Crossroads and Backroads in Faerûn

[Palanan]

When I first started playing 3.5, we used the Forgotten Realms exclusively, and one of my favorite aspects of the setting was the crossroads and backroads as sketched out in Magic of Faerûn.

Unfortunately our DM never incorporated that concept into his campaign, and I can’t recall ever seeing it mentioned here in the Playground. Has anyone actually used crossroads and backroads, either as a player or a DM? And why is it they don’t see much use?

[Malphegor]

I think my DM has inadvertently added them to his game without realising it’s a thing. The fey and druids seem to travel freely across the big woods in the middle of our continent, but I’m pretty sure he’s mentioned a few times now that space is not wholly linear and that there are hidden ways, often guarded, across even the bleakest of lands.

It’s kind of a simple enough concept that a lot of games probably have t without ever picking up MoF, as it kinda mainly turns the druid ability to travel through difficult terrain easier and makes it into a feature of the world.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Malphegor
The fey and druids seem to travel freely across the big woods in the middle of our continent, but I’m pretty sure he’s mentioned a few times now that space is not wholly linear and that there are hidden ways, often guarded, across even the bleakest of lands.

This sounds exactly like the crossroads, especially the part about guardians.

I mainly played druids in 3.5, so the whole idea of druidic hyperspace routes really appealed to me. Sadly, I've never had a DM pick up the notion.

[ekarney]

Personally I run them a lot, however most of my campaigns have never really had need of them, often just taking place in a single nation., that and my players often aren't geared up to use them.

That being said I'm starting a new campaign with a larger scope soon so I'm going to make sure to tell my players of their existence in session 0.

MoF has a lot of really neat stuff, from Crossroads and Backroads, to the Platinum weapon materials to all the nice lore content in it.