Forgotten Realms history question: Did Magic always exist?

[IsaacsAlterEgo]

Simple question. I was coming up with a character concept, and I thought it would be interesting to have a character flung forward in time (either through gaining new life as a Reborn or time travel shenanigans) whose original time period did not have magic (at least, in the hands of people, I assume the gods are eternal). My DM is starting a new campaign soon set in Forgotten Realms (Using Wild Beyond the Witchlight as a base) and I was wondering, would this be possible in the forgotten realms? Could a human (or any other playable race) come from a time period where there were no wizards, clerics, sorcerers, no common understanding of magic? I think it would be a fun fish-out-of-water gimmick for a character, but I'm not really sure if it makes sense in the setting, or if there's a way for it to make sense.

If such a time did exist, also, was it at the same medieval level of technology, or more like the stone age? Any help here would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Sigreid]

I'm not sure what changed they may have made to the lore, boy originally there were no people in Forgotten Realms that did not descend from ancestors that stumbled into a portal and found themselves in a new world. So, yes.

[Anymage]

If anything, magic in the realms has been much stronger in the past. In one memorable instance someone cast a spell that let them usurp the role of god of magic. Of course since they were then in the role of taking care of all magic with zero experience it didn't go well, but it was a historical event. (And why magic since then has been capped in power by decree of the gods.) The metaphysical rules have undergone some revisions, but magic in one form or another has been there throughout.

One of the central conceits of the realms when it came out was that it was somehow connected to Earth, and certain realms cultures are descendants of earth people who got portaled through. You could use this idea to attempt to justify either a historical or modern earthling happening to get caught up and have the same fish out of water experience.

However, having said all that, let me discourage this idea. One of the strengths of the realms is the sheer amount of lore they have, and that can be (hopefully) used to tie you into the setting. Outsiders who get dropped in as total fish out of water either have no ties (and thus nothing to engage them), or have a primary motivation to get back home. The DM's life is a lot easier when you have ties to the setting to help you engage with the plot. And while I guess "I portaled in a decade ago, but have been taken in by villagers and have grown to be part of their community by now" does give you those ties, it also gives you enough connection to the setting that you aren't really a fish out of water anymore.

[Naanomi]

Magic long predates the existence of the Prime World of Abeir-Toril; though it was accessed slightly differently before the Weave existed theoretically (albeit that was a very brief period long before mortal races... or anything besides a very small number of Gods... were present)

[IsaacsAlterEgo]

If anything, magic in the realms has been much stronger in the past. In one memorable instance someone cast a spell that let them usurp the role of god of magic. Of course since they were then in the role of taking care of all magic with zero experience it didn't go well, but it was a historical event. (And why magic since then has been capped in power by decree of the gods.) The metaphysical rules have undergone some revisions, but magic in one form or another has been there throughout.

One of the central conceits of the realms when it came out was that it was somehow connected to Earth, and certain realms cultures are descendants of earth people who got portaled through. You could use this idea to attempt to justify either a historical or modern earthling happening to get caught up and have the same fish out of water experience.

However, having said all that, let me discourage this idea. One of the strengths of the realms is the sheer amount of lore they have, and that can be (hopefully) used to tie you into the setting. Outsiders who get dropped in as total fish out of water either have no ties (and thus nothing to engage them), or have a primary motivation to get back home. The DM's life is a lot easier when you have ties to the setting to help you engage with the plot. And while I guess "I portaled in a decade ago, but have been taken in by villagers and have grown to be part of their community by now" does give you those ties, it also gives you enough connection to the setting that you aren't really a fish out of water anymore.

The primary motivation to get back home is the important thing I'm looking for, though. We were told by the DM before the game started to pick something our characters were searching for that could be as concrete as a person or an item, or something more abstract like a memory or a place, so I figured "a way back to my time period" would be an interesting idea, but given the medieval stasis, I couldn't really think of how someone from a few hundred years ago would even be that different in modern times. That's why I hoped maybe there was a pre-magic time so I could have someone gawk at all the magical goings-ons but, it seems like that doesn't really fit, so I might head back to the drawing board anyway. Thanks!

[Unoriginal]

The primary motivation to get back home is the important thing I'm looking for, though. We were told by the DM before the game started to pick something our characters were searching for that could be as concrete as a person or an item, or something more abstract like a memory or a place, so I figured "a way back to my time period" would be an interesting idea, but given the medieval stasis, I couldn't really think of how someone from a few hundred years ago would even be that different in modern times. That's why I hoped maybe there was a pre-magic time so I could have someone gawk at all the magical goings-ons but, it seems like that doesn't really fit, so I might head back to the drawing board anyway. Thanks!

Your character could be coming from a world where magic isn't used, though.

Like Earth. No magic used here except the teleportation circle in Ed Greenwood's kitchen and the magical Dungeons & Dragon ride from the cartoon

[JackPhoenix]

Or simply from a better setting. Wanting to get out of the FR ASAP is understandable goal.

[Zevox]

Basically, yes. Magic in the Realms is tied to the Weave, which is embodied by the Goddess of Magic, currently Mystra. The original Goddess of Magic, Mystryl, was first born out of the primordial fight between the sisters Selûne and Shar, the first two Gods who created the world. No mortals existed prior to that - the Goddesses were in fact fighting over whether to give light and warmth to the world, so that life might exist upon it - so in the history of the Forgotten Realms, there would never have been a time when mortals existed but magic did not.

So yeah, the only way to do such a character concept in the Forgotten Realms would be to have them be from another world entirely.

[Coidzor]

The primary motivation to get back home is the important thing I'm looking for, though. We were told by the DM before the game started to pick something our characters were searching for that could be as concrete as a person or an item, or something more abstract like a memory or a place, so I figured "a way back to my time period" would be an interesting idea, but given the medieval stasis, I couldn't really think of how someone from a few hundred years ago would even be that different in modern times. That's why I hoped maybe there was a pre-magic time so I could have someone gawk at all the magical goings-ons but, it seems like that doesn't really fit, so I might head back to the drawing board anyway. Thanks!

Portals to other planes of existence, even worlds in the material plane, are canonically a thing in FR, even without Planescape content. Searching for a time portal can just as easily be replaced with searching for a portal.

[Sigreid]

Portals to other planes of existence, even worlds in the material plane, are canonically a thing in FR, even without Planescape content. Searching for a time portal can just as easily be replaced with searching for a portal.

Not to mention the character could think what they want is a time portal being initially unaware that other mortal worlds are a thing.

[JLandan]

Speaking as a DM currently running Witchlight, and without any spoilers, what your DM is (probably, depending on how closely he is following the guidelines in the adventure) looking for is something you lost as a child. It was magically taken from you under mysterious circumstances. Check with your DM about whether you have memory of its loss, or even awareness of its loss.

If your loss is to be "the way home", which is a good one BTW, it's something you've been without since a child. So, you'll have grown up in Forgotten Realms, but be from elsewhere with no memory of where said elsewhere is.

Depending on your DM's interpretation of the cosmology of magic, it could be possible that there IS nowhere that has no magic. PH page 204 speaks of two kinds of magic, raw magic and usable magic (like the Weave in FR). Raw magic basically replaces physics for universal creation. If the cosmology of creation is based on raw magic, there can be no non-magic place. Personally, I use a natural/supernatural cosmology that isn't reliant on magic for the existence of everything, so there can be non-magic places.

My guess is that your PC being from a non-magic place, but having no memory of where that is, and then having grown up in a magic rich environment like FR, would actually have little bearing on the adventure.