D&D: Forgotten Realms Most (and Least) Important Characters to Lore
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The Forgotten Kingdomsa fictional heroic fantasy planet originally created by Ed Greenwood, has become official Dungeons & Dragons campaigns in the 1980s and since then it has become the main stage of the fifth edition campaign D&D mods and adaptations of video games such as the Baldur’s Gate series Reference books and licensed fantasy novels set in the Forgotten Kingdoms they have also introduced a number of influential and lore-defining characters Dungeons & Dragons multiverse, ranging from the eccentric wizard Elminster to the heroic Drow Ranger Drizzt Do’Urden, which made dark elf player characters a viable option D&D campaigns
As mentioned above, author/game designer Ed Greenwood came up with the idea Forgotten Kingdoms fantasy setting long before adapting it to the group game of Dungeons & Dragons. The name of the environment, Forgotten Kingdoms, is derived from the idea that the fantasy planet of Abeir-Toril and the magic-filled continent of Faerûn were connected through portals to Earth itself. The story of Fforgotten kingdoms it’s full of cataclysmic god wars, fallen empires, and magical apocalypses, resulting in a world full of ancient ruins and city-states scattered across vast expanses of forsaken desert—the perfect setting, in other words, for the classic. D&D adventure party
Over the decades and various editions of the world’s first RPG, Forgotten Kingdoms has become the default Dungeons & Dragons fantasy campaign settings for the scenarios described in D&D rulebooks and popular video game adaptations such as Bioware’s Baldur’s Gate i winter nights role playing games The popularity of this fantasy setting owes much to vivid locations like the warring cities of Baldur’s Gate and Waterdeep, and memorable world-changing heroes and villains like a scimitar-wielding, panther-summoning Northern Ranger.
Drizzt Do’Urden, D&D’s heroic Dark Elf Ranger of the Forgotten Realms
As the most famous and popular character created by Forgotten Kingdoms novelist RA Salvatore Drizzt Do’Urden, the heroic Ranger of Icewind Dale, popularized the scimitar-wielding warrior character archetype. Dungeons & Dragons players and transformed how the “Drow” species was represented. D&D publications Raised in the underdark city of Menzoberranzan amid a culture of bloodthirsty, power-hungry dark elves, Drizzt grew apart from the evil ways of his kin, eventually surfacing and learning the ways of the Ranger . Armed with his twin scimitars and panther companion Guenhwyvar, Drizzt and his companions ventured across the northern lands of Icewind Dale, battling demons, warlords, and using dark magic to protect people who they often rejected Drizzt because of his origins. Over time, Drizzt Do’Urden’s popularity brought about a change Dungeons & Dragons rules for Drow or Dark Elves: Instead of being an innately evil monster species exclusive to the Monster Manual, Drow became a variant of the elf race that players could choose during character creation.
The many incarnations of Mystra, goddess of D&D magic
All the gods and goddesses of the Forgotten Kingdoms they are vital to the setting’s lore, having created the world of Abeir-Toril in the distant past while granting divine powers to chosen clerics in the present. Mystra, the goddess of magic, is a particularly important deity in many Fforgotten kingdoms stories and campaign modules by virtue of how she regulates the magic fabric Dungeons & Dragons wizards use to cast spells. The existence of Mystra also governs the stability and safety of magic in the Forgotten Kingdomseach new change in functionality and form of casting spells heralded by his death and reincarnation.
His first incarnation, originally named Mystryl, sacrificed his life to prevent the arrogance-driven ambitions of the archmage Karsus from destroying all magic forever. In her second incarnation, Mystra imposed stricter restrictions on what arcane magic could and could not do, occasionally choosing an ambitious mage like Elminister to be her champion. After the second incarnation of Mystra died during the Time of Troubles, a mage named Midnight stepped up to take Mystra’s place. When the third incarnation of Mystra was killed by the evil gods Cyric and Shar, the iconic Weave of Magic a D&D tradition began to tear apart, resulting in a cataclysm called the Spellplague where arcane magic began to malfunction and waves of wild magic reshaped both the lands of Faerûn and other realms of the Dungeons & Dragons multiverse
D&D’s Elminster Aumar, Wizard and Worldhopping muse to Ed Greenwood
Elminster Aumar, chosen magister of Mystra, is canonically one of the most powerful and ancient wizards in all of the Forgotten Realms, as a supremely eccentric sage with phenomenal cosmic powers, a love of cunning, a hoarder of magical artifacts, a thousand years . lifespan and a close friendship with Mordenkainen and other learned epic books D&D wizards to the Dungeons & Dragons multiverse, Elminster has been shown as a supporting character, protagonist, and cheater mentor in many of the Forgotten Kingdoms novels published by scenario creator Ed Greenwood, working in public and behind the scenes to protect his world, safeguard the peace and freedom of the people of Faerûn, and pursue his many personal vices and whims. In some licensed D&D novels, Elminster even acts as an epistolary figure, teleporting to Ed Greenwood’s house and sharing new stories about the events and developments of the Forgotten Kingdoms.
Szass Tam from Forgotten Realms, D&D Lich Ruler Of Thay
There is no shortage of evil wizards and undead Lichs like him D&Dthe iconic and powerful Vecna in the Forgotten Realms, each invariably seeking eternal life and unlimited arcane power. Szass Tam, a red mage and Lich of Thay, shares the ambitions of his power-hungry colleagues, but has so far avoided the fate of most evil undead mages thanks to his reserves of patience, his inclination to reward loyalty and willingness to play the long game. From the 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons henceforth, Szass canonically became the absolute ruler of his homeland of Thay, a country ruled by cabals of ruthless Red Wizards and built on the backs of undead legions and rampant slavery. Within his necromantic domain, Szass methodically consolidates his political authority, eliminates his rivals in the noble hierarchy of Thay, enriches his country’s coffers with a constant export of small but useful. D&D magical items and schemes to acquire absolute power, and pursue the usual undead wizards who plan magical knowledge and power at a leisurely pace.
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