Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

Chapter 2: The Sword Coast and the North

HIS CHAPTER DETAILS MANY OF THE

locales of the Sword Coast and the North,

as seen through the eyes and recollections

of a person living in Faen1n. Rather than

being exhaustive descriptions, what

follows are snippets of information drawn

from the experience of five individuals

who have traversed, lived in, and explored these areas.

Like any other narrators, they have opinions and biases,

and may be drawing conclusions from incomplete

information. No one in the Realms knows everything

about any subject, even its oldest and most learned

sages, and the views formed from such incomplete

information can often suggest an inaccurate conclusion.

This is not to say that any of the information the

narrators provide is false, only that they may not be

entirely knowledgeable in their declarations.

The details given here only begin to scratch the

surface of the adventuring possibilities in the North.

Although some of these locales are virtually unknown

to outsiders, entire books longer than this one could be

(and have been) written about others. If the descriptions

leave you wanting to know more, consider them an

inducement for you and your companions to visit these

places and experience them firsthand.

Be aware, also, that there is a great deal more to the

North than what is presented here. There are ruins

without names, and settlements so small as to not

even warrant mention in this tome. What lurks in the

uncharted areas, waiting to tantalize or perhaps ter-

rorize, is all the more formidable because it can't be

anticipated.

The Lords' Alliance

FOR A CENTURY AND A HALF, AND MORE, THE LORDS'

Alliance has stood as the most important and influential

group in the North. Its power has kept towns safe from the

predations of larger powers, has kept the ambitions of Lus-

kan in check, and has taught the rulers of many cities that

it is better to cooperate, even for a time, then to merely shut

one's doors and allow the storms to rage outside. It was this

philosophy that led to the founding of Luruar, and when the

lesson was lost, so too were the Silver Marches. But it serves

no purpose to dwell on the folly of the past. Better instead

to look to the future, repair the walls, and wait for word

from the watching sentries.

• Andwe Cururen, agent of the Lords' Alliance

The Lords' Alliance isn't a nation unto itself, but a

partnership of the rulers of towns and cities across

the North, who have pledged peace with one another

and promised to share information and effort against

common threats such as ore hordes and Northlander

pirates. It is a loose confederation of those settlements

and their agents, all of whom owe allegiance first to

their homelands, and second to the Lords' Alliance.

In the harsh lands of the North, where winters are

cold and monsters and human barbarians regularly

stream out of the mountains to pillage outlying settle-

ments, large nations are rare indeed, particularly in the

current state of the world. Instead, great city-states have

emerged, enriched by trade and protected by stout walls

and loyal defenders. Such cities-including Baldur's

Gate, Mirabar, Neverwinter, Silverymoon, and Water-

deep-extend their influence into nearby regions, often

creating or accepting vassal settlements, but in the end,

these realms are cities, driven to consider their own pro-

tection and future before other concerns.

In the years soon after its founding more than one

hundred fifty years ago, there was more interest in mem-

bership, and the Alliance accepted some members from

farther south. Since then, events such as the growth of

Elturgard into a power in its own right, and the recent

fall of the Silver Marches, have caused the group to

draw in on itself, restricting its membership to powers

in the North. The current members of the Alliance are

Amphail, Baldur's Gate, Daggerford, Longsaddle, Mira-

bar, Mithra! Hall, Neverwinter, Silverymoon, Waterdeep,

and Yartar. There is some doubt that Mithra! Hall will

be part of the alliance for much longer, but until ruler-

ship of the dwarven city is more firmly established, it

remains a member.

It is impossible to ascribe an overall character to

the individual members of the alliance. As a group,

the agents of the members are interested in the pres-

ervation of civilization in the North, and they share

what information they can-and oppose what threats

they must-to further that goal. In the end, though, a

merchant of Waterdeep and one of Baidu r's Gate are

concerned mainly for their own purses and the welfare

of their home cities, and are unlikely to care what hap-

pens to the other, except inasmuch as it affects trade.

The advice and insights in this section come from

Andwe Cururen, a half-elf native of Silverymoon who

was once a Knight in Silver (a member of the city's

army), and now serves as an emissary and, when neces-

sary, an active agent for the Lords' Alliance. She travels

the North on behalf of the Alliance, representing its

interests and gathering and updating information on its

settlements for her superiors, fellow agents, and poten-

tial recruits, including adventurers who might serve the

Alliance or one of its members.

AM PH AIL

Named for its founder, a former warlord of Waterdeep,

the small town of Amphail is home to just over seven

hundred souls, yet it sought and received membership

in the Lords' Alliance just under a century ago, thanks

to the maneuverings of the noble families that control

its lands. Where once it was simply an example of

the extent ofWaterdeep's reach, Amphail became the

playground of that city's noble families, a place where

they can scheme against their rivals and send their

CHAPTER 2 I THE SWORD COA T AND THE NORTH