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maglaurus
Acolyte
Canada
10 Posts |
 Posted - 26 Aug 2007 : 23:16:15
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I've DMed a lot of different settings in my day: Ravenloft, Dark Sun, Dragonlance, and a couple of home-brews--I've also put together a couple of V:tM and Star Wars games. I really want to make a effort with Forgotten Realms, but I'm kinda lost as to where to begin. I've played through the Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale computer games, and I really liked the feel of them and the volume of locations I experienced therein.
--First where are the good places to start the group in order to get the full "Forgotten Realms" experience? I know Shadowdale will come up as a obvious choice, but that's kind of played out in my mind. I like to use a small place (town or village) to start my campaigns, bringing in a city in the 3rd or 4th adventure.
--How deep should the plot be? I like to start things off at 1st level, maybe 2nd or 3rd depending on the group. Is this a point where I want to bring in the famous and infamous FR organizations like the Harpers, the Iron Throne, etc., or do I hold back for now and keep the plotlines local and low-key?
--Finally, compared to other D&D campaign settings like the ones I mentioned above, what does FR feel like? I like to produce good moods and flavors for my players. What should I be looking for with FR?
I know this is a lot to ask because the campaign world is really huge, but anything more experienced DMs can offer me--even gut instincts--would be very beneficial.
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4689 Posts |
Posted - 26 Aug 2007 : 23:32:58
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A starting location, perhaps barrow something from Wheel of Time (or whatever that was) a small community in a remote area. Perhaps the fields of Waterdeep in some loosly definded area of the Realms. You get to name the community. In someways you can blind pick a spot on the map for a small community. The closer to a city or cotystate adds flavour to the campaign.
Also you might consider the Borderlands.
All in all it depends a lot on where you expect to go, as PCs do not always go thar way. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Reefy
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
892 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2007 : 00:59:58
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The FRCS is always a good place to start, it contains a wealth of information. The Dalelands and the North/Silver Marches are generally good places to start. Both are very popular areas with a wealth of information about them available, and both have plenty of scope for adventure that can start small and build up to greater things. There's always something happening in the Realms, layers upon layers and the balance between various individuals and organisations is something that really makes it come alive.
As for getting a flavour of the Realms, look up any of Volo's Guides - pure lore for six different regions - Cormyr, the Dalelands, the North, the Sword Coast, Waterdeep, and Baldur's Gate II (Amn). The forthcoming Grand History of the Realms is also likely to give you a whole host of ideas, as the history of the Realms is such that it inevitably plays a role in the present. |
Life is either daring adventure or nothing. |
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Eremite
Learned Scribe
Singapore
182 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2007 : 05:47:29
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Personally, I would go with using the Unapproachable East and set your campaign in Uthmere in the Great Dale. That way you can use the witches of Rashemen, the Red Wizards, the occasional ninja from Thesk etc... and it also makes sense as somewhere the Iron Throne might be interested in because of its links to the Utter East (and the secret portal near the town of Bezentil).
The biggest advantage of this area is that is largely untouched by novelists so you won't have your plots spoiled when players read how the same hook was resolved by someone else. There is one book set there by Bruce Cordell (Lady of Poison) but that's easily ignored.
The second biggest advantage is that Ed himself wrote up the city of Uthmere in an eight-part series on the WotC website. There is a lot of detail there that can really set the scene.
Anyway, if you choose to go this route I'll try and post some of my campaign notes for you to look at. |
Best
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2007 : 07:26:05
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Well, I would use the Western Heartlands as a beginning area, good mix of large ands small settlements with lots of wilderness around it. Its location also makes it easy to branch out into other areas.
I would be a bit careful about introducing to many elements in the first adventure. Hints and names yes, but not to many direct actions by these groups or persons. It is better to introduce the Zentharim through the ramblings of a nervous merchant than through the typical agent of the same organisation. The same goes for the Harper's. This will also give the PC's some doubt as to which groups and persons are to be trusted.
As for the feel, go to WotC's free downloads page and download some of the older products, especially the Volo guides as these gives you more information and adventuring ideas than you can use in a lifetime. |
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Matthus
Senior Scribe
Germany
393 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2007 : 08:31:24
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A lot was said already, but I think it depends if your players have some experience with FR. If they are on the same level as you – to say: heard of it, but seldom stayed within – start slowly in some rural area. Where in the Realms to start is something of a personal feeling, I prefer the North, where the frontier situation gives a lot of adventure paths. The rumors and stories that you may sprinkle in, slowly build the knowledge of the Realms and will be helpful for the players and for you. I believe that it is easier to get the feeling for the character and the setting in the more leisurely way than starting lets say within Waterdeep with the hundreds of hundreds possibilities.
IMO the feeling of the Realms is the endless background. I never played in a world where you can get so much information about almost everything – and if you don’t have the needed book – just ask here … The character generation alone gives you ample possibilities – don’t let the players “create” all over the Realms, concentrate in the region where you start to play and give more thoughts about the motives of adventuring. I prefer starting from the beginning, meaning starting with level 1 – so the players can get a better feeling of the characters. I put in the link to free downloads - pich up Volo’s Guide to the North if you like and enjoy!
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads |
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Na-Gang
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
348 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2007 : 20:03:01
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I'm working on starting a new campaign in Amphail. It's small enough to need heroes (particularly in winter when the guard from Waterdeep don't ride out that far), but big enough to be interesting. It's near enough to Waterdeep and other locales to allow for almost any kind of adventure. You've got Elven ruins in Ardeep Forest, Orcish ruins in Kryptgarden Forest, who-knows-what in the Westwood, giants and disappearing villages in the Sword Mountains, Illithid-influenced Kobolds under Maidens Tor, ruins of Illefarn, Phalorm, Delimbiyran and survivor states, squabbling human nobles, the ever-present bandits, Undermountain...
Any of these locations is complex enough and big enough to sustain a campaign on its own. I plan on letting the PCs choose which adventures they focus on - giving them hints and clues and rumours and letting them investigate the ones that interest them. I'm looking forward to it as a deliberate change from the Big Evil Events and Outer Planar Nastiness of my current campaign. |
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maglaurus
Acolyte
Canada
10 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2007 : 22:13:49
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Last night I started to write on the subject of the Lurkwood, and more specifically detailing a logging camp (an unofficial village run by a consortium of lumber mill and trading company owners) on the eastern edge between the forest and the Spine of the World Mountains. I figure from here there are a lot of towns and cities the party can move to as it sees fit.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm going to look into the Uthmere material and the Volo's guides are great. Thanks for the links to the free downloads.
As far as the Western Heartlands, is there a region in the real world that corresponds to it in terms of weather, flora, and fauna? |
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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2007 : 06:29:17
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| Any area that piques your interest. I always advise, start out slow with the lore and detail, then work it into the story line. Try Scornobel or some other such locale, if the dales are over worked for you. The borderlands are also great and many articles are available for download on the WOTC site. The feel of the realms is up to you and your group, but maybe check out a couple of novels first. I like all of the authors, but a few of my favorites are Ed Greenwood, Elaine Cunningham, and Paul Kemp. |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2007 : 07:16:00
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| Well the Western Heartlands is a huge area (even larger with the good old maps), so it is a bit difficult to find one region corresponding. It is a temperate region, with forests, mountains and plains. The central parts of USA or Europe would be the nearest thing, even if that is to large and varied to give you a clear idea. But as it borders both the North and Amn it reaches across most of the temperate region. |
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Thauramarth
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
729 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2007 : 23:03:37
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My personal favorite area has always been Daggerford. It's a relatively small community, which has been well detailed (always a bonus if you start out in a new world). It's close to Waterdeep (one cannot get more iconic as far as FR is concerned), so you can graduate your player characters to Waterdeep after a while.
It has many terrain types (easy to drop in existing adventures): swamps, plains, forests, mountains, hills, and the High Moor. In addition, it is at the heart of the Fallen Kingdom (well, several Fallen Kingdoms, if we can believe the great Krash)
As far as the plots are concerned - plots in Daggerford can be kept relatively local, but can be expanded easily. As far as the players of the Realms are concerned, I added NPCs or modified existing PCs to create agents of many of the power groups in the Realms (Harpers, Zhentarim, Hosttower of the Arcane, Cult of the Dragon, Unseen, Kraken Society, Hellgate Keep) - none of these agents were major players (initially), mostly grunts keeping an eye on Daggerford, and on traffic passing on the Tradeway. Not every member of a power group has to be a mover/shaker, but they can provide good hooks. Local plotlines with these grunts can turn into bigger plots easily. |
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Old Gamer DMing FR for the First Time...
