Summary

  • Some lore in Forgotten Realms can be surprising and inspiring for your D&D game.
  • Gods, ancient magic, and terrifying beings like Mindflayers bring depth and mystery to the world of Dungeons & Dragons.
  • Earth is real and Foxes come from there.

The Forgotten Realms is perhaps the most iconic setting in the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons franchise. The Sword Coast is constantly the main area in which all world-changing events happen, and even the acclaimed 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Baldur's Gate 3 is focused on, well, the city of Baldur's Gate, which is in that same Sword Coast. However, there's still a wide world out there of different continents, countries, and planes, all with their own history.

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Sometimes there are just a few tidbits of lore that are so baffling that you're surprised it was ever even in the game. But it's true. These are actual pieces of lore that are in the setting of Forgotten Realms, and who knows, maybe they'll 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:inspire you for your D&D game.

10 Karsus

His Folly Took Down An Empire

Mordenkainen from D&D sitting down in elaborate blue robes with a spectral dog
Mordenkainen MtG Art from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms by Ryan Pancoast

Although it was referenced in Baldur's Gate 3, Karsus' Folly and the surrounding context is even wilder when you take into account the Netherese Empire. If you don't know, above a land now known as Anarouch were the floating cities that formed the Netheril Empire, an empire so vast and powerful that everyone could cast magic.

When we say everyone, we mean everyone. Even commoners knew a cantrip or two. However, a wizard prodigy known as Karsus spent years creating a ritual that would allow him to replace the god of magic. This backfired tremendously, and for a moment, all magic in the realms was gone, causing the floating cities and the empire upon them to collapse. This event is now known as Karsus' Folly.

9 Beholders

Their Dreams Shape Reality

Dungeons and Dragons Beholder monster
Xanathar's Guide to Everything art via Wizards of the Coast

Known for their terrifying eye stalks, Beholders are also known for their absolutely even more terrifying potential. It is said that Beholders can dream things into r🔜eality; when they sleep, some of their dreams can become real.

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It's to the point where spellcasters could use magic to alter their dreams in a risky attempt to perhaps summon something they want into the real world. Either way, it's definitely something that has a lot of potential for a plot in a campaign.

8 T🧸he Ov🥂erlord Ao

Who Does This God Report To?

A Dawnbringer cleric heals an ally with holy magic.
Dawnbringer Cleric by Lie Setiawan

Not much is known about the overlord Ao besides the fact that they have complete power over all reality and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:all the deities that exist. They rarely get involved in any of th🎃e goings-on in the world, including pantheons.

However, did you know that Ao actually seems toౠ speak to a deity higher than themselves? There is little to no knowledge about who this other entity is and what they want, with the implicati🌌on being that it could mean anything from Wizards of The Coast to some form representing the Dungeon Master.

7 Earth

Our Earth Actually Exists In Forgotten Realms

Elminster in Baldur's Gate 3 standing by a rocky cliff

So Earth exists in the Forgotten Realms. Not just some version 🐷of Earth, but specifically ours. The wizard Elminster is known for apparently going to Ed Greenwood (creator of the Forgotten Realms) and hanging out in his kitchen.

As well as this, it turns out that foxes were never native to Toril. Instead, foxes in the setting actually come from our universe. Therefore, they're an invasive species in the Forgotten Realms that replaced their own version of the lynx.

6 Mindflayers ♈

They Shouldn't Exist

Baldur's Gate 3 - A Mindflayer reaches out towards the viewer

Aberrations are already scary eldritch abominations half the time, but there's something even scarier by the fact that some of them shouldn't exist, as is the case with Mindflayers. The origins of Mindflayers are unknown, with some theorizing that they actually represent what humanity will eventually evolve into and came back from the future to set the seeds for their empire.

However, with thei🐽r origins still unconfirmed, it just makes these ps𒁃ionic beings both more interesting and terrifying.

5 Anci🐭ent Magic ♒

Spells Used To Go Beyond 9th Level

Magic: The Gathering AFR: Mordenkainen In His Tower
Mordenkainen by Donato Giancola

Back in the good old days of the Netheril Empire, it had so much magic that they actually had a whole old set of rules before the events of Karsus' Folly. Spells didn't go up to the 9th level but went all the way up to 12th instead.

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This allowed some of the mo꧙st powerful casters to have access to spells that could create volcanoes or moving a mountain. After the fall of the Netheril Empire and the resurrection of the magic god (now known as Mystra), such magic was forbidden, and the rules of magic were rewritten so that 9th level was now the maximum.

4 Aboleths

They Came Before The Gods

An Aboleth of Dungeons and Dragons swims in an underwater environment
Aboleth Spawn by Sam Burley

You may think that as the creator of everything, the Gods would have been the first beings in the universe. But you're wrong. It's actually known in the world of the Forgotten Realms that Aboleths came before the gods.

Where they came from, how they were created, and whaܫt they were doing is entirely unknown to most, if not all people besides abolet🍸hs, who live forever and remember everything.

3 Selûneᩚᩚ🌳ᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ

People Actually Live On The Moon

Ship Flying In Space
Dungeons & Dragons Spelljammer Illustration by Nik Hagialas

Selûne is the moon that orbits around Toril. But it also has another name, Leira, the name that is used by its inhabitants. That's right. People live on the moon. Its most notable location is the Leira Trading Center 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:where spelljamers could dock.

Not much is known about other landmarks on the moon, but Leirans are especially paranoid of outsiders and even restrict them from accessing certain areas on the moon. This means unless it's for a good reason, we may never know just what those people are getting up to on that moon.

2 Dendaꦕr, The Night Serpent

A Primordial Who Consumes Nightmares

organic spaceship floating through space with planets and galaxy in background
Spelljammer: Astral Adventurer's Guide By Bruce Brenneise
 

Every good world needs a good mythos, especially if it turns out to be scary. That's where Dendar the Night Serpent comes in. They are a colossal serpent that's both primordial and an elder evil, an ancient entity from the Far Realms.

Dendar was known to consume the nightmares of all living things in the hopes of causing the end of the world. Cults dedicated to Dendar usually kidnap people and poisℱon them so th꧒at they fall asleep and dream, feeding Dendar.

1 🍷 The Continents 💛

Toril Has Many Continents Besides Faerun

Dungeons & Dragons a detailed map of Faerun
Faerun Map by Mike Schley

Much of the Forgotten Realms is focused on the Sword Coast and, at most, wider Faerun. But did you know that there are actually numerous continents that dot the planet of Toril? Faerun is actually one mass🦄ive landmass that is connected to anot꧒her continent known as Kara-Tur, which is based on East Asia.

Other continents include Maztica, based on South America, specifically the ancient May𓆉a, Zakhara, south of Kara-Tur and other more unexplored lands. These include Anchorome, Laerakonde, and Osse.

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