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JEntropy
2010-05-21, 10:00 AM
Finally found a local game to get into: the setting is Forgotten Realms/Faerun, starting in the Dalelands, 3.5e D&D

I've been playing D&D for years, but my old gaming buddies always used homebrewed campaign settings, so I am almost entirely ignorant about this setting.

So, realizing that there is a LOT of FR literature, and that I have about a week to digest as much as I can, I'm hoping you guys can help me with the following:

- Understanding the basics
- Pointing me out to any official resources that you think would be most beneficial for me to read.

The DM mentioned that there are a number of novels written in this setting, but I doubt I'd have time to get through many before we get to character generation. Still, if there is one iconic one I'd be open to looking that up as well.

In the meantime, I'm going to see what google/wikipedia can teach me. Thanks for the help!

Optimystik
2010-05-21, 10:29 AM
Here you go (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/)

Have you gotten any of the books? Player's Guide to Faerun is 3.5 and has a lot of setting info.

AslanCross
2010-05-21, 10:30 AM
Forgotten Realms is basically an anything-goes setting that manages to remain mostly traditional (in that it does not have specific flavor or tone elements like Eberron or even Dragonlance does). The only elements it has that I think are pervasive are the Weave (how magic flows in the setting) and the pantheon (which has a LOT of gods).

The most iconic books are the Drizzt series, which is very long. The first one I read is The Crystal Shard, though it's not the first.

Yora
2010-05-21, 10:42 AM
If you start Dalelands at 1st level, there isn't really that much you really have to know beforehand. If you know what Dale you start in, you can get some basic information about it here (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Dalelands)
You should look up the Harpers (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Harpers) and the Zhentarim (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Zhentarim) to get a basic idea of the regions two most important power groups. And it might also be helpful to know a thing or two about the deities commonly worshiped in the area. The setting has more than a hundred gods, but for a character coming from the dales, I guess you don't have to be familiar with more than six to ten of them. (I'd advice to look up Chauntea (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Chauntea), Lathander (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Lathander), Selūne (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Selune), Helm (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Helm), and Tempus (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Tempus) for the good and neutral guys, and Bane (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Bane), Cyric (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Cyric), and Shar (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Shar) as the major evil gods. If your character knows who these are, it should be enough.)

JEntropy
2010-05-21, 10:50 AM
If you start Dalelands at 1st level, there isn't really that much you really have to know beforehand. If you know what Dale you start in, you can get some basic information about it here (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Dalelands)
You should look up the Harpers (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Harpers) and the Zhentarim (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Zhentarim) to get a basic idea of the regions two most important power groups. And it might also be helpful to know a thing or two about the deities commonly worshiped in the area. The setting has more than a hundred gods, but for a character coming from the dales, I guess you don't have to be familiar with more than six to ten of them. (I'd advice to look up Chauntea (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Chauntea), Lathander (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Lathander), Selūne (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Selune), Helm (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Helm), and Tempus (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Tempus) for the good and neutral guys, and Bane (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Bane), Cyric (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Cyric), and Shar (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Shar) as the major evil gods. If your character knows who these are, it should be enough.)

FWIW, starting level will be 7-9, depending on how many people we have in the game.

Zeta Kai
2010-05-21, 11:05 AM
In brief, FR is a setting in which every god is a meddling busybody who is vying for power/balance/both, every culture is a copy of one in the real word with its serial numbers filed off, every evil NPC is 10 levels higher than you, & every good NPC is 20 levels higher than you.

Not that this is a bad thing, necessarily...

hamishspence
2010-05-21, 11:14 AM
The most iconic books are the Drizzt series, which is very long. The first one I read is The Crystal Shard, though it's not the first.

It was the first Drizzt book written by that author though. The Dark Elf trilogy, while set before The Crystal Shard, are prequels.

The Crystal Shard is also one of the earliest Realms books to be published- I think the main group of early Realms books were:

Darkwalker on Moonshae (later sequels were Black Wizards and Darkwell)

Azure Bonds (later sequels were The Wyvern's Spur and Song of the Saurials)

Spellfire (later sequels were Crown of Fire and Hand of Fire)

The Crystal Shard (had many later sequels and prequels)

Saintheart
2010-05-21, 11:23 AM
Don't forget Shadowdale, Tantras and Waterdeep, which more or less chronicled 2nd edition's version of the Spellplague. :smallbiggrin:

And even they had lots of sequels as well.

I also recommend, as an old-ish one I've got a soft spot for because it was my first FR novel (that I read, not that I wrote ;) ) Pool of Radiance.

Yora
2010-05-21, 11:24 AM
Crystal Shard and the following novels are quite good.

But really stay away from Spellfire. I've read a lot of novels in my life, many good, some bad. But nothing I've ever read even came closely to how bad Spellfire is.

hamlet
2010-05-21, 11:42 AM
Don't forget Shadowdale, Tantras and Waterdeep, which more or less chronicled 2nd edition's version of the Spellplague. :smallbiggrin:


The events in these novels never took place.

So there.

Escheton
2010-05-21, 11:43 AM
The ability however, is awesome

gbprime
2010-05-21, 11:58 AM
But really stay away from Spellfire. I've read a lot of novels in my life, many good, some bad. But nothing I've ever read even came closely to how bad Spellfire is.

I also recommend staying away from RA Salvatore's works. The man is a hack. :smallyuk:

Yora
2010-05-21, 12:07 PM
I also recommend staying away from RA Salvatore's works. The man is a hack. :smallyuk:

The later ones are "not so good", but the older ones are much better. Icewind Dale and Dark Elves are okay, and I so much liked Cadderly. ^^

onthetown
2010-05-21, 12:12 PM
Since you're starting in the Dalelands... Elminster. He lives in Shadowdale and he is quite capable of killing you, though I believe he's generally good. Either way, your character would know that he's one of the most powerful wizards around.

Storm Silverhand is one of the Seven Sisters (basically a bunch of Chosen of Mystra, the goddess of magic) and she's also a Harper, an organization of... I guess sort of like Robin Hood? They run around and get information and protect things. They're good, too.

That's all I know about the Dalelands off the top of my head. The best suggestions have already been made for reading material.

The Glyphstone
2010-05-21, 01:34 PM
The later ones are "not so good", but the older ones are much better. Icewind Dale and Dark Elves are okay, and I so much liked Cadderly. ^^

Yeah, Salvatore's writing quality is fairly decent in his early works. It drops exponentially and proportionately with how popular he gets though, and how many books he writes.

hamishspence
2010-05-21, 01:40 PM
This may also apply to Ed Greenward. I found Spellfire and Crown of Fire passable though not great, but was a bit underwhelmed with Hand of Fire.

Optimystik
2010-05-21, 03:51 PM
The later ones are "not so good", but the older ones are much better. Icewind Dale and Dark Elves are okay, and I so much liked Cadderly. ^^

Have to agree - Cleric Quintet were my favorite D&D novels of all time.

I haven't read Salvatore since, so my opinion of the man hasn't soured as much as some :smalltongue:

...I have, however, subjected myself to Ed Greenwood and his magical Marty Stu masterpiece. :smallyuk:

hamishspence
2010-05-21, 03:59 PM
Hmm- maybe Ed Greenwood books are better when Elminster is a fairly minor figure- rather than the main character?

Greenish
2010-05-21, 04:17 PM
Since you're starting in the Dalelands... Elminster. He lives in Shadowdale and he is quite capable of killing you, though I believe he's generally good. Either way, your character would know that he's one of the most powerful wizards around.He's also legendary for having many pipes, unless I'm confusing him with someone.

Storm Silverhand is one of the Seven Sisters (basically a bunch of Chosen of Mystra, the goddess of magic) and she's also a Harper, an organization of... I guess sort of like Robin Hood? They run around and get information and protect things. They're good, too.Aren't Harpers almost zealously neutral? That's the image I got from some of Cunningham's books.

hamishspence
2010-05-21, 04:25 PM
Which ones? I can't recall anything especially Neutral about the Harpers in Elfshadow or Elfsong. Maybe the term "the Balance" might have been used, but in general the Harpers seemed focused on thwarting the plans of the evil, and protecting people.

There are plenty of Good-aligned Harpers, but some, like Khelben Arunsun, were neutral.

Greenish
2010-05-21, 04:27 PM
Which ones? I can't recall anything especially Neutral about the Harpers in Elfshadow or Elfsong. Maybe the term "the Balance" might have been used, but in general the Harpers seemed focused on thwarting the plans of the evil, and protecting people.

There are plenty of Good-aligned Harpers, but some, like Khelben Arunsun, were neutral.Well, they were dedicated on maintaining the balance of good and evil, and stopping either side from getting too strong. I might just remember wrong, though.

hamishspence
2010-05-21, 04:42 PM
The Harper code does mention balnce- but not between good and evil:


Harpers work against villainy and wickedness wherever they find it, but they work ever mindful of the consequences of what they do.

All beings should walk free of fear, with the right to live their lives as they wish.

The rule of law aids peace and fosters freedom, so long as the laws are just and those who enforce them lenient and understanding.

No extreme is good. For freedom to flourish, all must be in balance: the powers of realms, the reaches of the cities and the wilderlands into each other, and the influence of one being over another.

Whatever it takes, a Harper will do. Pride never rules the deeds of a true Harper.

Freedom is a multiversal right, though Harpers can spare themselves less freedom than those they work to protect when the need presents itself.

Harpers police their own. A Harper who hears the call of personal power can no longer hear the sweet song of the harp. A Harper who seizes power, and holds it above all else, is a traitor to the harp. Traitors must die for freedom to live.

Without a past, no being can appreciate what they have, and where they may be going.

I'm guessing the Realms Wiki got it from the Code of the Harpers splatbook.

Zeta Kai
2010-05-21, 04:42 PM
Just remember, since you're in the Dales, you can do whatever you want without consequences. The local NPCs are so powerful that none of your actions will matter anyway. Come back in about 10 levels & they might even notice you. :smallamused: