The world of Toril convulses as the damage wrought by the Spellplague is finally undone. Gods long thought dead return, new deities arise, and the very geography of Faerûn shifts as lands lost for a century reappear. Amid earthquakes, planar rifts, and divine upheaval, mortal heroes find themselves caught between the machinations of returning gods and the desperate struggles of those who built their power during the plague years. The Realms stand at a crossroads — and your party must help decide which path they take.
Story Arcs
The Trembling World
Earthquakes, storms, and planar rifts herald something massive. Lost lands begin to reappear and long-dead gods stir. The party investigates the signs and discovers the Sundering has begun.
The Returned
Gods thought destroyed during the Spellplague return to claim their old domains. Their mortal followers clash with those who rose to power in their absence. The party must navigate shifting allegiances.
The Chosen
The gods empower mortal Chosen to act as their agents in the Sundering. Some Chosen seek to heal, others to conquer. The party discovers they may be Chosen themselves — or must stop those who are.
A World Reborn
The Sundering reaches its climax as reality itself is reshaped. The party must ensure the world that emerges from the upheaval is one worth living in, confronting a final threat that could corrupt the entire process.
Session Outlines
These outlines are for planning reference only. Actual sessions are not created by the template.
Cracks in the World
The party is in a coastal city when a massive earthquake strikes. As they help with rescue efforts, they witness impossible phenomena — a section of coastline that vanished during the Spellplague suddenly reappears, complete with confused inhabitants who think only moments have passed. A planar rift opens briefly, releasing extraplanar creatures.
The Prophet's Warning
A wild-eyed prophet approaches the party, claiming the gods are waking. She shows them a map of ley line convergences where the Sundering is most active. The first convergence point is a day's travel away, in ruins that were buried during the Spellplague. Travel encounters with displaced creatures and unstable terrain.
The Ley Line Nexus
The party explores the ley line convergence and discovers an ancient temple emerging from the earth. Inside, divine energy pulses through the walls and a dormant avatar begins to stir. They must decide whether to help it awaken or contain it. A faction of Spellplague-era wizards arrives to stop the awakening.
The Returning God
A deity returns to their former temple to find it occupied by a newer god's followers. The resulting confrontation threatens to destroy the entire city. The party must mediate, evacuate civilians, or choose a side as divine servants clash in the streets.
Old Faithful vs. New Order
The party visits a major city where the political structure is collapsing. The old noble families who served the returned god demand their ancestral rights back from the merchant guilds who rose during the plague years. Both sides seek the party's support. A secret meeting reveals a plot to assassinate the returned god's high priest.
The Lost Land
An entire region reappears — a kingdom frozen in time for a century. Its people are confused and hostile, their medieval army clashing with modern settlements that were built on their "empty" land. The party must prevent a war between past and present while dealing with plague-touched monsters drawn to the temporal disturbance.
Touched by Divinity
The party encounters a Chosen — a mortal empowered by a god with a fragment of divine power. This Chosen is gathering an army to "cleanse" the Spellplague remnants, but their methods are brutal. A second Chosen, more moderate, asks the party for help opposing the first.
The Mark of the Chosen
One or more party members receive the mark of a god, becoming Chosen themselves. This grants power but also obligations. Other Chosen see them as allies or threats. The party must complete a divine trial to prove their worthiness and learn to control their new abilities.
The Corruption Below
The party discovers that an entity is manipulating the Sundering for its own purposes, seeding corruption into the ley line convergences. If unchecked, the world that emerges will be twisted and wrong. They trace the corruption to an underground stronghold of a dark cult.
The Gathering Storm
All signs point to a final convergence where the Sundering will reach its peak. The party must rally allies — returned gods, moderate Chosen, mortal armies — for a final stand. Each potential ally has conditions that must be met. Meanwhile, the corruption spreads faster.
The Battle of the Convergence
Forces of corruption assault the convergence point while the party and their allies defend it. A massive battle with multiple fronts, where the party must split up to handle different threats. Key NPCs may fall, and sacrifices must be made.
The World Reborn
The party enters the heart of the convergence to confront the corrupting entity and perform the ritual that will complete the Sundering. Inside, reality is fluid — they experience visions of possible futures based on their choices. The final battle determines the nature of the reborn Faerûn.
NPCs
Seer Yashira
Human · Prophet of the Sundering
A former plague-touched beggar who gained prophetic visions when the Sundering began. She sees fragments of possible futures and ley line convergences. Erratic and intense, she alternates between cryptic warnings and moments of startling clarity. Her predictions have been unfailingly accurate.
Lord Castellan Matthias Borne
Human · Ruler of the Reborn Kingdom
The king of a realm that vanished during the Spellplague and has now returned. To him, only moments have passed since the plague struck. He is confused, angry, and desperate to protect his people from a world that moved on without them. Honorable but inflexible.
Archon Thessaly
Aasimar · Moderate Chosen
A Chosen of a goddess of knowledge who seeks to guide the Sundering toward the best possible outcome. Scholarly and measured, she provides the party with research and divine insight. Her weakness is her belief that knowledge can solve everything — she hesitates to act when swift action is needed.
Warlord Kethren Stormcaller
Goliath · Militant Chosen
A Chosen of a god of storms who believes the Sundering requires a strong hand. He gathers an army to "cleanse" the world of Spellplague remnants, but his definition of remnants includes anyone who gained power during the plague years. Powerful, charismatic, and dangerously convinced of his righteousness.
Guildmaster Rosalind Vex
Half-Elf · Leader of the Merchant Consortium
Built a trading empire during the Spellplague by controlling routes through safe corridors. She stands to lose everything if the old order is restored and fights to maintain the new power structures. Cunning, resourceful, and willing to fund the party if their goals align with hers.
Father Aldenmere
Dwarf · High Priest of a Returned God
Kept the faith alive through a century of silence and now weeps with joy at his god's return. However, he struggles with the returning deity's new attitudes — a century of death and rebirth has changed even gods. Represents the tension between old faith and new reality.
The Whispering Dark
Unknown · Corrupting Entity
The campaign's ultimate antagonist — an entity from the Far Realm that seeped into the Material Plane through cracks left by the Spellplague. It seeks to corrupt the Sundering to merge the Far Realm with Faerûn. Communicates through whispers, nightmares, and corrupted Chosen.
Captain Zara Steelwind
Human · Mercenary Captain
Commands a company of experienced soldiers-for-hire. Pragmatic and loyal to whoever pays, but has a personal code of honor. The party can hire her company for key battles. She has fought plague-changed creatures for years and knows their weaknesses.
Locations
Nevarra — The Reborn City
A coastal city serving as the campaign's hub. Half modern settlement, half newly-reappeared ancient quarter. The two halves clash architecturally and culturally, with modern buildings abutting medieval towers that appeared overnight. A massive ley line convergence runs directly beneath the city.
The Risen Kingdom
An entire feudal realm that vanished during the Spellplague and has now returned, occupying the same space as settlements built during its absence. Its medieval army clashes with modern inhabitants, and its people cannot understand why the world changed around them.
The Scar Wastes
The last major plagueland, still crackling with wild magic. As the Sundering progresses, the wastes are shrinking — but the concentrated plague energy makes the remaining area more dangerous than ever. Plague-touched creatures gather here as their habitat shrinks.
The Stormcaller's Fortress
Warlord Kethren's stronghold, built on a mountain peak permanently wreathed in lightning. His army camps on the slopes, and war drums echo across the valleys. A direct assault would be suicidal — subterfuge or negotiation is required.
The Corruption Depths
A network of caverns beneath the largest ley line convergence, where the Whispering Dark has established its presence. The walls pulse with alien bioluminescence, reality bends in nauseating ways, and the whispers grow louder the deeper one goes. The entity's physical anchor in the Material Plane lies at the deepest point.
The Nexus of Convergence
The point where all major ley lines intersect. During the Sundering's climax, this area becomes a maelstrom of divine and arcane energy. The landscape shifts between possible futures — lush paradise, blasted wasteland, alien nightmare — as reality itself remains undecided.
Quests
Bridge the Temporal Divide
The people of the reappeared kingdom and the modern inhabitants must find a way to coexist. Negotiate a peace agreement, establish shared governance, and prevent the Lord Castellan from declaring war on "invaders" who have lived there for decades.
The Militant Chosen
Warlord Kethren's cleansing campaign threatens innocents who gained spellscars through no fault of their own. Stop him through negotiation, subterfuge, or force — but remember, he is a Chosen of a god, and divine politics complicate everything.
Purge the Corruption
The Whispering Dark's influence spreads through the ley lines. Trace its tendrils to their source, cleanse the corrupted convergence points, and prepare for a final confrontation in the depths.
The Divine Trial
As potential Chosen, the party must prove their worthiness through a divine trial. Each god tests differently — combat prowess, wisdom, compassion, or sacrifice. Completing the trial grants divine gifts but also divine obligations.
Rally the Allies
The final confrontation requires allies from every faction. Convince returned gods, moderate Chosen, mortal armies, and even former enemies to unite against the Whispering Dark. Each ally has conditions that must be met.
Encounters
Rift Creatures
Extraplanar creatures pour through a tear in reality. They are confused and aggressive, attacking anything in sight. The rift must be closed before more arrive.
The Risen Guard
Soldiers from the reappeared kingdom, believing the party to be invaders on their sovereign land. They fight with disciplined medieval tactics and can potentially be reasoned with.
Stormcaller's Vanguard
Warlord Kethren's advance force, empowered by divine storm magic. Lightning crackles along their weapons and thunder accompanies their charges.
Plague Remnants
As the Scar Wastes shrink, the most powerful plague-changed creatures are forced into settled areas. These are the apex predators of a dying ecosystem, desperate and extremely dangerous.
The Whispering Dark's Servants
Creatures corrupted by Far Realm energy that serve the entity beneath the convergence. Their forms are wrong — too many limbs, impossible geometries, movements that hurt to watch.
Factions
The Returned Faithful
Lawful Good
Followers of gods who have returned from the Spellplague era. They seek to restore the old religious order and reclaim temples, lands, and influence lost during the century of silence. Range from peacefully devout to militantly zealous.
The New Order
True Neutral
Merchants, guilds, and leaders who built their power during the Spellplague. They resist the return of the old order, which would strip them of wealth and status. Pragmatic and well-funded, they use economic pressure and political maneuvering to maintain their position.
The Chosen of the Storm
Lawful Neutral
Warlord Kethren's army of divine-empowered warriors who seek to violently purge all Spellplague remnants. They see themselves as holy warriors on a divine mission and cannot be reasoned with easily.
The Far Realm Cult
Chaotic Evil
Mortals corrupted by the Whispering Dark who work to spread its influence through the ley lines. They operate in secret, infiltrating every faction, and some do not even know they are being controlled. Their goal is to corrupt the Sundering and merge the Far Realm with Faerûn.
Recommended Characters
Pre-built characters designed for this campaign setting. Create them separately from the character templates page.
Thessa Northwind
Human · Ranger · Level 3
A seasoned Sword Coast scout and ranger who has watched the world tear itself apart during the Second Sundering. Thessa navigates the chaos with practical skill and grim humor, tracking threats both natural and divine across the changing landscape.
Caelum Brightborn
Aasimar · Cleric · Level 3
An aasimar cleric chosen by Lathander, the Morninglord, to herald the dawn of a new age during the Second Sundering. Caelum's celestial heritage burns brighter as the gods reclaim their Chosen, and he must decide what it truly means to be a divine instrument.
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