| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Uzzy |
Posted - 12 Aug 2008 : 15:03:56
Right, given that my money isn't going to be going towards WoTC anymore (except maybe for Star Wars Saga), I've been looking on Ebay for some of the 2nd edition books.
Right now I've got Volo's Guide to All Things Magical, Code of the Harpers, Cloak and Dagger, Faiths and Avatars and the 2nd Edition Campaign Boxset.
I've been bidding for Volo's Guide to Waterdeep, Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue, The Ruins of Myth Drannor, The Drow of the Underdark, Old Empires, Secrets of the Magister and Cult of the Dragon.
So, my question is, what other books should I look for? The Deity books, perhaps? |
| 19 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Jamallo Kreen |
Posted - 26 Aug 2008 : 13:34:35
I use the Forgotten Realms Atlas, too. If I recall aright, many of the maps were drawn from copies of Ed's originals (which I have heard were pretty incomprehensible to the uninitiated). I've got my players headed east from Thesk by way of either Rashemen or Thay (pick one), and it's the only book which links Faerun to Kara-Tur in one-look-tells-all maps. I've got the Waterdeep and Kara-Tur Trail Maps, and (wouldn't ya know it -- shades of Roseanne Roseannadana) they don't link up! Even Maps 2 and 4 of the Dragon quartet stop short of Mulhorrand's eastern cities and the eastern edges of the Plains of Purple Dust. The maps in The Horde boxed set, on the other hand, don't go far enough west to show the players the lands which connect the "unapproachable" east with the "utter" east.
Another good thing about the Atlas is that it has detailed maps and summaries and timelines of the early FR novels (up to the end of the Time of Troubles). I like to introduce new players to the Realms by having their characters experience some aspect of the ToT, and the Atlas is the single most detailed source for that period. I find it amusing to see the looks of astonishment on the faces of players unfamiliar with the Realms when they are going about their own day-to-affairs and (thanks to the accurate timelines) -- BAM! -- they run headlong into some Realms-shaking event like the god-battle in Tantras or the invasion of Waterdeep by the army of the dead. Nothing says, "You're not on Oerth anymore," quite like watching a couple of gods get into a brawl right over your head and then crash to the ground, exploding in a double burst of divine energy while you're at the market just trying to buy some rat-on-a-stick....
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| Thalos_Milathriel |
Posted - 26 Aug 2008 : 03:10:30
quote:
Originally posted by Uzzy
So, my question is, what other books should I look for?
ALL OF THEM! |
| Shottglazz |
Posted - 22 Aug 2008 : 16:27:46
quote:
Originally posted by Uzzy
Well, I got..
Secrets of the Magister
Drow of the Underdark
Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue
Volo's Guide to Waterdeep
The Ruins of Myth Drannor
Cult of the Dragon
Old Empires
Which was all I bid for! Not bad prices either. So, going to look for the other two Deity books now.
Out of the list you have here, these are the ones that I've found more useful... |
| Uzzy |
Posted - 22 Aug 2008 : 16:20:46
Well, I got..
Secrets of the Magister
Drow of the Underdark
Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue
Volo's Guide to Waterdeep
The Ruins of Myth Drannor
Cult of the Dragon
Old Empires
Which was all I bid for! Not bad prices either. So, going to look for the other two Deity books now. |
| Jorkens |
Posted - 20 Aug 2008 : 18:40:03
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Jorkens
Wait a minute, it seems like we have forgotten one of the most important Realms products ever. Fonstad's Forgotten Realms Atlas, the best source of Realms maps before they hacked it up with the 3ed. Have I mentioned before that that bothers me?
Honestly, I've never had much use for that one. I like it, and it was, in fact, one of my earliest Realms purchases. But I've never done much more than just flip thru it.
I think that depends much on whether you are a DM or not. If I were a general Realms fan or a player I don't think I would get much use out of it. But as a DM with bad memory it is one of the three Realms books that I have actually read asunder. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 19 Aug 2008 : 15:25:12
quote:
Originally posted by Jorkens
Wait a minute, it seems like we have forgotten one of the most important Realms products ever. Fonstad's Forgotten Realms Atlas, the best source of Realms maps before they hacked it up with the 3ed. Have I mentioned before that that bothers me?
Honestly, I've never had much use for that one. I like it, and it was, in fact, one of my earliest Realms purchases. But I've never done much more than just flip thru it. |
| Jorkens |
Posted - 19 Aug 2008 : 11:32:25
Wait a minute, it seems like we have forgotten one of the most important Realms products ever. Fonstad's Forgotten Realms Atlas, the best source of Realms maps before they hacked it up with the 3ed. Have I mentioned before that that bothers me? |
| Jamallo Kreen |
Posted - 18 Aug 2008 : 23:34:03
I'll place my two nibs on the Forgotten Realms Adventures (FRA), which has information (pre-Hasbro) about many cities plus the timeline for the expansion of firearms in the Realms, rare spells, NPC biographies, etc.
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| The Sage |
Posted - 13 Aug 2008 : 01:22:38
quote:
Originally posted by Uzzy
I'm particularly eager for anything that talks about the Western Heartlands.
Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast, the 2e FR boxed set, and Forgotten Realms Adventures should prove useful. |
| Alisttair |
Posted - 12 Aug 2008 : 22:56:14
I would say all of em. I am currently trying to get everything FR myself. |
| Faraer |
Posted - 12 Aug 2008 : 22:23:15
Page from the Mages reprints seminal Dragon articles that really established the Realms and its dynamic of using history, magic and lore in D&D play. Prayers from the Faithful, on similar lines, is part of that stratum of Realmslore where, after the basic shape of the world had been firmly established, its bustling depth and interactivity really started to sing. |
| Uzzy |
Posted - 12 Aug 2008 : 22:17:23
I'm particularly eager for anything that talks about the Western Heartlands. Other then that, I just want the best ones really. |
| tauster |
Posted - 12 Aug 2008 : 16:03:32
quote:
Originally posted by MerrikCale
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
The rest of the deity books are a must-have. 
Pages From the Mages and Prayers From the Faithful are great, too -- vintage Ed.
those are 2 of the few 2e books I don't have. why do you like them?
I'm not the hamster, but I like them because of the sheer amount of lore they give and because of their authentic realmsian feel. PftF makes the different faiths really come to live and complements the deity-books perfectly, while PftM shows you how Ed meant magic to work in his world. Example: hidden in the book is the answer to the question why the large number of portals hasn't led to armies "teleporting" from one point of Faerun to another, or merchants getting filthy rich by controlling a dozen of portals and moving goods through them en masse. That each book contains new spells and/or magic items is an added bonus, but not the main reason. |
| MerrikCale |
Posted - 12 Aug 2008 : 15:48:07
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
The rest of the deity books are a must-have.
Pages From the Mages and Prayers From the Faithful are great, too -- vintage Ed.
those are 2 of the few 2e books I don't have. why do you like them? |
| Shottglazz |
Posted - 12 Aug 2008 : 15:40:05
The suggestions here are really good. I ran FR for about 6 years exclusively...what I found to be the most help were:
Aurora's Catalog
Elminster's Ecologies (all)
Volo's Guides (except Guide to all things magical)
City of Splendors
Ruins of Undermountain
1e Campaign Box Set
2e Campaign Box Set
FR Adventures
I'd consider those the "basics" for running a good Realms campaign...well, you could probably skip Aurora's... |
| tauster |
Posted - 12 Aug 2008 : 15:29:20
It depends on a couple of factors, among them if you want to concentrate on certain geographic areas of Faerun (or Toril) or if you want to have everything. I chose the latter way, and it took me about six years to get almost all FR books from 2nd edition. You might get a more or less complete collection a lot faster, since I waited for bargain prices and bought only on ebay germany, where the market is considerably smaller than in the US.
I regard the following books as "must -have":
non-geographic stuff:
- the three deity-books faiths $ avatars, demihuman deities, powers & pantheons
- all of the Volo Guides
- forgotten realms adventures
- all books about waterdeep: waterdeep and the north, city of splendours, city system, ruins of undermountain I & II, skullport, plus the adventures star dock, lost level, madgoth the mad
- books about magic in general: prayers from the faithful, pages from the mages, secrets of the magister, the magister
- elminster's ecologies (boxed set) plus the two appendices
- sourcebooks about organizations: "the harpers", "the cult of the dragon", cloak & daggger
- drizzt do'urden's guide to the underdark, drow of the underdark, dwarve's deep
"must-have" books centered on certain areas:
- cormyr plus the adventure "four from cormyr"
- the dalelands, plus the adventure triology about the sword of the dales (great for first-timers!)
- for everything about the inner sea: sea of the fallen stars, pirates of fallen stars, wyrmskull throne
- the north (boxed set), hellgate keep,
- ruins of myth drannor, the fall of myth drannor, cormanthor empire of the elves
- raven's bluff, port of RB, nightwatch in the living city, kidnapped (damnably rare! ), inside the living city
- netheril empire of magic (boxed set) plus the adventure "how the mighty are fallen", anauroch (regional sourcebook about the desert today)
- the shining south
nice to have (i.e. "I have it but hadn't yet the chance to use it, so I can't really say if these are good or not, or have read them and found them not too much interesting, or just couldn't use them in ym campaigns yet)
- zhentil keep (boxed set)
- spellbound (boxed set about thay, aglarond etc.), adventure "dreams of the red wizards"
- the maztica boxed set plus the three adventures
- evermeet
- there is a series of regional sourcebooks, including anauroch, the great glacier, waterdeep and the north, old empires, the shining south and a few others. most of them are great, but their usefulness depends on whether or not you place your campaigns their.
Most likely I have forgotten a good number of books worth buying - thats just what comes to my mind first. Some of them might be available as free pdf download from wizard's page - look it up first if you dont mind working with stuff on the screen or printing them out yourself. |
| Quale |
Posted - 12 Aug 2008 : 15:26:14
Sea of Fallen Stars is my favourite |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 12 Aug 2008 : 15:13:02
The rest of the deity books are a must-have.
Pages From the Mages and Prayers From the Faithful are great, too -- vintage Ed.
Is there any specific area or group that is of interest to you? That would help narrow down the potential list...
Me, I'd recommend going for everything. I've just about got everything; I'm missing ten items, most of which are Oriental Adventures stuff. There's also a couple other items I've seen mentioned, but never actually seen... I want those, too.
Mayhaps this site will be of use to you: FR stuff published by TSR
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| Jorkens |
Posted - 12 Aug 2008 : 15:11:22
The Deity books, Dwarves Deep, all Volo guides of course, Skullport, Drizzts guide to the Underdark, Anauroch, Forgotten Realms Adventures, and the Waterdeep box would be a good start. The Grey box, Evermeet and Elminsters Ecologies are among my favourites, but tastes differ. I could go on, but these are safe choices. |
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