Dungeons & Dragons Adventure is Remade With a Villainous Bent

A new third-party supplement reimagines a recent Dungeons & Dragons adventure from the perspective of some less scrupulous characters. Last year, Dungeons & Dragons released Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, a Level 1 – Level 5 adventure set in the famous city of Waterdeep. Over the course of the adventure, players come to learn of a massive treasure trove of gold hidden somewhere in the city and race to find it against one of four different villains, depending on the season when the story takes place. The adventure won praise for its nuanced villains and its wonderful updates to Waterdeep, but some players were disappointed that the storyline didn’t really branch into different parts until most of the adventure is complete.

Now, there’s a new DMs Guild supplement for those who want to experience Dragon Heist again, but from a completely different persepective. Skullport: Dragon Swindle, by Alex Clippinger is billed as a “hack” of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, reimagining parts of the story so that they take place in the small underground town of Skullport, located within the Undermountain mega-dungeon. Skullport is a hive of scum and villainy, and Skullport: Dragon Swindle assumes that your players will be up to no good when they begin their adventure. Consider this the Dragon Heist story made for evil (or at least morally grey) characters.

Dragon Swindle is basically Dragon Heist only viewed through a distorted mirror. Many of the basic story elements in Dragon Swindle are the same as they are in Dragon Heist, only modified a bit to follow a different narrative. For instance, the Eye of Gondorr artifact remains a critical part of Dragon Swindle, but its origins are completely different in order to fit other changes in the storyline. The adventure also adds three new villains to use in the place of the ones at the heart of the original Dragon Heist story.

Skullport: Dragon Swindle is a fun remix of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, and I think it’ll be enjoyed most by players who have run through Dragon Heist before. You’ll enjoy seeing how story elements from Dragon Heist come into play in Dragon Swindle, and how they form a tight, cohesive narrative that perfectly leads into Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage. This is a great and thoughtful supplement, one that builds off of Dragon Heist to create something entirely new.

Skullport: Dragon Swindle is available on the DMs Guild for $9.95.