The Sundering refers to two events that occurred in the fictional timeline of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

As a consequence of their powerful magic, the supercontinent of Merrouroboros was torn apart, creating what is now known as the Trackless Sea and the continents of Faerûn, Maztica and Katashaka, among other physical changes.

Beginning in 1484 DR, about one hundred years after the onset of the Spellplague, natural disasters and calamities flashed across the planet Toril.

The books follows Vasen, son of Erevis Cale, who was born 70 years in the future after his mother was sent forward in time by Mask, the god of shadows and thieves.

Vasen and Erevis then work together to stop Shar, goddess of darkness, from destroying the world by preventing the Cycle of Night.

[citation needed] The Second Sundering was first announced at Gen Con 2012 in anticipation of the upcoming version of the game, known at the time as D&D Next.

[4] Wizards of the Coast described it as a "cataclysm",[4] and campaign setting creator Ed Greenwood further elaborated on the event as "war, gods, and plain folks trying to get by".

[5] At Gen Con 2013, Wizards of the Coast announced additional details of the Sundering event: six Forgotten Realms novels, an official adventure series for the 4th Edition D&D Encounters program with a tracking app called "The Sundering Adventurer's Chronicle", the free-to-play mobile game Arena of War developed by DeNA, a comic book series titled Thieves of Calimport, and a line of miniatures depicting characters from the event.

While the third tie-in adventure, Confrontation at Candlekeep (2013), acted as a prequel to the sixth novel The Herald (2014), it did not become well known because it was originally only released to Dungeon Masters participating in the RPGA convention playthrough.

[12] Confrontation at Candlekeep was then available at Pax Prime 2013 in a similar format and at a limited number of game stores as an event after the two conventions.

[13] The third and fourth Sundering adventures, Dreams of the Red Wizards: Scourge of the Sword Coast and Dead in Thay, continued "the revamping of the D&D Encounters program".

[16] Second, Dead in Thay added the Event Coordinator role which had previously been limited to convention adventures such as Vault of the Dracolich (2013).

In Dead in Thay they might directly interact during the first and last weeks of play, but as they adventured through the dungeon, they could also change its state for subsequent parties.

[...] It allowed multiple groups in a game store to all interact in a meaningful way, really taking advantage of the environment that the Encounters programs was played in".

[9] Liz Schuh, Head of Publishing and Licensing for Dungeons & Dragons, said:[18]The Sundering is the last of a series of ground-shaking events.

[19]: 107 Jules-Pierre Malartre, for Den of Geek, wrote "I don’t think I’ve enjoyed reading a collaborative writers series as much since Thieves World, decades ago".

[23] The Adversary, the third book in The Sundering series, was included in the December 2013 Bookseller's Picks for Tor by Barnes & Noble buyer Jim Killen.

In Evans’ defense, she handles this well and includes dates and locations at the beginnings of each chapter—to really follow the action, I recommend paying attention to these.

[25] In contrast, Kelly Jensen, for SF Crowsnest, wrote "Evans does a fantastic job of catching up the casual reader.

[...] What impresses me the most is the author’s confidence in shifting events on Toril, messing with the grand order, while advancing her own story arc".

[26] Alex Lucard, for Diehard GameFAN, wrote negatively on Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle release as a convention exclusive.

At least the contents of Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle will keep you and your gaming troupe busy for months as you play through the adventures, read through the weighty tome and get a real sense of where Wizards of the Coast is heading with D&D Next".

[27] Lucard, for Diehard GameFAN, highlighted the physical pieces of the first official adventure, Murder in Baldur’s Gate, including a "a sixty-four page Campaign Guide which gives an incredibly in-depth look at Baldur’s Gate, the people who live there and nearby locations" and "a sturdy and glossy four piece DM screen".

[28] Shannon Appelcline, author of Designers & Dragons, highlighted that it was the first time Baldur's Gate was "the main setting of a tabletop adventure".

These campaign guides have been some of the best offering from Wizards in the past two editions and they are by far the most comprehensive pieces in the history of Dungeons & Dragons for the locations they cover.

But the end result is a chaotic mess that is little more than a pure hack and slash experience [...] and because the adventure is designed for multiple parties and DMs, Dead In Thay becomes a very hard piece to even be able to play in the first place much less pull it off in a way that it will be enjoyable to all who participate".