Starting an epic 'Pan-Faerunian Adventure' campaign. Where should I start?

[Rhocian Xothara]

So I found a very useful, high-res map of Faerun that has every major town, city and POI marked on it, and is even colour-coded into different 'regions' and hexmapped with 40-mile hexes. It's not the most accurate map - it's a 3e map that has been 'updated' for 5e, so there are inconsistencies (for example, whilst Tymanther is now a part of Faerun, Chult is depicted as still being a part of the peninsula. But personally, I prefer this so it works for me). A big sticking point for me is that as large a continent as Faerun is, the 'Sword Coast' gets played to death whilst large parts of Faerun never sees any table time whatsoever.

I've had a zero-session with the group and whilst I initially thought it'd be a good idea to start the group in somewhere like Waterdeep or Baldur's Gate and then introduce plot hooks to drag them away from the Sword Coast, it'd be better to ask the group where they'd like to start.

Their answer was to surprise them: Give them no indication of where they are starting until the first session. And that's all great and all, but now I have the knotty problem of making that decision for them.

I'm tempted to choose a central area: Somewhere in Sembia for example, or Chessenta. Tymanther's a personal favourite region of mine just because of the sheer amount of lore surrounding it and its conflict with Unther. A central location means that if they latch onto a plot hook that takes them to another part of Faerun, they're a fairly even distance away from everywhere else.

I'm pretty well-read on the lore and I'm a self-styled 'lore nerd', so running something like this is absolutely my jam, and for all the hate that the 'Forgotten Realms' get from Grognards it's nice to play in a setting that has 40 years of lore to fall back on. But I'm also aware that there are a lot of people who have been playing this game for a lot longer than I have, so I want to ask: If you could start anywhere in Faerun - either as a player in my game or as a DM running this as a concept - where would you want to start, and why?

Many thanks in advance.

[Warder]

I really like the Silver Marches. Silverymoon is a great base for adventures, and the surrounding area is wild and dangerous. That having been said though, I probably wouldn't start an adventure in Silverymoon, I'd opt for something smaller so the magic and majesty of Silverymoon becomes more impressive in contrast.

[Rhocian Xothara]

I really like the Silver Marches. Silverymoon is a great base for adventures, and the surrounding area is wild and dangerous. That having been said though, I probably wouldn't start an adventure in Silverymoon, I'd opt for something smaller so the magic and majesty of Silverymoon becomes more impressive in contrast.

Yeah, the adventurers are starting out as 1st level.

Part of the reason, I think, that the Sword Coast is so popular is that a lot of it is balanced towards lower-level encounters and interactions. It's a relatively "safe" area compared to somewhere like Chult or the Undermountain.

Saying that, the players know that I will not be level-scaling the encounters. They're all experienced enough players to make a judgment call if tasked with something that is unassailable for them at this moment in time. So in that sense I've no problem starting them somewhere difficult, so long as there are also low-level options there, too.

Saying that, I'm the DM: I can adjust encounters as I see fit. Environmental hazards though is somewhat more difficult without setting precedents on life in that part of the continent.

[Warder]

Alright, I think I'll amend my answer and give you a proper reply: I'd probably pick Cormyr! It's a very detailed nation with a familiar feel to get started in, but its location makes striking out into pretty much any direction accessible. The way Cormyr approaches adventurers is also a natural first step on the way, in that you have to be licensed (and probably need a sponsor to afford said license). And it's right on the border of Sembia, like you mentioned early on.

[Tanarii]

Depends on how much your players know about FR.

Not a lot = The Dalelands. They're generally safe enough for level 1 adventurers, in fact famous for it. And Dale-landers are backwoods kinda folks in a lot of ways. Instead of the normal exploring an expanding circle of dangerous areas until the get into fight with the Zhents and go into Myth Dranmor, run some minor troubles with humanoids before then, then figure out a big plot hook to get them on the road to Sembia.

Tons = start in a major city with a sailing port. If you want them to explore the inner sea first make in in Cormyr or Sembia, if you want them to go south into the lands of intrigue start them in baldurs gate. Run something against the thieves guilds to start for level 1-2, then they screw up, make some big enemies, and have to run for it. The first boat out of town goes wherever you want ... or to a country of their choice.

[Zhorn]

Another vote for Cormyr, or maybe even Turmish with Cormyr as the starting plot hook destination to launch the campaign from.
Centre of the map is always a good choice because you have enough distance rendered in every direction to give it that true sandbox feeling. As much as I like the Sword Coast as a starting region, that big swarth of ocean to the west does feel a little limiting. There's always the option to go for ships early on, but the cost of failure tends towards TPKs out at sea, where as inland there is slavery, imprisonment, or just being robbed and left to the side of the road after loosing an early level encounter.

[Trask]

I wouldn't start with the sword coast for various reasons, and I'd echo what the posters above me have said. Cormyr or the Dalelands, or maybe the Dalelands into Cormyr. The Dalelands are sort of like "The Shire" of Faerun. A bunch of honest, rustic folk and surrounding spooky woods and ancient castles and such. But not so mundane that you cant have wandering wizards walking about and knights on holy quests. Its also the neighbor of more fantastical places, the aforementioned Cormyr, elves, the Sea of Fallen Stars is a highway to a bunch of interesting places, and of course theres also the little explored lands of the East, Thesk and such. The Dalelands are very centrally located and should let the players go almost anywhere else after.

Its a very nice starter place, and has the sort of feel that after an epic pan-faerunian adventure the heroes will look back on it fondly and nostalgically, especially if you play up the Shire aspect.

[Tanarii]

Its a very nice starter place, and has the sort of feel that after an epic pan-faerunian adventure the heroes will look back on it fondly and nostalgically, especially if you play up the Shire aspect.
Classically especially in FR, when they're done they return home and retire, protecting it from the worst Dale-ending threats. While letting budding adventurers handle the little stuff of course.

[Rhocian Xothara]

Ahh, I knew I could count on this group for good ideas! Thank you!


The way Cormyr approaches adventurers is also a natural first step on the way, in that you have to be licensed (and probably need a sponsor to afford said license). And it's right on the border of Sembia, like you mentioned early on.

Yep, and it satisfies my idea of starting in a central location. A lot of modules from older editions were set in Cormyr, too, and I absolutely love the lore regarding licences because that's a ton of immediate 'plot hook' opportunities right out of the gate, in terms of getting sponsors and/or endorsements from local Nobles.


Depends on how much your players know about FR.

Not a lot = The Dalelands. They're generally safe enough for level 1 adventurers, in fact famous for it. And Dale-landers are backwoods kinda folks in a lot of ways. Instead of the normal exploring an expanding circle of dangerous areas until the get into fight with the Zhents and go into Myth Dranmor, run some minor troubles with humanoids before then, then figure out a big plot hook to get them on the road to Sembia.

Tons = start in a major city with a sailing port. If you want them to explore the inner sea first make in in Cormyr or Sembia, if you want them to go south into the lands of intrigue start them in baldurs gate. Run something against the thieves guilds to start for level 1-2, then they screw up, make some big enemies, and have to run for it. The first boat out of town goes wherever you want ... or to a country of their choice.

One of my players is a guy in his 50s who has been playing the game since AD&D. He knows absolutely tons. Another player is much younger but is a bit of a lore nerd like me, and the other two are experienced enough players to know what they are doing in any given game, but aren't so hot on the lore.

We had a zero session last night and I did warn them that whilst they can of course look up the lore of Faerun to help with character creation, backstories etc, I may change some bits so don't rely on everything. It's to pre-empt anyone trying to backseat-DM me on certain lore points. "Yes, I know Elturel was dragged into Avernus in 1490DR, but if you mouth off about that people will think you're crazy because it never happened in *this* setting...".

I do love the idea of starting in the Dalelands, for reasons others have already stated. It's a gateway into Cormyr if the party wishes to enter (and I can run a whole thing about getting licenced to work as adventurers/mercs there). There's Sembia south of it if people want somewhere more coastal, or if they *just* want to sail south, there's a port in Scardale that'll have ships crossing the Sea of Fallen Stars.

Incidentally, I'm also going to have Guilds/Factions, with certain rewards and privileges for doing so. For example, every Capital City is going to have a "Journey Circle" (read: Teleportation Circle) protected by the Mages Guild of each area, and getting in the good graces of the Mages Guilds will give them access to the Journey Circles, essentially unlocking "Fast-Travel" - useful in a continent that is 10,480 miles wide according to my hexmap.

[Glorthindel]

When I was considering a similar campaign I was going to use Scardale as the initial location; Dalelands, but not really, with Sembian, Cormyrian, and Zhentil Keep influences going on in the background, there is a lot of opportunity to interact with the lower rungs of some of the bigger power groups, and the party can spin off in a number of directions: Get involved in Dale Politics, combat (or join) the Zhentarim, delve off into Myth Drannor, or just hop a boat and in very short order end up in Thay, Ravens Bluff, or Westgate.