Lord Warder Dauner Ilzimmer

Amphail is a small village and farming community of approximately 900 people. It has no militia of its own, so it is patrolled by Waterdhavian guards. Its outsized membership in the Lords’ Alliance is due primarily to its status as a source of well-bred horses and food crops.

Demonym: Amphailan

Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard

The only coastal city in the Lords’ Alliance which even approaches the size and power of Waterdeep, Baldur’s Gate is an important center of trade. Its population of 125,000 in the city proper and tens of thousands more in the surrounding hills, forests, and farmlands is a relatively recent boom, as its reputation as an “open city” made it a haven for refugees following the events of the Spellplague, and for a time it was a more-populous city than even Waterdeep. Its borders and roads are patrolled by the Flaming Fist mercenary company, which is still technically a separate entity from the government of Baldur’s Gate even though historically one of the city’s dukes is the leader of the Flaming Fist.

Baldur’s Gate is ruled by its Council of Four. Traditionally, three dukes were elected by the people and the fourth was the Marshall of the Flaming Fist, and the Council of Four appointed one of their number to be Grand Duke. After a coup attempt in the mid-1400s, authority to elect the dukes was shifted to the Parliament of Peers, whose roughly 50 members are predominantly aristocrats and wealthy merchants. The Parliament of Peers has continued the traditional election of the Marshall of the Flaming Fist to the Council of Four.

Demonym: Baldurian

Duchess Morwen Daggerford

A town and farming community of around 1200 people, Daggerford occupies an important position on the Trade Way  roughly 150 miles south of Waterdeep. Goods sailing up the Delimbiyr River must be offloaded in Daggerford, as the river is too shallow to navigate beyond the town’s port.

Daggerford has one of the largest communities of dragonborn in the Sword Coast region outside of the major cities of Baldur’s Gate and Waterdeep.

Queen Dagnabbet Waybeard

As the only member of the Lords’ Alliance which is almost entirely non-human, Mithral Hall is tucked into the foothills of the Spine of the World north of the Evermoors, east of Mirabar, and west of Silverymoon. A mostly-human surface town called Settlestone serves as the trading port for the underground fortress of around 3,500 dwarves, and the subterranean portions are also home to a number of deep gnomes, the svirfneblin.

Mithral Hall was a founding member of Luruar, a now-defunct alliance of the region known as the Silver Marches. The current ruler—Mithral Hall’s first regnant queen—was the general of the dwarfhold’s forces under its previous king, Connerad Brawnanvil, but he abdicated in her favor to join his predecessor Bruenor Battlehammer in the mission to reclaim Gauntlgrym.

Lord Protector Dagult Neverember

Few cities rose, fell, and then rebuilt again as has Neverwinter. Thanks to its unusually warm climate and ice-free harbor, Neverwinter was an attractive place for the wealthy of the Sword Coast to build a second home, and it was a haven for artisans and gardeners, producing fine clocks, jewelry, and exquisite flowers year-round. Its population was devastated by a plague in 1372 DR, leaving it vulnerable to the conquering Netherese, who allegedly sought remnants of their lost empire in the nearby Neverwinter Wood. Then, in 1451, the eruption of Mount Hotenow—the volcanic source of the hot springs which warmed the city—destroyed nearly every building and wiped out the ruling Alagondar family.

Beginning in 1469 DR, Waterdeep’s Open Lord Dagult Neverember claimed to be a descendent of the rightful ruling family of Neverwinter and poured vast sums of his own money into reconstruction. It was also widely rumored that he drained Waterdeep’s coffers to fuel the endeavor, and as the claim was not completely without merit—large sums of money had gone unaccounted for—Neverember was soon ousted as Waterdeep’s Open Lord, though he continued to hold the title of Lord Protector of Neverwinter.

Regardless of the feelings many in Waterdeep have about the former Open Lord, Neverwinter is rapidly growing under his deft leadership, and its residents now number nearly 7,000, most of them human and half-elves, but also sizable populations of tieflings, dragonborn, and half-orcs. Efforts to expand the nascent city’s influence have had mixed results: reclaiming Leilon was a resounding success, but Neverember’s open hostility to the reclaiming of Gauntlgrym put him on wrong footing with King Bruenor.

Demonym: Neveren or Neverwintan

Waterbaron Nestra Ruthiol

Nestled in the juncture of the rivers Surbrin and Dessarin, Yartar is a town of roughly 7,500 humans with a handful of other heritages represented among their number. The role of Waterbaron is elected, rather than inherited, though the person who wins the title then serves for the remainder of their life or until resignation. Yartar’s strategic position between Waterdeep and Silverymoon has made it the target of several nefarious plots over the years, including a recent series of abductions by an apocalyptic cult.

Demonym: Yartaran

High Lady Cylyria Dragonbreast

With a bustling population of over 20,000 humans, elves, half-elves, and halflings, Berdusk is a thriving city on the River Chionthar in the Western Heartlands. It became part of the kingdom of Elturgard during the 1430s DR, and thus was represented in the Lords’ Alliance by the capital city, Elturel, until Elturgard broke from the Lords’ Alliance in the later half of the century.

Demonym: Berduskan

High Observer  Thavius Kreeg

Boasting a population of around 30,000 humans and a sizable enclave of gnomes, Elturel was founded atop a defensible bluff along the River Chionthar, where it oversaw barge traffic floating down the river from the inner Western Heartlands to the city of Baldur’s Gate. After a siege of undead on the city in the 1430s DR, Elturel was protected from further assault by the appearance of a great glowing orb above the city center which many described as a “second sun” and hailed as a covenant with the sun god, Amaunator. While the orb produced no heat, its light was akin to that of natural daylight and it burned any undead who fell directly beneath its rays. 

Thereafter, Elturel positioned itself as a true a rival to Baldur’s Gate downriver, and began enfolding its surrounding lands and neighboring cities of Berdusk, Iriaebor, Scornubel, Soubar, and Triel into a new theocratic realm of Elturgard, ruled by a high-ranking priest of Torm. As of 1489 DR, the theocracy considered itself a regional power and had withdrawn from the Lords’ Alliance, largely because it viewed the other member states as too religiously tolerant.

Recently, word has filtered north along the Trade Way that the second sun over the city of Elturel is no longer shining, while others claim the city itself has completely vanished.

Demonym: Elturian

Council of Elders

The second-largest city of the Silver Marches region, roughly 25,000 humans, elves, half-elves, halflings, and gnomes call Everlund their home. The River Rauvin is navigable between Everlund and Sundabar upstream, but a stretch of cataracts called the Striding Giant Rapids prevents vessels from floating downstream to Silverymoon. Still, Everlund marks the eastern end of the Evermoor Way leading to Triboar and Waterdeep beyond, making it an important mercantile city despite its isolated position.

However, the razing of Sundabar in the War of the Silver Marches—and Everlund’s hesitance in coming to their trading partner’s defense—has damaged Everlund’s economy and reputation, though it still facilitates overland trade between Silverymoon and Waterdeep.  Neither the Council of Elders nor the current First Elder have indicated if Everlund will rejoin the Lords’ Alliance now that they are no longer represented by Luruar.

King Bruenor Battlehammer

The legendary king of Mithral Hall was known to have died in the decades after the Spellplague, having lamented ever signing the treaty which established the Kingdom of Many-Arrows, but he made a startling return to life in time to lead the defenders during the War of the Silver Marches. After personally heading the march which pushed the orcs and their goblin and frost giant allies back into the Spine of the World, King Bruenor led the combined dwarven armies of Mithral Hall, Citadel Adbar, and Citadel Felbarr—and no small number of dwarves from Mirabar—to the gates of the long-lost dwarven fortress, where they pushed out the occupying force of dark elves and demons. 

Despite Dagult Neverember’s demand that the dwarves place no settlement on the surface lands he claimed for Neverwinter—or perhaps cleverly exploiting a loophole in that demand—a large enclave of halflings moved from distant Aglarond to build their village of Bleeding Vines above the dwarven city. So named for its bountiful vineyard, wine from Bleeding Vines is already becoming popular in Waterdeep, adding a touch of luxury to the already-impressive metal wares coming from the dwarven forges.

Abbot Ellardin Darovik

An agrarian community of 5,000 humans, halflings, and half-orcs, Goldenfields has earned the nickname “the Granary of the North” for its prodigious fields and orchards. Rather than being a town sprawling across the countryside, the entire community is contained within the spectacular walls of an abbey dedicated to Chauntea, the goddess of agriculture. 

Goldenfields has long been considered an “unofficial” member of the Lords’ Alliance, due to its importance in the feeding of the city of Waterdeep and much of the surrounding area. Their crucial role in the northern economy was driven home in 1395 DR, when a blight ruined that year’s grain harvest and thousands died of disease and starvation.

None (dissolved)

Also called the League of the Silver Marches, Luruar was not a city-state member of the Lords’ Alliance, but a confederacy within a confederacy. The alliance was formed in direct response to the establishment of the orc kingdom of Many-Arrows in the foothills of the Spine of the World Mountains, and it was intended as a military check against the rising power of the orc kingdom, as well as a trade partnership among the dwarfholds, elven forests, and mostly-human cities and towns of which it was comprised. However, when the Kingdom of Many-Arrows was seized by a brutal dictator and the region was thrust into war once again, the alliance proved even more flimsy than the paper upon which it was written.

Demonym: Luruaran

High Captain Beniago Kurth

Luskan has history, and little of it is pretty.  The city is built atop the ruins of the ancient capital of Illusk and supported a population of around 16,000 at its height. Aside from downriver trade from the mines and forges of Mirabar, Luskan’s primary industry was piracy, and it was such a scourge to the other cities of the North that it was one of the reasons for the formation of the Lords’ Alliance. However, the Lords’ Alliance could do little against the might of the Arcane Brotherhood, a cabal of wizards who actually ruled the city. The Arcane Brotherhood backed five pirate lords as the High Captains of the city, with their individual factions being called their Ships.

In 1376 DR, a Waterdeep-backed coup ousted the Arcane Brotherhood and destroyed the Hosttower of the Arcane, the seat of the Brotherhood’s power. A famed pirate hunter named Captain Deudermont was installed as governor of the city, but as winter set in, Ship Rethnor took control of the food supply and sparked a street war through a controlled shortage. When Deudermont was found murdered and his ship, Sea Sprite II, wrecked against one of the rocky islands in the harbor, the city descended into chaos, a state it remained in for nearly a century through plagues, undead hordes, and gang warfare between the Ships.

Since the end of the Spellplague, Luskan has undergone a startling transformation, with Ship Kurth achieving unparalleled dominance over the other four factions and instituting reforms to the benefit of the 4,000 people still left within its walls, though that number does not include a reportedly-sizable population of dark elf settlers living underground in the ruins of Illusk. Piracy has not been strictly outlawed, but the trading of slaves is banned and enforced with the might of Ship Kurth’s dark-elf-crewed Deudermont’s Revenge, a replica of Sea Sprite II.

The Hosttower of the Arcane has also been magically rebuilt, though it isn’t certain how such a feat was accomplished nor who was responsible. A new Arcane Brotherhood has been established, but rumors persist that the wizards claiming leadership of the Hosttower are pawns or aliases of the unknown true masters.

Demonym: Luskar

None (destroyed)

Once an important stop on the way for boats and barges taking the risky—but potentially faster—merchant route down the River Surbrin from Silverymoon, stubborn Nesmé carved out a piece of dry land between the banks of the river and the dangerous Evermoors. The river protected the town from Uthgardt raiders to the west and north, and high stone walls helped shield its inhabitants from trolls and other monsters from the Evermoors to the south and east.

As with doomed Sundabar, high walls were no match for giant-hurled boulders and the frosty breath of a white dragon. Nesmé fell early in the War of the Silver Marches, and was the winter encampment of a portion of the Many-Arrows forces into the spring of 1485 DR. The handful of survivors who endured the brutal winter and lived to see the war’s end reported that nearly 600 had survived the initial capture of the town, but most were tortured, executed, starved, or hunted for the amusement of a sadistic dark elf calling himself “the Duke of Nesmé”.

The Evermoors quickly engulfed the land where the proud town once stood, and there are no immediate plans to attempt to reclaim and rebuild Nesmé.

Demonym: Nesmeian

None (destroyed)

Never a particularly large city, Port Llast existed primarily as a quarry and a harbor for shipping the fine stone all along the Sword Coast. Though its nearest neighbor was Neverwinter 35 miles to the south, the defenseless Port Llast suffered numerous raids from Luskan, roughly 50 miles to its north. Rule of the town has fluctuated wildly over the centuries since its founding, and it has been sacked, burned, and rebuilt numerous times.

The most-recent destruction of the town occurred in 1484 DR, when a raiding party of dark elves and driders killed most of the defenders and abducted still others as slaves. As the town’s harbor had been ruined due to tidal changes from the transposition of portions of Toril with its twin world Abeir, its usefulness as a quarry for the rebuilding of Neverwinter was somewhat limited. After the worlds separated in 1486 DR, the harbor filled again and stonemasons have begun to make their way back to the region, though they still number less than a hundred.

Neverwinter is likely to make a bid to restore Port Llast, but it is likely that Gauntlgrym and Luskan will also take an interest in the town’s harbor.

Lord Protector Darathra Shendrel

A town of some 2,500, Triboar’s relatively small size compared to the cities of Waterdeep and Silverymoon belies its importance to those cities: it is situated where the Evermoor Way from Everlund and Silverymoon met the Long Road between Mirabar and Waterdeep, and the grain and other crops grown in the fertile lands around the town supply food throughout the North.

Unlike most towns of the Sword Coast region which have seen their populations swell and subside through catastrophe after calamity, Triboar’s population has remained relatively stable in the last century. Also stable has been Triboar’s rivalry with neighboring Yartar: usually, this takes the form of relatively harmless pranks or absurd acts of one-upmanship, but often the only possible result of Yartarans and Triboarans meeting in a neutral tavern elsewhere in the Sword Coast region is a fierce and brutal brawl.

Demonym: Triboaran