The World of Faerûn

Faerûn is the western part of a super-continent on the planet of Abeir-Toril, and is the setting for most adventures in the Forgotten Realms. To the east of Faerûn is Kara-Tur and Zakhara, to the west is Maztica, and under is the Underdark. Faerûn is much like the medieval Europe of our own Earth, but with widespread magic use of several types, as well as a large number of humanoid races that live together, including dwarves, gnomes, halflings, and elves.

Geographic Regions of Faerûn:

• NW, The North, an untamed and wild frontier of barbarians and orc hordes - the High Forest, Icewind Dale (where Drizzt Do'Urden lives), the Savage Frontier, the Silver Marches (Luruar), the Sword Coast, Waterdeep (where Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun and his wife Laeral Silverhand live)
• N - the Anauroch Desert, the Moonsea, the Dalelands (where Elminster makes his abode), the Vast, the Ride
• NE - Vassa, the Hordelands, Damara, the Great Dale, Impiltur, Narfell, Rashemen (land of the Rashemaar Berserkers), Thesk, the Sea of Fallen Stars
• W - Amn, Tethyr, Calimshan, Evereska, Lantan, the Moonshae islands, Nimbral, the Western Heartlands, the Nelanther Islands
• Interior - Vilhon Reach, Chondath, Cormyr, the Dragon Coast, Hlondeth, the Pirate Isles, Sembia, Sespech, Turmish, the Shining Plains
• E, The Unapproachable East - Aglarond (home of the Simbul), Altumbel, Chessenta, Chondalwood, Mulhorand, Murgôm, Thay (home of the evil Red Wizards of Thay), Unther
• SW - Chult, Lapaiiya, Samarach, Tashalar, Thindol
• S, the Shaar, the Border Kingdoms, Dambrath, the Great Rift, Halruaa (famous for powerful Nethril magic), the Lake of Steam
• SE, including the Shining Lands - Durpar, Estagund, Var the Golden, Luirin, Veldorn
• Under - Drow cities Menzoberranzan, Ched Nasad, Maerdrimydra, Llurth Dreir, Sshamath, Duergar cities Gracklstugh and Dunnspeirrin

In Abeir-Toril there exist a multitude of different races, from the various dwarves, elves, gnomes, and their subraces, to the dinosaur-like saurials of the Lost Vale and the lion-like wemics in the Shaar.

Most visible of the races, perhaps, save the humans of course, are the elves. Moon elves are the most commonly seen, as the Sun elves have for the most part drawn away from the rest of Faerûn to protect the elf culture in the far-off island of Evermeet. Still, even the Moon elves have their own elf-only domains, like Evereska. The dark-skinned Drow live in the Underdark, coming up to the surface only to battle their fair-skinned cousins, whom they hate with a ferocity.

Second most visible are the dwarves, in particular the Shield dwarves, who often live alongside humans in mutual communities. Gold dwarves are a very rare occurance indeed, as they are mostly underground in the Rift, a complex of underground dwarf communities that do not let non-dwarves in! The Underdark is populated with the dangerous Duergar dwarves, also known as Gray dwarves, who are known not only for their evil demeanors but also their mastery of the "Invisible Art."

Gnomes and halflings are a rather ignored lot, as they are the shortest of all the races. Gnomes include both Rock gnomes and Svirfneblin, or Deep gnomes; the latter are the only "good" race that one will find in the Underdark. The halflings have their own nation far east as the country of Luiren - the halfings of Luiren, strangely, have pointed ears, which seems to be a recessive trait.

Race Subraces Allowed Classes Elf Moon, Sun, Wild, Wood, Aquatic, Drow, Avariel, Lythari Fighter, Ranger, Mage, Diviner, Enchanter, Dukar, Wild Mage, Cleric, Druid, Priest, Thief, Psionicist Dwarf Shield, Gold, Duergar Fighter, Cleric, Priest, Thief, Psionicist Gnome Rock, Svirfneblin Fighter, Illusionist, Cleric, Priest, Thief, Psionicist Halfling Hairfoot, Stout, Tallfellow Fighter, Cleric, Priest, Thief, Psionicist Giant-kin Firbolg Fighter, Ranger, Runecaster, Shaman, Thief Verbeeg Fighter, Mage, Runecaster, Shaman, Thief Voadkyn Fighter, Ranger, Mage, Runecaster, Shaman, Thief Saurial Bladeback Fighter, Mage, Cleric, Druid, Priest, Thief Finhead Fighter, Ranger, Paladin, Mage, Cleric, Druid, Priest, Thief Flyer Fighter, Mage, Cleric, Druid, Priest, Thief Hornhead Fighter, Mage, Illusionist, Cleric, Druid, Priest, Thief Wemic - Fighter, Shaman, Priest, Witch Doctor, Bard Locathah - Fighter, Ranger, Cleric, Priest, Druid Malenti Noble Fighter, Ranger, Cleric Merfolk Serôsian Fighter, Ranger, Cleric, Priest, Bard Shalarin - Any Triton Serôsian Fighter, Ranger, Mage, Dukar, Cleric, Priest

Magic and Other Powers

In the Realms, there are five kinds of extraordinary powers, of which two are what is often called "magic."

Magic Type (Subtype) Magic Users Representative Races Magic Source Priest Magic Priests, Paladins, Rangers Any Intelligent Race Divine Deities Wizard Magic Wizards, Bards Humans, Elves, Gnomes The Weave (Mystra, Goddess of Magic) Psionics Psionicists, Wild Talents Duergar, Illithid The Mind Runes Runecasters Giants, Giant-kin Truth Totemic Magic Totem Sisters Moon Elf Maidens Angharradh, Triune Goddess of Elves Dwarven Rune Magic High Old Ones* Dwarves Dwarven Deities Elven High Magic High Mages** Elves The Weave (Mystra, Goddess of Magic) Spellfire Spellfire-Wielders Shandril Shessair The Weave (Mystra, Goddess of Magic)

^* High Old Ones are Dwarven Priests of at least 7th level, but Dwarven Rune magic can only be cast starting from level 9.
^* High Mages are single-classed Elven Wizards of at least 16th level, who receive special training at Evermeet.

Priestly Prayers

Priests pray for and receive spells from their gods - these spells are gained through rest and prayer, and disappear from memory once they are cast, after which they must again rest and pray to regain them the next day. Priest spells, of course, depend on the deities who grant them, which means that priests must follow their deity's creeds and rules – a priest who is not looked upon favorably by his deity may well find himself without any granted spells at all!

As priests are granted spells by deities, the maximum level of spell that they can cast also depends on the power of the deities that they worship; Greater and Intermediate Deities can grant spells of up to 7th level; Lesser Deities can grant spells of up to 6th level; and Demi-deities can grant spells of up to 5th level.

Priest spells are divided into what are called Spheres of Influence, and each deity grants spells from the spheres that his or her platform is most related to; for example, a deity of law and justice may grant spells from the Law, Protection, and Wards spheres, among others. Some deities also grant minor Spheres of Influence, in which only spells of up to 3rd level from the sphere are granted.

The Spheres of Influence are as follows:
All, Animal, Astral, Charm, Chaos, Combat, Divination, Elemental, Guardian, Healing, Law, Necromantic, Plant, Protection, Sun, Summoning, Thought, Time, Travelers, War, Wards, Weather.

Clerics receive spells from the following spheres:
All, Astral, Charm, Combat, Divination, minor Elemental, Guardian, Healing, Necromantic, Protection, Sun, Summoning.

Druids receive spells from the following spheres:
All, Animal, minor Divination, Elemental, Healing, Plant, Weather.

Specialty Priests receive spells from spheres depending on the deity that they worship.

Wizardly Magics, or "The Art"

Wizards cast spells using the secret language of magic, controlling the energies of the Weave. Wizards spend long hours studying their mystical texts, and memorize spells from their spellbooks. Like priests, once they cast spells that they have memorized, the spells are wiped from memory, and they must rest and rememorize the spells again.

Unlike priests, wizards are independent from dieties' whim, and control the energies of the Weave themselves. Although the Weave is controlled by the goddess Mystra, who is also the Weave herself, she does not control those who use the Weave, and thus wizards of any alignment and various goals can be found throughout the Realms.

Wizard magic is divided into what are called Schools of Magic, of which there are eight:
Abjuration, Alteration/Transmutation, Conjuration/Summoning, Divination, Enchantment/Charm, Illusion/Phantasm, Invocation/Evocation, Necromancy.

Mages, the most common wizards, learn to harness all of these energies, and can learn almost any spell that exists, but also gain no special bonuses for specialization.

Specialist wizards, i.e. Abjurers, Conjurers, Diviners, Enchanters, Illusionists, Invokers, Necromancers, and Transmuters, all specialize in a certain school of magic, while sacrificing the ability to learn spells from 1-3 opposing schools of magic; however, they gain bonuses when casting spells of their chosen school, and can also memorize and cast more spells per level.

Wild Mages are a new type of wizard that have appeared recently in Faerun; these wizards can learn any spell like mages, plus spells of the new Wild Magic variety, and can memorize extra spells like normal specialist wizards. Any spell that a wild mage casts is susceptible to random effects, however.

Psionic Powers, or "The Invisible Art"

Psionic powers are uncommon at best in Faerûn, but that does not mean that they don't exist. Psionic powers are unlike the magic of priests and wizards in that psionicists do not have to memorize spells before using them - as intrinsic powers of the mind, psionicists simply attempt to use their powers right away; used up Psionic Stamina Points (PSPs) regenerate automatically through rest. Besides psionicists, some folks are so-called "wild talents" - people with one or two psionic powers that they have naturally; these are particularly common in certain subraces, like the evil Duergar (Gray Dwarves) of the Underdark, but other normally non-psionic races can attempt to "open" their own latent abilities, although there is some risk.

Because of their rarity, it is difficult to learn psionics in Faerûn, unless one is a Duergar, an Illithid, a Yuan-Ti, a Githyanki, a Githzerai, or some other psionic-inclined race. In addition, these races tend to know rare powers that are not normally known by others.

Psionics are employed by psionicists, those who specialize in the art of psionics, and wild talents, those who have a natural affinity for psionics, but do not train them in particular.

Runes, the Art of Magic Inscription

Runes, the art of magical inscription, is another form of magic that exists in Faerûn. There are two types of runic magic: the first and foremost are the runes of the giants—the secrets of these runes are held dear by the various races of giantkind, however, and thus non-giants will have a hard time trying to learn the art of runecasting.

Another form of rune magic exists as the totemic magic of totem sisters, female moon elf druids of Angharradh. This type of rune magic may not be learned by anyone except totem sisters, and thus this type of rune can only be used by a very specialized segment of the Faerûnian population.

Rune magic is not as spectacular or radical in power as the other three forms of magic, yet is subtle and useful in its own way. Unlike priest spells or wizard spells, runes need not be memorized but are instead carved into objects, when such objects are imbued with an extraordinary effect that either immediately begins to work or is stored for use later on. Effects of rune magic range from mild statistic changing, healing, and miscellaneous effects.

The rune magic of the giants is somewhat more powerful in effect, however, including more drastic effects including even planar travel.

Finally, although dwarves also have their own kind of runic magic, dwarven rune magic is different from the other two types of rune magic in that dwarven rune magic depends on the power of dwarven deities when etching the runes; thus, only high-level dwarven priests can use this kind of magic. However, similar to other rune magic, the dwarves must learn the runes first, as each rune has a different magical effect. Dwarf rune magic may have the greatest power of all magic, as legends speak of entire cities toppled with only a single rune! Although such powerful runes are no longer known by the dwarves, the runes remaining today are still powerful, typically having effects similar to wizardly magic.