| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| maransreth |
Posted - 24 Nov 2007 : 06:46:39
The local online store is selling most WotC stuff for 11 or 20 dollars Australian and I am thinking of adding some things that I havent picked up, mainly FR.
I am definitely getting City of Splendours, Expidition to Undermountain, Shining South and Draconomican. SHould I get the following:
Champions of Ruin
Champions of Valor
Dragons of Faerun
Lost Empires of Faerun
Power of Faerun
What about core D&D? Weapons of Legacy, Tome of Battle, Tome of Magic, Magic of Incarnum? Any of these any good?
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| 26 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 22 Jan 2008 : 17:10:16
quote:
Originally posted by Shilo99
Champions of Valor pretty ordinary in that it focuses too much on some pretty poorly realised new protagonists (e.g. Fangshields) and too little on all the existing good guys of the Realms.
I agree with this, although at the same time I can see the other argument ("We need to give people NEW stuff, not just regurgitate the same old, same old!"). |
| Shilo99 |
Posted - 22 Jan 2008 : 12:10:01
Great call from SirUrza: but what you can of 1E-3E and do it now!
I can only reinforce what others have said: Lost Empies of Faerun is an absolute must, and a great read. Consolidates and expands on so much history, while still having plenty for the crunch-desiring player (who knows, the 4E LEoF may include the Dalelands, Sembia and much of current Realms!)
Power of Faerun is an interesting read and would be #2 on that list, or Dragons of Faerun, which is a good compendium (although brings Dragons a little too centre stage for my liking).
Champions of Ruin is a decent read, with some flesh on a range of villianry. Champions of Valor pretty ordinary in that it focuses too much on some pretty poorly realised new protagonists (e.g. Fangshields) and too little on all the existing good guys of the Realms. At least the church substitution levels makes NPCs a little more distinctive.
S
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| SirUrza |
Posted - 19 Jan 2008 : 21:15:20
If you want new and not used, I would suggest buying all 3E Realms books at this point because it'll be the last of this era. Very little of the Realms material for 4E will be usable for 1370s campaigns. |
| Jamallo Kreen |
Posted - 19 Jan 2008 : 20:49:41
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
quote:
Originally posted by Jamallo Kreen
Of course, in 2008 Wizards of the Coast will announce that all of the Realms books you have bought and paid for are now obsolete, so ask yourself if you want to buy into 3.$$$$ or not?
The books will only be obsolete to WotC, and those who must use the most current rules no matter what.
Ooh! A hit, a palpable hit!
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| SirUrza |
Posted - 19 Jan 2008 : 18:17:03
It's a buy if you play in the north. It's provides a little more updated info then the FRCS, but conflicts with Thousand Orcs. |
| Ardashir |
Posted - 19 Jan 2008 : 18:07:24
I'd say that out of the books you listed, Lost Empires of Faerun and Powers of Faerun are the very best.
Hmm, while asking about Realms books, how about Silver Marches? Good, bad, or what? |
| Faraer |
Posted - 22 Dec 2007 : 17:50:17
Lost Empires is not only a very good summary, it also contains much new lore and some very insightful reworkings and rectifications to make sense of bad and inconsistent information.
Power of Faerūn, though too wide-ranging for its length, is also one of my favourite books. The references to D&D rulebooks are completely optional, for those who want those kinds of mechanics. |
| Alaundo |
Posted - 22 Dec 2007 : 17:32:05
quote:
Originally posted by Reefy
Lost Empires is one of the best 3.x books WotC put out. Power of Faerƻn is also worth a look (anything with Ed and Eric on the cover tends to be). The others not so much.
Well met
I'll certainly agree that Lost Empires is one of the best FR tomes (for me anyway). I was very impressed and often find myself thrumbing through it  |
| Reefy |
Posted - 22 Dec 2007 : 01:04:32
Lost Empires is one of the best 3.x books WotC put out. Power of Faerƻn is also worth a look (anything with Ed and Eric on the cover tends to be). The others not so much. |
| SirUrza |
Posted - 21 Dec 2007 : 23:04:45
Champions of Ruin - Yes.
Champions of Valor - Yes.
Dragons of Faerun - Only if you want dragons in your campaigns.
Lost Empires of Faerun - No. AD&D books are better.
Power of Faerun - No.
Weapons of Legacy - Yes.
Tome of Battle - No. Broken, unbalanced, annoying.
Tome of Magic - Good alternative Shadow Magic system you can use if you're not happy with what we've got. Otherwise, no.
Magic of Incarnum - HELL NO! |
| Mazrim_Taim |
Posted - 18 Dec 2007 : 07:54:09
Aye, things like, you know ... lore, will always be useful to us. Tis part of the reason why I decided to buy the trilogy set of deity books from 2e in lieu of the 3e hardcover. Call me crazy but I just didn't see a lot of new information in 3e one. (though, it's easier for me to not buy as one of my players owns it). Plus, you can't beat the art in the beginning of the trilogies regarding what the clergy of each faith wear. 
So I'd say buy up all those FR books, if just for the lore. Rules changes, new editions come and go, but the Realms is the Realms. At least until the new edition comes around and I decide whether or not to make or break from the main Realms cannon, but that's a whole other thread isn't it? |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 16 Dec 2007 : 02:55:26
quote:
Originally posted by Jamallo Kreen
Of course, in 2008 Wizards of the Coast will announce that all of the Realms books you have bought and paid for are now obsolete, so ask yourself if you want to buy into 3.$$$$ or not?
The books will only be obsolete to WotC, and those who must use the most current rules no matter what. |
| Jamallo Kreen |
Posted - 14 Dec 2007 : 23:59:43
quote:
Originally posted by Jorkens
I would highly recommend both Lost Empires of Faerun and Power of Faerun, both are among my top three for 3ed. If you see Serpent kingdoms I would recommend getting that one also.
Be aware, though, that Power of Faerun discusses several topics which refer to other (non-Realms) D&D books, without having that material in the book for which you may be shelling out a day's pay (or a few hours worth, at least). I was frustrated that Ed's presentation of material on military ranks and decorations kept referencing Heroes of Battle, so I finally bought that, onoly to find out that material was of little use in my Realms campaign -- Ed had presented almost everything I needed.
I just now posted a scroll in this same category asking about Champions of Ruin errata, so you may want to wait for answers to my question before buying that immediately. (Is it worth the price? It has a picture of Aumvor the Undying -- it's worth it for that alone!)
I haven't read Champions of Valor, but I have all of the other books and have used them. LEoF is an EXCELLENT book for a DM.
Of course, in 2008 Wizards of the Coast will announce that all of the Realms books you have bought and paid for are now obsolete, so ask yourself if you want to buy into 3.$$$$ or not? |
| Hawkins |
Posted - 14 Dec 2007 : 17:34:51
quote:
Originally posted by maransreth
I am definitely getting City of Splendours, Expidition to Undermountain, Shining South and Draconomican. SHould I get the following:
Champions of Ruin
Champions of Valor
Dragons of Faerun
Lost Empires of Faerun
Power of Faerun
What about core D&D? Weapons of Legacy, Tome of Battle, Tome of Magic, Magic of Incarnum? Any of these any good?
I own or have read all of these (FR and Core) except for Power of Faerun and Tome of Magic, which I intend to buy. I know that there is a lot of controversy over the Tome of Battle, but I enjoyed it immensely. Also, even though I own Champions of Ruin, I have not read it, so I cannot really advise you on it. Weapons of Legacy was cool (my best friend bought it), but it is low on my list of books to buy.
Also, I suggest you read Eytan Bernstein's Class Chronicles articles for ideas on how to fit the alternate Core systems into the Realms. |
| nbnmare |
Posted - 14 Dec 2007 : 11:35:17
Power of Faeun and Champions of Valor are my favourites out of that list. It's a shame CoV is so different in terms of both its style and type of content featured than Champions of Ruin, otherwise that book would be up there too. |
| ShepherdGunn |
Posted - 26 Nov 2007 : 08:58:45
I would get all of them. |
| MerrikCale |
Posted - 26 Nov 2007 : 03:16:07
quote:
Originally posted by maransreth
I ended up getting all bar the Champions, and didnt bother with any of the core books.
Now I just have to wait and hope it comes to the right address.
when ya get them, lets us know if we was right |
| maransreth |
Posted - 25 Nov 2007 : 08:59:46
I ended up getting all bar the Champions, and didnt bother with any of the core books.
Now I just have to wait and hope it comes to the right address. |
| scererar |
Posted - 25 Nov 2007 : 03:54:56
It all depends, are you shifting to 4E? I have most of the realms stuff. City of splendors and lost empires would be my priorities, from you stated list though. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 25 Nov 2007 : 01:25:57
This would be my priority list if I were you in order...
1. Lost Empires of Faerun
2. Waterdeep: City of Splendors
3. Expedition to Undermountain
4. Powers of Faerun
5. Dragons of Faerun
6. Shining South (but this can go the top of your list if you have a heavy interest in that region)
7. Champions of Ruin
8. Champions of Valor
As for the non-FR books (Draconomicon is a very wise choice),
I can only recommend Weapons of Legacy and Tome of Battle. The other two books did not appeal to me, especially Tome of Magic. I felt that magic in the core rules is complicated as it is, so didn't really see the need of implementing another magic system (after playtesting the rules through a few sessions and reading through the book).
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| Chosen of Moradin |
Posted - 24 Nov 2007 : 19:32:08
I use the Champions of Ruin with the Lords of Darkness, Book of Vile Darkness and Book of Challenges (yes, my players alway look to me like I“m a type of alien DM  ). I find it a good tool, to a DM.
Champions of Valor is always at my side, because I like of the "exalted" style of play - and the various substitution levels and good organizations compiled in the book are very useful.
Dragons of Faerun and Power of Faerun are awesome, by the simple fact that they are tomes basically without the common flood of feats, prestige classes, and so... only lore, interesting items, lore, interesting npcs, lore... I said lore???
Lost Empires of Faerun is the best of the five: history, history, and more history. All that is needed to make a scribe very happy. |
| MerrikCale |
Posted - 24 Nov 2007 : 19:17:26
Here's my opinion
Champions of Ruin- not really. this one was average at best. the 3 e Lords of Darkness was far superior
Champions of Valor- average
Dragons of Faerun- yes get it
Lost Empires of Faerun- stop reading this post and go buy it now
Power of Faerun- back now. good. I'd get this one too
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| BARDOBARBAROS |
Posted - 24 Nov 2007 : 13:52:17
All the Forgotten realms book are great i think...
From the others the Weapons of Legacy is the best!! |
| Snotlord |
Posted - 24 Nov 2007 : 12:44:41
The Lost Empires is a very good book, if you're into history. The others are only moderately so. I'd buy the champions books last.
I think the Tome of Magic should mesh well with the realm. Tome of Battle seem less so (but may fit 4e realms nicely). Weapons of Legacy probably offer some good ideas, but the Legacy mechanic seem very awkward of me. I would certainly not buy that one.
I have no opinion about Magic of Incarnum. |
| Chosen of Moradin |
Posted - 24 Nov 2007 : 11:31:44
In my opinion, you should take all the Realms books! They are all excelent sources of lore and crunch regarding the Realms. Of course, Jorkens already pointed to the two best ones: Lost Empires of Faerūn and Power of Faerūn.  |
| Jorkens |
Posted - 24 Nov 2007 : 08:12:20
I would highly recommend both Lost Empires of Faerun and Power of Faerun, both are among my top three for 3ed. If you see Serpent kingdoms I would recommend getting that one also.
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