Gygglesnorte's Guide to the Forgotten Realms

[Gregorotto]

"Though prone to wandering that I am, I am proud to call the Forgotten Realms my home: from the Moonshaes to the Moonsea, the Sea of Ice to the jungles of Chult; the sands of Calimshan to the yuirwoods of Aglarond. Toril was my cradle, my teacher, my friend; it is my enemy, my nemesis, my end. I have seen gods die and mortals rise to take their place; I have seen magic itself fall and be reborn. I have seen many things, and yet each time I return to my home, I find something new to celebrate, some friend to mourn, some foe to vanquish.

Life is interesting in the Forgotten Realms; never let anyone tell you any different!
-Gygglesnorte, Gnome Artificer of Silverymoon

Gygglesnorte's Guide to the Forgotten Realms is a guide to how I run the Forgotten Realms, the collected setting created by Ed Greenwood and now used as one of the default settings of D&D. I largely attempt to remain true to the original and its multiple evolutions across the five editions of this game it has appeared, and by using the setting as-presented, give everyone a common ground from which to draw their character and create something new. This guide will tell you what you need to know about the world: core assumptions, how time works, and the languages and cultures spoken in across Toril. Any further questions should be addressed to the DM, who is not Gygglesnorte but resembles him, sometimes.

[Gregorotto]

"To know Toril is to love it, fear it, hate it: of all the worlds of the Prime Material Plane, it is perhaps one of the best known and least well understood. Why, ask my friend Elminster and he'll give you some cock and bull story about why he makes Toril his home when he, like his friend Mordenkainen, could be a planeswalker of interplanar renown! But no: there are certain truths that one must come to understand to appreciate Toril in its fullness. And now, it is your turn to learn those truths."

Truth #1: A Mirror of Our World

 

 

The Forgotten Realms campaign setting is a mirror of our own world, full of high adventure, treacherous villains, and ancient lore; it is a world of diverse peoples, of magic and mystery, and of stories, most importantly. The Forgotten Realms is the single largest shared universe in all of fiction, having more novels published in this single world with more authors than any other property. In many ways, Toril's lands are a reflection of our own: Kara-Tur is very much based on a fantasy version of medieval Asia; Zakhara is very much based on historical Middle Eastern history and Hollywood Arabian Nights-themed stories; Faerûn, the heart of the Forgotten Realms, is based on parts of Europe, European mythology and folklore, and in some cases, Africa and the Middle East. Certain cultures aren't just mirrors of our world, though, some are directly descended from ours: Unther, Chessenta, and Mulhorand are descended from people from our world, brought to Toril. Yet as much as the Forgotten Realms are a mirror of our world, it also undermines aspects we might find familiar: gods like Tyr, Mielikki, Lovithar, and Enlil are different from the version of these deities in our world.

What tale will you tell in these Forgotten Realms?

Truth #2: Toril is Old

Toril is an old world, older than even the formation of the world itself: Toril was originally Abeir-Toril, but was split in two during the Dawn War, with Toril belonging to the gods and the Primordials gaining control of Abeir. In the hundreds of thousands of years since then, many species and races have come to rule Toril's surface: dragons, giants, weirder creatures lost to common history. The time of the elves is over by many thousands of years, and now, it is the time of humanity and other mortal beings. Yet despite the time of these ancient empires and the ruins they left behind, traces continue to be found all across Toril's surface: far beneath Waterdeep is the ruins of a great dwarven civilization; collapsed flying cities of Netheril can be found deep in the ice of the Icewind Dale; time is irrelevant to the many djinni overlords of Calimsham. The ancient history of Toril is no less important than the modern political squabbles and ancient evils are uncovered daily in the Forgotten Realms.

Where do you fall in this ancient history?

Truth #3: The Gods are Real

In many worlds, the gods are distant, or perhaps not even real: they rule as pantheons, or as singular gods. In the Forgotten Realms, not only is polytheism the default, but the gods are very real: they've walked the surface of Toril, and they live and die as many a mortal does, though death is not always permanent for the gods, archfiends, and celestials the way it is for mortals (though that's a different matter to worry about). Some gods still walk the world: these demipowers are powerful, nigh-god-like. In massive celestial upheavals, the gods are forced to Toril's surface and fight for their existence. The first such event, the Time of Troubles, saw the deaths of many prominent gods, such as Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul, or the ascension of some mortals to godhood, such as the mage Midnight becoming the new Mystra or her allies Kelemvor and Cyric becoming the Lord of the Dead and the Lord of Chaos, respectively. Yet these deaths and ascensions would prove temporary: with Mystra's death, the Weave, the fabric of magic itself, seemed to come across and create the Spellplague, while Bane and Bhaal both ensured their rebirth through a slew of mortal progeny who fought for control of the divine spark within them. After the recent Second Sundering, the gods were given a choice: step back from Toril and leave it to the mortals, or walk among them but face mortality. Most gods chose the former, but some, like Bane, Bhaal, and the reborn Myrkul, saw power in staying mortal, and walk the face of Toril once more.

What role do the gods play in your life?

Truth #4: A Grand Cosmic Stage

 

Toril is but one of many worlds in the Great Wheel, a model of understanding the multiverse. Spelljammers take flight from Shou Lung headed for distant worlds like Krynn or Oerth, while portals carry makes like Elminster between worlds, to the Elemental Chaos, to the Seven Heavens of Celestia or the Endless Abyss, or even to the City of Doors, Sigil itself. Yet of all worlds, it seems to be Toril that has the most command over the interest of gods and mortals, producing great heroes like Elminster and Drizzt whose tales are renowned across the planes. The gods fight proxy wars in Toril: where they would risk too much with a direct assault, gods like Tiamat and Bahamut face each other in avatar form on worlds like Krynn and Toril, where they put a fraction of their power into those worlds in a bid to gain more power or prevent other gods from getting more powerful. Toril, being an old world facing regular divine intervention, is an ideal world to do so.

Yet many eschew this view, wanting to have their world and lives left well alone by these cosmic forces. While many a priest and cultist seeks to act out their gods' will, and conflicts rage from plane to plane, there are those who would just as soon do taxes and laundry instead of save the world or the multiverse itself from the cosmic plots of gods and heroes.

How do you play into the grand cosmic game?

Truth #5: Magic is Woven into Everything

 

 

Magic works differently in every world of the Material Plane, dictated by the gods and creators of those worlds. Yet though Overlord Ao created Abeir-Toril from the Primordial Chaos, magic has been woven into everything to do as it will, and in time developed its own will. Today, that will's name is Mystra, the Mistress of Magic, who commands the power of the Weave, the art of magic itself. Magic is woven into every corner of the Forgotten Realms, even preventing some technology from interfering: gunpowder, for example, is magically made useless once it enters Toril. The Weave is the envy of all the gods, with Mystra being one of the most powerful and thus one of the most commonly sought out to destroy by enemies of reality itself, and Mystra has died no less than three times in Toril's history, dying at the Fall of Netheril (as a man), reforming into Mystra who died once again in the Time of Troubles but was reborn as the mage Midnight, thus preventing the collapse of Toril. When Midnight was slain by Cyric, the Weave was irrevocably damaged, sending blue fire across the face of Toril and bringing Toril into conflict with Abeir for the first time in millennia. Called the Spellplague, the servants of Mystra in the world were harmed, and other fake magic systems imitating the Weave, like Shar's Shadow Weave, collapsed, but over time, the Weave was reworked and Mystra reborn. Through magic, disease is rare in Toril; through magic, life and death are commonly not so clear. Magic touches everything, and everything flows with magic.

How has magic affected you?

[Gregorotto]

"When I tell my friends in Sigil that every year has a name on Toril, they scoff at me, thinking this an exaggeration. I have little room for such things in my life as exaggeration, and thus often have to produce the hefty list of names of years for them: for the Prophecies of Alaundo are long, and the year names often enigmatic even in retrospect. Why was it called the Year of the Warrior Princess? Why will this year be the Year of the Three Sails? Some years are obvious: the Year of Blue Fire is quite obviously a reference to the Spellplague, making Alaundo's sight long and troubling indeed. I look forward to 1500: the Year of the Sea's Secrets Revealed!"

Time in the Forgotten Realms is recorded differently than it is in our world, and for the better: while Toril has 365 days, weeks and days are run differently. Instead of weeks, they divide months into tendays, which are literally ten day intervals. There are 12 months in the year, corresponding to the faces of the moon. Every month has 30 days, divided into 3 tendays, with a number of holidays dividing months from time to time, with solstices and equinoxes interspersed within. This is known as the Calendar of Harptos.

While many cultures have many calendars based on a number of things, the most commonly used is Dale Reckoning outside of Shou Lung and Zakhara. Beginning in Year 1, the Year of Sunrise, each year is marked by a name, drawn from the list Augartha the Mad who wrote a name for each year between what is -700 Dale Reckoning (DR) to the year 1600, nearly a century from now. Alaundo of Candlekeep took this list and edited it, and thus many think him responsible for its creation: some years he did name, as Augartha's list was damaged, but the names prove no less apt. Most names have borne fruit, referring to events great and small, yet most remain relatively unknown to history.

This game begins in the year 1492 DR, the Year of Three Ships Sailing. Below, see a reckoning of the Calendar of Harptos.

Edited September 15, 2023 by Gregorotto (see edit history)

[Gregorotto]

"The cultures of Toril are plenty and the languages are diverse as its people. Many languages hail from our own world, and are unique therein: elves do not speak our tongue in the distant shores of Oerth or Krynn, while other languages, like Infernal and Abyssal, are the same on every plane. Yet others, like Chessentan and Mulhorandi, are derived from other, older worlds in the universe, brought here by migrants from other worlds. But no matter what tongue you speak, remember this: don't step on my coat, or muutan sinusta uudeksi!"

For my games, I prefer to use real-world languages and provide translations when using foreign languages, as I like to incorporate a feeling of real culture into my worlds. You don't have to be fluent in these languages: you can instead use Google Translate or the resources provided below!

Interested in using some authentic native Forgotten Realms speak? Use this repository to find new ways of saying breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as creative new curse words!

Select Human Languages of Faerûn

Faerûn Language	Real-World Language	Notes and Resources
Common	English	Common terms of FR
Chondathan	French
Illuskan	German
Damaran	Latvian
Chessentan	Greek	It's actually Greek
Rashemi	Russian

Select Non-Human Languages of Faerûn

Faerûn Language	Language Basis	Notes and Resources
Elvish	FR Translator	FR Elven dictionary
Sylvan	Welsh	Use FR Elven liberally
Dwarven/Dethek	Dwarf Fortress Translator	Dethek Dictionary, 2
Gnomish/Gnim	Finnish	Gnim Dictionary
Halfling/Luiric	Estonian	Luiric Dictionary
Orcish/Daraktan	Black Speech of Mordor	Daraktan Dictionary
Goblin/Ghukliak	Random Translator	Ghukliak Dictionary
Draconic/Aklave or Glav	3e Draconic Translator	Glav Dictionary
Giant/Jotun	Icelandic	Jotun Dictionary
Undercommon	Undercommon Translator (random NSFW within)	Undercommon Dictionary
Kobold/Yipyak	Use Draconic Notes	Make it more barky
Goliath/Gol-Kaa	Klingon	Use Jotun too
Gith	Urdu	Gith Dictionary
Tabaxi	Nahuatl

Other Languages

Planar Language	Real World Language	Notes and Resources
Celestial	Enochian
Infernal	Latin
Abyssal	Go nuts	Abyssal Dictionary
Primordial	Proto-Indo-European
Druidic	Irish