Where to start? And where to go from there?

[Havard]

Okay, the D20 book it is then (because I just realised that have that, for some strange reason).

Is the D20 book set in the same time as the FFC? The main thing I'm concerned about is whether the different editions take place at different times, or whether there are unexplained changes between them. I grew up on Glorantha, you see, which has left me with a phobia of "Gregging".*

* "Gregging" in this sense means Greg Stafford re-writing important elements of his gameworld at random and without warning, totally screwing with your personal campaign history. Don't look up "Gregging" on the internet. I'm warning you.

Heh, yeah I've heard about Gregging

The FFC chronicles the years 995-1000, while the d20/3E line is set in the year 1030.

My own Vales Campaign makes use of d20 sourcebooks (although for Classic D&D rules), but is set in the FFC era. In this thread I cover some of the changes from the standard D20 era material.

Note that the setting has been added to and expanded over the years so not everything from the D20 line was planned at the time when Arneson chronicled the FFC. There aren't many direct contraditions, but for instance the Gods presented in the D20 books are different from the more humorous presentation of the Church in the FFC. Also, the Wizards Cabal was originally (1987) presented as an evil secret organization, but the d20 version changed them to an open (if somewhat sinister) wizardly order.

-Havard