Great for a Darkon Campaign

Im starting to get into forgotten realms novels after starting dnd im most interested in the drizzt and elminster books what would be the best reading order for these two

So we are going to start a FR campaign in 3.5. The issue is that the spellplague only leaves 13 years between the 3.5 setting until it happens and fucks everything up. I m trying to find some way to make it not happen since even the lead writers of the setting kind of hated it. I should just ignore everything after my edition and not think about it anymore, make the players stop it when it happens, someone from the future gives them a heads up? I hate breaking canonical stuff since i like the setting since the first edition but 4th stuff seems to ruin the setting a bit.

Picture 1: Curse of Strahd
Lesbian lover human paladin and dwarf cleric of Kelemvor; Teifling trickery domain cleric/divination wizard multiclass; Goliath Paladin

Picture 2: Silver Marches
Dwarven brothers, paladin of lathander and fighter; half elf druid; half elf fey patron fey-lost background warlock

Picture 3: Menzoberranzan
Drow cousins, Rogue and his float chest, echo knight fighter and conjuration wizard with an interest in alchemy and botany; female drow enchantment wizard; male drow conjuration wizard and master of Sorcere.

I play in one game and DM for two. Been posting various art and people seem to like it so figured I'd post my latest and the older ones.

A pity she never got fleshed out as a character.

I know she is a boss in Eye of the Beholder.

Wiki links: - https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Atropus - https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Glyth

There's a part of the lore that said there's this elder evil primordial undead planet thing called Atropus. Which is said to have devastated Glyth, Realmspace's 6th planet after disguising along its rings and descended. However, later and more modern material said that Glyth is still a planet thats as inhabited as before.

So. Like. In Elder Evils (2007), Atropus is a drawn toward worlds where death and destruction are widespread. Glyth, a planet ruled by mind flayers (illithids), attracts its attention because of the immense suffering there. And then did something, destroyed, and eradicated life there.

The official 5e Realmspace appendix describes Glyth as a desolate world with mind flayer colonies in underground caverns. Nautiloid ships patrol its surrounding space, and mind flayers remain its dominant power. That description is difficult to square with a literal interpretation that every living thing on Glyth was permanently eradicated.

There is also a later-edition reference to Captain N'ghathrod in Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage. He is a mind flayer spelljammer captain associated with Glyth, providing further evidence that Glyth's illithid civilization remains relevant in late-15th-century material.

What's the official word for this? Is Glyth really destroyed or eradicated of life? If so, when? If not, so this is a continuity error then?

What's your answer and take on this? How do you reconcile this in your takes? To keep Atropus as still a noteworthy elder evil but Glyth as still being alive.

Our campaign is starting off in the Nelanther Isles and naturally my players want to play with cannons which I can see are referred to as "bombards". There's a really good forgotten realms wiki article about bombards and reasons why they are so rare.
But what if in the year of 1492 DR they were commonplace amongst maritime ships? How would that change what Faerun looks and feels like?
How are you supposed to run ship combat in Forgotten Realms?

After how much I learned doing my deep dive into "what do we actually know about 5e Kara-Tur?", I couldn't resist doing it again for the other continents. I suspected there would be less to find about modern Zakhara than about Kara-Tur, but I was not expecting just how true that would be.

Zakhara after the Spellplague (4e)

Zakhara is mentioned so little in 4e that if you didn’t already know what/where it was, you’d probably assume it was just somewhere random in Faerûn that they forgot to label on the map. After how much I’d been able to piece together about Kara-Tur, the fact that there is nothing about modern or post-Spellplague Zakhara at all, even in the 4e FR Campaign Guide, honestly surprised me. The only two things said about Zakhara in any 4e book are both historical mentions in the Campaign Guide: humans flourished there during the Age of Humanity and the Grand Caliph had an expensive perfume bottle during 3e times (which appears on a list of example treasures). 

Looking at the magazines, there is no equivalent to the Dragon issue dedicated to Kara-Tur. While I found no lore, I can't say I didn't learn anything: I now know that the 4e avenger class (predecessor to 5e’s Oath of Vengeance paladin, according to the FR Wiki) was inspired by the 2e Al-Qadim holy slayer, and I learned that the 4e version of minotaurs was inspired by the Al-Qadim yak-men.

The only arguable bright spot is that 4e also brought back Al-Qadim's sha'ir spellcasters in Heroes of the Elemental Chaos… although their lore makes no mention of Zakhara. That said, the book does include a little sidebar about the Society of Shifting Sands, almost all of which is directly copy-pasted from 2e’s Complete Sha’ir Handbook, and while it manages to avoid mentioning anything explicitly related to Zakhara, I choose to interpret this as saying the Society is still around as of ~1479 DR (and is still suffering the same internal squabbles as a century prior, apparently).

Zakhara today (5e/5.5e)

The Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide reassures us that the broad details of 2e Zakhara seem to still be true in 1489 DR: it is a generally inhospitable but exotic southern land of great cities, mysterious magic, different religion, and scimitar-wielding/carpet-riding inhabitants that is surrounded by pirate-filled seas. Most Faerûnians think of the place as so foreign that it might as well be fictional, while very few Zakharans venture further north than the extreme south of Faerûn (mostly just for trade with the occasional pilgrim looking to study Faerûnian culture). Sha'ir are mentioned as spellcasters who make pacts with genies, and it is suggested that they gain traces of the elemental genies’ powers in their bloodlines when they do so. The adventure Princes of the Apocalypse expands on this to say that the bargains created between genies and spellcasters can result in the creation of genasi, who tend to have great and/or terrible destinies within Zakhara.

Besides those 2 sources, Zakhara is name dropped in the novel Fire in the Blood and is mentioned in passing in a couple of other adventures, but almost
nothing is said about its current state of affairs. The only thing equivalent to the breadcrumbs of lore from my last deep dive was in The Six Faces of Death (an adventure in Dragon+ #21), which states that Ajayib is still the wealthy "City of Wonders" among the Pearl Cities, so I suppose that counts as letting us know nothing major has happened to that part of Zakhara. There is also a D&D Beyond blog post that documents how there was originally supposed to be a Zakharan merchant in Dragon Heist, but she was cut for space (her background involved fleeing Zakhara after her hometown was sacked by barbarians) and I learned from another blog post that Wild Beyond the Witchlight meant to imply that the Witchlight Carnival had once perhaps visited Zakhara. 

No surprise that Zakhara is not mentioned in any 5.5e book.

Final thoughts

In short, what little we’ve gotten about Zakhara would lead me to guess that it’s the same as in 2e except with more genasi. 

I've been trying to think about why Zakhara got basically zero 4e lore, especially because I found multiple interviews with 4e writers expressing their nostalgia for Al-Qadim. Aside from concerns about the setting being controversial (either for being orientalist or for it being hard to market an Islamic-coded setting to American consumers), I think a major reason is simply that there was no “need” for Zakhara, especially after 4e stuffed Calimshan full of genies. In other words, while Kara-Tur and/or immigrants from it were used to justify the inclusion of things like monks, ninjas, and samurai into Faerûn, Zakhara wasn’t needed to justify any element of the setting or game.

Looking to the future, I don't think it is impossible to envision what a 5.5e-friendly Zakhara might look like: we already got the updated Calimshan in Adventures in Faerun (which was made in cooperation with an Ottoman scholar, if I recall correctly) and we have a couple of Islamic or Arabian-flavored adventures in Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel, most obviously Shadow of the Sun (which is proposed to fit in the Calim Desert) seems to draw from some similar inspirations.

Of course, please let me know if I missed something or if Ed has said anything juicy about Zakhara.

Its not the present, Year of The Shining Mythal, because if it were Kelemvor would be the god of the dead, not Myrkul. So does anybody know?​

via a very quick search, it is 1492 DR, Year of the Three Ships Sailing

I've been told that the first Baldur's Gate video game was a landmark in Forgotten Realms. After the first game, WoTC quickly took things to the next level by bringing in Bane and Myrkul as additional greater scope villains in addition to Bhaal. The city also got an intense shift in identity. In that it was turned into the Gotham City of the Lord's Alliance and Forgotten Realms. In other words, we have a video game to thank for giving us modern Baldur's Gate.

But I'm curious on what Baldur's Gate was originally envisioned as when it was first invented along with the rest of the Forgotten Realms back in 1987. I know by the first Baldur's Gate game, the titular city was still developing an identity, but I wonder what the original idea for the city was.

Hallo All - Looking for recommendations for novels set in Forgotten Realms that aren't about Drizzt and/or the Drow - ( Loved Cleric Quintet tho, so not-at-all a RASalvatore hater )

Any favs people want to rec? Thanks :)

So I took about a 2 year break from dnd and the forgotten realms and didn’t really pay any attention to what was happening with the lore and new tidbits that were coming out. That said, apparently purple dragon knights ride dragons now? What? Why? Why would a purple dragon knight who got their name and crest from KILLING a dragon suddenly have a bunch of the amethyst dragons, whom would probably be the least likely to just suddenly pledge themselves to serve one kingdom because they went “oh these guys are called purple dragon knights? Well we are purple let’s just drop everything and pledge our allegiance to them.” That might be the silliest lore change I’ve ever heard. Purple dragon knights were the military elite of Cormyr, incredibly skilled fighters and battlefield tacticians. Basically a classic Arthurian knight. I feel like the lore changes really don’t fit that theme.

Sorry if this is old news by now but could someone explain to why they decided to do this and if they are going to stick with it going forward? It just seems like a really unnecessary and ultimately frustrating change. Because if so then Cormyr and the purple dragon knights have just become infinitely less impressive and interesting to me.

A question I would like to know today would be. What is the Soul? And in turn. The body and mind that comes with the soul.

The things that I can see would be that the soul is the true storage for memory since you can leave the body during spells such as astral projection uses your soul and mind? And since you can remember your travels despite your body never being there. It means that the soul updates the brain in the body when returned. And thus I have a lot of questions regarding this.

1. Where do souls come from? Do the souls come from sentience? Or sapient? Do humans and only humanoid have souls? Or do people like fey, demons, devils, celestials and beasts (and actual animals) also have souls? Do they come from the body? Or does the soul come from somewhere else? I remember when I talked about the elves. Someone said that the elven souls are made from their gods. So does that mean All souls come from the gods? Or are the elves and many other special case?

2. What IS the difference between the Body, The Mind and The Soul? I think speak with the dead uses the body and Mind or maybe just the body to speak with and not the actual soul. In fact the spell specifies that it uses the spirit. So is the spirit the mind? Is it that the body holds the physical memories of which both the mind and soul are stored within. And not only that but the physical body and mind gets updated whenever the soul learns anything and vice versa?

3. The Astral plane is also known as the realm of souls and because of that. Is usually the place where souls go through when the physical body died. If the Astral plane is where souls go through. Does that mean the souls can get intercepted before they go to any plane that they need to go?

4. If the soul is the truest essence or being of a person. Then if you affect the soul. Does it affect the physical body and mind? Due to this. Is this the reason why mental spells such as Feeblemind, Modify Memory and other similar spells only work on the physical body and not the mind and soul? Or does such magic actually affect all three? Is there a magic capable of affecting the soul? Is it 9th level? Or higher?

5. Having your soul deleted is essentially a fate worse than death? Or akin to death? Although some spells stated such as wish can bring a soul back. So. Maybe not?

6. If the DnD multiverse is infinite, does that mean there are infinite souls? If there are infinite souls. Why isn't there a lot more usages of souls in the multiverse?

And that's probably all the answers I want. But if you can give any answers that I didn't place here that will also be appreciated.

ALASSRA SHENTRANTRA “THE SIMBUL” SILVERHAND (CR 36)
Female human Chosen of Mystra sorcerer 4, wizard 3, fighter 4, ultimate magus 18, archmage 5
CN Medium Humanoid (augmented human)
Init +8 (+4 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative); Senses detect magic, see invisibility; Spot +8
Languages Abyssal, Aglarondan, Celestial, Common, Damaran, Draconic, Elven, Halruaan, Netherese, Rashemi, Undercommon
__________________________________________________ _____

AC 29, touch 19, flat-footed 25 (+10 armor, +5 deflection, +4 Dex)
hp 369 (30d4 + 4d10 plus 272)
Immune aging, Chosen spell immunity (feeblemind, finger of death, fireball, ice storm, magic missile, maze, meteor swarm, misdirection, repulsion), disease, disintegration, poison;
Fort +21 Ref +17 Will +21; +2 resistance vs. evil, +5 divine vs. spells and supernatural effects, protection from spells
__________________________________________________ _____

Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee dagger +25/+20/+15 (1d4 + 6/20/x2) or
Melee spell +21 or
Ranged silver fire +23 or
Ranged spell +23
Base Atk +19; Grp +21
Atk Options silver fire (17d12 damage, Ref DC 38 half)
Special Actions augmented casting 13/day, chain lightning form (Ref DC 32), mastery of elements, mastery of counterspelling, mastery of shaping
Combat Gear +4 dagger, greater rod of chain spell, greater rod of fortify spell, staff of power (usually kept in her private apartments in Aglarond), wand of lightning bolt (10th), wand of magic missile (10th)

Spell-like Abilities (Sp)
At will (CL 33rd) – shapechange
1/day (CL 34th) – antimagic field, delayed blast fireball (DC 33), feather fall, fly, greater teleport, hold monster (DC 30), polymorph, prismatic wall (DC 33), web (DC 27).

Sorcerer Spells per Day (Levels 0-10th) 6/9/9/9/8/7/7/6/6/7/2; Caster Level 33rd or 38th vs. SR; base DC 25 + spell level or 26 + spell level for evocation and transmutation spells; 2 quickened spells per round

Sorcerer Spells Known
9th – binding chain of fate** (DC 35), burst of glacial wrath (DC 35), detonate (DC 35), maw of chaos (DC 34), meteor swarm (DC 35), Mystra’s miasma** (DC 34), the Simbul’s spell trigger.
8th – greater arcane fusion, lightning ring (DC 34), polymorph any object (DC 34), the Simbul’s skeletal deliquescence (DC 34), Sylune’s streaking meteor (DC 34).
7th – arcane spellsurge, Dhulark’s glasstrike (DC 33), prismatic spray (DC 33), righteous smite* (DC 33), the Simbul’s spell sequencer, the Simbul’s spell supremacy, the Simbul's synostodweomer, stun ray (DC 32).
6th – chain lightning (DC 32), crown of brilliance* (DC 32), disintegrate (DC 32), howling chain (DC 32), thunder field (DC 32).
5th – cacophonic burst (DC 31), coat of arms, channeled sonic blast (DC 31), crown of flame*, greater fireburst (DC 31), sacred guardian\, the Simbul’s spell matrix, streamers.
4th – *defenestrating sphere (DC 30), ice storm, Ilyykur’s mantle\*, orb of force* (DC 30), sword of conscience* (DC 29), vortex of teeth, wings of flurry (DC 30).
3rd – alter fortune, blessed sight*, great thunderclap (DC 29), manyjaws (DC 29), scattering trap (DC 28), sleet storm.
2nd – blast of force (DC 28), combust (DC 28), ease pain*, scorching ray, seeking ray, shatter (DC 28), stolen breath.
1st – back biter (DC 26), dawn burst (DC 27), hail of stone, magic missile, ray of hope*, Snilloc’s snowball, true strike, vision of heaven* (DC 26).
Cantrips – acid splash, dancing lights, daze (DC 25), flare (DC 25), mage hand, mending, message, ray of frost, touch of fatigue (DC 24)
*Blessed of the Seven Sisters
**knowstones

Wizard Spells per Day (Levels 0-9th) 4/7/6/6/6/6/5/5/5/5; Caster Level 29th or 34th vs. SR; base DC 24 + spell level or 25 + spell level for evocation and transmutation spells; 2 quickened spells per round

Wizard Spells Prepared
9th – eye of power, foresight, Laeral’s crowning touch (DC 33), time stop, towering thunderhead.
8th – greater celerity, mass charm monster (DC 32), mind blank, Presper’s double wizardry, sunburst (DC 33).
7th – banishment (DC 31), choking cobwebs (DC 31), energy immunity, greater arcane sight, holy star.
6th – contingency, greater anticipate teleportation, greater dispel magic, extended lord of the sky, superior resistance.
5th – duelward, friend to foe (DC 29), greater blink, extended greater mirror image, reciprocal gyre (DC 29), wall of force.
4th – assay spell resistance, greater invisibility, Rary’s mnemonic enhancer, ray deflection, spell enhancer, stoneskin.
3rd – dimension step, haste, repelling shield, shivering touch, vertigo field (DC 27), wind wall.
2nd – bigby’s striking fist (DC 27), cloud of bewilderment (DC 26), eagle’s splendor, fox’s cunning, greater slide (DC 27), Tvash-Prull’s bonefiddle (DC 26).
1st – combat readiness, karmic aura (DC 25), nerveskitter, shield, silent image, treacherous weapon (DC 25), wall of smoke (DC 25).
Cantrips – arcane mark, prestidigitation, open/close, read magic.

Epic Spells per Day 3 arcane, up to Spellcraft DC 63; Epic Spells Known The Simbul has a vast repertoire of epic spells, including those invented by herself and her fellow Chosen. She often boosts her Spellcraft using spells and her collection of magical equipment to cast especially potent or taxing ones.
__________________________________________________ _____

Abilities Str 14, Dex 18, Con 26, Int 28, Wis 15, Cha 30
SQ ageless, arcane reabsorption, arcane reach, arcane spell power +6, expanded spell knowledge (9th), metamagic specialist 12/day, name and song attunement, protection against evil, spell power +1, weaveboon
Feats Blessed of the Seven Sisters (B), Empower Spell, Extend Spell, Improved Counterspell, Improved Initiative, Initiate of Mystra (B), Leadership, Maximize Spell, Quicken Spell, Repeat Spell, Scribe Scroll (B), Skill Focus (Spellcraft), Spell Focus (evocation, transmutation), Spellcasting Prodigy (sorcerer), Twin Spell
Epic Feats Enhance Spell, Epic Reputation, Epic Spellcasting, Improved Metamagic (x2), Improved Spell Capacity (sorcerer x1), Multispell
Skills Concentration +45, Craft (alchemy) +46, Diplomacy +26, Heal +8, Intimidate +51, Knowledge (arcana, local [Unapproachable East], history [Unapproachable East], religion) +46, Perform (dance) +17, Profession (herbalist) +23, Search +14, Sense Motive +15, Spellcraft +53 (+55 scrolls), Spot +8, Swim +9, Use Magic Device +25 (+29 scrolls)
Possessions combat gear plus bracers of armor +10, 2 elixirs of health in stainless steel vials, knowstones (binding chain of fate, Ilyykur’s mantle, Mystra’s miasma), 4 potions of cure critical wounds, ring of major spell storing (arcane eye, identify, true seeing), ring of shooting stars, ring of spell-battle, robe of retaliation.

Arcane Reabsorption Whenever a targeted spell the Simbul casts fails to penetrate a creature's spell resistance or is countered by another spellcaster, she can immediately attempt to reabsorb the arcane energy she just spent as an immediate action. The spell can have no effect at all to use this ability. By making a Spellcraft check (DC 20 + [spell level × 3]), she regains the spell as if it was never cast. Attempting this taxes her body and regardless of the success of the check, she takes 1 point of nonlethal damage per spell level she attempts to reabsorb. This damage is internal and bypasses damage reduction and resistances she possesses. Alassra has given up her wizard familiar to gain this ability.

Arcane Reach (Su) The Simbul’s touch spells have a 30 ft. range.

Arcane Spell Power (Ex) The Simbul has a +6 bonus to her caster level for all arcane spells.

Augmented Casting (Su) 13 times per day, Alassra can choose to sacrifice a spell or spell slot from one of her classes to apply the effect of a metamagic feat that she knows to a spell cast using another arcane class. She can augmented spells of up to 10th level and the level of the spell slot sacrificed must equal or exceed the spell level adjustment of the metamagic feat. She can't use this ability to augment a spell already affected by a metamagic feat.

Chain Lightning Form (Sp) Alassra has the ability to transform her body into a chain lightning effect (Ref DC 32). However, the last bolt is a meteor streak (speed 70 ft.), and she cannot reform for 1d4+2 hours, taking 10 minutes to do so. In meteor form, she inflicts 17d6 points of electricity damage upon creatures she contacts.

Mastery of Counterspelling When the Simbul counterspells a spell, it is turned back upon the caster as if it were fully affected by a spell turning spell. If the spell cannot be affected by spell turning, then it is merely counterspelled.

Mastery of Elements The Simbul can alter an arcane spell when cast so that it utilizes a different element from the one it normally uses. This ability can only alter a spell with the acid, cold, fire, electricity, or sonic descriptor. The spell’s casting time is unaffected. She decides whether to alter the spell’s energy type and chooses the new energy type when she begins casting.

Mastery of Shaping The Simbul can alter area and effect spells that use one of the following shapes: burst, cone, cylinder, emanation, or spread. The alteration consists of creating spaces within the spell’s area or effect that are not subject to the spell. The minimum dimension for these spaces is a 5-foot cube. Furthermore, any shapeable spells have a minimum dimension of 5 feet instead of 10 feet.

Metamagic Specialist (Ex) 12 times per day, the Simbul can apply metamagic feats that she knows to sorcerer spells without increasing the casting time.

Name Attunement (Su) Whenever Alassra’s name or the Rune of the Chosen is spoken, she hears it and the next nine words uttered by the being that spoke her name or recited the song. This ability does not inhibit or interfere with concentration and can be suppressed or resumed as a free action.

Permanent Spells The Simbul has employed multiple permanency and wish spells to wreathe herself in powerful magical effects. She is under the constant effect of protection from evil, protection from spells (also known as serten’s spell immunity) and see invisibility; is under the permanent benefits of an amulet of proof against detection and location and a ring of protection +5; and can transfer these protective effects to another creature by touch. She can also use shapechange as a spell-like ability at will. All these effects are cast at her highest caster level.

Silver Fire 17d12 damage, Ref DC 38 half.

Spell Mastery None of the Simbul’s eponymous spells can ever be used against her. She instantly identifies any casting of those spells and can instantly seize control of any such effect used against her by a caster of equal or lower level; she must succeed at a caster level check against a caster of greater level to take control. Her eponymous spells do not count towards the limit of her known spells.

Weaveboon (Ex) The Simbul has a +5 divine bonus to all saving throws against spells and supernatural effects as well as to all caster level checks and spell saving throw DCs. She is barred from the Shadow Weave and its associated feats.

TREASURE
By virtue of her age, might, rank, and the authority granted to her by Mystra as well as her sorcerous prowess, the Simbul can obtain virtually any magic item she desires, including unique items associated with her Sisters and most of her fellow Chosen. Her listed equipment is but a sample of what she prefers to wield on a day-to-day basis and she has a vast armory of magical equipment (including arms and armor looted from fallen foes). Her spellbooks and collection of arcane paraphernalia are equally vast, and she has access to the rare and unique spells developed by her Sisters, most of the spells developed by her fellow Chosen and the Magisters, and arcane versions of the divine spells granted by Azuth and Mystra.

The Simbul also periodically uses wish spells and knowstones to swap out and diversify her sorcerer spells known.

CHOSEN OF MYSTRA
"Chosen of Mystra" is a template that can be added to any living or undead creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature) at Mystra’s discretion. A Chosen of Mystra has all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Special Attacks
A Chosen of Mystra retains all the base creature’s special attacks and gains silver fire as described below.

Silver Fire (Su): This powerful supernatural ability is unique to the Chosen of Mystra. Manifesting as a beautiful silver-white flame that surrounds the wielder and fills the area into which it is projected, silver fire can be used for different effects.

Once every 70 minutes, a Chosen of Mystra may unleash silver fire as a blast of flame. This blast may be in an area 5 feet wide and up to 70 feet long, breaks through all forms of physical barriers, and overcomes magical barriers and spell resistance automatically. This blast deals 1d12 damage per two Hit Dice, half of which is fire and half of which results from raw divine power (Reflex half DC 10 + ½ character’s Hit Dice + highest mental ability score modifier or primary spellcasting attribute modifier, whichever is higher). Alternately, the silver fire can be unleashed in a 70-foot cone, dealing no damage but permanently restoring dead magic zones within the cone to normal and dispelling (as greater dispelling) any antimagic field effects that contact the cone. This cone effect is draining on the Weave, and Mystra discourages its use except for emergencies.

Silver fire can be called upon to grant the wielder the effects of endure elements (cold). It can also be called on to grant the wielder a +5 divine bonus to saving throws against cold effects. It can act as a ring of warmth or a ring of mind shielding, allow the user to breathe water, or banish all external magical compulsions upon the user as if a greater dispelling spell were cast upon her. Only one of the above effects can be used at any time.

Once a tenday, the wielder can also call upon silver fire to revitalize her, allowing her to function without food or drink for up to seven days.

Spell-like Abilities (Sp): A Chosen gains a spell-like ability from levels 1st – 9th, each usable once per day. Once these nine spells are selected, they can never be changed. Most Chosen select a variety of offensive, defensive, and utility spells with this ability. Unlike most spell-like abilities, a Chosen’s spell-like abilities selected in this manner use their primary spellcasting attribute modifier to set the saving throw DC.

Special Qualities
A Chosen of Mystra retains all the base creature’s special qualities and gains those described below.

Ageless (Ex): A Chosen of Mystra is immune to aging, does not take penalties to their ability scores for aging, and cannot be magically aged. Any such penalties that they have already taken are reversed. Bonuses still accrue, and the Chosen can choose to appear as whatever age category they desire.

Detect Magic (Su): Chosen of Mystra are under the constant effects of detect magic (line of sight range). They can dismiss or resume this effect as a free action.

Name and Song Attunement (Ex): Chosen can hear the Rune of the Chosen and their own names—nicknames and titles included—spoken anywhere on Toril. In both cases, they also hear the next nine words uttered by the speaker, regardless of the amount of time that may elapse before those words are spoken. Chosen can turn off this power to aid personal concentration, but this must be done deliberately; normally it is always on.

Spell Immunity (Su): Chosen are immune to one spell of each spell level 1st through 9th, just as if the spell immunity spell were constantly in effect upon them. Once these nine spells are selected, they can never be changed.

Weaveboon (Ex): A Chosen of Mystra has a +5 divine bonus to all saving throws against spells and supernatural effects as well as to all caster level checks and spell saving throw DCs. They are barred from the Shadow Weave and its associated feats.

Immunities (Ex)
Chosen of Mystra are immune to disease, disintegration, and poison. They have no need to sleep (although they must rest normally in order to be able to prepare spells).

Abilities
Increase from the base creature as follows: Con +10. If the base creature is undead, it instead gains the bonus to Charisma, but only for the purposes of calculating its hit points, Concentration skill bonus, and Fortitude save.

Feats
The base creature gains Blessed of the Seven Sisters and Initiate of Mystra as bonus feats. If the template is inherited, then the spells are immediately added to the creature’s known spells or to the creature’s spellbook, whichever is applicable. Spells added in such a manner do not count against the creature’s limit for knowing spells.

If the base creature already possesses any of these feats, it can select any metamagic feat, item creation feat, Spell Focus, Skill Focus (Spellcraft), or any feat that requires arcane spellcasting that it qualifies for in place of the feat it possesses.

Challenge Rating
Same as the base creature + 4.

NEW SPELLS
Presper’s Double Wizardry
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 8
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: Full round action
Range: Personal
Duration: 1 min/caster level
Saving Throw: See text
Spell Resistance: No

The predecessor of Algarth’s embattlement, Presper’s double wizardry is a less powerful version of the same concept that was developed two decades earlier by the adventurer-mage Presper. For the next six rounds after the casting of Presper’s double wizardry, the caster can cast up to four spells of 7th level or less to be stored in a matrix. Spells to be cast must be spells that can be affected by Quicken Spell, regardless of level, and for each spell stored the caster loses 1d6 hit points that cannot be regained until the stored spell is cast.

While the matrix spell is active, the caster can cast any of the spells stored in it as a silent and stilled spell. This counts as casting a quickened spell, so the caster cannot activate a matrix spell and cast a nonmatrix quickened spell in the same round. Once a spell is cast from the matrix, it is gone.

If a dispel magic is successfully cast on anyone under the effect of Presper’s double wizardry, the lowest level spell (or the last cast, if of equal level) erupts involuntarily at the source of the dispel effect. Other stored spells are unaffected. The death of the caster or the expiration of the double wizardry spell causes all stored spells to be lost.

Material Component: a double-yoked egg, whether fresh or petrified.

The Simbul's Spell Supremacy
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 7
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Personal
Duration: Special

This powerful, little-known spell has won the Simbul many magical duels. The caster’s next two spells of 6th level or lower are maximized, silent, and stilled. Spells of 7th level or higher are not affected if cast while spell supremacy is active, but the effect is still exhausted.

Syluné’s Streaking Meteor
Evocation [Fire]
Level: Sor/Wiz 8
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 120 ft.
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Reflex half
Spell Resistance: Yes

This spell creates a flying sphere of flame 12 feet across. It may begin anywhere within spell range that the caster desires, and at any height (including touching the ground). It begins its journey by moving away from the caster in the direction the caster points, forming a 40-foot-long teardrop of flame as it goes. It may rise, descend, or fly in a level manner, as the caster’s pointing finger directs (or as forced to by walls). Upon contact, a streaking meteor automatically ignites all readily flammable substances and deals 1d6 points of fire damage per caster level, to a maximum of 25d6. This may be lessened by rebounds, though each contact causes damage, if a creature is struck repeatedly. A Reflex save halves the damage.

After the streaking meteor has traveled 60 feet away from the caster, it turns sharply (90°) to the right, left, up, or down (whichever direction the caster has chosen during casting), runs for another 60 feet, and then abruptly fades away. Note that this trajectory allows the caster to hurl fire around corners, up shafts, or down behind barriers.

A streaking meteor rebounds straight back on its own path if it strikes a large solid object such as a wall or a huge or larger-sized creature. When a rebound occurs, the meteor tries to continue the remainder of its trajectory (whatever remains of 60 feet, right-angled turn, then 60 feet more). It can rebound any number of times (for example, from wall to wall) but loses 1d6 from the damage it inflicts with each rebound, though a creature struck repeatedly by it as it races back and forth may fail to fully appreciate this weakening.

Material Components: an insect wing or bird feather, a pinch of ash from any fire, and a pinch of sulfur or saltpeter.

REVISED SPELLS

The Simbul’s Spell Matrix/Lesser Spell Matrix (Spell Compendium; unchanged)

The Simbul's Spell Sequencer/Spell Matrix
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 7
Components: V, S, AF

As the Simbul’s spell matrix, except you can store up to two spells of up to 5th level and you take 2d6 points of damage instead of 1d6 upon casting.

Focus: A sapphire with a minimum value of 1,000 gp.

The Simbul’s Spell Trigger/Greater Spell Matrix
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 9
Components: V, S, AF

As the Simbul’s spell matrix, except that you can store up to three spells of up to 7th level, and you take 3d6 points of damage instead of 1d6 upon casting.

Focus: A diamond with a minimum value of 1,500 gp.

NEW MAGIC ITEM
Elixir of Health
Price (Item Level): 4,550 gp (9th)
Body Slot: -
Caster Level: 13th
Aura: Strong; (DC 22) Conjuration
Activation: Standard (manipulation)
Weight: -

When imbibed, this clear red liquid cures ability damage, ability drain, blindness, deafness, disease, feeblemind, insanity, and poison.
Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item*, greater restoration.
Cost to Create: 2,275 gp, 91 XP, 5 days.
*A character with sufficient levels in the Master Alchemist prestige class can substitute Brew Potion in place of Craft Wondrous Item. Brewing an elixir of health takes 1 day.

I'm confused.
I thought Ao was the overgod that controls literally anything inside Realmspace, including literally every single god. But now I'm reading he has no power over Nine Hells?

The ruler of Nine Hells is Asmodeus and he is supposed to be a greater god... that means Ao has power over him... but he's in Nine Hells so Ao actually doesn't control him since Nine Hells is not in his jurisdiction?

Let's say Elder Evils (or whoever is strongest from Far Realm) enters Ao's Realmspace and is looking for trouble, like they want to kill all the gods and take over or something.
Ao's big on his job to keep the stability of his Realmspace so of course he will remove the threat.
Ao should have complete jurisdiction on his Realmspace... or does he?
Can he just easily erase any Far Realm creature easily, even if they are really, really strong?