Dock Ward
Ports, by their very nature, are unclean, noisy, crowded, and constantly busy places where few outsiders are welcome.
Waterdeep’s Dock Ward fits this mold, though its notoriety and bedlam are, if nothing else, slightly muted by the tales told up and down the Sword Coast. It was best described, by a wizard of no little note, as a .riotous, semi-stationary but nigh-perpetual brawl that covers entire acres and is interrupted only by small buildings, intermittent trade business, an errant dog or two, and a few brave watchmen (who do manage to keep the chaos from spreading beyond the docks), the
whole lot wallowing in the stench of rotting fish. Still, in all, .twas quite a lusty, intriguing place to spend an evening..
City watch patrols and guard contingents keep this ward in a semblance of order, traveling in well-armed groups of
eight during the day and groups of twelve or more after dusk. Many of the roads are gravel-packed dirt, once the
docks and cobblestone access roads to the Way of the Dragon are left behind. The dark, mud-strewn alleys are
endless in Dock Ward, and they hide many dangers, despite the alertness of Waterdeep’s defenders, so travel in large,
heavily armed groups if you must.
Dock Ward’s boundaries, quickly stated, are the harbor and the southern boundaries of Castle and Trades Wards.
The northern boundary runs north and east on Lackpurse Lane to Belnimbra’s Street, over and down Gut Alley, and
turns east to Shesstra’s Street. Moving east and turning south onto Book Street, the boundary moves east again on
Drakiir Street until it meets the Way of the Dragon, the eastern perimeter of Dock Ward. The southern border of
the ward is, of course, the docks and the harbor.
Architecture
Despite being the oldest settled area of Waterdeep, Dock Ward consists of many wooden structures all built upon each other with a few stone buildings to provide structural support for the rest. While people worked and lived here for 1000 years before Ahghairon.s rule, few buildings last for more than 30 years.
The only permanent constructions that have existed for extensive periods of time in Dock Ward are the docks themselves, as well as the protective harbor walls and the towers of Deepwatch Isle. With the relatively new cobblestone streets along
the docks providing easier access to trade routes within the city, talk is circulating of updating and improving buildings along those routes. As far as the Lords are concerned, any improvements here are definitely for the better.
Landmarks
Finding the landmarks and .sights to see. within Dock Ward is akin to hunting for raw diamonds and uncut gems in a pile of mud-soaked gravel. Unless you.re feeling adventurous or have need of the more sinister services provided here, Dock Ward is no place to go hunting for new experiences. The sights many visiting sailors, cutthroats, and fools with little brains look for are:
Guild Halls
Shops
Inns & Taverns
Dock Ward has the greatest concentration of taverns, inns, and festhalls in the city. Many are ramshackle, tiny places that cater to the standard clientele of the area – the seafarer ashore for a fortnight looking for some adeture and ways to be parted form hard-earned gold. Other places look to attracting a better paying crowd by improving their places above the general squalor of much of the ward.
Some of the infamous stops are:
Places of Danger
Above all the other places within miles of Waterdeep (aside from Undermountain), Dock Ward contains danger in no short supply. The congestion of refuse and discarded goods narrow many alleys in ways similar to those in Trades Ward, though the refuse here in Docks Ward is weeks if not months old and a planned factor in many thieves’ ambushes. While it is almost impossible to memorize the alley and street layout of the ward, its quick twists and turns make it child’s play to avoid capture. Of course, blindly ducking around corners and into or out of doors can often introduce you to other perils just as deadly as the ones you’re fleeing Among the most notorious of Dock Ward’s many alleys are:
Ports, by their very nature, are unclean, noisy, crowded, and constantly busy places where few outsiders are welcome.
Waterdeep’s Dock Ward fits this mold, though its notoriety and bedlam are, if nothing else, slightly muted by the tales told up and down the Sword Coast. It was best described, by a wizard of no little note, as a .riotous, semi-stationary but nigh-perpetual brawl that covers entire acres and is interrupted only by small buildings, intermittent trade business, an errant dog or two, and a few brave watchmen (who do manage to keep the chaos from spreading beyond the docks), the
whole lot wallowing in the stench of rotting fish. Still, in all, .twas quite a lusty, intriguing place to spend an evening..
City watch patrols and guard contingents keep this ward in a semblance of order, traveling in well-armed groups of
eight during the day and groups of twelve or more after dusk. Many of the roads are gravel-packed dirt, once the
docks and cobblestone access roads to the Way of the Dragon are left behind. The dark, mud-strewn alleys are
endless in Dock Ward, and they hide many dangers, despite the alertness of Waterdeep’s defenders, so travel in large,
heavily armed groups if you must.
Dock Ward’s boundaries, quickly stated, are the harbor and the southern boundaries of Castle and Trades Wards.
The northern boundary runs north and east on Lackpurse Lane to Belnimbra’s Street, over and down Gut Alley, and
turns east to Shesstra’s Street. Moving east and turning south onto Book Street, the boundary moves east again on
Drakiir Street until it meets the Way of the Dragon, the eastern perimeter of Dock Ward. The southern border of
the ward is, of course, the docks and the harbor.
Architecture
Despite being the oldest settled area of Waterdeep, Dock Ward consists of many wooden structures all built upon each other with a few stone buildings to provide structural support for the rest. While people worked and lived here for 1000 years before Ahghairon.s rule, few buildings last for more than 30 years.
The only permanent constructions that have existed for extensive periods of time in Dock Ward are the docks themselves, as well as the protective harbor walls and the towers of Deepwatch Isle. With the relatively new cobblestone streets along
the docks providing easier access to trade routes within the city, talk is circulating of updating and improving buildings along those routes. As far as the Lords are concerned, any improvements here are definitely for the better.
Landmarks
Finding the landmarks and .sights to see. within Dock Ward is akin to hunting for raw diamonds and uncut gems in a pile of mud-soaked gravel. Unless you.re feeling adventurous or have need of the more sinister services provided here, Dock Ward is no place to go hunting for new experiences. The sights many visiting sailors, cutthroats, and fools with little brains look for are:
Guild Halls
- The Butchers’ Guild Hall, a recently renovated timber-frame two-story guild house with an available cold cellar for the guild members’ overstock;
- League Hall , a large tannery with an upper-level tavern for the business of the League of Skinners & Tanners;
- Mariners Hall, a lavish twostory wattle-and-daub building just off the Way of the Dragon that puts up many a visiting ship’s captain during
and after guild business; and - The Metal House of Wonder , the metal-roofed base of the Splendid Order of Armorers, Locksmiths, and Finesmiths; and
- Watermen's Hall, the Guild of Watermen.s boat- and warehouse that serves as their headquarters, the boathouse for their skiffs and ferries,
and storage for any and all flotsam and jetsam found while keeping the harbor clear.
Shops
- House of Pride Perfumes, a veritable glass jungle of bottles filled with exotic perfumes and other scents;
- Serpentil Books & Folios , an exclusive and expensive shop that traffics in all manner of maps, charts, and books (no magical tomes for sale
unless you’ve one to trade); - the Smokehouse, used by the Fishmongers. Fellowship and the Guild of Butchers, this rare one-story brick smokehouse almost always smells of curing meats or fish; and
- Whistling Blades , a shop that specializes in daggers, blades, and knives (if you.re vouched for by a friend, Ertyl Velun can show you special
behind-the-counter items such as toe-blades or hidden arm scabbards with fast releases)
Inns & Taverns
Dock Ward has the greatest concentration of taverns, inns, and festhalls in the city. Many are ramshackle, tiny places that cater to the standard clientele of the area – the seafarer ashore for a fortnight looking for some adeture and ways to be parted form hard-earned gold. Other places look to attracting a better paying crowd by improving their places above the general squalor of much of the ward.
Some of the infamous stops are:
- Cookhouse Hall, a large hall that serves simple hot meals and passable drink to weary travelers and those down on their luck for two coppers
- The Copper Cup, three old three and four story warehouses linked and converted into one of Waterdeep’s busiest and most famous taverns, inns, or festhalls, depending on what one looks for (a rare building with two – and maybe more – cellars for business and storage)
- Full Sails, a merry, bright tavern on Net Steet at the docks that serves as the headquarters of the Most Diligent League of Sail Makers and Cordwainers
- The Hanging Lantern, a festhall famed for its stunning escorts and its skilled matchmakers, as well as a side business in costume rental. In recent years, it has been rumored that the owners of the Hanging Lantern are, in fact, doppelgangers.
- Shipmasters’ Hall, a private inn and dining club for captains, first mates, and ship owners and their escorts with an interior elegance that far outweighs its exterior. Funding of this fine dining inn is sponsored by the Master Mariners’ Guild
- The Ship’s Prow, an inn well known among saiors of the Sword Coast and easily found as it’s actually a convereted ship’s prow that now juts into Fish Street and Ship Street (the prices and services in this four-story inn are reasonable, although the clientele often isn’t)
- Three Pearls Nightclub, a popular festhall with nightly stage acts such as comedians, trained animal acts, illusionists displays, recitals by famed bards and orators (even moreso now with the new bardic college, New Olamn, open), as well as exotic dancing
- Warm Beds, a quiet homelike inn with little more than what its name guarantees
- Fishgut Court, a cobblestone court off Sail and dock streets where many strange happening occur during nights of the full moon (many say the owner of a nearby tarvern often speaks with Selune, and moonlight shines onto the court)
- The Old Xoblob Shop, a curio shop famous in the city for battle trophies from places far and near (especially Undermountain, which has a gate that deposits adventurers here
- Smugglers’ Dock, the most isolated corner of the ward and also its safest, under the watchful eyes in Mirt’s Mansion and the Watching Tower, used often for lovers’ rendezevous
Places of Danger
Above all the other places within miles of Waterdeep (aside from Undermountain), Dock Ward contains danger in no short supply. The congestion of refuse and discarded goods narrow many alleys in ways similar to those in Trades Ward, though the refuse here in Docks Ward is weeks if not months old and a planned factor in many thieves’ ambushes. While it is almost impossible to memorize the alley and street layout of the ward, its quick twists and turns make it child’s play to avoid capture. Of course, blindly ducking around corners and into or out of doors can often introduce you to other perils just as deadly as the ones you’re fleeing Among the most notorious of Dock Ward’s many alleys are:
- Black Well Court, the small back alley home to a polluted, monster-infested well that is now sealed by order of the Lords with magic and masonry
- Manysteps Alley, a narrow alley that is the habitat of soothsayers, fortune tellers, and thieves galore
- Melinter’s Court, a dark courtyard often thick with the pipe smoke of curbside philosophers and corner sages (and sometimes the plottings of deranged, malicious wizards)
- Philosophers Court, also known by natives as “the Foolsquare”, a daily (and often nightly) meeting place for intellectuals, old sages, and drunken nobles alike found arguing over “topics too esoteric for a common mind”
- Round Again Alley, an alley that doubles back on itself and provides a testing ground for many apprentices’ illusions
- Three Thrown Daggers Alley, which suffers from a magical curse that causes three random blades to fly from nowhere to attack passerby’s in the alley
