[RPG] What deity holds the Time Portfolio in Faerun’s modern times (from the Time of Troubles to after the Second Sundering)

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The time portfolio (not to be confused with the 3e+ time domain – I'm talking strictly about lore here) is one of the most elusive portfolios to track in Realms lore.

From the Realms wiki on portfolio:

A portfolio was a list of things that all true deities possessed. The portfolio of a deity determined the area of interest that it both represented and had power over. Ideas, emotions, races of creatures, schools of magic, and other topics related to mortal existence could all become part of a deity's portfolio.

Regarding the Time Portfolio, in ancient times it was held by Chronos before that god was forgotten in old Yuirwood. Since then he was absorbed by Labelas Enoreth, but Labelas is part of the Seldarine pantheon, not the Faerunian pantheon.

In the Arcane Age (from the Netheril empire up to the fall of Myth Drannor circa 714DR) the goddess of time and magic was Mystryl / Mystra.[1]

But in more modern times, from the Time of Troubles (beginning of AD&D 2e) up to the Second Sundering (beginning of D&D 5e), what deity held the time portfolio? Did it remain with Mystra?


[1] Cormanthyr: Empire of Elves sourcebook, pages 5~7.

Best Answer

According to Netheril: Empire of Magic (N:EoM), at the time of the Netherese there were very few human deities and each one of them carried very many portfolios. It seems like as the millennia went by, those portfolios got shared by many new powers.

For Mystryl, the list went like this: Magic, spells, the weave, wizards, spellcasters, energy, creativity, knowledge, invention, song, time, spring (page 49 of The Winds of Netheril).

We can compare this list with the portfolios given in the FR Adventures (FRA) and Faiths & Avatars (F&A) sourcebooks. We see that every portfolio except Time is covered: Azuth (mages, energy according to FRA; wizards, spellcasters according to F&A), Oghma (knowledge according to FRA; knowledge, invention according to F&A), Lathander (spring according to FRA; spring, creativity according to F&A), Milil (song), and of course Mystra (magic, spells, the weave).

Given that every other one is somehow covered, and the great many commonalities between N:EoM and F&A, I would agree with Carcer's statement and say Time appears to have been intentionally left out by TSR. (F&A lists Julia Martin with Eric Boyd as designers. For N:EoM, Julia Martin is listed under "additional design" and Eric Boyd is listed as a proofreader.)

There is one final curiosity: Amaunator is mentioned (in both N:EoM and F&A) to have misinterpreted some godly contract and wanted to preside over passage of time, but decided not to interfere with Mystryl. It looks like after Mystryl's demise, he still did not claim Time. So perhaps Mystra could still be the "hidden inheritor" of the portfolio and might someday claim it openly. It might also be worth mentioning that three "time gates" that allow characters to travel back to the Netherese period were still active as of 1370DR, and they were being protected by Mystryl's magic (N:EoM). It would be an interesting scenario to have Midnight/Mystra sending an avatar/proxy to meet her old self, Mystryl.

On a related note: Here is a list of powers from F&A who grant major access to the sphere of Time to her/his speciality priests: Amaunator, Auril, Chauntea, Cyric, Eldath, Kelemvor, Leira, Mask, Mielikki, Myrkul, Mystra, Shar, Silvanus, Sune. We broadly see that they are mostly deities of nature, death, or deception. If you really want to assign the portfolio of Time in your own game, consider one of these.


Deities followed by chronomancers

There is an article with the title Chronomancy & the Multiverse, version 1.1 by Roger E. Moore, published as "an updated and expanded excerpt from the Chronomancer", a 2e accessory. The article was made public by the WotC on their free downloads for previous editions site. This article has a section of the effects of chronomancy in the Realms, and relates time with deities of knowledge and writing. It is stated:

Native chronomancers are usually devout followers of both a deity of magic (e.g., Mystra) and a deity of time or history (e.g., Deneir or Oghma), serving as historians and information collectors. Elven chronomancers of Labelas Enoreth are possible. Shou Lung, in Kara-Tur, might have a secret, officially approved group of chronomancers, probably Historians, working for the Emperor.

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