Waterdeep:Main page
| Dungeons & Dragons 5e | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Game details | |
| Game master | Lithl Notes |
| Number of players | 5 |
| Game time | |
The Waterdeep campaign begins with Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, and will continue on to Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage after the first module is completed.
Background and setting
Dragon Heist is designed for levels 1-5. It is a treasure hunt in an urban setting, specifically the city of Waterdeep, the Crown of the North. Before being removed from his position as the Open Lord of Waterdeep, Dagult Neverember embezzeled 500,000 gold coins (called dragons) and hid them in a secret vault somewhere in the city. The criminal underworld of Waterdeep is now in a race to find the key to the secret vault, find the secret vault itself, and plunder its riches.
Dungeon of the Mad Mage is designed for levels 5-20. It is an exploration of a vast dungeon network carved into Mount Waterdeep a thousand years ago by the wizard Halaster Blackcloak. The primary entrance to the Undermountain is the "yawning portal", a well in the Yawning Portal inn.
Campaign starting season
As a group, you will choose whether you'd like Dragon Heist to begin in spring, summer, autumn, or winter. This choice will affect who the primary antagonist of the story will be at the outset, although actions during play may give rise to different villains. Alternatively, you can choose to play the "Alexandrian Remix".
Spring
In Waterdeep, early spring tends to be cold and damp. Misty rain falls for days on end. It’s common for fog to settle at night and last through the day. As the weather improves, the city attracts more visitors, and the streets become increasingly crowded as summer approaches.
Summer
Summers in Waterdeep are quite comfortable, and it’s a great time for citizens and visitors to congregate outside. The markets are busier than at any other time of year. Sometimes, though, warm air pushes up from the south and settles in the valleys north and east of the city. This air gets trapped, creating a hot spell that might last days or weeks. Activity in the city slows to a crawl, since Waterdhavians are unaccustomed to such heat.
Autumn
Throughout autumn, wagonloads of food arrive in Waterdeep from outlying farms. Without this bounty, city folk would starve during the winter. Cold, howling sea winds remind Waterdhavians that winter is near.
Winter
Waterdhavian winters are harsh. As snow piles up around the city and ice fills the harbor, trade grinds to a halt and the city seals its gates. Citizens willing to brave the cold still gather in local taverns and festhalls, but few venture outside the city walls.
Alexandrian Remix
The Alexandrian is a blog by actor and writer Justin Alexander. Justin has made multiple "remixes" of various D&D campaigns. The Alexandrian Remix of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is notable for including everything, rather than picking one season and only doing some of the content in the campaign.
Character Creation
Characters will be level 1 at the start of the campaign. Ability scores will be set using the standard point buy system. Each character gets a feat at level 1, either from their background (Strixhaven/Spelljammer/Dragonlance backgrounds or custom backgrounds using the feature from them) or else selected from a short list. (This is in addition to your feat selection for creating a Variant Human or Custom Lineage character.) See character creation for specific details on all of this.
House rules and rulings
House rules and specific rulings for this campaign will be tracked on this wiki. The house rules article is protected, so only the GM may edit it, but all players are advised to read it.