Baldur's Gate

Baldur's Gate is a metropolis and city-state on the Sword Coast and Western Heartlands blend, on the north bank of the river Chionthar about twenty miles east from its mouth on the Sea of Swords. It is to the south of the great city-state of Waterdeep and to the north of the country of Amn, and is located along the well-travelled Coast Way road. A person from Baldur’s Gate is known as a Baldurian.

This wealthy port metropolis, and according to many accounts its population has supersceded that of Waterdeep, is an important merchant city on the Sword Coast. Its strong watch and the presence of the powerful Flaming Fists mercenary company keep the city generally peaceful and safe.

Geography


Baldur's Gate has grown immensely over the past century. During the times of Abdel Adrian and the Dark Alliance, Baldur's Gate was a gigantic city confined inside of a Gate built by the traveler Balduran. This gate is known throughout the Western Heartlands and the Sword Coast as the Black Dragon Gate. However, after the Spellplague, not only did Baldur's Gate's population triple, but its area quadrupled. Inside the Black Dragon Gate, Baldur's Gate was divided into three districts: Bloomridge, the Twin Songs and the Wide. The Outskirts, which extend for miles North, South, East and West of Baldur's Gate, are divided into two districts: the Slums and the Wide. The Wide, which is a market extends into both the Outskirts and inside the Black Dragon Gate.

Bloomridge
The old "city core," Bloomridge is the center of Baldur’s Gate’s prominent aristocracy. Bloomridge is located inside the Black Dragon Gate and is inhabited by aristocracy. It takes up most of the area inside the Black Dragon Gate. It homes all the Taverns, Inns and Manors inside of Baldur's Gate that are well known. Inside Bloomridge, the Crypts of Ilmater lie.

Taverns and Inns

 * The Blade and Stars
 * A quiet inn known for its high qualities foodstuffs.


 * The Blushing Mermaid
 * Located in the northeastern section of Baldur's Gate, the Blushing Mermaid is an establishment known for its status as a hub of illicit business.


 * Elfsong Tavern
 * A tavern in the southeast known best for its strange haunting, a ghostly elven voice of unidentified origin that can be heard singing quietly at night. However, the voice has since faded.


 * The Helm and Cloak
 * An expensive but well-rated feasting hall popular with both locals and travelers alike. Its upper floor is also rented out to the vast majority of the Knights of the Unicorn.


 * Purple Wyrm Inn and Tavern
 * A Tavern much compared to the Elfsong, but it is more commonly used by merchants and those seeking adventure.


 * The Splurging Sturgeon
 * Located a bit south from the Blushing Mermaid, the Splurging Sturgeon is a small but well-known establishment


 * Three Old Kegs
 * Highly comfortable but only slightly expensive, the Three Old Kegs is perhaps the most highly rated establishment in Baldur's Gate.

Manors

 * Bloodmire Manor
 * A spacious, gothic mansion that was overrun by monstrous experiments in the 1370s.


 * Firewind Manor (formerly House Felldane)
 * Mandorcai’s Mansion
 * A beautiful manor located in Bloomridge and owned by the tiefling Mandorcai.


 * Omduil’s Manor
 * A stately manor owned by the aged Harper sage Omduil.

Twin Songs
Located inside the Black Dragon Gate it is the Temple District of Baldur's Gate, the Twin Songs hosts temples to virtually any god, even evil gods like Bhaal and Bane. Baldur’s Gate has many places of worship. In 1369 DR there were 3 major temples, (devoted to Gond, Umberlee and Tymora ) and many shrines. The Twin Songs is the only place inside the Black Dragon Gate that unifies the cultures of all of Faerun. These are all found in the Twin Songs District.

Outskirts
The Outskirts are often referred to as the Slums. The Slums extend much further than the Middle Class Area does. The Slums home peasants and poor people alike. They extend past the Winding Water to the Troll Hills, down the Coast Way a little around the Cloak Wood and all the way to the Fields of the Dead, south of the Troll Claws. The portion of the Outskirts around the Black Dragon Gate is a market called the Wide. The slums are home to many beggars and has a horrible smell. The cultures of all of Baldur's Gate and the rest of Faerun is brought out in the Slums.

The Wide
The Wide is a marketplace inside the Black Dragon Gate and in the Outskirts. It is called the Wide because its stretches around Baldur's Gate and inside the Black Dragon Gate so widely. It is home to many beggars. Like the Slums, the Wide (on the Outskirts) brings together cultures from all around Faerun.

Related locations
Though Baldur’s Gate is a self-contained city-state it holds a limited influence over neighboring regions and settlements due to its wealth and power.


 * Candlekeep
 * This fortress of scholars and books is the single greatest center of knowledge in all of Faerûn and was also the home of the fabled hero Abdel Adrian.


 * Cloak Wood
 * Located south of Baldur’s Gate this aged forest is home to many terrible monsters though it’s calm waters make it a tempting mooring spot for sailors in spite of this.


 * The Cimarine Isles
 * The isles lie between the southern Sword Coast and the Moonshae Isles, and they are settled by genasi and Amn trade colonies.


 * Trollbark Forest
 * A large forest just North of Baldur's Gate that is inhabited by all sorts of monsters, it is also home to many bandits and thieves.


 * Wayfork Village
 * A growing village just North of Trollbark Forest, while it too was unaffected by the Spellplague, due to it not being a very large city, most of the Spellplague runners went to Baldur's Gate.


 * Wood of Sharp Teeth(Werewoods)
 * A very large forest that homes many lycantrophes, after his defeat Duke (Lord) Valarken retreated here and began to rebuild its ancient ruins. The villain Ikhal (he served under Valarken) was in charge of the lycantrophe army here and he was going to invade Baldur's Gate with them for Duke (Lord) Valarken. This plan was later thwarted and the lycantrophe civilization of the forest was badly damaged.

Early Years


The city takes its name from the great seafaring hero Balduran. Long ago, Balduran sailed to the fabled Anchorome and returned with great wealth which was used to build the wall around what became Baldur’s Gate. He left the city again, presumably to return to Anchorome, but never returned.

It is now (as of about 1368 DR) an insult to misuse Balduran’s name. This can be done easily when attempting to describe a person who inhabits Baldur’s Gate (the correct term is "Baldurian").

At the time, the growing town was controlled by local farmers who mercilessly taxed incoming shipments. This infuriated ship captains, who believed that since the harbor wasn't walled in, its traffic should not be taxed, and they eventually overthrew the farmers. The four eldest captains ruled the city together, and jokingly called themselves "dukes," which stuck.

When the city joined the Lords' Alliance, its main military force was the Company of the Crescent Blade. Eldrith the Betrayer, the leader of the Company, later tried to usurp the Grand Dukes, because they refused to meet her demands for battle, although a coup never actually happened, Eldrith was still put to death.

The Bhaalspawn (1368 - 1372 DR)
In 1368 DR, the Bhaalspawn Sarevok Anchev orchestrated a major conspiracy to send the city to war with Amn. Using his position in the Iron Throne merchant house, Sarevok made sure that the Sword Coast would suffer from an iron shortage. He poisoned the Amnian mines of Nashkel using alchemy, infiltrated the major merchant houses of Baldur's Gate with dopplegangers and had bandits raid the caravans that traveled the Trade Way. Sarevok spread rumors that Amn was causing the shortage, and had several Baldurians murdered with the symbol of the Amnian Shadow Thieves left at the crime scene.

The plan of the Iron Throne leadership, including Sarevok's foster father Rieltar Anchev, was to have Sarevok elected Grand Duke in the place of murdered Entar Silvershield. He would then declare war and the Iron Throne would make a fortune selling iron from a secret mine in the Cloakwood. Sarevok, however had a complete different agenda. He planned to take up the mantle of his father, the dead god Bhaal, and to do that he had to stage a bloodbath in a divine ritual. Both plans were foiled by another Bhaalspawn named Abdel Adrian and his band of adventurers who interrupted the ceremony in which Sarevok was to be installed as duke. Sarevok was killed in the ensuing battle.

While the rest of the Bhallspawn Saga took place in Amn and Tethy, the results of them would have greatly affected Baldur's Gate if Abdel Adrian did not kill Jon Irenicus and the Five other Bhaalspawn. The crisis was settled with Abdel Adrian reigning triumphant over the other Bhaalspawn. Being the last Bhaalspawn, Abdel Adrian then returned to Baldur's Gate, from Tethyr, a hero.

The Dark Alliance (1374 - 1376 DR)
Eldrith's hatred for Baldur's Gate kept her alive and she created a Dark Alliance, the theives guild she helped create plagued Baldur's Gate in 1374 DR. Eldrith tortured two regions in the Western Heartlands and the Sword Coast: Baldur's Gate and the Sunset Mountains. She was the Queen of the Marsh of Chelimber, being based in the Onyx Tower. After the thieves guild, dubbed Xantam's Guild (in name of the Beholder that led it), destroyed the Old Guild, they immediately began to terrorize adventurer's. Karne, a Zhentarim Agent working for the guild, attacked three adventurer's who after recuperating in the Eflsong Tavern, fought against the guild. First they (Vahn, Kromlech and Adrianna) destroyed the Thieves Base in the sewers and then stopped the undead crisis they had started in the Crypts of Ilmater. They then travelled into the Onyx Tower and killed Eldrith and free the ghosts that once served her. Her plan to destroy Baldur's Gate was immediately picked up by one of Eldrith's disciples: the Vampire King, Mordoc SeLanmere. Not only did killing Eldrith stop the Dark Alliance, but it freed the ghostly elven voice of the Elfsong Tavern (as the ghost sung for her husband who was a ghost inside the Onyx Tower).

Karne then had Baldur's Gate and its surrounding area's plagued by the Hands of Glory and Luvia Bloodmire, all working for the Red Fang Marauders. Karne did this to try and raise the Onyx Tower for the Zhentarim, after realizing the tower was in the possession of his arch-enemy, Mordoc SeLanmere, he teamed up with five adventurer's and the Harper Jherek to obtain it. These five adventurer's are: Dorn Redbear, Borador Goldhand, Vhaidra Uoswiir, Allessia Faithhammer and Ysuran Auondril. These five adventurer's rescued Vahn, Kromlech and Adrianna who then helped in the fight against Mordoc. All Eight Adventurer's, Harper and Zhentarim Agents then fought against Mordoc who had raised the tower in Baldur's Gate eventually managing to destroy him.

Mordoc, however, was never actually working for Eldrith, but instead an unknown Pharoah King-God of Mulhorand, who for some reason was angered at the city, calling it his sacred mission to destroy Baldur's Gate. It is possible, though, that the Pharoah never even left Mulhorand due to the strike of the Spellplague happening a little while after Mordoc's attack, 9 - 8 years. If the Pharoah King-God did strike Baldur's Gate, the city easily recovered due to the Spellplague. The Pharoah King-God is or was likely part of the Mulhorandi pantheon or an enemy of the pantheon, as he was going to attack Baldur's Gate with his Tomb Soldiers and his Sun-Barge.

The Baldurian Parliament (Pre-Spellplague)
The city suffered a major crisis during the final years of the Hundred Years of Chaos and just before the Spellplague, when the treacherous Grand Duke Valarken used a band of lycanthropes known as the Band of the Red Moon to try and seize complete control of the city. He was defeated by the current Grand Duke Portyr who subsequently dissolved the Council of Four and replaced it with the Baldurian Parliament. Some time in this period the Flaming Fists, formerly a mercenary force, became the official militia of the city-state.

Post-Spellplague (1395 - 1479 DR)
Baldur’s Gate was mysteriously untouched, at least directly, by the Spellplague and, in fact, has prospered in its wake. Baldur’s Gate was not completely unaffected, however, and in fact many changes to Baldur’s Gate were a result of the events that followed the disaster. The city, due to its undamaged infrastructure, became a major target for refugees from less fortunate lands, swelling the population and area more than three times. How Baldur’s Gate survived this population boom is something of a mystery and is known as the "Baldur’s Gate Miracle."

Attack of Ikhal (1434 - 1435 DR)
In 1437 DR, an Amnite Spy was returning to Amn with valuable information about the nation of Elturgard, he was kidnapped and rescued by Flaming Fist recruits and the information reached Amn. However, an unethical merchant consortium in Baldur's Gate also gained the information, this consortium is the Twilight Brotherhood. With a deva from Elturgard, the recruits once again handled this and became part of the Flaming Fists. The New Thieves Guild of Baldur's Gate caused a major crisis to happen, the undead began to rise, this sprouted from a strange statue found in a strange manor in the Bloomridge District. This undead crisis was soon handled by the Flaming Fists. Although the Elfsong in the Elfsong Tavern had been brought to peace, the undead crisis caused its song to walk the Forgotten Realms once more. While the Elf Ghost is at peace, its song once again plays in Baldur's Gate. When the Tome of Twisted Truth's (written by the Mage Maradros and in dedication to the god Cyric) is discovered in Candlekeep, the High-Ranking Scribe Nithu steals it and decides to sell it to the highest bidder, including the Church of Cyric. The Flaming Fists later managed to recover the Tome of Twisted Truths, but had to go through a lot of trouble to do it. Ikhal, a villain intent on gaining control of Baldur's Gate for his master, kidnpped Scepter Lord Mazak al'Azeem's daughter, Ameerah. After the Flaming Fists were unable to get her back, they hired the former Flaming Fist recruits (now Flaming Fist Mercenaries) who had become well known in the city. Ikhal had kidnapped Ameerah for a ritual for Lycantrophes. This was to show that Duke Valarken, now known as Lord Valarken (Ikhal's master), is stronger than Duke Portyr and is going to conquer Baldur's Gate. The recruits then fought with and barely managed to kill Ikhal, with this the Lycantrophe Army was unable to conquer Baldur's Gate. 

Return to Stability (1435 - 1479 DR)
As of 1479 DR, Baldur's Gate not only became Faerun's most powerful and important city, but it also once again become stable. No more is it bothered by Valarken and Amn. It maintained a positive relationship with the nation of Elturgard and the other regions in the Western Heartlands.

Current Status (1479 DR - Onwards)
The Pirates of Luskan and the merchants of Waterdeep are a growing threat to the city but pose no need for serious action, currently. Even if they do, the citizens say that the Flaming Fists can handle it. Baldur's Gate makes a fine deal selling wine, beer, rum and any other kind of alcohol. This is enjoyed by Barrabus the Gray.

Economy


Baldur’s Gate is the greatest center of trade along the entire Sword Coast, having outcompeting both Waterdeep and Amn in recent years.

In 1368 DR stone is usually imported from Mirabar via Luskan for use in construction, having been magically transported. This is an expensive process. By 1479 DR, with Luskan in disarray and with no functional port, along with the destruction caused by the Spellplague across the lands, it is unclear if this trade still occurs.

Baldur’s Gate contains a very effective thieves' guild, as well as a powerful and honest mercantile guild, the Merchant's League. Additionally, the Knights of the Shield and the Knights of the Unicorn are both active in the city. Various thieves guilds have risen and fallen in Baldur’s Gate including Xantam’s Guild and the Hands of Glory. Since the fall of both, the new thieves' guild has arisen.

Government
Baldur’s Gate was once ruled by four grand dukes, the Council of Four. Shortly before the Spellplague, the rulers included Duke Eltan, the then leader of the Flaming Fists, Belt, a powerful warrior and divine spellcaster, Liia Jannath, a mage and Entar Silvershield, the richest man in Baldur’s Gate at the time, but also a strong warrior in his own right. The Council is also part of the Lords' Alliance, which includes Waterdeep and Silverymoon, among others..

Since the attempted coup by Valarken, however, the government underwent a major revision and the only grand duke today is Portyr, who rules at the behest of the Baldurian Parliament.

Foreign relations
At present, Grand Duke Portyr and the Baldurian Parliament are uninterested in involving Baldur's Gate in the affairs of others. For the most part, the city is respected as a neutral power in relation to the other states of the Sword Coast and the Western Heartlands, a reputation it earned in part through its open door policy towards refugees during the fallout of the Spellplague. Perhaps more importantly, Baldur's Gate, while undoubtedly a rich prize, 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.

Historically, Baldur's Gate has had a long enmity with its southern neighbor, Amn, which nearly resulted in war during the Iron crisis of 1368 DR. Recently, however, the only major threats to Baldur's Gate are the pirates operating out of the ruins of Luskan or the merchants of Waterdeep, who resent the city's growing wealth and power. Baldur's Gate has allies in the Lords' Alliance and the nation of Elturgard.

Appearances

 * Baldur's Gate
 * Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance computer game
 * Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II computer game

Non-canon
'' Games are superseded by the higher-ranking novels in continuity. Games, where they contradict sourcebooks or novels, are considered non-canon. ''


 * Baldur's Gate computer game

Sourcebooks
2nd Edition D&D 3rd Edition D&D 4th Edition D&D

Baldurs Tor