I’ve started running Waterdeep: Dragon Heist as part of my Roll20/Discord D&D games during the lockdown, but this is the first time that I’m doing so not as a D&D Adventurers League game. As a result, I’m going to be changing things up a bit.
The fact is that the first chapter is as about as good as I want an opening chapter in an urban adventure to be.
What does it do well?
- It introduces several main NPCs (Volo, Durnan, Renaer Neverember)
- It sets up the conflict between the Xanathar’s Guild and the Zhentarim
- It allows the players to be heroes and draw the attention of potential patrons
- It alerts the players to the lost hoard of dragons
The one thing I don’t like about it is how it gives the PCs a tavern to run. Now, I’ve had characters own businesses before, but it’s never the core of an adventure. It’s a side note for character building rather than something that the game around. It’s not that you can’t run a campaign around the tavern – there’s some good material in the adventure for a potential plotline– but I’d rather have the characters out and doing stuff in the city rather than spending time on the business.
So, if I change the second chapter to focus more on the faction material, I can start building up those NPCs and missions without the distraction of running a business in Waterdeep.
Doing this does change how the third chapter will start, of course, and I expect we’ll use the factions to catapult the characters into the second half of the adventure. Exactly how, we’ll see when we get there!
Part of this ambiguity is, of course, because I don’t know which factions the characters will find interesting. Once we finish chapter 1 (this upcoming session), I’ll have people contacting them, as word gets around that some new active adventurers are in town. And members of the Harpers, Lords Alliance and Zhentarim are always looking for new blood!
The material for this in Dragon Heist is a good start. It has the opening contacts, and it has suggested missions. The trouble with these mini-quests is that they don’t integrate well into the later sections of the adventure (where the characters are too busy chasing the heist) and their descriptions are very brief.
So, I plan to expand them and to use more of the city and its personalities as we continue. Wish me luck!
I really like your reviews on those D&D adventures. Good luck with that one. I really wish I could play it too as I am a fan of mystery, investigation and engaging in plots that I shouldnt have! Haha
But why wouldnt you use the tavern chapter? Isnt it better to include it as it gives the players a sense that they have something to tie them with the city? That they become part of it?
When I’ve played this, the idea of the tavern was really cool for players. The players enjoyed what was there. It was really cool. But, the players also wanted it to be connected more closely to the adventure, and for the tavern to remain relevant as they progress.
If I were to run this, I would use the Franchise rules from Acquisitions Inc, so they can level up the tavern and add features to it as they level up. I may have to blog about this!
Shameless plug: I wrote a book about Dragon Heist that has some side-quests and alternate endings which could definitely make a re-play more exciting. Check it out, and if you like it, let me know what you think!
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/293317/Wrong-Turn-Dragon-Heist