D&D 5E Waterdeep: Dragon Heist - Which Season is the Best Story Arc? [Spoilers]

Matthew Jones · Oct 20, 2018

I've seen a fair amount of discussion about which villain is the most fun for players but I haven't seen any discussion of which story arc is the most fun to play.
The events in Chapter 4 each drive a separate encounter chain, reusing the same set of locations in a different order and with different encounters.
Which set makes for the most cohesive, interesting, and thrilling story? Which has the best pacing?

pukunui · Oct 21, 2018

I think Spring is the least interesting. I really struggled to choose a season, though, as they all have cool elements. I eventually settled on Autumn. Jarlaxle is cool and is not overtly evil, and his chain has a distinct James Bond vibe to it, right down to the Sean Connery-inspired Zardoz character and the secret submarine

Summer, I think, makes the best use of the urchins, but it has too much of a catch-22 ending.

MonsterEnvy · Oct 21, 2018

This is something that is completely subjective. For me it's a toss up between the Cassalanters and Manshoon.

The Big BZ · Oct 21, 2018

Cassalanters is the darkest and has the least effect on the metaplot if your players kill them so I went with that.

Matthew Jones · Oct 21, 2018

Summer has the railroad-y trip to the courthouse after the characters are arbitrarily arrested. That's a problem to me. What if the characters do not anger the locals during the chase? The pacing is decent but I would need to edit the courthouse and replace with another location.

I like Spring, just for the inclusion of the fairy dragon that tries to blackmail the group into giving him treasure so he can go on being part Santa and part Tooth Fairy. Plus, the tie to the theater is a nice echo of the start of the module with the tavern.

Autumn has a decent story arc but Jaraxle is far too cheesy. I don't think I could stand to run him. He was designed to appeal to a different demographic than my group and I'd have to cheat too much to keep him viable. If I were running this for my kids rather than a group that's been playing since the 70s, I'd consider using Autumn.

Winter is interesting but I'm not certain that the meta-plot hangs together. I'd want to talk to someone that ran this option to see if their players managed to pull the threads together.

Burnside · Oct 23, 2018

I favor Spring (Xanathar) or Winter (Manshoon) because their respective encounter chains both avoid the courthouse, as the Summer and Autumn entanglements at that location seem muddy and not really fully conceived.

pukunui · Oct 24, 2018

Matthew Jones said:
What if the characters do not anger the locals during the chase?

You could make it so the Cassalanters' doppelganger minion arranges to have them arrested on trumped up charges. That's how I initially read that scene anyway, although looking at it again, it isn't entirely clear, as it just says the PCs are arrested for their "conduct" during the street chase.

But I think it would make more sense that the Cassalanters (or at least their minions) are using their connections and privilege to throw the PCs off their trail by having them arrested. It seems less arbitrary that way, don't you think?

Matthew Jones · Oct 24, 2018

That is a good idea for making the Courthouse visit in the summer seem a little more natural. I do like the Cassalanters as the main villain as they are the only villain choice that is not already well-known to the players, plus the moral dilemma regarding their motivation will be fun to watch.

Tiles · Oct 25, 2018

It all starts with the Xanathar and the Xents with knowledge of the stone , and my players randomly picked the Castlanders . So basically within two sessions I have all the villains active and am picking my favorite bits and pieces to build a single story. So far it’s been great to plan and play.

Aiden_Keller_ · Mar 14, 2019

Burnside said:
I favor Spring (Xanathar) or Winter (Manshoon) because their respective encounter chains both avoid the courthouse, as the Summer and Autumn entanglements at that location seem muddy and not really fully conceived.

I agree...but if I ran it different from how the book reads I would make the entire campaign take the entire year...involve all villains...and all seasons....