From Baldur's Gate to Waterdeep: The Geopolitics of Faerun

The setting of Faerun is the quintessential default D&D campaign setting. But if how would the various population centers interact with one another if we look at the Sword Coast through the lens of Geopolitics? Follow along as we break down this map to better understand how the different cities of the Forgotten Realms would play into this! If you are a fan of Caspian Report or Baz Battles, but also play D&D, you'll love this episode!

0:00 Intro
0:44 Thesis
1:01 People and Places
7:27 Everyone Has Needs

[victorhugothomaz]

Cormyr and Sembia are actually two powerhouses in Faerûn, one being a prosperous kingdom with a strong military and nobility and the other beng a powerful merchant nation respectively. The 5e map just don't do it justice.

[schroecat]

The 3rd Edition map from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide is more useful for this kind of analysis, not only is it larger but it also shows where pretty much all of the major towns and cities are. This map is missing a TON of critical towns and cities. The 3rd edition map also extends much further east and south.

[JoeBlogs]

That was pretty amazing, I'm 31 yo with an engineering degree and only now realized I not only didn't know anything about geopolitics, but didn't even know what the science was about. Great video.

[andrewdillehay]

While the methods of analysis offered by a geopolitical view are interesting, what I take away from this is really that the accuracy of the analysis is based on the quality of the inputs. For example, the map you have used shows greater detail about the sword coast then the surrounding regions, so the conclusions drawn about the sword coast region are pretty accurate to the lore, while those about outlying areas of the map that are less detailed like Tethyr or Cormyr are pretty far off. Those regions absolutely do have major population centers, but they just aren't marked appropriately on the map because it is not the focus. You even mention there should be a population center at Marsember based on the geography, but there isn't on the map. Well in the lore Marsember is a major population center, petty close to the size of Baldur's Gate. Interesting concepts, but highly dependent on the characteristics of the input.

[franciscomuro]

This pretty much encapsulates the political struggle in the Sword Coast and the cities. We know for a fact that before the rise of Neverwinter, and Waterdeep that Dwarven kingdoms were abundant before falling into ruins, and before that the elves ruled much of Toril and their ruins, magical items, and infrastructure still can be found throughout the whole of the Sword Coast. Piracy is pretty rampant and when you read the Legend of Drizzt novels, Drizzt joins up with a pirate hunter to keep the sea lanes cleared of pirates but it is such a problem that overland trade is still conducted from Ten-Towns to Calimport.

The one thing that the map doesn't show or is not explained at least as far as I know with 5e lore but the area south of Baldur's Gate should be filled with towns and cities. Amn is a powerful city-state that rivals Baldur's Gate and as is discussed in the games named after the city they nearly go to war several times. Why there are no locations there is actually somewhat baffling. The only road with my limited knowledge of the Forgotten Realms that should see active trade is the road south that leads from Amn to Calimport and the other desert cities. Overall by doing the analysis it is uncanny how accurately most of the politics that have been described have reflected the lore within the books, adventures, and video games.

[daniell]

I love analyzing fantasy worlds through a realistic lense. So, first things first: the Anauroch Desert is a desert due to the collapse of the Netheril Empire, which greatly taxed the "Weave", which is the source of all magic; the Weave was damaged, and a formerly fertile land filled with rivers, lakes, and forests shriveled up and died. The desert is a desert because of magically inflicted damage on the ecosystem basically, so I'd expect to see plants trying to recolonize the edges but having problems due to the rocky nature of the area now.

The High Forest is a remnant of early elven realms, so there are more magical shenanigans happening there, like an inverted case of Anauroch. North of the High Forest is the Silver March and is home to the Uthgardt barbarian tribes with Silvery Moon and Mithral Hall being the main population centers. Many-Arrows is a recently unified orc kingdom based out of the Spine of the World mountain range and acts to keep the people of the High Forest area unified politically.

The major cities of the Sword Coast are bound together through trade and a defensive alliance, meaning they primarily try to project their influence into the interior. Reaching those valuable resources, the cities can then export refined and magical goods by sea and road. Baldur's Gate is the primary exit route leading away to the eastern lands. The Moonshae Isles are not united and are facing an invasion from the Feywild, preventing them from being a proper menace for the Sword Coast.

Thay, off in the east, is a wealthy land of trade and dark magic and has made the western coast of the Sea of Fallen Stars fabulously wealthy. Cormyr for example is said to be the wealthiest country in Faerun because it ties trade from the east and west together. I don't know why no population centers are depicted but they do exist; Suzail is the capital of Cormyr and has a population of over 55, 000.

[nikolajsteffensen]

well one thing you didn't quite take into account is magic and different races. for example the reason the mountainous area is so well populated is because of the dwarfs who don't really need to travel over land due to massive networks of tunnels. same goes for the drow who travel through the under dark which is a colossal underground cavern and tunnel network stretching across faerun and possibly even further.

[aaronsherman]

I didn’t realize how absolutely fascinating Geopolitics are until I watched this video. As someone who’s developing a homebrew campaign setting, this was SO helpful

[patatpannenkoek]

Me after playing bg3: hey i know some of these places.

[Malvisk]

Candlekeep is located on a high cliff, and isn't really a settlement, but a castle. Think of it like a monastery. Access to the keep is restricted. It's occupants doesn't provide protection to a populace. It's a place of knowledge.

I don't think it has a harbor.

[chainsawsubtlety]

"Without life, there's no society."

Yes, "life needs things to live."

[maecenus]

Another major influence that I think is often ignored in Forgotten Realms geopolitics is the presence of Dragons. Creatures that require a huge amount of calories to sustain themselves, presumably and would potentially have a major impact on the environment. I once came up with a website to track this information, lists of known dragons and it was even incorporated into a rule book.

[pierrez]

Hi! Amazing video. I am a big fan of geography, history and geopolitics as well as a huge Realms nerd, so I can't believe I only discover your video now, it feels like something I have dream of my whole life. I love the work and the deep dive analysis you did, it's super interesting especially on the climate part; such details with glaciers, wind direction and all can easily be overlooked and it gives me a newfound appreciation for the geography of the Realms to see Ed Greenwood was somewhat accurate when he built the world (the map is also fairly consistent with the old ones he made by hand decades ago!).

The first thing I noticed, and it pains me a bit, is that the information available on the map is limited. This is due to the directions Wizards of the Coast have been taking since the fifth edition, giving more emphasis on the Sword Coast at the detriment of other regions. This means areas like Cormyr, Sembia, Amn and Tethyr, while important powers that shape the politics of the region, do not appear as such. It is fascinating that you mention Marsember should be rich and prosperous - it exactly is. Actually, Cormyr has two cities on the northern bank of Lake Dragonmere: Suzail (the capital), and Marsember (the second largest city in the realm). Combined, they are larger and richer than Baldur's Gate. Cormyr is a well-developed monarchy with a strong feudal nobility and does indeed produce luxury goods (typically, wine). They are a more militarized kingdom that is often at odds with Sembia, to the east. Sembia has a better access to the Sea of Fallen Stars, and as a result is a trading powerhouse in the region. Interestingly, the roads also *are* the result of an ancient empire: the former Elven empire of Cormanthyr, centered in Myth Drannor and the forest of Cormanthor.


Anauroch, to the north, is actually a dry sand desert akin to the Sahara. Its presence there is not explained by geography alone but by magic - it is the result of the fall of the former empire of Netheril, a magic-oriented nation that was attacked by another race of magic-wielding creatures who dried up the entire region. It is only sparsely populated by tribes of Bedine people who are indeed formidable warriors, but keep to themselves and do not invade the west.


Now for the most interesting part of the map and your analysis, the Sword Coast. To the south of Baldur's Gate lies the nation of Amn and its capital of Athkatla. The main difference between Amn and Baldur's Gate is how, similar to Cormyr, Amn is surrounded with mountains and a body of water that offer natural defenses. Athkatla, its capital, is easily twice the size of Baldur's Gate. The nation is also an economic powerhouse, ideally located at the center of trade between the northern Sword Coast and the southern regions of Tethyr and Calimshan who export exotic goods up north. Tensions run high between Amn and Baldur's Gate - a very important context in the first Baldur's Gate game.


The region north of the High Forest, the Silver Marches, is indeed more sparsely populated and has a reputation of being less rich and developed than the Sword Coast. The only exception is the city of Silverymoon which acts as a center of enlightenment and diplomacy in the region. Just like you pointed out, the region is home to tribal cells of human barbarians and close-knit communities of Dwarven city states.


The archipelago is a very interesting case. In your analysis, it should hold the key to the domination of the Sword Coast, but plays a much more isolated role in the stories of the Realms. I believe this is due to several reasons. First, the southern Moonshae are blessed by the "Earthmother" goddess and are, as a result, incredibly fertile. This has likely led its inhabitants to settle and farm, potentially giving up their seafaring ways. The northern islands (Norland, Ruathym, etc) are populated by Viking-esque clans, however they are raiding their southern neighbours more often than the coastal cities. There is no union in the Moonshae, and even the southern islands were only recently united under a "high king" in the cannon lore. Finally, all the cities of the Sword Coast have a strong naval presence: Neverwinter and Luskan are constantly at odds, with the latter being notorious for harbouring pirates and privateers. Baldur's Gate and Amn are rival powers who both colonized the continent of Maztica, located to the far west of the Sea of Swords. All this explains why islanders and Sword Coast dwellers are more or less leaving each other alone... and probably why of all cities, Waterdeep became the richest (no direct rival).




Once again, amazing work. Sorry for the wall of text, but, as I said, I love the Realms and that kind of analysis!

[Muriloprado]

Hey! Amazing video! Referring to the information you brought about distant and expensive roads only profitable if an ancient civilization has builded it, well, comes to my mind that Forgotten Realms was a perfect name for the setting. Greetings from Brazil!

[VengefulJarl]

Any inaccuracies aside, which i assume is just ignorance with the setting itself (which is fine), i thought it was a really interesting video. I think Ed Greenwood would absolutely love your ideas just based off the map. He started making it when he was like 6, so im sure he would love that you took the time to really try and examine faerun. Even if it is the 5e map.

[captainconway]

As someone who has some knowledge of the wider area I can confirm a lot of things that are quite inconsistent with the map that you analyzed in this video. The map you have analyzed here seems extremely focused on the sword coast specify, to the detriment of many other regions, namely, as i'm sure many other people have already mentioned, Cormyr and Sembia.

Both of these nations are massive powerhouses on the continent of Faerûn, but given the location of the Sea of Fallen Stars and the relative difficulty of traveling east through the mountains, most of their power is projected westward, and to other places along the Sea of Fallen stars. I think this is why the major cities of Cormyr and Sembia are not marked on this map, as they don't have as much influence over the sword coast do to their isolation from it.

The Sea of Fallen Stars itself is a massive body of water at the center of the continent of Faerûn, comparable to the Mediterranean, albeit, almost entirely landlocked, with only a few key channels leading mostly southward. There are many nations and major cities all along all coast of sea. You can find much more detailed maps that focus on the Sea of Fallen Stars, or maps of the entire continent that still include many of the important locations online, but one of the best ones I could find were from a reddit post (linked below) which includes the estimated regional boarders for the nations across Faerûn. I would love to see another video diving in depth to the geopolitics of the eastern and southern parts of the continent.

(Side note: while the boarders of the nations are fan created using the best research and information we have on hand, the maps themselves are official from Wizards of the Coast)

[warrenchristensen]

Easily one of the smartest and most impressive videos I've seen about D&D. Absolutely loved it.

[nickh]

You should check out a book called “The Forgotten Realms Atlas” by Karen Wynn Fonstad it has an incredibly detailed map of the western realms and eastern realms and also has an sea level overview to see what areas are at sea level; sadly it’s in black and white

[davebenhart]

This analysis also shows why different maps present different information and can lead one to different conclusions. I'd love to see this same thing done with more than just the current 5e map. All of the Faerun maps are probably available online and they all give a lot more population centers than this one, especially in Cormyr and the Dalelands. The Sword Coast is just the most popular area, and has the most products made about it. It's also the first part of Faerun that Ed Greenwood drew.

[ladymeredith]

This is definitely going to have an impact on my world building! Fascinating!