4 paintings (300 gp ea.). The paintings were created by the renowned Elven artist, Elandrial Silverbrush.
Your characters actually have no idea how much the paintings are worth. And the silver bars are stamped Neverwinter.
Paintings:
Bars:
Spend the afternoon leveling up.
Supposed to meet at 11pm. When do you leave? At night, there are mostly only city watch and lamplighters out.
Either group stealth against patrol of guards or “take the lead”, DC 12.
FAIL: You come face to face with a patrol of guards as you round a corner. “Where are you headed?” -> Performance/deception DC 12 for weak roleplayers. FAIL: “Do we need robes here?” A Magister confiscates their contraband and charges them a fine of 500 gp.
Group make a perception check. DC 16: Further along as the alleys grow darker you notice someone following you. (Jareth).
You meet Baziff Elest at Alline’s Way near Dock Street.
“You’re just on-time/late. Come this way. Quickly! Captain Blackthorn is not one to be kept waiting!”
As you walk he reminds you that his finders fee is 10% and that he won’t argue this in front of Captain Blackthorn.
The Black Swan is a sleek, two-masted ship with a dark, weathered hull and black sails adorned with a faintly visible silver swan emblem. The ship’s deck is well-maintained, with neatly coiled ropes and organized cargo. Sailors glance at you with ambivalence, ignoring you mostly. Baziff nods at a crew member standing guard. You descend into the lower cabin.
Captain Morlina Blackthorn sits behind a desk, raven-black hair tied back in a neat braid. A jagged scar cuts across her weather-beaten face, hinting at past battles and close encounters with death. Clad in worn leather armor adorned with trinkets from her travels, she carries a cutlass on her hip, its hilt encrusted with jewels.
Persuasion checks at disadvantage.
“(You’re late!) (You’re on time) and my time is valuable. Let’s make this quick. What is it you wish to sell?”
A dwarf named Haldor Iron-Eye waddles over and examines the contraband. Minutes pass, Haldor whispers to Captain Blathorn.
These bars are of course stamped Neverwinter and can only be sold in Neverwinter. Luckily for you I have a ship and I can sail these stolen items there myself, but I must be paid for my time and for the risk I must take. I can offer you 500 gp. The paintings, alas, are fake, but nonetheless I can offer you 200 gp for the lot.
Who is paying attention? Make an insight check against Morlina’s Deception +8. Call her out/ persuade -> 800 gp each.
“There is of course the matter of the finders fee. Baziff, how much are you owed?” She tosses Baziff 10%.
Who is carrying the gold?
Ambushed by Shadowspine Thugs. Same figure that was tailing you (Jareth). Follow printout.
Word begins to spread throughout Waterdeep that a group of adventurers helped Volothamp Geddarm and rescued Renaer Neverember. Within days, faction representatives are going to begin to approach you to try to recruit you.
PCs approached by a halfling named Broxley Fairkettle who informs you that if you are intending on running a Tavern you must register with the Tavernkeepers’ guild.
Welcome to the Neighborhood! I just wanted to stop by and introduce myself, I’m Broxley Fairkettle, from the Fellowship of Innkeepers, it looks as if Volo has given up on his little tavern project, are you the new owners?”
“Have you had a chance to call your local Guild reps to have them look at costs for repairs? Also if you are to run a Tavern you’ll need to be a member of the Fellowship of Innkeepers, of course. I’d be happy to offer my assistance with contacting Reps to come out and bid for repairs, after your membership is paid for, obviously.”
“Only 1 gp a tenday for membership. Also if you are brewing your own alcohol then I’d suggest you join the “Vintners’, Distillers’, and Brewers’ Guild” Your alcohol will gain traction a lot quicker in the city, better distribution, and the members are more than happy to share secrets of the trade to make it better. If you are going to be cooking food I’d suggest you go through the Guild of Bakers to buy your bread and other cooking product, produce you can get from the open market.”
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.
1000 GP total.
| Item | Cost | Guild |
|---|---|---|
| Hole in Roof | 200 gp | Carpenters’, Roofers’, and Plaisterers’ Guild |
| Brick Repair | 120 gp | Guild of Stonecutters, Masons, Potters, and Tile-makers |
| Water Damage | 250 gp | Carpenters’, Roofers’, and Plaisterers’ Guild |
| Broken Windows | 50 gp | Guild of Glassblowers, Glaziers, and Spectacle-makers |
| Replace Furniture | 50 gp | Furniture shop |
| Replace Kitchen Hearth | 190 gp | Carpenters’, Roofers’, and Plaisterers’ Guild |
| Fix Lighting | 25 gp | Guild of Chandlers and Lamplighters |
| Fix Plumbing | 100 gp | Cellarers’ and Plumbers’ Guild |
| Replace Sign | 15 gp | Carpenters’, Roofers’, and Plaisterers’ Guild |
| Licenses and Contracts | 150 gp |
You can try to run a business without doing any of these things of course. Would need hirelings to run the place, PHB?, (20 gp for skilled, 20 sp for unskilled). Dungsweepers and plumbing. Charged per tenday.
What do you want to sell / do?
| Optional Items | Cost | Guild |
|---|---|---|
| Meat | Guild of Butchers | |
| Ale and Wine | Vintners’, Distillers’, and Brewers’ Guild | |
| Bread and Pastries | Bakers’ Guild | |
| Clean Bedsheets | Guild of Launderers |
Every tenday, roll d100 + (modifier) and consult a table to see profit/loss. Modifier depends on the state of your tavern, player efforts, etc.
Looking for money? Many factions in Waterdeep.
“A gang war is causing unrest throughout the city. We have offered protection to members of the Dungsweepers’ Guild, and you have been assigned to protect a group of them. Meet them at the Muleskull Tavern, on Ship Street in the Dock Ward, at six bells and guard them while they work. Do this every day for a tenday.”
Each morning, the characters meet with a team of four dungsweepers (commoners) and head to the Trades Ward, where the sweepers spend the day cleaning up waste in the streets. It’s boring work. On the ninth day, around highsun, two carrion crawler emerges from a nearby alley, pursued by two City Watch guards. The characters can help slay the carrion crawler, which came up from the sewers.
There has been a shortage and the last time Fala tried to collect they were almost killed. Need you to escort them. 12 Stirges (p. 284) in a swamp outside town.
A flying snake with a parchment tied about its body visits one character in the dead of night. The message reads:
“Want to be part of something big? Speak to Davil Starsong at the Yawning Portal.”
Yagra Stonefist greets them and leads interested parties to a table in the center of the Yawning Portal’s taproom, where her boss waits with drink in hand.
Davil Starsong is the characters’ primary contact in the Black Network, at least initially. Over drinks, he shares the following information:
“Someone is killing elf and half-elf sailors in the Dock Ward — three dead so far, each one decapitated by a blade in the dead of night. Look into it, will you? Methinks the City Watch could use a little help.”
Characters who spend three consecutive nights loitering around the docks spot Heldar, a drunk half-elf sailor (bandit), leaving the Muleskull Tavern (on Ship Street in the Dock Ward). Characters who follow Heldar can save him from Soluun Xibrindas, a renegade drow gunslinger. Soluun hides in the shadows, blade drawn, waiting for the half-elf to stumble by. Spotting him before he strikes requires a successful DC 18 Wisdom (Perception) check. Soluun flees if reduced to half his hit points or fewer.
Davil pays 300 gp, and gives a mystery key.
Visited by a white cat that speaks the following message in a melodious male voice:
“Interested in joining the Emerald Enclave? Come meet us at Phaulkonmere in the Southern Ward.” The cat is an ordinary animal upon which an animal messenger spell was cast. It dashes away after delivering its invitation.
Written on a paper bird:
“Renaer tells us you are a good bet. He bought you tickets to the opera tonight at the Lightsinger Theater in the Sea Ward. If you are interested, meet Mirt at intermission. Private Box C. Formal attire is required for admittance.”
Enclosed are tickets for the entire party to The Fall of Tiamat, an opera sung in Giant describing the evil dragon queen’s defeat at the Well of Dragons.