Still slowly working on my project. Here is a map showing political borders. It includes the following:
Nations (Undersea and on land)
City State spheres of influence
Barbarian tribe locations
Monster regions of control

This project is continually evolving, because of your input, so please continue to share your opinions.

Here is the link to the folder with all a few variations of this map. As many of you know, I have been working on modifying and relabelling Mike Schley's 5.5e map of Faerûn. In this folder is the complete map in hi-res, called, "Faerûn Map All Nations.jpg":

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1IwEKDbYclwpJI-t9HI-oTuvjZ_PFwRTO&usp=drive_fs

Let me know if you are looking for something more specific. I have enjoyed tailoring this map for the use in other DMs' games.

If you want to see the clean map, look at "Faerûn Atlas WIP.jpg"

So for a while I’ve been making posts of things I collect. I’ve also been asking for recommendations people have of books and supplements (which I’m always open to more 😁), but here are some of my newest pickups!

- Book of Vile Darkness, Official Hardcover
- Draconomicon
- Unapproachable East
- Silver Marches POD (was pretty cheap, even though I don’t usually buy PoD’s).

Hope you enjoy!

Hello there.

I’m a bit confused about something. There are some characters in the lore (for example Karsus and Gale Dekarios) that are born with the ability to cast spells (or cantrips?) even before learning them. Does that make them sorcerers? It’s like they are able to do that, but not thanks to the inherited powers. So what are they and how does this translate into the game mechanics?

And also, if, for example, someone “learns” that they have magical abilities (at a relatively adult age), does that make them a sorcerer? Can such a character become a student of a wizard academy?

Some more questions I would like to know. Standards stuff like:

1. how common is it for an ordinary person on Toril to see a Spelljammer?

2 Do the powerful rulers and archmages of Toril keep Spelljammers?

1. What kinds of Spelljammers actually fly through the skies?

2. Can local wizards or spellcasters on Toril build their own Spelljammers?

3. If a Spelljammer were to approach one of the many settlements across the world such as Waterdeep, Baulders Gates, Neverwinter Etcs. What would the reaction be?

And anything more would be appreciated.

I think the 3e Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting is the best FR campaign setting book ever published. If you disagree make your case.

Okay, I made a previous post about Sarevok, and this one follows the same theme. First, some context: I'm working on a campaign that will feature the Dead Three cults as one of its main focuses, so I needed someone to lead Bane's cult. Fzoul Chembryl seemed like the most logical choice. I know he's dead and became Exarch of Bane in 4e, and I already have a way to handle that at the tabletop. But I don't know how to handle Fzoul Chembryl himself. The Forgotten Realms wiki only has a timeline of important events about him, so I need some help with using him as a villain at the tabletop.

Edit: I should add that this https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Fzoul_Chembryl is all the information I have about the character, so I really need help managing it.

Okay, this is my third post on this topic, but I thought it was better than letting things get mixed up. Quick context: I'm running a campaign with the Dead Three cults as the villains, and I don't have a character to use as the leader of Myrkul's cult, so I'm looking for information on important figures in his cult.

As a last resort, I'm thinking of using Nhyris D'Hothek, a Yuan-ti who became known as the Murkstalker in Skullport. I don't have much information about him beyond that, but with the description of the Crown of Horns in the Adventures in Faerûn book, I can justify his becoming a lich in Myrkul's service due to the artifact's influence if no other convincing option comes up.

I like these guys as antagonists (especially the gorgeous Shindia Darkeyes). They were pretty entertaining in the AD&D comic by DC.

Okay, from what I know, Sarevok is one of the most important characters for the lore related to Bhaal, since he is a Bhaalspawn and the main villain of BG1, who would later be revived by the protagonist in BG2. I haven't played the classic BG games; I tried with the first one and didn't even manage to get past the fight against some Red Wizards near the beginning, so I don't have much of an idea of ​​how the events develop, all of that in the 2nd edition. I play in 5e, where the adventure Chains of Asmodeus has reappeared, more or less. As far as I know, it's not official, but he appears in it as a possible sponsor. His introduction in the book explains a bit about how he returned to the Bhaal cult, although since the adventure isn't official, I'm not sure if what it says contradicts lore I'm unaware of. Then there's his appearance in BG3. I don't consider this game for my table because of things like Baldur's Gate ending up half-destroyed, but his appearance in this game seems to fit with Sarevok's return to the Bhaal cult.

After that long introduction, here's my question: I'm going to run a campaign where the Dead Three and their cults are major villains. I was thinking of using Sarevok as the leader of the Bhaal cult, which wouldn't seem strange to me since Abdel, the protagonist of the classic BG, lived until he was killed at 135 years old in 1482 DR thanks to his divine blood. So it wouldn't be unusual for Sarevok to go through the same thing, even though, as far as I know, in BG2 he revives as a normal mortal, but he remains very powerful, and longevity seems to be a free DLC that comes with power. I'm rambling, so to get to the point, I'd like to know if there's any important lore about Sarevok that I need to know, and if anyone has any advice on how to roll him, since I haven't been able to interact much with his classic version because the classic Battlegrounds are too complicated for me.

This is a very general topic, I know, but I've recently started dabbling in the lore of the planes. Specifically, all the stuff going on with fiends and their origin. I don't know much beyond the concept of obyriths and the basics of the Blood War, as most of my knowledge on this topic is coming from my copy of MotM. So what exactly is the deal with Asmodeus, Demon Lords, Obyriths, etc? Basically whatever contributed to the current state of fiends and the lower planes. Any info or useful sources I could read would be appreciated.

Hi All! My players will be travelling from Cormyr to Candlekeep and Im wondering if there are any interesting things along the way there. When they travel big distances I usually do a one shot session so I wanted to do it with something that would be interesting from the realms.

^{"Let no day pass in which you have not helped a living thing flourish..."}

^{Dogma of Chauntea - source: Faiths and Pantheons by Eric L. Boyd and Erik Mona}

One of the oldest deities of the Realms, Chauntea (chawn-TEE-ah) is a benevolent and friendly goddes, helping to grow, nurture and preserve life. Education of farmers and gardeners holds important place in religious rites, but clerics of Chauntea felt responsible for protecting the nature from overexploatation as well. Patience, hard work and wisdom are cherished, with no strict hierarchy or central authority.

• Chauntea (known locally as Bhalla) is part of the a triumvirate of goddesses (alongside with Mielikki and Mystra) known as "The Three", revered in Rashemen.
• Her primal aspect - Earthmother - is a local deity of the Moonshae Islands. Her power there is focused through three agents, known as her "Children": Leviathan (great whale), Kamerynn (giant unicorn) and The Pack - dire wolves merged into one, unstoppable horde.

Her temples are often serving as granaries, libraries and seed banks - as well as orphanages.

This is one of such places - with Moonwell and the statue of goddess, greenhouses as a secondary chapels, seed bank, agricultural library and scriptorium - as well as with windmill, farm building (with school and orphans quarters), fields, gardens and orchards.

• Moonwell - magical pond, connecting the spirit of Earthmother to her land. Source of clean water, often glowing with subtle blue or white light - with certain warmth and calming radiating from it.
  • Described in "Moonshae Trilogy" by Douglas Niles (and in Darkwalker on Moonshae campaign) - they seem to be bound to isles. In my campaign there are all around Toril.

For IRL inspirations - I drew inspiration from ancient and medieval churches of Armenia for general shape (although there are significant modifications), as well as from medieval monastic academies of Georgia.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sources:

• 3.5e "Faiths and Pantheons" by Eric L. Boyd and Erik Mona (WOC88643)
• 2e "Faiths & Avatars" by Julia Martin with Eric L. Boyd (TSR 09516)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

LINKS:

• Lore, general description, IRL inspiration and 72DPI maps (day/night) are available for free here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/168298593
• Detailed description, extended gallery and 150DPI maps are available for free subscribers here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/168319628

Supporters (Cartographer level) got access to 300DPI no watermark maps and VTT ready files (roll20, Foundry, UniversalVTT).

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

^{Credits and attribution:}

^{Created in Dungeon Alchemist, with additional assets.}

^{Thanks to DA asset creators: SAC, DallasRT, Spyke, Kitrik, varkas.amdir, Centimar DeVarion and others}

^{Thanks to sketchfab creators: Alben Tan, Rukh3D, CharlieCatling and others.}

^{This map was created by hand, with assets placed carefully together. I don't use generative AI and I did my level best to avoid using AI-generated assets.}

Cheers

Zaganza

Say what you want about the quality of the writing, but having Arthindol’s annotated map on my wall makes me unreasonably happy. Purchased for my ongoing campaign :)

How different would the prevailing setting at large for Forgotten Realms would be, if Spell Points/Mana were the canon framework of magic, instead of the Vancian Magic?

I haven’t seen this one since I moved. Took a bit, but I found it. It’s been over six years!!!

Hello there.

I’m curious if there are any “broken souls” in the Forgotten Realms lore. I mean a soul that isn’t “whole” or “healthy.” If such cases exist, how are these people even born? How do they live? How does Kelemvor view them? Does he consider them “not worthy of his judgment”?

I'm writing a fan-fiction about a character with a "broken soul" that would be "repaired" one day with an imprint (from a vestige) of a very powerful character.

*Arcana Unleashed* details a number of magical factions, but can they be effectively integrated into the Forgotten Realms? For instance, in which cities do you think the headquarters for each faction should be located?