The following sections contains spoilers.
Other Characters
Volothamp Geddarm is known to most Waterdavians as a braggart and a notorious embellisher of facts. For all his faults, though, Volo is a soft-hearted sort who cares for nothing as much as his friends. At present, he is grievously concerned for the well-being of one of them. He begins his request with an air of charm and mystery, but it quickly devolves into tearful sincerity.
- Miles Gloriosus: He is well meaning, but has a habit of playing up his exploits.
- Quest Giver: He starts the adventure by approaching the player characters for help.
Floon, a native Waterdavian in his early thirties, is a handsome fellow but not very bright. He used to work as an escort in festhalls but is currently unemployed. Several months ago, he came upon a married noble engaging in some indiscreet behavior, and now lives off the generous bribe he is being paid to keep silent.
With friends all over the city, Floon spends most of his time drinking and carousing. He gets by on his looks and doesn’t know what to do with his life, and has shown little interest in working for a living.
- Blackmail: As stated in his profile, he lives off a bribe from an unfaithful noble he caught in flagranti.
- Brainless Beauty: His profile calls him this, and it's reflected in his stats.
- Distressed Dude: His kidnapping (alongside Renaer) starts the story.
- Gameplay and Story Integration: His stats are to normal one of a commoner with a slight change: He has a + 1 to charisma and a -2 to intelligence.
- Mistaken Identity: The Xanathar guildmembers who raided the hideout he was kept in thought he was Renaer Neverember, taking him to their hideout while leaving behind the real Renaer.
An agent of Dagult Neverember, Dalakhar infiltrated the Xanathar Guild with orders to steal the Stone of Golorr. He succeeded in his task, setting off the gang war and kickstarting the plot. However, his theft is soon discovered, the villains start closing in, and when Renaer proves uncooperative, he turns to Renaer's rescuers... the players. Too bad karma kicks in for him right outside the players' front door....
- Asshole Victim: It's hard to feel sorry for Dalakhar when you remember that his actions started a bloody gang war throughout the streets of Waterdeep. Every crime and death in the game is technically his fault, especially with the Summer and Winter bad endings.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: He probably died instantly and he definitely had his death coming, but did he, two Zhents, and eight innocent people deserve to be burned alive?
- The Dragon: Is effectively Dagult Neverember's in Waterdeep, since he was Dagult's most successful agent.
- Hate Sink: Every horrible thing that happens in the module, especially in Spring and Winter versions, can be traced to Dalakhar's actions, making it hard to care about him.
- Kill It with Fire: How he, and ten other people of varying innocence, die. Fireball is a pretty brutal way to go.
- Killed Off for Real: No matter whatever else happens, Dalakhar always dies.
- Laser-Guided Karma: He kickstarted an era of gang violence, only to end up technically a victim of it.
- The Mole: Dagult's spy inside the Xanathar Guild, and Waterdeep as a whole.
- Plot-Triggering Death: Everything that happens in Chapter 3 and beyond happens after he dies.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Dalakhar's theft of the Stone of Golorr, and his eventual death at the hands of Lady Gralhund's nimblewright, set the events of the module in motion.
- Treacherous Quest Giver: Dalakhar,
had he lived long enough to make it to the party, would have most likely been this, since he was going to attempt to bribe them into doing a major crime. - Undying Loyalty: Not even in death does Dalakhar's loyalty to Dagult wane, calling him (not Laeral Silverhand) the true Open Lord of Waterdeep.
- Distressed Dude:
- During the Spring chase sequence, Squiddly gets grabbed by one of the Xanathar kenku and held hostage against the pursuing adventurers, though he'll kick the kenku in the shin and break free if the PCs can't manage to negotiate.
- Jenks, meanwhile, falls through some ice during the Winter chase sequence, forcing good-inclined PCs to split their attention from the villains they're chasing to save him.
- Fat and Skinny: The chubby Jenks next to the lanky Nat or Squiddly.
- Handicapped Badass:
- Downplayed in that she's still a ten-year-old girl, but Nat is deaf and not only has no trouble keeping up with her two hearing friends, she is firmly established as the leader of their street urchin trio. She even invented her own personal sign language and taught it to the boys.
- Squiddly may also count, having a patch over one eye for unknown reasons but being proficient enough with his toy bow and arrows to shoot an imp disguised as a raven out of the sky.
- Hero-Worshipper: Can become this to the player characters; the kids consider themselves adventurers of a sort and will quickly latch onto and idolize adult adventurers if they treat them well.
- Security Blanket: Jenks carries around a stuffed owlbear, which he calls his "familiar".
- Street Urchin: The three appear to be making their own way on the streets of Waterdeep and are never shown with any adult supervision or home aside from their "clubhouse" in the sewers.
Trollskull Alley
The owner and proprietor of the "Bent Nail", a carpentry in Trollskull Alley.
- Half-Human Hybrid: He is a half-elf.
- Non-Action Guy: He is one of only two prominent residents of Trollskull Alley without any fighting skills, the other one being Frewn.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted. He shares his race and surname with Melannor Fellbranch, a member of the Emerald Enclave. Wether or not this is a case of Same Surname Means Related and Same Race Means Related is not elaborated upon.
Embric
Embric tends the forge and is an expert weaponsmith. He claims descent from the efreet of Calimshan and is prone to extreme mood swings.
- The Blacksmith: His occupation, alongside his husband.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: He is the red one to his blue husband, more emotional and aggressive. Fittinmgly, he focuses more on the creation of weapons.
- Playing with Fire: As a fire genasi, he can cast produce flame.
Avi
Avi worships Eldath, god of peace, and uses his magic to quench hot steel. He is an expert armorsmith. Avi is laid back and speaks plainly.
- The Blacksmith: Alongside his husband.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: He is the blue one to his red husband, more laid back and calm. He also crafts means of defense, as opposed to Embric.
A wood elf herbalist and owner of "Corellon's Crown", a apothecary located in Trollskull Alley.
- Green Thumb: As a Druid, they can cast a number of nature-related spells.
- Odd Friendship: They have one with Ziraj, the Hunter a brutal Zhentarim assassin. They even have a room for him in their house.
The owner of the Tiger's Eye, a private detective agency located in Trollskull Alley. His true identity is that of Valantajar, a rakshasa who has been living in Waterdeep for some time. He has come to like the city and its inhabitants, much to his surprise.
- Ascended Demon Downplayed. His metaphysical nature didn't change, but he seems to have developed a certain protectiveness of Waterdeep.
- Devil in Disguise: He is actually a disguised rakshasa, a tiger-like fiend.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Surprisingly, due to developing a protective nature for Waterdeep, he's willing to help the party gain clues to thwarting the villain[s]. Downplayed, because he does it for a favor or at least a hefty sum. Still, given his fiendish nature, you'd think he'd actually be helpful to the devil-worshipping Cassalanters, but he's not.
- Hard Boiled Detective: Pretty much a fantasy version of this trope, given that he is a rakshasa, who uses magic to assist his investigations. He wears a dark suit, smokes a lot and is named for a trenchcoat.
- Master of Disguise: He can cast Disguise Self at will. He has adopted many personas over his living in Waterdeep.
- Punny Name: He is a Hardboiled Detective named Trench.
- Walking Spoiler: While it probably doesn't come up in most games, any elaboration on him includes the fact that he is a rakshasa.
Ulkoria has defended Waterdeep with her magic more times than she can recall. She’s known as "the Gargoyle" because her face is frozen in a scowl that frightens adults and children alike. No one knows where she lives, but it’s believed to be underground, possibly a cellar or dungeon under one of the city’s oldest estates. She uses teleport spells to enter and leave her home, and she’s never seen without her shield guardian close by.
- Almighty Janitor: She one of the more powerful non-player characters, yet only sometimes shows up and serves no greater purpose in the story.
- The Archmage: She is a powerful wizard and actually uses the stat block by the same name, making her an 18th-level wizard. This makes her equal in raw magical power to Manshoon and the Blackstaff, and just one level below the Open Lord herself.
- Red Baron: She is known throughout the city as "The Gargoyle."
- Robot Buddy: She is always accompanied by her shield guardian, a magical construct.
- Square Race, Round Class: She is a Dwarven wizard, a not very typical combination.
A salty northerner, Emmek Frewn tried to buy Trollskull Manor, but was outbid by Volothamp Geddarm before he gave it to the Player Characters as a reward for rescuing Floon. Frewn, angry for losing Trollskull Manor to the adventurers, opens a rival pub, "Frewn's Brews", and resorts to dirty tactics to drive the players out of business should they plan to reopen Trollskull Manor. Too bad he's clearly out of his league.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Once the module reaches his end, he comes crawling on his hands and knees begging for the players' help to pay off his loan... denying or ignoring any accusations of sabotage.
- Arc Villain: Serves as the closest thing to an actual antagonist during the events of Chapter 2. However, he's far from the biggest threat the players can face.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Frewn sinks money into showy expenses, especially with most of his finances sunken into the pub, but his habit of cutting corners can make him easy to sabotage. He also openly defies and makes enemies of Waterdeep's guilds... which would be impressive if the guilds weren't powerful enough to antagonize and potentially ruin his business if they wanted to. He's to show the players just what happens to those who cross the guilds.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Frewn may be a threat in terms of business competition prior to the Wham Episode of Fireball, but he's just as small-time as the players, if not moreso, than the module's actual antagonists. And unlike them, he doesn't have actual friends to back it up. He also doesn't have much-staying power should the players discover the wererats he sends after them, since he only has about 50 gp to his name via a loan.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Frewn has good ideas of how to run a rival business, but he tends to shirk money on small but important amenities.
- Bothering by the Book: His ultimate goal is to run the players out of business, but he needs enough sabotage done to force the City Watch to shut them down.
- Cheaters Never Prosper: Frequently attempts to cheat in his business practices. It causes him harm more often than not.
- Driven by Envy: His antagonism to the players is that he's jealous of them owning Trollskull Manor, and wants to run them out of business.
- Hate Sink: Exists solely so the players have a nemesis to fill in Chapter 2 during their downtime, and goes about it in the most corrupt way he could for a commoner.
- Jerkass: Hard to like a man who goes out of his way to not only pay a gang of lycanthrope criminals to sabotage a competitor but also spreads rumors about the party's business and writes a petition to get their home condemned just because they dared to open a rival tavern.
- Laborious Laziness: Frewn comes up with a very competent scheme to sabotage Trollskull Manor in an attempt to shut it down. But it's so much work that it costs him two-thirds of his loan. In the process of opening Frewn's Brews, he also made enemies of two important guilds, one of which was because he attempted to fix a roof himself in violation of guild law.
- Loan Shark: He answers to one: Istrid Horn.
- Misplaced Retribution: Emmek Frewn is upset at Volo for outbidding him. Instead of retaliating against the writer, he targets the players for no reason other than them inheriting the tavern from Volo as thanks for saving his friend's life.
- Never My Fault: Refuses to take the blame for his wrongdoings and misfortunes.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: He can make the players' lives incredibly difficult if allowed to, and he employs four wererats to sabotage Trollskull Manor.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Serves as this for the second chapter.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Hires four wererats to ruin the players. For context, one wererat is a medium encounter for four Level 2 adventurers, but a trivial one for six. Four is a deadly encounter for a level 2 party regardless of the size if the Shard Shunners are uncovered. It's almost as if the Shard Shunners intend to murder the party if found out.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Tries to take advantage of the players' generosity at the end should they get the reward of the Vault of Dragons to pay off his debts... all while denying any wrongdoing.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Emmek Frewn mistakes himself for the untouchable Big Bad of a Slice of Life business story. Unfortunately, he's against heavily armed adventurers with bigger fish to fry who can counter his sabotage.
