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Geography

Faerûn and Toril

Faerûn (Fay-ROON) is the western portion of a vast northern continent on the planet Abeir-Toril (Ah-BEER Tor-RILL) — usually just called Toril. The name is archaic, meaning "cradle of life", and is rarely used in everyday speech.

Toril is an Earth-sized planet dominated by a large continent in its northern hemisphere with a number of other large landmasses scattered across its surface. The northern continent is called Faerûn in the west, Kara-Tur in the east, and Zakhara in the south.

The Sword Coast Survival Guide concerns itself with the western portion of Faerûn, particularly the lands between the Sword Coast and the Inner Sea — and specifically the region around the western city of Baldur's Gate.

The Sword Coast

For years, the lands between Waterdeep (to the north) and bustling Amn (to the south), bordered on the west by the Great Ocean and on the east by the Wood of Sharp Teeth, have been thought of as the Empty Lands — a vast, inconvenient stretch of wilderness folk venture into only to get from one place to another. Legends abound of grisly fates that befell unfortunate travellers at the hands of orcs, trolls, hobgoblins, and worse.

Thanks to both human and bestial predators the trip has always been dangerous — hence the name Sword Coast.

Down through the ages many folk have dreamed of founding a kingdom in the verdant valley hidden in the moors. In recent times the caravans have begun to see a new menace — raiding parties of subhumans who plunder mainly the mines in the Cloud Peak Mountains north of Amn.

The area is littered with the ruins of failed dreams — small villages, empty towers, dungeons, and the occasional town, city, or keep. The notable settlements covered in this wiki are:

  • Baldur's Gate — the great port city.
  • Beregost — a market town a day's travel south of where the Way of the Lion branches from the Coast Way.
  • The Friendly Arm Inn — a walled hamlet several days north of Beregost.
  • Nashkel — south of Beregost.
  • Gullykin — a small halfling village.
  • Candlekeep — citadel of learning, the protagonist's childhood home.

Those not travelling with a caravan are warned

Brigands, hobgoblins, and kobolds are an ever-present danger. Many stay in roving encampments, living off stolen livestock and raiding travellers, warehouses, and weakened settlements at will — particularly at night or in bad weather.

The other large city in the region is Iriaebor, far inland. From the gates of Baldur's Gate south to Amn, the Coast on either side of the Coast Way is pleasant, verdant farmland. North of the river Chionthar as far as the Way Inn, the land is more sparsely inhabited and more dangerous — it serves as a hunting range for Waterdhavian nobles and wealthy Amnians.

Source: bgee/original_manuals/baldurs_gate_1_ee_sword_coast_survival_guide.pdf — "Overview of the Realms: The World of Baldur's Gate" and "The Sword Coast".