Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide: A 4th Edition D&D Supplement [ハードカバー]

First off: this is not the worst RPG product I have ever seen. (I think that anyone who has won a prize at a gaming convention, where prizes are usually cast-offs - I mean, *donations!* - from the sellers' boothes, will agree. I think I've only ever used one supplement I acquired in this way.) However, now that this declaration is out of the way, I must say: even though worse RPG books exist, this one deserves a low rating because it is such a downgrade compared to the previous book that described the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.

This 4th version of the setting is intended to get rid of a number of qualities that supposedly deterred people from roleplaying in the Forgotten Realms previously: too many gods, too many high-level NPCs, too many different cultures and nations, too much accrued lore. Apparently the history of the Realms and its various personalities were problems rather than assets. Thus, the changes between the previous edition and this edition were intended to make it attractive for a new audience.

Well, unfortunately, I don't think it has succeeded. It can't please old fans, because it has destroyed so much that was characteristic of the Realms. But I don't think it can please new ones either, because it spends so much time saying "such-and-such was like this before, but now it's like this." It doesn't always explain the significance of the changes, though - so new readers are left scratching their heads wondering why the devs bothered mentioning the fact that things used to be different at all. For instance: the attempt to copy Eberron with the "10 things you need to know about the Realms" doesn't actually succeed in copying it well, because half of them seem to be more concerned with telling old fans that things aren't the same as they used to be, rather than encapsulating what the setting is *now*. (Incidentally, the magical catastrophe of the Spellplague and the resulting plague areas and spellscars are obviously rip-offs of Eberron's Day of Mourning, Mournland, and dragonmarks, respectively. But we already have one Eberron - and a darned good setting it is too. Why try to make FR into a weak copy?) In other cases, though, when some references to changes from the old situation might prove an interesting read for everyone (e.g. a description of whatever it was that led to the current religious situation, where it's no longer necessary to worship gods and the Wall of the Faithless is gone), there is not even the slightest bit of explanation. It's almost as if explanations were made in none of the cases where they should have been and in all of the cases when they shouldn't have been.

Anyway, the chapters proper start off with a look at the town of Loudwater. This town was chosen to be a close-up example and a base for a number of possible adventures, but it is difficult to muster any enthusiasm about it whatsoever - it's just that boring and generic. Also, the fact that this section and the various possible adventures are put first in the book, before almost anything else about the setting is explained, will no doubt be confusing to those approaching the setting for the first time.

By and large, the book tends towards vagueness and blandness. There are a few nice exceptions (such as the table of art-type treasure), and it's difficult to go too wrong with some of the iconic areas like Rasheman and Cormyr... However, I found myself wondering why some of the gods were in the book at all - and, considering that the devs killed off quite a lot of the old ones or amalgamated them into other ones, that's saying something. In terms of the gods that the devs didn't cull, some of the choices are quite baffling. The drow deity of oozes is now a greater god in the main pantheon? Tyr, Mask, and Mystra (gods of paladins, thieves, and magicians, respectively) are gone - but minor halfling goddess of beauty Sheela Peryroyl is now a standard god? This problem with the gods carries through to nations and geography as well: nearly all of the new countries are less interesting, rich, and uniquely Realmsian than those they replaced. Where, exactly, was the central vision when this book was being put together? Finally, although the page count of the FRCG is not a huge amount smaller than the 3e FRCS, the print size is so much bigger that it really has far, far, far less content in it by far than its predecessor.

There is so much more I would like to write about, but it would be too long for an Amazon review. Suffice it to say: while there is an amount of good work in this book, it is so poor by comparison to the third edition version of the campaign setting that I cannot but give it one star. If you want to play 4e D&D in the Forgotten Realms, my personal advice is that you pick up a copy of the 3e FRCS and work out your own adaptation of 4e magic (and the rest) to the campaign setting. It could scarcely make less sense than the one published here, so what do you have to lose?

Having received and read the 4th edition rules recently, I was anxious to see how Wizards would treat my favorite setting, the Forgotten Realms. The Forgotten Realms (FR) have allways been a fairly standard campaign world, and I have considered that the main strength of the setting. It was a setting in which wizards, dragons, heroes and villains prospered, but none dominated. No huge cataclysms or specific perks were entered into the FR setting. It was just a plain fantasy setting. With it's huge history and detail, any adventurer placed in the FR felt like a guest in the Realms, a small part of it's huge story and background. That all has changed. The new fourth edition Forgotten Realms campaign focusses on the heroes instead of the campaign setting itself.

Although this at first would look like a very good thing, it essentially means the Realms lack depth. The same depth that made the Realms the most popular D&D setting in the first place. The 4th edition campaign setting is placed 100-odd years later than the 3rd edition. This is perhaps unsurprisingly, because of the many, many changes the 4th edition rules have made compared to the third edition. Whereas the 3rd and 2nd edition of the core D&D rules were generally using the same system, the fourth is different. And it shows in the Realms, and feels rather forced-upon the setting. The thing that strikes me most, and which I thoroughly dislike about this book, is that no particular attention is dealt to the events between the third edition and this new, revised edition. The rich history of Faerun, which has always driven the campaign, is now gone. In the fourth edition campaign setting, a total of 2 (two) pages is spent on Faerun's history - the equivalent of: "and there was light". Recent eventes are covered by two lines at most, from which we must deduct the state of the Realms. Hints are given as to what has happened to our favorite nations, heroes and even gods, but no where is to be read what exactly happened.

The book subsequently concentrates on describing locales and a few protagonists. Considering Faerun has changed tremendously, describing the reasons for those changes would have made for a far more involving campaign setting. Additionally, the many characters and orders of the FR campaign setting, like Elminster, Khelben, the Harpers and so on, are all suspiciously missing in this edition, with only a side-remark spent at best.

Now on the book itself: I really don't know who has editted this book, as well as the Player's Handbook, but it's disastrous. The PHB already left me mind-boggling when reading it, refering to abilities and systems unknown to the reader when reading from front-to-back. The Forgotten Realms Setting is doing the same, starting with a little adventure and subsequently turning to two pages of history and then... magical items and treasure! Just as in the PHB powers were described before the combat sequence, in the FRCS, magical items are deemed more important than the Realms itself. This is not just a fluke - the next chapter is on the Realms of the Gods (Cosmology) while the Gods itself, frequently referenced to, are not introduced until a chapter later! Had I not known most of the gods from previous editions, I would have been puzzled. The artwork itself is nice and frequent, but lacks the detail of previous editions, as well as a short undersign about what exactly is depicted. The artwork is fitting, but seems hurried.

The core part of the book covers the geography of Toril, as it should. This part concentrates primarily on why adventurers should be in that part of Toril and what they can experience in that particular region. Again, a focus on the adventurer instead of the setting, with only little history and main players (NPC's). The book concludes with a decent description of protagonists, however it's too focussed on encounters to my liking, instead of the underlying motives of these protagonists.

Concluding, I am very disappointed in this edition of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. All the flavour that made the Realms my favorite campaign setting is gone. Or is it? Given the frequent hints about recent history as well as characters, I can't help but wonder whether Wizards won't disclose this information in another supplement. Even if it were to be covered in another supplement, it should not be. The Realms is more than just geography, it is being part of a huge detailed history and playing with notorious non-player-characters like Elminster, Khelben, Drizzt and Manshoon. That is what made the Realms the most popular role-playing setting. For me, it no longer is.

I suggest adapting the third edition FR setting for the new fourth edition rules, if you are inclined to use these rules. This campaign book could have offered so much - but provides so little.

The flavor and richness that made Forgotten Realms so compelling as a campaign setting are no longer present. What's left is an "also ran" product with updated "stuff" to fill-in the mechanics gap created by 4e. For those uninitiated in the FR setting it does not impart the deep history or the FR Setting. The previous editions books provide this information, in some instances, very thoroughly. This edition is disappointing. So... 2 marks for adding 4e mechanics and some flavor, missing 3 marks for neglecting the aspects of the setting that made it unforgettable, mediocre integration of artwork, a pathetic (weak, weak, weak) map, and forgetting the point of having the setting in the first place.
To my way of thinking (and role-playing) I buy a campaign setting to make the role-playing experience more engrossing. The flavor of the campaign is what makes it worth-while... new toys and feats and powers and such are always nice... for me, they are not enough to justify the purchase. Sad, as this has always been my favorite "high-fantasy" setting.