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• Deciding to see it while he still can, BadCatMan went to the well-defended trade city of Elturel, exploring from the Docks to the High District via the Winter Garden and seeing the imposing Helm's Shieldhall. He learned about the legendary Hellriders and how safe and secure the city was. When he asked about thieves, he learned from the Hellriders just how safe and secure. After doing some detective work on counterfeit Elturian Grey cheeses at the Bent Helm tavern, he spent a sleepless night at the Oar and Wagonwheel Inn, blaming the noise rather than the cheese, but it beat the dungeons. He apologizes for missing the Clacks again, but promises the time was spent working on the wiki in other ways.

• After telling us more than we ever wanted to know about skull lords, bulezaus, gorgimerae, and turnips, Possessed Priest sailed with the Heroes of Ascore to Farr Windward, a colony of (fellow?) outcasts and misfits, meeting Ougo the Strange among others. There he saw an impressive performance of the original Neverwinter Nights epic poem, complete with kumquats on the actors' heads.
• Meanwhile, Regis87 continued her Year of Magic, documenting the spells of Maztica's hishnashapers, such as pestilence, scalesnare, and scrollsee, and plumaweavers, with bird charm, blossom, and featherweaving, and modern spells like minor illusion, thaumaturgy, and spirit guardians. After running afoul of a Hell Knight, Regis took refuge on Mount Celestia, ascending through the layers of Solania, Mertion, and Jovar.

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The mysterious Plane of Shadow was a dark and twisted analog of the Prime Material Plane that was discovered by the ancient Imaskari, forgotten for thousands of years, then rediscovered by the first Netherese Empire. Areas of deep shadow on the Prime Plane, especially subterranean darkness, could become a focus for a vortex to the Plane of Shadow, allowing travel between the planes while the vortex remained open. Upon entering the Plane of Shadow, the dim surroundings looked oddly familiar, but the similarities diverged rapidly as one moved away from the entry point, making mapping the plane impossible. Skilled practitioners of the Art could cast the shadow walk spell, and either enter the Shadow Plane or traverse great distances very rapidly by skirting along the border between the planes before stepping back into the Prime.

Despite its forlorn appearance of abandonment, the Plane of Shadow was home to a wide variety of creatures. Over the millennia, all manner of animals and monsters either wandered into or fell through a vortex and got lost or became trapped. Those that survived eventually became dark creatures imbued with shadowstuff, often with unique abilities. A nearly immortal race of shapeshifters known as the Malaugrym were also quite at home here. Probably the most dominant inhabitants were the descendants of the ancient Netherese enclave of Thultanthar which escaped the Fall of Netheril by shifting the entire floating city into the Plane of Shadow. Over centuries, each generation adapted to the new environment a little better as it replaced part of their humanity with shadow essence, until they became shades.

At some point in its history, the deities Mask and Shar carved out their dominions on the Plane of Shadow. When Shar choreographed the demise of Mystra, precipitating the Spellplague, she managed to inject some of the energy from the Negative Energy plane into the Plane of Shadow, which changed its fundamental nature. Suddenly, the souls of the dead were drawn here first on their way to the afterlife. Shar named the altered plane the Shadowfell.

New & Upcoming Releases

Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus by Christopher Perkins is a 5^th-edition Dungeons & Dragons adventure module released on September 17, 2019. It sees players adventure from Baldur's Gate down to Avernus, the first of the Nine Hells.

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Welcome to Baldur's Gate, a city of ambition and corruption situated at the crossroads of the Sword Coast. You've just started your adventuring career, but already find yourself embroiled in a plot that sprawls from the shadows of Baldur's Gate to the front lines of the planes-spanning Blood War! Do you have what it takes to turn infernal war machines and nefarious contracts against the archdevil Zariel and her diabolical hordes? And can you ever hope to find your way home safely when pitted against the infinite evils of the Nine Hells?

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Boundless by R.A. Salvatore is the second entry in the Generations trilogy featuring Drizzt Do'Urden. It was released on September 10^th. The novel's story is split into two parts: one following Drizzt in the present time of the Realms, and the other focusing on Zaknafein and Jarlaxle's adventures in the distant past.

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Split between time and two worlds, Zaknafein had always been conflicted. That inner turmoil was magnified by his inferior position as a male dark elf in the matriarchal drow society. Only his status as one of the greatest warriors—as well as his friendship with the mercenary Jarlaxle—kept him sane. When he finally perished, he was content knowing he left behind a legacy as substantial as his son Drizzt...

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Dragon+ #27 was released on September 19, 2019.

This issue has previews and in-the-works details of Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus, Adventurers League tie-ins, and Baldur's Gate III, as well as WizKids and Funko Pop figures. It also presents artist Max Dunbar's concept art, an article about D&D for the hearing-impaired, the D&D Classics and Maps of the Months regulars, and the Terror of Undermountain in Creature Feature.

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Realms of the Dead was an anthology of short stories from the Forgotten Realms, and the last published anthology of original tales to date. It accompanied the The Haunted Lands trilogy by Richard Lee Byers, and had stories spanning both sides of the setting-changing Spellplague. It was published in January 2010 and edited by Susan J. Morris.

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Not even the mightiest mage, working spells that remain utterly reliable, can hope to prevail against dozens of tireless, ruthless UNDEAD who suffer no pain and can be distracted by nothing. Every creature on Faerûn has its dark mirror in the undead—from the ghosts of ancient warriors to the rune-scribed skeletons of dragons. And in a world with as rich and bloody a history as the Forgotten Realms, they are legion—outshining the living in variety and number. Here are a dozen of the most terrifying tales of the haunted Realms.

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Today in the Realms...

...it is 21 Marpenoth, or the 21st of Leaffall. Selûne is a waxing crescent moon . On this day:

• In 1369 DR, Fzoul Chembryl led a purge of the Xvimlar cult, eliminating High Inquisitor Ginali and many of his followers from Zhentil Keep.

Realmslore

• Phontyr's Unicorn was a lavish inn in Elturel famous for sightings of a ghostly unicorn said to lead adventurers to great riches. As a result, the inn was frequented by a rough clientele of fortune-seekers.
• Frozenfalls were elven sculptures of waterfalls magically fashioned from thousands of gems. Frozenfalls were often further enchanted with various effects, with some even serving as the foci of minor mythals.
• Abominable yetis were particularly large and nasty yetis rivaling hill giants in size. Mostly found in cold climates, these hulking monstrosities could attack multiple foes using a deadly breath of freezing air.
• Baldur's Gate was an important gate in the city of Baldur's Gate, well known as the source of the city's name. The Gate served as the main passageway between the Upper and Lower City.
• Blastcloak was a phaerimm abjuration spell that enveloped its caster in a protective aura that flung back any fire-based magic at their attacker. It was considered a more powerful version of backblast.
• Pollus Windscreamer was the hamatula ruler of Jangling Hiter, a city in the infernal layer of Minauros. There were whispered rumors that Pollus was only a a puppet ruler beholden to chain devil masters.
• The Snobeedle family, owners of the Snobeedle Orchard and Meadery, were said to be the wealthiest halfling family in Waterdeep in the 15^th century DR.
• Maur were twisted and hunchbacked giants descended from storm giants exiled to the Underdark. Although maur could stretch to their full height to increase their potency in combat, doing so was extremely painful.
• The Fraternity of Order was one of the fifteen factions of Sigil, predicated on the belief that the multiverse was inherently orderly, and that the understanding of its governing laws represented the true path to power.

And, from the archives:

• The Barony of Ostel in Damara was small but had the highest population, thanks to fertile farmland watered by its rivers.
• The River Alamber enriched the farmland of Unther and Tymanther but flooded unpredictably, twice inundating Unthalass.
• The Sythrilian Sybil was a seer who resided in the Hills of Sythrilia, known to be a brilliant prophetess and expert in psionics.
• In −1463 DR, the Netherese arcanist Toscudlo released the spell Toscudlo's bulk invisibility, later simply mass invisibility.
• Quaal's feather tokens were a variety of magical feathers that could be used once to produce a useful item or effect.
• The Holy House was a shrine in Voonlar open to to the faithful of all gods. It was an open pavilion, but camping was forbidden.
• Tathtar, a small kingdom on the Deepwash, once tried expanding into Tethyr, which led to conflict with the Shoon Imperium.
• The Ring of Winter was a potent artifact, said to be able to grant immortality, summon white dragons, and freeze whole worlds.

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