Are there any Chosen left in Faerûn following the Second Sundering?

Question

Throughout Toril's history, its various deities have engaged in a practice of vesting mortals with power and purpose. Those mortals are sometimes called Chosen. The Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide contains a number of references to Chosen -- including their involvement in tumultuous events during the Second Sundering. See, e.g., p. 17 ("Throughout this period, tales began to spread of individuals who had been touched by the gods and granted strange powers. Some of these so-called Chosen were at the root of the conflicts that grip the land.")

A couple of SCAG's references might be read to suggest that, after the Second Sundering, Chosen might have become a thing of the past. To wit:

• p. 9, a description of an uprising in Calimshan led by a Chosen of Ilmater notes that the Chosen disappeared and that "[m]any pray for the return of the Chosen and the completion of his work."
• p. 12, a discussion of Mulhorand says "the Chosen of the gods began to appear in the last few years," and then a few sentences later mentions that "the upheaval ended and the Chosen began to disappear . . . ."
• p. 18, detailing the year 1489 D.R., notes that by then "the deities ceased interfering with the world through their Chosen. The gods were no longer silent but quiet, and in many places new priesthoods arose to interpret the gods' now subtle signs."
• p. 45, a story about the grisly revelation "[j]ust a few years ago" that

  Duke Torlin Silvershield of Baldur's Gate was the Chosen of Bhaal.

None of these references mention any Chosen currently active in Faerûn. Several of them strongly imply that certain Chosen disappeared and have not reappeared.

Is there any evidence in first-party published materials that the Chosen are still a phenomenon in the post-Second Sundering world?

Answer 1

They exist, but WotC seems to prefer subtlety.

Much like the deities of the post-Sundering era, the WotC seems to be not silent, but quite quiet about the Chosen. For example, Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, describes Jeryth Phaulkon as a "noblewoman-turned-demigod and Chosen of Mielikki", but she is in a disembodied state (page 36). Later, in an in-game letter Laeral Silverhand is addressed as "Chosen of Mystra" (page 146). However, when we look at the section on Laeral in the Appendix (page 207), there is no explicit mention of her being a chosen at all. Yet, some parts of her stat block include features that were typically Chosen abilities in the past editions: very high constitution, immunity to poison, truesight and silverfire.

Answer 2

The Chosen appear in Dead in Thay, albeit in a weakened state

The adventure Dead in Thay, found in Tales from the Yawning Portal, stars ten different Chosen (or eleven, depending on how you count them), admittedly in a minor role. They had been kidnapped, which might explain why many of the Chosen had been reported as missing. As for why they had been kidnapped, I quote part of the adventure's synopsis (emphasis added):

Szass Tam [lich leader of the Red Wizards of Thay] is siphoning the power of members of the Chosen, mortals who have been invested with the power of the gods so as to help shape the Realms to match the will of their divine benefactors. The lich is using that power to keep the [Phylactery] vault hidden, warp the magic fuelling the Doomvault [the location of the adventure], and power his pursuit of godhood.

The players eventually encounter the Chosen and may free or kill them. The Chosen encountered are in a weakened state, lacking most of the power they normally have. What happens to the Chosen after the adventure is unspecified.

The Chosen in Dead in Thay, if you want to know, are:

Oussa Chosen of Zehir
Kieren Chosen of Ilmater
Irisoth Chosen of Loviathar
Therzt Chosen of Ghaunadaur
Ashdra Chosen of Ibrandul
Curran Corvalin Chosen of Tymora
Torlin Silvershield Chosen of Bhaal
Bandagh Chosen of Yurtrus
Eira Chosen of Rillifane Rallathil
An unnamed Chosen of Talona, who had been sacrificed and infused into Eira
Hedrun Arnsfirth Chosen of Auril

Answer 3

There are definitely still Chosen in 5E Forgotten Realms. I will add another canon one: Fzoul Chembryl, listed as a Chosen of Bane in the 5E-specific DMsGuild product Darkhold: Secrets of the Zhentarim (page 88). Ed Greenwood is listed as one of the designers of the supplement, which makes the material canon unless WotC wants to supersede it.

Fzoul Chembryl rose through the Zhentarim with political maneuvers and remains highly skilled in the arts of subterfuge. However, these days he focuses more on being Bane’s Chosen, which often requires pounding the unworthy into submission.