Time of Troubles (Forgotten Realms)

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The Time of Troubles, also known as the Arrival, Godswar, and Avatar Crisis, was a cataclysmic time period in the chronology of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. Taking place during the Year of Shadows, 1358 DR, the Time of Troubles was a period during which the gods of Faerûn were forced to walk the earth in their mortal avatar forms. Several major deities died during the Time of Troubles, and a handful of mortals rose to divinity.

[edit] Summary

The Time of Troubles was precipitated by an attempt by the gods Bane and Myrkul to steal the Tablets of Fate from the overdeity Ao. Angry with the gods for their habitual pursuit of power and negligence toward their mortal faithful, Lord Ao relegated every god (except for the guardian god Helm, selected to protect the gates to the heavens) to walk among their followers on the earth. The immediate effects of this edict were threefold. First, divine magic (spells granted to clerics by their patron deities) ceased to function altogether^[1] unless the cleric was within one mile of their deity's avatar. Second, arcane magic (a force channeled from The Weave by wizards and sorcerers) ceased to be regulated by its steward, Mystra, and became dangerously unpredictable^[1]. Third, the characteristically immortal and aloof deities were now vulnerable (though devastatingly powerful) and dwelling among the civilizations of Faerûn.^[1]

The Time of Troubles coincided with the release of the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game, and events in the story reflected changes in the game rules. For example, the demise of the assassin cults in Faerûn reflected the fact that the assassin player character class was discontinued in AD&D Second Edition. Similarly, in the comic-book series based on Forgotten Realms, a wizard notes that after the upheaveals in magic caused by the Troubles, some of his spells had changed in power and effect; and indeed, the game rules for those same spells had been revised.

[edit] Deaths, ascensions, and resurrections

The Time of Troubles was a time of significant turnover among the gods of the Faerûnian Pantheon. Several deities were "destroyed" (see below) during this period. The following are deities who were killed or incapacitated during the Time of Troubles:

Bane, greater god of tyranny, strife, and hatred and one of the Dead Three gods, was slain in a climactic battle with the demigod Torm in battle outside of Tantras.
Bhaal, intermediate god of murder, was slain by the young mortal Cyric with the sword Godsbane. However, Bhaal had foreseen his own death, and had populated Faerûn with his progeny, the Bhaalspawn, in a bid to resurrect himself, as explored in the Baldur's Gate series.
Gilgeam, demigod and king of Unther, was slain by Tiamat.
Ibrandul, a lesser god of caverns, was destroyed by Shar, who still masquerades as the dead deity.
Leira, lesser goddess of deception and illusion, was slain by Cyric.
Myrkul, greater god of the dead and another of the Dead Three, was killed in a duel with Midnight, a mortal woman wielding the powers of Mystra, in the skies over the city of Waterdeep.
Mystra, greater goddess of magic and among the most powerful of the gods, was destroyed when she attempted to bypass Helm at the Celestial Staircase.
Ramman, Untheric lesser god of war and storms, was slain by Hoar, but his portfolio was stolen by Anhur of the Mulhorandi pantheon.
Torm, demigod and patron deity of paladins, was annihilated by Bane with his dying breath (though later resurrected by Ao).
Waukeen, lesser goddess of wealth, attempted to reclaim her divinity during the Time of Troubles, but was imprisoned in the Argent Palace, enslaved to the demon prince Graz'zt

However, death is anything but permanent in the Forgotten Realms, and many of these deities have in some way circumvented their own destruction:

After Bane's death, his portfolio was divided among the newly anointed god Cyric and Bane's own half-demonic son Iyachtu Xvim. Upon the death of one of the greatest forces of evil in existence, all of Faerûn breathed a sigh of relief; however, in 1372, Bane was resurrected, destroying Iyachtu Xvim and reestablishing his church.
Bhaal had already foreseen his own demise, and had populated the world with scores of his own progeny in past years, all as part of a grand scheme for his own reincarnation. This master plan is the basis of the Baldur's Gate computer game series.
Myrkul infused the sinister artifact the Crown of Horns with the remnants of his essence, and teleported it away. While its location is unknown, the semi-sentient artifact is presumably fomenting a plan for Myrkul's resurrection.
Though Ao had decreed that none of the gods fallen during the Time of Troubles should be reinstated, a complex convergence of factors regarding Torm's death led the overgod to make a single exception in his case, resurrecting him and elevating him to the status of lesser god.
After a decade of isolation from her followers, Waukeen was freed from her prison in 1371 DR by a band of adventurers, and has resumed her place in the heavens.

Furthermore, a selection of mortals were chosen by Lord Ao to ascend to the heavens to fill the void left by those deities who died:

Cyric, a petty, sadistic mercenary, slew Bhaal with the sword Godsbane (actually the god Mask in disguise). After the end of the Time of Troubles, he was granted control of nearly all the portfolios of the Dead Three by Ao, making him briefly the most powerful of the gods.
Kelemvor, a sullen adventurer, was granted Myrkul's portfolio by Ao, and has since striven to change the horrifying image of death promoted by his predecessor.
After her death, the goddess Mystra entrusted her essence with the young mage Midnight, who ascended after the Time of Troubles as the new Mystra.

Finally, Lord Ao lifted the barrier that prevented the Mulhorandi god-kings from reuniting with their divine selves on the Outer Planes. The physical incarnations of the Mulhorandi gods departed Faerun and left governance of the empire to mortal rulers under their guidance.