Yawning Portal

The Yawning Portal was an inn and tavern in the city of Waterdeep that was renowned for being the primary open route into Undermountain. A well within its walls led down into the first level of the vast dungeon complex. It was owned and run by the famous adventurer Durnan the Wanderer. The name "Yawning Portal" referred to the deep well and also alluded to the habit of its patrons to tell wild stories. Naturally, the inn was a popular attraction among visitors to Waterdeep and a common point of departure as well as a refuge for expeditions into the extensive dungeons.
==Location==
The Yawning Portal was located on Rainrun Street in the upper part of Waterdeep's Castle Ward between Waterdeep Castle and Snail Street and close to Mount Waterdeep's eastern slope. Fronting onto the north side of the road, it stood next door to Mother Salinka's House of Pleasure, and beyond that, The Empty Keg tavern, on the west side, and next door Lankathla Dree's Bakery on the east side. Nearby also stood the magician Sobrey's Magic Shoppe and the smithy of Argali Smith. The inn's relative proximity to the city's docks helped it do good business.
Its site was exactly that of the former Halaster's Hold, the demolished tower of the mad mage Halaster Blackcloak, the builder of Undermountain, and the inn was constructed over the well to Undermountain, which had previously been a place of execution, simply known as "the Well".
==Structure==
Due to fires and other adventurer-related disasters, the Yawning Portal had been rebuilt a number of times, with a fourth floor added in one reconstruction. Typically, however, the building was big and rambling, constructed of wood and stone, and stood three to four stories high.The Yawning Portal has been variously stated in different sources to have two to four floors or stories, and it is unclear when this includes the ground floor or not. In a tweet, Ed Greenwood gives a final figure of four stories, including the ground, with it being rebuilt several times and a fourth floor added at some point. This implies it only had a total of three stories initially, suiting the more common descriptions. It had a roof of slate. As of the 1490s DR, it was built of mismatched fieldstone, gray and unpainted, with walls and a steep-angled roof of unpainted dark-gray and black slate. There were no windows on the ground floor, but there were series of windows on the south side of the upper floors; these were covered by wooden shutters. Smaller windows appeared on other sides. This building had a number of chimneys that were fed by the kitchen ovens, the common room hearth (and sub-hearths on upper floors), and several others that warmed other rooms and the stables. A weathervane and a few lightning rods topped the peak of the roof.
To mark the entrance to the inn, there was a signboard hanging above the front door that simply read "The Yawning Portal" in letters carved deep into wood weathered to a silvery color. It was suspended from a black-painted iron pole by two short loops of chains and this pole was set into the wall at the level of the first floor. This sign was quite old, having been recovered and reused each time the inn was rebuilt. 
Originally, the front door had a rounded shape and, for a time in 1358 DR, was scrawled with "Come Ye Inn" in chalk. In the late 1300s DR, the door opened directly into the common room but by the late 1400s DR, the inn was entered via two wide, single-swing doors on the opposite sides of the southward-extending section and later a set of double doors in the western edge of that section. Both led into the lobby, through which one reached the taproom. On the north side, a double-width back door led to the kitchen; it could be opened wide enough to permit a cart or wagon to be rolled inside for deliveries of goods or furniture, but this was rarely necessary. The door was secured with bolts into the floor and upper frame and with a bar.
The inn was adjoined on the east by a stables, which neighbored Lankathla Dree's Bakery.
==Interior==
===Lobby===
In the late 1400s DR, entry was via a vestibule that served as a cloakroom or lobby. It held a reception desk staffed by a hostess on the north side and a rack for cloaks and coats against the south wall, and had three housejacks (bouncers) on duty. East of the desk was the door into the common room proper.
===Common Room===
Taking up much of the ground floor, in the expansive taproom or common room, smoothly carved wooden pillars supported the roof and wooden panels covered the walls, while well-worn wooden boards covered the floor. The walls were hung here and there with rich blue tapestries and an elbow-high rail ran around them, where patrons parked their tankards. The Entry Well leading to Undermountain (below) dominated this space. Otherwise, drinking and dining were the usual activities here. A fireplace provided warmth at night.
For illumination, there were simple chandeliers, known as candle-wheels; these wagon-wheels bearing many thick burning candles were suspended by chains from the ceiling. However, this lighting was dim and left shadowed corners. Hence, candles were stood on individual tables as well. Otherwise, Durnan was known to use a driftglobe for illumination, though it followed him in his work, and a skylight had been installed by the early 1370s DR. Moreover, the air was smoky, fragrant with the pipesmoke and spiced wine, and the interior was somewhat dingy, with black beetles spotted scurrying across the knife-marked tables early in its life in the 1320s DR. Despite this, the main impression was of comfort, not of being dirty or unwelcoming.
In the late 1400s DR, the Yawning Portal had been remodeled, with second- and third-floor balconies overlooking the taproom. Wooden stairs led up from the ground floor to these and the guest rooms adjoined the balconies. These provided patrons with an overhead view of any action in the well while they remained at their tables. Typically, these balconies were occupied by merchants and noble more interested in spectating, while adventurers and others stayed on the ground to be closer to the action. By this time, the taproom was decorated with an astonishing selection of trophies and knickknacks recovered from Undermountain and left in the inn, whether as gifts to Durnan, in payment for a bar tab, or for having lost a bet to him. Bloodstained banners, unknown sigils, and strange statues were amongst the dozens of relics on display.
The bar, chairs, and tables were all sturdily made of heavy wood. Some of the tables were constructed around the pillars and could not be moved.
In the taproom was a trapdoor that opened onto a chute. Due to a magic ward placed on it, only Durnan could open it. Circa 1339 DR, he dropped inconvenient corpses down the chute, to be devoured by something deep below. However, the noise tended to disturb patrons during their own dining.
Mops were kept close to hand. These had been wielded in brawls as improvised staves, used as aids for reaching people go in and out of the well, and, presumably, even used in cleaning up spills.
===Other Rooms===
On the ground floor, there were side-rooms with bare wooden tables that served as offices or for private meetings. Moreover, the Lords of Waterdeep met in a hidden room in the back of the inn, accessed via a narrow secret tunnel running north through the city.Secret tunnels to the Yawning Portal appear in both Elfsong by Elaine Cunningham and this tweet from Ed Greenwood. Ed declares the latter is under a non-disclosure agreement, so lacking any contradictory information, this article assumes these to the same tunnel.
From the common room, steep wooden staircases led to the second and third levels. The Yawning Portal offered guest rooms on the upper floors, with sixteen per floor. The rooms were comfortable and well appointed. Each floor had a fireplace at the east end of its central hall. During wintertime, rocks heated in these fireplaces were placed in each room to warm them; these rocks were loaded into barrel-ends with rope handles. There was also a sitting room for meeting in peace.
The inn had multiple cellars for storage of wine, ale, and foodstuffs; these were no larger in extent than the inn above. There was also a small armory of Durnan's weaponry, as well as an attic.
===Entries to Undermountain===
The inn had not one but two wells that could serve as entry points to Undermountain's uppermost level. It also had not one but two secret passages in its cellars. Rumors spoke of only one of these secret passages being hidden behind a wall in the cellar, though this was not quite accurate.
In addition, a certain marble column in the Wyllowwood area of Undermountain could teleport a party back to a booth in the Yawning Portal, but also to random places throughout the dungeon and indeed the whole world, so this was not exactly useful as a means of return.
====The Dry Well====
Referred to as the Well of Entry or simply the Entry Well, the first, or "dry" well, was located in the main taproom between the bar and dining tables and was its centerpiece. This was the main and only publicly known passage to Undermountain. It was open-topped and a waist-high stone ring or rampart, thick, was built around the well to prevent customers and objects from simply falling into the dungeon. It measured 40 feet (12 meters) in diameter and descended 140 feet (43 meters). Amongst the roofbeams above the well, a massive block and tackle hung from a stone lintel allowed adventurers to be raised or lowered. A few steps allowed people to climb onto the wall and the hanging rope levered toward them at the edge. Initially, they simply clung to the rope with their hands. Mindful of the strength of the silk rope, Durnan preferred to lower one person at a time, but might permit halflings or gnomes or other quite light adventurers to go down together. Those who insisted on a heavy load were asked to pay in advance for a replacement rope, and if the rope snapped as they were being lowered, Durnan would yell down "I told you so." By 1375 DR, however, he had upgraded to a rope as thick as a human wrist, strong enough to carry ten human-sized people in armor and bearing loads, and long. This rope ended in a metal hook carrying a sturdy wooden bucket. Two leather loops tied through the eye of the hook could be used to hold onto or wrapped around one's body. Wooded crossbars woven through the rope at spacings of formed a crude ladder. The pulleys in the block-and-tackle lightened the load and cogs in the winch prevented slippage, enabling only one person to operate it; typically, this was Durnan himself, otherwise, another staff member. A release lever allowed any load to be dropped abruptly back into the well. By 1492 DR, journeys were back to being one at a time on a slender, distressingly blood-stained rope. A journey down took about a minute.
This well was in fact the sunken outer shell of Halaster's tower with the stairs and basement floors gone. It had walls of mortared stone; although sheer, they were old and crumbling, leaving many gaps for climbing if one did not want to use the hoist. Flaming everburning torches were mounted on iron brackets around the outer edge for lighting, but around 50 feet (15 meters) deep, the well grew completely dark and, on reaching the bottom, one alighted on a sandy floor with stone walls decorated with shields. These shields were rusty to the point of uselessness but for one purpose: people who wanted to be drawn up hit these shields and the noise was a sign that people below wanted to be pulled up from the dungeon. The area was scattered with bones, spent torches, and left-behind coins. This area was the "Front Door" of the first level of Undermountain.
To most folks, this was the most well-known means of entering Undermountain, as well as the easiest. Thus, it was also the most commonly used, though more went down this shaft than came up it—the remainder found alternative ways, or did not come back at all. One's first trip down the well and into the darkness and danger was an anxious experience for every adventurer. Priests and patrons called down the blessings of Tymora as they went. They went as they were, with whatever they wore, wielded, or were equipped with at the time of asking, and were expected to bring their own sources of illumination. A few "ride the rope" tourists were overcome with excitement and wandered off unprepared, often not returning.
Durnan charged 1 gold piece per person to lower a party down the well and into Undermountain, and again to bring them back up. Those who somehow went down without the rope or hoist were still expected to pay, as were those who merely wanted to "ride the rope" on a quick up-and-down trip, though they could pay for their return in advance. The fee could be the same value or better in another currency or other valuables, like gems. The fee was placed in the bucket first to be pulled up and checked, before adventurers were raised.
Those without even a gold piece to pay for their return trip must forfeit all valuables on their person. If they could not, would not, or had nothing of worth, then they were simply left at the bottom or else lowered back down to their fate. Those who got aggressive or were obstinate were sent back the hard, fast way—without the rope. Otherwise, they could buy back their gear for 500 gp. For those who somehow went down the well without paying, Durnan got angry and would not raise them unless they first tied all their possessions to the rope—riches, equipment, even clothing, leaving them only in their underwear—to go up before them. Durnan kept the valuables and confiscated the equipment and, presumably, clothes, until the adventurers purchased them back for a reasonable price or 1,000 gp, whichever was lower. Despite these rules, Durnan's wife Mhaere would on occasion drop a gold piece down to those in dire need, at least when Durnan's back was turned. Circa 1479 DR, Durnan the Sixth had raised the fee to 10 gp.
====The Wet Well====
The second, or "wet", well was a normal well in the sense that water could be pulled up from it. It was located in a room near the rear of the inn and was primarily the inn's source of washing water. Although rarely used for anything more than water, Durnan kept the door barred, with a glittering sword above the door, a torch in a wall bracket outside, and rope, torches, and a tinder box ready on a table inside.
This well was no more than a hole in the floor, usually kept covered with a wooden hatch embedded with the floorboards. Sometimes, Durnan used a certain powder, supplied to him by Khelben, that filled the cracks and completely obscured the hatch's presence. Explorers could be lowered on a rope with a leather harness, but the walls of the shaft, while seeming smooth, had iron handholds one could use to climb up or down. Inside the shaft, there was an opening, some above the water level, that connected to a system of winding natural tunnels and caverns. From here, passages led to a different, less explored area of Undermountain than the dry well; to the sewers of Waterdeep at several points; to the subterranean city of Skullport and to the nearby Promenade of the Dark Maiden; and finally to the cavern in which lay the Pool of Loss, a portal to the City of the Dead in Hades.
====The Cellars====
Accessed via a stone stairway, there was a storage cellar with a low roof supported by stone pillars, with only one torch providing illumination. Here were massive casks of wine and barrels of fish, smoked hams, pickles, and candied fruits in syrup. The area was also guarded by both a stone golem and a watchspider. From the cellar, an archway behind closed curtains led to a unrailed landing area equipped with a winch, rope, and grappling hook. This opened onto a steep shaft with a stairway that led into a flooded section of Undermountain's first level. This was thought to be a cistern and not even the late 1400s DR proprietor Durnan the Sixth knew it connected to Undermountain.
In the deepest wine cellar, an arched passage opened onto a flight of stone steps leading down to a secret door opening into a side passage of a tunnel named Bonewatch Pass that led directly to Skullport, opening in the cavern ceiling above the Crock and Helm inn. However, this route was heavily trapped and occupied by kobolds and carrion crawlers, though Durnan killed many of them in 1358. Magical wards on the area meant only Durnan could pass through. As well as wines, it was also a store for Durnan's old adventuring trophies, including a glowing periapt from a lich, using as a lamp; a pair of tusks from a giant orc; and almost two-dozen enchanted swords, various helms, and others, which anchored the magical wards. One of these swords, a heavy broadsword favored by Durnan in his adventuring days, was kept within a secret compartment within a pillar here (pressing the fifth stone down opened it).
===Atmosphere===
The clientele consisted mostly of adventurers, as well as Waterdhavian merchants and laborers and travelers from far-flung parts, all of them mingling freely. The adventuring patrons included both active, budding, and retired members of the profession, as well as fans of the life and young thrill-seeking nobles who came to bask in the atmosphere and "smell the excitement", as they put it. They were joined by opportunistic sellers of adventuring equipment, undercover agents of various groups listening in on their conversations, and thieves and confidence tricksters preying on the adventurers. Local regulars were often sailors, shopkeepers from the Dock Ward, and workers from the Empty Keg or Mother Salinka's, all just there for a good meal after work. The travelers came from up and down the Sword Coast, from the far corners of Faerûn and from Kara-Tur, and a few even from other worlds entirely.
First-time visitors from outside Waterdeep were often surprised by the lack of concern that local patrons paid to the close proximity of the dungeon; this was due to the Waterdhavian's customary lack of fear about most things. In fact, Waterdhavians were only too keen on sharing news, rumors, and stories about the dungeons of Undermountain, whether as warnings or as boasting, and at the Yawning Portal, such conversation was ceaseless. While busy nights made it too noisy and crowded for such conversation, the quiet evenings often saw patrons gather around the big hearth to share stories. Many regulars were either gossips or more experienced delvers who knew much of Undermountain lore, though by tradition some things they kept secret, such as the "Lord's take" of having their treasure confiscated by the City Guardsmen operating in the dungeon. As a result, the Yawning Portal was a good place for acquiring dungeoneering knowledge, though it usually cost the price of drinks or a meal. Professional adventurers would also frequent the inn in order to pick up work and paid missions into Undermountain. Those with specific missions in Undermountains usually came when the inn was quiet.
Despite the armed adventurers, the Yawning Portal suffered little in the way of brawling or other troublemaking. Durnan, despite his old age in the late 1300s DR, was still a brawny man who kept his old greatsword Grimvault behind the bar amongst the racks of bottles and mugs, and politely asked troublemakers to leave the inn before he tossed them out, sometimes by picking them up hurling them through the front door and watching how far they flew. He also kept a loaded crossbow behind the bar and could hurl either a metal tankard or handaxe with devastating accuracy. However, he avoided killing unless he had no other choice, favoring therefore his fists and tankards. Difficult drunks were often given drinks mixed with a potent sleeping powder. Moreover, off-duty members of the City Guard were often around and could alert others if fighting got out of hand, both inside and out. Dedicated toughs and brawlers were wise to stay away. At a result, the Yawning Portal remained a reasonably safe and enjoyable place in which to stay, pass time, and have a drink and a bite. Nevertheless, it was not unknown for a monster out of Undermountain to scale the well shaft and attack patrons during their evening meal.
==Services==
===Room & Board===
At the Yawning Portal, one could get both room and board at any time, day or night, for the inn, bar, and kitchen never closed. The prices were fair and typical for their kind. Circa 1492 DR, one could pay 1 gp for a standard room, including morningfeast, and 3 gp for a luxury room, including both morningfeast and evenfeast.
The cooking at the inn was decent and the ale of middling quality. Early on, the dishes on offer tended to be heavy and greasy, which described as being of a "last meal" nature. A typical dish was stew, particularly traveler's stew, with a number of big cauldrons kept simmering in the kitchen at all times. A complimentary seed-spiced cheese (made by the waitress Luranla) was served to some patrons around 1339 DR. Over time, however, lighter and healthier options appeared, such as chopforest, a traditional wood elven salad—a complimentary chopforest from Durnan was considered a good omen for one's delve. Around 1492 DR, one could also have quipper and chips. Seaturtle gravy, Secomber sour vinegar, and Hundur sauce were favored condiments served alongside the quipper. Goldenstars, onion loaf, and rothé steak were also available. For dessert, one could have laumberry pie, Yawning Portal buttermilk biscuits, with elderberry preserves or brackleberry jam. Finally, for morningfeast the next day, the same biscuits were served as sandwiches with thick-cut ham or pork and poached or scrambled eggs.
Among the ales and beers on offer, one could have Black Sail ale or pints of Shadowdark ale, or Durnan's own Welcomer's Brew and Bluetooth Ale (brewed from blue lichen scraped off dwarf skeletons found in the Stonebone Mine, and technically a poison). As for wines, the cellars held such vintages as Best Belaerd and a 1336 Dantymer's Dew. Circa 1492 DR, the Waterdhavian mage Gale Dekarios knew a spell, divine revelry, that summoned or conjured a barrel of firewine or Shadowdark ale from the Yawning Portal; the legality of this is unknown. Other beverages on offer were Butternut Beer and Neverwinter Nectar.
A 1490s menu was as follows:
;Morningfeast
: Meals: eggs & chives: 4 cp • ham & egg biscuit: 3 cp • porridge & cream: 3 cp • ham platter: 4 cp • talyth: 5 cp
: Cheeses: Luiren spring cheese: 1 sp/wheel • Waterdhavian cheese: 8 cp/wheel • Elturian Grey: 4 cp/wedge • Turmish brick: 3 cp/wedge
: Breads: blackbread & yak butter: 6 cp • onion loaf: 4 cp • buttermilk biscuits: 6 cp for a basket • spiced crabapple butter: 1 cp • dwarven flatbread w/ fire lichen spread: 6 sp • dark molasses nutbread: 5 cp
;Eveningfeast
: Meals: melted cheeses: 3 cp • traveler's stew: 3 cp • onion soup: 3 cp • broth in tankard: 1 cp • Cuttle's beef hand pie: 2 cp • tavern steak (pork or beef): 5 cp • Hardbuckler stew: 7 cp • pan-fried quipper: 6 cp • pot roast w/ drippings: 1 sp • pheasant w/ fennel sausage stuffing & gravy: 9 cp • smoked catch-of-the-week fish w/ herb sauce • prawns w/ butter sauce: 8 cp • pan-fried knucklehead trout • rothé steak: 1 sp • gurdats: 1 sp • verbeeg mutton stew: 7 cp • Harpell Farms mini steaks: 2 sp • hot river crabs: 1 sp
:Afters: pear & roseapple cobbler crumble: 4 cp • rum pudding: 4 cp • assorted sweet buns: 3 cp • pie of the week: 5 cp • Trolltide candied apple: 2 cp
;Drinks:
: The following prices are first for a tallglass or tankard and then for a bottle, hand keg, or half-anker:
: Ales & Beers: Bitter Black ale: 1 cp, 4 cp • Shadowdark ale: 2 cp, 6 cp • stout: 2 cp, 8 cp
: Wines: clarry: 6 cp, 1 sp • firewine: 1 gp, 9 gp • Undermountain Alurlyath: 5 gp, 2 gp • Arabellan Dry wine: 2 sp, 8 sp • Saerloonian Glowfire: 2 gp, 12 gp • sherry: 7 cp, 1 sp • Winter Wine: 2 sp, 8 sp • zzar: 6 cp, 1 sp
: Liquors & Spirits: Elverquisst: 2 cp, 8 cp • fruit liqueur (apricot, cherry, gooseberry, peach, pear): 4 cp, 1 sp • Mintarn almond brandy: 6 cp, 1 sp • Moonlight Knight: 5 gp, 2 gp • Moonshae almond brandy: 7 cp, 1 sp • rollrum: 2 cp, 8 cp • whiskey: 1 sp, 1 gp
: Meads: mead: 3 cp, 12 cp • Evermead: 12 gp, 50 gp
: Fruit: mulled cider: 2 cp, 6 cp • tavern punch 1 cp, 4 cp
: Other: mintwater: 1 cp • local leaf tea: 3 cp • Pale Jade tea: 2 cp • Sprucebark Quaff: 3 cp
One special menu option was the so-called "Heroes' Feast", a banquet of several courses, including talyth as chopforest as entrées, hot river crab bites for the main course, and for last kisses a laumberry pie, mingari-spiced owlbear milk, and sour cream walnut cake,
===Adventuring===
Durnan also made a decent trade preparing and equipping adventurers for their expeditions into Undermountain. First, he dispensed advice, often encouraging beginners to explore only ten rooms before returning to the Yawning Portal, so as not to try their luck nor the patience of Tymora. He also directed adventurers to those who could supply what they needed and he discouraged those whom he thought had no chance of surviving and was well-disposed to. He rented out storage lockers for 5 gp per day, paid up front, and claimed and sold the contents if not collected in time; this notwithstanding, these lockers were among the safest storage options in the city. He also maintained a supply of must-have equipment that he could sell to needy adventurers at standard prices, including mundane torches and flasks of water that would attach to one's belt. In addition, he sold healing potions, which he purchased from the temple of Tymora, in bulk at a discount rate. Finally, there was a small library of books, including some reliable works on Skullport with maps and traps, which could be examined for a fee. Although he offered no other aid or services to adventurers, he would dispatch a messenger to another temple for free if needed (this was considered to be paid for by the 1 gp entrance fee and more generally by any business gained as a result of entertainment offered by adventurers going in and out of Undermountain). In addition, traders in adventuring supplies, maps, weaponry, and armor looked for customers here. Circa 1479 DR, Durnan the Sixth allowed the gnome Maklin Mucklar to sell healing potions and alchemical mixtures in exchange for a cut of the profits.
Durnan and the local church of Tymora had an arrangement. Durnan paid the church a daily retainer of 20 gp and the church sent a cleric of theirs to serve as a healer each day. The priest's aid cost the injured party a donation—effectively a fee for it was demanded on the spot and not merely expected, and they did not lend their aid on credit. This donation was often of treasures acquired in Undermountain. The aided adventurers were also obliged to attend temple services for a tenday at least. Aid included healing spells, restorative draughts, and even resurrection using a temple-provided rod of resurrection. These priests served in shifts day and night and made records and reports on events in Undermountain and the Yawning Portal to both their superiors at the Tower of Luck and to Open Lord Piergeiron. To those adventurers going in, the priests always offered to chant Tymora's blessings, but were not offended if this was declined. They would never set foot in Undermountain themselves. Around 1368 DR, Lamris Kholl served from dawn to dusk, while Brother Adama Miiralin served from dusk to dawn and maintained the records. Around 1375, these duties were fulfilled by Adama and Orbrin Baerent. In addition, Mhaere Dryndilstann, herself a cleric of Lathander, regularly provided additional healing. By 1479 DR, the Tymorans no longer provided this healing service. Instead, more grimly and unasked for, a priest of Jergal known as Brother Sepulcher recorded details of adventurers going in and questioned them about their plans, faith, and next of kin, and gave recommendations for emergency burials, while a Sister Palonya catalogued tombs in Undermountain.
===Entertainment===
While this was not exactly a service of the inn, it was quite common for customers to spectate on those going down or coming up the well; to gamble on the success, or failure, of those who ventured into Undermountain; to hold parties to see them off; and to toast those who enjoyed success; or else simply taunt and mock them. Bets were made openly and could cover whether or not they returned; what condition they returned in; and how many did or did not make it back. The adventurers themselves were forbidden to get involved in the betting. In 1368 DR, most betting was handled by the gnome odds-taker Gnossos Valmar, while around 1479 DR this role was filled by the halfling odds-maker known as Old Stannoc and circa 1492 DR the returned Durnan himself took the bets as he enjoyed betting on the explorers.
The inn was also a place to hear music in the early 1490s DR, with low-talent bards like Mattrim "Threestrings" Mereg playing regularly and the halfling band called the Sing-Alongs performing, if they were successfully rescued from drow in the dungeons. Or one could simply listen to drunken adventurers belting out bawdy songs instead. For more involved performances, troupes would have to set up their own stage and facilities in a corner of the common room.
==Inhabitants==
===Management & Staff===
In the mid-to-late 14 century DR, the Yawning Portal was owned and run by its builder, Durnan, and his wife Mhaere Dryndilstann with the aid of their daughter Tamsil Dryndilstann. Typically, the inn had a staff of 14 people who lived at the inn: the owner Durnan and his family, two waitresses/kitchen maids, two cooks, four chambermaids (who did much of the cleaning), a stablemaster, and two hostlers, as it did around 1375 DR. When off-duty, Durnan and his family and the chambermaids slept in vacant guest rooms on the top floor, or else shifted to cots in the cellar when the inn was fully booked, while the cooks, stablemaster, and hostlers occupied the stable's straw-filled loft.
Following Durnan's return to Undermountain and subsequent absence for almost a century, management of the inn passed to his descendants. By 1479 DR, a direct descendant of Durnan, known as Durnan the Sixth, ran the inn in similar fashion. He was aided by his wife Kelsie and they had nine children, including Durnan the Seventh and Minuet. However, Durnan later returned and reclaimed ownership of the establishment, buying it back from his descendants and providing them with a quiet retirement. Thereafter, Durnan rarely left the Yawning Portal and sent his staff members on errands for him.
Other known employees included:
* Tharl, a guard circa 1339 DR.
* Luranla Dreer, a junior waitress and kitchen maid circa 1339 DR and 1375 DR.
* Marrauda Belaskurth, a senior waitress and kitchen maid circa 1375 DR.
* "Bladed" Jhaax Dolbruin, an ex-adventurer turned bartender and occasional bouncer, who started work at the start of 1368 DR. He once threw a half-orc rogue down the well for mocking his missing hand.
* Harel and Tymos, 13-year-old boys who worked as stablehands, messengers, and errand-runners from the summer of 1368 DR.
* A human head-cook, known to be foul-tempered circa 1372 DR.
* Frinli Hinkille and Merin Falle, a duo of swift halfling cooks circa 1372 DR.
* Jarandur Tallstand, a senior cook circa 1375 DR. He added more healthy meal options to the menu, including chopforest.
* Parth Melander, a junior cook circa 1375 DR.
* Tarlgarth Vathar, the stablemaster circa 1375 DR.
* Burgaun Malsim and Rory "Reacher" Starkbuckle, hostlers circa 1375 DR.
* Neetha Darra, Hendra Stornshar, Pheldelopae Eleintwind, and Yamra Stelkyn, chambermaids circa 1375 DR.
* Bonnie, a barmaid circa 1492 DR.
* Marmaduke, a stray cat that lurked around the inn in the 1490s
In addition, in the mid-to-late 1300s DR, there were always at least four capable fighters on duty in the inn's taproom. These warriors pretended to be customers but were in fact adventurers previously sponsored by Durnan at different times. Their loyalty to the innkeeper was extraordinary—even charms could not make them deceive, harm, or act against Durnan or his family.
==Defenses==
In the 1490s DR, the fieldstone walls were built with a mortar containing gorgon's blood, which prevented teleportation through the walls. The walls were also in width.
Under the bar, Durnan was known to keep handy a rod of flame extinguishing, and +2 seeking and returning handaxe, and an armed double crossbow loaded with two sleep arrows, called the ready-bow.
If trouble broke out at the inn, Durnan had a horn he would blow to summon the Red Sashes, his personal vigilante organization. If he was unavailable or incapacitated, then Mhaere or Tamsil, the stablemaster Tarlgarth or the two hostlers would find it and use it.
==History==
===Early History===
The inn was built in the , by the adventurer and later Lord of Waterdeep Durnan the Wanderer on the ruins of Halaster Blackcloak's old tower. Formerly, the site was simply "the Well", a remnant of Halaster's tower used as a place of execution—early Waterdhavians simply hurled criminals in to die in Undermountain's dungeons. But Durnan and Mirt were among the first to venture, willingly, into Undermountain and return alive to speak of it in the . Durnan made six more expeditions, after which he knocked down the ruins of the tower (as well as its fortified warehouses) and constructed his new inn on top of the rubble and foundations. As Durnan and other survivors spread the legend of Undermountain's treasures, perils, and vast extent, more would-be explorers came to the Yawning Portal and ventured down the shaft: some desperate for coin or to escape their enemies or the authorities, others simply bored or acting on a dare or a bet, and few simply mad enough to try. Just enough came back, alive and wealthy, to attract others, both adventurous and avaricious. The inn also allowed Durnan to control passage between the city and the dungeon complex, both limiting access to Undermountain and containing its monstrous denizens. From then on, Durnan would leave regular exploration to younger adventurers.
After two decades, this became a fashionable sport for rich and poor alike (though the nobles preferred to find or construct their own private entrances). The Company of the Red Wolf ventured into Undermountain in the , and discovered a lost temple to Savras, the All-Seeing One, where they stole the Third Eye of Savras. But then the temple collapsed around them and they had to fight their way back, losing the precious magical crystal and each member of the team. Only the warrior Jardis made it back to the Well of Entry, but had no gold piece to pay for his return. A man cut the rope and he fell to his death in a swarm of rats. A priest, their name since forgotten, later questioned Jardis's spirit via speak with dead to learn his story. Thereafter, the Church of Savras would hire adventurers to rediscover both the temple and the Third Eye. A disguised Lord Darien Thal witnessed this contemptuously, thinking exploring Undermountain was a sport best left to the wealthy rather than the poor. He sought to hire someone to recover a certain item from Undermountain, but all recommended the capable thief Artek "the Knife" Ar'talen, now in prison. When he was exposed as a nobleman, he got into a fight with a woman and killed her before he departed.
Mirt was due to meet Yelver Toraunt and play a game of lancers and lions with Durnan at the Yawning Portal on the night of the Revel of Storms in the . But Yelvaunt was murdered and killer used magic on the guard, Tharl, to escape. Durnan disposed of the body down the chute and he and Mirt later investigated.
Circa 1340 DR, the Undermountain guide and cartographer Aekyl Dafyre led three nobles down the well and, thanks to one of Halaster's gates, into an ambush by two owlbears. Only a maimed Aekyl and one noble escaped back to the Yawning Portal. There, the surviving noble accused Aekyl of murder, so he fled back down the well and ultimately to Skullport.
===1350s DR===
The murderer Amril Zoar used a gate to enter the Yawning Portal one morning fore-dawn in early Flamerule of the , doubtless seeking to slay Durnan. He rushed at young Tamsil but, quick-reacting, she threw the ewer of water she'd been carrying at him, before Mhaere snatched up the double-crossbow and gave him both bolts. Amril retreated through his gate, dropping a silver Harper pin in the process. Durnan arrived moments later, vowing to find and end the man who'd threatened his family.
====1358 DR====
In the , one evening in Eleasis, Durnan was fetching wines from the cellar when he received a magical message purporting to be from Nythyx Thunderstaff, a Waterdhavian noblewoman saying she was lost in Undermountain. So Durnan retrieved his old swords and took the secret passage into Undermountain, slaying several kobolds on the way. However, this was all a trap by the beholder Xuzoun to lure Durnan, Mirt, and Asper to Skullport.
During the Time of Troubles on Marpenoth 14, Elminster, Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun, Ylarell of the City Guard, and the adventurer Kelemvor visited the Yawning Portal to meet Durnan and the dwarf Undermountain guide Gower in the side-room. The mages hired Gower, for the price of two-score mugs of ale, to lead them, not into Undermountain, but to the Pool of Loss. Led by Durnan and Gower, they went via the rear well. Their aim was to reach the Realm of the Dead to find Midnight and the second Tablet of Fate. They eventually returned and conversed in the Yawning Portal's side-room.
The thief known as the Black Viper would make her getaways through the Yawning Portal circa 1358 DR. She simply jumped down the shaft with the aid of feather fall to hide in Undermountain.
===1360s DR===
On one notable occasion, the adventurer Trahnt and his companions ventured down the well and he alone returned, transformed into a naked hill giant. While the other patrons were unsure, Durnan trusted him and agreed to hoist him up. Thereafter, he became a fixture of Waterdeep.
In the , Qilué Veladorn of the Promenade of the Dark Maiden near Skullport had a servant lead Liriel Baenre and Fyodor through the tunnels to a shaft leading up to the secret passage in the Yawning Portal, likely to be the wet well. There, they were met by Sharlarra Vendreth and Durnan, who provided them with disguises and horses respectively with which to discreetly leave Waterdeep.
In the late 1360s DR, a band of bored young nobles calling themselves the Deep Delvers based themselves in the Yawning Portal on a near-constant basis as they made regular forays into Undermountain. The Buckleswashers, five halflings and a gnome, ventured down the well on a bet with a young noble in the , and returned a tenday later bearing enchanted treasures.
====1368 DR====
In the , in the month of Mirtul, Bronwyn Caradoon and Ebenezer Stoneshaft visited the Yawning Portal to negotiate with Durnan for passage to Skullport. Durnan agreed to lower them down the wet well to the side tunnel.
The merchant Mather Ukkhemn stayed at the inn during Flamerule, bringing with him two boys, Harel and Tymos. Realizing they were slaves, Durnan liberated the boys and gave them jobs at the inn, while having Mather banished from Waterdeep.
That summer, a regular mysterious patron was the mage Ali ibn-Dakimh.
In the month of Eleint alone, the Company of the Sundered Orc, Mask's Conscripts, five of the Deep Delvers, the Guild of the Just, and nineteen other individuals who didn't leave their names had all ventured down the well. Of them, only Mask's Conscripts, the Deep Delvers, and one member of the Guild returned before the month was out. In addition, Phaergos, Yulm Matyris, and the drow Dark Maiden Aeril Faenrya escaped fighting at the Promenade of the Dark Maiden and came up through Undermountain and the well to seek aid from Laeral Silverhand; the Tymoran priest Adama resurrected Aeril and Durnan kept the incident secret.
====1369 DR====
In a high-stakes card game held in the Yawning Portal in the , one gambler wagered nothing less than the legendary Janyra's ring of the night. But when a fight broke out, the ring and half the coin disappeared during the chaos.
Later that year, on Halaster's Higharvestide, assorted monsters began climbing and flying out of the well, so Durnan enlisted adventurers to aid him in holding them back, and to slay those that got out. Four giant spiders and a manticore were slain and dumped on the midden outside by highsun. Seven harpies flew out in late afternoon, and two made it out of the inn, but they were defeated by the City Guardsmen on griffons. Just as the defenders were about to be overwhelmed, however, a City Watch patrol—all undead, transformed into curst during the Time of Troubles and guarding Waterdeep from below—arrived to secure the bottom of the shaft.
===1370s DR===
In the early 1370s DR, a group of adventurers, who'd delivered a rod of resurrection to the Waterdhavian Embassy of Ravens Bluff to restore the murdered ambassador Chalnath Tressoon, stayed at the Yawning Portal before they went to attend the ceremony at the temple of Tymora. They discovered the embassy attacked and the rod stolen. When they returned to the Yawning Portal that evening, they discovered a corpse stuffed in the closet of one of their rooms and the City Watch and Magister Raymond arriving to arrest them—they'd been framed! Eventually, they convinced Raymond they were likely innocent and he left them with a warning. Later, they pursued the culprit, known as Whisper, over the rooftops of Waterdeep, until he dived through the Yawning Portal's skylight and into Undermountain. Durnan was annoyed he broke the glass and didn't pay his entrance fee, so he allowed the adventurers free passage, asking them to bring back Whisper's head and coin to pay for the skylight. They ended their escapade in the Yawning Portal talking to the ambassador's aid Richard Renqueth and Waterdhavian noble Danilo Thann.
When drow assassins emerging from Undermountain attacked certain Waterdhavians in the month of Kythorn in the , Durnan organized adventurers to go down to investigate. Gathered in the inn at the time were the aged paladin Tanarell, the monk Cyphus Ordinae, the druid Parley, the gnome Glim Folkor, and the Sunite cleric White Thesta, as well as some noted heroes from Neverwinter: Daelan Red Tiger, Linu La'neral, Sharwyn, and Tomi Undergallows. Also present was the hero who had been Drogan Droganson's pupil (granted a free room and complimentary dagger by Durnan and awoken by a drow thief in the room) and the kobold bard Deekin Scalesinger, both from Hilltop. However, a band of drow, duergar, and a beholder emerged from the well and attacked the assembled adventurers, who repelled them and the Neverwintans hastily chased them back into Undermountain, followed by the hero of Hilltop.
At dawn on Eleint 30 in the , Waterdeep was rocked by both an earthquake and visions sent by the Mad Mage Halaster. Halaster's Call drew adventurers and mages of all kinds to Undermountain The Called, as they were known, soon filled the Yawning Portal Inn and were eager to enter the depths of Undermountain. There were also more thieves, spies, and confidence tricksters preying upon them, with Shadow Thieves, Unseen, Twisted Rune, Halaster's Heirs, and Agents of the Eye all being interested in the treasure seen in Halaster's Call.
===Undated===
Some time around the turn of the 1400s DR,This is undated, but is "nearly a century" prior to the framing story Tales from the Yawning Portal, which is itself undated but occurs sometime between 1479 and 1492 DR. Durnan ventured back into Undermountain, his cause unknown. Although all expected him to return victorious in a matter of days, he was not seen or heard from again. As the months and years passed, he was widely believed to have finally met his doom in the dungeon that had made his name and fortune.
===1470s DR===
An explorer, Miriam Sequora, returned to the Yawning Portal having visited the ruins of Skullport in the 1470s DR, and spoke of veins of mithral and Netherese artifacts, and produced the nuggets and items to prove it. This prompted renewed interest in the Port of Shadow.
====1479 DR====
In the winter of the , a half-elf named Fayne sought to hire adventurers to explore a newly discovered area of Undermountain. Unfortunately, her first choices led her to the alley outside to mug her; fortunately, the adventurers who came to her rescue did take the job.
Also that year, Lady Lestra Urmbrusk tried to recruit a party going into Undermountain to search for her nephew Rutherford Urmbrusk, who'd gone missing there four weeks previously. Unfortunately, his companion Zarr had gone mad, gained control of an army of goblins and kobolds, and begun ambushing adventurers in and around the Entry Well. The loss of life and business alarmed Durnan the Sixth and he would waive the fees for those who'd hurry down to investigate the next attack.
One night in late Tarsakh, Araezra Hondyl and Talanna Taenfeather of the City Guard pursued Shadowbane from the Downshadow area of Undermountain and the three of them climbed up the dry well. Tal and Shadowbane briefly fought in the Yawning Portal before the chased moved out into the streets.
===1480s DR===
After being missing and thought deceased for almost a hundred years, a man purporting to be the original Durnan was hoisted up from the well one night in the usual manner. While most folk were understandably skeptical, those who'd been alive back then recognized him and vouched for him. In any case, he'd come back with enough wealth for them to retire on. Then this Durnan went to his usual spot behind the bar, toasted his safe return, and took up where he'd left off a century past.The framing story of Tales from the Yawning Portal is undated but is necessarily set between 1479 DR (when Durnan the Sixth manages the inn) and 1492 DR (when the apparently original Durnan manages the inn again in Dragon Heist and Dungeon of the Mad Mage). This page assumes 1480s DR for convenience.
===1490s DR===
Some time in the early 1490s DR, Artor Morlin, a Masked Lord of Waterdeep and also a vampire, enlisted the aid of adventurers to evict a band of rival vampires known as the Undertakers from their lair in the Dungeon Level of Undermountain. He arranged with Durnan to help them find it. He later met adventurers in person at the Yawning Portal to send them against the Sharran vampires at Vankrakdoom.
At one point, Durnan abruptly called time on orders and closed the Yawning Portal, and ventured back into Undermountain, again for unknown purpose. Mirt enlisted adventurers to find him. In fact, Durnan had been compelled by the ancient black dragon Skallindrax, an old enemy who'd been trapped inside a bottle of Maztican mescal, which Durnan had drunk.
The reclusive author Captain Tenebrux Morrow lived out of rooms in the Yawning Portal, coming out only for food and writing supplies and to deliver manuscripts of The True and Impossible Adventures of Tenebrux Morrow.
At one point, the members of the Bureau of Dark Tables adventuring party—Deelia, Sasha, Bri'an, and Squirladax—visited the Yawning Portal to participate in that year's "Great Delving", an event in which group after group was lowered into Undermountain to "battle evil" amidst much revelry. Among other things, they ordered the "Heroes' Feast", the would-be heroes feasted, and, when they received the bill, found it more expensive than ever expected. Deelia burned the bill, Bri'an broke the winch, and the group fled into the streets without paying, pursued by Durnan and the City Watch. Whilst hiding, they would even make an unplanned escape from Waterdeep aboard a spelljammer.
====1492 DR====
In the , revelry in the inn was disrupted first by a brawl between Yagra Stonefist of the Zhentarim and Krentz and his Xanathar Thieves' Guild gang, and then by a troll and several stirges climbing out of the well; Durnan settled both matters, with or without the aid of adventurers. In the aftermath, noted author Volothamp Geddarm met with a band of adventurers and hired them to help find his friend Floon Blagmaar. He met them there again when they returned with Floon, and rewarded them with the deed to Trollskull Manor.
That same year, the Yawning Portal was frequented by various folk with tasks to be done in the dungeons. Obaya Uday, a cleric of Waukeen who paid handsome for magic items and spellbooks recovered from Undermountain. Mattrim Mereg needed a delivery to Cal'al Claddani in Skullport. Esvele Rosznar asked adventurers to keep an eye out for her brother Kressando. Joroth Brighthelm asked successful adventurers to look out for the dwarven delvers and suspected thieves known as Falkir's Fist, who went missing in Undermountain the previous year. Even Volo shared the legend of the lost throne of Coronal Syglaeth Audark, last ruler of Illefarn, thought to lie in Undermountain; if rediscovered, he would tell elven friends about it. Around this time, Halaster Blackcloak was scrying on the Yawning Portal's taproom and well entrance, amongst other Waterdhavian landmarks, via a false portrait kept in the Halaster's Tower demiplane accessed from Undermountain.
At one point, a traveling theater troupe led by master of ceremonies Rusty Bighat performed in the Yawning Portal, though others could request to be part of the lineup. They included the bard Mattrim "Threestrings" Mereg telling the tale of "Bravado and the Baron of Blood"; Valas Trapp, the Mouse Conductor with his mouse orchestra; the Midnight Mummers with a comedic adaptation of "The Lay of Ahghairon"; and potentially the goblin Circus of Skullport. However, one of the early shows was interrupted in spectacular fashion by a runaway double-decker dray carriage crashing through one of the walls, to cover for the theft of a certain item from some adventurers. The City Watch investigated and removed the carriage, and the Carpenters', Roofers', & Plasterers' Guild repaired the damage, and the Yawing Portal reopened to some semblance of normal operation within an hour, after which the show went on. However, this would not be the end of chaos in the Yawning Portal.
==Rumors & Legends==
One story about the Yawning Portal went that an adventurer who couldn't afford the fare to ride back up the well was nearly killed whilst finding another way of Undermountain, and laid a curse—on the payment bucket.
Circa 1492 DR, a band of doppelgangers were rumored to operate out of the Yawning Portal. The Harpers and Emerald Enclave even sought people to investigate this.
In local lore, one night, Mirt the Moneylender climbed the roof and sat atop the peak by the weathervane, where he sang bawdy songs. He was, presumably, quite drunk.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Gallery===
Yawning Portal plan CS.jpg|A map of the Yawning Portal's ground and second floors from City System. Note the lack of a great well to Undermountain.
Yawning Portal plan EtU.jpg|A map of the Yawning Portal's ground and second floors from Expedition to Undermountain. Note the continued lack of a great well to Undermountain.
Yawning Portal plan HoU.jpg|A map of the Yawning Portal's ground floor from Halls of Undermountain.
Yawning Portal layout OiW.jpg|Floor plans of the Yawning Portal from Once in Waterdeep.
Yawning Portal WDH cartoon.png|Countless well-known and little-known characters from the Forgotten Realms and other worlds, all somehow present in the Yawning Portal at the same time, as seen in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist.
Yawning Portal menu HF.jpg|A menu for the Yawning Portal from Heroes' Feast: The Official D&D Cookbook.
===Interactive Map===
===Appearances===
===References===
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