Can someone please explain to me the difference between the Time of Troubles, Spellplague, and Second Sundering? I am an aspiring sage who has failed to find the answer within the tomes of his meager collection.
The biggest difference is time. The Forgotten Realms has gone through a series of apocalypses that roughly correspond with the publication of new editions of D&D, to explain the changes that occur as a result.
The Time of Troubles occurred in 1358 DR (Dale Reckoning), and mostly consisted of the gods being forced into their avatar forms and made mortal. Many of them died as a result, and the world went through many changes. It was conceived as a way to update the setting between AD&D1 and AD&D2.
The Spellplague occurred in 1385-1395 DR, beginning when Mystra, goddess of magic, was assassinated by Cyric, god of lies, and Shar, goddess of darkness. The result was the dissolution of the Weave and magical devastation across Faerun, often taking the form of rampant blue flame. Most notably, it caused the sudden joining of the two worlds of Abeir and Toril, which had been separated since the First Sundering c.-17600 DR. Parts of both worlds were overwritten and the map of the setting changed dramatically. It represented the transition between D&D3 and D&D4, which was probably the largest thematic and mechanical change to D&D since its creation.
It may be relevant to note that the published material on the Forgotten Realms underwent a timeskip from c.1375-1479 DR between D&D3 and D&D4 -- the aftermath of the Spellplague took a long time to resolve and settle down.
The Second Sundering occurred in 1482-1487 DR. It is difficult not to be a little cynical about the Second Sundering, because it pretty obviously served a single narrative purpose: reverse the effects of the Spellplague, which had been poorly received by fans, and set D&D5 up with a Forgotten Realms setting that more closely resembled the setting from AD&D2 and D&D3. In universe, it was an effort by Ao, the high god of Toril, to bring the Age of Upheaval that had begun with the Time of Troubles to a close. Abeir and Toril were separated again, but what exactly has changed isn't well understood, because there hasn't been an complete update to the Forgotten Realms setting outside of the Sword Coast since the launch of D&D5. This is fine, however, as it is generally accepted that the material from D&D3 is current, with whatever elements from the D&D4 post-Spellplague era included that the dungeon master wishes to include, and all of this material is available in PDF format from DMsGuild.com. A reprint is probably unnecessary.
Can someone please explain to me the difference between the Time of Troubles, Spellplague, and Second Sundering? I am an aspiring sage who has failed to find the answer within the tomes of his meager collection.
The biggest difference is time. The Forgotten Realms has gone through a series of apocalypses that roughly correspond with the publication of new editions of D&D, to explain the changes that occur as a result.
The Time of Troubles occurred in 1358 DR (Dale Reckoning), and mostly consisted of the gods being forced into their avatar forms and made mortal. Many of them died as a result, and the world went through many changes. It was conceived as a way to update the setting between AD&D1 and AD&D2.
The Spellplague occurred in 1385-1395 DR, beginning when Mystra, goddess of magic, was assassinated by Cyric, god of lies, and Shar, goddess of darkness. The result was the dissolution of the Weave and magical devastation across Faerun, often taking the form of rampant blue flame. Most notably, it caused the sudden joining of the two worlds of Abeir and Toril, which had been separated since the First Sundering c.-17600 DR. Parts of both worlds were overwritten and the map of the setting changed dramatically. It represented the transition between D&D3 and D&D4, which was probably the largest thematic and mechanical change to D&D since its creation.
It may be relevant to note that the published material on the Forgotten Realms underwent a timeskip from c.1375-1479 DR between D&D3 and D&D4 -- the aftermath of the Spellplague took a long time to resolve and settle down.
The Second Sundering occurred in 1482-1487 DR. It is difficult not to be a little cynical about the Second Sundering, because it pretty obviously served a single narrative purpose: reverse the effects of the Spellplague, which had been poorly received by fans, and set D&D5 up with a Forgotten Realms setting that more closely resembled the setting from AD&D2 and D&D3. In universe, it was an effort by Ao, the high god of Toril, to bring the Age of Upheaval that had begun with the Time of Troubles to a close. Abeir and Toril were separated again, but what exactly has changed isn't well understood, because there hasn't been an complete update to the Forgotten Realms setting outside of the Sword Coast since the launch of D&D5. This is fine, however, as it is generally accepted that the material from D&D3 is current, with whatever elements from the D&D4 post-Spellplague era included that the dungeon master wishes to include, and all of this material is available in PDF format from DMsGuild.com. A reprint is probably unnecessary.
I hope that sheds some light on the differences between these three world-changing events. For more details on each, I recommend checking out the following wiki articles:
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Time_of_Troubles
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Spellplague
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Second_Sundering
J
Great Wyrm Moonstone Dungeon Master
The time of the ORC has come. No OGL without irrevocability; no OGL with 'authorized version' language. #openDND
Practice, practice, practice • Respect the rules; don't memorize them • Be merciless, not cruel • Don't let the dice run the game for you
Thanks, that was exactly what I was looking for.