City of Waterdeep
Waterdeep, also known as the City of Splendors or the Crown of the North, was the most important and influential city in the North and perhaps in all Faerûn. It was a truly marvelous cosmopolitan city of great culture that attracted the most talented artisans, artists, and scholars from across the Realms, as well as a commercial hub for financial interests along the coast and beyond.
It was one of if not the most powerful and influential member-states of the Lords' Alliance, the coalition of nations and city-states that sought to maintain order along the Sword Coast and the North.
Government
Waterdeep was ruled by a sixteen-seat council whose membership was largely secret. These hidden Lords of Waterdeep maintained their identities behind magical masks, called the Lord's Helm, and while they ruled in public, none knew the true identities of most of them. The subject of who the Lords were became a common topic of noble conversation, and some considered it a game to discover the Lords' identities, a game made more confusing by the fact the Lords themselves set their own rumors afloat.
Defences
Waterdeep maintained two separate armed forces, the City Guard and the City Watch. The City Guard served as Waterdeep's soldiery and its members staffed garrisons, road patrols, and watchpoints, and served as bodyguards and gate guards. The Watch was the local police force, acting as a constabulary within the city. More delicate missions taken in the name of the City of Splendors were handled by Force Grey, an elite force of a dozen or so skilled spellcasters and cunning warriors.
Waterdeep had strong walls on its landward sides and was protected in part by Mount Waterdeep on the seaward side. Mount Waterdeep was studded with watchtowers and defensive positions, and patrolled by special guard units on flights of griffons known as the Griffon Cavalry.
Aside from this, Waterdeep also benefited from a large native population of the adventurers that were often more than willing to deal with any and all miscreants that threatened their home city. Notable companies that arose to aid Waterdeep in times of peril included the band of heroes that slew the first Xanathar, the all-halfling group known as the Defenders Three, the Dawnbringer Company, and perhaps most famously, the Company of Crazed Venturers.
The city was also home to the eight enormous Walking Statues of Waterdeep. Seven of these statues could be animated by the Blackstaff of Waterdeep to defend the city, while one was too damaged to be activated. These statues were extremely destructive and only used to fend off armies or win otherwise impossible battles.
Industry & Trade
The city was the hub of trading from the mineral-rich lands to the north, the merchant kingdoms of Amn and Calimshan to the south, the kingdoms of the Inner Sea to the east, and the sea kingdoms and traders to the west. Waterdeep's authority extended between 30 mi (48 km) to 40 mi (64 km) from its walls.
As of the early 1370s DR, stone was imported from Mirabar via Luskan for use in construction, having been magically transported. This was an expensive process. During that time it was witnessed that wagons and carts overcrowded the city's markets as foreign vendors attempted to sell as much as possible before returning home for the winter. This was a practice ignored by the Guard, the Watch, and the guilds.
Docking at Waterdeep's port incurred a fee of 1 cp per 10 feet (3 meters) of keel length per week. Sages and traders from Waterdeep were eager to listen to stories from wildspace and traded on all the products the city had to offer.
Guilds and Factions
Once, the guilds ruled the city, and it almost destroyed itself in a series of internal commercial wars. No one wanted to see those days return. Below is a list of the various official guilds still up and running.
- Baker's Guild
- Carpenters', Roofers', & Plaisterers' Guild
- Cellarers' & Plumbers' Guild
- Coopers' Guild
- Council of Farmer-Grocers
- Council of Musicians, Instrument-Makers, & Choristers
- Dungsweepers' Guild
- Fellowship of Bowers and Fletchers
- Fellowship of Carters and Coachmen
- Fellowship of Innkeepers
- Fellowship of Salters, Packers, and Joiners
- Fishmongers' Fellowship
- Guild of Apothecaries and Physicians
- Guild of Butchers
- Guild of Chandlers and Lamplighters
- Guild of Fine Carvers
- Guild of Glassblowers, Glaziers, and Spectacle-makers
- Guild of Stonecutters, Masons, Potters, and Tile-makers
- Guild of Trusted Pewterers and Casters
- Guild of Watermen
- Jesters' Guild
- Jewelers' Guild
- Launderers' Guild
- League of Basket-makers and Wickerworkers
- League of Skinners and Tanners
- Loyal Order of Street Laborers
- Master Mariners' Guild
- Most Careful Order of Skilled Smiths and Metalforgers
- Most Diligent League of Sail-makers and Cordwainers
- Most Excellent Order of Weavers and Dyers
- Order of Cobblers and Corvisers
- Order of Master Shipwrights
- Order of Master Tailors, Glovers, and Mercers
- Saddlers' and Harness-makers' Guild
- Scriveners', Scribes', and Clerks' Guild
- Solemn Order of Recognized Furriers and Woolmen
- Splendid Order of Armorers, Locksmiths, and Finesmiths
- Stablemasters' and Farriers' Guild
- Stationers' Guild
- Surveyors', Map-makers', and Chart-makers' Guild
- Vintners', Distillers', & Brewers' Guild
- Wagon-makers' and Coach Builders' Guild
- Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors
- Wheelwrights' Guild
History
The region that would later be called Waterdeep was originally a trading stop utilized by the local tribesmen of the North and merchants that came up from the cities to the south. Early accounts of permanent farms being established in the area varied slightly, with some sages stating that they were first observed as early as the Year of the Thundering Horde, 52 DR, while others noted their appearance circa to mid–4th century DR.
The actual name "Waterdeep" was first used circa the 10th by sea captains to refer to the warlord-controlled town at whose port they docked. It did not become a true city until the Year of the Nightmaidens, 1032 DR, the year Ahghairon became the first Lord of Waterdeep, and the date from which Northreckoning is counted.
Its size and population grew at a tremendous pace. By the mid–13th century Waterdeep's famous guilds had taken root in the city and construction of the City of the Dead graveyard had been completed. Waterdeep's guild masters seized control of the City of Splendors shortly after the Year of the Cockatrice, 1248 DR, beginning an era of great turmoil and political conflict referred to as the Guildwars. This dark period ended after a couple of decades, and the more modern form of governance was put in place in the Year of the Wagon, 1273 DR. The secretive Lords of Waterdeep took power, aided by the diligent and astute Blackcloaks.
People from all across Faerûn and beyond traveled to Waterdeep to take their chance at earning wealth and renown. They were afforded their chances by the city's stable and fair system of government, its stalwart defenders of the City Guard, and vigilant members of the Watch. By the 14th century, Waterdeep earned the reputation as a place of tolerance for the myriad of different cultures, lifestyles, and religions that were associated with the people of the Realms.
While Waterdeep did not face ruin as some other cities did when the Spellplague struck the Realms in the Year of Blue Fire, 1385 DR, the magical network that wound through its infrastructure was greatly altered. The cataclysm "awakened" the remaining Walking Statues that previously only existed on the Ethereal Plane and brought them back to Waterdeep on the Prime Material plane. They each ran rampant in the city, causing some extent of destruction before they were stopped by various means.
Waterdeep was struck with another catastrophic event in the Year of Silent Death, 1395 DR, when the Putrescent Anathema spread throughout its region of the North. The plague hit Goldenfields particularly hard, destroying much of the city's primary grain supply. The catastrophe reduced the city's population greatly, hitting its poorer citizens particularly hard.
In the Year of Three Ships Sailing, 1492 DR, a number of agents and organizations including the shady Xanathar's Thieves' Guild, the greedy Zhentarim, the enigmatic Harpers, and even the stalwart Lords' Alliance sought to recover a cache of 500,000 gold dragons that was hidden somewhere within the city, a sum that was embezzled by the former Open Lord of the city, Dagult Neverember.
Geography
Waterdeep was built on the site of the ancient elven settlement of Aelinthaldaar. It sprawled northward from the sea, spreading along the flanks of Mount Waterdeep, which used to be home to the Melairkyn, a mithral-mining dwarven clan, and the entire length and great depth of the mountain was riddled with passages and tunnels, most of which were occupied by deadly creatures whose presence in the mountain predated the founding of the city itself.
Founding Date
1032
Alternative Name(s)
City of Splendors, Crown of the North
Type
Large city
Population
up to 2,000,000 in the 15th century DR
Inhabitant Demonym
Waterdhavian
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
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