Volo's Guide to Cormyr
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Volos Guide to Cormyr Another morn brightens the rain And so I must travel on again To see fresh marvels ahead. Eating wayfarers bread, The leavings are my only pain. Synder Gallowglass, The Minstrel of Many Roads, Ballad of the Wayfarer Dedication To Wes Nicholson Grand host, greater booster of gaming, and a traveler even more energetic (and con- siderably more competent) than Volo. A good manmay Earth and Toril alike hold many more of them. Credits Design: Ed Greenwood Editing: Julia Marlin Cover Art: John and Laura Lakey Interior Art: Valerie Valusek Cartography: Dennis Kauth Typesetting: Angelika Lokotz Production: Dee Barnette Other Sourcebooks in This Series Volo’s Guide to Waterdeep Volo’s Guide to the North Volo’s Guide to the Sword Coast ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D, and FORGOTTEN REALMS are registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. MONSTROUS MANUAL and the TSR logo are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. All TSR characters, character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. ©1995 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Random House and its affiliate companies have worldwide distribution rights in the book trade for English language products of TSR, Inc. Distributed to the book and hobby trade in the United Kingdom by TSR Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of TSR Inc. 9486 TSR, Inc. TSR Ltd. 201 Sheridan Springs Rd. 120 Church End Lake Geneva Cherry Hinton WI 53147 Cambridge CB1 3LB U.S.A. United Kingdom 2 Contents Foreword ..................... .4 Stag Steads. ................ .169 Volos Ratings System. ......... .5 Tyrluk ..................... .172 Waymoot .................. .174 The Forest Kingdom ........... .6 Bearing Arms in Cormyr ....... .7 The East Reaches ........... .180 How Best to Behave ........... .8 Hultail. .................... .189 Passwords ................. 8 Juniril ..................... .191 Procuring Licenses. ........... .9 The High Helm. .......... .192 The Crystal Grot .............. 10 Thunderstone .............. .194 The Swords of State ........... 11 Tilverton. .................. .195 The Character of the Realm .... 11 The West Reaches. .204 The Cities .................... .12 Greatgaunt. ................ .209 Suzail ...................... .15 Hornshield. ................ .212 Marsember ................. .34 Wyvernhunt. .............. .215 Arabel.......................53 Appendix I: The Coast .................... .76 Folk of Cormyr . .217 Bogbrook ................... .81 Dawngleam ................. .83 Appendix II: Gladehap ................... .87 The Sword Heralds . .225 Kirinwood .................. .92 Monksblade. ................ .97 Appendix III: Wheloon. .................. .104 Magic in Cormyr . .230 Wormtower. ............... .117 Appendix IV: The Heartlands .............. .122 Index . ...238 Aunkspear .................. .127 Blisterfoot Inn. ............. .129 Dhedluk ................... .135 Espar....................... 139 Eveningstar ................. .142 Immersea. ................. .152 Jesters Green .............. .159 Games ................. ..161 Knightswood ............... .163 The Cormytes Boast. .... .165 Mouth O Gargoyles .... .... .166 3 Foreword elcome to the fourth of folk thinking of Cormyr from afar. The my groundbreaking section on the heartlands is followed (umm, perhaps thats an by one covering the east reaches, unfortunate choice of where the countryside is more open, word) travel guides. Many and finally by one on the almost- folk have long clamored for coverage of forgotten, mountainous west reaches. I the fair realm of Cormyr in my oeuvre (I think youll be as pleasantly surprised dont know what that word means, but as I was to find all the delightful back- Elminster uses it, so it must mean waters and corners the Forest King- something grand),1 and your wishes, dom holds. ladies and gentlesirs, are my com- The reader interested in things magi- mands. I pray, therefore, to all the gods cal is urged to consult the second and who may be disposed to smile favorably third appendices forthwith. They con- upon such efforts that your eyes also tain much of interest to the visitor to find favor with this latest of my works:2 Cormyr. Volo’s Guide to Cormyr. Whats Here Using and Why This Guidebook A casual glance at this peerless tome Entries have been included not for may reveal to the discerning reader a every hamlet or backlane crossroads in slight paucity of information on the Cormyr, but for every place thats likely larger cities of the Forest Kingdom. to be interestingor unavoidable and Please be aware that this is not due to usefulto the traveler. For ease of use, I any lack of proper diligence on my have divided Cormyr into the districts part but is part of a deliberate plan:3 It familiar to most Cormyreans. From is my purpose in this work to eschew them I have plucked the cities to investi- repeated coverage of the all-too-famil- gate first. iar ground of whats where in Suzail, As you page through this guide, first Arabel, and Marsember, and instead youre presented with the cities and show the reader something of the then the coast. These are followed by countryside of the Forest Kingdom, the the heartlands, which are the area cov- glories of its lesser-known and smaller ered by the Kings Forestthe endless settlements, and places even some deep green woods envisaged by most Cormyreans may know little of. Read 1Elminster: The base flattery of the man disgusts me. 2Elminster: Sigh. Hes been taking lessons, hasnt he? 3Elminster: I used to sound like thisabout a thousand years ago. 4 reporting everything folk would fain keep on, then, and discover the real secret for good reason. When he was done, 4 Cormyr Volos Cormyr. what hed produced was a treatise on the security of Cormyr, how precisely the war wizards guard it, and how yeor rather, a less honest and scrupulous readercould shatter it and quickly bring about the downfall of the realm. Mindful (sigh) of the beauty of Cormyr and how some of us are responsible [Ahem. Real Cormyr, eh? Ah-hah. Well, enough that wed like to preserve it, I set the reader who hopes this book provides about expunging the most vital of his reve- any sort of useful place-by-place guide to lations. What remains is far more than the fair kingdom of Cormyr will of course enough for adventurers to get themselves (and as usual) be sadly disappointed. Those into deep trouble and give Vangerdahast who want to get a feel of the flavor of back- more than few anxious moments (heh- country Cormyr will, I trust, be generally heh). That should only make the realm well served by this work. As gossip, tis pure strongerand a more entertaining place to gold, and as entertainment, tis worthsev- dwell in.] eral tankards. (Er . empty ones, of course.) Ahem, yes. Theres something I should tell ye. Volo spent his youthful energies doing what he does bestspying and then 4Elminster: Delusions this grand are the final frightening stages of the descent into babbling idiocy. Hmmm, perhaps the lad wouldve made a good mage after all. Volo's Ratings System Pipes Tankards Coins Daggers (Inns) (Taverns) (Prices) Alleyways, Courtyards, Etc.) 5 6 The Forest Kingdom elcome to a Volos-eye view trings. For these purposes, a weapon is of Cormyr the fabled any knife larger than a belt blade used realm of ancient forests, for dining, or anything that does harm galloping knights, happy when swung that cant be explained folk, feasts that roar on til away as a wayfarers staff or tradesmans moonfall, and proud keeps where bright tool. Purple Dragon patrols and passing pennants flap in the breeze. Cormyr is a war wizards are surprisingly frequent, place folk from the Dales to bustling and anyone going armed will be chal- Waterdeep to the back streets of Amnian lenged unless their weapons are clearly cities to the crowded Vilhon Reach tied. Being found with an unbound uplands dream of visiting. It is a land of weaponunless one has just defended chivalry and romance, where the throne ones life against an armed attacker and has been held by Obarskyrs in an unbro- has witnesses who can attest to the fact ken line since the realm was founded that you didnt draw steel firstis and ever-watchful war wizards keep the grounds for arrest on the spot and a sen- realm and the throne secure. tence of at least confiscation of goods and expulsion from the realm. Bearing Arms Only persons named in a royal charter of arms (customarily sold to adventurers in Cormyr bands for sizable sums of money), bear- Let those who read these words of prac- ing a license to sell weapons, able to tical advice to travelers not misinterpret prove that they belong to the Purple my intent: I mean no ill to the throne or Dragons or the war wizards, or fulfilling fair realm of Cormyr1 but strive only to other specific circumstances, have the enlighten readers who might otherwise right to bear arms in the realm. Some of unwittingly blunder into unlawful acts or the other valid reasons for bearing arms sensitive areas and thereby offend in are: if one is of noble Cormyrean birth, if ignorance. on militia duty, if pursuing weapons The war wizards vigilance makes a practice under the supervision of your word or two of warning necessary: Any- local lord, if on a hunt sanctioned by one bearing an item clearly a weapon your local lord, if temporarily attending a into Cormyr must seek out the nearest recognized hunting lodge, or if holding a Purple Dragon guardpost and have these Crown writ. Outlanders visiting Cormyr arms inspected and bound with peaces- can only use the latter two reasons. 1Elminster: Oh, no, not much. Bah! That such fools walk Faerûn! 2As 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 ten- day pass, and upward from there.