Ed Greenwood (born July 21, 1959) is a Canadian fantasy writer and the creator of the Forgotten Realms game world.

[1] He used the Realms as a setting for his campaigns, which centred on the fictional locales of Waterdeep and Shadowdale, locations that would figure prominently in his later writing.

[3] According to Greenwood, his players' thirst for detail pushed him to further develop the Forgotten Realms setting: "They want[ed] it to seem real, and work on 'honest jobs' and personal activities, until the whole thing [grew] into far more than a casual campaign.

"[1] Beginning with the periodical's 30th issue in 1979, Greenwood published a series of articles set in the Realms in The Dragon magazine, the first of which was about a monster known as The Curst.

[citation needed] When TSR was in dire financial difficulties in 1996–1997, Greenwood offered to write some material for them for free to help get them back on their feet.

Nothing came of the offer, but after Wizards of the Coast purchased TSR in 1997 and stabilized its finances, CEO Peter Adkison personally called Greenwood at the library he was working at to encourage him to continue writing Realms material.

[6] He has also contributed to most Forgotten Realms gaming accessories, and authored many more—including the detailed Volo's Guide series—and continues to DM his own campaign.

[7] As of 1998, Greenwood lived in applegrowing country on Lake Ontario, still working full-time at the North York Community Library, as he had since 1974, and continued to run his original Waterdeep campaign with the same core group he started with, albeit meeting only sporadically.

Some three hundred years before the setting's current era, there existed a magical place of shining towers and marvelous wonders called the Realm of Castles.

No one is permitted to leave Castlemourn and those who find their way there, do so at their own peril, as adventurers, treasure hunters, and questors scour the land searching for relics, artifacts, and clues to their past.

Castlemourn is a post-apocalyptic fantasy setting where kingdoms fight for power through political intrigue and outright warfare; where the brave seek their fortunes in dangerous ruins, and where everyone fears the unspeakable evil that shadows their land.