Welcome to Waterdeep! Waterdeep, the Crown of the North, where a wondrous tale of urban adventure is about to unfold. Our story begins with the gathering of adventurers at the Yawning Portal Inn and Tavern. Volothamp Geddarm, the famous explorer and raconteur, has a quest for them - one that entangles the characters in a bitter conflict between two nefarious organizations. If the adventurers complete their quest, Volo rewards them handsomely. Yet a much greater prize lies hidden somewhere in the City of Splendors, waiting to be claimed. Dragon Heist is a treasure hunt set against an urban backdrop. Half a million gold coins are hidden somewhere in Waterdeep. Many individuals know about the cache and are looking for it. Adventurers can join the hunt and prevent the cache from falling into evil hands. The city is threatened by escalating tension between two power groups that is on the verge of flaring into violence. The Zhentarim, a shadowy network of mercenaries, and Xanathar, the beholder crime lord of Waterdeep, are at odds, and when they clash, the characters are pulled into the conflict. Cache of Dragons In Waterdeep, a gold coin is called a dragon. Before he was ousted from his position as the Open Lord of Waterdeep, Dagult Neverember embezzled half a million dragons and hid them in a secret vault. As a security precaution, he arranged for all knowledge of the vault's location and defenses to be magically erased from his mind and the minds of his subordinates. The wizard who performed the procedure trapped this knowledge within an artifact called the Stone of Golorr. The wizard disappeared shortly thereafter, and Dagult hid the stone in the Palace of Waterdeep. The stone was stolen and passed from one hand to another like a common jewel until it wound up in the clutches of Xanathar. The Stone of Golorr is actually an aboleth transformed by magic. In this inanimate state, the aboleth can read the mind of any creature that attunes to the stone, as well as modify that creature's memory. A creature attuned to the stone can also extract information from the aboleth, including lore about the mysterious Neverember's Vault. War in the Streets Beneath the city streets lurks a criminal underworld, its leader a beholder called Xanathar. Hoping to gain a political foothold in Waterdeep, agents of the Zhentarim (also known as the Black Network) recently tried to ally their organization with the Xanathar Guild. The architect of this attempt was a clone of the wizard Manshoon, a founder of the Black Network long thought dead. While the two sides were negotiating in Xanathar's lair, the Stone ofGolorr suddenly disappeared from where Xanathar had hidden it. The paranoid beholder accused the Black Network of stealing it and slew the Zhentarim envoys who were present. When the Zhents retaliated by attacking Xanathar Guild outposts, Xanathar took their actions as confirmation of the Black Network's vile intentions. Now the bad blood between the Zhentarim and Xanathar has begun to spill into the streets, threatening peace throughout the city. The questions on everyone's minds: Who actually stole the Stone of Golorr? And where is it now? Game Details Campaign: Waterdeep: Dragon Heist Date: Weekly sessions every Wednesday Time: 8:00 PM EST Place: Virtual tabletop on Roll20, voice chat on Discord (video optional) Duration: Sessions last 3-3.5 hours Payment: $60 per player per month via PayPal Roll20's required payment disclaimer: "This game will require payment to the Game Master at a rate of $60 per player per month via PayPal. Roll20 is not responsible for any payment transactions and cannot enforce any private arrangements." Why Pay to Play? There is no secret that there are more players than DMs. This causes great difficulty in finding a game, or when you finally find a group the players and DM either show up late, unprepared, or not at all. Here are some of the reasons why professionally-run paid games provide a superior experience: Charging a modest per-person fee virtually eliminates player no-shows. The small fee also ensures that everyone in the group is committed to the session. The maturity level is exponentially higher in paid games. The DM's Roll20 Pro membership ensures that players have access to all of the extras, including D&D 5e Compendium integration, API scripts, and more. I use APIs and Macros setting them up for my use as well as for the players. Background audio that changes with the game. Extra help for beginners at no charge. About the Dungeon Master I am a very relaxed DM, my main focus is to ensure every single player is having a good time and enjoying themselves. I like to give everyone an equal chance for their characters to shine. I will weave player character backstories into the module giving it a more personalized feeling for the players. I have several resources that I use and give my players access to. I also allow some homebrew per players' discretion. For example, flanking some DMs allow it, others do not. I leave it up to the players. The only stipulation I have on certain rules is if we use them for the players we use them for the PCs as well. However, at the end of the day, I am running the game ** for ** the players. So we can change and build the experience in almost any way. Character Creation Characters begin the adventure at Level 1 and play continues on a weekly basis until the book has been completed. If you have little or no experience playing D&D online, don't worry. I can help you with your character creation prior to the first session upon request at no additional charge. I can also provide ongoing help as you progress. Request an Invite to Play If you'd like to request an invite to play, then simply send me a private message with the following information: Your name: Campaign name/day/time: Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, Wednesday, 8:00 PM EST Your Discord ID and number (it's case sensitive)(it's ok if you don't have one): Please describe what you're looking for from this D&D experience: Your online D&D experience: none / beginner / intermediate / expert Do you understand that the game costs $60 per player per month via PayPal? Provide a few details about your character such as name, class, race, and backstory. (It's OK if you haven't decided yet.) Everyone plays a role in suicide prevention. If you or someone you know is at risk please don't hesitate to send me a pm. There are also several great online resources like <a href="https://afsp.org/suicide-prevention-resources" rel="nofollow">https://afsp.org/suicide-prevention-resources</a> for your use. Remember that at the end of the day there is no one like you and you are very special. <a href="http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org" rel="nofollow">www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org</a> 1-800-273-TALK (8255) (Veterans, press 1)
