Starting A Forgotten Realms Campaign

[Balamor]

I'm looking to start a Forgotten Realms campaign. Which books, starting with 1st edition ending with the Sword Coast Adventurers Guide would be most helpful to start one using 5th edition rules?

All of them would be great obviously, but realistically my budget won't cover that. Any input would be helpful. Thanks!

 

[Demetrios1453]

If you're just starting in the setting now, then go with SCAG to begin with. It will give you a good overview of the setting, and then detail a substantial portion of it to get started in. As it is 5e, you won't be needing to translate rules and stats from one edition to another as well.

Once you've got your feet wet, so to speak, and have found an area you decided to start adventuring in, or want info on a particular facet of the setting, then I'm sure we can come up with substantial lists of products for you to look into!

 

[Huntsman57]

What region of the realms? When in the realms?

Here is a list of sourcebooks, though its rather incomplete

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Forgotten_Realms_modules_and_sourcebooks

The Moonsea region in 2E is probably one of my favorite time/place and there is a 2E game accessory called "The Moonsea" That sorta does for the Moonsea what SCAG does for the Sword Coast though I like The Moonsea more. It really gives you an incredibly fleshed out since of that region of Faerun at that time with endless roleplaying and adventuring ideas. A word of caution however, if you are playing in the modern era then the info in that supplement is woefully out of date.

If you want to focus less on story and more on putting your characters through a lethal running battle where they can find either great wealth and glory or an untimely death, then The Ruins of Myth Drannor 2E boxed set is a good way to go since Myth Drannor, at that time, was still a deserted ruin untouched for a millennia with buried magic from the time of mighty Netheril to be found. It was also a deadly gauntlet that was home to a deadly assortment of lower planar creatures, beholders, liches, dragons, sharn, and Phaerimm. Myth Drannor wasn't too far from the Sword Coast or the Dalelands either.

 

[ProgBard]

The 3E Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting is a pretty definitive guide to the setting's history and geography up to the edge of the most recent Realms-Shaking Event (RSE). If you want a feel for what the "classic" setting looks like and want only one book, it's your best single source.

If you're doing a canonical game and you want to know what happened in the wake of the Spellplague (which puts one or two things in the SCAG in context), you'll also want the 4E Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide.

Everything else depends on what regions or nations catch your eye. Some are better supported in sourcebooks than others, alas. Not all of the well-supported regions map to the most "significant" areas of the map, for reasons only the Powers know.

Also, the FR wiki is a great resource. It tries very hard not to replicate material from the published books, but it's a nice place to check in for many things that you might like just a touch more information about.

 

[Dark Sun Gnome]

The guidebook Unapproachable East from 3rd edition gives a great overview of the nations of Aglarond, Rashemen, Thesk and Thay, as well as detailing the Red Wizards of Thay and a pretty good adventure for 9th level characters.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Are you intending on using any of the 5E adventure path books or the Starter Set adventure for your campaign? If yes, then the information in that box/books should have enough to run those adventures. If you want a bit more information than what is included in them, then the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide will fill out the entire area where all four adventures (Lost Mines of Phandelver, the Tyranny of Dragons 2-pack, Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss) take place.

If you intend on creating your own adventures and thus just want the most comprehensive catalog of Forgotten Realms information in one easy-to-use product that is still affordable on Amazon... I'd recommend the 3E Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. Yes, the time period it is set in is 100+ years earlier than the "current" FR timeline for 5E... but if you're doing a whole new campaign there is absolutely no reason why you need to use the "current" year (because no one knows any of the previous years to compare it to, so nothing is "gained" by staying current.) You could then choose any section of the Faerun continent to set your game, and not just the Sword Coast.

 

[Eltab]

3e _Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide_, if you can only get one book.

Check your local library, and find out if they can do inter-library loans. You may be able to get you hands on good material, with expense of time rather than treasure.

 

[Remathilis]

What I would (will) do:

Get the SCAG to start to give you a primer, updated timeline, and 5e-compatible rules.

Get the 3e FRCS for info on areas beyond the Sword Coast or some general world info not covered in SCAG. Double check it against the FR Wikia site to verify things aren't radically different post 4e.

Use whatever modules or adventures you want.

Have fun.

 

[Corpsetaker]

I recommend not even bothering with the Sword Coast Legends guide because if you are starting with older material then everything you need is there.

Here are a list of products I would recommend:

1st and 2nd edition.
Forgotten Realms Boxset (Gold Box).
Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (Revised).
FR2- Moonshae. (Great product if you like fantasy Great Britain and Ireland).
FR5- Savage Frontier.
FR1- Waterdeep and the North.
FR9- Bloodstone Lands. (Great product).
All Volo's Guides.
Forgotten Realms Adventures.
FRE1- Shadowdale.
The Moonsea.
Cormyr.
FR8- Cities of Mystery.
All three Elminster's Ecologies.
Giantcraft.

3rd edition:
Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide.
Forgotten Realms Player's Guide.
Silver Marches.
Grand History of the Realms.
Lords of Darkness.
Unapproachable East.
Lost Empires of Faerun.


Here are just a few to get the juices flowing.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

We can probably help you better if you specify what parameters you are looking for.

1) Do you know (or care) about the differences in play experience based on what point in the timeline you pick?

For instance, most new players will probably just jump into the 5e timeframe (and all of the 5e adventures are set during it). On the other hand, players who didn't care for the changes to the FR that happened during the 4e era are likely to want to set a game pre-4e timeline. If you want dragonborn and the 5e PHB Asmodean tieflings running around, you'll want 5e or 4e materials, since they don't exist prior to then (see the 5e Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide for rules for earlier edition tieflings, however). If you don't want them running around, you'll avoid 4e materials like the (Spell)plague.

2) Do you have a region of preference?

5e has only covered limited parts of the Realms. If you want more detail on other areas, you'll need to go to a previous edition.

3) How much detail are you looking for?

Some books have a lot of detail on certain areas, while others have a broader overview of a lot of areas. For instance, 2e had a lot of jam-packed regional sourcebooks with a ton of fluff that works just as well in 5e as it did in 2e. The 3e Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting is a good mix of both breadth of coverage and selective details.

In general, I'd say go with the 3e Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, because it is unmatched as a one-stop setting book, and also get the 5e Sword Coast Adventurers Guide for specific time-line agnostic guidance and rules for how the PHB races and classes fit into the Realms--and the extra subclasses and subraces crunch.