Campaign Concept

## Welcome to the Primal Reality

*What if...?*

This campaign recasts the beloved Forgotten Realms into a new reality. For more than five decades, Faerûn has been evolving and growing, tweaked for each edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Like the game itself, the setting of Abeir-Toril has been curated and sculpted to ensure a stable Late Medieval Period equivalent, with some areas edging into a magically-touched Renaissance.

The depth and complexity – the colorful characters and cultural flavors that populate this planet – have made it a study of earth once removed. In that respect, it lends itself as a laboratory. Hold that thought as we follow the Wizards of the Coast as they retcon the Realms to its latest iteration, where they smite the lands with the Time of Troubles, the Era of Upheaval and the Spellplague.

*What if these cataclysms cracked the shackles...?*

## The Forgotten Realms... *Remembered*

Surviving a triple apocalypse is an epic feat. Thriving in a triple apocalypse is legendary.

The Primal Magic campaign is built on an alt-history of the Realms. In this version of reality, we're sprinkling in three epic eras from the Earth's history as natural reactions to those cataclysms. Imagine the *Troubles*, the *Upheaval* and the *Spellplague* have sparked Toril's own Scientific Revolution, Age of Enlightenment, and a magically-enhanced Industrial Revolution.

After 20,000 years at roughly the same level of development, though, old habits die hard. It took the hammer of a nearby endless infestation of trolls, the anvil of a godlike Lich, the heat of constant undead and the bellows of warfare between aspiring kingdoms to spark those Earth-sourced revelations.

Ground Zero is the Stonehearth Marquisate – a sovereignty on the cusp of proclaiming itself a kingdom. Its roots are in Baldur's Gate and its heritage was influenced by the arms of Cormyr and the sages of Candlekeep. The House became the epicenter, rising to the challenge of that terrible turbulence.

Just out of reach, but not out of sight, is a shift in the very foundations of metaphysical cosmology. As the gods go quiet after the shakeup in divine portfolios, Toril stands on the precipice of a magically-fueled Protestant Reformation. The lands are already aligning behind the prophets of their respective deities, preparing to tear each other apart, unaware of the unspeakable threat of the aberrations of the Far Realm.

The Realms' Present Age is about to meet our Modern Age. *This* is the Primal Reality.

## Waypoints

Where to from here? Here are a few critical Points of Interest as you map out your journey...

#### **Welcome to Stonehearth**

* This no-spoiler starting point is suitable for **everybody**, giving an overview of the Sword Coast epicenter.

#### **The Hall of Records**

* The **Hall** tours this reality's divergent history. A must for DMs and suggested for players who'll have educated (or at least city-dwelling) characters.

#### **Building Character**

* This is the **essential guide** for character creation or import, including the player-side house rules for Primal Magic. There is ample opportunity for Session Zero role-play.

#### **The Campaign Trail**

* This is the resource section for DM/GMs, detailing the mechanics of the **house rules** as well as the **modular scenarios**.