Introduction: A World of Epic Heroes

Welcome to Faerûn

The world of Faerûn is filled with countless heroes who have undertaken amazing adventures—Drizzt Do'Urden, his wife Cattie-brie, and their daughter, Briennelle; Alustriel Silverhand and the rest of the Seven Sisters; Karlach Cliffgate, Astarion, and Shadowheart; and many more. Now, the world has new heroes: the ones you and your fellow players create.

Heroes in the Forgotten Realms are larger than life. Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn gives you everything you need to create adventurers that fit right into the Realms, including new and revised subclasses and dozens of new feats and spells.

Like the heroes who populate Faerûn, magic in the Realms is epic. This book introduces the Faerûnian technique of circle magic: a way for spellcasters to work together to make their spells more flexible and powerful.

Heroes seldom work alone. This book details eight famous factions, each of which has a reach that extends across all Faerûn. Some of these factions, like the x or the x, are honorable and just, helping the needy and protecting the innocent. Others, like the greedy x or the power-hungry x, oppress their victims and focus on amassing power. Your character can join any of these factions, earning rewards for loyal service. Or, your character might oppose a faction and brave its ire.

Welcome to the Forgotten Realms, a world of epic characters and adventures!

Chapter 1: Character Options

1 helps you create the next hero of the Forgotten Realms. In addition to new character options—subclasses, backgrounds, and feats—this chapter provides an overview of the species of Faerûn and each one's place in the world.

Adventuring is a well-known occupation in Faerûn, and there's no shortage of common sellswords or petty mages rummaging around in old ruins hoping to find hidden treasure or a long-lost spellbook. And yet, in the Forgotten Realms, characters stand out among these adventurers as epic figures, even beginning at level 1.

Throughout the history of the Forgotten Realms, epic heroes are distinguished from everyday adventurers by their extraordinary natures. Alias, hero of Curse of the Azure Bonds, is an artificial person created by an alliance of evil spellcasters that included a lich and cultists of Moander, god of corruption and rot. Karlach, one of the heroes of Baldur's Gate 3, has a magical Infernal Engine for a heart, which grants her incredible power but brings unusual, life-threatening complications. Several heroes of the Forgotten Realms, such as Tristan Kendrick and Randall Morn, have been heirs to a throne. You can use the nature of these heroes, and others who've adventured across Faerûn, as inspiration for your own character's epic nature.

Beyond their nature, an epic character is distinguished by their destiny. Perhaps your character is fated to wield a powerful Artifact or become the ruler of a realm. When creating a character for a Forgotten Realms campaign, work with your DM to develop an epic destiny for your character. 1 has additional guidance on crafting epic characters and how their stories might play out in a campaign.

Chapter 2: A Guide to the Realms

Every corner of Faerûn has a distinct flavor born out of local stories, traditions, notable personalities, and memorable locales. 2 describes many locations across Faerûn that might have played a crucial role in your character's origins—perhaps where your character grew up or where they learned their adventuring skills. The backgrounds in x can connect your character to those locations.

For example, a Sorcerer might have mastered wild magic while studying under the Simbarchs of Aglarond, a land that's been ruled by sorcerers for generations. A Fighter might have gained bitter battlefield experience serving Sembia in border disputes with the Dalelands or Cormyr.

Chapter 3: Gods of Faerûn

Faerûn is a land of many gods, and 3 describes many of these gods. Most folk offer prayer or other forms of worship to several gods, though they might feel closest to a particular deity that is a patron of their occupation or to which they have some other special connection. For example, a merchant who gives daily obeisance to Waukeen, the god of trade, might offer up a propitiatory prayer to Umberlee, god of the sea, when faced with a long and difficult voyage.

Every city boasts multiple temples to various gods, and shrines can be found in the smallest village, along roads, or even deep in the wilderness.

Temples and shrines are staffed and maintained by priests, most of whom have minor spellcasting abilities, but Clerics, who channel their magic directly from the Outer Planes, are rare.

Think about your character's relationship with the gods. Which gods does your character consider especially important or relevant? For example, a character who is a Ranger or has the Farmer, Guide, or Hermit background might feel a personal connection to Chauntea, a god of agriculture, or Mielikki, a god of the forest. Are you—or do you aspire to become—one of your god's Chosen?

Conversely, what gods does your character especially resent or avoid? Your character might seek to thwart those who carry out those gods' divine agenda. Such deities might embody the opposite of your character's values. For example, a character that reveres Chauntea or Mielikki might despise Malar, a god of the hunt, or Auril, a god of winter, both of which represent nature in an evil, destructive form. Or you might carry a special enmity toward one of Malar's Chosen.

While most ordinary people in Faerûn speak to deities only through priests or the occasional divine messenger, characters in a Forgotten Realms campaign might meet a deity face to face, though the deity might have been in disguise. If your character wields divine magic, they might have gained their connection to the Outer Planes when they met a deity.

Chapter 4: Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog

No adventurer is complete without a wide array of adventuring gear. 4 provides an excerpt from the famed Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog to help equip your characters with new gear. Aurora was a former adventurer who outfitted heroes across Faerûn, and the business she founded is now led by her descendant.

Chapter 5: Magic of Faerûn

Magic is woven into the very fabric of Faerûn. Chapter 5 discusses how magic works in the Forgotten Realms, including new spells, and introduces circle magic—a way for characters to cooperate in casting spells.

The fundamental framework through which magic functions is called x. Mages, priests, and druids who work magic draw upon and manipulate the Weave, and damage to the Weave can be catastrophic, as was the case in the Spellplague and other disasters.

The vast majority of magic in the Realms is humble and geared toward practical matters: healing wounds, assisting with a craft, entertaining crowds, or accomplishing menial tasks. Mages are common, creating a large demand for magical academies across Faerûn. While many mages turn their command of magic into a professional career, others retreat from society to a life of study and magical experimentation.

Magic affects everyone in Faerûn, from common farmers and crafters to adventurers and monarchs. Even if you're making a character that doesn't cast spells, magic might have affected your character's life, their family, or their occupation. Perhaps your family has a magical heirloom that's passed down through the generations, or perhaps a magical creature—like a dragon, genie, or lycanthrope—is lurking somewhere in your family tree. Does your character view magic as a mystery worth exploring or simply as a utilitarian method of solving difficult problems?

Chapter 6: Factions of the Realms

Faerûn is home to powerful, realm-spanning organizations that can be powerful allies or fearsome foes. Faerûn's factions are described briefly below and detailed further in 6:

• Cult of the Dragon. Although this faction is most known for evil plots, the worship of Tiamat, and turning dragons into dracoliches, adventurers can get caught in their schemes.
• Emerald Enclave. This organization of druids, rangers, and others protects the wilderness and those traveling through it.
• Harpers. The x are a legendary band of do-gooders who combat tyranny across Faerûn while keeping a low profile.
• Lords' Alliance. A coalition of independent cities along the Sword Coast, the x stands for peace, trade, and mutual self-interest.
• Order of the Gauntlet. An organization of warriors motivated by faith in gods of goodness and justice, the Order seeks out evil and destroys it with force of arms.
• Purple Dragon Knights. Cormyr's legendary knights now travel Faerûn on dragon steeds, hunting Aberrations and furthering the cause of their queen.
• Red Wizards. Although their home is in the eastern realm of Thay, x travel throughout Faerûn to increase their personal power, seeking out magic in all its forms.
• Zhentarim. This vast criminal syndicate provides everything from mercenary work and travel services to murder-for-hire, operating openly in cities throughout Faerûn.

Many of these factions have associated character backgrounds presented in x. By taking one of those backgrounds, your character becomes a member of that faction. But characters can also be a member of a faction without taking a particular background, and many characters join a faction later in their adventuring career.

What faction might your character be a member of or aspire to join? And what faction might they oppose?

Other Resources

No single book could include every detail of the Forgotten Realms, a setting many decades in the making. Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn is only part of Faerûn's grand story.

Your most important companion to this book is Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn. There, you'll find five chapters that expand on five regions of the Forgotten Realms, providing much more detail on locations, people, and the environments therein, as well as showcasing the unique kinds of adventures that take place there:

• The Dalelands, home to classic fantasy adventure (see "x" in chapter 2)
• Icewind Dale, a frigid land of survival horror (see "x" in chapter 2)
• Calimshan, a high magic setting of genies and magical innovation (see "x" in chapter 2)
• The Moonshae Isles, filled with fairy stories and tales of adventure at sea (see "x" in chapter 2)
• Baldur's Gate, an urban setting of morally ambiguous heroes and antiheroes. (See "x" in chapter 2.)

That book also includes new magic items and monsters, as well as many adventures set in the Realms, including a complete starting adventure to launch a new campaign.

Two digital products have been designed to supplement this book and your games in the Realms. You can find these titles on DnDBeyond.com:

• Astarion's Book of Hungers focuses on Astarion, the elf vampire from the Baldur's Gate 3 video game.
• Netheril's Fall provides insight into the ancient empire of Netheril and its magic. (See "x" in chapter 2.)

Many books in the Dungeons & Dragons line detail locations in the Forgotten Realms, which can be helpful if you want to make a character from that region. Here are some of those books:

• Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus provides further detail on the city of Baldur's Gate.
• Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden has additional details on Ten-Towns and the North.
• Tomb of Annihilation describes the jungles of Chult.
• Waterdeep: Dragon Heist explores the city of Waterdeep on the Sword Coast.