![]() Barrels filled with fireplace-heated stones are placed at the end of every floor’s central hall.Three floors, each with a public stair on the south end and a servant’s stair on the north end. WEST WING: The West Wing is made up entirely of guest rooms. The entry/exit fee to be lowered into or raised out of the Well of Entry is 1 gp.The walls of the well are crumbly, with abundant handholds and footholds.The pulley system allows Durnan to lower would-be delvers from the bar there is also a release lever there that will rapidly drop the entire rope into the Well.The harness is notably studded with a bronze bas relief of a skull.A stone ledge juts out from the bar side of the Well, allowing access to the rope-and-harness suspended from a block-and-tackle.THE WELL OF ENTRY: The Well is 40-feet across with a 1-foot high stone rampart. There’s lance-and-lion board set up for play on the bar. ![]() ![]() A broadsword hangs on the wall behind the bar.Under the bar, Durnan keeps a crossbow loaded with blunt-headed sleep arrows.On both levels there are some fairly private tables that are not well lit and not easily seen from the rest of the taproom. Because of the design of the space, on the second and third floors there’s a narrow “hall” of sorts that extends back along the east side of the taproom.Two sets of spiral stairs, located to the east and west side of the Well, provide access to the balconies.A large number of curios, mostly donated by delvers returning from Undermountain, are on display throughout the taproom.A number of tables are built around the wooden pillars supporting the ceiling. There are tables all around the Well of Entry (including between the Well and the bar).The demon-faced fireplace stands next to the bar, facing the front door.The floor is made from well-worn boards.Blue tapestries hang at regular intervals around the room.On the ground floor, there are open arches leading to the East and West Wings. Rounded balconies run along three sides of the second and third floors, with railing seating positioned to look down into the Well. The front door looks across the Well of Entry to the well-worn, but polished three-sided bar at the back. TAPROOM: The taproom takes up the front two-thirds of the main building, with a general look and feel according to Jason Thompson’s illustration. They are likely also employed by customers of other businesses in the Cove, including Mother Salinka’s and the Empty Keg. STABLES: The Yawning Portal’s stables are located in a separate building in Halaster’s Cove. Let’s call it Halaster Alley, which is sometimes known by the name Halaster’s Cove. The one behind the Yawning Poral has never been detailed or named. Waterdeep has a number of these intra-block courtyard alleys (Trollskull Alley from Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is another). Note: Given all the secret entrances perforating the Yawning Portal, could we imagine one from the East Wing leading into Mother Salinka’s? Yes, I think so.ĭirectly to the west of the Yawning Portal is the opening to the alley which lies behind it. So Mother Salinka’s is the building directly to the east (sharing a wall with the Portal) and the Empty Keg is just beyond that on the corner. NEIGHBORHOOD: The Yawning Portal has been described as “two doors down from the Empty Keg tavern, right next to Mother Salinka’s House of Pleasure” ( Ruins of Undermountain, p. The signboard of silvery wood above the door reads, “The Yawning Potral.” If you’d prefer the FR1 outline, you basically just need to shove what I’m describing as the West Wing back from the street so that it juts out the backside of the building. I’m not going to attempt a full map of the tavern, but we can use the rough sketch above to orient ourselves a bit.įOOTPRINT: I’ve based the outlines of the sketch more-or-less on the 5 th Edition outline of the building. And if you wouldn’t mind indulging me, I’d like to share it with you here as a way of drawing together everything that we’ve learned. So it can be whatever you want it to be.Īs I’ve dived deep into its lore, however, there is a kind of gestalt vision of the Yawning Portal which has grown strong in my mind. Ultimately, of course, it is a mythical locale which lives within the imagination.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |