Last fall, Dungeons & Dragons released Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, a new urban-themed adventure that let players explore the famed city of Waterdeep while searching for a hidden treasure trove. The adventure gives players an opportunity to establish their own base in the city, rub shoulders with some of Waterdeep’s most famous denizens, and face off against a cast of fearsome enemies.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Like every great Dungeons & Dragons adventure, Dragon Heist is meant to be the foundation for an adventure. No D&D campaign ever goes exactly as planned and DMs might want their players to explore parts of Waterdeep that aren’t fully fleshed out in Dragon Heist. The adventure also has some replayability, as the DM can choose one of four primary antagonists, each with different motivations. So – if you have a player that has already run through Dragon Heist once, you might want to find ways of adding some extra content so that your adventure is totally different from their last visit to Waterdeep.
Luckily, there are a lot of great ways to customize Waterdeep: Dragon Heist that doesn’t require a ton of work on your end. DMs Guild, a Wizards of the Coast affiliated site that sells D&D third-party content, has tons of affordable supplements that add a lot of extra content to Dragon Heist. Other supplements serve as handy guides for DMs, or completely re-work Dragon Heist to fit with different themes or adventure types.
If you’re looking to customize your Dragon Heist experience, check out these great resources:
Extra Sidequests
Whileย Dragon Heistย is a straightforward adventure that guides players from the Yawning Portal Tavern all the way to the hidden treasure trove underneath the city, there are always opportunities for fun side quests and parallel adventures. Here’s a few great side adventures that can either serve as distractions or opportunities to explore different parts ofย Waterdeep.
One of the more popular adventures on DMsย Guild isย Blue Alley, an adventure by Alan Patrick and M.T. Black. The adventure explores a secret “deathtrap” in the heart of Waterdeepย built by a secretive wizard.ย Blue Alleyย is a fantastic way to test a party’s bravery before they dive into Undermountain, and can easily be built up over the course ofย Dragon Heist.ย
The Beggar Prince, by Christian Eichhorn, is an adventure that explores the sewers underneathย Waterdeep. Not only does it introduce an intriguing villain (the titular Beggar Prince), it alsoย serves as a counterbalanceย to all the encounters with Waterdeep’sย rich and famous. If you have a PC that’s uncomfortable with meeting Waterdeep’sย rich and powerful,ย The Beggar Princeย might be a way toย split their attention.ย
The Lady of Trollskullย Prioryย is another intriguing adventure that adds another secondary threat for the party. The adventure, written by Travis Legge, adds a mysterious resident to Trollskullย Alley that can threaten the party’s new friends and neighbors. It also adds a taste of Ravenloft for those DMsย that want to build towards a confrontation with Strahd in the future.ย
Trollskull Alley
During the course ofย Dragon Heist, players will have the opportunity to set up a base of operations at Trollskullย Alley. Trollskullย Alley is an eclectic place, filled with lots of friendly NPCsย and opportunities for profit and adventure. If your players decide toย spend lots of timeย Trollskullย Alley, there are a ton of great resources to keep the place interesting and spontaneous.ย ย
Options for Trollskullย Manorย by Janekย Sielickiย isย a supplement for customizing the famous manor at the heart of the alley. In addition to providing different ways of building out the manor, the guide also comes with different events that can take place while your party is away, and a mini-adventure set within the manor itself.ย
Donna and Hal Howard wroteย Residents of Trollskullย Alley, a supplement that fleshes out many of the NPCsย who act as neighbors to the party. Not only doesย Residentsย provide extra adventure hooks and ways to befriend the many NPCsย ofย Trollskullย Alley, it also provides hooks for other D&D adventures like Storm King’s Thunderย orย Curse of Strahd.ย
Backgrounds
Dragon Heistย provides players with a few extra backgrounds to give them ties to Waterdeep. However, if you want to find something a little more unique, you might want to take a look at some of these great supplements.ย
Denizens of Waterdeep,ย by Bryan Holmes, adds three new backgrounds forย Dragon Heist, plus an all new faction for players to join. As a member of the Heralds, players gain access to much of Waterdeep’sย deep history and lore, which is perfect for a player that wants to learn more about the city they’re exploring.ย
Guildbook of the Watchful Order,ย by R P Davis, is another supplement that adds a new faction, this one crafted specifically for wizards and magic users. The Order acts as a way to police magic users in the city and provide Waterdeepย with magical support. Along with access to unique spells and feats, members of the Order can also access special portals spread throughout the city.ย
ย
ย
Guides to Waterdeep
Althoughย Dragon Heistย does a fantastic job of summarizing the history and culture of Waterdeep, there’s a ton of established lore that doesn’t get covered in the book. The DMsย Guild contains tons of both official and unofficial resources that provide additional history andย information about the City of Splendors that isn’t found inย Dragon Heist.ย
Jason Hardin wroteย Waterdeepย Primer, a 23 page supplement that summarizes the many books written about Waterdeepย over the year. The primer is a fantastic starting point for DMsย who want to learn more about the city that their players will be tramping around in, or for players who want to really dig into one of D&D’s most famous locales.ย
The Nobility of Waterdeep, by Bryan Holmes, provides an in-depth look of Waterdeep’s rich and powerful. Players will have the opportunity to interact with some of the nobility duringย Dragon Heist, and thisย supplement can give DMsย a way to bring high society to life. This supplement is also great for players that want to play as a minor noble themselves, giving some extra hooks and built-in backgrounds for someone that doesn’t want a generic background.ย ย
ย
New Factions
One ofย Dragon Heist‘s biggest strengths are the factions that players can either join or oppose during the adventure. Much ofย Dragon Heist‘s early chapters are dedicated to a war between two rival factions, and players can encounter other criminal or…extra-legal organizations while exploring the city.ย
James Introcaso, one of the designers ofย Dragon Heist,ย wroteย Unseen Waterdeepย to introduce another dangerous organization into the fold. The Unseen are a group of shapeshiftersย and assassins that can either be worked into the background ofย Dragon Heistย or serve as the adventure’s primary antagonists. Introcasoย provides a full alternative encounter chain that can be used inย Chapter 4 ofย Dragon Heistย along with a brand new holiday around which the encounter takes place. Unseen Waterdeepย is the perfect supplement to use if one of your players has playedย Dragon Heistย beforeย or are familiar with the official campaign and its twists.ย
Maps
There’s also a ton of great maps that DMsย can use either for online play or as a resource to give to their players.ย Forgotten Realms Stock Mapsย provides a bunch of maps drawn in the style of an amateur cartographer. As the product pre-datesย Dragon Heist, it doesn’t contain every location used in the adventure, but it does provide a solid starting point for players that want maps ASAP.ย
Daniel Pryor also made maps for Xanathar’sย Hideout, Trollskull Alley, and Trollskullย Manorย that can be used either for online or tabletop play. You can also find a set of regional maps by Terrlenย Darkseekerย that can be used if players want to explore outside out of Waterdeep’s walls.ย
