Cormyr

Timeline

In the beginning, the rule of Cormyr was a difficult one. Indeed, there were times when the king was forced to rule not from his throne in Suzail, but to relocate to one of the outposts, such as Arabhoel or Marsember. Intrigue, rebellions, and other factors all contributed to the changes of venue for the king. (Cormyr pg 32)

At one time Waymoot was notorious for its large and active thieves’ guilds as well as numerous others of dark intent. This reign of evil ended with the destruction of the god Bhaal. (Cormyr pg 31)

Wheloon began as a small settlement serving a ferry over Wyvernwater. As traffic increased along the road between Cormyr and Sembia, the ferry became heavily used, boosting the town’s economy. (Cormyr pg 31)

Gray Oaks has an interesting legend about a nearby stream called Tearflow. One fall, a soldier and his love chose a clearing near a threefoot waterfall for a picnic, a last opportunity for celebration together before he was due to join his regiment, which was due to winter over in High Horn. The lady, who came from a wealthy family, brought expensive plates and glasses to the picnic. At the conclusion of the picnic, the soldier took one of the glasses and put it under the waterfall to fill it with water for a toast. Just as he did so, he noticed a unicorn out of the corner of his eye and the glass slipped from his grasp and fell into the pool. The glass was of such good quality that it was perfectly clear and invisible in the clear pool by the waterfall. His lover caught a fleeting glimpse of the unicorn as it ran into the forest away from them (Cormyr pg 26)

Tilverton was originally occupied by Duke Bhereu because of attacks of Lashan of Scardale and Zhentil Keep against Cormyte interests. The reality is that Cormyr occupied Tilverton before its enemies had a chance to. The Dales and Sembia tacitly approved of the occupation, but each is concerned that Cormyr is becoming too powerful in that area. (Cormyr pg 24)

Below Tilverton lies a maze of sewers large enough to walk through. Also lying beneath the town are the ruins of an ancient elven and human settlement that surrounded the keep of Tilvara, an archwizardess. Now in ruins, the keep is known as Tilver’s Palace. (Cormyr pg 21)

The city was named for Marsember Marsh, which was a desolate bog. The city sprang up to serve as a port at the mouth of the Starwater river. However, during its early years, storms regularly swept island docks and buildings away. This stopped when the crown (King Palaghard II, great-grandfather of King Azoun IV) ordered deliveries of quarry rubble from Tyrluk to shore up the islands. Since that time, Marsember has prospered as a port, and the crown has required that new construction be of stone. (Cormyr pg 16)

The goblin empire raided extensively. They went as far away as Suzail, Asram, and Anuria, which they destroyed in 200 DR. The goblin stronghold was finally defeated not by arms, but by the omnipotent Anauroch Desert. It crept into goblin territory and destroyed their croplands. The goblins scattered before the force of the desert and established minor holds of power in what are now the Goblin Marches, the High Moors, and Tethyamar, which was won in battle against the dwarves. (Cormyr pg 5)

The land has been officially at peace for many years, since Rhigaerd overthrew the last of the border raiders. (Cormyr pg 33)

Curse of the Blood Royal. Centuries ago, brigands waylaid the Princess Kathla Obarskyr here. Pinned to the temple doors by a sword, the dying princess choked out her curse. The temple erupted in beams of light that struck each brigand, and each beam became a sword, transfixing its victim. The curse kept the bloodthirsty fools alive, writhing in agony. None dared touch them for fear of the curse, and they staggered about Cormyr until wolves, hunger, or winter cold felled them. Tales are still told by the fireside on cold winter nights of skeletons seen stumbling around the backlands with glowing blades through them, though it always seems that friends of the taletellers saw the skeletons, not the speakers themselves. (Volos Cormyr pg 191)

• c. -650 DR: Elves begin to migrate from Cormanthor to the Lythlorn (Wolf Woods).
• -601 DR: Year of Humble Beginnings: The elves of House Orva claim the eastern edge of the Lythtlorn.
• -205 DR: Year of Good Hunting: The Lord of Sceptres, Iliphar Nelnueve of House Amaratharr, defeats the black wyrm Thauglorimorgorus in a Feint of Honour and is granted rule over the colony forests of the Forest County (Cormyr).
• -75 DR: Year of Fallen Guards: The elf maid Thatoryl Elian is slain by Andar Obarskyr. Thatoryl’s betrothed (Lorelei Alavara) makes an oath of vengeance against the humans.
• -74 DR: Year of Splendour: Marsember is founded by Chondathan migrants, trade into the Lake of Dragons begins to slowly increase.
• -21 DR: Year of Sorrow and Pain: The elf clans of Alavara and Elian attack and destroy the settlement of Marsember.
• 6 DR: Year of the Firestars: Fleeing plague and tyranny in Impiltur, the farmer Ondeth Obarskyr settles a tract of land on the outskirts of the Wolf Woods west of Marsember. He names the settlement Suzara’s City, after his wife.
• 16 DR: Year of Distant Thunder: Elves attack the Bleth farmstead outside Suzail, killing all occupants. Baerauble Etharr counsels Ondeth against further expansion into the Wolf Woods. Officially the attack is blamed on orcs.
• 20 DR: Year of the Fallen Fury: Iliphar Nelnueve declares clans Alavara and Elian outcast from House Amaratharr and begins making preparations for his House to retreat from the Lythtlorn.
• The Alavara and Elian clans retreat to the Rivrau Forest in the Stonelands.

The Kingdom of Cormyr

Cormyr was officially founded in 26 DR, when King Faerlthann is crowned the first King of Cormyr. The first few decades saw Cormyr attempt to expand into the King’s Forest, which met with middling success as a zealous band of elves attacked these new human settlements time and again, leading to many casualties among the settlers.

After the death of King Bryndar, the Crown set its sights upon the Coast and encouraged powerful families to settle far and wide (with most using the waterways to travel fast), leading to a growing number of settlements along the coast of the Dragonmere and round the Wyvernwater, including future cities like Arabel.

Cormyr started as a city-state of Suzail and some surrounding communities. Since that time, Cormyr has significantly increased its size. (Cormyr pg 34)

Its first major expansion effort was into what is now called the King’s Forest. This forest, which at the time was much larger than its current size, was infested with monsters, a brigand hideout, and a host of other threats to human habitation.(Cormyr pg 34)

Through the concentrated efforts of Suzail and communities near the forest, it was cleared of monsters and made safe for human habitation. People lured by the fine game and rich timber started small communities that exist to this day. (Cormyr pg 34)

The crown created strongpoints with garrisons to protect Cormyr’s frontiers. Two of these locations became known as Castle Crag and High Horn. (Cormyr pg 34)

High Horn was first and took the longer amount of time to construct. Sitting in a pass 1,000 feet up in the mountains, High Horn presented a difficult engineering problem: constructing the towers and walls of the complex and landscaping the surrounding mountainous terrain. Building the castle and the road leading to and through it took almost a decade. (Cormyr pg 34)

Castle Crag, a smaller and simpler structure on more forgiving terrain, took less time to complete. These outposts represented the farthest expansion of Cormyrian forces for a very long time. (Cormyr pg 34)

While these outposts were being built, Cormyrian farmers began to cultivate the land bordering the Wyvernwater. This territory was not claimed by any other kingdom (Sembia, a possible choice, claimed land only as far as the Vast Swamp) and Cormyrian expansion into this area was inevitable. Migration has been gradual, and the few communities along the Wyvernwater are oriented toward farming. (Cormyr pg 34)

A concentrated effort is underway to sweep the area of monsters and create a place fit for habitation, much like the King’s Forest. (Cormyr pg 34)

• 26 DR: Year of Opening Doors: The death of Ondeth Obarskyr sees the founding of the human kingdom of Cormyr with the permission of the Fair Folk of the Forest Country. His son Faerlthann is crowned the first King of Cormyr.
• 37 DR: Year of the Dark Venom: Vaerom Obarskyr of Impiltur; brother of King Faerlthann of Cormyr, sails to Cormyr bearing the remains of Suzara to be buried near the grave of Ondeth Obarskyr.
• 55 DR: Year of the Caustic Blood: Death of King Faerlthann of Cormyr.
• 64 DR: Year of Gleaming Frost: Death of King Bryndar of Cormyr in a hunting accident, gored to death by a giant boar.
• 72 DR: Year of the Climbers Rest: Vaerom Obarskyr; estranged brother of King Faerlthann, leaves Cormyr with his mercenary company and the sword Ulfindos, to help Morlorn the Usurper in his attempted seizure of the throne of Impiltur.
• 76 DR: Year of Windsong: The settlement of Arabel is founded as a logging outpost by the future XXXX noble house.
• King Baranth of Impiltur defeats Morlorn the Usurper and the mercenary companies of Cormyr. Vaerom Obarskyr returns to seek sanctuary in Cormyr.
• 79 DR: Year of the Whispering Woods: 79 DR: Year of the Whispering Woods: King Rhiiman the Glorious of Cormyr is slain by the great red wyrm of the Wyvernwater; Eardynnansczyg.
• 98 DR: Year of Revealed Grimoires: The settlement of Rallyhorn is renamed Hultail in the first draft of Cormyr’s “naming laws”.
• 112 DR: Year of the Tusk: Cormyrean cartographers create the first recognised map of Cormyr, Cormanthor, and the Dalelands.
• 159 DR: Year of the Lost Profit: Pendarn Mirandor; Crown Prince of Impiltur is busy leading a mercenary company in Cormyr in service to the King of Cormyr.
• 161 DR: Year of the Hangman’s Noose: Pendarn Mirandor and his mercenary company leave Cormyr with support from King Irbruin of Cormyr to reclaim Impiltur from the traitorous King Doraven “the Bloody”.
• 163 DR: Year of the Screeching Vole: The Ring of Winter is used by Dhalmass Rayburton, when a village and a Cormyrean lord’s estates are destroyed in a massive ice storm during high summer.
• 198 DR: Year of Almond Eyes: The goblinkin of Hlundadim invade Cormyr, burning the settlement of Arabel and plunging south into the King’s Forest.
• 200 DR: Year of Leaping Flames: The armies of Cormyr led by King Moriann defeat the goblinkin of Hlundadim north of Suzail and drive them out of the kingdom and into the Stonelands.
• 245 DR: Year of the Dun Dragon: Iltharl of Cormyr abdicates the throne to his sister Gantharla, first Queen of Cormyr. Iltharl retires north to Cormanthor to live with the elves.
• 289 DR: Year of Waking Dreams: King Torst of Cormyr and his brother Prince Gordroun are slain in the siege of flooded Marsember. Their younger brother Keldroun is crowned king, and the city is abandoned to the lizardfolk.
• 375 DR: Year of the Woeful Resurrection: King Azoun I of Cormyr finds trade routes to the west blocked by Shoonite troops demanding tariffs for “passing through the empire’s lands”. Azoun orders a weapon made with which he can fight Lord Tornamn; the short sword Ilbratha, “Mistress of Battles”, is ready by year’s end.
• 376 DR: Year of the Leaping Hare: Ashar Tornamn extends the borders of Valashar and the Shoon Imperium to the High Moor by summer. Crown Prince Azoun I of Cormyr leads his army against Ashar, driving the Shoonite forces back through Amn, Tethyr, and Valashar before sacking Ithmong and returning to Cormyr.
• After thirty-five years of expansion under King Ashar, Valashar (and the Shoon Empire) stretches as far north as the Troll Mountains and the High Moor. Responding to the claim of northern lands by King Ashar and the expansion toward Cormyr’s western border, King Azoun I mounts a bold campaign that swiftly crushes Valashar’s armies on the Fields of the Dead and then sacks numerous garrisons and the city of Ithmong as a show of strength to both the Wizard Emperor Shoon VII and King Kallos Tornamn of Tethyr. The Shoon Empire’s borders shrink back to the Giant’s Run Mountains, and the now Lord Ashar Tornamn is executed.
• 389 DR: Year of the Wooded Altar: Crown Prince Azoun I and Amedahast the Royal Wizard in training land in Arrabar aboard Valashar’s Bane to pursue trade negotiations. Azoun and Amedahast sneak into the Chondalwood to explore elven ruins and accidentally discover the wizard Dima el Qufis yi Manshaka, a self styled Djinni lord that had been terrorising the region for years using the Silver Scimitar of Amahl the Mad and Amahl’s Mastering and his Djinni servants. Azoun and Amedahast accidentally vanquish Dima and recover the Silver Scimitar and Mastering.
• The ship Valashar’s Bane; favourite cog of Azoun I; sinks three miles off the coast of Cormyr. All hands survive the sinking but the sword Ilbratha and two Shoon items; procured by Azoun and Amedahast during a short adventure in the Chondalwood; The Silver Scimitar of Amahl the Mad and Amahl’s Mastering, sink with the ship.
• 392 DR: Year of the Firstborn: The sword Ilbratha is located by agents of King Azoun I of Cormyr in the keeping of Phelas Urm; a merchant of Thentia. During attempts to recover the sword, Phelas is slain and Ilbratha is lost.
• 401 DR: Year of the Serious Fist: Remnants from the Dark Alliance sweep into Cormyr via present day Sembia and invade the King’s Forest.
• 429 DR: Year of the Cat’s Eye: King Duar sets out to defeat an orcish army in the King’s Woods. In his absence, Duar’s father-in-law Melineth Turcassan sells the city of Suzail to the pirate lord Magrath the Minotaur, formerly of Westgate, for five hundred sacks of gold.
• 432 DR: Year of the Sea Princes: King Duar of Cormyr seizes Dheolur (Suzail) and defeats Magrath the Minotaur.
• 550 DR: Year of the Zealous: Thallastam the sage of Procampur consults Elminster over the properties of a blade he possesses which is identified as Ilbratha, Mistress of Battles and part of the regalia of Cormyr. Thallastam attempts to return it to Cormyr but disappears during his travel through the Dalelands. His body is later discovered in the Pool of Yeven when it is dredged. Ilbratha was not with his body.
• 555 DR: Year of Dances Perilous: Ecamane Truesilver is born in Suzail. Before the year is over his family move to Myth Drannor.
• c. 620 DR: The Sword Heralds begin creating many extra-dimensional holds in Cormyr, an activity that lasts over a century.
• 629 DR: Year of the Empty Hearths: Luthax, senior among the Brotherhood of the Wizards of War, leads a conspiracy to assassinate King Draxius of Cormyr. Amedahast sacrifices herself to bring down the traitors, and her apprentice Thanderahast assumes the role of High Mage.
• 640 DR: Year of the Fanged Beast: The Sword Heralds of Cormyr create an extra-dimensional labyrinth for the amusement of the jaded young nobles of House Auantiver and stock it with all manner of monstrous creatures.
• 658 DR: Year of the Dangerous Game: Rathdaen, a Cormyrean mage and explorer of note, arrives in Myth Drannor after a decades-long absence. While not a native, he is close friends with many practitioners of the Art in the City of Song.
• During this time, it becomes fashionable among the adventuresome scions of Cormyr’s noble houses to run the gauntlet of beasts dwelling in the Sword Herald- created Auantiver Labyrinth.
• 662 DR: Year of the People’s Mourning: The heirs of the Cormyrean houses of Bleth, Crownsilver, and Truesilver die in the monster-filled interdimensional Auantiver Labyrinth.
• 710 DR: Year of the Toppled Throne: Drow attacks in Cormyr claim the lives of three noble families of the realm; while believed dead, most of the nobles survive as slaves in the Underdark.
• 713 DR: Year of the Firedrake: During the reign of King Draxius the Neverdying of Cormyr, many Dalesmen and war wizards and folk of Cormyr are gathered into a ragtag army by the ambitious noble son Mindal Rowanmantle and led to fight alongside the forces of Cormanthyr in the Weeping War of Myth Drannor. The paladin Sarhsel Elethim is document by the war wizard Landraul as fighting in the army wielding the sword Dornavver.
• 726 DR: Year of the Dowager Lady: Many nobles of Impiltur; and their gathered wealth, arrive in Cormyr fleeing the fall of their homeland to the Scaled Horde of Agrosh.
• 731 DR: Year of Visions: Many Impilturan nobles join the forces of Sarshel Elethlim and the Triad Crusade to retake the lands of Impiltur. Some nobles stay, preferring to remain in Cormyr.
• 771 DR: Year of the Stalking Knight: Establishment of the sea elf kingdom of Naramyr, a former barony of Aryselmalyr, in the depths of the Dragonmere off Cormyr.
• 842 DR: Year of the Maverick: Crown Prince Beldred of Impiltur visits the King of Cormyr in his royal tour of neighbouring powers (Cormyr, Tethyr, Westgate).
• 900 DR: Year of the Thirsty Sword: Leading his army, the Glory of Cormyr, King Galaghard strikes against the Witch Lords and their undead armies in Wheloon, driving them into the Vast Swamp. Weary after months of battle, the Cormyrean troops are finally granted a decisive victory with aid from the venerable elf lord Othorion Keove.
• 926 DR: Year of the Fearless Peasant: The coronation crowns of Aliia and Rhiigard are crafted in this year and sent with Princess Aliia aboard the ship Nadyra’s Glory along with the Greatsword of Impiltur to cement a union between the realms of Impiltur and Cormyr. Seeking to destroy the descendants of Sarshel, Soneillon possesses the ship Nadrya’s Glory which is carrying princess Aliia of Impiltur, and forces it to dive into the depths. Soneillon recovers the coronation crowns of Aliia and Rhiigard and the Greatsword of Impiltur from the depths for herself and Prince Consort Imbrar.
• 1018 DR: Year of the Dracorage: Cormyr suffers greatly from dragon attacks throughout the kingdom. Arabel, Dhedluk, Eveningstar, and a score of other settlements go up in flames. Suzail itself is set upon by three red dragons and the Purple Dragon himself, Thauglorimorgorus. High Mage Thanderahast is grievously wounded in an aerial battle against Thauglor. Brought to the ground, the dragon is finally slain by Crown Prince Azoun II and the Mage Royal’s apprentice Jorunhast.
• 1019 DR: Year of the Sure Quarrel: An influx of refugees from the Tunlands, entering Cormyr by the High Road, establish a number of settlements in the far western and northern reaches of the King’s Forest.
• 1020 DR: Year of Smouldering Spells: The recent refugees from the Tunlands unite into the Kingdom of Esparin in the face of violence and oppression from the patrols of Cormyr.
• 1022 DR: Year of the Wandering Wyvern: The Wanderers of Espar destroy a community of Bhaal worshipping assassins in the Hullack forest that had been operating in Cormyr and Sembia.
• 1038 DR: Year of Spreading Spring: Arabel rebels and secedes from the kingdom of Cormyr, led by the disloyal Goldfeather noble family. Crown Prince Azoun begins a campaign to reconquer Arabel and leads the armies of Cormyr against the many mercenary bands hired by the rebels.
• 1050 DR: Year of the Keening Gale: King Azoun II of Cormyr retakes the city of Arabel. The Goldfeathers are stripped of their rank and lands by the crown and the few surviving family members are exiled.
• 1135 DR: Year of the Petulant Dragon: King Baerovus sacks and razes the city of Esparr.
• 1162 DR: Year of the Prancing Centaur: Queen Enchara of Esparin marries Cormyr’s Crown Prince Palaghard. The kingdom of Esparin is annexed into Cormyr.
• 1164 DR: Year of Long Shadows: The pirate Immurk the Invincible raids a merchant ship of Procampur, capturing the fabulous crown intended for use in crowning Cormyr’s new king, Palaghard I. This event marks the rise of piracy in the Inner Sea. The nations of the Inner Sea begin building their own warships, seeking to defend their merchant fleets and hunt the pirates in their own lairs.
• 1188 DR: Year of Dawn Moons: Cormyr and Sembia formally establish Thunder Gap as the border between the two nations.
• 1211 DR: Year of the Crimson Crag: Dhalmass is crowned King of Cormyr.
• 1216 DR: Year of Green Wings: The last Goldfeather noble is executed for treason by King Dhalmass of Cormyr.
• 1222 DR Year of the Horn: The Harpstar Wars: The Harpstar Wars end, and the surviving Harper veterans who return to Faerûn find the organisation under the sway of the self-styled Harper King, the lich Thavverdasz who lives in the Vast Swamp, and also in conflict with the Cult of the Dragon. The final battles see the death of the Harper King at the hands of Szass Tam, Zulkir of Thay, who is in turn defeated by Elminster.
• 1224 DR: Year of the Swollen Stars: Birth of Vangerdahast Aeiulvana, Court Wizard of Cormyr.
• 1225 DR: Year of the Winged Worm: The noble House of Bracebolt becomes extinct when Lord Belarkus Bracebolt; last of the Bracebolts, dies fighting in one of the campaigns of King Dhalmass.
• 1227 DR: Year of the Wall: Dhalmass, the Warrior King of Cormyr, seizes the port city of Marsember. He and his queen Jhalass die under mysterious circumstances on their return to Suzail; the Fire Knives are suspected.
• Palaghard II becomes King of Cormyr.
• 1232 DR: Year of the Weeping Wives: Sessrendale is destroyed by the forces of Archendale. Families from Sessrendale flee into Cormyr, the Dusk Lord (the former ruler of Sessrendale), secretly flees into the Vast Swamp and into the Plane of Shadow.
• 1247 DR: Year of the Purple Basilisk: The Company of Jade, an all-male band of adventuresome lordlings, stumble into the long- forgotten Auantiver Labyrinth while exploring the ruins of Battlegate Keep near the border of Cormyr and Sembia. They encounter a monstrous purple basilisk that kills all but a handful of the Company.
• 1253 DR: Year of Beckoning Death: Plague wracks the northern Inner Sea coast from Cormyr to the Great Dale.
• 1256 DR: Year of the Dusty Throne: The noble House of Mallowbridge is exiled from Cormyr.
• 1262 DR: Year of the Black Wind: The noble House of Bryarn is founded when Sellorn Bryarn is ennobled by King Azoun III for leading the Black Rose mercenary company to rescue outnumbered Purple Dragon forces in the Stonelands
• 1268 DR: Year of the Daystars: Albruin is stolen from the palace of Suzail by the thief Nypan. The blade is not on the thief when he is later slain trying to evade capture. Rumours are Nypan sold it to a fence named Blusken Shult.
• 1275 DR: Year of the Blade: Prince Salember is declared regent for his young nephew after the death of his brother Azoun III, king of Cormyr.
• 1286 DR: Year of the Rocks: Salember, the Red Dragon King, refuses to abdicate the throne of Cormyr to Crown Prince Rhigaerd II. The young prince gathers an army, the Purple Dragons, under his standard to fight the Red army. During parlay, Salember attacks the crown prince but is himself slain by Jorunhast. Thankful for his life, King Rhigaerd II nonetheless exiles his High Mage for regicide.
• 1314 DR: Year of the Shadowtop: King Rhigaerd II defeats the last of the Border Raiders.
• 1302 DR: Year of the Broken Helm: Princess Sulesta Obarskyr is born to King Rhigaerd II and Tanalusta Truesilver (Cormyr pg 42)
• 1306 DR: Year of Thunder: Vangerdahast of Cormyr founds the War Wizards.
• 1307 DR: Year of the Mace: Azoun IV of Cormyr is born.
• 1319 DR: Year of the Fallen Throne: The noble House of Tulwood becomes extinct when Lord Korlandur Tulwood falls off a cliff while on horseback.
• 1324 DR: Year of the Grimoire: Travelling through Cormyr as Balin the cavalier, young Crown Prince Azoun IV drives a weretiger from Goldfeather Manor, with Vangerdahast at his side.
• 1335 DR: Year of the Shaking Serpent: Alusair Nacacia, future Steel Regent of Cormyr, is born.
• Rhigaerd II, King of Cormyr, dies in the waning days of this year.
• 1336 DR: Year of the Dark Dragon: Azoun IV is crowned King of Cormyr.
• 1346 DR: Year of the Bloodbird: The Sword Heralds’ refuge in Cormyr, Dawninghunt, is discovered by adventurers. Within lies a chest holding more than a thousand large and splendid emeralds as well as four big, extensive spell books and several items of minor magic.
• 1348 DR: Year of the Spur: In Cormyr, Azoun charters the Swords of Eveningstar. By year’s end they have been knighted by Queen Filfaeril and taken the name Knights of Myth Drannor.
• 1352 DR: Year of the Dragon: Gondegal raises an army of mercenaries and launches many raids within Cormyr. Gondegal is crowned “King” for eight days before the Purple Dragons, and the combined forces of neighbouring kingdoms, scatter his forces. Gondegal flees the country.

Esparin

The Kingdom of Esparin was relatively short-lived, arising shortly after 1018 DR, when an influx of refugees from the Tunlands saw them claim much territory in the north and west of Cormyr. When the Purple Dragons of Cormyr encountered these refugees, hostilities began and the people banded together behind powerful individuals who became the nobility and royalty of the new nation of Esparin.

The capital of Esparin; Esparr, was on the eastern edge of the kingdom, near Arabel (which also seceded from Cormyr, taking advantage of the tumult). It was destroyed in 1135 DR by the forces of King Baerovus, and then moved to Yerespar, which was promptly renamed to Espar. The Kingdom of Esparin became a thorn in the side of the Royal House of Obarskyr, with dissident noble houses (particularly in Marsember) providing funds and armaments to Esparin to help pay for mercenaries that allowed this kingdom to survive much longer than would normally have been possible (and keep the king busy and allow his opponents to plot against him).

The people of Espar were primarily of Tethyrian descent, and were very family oriented (as they are today), it was this tribal nature that led them to hurriedly forge a nation in the face of oppression from Cormyr.

There were many noble houses that flourished in Esparin, but during the years of King Baerovus’ reign many of them became extinct through constant warfare, or fled to Sembia, the Dragon Coast, and other lands around Sea of Fallen Stars. The noble House of Ulmair was driven to extinction, the Houses of Darlreth and Melmane are believed extinct but survivors secretly fled into Sembia and changed their name. The Houses of Baerungar, Hasgram, Mornim, Naerbold, and Rook fled to other realms around the Sea of Fallen Stars (including Sembia). The noble House of Bracegauntlet switched sides to assist King Baerovus in his stalemate with the forces of Esparin (which were being strongly supplemented with arms, money, and mercenaries by dissident nobles from Marsember), leading to the annexation of Esparin.

Gondegal

In 1352 (the Year of the Dragon), Gondegal attempted to establish his own kingdom within Cormyr. Gondegal wanted to be a king and saw the only method of achieving that goal was to take land by force and install himself as ruler. (Cormyr pg 33)

Gondegal used Arabel as his base of operations, starting by recruiting mercenaries from all over Cormyr and from what are now known as the Goblin Marches and the Stonelands. In return for military service, Gondegal promised his soldiers any loot they could find along the way, and for his commanders, noble titles and plots of land. (Cormyr pg 33)

Gondegal conducted many guerrilla-type raids all over Cormyr and was quite successful in his initial drive for power. Gondegal’s forces carried his banner as far north as the Desertsedge Mountains, east past Wyvernwater to the Vast Swamp (capturing Immersea, Hultail, Thunderstone, and Wheloon), west to farms around Eveningstar (though Eveningstar itself withstood Gondegal’s siege), and northeast to Tilver’s Gap. (Cormyr pg 33)

Gondegal’s troops, though mercenary, performed well enough to capture a sizable portion of land and cause much misery in the towns they occupied. The troops also took Gondegal at his word and looted everything they could lay their hands on, leaving many of the towns and farms in ruins and many people dead. (Cormyr pg 33)

Gondegal fell due to two mistakes that went hand in hand. First, he promised his mercenaries any loot they could find. This depleted the towns they sacked, rendering them useless as points of supply for further troop operations. Second, Gondegal’s troops struck suddenly and moved quickly, meaning Gondegal was able to capture as much territory as he did because he was able to react more quickly than could Cormyr’s resident forces, the Purple Dragons. (Cormyr pg 33)

However, this meant that retaliation from the Purple Dragons would come in a massive wave, once they were able to group, conduct themselves as a whole unit, and bring in reinforcements from other lands. With much of the military stationed in High Horn at the time, there was considerable difficulty in assembling enough troops to challenge Gondegal on the field. Cormyr had been prepared for an attack from outside, not for an enemy within. (Cormyr pg 33)

Also, Gondegal upset the balance of power in the region, and the region’s other kingdoms, Sembia, Daggerdale, Tilverton, and other dales all combined to help put down the renegade. (Cormyr pg 33)

Gondegal did manage to establish a throne at Arabel. This reign lasted only eight days, and Gondegal was only actually in Arabel for five days as ruler of his impromptu kingdom. (Cormyr pg 33)

Finally, the Purple Dragons and the combined might of the other kingdoms marched against Gondegal. Simultaneous advances began out of High Horn, the High Dale, Thunder Gap, and Tilverton (its surviving forces had quickly retaken their city after Gondegal captured it). (Cormyr pg 33)

As the Purple Dragons marched into occupied territory, they were greeted with sights of destruction and hopelessness. Gondegal’s troops had run, pillaging as much as they could before they retreated, hoping to find loot at other locations. In fact, a substantial portion of Gondegal’s troops merely surrendered and offered to join the Purple Dragons in return for food and shelter. (Cormyr pg 33)

Gondegal’s forces collapsed against the marching Dragons. Throughout the entire simultaneous advance, there was not a single major battle and no battle lasting more than an hour or costing more than 100 lives. Most of the renegade troops decided to fight only because they saw no other option, choosing to die in battle rather than return to their homes in disgrace. (Cormyr pg 33)

The Purple Dragons, led personally by King Azoun IV, marched on Arabel expecting a pitched battle or a long siege at Gondegal’s stronghold. Instead, the Purple Dragons met no resistance whatsoever. Gondegal had fled, most likely during the night or perhaps even a day or two before, and left his troops to their own devices. Gondegal’s mercenary troops had no reason to fight for Arabel on their own. They fought for gold alone, and the source of that gold had fled Arabel. The Purple Dragons occupied Arabel without spilling a drop of blood. (Cormyr pg 33)

Future Expansion

Cormyr is growing steadily toward the east and northeast. This means the Hullack Forest and the areas around it and between the forest and Tilverton will become more tightly under the control of Cormyr and become more favourable for safe living. As Cormyr has grown, it has begun to look to Hullack Forest to fill its expanding need for resources. (Cormyr pg 34)

The recent acquisition of Tilverton means Cormyr will look to the Stonelands and perhaps the Goblin Marches as its next serious effort after the Hullack Forest. The Goblin Marches will likely be of secondary importance to the Stonelands, which are closer to Tilverton and present a greater risk to the security of that area. (Cormyr pg 34)

A primary difficulty in taming either of those lands is that they are terribly unruly and current efforts have been less than successful. Only a serious effort at militaristic conquest will likely bring those areas under control. That type of activity will likely further anger the Zhentarim, the folk of Daggerdale, and Sembia. The Dales, including Shadowdale, will be alarmed if Cormyr and the previously mentioned kingdoms go to war as the Dales will become a battlefield. Worse, neither Cormyr nor its enemy in such a war could resist claiming won battlefields as conquered territory. (Cormyr pg 34)

The coast along the Lake of Dragons between Marsember and Urmlaspyr will likely see larger communities springing up. As more ships ply the lake, there will be more demand for ports. Also, there will perhaps be more need to have a port closer to kingdoms beyond the Neck in the Lake of Dragons, meaning a port closer to cities like Westgate and Urmlaspyr. Cormyr should be planning on creating a port closer to the Neck to protect Cormyrian shipping from pirate activity. (Cormyr pg 34)

Life and Society

The predominant characteristics of the citizenry in Cormyr are their contentedness with their kingdom, and the conviction that their system of government is the best. (Cormyr pg 35)

This has given Cormyrians the reputation of being elitists, believing other kingdoms to be inferior to their own. To a certain degree, that belief is grounded in fact. (Cormyr pg 35)

The Dales, Vast, Western Heartlands, and the Dragon Coast, for example, are too disorganized to bring about lasting change in their realms. If any of these would organize under a single ruler and adopt Cormyr’s system of a strong king, a strong central army, and content citizenry, they could become more potent states. (Cormyr pg 35)

Cormyreans are responsible citizens who take the issues of the kingdom to heart and participate in community affairs. Each town in Cormyr has a strong sense of community that is difficult to break down. This unity is one of Cormyr’s greatest strengths. (Cormyr pg 35)

This unity also is evident in the noble class’s conscientious devotion to its leadership and government. Nobles see their role in Cormyr as more of a duty to their countrymen rather than a right to inherited (and abusive) power. (Cormyr pg 35)

Cormyreans also take pride in their level of civilization. They honour the laws of the land with compassion and diligence, but not so much so that criminals are let loose or that prisoners fear for their lives when they enter jail. (Cormyr pg 35)

Nobility

The nobility of Cormyr are stratified into several categories; Royal, Old-Coin, New-Coin, Local, and Minor. Royal nobles are those houses related to the Royal House of Obarskyr. Old-Coins are those noble houses that were ennobled in the first few centuries of Cormyr’s history. New-Coins are those noble houses that were ennobled in the latter centuries of Cormyr’s history. Local nobility are those rich enough to purchase their own noble titles (which last only for the life of the individual). Minor nobility can be of any of the other categories and are those noble houses limited to a single settlement.

Other noble families include Bleth, Dauntinghorn, Emmarask, Hawklin, Huntcrown, Illance, Rowanmantle, Silversword, and Wyvernspur. (Cormyr pg 11)

Nobles generally feel that they are better than those below them. However, the origin of this feeling has less to do with birth and divine right than with the responsibility of the station of nobility and its importance in Cormyrian society. (Cormyr pg 40)

A noble might say: I have been born into this situation. Although my flesh is no better than a farmer’s flesh, my responsibility to my subjects and to my fellow nobles makes me more important than that farmer. (Cormyr pg 40)

Nobles serve a variety of functions in Cormyte society, especially local lords. Their primary responsibility of power is to realize the king’s visions and goals. This extends to daily functions and therefore puts the nobles at the head of virtually every endeavour of the kingdom. (Cormyr pg 40)

Nobles hold all leadership positions. However, should a commoner assume an important function in Cormyte society, then that person would be brought into the Royal Court as a noble. (Cormyr pg 40)

Therefore, nobles walk the halls of power exclusively, rarely seeing first-hand the people they govern. Senior War Wizards and young nobles who enjoy hunting in and exploring their realm are exceptions to this. (Cormyr pg 40)

This has caused quite a rift in Cormyte society. Nobles generally look upon commoners as people who won’t amount to much. Because of this, commoners’ concerns don’t receive as much attention as nobles’. (Cormyr pg 40)

Many of the nobles of Cormyr, especially the elderly and the women, spend almost all of their time in Suzail, where every noble family has a grand residence as close to the palace as possible. Most nobles spend their lives in Suzail or on their own country estates and do not see much of the countryside. This prevents them from seeing the true conditions of the kingdom first-hand. Instead, they rely on the information provided by the local lords. They are nobles who
are with the people of Cormyr and who are most reliable when testifying to the conditions of the kingdom. This widens the gap between nobles and the general populace and increases the importance of the local lord. (Cormyr pg 40)

Royal Nobles

The Royal Houses are those related to the Royal House of Obarskyr through the Silver sisters.

The noble families Crownsilver, Huntsilver, and Truesilver are the Royal Houses due to their blood ties with the crown. (Cormyr pg 11)

House of Crownsilver: One of three Royal Houses, those with the strongest blood ties to the Royal House of Obarskyr. The Crownsilvers live in Castle Crownsilver; an actual castle located near the Royal Palace that is maintained in regal style at a great cost.

The House of Crownsilver is led by the authoritarian matriarch Kimba Crownsilver (Neutral, Human – Chondathan, Magic User 2), the rest of House Crownsilver rarely venture outside of Castle Crownsilver or the Royal Court.

Maniol Mertrym serves the Crownsilvers and runs the Crownsilver Estate; a large estate just outside of Suzail, but the upkeep of the estate and the staff consumes almost every drop of revenue it generates. Thankfully the Crownsilver fortunes are so vast that they can keep Castle Crownsilver in lavish style for many centuries.

The House of Crownsilver automatically supports the Crown of Cormyr in everything. The blazon of the House of Crownsilver is a royal blue shield edged in silver with a circle of six silver crowns in the centre (the crowns are side view).

The House of Crownsilver looks with disdain upon all those noble houses that use trade to enhance their fortunes and power, feeling that it makes Cormyr more like the avaricious nation of Sembia.

The Crownsilvers, one of three royal families in Cormyr, confine their activities mainly to the Royal Court. Led by the authoritarian matriarch Kimba Crownsilver (N hf W3), the few remaining Crownsilvers rarely venture outside Crownsilver Castle in Suzail. (Cormyr pg 47)

A custodian, Maniol of Suzail (LN hm F4), tends the family’s large estate near town, but the upkeep and staff consume almost all of the estate’s income. The vast Crownsilver family fortune is more than enough to support Crownsilver Castle in regal style. (Cormyr pg 47)

Like the other royal families, the Crownsilvers automatically ally with King Azoun in any dispute. (Cormyr pg 47)

House of Huntsilver: 

The blazon of House Huntsilver is a shield of forest green with a rack of silver antlers centred across the upper third of the shield, the point of the shield is coloured crimson.

One of the three old blood regal families of Cormyr, the Huntsilvers have long been associated with managing the realm’s forest resources. In ancient times, it was Huntsilvers who organized the systematic development of forests for
farmland. (Cormyr pg 48)

The current head of the family, Maestoon Huntsilver (LG hm D7), is game warden of King’s Forest. Other family members assist him in this work, while still others have prominent roles in supervising the clearing of Hullack Forest. (Cormyr pg 48)

The Huntsilvers appear rarely at Royal Court, only at major occasions or on matters relating to Cormyr’s forests. (Cormyr pg 48)

House of Truesilver:

The blazon of House Truesilver is a shield of scarlet with a slender purple border. Running from lower left to upper right is a stylised, curved silver sword with small hilt and quillions and a widened blade.

The most active of the three royal families, the Truesilvers have had a long military tradition. For generations, Truesilvers have distinguished themselves by their loyalty to the king and by their military exploits. (Cormyr pg 49)

Several times in history, Truesilvers have commanded the Purple Dragons. The current head of the family, Ayesunder Truesilver, is warden of the port of Marsember, heading the largest part of the Imperial Navy. Other family members hold command positions in several units of Purple Dragons stationed throughout Cormyr. (Cormyr pg 49)

As strong as the military tradition is the practice of letting a retired family member represent the Truesilvers at the Royal Court. The practical effect of this (1) makes this family most dependably loyal to the king, and (2) ensures that its representative usually lacks the youthful vigour to give the Truesilvers much political clout. (Cormyr pg 49)

Elder Nobles

Known as “oldcoin” noble Houses are those that were ennobled in the first few centuries of Cormyr and have survived to the modern day. They are among the most powerful and prideful of nobility in Cormyr, often excluding the New Nobility and the Merchant Houses.

House of Bleth: This noble house is one of the eldest of the oldcoin noble houses and has been in Cormyr for as long as House Obarskyr, however, this house takes little notice in the affairs of the Royal Court, but as with all oldcoin nobles they maintain a palatial style residence near the Royal Palace in Suzail. The patriarch of the House of Bleth is Lord Gruen Bleth (Neutral, Human – Chondathan, Magic User 4), who lives in the Bleth Estate but spends much of his time at work in the main office of the Seven Suns Trading Company.

The House of Bleth controls one of the largest merchant companies in Cormyr; the Seven Suns Trading Company, and spends much of its efforts in ensuring the success of their mercantile efforts.

The House of Bleth has a centuries old feud with the noble House of Rowanmantle. This feud is long standing and is usually limited to taunts and japes at the expense of the Rowanmantles, but more recently the feud has begun to escalate with members of both houses brawling on occasion.

Attitudes within the House of Bleth have traditionally been anti-elven, due to the actions of the elven clans of Alavara and Elian in the early history of Cormyr, over time however, this attitude has softened more to indifference rather than outright hatred.

The Bleth family is powerful and rich, for family members control one of the largest merchant companies in Cormyr, the Seven Suns trading company. (Cormyr pg 46)

Despite its economic power, the family participates little in affairs of the Royal Court. Instead, family members concentrate on acquiring more merchant territory and controlling Cormyr’s financial markets, and in this they have been successful. (Cormyr pg 46)

The leading member of the Bleth family is Lord Gruen Bleth (N hm W6), who lives at the Bleth Estate near the king’s castle in Suzail but spends most of his time at the Seven Sun’s offices supervising the family’s business. (Cormyr pg 46)

The Bleth family’s chief adversary is the Rowanmantle family. A low level feud between the two has existed for quite some time. (Cormyr pg 46)

House of Bracebolt (Extinct): The noble House of Bracebolt was an old family known for their good looks and battle prowess. They fought in many of the battles of King Duar and received much reward for their efforts as well as losing many members in battle, a pattern that repeated down the centuries until the last Bracebolt; one Belarkus Bracebolt, perished in 1225 DR in service to King Dhalmass.

Two Bracebolts were held for murder in Cormyr’s history, Lord Helard Bracebolt was later acquitted, while Lord Rorell “Rory” Bracebolt escaped from prison and fled to the Dalelands or the Thunderpeaks (he was later pardoned in absentia after another was implicated for the murder.

House of Cormaeril: The noble House of Cormaeril is the largest family of nobles in Cormyr, they are also the wealthiest and the most secretive, with the most well-known member being their financial expert; Lamiril Cormaeril (Good, Human – Chondathan, Expert 4), who trades the families interests on the markets.

House Cormaeril are large landowner, with much of that land located in rich areas (many around Immersea) with good soil. The tenant farmers and ranchers that work for the Cormaerils provide a plentiful supply of good quality crops and horses that are then sold by the Cormaerils directly and that money is hoarded to make them incredibly wealthy. The Cormaeril’s use their wealth and political power sparingly but with almost prescient effectiveness, as a result they are respected and feared by other noble families.

The patriarch of the House of Cormaeril is Lord Dasmer Cormaeril; a straight talking elderly man, but he and the entire house are really ruled by his wife Lady Jlanesse Cormaeril; a scheming tyrant and master manipulator. Prominent family members include Lamiril Cormaeril, Beliard Cormaeril, Rowen Cormaeril, Kargerth Cormaeril, Thaerilon Cormaeril, Xanthon Cormaeril, Tagreth Cormaeril.

The House of Cormaeril has a longstanding rivalry with the House of Huntcrown. Most of the senior members of the House of Cormaeril live in Suzail and spend their time at the Royal Court, other members are present among the council of every Local Lord in Cormyr (a prominent minor branch dwells in Immersea in a manor called High Towers), while the youngest and least influential members (second and thirdborn children) of House Cormaeril often spend their time adventuring.

However, the largest noble family in Cormyr is the Cormaerils, with members throughout the ruling structure of Cormyr and several family members who have become noteworthy adventurers. (Cormyr pg 11)

Cormaeril is the largest of the noble families and the biggest land owner in Cormyr except for the crown. Most of the Cormaeril holdings are farmland, largely in rich areas that provide plentiful income. The Cormaerils hoard this money and use their power sparingly but effectively. This has made the family awed and feared among the other noble families. (Cormyr pg 46)

The Cormaerils are one of the most secretive noble families. They keep out of the public eye as much as possible and interact with other noble families only during official functions they are required to attend. The sole exception to this is Lamiril (NG hm T6), the family’s financial expert. He trades the family products (primarily crops) on the market and because of this is quite prominent. He never speaks of the rest of the family, however, and retires to the Cormaeril compound in Suzail at the close of business each day, where he stays until the next morning’s business begins. (Cormyr pg 47)

House of Dauntinghorn: This noble house is distantly related to the Royal House of Truesilver, and has long used its fortune and influence in an attempt to expand Cormyr’s shipping interests (a goal also held by the Royal House of Truesilver).

The Dauntinghorns have a strong presence in Marsember, where they are closely allied with Ayesunder Truesilver; Warden of the Port.

Prominent family members include; Baeryn Dauntinghorn, Boeryl Dauntinghorn, Dauntryn Dauntinghorn (secret bastard of Azoun IV), Delce Dauntinghorn (secret bastard of Azoun IV), Tystarn Dauntinghorn, Hector Dauntinghorn.

Distantly related to the Truesilvers, this family is very keen on expanding Cormyr’s shipping interests. Their goal as a family is to enlarge the official presence of Cormyr’s navy on the Lake of Dragons and beyond. (Cormyr pg 47)

They are closely connected with Ayesunder Truesilver, warden of the port in Marsember. The Dauntinghorns and Truesilvers are allies in attempting to persuade the king that Cormyr should have a greater presence in the water. One of their ideas is to have the shipping of Cormyr officially protected so that any pirate attack against a Cormyte vessel would be an act of war and therefore allow the Imperial Navy to conduct regular pirate hunts. (Cormyr pg 47)

Others in the Royal Court consider this idea too militaristic a solution to the pirate problem, and most favour using Imperial Navy ships to escort private merchant vessels instead. The Dauntinghorns believe that private interests, like those of the Bleth family, influence too greatly which merchant ships receive escorts and which are left to their own defences. (Cormyr pg 47)

One of the most prominent members of the Dauntinghorn family is Hector the Sailor (LG hm F9), a commodore in charge of an Imperial Navy squadron based in Marsember. (Cormyr pg 47)

House of Drauthglas (Minor, Extinct): The noble House of Drauthglas has been extinct for many centuries and is possibly the earliest noble house to disappear from Cormyr (that anyone can remember). The Drauthglas held lands around the Hullack Forest, no one can recall the reason for their disappearance meaning that they likely died out.

House of Emmarask: This noble house is made up mostly of career politicians, always looking to gain power at position at the Royal Court, in addition those with position use their influence to gain further advancement for other members of House Emmarask. This practice has thus far not been contested among the other noble houses primarily because House Emmarask produces fair and loyal nobles of Cormyr; Alaphondar Emmarask being the most recent example.

Lord Roland Emmarask is the patriarch of House Emmarask; a thoughtful and far sighted man who takes a long-term view in political matters. Prominent members of House Emmarask are; Alaphondar Emmarask, Lord Dier Emmarask, Albryn Emmarask, Lord Roland Emmarask, Lady Gantharla Emmarask, Rhiindaerth Emmarask.

House Emmarask maintains Emmarask Mansion near the Royal Court in Suzail, and all members with position (plus potential candidates) keep residence here.

House Emmarask is ably served by its Steward Orlbert Thaylaine who runs Emmarask Mansion.

This family has political power as the root of its prominence among nobles. It might be said that this family is composed of career politicians and governors of all types. (Cormyr pg 47)

This family has a long tradition of serving the government of Cormyr in a variety of ways. Their crowning achievement is Alaphondar, the Sage Most Learned of the Royal Court, who is a member of this family. (Cormyr pg 47)

The Emmarasks foster all of their young to follow in the footsteps of their forebears and take up careers in politics. In addition, those who already have positions are encouraged to grant positions to other family members. (Cormyr pg 47)

Surprisingly, this practice has not met much disapproval among the other nobles. The primary reason for this is Alaphondar’s prominence. In a way, it’s thought that if someone as great as Alaphondar can come from the Emmarask family, then perhaps there is someone else just as great waiting to fulfil the family destiny. In this case it is Alaphondar’s assistant, Lord Dier of Emmarask (LG hf F2), who is waiting to step into his shoes in the family tradition. (Cormyr pg 47)

In addition, no one in the Emmarask family has ever abused his or her office or power, and this reputation commands respect among the other noble families. (Cormyr pg 48)

House of Goldfeather: Generally dislike elves, especially among the older generations.

House of Greatgaunt: This old and respected military family founded the settlement of Greatgaunt in Tunland. The Greatgaunts are battlemasters and garrison commanders in the Purple Dragons. (Volos Cormyr pg 209)

Greatgates Manor is the family home, located in Greatgaunt itself. (Volos Cormyr pg 209)

The blazon of House Greatgaunt is a righthand gauntlet clutching a dove in its fist. (Volos Cormyr pg 209)

House of Hornshield (Extinct): Granted the Dukedom of the West Reaches by Rhigaerd II (Volos Cormyr pg 212).

The noble family was extinct by 1300 DR (presumably due to combating brigands in the West Reaches) (Volos Cormyr pg 212)

House of Huntcrown: This is a diverse family with interests all over Cormyr. As such, Huntcrowns are often the nobles who are best informed of the nation’s goings-on. Unfortunately, this is also the noble family that spreads the most gossip and rumour. Huntcrowns are at the center of the greatest number of scandals of any noble family. (Cormyr pg 48)

Naturally, their greatest adversary is the Cormaeril family, whose members jealously guard their privacy. (Cormyr pg 48)

To the woe of some families, the Huntcrowns seem well entrenched in the noble structure. Their financial and political holdings are so diverse that no single calamity would bring about the fall of the family. (Cormyr pg 48)

House of Illance: Generally dislike elves, especially among the older generations.

Prominent members include: Fendarl Illance, Daerthra Illance.

The Illance family has been slowly losing influence at the Royal Court for generations. Weak family leaders have also done a poor job of managing and investing the Illance fortune. Illance House, while hardly in ruin, lacks the elegance of the other nobles’ estates in Suzail. (Cormyr pg 48)

The best hope to reverse this trend is Martin Frayault Illance (LN hm F4), one of the most handsome young men at the Royal Court. Martin is obviously trying to parlay his good looks into a boon for his family, but so far both of King Azoun’s daughters have spurned his advances and most of the other families at court have warned their marriageable women to steer clear of him. (Cormyr pg 48)

However, it is only a matter of time before some young noblewoman lets her heart take priority over the best interests of her family and agrees to marry Martin. (Cormyr pg 48)

House of Mallowbridge (Extinct): This noble house was ennobled during the reign of Andilber for their services to the Crown, informing the King of plots against him, and for the new Lord Tarius Mallowbridge fighting against the plotters on the King’s orders. The members of this house were known for being dark haired, good looking, cruel, and immoral, and also for dabbling in forbidden activities (magic and substances).

The House of Mallowbridge was stripped of its noble status during the reign of King Palaghard II, after a number of them were suspected of practising dark magic and a series of War Wizards were sent to investigate. All of the investigators were slain by some creature (or creatures) that left no trace and removed the head as well as desecrating the bodies and ensuring that nothing could be divined about the manner of their death. Ultimately Lord Baeryn Mallowbridge was exiled along with the rest of the suspects in House Mallowbridge, although Tonthur and Naeryn Mallowbridge (both sons of Lord Baeryn) were allowed to remain in Cormyr.

Esker Mallowbridge, the last of the Mallowbridges (a descendent of Tonthur Mallowbridge) known to be living in Cormyr, died alone in the Hullack Forest in 1331/1332 DR.

House of Marliir: Although the Marliir family commands little attention at the court in Suzail, they have extensive holdings in Arabel and especially of farmlands surrounding the city. The Marliir family has earned the respect of local citizens and has worked well with the crown’s local representatives. The current patriarch of House Marliir is Raynaar Marliir. (Cormyr pg 20)

The Marliir family has its base of power and wealth in and around Arabel. With most other families anchored in Suzail and Marsember, the Marliirs have always been outsiders at the Royal Court. (Cormyr pg 48)

In the Arabel area, however, it is a different story. Family holdings, especially extensive farmlands and related businesses, give the Marliirs great power over the society and economy of Arabel and the surrounding areas. (Cormyr pg 49)

The head of the family, Raynaar Marliir, spends most of his time in Arabel, not the Royal Court in Suzail, reflecting the family’s emphasis on its own base of power, not on court intrigues. (Cormyr pg 49)

House of Rallyhorn: This noble house established the settlement of Hultail (then named Rallyhorn) early in Cormyr’s history and reached the zenith of its power when the rich and influential Lord Theldrin Rallyhorn was made Steward of the Court in 123 DR. Since Lord Theldrin’s death the Rallyhorn fortunes have slowly declined, and today they remain a well respected, ancient noble House. Most of the surviving Rallyhorn’s live in Suzail, and Castle Rallyhorn is used only as a summer retreat.

Lord Urthrin Rallyhorn is the patriarch of House Rallyhorn. Prominent members of House Rallyhorn are; Urthrin Rallyhorn, Korvarr Rallyhorn, Orvendel Rallyhorn.

House of Rowanmantle: Though long one of the noble families of Cormyr, the Rowanmantles have extensive holdings outside Cormyr as well. Most family possessions are in north-eastern Cormyr, Tilverton, and environs, and outside the realm, notably in Shadowdale, where Shaerl Rowanmantle (LN hf T6) shares power with her husband, Mourngrym Amcathra. (Cormyr pg 49)

The most prominent family member in Cormyr is Lady Regent Alaslyn Rowanmantle, who oversees a council of Tilverians and rules the protectorate. (Cormyr pg 49)

The Rowanmantles have close ties to the Cormyte crown as well, as the late Tanaeth Rowanmantle was the mother of Bhereu and Thomdor. (Cormyr pg 49)

House of Silversword: This family is quite old in Cormyte history but for a number of reasons has never ascended to the top. (Cormyr pg 49)

Silverswords frequently hold important positions (despite the efforts of the Emmarask family) but always seem to fall short of latching onto true Cormyr-shaping power. (Cormyr pg 49)

In recent times, many family members have gone adventuring in Cormyr and in foreign lands, a practice that has lowered the Silverswords in the eyes of some other noble families. (Cormyr pg 49)

Of all the members of this family who have gone away, only Narlan Silversword has disappeared without a trace, purportedly on a mission into Myth Drannor. He was last seen in Tilverton. What happened to him, or whether he even made it to the ruins, is a mystery (Cormyr pg 49)

House of Thundersword: This noble house was established in 201 DR by Lord Rayn Thundersword, son of the knight and military commander Varanth “Thundersword” who saved Crown Prince Moriann from an assassin. Rayn Thundersword returned the sword Symylazarr to King Tharyann and swearing fealty to the new king, in return he was ennobled as Lord Thundersword.

The Thunderswords were granted lands southwest of Immersea (and south of Hilp) and these lands remain in their possession to this day, with the ancestral seat of Starwater Castle nestled atop a small knoll in a wooded basin overlooking the valley known as Starwater Meadows north of the Starwater River. They have also bought land in Marsember and own a large villa in the city with its own private dock known as Swordspires.

Lord Feldrath Thundersword is the patriarch of House Thundersword. Prominent members of House Thundersword are Harandil Thundersword, Talados Thundersword, Ondyn Thundersword, Tananthra Thundersword, Maurara Thundersword, Chansaera Thundersword, Delphaera Thundersword, Teltristram Thundersword, Nalthar Thundersword, Raien Thundersword, Dunstrar Thundersword

House of Tulwood (Extinct): The House of Tulwood was created when Lord Omburr was ennobled during the reign of King Irbruin for its role in securing  eastern Cormyr and battling brigands, monsters, and self proclaimed kings in defence of the realm. The Tulwoods were fair haired, malicious and obsessive (often with the necromantic arts or with good-looking monarchs) nobles that had a tendency to marry those of common birth (their obsessive personalities scaring away most nobles). They bullied their rivals and were not above hiring mercenaries or wizards to defeat those that would not submit.

At least one Lord Baerent Tulwood was a master swordsmith, while the noble heir Rantavar Tulwood was exiled for treason during the reign of King Duar, and a dozen more were imprisoned for violence and blackmail of other nobles. The last Tulwood was Lord Korlandur Tulwood; a cruel man who would disfigure those he disliked or who disagreed with him using a barbed whip, Korlandur after going on a hunt and inexplicably riding his horse straight off a cliff (many whisper he had help in achieving this messy end).

House of Turcassan (Extinct): An ancient and long extinct noble family that once climbed so high on the political ladder that a Lady of the House was married to King Duar. The Queen’s uncle; Melineth Turcassan, betrayed the realm and sold Suzail to a pirate lord while the king was fighting an orc infestation in the King’s Forest.

The House of Turcassan was destroyed by its rivals during King Duar’s war with Magrath the Minotaur. Jotor Turcassan one of King Duar’s Purple Dragons, broke with the rest of his treacherous family and remained loyal to the King.

The emblem of House Turcassan is a green Manslayer; a near extinct creature of legend with the body of a griffon and many snake heads that has a taste for human flesh and roams the wilderlands east of Tethyr.

House of Wintersun: Generally dislike elves, especially among the older generations.

New Nobility

New nobility; “newcoins” are those that have been appointed as nobility anywhere up to 800 years ago. There is no definitive decision as to who is classed as Elder Noble and who is New Noble, generally the Elder Nobles exclude anyone who was ennobled after themselves, or any who do not behave with the proper dignity and respect they believe is required of Elder Nobility.

House of Battlestar: This noble house owns the lands of the West Shore.

House of Bracegauntlet: The noble house of Bracegauntlet was ennobled in 1162 DR by King Baerovus when the Kingdom of Esparin was annexed into Cormyr by the marriage of Queen Enchara and Crown Prince Palaghard. They were ennobled for their services to King Baerovus during the war with Esparin (they provided vital intelligence and mercenaries in their charge switched sides during several key battles).

House of Buckfast (Minor): The noble house of Buckfast is confined to the environs around Thunderstone, where they own a farm and a number of properties that they rent to family at reduced rates, they are a poor and lusty house known for causing much trouble in Thunderstone.

The current Patriarch is Lord Rothtil Buckfast. Prominent members include Lady Suvreene Buckfast, Ravance Buckfast, Melhard Buckfast, Sargram Buckfast.

House of Darstan: The noble house of Darstan has long been associated with the Society of Stalwart Adventurers, with many members of the family joining the exclusive club. The current patriarch is Lord Darstan. Prominent family members include Lady Elynna Darstan, Lord Darstan.

House of Dheolur (Extinct): Ennobled by King Anglond Obarskyr, this traitorous noble house explored the ruined temple of Moander and became corrupted, siding with Magrath the Mighty during his occupation of Suzail and Cormyr. The noble House of Dheolur was slain during the raid on Dheolur Manor along with Magrath the Mighty in 432 DR.

House of Domrith (Minor): One of a handful of night-skinned nobility in Cormyr, ennobled for their service in the Purple Dragons and for rescuing an important member of the Royal House of Obarskyr.

House of Eveningspire: This noble house is inherited matrilineal.

House of Haelbroke (Minor): The noble house of Haelbroke is confined to the environs around Thunderstone, where they own a farm and a number of properties that they rent to locals, they are a small, poor, and conservative family.

The current Patriarch is Lord Larandyr Haelbroke. Prominent members include Lady Mirljarla Haelbroke, Tasharra Haelbroke, Raerdaera Haelbroke, Galragar Haelbroke, Mresper Haelbroke, and Borlingar Haelbroke.

House of Hartel (Minor): One of a handful of night-skinned nobility in Cormyr, ennobled for their service in the Purple Dragons and for rescuing an important member of the Royal House of Obarskyr.

House of Hawklin: Ennobled for their bravery in fighting with Crown Prince Rhigaerd against King Salember the Red Dragon, the House of Hawklin had a long tradition of serving with the Purple Dragons even before they joined the ranks of nobility. The Hawklins have a variety of investments and holdings across Cormyr, including an inn in Suzail, and estates in Thunderstone.

The patriarch of House Hawklin is Barandos Hawklin. The House emblem (simplified) is a green hawk standing upright with wings outstretched above a green bough on a white shield. Prominent members of House Hawklin include; Barandos Hawklin, Dara Hawklin, Tenshorn Hawklin.

Obtaining nobility status more recently than the other noble families of Cormyr is the Hawklin clan. Generations of Hawklins have chosen to enter the Purple Dragons or adventured in service to the crown. (Cormyr pg 48)

The current leader of the family, Barandos Hawklin (LN hm F7), is only the third generation to be considered noble. At the head of crown-chartered adventuring groups, Barandos distinguished himself in both Hullack Forest and the Stonelands. Barandos’s quick wit and boyish charm have made him a favourite at the Royal Court. (Cormyr pg 48)

Though lacking income-producing estates or businesses, the Hawklin family is rumoured to have amassed a fortune in the vaults of Hawklin House from wealth gained from rewards or looting on successful adventures. (Cormyr pg 48)

House of Hethemer (Minor): One of a handful of night-skinned nobility in Cormyr, ennobled for their service in the Purple Dragons and for rescuing an important member of the Royal House of Obarskyr.

House of Indesm (Minor): The noble House of Indesm owns the lands of Hawkhar in the East Reaches of Cormyr, they are known for a good stock of Cormyr Riding horses that they raise on their land.

House of Kallowsar (Minor): One of a handful of night-skinned nobility in Cormyr, ennobled for their service in the Purple Dragons and for rescuing an important member of the Royal House of Obarskyr.

House of Lornsar (Minor): One of a handful of night-skinned nobility in Cormyr, ennobled for their service in the Purple Dragons and for rescuing an important member of the Royal House of Obarskyr.

House of Spurbright (Minor): The noble house of Spurbright are one of the few noble houses of the Kingdom of Esparin that retained their noble status (usually by making bargains with the Crown). The blazon of the House of Spurbright is a circle of four golden crowns at the heart of a green shield. The lands of this noble house include the Stonebolt Fields (known officially as Spurbright Steads) which stretch for 20 miles either side of the Way of the Dragon just north of Espar.

House of Stonecastle (Minor): The noble house of Stonecastle was ennobled by King Duar for their efforts in retaking Suzail from Magrath the Minotaur. Their holdings are concentrated mainly in Marsember, with a few estates in the Coast region. The patriarch is Elbar Stonecastle. The House blazon is a white-grey crenellated keep with two arrow slit windows on an emerald field. Malivur Stonecastle penned “Fallen From Grace: A Cormyrean Noble’s Tale” in 1018 DR.

House of Sundever (Minor): One of a handful of night-skinned nobility in Cormyr, ennobled for their service in the Purple Dragons and for rescuing an important member of the Royal House of Obarskyr.

House of Summerstar (Minor): The House of Summerstar was founded by Glothgam Summerstar when he went hunting the great red wyrm Arnfalamme to its lair in the Thunderpeaks (after it set fire to his Purple Dragon encampment) and drove it away with the aid of the Sword of Summer Winds.

The House of Summerstar rules the region of Firefall Vale from Firefall Keep (on the western edge). The current patriarch of House Summerstar is Lord Athlan Summerstar. Prominent members of House Summerstar include Lady Pheirauze, Erlandar Summerstar, Lady Zarova Summerstar, Shayna Summerstar, and Sir Thalance Summerstar

House of Tavernant: This noble house is nearly at an end, with the sole surviving member of this house being Lady Tavernant of Suzail, who owns a successful printing press and uses the profits from it to fund her matchmaking parties in the hopes of finding a husband and producing an heir before time runs out.

House of Torith (Minor): One of a handful of night-skinned nobility in Cormyr, ennobled for their service in the Purple Dragons and for rescuing an important member of the Royal House of Obarskyr.

House of Yellander (Minor): This noble house owns the lands known as Galdryn’s Gorge in the East Reaches of Cormyr. Their ancestral home is Whitewings, a modest keep and mansion where the current Lord Hresker Falbruin and Lady Anathae Yellander spend much of their time.

The Patriarch of House Yellander is Lord Hresker Falbruin. Prominent members of House Yellander are Anathae Yellander, Paerile Yellander, and Tannaura Yellander.

House of Wyvernspur: This family owns most of the land surrounding Wyvernwater and the Wyvernflow. These holdings bring the Wyvernspurs substantial wealth and political influence. (Cormyr pg 49)

The king often calls upon this family to fund projects in their area and near Hullack Forest. The Wyvernspurs are only too happy to oblige the king in return for positions on the Royal Court and a say in other matters. (Cormyr pg 49)

Local Nobility

Local Nobility are those rich merchants that are able to buy themselves a noble title due to their wealth. These titles are not hereditary and so must be purchased again and again with the death of each patriarch and often with each monarch. The Crown grants titles to loyal individuals (ensuring their loyalty further), making them the Lord of one of the many settlements of Cormyr, these Lordships allow the local nobility to curb the activity of hereditary nobles in their settlements.

House of Thurlond: The noble house of Thurlond are primarily a mining house that owns 6 iron and silver mines in the western Stormhorns, with estates in Skull Crag and Minroe. The patriarch of House Thurlond is Lord Sardamon; a reclusive man that disdains the politics of life at Court in Suzail. The House blazon is a miners pick buried in a dead dwarf and commemorates House Thurlond’s defeat of dwarves (duergar) centuries ago when they attempted to overrun the first of the Thurlond dug mines. 

Local Lords

There is a subclass that deviates from the normal rules of thumb for nobles. These are the local lords who govern towns and villages in the name of the king. (Cormyr pg 40)

These individuals have daily contact with the people they govern and are intimately connected to them at every level. Even though the local lord may reside in a keep separated from the subjects by walls and social conventions, all of his or her decisions affect the townspeople, whose actions in turn affect the lord. (Cormyr pg 40)

In addition, local lords are responsible for maintenance of roads, intelligence on hostile forces, and keeping the peace within towns and villages. (Cormyr pg 40)

The most important duty for local lords is collecting taxes for the king. In this duty some lords are naturally more fervent than others, but all lords realize that they must govern their towns wisely for the citizens to be able to supply the taxes the king expects. The general tax rate for each citizen is 1 sp per year. As King Azoun’s tax collectors, each lord may keep up to 40 men-at-arms and up to six captains (typically rangers familiar with the countryside surrounding the town). (Cormyr pg 40)

A minor duty that local lords must attend to is the maintenance of a fast horse for the use of the king’s messengers. This horse is never used by anyone but a king’s messenger or, in emergencies, by the king himself. (Cormyr pg 41)

Local lords who want to keep their power need to be popular among the citizens. On more than a few occasions citizens of a town have forcibly removed a lord who was not looking after their interests. (Cormyr pg 41)

At the same time, some nobles look down on local lords for their involvement in petty affairs of the common folk. (Cormyr pg 41)

The king rules by means of appointed lords, one in each town, and by the fealty of the landed nobility and the rich merchant lords. The landed nobility is extensive and interbred, such that most can claim a drop or two of royal blood in their veins. The merchant lords are the wealthiest caravan and business owners of the day and change with the shifts of fortune. (Cormyr pg 50)

Each local lord is responsible for defending the local farms, dispensing the king’s justice, keeping the peace, serving as the king’s eyes and ears, and (most importantly) collecting tithes for the king and for himself (1 sp/head/year). The lord also must maintain a fit, fast horse of the best quality for the use of the king’s messengers (who ride fast and far, requiring them to change mounts at every stop). (Cormyr pg 50)

Each lord is allowed up to 40 men-at-arms, plus up to six guides/captains (typically rangers). These may serve as the town guard. Volunteer town guardsmen are known as the Watch, and the lord may exempt them from the tax if their service has been valuable. (Cormyr pg 50)

The relationship between the landed nobility and the appointed local lords is generally good, though many established families treat the local servants of the crown as no more than royal lackeys, to be bossed about or flattered as need be. The names of the local lords and heralds (their assistants) are listed with each city and town. (Cormyr pg 50)

Commoners

Anyone who is neither a noble nor a local lord is considered common. (Cormyr pg 41)

Nobles walk with the king in Suzail and advise him on what to do. Local lords implement the king’s decisions and at once support the king and protect the people. (Cormyr pg 41)

The common folk, however, are the true strength of the kingdom. They form the Purple Dragons, the militias, and the farmers who feed the kingdom. (Cormyr pg 41)

It is tradition in Cormyr, strongly endorsed by Azoun IV, that all commoners can speak freely to any noble, or to the king himself, on any topic of concern and expect to be heard and answered as politely as if they sat in the Purple Dragon throne themselves. (Cormyr pg 41)

Children

Usually considered the responsibility of their parents, orphans are a special case and are considered wards of the Crown. There is a longstanding title “Warden of the Lost” which tasks the titleholder with finding wards for every orphaned child (those whose parents die in service to Cormyr come first). Local temples usually take in several wards a years, looking for potential future priests, noble families occasionally take on wards to appear charitable and improve their reputation, otherwise older or childless couples are paid to take in wards.

Farmers

The farmers of Cormyr are perhaps the most stable group of people in Faerûn. Cormyr itself is conservative and civilized, and farming, the largest occupation in Cormyr, is the foundation of that conservatism. (Cormyr pg 51)

A typical farmer in Cormyr lives a simple life, farming land usually quite a distance from any town of size. Cormyrean farmers have greater loyalty to the crown and greater unity among themselves than farmers in other places. (Cormyr pg 51)

Farmers are extremely loyal to the king of Cormyr. They readily volunteer to join the Purple Dragons in times of emergency, as was the case when Gondegal threatened to break Cormyr apart. (Cormyr pg 51)

If there is a greater loyalty in their lives, it is to their families and community. The farmer of Cormyr, though often living far from a town, takes great pride and interest in what his home town can accomplish with his help. (Cormyr pg 51)

Farmers support each other’s needs and interests almost like no other guild or class does. Their existence is so fragile and dependent on the economic and political climate, as well as the weather, that they band together on matters of self-interest. (Cormyr pg 51)

Therefore, when a local lord or perhaps a noble in Suzail attempts to enact a law or decree that is detrimental to even a single farmer, all farmers speak with one opposing voice. Generally the wellbeing of the local lords and nobility is dependent on the success of local farmers, so they rarely act contrary to farmers’ wishes once the latter’s position is known. (Cormyr pg 51)

A popular lord among farmers is Sarp Redbeard of Wheloon, who often acts independently of Suzail and generally sides with farmers. Many farmers live within Redbeard’s domain. (Cormyr pg 51)

Central to a farmer’s life is the town festival. There are many festivals throughout the year in every town in Cormyr, with many celebrating farming or some aspect of it, such as the harvest. (Cormyr pg 51)

However, to a farmer, a festival is an opportunity not only to celebrate, but also to talk with other farmers about issues of mutual concern, new techniques, and of course, the weather. (Cormyr pg 52)

While a festival offers a fine opportunity to get together, festivals are often the only time farmers gather. This can hamper efforts to respond quickly to situations such as floods or brushfires. (Cormyr pg 52)

Craftsmen

Cormyr has a long tradition of craftsmen, who are respected for being gifted by the gods with talents to transform worldly materials into products that are useful or decorative (or both, in the finest cases). (Cormyr pg 52)

Several towns in Cormyr are centres for particular types of crafts. There is a large artisan concentration in Wheloon, which is known for craftsmen who produce fine boats, baskets, sails, and clay pots. Grey Oaks has a reputation for
excellent wood craftsmen. (Cormyr pg 52)

Each town usually has at least one craftsman guild. The guilds look after the interests of their members, combating taxes and trying to improve working conditions, supplies, and sales opportunities. (Cormyr pg 52)

The guilds have not been particularly powerful over the years in Cormyr. Here, guilds are mostly similar to benevolent fraternal organizations: groups of people who practice the same craft, who join the organization for the social interaction and the opportunity to further their expertise. Most guildmasters are content to know that their organizations give their members a sense of camaraderie and a venue in which they can hone their craft among their peers. The labour union concept is nearly unknown in Cormyr. (Cormyr pg 52)

Nearly unknown, because the construction guilds bricklayers, stonemasons, joiners, etc. have indeed discovered the degree of influence they can exert on local politics. Such guilds typically look after their own interests with a passion and know how to manipulate situations to their advantage. (Cormyr pg 52)

Merchants

The most powerful class outside of the nobles, merchants are the energy that drives the wheels of the economy and progress in Cormyr. (Cormyr pg 53)

In many societies that have a ruling noble class and lower commoner class, a merchant class rises to become as powerful as the nobles. This is true in Cormyr, where merchants have become quite powerful and their riches certainly dwarf some noble families’. (Cormyr pg 53)

What distinguishes the Cormyrean merchant from others is that each merchant is a citizen of Cormyr first and a merchant second. (Cormyr pg 53)

This loyalty to the kingdom means that a merchant will almost always bow to the greater interests of the nobles and to the king in particular. They would not think of jeopardizing Cormyr for their own interests. Certainly part of this loyalty arises from the merchants’ appreciation for the favourable business environment maintained by their rulers. (Cormyr pg 53)

While the nobles and merchants have good relations with each other, there is no such peace within the merchant class. One cannot see greater competition than between two Cormyte merchants. (Cormyr pg 53)

Though nobles are at the top of the power pyramid, merchants exert considerable influence, and it’s increasing. (Cormyr pg 53)

One example of merchant influence occurs when a merchant house sees a noble family in trouble. A family might have taken a great loss; for example, a natural disaster might have ruined the farmland of the family’s holdings, making tax income substantially less than expected. A merchant house will often step in and secretly offer to make up for the loss in tax monies in exchange for some amount of behind-the-scenes control of a post held by a member of the distressed family. (Cormyr pg 54)

Most involvement of this type concerns allocation of space to warehouses in walled cities (except in Suzail, where the Lord Magister is seemingly incorruptible) and other such matters. (Cormyr pg 54)

The most recent effort to tame the Hullack Forest and open a new avenue of resources was begun as a merchant expedition. (Cormyr pg 54)

Merchants are the best indicators of what Cormyr needs in the terms of resources such as wood and metal. No one else, not even the military, consumes as much as all the merchant houses combined. (Cormyr pg 54)

Therefore, when merchant houses begin looking in earnest for more resources, the crown takes notice, for that means it will not be long before the military and other official agencies will begin to experience shortages. (Cormyr pg 54)

The commodity in shortest supply is farmland. There is a constant need for more of it, and merchants recognize farmland as a valuable asset. It means not only a regular supply of food and the income from the food, but also rent income and taxes to the crown. The more taxes one pays, the greater his or her influence with the crown. (Cormyr pg 54)

Merchant companies fund the greatest number of exploration and adventuring parties. Exploration parties are used to gather information about a location that might be suitable for cultivation and acquisition. (Cormyr pg 54)

Cormyrs contact with other kingdoms is mainly due to the activity and influence of merchants. It was ivory shipments from distant lands that brought Cormyr’s attention to affairs beyond its borders. Unfortunately, the presence of Cormyte merchant ships in the Lake of Dragons has escalated the amount of pirate activity there, making the lake a more dangerous place. (Cormyr pg 54)

There are many rumours that pirates on the lake are actually competing merchant ships in disguise. There is no way to substantiate such rumours without capturing a pirate ship and interrogating the captain, which has yet to confirm such rumours. (Cormyr pg 54)

Imperial Navy ships sometimes escort merchant vessels back and forth to the Neck. Ayesunder Truesilver, warden of the port of Marsember, decides which merchant ships need escorts, and there have been charges that his choices are often politically motivated. (Cormyr pg 54)

Customs

Royalty

Azoun’s Bastards: The Royal House of Obarskyr has over the years dwindled to only the current surviving members of King Azoun IV, his brothers, Princess Tanalasta, and Princess Alusair. Azoun has been prodigious and instrumental (with encouragement from Vangerdahast) in unofficially repopulating the Royal House of Obarskyr with a number of bastards sired upon noble and commoner alike.

Known bastard children of Azoun include; Beliard Cormaeril, Dauntryn Dauntinghorn, Delce Dauntinghorn, Brace Skatterhawk, Ondyn Thundersword.

Auneth “Blackhair” Druin, and Tarleth Marlenspur are both secret bastards of Azoun, and both of them work in the Royal Palace along with 5 other secret bastard children.

Vandara “The Vixen” Thulont, leader of the Women of the Woods, is a secret bastard of Azoun.

Bowing: Commoners of both sexes bow their heads to royalty. This is actually a law, one that Cormyreans will enforce with visitors, regardless of who they are or who the particular royal person might be. Cormyreans greatly respect their leaders, and they want to impress this respect on everyone who visits their kingdom. (Cormyr pg 35)

Adventurers

Of primary note to all who would conduct adventures within
Cormyr is that no adventurers may operate as a group without
first acquiring a royal charter.
The strict enforcement of this law began after Gondegal
raised a mercenary force from within Cormyr and tried to
secede from the kingdom. Enforcement of the requirement of a charter is
meant to prevent a recurrence of this sort of activity. Any group of five people or more is required to obtain a charter.

Festivals

High Festival of Winter: On Midwinter, the lords of Cormyr hold feasts, renew alliances, send gifts of goodwill, and plan for the year ahead.

Food and Drink

Belarbrith: A hairy, carrot shaped root vegetable, mottled chestnut brown and ash-grey in hue, with many rootlets, a woody texture, and a taste of apple pie. It used to be plentiful in the wild, but has been harvested so much it is now scarce, except for in just about every garden in the Cormyr, the Dalelands, upland Sembia, and the Sword Coast North. It is used as a natural thickener in soups and broths, or boiled into a sweet dessert, or more commonly peeled and sliced into medallions.

Drusk – Sarl: A flathead catfish found commonly throughout Faerun, the Sarl Drusk is a variety found in Cormyr and the Dalelands that has long whiskers and a black tail.

Old Black Goblin: The recipe for this exclusive, porter style beer; brewed with cherrywood and liquorice, is a closely guarded secret, rumoured to be in the controlled by one of the noble houses of Cormyr. It is brewed in secret, rural locations in the East Reaches of Cormyr and sold to expensive clubs for rich merchants and nobles in the cities of Cormyr and Sembia. 

Reilur’s Red: A “red” amber ale brewed in the Coast region of Cormyr with 3 different roasted barleys and citrus rind with various spices added. It is sold commonly in the Coast and East Reaches as well as Sembia and the Dalelands.

Hobbies

Falconry: Falconry is a popular pastime among the nobility of Cormyr, but is by no means limited to that class. Anyone with the time and money required to keep and train falcons is able to indulge it as a hobby, in rural areas falcons are often used by farmstead owners to hunt game birds and vermin, keeping down pests and providing food for the falcons and owners.

Tlacrist: Created by the long dead and prominent composer Rellard Tlacrist, who taught the scribes of Cormyr’s Court to use it in order to compose and continually update patriotic songs over the years. Tlacrist involves reciting a few lines of a well known song or lyric, each person in the group takes turns adding a new line or verse but must include a particular word or phrase chosen from a pile (or shouted by another player). Usually played under the influence and inevitably becomes bawdy.

Literature

A Wise Maid’s Words: A tome written by Lyra Maerilee, compiling the salacious gossip and the amorous adventures of the nobility (and wannabe nobles) of Cormyr and Sembia. This book was actually penned by Volothamp Geddarn under the pseudonym of Lyra Maerilee and has been such a successful seller in the lands around the Sea of Fallen Stars and the Dragon Coast (with many pirate copies), that he is considering writing a sequel. The nobility of Cormyr and Sembia would love to know who Lyra Maerilee actually is though they can silence her.

Fallen From Grace: A Cormyrean Noble’s Tale: An autobiographical account of the life of Malivur Stonecastle and the decline in fortunes of the noble House of Stonecastle. Penned in 1018 DR, this book is a staple read for young nobility in Cormyr, detailing the pitfalls to avoid.

Filfaeril Bound and Willing: A book written by Manshoon of the Zhentarim and distributed widely in Cormyr (particularly Suzail) and the rest of Faerun. The book depicts Filfaeril in a variety of scandalous and compromising encounters (and positions) and was a Zhentarim ploy to discredit the royals of Cormyr and inflame a reaction from King Azoun IV. It has not been successful and Filfaeril is said to “quite enjoy reading such utter nonsense”.

Misdeeds in Marsember: The Cruel Traitors and Tyrants of the Wet Port’s So-Called Nobility: A non fictional account of the activities of 3 noble households in Marsember, focusing on their scandalous behaviour and mistreatment of their servants and the common-folk of Marsember. It was penned by an anonymous former housejack (butler) of all three households, and provides a very unflattering insight into the lives of local nobility. This book is popular in Marsember and Suzail among nobles and commoners alike.

Music

The Sisters Sacrifice: This song depicts the noble sacrifice of the Mage Royal Baerauble’s apprentices; Vaeral Crownsilver and Phaendra Bleth, in banishing the dragon Nalavarauthatoryl “the Red” in 116 DR.

Names

Recently popular Cormyrean male names: Andel, Ardusk, Beliard, Brace, Dannon, Eldorn, Faern, Griskor, Hrandur, Jeth, Lharak, Morlan, Roth, Wynter

(So, daily diminutives: Del, Dusk, [Beliard], [Brace], Dan, Dorn, Faer, Grisk, Ran, [Jeth], Rak, Morl, [Roth], Wyn)

Recently popular Cormyrean female names: Asmura, Baera, Calatha, Dalorna, Deira, Estele, Flornele, Iltara, Jakkara, Marantha, Raele, Sarelle, Tamphara, Thorn

(So, daily diminutives: Asmur or Mur, Baer, Cath, Lorna or Lor, Deir, Stel, Flor, Tara, Kara, Ranth or Ran, [Raele], Rel, Fara, [Thorn])

In these lists, Griskor, Hrandur, Jeth, and Lharak (of the male names) and Iltara, Jakkara, Marantha, and Tamphara (of the female names) have been brought in through immigration, and are more popular in Marsember and Suzail than in “upcountry” places such as Espar, Eveningstar, and Arabel (roughly: Waymoot and Immersea and anywhere north of those locales).

Conversely, in the upcountry areas, “old,” long-established Cormyrean names are more popular; in these lists, those names are Beliard, Brace, Dannon, Morlan, and Roth (male names) and Baera, Dalorna, Raele, and Thorn (female names).

“Thorn” has traditionally been given to farm lasses born when the parents were hoping for a strong male child (in other words, the new Thorn is going to have to take on the “grunt” tasks of working a farm), and as a result has been borne by a lot of what we real-world folks would call “tomboys.”

Andel, Ardusk, Edlorn, and Wynter (of the male names), and Asmura, Calatha, Estele, and Flornele (of the female names) are from the previous two generations of immigration, and come from Sembia.

To zero in on Arabel in particular, as per your request, the most popular names right now are:

(boys) Beliard, Brace, Brorn, Dannon, Danrask, Jeth [and its local variant “Juth”], Morland [not a typo for “Morlan,” but the local variant on “Morlan”], Roth, and Wendur

(diminutives: [Beliard], Race, Rorn, Dan, Dan, [Jeth], Morl, [Roth], Wen)

(girls) Baera, Calatha, Dalorna, Delendra, Labrelle, Marra, Raele, Sulue [or Tassulue], and Thorn

(diminutives: Baer, Cath, Lorn, Len, Bel, Mar, Rae, Su [or Tass], [Thorn]) Note that some local favourites appear here that aren’t in the “more widely popular” lists. Sulue is pronounced “Soo-LOO,” by the way, so “Su” is “Soo” (this name came from Aglarond to Scardale, then through the northern Dales to Arabel).

Death

Burials are followed by wakes. Cormyreans view death as the end of a pleasant journey in a wonderful kingdom, which is in fact not far from the truth. Certainly, various faiths have different burial practices, but common throughout Cormyr is the belief that some kind of wake should follow a burial, that the dead person should be mourned by the living no matter if his spirit lives on or not. But at the same time, life in Cormyr should be celebrated and the festivities that accompany a wake are used to remind all participants of how fortunate they are to be a part of Cormyr. (Cormyr pg 35)

Cats

Cats are the eyes and messengers of the gods. Cormyr’s respect for cats dates back further than anyone can remember. Cats are revered in Cormyr like no other animal, and this reverence extends across religious beliefs. Cats are sacred and should never be killed. It is also said keeping a cat may prompt the gods to intervene on one’s behalf in the event of a tragedy. Therefore, many citizens in Cormyr have at least one cat, and cats are allowed the run of the house and never kept in cages. It should be noted that altering the cat is considered a great offense. Clipping ears, fur, or especially tails is cause for ostracism (of the offender, not the victim!) in some towns. Also, a cat’s ability to reproduce shouldn’t be tampered with, as the gods will determine how many cats there are in Cormyr. Certainly it would be a great problem to keep cats, were they allowed to run free and reproduce at will. Fortunately as far as human living conditions are concerned, cats have many natural predators that keep the population low enough that cats don’t overly interfere with living conditions, especially in larger cities. (Cormyr pg 36)

Dating

Women interested in finding mates wear purple scarves. This is another age-old custom of unknown origin. A modern explanation of the custom is that when a woman desires a mate, she wears the colour of Cormyr’s banner to remind men of their obligation to the kingdom, to take a mate and increase Cormyr’s population. Certainly not all women subscribe to this custom, and it’s mostly used by women who consider themselves young and adventurous. Lovers also
frequently give purple scarves as gifts, as signs of affection. (Cormyr pg 36)

Guests

Guests always adhere to the rules of the household. When invited to a fellow’s house, the guest is responsible for making sure he does not upset the host’s daily routine. Cormyreans believe the home is one of the most important
places, and its maintenance is paramount to a family’s continued happiness. Guests should not, therefore, do things that interfere with the host family’s way of living. (Cormyr pg 37)

Hunting

Hunting on another’s land is forbidden. The population of game animals is sometimes scarce in certain parts of Cormyr, and the crown closely regulates hunting, especially in the King’s Forest. Violation of this custom is tantamount to a betrayal of trust among neighbours and results in low-level ostracism. (People may not cross the street to avoid the offender, but they’re likely to ignore his presence.) There are cases where individuals were able to redeem themselves by offering their local town a banquet and allowing others to hunt on their lands. (Cormyr pg 37)

Currency

The use of foreign currency is frowned upon. Cormyreans should use their own kingdom’s coin and not rely on the currency of other, perhaps lesser, kingdoms. Introducing foreign money is a subtle way of infiltration, giving the other kingdom a role in Cormyr’s daily life. This should not be tolerated, and visitors who arrive in Cormyr are quickly instructed by business owners to convert their currency to Cormyte coinage. Trading of currency is done almost exclusively at a jeweller’s or an official location such as the local herald office, for only they have the necessary equipment to properly test, weigh, and evaluate the legitimacy of the foreign currency and determine its worth relative to Cormyte currency. Suzail, Marsember, Arabel, and Tilverton, the trading centres of Cormyr, are notable exceptions to this custom. Their trading-based economies depend on currency from outside Cormyr as well as the royal coinage. Each of these cities has large money exchanges, allowing foreigners to walk Cormyr without committing the faux pas of paying with foreign coin. (Cormyr pg 37)

Entertainment

Cormyreans are civilized people, and because of this they do not enjoy blood sport as citizens of other kingdoms do. Therefore, you will not find an arena in Cormyr. Instead, entertainment revolves around festivals. There are festivals for a variety of holidays and celebrations of royal birthdays. This love of festivals extends across religions, and Cormyreans often participate in festivities celebrating events outside their own faith. (Cormyr pg 37)

Activities at festivals are usually community wide, especially in smaller towns, with everyone assuming duties such as decorations or food preparation. People who can create elaborate decorations are highly revered in Cormyte society, for they contribute to a festival like no other person can. In smaller towns, there is usually one person who is known as a decorator, who oversees all festival decorations. Some towns support the decorator financially so the person can work on new designs full time. (Cormyr pg 37)

Language

Officially the language of Cormyr is Chondathan (of the Cormanthan dialect), using the Thorass alphabet.

Among the nobility and at the Royal Court, Cormanthan is spoken almost exclusively as a sign of education and station.

Among the lower classes the Common trade tongue has become so widely used that it is now almost the primary language of the common folk.

King: Astrel (“Az-TRELL”)

Queen: Arauna (“Arr-AWN-ah”)

Prince: Ardyr (“Ar-DEER”)

Princess: Ardess (“Ar-DESS”)

Duke: Storn

Duchess: Staerra (“STAIR-ah”)

Marchion: Mahrsar (“MAR-sarr”)

Marchioness: Mahrsara

Earl: (always used, instead of Count, because of possible confusion with “Corount,” a Common Tongue word meaning “courtier or military commander sent in by a ruler to serve as a temporary acting noble when the real one has died suddenly, gone missing, or gone mad/fallen gravely ill/otherwise become incapacitated”)Velm (“VEL-mm”)

Countess: (never used, except by heralds and court scribes: just “Lady”) Velana (“Vell-ANNA”)

Viscount: Tlarvelm (“TAH-lar-velm”)

Viscountess: Tlarvelana (“TAH-lar-velanna”)

Baron: (in Cormyr, includes Baronet) Taen (“TAYN”)

Baroness: (in Cormyr, includes Baronetess) Taenya (“TAY-nyah”)

Knight: (title is unisex, but as a form of address, females are styled “Lady Knight”) Tahar (“TAH-har”)

Lord: Aro (“AIR-o”)

Lady: Arauna (AIR-on-ah”)

Sir: Saer (“SAY-ur”)

Economy

Currency

The Crown of Cormyr mints its own coins that are widely used by other nations around the Sea of Fallen Stars. All coins are stamped on the one side with the profile of the current monarch (when it was minted) with the date of minting and a mint mark all on one side and a dragon on the other side.

Older coins (those minted before Prince Salember the Red Dragon King) do not have date and instead have 1st, 2nd, 3rd minting, with each minting lasting at least 5 years but can be as long as 100 years in the time of King Draxius.

The mint mark in modern times is usually of an old bearded man often known as “Old Vangey” that indicates it was made at the Royal Mint in Suzail. 10% of coins have a pair of parallel, crescent moons with horns pointing to the dexter (left) which indicates they are manufactured at High Horn.

The main currency in Suzail and all of Cormyr is the royal coinage, stamped with a dragon on one side and the mint date on the other. Ten copper thumbs (cp) are worth one silver falcon (sp). Ten falcons are worth one blue eye (ep). Two blue eyes are worth one golden lion (gp), and five golden lions are worth one tricrown (pp). (Cormyr pg 11)

Thumb: This is a copper coin, ten thumbs are worth one silver falcon.

Falcon: This is a silver coin, one silver falcon is worth ten copper thumbs, ten silver falcons are worth one blue eye.

Blue Eye: This is an electrum coin, one blue eye is worth ten silver falcons, two blue eyes are worth one golden lion.

Lion: This is a gold coin, one golden lion is worth two blue eyes, five golden lions are worth one platinum tricrown.

Tricrown: This is a platinum coin, one platinum tricrown is worth five golden lions.

Exports

Cormyr exports much of its raw goods to Sembia and the Moonsea, which in return send manufactured goods back to Cormyr.

Food is a major export of Cormyr. The appetites of Sembia are seemingly endless, and overwhelm the capacity of the Dalelands to produce livestock and crops, Cormyr supplements food exports to Sembia in bulk, while sending its finest produce (fine wines, etc) are sent to the Moonsea region.

Pigments, scents, oils are all shipped to Sembia for processing into paints, perfumes, etc. Oils, medicines, and scents are shipped to the Moonsea region

Finishing wood and metal ingots are sent to Sembia to be manufactured into furniture, frames and other fine wooden furnishings, while the metal is used to make wire and metal castings. Tools are sent to the Moonsea region

Textiles, cloth, and leatherware are exported to the Moonsea region

Finished goods made in Sembia and imported to Cormyr that are not consumed by the domestic market are exported to the Sword Coast via caravan through the Western Heartlands.

The most popular items of commerce are ivory sculptures and cloth products. The ivory is secured from lands far from Cormyr and brought to the city across the Lake of Dragons. Things made from cloth are woven in Suzail. (Cormyr pg 11)

Imports

Cormyr imports mostly finished goods of excellent quality from Sembia, wines, clothing, artwork, furniture, etc. Raw materials like metal ingots (of superior quality than that easily found in Cormyr) is imported from the Moonsea region and used to manufacture weapons, armour, tools, and all manner of metal goods.

Merchant Houses

The merchants of Cormyr generate much of the annual revenue for the Crown through licence payments.

The most powerful merchants in Cormyr are: The Dragoneye Dealing Coster, the Seven Suns Trading Coster, the Six Coffers Trading Coster, Trueshield Trading Priakos, and the trading families of Iravan, Zathchos, Skatterhawk, Jhassalan, Faeri, and Ossper, these groups all have bases of operation within Suzail. (Cormyr pg 11)

The companies dominate Cormyte commerce and their holdings stretch not only through Cormyr but into other lands as well. The companies form the backbone of the Cormyte economy and therefore the practical power of the nobility. Without the cooperation of the merchant houses, the crown is unable to collect taxes. However, the crown’s base of rulership is its nobility, and the merchant houses respect this nobility and yield to the crown. Also, the crown’s army protects the interests of the merchants. (Cormyr pg 11)

Prominent merchants include Bezenttar (CN hm F3), a partner in Dragoneye Dealing Coster; Fallas of Thentia (LN hm F2), a dealer in lace, silks, and costume jewellery; Maerun Stoutbold (CG hm F5), who owns a marina and boat dealership; Saszesk (NE hm F3), a smuggler of goods and people; and Thentias (CN hm F2), businessman and landlord willing to do anything for a profit. (Cormyr pg 11)

Taxes

Taxes in Cormyr are low compared to other nations, and yet Cormyr maintains a large national army, well maintained roads, many public works and buildings, and a wealthy Royal family and their associated lifestyle. Many whisper that the taxes from Cormyr’s population cannot pay for such projects, and they are entirely accurate.

Stone Tax: The Stone Tax is levied per building constructed on Crown Land, and since all land in Cormyr is Crown Land unless the occupier holds a Grant from the Crown that makes them the owner (such Grants are usually awarded with titles, thus making the owner nobility of some sort). Typically building owners pass the Stone Tax onto tenants.

Emergency Tax: The Crown has the power to levy any additional taxes as required and without consultation. Such Emergency Taxes are only levied in a state of emergency (hence the name) such as during war time or a natural disaster.

Licences: Much of the Crown’s standard income comes from licences that allow individuals to bypass or mitigate some clauses of the Royal Word, such as carrying arms, transporting restricted goods, operating a mill, hunting in the King’s Forest, etc. These licences are optional and so are not considered taxes.

The Crystal Grot

For centuries now, the Obarskyrs have been able to tax their subjects lightly and yet elude the influence of the richest noble and merchant families by staying out of debt to them. The reason for this is a private source of fabulous wealth. Somewhere in Cormyr lies the fabled Crystal Grot, a natural cavern whose walls are lined with sapphires – a thick layer of glittering gem crystals, possibly the largest gemstone concentration in all Faerûn! (Volos Cormyr pg 10)

The cavern was discovered by Amble (Volos Cormyr pg 10) Obarskyr, cousin to King Pryntaler. Aside from Amble, Vangerdahast, and every rightful king since then, only six people have seen it in all the years since then. These lucky six have all been Purple Dragons skilled in mining who were brought to the cavern by magical means to keep its location secret. Their duty has been to chip out crystal masses when the Crown needed to call on its wealth. (Volos Cormyr pg 10)

It is known – or perhaps falsely put about by folk of the Court – that the Grot lies somewhere under land owned directly by the Crown and is part of a cavern network haunted by a watchghost or some sort of lich. In recent years the gem cavern has been reached only via a gate. The location of this transport’s other end is secret, though persistent rumours place it somewhere in the cellars of the palace in Suzail, in a room concealed behind a sliding painting, a tapestry, or a carving ornamented wall. (Volos Cormyr pg 10)

The Obarskyrs have always been careful to spend their sapphire wealth in moderation, offering stones for sale in the Vilhon Reach, Waterdeep, Amn, and similar distant markets to keep their value high. Yet, the existence of the Grot explains the rows of sapphires on the scabbards of all four swords of state in the regalia of the Court. Cormyr pg 10)

Politics

The Royal House of Obarskyr

The House of Obarskyr began the line of kings that extends to this day and Cormyr’s ruler: King Azoun IV. King Azoun is the 71st of his line. (Cormyr pg 32)

Of the original line of the noble ruling family of Cormyr, there remain only King Azoun IV, his two daughters, and his third cousins, Duke Bhereu and his brother Thomdor. The king shares his steely determination with these two men. They are burly, moustachioed fellows to whom sword, armour, and the saddle are familiar things. (Cormyr pg 43)

Name	Birth	Reign	Notes
Faerlthann “The First King”	-7 DR	26 – 55 DR	First son of Ondeth Obarskyr
Imlon “The Touched”	27 DR	55 – 57 DR	First son of Faerlthann
Bryndar	44 DR	57 – 64 DR	Son of Imlon, gored by a giant boar, died without issue
Eskruais	33 DR	64 – 66 DR	Third son of Faerlthann, died without issue
Rhiiman “The Glorious”	35 DR	66 – 79 DR	Fourth son of Faerlthann, slain by the Red Dragon Eardynnansczyg, died without issue
Embrus “The Old”	30 DR	79 – 84 DR	Second son of Faerlthann, two younger brothers preferred in the line of succession before him
Kaspler “The Learned”	66 DR	84 – 90 DR	First son of Embrus, died without issue
Imbre	70 DR	90 – 94 DR	Second son of Embrus
Sacrast	93 DR	94 – 123 DR	Illegitimate son officially adopted by Imbre. Regency of the Four Barons during the first sixteen years of his reign.
Daravvan	109 DR	123 – 124 DR	First son of Sacrast
Dorglor	110 DR	124 – 134 DR	Second son of Sacrast, committed suicide.
Embrold	112 DR	134 – 145 DR	Third son of Sacrast, never married, adopted Dorglor’s illegitimate son as heir
Irbruin	127 DR	145 – 169 DR	Son of Dorglor, slain with son and heir
Moriann	147 DR	169 – 201 DR	Second son of Irbruin, both sons and heirs slain in battle with goblins of Hlundadim
Tharynn “The Elder”	167 DR	201 – 238 DR	Third son (tenth child) of Irbruin
Boldovar “The Mad”	199 DR	238 – 246 DR	Second son of Tharyann, believed to have strangled his older brother Dorglor. Believed dead but actually spirited away by Baerauble until his death. Claimed by the Ghazneth curse in death.
Iltharl “The Insufficient”	221 DR	242 – 245 DR	Son of Boldovar, abdicated in favour of his older sister. Died in 298 DR
Gantharla “First Queen”	218 DR	245 – 261 DR	Older sister of Iltharl, never married but had illegitimate son before her coronation
Roderin “The Bastard”	244 DR	261 – 267 DR	Illegitimate son of Gantharla who succeeded due to the support of the Silver families and Baerauble. Died without issue
Thargreve “The Lesser”	225 DR	267 – 268 DR	Son of Tharyann’s daughter Erthava, who resided in Westgate, brought to Cormyr by Baerauble.
Holordrym	242 DR	268 – 272 DR	First son of Thargreve, sole, direct heir
Belereve	259 DR	272 – 274 DR	First son of Holordrym, slain by sister Rasthaele
Thargram	260 DR	274 – 276 DR	Second son of Holordrym
Besmra	246 DR	276 – 286 DR	Younger sister of Holordrym, crowned despite claims of son Torst
Torst	264 DR	286 – 289 DR	First son of Besmra, slain in Marsember by his illegitimate stepbrother Belorth and his stepfather Kurrurdan (Besmra’s first husband)
Gordroun	266 DR	289 DR	Second son of Besmra, crowned posthumously and added to lineage by King Keldroun. Slew Belorth and Kurrurdan before falling to lizardfolk in Marsember
Keldroun	266 DR	289 – 295 DR	Third son of Besmra, slain by nobles
Berost “The Bold”	282 DR	295 – 301 DR	First son of Keldroun
Gorann	284 DR	301 – 303 DR	Second son of Keldroun, died due to the machinations of his sister Gorauna and the Purplethroat Plague
Edrae “The Doomed Babe”	302 DR	303 – 305 DR	Infant son of Gorann, slain by his mother Jalanthra to escape Gorauna’s torments
Ulbaeram	288 DR	305 – 308 DR	Third son of Keldroun, slain in battle with Askran “the Pretender”, son of Gorauna
Q. Silbran	286 DR	308 – 320 DR	Wife of Ulbaeram, took the throne to protect the succession of her and Ulbaeram’s only son and heir. Died in 324 DR.
Raerboth	306 DR	320 – 326 DR	Legitimate son of Ulbaeram, slain by Gorauna
Baerildo	325 DR	326 – 328 DR	Son of Raerboth, slain by Gorauna
Belmuth “The Bastard”	304 DR	328 – 334 DR	First illegitimate son of Ulbaeram, died of Purplethroat Plague.
Sargrannon	324 DR	334 – 336 DR	First son of Belmuth, slain by Ortolar on Gorauna’s orders
Ortolar	305 DR	336 – 337 DR	Second illegitimate son of Ulbaeram, slain by Gorauna
Imbrus I	322 DR	337 – 339 DR	Second son of Belmuth, slain by Gorauna
Regent Rathdar Orlenthar	299 DR	339 – 341 DR	Common-born Regent of the “boy kings”; Artreth, Zoumdan, Imbrus II
Artreth	334 DR	339 – 340 DR	First son of Ortolar, died of Purplethroat Plague
Zoumdan	336 DR	340 DR	Second son of Ortolar, died of Purplethroat Plague
Imbrus II	339 DR	340 – 341 DR	Son of Imbrus I, died of Purplethroat Plague
Q. Meurthe “Mad Meurthe”	318 DR	341 – 344 DR	Granddaughter of Gorauna
Q. Kasplara	329 DR	344 – 345 DR	Grandniece of Gorauna
Jasl “The Royal Jester”	327 DR	345 – 347 DR	Grandnephew of Gorauna
Q. Arathra “The Little Spider”	322 DR	347 – 348 DR	Grandniece of Gorauna
Barander “The Tortured King”	329 DR	348 – 349 DR	Grandnephew of Gorauna, abdicated in favour of Thargreve, thereafter known as “the Scarred Advisor”. Died in 372 DR
Thargreve “The Greater”	334 DR	349 – 360 DR	Son of Meurthe, slayer of Gorauna
Q. Jarissra	345 DR	360 – 369 DR	Niece of Thargreve, Abdicated in favour of her cousin Andilber. Died in 390 DR
Andilber “The Unfortunate”	340 DR	369 – 370 DR	First son of Arathra
Anglond	341 DR	370 – 391 DR	Second son of Arathra
Azoun I “The Crown Prince of Battles”	358 DR	391 – 425 DR	Son and sole heir of Anglond
Duar “Longyears”	385 DR	425 – 480 DR	Son and sole heir of Azoun I, defeated pirate lord Magrath the Minotaur after his first wife’s family; the Turcassans, betrayed the realm
Galaghard I	434 DR	480 – 514 DR	Son and sole heir of Duar from his second wife, only son died late in his reign, and he assumed his son’s identity with the aid of Amedahast’s longevity magics
Galaghard II “Father of the Dark Princes”	469 DR	514 – 554 DR	Actually Galaghard I, three sons rebelled against him and he had them slain, assumed the identity of his third “loyal” son Draxius.
Draxius “The Neverdying”	523 DR	554 – 875 DR	Actually Galaghard I, death of Amedahast saw the end of longevity magics after the longest rule of any monarch
Bryntarth	852 DR	875 – 897 DR	Son and sole heir of Draxius
Galaghard III	873 DR	897 – 953 DR	First son of Bryntarth, defeated the Witch Lords of Wyvernwater
Rhigaerd I “The Mourning King”	895 DR	953 – 982 DR	Betrothed prior to his accession to Princess Aliiya of Impiltur who died in a shipwreck
Bryntarth II	943 DR	982 – 1001 DR	First son of Rhigaerd I
Arangor	979 DR	1001 – 1042 DR	Son and sole heir of Bryntarth II. Thauglorimorgorus was slain during his reign
Azoun II	1001 DR	1042 – 1056 DR	First son of Arangor, died of wounds received restoring the rebellious Arabel to the kingdom.
Proster	1035 DR	1056 – 1122	First son of Azoun II
Baerovus	1092 DR	1122 – 1164 DR	Son and sole heir of Proster
Palaghard I	1126 DR	1164 – 1187 DR	Second son of Baerovus, conqueror of Esparin, took Enchara of Esparin as his wife
Pryntaler	1164 DR	1187 – 1210 DR	Son and sole heir of Palaghard I
Dhalmass “The Warrior King”	1186 DR	1210 DR – 1227 DR	Son and sole heir of Pryntaler. Reconquered Marsember
Palaghard II	1214 DR	1227 – 1261 DR	Son of Dhalmass
Azoun III	1241 DR	1261 – 1275 DR	Son of Palaghard II
Salember “The Rebel Prince”	1246 DR	1275 – 1286 DR	Son of Palaghard II Regent who refused to relinquish the throne to Rhigaerd II
Rhigaerd II	1269 DR	1286 – 1335 DR	Son of Azoun III
Azoun IV	1307 DR	1336 – 1371 DR	Son of Rhigaerd II

The Royal Court

The lifeblood of Cormyr is its leadership. Without it, Cormyr would hardly be the organized entity it is. (Cormyr pg 38)

In Suzail, there are approximately 30 small castles housing noble families. These castles surround the king’s compound, and form an elite city-within-a-city. In addition to these, there is the Royal Court, which is a large structure of interconnected buildings housing visiting nobles from other locales in Cormyr and also some official members of the Royal Court. A noble may have three or more residences: one in the Royal Court, a castle near the king’s, and a residence in another town where he may be the lord.

There are 25 major noble families, and they tend to intermarry. This sometimes complicates the royal lineage. Nearly everyone in the major noble families has some kind of claim to the throne. Should the king and his immediate heirs die suddenly, there would almost certainly be some kind of conflict to decide the rightful heir, despite the fact that meticulous genealogical records are kept. (Cormyr pg 38)

Nobles are born, not made. The exceptions to this are local lords, who are individuals appointed by the king to govern a town or group of towns in the king’s name. (Cormyr pg 38)

The person appointed to this position is usually a member of the noble families and someone the king trusts, but sometimes the appointee is someone the townspeople have recommended or is the leader of the town by default, perhaps after becoming the most influential person in a new town, for example. (This is one way for merchants to become members of the noble class in Cormyr.) (Cormyr pg 38)

A local lord must be a noble. Therefore, upon selecting a local lord, the king grants that person a noble title (if she or he does not already hold one). Regardless of the title or power of the noble, that person is always known as the lord of his or her town. Regardless of whatever power and influence Myrmeen Lhal may gain or lose over the years, she will always be known as the Lord of Arabel until she is no longer in that position. (Note that gender is not revealed by title; women and men are all called Lord.) (Cormyr pg 39)

The king also appoints nobles to various duties within the Royal Court. These are generally government posts. Choicest are the court advisory positions, where a noble has the ear of the king and may actually influence the history of Cormyr through sage wisdom (or, rarely, petty personal goals). (Cormyr pg 39)

When a noble or local lord betrays the confidence of the king or his fellow nobles, he is not stripped of his title. (That would indicate the king made a bad decision in granting the title in the first place, and never let it be said that a king of Cormyr makes such poor decisions.) Instead, that person is sent to fulfil some obscure duty in the king’s name. This is generally some kind of military duty on the frontier, such as wintering in High Horn with the Purple Dragons or seeing to the maintenance of the Imperial Navy in Marsember in the summer.

High Mage: This now defunct title is reminiscent of the name given to the most powerful of elven magic users and was last held by Jorunhast who was exiled in 1286 DR for slaying  King Salember “the Red Dragon”. Jorunhast still holds the title and is believed to survive somewhere outside of Cormyr, but cannot return on pain of death. The position of High Mage has been replaced by the title of Royal Magician.

Lord High Marshal: The Lord High Marshal is head of the entire Purple Dragon army, he reports directly to the King, and is charged with 

Warden of the Eastern Marches: Reports to the High Marshal

The Swords of State

All four blades (Ansrivarr, Symylazarr, Orblyn, Rizzard), when not in use, lie on velvet-covered plinths under crystal domes, each in a separate chamber at the Royal Court in Suzail, and the public can view them without charge. The swords are only displaced from these four great chambers when they are in use or when folk of royal blood have died. (Such nobles are laid in state on the biers normally reserved for the swords.) (Volos Cormyr pg 11)

Visitors are urged to go and see these landmarks. Children go up to the blades on display and whisper their wishes (as do unrequited lovers) to the swords, for legend in Cormyr holds that the blades hear all told to them in confidence and act to aid the truly worthy of heart. (Volos Cormyr pg 11)

Law and Order

Laws and enforcement of them are the basis for Cormyr’s greatness. To a Cormyrean, it was laws, conceived by the king and enforced by his Purple Dragons and other militias, that tamed the wilderness of Cormyr and brought the area under an organized, peaceful existence. (Cormyr pg 37)

The Royal Word

The Royal Word are those laws set by the King that are unalterable except by decree from the King himself (or the Royal Magician)

A number of laws are common throughout Cormyr. Naturally, some of these laws are enforced more than others, and each town differs in its treatment of violators. Some extract fines, others banish miscreants from their midst. (Cormyr pg 37)

• Commoners of both sexes must bow their heads in the presence of royalty (Minor). (Cormyr pg 35, 37)
• Visitors must bow their heads in the presence of a Local Lord (Minor). (Cormyr pg 35, 37)
• Right of Arms: Non-military personnel must carry all weapons openly and those weapons must be tied by “peace strings”. Bearing arms is only allowed by those possessing a Charter of Arms, or a Weapons Licence (Medium). (Cormyr pg 38)
  • Anyone bearing an item clearly a weapon into Cormyr must seek out the nearest Purple Dragon guard post and have these arms inspected and bound with peacestrings. For these purposes, a weapon is any knife larger than a belt blade used for dining, or anything that does harm when swung that can’t be explained away as a wayfarer’s staff or tradesman’s tool. Purple Dragon patrols and passing war wizards are surprisingly frequent, and anyone going armed will be challenged unless their weapons are clearly tied. Being found with an unbound weapon – unless one has just defended one’s life against an armed attacker and has witnesses who can attest to the fact that you didn’t draw steel first – is grounds for arrest on the spot and a sentence of at least confiscation of goods and expulsion from the realm. (Volo Cormyr pg 7)
  • Only persons named in a royal charter of arms (customarily sold to adventurers’ bands for sizable sums of money), bearing a license to sell weapons, able to prove that they belong to the Purple Dragons or the war wizards, or fulfilling other specific circumstances, have the right to bear arms in the realm. Some of the other valid reasons for bearing arms are: if one is of noble Cormyrean birth, if on militia duty, if pursuing weapons practice under the supervision of your local lord, if on a hunt sanctioned by your local lord, if temporarily attending a recognized hunting lodge, or if holding a Crown writ. Outlanders visiting Cormyr can only use the latter two reasons. (Volo Cormyr pg 7)
  • Crown writs are issued to confirm temporary rights to bear arms. For example, one might confirm a person’s status as a noble guest of the realm (such as a visiting envoy from another land), a noble guest’s bodyguard, or a special messenger or agent of the Court. Such persons must either bear the writ with them, a Purple Dragon ring, or a Court token (A Court token is a numbered brass plaque engraved with the Purple Dragon symbol). (Volo Cormyr pg 8)
  • In all cases, records exist to verify issuance of writs, tokens, charters, and the like. Travelers who wish to unlawfully go armed in Cormyr must be very good bluffers or their careers at large won’t be long. Such vigilance by the Purple Dragons and war wizards keeps the realm largely free of casual brigandage. (Volo Cormyr pg 8)
• Everyone must comply to a stop and search request delivered by a member of Cormyr’s armed forces or local militia. (Medium). (Cormyr pg 38)
• Foreign currency may only be traded by those with a Currency Trading Licence (Minor). (Cormyr pg 38)
• Hunting in the King’s Forest may only be performed by those with a Hunting Licence (Minor).
• Hunting of deer in the King’s Forest may only be performed by those with a Stag Hunting Licence (Medium).
• Offences against the Dragon, this applies to all improper depictions of any King or Queen of Cormyr. Lewd, immoral, evil depictions are all classed as improper, and the medium can be anything including literature, paint, sculpture, etc (Minor).
• It is forbidden to unleash magic within the confines of the village known as the Mouth o’ Gargoyles (Severe).
• The searching of the magical refuges of the Sword Heralds by the Crown or its agents is strictly prohibited (Capital).
• Possession of banned substances without a Passage Licence is strictly prohibited (Severe).
• The damming or restriction of water-courses is strictly prohibited except for individuals possessing a Water Management Licence.
• All magic users (excluding apprentices) not currently enrolled in the War Wizards or a Crown sanctioned religious organisation, must register themselves with the Crown – a herald, at Court, or with a Local Lord (Medium, Minor if individual does not know about their abilities).
• Any discovery of objects or coins with a value in excess of 1 gold piece must hand in the discovery at the earliest opportunity to the Local Lord or Court Official in return for a modest remuneration – typically 1 silver piece per kilo of gold (Medium).
• It is forbidden to intentionally harm or allow harm to come to a cat (Minor).
• It is forbidden to lie to a Purple Dragon or War Wizard or other Crown Official (Minor).
• Royal Naming Law: It is an offence to use the “Royal Name” in any derogatory manner (the Royal Name includes the names of any current of previous member of the Royal House of Obarksyr) (Medium).
• Noble Naming Law: It is an offence to name any settlement or place of business after a noble family, noble blazon, specific noble, or local lord, this includes the names of any current or previous members of the above (Medium).
• Place Naming Law: It is an offence to name any settlement or place of business after a settlement, past or present (Minor).
• Duplicate Naming Law: It is an offence to name any place of business after an already existing place of business, this excludes historic places of business that no longer exist.

Court Law

For all disputes and grievances not covered by Crown Law (or in the event of disputes by nobles against Crown Law), Cormyr has created a system known as Court Law.

Court is a formal process whereby one or both parties in the dispute bring the details to the Local Lord of a settlement to adjudicate (with assistance from court magistrates to interpret existing Court and Crown Law). Any decisions made as a result of Court Law are catalogued by the Lord Magistrate (actually his assistants) and stored in the cellars of the Royal Court.

Any appeals against Court Law decisions (a privilege allowed only by nobles or with Crown approval) are taken to the Royal Court in Suzail to be heard by a jury of peers.

Despite Court Law being a separate process to Crown Law, the Local Lords often adjudicate the application of both Crown and Court Law, and decide all punishments.

One of Cormyr’s greatest achievements is its court system. Of all the legal systems of Faerûn, Cormyr’s works the best. Whether or not it is the best system for its subjects is a matter of debate, but the system works as well in practice as it did on paper at its inception. (Cormyr pg 38)

The court system works much like those in other kingdoms. The local lord or noble sits in judgment and sentences violators to punishment. Nobles can demand to be tried by either the king or a jury of their peers (other rulers or senior War Wizards). If they appeal the verdict, the appeal must be to a jury of a dozen commoners chosen personally by the king. (Cormyr pg 38)

However, Cormyr is unusual in two respects. First, the accused is not thought of as guilty or innocent until proven otherwise. Instead, a suspect is required to respond to the charges and the accuser is required to substantiate the charges. Second, there is an appeals process. A land owner (who therefore pays taxes to the king) is entitled to appeal the judgment to a higher position in the chain of legal authority. (Cormyr pg 38)

The heads of militia are most often used as accusers. In small towns, this means the accuser is also the judge. Some towns have a reputation as bad places in which to be charged with serious crimes. (Cormyr pg 38)

The kingdom does not provide the accused with any facilities. The accused is responsible for making his case to the judge and persuading him that he should be found not guilty. (Cormyr pg 38)

Punishment

Crown Law is strictly stratified into a range of severity for individual offences; Minor, Medium, Severe, Capital

Minor offences are punished with fines, confiscation of property, and more rarely with imprisonment for up to 1 day.

Medium offences are punished with loss of licences, confiscation of wealth and property (in punitive proportions) and imprisonment for up to a year

Severe offences are punished with maiming, hard labour for up to 5 years, confiscation of all wealth and property, loss of titles. Hard labour usually involves chain-gang roadwork in the West Reaches, more specifically maintaining roads west of High Horn in the Stormhorn Mountains that suffer much erosion because of the storms.

Capital offences are usually punished with death, but this can be mitigated to exile or a lifetime of hard labour or in very rare cases the amputation of all limbs (including eyes, ears, and tongue).

Repeat offences can result in punishment being applied at the next level of severity, at the discretion of the Local Lord

Licences

Crown Law forbids many activities in a blanket ban that applies to all (hunting, bearing of arms, selling weapons, trading in foreign currency, etc. The Crown gathers a substantial source of revenue from the sale of licences that allow individuals or organisations exemption from specific Crown Laws.

Charter of Arms: This licence is otherwise known as the Adventurer’s Charter, for it allows an individual or small group of individuals as named on the charter, to bear arms and operate within the boundaries of Cormyr without fear of prosecution.

All members of an adventuring group must be declared on the Charter of Arms (new members can be added to the Charter by a Local Lord or Court Official with the agreement of an existing member on the Charter). Membership of an adventuring group on the Charter of Arms is limited to 30, although few Charters will be granted for groups in excess of 12 members.

Members of the Charter are required to report all hazards to the Crown. The chartered group can be drafted by the Crown to perform any service required, failure to heed the summons will result in the group being refused its Charter at the next renewal.

A Charter of Arms must be renewed annually in the presence of a Local Lord or Court Official.

A Charter of Arms permits members of the group to represent in full armament, explore ancient and abandoned places and retrieve the riches therein which are excluded from the normal laws of salvage.

Without a charter, adventurers can be apprehended by any force representing the king, including the Purple Dragons, the War Wizards, and local militia. Given the peaceful nature of Cormyr and the power of these forces, it behoves a group of adventurers to register their names and obtain a charter. This may be done through the Lord Commander at High Horn, the Warden of the Eastern Marches in Arabel (Baron Thomdor), or the Chancellor or Lord High Marshal at the Royal Court in Suzail, as well as the king. (Cormyr pg 61)

An adventuring band must disclose its members’ names and its number in the charter. This makes adding members to the group especially difficult, so those who apply for a charter should be confident of their group’s integrity before application. If someone is added, the group must make sure that the new member’s name is recorded in Suzail. Records of charters are updated on a monthly basis. Regardless, a group cannot number more than 30. Once a group is chartered, members must wear the group’s badge or coat of arms at all times. (Cormyr pg 61)

Charters cost 1,000 golden lions, with an annual tax of 300 golden lions due on the anniversary of the signing of the charter. There is a late fee of 20 golden lions accrued per day for up to 10 days. If the tax is not paid, and the late fees are not paid by 10 days past the due date, the charter is revoked.

Having its charter revoked does not merely mean the band is barred from adventuring within Cormyr, but also that the group has decided to oppose the crown by wilfully refusing to renew the charter. The group is considered outlaw, and a warrant is issued for members’ arrest and detention. Once arrested, the group can still pay the overdue tax and late fees. If the members do pay, their charter will be reinstated and the group may resume its activities. Otherwise, the charter is revoked permanently, and the group may not assemble while Exploration wearing weapons. (Cormyr pg 61)

Cormyr has a keen interest in keeping close tabs on those who walk the countryside bearing arms and who seemingly have no higher purpose than to merely seek adventure, which is a formula for unrest and chaotic behaviour if there ever was one. The Purple Dragons generally dislike adventurers because of the disruptions they cause the peaceable Cormyreans. (Cormyr pg 62)

Anyone with the power to issue a charter can revoke one at any time for any reason. Should a member of a given group commit a crime, that person is automatically removed from the list of registered names on the charter. (Cormyr pg 62)

The charter gives the adventurers the right only to bear arms, not the right to conduct them-selves in an uncivilized manner. (Cormyr pg 62)

A Charter of Arms costs as little as 2,500 pieces of gold per person for a seven-day battle pass, or 3,000 gp per head for the more usual tenday pass, and upward from there. A permanent adventuring band charter can cost 25,000 gp or more. A band of six persons or less is considered a fellowship and is charged only 1,000 gp for a charter, plus an annual tax of 300 gp. The first year’s tax must by paid upon receipt of the charter. (Volo Cormyr pg 7)

Currency Trading Licence: Allows the individual or organisation (and those employees of that organisation) to trade specified foreign currencies with foreign nationals that are believed to be in Cormyr on a temporary basis (merchants and caravans, etc).

Hunting Licence: Allows the individual or group of individuals to hunt a quota of small animals (excluding deer, stag, and all exotic beasts), within the confines of the King’s Forest for a defined period of time as specified on the licence. These licences are often granted to entire settlements laying within the confines of the King’s Forest, allowing all residents of said settlement to hunt a reasonable number of animals (to provide sustenance) for an indefinite period of time. Licences can otherwise be bought by those wishing to go on hunting expeditions into the forest.

Land Licence: Allows the named individual or group of individuals or organisation to own a specified area of land for a defined period of time. These licences can be hereditary (but usually not) and the terms of inheritance are strictly defined (patri or matrilineal, primo or ultimogeniture).

Logging Licence: Allows the individual to fell a specified number of trees from a specified area within the King’s Forest.

Marriage Licence: Allows the named individuals to form a cooperative partnership including the equal sharing of assets and responsibility.

Passage Licence: Allows the individual or organisation (and those employees of that organisation) to transport banned or controlled items (as specified by the licence and including things like poison, dangerous animals, weapons, foreign currency, smoke powder, alcohol, medicines, etc). All items must be transported in secured containers. The licence specifies the number of containers allowed to be transported by the licence, and the place of origin and place of destination as well as the rate per container. This licence is typically issued from the place of origin and destroyed by officials at the place of destination (after an inspection to ensure the terms of the licence have been complied with).

The most common application of the Passage Licence is on alcohol, and as a result it is often known as “the Barrel Tax”, in which it is charged at 1 copper piece per barrel. Brewers that attempt to bypass the Barrel Tax by using their own home or brewery as an inn or tavern are soon visited by Crown Officials and advised to pay the Barrel Tax or face further “inspections”.

A passage license can also be had for the transportation of weaponry in bulk through Cormyr that is not for use or for sale within the realm. This typically costs 25 gp per chest or crate; all weapons must be enclosed in locked containers. The authorities affix foil seals stamped with the Purple Dragon across all seams of such containers. If these are found to be broken when another border is crossed, the fine is 100 gp per container, plus forfeiture of whatever’s in the container! Of course, replacement foil seals can be bought from many Cormyreans who aren’t part of the government. In Marsember, especially, every street seems to house one or more such morally adventuresome individuals. (Volos Cormyr pg 10)

It should be noted that the passage of arms through the realm represents a threat to the security of Cormyr. What if a thousand Zhent caravans were to show up carrying weapons cargoes, gather in defensible locales within Cormyr, break open their arms all at once, and launch an attack on the Forest Kingdom from within? Because of the security risk that arms transport represents, Purple Dragon patrols and war wizards employing wizard eye spells keep more or less constant watch on the holders of passage licenses. (Volos Cormyr pg 10)

Smithing Licence: Allows the individual or organisation (and those employees of that organisation) to produce manufactured goods from base metals. The licence specifies the types of goods permitted to be manufactured (i.e. decorative, miscellaneous, arms and armour, etc).

Smiths in Cormyr must themselves be licensed. They must also account for the usage of the metal that they procure to ensure that arms aren’t made covertly within the borders of the realm and cached for use by brigands, rebels, or agents loyal to another land who enter the Forest Kingdom. Those applying for a smith license must prove residency within Cormyr; seek the sponsorship of a local lord, who will assign regular Purple Dragon patrols to check on the smith’s whereabouts and doings; and pay 600 gp a year. The first year’s fee must be paid up front.

Stag Hunting Licence: Allows the named individual to hunt a defined number of deer and stag (including pregnant and young deer) within the confines of the King’s Forest for a defined period of time as specified on the licence. Licence costs range from 10,000 to 100,000 gold pieces at a rate of 1,000 gold pieces per day.

Trade Fair Licence: Allows the individual access to a trade fair. Typically issued at the site of entry to an official Trade Fair and costs vary from 1 copper piece to 1 silver piece (for those trade fairs in Suzail).

Citizens of Cormyr must pay many other licenses and taxes of small amounts. The traveller can safely ignore these, except the ones that serve as admission to a trade fair or facility. (Volos Cormyr pg 10)

Water Management Licence: Allows the named individual or organisation (and those employees of that organisation) to modify waterways, including damming, redirection, and restriction. These licences are typically required for those wishing to operate a mill.

Weapons Licence: Allows the named individual or organisation (and those employees of that organisation) to bear arms within a specified location or locations for the purposes of selling those arms to customers providing said customers are in possession of a Charter of Arms or are representatives of the Crown. (Volos Cormyr pg 7)

A license that proclaims you are a Cormyrean sword merchant. These can be had from any local lord in the usual way of course, for a fee of 4,000 gp and an annual renewal charge of 2,000 gp first due at the next Greengrass. The approval process involves very slow and very thorough investigations of one’s mind, past, and present doings by any number of nosy war wizards. (Volos Cormyr pg 9)

Criminal Activities

Peacestrings: This is not to say one can’t find folk who retie peacestrings in the secret knots used by Purple Dragons, but only wizards able to magically read thoughts can get away with doing so for long. The customary way of contacting such dark mages is to buy a drink in a tavern, letting the tavernmaster see a cord, hair, or straw tied around your finger. You’ll be covertly probed to be sure you aren’t a mage and questioned to force your thoughts into revealing any status as an agent of the Crown. If you’re deemed safe, a fee of at least 500 gp must be paid when contact with the mage is finally made. For those not partial to their weapons, a simpler solution is to toss the offending items down a well or privy hole and, if questioned, claim they were stolen. (Volos Cormyr pg 8)

False Licences:

A false license can also be had from the man who grows an extra eye and appears only on misty nights at the end of random piers in Marsember (Probably a doppleganger. It’s said he works for a powerful mage. Some whisper he serves Ildool, the local lord, whose corruption surpasses the double-dealing of even Sembian merchants), from a certain Suzailan professional escort to whom you must whisper the name “Sharanne” when you’re in private, or from a serpent-headed man in the taproom of the World Serpent Inn in Arabel (The World Serpent is an establishment that can be found only by those who know how to enter it; everyone else steps into a run-down tavern called the Wild Goose when they stride through the door.) Purple Dragons have tried to slay or apprehend the snake-man on several occasions, but he commands transposition magic allowing him to switch his body with that of a beholder! (Volos Cormyr pg 9)

From any of these individuals – and probably others in Tilverton and Wheloon as well as several ambitious forgers in Suzail – one can get a license to sell weapons for 600 to 900 gp. Bargain shrewdly – those willing to perform a shady service or two for these vendors can get their desired document for a greatly reduced price (Volos Cormyr pg 9)

Military

The land has been officially at peace for many years, since Rhigaerd overthrew the last of the border raiders. However, Cormyrian forces have taken part in many actions in nearby regions, and the nation has recently mustered its forces to occupy Tilverton on the marches of the Dalelands and to lead a crusade against the great Tuigan Hordes invading the Realms from the East. One wit has noted, Yes, the land is at peace, but the army has to keep busy. (Cormyr pg 33)

In addition to major actions, Cormyrian patrols often skirmish with bandits on the roads in the north and west and are at present battling orcs and other creatures north and east of Cormyr, in Tilver’s Gap and Shadow Gap. Both of these areas are threatened by evil raiders who will menace Cormyr itself if they ever overrun Tilverton. Cormyr has built a fortress, Castle Crag, to defend the kingdom against attacks from that quarter, and maintains the High Horn to protect against attacks from the West. (Cormyr pg 33)

To enforce the royal word, Cormyr maintains a large standing army, which has increased dramatically in the last decade. There are more than 12,000 Purple Dragons (so-called because of their banner) garrisoned in the major cities and fortifications. A 25-ship Imperial Navy patrols the Lake of Dragons, the Palace Guard numbers 150 trained elite warriors, and the nation maintains a mounted force of 500 warriors trained in sword and bow, led by 30 knights out of the Royal Court. Most of these elite units are veterans of the Crusade against the Horde, and are members of the Order of the Golden Way, a military award commemorating those battles. But the most deadly unit in the army is the feared War Wizards, a unit of magicians recognizable by their black-and-purple robes (Cormyr pg 55)

The Lord High Marshal of the Kingdom, Duke Bhereu, commands the king’s standing army. (Cormyr pg 55)

Senior Battlemasters: Generals of Cormyr (Volos Cormyr pg 237)

Purple Dragons

The Purple Dragons are the standing army of Cormyr, paid for by the Royal House of Obarskyr, allowing them a greater degree of power and security than in other realms of Faerun.

Purple Dragons are stationed at every settlement of sufficient size, and various castles and Purple Dragon outposts throughout Cormyr, they also patrol the roads and countryside of Cormyr to keep down the number of bandit groups and monster infestations. When not at war, the Purple Dragons act as a permanent (and well paid) police force, border control, and prison guards.

Adventurers: Associated with keeping the peace within Cormyr is monitoring the lawless freeswords to make sure they start no trouble. (Cormyr pg 57)

The Purple Dragons are particularly watchful of groups of people who wander the countryside with their own weapons and agendas. Groups of adventurers are perhaps the most dangerous, for they have their own missions, are often from distant lands, and almost always care little for the wellbeing of Cormyr. (Cormyr pg 57)

The custom of tying a cord to one’s sword hilt and scabbard is actually a law enforced by the Purple Dragons. Should the Purple Dragons spot anyone bearing weapons that aren’t peacebonded, they will stop such people and inform them of Cormyr’s custom. If the armed individuals have been hired by a company that is authorized to hire mercenaries, they may carry unbonded weapons but must display proof of their employment and employer (usually a scroll bearing the mark of the company and the number of individuals hired as a group, and the name of the group leader). (Cormyr pg 57)

The Purple Dragons are authorized to imprison violators and seize their goods. Note that chartered adventurers are allowed to bear unbonded weapons in Cormyr. (See p. 63 for more information.) (Cormyr pg 57)

History: The Purple Dragons as a name has a long history within Cormyr. The first Purple Dragons were the battle companies of King Duar that helped him to defeat Magrath the Mighty and restore Cormyr to the Obarskyrs. At that time (and until 900 DR) there was no standing military force of Cormyr and each noble house was expected to defend and police his own estates. In times of war or national crisis, the nobility were expected to provide towards the creation of an army, and almost without exception, every noble house opted to provide funds towards the hiring of military forces by the Crown (which in the early years did so from Impiltur due to familial connections). (Ed Greenwood confirmed that the Purple Dragon name is inspired by King Duar’s band and that mercenaries were hired by the crown with funds provided by the nobility until 900 DR)

It wasn’t until 900 DR when the nation of Cormyr was threatened with destruction at the hands of the Witch Lords, that the Purple Dragons, as they are known today, were created as a standing military force to police and defend the entire nation. Normally such a force would have met with strong opposition from every noble house in Cormyr, but at the time the nation itself was in danger and no one noble house could field an army big enough to defeat the Witch Lords. (Ed Greenwood confirmed that the Purple Dragon army was created to combat the Witch Lords)

Peace Keepers: An important function of the Purple Dragons is to ensure peace throughout the kingdom. (Cormyr pg 57)

This means keeping the interior of Cormyr safe from raiding parties so a merchant company or farmer may travel in safety and return home with profits intact. (Cormyr pg 57)

To this end the Purple Dragons have been very successful. Certainly, the Purple Dragons cannot be everywhere at once, and there is always the threat of a random bandit attack somewhere in Cormyr, but the kingdom does have the reputation of offering safe overall travel. (Cormyr pg 57)

The Purple Dragons are also charged with preventing internal insurrection. There has been only one instance when the Purple Dragons were needed to quell an insurrection, when they put down the revolt by Gondegal without bloodshed. (Cormyr pg 57)

Powers: Purple Dragons have the power to stop and search anyone suspected of a crime, it is illegal to refuse this search. Purple Dragons can arrest anyone they have evidence of committing a breach of the Royal Word, detaining them in the gaol beneath every Purple Dragon barracks, where they will be held until dealt with by the Local Lord and Magistrate.

Purple Dragons are not allowed to fine people for breaching the Royal Word or Local Laws, such fines must be collected by the Local Lord or one of his representatives in the presence of the Magistrate. However, Purple Dragons are often used to collect the fees for certain licences (Tradefair Licences being the most common).

Ranks: The Purple Dragons have the following ranks from lowest to highest; Blade (Private), Telsword otherwise known just as Sword (Corporal), First Sword (Sergeant), Sword Captain (Lieutenant), Lionar (Captain), Ornrion (Major), Constal (Colonel), Oversword (Major General), Battlemaster (Lieutenant General), Lord High Marshal (General). The Lord High Marshal is a Court title and is appointed by the King himself.

Retirement: Purple Dragons that fulfil their term of service (standard is 10 years), retire with full honours, a piece of land (usually in the northern edge of the East Reaches), and a monthly pension totalling 10 silver pieces per rank.

Purple Dragons that are forced to retire due to injury receive a monthly pension equal to 1 silver piece per rank, but are given lodgings at the fortress of Daunthers near Gladehap. In times of need the Grey Dragons (with their wheeled chairs and crutches) are often deployed to the field to act as a rear guard or to defend key locations far from the battlefront.

Purple Dragons that are forced to retire due to an incurable illness are given a permanent home (forcibly if necessary) at Thulser’s Lodge in the King’s Forest east of the Mouth O’ Gargoyles. The Green Dragons are only deployed to the field as a last resort when the entire country is in danger and willingly go on suicide missions or form the vanguard of any charge.

Tactics: Throughout Cormyr’s history, the army has fought few pitched battles. Historically, the Purple Dragons fight using guerrilla warfare tactics, making quick strikes at sensitive enemy areas or concentrations and moving quickly to another location. (Cormyr pg 55)

Many of the Purple Dragons’ adversaries use similar tactics. Duke Bhereu firmly believes in keeping his forces as mobile as possible to prevent his men from being ambushed or otherwise outflanked. Duke Bhereu sees a standing army that fights with old ways of prearranged fields of battle and lines of men carefully organized to face each other to be an invitation for disaster. (Cormyr pg 55)

Before Bhereu had established his reputation, his tactics were called into question as less than honourable. The results of the tactics the benefits of the low casualty rate and the efficiency and quickness of achieving objectives have quelled all rumblings about conforming to age-old rules of war. (Cormyr pg 55)

Blue Dragons

The Blue Dragons are the naval arm of the Purple Dragons, they have 2,500 personnel at their disposal and a total of 14 ships with which to guard the northern shore of the Dragonmere, these include a number of galleys, as well as smaller “runners”.

The Blue Dragons are considered part of the Purple Dragons, subject to all the same rules, ranks, and chain of command. Purple Dragons assigned to the Blue Dragons are expected to regularly participate in the same training exercises as other Purple Dragon units. Early in its history, rebels from Marsember attempted to hijack the loyalties of the Blue Dragons and as a result the Crown has always been careful to keep the two arms of the military closely integrated. (Ed Greenwood confirmed)

The Imperial Navy’s primary duty is to protect Cormyrean ships sailing through the Lake of Dragons to and from The Neck, the narrows that connects Cormyr with other parts of the world through this lake. (Cormyr pg 58)

Trading in spices and other goods is quite productive for Cormyr and certainly well worth the investment in ship construction and sailing. To protect such shipping from pirates, Cormyr has stationed 12 warships in its busiest port, Marsember. At any one time, there are more warships docked in Suzail, but most of these ships are there to protect noble families or the king personally. (Cormyr pg 58)

Patrolling along the coast of the lake is the most common mission for the Imperial Navy. Ayesunder Truesilver is the commander of these forces and is generally regarded as the head of the Cormyrean Navy. He has constantly lobbied the king for more ships and sea warriors so that he may patrol the lake more efficiently. Unfortunately, the king’s military attentions have been with the Stonelands and the Goblin Marches. (Cormyr pg 58)

Crown of Cormyr: The flagship of the fleet is also the largest, it is equipped with ballistae and fire pot hurler, however it is not a warship and is instead used to carry the Royal House of Obarskyr whenever it needs to travel by boat. (Volos Cormyr pg 16)

Dragon: The largest warship in the fleet, this galley is equipped with a large number of ballistae and fire pot hurlers. (Volos Cormyr pg 16)

Blade of Espar: A runner, used to patrols the Neck of the Dragonmere and combat pirates (Volos Cormyr pg 16)

Lance of Wheloon: A runner, used to patrols the Neck of the Dragonmere and combat pirates (Volos Cormyr pg 16)

High Knights

Jostlyn Huntsilver, Asbras Orthwood, Baeryn Dauntinghorn, Albryn Emmarask, Ilbreth Truesilver, Indyn Thundersword, Roedele Thornmantle, and Glarasteer Rhauligan.

Senior High Knights include “The Hawk” (a grizzled old veteran), and the “Seller of Cloaks” (a thin, wrinkled, homely, old woman), “Blackblade” (an accomplished assassin), at least one high ranking noble.

Regions

Stonelands

The most significant threat to Cormyr’s borders comes from the Stonelands, an area of rocky land, craggy valleys, plateaus, and other confusing and hostile terrain. This topography makes for ideal hiding places for bandits, monsters, and other nefarious beings. (Cormyr pg 56)

Raiders from the Stonelands have been harassing Cormyte interests for decades. In particular danger are caravans that travel the road between Tilverton and Castle Crag. (Cormyr pg 56)

The garrison in Castle Crag guards the Gnoll Pass from border raiders coming from the Goblin Marches but can do little to protect traffic on the Moonsea Ride. (Cormyr pg 56)

Cormyr occupied Tilverton in 1357 DR, declared Tilverton a protectorate, and stationed 850 Purple Dragons there. (Cormyr pg 56)

These troops now regularly conduct patrols into the Stonelands in an effort to clear the region of monsters and bandits. Thus far, the results have been mixed. There are still raids on caravans and there are still reports of monster strongholds within the Stonelands, but there is no doubt that organized bandit activity has substantially decreased. This may change in the future, however, as the Zhentarim and others attempt to organize criminal elements within the Stonelands against the Purple Dragons. (Cormyr pg 56)

Goblin Marches

This area to the north of Cormyr has been a threat to Cormyte security since the beginnings of the kingdom. Today, the Goblin Marches are a shadow of the threat they once were. (Cormyr pg 56)

Long ago, the marches were filled with the troops of an organized goblin empire that conducted regular raids as far south as Suzail, then a nearly defenceless cluster of buildings. (Cormyr pg 56)

As Cormyr grew, it became more effective at repelling goblin raids. With the creation of Castle Crag, Cormyr put an end to goblin raids farther south into Cormyr. Castle Crag became the most important military location in Cormyr. (Cormyr pg 56)

Over time, the Anauroch Desert grew, disrupting life in the goblin empire. The empire began to break up, and factions migrated to other regions or generally dissipated. As the goblin threat waned, so did Castle Crag’s importance. (Cormyr pg 57)

Castle Crag still stands sentinel against raids by goblin or other demihuman bands. There are approximately 500 Purple Dragons and a detachment of War Wizards at the castle. (Cormyr pg 57)

This force has prevented the progress of any goblin tribe to date, but there are troubles on the horizon for Crag. The Zhentarim are recruiting goblin bands into Zhentarim service against other Goblin Marches tribes and raiding parties. Should this army become powerful and organized enough, it would pose a serious threat to Cormyr. (Cormyr pg 57)

High Horn

Border raiders were once a constant problem. They would sweep in from the west, through a pass in the Stormhorn Mountains, and raid towns like Tyrluk, Eveningstar, and even Arabel. (Cormyr pg 57)

High Horn was built to prevent such raids. It is a massive complex of walls and buildings that can house half of Cormyr’s standing army. Approximately 400 Purple Dragons are stationed there in addition to War Wizards and other miscellaneous forces. (Cormyr pg 57)

Since the founding of High Horn, border raids through the Stormhorns have all but stopped. (Cormyr pg 57)

Hullack Forest

The Purple Dragons are charged with major responsibility for clearing the forest and ridding the area of monsters. Once this is done, the people of Cormyr will be able to safely lumber the forest and use its resources. Of course, Hullack Forest is large, and the Purple Dragons are not expected to clear the entire area, but they are charged with clearing enough land each year to allow Cormyr to use some part of the forest’s resources. (Cormyr pg 58)

The Purple Dragons are not alone in this endeavour. A number of merchant companies are interested in finding their own sources of fresh lumber. These companies have hired adventurers to clear specific areas of monster infestation. (Cormyr pg 58)

War Wizards

From the founding of the kingdom, mages have been important to Cormyr, in warfare and other matters as well. Mages most loyal to the crown sign an agreement with the king and make a secret oath that involves a geas spell, thus becoming War Wizards. These mages are an integral part of Cormyr’s army, and they are respected and feared across the land. (Cormyr pg 59)

Only Vangerdahast, Royal Magician and Chairman Emeritus of the College of War Wizards, knows how many there are. As their leader, he chairs War Wizards meetings. In his absence, Laspeera (NG hf W14) stands in. (Cormyr pg 59)

Besides those two, the most well-known War Wizard is Maxer (NG hm W (In) 11), who defeated four dragons attacking Suzail, earning the honorary title Defender of Suzail from King Azoun. (Cormyr pg 59)

Also widely known is Valantha Shimmerstar (CG hf W13), who has gained both fame and notoriety, not through military exploits, but with her beautiful singing and her propensity for mischief at festivals and other gatherings. (Cormyr pg 59)

Vangerdahast carefully monitors the activities of all mages in Cormyr. Every mage from thaumaturgist (5th level) up must register with the crown. (Cormyr pg 59)

Registration means reporting your name, sigil, abode, and whereabouts to Vangerdahast. He keeps an enormous library of names of mages residing in Cormyr and is diligent about keeping those lists current, even when the mages might forget to update their registrations. Vangerdahast has an information network of spies, both magical and not, to keep tabs on the most powerful of wizards. (Cormyr pg 59)

To check the accuracy of his information, Vangerdahast makes surprise visits on powerful mages. This sometimes comes as a shock to senior magicians who have retired to a reclusive life and had no intention of trying to keep secrets from the royal magician. (Cormyr pg 60)

The possibility of such visits has proven to be an effective deterrent to wizards who might put their own interests ahead of Cormyr’s. (Cormyr pg 60)

Local Militia

Each town, no matter how small, has a militia force responsible for keeping the peace and for emergency defence against outside attacks. (Cormyr pg 58)

Each militia banner is half Purple Dragon and half the town’s own banner, divided per fess (vertically). Normally, the lord of the town commands its militia. (Cormyr pg 58)

An unusual aspect of Cormyrean militias is that most require that their members know how to read. Writing is optional, but each militiaman must be able to read bulletins, orders, and the like from their local lord and commanders. In addition, there is always at least one person who can write in any detachment of militia that leaves the town. (Cormyr pg 58)

Adventurers and unregistered adventuring companies are a substantial threat to small towns. To prevent damage and trouble from lawless behaviour, virtually every town in Cormyr has at least one militiaman at the border of the town. This person, usually referred to as an Introducer, is responsible for introducing the town and its laws to those who cannot read. The Introducer also makes it clear that raucous behaviour causing damage to property (whether deliberate or accidental) will result in imprisonment and fines. (Cormyr pg 58)

Within the town, militiamen patrol the streets, keeping a special watch on the main cause of trouble: travellers passing through town. Perhaps the worst thing an adventuring group or company can do is to bring hostile forces to the town. (Cormyr pg 58)

When faced with this situation, militias typically impress the adventurers into service to defend the town. The militia then assigns the adventurers the most dangerous task to minimize local casualties. (Cormyr pg 58)

Sometimes a village has the luck of having a resident mage. Such individuals, especially those that possess combative magics or powers, are automatically considered a part of the militia. War Wizards who have retired to pursue their own goals are typical examples of a town wizard. There are a surprising number of these, and even the smallest hamlet may have a powerful wizard somewhere about. (Cormyr pg 58)

Religion

Torm: Torm the True is a popular faith among the youthful nobles of Cormyr. There is a shrine to Torm in every Purple Dragon garrison, a modest temple in Suzail, with shrines in other major settlements like Arabel and Marsember. Many nobles make a show of paying homage at the shrines of Torm, but the truly pious have their own shrines at their home.

Tyr: Tyr is one of the major faiths in Cormyr.

There is a much more ancient sect of worshippers within Cormyr (particularly among the nobility) that follow Iltyr “the Blind but All-Seeing”, which is represented by a huge, floating, black, weeping eye without iris, pupil, or sclera (and often with an almost indistinguishable prehensile tail in the background). This sect is believed to have originated along the Dragon Coast before the fall of Jhaamdath.

Magic

There are no schools of wizardry and magic in Cormyr, instead all wizards are trained as part of an apprenticeship to other wizards.

When an apprentice finishes his apprenticeship, he may be approached by the War Wizards if he meets the strict requirements set by Vangerdahast, and if he passes the tests.

Every noble house wizard is either a War Wizard or is being monitored by a War Wizard.

Down through the centuries, Cormyr’s pastoral beauty has been embraced by hundreds of powerful wizards. Their cottages and small mage towers – or their ruins – stand amid the trees on many a side lane or wooded trail in the realm. Vangerdahast frowns severely on mages who kidnap or experiment on local beasts and beings, but other wizards are left alone so long as they don’t work against the Crown. (In the past, many nobles hired penniless wizards to assist in attempts to overthrow the Obarskyrs.) (Volos Cormyr pg 231)

Attitudes to Magic: Because of their important role in the defence of Cormyr, mages command great respect and admiration among the populace. But because of their great power and its mysteriousness to the commoner, the War Wizards and other magicians also inspire considerable fear across the land. (Cormyr pg 60)

If the Council of Mages can police their own War Wizards and rogue mages and turn the tides of battle, what are the limits of their powers? (Cormyr pg 60)

Even though the Council of Mages is watching everyone else, who is watching the council? And what is to prevent a more powerful group of mages from coming to Cormyr and destroying the council? (Cormyr pg 60)

These scenarios breed the fear that mages might become the next rulers of Cormyr. Some fear that mages will grow discontented with their advisory and support roles and decide to take a more direct hand in leadership. (Cormyr pg 60)

Also, if there is anything that draws out powerful adversaries, it’s a mage. Woe to the community that harbours a mage who is attacked by an eldritch power. (Cormyr pg 60)

A final fear is mages’ tendency to apparently preserve their bodies. Have you ever noticed that some of them don’t seem to age at all? is a common remark. Some people fear that the use of magic upsets the natural balance in a person’s body and mind. (Cormyr pg 60)

Council of Mages

Vangerdahast heads the famous Council of Mages, a group that advises the king on matters pertaining to magic and magical threats within the kingdom. The king also sometimes calls on the council to research a particular question and find information the king needs to make a decision. (Cormyr pg 60)

History: The Council of Mages had its start in the beginning of Cormyr itself. When Suzail and nearby communities were establishing themselves as a cohesive group, they were hampered by continual attacks from all manner of creatures that would come out of what’s now known as the King’s Forest. (Cormyr pg 60)

Men-at-arms were not sufficient protection. The nascent Cormyr needed the help of magic to combat these beasts. (Cormyr pg 60)

All known mages were then assembled, and they devised a plan of attack using magic only, no foot soldiers at all. Their efforts were successful, and the group of mages became known as the War Wizards, a permanent component of Cormyr. (Cormyr pg 60)

The War Wizards were called upon to perform more duties for Cormyr. These included creating magical items for the king, conducting research, and assisting with various healing spells. There were also frequent combat duties. Therefore, the collection of mages was split into two groups, the Council of Mages and the War Wizards. (Cormyr pg 60)

Today the two are essentially known as one group, but Vangerdahast and his aides are known as the Council of Mages because they rarely fight anything directly other than rogue mages or supremely powerful monsters or threats. War Wizard is a term used for the mages who fight alongside the Purple Dragons, defending the interests of the crown on a daily basis. (Cormyr pg 60)

Wards

Without a doubt some of the nobles, powerful mages, and wealthy merchants of Cormyr have wards. Wards are magical defences that act only on beings who don’t possess a token allowing free passage or who try to pass them in an unapproved manner. The wards put in place by the rich and powerful citizens of Cormyr have a wide variety of effects, and these wards aren’t dealt with here. The Crown of Cormyr, however, employs three standard types of wards throughout the realm – the ring ward, cloak ward, and full ward – and these are detailed here. The spells such wards are based on are akin to the 7th-level wizard spell wardmist, detailed in previous guidebooks in this series. The spells, however, are state secrets of Cormyr and so don’t appear here. (Volos Cormyr pg 232)

Ring Ward: The weakest type of ward is known as a ring ward because a Purple Dragon ring permits passage through it, as do all the pass tokens listed hereafter for the more powerful wards. If unauthorized beings try to pass this sort of ward, they receive a mild energy shock. This shock is designed to turn aside birds, snakes, cattle, and other unintelligent life, and it does deals 1 point of damage to any character failing a saving throw vs. spell. Unauthorized contact with the ward triggers an alarm in the form of a light or a sound, as determined when the ward was created. The ward also blocks the passage of all spells of 3rd level or lower, absorbing their energies. Thus, a wizard employing a fly spell who penetrates a ward – such as those around the towers of the Palace of the Purple Dragon in Suzail – loses the ability of flight and falls. (Volos Cormyr pg 233)

Cloak Ward: The middle type of ward is called a cloak ward because a war wizard cloak permits passage through it, as do a commander’s ring and a passagestone (but not a Purple Dragon ring). Unauthorized contact with a cloak ward has the same effects as disturbing a ring ward. In addition, any intruding creatures must make two additional saving throws, one vs. spell and one vs. paralyzation. (Volos Cormyr pg 233)

If the saving throws vs. spell fail, intruders are chilled for 6d6 points of damage (similar to the damage of a wand of frost, treating all 1s rolled as 2s). If these saving throws succeed, only half damage is inflicted. If the saving throws vs. paralyzation fail, creatures are also stunned for 1d2 rounds, reeling and unable to think or act voluntarily. Note that stunned creatures normally remain in the ward, suffering the 6d6 points of chilling damage again on the rounds in which they are stunned. If the saving throws vs. paralyzation succeed, intruders suffer no stun effects. (Volos Cormyr pg 233)

Undead intruders must also make these two saving throws. If both fail, they are disrupted (destroyed utterly). If only one fails, undead intruders sustain 5d4 points of damage. If both succeed, these undead pass through the ward with no ill effects. (Volos Cormyr pg 233)

Full Ward: The strongest type of ward is the full ward. These wards vary in specific powers, but all full wards can be passed through by means of a commander’s ring or a passagestone but not a Purple Dragon ring or a war wizard cloak. (Volos Cormyr pg 233)

The effects of violating a full ward combine the harmful and warning effects of both lesser types of wards, plus the invisible full ward has a soft outer edge about 3 feet in depth that hardens into a barrier akin to a wall of force. This inner portion of the ward also acts a ring of spell turning on all magic that comes into contact with it. (Volos Cormyr pg 233)

In some full wards, such as one encircling the royal bedchambers in the palace in Suzail, the solid innermost portion manifests only when one is going in, and it doesn’t exist to someone exiting the warded area. In others, such as the ones around all Purple Dragon armouries, it is absolute in both directions. (Volos Cormyr pg 233)

Dragon Ward: It has long been rumoured that the Obarskyr family has a private refuge where its greatest treasures are stored that is guarded by something called a dragon ward. The dragon ward supposedly unleashes magic akin to dragon breath attacks, and like dragon breath it can lash out for a great distance down passages, permitting no one to elude the effects. But, as of this writing, such rumours remain unconfirmed. (Volos Cormyr pg 232)

Important Sites

The Coast: The Coast region of Cormyr stretches from the Starwater River to the Vast Swamp including everything south of the Wyvernwater and the Way of the Manticore. The land here is lightly settled between the major settlements and the soil is rich and deep and owned (and farmed) mostly by independent Cormyrean citizens (unlike the Heartlands where most of the land is owned by the nobility).

Darkflow River: This river, along with the Vast Swamp, marks the far eastern edge of Cormyr, and the border with Sembia. The Vast Swamp drains into the Darkflow River, and as a result this river is just as contaminated as the swamp, its waters are black with sediment, its taste is bad, and it smells foul.

The river acts as a natural border between Cormyr and Sembia, not only because of its geographical location, but also because the waters hide many evil creatures and so no army could cross the waters of the Darkflow without coming under attack from creatures in the river or from the nearby swamp.

Daunthers: About 10 miles due east of Gladehap is a large fortress surrounded by farms where those Purple Dragons injured in the line of duty are sent to rest and recuperate, and if permanently disabled they have a home here for life.

Daunthers is run like a real Purple Dragon fortress, but with slightly relaxed duties and standards (except for the official Purple Dragon guards known as “watchers”, who must follow all standards), even the permanently disabled inhabitants often ask to be included on guard duty or other duties more suitable to their abilities.

There is an extensive set of underground crypts around Daunthers, accessed via stone houses in the burial grounds.

Hermit’s Wood: This patch of woodland is roughly 40 square miles in size, and is the last known remains of the southern reaches of an ancient forest known to the elves as the Lythtlorn (translated as the Wolf Woods).

The Hermit’s Wood has been heavily logged and hunted over the centuries and continues to be along the edges by the villagers that live along its edge. The wood is well populated with game, which the humans have hunted for years without incident, but curiously no sentient life makes its home within the wood with the sole exception of the legend of an old hermit that was last seen here in the time of Azoun II.

The legends say that the woods are, or were, roamed by an old man in grey robes that carried a lantern which emits an eerie blue light. It is believed that the hermit was slain some time ago (through misadventure) and his spirit now roams the woods on a full moon. Despite the potential danger this spirit poses, and that it keeps even goblinoids away from the wood, hunters and loggers of Cormyr have never reported anything more dangerous than wolves and bears.

Hermit’s Wood: Located south of Wheloon, this wood has but one feature of note: rumoured ghostly activity.
The ghost is generally described as an old human dressed in grey robes and carrying a lantern that produces an unnatural blue light.

There is much speculation as to the origin and even existence of the spirit. The most common explanation is that the ghost is the spirit of a hermit who was the first inhabitant of the woods, and that his death was the result of some terrible, unnatural cause something that yet exists somewhere within the woods. People who subscribe to this theory cite the fact that the Hermit’s Wood is devoid of anything intelligent that isn’t a foolish human. They believe non-humans know instinctively not to build a dwelling within the wood.

Despite the danger of unnatural death and the curse of walking the night as a ghost, Cormyreans have heavily lumbered the forest and hunted game there without incident. (Cormyr pg 7)

Way of the Manticore: This well travelled road is the main overland trade route between Cormyr and Sembia, with up to twenty caravans a day travelling between Daerlun and Wheloon in the busy period after spring and before winter.

Wheloon: The way-symbol for Wheloon is a wyvern shape coloured white

The East Reaches: This region covers everything east of the Sword River and the Wyvernflow that lies north of the Way of the Manticore. It is Cormyr’s frontier land and has been expanded into for centuries as Cormyr grows, the land between major settlements is almost deserted except for a few hermits, outlaws, shepherds, and foresters.

Arabel (City): Established in 76 DR as a logging outpost. The way-symbol is a side view, six spoked wheel.

Hullack Forest: Hullack Forest is named for the Great Druid Hullack of the Wyvernwater Circle (part of the greater Druid Ring of Cormanthor), who led the circle around 200 years ago and was known as a firm elf friend and ally of the former nation of Esparrin (now annexed into Cormyr). They Wyvernwater Circle began to diminish following the disastrous confrontation with a hive of beholders around 1100 DR, and since that time the Hullack Forest has been logged back from the northern shores of the Wyvernwater (where it used to join the King’s Forest).

Hullack Forest was once joined to the King’s Forest on the northern and southern shores of the Wyvernwater. It was separated from the northern portion of the King’s Forest in 1018 DR when the Flight of Dragons caused several of those creatures to attack Arabel and set miles of the forest alight. Its southern edge was separated much earlier as part of Cormyr’s expansion along the Coast Lands.

The current remnants of the Hullack Forest have been left virtually unharmed in over a century for the primary reason that it is full of goblinoids, monsters, and much worse. This portion of the Hullack Forest is the centre of what was the traditional lands of House Amaratharr that acted as wardens of the woodlands of Cormyr long ago under the watchful gaze of Thauglorimorgorus. The elves of the Lythtlorn have long since departed, but some of their legacies still linger.

The Hullack Forest is home to many ruins, the most famous of which are Tethgard and the Wyvernstones, but many other fell ruins remain amid the trees and occasionally disgorge powerful magic and creatures to slaughter the unwary forester or traveller.

Hullack Forest: This forest, once the eastern border of Cormyr, is a primeval land that holds many secrets and things unseen by mortal eyes. Civilization is encroaching on it at an ever-increasing rate. As Cormyr grows, so does its demand for timber and game. Because of this, the crown encourages adventuring companies and other entities to clear the forest of monsters and other beings (such as the many orc and goblin tribes) and investigate its deeper regions. The sooner the forest is clear and the rumours of danger are proved false, the sooner the forest may be used to its fullest extent. To this end, the crown has suspended many of its rules about adventuring conduct to encourage maximum participation in monster-clearing endeavours. A common base of operations for such expeditions is Thunderstone, a small town on the southern edge of the forest. (Cormyr pg 7)

Gate: If one believes local lore and war wizards’ reports, other gate networks – origins unknown – exist in the Hullack
Forest and the Stonelands. (Volos Cormyr pg 230)

Elfhold: This chamber is one of many storage vaults and chambers hidden beneath the Hullack Forest and the surrounding eastern edge of Cormry, some of which are connected by hidden tunnels and passageways that are rumoured to stretch as far as the Vast Swamp.

Elfhold was once the burial ground of House Amaratharr and later used by Iliphar Nelnueve to store the most dangerous of magical legacies from the vanquished realm of Orva. It is believed the Witch Lords of the Vast Swamp learned much of their most powerful magics from the fell items they plundered from the Elfhold.

The main chamber of Elfhold is a half ellipse, 100 ft in diameter and 30 ft in height, with the ceiling held up by the massive Wyvernstones above which  extend down to the floor. Between each of the pillars is the entrance to a crypt carved into the wall and sealed with an elaborate capstone (each carved to depict a scene important to the life of the elven family interred within). Some of the crypts have clearly been resealed by magic, the cracks in the capstones still visible.

In the centre of the main chamber is a 20 ft pool of crystal clear water (consecrated to Eldath by Hullack himself) with a tiny diamond floating above the pool. The diamond is the tel’kiira of House Amaratharr, it is reluctant to communicate with anyone other than descendants of House Amaratharr. Upon Hullack’s untimely death, he was interred in the Elfhold below by the Wyvernwater Circle, and his spirit now protects the crypts and communicates with the sentience’s stored within the tel’kiira of House Amaratharr.

The Elfhold is believed to be connected to many other underground chambers beneath Hullack Forest, many of the sealed crypts have secret doors and tunnels or have been opened by creatures digging from below. It is thought the dragon attack upon Tethgard weakened the wards of Iliphar Nelnueve enough to allow the Witch Lords to open up tunnels to retrieve the lost legacies of the elves of Orva. The Xraunrarr beholder later used these tunnels to reach the surface and establish their own territory in Cormyr before Hullack defeated the beholders and resealed the crypts.

Prester’s Lodge: This rustic hunting lodge sits on the edge of the Hullack Forest and was formerly owned by Lord Prester Yellander (slain in 1348 DR for drug smuggling and treason). The lodge has remained abandoned since Prester’s death and is falling into disrepair.

Tethgard: Tethgard was erected by Iliphar Nelnueve (his title was Korra, roughly translating as Warden, he was known as the Warden of the Wolf Woods) in -513 DR which he granted to a Netherese Arcanist and her family. Ostensibly the castle was created to guard the entrance to the Lythtlorn from the failing lands of Netheril, and to act as a neutral area for feuding elves to meet.

In reality Tethgard protected the greatest secrets of fallen Orva, and acted as an obvious bait and magically powerful trap for Thauglorimorgorus who was becoming more aggressive against the elves in his territory.

Tethgard was abandoned (forcibly – the elves drove out Lady Duskreene’s family and courtiers) when Lady Duskreene died in -233 DR. It was reclaimed by the forest and gradually fell into ruin until dragons destroyed the castle in 163 DR.

Tethgard survives today as a few scattered stones, low walls that run through the trees, and a leaf choked pit or two that provide access to the partially collapsed cellars (and the only known and well hidden and guarded entrance to the Elfhold). These ruins lie within a few hundred metres of the Wyvernstones, but the forests are so dense and the ruins themselves are so innocuous that many ignore them or think them an extension of the Wyvernstones.

The ruins of Tethgard are administered by Lady Duskreene who still exists as a watchghost tied to the ruins by the very wards designed to seal the evils hidden in the Elfhold below, indeed any bodies interred in or around Tethgard and Elfhold causes the soul to remain tied to the Material Plane as a spirit of some sort, unable to escape to the Ethereal and onto the Outer Planes.

Wyvernstones: The Wyvernstones of Hullack are a collection of stones 12 ft high and 6 ft in diameter that form a 60 diameter circle of menhirs with trilithons at the compass points (allow the capstone of the southern point has been shattered). The Wyvernstones are truly enormous and stretch to 100 ft below the surface (where they are 12 ft in diameter at the base), and form the vaulted pillars of the Elfhold that secretly lies beneath.

The Wyvernstones were once the site of a titanic battle between a hive of beholders and the Wyvernwater Circle of druids led by the Great Druid Hullack. The druids were losing badly and most of their number were slain until the beholders and their allies became suddenly docile and confused (and then were easily destroyed). Hullack caused the Wyvernstones to rise from the ground to mark the battleground and to seal the entrance to Elfhold that the beholders had opened.

Today the Wyvernwater Circle is all but disbanded, and the secrets of their members are hidden, but not lost. The Wyvernstones are marked with runes written in an ancient script (Hamarfae), and contain the sentiences of powerful druids of the Circle that can still be communed with (stone tell or other spells and abilities). Hullack himself still persists as a ghost that is trapped within the Elfhold below.

Regardless of its more modern function (the Wyvernwater Circle used it as a Faerie Crossroads), the Wyvernstones were originally created as a large gate to the Outer Planes that actually connected to the Abyss. The High Mages of Cormanthyr, along with Iliphar Nelnueve, moved the stones from the Vast Swamp where they were originally used to the Lythtlorn, then magically sealed and buried the gate. Hullack later called the stones of the gate to erupt from the ground (unaware of their true nature) to help seal the tunnels opened up by the Xraunrarr beholders. As the magic of the druids begins to fail, rumours of fell creatures in the Hullack are starting to emerge, it may be that the gate is starting to function as originally intended once more.

Northtrees March: All the land between the Hullack Forest and the Thunderpeaks  and between the Immerflow to the north and the Thunderflow to the south is known as the Northtrees March.

Firefall Vale: Firefall Vale is the name given to land owned by the noble House of Summerstar, who rule from Firefall Keep on the western side of the Vale. Firefall Vale lies hard against the Thunderpeaks in a valley south of the Immerflow, it was first granted to Glothgam Summerstar for his efforts in driving away the great red wyrm Arnfalamme, whose fiery breath would burn so hot it set the waters of the Turnwyrm Brook in this valley aflame.

Firefall Vale is a lush green valley about 5 miles in length from east to west, carved by the Turnwyrm Brook as it rushes to meet the Immerflow. It is split into two vales, the Upper Vale is higher up in the surrounding hills and the brook cascades down a series of falls to the Lower Vale (which it floods in spring). Vale folk keep sheep and goats in the Upper Vale and the surrounding valleys.

The Lower Vale is home to a number of small farms (Dunstone,  Marthtree, and Bottomstones which lies at the end of the Lower Vale hard against the Cascades) surrounded by low, dry-stone walls, with the occasional copse of blueleaf trees.

Firefall Keep: This modest keep stands at the west end of Firefall Vale, although it does not bar entry to the vale. It has 6 towers (Haunted, Twilight, Darkwind, Nalvor’s, Gargoyle, and Scorchshields Tower) a main keep known as the Hall of Honour and a high battlement wall that connects the towers.

There is a stable and granary on the south side, a gate in the east and west wall, and there are rumoured to by a dungeon and the Summerstars Crypt lying beneath the castle, with secret tunnels connecting the Hall of Honour and the towers.

Galdryn’s Gorge: As the Immerflow descends from the Thunderpeaks in a great gorge (south and west of Firefall Vale) that are the lands of the noble House of Yellander. Galdryn’s Gorge is filled with caverns that are home to many varieties of mushroom which the Yellander’s harvest to make Vralo (a very strong flavoured mushroom wine).

Whitewings: This modest, unwalled stone keep, with attached mansion, is surrounded by gardens and encircled by a deep, dry moat filled with wooden spikes to deter marauding monsters. It is the ancestral home of the House of Yellander and Lord and Lady Yellander spend much of their time therein.

Hawkhar: These high rolling hills span either side of the Immerflow just north and west of Firefall Vale, and are used by the noble House of Indesm to rear their prised stock of Cormyte Riding horses.

Hawkhar Hall: This walled stone mansion and adjacent tower is encompassed by a stone wall that surrounds a horse farm and orchard, and then loops outward to cradle the hamlet of Hawkhar. The wall of Hawkhar Hall has two gates that are always open on either side of the estate, with one opening onto the hamlet of Hawkhar.

Noktil: A village along the Immerflow, midway between the Wyvernwater and the bridge near the Hullack Forest, Noktil has only 50 undefended buildings and a small resident population that remains steady with the seasons. Indeed, the population of the town, which is roughly 400, has changed little in generations. (Cormyr pg 28)

Noktil is known as a source of fine wood and sweet bread and other bakery products. There are several waterwheels along the bank of the Immerflow that provide power for flour mills. Noktil bakers make enough bread to export to all of Cormyr. (Cormyr pg 28)

Noktil’s wood is surprisingly soft and pliable when it’s green. But as it dries, the wood hardens and becomes quite strong, most likely the strongest wood in Cormyr. This has spawned a wood trade providing custom wood products primarily to nobles in Suzail. (Cormyr pg 29)

Noktil is governed by Arabel’s lord, but the greatest amount of commerce is with Immersea. (Cormyr pg 29)

There is a rumour that an elven master archer living in Noktil is instructing the townspeople in the crafting of exceptionally strong bows using their wood. The villagers who make up the volunteer militia are primarily archers and have a reputation for accuracy that exceeds the skill of professional archer companies, lending credence to this rumour. None of the townspeople will speak on the matter, however. Noktil bows are said to have a difficult pull but an incredible range, and the shafts of arrows and of wooden crossbow bolts in particular are fabled to be nearly as strong as iron. (Cormyr pg 29)

Every spring a small number of adventurers and explorers arrive in Noktil hoping to make their base there while they venture into the Hullack Forest. The town has only one inn, and its equipment shop stocks more farm implements than adventuring gear. Villagers are cool toward explorers because they fear counter-strikes by the horrors from the depths of Hullack Forest. (Cormyr pg 29)

Thunder Plains: These lands between the Thunderflow and the Vast Swamp are verdant farm and ranch country filled with rolling hillsides, hedgerows, and wooded knolls with dirt lanes criss-crossing between tenant farms and noble estates. It is well watered by meltwater streams that run southwest before disappearing down sinkholes and a network of subterranean streams and caves.

Thunderstone (Fortified Town, 900): This town lies just south of the Thunderflow.

Thunder River: Old maps call the Thunder River the Thunderflow (Volos Cormyr pg 194)

The High Road: This well travelled road connects Arabel, Eveningstar and Tyrluk on its way through High Horn Pass before travelling down the southern arm of the Stormhorn Mountains and onto Proskur and Easting where it meets the Traders Road.

The High Road is not without its perils from the gobinoids and other creatures that inhabit the Stormhorns, but nonetheless it is filled with traffic from the Western Heartlands in the form of caravans between 3 and forty strong (accompanied by outriders). Once inside on the other side of the Stormhorns and inside Cormyr itself (rather than its claimed but unenforced territories), it is not uncommon to find peddler wagons running between local settlements and Purple Dragon patrols a dozen strong and often mounted with War Wizard support.

The Heartlands:

Grey Oaks: This unfortified town of about 20 buildings lies at the edge of the King’s Forest near Hilp. Its citizens live simply, generally depending on farming for livelihood. (Cormyr pg 26)

Grey Oaks has an interesting legend about a nearby stream called Tearflow. One fall, a soldier and his love chose a clearing near a three foot waterfall for a picnic, a last opportunity for celebration together before he was due to join his regiment, which was due to winter over in High Horn. The lady, who came from a wealthy family, brought expensive plates and glasses to the picnic. At the conclusion of the picnic, the soldier took one of the glasses and put it under the waterfall to fill it with water for a toast. Just as he did so, he noticed a unicorn out of the corner of his eye and the glass
slipped from his grasp and fell into the pool. The glass was of such good quality that it was perfectly clear and invisible in the clear pool by the waterfall. His lover caught a fleeting glimpse of the unicorn as it ran into the forest
away from them. (Cormyr pg 26)

The legend of Tearflow is that whoever should find the missing glass will be reunited with a lost love or discover one’s true love when the matching glass is found. The legend says that when the unicorn returns, the glass will become visible within the pool under the waterfall. Thus far, the waterfall and clearing have not been found. (Cormyr pg 26)

Population: 100
Armed Force: none
Temples: none
Local Nobles: none
Local Merchants: none
Lord: none
Herald: none

(Cormyr Sourcebook)

Hilp: The way-symbol for Hilp is a side view, arched, wooden bridge

This sleepy village on the road between Immersea and Suzail is named for an adventurer who cleared the area of trolls and encouraged settlement. (Cormyr pg 28)

Hilp’s lord, Doon Dzavar (NG hm F2), is not a native to Cormyr but is nonetheless popular for his enthusiasm and leadership. His herald is Baldask Delzantar (NG hm W5). (Cormyr pg 28)

Hilp has an active farmers’ market and well known businesses making barrels and wagons (Cormyr pg 28)

Population: 250
Armed Force: militia only
Temples: none
Local Nobles: Cormaeril
Local Merchants: no major
Lord: Doon Dzavar
Herald: Delzantar

(Cormyr Sourcebook)

King’s Forest: This is the last remnant of the westernmost edge of the forest of Cormanthor, known in the elder days as the Lythlorn (Wolf Wood) where it was the home of the elf clans of Alavara and Elian. It is now regarded as the property of the Crown of Cormyr, with all logging and hunting controlled by law and enforced by regular patrols of Purple Dragons who also ensure the settled areas of the forest are kept relatively free of monsters and goblinoids.

The forest is made up mostly of oak, maple and rowan trees which are well tended by the King’s Foresters, who keep the undergrowth limited and the ancient trees healthy which results in very high canopies. A network of roads runs through the forest connecting many small settlements inside it, these roads are the ancient droving routes of the elven clans, and in one case the result of a clash between two ancient dragons, the humans of Cormyr have kept these routes clear and established settlements along them.

Hunting around the edges of the forest has grown increasingly common with the passage of time (in the first few centuries of Cormyr’s existence the King’s Forest was the strict hunting preserve of the King), with most commoners that live within the boundaries of the forest regarding it as theirs and so taking what they need for food. Logging is much rarer, only sick or dead trees are felled (and replaced), with most wood gathering taken from the fallen branches on the forest floor.

There is an old song; “The Queen of Thorns”, which indicates that a queen of the forest lies sleeping beneath the trees and should she awaken great evil will befall Cormyr.

King’s Forest: Once the home of elves and others, the King’s Forest is now completely inhabited by humans and game. Oak, maple, and rowan are the primary trees here. There is little undergrowth, and the age of the forest creates high canopies and beautiful settings. A network of roads passes through the forest, connecting many small towns and farms.

The forest is so densely inhabited because there are no natural threats. The largest animals there are bears, and there are no intelligent monsters. The area is full of game and quite popular with poachers. However, the crown frowns heavily on this activity. All hunting is forbidden, and penalties usually include forced labour.

This is one of the few places in Cormyr with no ruins or other adventurer-magnets of that type. (Cormyr pg 7)

Aloushe: A region of the King’s Forest claimed by a congregation of dryads that serve Queen Radnathae.

Crypt of Dragons: This vast underground cavern serves as a tomb for several mummified dragons lying atop a carefully arranged hoard of gold and gems, each dragon mummy is surrounded by a field of crackling blue energy that arcs out to zap any that approach too closely.

The entrance to the Crypt of Dragons has long been rumoured to lie a day’s ride northwest or east of Hilp. None have ever discovered it until a travelling weaver named Omcibl Rhommd and his two apprentices stumbled across it when they lost sight of the road and moved aimlessly amid the forest. The two apprentices perished and Omcibl has since disappeared (pursued by Cult of the Dragon agents).

Dhedluk: The way-symbol for Dhedluk is a side view anvil with horn to the left.

Elfmound: This flat-topped hill has long been regarded as a sacred elven site, for they were often seen in the area in the early days of Cormyr. Recent excavations uncovered a shaft leading deep into the bowels of the hill, and all the explorers were simultaneously slain by some powerful magic curse.

Inscriptions at the shaft entrance appear to be written in Loross (the language of ancient Netheril), in the Draconic script. Echoing cries and blood-curdling screams can be heard from deep in the darkness below.

Espar: Located just on the western edge of the King’s Forest lies the settlement of Espar. Espar was once the settlement of Yerespar, a marketmoot built between Esparin and Cormyr, and the south-westernmost edge of Esparin’s reach. Yerespar was renamed to Espar some years prior to the annexation of Esparin, when Cormyrean forces destroyed the capital of Esparin and it was moved to Yerespar. The way-symbol for Espar is a farmer’s plough ploughing left.

Thulser’s Lodge: Due east of the Mouth O’ Gargoyles lies a large enclosed compound, big enough to encompass 4 farms behind the log palisade walls, and guarded by Purple Dragons that live in a cottage outside the palisade walls.

This self contained community is used to house former Purple and Blue Dragons that have been forcibly retired due to incurable disease. The “guests” at Thulser’s Lodge are unable to leave the grounds but find it a comfortable and well stocked community, and those that are able keep themselves busy as farmers or continue their training as soldiers.

The “guests” are unable to leave, and the Purple Dragon guards outside will only allow deliveries and priests to enter the grounds with written orders from an Oversword or higher. It is rare that “guests” leave Thulser’s Lodge(except in death), but in dire need the Purple Dragons have been known to deploy the Green Dragons in battle, as the diseased legion of Cormyr has come to be known.

Waymoot: The way-symbol for Waymoot is 3 green triangles side by side (representing pine trees).

Northbank: This cleared land lies north of the Starwater River, south of the King’s Forest, and west of Calantar’s Way. It is a rolling land of farms claimed by many halfling communities and home to the largest farmer’s market in Cormyr.

Thornthar: This sprawling, many winged mansion, is home to retired Royal Scribes and other court officials that are happy to remain as wards of the Crown in return for a comfortable retirement under their protection and watchful eye.

The Silverlands: The original lands of Cormyr bounded by the Starwater and the King’s Forest.

Margreth’s Rest: This rocky beach far west of Suzail is named for an old naval captain who spent the last years of his life living in a hut on the beach, smoking a pipe, telling tall tales, and helping strip the hulks of any ships run aground on the beach. Margreth’s Rest has been used as a graveyard for Blue Dragon vessels for centuries and there are still many hulks left rotting on the beach.

Marsember (City): The way-symbol for Marsember is an anchor.

Suzail (City): The way-symbol for Suzail is a crown.

West Shore: The rocky coastline west of Suzail stretches for 10 miles until it reaches the foothills of the Stormhorns. This region belongs to the nobles of the House of Battlestar.

Eastern Stormhorns: 

Castle Crag: This castle was constructed centuries ago to guard the mountain pass into Cormyr from the monsters of the Stonelands. It has in the last century been expanded into a gigantic fortress that dominates the pass and encompasses the settlement that grew up around the original castle behind a high, thick ring-wall.

Castle Crag is home to 500 Purple Dragons and a detachment of War Wizards, all permanently stationed here under the command of Ornrion (Major) Bren Tallsword. Bren Tallsword has personally requested the presence of a known wild talent that is able to send messages to a fellow wild talent in Arabel with a thought.

Castle Crag has extensive undercellars, there are rumours that a secret tunnel connects Castle Crag to Castle Kilgrave.

Situated in the north-central portion of Cormyr, Castle Crag is a defensive outpost built to keep intruders from the Stonelands on the far side of Gnoll Pass and outside Cormyr proper. (Cormyr pg 24)

Approximately 500 members of the Purple Dragons and a detachment of War Wizards are stationed here, led by Bren Tallsword (LN hm F10). He is known as a commander who favours regular drills and who is completely comfortable in enforcing the standing order to hold at all costs. If Castle Crag is attacked, Tallsword is confident that forces from Arabel would be able to reinforce his position or be able to rout any invasion force that managed to get past the outpost. (Cormyr pg 24)

To ensure that messages for help reach Arabel, Tallsword keeps a psionicist on staff who can establish contact with a member of Arabel’s garrison of Purple Dragons. If necessary, the psionicist can mentally transmit the request for reinforcements to Arabel. Suzail is studying this system, and if it is successful enough, the crown may decide to hire psionicists to transmit messages from one commander to another in all parts of the realm. (Cormyr pg 24)

However, some in Suzail oppose this system for fear that the formal introduction of psionics would jeopardize the status quo of the Cormyte Army by introducing a weapon that would escalate matters in the Stonelands and with Zhentil Keep. They maintain that defending their commanders from psionic attack would become too costly and would hamper their efforts to command. Also there is the eternal question of loyalty of the psionicists, for if one should betray Cormyr, he could cripple Cormyr’s forces. (Cormyr pg 24)

Castle Kilgrave: The twin of Castle Crag, this squat stone keep was erected centuries ago to guard Gnoll Pass from monstrous incursions. Castle Kilgrave is not scheduled to be upgrade until 1360 DR when the construction of the ring-wall around Castle Crag is completed.

Castle Kilgrave has extensive undercellars, there are rumours that a secret tunnel connects Castle Crag to Castle Kilgrave.

This eldritch castle in the Stormhorn Mountains, near Castle Crag, was once the site of many bizarre magical spells and nefarious actions but now is in ruins, blasted apart by magic. (Cormyr pg 24)

The castle’s foundation remains, and its walls, though crumbled, reveal the shape of the castle and some of the structures within its walls. Kilgrave was a simple square design with each wall 1,000 feet long. It had but one gate, centred in one wall of some massive structure, perhaps a simple obelisk. From this gate, a drawbridge spanned a shallow moat. In addition, towers stood at each corner of the castle walls. (Cormyr pg 24)

Within the walls were many structures, including a large hall surrounding a central courtyard (which is now overgrown with twisted vines and assorted ugly growths). Other internal structures are obliterated, so completely crumbled that few stones remain intact. This destruction, like the origin of the castle, was undoubtedly magical in
nature. (Cormyr pg 24)

The below-ground levels of the castle are a different matter. Rooms and corridors are almost intact in some areas and in ruins elsewhere. (Cormyr pg 25)

There have been some efforts to explore the castle’s lower levels, but these parties have either returned empty-handed or not at all. However, there was one report from a survivor of an expedition who said they had discovered an underground secret chamber containing a mystic pool. Unfortunately, this person was too ill of mind after the experience to adequately describe the location of the room or what had happened to his fellows. (Cormyr pg 25)

Cavern of the Claws: The foothills of the northern arm of the Stormhorns, just east of Eveningstar, is a well known trollhold repeatedly held by trolls from the Stonelands. The caverns are regularly scoured by adventurers and Purple Dragons, only for the trolls to return within a few months.

Gnollpass: This route through the northern arm of the Stormhorn Mountains links Cormyr to the Stonelands.

Helmlands: Named after Helm, the god believed responsible for keeping the avatars in Faerûn, this area is located at the eastern edge of the Stormhorn Mountains, near Gnoll Pass and Castle Crag. (Cormyr pg 6)

During the Time of Troubles, this area was the centre of unnatural activity, including thousands of tar pits that bubbled to life overnight and continue to afflict the area today, though to a lesser degree. (Cormyr pg 6)

In addition, there are many wild and dead magic areas blanketing the Helmlands. These zones constantly shift, making exploration of the Helmlands a seemingly random endeavour. These bizarre phenomena affect magic in chaotic ways. Spells do not behave as they should, producing either unexpected results or none at all. Even enchanted items are subject to these pockets of unreality. (Cormyr pg 6)

Naturally, Cormyreans avoid this area. Just as naturally, monsters and foul beings feel quite at home here. Border raiders use the Helmlands as a base for strikes against nearby communities, farms, and even the city of Arabel. The Red Ravens have twice cleared the area of monsters, but a new assortment of foul creatures has filled the void each time. (Cormyr pg 6)

There seems to be only one way to end this cycle. The magician Vangerdahast is rumoured to be working on a method of eliminating the Helmlands from the continent. There are two versions of this rumour, one in which Vangerdahast is trying to eradicate the Helmlands completely and the other in which he is planning to transport the lands magically to another location far from Cormyr. Only the future knows which, if either, rumour is true. (Cormyr pg 6)

Worg Pass: This pass through the Stormhorn Mountains connects directly to the High Road on either side, with the fortress of High Horn guarding passage in and out of Cormyr via this route.

The Thunder Peaks: The Thunder Peaks have three major passes: Thunder Gap in the south and Shadow Gap and Tilver’s Gap in the north. (Cormyr pg 21)

Mount Glendaborr: One of the peaks near the mouth of the Immerflow around Thundergap. This peak is rumoured to be home to “ghost dragons”.

Shattered Skull Cave: This cave, lurking in the foothills on the edge of the Vast Swamp, once resembled a huge skull carved ominously into a cliff face but has long since completely collapsed.

This cave used to be the home of the former Witch Duke, Harper King, and lich Thavverdasz, who assumed control of the Harpers in 1222 DR and was slain by Elminster who returned from the Harpstar Wars. Elminster littered the cave with traps which were triggered when Thavverdasz’s former Cult of the Dragon allies came to retrieve a stolen hoard of gems meant for the dracolich Khalahmongre. The resulting explosion of magical power shattered the cave and all its defences burying the fate of Thavverdasz beneath hundreds of tons of rock.

Mad Witch of Thunder Peaks Citadel: The scorched former citadel of the deceased Marchayn of Archendale, known as the Mad Witch of the Thunder Peaks. (Cormyr pg 5)

Ravenmaster Cave: Said to be the home of Aubaerus (N hm D16), a follower of Silvanus who, through spending much of his time in the form of a raven (it is said), is known as Ravenmaster. (Cormyr pg 5)

Tilver’s Gap:

The Helm and Hearth: This waystop inn is a former keep that has been re-purposed as a well defended stop for travellers between the Dalelands and Cormyr. It is run by a family (a father, his 3 sons and 2 daughters) that are in possession of a mask that can replicate itself (there are six masks now, one for each family member) and when worn becomes part of the wearer’s own face and alters their facial features so that they all resemble the same middle aged male (identity unknown).

The family have operated a smuggling ring out of the Helm and Hearth for a decade, a business that has attracted the interests of the Zhents and Cormyr (now that they have annexed Tilverton inside the realm).

The Vast Swamp: This swampland acts as the border between Cormyr and Sembia, with neither country laying claim to it. It is a land of spongy, waterlogged ground, with sickly looking underbrush and as one ventures further into the swamp; an increasingly dense covering of ancient and twisted black trees. Rains fall regularly and without season, and a thick mist covers the swamp all year round, making it the swamp hot and humid in summer, and cold and damp in winter.

The swamp was created long ago by the misguided magics of the elves of House Orva, it has been growing steadily ever since. Since its creation it has been used as a place of retreat by such evils as the Witch Lords of the Wyvernwater and the Dusk Lord of Sessrendale.

The Vast Swamp is home to a variety of goblinoids who are believed to have been brought here by the Witch Lords long ago, and tribes of lizardfolk that were once more numerous but have had difficulties competing with the goblinoids. Trolls are less common inhabitants of the swamp (also brought here by the Witch Lords), but the rare black dragons, beholder and grell are the true dangers, eclipsed only by the most powerful of baatezu and shadow creatures that on occasion claw their way through the weak planar borders here.

All creatures that live in the Vast Swamp are unusual in some way, either afflicted with disease or magically enhanced in some way. The plant life is similarly affected, with species of willow and gall oak appearing blighted and dark, while carnivorous plants lurk amid the more benign species. Rodents, foxes, otters, snakes, and swamp cats (lynx and panther) lurk amid the marsh, all of which are diseased (rabies is prevalent) and highly aggressive.

The Vast Swamp: This stretch of wetlands is so ignored that it does not even have a proper name. It separates Cormyr and Sembia, but neither kingdom claims any territory within the swamp, nor has either made any serious expeditions into it.

All manner of foul creatures make their home in the Vast Swamp. Perhaps the most numerous are lizard men, trolls, hobgoblins, and gnolls, and the most threatening are black dragons, beholders, and catoblepas.

If the legends are true, the most famous resident of the Vast Swamp is the Dusk Lord of Sessrendale. Since no one ever ventures into the swamp, there is no certainty what may truly lie in its darkest, most isolated corners. (Cormyr pg 10)

Orvaskyte Keep: Centuries before the founding of Cormyr, the Vast Swamp was once dense woodland and part of the Lythtlorn, it was also claimed by the xenophobic elves of House Orva, who kept all intruders out of their lands (especially humanity), and their head (who claimed the title of Laranlor) was bargaining with Outer Planar beings to gain enough power to eliminate the encroaching humans entirely.

Orvaskyte Keep as it is now know was a modest castle built in homage to Castle Cormanthor. It was the ancestral home for House Orva and their centre of power, it was also the site for a magical gate that the Laranlor of Orva began construction of under the instruction of his planar ally (that he believed a servant of Corellon Larethian but was in actual fact the cornugon known as Karonis).

The High Mages of House Orva unknowingly connected the gate to a counterpart on the Plane of Minauros. When both gates were opened the High Mages and most of the senior members of House Orva were sucked into Baator, while a significant portion of that swampy hell was unleashed upon the Material Plane. The forces of Cormanthyr (at the request of Iliphar Nelnueve) closed and removed the gate, but the Vast Swamp has been a hellish marshland ever since that has been slowly growing in size.

Tower of the Sorcelisk: This ruined tower is filled with unusual crossbreeds and magical beasts of may varieties that often escape to menace the surrounding swamps and the lands nearby. It is shunned by adventurers because of the sheer number of magical beasts (darktentacles) with unusual and unexpected abilities.

The ruins are secretly the home of a powerful magic user; Tandarsyn Mhorhune also known as the Sorcelisk, who is responsible for breeding the magical creatures of the swamp, and who is a member of the secret society known as the Men of the Basilisk.

Undermountain Portal: There is a sporadically functioning portal in the Vast Swamp that is located in the area of the Vast Swamp claimed by lizardfolk and used to restock that dungeon as needed.

Western Stormhorns:

Gate: A series of gates linking nine standing stones, spans the western wall of the realm, leaping from high valley to rocky height to cliffside cavern along the Storm Horns that march down the western flank of Cormyr. This network is thought to have been created by a now-vanished school or community of wizards who dwelt in isolation in the mountains and who wanted a swift way in and out of their home that allowed them to avoid mountain-climbing (Volos Cormyr pg 230)

High Horn: The strongest concentration of Cormyte military forces in the west is located deep within the Stormhorn Mountains at a hold called High Horn. (Cormyr pg 26)

High Horn is a mammoth complex sitting atop a 1,000-foot-high mountain and consisting of multiple towers and various defensive structures. It houses approximately 400 soldiers (100 archers and 300 mixed). There is a knight (F3) for every group of 10 men, and the knights answer to the lord of High Horn, Lord Commander Thursk Dembarron (LG hm P15). His herald is Dhag Greybeard (LN hm R10). During the winter, it houses half the Cormyte army for the entire season. (Cormyr pg 26)

Also, the War Wizards make High Horn a base. There are at least three of them there at any one time (each of 6th level or greater with a 50% chance one will be of 7th-12th level). (Cormyr pg 26)

High Horn guards the road to the West, specifically to prevent border raiders and marshland-based lizardmen from entering through the pass where High Horn is situated. It also routes to nearby royal gem mines. (Cormyr pg 26)

There are facilities for housing travellers, but they are quite spartan and the military extends only the most basic courtesies. The atmosphere is disciplined since the Lord Commander began improving the readiness of the forces in High Horn in light of the growing strength of the Zhentarim to the west. (Cormyr pg 26)

Perhaps because High Horn is such a well defended structure, it has never had to face a major siege or attack. (Cormyr pg 26)

Population: military only
Armed Force: 400 Purple Dragons, War Wizards
Temples: none
Local Nobles: none
Local Merchants: none
Military Commander: Thursk Dembarron
Herald: Dhag Greybeard

(Cormyr Sourcebook)

High Horn is the name of the highest point in the Dragonjaw line of peaks and of the magnificent castle that surmounts it, guarding the pass through the Storm Horns that is Cormyr’s western gate. Not as crucial to the survival of the realm as it once it was, High Horn is still the mightiest castle in the Forest Kingdom. (Volos Cormyr pg 206)

The fortress now occupies the entire peak, which has been sculpted into a formidable barrier. The castle is ringed by a moat and a wall, around which is the inner ward of barracks, granaries, and deep wells. The inner ward has its own moat and ring wall, and around this is the outer ward, with its stables, armouries, smithies, and storerooms. The outer ward has, in turn, its own moat and wall. The wall has three gates, all leading down to the main road, a thousand feet below, by means of their own trails. Outside the outer ward’s wall are small fortified guesthouses for the use of travellers who need the rather forbidding protection of the Horn for a night’s stopover. These guesthouses are staffed by rather gruff Purple Dragons. (Volos Cormyr pg 206)

Few outlanders or Cormyreans have seen the magnificent banquet hall in the heart of the castle. The lord high commander of High Horn orders most of his guests to the dungeons deep inside High Horn to await the pleasure of expert war wizard interrogators. Only war wizards and Purple Dragons are normally allowed inside the Horn itself. (Volos Cormyr pg 206)

Eveningstar (Town): Settled centuries ago by migrants from the Tunlands, it was founded in the aftermath of the annexation of Esparin. The way-symbol for Eveningstar is a horizontal arc of three shooting stars with eight points.

The Lost Palace of Esparin: Esparin was a short lived nation that competed with Cormyr for control of the lands north of the King’s Forest. The rivalry between the two nations swiftly turned into war, and during that conflict the capital of Esparin was razed to the ground.

Most treasure seekers begin their search for the Lost Palace of Esparin around the settlement of Espar where the capital was moved to after the destruction of its former capital, but in truth the Lost Palace of Esparin lies west of Arabel.

Tyrluk: The way-symbol for Tyrluk is a side view horse-head facing left.

Tyrluk has but a single smithy, a carter, and a farmers’ market. Besides the neighbouring farms, Tyrluk’s only industry is a pony-breeding ranch that supplies top-grade mounts to local citizens as well as passing caravans. (Cormyr pg 29)

Tyrluk’s lord is Suldag the Boar (NG hm F6), who has a moderate reputation for exploits as a warrior and for his astounding girth. His herald is “Tooth” Nzal Tursa (LN hm F3), his former squire. (Cormyr pg 29)

There is a single inn, but it is very small and only able to accommodate local patrons. Visitors are almost universally shunned from this inn. (Cormyr pg 29)

Population: 200
Armed Force: militia only
Temples: none
Local Nobles: Cormaeril
Local Merchants: no major
Lord: Suldag the Boar
Herald: Tooth Nzal Tursa

(Cormyr Sourcebook)

The Wyvernwater: The Wyvernwater is a large inland, freshwater lake, shaped like an irregular starfish. It is fed by the Belflow, the Immerflow, and the Thunderflow, while it drains into the Wyvernflow. The Wyvernwater is covered with a thick fog in the morning which quickly evaporates in the noon sun, but cool winds from the Stormhorns and Thunderpeaks can cause the lake to freeze over entirely in harsh winters.

The Wyvernwater is a major resource and tradeway for Cormyr, it provides clean fresh water for a dozen towns (and the city of Immersea), while fishermen (known as mistfishers) from every shore sail out in the morning mists with draglines and scoop nets to catch an abundance of fish, crab, and eel, and traders send goods by ship across the Wyvernwater as a shortcut.

When humanity first came to Cormyr, the Wyvernwater was claimed by the mighty great red wyrm Eardynnansczyg (himself a vassal of Thauglorimorgorus), who would go on to slay King Rhiiman the Glorious in 79 DR. In modern times, the Wyvernwater is claimed by a dragon known commonly as Wyvernvapour (his real name is Orothaumyth), who lairs in the Wyvern Castle of the Witch Lords which lies submerged at the bottom-centre of the lake and only rises to the surface in winter when the mists are thickest.

In the years prior to 900 DR, the Wyvernwater was the centre of the Kingdom of the Witch Lords, ruled by powerful necromancers known as Witch Dukes that wore a powerful artefact known as the Wyvern Crown. This kingdom warred constantly with Cormyr (with Cormyr losing many of the engagements) until King Galaghard III and Thanderahast stole into Wyvern’s Keep, slew the Witch Duke and stole the Wyvern Crown. The tide turned after this event until in 900 DR when the forces of Cormyr routed the forces of the Witch Lords at Wheloon and forced them to retreat to the Vast Swamp.

Stonelands: Completely unsuited to agriculture, the soil here is dry and largely composed of clay. In addition, the surface of the land is almost covered with boulders of all sizes. Some are even as big as cottages, and they are scattered everywhere.

Unlike other rocky areas that are starkly beautiful, the Stonelands are ugly. The boulders are of uniform colour, the land appears sick, and the seemingly ever-present cloud cover obscures sunrises and sunsets. Only one type of creature would call such a place home: the border raiders. Border raiders is a term applied collectively to the many species of intelligent monsters, human and demi-human rogue tribes, and other assorted foul and evil creatures and bands that infest the area.

The most notorious of these organizations is the Zhentarim, the Black Network. The Zhentarim use the Stonelands as a base of operations, constantly contesting Cormyte control over the area. A recent rumour poses a particular menace if true, that the Zhentarim are using mad beholders to clear the land. The Red Ravens and Cormyrean regulars have set up unusually powerful night patrols to prevent a crazed beholder from entering camp and disintegrating everyone in its sight. However, these patrols have spotted no beholders at all, let alone a squadron of them under Zhentarim control.

A treasure that lures otherwise sensible adventurers into the Stonelands is the fabled Warrior’s Crypt. Though even its approximate location is unknown, it has drawn many expeditions to the dreary land.

Another frequent visitor to the Stonelands is a solitary fighter named Emperel (CG hm F16), who often wanders these wastes alone to defeat the evil beings who dwell here and prevent them from finding the cave that houses the Lords Who Sleep. Emperel hopes to find their resting place, destroy them, and loot their cave, thus preventing the fulfilment of the prophecy that these evil men will wake and sweep Cormyr away in ruin. (Cormyr pg 8)

Gate: If one believes local lore and war wizards’ reports, other gate networks – origins unknown – exist in the Hullack
Forest and the Stonelands. (Volos Cormyr pg 230)

Important NPCs

Abrult Morglam (Good, Human – Tethyrian, Magic User 3): Abrult is a darkly handsome but short War Wizard who likes to spend his free time whittling wooden dragons and caricatures. Abrult is the lover of the High Knight Roedele Thornmantle, who he lives with along Jakana Bruen.

Adolphus (LN hm F0): Adolphus is a sage devoted to the study of astronomy and physical sciences. He is also expert in the identification of metals and baser minerals as well as woods and plants, especially in properties that may be useful to man. Adolphus will share his knowledge, but for high fees. He is a good friend of King Azoun, but the details of their relationship are not known. (Cormyr pg 20)

Alaphondar Emmarask (Good, Human – Chondathan, Expert 7): Alaphondar Emmarask is the Sage Most Learned of the Royal Court, and the foremost expert on the subjects of genealogy and law in Cormyr, Sembia, and the Dragon Coast.

Alaphondar is diplomatic and insightful, with a keen mind and excellent memory. He spent his youth in the Purple Dragons before switching to study law and history, in which he quickly became an expert. A college study of the genealogy of Cormyr’s nobility gave him the skills and knowledge he possesses today and brought him to the attention of the Royal Court where he trained as the assistant of the Sage Most Learned Ziounilaksir (whom he replaced at the age of 44 upon Ziounilaksir’s retirement).

Alaphondar is a most trusted adviser to the King who uses his expertise almost daily. His skills in diplomacy and statemanship are excellent and he is often asked to adjudicate on challenging political issues or sent to Sembia to act as an emissary for Cormyr.

In true Emmarask fashion, Alaphondar is training his replacement; Lord Dier Emmarask.

Another important member of the royal household is Alaphondar (NG hm Fl, S: history, genealogy, and court law), Sage Most Learned of the Royal Court. Azoun frequently calls on Alaphondar for advice, especially in matters involving disputes between noble houses. (Cormyr pg 11)

The Sage Most Learned of the Royal Court, Alaphondar, is one of the court’s most respected members, second only to Vangerdahast in prestige. (Cormyr pg 44)

Alaphondar is not a mage and does not possess knowledge of mystic secrets, but he is Cormyr’s most knowledgeable person of things relating to law, genealogy, and Cormyte history. Without doubt, he’s the greatest scholar in Cormyr’s history. (Cormyr pg 46)

Alaphondar grew up in Suzail and was eager to learn as much about the world as he could. Although he considered for a time joining the Purple Dragons so he could see the countryside of Cormyr, he realised that this would teach him little about his main areas of interest: law and Cormyte history. (Cormyr pg 46)

He threw himself into his books, learning as much in a year as others learn in four. With his keen mind and excellent memory, he quickly became an authority on both law and general history of Cormyr. When he was still in college, he was commissioned to undertake a genealogical survey of the early noble families of Cormyr. There were no issues of inheritance to settle so the assignment was not political, merely a fact finding missions that Alaphondar was ideally suited for. (Cormyr pg 46)

In completing the study, he became Cormyr’s foremost expert on genealogy. Nearly all of Cormyr’s nobles wanted to learn more about their early histories, and they all called upon Alaphondar for that information. (Cormyr pg 46)

When there was talk that Alaphondar might be appointed to a post in the Royal Court, he began to intensity his studies of Cormyte law. Alaphondar was indeed appointed to be assistant to the then Sage Most Learned of the Royal Court, Ziounilaskir. When Ziounilaskir died, Alaphondar moved into his position. By then he had acquired all of the attributes of a wise older statesman, even though he was only in his mid 40s. (Cormyr pg 46)

King Azoun uses Alaphondar’s expertise almost every day. In addition to law, history, and genealogy, Alaphondar is quite learned in the art of statesmanship and is expert at finding solutions to political problems. On five occasions Alaphondar has been sent as an ambassador to foreign lands, notably Sembia, to represent Cormyr’s interests and to solve problems. (Cormyr pg 46)

Alaphondar is a tall man with short bone white hair. He always wears his sage robe, a simple design of purple cloth with black stripes covering him from his neck to his feet. He has an assistant, Lord Dier of Emmarask, who is his protégé. (Cormyr pg 46)

Princess Alusair Obarskyr: Determined to forge her own life, the rebellious Alusair ran away from the Royal Court of Cormyr. She had many adventures, returning to Cormyr wiser in the ways of Faerûn than many adventurers ever become. Alusair swung a sword in the Tuigan Wars, proving so hungry for battle and capable in the fray that many in Cormyr see her as a future leader of the Purple Dragons or even of the entire realm. Among commoners and Purple Dragons, she is second only to Azoun in commanding respect. (Cormyr pg 42)

Amedahast **Deceased**: Raised and studied in Myth Drannor before her tenure under Baerauble. The most magically talented of the Royal Mages of Cormyr. Amedahast created the War Wizards.

Ambratha Suren (CG hf F6; STR 19): Ambratha is a gruff, no-nonsense, pipe-smoking farmer of Aunkspear who’s considered the best breeder of grey geese in all Suzail. She hasn’t much time for insolent or foolish folk. She has been known to pick up raiding orcs and annoying humans alike and hurl them either into her duck pond or against the nearest of the standing stones she uses as fence supports, depending on whether she wants them ever to be able to bother her again. (Volos Cormyr pg 217)

Lady Anathae Yellander: Lady Anathae Yellander was the eldest daughter of Lord Prester Yellander, and was living in Suzail when her father was discovered to be involved in drug smuggling and hiring a private army in defiance of the King. Her longtime friendship with Queen Filfaeril allowed her Anathae and her sisters to survive the execution of her father, and saw the Queen match Anathae with her beloved; the former Palace Courtier Hresker Falbruin.

Lady Anathae and her husband Lord Hresker Falbruin now spend much of their time at Whitewings in Galdryn’s Gorge, visiting Suzail only for major councils and during the summer for the famous revels.

Argul Marammas (LN hm W13): Is a mage known for having a vast collection of magical scrolls. The extent of his collection is unknown, perhaps even to him. He does sell scrolls, especially duplicates, but he charges exorbitant prices. (Cormyr pg 12)

Argûl is a resident of Suzail engaged in research on the planes of existence and in spells of personal protection and concealment. To fund these very expensive pursuits and his love of exotic seafood dishes, rich sauces and fine wine, he makes scrolls containing from one to three wizard spells to order. He charges an average of 5,000 gp per spell. (Volos Cormyr pg 217)

Argûl is always eager to interview beings who’ve recently returned from other planes. He’s a soft-spoken, condescending man who views most folk warriors in particular, as destructive fools, cattle who must be endured by those who are more intelligent, such as himself. He is disgusted by mages such as the Red Wizards of Thay, who waste their energies trying to slay and dominate. (Volos Cormyr pg 217)

Asgetrion the Learned (NG hm F1, S: monsters): Asgetrion is known as an expert on gorgons and has the largest collection of scrolls of protection against petrification of any one person in Cormyr. War Wizards and adventurers often call upon his knowledge when they expect to be encountering gorgons in their travels. Asgetrion does not sell his scrolls, however, but hoards them jealously. (Cormyr pg 20)

Asheyron The Learned (LN hm F1; Sage fields: monsters): The owner of the Elfskull Inn in Arabel, Asheyron the Learned is Faerûn’s foremost expert on gorgons as well as being a sage learned about many monsters. For example, he can lecture on what faiths various monster races follow and what rituals such worship entails. Asheyron is the owner of an amulet of protection from petrification, but he is believed by many to be immune to gorgon breath effects because he’s survived many exposures unscathed – some of them, observers insist, on occasions when he’d forgotten to wear his amulet. (Volos Cormyr pg 217)

Asheyron briefly adopted the name of his older brother, Asgetrion, in a vain attempt to inherit a goodly sum under the terms of an uncle’s will. However, the gems his Uncle Orund had set aside couldn’t be found after his death, so Asheyron has reverted to his own name. (Volos Cormyr pg 217)

Over recent years, Asheyron’s views have drifted increasingly toward viewing the enforcement of rigid law and order as providing the best conditions for civilized living. This has resulted in his drafting many regulations, which he’s offered to Myrmeen Lhal for adoption into law. Though she’s accepted few of them, the two respect each other and often meet to discuss difficult cases of justice, a practice that the aging sage finds very flattering. (Volos Cormyr pg 217)

Asheyron’s alignment has altered along with his views (from neutral good to lawful neutral), but he still refuses to allow anyone but agents of the Crown to use any of his large collection of scrolls of protection from petrification. He has no interest, he often says, in seeing every gorgon in Faerûn slain, rendering him an expert on nothing! (Volos Cormyr pg 217)

Lord Athlan Summerstar: The current Patriarch of House Summerstar is the son of Lord Pyramus and Lady Zarova Summerstar.

Ayesunder Truesilver (LG hm F14): Ayesunder is Warden of the Port. He is responsible for seeing to the safety of the 12-ship detachment of the Imperial Navy based in Marsember. He also commands the garrison of 3,000 Purple Dragons, who have been specially trained to work in Marsember’s environment. (Cormyr pg 13)

King Azoun IV Obarskyr: Suzail is home to his most Royal Highness Azoun IV (LG hm F20), King of Cormyr, Protector of Tilverton, and Victor of the Horde Incursions (Cormyr pg 10)

King Azoun IV is the son of Rhigaerd II and Tanalusta Truesilver, both of whom are dead. He was born in 1307 DR, five years after his sister, Sulesta, who is also now deceased. (Cormyr pg 42)

Azoun blends a commoner’s appearance with a regal demeanour. A stocky man with greying brown hair and a full beard, Azoun has a quick wit and ready smile, with a chuckle never far from his lips. Despite this appearance, Azoun is careful and practical in his rulership, and his expensive tastes could only have been cultivated on a royal income. (Cormyr pg 42)

Azoun is rarely alone, often being found in the company of one of his close advisers and almost always in the presence of his personal bodyguard, six 8th level fighters. The king’s most prized possessions are his extensive collection of magical swords and the magical items that he carries, including rings and bracers that provide immunity from attack. He is also reputed to have a spell to teleport himself when in grave danger. (Cormyr pg 42)

At the start of his reign, Azoun had abandoned the practice of journeying through his kingdom in disguise – something he had done throughout his youth as a member of an adventuring band known as the King’s Men. The campaign to defeat Gondegal made the king realize that he had become distanced from his subjects, and when the campaign ended, Azoun resumed his secret forays into the towns and villages of Cormyr. (Cormyr pg 43)

Because of these excursions, Azoun knows his subjects far better than most rulers in Faerûn. He is sensitive to their needs and concerns and will often mould state policy to correct ills he discovers on these jaunts. Azoun is determined to make Cormyr the safest and most peaceful kingdom possible. (Cormyr pg 43)

To make these forays from Suzail successful, the king enlists the help of Alusair and Vangerdahast. Alusair clears the king’s business for a certain time by combining regular breaks in activity with claims that the king is either feeling ill, has a family matter to attend to, or is otherwise unavailable to the rest of the court. (Cormyr pg 43)

Meanwhile, Vangerdahast uses magic to change the king’s shape to whatever form the king desires. Generally the king takes the form of an adventurer. He slips out of Suzail at night and enters the countryside a free man. (Cormyr pg 43)

While in the countryside, he merely visits the locations he wants to see first-hand and assesses the situation there. In the past he has journeyed all the way to Tilverton and High Horn, to view the military scene there, and to Marsember when pirate activity was on the rise. (Cormyr pg 43)

When the king makes such trips, he sometimes does so with the aid of a magical ring that enables him to teleport to the locations he desires. He almost always uses the ring at night to reduce the chance that someone might see him teleport. In an emergency, the king will teleport back to Suzail regardless of who is there to see him do it. (Cormyr pg 43)

Thus far, the king’s disguise has not been breached. But there are rumours throughout the Royal Court about how the king is making these trips past the city walls and into the countryside. To squelch these rumours, the king has taken pains to have someone establish an alibi for when he is away. His wife and daughters most often participate in this endeavour. However, the king would rather his nobles believe he acquires his intimate knowledge of Cormyr by making incognito trips outside Suzail than know about his spy network operating within Cormyr – the only other way to explain how the king is able to see through some nobles’ attempted deceptions (except in Eveningstar, where most villagers know their king as a personal friend). (Cormyr pg 43)

As a ruler, the king has been very capable especially since the Gondegal incident. There was another, brief, military episode where he organized the crusade against the Tuigan Horde in 1360 DR. The king again personally led his troops, and when blood was spilled, the king got into the fray and challenged the leader of the enemy to single combat, which the king won. (Cormyr pg 43)

Baerelus The Bold (N satyr m; Sage fields: flora and fauna of the King’s Forest): Baerelus is Knightswood’s expert on the lore and fauna of the King’s Forest. He serves as a sympathetic ear and a source of wise advice to many young Cormyreans and is beloved by many people. In turn, he enjoys this work and never dreams of accepting any recompense for it. From the confessions of the young he learns a great deal of the mood of the realm and of what’s going on. King Azoun has learned to stop by with a sumptuous meal to learn the former from the satyr. Baerelus won’t reveal confidences but can give the king a shrewd picture of the way folk are thinking and feeling in Cormyr. Azoun is wise enough to heed what Baerelus tells him. (Volos Cormyr pg 217)

Baltor (Neutral, Human – Chondathan, Magic User 3): Baltor is one of the few remaining druids of the Wyvernwater Circle that tends to the Hullack Forest in eastern Cormyr. Baltor has spent the last decade exploring Dambrath, being particularly enamoured of the Bay of Dancing Dolphins, and is considering moving permanently to the region to establish his own druidic circle.

Lord Barandos Hawklin (Neutral, Human – Tethyrian, Warrior 4): Barandos Hawklin, known as “the Hawk of Hawklin” is the patriarch of the House of Hawklin, a popular man in Suzail and at the Royal Court, friends with King Azoun, and yet does not hold a court title.

Lord Barandos is tall, with debonair good looks, keen wits, and an easy charm. He is a shrewd judge of character and has unyielding standards of personal honesty and integrity, his total honesty and willingness to speak his mind (but never patronising or unkindly) make him likeable and appreciated in the Royal Court.

Barandos Hawklin made his fortune chartering an adventuring band with his brother Tenshorn and plundering the secrets of the Hullack Forest and the Stonelands. He invested his money wisely and has multiplied the fortunes of House Hawklin many times over.

Despite his easy going nature, Barandos firmly believes in meting out vengeance against those who cross him. In order to honestly answer the questions of War Wizards and Purple Dragons without implicating himself, he has his brother hire adventurers to deal with those who betray his trust.

Often winning special favours at court is Barandos Hawklin (LN hm F7). (Cormyr pg 11)

As the head of the Hawklin noble family, Barandos is a popular man in Suzail. Under his direction, the Hawklin clan has prospered from shrewd investments in Suzailan trade, from adventuring, and from sponsoring the adventures of others in the east reaches of Cormyr. Barandos himself has keen wits and debonair good looks, an easy way with charming ladies of both high and low rank, and unflinching standards of personal honesty and fair dealing. As this integrity has become known, his influence and importance has grown, as has the wealth of his family, due to investors flocking to work with him. (Volos Cormyr pg 218)

Coins seem to multiply in his grasp, yet he’s never forgotten that adventuring made his fortune in the first place, and he remains the foremost patron of adventurers. His success has even spurred other noble families to quietly take chartered adventuring bands into their own employ. The Hawk of Hawklin is perhaps the most important man in Suzail who has no post at Court, does not head a senior noble house, and has no royal title. (Volos Cormyr pg 218)

Baskor Tranth (NG hm M9): Baskor is a hard-drinking, surly mage who dwells in Suzail, haunted by horrific memories of escaping Myth Drannor alone. All of his companions in the adventuring band from Priapurl known as the Brightstar were slaughtered. (Volos Cormyr pg 218)

Baskor is fascinated by tales of adventure, but he is petrified at the thought of ever adventuring again himself. He does aid novice adventurers with training and in-town spellcasting if they pay him up front. (Volos Cormyr pg 218)

His fear drives him to try anything to get his hands on new combat spells. The war wizards know this and are watching him. They’ve heard he’s gotten visiting mages drunk on several occasions and kept them that way for prolonged periods while he copies all he can from their spell books. He doesn’t attempt such tactics against formidable foes, opting instead to trade for spells. From similar swaps he has built up an extensive collection of spell scrolls. (Volos Cormyr pg 218)

Beliard Cormaeril (Good, Human – Chondathan, Warrior 2): Beliard is one of the less secretive members of House Cormaeril. He is enrolled in the Purple Dragons and has achieved the rank of First Sword (Sergeant) in a relatively short period of time. Beliard bears a striking resemblance to King Azoun IV, and is widely believed (correctly) to be one of Azoun’s many bastard progreny.

Beliard is honest and trustworthy, he is strong and skilled in battle but with a cool head and presence of mind. He has been selected by the Crown (Vangerdahast) as an individual worthy of responsibility.

Bezenttar (CN hm F3): A partner in Dragoneye Dealing Coster (Cormyr pg 11)

Duke Bhereu Obarskyr: Romantically linked to one Ashlaelra Stonecastle, who died tragically and left him heartbroken.

Bhereu is lord high marshal of the kingdom, commander of the Purple Dragons, and a hardened soldier. His loyalty to the crown can’t be shaken even by magic (wizards have tried). When Cormyr is at peace, he travels frequently between High Horn, Castle Crag, and the Citadel in Suzail, keeping his troops alert and content. Nothing escapes his calm, level, grey eyes when he rides (Cormyr pg 43)

Blaskin the Bold (LN hm F1): An independent contractor who specializes in wooden structures. With the frontier-like quality of life outside Arabel’s walls, Blaskin has made a fortune building stockades and fences for farmers in the area. (Cormyr pg 16)

Bledrin Scoril (LG hm F9): Much of the true management of the city is in the hands of Bledrin Scoril (LG hm F9), Ildool’s herald. (Cormyr pg 13)

Blentra Whaelbuckler (CG hf F9): Marsember’s most noted foe of pirates and other rogues. A Harper agent, she often works closely with Chansobal Dreen, High Morninglord of Morningmist Hall. (Cormyr pg 15)

This well-loved restaurant-owner of Marsember is a Harper agent. Though most Marsembians don’t know of her allegiance to Those Who Harp, they have heard that she’s a scourge of evil who enjoys pouncing on pirates, slavers, and thieves by night. (Volos Cormyr pg 218)

A fearless giant of a woman, Blentra is expert at throwing things and has been known to fell pirates using hurled stools from clear across a wide channel of water in the dark. She swims powerfully, though she grunts, spits water, and pants as if she’s dying. She once lifted a smashed cart and the dead horse draped over it to drag with one hand a pinned fellow citizen out from under it. (Volos Cormyr pg 218)

Blentra loves to be a part of adventures and frolics. She hates to be left in the dark and not told of everything interesting that’s going on in Marsember. (Volos Cormyr pg 218)

Boeryl Dauntinghorn (Neutral, Human – Chondathan, Expert 1): An avid socialite of Suzail’s revels and a dowager widow who has taken Randatha Archenstar as her confidant (who is secretly selling her secrets to the Layla Maurshanta).

King Boldovar **DECEASED**: A wildbeard who would suddenly fly into a berserk rage and attack anyone with whatever weapons came to hand until dusk came. He perished after driving a sword through his favourite consort on the parapet of the Royal Palace, he fell with her body off the castle walls when he refused to let go of his sword, and was impaled on an array of upright lances being bundled for transport.

Calaumdra Summerstar: The daughter of Darandar Summerstar dwells at Firefall Keep.

Daerthra Illance: Daerthra Huntinglance by birth, now married to Fendarl Illance.

Dara Hawklin (Neutral, Human – Chondathan, Expert 1): Dowager widow of House Hawklin, she regularly attends high society events in Suzail. She confides in Randatha Archenstar (a humanophobic elf that is selling secrets to the Lalya Maurshanta).

Lord Dasmer Cormaeril (Neutral, Human – Chondathan, Expert 1): Lord Dasmer is the patriarch of the House of Cormaeril, he is a proud and dignified man who speaks his mind honestly. He is the eldest male of his house, and has a full bodied head of dark hair and beard but with large streaks of grey.

Delthrin the Deadmaster (NE hm W(N)12): A little-known necromancer who came to Marsember’s defence against a pirate attack by animating large numbers of undead to fight. Apparently bothered by his newfound fame and popularity, Delthrin withdrew to the life of a recluse. (Cormyr pg 15)

This reclusive necromancer of Marsember’s time is devoted to endless experiments with the drowned dead. He’s reportedly devised a large, predatory shark-like aquatic undead creature that is made of the cobbled-together body parts of many beings and sports multiple jawed heads, grasping claws, and massive main jaws. (Volos Cormyr pg 218)

Delthrin gained notoriety when he defended Marsember against a pirate raid by raising a legion of sea zombies, ju-ju zombies, bone sharks, skeletons, and lacedons who swarmed aboard no less then six pirate vessels and tore the ships apart along with their crews! (Volos Cormyr pg 218)

Dorouma (Good, Human – Chondathan, Magic User 4): This hermit wanders the wilds of the West Reaches and the King’s Forest, serving the will of Selune by offering succour and sanctuary to those lost in the wilds and assisting the farmers and shepherds that there. Dorouma is widely respected by the Church of Selune in Cormyr, and aspiring servants of the faith are often sent to her for training.

Draguth Endroun (N hm D12 of Silvanus): Draguth is the leader of the Knightswood Nine druidic circle. A white-haired, elderly man who likes to seem mysterious and act behind the scenes as much as possible, Draguth is reclusive, short-tempered, stubborn, and opinionated. At any time, he’s apt to be fighting with at least half of the druids in the circle. He retains leadership of the circle for two reasons. First, even the other druids think he’s more powerful than he really is, thanks to his manner. Most importantly, he has a brilliant understanding of how things grow and what should be planted to flourish and balance in any given area of the King’s Forest. The lush vicinity of Knightswood is a testimony to his skills. (Volos Cormyr pg 218)

Draguth defends himself with a staff of the woodlands and a unique immunity to dryad charms. This immunity has allowed him to befriend the tree folk and perfect a dimension door ability that can take him from one particular tree to another many times in a day. (Volos Cormyr pg 218)

Draguth won’t willingly leave the King’s Forest, but he is apt to show up unheralded to confront anyone cutting wood, lighting a fire, or simply journeying through the forest depths to see what they’re up to. Through the years, he has rescued several exhausted, wounded adventuring bands from woodland predators. (Volos Cormyr pg 218)

Dunman Kiriag (NG hm F5; STR 17): Dunman runs the Lonesome Tankard Inn in Eveningstar. Due to long practice, Dunman is +3 to his attack roll inside the inn with any dagger. He carries a dagger +4 sheathed in one sleeve. Dunman has two secret sides: He’s both a Crown agent and a Harper. (Volos Cormyr pg 218)

A psionic wild talent, Dunman has the abilities of danger sense and mind bar and also possesses a near-perfect memory. He remembers faces half-glimpsed two decades before or now disguised. A man of great, gruff discretion, he uses few words but is always kind and helpful. Many exhausted guests have been astonished to find him removing their boots and washing their feet with hot salts when they’ve slumped into a chair with a tankard after a long day of walking. (Volos Cormyr pg 219)

Once a Sembian noble’s bodyguard and later a Purple Dragon officer, Dunman is far older than he appears. He gained eight potions of longevity while looting a dragon’s hoard about 160 winters ago, and he has used four of them. He was then a member of the Six Splendid Swords adventuring band, and he came to love one of his companions, the gold elf warrior-mage Deularla Hightower Ithruen of Evermeet. (Volos Cormyr pg 219)

At first haughty, she slowly came to love him, and she joined with him in marriage shortly before another dragon devoured most of the company and reduced her to a scorched ruin. She spent her last strength in a mighty magic that sent her essence into Dunman. She now lives on inside him, a merry companion who warns him of danger, recalls things for him, and dispenses wry advice. With her presence, Dunman has no need of any other intimacy and has never remarried. (Volos Cormyr pg 219)

On occasion, Deularla speaks to others through Dunman’s lips. She can speak and be aware while he sleeps or is unconscious. She retains some minor magical powers. She can send a silent, shadowy image of herself some 400 yards distant (which she’s used to warn Tessaril of orc and brigand attacks), observe as if by a wizard eye for the same range, and cure disease and neutralize poison in Dunman – and in others using his touch. (Volos Cormyr pg 219)

Elestra Blaebur (CG hf B6): A singer and dancer at parties. She is also secretly a messenger for the War Wizards and Harpers. She has an uncanny knack for delivering messages to people who are well-guarded or otherwise inaccessible. There are rumours about Blaebur’s ability to get to hard-to-reach individuals and about her possible side-line activities. (Cormyr pg 15)

A popular party singer and dancer in Marsember, Elestra is also a Harper agent. When not performing at the Masked Merfolk nightclub, Elestra secretly carries messages for war wizards and the Harpers. (Every third minstrel or so who comes to play at the Masked Merfolk is a Harper agent or contact, so she can easily get and receive small items and information.) She also carries other messages on the side for well-paying patrons of the Merfolk – in particular, outlaws or feuding pirates who must remain hidden for their own safety – and makes a very good living at it. Her specialty is delivering bedside messages at midnight to unsuspecting, well-guarded recipients. (Volos Cormyr pg 219)

Elmdaerle, Guildmaster of the Guild of Naturalists (NG hm W2, S: zoology, botany): Elmdaerle is Arabel’s, and perhaps Cormyr’s, foremost expert on Cormyte forest flora and fauna. Elmdaerle is widely known as a friendly soul who can talk endlessly on any subject pertaining to botany and small woodland creatures. His most famous moment was saving a visiting noble from food poisoning by providing a botanical antidote. His Guild of Naturalists is growing stronger in Arabel, and the guild often conducts expeditions to the surrounding countryside to gather specimens for later examination. (Cormyr pg 20)

Endarthar of Wildwoods (CN hm M18): Endarthar is a fiery-tempered but brilliant mage who often served the crown of Tethyr with his spells, striking down pirate raiders and rebellious nobles. He fled from that country when civil war erupted and has since settled in Wildwoods, a woodland mansion near Waymoot. He defeated its former owner, the wizard Orthaerus Manycloaks, in a sorcerous duel to gain possession of the estate. (Volos Cormyr pg 219)

While in Wildwoods, he has devoted his energies to developing new spells, creating and training a menagerie of servitor creatures (including griffons, umber hulks, and several intelligent oozes and jellies), and trying to destroy the ghost of Orthaerus. It seems that Orthaerus can still cast spells and lurks about the mansion, trying to ambush Endarthar for a rematch! Endarthar values his privacy, especially since every guest who proves hostile is suddenly defended by the resident ghost. (Volos Cormyr pg 219)

Erlandar Summerstar: The son of Lord Rauvor and Lady Pheirauze Summerstar is a rogue and a womaniser who travels around the East Reaches, seducing his way through nobles and commoners alike.

Faerndol Illance (Evil, Human – Chondathan, Expert 2): Faerndol is the ageing and grossly fat brother of Sorgar Illance. Faerndol is an ex-adventurer like his brother, and during his days of roaming Faerun he gained a taste for inflicting pain and fear upon other creatures.

Today Faerndol owns a number of properties across Chessenta, Sembia, and Turmish, he rents these out to generate wealth and uses the others to pursue his interests of mental, physical, and sexual torture against victims of all ages. His favoured abode for indulging his pleasures are a backlands keep in Starmantle.

Faerndol is a money lender as well as a landlord, and he happily uses unscrupulous means to acquire other persons wealth, such as arranging accidents so that his clients cannot afford repayments or rent. Faerndol arranges such accidents through intermediaries and business associates, and only uses poisons and drugs from Unther and Mulhorand to silence those intermediaries that know too much.

Faerndol is a member of the Men of the Basilisk

Fallas (LN hm F2): Fallas of Thentia, a dealer in lace, silks, and costume jewellery (Cormyr pg 11)

Fendarl Illance: Cousin to the current heir of House Illance. Married to Daerthra Illance (formerly Huntinglance).

Filani of Tantras (N hf M9; Sage fields: politics and history of the Dragonreach and Moonsea North): Now a resident of Tilverton, Filani is dignified and graceful despite being as tall and as heavily built as many warriors of renown. Dressed in tent-like but magnificently embroidered gowns, she shuffles about the marketplaces and inns of the town, buying meals and drinks for caravan folk who tell her news. Many of her sources are regular reporters who know they can get their sustenance for free on a night stopover. In this way, Filani keeps abreast of happenings in the area. (Volos Cormyr pg 219)

As she has a talent for judging character and also for keeping track of many details, she often correctly anticipates events that will unfold in her corner of the world. She’s not interested in combat or adventure, but merely in calmly selling her expertise for reasonable fees and thereby passing her days in comfort. (Volos Cormyr pg 220)

Filfaeril: Direct descendant of Elminster.

Azoun’s queen is Filfaeril Selazair, who is four years younger than he. (Cormyr pg 42)

Filfaeril Stormbillow (CG hf W16): Retired from adventuring and uses her knowledge to make magical items for sale. There does not seem to be any item, scroll or potion that she cannot obtain, whether by trade or by her own manufacture. Catering to the adventuring crowd, she has become quite successful and rich, with her main expense being the purchase of magical components from her customers. (Cormyr pg 15)

Filfaeril is a former adventuress who retired to Marsember, the city of her birth, some 30 years ago. She now makes her living creating and selling magical items and potions to younger adventurers. From these adventurers she also buys rare and special materials she needs to create still more items of magic. (Volos Cormyr pg 220)

Still beautiful despite her 60-odd winters, Filfaeril is protected by a rare spell that can enclose her in a healing sphere that lashes out at foes with wand-like attacks. On two recent occasions she’s defeated attackers in this way. The first set of these attackers was a pirate band bent on capturing her to serve them with her magic; the other was a Zhentarim led group bent on assassination and grabbing what magic she might have at hand. The attacks have made Filfaeril somewhat cautious, but she has decided against letting them cause her to change her lifestyle. (Volos Cormyr pg 220)

Lord “Firetongue” Haubrynton **Deceased**: One of the original Purple Dragons; a group of loyal friends to King Duar that fought alongside him during the battle to retake Suzail from Magrath the Minotaur. Lord “Firetongue” was generally solemn and dignified, but prone to bouts of bad behaviour where he would swear, punch objectionable people, lust after women, play pranks, and then just as suddenly revert to normal behaviour without any apparent memory of his wrongdoings.

Gahlaerd Mossmere (NG hm M12): This sarcastic, smooth-tongued mage dwells in Tilverton and has a knack for devising highly effective new spells. He sells one or two such magics a year to traveling mages who’ve come to know the worth of his work. They pay an base price of 10,000 gp per spell level for his creations. Such fees allow him to live very comfortably, protect himself with much personal magic, and continue his researches. Persistent rumours link him with the Rogues of Tilverton, a local band of thieves and outlaws. But then, as he’s said, Rumour runs before us all like a yapping dog that dares not bite. It makes noise enough to annoy but need not be regarded further. (Volos Cormyr pg 220)

Lady Gantharla Emmarask (Neutral, Human – Chondathan, Expert 1): Dowager widow of House Emmarask and a regular among the social revels and balls of Suzail’s nobility. She has taken Randatha Archenstar as her confidant (a humanophobic elf that is selling her secrets to the Lalya Maurshanta).

Glarasteer Rhauligan: A Highknight, whimsical, prone to breaking the rules but achieving results despite his unorthodox methods. He is a Harper and is fiercely loyal to the Royal House of Obarskyr. Rhauligan runs a sales business that also deals a sideline in smuggling and fencing stolen items.

Gondegal “The Lost King” (Neutral, Human – Chondathan, Warrior 7): Gondegal was briefly the King of a short lived kingdom centred on Arabel. His forces defeated by King Azoun IV of Cormyr, he fled into the Stonelands where the mists of Ravenloft claimed him.

Gondegal is an accomplished warrior and utterly fearless in battle, which garnered him the respect and loyalty of many fellow adventuring companions. Using his natural charisma, Gondegal stoked the restlessness and rebelliousness of the citizens of Arabel, highlighting the excess and distance of Suzail and its people, while at the same time making deals with other interested parties (principally the Zhentarim and Sembian merchants secretly manipulated by Red Wizards) that wanted free passage to the Stonelands without Cormyte control over their movements.

Gondegal hired a number of mercenaries to his side and became a magnet for all the outcasts and malcontents in Cormyr that wanted an end to Obarskyr rule (or just an end to Azoun’s rule), including a number of nobles from Arabel and Marsember. With this army he was able to claim large swathes of Cormyr’s West Reaches, but ultimately his forces collapsed before the discipline and resources of the Purple Dragons (and the War Wizards, against which he had no defence.

Lord Gruen Bleth (Neutral, Human – Chondathan, Magic User 4): Patriarch of the noble House of Bleth. One of the masters of the Seven Suns Trading Company.

Gundar (Neutral, Human – Chondathan, Warrior 2): Gundar is a stockmaster in the Purple Dragons stationed at XXXX. He has a gambling habit and often sells excess stock to supplement his income. His superiors are beginning to suspect he is less than honest when reporting thefts from the stores.

Hammaer Bleth: Brother of Joslyn Bleth.

Harellae “Wildfangs” Mallowbridge: The wife of Tonthur Mallowbridge was a secret magic user, both ruthless and fearless. After the House of Mallowbridge was exiled, Harellae fled into the Hullack Forest where she was occasionally spotted as a wild-woman that would attack lone creatures and travellers and devour them raw (hence her nickname).

Travellers in the Hullack Forest still report the “Wildfangs woman” attacking foresters and explorers, although there are rumours of other nefarious groups operating in the region that may be using this rumour as a cover.

Hector Dauntinghorn (Neutral, Human – Chondathan, Warrior 4): Hector Dauntinghorn, otherwise known as Hector “the Sailor”, is a veteran officer in the Blue Dragons of Cormyr. A staunch and loyal patriot.

Lord Hresker Falbruin (Neutral, Human – Chondathan, Expert 1): Hresker Falbruin is a former commoner, now the Patriarch of the noble House of Yellander after marrying the Lady Anathae Yellander (eldest daughter of the former Lord Prester Yellander), a match arranged by Queen Filfaeril herself.

Ildool (CN hm F7): Ildool is the crown’s representative, but he has yet to distinguish himself. Complaints about him, including charges of skimming tax funds, fill libraries of scrolls. Even though local Harpers keep Ildool fairly honest, he is widely distrusted. (Cormyr pg 13)

Iyrytharna Dantras (CG hf M16): Iyrytharna dwells in the countryside near Juniril. She keeps to her underground home and crafts spells most of the time. Her husband Thorn is a maker of fine knives and a werepegasus. From time to time on summer nights, they can be seen over the Wyvernwater from afar, a woman whose unbound hair streams behind her as she rides a swift-winged black Pegasus bareback, both of them rolling and diving in the air in delighted abandon. (Volos Cormyr pg 220)

Jakanna Bruen (Good, Human – Chondathan, Magic User 3): This War Wizard is energetic and loves to climb (especially trees), but she has a short and fiery temper. She is the lover of High Knight Roedele Thornmantle, and lives with her along with Abrult Morglam.

Jestra (NG hf Tra18): Jestra dwells in Arabel and makes a very good living by using small magics to improve the appearance, usefulness, and value of objects brought to her by clients. She owns and rents out many houses in the city. She uses one of them, which is linked to her own residence by a golem-guarded tunnel, to meet discreetly with noble clients who desire anonymity. (Volos Cormyr pg 220)

Formerly a plain woman, she’s become a striking beauty through the use of her magic, though she retains her large, hooked nose because she’s fond of it. She is pioneering the use of safe, subtle, long-lasting magic to heighten the beauty of other women. They typically pay her 2,000 to 12,000 gp for treatment. She never identifies her clients and is rarely seen in public except during her morning food shopping which she performs alone. She is identifiable from afar by her long, curly ringlets of glossy blue-black hair. (Volos Cormyr pg 220)

Lady Jlanesse Cormaeril (Evil, Human – Chondathan, Expert 3): Lady Jlanesse is the husband of Lord Dasmer Cormaeril and is the true power in charge of the noble House of Cormaeril. Lady Jlanesse is white haired, pale skinned, with dark, almond eyes and is regarded as a frail but beautiful woman who is soft spoken and unfailingly polite in public. Among her family Jlanesse is a tyrant who commands the entire family through her husband (over whom she has complete control). Lady Jlanesse is a shrewd master of strategy with a talent for reading body language that equals that of Queen Filfaeril.

Joslyn Bleth: Beautiful, spirited, likes roguish and handsome men. Sister of Hammaer Bleth

Kargerth Cormaeril (Neutral, Human – Chondathan, Expert 3): A secret kleptomaniac that enjoys pilfering and spying on his fellow nobles, he has many contacts among the criminal gangs of Marsember and had loose ties to the outlawed Fire Knives (but he quickly “severed” those ties in order to keep his status in Cormyr. Vangerdahast and the War Wizards are aware of his association with the Fire Knives and are keeping him under observation.

Kimba Crownsilver (Neutral, Human – Chondathan, Magic User 2): The authoritarian matriarch of the House of Crownsilver.

Klarndarl Illance: One of the depraved Illances, helps his uncle Faerndol with his money lending business

Kolmin Stagblade (Good, Human – Chondathan, Warrior 3): Kolmin Stagblade owns one of the many small farms that dot the cleared lands of Cormyr. Kolmin is a huge man of pure muscle; whispers are that a long ago ancestor was a giant) who was chosen to join the Bannerguard of King Azoun at 16 years of age based upon his stature alone.

Kolmin has excelled as a Bannerguard, and has become exceptionally skilled in personal combat, especially with the battleaxe (his chosen weapon). His servants run the farm while he serves the King and he is fairly wealthy and well connected for a yeoman as a result of his position and almost year round presence at court.

Korvarr Rallyhorn (human male, Fighter, LG) A valiant lionar of the Purple Dragons who resigned his rank duo for the actions of his younger brother (as seen in Death of the Dragon), Korvarr marked himself for royal attention with his valour in aiding and defending Crown Princess Tanalasfa. Shaken by what he saw of blood, death, and betrayal in the fighting, Korvarr has become the Crown’s strongest ally among the nobles, quietly urging them to support this or that Crown suggestion or decree, pointing out both high and self serving reasons to do so. War Wizards have suspiciously probed his thoughts on many occasions, looking for any sign of him building future treason but have found only guilt and a need to serve. His rank was personally reinstated by Alusair (whom he’s now hopelessly in love with), and Korvarr might well soon rise in royal service,

Kurn Cormaeril (Evil, Human – Chondathan, Magic User 3): A budding wizard who spends much of his time promoting Cormaeril’s trade links in neighbouring lands. He has spent some time in the Moonsea and has a number of Zhentarim associates.

Kyler (LG hm W12): Much of the true management of the city is in the hands of Bledrin Scoril (LG hm F9), Ildool’s herald, and Kyler (LG hm W12), a War Wizard. (Cormyr pg 13)

Laspeera: Direct descendant of Elminster

Laspeera Naerinth (NG hf M14): Laspeera runs a school in deportment, courtly speech, and letters for young ladies in Suzail. Graceful, fearless, and widely respected, she is a prominent war wizard and is regarded by Suzailans as the best source of advice for anyone with a moral dilemma. Some grown nobles journey to Suzail to discuss things privately with her just as they once did as young pupils at her exclusive and extremely expensive school. (Rates at the school are 1,000 gp per month.) (Volos Cormyr pg 220)

The House of Grace turns out young women with superior learning manners, and practice in observation, reasoning, and using their judgment. Its graduates’ reputations are so stellar that rich merchants in Sembia who value strong mates come first to suzail to woo. (Volos Cormyr pg 220)

Almost single-handedly Laspeera has produced a generation of wise, capable noblewomen who are the envy of other lands. She’s also been known to tutor pupils in magic from time to time – always in return for a service to be demanded later. This service is almost always timely aid to be delivered when Azoun or the realm of Cormyr is in need. By these means, she’s dragged many adventuring bands into defending Cormyr’s interests in crises. (Volos Cormyr pg 220)

Lheskar Bhaliir (N hm F3): He owns several enterprises that operate on the edge of the law. His general stores sell a motley and ever-changing selection of merchandise and are widely rumoured to be fencing operations for stolen goods. He also owns two prominent taverns, the Dancing Dragon and the Dancing Dracolisk, which make no effort to bar shady customers. (Cormyr pg 16)

Margort Summerstar: This maiden lady of House Summerstar is the daughter of Lord Rauvor and Lady Pheirauze Summerstar.

Maerthmar Illance: One of the depraved Illances, helps his uncle Faerndol with his money lending business

Maerun Stoutbold (CG hm F5): Owns a marina and boat dealership (Cormyr pg 11)

Maerun is a somewhat disreputable merchant of Suzail who deals in nets, ropes, masts, sails, and ships. He buys, sells, rents, and repairs all of these. He usually winters in Marsember, where his coins are very active in shipbuilding. (Volos Cormyr pg 220)

Maerun’s attraction is his discretion. No matter who’s asking, Maerun never talks. The stout, almost moon-faced man has a high natural immunity to mind-probings, both magical and psionic, and has never been convicted of anything illegal. It’s open knowledge in Suzail’s wharves that Maerun’s your man if you want covert shipboard passage out of Suzail or need a ship refitted immediately in the dead of night. (Volos Cormyr pg 220)

Maerun is a cheerfully amoral man – as long as he gets paid, he’s happy. He’s been happy often enough that when he was caught by a senior war wizard personally carrying two bound and gagged lasses (undoubtedly kidnapped upland Cormyreans destined for slavery in Westgate or points south) aboard one of his boats he was able to hire a Sembian mage to swear that the girls were two pet displacer beasts that the mage had polymorphed into human form to avoid alarming honest citizens. Maerun was simply shipping them to a client of his. The Suzailan justiciar’s comments on the words quoted here were caustic in the extreme, and the court was open in its disbelief – but Maerun walked free. Again. (Volos Cormyr pg 221)

Maxer Hlarr, Defender of Suzail (NG hm Inv11): This reclusive invoker has simple tastes: He likes peace and quiet, with a stable realm around him so he can devote his full attention to building ever larger and more elaborate constructs. The constructs are items animated by combinations of spells. They acquire a limited sentience of their own. (Volos Cormyr pg 221)

His work and the magical item retrieval work of his constructs have made him far more powerful than his level would indicate. His constructs have successfully recovered magical items from many lich holds and tombs, as well as monster-haunted Myth Drannor and the drowned ruins of a lost, ancient city of sorcerers off Athkatla. Because of the items his constructs have retrieved, he’s a walking arsenal of puissant magical weaponry at all times. (Volos Cormyr pg 221)

King Azoun awarded him the title Defender, which gives him ranking equal to that of a baron in both the nobility and among Purple Dragons, after an attack on Suzail by four dragons. Maxer unleashed powerful magic to rescue Suzail and several of the prominent mages of the city who were losing their battle against the destructive wyrms. (Volos Cormyr pg 221)

Maxer remains a quiet, private sort of man. He avoids all requests to teach by would-be apprentices and shies away even more energetically from the overtures of sorceresses who express any interest in getting to know him better. (Volos Cormyr pg 221)

Mellomir of Arabel (LN hm M27; Sage fields history, prophecies, and divination): Mellomir is a man respected across the known Realms. A dry, dapper man whose neatly trimmed hair and beard are going white, Mellomir has accurately predicted several important events, including the fall of Bhaal and Myrkul in the Time of Troubles and the reappearance of the fabled Ring of Winter. He’s survived several kidnappings and single-handedly destroyed an entire Westgate family after it deemed him a foe and tried repeatedly to assassinate him. He’s protected by an enchantment of his own devising that gives his body permanent, continuous, automatic spell warding equal in effects to a ring of spell turning. (Volos Cormyr pg 221)

Myara Summerstar: The daughter of Lord Darandar Summerstar dwells at Firefall Keep.

Myrmeen Lhal (NG hf R14): Is the popular and efficient Lord of Arabel. She envisions her task as creating and maintaining a secure environment for business. She has done her job well. (Cormyr pg 17)

Myschant Halarra (CG hf Abj14): Myschanta dwells in Arabel and is much in demand as a sorceress-for-hire. Fat, short, and energetic, she chuckles and snorts her way cheerfully through life, clad in a succession of old breeches, vests, swash-topped boots and rumpled hide shirts that make her look like a stablemaster or hostler rather than a mage. She is one of the rare workers-of-magic who’ll ride out to the rescue of beleaguered adventurers, though her fees are high. She charges 6,000 gp for a simple service like guiding folk to a spot, bringing healing potions to a locale, or affecting an escape from a prison cell, and this base price doubles for any spell combat situations. (Volos Cormyr pg 221)

She’s a capable spellcaster with a shrewd grasp of tactics and experience in dealing with many monsters, and she’s seldom caught by surprise. She always seems to have an item or timely spell up her sleeve. If she’s sorely injured or slain, a contingency spell whisks her body to High Lady Alustriel of Silverymoon, who owes her a favour or six. This has happened twice to the astonishment of the court in Silverymoon, but that’s only twice in 30-odd years of her being called into desperate situations. (Volos Cormyr pg 221)

Nalanna Summerstar: This maiden lady of House Summerstar is the daughter of Lord Rauvor and Lady Pheirauze Summerstar.

Naobrae Illance: A dabbling necromancer that worships Loviatar and has established a secret temple to Loviatar in XXXXX where she tortures kidnapped waifs and strays from Sembia and experiments upon them with her sister Zarele, trying to learn the secrets of necromancy and possibly how to augment and renew her own body.

Narnra: Direct descendant of Elminster.

Oloebrae Mallowbridge: The wife of Naeryn Mallowbridge was a delicately beautiful woman who appeared to all to be shy and retiring but in truth was a master manipulator and excellent actor.

Several years after the exile of House Mallowbridge, Naeryn Mallowbridge died after a sudden and short illness. Oloebrae Mallowbridge married again, twice within 4 years, and both her husbands died after a sudden and short illness. Both of Oloebrae’s sons with Naeryn; Ithril and Ongammur Mallowbridge, also died suddenly. Indeed only her daughter Taeril Mallowbridge outlived her mother Oloebrae, and that was possibly only because she fled to Waterdeep and changed her identity (and perhaps her gender, rumour is she posed as a man and became a Guildmaster). It was determined after Oloebrae’s death, that she was a master poisoner, and had murdered

Orbril of Skull Crag (CN hm M15): A haughty, blond-bearded and increasingly stout wizard who loves good food and lots of it, Orbril doesn’t dwell in Skull Crag at all but in a peak top tower nearby that is high above the Crag. From this windswept aerie he runs a magical delivery service. For stiff fees (10,000 gp and up) he delivers prepared packages to precise locations at prearranged times. For instance, he may agree to send a strongchest containing food, potions of healing, weapons, wine, and spell scrolls to a certain cavern in Undermountain either at moonrise on Uktar 11th or when a magical alarm is set off by the entry of a particular being into that cavern. For dangerous or hostile deliveries, such as sending a lit torch into a warehouse where barrels of oil are stored or putting a stone block into the air directly above someone’s throne or bed, Orbril demands three to four times his base fee, and he doubles that total if his target is a wizard or magical retaliation is likely. (Volos Cormyr pg 222)

Orbril’s many transportation spells are secret magics of his own devising, but two properties of the spells he uses most often are known: He can deliver a second item to the same spot almost instantly (for example, if his first strike against a target fails), and he can follow any sending to its destination without error, work magic or perform physical acts there, and then return to his aerie by force of will alone, snapped back to his departure point.(Volos Cormyr pg 222)

These capabilities and Orbril’s use of them have made him unpopular with a growing number of mages, rulers, and leaders of violent organizations (such as thieving guilds), and they’ve mounted several attacks on his home. Recently the Zhentarim sent in six specially equipped ju-ju zombies, who tried to occupy Orbril with magical attacks while a beholder teleported in to launch the main attack on him. Orbril escaped by triggering several blade barrier like defensive fields and teleporting to a storage cavern of his own. From there he sent four death tyrants (undead beholders) to deal with his attackers. Then he used unknown means to trace the Zhentarim, who were observing all this via crystal ball, and sent a delayed blast fireball to them. (Volos Cormyr pg 222)

Orlbert Thaylaine (Good, Human – Chondathan, Expert 3): The Steward of House Emmarask is the master of Emmarask Mansion and has been responsible for the return of House Emmarask to political power, manipulating the enlightened Alaphondar into studying Cormyte law and history, and then using his contacts to promote Alaphondar as a candidate to undertake a genealogical survey of Cormyr’s nobility.

Orlbert has been responsible for expanding House Emmarask’s interest into becoming landlords in Sembia and Westgate. Orlbert is a true and loyal servant with only the best interests of House Emmarask at heart, despite his masterful manipulation of its membership.

Orthil Illance: One of the depraved Illances, helps his uncle Faerndol with his money lending business.

Paerile Yellander: The younger sister of Lady Anathae Yellander is a shy, retiring young women whom Queen Filfaeril and her sister are trying to match with a suitable young nobleman, but they are waiting for the most perfect match.

Peldra Ammarask (Neutral, Human – Chondathan, Magic User 2): Peldra is bewitchingly beautiful and blessed with youthful (almost childish) good looks that prevent many from taking her seriously in any position of authority. Peldra is devoted to the worship of Tyr and is looking for any opportunity to prove herself to her superiors and further the faith of Tyr.

Peraphon Thond (CN hm F3): Peraphon is a slim, short, elegant man with a goatee, perfumed black hair, dark clothing, and a plenitude of gleaming and glittering finger rings. He’s a supercilious, sneering man who’s known to be very shrewd (which is not to say double-dealing) in investments and business negotiations – hence his long row of warehouses just inside the western face of Arabel’s city wall. He always has something up his sleeves to deal with treachery. (Volos Cormyr pg 222)

He often hires adventurers to go prospecting in the Stonelands or to work certain mines there that he can provide maps or directions to. Unfortunately for the adventurers, these mines are imperilled by lurking monsters, and Peraphon often neglects to mention this unless pointedly asked. (Volos Cormyr pg 222)

Peraphon is extremely wealthy and is known to have purchased some powerful magics to protect himself against personal attack. One of his rings is a ring of spell turning and another is thought to hold six or more gargoyles that he can summon forth and bend to his will. (Volos Cormyr pg 222)

Lady Pheirauze Summerstar: Known as the Dowager Lady Daggertongue for her sharp tongue and haughty, imperious manner. Lady Pheirauze was married to the previous Lord Rauvor Summerstar but has since been romantically involved with three separate generations of the noble House of Illance.

Lady Pheirauze is in her sixties, she was coldly beautiful in her youth, is very intelligent, strong willed, and used to getting her own way. She has deliberately spread her personal influence (through her romantic and familial relationships) and then uses that influence to dominate the lives of those closest to her to ensure everyone obeys her wishes. Lady Pheirauze’s children are Pyramus Summerstar (deceased), Dalestra Summerstar (deceased), Orm Hlannan Summerstar (deceased), Darandar Summerstar (deceased), Brezm Summerstar (deceased), Erlandar Summerstar, Margort Summerstar, and Nalanna Summerstar.

Lady Pheirauze’s son; Lord Pyramus Summerstar was romantically involved with Princess Sulesta (daughter of the then King Rhigaerd, and now deceased sister of King Azoun), thanks to the manipulations of Lady Pheirauze, and the two were even secretly married at one point (although this was against Lady Pheirauze’s wishes and the marriage was quickly annulled and never produced any issue).

Raynaar Marliir (LN hm F6): Raynaar is the current head of the House of Marliir, the most powerful noble family in the Arabel area. Raynaar has been a benevolent landlord to his tenant farmers and remains on good terms with all but a few of the more exploitive merchant companies (Cormyr pg 20)

Rhiindaerth Emmarask (Neutral, Human – Chondathan, Magic User 8): Rhiindaerh Emmarask is a rising star among the War Wizards, very skilled with a natural aptitude for charm related magics. Rhiindaerth was very useful in uncovering the Fire Knives activities over a decade ago, and has since rooted out a dozen other conspiracies.

Rhiindaerth is currently posted to Marsember to monitor the activities of the Drenched Elders, but he is really using his time to study the secret Sword Heralds hideaways, believing one exists amid the canals of that city. In truth Rhiindaerth is an important member of another secret society; the Men of the Basilisk, he is using contacts among that group to further his Sword Heralds research and in turn is deflecting the War Wizards attentions away from its members and activities.

Rhiindaerth believes he will soon be able to gain a position as one of the senior Octads of the Men of the Basilisk if he can help the group’s clandestine activities achieve a major goal without War Wizard attention.

Roedele Thornmantle (Good, Human – Tethyrian, Magic User 6): A High Knight of Cormyr, knighted for her services to Azoun during the fighting in Arabel against Gondegal and his forces. Roedele lives in Suzail with her lovers Abrult Morglam and Jakanna Bruen.

Lord Roland Emmarask (Neutral, Human – Chondathan, Magic User 4): Lord Roland Emmarask is the able patriarch of the House of Emmarask. A student of Cormyrian history, he specialises in trade disputes between merchants and the nobility.

Lord Roland is steadfastly loyal to Cormyr and is a regular presence at the Royal Court where he often volunteers his candid opinion on what he sees as the best solution for Cormyr. His opinion is valued, especially by his cousin Alaphondar.

Lord Roland collects maps, and his collection rivals that of Othrar’s Library in the Royal Palace, he even claims to have an original (not a copy) and well preserved example of one of the first maps of Cormyr.

Rowen Cormaeril: 

Ruldan Nysgart (NG hm M16): This mage dwells in a simple cottage in the back woods near Espar, and he there trains more would-be wizards than any other mage of Cormyr. From near and far they come to him to be taught a single spell each and sent forth to gain practice in its use. In this way Ruldan keeps himself supplied with a dozen or so apprentices at once and makes quite a good living. His cottage rarely has fewer than six wizards of low to middling levels in it. (Volos Cormyr pg 222)

His students are under strict orders not to bother the good folk of Espar or the vicinity in any way, so as not to make themselves or Ruldan himself unwelcome. Ruldan is a kindly, patient, nondescript man whose brown beard conceals several powerful tokens of his own crafting that have powers akin to better-known magical rings. In this way, he commands powers equal to four or five such items at once. (Volos Cormyr pg 222)

Saszesk (NE hm F3): A smuggler of goods and people (Cormyr pg 11)

Saszesk is a shadowy, semi-legendary man in Suzail. He’s the skulker in shadows blamed for all manner of disappearances. (Volos Cormyr pg 223)

In reality, the shy, soft-spoken Saszesk was long ago co-opted by the war wizards to serve the Crown. He remains an effective smuggler of goods and folk into and out of Suzail – but pays tithes to the Court and keeps Vangerdahast scrupulously informed as to everything he handles. His work provides a handy relief valve for things best handled covertly and lets Azoun know just who among his citizens is most disloyal. (Volos Cormyr pg 223)

Saszesk lives in a complex of cellars under the Six Candles inn, a property he owns in the north-western reach of Suzail, guarded by traps and by his use of a hat of disguise. He’s comfortably wealthy, but his coins are hidden somewhere else – reputedly in a cellar somewhere under the Royal Court. (Volos Cormyr pg 223)

Shayna Summerstar: The daughter of Lord Pyramus and Lady Zarova Summerstar, sister of Lord Athlan Summerstar, and current heir to the House of Summerstar. Lady Shayna is stunningly beautiful but incredibly wanton and lusty.

Shymra Feintar (Good, Human – Chondathan, Expert 1): This petite young lass grew up as a farm lass in the Silverlands, she was always disgusted by the state of urban living in Suzail and Marsember, and upon reaching the age of majority she set out to help the poor masses of the cities of Cormyr. Coming to the attention of the faithful of Selune in Marsember, she was sent to train with Dorouma in service to Selune.

Storm Silverhand (Good, Human – ?, Expert 12): Storm Silverhand, one of the legendary seven sisters, is also the last surviving member of the noble House of Immerdusk, having been named heir by the elderly Immerdusks of Thunderstone to prevent their lands falling into the hands of the Crown centuries ago.

As the Marchioness Immerdusk, Storm Silverhand is receives the rents from a handful of houses and at least 6 farms in and around Thunderstone, and she is allowed all the rights and privileges that come with being the head of a noble household in Cormyr, although almost everyone outside of the Royal House of Obarskyr are unaware of her status and would probably challenge it if claimed.

Szwentil Illeon (NE hm F3): Heading its operations in Cormyr is Szwentil of Marsember (NE hm F3), one of six founding members of the Six Coffers Market Priakos wealthy merchants from different lands. (Cormyr pg 13)

This slim, saturnine, young-looking man always dresses neatly in black and surrounds himself with bodyguards, including several hired battle mages. One of the founders of the Six Coffers Market Priakos, Szwentil is rumoured to have a personal fortune of over six million gold pieces and over a dozen houses in as many lands. (Volos Cormyr pg 223)

Rumours persist in his home city of Marsember that he is involved in large-scale smuggling, but some citizens take the view that he need not make coins in such risky ways. He’s wealthy enough to buy up stocks of any valuable goods in order to create shortages whenever he desires and then release his holdings at top prices to swell his wealth manyfold. That he does not is a measure of the limits of his greed and of his desire to remain as anonymous as possible. (Volos Cormyr pg 223)

Szwentil is calculating, farsighted, and totally amoral. He currently devotes most of his time to two projects: openly overseeing the building of many ships and buildings in Sembia and covertly purchasing as much Cormyrean and Sembian land as possible. With land and ships, he thinks to build himself into a power as great as any ruler – with
none of the burdens of scrutiny and accountability a ruler must bear. (Volos Cormyr pg 223)

Tagreth Cormaeril (Evil, Human – Chondathan, Expert 6): Tagreth Cormaeril has a talent for thievery and an addiction to murder. He has ties to the outlawed group, the Fire Knives.

Princess Tanalasta Obarskyr: Tanalasta is a close adviser to the king. Tanalasta is a vital aide to the king, performing many official duties in his name. She disdains marriage, rejecting all courtiers. (Cormyr pg 42)

Tandarsyn Mhorhune “The Sorcelisk” (Evil, Human – Chondathan, Magic User 10): The Sorcelisk is a mysterious wizard that dwells in a supposedly ruined tower on the eastern edge of the Vast Swamp.

Tandarsyn is widely believed to have cheated the Crucible of the Basilisk by using his inherent abilities to shield himself from the gaze of the basilisk (he has draconic heritage). These rumours lead many among the brotherhood to question his loyalty, and if they knew about his secret dual membership with the Cult of the Dragon (he is the secret contact of Harlyn Grimmerhand, although neither knows of the others dual membership).

The Sorcelisk is a master at breeding unusual and magical creatures which he uses to guard his seemingly ruined tower, and to help the Cult of the Dragon in their draconic breeding programs. His main job for the Men of the Basilisk is to ensure the basilisk survives for many more years, he is only able to perform this task because he is immune to the gaze of the basilisk.

Tandarsyn has been in secret correspondence with Asgetrion the Learned (a noted sage of Arabel) regarding the success and failures of his breeding programs.

Tannaura Yellander: The younger sister of Lady Anathae Yellander is a shy, retiring young women whom Queen Filfaeril and her sister are trying to match with a suitable young nobleman, but they are waiting for the most perfect match.

Tannuth Ormbyr (CN hm F8): The man to see if you’re looking for work and don’t mind a little risk. Some wealthy people occasionally need to hire an adventuring company but don’t want their involvement known. Or, they want to keep the goal of the mission a secret. For a hefty fee, Ormbyr recruits their adventurers and protects their privacy. (Cormyr pg 15)

Tenshorn Hawklin (Evil, Human – Chondathan, Warrior 5): Tenshorn Hawklin is the younger brother of the more famous Barandos Hawklin and has accompanied his brother on many adventuring forays into the Hullack Forest and the Stonelands.

More recently his brother has become a firm favourite at the Royal Court (despite his lack of court position), and Tenshorn has been ordered to stay and oversee the family investments. Tenshorn hates being kept away from the Royal Court and feels he could do much better than his brother if given the chance, he is sure Barandos is jealous and keeps him away deliberately (although rumours are that Tenshorn’s cruel nature is much disliked by the King and the Royal Magician).

Tenshorn was invited to join the Men of the Basilisk, who are eager to use Tenshorn’s access to Hawklin businesses, investments, and money. Tenshorn is considering using his Brothers of the Basilisk to assassinate Barandos so he can take his place at the Royal Court, but his fellow brothers have urged caution and suggested that Barandos could be a useful contact and source of information at the Royal Court.

Thaelrae Silverleaf (Neutral, Elf – Moon, Magic User 5): Thaelrae Silverleaf is a “sorcerer”; a magic user that has spent considerable time exploring her wild talents. She lives in Gladehap and makes a living putting minor enchantments on coffers and clothing to make them look new for a long time. She believes elves should remain isolated from humans and despises half-elves. Possibly a member of the Lalya Maurshanta or Eldreth Veluthra.

Sir Thalance Summerstar: This womanising fop is the bastard son of Dalestra Summerstar and a local forester (and commoner) Baelangar Harth, both his parents were eaten by wolves while travelling during a fierce winter storm several years previous.

Theavos Thontar (LN hm W17): Theavos is a lusty, rollicking, good-natured man who enjoys jests, pranks, partying, and teasing the authorities and stuffier folk in his home city of Arabel. As a result, many of these people detest him, and others find he wears on the nerves a bit much. (Volos Cormyr pg 223)

The life of many a party, Theavos enjoys juggling will-o’-wisps, small children, and full wine goblets overhead while he dances with the youngest and prettiest maidens who dare to approach him. He has romanced more than one visiting lady with a whirlwind of gifts, compliments, and kindly deeds. (Volos Cormyr pg 223)

All of this gaiety conceals well his role as an information-gatherer (spy) for Vangerdahast, and that status in turn masks his deeper loyalty to the Harpers, to whom he feeds state secrets of Cormyr along with everything else he learns. Azoun and several of his relatives grew up enjoying the antics of Theavos, who treated them as equals to be entertained whenever they came within reach. They are so fond of him that, were his spying to be revealed tomorrow, it’s likely he’d escape any punishment entirely. (Volos Cormyr pg 223)

Thentias (CN hm F2): Businessman and landlord willing to do anything for a profit. (Cormyr pg 11)

Primarily known as a largescale landlord in both Suzail and Yhaunn, Thentias is a calm, unassuming man who likes to work behind the scenes, dispassionately devising precisely how to reap the most gold out of life. He rents, buys, and sells properties through agents. In Suzail, he works through Ramkzorn Sharlin or Alasgar Thurym. He also has an undercover bodyguard force that he uses to protect himself from rivals who resort to violence and to strike back at foes. His notable holdings in Suzail include the Wailing Wheel inn and the entire east side of Mistmoat Alley. (Volos Cormyr pg 223)

Baron Thomdor: Thomdor sits at the Royal Court, overseeing the collection of taxes from the major cities in Cormyr. Thomdor seems to enjoy working with numbers and is a good manager who exercises his authority as it was intended. (Cormyr pg 43)

A constant irritant to Thomdor is Sarp Redbeard, the lord of Wheloon. Redbeard’s records on the number of people living within his domain are notoriously vague. Accordingly, the amount of taxes Redbeard pays to the crown fluctuates. Thomdor believes that Redbeard has honourable intentions; he is not skimming money to raise his own private army or anything of the sort. It’s just that Redbeard keeps poor records. (Cormyr pg 43)

Tongreth of Marsember (LN hm Con21): Tongreth is a recent arrival in the city (from just where, he declines to say). A subtle, controlled man known for his extensive wine cellar and love of cuddly kittens, old books, and jellied eels, Tongreth is a master conjurer who deals ably with many creatures of other planes. He is served in Marsember by both gargoyles and griffons. He enjoys working behind the scenes in the ever-shifting intrigues of Marsember, ensuring that interests from Sembia and Westgate never manage to dominate the city. Recent rumours suggest he comes from, and may still serve, Thay. (Volos Cormyr pg 224)

Tsharliira of Blackthorne (LG hf M14): A kindly, respectable woman, Tsharliira dwells in her own fortified mansion not far west of Eveningstar. Blackthorne is guarded by a resident family of wyverns that adventurers and Purple Dragons alike venturing into the area are warned not to molest. (Volos Cormyr pg 224)

Tsharliira has impeccable manners and dignity. Azoun often brings visiting nobility to visit her to impress them with the strong cultured ladies of the realm after they first encounter Laspeera in Suzail. Tsharliira is tolerant of lawless behaviour in others, but always acts to promote peace, harmony, and safety in Cormyr. Severely beaten in her youth by drunken relatives, she’s been known to fly into a fury when she encounters drunks and to use her spells to administer some rather frightening soberup cures involving wild flying, plunges into icy pools, and the like. (Volos Cormyr pg 224)

Tsharliira is working on several projects of practical magic. One is a chest that drinks energy in a remote spot and emits it as heat and light. When she perfects methods of controlling the heat and light, such chests could be used to light and warm cottages in winter by drawing heat from compost, hot springs, manure piles, and large, communal peat-banked fires. Unfortunately for chilly Cormyreans, Tsharliira is a slow, careful, methodical worker, more interested in properly documenting everything for later mages than in achieving swift results. (Volos Cormyr pg 224)

Tystarn Dauntinghorn (Neutral, Human – Chondathan, Warrior 2): This dashing young nobleman is just coming into adulthood and is keen to explore the wider world. He has already taken to accompanying emissaries of House Dauntinghorn and is building up a number of contacts along the Dragon Coast (particularly among likeminded young noblemen and women).

Tystarn is fascinated by conspiracy theories and secret societies and is particularly interested in the Men of the Basilisk, he believes he has identified potential members among Westgate’s nobility and is attempting to ingratiate himself with them.

Tystarn Dauntinghorn has an unnatural likeness to Manshoon of the Zhentarim, although he is unaware of the similarity, he has been intrigued by the respectful treatment he receives because of his appearance.

Ungathros of Mistrim (NG hm M15): Ungathros is a wizard noted for his skill at magically repairing wagons, ships, and roofs. He is a mild-mannered, unassuming man who looks more like a messenger than a mage, but when angered his temper is legendary. He’s usually embroiled in a dozen or so feuds with merchants who’ve tried to cheat him. Mistrim, his country mansion near Marsember, is guarded by many monsters because of past attacks by his foes. These creatures claim victims every year because of (false) rumours that persist in Westgate and Sembia about the great riches Ungathros has stored there. (Volos Cormyr pg 224)

Valantha Shimmerstar (CG hf M13): A fun-loving war wizard, Valantha can readily move a raucous crowd to tears with her singing, as she does at many parties in Suzail, and just as readily scandalize and entertain with outrageous pranks. She has slipped a live lizard down Queen Filfaeril’s bodice, and she has often used her magic to perfectly mimic the most stuffy old noble at a feast. Pretending to be the noble, she utters flirtatious remarks and sly innuendoes, twisting every favorite phrase of the man she’s lampooning. (Volos Cormyr pg 224)

Her acting abilities coupled with magical disguises have aided her in standing in for various royals and nobility in dangerous situations. Vangerdahast regards her as one of his most able and valuable assistants, and he tolerates her outrageous pranks because of it. Suzailans still talk about the time she walked into an exceedingly long Council of Mages meeting in a diaphanous nightgown and asked Vangerdahast when he’d be coming to bed, because the pastries are gone and all sixteen of us are getting bored! (Volos Cormyr pg 224)

Vandara Thulont: Vandara “the Vixen” is one of Women of the Woods and is a secret bastard of King Azoun IV

Vangerdahast (LN hm W 17): Royal magician and chairman emperius of the College of War Wizards. (Cormyr pg 11)

A person who is not a blood relative but is practically a member of the family is Vangerdahast, the King’s Royal Magician and leader of the Council of Mages. The two are very close, and the king does not make a decision without consulting his mage. Vangerdahast is loyal to both Azoun and Cormyr. Vangerdahast raised Azoun and has tutored both of his daughters. (Cormyr pg 42)

The leader of the Council of Mages and King Azoun’s primary aide has a long and honourable history of serving Cormyr. (Cormyr pg 44)

When Vangerdahast was a child growing up in Espar, he attended a festival where a magician performed tricks before an audience. Enraptured by the feats of the magician, Vangerdahast set out to become one himself. (Cormyr pg 44)

Early in his studies, Vangerdahast discovered that the person who performed magic was really only that a performer. Vangerdahast found there was real magic to be learned. (Cormyr pg 44)

Vangerdahast journeyed to Shadowdale to seek instruction from perhaps the most famous of all mages, Elminster. Elminster did not take him in personally but guided him to where he might learn to become a mage. Elminster told Vangerdahast that once he had reached a certain point in his studies, he should return to Shadowdale for important information that would aid him later in life. (Cormyr pg 44)

Vangerdahast did as he was told and returned to Elminster, who did as he promised. What secrets Elminster gave to Vangerdahast are known only to those two, for Vangerdahast has never spoken of the time he spent with the famed mage. (Cormyr pg 44)

King Azoun’s father, Rhigaerd II, lured Vangerdahast to court with promises of unlimited resources, both financial and political, then appointed the wizard to become Azoun’s tutor in history, ethics, and the political and military uses of magic. To this day, it’s unclear whether Rhigaerd duped Vangerdahast or the wizard took the position for the opportunity to mould the mind of the future monarch. (Cormyr pg 44)

The prince often rebelled against Vangerdahast’s teachings, especially over matters of ethics. But the wizard quickly became Azoun’s most trusted adviser and confidant. When Azoun took the throne, early in DR 1336, Vangerdahast
gained the official titles Royal Magician of Cormyr and Master of the Council of Mages. He also took command of Cormyr’s feared War Wizards. (Cormyr pg 44)

The War Wizards are a group of magicians that support the Purple Dragons with magical combat. In addition, they are responsible for policing Cormyr’s mages, and in this Vangerdahast has been especially prudent. Every mage of 5th level or higher must register with Vangerdahast. (Cormyr pg 44)

Vangerdahast realizes that magic organized into a force like the Council of Mages can be very powerful. Therefore, he monitors the progress and associations of many of Cormyr’s resident mages, ever watchful of possible power blocs forming among the magicians. (Cormyr pg 44)

Vindala Chalanther (NG hf W(I)15): An adventuring mage who retired to the less dangerous position of tutor to aspiring young magicians. Though her skill with magic and her teaching skill support her well, Chalanther occasionally yearns for the lost excitement of adventuring and hires on with a skilled company in need of a mage. When not teaching, Chalanther often relaxes at the Drowning Flagon inn. (Cormyr pg 15)

Vindala dwells in Marsember, tutoring lesser mages and occasionally hiring out her spellcasting abilities – to
both desperate adventurers and crafty smugglers, locals say. Though she spends days at a time magically disguised, she is said to be an impish beauty with a petite build, glossy black eyes, and hair to match her eyes. She has a quick temper, a habit of getting even, and a prankish sense of humour. To their cost, many pirates have learned that she makes a bad enemy.

Vorn Nuskarm: A bungling War Wizard that caused much anger in Vangerdahast.

Wendeira Illathos (CN hf C12 of Gond): Wendeira is a free-spirited worshiper of the god of artifice who stimulates many folk to buy, improve upon, and use unusual devices and items crafted by all of the intelligent races of Faerûn. She sells such odd wares from a shop in the hamlet of Monksblade called Wendeira’s Wondery. Living and working alone there, she affects a fey appearance and strange airs to discourage thieves and anyone with thoughts of slave-snatching. She is in fact a clever and perceptive woman and completely sane. (Volos Cormyr pg 224)

She enjoys slipping out of her shop for hunting expeditions with the items she uses to defend herself if attacked in her shop: gunpowder wands. These gunpowder wands are the first handguns known outside Lantan. They are two-shot, silver-plated affairs that inflict 1d8+1 points of damage each per successful shot; they have a range of 70 feet. Consecrated to Gond, these weapons are deadly in Wendeira”s hands, and she’s never without them or her ring of free action and her ring of spell turning — so beware! She carries the gunpowder wands loaded in her boots. (Volos Cormyr pg 224)

Wendeira is looking for a suitable mate. She will settle for just about anyone who happens to be a brilliant inventor. (Volos Cormyr pg 224)

Westar, Herald of Arabel (NG hm F8): Westar assists Myrmeen Lhal and has hundreds of assorted duties to perform as well. Westar has a reputation for honesty and trustworthiness. He is also well known for the quirk of never performing a duty on the first of the month. The reason for this unusual behaviour is unknown as he has been very tight-lipped about the subject, but his exemplary work throughout the rest of the month has earned him this eccentricity. (Cormyr pg 17)

Zarele Illance: A dabbling necromancer that worships Loviatar and has established a secret temple to Loviatar in XXXXX where she tortures kidnapped waifs and strays from Sembia and experiments upon them with her sister Naobrae, trying to learn the secrets of necromancy and possibly how to augment and renew her own body.

Lady Zarova Summerstar: The second dowager widow of House Summerstar was formerly Zarova Battlestar before wedding Lord Pyramus Summerstar (following his swiftly and secretly annulled marriage to Princess Sulesta Obarskyr).

Important Organisations

Guilds

Guilds in Cormyr are nowhere near as rich or  powerful as they are in places like Waterdeep, as a result they are far more cooperative with the authorities. Guilds are unwelcome in many of the cities of Cormyr (where the nobility control businesses and services), but they have a large presence in Suzail and lesser operations in Arabel and other settlements.

All guilds must agree to provide a roster of members, conform to Crown authorised standards of measurements, provide a monthly fund for retired guild members, pay the relevant licences for guild activities, and ensure all members conform to guild rules, the Royal Word, and Local Law.

Many settlements have smaller groups known as Craft Guilds; such as the Benevolent Muster of Merchants of Eveningstar, and the Loyal Council of Coinfellows of Espar. These “guilds” do not have a Royal Charter, and operate more as a social club that seeks to create a level playing field between businesses in the area.

The Sculptors and Masons Guild: This guild provides stone work, statuary, quarrying, and all plastering, mud-daub, and waterproofing services. It is a polite but no-nonsense guild that treats all customers the same (disliking entitled customers and Crown officials, it will work increasingly slowly for those customers that annoy them). The guild is aware of it usefulness to the Crown and as a result its power, but is steadfastly loyal to the Royal House of Obarskyr and the nation of Cormyr. Many former Purple Dragon soldiers, especially those with engineering expertise, choose to come and work for this guild.

The headquarters of this guild is Highstone Hall, situated on the southern side of the Promenade in Suzail. Its guildmaster is Thaerevho Londurmaskur (Neutral, Human – Chondathan, Expert 5). The guild symbol is an inverted shield with a grey stone border, of a human clenched fist (palm facing in) made of grey stone rising up from the bottom of the shield on a maroon field.

The Guild of Carpenters and Joiners: This guild is wealthy and always seeking new markets and opportunities, it currently provides wood cutting, curing, staining, furniture-making and fitted carpentry and joinery services. This guild is fractious, with a handful of senior guild-members (including including Rarvor Telbrae, Haldon Mornhand, and Yaskel Daroun) trying to usurp command from the Guildmaster on their perceived path to nobility.

The headquarters of this guild is Longbeam Hall on the south side of the Promenade in Suzail. Its guildmaster is Ryze Halonder (Good, Human – Chondathan, Expert 5). The guild symbol is a horizontal scarlet diamond with a horizontal silver axe (blade to the right and pointed down) across it, cross by an iron bar clenched in a human hand.

The Guild of Naturalists: This guild is growing stronger in Arabel, and the guild often conducts expeditions to the surrounding countryside to gather specimens for later examination. Its guildmaster is Elmdaerle (NG hm W2, S: zoology, botany). (Cormyr pg 20)

Other Organisations

Harnheer’s Coaches: This coach transportation service was founded recently by the entrepreneur Astigal Harnheer of Saerloon, and already has offices in Arabel, Daerlun, Marsember, Ordulin, Saerloon, Selgaunt, Suzail, and Yhaunn. Harnheer’s specialises in collecting people from any point within 20 miles of an office, and dropping them off at any destination within 20 miles of an office (most coaching services only offer office to office transport).

A fastcoach from Harnheer’s will hold 6 passengers and their belongings in relative comfort and sheltered from the weather (additional passengers and belongings can be accommodated in an emergency but the level of comfort decreases markedly). Discreet coach services can be provided for a vastly increased cost. Coach services cost 1 silver falcon plus 1 copper thumb per mile. Discreet or emergency coach services cost 1 golden thumb plus 1 silver falcon per mile.

The Cormyr offices are run by Rardolphus Harnheer (Astigal’s drunkard brother with a huge, long nose). The company blazon is a white circle with a red arrow lodged in its centre from the left. Firing out of the centre are three smaller red arrows pointing right in different directions. The company blazon is painted on all offices and fastcoaches (except discreet coaches where they are covered).

Ironshar Family Trading: The Ironshar Family are the major traders in ointments, medicines, drugs, and chemical weapons. They operate between Amn, Scornubel, Cormyr, and Sembia, but are attacked by groups with Zhentish interests (and on Zhent orders).

The Knights Royal: The King’s Blades are the former adventuring companions of Crown Prince Azoun Obarskyr. Upon his accession to the throne, the King’s Blades have become the personal bodyguards of King Azoun IV (with a few more recent additions); the Knights Royal.

The membership of the Knights Royal includes; Jostlyn Huntsilver, Asbras Orrhwood, Baeryn Dauntinghorn, Albryn Emmarask, Ondyn Thundersword, and Ilbreth Truesilver.

The Sword Heralds:

One of the most fascinatingand little known
subjects in any study of the
folklore of Cormyr is the
Sword Heralds. Volo made
such a hash of wild speculations about
these rather mysterious folk that Elminster said grimly, We fix that, or this book
gets renamed forthwith: Volo’s Guide to
the Effects of an Imprisonment Spell on
the Victim, Written from Personal Experience. So here, in game terms, is what
Elminster would reveal about this topic.
He offers it with only one bit of advice:
Remember, ye’re not the first gung-ho
adventurers to learn about all thisand
where are all those predecessors now?
The Sword Heralds were mages of
Cormyr long ago. They specialized in
creating hideaways: extradimensional
refuges that only the most wealthy folk
nobles, successful merchants, and powerful priests and wizardscould afford.
Such refuges were of great importance
when Cormyr was a wild land roamed by
monsters and rivals and lashed by
weather that one hadn’t time to construct sufficient shelter to withstand
(because of warfare, failing crops, or the
like). Eventually, these refuges ceased to
be hiding places for folk fleeing the
weather or the blades of enemies. They
were then commonly used to store valuables and perishable treasures because
within them there are no extremes of
heat and cold, nor any precipitation,
keeping weathering to a minimum.
Abandoned or forgotten refuges that
have been rediscovered sometimes hold
elaborate antique ladies’ gowns that are
now much sought-after at court.
The Sword Heralds acquired the name
by which history knows them today
because entry to one of their refuges could
only be accomplished by someone going
to a particular secret spot with two items:
something fairly common but kept a family secret, and an edged metal weapon that
one of the Sword Heralds had touched
during the enchantment. The common
items ranged from a cup of water or
mushroom soup to a human bone, a stag
antler, or a leaf from a particular type of
tree. The edged weapons were typically
one of 3 to 12 swords and/or daggers
owned by the family to whom the refuge
was constructed. The common item was
always consumed during the magical passage into the refuge, and in a few cases the
weapons also couldn’t pass into the refuge
and would fall to the floor at the spot at
which the activating being entered the
refuge. Exit from such refuges typically
requires only entering a specific area
usually the end of a blind corridorand
not any sort of ritual or triggering items.
Entrants into a hideaway could bring
a living being who was touching them
along with them, as well as anything they
or this second being wore or carried.
Typically, noble houses and wealthy merchants took gems, coins, and legal documents into their refuges to begin with.
Only in desperate circumstances did the

owners discover that these refuges were
ideal hiding places for fugitives from justice and inconvenient corpses.
The Sword Heralds died or disappeared centuries ago, and many refuges
are now lost or their precise whereabouts forgotten, though a few remain
closely guarded family secrets. (The Hidden House used by Lord Tessaril Winter
of Eveningstar1
is one such.) By ancient
law, a king of Cormyr and his agents (for
example, the war wizards) cannot
demand to see or enter such a refuge or
even force someone to confirm the existence of a refuge. This hasn’t stopped
them from employing chartered adventurers and private citizens to find out
such things for them. As a result, many
refuges sport traps and/or guardians.
The traps typically are deadly defenses of
the main passage in the refuge, and are
often consist of hinged falling stone
blocks and hedgehogs.2
Guardians range
from animated skeletons to family liches.
The Sword Heralds are said to have
left behind a list of all their refuges, disguised in a series of impenetrable verses
(one example follows) that they hid all
over Cormyr in the halls of the Palace of
the Purple Dragon, the Royal Court, and
in private homes alike. The Sword Herald
also constructed great keyssmall items
that various sages violently disagree over
the forms of, from orbs to rods to
gauntletsthat open the way into all
Sword Herald refuges when used in the
proper place, even without the proper
blade or common item.
Some refuges have been found by
adventurers. Most notable among these
finds is that of the Dawninghunt refuge in
1346 DR, which proved to contain a chest of
over a thousand large and splendid emeralds as well as four big, extensive spellbooks
and several items of minor magicand a
wardrobe of fine gowns once worn 200
years earlier by the Lady Rhyndaera Dawninghunt. These garments became an
instant fashion rage at court when reintroduced by nobles who’d bought them from
the fortunate adventurers.
The Golden Griffon Eyes all-woman
adventuring band from Selgaunt (charter
by Azoun’s hand in 1341 DR) made its
fortune on the find and settled into
retirement on luxurious wooded estates
near Espar. They earned their hardsought riches not only by defeating a formidable guardian monster of unknown
species, but also by discerning the meaning of the following verse:
Full moon on Wyvernwater touches thee,
Proud warrior conquering benches three.
Where the smaller steel points a way,
Stand where the lonely warrior may.
This verse referred to a statue of Ring
Dhalmass that still stands on the banks of
the Wyvernwater hard by Hultail. The
statue depicts the armed and armored
king on a rearing horse whose hooves
prance on three stone benches that form
the base of the statue. The king is waving

a sword over his head and is outlined in
moonlight whenever a full moon shines
down on the area.
The sculpted monarch also has a dagger at his waist. If one looks at where its
sharp end is pointing, one sees a small
rocky knoll about a mile away that is
known as Knight’s Stand because a lone
warrior once held its height against an
orc band. The knoll is also flooded with
moonlight when the moon is full. If one
stands on it with the right blade and item
(in this case, a handful of grass) or one of
the Sword Heralds’ great keys, one can
see an upright oval of light that is the gate
into the Dawninghunt Vault.
A person using the gate enters a small
room that holds only a chair, a table, a
chamberpot, a stoppered carafe of water,
a cot, a candle lantern, and lots of dust.
The names of Dawninghunt ancestors,
along with the dates of their lives, are
inscribed on large stones set flush in the
walls as if these ancestors were interred
behind the stones. If one puts the chair
up on the table, however, part of the floor
of this chamber vanishes to reveal stairs
down into the vault proper: a large room
lit by a driftglobe. Its unfailing light once
fell upon a stack of chests crammed with
coins, gems, and trade bars of silver and
gold, now part of the Golden Griffon Eyes’
wealth. The driftglobe gleams still on the
tombs of six Dawninghunts, including the
sage Harglast Dawninghunt, whose coffin
is now enclosed by a forcecage (and contingency spells that set off certain alarm
spells elsewhere, among other things).
These precautions have been taken to
keep adventurers from magically ques

tioning him about his field of expertise:
magical items of early Cormyr!
Another verse of the Sword Heralds
has become well-known because it
appears and disappears from time to
time (seemingly at random) on the top of
a tomb in a public crypt in Suzail:
Glonder rides a long long way
Through forests wild and marshes fey,
And at the place of many nets,
Glonder walks, but first frets.
To decipher this, one must know that
almost 300 years ago the mage Glonder
rode the length of Calantar’s Way in a single night and day to meet and defeat a
dragon. The only place on this route
where one might find many nets is
Immersea, where the mist-fishers
employ many nets indeed. From time to
time the phantom of Glonder is seen in
Immersea, wringing his hands or rushing about with his hands raised in endless spellcasting. So one must find the
spot where the phantom first appears on
its sporadic nightly rounds, and there
one must take the right blade and item to
find the way to an unknown refuge.
These directions were worked out by
the court jester Ubaldo over a century
ago, but no one knows what the right
common item is, or has the right blade,
or has discerned precisely where the
phantom first appears. However, where
it appears must be the cellar of some
structure in Immersea, because the
phantom then rises up out of Calantar’s
Way and rushes to a certain alley. Standing with a great key in hand in the spot
where Glonder rises through the street
has proven ineffective.
At least eight great keys are known to
exist, but it is thought that many more have
been hidden or stolen. Much of the argument over what the keys look like centers
on these missing keys, one of which is
perennially rumored to be for sale or rent
in Sembia. Local lore in Suzail insists that
one of the scepters of the extensive
Obarskyr regalia has a great key built into
it. Suzailan lore also holds that another
great key was long ago given into the keeping of an anonymous commoner of the city
at a masked ball, so that the realm might
have a chance of survival if evil magic possessed the mind of its king or evil forces
swept over the land with conquering
armies. The sage Tharondar of Arabel
(now deceased, but writing well after the
Sword Heralds disappeared) postulates
that there may be lesser keys that open several refuges, but not all of them. Like so
much about the work of the Sword Heralds, this may be pure speculation.
We do know that there were at least 17
Sword Heralds, that they weren’t formal
heralds of any sort (though they did offer
nobility of the realm the service of limning a chosen badge-of-arms on stone
walls and other permanent locations),
that they were powerful wizards who
devised many hitherto unknown and
now-forgotten spells, that they indulged
in planar travel and in feuds with the Red
Wizards of Thay, and that the most powerful of them was a man called Yimluth.
Yimluth was an archmage of at least 26th
level and a werestag. He could take the
form of a stag or a hairy-hided manlike
form with a stag’s head. Ultimately he
was unable to leave one of these bestial
forms, and he remains in hiding somewhere in the Ring’s Forest if he hasn’t

been slain. (It’s generally agreed he had
achieved near-immortality.) He also may
be traveling from refuge to refuge by
means of powerful magic that enables
him to jump from one extradimensional
place to another.
One group of bards and sages believe
Yimluth now serves Mielikki or Silvanus
in order to achieve demigodhood or that
he is a demigod already. Another group
swears that he is in some sort of stasis,
awaiting a desperate call from the throne
of Cormyr that will bring him to the
defense of the realm in its time of greatest
need. As Elminster commented dryly, it’s
clear only that his true fate is unknown.
Another Sword Herald whose name is
remembered is Murald. He was a lover of
gardens and tapestries. At least six paintings and tapestries on the walls of various inner chambers of the Palace of the
Purple Dragon are his work. They are
also gates to different locales in the
Realms. One of these locations is a hunting lodge somewhere in the heart of the
Ring’s Forest, another depiction leads to
the eastern slope of Maiden’s Tomb Tor
near Waterdeep, and a third is known to
lead to a cavern refuge in the Storm
Horns somewhere overlooking Espar
that is kept stocked with weapons, foodstuffs, and helmed horror guardians.
The aims, identities, and ultimate fates
of the Sword Heralds remain shrouded
in mystery. All that is known is that they
came to the realm suddenly, but without
fuss, had no open strife with the Crown
or nobles, and worked on many things
that enriched the realm. On several occasions they sat in judgment on an individual or a policy, trying to awe the king or
the nobles into seeing things as they did.
These assemblies so impressed the folk
of the day that everyday Cormyrean
speech today applies the term full
swords court to any fancy, formal, or
very important and solemn occasion.
Although the Sword Heralds seem to
have vanished, some folk believe at least
a few of them still survive. It’s a popular
superstition that they’re still guiding or
influencing the realm, unseen, today.
Mothers and old wives sometimes chide
misbehaving children with the saying:
Rememberthe Heralds are watching!
Many members of the staff of the Palace
of the Purple Dragon believe that some of
the ghosts haunting the courts and gardens in Suzail are Sword Heralds or their
servant creatures, but the truth about the
Heralds has so far eluded Vangerdahast,
and if Elminster knows, he’s not telling.

Important Items

Ansrivarr the Blade of Memory: Carried by Mondar Bleth from Old Impiltur when he and his family arrived in what would later become Suzail, this ancient, battered blade is older than the realm. Taken up by Faerlthann First-King when Mondar was slain by the elves who then ruled Cormyr (though every tale told of the slaying blames the attack on orcs), Ansrivarr was the sword worn by Faerlthann and all his sons during their reigns.

It was later replaced by finer steel blades crafted to each monarch’s taste in successive generations, becoming little more than an object of ceremony. For generations, the only use for Ansrivarr has been in the coronation of Cormyr’s kings.

Unknown to the Obarskyr kings, Baerauble Etharr and the elves of Iliphar’s court (more specifically, Baerauble’s beloved, Alea Dahast) wove countless protective enchantments into the blade, making it nigh invulnerable. Due to it being the sword that represents the kingdom, tale upon tale connects the fate of the realm to that of the blade, and every precaution was taken in those earliest days to prevent dire fates from coming to pass for the sword and the kingdom. Ansrivarr is a +4 staggering greatsword.

One of the Swords of State, Ansrivarr is the battered, ancient blade of the Obarskyr line. It symbolizes the realm of Cormyr itself. (Volos Cormyr pg 11)

Battlestar Bracers: These plain metal wristbands do not augment Armour Class in any way, and they may be worn and used with or without other armour by all character classes. Both bracers must be worn or neither operates; their power is connected to a magical resonance between them. Wearers of the bracers are shielded at all times with protection identical to that provided by the 3rd-level wizard spell protection from normal missiles. All fire-based attacks and magic missiles striking the wearers are reduced in the amount of damage they inflict by 1 point per die of damage. (Volos Cormyr pg 234)

In addition, by silent effort of will, every third round the bracers can either fire four magic missiles or emit one flaming sphere. The magic missiles function (except in number) similar to the 1st-level wizard spell magic missile. They cause 1d4+1 points of damage each and can be used on up to four separate targets. The flaming sphere functions similar to the 2nd-level wizard spell of the same name, appears and moves in the direction the bracer – wearer points, and cannot be redirected once set in motion. (Volos Cormyr pg 234)

Baulgroth’s Blade: These plain long swords, broad swords, or sabres bear a +1 enchantment and are used in training, rough surgery (cutting open an infected body area) or sometimes to scare an individual. Named for the long-dead wizard who invented them, Baulgroth’s blades are issued to every Purple Dragon barracks and garrison. (Volos Cormyr pg 234)

Whenever one of these weapons successfully damages living flesh, it can be willed by the wielder to perform a cure light wounds upon the being it has struck, restoring 1d8 points of damage. The blade’s damage and healing rolls are made separately; they aren’t always the same. When this healing power isn’t being used, the only sign that a Baulgroth’s blade isn’t an ordinary weapon is that its point trails a quickly fading line of radiance as it is wielded. The radiance is bright enough to find keyholes, inscriptions, and the like in the dark. Purple Dragons sometimes use this trait of a Baulgroth’s blade to fool opponents into thinking they face a powerful magical blade. (Volos Cormyr pg 235)

Commander’s Ring: These hardened gold bands bear the engraved Purple Dragon device of the Obarskyr royal family. They function as rings of protection +2 with five additional powers. A commander’s ring can emit magic equal in all respects to the spells featherfall, knock, wall of force, and continual light up to three times (for each ability) per day. It can also trace any Purple Dragon rings (see below) within 100 feet of it, giving the wearer of the commander’s ring a feeling for the distance and direction of each such ring, or it can allow the wearer to choose one such ring and concentrate on its movements, blocking out the indications of others. Most Purple Dragons are aware that their superiors can trace their movements in this way. (Volos Cormyr pg 235)

One commander’s ring can’t trace another commander’s ring. If this ring is worn on the same hand as a Purple Dragon ring, the two rings function normally, but they only count as one ring for purposes of how many rings can be worn by the wearer. Thus, the wearer can wear and use a third magical ring at the same time. This is one of the very rare instances in which this can be done. (Volos Cormyr pg 235)

Crown of Faerlthann: A thin elven circlet commemorating the origin of the realm of Cormyr, also known as the Diadem of Iliphar. Worn by all the kings up to Iltharl the Insufficient, then taken up again by King Keldroun during the Thronestrife period.

Deathsend: So named because it was used to finish off a foe defeated in combat, this is a dagger made of the finest steel, with a slightly golden glow to the blade. Aside from being a dagger +4, it can also determine, when pointed at an enemy, if the victim is a dishonourable, treacherous soul who deserves death, at least as determined by the rules of fair play as set up by beings of lawful good alignment. Deathsend will not allow itself to be used as a thrown weapon or in a backstab attempt; any such attack made with the dagger will automatically fail.

Fireblood: A brilliant, blood-red gem one inch in diameter, this appears to be an exquisitely carved ruby with what seems to be a bright crimson starburst in its centre. The gem is worth at least 10,000 gp. The gem confers upon its wearer a complete immunity to all forms of fire, magical or mundane.

Ilbratha the Mistress of Battles: Forged at the behest of Crown Prince (and later king) Azoun I, this bronze short sword retains a fine edge even after many battles. To Cormyreans, the Mistress of Battles is a symbol of Azoun’s victory over the armies of Shoon, and of the glory and bounty lost when his ship, Valashar’s Bane, sank into the Lake of Dragons in the Year of the Wooded Altar (389 DR).

For more than nine centuries, Ilbratha was called Haalorth, the Heir’s Blade. It was carried by the heir of the undersea elven kingdom of Eadraal, and known to the sea folk as the Warrior’s Fang.  If found, Ilbratha would be considered the property of the heirs of both Cormyr and Eadraal, and part of the regalia of both nations. Ilbratha is a +2 leaping short sword.

Ilbratha, Mistress of Battles, received its epithet not only for its leaping ability, but because of its ability to create a mirror image (as the wizard spell) of the wielder. Some tales describe how the sword permits the wielder to blink between the Feywild and the material world.

Orbyn the Edge of Justice: Forged by Amedahast for King Duar soon after the death of Baerauble and her ascension as High Mage, Orbyn is an exceptionally powerful weapon. Commonly referred to as “Orblyn” thanks to the speech impediment of a former king and the unwillingness of a scribe to contradict his liege, the sword is used to swear oaths of evidence at the Royal Court and to execute nobles guilty of capital crimes. It is also widely accepted as the proper blade of kings.

Orbyn is a finely crafted longsword with intricate, barely visible runes trailing up and down its blade; those holding the sword have noted that the runes seem to move. It has defeated many threats to the Crown, including Magrath the Minotaur—the pirate captain that took Suzail from Duar—and the ancient Thauglor, from whom the Purple Dragons take their name. Orbyn is a +5 shearing longsword.

When held by a blood Obarskyr, Orbyn can detect any untruths spoken by someone who touches the bared blade of the sword, as if the person is affected by the Discern Lies ritual. A more dreadful rumour holds that one slain by Orbyn cannot be raised from the dead by any means short of the direct intervention of a deity.

One of the Swords of State, Orblyn, the Edge of Justice, is used to execute nobles found guilty of capital crimes and to detect falsehood in court sessions. Persons giving evidence must do so with their hands on Orblyn’s naked blade, which flashes at any untruth spoken because of its permanent detect lie ability. (Volos Cormyr pg 11)

Palreth: This sword is one of the few remaining examples of the skill and artistry of the legendary swordsmith Gorlan “Smokeknuckle” Rilintar. Gorlan’s thatched smithy stood on a rocky outcrop a day’s ride east of Suzail and welcomed a steady procession of clients eager to obtain one of his matchless blades. Gorlan was famous not only for his skill at the forge but also for the fact that he only took on the commissions that interested him. In fifty years toil, it is doubtful whether he produced more than twenty blades and was infamous in his day for refusing to craft a sword for King Keldroun of Cormyr, deeming the particular blade sought to be beneath his talents.

Passagestones: These enchanted stones are rare, though every Crown ward in Cormyr has at least four stones linked to it: one held by Azoun, one by Vangerdahast, one stored in a vault, and one or more for the everyday use of those who have lawful business passing the ward. They are different in size and shape for each ward. Most take the shape of small pebbles that can be concealed in the palm of a woman’s hand. Those used for castle armouries are usually constructed much larger for security reasons, and a very few passagestones are even smaller. These last are often gemstones that are worn on rings or other adornments used by members of the royal family or set with several other ward gems on a bootstick slipped down one boot for easy transference and concealment. These bootsticks are often used by Azoun, Vangerdahast, or senior battlemasters [generals] of Cormyr. (Volos Cormyr pg 237)

Each passagestone is engraved with a rune specific to the ward it permits passage through. A passagestone has only two additional powers. It can emit faerie fire (as the spell) when willed to, allowing users to locate steps or doors in darkness when approaching or negotiating a warded area, and it protects its holder like an ironguard spell when willed to. (Volos Cormyr pg 237)

It should be noted that a passagestone could be sold for up to 25,000 if it is offered to enemies of Cormyr, the specific ward the stone is linked to is known, and the ward is important – such as a passagestone to an armoury, a treasure vault, or a royal apartment in the Palace of the Purple Dragon (Volos Cormyr pg 237)

Peacemaker’s Rods: This sort of rod is a black metal baton with the Purple Dragon sculpted in brass at both ends. Peacemaker’s rods are borne by patrol leaders whenever Purple Dragons are sent on patrol and are held in every Purple Dragon armoury. Over 2,000 of them are known to exist. Patrols are often sent out bearing them during festival days or times of possible unrest such as on nights when over a dozen ships have docked at Suzail or Marsember or a similar quantity of caravans have arrived at once and the crews of all are quenching their thirsts at local taverns. (Volos Cormyr pg 236)

A peacemaker’s rod is a +2 weapon, dealing 1d6+1 points of damage per blow when wielded in battle. Whenever it hits, the wielder can elect to have it inflict normal damage or call on an special battle power instead. These special battle powers are usable without limit but can be evoked only once every other round in which the rod is successfully used to strike in battle. (Volos Cormyr pg 236)

The three special battle powers are:

The rod can deal double damage rather than normal damage).

It can cast hold monster as the 5th-level wizard spell, but with only the struck being as the target. The target must make a successful saving throw vs. spell at -3 to avoid the effects.

It can repulse its struck target (only) for 12 rounds, similar to the 6th-level wizard spell repulsion.

A peacemaker’s rod has one additional power: It can fire a 10-foot-diameter sphere of light in a straight line from one of its ends to a distance of 200 feet at MV Fl 24. When the sphere strikes something solid or reaches its maximum distance, it bursts and fades. This does no damage except to undead affected by bright light, but it can be used to give archers light to fire by, to illuminate what lies ahead (down an alley for instance), or as a locational signal when fired straight up into the sky. (Volos Cormyr pg 236)

Warriors of other realms find these powers useful, as do animal-tamers and hunters trying to bring back live animals for sale, so there has always been a brisk black market trade in stolen peacemaker’s rods. Like all other Crown magic described in this appendix, it is not legal to buy, sell, or try to procure or sell a peacemaker’s rod in Cormyr or its protectorates. (Volos Cormyr pg 236)

Purple Dragon Ring: These brass rings bear the engraved Purple Dragon device of the Obarskyr royal family. They have two powers, both of which can be used without limit. When worn, a Purple Dragon ring can cause light lasting for 1 turn. This radiance occurs in a 10-foot sphere around the ring or up to 40 feet away from it in the direction the wearer’s points, using the hand the ring is on. Once created, this light lasts a full turn unless dispelled by some other method; the Purple Dragon ring cannot disperse it. (Volos Cormyr pg 235)

A Purple Dragon ring can also be used to detect poison by speaking its word of activation, which is engraved on the inside of the band (usually Bonthar), and immersing it in the substance to be tested. The ring can test liquids, gases, or solids. Solids are tested by making an incision or carving in the substance to put the ring into full contact with it. (Volos Cormyr pg 235)

The ring glows an eerie golden-green if it encounters anything harmful to humans, demihumans, and humanoids and a bright blue if it comes into contact with something enchanted that may or may not be harmful. This roundabout detect magic ability is usually used to make sure that potions sold in Cormyr are the real thing and not merely flavoured oils or water. (Volos Cormyr pg 235)

Purple Dragons have standing orders to test food and drink that they purchase or seize whenever they’re outside civilized Cormyr and on all other occasions when they’re suspicious of cooks or viands. Poisoners acting for Westgate, the Zhentarim, and other foes of the Crown work tirelessly to bring the Obarskyr line to an end, despite repeated failures. Thus, all food served to any royal family member or officer of the court, including local lords and heralds, not just courtiers in Suzail, is so tested as a matter of course. (Volos Cormyr pg 236)

These rings are seldom worn by Purple Dragons below the rank of lionar (sergeant of sergeants) unless they are on a special mission. A few have been given to special friends of the Crown as pass tokens (Mirt the Moneylender holds one such ring). Over 4,000 are known to have been made. Some are stored in all three of Cormyr’s cities, and they can be issued in a matter of hours when needed. (Volos Cormyr pg 236)

Rissar the Wedding Blade: Initially commissioned by crown prince Rhiigard (Rhiigard I, the Mourning King), Rissar is an exquisitely crafted short sword with a fortune’s worth of gemstones set into its pommel and hilt. Rhiigard intended for the blade to be a wedding gift to Princess Aliia of Impiltur—one of many gifts he purchased, crafted, or had made for his betrothed. Upon hearing the news of her death, and twice afterwards, Rhiigard briefly considered slaying himself on the sword’s point, until he finally locked the weapon away deep in a royal vault. He placed it far enough from his sight to prevent it from reminding him of his grief and thus the temptation to end his life.

The Wedding Blade did not again see the light of day until the Year of the Emptied Lair (973 DR), when the contents of the vault in which it had been hidden were emptied and transferred to another chamber in the palace due to a rat infestation. The royal exchequer responsible for the transfer of the vault in question brought the blade to the attention of Bryntarth, who appropriated it for use during his wedding ceremony later that season, not knowing of its significance to his father. Rhiigard was appalled by its appearance in his son’s hand, to say nothing of the most important of court ceremonies: the marriage of a crown prince. To save face, and to mask his renewed grief, the king feigned pleasure at his son’s discovery and proclaimed that from that moment forward all royal weddings would be sworn over the blade.

Rissar did not see use in swearing blood oaths until the reign of Pryntaler, who was notoriously fond of extracting blood oaths from his friends and vassals. It was Dhalmass who, in royal proclamation, decreed that the blood for any oaths sworn at court be drawn by Rissar’s point. Rissar is a +2 gleaming short sword.

After swearing a blood oath over Rissar, the person swearing such an oath pays a terrible price for violating a vow. Until the violation is remedied, the oathmaker suffers a grievous, bleeding wound with every strike from the Wedding Blade.

Rissar is the small and bejewelled blade with which all royal marriage vows are made. The couple clasps it together while they speak their vows. Rissar’s point also serves to spill blood in all blood vows undertaken at Court, such as the bond of loyalty to the Crown undertaken by every war wizard. It is rumoured that the drops of blood sworn war wizards shed in this ceremony are carefully kept in vials by Vangerdahast, whom tales hold can work deadly magic on treacherous war wizards from afar by means of the precious droplets! (Cormyr pg 11)

Royal Kiss: This beautiful and razor sharp longsword has a silvered blade that remains everbright. It has been specially commissioned by King Azoun IV as a gift for his daughter Alusair, and her name is inscribed upon the blade. The handle of the sword is carved to resemble a dragons tail, while the quillions look like wings, and the blade emerges from a dragons mouth. The pommel of the blade bears an enchanted rune that allows the Royal Magician to precisely locate the sword and is alerted whenever it is grasped by anyone not of the Royal House of Obarskyr.

The Seal of Iron: A bronze disk measuring two inches in diameter, engraved with the seal of the royal family of Cormyr. When worn somewhere on one’s person; it confers complete immunity to all types of fear. The name of the item comes from the iron will it gives the wearer, not its metallic composition!

Shiningbite the Drake’s Tooth: This once-simple longsword was discovered in the royal armouries by a youthful Gantharla, who ordered it polished and its hilt replaced before she carried it into the western reaches of Cormyr against encroaching lizardfolk from the Tun and Farsea marshes. Its recrafting included the addition of two of the rear teeth of the dragon Eaerdynnansczyg, who is also called Eardynn (“ee-ar-din”), at the ends of the crossguard, lending the wyrm’s power and some of its legend to the blade.

Twice Shiningbite was used by the warrior-queen to fell young dragons in the Stormhorns, but its magic was not nearly so useful in her campaign against the hill giants in the west, who slew Gantharla and her entire band of ranger-knights, then stripped the bodies of anything that looked useful—including the Drake’s Tooth. Where the blade passed after the First-Queen’s death is a mystery. Shiningbite is a +3 true dragonslayer longsword.

Gantharla’s sword Shiningbite is said to have absorbed some power from Eaerdynnansczyg (pronounced “ee-air-din-ann-shig”), and it draws energy from the death of its victims, spouting draconic flame each time it takes a life.

Silveredge: This bastard sword is a sword of sharpness. Finely worked detailing adorns the blade and handle, showing scenes of kings fighting giants and dragons. The blade’s edges are trimmed with silver, hence the name, and the entire sword shines with a sky-blue glow. Silveredge is found in a leather scabbard. The scabbard has a smaller compartment where Deathsend is kept, plus a circular indentation where the Seal of Iron fits. The pommel contains an empty recess, where Fireblood is meant to be placed.

When all four items are brought together, assembled into one unit, and worn by one person, the following additional effects are realised:

• The wielder gains a +2 bonus on attack, damage, and saving throw rolls.
• The wielder may cast a heal spell once per day.
• The wielder’s PC allies gain a +1 bonus to their attack rolls and saving throws.
• The wielder’s NPC allies gain a +4 bonus to their morale scores.

Note that bringing together fewer than all four magic items yields no bonus magic effects. Also, possessing all four items but giving them to four different people to use will nullify the bonus powers.

These items are the legitimate inherited property of Azoun IV. While a good-aligned party of PCs will feel it necessary to return the Four once the items have suited their purpose, they can also anticipate a generous reward for their trouble.

Sword of Summer Winds: The ancestral blade of the House of Summerstar, used by the first Lord Glothgam Summerstar to drive away the great red dragon Arnfalamme “Redwing” and his brood from the Thunderpeaks, which had bedevilled Cormyr and its people for more than 5 centuries.

Symylazarr the Font of Honour: Symylazarr is a heavy hafted, broad-bladed war sword originally forged during the reign of Rhiiman the Glorious as a demonstration of the quality of weapon that the new steel works in Suzail could produce. Intended for display in one of the palace hallways, the sword bears an elaborate dragon’s head pommel. Though lovely to look at, the blade’s width and weight make it an unattractive weapon for actual fighting. Although it is not a comfortable weapon to wield, its blade is as sharp and deadly as when the sword was first forged.

The first time Symylazarr saw battle was nearly one hundred years after its forging, when Moriann (then prince) was attacked by an assassin while walking the halls of Faerlthann’s Keep. Moriann would have died were it not for the quick thinking of a servant named Varanth. The young man tore the sword from the wall and swung wildly at the would-be killer, which caused thunder to rumble. The strike he dealt tore the assassin’s belly open and caused a fatal wound. Moriann knighted Varanth on the spot, and the former servant went on to gain the title “Thundersword” among palace guards. In addition to his new title, Varanth was allowed to keep the blade, which hung awkwardly from his small frame.

Varanth became one of the prince’s fast friends, particularly when, a few months after the attempt on Moriann’s life, the prince had the throne thrust upon him. Although neither a capable warrior nor a tactician of any skill, young “Thundersword” was made a commander in the king’s army, always closely attached to any honour guard escorting the king.

When Cormyr came into conflict with the goblin kingdom of Hlundadim, Varanth was among the first to fall, and the king took up his friend’s sword, carrying it into battle on many occasions, and losing it in the fray almost as often. It was after the third battlefield knighting of warriors who had saved his life that Moriann forsook the use of the blade in combat.

Despite its unlucky tendencies in battle, Symylazarr is still an impressive ceremonial blade, and Moriann employed it in every knighting and investiture until his death. Each oath of fealty and allegiance was sworn over the blade, and in honour of those houses that took up his cause against Hlundadim, he had stylised runes of each family’s initial and seal engraved upon the blade.

When Moriann died at the feast to celebrate Cormyr’s successes against Hlundadim, Symylazarr was still strapped to the flank of his horse, and the sword was nearly buried with him. Rayn, Varanth’s youngest son (the only one of six to survive the goblin wars), protested, saying that since the sword was given to his father, it was his right to do with it as he pleased.

Tharyann acquiesced, wary of such a popular young knight’s gaining support against him even before he had taken the throne. Rayn took the sword and left. He returned to the palace a tenday later, after Tharyann had ascended. Laying Symylazarr at the king’s feet, Rayn swore his fealty and service to the king and his line, and he was invested as Lord Thundersword for his loyalty.

Symylazarr officially entered the royal regalia after the crowning of Gantharla, who declared that from her reign onward it would be used for all knighting and oaths of fealty to the crown. Its use fell dormant during the Thronestrife, but was restored by Thargreve the Greater, who used it to reestablish the loyalty of all of Cormyr’s noble houses. Symylazarr is a +3 thundering bastard sword.

The runes of Symylazarr can relay a message to one who is carefully watching and who knows which symbol represents which ancient noble house. The runes glow faintly when a momentous occasion passes, emitting blue light for a noble birth, red for a noble death, and yellow for a betrayal of the Crown. The light persists for only a matter of seconds, and it often goes unmarked by onlookers.

One of the Swords of State, Symylazarr, also known as the Fount of Honour, is the sword on which all nobles swear fealty to the Crown and with which all knights are dubbed. (Volos Cormyr pg 11)

Ulfindos “The Corsair Scourge”: The origins of this sword are unknown, for it first came to light in the Year of the Dark Venom (37 DR) when the mercenary Vaerom Obarskyr of Impiltur, brother to the reigning King Faerlthann of Cormyr, made a long sea voyage to the Forest Kingdom. Vaerom travelled to Cormyr to return the remains of Suzara, his and Faerlthann’s mother, to the land she had forsaken some twenty-five years before.

Tales speak of the love that Suzara always held for Ondeth, the Founding Father of Cormyr, and her wish to be buried near his remains upon her death. More cynical observers note that the sly Vaerom used the death of his mother to try and sway his brother into establishing a family base in Cormyr where his mercenary company would be subject only to laws favorable to them. Whatever the reason, Vaerom was given short shrift by Faerlthann, and returned to Impiltur after his mother’s internment a very disappointed man.

On the sea voyage back to Lyrabar, Vaerom and his men were waylaid by pirates near The Neck, the entrance to the Dragonmere. The confident pirates swarmed aboard Vaerom’s vessel only to be confronted by his battle-hardened crew of professional fighting men. In the fight that followed, Vaerom personally slew the pirate captain and claimed the blade Ulfindos from his corpse. Vaerom bore the blade throughout the years that followed and used it to grim effect when the Obarskyrs rallied behind the usurper Morlorn in the Year of the Climber’s Rest (72 DR).

Morlorn, uncle to the reigning King Varanth II of Impiltur, arranged the poisoning of his nephew and seized the throne, using the mercenary army of the Obarskyrs to crush all opposition to his rule. Vaerom and the Obarskyrs had long been frustrated in their attempts to achieve noble station in Impiltur. Galled by the royal status of their cousins in far off Cormyr, the Obarskyrs were persuaded by Morlorn that he alone was the family’s gateway to the noble status that they craved so greatly.

Foolishly, Morlorn failed to ensure the death of Varanth’s wife Queen Ilithra, and their son, the Crown Prince Baranth who fled into the depths of the Grey Forest on the western fringes of the kingdom. Well hidden, Baranth commenced a clever, guerrilla campaign against his uncle and took advantage of the fears of several important noble families that the Obarskyrs would be raised to a pre-eminent position in the realm.

Over the next handful of years, Baranth worked steadfastly to gather followers and rally nobles to his cause, all the while escaping the many assassination attempts and armed incursions organised by Morlorn to have him slain. In 77 DR, Baranth and his followers aided by the moon elves of Vedrymmell finally marched forth from the forest to remove the treasonous Morlorn from the throne.

The “Usurper King” met the prince’s army at the crossroads village of Ironrock, north of Hlammach, and was defeated in what came to be known as the Battle of Ilithra’s Smile. Crowned on the battlefield, King Baranth’s first decree was to proclaim Vaerom and his five sons outlaws but pardon their wives, children and erstwhile loyal followers. In doing so, King Baranth removed the threat of the Obarskyrs to the other noble families of the realm but showed his mercy and compassion as ruler. Vaerom, bereft of all support, fled the realm immediately with his sons and Ulfindos passed into the hands of the Mirandor dynasty.

Wartusk: This battered old longsword is a treasure claimed by King Azoun IV during his brief war with Gondegal, when he was forced to fight in the alleys of Arabel and used this sword to great effect to cleave many enemies at once. It has become a favourite of the teenage Princess Alusair, and she is rarely seen without the blade at her side.

War Wizard Cloaks: These full-cut black weathercloaks hang to mid-boot on a wearer of average height. They are cut to overlap at the wearer’s breast and shield the wearer’s arms. They have high collars and separate pull-over hoods. War wizard cloaks are distinguished from fine cloaks of other make by the collar embroidery: a Purple Dragon on the left side of the collar and in the centre point of the hood (so that it hangs on display to the rear) and an upraised human palm, fingers together, in a circle (picked out in white thread) on the right collar. (Volos Cormyr pg 237)

A war wizard cloak has all the powers of a ring of warmth. It also confers infravision on the wearer, plus the automatic protections of feather fall, ironguard, and protection from normal missiles spells. Once per day, the wearer can call on the cloak to power a sending (as the 5th-level wizard spell) and a dimension door (as the 4th-level wizard spell). Dimension door trips of up to 1,200 yards are possible. (Volos Cormyr pg 237)

Geography

Climate

Cormyr is a wet, temperate land, receiving abundant rain in summer and spring and plentiful snow in winter; it has long, cold winters and short but hot summers. The gentle spring and fall create rich green forests that yield to splendid autumn colours and healthy fields of grain that surrender up bountiful harvests. Fog is common along the seacoast, and there are often mists on the High Moors, extending into the pass at High Horn and the gorge north of Eveningstar. (Cormyr pg 4)

Topography

Cormyr was once heavily forested, but generations of clearing and farming have reduced the forest to a central region and an eastern portion known as the Hullack Forest. The forests supply the kingdom with ample timber and game, but only through strict regulation by the crown. Monstrous creatures still roam Hullack Forest, and Cormyreans seek timber and game only in its western edge. The denser portions of the forest are still dangerous to all. Surrounding the forests are thousands of farm fields and pastures that make up Cormyr.

There are several rivers, both large and small, running through Cormyr. The most significant river is the Starwater, which runs from the Stormhorn Mountains south into the Lake of Dragons at Marsember. Starwater runs through Cormyr’s central forest and is the most heavily used river in the kingdom. Three major roads cross it, and Cormyr’s second-largest city enjoys the commerce the river fosters.

The two most important bodies of water in Cormyr are the Lake of Dragons (also called the Dragonmere) and Wyvernwater. The Lake of Dragons forms the southern border of Cormyr and offers sea access to Cormyr’s two largest cities, Suzail and Marsember. The lake is the primary shipping point to the Sea of Fallen Stars, which leads to the rest of the world.

Wyvernwater is an inland lake shaped something like a malformed starfish. Four major rivers – two of which are the Immerflow and the Wyvernflow – empty into this lake, and provide access to four major cities, including the trade centre of Arabel.

There are two major mountain regions in Cormyr: the Thunder Peaks and the Stormhorns. Both ranges serve as practical borders for Cormyr. The Stormhorns, which run south to north before curving to run west to east, cut off the main body of Cormyr from a territory north of the range known as the Goblin Marches. Though Cormyr claims the Goblin Marches, travel to and from the region is difficult and few Cormyreans live there.

Violent storms sweep the eponymous Stormhorns. There is no sanctuary from the storms, for they occur in any season and can form in moments even in clear weather. Such storms have rolled out of a clear sky, delivered deafening thunder, blinding lightning, and terrible winds, and moved away all in the space of a half-day or less.

Terrible storms likewise besiege Thunder Peaks. Each range has its share of horror stories, with exploring parties being decimated by the ravages of the sky.

Many rumours surround two mysterious places in the Thunder Peaks. The first is the scorched former citadel of the deceased Marchayn of Archendale, known as the Mad Witch of the Thunder Peaks. The other mysterious site is a cave said to be the home of Aubaerus (N hm D16), a follower of Silvanus who, through spending much of his time in the form of a raven (it is said), is known as Ravenmaster.

Fauna

Grell: These creatures normally inhabit the Underdark and more isolated regions of Faerun but a hive appears to have established itself in the Vast Swamp and controls a significant proportion of that marshland.

The grell of the Vast Swamp are unusually large and powerful for their kind, they appear to be augmented and nourished by the evil of the swamp. The grell appear to follow the commands of a creature they call the Imperator, which according to hobgoblin tales lives in caverns beneath the Vast Swamp and is a grell of enormous size and power.

Karonis the Imperator lairs beneath the Vast Swamp, he is a unique pit fiend with an enlarged brain and unusual mind magic focused abilities (often called psionics)

Horse – Cormyte Riding Horse: This breed of horse originated in the Vilhon Reach ages ago (where it was known as the Chionthar) bred by the people of Jhaamdath, it has long since spread throughout the Heartlands (and Western Heartlands) but the Cormyreans claim to have perfected the breed.

This breed of horse is intelligent and easily trained, it stands 16 hands tall with a long neck. It comes in bay, dark bay, chestnut, grey, and black colours, with white markings on the face and legs. It is strong and swift and prized by travellers and messengers but is not much of a work horse. There are quality ranches that breed this horse in Arabel and Waymoot.

Hydra: Dwell in the Vast Swamp

Meazels: Dwell in the Vast Swamp

Lizardfolk: Savage versions of the lizardfolk dwell in the Vast Swamp.

Illithids: Dwell in the Vast Swamp, allied with two large beholder.

Local Lore

Curse of the Blood Royal: Centuries ago, brigands waylaid the Princess Kathla Obarskyr in Juniril. Pinned to the temple doors by a sword, the dying princess choked out her curse. The temple erupted in beams of light that struck each brigand, and each beam became a sword, transfixing its victim. The curse kept the bloodthirsty fools alive, writhing in agony. None dared touch them for fear of the curse, and they staggered about Cormyr until wolves, hunger, or winter cold felled them. Tales are still told by the fireside on cold winter nights of skeletons seen stumbling around the backlands with glowing blades through them, though it always seems that friends of the taletellers saw the skeletons, not the speakers themselves. (Volos Cormyr pg 191)

Guthtarl the Foul: Centuries ago, Guthtarl was a War Wizard who dabbled with dark magic and was exiled from the organisation and Cormyr when a spell he was experimenting with went awry. Guthtarl is said to still roam the wilderness of Cormyr in the shape of a fat bulbous man from the waist up, and a slimy white dew worm from the waist down. He is said to hunt children by “smell” (his face is eyeless and so he is blind), and can cling to ceilings and walls to ambush his prey. His touch and indeed his mere presence can induce illness and disease in all around him.

The Haunted Helm: This ancient legend recounts tales an empty floating helm that roams the countryside and is often seen at mysterious or calamitous events, especially battlegrounds. The Haunted Helm is often a story told to children to scare them into obedience and discourage wandering off alone.

The Seven Lost Heirs: Why not reveal the true names and locations of the Seven Lost Heirs while ye’re at it? It’ll cut down on the civil wars and the rush of adventurers deluded into rightful claims on thrones. I suppose saving all those lives would be too helpful by half. (Volos Cormyr pg 202)

The Wildfangs Woman: This relatively recent myth revolves around a wild humanoid creature that stalks lone visitors to the Hullack Forest, attacking them when they are unprepared (usually as they flee in terror). This myth is believed to derive from the tale of Lady Harellae Mallowbridge (wife of Tonthur Mallowbridge) who was discovered as a secret practitioner of forbidden magics and exiled along with the rest of House Mallowbridge (except for Tonthur and his brother Naeryn), she fled into the Hullack Forest and the tale of the Wildfangs Woman began soon after.