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 aJsoserves 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 shielddwarf knight. Soldiers are often assigned to "cell duty"
as a temporary punishment- while this generally means
rougher treatment for prisoners, the regular turnovermight present a sliver of opportunity for anyone attempt-
ing a rescue.SESKERGATESOnce 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 toprominence 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. Theironly 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 haddied whiJe smuggling a rare magical tome, leading him
to suspect that it still lies hidden in the house's walls.BALDUR'S GATE GAZETTEERUnfortunately, 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 tosell them for the right price.
SEWER KEEP
Like many port cities, Baldur's Gate has traditionallydumped 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 facilitywas 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 witha 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 anumber of sweet-smelling shambling m ounds that live
in the tanks, churning them as part of the purification
process. Mortlock Vanthampur (see page 26) paysGenamine 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.