Page 45 - D&D - Player's Handbook

CHAPTER 2: THE SWORD COAST AND THE NORTH

HIS CHAPTER DETAILS MANY OF THE and their agents, all of whom owe allegiance first to
locales of the Sword Coast and the North, their homelands, and second to the Lords' Alliance.
as seen through the eyes and recollections In the harsh lands of the North, where winters are
of a person living in Faen1n. Rather than cold and monsters and human barbarians regularly
being exhaustive descriptions, what stream out of the mountains to pillage outlying settle-
follows are snippets of information drawn ments, large nations are rare indeed, particularly in the
from the experience of five individuals current state of the world. Instead, great city-states have
who have traversed, lived in, and explored these areas. emerged, enriched by trade and protected by stout walls
Like any other narrators, they have opinions and biases, and loyal defenders. Such cities- including Baldur's
and may be drawing conclusions from incomplete Gate, Mirabar, Neverwinter, Silverymoon, and Water-
information. No one in the Realms knows everything deep-extend their influence into nearby regions, often
about any subject, even its oldest and most learned creating or accepting vassal settlements, but in the end,
sages, and the views formed from such incomplete these realms are cities, driven to consider their own pro-
information can often suggest an inaccurate conclusion. tection and future before other concerns.
This is not to say that any of the information the In the years soon after its founding more than one
narrators provide is false, only that they may not be hundred fifty years ago, there was more interest in mem-
entirely knowledgeable in their declarations. bership, and the Alliance accepted some members from
The details given here only begin to scratch the farther south. Since then, events such as the growth of
surface of the adventuring possibilities in the North. Elturgard into a power in its own right, and the recent
Although some of these locales are virtually unknown fall of the Silver Marches, have caused the group to
to outsiders, entire books longer than this one could be draw in on itself, restricting its membership to powers
(and have been) written about others. If the descriptions in the North. The current members of the Alliance are
leave you wanting to know more, consider them an Amphail, Baldur's Gate, Daggerford, Longsaddle, Mira-
inducement for you and your companions to visit these bar, Mithra! Hall, Neverwinter, Silverymoon, Waterdeep,
places and experience them firsthand. and Yartar. There is some doubt that Mithra! Hall will
Be aware, also, that there is a great deal more to the be part of the alliance for much longer, but until ruler-
North than what is presented here. There are ruins ship of the dwarven city is more firmly established, it
without names, and settlements so small as to not remains a member.
even warrant mention in this tome. What lurks in the It is impossible to ascribe an overall character to
uncharted areas, waiting to tantalize or perhaps ter- the individual members of the alliance. As a group,
rorize, is all the more formidable because it can't be the agents of the members are interested in the pres-
anticipated. ervation of civilization in the North, and they share
what information they can- and oppose what threats
THE LORDS' ALLIANCE they must- to further that goal. In the end, though, a
merchant of Waterdeep and one of Baidu r's Gate are
F O R A CENTURY AND A HALF, AND MORE, THE LORDS' concerned mainly for their own purses and the welfare
Alliance has stood as the most important and influential of their home cities, and are unlikely to care what hap-
pens to the other, except inasmuch as it affects trade.
group in the North. Its power has kept towns safe from the
The advice and insights in this section come from
predations of larger powers, has kept the ambitions of Lus-
Andwe Cururen, a half-elf native of Silverymoon who
kan in check, and has taught the rulers of many cities that was once a Knight in Silver (a member of the city's
it is better to cooperate, even for a time, then to merely shut army), and now serves as an emissary and, when neces-
sary, an active agent for the Lords' Alliance. She travels
one's doors and allow the storms to rage outside. It was this
the North on behalf of the Alliance, representing its
philosophy that led to the founding of Luruar, and when the interests and gathering and updating information on its
lesson was lost, so too were the Silver Marches. But it serves settlements for her superiors, fellow agents, and poten-
no purpose to dwell on the folly of the past. Better instead tial recruits, including adventurers who might serve the
Alliance or one of its members.
to look to the f uture, repair the walls, and wait for word
from the watching sentries. AM PH AIL
- Andwe Cururen, agent of the Lords' Alliance Named for its founder, a former warlord of Waterdeep,
the small town of Amphail is home to just over seven
The Lords' Alliance isn't a nation unto itself, but a hundred souls, yet it sought and received membership
partnership of the rulers of towns and cities across in the Lords' Alliance just under a century ago, thanks
the North, who have pledged peace with one another to the maneuverings of the noble families that control
and promised to share information and effort against its lands. Where once it was simply an example of
common threats such as ore hordes and Northlander the extent ofWaterdeep's reach, Amphail became the
pirates. It is a loose confederation of those settlements 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