The
Forgotten Realms have been around for ages. They were originally devised, as I recall, in the early
1970s by
Ed Greenwood, before
D&D appeared on the scene. It appeared in Ed's articles in
Dragon Magazine before
TSR obtained the rights and began publishing separate Realms products.
Steven E Schend,
Eric L Boyd and various other talented writers have helped make the Realms what they are.
Features of the Realms include:
Elminster and
Khelben, noted
archmages.
Drizzt Do'Urden, the renegade
drow ranger, and his
magical panther,
Guehwyvar.
Menzoberranzan, the fearsome drow city from which he fled.
The
City of
Waterdeep, home to
Khelben, as well as to numerous other famous characters.
The fallen city of
Myth Drannor, now infested with
demons and
undead.
Numerous
gates and
portals which allow those in the know to travel great distances at
speed.
Finder Wyvernspur, the
Nameless bard who slew
Moander and became a
god.
The city of
Baldur's Gate, home to the computer game of the same name, although, to be fair, it's a whole lot more interesting than the CRPG allows.
This is part of my idea to node AD&D worlds, and will be updated whenever I think of something good to put in.