The Sword Coast

The Sword Coast

The Sword Coast is the long western rim of Faerûn along the Sea of Swords, running through the Western Heartlands. It’s a rugged, lightly governed frontier threaded by vital trade roads and rivers, punctuated by powerful but independent cities. Some guides once called it “the Empty Lands,” but its history, peoples, and constant movement of goods and ideas make it one of the Realms’ most consequential regions.

Geography & Boundaries

Cartographers argue about its exact borders, but common usage sets Amn at the southern end and the Delimbiyr Vale/Waterdeep in the north, with some sources extending further up to Luskan (there labeled the Sword Coast North). Terrain shifts from farmed fields along the Coast Way to badlands north of the Chionthar. Key waters and features include:

  • Sea of Swords: The coastal reach of the Trackless Sea.

  • River Chionthar: Trade artery linking Baldur’s Gate with Elturel, Iriaebor, Berdusk, and Scornubel.

  • Winding Water: Crossing the wilderness between Troll Hills and the Chionthar.

  • Lizard Marsh: Vast, fetid wetlands with lizardfolk, rare dinosaurs, and black dragons.

  • Cloak Wood & Trollbark Forest: Old-growth woods riddled with monsters, fey, portals, and trolls.

  • Sword’s Teeth: Sheer white sea-cliffs that may have inspired the name “Sword Coast.”

  • Troll Hills / Trollclaws / Wild Hills: Hill-lands hosting trolls and other dangers.

  • Lykortha Expanse: Fungi-choked caverns touched by Zuggtmoy’s influence.

Game is plentiful in the unsettled stretches (rabbits, grouse, bustards, rock doves), underscoring how quickly settled ground gives way to true wilderness.

Peoples, Languages, and Faith

The coast is a crossroads. Humans are most numerous, but shield dwarves, elves, halflings, gnomes, orcs and half-orcs, half-elves, and tieflings are common. Languages reflect the mix: Chondathan is widespread, with dwarven, giant, halfling, and orc equally present. Worship is diverse and practical: Chauntea for harvest, Tempus for war, Lathander for new beginnings, Mystra for magic, Mask for shadows, Bane and Beshaba where hard edges rule.

The cultural throughline is self-determination. Generations of frontier living have bred courage, resourcefulness, and a habit of solving problems locally. Theater and festival tableaux are popular, as are “good old plays” featuring rustic trickster figures like Old Duiwin updated with current jokes and commentary.

Governance, Law & Order

There is no central Sword Coast government. Authority is city-by-city and road-by-road, reinforced by alliances:

  • Lords’ Alliance: An urban coalition (Baldur’s Gate, Daggerford, Waterdeep, and others) that coordinates defense and stability.

  • The Pact: A practical agreement among settlements to protect travelers along the Coast Way.

Beyond patrol zones and major roads, the land is largely lawless. Bandits, monsters, raiders, and opportunists thrive; travelers hire mercenaries and adventurers as a matter of course.

Economy, Trade & Finance

Commerce ties the coast together. Caravans roll the Coast Way, the Risen Road links Baldur’s Gate to Elturel, and the Way of the Lion reaches Candlekeep. The Chionthar ferries goods inland and back to sea. Unfinished bloodstone often serves as portable currency, especially among sellswords.

Major players include the Merchant’s League of Baldur’s Gate, High Moon and Seven Suns trading costers, and the shadowy Iron Throne. The Sword Coast Traders’ Bank in Daggerford enables deposits and withdrawals across cities like Baldur’s Gate and Waterdeep, smoothing long-haul trade. Prosperity rises and falls with the safety of roads, health of harvests, and politics of guilds and costers.

Defense & Military Presence

The Lords’ Alliance and Flaming Fist extend limited order beyond city walls, but most communities defend themselves or contract protection. The Flaming Fist doubles as Baldur’s Gate’s standing army and a regional expeditionary force. Mercenary companies and adventuring bands fill gaps, from well-known outfits to local bands formed around a captain and a banner.

Deep History & Upheavals

  • Elder Realms: Illefarn’s elven domains once dominated the region; Haunghdannar’s dwarven realm rose and fell long before current borders. Elves routed Gluthtor’s orc hordes in 225 DR.

  • Kingdoms of Men: Delimbiyran (early 500s DR–697 DR) unified parts of the north until riots, assassinations, and splintering birthed successor realms and new cities.

  • Plagues & Peril: The Year of the Scourge (1150 DR) saw a deadly plague and a surge in Talona’s worship.

  • Era of Upheaval (14th c. DR):

    • First Dragonspear War (1356 DR): Goblinoids and fiends from a portal beneath Dragonspear Castle; Waterdeep and Baldur’s Gate rallied. Tiefling numbers later rise, a lingering mark of infernal contact.

    • Second Dragonspear War (post–Time of Troubles): Larger, costlier conflict; multi-city coalition fights across the coast and at city gates. Losses and trauma run deep.

    • Iron Crisis (1368 DR): The Iron Throne manipulates iron supplies and caravan safety; Sarevok Anchev’s plot is exposed and stopped.

    • Shining Crusade (late 1368 DR): Caelar Argent’s army marches on Dragonspear promising to return lost souls; refugees flood Baldur’s Gate; the crusade ends only after a final push into the Nine Hells.

  • 15th c. DR:

    • Illefarn Revival: Wood elves along the coast, led by Alagarthas (son of King Melandrach), seek a cultural and political resurgence.

    • Saprophytic Plague (1492 DR): Fungal blight hits people, beasts, and stores; adventurers trace and eliminate its source.

Landmarks, Ruins & Roads

  • Dragonspear Castle: Most infamous ruin; nexus of two wars and recurring threats.

  • Warlock’s Crypt: Larloch’s dreadful stronghold.

  • Stoner’s Needle: An isolated peak containing a bound fire elemental in dwarf form.

  • Ulcaster School: A ruined academy haunted by its founder’s ghost.

  • Roads: The Coast Way (with Zundbridge over the Dessarin and Trollclaw Ford over the Winding Water), the Risen Road, and the Way of the Lion to Candlekeep.

Cities & Settlements

  • Baldur’s Gate: “The Gate,” a dense, wealthy port metropolis and regional trade hub with the Flaming Fist as both watch and army.

  • Beregost: Large inland trading town off the Coast Way; grew into a mercantile center.

  • Daggerford: A small walled duchy anchored by farms; ruled by a duke/duchess, run day-to-day by a Council of Guilds.

  • Candlekeep: The famed fortress-library; the Avowed grant access for steep prices paid in knowledge.

  • The Friendly Arm Inn: Stronghold-inn on the Coast Way; safe beds and a shrine to Garl Glittergold.

  • Other notable communities: Bowshot (caverns to the deep earth), Gillian’s Hill (Underdark entrance), Julkoun (Chauntea shrine), Kheldrivver (rebuilt over Oghma’s ruined monastery), Lathtarl’s Lantern (too near Warlock’s Crypt for comfort), Liam’s Hold (boomed after a rosy Volo entry), Orlumbor (elite shipwrights), Roaringshore (pirate-scarred), Torm’s Hand (near Baldur’s Gate), Ulgoth’s Beard (humble fishers, once cult-tainted).

Factions & Powerbrokers

The absence of a crown invites networks and cabals:

  • Harpers: Decentralized do-gooder spies who check tyranny and preserve lore.

  • Zhentarim: Mercantile-mercenary syndicate pursuing profit and leverage.

  • Knights of the Shield: Secretive financiers and information brokers.

  • Shadow Thieves: Organized criminal empire with deep coastal roots.

  • Emerald Enclave: Druids and wardens defending natural balance.

  • Order of the Gauntlet: Knights and paladins unified to confront evil directly.

  • Flaming Fist: Baldurian peacekeepers and army with regional reach.

  • Mercenary companies: The Chill (Lurkwood), the Amnian Order of the Blue Boar, the Blacktalons of Iriaebor, and countless smaller bands.

  • Adventuring brands: From storied companies (Order of the Burning Dawn, Knights of the Unicorn, Heroes of Baldur’s Gate) to modern brokerages like Acquisitions Incorporated that franchise adventuring work under a shared charter.

Notable Individuals

  • Mintiper Moonsilver: Bard known as the Lonely Harpist, whose songs map the coast’s memory.

  • Sylvira Savikas: Great Reader of Candlekeep, a respected sage.

  • Minsc: Rashemi hero and “Beloved Ranger of Baldur’s Gate,” emblem of the coast’s heart-on-sleeve heroism.