.ODUCTION “ELComE To WaTeRDEEP, THE CROWN OF the North where a wondrous ale of urban adventure i about to unfold Our tory Bele withthe gathering of adventurere atthe Yawning Portal Inn and Tavern Velothamp Geddarm, the famous exporet and raconteihaa 4 est forthe one that entangles the characters in a bitter conflict between “twonnefarious organizations. the adventurers com- ‘plete his quest, Volo rewards them handsomely. Yet a ‘much greater prize lies hidden somewhere in the City of ‘Splendors, waiting to be claimed. Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is a DUNGEONS & DRAGONS adventure designed fr character starting at Lt evel Bye end of te story tne characters wile atleast. Bee ry sre pitta tris rough hc cdrese tare asa player, stop reading now! youre looking for higher level adventure content st in Waterdeep, companion product tiled Waterdeep Dungeon of the Mad Mage explores the vast dungeon Saar ieectocs kanye wr Ueda earnicte ase et Sioned for charactors of lvels all the way up f 20th Srory OVERVIEW Waterdeep: Dragon Heist isa treasure hunt set against ‘an urban backdrop. The adventure’s plot can be summa- rized as follows: 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 mer ‘cenaries, and Xanathar, the beholder crime lord of ‘Waterdeep, are at odds, and when they clash, the char- acters are pulled into the contfict. Cacue OF DRAGONS In Waterdeep, a gold coin i called a dragon. Before he ‘was ousted from his position as the Open Lard of Water- deep, Dagult Neverember embezzled half « million ‘dragons and hid them ina secret vault. Asa security precaution, he arranged forall knowledge ofthe vaul’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 ealled the Stone of Golorr. The wizard isappeared shortly thereafter, and Dagult hid the stone inthe Palace of Waterdeep. Dagult was off rebuikding the city of Neverwinter when the other Lords of Waterdeep voted him out of office. He immediately made plans to retrieve the Stone of Golorr ana smuge his cache o! dragons out ot Waterdeep. His spies plucked the stone from the palace but were killed ‘hile trying to leave the city. The stone was stolen and passed from one hand to another like a common jewel until it wound up in the clutches of Xanathar. Usine THE Poster Map. ‘The map inthe back ofthis book has the city of Waterdeep ‘on both sides. One side can be shown to players. The ‘other side is forthe DM and includes tags marking impor: nt locstions inthe adventure. ‘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 at- tuned to the stone can also extract information from the aboleth, including lore about Neverember's vault Built long ago by dwarves, the vault is warded against all forms of magical detection and intrusion. Ks current protector ss an adult gold dragon named Aurinax, who isalso the current wielder and guardian of the dragon- staff of Ahghairon, which has the power to prevent other dragons from entering the city. In exchange for the staff, Aurinax promised to guard the gold until such time as, [Neverember or his appointed vassals removed it. 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 Guuld. The arch tect ofthis attempt was a clone of the wizard Manshoon, a founder of the Black Network long thought dead, ‘While de (wo sides were neyodahng fi Namah lair, the Stone of Golorr suddenly disappeared from where Xanathar had hidden it. The paranoid beholder ‘accused the Dlach Netwoth of atealing it and stew the Zhentarim envoys who were present. When the Zhents| retaliated by attacking Xanathar Guild outposts, Xana- thar tool their actions aa confiemation 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. Who actually stole the Stone of Golorr? The answer: ‘rock gnome named Dalakhar. After Lord Neverember ial magi tr tincien the grroalone’alaratinin, he mnt forth a succession of spies o infiltrate Xanathar's lait and obtain it. Dalakhar succeeded where many others, before him had failed, but his success turns out to be shortlived. Vouo’s QuEST ‘The Yawning Portal serves as the default starting point a to tae Due nonrapepe beset Se ence ode ate aia fteaniooner mre re ee ee ee ‘ We ae napped. The scarch for Floon leads to the revelation that he was caught up in a case of mistaken identity, and sersurneanee cua ioaeg meres meee ae aia aprt Loerie ae enaAHGHAIRON’S DRAGONWARD Waterdeep is blanketed by an undispellable magical effect called Ahghoron’ dregonwvard, The effect originates from ‘somewhere under Ahghairon’s Tower inthe Caste Ward ands permanent. Oragons and al other creatures of the ‘ragon type are physically unable to encer the cy (or ts sewers) as long as the dragonword persists. The effect doesn't extend to the harbor or into Underrnountain. ‘creature ofthe dragon type that is touched by the hogonstaf of Abghoron (see appendix 8) can ignore A ghairon's dragonword and move through the city Feely. The effect asts until the creature is touched again bythe staf, ‘oF until the passage of a period of time specined by one who is atuned to the staff. “The dragonstaffis currently in the possession ofan adult {gold dragon named Aurinax (sce appendix 8), who guards, hidden vault under the city. ——— Renact Neverembes. Agents uf the Zhentarim waylaid hhim because they want to know everything that Renaer knows about the cache of dragons. (Unfortunately for them, Renacr is ignorant ofthe cache and its where- abouts, Ifthe characters rescue him, Renaer proves to be a worthy ally to adventurers hoping to make a name for themoelvee in Waterdeep. AAs a reward for rescuing Floon, Volo gives adventur- ers the deed to a building in the North Ward that looks out onto a wide cul-de-sac hemmed in by old residences and shops. The property used to be a tavern with a res- idence on the upper floors. The tavern has been closed for years, anel the residence is haunted by a poltereeis that the characters can lay to rest FIREBALL) As time goes on, the characters attract the attention of local factions hoping to recruit them while they settle Tele Gs oe Bonen serait eas are shattered when a fireball detonates near their new residence, The characters are swept up inthe aftermath sf this haere event and ean tryin gett the bottom af ‘it, Who cast the fireball spell and why? Who was the imended target? They can investigate the incident on be half of a guild or a faction, or they can become involved for reasons of their own, One casualty ofthe fireball is in fact ts intended tr set: Lord Neverember's spy, Dalakhar. Whoever killed the gnome now has the Stone of Gaorr, the key to find: ing the lost cache of dragons. One way or another, de- pending on the alliances~and the enemles—they have made inthe city the characters become embroiled in the chase forthe stone and the hoard it protects. CHOOSE YOUR VILLAIN When you run this adventure, you choose its main lain atthe outset. Your choice determines the season of the Year in which the story takes place, as well as the an- tagonists in several of the encounters in chapter 4. The villain you ehanse anpases the player characters, while the villains you don't choose become part of the back: drop'and could help the characters or hinder them. As another unusual feature of this adventure, the villains aren't meant to be killed, nor are they out to kill the player characters. The villains are alter a treasure hoard, and the adventurers’ ultimate goal is to keep the treasure out of their clutches. You can swap out one villain for another at any time. For example, ifyou decide halfway through the ad- venture that because of how the story has progressed Jarlaxle Baenre would make a better antagonist than ‘Xanathar, you can make that change on the fly and run subsequent encounters accordingly. Each villain is fully described in appendix B and sum- marized below. XANATITAR Xanathar is a paranoid, megalomaniacal beholder crime lord whose goal is to wipe out anyone it perceives as a Zhentarim operative or sympathizer, retrieve the Stone of Golorr, and secure the cache of dragons. Its base is a dungeon under Skullport, a subterranean setilement be- neath Waterdeep. his lair is described in chapter 5. ‘Xanathar has a healthy fear of Laeral Silverhand and is inclined to spare those in her employ, to avoid provok- ing a conflict with Waterdeep's Open Lord. Adventurers ‘who incur the wrath ofthe beholder can use its fear of Laeral to escape certain death, Ieyou elivuse Xatatha as he vila takes place in the spring. the adventure, ‘THE CASSALANTERS Vietoro and Ammalia Cassalanter are Waterdavian no: bles and secret devil worshipers. The Cassalanters plan touse the cache of dragons to buy back the souls of their children, which they traded to Asmodeus for power. Their estate, Cassalanter Villa, has a temple of Asmo- deus hidden underneath tt, as described in caplet 6, The Cassalanters try to misdirect and discredit the characters rather than murder them. Vietoro and Am- tall vely ou deis nuble status Uo protect thenn, and the last thing they want is the City Watch on their doorstep. Ifyou choose the Cassalanters as the villains, the ad- venture takes place in the summer. JARLAXLE BAENRE Jarlaxle Baenre is a drow swashbuckler and the secret Jord of Luskan, the City of Sails. Jalaxle plans to use the cache of dragons to buy his way into the Lords’ Allianee, a confederation of cies and ww a ban together against common threats. jarlaxle also wants the dragonstaff of Aighairon for leverage in his nego- tiations. In the magical guise ofa human sea captain named Zardoz Zord,arlaxle runs a traveling carnival called the Sea Maidens Faire and lair aboard a ship in Waterdecp's harbor that hao a oubmarine (he Scarlet ‘Marpenoth) underneath it, as described in chapter 7 Jarlaxle delights in thwarting his enemies, enjoys the complications that arise when adventurers try to meddle in his affair, and loves to se the looks on their faces ‘when he finally gets the better of them. He doesnt suffer fools who theraten him, however TE forced inte a vient confrontation, he swiftly and brutally kills someone to ‘make an example of them and then walks off Ifyou choose Jarlaxle as the villain, the adventure takes place in the autumn,