D&D General What are the boundaries of what counts as part ot Forgotten Realms?

[James Gasik]

As far as Spelljammer goes, I'm pretty sure the Rock of Bral was in Wildspace. Wheellock pistols came to the Realms from a visiting Spelljammer. Given that Toril is lousy with portals to other worlds, and cross-pollination has always been a part of the setting, I'm not sure there is a good line to draw about what is/is not part of the Forgotten Realms.

 

[TwoSix]

What about Abeir? Or do we not talk about that?

Abeir is the Bruno of settings.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Thankfully that insanity was done with by 1993 and Dragonlance kinda stopped being a thing.

That’s because the gnomes blew it up.

 

[Zardnaar]

That’s because the gnomes blew it up.

Possibly. I think it was Dragonlance was more novel based. Never really caught in terms of game table.

Then the metaplot and change to Saga kinda killed it for everyone who wasn't a hard core DL player.

 

[Ringtail]

"Canonically," the Forgottem Realms is connected to many worlds via portals, including Earth. Lorwyn can be its own distinct setting that is not part of the Realms, and also have a portal connecting it to the Realms. Also, as of 4e, the Feywild invaded the isle of Gwynneth and established the nation of Sarifal, which was also previously home to a hidden wood elf enclave like Rivendell. Thematically its on point.

I don't know the details of this supplement, so I can't say how much impact it will have on "greater realms lore" without reading it. But given that its one of these mini "DLC supplements" and not part of the main book, I figured its just a fun little crossover. D&D is a "multi-verse" basically.

All somewhat pointless however. This is not the first time Wizards (or even TSR for that matter) has added unpopular additions to the Realms. Your best bet is to just pick what you like. As you've seen, everyone has their own opinion on what "fits" or doens't. Maztica, Kara-Tur and Zakhara were not part of Ed's FR, but they are "official" products. The Spellplague was controversial to say the least, and I personally find the lazy full retcon that is the second-sundering nearly as offensive. Hell, the Moonshae Isles were not even Ed's, they were lifted entirely from Douglas Nile's books and just pasted over what was already there. There's even an image out there of Nile's Moonshae's map hastily taped over the original.

 

[aco175]

What is the border of the United States? Most think of the 50 states and can picture a map with a bunch of land between the two oceans. Some might argue that it is only the original 13 colonies since the rest is just add-ons. Some might include territories such as Samoa or Puerta Rico since those people there are citizens. What about the capital, Washington DC, it is a Federal District. It gets a congressman that does not vote, but gets electoral votes in elections. A few might include military bases and even diplomatic consulates, throwing out the technically word. Is everyone right?

I'll skip over the part of states and commonwealths.

What is Forgotten Realms- whatever you want I guess.

 

[Stormonu]

What about Abeir? Or do we not talk about that?

Abeir was a retcon attempt to shoehorn in 4E's RealmShaking Event (TM) and explain the new races and other rule changes for that edition. I'd certainly be fine with discounting it completely, and it was the reason I went back to the original Grey box myself (I have a similar opinion of the revised Dark Sun boxed set).

 

[Yaarel]

I've been wondering about this even before the Lorwyn scandal.

To me, base minimium Toril is Forgotten Realms, but some folks concider Al Qadim or even Kara Tur as separate settings, instead of subsettings within the Forgotten Realms like Arcane Age.

Abeir is would also be 100% Forgotten Realms, could they treat it as separate? Sure, but honestly I think even WotC sees it as part of FR.

From this point I think things become interestingly debatable as FR starts over lapping with other settings.

Realmspace is it more Forgotten Realms, Spelljammer, joint custody, something else?

And the divine afterlives, Fugitive Plane seems 100% FR as no other setting seems to use it, but what about Godly domains that are specific to FR Gods like Shar, Selune, Torm, Bhaal, etc...?

And what of the ecoplanes? I think the Feywild & Shadowfell mirrors of Toril other worlds in Realmspace would count as FR, but not say Feywild & Shadowfell the mirror worlds for Oerth.

It just seems messy compared say Star Trek or Star Wars, Middle Earth, Doctor Who, etc..., which have harder barriers then FR.

Warhammer is somewhere in the middle between D&D settings and most other fantasy/sci fi settings.

Thoughts?

Essentially, if its planet Toril, then it is Forgotten Realms.

But it gets blurry because if something is culturally specific and on planet Toril, then it is still Forgotten Realms even if it is on other planets. For example, if the religions of planet Toril are happening on other planets, then all those planets are defacto Forgotten Realms as well.

D&D 2014 has core rules that are defacto Forgotten Realms.

However, D&D 2024 core rules are no longer the case. 2024 as-is is genuinely more setting neutral, equally useful for Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun, Eberron, Strixhaven, Theros, or any other setting. D&D 2024 requires the gaming table to choose a setting during session zero. If players want Forgotten Realms, then the DM needs to make an effort to introduce it.

 

[Yaarel]

Everyone knows this, but it is worth pointing out, a "setting" comes in different sizes.
• Planar Setting (typically "core" multiverse, but not necessarily if homebrew or Magic The Gathering)
• World Setting (typically planet Oerth of Greyhawk or planet Toril of Forgotten Realms)
• Regional Setting (on Oerth typically Flannaess subcontinent, and on Toril typically Western Faerun)
• Local Setting (most important and plug-and-playable) (Blackmoor, Greyhawk, Neverwinter, Menzoberranzan)

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Everyone knows this, but it is worth pointing out, a "setting" comes in different sizes.
• Planar Setting (typically "core" multiverse, but not necessarily if homebrew or Magic The Gathering)
• World Setting (typically planet Oerth of Greyhawk or planet Toril of Forgotten Realms)
• Regional Setting (on Oerth typically Flannaess subcontinent, and on Toril typically Western Faerun)
• Local Setting (most important and plug-and-playable) (Blackmoor, Greyhawk, Neverwinter, Menzoberranzan)

I think regional settings are usually considered subsettings, although sometimes they just call them settings because its all not really codified. Heck they sometimes refer to the whole D&D multiverse as a setting.