Skullport
Skullport
Skullport is an infamous subterranean city located deep beneath Waterdeep, often referred to as the Port of Shadows. Functioning as a hub of criminal activity, illicit trade, and secret dealings, Skullport is beyond the reach of Waterdeep’s laws, ruled instead by powerful factions, smugglers, and the enigmatic Xanathar Guild. The city is known for its dangerous environment, where slavery, piracy, and forbidden magic flourish in the dark corridors beneath the surface world.
Geography and Structure
Skullport is built into a vast underground cavern along the River Sargauth, providing it with a natural waterway for smuggling and trade. The city is divided into three primary levels:
- The Upper Level – The most structurally stable part of Skullport, home to wealthy criminals, elite traders, and those who prefer to keep their dealings less conspicuous.
- The Middle Level – The city’s mercantile heart, filled with black markets, gambling dens, and taverns where business—both legal and illegal—flourishes.
- The Lower Level – The most dangerous section, home to slavers, thieves’ guilds, and monstrous inhabitants. This level is barely patrolled, and only the most desperate or well-prepared dare to venture here.
Government and Law
There is no central government in Skullport. Instead, power is controlled by a loose web of factions, criminal syndicates, and mercenary companies. The most influential groups include:
- The Xanathar Guild – The most powerful crime syndicate in Skullport, led by the beholder Xanathar. The guild controls the city’s underworld, enforcing its will through assassins, spies, and magical surveillance.
- The Reforged Ring – A secretive group of ex-slaves and vigilantes who seek to disrupt Skullport’s slave trade and establish some form of order.
- Independent Smugglers and Pirates – A constantly shifting network of captains, traders, and mercenaries who use Skullport as a base of operations for clandestine trade.
Notable Locations
- The Black Tankard – One of the most infamous taverns in Skullport, frequented by mercenaries, bounty hunters, and those seeking high-risk employment.
- The Guts & Garters – A rough, no-questions-asked inn where criminals, spies, and fugitives can disappear from the surface world.
- The Slave Pits – A grim part of the Lower Level where captured prisoners and unwilling laborers are bought and sold in secret auctions.
- The Tower of Seven Woes – A ruined fortress now used as a hideout for cultists and dark magic practitioners.
Economy and Trade
Skullport thrives on illicit trade, serving as a major waypoint for smuggled goods, rare magical artifacts, poisons, stolen relics, and contraband from across Faerûn. The city has no official currency, and deals are often made through barter, soul contracts, and under-the-table gold.
History and Legacy
Originally a hidden port for pirates and outcasts, Skullport expanded into a full-fledged underground city over the centuries. It has endured periods of tyranny, rebellion, and collapse, but its lawless nature has always allowed it to survive. The city is notorious for harboring fugitives and lost souls, and legends persist of hidden vaults containing unimaginable wealth beneath its murky depths.
Despite its dark reputation, Skullport remains an essential part of Faerûn’s underworld, a place where the desperate, the powerful, and the damned cross paths in search of fortune or oblivion.
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