Netflix and Wizards of the Coast put FORGOTTEN REALMS live-action show into development

Netflix and Wizards of the Coast have joined forces to put a Dungeons & Dragons TV project into development, tentatively called The Forgotten Realms. The show will be set in the D&D game's most popular world, the recent setting for hit video game Baldur's Gate III and the well-received movie Honor Among Thieves.

Shawn Levy, the producer of Stranger Things and director of movies including Date Night, Night at the Museum and Deadpool & Wolverine, will executive produce the show via his existing deal with Netflix, and will likely direct several episodes. Drew Crevello will write and showrun. Crevello previously worked at Fox on the X-Men franchise and the first two Deadpool movies, and co-wrote and produced the mini-series WeCrashed.

There have been multiple attempts to get a Dungeons & Dragons multimedia franchise off the ground in recent years. Baldur's Gate III has been the biggest success, selling over 20 million copies since its August 2023 release and becoming one of the highest-rated video games of the last decade, if not more (PC Gamer US gave the game its highest rating in over twenty years). Honor Among Thieves landed with impressive critical scores and rave audience reviews, but moderate box office; the film failed to recoup its costs at the box office, but a long tail on physical media and streaming has helped in the longer term. At various times, Hasbro and Wizards have looked at developing projects in both the Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance worlds. Paramount+ was the logical destination for the project after the studio's collaboration on Honor Among Thieves, but the service's increasingly shaky performance led Hasbro to reconsider and start putting out feelers with Netflix.

Discussions with Netflix have been underway for some time, and at one point it was rumoured they were considering an adaptation of the Baldur's Gate video game trilogy. However, that idea seems to have cooled. The current proposal seems to be for an original story following new characters, with the door left open for popular franchise characters from the roleplaying source material, video games and novels to make an appearance.

The Forgotten Realms world was created by Canadian writer Ed Greenwood in the late 1960s as a setting for his own stories (the city of Baldur's Gate first appeared in a tale written to amuse his father in 1967). In 1978 he started playing Dungeons & Dragons and adapted the world for his home campaign. He started contributing articles to Dragon Magazine and quickly started referencing the world, its heroes, villains and iconic locations. In 1986 TSR decided to adopt a new "standard" fantasy setting to replace Greyhawk and Dragonlance, and agreed to purchase the Forgotten Realms from Greenwood.

The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting appeared in print for the first time as a boxed set in 1987. New editions of the campaign setting core product appeared in 1993, 2001, 2008 and 2015, with two new campaign books planned for later this year. More than 250 other sourcebooks, adventures, board games, boxed sets and gaming materials have also been released. Forgotten Realms is notable as the only D&D campaign setting to remain continuously in print since its first launch, and to have new products for it launched almost every year since its first release.

A range of novels simultaneously launched, with R.A. Salvatore's The Crystal Shard (1988) rapidly attracting huge sales for his iconic hero, the renegade dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden. More than 35 million Drizzt books have since been sold, and the Forgotten Realms novel line has reportedly sold almost 100 million copies. Greenwood himself became a bestselling author with his novels about the iconic wizard Elminster the Sage, with other bestselling authors in the setting including Troy Denning, Doug Niles, Jeff Grubb & Kate Novak, Paul Kemp, James Lowder, Elaine Cunningham and Erin Evans.

The first Forgotten Realms video games were released in 1988 from Strategic Simulations Inc., and were followed by a large number of successful titles. The most notable early success was the Eye of the Beholder trilogy from Westwood Games. In 1998 the Canadian company BioWare teamed up with Black Isle and Interplay to release Baldur's Gate. The game was an immediate smash hit, and was followed by Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn in 2000 and Neverwinter Nights in 2002. Black Isle themselves developed Icewind Dale (2000) and Icewind Dale II (2002), also set in the Realms and using the same engine as Baldur's Gate. After Interplay's collapse, Obsidian Entertainment (made up of Black Isle veterans) released Neverwinter Nights II in 2006. The online roleplaying game Neverwinter was released in 2013, followed by Sword Coast Legends in 2015. Baldur's Gate III, developed by Larian Studios and released in August 2023, is easily the biggest and most successful video game in the setting to date.

This new project is only in development for the time being, with a pilot written. It remains to be seen if Netflix chooses to move forward with a series order.

Baldur's Gate III

An illithid spaceship crashes on the banks of the River Chionthar, far to the east of the great city of Baldur's Gate. Seven survivors stumble forth, former prisoners of the illithids, the much-feared mind-flayers. These seven individuals have been infected with mind-flayer tadpoles, which will slowly burrow into their brains and turn them into new illithids. But something is holding the tadpoles at bay. The companions learn that they may be able to escape their doom, if they can work out their differences, join forces and defeat the greatest threat to Faerûn and the Sword Coast to appear in generations.

Baldur's Gate III - now officially the Game of the Year™ - is a massive, sprawling, roleplaying game set on the Dungeons & Dragons world of Toril, better known as the Forgotten Realms. It is the sequel to Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, two of the greatest roleplaying games (and in fact video games full stop) of all time, but also notes that since it's almost a quarter of a century since the last game in the series game out, it requires zero previous knowledge of the series to enjoy. It arrives at a perfect moment, with the popularity of Dungeons & Dragons and tabletop roleplaying games at an all-time high, and goodwill for developers Larian Studios still riding high from their previous two games in the Divinity: Original Sin series.

It would be churlish to say anything other than Baldur's Gate III is an overwhelmingly impressive game. It's enormous, with a playthrough of the main story and most side-quests taking around 100 hours, but an exhausting playthrough to find every bit of loot, gold and lore taking easily half again as long. The game can be played solo or as a co-op online game. You can create a new character from scratch, play as one of the six existing "origin characters" (who otherwise become your major NPC party-members), or play the "Dark Urge" character, who has a murderous drive which ties more directly into the previous games in the series. Creating a new character, you can play as one of numerous species, classes and sub-classes, with a wide array of feats, abilities and combat moves to develop and employ. There's a lot of game here, but the game is forgiving enough that you can muddle through even with "suboptimal" builds, and it does a good job of teaching you what you need to do as it goes along.

I mean, she's not wrong.

Baldur's Gate III feels bizarrely and positively schizophrenic: the game has AAA+ production values, cutscenes, voice-acting, graphics, visual effects and polish (at least for the first half of the game) to shame the latest Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed mainstream title, but it's also deeply geeky. The turn-based combat and the need for tactical positioning, mastery of buffs and debuffs and knowledge of how Concentration-based spell effects work all feel better suited for hardcore indie titles aimed squarely at insiders and grognards. The game's most startling success is bridging these two audiences, creating a game with the richness and depth of many of the classic CRPG titles but the mainstream accessibility and appeal of the most polished AAA action games.

The game isn't truly an open-world title, instead being set across one very large map in each of the three acts, plus a couple of side-maps related to them. Each map will still take a while to simply explore, and are packed with puzzles, enemies, potential allies, caves, loot and mysteries. Many events pertain to your current situation but others are incidental side-quests. Each act has its own major storyline: Act I focuses on a conflict between a goblin army and a druid grove which is also hosting a large number of tiefling refugees from the nearby city of Elturel; Act II is set in the mist-shrouded lands around Moonrise Towers, where the Harpers are planning a strike to retake the fortress from the evil warlord who controls it; and Act III takes the party to Baldur's Gate itself, where dubious shifts in governance mask a foul conspiracy unfolding both above and below ground. It sometimes feels like the game could have been a trilogy made up of three ~30-hour games which would have still been incredibly rewarding, and getting them all in one title for one price is an insane act of generosity on Larian's part. For the record, Baldur's Gate III is substantially longer than all three Mass Effect games combined.

No, it's not that one.

The game's narrative is complex, with the struggle to overcome the mind-flayer tadpole munching on your cerebellum tied into the mystery of why it hasn't already succeeded. Trying to remove this threat leads you into some very strange places. But you are also one of seven characters in the same boat, and each one of your companions - Astarion, Gale, Karlach, Lae'zel, Shadowheart and Wyll - has their own immense amount of backstory and baggage to deal with. Astarion is a vampire spawn who yearns for vengeance against his abusive former master. Gale has a ticking magical time bomb inside him and emotional damage from a relationship with the Goddess of Magic. Karlach is infused with an Infernal Engine that grants her strength but is also slowly killing her. Lae'zel is a githyanki with a severe attitude problem who is trying to serve her people the best way she can. Shadowheart is a brittle worshipper of Shar, the Goddess of Shadows and Darkness, but also has a good heart that seems at odd with her calling. Wyll is a warlock tied to a dubious, demonic patron. Each one of these characters and stories is well-drawn and enacted, with outstanding voice acting. Many of the game's finest moments come from interactions with and between your companion characters, as you move from dysfunctional-at-best allies to more of a found family.

That's not going too far into the other characters you meet along the way, people whom you can turn into powerful allies by helping their cause, such as rescuing the druid Halsin from the goblin camp or saving the thieves' guild of Baldur's Gate from being usurped by a rival operation. Many of these storylines are also highly engaging.

Combat is tactically satisfying, but - and this is a relief - not quite as puzzle-focused as the Original Sin games. In those games, incredibly tough battles were really puzzles which could only be unlocked through the use of oils, traps and explosives. Baldur's Gate III still has many of those elements, but they are more optional and instead combat is more reliant on the tactics you yourself develop through experimentation. This is much more satisfying and enjoyable.

Given the game's immense scale, its epic scope, its strong storytelling, outstanding characterisation and immaculate presentation, this must be a clean sweep, surely? An immediate five-star classic?

"This guy seems trustworthy."

Not quite. Baldur's Gate III's incredible first impression is slowly soured by a number of problems (some solved by the large number of patches and hotfixes since the game's launch four months ago, some not). None of these are fatal, but combined they do remove some of the sheen from the game.

The first is that the game's launch was technically problematic. The first half of the game was almost flawless, but the second half saw gradually escalating crashes, graphical errors, quest triggers misfiring, occasional random deaths and massively tanking framerates (especially when reaching Baldur's Gate itself, one of the most detailed and densest fantasy cities ever depicted in a video game). Many of these were fixed, but some issues remain: wonky physics, occasionally vanishing items which you are trying to pick up and cutscenes abruptly ending as the game can't work out what scene to play next (cutscenes are dynamic and depend on, sometimes, hundreds of choices you have made through the game).

This leads into a second problem in that Baldur's Gate III bills itself as being fully reactive to your game choices, so if you want to surprise-attack a major antagonist halfway through his evil plan speech and yeet him into a lava pit, you certainly can try. The problem is that it's rather easy to trip the game up in this way: in Act I I snuck into the goblin fortress from a side-tunnel rather than infiltrating via the camp outside, and in Act II I stumbled across the Gauntlet of Shar before finding Moonrise Towers. So, twice, I did major parts of the game's storyline in the opposite order to the way the game expects. Twice, the game failed to adequately respond to this, with characters making reference to things I had not done and people I had not yet met, cutscenes not really making sense and major parts of the story being shut off to me without much forewarning or the ability to do anything about it.

The game can also be extremely odd in what it tells you to do, or is possible: at the end of Act I you are told you have to proceed either via a mountain pass or the Underdark to reach Moonrise Towers. But, in fact, you can simply do both. In fact, you really should do both, as major storyline events for your companion characters take place in both locations. Following the game's directions literally can simply cut you out of large amounts of content if you are not careful.

Another issue is caused by the game's structure. As you pursue your myriad quests, they start to draw to conclusions deep into Act III, and they then climax in rapid succession, which is what you'd expect. But this means that the game can wind up putting five very tough boss fights one-after-another in the latter part of Act III, which ended up being a bit too much and left the actual final battle of the game feeling a bit undercooked in comparison. The game hints at a better structure earlier one, when Shadowheart's story really climaxes in Act II but gives her a meaty epilogue early in Act III. Wyll's story can also be brought to an early conclusion in Act III. Spacing out the companion characters' stories more evenly would be a better idea (and it may be possible on a replay to approach things somewhat differently).

Baldur's Gate III also cannot help but suffer a little in comparison to its earlier forebears; its music is notably nowhere near as good (BG3's soundtrack perks up with the excellent faux-opera accompanying your confrontation with a very powerful enemy near the end of the game, but is mostly generic) and - utterly bafflingly - its UI is sometimes clunkier. Identifying weapons and items in your inventory can be fiddlier, and things that can smoothly be done in one click in Baldur's Gate II now take two or three. BG2 has real-time combat that can be effectively made turn-based through the use of options, whilst BG3 only has turn-based combat, which sometimes kills the game's pacing when facing off against a bunch of dramatically weaker enemies whom you are absolutely going to rinse regardless. Baldur's Gate III's rogue's gallery of enemies also feels a little flat: the most charismatic and intimidating enemy in the game is seen off in Act II and those left behind are tiresome second-stringers. None of Jon Irenicus' powerful gravitas or Sarevok's mad-dog energy here (well, very little of it). I'm also now a little bored of big RPGs in which something weird is happening inside your head and is going to kill you unless you do the main quest (for a genre that utterly despises railroading, the video game versions of pen-and-paper RPGs are awfully fond of doing things that would risk a DM getting ostracised in real life).

The final criticism is also not so much of a bug but a feature for a lot of people: Baldur's Gate III is a lot and I found myself only really able to enjoy the game with my brain switched full on, paying maximum attention and in the zone. This is not a calm or gentle game to chill out to, like, say, Starfield. With its immense checklist of things to do and people to see and monsters to kill, BG3 occasionally risks feeling more like work than relaxation. Of course, for those who love number-crunching, story-tracking and optimising builds, this will be a huge appeal rather than a possible weakness.

Baldur's Gate III's weaknesses are not insignificant, especially cumulatively, but they ultimately cannot derail the game's immense achievements: mostly good writing, strong character work, intriguing combat, gorgeous graphics and best-in-class voice acting. Baldur's Gate III (****½) has rewritten expectations on how complex, challenging and layered a video game can be and still be a huge crossover smash hit, and it may be some considerable time before we see a game that has as much success.

The game is now available on PC, PlayStation 5 and, as of today, Xbox Series X and S.

Thank you for reading The Wertzone. To help me provide better content, please consider contributing to my Patreon page and other funding methods.

RUMOUR: Netflix interested in developing a BALDUR'S GATE adaptation

File under "highly tenuous" for now, but a couple of outlets are reporting rumours that Netflix has expressed an interest in developing a live-action Baldur's Gate TV series, based on the hot video game property.

Baldur's Gate III launched on PC at the start of August and reportedly sold five million copies in its first few weeks on sale (before it even launched on console), making it a remarkable success for something of an old-fashioned, party-based roleplaying game with turn-based combat. The game's critical acclaim was also off the charts, with the game becoming PC Gamer's highest-rated title in two decades. The game's voice cast have become almost immediate, breakout stars, and the memes have been constantly flowing since the game's launch.

The Baldur's Gate series comprises three games and three expansions in the core series and three games in the spin-off Dark Alliance series, as well as associated comics and roleplaying products. The series revolves around the titular city of Baldur's Gate, a great port on the River Chionthar and a hugely important trading post for the Sword Coast region of the continent of Faerûn. The city keeps getting into various scrapes, but of course handy adventurers keep showing up to help save it.

The series is set within the much wider Forgotten Realms fantasy universe, created by Canadian writer Ed Greenwood in the 1960s as a setting for short stories and worldbuilding as a hobby. He sold the setting to TSR, Inc., the company behind Dungeons & Dragons, to be turned in an official D&D setting in 1987. Continuously in print since, the setting has sold millions of roleplaying products, tens of millions of novels and has been the setting for almost three hundred books and over fifty video games. Ed invented the city of Baldur's Gate in 1968 for a short story called "The Box That Crept on Talons," whilst it got its first mention in print in Dragon Magazine #81 (January 1984), as the home of a wizard who is an expert on basilisks.

The video game Baldur's Gate was released in December 1998, having been developed by Canadian video game studio BioWare and published by Interplay. A smash-hit success, Baldur's Gate told the story of the Bhaalspawn, a number of progeny of the slain God of Murder, Bhaal, and the various attempts to resurrect Bhaal, a prospect welcomed by some of these progeny but fiercely resisted by others. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn followed in 2000, and both games had expansions: Tales of the Sword Coast (1999) and Throne of Bhaal (2001). Remasters of the two games, known as Enhanced Editions, were released in 2012 and 2013 respectively. An interquel expansion set between the two games, Siege of Dragonspear, was released in 2016. Baldur's Gate III was developed by Larian Studios in Belgium.

The prospects of a Netflix-produced series are dubious for the time being. Hasbro's TV and film division, eOne, currently has the TV and film rights to all D&D and Forgotten Realms related products. They recently produced the film Honor Among Thieves set in the same world, and are developing a number of further projects, including potentially an adaptation of R.A. Salvatore's mega-selling Legend of Drizzt book series, as well as a possible project based on the popular Dragonlance world of Krynn. eOne is developing these projects with Paramount, for potential airing on their Paramount+ streaming service. If a Baldur's Gate TV project was to be developed, Paramount+ might be a better bet than Netflix at this time.

However, Hasbro have also been entertaining offers to divest eOne (either spinning it off as an independent company or selling it outright, possibly to Paramount), in which case it is unclear what would happen to the D&D rights. It is possible they might entertain an alliance with Netflix at that stage.

Given the massive popularity of Baldur's Gate III, I wouldn't be surprised to see such a project go into development, but given the game is around 100 hours long with a massive cast and a story that can vary immensely from player to play based on the cumulative weight of hundreds of choices, it will certainly be a formidable challenge to bring the story to the screen.

The DUNGEONS & DRAGONS movie gets its first trailer

The first trailer has been released for the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie, Honor Among Thieves.

The trailer sees bard Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine) and barbarian warrior Holga Kilgor (Michelle Rodriguez) assembling a team to take on evil-doers. The rest of their party is rounded off by a paladin (Regé-Jean Page), half-elven sorcerer Simon (Justice Smith) and tiefling druid Dorig (Sophia Lillis), who specialises in transforming into an adorably murdery owlbear during combat. They have to face off against a number of foes, including the foppish Forge Fitzwilliam of Neverwinter (Hugh Grant), although they also have their work cut out facing down a displacer beast, a black dragon, a gelatinous cube and several evil sorcerers.

The movie is set in Ed Greenwood's Forgotten Realms world, specifically along the Sword Coast North with a focus on the city of Neverwinter (well-known from video games like Neverwinter Nights), and marks the first time the Realms - which have sold somewhere in the region of 100 million novels, over 10 million video games and several million RPG products - has ever been portrayed in live action. Reportedly we may see some cameos from major Forgotten Realms characters, so keep those eyes peeled for Elminster or Drizzt Do'Urden (who is also having his own live-action TV series developed back at Hasbro's production arm).

The film was written by Chris McKay and Michael Gilio, with Jonathan Goldstein and John Daley directing. The film hits cinemas on 3 March 2023, and looks like a cheesy fun time. It will have to go some to be worse than the four previous attempts to bring D&D to the screen, resulting in one dubious cinematic feature in 2000 (although worthwhile for Jeremy Irons' mind-boggling performance as the villain), two unwatchable straight-to-DVD attempts in the 2000s and a forgettable, animated Dragonlance film in 2007.

Wizards of the Coast confirm FORGOTTEN REALMS setting for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS movie

Wizards of the Coast, the creators and publishers of the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop roleplaying game, have finally confirmed that the in-production D&D movie will take place in the Forgotten Realms world, ending years of speculation.

The city of Neverwinter on the Sword Coast North, a rumoured location for the film. Art: Jedd Chevrier

A much earlier, long-superseded draft of the script was set in the Realms, specifically in the city of Waterdeep and the dungeon of Undermountain beneath it, but since then the film has passed through multiple writers, rewrites and directors, leading to some confusion over the film's setting. Yesterday a film synopsis leaked placing the action in the Realms, in and around the city of Neverwinter, but according to Screenrant this is an old synopsis which is no longer completely accurate.

WotC have now confirmed that the setting is indeed the Realms, but nothing specific beyond this. This will mark the first appearance of the Forgotten Realms - history's most popular and successful epic fantasy shared world setting - in a live-action adaptation. More than 290 novels have been published in the Forgotten Realms setting, with cumulative sales approaching 100 million, well over 30 million alone sold by R.A. Salvatore in his popular Legend of Drizzt series. Authors such as Paul Kemp, Ed Greenwood, Troy Denning, Elaine Cunningham and Erin Evans have sold many millions more novels in the setting.

Around fifty video and mobile games in the setting have also been released, including the highly popular Baldur's Gate, Dark Alliance, Icewind Dale and Eye of the Beholder series. Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance, starring Drizzt Do'Urden and the Companions of the Hall, will be released next month, whilst the long, long-awaited Baldur's Gate III is aiming for release next year.

The Forgotten Realms world was created by Canadian author Ed Greenwood in 1968 as a setting for stories he was writing at school. He expanded the setting as a Dungeons & Dragons campaign world in 1976 and began writing D&D articles for Dragon Magazine in 1978, frequently mentioning characters and locations from his home setting. TSR, Inc., the publishers of D&D, bought the setting from Greenwood and brought it into print in 1987. It has never been out of print since, enjoying the distinction of being the only D&D campaign setting supported for every edition of the game and the setting most frequently used in D&D-branded adventures, novels and video games. With the release of D&D's 5th Edition in 2014, the world became the "default" setting for D&D, although recently Wizards (who bought TSR in 1997) have backed off a bit on that in favour of supporting gaming groups in creating their own worlds, or using other settings.

Alongside this news, Wizards of the Coast confirmed that 2020 was the most successful year in D&D's history with over 30% sales growth on the previous year. They confirmed plans in the coming months to bring back two "classic" and long-out-of-print campaign settings (one heavily rumoured to be Dragonlance, to accompany the release of the first new Dragonlance novels in over a decade by setting writers Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman), as well as releasing a Forgotten Realms card set for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game.

The D&D movie is currently shooting in the Titanic Studios in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and stars Chris Pine, Hugh Grant, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith and Regé-Jean Page. The film is currently scheduled for release on 3 March, 2023.

Cities of Fantasy: Baldur's Gate

The Western Heartlands of Faerun form an extensive area of wilderness, hundreds of miles of open countryside dominated by several large city-states.  The most famous and storied of these is the great port city of Baldur’s Gate. From its position on the River Chionthar, Baldur’s Gate is the largest beacon of civilisation between Waterdeep and the kingdom of Amn and acts as a vital trading post. Everything is for sale in Baldur’s Gate, including adventure, trouble and morality.

Note: Baldur’s Gate’s fortunes differ significantly at different points in the history of the Forgotten Realms. This description explores the city during the “classic” era of Forgotten Realms history, just prior to the highly ill-conceived event known as the Spellplague, regarded as non-fanon by many fans and players in the setting.

Location

Baldur’s Gate is located close to the north-western coast of the continent of Faerûn. It is located on the wide and deep River Chionthar, approximately twenty miles upriver from where it flows into the Sea of Swords. Technically the city is not on the Sword Coast itself, but its position as a major port and one of the few waystops north of Amn makes the difficulty of beating upriver to the city generally worthwhile.

The city is also located on the Coast Way, a vital trade artery along the west coast of the continent. The Coast Way extends south through the towns of Beregost and Nashkel into the Kingdom of Amn and thence to the rich southern kingdoms of Tethyr and Calimshan. The Coast Way eventually terminates at Calimport, the largest city in Faerûn, some 1,000 miles to the south, and continues to Waterdeep, the City of Splendours, located about 480 miles to the north-west. The Coast Way takes a massive detour to the east to avoid the Troll Hills and Trollbark Forest north of the Winding Water, an area infested with monsters. The Coast Way runs a dangerous gauntlet between the Troll Hills and High Moor to the north on its way to Waterdeep, so trade caravans usually travel well-armed.

Physical Description

Baldur’s Gate surrounds a significant inlet of the River Chionthar. With tall hills to the east hemming in the city’s walls, the city resembles a crescent moon with the bay forming the gap in the circle. Districts within the city include Bloomridge, Twin Songs and the Port District.

The most notable feature of the city is arguably Black Dragon Gate, built by Balduran himself, a formidable gateway and mini-fortress which has never fallen in battle. The city core contains the High Hall (or Palace of the Grand Dukes), the High House of Wonders (a huge temple to Gond, God of Artifice and Invention), the Water Queen’s House (a rare temple to Umberlee, the capricious Goddess of the Sea) and the Lady’s Hall (a temple to Tymora, Goddess of Good Fortune). Temples to Ilmater, Helm, Lathander and Oghma can also be found within the city centre.

The city’s primary defensive bastion is the Seatower of Balduran, located on an island in the harbour.

Population

The population of Baldur’s Gate varied according to the season. In 1372 DR the city’s permanent population was approximately 42,100, but at the height of the summer trading rush this could more than double to around 86,000. During the height of the trading season, it’s not unusual to see extensive tent cities and ad hoc markets springing up outside the walls.

Government

Baldur’s Gate is ruled by the Council of Four, also known as the Four Grand Dukes. As of 1372, the Four Grand Dukes are Eltan, the leader of the Flaming Fist Mercenary Company; Belt, a poweful warrior-priest; Liia Jannath, a wizardess; and Entar Silvershield, the city’s richest merchant. The Council works closely together to keep trade flowing through the city and to ensure threats are dealt with quietly and efficiently.

Baldur’s Gate is also part of the Lords’ Alliance, an alliance of city-states in north-western Faerun designed to resist the corrupting influence of the Black Network of the Zhentarim, the rulers of Amn, the Red Wizards of Thay and other potential enemies. Although the Alliance is a powerful force in resisting such enemies, it has no say over the internal running of the city. Other members of the Alliance include Waterdeep, Daggerford, Neverwinter, Mirabar, Gundarlun and the newly-founded Kingdom of Luruar in the Silver Marches, centered on the great city of Silverymoon.

History

The history of Baldur’s Gate dates back to the adventurer Orluth Tshahvur. In 227 DR he founded the short-lived kingdom of Shavinar at the mouth of the River Chionthar. He built a crude keep near the site of what is now Baldur’s Gate and attracted settlers to the town with a promise of freedom and mutual defence against marauding monsters and bandits. He gained a boon when a skilled Calishite shipwright arrived in the settlement, leading to a shipbuilding and repair yard springing up. The village became known as Gaeth (the local Thorass word for “rivermouth”) but, despite its good fortune, it was slow to grow. By Orluth’s death in 242 DR, the population was only 120 but the wider realm of Shinvar extended almost 100 miles upriver and as far north as the Troll Hills, where Orluth had built watchtowers to keep an eye out for trolls. Orluth’s son Arlsar, neglected his father’s achievements and was murdered in 256 DR by merchants angered by his incompetence.

There were several attempts to hold Shavinar together, the most notable being Arlsar’s youngest son Kondarar who had magical backing. Under his rule Shavinar began to grow again…but it was swept away by a troll horde in 277 DR. Gaeth was destroyed along with the rest of the realm.

Still, the realm’s existence did confirm that the location was a viable one for a port and over the next eight centuries several attempts were made to establish another settlement in the region. However, this always failed because the cost of building a wall around the port – which due to the geography required a very large one – was ruinous.

This situation was finally broken circa 1050. A great sailor hailing from the region, Balduran, took his ship, the Wandering Eye, across the Trackless Sea in search of new lands. Against the odds, beyond Evermeet he found a rich new continent, Anchorome, and found many riches there. He returned home, laden with gold, and paid for massive stone walls to be built around the nascent settlement on the site of ancient Gaeth. The port was named Baldur’s Gate in his honour and Balduran briefly stayed to rule and help the city become more established. However, he eventually could not resist the call of the sea and returned to Anchorome. He was killed there by the natives circa 1068, although some conflicting rumours suggest he actually returned to Faerûn but his ship was smashed to pieces on the coast south of the city. This rumour is considered fanciful.

Despite Balduran’s death, the city he left behind prospered. This was helped by the rise of Waterdeep to the north, and the presence of two new rich trade ports to the north saw trade start to flow up the Sword Coast from the rich southern kingdoms of Amn, Tethyr and Calimshan. The growing city was threatened in 1235 when the Black Horde, the largest orc horde in recorded history, rampaged down the Sword Coast. Both Waterdeep and Baldur’s Gate were besieged, but their walls held and the ports remained open, preventing either from being starved out. The Black Horde itself fragmented due to a lack of food and supplies and eventually dispersed.

Circa 1350, the fighter Eltan founded the Flaming Fist, a mercenary company rooted in honour and order. The mercenary army, noted for its discipline and its success in resisting border incursions from Amn to the south and repelling monsters and trolls to the north, soon became the de facto police force of Baldur’s Gate and Eltan ascended to the rank of Grand Duke.

In 1358 the Time of Troubles (or Avatar Wars) wracked Faerûn. Bhaal, God of Murder and Patron of Assassins, did battle with the nascent demigod Cyric on Boareskyr Bridge a couple of hundred miles north-east of Baldur’s Gate. Bhaal was defeated and slain, but upon his death his essence was split between several mortals, the so-called “Bhaalspawn”. Ten years later, in 1368, one of these offspring, Sarevok, instigated a plan to kill the other Bhaalspawn and reunite Bhaal’s power in himself. To this end he allied with the Iron Throne criminal organisation and a band of doppelgangers to topple the Four Grand Dukes and seize control of the region. However, another Bhaalspawn thwarted his plans and killed Sarevok, preventing Bhaal’s return and restoring peace to the region.

In 1361 word arrived in the city that Captain Cordell and the Golden Legion of Amn had discovered a new continent far to the west, across the Trackless Sea. They had named this continent Maztica and toppled the evil empire that had dominated the land, as well as founding the new town of Helmsport to help exploit this new continent. The Council of Four realised that Maztica was likely associated with Anchorome and dispatched an expedition to stake out their own claim to the land. This expedition confirmed that Anchorome is the continent to the north of Maztica (with Maztica as a subcontinent or region of Anchorome rather than a geologically separate landmass) and founded Fort Flame on the coast of the continent in 1364. The local jungle elf tribes attacked Fort Flame several times but were repulsed.

In 1369 the Fifth Serôs War, also called the Sea War, raged when the sahuagin minions of Iakhovas the Taker attacked the city (and most of the coast of Faerûn). They were defeated and forced out of the city thanks to the Flaming Fist and the city’s wizards and priests.

As of 1372 Baldur’s Gate appears secure, having averted the threat of war with Amn to the south and increased its dominance on Sword Coast trade. Baldur’s Gate’s ambition seems to be to surpass Waterdeep to the north as the greatest city on the coast. Some have speculated that the Gate may try to expand into a nation or at least a more formal alliance, comprising all the lands between the Troll Hills and Cloud Peaks and incorporating settlements as Ulgoth’s Beard, Candlekeep, the Friendly Arm Inn (located inside a massive fortress) and Beregost, but if so this ambition has not been realised so far.

Origins and Influences

Baldur’s Gate is part of the Forgotten Realms fantasy world, originally created by Ed Greenwood in 1968 and then developed as the setting for his home Dungeons and Dragons campaign from 1976 onwards. The world became better-known when Greenwood began writing for Dragon Magazine in 1978, often referencing his home campaign in his articles. In 1987 TSR, Inc. released the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, marking the first appearance of Baldur’s Gate in print. The city first appeared in a novel in 1990, when R.A. Salvatore set part of The Halfling’s Gem (the concluding novel in The Icewind Dale Trilogy) in the city.

Baldur’s Gate received little more attention in the second edition of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting (1993) but it was expanded greatly by Ed Greenwood in Volo’s Guide to the Sword Coast (1994), a sourcebook which provided the first canonical map of the city itself. He detailed much more of the city’s history, geography and power groups.

In 1995 the video game company Interplay bought a licence to release games set in the Forgotten Realms setting and using the Dungeons and Dragons rules from TSR. After a couple of disappointing titles, Interplay partnered with a new Canadian game development studio called BioWare to develop a D&D game. They considered several settings, including better-known Realms locations such as the Dalelands and Waterdeep, but ultimately settled on Baldur’s Gate as the city had just enough background to be interesting but enough blank spaces they could fill in with new information.

The resulting video game, Baldur’s Gate, was released in 1998 and was a smash hit, setting BioWare on the path that would eventually lead them to the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises. This game began a series which continued with Baldur’s Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast (1999), Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn (2000) and its expansion Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal (2001) (although only Baldur’s Gate itself was set in the titular city). It also inspired a spin-off console game series, comprising Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance (2001) and Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance II (2004). In 2012 Beamdog released Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition which updated the game for modern PCs and added a new expansion, Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear, in 2015 (although this expansion is not set in the city itself).

Baldur’s Gate III: The Black Hound was in development at Interplay when the company went bust in 2004. Despite the name, the game would have been set in the Dalelands with no connection to the earlier series by plot.

More recently, Baldur’s Gate was explored in both the 4^th and 5^th edition campaign settings for Dungeons and Dragons. The former saw the Forgotten Realms destroyed in an event known as the Spellplague, with Baldur’s Gate emerging as one of the few settlements to flourish following the cataclysm, becoming larger and more powerful than Waterdeep (a move motivated, it was believed, to cash in on the name recognition of the video games). 5^th Edition has undone many of the impacts of the Spellplague, but Baldur’s Gate retains its place as one of the most prominent cities in the setting.

Most recently, the city is the focus for the Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate board game (2017), a variant of the classic Betrayal at House on the Hill board game.

Thank you for reading The Wertzone. To help me provide better content, please consider contributing to my Patreon page and other funding methods, which will also get you exclusive content weeks before it goes live on my blogs. The Cities of Fantasy series is debuting on my Patreon feed and you can read it there one month before being published on the Wertzone.

Cities of Fantasy: Waterdeep, City of Splendours

The North is a land of wilderness, towering mountains and hills separated by rivers winding their way to the sea. Ancient ruins from the elven kingdom of Illefarn and the dwarven empire of Delzoun, both long fallen, dot the landscape. Towns and settlements are rare, points of light in a landscape where roving orc bands, tribes of giants and even the occasional dragon threaten the unwary.

But on the coast stands an immense beacon of civilisation, the largest city in Faerûn north of Calimshan and west of the Sea of Fallen Stars. Some call it the City of Splendours, the shining jewel of the Sword Coast North. It is better known as Waterdeep.

Note: Waterdeep’s fortunes differ significantly at different points in the history of the Forgotten Realms. This description explores the city during the “classic” era of Forgotten Realms history, just prior to the highly ill-conceived event known as the Spellplague, regarded as non-fanon by many fans and players in the setting.

Location and Foreign Relations

Waterdeep is located on the north-western coast of Faerûn, approximately at 45°N. It lies in a coastal temperate zone, with cold winters and pleasant summers. The city lies on a coastal plateau in the shadow of Mount Waterdeep, which rises sharply from the sea. The city’s great harbour stands clear of the towering peak to the south, whilst it sprawls over the mountain’s flanks and extends to the ends of the plateau to the north. The River Dessarin, one of the great rivers of the North, empties into the Sea of Swords in a mighty torrent several miles south-east of the city (the river mouth is not suitable for settlement, hence the location of the city).

Waterdeep is formally regarded as a city-state, although the area it directly controls is large and the area it indirectly influences is huge. The surrounding countryside out to around 50 miles in all directions is heavily patrolled by Waterdhavian guards and militia and the city frequently employs mercenaries and adventurers to further secure its borders out three times as far. Very large farmlands are required to feed the city and these farms in turn need protection from the hostile tribes (human and non-human) that can be found further north. Waterdeep’s influence is generally held to run out around 150 miles south of the city, at the River Delimbiyr and the town of Daggerford and roughly the same distance north, at the immense swamp known as the Mere of Dead Men. Nearby settlements, such as Red Larch, Triboar, Yartar, Daggerford and the huge, fortified monastery of Chauntea at Goldenfields, are all allied to Waterdeep, as are the more distant powers of Neverwinter and Silverymoon. Neverwinter, Silverymoon and Waterdeep are regarded as the three primary “civilised” city-states of the North, standing in opposition to the pirate haven of Luskan and the orcish kingdom of Many-Arrows (which some hold instead as a potential ally, given its unusually diplomatic and open nature).

Waterdeep’s great rival to the south is Baldur’s Gate. More centrally located on the Sword Coast closer to the rich southern kingdoms of Amn, Tethyr and Erlkazar and located in less hostile countryside, Baldur’s Gate is starting to threaten Waterdeep’s dominance of Sword Coast trade. Relations between the two cities are cooler than they used to be, increased by their rival colonies in distant Maztica, but both cities remain unified against mutual threats.

Waterdeep also enjoys positive and friendly relations with the more distant nation of Cormyr and the Moonshae Isles to the south-west. The city has more complex relations with the organisation for “good” known as the Harpers. Although Waterdeep broadly welcomes them and has benefitted from their alliance (such as during the Time of Troubles, also known as the Avatar Wars), it is less keen on the chaos and unpredictable events that tend to follow Harper agents around.

Waterdeep’s greatest enemies are the Black Network of the Zhentarim, the pirate lords of Luskan (although Luskan is too remote to threaten the city’s economy and too small to threaten it militarily) and the great southern nation of Calimshan and its much larger capital, Calimport. However, Calimport is located over two thousand miles away, limiting the prospects of a direct confrontation between the two nations.

Physical Description

Waterdeep is quite large, spreading for almost two miles between Mount Waterdeep and the eastern edge of the plateau on which the city sits, and roughly four miles from north to south. Its most notable feature, after the mountain, is its harbour. The harbour, arguably the finest on the continent, is enclosed to the south by Deepwater Isle, with massive sea walls running from both ends of the isle to the landbound ends of the city walls. This encloses the entire harbour, giving the city a formidable line of defence against attacks from both the sea and the land. To date, Waterdeep has never been captured in battle and only rarely suffered direct attack, although it has fallen to internal coups.

The peak of Mount Waterdeep towers 1,500 feet above the surrounding city. On its western side it rises from the sea in a series of sea cliffs and rock formations that are all but impossible to scale. The northern spur of the mountain is shallower and several notable buildings, including the bard college of New Olamn and the Spires of the Morning (a temple to the dawn god Lathander) are located here. The peak of the mountain is topped by a griffon eyrie, where griffon riders in the service of the Waterdeep City Guard keep watch over the surrounds. Castle Waterdeep, the seat of city governance, sits on the south-eastern flank of the city.

The plateau the city sits on is quite steep, providing a formidable natural defence. This defensive line is augmented by tall walls located atop the plateau, making land-based attacks under withering defensive fire almost impossible. Defensive requirements mean that the Lords of Waterdeep refuse to allow any settlement outside the walls, which, although tactically sound, has put a hard limit on the city’s growth. Unless this restriction is lifted, Waterdeep will simply not be able to grow any further and would-be settlers may be tempted to join other cities, to their benefit at Waterdeep’s expense.

The city is divided into seven wards: Castle Ward, enclosing the entire mountain and Castle Waterdeep, is home to many of the city’s nobles, notables and richest merchants, although its central location also makes it a prime location for business, parties and diplomatic negotiations. Dock Ward incorporates Deepwater Isle and most of the city’s extensive docks, extending for a mile along the harbour. South Ward, located around the gates leading south to the Sword Coast proper, is the city’s poorest district and one of its smallest, but also its liveliest and most bustling, with caravanserai and markets eager to take advantage of weary travellers. Trades Ward, to the north on the eastern side of the city, is given over to commerce and guilds. The City of the Dead, located north of Trades Ward, is the city’s immense cemetery and park. It is mostly peaceful, but is patrolled by city guardsmen and mages keeping an eye out for unsanctioned necromantic activities. Sea Ward, located to the north-west, is home of the city’s wealthiest citizens who can’t afford to live in Castle Ward. North Ward, which makes up the north-eastern corner of the city, is home to the city’s middle class and is noted for its relatively quiet status, belying the cut and thrust of business dealings (not all of them strictly legal) which take place in its taverns and coffee houses (a recent fad based around the introduction of beans harvested on the western continent of Maztica).

Unofficially, the city is also home to three other settlements, although their existence is not officially public knowledge (although rumours abound). Thar Qualnaar is a village of merfolk located on the underwater slopes leading up to Deepwater Isle. A few hundred feet to the north, at the bottom of Boatscrape Cove, lies T’quession, a sea elf stronghold. Although both sea elves and merfolk have lived in the harbour for centuries, their numbers have surged as a result of the Twelfth Serôs War. The Lords of Waterdeep maintain friendly relations with both communities, supplying them with food and aid in return for their aid with underwater defence.

The third community is Skullport. Located hundreds of feet below the city proper on the subterranean River Sargauth, accessible only by secret tunnels and an underwater channel through complex canal gates, Skullport is a free-wheeling, chaotic town of smugglers and adventurers. Denizens of Skullport include less-savoury creatures including drow, illithids and beholders. However, the city’s chaotic and “evil” reputation is somewhat misleading. Several Netherese mages who led the settlement of Skullport, thousands of years before Waterdeep proper was founded, survive as the Skulls, floating skulls of tremendous magical power. These skulls, whose magic is rooted in that of long-vanished Netheril, keep the peace in the city, obliterating with contemptuous ease anyone who threatens its security. The Lords of Waterdeep, of course, know of Skullport but tolerate its existence so long as it does nothing to threaten the rest of the city, knowing that destroying it or rooting it out would be possible only with an unacceptable high level of casualties. Agents of the Lords maintain a careful watch on Skullport.

Skullport is linked through underground caverns to Waterdeep’s darkest secret: the immense subterranean stronghold known as Undermountain.

Artwork by Larry Elmore.

Population

The permanent population of the city of Waterdeep has been established by census at 132,000 as of 1372 Dalereckoning. During the height of the summer trade the population can increase to several times this, with every inn in the city packed out and immense campsites forming outside the walls.

The total population of Waterdeep’s full area of influence, including the surrounding villages, farmsteads and towns and allied settlements out to over 150 miles, is estimated at almost two million people.

The population mix in 1372 is: 64% human, 10% dwarven, 10% elven, 5% halfling, 5% half-elven, 3% gnomish, 2% half-orc, 1% other. The very high elven population is unusual in majority-human cities of Faerûn, a result of the city's unusually open and welcoming reputation as a centre for trade, knowledge and adventure.

Waterdeep is also home to many more unusual creatures in Skullport, Undermountain and the city's clandestine underworld, with an unusually high number of beholders, illithids and dark elves present.

History of Waterdeep

The history of the region goes back over 9,500 years, to when the great elven empire of Illefarn established the port city of Aelinthaldaar on the flanks of Mount Waterdeep. Refugees from Miyeritar, the great elven kingdom destroyed in the Crown Wars and whose ruins stand today on the High Moor, played a role in the city’s founding and early establishment. The city spread over much of what is now Waterdeep and became a great elven power of northern Faerûn.

The elves began digging into Mount Waterdeep for its riches and to establish crypts for their who chose not to make the pilgrimage west to Evermeet. Millennia later, bolstered by refugees from the fighting between Coramshan and Shanatar to the far south, the Melairkyn clan of dwarves were allowed to settle the mountain by the elves. By 1200 Before Dalereckoning (BDR) this had become a great kingdom within the mountain, known as Melairbode, allied to the great dwarven empire of Delzoun. A century later the elves departed, removing all traces of their city behind them.

Melairbode became rich and powerful, but also relatively exposed on the far south-western flank of Delzoun. With the dwarven kingdom under renewed pressure from orcs, goblins and other hostile tribes of the North, Melairbode was abandoned circa 100 BDR and its people retreated north to more secure strongholds like Citadel Adbar in the Spine of the World.

The area remained uninhabited for three centuries, although bold human tribes began to establish farms and fortified homesteads in the area. In 307 Dalereckoning (DR), the mage Halaster Blackcloak established a stronghold, Halaster’s Hold, on the flanks of Mount Waterdeep. Fascinated by the mountain and its history, Halaster soon disappeared within the peak, never to return.

With the departure of the wizard, human warlords began to covet the strategic and highly defensible location. In 472 DR Ulbaerag Bloodhand established the first permanent human settlement on the site of Waterdeep. In 882 the renowned warrior-king Nimoar the Reaver took the settlement as his own. Despite his bloody reputation when angered or thwarted, Nimoar also had a vision that the settlement could grow into a major city and encouraged peaceful migration to the region. He renamed the settlement as Nimoar’s Hold. The first stone buildings were built and the plateau used for defence, with several assaults by rival tribes out of the Dessarin Valley repulsed. The name “Waterdeep”, possibly derived from the already-in-use “Deepwater” for the island and the harbour, entered unofficial use during the 10th Century.

In 932 the Troll Wars began, with thousands of trolls spilling out of the Evermoors. Nimoar not only defeated several troll raids on his town, he unified several rival tribes and burned out the Evermoors in retaliation. A second wave of troll assaults began in 940, encouraging the unified tribes to permanently take shelter in the growing city. In 952 the powerful mage, Ahghairon of Silverymoon moved to the city and used his formidable magical powers to help defeat the trolls for good. For his efforts, he was named Archmage of the City.

Ahghairon, known as a steady and reputable man, helped give the city prestige. The temple of Lathander was established and the city flourished, a sign of the Morninglord’s favour. By 1010 the first city walls had been built and the city was formally renamed “Waterdeep”. A canny local soldier and politician, Lauroun, was named the city’s first Warlord. She ruled well, heeding Ahghairon’s advice. When she was slain in battle against the Black Claw orc tribe in 1026, her lieutenant Raurlor seized power and attempted to forge the city into the “Empire of the North”. Ahghairon killed him and took control of the city directly in 1032.

Ahghairon founded the Council of the Lords of Waterdeep, established the guilds and decreed that the city would stand for peace, prosperity and security. After numerous assassination attempts, it was decided that the Lords would rule in secret, their identities not known to the general public. This angered some people, who wanted to know who their rulers were. Despite this controversy, Waterdeep prospered, growing to its current size by 1256 and achieving economic dominance over the Sword Coast North.

In 1235, western Faerûn was ravaged by the Black Horde, an immense orc horde arising from the Spine of the World and all the other mountains of the north. A detachment of the Horde besieged Waterdeep for almost a year, but it was unable to assault the city directly due to the terrain and Ahghairon’s formidable powers. The city’s harbour also remained open, keeping the city fed. The besieging orc clans fell to infighting and started wanting for food themselves, eventually scattering back into the wilderness.

In 1256 Ahghairon finally succumbed to advanced age, his magic unable to sustain him any longer. Khelben Arunsun the Elder, a Chosen of Mystra, had settled in the city in 1150 and it had been assumed that he would replace Ahghairon as Archmage, but Khelben disappeared a few months after Ahghairon’s death. In the absence of a strong, guiding hand the city fell into civil conflict. The Guildmasters seized control of the city in a bloody coup, killing the Lords of Waterdeep, and then fell into internal fighting. By 1262 only two survived, Lhorar Gildeggh of the Shipwrights’ Guild and Ehlemm Zoar of the Gemcutters. They named themselves the Lords Magister and ruled for eleven years. Their rule was a time of mismanagement and neglect, threatening the city’s prosperity as its reputation for peace and order has been compromised. During this time, the evil Shadow Thieves gained a foothold in the city.

In 1273, it was revealed that two of the Lords of Waterdeep, Baeron and Shilarn, had survived. They returned to the city, killed the Lords Magister, and refounded the Council of Lords. However, they acknowledged that it was unjust to rule in secret and Baeron became the Open Lord of the City, a conduit between the council and the citizens. In 1298 their daughter, Lhestyn, infiltrated and destroyed the Shadow Thieves. Lhestyn, married to Zelphar Arunsun (son of Khelben), became the Open Lord of Waterdeep in 1308. Zelphar died in 1311 and Lhestyn, heartbroken, followed in 1314. Piergeiron Paladinson, a high-ranking young officer in the City Watch, known for his unbreakable moral and ethical code, became the new Open Lord, a position he holds until this day.

Khelben Arunsun the Younger, the alleged son of Lhestyn and Zelphar, settled in Waterdeep as its new Archmage in 1322, taking over Blackstaff Tower and taking the name of the tower as his own. Some decades later he rescued Laeral Silverhand, one of the Seven Sisters, from a cursed magical item and she became his paramour, both serving the city from Blackstaff Tower. It was later revealed that this Khelben was really the older one, posing as his own grandson for reasons far too complex to go into here (but may best be described as “pointless”).

In 1356 Khelben discovered that a powerful beholder cult, led by Xanathar, had taken root below the city. He sponsored an adventuring party in defeating Xanathar and scattering the cult (although it later reformed in secret). A year later he directed the same party to Darkmoon, a remote temple in the forests, where they defeated an evil cleric and his followers.

Also in 1356, a Flight of Dragons threatened the city, but Khelben led a powerful group of mages in persuading them not to attack.

Waterdeep was threatened as never before during the Time of Troubles, sometimes called the Avatar Wars. Ao, the Overgod of all Toril, banished the gods of the Realms to walk the lands of Faerûn as a punishment for their theft of the Tablets of Fate. Waterdeep, as the site of a celestial stairway (a magical conduit linking the world of Toril to the Outer Planes), came under attack by Myrkul, God of Death, and his undead legions. Myrkul planned to use the stairway and the powers of the Tablets to destroy Ao and assume supreme control over both Toril and the planes. Khelben and his mentor and ally Elminster rallied a defence of the city, but it fell to the young and inexperienced mage Midnight and the warrior Kelemvor to destroy Myrkul and end the threat to the city. Their treacherous former friend and ally, Cyric, killed Kelemvor, stole the Tablets and presented them to Ao atop the Celestial Stairway. For his act, Cyric was raised to godhood and granted the powers of the former gods Bane, Bhaal and Myrkul. Midnight was granted the powers of the slain goddess Mystra, becoming the new Goddess of Magic.

In the aftermath of the Time of Troubles, Waterdeep recovered and prospered again. In 1362 word came of the discovery of the continent of Maztica beyond the Trackless Sea. With both Amn and Baldur’s Gate launching colony ships, Waterdeep followed suit. It colonised Maztapan Island, settling the town of New Waterdeep just off the coast of the main Maztican continent. Trade goods soon started flowing both ways across the ocean.

Less happily, in 1369 the city suffered a massive onslaught from the sea. Iakhovas the Taker led a massive assault on the city consisting of sahuagin, lizard folk and dragon turtles, achieving total surprise. Khelben led the defence of the city and drove the sea creatures back into the deeps, but only at a cost of thousands of lives and the razing of most of Dock Ward. This attack was only part of the Twelfth Serôs War, a continent-spanning underwater military conflict, which ended some months later in Iakhovas’ death in the Sea of Fallen Stars.

Waterdeep endures as the largest and richest city on the Sword Coast, but this series of cataclysms and dangers shows that the city is not the bastion of strength that it presents itself as, and the future prosperity of the city depends on it restoring its reputation for peace and security.

Artwork by Larry Elmore.

Undermountain

Waterdeep’s darkest secret is that it sits on top of one of the greatest and most dangerous dungeon complexes in all of Faerûn. Undermountain is the name given to the colossal underground stronghold sitting within and below Mount Waterdeep, a network of caverns, tunnels, underground fortresses and caves stretching for dozens of levels and thousands of feet into the deeps. This used to be the dwarven stronghold of Melairbode, but has since been occupied by Halaster Blackcloak, the Mad Mage and populated with monsters for his own twisted amusement. Undermountain links to Skullport (which lies adjacent to its third level), the underground warren under the sewers of the city and the Underdark itself. There are several entrances to Undermountain, but the best-known is located in the Yawning Portal Inn.

Officially, Undermountain does not exist. Unofficially, the Lords of Waterdeep have sponsored hundreds of adventuring parties into descending into Undermountain in an effort to clear out its depths before Halaster himself can be confronted. Most of the adventuring parties do return, but only after reporting a gradually escalating level of difficulty before the dungeon became too much for them and they had to withdraw.

To the Lords of Waterdeep, the presence of Undermountain is an unacceptable security risk. Armies of drow, illithid, beholders, orcs or goblins could use Undermountain to invade the city from below. However, Halaster is protective of his stronghold and keeps out all interlopers, including other “evil” entities. Halaster is also one of the most powerful mages in the world, his power perhaps only rivalled by Elminster of Shadowdale. With Halaster showing no signs of acrimony against Waterdeep itself despite having a thousand years to destroy it if he wished, the Lords have reluctantly decided to leave Halaster and Undermountain in place as a buffer and defence against the hordes of the Underdark.

Origins and Influences

Ed Greenwood started telling stories about a fantasy land of his own devising in 1967, when he was just eight years old. A few years later he started running a Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying campaign set in the same world. Over time the world gained coherence, a detailed background and flavour, accruing a huge number of locations.

One of Greenwood’s most iconic locations came upon him quite suddenly. In one story, he created a character called Mirt the Moneylender, a fat and jovial merchant. Greenwood wanted to complicate the character and decided to make him one of the secret lords of a vast, sprawling city. This was unusual in his setting, which focused on smaller towns and hamlets. He placed this city on the west coast of his continent, a thousand miles from the regular haunts of his characters and stories in the Dalelands. Thus, was born Waterdeep.

Possibly the quintessential fantasy medieval city, although not quite as insanely huge as some of its contemporaries, Waterdeep is a highly civilised and ordered city which might at first glance appear to be a little boring, suitable only as a base for adventurers striking into the wilderness rather than a setting for adventures in its own right. But Greenwood complicated the city with politics and the shadow city of Skullport located underneath it. He also added the massive dungeon called Undermountain as an easily accessible source of gold and adventure for heroes less keen on wandering far from the city.

In 1978 Greenwood starting writing articles for Dragon Magazine and mentioned both Waterdeep and his home campaign – now dubbed “The Realms”, frequently. In 1987 TSR finally bought the rights to this setting and released it as the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for D&D.

In the thirty years since the Forgotten Realms appeared in print, it has become the default world and setting for the Dungeons and Dragons world. Countless video games (including the classic Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale) were set in its environs, along with over 300 novels. Although mentioned in the earlier Dragon Magazine articles, Waterdeep was first explored in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (1987), although only lightly. City System (1988) provided large-scale maps of the city whilst the supplement Waterdeep and the North (1987) was its first in-depth companion and guide. The city made its first appearance in novels in Waterdeep (1989) by Troy Denning, concluding The Avatar Trilogy, and The Halfling’s Gem (1990) by R.A. Salvatore. After the release of D&D 2nd Edition, the city was updated thorough the City of Splendours box set (1994). City of Splendours: Waterdeep (2005) further updated the city for 3rd Edition. 4th Edition, which controversially devastated the Forgotten Realms in an event known as the Spellplague (cheerfully ignored by many players), had no major update for Waterdeep and instead focused on the cities of Neverwinter and Baldur’s Gate, which in its dubious timeline had both grown to challenge Waterdeep. 5th Edition, released in 2014, undid much of the idiocy of the Spellplague but Wizards of the Coast have, so far, chosen not to release a new Forgotten Realms campaign setting or companion guide for Waterdeep.

Waterdeep has also, somehow, avoided being the setting for video games. Eye of the Beholder (1991) was set below the city but included a lot of information about it. Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark (2003) revisited Undermountain but did not feature the city itself. Curiously, despite Waterdeep’s importance to the setting the city itself has never featured in a major way in any of the video games. The later switching of importance to Neverwinter and Baldur’s Gate may be due to the popularity of the Baldur’s Gate series (1998-2001) and the two Neverwinter Nights games and their numerous expansions (2002-08).

The city did gain some added exposure from the highly successful and popular board game Lords of Waterdeep, released in 2012, followed by its expansion, Scoundrels of Skullport (2013).

Most intriguingly, in 2019 the Realms will finally appear on screen in the next live-action Dungeons and Dragons movie, currently in pre-production at Warner Brothers. Reportedly, the movie will be set in Waterdeep and utilise the infamous Yawning Portal Inn, which should lead to a revival of interest in the city.

Websites of interest: Waterdeep at Realmshelps, Waterdeep at Forgotten Realms Wiki.

Thank you for reading The Wertzone. To help me provide better content, please consider contributing to my Patreon page and other funding methods, which will also get you exclusive content weeks before it goes live on my blogs. The Cities of Fantasy series is debuting on my Patreon feed and you can read it there one month before being published on the Wertzone.