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Baldur's Gate

Baldur's Gate, also called simply the Gate, was the largest metropolis and city-state on the Sword Coast, within the greater Western Heartlands. It was a crowded city of commerce and opportunity, perhaps the most prosperous and influential merchant city on the western coast of Faerûn. Despite its long-standing presence as a neutral power, the leaders of Baldur's Gate were members of the Lords' Alliance of powers in the west. The strong peace-keeping force known as the Watch, along with the presence of the powerful Flaming Fists mercenary company, kept the city generally peaceful and safe. This inherent sense of security allowed the Gate to keep a tolerant and welcoming attitude towards outsiders, whether they were wealthy merchants, poor refugees or, as it historically attracted, less-scrupulous individuals such as pirates and smugglers.

Geography

It was nestled on a stretch of poor soil, within a natural bay that formed on the north bank of the River Chionthar about 40 miles (64.4 km) east from its mouth on the Sea of Swords. As the minstrels of the 14th century described it, the city was a crescent moon that wrapped around the great harbor, though in the century that followed it grew well beyond that form. While the terrain of the Upper City was flat and level, the Lower City was built over steep bluffs that overlooked the Gray Harbor.