Descent into Avernus

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

and surrounded by yards of solid stone, the secret doors


leading to its vaults hidden by clever mechanisms and


cleverer magic.
In addition to defending the city, the Seatower aJso

serves as the local prison of Baidu r's Gate. Three levels


of dungeons extend beneath it, the lower two below sea


level and integrating part of a naturally occurring cavern


system. This both keeps the prison secure and pacifies


prisoners, as any who act out know that they can always


be moved from the dry cells to the dank lower levels.


Particularly problematic inmates end up in the Swim-

ming Hole- a flooded and lightless shaft where prison-


ers must constantly tread water or risk drowning, while


also fending off the blind, biting shrimp that dwell there.


Though long-term incarceration is rare in the city, there


are aJways a few inmates rotting in these cells, ranging


from petty criminals to political prisoners locked away
on trumped-up charges.

Characters who run seriously afoul of the law in


Baldur's Gate might wind up in the Seatower. While the


Fist treats the prison as something of an afterthought,


any trying to break in or out of the dungeons still have


their work cut out for them. Only the upper cells have


windows, and anyone trying to break through the walls


of the lower cells risks catastrophic flooding. Sentries


are constantly on alert for ships drawing suspiciously


near the island, and no one is allowed through the


fortress's gate without a reason and an escort. Cells


themselves have heavy steel doors with high-quality
locks. with the keys held by Jailer Albrecht Little, a law-

ful neutral male human gladiator, or his second, Jailer


Cogrus Stoneham mer, a lawful neutral female shield

dwarf knight. Soldiers are often assigned to "cell duty"


as a temporary punishment- while this generally means


rougher treatment for prisoners, the regular turnover

might present a sliver of opportunity for anyone attempt-


ing a rescue.

SESKERGATES

Once home to the Sesker merchant family, this tall,


gaudy mansion was abandoned after the last member


of the family died in it under mysterious circumstances


severaJ years ago. Shortly thereafter, a neutral evil


human mage from Athkatla named lmbralym Skoond


bought the place to use as his home and magical work-


shop, drawn there by stories of the structure's original


builder, a smuggler who turned the place into a warren


of secret passages, hidden rooms, false walls, and


concealed entrances, most of which have now been
forgotten.
Ambitious and thoroughly amoral, Skoond rose to

prominence as the Council of Four's wizard, doing


reguJar favors for the council to further his own plots.

Though rarely home, he boards four alchemist lackeys


in the building, along with several guards, using these-


cret passages to cover their comings and goings. Their

only job is to uncover and map out as many of the build-


ing's secrets as possible-one of the histories Skoond


read suggested that the building's original architect had

died whiJe smuggling a rare magical tome, leading him


to suspect that it still lies hidden in the house's walls.

BALDUR'S GATE GAZETTEER

Unfortunately, Skoond's apprentices aren't the only


ones searching. Drawn up through hidden tunnels by


the magical auras of both the tome and neighboring


Mandorcai's Mansion, a nothic lurks in the house's pas-


sages, using them to spy on the wizards and search for


the treasure. So far, none of the residents have detected


it- the last person to do so was the previous owner,


killed by the nothic's rotting gaze. Though evil and un-


willing to cede claim to the tome- which it hasn't yet


located-the nothic is full of secrets from both its spying


and its weird oracular abilities, and might be wilJing to

sell them for the right price.


SEWER KEEP
Like many port cities, Baldur's Gate has traditionally

dumped its sewage downstream and let the river carry


its problems elsewhere. As the city grew, however, this
began to dangerously pollute the river, leading a coali-

tion of druids and patriars to construct the Sewer Keep.


A series of three towers built into the walls at the


western end of the Seatower neighborhood, the facility

was intended to treat the sewage just before it enters


the river, using vast enclosed holding tanks of magically


augmented plants to purify the effluent. Though the facil-

ity was a marvel of magical ecological engineering, the


public proved singularly unwilling to care about their


waste, and funding quickly collapsed. Since then, the
Keep has been a shadow of its intended glory, struggling
to keep the worst of Baldur's Gate from the waterway.

Today, the facility still operates, but mostly as a head-


quarters and cover for the Sewerkeepers crew. Most of


the "druids" and technicians running the plant are any-


thing but- instead, they're a specialized thieving crew


that uses the keep's position to pass unseen through the


city's network of sewer pipes and cisterns. From this


warren of tunnels, they can smuggle goods and conduct


daring burglaries, as well as occasionally acting as sub-


terranean monster-hunters and paid guides through the
city's guts.

The Sewerkeepers' leader, Genamine Kopali (neutral


evil female human assassin), also acts as the Guild


kingpin for the Seatower neighborhood. Along with

a spectrum of ne'er-do-wells. her crew also contains


several actual druids who keep the facility running and


control the crew's severaJ guardian beasts, including a

number of sweet-smelling shambling m ounds that live


in the tanks, churning them as part of the purification


process. Mortlock Vanthampur (see page 26) pays

Genamine to keep him apprised of strange activities


in the sewers. Mortlock, in turn, reports whatever he


learns to his mother, Duke Thalamra Vanthampur.


SHRINE OF THE SUFFERING


This simple stone shrine to Ilmater, god of martyrs and


patient endurance, stands in a small, quiet square, the


edges of its plaza thick with the pallets and meager


belongings of the Lower City's homeless population.

Here, poor Baldurians can come to receive free meals


and enough coppers to pay their way through the city's


gates, thanks to the ministrations of Brother Hodges, a


lawfuJ good male strongheart halfling priest. Supported


by donations from all ranks of society and beloved by

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