#cassalanter

[oldthe-nothing-maker]

It would have been a fun plot twist if we didn’t feel so betrayed !

(I mean, when I say “we” felt betrayed, some players were more into it than others...)

[artemis-entreri]

[[ The full cover art for D&D’s upcoming Waterdeep: Dragon Heist adventure, by artist Tyler Jacobson. Original source: Jacobson’s Twitter. ]]

[artemis-entreri]

((Sparking off the Dragon Heist content: for someone who does not have a gaming group and just wants the lore, is it worth it to buy Dragon Heist?))

[[  I’ve read the ARC of Timeless. Ask me anything! 

I’d say so, although with a few provisos: First, if there isn’t an urgency for you to buy this supplement, it’s a good idea to wait for it to come out before deciding whether you want to throw money at it. There’s a lot of hype for the product, and it’s the first 5e adventure that I’m actively excited for because I see a great deal of promise for it, however whether all of that will be realized remains to be seen. Furthermore, even at the Amazon reduced price of ~$30, this book will cost no small chunk of change. 

All that said, Waterdeep: Dragon Heist represents a lot of firsts for D&D and/or 5e. Afaik, this is the first time that a D&D adventure has four different preset playthroughs built into it, with what they’re doing with the four different antagonists for the same adventure. It’s also setting the groundwork for gaming in a city environment (versus the typical adventuring in the wilds/ruins). Waterdeep: Dragon Heist will be feature a lot more intrigue rather than hack and slash. All of this might not seem all that interesting if you’re not going to be gaming, but I think that the information within will provide a great writing reference for especially if you’re writing in the Realms, because it really delves into the city of Waterdeep unlike anything before, or so they claim. There will be super detailed maps of the city that supposedly will rival what came with the 2e City of Splendors boxed set, except updated to the current setting of the Realms. Plus, many people are speculating that the huge project that Ed Greenwood’s been working on, that he’s been under NDA about for at least two years, is these two Waterdeep adventures (Dragon Heist and Dungeon of the Mad Mage).

Lore in 5e has been pretty sparse, with the lack of novels and not much in the way of campaign setting sourcebooks. The Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide is the closest thing that we’ve got to a 5e FR sourcebook, but it focuses on such a small region of just Faerûn, leaving the tidbits of lore of the other places coming from the adventure modules. Furthermore, compared to campaign setting sourcebooks of previous editions, the SCAG is mostly fluff, providing a pretty superficial view overall. The two Waterdeep adventures will of course focus on Waterdeep and Undermountain, however since Waterdeep represents a feel of what city life is like in Faerûn, I do think that getting a good sense of the city directly leads to getting a good feel for the Realms as a whole (or at least, for Faerûn and the Sword Coast). In addition, the antagonists featured in both Dragon Heist and DotMM range from pretty big to very big in the Realms, with the possible exception of the Cassalanters. We know about Jarlaxle already, and Xanathar is kind of a big deal, while Manshoon and Halaster Blackcloak have both caused large-scale catastrophes for their world. I’d say that as far as lore goes, Waterdeep: Dragon Heist will probably contain more than any of its 5e predecessors.

Unfortunately that’s not saying a whole lot. If the Waterdeep adventures are indeed the project that Ed’s been working on, then I’d expect we’d see a marked upgrade from what we’ve been getting for 5e so far. No one will know for sure until it comes out, but one thing’s for certain: the art promises to be gorgeous. I’ve yet to be disappointed by any of the art in the D&D sourcebooks. I love Waterdeep and I like Jarlaxle, so I’ll be getting Dragon Heist pretty close to release. If Artemis is in it, I might even buy it the day that it comes out. XD ]]