This section will list all the Laws of Waterdeep as well as give brief descriptions on the City Watch, Magistrates and the secretive Lords.

City Watch: One of two armed bodies maintained by the city from Castle Waterdeep, the Watch functions as a police force. Watchfolk dress in green, black, and gold uniforms. They are well trained and well equipped with leather armor, clubs, and short swords. They would rather talk problems over than use force of arms, but if fighting is required, they use horns to summon reinforcements.

City Guard: Like the City Watch, the Guard is headquartered in Castle Waterdeep. Unlike the Watch, the Guard is made up of professional soldiers responsible for defending the city, protecting the gates, and guarding important citizens and locations. Guards wear scale or chain shirts and carry short swords and shortbows.

Lords of Waterdeep: A council of sixteen members who keep their identities secret rules Waterdeep. The Lords appear in public only when masked and magically protected from divinations and other forms of magic. Piergeiron the Paladinson (LG male human Pal15 of Tyr), Warden of Waterdeep and Commander of the Watch, is the only Open Lord (unmasked), and his palace in the center of Castle Ward is the seat of government. Speculation on the identity of the other lords is a sporting pastime in Waterdeep. All that is certain is that they are competent and fair rulers, which is more than most cities could hope for, much less other cities whose rulers wear masks.

City Watch

Patrols pass along main streets once every hour, often changing their routes to throwoff would-be criminals. Dock Ward and known frequent-theft areas are patrolled more frequently as do known rough taverns and inns. Temple grounds are typically patrolled by their own clergy and largely left alone by the City Watch unless called upon.

All watch patrols carry at least one 'watch horn' which they can signal each other in times of need through various patterns. The watch horn can be used to:

• Summon watch reinforcements
• Summon City Guard aid
• Summon Watchful Order aid
• Summon "duty healers" (priests lent by various city temples)
• Proclaim that an alert or search is now ended
• Proclaim that someone has been found
• Warn fellow watch members away from a dangerous spot or delicate situation

City Watch have several Ranks, although to the laymen most use "watchmen" or "officer" for both genders and ranks.

Watch members actually hold these ranks, from lowest to highest:

• Blade (private or patrolman)
• Sword or "armar" (equivalent to a sergeant)
• Swordcaptain (patrol leader)
• Rorden (in charge of a watchpost or barracks, or either five or six patrols)
• Orsar (envoy to guilds, citizen groups, noble families; also serves as prisoner escorts and in honor guards)
• Guardsword (duty head for shifts patrolling the city docks and gates)
• Commander ("officer of the shift")
• Watchlord (the administrative and disciplinary heads of the watch, usually three or four officers who hold special titles personally bestowed on them by Piergeiron).

The Captain of the Watch holds sway over all of these.
"Civilar" is a term applied to all ranks from swordcaptains up through orsar.

Rank badges are as follows (all are encircled by an oval line sculpted into a rolling wave at the bottom and the peak of Mount Waterdeep at the top):

• Blade: diagonal slash (lower left to upper right)
• Sword: diagonal slash (upper left to lower right)
• Swordcaptain: X shape (crossed diagonal slashes)
• Rorden: horizontal dagger (hilt on left)
• Orsar: vertical open human right hand, fingers uppermost and palm showing
• Guardsword: two horizontal swords, upper one with hilt right, lower one with hilt left
• All higher ranks: two staring eyes, horizontal sword beneath them (hilt on left)

Known City Watch Officers

• Grand Captain of the Watch Piergeiron Paladinson (LG HM Pal15)
• Captain of the Watch Rulathon (LG HM F14)
• Grand Civilar Dherek Windsfire (½EM)
• Senior Armsmaster Helve Urtrace (LG HM F5/Exp5)
• 7 Ward Civilars (see below)
• Castle Ward Civilar Helm Maddryn (LN HM F13) (1357DR - present)
• City of the Dead Civilar Jessendra Ambrantyl (LN HF Exp8) (1368DR - present)
• Dock Ward Civilar Tychander (NG HM F9) (1369DR - present)
• North Ward Civilar Emmer Jundhyl (LG HM F10) (1365DR - present)
• Sea Ward Civilar Aluanen (N HM Aris2/F10) (1362DR - present)
• South Ward Civilar Talaver "Azure-Hand" (NG HM W2/F9) (1354DR - present)
• Trades Ward Civilar Uliphar Halstrynn (LG HM F9) (1332DR to present)

For more information on the City Watch visit Wizards of the Coast's articles here and here.

For descriptions on the 7 Ward Civilars click here.