Note that each books is its own adventures. they often comes with pre-adventure which is level 1 to 5. and then adventure which goes from 5 to 15. then the campaign ends. so there is no continuing after the said books and campaign. DCA has done it differently as perkins do not follow the books directly and has had the habit of changing adventure in the middle of the thing. that and keeping the characters level 9 or so. but each adventures has nbeen designed to be a campaign on its own.
Tiamat is from 1 to 15. campaign ends with the fight with tiamat.
Tomb of annihilation goes from 1 to 15 as well. ends with the fight with acererak.
Dragon heist and dungeon of th emad mage is from 1 to 15 again.
so don't expect to finish one campaign and jumping to the other as a level 15 to 20. these adventures weren't designed for that.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM of two gaming groups. Likes to create stuff. Check out my homebrew --> Monsters --> Magical Items --> Races --> Subclasses If you like --> Upvote, If you wanna comment --> Comment
Play by Post Games --> One Shot Adventure - House of Artwood (DM) (Completed)
Ghosts of Saltmarsh is pretty clear that it doesn't take place in FR.
It does in Adventurer's League (and is tied into their other non-seasonal campaign: Dreams of the Red Wizards). But even if you're not playing AL, I believe the adventure (p.39) tells you how to place it in Faerun (or other settings) if desired.
Isn'T all adventures telling you how to change it so it becomes availlable in your setting reguardless ? most if not all the adventures are in forgotten realm. and AL did have yawning portal as a forgotten realm adventure. mainly because the yawning portal is a real tavern that does exists in faerun ! the whole premise of the yawning portal campaign is that it is set in faerun ! but much like all adventures, they have that little paragraph that tells you how you could import those campaigns into any other settings by just changing the names of the inn and the names of the places with other names. as well as just changing their outside scenery.
all in all, its a moot point cause anything can go anywhere. that's what D&D is all about. when it comes to Adventurers League though, "ALL" adventures are in the forgotten realms. and AL is the proof that anything can go anywhere.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM of two gaming groups. Likes to create stuff. Check out my homebrew --> Monsters --> Magical Items --> Races --> Subclasses If you like --> Upvote, If you wanna comment --> Comment
Play by Post Games --> One Shot Adventure - House of Artwood (DM) (Completed)
You know, guys, (MattV and Dnd Paldin) ... … that is SO GOOD to hear y'all say. It wasn't but a few years ago that the community was very much of the general opinion that the "suggestions" for where to set an adventure in other settings wasn't an "official" placement, and that only the "main" setting, the "real" setting was the one that counted. I hadn't even realized I'd subconsciously begun to conform to that opinion, 'til y'all countered me on it.
Personally, I play in the World of Greyhawk, and for years, people have been telling me that all the other (FR) adventures "don't count" because they're not written "for" Greyhawk, but, I still like to include them. (I know, I know, I can do what I want and it's my game, but still).
So, thank you both for showing me that opinion has changed, and that alternate locations of an adventure do, indeed, "count"! Thank you.
I believe Storm King's Thunder might more likely be in 1491 because the Death curse is not in effect, and elemental cultists are presented as looking for allies (p.34). Those cults were pretty well destroyed at the end of Princes of the Apocalypse.
As for the latest adventure - 'Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus', the year is at least 1492. The Baldur's Gate Gazetteer section specifically describes the city as of 1492 DR, and it definitely takes place after ToA (there's no Death Curse, and it mentions a TOA NPC that is returning from Chult)
For DOIP, the exact quote from the description of Neverwinter in the "Running the Adventure" chapter is: "This city was badly damaged when Mount Hotenow erupted some fifty years ago." Theoretically this places it somewhere around 1501 DR, if "50 years" is accurate.
That said, the two adventures are designed to be able to be run alongside one another, and I don't think there's anything in the adventure suggesting the town is notably different from what it's like in 1491 DR (even after the rediscovery of the titular Lost Mine of Phandelver)... And I don't think Ed Greenwood or Chris Perkins has addressed it anywhere?
For DOIP, the exact quote from the description of Neverwinter in the "Running the Adventure" chapter is: "This city was badly damaged when Mount Hotenow erupted some fifty years ago." Theoretically this places it somewhere around 1501 DR, if "50 years" is accurate.
That said, the two adventures are designed to be able to be run alongside one another, and I don't think there's anything in the adventure suggesting the town is notably different from what it's like in 1491 DR (even after the rediscovery of the titular Lost Mine of Phandelver)... And I don't think Ed Greenwood or Chris Perkins has addressed it anywhere?
Uhhh Perkins had confirmed LMoP was 1481 cause it's thirty years after the erruption?
For DOIP, the exact quote from the description of Neverwinter in the "Running the Adventure" chapter is: "This city was badly damaged when Mount Hotenow erupted some fifty years ago." Theoretically this places it somewhere around 1501 DR, if "50 years" is accurate.
That said, the two adventures are designed to be able to be run alongside one another, and I don't think there's anything in the adventure suggesting the town is notably different from what it's like in 1491 DR (even after the rediscovery of the titular Lost Mine of Phandelver)... And I don't think Ed Greenwood or Chris Perkins has addressed it anywhere?
Uhhh Perkins had confirmed LMoP was 1481 cause it's thirty years after the erruption?
Where do you see that stated by Perkins? I only see people assuming 1481 DR because the adventure says "30 years after the eruption of Mount Hotenow"... But Ed Greenwood's the creator of the Forgotten Realms and his tweet linked above (direct link to the tweet itself) says:
Lost Mine is officially a bit nebulous in date for DM convenience, though there are detailed internal WotC timelines so as to keep things straight (i.e. novels). Safe to say: 1490s DR.
Pages 30‒31 of Lost Mine of Phandelver describe the eruption of Mount Hotenow (1451 DR) as occurring "30 years ago", which would place the adventure in 1481 DR. However, pages 103 and 179 of Acquisitions Incorporated, a later source, state that the events described in the adventure happen five years after both Lost Mine of Phandelver and Princes of the Apocalypse. Since the latter is explicitly set in 1491 DR, and considering this answer by Ed Greenwood about dating the adventure, this wiki will use 1491 DR for events related to this sourcebook.
I asked someone at WotC about that timeline, because it is a strange reference. The conclusion we drew is that it is incorrect. That is to say, 1481 DR should NOT be when Lost Mines of Phandelver takes place (which is the date you get when you extrapolate from Mount Hotenow being 30 years ago). As Ed Greenwood stated, it is more likely intended to be in the 1490s. 1491 makes the most sense, placing it at the same time as Princes of the Apocalypse.
Along the same lines, Dragon of Icespire Peak should probably not take place in 1500 DR (which is what you get if you extrapolate from Mount Hotenow being 50 years ago). The NPCs are the same age, which all works if the timeline is more what you would expect, something like 1492 or 1493. Since recent releases are in 1492, I would go with 1492 for convenience.
For what it's worth, we thought it over carefully at the time of writing and we (the authors and project team) consider the timeline mentioned in the Acquisitions Incorporated book to be accurate. It takes place in 1496, stating it is 5 or so years after Phandelver. (See pages 103 or 179 of the AI book).
I'm actually thinking about these topics, as my blog this week will deal with the calendar of events for recent FR years!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Learn more about Dungeons & Dragons tabletop at Alphastream.org.
just a side note... the simpsons are over 30 years old and yet they still haven't even aged 1 year.
writters can't be held accountable for timeline shenanigans. that said, i don't think wotc has an actual timeline done. i think they are like many of us DMs with their own worlds.... just winding it keeping in mind only the bigger events. phandelver can happen 30 years after mount hotenow because phandelver doesn't even remotely come close to touching any of the other adventures. same for any adventures per say.
some adventures do relate to each others though... Storm kings thunder who must happen after the events of tiamat. and descent into avernus who happens 5 years after the events of tiamat. not because they mention it, but because they have artefacts and events that previous adventures have set in motion and they play out the aftermath of those. so i'd say it doesn't matter really, as long as the adventure doesn't implicate a previous adventure.
after all the goal of a campaign is not to have a big bad mega adventure. the goal of adventuring is that each new adventure is different from the previous one.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM of two gaming groups. Likes to create stuff. Check out my homebrew --> Monsters --> Magical Items --> Races --> Subclasses If you like --> Upvote, If you wanna comment --> Comment
Play by Post Games --> One Shot Adventure - House of Artwood (DM) (Completed)
descent into avernus who happens 5 years after the events of tiamat.
Adam Lee (lead designer for BG:DiA) has stated that the adventure is set in 1492DR, which corresponds with references in the adventure (i.e. explicitly detailing Baldur's Gate "as of 1492"). The "50 year" contract reference in the adventure (that throws this off) seems to be an accident/miscommunication.
descent into avernus who happens 5 years after the events of tiamat.
Adam Lee (lead designer for BG:DiA) has stated that the adventure is set in 1492DR, which corresponds with references in the adventure (i.e. explicitly detailing Baldur's Gate "as of 1492"). The "50 year" contract reference in the adventure (that throws this off) seems to be an accident/miscommunication.
When it comes to adventures, they "usually" not always, but usually comes within the years they happen to come out. meaning that if it has ben 5 years since the release of an adventure. then you can easily just add that time to the calendar of that world. hence why i'm saying its hapenning 5 years after the original rise of tiamat ! thus 5 years or 6 years after the event of phandelver. i have no real way of knowing if this is true or not, but thats how i usually do it. why do i do it that way ? simple... because it would be ridiculous to think that in 2 years, FR time... there has been like 10 calamities hapenning all after the others.
when it comes to books though, those people are bound toa setting, not just an adventure. what happens must stick, so books tends to tell you the passage of time. so yeah, books can easily be accounted for. but is it really a good idea to do that ?
It is clear that WotC do not want you to wonder about timelines !
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM of two gaming groups. Likes to create stuff. Check out my homebrew --> Monsters --> Magical Items --> Races --> Subclasses If you like --> Upvote, If you wanna comment --> Comment
Play by Post Games --> One Shot Adventure - House of Artwood (DM) (Completed)
When it comes to adventures, they "usually" not always, but usually comes within the years they happen to come out. meaning that if it has ben 5 years since the release of an adventure. then you can easily just add that time to the calendar of that world. hence why i'm saying its hapenning 5 years after the original rise of tiamat !
4e was like that, but 5e doesn't seem to be. Ignoring BG:DiA for the moment, you still have DDAL seasons 2 through 8 (and most of the hardcovers) taking place between 1491-1492.
I've no idea when Dragon of Icespire Peak takes place
Note that each books is its own adventures. they often comes with pre-adventure which is level 1 to 5. and then adventure which goes from 5 to 15.
then the campaign ends. so there is no continuing after the said books and campaign. DCA has done it differently as perkins do not follow the books directly and has had the habit of changing adventure in the middle of the thing. that and keeping the characters level 9 or so. but each adventures has nbeen designed to be a campaign on its own.
Tiamat is from 1 to 15. campaign ends with the fight with tiamat.
Tomb of annihilation goes from 1 to 15 as well. ends with the fight with acererak.
Dragon heist and dungeon of th emad mage is from 1 to 15 again.
so don't expect to finish one campaign and jumping to the other as a level 15 to 20. these adventures weren't designed for that.
DM of two gaming groups.
Likes to create stuff.
Check out my homebrew --> Monsters --> Magical Items --> Races --> Subclasses
If you like --> Upvote, If you wanna comment --> Comment
Play by Post Games
--> One Shot Adventure - House of Artwood (DM) (Completed)
… while I'm far from an expert on the topic, Ghosts of Saltmarsh is pretty clear that it doesn't take place in FR.
It's in the World of Greyhawk.
It does in Adventurer's League (and is tied into their other non-seasonal campaign: Dreams of the Red Wizards). But even if you're not playing AL, I believe the adventure (p.39) tells you how to place it in Faerun (or other settings) if desired.
Isn'T all adventures telling you how to change it so it becomes availlable in your setting reguardless ?
most if not all the adventures are in forgotten realm. and AL did have yawning portal as a forgotten realm adventure. mainly because the yawning portal is a real tavern that does exists in faerun ! the whole premise of the yawning portal campaign is that it is set in faerun ! but much like all adventures, they have that little paragraph that tells you how you could import those campaigns into any other settings by just changing the names of the inn and the names of the places with other names. as well as just changing their outside scenery.
all in all, its a moot point cause anything can go anywhere. that's what D&D is all about.
when it comes to Adventurers League though, "ALL" adventures are in the forgotten realms.
and AL is the proof that anything can go anywhere.
DM of two gaming groups.
Likes to create stuff.
Check out my homebrew --> Monsters --> Magical Items --> Races --> Subclasses
If you like --> Upvote, If you wanna comment --> Comment
Play by Post Games
--> One Shot Adventure - House of Artwood (DM) (Completed)
You know, guys, (MattV and Dnd Paldin) ...
… that is SO GOOD to hear y'all say. It wasn't but a few years ago that the community was very much of the general opinion that the "suggestions" for where to set an adventure in other settings wasn't an "official" placement, and that only the "main" setting, the "real" setting was the one that counted. I hadn't even realized I'd subconsciously begun to conform to that opinion, 'til y'all countered me on it.
Personally, I play in the World of Greyhawk, and for years, people have been telling me that all the other (FR) adventures "don't count" because they're not written "for" Greyhawk, but, I still like to include them. (I know, I know, I can do what I want and it's my game, but still).
So, thank you both for showing me that opinion has changed, and that alternate locations of an adventure do, indeed, "count"! Thank you.
I believe Storm King's Thunder might more likely be in 1491 because the Death curse is not in effect, and elemental cultists are presented as looking for allies (p.34). Those cults were pretty well destroyed at the end of Princes of the Apocalypse.
As for the latest adventure - 'Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus', the year is at least 1492. The Baldur's Gate Gazetteer section specifically describes the city as of 1492 DR, and it definitely takes place after ToA (there's no Death Curse, and it mentions a TOA NPC that is returning from Chult)
Regarding the year that Dragon of Icespire Peak takes place:
Mt. Hotenow erupted in 1451 DR.
Ed Greenwood has said LMOP takes place in 1491 DR, however: https://www.sageadvice.eu/2018/04/01/im-currently-running-lost-mine-of-phandelver-so-no-idea-what-time-period-im-playing-in/
For DOIP, the exact quote from the description of Neverwinter in the "Running the Adventure" chapter is: "This city was badly damaged when Mount Hotenow erupted some fifty years ago." Theoretically this places it somewhere around 1501 DR, if "50 years" is accurate.
That said, the two adventures are designed to be able to be run alongside one another, and I don't think there's anything in the adventure suggesting the town is notably different from what it's like in 1491 DR (even after the rediscovery of the titular Lost Mine of Phandelver)... And I don't think Ed Greenwood or Chris Perkins has addressed it anywhere?
Baldur's Gate Descent Into Avernus takes place 1494 even though the Gazetteer describes the city in 1492 DR.
The Orrery of the Wanderer (Acq. Inc. adventure) takes place in 1496 DR.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Uhhh Perkins had confirmed LMoP was 1481 cause it's thirty years after the erruption?
Site Rules & Guidelines || How to Tooltip || Contact Support || Changelog || Pricing FAQ || Homebrew FAQ
If you have questions/concerns, please Private Message me or another moderator.
Wary the wizard who focuses on homebrew, for he can create nightmares that you wouldn't even dream of
Where do you see that stated by Perkins? I only see people assuming 1481 DR because the adventure says "30 years after the eruption of Mount Hotenow"... But Ed Greenwood's the creator of the Forgotten Realms and his tweet linked above (direct link to the tweet itself) says:
Also, as quoted from the footnote by the year listing on the Forgotten Realms wiki page for the Starter Set:
Perkins has quoted this on Lore You Should Know segments from a few years back.
Site Rules & Guidelines || How to Tooltip || Contact Support || Changelog || Pricing FAQ || Homebrew FAQ
If you have questions/concerns, please Private Message me or another moderator.
Wary the wizard who focuses on homebrew, for he can create nightmares that you wouldn't even dream of
Ah, okay. If someone can find a link to a segment (with a timestamp) where it's discussed, that would be appreciated :)
I asked someone at WotC about that timeline, because it is a strange reference. The conclusion we drew is that it is incorrect. That is to say, 1481 DR should NOT be when Lost Mines of Phandelver takes place (which is the date you get when you extrapolate from Mount Hotenow being 30 years ago). As Ed Greenwood stated, it is more likely intended to be in the 1490s. 1491 makes the most sense, placing it at the same time as Princes of the Apocalypse.
Along the same lines, Dragon of Icespire Peak should probably not take place in 1500 DR (which is what you get if you extrapolate from Mount Hotenow being 50 years ago). The NPCs are the same age, which all works if the timeline is more what you would expect, something like 1492 or 1493. Since recent releases are in 1492, I would go with 1492 for convenience.
For what it's worth, we thought it over carefully at the time of writing and we (the authors and project team) consider the timeline mentioned in the Acquisitions Incorporated book to be accurate. It takes place in 1496, stating it is 5 or so years after Phandelver. (See pages 103 or 179 of the AI book).
I'm actually thinking about these topics, as my blog this week will deal with the calendar of events for recent FR years!
Learn more about Dungeons & Dragons tabletop at Alphastream.org.
Check out my acclaimed adventures for the tabletop D&D game, including: Jungle Treks, Chultan Death Curse: Revised, The Howling Void, The Artifact, and Adamantine Chef: Supreme Challenge!
just a side note...
the simpsons are over 30 years old and yet they still haven't even aged 1 year.
writters can't be held accountable for timeline shenanigans.
that said, i don't think wotc has an actual timeline done. i think they are like many of us DMs with their own worlds.... just winding it keeping in mind only the bigger events.
phandelver can happen 30 years after mount hotenow because phandelver doesn't even remotely come close to touching any of the other adventures. same for any adventures per say.
some adventures do relate to each others though...
Storm kings thunder who must happen after the events of tiamat. and descent into avernus who happens 5 years after the events of tiamat.
not because they mention it, but because they have artefacts and events that previous adventures have set in motion and they play out the aftermath of those.
so i'd say it doesn't matter really, as long as the adventure doesn't implicate a previous adventure.
after all the goal of a campaign is not to have a big bad mega adventure. the goal of adventuring is that each new adventure is different from the previous one.
DM of two gaming groups.
Likes to create stuff.
Check out my homebrew --> Monsters --> Magical Items --> Races --> Subclasses
If you like --> Upvote, If you wanna comment --> Comment
Play by Post Games
--> One Shot Adventure - House of Artwood (DM) (Completed)
Adam Lee (lead designer for BG:DiA) has stated that the adventure is set in 1492DR, which corresponds with references in the adventure (i.e. explicitly detailing Baldur's Gate "as of 1492"). The "50 year" contract reference in the adventure (that throws this off) seems to be an accident/miscommunication.
When it comes to adventures, they "usually" not always, but usually comes within the years they happen to come out. meaning that if it has ben 5 years since the release of an adventure. then you can easily just add that time to the calendar of that world. hence why i'm saying its hapenning 5 years after the original rise of tiamat ! thus 5 years or 6 years after the event of phandelver. i have no real way of knowing if this is true or not, but thats how i usually do it. why do i do it that way ? simple... because it would be ridiculous to think that in 2 years, FR time... there has been like 10 calamities hapenning all after the others.
when it comes to books though, those people are bound toa setting, not just an adventure. what happens must stick, so books tends to tell you the passage of time. so yeah, books can easily be accounted for. but is it really a good idea to do that ?
It is clear that WotC do not want you to wonder about timelines !
DM of two gaming groups.
Likes to create stuff.
Check out my homebrew --> Monsters --> Magical Items --> Races --> Subclasses
If you like --> Upvote, If you wanna comment --> Comment
Play by Post Games
--> One Shot Adventure - House of Artwood (DM) (Completed)
4e was like that, but 5e doesn't seem to be. Ignoring BG:DiA for the moment, you still have DDAL seasons 2 through 8 (and most of the hardcovers) taking place between 1491-1492.
I took the plunge and wrote up this blog post with a timeline for 5E products and also the larger Forgotten Realms timeline relevant to 5E!
Learn more about Dungeons & Dragons tabletop at Alphastream.org.
Check out my acclaimed adventures for the tabletop D&D game, including: Jungle Treks, Chultan Death Curse: Revised, The Howling Void, The Artifact, and Adamantine Chef: Supreme Challenge!
Great work! ...I kinda left a few comments pointing out a number of typos. But that's to be expected given the length of the article :)