Waterdeep: Dragon Heist First Impressions

I love heist/caper stories and urban fantasy adventures so the minute the D&D team announced Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Now that I've got it? I'm still excited.

I love heist/caper stories and urban fantasy adventures so the minute the D&D team announced Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Now that I've got it? I'm still excited.


My full review will follow after I finish reading the book but a few quick impressions.

  1. The choice of four villains to choose from is a nice touch for replay-ability. Each villain is tied to a season. The full reading will reveal why.
  2. I like the adventure flowchart and encounter chains.
  3. It has a pronunciation guide! That makes a DM's life much easier.
  4. Players have three additional factions they can play, one of which is Force Grey. Critical Role fans will love that.
  5. Lots of cool NPCs are in the adventure, including well-known ones like Laeral Silverhand, though she may not be the same as the last time you saw her in an official Waterdeep adventure.
  6. The building maps are nice and could be reused in other adventures.
  7. For background material, it includes a section labeled “Volo's Waterdeep Enchiridion” that should get DMs new to Waterdeep up to speed.
After the freeform aspects of Tomb of Annihilation, the fact that Waterdeep: Dragon Heist has a bit more structure while still a sandbox is a smart choice. Being set in Faerun's most famous city also presents some nice dilemmas for players. Murder hobo tactics are likely to get them killed or imprisoned, so players should have to be more strategic – of course, that's never guaranteed.

While these are just quick takes based on a flip through of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, they definitely whet my appetite for more. City-based adventures aren't explored enough in D&D, in my opinion, Waterdeep is a rich enough setting to allow for as much variety as any wilderness or dungeon setting.

This article was contributed by Beth Rimmels (brimmels) as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. We are always on the lookout for freelance columnists! If you have a pitch, please contact us!
 
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Beth Rimmels
B

Beth Rimmels

Beth Rimmels is a journalist, editor, and marketing professional. In addition to EN World, her game industry writing has ranged from CityBook VII to The Vampire Codex, as well as Awesome 8's, the multi-setting RPG she is currently designing. She has been a D&D Adventurer's League store organizer and taught a wide range of games at stores and conventions.

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G

gyor

Legend
collin said:
I agree. My original plan was to convert this adventure to Eberron using Sharn in place of Waterdeep. The characters and locations are particularly so integrated to the Realms that it is proving to be a far greater challenge than I originally thought.

BUT I AM UP TO THE CHALLENGE! :) ;) B-)

I am going ahead with the conversion since I have a fair amount of time before I would be needing to run this adventure with the current group of people I am playing with. I have gotten up through Chapter 2 for making conversions thus far. I just wish the Sharn 3.5 resource book had been better laid out with indexes and so forth. Oh well, I am becoming an expert on Sharn and Waterdeep regardless of where things end up.
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You should publish your finished efforts on DMsguild for others.
 

HawaiiSteveO

HawaiiSteveO

Blistering Barnacles!
collin said:
I agree. My original plan was to convert this adventure to Eberron using Sharn in place of Waterdeep. The characters and locations are particularly so integrated to the Realms that it is proving to be a far greater challenge than I originally thought.

BUT I AM UP TO THE CHALLENGE! :) ;) B-)

I am going ahead with the conversion since I have a fair amount of time before I would be needing to run this adventure with the current group of people I am playing with. I have gotten up through Chapter 2 for making conversions thus far. I just wish the Sharn 3.5 resource book had been better laid out with indexes and so forth. Oh well, I am becoming an expert on Sharn and Waterdeep regardless of where things end up.
Click to expand...

From my skimming so far seems like lot of the work is converting various factions into Eberron ones.

My new campaign has already played 2 adventures in a Sharn are are loosely affiliated with the Boromar Clan. They’ve had a run in with Daask already, and I was planning to throw Tarkanan into the mix as well. On top of that one of the PCs is a Cannith. Then there are the other dragonmarked houses, maybe one could be Cassalanters ..? I need to write some stuff down ..!

Xanathar = Boromar ?
Zhents = Daask ?

Lots to think about ...I’d for sure get a guide on dmsguild if you made it ! Or wait for AL season.
 

Parmandur

Parmandur

Book-Friend
darjr said:
Huh, Dragon Heist as a sort of Phandelver option? Well that’s cool.
Click to expand...

Other APs have had 1-5 material, but usually in a rush or saying "maybe start here after Lost Mines." But Dragon Heist is perfectly positioned to serve as an intro as well. More options.
 



BMaC

BMaC

Adventurer
This looks like a strong book. You want a bit of railroading for low-level particularly in a city setting. The NPCs are interesting too. I think if the party has good cohesion of purpose then the player will enjoy this adventure. No complaints (the Drow gunslingers will be replaced with non-firearm clones).
 


Jester David

Jester David

Hero
Given the maps are super simple sketches... I wonder what people who payed for the Platinum Set are getting.
Paying for maps printed and sized for minis that look like they were drawn on easel graph paper would infuriate me...
 


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