Hey Ed, im having trouble figuring something out in Neverwinter. Whats the Difference or is there a Difference between the Wintershield Watchmen(SCAG 145) and the Neverwinter guard? Is the Wintershield Watchmen like the City Watch and the NW Guard like the City Guard? And does Neverwinter Mint its own currency, of do they use the same currency as Waterdeep of Silverymoon.
Thanks#Realmslore— Alex McClay (@AlexMcclay2000) August 31, 2019
1)
There is, and you’ve got it right.
Lord Neverember initially defended Neverwinter with the use of mercenaries, mainly from Mintarn, under General Sabine. They kept order, but tended to be harsh. Meaning the general public 2)
…soon feared and hated them. So the Wintershield Watchmen were formed (“newly formed” in their mention in SCAG) as a slightly gentler boots-on-the-cobbles police force, directed to try to truly understand the neighbourhoods…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 1, 2019
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…they patrolled, so they’d be more readily accepted and obeyed by the populace and fewer citizens or visiting merchants would end up beaten, maimed, or slain by the “Protectors of the city.” The Neverwinter Guard is the4)
…city’s military (the same mercenaries, retrained and reorganized over time), responsible for mounted patrols outside the walls, staffing the walls and gates, mastering ballistae and catapults on the battlements to defend the…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 1, 2019
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…harbour and the land immediately around the walls, and so on. Watchmen get trained at arms by veterans of the Guard, and injured Guardsmen do “observer duty” with the Watch, and vice versa, to give everyone broader skills.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 1, 2019
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Like all Sword Coast cities, Neverwinter accepts the metal coinage of everywhere else, though “foreign” coins (i.e. from the Vilhon and places east and south of there) tend to be valued for their metal value (i.e. “Well, it’s 2)
…a gold piece, or a silver, or a copper of some sort of funny outlander minting”) rather than what their home region would precisely value them at. And the City of Skilled Hands needs so many raw materials from elsewhere to…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 1, 2019
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…are commonly used in Neverwinter. But “city mintings” do occur about every decade or dozen winters or so, mainly copper, silver, and gold coins. Names for coins tend to be whatever name the coin bears where it came from…3)
…make so many of their goods that barter plus the steady flow of coins from Waterdeep and other ports makes local minting rarely necessary. For large amounts, trade bars from Baldur’s Gate (and made by dwarves nearer at hand) #Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 1, 2019
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…(so a glint or shield from Silverymoon or a nib or dragon of Waterdeep are called those same names in Neverwinter), but the Neverran/Neverwinteran names for coins are thus: a copper is a ‘tharn;’ a silver is a ‘bult;’ an… 6)
…electrum coin (rare in local minting) is a ‘sea-shee;’ a gold coin is a ‘dragon;’ and a platinum coin (very rare in local minting) is a ‘fairsail.’ Most recent coins of Neverwinter are central-hole-pierced flat metal plaques…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 1, 2019
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…in the shape of a long keystone (or capstone, the wedge-shaped isosceles trapezoid/trapezium), with chased (graven) triskelion-like designs on their faces.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 1, 2019
I’ve always wondered what paid these groups. Taxes? Personal adventuring funds? Good will? I mean, my Paladin would totally do it for free, but he isn’t the rule. Taxes and docking fees: Neverwinter taxes all deposits and withdrawals to its vaults (banks), charges fees for building permits, docking ships, and warehouse space for cargoes, and an annual head tax on all city residents, as well as taxing landlords on their rents.#Realmslore
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 1, 2019
