Baldur's Gate

Baldur's Gate, also called simply the Gate, is the largest metropolis and city-state on the Sword Coast, within the greater Western Heartlands. It is a crowded city of commerce and opportunity, perhaps the most prosperous and influential merchant city on the western coast of Faerûn.
The strong peace-keeping force known as the Watch, along with the presence of the powerful Flaming Fist mercenary company, keeps the city generally peaceful and safe. This inherent sense of security allows the Gate to keep a tolerant and welcoming attitude towards outsiders, whether they are wealthy merchants, poor refugees or, as it has historically attracted, less-scrupulous individuals such as pirates and smugglers.
As the minstrels of the 14th century described it, the city is a crescent moon that wraps around the great harbor, though in the century that followed it grew well beyond that form. While the terrain of the Upper City is flat and level, the Lower City is built over steep bluffs that overlook the Gray Harbor.
Like most great cities, Baldur's Gate has many places of worship scattered across its districts. For instance, Twin Songs accepted all faiths and hosts a great diversity of temples and shrines dedicated to nearly every deity. Even shrines devoted to the worship of evil powers, such as Bane and Bhaal, are tolerated by the city's Flaming Fist soldiers.
The government of Baldur's Gate maintains a strict and complex legal code that consists of a series of regulations, official decrees and treatises that are nigh incomprehensible for anyone but the city's barristers and some patriars. By and large laws favored these individuals along with foreign diplomats, the Flaming Fist and members of the Watch. Citizens of the city proper and those living in the Outer City are afforded far fewer considerations. That being said, anyone who obeys the laws can walk freely though the city's streets.
Anyone caught in the act of breaking the law are immediately apprehended and punished, either by the Watch or the Flaming Fist. Typically, the punishment fits the crime. Lesser crimes, such as violence or thievery, warrant a public whipping or removal of a finger. Those who break agreed upon contracts are sentenced to forced labor while disturbing the peace or public lasciviousness leads to public shaming by a night in the stocks.
Throughout its history, Baldur's Gate has had little stake in the affairs of others. For the most part, the city is respected as a neutral power, that never involves itself with the politics and conflicts that arose between the other states of the Sword Coast and the Western Heartlands. Perhaps more importantly, Baldur's Gate, while undoubtedly a rich prize, is so well-defended by its massive walls and well-trained soldiers that few ever seriously considered invading and occupying the city.
Historically, Baldur's Gate has had a long enmity with its southern neighbor, Amn, which nearly resulted in war during the iron crisis of the 1360s. Over the next century however, the only major threats to Baldur's Gate are the pirates operating out of the ruins of Luskan or the merchants of Waterdeep, who resent the city's continually-growing wealth and power.
The Gray Harbor of Baldur's Gate is one of the largest, busiest and most popular ports-of-call found on the western coast of Faerûn, handling a wide variety of cargoes that rivaled even the sprawling ports of Calimshan. Due to the fact trade is not tied to any individual's moral alignment, anyone conducting business in a non-harmful manner is welcome to trade in the city. By virtue of this tolerant outlook, Baldur's Gate has become the greatest center of trade along the entire Sword Coast in the 15th century, out-competing both Waterdeep and Amn.
Recently, Baldur's Gate has been the destination for hundreds of refugees arriving from Elturel, after the holy city was the victim of a disaster, wiping it off the map.

Government

Since its famous tax revolt, Baldur's Gate is ruled by four Grand Dukes, whose membership compose the Council of Four. They are elected by the citizens to serve for life or until they wish to retire.

Districts

Baldur's Gate is divided into three main sections. The Upper City is the walled region to the north. The Lower City is the portion between the Old Wall and the River Chionthar. The Outer City is the shantytown that rises up along the roads to the city and around Dusthawk Hill.
The Upper City of Baldur's Gate radiates wealth and beauty, serving as home to the city's Patriar class. It has wide, well-lit streets and attractive buildings decorated with hanging plants. The amenity of the Upper City is only matched by its well-kept safety, largely thanks to the regular patrols maintained by the Watch
The Lower City is the large, crescent-shaped portion of Baldur's Gate fully contained within the walls. It features tightly-packed streets, lined with tall and slender buildings. even narrower alleyways that are always busy with the comings and goings of city life. Trade, commerce and work of all sorts dominate the sprawling Lower City.
The Outer City of Baldur's Gate is a sprawling, chaotic shantytown that grew outside of the city's walls. Day and night blend together throughout the lean-to's, stockyards and other shacks and line the Outer City's muddy streets. While the animal-handlers, merchant-hawkers and other "outsiders" are taxed and technically "ruled" over by the Grand Dukes, city officials do little to truly govern the unregulated Outer City.

Geography

Baldur's Gate is located to the south of the great city-state of Waterdeep, north of Amn along the well-traveled Coast Way road, that passes over the Wyrm's Crossing, through the Outer City and into the Gate proper. It is nestled on a stretch of poor soil, within a natural bay that formed on the north bank of the River Chionthar east from the Sea of Swords.

Type

Large city