Waterdeep/City of the Dead

The City of the Dead was a large cemetery and ward in Waterdeep. Most of the city's dead were buried here.

History
When Waterdeep was much smaller a cemetery was established on the end of the plateau overlooking the plains east of the city. A low wall was built around the cemetery in 1064 DR first establishing its boundaries north and east of the Trades Ward and south of the North Ward. Since that time higher walls were built and gates into the City of the Dead were established which were only opened to the public during the daylight hours.

Space soon became hard to come by in the cemetery itself. Many of those who could not afford to be buried there found themselves interred in an area known as Grave Alley (later called Ilisar’s Alley). There coffins were placed vertically below the cobblestones. This led to issues of the undead rising from the streets themselves and the practice was soon abandoned.

In order to alleviate the overcrowding, in 1250 DR, Ahghairon and other mages of Waterdeep began to establish portals from tombs and mausoleums to uninhabited demiplanes of various types where the dead were laid to rest. Most notable among these wizards, except for Ahghairon himself, was the portal and teleportation specialist, Anacaster. Two of his more well known portals led from The House of the Homeless and Merchants’ Rest.

Most noble houses, reportedly less than half, do not keep family tombs in the City of the Dead. They instead have crypts below their villas or are buried in family estates outside of the Waterdeep. The cemetery suffered extensive damage during the Spellplague.

Gates

 * Andamarr Gate: One of the public gates.
 * Coffinsmarch Gate: One of the public gates.
 * Dead End Gate: The hidden, private gate the Carver family uses to enter in order to conduct burials or perform maintenance on the tombs.
 * Mhalsyymber Gate: One of the public gates.

Crypts, plots, tombs, vaults

 * Deepwinter Vault: A tomb near the north end
 * Guildbones: A dedicated burial space for members of the different guilds of Waterdeep. Part of the site was made up of a glade which would be dug up from time-to-time to make up space for new dead, while older, forgotten bones were moved elsewhere. Many guildmasters would buy themselves and their families statue-guarded vaults within the forehalls of Guildbones.
 * Markarl Tomb: A tomb near the north end
 * Narfuth crypt: A crypt near the north end
 * Vesham Tomb: A tomb near the north end

Other locations

 * Dead End House: Not technically in the City of the Dead, but not really a part of another Ward. Home of the Carver family - a family of coffin-builders, stone carvers & performers of other tasks related to the funeral & burial process
 * Thief's Knot: A hedge maze constructed to honor a long-dead thieves guildmaster.
 * The Warriors' Monument: A sixty-foot tall sculpture and fountain depicting a battle between men and humanoids along with a griffon rider fighting a skeletal ally of Myrkul

Known Burials

 * Ilyndeira Dyre, buried within Guildbones.
 * Sarel the Trollscourge

Trivia
Saying that someone was "in the City" was a slang phrase used by Waterdhavians to mean that person was dead.