HE Faerûnian year consists of 365 days: 12 months of exactly 30 days each, plus five days that fall between months. These days are special occasions. The Leap year is retained purely for social convenience, and provides a special sixth day that is used as the basis for long-term agreements.

Months are divided into three ten-day periods known as eves, tendays, domen, hyar, or rides depending where you are in the Realms. However, the most commonly used term is Rides.

The months and their Gregorian equivalents are as follows: –

The special days (as shown above) in the calendar are defined as follows:

Midwinter also known as Deepwinter Day is the midpoint of the worst of the cold.

Greengrass is the official beginning of spring.

Midsummer also known as Midsummer Night or the Long Night is a time of feasting, music and love. It is rare for the weather to be bad during this night.

Highharvestide heralds the coming of autumn. It is a feast that often continues for the length of the harvest.

The Feast of the Moon, also called Moonfest, marks the arrival of winter and is a day when the dead are honoured.

Shieldmeet. Once every four years, another day is added to the year in the manner of February 29 in the Gregorian calendar. This day is part of no month and follows Midsummer Night. This very special day is known as Shieldmeet. It is a day of open council between nobles and people, a day for making and renewing pacts, oaths, and agreements. It is also a day for tournaments, tests, and trials for those wishing to advance in fame (or infamy).

Years (or winters) are referred to by names, each name consistent throughout the Realms. Each kingdom or city-state numbers years differently, usually to measure the reign or dynasty of the current monarch, or since the founding of the country. The result is a hodgepodge of overlapping numbers that serve to confuse the ordinary and frustrate the learned. The widespread differing years include...

Dale Reckoning (DR) Is taken from the year that humans were first permitted to settle in the more open regions of the forest by the Elven Court. This is the most common dating scheme in the Realms.

Cormyr Reckoning (CR) Beginning with the foundation of House Obarskyr, which dynasty still rules this powerful kingdom.

Dragon Years (DY) Is an ancient form of counting Dragon generations of 200 years each. There are 10 cycles of 200 years to a colour, and each two-millennium a colour is named after a type of Dragon.

Present Reckoning (PR) Dates back to the Time of Troubles.

Karinth Reckoning (KR) Is a long-abandoned system that was used in Sarbreenar a long time ago? Who or what Karinth relates to remains a mystery, as does the current year.

The Roll of Years

Names of the years are collectively known as the Roll of Years, as they are drawn down from the predictions written down under that title by the famous Lost Sage, Augathra the Mad. A portion of the Roll follows...

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