Baldur's Gate sewers

elminster

I'm just curious what peoples thoughts are on them.

I'm working on a mod at the moment that has a component that will push people into using them in some of Chapter 7, so I'm thinking of ways to make it clearer or more logical for people using them. Personally without using a map online I normally have no idea where the heck I'm going in them (they don't seem to line up at all with the above ground maps).

So basically I just wanted to see if people have a similar experience when it comes to them. To give you an idea of what I mean when I say they don't line up check out these images and where the different entrances/exits are in relation to eachother (these are shown as E1, NE1, etc). A good example is E1 and E4 (which are nearly right next to eachother in the sewers but nowhere near eachother above ground).

Eastern Sewers



Baldur's Gate North East




Baldur's Gate East




Baldur's Gate South East

Gallowglass

I agree that the entrances/exits are quite difficult to navigate without an online map, since the underground distances and directions don't match up with the ground-level locations of the same entrances/exits.

I tend to use only a handful of the entrances/exits, whose ground-level locations I can remember.

lolien

The sewer is a mess.

JuliusBorisov

This illustrates my feelings towards them:

Aerakar

I have always hated the BG sewers. By that point in the game they are usually a pushover with no useful rewards. I always grind through them gritting my teeth as I am a completionist. Perhaps I'll deal with them early this run to change things up.

I agree a more logical entrance/exit scheme makes sense.

dunbar

I like the concept of a "thieves highway", be it across rooftops or through sewers, but in BG the execution of the sewers layout is unnecessarily topographical (or in shorter words, a complete stuff-up).

If it could be acknowledged that the job wasn't done properly the first time, then maybe it could be rectified (by retro-fitting 'signposts' that could only be read by members of the Thieves Guild for example).

brus

Sewers ground entrance and below doesn't have right 3D perspective and orientation. It's like Escher's impossible environments. They are quite mazelike. Personally I like it because level is presented as a 3D puzzle (or a mistake) and gets a person to think.


I agree it would be good thing to add more content to it like quests, characters and maybe additional secret entrances leading outside the town.

Aerakar

I like this idea a lot @dunbar, with the maps in Thieves Cant for added measure!

elminster

Generally I'm viewing this one as a case of practicality within the forgotten realms universe and easy of use for players. Sewers primary purpose in this case would be to provide a place to remove waste water and (because the streets are covered in stone) to drain the streets when it rains. The only logical reason I can think of for making the sewers so confusing would be for defensive reasons.

atcDave

There's some terrific encounters in the sewers. As far as that goes, I like them fine. But navigating them is NOT easy!

Sylvus_Moonbow

elminster said:

Generally I'm viewing this one as a case of practicality within the forgotten realms universe and easy of use for players. Sewers primary purpose in this case would be to provide a place to remove waste water and (because the streets are covered in stone) to drain the streets when it rains. The only logical reason I can think of for making the sewers so confusing would be for defensive reasons.

They're meant to confuse even the greatest Mages in the realms, brave warrior @elminster.

brus

Sylvus_Moonbow said:

They're meant to confuse even the greatest Mages in the realms, brave warrior @elminster.

Ehm, Fighter/mage/thief http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Elminster_Aumar

Sylvus_Moonbow

brus said:

Sylvus_Moonbow said:

They're meant to confuse even the greatest Mages in the realms, brave warrior @elminster.

Ehm, Fighter/mage/thief http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Elminster_Aumar

What a power gamer!

brus

Sylvus_Moonbow said:

What a power gamer!

BG MLG!

Skatan

My thoughts of the sewers mimics many of the above opinions: I'm not a fan of them. I like the concept of having sewers, but dislike the way they are incoherent with the layout of the above city. I've played this game many times, but I have never got around to try to remember which entrence leads to where and nowadays I usually ctrl-J myself around until I find the entry/exit point I want. I prefer the sewers udner Athkatla. They are smaller and have a couple of great encounters.

Nonnahswriter

You know the one thing I always wanted to learn more about in the sewers?

Schlumpsha, the Sewer King.

That dude's creepy! He must've been stuck down there for quite a while if he turned out so green, so skin-crawly, but he talks to Charname like he knows them and everything they've done, even going as far back as Candlekeep.

I always wondered, was this someone from Candlekeep that moved away? Did Schlumpsha recognize me when I can barely look upon him?

Or was he just messing with my head?

"A child a books, you were... And a child of fate..."

*shudders* I'm telling you, that dude knows something!!

Cheesebelly

Think of it as a chocolate Easter egg - you know its shell well and like it, but once you get into it and find the surprise, you'll always go like "O, hey, I'm here now!" -- actually, that makes absolutely no sense, but all I'm saying is - think of the sewers as a space-time inter-dimensional gateway to the world of goo!

Gallowglass

@Nonnahswriter - in one branch of his conversation options, Schlumpsha implies that he had studied at Candlekeep back when he was a Mage, before his transformation into his present shape. Apparently this was before our protagonist's time, but Schlumpsha knows a lot because he has some mind-reading ability.

I agree that he's an intriguing character about whom it'd be interesting to learn more.

Border

The sewers are the one place I largely ignore even in my "completionist" playthroughs. We hates it.

brus

Cheesebelly said:

Think of it as a chocolate Easter egg - you know its shell well and like it, but once you get into it and find the surprise, you'll always go like "O, hey, I'm here now!" -- actually, that makes absolutely no sense, but all I'm saying is - think of the sewers as a space-time inter-dimensional gateway to the world of goo!

Maybe sewers are another plane in which you travel along made by some evil wizard who wants you to get lost in it. That would explain the bathtub. There are no bathtubs in BG universe exept a circular pools.

dunbar

I think the BG sewers were the inspiration for the maze level in Watcher's Keep - maybe it was the same architect who designed them (or more likely, committee).

xPersonOfChaosx

I find the BG sewers a bit dull anyway if I'm honest. For the space each sewer area apparently covers, there are barely any good battles or decent rewards from those battles. I got really excited when I primarily discovered them, but afterwards I was just like