History of Waterdeep

In the Year of the Blighted Vine (482 DR), a Tethyrian warlord named Ulbaerag Bloodhand conquered the ever-feuding, settled tribes of Blackcloak Hold. Within a generation, Ulbaerag had united the tribes as one. The settlement served as a small but important anchorage on the Sword Coast, visited annually by ships seeking timber harvested by the inhabitants of Bloodhand Hold.

The rising power of orc hordes in the North led to the Council of Axe and Arrow in the Year of Trials Arcane (523 DR). There, the humans of Delimbiyran, the dwarves of Dardath, the elves of Ardeep Forest, the gnomes of Dolblunde, and displaced halflings from Mieritin collectively founded the Tri-Crowned Kingdom of Phalorm. The aging Ulbaerag rejected an invitation to join the Realm of Three Crowns. However, Ulbaerag’s son and successor proved more pragmatic, forging a lasting peace with the elves of the Ardeep Forest.

The Realm of Three Crowns lasted less than a century, falling in the Year of the Lamia’s Kiss (615 DR) to waves of goblinoid attacks. The final battles between Phalorm and the Horde of the Wastes resulted in the magical inundation of Uthtower (forming the Mere of Dead Men) and the overrunning of the Sword Mountains by countless bands of orcs. Many warriors of Bloodhand Hold died in the fighting as well, but their sacrifice ensured the safety of their home.

In the wake of the Fallen Kingdom’s collapse, the humans of Delimbiyran founded the human-ruled Kingdom of Man. For fifty-five years the armies of Delimbiyran waged an “Endless Battle” against the scattered orc tribes of the Sword Coast, indirectly shielding the folk of Bloodhand Hold from their depredations. Although Ulbaerag’s descendants retained their nominal independence, Bloodhand Hold was considered by most to be just an outlying village of the Kingdom of Man.

The death of Delimbiyr’s heirless king in the Year of the Triton’s Horn (697 DR) plunged the Kingdom of Man into an ill-timed civil war. Bloodhand Hold was one of the few small states to survive the internecine conflict and the subsequent orc assault. In the Year of the Splendid Stag (734 DR), a succession of harvests wrecked by fierce summer storms drove Raulbaera Bloodhand, a descendant of Ulbaerag, to lead a band of followers inland in search of a more sheltered vale. The “Maiden King” laid claim to the lands near present-day Amphail, establishing a settlement there that she named Rowan Hold.

Great changes swept the North in the Year of the Curse (882 DR). The fall of Ascalhorn, Eaerlann, and Ammarindar to demons prompted a great migration of dwarves, elves, and humans south and west toward the coast. Among the migrants arose a great human warrior known as Nimoar the Reaver. Nimoar gathered an armed host and led them in search of a new home.

As winter drew nigh, Nimoar and his followers came upon Bloodhand Hold and decided to seize it for their own. They quickly vanquished the Bloodhand tribe. Nimoar immediately ordered the construction of a log palisade atop an earthen embankment and a wooden fortress at the northern end of the settlement.

Nimoar’s defenses were seriously tested in the decade that followed. In the Year of Fell Pearls (887 DR), southern pirates attacked Nimoar’s Hold in force, but the Reaver’s followers beat them back three times in a row. In the Year of the Shining Shield (889 DR), driven from the lower Dessarin vale by the same pressures that had prodded Nimoar and his followers, the Tethyrian Bull Elk tribe attacked Nimoar’s Hold and set it afire. However, once again the Reaver’s followers proved victorious, driving off the barbarian raiders and rebuilding the hold before the first winter snow.

From then onward, Nimoar’s Hold grew and prospered, and the fledgling community became known among ship captains as the “town of Waterdeep.”

After some four decades of peace, two threats arose to challenge Waterdeep’s prosperity—orcs and trolls. In the Year of the Red Rain (927 DR), a shaman named Wund arose among the orc tribes of the Sword Mountains. On the eve of the Feast of the Moon, as Wund had prophesied, blood red thunderclouds engulfed the Sword Mountains. For three days the slopes ran wet with blood, leaving behind the sickening stench of rot and decay. All manner of plagues quickly swept through the region. Many orcs (and other folk) died by the White Hand of Yutrus, including every tribal chieftain, but the spawn of Gruumsh who survived the crucible of plagues grew stronger.

In the immediate aftermath of the Blood Plagues, Wund established a monastic order known as the Brotherhood of the Scarlet Scourge. Members of the order organized the surviving orc tribes into a united realm under the spiritual guidance of the brotherhood. The most powerful chieftain, a massive, fairly unintelligent tusker named Uruth, was crowned king by Wund. The first signs of Waterdeep’s impending peril unfolded in the Year of Fireslaughter (932 DR). Gangs of trolls, driven out of the Sword Mountains by the orc tribes of the region, began attacking Nimoar’s Hold with increasing regularity. In response, the aging Nimoar led his forces northward against the Everlasting Ones in what became known as the First Trollwar, burning miles of land bare in the process.

In the Year of the Sky Raiders (936 DR), the armies of Uruth Ukrypt swept down the eastern slopes of the Sword Mountains. The armies of Waterdeep battled the orcs of Uruth Ukrypt in a series of pitched battles known as the Orcfastings War. Early orc victories in the Battle of Whirling Blades, the Battle of Sarcrag, and the Battle of Withered Fields drove Waterdeep’s forces back to the gates of Nimoar’s Hold. However, a timely feint by the Duke of Calandor enabled Nimoar’s forces to break the orcs’ siege of the hold in the Battle of Burning Cliffs. Over the next five days, Waterdeep’s armies won four successive battles, shattering the might of Uruth Ukrypt’s armies. King Uruth fell in the Battle of the Westwood, but it was the death of Wund that precipitated the Horderout.

In the aftermath of the Orcfastings War, Nimoar died of old age, and the mantle of “War Lord” passed to Gharl, his most accomplished general. The orcs of Uruth Ukrypt retreated to their high steadings. Orc plans to attack Waterdeep in the Year of Cold Claws (940 DR) faltered thanks to Palarandusk, a great gold wyrm. This proved fortunate for the defenders of Waterdeep, for once again the Everlasting Ones began raiding, marking the beginning of the Second Trollwar.

For a dozen years, the defenders of Waterdeep battled gangs of trolls throughout the Dessarin River valley. Beginning with Amphail the Just, who reigned for a year, six warriors claimed the mantle of War Lord of Waterdeep during this period, only to fall in never-ending battle with the trolls.

In the Year of the Rings Royal (952 DR), the human realms and holdings of the North united and finally ended the war, destroying or scattering the hordes of Everlasting Ones. Two heroes of that war were Ahghairon, thereafter recognized as the premier wizard of the Savage North, and Samular Caradoon, a Tyrran knight who attracted a large following to his banner. In the aftermath of the war, Ahghairon was elevated to the position of official advisor of the War Lord of Waterdeep, and Samular went on to form the Holy Order of Samular, a knighthood still active in Waterdeep to this day.

After fighting and winning three wars in the span of two decades, the city of Waterdeep emerged as a preeminent power in the North. Construction of Castle Waterdeep began in the Year of the Deadly Duo (963 DR), just north of the city walls. Over the next decade, the city’s walls were expanded to abut the wall around the ruins of Halaster’s Hold and replaced with high stone fortifications. In the Year of the Haunting Harpy (974 DR), the castle was finally completed and Laroun, Waterdeep’s first female War Lord, took residence therein. Laroun ruled long and well, seeing to Waterdeep’s continued prosperity and defense. By the Year of the Bold Barbarian (1007 DR), the city walls had been expanded once again, absorbing the ruins of Halaster’s Hold, cloaked in wards by Ahghairon. Waterdeep’s master mage also built his tower in this year, at the time outside the city’s walls. In the Year of Three Signs (1010 DR), Laroun officially established the Free City of Waterdeep, with herself as “Warlord” (or ruler).

In the Year of Lathander’s Light (1024 DR), a daring band of Waterdhavian adventurers known as the Dawnbringer Company incited the orcs of Uruth Ukrypt by plundering their sacred crypt, known as the Ukrypt. Discovered in the act, the band fled the wrath of the Scarlet Scourge. In response, the Brotherhood of the Scarlet Scourge mustered the first orc horde in generations to emerge from the Sword Mountains. Bent on destroying the City of Splendors, the Broken Bone horde instead fell prey to Lhammaruntosz, the “Claws of the Coast.”

Enraged by its defeat, the Brotherhood of the Scarlet Scourge plotted revenge against the city of Waterdeep. In the Year of Crimson Magics (1026 DR), the Brotherhood mustered another orc horde from the depths of the Sword Mountains. The Black Claw horde encircled the plateau on which the city lay and then repeatedly assaulted the City of Splendors. Warlord Laroun died defending Waterdeep during one of the desperate battles to hold the city’s walls.

Laroun’s title passed to Raurlor, leader of the city’s army, despite the reservations of Ahghairon. The Black Claw horde would have undoubtedly overrun the City of Splendors if not for the daring of an elite company of veterans who traveled through Halaster’s Underhalls, beyond the city walls, and then fell on the orc encampment from the rear. The defeats of two successive hordes shattered both the kingdom of Uruth Ukrypt and the order that sustained it. The orcs of the Sword Mountains disintegrated into warring tribes.

In the Year of Warlords (1030 DR), Raurlor began to increase Waterdeep’s standing army and navy to a size not seen since the fall of Phalorm. Over the next two years, he turned the city into a garrison and military encampment, brooking no dissent from the populace. In the Year of the Nightmaidens (1032 DR), Raurlor proclaimed the Empire of the North, but Ahghairon defied him, transforming the Warlord’s blade into a viper that poisoned its wielder; Raurlor died at the mage’s feet, and Ahghairon took power.

As the first “Lord” of Waterdeep, Ahghairon determined that henceforth wisdom and not armed might would rule in the city. He assembled a group of Lords drawn from all walks of life, masked and disguised when they appeared to the people, but equal to him in authority. In the years that followed, Waterdeep prospered, growing in both size and economic might.

The System of Wards came into being in the Year of Falling Stars (1035 DR), initially including Castle Ward, Trades Ward, Temple (later Southern) Ward, and Dock Ward.

The Year of Lions’ Roars (1071 DR) saw the noted adventurer Ranressa Shiard return to the slopes of Mount Waterdeep on dragonback, astride a copper wyrm named Galadaeros, prompting Ahghairon to create wards deterring (but not completely preventing) dragons from raiding the city. In the winter of the Year of the Defiant Salute (1076 DR), Waterdeep was attacked by the Tethyrian Black Boar tribe of the Dessarin, led by Nalethra of the Winged Spear. Repelled from the city’s walls, the princess and her bodyguard slew thrice their number of Waterdhavian fighters before they fell.

A great plague swept the Sword Coast in the Year of the Scourge (1150 DR), coupled with increased attacks by troll and orc tribes. Large numbers of Waterdhavians died from these twin scourges, thanks in part to the treachery of a secret cult of Talona, quickly destroyed by agents of the Lords. The same year saw the arrival of Khelben “Blackstaff” Arunsun the Elder, who built Arunsun (later Blackstaff) Tower for himself and his apprentices.

In the Year of the Black Horde (1235 DR), Waterdeep and much of the Sword Coast was besieged by the largest orc horde in history. The city was spared the destruction visited on its neighbors when Ahghairon and his generals introduced griffons as flying steeds for the army. The Year of Burning Steel (1246 DR) saw Kerrigan, a wizard and hidden Lord of Waterdeep, attempt to seize power for himself. He managed to fell three of his fellow Lords and a score of innocents before being slain by Ahghairon.

In the Year of the Dusty Throne (1256 DR), shortly after Khelben vanished from the City of Splendors, the aged Ahghairon passed away and was interred with great ceremony in his tower, which was then sealed with potent wards that remain in effect to this very day. Ahghairon’s fellow Lords were nowhere to be found, as all but two had been quietly slain in the wake of Ahghairon’s death, leaving the masters of Waterdeep’s various guilds (who had secretly discovered the identities of the hidden Lords and had them killed) to argue over who should rule.

While the council bickered, deadly strife erupted in the city’s shadows. The Guild Wars pitted armies of hired mercenaries and assassins against one another, wiping out many merchant families. After two months, it was agreed that the Council of Guildmasters would collectively rule the City of Splendors, although most of the feuds spawned during this era have never been forgotten.

In the Year of the Black Wind (1262 DR), six years of self-interested squabbling among the Guildmasters erupted into bloodshed. All but two of the city’s Guildmasters died in the next few months. The surviving Guildmasters, Lhorar Gildeggh of the Shipwrights and Ehlemm Zoar of the Gemcutters, finally sickened of the bloodshed and agreed to rule together as Lords Magister, although their continued bickering prevented any effective governance of the city.

In the same year the Lords Magister began their rule, the Shadow Thieves, up till then a minor band of thieves openly tolerated as a recognized guild, discovered a long-forgotten stronghold in the depths of Mount Waterdeep built by the dwarves of Melairbode and used as a defensive retreat during the era of Bloodhand Hold. Calling their new stronghold the Citadel of the Bloody Hand, the Shadow Thieves quickly grew in strength and influence, free to flourish in the climate of lawlessness that prevailed.

The reign of the Guildmasters came to an abrupt end in the Year of the Wagon (1273 DR), when the last two of Ahghairon’s Lords appeared in the court of the Lords Magister. Lady Shilarn, apprentice and undeclared heir of Ahghairon, blasted Lhorar and Ehlemm with lightning and fire. Lord Baeron Silmaeril removed his mask and declared himself Open Lord of Waterdeep.

The revival of the Lords’ Rule saw a gradual return to peace and prosperity in the City of Splendors, although many worked in secret to oppose Baeron Silmaeril and the masked Shilarn Silmaeril as they reestablished their authority. Among their first acts, Shilarn declared Houses Gildeggh and Zoar to be outcast, while Baeron established the black-robed Magisters to maintain justice and outlawed the Shadow Thieves from the city.

Within three years of their installation, the wedded Lords Silmaeril had chosen fourteen additional individuals to serve as hidden Lords of Waterdeep, although only five to seven were ever seen at once. In the Year of the Crumbling Keep (1276 DR), the Lords expanded the city’s borders to include North Ward and Sea Ward, and Shilarn gave birth to a daughter named Lhestyn.

In the guise of the “Masked Lady,” Lhestyn infiltrated the outlawed Shadow Thieves in the Year of the Pointed Bone (1298 DR) and exposed their continuing activities. This act precipitated a bloody tenday of fighting between the guild and the City Watch that culminated in the death or flight of the guild’s members. Two years later, Lhestyn wed Zelphar Arunsun, a Neverwintan wizard and youngest son of Khelben the Elder, and two years after that (1302 DR) she gave birth to Khelben “Ravenscloak” Arunsun the Younger, a near twin of his grandfather and namesake.

In the same year that saw the birth of Lhestyn’s only child, two noted adventurers, Durnan and Mirt the Merciless, emerged from Undermountain bearing great wealth, precipitating a renewal of interest in the vast dungeon beneath the City of Splendors. The practice of exiling criminals to the depths of Undermountain dates back to this year, although some have begun to question its effectiveness, as it seems to ensure that only the most dangerous predators of the city survive, often strengthened by the crucible of Halaster’s Halls.

Baeron died of fever in the Year of the Catacombs (1308 DR), and Shilarn, his wife, immolated herself on his funeral pyre. Their daughter, Lhestyn, a hidden Lord of Waterdeep herself, became the city’s Open Lord.

Lhestyn’s short reign as Open Lord of Waterdeep began in splendor but was marked by personal tragedy. In the Year of the Catacombs (1308 DR), Lhestyn constructed the Palace of Waterdeep on the site of a ruined abbey of Chauntea. In the Year of the Fist (1311 DR), her husband Zelphar was crushed to death by a sorcerous hand of force. The perpetrator remains unknown to the Lords to this day (in truth, he was murdered by a lich of the Twisted Rune as a favor to the Shadow Thieves).

Zelphar’s death prompted Durnan, himself a hidden Lord, to found the Red Sashes as his personal agents, creating a precaution against blatant disregard for the watch that had grown increasingly common in Dock Ward. Khelben the Elder secretly returned to Arunsun Tower after the death of his son, phasing out and eventually faking the “death” of his guise as Ducat Eattel by the following year. Over the next ten years, he trained his grandson and namesake, as it gradually became known that Khelben the Younger now claimed his “grandfather’s” tower.

Lhestyn died in the Year of the Shadowtop (1314 DR), only a few short years after her parents and husband. Piergeiron Paladinson, a paladin and officer of the city guard whom Lhestyn had made a hidden Lord three years earlier, became Open Lord of Waterdeep. Khelben the Younger departed Waterdeep in the Year of Chains (1321 DR), leaving his grandfather to assume his guise.

Since ascending to the position of Open Lord of Waterdeep, Piergeiron Paladinson has reigned wisely and honestly. In his first four decades, Waterdeep knew peace, with only one exception. The Year of the Saddle (1345 DR) saw religious strife between the church of Shar and the churches of Lathander, Selûne, and Tempus. This conflict resulted in the fiery destruction of two of the city’s temples—the Spires of the Morning and the House of Heroes—during the “Night of Temple Fires” and the sacking of a third—a hidden temple of the Dark Maiden beneath what is now Shadows Alley.

The era of peace ended in the Year of the Harp (1355 DR), when Amril Zoar, scion of the exiled Waterdhavian family of the same name, slew two secret Lords of Waterdeep, Lady Tamaeril Bladesemmer and Resengar the Whitebeard, and badly wounded Open Lord Piergeiron. After being apprehended, he was spared execution by the intercession of Storm Silverhand of the Harpers.

In the first days of the Year of the Worm (1356 DR), a Waterdhavian troop patrolling the trade routes came under attack by devils and goblins in the Open Marches. The devils were tracked back to Dragonspear Castle, where Waterdeep’s forces besieged and set fire to the ancient keep. The Dragonspear War continued for months, as the numbers of devils continued to grow. Eventually, the armies of

On the heels of the Dragonspear War, Ruathym attacked and sank a Luskanite caravel after persons unknown (at the time) stole the Tome of the Unicorn from the Green Library. Luskan responded by destroying much of Ruathym’s fleet and invading the island itself. After months of fighting, Ruathym’s defenders drove the High Captains of Luskan back to their ships. Waterdeep negotiated a truce between the two parties early the following year, but that backfired when Luskan, Ruathym, Tuern, and the Whalebones forged an alliance to raid settlements along the Sword Coast. Not until the Year of the Serpent (1359 DR) did the navies of Waterdeep and Baldur’s Gate end this threat to merchant shipping.

The Time of Troubles beset Toril in the Year of Shadows (1358 DR). First, Shar appeared in the guise of Selûne, attempting to permanently weaken her ancient adversary. Then, near the end of the Avatar Crisis, Myrkul’s Legion and the avatar of the Lord of Bones invaded the City of Splendors, wreaking great destruction throughout Dock Ward, Castle Ward, and Southern Ward. Many buildings in the Market were destroyed when Myrkul’s avatar was defeated, Midnight (Mystra) and Cyric ascended to godhood from the slopes of Mount Waterdeep, and the voice of Ao the Overgod was heard by many in the Market.

The years that followed were no less tumultuous for Piergeiron and the Waterdhavian populace. Rumors of a Harper assassin swept Waterdeep in the Year of Maidens (1361 DR), as did whispers of a new land to the distant west discovered by explorers from Amn. Along with the rest of the Lords’ Alliance, Waterdeep was also forced to threaten war when Luskan once again turned on Ruathym and conquered its brothers to the west. In the Year of the Wave (1364 DR), droughts, increased monster activity, and political unrest plagued Waterdeep for months leading up to Midsummer, culminating in the disruption of Shieldmeet by a green dragon (Grimnoshtadrano, the Riddling Dragon of the High Forest) and an apparently mad bard (an ex-Harper named Iriador “Garnet” Wintermist), nearly upsetting the Lords’ Rule.

In the Year of the Shield (1367 DR), Khelben “Blackstaff” Arunsun unmasked himself and resigned as a Lord of Waterdeep, to the surprise of the populace and his fellow Lords. Autumn of the Year of the Banner (1368 DR) saw the cream of Waterdhavian youth enlist in Prince Haedrak’s Reclamation Army to restore Tethyr’s monarchy. At the same time, a fad for dream spheres secretly created by the Mhaorkiira Hadryad swept the City of Splendors, appealing to the increasing ranks of those who dreamt of a better life but despaired of ever achieving it. Complications from the latter episode resulted in the deaths or disappearance of several nobles and nearly rent asunder the seven families of the Two-Cities Consortium who secretly controlled trade between Waterdeep and Skullport.

Two events stood out in the Year of the Gauntlet (1369 DR). First, on the last day of Ches, an army of sea creatures led by the monstrous wereshark named Iakhovas invaded the City of Splendors from the depths of the harbor and surrounding sea. Waterdeep’s defenders won the Deepwater War, but at the cost of many lives and much destruction in Dock Ward and Sea Ward. Moreover, some number of sea creatures escaped into Waterdeep’s sewers and lurk there still. Second, Halaster’s Higharvestide disrupted the Mad Mage’s wards and released all manner of monsters into the city’s streets through malfunctioning portals across the city, causing a great deal of property damage, particularly in Castle Ward and Trades Ward.

Waterdeep’s armies were drawn into war once again in the Year of Wild Magic (1372 DR), after the phaerimms escaped the Sharnwall and attacked Evereska. Khelben Arunsun led one army that became trapped within the Vale of Evereska, so Laeral and Storm Silverhand led a relief army against the thornbacks and their minions, battling armies of bugbears and lizardfolk thralls led by beholder and illithid generals. An uneasy alliance with the Shadovar of Shade fell apart, and it soon became clear that the Netherese shades were melting the High Ice of Anauroch, with no thought as to the consequences for the rest of Toril. After months of war, the phaerimms were defeated and the plans of the Shadovar were disrupted by the theft of the Karsestone. Nevertheless, western Faerûn continues to be beset by drought, threatening the prosperity of the City of Splendors and its allies for years to come.

Since the Year of the Worm (1356 DR), Waterdeep has been invaded by two armies (Myrkul’s Legion and the Army of Iakhovas), fought three wars beyond its walls, and had magically induced climatological changes devastate its agricultural environs twice. At the same time, Waterdeep’s trusted leaders have grown old or turned to other projects. Folk such as Durnan, Mirt, and Piergeiron are now far beyond their hale and hearty youth, and Khelben is focused on personal projects such as the Tel Teukiira.

With its treasuries nearly drained, its populace exhausted, and severe droughts still ravaging the North, the City of Splendors has acquired a dark patina of despair and penury unseen since the misrule of the Guildmasters. Undoubtedly Waterdeep will rise again, filling its coffers with trade wealth and proudly serving as the Gateway to the North, but for now at least, the City of (faded) Splendors is greatly in need of adventurers to restore its glory once again.