 Cover of Underdark | |
| Author | Bruce R. Cordell, Gwendolyn F. M. Kestrel, Jeff Quick |
|---|---|
| Genre | Role-playing game |
| Publisher | Wizards of the Coast |
Publication date | 2003 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
The Underdark sourcebook for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
The sourcebook covers gaming material such as new character classes, Drow Judicator [1] as well as covering the geography of this fictional setting.
This book was written by Bruce R. Cordell, Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, and Jeff Quick, and was released in October 2003 published by Wizards of the Coast. [2] Cover art was by Sam Wood, with interior art by Kalman Andrasofszky, Matt Cavotta, Mike Dubisch, Wayne England, Matt Faulkner, Vance Kovacs, Vince Locke, Raven Mimura, Jim Pavelec, Vinod Rams, Richard Sardinha, Stephen Tappin, and Joel Thomas.
When asked how the designers dealt sorting through years' worth of publications on the Underdark to create a more definitive sourcebook, Jeff Quick responded: "I was the editor of Eric Boyd's exhaustively detailed 2nd edition sourcebook, Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark . Eric, as Forgotten Realms fans know, is a detail nut. When he wrote it, he consulted pretty much every Underdark reference ever -- including Bob Salvatore, personally. So rather than duplicate effort, I turned to that book for inspiration and to Eric for a few details and opinions." [3]
In a review of Underdark in Black Gate , John ONeill said "Forgotten Realms: Underdark is one of the most readable and entertaining gaming supplements I've read in years and it's well worth the few measly bucks sellers are charging for it these days. If you think your underworld design has recently gotten stale, or if you just want to remind yourself of the magic of Gary Gygax's original D-series adventures, then this book is what you're looking for." [4]
The editor from rpgnews.com stated the book did not deliver on the price it costs, was incomplete, contained a lot of assumed information making it difficult for casual readers to understand references without knowledge of the novels; however, fans of the novels might enjoy it. [5]
Viktor Coble listed Underdark as #5 on CBR 's 2021 "D&D: 10 Best Supplemental Handbooks" list, stating that ""Underdark" reveals a massive breadth to the area, filling it to the brim with disastrous creatures of the dark. It stacks this whole world and way of thinking underneath what normally happens, making great strides in building up alternate ways of adventuring and the dangers involved in stepping out of a player's comfort zone." [6]
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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.
The drow or dark elves are a dark-skinned and white-haired subrace of elves connected to the subterranean Underdark in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. The drow have traditionally been portrayed as generally evil and connected to the evil goddess Lolth. However, later editions of Dungeons & Dragons have moved away from this portrayal and preassigned alignment. More recent publications have explored drow societies unconnected to Lolth.
Drizzt Do'Urden is a fictional character appearing in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Drizzt was created by author R. A. Salvatore as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale Trilogy. Salvatore created him on a whim when his publisher needed him to replace one of the characters in an early version of the first book, The Crystal Shard. Drizzt has since become a popular heroic character of the Forgotten Realms setting, and has been featured as the main character of a long series of books, starting chronologically with The Dark Elf Trilogy. As an atypical drow, Drizzt has forsaken both the evil ways of his people and their home in the Underdark, in the drow city of Menzoberranzan.
Menzoberranzan, the "City of Spiders", is a fictional city-state in the world of the Forgotten Realms, a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. The city is located in the Upper Northdark, about two miles below the Surbrin Vale, between the Moonwood and the Frost Hills. It is famed as the birthplace of Drizzt Do'Urden, the protagonist of several series of best-selling novels by noted fantasy author R. A. Salvatore. Menzoberranzan has been developed into a video game and a tabletop RPG setting. Menzoberranzan has been described as "a perfect unjust state" and compared to Glaucon's vision of a state that is held together only by the fear of retribution.
Faerûn is a fictional continent and the primary setting of the Dungeons & Dragons world of Forgotten Realms. It is described in detail in several editions of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting with the most recent being the 5th edition from Wizards of the Coast, and various locales and aspects are described in more depth in separate campaign setting books. Around a hundred novels and several computer and video games use Faerûn as the setting.
The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in Dungeons & Dragons role-playing campaigns and Dungeons & Dragons-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore. It is described as a vast subterranean network of interconnected caverns and tunnels, stretching beneath entire continents and forming an underworld for surface settings. Polygon called it "one of D&D's most well-known realms".
The Manual of the Planes is a manual for the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game. This text addresses the planar cosmology of the game universe.
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 Epic Level Handbook is a rule-book by Wizards of the Coast for the 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons. The book was published in 2001, and contains optional game rules for playing characters who have reached a higher experience level than is covered in the standard rules. This is referred to in the book as "epic level" play.
Bruce Robert Cordell is an American author of roleplaying games and fantasy novels. He has worked on Dungeons & Dragons games for Wizards of the Coast. He won the Origins Award for Return to the Tomb of Horrors and has also won several ENnies. He lives in Seattle.
The Draconomicon is the title for several optional sourcebooks for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, providing supplementary game mechanics for dragons specifically. Different Draconomicon books have been issued for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th editions of the Dungeons & Dragons game. The Latin-inspired name of the books loosely translates as "Book of Dragon Names".
The lich is an undead creature found in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. Liches are spellcasters who seek to defy death by magical means.
Planar Handbook is an optional supplemental source book for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game.
Drow of the Underdark is the name of two supplemental rules books for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, providing supplementary game rules focusing on drow culture, equipment and folklore for both players and Dungeon Masters.
The Psionics Handbook is a sourcebook published by Wizards of the Coast in 2001 for the 3rd edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It contains a multitude of rules and options for integrating psionic powers into the D&D game.
City of the Spider Queen is a 160-page adventure module set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, for use with the 3rd edition of the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.
Player's Guide to Faerûn is a supplement to the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
Into the Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook is a supplement for the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue is a system-neutral supplement to the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game published towards the end of 4th edition.
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