I’ve started running Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, the recent D&D adventure for level 1-5 characters. I have a group of five or six players – one is finding himself very busy in the end-of-year madness – who are proceeding through the adventure.

Of particular note amongst the characters is a gnome fighter called Dysnomia, who was once part of the City Watch of Waterdeep. This has proved an incredible boon for role-playing. Members of the Watch make a lot of appearances in the adventure, and I’ve had each know who Dysnomia is, greeting her by name and inquiring as to how she is. It’s feel-good role-playing, which is to say role-playing that makes the player feel good about their choices. And it leads to fascinating role-playing encounters.

We also have Rthfgn, played by a friend with whom I’ve played D&D for over a decade. Rthfgn is one of his previous characters from my Greyhawk games; the concept of the character is that he’s accidentally ended up in Waterdeep due to a magical accident, and he’s lost his magical abilities (he was a high-level wizard), as he doesn’t quite understand how the Weave works. So, Rthfgn is exploring the city, while helping the others with their investigations, and slowly regaining his magic. (He’s a legal D&D Adventurers League character, but has a more unusual background than some. And his player loves unusual names!)

Other characters include a noble bard who gets confused between whether dragons are big flame-breathing reptiles or coins and a tabaxi rogue who thinks Waterdeep is too cold. Then there’s the two paladins – one an aasimar and one a tiefling. This has caused less friction than expected, though it occasionally their conflict appears.

The first chapter of Dragon Heist is relatively straightforward to run, but it’s got a few complications.

The action begins in a tavern, where the characters have met up to discuss becoming adventurers. Our Session 0 had established the initial links between the characters – something I strongly recommend. While they were enjoying the food and ambience of the Yawning Portal – so-named due to the great gaping shaft leading down into the dungeon of Undermountain – a tavern brawl broke out

Although I’ve DMed D&D for many years, I’m not strong at DMing every situation, and the beginning of the adventure tested me. What I found difficult was providing personalities for the main characters in the brawl: Krentz and Yagra. It’s very easy to default the bar-brawl to a simple fight, but maintaining the action while also providing role-playing is tricky. The main problem? It takes longer to resolve actions than it does to undertake a conversation. The additional problem is that, when you’re DMing, you need to concentrate on moving things along. It’s tricky enough maintaining everyone’s attention while they’re waiting for their turn without slowing things down further.

So, I’m I didn’t make the competing factions of Krentz and Yagra that apparent. The fight was fun, though. Mostly the characters tried to stop the brawlers, but Dysnomia ran over to help Durnan, owner of the Yawning Portal, as he engaged a troll who climbed out of the portal. The players rolled very well, and I described how the troll kept tripping over Dysnomia; it was an entertaining combat. After they emerged victorious, the group were thanked by Durnan. Returning to their table, they discovered a well-dressed noble waiting for them.

This man was Volo, trouble-maker extraordinaire! He’d seen the adventurers dealing with the thugs and thought they looked like potential saviours. A friend of his, it seems, had gotten himself kidnapped, and the adventurers were to be the rescuers!

As opposed to running conversation with NPCs while combat is taking place, here I was in my element. Slightly uppity, larger-than-life characters? That I can do! And Volo was a delight to play. He makes exposition extremely entertaining because I run him as easily distracted, willing to compliment the adventurers (to get his way), and very reactive to what the characters say. I also had players who were willing to get into the swing of the slightly goofy byplay, so it was good fun for all. And then the characters accepted his mission: They were to save his friend, Floon!

Out into the cold winter evening, something that Ash the tabaxi did not want to do!

Once they reached the area where Volo’s friend had disappeared, Rthfgn noticed a purple beholder in the window of a nearby store. He darted inside the store, the others following, to discover it was called the Old Xoblob Shop. Rthfgn had a fantastic conversation with the owner, which was all the types of whimsical I adore, but we did get a few bits of pertinent information from the owner, namely that he had seen someone matching Floon’s description kidnapped from across the street by thugs tattooed with the symbol of the Zhentarim!

It hasn’t come up again in the campaign, but I need to reuse the Old Xoblob Shop at some point. It’s just the right side of creepy; where you can be amusing and unsettling at the same time.

The group, once they managed to get Rthfgn out of the store, went to the local tavern where they learnt more about the kidnappers and where they might be based – a nearby warehouse. In the warehouse, they discovered that the kidnappers were dead! Standing amongst their bodies were some of my all-time least favourite creatures to play: Kenku.

Kenku are a brilliant creation; intelligent bird-like humanoids that can only mimic what they’ve heard, not speak normally. Unfortunately, that trait causes me great grief as a DM. Other DMs in our store tell us how much fun they’ve had running them. Me? I want them roasted – the sooner, the better – as my ability to speak like a kenku is poor at best! So, as the group entered the warehouse, and a flock of kenku attacked them, all I could think was, “Please, let them not take any kenku prisoner!”

The group took the kenku prisoner. Sigh. At least the adventure’s designers had listed what the kenku say when captured. After slightly entertaining the players with my poor impression of a kenku doing other voices, I revealed that Floon had been taken down into the sewers by the anti-Zhentarim force! (This is possibly the moment when the link to the tavern brawl comes apparent).

The other discovery the group made was that there was another person who’d been kidnapped: Renaer, son of the one-time Lord of Waterdeep, Dagult Neverember. Renaer was hiding in a closet. Renaer was remarkably similar to Floon in appearance and revealed that he was likely the real target. Floon had been taken due to a case of mistaken identity!

Renaer, very grateful for his rescue, revealed that his father had embezzled a lot of money, and it was hidden somewhere in the city. Now, criminals were looking for the loot, and they believed that Renaer knew its location. Sadly, he didn’t. Floon, of course, knew even less. If he weren’t rescued soon, the kidnappers would likely kill him!

Well, that was the group’s mission! Off into the sewers! However, it was at that point the City Guard burst through the door. “What’s all this then?”

In most encounters with authorities, things tend to go badly for adventurers. They’re often not very law-abiding, the guard knows that. However, in this case, we had an ex-watchman here: Dysnomia! So, the encounter quickly changed when the guard realised her identity. The guard greeted her with a “Well met, Dysnomia!” and became a lot more helpful. An ongoing joke throughout the adventure is that every guardsman knows Dysnomia and wants to help her!

So, this allowed the players to learn information about the feuding criminals – the Zhentarim and the Xanathar’s Guild – who were behind all the excitement this evening. And then it was into the sewers. The rescue of Floon is surprisingly simple and short, although an appearance by a mind flayer and an intellect devourer gave the group pause. Do you want to mess with Xanathar? He employs powerful minions! However, as the intellect devourer didn’t want to stay around for a pointless battle, it left, and the adventurers soon dealt with the other guild members.

One thing was certain: By the end of the rescue mission, the characters were very glad to get a rest. First-level characters don’t have many resources, and even with the extra potions of healing they had for playing this as a D&D Adventurers League game, they were only just on their feet.

However, there was one last thing to do: Bring Floon back to Volo. The author was delighted to see his friend, and, due to being out of funds, the only reward he could give to the adventurers was a deed to an old tavern. And, thus ended episode 1 of Dragon Heist!

DM’s Notes:

That’s a lot of story for what was about four hours of play. The players enlivened much of the play with their interactions with each other – the characters have amusing traits that lead to good role-playing. The tabaxi rogue hates the weather – it’s winter – and we remind him of it at every opportunity. Rthfgn and Saxon also bounce off each other brilliantly, providing me with opportunities to sit back and enjoy the banter.

For the most part, the first chapter of Dragon Heist is easy to run. The layout is clear, it’s quite linear, and the main challenge for the DM is giving enough characterisation to the NPCs so that the players can distinguish between them. There are quite a few just in the first section, and I suggest you pay attention which the players enjoy interacting. Those are the ones you want to bring back and flesh out more.

Renaer is tremendously important as the source of information about the overall plot and as an ongoing ally. Floon’s a MacGuffin. Volo is around as you need him – which is likely not much. Volo takes up a lot of oxygen when its meant to be the adventurers’ story!

It’s a good start to the campaign, although I expect I won’t do as well with DMing the tavern.

Characters:

• Rthfgn, the high-elf Cleric/Wizard (Far Wanderer)
• Kahlthasis, the aasimar Paladin (Soldier)
• Saxon, the half-elf Bard (Noble)
• Barakus, the tiefling Paladin (Soldier)
• Dysnomia, the gnome Fighter (City Watch)
• Ash, the tabaxi rogue (Far Wanderer)