Time of Troubles

Not to be confused with the homonymous period of unrest in Russia beginning in 1598 with the death of the last Rurikid Czar of Russia, Fyodor I.

The Time of Troubles, also known as the Avatar Crisis, the Godswar, and the Arrival, was a disastrous time period in the history of the Forgotten Realms in which the gods of Faerûn were forced to walk the earth in mortal forms as punishment by the Faerûnian overgod Ao.

The Time of Troubles had catastrophic and world-changing repercussions. It was an event of cataclysmic proportions. It even had effects in the real world—it serves as the explanation for the changes in rules between 1st-edition D&D and 2nd-edition D&D.

Overview

The Time of Troubles was a punishment of the gods of Faerûn by the overgod Ao. It began when the gods Bane and Myrkul stole the Tablets of Fate from Ao, believing that it would elevate them to Ao's level of power. Ao was angered by this, but—worse—he saw this as the last straw indicating that the Faerûnian gods had little concern for their domains and followers.

As such, Ao decided to teach them a lesson: he stripped them all (with the exception of Helm) of their immortality and cast them down to Faerûn in physical bodies to serve time walking the earth as mortals.

During this time, the world was thrown into an uproar as the gods warred with each other. Numerous gods were killed, devoured, and had their domains taken. Some mortals ascended to godhood. For about one year, the world burned as the gods scrambled for power.

Major players

• The adventuring party of:
  • Midnight (pseudonym of Ariel Manx)
  • Cyric, probably the only guy in the entire fucking world who actually had a great time during the TOT
  • Kelemvor
  • Adon, a cleric of Sune
• The gods:
  • The Dread Three:
    • Bane, god of hatred
    • Myrkul, god of the dead
    • Bhaal, god of murder
  • Ao, the overgod of the Faerûnian pantheon
  • Mystra, goddess of magic
  • Helm
  • Mask
  • Torm, god of justice

Result

• Dread Three are all killed.
  • Bane is killed by Torm.
  • Bhaal is killed by Cyric.
  • Myrkul is killed by Midnight.
• Mystra is killed by Helm.
• Midnight ascends to become the new Mystra.
• Cyric ascends and takes the domains of Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul.
• The gods of Faerûn now draw their power from worship.
• The gods of Faerûn start looking to spread to other spheres in order to flee the ever-watchful eye of Ao.
• Destruction of the Tablets of Fate.

Timeline

• Gilgamesh kills Tiamat.
• Tiamat returns and kills Gilgamesh.