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NOBLE
The patriars of Baidu r's Gate live in the Upper City.
where they host grand galas and flaunt cosmopolitanfashions, but are walled off from the poverty and squalor
of the less fortunate districts and their neighborhoods.
Although they might visit prosperous Bloomridge to trya fashionable restaurant or boutique, or watch a specta-
cle at the Oasis Theater, the patriars have little reasonto venture into the dirtier, more dangerous parts of the
city. If they do, it is generally as thrill-seeking tourists or
enclosed by a retinue of armed guards, not as friends or
neighbors. As a result, many patriars are at once acutely
attuned to the nuances of royal courts half a continent
away and shockingly ignorant of what life is like for the
poor outside their own doorsteps.This combination of worldly savvy and local blindness
characterizes almost all the nobility of Baldur's Gate.
As a result, for those who wish to play patriars, the Pa-triar feature below replaces the Position and Privilege
feature of the noble background. Those who wish to use
the background's standard feature might have gained
their standing in Baldur's Gate from business rather
than inheritance.BALDUR'S GATE FEATURE: PATRIAR
As a member of one of the elite families of Baidu r'sGate, you may pass through city gates without paying
tolls, mingle among the Gate's nobility unquestioned,and impress those on the lookout for wealthy patrons.
You are welcome in the Upper City and may stay there
after dark without being harassed or evicted. Your word
is accepted over others' without question, and any cor-ruption among guards or government officials tends to
work in your favor, not against you-at least until you
make some effort to expose it.
OUTLANDER
Coming to Baldur's Gate might seem like a good idea fora spectrum of reasons. Profit, excitement, and cosmo-
politan opportunities all present tempting prospects, butrarely does one start on the path to Baldur's Gate fully
understanding the complex social morass that awaits.
You enter the city an outsider, and it's likely that-no
matter how long you spend in the city- you'll leave an
outsider, if you leave at all.BALDUR's GATE FEATURE:
IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCEEven after your s hort time in Baidu r's Gate, you've
learned the city holds more walls and gates than those
the Watch and Flaming Fist patrols. You are known
within the city's immigrant communities. Should you
ever need to learn about a foreign land, people, tradition,or history, you know where to find someone with first-
hand experience-likely somewhere in the Outer City.
OUTLANDER ORIGINS
Foreigners of all kinds come to Baldur's Gate daily,drawn by countless reasons from countless lands. The
Outlander Origins table provides ideas for bow your
character might have come to Baidu r's Gate.8ALDUR'S GATE OAZE'ITEEROUTLANDER ORIGIN S
d6 Origin
Someone stole something precious from your peo-
ple. You tracked the thief to the city gates, but find-
ing clues in an urban environment is very different
from tracking someone across the wilderness. You
don't know where to go from here, but your people
need you to succeed.
2 You've always been fascinated by the glitter and
glamor of city life, so different from the slow pace
of life in your homeland. Now you're here, ready to
make your mark in the world, but unsure how to
begin.
3 War, plague, famine, or a marauding monster rav-
aged your home, forcing you to flee for your life. You
don't even know how many of your people survived
or where to find them. Alone or accompanied by a
handful of equally bereft survivors, you must navi-
gate a new life that you never asked for.
4 You were captured by kidnappers and taken far from
your home. The Knights of the Unicorn freed you and
brought you here, but now you're on your own.
5 You were exiled for breaking a trivial-seeming taboo.
For this seemingly minor transgression, you lost your
friends, family, and homeland in one felt swoop, and
were given little choice but to strike out on your own.
6 A peddler once brought something astonishing to
your homeland-a Gondan clockwork, shimmer-SAGE
ing cloth of gold, a trained speaking bird, or some
other small wonder-and told you that it came from
Baldur's Gate. You've come to see the source of such
wonders, and perhaps learn to create them.Baldur's Gate has a modest academic community
centered around the libraries of the High Hall and the
various temples dedicated to gods of learning and inno-vation. Lecturers, researchers, and historians all partic-
ipate with passing scholars from Candlekeep in a livelyexchange of ideas, debating and collaborating in book-
filled halJs across the Upper and Lower City. The city is
also rife with opportunities for arcane study, although
its masters are dispersed across individual wizards'
abodes and lack concentrated communities.BALDUR'S GATE FEATURE: RUMOR MONGER
Via your personal rumor mill and articles publishedin Baldur's Mouth, you can surmise a great deal about
Baldurians' secrets- who's practicing necromancy,who's involved in spying or smuggling, who would pur-
chase or craft dangerous magical wares without batting
an eyelash. Whenever a noteworthy crime or mysterious
happening occurs in the city, you immediately have a