Session 1

NPCs

  • Yagra
  • Volothamp Geddarm
  • Old Xoblob
  • Renaer Neverember
  • Hyustus Staget

Secrets

  • There is a great struggle in the underworld. Zhents appear to be at war with a large thieves guild.
  • All of the thieves of Waterdeep have begun to band together under a single organization.
  • Zhentarim and Xanathar’s guild are at war, other factions are fighting too
  • Xanathar’s guild is new, Xanathar’s identity is a mystery
  • Raenar Neverember is Dagult Neverember’s son but the two don’t get along. Renaer stayed in Waterdeep to try to undo what his father had done.
  • Dagault Neverember embezzled a large amount of gold.

Scenes

Rules

  • I messed up last session - no more group rolls. Need a role-playing reason for soing something.
  • Metagaming. Can’t discuss tactics, or act on unknown information. Ok to talk about general things, but in the moment, can’t discuss.
  • Characters have to act consistently.
  • We have several stealthy characters. If trying to hide as a group, given time - majority needs to beat the perception of the enemies.
  • There’s a rule for almost everything.

Transition

  • Finethir never produced any gold, but allowed you to stay at his place for as long as you wanted. Kind of a podunk backwater town, you left.
  • You destroyed a magic ring, restored a Wizard to his true self, and are looking for glory, so you visit the most well known tavern for hosting adventurers: the Yawning Portal in Waterdeep.
  • Perhaps all of you are in it for glory? Are all of you willing to take on a thirst for fame and notoriety as a defining character trait?
  • Need a reason for why all of you would be together in this tavern. (Need the story to make sense).
  • Any of you could be from this city or have extensive knowledge of it.

Tavern brawl

You sit around a sturdy wooden table lit by a brightly burning candle and littered with plates cleared of food and half-drained tankards. The sounds of gamblers yelling and drunken adventurers singing bawdy songs nearly drown out the off-key strumming of a young bard three tables over.

Then all the noise is eclipsed by a shout: “Ya pig! Like killin’ me mates, does ya?” Then a seven-foot-tall half-orc is hit by a wild, swinging punch from a male human whose shaved head is covered with eye-shaped tattoos. Four other humans stand behind him, ready to jump into the fray. The half-orc cracks her knuckles, roars, and leaps at the tattooed figure — but before you can see if blood is drawn, a crowd of spectators clusters around the brawl. What do you do?

  • Remind them: no weapons drawn.
  • Yagra (Zhent) vs. 5 Xanathar guild bandits.
  • Crowd is cheering / booing.

Get involved: roll initiative. to hit: 1d20 + prof. dmg: 1 + STR. Krentz at 3hp. Hang back: Yagra beats Krentz unconscious, gets beaten herself. Durnan yells “out!” Gang carries out Krentz.

Troll

Shouts of alarm suddenly ring out as a hulking creature climbs up out of the shaft in the middle of the taproom — a monster with warty green skin, a tangled nest of wiry black hair, a long, carrot-shaped nose, and bloodshot eyes. It bares its yellow teeth and howls. Everyone in the tavern reacts in fear except for the barkeep, Durnan, who shouts, “Troll!”

  • Full health Troll. Attacks whoever gets a big hit.
  • Durnan draws his greatsword, springs over the bar. Douses with lamp oil and sets it on fire when it falls.
  • Yagra joins.
  • Patrons will heal.
  • Too much time: a Wizard casts disintegrate from 2nd floor. Durnan yells “thanks Horrick!”
  • Durnan tells you that you fought well. Reassures patrons, straightens up.

Volo

A dapper figure pushes against the tide of patrons - “Very well fought. You be adventurers, am I right. I could use your help. Let’s find a table to talk, shall we?

He strokes his mustache, adjusts his floppy hat, and tightens his scarf. “Volothamp Geddarm, chronicler, wizard, and celebrity, at your service. I trust you’ve noted the violence in our fair city these past tendays. I haven’t seen so much blood since my last visit to Baldur’s Gate! But now I fear I have misplaced a friend amid this odious malevolence.

“My friend’s name is Floon Blagmaar. He’s got more beauty than brains, and I worry he took a bad way home a couple nights ago and was kidnapped — or worse. If you agree to track him down with all due haste, I can offer you ten dragons apiece now, and I can give you each ten times that when you find Floon. May I prevail upon you in my hour of need?”

  • Offer 10 gold to accept. DC 10 Insight - he ain’t got the money. Awaiting payments for Volo’s guide to monsters.
  • Volo describes Floon as a handsome human male in his early thirties with wavy red-blond hair. He was dressed in princely garb when Volo last saw him.
  • Two nights ago, before Floon disappeared, he and Volo were drinking and merrymaking at the Skewered Dragon, a dark, bawdy tavern in the Dock Ward. Volo recommends that the characters start their search there.
  • Embarrassed that he got Floon in trouble.
  • Skewered Dragon is dubious and Zhentarim owned.
  • Between Net st. and Fillet Lane (in dock ward).

Talk with NPCs

Description of familiar faces

Blood in the streets

As you turn a corner, you find yourselves on a street that has been cordoned off by the City Watch. Lying on the cobblestones are a half-dozen corpses, seemingly the victims of some terrible skirmish. Watch officers have disarmed and arrested three blood-drenched humans and are in the midst of questioning witnesses. One of the officers sees you. “Get on,” she says. “Nothing to see here.”

  • Dozen guards
  • 3 loyal Zhentarim
  • Won’t let characters near (but they can try to spy): “You working for the Zhentarim? Xanathar guild? What are you scum fighting about?”

Dock ward isn’t safe.

Tall, densely packed tenements leave most of the neighborhood in shadow at ground level. Most of the streetlamps have had their glass smashed and their candles stolen, and the smells of salt air and excrement linger as you pass by rows of run-down buildings. You get to a street corner (I think Tiddles knows his way around the city already.) It has a good view of the Skewered Dragon. One nearby shop stands out from the others. It has a deep purple facade, and in its window hangs a stuffed beholder. Above the door hangs a sign whose elaborate letters spell out “Old Xoblob Shop.”

  • Show monster manual picture.

Shop

A cloud of lavender-scented purple smoke trails out of the shop’s door as you peer inside. Every wall is painted purple, and every dusty knickknack on the shelves is dyed a deep violet. The hairless old gnome sitting cross-legged on the counter wears plum-colored robes. His cheeks are decorated with nine purple face-painted eyes.

The gnome lowers a pipe and exhales a cloud of lavender smoke before raising a hand. “Hail and well met! Come browse the shelves of the most curious curiosity shop in the world!”

  • Roll trinkets in Chap. 5, sells for 1d6 gold.
  • DC 13 Intimidation or Persuasion:

    He says that Floon and a well-dressed fellow of similar appearance and bearing were jumped outside the shop by rough-looking men in black leather armor. Xoblob thinks there were five attackers, but none of them looked familiar. One of them had a black tattoo of a winged snake on his neck.

The Skewered Dragon

The Skewered Dragon looks like a ruin. Both of its front-facing windows are smashed, and a ship’s anchor is lodged in the roof. Through the windows, you can see a group of haggard dockworkers drinking from huge tankards. The barkeep looks away as you enter. You now see a few armed thugs dispersed throughout the tavern.

  • Dockworkers and Zhent thugs.
  • Barkeep won’t talk.
  • Dockworkers willing to talk. If one of the tavern’s patrons tries to tell the party something, a thug with several silver teeth pats him on the shoulder and says “a stuffed duck doesn’t quack”. If the PCs keep questioning, the thug says: “you look like you’re new in town. Let me give you some advice, it doesn’t pay to ask too many questions in this part of town. We like people who mind their own business.” Players may see dockworkers making garotte sign.

Several of the regulars remember seeing Volo and Floon drinking together a couple of nights ago. After Volo left, Floon stuck around long enough to meet with another friend: Renaer Neverember, the son of Waterdeep’s previous Open Lord, Dagult Neverember. “Chip off the old block, that one!” sneers one patron. “Just another spoiled, rich noble who likes to rub our noses in it!” says another.

  • They played Three-Dragon Ante. 5 men followed them out.
  • The 5 haven’t been seen since, but are known to frequent a warehouse down the road on Candle Lane - “Look for the snake symbol on the door.”

Warehouse

Gloom envelops a narrow alley as dark as a dungeon — and as odorous as one, too. Nearly all the streetlamps have been smashed. The only light that pierces the darkness is a faint flickering from down the lane, like a distant candle.

  • It’s a streetlamp with continual flame.
  • A warehouse is directly across the street from the lamp, which illuminates a black winged snake.
  • DC 10 Intelligence check, or possibly Tiddles: the symbol of the Zhentarim, painted above the door’s handle.
  • Ask for everyone’s passive perception

The gate on the fence isn’t locked. The building’s three points of entry — a front door, a large warehouse loading door, and a painted-over window — are locked. The front door has a sliding peephole that can be opened from the inside. Either of the doors or the window can be unlocked by a character who makes a successful DC 12 Dexterity check using thieves’ tools, or can be forced open with a successful DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check.

  • Kenkus may scramble and hide: DC 16 passive perception for characters to hear

Z1

  • Are the Kenku aware?

    YES: Tables and chairs have been carelessly tossed across the floor. The corpses of a dozen men lie along the walls, their rapiers and daggers lying nearby. On the north side of the area, stairs rise to an open level above. NO - ADD: Six short, avian creatures with long beaks and black feathers look over in surprise from where they stand in the middle of the warehouse. Each wears a hooded cloak and wields a shortsword.

  • Surprised characters can’t act in first round.
  • Tries to ambush. Gets advantage on surprise round.
  • Show monster manual pic
  • Kenku fight until 3 fall. Try to flee.

Captured Kenku

DC 10 intimidation

Make a clicking chirping sound before speaking:

  • In a deep voice with an orcish accent: “Xanathar sends its regards.”
  • In a thin, nasally voice: “Tie up the pretty boy in the back room!” and “Follow the yellow signs in the sewers.” (This remark refers to tunnels in the sewers that are marked with Xanathar’s symbol where they lead to the Xanathar Guild hideout.)
  • In a scratchy voice: “No time to loot the place. Just get him to the boss.”

Z2 Storage Closet

The door to this back room hangs loosely on broken hinges. The cramped chamber beyond smells strongly of sour fish and vinegar. It is filled with discarded ropes, canvas tarpaulins, and splintered wood from smashed barrels. Renaer Neverember (see appendix B) is hiding here, having slipped free of his rope bonds. The characters can hear his ragged breathing coming from under a tarpaulin at the north end of the room.

Renaer is unarmed. Marred by grime and the lingering stench of rancid pickled herring, he speaks with grace and articulation, as befits his noble upbringing. His trust is easily gained but impossible to restore once broken.

On the night of the abduction, Renaer was concerned that Floon was too intoxicated to find his way home by himself and offered to escort him. The two were jumped by five thugs as they left Fillet Lane and headed north on Zastrow Street.

Renaer feels guilty that Floon was taken, since he believes (correctly) that they mistook Floon for him. If the characters ask Renaer to join their search for Floon, he agrees to do so, arming himself with a dagger and a rapier scavenged from the dead Zhents in the warehouse.

If a character asks Renaer why the Zhents kidnapped him, he gives the following truthful reply:

“The Zhentarim thinks that my father embezzled a large amount of gold while he was Open Lord, and that he hid the dragons somewhere in the city. They think they can find it by using an artifact called the Stone of Golorr, which was in the hands of the Xanathar Guild until recently. Apparently, someone stole it. The Zhents thought I knew something about all of this, but I don’t. My father and I haven’t spoken in years.”

Z3 Secret Room

This room is hidden behind a secret door that can be found with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check. When the secret door is opened, the characters can hear the faint sound of a bell ringing in the offices above them (area Z5).

Treasure

The Zhents have stashed two wooden crates here. The first, stolen from the docks, contains four wood-framed paintings wrapped in leather. The paintings depict the cities of Luskan, Neverwinter, Silverymoon, and Baldur’s Gate and are worth 75 gp each.

The second crate, stolen from a caravan on the High Road, contains fifteen 10-pound silver trade bars, all black from corrosion but still worth 50 gp each.

Z4. Balcony

The open second level is stacked with crates where it overlooks the main warehouse. Characters who search through the crates find all sorts of junk, including moth-eaten bolts of cloth, bottles of spoiled olive oil, and hundreds of pairs of wooden-soled sandals that were all the rage last summer but are now out of fashion. None of this junk is valuable.

Z5. Offices

The upper floor contains a suite of offices that get little use by the Zhents. The rooms have desks, chairs, and bare shelves covered with dust and draped in cobwebs. Harmless rats skitter about.

Mounted above each office door is a steel alarm bell. The bells are connected by wires to the secret door in area Z3, and they ring loudly when that door is opened.

Treasure

A character who searches the offices finds an unused paper bird.

Session 2

Recap

  • Someone recap.
  • Volo hired you to find Floon. Paid 10gp each, promised another 100gp. (This is good money - a month of staying in a good inn and living and eating well).
  • Interrogated the Kenku. “Follow the yellow signs in the sewers.” Found Renaer. Kidnapped by Zhentarim - stone - Xanathar - Floon.
  • Where was everone. Was anyone watching the door? Who is with the Kenku? Renaer is eating a ration in the middle of eating a ration in the corner. You were passing around loot.
  • Stealth (+1) for Watch, perception for who is surprised.

City Watch

Hyustus Staget

The watch is upon you suddenly. Guards begin fanning out, you are soon surrounded by six, while another 6 begin securing and searching the warehouse. Multiple guards are yelling at you to “Drop your weapons!” Renaer comes forward, and the Captain seems to recognize him and straighten up a bit. “What in Helm’s name is going on here?”

If characters don’t answer, Renaer steps forward.

Reward

  • Who is leading the conversation with Volo? Hand them the deed.
  • Volo’s guide to spirits has been put aside, no longer need the property. Not very liquid right now.

I assure you the property is worth twice what I owe you (mutters: more if it weren’t coughs HAUNTED). Do you accept?

Please, inspect the property tonight if you wish, and those willing, meet me at

Trollskull Manor

  • 45 min walk from Yawing Portal.
  • Deed transferred in courthouse in the Castle Ward, magistrate Kylynne Silmerhelve.

The neighbourhood is quite respectable and vibrant. There are several other businesses and establishments in the Alley.

Four stories tall and boasting balconies, a turret, and five chimneys, the abandoned building is one of the grandest in Trollskull Alley.

Tavern’s taproom is filled with broken furniture, tarnished silverware, casks of wine that have turned to vinegar.

  • Who is exploring and doing what. Do they split up?:
    • doors slam open and shut
    • plate smashes
    • “Closing time” and “last call” in the dust
    • Mug rises from the shelf, and is hurled at you - what do you do?
    • A few bones of small animals littered around, cats, a giant rat, and birds it looks like (from mimic)
  • In basement: hear squeek, then SQUEEK. 5 Giant rats (deadly for 1 person). Investigation: you decide to look at the exterior of the building and find evidence of tampering.
  • In an upper room, a pristine looking wardrobe. As soon as PC approached, is grappled by a Mimic

Lif

Lif is a poltergeist. He will like and aid PCs that begin to fix the place up. He will then warn characters of rats and mimic.

Trollskull Alley

The Bent Nail

A small wooden sign above this shop’s main door is bare except for a large, bent nail sticking out of it. The front room contains displays of ornate wooden furniture, as well as a selection of bows and crossbows. The wall behind the counter is lined with rows of finely carved wooden canes, quarterstaffs, and shields.

Talisolvanar “Tally” Fellbranch (CG), the owner and chief artisan of the Bent Nail, is a male half-elf carpenter and woodcarver. He is a commoner, with these changes:

Tally sells wooden weapons and shields at normal cost. He also crafts and sells furniture and wood sculptures.

Steam and Steel

During daylight hours, smoke and steam billow from the many windows around this indoor forge where metal weapons, armor, and tools are made. The forge is owned and operated by a married couple: a fire genasi named Embric and a water genasi named Avi. Both are members of the Most Careful Order of Skilled Smiths and Metalforgers. As an armorer, Avi also belongs to the Splendid Order of Armorers, Locksmiths, and Finesmiths.

You see a fire Genasi (efreet) blasting some metal with produce flame and pounding on it with big sweaty muscles, and then a water Genasi (djinn) shaping water from a bucket and cooling the metal.

Embric (NG) tends the forge and is an expert weaponsmith. He claims descent from the efreet of Calimshan and is prone to extreme mood swings.

Avi (NG) 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.

Services

The genasi couple sells all metal weapons, armor, and shields listed in chapter 5 of the Player’s Handbook at normal cost.

Corellon’s Crown

Fala Lefaliir (non-binary, friends with a Zhent).

Herbalism and apothecary shop. There is a sign associating it with the Guild of Apothecaries and Physicians. Three-story town house, the third floor of which has been converted into a greenhouse. Its translucent glass walls allow anyone on the street to see the rainbow of flowers blossoming within.

You are greeted by a Wood Elf. “You bought the Manor, yes? You planning on fixing that place up? Pretty sure it’s haunted, you must be very brave. If you’re looking for potions, we have:”

Potion Cost
Potion of animal friendship 125 gp
Potion of climbing 50 gp
Potion of healing, greater 250 gp
Potion of healing 50 gp
Potion of water breathing 250 gp
  • Quest: obtain some Hydrathistle.

Tiger’s Eye

This private detective’s business is unremarkable on the outside, its only distinguishing mark an orange-and-black sign featuring a cat’s eyes. Inside is a regal apartment dimly lit by flickering oil lamps. The door is locked, and visitors must knock or ring the bell before being let in.

You are looking for someone, yes? No. You want information.

They are met by Vincent Trench, a human detective and the owner of the Tiger’s Eye. He speaks concisely, dresses in a sharp suit, and smokes a slim pipe. Vincent is in fact a rakshasa named Valantajar that always casts disguise self on itself before seeing visitors. The rakshasa has lived in Waterdeep for years, switching identities as often as needed to keep its true nature hiden. It has grown accustomed to living among mortals and, much to its own astonishment, is rather fond of Waterdeep and its citizens.

Services

Trench can discover any secret in Waterdeep, for a fee. Use your judgment when pricing its services; 50 gp is sufficient for most investigations, but if the characters want to learn secrets relating to the major antagonists of this adventure, the rakshasa might require a service in payment, such as slaying enemies that are hunting it, posting advertisements for its business in their tavern, or keeping tabs on someone Vincent has been hired to spy on.

Book Wyrm’s Treasure

The front of this bookstore is adorned with a charming sign of a gold dragon curled around a treasure hoard of books and scrolls. Inside, the shop is decorated with beautiful hardwood, and the earthy scent of old books permeates the air. The library fills two floors of this three-story building, and it somehow seems to contain more shelves than the building should be able to hold.

The shop is managed by a short dragonborn of gold dragon ancestry named Rishaal the Page-Turner, who lives on the third floor. Rishaal, a member of the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors, is a mage, with these changes:

Rishaal is neutral.

Services

The shop contains books of all sorts. In addition, Rishaal has a small collection of spellbooks and allows wizards to copy spells from them at the cost listed in the Spells for Sale table. He can scribe any of these spells as a spell scroll but charges twice the listed cost for this service.

Zephyr Post

Birds of all colors can be seen delivering letters through the upper windows of this sky-blue townhouse at all hours of the day. The residents of Trollskull Alley and other nearby streets use the Zephyr Post to deliver letters to friends, colleagues, and mercenaries throughout Waterdeep. The inside of the shop is filled with the sweet aroma of Calishite incense.

The Zephyr Post’s hawks can deliver a message to any address in Waterdeep for 2 sp.

Sewer Access

At the east end of Trollskull Alley is a removable metal grate that covers an opening. Below the grate, a ladder descends 20 feet into the Waterdeep sewer system.

Rival

Emmek Frewn (NE)

So Volo outbid me on this property, and now you have it? Yeah you ding dongs sure look like business geniuses. (Chuckles: ding dongs hah). We’re going to run in you into the ground lady.