Welcome to the Yawning Portal

The taproom of the Yawning Portal is a sight to behold. Unlike most Inns and Taverns with low ceilings to accommodate the rooms crammed into an attic-like second floor, the taproom of the Yawning Portal fills the entire first floor of the building. Given the space, any normal folk would assume that this would make the tavern quite large, almost roomy. That would be true were it not for the 40-foot-diameter 'well' which fills the center of the tap room. The Yawning Portal itself and the obvious namesake of the successful enterprise. There are balconies on the tavern's second and third floors to overlook the well, with those floor accessed by way of a wooden set of stairs that rise up from the taproom. Patrons sitting at the table on the balconies have an excellent view of the well and maybe some of the action below.

It is said that the "well" is all that remains of a tower once owned by a mighty wizard named Halaster. In an age long past, Halaster was said to have built a tower at the foot of Mount Waterdeep. He delved deep into the tunnels first built by the dwarves and drow in search of an ever powerful magic. The tunnels continued deeper and deeper into the mountain and Halaster enlisted the assistance of apprentices to continue to delve out their own passages under the mountain; for reasons unknown to everyone by Halaster himself. And then, suddenly, Halaster and his apprentices disappeared, leaving no trace to their whereabouts and leaving a labyrinth of tunnels and networks in their wake. This became known as the Undermountain and has become the focal point for nearly every legend in Faerûn. Tales of treasure troves, mystical powers, and forgotten empires circulate amongst the patrons of the Inn and it's proprietor.

For untold years, the secrets of Undermountain remained hidden from the surface world. Everyone who entered its halls failed to return. Its reputation as a death trap grew to the point that criminals in Waterdeep who were sentenced to die were forcibly escorted into the dungeon and left to fend for themselves.

All of that changed with the arrival of two men, a warrior named Durnan and a ne’er-do-well named Mirt. The duo were the first adventurers to return from Undermountain, laden with riches and magic treasures. While Mirt used his wealth to buy a mansion, Durnan had different plans. Durnan retired from adventuring and purchased the land on which sat the deep, broad well that was the only known entrance to the dungeon. Around this well he built a tavern and inn that caters to adventurers and those who seek their services, and he called it the Yawning Portal.
Some of the magic Durnan looted on his successful foray into Undermountain granted him a life span that exceeds even that of an elf. And for decades Durnan left delving into Undermountain to younger folk. Yet one day, something drew him back. Days of waiting for his triumphant return from the dungeon turned to months and then years. For nearly a century, citizens of Waterdeep thought him dead. But one night, a voice called up from the well. Few at first believed it could be Durnan, but folk as long-lived as he vouched it so. The Yawning Portal had passed into the hands of his ancestors, but Durnan returned with enough riches for them to quietly retire. Durnan took his customary place behind the bar, raised a toast to his own safe return, and then began serving customers as if he’d never left.

Adventurers from across Faerûn, and even from elsewhere in the great span of the multiverse, visit the Yawning Portal to exchange knowledge about Undermountain and other dungeons. Most visitors are content to swap stories by the hearth, but sometimes a group driven by greed, ambition, or desperation pays the toll for entry and descends the well. Most don’t survive to make the return trip, but enough come back with riches and tales of adventure to tempt other groups into trying their luck.