The Dragon Coast is a land of freedom and opportunity. Unlike the rest of the Heartlands, the Dragon Coast is not a nation but a collection of largely independent settlements.
Their location has always been a profitable one, sitting between the Inner Sea and the Sword Coast. However, the presence of all the commerce flowing through the cities, combined with their lack of unified leadership, has also made the Dragon Coast a prime target for bandits.
As such, caravans travelling the Dragon Coast have often had to rely on mercenaries in order to keep them safe. Things were slightly more stable a number of years ago, when Cormyr would lend its forces to help stabilise the region. However, all that stability went away when Queen Raedra assumed the throne and withdrew all of the Cormyrean forces.
Predictably, this created a power vacuum, with many brigands struggling to control of the trade routes, while even worse criminals fought bloody battles to control the cities.
Notable factions in the region include:
- The Zhentarim, or Black Network; a notorious mercenary company.
- The Fellowship of the Purple Staff; a goodly group whose collected enclaves in Gulthmere Forest are known as The Holy Realm.
- Various noble families and trading houses that operate from the various independent cities along The Dragon Coast.