List of Forgotten Realms cities

This is a list of fictional cities, towns, and villages from the Forgotten Realms setting. These locations have appeared in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the multiple series of novels set in the Forgotten Realms, or the numerous video and computer games set in the Forgotten Realms, or any combination thereof.

A

Athkatla

B

Baldur's Gate

Blingdenstone

C

Calimport

Calimport is a city which sits on the coast of the subcontinent of Faerûn.

The sprawling port-city of Calimport is a city within the country of Calimshan. It is on the water, and the desert, so it has ways of travel by both. Memnon and Manshaka are close trading partners, Manshaka by sea, and Memnon by caravan. But some of the runs that the local traders go as far as Luskan. Sultan Vezhera is King, but the Crime Guilds run the streets. It's all well organized so an outsider wouldn't know the difference. Bead stands, harems, and Taverns line the streets, but as usual there is always a top provider of both. Mystic Tavern, which has an opium den in the back, and the Glistening Harem that has a wondrous bath house.

Calimport also is the home of the assassin Artemis Entreri, known for his longstanding feud with Drizzt Do'Urden in a number of novels by R. A. Salvatore.

Ched Nasad

Ched Nasad is a drow city.

The City of Shimmering Webs, Ched Nasad, was constructed in a cavern shaped like a cone with the tip pointing downwards. The various levels and the more influential buildings in the city are made out of extra thick spiderweb strands, thus giving the city its name. It was not featured prominently in the Realms until the War of the Spider Queen series, where duergar mercenaries in the employ of the Vhaeraunite group Jaezred Chaulssin, inadverdantly destroyed it through copious use of stonefire bombs, which were much more effective on the webs that held it together than on stone. Out of the 30,000 drow who made up the city's population, around 3,000 survived the disaster.

L

Luskan

Luskan (also known as the City of Sails) is a port city at the mouth of the River Mirar on the northernmost point of the Sword Coast, on the continent of Faerûn.^[1]:111 It is considered by most to be the furthest reach of civilization, the Spine of the World Mountains which mark what most believe to be the end of the known world (this is of course not true as the Ten Towns of Icewind Dale lie past them) being just a couple of hundred miles north of the city.

Built on the ruins of Illusk, which fell in 1244 DR to the orcs of the Bloody Tusks Tribe, Luskan has a very intriguing history. Most of its inhabitants, however, couldn't care less. Luskan is a port town frequented by pirates, thieves and other disreputable folk interested in only one thing: money. Although you could be murdered, mugged or kidnapped at any moment within its walls, Luskan is a very lucrative city. Pirates bring in their booty to be sold to the black market, northern traders frequent the place as a rest stop on their way to the aforementioned Ten Towns during the warmer months, ready to buy exotic scrimshander ornaments, several taverns do a roaring trade in ale and other spirits, the drugs and slave trade are rife (although obviously sublimated) and information brokers and prostitutes ply their trade during the night-time.

The city was officially ruled by the five High Captains: Taerl, Baram, Kurth, Suljack and Rethnor, former pirate lords all.

The true power in the city actually resides in the Host Tower of the Arcane. The 130 loosely affiliated mages use the High Captains as puppet rulers, mostly keeping to themselves and working on their own magical experiments. They encourage the harassment of the trading routes of small cities such as Longsaddle, Mirabar and Neverwinter although they stay well clear of Waterdeep and Amn's routes. They also encourage local traders to treat travellers with disdain and suspicion, in the possibility that they may be spies for their enemies, often sending agents to follow strangers personally.

Luskan is the main setting of The Pirate King novel by R.A. Salvatore.

Other media

In the game Neverwinter Nights, in the year 1373 DR the High Captains were either killed or forced to flee during a vicious civil war caused by a cultist named Maugrim, who planned on using Luskan's might against the city of Neverwinter.

M

Melvaunt

Melvaunt is a city on the northern side of the Moonsea and adjacent to the Great Gray Land of Thar. It is ruled by the "The Lord of Keys".

Menzoberranzan

Mirabar

Mirabar is the mining center for the Sword Coast, on the continent of Faerûn. The city's Shield Dwarves live underground to oversee their workshops. The humans above cooperate with the Dwarves to handle the mining, move the ore to market and defend the city against magical threats. The nominal ruler of Mirabar is a hereditary marchion, but the true power is in an assembly called the Council of Sparkling Stones, a Dwarven and Human group that meets once a year to determine target production quotas and whether or not to threaten current clients with reduced output.

The city itself stands on a knoll on the north banks of the river Mirar. It is linked by good roads to its major mines in the Spine of the World mountains. These mines yield up almost all known metals and gemstones so they are guarded against Orc and monster raids by a standing army, the axe of Mirabar. The craftsmen of Mirabar also work the stone and metals taken out of the mines, transporting the stone to Luskan magically (for an exorbitant cost) to be shipped to the south, the worthless stone is crushed to improve the city's roads. This means that the city is the richest city north of Waterdeep.

Mulmaster

Mulmaster is a city on the continent of Faerûn, led by the High Blade (the de facto ruler of the city), Selfaril Uoumdolphin. After years of actively opposing it, the city finally joined the Zhentarim. Now firmly entrenched in the Zhents' power base and with a new temple to Bane being erected there, the city that once stood as a bulwark against the spread of the Zhent stain is now one of the proudest jewels in Fzoul Chembryl's new, Banite-influenced Zhentarim.

In fact, Selfaril was murdered by his twin brother, Rassendyl, who now rules in Selfaril's name.

N

Nesmé

The small city of Nesmé is built upon the southern bank of the Surbrin River, on the northwestern edge of the Evermoors in northern Faerûn. The city is part of the confederation of the Silver Marches ruled by Lady Alustriel Silverhand. The city has approximately 6,000 permanent residents, but the population may increase up to 50 percent during the trade season.

Because Nesmé is located in the middle of the wilderness, the city faces constant threats. To the north lies the dark woods of Lurkwood. Tribes of Uthgardt barbarians roam the plains north and west of the Surbrin. To the south and east lies the hidden dangers of the Evermoors. As a result, the city has funneled much of its resources into maintaining a viligent defense force called the 'Riders of Nesmé'.

Appearances

Due to the Riders' commitment to protect the city, they are very suspicious of outsiders. Their wary nature caused them to turn back Drizzt Do'Urden's party in the novel, Streams of Silver. This act would later cause frosty relations between Nesmé and Mithral Hall.

Neverwinter

Northkeep

Northkeep was founded in 348 DR (Year of the Dagger)^[2]:162–3 on an island near the southern shore of the Moonsea, about midway between the present towns of Elventree and Elmwood. The city became a beacon of civilization and a jumping-off point for merchants. The power of Northkeep made it a target for orcs, giants, and other evil beings, who formed the Dark Alliance against the city.

Northkeep appeared safe on its island, but in 400 DR (Year of the Blue Shield), a huge force mounted on dragonback swept over the city, while ships landed an army; the city was overrun and sacked. To make their victory complete, a force of nonhuman mages and clerics gathered on the north shore of the Moonsea and brought the vengeance of Gruumsh^[3]:87 down upon the ruined city, sinking it beneath the surface of the Moonsea.^[3]:73

The sunken city is reputed to be haunted. A bell, known as the "Bell in the Deep", sits in one of the tallest submerged towers, and at times, people on nearby ships can hear the ghostly bell ring.^[2]:160

P

Phlan

R

Ravens Bluff

Reth

S

Scornubel

Scornubel (also known as Caravan City), located in the Western Heartlands of the subcontinent of Faerûn on the world Toril, is a major tradestop both for caravans heading north and south. Goods of all kinds can be found here virtually year-round. The city is also a hotbed of intrigue. Legitimate lords and those of a more shady kind, rulers of bastions of good, the masters of the Underdark, all come to Scornubel to engage in political actions or exchange secrets that might see their power stripped from them at home.

If you want goods, they can be found in Scornubel. If you want information, it can be found in Scornubel. But there's always a price attached.

Secomber

Selgaunt

Selgaunt is a metropolis with over 56,000 inhabitants, and is the largest and one of the wealthiest cities in the merchant nation of Sembia. Its nature is that of a port city located on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Fallen Stars at the mouth of the river Arkhen. This was originally a slave city begotten from the shores of western civilization, henceforth known as Selgaunt. The founder of the city of Selgaunt was a poor novelist by the name of Barthoemue Jacobie Rankster from the first age.

The city provides the setting for the novels of The Sembia Series, the first of which was an anthology of smaller stories, The Halls of Stormweather, by several authors published in 2000.

Silverymoon

Silverymoon was ruled for decades by High Lady Alustriel Silverhand, one of the Seven Sisters and also Chosen of Mystra, the goddess of magic. Alustriel stepped down, paving the way for Taern "Thunderspell" Hornblade, who is now leader of the entire confederation. According to the original Forgotten Realms boxed set, the name Silverymoon comes from a "divine unicorn" of the same name.^[4] Silverymoon became a city in 637 DR, when a stone wall was built around it for the first time and the first ruler of Silverymoon, High Mage Ecamane Truesilver, was elected.^[5] The city has a population of 26,000.^[6]

Skullport

Suldanessellar

W

Waterdeep

Winterkeep

Winterkeep is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) city in the Hordelands, on the continent of Faerûn. Originally a nobleman's estate, it later became the winter palace of the Raumatharan king. Located on the southern side of a bay in Yal-Tengri, it may arguably be compared to real world Saint Petersburg, or a remote Königsberg. It may also be compared to any city bordering the real-world Hudson Bay, albeit it is not located in Anchorome (Toril's equivalent to North America).

East of Winterkeep are the Glittering Spires, arguably Toril's Urals (except that Urals are actually very low in altitude, barely a mountain range at all).

Z

Zhentil Keep

Zhentil Keep is the main base of operation for the Zhentarim.^[7]:123 The city was later destroyed by Cyric.

References