Neverwinter Neverwinter , also known as the City of Skilled Hands or the Jewel of the North , was a metropolis sitting on the northwestern Sword Coast of Faerûn . Neverwinter was regarded by many , including the erudite travel writer Volo , as the most cosmopolitan and the most civilized city in all of Faerûn , quite a reputation , considering the breadth and variety of the continent . The city was a member in good standing of the Lords ' Alliance . Etymology . The city of Neverwinter was so named because , even though the town is situated in the cold north of Faerûn , the Neverwinter River that flowed through it was heated by fire elemental s living under the nearby Mount Hotenow in the Neverwinter Wood . The heat given off from the river created a permanent warm climate in the immediate area . The city was originally named " " Eiggerstor " " , which was an Illuskan word . The name " Neverwinter " was the Chondathan translation . Government . Pre - Spellplague . The city was ruled fairly and justly by Lord Nasher Alagondar , an aging , veteran adventurer and devout worshiper of Tyr . As such , although Neverwinter was prosperous , its master - craftsmen making lamps of multi - coloured glass , precision water clocks and exquisite jewelry , its Tyrran faith promoted justice and fairness , with greed being frowned upon . Lord Nasher ensured that the city was well defended before his death , both physically and magic ally , against attacks or infiltration from Luskan , Neverwinter ' s warlike rival . Maps of the city were not allowed to be made as part of an effort to thwart Luskan spies . Post - Spellplague . In 1462 DR , Dagult Neverember , Open Lord of Waterdeep , seeing an opportunity to add to his financial empire , hired artisans and carpenters to help rebuild the city and Mintarn mercenaries to protect it from monsters ; he would eventually create the title of Lord Protector of Neverwinter , held by Neverember himself . However , it was questioned whether Dagult was the rightful ruler , as many factions vied for Neverwinter and the citizens were divided in loyalties . Lord Neverember left the day - to - day running of the city to General Sabine and Mayor Soman Galt . In 1489 DR , Lord Neverember was exiled from Waterdeep and replaced as Open Lord by Laeral Silverhand . After being ousted of his city and former position , Dagult then focused all of his efforts in his role of Lord Protector of Neverwinter . Due to this commitment and his past accomplishments helping Neverwinter and its citizens , the Neverwintans finally accepted Lord Neverember as their rightful leader . Structure . Before the eruption of Mount Hotenow , Neverwinter was a picturesque city and boasted such sights as its three spectacular , intricately carved bridges : the Dolphin , the Winged Wyvern and the Sleeping Dragon . Under these , the waters of the Neverwinter River cascaded over small , gentle waterfalls as they coursed into the city ' s bustling harbour . Neverwinter ' s magnificent gardens ( the phrase " " The City of Skilled Hands " " referred to Neverwinter ' s accomplished gardeners ) ensured the warm winters were colourful and the summers were rich with fresh fruit . The city was full of beautiful and ingeniously designed buildings , many of which were famous in their own right , such as The House of Knowledge , and Neverwinter ' s tall and many - windowed temple of Oghma . In addition , the reputations of such unique taverns as the Moonstone Mask and The Fallen Tower reached far beyond the city ' s walls and further added to the city ' s distinction . After the eruption of Mount Hotenow , the city was almost entirely destroyed . Of the three bridges , only the Winged Wyvern remained functional . Much of the southeastern quadrant of the city collapsed into a yawning pit , known as the Chasm , that continually spawned plaguechanged horrors . Many former edifices and homes became martial garrisons to maintain the monsters at bay . Although Neverwinter remained in ruins for almost two decades , thanks to Lord Nevermeber ' s efforts the city was repaired to its former glory in the late years of the 80 ' s decade . The Chasm was magically sealed and the city was slowly recovering its position as the Jewel of the North . Trade . Neverwinter controlled much of the mining trade from dwarves and gnomes outposts from the nearby Underdark by using hidden ways in various warehouses in the city . Neverwintwer also had a large fishing economy , and did good trade in logging from the Neverwinter Wood . The key to Neverwinter ' s survival , however , was its importance as a center of craftwork , learning , and magical innovation . History . The first settlement in the Savage Frontier was an elven city known as Illefarn . Illefarn became a bustling nation after the time of the Crown Wars . Illefarn lasted long enough to see the founding of Gauntlgrym and the harnessing of Maegera the Inferno beneath its lands . Eventually , Illefarn was divided into three nations , of which Iliyanbruen was the most prominent . Iliyanbruen frequently fought with the city of Illusk , which was a legacy of the Netherese . The Netherese city of Xinlenal crashed in Iliyanbruen territories where it would remain hidden for thousands of years . Iliyanbruen was weakened by Orc invasions , which paved the way for " Eigersstor " , the first multi - racial settlement in the area , which would later be called Neverwinter . Neverwinter became a center of civilization , peace and culture and was widely viewed as a marvel by visitors . This trend lasted , seemingly unbroken since its founding ( with the exception of a couple of orc hordes , the violent debacle following the Orcgates Affair and the assassination attempts against the sage Rahalaglingalade ) , until 1372 DR when a disease known as the Wailing Death laid low most of the city ' s inhabitants . Although Lord Nasher died during the Spellplague , he gave rise to a royal line that ruled until Mount Hotenow erupted , destroying the majority of the city . Thay ans and their Ashmadai allies attacked the city in the wake of the eruption , hoping to cause enough deaths to fuel a Dread Ring but their plans were foiled with the help of adventurers and agents of Netheril . Due to the help given by the Netherese , the shadovar attempted a power grab in the city but were driven out when Herzgo Alegni was defeated in combat by Artemis Entreri and Dahlia Sin ' felle , which inspired a revolt against Herzgo ' s netherese ' Shadow Guard ' . In 1462 DR , Lord Neverember , claiming himself to be a descendant of Neverwinter ' s former rulers and thus the rightful " Lord Protector " of Neverwinter , started the New Neverwinter movement . Lord Neverember invested a great deal of his own personal fortune to rebuild the city infrastructure , buy the interest of merchants to sent their caravans again to Neverwinter , and even ensuring Neverwintan refugees had enough food and gold in hand . By the late years of the 80 ' s decade , Neverember ' s efforts to rebuild the city proved successful , and Neverwinter had slowly being restored as a center of civilization in the Sword Coast North . Neverwinter in games . Many years before the 14th century DR , the forces of Neverwinter were involved in a battle with the King of Shadows . None of the men sent into combat survived the battle , although the garrison at Fort Locke survived a demonic onslaught . In 1372 DR the city succumbed to the Wailing Death , a disease that resisted magical healing and killed much of the population of the city . The cure was eventually found but the casualties by that time were catastrophic . It was soon discovered that the Wailing Death was merely the precursor of war between Neverwinter and its enemy , the city of Luskan . Although it was the Sarrukh Queen Morag who sponsored the war , rather than the Host Tower of the Arcane , the fighting ( which ended in a stalemate , thanks to a plucky adventurer known only as the Hero of Neverwinter ) soured the relationship between the two cities even more . Despite this , a shaky relationship between Neverwinter and Luskan was reestablished until an upstart Host Tower mage named Black Garius attempted to raise an undead army to conquer Neverwinter , ostensibly in the name of the King of Shadows . Again , an adventurer put an end to the plans of Black Garius and defeated the King of Shadows once and for all . Unfortunately the conflict , which came to be known as the Shadow War , left the economy of the Sword Coast North in tatters , and its security was in doubt due to the deaths of so many Greycloak s during the fighting . This made it a great opportunity for an enterprising Samarach an mercantile house led by a woman named Sa ' Sani . Under her leadership , and with the assistance of a group of adventurer s , the Neverwinter region ' s economy was brought back to health by the end of the Year of Lightning Storms . Post - Spellplague . Neverwinter and other cities north of Waterdeep fared poorly in the years following the Spellplague , and by the 1479 DR both it and Luskan were in utter ruins . Minor earthquakes had troubled Neverwinter for months , eventually resulting in an eruption from Mount Hotenow with mounds of lava and superheated ash falling down on the city . Half of the city ' s population died in a heartbeat , with many great buildings razed . A great rift known as the Chasm ripped apart the Earth of the city and strange zombies of ash haunted the ruins . Yet after the destruction , many who had fled upon the minor earthquakes returned , bringing looters and thieves with them . The people began to rebuild and eventually , arriving with a host of mercenaries from Mintarn , Dagult Neverember arrived and styled himself the Lord Protector of Neverwinter . Military . As of 1372 DR , Neverwinter had a standing army of 400 archers and spearmen , that doubled as a city guard and patrolled the High Road from Port Llast to Leilon . During peacetime , 60 of these soldiers were assigned to the city watch , 60 were on leave and 60 were sent to retraining . If the city ' s walls were threatened by orc s or Luskan attackers the defenders catapult a veritable hail of explosive missiles down on the attackers . Both missiles and the specially designed catapults were devised by the best ' skilled hands ' of the city ' s namesake . In desperate situations , Lord Nasher can call upon the wizards of the Order of the Many - Starred Cloak . As of 1479 DR , the army of Neverwinter was composed mostly by the Mintarn mercenaries hired by Lord Neverember and a few independent militia forces assembled by the citizens or rebel groups such as the Sons of Alagondar . Lord Neverember also hired adventuring bands to eliminate threats to the city that the Mintarn mercenarios could not take care of . With the city rebuilding in the late years of the 80 ' s decade , many of the Sons of Alagondar volunteered themselves to serve as the city guard , making Lord Neverember to depend less of the services of the Mintarn mercenaries . Lord Neverember still hired a few adventurers and mercenaries to help to protect Neverwinter and train the local troops rather than to accept the help of the armies of the Masked Lord s of Waterdeep , who he felt had betrayed him . Trivia . The city of Neverwinter serves as the origin of the phrase " " By the clocks of Neverwinter " " , used when one is solemnly swearing , a reference to the precision of its timepieces . Neverwinter Saga :