As a companion to the very helpful thread about Eberron I started I'd like to hear opinions about the best 3e era Forgotten Realms books.

I really like the core book and wouldn't mind picking up a couple supplements (assuming I run across them in my wanderings).

I don't run 3.x so rules material doesn't really interest me but usable at the table stuff, sub-systems, charts, etc..., are awesome.

Best, worst, etc...

Lords of Darkness is a pretty great book. While I do prefer other settings, I really love the evil organizations in Forgotten Realms, particularly the Zhentarim and the Cult of the Dragon. It's a sourcebook that pretty much details every villainous organization in the Realms, from the Night Masks to the Red Wizards.

Second Lords of Darkness.

Also, the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (2001) is pretty much the gold standard of campaign setting books.  Even if you don't use the 3rd Edition ruleset, it has a comprehensive overview of the entire continent.  It also details most of the major races, religions, and countries.

Grand History of the Realms is classified as 3rd Edition, but don't let that fool you.  It has no game mechanics, just a well-done timeline of Faerun's events.

Silver Marches is one of my favorite books, and has remained in this position since 2002.  Everything you ever wanted to know about this new nation of the North (and Silverymoon) can be found in here!

The Waterdeep book was very good. Same with the Thay/Rashemen book. I've heard very good things about Serpent Kingdoms, but I've never owned it.

Quote from: Piestrio;630733As a companion to the very helpful thread about Eberron I started I'd like to hear opinions about the best 3e era Forgotten Realms books.

Magic of Faerun. (Coincidentally, the only one usable in non-FR campaigns.)

Cool spells, cool magical ideas, cool feats.

AAAA++++++. Would buy from again.

I pretty much just used the main book; everything else I filled in with all of my own stuff.

RPGPundit

Beside the main book, of course, I really liked:

- The Silver Marches: a very good, self-contained, sandboxey supplement.
- The Unapprociable East: lots of cool stuff here which goes beyond the "European feeling" grain.
- Lost Empires of Faerun: adventure/campaign ideas galore

I agree with The Pundit that the main book has everything else you need (except on Waterdeep: for a campaign there you need the specific book). I liked Races of Faerun as a *fantasy reading*, but I never used it in my campaign.

And the recent edition-neutral book by Ed Greenwood about "Elminster's Realms" is another very good read if you want to immerse yourself in the flavour of the setting. Just remember it has no rules, only fluff.

Quote from: Reckall;631140And the recent edition-neutral book by Ed Greenwood about "Elminster's Realms" is another very good read if you want to immerse yourself in the flavour of the setting. Just remember it has no rules, only fluff.

There's also Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue, if you're a fan of drow.

Thirding Lords of Darkness.  One of the very few d20-era FR books I still use.

Silver Marches is good, but only (IMHO) if you can't get FR5 The Savage Frontier (or the "The North" boxed set for 2e, which is pricey on eBay).  There's very little added value or material from one version of this supplement to the next.

I'm also going to take one small issue with the FRCS:  The problem I ran into, as a DM coming straight from AD&D without having read the novel line since the mid 90s, is that it routinely references novel events without giving any context (or any clue that they were talking about the novel line, much less what book they're from).  Referencing the events in the Cormyr trilogy (one of the series actually worth reading, especially as a DM running a game there) as "a red dragon attacked and now everybody's shit's all fucked" wasn't super helpful or informative, for example.  A minor quibble, all in all.

Also, what they did to the map was a travesty.

Yes, I could see the waterdeep book being essential if you wanted to run a campaign based in that city.

RPGPundit