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.