Waterdeep: Dragon Heist - An official D&D hardcover campaign run by a pro DM! Friday 7:00 PM EST In Waterdeep, a gold coin is called a dragon, and someone has hidden half a million dragons in the City of Splendors. 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! 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 his 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 Friday Time: 4:00 PM PST (UTC-8) Place: Virtual tabletop on Roll20, voice chat on Discord Duration: Sessions last 3-4 hours Payment: $15 per player per session via PayPal Roll20's required payment disclaimer: "This game will require payment to the Game Master at a rate of $15 per session via PayPal. Roll20 is not responsible for any payment transactions and cannot enforce any private arrangements." Why Pay to Play? Practically everyone is clamoring to get into a free game online, but there aren't nearly enough experienced DMs to satisfy the demand. Most people endure disappointing experiences like this: After spending your valuable time laboriously filling out applications, you get rejected more often than not due to the scores of people applying to play each free game. When you do get accepted, players don't show up or are unprepared. Sometimes the DM doesn't show up or is unprepared. It's a frustrating grind to go through time after time, especially when all you want to do is relax and have fun playing. 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. People don't abandon the group and quit the campaign when something doesn't go their way. The gaming experience provided by a professional DM is eminently more enjoyable than what you get in a free game. Material costs associated with running a top-shelf game are covered. Roll20 charges fees for the token, map, and card collections associated with each module, while the actual hardcover books and DM Guild downloads must be purchased separately. 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. Custom-designed tokens for your characters are included. Extra help for beginners at no charge. An immersive experience that includes advanced role-play techniques, effects, and completely original game materials that aren't available anywhere else. About the Dungeon Master I've been running Dungeons and Dragons games for decades. I take my time customizing each adventure with story lines and subplots that aren't found in the officially published material. As a result, even people who have read the material or previously played or run it will enjoy a unique experience that isn't found anywhere else. My game preparation is unparalleled. I read and familiarize myself with every detail about a campaign before we even play the first session. Then I review key points before each subsequent session, all while interweaving character backstories into the written material. Wizard of the Coast's rule master Jeremy Crawford encourages people to play D&D with RAF (Rules As Fun) in mind. So don't be surprised if we place RAF over RAW (Rules As Written). Creativity is always appreciated and rewarded. Role-playing is encouraged, but isn't required. Beginners are encouraged to apply, and will be welcomed into our gaming family with open arms. Job one for me as DM is to ensure that every single player at the table has a good time. I take that responsibility very seriously. So if you play through a campaign with me, it will be a fun experience that you will remember and cherish well after it's over. What's more, I don't do this alone. I'm proud to lead a team of dedicated and hard-working Game Masters (GM's) who help run the sessions. Players often have access to both myself and a GM for help with things like character creation, backstory development, and mechanical Q & A. My team works together to provide a wonderful ongoing experience to every participating player. 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, Friday, 4:00 PM PST Your Discord ID and number: Briefly describe what you're looking for in a gaming experience: Your online D&D experience: none / beginner / intermediate / expert Your overall D&D experience: none / beginner / intermediate / expert Do you understand that the game costs $15 per player per session 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.) Note: If you get an error message when you try to send me a private message, then please post your application here in this thread. Don't forget to include your Discord name/number. (Remember, it's cAsE sEnSiTiVe.) <a href="https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/252776/waterdeep-dragon-heist-an-official-dandd-hardcover-campaign-run-by-a-pro-dm" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/252776/waterdeep-dragon-heist-an-official-dandd-hardcover-campaign-run-by-a-pro-dm</a>