Using the magic of wikipedia I've isolated the main published sourcebooks for researching the lore of the world we're playing in (in addition to the information in this section of the forum, naturally):

Faiths and Pantheons, Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, Lords of Darkness, Lost Empires of Faerûn, Magic of Faerûn, Player's Guide to Faerûn, Races of Faerûn, City of the Spider Queen, Serpent Kingdoms, Shining South, Silver Marches, Unapproachable East, and Underdark.

My questions are thus.

1) I'm aware that the FRCS -> PGtF changed mechanics for the 3.5e jump, but is any of the lore contained within different, or can I skip the latter entirely?

2) Are there any other sourcebooks (I'd as soon stay away from the novelizations for this purpose) not listed here I should use to familiarize myself more with the Prime?

3) What is the equivalent library one would use to get comfortable with Planescape, extraplanar settings, Celestia and the Abyss and so forth? I assume SOME of that information is held in the others, but I doubt it's a primary focus. Are the Fiend Folio, Book of Vile Darkness, and Book of Exalted Deeds canon for us?

4) This is more of a series of questions for individuals. How much lore are you familiar with? How much lore do you think players should be familiar with? How did you come by the lore you know? What parts of FR are you most familiar with and why? Are you a loremonkey? Who do you consider to be a loremonkey and why, both IC and OOC? How much of the sourcebook information would you say it would be reasonable for a character to know?

5) The storyteller queries. We have a lot of bards and storytellers and poets and so forth on this server, both in the past and the present. How do you come up with these tales? Are they primarily lore-based? Extrapolation? Spur-of-the-moment or planned out in a book? What's your most memorable bardic experience?


Fortunately for you, the reader, this isn't a pop quiz. Feel free to answer all, some, most, a few, or none of these questions are your leisure.

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Contents subject to change without warning, reason, necessity, or logical imperative.

1. PGtF has additional lore in it, I believe. I've found PrCs in it that I didn't find in FRCS, but then again, I am not a lore monkey person.

2. I think it depends on what your purpose is! People go pretty crazy depending. >.>

3. I've used all three of those listed before. Not sure if the DMs will say the entire sourcebooks are canon.

4. I am not familiar with much, but the small chunks of lore I do know, I know pretty intimately. For example, deities like Selune and Tymora. I know their dogma and history fairly well because of how involved it has been in my characters' RP. That would be the biggest reason I know any lore! I did 0 hours of research before I played Amia. What I knew of the Forgotten Realms, I knew from playing Single Player games. I knew what the cities of Neverwinter, Baldur's Gate and Waterdeep were, I knew who the Harpers were... I knew Bhaal was a crazy bitch? Yeah, that's about it.

I do not think players need to be familiar with all that much lore, but then I would also caveat that these beginning players should probably stay away from classes that are lore-heavy at first (like wizards, bards, etc.).

I consider Tormak, Amarice, NC and Gravemaskin to be the most knowledgeable and active at the moment. Mainly because I believe they have all amassed such a treasure hoard of it from so many years gaming across multiple communities and platforms, and because they have all been very curious about the details of Amia in regards to these. AirPhforce/Commie is doing a pretty good job of questioning the status quo on some things, too. I like that. To me, being a loremonkey isn't just knowing the fact of the lore- but having an idea of how you interpret those facts and why.

ICly, it's all different. I assume characters know next to nothing from the sourcebooks unless it is directly tied to them. For example, someone from the Silver Marches probably knows more about that sourcebook than a Chultan should. I also translate sourcebook information into suppositions when it becomes IC, unless my character is a crazy lawful person like a cleric or a paladin. The Time of Troubles wasn't so long ago, and so I think many people are aware of how the Gods can come down and things have been known to change. Unless I'm super devout and I don't want them to- and my job is to not let them! Etc, etc.

5. This is such a good question! In creating Caron and deciding to play a bard, I faced a lot of these questions and had to consider how I might be able to best entertain those I interacted with. I think I do a pleasant mixture of all of it, depending on the situation.

Caron's services have been hired before, and for those, I have occasionally written pieces or the beginnings of them. Sometimes he'll just be stopped and asked for a song. I'll sometimes use his own RP experiences and extrapolate spur-of-the-moment things, or sometimes I'll look up a little chunk of lore from a book and make up some crazy song about something. I've written bits about the Moonshaes and historical Celtic lines into these, I've played around with shooting whoever is RPing with Caron my OOC inspiration (I don't do this as much anymore). I think it just depends on your style, your character, etc.

My most memorable bardic experience?! I think the most memorable ones are often when Caron gets dismissed and his music goes ignored. It's always humbling for someone who has reached epic bardic levels, who has performed for fey and courts and achieved some masterwork artifacts to be told that he needs to "Shut up." It's like when they have famous musicians play in the subway to see how people will react. Sometimes, Caron plays on the side of the road and experiences this... >.>

Except these days, he may kill you for it. So be careful? Jkjk. Or am I?