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 Sword Coast factions covered in the manual:
The Harpers¶
A semi-secret society based in the Heartlands, the Harpers have seen a number of incarnations through the years with rising and falling political power. They are primarily allied with a number of good churches and receive support from powerful neutral parties, including druidic circles.
Their aim is to keep at bay the dangers to civilization — goblin raids, dragon flights, and the insidious control of other groups such as the Zhentarim, Red Wizards, or the Cult of the Dragon.
They believe in:
- The power of individuals.
- The balance between the wild and the civilised.
- The good of humankind and its allied sentient races.
- Preserving tales of the past so future generations may learn from them.
Harpers attract a wide variety of character types but are most attractive to elves, rangers, and bards. By nature meddlers, they often operate alone or in small groups and have no main base of operations. Their symbol is a harp and moon.
The Iron Throne¶
A mysterious merchant organization that has been operating over the past few decades. Despite its long existence, little is known of its purpose or the identity of its backers. The Iron Throne operates through agents — mostly low-level thugs and brigands — who have only recently taken legitimate employment. Turnover is high; agents often "lapse into their old ways", and the Throne denies all complicity while replacing them regularly. The organization wishes to maintain a patina of respectability, however thin.
Recently the veneer has worn thin. The Iron Throne has been charged with:
- Attempted assassination of competition.
- Extortion and thuggery.
- Trading weapons to humanoid tribes.
- Trafficking in smokepowder, poison, and contraband.
Frequent reports of conflicts between Iron Throne caravans and Zhentarim agents have been recorded. The Iron Throne has been banished for a year from acting within Cormyr, and many suspect them of branching out to new locales.
The masters of the Iron Throne are at present unknown and have to this date resisted all attempts to magically divine their identities or intentions.
The Red Wizards¶
The Red Wizards are the rulers of Thay, and the powerful ruling Zulkirs of that land are chosen from among their numbers. They are abroad throughout the Realms as spies and agents of their kingdom.
The stated goal of the Red Wizards is to establish Thay as the supreme political and magical force in the Realms. They may be working toward this end, advancing their own causes, or seeking to discredit others — including other Red Wizards.
They are many things, but one thing they are not is subtle: 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 Shadow Thieves¶
A wide-ranging guild of thieves, spies, and assassins who perform particularly dangerous, evil-aligned, and lucrative ventures. Their activities are not limited to a single city — they range the length of the Sword Coast from Luskan to Calimport.
A group directly opposed to the Lords of Waterdeep and all their allies, the Shadow Thieves are based in Athkatla, in Amn (south of Baldur's Gate), where they have a massive training complex and a testing ground for the assassins they sponsor. They were once the thieves' guild of Waterdeep until they were driven out by the Lords of Waterdeep.
The Shadow Thieves have sponsored an assassins' guild in Athkatla with the eventual aim of slaying all of the Lords of Waterdeep. They appear to have reached some sort of pact with the merchant lords of Amn — the merchant lords leave the Shadow Thieves alone and are left alone in return.
Their trademark: a black silk mask impaled upon a stiletto blade, usually used in assassinations or left at the scene if a garrotte or poison is employed.
The Zhentarim¶
The Black Network of the Zhentarim is 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 few weeks east of Baldur's Gate). 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, and 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 in Faerûn 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: bgee/original_manuals/baldurs_gate_1_ee_sword_coast_survival_guide.pdf — "Power Groups of the Sword Coast".