History TabletopGame / WaterdeepDragonHeist

** A twofer for the Harpers: Remallia Haventree, a high-ranking Harper agent who is also the lady of House Ulbrinter, as well as Mirt "the Moneylender", a RetiredBadass who serves as a close advisor to Laeral Silverhand.

* DragonHoard: [[spoiler:The Vault of Dragons is guarded by an actual dragon named Aurinax, who was tasked to guard the treasure until Dagult Neverember or his appointed vassals can remove it. Although upon meeting him, he will initially take the form of a dwarf named Barok Clanghammer to converse with visitors and will only revert to his true form when combat breaks out.]]

* ItsAllAboutMe: The Cassalanters would have been the most sympathetic villains, since they [[spoiler:are trying to save their children's souls]], if they hadn't brought their misfortunes entirely upon themselves by [[spoiler:knowing making selling their children to Asmodeus]].

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: There are two dragons that can be found within Waterdeep, despite the city supposedly being warded against them by the Dragonward of Ahghairon. In Deepwater Harbor, there's a bronze dragon named Zelifarn who just hangs outside of the Ward, scouring shipwrecks for treasure and trinkets to hoard in his underwater lair. [[spoiler:And inside Neverember's vault, there is also the gold dragon named Aurinax, who in exchange for the magic staff that exempts him from the Ward, promised to guard the cache of dragons until Dagult Neverember returns to remove it from the vault.]]

* SequelHook: By the end of the adventure, the adventurers receive a note from Durnan who invites them to venture into Undermountain, setting the hook for ''[[TabletopGame/WaterdeepDungeonOfTheMadMage Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage]]''.

* {{Swashbuckler}}: Jarlaxle, apart from being a swashbuckler himself, has several in his employ (appropriately enough using a statblock called '''drow swashbuckler'''). There are also several mechanical duelist constructs called Nimblewrights that are built with this aesthetic in mind.
* YouAllMeetInAnInn: The adventure begins with a barfight in the popular Yawning Portal inn. The players even get to pick out a contact among the patrons inside.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[TagLine Welcome to Waterdeep!]]]]

''Waterdeep: Dragon Heist'' is an adventure module for the fifth edition of ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Dungeons & Dragons]]'', released on September 18, 2018. Christopher Perkins serves as the lead designer for the module, with Creator/MatthewMercer (of ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'' fame) being brought in as one of the consultants for the story of the module.

Taking place within the city of [[CityOfAdventure Waterdeep]], the story begins with the adventurers being hired by famed explorer and storyteller Volothamp "Volo" Geddarm to help him find a friend of his who disappeared after their meeting a couple of nights ago. But as the adventurers begin to settle into Waterdeep, they soon hear rumors that a [[AMacGuffinFullOfMoney cache of half a million golden coins]] (locally known as "dragons") is hidden within a secret vault somewhere in the city, and many individuals in and out of Waterdeep have long been looking for the vault to claim the treasure inside, some of whom with more insidious motives in mind. And so begins a wild treasure hunt that takes them all across the City of Splendors, meeting many of its most influential figures who can help them in their quest to uncover the vault, while pitting them against some of its most infamous villains who will stop at nothing to claim the cache as theirs.

* AllianceMeter: The five Sword Coast factions ([[InHarmonyWithNature Emerald Enclave]], [[AncientOrderOfProtectors Harpers]], [[TheAlliance Lords' Alliance]], [[ChurchMilitant Order of the Gauntlet]], [[TheSyndicate Zhentarim]]) as well as [[HeroesRUs Force Grey]], [[HiredGuns Bregan D'aerthe]], and the [[ThievesGuild Xanathar Guild]] are all tied into this adventure and adventurers have the opportunity to work alongside or against them if they are to uncover the Vault of Dragons. Upon joining one or more of these factions, the member/s will be given a LoyaltyMission by their contacts that awards them with renown within a faction. The higher a member's renown, the better the faction will do at providing aid to its member during the adventure.

** The Blackstaff, Vajra Safahr, is the official archmage of Waterdeep. She carries the titular magical staff that contains the souls of her predecessors, who provide her with advice as well as increase her already formidable magical powers.

** Although Elminster Aumar isn't present in the actual adventure, there are several details within the adventure fluff that do mention of his involvement in Waterdeep's past.

** Spring Madness: Xanathar, the namesake leader of the infamous [[ThievesGuild Xanathar's Guild]]. A ruthless beholder crime lord who seeks to intimidate and eliminate anyone whom it perceives as a threat to its rule in the city's criminal underworld. Its main goal is to [[spoiler:wipe out the Zhentarim (as well as those who sympathize with the Zhantarim) within Waterdeep, obtain the Stone of Golorr, and secure the cache of dragons, as it believes that the dragons would be much safer under its ever-watchful gaze.]]
** Hell of a Summer: Ammalia and Victoro Cassalanter, [[AristocratsAreEvil a couple of influential Waterdhavian nobles]] who pride themselves in their business of money-lending and rumor-mongering. [[spoiler:They also happen to be devil cultists in secret, as they have previously struck a deal with Asmodeus to provide them wealth and power in exchange for the souls of their children.]] They plan to use the dragons [[spoiler:alongside sacrificing nearly a hundred Waterdhavians in order to spare two of their children from infernal damnation.]]
** Maestro's Fall: Jarlaxle Baenre, an elusive drow mercenary and the charismatic leader of the [[{{Mercenary}} Bregan D'aerthe]]. He plans to use the dragons [[spoiler:as leverage for Luskan's inclusion into the Lords' Alliance in order to boost his influence within the Sword Coast, as well as to oust Neverwinter and its leader, Lord Dagult Neverember, from the organization due to him being perceived by Jarlaxle as his fiercest political rival.]]
** Winter Wizardry: Manshoon, one of the founding leaders of the [[TheSyndicate Zhentarim]] which is in the midst of a MobWar with the Xanathar Guild [[spoiler:as well as an EnemyCivilWar with another Zhentarim group that opposes Manshoon's plans. He is actually one of the few remaining clones of the original Manshoon, who died long before the events of the adventure, and is searching for the cache of dragons as part of his EvilPlan to essentially take over Waterdeep alongside his loyal Zhentarim agents and exact revenge on Halaster Blackcloak for a past incident in Undermountain.]]

* RetiredBadass: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] with the Doom Raiders, who were a group of adventurers that became famous for plundering [[OurLichesAreDifferent lich]] [[SupervillainLair lairs]]. They then hung up their adventuring careers to join the Zhentarim and establish a branch of the organization in Waterdeep by establishing connections with the local nobles and guilds. That still doesn't make them any less powerful than they were as adventurers, as they can still kick some serious ass if the situation calls for it. [[spoiler:After all, the Doom Raiders are up against another Zhentarim group within Waterdeep led by Manshoon, and will stop at nothing to expose him before they are apprehended or driven out of the city by the local authorities.]]

** Manshoon, one of the founding leaders of the Zhentarim faction, is the only evil archmage present in the story. [[spoiler:He's actually a [[CloningBlues sentient clone]] of the real Manshoon, who's been dead for over a century.]]

** [[spoiler:Adventurers who join (or for non-drow, sympathize with) the Bregan D'aerthe may choose to let Jarlaxle Baenre claim the gold as well as the Dragonstaff of Ahghairon upon meeting him after unlocking the Vault of Dragons.]]
* BalefulPolymorph: Tragic example. [[spoiler:Osvaldo Cassalanter, oldest of the Cassalanter children, was transformed into a Chain Devil after Asmodeus claimed his soul. Like all devils, he took a dip in the Styx, and there is no way of saving him]].

** Spring Madness: Xanathar, the namesake leader of the infamous Xanathar's Guild. A ruthless beholder crime boss who seeks to intimidate and eliminate anyone whom it perceives as a threat to its rule in the city's criminal underworld. Its main goal is to [[spoiler:wipe out the Zhentarim (as well as those who sympathize with the Zhantarim) within Waterdeep, obtain the Stone of Golorr, and secure the cache of dragons, as it believes that the dragons would be much safer under its watchful gaze.]]
** Hell of a Summer: Ammalia and Victoro Cassalanter, a couple of influential Waterdhavian nobles who pride themselves in their business of money-lending and rumor-mongering. [[spoiler:They also happen to be devil cultists in secret, as they have previously struck a deal with Asmodeus to provide them wealth and power in exchange for the souls of their children.]] They plan to use the dragons [[spoiler:alongside sacrificing nearly a hundred Waterdhavians in order to spare two of their children from infernal damnation.]]
** Maestro's Fall: Jarlaxle Baenre, an elusive drow mercenary and the charismatic leader of the Bregan D'aerthe. He plans to use the dragons [[spoiler:as leverage for Luskan's inclusion into the Lords' Alliance in order to boost his influence within the Sword Coast, as well as to oust Neverwinter and its leader, Lord Dagult Neverember, from the organization due to him being perceived by Jarlaxle as his fiercest political rival.]]
** Winter Wizardry: Manshoon, one of the founding leaders of the notorious Zhentarim faction which is in the midst of a MobWar with the Xanathar Guild [[spoiler:as well as an EnemyCivilWar with another Zhentarim group that opposes Manshoon's plans]]. [[spoiler: He is actually one of the few remaining clones of the original Manshoon, who died long before the events of the adventure, and is searching for the cache of dragons as part of his EvilPlan to essentially take over Waterdeep alongside his loyal Zhentarim agents and exact revenge on Halaster Blackcloak for a past incident in Undermountain.]]

* ShoutOut: Jarlaxle is pretty much one big Creator/SeanConnery {{Expy}}. To make the comparison obvious, he owns a submarine named the Scarlet Marpenoth[[note]]Marpenoth in the Faerûnian calendar maps to October, making this a synonym to [[Film/TheHuntForRedOctober Red October]][[/note]] and he goes by the alias [[Film/{{Zardoz}} Zardoz Zord]]. When taking his drow surname into account, he also shares the same initials as [[Film/JamesBond a certain fictional British secret agent]].

** [[spoiler:The special events tied to the Cassalanters can actually result in this if the adventurers weren't able to put a stop to Victoro and Ammalia's EvilPlan in time. By the time the Founders' Day party being hosted by the Cassalanters is over, the stolen cache of dragons had already been paid to Asmodeus alongside the souls of ninety-nine Waterdhavians that they've poisoned to death, thus saving Terenzio and Elzerina's souls from being forfeit to the archdevil. From that point on, the couple would use their noble status as well as threats of infernal retribution to silence any witnesses and quash any investigations against them regarding the stolen dragons.]]

** [[spoiler:Adventurers who join (or for non-drow, sympathize with)) the Bregan D'aerthe may choose to let Jarlaxle Baenre claim the gold as well as the Dragonstaff of Ahghairon upon meeting him after unlocking the Vault of Dragons.]]

* SequelHook: By the end of the adventure, [[spoiler:the adventurers receive a note from Durnan who invites them to venture into Undermountain, setting the hook for ''[[TabletopGame/WaterdeepDungeonOfTheMadMage Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage]]''.]]

* SequelHook: At the end of the adventure, [[spoiler:the adventurers would receive a note from Durnan who invites them to venture into Undermountain, setting the hook for ''[[TabletopGame/WaterdeepDungeonOfTheMadMage Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage]]''.]]

* BigBad: A unique case among 5th Edition adventures, as the adventure provides four different villains for the DM to choose between, all of whom are portrayed on the cover and are tied to a particular season in Waterdeep:

** Hell of a Summer: Ammalia and Victoro Cassalanter, a couple of influential Waterdhavian nobles who pride themselves in their business of money-lending and rumor-mongering. [[spoiler:They also happen to be devil worshippers in secret, as they have struck a deal with Asmodeus to provide them wealth and power in exchange for the souls of their children.]] They plan to use the dragons [[spoiler:alongside sacrificing nearly a hundred Waterdhavians in order to spare two of their children from infernal damnation.]]
** Maestro's Fall: Jarlaxle Baenre, an elusive drow mercenary and the charismatic leader of the Bregan D'aerthe. He hopes to use the dragons to [[spoiler:persuade Laeral Silverhand for Luskan's inclusion into the Lords' Alliance in order to increase his political and economic power within the Sword Coast, as well as to oust Neverwinter and its leader, Lord Dagult Neverember, from the group due to him being perceived by Jarlaxle as his fiercest political rival.]]

* ShoutOut: Jarlaxle is pretty much one big Creator/SeanConnery {{Expy}}. To make the comparison obvious, he owns a submarine named the Scarlet Marpenoth[[note]]Marpenoth in the Faerûnian calendar maps to October, making this a synonym to [[Film/TheHuntForRedOctober Red October]][[/note]] and he goes by the alias [[Film/{{Zardoz}} Zardoz Zord]]. When taking his surname into account, he also shares the same initials as [[Film/JamesBond a certain fictional British secret agent]].

* ShoutOut: Jarlaxle is pretty much one big Creator/SeanConnery {{Expy}}. To make the comparison obvious, he owns a submarine named the Scarlet Marpenoth[[note]]Marpenoth in the Faerûnian calendar maps to October, making this a synonym to [[Film/TheHuntForRedOctober Red October]][[/note]] and he goes by the alias [[Film/{{Zardoz}} Zardoz Zord]].
* SoulJar: The blackstaff (the artifact, not the individual) contains the souls of its previous wealders, all of whom contribute to the staff's sapience, with Khelben Arunsun, the first Blackstaff, as the dominant personality. The souls ''can'' be freed by breaking the staff (easily done by just breaking it over your knee), but Khelben's spirit can reform it at any time, trapping the spirits again.

* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons: There are two dragons that can be found within Waterdeep, despite the city supposedly being warded against them by the Dragonward of Ahghairon. In Deepwater Harbor, there's a bronze dragon named Zelifarn who just hangs outside of the Ward, scouring shipwrecks for treasure and trinkets to hoard in his underwater lair. [[spoiler:And inside Neverember's vault, there is also the gold dragon named Aurinax, who in exchange for the magic staff that exempts him from the Ward, promised to guard the cache of dragons until Dagult Neverember returns to remove it from the vault.]]

* TheParanoiac: Like any other beholder, Xanathar is essentially this. It was quick to accuse the Zhentarim of stealing the Stone of Golorr when the artifact went missing during a negotiation, inciting a MobWar against them. And as anyone in the Xanathar Guild would know, even the smallest mistake would cause Xanathar to lose its trust in them, [[TakenForGranite which will not]] [[ReducedToDust end well for]] [[DeathRay the offender]]. [[spoiler:[[ManipulativeBastard Savvy]] [[GuileHero adventurers]] can [[FlawExploitation take advantage of its paranoia]] to [[ParanoiaGambit sow mistrust and chaos within the Xanathar Guild]] and disrupt their operations.]]

* StrictParentsMakeSneakyKids: [[spoiler: Esvele Roznar, a young Waterdhavian noble, had a very strict upbringing as part of her family's efforts to [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten wipe away their history of illicit slave trading from the minds of the public.]] Rebelling towards her parents only resulted in her being shut in her home at night and house guards watching her every move during the day. She then taught herself the arts of skullduggery, assassination, and theft as a way of cutting herself loose from the decadent noble life, culminating in adopting the identity of the infamous '''Black Viper'''.]]

* StrictParentsMakeSneakyKids: Esvele Roznar, a young Waterdhavian noble, had a strict upbringing as part of her family's efforts to [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten wipe away their history of illicit slave trading from the minds of the public.]] Rebelling towards her parents only resulted in her being shut in her home at night and house guards watching her every move during the day. [[spoiler:She then taught herself to sneak past people and perform acts of skullduggery, culminating in her adopting the identity of the Black Viper.]]

** Although Elminster Aumar isn't present in the actual adventure, there are several information within the adventure fluff that do mention of his involvement in Waterdeep's past.

** Spring Madness: Xanathar, the namesake leader of the infamous Xanathar's Thieves' Guild. A ruthless beholder crime boss who seeks to intimidate and eliminate anyone whom it perceives as a threat to its rule in the city's criminal underworld. Its main goal is to [[spoiler:wipe out the Zhentarim (as well as those who sympathize with the Zhantarim) within Waterdeep, obtain the Stone of Golorr and secure the cache of dragons, as it believes that the dragons would be much safer under its watchful gaze.]]

** For the Force Grey, there is Vajra Safahr, the Blackstaff and Archmage of Waterdeep.

* DealWithTheDevil: [[spoiler:Three years prior to the events of the adventure, the noble Cassalanters were on the verge of bankruptcy. To save themselves from financial ruin, Victoro and Ammalia Cassalanter struck a deal with the archdevil [[SatanicArchetype Asmodeus]] to provide them wealth and power in exchange for the souls of their children. This results with their eldedst son, Osvaldo, being transformed immediately into a chain devil, while their two youngest children, Terenzio and Elzerina, were doomed to lose their souls as well once they turn nine years old. In the present day, this deal is what motivates the couple to search for the cache of dragons in order to offer it alongside the souls of ninety-nine unsuspecting Waterdhavians as a replacement for the souls of Terenzio and Elzerina.]]

* GoodParents: PlayedForDrama. The Cassalanters love their children dearly, and seem to raise them well. [[spoiler:Too bad they owe their children's souls to Asmodeus, and need to kill ninety-nine people as well as steal a cache of half a million dragons just to save all but one of them.]] Granted, the fact that they were willing to [[spoiler:offer the souls of their children at all just to save their family from financial ruin]] calls into question [[WellIntentionedExtremist how good]] [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist they actually are.]]

* {{Greed}}: Subverted; Every villain, with the exception of Xanathar, have a reason for seeking the gold other than just wanting it. [[spoiler:Aurinax, the dragon in the vault, however, is noted to be too blinded by his own greed to accept what he secretly knew all along; that the gold is not really Neverember's gold.]]
* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons: There are two dragons that can be found within Waterdeep, despite the city supposedly being warded against them by the Dragonward of Ahghairon. In Deepwater Harbor, there's a bronze dragon named Zelifarn who just hangs outside of the Ward, scouring shipwrecks for treasure and trinkets to hoard in his underwater lair. [[spoiler:And inside Neverember's vault, there is also the gold dragon named Aurinax, who in exchange for the magic staff that excempts him from the Ward, promised to guard the cache of dragons until Dagult Neverember returns to remove it from the vault.]]

* LegacyCharacter: It's ''The'' Xanathar, because it is not the first to carry that name or its position as the leader of the guild. The Guildhall even features a mortarium where the Xanathars past are interred.
* LivingStatue: The Walking Statues are colossal, sentient constructs that were built to defend Waterdeep in times of crisis. There are around eight of these statues that can be found within the city, and they can only be animated and controlled by the Blackstaff. The adventure module evn provides a stat block which is shared to all of the walking statues.
* MacGuffin: The hidden cache of dragons, of course. There is also the Stone of Golorr, a magical artifact with no other purpose than being used to track down the vault, as well as to acquire the keys needed to open said vault.

* {{Swashbuckler}}: Jarlaxle, apart from being a swashbuckler himself, has several in his employ (appropriately enough using a statblock called '''drow swashbuckler'''). There are also several mechanical duelist constructs called Nimblewrights who are built with this aesthetic in mind.

Taking place within the city of [[CityOfAdventure Waterdeep]], the story begins with the adventurers being hired by famed explorer and storyteller Volothamp "Volo" Geddarm to help him find a friend of his who disappeared after their meeting a couple of nights ago. But as the adventurers begin to settle into Waterdeep, they soon hear rumors that a [[AMacGuffinFullOfMoney cache of half a million golden coins]] (locally known as "dragons") is hidden within a secret vault somewhere in the city, and many individuals in and out of Waterdeep have long been looking for the vault to claim the treasure inside, some of whom with more insidious motives in mind. And so begins a wild treasure hunt that takes them all across the City of Splendors, meeting many of the its most influential figures who can help them in their quest to uncover the vault, while pitting them against some of its most infamous villains who will stop at nothing to claim the cache as theirs.

* TheParanoiac: Like any other beholder, Xanathar is essentially this. It was quick to accuse the Zhentarim of stealing the Stone of Golorr when the artifact went missing during a negotiation, inciting a MobWar against them. And as anyone in the Xanathar Guild would know, even the smallest mistake would cause Xanathar to lose its trust in them, [[TakenForGranite which will not]] [[ReducedToDust end well for]] [[DeathRay the offender]]. [[spoiler:[[ManipulativeBastard Savvy]] adventurers can [[FlawExploitation take advantage of its paranoia]] to sow mistrust and chaos within the Xanathar Guild and disrupt their operations.]]

* TheParanoiac: Like any other beholder, Xanathar is essentially this. It was quick to accuse the Zhentarim of stealing the Stone of Golorr when the artifact went missing during a negotiation, inciting a MobWar against them.

* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons: There are two dragons that can be found within Waterdeep, despite the city supposedly being warded against them by the Dragonstaff of Ahghairon. In Deepwater Harbor, there's a bronze dragon named Zelifarn who just hangs outside of the Dock Ward, scouring shipwrecks for treasure and trinkets to hoard in his underwater lair. [[spoiler:And inside Neverember's vault, there is also the gold dragon named Aurinax, who in exchange of the aforementioned magic staff promises to guard the cache of dragons until Dagult Neverember returns to remove it from the vault.]]

* TheParanoiac: Like any other beholder, Xanathar is essentially this. It was quick to accuse the Zhentarim of stealing the Stone of Golorr when the artifact went missing during a negotiation, inciting a GangWar against them.