Review of the Forgotten Realms manuals: Adventures in Faerûn and Heroes of Faerûn

Note: This review has been produced with the kind assistance of Wizards of the Coast, who provided both of these newly published books, localised into Spanish; this is why the images shown are of these localised editions. The original English version is now available and was published in November 2025.

When we talk about Dungeons & Dragons, we usually have some memory or general visual image of what we're referring to. Yes, of course, there are dungeons, there are dragons, there are elves, and there are those strange chests with teeth that would give you the fright of your life if you came across them in your grandad's old storeroom. But in reality, practically everything you've seen of Dungeons & Dragons - be it in films, on television, in novels or in video games - refers to a specific setting within a multiverse of infinite fantasy worlds. At least since the late 1980s, to talk about the D&D universe is to talk about the world of Toril, the Forgotten Realms, and more specifically its vast continent of Faerûn.

It is in Faerûn (and beneath it) that the adventures of Drizzt Do'Urden unfold, alongside the stories about the cult of Bhaal and the Absolute in the Baldur's Gate games and the plot of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. And yet, despite having served as a vast and untamed backdrop in these media and at millions of gaming tables, the world of Toril remains quite mysterious even today. There was a great deal of information scattered across 40 years of rulebooks, magazines, and modules, and much of that material has long since been out of print and is now out of date with respect to the official chronology. In fact, over the last ten years, the greatest attempt to provide an expansion to help you set your D&D games in Faerûn with any degree of coherence was through a volume known as the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, which is now out of print and, to be honest, was completely inadequate, as it focused solely on that coastal region where some of the most famous stories tend to unfold.

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So, on the one hand, there was a need to gather, organise, and update all the available information on the Forgotten Realms and, furthermore, to update it, bringing it into line with the current 5.5 Edition rules and offering that new legion of players now joining the game a foundation on which to build their new stories. These two new manuals were therefore needed: Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn and Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn. Two related volumes, but each with different purposes and target audiences.

Let's start by looking at the expansion for players, Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn. This volume expands on the options in the Player's Handbook (2024) and contains everything a player at the table needs to know in broad terms to create a character who truly lives in Faerûn, with detailed descriptions of regions, deities, and the factions and organisations you might ally with (or antagonise) throughout your journey, and much more. In practical terms, 75 per cent of the book is devoted to this: condensing knowledge of the campaign setting into a single place and helping to shape the personalities of the characters who will inhabit it. Then there's the section on expanding the character creation process, with subclasses and backstories specific to this world. Do you want to be a Firefist mercenary with a thirst for adventure? We've got special rules to help you bring that character to life. How about a rogue with a darker, criminal background, such as a member of the Zhentarim? Or a bard specialising in the lunar magic of the elves? The list of possibilities is, once again, endless. But all characters have one thing in common: their epic nature. Whatever their species, these individuals immediately stand out for their abilities, which far exceed those of the average inhabitant of the Forgotten Realms, and that is one of the reasons why this vast world has not been fully explored: only the strongest survive to return and tell the tale.

Heroes of Faerûn, in addition to the subclasses (one for each main class in the game), adds an updated catalogue of unique items and artefacts that can only be found in the Realms, and indeed in specific areas within them. Simply acquiring one of these for your party could be worth its own adventure within a larger campaign. But if there's one thing that really makes this volume worth acquiring, it's having everything you need to perform Circle Magic, a new mechanic for groups of adventurers that includes spellcasters, allowing the power of several spellcasters to be concentrated to amplify the power of a single spell. This can lead to some very creative ways of solving problems - and let's hope the Dungeon Master turns a blind eye. Note: If you fancy giving it a go, you can fire a magic missile over a mile away without missing. It's right there in the book!

Although the Dungeon Master will surely find other ways to put you in a tight spot so you can't do it, it always depends on the benefits provided by the circle's magic, and that's because the book—which is significantly larger and more comprehensive than Adventures in Faerûn—is designed to be an aid to the game master. Adventures in Faerûn adds much more detailed information on the five major regions that make up the continent of Faerûn, and it makes perfect sense that it devotes a chapter to each of them, because each region represents or draws heavily on five very distinct fantasy genres. If your group wants high-level magical duels, take them to Calimshan; if they prefer a more classic adventure, it would be best to take them through the Lands of the Valleys; if they like enchanting magical creatures and fairies, the Moonshae Islands are the place for them; and if they're looking for some supernatural horror, you might want to take them to the frozen steppes of the Valley of the Frozen Wind. Each of these regions is fully documented, and you really won't need much more than your imagination, a pen and some paper to organise endless adventures in Faerûn.

What's more, it also includes two new appendices: one featuring magical items exclusive to the Forgotten Realms, and another listing monsters or monster variants that only appear here and may require rules beyond those in the 5.5 Edition Monster Manual.

Of course, if you need some inspiration, Adventures in Faerûn offers no fewer than fifty mini-adventures, complete with their hook, main characters and monsters, so you can run them straight away at the table. They are categorised both by the level required for the party to undertake them and by the region in which they are set. And, as if that weren't enough, if you find yourself running a session for novice players who know nothing of the world of the Forgotten Realms, Chapter 7 includes a complete starter adventure for levels 1 to 3 called 'The Lost Library of Lethchauntos', where they can explore the basics of the game alongside an introduction to the setting's locations, deities and treasures.

Both Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn and Forgotten Realms - Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn are invaluable resources for players and DMs who wish to set their adventures in D&D's best-known setting, and an essential pack for those who have started playing using the D&D 5.5 rules. I'd even recommend it to players who've just finished Baldur's Gate 3 and want to learn more about this world and the possibilities it offers. After all, it's only a very small step from there to creating a character sheet and playing with your friends.