History of Waterdeep

Pre-Waterdeep History

-1288 DR

• A shield dwarf named Melair discovers a vein of precious mithral beneath Mount Waterdeep. King Melair I, as he comes to be known, sends word to his kindred, and those who answer his call become Clan Melairkyn. The Melairkyn are traders, artisans, and explorers, strongly protective of their home, which they name the Underhalls of Melairbode [–750].

-1088 DR

• Annual trade begins between southern merchants and barbaric local tribes on the future site of Waterdeep.

Year of Fervent Glances (-677 DR)

• Drow from the city of Karsoluthiyl (located beneath the Trackless Sea, west of the mouth of the River Chionthar) begin their first incursions against the Stout Folk of Melairbode.

Year of Purloined Power (34 DR)

• Drow overwhelm the Melairkyn dwarves of Undermountain, and King Melair IV is slain. The dwarves retreat to lower, less important levels of the Underhalls.

Year of Scattered Stars (168 DR)

• A wizard of unknown ancestry calling himself Halaster Blackcloak, later identified as the Raurinese wizard Hilather, builds a tower and fortified ramparts in the middle of the Deepwater Plateau, to the north and west of the burgeoning farms along the harbor shore in Waterdeep. He begins exploration of the Underhalls of the Melairkyn and claims the delvings for himself.

Year of Spoiled Splendors (211 DR)

• Clan Melairkyn, forced to retreat to successively lower and less important levels of the Underhalls by the drow, finally vanishes. The drow name their new holdings Kyorlamshin and claim most of fallen Melairbode as their demesne.

Year of the Sundered Sails (307 DR)

• The apprentices to Halaster [168, 309], known as the Seven (Arcturia, Jhesiyra Kestellharp, Muiral the Misshapen, Nester, Marambra Nyghtsteel, Rantantar, and Trobriand the Metal Mage), leave Halaster’s Hold hoping to establish their own holdings in the subterranean depths. The tower and surface holding fall into decay and ruin, and the tribes of Blackcloak Hold, as the settlement had come to be known, quickly learn to avoid the “cursed” enclosure.

Year of the Cascade (309 DR)

• After many years of exterminating large pockets of drow and duergar, Halaster Blackcloak now rules the Underhalls.

Year of the Half Moon (390 DR)

• Followers of Selûne begin worshiping the Moonmaiden on the slopes of Mount Waterdeep.

Year of the Ecstatic Priest (493 DR)

• The drow, forced into the lowest levels of the Underhalls, finally abandon the former dwarf home of Melairbode entirely.

Year of the Blighted Vine (482 DR)

• A Tethyrian warlord named Ulbaerag Bloodhand conquers the ever-feuding tribes of Blackcloak Hold. Within a generation, Ulbaerag unites the tribes as one. The settlement becomes known as Bloodhand Hold.

Year of the Telling Tome (668 DR)

• Wizards begin mysteriously disappearing this year from Myth Drannor and all of Cormanthyr. The only clue is that all the visible portals throughout the city crackle ominously and flash blue lightning within their boundaries. (In truth, Halaster Blackcloak of Undermountain is abducting wizards at random and banishing them to the Underhalls.)

Year of the Long March (680 DR)

• After more than a decade, wizards of the Guild of Naturalists piece together the clues and realize that Halaster Blackcloak has been abducting wizards all throughout Cormanthyr in retaliation for their plundering of his monsters in Undermountain. The guild mounts a rescue expedition into the dungeon, but it never returns, and the organization quietly ends its sorties into Undermountain. Attempts to dispels or destroy the portal connecting the guild’s hall with Undermountain meet with failure.

Year of the Curse (882 DR)

• A great human warrior known as Nimoar the Reaver gathers an armed host and leads them in search of a new home. They come upon Bloodhand Hold and decide to seize it for their own, quickly vanquishing the Bloodhand tribe. The settlement is named Nimoar’s Hold.

Year of Fell Pearls (887 DR)

• Southern pirates attack Nimoar’s Hold in force, but the Reaver’s followers beat them back three times in a row.

Year of the Shining Shield (889 DR)

• The Tethyrian Bull Elk tribe attacks Nimoar’s Hold and sets it afire. The Reaver’s followers drive off the barbarian raiders and rebuild the hold before the first winter snow.

Year of Fireslaughter (DR 932)

• First Trollwar: Gangs of trolls begin attacking Nimoar’s Hold with increasing regularity. In response, the aging Nimoar leads his forces northward against the Everlasting Ones in what becomes known as the First Trollwar, burning uncounted square miles of land bare in the process.

Waterdeep's Early History

Year of the Sky Raiders (936 DR)

• Town of Waterdeep: In the aftermath of the Orcfastings War, Nimoar dies of old age, and the mantle of “War Lord” passes to Gharl, his most accomplished general. Nimoar’s Hold grows and prospers, and the fledgling community becomes known among ship captains as the town of Waterdeep.

Year of the Cold Claws (940 DR)

• Second Trollwar: Beginning with Amphail the Just, who reigned for a year, six warriors claim the mantle of War Lord of Waterdeep during the next twelve years, only to fall in never-ending battle as the defenders of Waterdeep battle gangs of trolls throughout the Dessarin River valley.

Year of the Rings Royal (952 DR)

• End of the Second Trollwar: This year marks the end of the Second Trollwar as the Everlasting Ones are

pushed back from the walls of Waterdeep. The human realms and holdings of the North unite under the leadership of Aeroth, War Captain and champion of Silverymoon; Ahghairon of Waterdeep; and Samular Caradoon of Tyr and clear the Evermoors of trolls. The wizard Renwick Caradoon, brother of Samular, dies in the final battles and is transformed into an archlich.

Year of the Deadly Duo (963 DR)

• Construction of Castle Waterdeep begins.

Year of the Haunting Harpy (974 DR)

• Castle Waterdeep is completed. Laroun, Waterdeep’s first female War Lord, takes up residence therein.

Waterdeep in the Present Age

Year of the Bold Barbarian (1007 DR)

• Waterdeep’s city walls expand, absorbing the ruins of Halaster’s Hold. Ahghairon builds his tower out beyond the city’s walls and places magical barriers around the ruins of Halaster’s tower, preventing many dangers from escaping into the city.

Year of Lathander's Light (1024 DR)

• Uruth Ukrypt unleashes the Broken Bone orc horde, which emerges from the Sword Mountains bent on destroying Waterdeep. The attacks of the dragon Lhammaruntosz, also known as the Claws of the Coast, substantially weaken the horde, allowing the armies of Waterdeep to prevail.

Year of Crimson Magics (1026 DR)

• Laroun, War Lord of Waterdeep, dies when orcs besiege the city. After the siege is broken, her successor Raurlor destroys the Black Claw orc horde at Stump Bog, shattering the strength of Uruth Ukrypt and sending it into its final decline.

Year of Warlords (1030 DR)

• Raurlor begins to increase Waterdeep’s standing army and navy to a size not seen since the fall of Phalorm. Over the next two years, he turns the city into a garrison and military encampment, brooking no dissent from the populace.

Year of the Nightmaidens (1032 DR)

• Raurlor proclaims the Empire of the North, but Ahghairon defies him, transforming his Warlord’s Blade into a viper that poisons its wielder. Raurlor dies at the mage’s feet, and Ahghairon becomes the first “Lord” of Waterdeep. Ahghairon determines that henceforth wisdom and not armed might will rule in the city, and the Lords of Waterdeep are formed.

Year of Falling Stars (1035 DR)

• The system of wards comes into being in Waterdeep, initially including Castle Ward, Trades Ward, Temple (later Southern) Ward, and Dock Ward.

Year of Lion's Roars (1071 DR)

• Noted adventurer Ranressa Shiard returns to the slopes of Mount Waterdeep on dragonback, astride a copper wyrm named Galadaeros, prompting Ahghairon to create wards deterring dragons from raiding the city.

Year of the Defiant Salute (1076 DR)

• Waterdeep is attacked by the Tethyrian Black Boar tribe of the Dessarin, led by Nalethra of the Winged Spear. After being repelled from the city’s walls, the princess and her bodyguard slay thrice their number of Waterdhavian fighters before they fall.

Year of the Dark Dawn (1104 DR)

• Noted explorer Lord Vanrak Moonstar returns to Waterdeep from a disastrous expedition to the Black Jungles in Chult.

Year of the Angry Sea (1148 DR)

• The necromancer Shradin Mulophor takes up residence in the ruins of Sargauth Enclave, establishing a small trading settlement that will soon become known as Skullport, Port of Shadows. The Lord of Bones, as Shradin comes to be known, encourages trade with other Underdark powers by linking the River Sargauth with subterranean waterways and creating portals leading to distant seas.

Year of the Scourge (1150 DR)

• Khelben “Blackstaff” Arunsun the Elder arrives in Waterdeep and builds Arunsun (later Blackstaff) Tower.

Year of Countless Scribes (1166 DR)

• The Keepers (a group of wizards led by the Halruuan archmage Gideona) arrive in Skullport and take control of providing access to and from the port.

Year of the Agate Hammer (1174 DR)

• The Lords of Waterdeep construct the hoist, a massive system of blocks and tackles capable of lifting and manipulating seagoing vessels into or out of the locks leading to and from Skullport.

Year of the Stalking Satyr (1179 DR)

• Malaugrym [1182] attack Arunsun Tower but are turned back by Khelben, Elminster, and an assortment of Waterdeep mages.

Year of the Howling Hourglass (1184 DR)

• After an expedition into the Underhalls, Shradin Mulophor returns a changed man, unstable and unpredictable. Although he retains the mantle Lord of Bones, he no longer commands the fear and respect he once did.

Year of Starlight (1215 DR)

• The House of Wonder, a temple dedicated to Mystra, is established in Waterdeep.

Year of Burning Steel (1246 DR)

• Kerrigan, a wizard and hidden Lord of Waterdeep, attempts to seize power for himself. He manages to fell three of his fellow Lords and a score of innocents before being slain by Ahghairon.

Year of the Cockatrice (1248 DR)

• Guilds are formed in Waterdeep. The Lords of Waterdeep recognize the merchant gentry, marking the formal beginnings of the Waterdhavian nobility.

Year of the Raging Flame (1255 DR)

• Marune the Masked helps found the Shadow Thieves, a guild based in the heart of Mount Waterdeep.

Year of the Dusty Throne (1256 DR)

• Ahghairon dies, and the Guildmasters begin seizing power in Waterdeep. Khelben the Elder disappears from the city, though his tower remains occupied by his apprentices. The Council of Guildmasters grows to govern the city.

Year of the Black Wind (1262 DR)

• Second Guild War: Six years of self-interested squabbling among Waterdeep’s Guildmasters erupt into bloodshed. All but two of the city’s Guildmasters die in the next few months. The two surviving Guildmasters agree to rule together as Lords Magister, although their continued bickering prevents any effective governance of the city.
• The Shadow Thieves, previously a minor band of thieves openly tolerated as a recognized guild, grow in strength and influence throughout Waterdeep.

Year of the Wagon (1273 DR)

• The Lords’ Rule revives with Baeron and Shilarn Silmaeril, two long hidden Lords of Waterdeep, who slay the Lords Magister. Baeron becomes Open Lord of Waterdeep. The houses of Zoar and Gildeggh are outcast, and the Shadow Thieves are outlawed.

Year of the Crumbling Keep (1276 DR)

• Waterdeep expands the city’s borders to include North Ward and Sea Ward.

Year of the Smoky Moon (1287 DR)

• Construction begins on the white marble Palace of Waterdeep, commonly known today as Piergeiron’s Palace.

Year of the Pointed Bone (1298 DR)

• Lhestyn, the “Masked Lady,” infiltrates the outlawed Shadow Thieves in Waterdeep and exposes their continuing activities. This act precipitates a bloody tenday of fighting between the guild and the City Watch that culminates in the death or flight of the guild’s members.

Tear of the Trumpet (1301 DR)

• A mercenary army sponsored by merchant interests in Waterdeep and Neverwinter rides against orc-ridden Illusk.

Year of the Broken Helm (1302 DR)

• Khelben “Ravenscloak” Arunsun the Younger is born to Lhestyn and Zelphar Arunsun in Waterdeep.
• In Waterdeep, the practice of exiling criminals to the depths of Undermountain begins.
• Two noted adventurers from Waterdeep, Durnan and Mirt the Merciless, emerge from Undermountain bearing great wealth.

Year of the Catacombs (1308 DR)

• Lord Baeron dies of fever, and his wife Shilarn immolates herself on his funeral pyre. Their daughter Lhestyn, a Hidden Lord herself, becomes Open Lord of Waterdeep.
• Construction on the Palace of Waterdeep is completed.

Year of the Fist (1311 DR)

• Zelphar Arunsun is crushed to death by a sorcerous hand of force. The perpetrator remains unknown to the Lords to this day (in truth, he was murdered by a lich of the Twisted Rune as a favor to the Shadow Thieves). Khelben the Elder secretly returns to Arunsun Tower after the death of his son. Over the next ten years, he trains his grandson and namesake.

Year of the Griffon (1312 DR)

• Durnan, a hidden Lord of Waterdeep, founds the Red Sashes to serve as his personal agents.

Year of the Shadowtop (1314 DR)

• Lhestyn passes away, and Piergeiron Paladinson becomes Open Lord of Waterdeep.

Year of Spilled Blood (1315 DR)

• Armies from Waterdeep and Baldur’s Gate clear out Dragonspear Castle and establish an armed temple of Tempus, the Hold of Battle Lions.

Year of Chains (1321 DR)

• Khelben the Younger departs Waterdeep for another world, leaving his grandfather to assume his guise.

Year of the Great Harvests (1325 DR)

• The Lords’ Alliance is established in Waterdeep, with membership coming from most of the cities and settlements of the Sword Coast North. It is founded to oppose the mercantile aggression of Amn and to benefit from increasing trade flowing from the North into the Heartlands.

Year of the Saddle (1345 DR)

• Religious strife breaks out in Waterdeep between the church of Shar and the churches of Lathander, Selûne, and Tempus.