Faerûn History: The Time of Troubles (over 100 years ago)

The Time of Troubles

The Time of Troubles, also known as the Arrival, the Godswar, and the Avatar Crisis, was a cataclysmic time in the chronology of Faerûn. Taking place over 100 years ago, during 1358 DR, the Year of Shadows, the gods of Faerûn lost their immortality, and powers and were forced to walk the Toril in their mortal avatar forms. Several major deities died during the Time of Troubles and were replaced by a handful of mortal adventurers, who rose to divinity. 

 

The key events, as have been passed down to you, were as follows:

·         The Overdiety known as Ao, held the Tablets of Fate and all deities and primordials were subject to him.

·         Ao allowed deities and primordials to act freely as long as they upheld their individual portfolios and did not ignore their worshipers.  A deity’s portfolio defines their range of power and responsibility.  A goddess of storms, therefore, would be (a) responsible for that phenomenon and (b) would tend to her worshippers.

·         The gods Bane and Myrkul stole the Tablets of Fate from Lord Ao and hid them somewhere in Faerûn.

·        Angry at the gods for their habitual pursuit of power and negligence toward their mortal faithful, Lord Ao relegated every god to walk among their followers on the earth. An exception was made for the noble guardian god Helm, who was selected to protect the Celestial Stairway and gate to the realm of Lord Ao.

·         Mystra, greater goddess of magic and among the most powerful of the gods, attempted to bypass Helm at the Celestial Stairway and Helm had to destroy her. 

·        Following Mystra's death, Helm shed a single tear that fell to Toril, but stopped before hitting ground. Hovering over the crater of destruction left below, the teardrop appeared as a magnificent gemstone, filled with the torment and guilt that Helm felt inside. This action had enormous repercussions for Helm – for the other deities and mortals alike began to hold Helm in great contempt.

·        Bane, greater god of tyranny, strife and hatred, was slain in a climactic battle with the demigod Torm in battle outside of the city of Tantras.  Torm, demigod and patron deity of paladins, was in turn annihilated by Bane with his dying breath.

 

·        Bhaal, intermediate god of murder, was slain by the young mortal Cyric with the sword Godsbane.  Cyric ascended to godhood, later killed Leira, making himself the God of Deception, Murder, Strife, the Dead.

·         The Dragon Queen Tiamat's three-headed incarnation was slain by Gilgeam, a demigod and king of Unther.  She later returned and got revenge.

·         Myrkul, greater god of the dead was killed in a duel with Midnight, a mortal woman wielding the powers of Mystra, in Waterdeep. In this confrontation with Myrkul on top of Blackstaff Tower, Cyric’s companion Kelemvor was killed by a still-mortal Cyric, wielding the sword Godsbane. However, Kelemvor's existence was not ended - and Godsbane, which was actually the god Mask in disguise, siphoned away Kelemvor's eternal spirit, hiding it from the Cyric, new Lord of Death.

·         After her death, Mystra entrusted her essence with the young mage Midnight, who ascended after the Time of Troubles as the new Mystra.

·         Mortal heroes recovered the Tablets of Fate and returned them to Ao.  Inexplicably the Overdiety himself destroyed the tablets, grinding them into powder.   This act unraveled the laws of Realmspace and began the chaotic period of time known as the Era of Upheaval.  But that is a story for another day. 

·        Following this, for ten years Cyric and his church were unable to find Kelemvor's soul, and every divination and spell they tried yielded nothing.

·         Events led to Cyric losing his mind and crushing his own sword, which freed Kelemvor.  The two fought, a dead soul against a god. Kelemvor finally managed to overthrow Cyric's rule and in 1368 DR Kelemvor became the new God of Death.

·         Unlike his predecessors whose rule as gods of the dead made the afterlife an uncertain and fearful thing, Kelemvor promoted that death was a natural part of life and should not be feared as long as it was understood.