I was having a difficult time looking for resources that helped tell the story of my character that DMs would tolerate. A lot of the DMs I find are very strict about what resources you can use. Forgotten Characters of the Realms advocates for itself frequently and honestly.
I didn't end up using the Lythari for my young, Grey Wolf Tribe, Chosen of Uthgardt, but it was instructive for me as a new player, to both Dungeons and Dragons and the Forgotten Realms, in developing an idea of what it's like to be a werewolf and where the come from.
I’m happy to recommend this resource to other new players looking to immerse themselves in a holistic modernization of the genre. Forgotten Characters of the Realms will inform you just how much there is to know, or how little you know, and that's a kind of wisdom worth acquiring. You get a tight yet comprehensive lore dump for almost every race, class, subclass, and background, extending bloodlines and traditions down to new generations; Even the feats make an effort to preserve and update history. I appreciate the evening out of otherwise monolithic racial options found in the Player's handbook.
Worst case scenario, a lot of the options presented here now have variants covered in official material released by Wizards of the Coast and the informative world building elements could be interpreted as long winded meanderings.
Scout is a more satisfying union of the rogue and ranger archetypes without needing to multiclass. If your DM hates monk’s Stunning Strike, wait until they see Path of the Bounty Hunter's Bring 'Em Back Alive. With the Path of the Saboteur and the Dragonwrought racial subtype you can get the ideal kobold experience.
Does your DM hate the Bear Totem Barbarian and Moon Druid multiclass? Try the Path of the Shaman Barbarian instead. Access to additional healing magic and limited spellcasting while enraged combine to make you almost as resilient as the former rampaging shapeshifter.
Personally, I feel no draw to play a cleric of any kind. Their skill sets don't gel with me. Abilities like Turn Undead are dead to me, this feeling is reinforced when I read abilities like the Darkness Domain's Nightlord, Shadow Talk feature. I don't like having abilities I'll never be able to use. There are so many Cleric Domains here that I can't help but feel the clergy is severely under-represented in the campaigns I have played.
Monk's Way of the Jordain is so rude to spellcasters. You are already the best equipped class to deal with spellcasting enemies, now you can Counterspell their Shield. No sir, you are getting punched, now roll your Constitution Save, it's time for your nap.
Shadow Walker is very satisfying. A cherry on top, perhaps too good to be offered here, would be delivering Sneak Attack strikes through the shadow.
The daylight adaptation feat is the most honest way of extricating yourself from the penalties of sunlight sensitive races. I wanted more Faction related Blessing Feats, however, it's ultimately unnecessary because many of the Harper Blessing effects could just as easily apply to other factions as well; Except maybe the Zhentarim.
Contrary to my thoughts on racial diversity, I prefer the more generalized backgrounds from the PHB. The more specialized concepts seem less useful to me, you either find exactly what you need or... not. They say art is the process of removal, but not every character is or needs to be a magnum opus. Some of them can be puzzles, and problem solving is a process of addition. The likelihood that someone wrote a background that precisely describes the life I had in mind is an unreasonable expectation. So I believe more generic background options are better suited as player resources, to add my individualized brush strokes with which to distinguish my character's experience from another Sage or Sailor. Paradoxically, it's little things like the Alternative Spellsinger: Loresinger, that I appreciate. Different but the same.
It can be hard to think past the ink on the page, to take for granted the creativity that the game invites, to limit yourself to what is, rather than what could be. I think this resource helps broaden your horizons to nuance and possibility.
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