Waterdeep
Although Waterdeep is younger than many cities of the South, its history stretches back millennia. Humans have dwelt along the shores of Deepwater Bay for at least two thousand years, in settlements such as Sarguath, Blackcloak Hold, Bloodhand Hold, Nimoar's Hold, and Skullport. Their traditions, culture, and laws formed the foundation of Waterdhavian culture and society.
In the current age, the City of Splendors serves as the Gateway to the North, accessible by road, ship, Underdark passage, or magic portal. Almost anything can be bought, sold, or found in its thriving markets and long-forgotten dungeons. Most adventurers worth their salt eventually make their way to Waterdeep in search of excitement, danger, or the great reward. The trick is surviving and thriving in the grandest city of Faerun.
Structure
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.
Culture
As the Gateway to the North, cosmopolitan Waterdeep is home to all manner of individuals, some of them native to the city and some of them hailing from distant lands. Humans make up the bulk (64%) of the populace, but representatives of nearly every race or ethnic group native to Faerun dwell within the city walls. Elves (predominately moon elves) and shield dwarves make up 10% of the population, while lightfoot halflings and half-elves make up 5% each of the population. Gnomes, at 3%, and half-orcs, at 2%, are the remaining racial minorities found in sizable numbers.
Waterdhavian culture and society derive most strongly from Chondathan, Illuskan, and Tethyrian influences. Waterdeep's maritime heritage can be traced back to the Illuskan sailors who first anchored on the shores of Deepwater Bay. The city's tolerance and egalitarianism is the legacy of Tethyrian settlers whose forebears have always rebelled against empires and domination. Chondathan merchants imparted a strong mercantile streak into the city's culture in recent centuries and left a legacy of CHondathan as the primary tongue.
Waterdhavians tend to be talkative, friendly, easygoing, and outspoken. Most are slow to take offense or fright and are relatively worldly compared to their counterparts in less cosmopolitan cities. Lecherous and drunken behavior is usually tolerated but considered unusual. Small talk often centers on matters of commerce and warfare elsewhere in Faerun. Waterdhavians are generally proud of their history but not dismissive of other realms. With important exceptions, they dream of wealth and individual aggrandizement but eschew thoughts of empire and conquest.
In keeping with the tolerance shown to outsiders, all forms of dress and appearance are seen on the streets of Waterdeep, though impersonating a Lord of Waterdeep, a black-robed Magister, or officers or members of a city guard or watch is forbidden. Guild livery is reserved for guild members, but only worn on official business, holidays, extra-city business ventures, and during guild meetings. Coats of arms can only be worn by those so entitled; nobles rarely display them except in signet rings, belt buckles, or pendants, but their servants wear clothes emblazoned with their master's coat-of-arms. For women dressing in high fashion, glittering, diaphanous gowns of silk and sequins accompanied by glittering jewelry are much in favor, as are furs and filigreed stomachers in exquisite designs.
History
Deepwater Bay is the best harbor along the Sword Coast and the plateau in the shadow of Mount Waterdeep is a natural site on which to build a city. Elves, dwarves, Netherese wizards, Illuskan seafarers, and Tethyrian migrants have all laid claim to what is now the city of Waterdeep at various points in time.
The following is a brief accounting of that history, detailing the major settlements that have existed on and beneath the plateau of Waterdeep.
Aelinthaldaar (-8500 to -1100 DR)
The first known settlement in the area was Aelinthaldaar, capital city of Illefarn. Founded around -8500 DR, Aelinthaldaar was razed by elven high magic in -1100 DR on the order of Illefarn's coronal when he initiated a retreat to Evermeet. Virtually nothing was left to indicate that an elf city had stood on the site for seven milennia. In -1088 DR, scarcely a dozen years after the razing of Aelinthaldaar, annual trade began between southern merchants and barbaric local tribes. The only known traces of Aelinthaldaar that still exist today are the crypts beneath the City of the Dead and a high magic effect that persists even today.Melairbode (-1288 to 211 DR)
Even before the Fair Folk abanoned Aelinathaldaar, a shield dwarf named Melair discovered a vein of precious mithral beneath Mount Waterdeep in -1288 DR. King Melair I, as he came to be known, sent word to his kindred, and those who answered his call became Clan Melairkyn. The Melairkyn were traders, artists and exploers, strongly protective of their home, which they named the Underhalls of Melairbode. They slew or drove off Underdark preadators, duergar miners, and drow scouts in order to establish their realm. As the Melairkyn extended the boundaries of their realm to include the topmost levels of what is now Undermountain, the leaders of Aelinathaldaar grew increasingly concerned. Eventually a deal was struck, in which the Melairkyn would provide a great amount of mithral ore to the elves. In exchange, the elves crafted a high magic effect that would prevent the plateau from ever collapsing or settling, no matter what occured in the tunnels below. The plateau of Waterdeep still stands firm today, despite countless collapses in the cavers of Melairbode in the intervening centuries.Sargauth Enclave (-750 to -339 DR)
In -750 DR, an order of powerful Netherese mages claimed a section of rock amid Melairbode that the Stout Folk had not yet begun to excavate. Some claim the Netherese sought the protection of the lingering magics of the Aelinthaldaar, while others believe they deliberately placed themselves in the midst of a rich dwarf kingdom so that the Stout Folk would serve as a buffer against invaders. Be that as it may, the Sargauth Enclave was hewn by Netherese spells and then sealed against dwarf intrusions before the Melairkyn could even protest the presence of these unwanted neighbors. For more than four centuries, the Stout Folk and the Netherese arcanists lived side-by-side as unfriendly neighbors. The Netherese experimented on and expanded the mantle magic of the elves, creating a great mantle akin to a mythal to encompass their entire enclave. While just as committed to magic, the people of this enclave embraced gods as well, unlike other powerful Netherese mages. Their temples were incredible constructs of magic and stone. In the Year of the Sundered Webs (-339 DR), the temporary collapse of the Weave that destroyed the flying cities of Netheril left the ceiling of the Sargauth Enclave temporarily without magical support. More than two-thirds of the enclave collapsed, leaving the area in ruins.Kyorlamshin (-677 to 493 DR)
In the Year of the Fervent Glances (-677 DR), drow from the city of Karsoluthiyl (located beneath the Trackless Sea, west of the mouth of the River Chionthar) began their first incursions against the Stout Folk of Melairbode. After centuries of inconclusive skirmishing, the drow mustered a huge army in the Year of the Purloined Power (34 DR) and swarmed up from the depths, overwhelming the shield dwarves and slaying King Melair IV, the last clan chief of the Melairkyn. The dwarves were forced to retreat to successively lower and less important levels of the Underhalls, until they finally vanished in the Year of Spoiled Splendors (211 DR). The Drow named their new holdings Kyorlamshin and claimed most of the fallen Melairborne as their demesne. They established a chain of portals linking Kyorlamshin’s central temple with Karsoluthiyl and began regular slaving runs between the Northdark and more southerly Realms Below.Ruathym Diaspora (52 to 168 DR)
In the century leading up to the beginning of the Dalereckoning, the ancient kingdom of Ruathym was wracked by intertribal strife, which in turn prompted a wave of emigration. One Ruathymite tribe, known as the Illuskans, settled at the mouth of the River Delimbiyr, founding the city of Tavaray in the Year of the Phandar (-50 DR). While the various Illuskan island settlements either dwindled and died or grew into tiny kingdoms, the Illuskans of Tavaray prospered and began expanding their holdings. From the mouth of the River Delimbiyr, the Illuskan settlement spread upriver and north along the coast. By the Year of the Thundering Horde (52 DR), Illuskans were farming the plateau above Deepwater Harbor, and for two and a half centuries their rule of the area was uncontested.Blackcloak Hold (168 to 482 DR)
In the Year of Scattered Stars (168 DR), a wizard of unknown ancestry calling himself Halaster Blackcloak built a tower and fortified ramparts in the middle of the Deepwater Plateau, to the north and west of the burgeoning farms along the harbor shore. Halaster quickly convinced the local populace to leave him and his apprentices, known as the Seven, alone and then retreated into his new stronghold. According to the histories of Candlekeep, Halaster Blackcloak had built the hold as a secure base to secretly explore the Underhalls of the Melairkyn and claim the delvings for himself. Halaster’s Hunts - held at various times from 171 DR to 308 DR - brutally exterminated large pockets of drow and duergar, driving them out of the Underhalls, as they had previously done to the dwarves. Halaster ruled the Underhalls by the Year of the Cascade (309 DR), and the drow, forced into the lowest levels of the UNderhalls, abandoned the dwarf home entirely by the Year of the Ecstatic Priest (493 DR). Meanwhile, the Seven left Halaster’s Hold in the Year of the Sundered Sails (307 DR), hoping to establish their own holdings in the depths. The tower and surface holding fell into decay and ruin, and the tribes of Blackcloak Hold, as the settlement had come to be known, quickly learned to avoid the “cursed” enclosure. In the Year of the Deep Bay (302 DR), the inhabitants of Tavaray were forced to abandon their city by the rising water of the Lizard Marsh. The event marked the waning of Illuskan influence along the coast south of the Sword Mountains. Cut off from the lower Delimibyr Vale by the Ardeep Forest, Blackcloak Hold entered a long period of decline and its population fragmented into tribes split along what had once been clan lines.Bloodhand Hold (482 to 882 DR)
In the Year of the Blighted Vine (482 DR), a Tethyrian warlord named Ulbaerag Bloodhand conquered the ever-feuding, settled tribes of Blackcloak Hold. Within a generation, Ulbaerag had united the tribes as one. The settlement served as a small but important anchorage on the Sword Coast, visited annually by ships seeking timber harvested by the inhabitants of Bloodhand Hold. The rising power of orc hordes in the North led to the Council of Axe and Arrow in the Year of Trials Arcane (523 DR). There, the humans of Delimbiyran, the dwarves of Dardath, the elves of Ardeep Forest, the gnomes of Dolbunde, and displaced halflings from Mieritin collectively forged the Tri-Crowned Kingdom of Phalorm. The aging Ulbaerag rejected an invitation to join the Realm of Three Crowns. However, Ulbaerag’s son and successor proved more pragmatic, forging a lasting peace with the elves of the Ardeep Forest. The Realm of Three Crowns lasted less than a century, falling in the Year of the Lamia’s Kiss (615 DR) to waves of goblinoid attacks. The final battles between Phalorm and the Horde of the Wastes resulted in the magical inundation of Uthtower (forming the Mere of Dead Men) and the overrunning of the Sword Coast Mountains by countless bands of orcs. Many warriors of Bloodhand Hold died in the fighting as well, but their sacrifice ensured the safety of their homes. In the wake of the Fallen Kingdom’s collapse, the humans of Delimbiyran founded the human-ruled Kingdom of Man. For fifty-five years the armies of Delimbiyran waged an “Endless Battle” against the scattered orc tribes of the Sword Coast, indirectly shielding the folk of Bloodhand Hold from their depredations. Although Ulbaerag’s descendants retained their nominal independence, Bloodhand Hold was considered by most to be just an outlying village of the Kingdom of Man. The death of Delimbiyr’s heirless king in the Year of the Triton’s Horn (697 DR) plunged the Kingdom of Man into an ill-timed civil war. Bloodhand Hold was one of the few small states to survive the internecine conflict and the subsequent orc assault. In the Year of the Splendid Stag (734 DR), a succession of harvests wrecked by fierce summer storms drove Raulbaera Bloodhand, a descendant of Ulbaerag, to lead a band of followers inland in search of a more sheltered vale. The “Maiden King” laid claim to the lands near present-day Amphail, establishing a settlement there that she named Rowan Hold.Nimoar’s Hold (882 to 932 DR)
Great changes swept the North in the Year of the Curse (882 DR). The fall of Ascalhorn, Eaerlann, and Ammarindar to demons prompted a great migration of dwarves, elves, and humans south and west towards the coast. Among the migrants arose a great human warrior named Nimoar the Reaver. Nimoar gathered an armed host and led them in search of a new home. As winter drew near, Nimoar and his followers came upon Bloodhand Hold and decided to seize it for their own. They quickly vanquished the Bloodhand tribe. Nimoar immediately ordered the construction of a log palisade atop an earthen embankment and a wooden fortress at the northern end of the settlement. Nimoar’s defenses were seriously tested in the decade that followed. In the Year of the Fell Peals (887 DR), southern pirates attacked Nimoar’s Hold in force, but the Reaver’s followers beat them back three times in a row. In the Year of the Shining Shield (889 DR), driven from the lower Dessarin Vale by the same pressures that had prodded Nimoar and his followers, the Tethyrian Bull Elk tribe attacked Nimoar’s Hold and set it afire. However, once again the Reaver’s followers proved victorious, driving off the barbarian raiders and rebuilding the hold before the first winter snow. From then onward, Nimoar’s Hold grew and prospered, and the fledgling community became known among ship captains as the “town of Waterdeep.”Age of War Lords (932 to 1032 DR)
After some four decades of peace, two threats arose to challenge Waterdeep’s prosperity - orcs and trolls. In the Year of the Red Rain (927 DR), a shaman named Wund arose among the orc tribes of the Sword Mountains. On the eve of the Feast of the Moon, as Wund had prophesied, blood-red thunderclouds engulfed the Sword Mountains. For three days the slopes ran wet with blood, leaving behind the sickening stench of rot and decay. All manner of plagues swept through the region. Many orcs (and other folks) died, including every tribal chieftain, but the spawn of Gruumsh who survived the crucible of plagues grew stronger. In the immediate aftermath of the Blood Plagues, Wund established a monastic order known as the Brotherhood of the Scarlet Scourge. Members of the order organized the surviving orc tribes into a united realm under the spiritual guidance of the brotherhood. The most powerful chieftain, a massive and fairly unintelligent tusker named Uruth, was crowned king by Wund. The first sign of Waterdeep’s impending peril unfolded in the Year of Fireslaughter (932 DR). Gangs of trolls, driven out of the Sword Mountains by the orc tribes of the region, began attacking Nimoar’s Hold with increasing regularity. In response, the aging Nimoar led his forces northward against the Everlasting Ones in what became known as the First Trollwar, burning miles of land bare in the process. In the Year of the Sky Raiders (936 DR), the armies of Uruth Ukrypt swept down the eastern slopes of the Sword Mountains. The armies of Waterdeep battled the orcs of Uruth Ukrypt in a series of pitched battles known as the Orcfastings War. Early orc victories in the Battle of Whirling Blades, the Battle of Sarcrag, and the Battle of Withered Fields drove Waterdeep’s forces back to the gates of Nimoar’s Hold. However, a timely feint by the Duke of Calandor enabled Nimoar’s forces to break the orcs’ siege in the Battle of Burning Cliffs. Over the next five days, Waterdeep’s armies won four successive battles, shattering the might of Uruth Ukrypt’s armies. King Uruth fell in the Battle of the Westwood, but it was the death of Wund that precipitated the Horderout. In the aftermath of the Orcfastings War, Nimoar died of old age, and the mantle of “War Lord” passed to Gharl, his most accomplished general. The orcs of Uruth Ukrypt retreated to their high steadings. Orc plans to attack Waterdeep in the Year of the Cold Claws (940 DR) faltered thanks to Palarandusk, an ancient gold dragon. This proved fortunate for the defenders of Waterdeep, for once again the Everlasting Ones began raiding, marking the beginning of the Second Trollwar. For a dozen years, the defenders of Waterdeep battled gangs of trolls throughout the Dessarin river valley. Beginning with Amphail the Just, who reigned for a year, six warriors claimed the mantle of War Lord of Waterdeep during this period, only to fall in the never-ending battle with the trolls. In the Year of the Rings Royal (952 DR), the human realms and holdings of the North united and finally ended the war, destroying or scattering the hordes of Everlasting Ones. Two heroes of that war were Ahghairon, thereafter recognized as the premier wizard of the Savage North, and Samular Caradoon, a Tyrran knight who attracted a large following to his banner. In the aftermath of the war, Ahghairon was elevated to the position of official advisor to the War Lord of Waterdeep, and Samular went on to form the Holy Order of Samular, a knighthood still active in Waterdeep to this day. After fighting and winning three wars in the span of two decades, the city of Waterdeep emerged as a preeminent power in the North. Construction of Castle Waterdeep began in the Year of the Deadly Duo (963 DR), just north of the city walls. Over the next decade, the city’s walls were expanded to abut the wall around the ruins of Halaster’s Hold and replaced with high stone fortifications. In the Year of the Haunting Harpy (974 DR), the castle was finally completed and Laroun, Waterdeep’s first female War Lord, took residence therein. Laroun ruled long and well, seeing to Waterdeep’s continued prosperity and defense. By the Year of the Bold Barbarian (1007 DR), the city walls had been expanded once again, absorbing the ruins of Halaster’s Hold, cloaked in wards by Ahghairon. Waterdeep’s master mage had also built his tower in this year, at the time outside the city’s walls. In the Year of Three Signs (1010 DR), Laroun officially established the Free City of Waterdeep, with herself as “Warlord” (or ruler). In the 1024 DR, a daring band of Waterdhavian adventurers known as the Dawnbringer Company incited the orcs of Uruth Ukrypt by plundering their sacred crypt, known as the Ukrypt. Discovered in the act, the band fled the wrath of the Scarlet Scourge. In response, the Brotherhood of the Scarlet Scourge mustered the first orc horde in generations to emerge from the Sword Mountains. Bent on destroying the City of Splendors, the Broken Bone horde instead fell prey to the dragon Lhammaruntosz, the “Claws of the Coast.” Enraged by its defeat, the Brotherhood of the Scarlet Scourge plotted revenge against the city of Waterdeep. In 1026 DR, the Brotherhood mustered another orc horde from the depths of the Sword Mountains. The Black Claw horde encircled the plateau on which the city lay and then repeatedly assaulted the City of Splendors. Warlord Laroun died defending Waterdeep during one of the desperate battles to hold the city’s walls. Laroun’s title passed to Raurlor, leader of the city’s army, despite the reservations of Ahghairon. The Black Claw horde would have undoubtedly overrun the City of Splendors if not for the daring of an elite company of veterans who traveled through Halaster’s Underhalls, beyond the city walls, and then fell on the orc encampment from the rear. The defeats of two successive hordes shattered both the kingdom of Uruth Ukrypt and the order that sustained it. The orcs of the Sword Mountains disintegrated into warring tribes. In 1030 DR, Raurlor began to increase Waterdeep’s standing army and navy to a size not seen since the fall of Phalorm. Over the next two years, he turned the city into a garrison and military encampment, brooking no dissent from the populace. In 1032 DR Raurlor proclaimed the Empire of the North, but Ahghairon defied him, turning the Warlord’s blade into a viper that poisoned its wielder; Raurlor died at the mage’s feet, and Ahghairon took power.Age of Ahghairon (1032 to 1256 DR)
As the first “Lord” of Waterdeep, Ahghairon determined that henceforth wisdom and not armed might would rule the city. He assembled a group of Lords drawn from all walks of life, masked and disguised when they appeared to the people, but equal to him in authority. In the years that followed, Waterdeep prospered, growing in both size and economic might. The system of Wards came into being in 1035 DR, initially including Castle Ward, Trades Ward, Temple (later Southern) Ward, and Dock Ward. The year 1071 DR saw the noted adventurer Ranressa Shiard return to the slopes of Mount Waterdeep on dragonback, astride a copper wyrm named Galadaeros, prompting Ahghairon to create wards deterring dragons from raiding the city. In the winter of 1076 DR, Waterdeep was attacked by the Tethyrian Black Boar tribe of the Dessarin, led by Nalethra of the Winged Spear. Repelled from the city’s walls, the princess and her bodyguard slew thrice their number of Waterdhavian fighters before they fell. A great plague swept the Sword Coast in 1150 DR, coupled with increased attacks by troll and orc tribes. Large numbers of Waterdhavians died from these twin scourges, thanks in part to a rogue cult who was quickly destroyed by agents of the Lords. The same year saw the arrival of Khelben “Blackstaff” Arunsun the Elder, who built Arunsun (later Blackstaff) Tower for himself and his apprentices. In 1235 DR, Waterdeep and much of the Sword Coast were besieged by the largest orc horde in history. The city was spared the destruction visited on its neighbors when Ahghairon and his generals introduced griffons as flying steeds for the army. The year 1246 DR saw Kerrigan, a wizard and hidden Lord of Waterdeep, attempt to seize power for himself. He managed to fell three of his fellow Lords and a score of innocents before being slain by Ahghairon.Skullport (1148 to present)
In the year 1148 DR, a Netherese wizard named Shradin Mulophor discovered the ruins of the Sargauth Enclave and petitioned the Lord of the Underhalls for permission to settle and use the ruin-filled chamber as his personal demesne. The Lord of Bones, as Shradin came to be known, encouraged trade with other Underdark powers by linking the River Sargauth with subterranean waterways and creating portals leading to distant seas. Fear of the Necromancer’s magical powers, combined with the mysterious Skulls that lent Skullport its name, fostered peaceful trading within the port’s environs. Within twenty-five years of its rediscovery, Skullport had grown into a secure settlement, and smugglers, slavers, assassins, thieves, and buccaneers flocked to the Port of Shadow to conduct their business. Ever since Skullport has flourished beneath Waterdeep in large part due to the tolerance of the city’s Lords. Most of the city’s rulers are or have been realistic enough to admit that dark deeds occur in every large city and that by giving them an outlet in the Port of Shadow they are reducing the incidence of such activities in the City of Splendors. Shradin himself continued to explore the Underhalls, but after one such expedition in the Year of the Howling Hourglass (1184 DR), he returned to Skullport a changed man, unstable and unpredictable. Although he retained the mantle of Lord of Bones, he no longer commanded the fear and respect he once had. During Halaster’s Higharvestide in the Year of the Gauntlet (1369 DR), the Skulls of Skullport ganged up and destroyed him. Although a lesser clone of the necromancer eventually reappeared, the Skulls have ruled the Port of Shadow ever since.Reign of Guildmasters (1256 to 1273 DR)
In the Year of the Dusty Throne (1256 DR), shortly after Khelben vanished from the City of Splendors, the aged Ahghairon passed away and was interred with great ceremony in his tower, which was then sealed with potent wards that remain in effect to this very day. Ahghairon’s fellow Lords were nowhere to be found, leaving the masters of Waterdeep’s various guilds to argue over who should rule. While the council bickered, deadly strife erupted in the city’s shadows. The Guild Wars pitted armies of hired mercenaries and assassins against one another, wiping out many merchant families. After two months, it was agreed that the Council of Guildmasters would collectively rule the City of Splendors, although most of the feuds spawned during this era have never been forgotten. In the Year of the Black Wind (1262 DR), six years of self-interested squabbling among the Guildmasters erupted into bloodshed. All but two of the city’s Guildmasters died in the next few months. The surviving Guildmasters, Lhorar Gildeggh of the Shipwrights and Ehlemm Zoar of the Gemcutters, finally sickened of the bloodshed and agreed to rule together as Lords Magister, although their continued bickering prevented any effective governance of the city. In the same year the Lords Magister began their rule, the Shadow Thieves, up till then a minor band of thieves openly tolerated as a recognized guild, discovered a long-forgotten stronghold in the depths of Mount Waterdeep built by the dwarves of Melairbode and used as a defensive retreat during the era of Bloodhand Hold. Calling their new stronghold the Citadel of the Bloody Hand, the Shadow Thieves quickly grew in strength and influence, free to flourish in the climate of lawlessness that prevailed. The reign of the Guildmasters came to an abrupt end in the Year of the Wagon (1273 DR), when the last two of Ahghairon’s Lords appeared in the court of the Lords Magister. Lady Shilarn, apprentice and undeclared heir of Ahghairon, blasted Lhorar and Ehlemm with lightning and fire. Lord Baeron Silmaeril removed his mask and declared himself Open Lord of Waterdeep.Reign of Baeron (1273 to 1308 DR)
The revival of the Lords’ Rule saw a gradual return to peace and prosperity in the City of Splendors, although many worked in secret to oppose Baeron Silmaeril and the masked Shilarn Silmaeril as they reestablished their authority. Among their first acts, Shilarn declared Houses Gildeggh and Zoar to be outcast, while Baeron established the black-robed Magisters to maintain justice and outlawed the Shadow Thieves from the city. Within three years of their installation, the wedded Lords Silmaeril had chosen fourteen additional individuals to serve as hidden Lords of Waterdeep, although only five to seven were ever seen at once. In the Year of the Crumbling Keep (1276 DR), the Lords expanded the city’s borders to include North Ward and Sea Ward, and Shilarn gave birth to a daughter named Lhestyn. In the guise of the “Masked Lady,” Lhestyn infiltrated the outlawed Shadow Thieves in the Year of the Pointed Bone (1298 DR) and exposed their continuing activities. This act precipitated a bloody tenday of fighting between the guild and the City Watch that culminated in the death or flight of the guild’s members. Two years later, Lhestyn wed Zelphar Arunsun, a Neverwintan wizard and youngest son of Khelben the Elder, and two years after that (1302 DR) she gave birth to Khelben “Ravenscloak” Arunsun the Younger, a near twin of his grandfather and namesake. In the same year that saw the birth of Lhestyn’s only child, two noted adventurers, Durnan and Mirt the Merciless, emerged from Undermountain bearing great wealth, precipitating a renewal of interest in the vast dungeon beneath the City of Splendors. The practice of exiling criminals to the depths of Undermountain dates back to this year, although some have begun to question its effectiveness, as it seems to ensure that only the most dangerous predators of the city survive, often strengthened by the crucible of Halaster’s Halls. Baeron died of fever in the Year of the Catacombs (1308 DR), and Shilarn, his wife, immolated herself on his funeral pyre. Their daughter, Lhestyn, a hidden Lord of Waterdeep herself, became the city’s Open Lord.Reign of Lhestyn (1308 to 1314 DR)
Lhestyn’s short reign as Open Lord of Waterdeep began in splendor but was marked by personal tragedy. In the Year of the Catacombs (1308 DR), Lhestyn constructed the Palace of Waterdeep on the site of a ruined abbey of Chauntea. In the Year of the Fist (1311 DR), her husband Zelphar was crushed to death by a sorcerous hand of force. The perpetrator remains unknown to the Lords to this day. Zelphar’s death prompted Durnan to found the Red Sashes as his personal agents, creating a precaution against blatant disregard for the watch that had grown increasingly common in Dock Ward. Lhestyn died in the Year of the Shadowtop (1314 DR), only a few short years after her parents and husband. Piergeiron Paladinson, a paladin and officer of the city guard who Lhestyn had made a hidden Lord three years earlier, became Open Lord of Waterdeep.Reign of Piergeiron (1314 DR to Present)
Since ascending to the position of Open Lord of Waterdeep, Piergeiron Paladinson has reigned wisely and honestly. In his first four decades, Waterdeep knew peace, with only one exception. The Year of the Saddle (1345 DR) saw religious strife between the church of the Shadow and the churches of Dol Dorn and Aureon. This conflict resulted in the fiery destruction of two of the city’s temples—the Spires of the Morning and the House of Heroes—during the “Night of Temple Fires” and the sacking of a third—a hidden temple of the Dark Maiden beneath what is now Shadows Alley. The era of peace ended in the Year of the Harp (1355 DR), when Amril Zoar, scion of the exiled Waterdhavian family of the same name, slew two secret Lords of Waterdeep, Lady Tamaeril Bladesemmer and Resengar the Whitebeard, and badly wounded Open Lord Piergeiron. After being apprehended, he was spared execution by the intercession of Storm Silverhand of the Harpers. In the first days of the Year of the Worm (1356 DR), a Waterdhavian troop patrolling the trade routes came under attack by devils and goblins in the Open Marches. The devils were tracked back to Dragonspear Castle, where Waterdeep’s forces besieged and set fire to the ancient keep. The Dragonspear War continued for months, as the numbers of devils continued to grow. Eventually, the armies of Waterdeep and Baldur’s Gate prevailed, and the devils were defeated. On the heels of the Dragonspear War, Ruathym attacked and sank a Luskanite caravel after persons unknown (at the time) stole the Tome of the Unicorn from the Green Library. Luskan responded by destroying much of Ruathym’s fleet and invading the island itself. After months of fighting, Ruathym’s defenders drove the High Captains of Luskan back to their ships. Waterdeep negotiated a truce between the two parties early the following year, but that backfired when Luskan, Ruathym, Tuern, and the Whalebones forged an alliance to raid settlements along the Sword Coast. Not until the Year of the Serpent (1359 DR) did the navies of Waterdeep and Baldur’s Gate end this threat to merchant shipping. The years that followed were no less tumultuous for Piergeiron and the Waterdhavian populace. Rumors of a Harper assassin swept Waterdeep in the Year of Maidens (1361 DR), as did whispers of new land to the distant west discovered by explorers from Amn. Along with the rest of the Lords’ Alliance, Waterdeep was also forced to threaten war when Luskan once again turned on Ruathym and conquered its brothers to the west. In the Year of the Wave (1364 DR), droughts, increased monster activity, and political unrest plagued Waterdeep for months leading up to Midsummer, culminating in the disruption of Shieldmeet by a green dragon (Grimnoshtadrano, the Riddling Dragon of the High Forest) and an apparently mad bard (an ex-Harper named Iriador “Garnet” Wintermist), nearly upsetting the Lords’ Rule. In the Year of the Shield (1367 DR), Khelben “Blackstaff” Arunsun unmasked himself and resigned as a Lord of Waterdeep, to the surprise of the populace and his fellow Lords. Autumn of the Year of the Banner (1368 DR) saw the cream of Waterdhavian youth enlist in Prince Haedrak’s Reclamation Army to restore Tethyr’s monarchy. At the same time, a fad for dream spheres secretly created by the Mhaorkiira Hadryad swept the City of Splendors, appealing to the increasing ranks of those who dreamt of a better life but despaired of ever achieving it. Complications from the latter episode resulted in the deaths or disappearance of several nobles and nearly rent asunder the seven families of the Two-Cities Consortium who secretly controlled trade between Waterdeep and Skullport. Two events stood out in the Year of the Gauntlet (1369 DR). First, on the last day of Ches, an army of sea creatures led by the monstrous wereshark named Iakhovas invaded the City of Splendors from the depths of the harbor and surrounding sea. Waterdeep’s defenders won the Deepwater War, but at the cost of many lives and much destruction in Dock Ward and Sea Ward. Moreover, some sea creatures escaped into Waterdeep’s sewers and lurk there still. Second, Halaster’s Higharvestide disrupted the Mad Mage’s wards and released all manner of monsters into the city’s streets through malfunctioning portals across the city, causing a great deal of property damage, particularly in Castle Ward and Trades Ward. Waterdeep’s armies were drawn into war once again in the Year of Wild Magic (1372 DR) after the phaerimms escaped the Sharnwall and attacked Evereska. Khelben Arunsun led one army that became trapped within the Vale of Evereska, so Laeral and Storm Silverhand led a relief army against the thornbacks and their minions, battling armies of bugbears and lizardfolk thralls led by beholder and illithid generals. An uneasy alliance with the Shadovar of Shade fell apart, and it soon became clear that the Netherese shades were melting the High Ice of Anauroch, with no thought as to the consequences for the rest of Toril. After months of war, the phaerimms were defeated and the plans of the Shadovar were disrupted by the theft of the Karsestone. Nevertheless, western Faerûn continues to be beset by drought, threatening the prosperity of the City of Splendors and its allies for years to come. In 1378 DR, Piergeiron's loyal bodyguard Madeiron Sunderstone was killed in an assassination attempt on the Open Lord of Waterdeep. The next year Piergeiron the Paladinson died in office of age and ill health, after several assassination attempts at the hands of those increasingly impatient to replace him with their various stooges. A month after his death, after many candidates had been proposed by various Masked Lords, but rejected by others, he was succeeded by the respected-in-trade parchment, paper, and bookbinding merchant Audreithra Teltorna. She was a compromise candidate, initially seen within the Lords and across the city as a caretaker, but who won respect while in office.Spellplague
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. In the tumult, agents of Xanathar succeed at assassinating Open Lord Audreithra Teltorna, intending to install their puppet among the Masked Lords as her replacement. However, they overplayed their hand, and their candidate, the shipwright Andramas Rujyntral, was rejected by the Lords. A flurry of assassinations among the Lords followed as the Xanathar's agents took their revenge and sought to eliminate rival candidates within the Lords and Rujyntral's most steadfast opponents, but this goaded various lords to hire adventurers to assassinate both Rujyntral and any of the Xanathar's agents they could identify and hunt down. They succeeded so well that the Xanathar not only lost Rujyntral, it suffered the loss of so many loyal human agents that it decided to retreat into the shadows, rebuilding its network with slow care and keeping well away from the Masked Lords. The Masked Lords endured a little more than three months without an Open Lord at the helm, until the ravages of the Spellplague demanded that their appointed spokesperson (Acting Voice of the Lords) Watchlord Phulundaera Vantur (a seasoned veteran who'd risen through the ranks; her much-scarred body incorporated magically-bonded limbs and organs from fallen comrades) be adopted as the New Open Lord. Phulundaera was street-wise and gruff and no-nonsense, and the guilds and just plain citizens of the streets loved her, because she stood for equality of treatment under city laws and policy, for the high and the low. This same quality made her detested by the nobles and 'wannabe nobles' nouveau riche, and they tried to arrange many accidents for her. 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.Demography and Population
Waterdeep has a population of up to 2 million. This is broken down in the chart down below.
Humans - 64%
Dwarves - 10%
Elves - 10%
Halflings - 5%
Half-Elves - 5%
Gnomes - 3%
Half-Orcs - 2%
Others - 1%
Military
The Lords of Waterdeep enforce their rule and maintain peace and security through the city’s armed forces. Waterdeep’s defenders are divided into four branches: the Griffon Cavalry, the City Guard, the City Watch, and the Navy. The Gray Hands act as an elite company, called in for emergencies.
Griffon Cavalry
Waterdeep’s griffon-riders patrol high above the skies of Waterdeep, defending Mount Waterdeep and the city below against intrusion. The Griffon Calvary is an elite company of the City Guard, and its leader, Lord Moedt, reports directly to General Elminster, the head of the Guard. Griffon riders are given Griffon Badges of Waterdeep on joining the company. They are issued griffon mounts in order to perform official duties, but may not use their mounts or issued weapons for personal reasons without obtaining special approval from Lord Moedt. Members of the Griffon Cavalry wear the same uniform as the Guard, but have a griffon emblazoned on their tabard.City Guard
The City Guard serves as Waterdeep’s army, defending the City of Splendors from attack and patrolling the surrounding countryside. The Guard also serves as bodyguards for Laeral Silverhand and as honor guards for visiting diplomats. Contingents of the Guard and the Watch jointly man the city gates; the Guard controls access, while the Watch observes those who enter, pursues fugitives, and escorts visitors into the city. The uniform of the Guard is brightly polished chainmail, covered by black tabards with gold trim. Guards carry weapons appropriate to their postings, such as longswords, shortbows, shortspears, short swords, and daggers. The Guard’s ranks and command structure are similar to that of the City Watch (detailed below), except the army is apportioned not to Wards but to various garrisons along the city wall, in Castle Waterdeep, Piergeiron’s Palace, and in the surrounding countryside.City Navy
Heavily reliant on maritime trade, Waterdeep has long maintained a powerful navy capable of dominating its rivals along the Sword Coast and protecting its merchant shipping from pirates and monstrous threats. In times of war, merchant sailors are press-ganged into the navy and “encouraged” to swear an oath of loyalty to Waterdeep. The navy’s fleet consists of 16 fast “rakers” (or dromonds), slim top-armored vessels usually armed with two fire-pot light catapults and two large deck-mounted ballistae that the guard uses with stunning accuracy against pirates and smugglers. These ships have armored bow rams, banks of oars, and two masts for crowding on sail in pursuit or when speed is essential. They are supported by twenty-four small lateen-sailed galleys, known as “strikers,” and fifteen large, wallowing troop-and-supply vessels, or “transports.” At least two naval rakers are always on patrol outside the harbor, and another two are on “ready” duty within the harbor. At least four others will be on extended patrol somewhere off the Sword Coast on any day in peacetime.City Watch
The City Watch serves as Waterdeep’s police force, patrolling the city and ensuring the well-being of its inhabitants. In addition to arresting those who break the laws, Watch patrols often assist passersby with heavy loads, give directions, search for lost children, provide basic medical aid, and referee verbal disputes. The commander of the watch is Captain Rulathon, who reports to Laeral Silverhand. His senior commanders are Grand Civilar Derek Windsfire, Mage Civilar Thyriellentha, and Senior Armsmaster Helve Urtrace. Each ward is commanded by a ward civilar and has a number of guard posts, each commanded by a senior civilar. Each patrol is commanded by a civilar, who reports to the local senior civilar. There is also one skulk (made up of a half-dozen rangers and rogues) per ward commanded by a Senior Skulk, and one arcanum (made up of a half-dozen sorcerers and wizards) per ward commanded by a Senior Watch-Wizard.The Gray Hands
Although Waterdeep is ably defended by the City Guard and City Watch, some threats require more extreme solutions. The Gray Hands are an elite force of high-powered adventurers who answer directly to the Lords of Waterdeep. Although their numbers are small, members of this group are capable of confronting the most powerful foes. The Lords of Waterdeep are loath to call on the Gray Hands unless no other option presents itself, for the fallout from conflicts involving this group inevitably inflict a great deal of collateral damage on the City of Splendors.Trade & Transport
Four major overland trade routes connect the City of Splendors to the rest of Faerûn—the High Road, the Long Road, the Trade Way, and the East Trail. A fifth road, the Coast Way, leads north along the coast from the Troll Gate until it joins with the High Road several miles north of the city.
The High Road enters Waterdeep through the Northgate at the northern end of Sea Ward and continues through the city until it becomes the Trade Way upon exiting the South Gate. The High Road leads north along the coast, threading between the Mere of Dead Men and the Sword Mountains, connecting the City of Splendors to Leilon, Neverwinter, Port Llast, and Luskan. Overland traffic along the High Road is dominated by metal ores from the Frozenfar, metalwork from the City of Sails, lumber from the Neverwinter Woods, the craftwork of the City of Skilled Hands, and the agricultural and artistic bounty of the City of Splendors.
The Long Road splits away from the High Road a dozen miles north of the city proper. It runs north-northeast through the Dessarin River valley, passing through such settlements as Rassalantar, Amphail, Red Larch, Westbridge, Triboar, Longsaddle, and Xantharl’s Keep until it reaches its terminus in Mirabar. Metal ores and metalwork from Mirabar, cattle, and livestock (including shaggun, a herd animal that resembles the bison) from Longsaddle, leatherwork from Triboar, and Waterdeep’s myriad trade goods dominate overland traffic along the Long Road
The Trade Way leads south along the coast, passing through Daggerford before skirting inland of the Trollbark Forest and Troll Hills. South of Dragonspear Castle, it forks, with one branch leading southeast toward Scornubel and the Sea of Fallen Stars, and the other bending westward to reach the city of Baldur’s Gate and the northern terminus of the Coast Way. Trade is dominated by raw materials heading south (metal ore, lumber), spices heading north, and agricultural produce and finished goods sent in both directions.
The East Trail leads east from the Trade Way several miles south of Ardeep Forest and runs up the lower Delimbiyr valley, connecting Secomber, Loudwater, and Llorkh to the Zhentarim built Black Road across the sands of Anauroch. Craftwork and rare spices pass in both directions along this route, although traffic is but a fraction of that running north and south along the Sword Coast.
Founding Date
1372 DR
Type
Geopolitical, City-state
Capital
Demonym
Waterdhavian, Waterdavian
Leader
Leader Title
Head of Government
Government System
Oligarchy
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
Although only coins and trade bars minted by the Lords of Waterdeep is technically considered legal tender in the City of Splendors, all forms of currency are welcome in this merchant-friendly city. However, suspect coins and trade bars, including those of uncertain antique vintage oft-recovered by adventurers, might be refused or deeply discounted by wary merchants.
Coins of Waterdhavian mintage include harbor moons, taols, suns (platinum pieces), dragons (gold pieces), shards (silver pieces), and nibs (copper pieces). Harbor moons are worth 50 gp in the city and 30 gp outside the city walls. Named for their traditional use by the docks for buying large amounts of cargo at a time, harbor moons are fashioned of platinum inset with electrum and consist of a crescent with a hole cut into the center of its curve. Taols, worth 2 gp within the city walls and almost nothing beyond them, are square, flat brass coins issued and honored by the Lords’ treasury. Among some neighborhoods and classes, slang terms for various coins rise and fall in popularity. Most Waterdhavians apply local names to foreign coins as well. Thus an Amnian danter or Cormyrean golden lion is still called a dragon in the City of Splendors.
Trade bars are usually blocks of silver in 1-, 10-, 25-, and 50-pound weights (worth 5, 50, 125, and 250 gp, respectively). They are common throughout the North and used everywhere in Faerûn. (In the South, gems are more often used for such purposes.)
Major Exports
Ale, arms, cloth, fish, furnishings, leather goods, pottery, refined metals, and all other sorts of finished goods
Major Imports
Grain, livestock, leather, ore, timber, and exotic goods from other lands
Legislative Body
Legal authority in the City of Splendors rests within the Open Lord and the hidden Lords of Waterdeep. The Lord’s Court is chaired by Laeral Silverhand, and is attended by at least two other Lords and two Magisters.
Judicial Body
The Lord’s Court hears all “severe” crimes, including suspicious deaths, rape, misuse of magic, and succession and inheritance disputes.
Twenty-six appointed black-robed Magisters conduct the Common Courts of Waterdeep. Three “Black Robes” are always on duty at the Palace. During daylight hours, a Magister is also posted at each gate. Magisters can pass sentences instantly, but most sentences are conditional on the supporting evidence of witnesses. Magisters are always accompanied by at least six members of the city guard. Any citizen of Waterdeep can appeal to the Lord’s Court within two days of being sentenced by a Magister, but most such appeals fail. There is no bail in Waterdeep, and barristers are barred from working in the city (although counsel from “professional witnesses” is grudgingly tolerated).
Waterdhavians are largely law-abiding, and most of Waterdeep’s laws remain unwritten, within the “reasonable discretion” of the Magisters (and thus the Lords who oversee them). The Code Legal serves as a basis for sentencing, dividing all crimes into four Plaints and each Plaint into severe, serious, lesser, and minor offenses.
The first Plaint involves Crimes Against the Lords (treason, impersonation, forgery of official documents, destruction of city property, assault, willful disobedience of edicts, and blasphemy against a government official). The second Plaint involves Crimes Against the City (poisoning of wells, murder, spying, sabotage, fraud, fencing, unlawful dueling, bribery, unlawful entry into the city, vagrancy, littering, brandishing a weapon without cause, and reckless driving). The third Plaint involves Crimes Against the Gods (defiling of a holy place, theft of temple goods, tomb-robbing, assault on a religious person, public blasphemy of a god or priesthood, and disorderly conduct at worship). The fourth Plaint involves Crimes Against Citizens (arson, rape, bodily harm, magical assault, forgery, slavery, robbery, burglary, theft/killing of livestock, usury, property damage, assault, hindrance of business, and excessive noise).
Slavery is illegal within the city, and slaves brought into the city are considered free. Selling slaves within the wall is forbidden and strictly policed. Weapons can be worn openly and used in self-defense, but brandishing weapons in other situations is a crime. Waterdhavians also expect debts to be paid in full, even if that means the debtor must serve a form of indentured servitude to the creditor (in the case of small debts) or the city (in the case of large debts).
Duels (for reasons of specific, unprovoked injury) are legal only in specific places but must be marshaled by a member of the Watch or a Magister. Lords, Magisters, guard and watch members, and Heralds are exempt from challenges, and the Lords forbid most duels involving heads of guilds, noble houses, or priesthoods. Most importantly, duels are rarely to the death.
Sentences for lawbreaking include instant death, death upon conviction, exile, mutilation, hard labor, imprisonment (dungeon), imprisonment (light work in castle compound), fine (payable to the city), or damages (payable to injured party). Perjury, adjudicated by magic, is punished by expulsion from the city. Death sentences vary by station—commoners and soldiers are hung from the Castle battlements, while nobles are beheaded by the sword. Floggings are typically carried out at the Court of the White Bull. Death sentences are sometimes commuted to exile into Undermountain, although this often winds up with the same result.
Executive Body
Rulings on the city's laws were issued by the Magisters, more commonly referred to as Black Robes. They had the duty of running the courts and issuing sentences to those they were found guilty of. The Black Robes were each protected by at least six members of the City Guard while traveling the streets of Waterdeep. Those who were convicted could request a trial by the Lord's Court and appeal to the masked lords themselves but faced strict punishment if their claims were ruled as frivolous.
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Related Ranks & Titles
Controlled Territories
Notable Members
Related Ethnicities
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