Far Realm
Encyclopedia
The Far Realm is a plane
found in various settings in the Dungeons & Dragons
fantasy
role-playing game
.
The Far Realm and many of the creatures therein are influenced by the works of H. P. Lovecraft
. The Far Realm is particularly inspired by Lovecraft stories like "Through the Gates of the Silver Key."
The Gates of Firestorm Peak
(1996). The adventure featured creatures from the Far Realm appearing through a portal. Energies from the Far Realm were twisting the land around the portal as well. James Jacobs later described it as an "adventure with a distinctly Lovecraftian feel", noting that "Deep inside Firestorm Peak lies a portal to an insidious region beyond sanity and light known only as the Far Realm, and the unknowable but hostile entities of this hideous region prepare to pass through into the world."
In third edition, the Far Realm was incorporated into the Realm of Xoriat in the Eberron
campaign setting.
In Fourth Edition D&D members of the Warlock
class can forge a pact (called the Starpact) with the entities from or near the Far Realm in order to gain power.
The Far Realm is home to many powerful and unspeakable beings ripped from the nightmares of the darkest minds of the waking world. Beings so unfathomable that their very existence is a perversion of reality itself. These beings are governed by lords of unimaginable power and knowledge completely alien. The Far Realm is a plane far outside the others and often not included in the standard cosmology. It is sometimes referred to simply as "Outside", because in many cosmologies it is literally outside reality as mortals understand it.
, leading to the rise of the aboleth
and mind flayer empires. Natural humanoids tainted by the Far Realm are known as foulspawn. The Far Realm was originally sealed off from reality by a construction known as the Living Gate, which lay at the top of the Astral Sea. The Living Gate awoke and opened during the Dawn War between the gods and primordials, and was destroyed in the same war, thus allowing the Far Realm to break into to the D&D universe. Psionics are believed to have developed as a means to fight the Far Realm, in the same way that a body develops antibodies to fight an infection.
Gibberlings, gibbering mouther
s, kaorti
s, uvuudaum
s, grell
, wystes, foulspawn, and other aberrant creatures have their origins in the Far Realm.
Plane (Dungeons & Dragons)
The planes of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game constitutes the multiverse in which the game takes place.In the earliest versions of Dungeons & Dragons, the concept of the Inner, Ethereal, Prime Material, Astral and Outer Planes was introduced; at the time there were only four Inner Planes...
found in various settings in the Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
.
Creative origins
The Far Realm is a mix of horror, madness, and Lovecraftian geometries.The Far Realm and many of the creatures therein are influenced by the works of H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
. The Far Realm is particularly inspired by Lovecraft stories like "Through the Gates of the Silver Key."
Publication history
The Far Realm was introduced in the second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons adventure moduleAdventure (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, an adventure or module is a pre-packaged book or box set that helps the Dungeon Master manage the plot or story of a game...
The Gates of Firestorm Peak
The Gates of Firestorm Peak
The Gates of Firestorm Peak is an adventure module for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The book was published in 1996, and was written by Bruce Cordell, with cover art by Jeff Easley and interior art by Arnie Swekel.-Design:The Gates of Firestorm...
(1996). The adventure featured creatures from the Far Realm appearing through a portal. Energies from the Far Realm were twisting the land around the portal as well. James Jacobs later described it as an "adventure with a distinctly Lovecraftian feel", noting that "Deep inside Firestorm Peak lies a portal to an insidious region beyond sanity and light known only as the Far Realm, and the unknowable but hostile entities of this hideous region prepare to pass through into the world."
In third edition, the Far Realm was incorporated into the Realm of Xoriat in the Eberron
Eberron
Eberron is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, set in a period after a vast destructive war on the continent of Khorvaire...
campaign setting.
In Fourth Edition D&D members of the Warlock
Warlock (Dungeons & Dragons)
The warlock is a playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was introduced as a non-core base class in the supplemental book Complete Arcane for the 3.5 edition of Dungeons & Dragons...
class can forge a pact (called the Starpact) with the entities from or near the Far Realm in order to gain power.
Description
The Far Realm contains an infinite number of layers, these layers range from inches thick to miles, and it is often possible to perceive multiple layers simultaneously. These layers can grow, spawn further layers, breathe and possibly die.The Far Realm is home to many powerful and unspeakable beings ripped from the nightmares of the darkest minds of the waking world. Beings so unfathomable that their very existence is a perversion of reality itself. These beings are governed by lords of unimaginable power and knowledge completely alien. The Far Realm is a plane far outside the others and often not included in the standard cosmology. It is sometimes referred to simply as "Outside", because in many cosmologies it is literally outside reality as mortals understand it.
Fourth edition
An anomalous plane, the Far Realm is a bizarre, maddening plane. Creatures native to or connected with the Far Realm have the aberrant origin. Distant stars have been driven mad by proximity to the Far Realm, resulting in the abominations known as starspawn. The Far Realm also breaks into reality at various points in the UnderdarkUnderdark
The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in Dungeons & Dragons role-playing campaigns and Dungeons & Dragons-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore...
, leading to the rise of the aboleth
Aboleth
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, aboleths are a fictive race of malevolent, eel-like aberrations with potent psionic abilities...
and mind flayer empires. Natural humanoids tainted by the Far Realm are known as foulspawn. The Far Realm was originally sealed off from reality by a construction known as the Living Gate, which lay at the top of the Astral Sea. The Living Gate awoke and opened during the Dawn War between the gods and primordials, and was destroyed in the same war, thus allowing the Far Realm to break into to the D&D universe. Psionics are believed to have developed as a means to fight the Far Realm, in the same way that a body develops antibodies to fight an infection.
Inhabitants
Many of the Far Realm's inhabitants are too vast and inchoate to even notice visitors to their domain. Others take an interest in mortals, communicating with them through the veil between realms and sponsoring magic-users called alienists.Gibberlings, gibbering mouther
Gibbering mouther
In the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game, a gibbering mouther is a horrific aberration which feeds on the bodily fluids and "sanity" of its victims...
s, kaorti
Kaorti
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the kaorti is a type of fictional monster for player characters to encounter.-Publication history:...
s, uvuudaum
Uvuudaum
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the uvuudaum is a type of fictional monster for player characters to encounter.-Publication history:The uvuudaum appeared in the third edition in the Epic Level Handbook ....
s, grell
Grell
-Names:* Glen Grell, Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives* Mervyn Grell , Trinidadian cricketer* Mike Grell , American comic book writer and artist* Miranda Grell -Names:* Glen Grell, Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives* Mervyn Grell (1899-1976),...
, wystes, foulspawn, and other aberrant creatures have their origins in the Far Realm.