D&D: Waterdeep Dragon Heist – BoLS Overview
Come join the BoLS crew as we take you inside the pages of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. There you’ll find a gaggle of villains, allies, special events, and a treasure of half a million gold coins just waiting for someone to find and take it.
Today we have our hands on Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, so come and join us for our first look at this new Urban Adventure from Wizards of the Coast. We’ve been excited about this one since it was announced, and now that it’s here, it’s time to see if it lives up to the hype. Be warned though, mild spoilers abound in the video. DMs take note, but players may want to be careful.
Long story short? Yeah this book is absolutely worth it. We were surprised at some of the fun stuff inside. There’s a lot there for any DM to dig into–we’ll be doing a little more of an in-depth look next week where we take you through the different sections of the book and talk a little about what we can learn, but there’s so much on offer in this book.
In addition to being a Heist/Chase/Race for the Treasure kind of adventure, which is one of my favorite kinds, it feels very adventure-y to have so many different moving parts all centered around a single goal. You’ll face down agents of the Xanathar’s Guild, the Zhentarim, have to deal with the Lords of Waterdeep–and that’s all just sort of to get things started. One of the things this book does well is showcase the lives and happenings of the city. Even when not engaged in a race to try and track down the hoard of Gold Dragons (the Waterdhavian term for gold coins, pictured below) you get a real sense that this city is alive.
That’s the other thing the book does well–it shows you how to run an Urban Adventure, where the goings on of the city breathe life into every encounter and make it feel like you’ve stepped into this whole other world. You get a sense for the personality of Waterdeep, as well as the various NPCs you’ll find inside, all of whom showcase the creativity of D&D. You’ll find an adventurer whose brain has been eaten by an Intellect Devourer and is now a puppet of a Mind Flayer who breeds Intellect Devourers and Thralls as a hobby. You’ll run across a legendary inn, deal with bar fights, even make friends with neighbors. This book does a lot to lay its hooks into players, and I feel like it shines because of it.
At any rate, that’s just the briefest of overviews. Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is available in select gaming stores now, and will be available for wide release on the 18th.
In the meantime, Happy Adventuring!
