Template:DidYouKnow/current

This page collects current trivia for Template:DidYouKnow. On the first Sunday of the new year, please make sure there are 53 sections of trivia in this page (Every 5 or 6 years we get a year with 53 weeks in it. See ISO week date.) and then copy the 53 sections to  where   are the last two digits of the new year. Then remove them from this page and add the trivia for the first week of the new year. The DidYouKnow template will select additional trivia from a random previous year for the current week. Archives should be named for the year they were created because the template looks for pages in the archive directory that start with "2".

Archives of previous years:
 * Template:DidYouKnow/archive/2013
 * Template:DidYouKnow/archive/2014
 * Template:DidYouKnow/archive/2015
 * Template:DidYouKnow/archive/2016
 * Template:DidYouKnow/archive/2017
 * Template:DidYouKnow/archive/2018
 * Template:DidYouKnow/archive/2019
 * Template:DidYouKnow/archive/2020
 * Template:DidYouKnow/archive/2021

2/1/2022 – 9/1/2022

 * The Akanamere was a freshwater lake that separated Chessenta from the Blade Kingdoms and Chondath. A kingdom of nixies could be found underneath its waters.
 * The Kara-Turan kingdom of Phutan was covered entirely in dense bamboo forest. The monks of neighboring Tabot saw it as a lawless land ruled by a violent heathen king.
 * Shepherdston was a pastoral village of shepherds and dairy farmers in Amn perhaps most notable as a hiding place for Tethyrian nobles during their many civil wars.
 * Selchoun's Sundries Shop in Waterdeep stood on the site of the former stables of the ill-fated Deepwinter family, whose ghosts occasionally meandered through the shop.
 * The Keystone was an Imaskari device that granted mastery of portal magic and access to the Celestial Nadir. Since it also gave off light, it could alternatively be used as a lamp.
 * When Bregg was passed over by the wychlaran to be named the next Iron Lord of Rashemen he rebelled, slaying dozens of hathrans. Ever since, the wychlaran wore masks to hide their identities as a safety measure.
 * His Deadliness Jabbar was the leader of the Purple Lancers, a militant order dedicated to the Mad God Cyric. Although he was a proponent of madness, he felt the battlefield was no place for whimsy.

9/1/2022 – 16/1/2022

 * Shalarins magically created pearl armor using the secretions of giant clams, and it was a tough as plate mail, but was rarely worn full-body because it still impeded swimming.
 * A golemmaster was a specialty priest of Azuth that specialized in creating golems, crafting them artistically and as close to perfection as possible.
 * The Reign of Misrule was an annual one-day Turmish festival filled with natives breaking oaths, dogmas, contracts, furniture, glassware, (possibly noses) and all propriety. Even paladins got rowdy!
 * Shadow spiders were huge arachnids from the Shadowfell with slippery webs and a paralyzing bite. They hunted on the Material plane and stashed victims in extra-dimensional larders.
 * The last member of the noble Deepwinter family of Waterdeep died in 1260 DR, all victims of the Guildwars and their own ambitions, leaving only ghosts and the family crypt behind.
 * Allandra Grey, the high priestess at the Water Queen's House in Baldur's Gate, followed an older form of Umberlant faith learned from her mother and grandmother.
 * The Fist of the Future, a fortress turned temple to Cyric in Hill's Edge, attracted hundreds of undisciplined and criminal types only a few years after its founding.
 * The Body Shop in Vaelan in Durpar grafted customers with the popular plangent crystal prosthetics, but it was rumored they were just not the same ever again.
 * Ippensheir was a twelve-day-long religious festival/trade conference when priests of Gond showed off their discoveries and inventions, partied, and sometimes even saw St. Ippen.
 * When Melkar of Mirabar tried to break into Ahghairon's Tower in Waterdeep in 1271 DR, his skeleton was left hanging outside as a warning not to disturb the first Open Lord's tomb.
 * Damh was a fey deity of the Seelie Court and patron of song, dance, revelry, and of satyrs, korreds, and atomies. Though earthy and self-indulgent, he was a powerful guardian of the fey.
 * Kzelter was a farming and garrison town in Tethyr that was seized by Teldorn Darkhope and the Knights of the Black Gauntlet of Bane while its lord was away at court.
 * The Herald of Mei Lung was a magical book and artifact that told the whole history of the world—right up to the present day, and beyond! Dragon Lord Mei Lung gave it to the monks of Ko'Chung Gompa for safekeeping.

16/1/2022 – 23/1/2022

 * Members of the Church of Waukeen were tasked with aiding merchants and traders across Toril, helping their businesses succeed and thrive&hellip; for a price, of course.
 * Priests of the Church of Jergal were sometimes transformed into mummies by Jergal himself, allowing them to carry out their divine duties beyond their natural lifespan.
 * The Army of the North was an alliance formed by the peoples of the North to stop the growing threat of the phaerimm after they slithered free from their imprisonment behind the Sharn Wall.
 * As'arem was an undersea empire of shalarin below the Sea of Fallen Stars. The empire originally worshiped the Shalarin pantheon until that group of gods was barred from Faerûn by Dagon.
 * The fabled, ever-moving Impossible Palace of the Silver Domes in Shou Lung was home to the great lung dragon Mei Lung, Grand Historian of the Celestial Empire.
 * The Deepwinter Vault was the eternal resting place of the noble Deepwinter family of Waterdeep. As it happened, it was also one of the secret entrances to the lair of the vampire lord Artor Morlin.
 * Fensir were giants native to the plane of Ysgard. Uniformly ugly in appearance, with large heads and warty skin, they were often referred to as "Ysgardian trolls".
 * Firedrakes were dragonets resembling tiny red dragons. That's just about the extent of their cuteness, though&mdash;these monsters had a "breathe fire first" policy to pretty much any stimuli.
 * Brother Hodges, a Baldurian priest of Ilmater, was treasured by his local community for his charitable nature. He was often seen talking amiably with the poorest residents of the Gate.
 * The Evening Glory was a goddess of love, beauty, and immortality who was imprisoned beneath the Amber Temple in Barovia, slowly turning her into a deity of undying obsession.
 * The spell meld of Lolth allowed a priestess of Lolth to meld her mind with another being, letting her see what they saw, read all their thoughts, and communicate with them telepathically.

23/1/2022 – 30/1/2022

 * The Order of the Dark Moon was founded by Alorgoth, a manipulative monk who traveled across east Faerûn spreading fear and strife, all in the name of furthering the Sharran faith.
 * Xet was the opal dragonet familiar of the geomancer Thormud Horn. Unremarkable both in the courage and combat departments, Xet was at the very least adequate as a paperweight.
 * Panzuriel was an evil sea god worshiped by scrags, koalinth, and krakens&mdash;and other unsavory underwater types to boot. His chief divine ambition was murdering Deep Sashelas.
 * Several deities of the Finnish pantheon established themselves on Toril as a ploy to gain more worshipers. These included Mielikki and Loviatar, but also Kiputytto (who died) and Untamo (who remained obscure).
 * The clerics, monks, diviners, and sibylites of the Church of Savras spent much of their time meditating in order to gain glimpses of the future.
 * The abjuration spell hide from animals rendered a druid, ranger, or cleric of the Hunt domain invisible to animals&mdash;even those who possessed tremorsense and blindsight.
 * The Generon was the seat of power of the nation of Chondath. As the most magnificent building in Arrabar, it frequently played host to glittering galas such as the annual Night of Ghosts.
 * Roaringshore was a pirate hold on the Sword Coast, not far from Baldur's Gate. One Harper agent claimed the local tavern was run by mind flayer spies.
 * The Hell Hound's Muzzle was a tavern-slash-assassin's guild in Skullport established by the Zhentarim githzerai agent Grimmbold after he failed a mission to kill Halaster Blackcloak.
 * The Hill of Lost Souls was a dormant volcano in the middle of Pelleor's Prairie haunted by the ghosts of human, goblin, and orc soldiers who died during the Battle of Bones.
 * The shipbuilding noble Raventree family of Waterdeep were primary backers of the expedition to Maztica that established New Waterdeep, from which they imported rare delicacies.

30/1/2022 – 6/2/2022

 * The world of Aebrynis was a little-known crystal sphere considered by planewalkers to be a backwater realm. The human rulers were characterized by their divine bloodlines, while dwarves there worshiped Moradin.
 * Battle Garde was the divine realm of Garagos, the Lord of War. The deity was known to roam the plane of Warrior's Rest, proclaiming any place he stopped to be his Battle Garde.
 * The cobra dragons of Kara-Tur were believed to be special king cobras that had reached great age and transformed into these destructive dragons.
 * The Endless Revel of Life was the name given to all festivals and celebrations of the Church of Sharess, of which there were many.
 * Gem magic was a unique form of magic that weaved spells into gemstones for later use. The art of gemstone magic dated back to ancient Netheril and practitioners of it were imaginatively called the "gem masters".
 * The Hands of Paymon were a set of gauntlets that had a demon bound to them. No need to lose your head searching for the Hands, as they were destroyed in 1375 DR.
 * Iyachtu Xvim, the Godson, was the half-fiend son of Bane, thought to have been fathered in the . Under the guise of Sirrion of Krynn, he tried to steal divinity from Beshaba and Tymora.
 * Pearl dragons were a rare species of gem dragon with scales reminiscent of pearls. A pearl dragon was known to exist on the shores of the Lake of Steam in the mid-to-late 14 century DR.
 * The Kiss of the Lady, also known as a kissmoots, was the most important ritual of the Sharran faith, during which clergy committed murders and other heinous acts in the name of the Dark Lady.
 * Baldurian politician Yvandre Rillyn was as blunt as a sledge and as sharp as a sword. She was well-trained in both from the years she spent with the company of the Flaming Fist.
 * Gathgaer Milomynt posed as an apothecary in Waterdeep, but was really a Sharran cultist and slaver serving the Dark Army of the Night and selling his victims to Skullport.
 * Waterwall was a spell granted to priests of Istishia. It paralyzed engulfed creatures and was particularly deadly when turned to ice by a cone of cold.

6/2/2022 – 13/2/2022

 * The head of the Church of Milil was known as the Patriarch of Song. He was a peerless harpist, a master vocalist, able to change his appearance and gender, and possibly immortal.
 * The Bastion of Hate was the divine realm of Iyachtu Xvim. By all accounts not the most hospitable of places, it was manned by an army of yugoloth mercenaries. When Xvim died, a gaggle of githzerai moved in.
 * Ularith was a ruined temple complex in the Anauroch dedicated to the concept of death itself. It was used as a portal hub for a sect of undead Netherese ne'er-do-wells.
 * Laothkund was an oft-contested city in the Unapproachable East, having been claimed at various times by Unther, the Red Wizards of Thay, and finally by the waves, becoming known as Laothkund the Drowned.
 * Lightning rats were a variety of dire rat unique to the Grayvale of the Savage Frontier. They were about the size of a dog and could bark like one too.
 * The Ilmatari clergy of St. Dobla's Abbey were rumored to engage in licentious and wanton activities; in truth, they worked to free slaves in the spirit of their patron, Saint Dobla.
 * Kendrick Selkirk, Overmaster of Sembia, was so fiercely devout a follower of Tyr that he forbade his own resurrection, not wishing to challenge his god's will.
 * The Geonomicon cataloged almost a hundred worlds of the Prime Material plane, detailing their features and life forms. Spelljammer captains considered it an invaluable resource.
 * Bane (no, not that one) was a powerful divine spell granted to priests of Horus-Re. It bestowed a permanent curse on a creature that was likely to make their life miserable and short.
 * Specialty priests of Malar were known as beasthearts. They spent most of their time living in the wilderness like savages, killing prey with their bare hands. And they smelled bad.
 * Rivalen Tanthul was one of the Princes of Shade as well as the Chosen of Shar, the Goddess of Loss. He sought to initiate his goddess's Cycle of Night, destroying Toril and all its people.

13/2/2022 – 20/2/2022

 * The Church of Eldath was dedicated to the pacifist teachings of Eldath, the Goddess of Shining Waters, and consisted of Eldathan clerics, druids, monks, mystics, and specialty priests known as peacemen.
 * The clergy of the Church of Milil were known as Sorlyn, though no one could remember exactly why. The Mililan faith included a number of dolphin priests who were known to employ whales to sing for them.
 * Commander General Malkur Forrin was dismissed from the Sembian army for his excessive brutality, so he went ahead and made his own personal mercenary army instead, known as the Blades.
 * The Selûnite acolyte Respen Moongleam was known for his cheerful nature and love for the sea&mdash;that is, until his brain was eaten by a doppelganger who wanted to infiltrate the House of the Moon.
 * After the Twin Towers of the Eternal Eclipse were destroyed in the Rage of Dragons, the Cyricist High Priest Haarken Akhmelere rebuilt the temple using the Golden Lamp of Samesaj.
 * The Bloodsailors of Neverwinter became embroiled in an internecine conflict when Callik, the pirate crew's second-in-command, kidnapped Vengaul Bloodsail's girlfriend and sabotaged a lucrative cockatrice auction.
 * Specialty priests of Mask were known as catfoots&mdash;not "catfeet", because apparently the Church of Mask disliked how it sounded. They were usually collecting money from thieves and stealing for themselves.
 * The evocation spell ship shield allowed priests of Valkur, the Captain of the Waves, to create a stormy barrier that halted the velocity of high winds, large waves, and torrential rain.
 * The guardian construct Cynosure of Stardeep once pranked the Keepers of the Cerulean Sign by reporting that a chicken singing the ballad "King of Stars" had invaded the fortress's Causeway.
 * Brightaxe Hall was the seat of power of the ancient shield dwarven empire of Shanatar. The Wyrmskull Throne stood in the Hall for millennia, until the drow of Guallidurth drove the dwarves away permanently.
 * The Temple of Sharess in Bezantur was a decadent place dedicated to pleasure and excess. Every tenday, the temple hosted a "High Worship" ceremony, which was really just a thinly veiled party.
 * The Tymoran temple in Ravens Bluff was known as the Hall of Luck. In addition to standard temple services, the Hall provided guest quarters for adventurers and several gambling halls.

20/2/2022 – 27/2/2022

 * Cyric was at one point the god of tyranny, murder, death, deception, and illusion, but after numerous setbacks the only portfolio left to him was that of lies.
 * Cynosure was the construct warden of Stardeep, a star elven prison fortress in the Feywild built to safeguard against the Abolethic Sovereignty.
 * The Ice Hunters of the Sea of Moving Ice worshiped totem spirits like Clever Oomio, Grandfather Walrus, Great White Bear, and Pindalpau-pau.
 * The wizard Sakrysta Golthard pursued a variety of get-rich-quick schemes with mixed results, including some that were beneficial, a few curses, and one that saw her enslaved by a lich for a decade.
 * Acting as a pawn for both Shar and Mask, Elyril Hraven helped bring about the Sembian Civil War by poisoning Overmaster Kendrick Selkirk, thereby destabilizing the nation.
 * Kholiathra were gentle and carefree servants of Sehanine Moonbow who floated about, invisibly and silently aiding elvenkind by stopping minor accidents and granting good luck.
 * The Selûnite Order of the Half Moon was formed to guard the High House of Stars in Waterdeep. When it was burned down, they kept on guarding the new temple instead.
 * Greater shadow evocation enabled a caster to tap into the energies of the Shadowfell to create shadowy imitations of powerful spells, such as cloudkill and wall of fire.
 * Priests of Abbathor, the dwarven god of greed, were granted the spell conceal riches that let them disguise their treasured riches as worthless junk.
 * When Sigil's Society of Sensation tried to record the activities of Milil with a recorder stone, the deity responded by performing the excruciatingly long opera The Fall of Myth Drannor, boring the Sensates senseless.
 * Chan, Princess of Good Aerial Creatures, did her best to foil fellow archomental Yan-C-Bin whenever she could, though always in a discreet manner so as to avoid reciprocal aggression.

27/2/2022 – 6/3/2022

 * Sapra was a port city on the isle of Ilighôn in the Vilhon Reach, considered to be one of the cleanest and calmest places in the whole of Faerûn&mdash;all thanks to the oversight and protection of the Emerald Enclave.
 * When the gods of the Mulhorandi pantheon first arrived on Toril, they traveled aboard the Matet, Horus-Re's planes-sailing solar barge.
 * Gremishkas were tiny, cat-like monstrosities born from unstable magic. They hunted for magic of any kind to devour, and would chew through any spellbooks and material components they could get their claws on.
 * Tsucora quori were nightmarish aberrations who hunted the dreaming spirits of sleeping mortals on the world of Eberron, only appearing on Toril in extremely rare cases.
 * The Errant Thoughts were, alongside the Minders and the Lore Filchers, one of the military branches in charge of the defense of the illithid city of Oryndoll.
 * The city of Tulmon in the Land of the Lions was once ruled by the Calavarr, a mighty wizard who spent much of his time developing a small army of aberrant deepspawn.
 * Endren Corrinthal was an influential Sembian politician who nearly succeeded Kendrick Selkirk as Overmaster, but was falsely accused of orchestrating Selkirk's murder himself and imprisoned.
 * The spell enchant an item, which often called for bizarre processes and esoteric components, was once considered an alternative to regular item enchantment.
 * The conjuration spell mists of Ghaunadaur allowed priests of Ghaunadaur, the Lord of Slime, to cloak and protect themselves in a flowing violet mist.
 * Crystallomancy was a divine spell granted to clerics of Corellon that could turn an ordinary gemstone into a scrying device for a short time.
 * The Sojourner's Portal was a magical mirror that doubled as a gate connecting Waterdeep's House of the Moon with several other places associated with Selûne.
 * The Draakhorn was a gift to all dragonkind from Tiamat herself during the war between dragons and giants. Tooting the horn alerted all chromatic dragons within 2,000 miles.
 * Clams were a staple food across the breadth of Faerûn, from Yeshpek in the south to Ten-Towns in the north. Some clams could grow to monstrous proportions, becoming giant clams.

6/3/2022 – 13/3/2022

 * Anubis was the god of the dead in the Pharaonic pantheon, in charge of judging the souls of worshipers in the afterlife. Unlike many of his peers, Anubis chose not to travel to Toril and join the Mulhorandi pantheon.
 * The Eye of Selûne was a magical mirror in the Moonmaiden's temple in Waterdeep which could be used to scry upon any place on Toril, but only if it were illuminated by the moon's light.
 * The spell daydream allowed clerics of Brandobaris, the Master of Stealth, to very mildly distract someone from afar, just enough that they could sneak past them (or plant a dagger in their back).
 * Specialty priests of Mielikki were known as treespeakers. All of them were elven maidens who had sworn an oath of purity requiring them to spurn all romantic advances, to the chagrin of thirsty adventurers everywhere.
 * The Unclaimed was the personal memoir of a Sharran priestess who had surrendered all her memories to the Lady of Loss before entering into the afterlife, then was seemingly abandoned by her goddess, her soul left to wander the City of Judgment for an eternity.
 * Uddron Blass was an illithid cultist of the Absolute who wished to take down Baldur's Gate. He'd have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for those damned heroes of Baldur's Gate.
 * The Ghost Stag eluded hunters in the King's Forest of Cormyr for years; everytime it was cornered it seemed to fade into nothingness, leading the War Wizards to theorize it could teleport itself away from danger.
 * The Sacred Pool of the Sea Mother was a massive temple to the kuo-toan goddess Blibdoolpoolp in the city of Sloopdilmonpolop. Such was its size that it took several generations of slaves to build it.
 * When the lighthouse near Phandalin was taken over by Talassan cultists, they renamed it the Tower of Storms and used the signal light to drive several ships aground, such as the Golden Gull, the Sea Urchin, and the Vainglory.
 * Unlike many of his kind, the green dragon Acuakvacaesin was a relatively peaceful sort with no interest in the affairs of humanoids... unless he saw an orc or a drow, either of which he would brutally murder on sight.
 * The Traitor was once a Keeper of the Cerulean Sign who stood watch against the horrors of the Far Realm, until he was seduced by the Abolethic Sovereignty and, well... became a traitor.
 * Incredible amounts of trade flowed through Telflamm, which stood at the western end of the Golden Way that connected Faerûn and Kara-Tur, but lax laws and rampant piracy kept the city from growing obscenely rich.

13/3/2022 – 20/3/2022

 * The Church of Lathander comprised the collective worshipers of Lathander the Morninglord. Although a highly respected, popular, and exceedingly wealthy church, the Lathanderite faith languished following the apparent death of their deity.
 * Marr was the High Priest of Gargauth in the Thayan city of Bezantur. Fanatical in his devotion of the Hidden Lord, Marr led his fellow worshipers in evil midnight rituals at the local temple.
 * The Church of Mystra had two kinds of specialty priests: monitors, who kept the balance of magical power and sought to curb abuse; and apothecars, holy alchemists who specialized in brewing potions and elixirs.
 * Arboreal scamper was a divine spell granted to priests of Baervan Wildwanderer, the Forest Gnome, allowing them to climb, hang, and jump through the trees like a squirrel.
 * The conjuration spell golden dragonmail armored its caster in a suit of radiant golden plate mail sketched with patterns of dragonscale, protecting them from harm and making them resemble a gold dragon ever so slightly.
 * A necklace of memory enhancement greatly improved its wearer's powers of recall, making them immune to all forms of memory loss and allowing them to perfectly recall anything they experienced in the last seven days.
 * Eyedrakes were created when a beholder obsessively dreamed of a dragon for extended periods of time, its fevered dreams eventually manifesting in the shape of a horrifying, winged aberration.
 * When the residents of Floodblest, a village near Neverwinter, suddenly became afflicted by a mysterious illness, the Lord-Mayor hired adventurers to investigate the village well, suspecting it of harboring a villainous wizard.
 * As leader of the Neverwintan garrison in the town of Leilon, Sergeant Hazz Yorrum had to contend with cultists of Talos, missing soldiers, and the ghost of a meddlesome wizard.
 * Nib the Miser was a Waterdhavian slum lord haunted by the apparitions of people he had wronged. He traveled to the Feywild, where a hag convinced him to spend his days spinning gold into items as an act of atonement.
 * The Chalk Destrier was a bizarre spellscarred creature made from animated stone that made its lair in the Plaguewrought Lands near Ormpetarr, trading secrets with passersby (and only occasionally murdering them and collecting them as trophies).
 * Minstrels were traveling entertainers who plied their trade across the Realms; they were not to be confused with bards, who were considered more talented, better trained, and who typically had some command of arcane magic.

20/3/2022 – 27/3/2022

 * The Church of Moander was the organized religion of Moander, the Rotting God. Adherents of the church had to undergo a ritual where they absorbed a seed of Moander, which would grow inside them until their internal organs had been replaced with rotting plant matter.
 * The Cycle of Night was the recurrent destruction of stars and planets across the multiverse by Shar. The Lady of Loss attempted to enact the Cycle on Toril, fueled by the divine power of the slain god Mask, but her scheme was fortunately thwarted.
 * Specialty priests of the Church of Silvanus were known as greenlords (or, indeed, greenladies). They defended the wilds of Toril against the encroachment of civilization, viewing settled lands as an affront to Silvanus.
 * The Luminaries were a Vaasan sect of warlocks pledged to the service of the primordial Telos, the Master of the Iron Sky. As Telos worship was the de facto state religion in Vaasa under the Warlock Knights' rule, Luminaries served functions similar to those of priests in other lands.
 * Clerics of Garl Glittergold could cast conjure aurumvorax to attack their enemies, though aurumvoraxes were notoriously willful and disobedient, and so would resist any command that wasn't "attack" or "eat the nearest source of gold".
 * Sprite venom was an alteration spell granted to priests of the Seldarine deity Erevan Ilesere which created an ointment that could be applied to arrow tips and the like, causing any creature pierced by them to fall into a deep slumber.
 * Crystalmists were hive-like swarms of living crystal creatures that consumed sunlight, each about as intelligent as a grasshopper. One swarm lived in Waterdeep's House of the Moon, subsisting on the continual light spells in the Selûnite temple.
 * Shardcasters, crystalline constructs made by the star elves of Sildëyuir to guard their glass fortresses, could merge their bodies with surfaces made from glass or crystal, allowing for convenient storage.
 * Wraithworms were extraplanar snakes that shared many characteristics with the undead, despite being very much alive. Scholars ascribed different theories to the cause behind this, with most believing that a greater fiend or evil god had created the wraithworms for their own purposes or amusement.
 * The infamous pirate Blackfingers Ralingor appeared to terrorize the seas of the Utter East until his ship, the Kissing Shark, was destroyed in a smokepowder explosion. In actuality, the real Ralingor had died several years earlier and his crew had simply adopted the "Blackfingers" name.
 * Gallio Elibro was the town mage of Leilon, a mining town between Neverwinter and Waterdeep. He resided in the High Tower of Thalivar; unfortunately, this meant that the ghost of Thalivar, a deceased wizard, possessed his body every night.

27/3/2022 – 3/4/2022

 * The Cloister of St. Ramedar was a Tethyrian monastery of the church of Ilmater&hellip; and also a prison and sanitarium for the criminally insane, said to be haunted by murderous ghosts and deranged lycanthropes.
 * Sunwatchers were the priests of the Azuposi people of the Pasocada Basin north of Maztica. The Azuposi considered the sun to be a mighty spirit, and so sunwatchers performed rituals all year to keep its favor.
 * Kraken priests were devout servants of krakens, worshiping them like gods and receiving monstrous powers in return. Krakens could possess the minds of their priests, using them as puppets to enforce their will directly.
 * Clan Sunblight was goaded by Deep Duerra (actually Asmodeus in disguise, unbeknownst to them) into invading Icewind Dale and establishing the first duergar realm on the surface.
 * Umbergoth, a mountain in Aglarond, was so steep and tall it was thought to be unscalable by humanoids. The Cult of the Dragon proved this wrong by repeatedly scaling the peak to parley with a fang dragon.
 * Lava ankhegs: for when regular ankhegs just won't do. Larger and stronger than their comparatively mundane cousins, lava ankhegs burrowed through the volcanic soil of Pelleor's Prairie when hunting for prey.
 * Dragonbone golems were created by binding together the bones&mdash;or entire skeletons&mdash;of dragons, physically binding them together and animating them via the innate magic that existed within all dragonkind.
 * Star spawn manglers were horrific, creeping creatures often used as assassins or guards by aberrant cults. Like other star spawn, manglers were associated with the alien Elder Evils of the Far Realm.
 * The spell horrible taste transmuted its caster's flesh, rendering it inedible. Anyone attempting to gnaw on said flesh would be struck with overwhelming nausea, unless they had a natural immunity to poison.
 * Although deathsbreath mushrooms&mdash;large and speckled fungi found on the High Moor&mdash;were seen as a delicacy by goblinoids, most others found them toxic and nauseating.
 * Brindra Arrose was a pirate aboard Blackfingers Ralingor's ship, the Kissing Shark, in the Utter East. She was extremely muscular, shaped like a barrel, and good friends with all of her crewmates.
 * Arabel's Weary Knight Inn had little to recommend it: the mattresses smelled of horse, the innkeeper's face scared children, and the common room contained an actual tomb. Still, it had a pleasant atmosphere, live music, and low prices.

3/4/2022 - 10/4/2022

 * Katelyn Brekstel appeared to be a human girl who sought to hire brave adventurers who would slay the dragons that killed her parents, all while concealing the fact that she was a steel dragon herself.
 * Sus'sistinako, the Spider Woman, was a great spirit of the Azuposi people who was parent of then Sun, helped create the land, and sung the other spirits of creation into being.
 * The Sisterhood of the Silver Fire was an order of sorceresses and incantatrixes devoted to Mystra who opposed the misdeeds of her fallen Chosen, Sammaster, and in practice the Cult of the Dragon.
 * Knucklebones was a simple, common, and ancient game. According to legend, the mortal Bane, Myrkul, and Bhaal played knucklebones to win the portfolios of Jergal and thence became gods themselves.
 * The spell portal well was developed by clerics of Shaundakul to allow them to linger inside a portal and see out both sides.
 * A harmonious choir of the words was a lot of words to describe a celestial that was in fact a lot of words. They loved conversation, knowledge, learning, and language and they spoke the Words of Creation.
 * Khundul was a settlement in the Raurin that for a century was left to eke out a living after the eruption at Solon, until the people discovered gemstones in the ashes they could use to trade.
 * Thalivar the mage had a tower in the center of Leilon where he summoned and trapped planar beings for study, until they escaped and killed him, and his own spirit was trapped there instead.
 * The clergy of Tymora encouraged people to take chances and pursue their dreams, to be masters of their own fate, and to trust in their own luck and that of Lady Luck herself.
 * Acorn barrage was a Rillifanean spell that turned acorns into missiles as if hurled by a sling. But not under water.

10/4/2022 - 17/4/2022

 * The Church of Siamorphe was one of the wealthiest and most exclusive churches in all of Faerûn, a natural consequence of Siamorphe being the patron deity of nobility and their divine right to rule.
 * As part of their service to Tiamat, the Dragon Queen, the Church of Tiamat was focused on two tasks: acquiring wealth and prestige in the name of Tiamat, and sabotaging the faiths of all other gods.
 * The elemental-summoning apparatus known as the Elemental Scourge lay hidden inside Kossuth's House, a secret chamber dedicated to Kossuth beneath the ancient Netherese city of Skelem.
 * The Chultan pantheon comprised those deities worshiped by the humans of Chult: Ubtao, Father of the Dinosaurs; Eshowdow, Ravager of the Tabaxi; and Sseth, the Sibilant Death.
 * Spiderbind was an Eilistraean transmutation spell with an exceedingly specific purpose: to very slightly arrest the movement of the spiderkind servants of Lolth.
 * The monks and painbearers of the Ramedaran Brotherhood ministered to the criminal, the insane, and the criminally insane from their mountain stronghold, the Cloister of St. Ramedar.
 * Shakak was a great spirit of winter in the folklore and myth of the Azuposi people, able to bring about any kind of cold weather at will. He even wore a shirt made of icicles.
 * The Azuposi people of the Pasocada Basin north of Maztica consisted of six tribes: the bear tribe, the badger tribe, the eagle tribe, the mountain lion tribe, the shrew tribe, and the wolf tribe.
 * The gloaming shadowcrafter Miska loved disrupting the status quo and then quickly moving on, making him a valued agent of the Underdark Anarchists' Fellowship.
 * A helm of underwater action allowed its wearer to see, breathe, and talk underwater, making it a real life-saver for wizards who found themselves having to utter verbal components while diving.
 * The intelligent longsword Angul, fashioned from the soul of a Keeper of the Cerulean Sign, bore an overwhelming force of will that threatened to dominate most who attempted to wield it.

17/4/2022 - 24/4/2022

 * In Zakhara, pigeons were often trained to deliver messages across vast distances, or to help sailors scout for dry land. Elsewhere in the Realms, pigeons made for decent pie filling.
 * Every hundred years or so, the dracolich known as the Everlasting Wyrm would reform in the Sharawood, and the Myrkulyte crusaders of the Knights of the Eternal Dragon would ride out and destroy it.
 * The necromantic spell haunted reverie allowed a cleric of Kiaransalee to curse an elf so that the next time they entered the reverie, their sleep-like state of meditation, they became trapped in a living nightmare.
 * The spell reed staff allowed followers of the halfling deities Sheela Peryroyl and Yondalla to turn an ordinary blade of grass into a fully functional quarterstaff.
 * Unbeknownst to the Cult of the Sacred Skull&mdash;a strange, fanatical cult in the Anauroch desert&mdash;their mind flayer leader was actually a phaerimm in disguise.
 * Specialty priests of Sharess, the Dancing Lady, were known as sensates. Master manipulators, sensates were often skilled singers or dancers, and alluring to boot&mdash;and, failing that, could call upon charm magic to achieve their goals.
 * The Society of Sensation, one of the fifteen factions of Sigil, believed the only validation of existence was that which could be experienced through the senses. Only beings that had experienced everything could become aware of the "universal Truth".
 * The author of the seminal work To Counter the Assumption of a Flat Faerûn was frustrated that many Torilians insisted the world was flat despite the "indisputable" proof that it was shaped like a ring or a doughnut.
 * X the Mystic's Arcane Grimoire was a powerful spellbook in the possession of Ygga Raxyg, an arcanaloth librarian bound to the lowest level of the Tomb of the Nine Gods by Acererak himself.
 * The sea hag coven consisting of Auntie Unk, Granny Muyuk, and Nana Pocktuss struck a pact of mutual protection with a neighboring Cult of Talos; the Talassans also supplied the hags with the scrumptious remains of drowned sailors.
 * Although initially annoyed being summoned to scout the aboleth city of Xxiphu, the angel of exploration Mapathious soon grew curious and committed to the task&mdash;at least until he was murdered by a kraken.

24/4/2022 - 1/5/2022

 * The Well of Dragons was a fortress of the Cult of the Dragon built into a dormant volcano that once served as a dragon graveyard. They first used the Well to create dracoliches, but later turned it into a grand temple to Tiamat.
 * Saint Ramedar of Ilmater was a vocal proponent of rehabilitating and educating criminals rather than punishing them. Naturally, he was later executed for treason in a horribly painful manner.
 * Chinchilla was a rabbit Bhaalspawn and an accomplished mage. Yes, that does indeed mean Bhaal once procreated with a rabbit. The Lord of Murder could be accused of many things, but he certainly didn't discriminate.
 * The spell maskstone let a cleric of Abbathor, the dwarven god of greed, change the appearance of stone using illusion magic. Naturally, this didn't fool any self-respecting dwarf or svirfneblin for long.
 * Summon monster VII was the final spell in the summon monster series invented by the Netherese arcanist Lucke. The subsequent summon monster VIII wasn't developed until over 1000 years after the fall of Netheril.
 * Evensong Tower was a Berduskan temple dedicated to Milil, the Lord of Song, well known for its frequent and elaborate revels that were popular among the city's rich and powerful.
 * The Glade of Life was a sacred place for followers of Shiallia, Chauntea, Eldath, Lurue, and Mielikki in the High Forest. It was surrounded by thousand-year-old oak trees and korreds danced through every night.
 * The Resort, a spelljamming port in Nimbral, was a luxurious destination catering to spelljammer crews. As long as they didn't cause trouble, guests were free to enjoy the Resort's many bars, massage parlors, and saunas.
 * Although Wa was closed to international trade, the port city of Akkaido remained the sole exception. Albeit still heavily regulated, foreign trade flowed through Akkaido via both seafaring and spelljamming vessels.
 * Orogoth was the headquarters of House Orogoth, a group of black dragons with an interest in unscrupulous magical research; consequently, it was considered one of the most dangerous locations in the High Moor.
 * Shimmerlings were minute fey resembling winged elves glowing in all the colors of the rainbow. Although nearly mindless on their own, they developed a sort of swarm intelligence when gathered in great numbers.
 * When Hissain ' s lizardfolk tribe was displaced by rot trolls, he came up with an ingenious plan to use captured soldiers from Leilon as living bait to lure the trolls away.
 * The goblin bandits under the command of the wererat Hekkut the Motled mostly followed him out of fear that he would infect them with lycanthropy, thereby barring them from their afterlives with Maglubiyet.
 * Witch doctors combined the divine abilities of a shaman with a limited use of wizardly arcane magic. They were most commonly found in rural communities, such as those of neanderthals, fire trolls, vegepygmies, and xvarts.

1/5/2022 - 8/5/2022

 * Metastakixx was a strange being created by a forgotten deity to guard the fragments of a corrupt god inside an ancient cave on the Crab's Claw Coast, unremembered by all but unwavering in their duty.
 * The Second Unhuman War was fought between scro and elves across several crystal spheres. The scro sought to avenge their loss in the last war and nearly won, but the war ended in a costly victory for the elves.
 * Ratri was a deity of darkness and night in the Vedic pantheon worshiped by robbers, thieves, and murderers. Although she had no followers on Toril, she maintained cordial relations with Mask and Shar.
 * Seldeetha Darinaalis was the Grand Oracle of the Istishian faith. As the first high priest of Istishia, her descendants were granted the title of Delphine Regent.
 * The spell beast tattoo allowed a follower of the Seldarine deity Fenmarel Mestarine to gain a characteristic associated with an animal he or she had tattooed on their body, such as strength for a bear tattoo.
 * The Bellows of Milil was an enormous pipe organ built into the temple of Milil in Athkatla. If played just right, it could fire off a number of potent spells&mdash;or pulverize the brains of anyone inside the temple.
 * Clerics of Dumathoin who cast earth walk could pass through earth and stone as if walking normally, much like a xorn (but hopefully looking slightly less horrifying in the process).
 * The Cult of the Dragon searched far and wide for the dragon masks, five magical masks that could be combined to form the Mask of the Dragon Queen, which had the power to free Tiamat from the Nine Hells.
 * The Wearers of Purple, named for their characteristic robes, were the leaders of individual Dragon Cult cells charged with facilitating every facet of their cell's operations, from recruitment to sweet-talking evil dragons.
 * The Caverns of Xammux near Silverymoon contained the Library of Tarchamus, a repository of knowledge built by the Netherese arcanist Tarchamus&hellip; well, until Farideh destroyed it all.
 * Darkhold Vale was a tiny valley in the Far Hills most notable as the site of Darkhold, the western stronghold of the Zhentarim. As as security measure, the entire mouth of the vale was fortified with a wall.
 * Thelbrimm's Nine was one of the military units that patrolled the eastern lands of Loudwater's domain. They supposedly discovered the remains of several local families butchered by orcs east of Orlbar.
 * If left unchecked, a bodytaker plant would slowly replace every living creature around it with podling replicas under its control, even going so far as to, ahem, sup-plant an entire society.
 * Rot trolls were much like ordinary trolls except imbued with necrotic energy. This caused them to pulse with foul magic but also meant they could not regenerate like their mundane kind.

8/5/2022 - 15/5/2022

 * As members of the Sisters of the Blood Moon, an all-female adventuring troupe, the half-orc barbarian Oagla'ta and her partner, the duergar fighter Nyzeil Nighthammer, journeyed to Icewind Dale to help quell unrest in the area.
 * The Company of the Sunlit Sea, the adventuring company of Sir Isteval, disbanded after an ill-advised attack on a temple of Bhaal occupied by a dracolich; they all survived, but their wizard was badly burnt.
 * Goldspires, located just outside of Athkatla in Amn, was the main center of Waukeen's worship in the Realms. A massive castle-abbey with gilded roofs and golden gates, it was nearly a small city in its own right.
 * Xammux, the Many, was an evil deity of indifference, forbidden knowledge, and experimentation whose followers favored a "long knife" when enacting cruel experiments to further their ken.
 * Reverend Father Benentine Boldoran was the leader of the Ramedaran Brotherhood, an Ilmatari monastic order who specialized in rehabilitating criminals. He was known for his keen wit and sense of humor.
 * Ur-priests despised deities and believed they obtained their dominion over divine magic by stealing it. In actuality, the gods were completely aware of this and granted ur-priests a smattering of power because they were occasionally useful.
 * The Azuposi people of the Pasocada Basin north of Maztica referred to people who consorted with or were corrupted by malicious spirits as bent priests, because they had "bent" to the spirit's will.
 * Unseelie nymphs were twisted relatives of nymphs that delighted in the destruction of natural beauty. Although they appeared quite beautiful, this belied their cruel and often deleterious intentions.
 * The Thunder Cliffs near Leilon were named for the thunderous noise made the Sea of Swords as it crashed into them. This appealed to the anchorites of Talos, who chose the cliffs as their headquarters in the Neverwinter region.
 * The Council of Waterdeep was a temporary and fractious body coordinating the efforts of the Emerald Enclave, the Harpers, the Lords' Alliance, the Order of the Gauntlet, and the Zhentarim in thwarting the Cult of the Dragon.
 * An angelship was a winged and versatile spelljammer operated by kobolds. Widely held as the best kobold spaceship design, some questioned whether kobolds could have actually designed it.

15/5/2022 - 22/5/2022

 * The residents of Helmsport in Maztica suffered attacks by red wolves of Payit until they killed the pack leader and stuffed its corpse. As the stuffed wolf changed owners, many of them ended up mysteriously dead, causing many to believe it to be cursed.
 * The city of Crimmor in Amn was protected by the Crimmor Guard, who patrolled the city's streets, manned its walls, and worked with the Shadow Thieves to regulate criminal activity.
 * Every year on Ches 30, clerics from all the temples in Waterdeep and members of the city's sea-related guilds traveled to Deepwater Isle to fast and pray as part of the Fair Seas Festival.
 * Mystic wanderers believed they needed to explore and experience the world&mdash;rather than remain cloistered in a temple&mdash;in order to truly serve their gods, making them the Realmsian equivalent of obnoxious backpackers.
 * Specialty priests of Valkur, the Captain of the Waves, were known as stormharbors. They tried to show how Valkur could be counted upon to protect against the wrath of both Talos and Umberlee while at sea. Valkur, however, did not always cooperate.
 * The spell nature's eyes allowed a priest of the gnomish deity Gaerdal Ironhand to tap into the senses of animals in their vicinity to locate intruders (and other things too, presumably).
 * Clerics of Laduguer, the duergar god of weapons, could cast the spell enchanted hammer on a blacksmith's hammer made from silver or mithral to make it produce superior smithwork.
 * The swordsmith Aldenar Uldinath was known for his cheap prices and superior craftsmanship. Far from limiting himself to swords, his latches, nails, and pins were said to support Triboar's wainwrights in their success.
 * Malkith Undree, a Magister of Mystra, was known for his superior attitude and relentless scheming, causing some to describe him as "a fat, contented cat, looking down his nose at the world".
 * Scarbradro's Haven was an inn catering to wagon crews in Baldur's Gate notable for its spartan approach to interior design&mdash;guests were seated at basic trestle tables with benches and the walls weren't even painted.
 * The angelship known as the Enforcer served as the flagship of the Enforcers, a vigilante law-enforcement company that protected Realmspace from mind flayers and pirates.
 * The Silverwisp Swamp near the Mere of Dead Men was the site of numerous Uthgardt burial mounds. Unfortunately, the ample supply of corpses attracted the attention of nefarious types like the ancient Netherese necromancer Idris.

22/5/2022 - 29/5/2022

 * The Code of Crimmor described the laws and rules of the city of Crimmor in Amn. Notably, "harmful spellcasting" was prohibited, punishable by anything from a mild fine to flogging to immediate execution.
 * Lei Kung was a god of thunder in the Celestial Empire, the dominant religion of Kara-Tur. One of his chief roles was to create foul weather for the punishment and edification of the Celestial deities' misbehaving worshipers.
 * The unholy fortress known only as Tiamat's temple briefly ascended to the Well of Dragons from the Nine Hells as the Cult of the Dragon succeeded in summoning the Dragon Queen.
 * The group of gods known as the Gentle Sisters&mdash;Eldath, Mielikki, Selûne, and Sune&mdash;were not actually sisters at all. The term was apparently bestowed on them by "less gentle beings".
 * Holy singers were specialty priests of Oghma, the Lord of Knowledge, who were known for singing rather than speaking in the hope that the harmony in their voice would bring harmony to those around them.
 * The spell steelskin allowed priests of Flandal Steelskin, the Master of Metal, to temporarily meld the skin of a creature with steel, granting added protection against physical blows (but making them less agile).
 * Velomar Dauntcastle, a loud and boisterous Magister of Mystra, was known for his disdain for hypocrisy and nobility&mdash;sometimes donning the dresses of highborn ladies to mock them. He was killed by no less than sixty sword-thrusts.
 * Widow Groat, a member of the night hag coven known as the Sewn Sisters, had her skull filled with a colony of ants that would scurry forth from behind her eyes to act as her little spies.
 * Ellyn Harbreeze was the proprietor of Harbreeze Bakery in Baldur's Gate, and was famous as the most notorious local gossip. She often invited adventurers for tea to pump them for juicy rumors.
 * The illithid Zhiir ran a black market in the jungle nation of Samarach, providing select clients with rare magical books. One way of gaining access to Zhiir's rare stock was to carry out murders on the mind flayer's behalf.
 * The Gultoss family of Ravens Bluff mostly concerned themselves with shipping and fishing, but were also known for spawning a number of seafaring adventurers. As a result, most Gultosses resided far away from their home town.
 * The Gauntlet was a refitted scorpion spelljammer that served as flagship of the Gauntlet, the self-proclaimed police force of the Tears of Selûne. The neogi offered a bounty of over 100,000 gp for the ship's capture.