The status of the Forgotten Realms world?

[Gruzzle]

So I'm getting ready to begin my first 5e game (June 6th!), and our DM just let us know that after Mines of Phandelver she is probably going to segue in to Princes of the Apocalypse. I'm pumped but I have a problem. I've looked up the "Player's Companion" for EE, but was really underwhelmed. I was hoping to get a supplement that would tell me about local towns, political climate, etc. that I am used to finding in a player's guide to a campaign. I wanted to use this to really flesh out my character's background, pick out a city I could've grown up in, a nation I might be employed by (Spy background), etc. So my question is this, does anyone know of a supplement, website, or article which might contain this kind of info, WITH NO CAMPAIGN SPOILERS, please? Even a regional map would be a good start?

[DanyBallon]

There's always the Forgotten Realms wikia (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page)

I hope this can help :smallsmile:

[Ninja_Prawn]

I'll second the Wikia. It's a very useful resource, although it is a little thin in some areas.

If you or anyone you know are thinking about making a cleric, I've made matrices of the Gods (https://www.dropbox.com/s/sagslmas4k6bpgs/God%20Matrix.xlsx?dl=0) and Holidays (https://www.dropbox.com/s/89mor7r9rj7zh98/Holiday%20Matrix.xlsx?dl=0)* of the FR. All the information was pulled from the Wikia, but these are handily searchable!

* Edit: the ones at the bottom where there is no holiday name are entries for Gods that don't have any official holidays. See, originally it was all one big Religion Matrix, before I split the Gods off into their own document.

[Madfellow]

There's always the Forgotten Realms wikia (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page)

I hope this can help :smallsmile:

To be more specific, all of the adventures for 5th so far have taken place here:

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Sword_Coast_North

[Ninja_Prawn]

To be more specific, all of the adventures for 5th so far have taken place here:

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Sword_Coast_North

This makes me sad. There's so much diversity in Faerûn, what with the Chondathans, the people from Calimshan, Turami, Mulan, Shou... yet they set everything in the Northern Sword Coast, where all the European folks live. Such a missed opportunity.

[DanyBallon]

This makes me sad. There's so much diversity in Faerûn, what with the Chondathans, the people from Calimshan, Turami, Mulan, Shou... yet they set everything in the Northern Sword Coast, where all the European folks live. Such a missed opportunity.

On the other side, for some, myself include, placing everything in the north sword coast, is just perfect. I can grab the maps, names and drop the whole area in my homebrew without much difficulty :smallsmile:

[wrath]

The wikia link is OK. I like Candlekeep (http://www.candlekeep.com/) better, and the most authoritative (outside of WotC) would be Realms Secretariat (http://realmssecretariat.com/), Ed Greenwood's history of his world.

[Ninja_Prawn]

On the other side, for some, myself include, placing everything in the north sword coast, is just perfect. I can grab the maps, names and drop the whole area in my homebrew without much difficulty :smallsmile:

Yeah, that's probably why they do it.

For me, I like having some license to make my own part of the world... fill in gaps on the map and so on. I'm working on a campaign set in the Shilmista right now. I know it's technically part of Amn, which is technically part of the Sword Coast, but it's a world apart from Waterdeep and Neverwinter.

[Chaosvii7]

This makes me sad. There's so much diversity in Faerûn, what with the Chondathans, the people from Calimshan, Turami, Mulan, Shou... yet they set everything in the Northern Sword Coast, where all the European folks live. Such a missed opportunity.

I think that as storylines continue and they make more and more adventures we'll begin to see people from other regions come to the Sword Coast. As it is, you aren't wholly restricted to the Sword Coast in the adventures: Rise of Tiamat makes you travel to both Icewind Dale and Thay over the course of the adventure. The Thayans play a large part in the subplot of Tyrrany of Dragons. I wouldn't be surprised that later adventures feature travel between places, or an influx of people coming to the Sword Coast for some reason. It doesn't even really have to be all at once: They can be an NPC in one adventure and perhaps their travels can be fuel for a reason to eventually journey to the character's homeland in a later adventure or part of the adventure.

[DanyBallon]

Yeah, that's probably why they do it.

For me, I like having some license to make my own part of the world... fill in gaps on the map and so on. I'm working on a campaign set in the Shilmista right now. I know it's technically part of Amn, which is technically part of the Sword Coast, but it's a world apart from Waterdeep and Neverwinter.

I think the major incentive to stay close to the sword coast is their NWN online, which is a big part of their new marketing strategy for adventure theme.

[Safety Sword]

What 5E Faerun is missing is a good book like "Mysteries of the Moonsea" was for 3.5E.

A book that describes the major places and peoples, throws a few adventure hooks in there for good measure and then gets the hell out of the way so DMs can make some proper adventures.

I suppose you could rewind the timeline... that's basically what one of my groups does because they like the Godswar in the background.

Edit: I would actually like some more details about the less known areas... Amn in particular is a fascinating place to adventure because they have all sorts of rules that are "non-standard" when it comes to magic and such. It could make a great backdrop for a political type campaign.

[Celcey]

I think at the moment, there really aren't any 5e world guides out yet. Your best bet is looking at older stuff or the stuff online. The actual stories of the place, the geography, what the towns are like, probably won't change very much, even if the mechanics will.

[DanyBallon]

A few months ago, Chris Perkins posted on tweeter a picture of his desk with the Greyhawk gazeteer sitting next to his computer. Maybe he's working of something similar for FR. Which would be an interesting product as it will provide a quick background of the Realms, and lot of plot hook, without giving too much information as a Campaign setting would.

Edit: Here's (https://twitter.com/chrisperkinsdnd/status/520385395323060224) a link to the refered twitter post

[GungHo]

This makes me sad. There's so much diversity in Faerûn, what with the Chondathans, the people from Calimshan, Turami, Mulan, Shou... yet they set everything in the Northern Sword Coast, where all the European folks live. Such a missed opportunity.

The focus on the Sword Coast is understandable. The video games are there. A lot of the novels are there. It's easy to sell to the marketing people. A couple of decades ago, it was all about the Moonsea and the Dalelands until the Avatar trilogy literally walked us over to the Sword Coast. Maybe they'll walk it back or take it somewhere else eventually. In the meantime, there's more than enough supplements for people to get an idea of what to run with in other places if they're not full self-starters.

[Rallicus]

A few months ago, Chris Perkins posted on tweeter a picture of his desk with the Greyhawk gazeteer sitting next to his computer.

Was this ever explained?

I'd much rather they leave greyhawk alone, part of the appeal for that setting is the fact that it's not a hot mess that changes every edition like FR.

[DanyBallon]

Was this ever explained?

I'd much rather they leave greyhawk alone, part of the appeal for that setting is the fact that it's not a hot mess that changes every edition like FR.

Nope! It was a big tease that brought a lot of speculation on a possible Greyhawk product. But I'm more incline to think it's about a similar product for FR which would make sense, as it would bring setting information for new players, without the commitment from staff as a campaign setting book would require and will also be more open ended to fit into anyone's game.

[Mindtour]

A bit off-topic, but still...

I played the Neverwinter MMO for about a year after it released and I dared to hang out with the "roleplayers" in-game.

If you go by their standards, every person in the Realms is either a Tiefling, a drunk, or a lesbian. Or a combination thereof. :smalltongue:

[Clistenes]

A bit off-topic, but still...

I played the Neverwinter MMO for about a year after it released and I dared to hang out with the "roleplayers" in-game.

If you go by their standards, every person in the Realms is either a Tiefling, a drunk, or a lesbian. Or a combination thereof. :smalltongue:

Well, if the PCs are all planars that explains why they are so weird. And the drunk and lesbian thing is the reason they go to Faerun in first place: To steal the Faerunians' booze and women! :smalltongue:

[Steampunkette]

My sober bisexual half elf thief finds your generalization inaccurate!!!

:P

[Mindtour]

My sober bisexual half elf thief finds your generalization inaccurate!!!

:P

D:<

Seriously though, is there any talk of a Forgotten Realms campaign book in the works or announced? It's been my favorite setting for years and I'm undying to know what Szass Tam has been up to.

[Gruzzle]

Realized I never actually posted a thank you, so to everyone who posted resources, thank you!

My Spy's background advanced perfectly after discovering how close Waterdeep was to our starting point (we're being hired in Neverwinter) so I'm a lackey in the underground network for one of the Lords of Waterdeep. I was sent to Neverwinter where I did some minor intel gathering work (as well as one very exciting jail break job) for the past couple years. Suddenly, just yestyerday an emergency message arrives via (not inexpensive) magical means from high up my chain of command telling me to infiltrate a wagon train a dwarf is putting together. Apparently the guy has been trying to keep quiet about a big find, and my Lord is very interested to know exactly what it is, and is sparing no expense to ensure I make it into his first supply train out to some secret locale. An opportunity like this isn't to be missed, as a promotion could be in my future, or at least a fat bonus! So begins the story of Pierce, a simple Spy (and eventually Assassin?) of Waterdeep!

Thanks again guys! My DM says thanks too!

[Ninja_Prawn]

D:<

Seriously though, is there any talk of a Forgotten Realms campaign book in the works or announced? It's been my favorite setting for years and I'm undying to know what Szass Tam has been up to.

Ha-hah! I see what you did there! *slaps thigh theatrically*

Seriously though, I'm totally obliged to include a drunken lesbian Tiefling in my WiP campaign now, aren't I? It's kind of awkward, though. Two of the main antagonists are Tiefling women, but both are canonically straight... I guess Vendetta could have an embarrassing great aunt... actually, yeah. I can make that work. I haven't given her grandmother any siblings yet. Plus she'd be just the right age...

[GungHo]

D:<

Seriously though, is there any talk of a Forgotten Realms campaign book in the works or announced?
There is no public talk.

[Gruzzle]

So two of my group are making Dragonborn, and I was asked by one of them (the paladin) to see where he might have grown up nearby. We are running the Phandelver adventure out of the beginners box with an eventual transition to one of the two published campaigns (DM hasn't decided which yet and/or doesn't want to tell us), so I googled Dragonborn in Forgotten Realms and ended up at the article I've linked below. The basic gist of the Dragonborn section of the article is that they don't actually exist in 5e based on timeline of events. I haven't shared this with any of my fellow gamers (or our DM) yet and am kinda at a loss as to what to tell the other two players? Our DM likes background info including where we grew up, so this kind of thing is notably important. Help!

http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/2014/08/on-forgotten-realms-in-5th-edition.html

P.S. if Wizards knows this, as they are the source of this info, why the hell would they include the race in the core book? (he asks, knowing that the answer is they didn't really think it through this far)

[Madfellow]

The basic gist of the Dragonborn section of the article is that they don't actually exist in 5e based on timeline of events.

The article is wrong.

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Dragonborn

Edit: Correction. He's not wrong, he just explicitly said he's not allowing dragonborn or tieflings in his own personal campaign at home. Dragonborn in Toril come from another plane called Abeir that collided with Toril during 4th Edition.

[Gruzzle]

Certainly the author of the article admits his dislike for Dragonborn, so him disallowing them in his own campaign is to be expected, but pointing out that Abeir is no longer around in 5e makes it hard to justify Dragonborn as a standard race in 5e. So where might Dragonborn still have a community in 5e Forgotten Realms? Perhaps those that didn't get taken back with Abeir's separation might have formed a city to call home? Does that kind of place already exist or are they putting the onus on individual DMs?

[Steampunkette]

Unther.

A lot of the dragonborn were transported to Unther where they are rebuilding their lives and society.