Elminster’s Forgotten Realms

An instant classic, this fantasy book steeped in lore is sure to get any Realms fan in the mood.

I highly suggest you get out an old wooden pipe, don your musty wizard robes, and pull up a guady, over-sized plush armchair next to the fire, no that’s too close… OK, there you are.  Now, have a seat, light your pipe and crack open this old… er new tome.  Trust me, you’ll be lost within her pages fast enough.

Yes, it’s that good.  A book published by WotC that caused my jaw to drop due to the fact that they finally let Ed Greenwood have his way, and run amuck through his world.  Losing the constraining statistics of various systems has truly set this book free as one can enjoy the read regardless of which system they run.  There are NO game statistics here folks, just pure, tasty LORE.  Ah, the stuff I love.  Role-playing games would not be the same without the “role-playing” and I feel that many of the newer systems and games (*ahem*D&D*ahem*) have truly lost their way seeing as the acting out a character is what set these games apart from simple miniature games (not THAT kind of simple, geez calm down guys!)

I’ve been a fan of Ed Greenwood and his gorgeous setting the Forgotten Realms for more years than I can count.  I was a child when I opened up the gray box and had my players roll up their first characters in this world.  I remember the first time the PCs ventured through the Cormyr forest and into the Ruins of Myth Drannor.  If I recall the entire party was killed, but their epic adventures lived on in new characters which continued for many more decades.  One game lasted from senior year of high school all the way to marriage and kids.  It would still continue to this day if my friend had not left the realm of RPGs behind for good.  Taku Okamiya, Guardian of Luruar and Ruler of Nesme, I salute you, as well as Alin Durqua and the rest.  May you all rest in peace within the Forgotten Realms.

Now comes the part where we break the book down into various sections and ramble on for a good three hours or so… huh?  You don’t want me to ramble for three hours?  Well, if you do you can visit this link and get the entire breakdown of this book.  If you want to [amazon_link id=”0786960345″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]buy this you can pick it up at this link[/amazon_link], otherwise jump to the conclusion below.

 

Conclusion

This book is a thick tome clocking in at 192 pages.  There is a personal foreword and afterword by Ed Greenwood himself along with some very old pictures of a very young Ed.  Throughout the book you’ll get personal notes, maps, and sketches by Ed which truly make this book feel like you hold an ancient relic.  It’s as if WotC was on vacation with Ed running the offices and the printing press.  I feel that Ed Greenwood has finally had the chance to tell the story of his world, how it came about, the people who live there, the lore, the magic, and more.  It’s all contained within these pages and really this is all you need to run a good game in any system, this book and a bit of creativity.  I give this book 5 out of 5 stars due to the fact that they finally let an author run loose, naked in the fields, and despite his age… Elminster sure can run, and according to Sune, he still has a nice… *ahem* Sune, for a goddess you sure can be inappropriate, this is a professional news site for nerds after all!

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