Abeir-Toril


Toril is the fictional planet that makes up the Forgotten Realms ''Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, as well as the Al-Qadim and Maztica campaign settings, and the 1st edition version of the Oriental Adventures campaign setting. It is the default world for the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons''.
The name means "cradle of life" in an archaic fictional language of the setting. It consists of various continents and islands, including Faerûn, Kara-Tur, Zakhara, Maztica, Osse, Anchorome and Katashaka, a sub-Saharan-like continent south of Maztica, where humanity appeared. Toril was originally the name of game designer Jeff Grubb's personal campaign world before part of it was merged with creator Ed Greenwood's Forgotten Realms setting.

Publishing history

Toril was the name of Jeff Grubb's campaign world, and 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. Greenwood had written tales for his world "as far back as 1967" and "it had been the setting for his homespun D&D campaigns since 1978". Abeir- was added as a prefix to the planet's name so that it would be the first entry in the alphabetical encyclopedia 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 this edition, Abeir-Toril was considered one of D&D's three main worlds, along with Krynn and Oerth.
In a significant retcon of the setting's history, Forgotten Realms material for the fourth edition of Dungeons & Dragons "reveals" that the world was split in two in prehistory, divided between the primordials and the gods. Toril is the world that has been showcased so far. 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 Sundering" reverted many of these changes and restored much of the pre-Spellplague Toril.

Fictional continents

Anchorome

Anchorome is almost unexplored and is at the North of Maztica. Its best-known inhabitants are 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.
The character Balduran, a sea captain and founder of Baldur's Gate, sails to Anchorome and returns with a great wealth which is used to build the wall around the fledgling Baldur's Gate. In the Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast expansion, it is revealed that Balduran returns to Anchorome and retrieves a second hoard of treasure from the Native kingdoms. When he attempts to take on a number of locals to replenish his crew, he discovers they are infected with lycanthropy. The resulting battle shipwrecks Balduran on an island, which is later discovered by a Merchant Guild from Baldur's Gate and subsequently by the player who is sent to confirm the finding, where both the original crews' and the natives from Anchorome's descendants are locked in a bloody lycanthrope feud. The fate of Balduran himself is never clearly revealed.
After the discovery of Maztica by the mercenary captain Cordell, mercenaries from the Flaming Fist are sent to Anchorome. They build a keep, Fort Flame, in the shores of Balduran's bay but other than this it has been a complete disaster.
It is speculated that it is the land where the Creator Race known as the Aearee retreated a long time ago. It is rumored that several tribes of thri-kreen make their home in Anchorome's western regions.

Faerûn

The continent of Faerûn is the primary setting of the Forgotten Realms and the part of Toril most detailed in stories and supplements.

Kara-Tur

Kara-Tur's cultures and peoples are fantasy analogues of medieval regions of East Asia, including China, Korea, Japan, the Ryukyu Islands, Tibet, and others. According to Jim Bambra, "while primarily drawing on Japan for inspiration, also contains elements of medieval China and Korea". Kara-Tur was first described in the original 1985 Oriental Adventures book. A reviewer for White Dwarf called the long background section of Kara-Tur in the book, a "bonus". Originally intended as a western part of the continent of Oerik in the Greyhawk setting, the description of Kara-Tur in the Oriental Adventures rulebook made no attempt to link it with another D&D game-world. The first map of Kara-Tur appeared in the adventure module OA1: Swords of the Daimyo, where the setting was still world-neutral. The 1987 Forgotten Realms Campaign Set left the eastern half of its continent reserved for the future publication of Kara-Tur. In 1988, TSR released a boxed set, Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms, describing the region in greater detail, with two 96-page books and maps. In the process of adapting the setting to the Forgotten Realms, the size of the continent was scaled down significantly.
The ten distinct nations and regions described in the boxed set and their real-world analogues include:
In 1989 a printing of Trail Maps for Kara-Tur appeared as part of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition. In 1990 the maps were again included in The Forgotten Realms Atlas. Later that year TSR converted the monsters of Kara-Tur to second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules as part of the Monstrous Compendium series. After 1990, TSR ceased publishing new material related to Kara-Tur. The setting was, however, occasionally referred to by other TSR products such as Spelljammer and Ravenloft.
The setting of Kara-Tur still exists on Abeir-Toril in Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition and is often mentioned in Forgotten Realms supplements. Characters and artifacts from Kara-Tur sometimes show up in Faerûn, but beyond that there is little interaction between the continents. The 2015 release of Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, a supplement for Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition, introduced Kara-Tur to the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons. There is a brief description of the land along with references throughout the book to its culture and how certain classes or backgrounds might fit in there.
Reviewer Michael Mullen, looking at the setting of Kara-Tur before the publication of the boxed set, stated that players would probably like the world, but that it would depend largely on how familiar the DM was with Oriental culture or Japanese movies and television. He remarked that the "usual opposition, if not human, will be from the spirit world", rather than more conventional battles versus monsters. Game studies scholar Aaron Trammell commented that "Although Gary Gygax envisioned a campaign setting that brought a multicultural dimension to Dungeons & Dragons, the reality is that by lumping together Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Philippine, and 'Southeast Asian' lore he and co-authors David 'Zeb' Cook and Francois Marcela-Froideval actually developed a campaign setting that reinforced western culture's already racist understanding of the 'Orient'."

Related products set in Kara-Tur

Modules
The Kara-Tur campaign setting inspired the following eight adventure modules :
  • OA1, Swords of the Daimyo
  • OA2, Night of the Seven Swords
  • OA3, Ochimo: The Spirit Warrior
  • OA4, Blood of the Yakuza
  • OA5, Mad Monkey vs. the Dragon Claw
  • FROA1, Ninja Wars
  • OA6, Ronin Challenge
  • OA7, ''Test of the Samurai''
    Books
Three choose your own adventure style books were published:
  • Blade of the Young Samurai – Endless Quest 23
  • Test of the Ninja – AD&D Adventure Gamebook 5
  • Warlords – 1 on 1 Book 7
One of novels in The Empires Trilogy is set in Shou Lung of Kara-Tur.
  • Other
  • Dragon #315, for information on ancestor feats and martial arts styles specific to the Kara-Tur setting, as well as updated information on the 10 empires and regions of Kara-Tur.

    Maztica

Maztica, called by its inhabitants The True World, is a fictional continent that is a land of jungles and mystery. The area was heavily inspired by Aztec and Mayan culture.
Early in its fictional 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 returned in recent times.
It was 'discovered' by Amnian explorers led by one Captain-general 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 is divided into the nations of Nexal, Kultaka, Huacli, Kolan, Pezelac, and Payit. The region known as Far Payit neighbours Payit, both in the east around Helmsport. The native people of Maztica from Payit and Far Payit are known as Payits, whereas natives from the other nations are known as Mazticans. There are also the human races known as the Dog People and the Green Folk. Many monstrous races also live in Maztica, including wild halflings and Chacs—jaguar spirits. In very old times, couatl came from Maztica to fight the Yuan-Ti of Chult.
Some scorpionfolk from Maztica found an Underdark passage to the Underdark of Faerûn.
North of Maztica is the continent of Anchorome. South of it lies an unknown continent.
Maztica was detailed for 2nd Edition Dungeons & Dragons in the Maztica Campaign Set by Douglas Niles, and in the Forgotten Realms novels of the Maztica Trilogy—Ironhelm, Viperhand and Feathered Dragon—also by Douglas Niles. It was based on historical Central America.
In a retrospective review in Black Gate, Scott Taylor found Maztica unimpressive because the continent too closely mirrored the Mesoamerican world, down to the history of the Conquistadores, rather than creating a uniquely fantasy version inspired by the "colorful and diverse" reality that is Mesoamerica. CBR author Matthew England considered it "a rarity in the fantasy genre" to base a continent on these cultures.
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, continues to live on in the continued existence of the continent.
In 4th edition, the Spellplague caused by Mystra's death caused Abeir and Toril to briefly merge and then instantly rip apart again. As a result, Maztica is no longer a part of Toril, having been replaced with a continent called "Returned Abeir". On some maps, it has been renamed Anchorome.