Running along the Sea of Swords from north of Amn to the Sea of Moving Ice, the Sword Coast is a narrow band of territory dominated by the city-states of the area that use the sea for trade. For most who care about such things, the area is delimited by Neverwinter in the north and Baldur's Gate in the south, but territory farther to the north and south that isn't under the sway of a more influential power is usually also included in maps of the Sword Coast.
More broadly, the North refers to all the territory north of Amn, split into two general regions: the Western Heartlands and the Savage Frontier. The Western Heartlands encompasses a narrow strip of civilization running from the Sunset Mountains to the Sea of Swords, and northward from the band of territory marked by the Cloud Peaks and the Troll Mountains to the Trade Way. The Savage Frontier is the name given to the rest of the unsettled or sparsely settled territory in the North, not including the major cities and towns and any settlements in their immediate spheres of influence.
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Factions/Organizations
Many characters created in the Forgotten Realms setting, especially those for organized D&D play, belong to one of five factions that have risen to prominence in the Realms. Each faction has its own motivations, goals, and philosophy. Some are more heroic than others, but all band together in times of trouble to thwart major threats.
Harpers
- Favored Alignment(s): Lawful Good, Neutral Good, and Chaotic Good
- Favored Deities: Any Good-aligned diety
- Goals: Preserving historical lore, maintaining the balance between nature and civilization, and defending the innocent from the forces of evil across the realms
Order of the Gauntlet
- Favored Alignment(s): Lawful Good
- Favored Deities: Helm, alternatively Hoar, Torm, or Tyr
- Goals: The destruction of evil in Faerûn, enforcing justice, become paragons of faith (both in your deity and your allies)
Emerald Enclave
- Favored Alignment(s): Lawful Neutral, Neutral, and Chaotic Neutral
- Favored Deities: Silvanus, alternatively Eldath or Mielikki
- Goals: Preserving the order of nature in all of its iterations, defeating any forces that would disrupt the order, providing aid to those left fatigued or suffering injury
Lords' Alliance
- Favored Alignment(s): Lawful Good and Lawful Neutral
- Favored Deities: None
- Goals: Oppose and put a halt to the Black Network or any related thieves' guilds, keep the cities peaceful and safe, improve the collective regions of the North and the Western Heartlands as a whole
Zhentarim (the Black Network)
- Favored Alignment(s): Lawful Evil, Neutral Evil, Chaotic Evil or Chaotic Neutral
- Favored Deities: Bane, alternatively Cyric
- Goals: Create an iron-fisted monopoly on protection services in the Realms, take down rival businesses and caravans, secure profits by any means possible to ensure the Black Networks wealth, influence, and power