Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 lord_karsus Dec 23, 2008 7:34:36	Races of Faerûn By Eric Boyd, Matt Forbeck and James Jacobs -I had the book out, using it for researching and referencing something, so I figured I’d do a review of it. I remember when Races of Faerûn came out…It was the first Forgotten Realms sourcebook that I ever purchased for myself. The bookstore I went to, they didn’t have the book on the first day it was released, so I went back the next day, and then the next. I finally asked someone, and the guy got it for me from the backroom. They, apparently forgot to put it on the shelves. But, for all of those “silly” sentimental memories, the book, unfortunately, is subpar. -The book does a good job at maintaining a good ratio of Realmslore to mechanics. The book is 191 pages. Of all of that, 151 of them are related to the various racial entries (some of which include minor mechanics, like racial stat bars). So, it’s nice to see such a ratio of lore to mechanics in a 3e sourcebook. And, of the mechanics presented, I don’t have too many objections with them. I immensely dislike when things generic PrCs are presented in Forgotten Realms sourcebooks. In RoF, most of them are relevant and specific to the setting. Same thing with feats. -Something I would have liked to see would have been an expanded and minimalized Chapter Nine, which dealt with Minor Races in Faerûn. Here is what I mean by that: I would have liked to have seen less mechanics and specific details on these races, and, with the amount of space gained from doing that, more actual races presented. Races of Faerûn presents Kir-Lanan, Centaur, Lizardfolk, Lycanthropes, Wemic, Shades, Aarakocra, Yuan-Ti and Goblinoids. These certainly aren’t the only Minor Races of Faerûn. I would have liked, in retrospect, to see more information about more races that exist, very akin to the “In Faerûn” sidebars that a lot of ‘Core’ books had. A paragraph or five discussing the race and their history on Abeir-Toril. -The most damning thing about Races of Faerûn, however, is it’s content. To but it bluntly, it is blatantly wrong in many places. First up, I’ll mention the split of ‘Green Elves’ into “Wild” Elves and Wood Elves. Most of you already know my position on this, so I won’t get into it in much detail. Another error- the claim that the Sun Elves were the least numerous of the initial Sun-Moon-Dark Elven settlers on Faerûn. That’s a no-go, as Sharlario Moonflower was the only Moon Elf present. The Elven High Mage PrC being very strained and lore-free, despite being (I feel) a very iconic status of the Forgotten Realms…. -I’ll be fair, it wasn’t all bad. The problem is, the bad overshadowed the good. Overall, out of a possible Five Beholders, I give Races of Faerûn Two Beholders and a Chicken.
#2 Zireael Dec 23, 2008 7:38:38	You can't refer to Sharlario. It's novel, not canon. And the split between Wood and Wild Elves has been mentioned earlier, it's not RoF only. And I can't say the EHM is bad. On the contrary.
#3 lord_karsus Dec 23, 2008 7:49:09	You can't refer to Sharlario. It's novel, not canon. -Sharlario Moonflower is very canon. And the split between Wood and Wild Elves has been mentioned earlier, it's not RoF only. -And Races of Faerûn perpetuated it. Accessories to the crime are still accessories, and as such, can be punished if found guilty. And I can't say the EHM is bad. On the contrary. -We'll have to disagree, then. The Elven High Mage presented in RoF is horribly disgusting. It makes no mentions anywhere of preestablished themes and abilities created for the Elven High Mage in Cormanthyr: Empire of the Elves, and subsequent novels, and reads more or less as an Epic Wizard with a couple of difficulty-lowering class abilities, with the use of the term Mythal- without the actual ability having anything to do with Mythals whatsoever.
#4 kelcimer Dec 23, 2008 9:07:12	Several times I had players interested in the idea of the Genasi. They'd read over Races of Faerun and had the interest knocked right out of them. Each Genasi entry read like the next. Stat wise they're little different then humans and less useful. The idea of Genasi is cool, but their execution in the Realms was lacking.
#5 Stigger Dec 23, 2008 11:32:13	Its a retcon LK, get over it already. Just think of the novel as elven propaganda, considering its source from a human bard's perspective, tainted from the beginning by the poor human mind's limited ability to communicate compared to their superior elven neighbors, and live with it. :P Though I agree, the EHM was very lacking for the things written about them previously. Extremely uncompelling. Oh, and Zireael, keep in mind that the novels are supposed to be considered canon, officially, so... ;)
#6 rinonalyrna_fathomlin Dec 23, 2008 12:52:20	Oh, and Zireael, keep in mind that the novels are supposed to be considered canon, officially, so... ;) I was just about to say the same thing. Thanks for the review, LK.
#7 markustay_dup Dec 23, 2008 14:34:35	Probably one of the worst 3e books, IMHO. I think I've only referenced it twice... so glad I didn't pay for it... Its filled with inconsistencies and errors - I cannot abide poor research. I wouldn't even consider half of it canon (at least not in any game I'd run).
#8 lord_karsus Dec 23, 2008 15:40:18	-I brought it downstairs after Gray mentioned that it was a useful resource for him, when researching the Tuigan. I'll just say, I disagree. It could have been, though. A flow chart of ethnicity and such, for Humans, would have raised the score of this sourcebook quite a bit. Same thing with language, an updated and broader one from the one in The Horde.
#9 fabius_maximus Dec 24, 2008 13:34:56	Well, I like it. It's certainly not the best book out there, but useful nonetheless. I don't mind the split of Wood and Wild Elves, and the minor inconsitencies in fluff are so minor I don't notice them.
#10 lord_karsus Dec 29, 2008 10:25:38	-As an alternative to the section on races in the FRCS, it's exponentially better.