Give Me Your Dragon Heist Tips

My group just started playing. "You all meet at a tavern." It's a cliché but we found out how difficult that can be when nobody will 'go first' (read: stir up trouble).
Half of us stood back to watch the arm-wrestler. We did not get involved together until the Yawning Portal spit out a troll - probably because we all concluded 'beat this monster and get a free room for the night'.

We just finished LMNOP, and in the second-to-last session my character was sucked dry by a flock of Stirges (bless you Revivify). I described him as looking rather pale scrawny and sickly, after that. When a few Stirges showed up in Waterdeep, I must have turned pale IRL: somebody noticed and the group spent the fight pulling my leg about 'hanging back in the rear' for the remainder of that combat. I was wielding a yklaw (polearm); I had a good reason to let the others get in front !

Some more story changes I made:

I decided I did not like the Aboleth thing for the stone of golorr, so what i decided was this: there is a mnemonomancer in Waterdeep named Mistress Faeralin who operates an upscale sort of VR/drug den. Wealthy patrons come in and experience memories from other people: from the dangerous (adventurers going into dungeons) to the idyllic (relaxed walks on the beach) to the scandalous (relations with famous heart throbs). It works like this: a subject takes a potion, engages in whatever activity for whatever time, then takes a second potion. The memories of what happened to that person between the two potions solidifies into a marble sized gemstone that the person spits out. Mistress Faeralin then sells the gemstone to a client, who pours a third concoction over it a la a sugar cube and absinthe and drinks. The client experiences the memory as a dream during an hour long sleep or so. Note that the person who "made" them memory loses it and never gets it back (unless they themselves consume the memory). Neverember used this method to hide the location of the hoard.

The PCs will learn about Mistress Faeralin's "memory den" and learn much of this wehn they go there. She doesn't know where the stone is, but she does offer to give the PCs what they need to read the memory should they find it. in exchange they need to give her a short little adventure she can sell. Assuming they agree to it, they find themselves dirty, a little bruised but otherwise unharmed spitting out a stone. She sends them on their way with the concoction back to the Fishwife.

Once they get back they get a cryptic note that tells them that, as agreed upon, someone will meet them at a designated spot. When they get there, they find a dead body, clearly assassinated and pockets rifled through. They do not recognize the person at all, but they should figure out pretty quickly they made arrangements sometime during the adventure for Faeralin.

So now they have to break back into the "memory den" and steal their memories back, or wait until someone consumes one of their memories and then interrogate that person. In the former event, they then play out the short adventure and the meeting. In the latter event, they get to break into a nobles manse, dealing with defenses and bodyguards, and interrogate that noble.

Reynard said:

Some more story changes I made:

I decided I did not like the Aboleth thing for the stone of golorr, so what i decided was this: there is a mnemonomancer in Waterdeep named Mistress Faeralin who operates an upscale sort of VR/drug den. Wealthy patrons come in and experience memories from other people: from the dangerous (adventurers going into dungeons) to the idyllic (relaxed walks on the beach) to the scandalous (relations with famous heart throbs). It works like this: ...

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I really like this!

Planescape had something like this via the Sensorites, a opium den of memories, or at least Torment did.

Viking Bastard said:

I really like this!

Planescape had something like this via the Sensorites, a opium den of memories, or at least Torment did.

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I very much doubt I came up with it on my own, but years of sci-fi, fantasy, movies, games and comic books have muddled the origin of all things I fear...

Reynard said:

I very much doubt I came up with it on my own, but years of sci-fi, fantasy, movies, games and comic books have muddled the origin of all things I fear...

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It made me think of Robert Silverberg’s Majipoor Chronicles where each story is playback of a memory. Quite inspired I must say (and, to be honest, I think the consulting WotC did on this adventure was quite pedestrian; there’s not much fantastical in it at all)

robus said:

It made me think of Robert Silverberg’s Majipoor Chronicles where each story is playback of a memory. Quite inspired I must say (and, to be honest, I think the consulting WotC did on this adventure was quite pedestrian; there’s not much fantastical in it at all)

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It didn't take. They didn't bite. Frustrating.

I don't know if I over sold the security at the Memory Den or under sold the victim's importance.

That's disappointing!

Reynard said:

I very much doubt I came up with it on my own, but years of sci-fi, fantasy, movies, games and comic books have muddled the origin of all things I fear...

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It's pretty much identical to the plot of Dream Spheres by Elaine Cunningham, which also takes place in Waterdeep.

Prakriti said:

It's pretty much identical to the plot of Dream Spheres by Elaine Cunningham, which also takes place in Waterdeep.

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Really? Now that's surprising. I have never read any FR novel other than the first Time of Troubles one, and no Elaine Cunningham one ever as far as I know.

Reynard said:

It didn't take. They didn't bite. Frustrating.

I don't know if I over sold the security at the Memory Den or under sold the victim's importance.

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To clever for your own good eh? That's too bad. And also a classic outcome, players ignoring your juicy plothook and going another way entirely.