Candlekeep Forum
Candlekeep Forum
Home | Profile | Register | Active Topics | Active Polls | Members | Private Messages | Search | FAQ
Username:
Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

 All Forums
 Forgotten Realms Products
 Forgotten Realms Novels
 Books about gods, elementals, other planes etc.
 New Topic  New Poll New Poll
 Reply to Topic
 Printer Friendly
Author Previous Topic Topic Next Topic  

fish321
Acolyte

USA
34 Posts

Posted - 24 Apr 2015 :  10:33:20  Show Profile Send fish321 a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
Alright yall have been a huge help each time I was looking for something in the realms and I'm hoping to have my feet set on the proper path yet again. I was originally just reading Drizzt novels but have expanded on that a good bit as of late. After the sundering I went through all of those authors novels, then followed any thread into other authors works until I consider myself fairly well read in the forgotten realms. Now I'm trying to expand my knowledge about gods and devils, fey and devas, pretty much anything focused or involving other planes, heavens or hells. I have noticed that I know very little about the gods and goddesses, I was a bit lost at first when erevis cale jumped to the abyss and would have been confused by the shadow fell and the hells had I not read Evins and Greenwood. So what should I buy to learn? All suggestions welcome though I prefer to get my info in stories rather than just reading the information on a character or character type without the story set around it

Irennan
Great Reader

Italy
3802 Posts

Posted - 24 Apr 2015 :  12:28:46  Show Profile Send Irennan a Private Message  Reply with Quote
If you really want insight on deities and planes, then IMO novels are rather inferior if compared to the sourcebooks, when it comes at that.
I'd take ''Faiths and Avatars (2e)'', ''Demihuman Deities(2e)'', ''On Hallowed Ground (2e)'', and the ''Manual of the Planes (2e/3e, since the Great Wheel is back in 5e)'' as references.

Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.

Edited by - Irennan on 24 Apr 2015 12:29:11
Go to Top of Page

Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36779 Posts

Posted - 24 Apr 2015 :  13:07:37  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Irennan

If you really want insight on deities and planes, then IMO novels are rather inferior if compared to the sourcebooks, when it comes at that.
I'd take ''Faiths and Avatars (2e)'', ''Demihuman Deities(2e)'', ''On Hallowed Ground (2e)'', and the ''Manual of the Planes (2e/3e, since the Great Wheel is back in 5e)'' as references.



Also, Powers & Pantheons, the second of the three 2E FR deity books.

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!
Go to Top of Page

Irennan
Great Reader

Italy
3802 Posts

Posted - 24 Apr 2015 :  13:17:10  Show Profile Send Irennan a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Yes, I forgot about that.

Also, fish321, sa I said, those books can be used as a sort of encyclopedia, if you don't feel like reading them from cover to cover. When you find something you wish to know more about, simply read its voice in those books (even if I'm sure that there's no need to say this).

Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.
Go to Top of Page

Schreckstoff
Seeker

53 Posts

Posted - 24 Apr 2015 :  17:11:55  Show Profile Send Schreckstoff a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Doesn't the Gossamer Plains cover some of the heavens' structure and a particular elemental plain?

Never finished the series.

Complete Drizzt Saga - Check
In love with Farideh's Saga - Check
Disappointed at Erevis' Saga's apparent end - Check
Go to Top of Page

TBeholder
Great Reader

2378 Posts

Posted - 24 Apr 2015 :  19:10:56  Show Profile Send TBeholder a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Basically, the cosmology is:
BD&D: generally just a pile of custom planes without common rhyme or reason, plus Nightmare Dimension nonsense.
AD&D1: Deities & Demigods (James Ward, Robert Kuntz), then Manual of Planes (Jeff Grubb), building upon it.
AD&D2: Grubbiverse Expanded, as described in Planescape materials. With its Rule of Tree and all that.
D&D3: "maybe yes, or maybe no, or maybe something else, or mumble mumble" - the same noncommittal nonsense as with e.g. "darkvision".
D&D4: DarkBad, GloomDark, ShadowFey, WikiDerp and so on.

People never wonder How the world goes round -Helloween
And even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.Wood
It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch
Go to Top of Page

sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 25 Apr 2015 :  00:24:40  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by TBeholder

Basically, the cosmology is:
BD&D: generally just a pile of custom planes without common rhyme or reason, plus Nightmare Dimension nonsense.
AD&D1: Deities & Demigods (James Ward, Robert Kuntz), then Manual of Planes (Jeff Grubb), building upon it.
AD&D2: Grubbiverse Expanded, as described in Planescape materials. With its Rule of Tree and all that.
D&D3: "maybe yes, or maybe no, or maybe something else, or mumble mumble" - the same noncommittal nonsense as with e.g. "darkvision".
D&D4: DarkBad, GloomDark, ShadowFey, WikiDerp and so on.



Lol, I love that cartoon for D&D4

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
Go to Top of Page

Shemmy
Senior Scribe

USA
492 Posts

Posted - 25 Apr 2015 :  09:08:22  Show Profile  Visit Shemmy's Homepage Send Shemmy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
The various 2e Planescape sourcebooks and box sets are your friend here, and pretty much the gold standard for D&D planar material before or since. 'On Hallowed Ground', 'Planes of Chaos', 'Planes of Law', 'Planes of Conflict', 'Hellbound: The Blood War', 'The Inner Planes', 'A Guide to the Ethereal Plane', and 'A Guide to the Astral Plane' are the best for the planes themselves (other sourcebooks for the inhabitants thereof'.

The problem however is that while 5e is back to the Great Wheel (or at least some variant thereof), there's a very harsh disconnect in terms of lore for RPG material and novels published during 4e when they were mandated to use the core 4e cosmology (and seemingly to heck with continuity). So material on the Hells for instance for 1e/2e/3.x may be -very- different at times for 4e (I haven't seen enough of 5e to say how it looks, and the support material for 5e is at least at the moment exceedingly thin), 4e even used names from prior editions to refer to completely different creatures during that period (such as archons and eladrin).

Shemeska the Marauder, King of the Crosstrade; voted #1 best Arcanaloth in Sigil two hundred years running by the people who know what's best for them; chant broker; prospective Sigil council member next election; and official travel agent for Chamada Holiday specials LLC.
Go to Top of Page

fish321
Acolyte

USA
34 Posts

Posted - 25 Apr 2015 :  18:29:58  Show Profile Send fish321 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Thank you all, most helpful. I'll start picking up what I can find. It's not so much that I need to be exactly correct about everything but I would like to have a base knowledge so I don't have to stop and Google something every other page. This should work out for that purpose
Go to Top of Page

CorellonsDevout
Great Reader

USA
2708 Posts

Posted - 28 Apr 2015 :  21:42:16  Show Profile Send CorellonsDevout a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Sourcebooks are best for that, but as far as novels with the gods/planes go, I'd recommend the Avatar series, [i}Evermeet: Island of Elves{/i] the Erevis Cale books, which you seemed to have read, War of the Spider Queen []The Empyrean Odyssey, Lady Penitent, and to an extent, the {i]Abolethic Sovereignty. As a fan of the gods, I am always looking for novels with them in it. Keep in mind though that some of the novels are older, and pre-Spellplague, and some are post-Spellplague, but all the ones I mentioned are pre-Sundering. Of course the Sundering novels are good for what you're looking for.

The FR campaign setting guide books also contain info about the gods and planes (which is the main reason I buy them). As has been mentioned, Demihuman Deities, Faiths and Avatars[/i], and Faiths and Pantheons[/i] are good places to start.

Sweet water and light laughter
Go to Top of Page

fish321
Acolyte

USA
34 Posts

Posted - 29 Apr 2015 :  00:31:02  Show Profile Send fish321 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Thanks Devout. I've read most of those and they are basically the source of my current quest to learn more. I need to get the Abolithic Sovereignty and the Empyrean Odyssey. I could probably do for a re read of war of the spider queen and lady penitent as well. Ive begun gathering source books that everyone so kindly suggested above so soon hopefully I will be much better informed.
Go to Top of Page

CorellonsDevout
Great Reader

USA
2708 Posts

Posted - 29 Apr 2015 :  00:42:43  Show Profile Send CorellonsDevout a Private Message  Reply with Quote
You're welcome :) Empryean Odyssey is a follow-up to War of the Spider Queen. Before reading Abolethic Sovereignty, I would suggest reading Darkvision, and then Stardeep. They are stand-alone novels, but there are people and references that will make more sense if you read Darkvision, and particularly Stardeep, first.

Sweet water and light laughter
Go to Top of Page
  Previous Topic Topic Next Topic  
 New Topic  New Poll New Poll
 Reply to Topic
 Printer Friendly
Jump To:
Candlekeep Forum © 1999-2024 Candlekeep.com Go To Top Of Page
Snitz Forums 2000