Since the majority of official D&D adventures have been set in dungeons (or the equivalent) and wilderness areas, making the latest hardcover adventure, Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, a city-based adventure is a breath of fresh air. It's also a great chance to give the Sword Coast's most cosmopolitan city some 5th Edition attention.
In Waterdeep: Dragon Heist – no spoilers – a half a million gold coins, which are called “dragons” in Waterdeep have been stolen from the city and hidden. It's up to the players to find the stash before the villain can and use it for nefarious means. As with Curse of Strahd, there are options to vary the story, though in WDH the options change the villain, time of year and encounter chains.
Before the players can follow the money, the adventure for first to fifth level characters starts in a traditional place – a tavern. The legendary Yawning Portal is a nice connection between anyone who ran Tales of the Yawning Portal and/or might run the follow-up adventure coming November 2 to WPN stores and November 13 in wide release – Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage. The Yawning Portal's claim to fame is the giant well-like opening in the center of the common room that leads down to the first level of Undermountain, the massive complex that lies beneath Waterdeep (the Mad Mage's dungeon).
At the Yawning Portal tavern, the players meet the legendary (as he's quick to tell them) Volothamp Geddarm – “Volo” to his fans. The famed author has a job for the players,which serves as a good introduction to Waterdeep and a chance for them to explore the city and earn a little bit of a reputation. After that task is accomplished, there's a bit of an interlude where the players can gain some downtime while building relationships and contacts within the city. They can also be recruited by various organizations, individually or as a group, which can affect the adventure and their resources.
Then the main plot attracts the players' attention (trust me, they can't miss it), and they learn about the missing money. (I'm avoiding actual spoilers so the article is safe for those unsure as to whether they want to play WDH.) Depending upon the villain selected before the campaign started, the time of year is also set, but the book notes that if, while playing, it makes sense to switch the main villain, the DM should do so while keeping the original time of year.
As a DM who has been running the 5th Edition hardcover adventures since Hoard of the Dragon Queen, I can't wait to finish Tomb of Annihilation and start WDH. I really liked the revised version of Chult (though I have some quibbles), but the ticking clock aspect of it was at odds with the obvious interest in exploring the island. Once we finish the official story, I'll probably use Chult in a future homebrew adventure. But I'm a sucker for city-based campaigns in a fantasy setting and this one is put together much better than Pathfinder's Council of Thieves, in which some chapters – and even maps if you compare the book to the map pack – contradicted it each other.
City-based adventures, especially when the city in question has a vigorous City Watch, can deter murder hobo tendencies in players. WDH has plenty of opportunity for action and combat, but wholesale, casual carnage should be off the menu.
What I especially like about WDH:
My only complaint – and it's a very minor one – is that the WDH is less of an Ocean's 11 or The Italian Job heist then an investigation where players are racing against the bad guys. In the heist movies cited while promoting WDH the characters know who has the money. They just need to figure out a scheme to steal it. WDH is more like a Western where someone buried a treasure and then died, forcing characters to find and interpret the location clues before someone else does. It's fun regardless but involves a slightly different sensibility that might be relevant as people make characters.
The book contains some fun Easter eggs. For example, a play mentioned loosely describes Strahd's backstory. Also, Volo mentions his upcoming book a few times – Volo's Guide to Spirits and Specters. Time will tell if that's a future D&D book release. (Please? Pretty please?)
“Volo's Waterdeep Enchirdion” is a chapter after the adventure that provides background on the city, its various wards, law enforcement, holidays, currency, etc. It's a highly useful addition for those unfamiliar with Waterdeep as well as providing DM's easy access to key material. A DM could run the campaign purely with what's in the book or prior source material, such Volo's Guide to Waterdeep or City of Splendors: Waterdeep, can be integrated as long as the major players in the city – like the latest Blackstaff – are updated for the current era.
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is a rollicking adventure that's different than the prior 5th Edition adventures. I really like how the D&D team keeps harkening back to classic locations and/or modules while handling them in new, fresh ways. WDH is a terrific way of updating the City of Splendors.
This article was contributed by Beth Rimmels (brimmels) as part of ENWorld's User-Generated Content (UGC) program. We are always on the lookout for freelance columnists! If you have a pitch, please contact us!
In Waterdeep: Dragon Heist – no spoilers – a half a million gold coins, which are called “dragons” in Waterdeep have been stolen from the city and hidden. It's up to the players to find the stash before the villain can and use it for nefarious means. As with Curse of Strahd, there are options to vary the story, though in WDH the options change the villain, time of year and encounter chains.
Before the players can follow the money, the adventure for first to fifth level characters starts in a traditional place – a tavern. The legendary Yawning Portal is a nice connection between anyone who ran Tales of the Yawning Portal and/or might run the follow-up adventure coming November 2 to WPN stores and November 13 in wide release – Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage. The Yawning Portal's claim to fame is the giant well-like opening in the center of the common room that leads down to the first level of Undermountain, the massive complex that lies beneath Waterdeep (the Mad Mage's dungeon).
At the Yawning Portal tavern, the players meet the legendary (as he's quick to tell them) Volothamp Geddarm – “Volo” to his fans. The famed author has a job for the players,which serves as a good introduction to Waterdeep and a chance for them to explore the city and earn a little bit of a reputation. After that task is accomplished, there's a bit of an interlude where the players can gain some downtime while building relationships and contacts within the city. They can also be recruited by various organizations, individually or as a group, which can affect the adventure and their resources.
Then the main plot attracts the players' attention (trust me, they can't miss it), and they learn about the missing money. (I'm avoiding actual spoilers so the article is safe for those unsure as to whether they want to play WDH.) Depending upon the villain selected before the campaign started, the time of year is also set, but the book notes that if, while playing, it makes sense to switch the main villain, the DM should do so while keeping the original time of year.
As a DM who has been running the 5th Edition hardcover adventures since Hoard of the Dragon Queen, I can't wait to finish Tomb of Annihilation and start WDH. I really liked the revised version of Chult (though I have some quibbles), but the ticking clock aspect of it was at odds with the obvious interest in exploring the island. Once we finish the official story, I'll probably use Chult in a future homebrew adventure. But I'm a sucker for city-based campaigns in a fantasy setting and this one is put together much better than Pathfinder's Council of Thieves, in which some chapters – and even maps if you compare the book to the map pack – contradicted it each other.
City-based adventures, especially when the city in question has a vigorous City Watch, can deter murder hobo tendencies in players. WDH has plenty of opportunity for action and combat, but wholesale, casual carnage should be off the menu.
What I especially like about WDH:
- The pronunciation guide for NPC names (to avoid arguments)
- Adventure and encounter flow charts (for easy reference and to make it simple for DMs to quickly find the plot thread again if the players go off the rails)
- Lots of opportunities for role-playing and investigation
- Factions can really make a difference in this adventure and players can be recruited during the adventure
- Opportunities for players to put down roots in Waterdeep and have their actions motivated by that
- The big, full-color, two-sided map of Waterdeep with one side for players and the other for the DM (though I wish the book had a smaller version of the DM map so we can check DM-only material while players are examining their side)
- Building maps in the book that can be reused
- The NPC map of the Yawning Portal is charming, especially Matt Mercer's cameo
My only complaint – and it's a very minor one – is that the WDH is less of an Ocean's 11 or The Italian Job heist then an investigation where players are racing against the bad guys. In the heist movies cited while promoting WDH the characters know who has the money. They just need to figure out a scheme to steal it. WDH is more like a Western where someone buried a treasure and then died, forcing characters to find and interpret the location clues before someone else does. It's fun regardless but involves a slightly different sensibility that might be relevant as people make characters.
The book contains some fun Easter eggs. For example, a play mentioned loosely describes Strahd's backstory. Also, Volo mentions his upcoming book a few times – Volo's Guide to Spirits and Specters. Time will tell if that's a future D&D book release. (Please? Pretty please?)
“Volo's Waterdeep Enchirdion” is a chapter after the adventure that provides background on the city, its various wards, law enforcement, holidays, currency, etc. It's a highly useful addition for those unfamiliar with Waterdeep as well as providing DM's easy access to key material. A DM could run the campaign purely with what's in the book or prior source material, such Volo's Guide to Waterdeep or City of Splendors: Waterdeep, can be integrated as long as the major players in the city – like the latest Blackstaff – are updated for the current era.
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is a rollicking adventure that's different than the prior 5th Edition adventures. I really like how the D&D team keeps harkening back to classic locations and/or modules while handling them in new, fresh ways. WDH is a terrific way of updating the City of Splendors.
This article was contributed by Beth Rimmels (brimmels) as part of ENWorld's User-Generated Content (UGC) program. We are always on the lookout for freelance columnists! If you have a pitch, please contact us!
