Eye on Cormyr #1

Coastal Adventuring
Parties
 Eye on Cormyr #1:
Coastal Adventuring Parties

A sampling of adventuring companies from Cormyr's coast to provide inspiration for

Dungeon Masters and help generate ideas for character creation.

by
JEREMY E. GRENEMYER

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Volume 1, Article 1
MAY 2019
“And I think what’s interesting about this too, and I just thought of this now, is there is a large audience of people—and I
was one of them for a long time—who just liked reading RPG material, you know, for the idea generation, just for fun, and
now this opens that up to a much wider audience.“
— Mike Mearls discussing the new
Dungeon Masters Guild program
D&D Podcast, 01/14/2016
Coastal Adventuring Parties
T
he northern shoreline of the Dragonmere
winds its way for three hundred miles, from
the outlet of the Tun River overlooked by the
city of Valkur's Roar in the west, to the village
of Dawngleam straddling The Neck in the east.
In between are found two of Cormyr's three great cities
(the ports of Suzail and Marsember), several coastal villages
and hamlets, countless hidden coves, inlets and shoreline
trails, and of course adventure.
Adventurers have explored this part of Faerûn for over
fifteen centuries. Yet in modern day Cormyr—circa 1491 DR
—there is no shortage of adventuring opportunities, nor
adventurers, on the north coast of the Dragonmere.
What follows is a sampling of the sorts of adventuring
parties one might encounter or hear about in the region.
First, A Map
The Suzail and Vicinity section of this article references
locations found on a map of West-Central Cormyr drawn by
the talented DMs Guild cartographer Terrlen Darkseeker.
I commissioned that map back in 2016 and I have decided
to make it available to you in full at the end of this article
(hexed and non-hexed). I hope you find it useful.
Second, A Free Map
Wizards of the Coast has made Mike Schley's formidable
Cormyr map available for free as part of the Backdrop:
Cormyr article by Brian R. James in Dragon 365.
I referenced Mike's map when creating many of the
adventuring company descriptions that follow, and I
encourage you to keep a copy of it open when you read the
second and third sections of this article (Marsember and
Vicinity and "The Coast" and the Dragonmere).
Suzail and Vicinity
In Suzail, capital of all Cormyr, adventurers seek the
patronage of wealthy nobles, purchase or renew adventuring
charters from the Crown, find replacements for fallen
comrades and rub shoulders with their peers in the Society
of Stalwart Adventurers.
The Avenging Luckpriests
Four clerics of Tymora hailing from the Towers of Good
Fortune in Suzail form the heart of this band of adventurers.
The Avenging Luckpriests avoid Marsember, but explore
the remainder of Cormyr and lands beyond. Originally
comprised of eight adventurers, the Luckpriests doubled
their numbers after a season spent adventuring in faraway
Waterdeep. The now-sixteen-strong band are wintering in
Suzail, with plans to sail across the Dragonmere to Teziir and
then travel west to Haunted Ilipur.
The Free Gnomes
Comprised entirely of gnomes, this band of explorers and
thieves is led by a charismatic gnome priest.
The Free Gnomes explore the castles and mansions of
Cormyrean nobles and the well-to-do, looking for signs of
gnome habitation with the intent to recover relics and
possessions of any gnomes that might have lived there. Not a
few such buildings have entire rooms, pathways and living
spaces built into them that are sized for gnomes, many of
which have been forgotten or overlooked by their human
inhabitants.
The Free Gnomes hold at least three adventuring charters,
each stolen from other adventurers and carefully modified by
their leader to show the Free are in good standing with the
Crown of Cormyr. The Free Gnomes are active in Suzail.
Hasper's Tenfold Swords
The handsome merchant Hasper Dundown funded this
adventuring band out of his own coin purse. Once he judged
his count of swords adequate, Hasper paid for an adventuring
charter, named himself leader and hired a ship to drop off the
newly formed adventuring party somewhere along the coast
of the Dragonmere, south of Valkur's Roar.
The dangers that lurked in the moors could not keep the
Tenfold Swords from reaching Bloodtower. Within, the
twisted magic of the tower warped their minds. Only Hasper
escaped before the gates of Bloodtower closed.
Now Hasper roams the coastline, living off of whatever he
can catch and kill. Adventurer lore holds that Hasper has
gone mad: he refuses all offers to return to Suzail, and he
attacks the nearest living person if the matter of Bloodtower
and the fate of his men is brought up. Dark rumor claims
Hasper will cause the blood of anyone who tries to physically
abduct him to come boiling up out of their body.
Before his departure Hasper made a down payment on a
ship of his own, on the assumption the riches found in
Bloodtower would serve to pay off the remaining coin he
owed. It remains docked in Suzail.
The Men of the Horngate
Fifteen in number, this band of unchartered novice
adventurers took the name of Suzail's northwest gate as part
of their adventuring moniker.
The Men of the Horngate operate in the lands west of
Suzail. They wander the Merewash Trail, exploring coastal
ruins along the Dragonmere and up into the castle and
cottage-filled woodland hills where the King's Forest and the
Stormhorns overlap.
The Men have made friends with the priests of Kelemvor,
who inhabit the Vault of Restful Dead. One novice cleric has
left the Vault to join the Men on their adventures. Aside from
the cleric, the ranks of the Men have not changed during their
first season of adventuring.
Thus far, the Men have escaped death by drowning, while
exploring the rotting interior of one of the many abandoned
vessels that fill the ship graveyard of Margrath's Rest. They
were overcome by a swarm of man-sized worms during a
foray into the Wormpits, but managed to hack a bloody path
to safety.
Having returned home to Suzail for the winter, the Men
plan to head north on the Way of the Dragon for the bustling
town of Waymoot, in the King's Forest, as soon as the snows
thaw enough to allow road travel. They owe a debt to the
monks of the Vault, though no one knows what task the Men
must complete to repay the monks.
Most of the Men are experienced day laborers and
dockworkers. A few are the third and fourth sons of dung
carters and lesser servant families. Collectively they know all
of Suzail south of the Promenade. The remainder of the Men
make side coins by loitering in the vicinity of the Horngate
and waiting for merchants or travelers that appear new to
Cormyr's capital city. They offer to help find buyers for
merchant wares and as guides-for-a-day to navigate the city.
All the Men are human, unless otherwise stated.
The Men of the Horngate
Talonar of Horngate, Fighter 2, Leader
Markuld, Fighter 1, Second in Command
Welwyn Feathershot, Half-Elf Cleric 1 (Kelemvor)
"Bellowing" Belnar Hornshulder, Fighter 1
Corleth of Seven Suns, Fighter 1
Danthalus "the Bold" Stoutbold, Fighter 1
Foril Belarshout, Fighter 1
Kelgantor of the Wheel, Fighter 1
Naskbryn, Fighter 1
Neld Allaghar, Fighter 1
Orkrash, Fighter 1
Arbrace of Rowanmantle, Rogue 1
Skult, Rogue 1
Traevyn of Six Candles, Rogue 1
Corlador Castlehaunt, Sorcerer 1
When not adventuring:
Corleth serves as a laborer at the warehouses owned by
the Seven Suns trading coster in Suzail.
Kelgantor takes work as a doorjack (a kind of all-purpose
errand runner) at the Wailing Wheel Inn, near Horngate.
Naskbryn loads and unloads ships along Suzail's docks for
whomever will pay him.
Traevyn rooms with his extended family at the Six Candles
Inn. Like many "inn families" in Suzail, they receive room,
board and a small stipend in exchange for working day and
night at the inn.
The Tattered Sails
A mixed bunch of scavengers, shipless sailors and criminals
who banded together to overcome the hazards native to the
ship graveyard of Margrath's Rest, located west of Suzail.
After a month of searching the Sails discovered a rotting
strongbox hidden away in the hull of a scuttled ship. The
treasure proved valuable enough to allow the Sails to obtain
property in Suzail, as well as a ship and crew of their own.
Now they sail the Dragonmere in search of adventure.
Rumors swirl around the treasure the Sails recovered.
Some say it was a ransom payment that was never made.
Others claim the strongbox was filled to the brim with
gemstones. In truth, the treasure was three pieces of
parchment, two of which were deeds to buildings in Suzail,
the last a deed to a modest sailing ship.
The Wildblades of Suzail
A group of bored and restless sons and daughters of
Cormyrean nobility who stand far back in their respective
lines of inheritance.
The lordlings have heard of the "wildblade" lords of
Waterdeep who run wild up and down the Sword Coast far to
the west, and have taken that word as the name for their
newly formed adventuring band.
SUZAIL AND VICINITY 2
3 HASPER DUNDOWN
Marsember and Vicinity
The wet fog that cloaks Marsember by night and the sudden
rainstorms that wash over the City of Spices by day conceal
the doings of slavers and traitorous Cormyreans, as well as
the heroic adventurers that hunt them.
Outlander adventurers desiring to slip into Cormyr
unnoticed make Marsember their destination port, the better
to avoid paying the Crown for an official adventuring charter.
The villages to the north and east that border the Hermit's
Woods have their own character and ways, but they fall under
the dark shadow of Marsember nonetheless.
The Bold Blades of Blustich
When fishermen native to Blustich sighted a small cog run up
on rocks near their village, a rescue party was assembled and
two boats launched. The men and women that rowed out to
the cog to render assistance fell prey to a ruse, however, for
the ship's crew came out from hiding and attacked, intent on
making slaves of them all. The villagers were imprisoned with
other Cormyreans already captured and the cog set sail.
That night the captives broke free of their restraints and
took the fight to their captors. The surviving crew were
shackled and then questioned none too gently. The following
morning saw the cog set a course for Marsember. There the
former captives apprehended the Cormyrean noble who'd
secretly sponsored the slavers and then turned him over to
the Crown.
Of the captives, a handful realized they had acquired a
taste for swordplay and righting wrongs. These seven formed
the adventuring band known as the Bold Blades of Blustich.
The Blades explore the Hermit's Wood and wander the
coast from Blustich to Moonever.
NOTE: The imprisoned nobleman, one Danthul
Blacksilver, is the third son of Lord Danthalus Blacksilver.
Danthul is serving a term of ten years confinement within the
prison keep of Irlingstar. Lord Danthalus has quietly offered a
reward for the capture of anyone responsible for his son's
arrest. Danthalus hopes to present the captives to his son
after his release, that he might find a measure of vengeance.
The Broken Fingers
The closest thing to a well-loved band of heroes to be found
in Marsember.
The Broken Fingers derive their coin through vigilantism
and the roughing up of miscreants and bullyblades. They
challenging anyone who thwarts Crown law, and openly mock
Crown officials who fail to uphold the law or use it for their
own selfish ends.
Because they enjoy breaking the fingers of anyone who
crosses them, the Fingers have earned a long list of enemies.
The Company of the Dead Barge
Unlike the other corpses that had been piled high on a barge
destined to burn in the waters near Marsember, the future
members of the Company of the Dead Barge awakened from
their poison-induced slumber in time to fall into the water
and douse the flames that had been burning them alive.
Soaked to the bone and aching from their burns, the
survivors swore to find whomever wished them dead and
forgotten. The members of the Company operate by night in
Marsember, the better to preserve their anonymity and
search for clues to the identity of their assailants.
The Slydaggers
Hardblades and cutthroats native to the Moonsea, far to the
north beyond the forests of Cormanthor.
The Slydaggers are recent arrivals in Cormyr, believing it
to be a soft place ripe for plunder. They've set themselves up
in Marsember as no-questions-asked problem solvers.
Thievery, blackmail, intimidation and murder are their stock
in trade, and business is good.
The Slydaggers charge a premium for causing fatal
"accidents" to befall adventurers. Their most recent
assignment is the elimination of the Broken Fingers, also of
Marsember.
The Slydaggers are on the lookout for a wealthy patron
whom they can work for exclusively. They plan to eliminate
the patron after earning his or her trust, steal all the riches
they can lay hands on, then depart for another port city far
from Cormyr where they can spend their riches freely.
The Torch Drinkers of Bogbrook
In the village of Bogbrook it is customary to extinguish
torches in rain barrels, handkegs or anything else holding
liquid. The Torch Drinkers are noteworthy for extinguishing
torches by placing them in their mouths without suffering
burns or scorched tongues, and for identifying which parts of
the bog have become saturated with gasses capable of
exploding in varicolored displays of fire if a torch is
introduced.
In Bogbrook, finding bogs that have gassed up and igniting
them before they become so dangerous as to fell passersby is
a somewhat lethal job given by the village elders to village
miscreants. The Torch Drinkers have all been on bog
bursting duty at least once in their lives, and have the fire
scars to prove it. The Torch Drinkers are not above luring the
monsters of the Hermit's Woods, or foes tracking them from
Marsember, into flammable bogs before setting the ground
aflame and watching the show that unfolds.
Eight in number, the Torch Drinkers make all of Cormyr
around the Hermit's Woods their adventuring territory. Most
settlements bordering the Hermit's Woods welcome them,
with the exception of Gladehap, where the Torch Drinkers
have made fierce enemies. They are watched closely in
Marsember by agents of the merchants the Torch Drinkers
have crossed swords with in the past. When adventure
opportunities are few, the Torch Drinkers find work as trail
guides for anyone navigating the uncertain terrain around
Bogbrook.
Having lost friends to the Hermit's Woods (when they were
ten in number), the Torch Drinkers vowed never to travel
through that forest again. Not even the promise of easily
found treasure is enough to lure them back.
MARSEMBER AND VICINITY 4

The Twelvefold Trollkillers
A band of upland Sembians with experience fighting in the
Dales and in Sembia proper. The Trollkillers left Sembia for
Cormyr after spending a year living the life of mercenaries.
Their journey on the East Way found danger in the wooded
verges of Semberholme and the steep foothills of the
Thunder Peaks. The Hullack Forest proved a ready source of
danger too, thanks to a bloody battle that saw the Trollkillers
defend a merchant caravan from four-armed trolls swarming
out of the woods.
It was from this battle that the surviving ex-mercenaries
drew their adventuring name.
The Trollkillers spent the winter in Arabel then journeyed
south to Suzail in search of a patron to sponsor their
adventures. A month of fruitless searching forced the Troll
Killers east to Marsember, where they found a patron in the
form of Lord Irlake Keskrel.
Today the Trollkillers roam the coast between Moonever
and Bogbrook. They explore ruins, old caves and abandoned
dwellings for monsters, and the hiding places of slavers and
pirates. Lord Keskrel wants all the dangers on the coast
rooted out and eliminated, the better to protect his
investments in Moonever.
Lord Keskrell has warned the Trollkillers never to enter the
Hermit's Woods.
5 MARSEMBER AND VICINITY
The Winking Gems
Based out of Marsember, the Winking Gems explore all of
the southern Dragon Coast. They have made successful
incursions into the ruins of Pros and Haunted Ilipur. The
Gems are a frequent sight on the Trader’s Road between
Elversult and Teziir.
The Winking Gems are famous for recovering the lost
raiments of Queen Alendue of Cormyr. Few realize that the
adventurers removed from the ancient queen's raiments the
magical gemstones she used to control the minds of those
around her. The gemstones were replaced with non-magical
duplicates.
A former mercenary captain leads the Winking Gems. All
are human.
The Winking Gems
Glanthra “The Galloping Knight” Halowyrm, Fighter 8, leader
Tamrael of Athkatla, Fighter 6
Malarrla “Bloodcoins” Branthur, Rogue 6
Ozrin, Sorcerer 6
Andragus “The Mad Magister" of Memnon, Warlock 4
Gholsuntiir, Wizard 4
Irigoth Emmertide, of Suzail, Cleric 3 (Tyr)
Crimmon of the Towers of Good Fortune, Cleric 3 (Tymora)
Immult, Bard of Elversult, Bard 3
Tathkaskur “The Tyrant Slayer”, Fighter 1

"The Coast" and
the Dragonmere
All the land of Cormyr that lies due east of the Hermit's
Woods between the Way of the Manticore and the
northeastern coast of the Dragonmere is known simply as
"the Coast."
The villages of Dreamer's Rock, Monksblade, Kirinwood,
Dawngleam, Battlerise and Wormtower are most likely to be
found on maps of the region, though in truth no map exists
that reveals all the hamlets and villages that dot the Coast
and the winding farm trails that link one settlement to the
next. This has not stopped adventurers from foolishly
purchasing the latest map "to show everything" from any of
the countless cart merchants that ply their wares on the
Coast.
Cart merchants also sell chapbooks filled with fanciful
stories of the holy knights that once roamed this part of
Cormyr. Stories featuring battles with monstrous beholders,
wicked hags and worse are popular, as are the stories of
heroic adventurers finding their way into the depths of the
Dragonmere. Such tales oft end with the heroes emerging
triumphant from the water after dispatching horrible sea
monsters and recovering treasures of great value.
In truth, most adventurers pay with their lives for daring to
venture below the surface of the Dragonmere. Its many
underwater ruins remain filled with unclaimed riches.
The Company of the Bottled Fiend
There exists a shrine to Umberlee beneath the waters of the
Dragonmere. Many centuries ago it served as a rallying point
for followers of the Queen of the Deeps, who gathered to
offer prayers to their goddess and then set out to hunt the
dangerous creatures lurking within the Dragonmere.
Twice a year, the faithful of Umberlee who worshipped in
the House of the Sea (near present-day Monksblade) left their
temple home to participate in the hunt. Twice a year the
survivors emerged from the Dragonmere, proudly displaying
their wounds and sometimes carrying treasures found
beneath the waves.
Time is friend to no one, not even the followers of powerful
gods. The House of the Sea was overrun and the adherents of
the Goddess all slain or driven off. The few survivors made
for the Dragonmere, there to hide the temple treasures below
the waves in anticipation of the day when the House of the
Sea would rise again.
The ritual hunts dedicated to the Queen of the Deeps
occurred less as time wore on. The underwater shrine was
all but forgotten by anyone save for adventurers, who have
searched in vain for the holy place rumored to exist
somewhere in the waters of the Dragonmere.
In present day Cormyr, a motley collection of adventurers
discovered potions of water breathing in the cellars beneath
what remains of the House of the Sea, as well as a treatise
explaining when and how to make proper offerings to
Umberlee.
"THE COAST" AND
THE DRAGONMERE 6
  Their prayers were answered by the goddess in the form of a
boon: Each potion of water breathing granted both the power
to breath underwater and the ability to swim with ease under
the waves for as long as the potion drinker remained below
the water's surface. Soon after, the adventurers left to find the
shrine in the Dragonmere.
A tenday later they returned to Monksblade, their numbers
reduced by a third and all the survivors wounded or near
dying. They brought back treasure too, and used it to
purchase rooms at the Firedagger Inn to rest and recuperate.
Among their treasures were bottles made of brilliantly
colored glass, each corked and sealed in wax stamped with a
single elaborate rune. No two bottles were the same size or
color, and within each could be seen something writhing and
moving about in murky liquid.
Of these, only the bottle containing a fiend from the Hells
was broken when a gang of bullyblades attempted to steal the
treasure by force. The Firedagger Inn might have been
obliterated in raging hellfire on the spot, but the terrible fiend
that emerged after its glass prison was dashed over the head
of an attacker immolated only the brigands. The hell creature
informed the adventurers that its debt to them was repaid,
and warned them to never try and recapture it ere it
disappeared.
Because rumor always outraces truth, the adventurers
gained instant fame for driving off a fiend of the Hells while
simultaneously slaying a band of brigands that had been
troubling the region. With fame came a name not of their
choosing, and so the Company of the Bottled Fiend left
Monksblade to find adventure further north in the Hullack
Forest, and the Infested Hills to the northeast.
Adventurer lore holds that the Company have kept their
magical bottles for use in an emergency, but in truth the
bottles were deposited for safekeeping at Wendeira's
Wondery (a shop in Monksblade that displays and sells a
variety of odd things, including minor magical baubles of
questionable function and safety; Wendeira runs a side
business storing valuables and things magical in the
basement beneath her shop).
A roster of the Company of the Bottled Fiend follows. All
are human unless otherwise stated:

The Company of the Bottled Fiend

Drarra Blackrune, Paladin 6 (Chauntea), Leader
Halmond, Cleric 5 (Tempus), Second In Command
Talessa of Monksblade, Fighter 4
Ruthgul "the Ravager" of Marsember, Fighter 4
Ospra Deadfeather, Tiefling Sorcerer 4
Maharantrae "Many Eyes" of Dreamer's Rock, Wizard 3
Eldrem, Cleric 3 (Talos), formerly of the Stormchasers
Welwyn of the Firedagger, Fighter 2
Solatha Wanderwyrm, Warlock 1 (Fey Pact)

7 DRARRA BLACKRUNE
The Merry Mages of Monksblade
A mixed bag of spellcasters, the Merry Mages are ex-
apprentice wizards, sorcerers and individuals with as-yet-
undeveloped magical talent.
Beyond a shared interest in spellcasting, the Mages hold
personal independence as a virtue, divide treasure equally
and have no leader, preferring to vote on matters of
importance to their group.
The Merry Mages plan to leave Cormyr for Scornubel, then
head north to Bannerfall Tower, where they suspect the
Three-Headed Helm has been secreted away.
The Skullcloaks
This ten-strong band is led by a pair of elves rumored to be
sisters, and includes four warlocks from Arabel that look
exactly alike. The Skullcloaks were last seen in the vicinity of
Dreamer's Rock.
All wear hooded cloaks capable of conjuring a grinning
skull over their faces when the hood is pulled up. Campfire
stories told by travelers on the Way of the Manticore have
assigned other powers to the cloaks, such as the ability to see
by night and immunity from the deleterious touch of certain
undead.
The Smiling Ogres of Battlerise
The Smiling Ogres are all former members of the Purple
Dragons turned into ogres of immense size by an exiled
wizard of Berdusk.
The Dragons-turned-ogres were made to guard the
wizard's home: an abandoned keep on the coast south of
Kirinwood. The Dragons broke the mind link by which the
wizard controlled them by smashing her head into a wall.
The once-Dragons were forced to retire from service to the
Crown after repeated attempts by the Wizards of War failed
to return the soldiers to normal.
The Smiling Ogres wander the coast from Smuggler's
Stone to Dawngleam in search of adventure. They are
welcome in the villages of Wormtower and Dawngleam, but
shun the smaller coastal hamlets. The Ogres are immune to
mind-influencing and mind-controlling magic of all kinds.
The Terrible Tankards of
Wormtower
This band of adventurers assembled with one goal in mind:
recover enough treasure to finance the construction of a
proper tavern in Wormtower—one fully stocked with the best
drinkables to be had in all of Cormyr. The Tankards plan to
retire from adventuring after their coin goal is achieved.
RUTHGUL "THE RAVAGER" 8
9 TALESSA OF MONKSBLADE