What do you think?
Rate this book
Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster's Forgotten Realms: A Dungeons & Dragons Supplement
The FORGOTTEN REALMS is the most successful and widely known DUNGEONS & DRAGONS campaign setting ever created, and it owes its existence to creator Ed Greenwood.
This 160-page hardcover book describes the campaign setting as it lives and breathes in the imagination of its creator. Through the alter ego of Elminster, Archmage of Shadowdale, Ed Greenwood presents the Realms as a setting where companies of crazed adventurers are born and have rich lives, and where they get to call the shots. In this book, Ed presents a world where friendships are forged, endless intrigues unfold, and heroes wage war against the monstrous inhabitants of famous dungeons and untamed wildernesses.
For the FORGOTTEN REALMS fan, this book provides a rare glimpse into the setting as imagined by its creator, with new information on its visible and clandestine rulers, various merchant and trade princes, the churches and mercenary companies of the Realms, renown magic-users and secret societies, adventuring companies, and the web of alliances and enmities that connect them. The book is aimed at all Forgotten Realms enthusiasts, including players of every edition of the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game.
This 160-page hardcover book describes the campaign setting as it lives and breathes in the imagination of its creator. Through the alter ego of Elminster, Archmage of Shadowdale, Ed Greenwood presents the Realms as a setting where companies of crazed adventurers are born and have rich lives, and where they get to call the shots. In this book, Ed presents a world where friendships are forged, endless intrigues unfold, and heroes wage war against the monstrous inhabitants of famous dungeons and untamed wildernesses.
For the FORGOTTEN REALMS fan, this book provides a rare glimpse into the setting as imagined by its creator, with new information on its visible and clandestine rulers, various merchant and trade princes, the churches and mercenary companies of the Realms, renown magic-users and secret societies, adventuring companies, and the web of alliances and enmities that connect them. The book is aimed at all Forgotten Realms enthusiasts, including players of every edition of the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published October 16, 2012
10 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
About the author
Ed Greenwood
364 books878 followersEd Greenwood is the creator of the Forgotten Realms fantasy world, which became the setting for his home D&D game in 1975. Play still continues in this long-running campaign, and Ed also keeps busy producing Realmslore for various TSR publications.
Ed has published over two hundred articles in Dragon magazine and Polyhedron newszine, is a lifetime charter member of the Role Playing Game Associaton (RPGA) network, has written over thirty books and modules for TSR, and been Gen Con Game Fair guest of honor several times.
In addition to all these activities, Ed works as a library clerk and has edited over a dozen small press magazines.
Invented the character Elminster from the popular Forgotten Realms RPG series. Currently resides in an old farmhouse in the countryside of Ontario, Canada.
Ed has published over two hundred articles in Dragon magazine and Polyhedron newszine, is a lifetime charter member of the Role Playing Game Associaton (RPGA) network, has written over thirty books and modules for TSR, and been Gen Con Game Fair guest of honor several times.
In addition to all these activities, Ed works as a library clerk and has edited over a dozen small press magazines.
Invented the character Elminster from the popular Forgotten Realms RPG series. Currently resides in an old farmhouse in the countryside of Ontario, Canada.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 29, 2019
This was a very interesting book, and it helps demonstrate some of the ways that the creativity of various people helped to make the Dungeons & Dragons universe as rich as it was. Indeed, the Forgotten Realms appears to have been created by Ed Greenwood before Dungeons & Dragons was itself invented, one of the imaginary worlds that were inspired by a general love of fantasy that happened to become part of larger worlds. We might think the same of the childhood world of C.S. Lewis and his brother, which became Boxen, a world that in many ways is not so dissimilar from the Forgotten Realms with its fantasy elements and its focus on politics. At any rate, this particular book is an exploration of a world that has been cultivated by its creator for decades, and which has become part of a popular game, all of which suggests a great deal of love and attention has been paid to this world not only by the world's creator himself but by a great many others. For companies do not publish books about worlds that no one cares about, after all, and people definitely care about Forgotten Realms and its larger mythos.
This book of about 200 pages provides a great deal of very interesting information about the world of Forgotten Realms. The book begins with a foreword and an introduction before moving on to life in the realms, where the author discusses the racial viewpoints of various populations on the planet, the language and holidays of the realm, as well as matters like drugs and poisons, medicine and illnesses, and even gossip. After that comes a chapter on laws and order, including social rank, property and trade laws, as well as the secret history of the Zhentarim. The author follows this with questions about hearth and home, from inns and taverns to food (from hunting to regional cuisines) as well as fashion. The author spends a chapter on money matters (from jobs to guilds to trade to coinage to the slave trade), after which the author talks about gods and followers, spending a great deal of time discussing the various orders of priesthood. The last chapter of the book discusses the art in the Forgotten Realms, which refers specifically to magic, and gives some details about magic, bloodlines, alchemy, bardic matters, elves, spellsong, and a great deal more magic besides that, after which the book concludes with a brief afterword.
Although I must admit that my own particular worldviews, religious and political, are far distinct from anything that can be found in the Forgotten Realms, at least as this book discusses, it is clear from reading this book that the author thought a lot about the way this world was put together. There is a great deal of struggle with the desire to preserve a society and to prevent drastic change. The fact that Waterdeep has not known new noble families for centuries suggests that there is a strong conservative edge to the view of this particular world, to such an extent that different religions have a high degree of tolerance for each other even where there are major disagreements because doing something about these religions would require threatening drastic change that no one appears to want. This is not a world for revolutionaries, and there is something to be said for the appeal of a world where such diverse and conflicting populations and economic systems are able to coexist in a tense equilibrium because making serious efforts to change the status quo would result in drastic social changes that would be abhorrent to elites, something that ought to be seen as relevant to our real world.
This book of about 200 pages provides a great deal of very interesting information about the world of Forgotten Realms. The book begins with a foreword and an introduction before moving on to life in the realms, where the author discusses the racial viewpoints of various populations on the planet, the language and holidays of the realm, as well as matters like drugs and poisons, medicine and illnesses, and even gossip. After that comes a chapter on laws and order, including social rank, property and trade laws, as well as the secret history of the Zhentarim. The author follows this with questions about hearth and home, from inns and taverns to food (from hunting to regional cuisines) as well as fashion. The author spends a chapter on money matters (from jobs to guilds to trade to coinage to the slave trade), after which the author talks about gods and followers, spending a great deal of time discussing the various orders of priesthood. The last chapter of the book discusses the art in the Forgotten Realms, which refers specifically to magic, and gives some details about magic, bloodlines, alchemy, bardic matters, elves, spellsong, and a great deal more magic besides that, after which the book concludes with a brief afterword.
Although I must admit that my own particular worldviews, religious and political, are far distinct from anything that can be found in the Forgotten Realms, at least as this book discusses, it is clear from reading this book that the author thought a lot about the way this world was put together. There is a great deal of struggle with the desire to preserve a society and to prevent drastic change. The fact that Waterdeep has not known new noble families for centuries suggests that there is a strong conservative edge to the view of this particular world, to such an extent that different religions have a high degree of tolerance for each other even where there are major disagreements because doing something about these religions would require threatening drastic change that no one appears to want. This is not a world for revolutionaries, and there is something to be said for the appeal of a world where such diverse and conflicting populations and economic systems are able to coexist in a tense equilibrium because making serious efforts to change the status quo would result in drastic social changes that would be abhorrent to elites, something that ought to be seen as relevant to our real world.
September 20, 2023
Der originalText erschien auf der Website des Webmagazins "Comicgate": http://comicgate.de/aktuelles/waehren...
"Elminster‘s Forgotten Realms" (langer Titel: Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster’s Forgotten Realms: A Dungeons & Dragons Supplement) wurde von Ed Greenwood, dem Schöpfer der erfolgreichsten D&D-Campaign-Settings, den Forgotten Realms, geschrieben. Die Hintergrundwelt kennt man auch ohne Pen&Paper-Erfahrung, wenn man mal Spiele wie "Baldur‘s Gate" oder "Neverwinter" gespielt hat. Dieses Buch dreht sich um das Leben der durchschnittlichen Bevölkerung des Kontinents Fâerun und beschreibt, wie der Autor sich die Welt aus seiner Perspektive vorstellt. Denn der durchschnittliche Abenteurer mag zwar regelmäßig eine Großstadt oder gar die Welt retten, aber wie werden eigentlich Gesetze in dieser Welt durchgesetzt? Was essen wir eigentlich in einer Welt, in der gefühlt jedes zweite Tier auch ein blutrünstiges Monster ist? Und was hat man davon, als guter Mensch auch zu bösen Göttern zu beten?
All das erläutert Greenwood auf 192 Seiten eng bedruckt und mit vielen Beispielen. Gerade das Kapitel über die wichtigsten Gottheiten der Realms ist besonders lesenswert, da es auch darauf eingeht, wie die Kulte ihr Geld verdienen und sich in die Gesellschaft integrieren. Auch die guten Gottheiten kriegen ihr Fett weg, wenn Greenwood über Korruption und Trickbetrüger innerhalb der Kirchen schreibt. Die Rolle des Handels wird ebenfalls beleuchtet, was praktisch ist, da jeder Spieler wohl mal einen Händler als Auftraggeber hatte. Das macht die Welt gleich viel glaubhafter und gibt auch Ideen für Abenteuer, die über die üblichen Intrigen zwischen guten und bösen Fraktionen hinausgehen. Fâerun wird dadurch mit mehr Grauzonen versehen, als man vielleicht aus den Computerspielen kennt.
Schön finde ich auch, dass Greenwood alte Dokumente abdruckte, die den Entstehungsprozess der Realms dokumentieren und wie sich einiges im Laufe der Jahre änderte. Das liest sich sehr sympathisch und macht auch den Inhalt des Buches auch über das In-Game Lore hinaus spannend. Gleichzeitig ist das auch einer meiner wenigen Kritikpunkte. Ich hätte mir von solchen Einblicken in die Welt gerne mehr gewünscht, da es mir auch die Vision des Schöpfers näherbringt. Mein zweiter Kritikpunkt betrifft die Zugänglichkeit des Buches, da der Text oft so geschrieben ist, dass man bereits wissen sollte, was die Realms sind. Ich finde durchaus, dass das Buch auch als Einsteigerwerk geeignet gewesen wäre, weswegen zum Beispiel eine Karte des Kontinents oder zumindest eine genauere Beschreibung der einzelnen Götter wünschenswert gewesen wäre, um die Lektüre zu erleichtern. Auch Greenwoods Schreibstil ist manchmal umständlich, da er gerne noch zusätzliche Erklärungen an Sätze hinzufügt, die für sich stehen könnten und manchmal etwas gewollt ironisch schreibt. Trotzdem ist "Elminster‘s Forgotten Realms" ein gutes Buch, das den Kontinent Fâerun vertieft und dabei hilft, mehr aus der Welt zu machen, als nur eine Kulisse für ein schnelles Abenteuer. Ich zumindest werde das Buch als Referenzquelle benutzen.
"Elminster‘s Forgotten Realms" (langer Titel: Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster’s Forgotten Realms: A Dungeons & Dragons Supplement) wurde von Ed Greenwood, dem Schöpfer der erfolgreichsten D&D-Campaign-Settings, den Forgotten Realms, geschrieben. Die Hintergrundwelt kennt man auch ohne Pen&Paper-Erfahrung, wenn man mal Spiele wie "Baldur‘s Gate" oder "Neverwinter" gespielt hat. Dieses Buch dreht sich um das Leben der durchschnittlichen Bevölkerung des Kontinents Fâerun und beschreibt, wie der Autor sich die Welt aus seiner Perspektive vorstellt. Denn der durchschnittliche Abenteurer mag zwar regelmäßig eine Großstadt oder gar die Welt retten, aber wie werden eigentlich Gesetze in dieser Welt durchgesetzt? Was essen wir eigentlich in einer Welt, in der gefühlt jedes zweite Tier auch ein blutrünstiges Monster ist? Und was hat man davon, als guter Mensch auch zu bösen Göttern zu beten?
All das erläutert Greenwood auf 192 Seiten eng bedruckt und mit vielen Beispielen. Gerade das Kapitel über die wichtigsten Gottheiten der Realms ist besonders lesenswert, da es auch darauf eingeht, wie die Kulte ihr Geld verdienen und sich in die Gesellschaft integrieren. Auch die guten Gottheiten kriegen ihr Fett weg, wenn Greenwood über Korruption und Trickbetrüger innerhalb der Kirchen schreibt. Die Rolle des Handels wird ebenfalls beleuchtet, was praktisch ist, da jeder Spieler wohl mal einen Händler als Auftraggeber hatte. Das macht die Welt gleich viel glaubhafter und gibt auch Ideen für Abenteuer, die über die üblichen Intrigen zwischen guten und bösen Fraktionen hinausgehen. Fâerun wird dadurch mit mehr Grauzonen versehen, als man vielleicht aus den Computerspielen kennt.
Schön finde ich auch, dass Greenwood alte Dokumente abdruckte, die den Entstehungsprozess der Realms dokumentieren und wie sich einiges im Laufe der Jahre änderte. Das liest sich sehr sympathisch und macht auch den Inhalt des Buches auch über das In-Game Lore hinaus spannend. Gleichzeitig ist das auch einer meiner wenigen Kritikpunkte. Ich hätte mir von solchen Einblicken in die Welt gerne mehr gewünscht, da es mir auch die Vision des Schöpfers näherbringt. Mein zweiter Kritikpunkt betrifft die Zugänglichkeit des Buches, da der Text oft so geschrieben ist, dass man bereits wissen sollte, was die Realms sind. Ich finde durchaus, dass das Buch auch als Einsteigerwerk geeignet gewesen wäre, weswegen zum Beispiel eine Karte des Kontinents oder zumindest eine genauere Beschreibung der einzelnen Götter wünschenswert gewesen wäre, um die Lektüre zu erleichtern. Auch Greenwoods Schreibstil ist manchmal umständlich, da er gerne noch zusätzliche Erklärungen an Sätze hinzufügt, die für sich stehen könnten und manchmal etwas gewollt ironisch schreibt. Trotzdem ist "Elminster‘s Forgotten Realms" ein gutes Buch, das den Kontinent Fâerun vertieft und dabei hilft, mehr aus der Welt zu machen, als nur eine Kulisse für ein schnelles Abenteuer. Ich zumindest werde das Buch als Referenzquelle benutzen.
April 2, 2014
I love the Forgotten Realms; and I love the Forgotten Realms, not just because it's a great setting (and it is that) but because of the amount of detail suffused in every nook and cranny of Ed Greenwood's wondrous creation. Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster's Forgotten Realms is a D & D supplement, but also it's much more than that: this book is an inspiring piece of world-building of which I'm not ashamed to admit I am in awe, and it's a marvelous view of the Forgotten Realms directly from the man himself. As an avid fan of Fantasy and Science Fiction, I love world-building -- the more expansive and richly detailed the better. I could mention Tolkien here, but I'm going to nod instead to more contemporary practitioners like Rothfuss and Sanderson. Greenwood's Forgotten Realms is a living, breathing entity and in 192 pages you get a peek inside an expansive imagination from a man who has spent the better part of his life time bringing his creation to light... and he keeps going as a regular contributor to the "Forging the Realms" blog on Daily D & D, Greenwood continues to share and add to his world. I'm grateful to Mr. Greenwood for making a part of his imagination available for us to play in -- it's a great place to explore.
February 19, 2016
This was a pretty cool Forgotten Realms source book! It had no game mechanic content, just delved into the day to day lives of a great subset of the people you might find wandering the realms. It was a bit confusing... for one thing, this book just came out in 2012, about 4 years into fourth edition dnd, but it appeared to be describing life in the era of 3.0/3.5 editions... they are very different after all...
It was also a bit strange that the book went out of its way to portray the realms as a finely balanced machine, with everyone working in harmony, with even evil having it's place. What? Since when? It's a bit late in the game to be trying that on for size! The only thing that rang true about that section was that an ordinary person would not desecrate a holy site of an evil god for fear that the god in question would notice and smite them. That sort of thing happens all the time in the books.
Still, really good book, chock full of interesting details and ideas, even though i can't see anyone trying to learn all the slang terms.
It was also a bit strange that the book went out of its way to portray the realms as a finely balanced machine, with everyone working in harmony, with even evil having it's place. What? Since when? It's a bit late in the game to be trying that on for size! The only thing that rang true about that section was that an ordinary person would not desecrate a holy site of an evil god for fear that the god in question would notice and smite them. That sort of thing happens all the time in the books.
Still, really good book, chock full of interesting details and ideas, even though i can't see anyone trying to learn all the slang terms.
June 13, 2016
This D&D version agnostic book is cool source of huge amount of mundane information about society of Forgotten Realms. There are a lot notes from Ed Greenwood (from early days) too! If you like to play Forgotten Realm or planning to be a GM in FR campaign, this book is a good source for all kind of background information. Must read for all Forgotten Realms fans!
November 22, 2015
I'd give this five stars if it was longer, as it was, while incredible, it seemed to be just a tantalizing glimpse of something with the potential to be much, much longer. (Like, say, a whole series of encyclopedias or something.)
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews