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| Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide, 4th Edition | 
 enlarge | Authors: Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims, Philip Athans
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Category: Book
List Price: $39.95
Buy New: $22.85
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New (33) Used (7) from $22.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  59 reviews
Sales Rank: 1576
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 4th
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.3
Dimensions (in): 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0786949244
Dewey Decimal Number: 793
EAN: 9780786949243
ASIN: 0786949244
Publication Date: August 19, 2008
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Product Description
Dark perils and great deeds await!
Welcome to Faerun, a land of amazing magic, terrifying monsters, ancient ruins, and hidden wonders. The world has changed since the Spellplague, and from this arcane crucible have emerged shining kingdoms, tyrannical empires, mighty heroes, and monster-infested dungeons. The Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide presents a world of untold adventure; a land of a thousand stories shaped by the deeds of adventurers the likes of which Faerun has never seen before.
This book includes everything a Dungeon Master needs to run a D&D campaign in the Forgotten Realms setting, as well as elements that DMs can incorporate into their own D&D campaigns. The book provides background information on the lands of Faerun, a fully detailed town in which to start a campaign, adventure seeds, new monsters, ready-to-play non-player characters, and a full-color poster map of Faerun.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 54 more reviews...
 The Forgotten Realms lie in ruins August 19, 2008
106 out of 124 found this review helpful
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.
 What were they thinking? August 22, 2008
42 out of 66 found this review helpful
For 20 years I have bought, collected, and lived in the Forgotten Realms. over this time I have been disappointed maybe by a few mediocre novels and supplements along the way. I heard about this 4th edition business and was skeptical, as much as I was for the 3rd edition. I loved the 3rd edition, other that the retail prices, which I worked around, buying used at half price. I heard the rumors. Now comes the moment of truth.
The Spell Plague comes with all of its unneeded revisions to my beloved world. In a nutshell, Cyric finally murders Mystra and destroys the weave. Anyone who uses magic is killed or driven mad, the world is turned upside down! Most of the land is radically changed. To add insult to injury, the time line is driven 100 years into the future. All of the places and characters I know and loved over the years are dead. We the loyal fans and players are left with a hollow place that will now be truely forgotten.
The Dragonlance setting was designed with "cataclysm" and upheaval in mind. We all know how playable this world was. I dont see a 4th edition setting for Krynn. If WOTC were wise, they would have left the Realms behind and created a new campaign world that fit its criteria. Many great setting were left behind with the 2nd edition. I will name a few; Birthright, Dark Sun, Ravenloft and Greyhawk. They live on with thier loyal player. Intelligent players could translate the rules to the 3 or 3.5 or if desired, 4th edition. What does this publisher plan for Eberron? More devastation? Probably not!
In gaming terms, it is recommended that you roll new characters. There is no room to continue your 3.5 campaigns, much less live in the same setting you were in. As far as 4th edition goes, the game is dummied down to 1st edition hack and slash! I understand those WOTC want to introduce the game to a new generation of players. Maybe they think the hardcore fans would not notice. I am sure this new edition will catch on with new players, lazy ones albeit. Honestly, it is your game to play however you like. It is a good thing I have 20 years worth of supplements to tide me over for the rest of my life. Perhaps WOTC waited for Gary Gygax to pass from this world to rewrite his game. Futhermore, these new rules do not even resemble classic D&D. How dare they?
As far as the Forgotten Realms is concerned, the clever timeline that has worked wonderfully over the years, will not go beyond anything published beyond the SpellPlague in my campaign. Ed Greenwood's name graces the cover, it seems he is only in for the profits. Shame on him for putting his name on the cover! Worse things could happen, like a rogue publisher breaches all copyright laws and set things right! Hopefully, somehow someone can repair what follows, so I, and I am sure many others would like to hear news form our beloved world. As far as novels are concerned, I have plenty to catch up on and reread. I have always felt it was the intention of WOTC to destroy Toril. It seems they have suceeded. I will no longer be purchasing books or writing reviews for this greedy publisher.
rip off product disliked by Realms creator August 21, 2008
36 out of 63 found this review helpful
1. As to the Spellplague and subsequent plots, Greenwood (creator of the Realms) has said 'These aren't my gods'. Thus ends the Greek myth type interaction between the Realms deities into something more like a video game.
2. Mediocre Art. There are a few images that are nice, but overall the art isn't that good.
3. Lack of ideas, and what is there is poor. For the price of this thing, and comparing it to the 3e guide, the font is way too big and the information is sparse. It reads as a pitiful attempt to justify the changes to the cosmology in the most ham-fisted way possible. An example being Asmodeus using the death of a minor god to realign the entire cosmos. More examples of things that will make you bang your head against the wall abound within - its like the worst scape goat plots of X-men comics in FR form.
 Paradigm Shift August 23, 2008
31 out of 53 found this review helpful
One of the reasons others are giving this book a bad review, in my opinion, is that it doesn't match what many are expecting from this book. They were expecting the Campaign Setting all over again. Here is an excerpt from the book:
"Dungeon Masters who are interested in the definitive
history of the FORGOTTEN REALMS world are
encouraged to review the Grand History of the Realms
supplement. In addition, updates to the Grand History's
extensive and comprehensive timeline will
periodically be made available online at D&D Insider
(http://www.dndinsider.com)."
Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (3.0) was a fantastic book that contained much in the way of history, notable NPC's, races, etc. It is a fascinating read, even if you are not familiar with Forgotten Realms in the D&D context, but instead know of it through novels.
Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide (4E)is a paradigm shift. It isn't meant to be the same as the book above. It is specifically empty of races, NPC's (except a few), and so on. Races should be reserved for the upcoming Players Handbook.
The problem with a familiar and favorite setting (such as the Star Wars or Star Trek universe, and Forgotten Realms) is that when people play games within the universe or write fan fiction, there are always critics who quickly point out the inaccuracies. While these critics, as personified by the comic book guy in the Simpsons, are usually correct... it's extremely irritating and takes players out of the game and into a debate.
This book is set 100 years in the future. Many of the cities, towns, customs, and governments are the same and yet this book adds a mega-hook called the spell plague that changes the magic, terrain, and living organisms to varying degrees, just enough that adventurers don't quite know what to expect in the world any more. This allows DM's to be creative and make adventures without being rigidly held in a world that has already been defined. So the focus on this book is the new Pantheon, and an alphabetical encyclopedic account of nearly every region in Toril. Additionally, it has a large section describing fanatical cults and religions.
So here is one way to use the book. Open the map, pick an area, read about it. You will find the government, customs, and laws. You will know the major religions and threats of that area. You are given several hooks into plot possibilities. Filling out the details is up to the DM's creativity. I believe adding more to this book would be a serious mistake. It is just enough to get things going, but not enough to secure a straight jacket on your home-grown adventure.
They put the power back into the hands of the DM, and returned the suspense of the game to the players. Furthermore, I believe that the old book is still valid as historical reference and so using these two books together adds great fun to the game. Finally, it allows authors to continue writing without worrying about what is canon, apocrypha, etc.
A cursory effort at best - and the map... ugh. August 20, 2008
29 out of 42 found this review helpful
I have been very optimistic about upcoming products due to the quality of 4E products to date. In short, however, this product lacks depth and quality. The art is good, but when comparing this to the 3E campaign guide, this is a shadow of that book. While the prior campaign guide contained loads of quality background information and crunchy bits (rules, etc.), this contains neither. And the colorless, low-detail map was the biggest disappointment of all.
I agree with one of the prior reviewers that it would be better to adapt the 3E material for 4E than waste money on this supplement. Save your money for something much better.
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