Forgotten Realms

[Evergreen Aldaron]

conner said:

*L* I have a small stuffed dragon (by Ty) that I routinely use for dragons because he happens to fit the base size requirements reasonably well. ;D

That is outstanding. The new stuff is certainly great, but I am still nostalgic for all the "home remedies" we all had to come up with...

[Conner Destron]

Well, I can't afford a real collection of minis, so I'm still having to resort to the "home remedies". For example, I bought two things of 'counters' from a game shop and then realized how much cheaper it'd be to go to the dollar store and buy a big bag (for less money than one of the counter sets) of those glass beads they use for flower pots...

[noland]

I'll admit that I know almost nothing about Forgotten Realms. However, my old roommate had several series worth of FR books. He was reading this one book about a Drow mage that he claimed could rival Elminster in some respects for his interesting use of existing spells. It was that character that inspired me to come up with the idea of using Contingency: should Grael be rendered immobile (including unconscious or dead), cast Magic Jar. Then all he'd have to do is take over a nearby body to continue the fight. The DM and the rest of the group didn't much care for that idea after awhile, but it worked out great because many of Grael's spells were Verbal and Somatic only, so he could still function without his material components.

[merkader]

Great idea Noland. I'll be giggling about this for awhile.

[Evergreen Aldaron]

Very creative indeed Noland - I like it !!!!

[Conner Destron]

I'll second (third?) that, very creative idea. From a DM's perspective, I can see the objections, but I'd allow it since it's a very good use of spells that are more or less really meant to be used exactly that way. (Well, I think that particular combination was first employed by Lichs in a slightly different fashion, but... )

[merkader]

I was digging through my old D&D stuff that I bought I bought in bulk off Ebay for the Birthright collection it contained and I found Spellbound a Forgotten Realms box Set. I've been reading through it but it contains a ton of info I had never heard of in Forgotten Realms. Does anyone know a quick History on this box set and how it fits into the setting. I'm thinking it must be old but not sure.

[Evergreen Aldaron]

In the eastern part of the Forgotten Realms, there is a region of the continent known as the "Unapproachable East" or the "Dragonwall Border Lands". The lands of this region are somewhat geographically isolated from the heartlands of the Realms, and have also been influenced by the Endless Waste lands (Mongolian-like setting) and the lands of Kara-Tur (oriental flavored setting) to the east of them.
They have also been at odds with eachother for centuries due to this minor isolation, with the Red Wizard rulers of Thay being the overwhelming aggressors against Rasheman and Aglarond.

Thay is a land ruled by evil spellcasters known as the Red Wizards. They are slavemasters, kidnappers, and expansionists - but what keeps them from successfully dominating the region is their jealously of eachother and desire for personal magical gain. The Zulkirs, as the ruling class of Red Wizards is called, infight constantly and always have agents in distant lands searching for more magical artifacts and slave sources.
Aglarond is the land which has historically been in the line of fire of Thay. They small country boasts many natural defenses which have helped in being able to repel the Thayan invaders when they have attempted to invade the country. Aglarond is defended and ruled by The Simbul. Simbul is a sorceress if immense power, one of the infamous seven sisters, a chosen of Mystra, and reputed lover to Elminster.
Rasheman is the land of the witches and warlocks. It is a mysterious land with unique rituals and spells, where the witches rule with wear strange, magical masks, and the wine is the strongest in Faerun (Rashemani Firewine). They too have felt Thay's wrath, but have managed to repel them as well. They have been attacked by the Tuigan Horde from the endless waste, and recovered from that as well. They are a hardy folk; survivalists to the end.

South of these lands are the lands of Mulhorand, Unther, and Chessenta. Unther and Mulhorand are of an Egyptian flavor, complete with a pantheon of those deities.
Chessenta has a byzantine flavor, it is a country made up of independent city states.

This region of the realms is definitely the "exotic" section of faerun.

[merkader]

Your map here is much easier to read then the map in the Module. Do you know is there a world map for Forgotten Realms? So I can see better where into comparision this is to Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale? Because honestly the only forgotten realms stuff I know is the games and the Drizzt novels.

[Evergreen Aldaron]

Yes, you can Google the realms in the images section and get a look at it.
If you know anyone who has the Forgotten realms Atlas, they have interactive maps of every section of the Realms (that is what I used for the cut and paste).
Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale are on the other end of the continent. They are bewteen 2,500 and 3,000 miles away respectively.
If you need me too, I can send you a map that you can print and put together.


PS I added to the description above for you.

[merkader]

Wow, maybe Forgotten Realms is a biy more then I'm ready to tackle at this time.

[Evergreen Aldaron]

Nah....just focus in on one area that interests you and go from there. All the areas of the Realms have enough depth to play in for years without ever leaving. So while you are playing in one area, you can be learning about another.
The only key piece of information you need is the Forgotten Realms Campaign setting. Let me know ifyou need it, I have it on PDF.

[Conner Destron]

merkader said:

Your map here is much easier to read then the map in the Module. Do you know is there a world map for Forgotten Realms? So I can see better where into comparision this is to Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale? Because honestly the only forgotten realms stuff I know is the games and the Drizzt novels.

A few years back, TSR sold (and WotC still has out-dated patches available for) some awesome software called the Forgotten Realms Atlas, well worth checking out if you can find a copy, though a few of it's really really cool features (like the world globe) no longer work under Windows because it was written for Win95. *shrug*

Otherwise, as EA pointed out, there are a great number of resources available for FR, it's a very well documented setting.

Oh, and great map, EA!

[elfwench]

I love to go into Waterdeep, Skull Port is fun to get into!

[waylander39]

Ahh the Realms, my favourite setting by far. As far as favourite lands within it, I'm a big fan of the Moonshaes, Waterdeep (and of course Undermountain), the Moonsea and the Bloodstone lands. A great world to set campaigns in.