Dungeons & Dragons is comprised of a multiverse of worlds referred to as campaign settings. Each campaign setting has it’sown nations, gods, heroes, and villains featuring widely different tones. One of the most popular settings is the Forgotten Realms, which currently serves as the primary backdrop for the adventures released in the newest Fifth Edition.

In the Forgotten Realms' world of Toril, most of the stories take place on the continent of Faerun. Far along its southern coast lies the peninsula of Chult, a land of exotic beauty and incredible danger. It serves as a magnet for adventurers andexplorersalike. Its uncharted jungles are home to the vast riches of fallen empires, resting in sunken ruins. The jungles also happen to be home to deadly plants, horrific diseases, tribal bands of goblins, cultish snake people, roaming hordes of the undead, sinister witches, trickster gods, and overrun with dinosaurs.

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The peninsula has had a turbulent history since first appearing in Second Edtion, and its most recent appearance is no exception. Chult serves as the backdrop to the Fifth Edition campaign,Tomb of Annihilation. It sees the natives attempting to maintain control of the one beacon of civilization in Chult, the trading hub of Port Nyanzaru as it recovers from an imperialistic occupation and fends off outsiders eager to exploit their land. The Chultans are a proud and vibrant people who hope to maintain their independence under the leadership of Port Nyanzaru’s Merchant Princes (a gender-neutral title, as many of the princes, are women).

Chult also has the unfortunate fate of being home to a horrific necromantic device called the Soulmonger, which captures the souls of the dead. It lies sealed at the bottom of an ancient tomb in a forgotten city, deep in the jungles. Word of the Soulmonger has spread and now Chult has seen an influx ofadventurersseeking to end the curse and plunder its many riches.

The history of the Chultan people has mostly become a legend, but it is known that the people we call native Chultans were actually brought to the peninsula long ago by the god, Ubtao. Ubtao is a nature god, responsible for the creation of the dinosaurs which inhabit Chult and the protector of the people he brought to his land. For centuries, Ubtao remained on the material plane, guiding his people from his tower in the city of Mezro. His holy symbol was a maze, representing the unknown course of life. He bestowed powers upon his most righteous followers, turning them into the immortalwarriors, the Barae.

As time passed the Chultans became too reliant on Ubtao and the god became displeased. He left Mezro in the care of the Barae, but things deteriorated from there. The city of Omu lost faith in Ubtao and began to worship trickster spirits that led the citizens into a spiral of decadence and self-destruction, dooming them all. Worse yet, one of the Barae, Ras Nsi, turned on Mezro and laid siege to the city. Using the gifts Ubtao had granted, he summoned an army of the undead and slaughtered those he had sworn to protect. He was defeated, but the hordes of zombies he created infest the jungles to this day, still bearing his mark.

But that was not the last of Chult’s suffering. A cataclysmic event called the Spellplague struck the world of Toril and Chult was torn apart in the process. Every major city was either destroyed or lost and many of the survivors resorted to barbarism. Mezro was believed destroyed as well, but the truth is more complicated. Ina desperate act, the Barae removed Mezro from the material plane, transporting all of its citizens to safety, and leaving behind illusory ruins to throw off those who would follow them.

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The centuries that followed were a dark time, as the Chultans struggled to reclaim their dignity after suffering an incredible loss. The nearby nation of Amn decided to annex Chult, settling on the peninsula and forming Port Nyanzaru as their outpost. Though the port grew into a well-developed metropolis, the Chultans did not take kindly to being vassals. A rebellion was held, the forces of Amn were expelled, and the leaders of the rebellion were chosen as the Merchant Princes, each with a monopoly on specific trades within the city.

Now an independent people once again, the Chultan economy relies on trade and tourism, with many Chultans acting as jungle guides. Foolish northerners who try to venture into the jungle without an expert soon find themselves ill-prepared for the sweltering heat, torrential rains, and wild dinosaurs that await them.

Even if adventurers were lucky enough to survive those hardships, they would eventually run into one of the teeming hordes of Ras Nsi’s undead or contract one of the insidious diseases that are native to Chult. But that’s not all they have to contend with. The Chultans were not the only sentient people to live on their land, and several races have settled in quite nicely since the fall of Mezro.

Chult is home to a unique subrace of goblins called the Baitiri. Known for where intricate masks, their main combat tactic involves riding on each others’ shoulders four or five goblins high in what they call a Battle Stack. Then there are the Grung, selfish, simple-minded frog people who will turn adventurers into a sacrifice if they aren’t careful. Even the skies aren’t safe as the saurian Pterafolk swoop down and attack the vulnerable and unaware.

A coven of hags known as the Sewn Sisters also call the jungle their home, terrorizing any unlucky enough to cross their paths. Most insidious of all though, are the Yuan-ti. The cult-like snake people have taken up residence in the ruins of the lost city of Omu, seeking a relic to free their god, Dendar the Night Serpent, and destroy the world. To make matters worse, they are ruled by a still-living Ras Nsi, who in the intervening centuries was magically transformed into one of the Yaun-ti.

All of this and more await the players who partake in the Tomb of Annihilation adventure. You may find Glory, treasure, and fame await if you can brave the jungles and survive to tell the tale. The Forgotten Realms is filled with fascinating locations, but few are as uniquely beautiful and deadly as the land of Chult.

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