Baldur's Gate

Baldur's Gate is largely a human settlement, but individuals of all origins and backgrounds can be found within the walls or in the communities stretching out beyond them. There are expected to be roughly 125,000 residents in the region.  

The Council of Four sits atop the political structure in Baldur's Gate, convening in the High Hall. While the Parliment of Peers and the patriars are influencial in their own right, the Council serves as the highest authority. The Council oversees the Flaming Fist, the navy, the collection of taxes, and all public utilities.   The Council of Fourt currently consists of Duke Ulder Ravengard, Duke Belynne Stelmane, Duke Dillard Portyr, and Due Thalamra Vanthampur.  

Baldur's Gate is defended by two primary military forces.  

The Flaming Fist

The red and gold symbol of the Flaming Fist has become synonomous with Baldur's Gate, if for no other reason than visitors see it so often, particularly when conducting business in the Lower City. These mercenaries are funded by the Council of Four as if it were the city's army. It is led by Duke Ulder Ravengard. In addition to patroling the Lower City, they hold authority over the Outer City, but their hold beyond the city walls is far more tenuous. The Flaming fist consists of thousands of soldiers across the city, its fortress of Wyrm's Rock, and remove outposts as far as Fort Beluarian in Chult. The ranks of the Flaming Fist are diverse, offering a sense of belonging and consistent employment to locals, immigrants, and former criminals. With no higher authority outside of the already spread too thin Council of Four, there is little recompense for members of the Flaming Fist who take justice into their own hands or resort to violence in response to minor or perceived offenses.    

The Watch

Officers of the Watch spend their entire day and even careers within the confines of the Upper City, serving as glorified bodyguards of the city's elite who pride themselves on recognizing every resident on sight. Along those lines, one of their primary responsibilities is clearing all non-residents, their employees, or guests with written invitations out every day at dusk. The Watch operates out of the Citadel, the massive keep built into the walls of the Upper City itself.   Both the Watch and the Flamting First have the right to dispense immediate justice if they witness or suspect a crime in progress.  

The city's most prominent trade goods are dyes, fish, imports from Chult, mercenaries, and nautical supplies.

One of the most prominent features of the city are its walls and the titular gates of the city.   The Old Wall, built hundreds of years ago at the namesake Baldruan's request, surround what is now the Upper City. Seven gates are spread throughout the wall, entry through the primary gates - Citadel Gate, Black Dragon Gate, and Baldur's Gate - requires being a resident, having proof of permission to access in the form of a Watch token or patriar's letter, or paying an entry toll. The remaining gates - Gond Gate, Heap Gate, Manor Gate, and Sea Gate - are reserved exclusively for the patriars, their servants, or their guests.  

 
• Black Dragon Gate: Facing north toward the distant Waterdeep, the gate is named for the dragon's head that a victorious knight once displayed atop the arch. The dragon head has long since been replaced with a stone replica. Local legend suggests the statue is capable of spewing acid upon invaders should the town ever become under attack.

 
• Citadel Gate: The sole entrance to the Watch's fortress nestled into the Upper City's landward wall. The Citadel maintains the only stable within the Upper City walls, though the small cavalry it serves is mostly for parades and other ceremonial functions.

 
• Patriar Gates: Each of these gates are generally much smaller and not accesible by the general public. They were built after the construction of the Lower City for the convinenence of the patriars moving between their homes and their business interests. Unlike the other gates, these are privately maintained by the patriars and are thus both more ornate and heavily guarded.

 

Baldur's Gate is comprised of three primary regions:

• The Upper City, where the wealthy and elite live and conduct business, protected by the Watch.
• The Lower City, the cramped, noisy narrow streets of bustling activity that's home to the common folk
• The Outer City, the chaotic tangle of shanties and shops that harbors everything and everyone the elite of Baldur's Gate keep beyond their walls.

 

Patriars
The wealthy elite upper class of Baldur's Gate. Their rank is defined by their money and increasingly inconsequential hertiage claims. Some are primarily economically-minded, while others focus on diplimacy and intrigue in the politics of the city, while fewer still would be considered civic-minded.   Commoners and Crews
In the face of considerably fewer rights and the often over-eager to dispense justice mercenaries of the Flaming Fist, many Lower City neighbors have self-organized into crews for mutual protection. Depending on the crew, this protection can range from taking someone's side in a tavern brawl or guarding each other's shops or offer inter-crew loans at affordable rates.  

• Porter's Union
• Stonemasion's Guild
• Butcher's Block
• Bannerless Legion
• Scribe's and Sages Legion
• Honorable Order of Moneylenders
• Apothecary Alliance
• Brethren of Barbers
• Forgeworkers' Lodge
• Wisewoman Weavers
• Reveler's Union
• Right Pashas of Little Calimshan
• The Crossed of Wrym's Crossing
• Gravemakers of Tumbledown
• Bloomdridge Dandies
• Gateguides

  Professional Guilds
Mostly operating in the Lower City, these collectives of merchants and craftsmen follow official charters. It is not uncommon for them to intersect or overlap with crews. With many guilds prefering to provide their goods to the patriars of the Upper City, commoners often grumble that they can't afford to buy from their own neighbors, instead often going to the Outer City for their needs.   The Guild
A collection of cutpurses, loan sharks, killers, thugs, con artists, grave robbers, cat burglars, and every other type of criminal in the city that thrives by keeping its illicit activities quiet despite operating beneath the noses of the Watch and Flaming Fist. Each neighborhood across each part of the city is under the purview of a local kingpin. In the Outer City, where the Guild acts with more brazen confidence, locals often know who their kingpin is and what their protection costs.  
 

Religion

  Baldur's Gate permits the worship of any and all dieties, so long as the worshippers refrain from violent acts and practices that disrupt trade. As a result, there are multiple temples within the walls and hundreds of shrines along the twisted streets of the Outer City. The most well-represented deities within Baldur's Gate include Gond, Torm, Ilmater, Oghma, Tymora, Umberlee, Siamorphe, Ilmater, and the Dead Three.