Chapter 1: Running the Realms - Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn

Chapter 1: Running the Realms. "I am he who rules the world, don't you know? One little piece at a time."-Jarlaxle Dungeon Master running a campaign set in the Forgotten Realms faces special challenges. This chapter helps you tackle those challenges and create adventures that are fun and personally rewarding for you and your players. The chapter includes the following: Creating Epic Fantasy Here you'll find guidance on creating and running adventures that capture the larger-than-life characters, stakes, and villains found in Faerûn. Epic Destinies Characters in the Realms are seldom ordinary adventurers. This section provides advice on how to make characters feel as grand as the setting. Realms Lore Decades of creators, players, and fans have made Faerûn one of the most detailed fantasy settings in history. Here's some advice on handling that in your game. Adventures This chapter includes adventures inspired by Faerûn's deities, factions, magic, and geographical regions. Creating Epic Fantasy Faerûn is enormous, and the Forgotten Realms embrace a wide array of fantasy adventures. In the bustling metropolis of Calimport, characters might bargain for a wish with a powerful genie, but in the far north of Icewind Dale, adventurers from isolated fishing villages struggle to survive the bitter cold. Mariners on the Trackless Sea hunt whales and explore the floating islands of the archfey, while in the Sunrise Mountains far to the east, spellcasters from Thay and Rashemen rediscover ancient magical secrets. The tone of such wildly various adventures can be described by one word: epic. Character Creation Characters in the Forgotten Realms are larger than life. A character is never just a simple adventurer; they might be the heir to a kingdom, have an Artifact for a heart, or secretly be a vampire. They might be Chosen by a deity, be tutored by the greatest wizard that ever lived, or be descended from an archfey or demigod. They might be the sole survivor of a long-lost c...