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riot the outsider
Learned Scribe
USA
121 Posts |
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Snotlord
Senior Scribe
Norway
476 Posts |
 Posted - 08 Oct 2007 : 19:37:59
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Can't pick one really.
Novel: "City of Ravens" by Rich Baker, "Swords of Eveningstar" by Ed or "Azure Bonds" by Grubb/Novak.
Not quite sure about that last one. That was 15 (?) years ago.
Game supplement: 3e FRCS. Forgotten Realms Adventures or the Grey Box comes close. If picking the campaigns setting is cheating, I'd go for the 3e Lords of Darkness.
Edit: Hmmm forgot about Lands of Intrigue. It's the best FR supplement of all time. I really need to get my game back to Amn.
The first product I bought was the Grey Box, but the Baldur's Gate games got me into the setting. |
Edited by - Snotlord on 17 Oct 2007 15:10:36 |
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J D Dunsany
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
180 Posts |
Posted - 08 Oct 2007 : 20:39:15
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Best one I've read so far...
Hmmm... look, it might seem like a simple question but it really isn't.
Today - in my head - it's 'Cormyr: A Novel' - a masterly bit of nation-building - fantasy history at its very best (and the main plot's pretty good too).
I'm deliberately only putting up one name here (riot asked for the 'best', after all), but I reserve the right to change my mind tomorrow. (Or in the next thirty minutes for that matter...) |
"How content that young woman looks, don't you think? How content, and yet how flammable." - Lemony Snicket, The Unauthorized Autobiography |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36803 Posts |
Posted - 08 Oct 2007 : 21:04:45
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I think my fave Realms novel would be either The Wyvern's Spur or Finder's Bane. Elfshadow is a contender for that spot, too.
The fave game supplement is, without a doubt, Cloak & Dagger. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 08 Oct 2007 21:07:13 |
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Brynweir
Senior Scribe
USA
436 Posts |
Posted - 08 Oct 2007 : 21:20:33
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| I'm kind of partial to Spellfire, but I also liked seeing Elminster in Hell. |
Anyone who likes to read something that's really dark and gritty and completely awesome ought to read The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. You can check out a little taste at www.BrentWeeks.com I should probably warn you, though, that it is definitely not PG-13 :-D
He also started a new Trilogy with Black Prism, which may even surpass the Night Angel Trilogy in its awesomeness. 
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Valdar Oakensong
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
159 Posts |
Posted - 08 Oct 2007 : 21:46:41
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| Gah, no idea where to start picking 1 book. If the Sembia 7 were put in 1 omnibus then that would prolly win atm. I love that series. |
Guns don't kill people, magic missiles do. |
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riot the outsider
Learned Scribe
USA
121 Posts |
Posted - 08 Oct 2007 : 21:56:45
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Well it doesn't have to be just one, it can be many if you choose to have more than one favorite thats fine.
Sorry if I forced anyone into a corner( which isn't bad, just really makes you think of all you've read rigth?)I think this will turn out to be a forum. |
Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do. http://s13.gladiatus.com/game/c.php?uid=67846
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l33td0ggy
Acolyte
25 Posts |
Posted - 08 Oct 2007 : 23:36:33
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icewind dale!
and your sig is bigger than most peoples posts. you may wanna change that. |
i have no sig. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31772 Posts |
Posted - 09 Oct 2007 : 01:15:16
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It's simply too difficult for me to select one FR novel that I would consider "the best."
As it is, Swords of Eveningstar, The City of Splendors, Silverfall, Elminster's Daughter, Cormyr: A Novel, Blackstaff, Evermeet, and Elfshadow [or even Elfsong]... could all, very easily, be a contender for that particular position.
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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DragonReader
Senior Scribe
USA
371 Posts |
Posted - 09 Oct 2007 : 01:29:20
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| Any by Paul S. Kemp!!! |
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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 09 Oct 2007 : 03:12:49
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| I like most of them. I would have to go with authors, not favorite novel. However, in the spirit of the thread, I choose Spellfire. That novel encompasses what the realms are to me. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 09 Oct 2007 : 03:16:57
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quote:
Originally posted by scererar
I like most of them. I would have to go with authors, not favorite novel. However, in the spirit of the thread, I choose Spellfire. That novel encompasses what the realms are to me.
Indeed, I loved that novel and found it to be a real page-turner. Of course, like most of the others I have a hard time picking just one. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Apex
Learned Scribe
USA
229 Posts |
Posted - 09 Oct 2007 : 17:42:21
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| My all-time favorite was also the first one I read, Darkwalker on Moonshae by Douglas Niles. I thought the book captured a great adventure/setting tone and showed relatively "lesser" characters getting involved/coming of age. |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 09 Oct 2007 : 18:03:17
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Nightparade, Spellfire, Moonshae trilogy, Crown of fire, Soldiers of Ice, Elminsters Daughter, Ogre pact, Azure bonds, Elfsong, Elfshadow.
In more or less that order.
As for game supplement, 1 st and 2ed. Campaign settings, Elminsters Ecology's, Dwarves Deep, Volos guide to all things magical and the Forgotten Realms Adventures book are some of my favorites. |
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Xysma
Master of Realmslore
USA
1089 Posts |
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Kajehase
Great Reader
Sweden
2104 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2007 : 13:05:12
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| I've stated before that I hold Elaine to be a cut above any of the other writers who has graced us with a visit to the Realms (and I mean that as a compliment to Elaine, not as "All the other writers are bad at their job"), and while her first novel, Elfshadow, may not be her most accomplshed work, it's still my favourite due to the sheer joy I get from reading it. |
There is a rumour going around that I have found god. I think is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist.
Terry Pratchett |
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swifty
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
517 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2007 : 22:57:38
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| i loved spellfire and crown of fire but hand of fire was a right mess.one of the most repetitive books ive ever read. |
go back to sleep america.everything is under control.heres american gladiators.watch this.shuttup. BILL HICKS. |
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Drakul
Senior Scribe
USA
367 Posts |
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Hawkins
Great Reader
USA
2131 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2007 : 23:36:54
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| Can't say much for my favorite book (there are so many and I have not read all of them recently), but my favorite authors (in no particular order) are Salvatore, Kemp, Denning, Greenwood, Cunningham, and Niles. |
Errant d20 Designer - My Blog (last updated January 06, 2016)
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He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back. --Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass
"Mmm, not the darkness," Myrin murmured. "Don't cast it there." --Erik Scott de Bie, Shadowbane
* My character sheets (PFRPG, 3.5, and AE versions; not viewable in Internet Explorer)
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My game design work:
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* Martial Arts Guidebook (forthcoming) (PFRPG, designer; Rite Publishing)
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Bluenose
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
134 Posts |
Posted - 16 Oct 2007 : 10:30:31
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My top five, based on how I feel atm:
5 - Elfshadow
4 - Venom's Taste
3 - Depths of Madness
2&1 - Azure Bonds and The Wyvern's Spur |
These, in the day when heaven was falling,
The hour when earth's foundations fled,
Followed their mercenary calling
And took their wages and are dead.
Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
What God abandoned, these defended,
And saved the sum of things for pay. |
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Lord of Bones
Seeker
United Kingdom
78 Posts |
Posted - 16 Oct 2007 : 11:08:12
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| So many lovely books. Right now I'd say Unclean. Before I read that stunning book I would say Black Wizards. |
Come watch the Gentleman's Guide to Gaming!
http://www.youtube.com/user/clackclickbang
On my channel I review and dissect role-playing games with great gusto. Please do take a look and let me know what you think. |
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
Posted - 16 Oct 2007 : 16:10:34
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I find it remarkable that my work has been mentioned a couple times, in the same lineups as Elaine's or Jeff's or Ed's or (the list goes on). What an honor!
Cheers |
Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
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sirreus
Learned Scribe
USA
118 Posts |
Posted - 16 Oct 2007 : 18:13:21
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quote:
I find it remarkable that my work has been mentioned a couple times, in the same lineups as Elaine's or Jeff's or Ed's or (the list goes on). What an honor!
you seem a little down on yourself, sir. you are a great talent and we are all lucky to have you among us.
as for my favorites: magehound trilogy, starlight and shadows trilogy, bloodwalk, depths of madness, return of the archwizards trilogy, and the demonfey trilogy. |
"The measure of an undisciplined mind, is that the intellect allows emotion to challenge the observed truth" Richard Baker |
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Brakkart
Acolyte
United Kingdom
17 Posts |
Posted - 17 Oct 2007 : 14:00:11
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Man you don't ask the easy questions do you?
Overall favourite... I'll go with City of Ravens.
Runners up though are:
The Black Bouquet
The Last Mythal trilogy
The Watercourse trilogy
War of the Spider Queen series
Anything with Erevis Cale in it!
Blackstaff
Star of Cursrah
The Year of Rogue Dragons trilogy |
Read my blog at: http://tauntonian.blogspot.com Here I post ramblings, book reviews, song lyrics and assorted weirdness.
Check out my "Rise of the Snakemen" Forgotten Realms Story Hour. http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=100196 |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 17 Oct 2007 : 14:06:09
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The Legacy got me into the realms.
The FRCS for gaming. |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36803 Posts |
Posted - 17 Oct 2007 : 15:07:11
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quote:
Originally posted by Alisttair
The Legacy got me into the realms.
... Which makes me want to add to my previous answer. I was already interested in the Realms, and had purchased a bunch of the stuff. But it was Volo's Guide to Waterdeep that made the setting come alive for me, and thus truly got me into the Realms. Even though it's not my fave supplement, it is definitely in the top 10 (and the only reason it's a top 10 instead of a top 5 is because of the three 2E deity books). |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
Posted - 17 Oct 2007 : 18:50:42
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quote:
Originally posted by sirreus
quote:
What an honor!
You seem a little down on yourself, sir. you are a great talent and we are all lucky to have you among us.
Thank you for your kind words, good sir! 
Cheers |
Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
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Ranin
Seeker
88 Posts |
Posted - 18 Oct 2007 : 07:28:11
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| I would have to say my fav is Black Wolf by David Gross or the Silent Blade. |
Listen to the silence of the wilds, in there lies the wisdom of ages. |
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ajfurst
Acolyte
Australia
21 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2008 : 02:10:17
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My top four are:
1. Azure Bonds
2. The Crystal Shard
3. Pools of Radiance
4. Finders Bane
Diverging slightly, whilst I enjoy most FR books, my favourites have all been non-RSE and non-series (Fighters, Mages, etc.) Just ones where a good story was told, that wasn't constrained by what series it was in and the reader didn't need to know anything really about the Realms or was told of it beyond what the story required (yeah, that's a backhanded complaint that the reset is totally unnecessary for telling good stories that appeal to new readers  ) |
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Broken Helm
Learned Scribe
USA
108 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2008 : 03:13:22
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I'm just going to do novels, in descending order:
1. Swords of Eveningstar
2. Spellfire
3. Swords of Dragonfire
4. The Annotated Elminster (cheating, I know. Just Making of A Mage if I can't use collections)
5. Cormyr: A Novel
6. Death Of The Dragon
7. Homeland
8. Elfshadow
9. Elminster's Daughter
10. City of Splendors
Hmm. Looks like Ed wins, though I really wasn't paying attention to authors when I did that.
If I had to expand it:
11. Blackstaff
12. Dawn of Night
13. Unclean
14. Elfsong
15. Azure Bonds
16. Silverfall
17. Depths of Madness
18. Twilight Calling
19. Stormlight
20. Elminster In Hell
21. Crown of Fire
22. Daughter of the Drow
23. Venom's Taste
24. The Silent Blade
25. The Simbuls' Gift
Hmm. Ed wins again. That surprises me too, though I suppose it shouldn't.
Anyway, that's just my rankings. The tastes of others will differ. I have, I think, read every published Realms novel.
If we're including anthologies and collections, too, The Best of the Realms II (Ed), Realms of Valor, Realms of Mystery, and The Best of the Realms III (Elaine) would make that top 25 for me, in that order but scattered throughout the over-15 rankings, bumping the last four titles above off the list.
The most recent books by Rosemary Jones, Bruce Cordell, and Erik's Ghostwalker were going to be in the next 5.
Of my top ten, it's Elfshadow and Eds 1-2-3 ranked books that I re-read most. Great stuff.
Just my coppers... |
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Mazrim_Taim
Learned Scribe
341 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2008 : 04:01:56
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I'm not as experienced as others when it comes to FR novels but most recently I read The City of Splendors and loved it. I don't know about you guys but the Ed and Elaine team is a winning one for me. And combined with Evermeet it makes me really surprised that EC doesn't write more for the Realms. Those two definitely have a spot in the "best FR book" category for me. I also really enjoyed Elfshadow.
Oh yeah and Blackstaff ranks high on my list as well.
So far as sourcebooks go it'd be, Cloak and Dagger, Lost Empires of Faerun, The Silver Marches, and Empires of The Shining Sea (who doesn't love the Shoon Dynasty?). |
And if the PCs DO win their ways through all the liches to Larloch, “he” will almost certainly be just another lich (loaded with explosive spells) set up as a decoy, with dozens of hidden liches waiting to pounce on any surviving PCs who ‘celebrate’ after they take Larloch down. As the REAL Larloch watches (magical scrying) from afar. Myself, as DM, I’d be wondering: “Such a glorious game, so many opportunities laid out before your PCs to devote your time to, and THIS fixation is the best you can come up with? Are you SURE you’re adventurers?” -Ed Greenwood
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Edited by - Mazrim_Taim on 23 Jan 2008 22:15:05 |
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What in your opinion is the best FR book
