Baldur's Gate

City Overview

Baldur's Gate is one of the most influential and iconic cities in Faerûn, often described as the "City of Blood and Coin." Built atop wealth generated from trade and mercantile enterprise, it is a sprawling urban hub of contradictions—wealth and squalor, nobility and criminality, opportunity and danger. The city is divided into three key districts:

The Upper City: Home to the city’s elite, featuring grand estates, immaculate streets, and locations like the Manorborn District. The Watch keeps tight control here.
The Lower City: The heart of trade and commerce. Bustling docks, crowded streets, and raucous markets dominate this chaotic, thriving district, where wealth flows through honest merchants and cutthroat smugglers alike.
The Outer City: Beyond the walls lies a sprawling shantytown and farmland, where refugees, outcasts, and laborers make their homes in improvised conditions.

Baldur's Gate thrives on a "no questions asked" policy—gold is gold, regardless of its source. However, crime and corruption often simmer beneath its surface, as the Guild, the city's shadowy crime syndicate, exerts influence in every corner. In contrast, the Flaming Fist, a powerful mercenary force, and the city’s rulers—known as the Dukes of Baldur's Gate—attempt to maintain order, often with iron-fisted tactics.

The city’s Wyrm’s Crossing bridge spans the Chionthar River, linking Baldur’s Gate to vital trade routes, while Balduran’s Sea Tower stands watch in the bay as a symbol of the city's seafaring prowess.

Whether one seeks fortune, danger, or simply anonymity, Baldur's Gate welcomes all—so long as they can survive its treacherous streets.

The Upper City

The wealthiest and most heavily patrolled district, the Upper City houses Baldur’s Gate’s elite families and most influential institutions. Clean streets, opulent estates, and the ever-present Watch define this area.

Key Locations:
High Hall: Seat of the Dukes of Baldur’s Gate (Council of Four) and the city’s governing body.
The Wide: A vast open marketplace, hosting traders, performances, and grand gatherings.
The Drakon: A notable tavern and meeting place for discreet dealings.
Watch Citadel: Headquarters of the Watch, the elite constabulary maintaining order in the Upper City.
Major Factions:
The Watch: The Upper City’s guards, who answer only to the Dukes. They enforce strict laws and keep outsiders at bay.
The Patriar Families: The old-money elite who wield power through wealth, influence, and lineage.
Notable Neighborhoods:
Manorborn District: A collection of grand estates and manors belonging to the Patriar families.

The Lower City

The bustling and chaotic heart of Baldur’s Gate, the Lower City is where merchants, dockworkers, and rogues cross paths. Trade flourishes amidst a maze of streets filled with markets, taverns, and warehouses.

Key Locations:
Basilisk Gate: A heavily trafficked gate separating the Lower City from the Outer City.
Blushing Mermaid: An infamous tavern and haven for mercenaries, pirates, and cutthroats.
Counting House: A powerful banking guild where vast fortunes are stored and exchanged.
Elfsong Tavern: A legendary inn, known for its haunting elven song and for hosting adventurers.
The Docks: A sprawling waterfront where cargo ships unload goods and smugglers ply their trade.
Shrine of the Suffering: A temple to Ilmater, offering aid to the sick and poor.
Major Factions:
The Flaming Fist: A mercenary company and de facto law enforcement, led by Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard (one of the Council of Four).
The Guild: A secretive criminal syndicate that controls smuggling, theft, and illicit trade.
Notable Neighborhoods:
The Steeps: A sloping, crowded area full of cramped buildings and shops, leading down to the Docks.
Heapside: The trade center of the Lower City, filled with markets and workshops.

The Outer City

Beyond the city walls lies the sprawling, chaotic Outer City. Shantytowns, refugee camps, and farmland stretch along the Chionthar River, housing those too poor or unwelcome to live inside the city proper.

Neighbourhoods & Maps:
Outer City:
Rivington
Twin Songs
Sow's Foot
Whitkeep
Norchapel & Calimshan
Stonyeyes
Key Locations:
Wyrm’s Crossing: The massive bridge spanning the Chionthar River, lined with shops, inns, and homes.
Little Calimshan: A bustling neighborhood filled with Calishite immigrants, merchants, and their unique culture.
The Stonyeyes Quarry: A source of stone for the city’s construction efforts.
Major Factions:
The Guild (Outer City Division): Thieves, smugglers, and petty criminals operate freely here.
Refugee Camps: Temporary settlements for those displaced by war and disaster.
Notable Neighborhoods:
Stonyeyes District: A rough neighborhood surrounding the quarry, home to laborers and paupers.

For more detailed information and lore: See The Forty-First Lamina's Baldur's Gate Articles

Maps

Sow's Foot

A muddy, overcrowded slum near the Outer City gates, known for ramshackle huts, foul odours, and black-market dealings. Many laborers and drifters call this rough area home, including those races and species outcast from the rest of the city.

Created by here_be_dragons_and_cats using Inkarnate

Parent Map: Baldur's Gate
Baldur's Gate

A bustling, fortified city perched on the edge of the Chionthar River, serving as a gateway to trade, opportunity, and intrigue along the Sword Coast. Detailed interactive markers includes neighbourhoods, stores, temples and various other points of interest with full descriptions.

Article: Baldur's Gate
Whitkeep

Tanneries dominate the area. It is home to a community of artisans, including tinsmiths from the large representation of gnomes. It is also known for attracting radical minded individuals.

Created by here_be_dragons_and_cats using Inkarnate

Parent Map: Baldur's Gate
Norchapel

A quiet, impoverished Outer City neighbourhood filled with makeshift homes and small chapels. It is home to labourers, working class and outlaws alike.

A colourful enclave where Calishite immigrants have created a a refuge for themselves from the rest of the outer city, complete with bazaars, mosques, and spice-filled air.

Article: Baldur's Gate
Rivington

A sprawling Outer City settlement south of Baldur's Gate, filled with refugee camps, fisheries, river-powered mills, and makeshift homes of the city’s poorest. Smugglers, known as the Rivington Rats operate in the area. Markers only.

Created by here_be_dragons_and_cats using Inkarnate

Parent Map: Baldur's Gate
Twin Songs

A district of shrines, chapels, and holy sites dedicated to many deities. A haven for pilgrims and the faithful seeking guidance. Legal worship of all deities is allowed here.

Created by here_be_dragons_and_cats using Inkarnate

Parent Map: Baldur's Gate
Stonyeyes

A rough, working-class neighbourhood surrounding the city’s stone quarry. Dirty streets and hardworking laborers, predominantly half-orcs, are a common sight in this industrial area. Caravans off load their products for transport here.

Created by here_be_dragons_and_cats using Inkarnate

Parent Map: Baldur's Gate