Sword Coast
The Sword Coast is a fictional region in Dungeons & Dragons-based Forgotten Realms campaign setting. It is a portion of the northwestern coast of Faerûn, and stretches from the city-state of Baldur's Gate, in the south, along the coast of the Sea of Swords, to city-state Waterdeep, and from Waterdeep further north to Neverwinter, Luskan, and Icewind Dale, the Arctic and northernmost region of the Sword Coast.
The metropolises of Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate are not counted as part of the Sword Coast, instead Baldur's Gate lies in the Western Heartlands, while Waterdeep is an independent city-state. Mirabar and Ten Towns are found here.
Because of its quasi-lawless, "frontier" setting, being a place where all races can meet and interact, it has been the setting for many modules (especially those subtitled with the Savage Frontier name), as well as the MMORPG Neverwinter Nights (AOL, 1991-1997) and the computer games Neverwinter Nights (Bioware, 2002), Baldur's Gate, Gateway to the Savage Frontier and Treasures of the Savage Frontier.
Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast is the title of an expansion disc for the game Baldur's Gate.
Related places
[edit | edit source]Icewind Dale
[edit | edit source]- For the Icewind Dale computer role-playing games, see Icewind Dale series
Icewind Dale is a sub-Arctic region, along the northernmost part of the Sword Coast. It is famous because many events involving the drow hero, Drizzt Do'Urden, occurred here, chronicled in The Icewind Dale Trilogy, a series of fantasy novels by R. A. Salvatore.
Icewind Dale is an icy tundra and the northernmost explored area of Faerûn. Its only permanent settlements are known as the Ten Towns, a confederation of a number of minor settlements cooperating with each other. The region is mainly populated by fishermen, craftsmen, rangers, dwarves mining the deeps for minerals and precious stones, barbarians, and merchants who tolerate the hostile climate in the hope of trading in ivory and gems. The "capital" of the region is the town of Bryn Shander.
Another notable feature of Icewind Dale is Kelvin's Cairn, a mountain north of Ten Towns. It was in a cavern on the northern face of this mountain that Drizzt Do'Urden resided for some time as a sort of 'scout' for Ten Towns.
Neverwinter
[edit | edit source]Neverwinter, also known as the City of Skilled Hands, or the Jewel of the North, is regarded by many, including the erudite travel writer Volo, as the most cosmopolitan and the most civilized city in all of Faerûn, quite a reputation, considering the breadth and variety of the continent.
Official Material
[edit | edit source]- Luskan
- The Luskan Portal, portal of The Moonstars
- The Crest of Luskan