
Waterdeep: Beyond Dragon Heist, an Open-World Sandbox Campaign
The campaign will start with Waterdeep: Dragon Heist for the first five levels, but will continue on with other adventures in and around Waterdeep and
About the adventure
Hail, and well met, brave adventurers! The City of Splendors, Waterdeep, is a wondrous and vast place, full of intrigue, peril, machinations, and adventure for the brave of heart. In The Yawning Portal, you will find adventurers of all kinds, as well as plots, mysteries, and even an occasional tall tale. A grand urban caper awaits you. Pit your skill and bravado against villains the likes of which you’ve never faced before, and let the dragon hunt begin! This campaign is designed for 1st-level characters. We will play weekly; drop-ins are welcome; check with the DM to see what level we're at this week. The campaign will start with Waterdeep: Dragon Heist for the first five levels, but will continue on with other adventures in and around Waterdeep and the Sword Coast, going all the way up to 20th level.
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
About me
“May your journey be grand, your adventures vast, and your tales be told for ages to last!” - DM Bob Yo Hail and well met, brave adventurers. I am DM Bob Yo, your guide and narrator in the realm of Dungeons & Dragons! With a rich tapestry of nearly four decades of storytelling, I have journeyed with countless adventurers through mystical lands, guiding them in battles against legendary beasts and in quests for long-lost artifacts. My heart lies in welcoming newcomers to our grand tradition, ensuring a seamless initiation into this wondrous pastime. Your queries, no matter how simple, are my command. My table is a sanctuary of inclusivity and respect, a place where every player, from every walk of life, can partake in the creation of epic sagas. As a Dungeon Master who blends the wisdom of the old ways with the openness of the new, I am dedicated to crafting a space that celebrates creativity, diversity, and camaraderie. From cozy living rooms to bustling conventions, from local game shops to the serenity of seaside escapades, my campaigns have unfolded. Now, I extend my hand to you. Embark on a journey with me, and together, let’s weave a narrative that will echo through the ages. Enlist in an adventure with DM Bob Yo today, and let the dice fall where they may!
View Profile →Reviews (248)
Proficiencies
Players say this GM is great at:
Teacher
Inclusive
Knows the Rules
Bob is my favorite DM for D&D. I by far subscribe to Bob's campaigns. Not every campaign is correct for all players. Bob runs the campaigns to satisfy the players. I typically categorize a campaign into role-play heavy or a tactical combat heavy. I by far prefer tactical combat games. I try out most of his open campaigns and see if I'm compatible. The most effective approach would be to ask Bob. Here are the tags that I would assign to Bob: - Allows for player creativity - Bob allows any character build (as far as I know) that falls within the rules. I don't know what he allows regarding homebrew characters or items. Bob also allows characters to have a magic item wish list. - Knows the rules - Bob definitely knows the rules. Bob has learned the rules for five editions of D&D and will look up the rules if he doesn't remember explicitly. - Rule of cool - Sets the mood (soundscape & music) - Terrific storyteller - Good for beginners - Bob is particularly good at that. He will go so far as to help optimize a player's build with the intent of improving the gaming experience. - Amazing & fun voices - I love his Foghorn Leghorn impression. - World builder - Bob will incorporate entire levels drawn from his extensive - Scene designer - Bob will often incorporate challenging scenes, particularly for his combat-heavy campaigns. Of course, our job as players is to figure out how to turn the encounters into trivial items. - Virtual Table Top (VTT) - Bob has Fantasy Grounds as a VTT is an automated VTT. He expends significant effort to further enhance and improve the experience. Fantasy Grounds is one of the VTTs that I will personally play (the other being Foundry).
DM Bob does a great job setting up the background for the campaign, providing background material, and customizing the adventure to fit the playstyle of the group. In addition he has great storytelling skills, gets into character for the many NPCs the party talks to, brings in background music, and helps us feel like we have some agency and choice even when working within a published module. Highly recommend!
Bob does a great job of managing the table and getting interaction from everyone. Bob is great to play with for beginners or savvy veterans. He adjusts to meet the challenges from every player while keeping everyone on point and engaged. Highly recommend playing at one of Bob's tables.
Character creation
Creating your character
You'll need to have a character created either in DnDBeyond or Fantasy Grounds ahead of time. A few days prior to the campaign start, I'll provide players with a DnDBeyond campaign link to join that will provide access to all of the available character options. Character creation rules are as follows: _ The campaign will start at 1st level. - Please use either POINT BUY OR STANDARD ARRAY for ability scores. You may roll ability scores in my Discord server using Avrae after you join (I'm happy to provide instructions once you get there.) - Any official D&D rules are acceptable, excluding Unearthed Arcana content. Should you need assistance creating a character in DnDBeyond, I have put together a quick tutorial on that as well: https://youtu.be/dGHcQcBQ0qw
Every Wednesday, 500 PM Eastern, 2 hours
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Hail and well met, brave Adventurers! For our time together, we'll be using Discord for voice chat (video is optional). It will be helpful if you have Discord installed ahead of time from Discord.com. The app is more reliable than the website, so I highly recommend using that. You’ll also want to make sure you have a working microphone to use with Discord. Here is the link to the Discord server. Feel free to join early! https://discord.gg/y3btMjHHVa You’ll need the free version (or higher) of Fantasy Grounds Unity installed on your desktop or laptop. You can download Fantasy Grounds here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/home/home.php NOTE: FANTASY GROUNDS IS NOT A WEB BROWSER BASED APPLICATION. You will need to download and install the DEMO (free) version of Fantasy Grounds for our time together. I've put together a quick and dirty tutorial for Fantasy Grounds in case you've not used it before: https://youtu.be/BE4a7k3_9S8 Let me know if you have any questions. You can email me at bob@dmbobyo.com, or message me on SPG or Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/dmbobyo
What DM Bob Yo brings to the table
I bring the published Waterdeep: Dragon Heist materials, as well as various supplemental materials to enhance our sessions. In addition, I provide an Ultimate license for Fantasy Grounds, so players don't need to purchase a license of their own. I integrate Syrinscape music and sounds as well.
Equipment needed to play
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How DM Bob Yo creates a safe table
We'll jump right into the session, so don't be late! While the balance between combat, roleplaying and exploration will vary from week to week, on the average it will balance out. During our first session, we'll cover safety tools and more.