The Moonshae Isles

The Moonshae Isles

The Moonshae Isles—called the jewels on the hilts of the Sea of Swords—form a rugged, storm-lashed archipelago west of Faerûn’s Sword Coast, bridging the Sea of Swords and the Trackless Sea. Though beautiful, the isles are marked by tension, fey magic, and centuries of rivalry between two human cultures: the land-bound Ffolk and the seafaring Northlanders. Their connection to the Feywild makes them unlike any other region of Faerûn: a place where nature itself holds power and gods, spirits, and druids still shape the balance between civilization and wildness.

The capital and greatest city is Caer Callidyrr on Alaron, long seat of the Kendrick dynasty, rulers who have sought for centuries to unify the quarrelsome kingdoms under the banner of the United Moonshae Isles. The isles’ population once exceeded 680,000 by the 14th century DR, most of them human.

Geography and Climate

The Moonshaes are vast and varied—dark forests, moors, marshes, and jagged peaks separated by misty channels and perilous straits. Hundreds of islands dot the archipelago; even the smallest often harbor a fishing village or a druid’s circle.

Coasts are pebbled and steep, with granite cliffs rising 500 feet above crashing seas. Inland lie gray salt marshes, treacherous fens, and quicksand-laced bogs like the deadly Fens of the Fallon on Gwynneth. The highlands climb to 8,000 feet and remain snowcapped most of the year, while low moors serve as pastures for sheep and cattle.

The climate is subarctic—long winters, cool summers, and endless rain. Storms roar in from the Trackless Sea between late Eleint and Ches, driving 40-foot waves and grounding all ships. Yet oceanic currents keep the isles from freezing solid. Summers are gray, wet, and shrouded in fog. Only the southeastern isles enjoy milder weather thanks to the protection of the northwestern chains.

Flora, Fauna, and the Underdark

Deciduous forests of oak, birch, maple, and yew cover the lowlands; higher slopes hold pine and spruce. The woods teem with hares, foxes, deer, wolves, and boar. Highlands shelter eagles and hawks; swamps crawl with biting insects and worse. Beneath the waves swim trout and salmon, while the skies host griffons, rocs, and wyverns. Monstrous beasts—displacer beasts, trolls, perytons, owlbears, and water weirds—lurk in the wilds, and some of Faerûn’s largest rocs are said to nest on Norland and Moray.

Below lies the Deepearth, the Moonshae Underdark—a web of sea-caves and tunnels extending under both Faerûn and Maztica. Saltwater rivers, glowing fungi, and ancient ruins fill these depths, with entrances in Norheim’s sea-caves and the Dwarvenhome tunnels beneath Gwynneth.

Government and Politics

Historically, the isles were divided among dozens of petty kingdoms, dwarven holds, and giant realms. Druids claimed spiritual sovereignty, demanding consultation before any tree could be felled.

Under High Queen Alicia Kendrick (1371 DR), the Moonshaes briefly united as the United Moonshae Isles, with the Northlander kings adopting the lesser title of jarls. By the late 15th century DR, unity had unraveled:

  • House Kendrick ruled only much of Alaron.

  • Snowdown fell under Amnian control, ruled by the vampire Lady Erliza Daressin.

  • Gwynneth became Sarifal, a Feywild kingdom under High Lady Ordalf.

  • Oman was conquered by fomorian giants led by Queen Connomae.

  • Moray descended into savagery under the Malarite Black Blood tribe of lycanthropes.

The Kendrick kings still claim overlordship, but their authority now ends where the fey mists or Amnian gold begins.

Trade and Economy

Each kingdom is largely self-sufficient but relies on summer sea trade for prosperity. Ships from Amn, Calimshan, Waterdeep, Mintarn, and Tethyr exchange horses, silks, and ore for Ffolk steel, weapons, timber, and the famed rose-gold of the Moonshaes.

Caer Callidyrr serves as the commercial hub, its harbors crowded with merchants from across Toril. The islands’ tall trees make them the only nearby source for galleon-grade timber, drawing shipwrights from Mintarn who rebuild fleets from Moonshae lumber. Despite raids and piracy, Ffolk ports offer a safer alternative to the notorious Nelanther Isles.

By the 15th century, Amnian investors and immigrants had gained major footholds, spreading thalers as common currency. Meanwhile, the fey kingdom of Sarifal minted gold of its own, distrusted but traded reluctantly across the isles.

Peoples and Culture

Nearly nine in ten Moonshavians are human, split between Ffolk and Northlanders who, by the 1400s, had begun to intermingle. They now see themselves as dual stewards: the Ffolk of the land, the Northlanders of the sea.

  • Ffolk: Farmers, herders, and fishermen of the southern isles—peaceful but hardy, revering the land and its spirits.

  • Northlanders: Seafaring raiders turned traders; their jarls rule the northern isles, proud and warlike but increasingly allied through marriage and shared defense.

Magic is viewed with suspicion; druids are honored, but wizards are rare. Most live in small villages bound by self-reliance and close community, their isolation breeding independence and courage—traits that make many natural adventurers.

Other notable peoples include:

  • Llewyrr Elves, the reclusive kin of Gwynneth’s valley of Synnoria, alongside avariel and green elves.

  • Fey of every kind—dryads, pixies, satyrs, pseudodragons, and hamadryads—whose numbers grew as the Feywild’s barrier weakened. “Fey-cursed” mortals touched by that realm are a growing mystery.

  • Dwarves, mainly shield dwarves of Highhome and Fairheight Range, famed smiths but dwindling in number.

  • Halflings, traders and sailors with roots said to intertwine with the fey.

  • Lycanthropes, especially in Alaron and Moray, from noble swanmays to savage werewolves of the Black Blood tribe.

  • Giants, fomorians, and firbolgs, ancient denizens of the isles, now brutish remnants of fallen lineages.

  • Orcs in northern mountains, dragons across Norland and Snowdown, and lesser creatures from goblins to sahuagin haunting coasts and swamps.

Faith and Spirituality

Religion in the Moonshaes centers on the Earthmother, a druidic goddess of nature seen by outsiders as an aspect of Chauntea. Her worship is bound to sacred moonwells, pools of divine magic tended by druids. Her three servants—the Leviathan, Unicorn, and The Pack—embody sea, land, and wild. Druids also venerate Silvanus, though distinct from mainland orders.

The Northlanders worship martial sea-gods: Tempus, Valkur, Auril, Umberlee, and later Talos. Among halflings, Yondalla (Perissa) is revered, and the firbolgs honor their demigod Grond Peaksmasher. In contrast, the lycanthropes worship Malar, god of the hunt, whose faithful clash bitterly with the Earthmother’s druids.

History and Legend

Origins (−17,000 DR onward):
The First Sundering birthed the isles from shifting landmasses. Fey settlers—LeShay and Llewyrr elves—founded the kingdoms of Sarifal and Synnoria. Giants under Grond Peaksmasher came next, followed by wars against dwarves and the rise of Kazgaroth, a Malar-spawned horror defeated only after ages of strife.

The Coming of Humans (140 DR):
Refugees fleeing tyranny founded the first Ffolk kingdom on Gwynneth. Under Cymrych Hugh, the Ffolk unified and established Moonshae Reckoning (MR), their native calendar. But after his death in 250 DR, unity shattered, and Illuskan raiders—ancestors of the Northlanders—invaded, seizing northern islands and sparking centuries of conflict.

Darkwalker Wars (1345–1347 DR):
The Beast Kazgaroth returned, disguised as the Northlander king Thelgar Ironhand. The hero Tristan Kendrick and his allies slew the creature and forged peace, founding the modern Kendrick Dynasty.

Unification (1371 DR):
Under High Queen Alicia Kendrick, the Northlander jarls swore fealty, creating the United Moonshae Isles. Peace brought trade and growth, though dragons and pirates remained threats. The red dragon Hoondarrh later destroyed Caer Callidyrr’s palace in 1373 DR.

Fey Resurgence and the Spellplague:
Druidic moonwells reopened portals to the Feywild, drawing fey and fomorian incursions. High Lady Ordalf revived Sarifal on Gwynneth, ruling from the reborn city of Karador. After the Spellplague (1385 DR) and the Amnian conquest of Snowdown (1404 DR), House Kendrick’s realm shrank dramatically.

Modern Era (15th century DR):
By 1479 DR, High King Derid Kendrick held only Alaron, vowing to reclaim lost lands. Sarifal’s influence spread across Gwynneth; fomorians ruled Oman; lycanthropes ravaged Moray. Dragons, including Hoondarrh and Karrnsyrrl, plagued the skies, while whispers spread of fey vanishing back into the wild. The fragile coexistence of Ffolk and Northmen endured more from necessity than unity.

The Major Isles

  • Alaron: Largest island; home to Caer Callidyrr, Dernall Forest, and the Kendrick court. Northern Gnarhelm remains a Northlander stronghold.

  • Gwynneth (Sarifal): Fey-ruled under Ordalf; once the Ffolk kingdom of Corwell.

  • Snowdown: Smallest major isle; under Amnian occupation and vampiric rule.

  • Oman: Fomorian-dominated wilderness.

  • Moray: Ravaged by the Black Blood lycanthropes.

  • Norland & Norheim: Northern strongholds of Northlander jarls and frost giants.

  • Korinn Archipelago: Pirate-ridden chain linking to the Trackless Sea.

  • Flamsterd: Semi-submerged isle ruled by the archmage Flamsterd.