| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Strange-Scribe
Acolyte
USA
2 Posts |
 Posted - 18 Mar 2015 : 02:59:16
|
Very good evening to all. I apologize upfront if this was covered in some way before, I'm kind of new here, though I thought I would ask it anyway.
I'm still kind of new to the realms as a whole, yet at the same time have liked everything that I have been researching/reading/listening to. One thing I am not that new at,(I would by no means call myself an expert or even great most of the time, but I think I'm decent at it), is being a DM, and I have been very interested as of late in trying my hand at running the realms.
I have been thinking about starting up a game using a good amount of the adventures from 5th ed/Next: Murder in Baldur's Gate, Legacy of the Crystal Shard, and the Tyranny of Dragons material. So sort of a Sundering into Tyranny campaign I suppose, or perhaps an Era of Upheaval Campaign would be a better title? ...
Anyway, finally to the Questions:
Does anyone have any general advice for a realm newbie on this one? I mean obviously the adventures themselves and knowing them are a huge help, but I kind of like it when players go off script a bit, so it might be beneficial to have some general tips for realm lore/running the realms if that does happen.
Also, a weird element I was thinking of was to have the players be sort of low end chosen of some of the Gods of the Realms. I wasn't thinking of offering them great power or anything like that, but knowing it takes place, (at least partly), in the Sundering, I thought it would be kind of an element to sort of keep things moving forward. I noticed some other threads were talking about similar things so I thought I would mirror to pick peoples brains.
Lastly, is there any good books about the realms (other than the adventures of course, as I have those), that some of you think might be beneficial to have for more background? I have Elminster's Forgotten Realms on order currently, as well as the most recent book on NeverWinter (I'm not that much of a 4E fan myself but I thought having the most "recent official publication" on a city I may use as hub or downtime place was a good idea).
Well now that my mad ramble is now over, anyone have any thoughts?
|
|
|
xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore
USA
1853 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2015 : 03:41:45
|
Welcome to the Realms!
Regarding Tyranny of Dragons at least, and probably the other published adventures as well: Google them and look for blog entries about them. I've seen at least 5 or 6 DM blogs which contain a mix of reviews, "heads up" warnings regarding encounters that you'll want to put some extra prep into before the campaign starts, and changes that they've made in the adventure for their own games along with notes on how those changes played out. Lots of other DMs have run them, and some have talked about it, so that can be useful information.
Regarding DMing in the Realms, in general: the FR Wiki is a good source of lore -- it's probably not going to contain every bit ever written about whatever you're looking for, but it's continually being improved and it's the best "one-stop shop" I've seen for Realmslore. These forums (Candlekeep) have an astounding amount of lore, but it can be hard to search in a reliable way. I suggest Googling site:candlekeep.com xyz where xyz is whatever detail you're looking for information about. There are others, which you'll find by Googling whatever you're looking for information on... just look for sites that cite their sources!
Regarding PC Chosen: I have no opinion on this; I'm sure others will chime in. 
Regarding other Realms sources... Elminster's Forgotten Realms is awesome, so it'll be great when you get that. The 1e, 2e, and 3e campaign settings are great resources... 4e went in a different direction as I'm sure you've seen, but it sounds like 5e will be taking us somewhat back to the earlier material so those old setting boxes/books are relevant. As far as a city book goes, I like the City of Splendors: Waterdeep book but it's not designed to be a complete A-Z resource so using Waterdeep as your hub will involve either obtaining several old sourcebooks or else making a lot of it up. I'm not thinking of any places offhand that are fully detailed in easy-to-find sources, but if you have a specific place in mind I'm sure we (or the FR Wiki) can give you a list of sources to look for.
Someone is pretty much always here when questions come up. |
 |
|
|
Dewaint
Learned Scribe
Germany
148 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2015 : 10:07:13
|
Hello and a warm welcome to the board!
Personally I like the Thundering summary provided by Lirdolin (http://www.forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=19630) it should give you an understanding of spirit about the events during the last realms decades.
Additionally to Xaeyriidh's suggestions IMO the web enhancement of the Waterdeep: City of Splendors Sourcebook (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060503a) might provide a good introduction to the regional adjacencies of Waterdeep.
If you like to expand on the Mere of dead Men parts, check this for historical background: http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/wn/20040310a&pf=true
Furthermore and AFAIK the areas covered by first book of the ToD series are predominantly located in the North.
If you are reflecting to skip most of the 4e events, probably the 2e Box set The North is a good start. It covers the whole area and is my favorite as a source for general background about the North. |
Edited by - Dewaint on 18 Mar 2015 10:13:27 |
|
|
|
Derulbaskul
Senior Scribe
Singapore
408 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2015 : 08:36:07
|
@Strange-Scribe: Of that list, consider starting with Legacy of the Crystal Shard. It's a fairly self-contained area and, IMO, the best of the adventures you mentioned. Icewind Dale is also a great location if you want somewhere you can expand into a more sandbox-like location. You can find some expansion ideas here: http://my-realms.blogspot.com/search/label/Legacy%20of%20the%20Crystal%20Shard
I also quite like Murder but, again IMO, I think it's less an adventure and more of a sourcebook with some adventure ideas. YMMV.
|
Cheers
D
NB: Please remember: A cannon is a big gun. Canon is what we discuss here. |
|
|
|
Strange-Scribe
Acolyte
USA
2 Posts |
Posted - 31 Mar 2015 : 15:36:33
|
Sorry, it's been awhile. I have been working and have been lazy when I'm not working lately..,
Anyway, this was exceedingly helpful! Thank you all very much! I might have to mull this over a bit more than I thought just so I can get my bearings. But, I look forward to digging into some of those books/sets you guys mentioned! I am a particular fan of the wiki, and went there a few times even before I started thinking about running games in the setting |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
Advice for the Sundering & Tyranny of Dragons
