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[BadBurger]

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The Forgotten Realms was originally a campaign setting for the tabletop fantasy roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). Created by popular fantasy writer Ed Greenwood in or around 1967, it takes place upon the fictional world of Toril in the land of Faerûn. It is likely the most familair D&D setting for board and tabletop enthusiasts, readers of the D&D fantasy novels, and gamers - having been the featured world of numerous popular creations such as R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt Do'urden and popular video game series such as Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights.

Dungeons & Dragons was once the property of a company named TSR, which was purchased by Wizards of the Coast in 1997. After many years of experimenting with new or rebooted campaign settings, Wizards of the Coast announced in 2014 that The Forgotten Realms would be its offical campaign setting for its roleplaying adventure materials. This coincided with the release of its fifth, current, and by far most popular rules edition - 5E.

If you have played a fantasy video game with "RPG mechanics", featuring creatures such as goblins and trolls and undead, random rolls in the background to determine the success of your interactions with NPC's or actions in combat, chances are they were heavily inspired by D&D and by extension the Forgotten Realms.

This is a thread to discuss the past, present, and future of the Forgotten Realms in gaming.

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Some of the most beloved roleplaying video games of the eighties, nineties, and early 2000's were set within the Forgetten Realms - some examples:

• Pool of Radiance | 1988 | Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) | PC and NES
  
  
  
  
  
• Eye of the Beholder| 1990 | Westwood Studios | PC, Sega CD, NES, Amiga
  
  
  
  
  
• Baldur's Gate | 1998 | BioWare | Windows, Mac
  
  
  
  
  
• Planescape Torment | 1999 | Black Isle Studios | Windows
  
  
  
  
  
• Icewind Dale | 2000 | Black Isle Studios | Windows, Mac
  
  
  
  
  
• Neverwinter Nights | 2002 | BioWare | Windows, Mac, Linux
  
  
  
  
  
• Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone | 2004 | Stormfront Studios, Zono | Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox
  
  

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Though the Forgotten Realms fell out of video gaming prominence during the late 2000's, some video game developers have nevertheless continued to leverage the setting in new or hybrid genres. A few examples:

• Neverwinter | 2013 | Cryptic Studios | Windows, Xbox One, PS4 | Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game
  
  
  
  
  
• Lords of Waterdeep | 2014 | Playdek, Inc. | Windows, OS X, Android, iOS | Board Game (physical and virtual)
  
  

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During a press conference of the 25th Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) in 2019, publisher and developer Larian Studios announced that they would be returning to the storied franchise of Baldur's Gate with Baldur's Gate III. Baldur's Gate III entered early access on the digital distribution platforms GoG and Steam on October 6th 2020 to rave reception - selling over one million units and peaking on Steam with over 70,000 concurrent users.

• NeoGAF's Baldur's Gate III |OT|:
  
  

  Baldur's Gate III |OT| Three times as awesome

  Developer: Larian Studios Publisher: Larian Studies Genre: RPG Platforms: PC, Stadia Releaste Date: October 6th, 2020 (Early Access) System Requirements Minimum Settings: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10...

  www.neogaf.com
  
  
• Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance is an upcoming third person action RPG developed and published by Tuque Games. The game will revisit the frigid tundra around Icewind Dale, and will feature the popular characters of R.A. Salvatore's series of Forgotten Realms stories: Drizzt Do'Urden, Catti-Brie, Bruenor Battlehammer, and Wulfgar.
  
  Gameplay Trailer
  

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FURTHER READING

• Official Forgotten Realms summary, and the major cities and regions of Toril
• A Map of the Sword Coast - the setting for Baldur's Gate, among others
• Deities of the Forgotten Realms

 

[STARSBarry]

I was about to ask if Pathfinder: Kingmaker was not part of forgotten realms and then realised what a retarded question that was as I was typing out the word pathfinder.

 

[BrentonB]

Planescape: Torment was set in Planescape. It is not Forgotten Realms.

 

[Slings and Arrows]

A friend told me that Wizards, Hasbro and or Disney, are all getting together to merge all of their worlds in to one?

So Magic the Gathering takes place in the same 'multi-verse' as Baldurs gate.

Is that horseshit, or am i misunderstanding?

 

[GenericUser]

Planescape: Torment was set in Planescape. It is not Forgotten Realms.

Aren't the planes part of the forgotten realms? I remember visiting them once during baldurs gate 2.

 

[BadBurger]

Planescape: Torment was set in Planescape. It is not Forgotten Realms.

It's set amid the various planes of the The Great Wheel (of the time in D&D fiction), which includes the Forgotten Realms. Technically all of the D&D settings exist within the same universe (or multiverse, if you will).

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Excellent write up BadBurger

Really fond of this world. Never played the tabletop but I played numerous D&D games growing up (first the SSI games, then the Interplay/Black Isle/Bioware games).

 

[BadBurger]

Excellent write up BadBurger

Really fond of this world. Never played the tabletop but I played numerous D&D games growing up (first the SSI games, then the Interplay/Black Isle/Bioware games).

I was introduced to the games as a kid. None of my other friends at the time liked them, as they were "old" at the time (retro wasn't a thing yet). From there I started reading the books and been a fan ever since. I jump at the chance to play any game set within that world now.

 

[Bladed Thesis]

I just started Baldur's Gate enhanced edition on console and plan to do the second as well.

Great games, building up to BG3 later 2021 hopefully.

 

[Rikkori]

Oh how I loved NWN! Gotta get around and re-play it one of these days.

 

[Liljagare]

Loved the SSI goldbox games.

Makes me sad we still haven't seen a proper Dragonlance game.. Can work in so many ways, the license is dirt cheap nowadays too. Huuuuuuuuge world...

 

[Tragic Denial]

if only the other settings were explored as the FR...
anyway
i rebought all these games(minus Pool Of Radiance) on GOG just for shits and giggle

there's also the Savage Frontier series

 

[Duellist]

Loved all of them including this one.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

Aren't the planes part of the forgotten realms? I remember visiting them once during baldurs gate 2.

The planes are part of the D&D universe (multiverse) and connect to Greyhawk, Krynn, Mystara, etc.

They're not exclusive to Toril.

 

[Yellow Yoshi]

I tried every single Forgotten Realms game, but none got me before Baldur's Gate released (which is a game I know by heart now).

Well, except for this one, which is set on the more exotic parts of the Realms... this one was good!

 

[Allnamestakenlol]

Some good shit right there.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

Loved the SSI goldbox games.

Makes me sad we still haven't seen a proper Dragonlance game.. Can work in so many ways, the license is dirt cheap nowadays too. Huuuuuuuuge world...

Dude there's been about a half dozen SSI goldbox Dragonlance games. You can even get them all on GOG now.

Dungeons & Dragons: Krynn Series

Return to the first fantasy role-playing epic set in the legendary Dragonlance game world

www.gog.com

 

[mcz117chief]

A moment of silence for the lost source code of Icewind Dale 2, which means we will never get the remaster that the first game got

 

[Ingwerorang]

Not one mention of Demon Stone

 

[Komatsu]

Absolutely awesome thread, congrats.

A moment of silence for the lost source code of Icewind Dale 2, which means we will never get the remaster that the first game got

You never know, friend. If they found Saga's source code after 20 years, one can dream..

 

[BadBurger]

Not one mention of Demon Stone

I added it just for you bb

Absolutely awesome thread, congrats.

Thanks!

 

[Ingwerorang]

I added it just for you bb

Thank you kind sir.

 

[PleaseWaitStation4]

A friend told me that Wizards, Hasbro and or Disney, are all getting together to merge all of their worlds in to one?

So Magic the Gathering takes place in the same 'multi-verse' as Baldurs gate.

Is that horseshit, or am i misunderstanding?

The goal is to destroy everything, so it would make sense to consolidate it all into one pot.

 

[Threeshotgamer]

I'm super excited to see this make a comeback. Dark Alliance 1 and 2 were some of my favorites and my brother and I spent a lot of time doing the co-op

 

[Ingwerorang]

I'm super excited to see this make a comeback. Dark Alliance 1 and 2 were some of my favorites and my brother and I spent a lot of time doing the co-op

Was about to mention this game. Fun memories playing the Gamecube version with a friend. Never played the sequel.

 

[Null Persp]

Westwood Studios

 

[Liljagare]

Dude there's been about a half dozen SSI goldbox Dragonlance games. You can even get them all on GOG now.

Dungeons & Dragons: Krynn Series

Return to the first fantasy role-playing epic set in the legendary Dragonlance game world

www.gog.com

Yeah, and I loved them, haven't been anything much since, is what I meant.

 

[GreyHorace]

Looking forward to Baldur's Gate 3 from Larian.

Am not enthused by other game projects, especially from the now cucked Wizards of the Coast.

The Realms deserve better.

 

[captainnapalm]

Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 - absolutely god tier.

 

[Ingwerorang]

I should play Mask of the Betrayer at some point, never finished Neverwinter Nights 2 though.

 

[Ornlu]

Planescape: Torment was set in Planescape. It is not Forgotten Realms.

​

 

[Stiflers Mom]

Played a lot of FR with D&D 1rst ed in the late 80ies.
Had a long campaign rubning that kind of ended with the Times of Trouble/ avatar trilogy.

Loved playing Azure Bonds.
Have read the book, played the D&D module and played the game on the Amiga.

Also, I miss chainmail bikini tops

 

[raystlin7]

The Forgotten Realms setting used to get some premium treatment from the likes of Bioware and Black Isle. It's a shame how it got a bit forgotten in recent years. Also what happened to Dragonlance?

 

[Stiflers Mom]

The Forgotten Realms setting used to get some premium treatment from the likes of Bioware and Black Isle. It's a shame how it got a bit forgotten in recent years. Also what happened to Dragonlance?

I guess devs noticed they could just do their own fantasy worlds and copy whatever they find interesting.
Plus, tabletop RPGs and their settings as a cultural thing are not as omnipresent as they once were back in the 80ies and going into the 90ies.

 

[Hnjohngalt]

The Forgotten Realms setting used to get some premium treatment from the likes of Bioware and Black Isle. It's a shame how it got a bit forgotten in recent years. Also what happened to Dragonlance?

Wizards of the Coast went woke and determined that the Dragonlance series was not woke enough with Gully Dwarves and how it uses kender and non binary Cis Heroes. Basically, some folks got triggered.

 

[Tragic Denial]

The Forgotten Realms setting used to get some premium treatment from the likes of Bioware and Black Isle. It's a shame how it got a bit forgotten in recent years. Also what happened to Dragonlance?

trash book after trash book sinked dragonlance

 

[diffusionx]

​

It’s a thread about AD&D video games, pretty sure nerd cred is established from the start.

 

[Carna]

Oh how I loved NWN! Gotta get around and re-play it one of these days.

Ah the 80s to mid 2000s when western devs weren't afraid to make their female characters sexy

 

[Darkmakaimura]

Yeah, and I loved them, haven't been anything much since, is what I meant.

Yeah I hear you. All the D&D worlds get neglected except Forgotten Realms.

They never did a proper Planescape (I felt Torment as a narrative driven game is great but not as a Planescape game) or Spelljammer (there was one but it was bad) crpg. Greyhawk only got one in the form of Temple of Elemental Evil.

That's another cool thing about the Supplemental Security Income goldbox games is they explored Forgotten Realms, Krynn, Spelljammer, Ravenloft, etc.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

Wizards of the Coast went woke and determined that the Dragonlance series was not woke enough with Gully Dwarves and how it uses kender and non binary Cis Heroes. Basically, some folks got triggered.

This is sadly true.

Isn't there some lawsuit between the Dragonlance creators and WotC?

 

[BadBurger]

This is sadly true.

Isn't there some lawsuit between the Dragonlance creators and WotC?

Yes. Basically the writers were never paid for their work after WotC decided to not publish their upcoming works in Krynn. Shame real world politics bled into fantasy like that. I really enjoyed Krynn and the companions.

 

[jason10mm]

Wizards of the Coast went woke and determined that the Dragonlance series was not woke enough with Gully Dwarves and how it uses kender and non binary Cis Heroes. Basically, some folks got triggered.

No kidding, virtually everyone in DL was explicitly described as a cis white hetero. Even edge cases like Riverwind and Goldmoon are hard to port over to Native Americans without triggering someone, though Riverwind is often depicted looking pretty "swarthy native" compared to his tribesmate Goldmoon who is lily white. So any attempt to diversify the cast will likely just alienate the long time fans and wreck the story so there are no new fans.

Which sucks because I would love a nice fat box reproduction of all the modules including the chit wargame ones.

WOTC should just dump the IP if they won't move on it. But Draconians are too juicy to give up I think.

 

[Hnjohngalt]

No kidding, virtually everyone in DL was explicitly described as a cis white hetero. Even edge cases like Riverwind and Goldmoon are hard to port over to Native Americans without triggering someone, though Riverwind is often depicted looking pretty "swarthy native" compared to his tribesmate Goldmoon who is lily white. So any attempt to diversify the cast will likely just alienate the long time fans and wreck the story so there are no new fans.

Which sucks because I would love a nice fat box reproduction of all the modules including the chit wargame ones.

WOTC should just dump the IP if they won't move on it. But Draconians are too juicy to give up I think.

I would kill for a proper Western or Japanese RPG turn based of the Dragonlance books. If i ever win the lottery i will buy the rights and make it happen.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

It'd be cool if some of the Forgotten Realms videogames explored other genres besides party-based RPGs.

Boardgames are waaaay ahead of videogames in this regard. I guess gettin bought by Wizards of the Coast has something to do with that, but consider...

Lords of Waterdeep, a strategy game of hidden objectives and politicking
Tyrants of the Underdark, similar to above, a strategy card game about running a drow house
or D&D Attack Wing which is basically dueling dragons in the sky

All of these would be a cool theme for a D&D videogame.

In the videogame realm we have RPGs and... a bunch of 80s and 90s arcade games that failed to push D&D beyond the RPGs

 

[jason10mm]

A grand strategy war game based off the War of Krynn module would be dope.

WOTC even did an Axis and Allies type board game called Conquest of Nerath.

But DnD is at its core is a party based adventure game so no surprise most adaptations try to recreate that dynamic.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

A grand strategy war game based off the War of Krynn module would be dope.

WOTC even did an Axis and Allies type board game called Conquest of Nerath.

But DnD is at its core is a party based adventure game so no surprise most adaptations try to recreate that dynamic.

There was actually an SSI Dragonlance strategy game too.

War of the Lance (video game) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

But I know what you mean. Too bad WotC are insufferable POS nowadays.

 

[NecrosaroIII]

Betrayal at Baldur's Gate is pretty dope too.

 

[Hnjohngalt]

There was actually an SSI Dragonlance strategy game too.

War of the Lance (video game) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

But I know what you mean. Too bad WotC are insufferable POS nowadays.

I am gonna have to try this one. Nevsr heard of it. I do not think GOG has it.

 

[jason10mm]

But I know what you mean. Too bad WotC are insufferable POS nowadays.

Yeah, it is a shame. I used to love the Dragon talk podcast but lately it is nothing but weird fringe guests that mostly stump for their personal IDpol crusade and at some point almost all of them will say "I never played DnD growing up because I didn't think it was for me, but now I see someone that looks like me in the art so NOW I play [in a monetized podcast only though]" yeah right. You were a theater kid, not a nerd, and now you think you can capitalize on something.

De-evilizing drow and orcs, plus eliminating the baked in racial attribute modifiers, was just the latest straw. Everyone wants to be the exceptional snowflake based on their character birth, not for their player class actions. It's a shame. I fully expect next gen DnD to get rid of all classes and just let players pick from a skill list whenever they feel like.

 

[BadBurger]

With the only FR game in the works being the new Dark Alliance, FR news is slim. I am thinking about buying this just to go through, maybe look for a group online to play with (I only tried pen and paper a few times, both online):

Dungeons & Dragons 5E’s first one-shot collection Candlekeep Mysteries spotlights diverse writers

Keep roleplaying short and sweet with Candlekeep Mysteries, a book for Dungeons & Dragons 5E containing a collection of one-shot stories.

www.dicebreaker.com

Has anyone ever purchased one of these "RPG books" before? Do they have a lot of artwork in them?