In the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, years (usually described as the passing of winters or summers) are referred to by names, each name is not consistent across the Realms. This helps alleviate any confusion from multiple writers using different names for the same year. Each kingdom or city-state numbers years differently, usually to measure the reign of a dynasty or the current monarch, or since the founding of the country. The result is a hodgepodge of overlapping numbers that serve to confuse the ordinary person and frustrate the sage. The widespread differing year dates include the following:
Dalereckoning (DR): Dalereckoning is taken from the Year of Sunrise, when the Standing Stone was raised by the elves of Cormanthor and the human Dalesfolk. Since this time, humans were permitted by the Elven Court to settle in the more open regions of the forests. In some texts, primarily those which do not have direct ties to Dales history, Dalereckoning is called Freeman's Reckoning (FR). The calendar is widely used in Faerûn but has not spread beyond its shores. Dalereckoning is the most common year measurement and is used in all of the Forgotten Realms sourcebooks.
The current campaign date of the Forgotten Realms is 1491 DR—as of the real-world year of 2015 (Princes of the Apocalypse).
Cormyr Reckoning (CR): Cormyr Reckoning begins at the foundation of House Obarskyr, the dynasty that still rules that land. The 25-year gap between Cormyr Reckoning and Dalereckoning has caused much of the confusion regarding elder days. Timelines and calendars of the period often use DR designators, but place the founding of Cormyr at 1 DR instead of 26 DR. This is understandable, given that the two reckonings are from two nearby parties and spread by a third (the merchants of Sembia), but it causes learned sages to slam their heads violently against their desks trying to figure things out.
Northreckoning (NR): Used in the City of Waterdeep, Northreckoning dates from the year Ahghairon became the first Lord of Waterdeep. A more archaic system called Waterdeep Years (WY) dates from the supposed first use of Waterdeep as a trading post. This reckoning is now largely abandoned except in ancient texts.