There’s the Forgotten Realms and then there’s the Realms nobody ever remembers. Let’s remind everyone they exist, shall we?
The Forgotten Realms are notoriously well-explored, considering their name. It seems everywhere you turn, there was once a series of novels and/or adventures and/or games therein. But times change. The old lore moulders, dank and discarded in remote libraries (and wikis), all but, well, forgotten. So here are five of the most forgotten, Forgotten Realms.
Mulhorand
Mulhorand is a strange part of the Forgotten Realms. For one, it’s people come from a different world entirely. For two, that world is Earth. Yup, that’s right, our very own homeworld is canon in the Forgotten Realms. Which means that you, me, Carl Sagan, and everyone else on that pale blue dot could potentially show up in your Forgotten Realms campaign. All you’d have to do is stumble across an ancient Imaskari Empire device to summon people from across the multiverse and Bob (or any other Earthling) is your uncle.
Mulhorand has been through a lot over the years. Started by ancient Egyptians enslaved by the Imaskari empire, Mulhorand has been destroyed at least once (it got better), and its deities continue to champion their people to this day.
Lantan
Lantan is a relatively remote island situated between the Moonshae Isles and Chult. This lush, tropical island is home to a society of Gond worshippers. And if you know anything about Gond, you know that when a whole population devoutly follows those particular teachings, explosions tend to ensue.
But Lantan hasn’t sunk beneath the waves, or even been conquered by ambitious warmongers. Instead, the people of Lantan use their advanced technology, like ship-mounted flamethrowers and explosive nets, to keep would-be invaders at bay as they research secrets and poke at the fabric of reality.
Xorhun
Xorhun is a city. It is the only openly Elven city in the whole of the Vilhon reach. Populated primarily by elves and gnomes, a thriving community that is said to be the best example of what ancient elven/gnomish cultures might look like if they had survived through to this day, as prosperous now as they were then.
This is not because of any powerful magical protection. Or indeed any sort of secret weapon. The secret to Xorhun’s success is one that canonical Forgotten Realms creator Ed Greenwood (who once visited from Earth) would appreciate – in Xorhun, the fertility rate of Elves and Gnomes is magically enhanced. They bear children at 2-5 times the normal rate, such is why many elves, gnomes, and a growing number of half elves can be found in the city year-round.
Aglarond
Aglarond is a nation of magic users that shares a border with the land of the bRed Wizards, Thay. And yet, despite the promise of riches, even more magical power, and expanded borders, the Zulkirs of the Red Wizards of Thay have never conquered it. They haven’t even come close.
This is in part because Aglarond is the domain of the Simbul, a powerful spellcaster and chosen of Mystra who was so powerful that even after her apparent “death” her influence lived on in the form of The Simbarch, a council of fifteen wizards learned in the ways of the Simbul who took control of the country and rule from the Palace of the Simbul, using the name Simbul as a symbol of their authority.
Tymanther
And one of the newest pieces of the Forgotten Realms to be forgotten, the realm of Tymanther. This comes from the “sister world” of Toril, the planet Abeir, which briefly during 4th Edition coincided with Toril to disastrous andn unexpected results. One such place is Tymanther, a nation of Dragonborn. As you might imagine from a nation ruled by a figure named “the Vanquisher” (whose role was both monarch and a general), three nation of Tymanther was heavily militarized.
However, they weren’t necessity expansionary, and were often misunderstood, trying to explain things like, “yes we are ruled by the Vanquisher, sure, but they’re not an absoltue ruler! They serve as arbiter for the conclave of elders, made up by all the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Tymantheran clans!”
Trade with Tymanther is a tangled affair.
What are your favorite “forgotten” parts of the Forgotten Realms?
