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| Genre | Role-playing games |
|---|---|
| Publisher | TSR |
Publication date | 1996 |
Heroes' Lorebook is an accessory for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
Heroes' Lorebook updates the previously published Hall of Heroes Forgotten Realms supplement. [1] This book contains full game statistics and detailed backgrounds for 61 of the most prominent characters from the setting featured in novels and other game supplements published through 1995, as well as notes for using the characters in a game campaign. [1] The book details around 60 heroes in 160 pages, including characters such as Elminster, Laeral Silverhand and King Azoun Obarskyr IV. [2] It provides game statistics for each character, and presents lengthy details on their allies and enemies, appearance, personality, location, history, motivations, uses in a game campaign and sources for further reading. [2] Following these descriptions, the book contains sections which for the special magical items used by these heroes, and gives statistics for the specialized spells that are mentioned earlier in the book. [2]
The 160-page book features a two-page introduction, which explains that this book is an update and a revision of Hall of Heroes . [3] The book compiles information from novels and other sources published through the end of 1995. The book describes 60 characters, each including an illustration, game statistics, suggestions for campaign uses, and a list of the sources consulted for each character's entry. The book's center 16-page section (pages 73–88) presents a series of color illustrations, many of which were created especially for this book, depicting nearly half of the characters described in the book in a variety of scenes. Character descriptions appear on pages 6–135, and include such notables as Alias, Arilyn Moonblade, Bruenor Battlehammer, Danilo Thann, Drizzt Do'Urden, Dragonbait, Elminster, Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun, Olive Ruskettle, Shandril Shessair, and Wulfgar. Supplemental material on pages 136-158 includes notes on the Chosen of Mystra, magical items and effects, special wizard spells, heroic groups (including the Harpers and the Knights of Myth Drannor), and an index to the book. A list of sources mentioned throughout the book can be found on pages 159 and 160.
The book, with product code TSR 9525, was published in 1996, and was written by Dale Donovan and Paul Culotta, with cover art by Doug Beckmann and interior art by Jordi Torres, Ned Dameron, Tony Crnkovich, and Valerie Valusek.
Paul Pettengale reviewed Heroes' Lorebook for Arcane magazine, rating it a 5 out of 10 overall. [2] He stated that because the Forgotten Realms campaign is the most popular setting and has been around for so long, "and there have been so many novels written off the back of it, there are a huge number of heroes wandering the Realms. TSR has now gone about the herculean effort of cataloguing the lot and giving them stats, belongings and character summaries." [2] Pettengale concluded the review by saying, "Although this is a highly polished collection of characters, and the background detail is interesting for any fan of Forgotten Realms, one has to wonder at the actual use of it. If you were planning to introduce one of these ultra-powerful characters into your campaign, surely you could make up the stats yourself, and it's unlikely that you're ever going to use more than half a dozen of these characters. So, great in theory, but in practice I think it's a rather pointless exercise." [2]
Rick Swan reviewed Heroes' Lorebook in brief for Dragon magazine #235 (November 1996). [1] Swan commented on the usefulness of the book's content to players: "With so much history to digest, casual players may feel overwhelmed. But if you take the Realms seriously, and names like Alias and Drizzt Do'Urden make your pulse quicken, welcome to nirvana." [1]
Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories. Several years later, it was published 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, in addition to novels, role-playing video game adaptations, comic books, and the film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
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 spider 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.
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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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.
Elminster Aumar is a fictional character appearing in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. He is also known as the Sage of Shadowdale, and is depicted as a powerful wizard featured in several novels by Forgotten Realms creator Ed Greenwood. Certain aspects of his appearance and demeanor seem to echo Gandalf, Merlin, or Odin.
Castle Falkenstein is a steampunk-themed fantasy role-playing game (RPG) designed by Mike Pondsmith and originally published by R. Talsorian Games in 1994. The game is named for a legendary unbuilt castle in the Bavarian Alps. Players play the roles of gallant adventurers who take on quests of intrigue and derring-do in the spirit of Victorian adventures such as The Prisoner of Zenda.
The Monstrous Compendium is a series of accessories for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game released from 1989 to 1998. The title was then used for a series of 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons supplements released on D&D Beyond.
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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.
Hall of Heroes is an accessory for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The 128-page book, with product code TSR 9252, was published in 1989, with cover art by Jeff Easley and interior art by Ned Dameron.
Forgotten Realms Adventures is an accessory for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The book, with product code TSR 2106, was published in 1990, and was written by Jeff Grubb and Ed Greenwood, with cover art by Clyde Caldwell and interior art by Steven Fabian, Ned Dameron, Larry Elmore, Caldwell, and Jeff Easley.
The Magister is an accessory for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The book, with product code TSR 9229, was published in 1988 by TSR. It was written by Ed Greenwood and Steve Perrin, with cover art by Jeff Easley and interior art by Valerie Valusek.
The Code of the Harpers is an accessory for the fictional Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The book was written by Ed Greenwood and was published by TSR. The module featured cover art by Jeff Easley and interior art by Scott Rosema.
Menzoberranzan is a 1994 role-playing video game created by Strategic Simulations (SSI) and DreamForge Intertainment. Menzoberranzan uses the same game engine as SSI's previous game, Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession (1994), and is set in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
Pages from the Mages is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1995.
Elminster's Ecologies Appendix II: The High Moor / The Serpent Hills is a supplement to the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
Volo's Guide to All Things Magical is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1996.