I'll be working on this over the course of a week or two, and I'll be adding to this post every day.
You can order the Waterdeep: Dragon Heist Dice right here.
Levels: This adventure is for characters who are levels 1-5. Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage is a "companion" adventure, and it will bring these characters all the way to level 20. Mad Mage comes out in November 2018.
Short Version: 500,000 gold coins are hidden somewhere in Waterdeep. The Xanathar (a beholder crime lord) and the Zhentarim (a criminal syndicate) are at odds.
Synopsis: The synopsis in the book is great. Here it is in bullet point form:
- Lord Neverember embezzled money while he was ruling Waterdeep, but he wasn't able to extract the money before he was ousted.
- The location of the hoard is known only to the Stone of Golorr, an item that can alter memories.
- The vault containing the treasure is guarded by a dragon.
- The Xanathar had the stone, but it was stolen. Xanathar thinks that the Zhentarim stole it, but it was actually stolen by a rock gnome.
- Volo, author of Volo's Guide to Monsters, asks the group to find Floon Blagmaar, a friend who disappeared.
- Once the group investigates, they find out that he was kidnapped. The Zhentarim took him, thinking he was Neverember's son.
- Volo rewards the group with a deed to a building!
- Once the group settles in to their new home, a fireball goes off nearby. Investigating reveals that Neverember's spy is now dead and someone has the Stone of Golorr in their possession!
- Spring: The Xanathar (beholder).
- Summer: The Cassalanters (devil-worshiping nobles).
- Autumn: Jarlaxle (drow swashbuckler).
- Winter: Manshoon (founder of the Zhentarim).
Noble: If you're a noble, you might be associated with one of these:
- House Amcathra: horse-breeders/wine-makers. Motto: "We trample our troubles."
- House Margaster: Shippers, bulk traders. Motto: "Nothing is beyond our grasp."
- House Phylund: Capture and sell monsters. Motto: "What you fear, we master."
- House Rosznar: Shady smugglers trying to rebuild their reputation. Motto: "We fly high and stoop swift."
Factions: You can be part of a faction, either one of the usual ones (Emerald Enclave, Harpers, Lords' Alliance, Order of the Gauntlet, Zhentarim) or one of these:
- Bregan D'aerthe: Must be a drow. Mercenaries who work for the swashbuckling drow, Jarlaxle.
- Force Grey: You must swear an oath to defend Waterdeep.
- Xanathar Guild: Criminals who serve a beholder called the Xanathar.
Allies: Each hero can choose one of the following people as an ally/friend/associate. All of them hang out in the Yawning Portal (pictures of each of them are on page 221):
- Durnan (pages 202-203): He runs the Yawning Portal, a tavern that contains an entrance to the mega-dungeon Undermountain in it.
- Bonnie (doppleganger, MM pg 82): A friendly barmaid
- Mattrim (bard, pg 195): A bard who has a thing for Bonnie.
- Jalester Silvermane (pg 205): A fellow haunted by the recent death of his boyfriend.
- Meloon Wardragon (pg 210): A legendary hero, member of Force Grey.
- Obaya Uday (priest, MM pg 348): A priest from Chult, she is hoping to find magical treasures in Undermountain for the merchant prince, Wakanga O'tamu.
- Yagra Stonefist (thug, MM pg 350): A half-orc who likes to arm wrestle.
The one thing that immediately sticks out to me are the notes on characters getting arrested (see page 10 and page 222). This adventure takes place in a city, which has laws. Often, especially among newer players, the heroes end up breaking many laws in broad daylight.
Handling this as a DM can be very tricky. The session can come to a screeching halt and things can get a little weird. How lenient should you be? Are you ready to run a jailbreak by the seat of your pants?
I would say that you should warn your group before you start. Remind them that this is a city with laws, and explain how you'd handle them getting arrested. Will you hand wave it or play it through?
Chapter 1: A Friend in Need
The whole thing starts off with a bar fight. It's Krentz and 4 flunkies (bandits, MM pg 343) vs. Yagra (thug, MM pg 350). As written, Yagra is beating up Krentz but his four cronies are about to step in.
Remember that unarmed strikes do 1 bludgeoning damage, plus strength.
Round 3: Something crawls out of the well! A troll (MM pg 291) and nine stirges (MM pg 294)! Durnan (stats on page 203) fights the troll, the group fights the stirges.
Once the Battle Ends: The group meets Volo (stats on page 218). The group is hired to find Floon, who was last seen at the Skewered Dragon.