Iron Throne

The Iron Throne was a mysterious mercantile organization that operated out of the Eastern Heartlands during the 14 century DR. Though it controlled much of the weapons trade across the realms during its time, its leadership and hierarchy remained unknown to those outside its ranks.
While it was a criminal organization in every sense of the word, the Iron Throne thrived in part because of the facade it projected to the rest of Faerûn: it was an honorable business that served the best interests of the realms. 
==Organization==
The leadership of the Iron Throne comprised the head of the organization and an inner circle of three advisors. These officers were each responsible for a different aspect of the Iron Throne's operations and mostly acted independently from one another.
* The Arm: This individual arranged mercantile contracts, organizes the routes they used for trade, and handled their smuggling rings. Smooth-talking negotiators and those with a mind for business were often recruited to serve the Arm. 
* The Foot: This officer was responsible for protecting the organization's caravans and interfering with those belonging to other trading groups. All manner of sell-swords and criminals were hired to fight under their direction. 
* The Eye: A single spellcaster acted as a magical coordinator for the inner circle. They facilitated communication between members and gathered information by means of divination. Their agents included other spellcasters or those individuals with a strong network of informants.
In addition to their other subordinates, these individuals were each served by three lesser officers, who were more involved with day-to-day operations. The full scope of their collective activities was known only by the Iron Throne's leader and their inner circle.
==Activities==
On the surface, the Iron Throne was invested in the trade in weapons in various areas throughout Faerûn. While they seemingly sought to form a monopoly of arms dealing, they in fact sought to parlay this martial strength into greater power and rule over the entirety of the Heartlands.
They were known to cut out competition via unhanded tactics like banditry and murder. It was believed that they even stole and dealt in illegal substances such as poisons, smokepowder, and prohibited drugs.
==Tactics==
In order to maintain their public image, the Iron Throne's more malevolent activities were orchestrated in such a way that they could not be traced to the organization's leadership. To prevent dissension among the group's officers, they were each placed under the effects of the geas spell.
Any member caught performing crimes or other wrongdoings were promptly disavowed by the Iron Throne. Anyone who slandered the group was met with public repudiation, they had their reputation brought into question, or were outright killed.
==Base of Operations==
As of the mid–14 century DR, the Iron Throne maintained two headquarters in the Cormyrean city of Suzail and another the Sembian capital of Selgaunt. 
The organization operated throughout the entirety of the Heartlands, with other branches in Arabel, and Baldur's Gate.
==Possessions==
Members of the Iron Throne wore no common livery or overt identifying marks. High ranking officers carried a simple badge made of iron, that bore their organization's symbol.
==Relationships==
As with any business the Iron Throne faced a number of competitors. Among these were the Merchant's League of Baldur's Gate, the Firehands Group of Daerlun, and both the Stone Crab Coster and Mirksha, Mirksha, and Mirksha in Archendale.
The Iron Throne was often in conflict with the Zhentarim, the Harpers, and even the Rundeen.
==History==
;Early Years:
The Iron Throne was founded by the fiendish assassin Sfena, in the , in an effort to bargain away an affliction that beset her. The organization grew rapidly, quickly dominating the business of arms dealing and expanding into more generalized commerce.
A decade after its formation, in the , the Iron Throne sent messages to all the various rulers and heads–of–state across the Eastern and Western Heartlands. They declared that their organization was to have complete control over the trade and sale of weapons throughout those vast regions. One such seizure of power happened thanks to an alliance with a wizard Cassana of Westgate. She lent the Iron Throne one of her summoned creatures called Kalmari. The creature singlehandedly burnt down the North Gate Inn, interrupting the trade, and effectively handing the control of Shadow Gap to Iron Throne. As to be expected, this action upset many regional lords and other mercantile businesses.
In Marpenoth of the , the Cormyrean offices of the Iron Throne were closed and the coster was banned from conducting business within the kingdom for over one year. This action came by a royal decree from King Azoun IV himself.
;Iron Crisis:
In the , the head of the Baldur's Gate branch of the Iron Throne, Richtar under the name of "Reiltar Anchev", and his adoptive son Sarevok carried out a plan to gain a stranglehold over the Sword Coast. They orchestrated an iron shortage by sabotaging the mines near Nashkel and hiring bandits from the Chill and the Blacktalons to disrupt trade. They blamed these troubles on the southern nation of Amn, to a degree that came to be on the precipice of war with Baldur's Gate.
In a notable meeting that occurred that year, "Reiltar" and his associate Brunos Costak met with Tuth and Kestor, agents that represented the Knights of the Shield.
Using their hidden mine in the Cloak Wood forest, the Baldurian Iron Throne was going to dominate the trade of iron, become the sole source of weaponry for Baldur's Gate, and emerge as a dominant political force within the region. Unfortunately, Sarevok actually cared little for the Iron Throne's plans and wanted to carry out the war and use that bloodshed to ascend as the god of murder. Both schemes were ultimately foiled by Sarevok's divine half-sibling and the Baldurian Iron Throne was left in near ruins.
;Downfall:
A few years later, in the , Sfena vanished off the face of Toril, for reasons that were unknown all but one of her top officers. In truth it was the Eye of the Iron Throne Maready, who facilitated her disappearance. Believing the organization could earn greater wealth and power without her presence, he offered up her whereabouts to her father, a powerful lord among the devils. Her father's minions abducted Sfena and stole her away to her father's domain in the Nine Hells.
The Iron Throne fell into disarray and lost its dominant hold over the arms trade. The group's upper echelon began to fight one another as they each sought leadership for their own. The Foot of the Iron Throne Krakosh was able stop the chaos by threat of force and became the organization's new leader. While the Iron Throne was did not face complete dissolution, it was severely weakened and its competitors were greatly bolstered.
While the storm giant Krakosh was the head of the Iron Throne in name, he wanted nothing more than to locate rescue Sfena. While he used the organization to that end, Maready took charge the Iron Throne's daily operations. He manipulated the storm giant's loss to gain power, all the while biding his time to take over in earnest.
The Baldur's Gate branch faced ruination in the . The Council of Four hired the noble adventurer Dabron Sashenstar to dismantle the organization's hold within the city. The noble Sashenstar arrested Reiltar Anchev from his estate in Daerlun and revealed him to be Richtar "the Red Man", the famed assassin who served the Arm of the Iron Throne.
By negotiating with Tuth of the Knights of the Shield, Dabron Sashenstar learned about the Iron Throne's origins and arranged to have Sfena brought to the domain of the Hidden Lord Gargauth.While page 134 of Lords of Darkness states that devils "return(ed) (Sfena) to Baator" in 1371 DR, page 155 of The Grand History of the Realms states that "Sfena (was) removed from the Realms" in 1374 DR. It is unknown if this is a discrepancy of it she returned to Toril during the intermittent 3 years. Shortly thereafter, the geas spells affecting her former lieutenants begin to vanish away. In Tarsakh of 1374 DR, the remaining Iron Throne leaders meet in secret and arranged for the assassination of several representatives of the Merchant's League, the business of House Sashenstar.
This final act of malevolence was all for naught however, as it they were themselves murdered by the Zhentarim. Word of these killings emerge in the month of Kythorn. After a failed assault on the Merchant's League headquarters in Arabel, the Iron Throne was declared completely dismantled on Kythorn 25.
==Members==
The Iron Throne employed many criminals, outcasts and other dregs of society. Due to their policy of renouncing those caught performing illegal acts, their turnover rate was fairly rapid.
;Notable Members:
* Hogley, a former Thayan slave who ascended to the role of recruiter
* Krakosh, the former Foot of the Iron Throne who later served as its leader
* Maready, the Eye who served under both Sfena and Krakosh
* Richtar, The Arm who operated on the Sword Coast under the name "Reiltar Anchev"
* Seecher, a city–dwelling druid that employed flocks of birds to act as his messengers
* Skitt, the intuitive half-dwarf who hailed from the city of Manshaka
* Thond, the spokesperson who maintained the organization's public image
* Yentai, the agent of the Iron Throne that was extorting Millie Churlgo for the family's Churlgo Cheese recipes circa 1370 DR.
:
* Sfena, The group's founder who disappeared after almost 25 years of leadership
==Rumors & Legends==
Because so little was known about the Iron Throne's leaders, many speculated about their identities. Some believed them to be dwarven nobles that were removed for their seats of power or even a front for the nation of Thay.
Yet other believed they were a splinter group of the Zhentarim, servants of deity Cyric, or serfs that were enthralled by beholders and giants that came from the sea.
==Appendix==
===Appearances===
:;Novels
::Azure Bonds • Baldur's Gate
:;Video Games
::Baldur's Gate • Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford
::
::Descent to Undermountain
::Card Games
::
===Gallery===
iron throne base.png|The headquarters of the Iron Throne in Baldur's Gate (as depicted in the game).
iron throne crest.png|The coat-of-arms of the Iron Throne, inspired by an image on Volo's Map.
IronThroneSymbol.jpg|Another rendering of the Iron Throne's symbol.
IronThrone.jpg|Leaders of the Iron Throne. From upper left: Krakosh, Richtar "the Red Man", Maready, and Sfena.
IronThrone2.jpg|Ranking Members of the Iron Throne. From upper right: Skitt, Seecher, and Hogley.
IronThroneAgents.jpg|Iron Throne agents. From upper left: Thond of Wyvernwater, Bosson Ketanya, and Posetarik Woodlock.
===Notes===
===References===
Category:Costers
Category:Merchant organizations
Category:Criminal organizations
Category:Organizations in Baldur's Gate
Category:Organizations on the Sword Coast
Category:Organizations in West Faerûn
Category:Organizations in Suzail
Category:Organizations in Cormyr
Category:Organizations in Interior Faerûn
Category:Organizations in Faerûn
Category:Organizations in Gillian's Hill
Category:Organizations on Toril
Category:Organizations
Category:Organizations in the Eastern Heartlands