- Arneson’s Guide to Draconian Droppings
- Beesman’s Guide to Clerical Effiency
- Bend the Knee
- The Black Fleet
- Blades of the West
- Brigands Throughout History
- The Broken Blade
- The Burning Lake:
- The abyss, like Mount Celestia, is made up of multiple dimensions within the dimension itself, interconnecting through magical or underdark travel. The Abyss is best described as another planet within the planet of Orn itself, but thousands of miles down and smaller, with its own Underdark and layers beneath it. These multiple territories are called layers within the Abyss that are ruled to different demon lords, devil kings and evil gods. There is a constant waring and betrayal between the Devil’s and Demons, leading to wars such as The Break which tore into the Material Realm.
- Rulers of Darkness
- There are a number of rulers of the Abyss, making varying layers their territory, and are unwilling to share with any other fiend unless they gain some benefit from it. The two prominent territories which span across the mini-planet within Orn are Gehenna, the kingdom ruled by Devils and Evil gods, and Hades, the Empire of the Demons Lords. To name a few:
- Asmodeus, god of tyranny, trickery and blood. Often privately worshipped as a means to gain greater wealth and power.
- Bane, god of destruction, war, and tempest. Among evil Gods, Bane’s followers is the most stable and powerful. Although looked down upon by others, his followers are far less secretive than that of most other evil gods.
- Gruumsh, god of destruction. Sworn enemy of Corellon, Sehanine, and Lolth, he is worshipped by the orcs, feeding their need for conquest.
- Lolth, goddess of spiders and lies. Worshipped by virtually all Drow as the head of their pantheon. Legend tells of her resting place in the mirror dimention, Shadowfell.
- Tharizdun, god of madness and chaos. His home is the Abyss, and fought against the High Elf Corellon and Corellon’s Daughter, Sehanine. She tooks his eye, but Tharizdun took her life until Corellon gave his life-force for hers. Tharizdun’s followers work in secret and one day hope to free the Chained God.
- Tiamat, goddess of wealth, greed, venageance, and queen of dragons. Sworn enemy of Bahamut, and primarilly worshipped by dragonkin, often not worshipped by humanoids. She was locked away in the Underdark of the Abyss, in her own cage. Only a god, or power liken to a god, could free her.
- Vecna, god of evil secrets, death, and knowledge. Vecna’s cult is extremely secretive as it works to amass knowledge and secrets by any means necessary.
- Zehir, god of darkness and poison. Besides Yuan-ti temples, all other places of worship places of this snake-god are kept secret and hidden by the few that follow.
- Yeenoghu, demon lord of the Gnolls; also called the Beast of Butchery. Is considered the guard dog of the Abyss.
- Orcus, demon lord of the undeath. Legend tells of a mighty weapon called the Wand of Orcus, and a mighty Orcusword he wielded. Those who are a part of the Cult of the Goat’s Head can be found as cultists to Orcus’ cause of blood and death.
- Baphomet, demon lord of beasts. Chaotically evil, he was a force to be reckoned with at the time of Hellstorm. His symbol is a twisted circular maze awash in blood.
- Vile Transformation
- If you are traversing in the Abyss and become too exhausted, you do not die but permanently transform into a Larva, wherein all levels of exhaustion are removed. A Larva retains the face of its previous forms and only faint memories, but the rest of its body is fat and gross like a maggot, which many of the monsters in the Abyss feast upon everywhere.
- Cruel Hindrance
- The Abyss makes it very difficult for friends to help one another.
- Carceri Corruption
- Carceri is made up of six layers, holding bogs, fetid jungles, windswept deserts, jagged canyons, frigid lakes, and black ice. Leaving is nye impossible, except for a wish spell. Any other magical means becomes a one-way portal. There are secret ways out but are well guarded by monsters and traps, who are sent by Yeenoghu’s followers on the Material Plane.
- The Burnished Shield
- Chastity: A Woman’s True Weapon
- Clubs: Primitive and Effective
- Comicus Rex: a mighty hero
- The Concubine’s Chronicle
- High-harvestide Quadrennial/Annual Holiday:
- (Midsummer) Another big fantasy holiday. This is a massive harvest festival to celebrate the abundance of food, but it’s also when people wishing to travel would leave before winter sets in. High-harvestide is a more widespread holiday throughout the forgotten realms, and can feature a variety of activities, with activities like food-related contests; races and challenges of skill and strength; receiving homemade sweets from the local clergy; and priests blessing larders, wine cellars, grain bins, and food preserves. But it’s more than just a feastday–which is why we have it here–it’s often when taxes and tithes came due, and rules would hold open courts to hear the concerns of their citizen, oaths were publicly sworn and renewed on this day, guilds would meet and set their rates. While soldiers get their new marching orders and duties. It’s the perfect time for a lot of things, from games to political meetings and intrigues, to assassinations and more.
- The Creeping Vine
- The Crescent Moon:
- Selune is a fae word meaning “moon” in common tongue. It is considered the first and biggest of the moons around the planet Orn. It’s name is also known for Our Lady of Silver, or the chaotic good goddess of the moon, Sehanine Moonbow, known for her tricks and knowledge and guidance for many.
- Legend says that Moonbow was a fey-elf who loved to play tricks on her fellows, and is often depicted doing strange acts; one such depiction shows her attaching a spiraled horn to a horse whilst giggling.
- Another legend depicts happening during Hellstorm, or The Break. Corellon, the greatest warrior of the Elves fought against Tharizdun, a dark god from the Abyss, along with his daughter, Sehanine. She took the eye of Tharizdun in battle.
- It is said that Sehanine died but her father Corellon gave up his soul so she may live. The Great King heard his cries and she was given a new form of cosmic power, which would only last for 10,000 years.
- Today, the moon, aptly named Selune, sits in the heavens overlooking Orn.
- Death and Beyond
- The Defeat of Walla Khan
- Dishonor Before Death: A Thief’s Tale
- Dragons and Maidens: A History
- Dwarven Ales: A Cautionary Tale
- Effective Wood Gathering
- Eight Love Potions
- The End and the Beginning
- The Equinox and Solstice:
- Tells of a time when magic becomes cut off and all things magical cease to function while these events are happening.
- The Fall of the Menegroth Empire
- Fertility Rites of the Kobold
- Fey Charms and Wards: Contents
- Fields of Glory
- Fletchings and Bow Strings: The Moonbow Competition
- Fool’s Gold
- The Forty-First Thief
- The Frozen Volcano
- Gelfling: Fact or Fiction?
- Geysers of the Upper Plateau: Luhuranda
- The Glass Citadel
- The Gypsy’s Curse
- Feast of New Birth (New Year):
- A celebration of the new year and being thankful for what the previous year brought and in eager expectation what the next year will bring.
- Hard Tack and Gruel: A Ship’s Cookbook
- A History of Falconry
- The Holy Word of Torm
- Hughes’ Heraldry
- Ghoul’s Day: Annual Holiday:
- (Autumn) What’s not to love about a festival called Ghoul’s Night? As you might expect, it’s a big masquerade night where people dress up in costume, pay tributes to Mask to appease those trickster gods and avoid their unwanted attention. It’s basically fantasy Halloween, complete with jack-o-lanterns. Tricks, pranks, and pickpockets abound–thieves take to the streets, illusionists and magicians wander around spooking people–and it’s the one night of the year where no one makes deals or signs contracts because, well, it’s Ghoul’s Night. This is the perfect time to have one of those upstairs/downstairs swap type celebrations, where a young urchin is king for a day and the king capers around dressed up as a jester and everyone goes about as normal the next day.
- Johan’s Field Guild to Elk
- The Jongleur’s Bells
- The King’s Guide to Hunting Boar
- Knitting Your Way to Marriage
- The Festival of Colors:
- Annual Holiday: (Autumn) A celebration of the changing of colorful seasons, in the time of Springtime and Autumn
- Lady DeWinter’s Betrayal
- A Lovers’ Quarrel
- Lunar Cycles
- Magic Yourself Thin
- The Day of Dueling Dragons:
- Annual Holiday: (Midwinter) The day of the dragon is a special celebration, once a year, paying respects to Serene Magpie the Wise, noble of the town, who could bended the will of an Ancient Blue Dragon, Ragog, to her will and in turn made the dragon slay another Ancient Red Dragon. This legend has carried on into history, also known as the event, called The Day of Dueling Dragons.
- Merchant’s Guide to the Ovarin Pass
- Message in a Bottle
- Midwifery
- Minerals: Ore Grades
- Minerals: Precious and Semi-Precious Stones
- Ministers of the Red
- My Time with Mermaids
- Of Fools and Kings
- Owlbears: Friend or Foe?
- Prophets and Oracles
- The Puerile Pass
- Rain of Heaven
- Roots and Fungi
- Samuel’s Seminal on Slugs
- The Sewers of Oldenburg
- The Shattered Oak
- Shipbuilding on the Eastern Seas
- Signs and Portents
- Siege Weapons of the Last Century
- Deadwinter:
- Annual Holiday: (Midwinter) Deadwinter Day marks the midpoint of winter. While the nobles and monarchs call it Midwinter, and use the day to make or renew alliances, the common folk call it Deadwinter because it’s dead in the middle of winter, and you might also be if the harvest wasn’t good this year. There are a number of festivals observed on Deadwinter that range from solemn ceremonies to festive fetes. Here are a few: On Midwinter Day the Red Fellowship of the Deity known as the Red Knight observes the Retreat. This solemn ceremony consists of an assembly wherein the clergy discuss the previous year’s campaigns. Strategies are discussed, battles analyzed, and the accumulated lore integrated into the church’s teachings. If you’re looking for a number of reasons High Harvesttideor the season, this is a great one to draw on.
- Stars and Constellations
- Constellations
- Carvakus (NW) No Longer Visible in the sky.
- Kralkatorrik (W) Also no longer visible in the sky.
- Tamara (NW) No Longer Visible in the sky.
- The Harp (SE)
- The Lady of Mystery (NE)
- Bahamut (SW)
- The Flying Ship (N)
- The Charger (E)
- The Beast of Burden (S)
- The Flaming Bird (W)
- The Scroll (SW)
- Astronomical Bodies
- Eioneus Cloud (NW)
- Draco Arcturus (W)
- Serpens Myrmidon (NW)
- Broken Disk (E)
- Lion’s Mane Nebula (SE)
- King-Killer Star (NE)
- Devon Cloud (S)
- Comet Thuum (SW)
- Stellar Alignments and Conjuctions
- Sparrows: African and European
- Spores, Molds, and Fungi: A Cookbook for the Underdark
- The Sun’s Orbital Path
- Swordsmen of the Northern Sea
- A Tale of Two Brothers
- Tales of a Dwarven Mage
- Thief of the Heart
- Tidal Guide
- The Tragedy of Quinn Wex
- Treasures of the Sawtooth Mountains
- Trees of the Eastern Provinces
- Tribal Battle Tactics
- Troglodyte Musk and Other Aphrodisiacs
- Understanding Our Friends the Drow
- A Wandering Minstrel
- War: A Personal Recollection
- Warriors of the Open Plains
- The Weeping Unicorn
- Weeval Extermination
- Wintershield:
- Annual Holiday: (Winter) This one’s a gimme, because it’s basically fantasy Christmas and New Year’s Day rolled into one. It’s an annual holiday in Zandoria that marks the start of the new year, celebrated with a day off work while people reminisce about the previous year and set expectations for the upcoming year. Celebrated with feasts where people share stories of events that transpired in the past year, while drinking warm ciders, and broths infused with “medicinal herbs” to get you high bring about visions, you can do a whole lot with this. Especially since it’s considered lucky to have a map on Wintershield, and map sales always spike around this time, so you can go looking for a map and have that Jingle all the Way adventure you never knew you wanted so bad until just now.
- Wines of the Southlands
- Yarwin’s Voyage
- Zarg’s Guide to Goblin Culture