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FR9 The Bloodstone Lands (2e)

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The Bloodstone Lands are one of the wildest areas in the Forgotten Realms.

In this sourcebook, the author of the Icewind Dales trilogy explores this frozen region. Presented for players and DMs alike are people, places, and events that shaped the Bloodstone Lands-the political movers and shakers who carved their own brand of civilization from the rocks and ice. In addition to this insider information, there are 10 new adventure scenario suggestions for all levels of play, from beginner to advanced, allowing campaigning in the Bloodstone Lands to continue long after exploring the mines themselves and conquering Orcus.

Prepare then to enter the barbaric kingdoms of Vaasa and Damara-the Bloodstone Lands.

Product History

FR9: "The Bloodstone Lands" (1989), by R.A. Salvatore, is the ninth book in the "FR" series of sourcebooks for the Forgotten Realms. It was released in November 1989.

Continuing the "FR" Sourcebooks. The "FR" books were one of the few module series to move unchanged through the transition to AD&D second edition (1989). Well, mostly unchanged. Though the series wasn't interrupted, its first two 2e releases were somewhat unusual: FR7: "Hall of Heroes" (1989) was a book of NPCs, while FR8: "Cities of Mystery" (1989) was a fairly generic toolkit for creating cities.

FR9: "The Bloodstone Lands" was thus a return to the FR's "traditional" regional sourcebook, each detailing a new part of the Forgotten Realms. In fact, it was the first such book in a full year, since FR6: "Dreams of the Red Wizards" (1989) had been published the previous November!

Adventuring Tropes. "The Bloodstone Lands" includes several pages detailing a potential campaign for the area. It's pretty typical for a campaign of the '80s, including dungeon crawling through catacombs, tunnels, castles, and dungeons. However, there's also some warfare, something that was rare outside of the BECMI Basic D&D game (1983-1986), and there's even an adventure seed about winning a lady's hand!

Expanding the Realms. In Ed Greenwood's Forgotten Realms, there were no Bloodstone Lands. Instead, the Great Glacier extended further south. However, TSR decided to add Michael Dobson and Douglas Niles' "Bloodstone Pass" region to the Realms as one of several existing properties incorporated into the new campaign setting. As a result, the Great Glacier was pushed back and the countries of Vaasa and Damara were added to the Realms, alongside the eponymous Pass itself.

Prior to its inclusion in the Realms, two adventures detailed the area: H1: "Bloodstone Pass" (1985) and H2: "The Mines of Bloodstone" (1986). H3: "The Bloodstone Wars" (1987) was the first adventure in the series that was officially set in the Realms; Ed Greenwood even got a byline on that adventure, primarily through its inclusion of "The Assassin's Run", an adventure that Greenwood had written for Dragon #64 (August 1982). After that H4: "The Throne of Bloodstone" (1988) finished off the series and the initial detailing of the region.

"The Bloodstone Lands" adds considerable detail to the countries of Damara and Vaasa after the events of the "H" series. It also describes the nearby countries of Narfell and Impiltur. Though the Bloodstone Lands lies to the north of the Realms, it's not far from the Moonsea region; thus, this new module expanded what was quickly becoming one of the two best-detailed areas of the Realms.

Whoops! The back cover claims that the Bloodstone Lands include Icewind Dale. This is false; the confusion may have arisen from the fact that module author Salvatore also wrote novels set in Icewind Dale and they're all northern lands. In fact, Icewind Dale is located considerably west of the Bloodstone Lands — past the Anauroch Desert, in the area that was previously detailed in FR5: "The Savage Frontier" (1988).

Mind you, some fans says that they consider the two lands redundant, and more than one has reported placing Icewind Dale in the Bloodstone Lands in their own Realms!

Future History. One of Salvatore's adventure seeds is about a cloud giant castle. He later returned to the castle in a short story. It was originally planned as a Drizzt and Wulfgar story, but when it appeared in an anthology called Halflings, Hobbits, Warrows, and Weefolk (1991) it became a halfling story called "A Sparkle for Homer". Though the final story isn't set in the Realms, Salvatore says it's what he intended for the cloud giant castle in "The Bloodstone Lands".

Meanwhile, back in the Realms, Rick Swan returned to the region with FR14: "The Great Glacier" (1992), then Salvatore himself wrote a pair of Realms novels set in the area: Promise of the Witch-King (2005) and Road of the Patriarch (2006).

In more recent times the Bloodstone Lands have more frequently been called "The Cold Lands".

About the Creators. Salvatore was a rising at TSR thanks to his novels, beginning with The Crystal Shard (1988). "The Bloodstone Lands" was one of just two D&D supplements he wrote, though he also made some contributions to Menzoberranzan (1992).

About the Product Historian

The history of this product was researched and written by Shannon Appelcline, the editor-in-chief of RPGnet and the author of Designers & Dragons - a history of the roleplaying industry told one company at a time. Please feel free to mail corrections, comments, and additions to shannon.appelcline@gmail.com.

We (Wizards) recognize that some of the legacy content available on this website does not reflect the values of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise today. Some older content may reflect ethnic, racial, and gender prejudice that were commonplace in American society at that time. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. This content is presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. Dungeons & Dragons teaches that diversity is a strength, and we strive to make our D&D products as welcoming and inclusive as possible. This part of our work will never end.

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Matthew U April 20, 2023 6:10 pm UTC
PURCHASER
How is this not available in POD yet?
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David M February 28, 2023 10:19 pm UTC
POD when?
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Nicholas P March 29, 2021 5:32 am UTC
POD please ...
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Joseph M September 16, 2014 6:14 pm UTC
Does this includes the four modules H1, H2, H3 and H4? I really want those modules!!!!
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Product Information
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Pages
64
Edition
1.0
ISBN
0-88038-771-8
Publisher Stock #
TSR 9267
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