 | |
| Rules required | Dungeons & Dragons |
|---|---|
| Character levels | N/A |
| Campaign setting | Forgotten Realms |
| Authors | Matt Sernett, Erik Scott de Bie, Ari Marmell |
| First published | August 16, 2011 |
| ISBN | 978-0-7869-5814-6 |
Neverwinter Campaign Setting is a supplement to the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
The book contains an introduction and four chapters: [1]
The Neverwinter Mass Adventure was released to attendees of GenCon 2011 as a preview of the book and a push towards Neverwinter themed products. [3] On August 6, 2011, shortly after GenCon, local game stores could participate in Neverwinter Game Day with the adventure Gates of Neverdeath before the 223-page hardcover book was released on August 16, 2011. [3] [4]
Shannon Appelcline commented that with the sixth season of Encounters, Lost Crown of Neverwinter (2011, 14 weeks), "Wizards used Season 6 to highlight their newest (and last) campaign book for 4E: the Neverwinter Campaign Setting (2011). They made a big deal of it, kicking it off with the Gates of Neverdeath adventure at D&D Games Day (August 2011), and then continuing into the 14-week series of Forgotten Realms Encounters." [5] : 194 Appelcline noted that even while Dungeons & Dragons 4E was showing increasing signs of weakness at the time, "they changed up their campaign-a-year format with the release of the Neverwinter Campaign Setting (2011), which returned to the Forgotten Realms rather than breaking new ground." [5] : 197
Appelcline wrote about the Neverwinter Campaign Setting being launched as 4th edition's first major multimedia release, noting that the city setting spawned four novels by R.A. Salvatore called the Neverwinter Saga, a comic book, and a board game called The Legend of Drizzt (2011), as well as two video games - the Facebook game Heroes of Neverwinter and a MMORPG called simply "Neverwinter." [6]
Laura Tommervik (Wizards of the Coast marketing team) explained the approach: "We use Neverwinter as the connective tissue across multiple product categories. The transmedia campaign is an opportunity for fans to experience the brand however they choose to". [6]
| Title | Creator(s) | Type | Date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gauntlgrym | R.A. Salvatore | Novel | October 5, 2010 | 9780786955008 |
| Gates of Neverdeath | Erik Scott de Bie | Adventure module | August 6, 2011 | |
| Lost Crown of Neverwinter | Erik Scott de Bie | Adventure module | Summer 2011 | |
| Heroes of Neverwinter | Liquid Entertainment | Facebook game | 2011 | n/a |
| The Legend of Drizzt | Peter Lee, Jason Engle, Steve Prescott | Board game | 2011 | n/a |
| Neverwinter | R.A. Salvatore | Novel | October 4, 2011 | 9780786958429 |
| Brimstone Angels | Erin M. Evans | Novel | November 11, 2011 | 978-0786958467 |
| The Legend of Drizzt: Neverwinter Tales (Dungeons & Dragons: Drizzt #1-5) | R.A. Salvatore, Gene Salvatore, Agustin Padilla | Trade paperback | March 2012 | 9781613771563 |
| Charon's Claw | R.A. Salvatore | Novel | August 7, 2012 | 9780786962235 |
| The Last Threshold | R.A. Salvatore | Novel | March 5, 2013 | 9780786963645 |
| Neverwinter | Cryptic Studios | Video game | June 20, 2013 | n/a |
The book was nominated for "Best Roleplaying Supplement" in the 2011 Origins Awards. [7] It was also nominated for the 2011 Golden Geek "Best RPG Supplement" and the 2012 ENnies "Best Art, Cover". [8]
Alex Lucard, for Diehard GameFAN , wrote "Neverwinter consists of four chapters and an introduction. [...] There’s not a lot of detail there and longtime D&D players might be a bit miffed at the lack of history in this opening. It’s very truncated, but if you’ve been playing in the Forgotten Realms setting prior to this, you probably know most of the history by heart. [...] Still, it would have been nice to have a more in-depth piece on what happened from the start of the Spellplague on other than a few novel series. [...] The book gives you thirteen [character themes]. [...] I have mixed feeling on the themes ranging from 'Holy hell, that’s awesome' for the lycanthropes and 'Wow, that is pretty underwhelming” for the Red Wizard'. [...] Choosing one of these themes (which the book all but insists that you do) gives you a new starting feature to lay on top of everything else your character would have, along with some additional features and optional powers you can pick up as you level up. [...] My only complaint is that several themes are unbalanced and it would have been nice to have more than thirteen. Perhaps twenty or so, Because of the imbalance, you'll quickly see certain ones become prevalent over others. [...] The final chapter of the book, Gazetteer takes up half the pages contained therein and it pretty much answers all the complaints people had about earlier 4th Edition Forgotten Realms publications. [...] The last thing to talk about is the art. It's pretty hit or miss. [...] Overall, while the Neverwinter Campaign Setting has a few minor issues, the overall book is a wonderful one from beginning to end. It's honestly the best product I’ve seen Wizards of the Coast put out for 4th Edition so far and I honestly think if this version of Dungeons & Dragons had started out with products this strong, the backlash against leaving the d20 system wouldn't have been so severe". [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.
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.
Spelljammer is a campaign setting originally published for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, which features a fantastic outer space environment. Subsequent editions have included Spelljammer content; a Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition setting update released on August 16, 2022.
Vecna is a fictional character appearing in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Vecna has been named one of the greatest villains in Dungeons & Dragons.
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.
The RPGA, was initially part of the organized play arm of TSR, Inc and later of Wizards of the Coast. From 1980 to 2014, it organized and sanctioned role-playing games worldwide. In 2014, it was replaced with the D&D Adventurers League.
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.
Living campaigns, or shared campaigns, are a gaming format within the table-top role-playing game community that provide the opportunity for play by an extended community within a shared universe. In contrast to traditional isolated role-playing games, living campaigns allow and encourage players to develop characters that can be played at games run by many different game masters, but which share a game world and campaign setting, as well as a plot line that is overseen by a central core of professional or volunteer editors and contributors. Many living campaigns serve a dual role of providing a creative outlet for highly involved volunteer contributors while also serving as a marketing tool for the publisher of the game system that is the focus of the living campaign. While the earliest living campaigns were run by the now defunct RPGA, many groups around the world run active living campaigns which are independent or sponsored by other publishers.
The warlock is a character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was introduced as a non-core base class who practice arcane magic in the supplemental book Complete Arcane for the 3.5 edition of Dungeons & Dragons. In 4th and 5th edition, the warlock is a core class.
Die Vecna Die! is an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D 2nd edition) module released in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast. The module is divided into three sections, each taking part in a different campaign setting: Greyhawk, Ravenloft, and Planescape. It was one of the last official adventures released for the 2nd edition of Dungeons & Dragons.
The Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide is a supplement to the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
The Forgotten Realms Player's Guide is a supplement to the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
Ravenloft: Realm of Terror is a boxed set accessory published in 1990 for the Ravenloft campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms is an accessory and campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
The Complete Sha'ir's Handbook is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1994.
The Sundering refers to two events that occurred in the fictional timeline of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. It is also the title of both a series of novels published by Wizards of the Coast and a multimedia project Wizards of the Coast used to transition Dungeons & Dragons from 4th Edition to 5th Edition. This project explored the Second Sundering story and included the aforementioned book series, the free-to-play mobile game Arena of War developed by DeNA and an adventure series for the 4th Edition D&D Encounters program.
Heroes of the Elemental Chaos is a supplement to the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. This book is one of three source books, along with Manual of the Planes (2008) and The Plane Below: Secrets of the Elemental Chaos (2009), from this era that details the Elemental Chaos from the 4th edition World Axis cosmology.
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.
Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster's Forgotten Realms is an edition-neutral sourcebook for the Forgotten Realms published during the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
Wizards of the Coast (via the Internet Archive):