Shadowdale

by Richard Awlinson
First Pubished in June 1989
Part of the Avatar Series
Takes place in 1358 DR

Banished from the heavens, they now roam the world, from Tantras to far-off Waterdeep, seeking to regain their full powers.
Malevolent Bane, power-hungry Mystra, and Helm, guardian of the heavens, all know the lost Tablets of Fate are the key.

Possessing a mysterious amulet, four heroes, desperate to escape the dark elements of their past, find themselves drawn into this high-level power struggle, sought after by the fallen deities and their minions.

But time is running out for the heroes - and the Realms. Caught in the crossfire, nature itself revolts: strange, deadly creatures stalk the land, and even magic becomes unpredictable. The heroes must find the sage Elminster, the only mortal who may know the secrets of the tables.

And the search begins in Shadowdale.

Review

The gods of Faerun have been cast from the planes to Faerun and must fend for themselves in the bodies of avatars. Punished for the theft of the tablets of fate, lord Ao the high god has banished them. Now the chief of the evil gods, Bane, hatches his nefarious plans upon the world. Standing in his way are a somewhat randomly chosen group of characters: The warrior Kelevmor who harbors a dark secret, the thief Cyric who grew up on the tough streets of Zhentil keep, the charming but vane cleric Adon, and finally highly skilled but somewhat trampy mage named Midnight.

The good…the main characters in this novel are well developed. Each has their own back story and individual traits. They don’t seem too wooden and their reactions to situations don’t seem overly contrived. The bad…pretty much everything else.

For starters, you need to have read the D&D players manual to understand a lot of what’s going on. For instance, quite often magic spells are cast in the story, but they are named rather than described. What the hell is “Bigby's Crushing Hand”? I don’t want have to go looking up references every few pages.

The sheer number of characters is also a problem. It rivals Ed Greenwood’s “Spellfire” when it comes to the ridiculous number of dropped names. I counted seventy-seven in this one. Granted “Shadowdale” was a bit better at separating the minor from major characters. However, I still don’t feel like I need to know the name and description of every soldier, delivery boy, or temple priest the protagonists encounter.

There are also some significant narrative problems. The description of events is sometimes poor, and sometimes even absent. There are a couple of instances where the reader is late for the conversation. The scene opens with the main characters talking about something, but the reader has been left out of the loop…very poor style.

Perhaps most annoying though is the cry-baby antagonist. Bane is way too emotional. He keeps coming off like the Satan character in Southpark. It's bad when the arch villain bursts into tears...multiple times. It's difficult to see him as threatening.

Because it covers one of the most important events in the history of the Forgotten Realms, this is a relatively important novel to read if you’re into the FR. Too bad, it’s written so poorly.

Effects on Toril

AS the Gods are cast down, Faerun enters the time of troubles. Mystra, the goddess of magic dies. Bane, the god of strife dies.

Characters

Major

Adon - A cleric of Sune Firehair and companion of Kelemvor and Cyric
Bane - God of fear, hatred and tyranny
Caitlan Moonsong - A girl seeking the help of Kelemvor
Cyric - A thief and companion of Kelemvor and Adon
Kelemvor Lyonsbane - An adventurer working as a guardsman in Arabel. Companion of Adon and Cryric.
Midnight of Deepingdale - A 25yr old magic user, avatar of Mystra.
Mystra - The Goddess of Magic
Ronglath Knightsbridge - A man at the center of a failed plot against the rulers of Arabel.

Minor

Angelique Cantaran - Wife of the most wealthy importer of spices in Zhentil Keep
Annalee Mueller - Daughter of Brehnan Mueller
Ao - The High God and Creator of Faerun
Bishop - A commander in the Shadowdale Army
Brehnan Mueller - A cleric of Tymora that lives in a cottage in the forest west of Calanter's Way.
Brion - A young albino thief in Thurbrand's Company of Dawn
Burne Lyonsbane - Deceased uncle of Kelemvor Lyonsbane
Connel Greylore - An archer of Shadowdale
Drizhal - A young Shadowdale soldier
Elminster Aumar - One of the most famous and powerful wizards in all of Faerun, as well as a fair fighter and thief.
Evon Stralana - Minister of defense of Arabel.
Forester - A soldier of Shadowdale
Gillian - A girl in Thurbrand's Company of Dawn
Helm - He of the Unsleeping Eyes - God of Guardians. Right hand of the high God Lord Ao.
Ilmater - God of suffering
Isaac - A man in Thurbrand's Company of Dawn
Jhaele Silvermane - Proprietor of the Old Skull Inn in Shadowdale.
Leetym - A temple guardian for the Temple of Bane in Zhentil Keep
Lhaeo - Elminster's Scribe.
Llira - Goddess of joy
Malark - Acting captain of arms in Shadowdale
Marek - Mentor of Cyric and a member of the thieves guild of Zhentil keep.
Mawser - A worshiper of Tymora in Shadowdale
Mayheir Hawksguard - Acting Captain at Arms in Shadowdale
Mordant DeCruew - A warrior in Bane's Army
Mourngrym Amcathra - Lord of Shadowdale.
Myrkul - God of the dead
Myrmeen Lhal - Ruler of Arabel
Phylanna - A priestess of Gond in Tilverton
Quicksal - A thief Cyric knew in Zhentil Keep
Renee - Loose serving girl at The Old Skull Inn in Shadowdale
Rhaymon - A priest of the temple of Tymora in Shadowdale.
Rull of Gond - High priest of Gond in Tilverton
Rusch - A warrior in Bane's army
Sharantyr - One of the Knights of Myth Drannor.
Storm Silverhand - The Bard of Shadowdale.
Sune Firehair - Goddess of love and beauty
Sunlar - Midnight's teacher in Deepingdale
Talos - God of Storms
Tempus Blackthorne - A mage and servant of Bane
Tensyl Durmond - An employee of Iardon's Hirelings in Arabel
Thurbal - Captain-of-arms of the Twisted Tower.
Thurbrand of the Stonelands - A mercenary who resides in Arabel
Torum Garr - Deceased king that Kelemvor Lyonsbane failed to save.
Trannus Kialton - A priest of Bane in Zhentil Keep
Tymora - Goddess of Luck. Resides in Arabel after the Gods are banished to Faerun.
Tyr - God of justice
Vance - Deceased friend of Kelemvor Lyonsbane
Vogt - A man in Thurbrand's Company of Dawn
Welch - One of Thurbrand's men in the Company of Dawn
Yarbo - A guard in the Twisted Tower in Shadowdale
Zehla - Proprietoress of the Hungry Man Inn in Arabel
Zelanz - One of Thurbrand's men in the Company of Dawn

Only Mentioned

Alassra Shentrantra "The Simbul" Silverhand - The Witch-Queen of Aglarond
Azoun IV - King of Suzail
Bartholeme Guin - Magic user of the Company of the Lynx.
Fzoul Chembryl - High priest of Bane, master of The Black Altar
Gelzunduth - A merchant in Arabel, suspected to traffic in forged documents.
Gond - God of Blacksmiths
Goulart - A member of the Company of the Lynx.
Knorrel Talbot - Commander of the Company of the Lynx.
Lord Aldophus - A sage of great repute, and firm friends with King Azoun.
Lord Chess - Ruler of Zhentil Keep.
Lord Lady Tessaril Winter - Ruler of Eveningstar.
Loviatar - Goddess of Pain
Parys Guin - Magic user of the Company of the Lynx.
Sememmon - A mage and high ranking member of the Zhentarim
Shaerl Rowanmantle - Wife of Mourngrym Amcathra
Sylune - One of the Seven Sisters. Called the river witch. Killed while fighting a dragon.

Monsters

Hakeashar - Bane uses a hakeashar to help keep Mystra prisoner
Trapper - One of the rooms in the Castle Kilgrave contains a trapper that looks like a carpet.
Werepanther - Kelemvor is a werepanther
Jackelwere - One named Torrence resides in Tilverton.
Giant Rat - A swarm of giant rats charges the protagonists as they travel through Shadow Gap
Giant Spiders - The protagonists encounter a significant amount of giant spiders in the Spiderhaunt woods.