| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
The Cavalier
Acolyte
USA
10 Posts |
 Posted - 14 May 2020 : 18:41:04
|
Ok, look
I've got Volo's Guide to Waterdeep, FR1 Waterdeep and the North, Volo's Waterdeep Enchiridion, Adventurer's Guide to the Sword Coast, etc. I've read Elfshadow and Elfsong.
And I'm still having issues figuring out the "jist" of Waterdeep. I know it's a huge, bustling trade city full of politics and such that acts as a metropolis for the North, but I'm intimidated by the size of it all and am trying to figure out what makes it REALLY unique.
This is a really broad question I know, so any input would be appreciated, I'm really just looking for directions on running the city for my players since it's a bit intimidating.
Thanks
|
If there's anything I've learned as a DM, it's never give the players access to a Wish spell in the first session. |
|
|
sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 14 May 2020 : 19:24:24
|
Skullport and Undermountain are two unique things. There's numerous modules out there around undermountain for earlier editions, but that's all basically just a dungeon crawl. It would depend on if that's what you're going to do or if you're main goal is to be in the city itself.
If you can get ahold of TSR 1109 City of Splendors, that's a good resource. For 3.5, there was City of splendors: Waterdeep.
Beyond that, there's a lot of other resources (for instance, the City System set of maps maps out the whole surface city), but it honestly just comes down to "what do you want to do?". |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
 |
|
|
Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 14 May 2020 : 19:37:37
|
Well, it's relatively lawful and tolerant, with a huge variety of peoples and intelligent critters living there. It's a major trading port, so there's always a lot going on. Adventurers are common, either living there, using it as a base between adventures beyond the city, or planning on going into Undermountain. Anyone you meet there could be a harmless shopkeep, a dragon, a powerful wizard, or something even more exotic.
And there's all sorts of unique sites and places like the Moon Sphere, the Walking Statues, Dragon Tower, Ahghairon's Tower, the Misty Beard, the Crawling Spider, the Blushing Mermaid...
But even with all that, to me, the most interesting thing is the government by hidden rulers -- a cryptocracy that works out pretty well.
If it's all too intimidating, just start small -- find an inn or tavern you like, or make one up, populate the surrounding streets with NPCs and shops, and keep the focus there. The 2E City of Splendors boxed set even had a section of the city for just that approach -- in the set, it was the Adventurers' Quarter.
Keep in mind -- even people who live in places like New York City or Paris generally don't go roaming over the entire city. They frequent places in their neighborhood, near their jobs, and places en route -- and rarely go beyond there. Even a native isn't going to know every street and business. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
|
|
|
Renin
Learned Scribe
USA
290 Posts |
Posted - 14 May 2020 : 23:50:24
|
I think it's important to also stop thinking of the week in terms of the European/American Christian, bankers hours society and norms. The 'work week' isn't the typical 9-5 Monday through Friday, 'working for the weekend' US culture in Waterdeep. And all the faiths there also don't work on Sunday being the one holy day either.
Meaning, it's truly a city that never need sleep, or fall into lulls. Sure, there are Realms holidays, and seasonal festivals that the city will do, but it's not America, and maybe it's closest, even in my thinking, to NYC or Paris...but it's also not.
I'm fully in agreement with Wooly, and have developed it likewise myself-find a place in the city that is 'theirs' for the PCs. Like your group of college friends, the PC adventuring group should hopefully find a bar/inn that is theirs. (Now, this is all dependent on the adventures/campaign you are trying to run, as well as what kind of roleplayers your PCs want to be. Do they have fun being social butterflies? What if they meet some likewise minded women who want to do some clubbing or barhopping? Will the PCs go for that?) That's one way for the PCs to get involved with the Deep.
Next; perhaps they have a benefactor, or a rich merchant lord that has really taken to them? That's a way to have your group mix it up with a nobleman's gala. They get invited because they are known, or the benefactor wants to 'show off their find' in the adventurers you are, or the rich folk just want to get the thrill of rubbing elbows with the group that bested a behir on the trails to Luskan.
In Waterdeep, you're just as likely to get in a streetfight against a hired group out to get you, as well as fight a beholder in a seedy warehouse. You can have monster battle adventurers braving Skullport or Undermountain, or take a posted notice off a job board to protect a caravan running south to Baldur's Gate or go monster hunting in the wilds.
My next campaign I intend to fully stay in Waterdeep (instead of just doing the stop and go I have), and I'm going to try and make it so that group rarely, if ever, leaves the city itself. |
|
|
|
Brimstone
Great Reader
USA
3287 Posts |
Posted - 15 May 2020 : 13:55:18
|
| Stay in one ward for awhile. Make it yours then branch out to the next ward. Keep it small and simple. |
"These things also I have observed: that knowledge of our world is
to be nurtured like a precious flower, for it is the most precious
thing we have. Wherefore guard the word written and heed
words unwritten and set them down ere they fade . . . Learn
then, well, the arts of reading, writing, and listening true, and they
will lead you to the greatest art of all: understanding."
Alaundo of Candlekeep |
|
|
|
Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3741 Posts |
Posted - 15 May 2020 : 17:47:25
|
| -To be honest, I really don't think there's anything special about Waterdeep. It's big, but so are the big cities of any other setting. I think the fact that so much of it is detailed is what makes it seem more hefty, but just like everything else, a large part of it is probably going to be irrelevant to your game so just focus on the slice that will be. |
(A Tri-Partite Arcanist Who Has Forgotten More Than Most Will Ever Know)
Elves of Faerūn
Vol I- The Elves of Faerūn
Vol. III- Spells of the Elves
Vol. VI- Mechanical Compendium |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
Running Waterdeep?
