Waterdeep
Waterdeep, the City of Splendors - one of largest cities on the Sword Coast.
Waterdeep is, by and large, the most civilized city on the Sword Coast. Yet civilized doesn’t mean safe, nor does it mean easy to navigate. Many day-to-day elements of life in Waterdeep that residents take for granted are, to new arrivals, a bevy of wonders and dangers not seen in any other settlement within a thousand miles.
Individuals accustomed to the rough-and-tumble life in much of the North are often surprised by the fact that Waterdavians go about unarmed and unarmored. Yet Waterdeep doesn’t have any law that forbids carrying weapons or armor. Instead, it has a culture of civility that makes such behavior unnecessary.
Government
Waterdeeps way of governance was founded when Ahghairon, the great mage, decreed how the city would be governed. While he would sit as lord openly, a council of other lords of nearly equal power would rule with him. But the identity of those other lords would be hidden even from each other, thus preventing any of them from being approached and influenced by bribe or threat. The first Open Lord ruled wisely for over two centuries before the magic sustaining his health failed. He now lies entombed in his tower, which you can still see standing in the courtyard of the Palace of Waterdeep.
Waterdeep has a complex library of law and custom set by precedent, the main body of which can be read in the Code Legal. This document is available in multiple languages at the Palace of Waterdeep, and (in the Common tongue) provided on request by the magisters at the gates and in the harbor. Be aware that the Code Legal provides only an outline of typical sentences for various offenses, and magisters have broad discretion when meting out justice as they see fit. Any Masked Lord can overturn a magister’s ruling, but there’s rarely a Masked Lord around when you need one.
Alternative Name(s)
City of Splendors
Type
Large city
Population
2 000 000
Inhabitant Demonym
Waterdavians
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