Lost Tales of the Forgotten Realms
Welcome to my vision of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. Herein you will find how my alternate Realms differ from the Official Forgotten Realms of TSR and WOTC.
In essence, the official version of the Reams has been made piecemeal over a 15 to 16 year period without a single guiding hand. Role-playing products, Computer games, and Novels have all shaped its future. In many of those cases, it has been shaped rather poorly, in my view. I had always felt the core ideas of the Realms made for a great D&D world, just that in the end too many cooks in the kitchen have ruined what once was a very good stew.
General Differences
As you will see later, some of the history of the Realms will be altered quite subtly, but the results of which will prove very noteworthy. These small changes in history will result in a Realms where magic, though still somewhat common, is not the all permeating force it I has been historically. E.g.: You are not going to find an abundance of magic shops; in fact you might not find any, ever! Then again, you may. The Red Wizards are not peddling magical goods all over Faerun like used car salesman. Spellcasters are not as common, and in the vast majority of cases magic items will need to be found, stolen, or won! That is not to say you wont find a Red Mage here or there peddling a potion or two, but it will not be the mission statement of their entire order.
It is worthy to note that these changes make many of the grandiose iconic personalities of the Realms less powerful than they are currently written (though woe be to any foolhardy adventurer who would think they are NOT powerful: only less so than written officially). The Simbul is not single-handedly fending off the nation of Thay, but she is a mighty sorceress. Nor is Elminster the Sage a demi-god who shrugs off the threats of a Legion of Demons like water off a ducks back, yet he is fully capable of handling most mortal threats, and many extraordinary threats as well. And who is to say which affairs the wizened-sage will decide to meddle in?
Another aspect Ive not often agreed with is the overabundance of certain foes that in my opinion should be rare and special in a D&D game. First to come to mind of course are the Drow. What was once a race of supremely evil beings know only to a few, is now a common enemy that any barmaid has run into on one occasion or another. This also applies to Extraplanar creatures; i.e. Tieflings, Genasi, Demons, Devils, etc. It seems lately that every EVIL MASTERMIND of the Realms is some sort of half-demon, half-fiend, vampire, or other kewl template. While those types of villains used sparingly are indeed very cool, having one in charge of every evil power group in the Realms along with several minions of similar type is bland and rather silly. In my Realms the Dragons, Drow, and Extraplanars are rare indeed, and not xp boosters. You have been warned.
Then there is the hokey-ness. Silly monsters, Cities full of Adventurers, Entrances to the most fabled of Dungeons in a barroom floor somewhere, common knowledge to all, and complete with an innkeeper who charges entrance fees. While the dungeon or city in question may exist, it may or may not be quite the same as you thought, or even be in the same place.!
The majority of things will remain the same. Shadowdale is still a sleepy backwater village home to Elminster the Sage. Watedeep is still a bustling cosmopolitan city. The Zhenatrim still exist and wish to control trade and the entire Heartlands of the Realms. Cormyrwellwe shall leave that for later exploration.
In conclusion, this essay essentially documents a tone-ing down of the Realms, an effort to bring it back more in line with its fresh and exciting roots as a campaign setting for the 1st Edition AD&D game, while also juggling some of the events that have happened along the way up to and including the changes brought out by the FRCS published by WOTC in 2001 to update the world to the 3rd edition rules.
Key Changes in History (rough draft)
Time of Troubles (1358 DR)
Mystra destroyed. Midnight the mortal is only able to absorb a small part of the former Goddess power. The Weave begins to slowly fade. Many minor magics that once were are no longer.
Lord Bane is destroyed, but manages to transfer a small reminder of his divine essence to his son Iyachtu Xvim.
The Spider Queen Loth and Correllon Larethain war on another plane and lose contact with their faithful. Loths clergy lose control over the Drow cities w/out the strong hand of their Goddess, and civil war erupts throughout the underdark. Hundreds of thousands of Drow destroy each other. Correllon triumphs against the Queen of the DemonWeb and although not destroyed, she is injured severely. She returns to find the vast majority of her faithful dead. She vows to revenge, in time, and the drow delve deeper under the surface to lick their wounds and recuperate. Drow sightings/incursions above ground cease.
The town of Shadowdale survives the battle w/ Banes Zhent army, but at great cost: many notable inhabitants die defending the town, or disappear.
By 1365 DR
The Zhentarim have splintered between the churches of Cyric and Xvim: Xvim having the llons share of followers and greatest presence. Cyric loses several of his portfolios to others, effectively becoming a lesser deity. He is slowly driven mad by being given such great power during the ToT. In his growing madness, he makes war upon Zhentil Keep and the Xvim followers. While he does not succeed completely, Zhentil Keep suffers greatly and looses its death grip around the Moonsea area. With the help of Xvims Church, led by Fzoul Chembryl, Manshoon and his Zhentarim re-build, but it will take much time for the Zhents to regain their former stature. Many towns in the Moonsea area such as Phlan, grow and prosper with Zhentil keep now focused on rebuilding.
The Elven Retreat winds down as those who are left and wish to leave for Evermeet do so. The great forest of Cormanthor lies mostly silent. Though a few bands of elves remain, much of the forest is unoccupied, and several groups of bandits and humanoids move to inhabit the vast woodland.