''The Avatar Series'', originally ''The Avatar Trilogy'', is a series of

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...

fantasy novels in the ''

Forgotten Realms ''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as ...

'' setting, covering the event known as the

Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles (russian: Смутное время, ), or Smuta (russian: Смута), was a period of political crisis during the Tsardom of Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Fyodor I (Fyodor Ivanovich, the last of the Rurik dy ...

. The books were: #'' Shadowdale'' by

Scott Ciencin Malcolm Scott Ciencin (September 1, 1962 – August 5, 2014) was an American author of adult and children's fiction. He co-authored several books with his wife Denise Ciencin. Biography Malcolm Scott Ciencin was born in 1962. He was a New ...

—originally under the

pen-name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

'Richard Awlinson' (April 1989) #''Tantras'' by Scott Ciencin—originally under the pen-name 'Richard Awlinson' (June 1989) #''Waterdeep'' by

Troy Denning Troy Denning is an American fantasy and science fiction author and game designer who has written more than two dozen novels. Background Denning grew up in the mountain town of Idaho Springs, Colorado. An avid reader of science fiction and fan ...

—originally under the pen-name 'Richard Awlinson' (August 1989) #''Prince of Lies'' by

James Lowder James Daniel Lowder (born January 2, 1963 in Quincy, Massachusetts) is an American author and editor, working regularly within the fantasy, dark fantasy, and horror genres, and on tabletop role-playing games and critical works exploring popula ...

(August 1993) #''Crucible: The Trial of Cyric the Mad'' by Troy Denning (February 1998)

Novels

The covers of the novels were painted by

Jeff Easley Jeff Easley (born 1954) is an oil painter who creates fantasy artwork for role-playing games, comics, and magazines, as well as non-fantasy commercial art. Early life Easley was born in Nicholasville, Kentucky in 1954. He spent time drawing as ...

(''Shadowdale''),

Clyde Caldwell Clyde Caldwell (born February 20, 1948) is an American artist. Self-described as a fantasy illustrator, he is best known for his portrayals of strong, sexy female characters. With his work at TSR in the 1980s, he is considered one of the arti ...

(''Tantras'' and ''Waterdeep''), Brom (''Prince of Lies''), and Alan Pollack (''Crucible''). The first three works center on the remaining members of the "Company of the Lynx" and the search for the Tablets of Fate, divine tablets that hold a listing of the Gods and their roles in the balance of Law and Chaos, during the Time of Troubles. The theft of these tablets was the actual cause of the Time of Troubles as all the gods with the exception of

Helm Helm may refer to: Common meanings * a ship's steering mechanism; see tiller and ship's wheel * another term for helmsman * an archaic term for a helmet, used as armor Arts and entertainment * Matt Helm, a character created by Donald Hamilton * ...

were cast to Toril and faiths and magic ran wild. The Company of the Lynx, as it was, consisted of Kelemvor Lyonsbane, Adon of Sune, Midnight (whose true name was Ariel Manx), and

Cyric ''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a ...

. The last two books in the series account for what occurred after the Tablets were returned to Ao, including the aftermath of the ascension of several Company members to godhood (Midnight took the mantle of Mystra, Kelemvor became god of the dead, and Cyric took several vile deities' portfolios and went mad).

Roleplaying modules

The original trilogy had its counterpart

AD&D In insurance, accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) is a policy that pays benefits to the beneficiary if the cause of death is an accident. This is a limited form of life insurance which is generally less expensive, or in some cases is an add ...

modules, even though these three adventures did not aim to be a precise retelling of the novels and could also be played individually instead of in sequence. These were written by

Ed Greenwood Ed Greenwood (born July 21, 1959) is a Canadian fantasy writer and the original creator of the ''Forgotten Realms'' game world. He began writing articles about the Forgotten Realms for '' Dragon'' magazine beginning in 1979, and subsequently sol ...

, the original creator of the

line. The published adventures were: # Shadowdale #

Tantras Tantras ("''doctrine''" or "''framework''" or "''system''" ) refers to numerous and varied scriptures pertaining to any of several esoteric traditions rooted in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. The religious culture of the Tantras is essentially ...

# Waterdeep The objective of this trilogy was to transition the Forgotten Realms scenario from the first to the second edition AD&D rules, much as the ''

Fate of Istus ''Fate of Istus'' is a multipart adventure for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' roleplaying game, taking place in the ''World of Greyhawk'' campaign setting. The module is designed for characters of any class or level, and was published as an in-game ve ...

'' adventure did with the

Greyhawk Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. Although not the first campaign world developed for ''Dungeons & Dragons''— Dave Arneso ...

campaign setting.Shannon Appelcline, Drive Thru RPG's "FRE1 Shadowdale (1e/2e)" http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16811/FRE1-Shadowdale-1e-2e?it=1 To accomplish this objective, the writing of the modules and novels was being done simultaneously, supposedly to allow their publication at the same time the core rules transitioned to the second edition. The final format of the three-part adventure would be more plot-driven than those of the previously traditional

dungeon crawling A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinth environment (a "dungeon"), battling various monsters, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and looting any treasure they may find. Video games a ...

modules but this would end up becoming more common in published material from here onwards.

References

American fantasy novels Forgotten Realms novel series {{ForgottenRealms-stub