View source for Caer Corwell

{{Otheruses4|the town|the castle of the same name|Caer Corwell (castle)}}
{{Location
| type          = Small city
| name          = Caer Corwell
| image         = CorwellIA.JPG
| caption       = A map showing the town and castle of Caer Corwell.
| aliases       = Corwell<br />Corwell Town
| capital       = 
| area          = [[Corwell]], [[Gwynneth]], the [[Moonshae Isles]]
| size          = 
| genrefs       = <ref name="IA" /><ref name="DoM-p16">{{Cite book/Darkwalker on Moonshae/Paperback 1987|16}}</ref><ref name="FRCS3e-p148">{{Cite book/Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition|148}}</ref>
| ruler1        = 
| ruleryear1    = 
| ruler2        = 
| ruleryear2    = 
| ruler3        = 
| ruleryear3    = 
| ruler4        = 
| ruleryear4    = 
| ruler5        = 
| ruleryear5    = 
| rulertype     = 
| government    = 
| languages     = 
| races         = [[Ffolk]] [[humans]]
| religion      = 
| socrefs       = <ref name="FRCS3e-p148" /><ref name="DoM-p13">{{Cite book/Darkwalker on Moonshae/Paperback 1987|13}}</ref>
| currency      =
| reckoning     = DR
| population1   = 11,459
| popyear1      = 1372
| population2   = 0
| popyear2      = 1479
| population3   = 
| popyear3      = 
| histrefs      = <ref name="FRCS3e-p148" /><ref name="FRCG-p152">{{Cite book/Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide|152}}</ref>
| imports       = 
| exports       = 
| alignment     = 
| allegiance    = 
| usethe        = 
| useon         = 
| inhabitants   = yes
| locations     = yes
| organizations = yes
| settlements   = 
}}
'''Caer Corwell''', also called simply '''Corwell''' or '''Corwell Town''',<ref name="IA">{{Cite interactive atlas}}</ref> was a small city<ref name="FRCS3e-p148"/> and [[Caer Corwell (castle)|castle]] on the isle of [[Gwynneth]] that served as the capital of the [[Ffolk]] kingdom of [[Corwell]] through the late 14{{th}} century [[DR]].<ref name="DoM-p13" /><ref name="BW.M">{{Cite book/Black Wizards/Paperback 1988/Map}}</ref> It lay abandoned and in ruins as of the late 15{{th}} century DR.<ref name="FRCG-p152" /><ref name="TRoS-ch1">{{Cite digital book/The Rose of Sarifal/Kindle||1}}</ref>

==Description==
While little more than a fishing village for most of its existence,<ref name="FR2-p37/38">{{Cite book/Moonshae|37-38}}</ref> Caer Corwell was said to have grown intothe prettiest city in the Moonshaes prior to its fall into ruin.<ref name="TRoS-ch1" /> It was small enough to be located mostly on a hill leading down to the port.<ref name="TRoS-ch11">{{Cite digital book/The Rose of Sarifal/Kindle||11}}</ref> The city was overlooked by a castle located on a tall rocky cliff that overlooked the waters of the harbor,<ref name="FRCG-p152">{{Cite book/Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide|152}}</ref><ref name="DoM-p23">{{Cite book/Darkwalker on Moonshae/Paperback 1987|23}}</ref> with terraced sections of the town leading down toward the port from the castle walls.<ref name="TRoS-ch11" />

A large village green to the north spread out below the castle with a [[druid]]'s grove, surrounded by a ring of massive oak trees in the center, that also contained a [[moonwell]]. The small wooden buildings of the Ffolk were protected by a three-sided low stone wall.<ref name="DoM-p23"/><ref name="IA" /> A wooden harbor jutting out into the [[Corwell Firth]] was used to moor Corwellian fishing boats, [[barge]]s, [[coracle]]s and [[Calishite]] trading vessels.<ref name="TRoS-ch1" /><ref name="DoM-p11">{{Cite book/Darkwalker on Moonshae/Paperback 1987|11}}</ref> It was surrounded by storage buildings which the city itself was built around,<ref name="FR2-p35">{{Cite book/Moonshae|35}}</ref> as well as several stone courtyards connected by cobblestone streets.<ref name="TRoS-ch1" /> Buildings nearer to the port were more civic oriented while smaller residential homes were located further inland, with poor neighborhoods sitting uphill along stairs.<ref name="TRoS-ch11" />

The town was a crumbling ruin as of the late 15{{th}} century DR. The surviving buildings were stone or brick, but many of these had collapsed.<ref name="TRoS-ch1" /><ref name="TRoS-ch2">{{Cite digital book/The Rose of Sarifal/Kindle||2}}</ref> Those that still stood often had collapsed roofs, and their doors and windows sat wide open.<ref name="TRoS-ch11" />

==Geography==
[[File:Gwynneth.jpg|thumb|350px|''A map of southern Gwynneth, showing Caer Corwell on Corwell Firth.'']]
The city was located at the terminus of Corwell Firth, and was said to be the only usable harbor on the west coast of Gwynneth.<ref name="TRoS-ch1" /><ref name="FR2-p35">{{Cite book/Moonshae|35}}</ref> Just inland from the town were [[wheat]] fields, forests, and an open moorland. The castle hill was visible from a long way off, and in turn, Caer Corwell had a clear view of [[the Highlands]] to the north from atop the hill.<ref name="TRoS-ch11" /><ref name="FR2-p35" />

==Defenses==
The harbor was protected by the castle and by guard towers.<ref name="TRoS-ch1" /> The town could muster a militia of up to 100 [[fighter]]s wielding [[longbow]]s and [[sword]]s, while the castle garrison consisted of 200 [[soldier]]s.<ref name="M-p39">{{Cite book/Moonshae|39}}</ref>

==History==
Caer Corwell was said to be the original site where the ancestors of the Ffolk, led by a woman named [[Gwynneth (person)|Gwynneth]], first settled the Moonshaes in the {{YearlinkName|141}}.<ref name="FRCS3e-p149">{{Cite book/Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition|149}}</ref><ref name="Drag362">{{Cite dragon/362/Grand History of the Realms: The Moonshaes}}</ref> It was long thought of as the heart of the Moonshaes.<ref name="FRPG-p112">{{Cite book/Forgotten Realms Player's Guide|112}}</ref>

[[Elminster]] remarked in the early&ndash;14{{th}} century DR that the city's inns were fine, but he was largely unimpressed with the town itself.<ref name="FR2-p37/38" />

During the events of the [[Darkwalker War]] in the {{YearlinkName|1345}}, the beast [[Kazgaroth]] assumed the form of the [[Northlander]] king [[Thelgaar Ironhand]] and led and invasion of Caer Corwell. The ensuing [[Battle of Caer Corwell]] saw the death of King [[Bryon Kendrick]] and the overrun of the town. However, Prince [[Tristan Kendrick]] organized the survivors behind the walls of the castle, and a fortuitous intervention by [[The Pack]] broke the siege and saved the town.<ref name="FRA-p43">{{Cite book/The Forgotten Realms Atlas|43-45}}</ref>

The city was attacked again [[1346 DR|the next year]] by the armies of [[Bhaal]] in the [[Second Battle of Caer Corwell]]. Even with the help of allies among the Ffolk and Northmen, the town was quickly overrun, and was only saved when Bhaal was banished by the newly crowned High King Tristan wielding the ''[[Sword of Cymrych Hugh]]''.<ref name="FRA-p58">{{Cite book/The Forgotten Realms Atlas|58}}</ref>

Following the rise of [[Sarifal]] in the {{YearlinkName|1375}}, the great city fell into decline as the fey began to encroach on its holdings.<ref name="FRCG-p152"/><ref name="DunMag196-B:MI-p7">{{Cite dungeon/196/Backdrop: Moonshae Isles|7}}</ref><ref name="FRPG-p112">{{Cite book/Forgotten Realms Player's Guide|112}}</ref> After the [[United Moonshae Isles]] came into conflict with [[Amn]] over the island of [[Snowdown]] in the {{YearlinkName|1404}},{{AmnInSnowdown}} Amnian mercenaries subsequently put Corwell to the torch, creating the opportunity for High Lady [[Ordalf]] of Sarifal to declare that all humans were to be expelled from Gwynneth in the {{YearlinkName|1412}}.<ref name="Drag376-p60">{{Cite dragon/376/Realmslore: Sarifal|60}}</ref><ref group="note">[[Canon]] sources do not identify a date for the conflict that expelled the Ffolk from Caer Corwell. On one hand, ''[[The Rose of Sarifal]]'' implies that it was in [[1375 DR]], however this conflicts with other sources stating that it occurred at the start of the 1400s DR (see ''[[Dungeon magazine 196|Backdrop: Moonshae Islands]]'' and ''[[Dragon magazine 376|Realmslore: Sarifal]]''). Consistent with a later date, [[Brian R. James]] clarified in a [http://archive.today/2025.04.25-191356/https://x.com/brianrjames/status/1952723057 Tweet] that the year was [[1412 DR]].</ref> The fey subsequently laid siege to Caer Corwell, sinking all the ships in the port, putting to death any members of the Kendrick family, and [[slavery|enslaving]] or killing the inhabitants&mdash;including children&mdash;and hanging their bodies from the battlements.<ref name="TRoS-ch1" /><ref name="TRoS-ch3">{{Cite digital book/The Rose of Sarifal/Kindle||3}}</ref>

By the late 15{{th}} century [[DR]], human visitors still were not permitted on Gwynneth and the Caer Corwell was a ruin largely inhabited by [[beast]]s and [[unseelie fey]].<ref name="DunMag196-B:MI-p7" /><ref name="DunMag196-B:MI-p3">{{Cite dungeon/196/Backdrop: Moonshae Isles|3}}</ref> High Lady Ordalf of Sarifal also maintained a small and hidden prison beneath the ruins where she kept captives whom she intended either to have killed or to be simply forgotten.<ref name="TRoS-ch4">{{Cite digital book/The Rose of Sarifal/Kindle||4}}</ref>

In the late 1470s DR, Lord [[Aldon Kendrick]]&mdash;a cousin to the High King&mdash;strong-armed the crew of the ''[[Sphinx (ship)|Sphinx]]'' to take him to Caer Corwell on a mission to secure the loyalty of the [[Winterglen Claw]], a human rebel group. However, this was a trap laid by his rivals within his own family, who notified High Lady Ordalf of his arrival.<ref name="TRoS-ch1" />{{TRoS-time}}

As of the {{YearlinkName|1479}},{{4e-time}} High King [[Derid Kendrick]] of [[Callidyrr]] felt that it was a point of both pride and necessity to reestablish a foothold at his family's former seat. He was engaged in negotiations with [[Araithe|Ordalf's son]] to secure permission to establish an embassy at Caer Corwell.<ref name="DunMag196-B:MI-p7" /> However, High Lady Ordalf refused to allow this, and continued to do so through at least {{Yearlink|1489}}.<ref name="SCAG-p68">{{Cite book/Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide|68}}</ref>

==Notable Locations==
* [[The Boar's Tusk]]<ref name="IA" />
* The castle of [[Caer Corwell (castle)|Caer Corwell]]<ref name="IA" />
* [[Palace of the Moon|The Palace]] and [[Court of the Moon]]<ref name="TRoS-ch1" />
* [[The Red Stag]]<ref name="IA" />
* An old prison situated between the port and the terraces below the castle.<ref name="TRoS-ch11" />

==Inhabitants==
===Ffolk===
As of the mid&ndash;14{{th}} century DR, the Ffolk of Caer Corwell were prosperous.<ref name="DWoM-ch1">{{Cite digital book/Darkwalker on Moonshae||1}}</ref>

Notable inhabitants during this time included:
* Tristan Kendrick and his father's ward, [[Robyn Kendrick|Robyn]], who lived and had been raised within the castle walls.<ref name="DoM-p16" />
* [[Arlen]], captain of the guard.<ref name="DoM-p26">{{Cite book/Darkwalker on Moonshae/Paperback 1987|26}}</ref>
* [[Erian]], one of the royal guards.<ref name="DoM-p22">{{Cite book/Darkwalker on Moonshae/Paperback 1987|22}}</ref>

===Fey===
As of the late 15{{th}} century DR, the ruined town was home to scattered evil fey<ref name="DunMag196-B:MI-p7" /> as well as many [[bat]]s, [[bird]]s, and [[rat]]s.<ref name="TRoS-ch1" />

Notable inhabitants during this time included:
* [[Phillwyp|Phillwyp the Wary]], a [[gnome]] holed up in the old castle.<ref name="DunMag196-B:MI-p7" />
* [[Silver Silwyrt]], captain of [[Silver's Blades]], a band of fey pirates and slavers.<ref name="DunMag196-B:MI-p7" />

==Appendix==
===Notes===
{{Notes}}
===Appearances===
{{Appearances
|novels = ''[[Darkwalker on Moonshae]]'';''[[Black Wizards]]'';''[[Darkwell (novel)|Darkwell]]'';''[[The Rose of Sarifal]]''
|organized play = ''[[Dragon's Knowledge]]''
}}
===References===
{{Refs}}
===Connections===
{{Moonshae Isles}}
[[FR:Caer Corwell]]
[[Category:Capitals]]
[[Category:Small cities]]
[[Category:Settlements]]
[[Category:Locations in Corwell]]
[[Category:Locations on Gwynneth]]
[[Category:Locations in the Moonshae Isles]]
[[Category:Locations on the Sea of Swords]]
[[Category:Locations on Toril]]
[[Category:Locations on Corwell Road]]
[[Category:Locations in Sarifal]]