Page 17 - D&D - Player's Handbook

celebrations varying based on local traditions and popu- THE CALENDAR OF HARPTOS
lar faiths.
Month Name Common Name
Midwinter. The' first festival day of the year is known
l Hammer Deepwinter
generally as Midwinter, though some people name it
Annual Holiday: Midwinter
differently. Nobles and monarchs of the Heartlands look
2 Alturiak The Claw of Winter
to the High Festival of Winter as a day to commemo-
rate or renew alliances. Commoners in the North, the 3 Ches The Claw of Sunsets
Moonsea, and other, colder climes celebrate Deadwinter 4 Tarsahk The Claw of Storms
Day as a marking of the midpoint of the cold season, Annual Holiday: Greengrass
with hard times still ahead, but some of the worst 5 Mirtul The Melting
days now past. 6 Kythorn The Time of Flowers
Greengrass. The traditional beginning of spring, 7 Flamerule Summertide
Greengrass is celebrated by the display of freshly cut Annual Holiday: Midsummer
flowers (grown in special hothouses wherever the cli-
Quadrennial Holiday: Shieldmeet
mate doesn't permit flowers so early) that are given as
8 Eleasis Highsun
gifts to the gods or spread among the fields in hopes of a
9 Elient The Fading
bountiful and speedy growing season.
Annual Holiday: Highharvestide
Midsummer. The midpoint of summer is a day of
feasting, carousing, betrothals, and basking in the 10 Marpenoth Leaffall
pleasant weather. Storms on Midsummer night are seen 11 Uktar The Rotting
as bad omens and signs of ill fortune, and sometimes Annual Holiday: The Feast of the Moon
interpreted as divine disapproval of the romances or 12 Nightal The Drawing Down
marriages sparked by the day's events.
Shieldmeet. The great holiday of the Calendar of
by cataclysm, while in others the shift went without no-
Harptos, Shieldmeet occurs once every four years
tice. Astronomers and navigators who closely watched
immediately after Midsummer. It is a day for plain
the stars couldn't fail to see that there were nights
speaking and open council between rulers and their
when they seemed to hang in the sky. The winter of
subjects, for the renewal of pacts and contracts, and for
1487- 1488 lasted longer than normal. It was then noted
treaty making between peoples. Many tournaments and
that the solstices and equinoxes had somehow shifted,
contests of skill are held on Shieldmeet, and most faiths
beginning with the spring equinox falling on Green-
mark the holiday by emphasizing one of their key tenets.
grass of 1488 DR. The seasons followed suit, with each
The next Shieldmeet will be observed in 1492 DR.
starting later and ending later.
Highharvestide. A day of feasting and thanks, High-
This shift in seasons has caused some sages, and the
harvestide marks the fall harvest. Most humans give
priests of Chauntea, to consider changing the marking
thanks to Chauntea on this day for a plentiful bounty be-
of some of the annual feast days, but most folk counsel
fore winter approaches. Many who make their living by
patience, believing that the seasons will fall back to their
traveling road or sea set out immediately following the
previous cycle over the coming years.
holiday, before winter comes on in full force and blocks
mountain passes and harbors.
The Feast of the Moon. As nights lengthen and A BRIEF HISTORY
winter winds begin to approach, the Feast of the Moon The known history of the Sword Coast region spans
is the time when people celebrate their ancestors and thousands of years, extending back into the misty ep-
their honored dead. During festivals on this day, people ochs of the creator races and the ages of the first nations
gather to share stories and legends, offer prayers for the of the elves and dwarves. Comparatively recent history
fallen, and prepare for the coming cold. is the story of the rise and deeds of humans and other
younger races.
KEEPING TIME FROM DAY TO DAY Much of what follows in this section is known mainly
Most people don't keep track of the time of day beyond by sages, some of whom have been alive for the last few
notions such as "mid-morning" or "nigh sunset." If peo- centuries of Faerfm's history. The common folk across
ple plan to meet at a particular time, they tend to base the continent have little knowledge of, and little use for,
their arrangements around such expressions. events that have transpired far away in time and space.
The concept of hours and minutes exists mainly News does travel, of course, so even people who live in a
where wealthy people use clocks, but mechanical clocks village along the Sword Coast might get wind of happen-
are often unreliable, and rarely are two set to the same ings in distant lands.
time. If a local temple or civic structure has a clock that
tolls out the passing of the hours, people refer to hours THE DAYS OF THUNDER
as "bells," as in "I'll meet you at seven bells." Tens of thousands of years ago, empires of reptilian,
amphibian, and avian peoples- known in Elvish as
THE SHIFTING OF THE SEASONS Jqua'Tel'Quessir, the creator races- dominated the
The worlds of Abeir and Tori! drifted apart in 1487 and world. They built great cities of stone and glass, carved
1488 DR. In some places this change was accompanied paths through the wilderness, tamed the great lizards,
worked mighty magics, shaped the world around them,

-~~--~~~"""'"' ____________________________ ,..._
CHAPTER I I WELCOME TO THE REALMS