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Humble_Tormtar
Acolyte
5 Posts |
 Posted - 11 Jan 2010 : 21:23:06
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Hello all,
I've been looking for a potential setting for a pbp campaign I'd like to run in the Forgotten Realms (pre spellplague) and have settled on Damara. It's off the beaten track, has the staple requirements of quiescent threats/slumbering evil and looks, well, just right for what I'm after. The problem is, I'm finding getting any hard info about the region fairly difficult.
I know there was an old DnD campaign pack retconed specifically for Damara back in the '80s, but I can't seem to track it down. Can anyone share any useful nuggets of info about the region? Are there any adventure seeds lurking in the shadows just waiting to be exploited? The campaign in question will probably be focused solely in Damara and start around 1376 DR, all other details are up in the air.
thanks in advance.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36798 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2010 : 00:16:09
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| The Bloodstone modules were set in that area, and the later sourcebook FR9 The Bloodstone Lands was, as well. Some of the lore in Champions of Ruin and Champions of Valor pertains to this area's history, as well. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31727 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2010 : 00:18:34
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
The Bloodstone modules were set in that area, and the later sourcebook FR9 The Bloodstone Lands was, as well. Some of the lore in Champions of Ruin and Champions of Valor pertains to this area's history, as well.
Also, Races of Faerûn, Lost Empires of Faerûn, and Dragons of Faerûn. Oh, and there's a few choice tidbits in Grand History of the Realms as well. |
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
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2010 : 01:49:18
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| Ras has a novel or two set there as well, plus some of the events in the Dragon Rage trilogy involves Damara. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Humble_Tormtar
Acolyte
5 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2010 : 09:32:35
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yay! Thank you one and all, a running list of material to track down is exactly what I'm after! I've always been a bit of stickler for canon source material; I'm not necessarily a purist when it comes to using those facts, but I like to have them at my disposal, shaping them into something I like the look of. If Damara is relatively untrammelled then that's good, it gives me the opportunity to wield the brutal cudgel of my own creative licence over the region without fear of flying in the face of established source. Bloodstone seems something of a mother lode when it comes to Damara, staple reading if I want to run a realms game there. Does the old Halls of Heroes contain something on king Dragonbane too?
@ Kuje: At the risk of sounding heretical, I've always passed over RAS's work when it comes to realms novels. Do you know what books he has set in Damara? I'll try to track them down.
thanks again for your help everyone! |
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Brian R. James
Forgotten Realms Game Designer
USA
1098 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2010 : 15:56:36
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| If you love Damara, you'll definately want to read 'Promise of the Witch-King' and it's sequel Humble_Tormtar. Bob is quite faithful to the old FR9 source material on the Bloodstone Lands (because well, he wrote it!) in these novels. I recently finished an article on Vaasa for DDI, and it was great fun revisiting this mostly neglected region of the Realms. |
Brian R. James - Freelance Game Designer
Follow me on Twitter @brianrjames |
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Knight of the Gate
Senior Scribe
USA
624 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2010 : 17:05:21
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| For information on Impiltur and the Giantspires, Champions of Ruin/Champions of Valor are great. For info on the Great Dale, you'll want to peruse Unapproachable East. I'm currently running a (2 year long) campaign in Damara, and it really is a great place to run a game for all the reasons you listed. |
How can life be so bountiful, providing such sublime rewards for mediocrity? -Umberto Ecco |
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Brimstone
Great Reader
USA
3287 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2010 : 02:41:10
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quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James
If you love Damara, you'll definately want to read 'Promise of the Witch-King' and it's sequel Humble_Tormtar. Bob is quite faithful to the old FR9 source material on the Bloodstone Lands (because well, he wrote it!) in these novels. I recently finished an article on Vaasa for DDI, and it was great fun revisiting this mostly neglected region of the Realms.
I can't wait to read it! |
"These things also I have observed: that knowledge of our world is
to be nurtured like a precious flower, for it is the most precious
thing we have. Wherefore guard the word written and heed
words unwritten and set them down ere they fade . . . Learn
then, well, the arts of reading, writing, and listening true, and they
will lead you to the greatest art of all: understanding."
Alaundo of Candlekeep |
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Thauramarth
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
729 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2010 : 07:34:05
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Have you checked the Northern Journey Project? One of the Netbooks for that project (which can be downloaded at our very own Candlekeep, at the Northern Journey Homepage) is a 500+ page PDF on Damara(Part 7, Book 2, to be precise). And there's a 300+ page PDF on Vaasa (Part 7, Book 3).
It's not canon, but it incorporates a lot of canon information and expands a lot of it. |
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Humble_Tormtar
Acolyte
5 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jan 2010 : 09:38:25
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Blimey! Thank you one and all, a running list of material to track down is exactly what I'm after! I've always been a bit of stickler for canon source material; I'm not necessarily a purist when it comes to using those facts, but I like to have them at my disposal, shaping them into something I like the look of. If Damara is relatively untrammelled then that's good, it gives me the opportunity to wield the brutal cudgel of my own creative licence over the region without fear of flying in the face of established source. Bloodstone seems something of a mother lode when it comes to Damara, staple reading if I want to run a realms game there.
@ Kuje: At the risk of sounding heretical, I've always passed over RAS's work when it comes to realms novels. Do you know what books he has set in Damara?
@ Brian: I shall hunt it down post haste, fantastic to know.
@ Thauramath: sublime news, I may well have found the holy grail I've been searching for! I'll look it up right away.
Damara's always struck me as the one place I'd like to explore but never have. It's something of a fringe setting that never had its turn in the spot light. Hoopefully I can do it justice.
thanks to everyone for the contributions.
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Edited by - Humble_Tormtar on 14 Jan 2010 09:42:08 |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jan 2010 : 19:27:30
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| Brian gave you the answer about RAS's novels. :) |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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coach
Senior Scribe
USA
479 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2010 : 00:52:46
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ask and it shall be given
quote:
I am in the midst of a long-term project in this region of the Realms and I was wanting to make sure I had collected ALL of the canon from this area
I seek info on Cold Lands, Damara, Vaasa, Narfell, Great Glacier, Sossal, Bloodstone, Galena mountains as well as people and places within
Most of the Campaign Settings say the same thing so I have excluded 1e and 2e FRCS
Also, this project doesn't contain 4e material so no need to post 4e sources
Some sources below do not mention the Cold Lands but were used because those sources detailed a race known only or mainly to the Cold Lands region (i.e. Arctic Dwarf, Ulutians, Avariel, Gray Orc).
I will list below a list of sources from this region and I would like the 'Keep sages to see if I have left any out:
MAJOR = large quantity of Cold Lands canon info
MINOR = small amount of Cold Lands canon info
I. CANON SOURCES
A. MAJOR - ACCESSORIES
1. Bloodstone Lands (FR9) – accessory, RA Salvatore 1989
2. Bloodstone Pass (H1) – module box set, Douglas Niles/Michael Dobson 1985
3. The Mines of Bloodstone (H2) – module, Niles/ Dobson 1986
4. The Bloodstone Wars (H3) – module, Niles/Dobson/Ed Greenwood 1987
5. The Throne of Bloodstone (H4) - module, Niles/ Dobson 1988
6. Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide (DSG) – sourcebook, Niles 1986
7. The Great Glacier (GG) – accessory, Rick Swan 1992
8. Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (FRCS) – campaign guide, 2001
9. The Horde (Horde) – boxed set, Zeb Cook 1990
10. Dwarves Deep (FR11) – accessory, Greenwood 1990
B. MAJOR - NOVELS
1. Promise of the Witch-King (PotWK) – novel, Sellswords trilogy #2, Salvatore 2005
2. Road of the Patriarch (RotP) – novel, Sellswords trilogy #3, Salvatore 2006
3. The Ruin (Ruin) – novel, Richard Lee Byers 2006
4. Soldiers of Ice (SoI) – novel, Harpers’ series #7
5. Dragons: World's Afire (D:WA) - If They Ever Happen Upon My Lair - novella, Salvatore 2006
C. MAJOR - ARTICLES
1. The Chasm Bridge – magazine article, Dragon #131 (Dungeon #101), Desmond Varady
D. MINOR ACCESSORIES
1. Demihuman Dieties (DD) – accessory, Eric Boyd 1998
2. Faiths and Avatars (FA) – accessory, Boyd
3. Unapproachable East (UE) – sourcebook
4. Races of Faerun (RoF) – sourcebook, Boyd, Matt Forbeck, James Jacobs 2003
5. Lost Empires of Faerun (LEoF) – sourcebook, Richard Baker, Bonny, Stout 2005
6. Player’s Guide to Faerun (PGtF) – sourcebook, Baker, Stout, Wyatt 2004
7. Powers and Pantheons (PaP) – accessory, Boyd 1997
8. For Duty and Deity (FDaD) – module, Dale Donovan 1998
9. Villians Lorebook (VL) – accessory, Dale Donovan 1998
10. Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (VGM) – accessory, Greenwood/Boyd 1996
11. Netheril: Empire of Magic (N:EoM) – boxed set, slade/Jim Butler 1996
12. Wizards and Rogues of the Realms (WaR) – accessory, William Conners 1995
13. Warriors and Priests of the Realms (WaP) – accessory, John Terra 1996
14. Player’s Guide to the Forgotten Realms (PGFR) – accessory, 1993
15. Pages from the Mages (PftM) – accessory, Greenwood and Tim Beach 1995
16. Hall of Heroes (HoH) – accessory, various 1989
17. Underdark (U) – sourcebook, Cordell, Kestrel, and Quick 2003
18. Heroes Lorebook (HL) – accessory, Donovan and Paul Culotta 1996
19. Draconomicon (D) – 2nd ed. accessory, Nigel Findley 1990
20. Champions of Ruin (CoR) – sourcebook, Boyd, Wil Upchurch, and Jeff Crook 2005
21. A Grand Tour of the Realms (GTotR) – campaign guide, Greenwood and Grubb 1993
22. Champions of Valor (CoV) – sourcebook, Thomas Reid and Sean Reynolds 2005
23. Mysteries of the Moonsea (MotM) – sourcebook, Reid, Reynolds, Drader, Upchurch 2006
24. Forgotten Realms Atlas
25. Dragons of Faerun (DoF) – sourcebook, Eric Boyd and Eytan Bernstein, 2006
E. MINOR – NOVELS
1. The Rage (Rage) – novel, Richard Lee Byers 2004
2. The Rite (Rite) – novel, Richard Lee Byers 2005
3. Realms of the Dragons (RotD) – short story - Wickless in the Nether, Salvatore 2004
4. Realms of Infamy (RoI) – short story – Twilight, Troy Denning
5. Realms of Shadow (RoS) - short story - Darksword, Denning 2001
6. Realms of Shadow (RoS) - short story - That Curious Sword, Salvatore, 2001
7. Return of the Archwizards - trilogy - Denning 2001
8. Pool of Radiance - novel - James M. Ward & Jane Cooper Hong 1989
9. Bloodwalk - novel - James P. Davis 2006
F. MINOR – ARTICLES
1. Assassin’s Run – magazine article, Dragon #64, Greenwood-source of ch.4 in H3
2. Sailors on the Sea of Air – magazine article, Dragon #124, Greenwood
3. Elminster’s Notebook – magazine article, Dragon #216, Greenwood
4. Branching Out All Over – magazine article, Dragon #209, Roger E. Moore
5. Portals of the Frozen Wastes (PotFW) – Perilous Gateways web article – wizards.com - http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=fr/pg20020626z
6. Realms Personalities – web articles - wizards.com, various authors and links
7. Deity Do’s and Don’ts (DDaD) – web enhancement - wizards.com, Reynolds
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20020504a
8. Impiltur: The Forgotten Kingdom – magazine article, Dragon #346, George Krashos
9. Rivals – magazine article, Dragon # ??,
*NOTE: The short story “The Greatest Hero Who Ever Died” from Realms of Infamy, although referencing Sossal, isn’t canon as it uses non-Realms cities and sites (actual real life places in England) and so isn’t included as a source
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Bloodstone Lands Sage
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Bloodstone Lands Sage |
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Humble_Tormtar
Acolyte
5 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jan 2010 : 12:54:15
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Coach, that's more information than a man will ever surely need - thanks! Now, time to dig through the strata and see what I can come up with.
Many thanks to everyone for their contributions on the Damara topic, your help's proven invaluable! |
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jan 2010 : 22:30:08
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RAS's last novel Road of the Patriarch ended in the winter 1368-1369.
But the lorebook FR9 The Bloodstone Lands, provided a whole lot of different ongoing scenarios, characters, tidbits, etc., that very well should have continued long past ROTP. In fact, RAS tried to incorporate a few of those juicy ideas into his novels that were set in the region, but there are still a ton of unexplored opportunities, there, waiting for you. |
"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)
<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works"> |
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Delving into Damara
