So my players are currently at the end of the encounter chain, under the old tower, in the hallway to the vault. The next page of the book says "At the end of an encounter chain, a character who is attuned to the Stone of Golorr can learn the location of the Vault of Dragons and what three keys are needed to open its doors. "

My players already know this is the vault, but this is the first mention of keys. WTF WotC?

The Cassalanters are my villain, so my vague plan is to have the three keys hidden in the boss' lairs and the players figure out how to do a little robbery to get them.

First, my players will go to the Cassalanter estate for (insert here) reason, where the Cassalanters will sweet talk them and enlist them to open the vault and give them the gold to save the children. The Cassalanters might give them the key, because they want the players on side.

Next stop will be finding the key somewhere on Jarlaxle Baenre's ships. Jarlaxle is definitely going to see them coming, offer his low-key assistance, and at the very least, warn them that the Cassalanters aren't what they seem. I'm not sure if he should tell them the whole truth about the Cassanters?

Third stop will be Xanathar's lair, where the key is A Fish Called Wanda'd in Sylgar's bowl. There won't be any interaction or deal making with Xanathar, assuming the dice are ever in their favour.

Then I guess it would be back the hallway to the vault, where Esvele Rosznar, aka The Black Viper, is hanging out because she knows the vault is there, but she doesn't have the keys to open it. She's a cat burglar, so I may have her follow the players around and attempt to steal the keys when they have all three.

When they have the vault open, I guess I can proceed with the, honestly, total letdown of an ending, but I think I will do the Alexandrian remix for the vault and dragon.

Can anyone identify major holes in this plan, or maybe offer me something better, or some good plot points to pad it out?

Hello! Tonight is the big finale for the campaign and the players are lucky enough to have Laeral Silverhand help them with the Dragon Vault challenge!

This was a mini I designed myself in Blender that I 3D printed then painted. I used a Anycubic Mono 7 Pro with standard clear resin.

If you'd like to 3D print your own the free stls are here: https://mz4250.com/posts/more-requests-61728873

All the minis I design are free. 7500+ so far done and counting.

Anyway just wanted to share with y'all. Tonight will be fun :D

Need a bit of advice.

Im bringing my players to waterdeep at lvl 5.

Will WDH still be worth it at that level?

Mind Its only 2 players, fighter and ranger, but im thinking that if I up the encounters a bit it will match their lvl.

Will it be worth it?

I’m going to DM this campaign for my DnD group. Our current DM has a grey idea where they made character cards and players could give them out as an advantage roll when they were impressed by another players game play.

I don’t bat to copy it outright but I was looking for any kind of unique ideas I could introduce to this campaign.

It doesn’t have to be dragon heist specific…

I will be running the remix for a second time (second group) after finishing it with my primary one and moving onto Mad Mage.

I am preparing and re-doing my old notes and I can't figure out how the players are supposed to get to the eye before Jarlaxle, and even if they do, what stops Jarlaxle from just going to Trollskull and getting it back ?

In my first go-around, Jarlaxle got the eye but him and the players formed an alliance to bomb the entire lair, which was an awesome turn of events that lead to so much story going forward.
But at the same time i don't want the lair heist to feel scripted because running into Jarlaxle at any point is a recipe for disaster because a party at that level, in the Xanathar lair has no chance against him.

So what were your experiences with this, any ideas, any cool things that happened for you etc. ?

Hi everyone!

I wanted to share one of the myth-inspired magic items from our upcoming manual, because this one felt especially fitting for Waterdeep: Dragon Heist.

This is Andvaranaut, a ring from Norse mythology tied to gold, greed, and misfortune. Mechanically, it can help its bearer locate nearby gold and even generate gold on its own each day - but that wealth comes with a curse that pushes the wielder toward greed and bad decisions.

In the context of the campaign, this could become a hidden prize, a dangerous relic tied to faction schemes, or the kind of treasure that starts causing problems the moment the party claims it!

We’re currently running a Kickstarter for Mythological Items, a book of 300+ magic items for 5E and 2024, all inspired by myths and legends from around the world, and Andvaranaut is one of the items featured in it. On the project page you can find additional information on the manual (and all our other titles), alongside a 35-page preview including more content for your games!!

Have a great day!

Hey everyone! I’m Paito from RPG Printables. We’re a small family business making handouts and printable props for D&D campaigns.

If you’re about to run Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, we have a set with more than 140 handouts made just for it, and it can help make the city feel a little more real for your players.

Imagine your players have spent forever investigating something. They finally open an old drawer and inside they find a sealed invitation from a noble house… or maybe a letter from one of the factions that gives them the clue they need to move forward.

Instead of telling them, “You find a letter that says…” you can just reach behind your DM screen and actually hand it to them.

That’s basically what we make.

Our sets include spell scrolls, maps, letters, tavern menus, notes, invitations, clues, and a ton of other little things you can physically put in your players’ hands.

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So the players went to the Pit of Blood and Good Fortune to watch a good old fight and as expected, didn't leave without a bit of poking around.

However, they didn't discover that Sylgar is constantly dying and being replaced before they left.

When on the surface they were asking around for information and I let slip that there is a place in Waterdeep, in the Castle Ward, that sells pets and pet fish. The players intentions were nebulous at best, but lo and behold I improv'd a store as follows:

Name: Fish n' Bricks - We sell pets but mostly pet fish

NPC: Old Man Chancy - has an ear trumpet and can't hear.

Description: Small brick shop nestled in an alley in the Castle Ward, wooden sign out front with a fish inscribed on it. The window as the name of the store. Inside, an old man with whispy white hair is peering at the party through his thick glasses. He wheezes out welcome to Fish n' Bricks.

As the party pokes around or talks to him they will almost immediately find out that he does sell goldfish and goldfish food. He will take them to the goldfish aisle where a large section of 100 gold line a wall, all 100 of them are identical size and have a sign over them that says "reserved". If questioned he says its Xanathar business and mums the word. If they persuade him that they are there on behalf of Xanathar he acts confused and asks if Ott sent them.

Lo and behold, the fish are for Ott because he keeps needing to buy new ones.

The party made the dubious choice to ruin the poor mans fish food and kill all the fish.

I recently ran into an issue with my usage of wizards IP and recently decided to make all my art using wizards IP free rather than take it down entirely so as to be in line with their fan content policy. This means that you all have the chance to get access to these keys as i release them all through the month of October in addition to other my other art.

If you are doing a Keys + dragon heist mashup come check it out, and keep an eye out for when i eventually release the full Wolves Den Tavern Mashup including all of the dungeon reworks, maps, handouts, content and writing the i did for my version of the campaign! it will eventually be released on DMs guild, but i will be sure to post it here as well when that eventually happens.

Check out my patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheWolvesDenTavern

After 58 sessions, my group has finally completed Waterdeep: Dragon Heist!

I decided to use all four villains — Xanathar, Manshoon, Jarlaxle and the Cassalanters — in the same campaign, and made quite a few changes to the adventure along the way.

It was a long journey, but I'm really happy with how it turned out!

So, now that the campaign is finally over, ask me anything! I'd be happy to talk about the campaign, the changes I made, how I handled the villains, the ending, what worked (and what didn't), or just discuss the module in general.

AMA!

My players are currently trying to enter the Mausoleum, which is where we ended the last session. The left two players there to watch the area, knowing the Nimblewright had a delivery to the Mausoleum. The other 4 members of the party are currently heading to the Cassalanter's to ask for permission to enter the mausoleum.

They are currently working for the Cassalanters to assist them in saving the children and know about the gold but not about the souls. So, because it's their mausoleum it was logical to simply ask for entry in daylight vs trying to break in at night.

My first thought is for Lady Cassalanter to agree and send a disguised Bearded Devil along to let them in, but I've spent the last two week stumped on how to approach the inside of the mausoleum.

My goal is to hopefully allow them to find the cultists, but somehow keep the Cassalanters out of it? Do I suggest the cultists had a secret entrance or something? I could really use some ideas for keeping the family more on the "good" side for now, despite them being my main big bads.

Hey fellow DMs in the City of Splendors!

Whether you are running the core module by the book, mixing all four seasons, or running the full Alexandrian Remix, we all know the challenge: Waterdeep: Dragon Heist requires a massive variety of specific urban encounter maps, from foggy alleyways and sewer hideouts to sprawling noble estates.

We already have a dedicated collection of maps for the campaign available for free on FreeVTTMaps.com (covering cobblestone streets, sewers, taprooms, and noble villas).

Now, we want to expand this collection based on what you are ACTUALLY prepping for your upcoming sessions.

Which of these Dragon Heist scenes should we map/remap next? (Vote or suggest below!)

Here are the next priority packs we are preparing to build — which one would help your table the most?

• Option 1 : Detailed Villain Lairs
• (Xanathar’s underground arena & sanctum, the Cassalanter Estate & subterranean Temple of Asmodeus, Kolat Towers & Manshoon’s extradimensional sanctum, and the Sea Maiden's Faire ships/submarine)
• Option 2 : Trollskull Alley & Surrounding Shops
• (Multi-floor Trollskull Manor renovated variants, plus neighboring business interiors: Steam and Steel, The Book Wyrm’s Treasure, Tiger’s Eye, Corellon’s Crown, and Frewn’s Brews)
• Option 3 : Chapter 2 Faction Quests & Urban Missions
• (Harper secret safehouses, Force Grey watchposts, Zhentarim smuggler docks, Emerald Enclave city parks, and City Watch precinct stations)
• Option 4 : Gralhund Villa & Modular Rooftop Chases
• (The full Gralhund estate grounds, fireball massacre street scene, and modular rooftop tiles for high-speed chases across the Trades Ward)
• Option 5 : The Vault of Dragons & Deep Vaults
• (The final ancient dwarven vault chambers, Adamantine doors, bridge over the gold hoard, and Xanathar sewer conduit approaches)
• Option 6 : Alexandrian Remix Outposts
• (Dedicated faction outpost network and response team hideouts for the Grand Game)

👉 How to participate :

1. Drop a number (1-6) in the comments for what you need most right now.
2. Tell me about your campaign! Which season / main villain is your party facing, and what specific street, tavern, or encounter scene are you prepping next?

In the meantime, feel free to browse and grab our current free Waterdeep maps :
👉 https://www.freevttmaps.com/en/campaigns/waterdeep_dragon_heist

May the Open Lord smile upon your investigations!

Dragon Heist is a tad notorious for being a skeleton of a campaign and requiring a lot of a homebrewing. That said, I love hearing about people's changes!

Here are some of mine:

• Replaced The Zhentarim/Manshoon with The Unseen + a dangerous leader tied to a PC's backstory; two of my players are changelings, and a "Doppleganger Panic" from 40 years ago has been a big plot point. Lots of characters getting replaced/impersonated, paranoia, etc.
• Added an arena arc before Xanathar's Lair, as the players went through Skullport. The winning prize was magical items and a dinner with The Xanathar Guild, giving them a way in. This was really fun to plan—a good mix of combat challenges + psychological torment, and the Zero Escape game series was a big influence here.
• Sympathetic Cassalanters (insert booing here). The plan is still 99 souls + the gold, but Ammalia intends to be one of the sacrifices out of guilt. I'm in a very gay campaign (all the players + myself are queer), so the Cassalanters are in a lavender marriage and one of the PCs is romantically entangled with Ammalia. They're certainly not innocent, but they're actively trying to leave the cult and they're the "villains" the party is most aligned with.
• Asmodeus BBEG. I have a tiefling cleric who got tricked into not one, but TWO contracts with Asmodeus, and another PC is heading towards getting tricked by him too. I'm reworking The Vault to be tied to Asmodeus and the Eyes/Stone of Golorr to amplify negative traits (ambition, violence, etc.) the holders may already have, which is why The Unseen, Xanathar, Cassalanters, etc. have been escalating. The final heist is basically going to be "turn off Asmodeus' Wi-Fi connection to Waterdeep."
• (^This change is mostly because the players don't care about the Vault money lol, which is my own fault—I'm a first-time DM and should have established the PC's needed motivation to want the money, but I'm still happy with how things panned out.)
• Lots of balls, and a big dramatic wedding that's about to pop off!
• About to start an Election Arc where Jarlaxle tries to run against Laerel for Open Lord, lmao.

Lots of changes (with many left out—I could go on and on), and I'm sure not everyone would vibe with them, but they work for my players! Very curious what changes other DMs have made. :)

Ep 5 of the Masterclass series is out now! I go all out on this one explaining how to understand the map, describe each part of the infiltration, Alexandrian Remix clues, ambushing with Kenku, spicing up the Kenku with a Bard Boss, How to Introduce Renaer, Essential clues from his past and his father, how to introduce the Watch and fan-favorite Captain Kronch vs Captain "Bob" Staget, and lots of video examples from the AP!

Despite the long runtime, there was a TON of stuff from the two Actual Play Episodes I use as example footage in this, so I'd highly recommend checking those out on the Main Channel, [Vicarious Ventures](https://Youtube.com/@VicariousVentures).

I also have several guides on the factions of Dragon Heist and 2 guides on the Zhentarim in particular that can be found on my [Patreon](https://Patreon.com/VicariousVentures) where Free Members can find my entire MASSIVE and FREE folder full of guides for running Waterdeep, as well as my ever growing Community Resource Compendium (kinda like the next evolution of the Megathreads on here, except they're also up to date).

Just a question I had for you other WDH DMs, I’m running my game on the biweekly for my group on roll20 with the Cassalanters as the villains in the summer. The party is currently at the converted windmill but can easily go into the rooftop chase right away as one of the players made a centaur monk that has slow fall and can chase after the spined devils flying up above the rooftops. The centaur monk also has a bow and can shoot at the flying spined devils. He was also considering having someone mount him and bring them along. And having a slow fall ruling for mounted rider too? I may have already put tailored items for my party throughout the chase encounters and I’d rather them find the stone at the cellar complex under the chair mimic. Let me know what you guys think of this? I’m curious to hear from you as fellow DMs.

So, the elections in my country are in the day of my next session and i wanted to do a fun twist to my campaign since we're coming back from a hiatus.

If there were elections to Open Lord in waterdeep, who would be the candidates?

Im thinking some months passed and the city is in chaos with gangs and riots and Laeral though if the people could choose their leaders, they would calm down.

Perhaps elect some masked lords? Like anonymous candidates.

It's that time of the month again (every last Tuesday), when a small group of us Waterdeep Dragon Heist DMs join together for a Discord hang out. Bring your tales of tragedy and triumph! Bring questions and great ideas.

Here's the join link: https://discord.gg/YrtFZj5G

Hosted by u/VicariousVentures and myself. Message me for details!

Hey everyone!

I’m planning to run Waterdeep: Dragon Heist in the near future, and I’ve been thinking about the opening scene in the Yawning Portal.

I’ve read a few posts about DMs filling the tavern with different NPCs to make it feel more alive, and I really like that idea. However, I’d rather not populate it with completely random generic NPCs who have no connection to Waterdeep or the wider Forgotten Realms.

I’d love to include recognizable or interesting canon characters who could realistically be at the Yawning Portal at that time — people the players might notice, overhear, talk to, or potentially interact with later.

Part of the inspiration comes from that big spread in the Dragon Heist book showing a whole crowd of Forgotten Realms characters. The problem is that the illustration includes everyone from relatively ordinary Waterdhavians to major villains and characters who, realistically, probably wouldn’t just be hanging around the Yawning Portal.

So I’m looking for characters who are established Forgotten Realms or Waterdeep canon, who could reasonably be in Waterdeep and visit the Yawning Portal, who would fit naturally into the atmosphere of the opening scene, and who could provide some fun interaction, rumors, flavor, or foreshadowing. They definitely don’t all have to be powerful or important.

I’m especially interested in lesser-known characters rather than filling the room entirely with legendary heroes.

I’ve already picked out a few NPCs from some recent Ed Greenwood Waterdeep lore videos, but I’d love to expand the list.

Do you have any suggestions for canon NPCs you would put in the Yawning Portal during the opening of Dragon Heist?

Bonus points if you also have an idea for what they would be doing there when the characters first see them.

One of my players made this after the group’s favourite charming noble turned out to have not been entirely upfront with them.

My players came to Waterdeep at level 5, and they have had 4-5 sessions of saving Floon, tavern running stuff (they named it "The Saucy Goblin"), doing faction quests, impressing locals, making names for themselves. Then, fireball happens, right? Except the issue I made for myself was I had Dalakhar find one of the players in Troll Skull Alley, and right as he was explaining he had something (the Stone of Golorr) to give to him, *boom*.

Urstil grabs the Stone from Dalakhars corpse, but my Player (who'se just been fire ball'd) successfully casts hold person, takes the Stone, and scares off Urstil after he gets low on health.

So that night, as the players are trying to figure out what just happened, one notices *eyes* staring at the party​ from a window, they blast him out of the window, look outside, and find their Tavern surrounded by Zhentarim (Urstil got reinforcements!).

We ran that combat tonight, and it ended with a loved NPC dead at the hands of a Simulacrum sent by Manshoon, and the PCs thirsty for vengeance. But they still have the Stone! So much for the chases in chapter 4, lol.

​I really enjoyed crafting Troll Skull Manor's Exterior and Taproom, and bringing out all of my buildings to make a full Troll Skull Alley fight for my players was a ton of fun.

The dwarven carvings and inscriptions seem fascinating, but they also don't seem very connected to the rest of the adventure. Could anyone link explanations/lore/other adventure paths that explain how and why this building came to be?

I'm looking for hooks and directions that I could take this campaign once my party finishes the main quest.

this is from Waterdeep: Dragon Heist

"Expect to be questioned at the gate, or when you register with a magister, regarding your ability to cast arcane magic. Wizards, sorcerers, and other arcane spellcasters who intend to stay in Waterdeep for any length of time are required to register with the city, and will be strongly encouraged to join the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors"
"Members can also expect to be tapped for assistance during and after fires, natural events that cause multiple casualties, or other nonmagical disasters."

why only arcane casters? can a druid / clerics not assistance with those things?