Hey Folks
I'm going to be starting up a 5e campaign along the Sword Coast using the Starter Set's Lost Min adventure.
One of the things I've really liked about the Pathfinder paths is that they always include information about where the various classes and races might have originated so that you can work that into your backroad... So I'm wondering if anyone has create such a document for the lost mine of phandelvere or if anyh folks would be interested in working on such a document here in this thread.
So where are Dwarves, Elves, Halflings, and Gnomes likely to have been born and lived in the sword coast and the north? Where are barbarians likely from? Etc...
First, you'll want a map, for example
this one. Lost Mine of Phandelver takes place in the far northwest corner of that map, near Neverwinter.
Hill dwarves (gold dwarves) are rather uncommon in the North - their primary homeland is the Great Rift far to the southeast (about 2000 miles). Certainly, some could have reason to explore the world so far north, but they should be pretty rare.
Mountain dwarves (shield dwarves) are, on the other hand, fairly common. There are a few mighty citadels in the Spine of the World to the north, and many shield dwarves have settled in mostly-human cities like Neverwinter, Waterdeep, Silverymoon and the like.
High elves come in two flavors in the Realms. Moon elves are the most common, with pale skin and silver-white, black, or blue hair. They are fairly common in the North, with a sizable number living in the High Forest and others in the realm of Evereska a bit to the south (near the south-west corner of Anauroch). There are also many living more-or-less integrated into human cities, just like the shield dwarves. Sun elves are more rare, with bronze skin and blond, black, or copper hair. You'll find these too in Evereska and in Silverymoon, but less commonly in other human societies. Many sun elves emigrated to the elven realm of Evermeet, an island some distance west of mainland Faerûn, and some are now returning for various reasons.
Wood elves nearby mostly come from the High Forest. They're not as well-integrated into human society as moon and sun elves are.
Forest gnomes are fairly rare in the Realms, and very reclusive. They could be found in small numbers in any forested area, but the place where they're most likely to be found is the Great Dale, far to the east.
Rock gnomes also show up here and there, but the closest actual gnome societies can be found in the Western Heartlands, along the Winding Water and River Chionthar (both reaching the sea near Baldur's Gate).
Lightfoot halflings can be found all over the place, mostly alongside humans.
Stout halflings (strongheart halflings) haven't ranged as far from the ancient halfling homeland Luiren as their lightfood cousins have, so are not so common up north.
Orcs are common in the North, which means there are a fair amount of half-orcs as well.
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Human (and half-human) barbarians from the North are probably Illuskans, which are basically Vikings. They live all over the North. Dwarf barbarians are likely battleragers from one of the dwarven citadels. Other races feel a bit odd as barbarians, though I could see wood elf barbarians being all painted up and stuff.
Monks are not so common in the region - what few there are probably come from Silverymoon, though elven monks bending elements makes perfect sense.
Other classes could generally come from all over.
