Waterdeep: Dragon heist

About the adventure

Where Waterdeep stands today, there once stood Aelinthaldaar, the capital city of the ancient elven kingdom of Illefarn. When the elves left, they used a powerful spell to erase all traces of their capital. This spell had the unintended side effect of creating a permanent knot in the Weave, the fabric through which all magic is channeled. This knot lies deep underground and isn't something that can be seen, felt, or undone, but it can cause madness to bloom in the minds of mortal beings who dwell near it for too long. The knot permeates Undermountain, and the madness it causes typically manifests as an obsession with the dungeon itself. Those affected by the knot in the Weave exhibit a subconscious desire to remain in or near the dungeon. Halaster and several of his apprentices fell prey to this obsession, as did many Melairkyn dwarves and Durnan, the proprietor of the Yawning Portal. Not all creatures that dwell in Undermountain succumb to its madness, and those who do aren't even aware that the dungeon has them in its clutches.

Additional Details

How to prepare

Mics are needed, we do our games on a discord server. I along with my players are patient with new players and will help if needed. No software is required but it is recommended you have at least 3gb RAM and a decent internet upload speed.

What I provide

I prep everything prior, you don't need to bring anything but ideas and gumption! If you have ideas, I am open to hear them!

Gameplay details

1- Milestones - DMG p 261. Level-up 2- The DM will decide when to level-up, whether it is in a module or not Player, Behavior, Game Behavior & DM Expectations 3- I expect everyone to be kind and courteous to one another, player to player. Alcohol 4- Players can drink at the table, If they drink too much it is a problem. If they are too drunk to play then they are kicked for the session, 3 strikes you are out. If you show up beligerently drunk you will be removed. no refunds Narcotics 5- Same as Alchohol Cellphones & Digital Devices 6- Cellphones and laptops are allowed (and hell, they are absolutely needed for for brief messages and hell, rule checking). However, if you are losing gametime on your phone, we will have a private discussion. If the discussion isn't heeded then you are out for a day, no refund. Other people are here to play, don't waste their time. There will be 15-20 min before each game to talk about life and things. the section below is for IN GAME PLAY | Player Attention 7- Distration happens, but I expect to have them not be one to others, If players are delaying gametime then I (the DM) will have a 1 on 1 discussion. if the discussion is not heeded then the distracting/overdistracted player is out for the day. (refund availible if needed) Unannounced dice rolls 8- All dice rolls must be announced before the roll, any done before they or I say is ignored. (one exception, if I ask a person to roll for a check, and another (more qualified) rolls the same check) Dice rolls against one another 9- There are times where contested rolls are needed, I will ask each individually to roll a check that best fits. if the other party ceeds or is willing then there is no need for a contested roll. Player Vs Player 10- I do not allow one player to fight to the death with another player. a fistfight may be needed to settle some IN GAME Disputes Player Turns 11a- Each ROUND is 6 seconds, you have an action, bonus action, movement per turn, as well as re-actions but all in all, the ENTIRE turn is 6 seconds, keep it as close as possible to that time, if you take too long to figure out what you are doing, I will move on to the next on the turn order. and sometimes what you planned can no longer be done due to the previous actions in the queue 11b-If you talk out of turn, it should be 1 brief sentence between characters. PC Secrets 12- Players are allowed to keep secrets from other players, but NOT the DM Players and their Description 13 - Every player will have the ability to say what and how they do something. but don't be going off in a paragraph about how you do something menial drags on moments best left quickly. Player Discomfort 14- If there is anything that makes a player uncomfortable, play your "X-Card", The X-Card should be used by a player when they feel uncomfortable, no matter the reason. (it could be for any reason whatsoever) I will list a few examples below. - A player has arachnophobia, and taps the X-Card when too many details are given. (The hairs covering the abdomen of the great beast bristle as you hear the clicking of its chelicerae.) In this case, I just used “The giant spider appears angry and ready to attack.” -A player is an engineer/architect in real life, and the descriptions of the fantasy architecture take them from “play mode” to “work mode,” effectively killing the mood. In this case, the player has no trouble with flying castles, but had a hard time with the inaccurate technical terms used in some adventure text. -A player has PTSD and can handle most violence, but not graphic description. (As the life ran out of Jiggle Hubberfoot’s halfling body, blood frothed in his mouth and dripped onto the floor with a soft pitter-patter.) -A player lost their child in a horrific manner, and can’t handle graphic descriptions of mutilated and/or cannibalized (humanoid) bodies. This is usually only a recurring element with goblinoids and giants, so I’m careful to include only animal bodies when I need a “gore-filled” dungeon or haunt. I will listen and make sure they know that in the future, everyones needs will be met. If needed, take them to another room until the players have finished with the topics described Player Agency 15- All players control their PC's I have no room to force them to do anything, I will guide the PC and the player to do what makes the most sense plot-wise. If they want to give me control (of another form/diety control) then I will make sure I speak with them before hand to make sure it is still within what that player wants out of their character. Game Balance & Fairness 16- I will try and make sure that each party memeber has an individual challenge and group challenges to rely on their characters both individually and for the group composition. Rules Debates 17- If you disagree with any of my ruling, and I can't change it on the fly, we will continue the game with set rules in place and I will get with you and talk about future games. Spotlight Sharing 18- Players will have their time in the spotlight, if they do not want it, that is fine and should take the opprotunity to share it with others that aren't seeing it as much. Spotlight hogging will be reprimanded. i get creative. Character Creation Rules 19- The lucky feat is only available to halflings, and feats at level 1 only for the human (variant), Everything else in Tasha's is good to go! Interruptions 20 - A player will wait until another has finished talking/portraying ideas, if they fail to do so is going to cost the offending character 10% of their personal gold. MinMaxing 21- Min/maxing is fine, as long as you understand that I want you to come up with a good character, if you can fit that guideline and bring me something I can work with, then min/maxing is fine Character Party fit 22- If you want to have a loner character that wants to pout and not want a party to be there, find another game. Murder Hobos 23- If you want to kill random NPC's for fun/stuff/power, find another game Other behavior rules 24- No bullying, No GateKeeping, No talking over another to be heard. Respect the golden rule or expect a portal to the abyss.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

(none)

How will character creation work

You can make your character on D&D Beyond. if not I can help if needed about party composition or ideas for world hooks in your background and vice versa

Players can expect

• Find a game to join solo or search for a professional game master for you and your friends/coworkers/family.
• Book your session and wait for the Game Master to approve you.
• If you don't have a blast with your first game, your next game is on us.