Faerûn Faerûn was a major continent on the planet of Toril . Geography . The continent included terrain that was as varied as any other . Besides the exterior coastline to the west and south , the most dominant feature on the continent was the Sea of Fallen Stars . This was an irregular inland sea that kept the interior lands fertile and served as a major trade route for many of the bordering nations . Next in significance was the Shaar , a broad region of grasslands in the south that , together with the Lake of Steam , separated the area around the inland sea from the coastal nations at the southern edge of the continent . To the east , Faerûn was bordered by a vast region of steppes from Kara - Tur , and in the north were massive glaciers ( Pelvuria and Reghed ) and tundra . South of the continent , separated by the Great Sea , was the sub - tropical land of Zakhara . The continent included the following geographic and political regions . Northwest . A region of wilderness , difficult winter weather , orc hordes , and barbarian tribes , this region was generally referred to as " The North " . It was a mostly untamed region that lay between the large Anauroch desert in the east and the expansive Sea of Swords in the west . This area contained : North . This region stretched from the wide Anauroch desert in the west to the eastern edge of the inland Moonsea , in the northern region of the continent . It was a region of contrasts , containing : Northeast . This remote area began in the cold , forbidding lands along the great ice sheets and continued south toward the northeastern shores of the Sea of Fallen Stars . It was bordered on the west by the mountain - hemmed land of Vaasa and stretched east to the vast steppes of the Hordelands . This region also contained : West . This region included the nations south of Waterdeep and north of the Shining Sea that bordered along the Sea of Swords . The west included : It also included the multitude of islands that lay to the west in the vast ocean called the Trackless Sea . Interior . With the exception of the Shining Plains , these lands lay along the irregular coastline of the western Sea of Fallen Stars . In the north , the Dragonmere arm of the sea extended far to the west , ending close to the Western Heartlands . To the south , the Vilhon Reach formed a second arm leading to the southwest . The notable areas within this region included : East . Most of the nations in this region bordered the eastern expanses of the Sea of Fallen Stars . Here the sea formed a long arm that travels to the east before turning south to become the Alamber Sea . The northern nations of this mysterious area were termed the Unapproachable East and the southern nations the Old Empires , and , for a time , the Empires of the Alamber Sea . This region included : Many of these nations allowed slavery , and depended on slaves for much of their economy . Southwest . This region lay along the great Chult an peninsula that jutted out toward the west . The waters to the north were named the Shining Sea , a body bounded by Calimshan to the north and joined to the Lake of Steam through the Straits of Storm . To the south of the land was the Great Sea . Located in this area were : South . This land lay to the south of the regions around the Sea of Fallen Stars , being somewhat isolated by the Lake of Steam in the west , and the vast length of the Shaar . It was bordered along the south by the Great Sea , to the west by the Chult an peninsula region , and in the east by Luiren . The south included : Southeast . These lands lay to the south and east of the grassy plains known as the Shaar , along the shores of the Great Sea opposite the land of Zakhara . The region included : Underdark . The immense complex of caverns and passages that lat beneath many parts of the continent of Faerûn . It contained : It also contained the almost unpronounceable cities of kuo - toa , illithid s , and beholder s .