Storm King’s Thunder Map

Play online? Like to print out large-scale maps for the enjoyment of your players? Want a little more than the low-resolution maps included in the adventures? If the question is yes to one or more of these questions, then this might be what you’re looking for. Painstakingly hand-drawn and hand-scanned at a mind-twisting 600 dpi, these maps lend an old-school feel to your game. This bundle includes over 82 maps in both .jpg and .pdf format!

This product contains four handdrawn maps for suggested encounters of Storm King’s Thunder’s Chapter 3. Each map comes with a description of notable features, as well as ideas for running the suggested encounter. This map features gridded and ungridded maps for the following four locations:The villains and adversaries of Storm King’s Thunder are many and varied, and offer no singular avenue of success to players. They are complex and multidimensional, both in their roleplay and their combat. Many have spellcasting or other abilities, turning encounters into much more complex and challenging encounters for adventurers. Fighting a cloud giant in a floating castle? What if they are also a 13th-level spellcaster? Facing an ancient dragon? How much more challenging does it become when they are given innate spellcasting as well as the potential for additional spellcasting? Creative players will shine in this adventure, able to adapt and think their way out of problems just as easily as they can fight their way through.

Somewhat reminiscent of Against the Giants, Storm King’s Thunder brings the possibility of facing each particular type of giants and journeying to their strongholds. Some may be encountered through the main arc of the adventure, while others may depend upon the party’s chosen path. Each race of giants bring their own challenges, whether the party attempts to parlay, operate stealthily, or simply fight.

Storm King’s Thunder is sometimes referred to as a better sourcebook for the Forgotten Realms, specifically the Sword Coast and the North, than the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide. Storm King’s Thunder offers some great worldbuilding content for the Sword Coast, but there is a lot that Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide offers that the adventure does not. Both together actually grant a pretty thorough spread of information regarding large swaths of the Sword Coast and the North. Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide brings a little information to a lot of locations and landmarks, while Storm King’s Thunder brings more detail to some of the more pertinent locations and significant figures within some of those locations. It also brings mechanics and actionable details, taking a step further than just descriptions. Obviously neither can be completely comprehensive, and even together they cannot fully cover the breadth of the Forgotten Realms. But in tandem, they offer an unparalleled resource for Dungeon Masters looking to make the most of the rich setting and all that it can offer, with everything from useful details to simple inspiration. If you are looking to start or expand an adventure in the Forgotten Realms that will traverse wide swaths of the region, Storm King’s Thunder is potentially an invaluable resource.Storm King’s Thunder brings a challenging adventure for characters up to 10th level and an extensive amount of lore and content for the Sword Coast and the North. Whether looking to run the adventure on its own, as a supplement to a giants-themed campaign, or just to provide additional content for the Forgotten Realms, this book is a valuable treasure. Building out the plethora of reference material for the Sword Coast and the North, Storm King’s Thunder belongs in the library of any Dungeon Master exploring stories in the setting. Giants are a pillar of the lore of Faerun, and there are so many possibilities to incorporate and integrate giants into campaigns or adventures with the resources brought to the table with Storm King’s Thunder.

The encounters in Storm King’s Thunder are thrilling, and many of them are deadly by design. Facing giants is no small task, and that gravity should be conveyed to players early on. It often doesn’t take much for a battle with giants to shift and go horribly wrong, and likewise adding even one more giant to a battle can quickly turn the tide in their favor.

Want to pick up a copy of Storm King’s Thunder for yourself or someone you know? Purchase a copy through this link, and you will help support the Writer in White with your purchase.Storm King’s Thunder is an adventure that takes characters from 1st to 10th level and higher. Central to the story is the ordning, a caste system that stratifies giant society both within clans and the structure of the six types of giants relative to each other. The ordning was imposed on the giants by their gods, and persists even after the fall of Ostoria. At the top of the ordning are the storm giants, and when five giant lords are convinced that the king of the storm giants is dead or otherwise no longer ruling, they set out to reshape the ordning in hopes of elevating themselves to its pinnacle. While giants fall back to tribalism and divisions, adventurers must rise up alongside the factions of the North rush to prevent disaster. Some play significant roles, others can take a supportive stance for the group of adventurers, but they will certainly need allies in this fight. Ranging across the Sword Coast, Storm King’s Thunder is a dangerous, challenging adventure that pits players against terrible foes and cunning villains set against the backdrop of Faerun’s wide and diverse landscape. In a book that is one part campaign sourcebook and another part adventure, Storm King’s Thunder is everything a Dungeon Master in the Forgotten Realms could want. I live in Holly Hill, Florida and we get hit or miss thunderstorms just about everyday especially in the summer! People in the north have no clue how high the humidity is down here. it is so humid we get thunderstorms just about everynight. tropical storm threats are no stranger here either. yess..the warm weather comes with a cost.atleast im not fighting snow storms in the winter though!

I would have thought Cleveland would be on this list. I have been there through some hellacious snow storms as well as thunder/hail storms…pretty scary. One hail storm was so big that it made quarter size dents all over my car and I had to have the whole body redone. CRAZY!I lived in Cleveland when I was younger and I remember lightning that would light up the entire sky in pink and orange and thunder that made the entire house rattle, plus the occasional tornado.

In fact, the answer might surprise you. With an annual average of 89 thunderstorms, Fort Myers, Florida, is the thunderstorm capital of the U.S. And that’s not some climatic anomaly, either. It turns out the Sunshine State should consider changing its nickname to the Thunderstorm State; eight of the 10 most thunderstorm prone cities in the U.S. are located in Florida, and the other two are in neighboring states. In the summer, thunderstorms are almost a daily occurrence in Florida. The reason is simple: the hot sun heats up the humid tropical air, which collides with cooler sea breezes, creating instability and convection, two necessary ingredients for a thunderstorm.I remember thinking I never saw one while I lived in Seattle, and the few months I lived in Louisiana I experienced the loudest/scariest storms. It was so loud that I felt like the ground would crack. Caleb Weatherbee is the official forecaster for the Farmers’ Almanac. His name is actually a pseudonym that has been passed down through generations of Almanac prognosticators and has been used to conceal the true identity of the men and women behind our predictions. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising.GF9’s Official Dungeons & Dragons® Savage Frontier Map has a high-quality vinyl surface, ideal for tracking the progress of your adventures during the Storm King’s Thunder™ campaign. The Savage Frontier lies between the Sword Coast and the desert of Anauroch, extending as far north as Icewind Dale and as far south as the city of Waterdeep.

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All TEN 8.5 x11″ HQ prints are printed, cut, and signed by me personally! Each bundle also contains a signed personal note from me on a sheet of parchment. With grim hope, its time to do battle, 5th edition style!To survive, you will need wits, courage, and of course a few of these maps to guide your way! This bundle contains all the encounter maps that I illustrated in the DnD5E Storm King’s Thunder hardbound adventure. Each is unmarked (Player’s version) and so reveals nothing to your players about lurking monsters, traps, and secrets! For DM’s this a great atmospheric tool for players, or a wonderful ornament to your gaming den:)

As with most adventures, there are plot holes and clichés. A good chunk of the backstory and what the characters will do is based upon oracles spitting out pronouncements. No, just… no. The concept of the chosen ones is so incredibly trite and tired that it isn’t even funny anymore. I am perplexed as to why the adventure needed such gimmicks. There are some instances of railroading, as well as textbook examples of weak linkages when progressing from one point to the next and something goes wrong. The experienced DM has to reinforce them, so that the adventure doesn’t stop and the players do not feel they lack alternatives.Plot-wise, the adventure begins inconspicuously with the characters having to deal with goblins, and saving hostages from caverns. The situation however soon escalates, with the heroes finding themselves into fights they shouldn’t be, defending cities from giant attacks, exploring the Savage Frontier etc. After consulting an oracle, the adventurers learn of what they should do to stop the giant threat. They will then face one of the five giant lords, be it the hill, stone, frost, fire or cloud giant, something that will lead them to the hold of the storm giants. Depending on how they manage there, they might succeed in finding the storm giant king, who will assist them in their fight against the manipulator behind all that treachery. Puny adventurers must rise to the challenge, gather their strength, unlock the power of ancient runes, and take the fight to the giants’ doorsteps. Only then can they discover a hidden evil fomenting a war between giants and small folk. Only then can they forge an alliance to end the war before it begins. This 256-page adventure for characters of 1st level to 11th level or higher provides everything a Dungeon Master needs to create an exciting and memorable play experience for the Storm King’s Thunder story, including rune magic items, a new treasure option for characters.’

What you get: Your USD 49,95 or equivalent will buy you Storm King’s Thunder, a 256-page full-colour hardcover adventure for the Dungeons and Dragons (fifth edition) game line. This is the fifth adventure released for the present edition. It is in many ways reminscent of 1981’s mythical, by now, Against the Giants G1-G3 series adventures for AD&D. It is not however a retelling of that adventure, which has been updated and published for 5e inside the Tales from the Yawning Portal anthology which we will visit shortly. Consider it a new adventure that borrows some ideas and concepts, a tribute that wishes to follow its own path.

As with every sandbox campaign, the DM will have quite some work to do. Some aspects are really not developed whatsoever, and will need some thorough GM intervention. Where the adventure recommends reading it once from beginning to end, I’d recommend to prepare fully, from beginning to end, before starting the first chapter. It is very hard to produce a convincing result in, say, chapter six (irrespective of which chapter was used as chapter five), and to use obvious techniques like foreshadowing or déjà vu, if one prepares things one by one. A DM that Invests from the beginning can only gain. The strong points: This is an action-packed adventure, which, under certain preconditions, can be seen as a sandbox. Storm King’s Thunder hits many right buttons when it comes to both adventure design as well as DM friendliness. Starting from the second, no matter its length (in some other time and age it would have been called a campaign), it is extremely easy to read and understand, as well as peruse during the sessions. It is logically developed, with the DM understanding the backstory and the overarching structure before hitting each chapter with its different encounters. The overall backstory is complex but not overbearing. It follows up on events from previous adventures (namely Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat), giving a nice sense of accomplishment to those who have already completed them. They are not necessary however in order to enjoy the present one. By its conclusion it may or may not alter giant society in certain ways, yet it will probably not have an enormous impact on the rest of the world. I enjoyed how, at the end of the adventure, the PCs have managed just that: they have fended off a destabilizing factor. The feeling is the same of winning a war: just because the war is over, doesn’t mean that problems have been solved. The plot hooks that arise from such an approach are enormous. DMs who wish to follow up on this with their own adventures beyond level 10 will have a blast. I enjoyed how action does not necessarily center on the PCs. They are not participating in every major event themselves. If in other adventures this sidelines the players in favour of the designer’s favourite NPC, in this adventure it lets the adventure breath. In one of the many clever twists, players run not only their characters but also NPCs, and even more so average Joes whose only objective is to survive a giant attack. In another instance they will play giants themselves. It is very refreshing to see a group change pace, and, especially in the former case, perceive the world of D&D through average people and not through optimized adventurers. The adventure does not railroad the characters, even though it is at times heavy-handed in transitions from one place to another. What the characters are conceptually doing is exploring the North of the Forgotten Realms, while slowly being more and more invested into what is going on. The DM that wishes to intersperse other side quests or adventures in-between the prescribed ones, should do so with ease. Even more so if he wishes to amp up a bit the characters’ competences and level, in order for them to have more of a fighting chance. TPKs might happen (oops!), they however can be addressed without creating new characters, something that is of importance taking the lethality of most encounters into account. This adventure means business when it comes to fighting.The adventure is well-supported. A dedicated range of D&D Collector’s Series Miniatures has been already published, as well as the Dungeon Master’s Screen – Storm King’s Thunder. Now that’s something; a screen dedicated to a single adventure.

The weak points: Boxed text quality is not consistent. Most of the times text that should have been boxed and readily identified as text that the players should have access to, isn’t. In a rather astonishing example, the DM is supposed to read to his players the mechanical effects that certain actions will have later on in the game. If there’s a way to spoil the mood, that would be it.

Spoiler warning: As much as I am not going to describe, let alone detail the adventure, parts of the scenario might be revealed while discussing its strong and less strong points. If you intend to enjoy it as a player, stop reading now.Some might perceive the redundancy in certain chapters as a pointless waste of space. After all, there are three potential locales to save in chapter 2 and five potential giant lords to attack in chapter 5. If played as written, the adventure only requires that one of either is completed. I prefer to see it as an opportunity. That is the point where the experienced DM puts on his ‘screw this’ smirk, and uses at least two of the former and even more of the latter options, like three, or even four out of five. Character progression is overly generous anyway. Why not tighten the reigns, slightly alter the story and make the most use out of this material?

I understand the need for a disconnect between the backstory and the actual adventures the characters will be involved into. At some points however, that passes the barrier that keeps things in balance. There are times the backstory feels irrelevant to the adventures, and the adventures can be rationalized even without it. This isn’t necessarily bad. In fact, it is a nice twist when juxtaposed to the hero worship aspect of D&D’s brand of heroic fantasy, where everything happens in order for the characters to achieve something. On the other hand, not every player perceives that readily, and might feel that the plot is disjointed. An experienced DM will face no issues with it, as long as he is aware on how to address it on his campaign.I have stated in other reviews that sudden character advancement is not my style. In Storm King’s Thunder this takes a whole new meaning since characters, if they are brand new, are expected to practically jump four levels following a single chapter. Even if that were palatable, which it isn’t, that approach is a bane for the DMs that follow the standard D&D XP progression. The numbers do not add up. Either you will play additional adventures in-between some of the chapters, or you will start up with characters of level 3 or 4 in the first place, after having buffed up chapter one in order to account for the heroes’ higher levels. Using the allegedly ‘redundant’ material is an option. It must be stated however that this material is at different character levels and additional work will be needed.The book is well-written and formatted. It is very helpful towards the DM that wishes to run the adventure, especially during the first couple of reads in order to understand it. Amongst others, I can’t but mention the adventure’s flowchart, the list of dramatis personae at the beginning, a full exposition of the backstory for the DM to understand what is going on. The production values are of a very high standard. The paper is glossy. The cover is excellent, as is interior art. The maps are beautifully illustrated, even though they are not immediately usable from the players’ side. Keep on reading.

Contents: The adventure takes place in the Forgotten Realms, D&D’s default setting. The Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide is not required, even though it can add a lot of flavor. The crux of the adventure is between levels 5-11. Even though players can start at level 1, by the beginning of chapter two they’d better be level 5 in order to survive. Level progression is based upon story goals. In other words, as soon as a chapter ends, characters advance in order to keep up with the pace. If however the DM prefers keeping an XP tally the traditional way, he can do so.Wizards of the Coast has currently a policy of not producing the pdfs of the current edition’s materials. This policy might or might not change in the future. From a buyer’s point of view this is patently unhelpful. I personally prepare with the printed edition, while during the session the pdf is open on my pc to readily find information on the spot. I am extremely dissatisfied for not being able to do so here. Clearly, WotC have done their number crunching before proceeding with such a decision. From my side however, no pdfs mean a rather serious hassle while running the game. Easy example: maps. Even more so, maps for the DM without a player-friendly version. This shouldn’t be happening, honestly. Conclusion: Storm King’s Thunder is an entertaining D&D adventure, no matter its flaws. It has an interesting story, deadly, action-filled sequences, and changes of pace when it comes to the characters that a player brings to the table. It can be mined for ideas, and fuel other, non-related campaigns. On the other hand, and depending where you come from, some of the material is unusable as is, some is redundant, while some is more generic than it should have been. The DM should put his personal stamp on this. As with almost all D&D fifth edition products, Storm King’s Thunder as is does not currently have a pdf version. In other words, this review relates exclusively to the print edition.Ages ago, giants and dragons waged war across the Savage Frontier. These battles are long forgotten by the human civilizations of today, but ancient relics remain. And now, the land shudders once more with the thunder of giant footsteps. The book ends with four appendices. Linked Adventures describes how previous adventures (namely the one from the Starter Set, Hoard of the Dragon Queen, Princes of the Apocalypse and Out of the Abyss) can be linked to the present one, even when played concurrently. The remaining three contain the Magic Items, the Creatures and the NPCs of the adventure. 354 DR: The Netherese wizard Melathar constructs the Host Tower to protect Illusk from phaerimm attacks. This is later known in current years as the Host Tower of the Arcane Brotherhood.932 DR: First Trollwar as Nimoar at Nimoar’s Hold (later called Waterdeep) fights them off. Second trollwar in 940 DR, ending in 952 with now Waterdeep being defended by many including the wizard Ahghairon.

1361 DR: The Cult of the Dragon attempts to kill Alustriel, but Khelben “Blackstaff” Arunsun and Laeral Silverland come to the rescue. The Amnite general Cordell discovers Maztica and conquers a city they name Helmsport. This ushers in terrible colonization and trade battles. Back in the Moonsea, Cyric takes over Zhentil Keep and prohibits Banite worship. The lich Tan Chin takes over Shou Lung, Lou Tu, and Khazari.1256 DR: Ahghairon dies and the Waterdeep guilds begin scheming and fighting for control. Khelben the Elder disappears, leaving his apprentices to run his tower. 916 DR: Harpers ambush Sammaster and the Cult of the Dragon. Sammaster is seemingly destroyed by an avatar of Lathander. Alagashon becomes the leader for the Cult. I could likely try to narrow it down with the subsequent Dnd Beyond DiP adventures (Storm lord’s wrath, sleeping dragons wake, and divine contention) but they love relative dating there too. Tower of Thalivar is said to be established 200y ago, maybe ill do more research later- but until then Ive placed LMOP and DIP both in 1481DR

Great catch on the typo, thanks. Almost worth leaving in. Yeah, I wanted to do more links, but it’s really hard to do that and get this posted. In most cases, the sources are 5E books, Grand History, or the FR Wiki (when the wiki has a reliable source). And sometimes it is conversations with staff, which I can’t always share.1350 DR: Elminster retires to Shadowdale. The god Bane tries to pull several Moonsea cities into the nether regions, but is foiled by the same heroes that stopped Tyranthraxus.1492 or 1493 DR: Likely the intended date for Dragon of Icespire Peak, from the Essentials Kit. (NPCs such as the young Toblen Stonehill are roughly the same age as in Phandelver. Icespire says Mount Hotenow erupted “some fifty years ago,” but that would place Icespire in 1500 DR which is unlikely.)

1358 DR: The Time of Troubles! Lord Ao, the overgod, punishes all other gods by casting them down to the Realms, where they must walk as mortals until they find the stolen Tablets of Fate. Magic changes and gods die (Bane, Bhaal, Ibrandul, Myrkul, Untheric pantheon) and others ascend (Red Knight, Midnight as Mystra, Cyric). The Mulhorandi deities leave. Silvanus blesses the island of Ilighon, home of the Emerald Enclave and his Chosen.1368 DR: Teldin Moore, the Cloakmaster, travels to Toril on his Spelljammer adventures, meeting with Queen Amlaruil of Evermeet. Alias and Dragonbait defeat the Faceless and the Night Masks of Westgate. Thay begins to export magic to other lands through Thayan enclaves. Zhentil Keep falls after Fzoul Chembryl reads from the True Life of Cyric, revealing Cyric’s betrayal of his followers. Mask is involved, igniting priests and the temple of Cyric with divine fire. The events of the Baldurs Gate 1 and 2 video games take place at this time.

457 DR: Mages including Aganazzar found the school of wizardry in Neverwinter. The founders will later become the Covenant and perform many heroics, thwarting Thay.1444 DR: In Elturel, the priest of Torm, Thavius Kreeg, appeals to any power that will listen to save the city from a vampire lord. The Companion, a second sun, appeared over the skies of Elturel, remaining until 1494.

You mentioned that you don’t usually take information from books, is that why there’s nothing regarding Liriel Baenre? Although she is very briefly mentioned in the Sword Coast Adventurers Guide.Hi, can you please tell me what happen between 1377DR, and 1383DR ? Was there anything significant, if so, I would like to add it to my characters backstory. Thanks in advance.

-335 DR: The dwarves begin construction of Gauntlgrym, completing the underground city in -321 DR. It falls to orcs in -111 DR and is resettled in 141 DR. It falls to illithid in 153 DR.

Notes on Avernus: The Companion, the second sun of Elturel, appears in 1444 DR. The deal is for the sun to remain for 50 years, meaning Elturel descends and the adventure takes place in 1494. However, the Gazeteer is dated 1492.Do you happen to know, if you are running adventures in Adventurer’s League official play: A) What year is considered “the present” in the Realms? B) If we are running an adventure, are we expected to set it in the year originally described in the adventure material? Or do we update it to “the present” year?

684 DR: Augathra the Mad’s Book of the Black, a tome containing the Black Chronology, is discovered by mages of Myth Drannor. It also contains the Leaves of One Night, revealing secrets of Shar. Followers of Shar steal the book.

1492 DR, or as early as Winter of 1489 DR – Rime of the Frostmaiden. Though published in 2020, this adventure says “This adventure is assumed to take place in the winter of 1489 DR or later” in the sidebar entitled has a sidebar Tendays and Dalereckoning. 1489 DR places Rime only 4 years after the events of Legacy of the Crystal Shard, and 138 years after Akar Kessel first came to Icewind Dale in The Crystal Shard novel. However, the description for Jarund Elkhardt in Rime states he is nearly fifty years old and that his son died almost a decade ago. In Legacy, Jarund is 42 and his son died 3 years prior. The adventure is therefore likely taking place no earlier than 1491 (when Jarund is 48 and his son has been dead for 9 years) and before 1493 (when Jarund would be 50 and his son dead for 11 years). 1492 is a likely year given other potential 1491 adventures involve Icewind Dale inhabitants but do not mention the Rime (mainly ToA). If Rime is in Winter of 1492, this places it 7 years after Legacy and 142 years after Akar Kessel’s arrival.-339 DR: The Netherese wizard Karsus casts a spell to steal divinity. He chooses Mystryl, goddess of magic and thus triggers the fall of Netheril, as nearly all Netherese floating cities fall to the ground. This also causes Netherese mages in what would become Undermountain to be twisted into the Skulls of Skullport. -17,600 is the First Sundering. Elven high mages create/summon the island of Evermeet to be their elven homeland. The cost is unexpectedly high. The magic stretches across time and space, altering the landscape with natural disasters on Toril and the mirror-world Abeir and killing thousands. 177 DR: Elves of Iliyanbruen destroy the orcs of the Severed Hand, but this is their final act. Only a few moon elves remain as most survivors depart for Evermeet.Each year of Dale Reckoning follows the Calendar of Harptos, created by the wizard Harptos. Years in Faerun have 12 months, each of 30 days. A week in the Forgotten Realms is a tenday (10 days, not 7), so that each month has an even 3 weeks. An additional 5 days fall in between months, bringing the yearly total to 365 days per year. Days of the week don’t have names. Instead, the day is given the data and “of [the month],” such as the “14 of Marpenoth.”

As to SCAG, it is really about how it likely influenced other works. SCAG states the current date as 1489. That rough 50 years isn’t so bad as a rough take, but 1439 is 12 years off from the actual date of 1451. Storm King repeats “about 50 years ago” for Maegera’s information, and Neverwinter Wood. Princes of the Apocalypse says “about fifty years ago,” as well. Then we get to Icespire and the derived adventures. “Some fifty years ago” shows up again there. It’s a common treatment. Though, the most interesting is Hoard of the Dragon Queen, where it says “about a century ago” – my guess is that they were thinking of the Spellplague.The Wild Beyond the Witchlight does not have a clear date. It was released after Rime of the Frostmaiden in release order, but since Rime is set earlier than other releases, this does not help us establish a clear date for when it takes place. One potential clue is the presence of Alagarthas in the Fey Beacons encounter in Yon. Alagarthas is said to have been there at least a year (though perhaps this is Feywild time) and that he bargained with Endelyn Moongrave to see his future regarding the green dragon that threatens his home in the Misty Forest. Alagarthas appears in Rise of Tiamat and is working with the Emerald Enclave and characters to fight against the green dragon Chuth (who also threatens the Misty Forest in Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle 1484-1485 DR). The characters are unlikely to defeat Chuth, as the dragon seeks to flee when wounded. It’s unclear whether this dragon is the same. Does Chuth fleeing count as “defeated” in the vision? If so, then Witchlight would take place before 1489 DR, when RoT takes place. But, the Feywild is a strange place and I don’t consider this definitive since Chuth isn’t actually named. It could be another green dragon or the later return of Chuth. The authors, Will Doyle and Stacey Allan, say “We presumed Witchlight took place after RoT, but it’s entirely reasonable (and preferable really) to view it as flexible in terms of timeline. For context, Stacey asked Chris for a “character from D&D history” she could use for the Fey Beacons, and he suggested Alagarthas.” So, canonically, it is logical to say Witchlight takes place sometime after RoT.1363 DR: Devils again enter Dragonspear Castle and assemble an army of orcs and goblinoids. The Battle of Daggerford narrowly saves the city, though the Way Inn is destroyed in a second Dragonspear War. In Chult, the ancient city of Mezro reappears, welcoming visitors. Harper agent Artus Cimber finds the ring of winter within. Artus and Alisandra, a bara (Chosen of Ubtao and city protector), marry.Tales is a strange one, because most of the adventures actually take place in a different campaign world than Forgotten Realms. The exception is Dead in Thay, which did take place in FR.For Adventurer’s League, the assumption would be at the end of that time period, and before the next season (which was Storm King). However, that is for AL only as officially the AL adventures are not changing the canon of the FR setting.1340 DR: Tyranthraxus, the Possessing Spirit, claims the Pool of Radiance. It corrupts and takes over the body of a bronze dragon and controls the ruins of Phlan until defeated by adventurers. Drizzt Do’Urden reaches the surface.

Easy: Sometime after the 1980s! Okay, on a serious note, I did not find any reference within the adventure regarding this adventure. It happens after Mister Witch and Mister Light made their deal with Isolde (as detailed in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft), but there is no date for when that happens. If anyone has any ideas on how to pinpoint a timeline for Witchlight, I too would be interested.

-690 DR: The deep gnome community of Blingdenstone is founded. (An adventure was released for it as part of the 5E D&DNext playtest, and the town appears in Out of the Abyss.)75 DR: The prophet Alaundo the Seer arrives in Candlekeep. He extends the Roll of Years far into the future. Some believe he sees future events in dreams and names them, others that gods inspire him, and some that he is an avatar of a god.

LMoP definitely cannot take place after ToD because the dragon cultists in ‘Ruins of Thundertree’ are still trying to forge alliances with the dragons in the area.

I have noticed that in the book you used (The grand history of the Realms), in the year 1368 DR, the plot of the video games Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2 appears described:Fab job, the only thing I disagree with is STK happening in 1490DR. In Death Masks which takes place in 1491, Vajra clearly talks about how Giants are starting to get out of hand. Therefore we can infer that the events of STK haven’t quite happened yet by then or are just starting. Lost Mines is 1491, and Icespire is after that, but not long enough after that for young NPCs to have grown noticeably older. That’s where I think 1492 or 1493 work well. Is there a reason to rule out 1492? Thanks! -30,000 to -24,000 DR are the Dawn Ages, when the creator races (including the sarrukh) disappear or fade, replaced by the Time of Dragons and the Time of Giants. The adventure Storm King’s Thunder deals with these events. In -30,000 the nether scrolls are created and (unrelated) the Seldarine Wars take place where Lolth becomes a demon.

1375 DR: Adventurers free Shadowdale. Lord Mourngrym rejoins the Knights of Myth Drannor and Azalar Falconhand becomes Lord of Shadowdale. Fey return to Shadowdale. Zhentil Keep occupies Phlan. Citizens of Waterdeep and mages throughout Faerun experience visions, seeing Halaster destroying himself while attempting a ritual. While battling Lolth, Eilistraee kills her brother and absorbs the Church of Vhaeraun. She also defeats Selvatarm, and Lolth absorbs his church.1490 DR or later – Storm King’s Thunder takes place sometime after 1485 DR, per the adventure text, but has Laeral as an Open Lord who replaced Neverember, meaning it takes place in 1490 or 1489 at the earliest. The text also mentions thwarting Tiamat and her dragons, meaning it takes place after Hoard/Tiamat. (A strong case could be made based on the novel Death Masks that STK should take place in late 1491, as it mentions a cloud giant castle and giants getting out of hand. In this case, ToA has to take place in very late 1491 just after STK or in very early 1492 before Dragon Heist.) However, Candlekeep Mysteries clearly states a date of 1492. On page 12, an ogre is reading a book called Storm King’s Thunder, describing the events that “caused great upheaval up and down the Sword Coast some years ago.” This suggests and earlier date than 1491.

1489 DR – Adventurers League 5E organized play campaign begins. Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat takes place. (In 1489, Lord Neverember is ousted as an Open Lord in Waterdeep, replaced by Laeral Silverhand.) 1306 DR: Moradin gives the “Thunder Blessing,” raising the birth rate of all dwarves and 1/5 of births result in twins. The War Wizards of Cormyr are founded. Dragons raze Phlan in what is known as the Dragon Run. 1279 DR: The green dragon Dretchroyaster of Cormanthor attacks three dales and is wounded, but his lair cannot be found. In 1352, the Cult of the Dragon offers the dragon to become a dracolich, and a new lair in Monarch’s Fall Glade, where the remains of a Spelljammer had been found. Dretchoryaster wished to find a way to transform into a Spelljammer and fly through Realmspace. Dretchroyaster later appears again in the events of Vault of the Dracolich. (Note, the Grand History has an error, saying Dretchroyaster was slain in 1279).I’m comfortable with placing LMOP and DIP both in 1481DR, 30 years from the eruption. Mostly by historical context as Phandelver has been settled within 3-4 years before the adventure of LMoP (p.14), and DiP mention of the “devastation tax”(p.34) present on Neverwinter goods, as well as Leilon appearing as a town and not a ruin in DiP- would have me place it in the “New Neverwinter” movement of re-settling the North.

Well, I take it back. The adventure has no reference, but the pregens do. They have the same date information as the Phandelver starter set pregens. I suspect this is a copy of that same date, but the pregens were edited, so my guess is that the intention is for Phandelver and Stormwreck to take place the same year, if we go by the pregens. It’s fascinating to me that they did not correct the year on the pregens when they edited the backstory.

-3,000 DR: The couatls begin to teach humans about Ubtao, who remains distant, and ultimately lead the humans to Chult, so that they can help keep the yuan-ti from awakening Dendar the Night Serpent. (It is at the very beginning, before written history, that the primordials and gods fight, with Ubtao deciding to watch over Dendar’s prison and prevent the destruction of the world.)

However, for historic purposes the years in official sources go back as far as -35,000 DR, when the progenitor race of the sarrukh rose. This was an ice age during a time when humans existed, but only in primitive form. Few recognizable species existed back then. I mention it just for a sense of scale. FR has an incredibly detailed history!The year 1 DR is the Year of Sunrise, when Dalelands humans and the elves of Cormanthor established an alliance. They raised an obelisk known as the Standing Stone and signed the Dales Compact.

1373 DR: The lich Sammaster causes a Rage of Dragons. Sammaster impersonates the Witch-King, raising an army in Vaasa, taking Bloodstone and Damara. The demon Eltab is released from below the Thaymount, but is bound again in Impiltur. Shadovar agents recover The Leaves of One Night, the text that can release the Shadowstorm – an apocalypse that would raise Shar above all greater gods. The Rain of Fire takes place, as one of the Tears of Selune descends from orbit hovers for a day, and then breaks into falling pieces. Sammaster is finally destroyed, ending the Rage of Dragons and releasing Bahamut from a prison. Bahamut invades Tiamat’s demesne of Dragon Eyrie.This makes sense since Sunless Citadel was originally published as setting independent, but definitely creates challenges for someone wanting to run the adventure in a timeline accurate Forgotten Realms setting. I’ll make due though. Just wanted to add comment here for anyone else that may come looking for information regarding when to start The Sunless Citadel.Thanks for catching all of these! Most were typos, but I can never remember Lost Mine despite trying. I think I had it right once in the whole document. Ah, well.-31,000 DR: The Tearfall, related to the Sunderings, when Abeir and Toril were first separated. Meteors (perhaps dragon eggs from which the first dragons were born) fall and natural disasters change continents. One of the Tears of Selune may also have fallen. Or, one of the creator races may have freed several primordials from ancient prisons, creating catastrophes and throwing an ice moon at Toril.1370 DR: Fzoul Chembryl kills Manshoon and takes control of the Zhentarim. Manshoons clones simultaneously awaken and fight each other. Orc hordes controlled by King Obould Many-Arrows attack Mithral Hall. Khelben resigns the Harpers and creates his own organization, the Tel Teukiira.Also, scattered typos throughout the rest of the timeline: “Githlanki” should be “Githyanki” “Lords Alliance” should be “Lords’ Alliance”, “Bhall” should be “Bhaal”, “Mounrgrym” should be “Mourngrym”… and most amusingly, “Thavius Kreep” should be “Thavius Kreeg” 😛

Note on Hotenow as an incorrect source: In the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide, the date of Mount Hotenow’s eruption seems in error. This likely caused errors in the dates of other products as the references fed on each other or on a common internal design source. Speaking with Scott Fitzgerald Gray, who has worked on these products, he believes the Hotenow-derived dates are incorrect.I have a few issues with that timeline. Taken in account that the Eruption of mount Hotenow cant be trusted-as a relative date. It still raises plenty of issues, as your chronology is odd in some places namely

1290 DR: Ithtaerus Casalia, a Calishite mage, tricks the adventurer (Daeros) and dragon in Dragonspear Castle, resulting in a portal to Avernus, the first layer of Hell. Ithaerus dies, as do the dragon and Daeros. The castle is reduced to ruins. In 1315 Waterdeep and Baldur’s Gate send armies and clear out the evil denizens, establishing a temple to Tempus.

-1,080 DR: After much upheaval (including battles with dragons and beholder nations), Calimshan now rules from the Sword Coast to Mintar. Calimport doubles in size, roughly equal to Waterdeep in the 1300s.It took me this long to read it, but I finally made it! It is amazing to me how much there is to this book that I can barely follow… and I can follow a lot of it. But it is dense. It’s shockingly dense compared to other campaign worlds which are so much simpler. It’s also incredibly real. Most fantasy worlds, some nation falls and rises. Here, it ebbs and flows much like real conflicts. Reading it felt like reading actual history.

Liriel is a cool NPC. I just can’t possibly capture all of the elements in sourcebooks, let alone novels. I tried to capture the key elements across years, with an emphasis on occurrences that impact the main storylines of FR or the published 4E and 5E adventures. The FR Wiki lists the events with the Blooding ritual taking place in 1348 DR and her move to the surface in 1361 DR.1018 DR: A Rage of Dragons takes place. The green dragon Claugiyliamatar plunders orc lands. In 1303 Claugiyliamatar establishes a lair in the Deeping Cave in Kryptgarden Forest. In 1489, Claugiyliamatar meets with members of the Cult of the Dragon, but adventurers (in the first Adventurers League Epic, Corruption in Kryptgarden) thwart the cult and prevent an alliance. I believe The Brimstone Angel books, specifically book 4 Fire In The Blood have some dates about the founding of Cormyr, like the year of the killing of the Purple Dragon and various rulers. It’s also just a good book! I would say this hinges on how you personally treat the Yawning Portal concept. The idea is that through this tavern, you can reach other worlds/campaigns. In this case, it’s simply the day you happen to go. There is a local calendar (and some of those adventures have a local date or one has been derived by fans of those settings), but it isn’t the FR calendar.

1371 DR: Phaerimms attack Evereska. Khelben and the Lords’ Alliance help Evereska. The Underdark svirfneblin city of Blingdenstone is destroyed by drow. Cormyr is ravaged by Nalavaroyl the devil dragon. King Azoun IV dies slaying the dragon, leaving the infant Azoun V on the throne.1345 DR: Bhaal, god of murder, creates a Darkwell from one of the Moonshae Isles Moonwells. Kazgaroth the Beast emerges, attempting to destroy the Earthmother and the Moonshaes. Bhaal’s avatar is banished from the Moonshaes in 1346 and Tristan Kendrick becomes high king of the Moonshaes.My approach is subjective, for sure, but in general I’ve tried to use what I consider to be relatively hard facts (something that really can’t happen before something else) and/or the words of people who I really trust to tell me whether something was done intentionally or erroneously. Maps have been wrong so many times (because cartographers get such poor information as part of projects), that I don’t trust that as a sole reason for establishing an order. But when an author deliberately writes in Storm King’s Thunder that Tiamat was thwarted, that’s to me very strong. Similarly, having frost giants searching for the ring of winter in Chult seems very deliberate. Ed Greenwood’s comment that LMoP is “officially a bit nebulous” says it all. He says 1490s.307 DR: Halaster’s apprentices, known as the Seven (Arcturia, Jhesiyra, Muiral, Nester, Marambra, Rantantar, Trobriand) move into Underhalls/Undermountain to establish their own holdings. Halaster’s tower falls into ruin and is known as cursed by the barbarian tribes of Blackcloak Hold. By 932, this is known as Nimoar’s Hold, after the barbarian of that name.

Good fiction does not equate to good campaign settings. I prefer to run my 5e FR games in the late 1300’s, ignoring all the metaplot and picking and choosing what “big events” took place.

Thanks! Let me know what I am missing. WotC seems to have changed approach and since Candlekeep seem to be avoiding direct references to dates or strong inferences. I’ve added a mention of Spelljammer and Keys, though Spelljammer is setting independent and Keys has just one FR adventure that seems to take place roughly around the time of Rime. There are many books such as Strixhaven or Dragonlance, but those don’t touch on FR at all.-400 DR: The “Lost Sage” Augathra the Mad works with elven and Netherese lore and her own divinations to name the years both past and future. This becomes the Roll of Years, with each year’s name being prophetic. Secretly, at night (while having nightmares) she also pens a second and different set of names for the years, known as the Black Chronology.

-461 DR: The phaerimms (slug-shaped highly intelligent evil aberrations) had been driven underground in ancient times (-33,800). Spellcasting from the Netherese was unwittingly changing the nature of magic underground, harming the phaerimms. In retaliation, the phaerimms begin casting spells that drain the life out of all living things on the surface. This eventually creates the Great Desert of Anauroch.

Tales from the Yawning Portal isn’t on your list – any advice? 🙂 We’re starting with the Sunless Citadel, and I’m feeling like it probably belongs somewhere early on in the timeline – after 1312/Durnan starting the Red Sashes. Any insight = much appreciated!I would think that LMoP and DiP happen either sequentially, or concurrently- since the Npcs within both are the same age (i.e. Linene Graywind is 35 in both,ect). I would make a lot of sense to be selective with the Eruption time- Either 30 or 50years.

Sunless Citadel/Oakhurst is in the Forgotten Realms, though. I take your point on the worlds/campaign being flexible, but since the book provides a starting setting of the Yawning Portal Tavern and Inn (optional, albeit), it would seem relevant to have to choose a date since so many of the details surrounding Durnan (his involvement in the Red Cloak’s, his role as a Masked Lord of Waterdeep, etc.) depends on the year. Ultimately I think it’s up to the DM’s discretion, although I don’t really agree with the publisher’s decision on that front! 🙂 It complicates things in some ways, and makes it easier in others – but having at least a suggested starting date would have been nice for beginners.