Power Groups of the Sword Coast¶
In addition to the various cities and towns, a number of secret societies, cults, and adventuring companies operate to their own ends and often ignore national boundaries. The major factions in Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition:
The Shadow Thieves¶
A wide-ranging guild of thieves, spies, and assassins who perform particularly dangerous, evil-aligned, and lucrative tasks. Their activities, unlike most thieving guilds, are not limited to a single city — they range the length of the Sword Coast from Luskan to Calimport.
Directly opposed to the Lords of Waterdeep and all their allies, the Shadow Thieves are based in Athkatla, where they have a massive training complex and testing ground for the assassins they sponsor. This group was once the thieves' guild of Waterdeep until they were driven out by the city's rulers.
The organization appears to have reached some sort of agreement with the merchant lords of Amn, though no one knows the agreement's exact details: the merchant lords leave the Shadow Thieves alone, and are in turn left alone themselves.
The Shadow Thieves operate up and down the Sword Coast; their trademark is a black silk mask impaled upon a stiletto blade — usually used in assassinations, or left at the scene if a garrote or poison is employed instead. No names, descriptions, or even numbers of Shadow Thieves are known; extremely experienced operators are thought to be few.
The Cowled Wizards¶
A mysterious group of immensely powerful mages operating throughout Amn. Their political goals and alliances are unfathomable to ordinary citizens, though their power and influence make them equal to the Shadow Thieves and even the Council of Six.
Their official function in Amnian society is to regulate and control the use of all magic within the Merchant Empire. The general population's distrust of magic is reflected in the stringent prohibitions the Cowled Wizards enforce.
Unregistered spellcasting is dangerous
Spellcasters foolish enough to practise their art in Amnian lands will undoubtedly receive a visit from the Cowled Wizards. If the mage is lucky, the first offence will warrant only a warning; if unlucky… The Cowled Wizards often imprison rogue magic users (and the occasional political prisoner) in Spellhold, a magically secured "asylum" on an island near the city of Brynnlaw.
Such organizations give wizards like me a bad name!
— Volo
Your bad name is your own doing.
— Elminster
The Harpers¶
A semi-secret society based in the Heartlands. The Harpers have seen a number of incarnations with rising and falling political power. They are primarily allied with good churches but also receive support from powerful neutral parties including druidic circles.
Their goal is to protect civilization from a myriad of threats — goblin raids, dragon flights, and the insidious control of other groups such as the Zhentarim, Red Wizards, or the Cult of the Dragon.
The Harpers believe in:
- The power of individuals.
- The balance between the wild and the civilised.
- The good of humankind and its allied sentient races.
- Preserving the tales of the past so that future generations may learn from them.
The Harpers attract a wide variety of character types but are most attractive to elves, rangers, and bards. They are spread throughout the North and the Heartlands, often operating in secret — by nature meddlers, often working alone or in small groups to achieve their ends. Their symbol is a harp and moon.
The Red Wizards¶
The Red Wizards are the premier power in Thay; the ruling Zulkirs of that land are chosen from among their number. They work abroad throughout the Realms as spies and agents of their kingdom. Their actions are supposedly for the good of their home government, but each Red Wizard has his or her own agenda.
The Red Wizards' stated goal is to establish Thay as the supreme political and magical force in the Realms. Red Wizards encountered in the Realms may be working toward this end, advancing their own causes, or seeking to discredit others — including other Red Wizards. The byzantine plots of the Red Wizards are so involved that it is often difficult to determine where one ends and another begins.
The Red Wizards are many things, but subtle is not one of them. Swaggering, boastful, loud, insulting, and dangerous — it takes great control for a Red Wizard to affect personal humility or tolerate any reproach to the superiority of the Thayvian people.
The Zhentarim¶
The Black Network — a not-so-secret group of mages, priests, and warriors devoted to dominating trade (and therefore power) throughout the Heartlands. To that end they work to bring down the Dalelands, the Harpers, rival Moonsea cities, the Cult of the Dragon, Cormyr, Sembia, and anyone else who gets in their way.
The Black Network has three major bases of operations:
- Darkhold, in the Far Hills — a terminus in the Western Heartlands for caravans from north, south, and east.
- The Citadel of the Raven, on the borders of Thar — a major military base.
- Zhentil Keep, the birthplace of the organization — less influential of late owing to the rise of the church of Cyric.
Trade is a major component of their income; they are not limited morally in their cargo. Poisons, contraband, weapons, and slaves are all on the manifest. Conquest is also high on the agenda — often using the forces of Zhentil Keep or another catspaw such as Voonlar or Llorkh — and they make extensive use of humanoid tribes and mercenaries paid in spoils.
The Mages of Halruaa¶
A rising presence from the South — the mystical and near-legendary land of Halruaa, reputed to be controlled by powerful wizards. Wizardry there is incorporated into common use: castles float on the breeze, water runs uphill, and even the meanest scullery maid knows a few cantrips.
The Halruaan mages are best known in Faerûn for their flying ships, slung beneath great bags filled with volatile gases. These ships appear off the coasts of many port cities, approaching from the water but remaining "above it all". The merchant-mages who control them deal in few items, often of little worth to their owners, paying extravagant prices — they are said to seek perfect spell components, or so the cover story goes.
A second set of operatives works more quietly within the great trading cities of the North and Heartlands — shopkeepers, merchants, and common traders who act as the eyes and ears of the Halruaans, keeping abreast of new developments (particularly the appearance of powerful magical items).
Caution is advised when dealing with any of these factions. I fear some may be even more influential than Volo indicates.
— Elminster
Source: bg2ee/original_manuals/baldurs_gate_2_ee_amn_survival_guide.pdf — "Power Groups of the Sword Coast".