Skullport

Originally a Netherese mining colony, Skullport was eventually claimed by pirates, necromancers, and slavers during the fall of ancient empires. For centuries, it thrived as a secret port for smugglers and spellcasters, accessible only through hidden passageways, portals, and the depths of Undermountain.

The city's name comes from its distinctive architecture—skulls and bone motifs carved into its stone walls, bridges, and gates, a grim tribute to the thousands who have died beneath its streets.

Skullport is divided into three distinct tiers, descending further from semblance to madness:

• Highstreet: The most “civilized” layer, where surface traders, corrupt merchants, and bounty hunters frequent. Taverns, auction halls, and contraband shops are found here.
  
• The Middle Wards: The Guild-controlled zone. Most crime syndicates, flesh markets, and alchemy dens operate here. The Xanathar Guild’s headquarters was once housed on this level.
  
• The Deepdocks: Murky tunnels and fungal wharves connecting to the Underdark. Here roam aboleth cultists, rogue drow caravans, and worse. Trade happens here in slaves, souls, and stranger things.

Somewhere deep within the Deepdocks lies a still-active portal to the Shadowfell, guarded by nothing but superstition and silence.

Skullport is rarely ruled—it is occupied, bled, and reshaped by those with the strength or cunning to hold it for a time.

Current Claimants:

• The Xanathar Guild: Still holds pockets of influence despite their ousting during the Vault incident. The beholder lord is rumored to have retreated to a fortified chamber near Skullport’s edge.
  
• The Unseen: Once used Skullport’s tunnels to smuggle dopplegangers and mind-controlled agents into Waterdeep. Their presence has diminished but may not be fully extinguished.
  
• Bregan D'aerthe: Maintains hidden smuggler lanes and safehouses. Jarlaxle considers Skullport both asset and insurance policy.
  
• The Thirteen (Rumored): A cabal of undead wizards once said to rule Skullport in secret. Some say they still do. Others say they never did—but the fear keeps peace.

During the events of The Grand Game, Skullport saw an unprecedented surge in activity:

• The Stone of Golorr changed hands here multiple times
• Cultists, Cassalanter agents, and Zhentarim operatives fought for control of smuggling routes
  
• Therlin Heskan and his Unseen briefly used it as a testing ground for their mind-control enchantments
  
• The Hype Squad, according to one source, snuck in to the Xanathar Guild's lair through a trapdoor beneath a popular bar.
• Rumors persist that a forgotten Vault Eye was hidden in a skull-filled ossuary deep beneath the Middle Wards—though none have returned to confirm it

Skullport operates on blood, favor, and coin. Common trades include:

• Spell components banned on the surface
  
• Enslaved sentients, especially surface elves and spellcasters
  
• Stolen artifacts
  
• Memory vials, bottled dreams, and shadow essence
  
• Portals for hire—the most expensive way out, and the riskiest

Worshippers of Shar, Mask, and Asmodeus are not uncommon here. There are at least three active shrines to gods the surface will not name. Drow from the Underdark bring foreign goods, sharply increasing Skullport's wealth when they set camp.

Lawlessness: Anyone can kill you here. Some might even do it legally.

Undermountain Incursions: Beholders, oozes, and worse sometimes rise from below.

Magical Residue: Decades of arcane warping have made parts of the city unstable—walls melt, gravity reverses, memories fade.

Skullport is a scar beneath Waterdeep’s skin, a place of exile and emergence. Many monsters begin here, in shadow and secrecy. But so too do heroes. For light means little unless it is found in darkness.