Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Thysl 01-02-04, 03:13 AM	With some of my Christmas money I purchased a near-mint copy of the City of Splendors boxed set, got a good deal, too. So I'm reading it and I says to myself, 'I should get some things ready for a campaign in Waterdeep.' I decide that the campaign will be more of a free-form, 'let the characters do there thing' game. Basically I'll have a dozen or so adventures, jobs, and NPC given tasks that the players can take according to their whim. So I come to you, my companions. Help me brain-storm some worthwhile gaming in Waterdeep! Here are a few I've come up with: A Thayan Diplomat has greased enough palms in the guildhouses to gain their approval of a petition to start an Enclave. The Lord's, needing to appease the guild's new friends and knowing the temperment of most Waterdhavians, tell she Thayan that if she can procure the land for the Enclave she can build it. The Lord's plan fails when Elaith Craulnober begins the sale of a whole city block in South Ward that he has purchased quietly over the last many years. Zeltalbbar Iliphar, a noted sage of legends, living in Trades Ward contacts the PC through his daughter. The old, deaf human has an idea on how the Lord's can refuse the Thayan Enclave without losing face to the guilds. He claims that a certain run down building in the soon to be sold block was once a wizard's abode. There is an archiac law in the books that mandates homes or towers of wizards who cannot deactivate his or her protective wards in front of a Magist of the Guild before the departing wizard moves, then said home or tower is property of the city. The PCs have to find documentation that a mage lived in that house in a tenday. Depending on where they ask and whom they tell there will be active or subtle attempts to stop them. The campaign will be centered around the adventurers wintering in the city, taking some time off from their dangerous lives. But what will they say when a beautiful, rich, widowed noblewoman offers them an extravagent amount of gold to take a 5 day long trip up the coast? Dylanthae Omerchez, an ex-patriot noble of Raven's Bluff, offers the PCs 150 platinum coins if they travel to the lair of Thalagyrt, the Mist Dragon sage, and ask if her husband, Ranylhan Omerchez, was truly slain. She acts the part of the widow, playing upon the hearts of the men - even going so far as to say that she "wants to take suitors again, dangerous men, like you" - and claiming the task is "nothing to a group of strong brave-hearts, like yourselves." I think this is a good example of what I'm looking for. The PCs could very well say no to Dylanthae. Depending of how they take her behaviour they could put her on their enemies list, the same with her to them! I like that. While at their favorite tavern one of the PCs is taken into confidence by a drunken young man or woman (opposite of the PC). The fetching young person slurs out his/her sin to the PC: His/her trade-master, Vella Goldenhair, a prominent jeweler and match-maker, paid her apprentice (the one the PC is with) to take a newly made necklace to Maaril's Tower to be enspelled. When he/she returned to pick it up Maaril said, "tell your master that the enchantment will only work for one hour." When the apprentice returned with the message Vella made sure her apprentice could not find out who was to receive the necklace and he/she didn't think a thing of it again. The next month the apprentice, while doing some filing work, managed to figure out the owner of the enspelled peice, the noblewoman Cathille Manthar. The apprentice remembered the name of this mostly-unknown lady due to the fact that she had recently commited a reputation-killing faux paus during an important social event last month. Upon perusal of the noblewoman's file the apprentice put it all together: Vella had a receipt written and unpaid from Manthar House for match-making services. Written upon the receipt in a man's bold hand-strokes was, 'the idea that my Cathille would couple with a merchant's son is an insult! Do not expect payment for these services and NEVER talk to Cathille of that boy again.' It's the apprentice's belief that Vella enspelled the necklace to embarrass Cathille Manthar - and all House Manthar - in vengeance for the match-making incedent. Anyhow, that's what I got. I plan on using the 'Adventurers Qaurter' NPCs and information so if anybody has any advice on that - or any of this stuff - please post it. :D
Dargoth 01-02-04, 03:25 AM	Minor plot problem The Red Wizards of Thay where involved in the recent invasion of evermeet, as such I dont think Elaith would sell land to them
Wooly Rupert 01-02-04, 11:33 AM	You've got some good ideas going there, Thysl. Nicely detailed and thought out... Dargoth brings up a good point. But there's plenty of other villians that could suffice... Then again, I do think the Lords would make it a bit harder than that.
Wooly Rupert 01-02-04, 11:50 AM	Oops! I was just checking my Lords of Darkness, reading up on Thayvian enclaves (to respond to something in another thread), and I noticed they already have an enclave in Waterdeep. I would imagine that the Lords have agents keeping a close eye on the enclave and its inhabitants, and since the attempted invasion of Evermeet, Eliath would be likely to be watching them, too...
Thysl 01-02-04, 12:41 PM	I was just checking my Lords of Darkness, reading up on Thayvian enclaves (to respond to something in another thread), and I noticed they already have an enclave in Waterdeep. Damnation...:mad: Well, that one is scrapped. Thanks for the info, Wooly. I was throwing around an idea late last night. Sylune's temple takes care of the 'moon-mad' right? Let's say there is a small, quiet asylum run by Sylunites in Waterdeep. A Sharran priestess has manages to infiltrate the asylum as an accomplished therapist (can't think of a more 'fatastical' term) and uses her private sessions to brainwash the inmates. They come out of a month of these sessions seemingly cured but in reality they are sleeper agents for the Cult of Shar... That's all I got there, any ideas?
Cunning Linguist 01-02-04, 02:06 PM	Damnation... you can always set your world a few years behind the standar, and let the enclave your thinking of be the enclave (the one in building) be the one that is listed in Lords of Darkness.
Kuje31 01-02-04, 02:45 PM	Or you could just not use the attack on Evermeet. :).....
Thysl 01-02-04, 03:34 PM	you can always set your world a few years behind the standard, and let the enclave your thinking of be the enclave (the one in building) be the one that is listed in Lords of Darkness. Or you could just not use the attack on Evermeet. Naa, I'd rather not stray to far from cannon. Thanks for the chime in, though.
Kuje31 01-02-04, 03:59 PM	Originally posted by Thysl Naa, I'd rather not stray to far from cannon. Thanks for the chime in, though. Understandable. :) I don't have much to add to your first post but my advice is make Waterdeep a living city. Random encounters of street scenes (if you can find City System it has a great booklet on random street scenes in Waterdeep.) Also dig through the WOTC site for the info on Broadsheets and the Small Presses of Waterdeep. Broad sheets are a great way to spread rumors, gossip, tales of the city, the lords, the nobles, the events going on outside of Waterdeep, a listing of the games at the Field. New places that opened up or closed, parties that the nobles are hosting, etc. :)
Lashan 01-02-04, 05:30 PM	I think you have a great plot. If you really want to stick to cannon, perhaps the Thayans want to expand and put in a SECOND enclave. It might not be the same, but it could work. If not the Thayans, then it could be someone else. You could create a new wizard cabal that wants to set up shop to compete with the Thayans. The Thayans could want to try to stop it, too. It could add in some interesting background. Do the players want to stop competitors to the Red Wizards? Who pays more?
Wooly Rupert 01-02-04, 06:41 PM	Something else I'd recommend you pick up is Volo's Guide to Waterdeep. It's got an insane amount of fluff in it, more than enough to help add life to a campaign in Waterdeep. And that's why it's one of my fave FR supplements! :D Something else you might look into is the old "Realms By Night" feature. It's descriptions of 10 different hauntings in the City of Splendors. It could be good for ideas... Here's the link to the tenth one: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=fr/fx20001220d I linked it to the tenth one because that one appears to be the only one you can access all of them from!
Mystery Man 01-03-04, 07:41 AM	I think you have a great plot. If you really want to stick to cannon, perhaps the Thayans want to expand and put in a SECOND enclave. Sort of like the Realms equivalent of a Home Depot? :D They're everywhere! I got myself a Waterdeep Boxed set over the holidays as well. Small world.
ElGrecoETAC 01-03-04, 11:52 AM	I admire your desire to stick with original plotlines. Were I in your place, I would surely just do adventure after adventure of based on Fritz Leiber's "Lankhmar"-based stories.
Thysl 01-03-04, 01:36 PM	perhaps the Thayans want to expand and put in a SECOND enclave. Hmmmm..... How about this: The Thayans, having had wild success with the Enclave, petition to expand their property to an adjacent block. It just so happens that House Gauntyl's mercenary barracks takes up half of an adjacent block, the rest of said block being out-building and a training yard. House Gauntyl has set their price and the Lord's have little choice but to approve the Thayan petition, even though there is talk that they plan to start a Mage school in the new property. Then I can use the sage and the mage-house plot as before with the added repercussion - if the PCs are successful - of House Gauntyl losing a large chunk of the property surrounding said mage-house (City law, my Lord Gauntyl, no other way 'round it, I'm afraid).:D
Thysl 01-03-04, 01:41 PM	Broad sheets are a great way to spread rumors, gossip, tales of the city, the lords, the nobles, the events going on outside of Waterdeep, a listing of the games at the Field. New places that opened up or closed, parties that the nobles are hosting, etc. For sure, hopefully my characters will act the literate type:D Something else I'd recommend you pick up is Volo's Guide to Waterdeep. It's got an insane amount of fluff in it, more than enough to help add life to a campaign in Waterdeep. And that's why it's one of my fave FR supplements! Yes, these resources - as well as the Realms by Night feature - will soon be plugged.
Dargoth 01-03-04, 07:44 PM	Getting back to your origional idea. You could replace Elaith with "Xanther" the beholder leader of the Thieves guild
Thysl 01-06-04, 02:00 PM	You could replace Elaith with "Xanther" the beholder leader of the Thieves guild Dargoth, check my post two up from yours. What do you guys think of that change? I may change out the Lords for the Magists guild. It seems that they would be the most at risk with a working Red Wizard Academy in their city. Here's another idea I've been puttering around: Jhym Mirrorbright, a young mage and artificer, has contacted the PCs and begs for their assistance. Jhym's twin sister Khym, a local beauty that apprentices as a seamstress, has been ubducted. Jhym has told the watch but they cannot investigate this as an ubduction without corroborating proof (Jhym has a personal spell that attunes him to his sister, and it leads to a heavily guarded warehouse in dock ward) and the watch cannot investigate the warehouse without further proof. Jhym grows frantic going through legal circles and decides to take matters into his own hands. He wants to lead the PCs into the warehouse and whatever beyond to liberate his sister. He has little to offer other than gratitude, but if pushed he will promise to craft items for the group at a 25% discount. The warehouse is owned by a front man for the Xanathar guild, and a hidden entrance to Undermountain is in the basement. A large slaver operation is running under the warehouse and a tunnel leads (almost:D ) directly to Skullport. This adventure appeals to me becuase it opens the Xanathar guild as enemies and entroduces the PCs to Skullport. What do you think?:bigeyes:
Wooly Rupert 01-06-04, 02:09 PM	That is a cool idea! I quite like it!
Lashan 01-06-04, 04:56 PM	Just a suggestion.....don't have it go directly to Skullport. Make them go through a few dangerous areas before it gets to Skullport. That way, exploring these mysterious caves under their city can be an adventure. Just imagine their suprise when they encounter a hidden city under the city! That is, of course, if your players don't all know about Skullport. Most people think it is a pirate island somewhere.
Wooly Rupert 01-06-04, 07:02 PM	Originally posted by Lashan Just a suggestion.....don't have it go directly to Skullport. Make them go through a few dangerous areas before it gets to Skullport. That way, exploring these mysterious caves under their city can be an adventure. Just imagine their suprise when they encounter a hidden city under the city! That is, of course, if your players don't all know about Skullport. Most people think it is a pirate island somewhere. Undermountain isn't dangerous enough? Keep in mind, if they're running slaves thru there, it has to be a relatively safe area. Otherwise, slaves would be killed or lost (along with profit) when something attacked.
Lashan 01-06-04, 10:35 PM	It's not that Undermountain isn't dangerous, but it would be better (in my opinion) for buildup purposes of plot. I think it would be more exciting this way. If the slavers made agreements with whatever nasties lurked on the way to Skullport, then you can have some adventure on the way.
Thysl 01-07-04, 02:34 PM	This should go without saying, but if you are a probable member of the group that will play these scenarios, DO NOT READ THESE! You know who you are... Oh, there will be some detours on the tunnel to Skullport; some nasties to play with. That being said there is a chance that the PCs won't even enter the warehouse. Perhaps they gather enough evidence lawfully that the watch does it for then. In this situation Jhym will have left angrily and tried to plug another adventuring company... perhaps, if this is the case, the watch and the adventuring group tangle in the warehouse... sorry, typing what I'm thinking.... Take a gander at this 'Realms by Night' pt 5 (http://www.wizards.com/forgottenrealms/DnD_RBN_005.asp) Hamar's sons, Dulbrawan and Korras, have decided to rid themselves of their father's curse. To counsel them in this they have hired a preistess of Beshaba, Uvearne of the Snakewood, who is, in reality, a Tethyrian Ruldegost scion. This Branch of House Ruldegost das withered to a shadow due to the Crynig Girl tragedy and the los of their ancestral holding due to Tethyr's civil unrest. Uvearne has enbittered herself to her bad luck and taken to Beshaba to dole alittle out to her enemies. Uvearne gives the Anteos brothers a list of demeaning and impossible tasks, the first of which is to pay a broad-sheet to publicly denounce their father as a cad and a womanizer, to blame themselves and their family for the death of the young Tethyrian Ruldegost, and to beg that family's forgiveness. Also, in that same broad-sheet, there is an advertisement for the employ of 'discreet adventurers', the ad's accompanied address for application decries House Anteos (this at the insistance of Uvearne). The PCs are asked to travel to the 'Stump Bog' (BTW what is this?) and fish out a pair of corpses. They will be paid handsomely and, if they perform this task adequetly they will be hired to guard a parcel to Tethyr. This parcel is half of House Ruldegost's last year's profits to be given to the Tethyrian branch of House Ruldegost (Uvearne's family), this being the last of Uvearne's conditions. The The Anteos brothers are sullen yet determined during the interview and, driven by the fear of Beshaba, refuse to haggle an asking price. They both wear 'pain belts' around their left arms (a leather armband with steel spikes on the inside) to pay 'Loviatar's Due'. There will be plenty of subtle clues to Uvearne's plot and by the time the PCs return to Waterdeep with the woman and child corpses the PCs should know something is up. As an added torture Uvearne attempts to switch the bodies out with ringers before the Anteos brothers intern their undead kin, tying the Crying Girl to House Anteos until the line expires... Anything else on this? What the heck is the 'Stump Bog'? Are you my father? Scratch that last one...:D