By Richard Baker, Travis Stout, and James Wyatt
-The Player’s Guide to Faerûn book was somewhat unnecessary, in my opinion. Its major focus was to update stuff from previous Forgotten Realms sourcebooks into the 3.5e rules, with the previous ones being in 3e. From a personal point of view, I think that the “difference” between the 3e rules and the 3.5e rules are minute enough to ignore most of the time, and that “major differences” between 3e and 3.5e have been manufactured by WotC or others, to sell more 3.5e Core Rulebooks. I, myself, use the 3e Monster Manual and Dungeon Master’s Guide, and the 3.5e Player’s Handbook (the old one got too old). What’s the biggest problem I’ve ever had? Wilderness Lore is on some character sheets, instead of Survival? Oh no.
-Anyway, because of all of the above, a lot of the Player’s Guide to Faerûn book was, in my opinion, unnecessary. The first 47 pages are basically updates to mechanical things like feats and character regions. Of all of those pages, my favorite part would be the pictures (and, I just noticed an error in the captioning of one.) One thing that is handy, though, is that it has feats and regions from the FRCS, Underdark, Races of Faerûn and Unapproachable East all in one spot, instead of four different books.
-The Prestige Class section, I liked that for the most part. I am mechanics guy- a lot of people don’t know that about me. I like seeing all kinds of feats, items, spells, Prestige Classes, and other things. I don’t like when those things are not in any way related to the Forgotten Realms specifically, but are put in Forgotten Realms sourcebooks because there is room. Player’s Guide to Faerûn has a whopping 30 Prestige Classes in it. Of those 30, only six of them are general enough to not warrant being in a Forgotten Realms book. That means 80% of them are tied to the setting. That’s a good ratio. That’s a ratio I like.
-With the domains and spells, a lot of them are reprints from old books, updated to 3.5e rules. My old complaint about lots of them not being Forgotten Realms specific lingers. One thing that I’m pretty sure that Player’s Guide to Faerûn was the first to do was introduce the ‘Initiate of…’ feats. I really like those. So, the inclusion of those in the book is definitely a plus. The book also used other books that were out at the time, like the Book of Vile Darkness, Book of Exalted Deeds, and the (Expanded) Psionic Handbook to build on these themes in the setting.
-The most controversial part of the book is the cosmology section, where, “without warning” the cosmology of the setting is retconned from the Great Wheel to the Great Tree. While, in principle, I don’t like it based on the fact that (A) I generally don’t like retcons and (B) I liked the Great Wheel shared cosmology of previous editions, in effect, the change doesn’t really do too much. I mean, tree, wheel, whatever, it’s nice to see some in-depth cosmological information for the setting updated into 3e (or, rather, 3.5e) in the same manner that other planes got in the 3e Manual of the Planes.
-So, overall, even though I don’t think that this book was really even necessary, and that a lot of it is just copied (and updated, of course) from other books, I think the proverbial good it brought with it outweighed the proverbial bad. In deciding what to rate this book, I was on the face a little. In the end, I decided to give Player’s Guide to Faerûn the benefit of the doubt. At least, if nothing else, it had good artwork, right?
-Out of a possible Five Beholders, I give The Player’s Guide to Faerûn Four Beholders.
Not enough there to warrant extra spending by those who bought the 3.0 products.
But they banked on it--that was the problem. They overhauled what was only a half step into creation to begin with.
Of all of those pages, my favorite part would be the pictures (and, I just noticed an error in the captioning of one.) One thing that is handy, though, is that it has feats and regions from the FRCS, Underdark, Races of Faerûn and Unapproachable East all in one spot, instead of four different books.
Yeah, the listing is the best part of the book. Don't have to browse them all. Another one listed there is Magic of Faerun spells /and all the spells, to be exact/. Great thing.
As to the mis-captioned picture. Isn't it the one with the gray and gold dwarf? I thought the error existed only in Polish edition...
finally some psionics for the Realms and then they made an elven psionic organization, that was odd, of all the races
I liked the exalted part
Khaliesherai is like a dwarven arcane guild
drow aren't elves in that way, and are cut of from the High Magic, think only Oblodrans were the only psionics
it's odd cause super elves get everything, adding psionics was too much
What's odd about psionic elves? The drow had it.
-There were probably more "deserving" people/places that could have gotten coverage with Psionics.
-It's too bad that there was never a Forgotten Realms sourcebook dedicated exclusively to incorporating all of those new magic systems, like Psionics, Vile Magic, Exalted Magic, True Name Magic, and races, and so on and so on. We got a couple of web-columns, and a few pages in scattered sourcebooks, but everything certainly could have been put into one compilation and then expanded upon. I would have liked that...
-There were probably more "deserving" people/places that could have gotten coverage with Psionics.
-It's too bad that there was never a Forgotten Realms sourcebook dedicated exclusively to incorporating all of those new magic systems, like Psionics, Vile Magic, Exalted Magic, True Name Magic, and races, and so on and so on. We got a couple of web-columns, and a few pages in scattered sourcebooks, but everything certainly could have been put into one compilation and then expanded upon. I would have liked that...
I would liked to seen this done this also!
I would liked to seen this done this also!
-Well, there's a 0% chance that all of that stuff gets official books, or whatever. It's up to the fans, now. I know, in Elves of Faerûn, I covered these things.
Since this is probably the only 3e sourcebook who's cover I cracked maybe three times, I think 4 beholders was a bit... gemerous.
As I believe Karsus is made to answer that, I'll leave it alone.
But, yes, MT, I do believe that coherency is in order.
Mathematically, there is always a chance.
-I think, technically, that might violate WotC's Open License policy, or whatever it is that they've called the 4e version.
Since this is probably the only 3e sourcebook who's cover I cracked maybe three times, I think 4 beholders was a bit... gemerous.
-Like I said, I liked the Prestige Classes (most of them), the Cosmology section (in terms of presenting a somewhat detailed 3e Forgotten Realms cosmology- not the Great tree part), and the "extras"- Epic Magic, Exalted Magic, Vile Magic, Psionics, etc.
-I think, technically, that might violate WotC's Open License policy, or whatever it is that they've called the 4e version.
Well, if there is a company brave enough to go buy the rights....
Speaking of which, does anyone want to get hired on with 4e is Dookie, LLC., pay the $5000 needed and create our own CENSORED?
We can settle this debate here and now.