Khyber's Gate

Khyber’s Gate covers the distance between Ashblack and Blackbones. Due to the lack of lava streams, it does not have any of the heavy industry found to the east or west. For the most part, Khyber’s Gate is a tenement district, filled with tiny houses carved into the tunnel walls. A great many of the monstrous immigrants from Droaam have settled in Khyber’s Gate, using strength or supernatural abilities to drive the original residents away. Beyond these monsters, the vast majority of the inhabitants are goblins. The other inhabitants of the Gate are drawn from all races, though they share a common desperation; an elf resident of Khyber’s Gate has little in common with one of the haughty inhabitants of Shae Lias. Many of the nongoblin inhabitants of the region are criminals who have fl ed from justice. Some people have established businesses in the depths, while others travel up to the surface and make a living by begging or stealing. While the vast majority of the trades and services offered in Khyber’s Gate are illegal, there are a few people who practice useful mundane trades. Khyber’s Gate is a community of sorts, and brewers, tailors, and cooks are just as valuable as burglars and assassins.
Khyber’s Gate is an extremely disorganized region. There is no central authority—it is simply a question of who has the power to enforce their desires. At the moment, Daask is the most powerful force in the undercity. The Cults of the Dragon Below have a strong following in the undercity, but as is often the case, the cults are not a unified force; there are three different sects, and they fight one another as often as anyone else. The rakshasa Zathara and zakya Nethatar are powerful and deadly inhabitants of the region, but few people even know of their existence.
In Khyber’s Gate, an adventurer should always be cautious—there’s no telling when what appears to be a lowly goblin might turn out to be a vampire, a wererat, a rakshasa, or an even more dangerous fiend.

Demographics

Social Class: Lower class

Industry & Trade

Buildings: Dungeons of at least ten rooms (8), temples (Dragon Below, the Shadow, the Mockery, the Fury), poor lodging (20), poor food (40), average trades (20), poor trades (60), average services (20), poor services (80), poor residences (420)

Infrastructure

District Type: Undercity

First Impression: This is an actual city beneath the city, with homes and shops carved into the walls of the Cogs. It is still a maze of passages, but the “streets” are a little wider and the ceilings rise higher. The heat is far less intense that in the industrial district, but the air is still filled with the stench of smoke and garbage. Goblins watch from the shadows, and in the distance two ogres stagger out of a bar.

Type

District

Location under

The Cogs