Waterdeep Dragon Heist Review
Hello post, in today`s post we are here to give you Waterdeep Dragon Heist Review.
I knew I had to run Waterdeep: Dragon Heist for my group the moment I heard Wizards of the Coast was dropping it in 2018.
Nothing gets me as enthusiastic as a Dungeons & Dragons urban adventure. Intrigue, politics, skulduggery, and top-secret locations…
The fact that PCs are compelled to play cunning, obey by the laws (or at least not get caught breaking them), and survive dealings with powerful NPCs makes city adventures more enjoyable to DMs than wilderness treks or dungeon hacks.
You’re not simply there to let off steam about the characters’ power fantasies and ‘kill ’em all’ mentalities!
On the other hand, for a Dungeon Master, especially a relative newcomer or a younger DM with less real-life experience to help make a city come alive, with taxes, cabs, taxidermists,
and so on, the unlimited options that a city gives players can be immensely overwhelming.
The purpose of this post is to discuss my experience running Dragon Heist and to pass on what I learned along the way, including the resources I used to prepare for the adventure, what went well, and what I would do differently.
I’ll also talk about some of the concepts I came up with to help smooth over some of the adventure’s flaws and fill in the gaps.
Waterdeep: The Dragon Heist (Review)
An adventure for characters at the first level (taking them to 5th level).
The Story
The Stone of Golorr is a magical item that bears the key to the whereabouts of a large quantity of embezzled gold hidden someplace in Waterdeep. As numerous nefarious factions search for the stone, it is fast changing hands in the metropolis.
The PCs are drawn into the investigation of a massive explosion outside their home base (ideally! ), after which they are led on a wild goose chase across numerous metropolitan places.
They should be able to find the stone… and then the treasure as a result of the hunt.
A Needy Friend (Chapter 1) (p.21 to 30)
The adventure begins with a bar brawl in the Yawning Portal, which instantly exposes the party to the simmering gang conflict between the Xanathar Guild and a breakaway branch of The Zhentarim led by the wizard Manshoon (or one of his clones!).
A troll emerges from the pub’s famous gaping portal shortly after (a very random event that serves more as an intro to Dungeon of the Mad Mage than to Dragon Heist…
Later, I’ll reveal how I rearranged this event). The opportunity for the PCs to flex their muscles is enough to attract Volo Geddarm’s attention, who immediately commissions them to hunt down.
Trollskull Alley (Chapter 2) (p.29 to 42)
From a relatively linear start, where a. leads to b., which leads to c., Chapter 2 introduces Waterdeep as a sandbox, with the PCs expecting to establish themselves at Trollskull Manor.
The book describes several interesting nearby locations (though you could argue that it doesn’t give them much incentive to visit),
before outlining four faction missions for seven of the factions mentioned in the previous chapter (such as Force Grey, The Harpers, The Lord’s Alliance, and so on),
Including which NPCs are most likely to contact the heroes and offer them these jobs.
Fireball (Chapter 3) (p.43 to p.55)
The adventure’s back storey catches up with the party in Chapter 3.
The gnome spy who stole the Stone of Golorr from Xanathar (causing a gang war between the Xanathar Guild and the Zhentarim, whom X. incorrectly blames for the theft) determines that the suddenly famous PCs might be able to assist him in smuggling it out of the city.
However, before he arrives, a nimblewright construct fireballs him in front of their bar, and a member of the Zhentarim (who was also tracking the Stone) flees with the MacGuffin.
The PCs are still in the dark at this point, but the investigation that follows will place them right in the middle of the Stone’s pursuit.