Sword Coast

The Sword Coast, also nicknamed the Empty Lands, is the region in western Faerûn that lay along the coast of the Sea of Swords and extended inward into the vale.

Description

The Sword Coast is an expansive tract of wilderness, dotted with independent cities and overrun by bands of monstrous creatures, that some saw as merely a place through which you had to travel in order to reach an actual meaningful destination. It is much more than that, of course, a rich and vibrant land with a long and storied history that encompassed some of the most important cities in all the Realms.

It is considered one of the rougher locales of Faerûn, both geographically and by virtue of its people.

Etymology

Some say the Sword Coast took its name from the white cliffs that rose up sharply for hundreds of miles along the coastline between the River Dessarin and Baldur's Gate. Traveling author Volothamp Geddarm attributed the region's name to its dangerous inhabitants, both humanoid and bestial.

Geography

While scholars disagreed as to the exact borders of the Sword Coast, it was generally considered to have been bordered by the merchant nation of Amn in the south and stretched all the way to the Spine of the World in the north.

Geographical Features

The landscape of the coastal lands varied from the verdant fields along much the Coast Way to the dangerous badlands found north of the Chionthar.

The River Chionthar is vital to trade all throughout the Western Heartlands, linking the great port of Baldur's Gate with other inland cities including Elturel, Iriaebor, Berdusk, and the ever-important Caravan City of the West, Scornubel.

Goverment

While there is no central government of the Sword Coast, both Daggerford and Baldur's Gate were member-states of the Lords' Alliance. Each of these cities enjoyed a degree of increased security and lawfulness, benefits that accompanied membership in the coalition of the West.

Notable Locations

Settlements

• Daggerford: a small, walled duchy that was surrounded by a number of farming villages. Although it was ruled by a lone head of state, a Duke or Duchess, its daily operations were overseen by its Council of Guilds.
• Waterdeep: The City of Splendors was considered perhaps most influential and important metropolis in all of Faerûn.