publisher the jungles of chult
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 setting for his childhood stories . Several years later , Greenwood brought the setting to the " D & D " game as a series of magazine articles , and the first Realms game products were released in 1987 . Role - playing game products have been produced for the setting ever since , as have various licensed products including sword and sorcery novels , role - playing video game adaptations ( including the first massively multiplayer online role - playing game to use graphics ), and comic books . The Forgotten Realms is one of the most popular " D & D " settings , largely due to the ___MASK1___ of novels by authors such as R . A . Salvatore and numerous role - playing video games , including " Pool of Radiance " ( 1988 ), " Eye of the Beholder " ( 1991 ), " Baldur ' s Gate " ( 1998 ), " Icewind Dale " ( 2000 ) and " Neverwinter Nights " ( 2002 ). Ed Greenwood ( born July 21 , 1959 ) is a Canadian - born 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 sold the rights to the setting to ___MASK26___ , the creators of the " Dungeons & Dragons " roleplaying game , in 1986 . He has written many Forgotten Realms novels , as well as numerous articles and " D & D " game supplement books . A role - playing video game ( commonly referred to as role - playing game or RPG , and in the past was also known as computer role - playing game or CRPG ) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character ( and / or several party members ) immersed in some well - defined world . Many role - playing video games have origins in pen - and - paper role - playing games ( Including " Dungeons & Dragons ") and use much of the same , settings and game mechanics . Other major similarities with pen - and - paper games include developed story - telling and narrative elements , player character development , complexity , as well as replayability and immersion . The electronic medium removes the necessity for a gamemaster and increases combat resolution speed . RPGs have evolved from simple text - based console - window games into visually rich 3D experiences . Since the 1980s , Role - playing is the most commercially viable video game genre in ___MASK24___ , and has more market share of any other genre in the japanese gaming industry , although in the 2010s first - person shooters and western iOS and Android games were becoming rapidly and increasingly popular in that country . Fantasy is a fiction genre set in an imaginary universe , often but not always without any locations , events , or people from the real world . Most fantasy uses magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot element , theme , or setting . Magic and magical ___MASK21___ are common in many of these imaginary worlds . Fantasy is generally distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of scientific and macabre themes , respectively , though there is a great deal of overlap between the three , all of which are subgenres of speculative fiction . A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role - playing game or wargame campaign . A " campaign " is a series of individual adventures , and a " campaign setting " is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place . Usually a campaign setting is designed for a specific game ( such as the " Forgotten Realms " setting for " Dungeons & Dragons ") or a specific genre of game ( such as Medieval fantasy , or outer space / science fiction adventure ). There are numerous campaign settings available both in print and online . In addition to published campaign settings available for purchase , many game masters create their own settings , often referred to as " homebrew " settings or worlds . Pool of Radiance is a role - playing video game developed and published by Strategic Simulations , Inc ( SSI ) in 1988 . It was the first adaptation of ___MASK26___ ' s " Advanced Dungeons & Dragons " (" AD & D ") fantasy role - playing game for home computers , becoming the first episode in a four - part series of " D & D " computer adventure games . The other games in the " Gold Box " series used the game engine pioneered in " Pool of Radiance ", as did later " D & D " titles such as the " Neverwinter Nights " online game . " Pool of Radiance " takes place in the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting , with the action centered in and around the port city of Phlan . The Jungles of Chult ( product code FRM1 ) is an accessory for the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting Forgotten Realms released in 1993 . Neverwinter Nights is a third - person role - playing video game developed by BioWare . ___MASK36___ was originally set to publish the game , but financial difficulties led to it being taken over by Atari . It was released on Microsoft Windows on June 18 , 2002 . BioWare later released a free Linux client in June 2003 , requiring a purchased copy of the game to play . MacSoft released a Mac OS X port in August 2003 . Icewind Dale is a role - playing video game developed by ___MASK45___ and originally published by ___MASK36___ for Windows in 2000 and by MacPlay for OS X in 2002 . It takes place in the " Dungeons & Dragons " Forgotten Realms campaign setting , and is based on the 2nd edition ruleset . The player begins the game by creating an adventuring party , which becomes enlisted as a caravan guard in the wake of strange events . As the story progresses , the player learns of a demonic feud that threatens the Ten Towns of Icewind Dale . Baldur ' s Gate is a fantasy role - playing video game developed by BioWare and published in 1998 by ___MASK36___ . It is the first game in the " Baldur ' s Gate " series and takes place in the Forgotten Realms , a high fantasy campaign setting , using a modified version of the " Advanced Dungeons & Dragons " (" AD & D ") 2nd edition rules . The game received critical acclaim and was credited for revitalizing the computer role - playing game genre . The game allows development of the player character through choice of companions , dialogue choices , exploration , and battle . " Baldur ' s Gate " uses a reputation system and rewards the player depending on the choices made in the game . Science fiction ( often shortened to SF , sci - fi or scifi ) is a genre of speculative fiction , typically dealing with imaginative concepts such as futuristic science and technology , space travel , time travel , ___MASK27___ travel , parallel universes , and extraterrestrial life . Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations , and has been called a " literature of ideas ." It usually avoids the supernatural , and unlike the related genre of fantasy , historically science fiction stories were intended to have a grounding in science - based fact or theory at the time the story was created , but this connection is now limited to hard science fiction .