Faerûn & the Sword Coast
WWBS is set in the established game world with which the DM is most familiar, The Forgotten Realms.
If you’ve seen Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, then this is the same world as that movie! If you’ve played D&D-based computer games like Eye of the Beholder, Neverwinter, or Baldur’s Gate, this is the same world as those games. Since the mid-1980s, there have also been a few hundred novels set in this world, giving it a very rich history. Only since D&D’s fifth edition ruleset has the Forgotten Realms been the “default” campaign setting, so the DM is very much enjoying all the new content.
The Forgotten Realms setting is the world of Toril, and its largest and best-known continent is called Faerûn (FAIR-oon). The movie and all three of the aforementioned game trilogies took place primarily on the central and northern parts of the western coast of Faerûn, a region referred to as the northern Sword Coast, though some parts of the movie and the aforementioned games also take place in neighboring areas called the Silver Marches, the Savage Frontier, and the Western Heartlands; to save time these four areas will be collectively referred to as the “Sword Coast region” throughout this campaign. Parts of each have also taken place below the surface in a vast cave network called the Underdark. Some of the cities and communities of the Sword Coast region may have names familiar to you, including Waterdeep, Icewind Dale, Baldur’s Gate, and Neverwinter.
Familiarity with this campaign setting is certainly not required: the DM will do her best to assume you know nothing, and will provide necessary context as part of the narrative. Nonetheless, this page is aimed at providing a shallow level of lore that “almost everyone” who is a decades-long resident or native of this region should know.
Keeping Time in Faerûn
Most of the continent of Faerûn uses—or at least recognizes—a twelve-month time-keeping system called the Calendar of Harptos; days are grouped by tens so that there are three tendays per month. There are also five extra-monthly holidays throughout the year, and every four years, there’s a special sixth holiday called Shieldmeet.
While there are different ways to number the years, the most-common measurement in western Faerûn is called Dalereckoning (DR). There’s also a chronology called the Roll of Years which was created by two different prophets in separate millennia. In the Roll of Years, each year from -700 DR to 1600 DR was given a name which was supposedly linked to a significant event occurring in that year; however, most of the names have not been connected to events of any global consequence.
The current year is 1492, the Year of Three Ships Sailing.
Other notable years include
- 1358 DR – Year of Shadows
For reasons unknown to most, the gods of Faerûn were cast out of their otherworldly domains in an event known as the Time of Troubles. Ultimately, this event resulted in the death, disappearance, or diminishment of many of the old gods, and the rise of new gods to take their places, most notably the deaths of “the Dead Three”—Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul—and the rise of Cyric and Kelemvor to replace them. The goddess of magic, Mystra, was also killed, but her successor kept the same name. - 1374 DR – Year of Lightning Storms
After inhabiting the Plane of Shadow for nearly 2000 years, the floating Netherese city of Thultanthar returned to the Material Plane to hover over the desert of Anauroch. Shadow-touched Netherese called Shadovar spread throughout Faerûn, searching for relics of the former Netherese Empire in hopes of restoring the civilization to power. - 1385 DR – Year of Blue Fire
Shar, the goddess of darkness, conspired with the mad god Cyric to murder Mystra. The cataclysm which followed was called the Spellplague. Waves of blue magical fire swept the surface of the world, and spellcasters who were struck were usually driven insane; few who were stricken survived that experience. The world of Toril became intertwined with Abeir—its “primordial twin” which existed in a different reality—causing some entire swaths of land to be swapped between the two worlds while other areas seemingly disappeared entirely. Without a goddess of magic to govern the rules of magic (the Weave from which spellcasters drew magical energy), spellcasting no longer worked the same and things could get more than just a little weird in pockets of “wild magic”. - 1479 DR – Year of the Ageless One
Beginning in this year and continuing for roughly another decade, the Weave of magic abruptly returned, gods thought long-dead suddenly reappeared and reclaimed their former duties, and earthquakes and other natural disasters occurred as the worlds of Abeir and Toril began to separate again. By the end of the event known as the Sundering (though scholars and elves will point out it was the second Sundering), most of the gods had taken a step back from direct intervention in the lives of mortals, working instead through extraplanar servants and mortal champions called the Chosen.
| Month | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Hammer |
| Annual Holiday: Midwinter | |
| 2 | Alturiak |
| 3 | Ches |
| 4 | Tarsahk |
| Annual Holiday: Greengrass | |
| 5 | Mirtul |
| 6 | Kythorn |
| 7 | Flamerule |
| Annual Holiday: Midsummer | |
| Quadrennial Holiday: Shieldmeet | |
| 8 | Eleasis |
| 9 | Elient |
| Annual Holiday: Highharvestide | |
| 10 | Marpenoth |
| 11 | Uktar |
| Annual Holiday: The Feast of the Moon | |
| 12 | Nightall |
Waterdeep
Of all the cities of the Sword Coast, none is nearly as large nor as famous as Waterdeep, the City of Splendors. Gaining its name from its deep harbor at the base of a lone mountain, the city sprawls northward along the coast from the port, spilling around the mountain along coastal cliffs until the land slopes down to the sea once more, and spreading eastward from the base of the mountain to the top of a cliff overlooking fertile farmlands.
There are certain landmarks throughout the City of Splendors that always draw curious eyes, with the most-visible of these being eight colossal statues, six of which appeared suddenly at the beginning of the Spellplague and cut swathes of destruction through the city before their animation was ended. Towering over even the Walking Statues is Mount Waterdeep, atop which is the garrison of the city’s famous Griffon Cavalry: elite members of the City Guard protect the city from the air with the help of their well-trained griffons, though they’ve also been known to put on fabulous aerial acrobatic displays during city festivals. The eastern spur of the mountain is crested by Castle Waterdeep, the headquarters and training grounds of the City Guard.
For centuries, Waterdeep has been ruled by the masked Lords of Waterdeep, individuals who have distinguished themselves in some way through wealth, heritage, deed, or some other factor. With one exception, the Lords of Waterdeep wear magically enchanted garments and masks to conceal their identities; the one lord who wears no mask is called the Open Lord and serves as the literal and figurative face of the government. The current Open Lord is Lady Laeral Silverhand.
Aside from the Lords of Waterdeep, there are dozens of noble families residing within Waterdeep, many of whom trace their lineage back to the city’s founding: Amcathra, Argent, Cassalanter, Hunabar, Irlingstar, Margaster, Nesher, Phylund, Thann, Wands, and many more. The Guilds of Waterdeep also hold strong influence and their own code of “laws” regarding the behavior and protection of their members is generally respected by the City Watch. In all, the city proper is home to nearly a million people, and the small towns, villages, forests, and farms belonging to the city-state are populated with just over a million more.
Demonym: Waterdhavian
The Lords’ Alliance
Many of the cities (and city-states) of the Sword Coast region are members of the Lords’ Alliance, a loose confederation with aims at improving trade between its members and offering mutual defense against aggressors. To the dismay of its smaller or more-distant members, the latter goal hasn’t been well-implemented. Waterdeep is the largest and most-powerful city of the alliance, and the Open Lord of Waterdeep has historically served as the leader of the Lords’ Alliance.
Current members of the Lords’ Alliance include the cosmopolitan cities of Baldur’s Gate, Silverymoon, and Waterdeep; the emerging city of Neverwinter; the struggling inland city of Mirabar and its rival dwarfhold Mithral Hall; the towns of Daggerford and Yartar; and the agrarian villages of Amphail and Longsaddle.
Although not officially members of the Lords’ Alliance, the villages of Goldenfields and Triboar are important agricultural suppliers to the entire region.
Former Members
Luruar, also known as the League of the Silver Marches, dissolved following a disastrous war with the neighboring orc Kingdom of Many-Arrows. Its capital city, Silverymoon, remains a member of the Lords’ Alliance, as does Mithral Hall, but the city of Sundabar and the town of Nesmé were both razed during that war, and the town of Everlund has yet to rejoin the Lords’ Alliance as an independent member now that it is no longer represented by Luruar.
The Lords’ Alliance once included the city of Elturel among its members, but as that city-state became increasingly theocratic, it severed ties with the Lords’ Alliance even as it annexed its neighboring towns into its new nation of Elturgard. The city of Berdusk was removed from the Lords’ Alliance by Elturel after it was annexed, but the city of Iriaebor managed to hang onto its independence until it was destroyed by earthquakes, after which its ruins and surrounding lands were claimed for Elturgard.
The island nation of Gundarlan maintains trade relations with the coastal cities of the Lords’ Alliance, but its membership in the group became less-important after the pirate-friendly city of Luskan imploded in the late 14th century DR.
Prospective Members
After having fallen into ruin centuries ago and being alternately inhabited by illithid, drow, demons, elementals, aboleths, and innumerable other dangerous creatures, the dwarven city of Gauntlgrym has been resettled by descendants of its original founders. Though its establishment was fiercely opposed by the Lord Protector of Neverwinter, the stubborn might of the dwarves and the powerful allies they cultivated have quickly elevated the city into an emerging political and trading power in the region. Though a subterranean city, Gauntlgrym is supported on the surface by a predominantly-halfling village called Bleeding Vines for its abundant vineyard.
Once a haven for pirates and outlaws, the city of Luskan has had its fortunes turn for the better since the end of the Spellplague. Though piracy is not expressly forbidden, it is discouraged and the once-lucrative trade of slaves to southern lands has now been banned and staunchly enforced. However, Luskan is not-so-secretly ruled by dark elves, a people who have historically been xenophobic and cruel, and the member states of the Lords’ Alliance are exercising caution toward the re-emerging coastal power.
While technically a vassal of Neverwinter, the village of Leilon serves as an important stop along the trade route between Neverwinter and Waterdeep, and it is slowly rebuilding after having been abandoned for a century. Likewise, the slowly-rebuilding town of Port Llast may soon find its harbor at the center of a three-way struggle between the neighboring powers of Gauntlgrym, Luskan, and Neverwinter.
Although isolated and largely unimportant in terms of trade, the confederation of the Ten Towns of Icewind Dale is one of the northernmost settled areas of this part of Faerûn, and its exports of ivory, fish, and furs are certainly welcomed in the cities to the south. At the edge of the dale, the Lords’ Alliance maintains a remote prison for some of its more-dangerous and subversive prisoners.
Click the links to learn more about the cities and towns of this region or about the various regions of Faerûn.
Religion & the Gods
The gods are active and present in the Forgotten Realms, and nearly all intelligent beings give acknowledgement to one or more deities in their daily lives. Some are called to worship a specific god, but the majority of common folk exercise cultural veneration of multiple deities: prayers of thanksgiving and good fortune are made to the deities whose values align with their own, while offerings of appeasement are made to those deities who might oppose or harm them.
Throughout most of Faerûn, the common deities are collectively called the Faerûnian pantheon, and their worship is widespread among those of all heritages, but they’re often seen as the pantheon of humans, and some of the gods were once human themselves.
Most of the non-humans have deities of their own, however, and some may worship these deities exclusively, collectively as a pantheon, or in conjunction with the Faerûnian pantheon.
- The elven pantheon is called the Seldarine
- The dwarven pantheon is called the Morndinsamman
- The halfling pantheon is called Yondalla’s Children
- The gnomish pantheon is called the Lords of the Golden Hills
- The orc pantheon is called the Tribe of He Who Watches
- The goblinoid pantheon does not have a collective name as its principle deity has either killed or made subservient all other goblinoid gods
Dragons tend not to be particularly religious, but those who express such a preference generally worship either Bahamut or Tiamat, though there are other lesser deities in their pantheon. Dragonborn are just as likely to worship the dragon gods as they are the Faerûnian pantheon.
The primordials or Dawn Titans are god-like beings of elemental energy or origin who long ago warred with the Faerûnian gods and were effectively exiled to Toril’s “primordial twin” Abeir, but some of their number can be found in the ranks of other pantheons.