 | |
| Genre | Role-playing game |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Wizards of the Coast |
Publication date | September 2007 |
| Media type | |
| ISBN | 978-0-7869-4731-7 |
The Grand History of the Realms is a supplement to the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
| | |
| Genre | Role-playing game |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Wizards of the Coast |
Publication date | September 2007 |
| Media type | |
| ISBN | 978-0-7869-4731-7 |
The Grand History of the Realms is a supplement to the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
The Grand History of the Realms is an accessory for the Forgotten Realms which presents a definitive in-game history of the setting from the dawn of recorded history through the ancient days of Netheril and the Fallen Kingdoms, to the Time of Troubles and the upheavals of the present time in the setting. The text is accompanied by anecdotes, diary entries, letters, and historical texts created by famous personalities of Faerun, and an extensive and comprehensive timeline including a sneak peek into upcoming events.
The Grand History of the Realms was written by Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood, George Krashos, Eric L. Boyd and Thomas M. Costa, and published in September 2007. Cover art was by Todd Lockwood, with interior art by Kyle Anderson, Glen Angus, Steven Belledin, Matt Cavotta, Rafael Garres Cervantes, Ed Cox, Daarken, Wayne England, Jason A. Engle, Emily Fiegenschuh, Carl Frank, Ralph Horsley, Andrew Hou, David Hudnut, Jeremy Jarvis, Dana Knutson, Ginger Kubic, Stephanie Law, Howard Lyon, David Martin, Dennis Crabapple McClain, William O'Connor, Lucio Parrillo, Jim Pavelec, Michael Phillippi, Steve Prescott, Wayne Reynolds, Ron Spencer, Stephen Tappin, Joel Thomas, Derek Thompson, Franz Vohwinkel, Eva Widermann, and Sam Wood.
The book originated out of a fan project where James collated all Forgotten Realms events "according to their in-setting date". [1] In the forward of the book, Richard Baker wrote: [2]
This was something unprecedented for us; for the first time in my long experience with TSR and Wizards of the Coast, we accepted an unsolicited, fan-created piece of work, originally available on the Internet, and put it out in our product schedule. The Grand History of the Realms is therefore not just an excellent Forgotten Realms resource, but also a truly revolutionary product and process for us. It's a sign that you, the readers and players of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, are taking control of the creative process. [...] The Realms are more than what we say they are — they're what you say they are, too.
The original fan project was a 100-page PDF. The published book added "sidebars throughout, featuring commentary from Ed Greenwood and many other official Realms designers. These sidebars explain campaign features, discuss historical events, give first-person accounts of events as recounted by characters in the Forgotten Realms, and generally serve to round out the short descriptions of every notable event that has occurred in official products". [3] This book acts as "a last hurrah for the setting before major changes (such as the Spellplague) implemented with 4e". [1]
John Baichtal, for Wired , wrote "even if you're not a Realms-head, this book has tons of value. Just as a guide for world creation, it's a great example. It forces you to think, how did this race or that empire become great? What became of it when its time passed? My only complaint about the book is the lack of bibliographical references. If the events of a novel are mentioned, might a footnote not be helpful for readers interested in learning more?" [4]
Curtis D. Carbonell, in the book Dread Trident: Tabletop Role-Playing Games and the Modern Fantastic, wrote "The Grand History is important because it represents how a shared imaginary universe becomes realized through the combination of analog/digital tools made available to the public. [...] This reference-designed gametext represents the FR at its most robust, combining a history that stretches across three editions". [1]
Kevin Kulp, game designer and admin of EN World, wrote "this book is a must-buy for anyone interested in the Forgotten Realms; there is literally no other publication that comes close to pulling so many disparate threads together into one cohesive, easily understood timeline. It's also extremely useful for DMs who homebrew their campaigns instead of playing in the official campaign setting. Many games lack the weight of history simply because the DM has neither time nor energy enough to build the many events needed to add texture to their world. [...] The Grand History of the Realms is a great example for how a DM can add that sort of detail into a game, and it provides perspective for the massive sweep of a campaign's history. [...] Value has been added over the original free PDF through maps, art, and sidebar commentary". [3]
Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories. Several years later, Greenwood brought the setting to publication for the D&D game as a series of magazine articles, and the first Realms game products were released in 1987. Role-playing game products have been produced for the setting ever since, as have various licensed products including novels, role-playing video game adaptations, comic books, and the film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a pocket dimension or demiplane, called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces called "domains", brought together by a mysterious force known only as the Dark Powers. Each domain is tailored to and mystically ruled by a being called a Darklord who is forever trapped and surrounded by magical mists surrounding the domain. Strahd von Zarovich, a vampire in the original AD&DRavenloft I6 module 1983, became the first Darklord, both ruler and prisoner of his own personal domain of Barovia. How Count von Zarovich became the darklord of Barovia was detailed in the novel I, Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampire. As originally established in the Ravenloft: Realm of Terror boxed set known as "the Black Box" released in 1990, the Ravenloft campaign setting was located in the Ethereal Plane. As a physical manifestation of that plane, lands, monsters and even people were created out of the mysterious mists, and the realm acted as a prison where one could enter or be transported, but means of escape were few. Other Ravenloft Domains and Darklords were eventually added in various AD&D 2nd edition products establishing a core continent attached around Barovia which could be traveled to by others if their respective lords allowed entering or leaving their borders; while some Domains remained isolated in the mists and were referred to as Islands.
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In the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, an Outer Plane is one of a number of general types of planes of existence. They can also be referred to as godly planes, spiritual planes or divine planes. The Outer Planes are home to beings such as deities and their servants such as demons, celestials and devils. Each Outer Plane is usually the physical manifestation of a particular moral and ethical alignment and the entities that dwell there often embody the traits related to that alignment.
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Keith Baker is a game designer and fantasy novel author. In addition to working with Wizards of the Coast on the creation of Eberron, he has also contributed material for Goodman Games, Paizo Publishing and Green Ronin Publishing. In 2014, Baker and Jennifer Ellis co-founded the indie tabletop game company Twogether Studios.
D&D Adventurers League, or simply Adventurers League for short, is the organized play association for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) roleplaying game which is officially administered by D&D's publisher, Wizards of the Coast. Prior to 2014, it was known as the Role Playing Game Association Network. The organization was originally established by D&D's previous publisher, TSR, Inc., in 1980.
The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting is a role-playing game sourcebook first published by TSR in 1987 for the first edition of the fantasy role-playing game Advanced Dungeons & Dragons that describes the campaign setting of the Forgotten Realms. It contains information on characters, locations and history. Various revised and updated editions have been produced over the years.
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