Neverwinter, also known as the City of Skilled Hands and

the Jewel of the North, was a bustling, cultured, and cosmopolitan

city-state in northwest Faerûn.[1][2][3][4][5][20] Neverwinter was
regarded by Volo as the most cosmopolitan and civilized city in all
of Faerûn. The city was a member in good standing of the Lords'
Alliance.[18] Known for its craftsfolk and gardeners, the city's multi-
colored-glass lamps, precision water clocks, exquisite jewelry, and
magnificent gardens ensured the warm winters were colorful and
the summers were rich with fresh fruit

Geography
Neverwinter stood on the northern Sword Coast, on the High
Road between Waterdeep and Luskan, specifically
between Leilon and Port Llast.[1][2][4] To the east lay
the Neverwinter Wood and, at its heart, the volcanic Mount
Hotenow. The Neverwinter River was heated by fire
elementals living under the volcano before flowing through the
forest and the city. It carried its supernatural warmth with it,
keeping the river from freezing up in winter and the gardens green
year-round.[2][3][5] The heat given off by the river created a permanent
warm climate in the immediate area.[7]
Southeast of Neverwinter stood the monastery of Helm's Hold.

History
The eruption of Mount Hotenow in the Year of Knowledge
Unearthed, 1451 DR, laying the city to waste and killing the
ruling Alagondar family.[7]
In the Year of the Three Heroes United, 1467 DR,[16] Lord Dagult
Neverember, seeing an opportunity to add to his financial empire,
hired workers to help rebuild the city and Mintarn mercenaries to
protect it from monsters and bandits. Claiming to be a descendant of
Neverwinter's former rulers and thus the rightful "Lord Protector" of
the city, Dagult started the New Neverwinter movement. Lord
Neverember invested a great deal of his own fortune to rebuild the
city's infrastructure, buy the interest of merchants to send their
caravans again to Neverwinter, and even ensure Neverwintan
refugees had enough food and gold in hand.[29] By 1491 DR,
Neverember's efforts to rebuild the city proved successful, and
Neverwinter had slowly been restored as a center of civilization in
the Sword Coast North.[30]

New Neverwinter
As part of his bid to create a mercantile empire in Neverwinter,
Dagult Neverember created the title of "Lord Protector of
Neverwinter" for himself in 1467 DR. However, it was questioned
whether Dagult was the rightful ruler, as many factions vied for
Neverwinter and the citizens were divided in loyalties.[7] As he had
to fulfill his obligations being also Open Lord of Waterdeep, Lord
Neverember left the day-to-day running of the city to
General Sabine and Mayor Soman Galt.[10]
In the Year of the Warrior Princess, 1489 DR, Lord Neverember was
exiled from Waterdeep and replaced as Open Lord by Laeral
Silverhand.[32] Afterward, Neverember focused all his attention on
Neverwinter. Due to his commitment and help given to Neverwinter,
the Neverwintans finally accepted Lord Neverember as their rightful
leader.[30] But bitter over being exiled from Waterdeep, Neverember
became more despotic and enforced heavy-handed laws. He levied
heavy taxes to noble families living in Neverwinter, preventing them
from gaining significant power, while enacting harsh laws that
prohibited the formation of new guilds and limited the power of
existing ones.[33]

Defenses
As of 1479 DR, the standing army were the Neverwinter Guard,
[16] which was composed mostly of the Mintarn mercenaries hired by

Lord Neverember. A few independent militia forces assembled by

the citizens helped to protect the city in times of need.
With the city rebuilding in the late 1480s DR, many of the Sons of
Alagondar volunteered to serve in the Neverwinter Guard, causing
Lord Neverember to depend less on the mercenaries' services. Lord
Neverember still hired adventurers and mercenaries to help protect
Neverwinter and train local troops rather than accept the help of the
armies of the Masked Lords of Waterdeep, whom he felt had
betrayed him.[30]

Society
Through the mid-to-late 1300s, Neverwinter was known as a friendly,
[1][4] charming, cosmopolitan, and cultured city, without being

quaint, arrogant, or grasping.[5][18] They displayed good but quiet

manners and liked a job done well, with efficiency and dedication.
After the foundation of the Alagondar royal family in the late years of
the 14 century DR, the Neverwintans became a very patriotic
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people, proud of their leaders and their city.[7]

After the destruction of the city in 1451 DR, the Neverwintans
showed a new facet: stubbornness and determination. Many

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survivors remained in the city, and ever since had demonstrated the
resolution to rebuild Neverwinter to its former glory and to defend
her from many dangers, both mortal and extraplanar alike.[7]

Religion
The main faiths in 14 -century Neverwinter were those of Oghma.
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The temples of the House of Knowledge. Torm and his

subordinate deity Bahamut,[12][14] as well as the faith of Selûne, as
her followers wanted to bring hope to the peoples of Neverwinter.
[15] By 1479 DR, the faith of Asmodeus had become popular as well,

and the ashmadai had great influence in the city's politics.

The Neverwintans never stopped revering Tyr, however, despite his
death.[12] When the god returned to life after the Second Sundering,
his faith was quickly accepted again, becoming as popular as it was
before.[30][33]
In the late 15 century, as Neverwinter slowly restored itself as a
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cosmopolitan city, temples of many faiths became common in all

districts of the city.

Trade & Business

The was city was famed for its accurate water-clocks, lamps made
with multi-colored glass, fine jewelry, which were found across
Faerûn.[1][2][4][5] The gardeners raised plants in hothouses to grow
them even in winter.[3] The gardens supplied fruits to the city's
markets.[2][5]
However, Neverwinter's true asset was its importance as a center of
craftwork, learning, and magical innovation.[21] Merchants and
crafters usually practiced their works in buildings dedicated to such
tasks. Street vendors were rarely seen in Neverwinter.[13]
With the destruction of Neverwinter in 1451 DR, trade came to a
total halt in the region.[7]
After 1461 DR, as part of the rebuilding efforts, Lord Neverember
focused much of his resources on reestablishing trade and
contracting crafters to help restore the city's infrastructure.
[10] Merchants from the "new" continent of Laerakond began to

trade with the Faerûnian cities on the Sword Coast some years
before 1479 DR. In Neverwinter, a group of
traders from Tarmalune, one of the Windrise Ports of Laerakond,
approached Lord Neverember in hopes of establishing permanent
trade routes between the two continents.[43]
Around 1491 DR, Neverwinter was a city full of opportunities. As
word spread that Neverwinter was being restored, merchants from
both the north and the south became interested in trading with the

3
city once again. Likewise, Lord Neverember began forging a trading
alliance with the restored Gauntlgrym in hopes of increasing the
prosperity of both cities while ensuring his advantage over the
nobles and merchants from Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate.[44]
Without guilds to restrict trade or construction, those who wanted to
start a business in Neverwinter could simply do so, and those
traders who dealt with basic products, such as foodstuffs, became
wealthy just by selling their goods in the city. Likewise, there was
demand for many jobs and those who offered their services either as
workers or as apprentices had plenty of options despite the high
competition.[44]

Layout
After the Ruining, the city was almost entirely destroyed. Of the
three bridges, only the Winged Wyvern remained functional.[20] Much
of the southeastern quadrant collapsed into a yawning pit, known as
the Chasm, which continually spawned plaguechanged horrors.
Many former edifices and homes became martial garrisons to keep
the monsters at bay.[7]
Neverwinter remained in ruins for almost two decades but, thanks to
Lord Neverember's efforts, the city began to regain its former glory
by the late 1480s DR.[10] Inns like the Driftwood Tavern and
the Beached Leviathan became popular across the Sword Coast.[45]
The Chasm was magically sealed around 1484 DR,[30] although at
such cost to the city's coffers that some of its outer walls still lay in
ruins and several of its neighborhoods remained abandoned and
plagued by monsters and brigands by 1491 DR.[33][46]

Locations
After the Mount Hotenow eruption in 1451 DR, the city was almost
destroyed. After the rebuilding project, the layout was drastically
changed:

 The Protector's Enclave, located where the City Core, the

Peninsula District, and the Merchant Quarter once stood.[48]
[30]
 The Blacklake District was now the northwestern section
of the city.[48][30]
 The Docks District became part of the Protector's Enclave
to the south, and the Blacklake District to the north.[48][30]
 The Neverdeath Graveyard was built as the main
graveyard of the city.[48]

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  The Arcanist Quarter and the Beggar's Nest were
completely destroyed, being replaced by the Chasm.[48][note
2] The Chasm was sealed around 1485 DR. [30][33]

 The River District, also known as the Towers District,

located at the northeastern portion of the city.[48][16]

Inhabitants
As of 1479 DR, the city was more cosmopolitan, with members of
many races living alongside the common human and half-elven
families. The rare eladrin[50] and even tieflings were common
sights among the citizens.[16] A sizable delegation
of dragonborn mercenaries had been hired by Lord Neverember
alongside the Mintarn ones.[10][16] The River District was invaded by
a tribe of orcs from Many-Arrows,[51] and although most left when
they were recalled by their compatriots in the north, around 1484
DR,[30] a few orcs and half-orcs were still living in Neverwinter as
of 1491 DR.[16]

Organizations
Many of the organizations that operated in Neverwinter took on
more prominent roles by 1479 DR.[52] As of 1491 DR, many of these
factions still vied for control of the city.[46] Among the most
important were:
 The Covenant, an order of wizards that operated out of
Neverwinter during its earlier years.[26]
 The Many-Starred Cloak, an order of wizards that
supported the rule of Lord Nasher Alagondar in the 1370s
DR.[31]
 The Graycloaks militia that protected Neverwinter during
the rule of Lord Nasher Alagondar.[18]
 A cell of the Harpers that operated in Neverwinter in the
1360s DR.[18]
 The New Neverwinter movement started by Lord
Neverember in 1461 DR.[10]
 The Neverwinter Guard, the army of Neverwinter in the
late years of the 15 century.[16]
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 The Wintershield Watchmen, the police force of

Neverwinter in the late years of the 15 century DR.[53][54]
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  The dreaded Abolethic Sovereignty, which pulled the
strings from behind the scenes since the eruption of Mount
Hotenow.[55]
 The Ashmadai, who gained great renown in Neverwinter in
the late 15 century.[11]
th

 A Thayan cell under Valindra Shadowmantle, operating in

Neverwinter in the late 15 century to advance Szass
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Tam's agenda in the region.[56]

 The Dead Rats of Luskan, who had gained a foothold in
Neverwinter in the late 15 century.[57]
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 The Sons of Alagondar insurgent movement that opposed

Neverember's rule,[58] but was mostly disbanded by 1491
DR.[30]
 A cell of Bregan D'aerthe, under the direct leadership
of Jarlaxle Baenre himself.[59]
 A cell of the Order of the Gauntlet that became prominent
in Neverwinter around 1491 DR.[33]
Before their utter defeat in the late 15 century,[30] a cell
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of Shadovar agents[60] and a tribe of orcs from Many-Arrows also

operated in the city.