The Chronicle of Years: A Short History of the Realms - After the Spellplague
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Transcript of The Chronicle of Years: A Short History of the Realms - After the Spellplague
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The Chronicle of Years A Short History of the Realms
After the Spellplague: A Century of Change
Edited by Christopher J. Monte
Based on The Grand History of the Realms by Brian R. James
Just like the The Grand History of the Realms the bulk of this ebook is made up of
brief entries that collectively form a timeline of the history of Faerûn and the other
continents of the world of Toril. The events are presented in chronological order
according to the year or time frame in which they occurred.
This ebook and the earlier volumes in this series are meant to expand the original
entries of The Grand History of the Realms with more background explanations for the
events described in the original text. As this has greatly expanded the page count of the
original work, The Chronicle of Years will be divided up into a series of volumes to focus
on a related group of historical periods. This volume focuses on the events that occurred
after the Spellplague radically altered the world of Toril. The events described herein are
drawn from the Fourth Edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide and Forgotten Realms
Player’s Guide as well as the unofficial chronological entries provided by Brian R. James
himself.
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Calendar Conversions
One notable feature of the timeline that the expert Faerûnian historian will notice
is that the dates in this work are expressed in the current Dalereckoning (DR) notation.
Different cultures in the Realms have used different calendars, and reconciling them has
often caused sages much difficulty. See the following notes to convert DR dates to some
other calendar.
Dalereckoning (DR): This human-centric calendar has become the standard way of
expressing dates across Faerûn for most historians and scholars who wish to use a
numbered system of dates instead of the far more ancient—and less convenient—Roll of
Years. Dalereckoning was established in the Year of Sunrise (1 DR) when the men of
Chondath were first permitted by the eladrin and elves of the Elven Court to settle in the
more open regions of Cormanthor. It is also sometimes called Freeman’s Reckoning in
older sources.
Cormyr Reckoning (CR): This calendar starts at the founding of the Kingdom of
Cormyr by the Obarskyr Dynasty (26 DR). The use of two close but not identical
calendars between Dalereckoning and Cormyr Reckoning in the same geographic area of
Faerûn’s Heartlands causes historians and sages much confusion. To convert between
dates you might find in other sources: DR – 25 = CR or CR + 25 = DR. The current year
is 1454 CR.
�orthreckoning (�R): The calendar used throughout the city of Waterdeep, the Silver
Marches, and the North. DR – 1032 = NR or NR + 1032 = DR. The current year is 447
NR.
Waterdeep Year (WY): Archaic Waterdhavian calendar based on the year of the City of
Splendor’s founding, no longer used.
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�etheril Year (�Y): Calendar used by the lost Empire of Netheril and still in use by the
Shadovar of Shade Enclave, stemming from the formation of the Alliance of Seventon.
DR + 3859 = NY or NY – 3859 = DR. The current year is 5338 NY.
Shou Calendar: The people of the vast Empire of Shou Lung mark the ascendancy of
Nung Fu as the start of their empire’s calendar. DR + 1250 = Shou Year or Shou Year –
1250 = DR. The current date is Shou Year 2729.
Wa Calendar: Calendar used by the island Empire of Wa in the Eastern Realms of Kara-
Tur. DR + 418 = Wa Year or Wa Year – 418 = DR. The current date is Wa Year 1897.
Mulhorand Calendar (MC): Ancient calendar dating from the founding of the
Mulhorandi capital city of Skuld by the former Mulan slaves fleeing the destruction of
the Empire of Imaskar. This calendar is at present only used by the deva and the few
surviving descendants of Mulhorandi refugees. DR + 2134 = MC or MC – 2134 = DR.
The current year is 3613 MC.
Untheric Calendar (UC): Established after the ascendancy of Gilgeam as the god-king
of Unther. DR + 735 = UC or UC – 735 = DR. The current year is 2214 UC.
Aryselmalyr Calendar: Archaic calendar used by the undersea elves of Aryselmalyr at
the empire’s founding. DR + 11004 = AC or AC – 11004 = DR. The current year under
this calendar is 12483 AC.
Timesong Calendar (TS): Calendar established at Myth Nantar and used today by most
undersea inhabitants of Serôs (the Sea of Fallen Stars). DR + 70 = TS or TS – 70 = TS.
The current year for the sea elves of Serôs is 1549 TS.
Present Reckoning (PR): A newer calendar that dates the Time of Troubles and the
Godswar that occurred in the Year of Shadows as Year 0. DR – 1358 = PR or PR + 1358
= DR. The current date in this seldom-used system is 121 PR.
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The Roll of Years
Each year beginning with –700 DR also includes its name from the Roll of Years.
The standardization of each year with an individual, proper name largely derives from
two human prophets of different eras, Augathra the Mad (c. –400 DR) and Alaundo the
Seer (c. 75 DR), about which little is known. What is certain is that they built on a body
of elven lore and prophecy, adding their own foretellings of the future. Some historians
view them as scholarly hacks, stealing and taking credit for centuries of elven knowledge.
Others view them as great visionaries who sought to help future generations with their
warnings and reassurances. In the years before the Spellplague, word spread of a new
Roll of Years, a Black Chronology fashioned by the goddess Shar, the Lady of Loss and
her faithful. The purpose of this Shadow Roll was to mark the events that would lead to
the ultimate ascendancy of Shar over all of Toril, but instead, the goddess of darkness’
plans went all awry and brought on the Spellplague.
The current year in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting is 1479 DR, the Year of the
Ageless One.
Prelude to Catastrophe, 1374-1384 DR
1374 Dale Reckoning (DR) (Year of Lightning Storms): Tsarra
“Autumnfire” Chaadren takes up the mantle of the Blackstaff in
Waterdeep, but hides herself under magical illusions that make her
appear to be Khelben Arunsun.
1375 DR (Year of Risen Elfkin): The ancient leShay capital city
of Karador rises from the crystal clear waters of the Myrloch on
the island of Gwynneth in the Moonshae Isles. The leShay archfey
queen Ordalf announces the rebirth of the fey Kingdom of Sarifal
and declares herself High Lady over all the lands of Gwynneth—whether the humans of
that island like it or not.
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1375 Hammer 1: The moon elven (eladrin) adventurer Fox-at-Twilight discovers
Negarath, a fallen Netherese floating enclave, beneath the sands of the Great Desert of
Anauroch, from which she barely escapes with her life, her sanity, and a new companion,
the exiled goliath Gargan.
1375 Hammer 13: Adventurers liberate Lord Mourngrym Amcathra from possession by
a servant of the Netherese Shadovars of Thultanthar, the Shade Enclave. Rousing the
residents of Shadowdale, they break Zhentarim control of the area and kill the Zhentarim
commander Scyllua Darkhope. Following the battle, Mourngrym resigns the Lordship of
Shadowdale and rejoins the Knights of Myth Drannor in Myth Drannor, the City of
Beauty. With the blessing of Shadowdale’s liberators, Azalar Falconhand, son of the
Knights of Myth Drannor Florin and Dove Falconhand, claims the Pendant of Ashaba
and is proclaimed the new Lord of Shadowdale. In the months that follow, fey return in
large numbers to Shadowdale.
1375 Hammer 17: Fzoul Chembryl, High Tyrannar of the
Church of Bane and leader of the Black Network of the
Zhentarim, publicly blames Scyllua Darkhope for the
Zhentarim’s failures in the Cormanthor War against the
returned eladrin of Myth Drannor and proclaims that the
“Bitch in the Trees” shall never again be resurrected. The
Tyrant of the Moonsea hopes that by blaming all the
failures of the Cormanthor War on Darkhope he can save
face with his drow allies, House Jaelre and Clan Auzkovyn
of the Elven Court.
1375 Tarsakh 3: Troops from Zhentil Keep occupy the neighboring Moonsea city-state
of Phlan, increasing the number of vassal states under Zhentarim control.
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1375 Mirtul 1: Wai Yong, the tenth emperor of the Lui Dynasty of T’u Lung, secretly
arrives in the Kingdom of Mulhorand under an assumed identity. The reasons for the
young emperor’s journey westwards from mysterious Kara-Tur are as yet unrevealed.
1375 Mirtul 5: Druxus Rhym, Thayan Zulkir of Transmutation, is murdered in his
apartments in the Thayan city of Bezantur. A Thayan army is defeated by the berserkers
of Rashemen in the Gorge of Gauros during a failed invasion of Thay’s northern
neighbor. The tharchions who mounted the invasion claim to have defeated an invading
Rashemi army to prevent a loss of face.
1375 Mirtul 10: In the Sunset Mountains, Thay’s Thazar Keep falls to a horde of
powerful undead emerging from Thazar Pass. In the days that follow, the undead overrun
much of the Thayan Tharch of Pyarados, including half of the city of Thazrumaros.
1375 Mirtul 25: Samas Kul, Master of the Thayan Guild of Foreign Trade, is elected the
new Red Wizard Zulkir of Transmutation.
1375 Kythorn 4: A Thayan army known as the Griffon Legion reclaims the Pyarados
from the undead invaders. In the days that follow, Thay’s legions march
up Thazar Pass to destroy those undead that escaped.
1375 Kythorn 5: Aznar Thrul, Thayan Zulkir of Evocation and Tharchion
of the Priador, is killed by his prisoner, Mari Agneh, a human/bloodfiend
hybrid.
1375 Kythorn 10: The lich Szass Tam, Zulkir of
Necromancy, is blocked by his fellow Zulkirs
from being elevated to the position of Regent of Thay. Tam, long
the most powerful of the Red Wizards of Thay, desires to become
the sole ruler of that nation and decides to openly make war
against his fellow zulkirs.
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1375 Kythorn 14: The Griffon Legion of Thay retakes Thazar Keep.
1375 Kythorn 27: After Szass Tam’s plan to march an army south and seize Bezantur is
slowed by the staunch defense of the Griffon Legion, the Zulkir of Necromancy and the
six other zulkirs settle in for a long civil war.
1375 Eleint 30: A long, rolling earthquake strikes Waterdeep shortly after dawn. The city
sustains little physical damage, but a number of people
across the city are struck by fearsome mental visions of a
screaming, bearded man whose eyes blaze with rage, sorrow,
and swimming stars—Halaster Blackcloak, the Mad Mage of
Undermountain. People of arcane talent struck by the visions
also report scenes of destruction in the vast maze: pillars
cracking and tumbling, rifts and chasms opening up, and
surging explosions of blue-white sparks. It soon becomes
clear that Halaster destroyed himself while attempting a ritual of tremendous power, and
in the moment of his death hurled desperate visions and mysterious compulsions to
adventurers and persons of magical power throughout Faerûn.
1375 �ightal 20: The greatest of the Anti-Seldarine, Lolth,
the Spider Queen, and Eilistraee, the drow goddess of song
and beauty, battle to the death in a divine game of sava, with
the fate of the entire drow race hanging in the balance. A
Darksong Knight in service to Eilistraee
slays Selvetarm, the Champion of Lolth and
demigod of drow warriors, with a powerful
artifact known as the Crescent Blade. Drow
followers of Vhaeraun, the god of thieves,
employ High Magic for the first time since the Descent of the Drow at the end of the
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elven Crown Wars millennia before. They succeed in opening a portal to Eilistraee’s
realm on the plane of Arvandor, which the Masked Lord employs in an attempt to
assassinate his divine sister. The effort backfires, as Eilistraee kills her brother instead
and absorbs Vhaeraun’s divine power and portfolios. The Church of Vhaeraun is
absorbed into the Church of Eilistraee. The tiny Church of Selvetarm is absorbed into the
Church of Lolth.
1376 DR (Year of the Bent Blade): Azuth, the High One, the god of
mages, charges his pupil, the archmage Flamsterd of the Moonshaes,
with retrieving Halaster Blackcloak’s soul-shards, scattered throughout
the world of Toril and beyond.
The drow Masked Brigades of the Elven Court are sorely shaken by their god Vhaeraun’s
destruction, and the forces of Myth Drannor soon rout the remnants of the drow House
Jaelre and Clan Auzkovyn from the territory of the Elven Court. With his drow allies
scattered and disorganized, Fzoul Chembyrl of Zhentil Keep decides to end his war
against Myth Drannor. The Tyrant of the Moonsea concludes an uneasy peace with soon-
to-be Coronal Ilsevele Miritar of Myth Drannor, leaving the forest of the
Elven Court to the elves while the Moonsea city-state of Hillsfar and the
open lands north of the line between Hillsfar and Dagger Falls formally
fall under the sway of Zhentil Keep. In addition, the Fair Folk grant the
Black Network of the Zhentarim free passage along the Moonsea Ride
and Rauthauvyr’s Road, for so long as they do not fell a living tree, injure or kill an elf,
or stray more than thirty paces from the trail beneath the boughs.
Strange aberrant creatures called nilshai are encountered en
masse in the Yuirwood of Aglarond, usually near the ancient star
elf menhirs. Reports of the creatures’ depredations are of such
shocking bloodiness that the Simbul, the mage-queen of
Aglarond, enacts a bounty on nilshai hides.
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The Swordbelt Alliance sacks the subterranean city of
Oaxatupa in the Underdark beneath Amn, scattering the
Maztican tlincallis who inhabit it like a giant stepping
on an anthill. In the years that follow, the stingers boil
up to attack targets throughout Amn and the ogre-ruled
state of Murannheim without warning, forcing the two
hostile neighbors to maintain their uneasy truce. The
Armory of Nedeheim, a legendary cache of magical
giant-forged weapons from the Dawn Age kingdom of
Nedeheim said to be lost in the Underdark, is never
recovered from the city of the stingers. But adventurers
searching for the armory return from ruined Oaxatupa
with reports of an arcane portal to the Abyss from which demonic servitors of the demon
prince Obox-Ob, the patron of the tlincallis, continue to pour forth in support of the
manscorpions. The ruling Amnian Council of Six institutes a heavy war tax on the people
of Amn in preparation for years of warfare.
Throughout its existence as a nation, Rashemen has prevailed in the face of
invaders. Old enemies include ancient Narfell and Raumathar, lost Mulhorand, the
Tuigan of the Hordelands, and Thay. When Thay became embroiled in civil war, the
Wychlaran, Rashemen’s witches, seized the opportunity to deal with a growing internal
threat—the durthans. This dark group of women and hags, with powers similar to those
of the Wychlaran, focused on corrupted spirits and wicked fey. Most durthans felt that the
only way to protect Rashemen was to be as ruthless as its enemies. They built a secret
sanctuary called Citadel Tralkarn within the Erech Forest. In what is now known as the
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Witch War of Rashemen, the Wychlaran and their commander, the Iron Lord of
Rashemen, fought against the durthans and their allies. In the end, the Wychlaran
prevailed and the durthans were no more.
1377 DR (Year of the Haunting): Captain Deudermont of the Sea Sprite breaks the
stranglehold of a collection of pirate lords over the city of Luskan in the North, and
briefly serves as the City of Sails’ governor. His reign proves short—the Luskanite
populace was too accustomed to the corruption-as-usual practices of the former masters
of the city. The City of Sails ultimately fell back into the hands of the surviving high
captains, who immediately began to fight among themselves. Within a decade all four
had either been killed or run off. Left without any central government, even a corrupt
one, there was no hope left for Luskan. Rival gangs of thieves and pirates have been
fighting, street by street and alley by alley, ever since. In the ensuing decades, numerous
attempts have been made by master thieves, pirate captains, bandit kings, and monsters
ranging from kobolds to beholders to take control of the city, but nothing resembling a
government has stayed in power for more than a few months.
The ancient elven archlich known as the Srinshee
returns to Myth Drannor and offers Ilsevele Miritar
the ancient Myth Drannan Rulers’ Blade in
recognition of her wise and resolute leadership in the
realm’s re-founding. Ilsevele humbly accepts the
Rulers’ Blade and formally accepts the title of
Coronal of Myth Drannor and Cormanthor. Queen
Amlaruil of Evermeet arrives in the Elven Court to
congratulate the new coronal and brings with her the
Tree of Souls as a gift to the new realm. The Tree of
Souls was a divine artifact grown from a magical seed
provided by Corellon, the god of the fey, to the first
elves who settled the island of Evermeet after the Green Isle’s creation during the
Sundering millennia before. Over time, the souls of ancient elves who chose to stay on
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Toril, rather than pass on to the Seldarine’s plane of Arvandor, merge into the Tree of
Souls, slowly augmenting its immense magical power. The artifact is planted in a ring-
shaped colonnade at the heart of Myth Drannor known as Seldarrshen $ieryll, the
Starsoul Shrine.
Followers of Kiaransalee, the drow goddess of the undead, cause the strange arcane
radiation known as faerzress throughout the Underdark to affect the ability of drow to
teleport or employ divination magic. In hopes of reversing the effect, Eilistraee’s
worshipers launch an assault on the Crones of Kiaransalee who rule the Acropolis of
Thanatos amid the ruins of the drow city of V’elddrinnsshar deep beneath the Galena
Mountains of Damara. At the same time, the drow mage Q’arlynd Melarn and his
apprentices, employing six Miyeritari kiira, ancient elven gemstones from the lost elven
kingdom of Miyeritar used to store magical knowledge, cast High Magic to strip
Kiaransalee’s name from the minds of any of the intelligent beings of the Realms. Bereft
of any worshipers, the Revenancer literally fades from existence.
A minor earthquake off Amn’s coast disrupts Spellhold, the asylum for insane arcanists
on the island of Brynnlaw. Several of the deviant spellcasters held within escape, vowing
vengeance against the nation that imprisoned them.
1378 DR (Year of the Cauldron): A crazed cultist of the bound efreeti Memnon in
Calimshan attempts to instigate a holy war in Memnon’s name. After some success in
assembling the beginnings of a great fleet in Calimport to “scour” the Sword Coast to
the far north of unbelievers, the cultist Roshanak has a dream so startling he abandons his
effort. Roshanak disappears to a fate unknown.
1379 DR (Year of the Lost Keep): The drow goddess Eilistraee is successful in
transforming the drow who embrace her benevolent philosophy back into dark elves from
their cursed drow forms with the consent of Corellon Larethian, reversing the divine
curse laid on them by the elven gods of the Seldarine during the Descent of the Drow.
However, in the process the Dark Maiden lost her metaphysical sava game with Lolth in
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the divine realms and the Spider Queen absorbed her daughter’s divine
essence. This occurred in actuality in the month of Flamerule 1379 DR when
Eilistraee, while inhabiting the mortal plane in the body of her Chosen Qilué
Veladorn, was killed by Lolth’s Chosen Halisstra Melarn even as Eilistraee
tried to redeem her. Halisstra had been a drow priestess transformed into the
demon known as the Lady Penitent as a punishment for betraying
Lolth. Using the powerful artifact called the Crescent Blade, the
Lady Penitent slew the Dark Maiden and allowed Lolth to absorb the
combined divine essences of both Eilistraee and Vhaeraun. Yet all was not
lost for the cause of the redeemed drow, for Corellon Larethian, the god of
the fey and leader of the Seldarine, as well as Eilistraee’s father, accepted
the worship of the Dark Maiden’s followers in her place and decreed that
they should be allowed to enter Arvandor like all other elves upon their
deaths. Corellon replaced Eilistraee in the great sava game with Lolth for the destiny of
the dark elven race. The game promises to be a long one.
From his family holdings in Amn, Lionel Carrathal, a descendant of the last Carrathal
high king of the Moonshae Isles, declares himself the true High King of the Moonshaes;
he demands that the High Queen Alicia Kendrick abdicate to him. She refuses and finds
his arrogant claims to be ludicrous. By 1385 DR, Lionel Carrathal, through profitable
investments in commercial opportunities in Maztica and other business dealings, had
carved out a small fiefdom for himself in Amn. But wealth and power in Amn was not
Carrathal’s goal, for he had determined to regain his family’s royal heritage in the
Moonshaes. Just as he had managed to assemble a formidable force of mercenaries to
invade the Moonshae Isle of Callidyr in 1385 DR, the Spellplague struck, sowing ruin
through Amn and Faerûn.
Amn’s colonization efforts in the jungles of Chult in southwestern Faerûn finally begin to
pay off the extraordinary investment in ships, men, and gold. An entire tribe of savage
Chultan humanoids is forcibly transplanted from the deep jungles and resettled in a caged
preserve in the Amnian capital city of Athkatla. The parasitic disease that sweeps through
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Athkatla in 1379 DR and finally kills one of the Council of Six is blamed on the presence
of the preserve, but before the savages can be eradicated, they escape to Amn’s interior,
adding to the troubles of that mercantile nation. The Council of Six does not replace its
lost member and is renamed the Council of Five.
Lolth plots against her rivals in the drow Anti-Seldarine pantheon. The Spider Queen
attempts to destroy Ghaunadaur, the god of oozes, slimes and other aberrants, but
Ghaunadaur proves to be a stronger and far more ancient power than Lolth suspected.
The Elder Eye abandons his divine realm in the Demonweb Pits for the Deep Caverns.
A Netherese spy is caught in the Cormyrean capital city of Suzail. The Steel Regent,
Princess Alusair Nacacia Obarskyr, hangs the spy in a public square. This event touches
off a short-lived conflagration of hostilities with the Shadovars, which comes to be called
the Four Day War.
After years of low-level skirmishing, Mulhorand’s conquest of Unther is complete. The
city of Messemprar falls to Mulhorand’s last wave of conquest and the long-slumbering
Mulhorandi giant is content, for the time being, to digest its newest attempt at empire.
Threskel is consolidated under the rule of the Great Bone Wyrm, with the backing of the
Church of Bane and Thay, while the ancient red wyrm Tchazzar, the Sceptenar of
Cimbar, cements his hold on the rest of Chessenta. In addition to low-level skirmishes
along the borders of the three realms in the Old Empires region of Faerûn, regular dragon
raids wreak havoc in the heart of each country.
1380 DR (Year of the Blazing Hand): In the Moonsea region, the Zhentarim
Hatemaster placed in control of Phlan by the Black Network, Cvaal Daoran, dissolves
Phlan’s Council of Ten and establishes himself as the sole Lord Protector of Phlan.
The great canal linking the Lake of Steam and the Nagaflow River is finally completed,
linking the Sea of Fallen Stars and the western oceans.
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The eladrin High Mage Araevin Teshurr completes the restoration of Myth Drannor’s
mythal and, after visits to Waterdeep, Aglarond, and the star elven realm of Sildëyuir in
the Feywild, sets out for the hidden realm of Auseriel. There he meets and befriends
Prince Lamruil. The two eladrin leave Auseriel in the care of Prince Lamruil’s seneschal
and depart in search of the missing Princess Maura, set on the trail by the mysterious
prophecy revealed by Araevin’s magic.
The realm of Sembia, a protectorate of the Netherese enclave of Shade, is unofficially
placed under the complete control of the Twelve Princes of Shade.
1381 DR (Year of the Starving): Master architect Ivor Devorast constructs a precision
mechanical clock that is installed in the tallest tower of the Cormyrean port city of
Marsember, the City of Spices.
Lord Protector Cvaal Daoran of Phlan initiates the restoration of Valjevo Castle and the
reconstruction of Phlan’s city walls.
A freak cold snap freezes the ground in much of northern Faerûn in Mirtul of 1381 DR,
ruining food crops and animal forage in many places. The resultant dip in Faerûnian
agricultural productivity sees many go hungry in urban centers across the continent.
Death by starvation and malnutrition visits even the largest, wealthiest cities, but most
especially in the land of Thesk in the Unapproachable East. Hunger accelerates Shou
emigration out of the region towards the Heartlands of Faerûn.
1382 DR (Year of the Black Blazon): Shadovar magic raises a five-hundred-foot wall of
magically-hardened obsidian around the Sembian-controlled city of Daerlun as part of the
Shadovar attempt to bring all of Sembia under the control of the reborn Empire of
Netheril.
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The free cities of Starmantle and Westgate on the Dragon Reach see increased traffic
from Shou refugees emigrating from the cities of Thesk across the Sea of Fallen Stars and
points even farther eastward. Cognizant of the trade opportunity implicit in the movement
of so large a population, both city-states seek to portray themselves as the destination port
of choice for the Shou immigrants—and their high-value cultural products like silk and
tea. Several of these Shou clans eventually founded the County of Nathlan along the
Dragon Coast and its capital of Nathlekh City, the City of Cats. Nathlan’s most important
Shou clan were the Neng, who once garnered special privileges from the emperor of
Shou Lung himself. Although friendly to trade, the people of Nathlan were suspicious of
non-Shou, particularly non-humans. None but Shou are allowed to live permanently in
Nathlan, and visitors are restricted to a special section of Nathlekh City.
1383 DR (Year of the Vindicated Warrior): The Netherese, seeing the Zhentarim as a
potential obstacle to their control over the Heartlands, raze Zhentil Keep and the Citadel
of the Raven; Fzoul Chembryl, the Chosen of Bane and Tyrant of the Moonsea, is slain
but is resurrected by his deity as the demigod of service to evil and exarch of Bane; the
surviving Zhentarim separate their organization from its long
allegiance to the Church of Bane. After Bane’s faithful
suffered this serious defeat at the hands of the Shadovar, the
survivors bowed out of the Zhentarim. A strong following of
Cyric, the god of strife and murder, existed in Darkhold,
which suddenly became a prominent fortress of the Black
Network. The Cyricists quickly gained a hold in the
mercenary group of Zhentarim that remained, and the Zhents
are still prominent allies of the Church of Cyric. However,
Cyric’s hold on the Zhentarim is far from solid. Fzoul
Chembryl hates the Netherese for their destruction of the Black
Network, and this hatred has earned him followers among the Zhents.
Although Bane’s church is no longer formally allied with the
Zhentarim, the two groups often have a common purpose and end up
working together. A thread of respect and even worship for Bane still
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exists in the Zhentarim—a thread the Dark Sun’s devotees would like to cut. Manshoon,
the powerful wizard who originally founded the Black Network, took control of it once
more, transforming it into a mercenary force based on the Dragon Coast and in the city of
Westgate. Manshoon was not the original wizard of that name but a clone of that
individual who had been transformed into a vampire lord before his awakening beneath
Westgate following an earlier death of Manshoon at the hands of Fzoul Chembryl during
the Banite’s successful takeover of the Black Network. The
vampiric Manshoon was the only one of the original
Manshoon’s clones to survive the so-called Manshoon
Wars that followed in the wake of his original death. In the
years after the Spellplague, Zhentarim mercenaries became
widespread, but reach did not necessarily equate to power.
The organization of the present-day Zhentarim is somewhat
loose, and far-flung mercenary cells do not necessarily
report back often or even at all. The Zhentarim offered
protection to merchants and arranged attacks against those
who did not pay for their services. They engaged in a
variety of criminal activities, from petty smuggling to open murder to elaborate extortion
schemes. Zhents were caught manipulating, aiding, and leading monsters to threaten
peaceful settlements for various reasons—including being hired to drive the creatures off.
The Durpari city of Vaelan becomes known in greater Faerûn for its exotic form of body
art, which goes farther than mere tattooing or piercing. For a considerable fee, artisans in
Vaelan offer to etch limbs of the well-to-do with “living crystal” that enhances not only
the wearer’s visage but, in some small way, the wearer’s talents.
Moradin, the chief god of the dwarven pantheon, the Mordinsamman,
leads the assembled deities of Dwarfhome on a crusade against the
dark powers of Hammergrim, the realm of the gods of the duergar.
Gorm Gulthyn, the dwarven god of guardians and Haela Brightaxe, the
dwarven demigoddess of luck, perish in the battle, but Moradin
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destroys Laduguer, the god of the duergar. Clangeddin, the dwarven god of war, slays
Deep Duerra, the duergar goddess of conquest. The loss of their chief deities leads the
duergar to turn to Asmodeus and the devils of the Nine Hells for spiritual sustenance. The
plane of Hammergrim disperses into the Astral Sea to the sounds of the Mordinsamman’s
victorious battle hymns.
The War of Gold and Gloom between the gold dwarves of Earthheart and the duergar
comes to an unexpected end in the caverns of the long-abandoned dwarven realm of
Barakuir. During the course of a great battle between the gold dwarven Army of Gold
and the duergar Army of Steel, the gold dwarven crusaders of the Great Rift discover a
collection of ancient dwarven runestones detailing the fate of Clan Duergar and the
betrayal that led to the fall of their kingdom and their enslavement by the illithids. This
discovery, long forgotten, prompts the loretaker illithids of the Underdark mind flayer
city of Oryndoll to unleash an army of their psionically-dominated thralls against both
dwarven hosts, although the gray dwarves suffer most of the casualties from the
onslaught of their ancient foes. In the end, the dwarves lose more than half their number,
but Oryndoll’s thrall army is shattered. In an unexpected act of compassion, the gold
dwarven commander of the Army of Gold offers the surviving duergar a place within his
host. The united Stout Folk then march west into the ruined dwarven kingdom of
Shanatar, in hopes of claiming a bastion suitable for repelling the inevitable illithid attack
to come.
1384 DR (Year of Three Streams Bloodied): At the insistence of several members of
the Cormyrean royal court and the young king himself, Azoun V attains his majority and
is formally invested as the reigning King of Cormyr. The Steel Regent, Alusair Nacacia
Obarskyr, relinquishes power to her newly-crowned and strong-
willed nephew.
The newly installed King of Cormyr, Azoun V, attempts to make
official a royal decree that would give all “freemen” or commoners
the right to a hearing before a jury of other commoners in the face
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of accusations of wrongdoing, even if that accusation were to come from a member of the
Cormyrean nobility. In the face of stiff political resistance from every major peer in
Cormyr, Azoun V does not follow through with the decree as he does not yet have the
political strength this early in his rule to run roughshod over his nobles. However, he puts
the nobility of his kingdom on notice that someday he will successfully enact just such a
decree, no matter the resistance they offer.
Siamorphe, the demigoddess of nobility, quarrels with Tyr, the god of
justice, when the deities take different sides in a clash between
Tethyrian and Calishite forces. Siamorphe removes
herself from the plane of the House of the Triad and
instead joins the court of Sune, the goddess of love
and beauty, in the plane of Brightwater. Tyr sends
his ally Helm, the god of guardians, to plead his case with Sune and
restore Siamorphe to the allegiance of the Triad. The goddess of love
suggests a marriage between Tyr and Tymora, the goddess of good
fortune, to set the celestial planes in balance again. Helm conveys Sune’s suggestion to
Tyr, and begins to chaperone a chaste courtship between Tyr and Tymora. Strange and
fateful misunderstandings lead to the accusation that Helm has stolen Tymora’s heart
while conveying the gifts and sentiments of Tyr. A strict interpretation of his own
chivalric ideals forces Tyr to challenge Helm to avenge his stained honor, and Helm is
obliged by his own ideals to meet the challenge. The two gods do battle, and Tyr slays
Helm before the two deities come to their senses. Heartbroken
at the outcome, Tymora accompanies Tyr back to the House of
the Triad as the Grimjaws’ consort. Though nothing can be
proved, the gods sense the hand of Cyric the Dark Sun, god of
murder, strife and deception, in Helm’s death.
With the House of the Triad’s unity broken because of Helm’s death, Ilmater, the god of
suffering and once-close ally of Tyr, chooses to remove his domain from the House of the
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Triad. He reestablishes his celestial realm in the plane of Brightwater at Sune’s invitation.
The Wailing Years, 1385 – 1395 DR
1385 DR (Year of Blue Fire): The Spellplague: An unthinkable global catastrophe
ensues when the foul god of strife and murder, Cyric, the
Prince of Lies, aided and abetted by the goddess of darkness
and loss, Shar, murders Mystra, the goddess of magic, in her
home dominion of Dweomerheart. The
plane itself disintegrates at once, destroying
Savras, the demigod of divination and
sending Azuth, the god of mages and
Velsharoon the demigod of necromancy, reeling into the endless Astral Sea. Without
Mystra to govern the Weave of magical power that surrounds the world, arcane magic
bursts its bonds all across Toril and the surrounding planes and runs wild. The Weave
essentially disintegrates without Mystra’s divine supervision and magic seeks to find a
new stable configuration within the boundaries of reality. This process causes untold
devastation on Toril and across the cosmos as a result. In Faerûn, this terrible event is
known as the Spellplague. Thousands of mages are driven insane or destroyed by their
own Art, and the very substance of the world becomes mutable beneath veils of azure fire
that dance across the skies by night or by day. For eons, magic in Toril was focused
through the Weave, controlled by the goddess Mystra and her
predecessors. Although Netherese wizards of ancient days learned the
truth that magic was an inherent property of the cosmos, most people
believed that magic would not be possible without the deity’s
existence. However, the death of Mystra gave the lie to that belief. Now the term
“Weave” is just another name for magic, if it is used at all. Just as Mystra controlled the
Weave, the goddess Shar had created and maintained the Shadow Weave as an alternative
conduit to arcane magic. Not satisfied with her portion of the universe’s greatest power,
Shar plotted to seize control of both the Weave and the Shadow Weave after Cyric
murdered Mystra. She miscalculated. The Weave collapsed so completely and rapidly
that Shar not only failed to gather up its fraying threads, she also lost control over the
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Shadow Weave, which was destroyed just like its counterpart. Many of the divine planes
were shifted or destroyed as well in the cataclysm that ensued. Only greater deities prove
strong enough to maintain their divine realms against the resultant chaos. Tyr, Lathander,
the god of the dawn and Sune move against Cyric and successfully imprison the Dark
Sun in his Supreme Throne dominion, under a sentence of house arrest to last one
thousand years. Sages in centuries to come mark the Weave’s destruction in the Year of
Blue Fire as the end of the old world and the terrible beginning of the new.
As the cosmology of the planes is altered by the sweeping effects of the Spellplague, the
two echo worlds of Abeir-Toril, the world of Faerie, also called the Feywild and the
Plane of Shadow, also called the Shadowfell or just Shadow, move closer in conjunction
with Toril and its counterpart Abeir. Travel between these echo worlds and Toril
becomes much more common than before the Spellplague and incursions across the now
unstable planar barriers between them occur more frequently, leading to phenomenon like
“worldfalls.”
Where once stood the realm of Sespech, the Golden Plains, and the Nagalands, the
passing of the Spellplague’s chaotic energies soon reveals a surreal landscape
breathtaking in its beauty, grandeur, and deadly changeability. For the next century,
active Spellplague cavorts on this territory called the Plaguewrought Land, contorting
terrain, natural law, and the very flesh of any creature that dares enter.
The Spellplague ate through stone and earth as readily as flesh and magic. Broad portions
of the continent of Faerûn collapsed into the Underdark, partially draining the Sea of
Fallen Stars into the underground Glimmersea far below and leaving behind a gigantic pit
called the Underchasm. The Underchasm is an expansive sinkhole formed by the collapse
of a portion of Faerûn into the Underdark. The Sea of Fallen Stars, the Shining Sea, and
the Great Sea all feed the Underchasm by various waterways, so many of the walls in the
depths are veiled in steaming cascades whose thunder is audible for miles. The upper
portions of the Underchasm’s sides host colonies of flying monsters and the occasional
21
dragon. The lower portions hold vast numbers of bats and darker denizens. The northern
section of the Underchasm partly undercuts the thick Chondalwood. The jungle has
begun to reach down into the dark, creating miles-long vines and massive roots ideal for
climbing creatures. Junglemotes also float above the northern Underchasm. Several other
earthmotes hover over other portions of the Underchasm, tunneled with chambers lined in
luminescent fungus. Within such motes reside creatures normally confined to the deep
earth, and treasures of the former Underdark are somewhat easier to reach.
The Spellplague splintered the Old Empires south of the drained sea into a wildscape of
towering mesas, bottomless ravines, and cloud-scraping spires. Of those ancient
kingdoms, the most changed by the Spellplague were Mulhorand, Unther, and Chondath,
as well as portions of Aglarond, the shores of the Sea of Fallen Stars, and the plains of the
Shaar. What was once the arcane realm called Halruaa was destroyed in a great
holocaust, as if every spell held there had loosed its power simultaneously. The land
bridge between Chult and the Shining South was sunk; now only a scattered archipelago
and a large island remains.
The gold dwarven kingdom of East Rift lies along the vast Underchasm, a cavity formed
mostly between the Landrise and Great Rift in the Spellplague’s wake. The floor of what
was once called the Great Rift is now a shelf on the side of the Underchasm. It has come
to be called the East Rift. During the Underchasm’s fall, large portions of the Great Rift
were destroyed or cut off. Fortunately for the dwarves of East Rift, the elemental portals
that feed the Riftlake did not close. The lake, and rivers from the Eastern Shaar, kept the
East Rift from becoming a forsaken land. Drow enclaves were also destroyed, including
the city of Llurth Dreier. A few years after the collapse, dark elf refugees invaded the
dwarven city of Underhome. The drow overran the city and still hold its lower regions.
With the loss of Underhome, Eartheart has become the center of the gold dwarven lands.
Underwatch, a fortress and village near Underhome, is a principal gateway that surface
adventurers use when entering the exposed Underdark. Drow in the Underchasm
periodically test the dwarven defenses. Such a wide opening offers unheard-of
22
opportunities for moving large forces to the surface all at once. Thus, the dwarves of East
Rift must remain vigilant.
Once a vast savannah, the Shaar became a desert called the Shaar Desolation when the
formation of the Underchasm cut off all fresh water flowing to the plains’ western
regions. An increase in temperature as the water dried up furthered the plains’ decline.
The land west of the East Rift is a vast dustbowl, most of its inhabitants dead or displaced
into more livable lands. No hospitable settlements remain in the west. Shaarmid is
abandoned and buried in sand dropped by unnatural storms. Rumors say that the dark
serpent deity Sseth is transforming yuan-ti in ruined Lhesper, grooming them to be lords
of the new desert. The snakemen enslave those who wander too far from Elfharrow. The
Eastern Shaar remains habitable, however. Rivers still flow from the Uthangol Mountains
and the shattered remains of the western Toadsquats. Nearby seas moderate the
temperature. Nomadic human Shaaryans survive here, along with their native horses, but
competition for resources, and the ravages of gnolls, keeps the population low.
Tendrils of the Spellplague reached to many other corners of Toril, sometimes bypassing
great swaths of land by infecting both sides of the many magical portals that dotted the
world. Such an effect might have been responsible for drawing portions of the lost
parallel world of Abeir into Toril. Some sages suggest that the two worlds have
undergone periodic conjunctions ever since they diverged, but that these were too subtle
for most creatures to notice. By an accident of timing, the Spellplague occurred during
just such a conjunction, which caused the briefly overlapping lands to run athwart each
other instead of effectively passing through each other while out of phase as before.
Pockets of active Spellplague still exist today, most notoriously in the Plaguewrought
Land. Each of these plaguelands is strange and dangerous. No two possess the exact same
landscape or features, but entering any of them could lead to infection by the Spellplague.
Luckily for the world, the remaining plaguelands possess only a small fraction of the
Spellplague’s initial vigor and are in hard-to-reach locales, often surrounded by twisted
devastation. Most lands of Faerûn and Returned Abeir are entirely free of such pockets,
though the plaguechanged and spellscarred might appear in any land.
23
The Kingdom of Cormyr in the Heartlands of Faerûn is struck hard by the effects of the
Spellplague, but not so violently as many other nations such as Mulhorand and Unther,
which effectively cease to exist. Roughly one third of all Cormyrean War Wizards are
slain, driven mad, or simply go missing in the year following Mystra’s death.
The Temple of Mystra in Harrowdale in the Dalelands is destroyed when all the temple
wards misfire simultaneously, killing head priestess Llewan Aspenhold and most of her
Mystran clergy. Similar events occur at Mystran temples across Faerûn, essentially
eradicating the once powerful Church of Mystra as a force for good on Toril. The Fall of
Stars in Harrowdale is shrouded in a halo of blue flames for a full day, but otherwise
seems untouched.
The Spellplague shattered the ancient elven High Magic that bound the efreet Memnon
and the djinn Calim in the Calimemnon Crystal. The two were released, along with
similarly bound elemental servants, many of whom were genasi. Ancient enemies, Calim
and Memnon immediately picked up where they had left off—trying to annihilate each
other. Many individuals presumed to be humans among the Calishite population revealed
themselves as genasi and joined in the fight. Thousands more genasi, descendants of
those scattered to the Lake of Steam, Tethyr, and Amn after the first Calishite djinn and
efreet empires fell, returned and promptly declared for air or fire. Even some genasi out
of the newly-arrived Abeiran realm of Akanûl joined the fight. The result was thousands
dead, the Calim Desert’s expansion east across the Spider Swamp, and an explosion in
the genasi population of the Realms. The period between the onset of the Spellplague and
the Year of Holy Thunder (1450 DR) becomes known as the Second Era of Skyfire to the
beleaguered people of Calimshan.
Ancient kingdoms fell in the Spellplague’s aftermath, among them Mulhorand. Many of
the Mulan people of that ancient kingdom were lost when the landscape rocked and
changed. The few remaining Mulhorandi Mulan fled westwards to other lands, including
Chessenta. Mulhorand’s pantheon of immigrant gods departed Toril as the Spellplague
24
reshaped the cosmos. Only the deva, the mortal incarnations of the Mulhorandi
pantheon’s angelic servants, remained behind to seek out their own destinies in a
transformed Faerûn. The geography of Mulhorand was altered
beyond recognition and made completely barren of civilization. A
descendant of the ancient Empire of Imaskar named Ususi Manaallin
founded the new realm of High Imaskar in the territory that had once
been Mulhorand. She did so by relocating the ancient (and movable)
Palace of the Purple Emperor from the Underdark home of Deep
Imaskar to the wildscape of former Mulhorand. In the years to come,
High Imaskar consolidated its hold on its new-claimed lands. Ususi
was crowned Empress, the first Imaskari imperial sovereign since
the last emperor, Yuvaraj, was slain in battle against the avatar of the
Mulan deity Ra nearly 4,000 years before. Empress Ususi’s first dictate was to renounce
the slavery practiced by her ancestors, and she outlawed slave ownership in High Imaskar
on pain of death. She also set up the Body of Artificers, Planners, and Apprehenders,
whose power was equal to and balanced hers.
The Spellplague was not kind to the kingdom of Halruaa, heir to ancient Netheril’s
veneration of magic. Fully half of the land dissolved during the initial wave of blue fire.
In the tsunamis, mudslides, and massive magical detonations that followed, the remainder
of the nation was destroyed and transformed into a vast plagueland.
Near Deep Imaskar in the Underdark is a place of madness, possibly linked to the
aberrant emanations of the Far Realm. The vengeance-takers and wizards of Deep
Imaskar sequestered within this region three mighty arcanists driven mad during the
Spellplague. Trapped, the mad mages and one of the elder Deep Imaskari vengeance-
takers melded into one another, forming a quaternary entity known as the Masters of
Absolute Accord. These Masters, alongside the mysterious extradimensional beings
called the sharn, helped forge the Order of Blue Fire, which soon headquartered itself
near the vast plaguelands of Halruaa. The order’s public face as a humanitarian entity
aimed at aiding the spellscarred was a front for a more sinister organization. It was
25
originally a cult dedicated to the insane idea that the Spellplague was a
holy cosmic event whose work should be continued. The sharn are
held by the members of the organization to be the expressions of a
Spellplague godhead by those who follow the deepest precepts of the
order. At times the Masters and the sharn issue erratic, contradictory,
and even illogical dictates to the cult, leading to miraculous and
terrible events that spread and nurture the existing active pockets of Spellplague across
the Realms.
Before the Year of Blue Fire, the lizardfolk of the Great Swamp of Rethild near Halruaa
were given three skyships—one from merchant houses in each of three Halruaan towns.
The lizardfolk king, Ghassis, was supposed to use the vessels to harry the half-drow
Crinti of Dambrath and pirates on the Great Sea for the Halruaans. After the destruction
of Halruaa, wizards fleeing from the city of Maeruhal, along with their few skyships,
came across the pirate base of Yaulazna. A renegade Halruaan mage had protected the
buccaneer haven with powerful magic, but the arcane wards ran amok during the
Spellplague, shattering the town and turning part of it into an earthmote. In a brief clash,
the refugee Halruaans took the Yaulazna earthmote and made an accord with the
remaining pirates there. During the deal, they learned of Ghassis’ skyships, which they
then wrested from the lizardfolk. In the end, Yaulazna’s folk had five working skyships
and a small, highly defensible settlement. They made the Yaulazna Pact, an agreement to
protect one another from the threats of the region. From their position, they set out to
assure their survival, and eventually the infamous skyfaring Five Companies were born.
The dragon empires of Toril’s sibling world Abeir prospered for millennia on the labor of
their dragonborn servitors. Rebel dragonborn clans sometimes rose and prospered for a
time, but the rebels of Tymanchebar were the most successful. Tymanchebar ruled itself,
without the input of the dragon monarchs. Then a portion of Tymanchebar was ripped
from Abeir during the Spellplague. The inhabitants of Returned Abeir have not yet
learned that Tymanchebar fell hard across Unther’s lands on Faerûn. Already on the brink
of collapse and under military threat from Mulhorand, Unther was completely undone
26
after the Spellplague began. Invading Mulhorandi armies and the downtrodden people of
Unther alike were mostly erased from existence. The only original residents of the area to
survive relatively unscathed were the stone giants of Black Ash Plain (now commonly
called ash giants). The newly-arrived Abeiran dragonborn assumed they had suffered a
particularly potent magical attack by their ancient foe, the Empress Dragon of Skelkor,
Gauwervyndhal. After months of confusion, chaos, and bloodshed, the Tymanchebar
expatriates learned the truth. The dragonborn then knew sadness, for their numbers had
accounted for much of Tymanchebar’s strength in defense against the dragons. Their
absence likely spelled the doom of those from which they were separated. But the
dragonborn are not a people easily bowed by sorrow. They founded a new realm in
Faerûn, Tymanther, named to honor both the free dragonborn province they had left
behind on Abeir and the human Faerûnian realm their own lands had replaced.
During the Spellplague’s disruption of the divine realms, the primordial entity Telos,
Master of the Iron Sky, fell to Toril in the nation of Vaasa. Usually a conflict-fraught
place, Vaasa had enjoyed a brief respite from trouble under the rule of King Gareth
Dragonsbane of Damara in the wake of a war between the two nations. Not long after the
falling star landed on the tundra, a sect of fierce arcane warriors known as Warlock
Knights arose to trouble Vaasa. The Warlock Knights, servants of the mysterious but all
too real entity, drove off or conscripted the small human and dwarf population of the
region, and then began to organize and marshal the numerous orcs, goblins, humanoids
and other monsters of the Cold Lands for their nefarious ends.
During the Spellplague, the Plateau of Thay rose thousands of feet above sea level,
shattering the land and causing the Thaymount to erupt. Debris from melting glaciers on
Thaymount spread more destruction. While these catastrophes
raged, the undead Zulkir Szass Tam made himself the land’s
regent. The Spellplague ended the civil war of the rebel zulkirs
who lead the Red Wizards of Thay, though that order’s power was
essentially broken. Szass Tam then spent the next several decades
preparing a terrible ritual intended to transform him into a dark deity. Just as the undead
27
Regent of Thay attempted it, the last few exiled zulkirs and other enemies of the lich
returned from the cities of the Wizard’s Reach in southern Aglarond where they had
taken refuge and foiled his mad plot, though they were destroyed in so doing. In the
decades after the Spellplague, “Red Wizard” slowly lost its Thayan origin and became an
appellation awarded to various mercantile enclaves around the Inner Sea and Moonsea
regions that sold magic items and other magical services. These enclaves were the
descendants of the defunct Thayan Guild of Foreign Trade.
Long ago, the world of Abeir-Toril was twinned by Ao, the Hidden One, to save it from a
final conflict between gods and primordials (known in Abeir as the Estelar and the Dawn
Titans, respectively). The gods took one sibling world (Toril) for their own, and the
primordials claimed the other (Abeir). Ages later, the Spellplague (which Abeirans call
the Blue Breath of Change) caused the two separate worlds to collide and overlap.
Portions of each world shifted into the other. Then the worlds separated again, contact
severed, but each having contributed to the other. Perhaps as much as one-quarter of
Toril’s surface now hosts lands originally native to Abeir and vice-versa. The two most
significant transplanted lands on the continent of Faerûn are Akanûl, the home of the
Shyran genasi and the free Abeiran dragonborn’s nation of Tymanther. However, the
largest new landmass by far is an entire continent that Faerûnians call Returned Abeir,
which lies west of the Trackless Sea where Maztica, the True World, once stood. In
Returned Abeir, dragons rule vast realms of humanoid slaves. The dragonborn are the
most numerous intelligent race, but they are given to rebellion. Dwarves and humans are
plentiful. Genasi were also numerous, but mostly on the eastern continent of Shyr (a
continent that was not transported to Toril by the Blue Breath of Change and now
coexists with Maztica on Abeir). Other intelligent races are less numerous, and fey such
as elves, eladrin and gnomes are rare curiosities introduced to the continent only in the
last century. Organized religion in Returned Abeir (faiths, simple shrines, and traveling
clergy) is something new; even the concept of gods who answer prayers is still alien to
many of the inhabitants, though some deities of Toril have set their sights on the
conversion of the peoples of the returned lands.
28
As with most folk who survived the Wailing Years, Lionel Carrathal spent the next two
decades after the Spellplague picking up the pieces and trying to rebuild his life. Through
hard work and some underhanded dealings, Carrathal once again worked his way up
through Amnian society, still determined to reestablish his family in the Moonshaes.
The Kingdom of Impiltur’s royal line failed with the death of the paladin King Imbrar II
during the Year of Blue Fire. In his place, the nation was ruled by a ragged Grand
Council composed of lords from the remaining Impilturan cities. People talk longingly of
restoring a monarchy to the land—”The king will come and put things right, you’ll
see”—but for now everything keeps getting worse. Impiltur is currently in the grip of a
fanatical cult of demon-worshipers, who cause no end of trouble. The Grand Council’s
efforts to locate the cult’s leaders and combat its depredations have proven woefully
inadequate to date. The demon cult currently running wild in Impiltur is called the
Fraternity of Tharos. The group takes its name from the ancient Nar capital of Dun-
Tharos in the Great Dale’s northern forest, Dunwood. The name also reveals the source
of Impiltur’s demonic contamination—the demons loosed in that northern forest by the
destruction of their ancient bonds when the Rotting Man, the goddess of disease Talona’s
Chosen, was defeated before the Spellplague. The Fraternity inducts new members by
requiring them to kidnap an innocent victim from among Impiltur’s populace, then slay
that victim in a bloody ritual calling upon various demonic names scribed with fire in the
Abyssal artifact called the Demonstone. The Demonstone lies at the top of a windowless
tower in the Impilturan port city of New Sarshel. The tower’s exterior is a bland,
unexceptional gray; its interior is filled with all manner of demonic horrors.
When the surface lands partially collapsed into the Underdark during the Spellplague, the
smoldering volcanoes in the Smoking Mountains to the south of the land of Chessenta
touched off, as did Mount Thulbane to the north. From the Smoking Mountains, various
disturbed creatures ravaged northward. In the north, the vampiric green dragon
Jaxanaedegor was freed to forage even during the day, since the sun was obscured by an
ashen sky. Faced with monstrous invasions so soon after massive upheaval and changes
to the land, Chessenta nearly collapsed. The only Chessentan city-state not devastated
29
and broken was Luthcheq. There, the fractious, surviving inhabitants rallied under a war
hero named Ishual Karanok. Fighting off marauding monsters, abolethic horrors, and
opportunistic settlers from less disrupted lands to the north, Chessenta persisted. When
the immediate hostilities cooled, Ishual returned to his family home in what remained of
Luthcheq. The hero disbanded a wizard-slaying cult his family had long propagated
(claiming that their aims had been met with Mystra’s death), but continued to enshrine
the powerful tool that served as the old cult’s focus: a sphere of annihilation. The item,
its powers somewhat modified since the Year of Blue Fire, now serves as the Crown
Jewel of Chessenta. Continuing the cult’s aims, if not its existence, the law of the land
subjugates all arcane spellcasters. Chessenta is, as a result of this sentiment, the enemy of
High Imaskar to the east. Although not initially inclined to return hostilities, High
Imaskar has learned to guard against Chessentan war parties. The dragonborn of
Tymanther are Chessentan allies. Although at odds with many people, Chessentans look
upon dragonborn with honor. They believe (rightly or wrongly) that dragonborn are in
some way related to their own red dragon lord, Tchazzar, who returned briefly to rule the
city-state of Cimbar and the rest of Chessenta for six years after 1379 DR before the
Spellplague devastated the region and he disappeared once more.
Much of what was formerly known as the Chultan Peninsula was drowned and became
the island of Chult when the Spellplague radically reshaped southern Faerûn, causing sea
levels to rapidly rise as whole sections of the continent were simply erased by the
mystical blue fire. In the Year of Blue Fire, the Chultan jungle was interpenetrated by
pockets of Abeiran landscape that now lie scattered in the skies and the forests. Strange,
savage behemoths now prowl the shadowed jungles and wandering motes alike. Several
Chultan human tribes were hunted to extinction by these voracious new predators; those
that remain have learned new methods of coexistence. The yuan-ti kingdom of Serpentes
fell in the course of the change, the human kingdom of Samarach was submerged, and the
ancient city of Mezro collapsed into the earth, its population scattered. Principal factions
in Chult now include the yuan-ti survivors of Serpentes (mostly in the east), the
spellscarred humans of Samarach, savage dark-skinned human tribes (mostly in the
northwest), human-run strongholds aligned with Amn and Baldur’s Gate along the
30
northern coast, and strange creatures from across the Trackless Sea that have begun to
colonize the Mistcliffs. Junglemotes are common in Chult. Some are populated with
creatures alien and awful in aspect—entities not native to Chult, or at least absent since
before the time Abeir and Toril went their separate ways.
The great tsunamis that followed the shifting continents during the Spellplague inundated
the island kingdom of Lantan, long dedicated to Gond, the god of craft, as it ravaged
other coasts and island nations. When the water receded, the island land was nearly gone.
All its machines, its marvelous Gond-wrought technology, and its people—Lantanese
humans and gnomes alike—were drowned. The land is much reduced in area, and its
clockwork marvels lie rusting below the waves. The pirates of Nelanther say a monster
sinks any ship that draws near.
The island of Nimbral, also known as the Sea Haven, founded centuries ago by Halruaans
who worshiped the lost goddess of deception Leira, was southwest of Lantan in the
Trackless Sea. Like Lantan, Nimbral vanished without a trace after the cataclysmic waves
subsided. Concentrations of powerful magic were a hazard in the early days of the
Spellplague, and Nimbral certainly had magic enough. Some people think the isle still
exists, cloaked in illusion. Others think it drowned in the sea, or that its veils of magic
carried it off into some far plane. Whatever the truth of the matter, no ships have found
the island in almost one hundred years.
The island of Evermeet, the great home of the eladrin and elven races off the coast of
Faerûn, is widely considered to have perished in the Spellplague like Lantan and
Nimbral. Even Evermeet’s closest allies, the fey kingdoms in Faerûn, lost contact with
Evermeet after the Spellplague. With the failure of all arcane portals, embassies, and
attempts to reestablish contact, common wisdom on Toril now has it that Evermeet has
been utterly destroyed. Yet, in truth, Evermeet survives in the Feywild, where it shifted
place with its own echo in the world of Faerie during the onset of the Spellplague. That
echo of the fey refuge now remains in Toril as an island with the same shape and
diameter, lying off the coast of the unfamiliar continent of Returned Abeir. The echo of
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Evermeet is empty of structures and has few residents. Evermeet fey can step back and
forth between the echo and the Feywild’s true Evermeet as they choose. Contact points
and routes between Faerûn and Evermeet were severed during the Year of Blue Fire, and
they have been slow to reknit in the years since. Queen Amlaruil is now gone, having
passed on to Arvandor and the throne stands empty; Evermeet is currently governed by
its Royal Council. Some suspect that an heir of House Moonflower yet walks Faerûn,
severed from his or her native land.
??? DR (Year Unknown): The Stormstar Requiem: While the Spellplague rages, the
god of storms and destruction, Talos, leads the
Gods of Fury—Auril, the goddess of winter,
Malar, the god of the hunt, and Umberlee, the
goddess of the sea—in a surprise assault against the plane of
Arvandor, the dominion of the Seldarine, the pantheon of elven gods. During this assault
Talos revealed that he was in fact the orc god of savagery and conquest Gruumsh. The
Talassan Church was folded into the Gruuman clergy, though human adherents of the
Storm Lord preferred to worship using the original Talassan services rather than the more
barbaric rituals and sacrifices performed by the orc shamans of the One-Eyed God.
The first outbreak of the Spellplague in Waterdeep is held at bay by the power of Tsarra
“Blackstaff” Chaadren.
The second outbreak of the Spellplague in Waterdeep resurges from Undermountain and
forces Tsarra to drop her magical disguise as Khelben Arunsun and reveal her true face.
Waterdeep was spared many of the ravages experienced by other cities during the
Spellplague. However, the event did introduce several lesser phenomena to the City of
Splendors. Hundreds of glowing globes (floating, mobile spheres of continual radiance)
now drift freely around Waterdeep. Although every mage and sage who has studied them
insists the spheres of light are not sentient, they behave uncannily as if they are. They
seem to become curious, and for a random time, follow certain beings who are moving
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about the city; they always seem drawn to any release or casting of magic; and they seem
to become excited, gathering and rushing wildly about, if anyone tries to move or harness
them by magical means. A few of the fabled Walking Statues of Waterdeep went wild,
striding across the city until they collapsed, toppled, or got wedged between buildings.
Some were later quarried away into nothingness, but a few remain, forever frozen. One
invisible local change wrought by the Spellplague is all too familiar to local spellcasters:
Detection and location magic no longer functions. Such spells feature in old tales but are
unknown in life today. In the years after the Spellplague the lower sewers and the
uppermost level of Undermountain become Waterdeep’s newest neighborhood, inhabited
by the most desperate and yet most capable: broke adventurers. They dwell in its dark
chambers, moving about often, skulking and lurking to avoid monsters and thefts or
attacks by their neighbors. They make their living by raiding up into the city by night,
trading in illicit goods, temporarily “hiding” persons and stolen items, and delving into
Undermountain. Downshadow folk are both greatly feared and greatly admired by other
Waterdhavians. Waterdeep also gained an entirely new city ward in the decades after the
Spellplague: Field Ward. This district is home to folk of all walks of life who lacked coin
enough to hire lodgings or own buildings in old Waterdeep, but who first arrived as the
ravages of the Spellplague began. It is a slum in some places, and a struggling middle-
class area in others. The Field Ward is a noisy, lively area that is home to poor (and a few
wealthy) eladrin and elves, half-bloods of all sorts (and anyone who has a deformity or
visible taint from the Spellplague), and dwarves who are determined to get the respect
they are sure they deserve. The vast and dangerous subterranean Labyrinth of
Undermountain still underlies Waterdeep. The city was prevented from collapsing into
Undermountain in part because of the titanic magical wards established in the dim past;
these same forces largely fended off the Spellplague. The underways still connect with
the wider Underdark, full of adventure and treasure for those who dare to explore them.
Much has changed in the dark underground smugglers’ town of Skullport and
Undermountain since the death of Halaster Blackcloak a century ago. Persistent wild
magic seems to drift around the Underhalls, rather like living spells. It sometimes
recharges magic items taken down into Skullport, or even alters the abilities and powers
of living beings. As a result, Skullport is much visited but no longer inhabited; much of
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its lawlessness has relocated to the Mistshore and Undercliff, two other new
neighborhoods of the City of Splendors. Over the last century, Deepwater Harbor has
become badly polluted, its waters brown and stinking. The north shore of the former
Naval Harbor became a beaching ground (and then a scuttling yard) for damaged or age-
rotted ships. Over the years, these hulks piled up one atop another, spreading out from the
shore at the foot of Coin Alley for a long way into the harbor to form the Mistshore. This
area is a permanent slum of sagging, ramshackle woodwork atop the heap of sunken
ships, where the most disfigured, diseased, spellscarred, and monstrous of Waterdeep’s
inhabitants now dwell. The Mistshore is the darkest and wildest neighborhood in
Waterdeep, where open violence and lawlessness is frequent and the Watch patrols
seldom (and then only at double strength or more). Drunken and beaten-up inhabitants
can often be seen sprawled or draped over the rotting riggings that line the winding
“streets.” Undercliff is by far the largest and most open new part of Waterdeep. It sprawls
over the meadows east of the plateau occupied by the old city, under the cliff that still
forms its eastern edge. Undercliff is large, rather lawless, and still growing; it is home to
every sort of new arrival (for the last fifty years or so). Undercliff is the most fluid
neighborhood of Waterdeep, where people move frequently, shanties often collapse or
are torn down or torched, and change rules. Increasingly, dwarves dwelling in Field Ward
who have made enough coin are seeking to buy houses in Mountainside, and on the cliff
face above Undercliff, so they can tunnel out larger abodes at will. Their diggings have
already breached some sewers and cellars in the city. Their activities are beginning to
attract the attention of the Masked Lords of Waterdeep, who are now sending down hired
adventurers to patrol the uppermost levels of Undermountain to stop the illicit delvings.
Lathander, the god of the dawn and new beginnings, transforms into the reincarnation of
the ancient deity Amaunator, the god of the sun, order and
time, at some point after the onset of the Spellplague, a
transformation that had been preceded by the spread of the
Risen Sun Heresy within large segments of the
Lathanderite Church in 1374 DR. The rapid spread of this old heresy had
been orchestrated by the will of the Morninglord as he prepared his followers for the
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coming transition. The Church of Lathander makes a relatively smooth transition into the
Church of Amaunator, though some of the Morninglord’s priests find it difficult to adjust
to the more conservative and rigid doctrines of the Amaunatori and seek out new spiritual
homes among the clergy of the other gods dedicated to the cause of good.
The eladrin goddess Hanali Celanil, patron of love and beauty, is revealed to simply have
been a guise of the human goddess of love, Sune. The Church of Hanali is merged with
that of Sune in the years after the Spellplague.
The elven goddess of the moon, death, dreams and illusions Sehanine Moonbow is
revealed to have been a guise of Selûne, the human goddess of the moon and stars. In the
chaos that the Spellplague causes to the divine dominions of the Astral Sea, Selûne
regains her status as a greater deity equal in power to her sister Shar. When Sune’s
dominion of Brightwater begins to collapse under the assault of the Spellplague’s chaotic
energies, the newly-empowered Selûne offers to merge her Gates of the Moon dominion
with Sune’s realm, who accepts the offer. Tymora, the goddess of good fortune, joins
them. A similar dynamic occurs across the other divine dominions, with the few
surviving greater gods creating new dominions or maintaining older ones and inviting
surviving gods of lesser powers to join them as servant deities or exarchs. Despite this,
the chaos of the Spellplague consumes many deities who were not strong enough to hold
the power of the blue flame at bay, including Deneir, the god of writing and literature, the
Chultan god Ubtao (actually a primordial who betrayed his fellows), and Shaundakul, the
god of travel and exploration, as well as Mystra’s former servant deities, Azuth, Savras
and Velsharoon.
Mask, the god of thieves and shadows, disappears from the Faerûnian pantheon after his
divine essence and portfolio are swallowed by Shar, the goddess of darkness and night.
Most of Faerûn considers Mask another dead deity and his former worshipers divide their
allegiances between the Lady of Loss and Tymora, the goddess of good fortune. But
some rogues whisper in the shadows that the Master of All Thieves still treads the path of
intrigue and that he will one day return to his faithful.
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Less powerful primal deities and demigods like Ouroboros the World Serpent, Magnar
the Bear, Remnis the Eagle, Quorlinn the Raven, Amarok the Wolf,
Eldath, the Lady of the Lake and Nobanion the Lion are reborn
after the Spellplague as primal spirits of the world. The
Earthmother of the Moonshaes, the Goddess of the Ffolk, once
believed to be an aspect of Chauntea, the goddess of life and
agriculture, is revealed to be an extremely powerful primal spirit
who is the embodiment of the Moonshae Isles. Other entities once
worshipped as deities like Relkath of the Infinite Branches, Lurue the Unicorn Queen,
Verenestra the Oak Princess, Sarula Iliene the Nixie Queen, and Aurilandür the Frost
Sprite Queen are revealed to be powerful archfey of the Feywild.
The region of the eastern Sea of Fallen Stars once called the Vast becomes the young
nation of Vesperin when its formerly independent city-states of Tantras, Raven’s Bluff
and Calaunt united under the rule of an oligarchy of powerful merchants called the
Golden Lords, who chose Tantras as their capital. The area later saw an influx of
immigrants, especially the city of Raven’s Bluff. Many Sembian merchants relocated to
Vesperin in the face of Netheril’s occupation of their homeland. Several decades later,
Netheril outlawed all such emigration. Sembians who tried anyway wound up dead.
The movable citadel of Xxiphu, the Soaring City, the seat of the aberrant Abolethic
Sovereignty, emerges from the depths of the Inner Sea some time after the Spellplague.
The city was roused from the drowned depths by prophecy, perverted priests of
Ghaunadar the Elder Eye, and unwise delvings. Because Xxiphu can change its location
at will, its influence could conceivably stretch anywhere. No one knows where it might
appear next, though most sightings of it are over or close to the Sea of Fallen Stars.
Xxiphu is a glyph-scribed obelisk wrapped in an eternal storm that soars over the surface
of the world. Tentacles slither and crawl in cold rookeries encrusting the vast object’s
sheer sides. A writhing frieze carved on the age-worn exterior depicts thousands of
interconnected images. These inscriptions constantly shift and change, as if invisible
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artists swarm across the stone face, inscribing atrocities to the beat of a mad drummer.
The full meaning of the evolving inscription invokes concepts too ghastly for mortal
minds to comprehend and remain sane. Aboleths freshly wakened from an age-long
slumber creep within the obelisk’s hollow interior along with
their servitors. But many of these are as children compared to
the few enormous elders that shamble within. These ancient
aberrations do not think or plan as do other beings, and their
altered consciousness is inimical to all creatures not part of
their ancient aberrant Sovereignty. Reality bends in the city’s
vicinity, unfettering vast monsters of the deep like krakens to
master the sky as they before hunted the sunless seas. The
aboleths of the Sovereignty are not like those previously
known on Toril. The solitary aboleths of Faerûn’s Underdark
were startled by the appearance of this mythical city from their
primeval past in the Far Realm. In fact, a few skirmishes broke
out between Faerûn’s aboleths and the newcomers when
Xxiphu first burst up from the Sea of Fallen Stars. Now an
uneasy peace exists, in that the Underdark aboleths avoid those
of the Sovereignty. The scattered, lone aboleths that currently creep in dark, watery
places of the world are not of the lineages that make up the Sovereignty. Although it is
possible the ancestors of lone aboleths once served as Xxiphu’s scouts, explorers, or
agents on Toril before the Sovereignty’s arrival from the Far Realm, such connections
have been lost to time. Thus, not every aboleth in (and under) Faerûn is necessarily an
emissary of the Sovereignty. In fact, some might work at cross purposes with Xxiphu.
The demons of the Abyss took advantage of the chaos caused by the Spellplague to
launch a massive invasion of the upper realms of the gods. Sickened by
the part he had played in Cyric’s machinations, Tyr willingly sacrificed
his divinity to throw back the demonic onslaught. Tyr’s servant deity,
Torm the Loyal Fury, was promoted to become the new god of law.
Ilmater, the god of suffering and compassion and Bahamut the Platinum
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Dragon, the new god of justice, joined Torm to form a rejuvenated divine Triad in their
shared plane of Celestia.
Untouched by the Spellplague, the city-state of Baldur’s Gate on the Sword Coast
received an influx of refugees from the south that greatly swelled its population in the
months and years following the disaster. Word soon spread—not entirely accurately—
that Baldur’s Gate was an “open city,” a safe haven for refugees from south of the Sea of
Fallen Stars—particularly for the Mulan survivors of the destruction of Mulhorand and
Unther. The trickle of displaced people soon became a flood, and the city nearly
collapsed under the weight of a population that doubled, then tripled in size, eventually
surpassing Calimport as the largest city in Faerûn.
Once known for its vibrant green slate roofs and ferry trade along the Wyvernflow River,
the Cormyrean city of Wheloon was transformed into something far darker by royal
decree of King Azoun V. The Purple Dragons discovered that a majority of Wheloon’s
residents, be they craftsfolk, traders, or farmers, were also secret worshipers of Shar, the
goddess of darkness, and therefore de facto allies of Netheril. Fearing that the entire city
was a front for Netherese spies, the king ordered it walled up with brick and magic, and
all its residents declared lifetime prisoners. Now, whenever Shadovar spies or
sympathizers (as well as other offenders of the Crown) are discovered, they are put over
the wall and left to fend for themselves. Life as a prisoner in Wheloon is brutal and short,
unless one is able to join one of the many rival gangs. To “escape from Wheloon” is a
euphemism for accomplishing a difficult task in the post-Spellplague Realms. Those who
do so literally are marked by prisoner and gang tattoos imprinted while behind the walls.
This branding makes continued life in Cormyr one that requires constant disguise.
The Shadovars of Shade Enclave use their magic to begin bringing the ancient lands of
the Empire of Netheril, long-buried beneath the Great Desert of Anauroch, back to life.
With the phaerimm and their life-draining spells extinct, it became possible for Netherese
magic to begin to rebuild the ancient arcane empire. The Shadovar pledged that the
peoples of Faerûn would once again accept the Netherese as their rightful masters. Within
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only a few decades of the Spellplague, reborn Netheril thrived within its borders.
Memory of its brutal genocide of the native shield dwarves of the region was suppressed,
as was the forceful integration of the primitive Bedine peoples of Anauroch. The rebuilt
cities of Landeth, Orofin, Rasilith, and Oreme are peopled with Bedine who have mostly
forgotten their nomadic past. They are now city-dwellers who describe themselves as
Netherese. The surrounding realms of Evereska, Cormyr, the Dalelands, and Myth
Drannor patrol Netheril’s borders, hoping to stem Shadovar aggression. Although this
league of allies has managed to keep Netheril’s armed forces at bay, it has failed to fend
off Netherese spies, who are widely believed to be scattered all across Faerûn. Given
their magic, nigh-immortality and shadow-infused flesh, Netheril’s agents could be
anywhere.
In the Silver Marches of Luruar, the High Lady Alustriel of Silverymoon, one of
Mystra’s Chosen and the Seven Sisters, passed away in the decades following the
Spellplague, her immortality compromised by Mystra’s death. Before she passed away,
Alustriel founded a mutual defense league which became Luruar in the region
surrounding Silverymoon in the North. Her half-elven son and successor, High Lord
Methrammar Aerasumé, came to head a much more diminished league of the Silver
Marches in the years after his mother’s death. The shield dwarves of Adbar, Mithral Hall,
and Felbarr parted ways with the other members of the league, unwilling to compromise
their own defenses by shoring up the smaller settlements in the area. The dwarves remain
potentially powerful allies of Luruar but are not always reliable. By the year 1479 DR,
Luruar consisted only of the cities of Silverymoon, Everlund and Sundabar. High Lord
Methrammar has reached an advanced age, and choosing the next High Lord of Luruar is
the talk of the league. Each member city has its own distinct government and traditions.
Some think the High Lordship should remain a meritocratic position. Others maintain
that the post should rotate through the member cities, or even be done away with
altogether. Methrammar’s wife, the elf ranger Gaerradh, has been put forward as a
possible successor, but some folks think that would go too far in establishing the High
Lordship as a dynasty rather than a meritocratic position.
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The semi-secret society known as the Harpers disbanded after the
Spellplague, as many of its leaders are lost to the scourge of the
blue fire. However, in the Luruaran city of Everlund is Moongleam
Tower, a Harper hold of old. When Netheril returned, a remnant of
the old organization re-formed. Under the leadership of Eaerlraun
Shadowlyn, the small organization is dedicated to one purpose:
opposing the growing power of the Shadovar. When Eaerlraun was later assassinated by
Shadovar assassins for his effrontery, the old, oft-ignored rule of keeping one’s Harper
membership secret gained new meaning and purpose. Even with the assassination of
Eaerlraun, the fledgling organization persists, though its reach is far more restricted than
in the past. Today, Moongleam Tower serves as the only known Harper hold in all
Faerûn. Rather than housing Harpers, the clandestine leadership based in the tower is a
patron to all who wish to take the secret pledge against the Shadovar and all ill that
emerges from the Shadowfell.
After the widespread destruction defining the century after the Spellplague, a growing
faction of drow divorced themselves from the old ways of their people to follow a new
path. They believed the only way to weather the troubles affecting the lands would be to
approach their dealings with other intelligent races in a way that did not always result in
violence. Rather than taking what they wanted, when resources were already scarce,
perhaps they could achieve better results by engaging their enemies in trade, exchanging
valuable metals, gemstones, and other goods found exclusively in the Underdark for
commodities generally absent from the depths of the earth. A group of drow merchants
set aside their private agendas to forge a new commercial enterprise they called the
Horizon Syndicate and set out to deal with their surface neighbors. The results have been
mixed, for their enemies have long memories, and the drow have proved time and again
unworthy of trust, but a smattering of ambitious merchants have seized upon these new
opportunities in spite of the risks, seeing these ventures as an excellent way to expand
their presence into new markets. In the years since its founding, the Horizon Syndicate
has sent its tendrils across the continent of Faerûn, expanding its enterprise throughout
the Realms. On the surface, the Horizon Syndicate appears to be nothing more than a
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merchant conglomerate that facilitates trade between the surface communities and those
in the Underdark. A good number of its members strive to do just this, and these
representatives deal fairly in their negotiations. Given the drow’s penchant for treachery,
however, it should come to no surprise that not all its members are as committed to this
new enterprise as the organization claims. The Horizon Syndicate is an excellent place
for drow who disagree with the shifting politics and treachery of their homelands to seek
to escape and integrate into surface communities. Some join the Syndicate for a time in
the hopes of breaking away once they establish a network of allies to give them haven
during their transition out of their societies. Others join the Syndicate to put distance
between themselves and the dark experiences of their childhood, hoping to mask their
memories with new ones forged in a world far from the terrors of the Underdark and the
priestesses of the Spider Queen. Overall, the Syndicate enjoys a diverse membership and
has even expanded to allow nondrow to join their ranks in the hopes of spreading their
presence into markets ordinarily closed to the drow. The Syndicate’s operations become
especially strong in the Dragon Reach and the city-state of Westgate.
The original orc king Obould survived his now-legendary encounter with the drow
hero Drizzt Do’Urden before the Spellplague. He was scarred, but he took from that
duel newfound strength and clarity of purpose. In the end, he united the disparate orc
tribes of the Spine of the World mountains in the North into a cohesive army. Leaving
Drizzt and the dwarves to their own ends, Obould sealed off the territory he had claimed
in the mountains. At the end of his life, his extraordinary accomplishments earned
Obould the reward of being raised to immortality by the god Gruumsh, who made
Obould the demigod of warriors and his exarch. Here and there today are posted crudely
written border-markers on which is written “Kingdom of Many-Arrows.” The creation of
a unified, relatively stable orc society provided the other powers of the region a single
entity to negotiate with, contain, or fight. Mithral Hall, the dwarven citadels, and the
town of Nesmé were tired of war and curious about the orcs attempting to become
civilized. A hundred years later, the orcs have largely succeeded in keeping this local
coalition of tribes together. Though the orc kings who ruled after Obould have not
enjoyed his popularity, they have kept the kingdom together most of the time. The region
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suffered a few civil wars, and for a decade the realm was split. Since the Year of the
Malachite Shadows (1460 DR), however, the orcs of Many Arrows have maintained a
single kingdom of their own.
The once-thriving city of Neverwinter along the northern Sword Coast was destroyed in
the aftermath of the Spellplague, eventually becoming an extensive series of ruins picked
over by adventurers.
In the Gray Vale, the region of the North south of the High Forest, the town of Loudwater
sees much of its once extensive prosperity destroyed by the fall-off in trade along the
Delimbiyr and Grayflow Rivers after the Spellplague, though it survives over the course
of the next century as a town of about 2,000 rugged frontierspeople. The town of Llorkh,
once a terminus for Zhentarim caravans coming from the Eastern Heartlands, is
mismanaged by a string of incompetent rulers after the destruction of Zhentil Keep and
becomes a bandit-controlled ruin. Yet, by 1479 DR the Gray Vale had grown into a trade
center in the North in large part due to the success of Loudwater. This small town has an
advantageous location at the confluence of the Delimbiyr and Grayflow Rivers. Rich and
arable farmland enables the community to thrive. Most merchants in the vicinity use the
river to transport goods, making Loudwater an ideal nexus for nearly all commerce in this
part of the world. Although Loudwater and other small settlements enjoy some
prosperity, the threat of danger checks their growth. Displaced human savages from
beyond the High Forest are a constant peril. Goblins infest the Southwood, snatching
cattle, supplies, and the occasional child before retreating to the dim shelter of their
foreboding forest. Whispers of Najaran serpentfolk fill the taprooms as locals peer
suspiciously at strangers, ever watchful for these sinister yuan-ti infiltrators. All of these
dangers and more cast a pall of fear and mistrust over Gray Vale that calls for heroes.
The theocracy of Elturgard in the Western Heartlands is forged from the formerly
independent city-states of Elturel, Iriaebor, Scornubel, Triel, and Berdusk. The capital of
the realm is established in Elturel and the theocracy as a whole is controlled by the
Church of Torm, the god of law, and his most powerful clergyman, the High Observer.
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Over the years, hundreds of people fleeing a mummy’s curse, a vampire lord’s service, or
some other undead involvement have arrived here, settling in Elturel in particular. The
forests surrounding this land have grown wild and dangerous. A pocket of plagueland
festering several miles to the south has a habit of spewing forth occasional monstrosities.
Elturgard is a theocracy ruled by those who are certain they walk the path of
righteousness. The paladins of this land take pride in their moral clarity and pursuit of
good. Elturgard is dominated by a “second sun” called the Companion or Amauntaor’s
Gift that hovers eternally in the sky above the city of Elturel, making this a realm of
endless daylight. The Companion was a miracle of Amaunator’s created before the
Spellplague that was intended to herald Lathander’s reincarnation as the ancient sun god.
Creatures of darkness cannot abide even the sight of the city. Unlike most nations of the
Realms, Elturgard has a state religion: Torm is revered in the temples that dot the
landscape. Elturel is the capital of the wider kingdom it claims. The High Observer of
Torm keeps order within the city and the wider realm through a knighthood of paladins
who share Elturgard’s goal of one day bringing righteous judgment to all Faerûn.
Numerous citizens dream of joining the knighthood, and many succeed. Though not all
serve the same god, as Amaunator, Ilmater and Bahamut also have strong followings in
the land, all have sworn oaths to Elturgard and wear the blazing insignia of the
Companion. Yet, in some quarters, Elturgard has garnered a reputation for being too
righteous. Many problems attend its inflexible laws, inquisitorial persecution of evil, and
bold plans for “setting Faerûn aright.”
The vampire lord Saestra Karanok, once a native of the city of Luthcheq in Chessenta,
was discovered by her horrified father to be undead after the Spellplague and driven out
on pain of destruction. After several years wandering southern Faerûn, she ended up in
the sleepy, out-of-the-way Kingdom of Erlkazar. It did not take Saestra long to exert her
influence over the bandits there, and she soon had them united under her thrall. The
bandits, some now vampires in their own right, ceased their raids in Erlkazar. Through
wiles and threats, Saestra garnered the cooperation of all five baronies of Erlkazar. She
seduced and then transformed the king of Erlkazar into a vampire, leaving the palace in
the capital city of Llorbauth a haunted symbol of the realm’s true ruler. When the sun
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shines, the Day Baronies of Erlkazar live on, unmolested by either vampires or bandits.
After sundown, though, the Night Barony holds sway, using Erlkazar as a base of
operations to raid caravans, settlements, and even cities from the edge of the
Plaguewrought Land to the east, south into Calimshan, and west into Tethyr and Amn.
Over a century ago, in 1358 DR, a great Hordelands warrior named Yamun Khahan of
the Tuigan tribe united the tribes of the steppes under his banner. (For this reason, the
majority of Faerûnians think that all Hordelands tribesfolk are Tuigan.) His horsemen
invaded Faerûn but suffered huge losses in Rashemen, and they were all but annihilated
in a final battle in Thesk in 1360 DR during a crusade led by the great Cormyrean King
Azoun IV. The barbaric horse culture of the plains has diminished further with the birth
of the Tuigan nation of Yaïmunnahar. This kingdom, forged by Yamun Khahan’s son
Hubadai Khan, is only about a century old. It centers on the grand trading city of
Kourmira along the Golden Way, where many Tuigan have settled. Those who travel the
Golden Way need worry little about bandits. They have more to fear from monsters that
the Tuigan might have kept in check were their numbers greater on the steppes.
The Spellplague expanded across the globe to the continent of Kara-Tur. The Empires of
Kozakura and Shou Lung are great nations within Kara-Tur, and the Spellplague was at
least as destructive there as it was in Faerûn. In the last hundred years more refugees
fleeing from the destruction in Kara-Tur have begun to settle in Yaïmunnahar and
Faerûn, bringing their cultures and unorthodox fighting styles with them.
1386 DR (Year of the Halflings’ Lament): A portion of Toril’s sibling world Abeir
violently exchanges place with large sections of Chondath and western Chessenta in
Faerûn. Displaced genasi from the Abeiran continent of Shyr quickly set about creating a
new kingdom of their own called Akanûl.
The former expanse of the Sea of Fallen Stars is altered when wide portions of the
landscape collapse into the Underdark as a result of the geographic disruptions caused by
the Spellplague. When the sea level reaches its new equilibrium, the average drop in
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water level across the Inner Sea measured nearly 50 feet. The waters of the Vilhon Reach
were similarly drained, uncovering several drowned ruins from the ancient psionic realm
of Jhaamdath. The shallow Gulf of Luiren is formed when the hin (halfling) nation is
swallowed up by the Great Sea.
The sea elven city of Myth Nantar is partly revealed by the drop in the water level of the
Sea of Fallen Stars. This city is the center of sea elf society and the capital of an ever-
growing undersea kingdom called Serôs, and it is protected by a powerful mythal.
Despite the lurking presence of the Abolethic Sovereignty above the water, the sea elves
have enjoyed decades of relative peace below. Myth Nantar, now partly revealed by the
lower sea level, lies both above and below the waves. With some of its accommodations
completely free of water, sea elves and surface races can and do mingle here, both for
trade and for councils regarding the threats facing modern Faerûn. Despite the threat
presented by the aboleths of Xxiphu, the sea elves’ most prolific and tenacious enemies
remain the sahuagin tribes that dominate the eastern stretches of the Inner Sea.
The Arnrock volcano in the Lake of Steam region erupts violently, wiping out the Quick
Folk that had settled around the old crater.
In the Shining South, bold, monstrous armies from the Beastlands and surrounding
mountains, along with the lack of a strong military, cost the merchant nation of Durpar
most of its cities. The drowning of Luiren and Var the Golden in the Spellplague cost it
allies, and fluctuating sea levels cost it trade routes. The shifting climate further fueled
anxiety. The prominent Datharathi chaka (Durpari merchant house) proposed a
consolidation of power and alliance with the Iron Eye goblins from the Curna
Mountains. Despite the Adama, the strict Durpari code of honesty and personal conduct,
several chakas broke with the proposed compact as the Adama became somewhat
discredited in Durpari eyes because of the nation’s travails. The resulting Merchant Wars
of Durpar ended with the Datharathi on top. After the Spellplague, Durpar became a
frontier region. Most of its lands are menaced by monsters from the Beastlands,
marauders from the mountains, and roving brigands. Humans, halflings, kenkus, and
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other races inhabit the Durpari cities of Vaelan, Assur, or scattered keeps controlled by
independent sovereigns and petty princes. Others live hand-to-mouth as desperate
wanderers. Only the Durpari capital, Vaelan, retains a glimmer of its former strength.
Since the ascendancy of the Datharathis, Vaelan has existed in relative (and unusual)
peace. House Datharathi keeps its coffers stuffed by taxing the other chakas’ right to
trade with Delzimmer, Estagund, and High Imaskar. The ruling house also maintains a
standing army, which includes bugbears, hobgoblins, and goblins that were integrated
during the Merchant Wars. The Datharathis and the wealthy of Vaelan are also known for
their magical technology of body enhancement, using plangent crystal.
Drow half-elves known as Crinti formerly ruled the Southern Kingdom of Dambrath
under a state religion dedicated to Loviatar, the goddess of pain. Native human
Dambrathans, who call themselves Arkaiuns, rebelled during the Spellplague. Turning to
their totems and primal nature spirits, they drove the drow half-bloods from their lands
and burned every priest of Loviatar they could catch. Surviving overlords fled to
T’lindhet, a drow city under the Gnollwatch Mountains, but the city proved no refuge.
The drow offered a cold and deadly welcome, thinking little of the newcomers’ mixed
racial heritage and devotion to a foreign goddess rather than the Spider Queen. Today
Dambrathan clans revere Silvanus, the god of nature and his exarch Malar the Beastlord,
and occasionally worship Selûne, the goddess of the moon. Through this devotion, they
have come to embrace lycanthropy. The blood of shapeshifters flows in many a
Dambrathan’s veins and there is now a growing population of shifters in Dambrath.
Through totems and primal magic, even some who lack such heritage take on animal
shapes when danger threatens.
Long ago, monsters from the Giant’s Belt Mountains and a vast stretch of wilderness
called the Beastlands overran or conquered the inland Durpari cities of a region known as
Veldorn. Kenkus, bird-like humanoids from the Eastern Realms of Kara-Tur, settled part
of the area later. During the Spellplague and the intervening century, dragons, giants, and
rakshasas from the Giant’s Belt and Dustwall mountain chains destroyed or took all but
the last remaining cities in Durpar. The flooding of Luiren and the desolation of the Shaar
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allowed the Beastlands to expand west and south. To outsiders, the Beastlands are and
have long been a barbaric region where humans are kept as slaves and monsters walk
without fear. Most of the Beast Lords acknowledge a loose alliance, created by the
charismatic vampire lord Saed of the ruins of Old Vaelan in what was once western
Durpar. As a result, the despots defend one another from all would-be invaders.
Otherwise, each rules alone over separate lands. Tirumala, one of the monster-controlled
city-states of the Beastlands, has a strange alliance with the human-controlled nation of
Estagund. The raven-like kenkus have become integrated into almost every state in the
Beastlands, as well as the cities of Durpar and Estagund. They have a hidden rookery in
Blackfeather Barrens where, it is whispered, they maintain a network loyal only to
kenkus. The Beast Lords include undead, dragons, giants, and even beholders, but plenty
of humans live here—mostly slaves or outlaws who have fled other realms. A few folk of
the common intelligent races who find the rulership of monsters to their liking also dwell
in the Beastlands.
The land called Var the Golden precipitously collapsed beneath the waves in the Year
of Blue Fire. Thousands died immediately, and thousands more in the days and weeks
afterward. The land was no more. The sunken ruins of Myrmyr, Zelpir, and Pyratar, once
rich trade cities, are treasure-rich prospects for adventurous salvagers. Tomb raiders now
return with incredible treasures and even more incredible tales—if they survive.
1387 DR (Year of the Emerald Ermine): The druidic Emerald Enclave,
dedicated to the god of nature Silvanus, begins sending agents throughout
the Vilhon Wilds to counter the effects of the Spellplague. As years become
decades, their original mission is slowly perverted from one of respect for
and guardianship of nature to a vain struggle against forces far beyond their
control.
An Abeiran mountain range made entirely of dense prismatic glass appears along the
Northride, sealing off Shadow Gap.
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1388 DR (Year of the Tanarukka): Bullywug tribes from the Farsea Marshes begin
harrying Zhentarim forces operating throughout the Tunlands, diminishing the Black
Network’s activities in the region.
Some members of Cormyr’s remaining War Wizards, having lost access to the Art
because of the Spellplague’s unraveling of the Weave, begin cross-training with the
Purple Dragons of Cormyr in swordplay and martial defense. In the years to come these
Cormyrean swordmages will prove invaluable against neighboring aggression in the
region.
The Gundwynd line of Waterdhavian nobility is exterminated as the Spellplague
transforms the family into rampaging monstrosities that spread chaos across Waterdeep.
Fiirnel’ther Vandree of House Vandree of the great drow city of Menzoberranzan in the
Underdark assassinates her mother, Troken’ther Vandree, in order to assume leadership
of her house.
1389 DR (Year of the Forgiven Foes): A strangely angular black monolith is sometimes
visible breaking above the waves along Cormyr’s coast, never in the same place twice. It
is not a great leap of reason to suspect that the Monolith, as it became known, with its
disquieting geometry, is a movable watchtower or beachhead of the aboleths of Xxiphu.
These rumors have been sufficient to keep all who view it from investigating. In fact,
upon witnessing it, most ship captains or coast-walkers flee in the opposite direction.
1390 DR (Year of the Walking Man): The Dowager Dragon Queen,
Filfaeril Selazair Obarskyr, wife of King Azoun IV, dies. The former
Steel Regent, Alusair Nacacia Obarskyr, attends the state funeral for
her mother, argues briefly and privately with her nephew the king, and
then disappears altogether from the Cormyrean royal court. Rumors
persist of her riding through the frontiers and borderlands of Cormyr
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from Suzail, but no confirmed reports of her appearance exist following the burial of
Queen Filfaeril.
1391 DR (Year of the Wrathful Eye): The human druid Zalaznar Crinios, transformed
into a mighty treant for his service to nature, takes control of the druid circle in
Cedarspoke. A lesser druid, able to take lion form and calling himself Firemane, rises to
prominence in the same circle.
The Eldreth Veluuthra, a militant group of eladrin who seek to eradicate human power
and influence throughout the Realms and restore the era of elven dominance over Faerûn,
seize control of the Hullack Forest.
Auril, goddess of winter, assimilates the palace of Aerdrie Faenya, the elven goddess of
the air, into her divine domain. The Winged Mother had been killed during the Gods of
Fury’s attack on Arvandor. Auril had moved to the Deep Wilds, the new plane in the
Astral Sea ruled by Silvanus, the god of nature, after the Spellplague destroyed the Frost
Maiden’s former dominion.
1392 DR (Year of the Scroll): The Dragon Coast city of Pros petitions the Cormyrean
Crown to become a vassal-state of Cormyr in order to protect it from the ravages of the
Spellplague. Azoun V reluctantly accepted the petition. By year’s end, Pros’ sister-town
of Ilipur joined the Forest Kingdom as well. Unfortunately, the receding waters of the Sea
of Fallen Stars spelled ruin for the economies of these small trading towns.
1393 DR (Year of the Ring): Sembian investors begin buying up land in the southern
Dalelands. Concerned about the growing influence of Netheril through its Sembian
puppet, King Azoun V issued a formal objection to the Dale’s Council in Archendale but
the king’s emissary was rebuffed.
Spellscarred beings and pilgrims hoping to obtain a spellscar begin journeying to the
Plaguewrought Lands in large numbers. They are welcomed in the city of Ormpetarr near
what remained of Halruaa by the recently-established Order of Blue Fire.
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1394 DR (Year of Deaths Unmourned): The Grand Cabal of the druidic Emerald
Enclave begins attempting to stem the tide of spellscarred pilgrims that pass through
Turmish and the Vilhon Reach in a vain and misguided attempt to limit the effects of the
Spellplague on the natural order—by any means necessary.
Years of straining with their conflicted Sembian and Cormyrean identities, and struggling
against the encroaching rule of Netheril, culminates in the outright annexation of the
Sembian border city of Daerlun into the Forest Kingdom.
A brief conflict between Cormyr and the Eldreth Veluuthra of the Hullack Forest breaks
out, ending when King Azoun V turns his full attention to more pressing threats from
neighboring Sembia and Netheril.
1395 DR (Year of Silent Death): Sakkors, the Netherese floating enclave not seen since
the days before the Spellplague, makes a reappearance over Daerlun in the dead of night.
The following morning civil unrest breaks out throughout the city. King Azoun V sends
his elite Cormyrean swordmages to restore order in the city. The Sembian city of
Urmlaspyr, also considering giving its allegiance to Cormyr, withdraws those plans when
the Netherese floating enclave of Sakkors next parks itself above the city. The power of
Netheril over Sembia and across Faerûn grows at a rapid pace.
Plaguebringer’s Blight: Sickness and pestilence spreads throughout the North,
unleashed by the hideous disease called the Putrescent Anathema. The Putrescent
Anathema was released from Stump Bog to the northeast of Waterdeep by a coven of
vampire-wizards to spread sickness and pestilence throughout the region. The plague hit
the temple-farm of Goldenfields, dedicated to Chauntea, the goddess of life and
agriculture, particularly hard. The loss of Waterdeep’s primary supply of grain coupled
with the swift spread of disease devastated the city’s citizenry, primarily the poor, who
died in the thousands. Since that time, Goldenfields has recovered under the leadership of
Mother Jamandra Anuvien and expanded greatly. Goldenfields is now heavily fortified;
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in effect, it has become a small walled kingdom. For years, it has been a stable, peaceful
breadbasket to surrounding lands, friendly to but independent of Waterdeep.
]1396 DR (Year of the Secret): Marriage of King Azoun V of Cormyr to Nalara Marliir,
the daughter of Cormyr’s Lord High Marshal Dauneth Marliir and Krystin Lhal.
1399 DR (Year of the Fallen Friends): Caladnei, the Mage Royal of Cormyr, finally
succumbs to a years-long struggle with the Spellplague; he is succeeded by Laspeera
Inthré.
Tsarra “Blackstaff” Chaadren, her heir and many of the
members of the secret society known as the Tel’Teukiira—the
Moonstars—die fighting the coven of vampire-wizards in the
Stump Bog who created and released the Putrescent Anathema
on Waterdeep and the North. The drow half-elf wizard Kyriani
Agrivar risks her sanity by bearing the artifact known as the
Black Staff and the arcane abilities of the position of the Blackstaff back to Waterdeep.
Kyriani Agrivar becomes the new so-called “Blackstaff,” which becomes a semi-official
position as the archmage of Waterdeep rather than
just a nickname given to the bearer of the Black
Staff. To acknowledge her legitimacy as the City of
Splendor’s new archmage, Kyriani proclaims it
from atop Blackstaff Tower, with the Open Lord
Caladorn at her side. This form of proclamation of
the inheritance to the title of Blackstaff becomes a
new tradition in Waterdeep.
1400 DR (Year of Lost Ships): Krehlan “Blackstaff” Arunsun, son of Khelben Arunsun
and Laeral Silverhand, assumes the role of the Blackstaff, the Archmage of Waterdeep,
from Kyriani Agrivar.
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The merchants’ realm of Sembia, long a protectorate of the City of Shade since the
disastrous Sembian Civil War of the mid-1370’s DR, is fully absorbed into Netheril as
one of the reborn arcane empire’s provinces. Outsiders were not welcome in
the floating Netherese cities of Shade and Sakkors, but the Sembian port cities of
Saerloon, Selgaunt, and Yhaunn were busy shipping centers even on the diminished
Sea of Fallen Stars. Netheril, gone from Toril for long centuries, relied on Sembia to
remake its economy and to provide sea ports and capital for trade, as well as soldiers and
workers to protect and serve its needs. Though the Shadovar maintained a tight grip on
Sembia, they had also grown dependent on it as their only link to the outside world. The
canniest of the Sembian merchant princes have been able to capitalize on that fact, filling
their own coffers with unprecedented riches—as long as they remembered who was in
charge.
The Cormyrean Alliance of Freesailors is formally disbanded. Ranks in Cormyr’s newly
established Imperial Navy swell.
1404 DR (Year of the Sceptered One): The Amnian Council of Five, pressured by the
Amnian nobleman Lionel Carrathal, agrees to invade the Moonshae Isles. The Ffolk city
of Caer Westphal is seized by an Amnian fleet led by Carrathal and Snowdown Isle is
subjected to Amnian rule. Lionel is established as the Amnian Viceroy of Caer Westphal.
Elfharrow oral tradition has it that this region’s green elves’ ancestors betrayed their
ancient kin to the depredations of the drow during the Crown Wars. Following those
events, they settled the Misty Vale in remorse over their betrayal. For years, the elves of
the Misty Vale secreted themselves in the forest so no one would see their guilt. They
vowed to live in isolation forever after. Climatic shifts following the Spellplague dried
out and killed their forest over the course of twenty years. The elves gradually moved out
onto the plains after about 1404 DR, claiming all the emptied lands north and northwest
of the devastated ruins of Halruaa. This change in lifestyle was accompanied by extensive
heartache and loss of life. Old elves, confident and set in their knowledge of the forest,
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had to learn a completely new way of living with the land. For the most part, such
innovation became the province of the younger generations. These elves now subsist as
herders and hunters. A few even moved north into the Shaar Desolation, building their
homes in the lees of towering mesas and deep caves.
1407 DR (Year of the Halls Unhaunted): The unexpected death of High Queen Alicia
Kendrick. Through a network of spies and informants strategically located across the
isles with Amnian backing, Carrathal family loyalists ignite uprisings in the Moonshae
cities of Caer Corwell on Gwynneth and Caer Callidyrr on Alaron.
1408 DR (Year of the Solitary Cloister): In a bold move, Viceroy Lionel Carrathal
attacks not Callidyrr as the new High Queen supposed, but instead sailed a flotilla of
warships through Corwell Firth to besiege Caer Corwell. Viceroy Lionel Carrathal, citing
his descent from Cymrych Hugh, claims the throne of the Kingdom of Corwell on the
Moonshae isle of Gwynneth in challenge to the newly ascended High Queen Feithline
Kendrick of Caer Callidyrr, the daughter of High Queen Alicia. High Queen Feithline,
beset by her own political difficulties as she tried to stabilize her unexpected ascension to
the throne, proved impotent to forestall Carrathal’s rising insurrection. However, Lionel,
after years of bitterness and vitriolic scheming, becomes a tyrannical ruler, unwisely
executing and imprisoning dissenters among his subjects.
1409 DR (Year of True Omens): Refusing to swear allegiance to what he claims to be
the unlawful High Queen of the Moonshaes, King Lionel Carrathal of Corwell orders the
hanging of High Queen Feithline’s emissary Lord Aesun Koart in Corwell Square.
An epidemic ravages the dragons of the Copper Mountains, with several survivors fleeing
south, crossing over the dark eaves of the Great Wild Wood. One fleeing blue dragon
named Skalnaedyr, more through accident than design, hit upon an ingenious method to
assure his survival. Hungry and feverish from his close call with the draconic illness, he
alighted in a village called Phannaskull. The village ataman thought to protect his people
by offering obeisance to the dragon. Taken aback, Skalnaedyr agreed, becoming the first
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Dragon Prince of Murghôm and setting an example for the swarm of dragons that would
come to follow him south from the mountains. To show his respect, the ataman
immediately changed the name of the town to Skalnaedyr. Other chromatic and metallic
dragons fleeing the same infection soon learned of Skalnaedyr’s ploy. After that, the
largest dragons each sought a village to rule, either through fear, deceit, or promises of
protection against later waves of dragons that might be less diplomatic. Murghôm’s cities
and settlements today are ruled by mighty dragons. Each dragon prince claims a
particular village and the region around it. Most are served by a retinue of human viziers,
mercenaries, advisers, and chamberlains. Humans not part of a prince’s coterie view
those who willingly serve a malicious dragon as traitors and betrayers. Some dragon
princes are benevolent, others distant, and a few downright nasty. Some require the
name of the city they rule to be changed to their own; others do not care, as long as they
receive monthly tribute in gold, jewels, and food. Dragon princes regard dragonborn with
suspicion, knowing most of them have little love for draconic kings.
Prince Foril Obarskyr, the second son of King Azoun V and Queen Nalara Marliir of
Cormyr, is born.
1411 DR (Year of the Wrathful Vizier): Corwell Crown Princess Cymidei Carrathal
had inherited her father King Lionel’s stern demeanor and harsh countenance. Facing
resistance to Carrathal rule over Corwell from the servants of High Lady Ordalf of
Sarifal, Cymidei leads a massacre of all fey dwelling within Deachtere Wood southeast of
Cantrev Dynnatt on the Moonshae isle of Gwynneth.
1412 DR (Year of the Dauntless Dwarves): War erupts in the Moonshaes as High Lady
Ordalf of Sarifal, a leShay, declares all non-fey settlers must be driven
from Gwynneth Isle in response to the Deachtere Wood Massacre. One by
one, human settlements that had stood for centuries and comprised the
heart of the Kingdom of Corwell were quickly overrun by the fey and
abandoned. High Queen Feithline Kendrick orders a flotilla of swift
carracks to Kingsbay to succor the Ffolk evacuating Gwynneth in the wake of the fey
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onslaught. High Queen Feithline’s armada, led by Admiral Felim Voel, is victorious over
Amnian warships in the epic maritime Battle of Mog Goidel.
1413 DR (Year of Sunken Vessels): King Lionel Carrathal and his family flee
Gwynneth as Caer Corwell is overrun by the fey. The Earthmother’s Leviathan sends the
king’s vessel to the bottom of Corwell Firth. The Carrathal family is never heard from
again. The Kendrick dynasty remains in control of the isle of Alaron and the city of Caer
Calliddyr, and the ruler by 1479 DR was High King Derid Kendrick. High King Derid’s
most pressing concerns were the same as those of all the rulers of the Ffolk after the rise
of Sarifal and the Amnian invasion—to retake ancestral holdings on Snowdown stolen by
the Amn-sponsored mercenaries, and to establish a lasting peace with the fey kingdom of
Sarifal. The Ffolk and Northlanders of Alaron also faced a threat in Dernall Forest, where
dark fey led by fomorian kings sought to reestablish control, breaking the armistice
between the Ffolk and the fey High Queen Feithline had negotiated after the fall of
Corwell and the Carrathals.
1418 DR (Year of the Lords’ Coronation): The Shadovar of Netheril “accidentally
conquer” Featherdale after years of Sembian investments in the dale.
Xenfyrth’s Abyss is discovered in the Underdark ruins of the dwarven kingdom of Old
Shanatar by an adventuring company, of which Xenfyrth is the sole survivor.
1420 DR (Year of the Dark Goddess): Unable to subvert their neighbor as bloodlessly
as Featherdale, Sembian mercenaries out of the city of Yhaunn overrun Tasseldale.
1421 DR (Year of the Walking Trees): A Sembian mercenary army arrives in
Chandler’s Cross in the Dalelands, slaughtering many folk of the Scar and scattering the
rest.
1422 DR (Year of the Walking Hopes): Battledale comes under heavy attack by forces
from Netheril, forcing the evacuation of the town of Essembra. Purple Dragon Knights of
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Cormyr move into the High Dale to stave off Sembian advances upon their kingdom.
1423 DR (Year of Thundering Hosts): The Duchy of Velen secedes from the Kingdom
of Tethyr. The secession initially produced tension with Tethyr, but the duchy worked
hard to mend relations over several years until it was able call Tethyr an ally in truth. But
troubles would beset this small forested realm for decades after its independence, with
threats as diverse as pirates, unquiet spirits, and internal politics. Many ghosts allegedly
haunt the city of Velen, but the living residents get by well enough as long as they leave
recalcitrant spirits in peace. To the east, the ogre kingdom of Muranndin cuts Velen off
from the Trade Way. The pirates of the Nelanther Isles threaten its western coasts.
Powerful Amnian interests have rendered the Duke of Velen almost powerless in his own
land. Tethyr is far away and spares few resources for its supposed ally. Possibly in
response to the gathering threats, the Duke of Velen has handed down stricter and stricter
laws in recent years, though their harsh nature is concealed in rhetoric about honor for
honor and the loyalty due friends. Murderers are executed, which most accept as an apt
punishment, assuming the criminals are truly guilty. Thieves have all their possessions
confiscated, no matter the scale of the theft. The thief must work in service of the robbed
person for a set period of time based on the value of the stolen item. Even being caught in
a lie is cause for a whipping. Some citizens began speaking against these draconian laws,
but quietly, lest they besmirch the Duke’s honor.
The volcano Mount Kolimnis in the central Aphrunn Mountains erupts, burying the city
of Gildenglade in Turmish under hundreds of feet of ash and mud. The ruins of the city
are eventually overrun by creatures from the Underdark.
1424 DR (Year of the Dog-Eared Journal): Chartham Dellenvol kills Krehlan
“Blackstaff” Arunsun. In the month of Ches 1424 DR, Ashemmon of Rymanthiin
becomes Waterdeep’s new Blackstaff.
1425 DR (Year of Seven Sisters): The Simbul is thought to have perished in the blue
fire that destroyed Velsharoon, the demigod of necromancy, a servant of Mystra. In truth,
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she survived in the Dalelands where she became the caretaker of Elminster the Sage, the
other Chosen of Mystra who was badly diminished by the death of his goddess and the
destruction of the Weave. The corpse of Velsharoon is kept in Aglarond by those who
honor the Simbul’s sacrifice by seeking to keep this powerful artifact out of evil hands.
In the wake of the Simbul’s death with no heir, Aglarond is ruled by a council of fifteen
simbarchs, all spellcasters. They meet in the old Palace of the Simbul, a mansion of pale
green stone built upon a rise overlooking the capital city of Aglarond, Veltalar, once
called Velprintalar. The simbarchs inherited both the palace and their titles from the
country’s former ruler, though their current positions required armed strife with outlying
populations who were initially disinclined to be governed by the Council.
In the years after the Spellplague, Thay had literally risen as a land of shadowed death.
Exiled zulkirs, the former wizard rulers of Thay, appeared in the already Thayan-
influenced Wizard’s Reach region of the southern Aglarond peninsula. As a result,
Aglarond was forced to recognize that Thay’s presence (expatriate or not) was not going
to fade anytime soon. Following their rise to power, the chronic irritant of Thay galled
Aglarond’s newly formed Simbarch Council beyond reason. The nation raised armies and
took the fight to the exiled zulkirs of the city-states that made up the Wizard’s Reach.
The war was long and fierce, and Aglarond suffered much. Having defeated the
Aglarondan advance, the zulkirs-in-exile returned to Thay to proclaim their victory and to
use the outcome as a springboard back to power in their lost homeland. They misjudged
the situation badly. The Thayan Regent, the lich Szass Tam, rewarded them only with
death. The zulkirs left behind Thayan administrators and soldiers in the Wizard’s Reach,
but in the chaos and confusion that followed the rulers’ deaths, Aglarond declared
renewed sovereignty over this region of southern Aglarond. It remains to be seen whether
the Thayan remnants will gainsay the Simbarch Council’s declaration without their
former leaders.
The age-old Dales Compact between the eladrin and the Dalesmen is reaffirmed with
Myth Drannor and the Standing Stone restored. The Standing Stone had been destroyed
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in 1374 DR by the daemonfey and fey’ri of House Dlardrageth, fiend-touched eladrin
who had been defeated by the eladrin Crusade of Evermeet to recover Myth Drannor and
the Elven Court from the fiends and drow who had infested it.
1428 DR (Year of the Elfqueen’s Joy): The Seven Burghers of Harrowdale in the
Dalelands announce a formal alliance with Myth Drannor and rename the city New
Velar.
1430 DR (Year of Stalking Horrors): Prince Foril Obarskyr of Cormyr marries Jemra
Rhindaun, niece to Queen Sybille of Tethyr.
1431 DR (Year of the Lashing Tail): The future Crown Prince Irvel Obarskyr of
Cormyr is born to Prince Foril Obarskyr and Princess Jemra Rhindaun.
1436 DR (Year of Silent Shadows): Several Cormyrean cities bordering Netheril and
Sembia are blanketed by an unnatural miasma, blocking out the sun.
1437 DR (Year of the Silent Flute): Cormyrean Crown Prince Emvar Obarskyr dies in
an ambush carried out by Sembian forces south of the Vast Swamp. In the same month,
Queen Jemra is killed in a failed assassination attempt on King Azoun V believed to be
carried out by agents of Sembia acting on behalf of their Netherese masters. Prince Foril
Obarskyr unexpectedly becomes Crown Prince of Cormyr.
1439 DR (Year of the Silent Tear): Cormyr and Sembia wage a series of increasingly
bloody skirmishes, which escalate into full-scale war.
1440 DR (Year of Azuth’s Woe): After nearly two decades of non-aggression, Sembia
marches a large mercenary army against the Dalelands at Archenbridge. The Swords,
cloaked autocrats that ruled Archendale, were unmasked and found to be on Sembia’s
payroll. The people of Archendale staved off incorporation into Sembia only by
becoming aware of the danger and making common cause with the free Dales.
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The destruction of Mystra’s plane of Dweomerheart during the initial unraveling of the
Weave had sent the dying god of mages, Azuth the High One,
spinning into the Astral Sea where he eventually came to rest in
the fiery domain of the Nine Hells, ruled by the archdevil
Asmodeus, himself a former deity who had long desired to
regain his lost divinity. The archdevil killed Azuth and
consumed his divine essence to become the god of sin, the Supreme Master of the Nine
Hells. Asmodeus then ended the ancient Blood War between demons and devils by using
his newfound power to push the Abyss to the bottom of the Elemental Chaos, radically
reshaping the planar cosmology. This made it very difficult for the demons to launch
another invasion of the planes similar to the one initially repulsed at the cost of his
existence by the god Tyr.
1441 DR (Year of Resurrections Rampant): Cormyr honored its defensive alliance
with the Dalelands, marching troops from Daerlun and Highcastle to besiege the Sembian
cities of Saerb and Urmlaspyr and relieve the military pressure on the Dales.
The Treaty of Griffonfang Bridge: Pressured on all sides, Sembia (with approval from
its Netherese governors) agreed to a cessation
of hostilities with Cormyr, the Dalelands, and
the elven realm of Cormanthor. The uneasy
armistice endures to this day. The formerly
Sembian cities of Daerlun and Urmlaspyr
gain their independence from both Sembia and Cormyr and become a buffer zone
between the contending kingdoms and Cormyrean and Netherese ambitions.
1442 DR (Year of Darkenbeasts): Prince Foril of Cormyr carries the ensign of the
Purple Dragon, which can only be carried by a blood member of House Obarskyr, into
battle.
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1443 DR (Year of Silver Bell Tolling): The fey kingdom of Sarifal in the Moonshaes
and High Imaskar exchange ambassadors, reaffirming their millennia-old alliance.
Embassies are established in each nation.
1445 DR (Year of the Malachite Throne): A golemwork clock called the Timehands is
finished by a collaboration of Waterdhavian guilds and installed into the Lords’ Palace in
Waterdeep.
1446 DR (Year of the Queen’s Honor): Deep gnolls are spotted hunting in the
Northtrees March. It is unknown what menace drove these hahlorkh to the surface.
1449 DR (Year of the Godly Invitation): Death of King Azoun V of Cormyr. Before his
death, Azoun V honored an old promise and signed the Suzail Writ, which bound the
king of Cormyr by law and gave the free commoners of Cormyr inalienable rights—
notably trial by a jury of their peers, even in cases involving a crime committed by a
commoner against a member of the Cormyrean nobility. The Writ restricted the powers
of the nobility on their estates and elevated the common people to a more equal footing
with their lords and ladies. Most Cormyrean nobles eventually accepted the new status
quo of greater legal equality between commoners and the nobility, but a few still scheme
to gain influence over the throne (or to gain the throne itself ) and thereby return the
noble houses to their former prominence and greater privileges. King Foril, Azoun V’s
son and successor, remains a strong proponent of the Writ.
Coronation of King Foril of Cormyr. King Foril becomes a respected strategist,
statesman, and administrator over the course of his thirty-year reign.
1450 DR (Year of Holy Thunder): The scorching desert of the Skyfire Wastes are
frozen over for months when the goddess of winter, Auril, sent her vassals to battle the
djinn and efreet of Calimshan. The Second Era of Skyfire comes to an end when the djinn
Calim and the efreet Memnon are sent back to their homes in the Elemental Chaos by
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unknown means. Their genasi lieutenants and foot soldiers remain in Calimshan, and
continue a bloody war based on little more than opposing elemental philosophies.
1453 DR (Year of the Strangled Jester): Around the year 1399 DR, a Shou
hero named Tai Shing arose in the city of Phsant in Thesk. He battled the criminal gangs
that dominated the city, driving them underground. Tai Shing became First Council Lord
of Phsant and went on to be elected the first Suzerain of Thesk, the first ruler of a united
Thesk. Tai Shing died in 1453 DR and Thesk then degenerated into a patchwork of
feuding nobles, powerful merchants, secret societies, and hidden criminal gangs. The
current Suzerain, a female orc named Vunmal Murn, is a weak compromise candidate
who stays out of everyone’s business while fomenting a rivalry with Aglarond over the
trade through the Tannath Gap.
1454 DR (Year of the Emerald Sun): Prince Baerovus Obarskyr of Cormyr is born to
Crown Prince Irvel Obarskyr of Cormyr and his wife, Princess Ospra Goldfeather.
1459 DR (Year of the Forged Sigil): Azalar Falconhand resigns his Lordship of
Shadowdale, passing the Pendant of Ashaba to the young shieldmaiden Addee Ulphor.
The last heir to the old Dragonsbane dynasty of the Kingdom of Damara is assassinated
and the ambitious Lord Yarin Frostmantle takes the Damaran throne. King Yarin’s hand
in the death of his predecessor is an open secret in Damara. Stronger and wealthier than
anyone else, Yarin is absolutely ruthless in crushing those who dare question his
legitimacy. In the capital of Helgabal (formerly the Damaran city of Heliogabalus), the
despotic King Yarin Frostmantle clings to power, heedless of the threats gathering around
his land. While Damara’s people groan under tyrannical rule, deadly perils loom on all
fronts. To the west, the Warlock Knights of Vaasa grow stronger and threaten war. To the
north, the receding Great Glacier has uncovered passages to the monster-infested
Frostfell at the top of the world. Deadly creatures completely new to Faerûn haunt the
northern marches. To the east, the demon-haunted Dunwood of the Great Dale (formerly
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known as the Rawlinswood) grows darker and more deadly every day. All the while, feral
tribesfolk from Narfell engage in ever bolder raids.
1460 DR (Year of the Malachite Shadows): Princess Raedra Obarskyr is born to Crown
Prince Irvel Obarskyr of Cormyr and his wife.
The Kingdom of Many Arrows, the orcish realm in the Spine of the World mountains of
the North, is reunited after a decade of civil war between contending orcish factions. The
Kingdom of Many-Arrows exists alongside the dwarves and humans of the North in a
tenuous peace. These bitter enemies tolerate each other most of the time, even trading,
and see occasional friendships arise. Even so, the area could explode into war any
second, and has done so from time to time. The current orc ruler, King Obould XVII,
continues a mostly unbroken dynastic line that began when the original Obould strode the
North, unifying disparate orcish tribes with fire and sword.
1464 DR (Year of the Six-Armed Elf): The Waterdhavian archmage Ashemmon
(formerly of Rhymanthiin) dies, passing the mantle of the Blackstaff of Waterdeep to
Samark Dhanzscul.
1469 DR (Year of Thundering Beasts): The Children’s Massacre occurs in Tethyr, with
the slaying of all Queen Anais’ nieces and nephews, with the exception of Ysabel Linden.
The Tethyrian queen’s half-sister, Evonne Linden, who made a play for the throne at this
time, is killed the same night in a coordinated attack in another town. With the chaos of
the Spellplague, Calimshan’s disintegration in the Second Era of Skyfire, and troubles
with the monsters and humanoids of Muranndin, the Tethyrian monarchy has
substantially weakened since the Spellplague. Tethyr is too big to be ruled easily from its
capital city of Darromar, so dukes and counts have little help from the Crown. The
remote Duchy of Velen, cut off from the rest of the kingdom by the ogre-ruled nation of
Muranndin, used this situation as an excuse to secede from Tethyr in 1423 DR.
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1474 DR (Year of Ascendant Serpents): The realms of Evereska and Elturgard become
aware of the existence of the Kingdom of Najara when the dark naga Jarant slew the naga
Ebarnaje to become the new King of Snakes of Najara. The short internal civil war
that preceded the power change saw great activity among the yuan-ti
and lizardfolk of the area. The border nations had clear cause to be
concerned that war was mounting from the long-slumbering marshes
and hills. Nagas, yuan-ti, and lizardfolk inhabited the monstrous
realm of Najara. Najara encompasses the eastern reaches of the High
Moor, the Serpent Hills, the Forest of Wyrms, the Marsh of Chelimber, and the river
valleys that meander through the area. Its center lies in the Serpent Hills. For all its size,
the existence of the realm remains a point of debate, because it is not a state or country in
the human sense of those terms—the monstrous denizens of the region do not patrol their
borders or carry on any sort of commerce or relations with nearby lands. The naga
Terpenzi, slain by the Shadowking, returned as a powerful undead entity. Though it
possesses power equal to that of divine exarchs, Terpenzi has been enslaved to the will of
successive naga kings. It is bound by a relic called the Marlspire of $ajara and holds the
position of Guardian of Najara. As the King of Snakes, Jarant proudly wears the
Marlspire of $ajara. He rules unchallenged, but has not yet issued any edicts setting
Najara on a war footing against its neighbors. Other than claiming power for himself
against the aged former naga monarch, Jarant seems content to allow Najara to continue
the policy of obscurity that has served the serpent realm so long. Even so, Najara is now
widely known in the Realms, if only as an area of interest to adventuring companies,
since it contains ruins of all ages that remain unexplored. Some yuan-ti in Najara,
disillusioned with their god Sseth, recently turned to the worship of an interloper deity
named Zehir, the serpent god of poison. Despite the King of Snakes’ ban on such
devotion, the cult of Zehir has become a real, if hidden, force within Najara.
1475 DR (Year of the Final Stand): Draeven Rapparees claims credit for the fiery
destruction of Dauntinghorn Manor in the Dragon Coast city of Teziir.
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1478 DR (Year of the Dark Circle): The Black Robes, the municipal judges of
Waterdeep, welcome the tiefling Kylynne Silmerhelve into their ranks. This act marks a
new level of social acceptance for tieflings, at least in the cosmopolitan City of
Splendors.
Shadow creatures start appearing at random places in the eastern region of Cormanthor,
the eladrin realm. The threats presented by these creatures are believed to be the latest
plot of Netheril to destabilize the hated eladrin kingdom ruled from Myth Drannor.
1479 DR (Year of the Ageless One): Vajra Safahr becomes the Blackstaff of Waterdeep.
Vajra is a thin, small, dusky-skinned Tethyrian. Vajra assumed the role of the Blackstaff
earlier in this year following the death of her popular predecessor and lover, Samark
Dhanzscul. The young Blackstaff dwells alone in Blackstaff Tower and commands what
is left of the Watchful Order of Magists & Protectors.
The present. The adventure begins…