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Originally posted by The Hooded One

Hello again, all!
This time I bring a reply from Ed to Wooly Rupert’s recent query: “Hiya, Ed and lovely Lady Hooded One!
I'm adding yet another question to my ever-growing queue, and this is one that I think may be good for a lot of people...
One of the few high points in the FRCG is the amount of detail and such in the Returned Abeir section. It's quite obvious that that section of the book is pure Ed; his world-building is what makes that area usable.
It occurs to me that Returned Abeir could easily replace one of Toril's undescribed landmasses, rather than replacing something that may not be to everyone's liking but is a part of official canon. The shape isn't right, but since those other landmasses are mostly just blobby shapes on a map, I think that's easy enough to ignore.
However... I'd want to use it as Laerakond, and I'd want to use it in the pre-Sellplague Realms. So all the "Returned" aspects have to be tweaked. I'm thinking the Dawn Titans could be banished/exiled deities, perhaps even one of the groups of Seven Lost Gods. The missing part of the dragonborn kingdom is a bit harder, but maybe it could be an earthquake or the result of an awakened nastybad, perhaps even a Dawn Titan.
So, here's the question, friend Ed: if you had to make that continent work as part of the 1370-ish era, how would you do so?”
Ed replies:



Hi, Wooly! This is a great topic, and, yes, “Returned Abeir” can function just fine as a long-unseen continent of Toril circa 1350s through 1370s with almost no “foreground” changes - - that is, alterations to what mortal adventurers see around them and experience - - at all.
Returned Abeir becomes the identical continent of Laerakond, well southwest of Evermeet, that’s been isolated from direct contact with the distant continent of Faerūn because, yes, the Dawn Titans have been imprisoned there after a long-ago Godswar, behind a mighty Weave-warping divine magic enacted by the familiar Faerūnian gods we all know agreeing and working together (under the direction of Ao, if you use Ao in your campaign).
{If for some reason you want Mystra gone or diminished in your campaign, she could have sacrificed herself to BECOME this magic, retaining power and influence in Faerūn only through her Chosen and her church, as more and more of her divine energy was sapped, as the years passed, in binding and holding the Titans, who are increasingly able to devour it; see hereafter. Or perhaps, if you want to jettison Ao or specific deities from the published pantheon, they made this sacrifice.}
Even deities - - such as Mask, Bane, and Cyric - - who customarily cheat and manipulate to get their own ways in dealings with their fellow gods have no interest in working treachery on this particular deal among the gods, because the Titans, unleashed, are a direct and malicious threat to the gods of Faerūn and all their mortal worshippers. The Titans gain power not through worship, but by devouring souls and life-essence (godhood being their first and foremost desired meal). Letting the Titans go free would eventually mean no deities, and a Toril stripped of all life - - literally bare, windblown earth, with not a plant or beast left.
The Titans entered Realmspace through a rift inadvertently caused by the elven High Magic that cloaked Evermeet, stealing in through the “back door” so to speak, so their point of entry was “behind” (farther from Faerūn than) Evermeet. By chance, it was in the northern part of Laerakond.
Where dragons were already resident, and battling each other in struggles that had long ago reduced them to few in number and forced their conflicts into contests of etiquette, influence, strict rules, and fighting through proxies (lesser beasts, right down to their dragonborn slaves) - - lest their continuing struggles result in no food left for any dragon, or their destruction at the hands of the vastly less powerful but numerically far more numerous other races of Laerakond (such as the giants, humans, et al).
{For a hint of what this dragon society might have been like, recall the evil Skeksis of the DARK CRYSTAL, and also look to a certain contest introduced in the opening pages of the forthcoming - - and great - - Erin Evans novel THE GOD CATCHER, fifth in the ED GREENWOOD PRESENTS WATERDEEP series.}
The arrival of the Titans shattered this status quo and awakened savage battle among the dragons once more - - and the arrival of the deities of Faerūn, alerted by the shockwaves sent through the Weave by Titans hurling magic at dragons who presumed to defy them, and the subsequent battle between gods and Titans, destroyed much of Tymanther. The dragonborn won free of their dragon overlords, the dragons were reduced to a mere handful, much of Laerakond north of “The Snouts” (the capes projecting into the Dragon Sea east of Marrauk and southwest of Stormhelm) was left a magic-ravaged chaos (not lifeless, but a turmoil of destruction and raging wild magic and wild growth and mutation spawned by it, of monsters wandering the land and no order but that of fang and claw) . . . and the Titans were magically bound into stasis, in deep caverns blasted out beneath Fimbrul and Relmaur.
Where they remain to this day, already awake and scheming but unable to win free of their immobility, not daring to try anything too drastic - - like crashing their spell-chains against each other violently and repeatedly - - for fear of collapsing the caverns around them and perishing under the weight of the mountains above. Yet seeking to reach out and rule all Toril from their prisons, by means insidious. They managed much during the Time of Troubles, luring many creatures to them through dream-visions sent forth while the gods were walking Faerūn, and their power is increasing, as rumors spread in Laerakond lure more and more adventurers and power-seekers to them, to this day.

So we have a longtime inability to pass from Faerūn to Laerakond and vice versa, except through a few secret gates (portals), because the elves wanted Evermeet cloaked not just from Faerūn, but also from Laerakond, and for years used lesser magics to aid and abet the magical experimentations of the great ruling dragons of Laerakond.
The dragons were alarmed by some ships arriving at their shores (from Faerūn and elsewhere), and - - after enslaving the crews, from whom many of the humans of their continent are descended - - raised magical storms in the seas around Laerakond that made sailing to and from it foolishly perilous.
Which left legends in Faerūn of a lost land somewhere across the seas, a vast land of terrible dragons and great riches, that a few sailors found long ago, but that none can find today.

Until recently, if you the DM want it to. Perhaps the Time of Troubles, or the deaths and shifting portfolios and power alliances among the gods since (if you have had any of those happen in your campaign) or any of your own tinkerings with the pantheon, have weakened or ended the “storms at sea” zones, and a few intrepid seacaptains have voyaged between one continent to the other, and back. (Or not, if you prefer; I designed both the continents of Faerūn and Laerakond to function perfectly in isolation, each as a campaign setting.)

Note that none of this (the “what happened” ideas I advanced above) invalidates what’s written in the FRCG as “Abeir’s Past.” Those published words merely become the locally-accepted version of things; what most folk of Laerakond believe happened “before the days we know now.”

The Titans become the source of Shar’s recent success, if you want them to, and of the Shadow Weave, if you want to use it, and can even be the backers of Shade (the Princes may or may not be aware of this). They can also be the source of any monsters or cults you want to add to the Realms (even “don’t fit” elements, such as the dragon kings of DARK SUN or something from RUNEQUEST or another fantasy setting or game, that you just want to experiment with as “one-offs”), or hitherto-unknown links (portals) connecting the Realms with, say, Golarion, or Eberron, or the fictional settings of A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE or the WHEEL OF TIME or the setting of the Eddings BELGARIAD and MALLOREON or whatever you’d prefer.
The point is that the Titans are bound, and although they may individually be too strong to destroy (and their destruction, akin to an atomic explosion of unprecedented proportions, may be too damaging to Toril to dare attempt), they dare not break free and act openly, because the gods will swarm them and imprison them again, in (already explicitly threatened) greater torment. So instead, they work through proxies, seeking to sew discontent and warfare and mistrust, to weaken rulers and order and increase violence and “the wild” right across the face of the Realms, by cults here and monster breedings there. Perhaps they are behind the deepspawn, or the rise of a beholder realm, or both. They are certainly behind cults, cabals, and attempted treason and usurpations everywhere, and seeking to subvert existing merchant costers, brotherhoods, and other established power groups (the Harper, from within? the War Wizards? the Red Wizards?).
And they are certainly behind expedition after expedition of adventurers, both duped “good” bands and grasping evildoers (or adventurers hired by power-seekers in Tarmalune and your choice of the cities and lands of southern Laerakond) into Relmaur and Fimbrul, seeking to find the deep cavern of this or that Titan, and physically free them. Perhaps the imprisoned Titans are aware of a way to substitute a captured dragon or wizard (or even some or all of the adventurers who are rescuing them) for themselves in the bindings, to prevent gods whose attentions are now elsewhere from knowing that a Titan has won free . . .
Ah, such delicious cans of worms, all opened up in a row before you. Your choice of which to partake of, and how much, and when.
Dig in! :}



So saith Ed. Creator of the Realms and Laerakond and lots of crazy, sneaky, fun campaign ideas like this!
GREAT question, Wooly!
love to all,
THO

Edit: I fixed two of Ed's typos. Content otherwise unchanged.

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Originally posted by Ghost King

Dragons in FR were more like traditional dragons in ancient lore, while some did mettle in the "lesser" races affairs for the most part they slept or terrorized the country side if they were evil. If they were good dragons pretty much the same, but they kept terrorizing to just sheep, cattle and wild game not humaniods (unless of course a dragon hunter was after them, then why let a potential meal go to waste).

~Ghost King~

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Originally posted by Mouse

How many folks are planning on using r=Returned Abeir as the setting for their 4th Ed or whatever campaign?

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Originally posted by Ghost King

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Originally posted by The Hooded One

Ohhhh, Markustay! While you're down there . . .
(I know it's crowded, but Wooly and The Sage are both generous men. They'll slide on over to make room for you for a little while, at least.

LOVE,
THO

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What type of place are you people running here?!?!


I guess it is true women on top are very generous!

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Originally posted by The Hooded One

Ohhhh, Markustay! While you're down there . . .
(I know it's crowded, but Wooly and The Sage are both generous men. They'll slide on over to make room for you for a little while, at least.

LOVE,
THO

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Originally posted by The Hooded One

The two planets then "moved on" (apart) in their endless circling dance around each other, each changed.
So yes, in uncounted millenia to come [*cough* in time for 5th edition *cough* or whenever a DM wants to change major things in their own campaign), this could all happen again.

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Originally posted by The Hooded One

Edit: spelling. @#$%$! frozen fingers!

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Originally posted by Mouse

<snip>
Wonder why they did it?

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Does anyone else have any other particularly detailed information?

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Originally posted by Mouse

How many folks are planning on using r=Returned Abeir as the setting for their 4th Ed or whatever campaign?
I've don't play 4th Ed Realms personally, so I'm not sure I get what Abeir's deal is, other then it's "returned" to Abeir-Toril. Is there some kind of interesting adventure thread? Is is more developed areas there then the rest of the fairly untouched 4th Ed Realms? Is the only significant difference it's Primordial gods? I'm full of questions for 4th Ed Realms (ones that usually have negative answers I don't like), but Returned Abeir intrigues me.

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