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| Genre | Role-playing games |
|---|---|
| Publisher | TSR |
Publication date | 1996 |
| Media type | Boxed set |
The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1996.
| | |
| Genre | Role-playing games |
|---|---|
| Publisher | TSR |
Publication date | 1996 |
| Media type | Boxed set |
The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1996.
The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier is split into two maps and three books, which detail the wilderness and cities of the region of the Forgotten Realms known as The North, and takes an in-depth look at the city of Daggerford. [1] "The Wilderness" book is an overview of the region, establishing the difference between places, laying down time lines and building up the lands north of Waterdeep. The booklet also assesses each area for its orc raiding tendencies, elf magic potential, the populace's attitude to things like foreigners and magic, and offers further details on characters and the powers of each realm. [1] The "Cities" book touches on each town and city in the North and introduces all the important characters there. [1] The "Daggerford" book fleshes out Daggerford with a variety of NPCs. [1] The maps continue where those of the preceding Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting leave off. [2]
The fictional region detailed in The North was lightly touched on in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Set (1987). It was further detailed in the accessory Waterdeep and the North (1987), although reviewer Jim Bambra found the section on "the North" comparatively weak. [3] The Savage Frontier (1988) from the same series focussed completely on the region. Volo's Guide to the North (1993), an accessory framed as a travel guide, provided more details and flavor about the area. The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier (1996) was published as a boxed set and the most extensive product about the region to date, using much of the material of its predecessors. [2]
Trenton Webb reviewed The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier for Arcane magazine, rating it a 6 out of 10 overall. [1] He comments that "What the crowd wants is berserk barbarians and arcane magicians battling orc hordes - and that's just what the crowd gets". [1] He adds that "The North achieves what it sets out to do - fill out the top of the Forgotten Realms maps with cities, peoples, legends, monsters and treasure" and that "it offers fair, if not brilliant, value" for the price. [1] Webb complains about the maps: "While portraying accurately the 'world being discovered' cartography, these are a rather annoying asset. Lacking any kind of co-ordinate system, each new city that's mentioned sends you back for yet another session of scouring these vast sheets for information. What's more, this activity isn't helped by the odd mistake" between the text and the map. [1] He comments on the overview style of "The Wilderness" book: "Covering such a vast area so quickly [...] leaves the Wilderness with a scant, breathless feel as it rushes between locations. The coverage is competent, but as is the nature of such overviews, the descriptions are functional lists of facts and stats, with little time for embellishments. Consequently, the cold land described comes over in an almost lifeless manner." [1] Webb commented that the "Cities" book "gets a little more personal, dropping in on each town and city in the North just long enough to introduce you to all the important folk. At times this book could almost be mistaken for a Good Pub Guide, because the only notable feature listed for many of the smaller towns is an inn, but then adventurers are much more likely to be looking for a hot meal and a large mug of ale than the nearest craft shop." [1] He felt that the "Daggerford" book illustrates "just how life goes on in a harsh frontier town. Daggerford itself is a little sparse, almost to the point of being bleak, but that reflects the very real nature of these lawless lands. The true nature of the North is forged from the fact that everyone in Daggerford appears to be an adventurer - either retired, learning or on sabbatical. The result is a rich mine of rumour, skill and knowledge from which great adventures can be created." [1] Webb concludes his review by stating: "The North does offer enough nuggets of information to make it a suitable base for a campaign. Players who wander this way will find a refreshingly uncluttered place that allows - almost encourages - folks to go about their hacking business." [1]
Editorial journalist Stylo reviewed the German translation of the boxed set for Envoyer (de) magazine, and gave it an overall rating of 97 %, verdict very good, with the only caveat being that it is mostly a remake of an older product. He gave the colored maps high marks, and found the detailed town of Daggerford a good start for a new campaign in the area, providing everything necessary for the Dungeon Master. Stylo considered the description of various cities, towns and locations of the North in the "Cities" book detailed, including rumors providing adventure hooks. He found the sorting according to region rather than alphabetically helpful for a stationary adventure, but tedious for a group of characters passing through. "The Wilderness" book provided many new insights in the livestyle and religion of the northern barbarians. Stylo considered it a great idea to give shaman characters a variety totem animals with different abilities to choose from. A number of special locations to annoy and fascinate players, as well as many unique magic items complete the box. [2]
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 an upcoming film.
Ed Greenwood is a Canadian fantasy writer and the original creator of the Forgotten Realms game world. He began writing articles about the Forgotten Realms for Dragon magazine beginning in 1979, and subsequently sold the rights to the setting to TSR, the creators of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, in 1986. He has written many Forgotten Realms novels, as well as numerous articles and D&D game supplement books.
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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.
The flexibility of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) game rules means that Dungeon Masters (DM) are free to create their own fantasy campaign settings. For those who wanted a pre-packaged setting in which to play, TSR, Wizards of the Coast (WotC), and other publishers have created many settings in which D&D games can be based; of these, the Forgotten Realms, an epic fantasy world, has been one of the most successful and critically acclaimed settings. Many campaign settings include standard sword and sorcery environments, while others borrow Asian, Central American, swashbuckling, horror and even space-travel themes.
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