Baldur's Gate
Baldur's Gate is the third largest city on the Sword Coast, and perhaps the richest. Where Neverwinter focuses on its natural beauty and harmony with the world, and Winterdeep is the population center of the coast, Baldur's Gate is the merchant capital - although it does have to work hard to outperform Waterdeep as a trade hub. It accomplishes this by ensuring trade is entirely liberal, untied to restrictions or any moral alignments, so literally anything is allowed to be bought or sold here unless the act of buying or selling is in itself harmful to the people of the town. It also clamps down hard on anticompetitive behaviour, permitting a Merchants League but policing it carefully to ensure it doesn't dominate trade to the exclusion of others.
The Gate's primary industry is silver mining, textile production, and weapons. It is ruled by the Council of Four, represented by Grand Duke Ulder Ravenguard. It is protected by the Flaming Fists, an odd combination of militia, mercenary company and standing army, and fields a respectable navy - by Faerun standards. It's still barely the size of the Guild's own navy during the War of the Seeds, and significantly smaller than the Elanoran navies of Eal or the Western Islands.
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