Lords of Darkness

Truth be told, you probably have enough information in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting to pass through or conduct simple quests with regard to most of the evil groups of Faerun. All of the organizations in this book are mentioned, with varying detail, in the campaign. They are also described in Forgotten Realms novels, so if you have read a great deal of those, you might not need this accessory. If you want to get into real detail with the powers of darkness and haven't read that much fiction, then this is the book to have. Even if you have done your homework, there's quite a lot of original material in here. As an example, if you'd like to actually visit the City of Shade, Lord of Darkness contains a wealth of information about how you would describe it. The campaign provides more simple demographics and locations than in-depth detail, so this is most welcome. There are also new encounters, weapons, and spells for the organizations, as well as some pre-made dungeons to explore. Specific points of interest in lands held by the enemy are also noted, as well as details on particular leaders of each order. In all, every major evil organization is covered, as well as a host of lesser ones. Lords of Darkness has enough info about how they operate and what they look like to give a DM totally unacquainted with the FR setting the capability to correctly portray enemies and guide adventurers through enemy territory.

This book is excellent in giving the DM resources on the various evil aligned groups found throughout faerun. I think it is an eseential piece for any campaign that wants to be highly detailed and accurate with the forgotten realm campaign. Contained with in it are histories of each group, how they came to be, their main allies (if any at all), there enemies, information on the leaders of each group, the structure...some of them have description of the style of headquarters (in lieu of a better term) they have, etc. etc. I feel that most of the wizard of the coast games are quite often overpriced, but i also feel that in the long run, despite the price you will be glad you have it.

While the standard paperback offerings for D & D 3 have thusfar disappointed me, the ones for Forgotten Realms have been truly outstanding and have proved applicable beyond the bounds of FR games.I had high hopes for this book after having gotten Magic of Faerun, I was not disappointed. This book is well organized, sorted by both size of the group (major or minor) and alphabetically, and covers a great many "evil baddies" in the world that can be easily incorperated into either a new game or an existing Campaign.Groups like The Night Masks, The Church of Shar, The Church of Bane, the Shades, and the Drow are now covered in extensive detail. A rich history is given, along with what are essentially roleplaying notes, and stats on prestige classes and promenant members of the organization.

Although the organizations in this book are taken from the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, the contents of the book are easily adaptable to any campaign. The organizations are covered in enough detail to allow for them to be placed in any setting and provide long term nemeses for any group of adventurers. The example groups with preset challenge ratings allow the addition of encounters with these groups to fit any level of campaign. The book continues to use the small font sized used in the campaign setting book so although it may seem expensive at first glance for a paperback, the content is all there. The larger organizations have accompanying keeps and holds that can be placed into any adventure setting as needed and provide a wealth of ideas for any DM.

If you play in the Realms and want to flesh out your villians, this book is wonderful. It's the same size and layout as Magic of Faerun, so that right there is a plus. Personally, i think the artwork is much better than Magic of Faerun, and some of the power groups detailed therein are quite intriguing. From the Daemonfey to the old Red Wizards, the book covers dozens and dozens of personalities, locales, and enemies to throw against your party.If you don't play in the Realms, the book is not as useful, but it is still GRADE A gaming material that could have pieces used in other campaigns. It seems like WOTC is pumping all their best talent and money into the FR series, which is fine by me, but it means that some other lines end up lacking (like the class supplement books). Yes, the book is very pricey, but for a DM who wants a whole slew of villians, monsters and plots, it's worth the money.