The Sword Coast is a major geographical region in the Forgotten Realms setting, serving as the adventure’s default starting point and a key commercial connection to Chult.
Role in the Adventure
The Sword Coast is where the adventure begins by default, specifically in the city of Baldur’s Gate. Characters typically start here when they first learn about the death curse afflicting the region and are recruited by Syndra Silvane to travel to Chult and investigate its source.
Commercial Connections to Chult
The Sword Coast maintains significant trade relationships with Port Nyanzaru, Chult’s only functioning city. Traders from “up and down the Sword Coast” regularly travel to Port Nyanzaru’s markets, particularly the Grand Souk, to purchase Chultan goods including:
- Timber, spices, and jungle-derived medicines
- Dinosaur parts (skulls, claws)
- Exotic materials (tiger pelts, carved ivory, colored feathers)
- Tropical fruit, plesiosaurus meat, and live monkeys
- Crafts from indigenous peoples (Batiri and grung handiwork)
The seven Chultan merchant princes who now control Port Nyanzaru have successfully “enticed folk from up and down the Sword Coast with their wares,” making the city’s trade volume rival that of major Sword Coast cities like Baldur’s Gate and Waterdeep.
Historical Context
Nine years before the adventure begins, the nation of Amn (located on the Sword Coast) was forced to relinquish control of Port Nyanzaru to a consortium of Chultan traders backed by the Ytepka Society, avoiding what would have been a bloody conflict over the city’s independence.