TEXT: Survive the City of Blood in this supplement for
  your Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus campaign
  by Justice Arman, Anthony Joyce,
  Anne Gregersen, and Gordon McAlpin
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  2
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica and all other 
  Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries.
  This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under 
  the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.
  All other original material in this work is copyright 2019 by Anthony Joyce and published under the Community Content Agreement for 
  Dungeon Masters Guild.
  2
  Credits
  Lead Design: Justice Arman, Anthony Joyce
  Design: Anne Gregersen, Gordon McAlpin
  Editing: Ashton Duncan
  Graphic Design: Gordon McAlpin
  Cover Illustration: Alexander Smulskiy
  Interior Illustrations: Dean Spencer
  Cartography: © Derek Ruiz/Elven Tower 
  Cartography
  The following D&D books provided material 
  and inspiration: 
  Crawford, Jeremy, Dan Dillon, Ben Petrisor, 
  and Kate Welch. Baldur’s Gate: Descent Into 
  Avernus. 2019.
  Perkins, Christopher, Will Doyle, and Steven 
  Winter. Tomb of Annihilation. 2017.
  Kenson, Steve, and others. Sword Coast 
  Adventurer’s Guide. 2015.
  Mearls, Mike, and others. Volo’s Guide 
  to Monsters. 2016.
  The following Dungeon Masters Guild Community 
  Content provided material and inspiration: 
  Doyle, Will, and the Guild Adepts. Waterdeep: 
  City Encounters. 2018.
  About the Authors
  Justice Arman is an Iranian-American clinic 
  manager based in Central Texas. He’s also a 
  husband, Dungeons & Dragons writer, and 
  Beadle & Grimm’s Viking. Though he is a late 
  bloomer to TTRPGs, Justice has been a Dungeon 
  Master since 2013. His work includes Devil’s 
  Advocate: A Guide to Infernal Contracts, Step Right 
  Up, and Baldur’s Gate: The Fall of Elturel.
  Anthony Joyce is a Hispanic, ENnie-nominated 
  Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition designer, 
  husband, father of three boys, and a U.S. Army 
  Strategist. His work includes The Heir of Orcus: 
  Verse I, II, III, & IV; Weekend at Strahd’s; The Curse 
  of Skull Island;  The Little Astralnaut; The Dreams of 
  Prince Papo; and Baldur’s Gate: The Fall of Elturel.
  Anne Gregersen is a Digital Design student from 
  Aarhus, Denmark. When she isn’t designing 
  content for Dungeons & Dragons, she enjoys 
  painting, reading fantasy novels, and playing with 
  her baby/dog Oscar. Her body of work includes 
  Ghesh’s Guide to Making Things, Sir Alkian’s Guide 
  to Surviving the Apocalypse, and the best-selling 
  Monster Loot series.
  Gordon McAlpin is a Filipino-American writer, 
  graphic designer, illustrator, and animator based in 
  Somerville, MA. He wrote and illustrated the comic 
  strip Multiplex from 2005 to 2017, after which he 
  launched the award-winning animated web series 
  Multiplex 10.
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  3
  I 
  used to live in Houston. I didn’t like it. In 
  addition to the heat and humidity, the city 
  has a host of other problems stemming 
  from the slow growth of infrastructure 
  in comparison to its rapidly expanding 
  population. When I occasionally ventured into 
  the city proper, whatever issues it faced seemed 
  chased away by sunlight, hidden from view 
  by faceless, towering edifices and concrete 
  overpasses.
  Once, however, my wife and I attended a 
  country music concert downtown. (Don’t judge 
  us.) We parked a couple of blocks away from 
  the venue to save a few bucks, given the high 
  costs of the nearby parking lots. The streets 
  were sunny and bright when walking into the 
  concert, but returning to our car was a different 
  story. Streetlamps flickered. Broken bottles and 
  trash littered the sidewalk. Strangers called out 
  to us from the shadows, their faces lit by the 
  glow of cigarettes.
  A tall, muscular man in tattered clothes 
  who previously was sitting against a chain-link 
  fence stood up after we passed. His hair was 
  disheveled, his demeanor suspicious, and he 
  followed close behind us. We crossed the street, 
  and so did he. I turned around to confront him 
  just as he lurched for my wife’s purse. Suddenly, 
  a police car rounded the corner and, when 
  it came into view, the man abruptly changed 
  course and darted down the street. 
  I still think about that interaction from 
  time to time. What would have happened if 
  that officer hadn’t driven by? In that one brief 
  encounter, crime was suddenly personal. The 
  city had come to life.
  Anthony Joyce, Anne Gregersen, Gordon 
  McAlpin, and I have partnered to do just that 
  for your Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus 
  campaign. We hope that these short encounters 
  will bring some color to your sessions in the 
  City of Blood—even if that color is red.
  – Justice Arman
  Overview
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters provides 
  Dungeon Masters with forty short encounters 
  to supplement your Baldur’s Gate: Descent 
  into Avernus campaign. These brief scenarios 
  enliven the City of Blood and distinguish it from 
  other settlements along the Sword Coast. This 
  supplement has the following sections:
  Tension Encounters. Twenty random 
  encounters tied to five levels of tension 
  within Baldur’s Gate. As the characters make 
  decisions, they may shift power between 
  the city’s major factions and unlock new 
  encounters.
  Neighborhood Encounters. Twenty 
  encounters, each tied to a neighborhood within 
  the Upper, Lower, and Outer Cities.
  Appendix A: Magic Items. Details a magic 
  item in this supplement from Waterdeep: 
  Dragon Heist. This item is reprinted in this 
  product for your convenience.
  Appendix B: Creatures and NPCs. 
  Statistics for creatures and NPCs listed in 
  Volo’s Guide to Monsters.
  Appendix C: Tension Meter. A handout to 
  keep track of the current level of tension within 
  the City of Blood.
  Appendix D: Map of Baldur’s Gate. A map 
  of Baldur’s Gate and its neighborhoods for use 
  with location-based encounters.
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters requires the 
  use of the Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition 
  core rulebooks (Player’s Handbook, Dungeon 
  Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual). When 
  a creature’s name appears in bold type, that’s 
  a reference to its stat block in the Monster 
  Manual, Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus, 
  or Volo’s Guide to Monsters. If the creature 
  appears in Volo’s Guide to Monsters, its 
  stat block is reproduced with permission in 
  appendix B.
  IntroductIon
  IntroductIon
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  4
  O
  pportunity lingers in Baldur’s Gate. 
  From ancient antiquities to everyday 
  commodities, all manner of goods 
  flow through the titan of trade along 
  the River Chionthar. However, 
  where there’s coin, there’s crime. As characters 
  explore the city, they may encounter corrupt 
  officials, secret cults, and strict enforcers. 
  The Tension Meter
  Victories are far and few between in Baldur’s 
  Gate, but the characters’ actions can still have 
  an impact on city life. Most villains aren’t 
  immortal, and the characters’ actions can save 
  lives. However, there’s no eliminating power in 
  the City of Blood; it only changes hands.
  Try as they might, one small group of 
  adventurers isn’t going to fix Baldur’s Gate by 
  solving squabbles on its bloodstained streets. 
  Each time the characters eliminate a cult 
  leader, another lurks in a claustrophobic alley, 
  waiting to pick up the reigns. When the city 
  incarcerates a major criminal, the criminal’s 
  followers riot in the streets or scatter to form 
  gangs of their own. The lawful execution 
  of a crime syndicate leader may result in a 
  promotion for a more violent officer within the 
  Flaming Fist.
  The tension meter represents the constant 
  struggle for power in Baldur’s Gate. When 
  characters intercede in seemingly minor 
  conflicts, they may impact the city’s mood. 
  As tides shift from one power group to another, 
  the characters face an entirely different set of 
  encounters within Baldur’s Gate.
  Five Levels of Tension
  The tension meter displays the current balance 
  of power between the city’s major groups. 
  When the characters resolve encounters in a 
  way that favors one end of the spectrum over 
  the other, the random encounters in the city 
  change to match the new level of tension. 
  There are five levels on the tension meter: 
  Martial Law, Order, Status Quo, Unstable, 
  and Pandemonium.
  tensIon encounters
  tensIon encounters
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  5
  Martial Law
  When characters consistently resolve 
  encounters in a lawful manner, they embolden 
  the Flaming Fist to take control of Baldur’s 
  Gate. As criminals and cults slink into the 
  shadows, the Flaming Fist subjects everyday 
  citizens to swift and violent justice. Fists 
  brutally enforce minor misdemeanors while 
  corruption within the mercenary company 
  runs rampant.
  Order
  If characters often side with the law, they notice 
  conflict between the Flaming Fist and the 
  Watch. Leaders within the Flaming Fist are 
  determined to crack down on crime in the city, 
  but their merciless justice is beginning to put 
  them at odds with sincere do-gooders. Crime is 
  present at this level, but criminals are careful 
  to avoid attention as the mercenary company 
  begins to take hold of the city. 
  Status Quo 
  When characters resolve encounters in such 
  a way that neither law nor chaos prevails, 
  Baldur’s Gate remains a dangerous metropolis 
  ripe with all manner of opportunity. Despite 
  the presence of the Flaming Fist and the 
  Watch, most citizens care more about coin than 
  morality. Besides, the chances of punishment 
  are relatively slim. Between the city’s sizeable 
  black market, rampant crime, and corruption 
  among the patriar houses in the Upper City, 
  there’s simply too much criminal activity to 
  punish everyone. 
  Unstable
  The characters’ actions sow discord, favoring 
  criminals, rebels, or disgruntled, lower-class 
  citizens. Crime is prevalent and bold, and 
  law enforcement struggles to maintain order. 
  Back-alley deals now take place on busy street 
  corners, and cultists are not afraid to show their 
  true colors to entice prospective members.
  Pandemonium
  Characters who consistently side with disorder 
  witness the City of Blood earn its name. Dead 
  Three cultists hold violent rituals in public 
  areas. As the proletariat riots in the Upper 
  City, the Watch barricades the cliffside villas 
  of the wealthy elite. The Flaming Fist is 
  stretched thin; mercenaries who refuse to sell 
  their services to criminals are murdered in 
  the streets.
  Using the Tension Meter
  To roll a random encounter, roll a d4, and 
  consult the “Encounters by Tension Level” 
  section that corresponds to the current level of 
  tension on your tension meter (see appendix C 
  for a handout of the tension meter).
  By default, the first encounter in Baldur’s 
  Gate begins at the midpoint of the tension meter 
  Figure 1.1: The Tension Meter
  Status Quo
  Unstable
  Pandemonium
  Order
  Martial Law
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  6
  at a tension level of Status Quo. However, at 
  the DM’s discretion, the characters may begin 
  their adventure in Baldur’s Gate at different 
  tension level.
  Encounter Outcomes 
  Depending on how the characters resolve 
  encounters, they may tip the tension meter 
  towards Martial Law or Pandemonium. After 
  each encounter, the DM determines in secret 
  whether the characters’ actions were lawful, 
  neutral, or chaotic.
  At the end of the in-game day, the DM 
  decides what impact, if any, the encounters in 
  aggregate had on the level of tension in Baldur’s 
  Gate. They then update the tension meter if 
  necessary as follows:
  • If the characters acted lawfully, move the 
  current level of tension one step towards 
  Martial Law. If the current level of tension is 
  already Martial Law, there is no change.
  • If the characters acted neutrally, there is no 
  change to the level of tension.
  • If the characters acted chaotically, move the 
  current level of tension one step towards 
  Pandemonium. If the current level of tension 
  is already Pandemonium, there is no change.
  Tipping the Balance
  As characters escalate the level of tension 
  through their actions, new encounters are 
  introduced to match rising threats within 
  Baldur’s Gate. In addition to the tension 
  encounters, you can convey the dynamic nature 
  of the city with quick descriptions or comments 
  from NPCs. For example, in Martial Law, the 
  Flaming Fist may hang banners bearing their 
  insignia in front of High Hall. In Pandemonium, 
  Reya Mantlemorn may mention to the 
  characters that the city has finally imploded due 
  to its own corruption.
  Variant: Campaign-Based Tension
  There are several instances in Baldur’s Gate: 
  Descent into Avernus where it would be 
  appropriate to record the result on the tension 
  meter. If you’d like the events of the campaign 
  to influence the tension within the city, follow 
  these guidelines:
  Dungeon of the Dead Three. If the 
  characters eliminate the cultists in the Dungeon 
  of the Dead Three, they deal a significant blow 
  to the Cult of the Dead Three. Move the current 
  level of tension one step towards Martial Law.
  Vanthampur Villa. Attacking the 
  Vanthampur estate creates instability in 
  Baldur’s Gate. Move the current level of tension 
  one step towards Pandemonium.
  Under the Villa. If Duke Vanthampur 
  escapes, she orders the Flaming Fist to crack 
  down and squash any rumors of her association 
  with the Cult of the Dead Three, and the tension 
  level moves one step towards Martial Law. 
  If Duke Vanthampur is killed or captured, no 
  group gains power. The legitimacy of Flaming 
  Fist is threatened, but the Cult of the Dead 
  Three also loses a prominent member. The 
  tension level moves one step towards Status 
  Quo. If the current tension level is already at the 
  midpoint of Status Quo, there is no impact on 
  the tension meter.
  Encounters By Location
  For location-specific encounters within Baldur’s 
  Gate, see “Neighborhood Encounters.”
  Example: Using the Tension Meter
  The characters exit the Elfsong Tavern on their 
  way to meet with an important NPC in the 
  Upper City. Because the characters are covering 
  significant ground in Baldur’s Gate, the DM 
  decides it’s a great time for a random encounter.
  The DM looks at the tension meter. Because 
  the players resolved previous encounters 
  lawfully, the current level of tension is Status 
  Quo. Still, it’s just one step from Order. The DM 
  rolls a d4 and consults the Status Quo section of 
  “Encounters by Tension Level.”
  Yet again, the characters side with the 
  law. At the end of the in-game day, the DM 
  progresses the tension meter towards Martial 
  Law by one step, pushing the current level of 
  tension from Status Quo to Order. The next 
  time the DM decides to roll a tension encounter, 
  they’ll consult the Order section of “Encounters 
  by Tension Level.”
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  7
  Encounters by 
  Tension Level
  The following random encounters are 
  organized by tension level. The DM may elect 
  to trigger an encounter at any time, but a rule 
  of thumb is when the characters move between 
  districts or neighborhoods.
  Martial Law
  The following random encounters may take 
  place when the tension level is Martial Law.
  1. Disturbing the Peace
  A beggar (commoner) hangs their head in the 
  shadow of a grimy stoop. Wrapped in a tattered 
  banner of Elturel, the homeless refugee shivers 
  as they plead with a group of Flaming Fists 
  for compassion. The two lower-ranking fists 
  (guards) question the Elturelian refugee under 
  the supervision of a gauntlet (veteran). 
  If the characters do nothing, the beggar is 
  brutally flogged and arrested for disturbing 
  the peace. Should they decide to intervene, 
  the Flaming Fists feel threatened, draw their 
  weapons, and order the characters to move 
  along. If the characters persist, the Flaming 
  Fists attempt to place them under arrest for 
  obstruction of justice.
  2. Grand Duke Liara Portyr
  Liara Portyr recently arrived from Chult and 
  is waving to the citizens of Baldur’s Gate from 
  a horse-drawn chariot. Reference chapter 
  1, “A Tale of Two Cities,” in Baldur’s Gate: 
  Descent into Avernus for Portyr’s stat block and 
  background information. Twenty Flaming Fists 
  (veterans) form a protective perimeter around 
  her as she stops the chariot to give a speech to a 
  large crowd.
  Portyr proclaims herself the new Grand 
  Duke of Baldur’s Gate and promises to usher 
  in a new era that ends the corruption and 
  decadence of the patriars and the Watch. She 
  declares martial law in Baldur’s Gate and offers 
  a 250 gp bounty to whoever brings her the 
  leader of the Watch and any remaining dukes 
  other than her uncle, Duke Dillard Portyr. Liara 
  declares the Watch and any remaining dukes 
  fugitives of the law. Anyone found harboring 
  these fugitives is arrested and jailed.
  Bold action and attempting to undermine the 
  status quo of Baldur’s Gate does not happen 
  without making enemies. Characters who 
  succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) 
  check or characters with a passive Wisdom 
  (Perception) score of 14 or higher notice a 
  colorful parrot. It squawks in the air before 
  landing on a rooftop next to a hooded assassin 
  aiming a light crossbow at Portyr. If the 
  characters spot the assassin, they have a few 
  moments to act before the assassin attacks 
  Portyr. The DM determines the assassin’s 
  employer and why they want Portyr dead.
  3. License and Registration
  A dwarvish sellsword (gladiator) is in a heated 
  argument with a group of three Flaming Fists 
  (guards) and their captain (veteran). The 
  captain looks to be losing her patience with 
  the dwarf, as his arguments grow louder and 
  louder with every passing moment. The dwarf 
  is looking for work in Baldur’s Gate and flaunts 
  his weapons and fighting ability for all to see, 
  drawing the Flaming Fist’s attention. Hearing 
  of this, the Flaming Fists approached the 
  sellsword and demanded he either hand over 
  his weapons or be escorted from the city as his 
  behavior promotes violence. 
  If the characters intervene, the Flaming 
  Fists see them as allies of the sellsword. If the 
  characters visibly carry weapons, the captain 
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  8
  instructs them to hand them over or be escorted 
  out beyond the city walls. 
  If the characters ignore the argument 
  between the dwarf and the Flaming Fists, the 
  sellsword eventually becomes aggravated and 
  attacks the captain using his fists. The Flaming 
  Fists immediately move in to incapacitate the 
  dwarf and escort him to the nearest prison for 
  confinement. 
  4. Rat on the Rat
  The characters spot 2d4 wererats in rat-
  humanoid hybrid form running toward them, 
  pursued by an equal number of Flaming Fist 
  mercenaries (veterans). As the wererats reach 
  the characters, all but one polymorph into giant 
  rats, abandoning their tattered clothes in the 
  process. The other wererat polymorphs into 
  a human named Suttar and hides behind the 
  largest character.
  If the characters allow Suttar to hide among 
  them, the soldiers and other wererats continue 
  the chase. Suttar attempts to pickpocket 
  one of the characters before slipping away. 
  The character notices Suttar pickpocketing 
  them if they have a passive Wisdom 
  (Perception) score of 14 or higher.
  If the characters attempt to help the other 
  wererats, Suttar runs in the opposite direction.
  If the characters turn Suttar in, the soldiers 
  attack him immediately with lethal force, and 
  the other wererats transform back into their 
  hybrid forms to defend their friend. If either the 
  Fists or the characters search Suttar’s body, 
  they retrieve a bauble, lifted from a patriar up 
  the street, worth 25 sp. The other wererats are 
  penniless.
  Order
  The following random encounters may take 
  place when the tension level is Order.
  1. Commanding Officer
  A patriar house noble (cult fanatic) is under 
  arrest for associating with the Cult of the Dead 
  Three. The Flaming Fist received a tip from a 
  suspicious neighbor and decided to bypass the 
  Watch and raid the noble’s villa. A servant’s 
  body lays crooked in the street, their blood 
  flowing between the cobblestone into a nearby 
  sewer drain.
  A captain in the Baldur’s Gate Watch 
  (knight) argues with a Flaming Fist manip 
  (veteran) over jurisdiction. Since the noble 
  resides in the Upper City, the captain claims 
  they must be tried before the Parliament of 
  Peers in High Hall and therefore fall under 
  the Watch’s responsibility. The manip argues 
  that the Parliament of Peers answers to the 
  Council of Four, who have ordered the Flaming 
  Fist to crack down on such corruption. Four 
  guards, one from the Watch and three fists, 
  nervously watch as their superiors abandon 
  civil discourse. 
  A character can make a DC 13 Wisdom 
  (Insight) check to discern that the Watch 
  captain feels threatened, while a successful DC 
  16 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals that the 
  manip is slowly reaching for his weapon. If the 
  characters don’t do something to diffuse the 
  situation, a blood bath is imminent.
  2. Nine-Fingers Keene’s 
  Final Offer
  The Guild fears the growing power of the 
  Flaming Fist. Eager to maintain its system 
  of illicit activities, the Guild is stepping up 
  operations to sway the local population against 
  the brutal tactics of the Flaming Fist.
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  9
  Nine-Fingers Keene (see “Baldur’s City 
  Gazetteer” in Baldur’s Gate: Descent into 
  Avernus for stat block), leader of the Guild, 
  delivers a coded letter to the characters via 
  a small child courier. The child tells the 
  characters the message is coded to avoid 
  unwanted readers from discovering the true 
  message of the letter. The child holds out 
  their hand and asks for a tip before giving 
  the characters the secret code needed to read 
  the message. If the characters refuse to tip 
  the child, the child runs away without giving 
  the secret code. Without the secret code, 
  characters who succeed on a DC 14 Intelligence 
  (Investigation) check are able to decrypt the 
  message and read the letter normally. The letter 
  invites the characters to meet Nine-Fingers 
  Keene at a location of the DMs choosing to 
  discuss a “valuable” opportunity.
  If the characters meet with Keene, she offers 
  them 200 gp each to plant false evidence in the 
  home of a Flaming Fist officer that ties them to 
  the Cult of the Dead Three. After the characters 
  plant this evidence, they must file a false report 
  with the Watch regarding the occult activity of 
  the officer. Keene hopes the Watch arrests the 
  Flaming Fist officer, pitting these two groups 
  against each other. The DM determines the 
  officer and the location of their home.
  Characters that refuse to meet with Keene 
  or reject her offer have little children approach 
  them in the streets. These children throw 
  dead rats at the characters and scream, “Rats, 
  rats, you’re all gonna be dead sewer rats!” If 
  the characters fail to reconsider Keene’s offer 
  within 48 hours, she sends an assassin to 
  kill them in their sleep. She wants to send a 
  message that even during this period of law and 
  order, the Guild is still in charge.
  3. Impersonating an Officer
  Three Flaming Fists (thugs with AC 16) rush 
  down the street, walking out of formation and 
  continuously looking over their shoulders. 
  Succeeding on a DC 13 Wisdom (Insight) check 
  tells a character that the Fists look nervous, that 
  their armor doesn’t fit their bodies, and that 
  the maces they carry are far more rugged than 
  what a Fist’s usual weapons would be.
  The three Fists are, in actuality, three 
  thieves who were cornered by members of the 
  guard for stealing. Defending themselves, they 
  managed to knock out the attacking guards, 
  leaving them unconscious. Panicked and sure 
  they would get caught if seen leaving the alley 
  bruised and battered, the thieves stripped down 
  the guards and disguised themselves in the 
  guards’ armor.
  If confronted in any way, the thieves panic 
  and attack the characters. As they do so, they 
  make a forced and loud statement that the 
  characters are obstructing the hand of the 
  law and must be punished. The thugs want to 
  escape the area and attempt to run if the battle 
  turns against them or any real Fists show up. 
  4. The Baldur’s Gate 
  Welcoming Committee
  A Gateguide (commoner) leads three acolytes 
  from Chondath into what looks like an ordinary 
  bed and breakfast. A character with a passive 
  Wisdom (Perception) score of 12 or higher 
  notices that the guide lets the acolytes in, 
  then glances suspiciously behind him before 
  shutting the door.
  If the characters don’t notice this or 
  intervene, they soon hear sounds of a struggle 
  as the acolytes are robbed by the Gateguide and 
  three thugs inside the building.
  If the characters intervene, three Flaming 
  Fists (veterans) arrive on the scene after 
  the battle ends (sooner, if the characters are 
  in grave danger). Roll on the Flaming Fist 
  Reactions table to determine their reaction (see 
  the “Baldur’s Gate Gazetteer” in Baldur’s Gate: 
  Descent into Avernus).
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  10
  Status Quo
  The following random encounters may take 
  place when the tension level is Status Quo.
  1. Assassin for Hire
  A lawful evil tabaxi assassin named Song 
  offers her services to the characters from the 
  comfort of a dark alley. Song’s fur is light grey 
  with spots, like that of a snow leopard. 
  Work has been slow for Song lately, so the 
  tabaxi is running a one-time-only discount. She 
  offers to assassinate a target of the characters’ 
  choosing within Baldur’s Gate. The price 
  equals 50 gp × the CR of the target (minimum 
  of 50 gp). If the target is a noble or government 
  official, the price is double. Song takes half the 
  payment upfront, half upon the job’s completion.
  The DM decides whether or not Song is 
  successful. If captured, Song doesn’t reveal who 
  hired her. The assassination of a prominent 
  NPC, such as Duke Vanthampur, could 
  drastically alter the events of the campaign. If 
  the characters stiff or otherwise attempt to trick 
  the tabaxi, she secretly makes them her next 
  targets. Song gets her name from the tune she 
  whistles just before she strikes.
  2. A Mother’s Vengeance
  A Flaming Fist manip (veteran) uses the 
  pommel of his sword to beat Randal Evenwood, 
  a handsome young Elturelian refugee (lawful 
  good human commoner) as four fists (guards) 
  arrest his two five-year-old twin daughters, 
  Kerri and Merri Evenwood (chaotic good 
  human commoners). The Evenwoods are a 
  family of refugees from Elturel.
  The fists scowl at anyone trying to interfere 
  with “official Flaming Fist business” and draw 
  their weapons if threatened. The Flaming Fists 
  release the Evenwoods if a character succeeds 
  on a DC 16 Charisma (Persuasion) check. 
  Characters that offer the manip a bribe of 25 gp 
  make the check with advantage.
  Regardless of whether the characters 
  confront the Flaming Fists, Shandria 
  Evenwood (chaotic good human archer), a 
  highly trained Elturgard sharpshooter with 
  long fiery red hair, attacks the Flaming Fists 
  with her longbow from afar. Shandria is out for 
  blood after watching the Flaming Fist beat her 
  husband Randal and detain her two daughters 
  Kerri and Merri. Shandria uses her longbow to 
  her advantage and fights from afar. If reduced 
  to 10 hit points or fewer, Shandria retreats and 
  swears to take vengeance on the Flaming Fist 
  for their brutality.
  3. Stampede of Cattle
  The sound of hard steps hitting stone rumble 
  down the street, catching the attention of people 
  nearby. The origin of the sound itself is hard 
  to place, bouncing between the buildings and 
  occasionally fades as if it is moving further 
  away. A character who succeeds on a DC 13 
  Wisdom (Perception) check discerns faint 
  yelling and mooing sounds accompanying the 
  general clamor.
  After 1 minute passes, the noise grows 
  significantly louder as a herd of seven cows 
  swoops around the corner and stampedes 
  down the street in a wild panic. The cattle were 
  being transported to a market in the Outer City 
  by a young human girl who lost control of the 
  animals spooked by a pair of yelling guards. A 
  character standing in the street must succeed 
  on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or be pushed 
  to the side by the advancing bovine, taking 3 
  (1d6) bludgeoning damage as they are slammed 
  into the wall or ground. The herd runs ahead, a 
  young girl rushing after them and yelling words 
  of warning to the people ahead of her.
  A character can stop the cows by stepping 
  in front of the herd and succeeding on a DC 14 
  Wisdom (Animal Handling) check or Charisma 
  (Intimidation) check. On a failed check, the 
  character gets run down by the herd and takes 
  7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage. 
  4. By Invitation Only
  Nysene Eomane (lawful evil human patriar 
  noble) and two guards traveling from Cliffside 
  Cemetery are attacked by three mercenaries 
  (veterans) in the service of Straightstick, an 
  ambitious Guild kingpin from the Outer City.
  Straightstick seeks revenge after falling for 
  Nysene’s favorite trap: inviting would-be social 
  climbers to one of her parties and keeping them 
  there until after the city gates close. Because of 
  her, Straightstick spent an evening in a Citadel 
  cell and was made a laughingstock (see the 
  “Baldur’s Gate Gazetteer” in Baldur’s Gate: 
  Descent into Avernus for more on Straightstick 
  and Nysene Eomane, respectively).
  If the characters protect Nysene from the 
  mercenaries, she invites them to one of her 
  parties as a “reward,” hoping to trap them in 
  the same scheme. 
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  11
  Unstable
  The following random encounters may take 
  place when the tension level is Unstable.
  1. Myrkulyte’s Musings
  A priest of Myrkul holds an impromptu sermon 
  in front of a public fountain. The Myrkulyte 
  preaches about the inevitability of death, 
  especially in these uncertain times. They invite 
  others, including the characters, to rebuke their 
  god, for death is the only certainty in life. Eight 
  commoners listen to the priest, while other 
  pedestrians pay no attention.
  The sermon ends after five minutes, at 
  which point the priest sets a smoking skull on 
  the fountain whose water begins to run black. 
  The priest then challenges the commoners to 
  convert. Roll a d8 to determine the number 
  of commoners who step into the fountain, 
  emerging as unarmored cultists with an 
  AC of 11. The priest gives each new cultist a 
  twisted black scimitar as an initiation gift. Any 
  remaining commoners disperse at the priest’s 
  call for conversion.
  The characters can stop the sermon with 
  a successful DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion or 
  Performance) check to reason with the audience 
  or enter a theological debate. Alternatively, they 
  can attempt to coerce the priest to end their 
  sermon prematurely with a DC 16 Charisma 
  (Intimidation) check. On a failure, the priest 
  ad-libs, attempting to embarrass the character 
  for their rude interruption. If the characters 
  persist, the priest calls for retaliation, turning 
  the sermon into a riot.
  2. Hearts and Minds
  Cultists of the Dead Three seize on the 
  instability in Baldur’s Gate and move to grab 
  power from the Watch and Flaming Fist. 
  A group of cultists (reference the “More 
  Dead Three Encounters” sidebar in chapter 
  1 of Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus and 
  select a level-appropriate squad to represent 
  this group) leads three Watch guards and two 
  Flaming Fists (veterans) through the streets. 
  The members of the Watch and Flaming 
  Fist each have 1 hit point remaining and are 
  restrained by hempen rope.
  The cultists shout out to the citizens of 
  Baldur’s Gate that the Watch and Flaming 
  Fist failed to keep the city safe, and the Dead 
  Three guarantee the safety of citizens willing to 
  pledge their lives to the cult. The cultists fight 
  to the death if attacked; however, they flee the 
  premises if the citizens of Baldur’s Gate turn 
  against them.
  The citizens of Baldur’s Gate turn against 
  the Dead Three if a character wins a contested 
  Charisma (Persuasion) check against the lead 
  cultist (the leader is determined by the DM’s 
  choice of cultist squad present). If a character 
  fails this check, the citizens swear fealty to the 
  Dead Three and turn against the characters. 
  Additionally, the cultists and 1d6 Baldur’s Gate 
  citizens (commoners) attack the characters 
  in an attempt to capture them. If captured, the 
  cultists take the characters to a secret hideout 
  determined by the DM.
  3. Rebels and Rocks
  Three children wearing dirty clothing stand 
  on the roof of a nearby building. Each of them 
  has a handful of rocks, which they pelt at the 
  people passing beneath. They exclusively target 
  people wearing fine clothes or armor, and they 
  hoot triumphantly if their rocks strike a target. 
  11
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  12
  If a character is struck by one of the rocks, they 
  take 1 bludgeoning damage.
  If someone acknowledges the children in any 
  way, either to ask what they are doing or to tell 
  them to stop, the children yell back insulting 
  remarks. They yell that the Guild rules this 
  city now, and everyone wearing fancy gear best 
  behave or get a proper pelting with something 
  nastier than rocks. The children are urchins 
  working for the Guild as pickpockets and are 
  using the current lack of military power in the 
  city to have some fun.
  If a character attempts to get to the roof 
  or some Flaming Fists show up in the area, 
  the children flee across the rooftops until out 
  of sight. 
  4. Hostile Takeover
  Four guards escort Tendai and Khennen Shore 
  (chaotic good human commoners) to their 
  Distant Shores warehouse in the Steeps (see 
  “Upper City” in the “Baldur’s Gate Gazetteer” in 
  Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus).
  Just as the characters pass the Shores, 
  2d4 cutthroats (spies) accost the Shores and 
  their guards. Half of the cutthroats wield their 
  crossbows from nearby alleys, and the other 
  half dash in with shortswords drawn. The 
  cutthroats only wish to frighten the Shores 
  by killing their guards and injuring them. All 
  attacks against the Shores are non-lethal. Once 
  the cutthroats achieve these two goals, they 
  disengage and retreat in separate directions.
  If captured, none of the cutthroats reveal 
  information about their employer.
  The Shores request that the characters 
  escort them to their warehouse. Roll once on 
  the Lower City Random Encounters table in 
  the “Baldur’s Gate Gazetteer” in Baldur’s Gate: 
  Descent into Avernus to determine what they 
  encounter en route. Safely at the warehouse, the 
  Shores offer the characters up to 5 gp apiece 
  in gourmet dried meats. These can be sold or 
  consumed as ten days of rations.
  Pandemonium
  The following random encounters may take 
  place when the tension level is Pandemonium.
  1. Rabid Ritual
  The Cult of the Dead Three has strung up a 
  Flaming Fist manip for a sacrificial ritual. The 
  grievously wounded manip (a veteran with 
  15 hit points remaining) dangles 10 feet above 
  the ground over a large, bronze ritual bowl. 
  The rope wrapped around the manip’s wrists 
  runs through the mouth of a protruding roof 
  gargoyle and into the hands of a muscular 
  worshipper of Bhaal (berserker). Two chanting 
  cult fanatics of Bane and Myrkul see to it that 
  the ritual continues uninterrupted.
  As blood trickles from the dying Flaming 
  Fist manip into the bowl below, it begins to 
  coagulate and take shape. At initiative count 
  10 each round, the manip loses 5 hit points 
  to blood loss. If the manip dies, a shadow 
  demon forms from the blood and begins to 
  wreak havoc.
  Characters can stop the ritual by defeating 
  the cultists, saving the Flaming Fist manip, 
  or by dumping the blood from the bowl. If the 
  characters cut the rope, the manip takes 3 
  (1d6) bludgeoning damage and falls into the 
  bowl. The rope has 11 AC and 5 hit points. 
  Ranged attacks against the rope are made 
  with disadvantage. Tipping the bowl requires 
  a successful DC 18 Strength (Athletics) check.
  2. If you Can’t Beat 
  Them, Join Them
  The characters spot a Cult of the Dead Three 
  recruitment booth. Three cultists of the Dead 
  Three operate the booth in an attempt to gain 
  new followers. The cultists are the playful 
  Melanie (lawful evil human fist of Bane), the 
  silent Lecroix (chaotic evil human night blade), 
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  13
  and the ignoramus Ya-dez (chaotic evil human 
  necromite of Myrkul). They hand out small 
  painted symbols of Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul to 
  tempt citizens to the booth to discuss worship 
  of the Dead Three. 
  If the characters approach, the cultists offer 
  them a painted symbol of their choice and 
  ask them if they would like to join the Cult of 
  the Dead Three. If the characters say yes, the 
  cultists sign them up into the cult, provide them 
  with cultist’s garb, and direct them to the cult 
  headquarters (determined by the DM). If the 
  characters decline, the cultists hiss and boo at 
  the characters, then they ask for their painted 
  symbols back.
  DMs can use this encounter to run an evil 
  campaign version of Baldur’s Gate: 
  Descent into Avernus. Now that the 
  Dead Three control Baldur’s Gate, they 
  do not want it to end up in Avernus.
  3. Bloody Warning
  Two thugs from the Guild are in the 
  process of wrapping a corpse in a 
  tattered cloak. A character easily 
  recognizes it as a cloak of the Flaming 
  Fists as their symbol is embroidered 
  in the center of the fabric. As the thugs 
  work, another approaches holding a 
  battered guard’s helmet. The helmet, 
  the thug’s hands, and the mace at her 
  side are coated in dried blood. She 
  places the helmet on the corpse’s head 
  before propping it up so the dead man 
  sits mostly upright against the wall. 
  A wooden board with the words “The 
  Guild knows best” written on it is 
  placed in the corpse’s lap.
  The corpse is an unfortunate beggar 
  who caught the ire of the thugs, and 
  they killed him for it. The cloak and 
  helmet come from a recent conflict 
  the Guild had with the Fists a few 
  streets over.
  If the characters remain in the 
  area, the Guild members notice and 
  tell them to leave. If they choose to 
  stay or provoke the thugs by asking 
  questions, the thugs advance on the 
  characters with the intent to scare 
  them off, eventually attacking if the 
  characters refuse to leave. 
  4. Stuck in the Middle with You
  The characters stumble into all-out, three-
  way battle between three Flaming Fists 
  (veterans), 1d6 neighborhood crew members 
  (bandits), and 1d6 Guild operatives (thugs). 
  The characters can try to save 2d4 civilians 
  (commoners) or pick a side in the battle.
  The fight started between the Guild and the 
  crew, with the Fist arriving shortly thereafter 
  to break it up. Crew members do not attack 
  civilians or the characters unless they join the 
  battle on an opposing side, but the Guild and 
  Fist are less discriminating in their targets. 
  When all of the combatants from one of the 
  three groups are defeated, the other two groups 
  call off the fight.
  13
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  14
  T
  he encounters that follow develop 
  story hooks found within the 
  “Baldur’s Gate Gazetteer” of Baldur’s 
  Gate: Descent into Avernus. Use 
  these encounters when your group 
  visits one of the neighborhoods numbered on 
  the Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters map (see 
  appendix D) or while travelling through the 
  corresponding neighborhood. 
  Upper City 
  The Upper City is home to the politically 
  powerful patriar families and guarded by the 
  Watch. The wealthy patriars of Baldur’s Gate 
  do all they can to keep out those they deem less 
  desirable. 
  1. Citadel Streets
  High Constable and Master of Walls Osmurl 
  Havanack (lawful neutral shield dwarf veteran) 
  stands behind a long table outside a stone 
  edifice. The purse master (lawful neutral 
  halfling commoner) oversees the disbursement 
  of wages to a line of ten guards in the Watch. 
  The purse master checks each guard’s papers, 
  then pays them 50 gp. 
  A character can attempt to disguise 
  themself as a member of the watch to collect 
  wages, though they must succeed on a DC 18 
  Charisma (Deception) check to fool the purse 
  master and High Constable Havanack.
  A pair of guards in line begin to ridicule 
  one of their comrades, Zethra Brayton, for 
  suggesting that one of the patriars may be up 
  to something nefarious. The hecklers blame 
  Zethra’s suspicions on the fact that she lives in 
  the Lower City, unlike most of the Watch. 
  Characters can intercede in the conflict by 
  taking a side or attempting to deescalate the 
  situation. If nothing is done, Zethra turns in her 
  badge and quits when she reaches the table, at 
  which point High Constable Havanack offers 
  one of the characters her wages in exchange for 
  filling her former position.
  2. Manorborn—
  Bormal House
  Four guards in the Watch patrolling the 
  Manorborn neighborhood laugh about recent 
  murders in Shantytown, a neighborhood in the 
  neIghborhood encounters
  neIghborhood encounters
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  15
  Outer City. On a successful DC 13 Charisma 
  (Persuasion) check, the guards share news 
  of the recent murders with the characters. 
  The guards claim that a murderer is killing 
  commoners in the Outer City. 
  Recently, a few commoners banded together 
  to stop this murderer by setting up an ambush 
  in the Outer City. Witnesses claim a heavy fog 
  billowed around the commoners as they waited 
  to catch the killer. When the fog cleared, there 
  was nothing left except the decapitated bodies 
  of the commoners. A cloaked pale figure fled 
  the scene towards the Upper City. The Watch 
  guards believe this is all a ruse by local gangs 
  or cultists to scare commoners, nothing more.
  The killer is Gormund Bormul (chaotic 
  evil wraith), brought back from the dead by 
  a cursed relic left in the Bormul House by 
  a distant uncle. Sixty-five years ago, thieves 
  stabbed Gormund in an alleyway as he left the 
  Oasis Theater in Little Calimshan. As Gormund 
  lay dying, commoners laughed at him as he 
  bled to death. Gormund swore vengeance on 
  the residents of the Outer City with his dying 
  breath, and now he is back to make good on 
  this promise!
  Each night, Gormund leaves the crypt 
  beneath the Bormul House wearing a tattered 
  Bormul patriar’s cloak to murder commoners in 
  the Outer City. He returns to the crypt once he 
  finishes killing his victims.
  3. Temples—High Hall
  The High Hall houses a majority of the city’s 
  governmental bureaucracy, including its 
  notoriously corrupt court system. In the streets 
  outside of the High Hall, characters notice 
  Brendal Faulks (neutral good human priest), a 
  devout follower of Gond, tripping over a rock. 
  When Brendal trips, characters with a passive 
  Wisdom (Perception) score of 12 or higher 
  notice he drops a drawing of a phoenix, a torch, 
  and a set of keys. The keys unlock a small 
  cellar underneath a courtroom in the High Hall. 
  Brendal picks up the items before he continues 
  to the High Hall.
  Brendal is tired of corruption in the Baldur’s 
  Gate court system that allows patriars to bribe 
  judges and escape justice while the commoners 
  suffer incarceration at an alarming rate. His 
  righteous outrage led him to steal four kegs of 
  smokepowder (see appendix A) from Felogyr’s 
  Fireworks in the Lower City. He secretly placed 
  the smokepowder kegs in the small cellar 
  beneath the High Hall courtroom and plans 
  to ignite them while the court is in session 
  (determined by the DM). Brendal believes this 
  act will spark revolution against the corrupt 
  government of Baldur’s Gate. 
  If the characters confront Brendal, he is in 
  a hurry. A successful DC 13 Wisdom (Insight) 
  check reveals Brendal’s unusual and nervous 
  behavior. If he believes the characters are 
  sympathetic to his cause, he cautions them to 
  stay away from the High Hall. If the characters 
  discover his plot and try to stop him, Brendal 
  flees to ignite the smokepowder kegs in the 
  cellar beneath the High Hall courtroom, even 
  at his own peril.
  4. The Wide
  Jedren Hiller, the Bailiff of the Wide (lawful 
  evil human bandit captain), is waving a club at 
  Sebra Mildred (neutral human commoner), an 
  elderly tarot card reader. Sebra has not had any 
  customers recently and is unable to pay Jedren 
  50 gp for her normal stall. 
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  16
  If the characters approach, Sebra begs them 
  for assistance. Jedren tells the characters Sebra 
  is nothing but an old hag who sells silly tricks to 
  naive customers.
  Jedren leaves Sebra alone if the characters 
  succeed on a DC 14 Charisma (Persuasion) 
  check and promise to pay him 50 gp within 
  three days. On a failure, he laughs at them and 
  asks them to leave before he calls the guards 
  on them. If the characters try to intimidate 
  Jedren and succeed on a DC 16 Charisma 
  (Intimidation) check, he flees the scene and 
  returns with 2d4 guards from the Watch in 2d4 
  minutes. On a failure, he spits at them for their 
  insolence.
  Sebra offers the characters a fortune-
  telling session if they pay her debt of 50 gp. 
  She reads her tarot cards as if she had cast 
  the divination spell. Acting as the servant for 
  some otherworldly power, she answers a single 
  question concerning a specific goal, event, or 
  activity that occurs within the next 7 days. 
  When she speaks her truthful omen, her eyes 
  turn white and her voice becomes disembodied. 
  After she does this once, she cannot do so again 
  for 1d12 days.
  Lower City 
  Trade, crime, and opportunity define the Lower 
  City. Everyone is looking to get ahead in the 
  City of Blood.
  5. Bloomridge
  A wooden delivery wagon rolls through the 
  slanted streets of Bloomridge, carrying with it 
  the scent of blood from fresh-chopped meat. A 
  sign on the side of the wagon reads “Hamhock’s 
  Slaughterhouse” above a caricature of a sad pig. 
  A human cultist, disguised in a bloodstained 
  Hamhock’s delivery uniform, drives the wagon. 
  With a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) 
  check, a character notices the delivery man 
  nervously checking over his shoulder when 
  walking away from the wagon, as if he’s hiding 
  something.
  If the characters decide to follow the wagon, 
  they witness the driver make routine stops, 
  delivering meat to businesses throughout 
  the neighborhood. However, as it rounds the 
  street just north of the Smiling Boar, the cultist 
  throws a hidden switch underneath the driver’s 
  seat, dumping a body from a hidden chamber 
  beneath the deep red wood of the wagon’s 
  undercarriage. The body rolls down the sloped 
  street and into an alleyway behind the Smiling 
  Boar. The corpse of the victim has curved slices 
  along the wrists and a heart-piercing wound—
  the “Sickle Man’s” calling card.
  The chamber or its hidden switch can be 
  discovered with a successful DC 14 Intelligence 
  (Investigation) check to search the wagon. If 
  confronted, the cultist feigns innocence and 
  attempts to flee via his wagon. If captured, the 
  cultist reveals he’s not the only Sickle Man, 
  mentioning, “Bhaal always collects what is 
  owed to him.” Characters can follow the lead 
  to the Hamhock’s Slaughterhouse in the Outer 
  City, though the Flaming Fist is uninterested in 
  pursuing any criminals outside the city walls.
  6. Brampton
  To those living in Brampton, meat isn’t always 
  an option when looking for food. If you do find 
  meat, you’re better off not knowing where it 
  came from. And in no place is this more evident 
  than Madame Masel’s Bakery. 
  Though the tagline under her shop reads 
  “Fresh Meat Pies!” the true descriptor of her 
  bakery is “The Worst Pies in Baldur’s Gate,” as 
  stated by anyone who has had the displeasure 
  of visiting the establishment. In Brampton, 
  a young human boy (commoner) hands out 
  crudely made flyers for Madame Masel’s 
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  17
  Bakery. The flyer offers a meat pie for a single 
  copper piece. 
  If a character goes to Madame Masel’s 
  Bakery and buys a meat pie to eat, their 
  mouth fills with grainy, soggy dough as the 
  undercooked pie crumbles in their mouth. It 
  is lumpy and tasteless, but it doesn’t hold a 
  candle to the meat inside. It is lean and stringy, 
  with black and grayish clumps in places. 
  When chewed, it crunches as pieces of small 
  bones grind against the character’s teeth. 
  Madame Masel (neutral halfling commoner) is 
  exceedingly polite, but utterly unaware of the 
  abhorrent quality of her pies. 
  Any character who eats one of Madame 
  Masel’s pies must succeed on a DC 12 
  Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, 
  after one hour passes the character feels queasy 
  before violently retching.
  7. Eastway
  A small safehouse serves as a place of rest for 
  the city’s urchins. Though clean, it is weathered 
  and broken in many places. This safehouse 
  offers a place of rest to impoverished orphans, 
  and is owned and managed by Rannoi (neutral 
  good half-elf acolyte), known as Lucky Rannoi 
  by the youngsters who stay in the safehouse 
  because of her previous position as an acolyte 
  of Tymora. Rannoi offers a place to sleep, warm 
  food, and even healing should it be needed. 
  From the street, one could mistake the 
  safehouse for an inn or tavern with children 
  playing outside its entrance. Should a character 
  approach the house to investigate it further, 
  a young child looks up at them and advises 
  them against going inside. According to stories 
  shared among the children, the safehouse is 
  only safe for kids. For adults, it is the One-Way 
  Inn, because if they go inside, they don’t come 
  back out. At least that’s what the children say. 
  The safehouse is built on top of the Baldur’s 
  Gate sewer system, making it an ideal gateway 
  for those with less than noble intent when 
  they wish to traverse the city. To finance the 
  maintenance and expenses of the safehouse, 
  Rannoi is working with the Guild to allow them 
  access to the underground sewer systems, 
  either as a means of traversing the city or 
  disposing of problematic blabbermouths. 
  A character inquiring with Rannoi about the 
  One-Way Inn’s nickname can attempt a DC 14 
  Charisma (Persuasion) check. On a success, 
  she divulges the details of her arrangement 
  with the Guild. For 1 gp, the characters can 
  access the sewer system under the safehouse 
  to travel to another district in Baldur’s Gate 
  without encountering resistance along the way. 
  Every time they use the sewer system, there is 
  a cumulative 25 percent chance the Guild hears 
  of their movements in the sewers and confronts 
  them; they don’t want strangers using their 
  hidden pathways beneath the city. 
  8. Heapside
  Ettvard Needle (chaotic good human 
  commoner), runs the Baldur’s Mouth, the city’s 
  primary source for local news and gossip. From 
  his small converted warehouse in Heapside, he 
  and his team of freelance journalists report on 
  news from across the city. 
  When the characters visit Heapside, they 
  run into a flustered Needle, hurriedly walking 
  toward Little Calimshan to meet with Rilsa 
  Rael, its Guild kingpin. A rival kingpin 
  operating in the neighborhood, Ileanna 
  Kiirnodel (neutral evil moon elf spy), has taken 
  offense to a recent story implicating her in the 
  disappearance of Paellas Liadon (commoner), 
  an up-and-coming actor from the Oasis Theater 
  company. She ran the original reporter out of 
  town and set her gang on Needle’s distributors 
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  18
  across the city—strangely, not killing them, but 
  stealing or destroying hundreds of copies of 
  the paper for the last several editions. This is 
  beginning to take a toll on Needle’s bottom line.
  Needle recognizes the characters to be 
  adventurers and offers to hire them to perform 
  two tasks: first, protect his distributors from 
  ongoing attacks from Kiirnodel’s henchmen 
  and, second, if they are able, investigate 
  Liadon’s disappearance.
  Attacks on Needle’s distributors may 
  replace any random encounter rolls in any 
  neighborhoods outside of the Upper City with 
  the following encounter: 1d4 bandits and 
  one thug attack one distributor (commoner). 
  Kiirnodel’s gang does not kill the distributors 
  but fights with lethal force against the 
  characters if they intervene.
  Investigating Liadon’s disappearance reveals 
  that Liadon is not dead, as the Mouth had 
  insinuated, but living with Kiirnodel, happy and 
  isolated from the outside world because he had 
  been the target of attacks by Kiirnodel’s rivals. 
  If the characters can prove this to Needle, he 
  begrudgingly issues a retraction in his next 
  edition, satisfying Kiirnodel for the time being.
  Once the characters earn Needle’s trust, 
  he can point the characters toward any other 
  adventure hook the DM wishes, including any 
  of the other encounters in this supplement. 
  In exchange for any interesting news, Needle 
  can provide the characters with modest 
  compensation for information about nearly any 
  notable citizen, crew, or group in Baldur’s Gate 
  (up to 25 sp apiece).
  9. Seatower
  A dirty human woman wearing 
  tattered clothing bumps into the 
  characters near the Seatower. The 
  woman is the current leader of the 
  Guild, Nine-Fingers Keene (see 
  the “Baldur’s Gate Gazetteer” in 
  Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus) 
  in disguise. Keene apologizes 
  and continues on her way if the 
  characters are not affiliated with the 
  Guild, or if they have not shown criminal 
  tendencies. Otherwise, she reveals 
  herself to the characters and pulls 
  them into a nearby alleyway to speak 
  in private.
  Keene has acquired several Flaming Fist 
  uniforms and is devising a plan to infiltrate the 
  Seatower of Balduran and conduct a heist of the 
  Flaming Fist’s treasury. A recently incarcerated 
  Guild member overheard Jailer Albrecht Little 
  (lawful neutral human gladiator) discussing the 
  Fist’s treasury beneath the Officers’ Tower with 
  Jailer Cogrus Stonehammer (lawful neutral 
  shield dwarf knight). Jailer Little claimed the 
  treasury is overflowing after a shipment from 
  Chult filled the Fist’s coffers. 
  The Guild starts a riot in the streets to 
  draw out the Flaming Fist garrison, allowing 
  Keene and the characters to sneak in with their 
  Flaming Fist uniforms. Once inside, Keene will 
  accompany the characters on one of the most 
  daring heists in Baldur’s Gate history! 
  10. The Steeps
  A human lantern bearer shouts headlines from 
  the most recent Baldur’s Mouth broadsheet 
  in the eerie green fog. A character can 
  purchase a broadsheet for 1 sp. Here are a 
  few juicy headlines the lantern bearer may 
  be advertising:
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  19
  • “Elturel has fallen! Three eye-witness 
  accounts that will leave you in tears.”
  • “Manorborn patriar walks free! Who does 
  the Watch truly serve?”
  • “Sickle Man strikes again! Thirteen bodies 
  and zero arrests.”
  • “Five facts about Grand Duke Ulder 
  Ravengard you didn’t know. Number four will 
  shock you!”
  • “Occult activity rampant in Brampton. 
  Flaming Fist ignores Lower City’s cries 
  for help.”
  A character who buys and reads a 
  Baldur’s Mouth broadsheet has advantage 
  on Intelligence (History) checks to recall 
  knowledge about recent events in Baldur’s Gate 
  over the next ten days. 
  If the characters act rude towards, steal 
  from, or otherwise mistreat the lantern bearer, 
  Ettvard Needle sends a reporter to dig up 
  dirt on the characters. If the characters have 
  participated in any unsavory events or are 
  united by a dark secret, it is published in a 
  future broadsheet (dark secrets are found in 
  the “Baldur’s Gate: Gazetter” in Baldur’s Gate: 
  Descent into Avernus).
  Headlines by Tension Level
  If you’re using the tension meter rules included 
  in this supplement, consider making up your 
  own headlines to match the current level of 
  tension within Baldur’s Gate.
  Outer City 
  Left to its fate, the Outer City struggles to 
  survive among competing kingpins, the 
  Elturelian refugee crisis, and unchecked 
  occult activity carried out by the Cult of 
  the Dead Three.
  11. Blackgate
  Blackgate’s Guild and its fiercely independent 
  shield dwarf community are often at odds 
  with each other. The characters witness Helja 
  Fireforge (neutral good dwarf veteran) forcibly 
  ejecting three thugs from her smithy into the 
  crowded, muddy street.
  The characters can attempt to defuse the 
  situation with a successful DC 15 Charisma 
  (Persuasion or Intimidation) check or choose 
  a side in the fight. A fight attracts the attention 
  of nearby members of the Metalworkers’ Guild 
  (1d4 commoners and one veteran).
  Siding with Fireforge and the Metalworkers’ 
  Guild members earns the characters a 10 
  percent discount on weapons at Fireforge’s 
  shop (see chapter 5, “Equipment,” in the 
  Player’s Handbook for a list of weapons). Guild 
  eyes and ears are everywhere in the Outer City. 
  Helping Fireforge sets the characters against 
  the local Guild Kingpin, Jossel Brode (neutral 
  evil human bandit captain), whether or not any 
  of the thugs survive.
  Siding with the Guild ingratiates the 
  characters to Brode but earns the ire of the 
  shield dwarf community in Blackgate, which 
  blacklists them from all of its shops.
  12. Little Calimshan
  A ten-year-old Calishite child (commoner) 
  approaches the characters and offers them a 
  white flower. If the characters take the flower, 
  the child informs them that the kingpin of Little 
  Calimshan requests an audience with them in 
  the Garden of Whispers.
  19
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  20
  Rilsa Rael (see the “Baldur’s Gate Gazetteer” 
  in Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus), waits 
  for the characters in the Garden of Whispers. 
  If the characters do not go to the Garden of 
  Whispers to meet with Rael, she sends another 
  child with a white flower every 8 hours for 48 
  hours. If the characters still do not come, she 
  sends a child to the characters bearing a black 
  flower. Once the characters receive a black 
  flower, Rael bans them from entering Little 
  Calimshan.
  Upon meeting with the characters, Rael 
  requests their assistance with securing herself 
  as the true leader of Little Calimshan. She 
  explains that Little Calimshan and the Outer 
  City need protection since Baldur’s Gate 
  fails to care for the residents of the Outer 
  City. She hopes that the Guild can provide 
  basic protection for the vulnerable Outer City 
  residents, but to do so she must defeat the 
  Calishite gang called the Right Pashas. The 
  Right Pashas hate outsiders and see Rael as an 
  outsider since she is only half-Calishite. If the 
  characters join Rael and her cause, she leads 
  them at night to confront the Right Pashas. 
  Aseir Basha (neutral human bandit captain) 
  leads the Right Pashas. Basha and 1d8 + 2 
  bandits operate out of the Lamp of Learning 
  in Little Calimshan. If the Right Pashas are 
  defeated, Rael takes over Little Calimshan. 
  13. Norchapel
  A savory aroma emanates from the stout 
  stall of a blue-skinned tiefling street vendor 
  (commoner) named Kilil. While foraging for 
  aromatic garnishes on Duskhawk Hill, Kilil 
  discovered cache of large eggs inside a short, 
  rocky tunnel. While supplies last, the tiefling 
  vendor is selling “Duskhawk Delight” for 5 sp. 
  The scent of the eggs isn’t just attracting 
  hungry customers. As Kilil advertises his new 
  dish to the characters, a furious female ankheg 
  bursts from the ground in search of her eggs. 
  While hiding in his stall, the frightened vendor 
  reveals where he obtained his secret ingredient. 
  Characters can attempt to calm the 
  monstrosity or draw it away from Norchapel by 
  using the remaining eggs as leverage. Calming 
  the irate ankheg requires a successful DC 18 
  Wisdom (Animal Handling) check. A character 
  in possession of one of the eggs has advantage 
  on this check.
  If the characters kill the ankheg, Kilil offers 
  them a free meal. Kilil also offers to connect 
  them with an exotic leatherworker in Little 
  Calimshan who can fashion a suit of plate mail 
  or a shield from the dead ankheg.
  14. Rivington
  If the characters have not yet run the 
  “Stonyeyes” encounter, they witness three 
  Rivington Rats (bandits) wheeling two dead 
  horses on a cart into a warehouse. A successful 
  DC 12 Wisdom (Medicine) check reveals the 
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  21
  horses succumbed to sewer plague. Two other 
  Rats (bandits) are carting off a wheelbarrow of 
  butchered meat for sale.
  If the characters have run the “Stonyeyes” 
  encounter, they recognize two of the Rats 
  from outside Oomas Stables carting off 
  butchered meat.
  In either case, the characters can discern 
  that this meat is unfit for consumption by 
  anyone or any animal with either a successful 
  DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) or a 
  successful DC 12 Wisdom (Medicine) check.
  Although most notorious for their smuggling 
  activities, the Rivington Rats have recently 
  taken to selling what they call “Baldur’s Gate 
  beef,” a meat that, in addition to actual, stolen 
  beef from area ranchers, also includes diseased 
  horse meat, rat or giant rat meat, and even 
  humanoid flesh—“retired” Rivington Rats and 
  others who discovered this scheme or their 
  other criminal activities.
  The characters can put an end to this 
  disgusting operation by dispatching 2d4 
  bandits, two thugs, and one bandit captain in 
  the warehouse. A local crew may be enlisted 
  to help—for a fee. If the characters search the 
  building, they find a modest amount of treasure 
  (70 gp plus seven 50 gp gems) and a list of the 
  Rats’ customers—restaurants, inns, and other 
  shops across the Outer City, plus a handful of 
  businesses in the Lower and Upper Cities.
  If confronted, some of these business owners 
  are unaware of the truth, while others are 
  intentionally cutting costs without concern for 
  their customers’ safety.
  15. Sow’s Foot
  In Sow’s Foot, one can find all manner of exotic 
  people and pastimes. This includes travelers 
  from Chult, bringing with them a game largely 
  unknown on the Sword Coast called Compy 
  Racing. It uses small reptilian creatures called 
  compsognathuses (use the lizard stat block but 
  with a 40-foot movement speed), or compys for 
  short. The owner of the compys is a Chultan 
  named Basternius (chaotic good human male 
  commoner) who cares deeply for his compys. 
  He has ten in total and never lets more than five 
  race at once.
  The racing track is made up of crates 
  and barrels set up to form a round, 50-foot 
  track which the compys must run four times. 
  A character may participate by placing a bet on 
  one of the racing compys by paying the buy-in. 
  The minimum buy-in is 5 sp, but a character 
  can bet up to 5 gp. If the compy the character 
  bet on comes in first place, the character wins 
  twice the amount of money they put down for 
  the buy-in. If the compy comes in second, they 
  win back their buy-in. If it comes in third, they 
  win back half  their buy-in. 
  The winner is determined by rolling 4d10 for 
  each of the running compys. Whichever rolls 
  the highest comes in first place. If some of the 
  compys roll the same number, they are neck 
  and neck for the finish line. Roll an additional 
  d10 as a tie-breaker. 
  16. Stonyeyes
  The ban on horses and other animals within 
  city limits supports hundreds of businesses, big 
  and small, that stable and care for the animals 
  while their owners are in town. Competition 
  is fierce, and some struggling businesses 
  cut corners or resort to “alternative” income 
  streams to make a profit. The owner of Oomas 
  Stables, Alathair Oomas (neutral male human 
  commoner), has hit hard times recently due 
  to an outbreak of disease. To offset his losses 
  from compensating dead animals’ owners and 
  damage to his reputation, he sells the diseased 
  meat to the Rivington Rats (see the “Rivington” 
  encounter).
  If the characters have not yet run the 
  Rivington encounter, they witness three 
  Rivington Rats (bandits) arguing with 
  Alathair over payment for two dead horses, 
  already loaded onto their cart. A successful 
  DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom 
  (Medicine) check reveals the horses succumbed 
  to sewer plague and are unfit for consumption 
  by any creature. The Rats stop arguing with 
  Alathair if the characters confront them; carting 
  off the horses is the Rats’ priority.
  The characters can persuade Oomas to 
  stop selling to the Rats with a successful DC 
  13 Charisma (Persuasion or Intimidation) 
  check. Oomas blames the outbreak of disease 
  on run-off from the neighboring (and far more 
  successful) Garynmor Stables’ menagerie 
  of exotic creatures. The creatures’ waste 
  is tainting the groundwater, and its owner, 
  Ubis Garynmor (chaotic good male human 
  commoner), refuses to accept responsibility, 
  instead blaming Oomas’s stable conditions.
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  22
  The characters can meet with Garynmor 
  at his stables and change his mind with a 
  successful DC 14 Charisma (Persuasion) 
  check, but any attempts to intimidate him are 
  met with indignation; four guards appear 
  to escort the characters off the property. If 
  convinced, Garymor promises to dispose of the 
  beasts’ waste properly in the future and fairly 
  compensate Oomas for the damages.
  17. Tumbledown
  The area around Cliffside Cemetery is under 
  regular threat from the undead, and the crew 
  known as the Gravemakers keeps its citizens 
  safe. Even new recruits are treated like heroes 
  by all of Tumbledown’s residents.
  As the characters walk its foggy streets, a 
  group of undead emerges and attacks them and 
  any commoners in the immediate area. The 
  undead consists of two wights if encountered 
  at night or 2d6 zombies if encountered 
  during the day.
  If the characters are in serious danger, 
  members of the Gravemakers crew (two 
  knights and one priest) led by Leone Wen 
  (lawful good female human knight) dash in to 
  join the fray and attract the brunt of the attacks 
  from the undead. Otherwise, the Gravemakers 
  show up once the battle is over and are 
  impressed by the characters’ skill.
  If the characters search the bodies, they 
  find a tarnished silver bracelet worth 5 gp and 
  an elaborate bone key on one of the undead. 
  Otherwise, one of the Gravemakers discovers 
  the key. Wen immediately recognizes the key 
  and makes no effort to hide her interest. She 
  invites the characters to join them at their 
  headquarters in Szarr Mansion for ale, healing 
  (if necessary), and a brief recruitment pitch.
  At the mansion, they discover several ghosts 
  of the Szarr family co-existing among the 
  Gravemakers crew. Most are harmless and 
  even friendly toward the Gravemakers and 
  their allies and provide information about the 
  residents or contents of the Cemetery and Szarr 
  Mansion in exchange for favors. Some of the 
  spirits are hostile, scowling at the interlopers 
  to their family home and occasionally 
  knocking over furniture, but they only attack in 
  self-defense.
  If the players found the key, Wen will try to 
  barter for it, offering up to 10 gp in trade. If 
  pressed, she reveals that the key opens a crypt 
  in the depths of Cliffside Cemetery and offers to 
  split the contents. The crypt contains 2d6 gems 
  each worth 10 gp. Wen is disappointed that a 
  magic item rumored to have been in the crypt is 
  not inside.
  The characters are unable to find the crypt 
  without the help of the Gravemakers or one 
  of the Szarrs. Still, if the DM allows them to 
  locate it, and the characters keep its contents 
  for themselves, they are declared persona non 
  grata throughout the neighborhood.
  18. Twin Songs
  A group of blue-robed commoners stand 
  outside the gate of the Church of Last Hope, 
  where Alanis Adcyne (neutral good elf priest of 
  Chauntea) testifies to the spiritual connection 
  all living beings have with nature. Behind 
  Alanis are several rows of loosely-potted plants 
  and flowers. Today, visitors to the Church of 
  Last Hope are gardening.
  Alanis studies the characters for a moment, 
  smiles, and invites them to grab the plant with 
  which they most identify. DMs are encouraged 
  to ask the players what type of plant their 
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  23
  character would look for—a sunflower, cactus, 
  or perhaps a young rose bush. Once they have 
  selected their plant, Alanis leads the characters 
  to a small garden within the walls of the Church 
  of Last Hope, where Mother Aramina (lawful 
  good female human priest) administers spades 
  to her visitors.
  If a character decides to plant their selection 
  in the Church of Last Hope’s garden, they are 
  overcome with warmth. A character can reject 
  these feelings if they so choose, but those who 
  accept gain the benefits of the sanctuary spell 
  until the start of their next long rest (the spell 
  can still end as normal).
  19. Whitkeep
  Sitting on a stoop outside of a two-story 
  building is Vinkel Shortstring (chaotic good 
  halfling bard), with a dour expression on his 
  face and a viol laying at his feet. If approached, 
  or if a character gets too close, he breaks 
  down into tears. He cries that his muse has 
  abandoned him and that his creativity has died 
  with her departure. He cannot sing, play, or 
  recite his poetry without thinking of her and her 
  extraordinary beauty. 
  If the characters ask him about what 
  happened to his muse, Vinkel starts a dramatic 
  monologue describing his longing for Evatina, 
  who recently rejected his advances. As a result, 
  Vinkel is much too distraught to perform his 
  beautiful songs and poems. 
  As Vinkel continues on and on with this 
  recount of his lost love, the window shudders 
  from the second story of the house opens up, 
  revealing an angry-looking female halfling 
  holding a bucket. She yells down, “Vinkel, you 
  stubborn, rat-faced creep. I told you to leave me 
  alone!” before dumping the water in the bucket 
  down to splash over Vinkel’s head. 
  The female halfling is Evatina (chaotic good 
  bard), and she is a singer. She and Vinkel 
  performed a duet together, after which Vinkel 
  became infatuated with her. Mistaking her 
  disinterest as playing coy, Vinkel has been 
  pursuing her romantically for days, attempting 
  to serenade her every evening with his music, 
  and Evatina has had enough of it. 
  20. Wyrm’s Crossing
  When walking across Wyrm’s Crossing, a 
  character with a passive Wisdom (Perception) 
  score of 13 or higher hears the sound of 
  chopping from beneath the bridge. Investigating 
  the noise reveals a brutish-looking human male 
  taking a blunt ax to a support beam of one of 
  the houses built on the side of the bank. 
  The man’s name is Avil Sarn (neutral evil 
  human thug), and he was once a tavernkeeper 
  in Wyrm’s Crossing. Avil has a gambling 
  problem and decided to bet the ownership of his 
  tavern, The Gilded Herring, in a game of cards. 
  He lost and transferred ownership of his tavern 
  to a female halfling named Neera Fendrea. 
  Neera (lawful neutral halfling commoner) 
  lives in the house Avil is currently vandalizing, 
  though she isn’t home at the moment. Avil plans 
  to whittle down the support beams enough that 
  the house remains standing but grows weak 
  at the foundation. If all goes according to plan, 
  when Neera comes home, the house collapses 
  as she moves about her home. 
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  24
  AppendIx A: MAgIc IteMs
  AppendIx A: MAgIc IteMs
  Smokepowder
  Wondrous item, uncommon
  Smokepowder is a magical explosive chiefly 
  used to propel a bullet out of the barrel of a 
  firearm. It is stored in airtight wooden kegs 
  or tiny, waterproof leather packets. A packet 
  contains enough smokepowder for five shots, 
  and a keg holds enough smokepowder for five 
  hundred shots.
  If smokepowder is set on fire, dropped, or 
  otherwise handled roughly, it explodes and 
  deals fire damage to each creature or object 
  within 20 feet of it: 1d6 for a packet, 9d6 for a 
  keg. A successful DC 12 Dexterity saving throw 
  halves the damage.
  Casting dispel magic on smokepowder 
  renders it permanently inert.
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  25
  AppendIx b: creAtures And npcs
  AppendIx b: creAtures And npcs
  Archer
  Medium humanoid (any race), any alignment
  —
  Armor Class 16 (studded leather)
  Hit Points 75 (10d8 + 30)
  Speed 30 ft.
  —
   
  STR 
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA
   11 (+0) 18 (+4) 16 (+3) 11 (+0) 13 (+1) 10 (+0)
  —
  Skills Acrobatics +6, Perception +5
  Senses passive Perception 15
  Languages any one language (usually Common)
  Challenge 3 (700 XP)
  —
  Archer’s Eye (3/Day). As a bonus action, the archer 
  can add 1d10 to its next attack or damage roll with 
  a longbow or shortbow.
  ACTIONS
  Multiattack. The archer makes two attacks with 
  its longbow.
  Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 
  5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage.
  Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, 
  range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) 
  piercing damage.
  Cow
  Large beast, unaligned
  —
  Armor Class 10
  Hit Points 15 (2d10 + 4)
  Speed 30 ft.
  —
   
  STR 
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA
   18 (+4) 10 (+0) 14 (+2) 2 (−4) 10 (+0) 4 (−3)
  —
  Senses passive Perception 10
  Languages —
  Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)
  —
  Charge. If the cow moves at least 20 feet straight 
  toward a target and then hits it with a gore attack 
  on the same turn, the target takes an extra 7 (2d6) 
  piercing damage.
  ACTIONS
  Gore. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., 
  one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage.
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  26
  AppendIx c: tensIon Meter
  AppendIx c: tensIon Meter
  Martial Law
  Order
  Status Quo
  Unstable
  Pandemonium
  You can use this meter to track the current level of tension in Baldur’s Gate at your table.
  
  Baldur’s Gate: City Encounters
  27
  AppendIx d: MAp of bAldur’s gAte
  AppendIx d: MAp of bAldur’s gAte
  Key to Baldur’s Gate Neighborhoods
  The Upper City
  1. Citadel Streets 
  2. Manorborn
  3. Temples
  4. The Wide
  The Lower City
  5. Bloomridge
  6. Brampton
  7. Eastway
  8. Heapside
  9. Seatower
  10. The Steeps
  The Outer City
  11. Blackgate 
  12. Little Calimshan
  13. Norchapel
  14. Rivington
  15. Sow’s Foot
  16. Stonyeyes
  17. Tumbledown
  18. Twin Songs
  19. Whitkeep
  20. Wyrm’s Crossing
  17
  6
    7
   8
    11
   10
   4
   5
   3
    2
    1
   9
  16
  The Outer City
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/DMsGuild/Community Created/Community Created/Baldur's Gate City Encounters.pdf