Random assorted stuff about the Forgotten Realms setting: For fic and roleplaying needs, or whatever. Brief stuff about language, "I'm going to kill everyone in this party except Wyll, who actually greets me like he lives in this setting," religion, magic, time and the calendar and holidays

The proper name of the world is Abeir-Toril, which translates to "the cradle of life" in an unknown long extinct language. It's abbreviated to Toril in common use. Fourth Edition decided that the Realms to retcon Abeir-Toril into being two sister worlds, Abeir and Toril, locked in orbit but not always connected so that it could force the Dragonborn in. *grognard voice* Even though there were ways to do that without literally blowing up the setting...!

You say hello by saying "well met." It's the default phrase and it's used all the time, despite only Wyll using it, for some reason.

Common is a trade tongue, simplistic so that it can be easily learnt for it to be spoken widely and understood by pretty much everyone. It is not much use for expression or for discussing complicated topics. Most people cannot read common if you wrote it down.

The language spoken in Western Faerûn (including the Sword Coast) is Chondathan, which is something like a romance language in structure. It is not unsimilar to common, but is more complex.

The majority of Faerûnian languages (including common and Chondathan) are written in the Thorass script.

Waterdeep is part of the Sword Coast North - also just called the North, and both Chondathan and the Northern language Illuskan are spoken there. Gale might speak both. (Illuskan is basically a Germanic language.)

Toril's inhabitants are polytheistic. The people worship all the gods who are relevant to their life: You pray to Chauntea for a good harvest, to Tymora for luck, to Waukeen for financial success, to Umberlee for safe sea voyages, to gods like Shaundakul and Selûne for safe travel in general... Generally you pray to the good and neutral deities for protection and help, and the evil gods in order to pacify them so they won't capsize your ship or have their priests sacrifice you or something. Some religious individuals also favour and worship one god above the others, not all of whom are clerics. Most of them are still polytheists, even clerics, and it's unusual for somebody to devote themselves to a god at the exclusion of all others. Apparently gods keep an eye open for undedicated mortals whose behaviours and beliefs align with themselves and often try to sway those mortals into worshipping them through dreams and omens and such.

All magic comes from the Weave (Mystra is the middleman between a god and their priest in this regard) and all magic is the domain of the gods. A ranger or druid must worship a nature deity who they receive their spells from, as paladins and clerics must serve a deity. Arcane spellcasters are not required to worship, and Mystra would only be allowed to cut off a mage in response to literally Earth-levelling degrees of stupidity, but many worship her by choice for similar reasons.

Days are 24 hours long. The equivalent to a week is 10 days long, and referred to as a "tenday" or, less commonly, as a "ride." Most people do not own clocks or other means of telling the time, and nobody really tries to keep track of an hour, mostly getting by through keeping an eye on the sky/light levels, as well as the activity of the people around them, and using habit and intuition.

In human lands (that is to say, pretty much all of Faerûn) the Calendar of Harptos is used. Twelve months long, 30 days in a month. It does weird leap year stuff with an additional five festival days between months, with the celebration of Shieldmeet occurring once every four years. January = Hammer - Midwinter/Deadwinter Day Feburary = Alturiak March = Ches April = Tarsakh - Greengrass May = Mirtul June = Kythorn July = Flamerule - Midsummer -Shieldmeet (occurs once every four years) August = Eleasis September = Eleint -Highharvestide October = Marpenoth November = Uktar - Feast of the Moon December = Nightal

Midwinter: Traditionally a day for making or renewing alliances between the nobility, who celebrate it with parties. If you're a commoner and you live in the North there are no parties and you call it "Deadwinter Day" and it's a day to hope your food stores hold out and that you don't freeze this year.

Greengrass is a festival to welcome spring. Traditionally, the wealthy gift flowers to the commonfolk who wear them or offer them for the gods relevant to summer (Lathander, sun god of renewal, for example)

Midsummer is about music and feasting and also pretty much it's valentines day, with betrothals and new courtships and dancing. If the weather is bad on Midsummer then that's a bad omen.

Shieldmeet is the leap day on the calendar. Traditionally rulers are to open their council to the common folk and listen to their voices on this day. Competition and tournaments (including ones for spellcasters) are a common feature in the festivals.

Highharvestide is, as the name implies, the harvest festival as the crops are all pulled in for winter. It's also the day travellers who haven't already left wherever they're staying leave before winter sets in

The Feast of the Moon is a holiday for honouring the dead and your ancestors.