At the outer edges are the fringes. These are the ruined remains of what was once must have been a lot like the sprawl. The buildings that have survived were built to stand apart from one another. It has been picked over by generations of urban explorers and because it is closest to the new city anything really dangerous has been taken out by mercenaries hired by the guard, leaving it as safe as a haunted, infested ruin is ever going to be. About two thirds of this region has been thoroughly explored. There is a maze of tents and scaffolds erected by those who have gone before and made their fortunes or been killed.
Beyond the fringes is the outer city. Here, space was at a premium and buildings were placed very close together. Whole neighborhoods have fallen onto themselves or into sink holes. There is much more to be found here but there are many dangers that have protected the secrets and riches buried here. Less than half of this region has been explored. Some of the monsters that lair amongst the shattered stones ahem survived for over a century and have been more than a match for the hapless explorers who happen upon them.
At the heart of what was is the Inner City. Much of it is walled and set atop hills that overlook the rest of this immense tomb. There are menacing fortifications everywhere here. Less than a quarter of this region has been explored. This is where the manor houses, banks, temples and wizard's towers were but there are dangers even more fearsome than the monsters that wander the streets searching for a foolhardy meal. There are said to be ancient evils here that have kept the ruins from being cleared out and cleaned up. Something likes the old city the way it is and has spilled a river of blood to keep it that way.
The old city is mostly empty but there are small tribes of kobolds that call it home. A peace of sorts was brokered years ago with the Masters who agreed not to clear out their villages if they agreed not to attack anyone from the city they come across in the ruins. This deal is frequently tested and many kobolds are not from the village tribes that made the deal so pay it no heed, hunting and trapping as they see fit.
There are a few Gargoyles left but lost of these are in the Outer City, as yet unawakened. There are also some Gray Dwarves who live between and beneath the buildings who make even more cunning and dangerous traps that the kobolds.
The biggest threat are the undead. Over a hundred thousand died here. Most of those were abandoned and rose again. When the new city was founded one of the first things they has to deal with was the seemingly endless armies of angry corpses. Fortunately the majority fell into a lifeless state of torpor when their resolve ran thin but they come back to life when disturbed. Even though the vast majority of these creatures have been slain there are likely thousands left. There are zombies, skeletons, ghouls, shadows, wraiths, ghosts and much much worse.
The city was a crown jewel of the old world. Much was lost and there is much that can regained but only by those willing to risk their lives, their sanity and their souls.
Most have the good sense just to stay the hell away.
Some Features -
1: Explorer's Tombs - A small area has been cleared and fenced where about a dozen small tombs have been erected for explorers that wanted to be buried here. There are also three statues - memorials to the fallen.
2: The Arena of the Dead - The ruins of a colosseum where it us said that the dead still fight.
3: The Shining Temple - An open air temple of white marble that is still standing even though everything around it has collapsed. The marble glows at night and can be seen from a half mile away. It is said the the undead won't (or can't) approach and it is suspected that the Lords of Light still hold some influence there.
4: The Night Market - A bazaar where the spirits of the dead come to trade with the living. New explorers are warned to say well clear because all the spirits really want is your soul. From time to time there are stories about fools who thought they could outwit the dead and come away with some amazing relic but t het are all tragedies - cautionary tales or the reckless.
5: Hedbik - A kobold town. The only one that tolerates visitors and will sometimes trade with them. Kobolds pick up all sorts of trinkets in the ruins that they may be willing to part with in exchange for food, weapons and simple tools.
6: The Juggernaut - A 30ft golem that animates every 4 days, walks from one of two massive towers that bear the same mark that is on its chest then it stands inanimate for another 4 days. The symbol is a tower with a fist at the top. No one knows why it is there or what it is doing.
7: Cragmaw - Sulfurous smoke marks the caves below the ruins here as home to something ancient, powerful and most likely draconic. The monsters who roam the ruins stay well clear. They obviously know something.
8: Necropolis - This massive structure was once considered a city unto itself. Those who once ruled this place did so from within these halls. Some say they are still there and are more powerful than ever.
