What to Expect When Expecting

On the Road

The northbound journey from Baldur’s Gate is arduous, so merchants travel together for safety. Each merchant hires guards independently, but the common belief is that if everyone hires two or three and enough wagons travel together, the caravan is well protected. Cultists hidden among the regular merchant wagon are notated with an *

Cultist Wagons

•     Wagon #1
• Teamster Ishu (Female human) bossy; rash; plays with hair often. Joined to see the world wiped clean after finding it does not satisfy particular longings; Knows identity of extorted merchant funding the cult.
• Guard Shulu (Male human) Too nice; likes fighting; reads people uncannily. Cares for invalid sibling on the wagon. Asks about you as a person, where you've been, what you want.

• Wagon #2
• Teamster Barsal (Male human) zany; blonde hair half shaved. Always singing/humming, gives wonderful advice; joined because the cult is blackmailing the family.
• Guard Rali (Female human) Curly brown hair, Deaf-mute, likes exercising. Joined to carry on the family tradition. Cultist notably brilliant.

• Wagon #3
• Teamster Felaci (Male human) Country and thick teeth, overbite, always eating. Joined for money to buy noble title. Wants to possess a treasure. Constantly drunk/high.
• Guard UR, (Female human) zany and smells of rotten celery. Joined for money to build a keep, ruling the fief according to whims. Wants to visit own pain upon others. Mends things that are broken.
• Azbara Jos

• Wagon #4
• Teamster Rimush (Male human) Thick head of dark brown hair and beard to hide large asymmetrical bones beneath the face. Joined for money to pay off debt. Wants to do something meaningful before death. Preternaturally lucky at games of chance, uses to advantage.
• Guard Tirigan, dignified and pupils like periods, usually rubbing/patting self uncomfortably. Joined to be revenged upon the halflings. Sometimes tells future.

• Wagon #5
• Teamster Neurhil (Male elf) Curly, black hair with a long mustache. Overbearing, hot tempered, but soft-hearted. Brave in the face of danger. Clothes: dark-brown boots, brown long pants, and a yellow fancy shirt.
• Guard Ashburton (male human) Dandyish in appearance. He is bald with a long, red moustache. Attentive, diplomatic, harsh and vengeful. Clothes: dark-brown sandals, a gray belt with a iron buckle, purple short pants, and a white shirt.

Merchant Wagons

• Wagon #1 - Wagon Loaded with exotic wood from Chult
• Merchant Edhelri Lewel (Female Moon Elf) Impatient with people, a perfectionist that dotes on her animals. Clothes: black thigh boots, a black belt, black long pants, and a light-purple shirt.
• Teamster Werond Torohar (Female Human) Short black hair. Uncanny knack for understanding and guiding animals. Hopeless romantic with plenty of tear jerking stories. Clothes: gray boots, tan short pants, yellowish-green cloak, and a light-purple formal shirt.
• Guard Leda Widris (Female human) Long auburn hair, braided. Honest and courageous, excited to travel north and see cold/snow for the first time. Clothes: dark-green shoes, dark-brown long pants, black wide-brim hat, and a dark-red tunic.
• Guard Mila (Female Elf) She has short, blonde hair. She is generally opinionated, modest and fearless in the face of danger She has a great interest in history. Clothes: gray thigh boots, a black belt, green bonnet, and a black plain dress.
• Yolanda

• Wagon #2 - Loaded with cured and uncured furs and hides
• Merchant Achreny Ulyeltin (Male human) boorish uncivilized man, vulgar, smelly, without any manners.
• Teamster Enom Tobun (Male halfing) Font of stories and legends, 40 years under his belt, becomes surly if you question the legitimacy of his stories.
• Guard Orvustia Esseren (Female human) Long black hair and ice blue eyes. Smart, tough, talented and very very naive. Clothes: dark-brown boots, a gray belt with an iron buckle, brown long pants, and a white shirt.
• *Shantha: (Female Human) She is a middle-aged and dirty in appearance. She has curly, brown hair. She is generally perceptive, but also diplomatic. Her disposition is compassionate but she is scrupulous by nature. She is quite brave in the face of danger. She has a great interest in wines and spirits. Dressed in: dark-brown shoes, a dark-red belt, gray floppy hat, and a dark-green fancy dress.
• Paddy

• Wagon #3 - Loaded with scented cooking oils and perfumes from Amn.
• Merchant Lai Angesstun (Male gold dwarf) Constantly talks about how much money he is going to make and refuses to spend even a copper on anyone.
• Guard Aelaerdur (Male Elf) long, auburn hair with a long mustache. Attentive, diplomatic, humble, and scrupulus. He has a great interest in herbalism. Clothes: dark-green thigh boots, dark-purple long pants, and a orange doublet.
• *Wieneth: (Male Human) He is mature and rough in appearance. He has curly, brown hair. He is generally trusting, but also egoist and arrogant. He comes off as being quite lazy. Dressed in: Black pants and a dark-purple shirt.
• *Erricia: (Female Human) She is young and neat in appearance. She has long, brown hair. She is generally curious and inquisitive, but also hostile. Her disposition is easy going but she is hard-hearted by nature. Dressed in: dark-red boots, green short pants, purple cloak, and a black shirt.

• Wagon #4 - Loaded with expensive porcelain
• Merchant Samardag (Male Human) The happiest optimist you'll ever meet.
• Guard Sulesdeg (Male Human) at 7'5'', known as The Pole. Short brown hair and neatly trimmed facial hair. Rarely ever speaks, but everyone listens when he does. Clothes: long loose brown pants and a gray shirt.
• *Nohol: (Male Human)He is a older male human that is unkempt in appearance. He has long, gray hair. He is generally fanatical and obsessive, but also modest. His disposition is harsh but he is forgiving by nature. He comes off as being quite driven. Clothes: brown thigh boots, a dark-brown belt with a platinum buckle, purple long pants, and a dark-red fancy shirt.
• *Miryth: (Female Half-Elf) She is young and foppish in appearance. She has curly, blonde hair. She is generally optimistic, but insensitive and vengeful by nature. She is quite brave in the face of danger. She has a great interest in legends. Dressed in: dark-brown shoes, black long pants, light-purple tricorne hat, black cloak, and a red doublet.

• Wagon #5 - Loaded with exotic birds
• Merchant Serelim Evenmor (Female half-elf) Loves to debate, stubborn and opinionated, but will happily drink with anyone up for a good debate.
• - Carl: (Male Human) He is mature and foppish in appearance. He has long, blonde hair. He is generally violent and warlike, but also antagonistic. He is deceitful by nature. He has a great interest in hunting. Clothing: Gray thigh boots, a brown belt, dark-gray kilt, and a dark-green doublet.
• - Mela: (Female Human) She is average in appearance. She has curly, brown hair. She is generally altruistic, but also aloof. Her disposition is morose but she is jealous by nature. She is quite cowardly in the face of danger. She has a great interest in fishing. Clothing: gray sandals, a dark-brown belt, forest-green short pants, and a black fancy shirt
• Sahri
• Hado 

Baldur's Gate

A metropolis of 120,000 - 140,000 people, Baldur's Gate is ruled by four grand dukes, the Council of Four, served by the legislative body known as the Parliament of Peers. The city is respected as a neutral power in relation to the Sword Coast, a reputation it earned in part through its open door policy towards refugees during the fallout of the Spellplague. Baldur's Gate is so well-defended by its massive walls and well-trained Flaming Fists protectors that few would ever seriously consider invading and occupying the city.

Government

---

Baldur’s Gate is ruled by the Council of Four, dukes who vote among themselves on matters of law and policy for the city. A single grand duke is chosen from among the four, and is empowered to break ties when the council is deadlocked. The current Grand Duke is Ulder Ravengard, who is joined by Dukes Thalamra Vanthampur, Belynne Stelmane, and Dillard Portyr

Below the council sits the Parliament of Peers, a group of about fifty Baldurians who meet daily (though almost never in full number) to discuss the future of the city and recommend actions for the dukes to take on all matters, great and small.

Defense of the Upper City is handled by the Watch, the official constabulary of the city’s elite. Their duty is to defend the patriars and enforce their laws, and little else. For the rest of Baldur’s Gate, security is enforced and order maintained by the Flaming Fist mercenary company, a supposedly neutral force which is free to fight in external conflicts, so long as it doesn’t side against Baldur’s Gate.

Society

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Baldurians take great pride in the inclusiveness of their city. It is a place anyone could call home, or start a new life within, regardless of race, creed or personal history. Despite its dense population and crowded streets it is remarkably clean and safe for citizens and visitors alike. This outlook led to a radical shift in Baldur's social structure when the Spellplague rendered an unimaginable number of beings homeless, exiled, and ripped from their lands.


Baldur's Gate stood firm on their inclusive stance, even as thousands of refugees flooded the city and expanded its jurisdiction far beyond the established walls. Baldur's Gate found itself with a unique problem, a city now filled with beings who favored the day hours, versus those rare beings who had until now favored the night and stayed far from cities and what was considered civilized society. The final solution gave birth to the modern nickname, the Twinned City.

Found nowhere else, Baldur's Gate is the city that never sleeps, the denizens of night taking over the city when they are most comfortable. Providing a means of economic survival, many beings seen no where else have come to call Baldur's Gate home, and abide by the new rules of the land. Tensions still exist though, as the High City considers itself full, locking upward mobility to the Lower City at best.

As a whole, citizens of Baldur's Gate do not tolerate drunk and debaucherous behavior. Unlike other cosmopolitan cities, Baldur's Gate is home to few formal festivals and gatherings. Even so, Baldur's Gate has many places of worship scattered across its districts. For instance, Twin Songs accepts all faiths and hosts a great diversity of temples and shrines dedicated to nearly every deity, even evil.

Despite the city's inclusiveness, three deities predominate worship for Baldurian citizens: Umberlee for the favor of the sea, Tymora for wealth and prosperity, and Gond for technological advances.

Commerce

---

The Gray Harbor of Baldur's Gate is one of the largest trade ports on the entire coast, handling a massive variety of trades, goods, and peoples. In the spirit of commerce, Baldur's Gate professes an openess to all non-harmful trade, helping it secure its position as the greatest center of trade, even out-competing Waterdeep.

Baldur's Gate sponsors nearly 90 professional guilds from the Upper City, ranging from loremasters, brewmasters, and metalworkers to nearly every skilled tradesperson in between.

Notable Locations

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Baldur's Gate is divided into three main sections. The Upper City is the walled region to the north, home to the wealthiest. The Lower City is the portion between the Old Wall and the River Chionthar, home to the mostly middle and merchant classes. The Outer City is the shantytown that rose up along the roads to the city and around Dusthawk Hill, mostly home to refugees and the lower class.

Upper City

---

The Upper City of Baldur’s Gate exudes wealth. Its buildings’ shutters and doors bear vibrant colors and arc smartly maintained. Its streets are wide and its terrain is nearly flat. At night the magic lamps that hang from ornate arms extending streetward from most buildings keep its avenues well lit. Rain runs of raised roads into drains, rather than pooling or flowing down streets, and sewers carry away waste. Flowering plants that hang from windows and climbing walls- and a ban on smelly businesses – help to sweeten the Upper City’s air.

A number of gates divide the Upper City from the Lower City, but the one to note is the famous Baldur’s Gate, from which the city takes its name. Trade passes only through this gate, and is taxed by the city — despite the fact that it was just such taxes that led to the city’s being overthrown by its first dukes and the Lower City enclosed by its ring wall. The other gates exist solely for the convenience of the patriars and their retinues. Any who aren’t in the presence of a patriar, wearing a patriar’s livery, or bearing a letter of proof of employment by a patriar must use Baldur’s Gate to pass between the Upper and Lower Cities. Bear this in mind when trying to sneak from one part of the city to the next.

• High Hall - Originally a fortress, the building known as High Hall was once the city’s last bastion against invasion, but it has since been heavily modified to allow for more comfort and light. The High Hall is used for professional guild meetings, civic events, court trials, tax counting, real-estate and law record-keeping, and anything to do with governance, including meetings of the Parliament of Peers and the Council of Four.
• The Wide - The Wide is the city’s only large civic space and serves as its market. By law, all buying and selling in the city not completed in a licensed and taxed establishment must be done in the Wide. Sellers at the daily market set up their tables, accoutrements, and wares just after dawn. At dusk, the Watch clears the streets of visitors and vendors.
• House of Wonders - The center of Gond’s worship on the Sword Coast lies in Baldur’s Gate, where the faithful have erected two huge structures in honor of the Wonderbringer: a temple called the High House of Wonders and a museum of craft and design called the Hall of Wonders.
• Watch Citadel - The Upper City’s police force uses the Watch Citadel as a barracks and for training, storage, and organizational needs. The citadel has only a few jail cells, which the Watch uses to temporarily hold those awaiting a trial in the High Hall or a transfer to the prison in the Seatower of Balduran.
• Temples District - Most of the city’s longest-standing and most influential temples are located in the Temples district. Several shrines and small temples dot the Upper City’s other districts, and an oft-frequented temple to Umberlee is located in Gray Harbor. Baldurians of all sorts give honor to Gond, and the temple complex to the god of labor and inventions is the grandest of them all.
• Taverns & Inns
• Three Old Kegs:  
• Highly comfortable but only slightly expensive, the Three Old Kegs was perhaps the most highly rated establishment in Baldur's Gate.
• Castien (male elf) Clean in appearance. He is bald with no facial hair at all. He is generally optimistic, but also courteous. 
• Purple Wyrm Inn and Tavern:
• A tavern much compared to the Elfsong, but it was more commonly used by merchants and those seeking adventure.
• Wideman(male human) Old and ragged in appearance. He has short, brown hair. He is generally trusting, friendly, proud.
• Helm and Cloak: 
• An expensive but well-rated feasting hall popular with both locals and travelers alike. Its upper floor was also rented out to the vast majority of the Knights of the Unicorn.
• Fugu (female gnome) Clean in appearance. She has long, red hair. Well-spoken, cheerful, and forgiving by nature.

Lower City

---

Hard against the harbor lies the Lower City, where stone, slate-roofed houses stand (sometimes unsteadily), and the merchant folk who have long performed the real work of the city reside. Baldur’s Gate depends on trade, and that trade flows in and out of the Gray Harbor.

The Lower City was long ago walled in to benefit from the protection of the city, but the divide between the two wards is as stark as it has ever been. The Flaming Fist is responsible for keeping order in the Lower City, and do so with brutal efficiency, deterring most from engaging in bold, public acts of theft, vandalism, or violence.

• Seatower of Balduran: The Seatower serves the Flaming Fist as headquarters, barracks, naval base, prison, and fortress. The marshal and most of the officers responsible for day-today Fist operations typicaJly work from the Seatower.
• Gray Harbor: Baldur’s Gate has one of the largest, busiest harbors on Faerûn’s western coast. The city’s independent status and tolerant nature appeal to many sea captains, who settle their families in Lower City homes. As a result, the Gate handles a wide variety of cargoes. Many pirates looking to fence their latest prizes also regularly tie up in the Gate. Hundreds of rail carts and seventy-six worker-powered, wheeled cranes aid movement of goods in the port, and dry docks outfitted with hoists and pumps of Gond dot the quays. 
• Bloomridge: Lower City citizens generally lead a working-class existence, but successful merchants, ship captains, landlords, and others who have access to wealth try to live as much like patriars as they can. This gave birth to the Bloomridge district. Here, rich folk sometimes purchase several Lower City buildings or even small blocks, and either raze the structures or modify and connect them to form a palatial home. Slightly less prosperous folk typically rent expensive, upper-floor apartments, preferring locations that feature rooftop terraces or balconies that offer fine views.
• Water Queen's House: This temple is a solitary structure standing in Gray Harbor. It dominates the end of a pier and descends on one side into the harbor. Waves have lapped against this temple of Umberlee for generations. Sailors and their families make frequent small offerings at it to buy the Queen’s favour. Its priestesses can often be seen descending the temple’s outside staircase to walk offerings into the river, where they disappear beneath the waves and climb back up empty-handed. What happens to the offerings is a mystery no one in Baldur’s Gate has ever dared to investigate, and the wrath of the whole city would surely fall upon anyone who did.
• Merchants
• Armor/Weapons
• Fiery Wyvern Archery Shoppe (1,860gp)
   Fletcher: Sidhgaladnel: (HGT: 7ft, 2in; WGT: 235 lbs)
   She is a middle-aged female elf that is immaculate in appearance. She has curly, black hair. She is generally moody, but is compassionate and forgiving by nature. She can be perceived as amoral when it comes to her morality. She has a great interest in hunting. Dressed In: dark-red fur boots, dark-gray kilt, and a brown formal shirt.
   Wares: Seller of ranged weapons
    
• The Armored Sprite Anvil (711gp)
   Blacksmith: Narod: (HGT: 6ft, 1in; WGT: 250 lbs)
   He is a young male orc that is ragged in appearance. He has short, black hair with a long beard and moustache. He is generally opinionated and abrasive but compassionate by nature. He is quite brave in the face of danger. He has a great interest in history. Dressed In: dark-red sandals, blue-green long pants, and a green formal shirt.
   Wares: Blacksmith of heavy armor/martial weapons.           
   
• Copper Tree Hammer (321gp)
   Blacksmith: Ugago: (HGT: 4ft, 11in; WGT: 310 lbs)
   She is an old female satyr that is clean in appearance. She has short, auburn hair. She is generally perceptive and diplomatic. Her disposition is unforgiving by nature. she comes off as being quite motivated. She has a great interest in religion. Dressed In: blue feathered hat, and a light-gray fancy dress. Possessions: glass eye, feather, metal file, concealed pouch with 2cp.
  Wares: Simple weapons and medium armor.

• General Goods
• Savage Ranger Writings (425gp)
   Librarian: Ratsu (4'3'', 250lbs)
   He is a young male dwarf that is rough in appearance. He has long, brown hair. He is generally curious and inquisitive, but also modest. His disposition is insensitive. He has a great interest in herbalism. Dressed in: brown fur boots, a tan belt with a gold buckle, light-gray long pants, blue cap, blue robe, and a blue fancy shirt.
  Wares Parchments and books from simple to magical. Also a Pixie in a Crystal for 200gp
              
• The Humming Demon Crafters (787gp)
   Musician: Wutgarek (HGT: 7ft; WGT: 313 lbs)
   He is a mature male minotaur that is rough in appearance. He is generally precise and exacting, but also forceful. He has a great interest in history. Dressed In: a dark-brown belt, blue long pants, dark-red bandana, and a dark-green formal shirt.
  Wares All manner of musical instruments
              
• Twin Mule Animal Trainer (241gp)
   Animal Trainer: Peder: (HGT: 5ft, 5in; WGT: 150 lbs)
   He is a young male human that is immaculate in appearance. He has long, auburn hair with a long moustache. He is generally loquacious. Dressed In: gray thigh boots, light-red short pants, and a tan fancy shirt.
  Wares All manner of animals for sale.
              
• The Copper Wisp Pawn (2,773gp)
   Merchant: Bulgan: (HGT: 7ft, 1in; WGT: 270 lbs)
   He is an old male human that is imposing in appearance. He is generally suspicious and cautious. His disposition is even tempered but he is deceitful by nature. Dressed In: light-purple long pants, and a light-red tunic. Possessions: mouse.
   Wares All the miscellaneous items
              
• Homemade Princess Bakery  [1,404gp]
   Baker: Isith: (HGT: 5ft WGT: 90lbs)
   They are a short Aarakroka, neat and chipper. Easily distracted, but personable and skilled baker capable of easily multi-tasking.                                                Wares: All manner of baked goods.
              
• The Quiet Scout
   Merchant: Kresst: (5'6'', WGT 130lbs) / Joj (6'2", WGT 230lbs)
  They are a medium sized Yuan-ti who runs a flower shop. Her brother Joj does the delivery and landscaping. Kresst is bright and personable, where Joj is quiet and contemplative in nature. Kresst is very talkative, a lover of plants. Joj is quiet due to language barriers. Wares: Florist

• Clothing Shops
• Drake Thick Skins (2,842gp)
   Leatherworker: Len: (HGT: 2ft, 8in; WGT: 120 lbs)
   He is a mature male gnome that is clean in appearance. He has long, white hair. He is generally precise and exacting. His disposition is cheerful but he is jealous by nature. He has a great interest in handicrafts. Dressed In: black shoes, light-red short pants, and a dark-green formal shirt.
  Wares: Anything leather
              
• The Stitched Imp (1,267gp)
    Tailor: Lurevred: (HGT: 5ft, 7in; WGT: 135 lbs)
    They are a young non-binary elf that is clean in appearance. They have long, red hair. They are generally precise and exacting, but also friendly. Their disposition is cheerful. They have a great interest in herbalism. Dressed In: tan shoes, a brown belt with a bronze buckle, green pants, and a tan fancy shirt.
  Wares: Varied clothing/cloaks

• Magical Shops
• The Fiery Idol Supplies (2,709gp)
   Merchant: Tic: (HGT: 4ft, 11in; WGT: 90 lbs)
   She is a young female tiefling that is unkempt in appearance. She has long, white hair. She is generally studious and humble. She is quite timid in the face of danger. She is a collector of weapons. Dressed In: dark-red sandals, a dark-green belt, purple short pants, and a white formal shirt.
  Wares: Magical Components (vials, ingredients etc)
              
• The Exigent Emporium
   A mysterious shop of arcane items, which only appears to those who have particular need of it.
  Phelia the human female Phelia is overweight, with long brown hair and light hazel eyes. She wears sapphire robes. She is Hemaphobic (afraid of blood) and truthful. Phelia seeks to prove herself to her peers. Wares: Random magic items

• Taverns
• Blade and Stars
• A quiet inn known for its high-quality foodstuffs.
• Arnethire (male elf) Foppish in appearance. He has curly, black hair. Distant, compassionate, hard-hearted by nature.
• Blushing Mermaid
• Located in the north-eastern section of Baldur's Gate, the Blushing Mermaid was an establishment known for its status as a hub of illicit business.
• Gordon (male human) Ragged in appearance. He has long, black hair with a short moustache. He is generally suspicious and cautious, but also rash.
• Elfsong Tavern
• A tavern in the southeast near the eastern gate known best for its strange haunting, a ghostly elven voice of unidentified origin that could be heard singing quietly at night.
• Aihe (female gnome) Disshelved in appearance. She has short, black hair. Helpful and friendly but morose
• Splurging Sturgeon
• Located a bit south from the Blushing Mermaid, the Splurging Sturgeon was a small but well-known establishment.
• Christine (female human) Unkempt in appearance. She has curly, red hair. She is generally capricious and mischievous, but also antagonistic.

 Outer City

---

The Outer City sprawls without rhyme or reason, its muddy streets a tangle of shanties, forges, tanneries, dye works, slaughterhouses, stables, stockyards, paddocks, and dung heaps. Its layout and architecture are a mess of unregulated construction and styles. Many buildings are made of wood or wattle. A significant amount of daily trade takes place in this unpoliced, dangerous area, where live “outsiders”.

Outside the walls, there are no laws barring construction or settlement, and so those who are too poor to reside within the city or to purchase property have slowly built up a third ward of the city, living in the shadow of its walls, paying its taxes, and covering both sides of the roads leading into Baldur’s Gate. Here, the poorest of the poor live in the Outer City, but so too do those whose businesses are considered too troublesome, noisy, or foul-smelling to operate within the walls, so tanners, smiths, masons, dyers, and other tradesfolk abound.

• The Guild: The Guild tries to keep a low profile, and much of its effort inside the walls deals with policing crime so that the illicit activities don’t draw too much attention. The criminal organization doesn’t rule the Outer City in anything resembling the same way, but it’s the only group that has any significant control in the area. Many Outer City businesses and residents pay protection money to the Guild. In return, these cooperative establishments and people are marked with a special sign as off-limits to would-be burglars or vandals, and the Guild makes an effort to hunt down anyone who flouts its decrees.
• Wyrm's Rock: No laws control construction in the Outer City, including on the bridge spans that comprise Wyrm’s Crossing. Tenements, taverns, and shops heap up on both sides of these stone spans. Many cantilevered structures extend out over the Chionthar, and others loom above what has become a shadowy and crowded alley down the bridge’s center. Wyrm’s Rock stands between the bridge’s lengths, and land traffic must pass through the Flaming Fist’s fortress to reach the other side.
• Twin Songs: The Twin Songs hosted temples to virtually any god, even evil gods like Bhaal and Bane. Following the mass expansion of the city, the three religions, although still prominent, were no longer the dominant temples, with smaller (and some malign) religions gaining more and more influence. The Twin Songs was the only place that unified the cultures of all of Faerûn.
• Little Calimshan: A walled Calishite district has grown up to the east of the city proper, known by Baldurians as Little Calimshan. Within the district, neighborhoods are divided by walls, but these walls have walkways atop them so that foot traffic can proceed unimpeded by the gates that slow carts and mounts. Here, refugees from Calimshan have found a home away from that southern nation, and largely depend on themselves for trade, culture, and defense.
• Blackgate District: Blackgate is an Outer City district of Baldur’s Gate, situated apart from most of the Outer City due to its placement at the city’s northwest edge at the base of the Trade Way. It connects to the Upper City via the Black Dragon Gate, one of only three entrances to the city.
            
  Blackgate is a rough and tumble district, as is much of the Outer City, made distinctive by its unusually large population of shield dwarves and ironworkers. As is the same for elsewhere in the Outer City, the area is mostly controlled by The Guild, although the density of trade coming through the district and its proximity to the Upper City ensures the area sees more Flaming Fist activity that most Outer districts.
• The Underground: Hidden from much of the population of Baldur's Gate, the underground is a home away from home for many beings who ran from the Underdark, fleeing their own kind or the Spellplague. Maintained by group of Drow who worship the good Goddess Thal, the place has been painstakingly carved out. The streets and public areas are decorated with bioluminescent fungus and magical glowing gem and minerals, creating an intricate awe-inspiring world beneath. The diverse ecosystem is carefully cared for by the worshippers of Thal, and all are welcome to walk the open streets. Many of the houses in the Outer City have basements that lead to the secondary homes in the Underground, creating a seamless transition to both worlds. 
• Merchants
• Pine Nail Wood Shoppe (1,410gp)
   Carpenter: Ilkarirthar: (HGT: 6ft, 6in; WGT: 250 lbs)
   She is a mature female human that is dandyish in appearance. She has short, brown hair. She is generally trusting and modest but she is hard-hearted by nature. She is a collector of porcelain, china and crystal. Dressed In: dark-green sandals, a black belt with a bronze buckle, tan long pants, dark-brown tricorne hat, and a dark-brown shirt.
  Wares All manner of wooden vehicles
              
• Mighty Magician Foods (2,428gp)
   Cook: Fruitimiere: (HGT: 9ft, 9in; WGT: 375 lbs)
   She is a mature female centaur that is rugged in appearance. She has long, blonde hair. Her disposition is insensitive but she is truthful by nature. She comes off as being quite driven. She has a great interest in fishing. Dressed In: yellow floppy hat and a light-green plain dress.
  Wares Bulk food goods
              
• Silver Cloak
   Emmyth Wood Elf(Female), Physic/Chirurgeon/ Professional Specialties Age 408           Appearance: Tall thick build, with green eyes and well groomed grey hair. They are missing their right eye, a fresh wound.
   She believes that everything worth doing is worth doing right. She is a perfectionist. Has a love of innate beauty.
  Wares: Physician and medicinal supplies

Dor

A kobold who wisely decided that the party wiping out everyone in the caves was not worth fighting. They joined the party under the agreement that they would lead Dor to a dragon worth serving.

Location: Cultist Camp -> w/party

Appearance: Dor is a 4'2" blue kobold that is speckled all over with white freckles. They have long horns that curve straight back, and head fins on either side of their face. Despite their seemingly petite build, they are constantly carrying an absurd number of jars, bottles, and questionable cages on their self.

Roleplaying:

• Skittish, quick to get out of dangerous situations
• Curious and easily bored. Will get into trouble if left unsupervised.
• Will gift creations to people that they like
  

Background: Like the other kobolds found at the cultist camp, Dor was recruited under the impression that they would be able to work for Lennithon the blue dragon as a reward for their service. Dor was entrusted with others to protect the eggs that were being stored in the back of the hatchery. When the party enlisted the help of a bored roper to eat the attacking kobolds, Dor realized their inevitable demise and begged for mercy. The party adopted Dor to help them, promising to lead Dor to a dragon worth serving if Dor helped them.

Like any kobold, Dor has the ability to choose their gender. After traveling some time with the party, Dor simply decided to do away with either genitalia, having no other kobolds around to make eggs with. Dor is happy to focus on their tinkering, all in hopes of serving their future dragon.

There was a tense moment when Dor discovered the party attacked Lennithon directly, but when the party agreed to try and persuade Lennithonaway from being an obstacle the next time they met, Dor forgave them.


Key Info:

• Dor is a skilled alchemist, using the party's leftovers to devise new concoctions.
• Dor is very attached to Yolanda, the strongest person in the group that keeps them safe.
  

 Relationships:

• Loves: Yolanda, Lapis
• Likes:Sahri, Hado, Paddy, Yung Money
• Hates: Cultists

The Whiteflask Inn

The inn is a two-story timber and brick building, with a smooth stone floor. The innkeeper is a tall female elf named Idris. She knows a few simple spells for housekeeping.

The Menu

• Boiled Eggs and Cabbage, Tankard of Stout (10 cp)
• Stewed Artichoke, Mug of Perry (4 cp)
• Boiled Mutton and Buckwheat Bread, Tankard of Mead (9 cp)
• Roasted Pheasant and Blue Cheese, Tankard of Mead (10 cp)

 

Patrons

• Finy Harport: Male Human Fighter, Good. Rugged in appearance, with blonde hair and large green eyes. He wears splint mail and wields a halberd. Finy is heading to Baldur's gate to interview as a guard.
• Armin: Male Elf Ranger, Neutral. Armin has an angular face, with short chesnut hair and blue eyes. He wears leather armor and wields a mace and javelins. Armin is trying to look as inconspicuous as possible in the corner, currently has guards looking for him.
• Gaukri: Female Human Druid, Neutral. Gaukri is rough in appearance, with braided Auborn hair and large blue eyes. She wears thick furs that cover her head to toe. Gaukri is quarreling with the innkeeper about their companion, a golden eagle named Ukhlag.
• Saege: Male Human Thief, Good. Saege has a narrow face, with cropped black hair and narrow amber eyes. He wears leather armor and wields a short sword and dagger. Saege seems intent on sneaking into the cellar.
• Marger: Female Human Cleric, Good. Marger has matted black hair and soft hazel eyes. She wears plate mail and wields a flail. Marger seems to be seeking omens in a deck of cards.
• Aurif: Female Dwarf Thief, Neutral. Aurif is short, with thick black hair and large blue eyes. She wears leather armor and wields a mace. Aurif is easily distracted by food and drink.

City of Elturel

Elturel is a city-state lying on the River Chionthar in the Western Heartlands. A center for agriculture and trade in the region, and was renowned for its elite mounted defenders, the Hellriders. It is a theocracy of Torm the True and defended by its paladin knighthood, the Order of the Companion. The city is situated atop a bluff with a cliff dominating the River Chionthar. This was both a good defensive position and a good crossing-point, as the river below was narrow, shallow, and easily traversed by poling barges; the city was founded here for this advantage.

After the 1430s DR, a shining orb known as the Companion or "Amaunator's Gift" hung directly over the center of the city, never setting. Only the High Observer knows if this was truly a blessing of the sun god Amaunator. This second sun produces no heat but its light illuminates the city day and night, as bright as the natural sun and burns undead of all kinds. Creatures of darkness can not even bear to look at the city. It can be seen from virtually anywhere within Elturgard, though it fades with distance.

Government 

---

The city and Elturgard as a whole are ruled by the High Observer of Torm, a priest named Thavus Kreeg. Aided by a paladin knighthood, the High Observer makes certain that order is maintained in the city and the realm, with the aim of bringing righteous judgment to all the Realms and "setting Faerûn aright". As in the past, they ensure the city and countryside remain safe and well-policed and that trade and agriculture are run efficiently.

Society 

---

Elturian citizens still often dreamed of joining Elturgard's paladin knighthood. In this age, many are capable of succeeding. Inspired by the Hellriders and the Companions, the folk of Elturgard are typically devout in both their faith and the pursuit of justice. Both troops were loved and respected by the people. Elturgard's laws are rigid, intolerant, and persecuted evil with inquisitorial zeal, leading to a host of problems. Those who break the law three times are sent to the Dungeon of the Inquisitor. Here, they are punished and set to work mining new tunnels. The inmate population is always being replenished. Nevertheless, it remains the safest city in the land.

Under the eternal day of the second sun, Elturians depending on bells tolling in the High Hall to know the beginning and ending of each workday. The constant light reduced typical nighttime activities; there was little brawling and muggings, while thieves were perforce extra cautious and cunning. It was especially hard for newcomers to adjust to life here. Inns and boarding houses covered windows with thick curtains to let patrons sleep.

Notable Locations

---

The High District

The High District of Elturel dominates the untidy, noisome Dock District below. The High District is built of stone, with narrow, twisting, steep cobbled streets that are crowded with spired and balcony-festooned tall narrow houses.

• High Hall: The residence of the High Observer, and seat of local government and all large commercial meetings.
• The Garden: A park that stretches away from High Hall in a narrow cut amid the buildings. It is an open place of flowers, wooded paths, arched bridges, and a spring that rises under High Hall, and winds the length of the Garden, to tumble down the hill in the cascades of Maidens’ Leap, and thence by canal to form a moat and bargeway for the eastern Dock District, where it joins the River.
• The Verdant Pavilion: A grand timber and brick theatre, known for its halfling slice of life plays.
• Helm’s Shieldhall: A temple dedicated to the worship of Torm.

• Taverns & Inns:
• Phontyr’s Unicorn: The highest of high class
• Symbril's House: A cozy place with pleasant view of the city's garden.

The Dock District (Waltford)

The Dock District is settled below the High District. It is all dirt, business, and utilitarian buildings, and is dominated by warehouses, markets, wagonmakers, and large stockyards. To the east, warehouses and hovels crowd together around the docks and the crammed stalls of Shiarra’s Market.

• Shiarra’s Market: A large and bustling market fueled by trade along the Sojourn River. 
• Taverns & Inns
• Bent Helm: a tavern of poor quality.
• Gallowgar’s Inn: A ramshackle inn
• The Oar & Wagon Wheel: Crowded, noisy, drafty

Westerly

Westerly is where you’ll find the more prosperous and orderly homes and shops west of the heights that are still part of the Dock District. This area has been increasingly referred to as Westerly for separation to imply cleanliness and prosperous success or, to look at it from the other view, laziness, soft living, and pretentious arrogance.

• Dungeon of the Inquisitor: Reserved for those who trespass against the laws of Elturgard three times, this vast, subterranean maze lies deep beneath the streets of Elturel, and its population is constantly being replenished by new lawbreakers.
• The High Harvest Home: A temple dedicated to Chauntea, it is presided over by High Harvestmaster Oregh Ballorin, one of the most goddess-favored servants of Chauntea in all Bearenor.
• The Workshop of Gond: A temple dedicated to Gond, it is overseen by High Tinkerer Munson Louvea.
• Taverns & Inns:
• Hondakar's House: A big, expensive inn
• A Pair of Black Antlers: The best known tavern in the city.

 

Notable Shops

---

Wyld Mail 

A new shop advertising a magical mail carrying service unmatched in the land.
Owner - Allium Cepa (Male Jackalope)

• Appearance: Allium is a short humanoid looking man, though when excited large rabbit ears appear from his skull. He wears a sweater made of necklaces and bracelets knitted together.
• Characteristics: Excitable, distracted by shiny things, humanphile
• Ideal: Wants to establish a Jackalope mail carrier empire through the land.
• Employees:

• Petroselinum crispum - Male Elturel based jackalope mail carrier. honey brown with white spots. 
• Fragaria vesca - Female Elturel based jackalope mail carrier. Brindle brown/grey fur.
• Epimedium sagittatum - Female Elturel based jackalope mail carrier. Shaded black/brown fur.
• Quercus alba - Male Elturel based Lunarlope, night shift mail carrier. Pure white fur.
• Althaea officinalis - Female Elturel based Lunarlope, night shift mail carrier. Pure white fur.

Kater's Ironworks

A modest blacksmith's workshop
Owner(s) - Baegsi Kalfrison (Male Mountain Dwarf)

• Appearance : Rough in appearance, with greying hair and bright hazel eyes. Wears sturdy clothing and a wooden holy symbol.
• Characteristics : Mispronounces names, respectful, thrifty and wise.
• Ideal : My people are all that matter.

- Ingerdr: Mountain Dwarf (Female)

• Appearance : Ingerdr is rough, with red hair and amber eyes. She wears modest garments and a wide-brimmed hat.
• Characteristics : Cursed by tremors, pleasant, dislikes other faiths but respect the worship of other gods.
• Ideal : Ideals aren't worth killing for or going to war for.

Olnold's Folly

An impressive building of half-timbered walls, decorated with dungeon doors. A popular general goods store.
Owner - Aucieth (Female Human)

• Appearance : Normal average build, a round face, with black hair and sharp green eyes. She wears sturdy clothing and a wooden holy symbol.
• Characteristics : Body piercings
• Personality : Fidgety, a crude sense of humor.
• Ideal : Greater Good. It is each person's responsibility to make the most happiness.

Festival of Torm

---

Torm is described as being the god of duty, loyalty, obedience, paladins and truth. He is usually depicted as a knight riding a golden wyrm. Torm was a comrade of the dragon god Bahamut.
   
The Festival of Torm is a daylong display on the might and prowess of the fighters and knights of the city of Elutrel, a festival that rewards shows of training, glory, and discipline. The Festival takes place in the High Garden.

NPCs for Days

---

Wrestlers

• Broge: Male Human Fighter, Good. Broge is tall, with long dark hair and gray eyes. He wears plate mail and wields a flail and shield. Broge believes that he is being hunted by supernatural creatures.
• Rione: Female Human Fighter, Neutral. Rione is pleasant in appearance, with brown hair and green eyes. She wears banded mail and wields a warhammer.
• Genfre: Male Human Fighter, Neutral. Genfre is tall and overweight, with black hair and blue eyes. He wears chain mail and wields a long sword and long bow. Genfre is eccentric and honest.
• Shunda: Female Human Fighter, Neutral. Rine has uneven golden hair and soft brown eyes, and a sharp nose. She wears splint mail and wields a long sword. Rine has an animal companion, a badger named Raffin.

Guards & Such

• Hera Elnnyn: Female Human Paladin, Good. Hera is noble in bearing, with thick black hair and gray eyes. She wears plate mail and wields a halberd. Hera compulsively organizes things.
• Annel Rowley: Female Human Soldier, Neutral. Annel is fair in appearance, with pale blonde hair and brown eyes. She wears scale mail and wields a mace. Annel suffers a traumatic fear of heights.
• Atham: Male Human Fighter, Good. Atham has shaved hair and amber eyes, and brown scruff. He wears plate mail and wields a bastard sword. Atham seeks to become a knight of the realm.
• Wine: Male Human Fighter, Neutral. Wine is willowy, with dirty blonde hair and dark blue eyes. He wears plate mail and wields a military pick. Wine seeks to atone for past sins by working for the city guard.

Archers

• Brigthwe: Female Human Priest, Good. Brigthwe has a square face, with silver hair and green eyes. She wears well-made clothing and a dragonscale cloak. Brigthwe lost her reflection to a hag.
• Ankith: Female Human Professional, Neutral. Ankith has copper hair and narrow blue eyes, and a beaked nose. She wears tailored clothing and a leopard fur cape. Ankith is disorganized and truthful.
• Joyce: Female Human Fighter, Neutral. Joyce has curly red hair and light blue eyes. She wears plate mail and wields a spear and short bow. Joyce has an animal companion, a black wolf named Cilia.
• Ielbet: Male Human Fighter, Neutral. Ielbet has gray hair and bright green eyes, and an uneven moustache. He wears banded mail and wields a bastard sword and heavy crossbow.

Hafling Performers

• Ethed: Female Halfling Wizard, Good. Has an angular face, with black hair and narrow amber eyes. She wears silver robes and wields a quarterstaff. Compulsively plays with a copper ring.
• Hordi Geirison: Male hafling Druid, Neutral. Ethed is tall, with thin blonde hair and narrow hazel eyes. He wears leather armor and wields a club and dagger. Ethed is impish and dishonest.
• Ziri: Male hafling Scholar, Good. Ziri is tall, with thin whispy brown hair and soft hazel eyes. He wears well-made clothing and carries a fine stiletto. Ziri has an animal companion, a gray rabbit named Arikr.
• Susi: Male Hafling Fighter, Neutral. Susi has a square face, with tangled golden hair and green eyes. He wears splint mail and wields a bastard sword and shield. Seeks only fame and glory.
• Some: Female Halfling, Good. Some is rough in appearance, with braided greying hair and large hazel eyes. She wears fine raiment and jewelry.

Miscellaneous Folk

• Berny: Male Human Servant, Good. Berny is noble in bearing, with auburn hair and green eyes. He wears modest garments and a gray cloak.
• Gotiua: Female Centaur Scholar, Neutral. Gotiua is noble in appearance, with black hair and blue eyes. She wears well made clothing and a mink fur cape. Gotiua is suspicious and possessive.
• Gysby: Male Human Thief, Neutral. George is rugged in appearance, with tangled dark hair and dark green eyes. He wears leather armor and wields a dagger.
• Ealchfleant: Female Half-elf Peasant, Neutral. Ealchfleant has thin golden hair and brown eyes. She wears travel-stained clothing and a green cloak. Ealchfleant is a practiced dart] thrower.
• Exard: Male Human Paladin, Good. Exard has uneven auburn hair and gray eyes, and prominent ears. He wears plate mail and wields a short sword and shield. Exard is fearless and covetous.
• Duri: Female Dwarf Aristocrat, Neutral. Duri is tall, with long black hair and large hazel eyes. She wears fine raiment and jewelry. Duri is lazy and envious.
• Ilian: Female Human Druid, Neutral. Ilian is fair in appearance, with auburn hair and sharp brown eyes. She wears leather armor and wields a hammer. Cultured and clever.
• Adonir: Male human traveling merchant, Pear-shaped, with greasy hair and dark eyes. Wants to one up everyone and pearshaped, is starting stories with "remember that time..." followed by something ridiculous and/or awkward.

The Hatchery

Abandoned Camp

---

When the characters return the the camp, it is mostly empty.

Key Features

• Hunters are gone during the day hunting, some scouts are standing around cutting meat.
• There isn't anything of worth to the party left behind, but possibly the people of Greenest.
• Two of the scouts are fighting over leftover alcohol
• A lone Guard Drake is furiously digging somewhere in the rear of the camp.
• A single cultist is has a large wooden signboard with the phrase "Free Couch" and an arrow.
• A group of three cultists stands on the north side of camp arguing about which way to go.

 

The Cave

---

The only area of interest left to the party.

Notable NPCs

• Langdedrosa Cyanwrath - Cult Leader, Blue Half-Dragon // Killed by party in the cultist cave.
• Frulam Mondath - Cult Leader, Human // Killed by party in the cultist cave.
• Dor - A blue kobold with white spots adopted by the party.

 

Key Features

Room 1
3 passed out cultists

Room 3
There is a halfling named Tom Haverford who is naked and hanging upside down from the ceiling. He's lazy and obsessed with looking dapper. Rescuing Tom puts you in range of the fungus. He is half-conscious. On a successful attack or if the characters fall into the fungus patch, DC10 Constitution save. On a failure, the character begins to hallucinate, roll for random effect:

1. Everyone the character sees turns melty and then is replaced by a reptilian doppelganger.
2. Bugs start swarming out of the walls and floor and are covering the character's hands and arms.
3. The walls and room catch fire and you are unbearably hot willing to do anything to cool off.
4. A monkey ran up and stole your stuff, and then hid it in random team-mates backpack. If anyone tries reassure you, they must be in on it.
5. You feel sick and the walls are closing in and you know you are going to die any minute.
6. Everything is just, really, really, funny. Laugh out loud funny. Ringing echoing laughs.

Room 4
Empty. A big, creepy, empty room that echos and casts shadows everywhere. It's hollow and it echos and it's a bit creepy, and every time the players enter it, you roll a random encounter check because it's the center of the complex.

Room 5
Troglodytes - Torturing the unlucky cultist Irarum, who is eager to be rescued. Troglodytes not hostile to party, too preoccupied with trying to find more of the tasty drugs they ate off the cultist.

Room 7
A large bowl of blood in the center of the room, magical runes etched into the bowl. DC20 Arcana reveals it to be a blood that transforms one into a baby drake. Overwhelming scent of Ozone fills the room, and anytime anyone speaks while in the room with the blue drakes, everyone hears what they say rumble from the blue drakes' mouths instead.

Room 8
Doesn't look much better than the trash pile, large quantities of random trinkets, rotting meat and feces. Anyone performing melee in the room has to make a DC10 Dexterity check each round to avoid slipping and giving them disadvantage on their attack. Everything in this room is surprisingly flammable!

Room 9
Shrine of Tiamet: Necropsy - Any wound inflicted cause echo damage (next lower die) DC 15 Con save. 4 Beserkers.

Room 10
The walls in this room ooze acid. Every minute spent in the room by a non-draconic creature requires a DC 15 Constitution save or you take 1d8 acid damage from the burning to your lungs. The guard drakes in here are black guard drakes.Eggs 1: Black, Egg 2: White, Egg 3: Red

Festering wounds: Black drake attacks do 1d6 points of damage the round after the successfully strike a foe as the wound festers and burns.

Disco Confusion: Walls have glass/brightly reflective, almost scale like pieces pasted into the stone walls that have softened from the acid in the air. When in bright light, mirrored reflections of the people around it dance in a confusing holographic array, making ranged attacks take place at disadvantage.

Room 11
Frulam Mondath's Room - Fanatical and Cautious, she's a physical fitness buff and has a narrow bering. She views herself as having the spirit of a dragon and is tired of the constant shit she has to take from everyone.

Room 13
Treasure room - 300 copper pieces, 100 silver, 3 gold pieces

The Raider's Camp

The Raider's Camp

---

The raiders retreated toward the southeast, about twelve miles, to a more rugged region where steep-sided, rocky plateaus replace the gently rolling hills. The cultists have set up their camp in the hollow of a rocky plateau that’s shaped roughly like a horseshoe. The lower portion of the plateau rises gently from the surrounding land, but it quickly steepens and ascends to a height of 150 feet above the landscape.

Society

---

The camp appears disorganized and chaotic. Morale seems high and security lax. There is a mix of cultists of different colors, consisting of Red, Blue, and Black dragon cultists. Besides cultists, there are two established mercenary groups working for the cultists, and they do not get along. Other mercenaries are wandering freemen not affiliated with either. Lastly, the cultists have enslaved a large number of Kobolds to do their bidding, enthralled by the blue dragon working with the cultists. Order is barely kept together through force of those at the top.

Notable Locations

---

• Prisoner camp - Where those capture by cultists were held before processing.
• Head tent - Reserved for Rezmir, Cyanwrath, Mondath, and Azbara Jos.
• Hatchery - A well guarded cave at the back of the camp.
• Mercenary camp - Red Suns camp & where animals are being held.
• Mercenary camp - Storm Blades camp & kitchen
• Cult Tents - Black Talon Cultist camp
• Cult Tents - Red Hand / Cobalt Claw camps

Notable Residents

---

• Kobolds - Dragon worshipers convinced to follow the cause to gain favor with dragons
• Storm Blades - Solider like mercenary group hired by Cultists temporarily to help with raids
• Red Suns - Ragged mercenary group hired by Cultists to help with raids // Most killed in the Kobold revolt / animal Rampage
• Leosin Erlanthar - Cult Expert, Elf Monk // Freed by the party, former mentor of Hado
• Zuloira - Cultist, Human // Made friends with Sahri over instruments
• Zafira - Cultist Assassin, Half-elf // After meeting Sahri, decided to desert the cult and follow Noe's whims
• Noe Demascus - Cultist Painted Barbarian, Human // After meeting Sahri, fell in love and decided the cult wasn't for him anymore and deserted to form a new guild: The Stormborn
• Irarum - BLack Talon cultist who sold drugs to other cultists
• Sabas - A hunched limping cultist, helpful and unconcerned with impending death

The Town of Greenest

Greenest

---

The town of Greenest is the only town of any size astride the Uldoon Trail, the most direct road between Waterdeep to the north, Cormyr to the east and Amn to the south. The town of Greenest was founded over a hundred years ago by the halfling Dharva Scatterheart, a rogue who fancied herself the queen of the Greenfields. Scatterheart passed away without ever achieving that level of eminence, but her town grew from a rough and tumble palisade to the thriving open community Greenest is today.

It is a medium sized town with a population of 2,100, usually full of merchants and traders on their way to larger cities.

Government

---

Tarbaw Nighthill is the town appointed governor of Greenest, residing in Greenest Keep. He is in charge of the town's justice, defense, and laws, though he works closely with a town council comprised of prominent merchants, craftsfolk, and farmers. Governor Nighthill is aided by his Castellan, Escobert the Red, who acts as the governor's second, and is in direct command of the town militia.

Society

---

Even though Greenest claims a number of citizens as residents of the town proper, that total encompasses the farms and other homes that lie outside the town boundaries within an hour's walk. The citizens outside of the town proper reside mostly on the farms and steadings situated in the numerous small valleys comprising the Greenfields; most are within seven (7) miles of the town's walls.

Demographics

71% Humans, 19% Halflings, 4% Dwarves, 3% Elves, 1% Half-Elves, 2% Other

Religion

Chauntea

Notable Locations

---

• The Keep: A stone keep sits in the center of town. The town council and governor conduct town buisness from the great hall, but most of the space in the keep is dedicated to defense. The dwarf Escobert the Red is the castellan, and commands a small retinue to soldiers, as well as local militiamen. 
• Temple of Chauntea: Most of the townsfolk worship Chauntea, so this fieldstone building is the tallest in town. The half-elf Eadyan Falconmoon is the temple’s priest. 
• Mill: The mill is on the southwestern side of town along the small river. 
• The Wayward Pine - Biggest inn in town, owned by Paddy, run by Lenore

Notable Residents

---

• Tarbaw Nighthill – Governor 
• Eadyan Falconmoon – Priest of Chauntea
• Escobert the Red – Castellan / Master of the Keep
• Emir Markduth – Sergeant of the town militia
• Lenore Durere - Now head proprietor of The Wayward inn
• Samuel - Former barboy now adopted guild member
• Elmo - Bartender at The Wayward inn
• Redlegs - Saner halfling security at The Wayward inn
• Tessa Markduth - Emir's sister-in-law. Saved by party, now runs a school

Zafira

A former cultist that defected and is now helping the party hold down their Guild Hall in Baldur's Gate as penance for their deeds as a cultist.

Location: Cultist Camp -> Baldur's Gate

Appearance: Zafira is 5'9" and of a noticeably slender and lithe build. The most striking thing about Zafira is the fact they inherited albinism from their parents. Their hair and skin lack any pigmentation, and their blue eyes stand out in comparison.

Roleplaying:

• Only helpful or active if Noe is around watching, otherwise lazy and will try to avoid responsibilities
• Carries an absurd number of knives, some hidden
• Tends to be distant and secretive around people for a long time.
  

Background: Zafira doesn't give much information regarding their background, but has spent a long time dealing with people who were fascinated by his condition. A mix of those who worshiped, festishized, feared, or pried into Zafira's life based solely on his looks left Zafira with a bitter outlook on life. It is this path that led him to joining the Dragon cult, a life that promised through blood and might a new world could be carved out to one's own desires.

Zafira met Noe while they were both cultists. A night of heavy drinking led to someone asking Noe what he thought about Zafira. Noe's answer was simply “I've never met an elf before, but does that matter?” Zafira laughed so hard at the answer he decided that Noe was his best friend. Zafira spent his time helping Noe raise in ranks to woo his love interest, deepening their brotherhood. So when the ruse of Lana and her husband was revealed, Zafira had no problem secretly tossing a dagger into the husband's chest after Noe punched him.


Zafira agreed to follow along with Noe's decision to leave the cult, quietly unwilling to suffer anyone playing his friend as a fool. His original plans of keeping his distance from the party despite Noe's invitation were thwarted though. A snarky person at best, he couldn't help but find the heavily armored skittish Lapis interesting. Especially after running repeatedly into objects or people to avoid him. Interest evolved into attraction, and so Zaf reluctantly added a second person he would willingly be nice for. He lets Noe do the heavy lifting as the face for the guild, content to stay out of view and gather information instead.

Key Info:

• Albinism has made Zafira photosensitive, so he sleeps during the day.
• Zafira isn't aware that he is half moon elf, as his origins are unknown.
  

 Relationships:

• Loves: Lapis, Noe
• Likes: Paddy, Maybe the rest of the party a little.
• Hates: Everyone else
  

Noe Demascus

A former cultist that defected and is now helping the party hold down their Guild Hall in Baldur's Gate as penance for their deeds as a cultist.

Location: Cultist Camp -> Baldur's Gate

Appearance: Noe is 6'5", a wall of solid muscle. They have long hair that is very neatly kept in rows, and obviously well taken care of despite living outside with the cultists and traveling often. Thick heavy boots perfect for travel, along with heavy pants, but only a leather harness to hold their giant axe on their back for any kind of shirt. Most notably almost always smiling and covered head to toe in blue tattoos.

Roleplaying:

• High energy, Curious and quick to get excited.
• Loves to be helpful, first to volunteer services
• Extremely well learned in farming and agriculture
  

Background: Noe was originally from a small group of nomadic peoples, who migrated between their summer and winter locations every year. Noe's family helped with agriculture, working and tending the fields to provide sustenance during the warm season. Noe was taught everything he needed to know about local floral and fauna care, ensuring that the native ecosystem was not damaged by their presence. While in their summer location, Noe was seduced by a cultist named Lana.

Lana promised Noe her hand in marriage if he could prove himself in her order. Noe took the bait, and joined the Cult of the Dragon, determined to become a high ranking member. Determined, strong, and willful, Noe had the requirements, but lacked the cruelty required to advance. It was in his plateau he met Zafira, a cunning cultist. He immediately declared Noe his best friend, and used his connections to get into the Blackguard, without overt displays of cruelty from Noe.



The party had to convince the Blackguard to let them into the cultist camp, and barely managing to do so, the warlock Sahri winked at one of the soldiers in hopes of improving their internal connections. Setting out to find the Blackguard once it was night, Sahri found Noe in a drug induced stupor by a fire. Zafira was by his side making sure Noe did not overdo it, and reassured Sahri Noe was just broken hearted, having just learned that his love Lana had been duping him all along, and was already married to another cultist. When Sahri returned later, she convinced the sober Noe to punch the cultists who tricked him in the face, which he happily went off and did, accompanied by Sahri and Zuloira's dramatic music.

When the camp erupted into chaos the party had planned, Sahri confessed she was against the cultists. It was then Noe decided to defect, and Zafira agreed. They left a lightning bolt through a heart at the entrance to a secret cave for Sahri and her friends to escape, promising to meet them again as the new formed guild the StormBorn.

Found again in Elturel while trying to recruit members, Sahri convinced Noe and Zafira to help the party. Noe now helps hold down the Guild Hall in Baldur's Gate, cleaning and prepping while the party is off taking down the cult for now. Before the party left, he confessed his love for Sahri.

Key Info:

• Is the official leader of the StormBorn, as Zafira doesn't do the limelight.
• Has a bad habit of falling in love easily, given his prior isolated conditions.
  

 Relationships:

• Loves: Sahri, Zafira, Sam
• Likes: Lapis, Hado, Paddy, Yolanda, Yung Money, Dor, etc...
• Hates: The dragon cult

Samuel

A bar boy who stowed away in the party's wagon after seeing a chance to escape a life of cleaning up after patrons and clients.

Location: Greenest

Appearance: A slender lithe just turned adult whose body and posture tell deeply of a kid used to surviving on the scraps of the world. Has currently collected both a pearl necklace and a diamond studded choker that was used as makeshift 'brass' knuckles in a pinch.

Roleplaying:

• Highly empathetic and thoughtful, watches people closely to figure them out.
• Adapts to the people he is around very quickly to survive.
• High work ethic, especially when it chances as a better life.

Background: Sam has spent his entire life in the dive bar owned by Elmo. Unaware that Lenore was his mother, he was raised under the belief that he was an abandoned orphan, raised by all the women in the brothel with love and care. Raised to one day work in the brothel once he came of age, he was trained to dance, cook, clean and lubricate the guests before they went off to their chosen partner for the night. When the dragon attacked and the party saved them in high glory and adrenaline pumping action, Sam stowed away in their wagon to chance getting out of a life of cleaning vomit and unmentionables.

Sam defied his mentor Hado to stay out of the cult cave, coming up on the party getting attacked, his mentor down. Panicking, he used his diamond studded collar to punch a drake, saving his mentor. He died shortly after, blasted by cultist magic, but was brought back to life with miraculous magic. Since then, he has felt an odd connection to the shadows, and his monk training has deepened it further. He now holds down the guild hall in Baldur's Gate, deciding to train some more before helping with the removal of the evil cultists.

Key Info:

• After dying and coming back to life while fighting cultists, has had an odd connection to the shadows since.
• Spent most of his life dancing and cooking to entertain guests, so is highly skilled in both.

 Relationships:

• Loves: Paddy, Sahri, Yolanda
• Likes: Lapis, Hado
• Hates: No one

Lenore Durere

Was the top prostitute in the local dive bar in Greenest, but now is the Head Lady of the best in town thank to Paddy.

Location: Greenest

Appearance: A curvaceous older woman with long braided well kept hair. Tends to wear clothing that is light and easy to move around in.

Roleplaying:

• Tough and clever, she picks things up quickly and does not falter in the face of danger.
• Very forward with her opinion and does not hold back in any kind of respectable manner.
• Works hard to try and make up for her weaknesses

Background: Lenore has never lived an easy life in the backwater town of Greenest. Her parents died when she was young of plague, and without proper training or schooling, she did not have much to offer the world to get by. She found herself working for a brothel to make ends meet, and quickly rose to the top with a sharp mind. She birthed Samuel in secret, and with her influence had him raised instead of killed. When Paddy bought the inn and made her Head Lady, it was a dream she never thought possible. She has enjoyed lauding over the ladies who used to spit on her for years, and is learning reading and arithmetic to claw her way even further ahead in life.

Key Info:

• Secretly the mother of Samuel, the bar boy who was helping
• The only person who knows about the dragon eggs in the basement of the inn.

 Relationships:

• Loves: Sam, Paddy
• Likes: Father Eadyan Falconmoon
• Hates: Elmo, Castellan Escobert the Red, the false upper class in town.

Emir Markduth

One of the main guards in Greenest, was tasked with assisting the party when they offered their assistance in taking back the town of Greenest to ensure their success.

Location: Greenest

Appearance: An average looking man of average height and muscular build. Clean, short hair and well maintained appearance.

Roleplaying:

• Agreeable, and pretty optimistic to even ridiculous requests
• A very high sense of honor, more than willing to protect anyone who needs it.
• Gets along with various peoples easily, without much effort.

Background: Emir Markduth, or simply Markduth to any who know him, has lived in Greenest his entire life. The youngest son, instead of pursuing a merchant career like his parents, instead endeavored to join the Greenest guard. Driven by a strong sense of duty, he rose through the ranks quickly. His earnest demeanor with everyone and anyone he meets landed him as an unofficial ambassador to any visitors in town in need of a briefing.

Key Info:

• Secretly in love with his sister-in-law, who was kidnapped by Langdarosa.
• Since Emir's older brother survived being held as ransom by the cultists, his guilt over his secret affections has only grown worse.

 Relationships:

• Loves: His sister-in-law Nes, his brother Edward
• Likes: Yolanda, Sahri, Lapis
• Hates: No one

Ashguard Journal

Gnolls of the First Mother

Gnolls are known to embody the vicious will of Yeenoghu, the demon lord of slaughter and senseless destruction. Corpses spoiled by the demon lord are feasted upon by his followers, transforming into the gnolls the world knows, creatures bound to kill and destroy everything. A gnoll of Yeenoghu feels a constant, gnawing demand for blood and destruction. To kill and feast only quells the desire for but a short time, so they wander incessantly for their next victim.

My mother taught me, She knew the traditions. And I, as my wobbling steps had thinned and become more precise, learned nothing was above the Pack. To never let pride blind the soul of the pack.
She drilled into my curious grabbing fingers that to know ones Pack was to know ones soul.

The Great Pack is our model, traditions born from their sacrifice. Like how a blood bond is made. How to grind the fire sticks to make both the white and black pastes to mark our faces.

“One mark for the blood of family, two marks for the blood of the pack. One for those who have died in glory, one for those who have been lost and may redeem themselves yet. And lastly, one for your place here.” Every morning the words were repeated slowly, carefully as my small fingers sloppily mirrored the beautiful dots and lines on my mother’s face.

The First Mother

To resist the pull and power of Yeenoghu was unheard of among gnolls, even our own God conquered and slaughtered by the relentless demon lord. Yeenoghu offers a sense of balm for loneliness deep in one's soul, and for us gnolls this false salve is two fold. We are born from the engulfing hunger of Yeenoghu, knowing nothing but their corruption, and any who would even think to escape his hold have nothing but pain and loneliness to look forward to. To chose exile is to be chased and hunted down by our brethren, shunned by the world we escape to. It is no wonder many of our kind choose to stay blindly under hunger's embrace. The First Mother rose above our kind.

In the times when the screams and cries of the dead only fueled the desires and hungers of our darkness, the First Mother's ears were the first to feel dread and the sound of a gnoll dying. The first to see the pitiful crawling dying maws of desperate teeth and claws and ask, why? It is said, she was the first to feel the pang at the sight of children, to find herself barren and demand to know why. This why in her heart rooted and grew stronger, tearing at the mindless hold of Yeenoghu. And with this came the pain the mindless ones are free from, the despair of the world they lived in. A lesser gnoll would have listened to the whispers of the corrupter, to return to the comfort of hunger and death.

The First Mother vowed she would no longer be swayed by lies. No longer would she hide from the pain, she would open her eyes and cast off the blindness of Yeenoghu. The howl of a lifetime of sorrow, from her very soul, echoed through the ranks, shattering the hold of death on those around her. Their souls awakened to the first call of the pack, and their eyes were opened to their torment. A chorus soon joined, voices doubled, tripled. And Yeenoghu raged, feeling his hold scattering to the winds. The order was swift and absolute, slaughter all traitors, leave no survivors. Yeenoghu's will is a powerful thing. We know there is no good story to this escape. Many free gnolls died, so many lost to save a few. What emerged we know to be the Great Pack, the only survivors of those who dared defy Yeenoghu's demands. We today cannot imagine their strength, we are now a people who benefit from their sacrifice, free from our own nipping at our heels. They endured slaughter, and when free from maw and claws, they found a world ready to kill them. None to listen to their pleas, no refuge in their flight. And still, they persisted.

The First Mother is a wonder to every free gnoll, for she never faltered, leading gnolls far across anything they had ever known, further and further still even as her muzzle whitened, her joints hardened. Her vow to find a home for her pack sustained her well beyond the years of any known gnoll, blind and hunched she still led them. Humans have a lot of places long abandoned, labeled dangerous and inhospitable. It is there, the First Mother found a threshold for her kind. It is there she finally laid her head down for the last time, offering her body as the bridge to our first home.

It is here, under the watchful eyes of the First Mother, we live and prosper.

Pillars of the Free Gnolls

Free gnolls have a strong value for family and their pack. They will commonly fight among themselves for dominance, but those battles are easily forgotten after their resolution. Their loyalty really shines at combat, for they are selfless and will trust their lives for those in their pack. When a gnoll separates from their pack they will desperately try to form a new pack with any they find, including outsiders.

Soul of the Pack

“To know one's pack is to know one's soul.” Is the chant and lifeblood of the Free gnolls. We deeply believe that our continued survival is dependent on knowing our own, inside and out. When we come to understand those around us, we can also use that to understand ourselves, and where we want to fit in this world. gnolls never had a place, so we must work harder to find and make our own. Those around us, both equal and above give not only perspective and guidance, but also protection to be able to pursue our desires and curiosities.

Blood Bond

Even though we value the Pack as a whole, we have come to learn that some bonds are stronger than others. Personal bonds between gnolls was something that never existed to our kind, and as a Pack, our elders have worked to help figure them out as they revealed themselves to us. We learned of the bond between mates, how for the first time to produce our own young, free from the heel of Yeenoghu's scraps. We learned of bonds as deep as mates, but unique in their own way. And for it, we created a blood bond. From bone jewelry handmade, two gnolls will promise to live and bleed for each other, piercing their flesh with the bone. The blood anoints the jewelry, sealing their promise. They will wear the jewelry until they die, for a blood bond is never broken.

No Deed Above

For gnolls, our pride lies in what we have achieved as a whole, rather than by ourselves. Prideful and selfish actions are not only dangerous to the gnoll, but to the entire clan. No action taken, no deed won should be against the needs of the Pack. We are new, traitors to our own, and suspicious to all others, so we are cautious not to bring death upon us from either end. It is difficult, we are very prideful, excitable even, so we must always ask ourselves, “Is this good for the Pack, or just me?” We falter and fail many times, but we have also found a merit in learning from mistakes.

Law of Conservation

Mistakes happen, and in our Pack, we have a general guideline for how to deal with a broken rule. The fangs of the demon are gone from our necks, we do not have the fresh memories of those before us on what they endured. But we respect their wisdom and still keep true to their decision. Any punishment to a rule break must equal the transgression. Blood mates are allowed to take the punishment for the rule breaker for a good reason. An uncalled for bite can be met with a bite back without repercussion, but we do not escalate. That is the way of our hunters, we cannot ever become like them again.

Hardline Heart

A gnoll is born from the demon's corruption, and the pull to return will never leave us. Even after our ancestors learned how to reproduce without Yeenoghu, how to sever that dependence on them, it still runs in our blood. We watch carefully ourselves and others for any signs of wandering back to that path. Those that do must be killed, they know our secrets, our ways. Nothing can get back to the demon. But it not just a threat of death, we have gained other ways of drawing a hard line between what they are and who we are. Every Free gnoll is required to take up a craft, anything that is a labor of thoughtful love and time. It reminds us that we are not mindless killers, we have more to offer ourselves and the Pack, a gift that helps us stay in this world. We will not waste and discard the things of this world as our hunters do, everything is precious.

Anatomy of the Free Gnolls

The Council of Mothers

The Council of Mothers is made up of five elder female gnolls, they live together in their own pack. They are dedicated to leading us gnolls in the ways of the First Mother’s ideals. They do walk among the masses as a pack often, and any gnolls they come across dip their heads and chirp in deferred respect. They will nip at any who challenge their path. You do not gain an audience with them lightly, though if any outsiders suddenly show up, it is uncommon enough for an investigation from the Elders.

Pack of Artisans

Any gnoll who has become an expert in their chosen art can trial for the title of Master. Crafts that take advantage of what is scavenged from the jungle are more common, but we do even have merchants with the brave few who have learned we will not harm them. Masters from the pack take on apprentices and teach them the art of crafting as a meditation to create the non-violent distinction from their ancestors. Our wares forged an interesting alliance with locals though, which did allow for a sort of peace, and a chance to learn common.

Pack of Scouts

Gnolls that have mastered the art of hiding in the jungle, scouting to keep up on events around us, prey or not become scouts. Trained in stealth and speed, they also take on apprentices to pass down their knowledge and training. They prefer to be non-violent in their ways, as it is far more important to escape with learned knowledge than it is to die fighting. Their Intel is invaluable to our clan, especially the gnoll hunters. Scouts are usually better at common like our crafters, it helps with the job.

Pack of Hunters

We cannot live fully without violence, and gnolls that live for the fight, both in hunting and guarding their home become hunters. They believe in respect and balance above all else for the things they hunt and gather in the jungle. Meat is obviously our main focus, but we will collect roots and fruit during lean times. We hunt non-intelligent creatures by choice, but when it comes to scavenging; a dead body is a dead body. Hunters are our main source of food, but they also provide many of the supplies our crafters use too.

Pack of Health

It took a long time for us free gnolls to learn that care of our bodies greatly extended our lifespan. And even then, we were still to learn the world of babies, of raising children we never had before. From this, a pack of gnolls dedicated to keeping their fellow gnolls healthy and safe were created. Children are reared together under their watchful eye until the children choose their apprenticeship, and obtaining new medicine and techniques is their mission. Our healers work with the Council of Mothers the closest, but they also work closely with the other master packs to help patch up, gather supplies, or make necessities for life as they grow and learn. We have heard rumors of better healing and magic, and are eager to find a way to obtain them, no such luck yet though.

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