This is a custom adaptation of the Forgotten Realms setting, and the Dungeon Masters and Admin of TDN reserve the right to change further details regarding the setting as they might arise. For the most part, the history, geography, pantheons, and other facets of the setting remain just as they were except when specifically stated to be otherwise on this page or other ones of the wiki, such as individual class pages. The change to the outcome of the Time of Troubles is designed to believably adjust the Forgotten Realms towards a less-powerful magic environment. We want magic to feel special, monsters to be scary, players to be big actors in setting events, and for the world to be uncertain and open to change, all factors that the default setting made difficult. Few individuals even among Adventurers would have even been exposed to magic beyond the second spell level. Please see the Server Vision page for more information regarding the magic setting.
Story Overview
During this time, Tethyr was suffering through the Interregnum, a period of over two decades (1347 DR - 1369 DR) where there was no monarch. Chaos was rampant, nobles were hunted and killed, and no known royals existed. Countless people tried to claim the crown, but none were successful.
Pirate activity remained steady until, in 1363 DR, minotaur pirate Balura Ironprow united most of the monstrous pirates under one flag called the Iron Fleet. Finally, with central leadership, the armada began wreaking havoc through tradeways and across the coast.
North of Tethyr, in Amn, the Council of Six eventually suffered their own misfortunes during a time known as The Winter of Teeth. Hammer 1368 DR, two ogre magi led tens of thousands of monsters north out of the Small Teeth Mountains. Over the course of the next 18 months, two wars between the monsters and humans would see western Amn ravaged, Athkatla captured - its ruins claimed by the Ogre-King Sythillis as Sythillisia - and trade through the region devastated.
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We return to the present. The year is 1369 DR. Nature and civilisation alike has been heavily affected by the Longest Year, largely for the worse. Magic is still slowly returning. Weak spells are able to be cast, power is slowly trickling back into artifacts, magical creatures are poking their heads back out, and undead are reanimating. Sages and wizards still do not yet have the answers, but everyone can at least agree that some sense of normalcy appears to be returning to the Weave.
The regard of magic has changed universally, and its use has become more ritualistic than ever, for a spellcaster in such arduous times must clutch onto whatever help they can secure in making the Weave manifest. Many distrust any and all magic, whether divine or arcane, and some even see its return as something to oppose, completely outlawing it, or limiting its use to those licensed by a local government. No matter the country or kingdom, magic is less understood and more unpredictable than ever, and subsequently more often than not simply feared and discriminated against, though not without good reason. The tales of the Weave's now deadly vicissitudes are rampant, and many are the tales of those personally affected by a spell unintentionally gone awry. Many lost family and friends alike to casters and their irresponsible use of magic, and even well-intentioned priests who sought to cure the sick and injured have become blood-guilty by the mercurial results of their spellcasting.
The common people know little of magic, and understand it only as a force to be reckoned with, with mysterious arcanists and divine servants behind great and unbelievable events. Those more worldly see it as yet another tool, but one to be checked no differently than the presence of armed men. These factors breed suspicion if not outright hostility in people towards any who practice magic in any form. While magic is not outlawed in many parts of the world, countless will find the practice of magic to be suspicious, and may readily assume dark arts or a more foul power at work, particularly in Amn where public spellcasting is a breach of the law itself.
Tethyr has a new court. Queen Zaranda wears the monarch’s crown alongside her husband King Haedrak III - who was the rightful heir but abdicated the throne to the people’s choice of Zaranda. Courtly titles and positions, duchies, counties, sheriffs, and mayors, have been assigned and the Queen is currently restructuring Tethyr’s laws.
The Iron Fleet continues to take advantage of the hard times of Tethyr and Amn, and their recent alliance with Sythillisia gives them a powerful trading partner on the mainland.
The Council of Six faces very hard times. Esmeltaran has become Amn’s current capital, while its army sits in Crimmor. The Iron Fleet greatly hinders water-traffic out of Amn. The Trade Way Pass through the Small Teeth has only just been reopened which has all but completely cut off Murann from mainland Amn. To make matters worse, talks of Amnian cities seceding have gained momentum.
Ogre-King Sythillis licks his wounds and bides his time in his ruin-capital. Goldspires, the massive temple-city, just north of his city was spared in exchange for them blessing his trade. This is said to have paid off as Sythillisia prospers from trade through monsters in the Cloud Peaks and Nelanther pirates.
Murann, the Sailor's City, nurses the beginnings of a refugee crisis. Nearly 15% of its typical 80,000 year-round natives are now refugees who are struggling to fill the roles left by those called to war or escaping the region. These unfilled roles make feeding the extra mouths more difficult and with an intention of opening the Trade Way Pass again the problem is only expected to worsen.
The winds of change blow, and all that remains is to see where they now take the Swordbelt...
Local Events
Zaranda Star’s rise towards the final position of Queen began in 1366 DR with the purchase of County Morninggold and its titles. After spending time isolated to repair the keep, she embarked on a mercantile career. When Zaranda returned, she found Tethyr was no different. Thieves and Bandit-Barons continued to rule and travel through the country was dangerous.
For the next two years, Zaranda would travel back and forth across Tethyr supporting commonfolk against their bandit-lords and upending their oppressive rule. She would be attacked; she would be betrayed, drugged, and arrested; she would root out pirates; she’d foil kidnappings and remove petty tyrants; and eventually she’d build a growing entourage of armed villagers and experienced adventurers and find herself the choice of the people for queen of Tethyr. These years would be called the Reclamation.
The culmination of her years of work found her at the gates of Myratma, outside the walls looking up at Prince Jhannivvar, another who currently staked a claim on the throne. The first Siege of Myratma lasted a month but ended with the defeat of Zaranda’s Loyalist Army and Zaranda captured.
While the events surrounding Zaranda were occurring in Tethyr. A man in Waterdeep had been revealed at a large noble holiday gala as the last true son of House Tethyr. For over a month Prince Haedrak conferred with the Lords and with many an ally, consolidating an army that would, as he said, “allow us to support the peoples’ desire for just rulership and peace.” Haedrak would have no official sanction from Waterdeep, but he did eventually sail south with the army he sought.
He arrived in Zazesspur to find the city attacking itself. The Low City was warring with the High in response to the council betraying Zaranda. With the help of Haedrak’s navy and his soon-landed troops, Zazesspur was once again loyal to the people and Zaranda Star, though many wanted to acknowledge allegiance to Haedrak as the rightful heir. In his first Tethyrian address, the crown prince assured the people that he too supported their choice of Zaranda Star, and that he had every intention of both reuniting the Loyalist Reclamation Army to break the entrenched forces at Myratma and rescuing Zaranda from the Pretender’s clutches.
Haedrak was true to those words and after a second siege of Myrtama, Zaranda was rescued and Prince Jhannivvar was slain. Finally, after over twenty years of conflict and disarray, the people had their new rulers. In Alturiak 1369 DR, Zaranda Star and Prince Haedrak became Queen Zaranda Rhindaun and King Haedrak Rhindaun III. Queen Zaranda would rename Ithmong to Darromar where she’d rule from the royal palace of Faerntarn. The Rhindaun Dynasty had begun.
*Lands of Intrigue
The Pirates' Pardon
One of Queen Zaranda’s first edicts on her new throne was a controversial one, but widely regarded as necessary. The Nelanther fleet under the minotaur captain Balura Ironprow consolidated orcs, lizardfolk, ogres, minotaurs, and other nonhumans; any human pirates were killed, enslaved, or forced to flee. While Tethyr had many new admirals, the navy’s ships were a mismatched and outdated fleet, not up to the task of defending the entire Tethyrian coastline. The Pirates’ Pardon was meant to combat the mighty Iron Fleet by offering a formal pardon to all non-monstrous pirates, both incarcerated and still at sea, with the condition that they accepted a letter of marque from Tethyr and lended their ships and crews to the defense of the coast. The privateering employment that the letter provided allowed any spoils from raiding other pirate ships, but forbade any hostile acts against Tethyr or its neighbors. The deal promised to be lucrative, and perhaps to even outlast the Nelanther pirate threat. The large majority of human pirate crews accepted their unexpected pardon, all knowing that the alternative was to be caught one at a time by Balura’s monstrous armada.
Within a moon many infamous pirate clans had accepted the pardon, including the Black Skulls led by Eamon Blaskul. Fleet-Captain Eamon, who then convinced two other prominent pirates to join his fleet, Bahija the Fair and Raurivyl Ornshield commanded nearly ten ships and made the Black Skull Privateers one the largest and most experienced fleets, of both pirates and privateers, outside the Iron Fleet.
The effect of the pardon, combined with the unity of the counties and duchies was felt within a few months. Official navy ships combined with small privateer fleets kept the coast and local bays as safe as anyone could remember. The only exception was Tarseth Bay. The protective blockade of Sythillisia by the Iron Fleet brought patrols of pirates to the mouth of the bay and shipping through the area was still very dangerous.
Amn and The Winter of Teeth
Amn and Tethyr had always treated the Small Teeth mountains with heavy caution. Though the mountain range was small and its few passes safe enough, all knew that the mountains harboured tunnels, deep, dark, and old. There, vile creatures bred, and multiplied, and waited.
During the month of Hammer in 1368, two ogre warlords had consolidated enough power under the Small Teeth to lead a vast and varied army out from their mountain lairs. The war began with trolls leading a small horde to besiege Eshpurta (where Amn's official army was consolidated) while hill giants and ogres damaged the Star and Axe Bridges. These small, but combined efforts would prove devastating for Amn as its army became occupied and cut off from the west. With their plan in motion, Sythillis and Cyrvisnea led a horde of 30,000 kobolds, 12,000 goblins, 10,000 hobgoblins, 24 hill giants, 800 ogres, and a large contingent of Cyricist priests, half-orcs and warriors from the Twin Towers of the Eternal Eclipse out from the dark, equipped and in deadly force. Their ambitions quickly became horrifyingly obvious as the horde moved not onto the smaller port city of Murann to the south... but instead marched north into mainland Amn. Imnescar was quickly overrun and violently taken. From there, the force besieged Purskul, but instead of settling in, the bulk of the horde continued towards Athkatla, the jewel of Amn. To make matters far worse, the Iron Fleet began blockading the coast surrounding Athkatla making an escape by ship dangerous.
Spring of 1368 came into history as the Season of Rutted Roads and Heavy Ships as chaos erupted through the capital. Over a hundred thousand refugees fled Athkatla north or east. Merchants and nobles were killed as everyone tried to escape with anything they could. Boats were captured or sunk, wagons and horses were suddenly worth dying for, and the Council fell into disarray as they struggled to control the situation while their guards and the (now weakened) Cowled Wizards were killed themselves. Finally, the Council, along with the few Cowled Wizards remaining, all the major families, their guards, and hired mercenaries fled Athkatla. Three quarters (3,000 troops) of the city’s garrison also left with them. By the time the Winter Horde arrived the city's streets were covered in its own blood and those left to guard it had fled with everything they could too. The riches of Athkatla were ripe for the taking, and the massive horde entered the capital unopposed. Sythillis, now ruling over the ruined city, claimed the title King of Sythillisia.
While Athkatla was destroying itself Amn's army was facing off against another band of monsters in the south. The Skullgnasher giants (21 hill giants) and Spearbiter goblins (12,000 goblins) had occupied the South Road waiting to slow down the marching army as it was forced around Lake Esmel. Though the Amnian Army was successful it took them a considerable amount of time to make the journey and eventually learn what had become western Amn.
Those abandoning Athkatla going east sought safety within Crimmor. The Caravan Capital of Crimmor had strong walls and a far longer period of time to prepare - it took the Sythillisian Army nearly a month before they settled into marching east under the command of the Ogre Mage Cyrvisnea. When the attack did come at the beginning of Kythorn, Crimmor was far better prepared than Athkatla and the city was able to hold out until both branches of the split Amnian Army and their over 20,000 troops could arrive. Through a long and costly (to both sides) battle the Amnian Army was able to finally break up the siege by the beginning of Eleint. Many of the monsters fled back to Sythillisia but the rest splintered into wandering bands making the countryside very dangerous to travel.
Crimmor began repairs, however, the Council of Six chose to move to Esmeltaran where the city would once again act as Amn’s new capital. Major families jumped at the chance for favors as they ‘donated’ buildings and resources to the Council’s move into the expensive city. Crimmor would continue to host the army due to its strategic importance. The Council also prohibited attacks against Sythillisia for fear of another attack.
In Marpenoth, Crimmor eventually sallied forth to offer relief to Purskul, which had been besieged and admirably held due to its vast grain stores and hardy orc and half-orc population, most all of which fought in Purskul’s defense. Most of the nation east of the Trade Way suffered very little from the war - aside from the few places along the South Road where the Skullnasher-Spearbiter horde had occupied. For many months both Sythillisia and Amn kept to themselves. Goldspires had been spared in exchange for blessing the King's new trade and Sythillisia became a trade hub for both the Iron Fleet and monsters in the Cloud Peaks.
Everything continued peacefully until the end of Alturiak of the next year, 1369. It's at that time waves of monsters began emerging from the Wealdath and marching north into the Small Teeth. Time would show their destination to eventually be Sythillisia and to the horror of Amn, a quickly growing population. The Army in Crimmor is quickly notified and the city begins preparing. What the intention of the growing population was won't ever be known because in Tarsakh questionable politics found Ogre Mage Cyrvisnea, Queen of Sythillisia assassinated. Enraged, Ogre-King Sythillis forced all his subjects into his new army and called upon the Iron Fleet to protect his city as he personally led the Sythillisian Army towards Crimmor. When the Sythillisian Army arrived at Crimmor a large force immediately engaged the city while the rest settled in for a long siege. Furiously, King Sythillis battered the city with spells for the first day before retiring back with those preparing the siege. The siege would continue for many rides while the monsters were continuously reinforced by the Wealdath.
In Tethyr the new Queen decided to take it upon herself, much to the annoyance of the elves, and called for the culling and stoppage of all the monsters leaving the forest. Each of the northern Dukes and Counts did all they could to halt the waves of monsters and in time they made good progress. The slowing of the reinforcements from the Wealdath would eventually prove to be what Amn's General Craumerdaun would need to scatter the Sythillisian Army, also known as the Winter Horde. With the Ogre King in retreat back to Sythillisia with about half of the living monsters and the other half dispersing into the wilds and countryside, Crimmor and Amn could again rest easy with the worst of the war behind them - or so people hope.
Much of the Sythillisian Army was reduced to roaming, dangerous bands, and Amn’s strategy was now predominantly defensive rather than risking the vast monstrous army coming together a third time in the face of an actual mobilized force of their own. With the Iron Fleet still active around Sythillisia, barges cautiously resumed light trade on the River Esmel, guarded by flat-bottomed ships carrying mercenaries and piloted by captains lured by the lucrative activity. The Alandor never saw too much traffic again, with most refusing to go near the ruined capital and now-claimed Sythillisia. The Council now bickers back and forth about the fate of their trade and how to keep talks of secession in Riatavin and Trailstone from spreading towards Trademeet and Murann.
Few stories have left the city of Athkatla since its fall. The city and its surroundings became a dark place, stained by the vile acts performed there. With Ogre-King Sythillis refocusing his purpose towards growing trade with the pirates and northern monster tribes, the monsters looked to become even more fat with riches and plunder. It was said one could travel through Athkatla still, if one were skilled enough, but few tested the theory... and fewer yet wished to see what the once grand city had been reduced to in but a year at the hands of the Ogre-King.
It was safe to say that Amn’s opulence and splendour would not recover easily, if it ever did at all. Athkatla’s fate was a cruel awakening to the grim state of the world, and many feared the success of Sythillisia and Nelanther’s pirates would encourage other would-be warlords to make their own attempts to act on their greed.
Nelanther Pirates and the Iron Fleet
In 1359 during the Longest Year, a Thayan slaving vessel named The Iron Bitch experienced a non-human slave mutiny led by a female Minotaur named Balura. Balura and her fellow slaves murdered the crew and renamed the ship the Ironprow, and prowled the southern Sea of Swords looking for clan members, raiding and stealing ships, and growing in power. In 1363, Balura returned to her native home of Nelanther to recruit masses of non-human pirates, reaching the height of her power and creating the Iron Fleet as it is known for the next six years. The fleet is comprised of the Ironprow and seven major ships, each led by a deputy, known collectively as The Seven. Balura is called "Black Balura" along her fleet, bastardizing the Nelanther Pirate's vision of the "Black Alaric," a heroic mantle taken on by many humans who have unified the Nelanther Pirates in the past.
As the Sythillisian Horde came to be in Amn in 1368, Balura and the Iron Fleet allied with the Horde, and assisted them in taking Athkatla by blockading its ocean access. The Iron Fleet continues to support the Sythillisian Horde while terrorizing ships, especially those crewed by humans, slavers, or mages, along the southern Sword Coast, in The Race and Firedrake Bay, and around the Nelanther Isles. The Iron Fleet is the source of much fear and rumor - such as that they and their leader hunger for human flesh. Every few years the Iron Fleet makes a maneuver intending to take a land-based stronghold, but they have so far been unsuccessful.
The Wealdath
The Forest of Tethir - as Amnians called it - knew a profound peace in the wake of the Longest Year, resulting in nine years of unprecedented elven isolationism in recent memory. While the lives of the Suldusk and Elmanesse tribes were disturbed and forced into a semblance of change, they nonetheless thrived in such times of uncertainty; their more primitive and nature-reliant ways proving to be a great boon. The majority of the People within the forest favoured looking to themselves and remaining fey, rather than to the outward world, considering their own peoples and kin to be the foremost of priorities.
Magical creatures in the forest vanished almost entirely, precious few sightings recorded even among the People, and fewer still by humans and other races. Monstrous humanoids, too, retreated from the forests in droves, though many were cut down by the Wealdath's elves before they could escape. Monstrous survivors as well as those of cowardly inclination returned whence they came, remaining in the embrace of dark warrens and hidden thickets, considering hiding as the lesser of risks. Speculation followed of goblinoid both within and without the forest, that their ilk were supposedly called to some distant war, yet most of the People surmised their retreat to be due to their suddenly precarious position in the Wealdath.
Human trespasses likewise dwindled significantly over time, many fearing the dangers of the unknown with magic's absence, and the local elves' apparent disappearance - combined with seemingly fleeing monsters - fuelled superstition and hearsay that only discouraged entry all the more. Whatever few humans dared to venture into the forest rarely returned. Furthermore, Tethyr was wrapped up in the throes of civil war for years, and Amn had its fair share of internal and external strife, which culminated into outright war in 1368 DR with monstrous hordes. Neither human bastion could afford a new source of conflict, one rebuilding, the other struggling to remain afloat, yet their existing woes created an increasingly dire demand for wood.
After the Interregnum, in 1369 DR, Queen Zaranda made tentative steps toward peace with the elves of the forest and sought to integrate them into politics. Thus were born the proposition of the duchies of Noromath in the West and Durmista in the East, yet the elves and the Coronal of the Wealdath have yet to embrace human rule or borders, largely perceiving this supposed act of diplomacy as arrogant and insulting. Paradoxically with this, and the slow trickle of returning magic, the threat of human trespassing and logging of the forest has returned anew.
The tumultuous situation Amn finds itself in - ravaged and divided - worries some of the People, particularly within Suldanessellar, for they believe the humans of Amn act as a barrier and shield between the People and outward threats, especially in the wake of unity among monstrous hordes. Nevertheless equally many remain in disbelief, perceiving Amnians and Tethyrians alike as despoilers or worse, and want nothing to do with their ilk. The inhabitants of the outpost Y'Tellarien, however, have been embracing nature devoted humans - namely the Conclave - in their home, sparking hope for the open-minded of the People.
Events in Other Nations
See Narrative Introduction: Events around Faerûn.An Explanation Of Our Times
Known also as the Avatar Crisis and the Godswar, The Time of Troubles occurred during 1358 DR. The cause and origin of it is a matter of much debate among mortals, but what is certain is that gods began to appear all across the world in what became known as avatars; personal embodiments of deities.
Through the crisis, many gods interacted with mortals and battled each other - some gods even dying while other mortals ascended. It was a period of upheaval and strife, of change and bloodshed, yet it was only the beginning of a tumultuous time upon Faerûn...
The Longest Year
Upon the end of the Time of Troubles, magic vanished in one decisive moment across the entirety of Faerûn.
This created a chaos greater than even the Time of Troubles. Cities fell and rose. The Balance of nature was tipped, ecosystems destroyed or changed. Legendary individuals disappeared from view or died. Incredibly powerful monsters of magic, undeath, or other planes hid away, causing many to fear and wonder whether they would ever return. The farthest reaches of civilization - forests, underground, distant islands - that could serve as hideaways became objects of unprecedented paranoia and superstition among countless kingdoms and countries. Mighty and influential cabals of spellcasters fell from power, bringing into question their existence in the first place. The Underdark became even more dangerous and chaotic. Yet not all were so negatively affected.
Those of strength and grace who utilized martial abilities over magic found their standing in the world jump considerably. Monster hordes found success in places they’d not previously. Mercenary and sellsword jobs were suddenly everywhere and generals of armies became some of the most powerful leaders in Faerûn.
To most in Faerûn, magic was a distant thing that had little obvious bearing on their lives. The Longest Year had cut it from the world, and anything the Weave used to touch was left lifeless and mundane. Faerûn had begun to adapt to a world less reliant on magic.
At first, charlatans proclaiming themselves wizards or sorcerers were at best reliving a grand past, and soothsayers claiming to speak on behalf of the gods could never show anything for it. For some during the Longest Year, magic and divinity earned a slow but deep distrust in the year it was gone. Others yet still hoped for its return.
It wouldn’t be for over three years, in 1363 DR, until the first spell was cast - a cantrip within Candlekeep which later became known as "The First Spell". The “charlatans” and “soothsayers” felt the touch of their power again. It was fleeting, small, but cantrips and orisons at first. Ever since The Longest Year was proclaimed over, none had recovered the power they might have once wielded. Moreover, whether it was damage to the Weave or something else, some elements of magic simply worked differently and with more limits.
Magic items and artifacts also began to recover what once made them magic. Light gems did not glow as brightly, and enchanted blades could not yet cut as they once did. Faerûn was once littered with magic relics old and new, items that could govern kingdoms and decide wars. Now, who knew the history of a rusted blade or a yew wand, or what prestige they had once commanded?
Although magic had become a topic of discussion and debate across the continents, the average commoner has never felt magic cast on them, or handled anything bearing a dweomer or that could be called a magic item. Magic had little bearing on the lives of common people even before the Godswar and the Longest Year, and now it had even less. To most of Faerûn, there was nothing everyday or casual about magic or divinity. Many common people have in the past seen magic used, but usually at a distance, or in the form of the trickery spells of traveling hedge wizards who entertain. Most people were fascinated by it and would rush or creep to watch it in action, full of awe and fear. Some do not believe it has returned, and many that do have little reason to care.
Even small as it might still be, magic is already creeping to reclaim its role in governing the world. Over the next six years since the first spellcasting, magic would increase steadily but slowly. Countless questions remain among the denizens of the world, the time known as the Longest Year one of utter mystery and uncertainty, to which the people look for answers and solutions in sages and seers, and others besides. Many wonder and speculate as to what comes next, and whether magic might yet disappear again...
Events and effects of the Longest Year
Major Forgotten Realms' Character Impacts
- None of the other Chosen of Mystra raise their head during the Longest Year, and hardly much after. It is believed the Harpers worked hard to hide them. The Harpers themselves were extremely weakened, but decades of subterfuge allowed them to ward off threats better than most, although the faction’s reliance on magic items and artifacts crippled them considerably. Storm Silverhand is believed to still lead the Harpers.
- Wizards and sorcerers lose much of their grandeur the world over. Some maintain high station through intelligence and charisma alone, some are able to cleverly leverage the weak magic they still possess. All are keenly aware they are more vulnerable without their former powers and the help of their artifacts.
- Paradoxically, although clerics were also deprived and weakened, their regard rose in some parts of Faerûn. That they were incapable of channeling grand miracles such as raising the dead did not seem to matter much to the common man. To the average citizen of Faerûn, the gods and their servants felt more close and intimate now. Proselytization by all faiths increased dramatically during and after the Longest Year, for it was thought only more followers could help return the strength of the Gods’ connection to their followers on the mortal plane. Paladins especially were seen in an even more hopeful light, as they had kept their virtue and principles even in the unsure times.
- The regard of magic changed universally, largely for the worse. Many distrusted any and all magic, whether divine or arcane, and some even saw its return as something to oppose, completely outlawing it, or limiting its use to those licensed by a local government. No matter the country or kingdom, magic was less understood and more unpredictable than ever, and subsequently more often than not simply feared. The common people know little of magic, and understand it only as a force to be reckoned with, with mysterious arcanists and divine servants behind great and unbelievable events. Those more worldly see it as yet another tool, but one to be checked no differently than the presence of armed men. These factors breed suspicion if not outright hostility in people towards any who practice magic in any form. While magic is not outlawed in many parts of the world, countless will find the practice of magic to be suspicious, and may readily assume dark arts or a more foul power at work.
Other Major Impacts
One of the few benefits of the Longest Year was that powerful magical creatures, namely Liches, had lost that which gave them unholy life and power. In their lairs, they collapsed to bones and trappings of grandeur. Their undead servants and armies returned to the corpses which hosted them. When the Longest Year ended, bones and flesh long-dead stirred again. Lethargic, weak, but endlessly hateful and malicious, liches and their like were biding their time in the dark holes of the world.
Portals to other planes close, disallowing the passing between worlds for both Good and Evil beings. Some of either sort had remained on the mortal plane, albeit reduced in power.
Creatures whose magical nature was intrinsic to their existence were rumoured to have survived, though equally many claimed the opposite, due to the disappearance of countless creatures in the wake of the Longest Year. The slow return of magic suggested that the state of these magical creatures, undead included, could return to what it once was in time - though none yet knew for certain.
Although the Twisted Rune lich cabal had collapsed during the Longest Year, Halaster Blackcloak was presumed dead deep in his Undermountain. Although the events of the Higharvestide could not occur without magic, the Undermountain itself wavered and had sections collapse. The city of Waterdeep felt the rumbles of it deep below, and all known entrances were sealed. With no containment, old and powerful things wandered the ruins of the Undermountain now.
The Underdark was plunged into a darkness and cold that not even the Drow had ever known. The check and balance of the Drow houses - of priestesses and magi - was wholly severed, and in many of the Underdark's recesses the formerly oppressed male dark elves pursued a violent climb to the top of power - where they failed, slave uprisings often succeeded instead. Many female Drow knew they could not contest with the new order of things, and fled to the surface, considering it the lesser risk to their deep caverns.
The Second Dragonspear War never occurs. The Way Inn and Daggerford remain safe, and accept their share of Theskian, Thayan, and Rashemi refugees from the East.
The twelfth Seros War does not occur, and Vorgrum the Mighty holds onto the Pirate Isles.
The following link also contains relevant material on TLY impact: https://www.dragonsneck.com/wiki/Companions-and-Summons
The Sellsword Age
Another name for the Longest Year prevails during the years after the Time of Troubles: “The Sellsword Age.” Without magic, martial skill and prowess became recognised as the only true tool of offense and defense. Most kingdoms strengthened their armies, recruiting from their own people as well as hiring mercenaries. The idea of the Sellsword became a romanticized and popular one, and the numbers of young men and women with swords on their hips swelled across Faerûn. Naturally, so did the prevalence of banditry and common crime, leading to a set of violent years across the continent.
The Advance of Science
Faerûn was a continent heavily suffused with magic, affecting life for many. The Longest Year disrupted the world’s ability to use magic for nearly everything as it once had. The world had to adapt instead, fearing that magic would never return. Wizards and tinkerers of all races retained their intellect, and applied it to new advancements in old sciences.
When magic did return, albeit far weaker, progress was well underway in several fields that had at best a minimal reliance on arcane or divine magics.
The practice of mundane medicine was one such science that made spectacular progress during and since the Longest Year. Without the occasional reliability of divine healing, natural remedies and surgical practices became more advanced and commonplace. Anesthetics, antiseptics, and anatomy became widely known and relied on. Natural remedies distilled into usable form began curing simple illnesses and even common ailments such as headaches.
Tied to medicine was the greatest field to advance of them all: Alchemy.
Alchemists that had always relied on a combination of ingredients and magic began to rely more on the former and less on the latter, if any at all. Alchemy became a true science rather than a passing fancy in a world that had greater powers available to it, and began to substitute magic in many places, including in the arsenal of adventurers.
Alchemy mirrored divine healing, though in limited degrees. It allowed for contained alchemical fire, acid, and potent poisons. It led to solvents and adhesives, to balms and tonics that could provide practically magical benefits.
One of the most high-profile advents in Alchemy was in explosives and propulsion. A brilliant but short-lived wizard created an alchemical paste-like compound that could produce substantial explosions, but only when it reached a rather large critical mass; his invention had earned the moniker of “fireclay” for its dull red colour, consistency, and explosive properties. Substantial metallurgical work was required to contain the explosive power and harness it to what humans made best: weapons. These cannons were extremely large and bulky, and could not be made smaller due to the nature of the fireclay itself.
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