Could you be a bit more specific. Area? Backgrounds?Oh wait. You meant as in Faerun itself. Silly me. Ah, okay. Well, let's see:
- Spellplague energy still lingers in areas scattered throughout the continent, and usually warps whatever it touches.
- The Weave is gone.
- The genasi realm of Akanul is originally from the Abeiran land of Shyr.
- Szass Tam is the necromancer master of Thay and is one of the mightiest spellcasters around.
- Even the gods themselves were devastated during the Wailing Years (deicides, revelations, etc.). Though your players shouldn't know the specifics of each of these, just that such types of events supposedly occurred
- Netheril has returned and is regaining its might. It, along with Thay and Mulmaster are bastions of tyranny and oppression.
- Cormyr, Waterdeep, Silverymoon, and Baldur's Gate are bastions of good (or at least, freedom and liberty).
- The elves have begun to re-establish themselves in Faerun (Myth Drannor).
Something like that? I'm not sure if these would still be known to everyone in Faerun, though. Someone in Estagund isn't likely to hear about Silverymoon. Sorry I can't be a bigger help, though I'll add more as I think of them.
The book covers the 27 regions that adventurers are most likely to come from or journey to--from Aglarond to Waterdeep. Within each section you are given the Common Knowledge about the region, it's important features/sites, and its people. You are also given several examples of the typical backgrounds and motivations for characters that would come from those regions, as well as their regional benefit.
A character from a given region begins play knowing everything contained in the Player's Guide section about their home region. Additional information (from the Campaign Guide or the lore you create) is acquired from Knowledge or Streetwise skill checks, progression of the story, or whatever information the DM sees fit to add in or present to the PCs. Also, because the regional information in the book is considered "Common Knowledge" then any character can still learn it with a DC 10 check using one or more appropriate skills (typically History or Streetwise), even if it is not the lore of their homeland.
The tome also contains a brief overview almanac of other general knowledge, such as the Greater Gods of the pantheon, the Calendar of Harptos, the Roll of the Years, Languages, and other mundane concerns like Commerce, Families, Social Class, Adventurers, Learning, etc.
Unlike previous editions of the game, the 4E Forgotten Realms clearly separates and defines what is PC Knowledge and what is DM Knowledge. The former is given out in the Player's Guide, while the latter is covered in the Campaign Guide. In the case of the Campaign Guide, the lore is usually linked to a Knowledge or Streetwise skill check DC built in for discovering it, or the text contains a story element for a possible adventure that could lead the PCs to discovering the truth in the course of the campaign.
Perhaps I stop procrastinating and buy that, then.:P In my group, each member buys a book (I already bought the FRCG), but the only other books I really read were the DMG and the PHB. Then there was a last minute switch, and my friend volunteered to DM since she wasn't inspired enough to create a character concept to her liking at the time. So perhaps I should allocate thirty bucks next time I'm at Borders...
Im starting a group and plan on giving them a sheet that gives them general common knowledge that all should know, and each individual sheets that tells them what they know due to their origin. Any Ideas?
-Obviously, there's no clear-cut answer, being as that what an individual knows differs based on location, intelligence, race, social class, background, outlook, likes/dislikes, etc. That's kind of like asking what kinds of general things Americans know, based on the fact that they're Americans.
-What, specifically, are the characters (race/class/background/origins/whatever else), to get a better idea of stuff they might know?
...Then there was a last minute switch, and my friend volunteered to DM since she wasn't inspired enough to create a character concept to her liking at the time.
So....
Due to a complete lack of creativity on her part, you guys opted to make her DM?
Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay...
"Listen, guys... I can't really come up with a single idea for unique person, so can you let me play the other five billion folks living on the planet?"
So....
Due to a complete lack of creativity on her part, you guys opted to make her DM?
Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay...
"Listen, guys... I can't really come up with a single idea for unique person, so can you let me play the other five billion folks living on the planet?"
You misunderstand (horribly so). She's been DMing for years; we've alternated between serving as DM in our decade-plus of gaming (one is the DM, the other a player with the others). She's very experienced and is a masterful DM. However, for our first 4E campaign, I was originally lined up as DM. Everyone was creating their characters, but she just didn't feel inspired (not due to a lack of creativity); she wanted a character the likes of which she had never played before (this was when we just had the PHB 1). She went through 11 (I believe) potential concepts but couldn't find one that she fell in love with, so she volunteered to switch with me. She's a very passionate roleplayer, and really needs a concept she can connect with; this is the first time something like this has ever happened in our group.
If you're still having trouble, here's the exact same scenario in someone else's shoes: Elaine Cunningham was expected to write Reclamation; everyone expected her to write it. However, Elaine couldn't find her muse; not because she didn't have creative ideas, but because those ideas weren't to her personal satisfaction. So, she decided to bag Reclamation; however, to still benefit the gaming community, she agreed to write for Pathfinder, so as to put her skills as a loremaker into use. She has great creativity and talent as both an author and a lorecrafter; because she found herself unable to meet her own standards with the former, she decided to put her latter talent to use instead. The same thing goes for my friend as a player and as DM.