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The
World of the Realms
Faerun
is no more than a small territory hugging a larger world, which in turn is
only the third world of eight orbiting a central sun, which is entirely
encapsulated in a crystal sphere within a swirling chaos, which in turn is
only one in myriad alternate dimensions.
But for the races of Toril, for the elves and dwarves and gnomes
and halflings and humans, Faerun has a very important name: It is home.
Choose
a topic below or scroll down to see information from A Tour of the Realms
Abeir-toril
(AH-BEER Tor-RILL), more commonly called Toril, is the name of the orb
that Faerun and the Forgotten Realms are set upon, just as Earth is the
orb that Eurasia is set up(-)n. The
name is irchaic, meaning cradle of
life, and is rarely used in everyday speech.
Abeir-Toril is an Earth-sized planet dominated by a large continent
in its northern hemisphere as well as a number of other large landmasses
scattered about its surface. This
northern continent is called FaerCin in the west, Kara-Tur in the east,
and Zakhara in the south. It
is the primary purpose of this tome to deal with the western portion of
this huge landmass, in particular the region in Faerun between the Sword
Coast and the Inner Sea.
Abeir-Toril has a single satellite, Selone (also the name of the
goddess of the night sky and navigation).
This luminous, heavenly body is followed in its path across the sky
by a collection of shining shards, called the Tears of Sel6ne.
These tears are said to be nothing more than a cluster of ordinary
asteroids and debris that trail the moon in its path, yet the Tears remain
reflective and bright even when the moon is new in the sky.
In
addition to the moon, there are seven visible planets that wander against
the star-inisted sky. They
are dusky Anadia, green Coliar, blue Karpri and Chandos, ringed Glyth,
odd-appearing Garden, and disk-shaped H'Catha.
All follow regular paths around the sun.
The stars are distant and eternal, and form themselves into
patterns and constellations that each culture names according to its own
desires.
A
Torillian year is 365 days of 24 hours each.
An orbit of Selrine is roughly 30 days.
For further information on the calendar, refer to the Time in the
Realms section in the "Faerrin" chapter.
FaerCin
(Fay-ROON) is the cradle of the Realms, the heart of the FORGOTTEN REALMS'
campaign setting. In
discussion, Faerun and the Realms are used interchangeably.
Faer6n consists of the northwest quarter of the dominant continent
on Toril. It is bounded on
the west by the Trackless Sea, on the South by the Great Sea, on the east
by the wide expanses of the Hordelands, and on the north by the ice of the
uttermost north. The
continent includes a number of large off-shore islands, including Lantan,
Nimbrall the Moonshaes, fabled Anchorome, and Evermeet.
Beyond
the lands of Thay and Rashemen is a land of endless emptiness, paling with
its vast openness even the Shaar to the south or the Fields of the Dead in
the Western Heartlands. It is
a treeless land occupied by barbarian herdsmen and raiders, the hollow
link between FaerCin and Kara-Tur. It
is called the Endless Waste in old texts.
Its people call it Taan and themselves the Tuigan.
The modern natives of Faerun call it the Hordelands, for out of
this land came the engine of destruction known as the Horde.
Two
years after the Time of Troubles, the barbarian tribes of this land united
and like a swarm of ants surged westward into the lands of Faerun.
They conquered all that stood in their way, and even the Red
Wizards of Thay paid kind words and hard tribute to their majesty.
Under the leadership of Yamun Khahan, they boiled into the
civilized lands of the Unapproachable East.
The
Horde was turned back by the combined efforts of an alliance of western
nations under the leadership of King Azoun IV of Cormyr. Yamun Khahan was slain and the Horde disbanded, some of its
elements returning to their barren land, others settling on the lands of
their newfound conquests.
The
Horde has left its mark on the Realms, with a new flood of refugees and
immigrants moving westward into Impiltur and the Vast.
The Sea of Fallen Stars has carried these newcomers to all of its
ports and beyond, and new heroes and legends have erupted in their wake.
And
still the Hordelands sit like a watchful beast eying both FaerCin and Kara-Tur, and none know when they will erupt again in
another Horde, and who can turn it back
if they do.
Beyond
the emptiness of the Hordelands lies a mystical and magical land known as
Kara-TLir (Kah-rah-TOUR). It
is a region very different from the lands of the Realms, and in the
past only the hints of whispers of legends have come across that land to
this. With the coming of the
Horde and the wave of refugees pressed before it, more facts, legends, and
tales of this land have passed from talespinner to talespinner.
Many stories that cannot be placed elsewhere are said to come
"from Kara-Tur when the world was still new."
The
more amazing of the tales, of mortals passing through walls without magic,
steam-breathing dragons, or warriors with hidden powers, are easily
discounted or explained. However,
it remains that the lands of Kara-Tur are very much unlike the native
Realms.
Kara-Tur
is known for two of its great nations, Shou Lung and Kozakura.
Shou Lung may be the mightiest empire in the world, overshadowing
the early days of Mulhorand, and the entire empire is ruled from a central
city by an sage king advised by the spirits of his predecessors.
Kozakura is equally famous as an island of warriors where duty and
honor mean all to the loyal samurai and wandering ronin.
Kara-Tur's
influence on Faerun is only distantly felt, and then mostly in the form of
some tavern tale of great riches and wise dragons, or in some mysterious
artifact which appears in the court of a distant king.
However, there are occasional travelers, both merchants and
adventurers, from west to east and vice-versa, and care must be taken
before challenging one of Kara-Tur's legendary warriors in combat.
Beyond
Evermeet in the Trackless Sea is a continent until recently unrevealed,
known to its inhabitants as Maztica (Mahz-TEEka), the True
World. Its existence has
been hinted at in various tales over the millennia, but only with the
voyage of Captain Cordell in 1361 DR was the drape of isolation ripped
aside and the True World revealed.
Maztica
is a wild and almost untouched land, dominated by great jungles and thick
forests. Its peoples live
simply in small communities or religion-based city-states.
Their magics derive not from conventional (read "elder
kingdoms") forces, but through focii of feathers and claws.
The entire scope of these abilities, and the True World's new gods,
is unknown.
The
revelation of Maztica has had little effect on the bulk of the Realms, as
there are more than enough new places to go and new monsters to vanquish
without making a long sea voyage. The
greatest effects have taken place in the Empires of the Sands and the
island kingdom of Lantan, all of whom have laid claims to wide swaths of
the new land (without consulting those who were living on it before the
revelation). New riches have
poured into these lands, making their rulers more powerful, but sending
costs skyrocketing for commoners.
Six
years after the revelation, much is still unknown about this far land.
Maztican individuals and artifacts have been drifting into the
Realms, a subject of comment and curiosity.
The strange feather magic (pluma) and claw magic (hishna) have
daunted sages, new vegetables have appeared in Faerun,
brought from Maztica, and the warriors of Maztica, like warriors
throughout the world, are judged by the strength of their arms and the
spirit in their hearts.
Far
to the south, beyond the fabled lands of Halruaa and Luiren, of Durpar and
Var the Golden, is a very different world, as alien as Maztica and as
powerful as Kara-Tur. Located
on the far side of the Great Sea, it is a hot, dry land of deserts and
rocky mountains, its great cities hugging the coastlines for trade and
water. It is a land of magic
unknown in the north, of powerful monsters and more-powerful rulers.
It is known as Zakhara (Zah-KARRah), the Burning World, and the
Land of Fate.
Zakharan
culture at first blush seems to be related to that of the Empires of the
Sands, or the desert tribes of Anauroch, and indeed there may be a
long-distant connection, magical or otherwise.
But the Land of Fate is a solid, unified culture unsullied by what
the inhabitants laughingly call the Barbarian North.
Its gods are unified into a single pantheon, and its leaders call
heavily upon genies to solve every problem that confronts them.
Items such as djinn rings and flying carpets that are infrequently
encountered in the Realms are rumored to be sold on the open market in
Zakhara, and every person bom to that land is said to be royalty.
The distance the tales have traveled may distort the truth of such
claims.
Zakhara,
like Kara-Tur, is separated from Faer6n by a great empty expanse, such
that those who brave the Great Sea are most often adventurers and
merchants who seek the new, the novel, and the profitable.
The traveler should be warned, however, that Zakharans are firm in
their belief that they are much, much more advanced and civilized than any
other people, and treat others accordingly.
The
Realms are home to a myriad number of sentient races, most of which are in
direct competition with each other for land, food, and survival.
Humankind is the most successful of the major races in Faerun, but
the race's supreme position is by no means a sure and secure one.
Humans share their position with other older, generally benevolent
races: dwarves, elves (and human-elf hybrids), halflings, and gnomes.
Yet humans and the other elder races are regularly threatened by
goblins of all descriptions, underwater and underground races, and most
importantly, the powerful and dangerous dragons.
The
most populous and strongest of the major races of the Forgotten Realms,
humans are considered the dominant race in Faerun.
Humankind in Faerun comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors.
Individuals sometimes show the height of the halflings, the
stockiness of the dwarf, or the slenderness of the elf, yet remain
completely human. Human skin
color ranges from the pale, almost translucent Lantanese to the dusky,
dark-eyed natives of Unther, with all shades in between.
The
concept of subraces, common in other races such as halflings and elves,
does not exist in humankind. Alt
nationalities and races of humans can interbreed without difficulty, and
their children, unlike the elves, will have traits of either or both
parents. After a time, any
isolated group of humans tends to establish its own traits, which may
change in a few generations with the introduction of new settlers or
invaders. This easy
assimilation may account for the success of the race over others.
Humankind
is also one of the most aggressive of the major races, approaching the
goblins in ferocity and the dwarves in its single-minded drive when
aroused to battle. At any
time in the North, some group of humans, often with nonhuman allies, is
fighting some other group (usually of humans and nonhuman allies).
The dwarves think that humans battle indiscriminately among
themselves because their lives are so short and therefore meaningless.
The elves think they are aggressive because humanity has not yet
figured out how to communicate properly.
Humankind
has a spoken and written language that is accepted as Realmspeak and
Tradetongue even between nonhumans as a form of common language (and is
known casually as common) Humans have developed the idea of money beyond
the dwarven conception of raw ore accumulated into a maze of different
systems and coinage. They
have generated art and literature and commentary by the ton-load, as well
as raised the practice of slaughtering a foe to an art form and a science.
Humanity's
greatest advantage is its persistence and potential. No other race has as many special opportunities to increase
in power and ability and sees them through.
Most of the powerful and wise in the Realms are humans (as are most
of the pettyminded and cruel). Within
their own race, humans seem to provide equal chances to both males and
females. While the tendency
in many societies is for women to occupy a domestic role, there is little
resistance to a powerful female leader or proficient wizardess, should a
woman choose such a position as her goal in life.
Humankind's
attitudes range from the beatific to the diabolic, and its numbers include
clerics of good faiths, pirates, traders, kings, beggars, slaves, mages,
heroes, cowards, fishermen, and mercenaries.
Humanity's abilities are limitless, and the question has been asked
by some that when this race finally gets all the quirks out of its system
and gets moving, will there be any room left for the other races of the
Realms?
Considered
as individuals, dragons are the most dangerous creatures of the Realms.
A dragon in full fury may level an entire city, and one at play may
even destroy a party of brave knights.
These creatures vary in size and capabilities, but are generally
huge winged reptiles that can spit fire, acid, cold, or other fell
creations.
Dragons
come in two main types. The
chromatic dragons are those whose scales resemble enamelled armor-usually
red, green, black, white, or blue. The
chromatic dragons are usually darkhearted wretches devoted in equal parts
to their own feeding, wealth, and the suffering of others.
The metallic dragons have scales that shimmer like coins, and are
generally classified as gold, Silver, copper, bronze, and brass.
These creatures tend toward good and neutral alignments, or at
least seem more disposed to talk to humans than to devour them
straightaway (though if threatened, they will do so quickly and without
remorse). Such a listing is
not all-inclusive, and there are reports from a number of sages of yellow,
brown, purple, gemstone, and steel-colored dragons found along with more
common types.
Dragons
in the earliest days were the rulers of Faerun between the Inner Sea and
Sword Coast, and though they are now few (well, fewer), their individual
power remains great. With the
coming of elves and humans, the dragons retreated to the North.
Though
it is rare, some elder wyrim of the race still occasionally comes down
from the North or arouses itself from its decades-long sleep in some
forgotten dale and terrorizes those it encounters.
Rarer
still is one of the most deadly occurrences in the Realms, a fiight of
dragons. At such a time,
great numbers of chromatic wyrms of all ages descend from the North to
rain destruction down on all they encounter.
The last such fiight was over I 1 years ago, in the Year of the
Worm. Dragons of all shapes
and sizes came down from the lands beyond Thar into the area of the
Moonsea, the Dales, and Cormyr. The
destruction was extensive, almost ruining Phlan, damaging Zhentil Keep and
the Citadel of the Raven, and causing the death of Sylune, the Witch of
Shadowdale. The most destructive of the wyrms were killed by powerful
wizards and brave warriors, but a great many more took refuge in the
mountain fastnesses of the Storm Horns, the Thunder Peaks, and the
Desertsmouth Mountains, and continue to this day to raid outlying villages
and travelers.
Finally,
there seems to be a 300-year cycle called the Rage of Dragons, at the peak of which all dragonkind is affected.
The ancient kingdoms of Anauria and Hlondath may have been victims
of this form of attack. Not
enough information is available on the Rage of Dragons, and no one looks
forward to collecting more.
This
most recent flight of dragons is widely held to be the work of the Cult of
the Dragon, a mysterious group of people said to have devised strange
magical arts that give them mastery over evil dragonkind.
Other sages believe it to be some sort of ritual or cyclic behavior
on the part of evil dragons, rather than a concerted attack.
Among
both good and evil dragons, there is a code of honor that allows dragon
combat without resulting in death. Such
combat involves ritual battle with feints and pulled blows, each side
demonstrating the damage it could have inflicted.
This is the source of the legendary subdual of dragons, where the
brave hero gives the dragon a hard swat on the snout and the beast rolls
over and surrenders. In
reality, such subdual combat is the product of a stated challenge (in auld
wyrmish, an archaic dragon tongue), with the proper forms and appearances
observed. Individual dragons
may agree to such combat with humans, though they do not pull their
attacks when fighting nondragons in this fashion.
It should also be noted that since the Time of Troubles a decade
ago, there is no recorded instance of a dragon agreeing to such combat or
surrendering in this fashion to a mortal creature.
As
a general rule for dealing with dragons, intelligence and good manners are
the best weapons. Being able
to identify the creature and its tendencies are half the battle, as this
information is the foundation for good preparation (after all, that ring
of fire resistance is of little value if the dragon turns out to have
green scales instead of red). Dragons
are also very aware of their long-standing prestige and great wisdom and
are thus easily flattered. A
glib-tongued warrior may be able to make a deadly attack (or better yet
make a clever escape) when fighting a proud and vain dragon.
In
summary, dragons are intelligent, deadly, powerful, and wise.
Many have spellcasting abilities in addition to their other
attacks. Once they ruled this
land, and only through the determined actions and increasing numbers of
the other races were they driven north.
Treat them with caution.
The
dwarves of Faerun are a short, stocky people who seem to be a part of the
earth itself, ranging in shade and hue from a rich earth-red to a
granite-stone gray. Dour and
with a strong distrust towards magic beyond that which a magical axe can
lend, they appear to others as a withdrawn, moody people.
Dwarves
come in a wide variety of hair, skin, and eye colors, regardless of their
origin. The designations of
mountain, hill, and jungle dwarves are fairly artificial, and more a
matter of taste, closer to those humans who like the sea and those who
prefer the high country. Both
dwarven males and females have beards, though the females usually (but not
always) shave.
Dwarven
Life: Dwarves remain deeply tied to their roots and their sense of
family and nobility. Dwarven
nobles have declined in number with their race, and so are treated with
respect by all, despite any long-running feuds that may develop between
the dwarven kings. Loyalty and perseverance are considered dwarven virtues, and
very common among the wanderers (see below).
For this reason dwarven adventurers are often welcomed into
adventure companies as a source of stability, solid reason, and battle
prowess.
Shield
Dwarves: The dwarves are a people whose numbers in the North have
dwindled with the passing years. Their
overall population has been declining since the days when the dragons
controlled the lands of Cormyr and the Sunrise Mountains still spouted
flames and steam. Among the
dwarves, these northern dwarves are known as mountain dwarves to show
their home terrain, or shield dwarves
to reflect their battle prowess and history.
The
reason for the numeric decline of these dwarves is twofold: For ages the
dwarves have engaged in interspecies wars that bordered on genocide.
Their primary foes were orcs and goblins, who sought out the same
caverns and mines the dwarves considered their homes.
In ancient days a live orc was competition both for treasure and
for living space, and dwarven armies fought and died to protect and expand
their realms. Unlike the
goblin races, however, the dwarves were slow to recover their losses, and
in time their numbers have diminished so that in another millennium the
dwarf may join the duergahydra and the mornhound in extinction in the
Realms.
This
sense of racial loss hits all dwarves, and particularly shield dwarves,
deeply, and they tend be melancholy and defeatist.
They often throw themselves into their work, be it crafting blades
or seeking adventure. The
last vocation is extremely popular with the few younger dwarves of the
Realms, as the thinking is that if their dour dwarven gods have dealt a poor hand to the race,
the best one can do is perform great deeds, so that the race is remembered
in wondrous tales if not in descendents.
The
Hidden: The northern, mountain-dwelling dwarves also tend to divide
themselves by behavior into two categories: the hidden and wanderers.
The hidden are a reflection of the shield dwarven sense of their
loss and danger as a race. A majority of shield dwarves (and of dwarves in general) can
be classified as part of the hidden.
The hidden are reclusive and remain secretive about their homelands.
Because of this, the small kingdoms of the dwarves are known about
only in a general fashion. For
example, the dwarves of the Far Hills travel to Easting for trade, yet no
one knows if they are one community or several, and how they are ruled.
More common are those dwarves who identify their home as some
long-abandoned or enemy-occupied hold, such as the dwarves that were of
Hammer Hall, or those of the Iron House, who had been driven out of the
mines of Tethyamar.
Wanderers:
Another type of shield dwarf that has been on the increase is the dwarf
that seeks the company of humans in their towns and cities.
Most adventuring dwarves come from this background, and are
conversant in human styles and customs without abandoning their own
heritage. It has been
hazarded (but not voiced around dwarves) that they enjoy being around
other creatures more short-lived than they.
From such roving shield dwarves come tales of adventuring dwarves,
who enjoy the company of humans and even settle in their cities.
Such dwarves are known among their peoples as the wanderers.
Gold
Dwarves: As the race of dwarves dwindles in the North, one great
dwarven kingdom still thrives to the far South.
There the earth is rent in a great chasm that could swallow the
nation of Cormyr. Located on the rim of that chasm are the towers of the city
of Eartheart, and within the walls of that chasm is carved the huge
dwarven nation of Underhome, These southern dwarves are said to be very
different from their northern cousins-prouder, more haughty, and more
energetic. These dwarves are
called gold dwarves or hill
dwarves, the former name showing their wealth, the latter the terrain they
are more comfortable with.
Wild
Dwarves: Shield dwarves (both wanderers and the hidden) and gold
dwarves dominate the dwarven population of the Realms.
There are stories, though, of a savage dwarven offshoot in the
jungles of Chult, known as wild dwarves or jungle dwarves, but they have
been little seen beyond the borders of that great wood.
Wild dwarves are said to be tattooed, bloodthirsty savages, but
this may be an exaggeration.
Duergar:
Finally, deep beneath the surface of the earth dwells a race of
twisted dwarf-like creatures called the duergar.
Surface world dwarves view these creatures with a hatred that
exceeds that of the elves for the drow.
The dwarves deny any true kinship with this race, despite evidence
to the contrary.
Elves and the Elven Nations
The
elves are one of the major races of the Realms, and once ruled large
sections of the Realms after the time of the dragons and before the coming
of humankind. Now the
majority of these long-lived beings have retreated from the onslaught of
humankind, seeking quieter forests, and their numbers in the Realms are a
faction of those even a thousand years ago.
The
elves of the Forgotten Realms are of human height, but much more slender.
Their fingers and hands are half-again as long as a human's, and
delicately tapered, and their bones are light and surprisingly sturdy.
Elven faces are thinner and more serene, and elven ears, as are
ears in half a hundred known worlds, are pointed.
There
are five known elven subraces in the Forgotten Realms, and four of them
live in relative harmony. Cross-breeding
is possible between the subraces, but in the case of the elves, the child
will either take after the male or female parent's race (there are no drow-moon
elf mongrels, and the child of such an unlikely union would have either
all the traits of a dark elf or of a moon elf).
The subraces are:
Gold
Elves: Gold elves are also called sunrise elves or
high elves, and have bronze
skin and hair of copper, black, or golden blond.
Their eyes are golden, silver, or black.
Gold elves tend to be recognized as the most civilized of the elven
subraces and the most aloof from humankind and the other races.
The majority of the native elves of Evermeet are gold elves, though
the royal family are moon elves.
Moon
Elves: Moon elves are also called silver or gray elves, and are
much paler than gold elves, with faces of bleached white tinged with blue.
Moon elves usually have hair of silver-white, black, or blue,
though all reported colors normally found in humans and elves may be found
in this race. Their eyes are
blue or green, and have gold flecks.
They tend to tolerate humankind the most of the elven subraces, and
the majority of adventuring elves and half-elves are of moon elf descent.
Wild Elves:
Wild elves are called g-reen elves,
forest elves, and wood elves, and
are reclusive and distrusting of noneives, in particular humankind. Wild elves of the Forgotten Realms tend to be copperish in
hue with tinctures of green. Their
hair tends toward browns and blacks, with occasional blonds and
copper-colored natives. Their
eyes green, brown, or hazel. They
tend to be the least organized of the elven peoples, and while there is no
eiven nation made up entirely of wild elves, there are wild elves in every
other elven nation and on Evermeet.
Sea Elves:
Sea elves, also called aquatic or
water elves, are divided into two further divisions: those of the Great
Sea (includ-ing all its salt-water domains such as the Shining Sea and Sea
of Swords), and those of the Sea of Fallen Stars.
Great Sea elves are radiant in different shades of deep greens,
with irregular patches of brown striped through their bodies.
Fallen Star sea elves are various shades of blue, with white
patches and stripes. Both
have the full variety of eye and hair color found in all the elven peoples
and have webbed feet and hands and the ability to breathe water.
Dark Elves:
Dark elves, also called drow (pronounced to rhyme with now or how) or
night elves, comprise the most sinister and evil segment of the elven
race, as if this subrace seems to balance the tranquility and goodness of
their cousins with unrepentant maliciousness and evil.
Drow have black skin that resembles nothing so much as polished
obsidian, pale eyes (often mistaken for solid white), and hair of stark
white. The variations in
coloration present in the other elven subraces is missing here.
Most of this fell race has been driven underground, and it members
are shunned by the other elven subraces. (See also the Underdark Races
section.)
Elven Life: The elves call their own race
Tel'Quessir, which translates as the people.
Strangers, in particular nonelven Strangers, are generally placed
under the category N'Tel'Quess, or not-people.
Most elves treat the not-people with respect and politeness, as a
host would a stumbling child, though the drow fiercely enslave any who are
not of their race and consider the other elven subraces N'Tel'Quess.
The elves are generally ruled by hereditary noble houses that have
held control of their nations for generations (and given the nature and
long life of elves, the rule of a wise king may exceed the history of a
human nation). Elven rule is
autocratic and absolute, and it is the theology and philosophy of the
elves, which prevents abuse of such complete power.
The coronals (monarchs of the Elven Court) make their
pronouncements rarely, preferring to remain outside the normal course of
their subjects' lives. However,
once a decision is made and pronounced by a coronal whether to declare war
or retreat to Evermeet-it is followed by the bulk of the population.
The Retreat: The oddest phenomenon of elven life (to human observers)
is the Retreat, which is viewed as a lemming like drive to sail to the
farthest west, beyond the sea. In
the case of the elves of the Forgotten Realms, the reason is not some
biological drive, but rather the decision of the leaders of the elven
nations to withdraw to less hostile lands.
Such a decision was made after years (human generations) of
thought, discussion, and meditation.
Once made, it is irrevocable.
In the case of the recently voided Elven Court, the decision to
retreat was made some 500 years after deliberation began.
In the Year of Moonfall (1344 DR), the Pronouncement of Retreat
passed from elf to elf, and they began to quietly evacuate their homelands
along the Inner Sea. While
for humans the disappearance of the Elven Court is regarded as a sudden
vacuum in the heart of the Realms, for the Elven Court itself it was as
inevitable (and as important) as a merchant moving his shop farther down
the street to increase the distance from a competitor.
The
elves in Retreat usually make for Evermeet across the sea or Evereska on
the edge of the Great Sand Sea of Anauroch.
Those who reach Evermeet swear their fealty to Queen Amtaruil, who
is that domain's monarch. Lot-ig
ago the etven nation of Ever-meet made the decision to fight those humans
(and members of other races) who came to her shores, and as a result
Evermeet is both the strongest sea power in the Realms, and a haven for
the other elves in Retreat. Those
who choose not to abandon the Realms entirely join the community at
Evereska and seek to help defend Evereska's new colony in the Greycloak
Hills.
Those
elves on the Sword Coast and with easy access to the sea make the passage
to Evermeet by boat, protected by the Navy of the Queen. How those farther inland cross is not known, for none see
their passage out of the world of humankind.
Great magics and extradimensionat gates are assumed to be used,
though there have been tales of great butterflies carrying some elven
nobles westward.
The
Former Elven Nations: The former elven
nations of the Realms include Illefarn, where Waterdeep now rises from the
seacoast; Askavar, which is now called the W(.)od of Sharp Teeth, and the
Elven Court, which once ruled Cormanthor, the forest country that ran from
Cormyr to the Moonsea. Current
elven nations include Evermeet in its seaward seclusion and Evereska
(located in a mountain valley), with its colony in the Greycloak Hills.
In addition, there are scattered groups of elves found throughout
the realms, including wild elves, groups without noble rulers, and those
who are comfortable with the human population (usually younger elves).
The drow are not welcome among the elven nations and so have their
own lairs in the Underdark.
Adventuring
Elves: Adventuring elves are usually moon elves, though there are
wild and gold elves as well found among humankind's adventuring companies.
Sea elves and drow are much rarer in the surface world, but there
are notable exceptions.
The goblin races include all creatures such as kobolds, goblins, orcs,
and hobgoblins. Some sages
extend the definition to ogres, bugbears, trolls, and half-orcs.
Regardless of their defined content, the goblin races are by and
large uncivilized bands of sentient creatures that prey on other beings,
raiding and pillaging when they can, stealing quietly when they can't.
There has never been a great goblin nation or orcish empire, though
all the goblin races have been used as servants, lackeys, and
dragon-fodder for other more powerful individuals.
The
goblin races have existed in the Realms as long as the elves, for elven
histories have mention of the various creatures as brutish invaders
harassing the borders of their realms.
The goblin races have been involved in genocidal wars with dwarves
over their mountain peaks and with humans over the lowlands.
Usually the goblin races have been repulsed or crushed, but there
are still many ancient dwai-ven halls in orcish hands.
The
goblin races are generally underorganized and underequipped, and would
have been wiped out several times over were it not for their rapid
breeding cycle and high self-preservation instinct.
Faced with overwhelming odds, most members of a goblin race waver
and retreat, and for this the tag cowardly is usually added to the
collection of epithets that are used to decribe them.
The
goblin races tend to be cruel, evil, and malicious, aping humankind in
dress and title, but with a slant towards harm as opposed to help.
The greatest orcish citadels of the Desertsmouth Mountains are
governed by a king and royal court in a rough travesty of Cormyr.
Similarly, those goblins living beyond the range of the Lords of
Waterdeep tend to have lords who rule in disguise in the manner of the
Lords of Waterdeep. Such
kingdoms are pale shadows of human empires in that they are little more
than a handful of encampments or castles ruled by brute force.
Some
members of these races, particularly among the half-orcs and ogres, brave
the well-deserved hostile attitude of the rest of the world toward their
ancestry in order to seek to make an honest or good living, but these are
exceptions to the general character of these savage creatures. Caution is urged when encountering them in the wild.
The
gnomes of Faerun are a small, friendly race of humanoid creatures common
in most regions of the Realms. They
are smaller and less stocky than dwarves, and are thought to be distant
relatives of dwarves (though only gnomish men have beards).
The
faces of gnomes, regardless of age, are lined as if with centuries of
smiles and frowns, making these people appear to be carved from wood.
Their natural coloring, from a light ash color to maple to the
color of varnished and buffed Oak, increases the tendency to think of
gnomes as a woods folk-when they are thought of at all.
The
gnomes are called the forgotten folk of the Forgotten Realms, for despite
the fact they are an everyday sight in major cities and have good-sized
communities of their own, they seem unbothered by the world and similarly
only rarely become involved with it.
Gnomes have no history beyond the memory of the eldest clan member
and the songs of legend. They
have never developed their own written tongue, acquiring the written
language of those they live among for everyday use.
Unlike the elves, they have
no millennial heritage, and unlike the dwarves, no death-knell tomorrow.
As a result, they tend to take life as it comes, one day at a time.
Gnomes
are among the most common-sense beings of a world filled with all manner
of magical things. Their
natural tendency towards illusion craft has given them a wisdom to look
beyond the fancy trappings of speech and appearance to find out what is
really there instead of making them more crafty and cunning.
Gnomes value their families first, then whatever other relatives
they encounter, then other gnomes, then the world, in that order.
Gnomes
have no subraces, but since the Time
of Troubles a different sort of gnome has appeared in the Realms,
coming primarily from the South. These
gnomes are particularly interested in craft and artifice, including all
manner of sciences and invention. This
new breed of gnome is relatively rare, but counts among its numbers
primarily younger gnomes who venerate the god Gond Wonderbringer (who
resembles a gnome in their version of the faith).
Such gnomes are currently found as apprentices to smiths,
craftsmen, and wizards, and are eager to learn as much about the world
around them as possible. What they will do with this knowledge is as yet undetermined,
but given the legendary wisdom of the gnomes, everyday humans have little
to fear.
Half-elves are a mixture
of human and elf, and occupy the middle ground between the two.
They are stockier than elves, but thinner than humans, and may or
may not show the
distinctive, elven pointed ears.
They still have the slender and finely
chiseled facial features of the elven faces.
It is possible for a half-elf to pass as human or elf for brief
periods, but usually such duplicity is discovered.
Half-elves aire not a true race, but rather the product of the union of
human and elf, and as such they have no national or racial heritage other
than that of the area and family they have been brought up in.
A half-elf that has been raised in the Elven Court thinks like an
elf, while one from Aglarond thinks like a human, for the elven people
have been long bred into the general population there.
As a result of their hybrid heritage, half-elves tend to be
individualistic and their outlook and behavior varies greatly from person
to person. Many are
adventurers by nature, in that they Ire seeking their own niche in a world
where (to their eyes) they belong truly to neither major culture.
Half-elves take on some of the features of their elven subrace:
• Moon
half-elves tend to be pale with just a touch of blue around the ears
and at the chin.
• Wild
half-elves are very rare and tend to have copperish skin tinged
with green.
• Sea
half-elves tend to be a blend of the fleshtones of their human and
elven parents. For instance,
the child of a Lantan merchant and a Great Sea elf is likely to be a light
green.
• Drow
half-elves
are very rare and tend to be dusky-colored with silver or white hair
and the eye colors found in humans.
Regardless
of origin, half-elves have a universal set of common abilities (as
detailed in the Player's Handbook). A
drow half-elf does not gain additional drow powers, or a sea half-elf
water-breathing ability (save at the decision of the DM).
Half-elves may mate and
breed, but will always produce the offspring of the other parent (a
half-elf-elf pairing will produce elven children, while a half-elf-human
pairing will result in human children).
Second generation half-elves only result if two half-elves marry.
Halflings
are the smallest of the major races, and to observe their communities
outside cities, the most numerous (and growing).
They tend to resemble small street urchins, wise beyond their
years. The halflings of the
Forgotten Realms have a light covering of hairy down over most of their
bodies that is most noticeable on the backs of their hands and the tops of
their bare feet. Often their
faces are bare, though there are more than a few full-bearded halflings as
well.
The
halfling people have a saying: "First there were dragons, then
dwarves, then elves, then humans. Then
it's Our Tom!" This attitude that all things will turn out to their
benefit (and be served up to them on a silver platter) is typical of the
halfling mindset--cocksure, confident, and with more than a streak of
larceny to it.
A
halfling's appearance, similar to that of a small human child, belies the
fact that this is a race with the same basic needs as any other.
Halflings live in many of the same areas as humankind and may be
considered a competitor. Yet
rather than being overtly hostile, halflings have a smug, farsighted
-attitude that these lumbering giants (human beings) will eventually
leave, destroy themselves, or give themselves up, and that which remains
will be theirs.
This
is not to say that halflings as a race or as individuals are evil, for
they would do nothing to harm another unless harm had been inflicted on
them first. But the tendency
for them to take advantage is strong.
Many a human thieves' guild has as its master thief a small,
child-like creature who can sneak into and out of areas that larger folk
cannot manage.
Halflings
are delighted by the concept of money, which they consider a human
invention that redeems the race. They
enjoy gathering bunches of it, but unlike the dwarves with their ancient
hordes, they see no point in keeping it, and fritter it away on gifts,
parties, and purchases. Money
is a way of keeping score on how well one is doing against the world and
all its clumsy, lumbering races.
Halflings
come in all the same skin colors and with the same variety of hair and eye
color as humans. They tend to
respect their families as groups not to steal from (though borrowing is
permitted), and they show a strong loyalty to friends and those who have
stood up for them. There seem
to be only minor differences between the three major subraces of halfling:
hairfeet, tallfellow, and stout. (Their differences are as noted in the
Player's Handbook.) The subraces mix easily with each other and with other
races.
Halflings
excel at roguish tasks, and those who apply themselves in this area find
their talents welcome among adventuring companies and thieves' guilds.
As a result, halflings are as well-traveled and knowledgeable about
the world as humankind, if not moreso.
The crux of their knowledge is centered on immediate goals and
gratification, for it is not as important for a halfling to know who the
local lord is as much as to Scope Out the bill of
fare at the local tavern.
To the far South there is said to be a nation of halflings called
Luiren, whose inhabitants have pointy ears. Considering the fact that most of the other dominant races of
the Inner Sea came originally from the South, and the stated (if joking)
halfling intentions to eventually dominate all other races, the idea of a
halfling nation is somewhat disturbing.
The
giants of the Realms have always been a secondary race, involved in
battling whoever is on top. Their
earliest appearances are in tales in which they contended with dragons for
the control of the North, a battle that they usually lost, though their
weakening of the dragons may have eased the influx of elves and dwarves.
In battling with the dwarves for their mountain homes, they again
came off a poor second, as dwarven size and fighting techniques were of
great benefit in fighting giants, and are to this day.
Then came the arrival of humankind in the North, pushing those
giant communities that survived further back.
At
present the giants are a collection of broken nations and shattered
dreams, their long history overshadowed by modern events and newcomer
races. They still are their
strongest in the mountains of Faerun, particularly in the North and the
Cold Lands, thriving in those territories that others have shunned.
The
occasional giant may be found in Waterdeep or Cormyr, but the bulk, are
still viewed as savage, brutal, and not particularly bright.
This is untrue, since they are battle wise, lore-filled, and
capable with both weapons and craft. Their power is often shown through their leadership
capabilities, as giants are increasingly becoming leaders of groups of
other less developed races, such as goblin tribes or orc holts.
Not
all of the Realms is above ground. Beneath
its surface, labyrinthine tunnels snake and coil through natural caverns
and tunnels made by races long dead, and nations long toppled.
This is the Underdark, a region as deadly as any Surface
swamp or mountain fastness.
In
this land of eternal night a
number of races thrive. Some
have been driven to these lands by outside forces, some have a dislike of
light, and some simply prefer the security which the surrounding walls
hold. Their variety is tegion, and their influence is felt
throughout the Realms, as they often boil out of their hidey holes to raid
the surface lands. They
include, but are not limited to:
The
Drow: The dark elves are by and large the best-known, most
organized, and most powerful race beneath the surface of the earth.
Communities of drow rule the lands beneath the North and the
Moonsea, and smaller nations may be found throughout the Realms.
Their best-known nation is the underground citystate of
Menzoberranzan, home to a variety of scheming, evil families and their
spawn and slaves. Drow in the
past have even dominated the surface lands around their lairs, most
recently holding the lands around and now comprising Shadowdale in the
years following the fall of Myth Drannor.
The
Duergar: The outcast subrace of the dwarves seeks to burrow deeper
than their cousins, and unlock the greater evils that lie within the
earth. Unlike the drow and
goblins, duergar are not comfortable on the surface and never venture
forth. It is assumed that
much of the deepest construction of the Underdark is done by these gray
dwarves. Like their surf-@ice
cousins, the duergar are dying out from
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