Waterdeep

[The Grumpy Celt]

I like Waterdeep in june, how about you?
I like a bardic tune, how about you?
I love a fireside when a storm is due.
How about you?

I like tuber chips, moonlight magic trips, how about you?

I'm mad about good books, can't get my fill
And Khelben’s looks give me a thrill

Holding hands in the undermountian show, when all the lights are low
May not be new, but I like it, how about you?

The Waterdeep book — City of Splendors: Waterdeep — is due out this summer, July to be specific.

According to the official description:

An overview of the city includes history, a who’s who, information on laws, and rules for running and playing in a Waterdhavian campaign. Information on the people of Waterdeep covers non-player characters, arcane schools, armed forces, guilds, nobility, prestige classes specific to the city, and more. Also included in the book are discussions of specific Waterdeep locales, adventure locales, and new monsters. An extensive appendix gives information on new equipment, magic items, psionic powers, poisons, spells, and more.

That said, here are some questions for discussion:
What do you expect to see in this book?
What do you want to see in this book?
What do you not want to see in this book?

To start this off, I will answer the questions, but I am only speaking for myself.

• What do you expect to see in this book?

75 percent old material nominally reworked to make it mechanically compatible with 3.5 and/or brought up to date with the current time line of the Forgotten Realms. 25 percent new material.

• What do you want to see in this book?

Graft, corruption, violence in the streets, strong nobility biases against lower classes and vice versa and detailed descriptions of neighborhoods. Also, a better exploration of how the city relates and works with neighbors.

• What do you not want to see in this book?

More discussion about how wonderful and unimpeachable the secret Lord of Waterdeep are, which severely limits their usefulness in a story. More reiteration on how – though it is implausible and again limiting the story usefulness of the city – no one is building anything close to the city, but outside the city walls. More

Basiclly, what I want for Waterdeep is something like Manhattan as depicted in “Gangs of New York,” but WOTC (and TSR before them) seemed determined to make Waterdeep too nice, too friendly, too steeped in modern values of tolerance, integrity and openness.

 

[JamesL85]

Some clarity would be nice, but it's not expected.....

The banished Thieve's Guild supposedly had a hideout somewhere on the side of Mount Waterdeep, but it was later disclosed as somewhere in Undermountain.....

The Falling Stair as depicted in the Undermountain boxed set didn't come up in the same compass direction (from Durnan's Inn) as it did in the City of Splendors or City System.....

I would KILL to find more information about the sewers and the Xanathar's Thieves Guild.....

Time to put away the Ring of Three Wishes and put on the ring of True Seeing.....

A rehashing of everything that has been put out before, although converted to 3.5.....

I'm afraid I've become jaded of recent......

While I can hope for more, I won't be holding my breath.....

James

 

[teitan]

Well, Waterdeep is supposed to be the best of the Realms, a place of enlightenment and prosperity. If you want intrigue, danger and backstabbing politics... Greyhawk is the place to be!

WHat I expect though is a re-iteration of the City of Splendours boxed set minus the gorgeous wall maps... I will buy this book but I have my trepidations...

Jason

 

[Lefferts]

Have they said if Skullport is going to be covered?

 

[Eremite]

I would really like decent maps (ie: do not use the ones in Sharn as a model!) particularly an overview of the city plus one of the sewers. I would also really like to see the maps released on the WotC site as part of the gallery (to save me having to scan them myself!).

Perhaps most importantly of all, whatever interesting hooks are provided in the book, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not then provide the resolution of those hooks in the next series of novels.

Ahhh, yes; I'm referring to the Silver Marches, the orc horde and yet another Driz'zt trilogy as the source of my concern....

 

[Wraith Form]

The answers to many of your questions

You can read some of the answers (as many as Waterdeep author Eric Boyd's non-disclosure agreement will allow) to several of those questions on the Candlekeep forum thread regarding that book:

http://www.candlekeep.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3484


Hopefully that'll dispell some rumors, generate some more and answer questions..!

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Lookin' forward to it!

 

[Arnwyn]

What do you expect to see in this book?

Loads of regurgitation of previous material, very little that I don't already have, a single (poor) map compressed onto one page.

What do you want to see in this book?

All new, previously unpublished material, with more information on the Dungeon of the Crypt, holds within Mt. Waterdeep along with entrances to Undermountain (like the aforementioned Falling Stair).

What do you not want to see in this book?

The regurgitation... and certainly no changes from what has already been established about Waterdeep.

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

EB is one of the more gracious writers who work for WotC. On this other list he wrote, in part:

I endeavored to give a complete, standalone product that will please old and new gamers alike and be useful in your campaigns. Plus, I like playing with old, neglected toys in new and interesting ways. ;-)

He also wrote that he has been in contact with E Cunningham and E. Greenwood, who are in the process of writing a novel about Waterdeep, presumably to make certian the novel and source book are compatable. He also wrote that he found the book to be challenging but fun to work on.

That said;
• What is the ratio of new to old material in the book?
• What is the ratio of flush to crunch in the book?
• How much, if any, space will be given to Skullport and Undermountian?

 

[JamesL85]

I read somewhere (might have been Candlekeep) that the book details Waterdeep and Skullport, but not much (if any) on Undermountain.

Not saying that's what it will or won't contain, but that's the rumor that I heard....

James