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• Look up: do you like our restyled menu? We've been looking to polish and update the Main Page. If you have any thoughts or ideas, post a note at Forum:New Front Page.
• Sailing north from the River District of Athkatla (and somehow crossing land), Ruf landed in Ravens Bluff and explored its luxurious Temple District. He went sightseeing in Altarside, visiting the Helmite Citadel of Protection and the Turning Wheel of Gond before grabbing a bite to eat at the famous Kettle of Many Things.
• On fall break from teaching alchemy, Lhynard instead studied comparative biology, focusing on some of the strange mollusks of the Realms, including the dangerous stalactoids—the simple piercer and its magical and more highly evolved cousin, the darkmantle.
• Returning to the matter of Siluvanede and the Seven Citadels' War, BadCatMan explored the ruins of Telardon, but had to flee the horrific greenbound trolls. He went next to the Temple Beyond Time to consult the Timespinners, but when he emerged, two months had passed and he'd forgotten to update the Clacks.

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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.

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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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New & Upcoming Releases

Timeless by R.A. Salvatore is the first book in a new trilogy featuring Drizzt Do'Urden, released on September 4, 2018.

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Centuries ago, in the city of Menzoberranzan, the City of Spiders, the City of Drow, nestled deep in the unmerciful Underdark of Toril, a young weapon master earned a reputation far above his station or that of his poor house. The greater nobles watched him, and one matron, in particular, decided to take him as her own. She connived with rival great houses to secure her prize, but that prize was caught for her by another, who came to quite enjoy the weapon master. This was the beginning of the friendship between Zaknafein and Jarlaxle, and the coupling of Matron Malice and the weapon master who would sire Drizzt Do'Urden. R. A. Salvatore reveals the Underdark anew through the eyes of Zaknafein and Jarlaxle—an introduction to the darkness that offers a fresh view of the opportunities to be found in the shadows and an intriguing prelude to the intriguing escapes that lie ahead in the modern-day Forgotten Realms. Here, a father and his son are reunited and embark on adventures that parallel the trials of centuries long past as the friends of old are joined by Drizzt, Hero of the North, trained by Grandmaster Kane in the ways of the monk. But the scourge of the dangerous Lolth's ambitions remain, and demons have been foisted on the unwitting of the surface. The resulting chaos and war will prove to be the greatest challenge for all three.

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Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is a 5th-edition Dungeons & Dragons adventure set in the city of Waterdeep. It is due to be released on September 18, 2018.

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A fantastic treasure trove is yours for the taking in this adventure for the world's greatest roleplaying game. Famed explorer Volothamp Geddarm needs you to complete a simple quest. Thus begins a mad romp through the wards of Waterdeep as you uncover a villainous plot involving some of the city's most influential figures. A grand urban caper awaits you. Pit your skill and bravado against villains the likes of which you've never faced before, and let the dragon hunt begin!

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Today in the Realms...

...it is 14 Uktar, or the 14th of the Rotting.   

Realmslore

• Dawngleam, a minor fishing village in Cormyr, experienced a sudden surge in relevance once the Cormyrean navy established a base there to guard the Neck from pirates.
• Blindsight allowed its caster to sense minute vibrations to "see" objects and creatures without relying on visual sight.
• The Order of the Even-Handed was based on the teachings of Grand Master Hlam, but he was only nominally its leader. The Order was organized and ran entirely by his disciples.
• Ir'revrykal, or "pain-servant" in Gith, was an evil greatsword crafted by the githyanki wizard-smith Ir'mlar from the bones of a dead deity.
• Black Dwarf Mine, an iron mine near Waterdeep, also provided discreet short-term storage for paying customers. Items were hidden or buried in depleted mine shafts.
• A wand of web could conjure an instance of the spell web, trapping and slowing down anyone caught. Such wands usually had seven charges, and could crumble when exhausted.
• The Ten Black Days of Eleint was a tenday of violent upheaval that followed the murder of the royal family of Tethyr. It marked the beginning of the Tethyrian Interregnum.
• Time loop was a spell that altered the flow of time. Affected victims had their sense of time distorted, and appeared to othersto be repeating the same actions over and over.
• The Soulmonger was an immensely powerful artifact built by the lich Acererak, allowing him to harvest souls from all of Toril to feed a gestating atropal.

And, from the archives:

• Arcanists of the Netherese Sargauth Enclave in Undermountain became the Skulls of Skullport after the Fall of Netheril.
• A tchazar was a fragile, straw-yellow semi-precious stone that when cut and polished could blur scrying in a 2 ft (60 cm) radius.
• The breath of life spell could cure an entire small town of a natural disease, but could also be reversed to become breath of death.
• The Worried Wyvern was a high-quality inn located in Sevenecho in the Vast. The sprawling structure had been greatly extended.
• Cherlrigo's Darkness was a translation of a prophetic sonnet cryptically referring to the Chosen, the Shadowfell, and the Sundering.

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