City of the Dead

The City of the Dead

The City of the Dead is a large cemetery and ward in the city of Waterdeep. Most of the city's dead are buried here. By day, it is used as a park and picnic area. At night, it is off-limits to the public, but is still used by many for more nefarious activities.

History

When Waterdeep was much smaller, a cemetery was established on the end of the plateau overlooking the plains east of the city. A low wall was built around the cemetery in 1064 DR first establishing its boundaries north and east of the Trade Ward and south of the North Ward. Since that time, higher walls have been built and gates into the City of the Dead were established, which are only opened to the public during daylight hours.
Space soon became hard to come by in the cemetery itself. Many of those who could not afford to be buried there found themselves interred in an area known as Grave Alley (later called Ilisar’s Alley). There, coffins were placed vertically below the cobblestones. This led to issues of the undead rising from the streets themselves and the practice was soon abandoned.
In order to alleviate the overcrowding, in 1250 DR, Ahghairon and other mages of Waterdeep began to establish portals from tombs and mausoleums to uninhabited demiplanes of various types where the dead were laid to rest. Most notable among these wizards, except for Ahghairon himself, was the portal and teleportation specialist, Anacaster. Two of his more well known portals led from The House of the Homeless and Merchants’ Rest.
Most noble houses, reportedly less than half, do not keep family tombs in the City of the Dead. They instead have crypts below their villas or are buried in family estates outside of Waterdeep. The cemetery suffered extensive damage during the Spellplague.

Notable Locations

Gates

• Andamarr Gate - One of the public gates
• Coffinsmarch Gate - One of the public gates
• Dead End Gate - The hidden, private gate the Carver family uses to enter in order to conduct burials or perform maintenance on the tombs
• Mhalsyymber Gate - One of the public gates 

Crypts, Plots, Tombs, and Vaults

• Deepwinter Vault - A tomb near the north end of the City of the Dead. It once housed the noble Deepwinter family, but was also the entry into the Dungeon of the Crypt
• Guildbones - A dedicated burial space for members of the different guilds of Waterdeep. Part of the site is made up of a glade which is dug up from time-to-time to make up space for new dead, while older, forgotten bones are moved elsewhere. Many guildmasters buy themselves and their families statue-guarded vaults within the forehalls of Guildbones
• The Hall of Heroes - A tomb with a trophy hall for fallen warriors. A portal leads to an area of rolling grassy fields with row upon row of buried dead
• The Hall of Sages - A tomb reserved for sages 
• The House of the Homeless - A mausoleum with a portal to a seemingly endless crypt 
• Lords' Respite - A tomb reserved for those Lords of Waterdeep who chose to be interred here
• Markarl Tomb - A tomb near the north end
• Mariner's Rest - A tomb for those who have drowned at sea or were sea captains in life. It contains a portal to the shores of a placid lake 
• Merchants' Rest - Also known as "the Coinscoffer", this is a tomb with a portal leading to a lightly wooded area with burial plaques set into the ground. One can be interred here by prepaying for the honor 
• Narfuth Crypt - A crypt near the north end 
• Roads' End - A tomb for travelers who died within Waterdeep
• Sultlue Vault - Secretly holds a slumbering noble yuan-ti sorcerer
• Vesham Tomb - A tomb near the north end

Other locations

• Ahghairon's Statue - A marble monument to the first Open Lord 
• Dead End House - Not technically in the City of the Dead, but not really part of another Ward either. Home of the Carver family - a family of coffin-builders, stone carvers & performers of other tasks related to the funeral & burial process
• Thief's Knot - A hedge maze constructed to honor a long-dead thieves guildmaster
• The Warriors' Monument - A sixty-foot tall sculpture and fountain depicting a battle between men and humanoids along with a griffon rider fighting a skeletal ally of Myrkul

Known Burials

• Ilyndeira Dyre - Buried within Guildbones
• Sarel the Trollscourge

Trivia

• Saying that someone is "in the City" is a slang phrase used by Waterdhavians to mean that person was dead
• The City of the Dead is the only area of Waterdeep where the establishment of places to worship is forbidden. This was decreed by the Lords to ensure that no religion can claim areas as sacred and then charge large fees to be buried there

Type

Ward