Forgotten Realms Wiki
Advertisement
Forgotten Realms Wiki

The River Surbrin[note 1] was a river in the Silver Marches[2] and Savage Frontier.[1][3] The land around it was known as the Surbrin Valley.[4]

Geography[]

It flowed from the glaciers of the Endless Ice Sea[1] and the Spine of the World, after which it was joined by the River Rauvin, and later the Goblintide River, the Laughingflow, and Horn Stream. The River Surbrin then fed into the River Dessarin.[2][1][5]

The River Surbrin flowed only a few miles to the south and east of Mithral Hall, [6][7] north to south along the eastern edge of the Spine of the World.[8] In the Underdark, the drow city of Menzoberranzan lay below the Surbrin at one point along its length.[9]

Description[]

Downstream of Silverymoon, the river was generally around 60​ to ​70 feet (18​ to ​21 meters) in breadth, sometimes reaching about 80 feet (24 meters) and rarely 90 feet (27 meters). It flowed swiftly and steadily through hard rock and was scoured by boulders, so the riverbed was largely stones and pebbles and it had very little in the way of meandering curves, oxbows, sandbars, or backswamps.[10]

Given their glacial origin, the waters of the Surbrin could be somewhat icy, though they were a little warmer by the time they flowed into the Dessarin. The river was navigable as far north as where it was met by the Rauvin,[1][11] though it was possible with a small boat and lot of luck to continue up the Surbrin almost to its headwaters and up the Rauvin as far as Dead Orc Pass.[5][11] The upper reaches of the Surbrin river valley, however, were still considered remote and quite hazardous.[12][13]

In the spring, there was terrific flooding of the land around the junction of the Surbrin and Laughingflow, though the settlement at Mornbryn's Shield there was protected by the namesake ridge.[11]

Trade[]

It was not uncommon for merchants to take a barge up the Surbrin to Mornbryn's Shield to load their holds with Shield moss. There was heated competition for it, and they paid 50 to 75 gp for a bargeful.[12][14]

Notable Locations[]

The town of Nesmé sat on the eastern side of the River Surbrin, with a large fortified bridge across it to the stronghold of the Riders of Nesmé.[1][15][16][12][17][11][18]

The hamlet of Mornbryn's Shield lay on the north bank where the Surbrin was met by the Laughingflow.[11]

Further south, the town of Yartar stood at the confluence of the Surbrin and Dessarin rivers; it too had a bridge over the Surbrin. Its people fished the Surbrin, Dessarin, and Laughingflow (which they called "the Three Rivers").[1][19][20][21][11][22]

History[]

The Harpell family of Longsaddle finished building a new bridge over the Surbrin, permitting trade north of Nesmé to Silverymoon in the Year of the Gauntlet, 1369 DR.[23]

Honor Among Thieves Surbrin

A rocky tributary of the Surbrin beside the Evermoors.

In the late 1490s DR,[note 2] the thieves Edgin Darvis, Holga Kilgore, Simon Aumar, and Doric crossed a rocky tributary of the River Surbrin in a marshy area on their way to the Evermoors cemetery.[24][note 3]

Appendix[]

See Also[]

Notes[]

  1. On the map on page 174 of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition, a portion of this river is labeled the "River Surbin"'. This is believed to be a typo, as the vast majority of other sources refer to it as the "River Surbrin".
  2. The Honor Among Thieves movie and its tie-ins are as yet undated. As discussed here, from the condition of Castle Never and Dagult Neverember's reign, this wiki estimates a date of the late 1490s DR for the main events of the movie. Prequels and flashback scenes are set up to 11 years before this.
  3. As shown in the image, this location is unidentified in Honor Among Thieves but it is marked on the Monopoly Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Movie Edition Board Game. It is much too narrow and rocky where the Surbrin should be wide and navigable, so it is presumed to be a tributary instead.

Appearances[]

Film & Television

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Jennell Jaquays (1988). The Savage Frontier. (TSR, Inc), pp. 46, 47, 48. ISBN 0-88038-593-6.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 174. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Christopher Perkins, et al. (September 2016). Storm King's Thunder. Edited by Kim Mohan, Michele Carter. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 74. ISBN 978-0-7869-6600-4.
  4. Ed Greenwood (1993). Volo's Guide to the North. (TSR, Inc), p. 164. ISBN 1-5607-6678-6.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Ed Greenwood and Steven E. Schend (July 1994). “Campaign Guide”. City of Splendors (TSR, Inc), p. 13. ISBN 0-5607-6868-1.
  6. slade, et al. (April 1996). “The Wilderness”. In James Butler ed. The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier (TSR, Inc.), p. 12. ISBN 0-7869-0391-0.
  7. R.A. Salvatore (July 2003). The Thousand Orcs. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 79. ISBN 978-0786929801.
  8. R.A. Salvatore (July 2003). The Thousand Orcs. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 267. ISBN 978-0786929801.
  9. Eric L. Boyd (November 1999). Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark. Edited by Jeff Quick. (TSR, Inc.), p. 61. ISBN 0-7869-1509-9.
  10. Ed Greenwood (2006-04-04). So Saith Ed (Answers from Ed Greenwood) Apr - Jun 2006. Candlekeep.com. Archived from the original on 2006-10-28. Retrieved on 2023-01-29.
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 Ed Greenwood (1993). Volo's Guide to the North. (TSR, Inc), p. 12. ISBN 1-5607-6678-6.
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Template:Cite book/The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier/Cities & Civilizations
  13. Ed Greenwood (1993). Volo's Guide to the North. (TSR, Inc), p. 69. ISBN 1-5607-6678-6.
  14. Ed Greenwood (1993). Volo's Guide to the North. (TSR, Inc), pp. 64–65. ISBN 1-5607-6678-6.
  15. Jennell Jaquays (1988). The Savage Frontier. (TSR, Inc), p. 31. ISBN 0-88038-593-6.
  16. Ed Greenwood (1993). Volo's Guide to the North. (TSR, Inc), p. 71. ISBN 1-5607-6678-6.
  17. Ed Greenwood and Steven E. Schend (July 1994). “Campaign Guide”. City of Splendors (TSR, Inc), p. 20. ISBN 0-5607-6868-1.
  18. Ed Greenwood (1993). Volo's Guide to the North. (TSR, Inc), p. 71. ISBN 1-5607-6678-6.
  19. Jennell Jaquays (1988). The Savage Frontier. (TSR, Inc), p. 34. ISBN 0-88038-593-6.
  20. Richard Baker, et al. (April 2015). Princes of the Apocalypse. Edited by Michele Carter, Stacy Janssen. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 16. ISBN 978-0-7869-6578-6.
  21. Ed Greenwood and Steven E. Schend (July 1994). “Campaign Guide”. City of Splendors (TSR, Inc), p. 24. ISBN 0-5607-6868-1.
  22. Ed Greenwood (1993). Volo's Guide to the North. (TSR, Inc), p. 93. ISBN 1-5607-6678-6.
  23. slade, et al. (April 1996). “The Wilderness”. In James Butler ed. The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier (TSR, Inc.), p. 12. ISBN 0-7869-0391-0.
  24. Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley (2023). Honor Among Thieves. (Paramount Pictures).
Advertisement