Looks like we lost all of my little posts about Waterdeep and Boareskyr Bridge and the like. I am attempting to recover them from the google cache.
EDIT:
Allocating Metallic Dragons
Steve Winter said:
I suppose a decent rule of thumb would be that each dragon councillor that ended Friendly provides enough dragons to protect two territories, and each that ends neutral has a 50/50 chance to provide enough for one. But it was left indefinite so DMs could adjust to suit their own conditions and preferences.
If players were brilliant during negotiations, 2 dragons per friendly faction is warranted. If it was a tough slog, even friendly factions might provide only one. DM's input is vital.
Arthagast Ulbrinter
So while the book just says that the cult assassinates Ulbrinter without giving any reason why, the Tyranny of Dragons webcomic makes it so that the white dragon mask ends up in his hands after being stolen from the Zhentarim (who found it in Neverwinter). The cult then kills Ulbrinter while recovering the mask.
I'm not going to have that happen in my campaign, although it's possible that it could happen with the black dragon mask, given that I let the PCs recover it from Rezmir instead of having it teleport to the Well of Dragons. I thought that was a bit cheap. Anyway, depending on what the PCs do with Rezmir's mask, it could ostensibly end up in Ulbrinter's hands, in which case the cult might assassinate him during the recovery attempt.
That being said, for my campaign, I'm going to fast forward the campaign a month or two, during which time Ulbrinter will wine and dine them around Waterdeep in an effort to drum up support to oppose the cult's activities. The cult will assassinate him in an attempt to shut him up, which, of course, backfires on them.
The front of Ulbrinter and Haventree's mansion:
Waterdeep
An interesting tidbit from Ed Greenwood's new novel, Death Masks: There is mention of Waterdeep's Field Ward being burned down by dragon attacks. It doesn't specifically mention when or why, but it would be reasonable to assume that this happened during the Tyranny of Dragons period.
The book also makes it quite clear that Laeral is losing magical power, and not just because of the edition change. Apparently her body isn't truly immortal, and she's having to sacrifice magical power to keep her body going. She admits to herself that she is forgetting spells, and that she would barely be able to stand against a member of the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors, let alone multiple enemy archmages as in days past.
It also makes it clear that Mystra wanted Laeral to become Open Lord of Waterdeep because of the fall of the Silver Marches. There's a scene where Laeral shares a memory with Elminster where Mystra tells her that she has other plans for Alustriel and now it is Laeral's "turn to sit on a throne". Mystra wants her there to fend off people who might be anti-wizard or something.
I mention all of this because I intend to make use of it in my campaign. I allowed the PCs to acquire Rezmir's black dragon mask at the end of Hoard. Last session, I had some cultists attempt to blackmail the PCs into giving it back by threatening to kill innocent people at a market. The PCs refused, and while the cultists managed to kill twenty people, they were ultimately slain or driven off. The players chocked it down to a lesser evil, as they reckoned many more would be killed if the cultists got the mask back.
Anyway, I am now going to have the cult mount a major operation to get the mask back. They are going to send dragons to attack the Field Ward (and possibly other parts of the Waterdeep, as Ed says the city's dragonward waxes and wanes and no one really knows which wards are adequately protected at any given time) as a distraction while a bunch of Red Wizards led by Rath Modar break into Laeral's home to recover the mask. Given that she's a lot weaker than she's letting on, it shouldn't be *that* hard for them to do so.
RE: Waterdeep's dragonward.
In previous editions, a dragon needed to be touched by the Dragonstaff of Ahghairon in order to be able to bypass the mythal. The last known wielder of the staff, Maaril the Dragon Mage, disappeared after the Spellplague, and the current wielder of the staff is classified info (Ed can't say due to an NDA).
There is good news, however, as Ed says the staff is no longer needed for anything other than altering the properties of the mythal itself. The Blackstaff, the Open Lord, the Masked Lords (by vote), and the highest-ranking officers in the City Watch are all able to grant a dragon permission to enter the city.
Just mentioning it in case it is of any use to anyone.
Boareskyr Bridge
I found this cool image of Boareskyr Bridge online. It's from the new Siege of Dragonspear game.
Also, if you're wondering how to pronounce "Boareskyr", the original FR grey box guide has it as "Boar-reh-SKYR".