Neverwinter/Chasm

The Chasm was a huge canyon-like crack amid the southeastern district of Neverwinter in the late years of the 15 century DR.

Geography
The Chasm occupied what was once the districts known as the Beggar's Nest and the Arcanist Quarter, that were destroyed during the cataclysm that followed the eruption of Mount Hotenow. Because of that, the surrounding areas were in utter ruins, a maze of destroyed buildings and clotted streets.

The Chasm proper was big, covering almost all of the central part that once was the Arcanist Quarter central area, and many earthmotes floated amid and around the abyss, some drifting slowly and others bashing against the walls of the Chasm or against each other. The Chasm was also deep, reaching down to a lake located in the Underdark.

The land within the Chasm proper was warped and twisted because of the plagueland located below Neverwinter. Storms of elemental energy and other strange phenomena could surge up from the depths without warning at any moment.

Inhabitants
All manner of plaguechanged creatures dwelt in the earthmotes and on precipices and caves in the walls of the abyss. In the lake at the deepest part of the Chasm, a cell of the Abolethic Sovereignty had their headquarters.

History
During the Spellplague of 1385 DR, when the catastrophe struck Neverwinter, a small plagueland was created in the Underdark below Neverwinter. In the following decades, a branch of the Abolethic Sovereignty became interested in cultivating and studying this plagueland.

When Mount Hotenow erupted in 1451 DR, bringing about the destruction of most of Neverwinter, the Beggar's Nest and the Arcanist Quarter were completely destroyed by the earthquakes that followed the cataclysm. A huge, canyon-like chasm replaced most of the districts, and released the foul energies of the Spellplague, as well as the plaguechanged creatures living there. The survivors of the catastrophe built a wall to better protect themselves against the monsters.

The Chasm was magically sealed around 1485 DR, although at such cost to the city's coffers that some of its outer walls still lay in ruins and several of its neighborhoods remained abandoned by 1491 DR. Even as of 1496 DR, telltale blue fires and warped plagueland effects could still be observed above the sealed Chasm.

Notable landmarks

 * Scar Keep
 * The Twisted Fane
 * The Plaguechanged Warrens
 * The Cauldron of Blue Fire

Appearances

 * Video games
 * Neverwinter