History TabletopGame / WaterdeepDragonHeist

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: [[spoiler: 500,000 gold coins is a LOT of money, and word travels fast if it's recovered by the players. And due to it being embezzled by Dagult Nevermember, the money is technically the stolen property of the city. Unfortunately, the players will not be able to legally keep the whole cache and will have to settle for being rewarded a tenth of it (which is still a lot of money at 50,000 gold pieces) for doing the right thing. [[WhatTheHellHero If the players do not return the money to the city]], they'll be immediately charged with stealing from the city, [[InsigniaRipOffRitual stripped of their faction ranks]], and [[SuddenDownerEnding quickly arrested with no real way to pay back the damages that are owed for their crimes]], [[BolivianArmyEnding if not hunted by the Lords' Alliance and Harpers if they somehow escape]].]]

* YouAllMeetInAnInn: The adventure begins with a BarBrawl within the popular Yawning Portal inn. The players even get to pick out a contact among the patrons inside.
* TreasureHuntEpisode: ''Waterdeep: Dragon Heist'' serves as this among the 5th Edition adventure modules, as its plot revolves around the Vault of Dragons, within which half a million golden coins are being kept and is being searched for by everyone in Waterdeep, including the adventurers and the villains.

* BalefulPolymorph: [[spoiler:Osvaldo Cassalanter, eldest of the Cassalanter children, was transformed into a chain devil after Asmodeus claimed his soul through an infernal contract with his parents. Like all devils, he took a dip into the River Styx, and there is no way of saving him upon finding him within the family villa]].

* AntagonisticOffspring: Renaer Neverember, the son of Dagult Neverember, is estranged from his father and will gladly help out the adventurers in obtaining the cache of dragons, even if it goes against his father's plans.

* LegacyCharacter: It's '''the''' Xanathar, because it is not the first to carry that name nor its position as the leader of the guild. Its main hideout even features a mortarium where all the previous Xanathars are interred.

* 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 [[GildedCage 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 [[PhantomThief Black Viper]], an [[LegacyCharacter infamous Waterdhavian criminal who supposedly died a century ago.]]]]

* KarmicJackpot: Literally the easiest way to acquire the horde from the gold dragon guarding it is pointing out it's been embezzled and should be returned to its rightful owners. {{Subverted}} if the PCs use Bluff or their rescued allies to swindle the dragon.

** [[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 forfeited 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. Of course, an alternative take on this scenario would be that the adventurers are willing to let the Cassalanters claim the gold in the end, if only to help prevent the couple from losing their only children to Asmodeus.]]
** [[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 outside the Vault of Dragons after unlocking it.]]
* BalefulPolymorph: [[spoiler:Osvaldo Cassalanter, eldest of the Cassalanter children, was transformed into a chain devil after Asmodeus claimed his soul through an infernal contract with his parents. Like all devils, he took a dip into the river Styx, and there is no way of saving him upon finding him within the family villa]].

** Spring Madness: Xanathar, the namesake leader of the infamous Xanathar 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, 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 only children from infernal damnation.]]

* CallBack: Savra Belabranta, the adventurers' main contact for the Order of the Gauntlet, is revealed to have been a former member of the Cult of the Howling Hatred, one of the four evil cults responsible for the events of ''[[TabletopGame/PrincesOfTheApocalypse Princes of the Apocalypse]]''. Some time after the cults have been defeated, Savra [[HeelFaithTurn soon turned to serving Tyr]] (and by extension, the Order of the Gauntlet) [[TheAtoner as atonement for her past sins]].

* FamilyBusiness: [[spoiler:Aurinax]] will assume that this is the case if the adventurers bring Renaer Neverember with them to retrieve the gold. Renaer is, in fact, distanced from his father Dagult, and will gladly spoil his plans if he can.
* ForTheEvulz: The book notes that [[spoiler:while the Cassalanters think they've outsmarted Asmodeus, he most likely included the clause that allows them to get out of their deal by sacrificing ninety-nine souls simply because he enjoys the agony it would bring.]]

* CallBack: Savra Belabranta, the adventurers' main contact for the Order of the Gauntlet, is revealed to have been a former member of the Cult of the Howling Hatred, one of the four evil cults responsible for the events of ''[[TabletopGame/PrincesOfTheApocalypse Princes of the Apocalypse]]''. Some time after the cults have been defeated, Savra soon turn to serving Tyr (and by extension, the Order of the Gauntlet) [[HeelFaithTurn as atonement for her past sins]].

** For the Emerald Enclave, there is Jeryth Phaulkon, a [[DeityOfHumanOrigin noblewoman-turned-demigod]] and Chosen of Mielikki.
** For Force Grey, there is the Blackstaff Vajra Safahr, who is also the official Archmage of Waterdeep.

** Manshoon, one of the founding leaders of the Zhentarim, 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.]]

* BigBadEnsemble: A unique case among 5th Edition adventures, as the module 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 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.]]

** For the Force Grey, there is the Blackstaff Vajra Safahr, who is also the official Archmage of Waterdeep.

** For the Lords' Alliance, there is Laeral Silverhand, the Open Lord of Waterdeep and daughter of the goddess Mystra.

* 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 in their eldest 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.]]

** Dagult Neverember, former Open Lord of Waterdeep and current Lord Protector of Neverwinter, doesn't control any of the main villains of the adventure nor appears anywhere within the adventure, but he was the one who stole half a million dragons from the people of Waterdeep and hid it within a secret vault many years ago. Whether or not he's an actual villain [[AmbiguouslyEvil depends on who you ask.]]

* AntagonisticOffspring: Renaer Neverember, the son of lord Dagult Neverember, is distanced from his father and will gladly help the adventurers out if it goes against his father's plans.

* DragonHoard: [[spoiler:The Vault of Dragons is guarded by an ancient gold dragon named Aurinax, who was tasked to guard the treasure within 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.]]
* FamilyBusiness: [[spoiler:Aurinax]] will assume that this is the case if the adventurers bring Renaer with them to retrieve the gold. Renaer is, in fact, distanced from his father, and will gladly spoil his plans if he can.

* {{Greed}}: Subverted; Every villain, with the exception of Xanathar, has 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.]]

* 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 or his appointed vassals return to remove it from the vault.]]

* SoulJar: The Blackstaff (the artifact, not the individual) contains the souls of its previous wielders, 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.

* UnbreakableWeapons: Played with with the ''Blackstaff'', the magical artifact wielded by Waterdeep's archmage. It can be destroyed by just breaking it over one's knee, but [[SoulJar the soul of Khelben Arunsun]] can reform the staff from the pieces anytime he wishes.

** Spring Madness: Xanathar, the namesake leader of the infamous Xanathar 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.]]

* LegacyCharacter: It's ''The'' Xanathar, because it is not the first to carry that name or its position as the leader of the guild. Its main hideout even features a mortarium where the previous Xanathars are interred.

* 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 containing the dragons, as well as to acquire the keys needed to open 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.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[TagLine Welcome to Waterdeep!]][[note]]From top to bottom, left to right: [[MagnificentBastard Jarlaxle Baenre]], [[AristocratsAreEvil Victoro and Ammalia Cassalanter]], and [[EvilWizard Manshoon]]. In the background: [[KingOfThieves Xanathar]].]]

''Waterdeep: Dragon Heist'' is an adventure module for [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsFifthEdition 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 a story consultant for the module.

''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 a story consultant for the module.

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

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

This adventure module is [[ImmediateSequel immediately followed up]] with ''[[TabletopGame/WaterdeepDungeonOfTheMadMage Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage]]'', where adventurers can venture below the Yawning Portal inn and explore the famous dungeon complex known as Undermountain.

* {{Cthulhumanoid}}: One of Xanathar's lieutenants is a '''mind flayer''' named Nihiloor.