Cities of the Silver Marches: This chapter takes a look at the six members of the confederation (Silverymoon, Sundabar, Citadel Felbarr, Citadel Adbar, Everlund, and Mithral Hall). It also covers three smaller settlements that enjoy the league’s protection, or at least its benign neglect: Deadsnows, Quaervarr, and the Zhent settler town of Newfort.
Scattered through the sweep of wood and mountain, like islands in a vast sea, the cities of the North stand as bastions of civilization, home to those who brave the challenges of the frontier. The great cities are cen- ters of vital trade, seats of political power, and home to the majority of the citizens who dwell in the Silver Marches.
This chapter details some of the most important communities of the Silver Marches. Some, such as Silverymoon and Everlund, are large cities; others, such as Quaervarr or Newfort, are little more than rustic settlements. Most fall somewhere in between, but each is unique in its construction, layout, and situation.
These cities are the starting and ending points for most Silver Marches adventures, because they offer the best oppor- tunities for a respite from the unpredictable northern weather. Settled areas also represent the only locations where characters can reliably gain access to many goods and services necessary for success in the wilderness. The larger communities are centers for vital trade, and enable adventurers to ac- quire magic items and rare local lore. And all settlements are places of refuge from the dangerous predators and hungry monsters of the wildlands—or most of them, anyway.
Silverymoon, Gem of the North
The anchor of the Silver Marches and the most wealthy and important surface city of the North next to Waterdeep itself, Silverymoon is truly “the Gem of the North.”
Silverymoon (metropolis): Magical; AL CG; 100,000 gp limit; Assets 185,365,000 gp; Population 37,073; Integrated (humans 41%, elves (all types) 29%, half-elves 12%, shield dwarves 10%, lightfoot halflings 5%, gnomes (all types) 2%, others 1%).
Authority Figures: High Lady Alustriel, CG female human Wiz20/Sor2/Acm2, Chosen of Mystra (High Lady of the Silver Marches, detailed in the FORGOTTEN REALMS Campaign Setting); High Mage Taern Hornblade, LG male human Wiz18 (ruler of the city).
Important Characters: Jorus Azuremantle, LG male half elf Wiz12 (leader of the Spellguard); Methrammar Aera- sumé, LG male half elf Ftr7/Wiz9 (High Marshal of the Argent Legion); Sernius Alathar, LG human male Ftr4/Pal8 (commander of the Knights in Silver); hundreds more.
The Knights in Silver—Clr13, Ftr12, Ftr11 (2), Pal11, Rgr11, Clr10, Ftr10 (2), Pal10, Clr9 (2), Ftr9 (2), Pal9 (2), Rgr9, Clr8 (2), Ftr8 (4), Pal8 (2), Rgr8 (3), War8 (2), Ftr7 (7), Pal7 (2), Rgr7 (3), War7 (5), Clr6 (2), Ftr6 (7), Pal6 (3), Rgr6 (3), War6 (7), Clr5 (2), Ftr5 (10), Pal5 (2), Rgr5 (4), War5 (21), Clr4 (3), Ftr4 (11), Pal4 (2), Rgr4 (5), War4 (25), Clr3 (4), Ftr3 (16), Pal3 (3), Rgr3 (2), War3 (41), Clr2 (5), Ftr2 (22), Pal2 (5), War2 (88), Clr1 (12), Ftr1 (34), Pal1 (8), Rgr1 (2), War1 (308).
The High Guard—Pal11, Clr9, Ftr9 (2), Clr8 (3), Ftr8 (4), Clr7 (3), Ftr7 (9), Pal7 (2), War7 (8), Clr6 (5), Ftr6 (14), Pal6 (3), War6 (35).
The Spellguard—Wiz11 (2), Wiz10 (2), Sor10, Wiz9 (3), Sor9, Wiz8 (3), Sor8, Wiz7 (5), Wiz6 (6), Sor6 (2), Wiz5 (4), Sor5 (2).
The other citizens of Silverymoon are too numerous and diverse to enumerate here.
Notable Imports: Food (especially grain and livestock), armor, weapons, footwear, textiles and clothing.
Notable Exports: Books, paper, furniture, herbs, inks, glass, glassware, furs, timber, valuable ores.
Silverymoon is that rarest of things, a bustling city dominated by trees and beautiful stone buildings. Old oaks, shadow- tops, and duskwoods compete with tall, thin spires to touch the sky, and blueleaf trees shade flagstone sidewalks along most of the cobbled streets. The prevailing style of stonework is flowing curves, as if buildings grew rather than being erected block by block. Many older buildings are clad in a thin layer of fused royal blue or emerald-green glass.
Balconies and curving stairs are everywhere—and windowsills, railings, and newel-posts are all adorned with herbs and flowers growing in sculpted bowls. Most dwellings have grass paths leading to sheltered bowers. Many folk take time every day to lift their harps, pipes, or voices to make music, and things of beauty are more than prized and admired— such design is expected.
Many places preserve lore, but in Silverymoon knowledge is highly valued. Most folk find satisfaction in being well informed in at least one area of expertise. The citizens of Silverymoon, also called Silvaeren, love witty sayings, sharing jokes, lore, music and readings of ballads, poems, and roman- tic fiction; most attend revels or private dances and feasts thrice pertenday. They tend to dabble in many interests, so shops in the city appear and disappear with the seasons—but these small, cozy boutiques are always crammed with beautiful, fascinating objects, small magics, books (including blank tomes for writing use), and maps.
The older part of Silverymoon on the north bank of the River Rauvin is linked to the newer environs on the south bank by the famous Moonbridge, a magical construct of sil- very force whose central span can be deactivated to protect the city from invasion, or to allow tall-masted ships to pass. It impresses the eye more than the many soaring spires of the city, slender and graceful towers unmatched elsewhere in Faerûn.
Unquestionably the foremost center of learning and cul- ture in the North, Silverymoon is a happy place where folk of many races dwell in peace together. Much of this feeling of safety and goodwill is due to the influence of powerful local mages and the Harpers. Both forces are joined in the person of the lady who shaped modern Silverymoon, the kindly, diplomatic mage Alustriel, known to Silvaeren as Lady Hope. She encourages many feasts and revels; outlanders are warned that her spies are everywhere at such diversions.
Alustriel prefers to keep people happy and hopeful through enlightened rule, but she recognizes that in- trigue, deception, and evil deeds are unavoidable, and long since established and trained a cadre of personal agents to guard against such things. Some of these individuals now act as her heralds as High Lady of the Silver Marches, but others remain in the service of the new High Mage and serve Silverymoon first. The city’s army, the Knights in Silver, openly patrols the land for seven days’ ride around the city, and the city remains a member of the Lords’ Alliance.
