Icewind dale trilogy from R. A. Salvatore

[Shadowuser]

Hi there!
Has anyone read the books from Salvatore?
If so, here with the opinions.
Should I read the books first, play the game first or does it matter at all?

Thanx in advance.

[Aerich]

Hi Shadowuser,

I've read them and liked them; although they aren't great literature by any stretch, they are entertaining if you like the D&D universe.

It matters not a whit whether you read the books or not before (or after) the game. Aside from the name of the game, the name of the towns, an artifact, and a couple of magical items, there is no correlation between the game and the books. There is no real overlapping of plots to worry about.

If you have any D&D familiarity (books, pen-and-paper gaming, Baldur's Gate, etc) you can jump right into IWD and feel comfortable as quickly as you figure out the interface. Without it, the learning curve is a little higher, but this is by no means a difficult game to get into.

[Ravager]

I only read the books after playing BG. It shouldn't matter if you read the books or play the game first but I think the Sembia series is supposed to be more of an intro. to the Forgotten Realms. Check www.wizards.com - the publishers

[Patrick]

The books I read when they first came out, but as far as I know they have little to do with the game. I did read R.A. Salvatore, but tthe best books I read where by Ed GeenWood personally. I think Drizzt makes an apperance(?). Also the back-ground is similar. If you like forgotten realms at all it blows doors on it. Beyond Sci-books I think. The campaign is only a small part of Faerun, the greater Forgotten Realms world. I suggest getting some forgotten realms source books for AD & D. Also if you like comics, there is a new series about Drizzt and the drow of underdark, at a local comic shop near you. I actually mapped the first fcouple chapters of the game on pen and paper to DM as a regular roll playing game. Cool as Hell. Check out out and let us know what you think.

[Shadowuser]

Thanks everybody for the info.

I have played through BG I & II and I used to play a lot of pen & paper AD&D. So I don't think there will be too many problems getting the feel for ID. Think I'll install this evening

As far as the books go, I haven't bought them yet (reason for the thread). Will do in the next week or so though. I will also check out all the neat other stuff mentioned