A Short (for him) Greeting From Elminster

by Ed Greenwood
Tantam! Oh...er, hello, as ye say
it...tantam is what merchants of the
North say, here in the Realms.
The Realms, the Forgotten Realms,
ocourse, as yeve all forgotten the way
here, until now, that is. Of all the sages
in Faerun, I am the first to walk among
ye since Myth Drannor fell so it has
fallen to me to welcome yeye who
have discovered the Realms through
the offices of the good scribes of TSR,
Inc. I bid ye fair welcome to my home,
for tis a fair world, perhaps the fairest
of all those Ive walked. And mind ye,
there have been a few and a few again,
over the years.
Five hundred-odd winters I have
lived in Faerun, most of them in the
Dragonreach landsthat is, those lands
that border the Sea of Fallen Stars on
the northwest. Ive learned the odd
thing in my time, here and there along
my road; and so it is that I can pass on to
ye what I think ye should know of the
Forgotten Realms.
One cannot know too much beauty
in ones life. Some such beauty is too
fleeting, or too personal, to be passed
on to others, but tis the duty of all
beings who would rise to better themselves to pass on to others beauty that
others can know. So it is that sages, of
all worlds, preserve the lore and learning of their lands and peoples. Music,
art, legends, and magecraftall these
we treasure, and TSR will bring ye as
the years pass. And ye shall come to
know the beauty of the Forgotten
Realms.
For the life of a world can only be
captured, howeer imperfectly, in tellings that give one views of its landscapes and its lifeits plants, its
creatures, and their doings. I would like
to see the Realms come alive for ye, in
this world, to delight ye as it has me. I
have told one among ye, Ed Greenwood, of my world for years; through
him, and others, TSR will bring ye more
of the Realms in days to come. For some
twenty winters only he listened to my
tales, but Ive talked long evenings away

to more attentive ears, know ye, in the

last season than in many seasons
before, here and in Faerun. Ye who like
to read what ye term novelsa novel
term indeed, eh-heh...ahem...can
expect to see more than a few tales of
the Realms in times ahead. Some words
ye can read already, as novels and game
tomes, and of these I would speak now.
In all tales, a teller misses something,
or speaks here and there with words
unclear to someone who reads or
hears, or tells not enough of what his
listeners would hear about, if they
could guide his tongue. Elminsters
business is answering questionsaye,
and his pleasure, too. So, ask, I charge
thee! Send thy queries to the good
scribes, and I shall do mine own level
best to answer, if not directly, then by
producing more lore on locales, and
matters, and beings, ye would know
more of. The busy scribes of the realms
can then turn such into modules, rulebooks, articles, and novels for thy
entertainment. For, look ye, what
greater purpose is there, if ye cannot
heal or shape mountains or create life
anew, than to entertain?
Ah, I envy thee all. To discover the
Realms anew, as ye will! To walk amid

the great trees of the Elven court, or

glimpse (from afar, if ye would live long)
the devil-haunted ruins of Myth Drannor. To see the welcoming farms of Shadowdale, or half a world away, the
many proud spires of great Waterdeep,
the City of Splendors! Ah, tis a grand
world, I tell thee (and who should know
better?) and it awaits thee, here and in
pagesand other ways, who knows?
to come. When ye have seen a sunrise
over the Moonshae Isles, or watched
the stars glimmering above the beautiful city of Silverymoon on a clear deep
night, ye will thank me! Aye, and it
makes me glad to know the joy that
awaits and proud, too, for the Realms
are my home, even as ye would be
proud to show a wayfarer thy abode,
whateer it be.
One thing more: know ye all that the
Realms ye have seen in the box is but a
small corner of the Realms! One of my
favorite corners, aye, but only a small
piece indeed of the mighty land that is
Faerun. Ye have seen little of the North,
little indeed of the lands between the
Sword Coast and the Dragonreach, and
little or nothing of Impiltur, Aglarond,
and Thay to the east.
And these, too, are but a fewthe
entire South, from the Vilhon Reach
through proud Amn, Tethyr, and hot
Calimshan, ye have not even been
shown yet. Nor Lantan, or Nimbral, the
island realms (nor, far out to sea in the
west, Evermeet of the elves); nor
Tharsultnor the wild jungles of Chult,
nor Tashluta and the lands about it, that
we call Tashalar. Beyond this last lies a
whole coast of realms, in the far south
of Faerunand ye could travel for
many years walking east, across
Raurin, and Durpar, and the Plains of
Purple Dust, ere ye came at last to the
mysterious lands of Kara-Tur. And
Faerun is not the only continent of
Abeir-Toril, know ye! Ah, rich years lie
ahead of ye yet, ye who come along for
the ride across this rich world of mine! I
welcome ye, and wish ye welland will
have more to say to ye anon (for I say
much, and often, as they say). But for
now, until swords part!

High Fantasy...High Art

FORGOTTEN REALMS
Calendar
The Forgotten Realms is more than just
a land of endless adventure and tireless
foes. It is also a realm of wonder, a land
of legends and tales of grand heroics
and personal sacrifice, of love, war and
honor! And it is a realm of striking
beauty and splendor.
Now let that world of fantasy come
to life for you with TSRs colorful
FORGOTTEN REALMS Calendar and
Novels of new legends. The black and
white illustrations on this page cannot
begin to do justice to the spectacular
color of the latest FORGOTTEN
REALMS Calendar and novels. You have
to see it for yourself.
The 1989 Calendar is a magnificent
collection of fourteen full color paintings gleaned from the covers of the new
FORGOTTEN REALMS products. Illustrated by top artists: Jeff Butler, Clyde
Caldwell, Jeff Easley, Larry Elmore, and
Keith Parkinson, this calendar has
already become a best seller.
TSR8889 Forgotten Realms
$7.95
1989 Calendar
ADVANCED
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS,
FORGOTTEN REALMS, and the
TSR logo are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc
1988 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in U.S.A.

FORGOTTEN REALMS
Novels
Darkwalker on Moonshae by Doug
Niles. This is the very first novel set in
the Forgotten Realms, and the first of a
major trilogy set in the Moonshae Isles.
In this tale, which made the New York
Times best-seller list, the evil Kazgoroth
has awakened and only Prince Tristan
Kendrick can rally the forces of Moonshae against its encroaching darkness.

Black Wizards, by Doug Niles, continues the Moonshae Trilogy. In the second book, Prince Tristan Kendrick of
Corwell departs on a blood quest. His
journey is interrupted when the vision
of a queen long dead rises from the sea
to challenge him with an obscure
prophecy that will rule his destiny and
that of the Isles.

TSR8410
Darkwalker on Moonshae $3.95

TSR8412
Black Wizards

$3.95

The Crystal Shard by R. A. Sahratore.

This new Forgotten Realms story, set
east of the Sea of Moving Ice and far
north of the Moonshae Isles, tells of the
young barbarian Wulfgar, an unorthodox dwarf, a renegade dark elf, and the
people of Ten-Towns, who must unite
against the forces of the crystal shard
Crenshinibon and the Tyrant of Icewind Dale.
TSR8411
The Crystal Shard

$3.95

Lands of the Forgotten Realms

During the scribing of the Forgotten
Realms tomes, some information was
unintentionally overlooked by overworked scribes working by far-toofeeble candlelight. The errant
information literally came to light
recently (when the scribery windows
were at last washed) and is here included for your education, edification, and
perusal.

AGLAROND
A small realm that keeps to itself,
Aglarond exerts little infuence in affairs
of state beyond its borders. It is important in the overall strategic balance of
the Inner Sea lands, however, simply
because its continued existence prevents Thay from overwhelming the
northern East. Aglaronds strength
and danger, because she stands in magical opposition to the Red Wizards of
Thay, who do not kindly suffer rivals, is
its current ruler, a female archmage of
fabled powers, known only as The Simbul.
Aglarond lies on the northern side of
a peninsula jutting out into the eastern
end of the Inner Sea; a sparselyinhabited, heavily-wooded realm of few
farms and no large cities. Jagged pinnacles of rock stand at its tip and run
along the spine of its lands. To the east,
these fall away into vast and treacherous marshes that largely isolate The

Simbuls realm from the mainland. Travel in Aglarond is by griffon, ship, or

forest trails. It trades lumber, gems, and
some copper for glass, iron, cloth
goods, and food when freetrading vessels come to port, but sends out no trading ships of its own.
Aglarond cannot boast a field army of
any size, nor a navy, but within its
woods The Simbuls foresters are
expert and deadly troops, adept at firefighting and at using coastboats (long,
canoe-like open boats handled with
lateen sails, oars, and poles) to raid by
night as well as traveling in the treetops
and fighting among them. The foresters
are alert and grim; the menacing might
of Thay is uncomfortably near, and
Aglaronds blades are all too few. At the
battles of Singing Sands (1194 DR
[Dalerecking]) and Brokenheads (1197
DR), Aglaronds forces turned back
invading hosts from Thay, but the cost
was great. Skirmishes with raiders hoping to win glory in Thay, or mercenaries
hired by Thay, are common.
Little is known of The Simbuls aims
and true strength, but she is seen to
constantly roam the northern Realms,
working to influence all manner of
events. This is presumably to better
Aglaronds safety, although she is said
to be a member or at least an ally of the
Harpers, whose aims are more widespread.
Initially a wilderland inhabited only

by a few sylvan elves, satyrs, and the

fell forest denizens known more to men
in fable than in fact (owlbears, stirges,
and the like), Aglarond was little disturbed by men as settlement spread
east across the Inner Sea lands an age
ago. Often visited by pirates and others
seeking a temporary refuge or to cut
timber, Aglarond remained unsettled
for many long winters. A few adventurers ceased their explorations to colonize the land, mostly those too old,
notorious, or badly maimed to continue
faring. At length fishermen seeking
untouched seas moved to Aglaronds
shores, and slowly small settlements of
fisher-folk took hold on the rocky
coasts. These villagers faced the sea,
and although the woods at their backs
seldom erupted to endanger them, they
did not explore inland nor boldly cut
and fell in the manner of the settlers of
Cormyr, Sembia, and the Dalelands.
The far-off pinnacles and the endless
woods remained hostile places for a
generation or more; those who ventured too far in did not return. As the
woodcutting slowly ate away at the forest edge, skirmishes with owlbears and
satyrs became more common, and
were-creatures b e g a n t o a p p e a r .
Adventurers on the run or seeking hire
also began to arrive in Aglarond, and
for a brief, bloody decade still vivid in
songs and travelers-tales, men slaughtered the most dangerous of Aglaronds

Lands of the Forgotten Realms

monsters. As the dangers of the woods
grew fewer, hunters and fur-trappers
ventured further inlandand eventually discovered that the elves of
Aglarond had grown few and humble,
weakened by disease and continual
warfare with the mountain trolls and
the dark elves of the mountain deeps.
Most of the fisher-folk remained ignorant (and fearful) of the forest depths,
and did not venture far into the trees.
But the hunters and adventurers
fought the trolls and (rarely) the drow,
knowing the elves first as wary allies
and then as friends, and within another
generation a proud (if few in number)
half-elven folk had come into being in
the depths of the woods, the elves being
completely absorbed into the half-elven
stock. Over the next decade, the drow
went under(ground) and came to
Aglarond no more, the trolls were nearly eradicated, and the satyrs all left
Aglarond or perished in the forest
wars, until the half-elves came to rule
all of Aglaronds wooded interior. Indiscriminate woodcutting continued
around the villages of Oskur and Dlusk
in particular and at length the half-elves
grew angry enough to move down into
the fishing villages and take over. This
led to several armed skirmishes, notably a pitched battle at the remote
anchorage of Ingdals Arm (in which the
pure humans perished to a man), but
at length the half-elves prevailed.
For a time there was ill feeling, but
the just rule of the half-elven (and their
undeniable and ever-increasing blood
ties to the fisher-folk) soon welded the
people into a loyal fellowship under the
rule of a king. The first king, the senior
war-leader of the elves, was the aged
Brindor. He established a fighting corps
of veterans and youths, named an heir,
as he had no surviving mate or offspring of his blood, and began a tradition of government by monarchy and
council. Each village chose a representative or elder to be a part of the council,
to advise and debate with the king.
Those who would not accept the rule of
the King moved west, into Altumbel, or
north and east into Thesk. Theskan
raiders (and later, the growing threat of

Thay) were encountered by Brindors

only great engineering works: the fortress of Emmech at the mouth of the
Umber, and the Wall of Giants, constructed by giants in return for some
mysterious magical service Brindor
gave them. These works prevented any
army that crossed the Umber marshes
from sweeping into Aglaronds growing
farms.
Brindors heir, Althon, began a great
program of irrigation, road-building,
and careful husbandry of the muchshrunken woods of Aglarond. Eventually to become known as Althon The
Old, he lived nearly a hundred winters.
In Althons time Aglarond grew into a
strong and happy realm, despite the
growing power of Thay and the many
cities along the coast to the south of the
Yuirwood. The wood gained its name
from the Yuir, as the elven folk now
absorbed into Aglaronds half-elven
populace had called themselves. Althon
had two sons, Elthond and Philaspur.
Elthond perished in the first great battle gainst the forces of Thay at Singing

Sands (so-called for the lamenting women of Aglarond, who cried and sang all
night as they took up the bodies of their
slain men from the sands around
Emmech). Philaspur reigned thereafter,
himself perishing at the fortress of
Glarondar in the battle of Brokenheads.
Philaspurs daughters, Thara and
Ulae, ruled long and well together after
his death. Known as the Grey Sisters
for their raiment, they developed their
magical arts to awesome heights and
were believed to have used shrewd
dweomercraft to thwart many forces
from Thay ere these reached
Aglaronds borders. In their later years,
both took husbands. Thara wed Elthar
of Milvarune, gaining thereby the
friendship of Thesk (which survives to
this day). Ulae bore a son Halacar and a
daughter Ilione.
Halacar reigned from the death of his
mother (1257 DR) through a disastrous
campaign against Thay and diedof
poison, it is thoughtin the winter of
1260 DR without wife or offspring. His
sister Ilione came to the throne inexperienced but she was wiser than Halacar
and carefully built Aglaronds strength.
Ilione immediately named as heir her
apprentice, the young and mysterious
sorceress known only as The Simbul.
She ruled long and wisely as Aglarond
prospered. Ilione died of plague in 1320
DR.
Since that time The Simbul has ruled
the realm with magery greater than
any known in the Inner Sea lands since
the fall of Myth Drannor. She is thought
to still live, and Aglarond still survives,
because she personally overmatches
even the infamous Red Wizards of
Thay. If The Simbul herself has apprentices or a chosen heir, she has not publicly identified any such to the Council.
Her style as Queen of Aglarond, a title
she never uses, preferring to be known
only as The Simbul, is her own, different from her predecessors and counterparts in other realms. As Mirt of
Waterdeep once said, Ah, that lady
she goes her own way. That way must
be a narrow and often treacherous one;
Aglaronds future may well be in the
balance.

Lands of the Forgotten Realms

EVERMEET
Evermeet of the Elves is the island
kingdom of the elves and lies west
across stormy seas beyond the lands of
men. It is a happy realm of deep, wondrous forests and much laughter. Here
the High Elves, under the leadership of
the Silver Elven Royal Housesix
Princes and seven Princesses, under
the ruling Queen Amlaruil (her king,
Zaor, died some thirty winters ago)
live in rich splendor. The art, the music,
and the magical research all are far
above what is seen here, even in Waterdeep the Splendid.
All elves, except the Dark Elves, are
welcome there, and many sea-elves live
in the surrounding waters. To guard
the realm against men, particularly the
aggressive raiders from Ruathym and
the Pirate Isles, Evermeet has a mighty
navy, It is by far the most numerous
and well-armed in the known Realms.
Based in the fortress of Sumbrar, with
smaller outposts at Elion and Nimlith,
the vessels of Evermeets fleets patrol
from the Wave Rocks to the Gull Rocks
and the Teeth, in a wide circle of
ocean. Boats are built and repaired at
Siiluth (Beaching Bay), and call at only
a few ports in the lands of men: Eskember, the Moonshae Isles, Neverwinter,
and Waterdeep. In the past, the ships of
Evermeet have fought many battles
with Ruathym, the reavers of the Nelanther (Pirate Isles), and Calimshan, and
have hurled back all attempts to seize
the island or its treasures.
Recently, many elves from troubled
lands in the interior of the Realms have
begun to take ship in Waterdeep, to
come to Evermeet where men are not
seen and evil threatens not.

HALRUAA
A small, rich realm fed by the verdant
farms of the Maeru valley and slaked by
the fiery wines born in the vineyards of
the High Aluar, Halruaa is famous for its
rich electrum mines and its magic.
Halruaa is a realm defined and isolated by mountains, but often invaded
from the sea for its mineral wealth

(principally located east of Lake Maeru,

in astonishingly large and pure
deposits). Its people have become, as a
result, warlike, and led by tradition.
The realm is not at peace with its less
powerful neighbors. Formerly, out of
necessity, they were led by wizards.
These Halruan magic-users are of great
and mysterious power. Thays current
regime is said by some to have been
founded by renegade Halruan mages.
Halruaa is always ruled by a wizard-king.
The current ruler is Zalathorm, an
elderly man of great mystical powers.
The Elders of the Halruan (as the wizards are known) advise him, and will
choose from their own ranks the mightiest mage to become his successor, when
that time occurs.
Halruaan mages wander in secret
over much of the Realms, always seeking items of magic (particularly unique
and ancient items), and they have gathered many thousands of such treasures
in their temples. The Halruar worship
Mystra, and their temples are vast
strongholds where they live, work, and
study to further their arts, as well as

worshipping The Lady of Mysteries.

The most mighty of these temples lies
within Mt. Talath and is a vast and
ancient network of caverns, passages,
and mountaintop turrets. Most of the
other large temples (as opposed to the
devotional shrines of the cities) are
located in the mountains ringing the
Nath, or northeastern basin, where
vast herds of wild rothe and aurochs
roam, and are culled regularly for food.
Halruaa has a small war-navy, based
in Halagard and Zalasuu. Its principal
fortified base and construction docks
are on the outlying isle of Rulasuu.
This realm is little known in the
North. These paltry words, and the
map, are all Elminster could tell you of
it, except for the badge of the realm,
borne on navy sails and diplomats
cloaks. It is a star surrounded by three
concentric circles, all in white (on a
darker background, which may be of
any color). The star represents Mystra,
the inner circle the land. This is encompassed by the second circle, representing the Halruans, and an outer circle
represents the world beyond.

Tales of the FORGOTTEN REALMS

FR1, WATERDEEP and the NORTH
$7.95
TSR9213

FORGOTTEN REALMS
REVISITED

The North...rugged mountains and dense

forests, which hide those races hostile to
man amid the ruins and wastelands of the
fallen kingdoms.
Waterdeep...crossroads of the world, City
of Splendors. Here are wealth and goods
from every corner of the Realms. Here too
is intrigue, feuds, power games and adventure enough for any man.

In our neverending battle to create some of

the best fantasy game products available,
we are constantly reviewing customer letters, complaints and commentary. You, the
customer, are our watchdog for product
integrity. If there is something you dont
understand you ask for clarification, and if
you find errors or missing parts you tell us.

FR2, Moonshae
TSR9217

$7.95

Amid the storm-tossed vastness of the

Trackless Sea west of the Realms huddle a
family of rocky islands exposed to the full
brunt of the winter gales. Here is the home
of the hardiest folk the Realms have to offer.
Come explore this harsh land, its Celtic culture, earth gods and haunted ruins. Come visit
the setting for our first adventure novel set in
the Forgotten Realms and see how your luck
fares.
FR3, Empires of the Sands
TSR9224

$7.95

In the southwest corner of Faerun, a

thousand miles south of Waterdeep on the
great Trade Way, lie three lands awash in a
sea of sand. Here is Amn, land of merchants, where everything has a price;
Tethyr, where petty tyrants vie for a vacant
throne and evil grows; and Calimshan, a dry
land where great magic is commonplace.
These are harsh lands, home of proud and
fierce warriors, daring rogues and playground of the Jinn. Let our desert winds
bring you hot dreams of glorious battle, fine
wine and mountains of riches.
Since the creation of the original
FORGOTTEN REALMS Campaign Set, we
have pledged ourselves to produce a series
of game accessories that maintained the
standards of excellence, attractiveness,
diversity and wonder of that first set. And
we have
In but six months we have released four
64-page expansions which explore the
Realms from the fabled City of Splendors to
the savage wastes of the Sword Lands. And
we have examined the legends of the past
and the magics and relics of fallen kingdoms.
If you havent gotten a chance to look at all
these fine products, heres what youve
been missing.

FR4, The Magister

TSR9229

$7.95

From Waterdeep to the Sword Coast to

the jungles of Chult and the faraway lands
of Thay, strange and powerful magics fill
the Forgotten Realms. Ancient tomes, powerful spells, fearsome weapons - all these
and more await the hero who can overcome
terrible dangers to wield great power.
Penned by Ed Greenwood and Steve Perrin, at the bidding of Elminster of Shadowdale, perhaps the finest sage in the long
history of Abeir-Toril, here are all the
numerous discoveries and variations of
ancient magics and relics of the Realms.

With the release of the first of our

FORGOTTEN REALMS Campaign Adventure
Packs, WATERDEEP and the NORTH, we
received a recurrent complaint of an omission.
Sevreral customers felt that they were missing a
map to the North since there was a section
detailing key landmarks of this territory.
It was our contention that it was never
intended that FR1, WATERDEEP and the
NORTH, should contain a map of the North,
and that the brief description of the North
provided was to be used in conjunction with
the world maps in the FORGOTTEN
REALMS Game boxed set.
However your intrepid editor, thought,
Hey, if several customers think theres a
problem let us look deeper into the matter
To our surprise, we discovered that many of
the features we found on our master map
had never made translation onto the world
maps. Thats when the idea struck us that it
would be great to reprint the map of the
North with the missing features. So here it
is - we never rest.
And now for the really good news. Since
theres been such interest in the North we
thought it would be only natural to produce
a campaign pack devoted entirely to detailing these lands of mystery and adventure.
Coming this fall we are proud to present
FR5, The Savage Frontier
TSR9233

$7.95

presenting all the famous features of that

land of legend called the North. Highly
detailed full-color maps bring these forboding Viking lands to life for you.
COME TAKE A
T O U R
Of the
N O R T H

SECRETS OF THE SAGES

c/o TSR, Inc.
P.O. Box 509
Lake Geneva, WI 53147

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