Deadhouse Gates

The Realms encompasses both one fantasy world and all fantasy worlds. Whatever you look for in fantasy can be found on Faerûn, the setting of the Forgotten Realms game. Dragons fly the night skies, valiant heroes seek fame and fortune, the gods themselves speak through their pious servants, and mysterious wizards hunt the secrets of magics lost in time.

The primary focus of the setting is the continent of Faerûn, part of the world of Abeir-Toril, an Earth-like planet with certain obvious influences and similarities from the real world and fantasy fiction.

The Forgotten Realms setting owes a lot of its popularity to the many novels using the setting, like R. A. Salvatore’s works detailing the life and adventures of the famed drow Drizzt Do’Urden, as well as computer games like Pool of Radiance, Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale and Neverwinter Nights.

Legends and faerie tales come alive here, whether in the noble kingdom of Cormyr, the desolate wastes of Anauroch, or the mysterious forested glades of Cormanthor, home to elves and freedom-loving folk alike. Learn of lost magical kingdoms like fallen Netheril and long-buried dwarven realms like Ammarindar, or discover the wonders of living realms such as Evermeet, the fabled haven of elves, or Waterdeep, the City of Splendors.

All told, the world of the Realms provides all the wonder, awe, magic, and majesty that D&D promises for fantasy games and so much more!

History

Time of Troubles

The Time of Troubles was a cataclysmic time period in the history of the Faerûn. Taking place during 1358 DR, the Year of Shadows, the Time of Troubles was a period during which the deities of Faerûn were forced to walk the earth in their mortal avatar forms. Several major deities died during the Time of Troubles and a handful of mortals rose to divinity.

Present day

The interpretation of the term “present day” in the Forgotten Realms depends entirely upon the context in which it is used. Dungeon Masters are free to use the first edition, second edition, third edition or fourth edition sourcebooks to form a setting for their games of D&D. Alternatively, they may set their games at any point during the Realms’ past or future. The novels set in the Realms cover a wide variety of time periods too. This wiki does not focus on one specific time as being the “present day” – instead, it endeavours to provide specific date references where possible.

Geography

The planet of Abeir-Toril consists of several large continents, including Faerûn, the focus of the setting, which was first detailed in the original Forgotten Realms Campaign Set, published in 1987 by TSR. The other continents include Kara-Tur, Zakhara, Maztica, Anchorome, and other as-yet unspecified landmasses. Kara-Tur, roughly corresponding to ancient East Asia, was later the focus of its own publication, Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms, released in 1988.
Various products detailing specific areas of Faerûn have been released, and much of the continent has been heavily detailed and documented to create a highly developed setting.

In early publications about the setting, The Realms shared a unified cosmology with various other campaign settings. In this way each of the Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings were linked together to form one interwoven world connected by various planes of existence. With the release of the 2001 Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, the setting was given its own distinct and separate cosmological arrangement, with unique planes not explicitly connected to those of the other settings.

Realmspace

The Forgotten Realms world of Abeir-Toril is but one of several other worlds in the Realmspace crystal sphere. To the natives of Faerun, the wildspace above their heads is known as the Sea of Night. The two closest worlds to the sun in the middle of Realmspace are known as the Dawn Heralds, and they are barely visible only at sunset or sunrise. Beyond Abeir-Toril further out in the crystal sphere are the Five Wanderers, five worlds which flow through star-rivers in an uneven course through wildspace. Some of these worlds are inhabited by humans, dwarves, and orcs, but also more sinister races such as illithids and beholders.

You can find more information about the Forgotten Realms World at Wizards official Forgotten Realms Website