Ravens Bluff/Sewers

The sewers of Ravens Bluff were a sanitation system of pipe and tunnel networks beneath the city.

"All things being equal, I'd much rather be stuck for six months mapping the sewers of Ravens Bluff than spend a single season on the Moonsea."

- Mendryll Belarod

Structure
The tunnels of these sewers were narrow and slick with slime, forcing those who traversed them to crawl in single file. The sewers had a horrible smell that permeated clothing.

Much of these sewers were repurposed from the ruins of the ancient Roldilar city of Sarbreen. These areas featured many strange engravings and massive pillars with hollow crevices. These hollows sometimes yielded great treasures, but also deadly perils.

Sewer Ecology
Crocodiles, mice, rats, giant rats, and otyughs were known to inhabit the sewers. As well as a variety of other crawling and flying vermin.

Surface Connections

 * The Belltower was rumored to have a trapdoor exit into the sewers.
 * General Articles for All Needs had a hidden trapdoor into the sewers behind its counter.
 * The Smoke Wyrm had a secret entrance into the sewers.
 * The Spill and Swill, nicknamed "The Sewer" by local thieves, had a secret entrance in its kitchen to the sewers that was frequented by thieves.
 * The Two Brothers' Butchery had an opening into the sewers from which blood drained down into.

Groups of Interest

 * Church of Beshaba: A group of Beshabans operated a shrine to their goddess in the sewers in the mid-14 century DR, known as the "Shrine of Misfortune", until a group of adventurers destroyed it in 1368 DR.
 * City Watch: One of the nine branches of the City Watch was the Sewer Brigade. They dealt with unusual monsters and smuggling operations.
 * Cult of the Raven: The Cult of the Raven sometimes had their secret meetings within the city's sewers.
 * Yarvander: The noble family Yarvander helped drow have a chance to covertly view society in Ravens Bluff, such as by means of the city's sewers.

History
In the early history of Ravens Bluff, the city's founders hired the Gondar priest Collun Rhodes to help plan the city's sewer systems.

Some time in the mid-14 century DR, a great number of tanar'ri were discovered dwelling within the sewers after a baatezu hunter arrived to aid and direct local adventurers to wipe them out.

Following his return to the position of mayor in late 1371 DR, Charles Oliver O'Kane worked with Lady Lauren DeVillars on expensive public works projects, which included the establishment of better sewers.

Notable Inhabitants

 * Chaney, a doppelganger and Ravens Bluff's Chief Spy, had a lair in the sewers.
 * Cudzu.
 * Jedderk Aldo, an exterminator, was often found in the sewers dealing with vermin alongside his kobold assistants, Gartt and Snarr. Both of whom he had discovered one day living in the sewers beneath Ravens Bluff's business district.
 * Snuggly, an information officer of the Silent Network, could often be found in the sewers. His other job as a lead engineer made him in charge of sewer repairs.

Rumors & Legends

 * Some bardic songs claimed that jewelry stolen from Myth Drannor in its dying days was hidden within the sewers.
 * Several patrons sighted spectral visions of beholders within the sewers, which at least one mage suggested could be a visible manifestation of scrying by some other mage in the city.

Trivia

 * The civic officials in Ravens Bluff were notoriously reluctant to make maps of the city's sewers publicly available, fearing they would be used for illicit purposes. Though the Hawksblood Hall and the Raven Museum both had maps of the sewers.
 * Sigird Sigirdson, a thief, has an intimate knowledge of the hiding places of Ravens Bluff, including the sewers.