City Walls and Gates

Each gate and section of the wall plays a role in preserving order within the Free City. While the laws may seem rigid, they ensure that Greyhawk remains a bastion of civilization, power, and intrigue.

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The stone guardians of Greyhawk have never faced a true test of steel, yet the architects, defenders, and citizens of the Free City stand firm in their confidence. Though not the tallest or thickest in the world, these walls and fortifications form a formidable barrier against any who would dare lay siege to the city.

While detailed military tactics and defensive plans are discussed elsewhere, this section provides an overview of the walls and gates as adventurers might encounter them.

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The City Walls

Greyhawk’s great outer wall winds like a serpent around the city’s circumference, a ribbon of hope and security rising from the plains. Two additional inner walls, equal in height and strength, divide the city into its three great sections:

• The Black Wall: Once Greyhawk’s outer defense, this imposing barrier divides the Old City from the New. Soot and smoke from countless fires have blackened its surface, giving it an ominous presence.
• The Nobles’ Wall: A symbol of status and privilege, this wall separates the High and Military Quarters from the rest of the city, reinforcing the superiority of Greyhawk’s elite.

Wall Construction and Defense

• The outer wall stands 30 feet high and is 18 feet thick at its base, composed of tightly fitted granite blocks.
• A 10-foot-wide patrol platform runs along the top, with parapets on both sides for cover.
• Hidden compartments are spaced every 300 feet along the wall, each containing a dozen ladders for rapid militia deployment in emergencies.
• The City Watch patrols the walls at all hours:
• Daytime: One guard every 300 feet.
• Nighttime: Quadrupled patrols with two sentries every 150 feet.
• Torches, maintained by the Lamplighters' Guild, are positioned every 150 feet, ensuring strategic illumination.

The Gates of Greyhawk

Each of Greyhawk’s mighty gates bears a unique name and purpose, yet all share common elements of design and function.

General Gate Features

• Each main gate consists of two massive wooden doors, each 12 to 16 feet high and reinforced with iron.
• A heavy iron portcullis stands behind each gate, woven so tightly that even a small child could not squeeze through.
• Gates are housed in fortified gatehouses, complete with:
• Twin flanking towers with arrow slits.
• Boiling oil defenses (deployed straight down).
• Three elevated platforms for squads of 40 archers each.

Notable Gates and Their Function

• The Cargo Gate & Highway Gate: The only two gates open 24/7, vital for trade and supply.
• The Black Gate: Separates the Old City from the New, closed during the deepest hours of the night.
• The Garden Gate: Links the High Quarter to Clerksburg and the Foreign Quarter, rarely closed except in times of riot or emergency.
• Other Gates: All other gates close at dusk, only opening for officially authorized travelers carrying a written decree from the Lord Mayor or Captain-General.

Gate Security and Regulations

• All travelers passing through the gates must sign a roster, recording their name (or marking an "X" for the illiterate).
• Inner city gates do not question travelers unless they appear suspicious.
• Outer city gates (except for the Cargo & Highway Gates) require visitors to state their business. If guards grow suspicious (20% chance by default), they note the traveler’s purpose in the records.
• If a traveler is found to have lied about their business, they face banishment and confiscation of all ill-gotten wealth.

Persona Non Grata & Punishments

• Enemies of Greyhawk, including members of hostile nations, are denied entry.
• If caught sneaking in, the offender is immediately arrested, sentenced to 2d12 months of hard labor, and permanently exiled.

All gate records are meticulously stored in the Great Library of Greyhawk. Officially, only city officials and Watch officers may access them, though powerful guildmasters are rumored to have their own means of acquiring this information.

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Contraband and Smuggling

While Greyhawk’s markets are among the most diverse in the Flanaess, certain items are strictly forbidden within city walls:

• Deadly Poisons: Possession results in a 2d12-month sentence in a workhouse. Use of poison in a murder carries a gruesome death sentence—the culprit is executed via a rare venom that kills slowly and painfully over two days.
• Idols or Relics of Evil Cults: Carrying such items invokes severe consequences.

The Art of Smuggling

• Common contraband includes:
• Untaxed goods (avoiding the Cargo Tax or Precious Metal Tax).
• Hidden weapons & armor (evading the Freesword Tax of 3 gp).
• Gate guards inspect 25% of all bundles, wagons, and panniers. A Wisdom check determines whether a PC arouses suspicion.
• Bribery is common, allowing guards to overlook small infractions. However, if caught without a bribe:
• Offenders are taken to the gaol.
• Fined heavily (higher than the bribe would have been).
• If unable to pay, the city confiscates the contraband.

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City Gates

Wharfgate

This small but significant gate connects the riverfront wharves to the city via a steep, winding path that ascends the bluff. Open only from dawn until dusk, it is the only gate in Greyhawk with strict travel restrictions—no wheeled vehicles, beasts of burden, or livestock may pass through. Though this rule is partly due to the steep incline, it also serves to limit traffic through the prestigious neighborhoods of the Garden and High Quarters.

The Wharfgate’s most remarkable feature is its breathtaking view. From its high vantage point, one can see miles of the Selintan River, the majestic peaks of the Cairn Hills , and on clear days, even the rocky crests and dense woodlands beyond. Looking inward, the entire city of Greyhawk unfolds before the eye.

This gate is heavily guarded day and night by an elite patrol of the City Watch, reinforced by a standard patrol in the gatehouse.

Duke’s Gate

A typical smaller city gate, the Duke’s Gate is a bustling point of entry for merchants bringing foodstuffs to the High Marketplace. It also serves as the main access point for those traveling to the Cairn Hills and the southern shores of the Nyr Dyv, though it is not as heavily trafficked as the Highway Gate to the south.

Caravans, freight wagons, and their armed escorts enter the city here, carrying smelted ores and refined materials from the hills to the city's craftsmen and markets.

This gate was named in honor of a Duke of Urnst nearly a century ago—a notorious gambler and sportsman who frequently traveled to Greyhawk for its pleasures and gaming houses. His hunting expeditions through the Cairn Hills always led him through this very gate. He lost so much wealth in the city’s gambling dens that the grateful citizens named the gate after him as a token of their "esteem."

Like other key city gates, the Duke’s Gate is guarded by an elite patrol of the City Watch, reinforced by a standard patrol in the gatehouse.

Druids’ Gate

This small and secluded gate is named for the ring of standing stones located just outside its entrance. It is the least used of Greyhawk’s gates, primarily serving farmers and landowners bringing goods to the Low Marketplace.

A standard patrol of the City Watch mans the gate, with a second patrol stationed in the gatehouse for security.

Highway Gate

This grand entrance to Greyhawk is the gateway to adventure for countless travelers. Alongside the Cargo Gate, it is one of only two city gates that remain open at all times, except during extreme emergencies.

The Highway Gate sees a constant flow of traffic, including:

• Caravans from Hardby laden with seaborne goods
• Food shipments from the fertile Selintan Valley
• Timber wagons for the city’s carpenters and builders
• Overland traders from Dyvers , Celene , Furyondy, and the Wild Coast

The guard post at the Highway Gate is a prestigious assignment within the City Watch. Sergeants stationed here are closely evaluated, and those who excel may rise in rank within the Captain-General’s command. Because of this, the guards here are highly disciplined, conducting more meticulous contraband searches than at other gates.

Bribes are still accepted, but attempting to smuggle goods through this gate is extremely risky. Random searches occur 35% of the time, and those attempting to deceive the guards suffer a ×4 penalty to their Wisdom checks.

The Highway Gate is defended by two elite patrols of the City Watch, along with a standard garrison in the gatehouse.

Marsh Gate

A small and relatively quiet gate, the Marsh Gate primarily serves local farmsteads and fishing villages along the riverbanks. On occasion, it is used as an alternative entry point to the bustling Highway Gate.

The Marsh Gate is protected by a standard patrol of the City Watch, with an additional patrol in the gatehouse.

Cargo Gate

This massive gate rivals the Highway Gate in size and importance. It is the busiest of Greyhawk’s portals, with nonstop traffic of freight wagons, pack trains, porters, and carts carrying goods from the wharves into the city.

The Cargo Gate remains open at all hours, with security provided by a double elite patrol of the City Watch, reinforced by a standard gatehouse garrison.

Garden Gate

The Garden Gate is open day and night, though its guards show little concern for who enters and exits—provided that everyone signs the official entry roster.

Most of the time, this gate is left unguarded, save for a single standard patrol of the City Watch. However, if a manhunt is underway or the city is experiencing civil unrest, a larger force is assigned to the gatehouse.

Black Gate

This fortified gate marks the boundary between Old Greyhawk and the New City—or, more notably, between the wealthy and the poor. It is one of the most heavily monitored gates in the city.

The Black Gate closes two hours after sunset and remains shut until an hour before dawn. When it is open, guards strictly maintain the roster and are on high alert for fugitives.

The Thieves’ Guild keeps an ever-watchful eye on this gate, monitoring traffic from a discreet vantage point within the Thieves’ Quarter.

The Black Gate is protected by an elite patrol of the City Watch, with a standard patrol always stationed in the gatehouse.

Cargo Gate

Druid's Gate

Inspection at City Gate