Realmspace, The Faerun Solar System- D&D Lore

Hey everybody I was digging around for video topics and realized I knew little to nothing about the celestial bodies that orbit the sun in Realmspace. Realmspace being the crystal sphere that housesToril, the Sun, and the moon. There are other heavenly bodies that are floating around in Realmspace. You’re probably wondering how I craft such an interesting video well… I PLANET! Cause of the planets… in the sky… Let’s dive in. 

Realmspace is the term to describe the solar system that Toril belongs to. On Toril, Realmspace was referred to as the sea of Night, and the Netherese referred to it as the Skyward Realms. Realmspace contains a Sun, eight Planets, and wild space which is the vacuum between planetoids. When spell jammer came around there was an idea that all D&D settings could be connected through that setting. I could fly a spell jammer ship from Torilleave Realmspace and visit Greyspace and the world of Greyhawk.  Realmspace is just like Aarakocra names, Kobold names, and Goliath names.

So little solar systems were created for each campaign setting housed in a crystal sphere, adventurers like yourself can move from the crystal sphere to a crystal sphere by navigating the Phlogiston that crystal spheres float in. Realmspace is about 6,400 million miles in diameter. From both the outside and the inside of Realmspaceits viewed as perfectly flat, a solid wall. This is confusing because we have three-dimensional space within the crystal sphere… but that’s what the game supplement said. 

Unique to Realmspace is the hundreds of millions of glyphs and wards that cover the inside of the Crystal Sphere. These words are miles tall and are illegible. These glyphs hold powerful defensive spells, and if one was able to read them would activate a spell much larger than average. A blade barrier that covers most of the solar system. Nobody knows who wrote them or where they came from, but most believe they were put there to protect the inhabitants of Realmspace. Toward off greedy visitors that might try to destroy the planets for resources. 

The flickering of pseudo-stars shine with their light, they’re actually portals that open to the quasi-elemental plane of Radiance. Giving the illusion of stars in the sky at night. In reality, the only star in Realmspace is the Sun. A spell jammer ship could travel through one of these quasi-elemental plane portals, but to travel into the plane of Radiance is suicide. Your ship would combust, metallics would melt within two rounds, and all living creatures would die instantly. It’s nearly impossible to accidentally travel into one of these portals, as the light and power can be felt before arriving in the quasi elemental plane. This next part gets weird. 

Only found in Realmspace there is a large group of humanoids that continually walk across the inside of the crystal sphere, chanting. All kinds of races are present, orcs, elves, humans, dwarves, etc. They walk side by side across the inside of the sphere in a north-south trajectory, all possessing the mark of Torm on their palms. There doesn’t appear to be a way to communicate with them or stop them from their journey. Legend says they are souls of individuals who died performing evil deeds. 

Coincidently it is these souls that make it possible for spell jammer ships to pass in and out of the crystal sphere. If these wanderers were to leave so would the ability to produce portals outside and inside of Realmspace. Let’s talk about the planetoids in Realmspace. First off there is the Sun. It’s a huge spherical body of fire that warms the solar system. Dotting the surface of the sun are hundreds of small openings to the elemental plane of Fire. From these portals certain fire elementals or fire loving creatures come to live on the sun. 

They have the ability to return to their native plane, but living on the Sun is nice and plenty stay there. No magical protections can allow someone from the Prime Material Plane to live here. Even the strongest items are overwhelmed in seconds. But perhaps in your game, someone’s figured out a way. I’m sure you could come up with a solar adventure. Perhaps reigniting the Sun by drilling into it, that’s an adventure I want to play in. The first planet is known as Anadia. 

It’s an amber and green planet and is populated the poles by Halflings, and around the equator by umber hulks. Much of the surface is canyons, and because of its closeness to the sun, it’s a very dry and unlivable planet. The Halflings here have darker skin and have lost their ability for dark vision. They’re a pretty advanced society with thirteen countries and laws that govern their people. The collar is next, it’s a spherical gas giant. Because of its proximity to the sun, the planet is quite warm, staying above 75 degrees at the poles and reaching as low as 40 during the winters. Within this gas planet float hundreds of earth and water islands. 

This planet is home to Aarakacra, and other avian forms of life. As well as lizardmen and dragons. Elminster has a hideout here, a globe near the center gravity pull of the planet. Toril is the 3rd planet from the sun and what else can I say. Humanoid races are most prevalent, and it’s the planet that is most like earth. For more information on Toril… watch the other 70+ videos I’ve made on Forgotten Realms Lore. Toril has a moon they call Selune (named after the goddess of the moon), which has a magical illusion on it to make it appear uninhabited and desolate. In fact, it is neither of those things and there are people on the moon, elves, and humans. So yeah take your party on a lunar vacation Selune. 

Kapri is next and is a planetoid of water. Aquatic elves, huge insects, and arctic predators live on Kapri. There are no islands or land to speak of, but there are ice sheets at the poles. Around the equator is a huge bed of floating seaweed, large and thick enough to support the weight. Enough in some spots to support a spell jamming ship landing on the planet. Chandos is another oceanic world, but its seas contain lumps of rock. Creating unstable islands where humans, dwarves, and orcs live. It’s been compared to a box of marbles filled with water. 

Rocks shift as the planet rotates making the inhabitants nomadic, due to caverns flooding and islands changing. The glyph is next, the sixth planet from the sun. A surface is a foul place, with fires, and a thick smoky atmosphere. Eighty percent of the planet is land, with twenty percent of it being a mysterious gelatinous water substance. Gylth has a ring that orbits the planet and three moons. The illithid have used Gylth as a place to farm their humanoid hosts and food. 

Deep underground is a resistance movement against the illithids call the Free Thinkers Union. They lead attacks against the illithids and their practices. Not a fun place to visit. I’d like to thank Dice Dungeons for sponsoring this video. They’re currently running a Kickstarter for their RPG Character Coins. One inch battle map grid sized coins that can be used as PCs, NPCs, or Monsters. They’re double-sided with a torn mage book or broken shield to show downed characters. 

Right now they’ve broken most of their stretch goals with more options opening up. If character coins aren’t your thing perhaps zombie, Skeleton, or two-inch Dragon coins are. Check them out today by clicking the link in the description. Garden is the 7th planetoid, and it’s not actually a planet. In reality, it’s a massive plant, that holds earthy masses together. Nonsentient life lives in Garden, but itis also homes to pirates. Also known as Yggdrasil’s Child most spell jamming ships that arrive here do so to replenish their air supply. Pirate dens hide deep within the rocky asteroids that make up the center of the planet. Finally, the last planet is called H’Catha. Haha? H – Catha? I’m not sure. 

It is the eighth and final planet from the sun in Realmspace. It’s a weird planet, and I guess I use the word planet loosely. It’s actually a flat piece of water 300miles thick with a mountain rising out from above. The water constantly drips off the side of the flat ocean and turns to mist. This mist then collects underneath the planet and becomes water again churning the ocean. As it revolves around the sun it looks a lot like a wagon wheel, with the large central mountain pointing to the sun. 

Beholders have taken over this world and killed its original inhabitants, their current fate is unknown. Now there are six ports for spell jammer ships to land each controlled by a different type of beholder. Because of their paranoia, only ships with items to trade or sell are allowed to land, and when business is done they have to quickly leave. Traveling to different worlds in Realmspacecould be an exciting adventure. There are some fun star trek scenarios one could play out with a spell jammer ship