Illustration by Yans Velazquez
Each month, I try and pass along the generosity you show me by employing other artists to create a variety of illustrations, portraits, magical items and other works of art that can be used in your games at home, whether they be homebrew or official modules.
This week, I wanted to highlight one of those pieces -- the first floor of the infamous Yawning Portal Tavern, a popular location in Waterdeep that has spawned many an adventure, as well as a common starting location for several adventure modules. This scene was done by Yans Velazquez.
To pair with the illustration, I thought it might be fun to take a quick look at the origins and evolution of the Yawning Portal Tavern throughout D&D's history:
In the Forgotten Realms
The Yawning Portal is a famous inn and tavern in the city of Waterdeep, specifically in its Castle Ward on Rainrun Street.
Founding:
Built in 1306 DR by the adventurer Durnan, who delved many times into Undermountain and returned with magical artifacts and relics, including over 80 potions of longevity.
Constructed over the ruins of the mad wizard Halaster Blackcloak’s tower.
Lore:
The tavern’s defining feature is a large well in the common room—the “yawning portal” itself. This well descends directly into Undermountain, a megadungeon beneath Waterdeep.
Adventurers are literally lowered into the dungeon by rope and winch, making it one of the most iconic “adventure starting points” in D&D.
It serves as:
A meeting hub for adventurers.
A place for rumors, jobs, and storytelling.
A staging ground for expeditions into Undermountain.
The tavern is smoky, loud, full of trophies from past delves, and always on the edge of chaos.
Evolution over ~40+ Years:
The Yawning Portal Tavern was first introduced in 1987 in FR1: Waterdeep and the North (1st Edition AD&D), created by Ed Greenwood. It was initially presented as a briefly described tavern -- mainly a hook for delving into Undermountain.
It was expanded heavily in the Ruins of Undermountain (1991) and became tied to the idea of megadungeon exploration campaigns.
It was revisited again in Expedition to Undermountain (2007), which provided more detail of the location as a campaign hub and social location, not just a dungeon entrance. Over the years, the location became an iconic location central to D&D's branding.
It was featured in:
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist (major starting location)
Tales from the Yawning Portal (2017 anthology)
It was even adapted into a 2023 board game set entirely in the tavern.
The Big Picture:
Over the last many years, the Yawning Portal has evolved from a simple dungeon entrance to one of the most recognizable social hubs in D&D. It now functions as a narrative anchor for campaigns and a symbol of D&D itself (adventurers gathering before the descent).
It now functions as:
A narrative anchor for campaigns
A meta-symbol of D&D itself (adventurers gathering before the descent)
In my creation of the tavern, I attempted to mostly keep to the shape of the location as presented in the map of Waterdeep, taking some liberties with the scale and interior layout of the location. I eventually created all [3] floors of the location, hoping to provide a huge backdrop for anyone wanting to base/start their adventures in this location, or even use it as a central hub of their campaign to which players frequently return to sell loot, meet with NPC's and further their goals.
Here's an example of the 1st Floor:
The 2nd & 3rd Floors were accidentally created at 2x the scale, which I argued could be explained away as some kind of interdimensional space or enchantment laid upon the location by a powerful wizard associate:
3rd Floor:
So, how I can use this location?
Starting Location - if you are running the Dragon Heist or Tales from the Yawning Portal, you may already be using this location, but anyone with a game in the Forgotten Realms that moves through the city of Waterdeep would do well to have the players at least make a visit to the famed location.
Quest Hub - The size and scale of the location is such that one could very easily use this location for an entire campaign, with different factions vying for the PC's services and many NPC's they might meet along the way -- in and out of Undermountain. The tavern has many different areas for groups to confer, plan, sleep and even live permanently, making it almost like a small community unto itself.
Here's a portrait of Mhaere Dryndilstann, the wife of Durnan, by Katsudon Art:
I hope you enjoy the piece and seeing where some of your support goes!
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Best,
Jeff @ Morvold