Lands & LocationsThe Worlds Of The Multiverse: Toril |
First Published 30 April 2016 | Last Updated 5 April 2024
This article is relative to the world of Toril.
Somewhere deep in The Multiverse is the world of Toril. The name is archaic, meaning ‘Cradle Of Life’. The planet consists of various continents and islands, many of which remained unexplored by civilised beings.
Toril
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Here are the details of a few of the once-known regions.
Faerûn
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Faerûn is the western part of an unnamed supercontinent. It was arguably the most populated and habitable region on the planet, with many large cities lining the coast, and placed around the countryside. Most of the population consisted of farmers, who were organized somewhat loosely in a semi-feudal system. Likewise, there were regions where more barbaric tribes and customs persisted.
Kara-Tur
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As a mass of land whose climate varied greatly, the lands of Kara-Tur were made up by several distinct nations and regions.
The vast human empire of Shou Lung was undoubtedly the most powerful nation on the face of Toril, and was a massive centre for trade across the whole continent. The nation was at continual war with the countries surrounding it, as many were rogue break-away nations that no longer wanted to be part of the tyranny the dynasty provided. This nation also controlled the largest military Spelljammer fleet in Realmspace.
T'u Lung had been a separate state from Shou Lung since breaking away from its northern neighbour nearly three centuries earlier. It used to be the southern part of the Shou Lung Empire. Since the establishment of the Lui Dynasty (the Green Dynasty) and the founding of the T'u Lung Empire, Shou Lung and T'u Lung had officially been at war.
Emperor Kochi first claimed the island of Wa and started his empire when the Sacred Wand and the Moonlight Arrow (the emblems of the imperial office) were given to him by the Spirit of Wa. The Empire of Wa was the first imperial state to be established in Kara-Tur, according to Waan tradition. The island nation of Wa had much in common with Kozakura culturally, despite (or perhaps because of) the two nations' traditional rivalry, but was mostly inhabited by non-human races such as the shape-changing hengeyokai.
The island Empire of Kozakura was founded by Emperor Miki late into the Omi Wars when the land was not yet "discovered" by the Shou and Wa nations. The land of Kozakura was inhabited by the humans and korobokuru (a descendant of the dwarves) and full of beautiful mountains, thick forests and sparkling seas. The majority of the inhabitants lived on the main island of Shinkoku, but there were nearly a thousand islands surrounding it.
The Tabot nation was formed during the "Year Of Frost" when the Shou Ho Dynasty decreed that the Path Of Enlightenment was to be the official and only religion in Shou Lung. Many monks, temples and religious orders of The Way were persecuted in Shou Lung and they fled to the mountains. The temple militias of sohei and monks that fled there formed an alliance against the Shou and founded the nation of Tabot.
The Kingdom of Koryo held power over the entire peninsula of Choson. The kingdom had its origins in the Kingdom of Silla. When the King of Silla attempted to launch an attack on their hated enemies the kozakurans (who had tried to invade the Choson Peninsula in the past), his fleet was destroyed by a tsunami. This allowed one of his generals, Wanang Sun, to overthrow him. Under Sun, he was able to unite all the factions of Choson and establish the united Koryo Kingdom.
The barbarians of The Horse Plains tried countless times to invade their neighbours, the Shou and T'u Lung and had been successful on a few accounts, but their victories were often short lived. Eventually though, Tuigan tribes successfully breached The Dragonwall and devastated many of the north-western provinces of the Shou Empire. During this invasion, many Shou refugees fled to Faerûn and settled in the Thesk region of The Unapproachable East.
Zakhara
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Zakhara was a hot dry land where inhabitants were robed in flowing clothes and turbans, and carried scimitars. It was a giant peninsula of the same supercontinent that hosts Faerûn and Kara-Tur. Zakhara was located east of Faerûn, and the closest Faerûnian lands to Zakhara were Dambrath (by sea) and Ulgarth, or arguably even Konigheim (by land). Zakhara was mostly isolated from the rest of the world, as the peninsula was separated from the main mass by the World Pillar Mountains in Faerûn (or Wu Pi Te Shao in Kara-Tur). The ‘Roof Of The World’ was the largest mountain range in Toril. It was inhabited by evil yak-men and separated Zakhara from the rest of the supercontinent.
The capital city of Zakhara was Huzuz, the ‘City Of Delights’. The land was full of secretive cities, unwelcoming to travellers, huge deserts, lush oases and powerful genies who meddled in the affairs of humans frequently. The continent was ruled by a theocracy headed by the Grand Caliph, and tales told of demon-infested cities and godless sorcerers (like the genie-binding Sha'irs) wielding strange magic. In fact powerful magic and great warriors of every sort were likely to be found in Zakhara. The pantheon consisted of several cultures, like the culture of Enlightenment and more savage deities, such as Ragarra.
Waters around Zakhara were bountiful with pirates and corsairs who charge traders tolls to cross "their" seas. Such traders willingly paid these exorbitant fees as Zakhara's exotic trading goods tended to be well worth the price back in Faerûn. Zakharans were firmly convinced they are more civilized than the rest of the world and treat "barbarians" accordingly.
Yal-Tengri
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Yal-Tengri (also known as The Great Ice Sea) was Toril's arctic ocean. It was barely documented at all. In the ancient times, the major city on its shore was Winterkeep, but eventually it was the trade city of Naupau, in Sossal. Far in the north of the sea was a small island dominated by a cathedral-like spire, inhabited by gnomes of Gond. The Yal-Tengri was free of ice for the six summer months of the year. Somewhere far north of this sea was Jhothûn, the long-forgotten capital of a mighty empire of giants.
Maztica
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Maztica, called by its inhabitants 'The True World', was a continent that was a land of jungles and (to the Faerûnians) mystery. Early in its history it was a land fought over by the gods Qotal (The Plumed Serpent) and his brother Zaltec. For a crime against his sister, Qotal retreated from Maztica for an age but later returned. Maztica was also the name of the elder goddess who embodied the land of Maztica. Killed by her own son Zaltec, she was the wife of dead Kukul, but unlike her husband, continued to live on in the continued existence of the continent.
North of Maztica was the continent of Anchorome. South of it (and separated by a strait) lay an unknown and unexplored continent.
Maztica was 'discovered' by Amnian explorers led by one Captain Cordell and his Golden Legion in 1361 DR. Amn was quick to carve out its claim to the land for trade benefits, establishing the port city of Helmsport, and the church of Helm led the encroachment into the new land. The native peoples were devastated by foreign diseases and the ruthlessness of the invaders, and this, coupled with the difficulties encountered on Maztica backfiring against them, caused the church of Helm to come under heavy criticism. Lantan also claimed some lands.
Maztica was divided into the nations of Nexal, Kultaka, Huacli, Kolan, Pezelac, and Payit. The region known as Far Payit neighboured Payit, both in the east around Helmsport. There were also the human races known as the Dog People and the Green Folk. Many monstrous races also lived in Maztica, including wild halflings and chacs (jaguar spirits).
It was rumoured some scorpionfolk from Maztica found an Underdark passage to The Underdark of Faerûn, fuelling the theory that all the continents were connected underground.
Anchorome
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Anchorome was almost unexplored, and was at the north of Maztica. Its best-known inhabitants were the Azuposi, as well as the defunct Esh Alakarans and the xenophobic Poscadar elves. There is also a sahuagin realm called Itzcali located in the sea nearby. It was speculated that it was the land where the Creator Race known as the Aearee retreated to long ago.
Long ago, Balduran, a sea captain who was the founder of Baldur's Gate, sailed to Anchorome and returned with a great wealth that was used to build the wall around the fledgling Baldur's Gate. Balduran then returned to Anchorome and retrieved a second hoard of treasure from the native kingdoms. Unfortunately, when he attempted to take on a number of locals to replenish his crew he discovered they were infected with lycanthropy. The resulting battle shipwrecked Balduran on an island. The island was later discovered by a Merchant Guild from Baldur's Gate, where both the original crews' and the natives from Anchorome's descendants were locked in a bloody lycanthrope feud. The fate of Balduran himself was unknown.
After the discovery of Maztica by the mercenary Captain Cordell, mercenaries from the Flaming Fist were sent to Anchorome. They built a keep, Fort Flame, in the shores of Balduran's Bay, but other than that the expedition was a complete disaster.
It was rumoured that several tribes of thri-kreen made their home in Anchorome's western regions.
The culture and physical characteristics of humans can change wildly from region to region. The clothing, architecture, cuisine, music, and literature are different in the northwestern lands of the Silver Marches than in distant Turmish or Impillur to the east - and even more distinctive in far-off Kara-Tur. Human physical characteristics though vary according to the ancient migrations of the earliest humans, so all the humans of the Silver Marches have every possible variation of coloration and features.
Nine human ethnic groups are widely recognized, though over a dozen others are found in more localized areas. The common ones are -
Shorter and slighter in build than most other humans, Calishites have dusky brown skin, hair, and eyes. They are found primarily in southwest Faerún.
Chondalhans are slender, lawny-skinned folk with brown hair that ranges from almost blond to almost black. Most are tall and have green or brown eyes, but these trails are hardly universal. Humans of Chondalhan descent dominate the central lands of Faerún, around The Inner Sea.
Found primarily in the northwest of Faerún, Damarans are of moderate height and build, with skin hues ranging from tawny to fair. Their hair is usually brown or black, and their eye colour varies widely, though brown is most common.
Illuskans are tall, fair-skinned folk with blue or steely grey eyes. Most have raven-black hair, but those who inhabit the extreme northwest have blond, red, are light brown hair.
The Shou are the most numerous and powerful ethnic group in Kara-Tur, far to the east of Faerún. They are yellowish-bronze in hue, with black hair and dark eyes. Shou surnames are usually presented before their given name.
Widespread along the entire Sword Coast at the western edge of Faerún, Tethyrians are of medium build and height, with dusky skin that tends to grow fairer the farther north they dwell. Their hair and eye colour varies widely, but brown hair and blue eyes are the most common.
Native to the southern shore of The Inner Sea, the Turami people are generally tall and muscular, with dark mahogany skin, curly black hair, and dark eyes.
High elves have a keen mind and a mastery of at least the basics of magic. In many of worlds there are two kinds of high elves. One type (which includes the sun elves of Faerûn) are haughty and reclusive, believing themselves to be superior to non-elves and even other elves. The other type (including the moon elves of Faerûn) are more common and more friendly, and often encountered among humans and other races.
The sun elves of Faerûn (also called gold elves or sunrise elves) have bronze skin and hair of copper, black, or golden blood. Their eyes are golden, silver, or black. Moon elves (also called silver elves or grey elves) are much paler, with alabaster skin sometimes tinged with blue. They often have hair of silver-while, black, or blue, but various shades of blond, brown, and red are not uncommon. Their eyes are blue or green and flecked with gold.
Wood elves have keen senses and intuition, and their fleet feet carry them quickly and stealthily through their native forests. This category includes the wood elves inFaerûn. W ood elves (also called wild elves, green elves, or forest elves) are reclusive and distrusting of non-elves.
Wood elves' skin tends to be copperish in hue, sometimes with traces of green. Their hair lends toward browns and blacks, but it is occasionally blond or copper-coloured. Their eyes are green, brown, or hazel.
Hill dwarves have keen senses, deep intuition, and remarkable resilience. The gold dwarves of Faerún in their mighty southern kingdom are hill dwarves.
Mountain dwarves, are strong and hardy, and accustomed to a difficult life in rugged terrain. The are usually tall (for a dwarf), and tend toward lighter coloration, The shield dwarves of northern Faerún are mountain dwarves.
DM Note - Toril was the name of Jeff Grubb's home campaign world, and it was adopted as the name of the planet upon which the continent of Faerûn existed when he and Ed Greenwood were designing the original Forgotten Realms Boxed Set in 1987. The word Abeir was added as a prefix to the planet's name to make it Abeir-Toril so that it would be the first entry in the alphabetical encyclopaedia of terms included in the set.
The setting's entire planet underwent a major change during the 1989 Avatar trilogy, which detailed a series of events called The Time Of Troubles, during which gods walked the earth and magic became unpredictable. These events caused permanent changes in gameplay that were outlined in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition campaign setting books.
In another significant change to the setting's history, The Forgotten Realms material for the 4th edition of Dungeons & Dragons reveals that the world was split in two in prehistory, divided between the primordials (Abeir) and the gods (Toril). Toril is the world that has been showcased so far in official books. A cataclysm called The Spellplague has caused several parts of the two worlds to switch places, displacing portions of Faerûn and the entire continent of Maztica with regions of Abeir: Tymanther, Akanûl, and Returned Abeir. A subsequent event called The Second Sundering reverted many of these changes and restored much of the pre-Spellplague Toril to its original state.
Today official publications seem to have returned to just using Toril as the world's name.
