundering" for yourself.
