Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide
The Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide is a supplement for Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition that provides information for gamemasters to run a game set in the Forgotten Realms. Included is a small adventure, an update on the new status quo, information on various deities and locations, as well as a roster of big baddies to throw at your players.
This is an interesting book because it’s the first of its kind for Fourth Edition and gives everyone a peek at how Wizards of the Coast will be tackling campaign settings. This is the gamemaster version (players will want to look at the Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide) and the presentation deviates from the previous edition. The text is less intimidating thanks to Fourth Edition’s minimalist approach, an approach the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide continues: we’re given snippets and story hooks rather than drowning histories and fluff. Unfortunately, this can also be vague in parts, and if you’re reading this book to get a definitive account of what’s new in Forgotten Realms, you’ll be disappointed. Gamemasters should probably view this title as a “General Guideline to the Forgotten Realms” rather than “The Definitive Bible to the Forgotten Realms.”
It’s only two pages long, but The Introduction is a valuable section of the book. It lists “Ten Important Facts” and this more or less describes what’s new in Forgotten Realms. You’ll get slightly more information on these items as you read through the rest of the book, but for the most part, it’s all summed up here.
The first chapter is an introductory adventure. Now, some people might complain that this is wasted space, especially to experienced gamemasters, but for me, this is a welcome section as it helps new gamers get more involved in the game, Forgotten Realms or otherwise. My only question is, why was this placed at the front of the book, as opposed to the end (which was the case in the Dungeon Master’s Guide)? I can understand the designers are trying to set forth the idea that you can get a Forgotten Realms game running immediately without dovetailing into much of the setting details, but honestly, this adventure has some complexity. On a positive note, it’s self-contained – it provides you with your own town and cast of interesting characters. It also provides other elements you’d expect from an adventure such as traps, monsters and magic items. This isn’t necessarily the most compelling adventure, but it’s decent and is handy for the new gamemaster.
The second chapter is labeled “Adventuring” and there’s a hodgepodge of information here, from an explanation of travel in the world, a brief timeline (really brief – only two and a half pages long), a sample list of treasure items, and a glossary of terms. The broad-strokes approach is evident here and by this point, and it will either win you over (yay, not a lot of reading to do!) or turn you off (where’s all the minutae?). There’s also some questionable material here – do we really need a list of sample treasures?
The third chapter is “Magic” and covers the elephant in the room, the Spellplague. Again, not a lot on the specifics, just a general overview on what’s happened in the world, and some plot hooks for the gamemaster (including two Plaguechanged threats). Various magical locations – some of which Forgotten Realms fans will recognize – are also covered, from Mythals to Portals. This is mostly fluff with a rule or two to emphasize a particular flavor, but nothing groundbreaking. There’s also a section on Magic Items and Rituals, mostly campaign-specific minor artifacts and two unique rituals.
Chapter four is titled Cosmology and this is like the geography lesson part one as it covers all the exotic vistas such as the Shadowell or the Feywild and how they fit into the setting. It’s a relatively quick read and provides sub-locations and the barest of details – enough to give gamemasters a potential story hook but nothing too extravagant.
Chapter five, “Pantheon”, covers the gods and primordials. It’s a basic run-down of all the gods and follows the format presented in the Player’s Handbook except that it includes evil deities. It’s an interesting refresher for Forgotten Realms fans and this is where they get to check what’s happened to which god (or those that were omitted).
Chapter six is “Faerun and Beyond” which is geography lesson, part two. This section comprises a significant portion of the book. Each popular city/location gets at least a two-page write-up (sometimes more) and if you’ve read the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide, some of these locations are present there except this is geared towards the Game Master and includes Knowledge checks as well “Plots and Adventure Sites.” This chapter also has two additional subsections which cover Returned Abeir (if I’m not mistaken, these are new regions in the Forgotten Realms) and The Underdark.
The last chapter is “Threats”, your mini-Monster Manual except that it’s grouped by affiliation rather than by the monster’s name. Thay, for example, gets a basic write-up of the region (including Knowledge checks) and then a brief profile on the monster template Dread Warrior and Szass Tam himself. It ends with the Monster Manual layout of tactics and encounter groups. Even if you’re not planning a game set in the Forgotten Realms, this is probably the most valuable section as it’s modular and one can easily adapt the monsters included here.
Miraculously, the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide includes an index, as well as a list of new monsters arranged by level and indicating what page they’re located at as well as mentioning their role.
Overall, the book demands a steep price for what it provides. If the Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide is mini-Player’s Handbook, this is a mini-Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Manual rolled into one. Granted, those not interested in the Forgotten Realms will have little use for the fluff here (and this is mostly a fluff book). Forgotten Realms fans, on the other hand, will get an easy-to-read tome. Perhaps what needs to be emphasized is this is a book for gamemasters rather than, say, a Forgotten Realms history book.