Baldur's Gate Gazetteer

T HE B ALDUR ’ S G ATE G AZETTEER
Even the most hardened adventurers watch their generation, though, the gate became synonymous with
steps in Baldur’s Gate, where lives hold prices in the community, and the settlement known as Baldur’s
copper and greed proves deadlier than dragon fire. Gate began appearing on maps of the Sword Coast.
Baldur’s Gate has a reputation for being a rough The city’s surprising growth attracted all manner of
place, where crime and opportunity walk hand in hand, people. Peasants affected by raiding and war, farmers
and where anything can be bought, sold, or seized at rendered penniless by famine and drought, pirates
swordpoint. If something can be given a price, it’s for seeking a neutral port—all types saw a chance to put
sale somewhere in Baldur’s Gate. Drugs and poisons their mark on the rapidly growing community.
sit on shelves alongside tinctures and remedies.
Trade goods from Chult, mechanical wonders from
Neverwinter, tomes of magic from Calimshan, and the O RDER IN B ALDUR ’ S G ATE
most believable counterfeits of each can all be found in
As the city swelled, questions of law and taxation arose.
the city’s stalls.
The community’s eldest families—largely those wealthy
The Flaming Fist, a mercenary company paid for
enough to afford homes within the city walls—came
by the city, protects residents without the barest
to be known as patriars and grew wary of the influx
hint of civil delicacy. The Watch, the guardian force
of strangers settling beyond their walls. The creation
of the wealthy Upper City, exists only to serve the
of various additional taxes on trade and travel led to
patriars—the city’s detached upper class. Meanwhile,
violence breaking out between the Upper City—behind
crime flourishes under the control of the Guild, which
the original walls of Gray Harbor—and the Lower City,
oversees almost every organized criminal act, from
built on the slopes leading down to the Chionthar
dockside gambling rings to blackmail at patriar
River. Patriar houses were ransacked, family heirlooms
garden parties. Either under the Guild’s auspices
were lost forever, and heirs were kidnapped, never
or in defiance of them, those who cut purses or throats
to be seen again. Gold flowed like blood as families
make a decent living in the city, their talents traded
and guilds hired mercenaries to protect them. Only
as briskly—and often just as openly—as those of any
the election of a new group of rulers—known as the
other professional.
dukes and, collectively, as the Council of Four—put the
For all its shadows and dark dealings, Baldur’s Gate
matter to rest. These elected rulers have been a part of
is not without its lights. Some residents earnestly seek
the city’s governance ever since.
to make the city a safer place by banding together to
Another pillar of order in Baldur’s Gate formed when
make their own sort of imperfect but effective justice.
the adventurer Eltan, a noted warrior raised in the
area, returned home from exploits abroad. Seeing the
chaos that had splintered his beloved city, Eltan united
H ISTORY OF B ALDUR ’ S G ATE the city’s independent mercenary companies under
Since its beginning as a quiet backwater community, a single banner, that of the Flaming Fist. Eltan used
Baldur’s Gate has undergone a dramatic transforma- the mercenaries to quash what pockets of disorder he
tion, becoming the hub of danger and adventure it is found, punishing lawbreakers for their crimes. Though
today. plenty of theft, blackmail, and assassination continued
behind closed doors, the founding of the Flaming Fist
marked a new chapter in the city’s story.
F OUNDING B ALDUR ’ S G ATE
Centuries ago, the hero Balduran spent years questing
B HAAL S PAWN
in lands across the Sea of Swords and beyond. When
finally he returned to his village of Gray Harbor, Over the years, Baldur’s Gate has harbored countless
he brought fantastic wealth with him, much of evil schemes and conspiracies. Perhaps the most
which he gifted to friends and family. These boons dastardly, though, was that perpetrated by Bhaal, god
greatly improved Gray Harbor’s fortunes, launching of murder, who foresaw his own death during the Time
businesses, expanding its docks, and seeing the of Troubles.
creation of a defensive wall around the town. In honor While in mortal form, Bhaal conceived multitudes of
of their heroic patron, the citizens came to call one offspring, plotting to have them resurrect him. They
of their new wall’s passages Baldur’s Gate. Within a actively hunted and slew each other, with the survivors
T HE B ALDUR ’ S G ATE G AZETTEER 1
collecting ever more of Bhaal’s godly essence.
BALDUR’S GATE AND I TS COAT OF ARMS
Sarevok, a Bhaalspawn and member of the Iron
Throne merchants’ guild, sought to spark war with Population: 125,000 (predominantly humans)
Government: Plutocracy, helmed by the Council of Four and
the nation of Amn and become the new Lord of
Parliament of Peers
Murder. Another Bhaalspawn, aided by powerful allies,
Defense: Flaming Fist mercenaries, the Watch
thwarted Sarevok’s plan and brought stability, if not Commerce: Dyes, fish, imports from Chult, mercenaries, nautical
peace, to Baldur’s Gate once more. Yet, Bhaal and his supplies
faithful have menaced the city ever since. Organizations: The Guild, neighborhood crews, trade guilds
Religions: Gond, Tymora, Umberlee, any other law-abiding faith,
cults of the Dead Three
The Baldur’s Gate coat of arms represents the city’s role as

a hub for river and ocean trade as well as nodding toward its
namesake, the explorer Balduran. The symbol originated as
B ALDUR ’ S G ATE T ODAY a pirate emblem, though, and its components hold a double
meaning today.
Originally, the alternating bands of water beneath the ship
The original wall ringing the Upper City still stands, indicated the turbulent dangers of the sea, but also the rich
and a second defensive wall now rings the Lower City. rewards it can bring. The crimson flags of the ship referenced the
brutal life of a pirate, blood spilled on the deck or in the water.
The Outer City, a collection of hastily made structures
The crisscrossing ropes and canted sail symbolized the web of
and shantytowns, runs along the River Chionthar.
secrets and intrigue that mark a pirate captain’s life.
While the Outer City might seem the most lawless,
Today, some optimistic souls try to recast the seal, claiming its
every district of Baldur’s Gate has its own threats.
calm waters represent the city’s desire to remain a peaceful
In the Upper City, patriar families and government
power and the clear skies symbolize a prosperous future.
officials jostle to secure their positions. Many are
But those who know the city’s history see the cunning and
not above using private agents to acquire blackmail
violence underpinning the emblem. For many, the contradictory
material, sabotage public appearances, or even frame
interpretations make the city’s coat of arms all the more fitting.
innocents to secure power. The victims of these plots,
and officials who want a fair and honest legal system,
must resort to hiring their own agents to unearth the dangerous—sometimes outright evil—religious
conspiracies, break out unfairly imprisoned citizens, practices observed in the Outer City. As a result,
and obtain evidence the Flaming Fist cannot. Baldur’s Gate has widely adopted a “do no harm”
The Upper City’s political intrigues and the Outer policy when it comes to faiths and organizations
City’s violence spills over into the Lower City, the operating in the city.
city’s middle ground. Rampant crime, class grudges, Any group is welcome to operate openly so long as the
foreign threats, and economic pressures leave city’s important citizens aren’t harmed.
many Baldurians feeling trapped within their own Beyond all its dangers, Baldur’s Gate is an
homes. Flaming Fist patrols react to threats with adventurer’s city, a place where a sword-for-hire can
indiscriminate violence, doing little to make citizens find a rich patron, join a secret guild, stalk killers for a
feel safer. As a result, in recent years many citizens bounty, or come to the aid of desperate citizens. Good-
have started banding together in crews. These counter- hearted champions fight against corruption and bring
gangs align along professional or neighborhood murderers to justice, while less moral mercenaries
affiliations, doing their best to protect their territories. find a good price for their services. The city offers
While this has given some of the city’s people a way of opportunities as well as the most reliable and ruthless
feeling more in control of their lives, it’s also increased market on the Sword Coast. Information, treasures,
the number of armed citizens on the streets. Whether secrets, and souls can be bought or sold for the right
the Lower City is actually safer after the formation of price.
crews remains an open question. As a great hero of Baldur’s Gate once said, “Watch
In the Outer City, all the world washes against the your step in the shadows. Watch your back in the light.
city’s gates. Here crime and poverty are contrasted Win a prize beyond your wildest dreams or disappear
by wonders from afar and the riches of cultures into forgotten history. Every day your life is on the
across Faerûn. The mix of wanderers and refugees line. Every day you could become a legend. Welcome to
remains in constant flux, with communities forming Baldur’s Gate.”
and disbanding on a monthly basis. None can possibly
keep track of all the foreign traditions or
2 T HE B ALDUR ’ S G ATE G AZETTEER

N EIGHBORS , R IVALS , AND A LLIES Whenever Baldur’s Gate has tried to seize too much
territory in Elturgard’s eyes, Elturel has responded by
Other cities and nations keep a watchful eye on imposing a heavy tax on shipments headed downriver.
Baldur’s Gate, which is growing in wealth, power, This sort of economic brinkmanship coupled with
and influence. radically different religious viewpoints has created bad
Baldur’s Gate trades with the coastal cities of blood between the two cities, though neither city has
Waterdeep and Neverwinter to the north while been eager to test the military might of the other.
contending with the aggressive mercantile nation
of Amn to the south. Amn seeks to dominate trade
P OR T N YANZARU
on the Sea of Swords and views Baldur’s Gate as
a growing threat. Baldur’s Gate joined the Lords’ Baldur’s Gate serves as one of the main ports from
Alliance, a coalition of independent cities that includes which ships depart for Chult, a peninsula far to the
Neverwinter and Waterdeep, largely because of south. Port Nyanzaru, located on the northern coast
disputes with Amn. Should Amn decide to attack of Chult, enjoys a respectful and mutually beneficial
Baldur’s Gate, the city can count on the other trade relationship with Baldur’s Gate, and both cities
members of the Lords’ Alliance to come to its defense. are united in their dislike for the nation of Amn.
This arrangement infuriates Amn, which is not Outside of Port Nyanzaru, Baldur’s Gate maintains
prepared to test the alliance’s resolve. its own holdings in Chult. Fort Beluarian serves as
To the east, the nations of Elturgard and Cormyr a beachhead for the interests of the city, the Flaming
view Baldur’s Gate as a lawless cesspool that might Fist, and numerous patriar families in Chult. This
have to be dealt with someday. These nations small military hub oversees much of the exploration
especially frown on the city’s broad religious tolerance. (and exploitation) in regions of Chult claimed by
Baldur’s Gate. It also serves as a departure point
for smuggling the region’s treasures back to the Sword
C ANDLE K EEP
Coast, as well as other ventures the Baldurians would
To enter the great library of Candlekeep, one must prefer the native Chultans don’t learn about. As a
furnish the library’s monks with a book not already result, rarities from the depths of Chult, seen nowhere
contained in the library’s archives. Travelers on else on the Sword Coast, regularly trickle into the port
the way to Candlekeep often stop in Baldur’s Gate, and market stalls of Baldur’s Gate.
anticipating that they can find such a book in the The sea routes between Baldur’s Gate and Chult
city’s markets. As such, Baldur’s Gate does a small are far from safe. Pirates, Amnian privateers, and sea
but bustling trade in rare books. Several merchants monsters are common in these waters.
have a known policy of buying valuable books without
question, selling them at a high markup. Travelers
seeking a specific book also hire mercenaries or G OVERNMENT
adventurers to venture into dungeons or ruins and
bring back the prize. The Parliament of Peers, a group mainly composed of
If information can’t be found in the whisper-markets nearly fifty patriar members, makes recommendations
of Baldur’s Gate, then Candlekeep becomes a logical on issues of law and governance. Once the parliament
next stop. Adventurers are sometimes hired to guard comes to a majority decision on a matter, usually after
a desperate traveler on the road south, or to guard the much heated debate, it presents its position to the
outrageously rare tomes scholars might carry to gain Council of Four. Three dukes and one grand duke
admission. The Guild knows the signs of a traveler make up this ruling council. The council also votes on
headed for Candlekeep, and often dispatches robbers matters, and in the case of a tie, the grand duke’s vote
to steal books and resell them to the merchants of the counts as two.
city. Common belief holds that many parliament
members, and possibly one or more of the dukes,
can be bribed for their votes. Corrupt parliament
E LTUREL
members don’t wish to be caught taking payments,
The holy city of Elturel—the capital of Elturgard—sits usually not out of fear of legal reprisal, but of being
upriver on the Chionthar. Whereas Baldur’s Gate is perceived as incompetent among their peers. The
a cutthroat city policed by mercenaries, Elturel is perception is that one who can’t be trusted to receive
a lawful city of pious folk watched over by knights something as simple as a bribe likely can’t be trusted
of Helm, Torm, Tyr, and Lathander. The two cities to manipulate the city’s intricate social web. Such
couldn’t be less alike. leads to the common farce of officials buying cheap
jewelry or fake art objects with their bribe money speech. Given her current situation, Duke Stelmane is
(usually in the form of platinum coins or jewels) hidden in no position to oppose attempts by her fellow dukes
inside. to seize the reins of power in Baldur’s Gate.
C OUNCIL OF F OUR D UKE D ILLARD P OR TYR

Comprised of four dukes, the Council of Four presides Duke Dillard Portyr was once a respected business-
over the government of Baldur’s Gate. Though the man, but after a string of sour deals, he pulled back
Parliament of Peers and the patriars hold a great deal from his investments. Now he uses his time to enjoy
of power, the Council of Four is the ultimate authority. the comforts that his wealth and title provide him. He
It convenes in High Hall, a fortress in the middle of the lives alone in his manor, having outlived his two wives
Upper City, and controls the Flaming Fist, the navy, and three sons, and trades correspondence with his
the tax collectors, and all public utilities, among other niece, Liara Portyr, who commands a Flaming Fist
things. outpost on Chult known as Fort Beluarian.
Duke Portyr is conflict-averse and goes out of his
way to avoid stress. He shows well in social situations,
G RAND D UKE U LDER R AVENGARD but is easily manipulated in the political arena. He is
Ulder Ravengard is a fearless soldier who rose up known for listening with concern, showing an earnest
through the ranks of the Flaming Fist to become desire to help, making promises to look into things,
its supreme marshal. Ravengard used his military and then doing nothing. As a result, a great deal of
position and influence to secure for himself a seat the citizenry’s scorn lies heaped upon Duke Portyr’s
on the Council of Four. Following the deaths of two shoulders.
council members amid a cloud of corruption and Duke Portyr expressed concern about Ravengard’s
scandal, he persuaded the Parliament of Peers to back diplomatic mission to Elturel, fearing what the
his election to grand duke. Flaming Fist might do while Ravengard is away. If
Upon ascending to the highest position in the his worst fears come true and the Flaming Fist can’t
city government, Ravengard refused to relinquish control itself, Duke Portyr plans to write a letter to his
command of the Flaming Fist, making him the most niece, urging her to return to Baldur’s Gate and take
powerful figure in the city by far. This decision has command of the Flaming Fist in Ravengard’s absence.
not endeared him to anyone, but Ravengard could It’s literally the least he can do.
care less about his popularity. His only concerns are
the stability and prosperity of Baldur’s Gate, and he D UKE T HALMAMRA VANTHAMPUR
doesn’t trust any of the other dukes or anyone in the
Parliament of Peers to put the city’s interests before Acid-tongued, shrewd, and aggressive, Duke Thalamra
their own. Vanthampur is the matriarch of the Vanthampur
Ravengard rose to grand duke on a platform largely family. Born with nothing, she spent years wallowing
backed by idealistic commoners and enemies of the in obscurity, repairing and renovating the city’s ancient
other established dukes. While he won election handily, sewer system. One promotion after another followed
Ravengard has struggled in performing his duties, until she was named Master of Drains and Underways.
finding his hands tied at every turn by both overt and By then, she had been married three times and given
invisible bureaucracy. Despite this, he’s been a voice of birth to three sons. Her lifelong goal has been to lift
reason and common sense on the Council of Four—if herself and her family out of the sewers and into high
not the egalitarianism some hoped. He’s also proven society.
largely resistant to scandal and corruption, though Years of political dealing, blame shuffling, and
many of his fellow dukes and those in the Parliament bribery paid off when Thalamra was elected to
of Peers still regularly outmaneuver him politically. the Council of Four. Although she has served on
One of his only obvious pleasures remains the surprise the council for the shortest amount of time, Duke
inspections he regularly visits upon the troops at Vanthampur is easily the most politically savvy council
Wyrm’s Rock. member. She speaks little during meetings of the
council, preferring to further her political agenda
through meetings in her private offices and at her
D UKE B ELYNNE S TELMANE
family estate. When she does choose to debate, she
Once a vigorous and formidable politician, Duke speaks with a strength beyond what it seems like her
Belynne Stelmane recently suffered a seizure that age should allow, and is known for leveling insults that
left her with a partially paralyzed face and slowed land unsettlingly close to (supposedly) hidden truths.

M ILITARY might get away with a fine paid by a parent, whereas a
commoner committing the same crime may be jailed or
Baldur’s Gate boasts two military forces: the Flaming publicly flogged.
Fist and the Watch. Both the Watch and the Flaming Fist have the right
to dispense immediate justice, should they witness
T HE F LAMING F IST a crime in progress. In unclear situations, or when a
person of influence is involved, the accused is jailed
The red and gold symbol of the Flaming Fist mercenary until a trial can be set. Patriars and other powerful
company has become emblematic of Baldur’s Gate. The individuals are usually placed under house arrest,
Council of Four funds the Flaming Fist, supporting it except in dire circumstances. Commoners await their
as the city’s army. Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard is trial in jail. On occasion, a vigilante or hired mercenary
now its undisputed leader. will break an accused commoner out of prison in order
The Flaming Fist largely patrols the Lower to ensure the accused’s safety until the trial date.
City though it holds nominal authority over the Outer Minor crimes, such as creating a public disturbance,
City as well. The company has enough to do petty theft, or vandalism carry commensurate
maintaining order within the city walls without punishments. Time in the stocks, public humiliation,
straying too far from its gates, though the Fist has or a fine are the usual judgments. Some patriar
been known to hire independent agents when its ranks families consider petty crimes to be worse than major
are spread thin. ones—they are a sign that one can’t manage one’s
Thousands of soldiers currently serve in the Flaming baser instincts. Patriars have been known to pay
Fist: in Baldur’s Gate proper, at the fortress of Wyrm’s huge bribes or promise outsized favors to protect a
Rock on the Chionthar River, and at remote outposts rebellious heir from being charged with a minor crime.
such as Fort Beluarian in Chult. The Flaming Fist Lawyers must belong to the Barrister’s Guild to
offers employment and a sense of belonging to any who practice, and the associated fees means they prefer to
can lift a sword and follow orders. Native Baldurians, represent wealthy clients. Poorer citizens often must
immigrants, former criminals, and retired adventurers throw themselves on the mercy of the courts, or scrape
can all be found within the company’s ranks. together what coin they can to hire an adventurer or
mercenary to find evidence to support their plea.
T HE WATCH
Watch officers can spend their entire careers within the NOTEWORTHY LAWS
Upper City. Bankrolled by the patriars, the Watch has Of the city’s nuanced and unreliably enforced laws, the following
tend to be the most surprising to newcomers.
a reputation as glorified bodyguards for the city’s elite.
Foreign Agents. While traders and visitors to Baldur’s Gate
Orderly and regimented, the Watch maintains
are always welcome, spies and saboteurs are not. Legitimate
precise, predictable patrols. At dusk, the Watch
foreign agents, such as ambassadors, are required to report to
clears the Upper City of everyone but residents,
the High Hall for an elaborate series of interviews and licenses.
their household staffs, and guests bearing written
Visitors technically should do the same, but the law is rarely
invitations. Many Watch officers, born and raised in
mentioned at the city’s gates and even more rarely enforced.
the city, pride themselves on recognizing every Upper
What distinguishes a visitor and a foreign agent can be unclear,
City resident on sight.
and if an individual doesn’t have a license marking them as
The Watch operates out of the Citadel, a massive
one or the other, any duke or peer can unilaterally change a
keep built into the Upper City’s walls. In times of
non-citizen’s status, effectively sentencing them to imprisonment
crisis, bells at the High Hall and the Citadel are rung
or worse. Livestock Restriction. By tradition, Baldur’s Gate
simultaneously. If the pealing continues for more than
bans animals larger than a peacock within the city walls. Visitors
a few minutes, every Watch member is required to rally
determined not to surrender their beloved pets (or valuable
at the Citadel or appointed guard posts. The function
animals they intend to sell) sometimes arrive at the city with
of the bells is common knowledge.
large peacocks in tow, to prove their furred companion meets
the legal requirement. This has led to a burgeoning, noisy, and
L AW AND O RDER particularly cutthroat peacock-breeding industry in the Outer City.
Most travelers pay to stable oversize animals, either in Outer City
Everyone in Baldur’s Gate is expected to hew to liveries or at ranches outside the city. Some animals are simply
common law. Murder, theft, assault, blackmail, and surrendered at the gate, though, becoming property of the Watch
fraud all carry severe penalties. Patriars, the wealthy, (in the Upper City) or the Flaming Fist (in the Lower City), or
and the well-connected are given much more leniency sold during monthly auctions.
than commoners. A noble heir who steals from a shop
C ITIZENRY PROMINENT PATRIAR FAMILIES
Below are the names of and a few details about many of the
other patriar families in the city.
Belt owns horses for sale and exchange.
Bormul is related to the Bormul nobility in Amn and has
interests in southern silver mines and vineyards.
The citizens of Baldur’s Gate include many races and Caldwell owns most of the city’s art museums.
Dlusker is nearly broke but maintains a textile mill in the Lower
ethnicities. Though prejudices can exist among certain
City and a few slaughterhouses in the Outer City.
residents, Baldur’s Gate as a whole is a diverse and
Durinbold is related to Waterdeep nobility and owns large sheep
unprejudiced—if not welcoming—city. herds.
Many of the patriar families of Baldur’s Gate Eltan has an ancestral link to the grand duke who formed the
can trace their lineage back for generations, but a Flaming Fist, but sold its interests in the mercenary company to
significant portion of Baldurians were not born in pay debts.
the city. Most citizens began their lives in Tethyr, the Eomane owns the most elite perfumery in Baldur’s Gate as well
North, the Western Heartlands, or other communities as fish- and whale-oil processors that make lamp oil.
along the Sword Coast. Baldurians born in Amn, the Gist controls much of the city’s dye production.
High Forest, and nations bordering the Inner Sea are Guthmere owns butchery and tannery facilities.
less common, but still present. Rarely, travelers from Hhune has ties to Tethyr nobility and the Knights of the Shield,
as well as holdings in other major cities.
as far away as Chult, Mulhorand, or Luiren decide to
Hlath owns several cafes in the city and is awash in gambling
follow the flow of trade and settle in the city.
debts.
Hullhollyn owns a merchant fleet and has a trade truce with the
Irlentree family.
Irlentree owns a merchant fleet, has a trade truce with the
Hullhollyn family, and has membership in the Merchants’ League.
Jannath owns tin and copper mines.
Jhasso is part owner of the struggling Seven Suns Trading
Coster, a long-standing trade organization.
Linnacker collects income from gem mines in Tethyr.
Miyar supplies and repairs wagons and caravans, and has
membership in the Merchants’ League.
Nurthammas invests in businesses involved in supplying ships for
long voyages.
Oathoon imports wine and spirits.
Oberon owns most of the port’s dry docks.
Provoss is nearly destitute after losses to its cattle herds.
Ravenshade trades in inks, dyes, gems, and jewelry.
Redlocks has secretly financed piracy and smuggling for a long
time.
Rillyn runs a sword-wielkding school, creating new generations of
soldiers, mercenaries, and legbreakers.
Sashenstar owns shipping, mining, and textile operations, and
has membership in the Merchants’ League.
Shattershield, a family of shield dwarves, is the only nonhuman
family among the patriars and was instrumental in building the
C OMMONERS AND C REWS city’s original walls.
Tillerturn owns and leases out many buildings in the city.
Vammas controls the majority of trade from Chult.
Vannath fled the city of Neverwinter after the eruption of Mount
Hotenow and married into the patriars to elevate their status.
Vanthampur specializes in civic engineering under the purview of
Baldur’s Gate can be a rough place for ordinary
family matriarch Duke Thalamra Vanthampur.
folk. Among the twisting streets of the Lower City,
Whitburn owns the slate quarry east of the city.
commoners have significantly fewer rights than
patriars, with only the brusque mercenaries of the
Flaming Fist to keep them safe. Even worse off are the eager to punish criminal behavior by drubbing both
poor residents of the Outer City, many of whom aren’t accuser and accused, it’s important that common folk
recognized as citizens. With the Flaming Fist too have someone to watch their backs. That’s why the

people of Baldur’s Gate created crews—collections P ATRIARS
of likeminded folk who band together for mutual
protection. Depending on the crew, this protection Patriars are the elite upper class of the city, a
can range from taking someone’s side in a tavern brawl rank defined largely by money and lines of vague,
or guarding each other’s shops to price fixing or inter- increasingly inconsequential heritage. Many nobles
crew loans. claim generations of lineage, dating to the earliest days
Crews were the first to institute the common practice of Baldur’s Gate. Their money funds industries and
of burl. Under this system, anyone seeking shelter lines political pockets, but their names allow them to
and safety—usually those fleeing from the Flaming wield influence throughout the city.
Fist or some other danger—can approach a house Some patriars are economically-minded individuals
or shop and give three sharp knocks followed by a who rise early and spend their days in meetings and
heavier one. The residents are then obligated to take negotiations. They fund expeditions into dangerous
that person in and hide them. This applies even to locales and hire explorers to map uncharted territories.
members of opposing crews, though anyone requesting Other patriars manipulate the city’s power players
sanctuary from a crew other than their own incurs through diplomacy and intrigue. They spend their
a debt, both personally and on behalf of their crew. days flitting from theater performances to private balls,
Abusing someone who’s granted burl is grounds while quietly making and breaking the alliances that
for immediate expulsion from one’s crew, and such underwrite the city’s structures.
“drowners” are universally shunned. Patriars live and work in the Upper City. Their
The dozens of crews calling Baldur’s Gate home manor homes employ dozens of servants, along with
are as different in attitude and approach as the contingents of personal guards. The wall surrounding
city’s residents. For instance, everyone in the Lower the Upper City as well as the constant presence of the
City knows that if you need cheap muscle, you hire Watch—which exclusively patrols that district—goes far
members of the burly Porters’ Union or Stonemasons’ toward assuring their security. As a side effect, it also
Guild, and not even the Flaming Fist would willingly means many patriars go months without engaging with
pick a fight with the blood-spattered Butchers’ Block the city’s common folk, their insulation leading to the
or the mercenaries and “security consultants” of the spread of divisive rumors.
Bannerless Legion. Other crews, such as the Scribes Patriars know the danger of the other districts, where
and Sages or the Honorable Order of Moneylenders, their wealth is a lure and their names carry no weight.
would never dream of getting their hands dirty, while Patriars who have to travel the Lower City always do so
the Apothecary Alliance and Brethren of Barbers don’t with guards, and still risk robbery or worse violence.
need to throw a punch to strike fear into rivals. From Many patriar families hire proxies to carry out
carpenters to grocers, the Forgeworkers’ Lodge to the their business in the Lower City or Outer City. If
Wisewoman Weavers, nearly every profession offers circumstances force patriars to visit the Outer City
some access to a crew. And not just legal professions, personally, they typically travel in disguise, paying
either; the Revelers’ Union, made up of night-workers adventurers or mercenaries to protect them without
who sell drugs, companionship, and other recreations, drawing the attention of a uniformed personal guard.
is one of the most powerful in the city, thanks to the Among the common folk and criminal element of
information it gathers from its clients. the city, patriars have a reputation for callousness.
Some crews are simply neighborhood-based, their Common wisdom holds that patriars are out of
association based on territory rather than trade, such touch with everyday life and value citizens’ lives
as the Right Pashas of Little Calimshan, the Crossed of cheaply. For some nobles, this assessment holds
Wyrm’s Crossing, the Gravemakers of Tumbledown, or true. These patriars are class-conscious dilettantes
the Bloomridge Dandies. who spend their money on frivolous bets, debauched
By far the most important crew to travelers, however, entertainment, and risky business ventures. For this
is the Gateguides. Made up primarily of teenage callous lot, the common people are nothing more than
lantern bearers, the Gateguides earn a living hiring fools to be bilked, clods undeserving of comfort and
themselves out to newcomers to show them the ropes wealth due to their lack of comfort and breeding.
of the city, help make connections with other crews, For a few patriars, though, the inequality of Baldur’s
and offer some degree of collective protection. Gate is a serious concern. Blocked by a corrupt
government and uncaring peers, these civic-minded
nobles use unorthodox channels to distribute aid.
They quietly fund vigilante action that protects the
vulnerable groups. They stage robberies on their
own property and secretly send the “stolen goods”
to sick houses and charities. These patriars know P ROFESSIONAL G UILDS
that to act openly is to invite scorn from their peers,
which may edge them out of alliances and deals that Craftspeople and merchants organize in professional
could strengthen their standing. Worse, it makes them guilds and follow official charters. Unofficial guilds are
targets for corrupt elite who prefer the city’s divisions technically illegal, but in the Outer City, such informal
as they are. guilds are common.
Some good-hearted but naïve patriars have been Most professional guilds operate in the Lower City,
known to venture into the Lower City and even the but prefer to provide their goods to the wealthy patriar
Outer City to volunteer with the disadvantaged or families of the Upper City. Commoners grumble that
share their wealth. Even in disguise, though, these they can’t even buy from their own neighbors, with the
nobles are usually quickly identified and become choicest items and freshest food traveling up the hill. A
targets of the Guild or other criminals. More than laborer might toil all day at a fishmonger’s shop, then
one patriar on a mission of mercy has disappeared into be forced to take their pay to the Outer City and buy
the Lower City, never to be seen again. yesterday’s catch from an unlicensed seller.
In many cases, guilds intersect with crews. Such
groups take an interest in their members beyond a
professional level, working to assure that they’re safe
E CONOMY AND T RADE on the streets and at home so they can return to work
the next morning. Those who mistreat a guild member
With trade ways running north and south along the might find themselves ostracized by all members of
Sword Coast, a port on the Sea of Swords, and the that profession, or even find themselves cornered by
Chionthar River leading inland, Baldur’s Gate is members of the guild’s associated crew, their most
perfectly situated for its role as a commercial hub. menacing tools of the trade in hand.
Craftspeople, merchants, traders, and smugglers all
make a brisk living in the city, and many immigrants
are drawn by the dream that anyone willing to work R ELIGION
hard can be successful in Baldur’s Gate.
Baldur’s Gate has plenty of exports, notably fish, Baldurians are permitted to worship whatever deities
fish glue, and sea salt, but its main economic force is they wish, so long as they refrain from violent acts and
trade itself. The city boasts multiple large and well- practices that disrupt trade. While multiple temples
connected trade guilds and a marketplace where rise within the city walls, hundreds of tiny shrines sit
wholesalers can exchange goods before moving up along the twisted streets of the Outer City.
or down the Sword Coast. In the city proper, worship centers around a handful
The number of ships in port and traders making of well-known and generally respectable deities. Most
their way north or south mean that Baldur’s Gate established temples, with clergy and daily rituals, are
boasts one of the most expansive markets in the west. in the Upper City, which precludes commoners from
Coin trumps morals in Baldur’s Gate, with profit being worshiping after dark, when only residents are allowed
the ultimate good. As a result, nearly anything can to remain in the Upper City. Since most commoners
be bought and sold in the city’s shops, whether it be work during the day, their faith usually becomes
rare jewels, magic weapons, secrets, alliances, or even secondary in their lives. Ostentatious adherence to
murder. People visit the city seeking imports from Port religious rituals is seen as a privilege of the wealthy.
Nyanzaru, verdigris-covered treasures dredged from Some Baldurians even think outwardly displaying one’s
the sea, blackmail information on political rivals, or faith is a sign of pretentiousness and insincerity.
custom-brewed poisons. Among the many deities worshiped in Baldur’s Gate,
Though the city has laws regarding the sale of stolen a handful hold particular prominence.
property, smuggling, and contract killing, such crimes
are rarely reported and even more rarely enforced.
D EAD T HREE
Unless the complainant is a patriar or other powerful
individual, law enforcement lacks the time and interest Bane (the Lord of Tyranny), Bhaal (the Lord of Murder),
to pursue those engaging in mutually beneficial and Myrkul (the Lord of Bones) make up the Dead
transactions. The unwritten law is do nothing that Three. While these deities have lost much of their
interferes with the city’s economy and make your power, their faiths still command respect and fear
bargains in peace. Individuals who suffer due to throughout Baldur’s Gate. While open worship of the
morally questionable contracts must seek out private Dead Three is frowned upon in Baldur’s Gate, their
means of obtaining justice. worship is not illegal—so long as worship remains

within the laws. Every now and then, rumors surface falsely champion the Crying God will find their own
that a powerful political figure is a Bhaalspawn . These suffering multiplied.”
claims almost always prove to be smear campaigns
with no basis in truth—though, in some cases, such
claims have actually raised a figure’s standing in the O GHMA
public eye. An eye-catching, white marble pavilion in the Upper
City known as the Unrolling Scroll serves as Oghma’s
shrine. Pilgrims on the road to Candlekeep often
G OND
stop at the shrine to purchase or trade rare tomes.
The High House of Wonders, located in the Upper City, Adventurers looking for work sometimes linger nearby,
serves as the city’s temple of Gond, a god of innovation waiting to hire on to missions intent on recovering lost
and invention. Within the walls of the temple, clergy books of magic.
members are permitted to brew experimental potions
and elixirs, build and test mechanical constructs, and
hire locals to participate in controlled experiments—all S IAMORPHE
in the spirit of invention and innovation. Siamorphe, goddess of nobility and divine right, is not
High-ranking members of Gond’s clergy oversee widely worshiped in Baldur’s Gate, but her image looks
a number of secret projects sponsored by wealthy out from the alcoves of weathered noble estates and
patriars or the Flaming Fist. from behind vines within patriar gardens.
Long ago, many nobles of Baldur’s Gate worshiped
Siamorphe. Legend tells that her temple was a wonder
H ELM
to behold, its nave decorated with crests of the most
In a city as dangerous as Baldur’s Gate, prayers to the powerful ruling families of the time. A secret vault
Vigilant One are many. Members of the Watch and the contained signet rings, family trees, and copies of
Flaming Fist, mercenaries, bodyguards, and the fearful important decrees, holding them in case of some
pray for Helm’s protection at his shrine, the Watchful calamity.
Shield, located in the Upper City. Patriars who see During one of the city’s early uprisings, the temple
themselves as protectors of the common folk pray to became a target for rioters and was burned to the
Helm for guidance as well. ground. Where the temple stood has since been
It is rumored that The Order of the Gauntlet, a good- forgotten. However, rumors persist that the temple’s
aligned faction devoted to Helm, quietly sponsors vault is likely hidden beneath a patriar home or even
vigilantes throughout Baldur’s Gate. If a citizen prays a different temple. Urban treasure hunters, desperate
to Helm and leaves a donation at the temple, the body politicians, and disenfranchised nobles still sift
of the criminal might be found dead with Helm’s holy through the unreliable records of ages past to find
symbol on them, or (maybe worse) carved in their still it.
living flesh and left at the Flaming Fist’s doorstep.
T YMORA
I LMATER
Adherents of the goddess of good fortune maintain her
Ilmater’s humble shrine stands in a quiet square temple in the Upper City. Given the number of people
in Heapside. The Shrine of Suffering provides free in Baldur’s Gate who rely on luck to make it through
meals and a few coppers to the poor and destitute. each day, her following thrives. Even cruel-hearted
Even in the Upper City, some citizens feel their criminals turn to Tymora for luck, hoping the goddess
existence is one of secret torment and suffering. recognizes their boldness and daring. Evildoers who
The idea that pain has nobility to it—that there work outside the Guild tip their hats to Lady Luck
can be a divine reason behind the trials that face before going out on a job.
Baldurians—comforts many. Citizens who must walk the Lower City at night, or
Some patriars spread word of Ilmater’s faith not out who venture into the depths of the Outer City, usually
of devotion, but to control their lessers. whisper joint prayers to Tymora and Helm. They know
If people believe their suffering is worthy, they are less that luck is almost as valuable as vigilance when it
likely to demand safer conditions, higher pay, or more comes to staying alive in the city.
rights. Tymora’s temple unofficially serves as a gathering
In recent memory, cryptic notes have appeared on place for adventurers seeking dangerous quests.
the gates of patriar estates, warning that “those who Citizens with bizarre problems or in overwhelmingly
perilous situations come to the temple in hopes of debts, calling them in when it suits them—often with
finding the perfect aid to help them. interest.
Rivalries exist between kingpins, and their territorial
borders shift constantly. As long as these internal
U MBERLEE feuds don’t disrupt Guild business or draw the
attention of the authorities, no one interferes. Recent
No city as reliant on the sea as Baldur’s Gate could do
rumors claim that an Outer City kingpin known as
without a temple to Umberlee. Fisherfolk pray to the
Straightstick is calling in all his favors to make a move
Queen of the Depths for good waters to ply their trade,
on a Lower City turf. Crossing the wall is riskier than
and sailors beg Umberlee’s mercy before embarking on
the average power play, and those in the know predict
their voyages.
the coming conflict to be a bloody one.
Smugglers, too, pay homage to Umberlee. A great
Guild operations in the Outer City center on
deal of illegal trade passes through the harbor in small
smuggling and gambling. Some violent crime and theft
crafts on moonless nights, and smugglers—particularly
occur, but for the most part, Outer City residents are
of dangerous beasts and kidnapped souls—know to
too poor to draw the attention of the Guild. Travelers
drop a few coins into the water as they pass into the
and visitors do fall victim to pickpocketing, muggings,
harbor to appease Umberlee.
and assault, though. As the Flaming Fist rarely comes
Umberlee’s adherents work out of the Water Queen’s
to the district, the Guild has long operated with
House, a magnificent structure on the city docks. They
impunity. In recent years, though, the interference
provide blessings to sailors and identify relics dredged
of vigilantes and hired adventurers has been on the
up from the deep. When Umberlee is offended by the
rise.
removal of an item from the sea, she expresses her
displeasure to the clergy by sending them omens,
urging the priests to advise the finder to return the
PROMINENT GUILD KINGPINS
plundered item to the depths at once—or else.
All Guild operations are overseen by kingpins, a handful of which
are described below.
Goblin Behnie. Most are surprised to find Goblin Behnie
D ANGERS IN B ALDUR ’ S G ATE looks nothing like his name or monstrous reputation suggest, the
Bloomridge kingpin being a tall, polished-looking gentleman in
Crime is a powerful force in the city. Fearsome his early thirties. The name comes from his ferocious ego, wild
creatures hunt along cobbled streets, and the worship rages, and a propensity for biting off the fingers of those who
of evil deities continues to rise. disappoint him. Behind his viciousness, though, Goblin Behnie
has a keen eye, making him and his forgers the city’s best source
of illicit Watch tokens (for passage into the Upper City), visitor
T HE G UILD licenses, and docking permits.
Straightstick. The kingpin of the Twin Songs Faithless runs
The organization known simply as the Guild unites one of the city’s best smuggling operations, slipping goods into
cutpurses, loan sharks, killers, thugs, con artists, the city along the Chionthar River and over Dusthawk Hill. The
grave robbers, cat burglars, and every other type of seventy-year-old claims to have been attacked by the infamous
criminal in the city. The Guild operates under the (and doubtfully real) Ol’ Cholms, a giant snapping turtle rumored
noses of the Watch and the Flaming Fist by adroitly to sleep at the bottom of Gray Harbor. To prove his story,
keeping its illicit activities quiet. Straightstick uses a splinted old ferry pole as a crutch. Recently,
the kingpin has grown bitter about his position, believing he
Each city neighborhood falls under control of one
deserves a territory within Baldur’s Gate proper. He’s planning
or more kingpins, crime bosses who report to the
an attack on Brampton, the destination of much of his smuggling
head of the Guild. These kingpins style themselves as and the territory of his ex-wife, Diamond Urchin.
elite criminals, often adopting memorable nicknames The Whiskey Lady. Few know that the last true heir of
and distinctively decadent dress. Scores of common the Raddle patriar family died several years ago. Despite this,
criminals work beneath each kingpin, with the most “Dowager Raddle” continues to throw lavish social events at
competent and cutthroat members rising to favored her estate, though she never personally attends. Instead, her
status. supposed relative welcomes guests, engaging them with sharp wit,
Some kingpins keep strictly to the shadows, but hard liquor, political gossip, and political opportunities of “gray”
others operate more openly. Particularly in the Outer legality. No one seem to know their host’s name, though—a
City, citizens often know their local kingpin. A kingpin faux pas none would ever admit. As a result, the Manorborn
might receive requests for help from citizens, asking neighborhood’s politically active Guild kingpin is known only as
for loans or dealing with unauthorized crime, such as the Whiskey Lady.
a thieving neighbor. A kingpin tracks these favors and

The Lower City serves as the heart of the Guild’s to pieces when a vigilante clumsily alerted the estate
operations. The locals here have enough money to guards, Keene declared open season on do-gooders of
make burglary and protection schemes worthwhile, all stripes.
and the Flaming Fist is spread too thin to address
every instance of petty crime. The Guild’s operations
widen to numerous commercial ventures, such as T HE D EAD T HREE
gambling dens, animal fights, races, and brawling
tournaments. Their traffickers also maintain routes The plots of patriars and the schemes of Guild
into other districts, and guide individuals and illicit operatives fill the gossip and whispers of Baldur’s
trade through them for a fee. Those who oppose the Gate. Yet, throughout the city, no names are as
Guild—typically by going to the Flaming Fist—invite synonymous with dastardly acts as those of Dead
retaliation upon themselves and their neighbors. This Three. The demigods Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul walk
makes most folk afraid to report crimes and pressures among mortals, personally seeking followers to their
their neighbors to keep quiet as well. cause. More than once, it’s rumored, the trio has even
In the Upper City, the Guild engages in burglary, trod the streets of Baldur’s Gate.
extortion, blackmail, and confidence games. Patriars Nefarious patriars whisper prayers to Bane when
might even hire Guild members to gain (or plant) they seek to gain power through coercion, intimidation,
information about their rivals, involving the Guild and forceful exaction of the law. Gang leaders, evil
in Upper City politics. mercenaries, and others who rely on fear and control,
Only the most talented criminals dare to burgle also pay homage to Bane. Those who want to evoke
patriar estates, but the lower ranks of a kingpin’s dominance and ruthlessness favor wearing black
operation often work as pickpockets or try to con gloves—a nod to Bane’s holy symbol.
residents of the district. Here, the Watch zealously Myrkul claims a following among those who wish to
monitors for Guild activities and targets anyone learn from or command the dead. Those who plunder
threatening the peace. Kingpins can often come to tombs for lost knowledge, grim entrepreneurs who see
an agreement with the Watch, though, offering bribes business sense in undead servants, even pragmatic
so that Watch officers look the other way. Every month, necromancers seeking to conjure secrets from the
the kingpin makes their payment to the Watch and wealthy dead of Cliffside Cemetery all whisper prayers
selects a new safe word. Guild members caught by to Myrkul. Of the Dead Three, Myrkul’s base of power
the Watch utter the safe word to avoid arrest. Rival is the smallest. Residents of Baldur’s Gate rarely
kingpins and unaffiliated criminals looking to work fear death by old age—a grim fact of living in such
in the Upper City pay well for the month’s safe word, a dangerous city. As a result, few desperate elders
though any member of the Guild found selling the seek the blessing of the Lord of Bones. Those who
information faces harsh punishment. do, though, tend to be both cagey and wealthy, which
means that although Myrkul’s worshipers are small in
number, their resources have hidden depths.
N INE -F INGERS K EENE
Since the time when the Bhaalspawn Sarevok plotted
The current leader of the Guild, Nine-Fingers Keene, to start a war between Baldur’s Gate and Amn as
disdains flashy garb and illusion magic. She appears a path to claiming Bhaal’s power, awareness of the
to the world as she is: an unassuming woman of Lord of Murder’s children has grown. Baldur’s Gate
middling age and build. Her forgettable looks have maintains a grim draw for Bhaalspawn, whether due to
proven her greatest asset as a thief, as her victims some foul influence in the city itself, or merely because
have trouble recognizing her even when they meet her of Sarevok’s lingering reputation.
again face-to-face. Keene’s leadership over the years At the same time, worship of Bhaal proves darkly
earned her a reputation of thoughtful pragmatism. popular in Baldur’s Gate. Few openly admit to
When necessary, she seeks revenge for offenses worshiping the Lord of Murder, but there is an
against the Guild—provided doing so is profitable. unspoken assumption that anyone who benefits
Her methods are vicious when necessary, and she is as from violent death has some respect for Bhaal.
feared as she is respected. Assassination and murder underpin many of the
Keene has become increasingly intolerant of the plots in the city, from the business of highly-paid
populous tide turning against her organization. While killers on patriar payrolls to slayings of opportunity
the occasional rabble-rouser has always impeded committed by Outer City fanatics. Such bloodthirsty
criminal business, the rise of organized crews and faithful rarely gather in numbers, but they typically
vigilantes is interfering with Guild operations. After a mark themselves by carving a fresh gouge on their
carefully coordinated attack on a patriar’s estate fell thumbs—spilling their blood in Bhaal’s name while
creating a subtle mark that identifies them among Most murders in the Lower City have reasons behind
allies. Despite the Lord of Murder’s decentralized them. The merchant found with his throat cut and
worship, some believe a temple to Bhaal exists near or pockets emptied, the husband murdered so his wife
under the city, possibly in an ancient chamber beneath can marry her young mistress, the tyrannical shop
the sewers or carved into Dusthawk Hill. Rumor holds owner stabbed by a desperate underling—residents
that eleven red crystals on the wall of the temple grow understand these crimes. What frightens people are
brighter with every murder committed, gathering power the senseless murders. The man found ripped to
for either Bhaal or one of his future chosen. Some pieces with his pockets still full of gold, the woman
claim that Bhaal himself regularly visits the temple, his slaughtered so viciously that her grieving husband
presence contributing to the city’s high murder rate. is sent to the asylum, the shop owner who suddenly
While the Dead Three occupy a prominent place in strikes down his faithful clerk—these are the crimes
Baldurians’ fears, their faiths currently have only that lead to panic and wild rumors.
the shallowest roots in the city. Followers of the Some commoners claim that something about the
Dead Three have done more to incite dread than city itself sparks violence in its citizens. A popular
faith. As a result, their numbers remain relatively theory is that the spirits of the vicious pirates that
small. Their sinister reputations outstrip their actual once sailed the harbors still influence the city. Another
influence, though, with gossip spreading quickly is that the spirit of the long-executed serial murderer
whenever the deities’ ominous symbols appear in Alhasval Drenz, the Whitkeep Whistler, still stalks the
graffiti or the Flaming Fist cracks down on overzealous city, possessing innocents to continue her unmatched
fanatics. Despite public fears and resistance from killing spree.
law enforcement, the cults of the Dead Three persist, It’s unclear whether the rise of Bhaal’s faith in
causing many to darkly wonder why the servants Baldur’s Gate stems from the frequency of murders, or
of Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul hold such interest in if the murders spring from the worship of Bhaal. The
Baldur’s Gate. Flaming Fist suspects a group of Bhaal worshipers
behind a spate of recent similar murders, the victims
stabbed to death and their own blood dribbled like a
M URDER crown around their heads. The Fist’s investigations
have not yet resulted in an arrest, but officers suspect
Blackmail and theft pay well, but murder is the the murderers to be commoners with seemingly
preferred tool of the ambitious. Murder silences unremarkable lives covering their true, bloodthirsty
witnesses, disposes of enemies, and clears the path natures.
to power. Assassins never lack for work in Baldur’s In the Upper City, murder brings results. Muggings
Gate. and crimes of opportunity are rare here. The Watch
In the Outer City, murder is practically a way of life. keeps Upper City residents safe from criminals
With neither the Watch nor the Flaming Fist to look and riffraff. The biggest threat to patriars are other
after residents, criminals run free in the sprawling patriars.
district. Criminals use murder to keep order among Bribery and blackmail can secure votes or sway
their ranks and remove threats to their organization. an allegiance temporarily, but murder permanently
So-called “snuff streets” hold the bodies of the dead, changes the makeup of the Parliament of Peers.
dumped by their murderers in piles along the lane. Several elite assassins exclusively take on political
The most desperate of Outer City residents prowl the targets. The Watch puts little effort into tracking down
snuff streets, hoping to find a missed copper piece expert assassins, knowing that arresting one means
or a salvageable boot to pawn. They strip the teeth possibly exposing a whole cadre of powerful patriars.
from bodies, cut off hair that might fetch a coin, and The wrath that would fall on the Watch isn’t worth
sometimes—it is rumored—slice flesh from the corpses putting one assassin in the cells.
to stave off starvation. Recent reports of ghoul activity
in the Outer City likely have their origins in these snuff
streets. C ITY L ANDMARKS
In the Lower City, murder is less common but
remains a threat. Long-time residents know to travel Today, Baldur’s Gate is split into three districts: the
in groups after dark. Those looking to earn a few coins wealthy Upper City on the hills above the docks,
sometimes linger outside of taverns, hiring out as the bustling Lower City around the harbor, and the
escorts for drunken patrons. Revelers can stay as late lawless Outer City (which includes all neighborhoods
as they wish and still get home safely, provided they outside the city walls). Regardless of what district one
hire someone trustworthy to guard their trip home. might be visiting, certain features are impossible to

ignore, like the wash of Gray Harbor, the shadows of patriars safe. Closing off the Upper City pushes street
Dusthawk Hill, or the gates that contribute to the city’s crime into poorer neighborhoods, or out of the city
name. altogether. In the Upper City, patriars can walk down
alleys with relatively little fear, but beyond its well-lit
streets and tightly watched gates, the other districts
T HE G ATES become much more dangerous after dark.
Nine gates separate the districts of Baldur’s Gate,

providing the only points of entry to pass from the G RAY H ARBOR
Upper City to the Lower City, or from the walled city
One of the largest and deepest harbors on Faerûn’s
proper to the Outer City and the wider world beyond.
western coast, Gray Harbor is also one of the busiest.
Baldurians, particularly if they do not wish to reveal
The city’s independence and general laissez-faire
a crew or family affiliation to a potentially hostile
attitude toward the types of goods and people flowing
audience, often describe themselves by the nearest
through its port—so long as the government gets its
gate to their homes. Terms like “Gondgater” and
cut—means that the harbor throngs with both honest
“Dragongater” are widely understood as neighborhood
captains conducting forthright trade and pirate crews
identities, and are also understood as a way of eliding
looking to fence their wares. Plenty of sailors also
more troublesome connections.
make their homes nearby in the Lower City.
The Watch guards gates leading to the Upper City,
The harbor’s most immediately striking feature
while the Flaming Fist oversees the rest. Guards
is its machinery, with dozens of enormous cranes
assigned to Baldur’s Gate and Black Dragon Gate
and countless powered scoops and cargo carts
stay at sharp attention and seldom accept bribes.
dramatically accelerating the loading and unloading
Those assigned to the smaller and more secluded
process. Though designed by the Church of Gond,
gates, however, can be less attentive, particularly when
these marvels are run by the Harborhands, the
distracted by jingling coins.
most powerful crew in the city thanks to the
Anyone entering the city must pay a nominal entry
dockworkers’ ability to shut off the city’s economic
toll of 5 cp. While this is a small sum, it ensures that
lifeblood with a strike. Managing the whole affair is
the truly destitute remain outside, consigned to the
Harbormaster Darus Kelinoth, a lawful neutral male
slums of the Outer City. Beggars and refugees crowd
human noble who runs the port’s operations and
at the fringes of these slums, typically around Black
taxation from a small, heavily fortified brick building
Dragon Gate and Basilisk Gate, pleading for money
set well apart from other structures.
to pay the toll and hoping that the guards won’t drive
The port itself is a tangle of piers, floating docks, and
them off for annoying more prosperous travelers.
anchorages, from the massive Freighter’s Finger pier
When the city is not under lockdown, merchants
catering to the heaviest barges to the more ordinary
pour through the external gates from morning till
slips at Northtree or Commonsdock. Not actually
night, while peddlers, delivery carriers, and servants
attached to shore, the chaotic Flotilla is the city’s
move in equally swift streams through the inner gates.
cheapest long-term moorage option, where boats
Toll collectors work quickly but methodically to inspect
are welcome to raft together around common anchor
incoming and outgoing trade goods, ensuring that
buoys, and where some houseboats haven’t moved
commerce flows smoothly and the city gets its share at
in generations. A special division of the Flaming Fist
every turn.
called the Gray Wavers patrols the harbor, yet it’s no
The city gates are closed at night. At dusk, the
secret that the more expensive docks are safer than
Watch evicts anyone from the Upper City who is not a
the budget options. Sailors and even whole ships have
patriar, bearing a patriar’s livery or permission letter,
been known to go missing in Gray Harbor, and while
or carrying a Watch-issued token. The enforcement
some assume such disappearances are the result of
of this rule is one of the means by which the Upper
local shore-based pirates, others speak of Ol’ Cholms,
City reinforces its snobbery over the other districts.
a mysterious sea beast capable of dragging ships down
More than one Lower City merchant visiting an Upper
to the river’s lightless bottom.
City restaurant or theater near sundown has been
embarrassed by a Watch member’s loud, public
caution that the gates are about to close. While D USTHAWK H ILL
being seen hurrying toward the gates is an obvious
embarrassment, being caught and escorted out would East of the city, high above the scattered slums and
be far more bruising—both to one’s ego and body. cut-rate inns that stretch along the trade road, rises
The nightly closing of the gates ostensibly keeps the the steep yellow granite of Dusthawk Hill. This cliff-
skirted hill is one of the last known refuges of the manors, upscale theaters and boutiques, and tiny
Chionthar dusthawk, a once-common raptor whose stone-walled gardens tucked among the streets like
numbers precipitously declined over the last century hidden jewels. Flowers bloom along the tree-lined
as regional turmoil and the ever-spreading slums streets, ushering away any stray miasma that escapes
outside Baldur’s Gate consumed its habitat. from the less fortunate quarters below. Silks and
Local legend holds that the dusthawk was velvets, gold braid and mink, water-clear diamonds
Balduran’s favorite hunting bird, and that the and luminous pearls: these are common sights in the
Chionthar population is descended from his own Upper City, and hardly glimpsed elsewhere except as
personal hunting hawks. When the dukes of Baldur’s cheap imitations.
Gate realized that the dusthawk was on the verge of Everything in the Upper City speaks of privilege
extinction, they declared the hill, which included both and wealth. Magical lights illuminate the clean-swept
the hawks’ cliffside nests and their hunting grounds, to streets, some bearing enchantments that hold back the
be off limits to unlicensed hunters. Despite the fences river fog. Most of the city’s major temples are located in
and cliffs that cordon off most of the hill, trespassers this district, flagrant evidence of how the faiths value
remain common, the demand for dusthawk hunting the city’s wealthy elite over congregants with shallower
birds having exploded among the wealthy. pockets. The finest wine shops, ateliers, and jewelers
Many in the Outer City resent the hill being turned are all in the Upper City, where the Watch’s nightly
into private land. Several camps and slums were ritual of expelling all non-residents reinforces their air
cleared as a result, their dwellers losing everything. of luxurious exclusivity. Those without either Watch-
The homeless resent the patriars for being willing to issued tokens or a patriars’ vouchsafe must leave at
spend money giving hawks a home, but not them. nightfall, without exception.
Others resent the Flaming Fist guards who keep them Residents of the Upper City feel great pressure to
from trapping on the hill. Stringy rabbits and scrawny maintain outward appearances, and will keep their
quail made poor meals, but they were meals, and now estate’s facade finely maintained even at the cost of
many hunters have none. pawning everything within. Admitting to poverty in this
Rumors hold that werewolves lair in the sea caves district is admitting to shameful failure.
under Dusthawk Hill, pretending to be ordinary The patriars’ unabashed snobbery fosters deep
smugglers—or ordinary animals—while plotting resentment among denizens of the Lower City and
against the city. Whenever a grisly murder captures Outer City, who can see the good life enjoyed before
Baldurians’ imaginations, someone is always quick to their eyes but are excluded from all but the smallest
claim that it must be one of the Dusthawk werewolves tastes. The Watch is merciless about turning beggars
who did the deed. and malcontents away from the gates, where an
erratically enforced entry toll for non-residents and
GREEN LIGHTS IN THE FOG those without Watch tokens or escorts effectively bars
Baldur’s Gate has a couple interesting features not mentioned the poor from setting foot within this district. A patriar
elsewhere in this gazetteer. Fog. One of the reasons why pirates caught outside the Upper City after dark, therefore, is
find Gray Harbor attractive is the thick fog that shrouds the river, at high risk of robbery, beating, or worse.
the docks, and most of the Lower City. The persistent fog makes
it easy to conduct illicit business or commit a murder without
anyone catching sight of the "interaction" through a spyglass.
The fog sometimes creeps into the Upper City as well, but here
G ATES
it’s much too thin to veil crimes.
The Old Wall, built at Balduran’s behest centuries
Green Lights. In Baldur’s Gate, lit lanterns fitted with panes
ago, surrounds the Upper City. Six gates pierce
of green glass are hung outside of permanent establishments to
it, channeling the district’s visitors and commerce.
indicate that they’re open for business. On foggy nights, these
Entering the Upper City requires either being a patriar,
lanterns cast the city’s lively taverns, brothels, dance halls, and
having a patriar’s letter or livery, showing a Watch
festhalls in eerie green light.
token issued to the Upper City’s residents or licensed
to its few inns for guest use, or paying an entry toll.
Tokens and tolls are only accepted at Citadel Gate,
Baldur’s Gate, and the Black Dragon Gate, since
U PPER C ITY the other gates are reserved for the exclusive use of
patriars, their servants, and their guests.
The Upper City, home to the patriar aristocracy of Black Dragon Gate. Named for the dragon’s head
Baldur’s Gate, is a place of beauty and splendor, where that a victorious knight once hung upon its arch,
magnificent public sculptures stand alongside historic the Black Dragon Gate faces the road heading north

toward distant Waterdeep. The original dragon’s head skyline in this central neighborhood, with Gond’s High
is long gone, but a stone replacement snarls above the House of Wonders foremost among them. Priests in
gate’s arch. Local legend claims that the stone head ceremonial finery and congregants dressed for the
will magically spew acid at attackers if the city should public eye are a common sight in this part of the
ever fall under siege. city. Humbler petitioners are rare, though some come
Citadel Gate. The only entrance to the Watch’s doggedly day after day, paying the tolls for hope each
fortress, Citadel Gate nestles into the Upper City’s time.
landward wall. The Watch maintains a small cavalry, The Wide. The primary market and largest civic
nominally for defense and crowd control, but primarily space in Baldur’s Gate is the Wide, where sellers set up
for parades, honor escorts, and other ceremonial their stalls and put out their wares each day at dawn.
functions. Because of this, the Citadel maintains the Street music and noisy performances are forbidden,
only stable within the city walls. and every night the sellers who are not Upper City
Patriar Gates. The four gates known collectively residents must pack up and leave. Bustling by day, the
as the patriar gates—Gond Gate, Heap Gate, Manor Wide is desolate at night, except on holidays and when
Gate, and Sea Gate—are smaller and are generally hosting grand celebrations.
not accessible by the general public. They were built
after the construction of the Lower City walls and
were intended to offer patriars convenient access from T HE O LD WALL
their homes to their business concerns and back.
The original wall built during Balduran’s day, which
Privately funded by the patriars, and thus serving
encloses the Upper City and separates it from the
as a display of their personal success, these gates
Lower City, occupies an outsize place in the city’s
are more ornate and tightly guarded than the public
history and imagination. As the original relic of the
gates. Officially, none may use them without bearing
city’s first borders—and, more importantly for daily
a patriar’s livery or letter of permission, although
life, the physical embodiment of the division between
rumors persist that Guild kingpins and veteran
patriars and ordinary citizens—the Old Wall is a
servants among several patriar staffs know exactly
symbol for much that Baldurians both admire and
which guards to bend. Regardless, the visible double
resent about their city.
standard imposed at these gates is a constant gall
Most of the Old Wall was rebuilt following revolts
to Lower City residents forced to take longer routes
early in the city’s history, then reinforced during
through the public gates because they cannot use the
every major period of tumult that troubled Baldur’s
ones in their own neighborhoods.
Gate afterward. Each push for renewal saw a conflict
between Gondan engineers advocating for new
building techniques and materials, and patriars
N EIGHBORHOODS and preservationists striving to protect the original
architecture. Meanwhile, smugglers and Guild
While most outsiders see only rampant luxury among
agents bribed building crews, altered blueprints, and
the Upper City’s streets, the district’s residents
otherwise put their fingers in the plans at every turn to
perceive a wide spectrum of style and status. Wealth
steer reinforcement efforts away from their own secret
and taste as much as location serve to divide the Upper
passageways or induce builders to make new ones.
City into a variety of distinct neighborhoods.
After centuries of such unreliable maintenance, the
Citadel Streets. The northern part of the Upper
Old Wall stands proud and strong, but only outwardly
City is dominated by the Watch Citadel, where the
so. In truth, the barrier is riddled with numerous
Watch conducts training, maintains its barracks
secret holes through—or, more often, underneath—its
and stable, and keeps a few jail cells. Beyond the
stones. Knowledge of such secret passages’ locations is
Citadel, this neighborhood includes many shops and
jealously guarded, and the hidden ways are used only
the comparatively modest, though still grand, houses
sparingly, for the risk of discovery is too great to use
that belong to the few non-patriar residents of the
them routinely. Nevertheless, if the Old Wall were ever
Upper City.
to be seriously tested, its defenders might find it far
Manorborn. The most palatial residences lie on the
less impenetrable than it seems.
Upper City’s west side. Most of the Parliament of Peers
live here, as do the old, proud families who trace their
lineages back to Balduran’s day. Climbing gardens, P ATRIAR M ANORS
fountained courtyards, and private orchards adorn
many of these elegant homes. The great houses of the patriars are the wellspring of
Temples. Grand cathedrals and shrines shape the their pride and the center of high society. A manor
stands as proof that the family held anchor in Baldur’s D ISTANT S HORES
Gate when the Old Wall was raised, and that its line
Tendai and Khennen Shore are a married couple that
has remained prosperous and unbroken since. Even
runs a successful business importing dried meats,
on the rare occasion that a patriar manor changes
spices, authentic cookware, and traditional recipes
hands entirely, the new owner generally goes to great
from Port Nyanzaru, where the rest of Tendai’s family
lengths to prove—or fabricate—some connection,
lives. Their pre-mixed assortments of ajwain, coriander,
however tenuous, to the previous holder’s line.
ginger, various curries, and colored salts have done
Most patriar manors are townhomes rather than
much to bring Chultan delicacies to patriar tables.
free-standing mansions, for the Upper City has always
Despite their success, the Shores’ business is
been constrained by its walls, and even the wealthiest
straight forward and unpretentious, attracting
families are limited to narrow footprints. In general,
attention from business prospectors interested in
patriar manors have only small courtyard gardens, and
buying the couple out and expanding the business.
rely on vertical arrangements such as espaliered fruit
The Shores have no interest in selling, despite
trees, trellised roses and wisteria, and vines trained
numerous offers from patriar families and anonymous
along the house’s walls.
buyers. As a result, in recent weeks Distant Shores
Because of the manors’ storied pasts and small
has suffered vandalism and the owners have received
spaces, most manors are crowded with heirlooms
threatening letters.
and treasures accumulated across generations.
Occasionally, however, a manor’s grand facade hides
destitution. Estates are expensive to maintain, and E OMANE H OUSE
dynasties are prone to decline. Although no patriar The four Eomane siblings are notorious throughout
would ever openly admit to lacking money, quite a few the Upper City for the scandalous masked revels
are hunting marriages with wealthy outsiders who hosted at their manor. Nysene Eomane likes to extend
might bring an influx of capital and ambition to their invitations to hopeful social climbers from other
moribund lines. districts, intending to trap them at her parties. Lacking
Watch tokens, Nysene’s guests face a night in the
U PPER C ITY G AZETTEER Citadel’s cells or worse if they’re caught in the Upper
City after dark. They therefore have little choice but
Despite its well-policed streets and decorous homes, to let her and her friends make cruel sport of them
the Upper City harbors secrets both marvelous and until they can escape at daybreak. As yet, none of
scandalous. Some of its most notable locales are Nysene’s playthings have suffered any real harm, but
described below in alphabetical order. her games grow ever bolder and more vicious, and it’s
only a matter of time until someone is seriously hurt.
B ORMUL H OUSE While Nysene’s siblings—Dolandre, Rusorra, and
Trenteller—view this behavior as embarrassing and
Situated in the Manorborn neighborhood, Bormul unworthy of her station, they also don’t care enough
House is an elegant three-story townhouse of yellow to stop her, since the victims are social inferiors whose
granite and slate with cream-colored roses climbing welfare isn’t worth interrupting their own revels. It’s
its garden walls. Last spring, a distant uncle came for also likely that her siblings are in denial about the true
a holiday visit, bringing a large load of baggage. The extent of their sister’s sadism. Some of the city’s evil
house servants acted strangely during his visit, though faiths have begun to take notice of Nysene’s games,
the Bormuls attributed this to a bout of shellfish however, with Bane’s faith seeing a talent worth
poisoning that afflicted many households that spring. cultivating in Eomane House.
Days later, the uncle departed, leaving some of his
curios behind. The Bormuls, lacking space to store
H ALL OF W ONDERS
these unwanted things in the manor, moved them to
the family crypt beneath the house. There they lie now, This large, stately building serves as a quasi-religious
largely forgotten. museum for the magnificent inventions wrought in
Not long after, shantytown residents in the Outer Gond’s name. Unlike the similarly named High House
City began suffering brutal attacks by a silent of Wonders, which serves as both temple and workshop
murderer wearing an archaic, threadbare patriar’s housing working prototypes not yet ready for public
cloak. Many have glimpsed this pale killer, but no one view, the Hall of Wonders is meant to showcase Gond’s
has ever been able to confront or follow the murderer perfected inspirations. It holds marvels ranging from
to his lair, for he seems to melt into the city’s fog after lockboxes cleverly disguised as ordinary furniture
each slaying. to unparalleled wonders such as a steam-operated

mechanical orchestra, a steam “dragon” powering headquarters. The establishment is even run by two
a heavy engine for moving immense weights, and retired members, Vedren and Halesta. The couple’s
elaborate orreries and nautical tools. Small cards presence shapes the inn’s clientele significantly, and
posted beneath each display indicate the purpose of the unicorn bust in the Helm’s common room honors
these curious tools and credit the inventors and lands their origins in this place.
of origin, where known.
Persistent rumors hold that a hidden treasure vault,
guarded by clockwork monsters, lies beneath the Hall
of Wonders.
H IGH H ALL
The High Hall is the center of almost all governmental
H ARBREEZE B AKERY activity in Baldur’s Gate. The Parliament of Peers
and the Council of Four meet here, and each of the
Famous for its whimsically painted cinnamon cookies four dukes has a sumptuous office and discreetly
and sugarbread loaves, the Harbreeze Bakery is a appointed meeting rooms. Criminal trials, tax counts,
cherished neighborhood institution. The shop makes and professional guild meetings also take place in the
good use of the vibrant commerce that runs through High Hall.
Baldur’s Gate, showcasing rare spices in its wares Most criminal trials are presided over by a proxy
and keeping a wide selection of exotic teas for its judge appointed by one of the four dukes, and most
sophisticated clientele. It is a favorite place for patriars are resolved as a simple administrative matter that
to gossip through the afternoon, and Ellyn Harbreeze, proceeds from arraignment to sentencing within
the plump redheaded proprietor, knows about every minutes. Unless an impartial witness or evidence
significant development in her clients’ social circles. of questionable circumstances is brought to the court’s
Anyone seeking society gossip is well advised to begin attention, the word of a Flaming Fist or Watch officer
at the Harbreeze Bakery. suffices to convict, and the judge has only to stamp
a seal on the paperwork that the guards have already
H ELM AND C LOAK prepared. This results in a certain degree of corruption,
naturally, which is compounded by the proxy judge’s
The Helm and Cloak draws an unusual mixture of near-absolute discretion in deciding whether to accept
well-heeled but unpretentious patriars, traveling a conviction or exonerate a suspect. Bribery and
nobles, famed bards, and socially ambitious Lower City influence-peddling run rife through the courts, where
residents hoping to rub shoulders with the elite. The honest judges are rare and widely feared.
inn is unfussy, but conducts its service with flawless In addition to hosting trials, the High Hall holds
technique and the finest ingredients: it serves roast libraries containing all local laws and ordinances,
chicken rather than peacocks or partridges, and the summaries of judicial decisions and trial outcomes,
fish never have that distinctive Gray Harbor film. deed records, guild charters, census tallies, and
The establishment consists of two buildings joined family genealogies for all the noble houses and
as a single enterprise. The Helm is a rooming house sufficiently important commoners. The records go
with an entryway shadowed by an immense iron helm back to the city’s founding, encompassing centuries
that supposedly belonged to a fire giant. The Cloak, of meticulously maintained documents. The libraries
slightly smaller, is signaled by the bright flutter of a don’t share a common index, and sorting through their
Sunite cloak draped over its porch. Both buildings are overlapping and idiosyncratically organized holdings
decorated with adventuring trophies both exotic and can be confusing, so most people opt to pay one of the
mundane, including a bronze-horned marble unicorn resident librarians to locate what they need.
bust in the Helm’s common room. Its horn, which Finally, the ground floor of the High Hall’s
patrons often rub for good luck, is as shiny as the day easternmost wing contains a museum to the history
it was made. of Baldur’s Gate and a mausoleum for its many dukes
The Helm and Cloak has long attracted idealistic and heroes. Statues of ancient notables, including
sons and daughters from patriar families. For Balduran himself, loom over caskets containing their
generations, these young romantics, taking the god dusty bones—or, in Balduran’s case, a glass casket
Lurue as their inspiration, have called themselves the containing all that lingers from the city’s vanished
Knights of the Unicorn. Over time, what began as a founder: the age-cracked remnants of his cloak,
light-hearted lark became a real force for good in the longsword, shield, and favorite spyglass.
world, and several of the early knights achieved renown
for their heroics. Today, the Knights of the Unicorn
continue to call the Helm and Cloak their informal
H IGH H OUSE OF W ONDERS nobles in Tethyr to protect the Hhune family’s secrets,
which include a connection to the Knights of the
This vast workshop is the center of Gond’s religion in Shield, a secret society.
Baldur’s Gate. Every day, the anvils and worktables
that fill the High House of Wonders ring with the
clamor of hammer and saw. Under the scrutiny of the L ADY ’ S H ALL
meticulous High Artificer Andar Beech inventors work Tymora’s temple in Baldur’s Gate is made of local
alongside priests and acolytes beside masters of all yellow granite, roofed with slate shingles, and
disciplines. Because the creations in these workshops inconspicuously blended into the surrounding
are largely experimental prototypes, they are not architecture. Recently added to the structure are
deemed fit for public view. Gond’s temple doesn’t beautiful mosaics depicting souls prevailing against ill
flourish in Baldur’s Gate by simple happenstance. fortune at sea.
While there are certainly more industrious and Other than holding formal religious obser-
academic cities along the Sword Coast, in few other vances—which most of Tymora’s faithful only attend on
places could Gond’s faithful have access to more and major holidays—the primary purpose of the temple
rarer resources with less oversight. The city cares more is to accept requests, and large donations, from
about the clerics’ innovations than the morality of petitioners seeking the temple’s intercession. For
those creations or how they came into being. Rumors countless reasons, Baldurians are reluctant to trust
claim that the High House of Wonders maintains a the Watch, the Flaming Fist, or the Guild. When
secret testing facility in or just outside the city. they find it necessary to seek aid from an influential
Ostensibly, Gond’s priests offer healing and other organization, such people often turn to Lady Luck
magical services to anyone willing to pay. However, for help. The Lady’s Hall is there to hear their pleas,
priests often prove so caught up with their projects and to accept their offerings in exchange. While such
that they’re reticent to attend to any but those with the intercession often takes the form of blessings, magical
most novel wounds and provocative ailments. or otherwise, clergy moved by a tale of exceptional
injustice might be swayed to petition the church elders
to intercede. Such happens rarely, the church being
H HUNE H OUSE
unwilling to jeopardize its standing by pitting itself
The power of the Hhunes waxes and wanes like the against every specific injustice laid at its doorstep. Yet,
moon, but other patriar families maintain a healthy members of the clergy often anonymously reach out
fear of them because the Hhunes have powerful to the adventurers that congregate near their temple,
connections up and down the Sword Coast that could sponsoring small acts of justice whenever they can.
make life difficult for would-be rivals.
The elderly widow Lutecia Hhune presides over this
R AMAZITH ’ S T OWER
smallish manor. Lutecia has estranged siblings but no
children, and faces the prospect of leaving her family Six stories high and built of weathered red brick in
home to a detested branch of the family when she a cylindrical, pagoda-style structure, Ramazith’s
dies. To prevent this, she has asked the librarians of Tower is considered a unique landmark by some and
the High Hall to search patriar genealogies for a more a regrettable eyesore by others. It was built nearly
acceptable heir. a century ago by the eccentric wizard Ramazith, a
Lutecia’s request was assigned to a Guild-connected sailor from faraway Durpar who acquired a vast
librarian named Virmele who is entertaining bribes knowledge of the deeps—and equally vast wealth.
from Lower City merchants and underworld figures Ramazith had not been known as either an exceptional
to fabricate a link to the Hhune family. More than mariner or an exceptional arcanist before he came
the patriar estate itself is at stake, for Lutecia’s late into enough money to build his tower, and the source
husband was an avid map collector and antiquarian of his success remains a mystery. Not long after the
whose personal library holds many rarities from far- tower was completed, Ramazith died under suspicious
off lands. Should Lutecia be cheated out of finding a circumstances. Some say he met his end after an ill-
proper heir, it is likely that both her family’s legacy and fated dalliance with a nymph, but rumors have always
the secrets hidden in her late husband’s collection will persisted that his death was linked to his unlikely
fall into unscrupulous hands. On the other hand, if ascent. One version holds that the nymph exacted
Virmele’s corruption were exposed, the Guild might be revenge for some terrible crime Ramazith committed
irritated at the loss of a profitable scheme. against her people to gain his power, while another
Lutecia’s valet is Kaddrus a strikingly handsome rumor suggests his soul was itself the price of his
man half her age. Kaddrus was sent by powerful bargain. Whatever the truth, Ramazith’s tower stood

empty for decades before it was acquired a few years with current and retired members of the Flaming Fist.
ago by Lorroakan, a young and short-tempered mage It serves simple and hearty meals, keeps a variety of
known for having expensive tastes and a perpetual good-quality but inexpensive wines and beers, and
shortage of funds. Lorroakan hails from the city of tolerates no rowdiness among its clientele. Rooms
Athkatla to the south, and local gossip holds that he’s are available for both short- and long-term stays, and
a disgraced Cowled Wizard who may even be a fugitive the Three Old Kegs offers laundry, mending, repair,
from the powerful House Selemchant in Amn. and sharpening services to its guests. Its reasonable
Lorroakan makes his living by enchanting clothes prices and welcoming atmosphere have led several
to repel moisture and mildew, a practical but humble retired Flaming Fist mercenaries to adopt the place as
pursuit that suggests his mastery of magic is not a full-time residence. These long-term regulars act as
extensive. This, in turn, might explain why he has not additional security, making the Three Old Kegs one of
reopened the tower’s upper floors, confining his own the safest places for visitors to stay in Baldur’s Gate.
activities to the first and a small portion of the second The proprietors, three wart-covered brothers in
floor. their late fifties known collectively as the “Three Old
Lorroakan’s ever-pressing need for money has led Toads,” are named Alstan, Brunkhum, and Klalbrot
the mage to begin looking for hired hands who might Wintersides. The Three Old Toads are known to be
be willing to venture into the long-shuttered heights soft touches for a sob story. All the cooks and servers
of Ramazith’s tower and uncover the secret of the late at the Three Old Kegs are Flaming Fist widows and
wizard’s wealth. That Ramazith’s secret may have orphans, and the tavern regularly hosts fundraisers
brought him to an untimely end, and that Lorroakan is for the families of those crippled or killed in service.
himself no more skilled—and perhaps significantly less However, the brothers’ kindness is not matched by
so—than the tower’s previous master does not seem to their discernment, and the Three Old Toads frequently
concern him. fall victim to grifters. Several times, these con artists
have stolen enough money to threaten the Three Old
Kegs with bankruptcy, and the brothers have been
R ILLYN H OUSE
forced to find outside help to recover their lost funds
Though one of the most honorable patriar families and keep the tavern solvent.
in Baldur’s Gate, the Rillyns fell into poverty a few
generations ago. Only recently have they revived their
T HE U NDERCELLAR
fortunes, the credit for their newfound prosperity
going squarely to Yvandre Rillyn, a neutral female Beneath the Wide is a maze of storage chambers, ale
human veteran who returned to Baldur’s Gate after cellars, and cobwebbed tunnels known collectively as
many years serving with the Flaming Fist and other the Undercellar. Archways, many with iron-barred
mercenary companies—a career that began in rebellion gates and rusty but functional locks, connect one
against her stodgy family. cobbled chamber to the next. Some tunnels ascend to
Realizing that her family needed a long term source street-level buildings, while others open through grates
of financial support, Yvandre opened a sword-wielding and sewer covers to the streets themselves. At least
school in a guest house adjoining her family’s estate. two dozen ways into and out of the Undercellar exist,
The Rillyn School is about to graduate its first class although only a few are widely known, and some are
of students, all of whom have trained with Yvandre deliberately kept secret.
for at least five years and have won her approval with Most Baldurians know of the Undercellar as a seedy
their skill. As Yvandre is a hard teacher, this is an speakeasy and brothel. The Watch and the Flaming
impressive feat, and her students are justly proud. Fist never police the Undercellar, leaving it to a gang
She hopes that they’ll spread her name throughout of masked toughs who call themselves the Cellarers
the region and win acclaim for the school. In the to enforce order. This near-total absence of the law
meantime, she continues to enroll young students, makes the Undercellar a popular place of business
keeping those with promise and weeding out the rest. for unsavory characters who would never risk being
Some of those who failed to make the cut, embittered caught in the Upper City otherwise. Their “indulgence
by their perceived humiliation, nurse grudges against rooms” offer gambling, prostitution, exotic intoxicants,
Yvandre and her house. and pit fights between animals—such as giant sewer
rats pitted against dog-sized spiders. Most ordinary
citizens who venture into the Undercellar for a taste of
T HREE O LD K EGS
danger keep to these areas.
Named for its sign, three lashed-together barrels However, those in search of more serious danger can
hanging from a pole, the Three Old Kegs is popular generally find it. Several gray and black marketeers
hold heavily reinforced, Guild-approved secure rooms WATCH C ITADEL
in the Undercellar, from which they deal in weapons,
illicit disguises, counterfeit Watch tokens, rare poisons, The Upper City’s guard force uses the Watch Citadel as
and other contraband. Access to these dealers requires training grounds, barracks, and organizational offices.
Guild approval or significant bribes to the Cellarers. A stable holds the Watch’s warhorses, while a few jail
In addition to harboring illicit businesses, the cells can host ordinary prisoners awaiting transport
Undercellar is rumored to run throughout much to trials in the High Hall or prison in the Seatower of
of the Upper City. Its secret tunnels wind beneath Balduran.
numerous patriar manors, banks, businesses, and High Constable and Master of Walls Osmurl Ha-
even the High Hall itself, connecting through false vanack, a dwarf with a deep loyalty to his constables
walls in wine cellars and basements throughout the and no taste for city politics, functions as the Watch
district. Some of the walls are supposedly thin enough Citadel’s castellan. Havanack ensures that the Citadel
for an eavesdropper to overhear all manner of sensitive is provisioned, that pay is correctly disbursed by the
plans and scandalous liaisons. purse master, and that the Citadel and Old Wall are
A gaunt, bearded man named Heltur “Ribbons” properly maintained. He also disciplines Watch soldiers
Ribbond rules the Undercellar with an oily, too-affable accused of misdeeds—accusations that he takes
manner and a wide grin that only makes his scar- very seriously and does his best to investigate. High
seamed face more menacing. Ribbons has never been Constable Havanack is known to have no tolerance for
seen to lose his temper, even when hurling knives and misconduct in his ranks, but he is only one person,
bottles with deadly accuracy at unruly guests. It’s and much escapes his notice.
taken as an article of faith that he must be a kingpin From the Citadel, the Watch runs regular patrols
or otherwise high-placed within the Guild. through the Upper City and staffs the Old Wall,
day and night. Many Watch officers are patriars
themselves, hailing from families with a long and
U NROLLING S CROLL proud tradition of service to Baldur’s Gate. As most
live in the Upper City, members of the Watch are
Built of white marble, with an arched roof of vibrant
familiar with the city’s patriars and possess a well-
red edged in gold leaf, the temple of Oghma stands out
developed ability to spot pretenders. Many Watch
among the surrounding buildings. A wide reflecting
members interact with citizens from the other districts
pool rests in a deep basin under its roof, which is built
only at the gates, and then usually under tense and
with exceptional acoustics so that a speaker’s words
stressful circumstances that foster jaundiced views.
project clearly and effortlessly across the assembled
Because few of its members have ever lived outside
audience. This has made the shrine a popular place for
their privileged walls, the Watch tends to be blind to
weddings, dedication ceremonies, and other oaths.
the day-to-day hardships of life outside the Upper
Legend holds that bards and artists who study their
City. Watch soldiers can be suspicious if not outright
own reflections in the basin for half a day, opening
contemptuous of those whose lower-class mannerisms
their minds to Oghma’s will as they do, behold a vision
mark them as “of poor breeding.” While most officers
to inspire their next creation. The reflective period can
attempt to enforce a code of civility toward all
be dawn to dusk, midnight to midday, or any other
Baldurians, a current of antipathy toward the poor
period. As the Unrolling Scroll stands in the Upper
runs deep through the Watch, though it more often
City, though, non-residents of the district are evicted
manifests as condescension than outright hostility.
after sundown.
Absent unusual circumstances, the Watch always
gives the benefit of the doubt to a patriar or Upper City
VANTHAMPUR V ILLA resident, and never takes an Outer City denizen’s word
over anyone else’s.
Vanthampur Villa is a stately stone edifice with a
detached stable house. Both buildings have sloped
rooftops covered with red clay tiles. A 12-foot-high WATCHFUL S HIELD
stone wall encloses the villa.
Duke Vanthampur can’t stand the rank gossip that Helm’s shrine in Baldur’s Gate consists of a small
hangs in the air of the Manorborn neighborhood. Thus, chapel flanked by wings at its door and a vigilant
her estate lies in the Temples neighborhood of the eye inscribed in silver above the lintel. The chapel’s
Upper City, as far away from the other patriars as one services are regularly attended by Watch members,
can get while still being visible to them. Flaming Fist soldiers, bodyguards, and anyone else
who feels the weight of responsibility to protect others.
When called upon by the Watch or the Flaming Fist,

Helm’s clergy aids in maintaining the city’s walls dispelled, it freed the heroes to walk the world once
and turning back those who would storm its gates. more but robbed the Wide of a bit of its charm. The
Although the God of Guardians and his faithful carry merchants complained loudly, and a replacement
out their duties impartially and without concern for the statue of Minsc and Boo was promptly commissioned
city’s politics, this role has nevertheless earned them and set atop the pedestal where the actual heroes
considerable resentment in the Outer City. stood for years.
Helm’s clerics provide healing to any willing to
make a donation in gold or arms. They uphold a long-
standing tradition of waving this donation for those L OWER C ITY
who suffer grievous wounds in the course of defending
other. This leads to all manner of unlikely stories A crescent of steeply sloping neighborhoods plays home
being told at the Watchful Shield’s gates, explaining to the common folk of Baldur’s Gate. The Lower City
how roughed-up brawlers or Guild cutthroats actually is a chaotic tangle of conjoined, slate-roofed buildings,
suffered their wounds performing heroic acts. its narrow cobblestone thoroughfares spanned by
bridges and buttresses designed to keep overflowing
tenements from tumbling into the streets. As cramped
T HE W IDE and noisy as the Lower City can be during the day,
By law, all commercial buying and selling not done in a bustling with business from a thousand shops, the
licensed and taxed establishment must be conducted district turns eerily quiet at night. Though lit by street
in the Wide, the city’s most prominent civic space lamps and traversed by hired lantern bearers, the
and public market. Every morning sees an influx of darkened streets are far from safe, and those citizens
vendors setting up their stalls and taking deliveries not running taverns or other late-night establishments
from a small army of porters. Every sunset, vendors tend to lock their doors and bar their colorful window
cart their unsold wares back out, or pay exorbitantly shutters as the river’s dense fog rolls in.
expensive warehouse storage fees. In the hours Nearly everyone in the Lower City is engaged in some
between, the Wide hosts a vibrant, crowded market sort of trade. Crime of all sorts is rampant, from petty
where fortune-tellers and con artists sit beside dealers smuggling to outright robbery and murder. Though
hawking spices, fish, furs, perfumes, and every other the city government tries to curtail this by paying the
luxury good to be found across the continent and Flaming Fist to patrol the streets, the mercenaries
beyond. Despite its crowds, the Wide is well regulated, sometimes seem more like an occupying army than a
the Watch keeping a sharp eye out for pickpockets. true police force, better suited to indiscriminate head-
Street musicians are forbidden on pain of heavy fines cracking than delicate investigation. As such, while
and expulsion from the market, so the Wide proves most residents are happy to shout for the Fist when
more subdued than the chaotic markets of the Outer beset by obvious criminals, they also band together
City. Quiet performers, such as puppeteers and sleight- into local crews to better watch each other’s backs and
of-hand tricksters, are common. settle more subtle scores. In such an environment,
Jedren Hiller, the Bailiff of the Wide, assigns stall laws are often treated as suggestions, and while
placements to merchants each morning. Longtime most residents are just ordinary folks trying to get
regulars and merchants who reside in the Upper City by, there’s truth to the old adage that everyone in
get most of the prime placements, while those who Baldur’s Gate has a secret to keep.
are less established—or stingy with Hiller’s expected
bribes—get undesirable places in the less trafficked G ATES
corners. The bailiff’s corruption is legendary in
Baldur’s Gate, but few merchants see any alternative The three gates of the Lower City are ripe with
to greasing his palms, particularly as the profits from a logistical, historical, and metaphorical significance.
good day’s trade vastly outweigh the losses. Though tokens are not required to pass through the
gates connecting with the Outer City, using any gate
Statue of Minsc and Boo. For years the Wide hosted comes with a 5 cp entry toll and erratic investigation of
one of the city’s most cherished landmarks: the cargo and suspicious individuals.
Beloved Ranger, a statue of a powerful warrior in plate Baldur’s Gate. The oldest and least impressive of
mail wearing a cheerful grin and cradling a hamster in the city’s gates, Baldur’s Gate nevertheless remains
his hands. Recently, though, the statue was revealed the city’s heart. As the only gate allowing ordinary
to be the Rashemi hero, Minsc, and his “miniature people through the Old Wall, Baldur’s Gate embodies
giant space hamster” companion, Boo, trapped under the power imbalance between rich Upper City patriars
the effects of petrifying magic. When the magic was and Lower City commoners. Once the sole gate leading
to the harbor, it’s still the primary route by which the stumbles into, and each Flaming Fist payday sees the
city’s wealth flows from port to patriar. neighborhood swell into the most boisterous corner of
Basilisk Gate. Piercing the city’s eastern wall, this the city as soldiers celebrate with riotous good cheer
statue-lined gate connects the Lower City to the great and flagrant street brawls.
Coast Way, stretching through the majority of the The Steeps. As the most direct route from the
Outer City and then southeast toward Amn, Tethyr, harbor to the Upper City via Baldur’s Gate, the
and Calimshan. Steeps has a natural advantage in securing business
Cliffgate. This foggy minor gate grants access to from wealthy travelers, and many of the city’s most
the Tumbledown neighborhood and its graveyards. successful merchants maintain lucrative storefronts
Many stories claim that Cliffgate is haunted by the along its dramatically steep thoroughfares. This also
spirits of former citizens seeking reentry to the city and makes it the Lower City neighborhood most likely to be
passage back to their homes, but locals know that any visited by patriars, and thus the Steeps sees more than
mysterious disappearances are more likely the result of its fair share of patrols by the Flaming Fist.
a quick mugging and a long fall to the river below.
C REW T ERRITORIES
N EIGHBORHOODS
The fact that city’s numerous crews can be based
General wealth, predominant profession, and traditions on both geographical and professional communities
divide the Lower City into several neighborhoods. means that their territories often overlap or stretch
These divisions foster stereotypes and rivalries between beyond the borders of any particular neighborhood.
city residents, some comical, some age-old insults that The Harborhands, for instance, can be found across
can quickly turn violent. the Lower City wherever a neighborhood touches the
Bloomridge. The wealthiest and most fashionable water, but would rarely try to flex its claim outside
Lower City residents gravitate toward the commanding of the actual docks and piers. More common is the
views of Bloomridge, where townhouses squeeze in situation of groups like the Greengrocers’ Guild or the
among upscale boutiques and cafes, their rooftop Brethren of Barbers, who operate out of all corners
gardens and tiled terraces creating explosions of of the city and therefore claim no physical territory
cheerful color. at all, banding together only in the interests of their
Brampton. The easternmost Lower City neighbor- trade. For many such crews, there’s often no need
hood, Brampton is notoriously poor, its location for a formal meeting place—they meet whenever and
making it the worst for residents seeking to serve wherever necessary, in shop stockrooms or around
Upper City denizens—but the best for smuggling in kitchen tables, and have little interest in banners and
untaxed goods from Rivington. sigils.
Eastway. Home to the Basilisk Gate, Eastway is Still, there’s no denying that certain crews dominate
the city’s primary gateway to the Outer City and the certain corners of the city. Sometimes this is the
world beyond, catering to travelers with its profusion of result of a community forming its own crew in a direct
inns, porters, and caravan supplies, as well as to Outer attempt to control and protect its neighborhood. Such
City residents looking for reasonably priced Lower City is the case with the Bloomridge Dandies, wealthy
luxuries. The flow of travelers and strangers through merchant scions who loudly proclaim that the Flaming
this neighborhood makes it one of the most dangerous Fist isn’t doing enough to protect their neighborhood,
parts of the city, as criminals prey on those unfamiliar and who relish the opportunity to display their bravery
with the city and without local ties to avenge them. by patrolling neighborhood taverns wearing expensive
Heapside. A solidly middle-class neighborhood, swords and purple armbands. More often, physical
Heapside has its share of shops but tends to be more territory is the result of a citywide crew having a
residential, catering to the city’s workforce with ancient natural local nexus, such as the Porters’ Union and
but reasonably priced homes and only a moderate the Butchers’ Block tending to dominate Eastway, as
likelihood of being stabbed in the street. their members congregate near the Basilisk Gate for
Seatower. Everything in this neighborhood revolves easy access to the stockyards and incoming caravans.
around the Seatower of Balduran. The best armorers Unless there’s active conflict between two crews,
and weaponsmiths in the city can be found here, along most members are content to work with members
with residences for Fist mercenaries and their families. of other crews, and see little point in staking out
Dance halls, fighting dens, taverns, and other delights physical turf. After all, a neighborhood needs many
jockey for position near the fortress’s causeway, different professions to thrive—carpenters and cooks,
hoping to be the first place a carousing mercenary grocers and apothecaries—and the fact that siblings

and spouses often belong to different crews helps keep Rilsa’s egalitarian tendencies the potential for a hero
inter-crew conflict to a minimum. of the people, and naively hopes she’ll transform the
Guild from a predatory criminal organization into a
community police force serving the city’s downtrodden.
L OWER C ITY G AZETTEER Baldur’s Mouth is a prime source of opportunity for
Presented below in alphabetical order are some of the adventurers in the city, as Needle is always looking
most noteworthy Lower City locations. to hire daring “investigative reporters” willing to
investigate rumors of strange happenings or procure
proof of corruption by the city’s elite. Even just reading
B ALDUR ’ S M OUTH
the broadsheet can present adventure opportunities
Patronized by all levels of society, Baldur’s Mouth via advertisements recruiting mercenaries, half-
is the city’s primary news service and gossip rag. substantiated reports of monster attacks ignored by
Utilizing a small army of lantern bearers, the Mouth the Flaming Fist, and more. And of course, should
spreads news both by selling broadsheets on street adventurers succeed or fail in some high-profile
corners and by shouting summaries of top stories venture, they might just find caricatures of themselves
at passersby. From the slums of the Outer City to and stories of their exploits in the Mouth’s latest
the finest manor house sitting rooms, the Mouth edition.
is where Baldurians go to be informed, incited, and
pleasantly scandalized. While some of the news—such
B LADE AND S TARS
as word of new laws passed by the Council of Four or
official election results—is handed down directly by the This comfortable inn was named for its original
government, most comes from freelance journalists, sign, an enchanted wooden shield. Painted black,
and official pronouncements often sit side by side with the circular shield displayed an image of a curved
scathing editorials or unflattering political cartoons of silver saber gripped by a pale, slender arm. An
those same officials. enchantment on the shield caused glimmering,
Ettvard Needle runs the operation from a starlike motes of light to sparkle along the saber’s
surprisingly modest converted warehouse in Heapside. blade. The former innkeeper of the Blade and Stars,
The son of an established Lower City tailor, he had a half-orc named Aurayaun, used to insist that the
always rankled at the way Lower City residents were illusory effect was the shield’s only magic, and that
treated by haughty patriars, and started Baldur’s it did exactly what she intended it to do: draw in
Mouth as a way to empower the city’s poor via what business. Still, it appears that there’s more to the
he saw as the greatest weapon of social change: shield’s story, for recently both Aurayaun and the
information. In the beginning, he simply paid local shield disappeared. Since then, Aurayaun’s worried
lantern bearers to shout his stories of upper-crust wife Lupin (human) has been running the inn and
injustices, but as enthusiasm for the practice built and loudly expressing her belief that the disappearance is
more people began bringing him information, he began the result of foul play. What kind of foul play, she has
writing the stories down for his distributors—teaching no idea.
many of them to read in the process—and then While Aurayaun was quiet about her past, she had
selling the notes directly. Today, Needle prints his no enemies that Lupin knew about. Lupin furiously
broadsheets by the cartload, aided by mechanical rejects the Flaming Fist’s conclusion that her wife
scribes purchased from the Hall of Wonders and simply abandoned her. A local vagrant claims to have
funded by advertisements from merchants across seen Aurayaun climb up and remove the sign-shield
the city. late on the night she went missing, then vanish into an
Though beholden to advertisers and tacitly alley with a cloaked figure. Since then, though, Lupin
sanctioned by the city government, the Mouth has has received parcels containing pieces of the shattered
never lost its populist bent. Needle carefully ensures shield, each bearing a tiny constellation upon it. Lupin
that the paper is useful enough to the government is convinced it’s a map, but to where, and whether that
that it’s never in their interest to shut it down, yet destination is terrestrial or the heavens she doesn’t
devotes the rest of the paper to news the government know. She’s willing to pay to find out, though.
might prefer hushed up, from aristocratic scandal and
evidence of corruption to straight talk about various
B LUSHING M ERMAID
threats to the city, always with a healthy dose of anti-
elite rhetoric. His editorials have a particular soft spot Infamous up and down the Sword Coast, the Blushing
for his friend Rilsa Rael, the Guild kingpin of Little Mermaid is known as the best tavern and inn in
Calimshan. While Needle loathes the Guild, he sees in Baldur’s Gate for those looking to get their teeth kicked
in, or to kick in someone else’s. Always one spilled where the city’s patriars and merchants from across
drink away from a brawl, the bar is the sort of place the world store items too valuable to be trusted to
most don’t visit unless they’re well-armed or with a lot lesser security. Only the most vetted of humanoid
of friends—preferably both. The place takes its name guards are allowed in the Counting House’s depths.
from the life-sized wooden mermaid hanging above the Instead, stone golems patrol the twisting lower
incongruous reception desk, a dozen blackened and corridors, while water elementals circle the outside
withered hands nailed to its body—souvenirs left by in flooded channels, keeping thieves from tunneling
those who refused to pay their bill. into the magically warded vaults.
Beyond the combination lobby and common room, A gold dwarf named Rakath Glitterbeard acts as
the Blushing Mermaid is a confusing maze of wings the bank’s proprietor and key treasurer of the city’s
and oddly interconnected floors, hiding dozens of small banking crew, the Honorable Order of Moneylenders.
and shabby rooms and at least four levels of cellars. More importantly, he’s also the Guild kingpin for
Few people bother to sleep at the Mermaid, due in the Steeps, controlling the lesser loan sharks and
part to its operators’ loud pronouncement that they knee-cappers who cater to the city’s more desperate
aren’t responsible for any losses, including those of credit risks, along with its outright thieves. Stolen
life and limb. Instead, its plethora of back rooms and treasures from innumerable heists reside in the
antechambers act as de facto offices for the menagerie Counting House’s vaults alongside legitimate deposits,
of shady characters who spend their days drinking protected by the bank’s walls and Rakath’s web of
here. Ostensibly retired sailors, the bar’s regulars are political influence and predatory loans. Between the
in fact contacts for a variety of unsavory organizations, dwarf’s sinister reputation and the bank’s legendary
from smugglers and bandits to fences, drug dealers, security, few thieves would even contemplate trying to
and panderers. Some work for the Guild, others for crack the Counting House—but anyone who succeeded
operations all along the Sword Coast. Those looking would likely be set for life.
to do business with the Gate’s underworld find that a
handful of silver in the Mermaid can open doors, but
the wrong word can find you dumped unconscious E ASTWAY E XPEDITIONS
in the alley out back. While the Mermaid’s criminal Eastway Expeditions used to buy dubious exploration
aspects are an open secret, the place is well connected and dungeon-delving gear on the cheap—often from
enough that the Flaming Fist traditionally leaves it hollow-eyed early retirees—before marking it up to
alone. sell to optimistic would-be heroes. Scalm Shilvin, a
tiefling woman, is the shop’s slick, tail-coat-wearing
C ANDULHALLOW ’ S F UNERAL A RRANGEMENTS tiefling proprietor. She made a decent living from her
business, but all that changed when Baldur’s Gate
For as long as anyone can remember, the moon elves forged a lucrative trade alliance with the merchant
of the Candulhallow family have managed the city’s princes of Port Nyanzaru in Chult.
small fleet of corpse carts. Though family members Shilvin quickly capitalized on the growing interest
rarely push carts themselves anymore, their terse in Chult, outfitting droves of green adventurers and
agents are a constant sight around the city, picking directing them aboard ships headed south. Most never
up the dead and using hand-drawn wagons to haul returned—leaving her uncertain of whether any of
their shrouded loads to the Shrine of the Suffering or her “jungle-proof” or “dinosaur-deterring” equipment
outlying cemeteries, funded by city stipends and tips worked as she’d marketed. Eventually the local
from grieving loved ones. government got involved after several overly ambitious
patriar scions vanished on ventures hastily outfitted
C OUNTING H OUSE by Eastway Expeditions. Now Shilvin can sell her
modest selection of goods and any jungle-related gear
This thick-walled fortress of commerce has been a only after a ten-day waiting period, helping to ensure
center of trade in Baldur’s Gate for centuries, acting that fewer citizens rush off to Chult unprepared. To
as the primary location for banking and currency make up for the resulting loss of business, Shilvin has
exchange. As much a bunker as a bank, the Counting made connections with several trading (and piratical)
House squats on the waterfront, its two windowless ventures in regular need of crew. Eastway Expeditions
upper stories heavily guarded. Most ordinary patrons has since gained a lowkey reputation for helping people
never make it past the ground-level offices, yet the get out of the city fast, so long as they don’t care overly
majority of the Counting House stretches below, much where they go.
extending down into the mud like a cylindrical stone
taproot. Here are the building’s legendary vaults,

E LFSONG T AVERN in matching clients with mercenaries. They also hire
members to teach classes in the building’s open-air
Despite its rough-and-tumble clientele, this tavern
atrium while other members lounge on the overlooking
is one of the most popular in Baldur’s Gate. From
balconies. At any given time, there’s usually multiple
time to time, the disembodied voice of a female
veteran mercenaries here swapping stories and waiting
elf fills the tavern with a melancholy song, giving
for contracts.
the establishment its name. The ballad isn’t loud
While anyone can pay Garmult to study in the House
enough to disrupt conversation, but most patrons stop
of Mastery, only those who’ve earned membership in
speaking when the elfsong begins, then resume only
the Bannerless Legion are welcome to socialize and
after it ends. Many customers frequent the tavern in
find work here. Those who come around looking for
the hopes of hearing it. Those who speak Elvish can
such things are challenged to a friendly sparring match
understand the lyrics, which lament an unnamed
in the atrium, usually with Garmult. If they impress
lover lost at sea. No one is sure how the spirit came to
Garmult, they’re welcomed with a laugh and a firm
haunt the tavern, just as no one can predict when it
handshake, at which point Garmult is happy to hook
will sing again.
the new members up with bodyguarding contracts and
Alan Alyth, the tavern’s current owner and
other work, taking only a nominal finder’s fee. Though
proprietor, recently turned seventy-five years old and
not everyone in the Legion is as welcoming of new
has run the establishment for decades. His elven blood
members, Garmult allows only consensual, nonlethal
through his half-elf mother has kept him alive this
sparring within their establishment. Few members
long, and keeps him looking better than most full-
challenge Garmult’s authority for risk of missing out
blooded humans his age. He runs a moneylending
on future contracts.
business on the side, offering loans to customers he
trusts. He rarely gives loans to adventurers, knowing
how flighty they can be, but he might offer them a free TAVERNS IN BALDUR’S GATE
glass of elverquisst wine if he thinks it’ll keep their No wise person walks the streets of Baldur’s Gate or enters one
swords sheathed. of its taverns without a weapon or an armed escort. Anyone
who has lived in the city for more than a tenday knows this from
experience. Taverns might appear safe at a glance, but they
F ELOGYR ’ S F IREWORKS
are among the most dangerous places in Baldur’s Gate—full of
This four-story stone structure constantly streams alcohol, tempting coin, and unscrupulous people. Volothamp
smoke of unusual colors from various vents Geddarm, a notorious raconteur known for his tavern reviews,
and chimneys. From the elaborate showroom encapsulates his Baldur’s Gate experience as "hard on the
spanning the bottom two floors, alchemist Avery stomach, especially when someone sticks a knife in there."
Customers are expected to look after themselves when fights
Sonshal maintains his family’s longstanding monopoly
break out, and one shouldn’t expect any help or sympathy from
on smokepowder production in Baldur’s Gate.
the Flaming Fist. Tavern murders are common, and usually end
While smokepowder is reserved for the Council of with the poor victim being dragged away and either left in an
Four and Gond’s High House of Wonders, the shop alley (to be picked clean by urchins, then eaten by rats) or tossed
sells a variety of lesser alchemical items to the public, in the harbor. Baldur’s Bones. Baldur’s Bones is a popular
from torches with colored flames to smoke grenades dice game in the taverns of Baldur’s Gate. Each player requires
and fireworks, some of them enhanced with harmless several six-sided dice. The rules are as follows:
illusions. While the windowless workshop filling the • Each player puts the agreed ante in the pot.
• Each player rolls three dice. Play then proceeds clockwise

building’s upper two stories is strictly off-limits, its
stairwell blocked by a massive iron vault door and around the table, with the host of the game going last.
• On their turn, a player can choose to "stand" or "roll." If
a thug hired from the Bannerless Legion, the mutton-
the player stands, the next player can take a turn. A player
chopped Avery is usually happy to chat with customers
who rolls takes an additional die and rolls it. If the total of
and other alchemical enthusiasts on the lower floors.
their dice exceeds 21, they "bust" and are out of the game.
Otherwise they can keep rolling additional dice until they
G ARMULT ’ S H OUSE OF M ASTERY either stand or break.
• After everyone has had a turn, the highest point total
Part school and part alehouse, this wide three-
(excluding players who busted) wins the game and takes
story building leans precariously over the street in the pot.
Eastway. Run by an old, agender martial artist named
Garmult, the House of Mastery offers both martial
training of all sorts for the city’s would-be warriors
and a central hangout for the Bannerless Legion crew.
Garmult assists crew leader Dezri “Guts” Lamouer
H ARBORSIDE H OSPITAL sought-after courtesans meet their patrons in the
Hissing Stones’ steamy private rooms, trusting
Generations ago, an outbreak of extremely contagious to Merilyn’s silence and the house’s reputation
dancing croup—a deadly plague that caused those for business meetings to deflect the suspicion of
afflicted to cough themselves to death even as jealous spouses or gossipy wags. Unlike Merilyn, the
their limbs thrashed uncontrollably—caused many Reveler’s Union—the city-spanning crew of night-
Baldurians to rethink their approach to medicine. workers—isn’t averse to selling secrets teased from the
Requiring individual victims to seek out healing from bathhouse’s clients, and those looking to purchase
their respective clergies accelerated the disease’s such information need only whisper in the right ear
spread as the infected traveled to different houses here. Though this dichotomy keeps Merilyn herself
of worship throughout the city, overwhelming the from officially joining the Union, the crew uses the
facilities at each. In the aftermath, the Lower City location as its de facto headquarters, regularly renting
decided to consolidate. While patriars might still out and conducting meetings in its vast central pool.
be able to afford house calls and personal priests
and physicians, commoners funded the building of
a single large facility where everyone could come for I NSIGHT P ARK
treatment. Eager to no longer have every worship Forty years ago, a shield dwarf named Torimesh
service interrupted by contagious congregants, several arrived home in the city after decades of adventuring
of the city’s temples were only too happy to provide abroad and purchased this small portion of the hillside.
clerics to work in the facility. Of course, coin still Too steep to build on, the area had long been an
determines one’s quality of care, the clerics rarely illegal junkyard, with locals standing atop a rocky
work for free, and those without sufficient funds promontory and dumping their refuse over the edge
generally end up in the ominously stained basement of the embankment. Instead of clearing the debris
with the chirurgeons-in-training—but at least those away, Torimesh used magic to nurture the local plants,
in need know where they can go for help. Chronically causing a forest of green to grow up over the garbage,
understaffed, especially in those wards catering to poor rusting away debris and creating soft lawns and
Outer City residents, the hospital has constant security thickets shot through with small recesses and tunnels
problems, from angry patients to spontaneously arising where the old refuse had piled high. This revamped
undead, unethical or experimental treatments by space he dedicated as a public park, arguing that
priests of non-good faiths, or excessive withdrawals the poor need to feel nature’s touch just as much as
from the stores of painkilling narcotics. rich patriars with their manicured gardens. Torimesh
It perhaps says something about Baldur’s Gate that himself lives in a tiny hut backed against the jutting
city officials decided to build the hospital right next outcropping still known as Dumper’s Rock.
to Cliffgate, convenient to the graveyard and as far as The main appeal of Insight Park is the Drawing Tree.
possible from the wealthy neighborhoods. Planted by Torimesh and grown to full-size in a matter
of days, the tree is of a species no one can identify,
and Torimesh steadfastly refuses to say anything
H ISSING S TONES
about its origins, yet everyone knows its power. When
This low stone bathhouse in the Seatower neighbor- properly entreated by Torimesh, the tree’s red bark
hood is one of the oldest buildings in the area. Built in cracks and curls like parchment. Pulling it carefully
the Chessentan style, it features heated pools, echoing away reveals a prophetic scene rendered in bloody sap.
halls, and gorgeous tile mosaics. The Hissing Stones These arboreal visions of the future are often cryptic,
hold a special niche in Baldurian politics due to its yet inevitably come to pass. As much as the city’s
status as a neutral, safe, and private meeting place. elite would love to harness this power, anyone else
Its longtime proprietor, a female moon elf named attempting to peel the tree’s bark or force a prophecy
Merilyn Allaryr, ensures that clients enter the baths reveals only bark and sends Torimesh into a near-
bearing nothing but the thin robes she provides, murderous rage. For his part, the druid refuses to
leaving all weapons and other possessions with her. work for money, peeling off prophecies only according
Merilyn’s reputation, and that of her highly capable to the unspoken whims of the tree, or in exchange for
attendants, is formidable enough that even rival crews bizarre and dangerous favors.
or businesses engaged in the tensest of negotiations
never violate the house’s rule against violence.
J OPALIN ’ S
This establishment’s commitment to discretion
also makes the bathhouse the prime venue for paid After taking over from his father, a male half-
companionship in the Lower City. Many of the most elf thug named Jopalin transitioned this building

from a seedy dockside tavern to a thriving, upscale no laborers willing to tear the place down, the Council
teahouse. Many were shocked by the growth of such a of Four boarded up the doors but left the mansion
sophisticated establishment among the port’s lowbrow standing. For decades now, no one has been observed
customers, but no one can deny the addictive nature of going in or out. Whether the little black invitations
the half-elf proprietor’s special blend. that still occasionally appear on citizens’ doorsteps are
genuine or harmless pranks remains anyone’s guess.
L OW L ANTERN
S EATOWER OF B ALDURAN
This old, three-masted ship rocks gently in the water
alongside Stormshore Street Dock on the harbor’s The headquarters of the Flaming Fist stands on a rocky
eastern side. A notorious festhall and tavern, the ship islet in the harbor, its sheer walls erupting from the
is no longer seaworthy and is in desperate need of stone in such a way as to grant invaders from the sea
repair. few footholds. From the fortress’s five stout towers,
On warm days and evenings, respectable clients specially made Gondan trebuchets stand ready to
can sit at tables on the upper deck beneath hanging hurl stones three times the distance of an ordinary
lanterns, smoking and drinking between wagers, while siege weapon, giving the fortress command of not
a more raucous crowd congregates around bars and just the entire harbor but the opposite bank of the
gambling tables on the decks below. river as well. Any invading ships not intimidated by
The Low Lantern is quiet during the day, with just such death from above would also have to contend
a few patrons drinking and gambling below decks. with the massive chain running from the Seatower to
The place comes alive at night, and is a popular site pilings under the easternmost wharf in Brampton. A
for conducting clandestine meetings with some of the capstan in the tower can raise the chain, stretching it
city’s least scrupulous inhabitants, including pirates across the harbor mouth and keeping anything larger
and off-duty Flaming Fist mercenaries. than a rowboat from entering or leaving. As for land-
The owner and proprietor is Laraelra Thundreth, based attacks, the 400-foot-long causeway connecting
a middle-aged female human mage known as "the the Seatower’s islet to the shore needs no gates or
Captain" to her staff and regular patrons. Laraelra drawbridges, as any attackers foolish enough to charge
doesn’t concern herself with the private affairs of her along its length would be easy marks for the wall’s
clientele, nor does she mind when visitors get rowdy archers.
or turn violent—as long as they’re willing to pay for Roughly a hundred Flaming Fist soldiers occupy the
damages afterward. In public, Laraelra is often seen fortress at any given time, along with the residents
with her crab perched on one shoulder. of the Officers’ Tower. In the central bailey, the
organization’s vast armory holds every weapon a
mercenary company could need, along with trophies
M ANDORCAI ’ S M ANSION
from campaigns abroad, a priceless library of war-
The only blight in otherwise upscale Bloomridge, this related texts, and more. Rumors also speak of the
mansion appeared out of nowhere in the middle of Fist’s treasury, kept in a lead-lined vault somewhere
the night, taking over a previously vacant lot. Fully beneath the Officers’ Tower and surrounded by yards
staffed with close-lipped servants, the imposing manse of solid stone, the secret doors leading to its vaults
hosted a few lavish parties for the Lower City elite, hidden by clever mechanisms and cleverer magic.
presided over by an eccentric and brooding human In addition to defending the city, the Seatower also
wizard named Mandorcai. And then, just as suddenly serves as the local prison of Baldur’s Gate. Three
as he had arrived, Mandorcai shut the manor’s doors levels of dungeons extend beneath it, the lower two
and vanished from public life. Curious locals who below sea level and integrating part of a naturally
peered through the windows reported a completely occurring cavern system. This both keeps the prison
empty manor, its furniture looking as though it hadn’t secure and pacifies prisoners, as any who act out
been touched in years. Yet soon thereafter, individuals know that they can always be moved from the dry
around the city began to receive invitations to visit, cells to the dank lower levels. Particularly problematic
written in silver on black paper folded into pentagons. inmates end up in the Swimming Hole—a flooded
Those who entered the mansion for the requested and lightless shaft where prisoners must constantly
appointments never emerged. After a handful of such tread water or risk drowning, while also fending off
disappearances, a Flaming Fist squad smashed its way the blind, biting shrimp that dwell there. Though
into the building. Only two of its members emerged, long-term incarceration is rare in the city, there are
babbling about shifting rooms and blood-soaked always a few inmates rotting in these cells, ranging
abattoirs filled with writhing hooks and chains. With from petty criminals to political prisoners locked away
on trumped-up charges. it enters the river, using vast enclosed holding tanks
Individuals who run seriously afoul of the law of magically augmented plants to purify the effluent.
in Baldur’s Gate might wind up in the Seatower. Though the facility was a marvel of magical ecological
While the Fist treats the prison as something of an engineering, the public proved singularly unwilling to
afterthought, any trying to break in or out of the care about their waste, and funding quickly collapsed.
dungeons still have their work cut out for them. Only Since then, the Keep has been a shadow of its intended
the upper cells have windows, and anyone trying glory, struggling to keep the worst of Baldur’s Gate
to break through the walls of the lower cells risks from the waterway.
catastrophic flooding. Sentries are constantly on alert Today, the facility still operates, but mostly as a
for ships drawing suspiciously near the island, and headquarters and cover for the Sewerkeepers crew.
no one is allowed through the fortress’s gate without Most of the “druids” and technicians running the
a reason and an escort. Cells themselves have heavy plant are anything but—instead, they’re a specialized
steel doors with high-quality locks, with the keys held thieving crew that uses the keep’s position to pass
by Jailer Albrecht Little or his second, Jailer Cogrus unseen through the city’s network of sewer pipes
Stonehammer. Soldiers are often assigned to “cell and cisterns. From this warren of tunnels, they can
duty” as a temporary punishment—while this generally smuggle goods and conduct daring burglaries, as
means rougher treatment for prisoners, the regular well as occasionally acting as subterranean monster-
turnover might present a sliver of opportunity for hunters and paid guides through the city’s guts.
anyone attempting a rescue. The Sewerkeepers’ leader, Genamine Kopali, also acts
as the Guild kingpin for the Seatower neighborhood.
Along with a spectrum of ne’er-do-wells, her crew also
S ESKERGATES
contains several actual druids who keep the facility
Once home to the Sesker merchant family, this tall, running and control the crew’s several guardian beasts,
gaudy mansion was abandoned after the last member including a number of sweet-smelling shambling
of the family died in it under mysterious circumstances mounds that live in the tanks, churning them as part
several years ago. Shortly thereafter, a mage from of the purification process. Mortlock Vanthampur pays
Athkatla named Imbralym Skoond bought the place to Genamine to keep him apprised of strange activities
use as his home and magical workshop, drawn there in the sewers. Mortlock, in turn, reports whatever he
by stories of the structure’s original builder, a smuggler learns to his mother, Duke Thalamra Vanthampur.
who turned the place into a warren of secret passages,
hidden rooms, false walls, and concealed entrances,
S HRINE OF THE S UFFERING
most of which have now been forgotten.
Ambitious and thoroughly amoral, Skoond rose to This simple stone shrine to Ilmater, god of martyrs and
prominence as the Council of Four’s wizard, doing patient endurance, stands in a small, quiet square, the
regular favors for the council to further his own plots. edges of its plaza thick with the pallets and meager
Though rarely home, he boards four alchemist lackeys belongings of the Lower City’s homeless population.
in the building, along with several guards, using the Here, poor Baldurians can come to receive free meals
secret passages to cover their comings and goings. and enough coppers to pay their way through the
Their only job is to uncover and map out as many of city’s gates, thanks to the ministrations of Brother
the building’s secrets as possible—one of the histories Hodges, a male strongheart halfling. Supported by
Skoond read suggested that the building’s original donations from all ranks of society and beloved by
architect had died while smuggling a rare magical their community, the halfling cleric and his adult
tome, leading him to suspect that it still lies hidden in children Hansen and Sissa can inevitably be found
the house’s walls. here chatting with the city’s downtrodden, offering
what healing and alms they can.
The church’s only source of non-donation income is
S EWER K EEP
a twisting series of crypts that extends down from an
Like many port cities, Baldur’s Gate has traditionally entrance behind the altar, at several points piercing
dumped its sewage downstream and let the river carry the city’s sewers. For a small fee, anyone can have a
its problems elsewhere. As the city grew, however, corpse brought down into the cramped tomb, where
this began to dangerously pollute the river, leading a hordes of sewer rats flood in to eat the flesh, leaving
coalition of druids and patriars to construct the Sewer (mostly) clean bones to be interred in the attached
Keep. A series of three towers built into the walls at ossuary by Ilmater’s faithful. While a somewhat ignoble
the western end of the Seatower neighborhood, the end, it’s often the only holy-ground burial the city’s
facility was intended to treat the sewage just before poor can afford, and Brother Hodges does his best to

bring quiet dignity to the practice. However, a fertile ship sprays water high, reminding faithful of the price
carrion crawler has recently slithered up from the of failing to appease Umberlee.
sewers to feast on the corpses in the tomb, leaving a The intimidating Allandra Grey leads the temple’s
trail of squirming young wherever it passes. Brother score of waveservants, most of them women widowed
Hodges is incensed by the desecration, but doesn’t or orphaned by the sea. Ordinary Baldurians rarely
dare face the beasts himself, and the Flaming Fist has see the waveservants, and never step inside the temple.
been slow to come to his aid. Though the church can’t When the faithful wish to make offerings, they must
pay, he would gratefully offer free healing to anyone ring a bell by the door. Two waveservants answer the
who dealt with the menace. door, one accepting the offering inside while the other
says a short prayer in the doorway. Once the prayer is
spoken and the donation collected, they step back and
S MILIN ’ B OAR
close the door.
With its downright ribald menu of salaciously renamed Though no outsiders know exactly how the temple’s
breakfast foods, the Smilin’ Boar was always intended finances work, the dour waveservants buy little in
to cause a stir in well-to-do Bloomridge. Yet the the markets save essentials. The rest of the tithes are
current buzz is more than owner Jentha Allinamuch, carried in solemn procession down crumbling, moss-
a female strongheart halfling, ever intended. For the covered stairs that cling to the outside of the temple
past six months, bodies have been appearing in the and descend into the murky water. The waveservants
alley just behind the halfling’s café. More than a dozen disappear below the water for a few minutes, only to
have appeared so far, never with any witnesses as return empty-handed. What happens to the treasures
to how they go there. The victims have no apparent is anyone’s guess, with some suggesting they’re hidden
commonalities—being of all ages, races, genders, and in underwater vaults. Others believe the gifts are borne
social classes, and having disappeared from points all away by Umberlee herself.
across the city—yet there’s no question in anyone’s
mind that the same killer is responsible, as each is
found with curved slices across their wrists and a O UTER C ITY
heart-piercing wound. The whole district is astir over
the murders, but so far the Fist hasn’t been able to Dirty and uncouth, the Outer City holds everything
turn up any leads on what locals have fearfully dubbed the elite of Baldur’s Gate resist allowing within their
the Sickle Man. With business plummeting, Jentha is walls: the poor, refugees, tanneries and stockyards,
as eager as any grieving family to find answers, and and other industries that offend highborn sensibilities.
would happily pay independent investigators to help Stretching forth from each of the city’s external gates,
track down the killer. the Outer City sprawls in a chaotic tangle of shanties
and shops, carts and tents lining the roads in hopes
of bleeding off enough city trade for their owners
S ORCEROUS S UNDRIES to survive. And indeed, much of the commerce in
A dome of stained glass roofs this tall, round shop, Baldur’s Gate happens in these unregulated markets,
casting chaotic shafts of color down across several with even patriars shopping from inside perfumed
open-air floors that rise upon wooden pillars, litters.
connected by staircases and ladders. While the living While smaller neighborhoods such as Tumbledown
quarters upstairs teem with rare plants and bookcases, and Blackgate squat outside their respective gates, the
the bottom floor acts as one of the most popular majority of the Outer City runs along the Coast Way as
magic shops in the city. Inside its delicate-looking it curves around the foot of Duskhawk Hill, between
but magically warded walls, customers can buy and Wyrm’s Crossing and the city proper. Residents of
sell all manner of curios and common magic items these neighborhoods are not technically citizens and
from the eccentric shopkeeper, Rivalen Blackhand, a receive no representation in the government, nor do
male human mage with a withered right hand. they receive the benefit of the city’s police forces. The
Flaming Fist rarely patrols the Outer City, usually
emerging only to pursue Outer City residents for
WATER Q UEEN ’ S H OUSE crimes committed within the walls.
The oldest temple in Baldur’s Gate, the Water Queen’s The Outer City’s challenges lead to small, tightly
House clings to its enormous pier like a monster of knit communities, where a person’s honor and social
the deep, its stone walls trailing over the side and connections are the only things standing between them
descending down beneath the waves and river mud. At and a quick death.
the pier’s tip, a huge fountain in the shape of a sinking
A PPROACHING THE C ITY and stockyards. Many Outer City residents who work
within the city live here to be as close as possible to
Visitors approaching Baldur’s Gate by road first pass their places of business. Among them is a significant
through the Outer City’s ramshackle neighborhoods, community of half-orc porters.
their traffic hemmed in by cook fires, market stalls, Tumbledown. Off by itself overlooking the river, this
and industries too noisy or repugnant for more genteel perpetually foggy neighborhood hosts the Cliffside
citizens. Here travelers must leave any sizable mounts Cemetery.
or beasts of burden at one of countless stables and Twin Songs. Standing ready to welcome visitors as
caravanserais before paying the fees to pass through they cross the river, Twin Songs is renowned for its
the gates into the city proper. Travelers from the south enormous diversity of shrines and places of worship,
are twice blessed in this regard, paying once for the from tiny roadside altars and idols to home-based
bridge at Wyrm’s Crossing and again once they’ve temples. While those in search of significant magic
run the gauntlet of Outer City neighborhoods circling must still generally visit the larger temples in the
Duskhawk Hill. city proper, no god is too foreign or obscure to be
Travelers arriving via the river wait in the center of worshiped in Twin Songs’ divine sprawl, where even
Gray Harbor, under the watchful eye of the Seatower, non-criminal worship of fiends and the Dead Three
until one of the harbormaster’s agents approaches goes unchallenged.
in a fast-moving skiff. Protected by coteries of Gray Whitkeep. This neighborhood takes its name from
Wavers (Flaming Fist veterans), these customs officials the white manor house at its center, which houses
assess the boat’s cargo, collect taxes, and sell hourly the city’s largest enclave of gnomes. Free-spirited and
berth assignments at one of the city’s many docks home to hordes of artists, the neighborhood would
and piers. Large vessels may also pay to make use of likely attract trendy city folk and price out the resident
the city’s marvelous mechanical cranes, dramatically radicals, if not for its odoriferous tanneries.
accelerating their unloading process. Wyrm’s Crossing. This massive bridge crosses the
Chionthar River. Shops and homes gird the bridge’s
edges.
N EIGHBORHOODS
The following neighborhoods make up the Outer City.
Blackgate. The Outer City settlement beyond the O UTER C ITY G AZETTEER
Black Dragon Gate, Blackgate serves those traveling to Dreams both flourish and die in the Outer City, which
and from Waterdeep on the Trade Way. Huge stables many say holds the best and worst of Baldur’s Gate.
cater to travelers’ mounts, while a community of shield The following are some of the best known and most
dwarf ironsmiths draws even residents of the Upper infamous Outer City locations.
City with their skill.
Little Calimshan. This walled community’s Calishite
B ALDURAN L OOKS O UT TO S EA
inhabitants fiercely guard their home from the Guild
and the rest of Baldur’s Gate. Shortly after Balduran disappeared for the final time,
Norchapel. The quietest of the Outer City this statue appeared on the cliffs of Tumbledown.
neighborhoods, Norchapel caters to those residents Twice the size of the actual man, the statue bears an
willing to pay more than the usual protection money uncanny likeness to Balduran, squinting west over city
to the Guild, in exchange for having their safety and and river. While its sudden arrival created something
security. of a stir, most assumed it was simply a tribute to the
Rivington. This self-contained village of anglers great man—until one morning several months later
and river-powered mills is the first neighborhood when passersby noticed that one of the statue’s hands
encountered by travelers approaching from the south. had risen to shade its eyes. Scholars immediately
Dominated by a local gang called the Rivington Rats, began studying the statue, learning that at sunrise
it’s also a haven for smuggling thanks to its river on the first day of each new year, the statue flickers,
access. changing its position in an eyeblink. Though it always
Sow’s Foot. Here, expatriates from dozens of far- looks west, the precise line of its gaze can change
flung nations mingle with races ranging from lizardfolk by up to thirty degrees, and it may peer through a
to svirfneblin among the scents of exotic food and the spyglass, stand with hands on hips, point with an open
calls of strange animals, banding together against a hand, and so on.
city that views them as outsiders. For centuries, the predominant theory was that
Stonyeyes. Just outside the Basilisk Gate that Balduran still lived somewhere far to the west, and
gives it its name, this neighborhood is full of stables the statue tracked his movements. Yet a generation

ago, a knight of Oghma vowed to follow the line of and lean, while also exposing numerous crypts and
the statue’s gaze as far as necessary to learn the tomb-tunnels to the air, prompting a fresh rush of
truth. His journey was shorter than expected. In a grave robbing. Though Baldurians rarely bury their
wood just a few miles west of the city, he came upon a dead with valuables anymore, and many of the easier
cylindrical stone building, its open doorway revealing pickings have been taken, it’s common wisdom that
stairs leading down into the forest floor. Atop the some of the greatest treasures of past centuries still lie
building, a smaller statue of Balduran stared back the entombed with their heroes, their headstones wiped
way he had come. Prevented from entering by a pattern anonymously clean by wind and rain.
of magical lights he couldn’t identify, the knight raced Watching over all of this is the powerful Gravemakers
back to the city to gather additional scholars—yet crew. Far more than simply caretakers and
when he returned, the structure was gone. Since then, laborers, the Gravemakers guard the dead—and
the forested structure—which popular stories now Tumbledown—from threats. With so much death
refer to as Balduran’s Tomb—has been discovered concentrated in one spot, undead are a constant
three more times in the same fashion, each time in a problem. Skeletons and revenants regularly claw
different location, yet so far no one has been able to spontaneously out of their graves, while ghouls
enter. and ghasts burrow into crypts and catacombs,
drawn by the scent of decaying flesh. Wights hide
in their tombs by day, while ghosts and wraiths
C LIFFSIDE C EMETARY
terrorize unsuspecting mortals. Putting down such
The value of land and sheer population density in threats before they can prey on citizens is the
Baldur’s Gate means only the wealthiest patriars can Gravemakers’ primary job, and though rightfully proud
afford to bury their dead within the city, interring of their prowess, their leader Leone Wen a female
them in catacombs beneath the city’s temples or in human servant of Torm, is always looking for fresh
family crypts on their own grounds. For everyone recruits or contractors to join them in their crusade.
else, there’s the ignoble Shrine of the Suffering or The crew operates out of the half-burned old Szarr
the scattering of cemeteries outside the city. The Mansion in the cemetery’s center, its moldering halls
largest of the latter is Cliffside Cemetery, located in the reputedly still infested by the ghosts of the murdered
Tumbledown neighborhood and employing many local Szarrs—though stories remain split as to whether the
residents as gravediggers, stonemasons, morticians, ghosts prey on the Gravemakers or aid them in their
and professional mourners. Long ago, the graveyard duty.
was an empty estate owned by the mercantile Szarr
family, with only a few family crypts near the cliffs.
C HURCH OF L AST H OPE
When a business rival murdered the entire family in
their beds, no one was eager to move into their former This combined chapel and asylum in the Twin Songs
manor, and the city decided to turn the estate into neighborhood has long offered sanctuary for the
a single massive graveyard that acts as the primary depressed and mentally ill. The few attendants ascribe
repository for the city’s dead. to the faith of no particular god, but extol the virtues
The graveyard itself is a maze of crypts and of meditation and whatever calm faiths visitors might
monuments, its organization nearly impossible for bring with them.
outsiders to discern as the multi-chamber ossuaries Few seek the church’s services on their own.
of rich merchants and pirate lords loom over the Rather, most who come to dwell at the church
simple plaques and rotting wooden holy symbols of either have a room rented for them by concerned
the poor. Natural cavern systems have been expanded family or receive a somewhat mysterious—and
and shored up to create extensive crypts, yet over usually unexpected—invitation from the institute’s
generations maps have been lost or poorly updated, superintendent, Mother Aramina, a female human
and it’s not uncommon for a gravedigger to find priest. Aramina is a former Candlekeep scholar who’s
themselves striking the wood of a coffin where no moved her lifelong study of psychology from the
coffin should be, or tumbling through into a forgotten academic to the clinical. How Mother Aramina learns
stretch of tunnel. Rampant grave robbery by brigands of individuals’ distress and under what circumstances
and necromancy-obsessed followers of Myrkul only she offers free room and board in her facility is
increases the chaos, as bodies get exhumed and something of a mystery, but as of yet, none have
reburied wherever it’s convenient. Most significantly, discovered any sinister angle to her work. In fact,
a major landslide decades ago dropped a large portion Mother Aramina has been known to hire empathic
of the cemetery’s cliff into the river below, causing intermediaries to help extricate the needful from
the remaining bone-houses and markers to shift destructive conditions. Despite its charity, though,
the Church of Last Hope is not universally loved. The and less dangerous species. While the menagerie is
Faithless, the Guild-associated gang in Twin Songs, popular with city folk who pay a few coppers to view
see a trove of wealthy city-dwellers and wishy-washy the creatures, many neighbors fear that Ubis doesn’t
non-priests in their midst, ripe targets for protection take security seriously enough, and that his desire
schemes, kidnappings, and all manner of other plots. to coddle such dangerous beasts could lead to them
Currently none of the Church’s patients have been breaking free and rampaging through the district.
endangered, but Mother Aramina is cautiously looking
for more permanent security solutions.
H AMHOCKS S LAUGHTERHOUSE
This huge complex of pens, barns, and abattoirs is
D ANTHELON ’ S D ANCING A XE
the largest slaughterhouse and knackery in Baldur’s
This two-story shop sells everything an adventurer Gate. Located in the Stonyeyes neighborhood so as to
might need, from weapons and armor to rowboats and be convenient to the city’s butchers, the facility has
mobile monster cages. Presiding over the crammed a generally adversarial relationship with neighboring
shelves is Entharl Danthelon, a shield dwarf who establishments, as other herders and hostlers claim
claims to have been an adventurer once himself, as the omnipresent smell of blood makes their animals
evidenced by the magical flying axe that guards his nervous.
shop at night. Customers are inevitably treated to the
story of the grateful elven princess who enchanted
L ITTLE C ALIMSHAN
the axe for him as a reward for a daring adventure
undertaken on her behalf. Yssra Brackrel, a female Generations ago, a fleet of Calishite refugees fleeing
half-elf mage and brilliant hairstylist, rents out the war in the south came sailing into Gray Harbor. Rather
shop’s attic. Yssra’s cantankerousness is as legendary than opening their doors to the foreigners, the people
as the shop’s flying axe, and anyone seeking just her of Baldur’s Gate quickly hustled them out of the city,
spellcasting is subject to a frank and unflattering forcing them out the Basilisk Gate in the middle of the
critique of their current coiffure. night and taxing them for the privilege. Desperate
and weary, the refugees finally found succor in a
caravanserai run by a fellow Calishite in the Outer
G ARYNMOR S TABLES AND M ENAGERIE
City. There they used what little wealth they’d been
As horses and other beasts of burden aren’t allowed able to bring with them to construct a new home—a
inside the city walls, the Outer City overflows with traditional Calishite settlement that would be precisely
stables and hostlers, ranging from muddy pens to as friendly to Baldur’s Gate as the Baldurians had
barns nicer than most inns. Of these, the largest is been to them.
Garynmor Stables, which offers the unique benefit of Though much time has passed since that
operating locations in both Stonyeyes and Blackgate; ignominious beginning, tensions remain high
those travelers passing through have the option of between Little Calimshan and the rest of the city,
leaving their beasts on one side of the city and picking particularly with regard to those Baldurians living in
them up on the other, after grooms have ferried them the city proper. Unlike most of the Outer City, where
around the outside of the walls. The stables are also neighborhoods blend into each other and no one
unusual in their willingness to rent mounts to city can quite say where one ends and another begins,
residents in need of transportation, cutting down on Little Calimshan is sharply defined by brick-and-
the need of city dwellers to own their own horses. Yet plaster walls, 15 feet tall, 5 feet thick, and topped
the true gem setting Garynmor Stables apart is its with minarets in the classic Calishite style. These
menagerie. walls don’t simply surround the neighborhood, either.
A former world traveler, Ubis Garynmor has long Little Calimshan is built like a traditional Calishite
had a fascination with exotic beasts, and having city in miniature, with its interior divided into multiple
already developed the infrastructure to take care of drudachs (neighborhoods). Each drudach is walled off
large numbers of ordinary animals, he found it easy and inhabited by a particular family or tribe, with
enough to expand the scope of his establishment. His its own religious site, inn or tavern, marketplace,
menagerie in Stonyeyes contains a variety of rare and places of industry such as smithies, armories,
creatures both mundane and magical, from an aged tanneries, or mills. While such an abundance of
cockatrice and two wing-clipped hippogriffs to an walls might make Little Calimshan seem fractious
owlbear. Always on the lookout for new attractions, and standoffish, in fact the opposite is true: the thick
he happily pays adventurers for healthy specimens wall walks act as elevated streets, with locals able to
of rare creatures, sometimes reselling the smaller look out over the layout from above and easily pick a

path to their intended destination. O ASIS T HEATER
Second only to the Wide in the chaos and liveliness
Baldur’s Gate plays home to a variety of small theaters
of its markets, Little Calimshan opens its gates to
and cabarets, but none can hold a candle to the epic
outsiders for just a few hours each day. Inside its
spectacle of the Oasis. Theater owner and director
warren of bazaars, local merchants have a near-
Jonas Goodnight puts on shows even more outrageous
monopoly on many southern imports, from silks and
than his magnificently crafted outfits. Productions
fine blades of Calishite steel to tomes of rare magical
involve everything from live monsters to powerful
lore, thanks to exclusive trade agreements with various
illusion magic, while also showcasing the most talented
caravans. As soon as mid-afternoon arrives, however,
performers in the city. Actors and musicians perform
shoppers are shuffled back out the arched gates,
their songs and monologues from atop flaming trapezes
and the only non-Calishites still allowed within the
or human towers, while acrobats shock the audience
neighborhood are those who’ve married into a Little
with physical feats bordering on the supernatural.
Calimshan family or otherwise earned the sacred trust
Even lowbrow theatergoers unable to decipher
of a drudach’s residents. While many residents of Little
Goodnight’s artistic genius can appreciate his
Calimshan venture into the larger city for business or
flagrant breaking of taboos, with risqué burlesque
pleasure, not even the Flaming Fist is able to force its
and satirical scripts mocking everyone from the
way into the neighborhood-turned-fortress after hours
dukes to Nine-Fingers Keene herself. The fact that
except in the direst circumstances, and each drudach
these performances sometimes go terribly awry,
is instead patrolled by a militia of young unmarried
with monsters breaking loose or a broken piece of
warriors called amlakkars.
equipment sending a performer plummeting into
While Little Calimshan presents a unified face to
the crowd, only adds to the excitement, and patriars
the rest of the city, it has all the problems of any
and common folk alike vie for seats at the theater’s
settlement. Income inequality is made all the more
afternoon-only performances. Ticket prices are decided
obvious by density, with paupers living literally side-
capriciously and on the spot by Goodnight, varying
by-side with wealthy genie-binders. Older isolationists
wildly between any given individual.
clash with young folk eager for more interaction with
the wider city. Yet by far the largest issue is the gang
war currently ravaging Little Calimshan. Seeing the R IVERVEINS
Guild as fundamentally an outsider organization, a Just east of the city, where Dusthawk Hill rises
Calishite gang called the Right Pashas seeks to oust along the Chionthar River, eddies captured by
Guild agents from Little Calimshan’s underworld. outcroppings have bored into the stone, carving
The Guild’s popular half-Calishite kingpin, Rilsa a maze of meandering tunnels and draining into
Rael, naturally objects to this insult, and each night subterranean aquifers. Though hardly diverting
residents bar their doors tight as a turf war of thugs enough water to impact the river’s flow, the web of
and thieves rages across their rooftops. submerged chambers has become a source of mystery
Among Little Calimshan’s most notorious locations and legend for locals.
is the Calim Jewel Emporium, widely regarded as the While most of the tunnels are submerged, changes in
best jeweler in the city—and the best place to fence river height over time mean that some of the tunnels
stolen gems, as it’s also the local Guild headquarters. and caverns are dry or only half-flooded for long
In addition to hosting regular public forums in her stretches, making them favored hideouts for fugitives,
shop, Rael tacitly oversees the Garden of Whispers, smugglers, aquatic predators, and particularly
a maze of wood-and-paper screens where people adventurous trysting lovers. Though rumors whisper
from across the city can buy and sell secrets with that some tunnels lead directly under Baldur’s Gate,
Guild agents and each other, speaking through the to date all mapped caverns are accessible only from
barriers so as to maintain anonymity. Also popular are the river, and even just climbing into a tunnel mouth
schools like the Lamp of Learning and the Verdashir or steering a boat inside can be deadly as the current
Academy (also known as the Dervish Academy), which attempts to smash vessels against the cliffs. Stories
train spellcasters and warriors in the styles of their of ancient treasure in the flooded caverns are only
ancestral homeland, allowing only the most talented enhanced by stories of Ol’ Cholms, a river monster,
outsiders to access their archives or join in their prowling the tunnels.
lessons. And, of course, every patriar in the city has
visited the famous Oasis Theater, home of the city’s
W HITKEEP H OSTEL
most daring—and sometimes dangerous—productions.
In a city often thought to be dour and dangerous, the
Whitkeep Hostel is a spark of light and levity. Built by
a wealthy caravan operator who lost their fortune to architectural style.
monster attacks, this white-walled manor house was While the Crossing is renowned for cheats and
quickly overtaken by squatters, and has now spent criminals, the residents stick together, and a local
most of a century as an all-gnome artist’s commune. crew called the Crossers ensures that all predatory
Though only gnomes are invited to rent one of the practices are applied primarily to travelers, and never
rambling manor’s thirty-seven studio apartments, to fellow bridge-dwellers. For those who consistently
Baldurians of all races are welcome to socialize at refuse to play well with their neighbors, the answer is
the place’s infamous surrealist parties or attend its often Sweetjen’s Spices, a precarious bridge-side shop
concerts and offbeat art happenings. As such, the whose halfling proprietor quietly sells some of the most
hostel has become the central gathering point for the potent drugs and untraceable poisons in the city.
city’s radicals and revolutionaries, as well as many
artists and dreamers. W YRM ’ S R OCK
One of the neighborhood’s more outspoken critics of
the Gate’s government, Pernilla “Prole” Cabrenock, a This formidable fortress rises from the center of the
rock gnome woman, has teamed up with an oddball river on an algae-slick islet, its sheer walls nearly
inventor and arcanist named Ardryn Deagle, a male impossible to scale. Built by the Flaming Fist on a
rock gnome mage. Rumors spread by Prole herself rock once said to have housed a bronze dragon, the
suggest that they’ve almost completed a magical fortress is the first checkpoint at which Baldur’s Gate
invention that will “finally strip away the bonds of taxes northbound travelers. Anyone seeking to cross
capital and free the people to flourish,” but security the river via the fortress’s two massive bridges must
around the project has been unusually tight, keeping pay the 5 cp toll and pass through the fortress via
even many members of the commune in the dark. a long central tunnel riddled with arrow slits and
While most people assume this is merely some strange murder holes. Between twenty-five and fifty Flaming
new critique of the city’s patriars, both the Guild and Fist soldiers staff the checkpoint, which operates
the Flaming Fist would dearly love to infiltrate the only during the day. After dark, the drawbridges on
revolutionaries’ project and make sure it doesn’t pose a either side of the keep are raised, halting all traffic and
threat to the status quo. forcing latecomers to take shelter at one of the many
bridge-top inns in Wyrm’s Crossing until morning.
The fortress has four levels: the bridge level, taken
W YRM ’ S C ROSSING up by the gauntlet tunnel and offices devoted to
This neighborhood is actually two enormous bridges, traffic management; a second-story armory full of oil,
each spanning half the Chionthar River and meeting at javelins, and everything the soldiers need to withstand
Wyrm’s Rock, a tall, rocky islet in the center. While the a siege; a third story for soldier’s quarters; and a
Flaming Fist maintains a fortress on the island to tax high-ceilinged dungeon level below the bridges to
travelers along the Coast Way and control city access hold temporary prisoners and the fortress’s supply of
in times of trouble, the bridges themselves are fair small boats (should the garrison need to sally through
game for squatters. Ramshackle wooden tenements, heavily fortified river-level gates). Soldiers stationed
taverns, and shops crowd both sides of the arched in the fortress tend to fall into two categories: those
stone spans, leaning out over the narrow road between disappointed at being stuck on toll-collection duty so
them. Even more cling to the sides of the bridges, far from the city, and those overjoyed at easy work
anchored to each other or cantilevered over the water. and a chance to carouse in Wyrm’s Crossing, with
The tendency of these latter structures to occasionally the latter ensuring that the Fist doesn’t patrol their
drop into the rushing river, pulling their neighbors neighboring bridges too heavily.
down with them, is not enough to deter residents who The commander of Wyrm’s Rock, an old brute named
hope to be the first to sell to travelers on their way into Skorpin Crane, died in his sleep recently. Foul play
the city, or the last to pick their pockets on the way was ruled out, and Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard was
out. in the midst of finding Crane’s replacement when he
Even among members of the Outer City, residents was called away on a diplomatic mission to Elturel.
of Wyrm’s Crossing have a reputation as rakes and Until a replacement is found, the Mage Defender of
riffraff, and the neighborhood specializes in seedy dive Wyrm’s Rock, a shield dwarf mage named Gardak
bars and gambling halls where belligerent drunks can Horn, has taken command.
be ejected directly out over the river. At the same time,
it also has a large and tight-knit strongheart halfling
community, whose low-ceilinged tenements and lighter
weight are perfect for the neighborhood’s precarious

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T HE B ALDUR ’ S G ATE G AZETTEER

The Baldur’s Gate coat of arms represents the city’s role as

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C OUNCIL OF F OUR D UKE D ILLARD P OR TYR

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Nine gates separate the districts of Baldur’s Gate,

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• Each player rolls three dice. Play then proceeds clockwise

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