Magic, the Spellplague, and Artifice

In 1385, the Spellplague struck Toril, rending the Weave and reducing the world's arcane spellcasters to uselessness or worse. Details can be found in earlier historical articles, but the aftermath is as follows:

Balance of Power

The Weave was not the only way to use magic--merely the most popular. Those who practiced the older arts of Thaumaturgy and Invocation were largely unaffected, and said arts have since become more popular and accepted.

Similarly, those who invoke the powers of the elements, or those of gods, find their powers continue to work just fine, as long as they remain in the presence of their benefactor. Druids and shamans find this easy, but priests must contend with the new reality that gods live on the earth, and are only present in specific areas. However, this does not seem to be universal--some planar entities capable of granting power still exist, and purport to be "true" gods, although it is possible they are something else, as the method of gaining their power seems quite similar to other planar invocations such as that of the Feywild or the Inferno.

The largest majority of spellcasters before the Spellplague were none of the above, and though many perished, others adapted. Most of them have turned to Artifice, a new art that harnesses the power of the arcane through scientific study and specially-designed devices. This art is most similar to what the wizards of old practiced in any case. There remain several major schools of Artifice, each with different philosophies and approaches, some of whom deny that any "spellcasting" is taking place.

Artifice Schools:

School	Leader	Traits
Eastern	Raynar Thrul	Most wizardy
Imaskari	Keket	Most real sciency
Ashanath	Aurora	?
Waterdeep	Penny	Least magicky
Cormyr	Eldritch Knights	Most militarized

Major Magical Organizations

In Cormyr, the War Wizards are no more. The Eldritch Knights have risen and serve the king with their command of Artifice.

In Thay, the Red Wizards had already been swept away by Empress Zahl, but wizardry remained a major study in the realm until the Spellplague. These days, Artifice dominates, under the Eastern School led by Raynar Thrul.

The Chosen of Mystra are not common sights in the world, despite their powers having never faded:

Elminster and the Simbul disappeared from the world decades ago
Blackstaff spent years "dead" before reappearing in 1385. He and the Harpers tried nobly to prevent the Eldreth Veluuthra from bringing their fey patron into the world, but failed. He and Laeral have not been seen since, but presumably are still alive.
Qilue perished in a grand battle for Skullport which saw the liberation of the Iron Ring's slaves worldwide. The city is no longer protected by a mythallar and is mostly depopulated (although some say they see a ghostly dancing dark elf when the moonlight creeps into the cavern)
Alustriel is in quiet retirement in the Silver Marches, still occasionally offering counsel to its new leaders.
Dove remains active in Myth Drannor, as does Storm (and Sylune's ghost).

The Magister remains at Ashanath, teaching Thaumaturgy, Invocation, and Artifice to all comers.

Mythals and Mythallars

Most of the world's mythals survived the Spellplague initially, though subsequent conflict has brought their continuance into question. The Eldreth Veluuthra and the Eldar of the High Forest are battling to control the world's remaining mythals, presumably to harness their power for nefarious ends.

In hand:

Myth Glaurach (Hellgate Keep)

In contest:

Myth Dyraalis, Forest of Mir -- contested by the Church of Shar?
Myth Nantar, Sea of Fallen Stars -- contested as crown property of Jhaamdath
Myth Rhynn, Forest of Tethir -- contested by the Necropolis
Myth Unnohyr, location ?

Rejected:

Evereska (corrupted)
Myth Drannor (already drained; officially considered corrupted)

As for the mythallars--very few survived the fall of Netheril. One of the only ones known to persist was in Skullport, though it was drained of its power recently in order to power an epic spell that destroyed the Iron Ring.

The elven high mage Suryn knows the secret of crafting Mythallars in new forms. She wields a longsword which is, in fact, a portable mythallar. Amongst the components used to create it was the former mythal of Myth Drannor.

Planes and Worlds

Cosmology itself was affected by the Spellplague. No planes were ripped from the heavens, but parallel realities converged. Long ago, an elven high magic ritual split Toril into two worlds, one an image of the world at its forging some 12,000 years ago, the other the familiar Toril of yesteryear. In 1385, these worlds crashed together. A few thousand years does not change the landscape much, so the geographic changes were not too disruptive to the natural world. Some old forests long since hewn down have reappeared, some rivers and waterways have changed course, etc. Nature adapted quickly to these changes.

However, the civilized world was not let off so easily. The reunion of the worlds was generally non-destructive--trees and rocks did not "phase" into people's bodies or anything like that--but the nature of Toril's twin world spared not a care for cities, roads, castles, and the like. In many cases, towns have been rapidly re-forested, cities inundated by suddenly-appearing rivers...in a few unfortunate cases, the earth moved beneath settlements, with predictable results.

Several major population centers were unaffected, thanks to patronage of gods or extremely powerful spellcasters who intervened, such as (to name a few):

Waterdeep (thanks to Lathander)
Athkatla (thanks to Waukeen)
Eltabbar (thanks to Ashella Milsimmar)
Arabel (thanks to Sune)

etc

Gods Among Us

It is not known why, but since the Spellplague, the gods of Faerun have dwelt on the surface, in the flesh. Within a radius based on their relative power (for greater gods, many miles; a demigod might be closer to visual range), they retain their godlike powers, including the ability to grant spells to worshippers. Outside this range, their power fades, eventually to near-nothing.

Many gods have settled into semipermanent homes, often corresponding to their greatest temples and centers of worship. Nothing is forcing them to stay there--they can move as they please, but most seem to want to centralize their power and worship.

God	Location
Bane	Itinerant
Gond	Lantan
Lathander	Waterdeep
Lurue	Itinerant (often Myth Drannor)
Mielikki	Wherever Lurue is
Mask	Westgate
Sune	Arabel
Tyr	Itinerant
Tempus	Ruathym
Torm	Tantras
Tymora	???
Waukeen	Athkatla

Notably absent:

Mystra (dead)
Selune
Shar
Helm

The Mulhorandi/Untheric/Olympian pantheons were revealed to be disembodied aliens bonded with mortal hosts in ancient Imaskar--banished and dissolved millennia ago, then becoming mythologized. Not everyone accepts this explanation, of course, but they aren't exactly granting spells these days...except, of course, for Osiris and Isis.

Demihuman Deities

Curiously, the demihuman pantheons remain unaffected by this change. This may have a single, universal explanation, but their situation is complex enough that they should be considered separately.

The Elven Pantheon was revealed (though not universally) to have been creations of the Vyshaantar Empire, albeit given lives of their own through the power of worship. Most of them have a literal, physical embodiment who dwelt in Toril's sister world--meaning now, all of said would reside on Toril itself. Some of them may be inside moonblades, others may have assumed identities. It is not known where any of them reside, in truth. However, the pantheon still makes their power known in sacred places, as well as in the person of their chosen: Lady Leuthil.

The Dwarven Pantheon remains present through their sacred places, especially the Soulforge.

The Drow Pantheon...well, they're pretty much all dead. Vhaeraun left the solar system with the tattered remains of his divinity. Lolth survives as a demon-seed carried by the The Magister. Eilistraee is part of the Elven pantheon these days. Ghaunadar has been revealed to be a Primordial. He is very much alive, and dwells in the Underdark.

Wild Gods and Primordials

The "civilized" gods are not the only ones who have returned to the surface.

The surviving Elemental Lords:

Kaliya: resident in the Temple of the Flame in Bezantur
Imuen: resides in Lake Ashane
Malar: itinerant--of late, terrorizing the Cold Wood and the Sword Coast North
Dendar the Night Serpent: unknown
Kezef the Chaos Hound: unknown
Other unknowns: Maram, Morgana, Ubtao, Vexas

The primordials (Akadi, Grumbar, Istishia, Kossuth, Umberlee) have arguably always dwelt within the world itself, though not many encounter them and live to tell the tale.

Nations and Peoples

The Unapproachable East

The Empire of Thay remains large and powerful. Empress Anastasia still rules, and her eldest daughter, 14-year old Zehra, is her ordained successor. Anastasia's marriage to Sceptenar Tchazzar and Pharaoh Keket helps to keep the East peaceful, but few can ignore the potential for conflicts of immense scale should those personal bonds ever break. Much bad blood still exists between the realms, and all three spread themselves quite far before the Spellplague, relying on their magical might to aid in governing such vast empires. Zehra seems to be as warlike as her father, and seems to relish any opportunity to prove her might--suggesting that long-lasting peace might not suit her.

Mulhorand is on top of the world. After years of uncertainty, with the 4,000 year old succession in crisis, Pharaoh Keket found a suitable mate: the god Osiris himself. She has not abdicated, but Osiris sits in Skuld and handles the majority of day-to-day affairs--and the old guard couldn't be happier. It is well known that she contributes in other ways, as the realm's rapid modernization has been guided by her hand from the start. Slavery is being eradicated, education is spreading to all, and the economy has never been stronger, as Mulhorand cements itself as the connection between Faerun and the Far East. Of course, the priesthood still despises Keket; her reforms have removed them from the topmost echelon of power and privilege, and threaten to negate their very existence. As such, they have some very serious plans to rectify the situation, and they're willing to sacrifice anything to get their power back.

Tchazzar's empire-in-all-but-name is thriving, thanks to his endless conquests. The formula is simple: gather an army, go to the next city-state, beat their army, install a governor, recruit more soldiers, repeat. All of Chessenta has been unified in this manner since before the Spellplague, and, having avoided a conflict with Thay or other Inner Sea nations, the Sceptenar has instead turned south and west. His armies now threaten easternmost Calimshan, and are exploring the lands beyond Sespech. One wonders if he will weep when there are no more lands to conquer, or if he will simply turn north and east.

Persona Vitae

Who	Where	Age	Status
Keket	Aglarond/Mulhorand	47	Exploring Imaskari ruins, managing the growth of Mulhorand, occasionally saving the world
Anastasia	Thay	36	Reigning Empress of Thay
Raithen Nightsong	Myth Drannor	elf	Teaching bladesong/shamanism, occasional hero stuff, Leuthil's fuckboi
Aurora Phaundal	Ashanath	elf	Being the Magister, running a school, scheming
Cassandra Forgecrown	Impiltur	44	One-woman army, last hope of the realm, fighting demons/etc
Briar Rose (OG)	Arabel	74	High Priestess of Sune, provides services to her goddess, in the flesh
Briar Rose (alt)	Veldanthiir	??	Has become some sort of Underdark fungus god (the new Nentyarch)
Jewel	Cormyr?	40s?	Fought Alusair to get her son back, now she's maybe a pirate lord or something
Shade	??	elf	Trying to stop the Sixth Crown War
Lorien	The Great Dale	elf	Trying to hold the Circle of Leth together by herself -- dealing with wild gods and the Son of Death
Kyria Lothandrien	Menzobarranzan	elf	Trying to found some sort of democratic republic in the remains of Menzobarranzan
Alisannara	??	elf	Convinced that Araushnee is going to destroy the world; trying to find Lolth's demon seed
Amalia Icewhisper	Moonsea	elf	??
Desdemona	Chessenta	35	Campaigning with Tchazzar, occasionally hero missions for Yaphyll
Yaphyll	Space	??	Running the Covenant, trying to stop the Unseen Enemies
Leuthil	Myth Drannor	elf	Chosen of the Seldarine, preferred Queen of the Elves by moon/star elves, eidolon of Kirilar
Raynar	Eltabbar	38	Running the School of Artifice, secretly running The Initiative
Penny	Waterdeep	35	Running a mega-corp that is rapidly transforming Waterdeep into a Steampunk megacity
Zahl	??	66/32	Was previously planning on seizing control of the Great Seal of Thay, now ???
Rylaun	Veldanthiir	elf	??
Szoth	Veldanthiir	elf	??
Mezzrym	Wherever Aurora is	elf	Mayhem