# Review of Ed Greenwood Presents: Elminster’s Forgotten Realms by Wizards of the Coast



## Neuroglyph (Dec 7, 2012)

For many fans of fantasy role-playing games, the defining characteristic of your game is not so much the D&D edition you’re playing, but rather is the campaign setting where your adventures and stories take place.  Some gamers have fond memories of playing their own home brewed fantasy settings, while others can hearken back to a time where _Greyhawk_ was all the rage.  But for many fans, their Dungeons & Dragons experiences would not be the same if it was in for a certain wonderful world called the Forgotten Realms.

My own first experience with the Forgotten Realms was at a GenCon back in the late 1980s.  During that GenCon, I was seeking sage advice on how to create a fantasy world for my own D&D game.  I attended several seminars during the convention on world-building: mapping, creating cultures, and all the manner of activities needed in order to create a game campaign setting.  One of the seminars I decided to attend was hosted by a certain chap named Ed Greenwood, who was going to discuss details about his Forgotten Realms campaign setting.  I’d read his articles in *Dragon Magazine* over the past several years, and was a really fascinated by the depth and breadth of the Realms.  But when this bearded man walked into the room, dressed in robes and wielding a massive staff, and began to speak not as himself, but in the sonorous voice of Elminster the Arch Mage, I didn’t know what to think.  But as members of the audience took turns standing and posing the most detailed questions about the Realms to this masterful sage, and you receiving back the most amazing and detailed answers, I was completely enchanted. 

Following that seminar, I went down to the Exhibition Hall and immediately bought my first box set of the *Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting*.

More than three decades have passed since that amazing seminar, and if I myself again hearing the words of the great Elminster, not spoken this time, but coming from the pages of a new book.  In *Ed Greenwood Presents: Elminster’s Forgotten Realms*, the famed campaign world which has been part of so many D&D players’ experience is brought in a fresh focus, and with details never before seen in previous works!

*Elminster’s Forgotten Realms*


*Design*:  Ed Greenwood
*Editing:* Susan Morris & James Wyatt
*Cover Illustrators*: Jesper Ejsing (front); Tyler Jacobson (back)
*Interior Illustrators*: Ed Greenwood, Eric Belisle, Julie Dillon, Rick Drennan, Wayne England, Randy Gallegos, Ralph Horsley, Tyler Jacobson, Michael Komarck, Howard Lyon, Patrick McEvoy, William O’Connor, Lorraine Schleter, Mark Tedin, Beth Trott
*Publisher*: Wizards of the Coast
*Year*: 2012
*Media*: Hardbound (192 pages) 
*Retail Price*: $39.95 ($26.37 from [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Greenwood-Presents-Elminsters-Forgotten-Realms/dp/0786960345?&linkCode=waf&tag=neurogames-20"]*Amazon.com*[/ame])  
 
*Ed Greenwood Presents: Elminster’s Forgotten Realms* is a new source book of the Forgotten Realms containing unpublished material and never-before-seen notes by the setting’s creator, Ed Greenwood.  This new content is presented in a system neutral fashion, and is appropriate for any edition of *D&D*, *Pathfinder*, or any other fantasy role-playing game which uses Faerûn as a setting.

*Production Quality*

The production quality of *Elminster’s Forgotten Realms* is exceptional.  The content is presented in easy to read format, with an engaging and often whimsical writing style, and sidebars consisting of entire pages of what appears to be notes, drawings, and maps created by Ed Greenwood himself.  While the editors did a decent job of trying to organize material, the monumental volume of the details contained in this new work almost certainly presented a Herculean task to keep it in line.

The book itself has a solid and heavy cover, giving it a real tome like feel.  Within the book, an elegant gold scroll work borders the pages and a faded yellowish parchment like effect around the edges continue to build on the tome motif.
From the striking cover art to all the beautiful internal illustrations, the artwork selected for this book truly enhances the reading experience.  It would appear that most, if not all, of the artwork are original commissions for this book, and include a number of drawings by Ed Greenwood which were found in his Realms’ notes.

*It’s all in the details*

There’s an old saying that “the real story is in the details”, and if that’s the case, *Ed Greenwood Presents: Elminster’s Forgotten Realms* is telling us one monstrously huge story.  This new source book feels like it has more details about Faerûn than any three _Volo’s Guides_ combined.  What makes this book different than previously released content is that it delves more into the details of daily life in the Realms - social conventions, commerce, religion, and magic - rather than concerning itself with countries and political borders, maps and monsters.

The book is divided into six broad chapters, with an introduction by Ed Greenwood.  The author opens with a discussion of the origins of the realms, how it has been evolving over time, and how it has been utilized by Dungeons & Dragons community, as well as numerous fantasy novel authors over the years.  And of course, no major tome of source material about Faerûn would be complete without a pointed commentary by the irascible Elminster himself.  Both a _forward_ and _afterward_ contain opinions from the Arch Mage of Shadowdale about the content that “Ed of the Greenwood” provides in this book.  Thankfully it appears that Elminster is not too displeased with his work… this time around.

The six chapters of *Elminster’s Forgotten Realms* cover six fairly broad topic matters: _Life in the Realms_, _Laws and Orders_, _Hearth and Home_, _Money Matters_, _Gods and Followers_, and _The Art_.  But from there, the author delves into incredible details regarding a number of topics under each general heading, and in fact there are so many details that this review can hardly scratch the surface of the content in this book.  All one can really do is mention a few of the major highlights within each chapter that this reviewer found particularly interesting - but again, I must stress that this is it a mere fraction of the lore about the Forgotten Realms found within these pages.

In the first chapter, _Life in the Realms_, I was really taken in by the section on Realmspeak.  The various forms of slang and regional colloquialisms demonstrate just how in-depth the author has taken the lore of the Realms.  And the section on herbal remedies, medicine, diseases and poisons will almost certainly fire the imaginations of many characters and dungeon masters alike.  And while the chapter about _Laws and Orders_ contains interesting details about the Cormyrian and Waterdhavian legal system, the later section on _The Secret History of the Zhentarim_, complete with a typed and hand drawn page of notes from the author of the Network as of the Year of the Prince, is truly priceless content for any DM using the Forgotten Realms for their game.

The chapter on _Hearth and Home_ deals with a wide range of topics, from architecture to home heating, and to the nature and quality of inns and taverns.  But my favorite part of this chapter was a discussion on various cuisines, cooking practices, and drinks they can be found in the Realms.  I had to chuckle when I read that _coffee_ was well known in the Realms in a many different locales, and I don’t think you’ll ever look at a Starbucks quite the same way again given it’s a sigil-like symbol hanging over every shop.  A little part of me could readily imagine that the chain was actually founded on some street in Calimshan!

Chapter four deals with _Money Matters_, and covers a number of topics from crafting guilds, trade and commerce, the identities of famous merchant princes, and even the types of coins, trade bars, and banking throughout the Realms.  The great details stuff can be found in this section on trade goods, where the author goes into some description about the rare merchandise that fetches a high price in cities all around Faerûn.

Considering the tumultuous history of the Realms, no book about this fantasy setting would be complete without a chapter dealing with gods and their followers.  One of the more interesting discussions in this chapter pertains to why folks in Faerûn put up with evil.  It is a question which many DMS have had to ask themselves time and again, and the author gives some compelling and setting specific arguments for and against evil religions playing a part in fantasy society.  But the bulk of this chapter looks at the various gods’ priesthoods, with a look at their creeds and secular aims, along with other interesting tidbits of lore about their worship.

The final chapter of *Ed Greenwood Presents: Elminster’s Forgotten Realms* deals with the art, or some may call it…  magic!  Surprisingly, this is one of the shortest chapters in the book, touching only briefly on various topics about magic and its practitioners in the Realms.  Interesting highlights include a discussion of special bloodlines and wild talents in magical families, the nature of alchemy in Faerûn, and Words of Awakening which harken back to the days of the Netherese.  There’s an awesome map of Halruaa, hand drawn by the author, along with a few notes about this great magical land.  Personally, the brevity of this final chapter perhaps suggests trepidation by the author to reveal certain secrets about Faerûn which might earn him the ire of a certain grumpy wizard!

*Overall Score*: 4.8 *out of* 5.0
*
Conclusions*
*
Ed Greenwood Presents: Elminster’s Forgotten Realms* is an absolute delight for fantasy fans, whether you enjoyed the novels generated from this world, or had experienced it as a setting for fantasy role-playing games!  For fans and scholars of Realmslore, this book represents a massive unveiling of information about the Forgotten Realms Setting which adds depth and detail to almost every facet of that world.  The content in this book is completely edition neutral, and is, in fact, game neutral as well, which means it can be used and enjoyed by the fantasy gaming community at large regardless of which role-playing game they choose to play.

The choice to include actual pages of notes from Ed Greenwood’s extensive files on Faerûn was an inspired one, and adds great insight into the mind and heart of one of the great fantasy authors of our time.  So whether you are Player or a Dungeon Master, *Elminster’s Forgotten Realms* has something to offer you which is certain to enhance your gaming experience now and for years to come!
_
So until next review… I wish you Happy Gaming!_
*
Grade Card (Ratings 1 to 5)*


*Presentation*: 4.5
- Design: 4.5 (Fantastic writing; great presentation of content) 
- Illustrations: 4.5 (Striking covers; very cool new art)
*Content*: 5.0
- Crunch: NA  (It’s all fluff!)
- Fluff: 5.0 (Massive details about the setting; hugely imaginative)
*Value*: 5.0 (If you’re a Realms fan – it’s a must have!)
 
*Author’s Note*: This author received a complimentary copy of this product for use in writing this review.


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## dm4hire (Nov 1, 2012)

Neither, system neutral so as to be used with any edition or game system for that matter.


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## Grimmjow (Nov 1, 2012)

ah,.... interesting


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## Blackwarder (Nov 1, 2012)

That the first dead tree book i bought in 5 years! can't wait for it to arrive from amazon.

Warder


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## Eridanis (Nov 1, 2012)

Looking forward to picking this up. Thanks for the review!


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## Sammael (Nov 1, 2012)

Blackwarder said:


> That the first dead tree book i bought in 5 years! can't wait for it to arrive from amazon.
> 
> Warder



I've bought a lot of dead tree books, but this is the first WotC product I've bought since _Grand History of the Realms_ in 2007. Hopefully Amazon will soon deliver.


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## iwarrior-poet (Nov 1, 2012)

It is very teling that it is not specific to any edition. On the one hand it is a good move, since it is more marketable to various gaming platforms (3.5, Pathfinder, 4e, DnDNext). On the other hand, it may indicate that even WoTC is not confident in it current (or even future) platforms.

I bought a LOT of FR 3.5 material. I felt pretty burned by 4e and was dismayed there was so little offline content available. We'll see what the future holds for FR and DnDNext.


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## Grimmjow (Nov 1, 2012)

4e did a terrible job of supporting the campaign settings. I hope its not so in next


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## Neuroglyph (Nov 1, 2012)

iwarrior-poet said:


> It is very teling that it is not specific to any edition. On the one hand it is a good move, since it is more marketable to various gaming platforms (3.5, Pathfinder, 4e, DnDNext). On the other hand, it may indicate that even WoTC is not confident in it current (or even future) platforms.
> 
> I bought a LOT of FR 3.5 material. I felt pretty burned by 4e and was dismayed there was so little offline content available. We'll see what the future holds for FR and DnDNext.




As much as it pains me to say this, the recent supplements (and one can assume future ones until Next is released) will be system neutral so that the material can be used in Next, regardless of what final form it takes.   WotC tried alot of things out with 4E that go way beyond the game mechanics, such as the whole DDI subscription crap and offering little, if no, support to 3rd Party Publishers.

I think they want to distance themselves from their mistakes in how they managed 4E, and cool system neutral content does that fairly effectively.  It bums me out, because I'm a 4E fan, but their mismanagement of the IP ran the current edition into the ground.


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## Evenglare (Nov 1, 2012)

See this book is great, however what irritates me is not the book, but their take on editionless books. I'm a 4th edition supporter. I love it , I love pretty much any other edition as well. If they keep making editionless books, FANTASTIC !!! But you know they wont do this. When 5th edition (iteration... whatever) comes out every book will be geared towards that. 

The same crap happened when the Eberron adventure guide came out beofre 4th edition. I'd ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT , if they stuck with editionless books however we all know that won't be the case sadly.


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## Osgood (Nov 2, 2012)

Sounds mildly interesting, but in the pantheon of stuff I don't care about, the Forgotten Realms looms like Zeus.


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## Sammael (Nov 5, 2012)

The book is here and looks wonderfully fluffy. I _hate_ the HUMONGOUS 4e font, margins, and white space though.


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## Sunset (Nov 6, 2012)

Is the spell plague or any other 4.ed theme mentioned?


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## Sammael (Nov 6, 2012)

The only even vaguely 4e thing I've noticed is the name of the unmasked Lord of Waterdeep who will succeed Piergeiron (I guess). The majority of the book is written as if the current year were Year of the Prince (1357 DR).

There may be more, though, I've only read something like 20 pages and scanned another 50.


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## Sunset (Nov 8, 2012)

Thanks. Please write more, if you have new informations.


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## JeffB (Nov 18, 2012)

I bought this as a gift for my 13 yo son. I have now confiscated it, lol. I will have to order another copy. Awesome book, and I will be getting great use out of this in my pre TOT campaign. I was also glad to see a return to the 1/2E esque art..in the style of the peoples depicted.  Very unlike the art done for any WOTC D&D product of the past 12 years.  Think I will hwve to write a "way to go" message to WOTC CS.


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## Morik (Nov 19, 2012)

I was just in my local Roleplay-Shop and had my hands on this supplement. Well, I must say, I do not like it. IMO it misses a section detaling the "New Realms" after the spellplaque... the really new realms as it represents itself now, say after the new books of R.A.Salvatore and such.

...cause, as it stands now, you have to gather all the bits of information out of the books of R.A. Salvatore or from Wiki-Realms and sources like that.

The information presenting in Ed Greenwoods new realm book may be a thing for new players or players that enjoy just everything realm-material but I was longing for an update-realms setting. 

The information in that new supelment here is so outdated that I did go against my first urge to buy it outright the second I lay my eyes upon it.... sooooo...

For me it was very disappointing.

I mean... it's all nice and such... but a few words about the NEW REALMS had to be in it IMO. Better a whole section... or... still better AFTER every section one with the much needed update how the realms looks now.

This book is -for now- useless for me.

I didn't buy it for now... maybe later... I really dunno!


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## Rune (Nov 19, 2012)

Morik said:


> Well, I must say, I do not like it. IMO it misses a section detaling the "New Realms" after the spellplaque... the really new realms as it represents itself now, say after the new books of R.A.Salvatore and such.
> 
> ...The information in that new supelment here is so outdated that I did go against my first urge to buy it outright the second I lay my eyes upon it.... sooooo...




But it's called _Ed Greenwood's_ Forgotten Realms.  Why would he include all of that other stuff?


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## JeffB (Nov 19, 2012)

Sunset said:


> Thanks. Please write more, if you have new informations.




There are a few words about Manshoon clones in the 1400s. Just a couple of sentences.



Rune said:


> But it's called _Ed Greenwood's_ Forgotten Realms.  Why would he include all of that other stuff?




Exactly. I notice Cyric got a very small blurb that basically says he is screwed and his time lwill be up soon. Far more info about some of the gods that got the gloss over or nixed during tbe spellplague era.. Tyr, Lathander  (no aumaaumanamawhatever), etc. Its obvious how different Eds realms are, and most likely the blurb about Cyric was to appease fans/WOTC. Ed has stated several times that the TOT never happened in his game.

I suspect there are several "hints" in the book about  the Sundering and post Sundering Realms. Just like the hints in Cloak & Dagger and Monsters of Faerun before the 3e FRCS came out.


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## Morik (Nov 20, 2012)

Rune said:


> But it's called _Ed Greenwood's_ Forgotten Realms.  Why would he include all of that other stuff?




Well... okay... we are simply on different sides here I'm afraid.

For me... if he wants to show his own version of the Realms he should do that in articles in the Dragon magazine and not go for a official supplement. I just expected something I can use in actual Realm-Campaings... and I need something updated in the vast world of the Realms... it's really overdue now.

As it is for now shall I have to wait for the upcoming Neverwinter, a Free-to-Play MMO? Even there I only would find information about the region of Neverwinter and the immediate vicinity of that city/region. And besides... I already own the "Neverwinter" supplement.

No... really... IMO Ed Greenwood should have thought of all the players and DMs who liked to find out something new about the Realms, as it appears now. Small section dealing with that should have been enough.
I mean, they blew almost the whole world up and I have to look up some WIKI-Realms Stuff to find out what the new realms looks like? Come on...

I feel like I was just left out!


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## JeffB (Nov 20, 2012)

Morik said:


> Well... okay... we are simply on different sides here I'm afraid.
> 
> For me... if he wants to show his own version of the Realms he should do that in articles in the Dragon magazine and not go for a official supplement. I just expected something I can use in actual Realm-Campaings... and I need something updated in the vast world of the Realms... it's really overdue now.
> 
> ...




You did not read hard enough then. There is no crunch for any edition but much of the material is useful no matter what era of play. 

And FWIW, tbe vast majority of Realms fans hate the spellplague era,  so they *are*  thinking  of the bulk of the fans who have not had anything to buy for the past 4 years. I understqnd your frustration,but like 4e itself all these radical changes of the past 4 years did not  go over nearly as well as expected and they are righting tbe ship, so to speak. Critizing this book.for not beingna 4e book, is like blaming a hot dog for not tasting like a hamburger.


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## Balesir (Nov 21, 2012)

Spam reported (if that's what it is - I think so...)


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## Morik (Nov 22, 2012)

JeffB said:


> And FWIW, tbe vast majority of Realms fans hate the spellplague era,  so they *are*  thinking  of the bulk of the fans who have not had anything to buy for the past 4 years.
> 
> I understqnd your frustration,but like 4e itself all these radical changes of the past 4 years did not  go over nearly as well as expected and they are righting tbe ship, so to speak. Critizing this book.for not beingna 4e book, is like blaming a hot dog for not tasting like a hamburger.




For someone who "understands" my frustration you do slap me a lot in your post above.

Besides.. I AM one of the Realms fans who dislike the spellplaque nonsens. But... it is official and the upcomming novels and supplements (and all the other stuff) will have to deal with it. And I do like to be updated... I didn't realise that this is a shame right now, sorry for that (I thought after years of Windows Updates every two days human society are finally got used to it).

So... I am not saying that the stuff within the Greenwood Realms Book is not good... it is as far as I am concerned, BUT all I said was, that Greenwood would'nt have hurt anyone if he just had included some chapters with 'past-spellplaque'-sections... after the detailed and very rich information of his belowed and 'own-weekly-campaign' world, presented within in his new book of the Realms.

What with the DMs and their campaigns who simply can't go back to the times before spellplaque? For them the Greenwoods new Realms Book is plain useless.

And... well... I am complaining here on very slippery ground for I didn't implement the spellplaque events yet... in my campaign... but my new module will... and my group is just in the middle of it.

They will eventually enter the "Tower of Twilight" and get time-travelled into another future time of the realms (without knowing) for I want to skip the whole aftermath-thing coming right behind the spellplaque... and the group will have to face a time-skip about 100 years (roughly the time in which the actual R.A. Salvatore books are happening).

So I am the type that always like to play the official actual thing.

But... as it is... maybe I will do some Realms Stuff besides my actual campaign with no spellplaque... and therefore I will buy Ed Greenwoods new thing... I always do... 

Before the spellplaque events I would loved to get my hands of this book... but for now its just an outdated thing for me.

I mean.. HALLO? Even the Time of Troubles didn't happend... its plain strange for me that I buy a book from a DM which turns his weekly campaign world into a official book of the realms... when all the other official material is 1.000 years ahead of it (and has nothing do do with it anymore).


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## YRUSirius (Nov 22, 2012)

You know that you can buy the 4th edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide for all the infos about the Post-Spellplague-Realms?

-YRUSirius


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## Morik (Nov 22, 2012)

YRUSirius said:


> You know that you can buy the 4th edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide for all the infos about the Post-Spellplague-Realms?
> 
> -YRUSirius




I have it... but it's behind the new revelations of the R.A. Salvatore Books (Gauntlegrym and more)... and these books are not very new you know).

And... besides... the new Campaign Guide was mostly "game-tech"-like... a book dealing with the ordinary life and paths beyond the obvious (like the new book of Greenwood) would have been a very good thing regarding the new social landscape of the Realms...

Some new stuff is overdue. But maybe you are right... maybe that's a thing for some Dragon Articles... an updated section (maybe from the master Greenwood himself) would be nice.


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## Mercurius (Nov 23, 2012)

Morik said:


> Well... okay... we are simply on different sides here I'm afraid.
> 
> For me... if he wants to show his own version of the Realms he should do that in articles in the Dragon magazine and not go for a official supplement. I just expected something I can use in actual Realm-Campaings... and I need something updated in the vast world of the Realms... it's really overdue now.
> 
> ...




And therein lies the rub. You didn't get the product that you wanted, I get it. But realize that WotC was very clear that this was going to be Ed's Forgotten Realms - they even over-emphasize that by putting it in the title of the book! How much clearer can they get? Let's be clear: your frustration is based upon a misunderstanding on your part, that you expected/hoped for a product that WotC was not intending to give you.

The reason I'm "calling you out" on this is that WotC gets a lot of this, which essentially boils down to a fan misplacing their frustration from their own faulty expectations onto WotC. This worsens their already poor reputation (much of which they are to blame for). When fans get pissed about something that, quite frankly, they shouldn't because it is based entirely on their own misconception of WotC's intention, then I think it should be seen for what it is. 

You didn't get the product you hoped for, even though WotC didn't say they were going to give you that product. So you feel left out. That doesn't mean Ed Greenwood should avoid creating products that many other folks will enjoy, because you feel that such material is more suited for Dragon magazine.


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