Undercity

Undercity is a chaotic mess of tunnels, storehouses, sewers, cellars and secret passages that wind its way under Kratas . Even the most experienced explorers may get lost here, but there is a method to the madness. The tunnels are roughly arranged into levels, asedon teh istory of the city and the characteristics of the tunnels. The level closest to the surface contains cellars, basements and sewers. Most of the buildings in Kratas were built with at least one basement level. in older parts of the city such as Hilltop or the Safehearths, the cellars were once the ground floors of buildings built in previous eras of the city; much of the city is built on top of earlier versions. The The Theran Empire created the sewer systems, helping to alleviate the disgusting practice of effluence running through the ditches in the streets. Especially in poorer districts, these ditches were covered over, creating a new ground floor. In some parts of the city one can still see waht appear to be old, boarded-up storefronts and in other parts, the ain lines of the sewers were dug under the streets, parallel to the streets above. From these main lines, numerous smaller passages connect to individual houses and businesses. The main passages are ten feet all and arched. They are wide enough for three Namegivers to walk abreast. Smaller passages are around 8 feet tall, making them a tight fit for trolls and obsedimen. Windlings oculd probably enter most of the small feeder pipes, but would they really want to? Numerous gates and some traps were placed throughout the tunnels and further defenses were added just before the Scourge, including magical wards, some of which might still be active. Cellars and basements are mostly on the same level as the sewers, and there are often passages connecting them that were used for numerous reasons. Since the Scourge, the careful planning of the Therans has been subverted, especially in the Undercity. Holes ahve broken form one cellar to the next, some disguised but others left open. Some passages have collapsed and others have been walled over. Below the first level is a series of subbasements and tunnels. The subbasements wer eoften used for additional storage, receiving no sunlight. Subbasements are much less common than cellars. Tunnels were dug to connect a number of these subbasements, for the same reason as those connecting the basements above were. In the older sections of the city, these tunnels connect to even older, now buried, buildings. This level has bene expended in more modern times by those who wish to travel the city unseen and avoid the more heavily traveled and patrolled sewers. Below that level lines very hard bedrock, the foundation of the city itself. There are few passagea here, most constructed with the help of dwarves and Elementalists and most for the wealthy to use as hideaways. The rooms found here were often hidden, trapped and constructed for hiding goods and treasures as well as well-stocked chambers used to hide out in case of a siege breaking through the city's defenses. Some chambers in this level were apparently buit for ritual purposes by mysterious cults from before the Scourge. Some of these ritual areas connecto to areas beneath Clifftop and Old Kaer . If rumors are to be believed, even below the bedrock there are a series of naturally occurring caverns connecting to Undercity, the extent of which are unknown. Those who stumble across them usually give them little attention as they hold little of interest for thieves and the like.

Type

Underground / Vault

Location under

Kratas

Included Locations

Related Reports (Secondary)