In Chapter 3: Fireball, an explosion kills nearly a dozen people in Trollskull Alley not far from the PCs’ front door. Their investigation takes them to Gralhund Villa, which is described in Part 2 of this remix.
WHAT HAPPENED:
- Dalakhar was attempting to meet with Renaer Neverember at Trollskull Manor. He was being tracked by the Gralhund, Zhentarim, Cassalanters, and possibly others.
- A small team of Zhentarim agents led by Urstul Floxin attempted to waylay Dalakhar as he came down Trollskull Alley.
- The Gralhund nimblewright, observing the scene from a nearby rooftop, used a necklace of fireballs to launch a fireball which kills Dalakhar and most of the Zhentarim agents, with the exception of Urstul Floxin (who barely survives, but is incapacitated).
- The Gralhund nimblewright jumped off the roof, dashed forward, rifled through Dalakhar’s pockets, and took the Stone of Golorr. It then ran off, returning to Gralhund Villa.
MOTIVATION: A core problem in this scenario is that (a) the PCs are not strongly motivated to investigate the explosion, (b) they are explicitly encouraged to NOT investigate the explosion, but (c) if they don’t investigate the explosion, the rest of the campaign doesn’t happen.
My recommendation is simple: Kill someone they care about in the explosion.
Who you choose to kill is going to be heavily idiosyncratic to your campaign. It’s really difficult to predict exactly which NPCs are going to resonate most strongly with the players during actual play. Honestly, it’s just as likely to be some random person that you improvised off-the-cuff. But here are a couple of possibilities:
- Renaer Neverember. As described below, he arranged with Dalakhar to meet at Trollskull Manor. In this scenario, however, Renaer spotted Dalakhar on the street as they both arrived, approached him, and they were both killed in the explosion. (If you go this route, I recommend having a note from Dalakhar in Renaer’s pocket for the PCs to discover that will cover at least some of the information Renaer would otherwise impart.)
- One of the Three Urchins (see Part 3). If it’s not a deal-breaker for your group, introducing the cute little urchin kids and then killing one of them is virtually guaranteed to set the PCs on the warpath.
STRUCTURE: Generally speaking, this investigation will break down into three phases.
- First, the questioning of witnesses to the explosion. The primary revelation here is that a nimblewright was responsible.
- Second, finding and investigating known owners of nimblewrights. The primary revelation here is that they’re being purchased from Captain Zord of the Sea Maidens Faire.
- Third, either speaking with Captain Zord (aka Jarlaxle) or performing a heist (see Part 4B) to retrieve his customer information. If they perform the heist, they might also stumble across the crystal ball Jarlaxle is using to spy through the nimblewrights. Either way, the information will lead them to the Gralhunds.
THE CRIME SCENE: The crime scene is described on p. 44 of Dragon Heist.
- Add black flying snake tattoos to the Zhentarim corpses.
- Tracking the nimblewright? Physically tracking the nimblewright is not really feasible, its trail being quickly obliterated in the crowded streets of Waterdeep.
- Speak with dead? See p. 46 of Dragon Heist, but tweak answers to fit revised continuity where necessary. The key revelations from Dalakhar is that he was carrying the Stone of Golorr, what the Stone does (although he doesn’t know it’s been blinded), that he stole it from Xanathar, and that he was coming to meet Renaer. The key revelations from the Zhentarim is that they were seeking something that Dalakhar was carrying, they worked for Urstul Floxin, and they came from Yellowspire (see Part 3: Faction Outposts).
REMINDER!
During this investigation…
Don’t forget to have Renaer show up at the scene of the crime, probably 15-30 minutes after the explosion. When he does so, he’ll be able to tell the PCs:
- That he had arranged to meet with Dalakhar at Trollskull Manor. The gnome had sent him an urgent message requesting the meeting and Renaer chose Trollskull Manor as the location.
- That Dalakhar was an agent working for his father.
- That his father had assigned Dalakhar to “keep an eye on me. He would skulk around and I would see him everywhere.” A few weeks ago, though, he abruptly disappeared and Renaer doesn’t know where he’s been. (If the PCs ask, it happened just before Renaer was kidnapped by the Zhentarim.)
- That he doesn’t know what Dalakhar wanted. “His message simply said that he was carrying something valuable for my father, was unable to deliver it, and was hoping that I could help.”
Don’t forget to have the Cassalanters contact the PCs and ask for their help in saving their children. It’s strongly recommended that this occur before they reach the Gralhund Villa.
PHASE 1: QUESTIONING WITNESSES
There’s generally three types of witnesses:
- Those who didn’t see anything, and merely relate their personal experience. (Heard a huge explosion, rushed into the street. Saw a friend immolated in front of their eyes and the heat of the flame on their face. All their windows blew out. Et cetera.)
- Those who saw the nimblewright throw a bead from a necklace of fireballs. (Variation: As described on p. 45, young Martem Trec recovered the spent necklace from where it fell in a rain barrel after the nimblewright tossed it away.)
- Those who saw the nimblewright approach Dalakahar’s body, take something from it, and run away. If the PCs inquire about which direction it went, the answer is between two buildings and heading east. (Variation: Some people may have also seen the nimblewright leap down from the roof from which it launched its attack.)
Which witnesses saw which events doesn’t really matter. The key revelation is that a nimblewright was responsible for the attack.
BONUS CLUE – THE HOUSE OF INSPIRED HANDS: One of the witnesses who saw the nimblewright remembers seeing a similar automaton participating in the Twin Parades yesterday as part of the Temple of Gond’s procession. (Following up on the Temple of Gond will lead to the House of Inspired Hands, see below.)
Option: There’s no reason the PCs couldn’t attend the Twin Parades themselves (see Part 4). If they do, you can describe several impressive processionals participating in the parade, including the nimblewright who was operating a number of wonderous mechanical contraptions. (If you want to force it, arrange for one of the PCs’ faction missions to require action during the parade.)
DESCRIPTION OF THE NIMBLEWRIGHT:
- A construct made of both burnished copper and pale wood.
- Wore a red robe and foppish red hat with a feather.
- A long, stylized Van Dyke beard. (This is unique to the Gralhunds’ nimblewright and may help identify it to Captain Zord later.)
- You can see its clockwork mechanisms constantly whirring and pistoning under its rune-etched skin-plating.
POTENTIAL WITNESSES
- Fala Lefaliir, owner of Corellon’s Crown (Dragon Heist, p. 32)
- Tally Fellbranch, owner of the Bent Nail (Dragon Heist, p. 32)
- Rishaal, owner of the Book Wyrm’s Treasure (Dragon Heist, p. 33)
- Jezrynne Hornraven, client of Vincent Trench (Dragon Heist, p. 45)
- Martrem Trec, 12-year-old boy and friend to the dead halflings (Dragon Heist, p. 45)
- Emmek Frewn, owner of Frewn’s Brews and rival (Dragon Heist, p. 42).
- Shard Shunners, gang hired by Frewn to interfere with the PCs’ business (Dragno Heist, p. 42)
- Ulkoria Stonemarrow, regular at Trollskull Manor (Dragon Heist, p. 42)
- The Three Urchins, particularly if one of them was killed (see Part 3C)
WITNESS – URSTUL FLOXIN: Urstul Floxin obviously survived the explosion, but he was badly hurt and will attempt to leave the area as quickly and surreptitiously as possible. If the PCs respond to the explosion quickly, however, they may have the time to briefly question him (particularly if they immediately move to assist the wounded).
- Somewhat disoriented, Urstul will give his real name if questioned.
- He’ll claim to have come to Trollskull Alley in order to go to (he glances around and points at a storefront) the Book Wyrm’s Treasure. He doesn’t know what happened; there was just a bright light and a lot of heat and he’s pretty sure he was knocked out.
- A DC 13 Wisdom (Insight) test suggests that he’s not being entirely truthful. If pushed, he’ll say, “Look, I must have been hallucinating. But just after the explosion, I could have sworn I saw a mechanical angel of death moving among the bodies. I thought he was going to come for me next, but then it turned and ran away.” (GM Note: Urstul doesn’t actually believe it was an “angel of death”, but he wants to present himself as a confused rube who just happened to be passing by.)
Note: Urstul also has a black flying snake tattoo, but his is located on his left breast and is not visible unless the PCs somehow (and for some reason) strip him down.
THE WATCH ARRIVES: See Dragon Heist, p. 44-45.
DESIGN NOTES
The witness list has been expanded here specifically to reincorporate NPCs the characters may have been interacting with during Chapter 2. Accent the list with any other familiar faces the PCs might recognize, although not everyone in the area should be someone the PCs know.
Note that the in the published version of the campaign Urstul is the one to steal the Stone of Golorr from Dalakhar’s corpse, but in this continuity the nimblewright steals the Stone (and it’s the nimblewright’s trail the PCs will be following). This also means Urstul can still be onsite, allowing the PCs to encounter him face-to-face before interacting with him at the Gralhund Villa.
PHASE 2: ON THE MATTER OF NIMBLEWRIGHTS
Once the PCs have the description of the mechanical man responsible for the attack, the next step is to figure out exactly what it was and where it came from.
RESEARCH: A DC 13 Intelligence (Arcana) can reveal that it was a nimblewright, most likely built by the technomancers of Luskan and based on ancient Calishite designs of the Shoon 
Imperium. They had not previously been seen in Waterdeep and the Luskan technomancers have been reticent about sharing their secrets. If they succeed at DC 17, however, they learn that Bowgentra Summertaen, Lady Master of the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors, is known to have recently come into possession of one.
Following up on the Luskan angle is possible, with a DC 17 Charisma (Investigation) check revealing that the Sea Maidens Faire carnival ships recently came to Waterdeep from Luskan and the performers might know more.
CANVASSING: A DC 13 Charisma (Investigation) check reveals two owners of nimblewrights (see below). For every two points of margin of success, they discover an additional owner.
OTHER APPROACHES: Perhaps the PCs approach their faction for information on the mechanical man. Or they could easily come up with some completely unanticipated idea. If the approach seems plausible, default towards providing them 1-2 nimblewright owners.
THE BONUS CLUE: The bonus clue, described above, will also point the PCs towards one of the nimblewright owners (the Temple of Gond).
DESIGN NOTE
The PCs aren’t meant to find all the owners of nimblewrights here. The intention is for them to trace the nimblewrights to Jarlaxle. If they do so and then steal Jarlaxle’s records of sale, they’ll find a list of all the owners, including those on the list below that they didn’t already identify + the Gralhunds.
(This path is actually more difficult than just asking “Captain Zord” for help – because the PCs have to (a) steal the records and then (b) investigate all the different buyers before identifying the Gralhunds. But it has the advantage of not tipping off Jarlaxle, possibly eliminating an entire faction from the Grand Game.)
The bonus clue will preferentially point the PCs towards the fully developed Temple of Gond from the published scenario. If you want to open things up a bit, give the PCs two owners via the bonus clue. For example: “I think I saw a similar automaton in the Twin Parades yesterday. He was part of the Temple of Gond’s procession.” And then a bystander pipes up, “Hey! You’re right! I’ve seen something like it before, too! It was dueling down at the City Armory!” Or whatever owner you want to evoke.
OWNERS OF THE NIMBLEWRIGHTS
Jarlaxle has sold 9 nimblewrights. His asking price is just 25,000 gold dragons – which is a lot of money, but shockingly cheap as far as constructs go. That’s because he’s selling them at loss. His interest is not in making a profit from selling mechanical constructs: The nimblewrights have clairvoyance crystals built into them, allowing Jarlaxle to use a special crystal ball to capture “records of witness” through the eyes of each nimblewright, which he can review at his leisure. (See “Nimblewright Crystal Ball”, below.) He simply wants to get nimblewrights positioned in as many advantageous households and organizations as possible, collecting intelligence and blackmail opportunities.
TEMPLE OF GOND: The House of the Inspired Hands is described on p. 46 of Dragon Heist. The nimblewright they’ve named Nim has, much to their surprise, proven remarkably adept at interacting with and even creating their mechanical marvels. (He does not, however, have a nimblewright detector.)
- Appearance: Its “hair” consists of multi-layered, overlapping metal feathers.
BOWGENTRA SUMMERTAEN: Lady Master of the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors, a guild for wizards and sorcerers in Waterdeep. Her nimblewright is serving as a majordomo-cum-curiosity piece at the Order’s guildhouse.
- Appearance: The nimblewright’s head is is featureless – no eyes, no mouth, no nose, no ears, no hair. (This does not impede its senses of sight or hearing.)
LORD LABDAR ADARBRENT: Head of a noble Waterdhavian family who owns the fourth-largest shipping fleet in the city and has strong ties with the Master Mariners’ Guild. His nimblewright stands as a guard in his front hall, replacing the human guard who once stood there.
- Appearance: Its eyes are black onyx and its face is fixed in a permanent, rictused scowl. It wears the tabard of House Adarbrent.
LORD CORIN DEZLENTYR: The wizened, half-elven head of the Dezlentyr family. They first rose to prominence in the 13th century as caravan masters, traders, and explorers. They own a villa in the Sea Ward ($51 on the 3rd Edition City of Splendors map). The nimblewright was actually purchased by his headstrong, swashbuckling daughter, Hermione Dezlentyr.
- Appearance: Its right eye is a green gemstone which glows faintly. Hermione has dressed it in traditional swashbuckling gear – the hate, the doublet, and so forth. (This lends it an appearance quite similar to the Gralhunds’ nimblewright, although it lacks the Van Dyke beard.)
HOUSE OF WONDER (TEMPLE OF MYSTRA): Jarlaxle may have gotten a little cocky here. The servants of Mystra obtained the nimblewright in the hope of unraveling the secrets of its construction. They have not done so (at least not yet), but they did discover the clairvoyance crystal and have successfully removed it from their nimblewright. (If you want to complicate things, send a Bregan D’Aerthe response team to reclaim the compromised nimblewright from the House of Wonder.)
- Appearance: Feminine in appearance, dressed in a simple white robe. Silver “hair” has been carved to resemble a bob cut.
MOTHER TAMRA’S HOUSE OF GRACES: A finishing school catering to young ladies of ambitious families located on Mendever Stret in the Castle Ward. Their nimblewright is serving as a housecleaner.
- Appearance: Eight halos of different precious metals circle the nimblewright’s head at strange, intersecting angles.
CITY ARMORY: Located in the Sea Ward ($75 on the 3rd Edition City of Splendors map), the members of the Armory Guard have a nimblewright who serves as a fencing partner. They appropriated the funds to purchase the nimblewright without really having proper authorization.
- Appearance: Simple, generic facial features, but this nimblewright has additional plates of gleaming metal positioned around its body to resemble a stylized breastplate and greaves.
THE GRALHUNDS: The guilty party.
FACTION MEMBER: A prominent member of one of the factions the PCs belong to. Possibly their direct contact, but it’s arguably more effective to have it be someone they’re not personally acquainted with yet: It will make the outcomes of the investigation less certain, raise more questions in their mind, and have wider-ranging consequences in terms of deepening (or radically changing) their relationship with the faction.
INVESTIGATING THE OWNERS
As the PCs track down and question the owners, their stories and interactions will all be different, but make sure to establish the key revelations:
CORE REVELATION: The nimblewrights were all purchased from Captain Zord of the Sea Maidens Faire. His carnival ships are currently docked at a rented pier.
SECONDARY REVELATION: Captain Zord is selling the nimblewrights for a shockingly low price.
NIMBLEWRIGHT APPEARANCE: It’s important to note during these visits that the nimblewrights all look different from each other. While they share certain key features (a slight, nimble build; construction from thin, curved plates of burnished metal and pale wood; their visible clockwork mechanisms), each is a bespoke creation with distinct, unique features. If you slip up and describe the nimblewrights as all being identical to each other (and, particularly, identical to the Gralhunds’ nimblewright), the PCs will have no way of figuring out who the guilty nimblewright belongs to and their investigation is likely to turn into a muddle.
THE JARLAXLE CONNECTION
Once the PCs have tracked the nimblewrights back to “Captain Zord”, there’s generally three directions their investigation can take.
TALKING TO ZORD: If the PCs simply seek a meeting with Captain Zord, it’s relatively easy to obtain. If they ask him about the ownership of a particular nimblewright, he’ll first want to know why they’re looking for it. His curiosity satisfied, he’ll excuse himself for a few minutes, and then return to tell them that the nimblewright they’re looking for was purchased by the Gralhunds. He can even give them an address.
Easy-peasy. (Except for the part where they’ve inadvertently tipped off Jarlaxle and brought him into the Grand Game.)
ZORD’S RECORDS OF SALE: If the PCs stage a heist to steal Zord’s records of sale, they’ll find the Ledger of Nimblewright Sales in Area J30 of the Eyecatcher (see Part 4B). This ledger records all the current owners of nimblewrights in Waterdeep.
THE CRYSTAL BALL: If the PCs discover the existence of the nimblewright crystal ball (see below), this can be found in Area U4 of the Scarlet Marpenoth (see Part 4B). If PCs stage a heist to access or steal the crystal ball, they can review the records of witness and easily discover that the nimblewright responsible for the fireball was sent by the Gralhunds.
THE NIMBLEWRIGHT CRYSTAL BALL
The nimblewright crystal ball is actually a rare and incredibly powerful crystalmantic artifact that’s not inherently associated with the nimblewrights: It is attuned to specially created clairvoyant crystals, and is capable of not only perpetually scrying through those crystals, but also creating and storing records of witness. Basically, it allows you to not only view “live feeds” from any attuned clairvoyant crystals, you can also review everything those crystals have “seen” in the past.
Jarlaxle and his agents killed the dragoness Asphosis and stole the crystal ball from her horde. The technomancers of Luskan have been creating attuned clairvoyance crystals and building them into the nimblewrights. Thus, the crystal ball is currently capable of seeing out through the eyes of any nimblewright.
STUDYING THE NIMBLEWRIGHTS: The clairvoyance crystals are very carefully hidden deep inside the nimblewrights’ clockworks (and, at least initially, appear to be an integrated part of their operation; they’re not just wedged in there randomly). If several hours can be taken to carefully study a nimblewright (including at least partially disassembling it), a DC 18 Intelligence (Arcana) check will discover the crystal’s superfluous nature and then normal efforts can be used to identify its function.
The attunement between crystal and crystal ball can be traced. A detect magic spell combined with a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check is sufficient to identify that the crystal is attuned to something onboard the Eyecatcher (assuming the trace is followed to the harbor).
DESTROYING A CLAIRVOYANCE CRYSTAL: A clairvoyance crystal is actually quite delicate and will shatter like glass if appropriate physical force is employed.
CREATING A CLAIRVOYANCE CRYSTAL: Players who take possession of the nimblewright crystal ball have a very powerful and versatile tool. Attuned clairvoyance crystals can be scavenged from the nimblewrights (both those “in the field” and also those still located in Jarlaxle’s ships), but if they want to create more crystals, they’ll need to visit Luskan and perform a raid on the technomantic workshops there.
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU SEE? In addition to identifying the Gralhunds’ nimblewright, the PCs can access records from all of the other nimblewright owners. This is a vast body of knowledge that is either banal or essential.
You might even include older records of witness from before the time that Aphosis took possession of the ball. These might be fragmentary and incomplete, but their study could reveal any number of adventure seeds for the PCs.
Perhaps there’s even a very old crystal that remains attuned to the crystal ball and located somewhere within Undermountain.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’m still a relatively new DM for a group of old school experienced players. Your remix has breathed a renewed sense of excitement to run this! I was never really sold on the idea to pick a villain and wondered with others in asking,”Where’s the Beef (heist)?”. I now feel that I’m presenting to my players a complex and intricate world where they are immersed step by step into the grand game. I felt that it was such a waste to detail the four lairs and not even expect to use them. I’m so looking forward to the outposts, the heists into the lairs for the eyes and the villains’ responses to losing the stone and eyes. This will be epic! I wish you would write the next D&D module for WOTC!
My one concern is in beefing this module up, does it advance the players beyond level 5 when the dust finally settles?
Thank you, thank you, thank you! As a new DM starting this module for old school experienced players, I started getting nervous running it. I wasn’t a big fan of pick your villain and thought it was a waste that the detailed lairs weren’t expected to be used. I wondered as many others did asking, “Where’s the beef (heist)?”.
Your remix has revitalized this module. I now feel that I’m presenting to my players a complex and intricate world in the vein of It’s a Mad, Mad…World and Charade. I’m going to love running it this way and I know they will love playing it. I’m anxiously looking forward to the outposts, lairs, eye heists and the inevitable retribution strikes. I only wish you’d be hired to write/consult on the next module WOTC releases.
My only concern/question: Does your remix considerably alter the PCs advancement beyond level 5 once the dust settles in the empty vault of dragons?
Hey Alexander, what season would you recomend the investigation to happen?
Summer, because of the Cassalanters contacting the PCs?
How many days would you think is best between the Fireball and the Cassalanters’ Sacrifice?
Re: Advancement. I have not had an opportunity to do a full accounting XP probability across the remix. I suspect a one level bump is likely (so they’ll wrap at 6th instead of 5th), and possibly even recommended for the heists.
Re: Season. This is discussed a bit more in Part 4. The short version is I’ve set the campaign in the Springtime, during the back-to-back festivals of Fleetswake (Ches 21st thru 30th) and Waukeentide (Tarsakh 1st thru 10th). This gives plenty of opportunities for social events during the heists.
Dalakhar is blown up on Ches 22nd (the Twin Parades mentioned above take place on Ches 21st). The Cassalanters’ sacrifice is scheduled for the Leiruin Feasts on Tarsahk 10th, 18 days later.
Hi Justin, amazing work.
If I am reading correctly, did the new articles jump from 3B to 5C, or are the links to 3C broken?
There was a jump. There’s a note in the comments for 3B with an explanation. Short version: People needed 5C to keep their campaigns going and they needed it now.
3C goes live today. Daily serialization through the rest of the month to catch up. Back to Monday-Wednesday-Friday (our regular schedule) in February, with non-Dragon Heist material also starting to reappear.
Justin, I just wanted to say thanks. The group that I’m running for is using a “Gentleman Bastards” background (From Scott Lynch’s the Lies of Locke Lamora) and I think this adventure would be a little too cut and dry without your remix so I really appreciate what you’re doing here. All month I’ve wanted to say, “Work FAster! Where’s the content!” But I knew that Art takes time so I kept my mouth shut and I just want to say thanks, take your time and kick out that quality content that we’re seeing here! Love it!
Love the new characters you are bringing out to flesh out the lore of the city, especially: MOTHER TAMRA’S HOUSE OF GRACES. Because of course a place like Waterdeep is full of all sorts of wonders you don’t find in lesser cities.
Hi Justin
Loving some of the ideas behind the remix, which I will definitely be implementing in my forthcoming DH campaign.
A potential issue for me is that if Jarlaxle is using the Nimblewrights as spies, surely he would be aware of everything the Grahlunds know, and definitely be wise to their plan to fireball Dalakhar even before it happened? So he would be ahead of the game, if anything.
Unless he’s not reviewing the footage on the Clairvoyance Crystals (do they record sound as well…? I’d imagine that they did), which is kind of pointless if the idea of planting them was to gather intel.
Any thoughts on that?
As an aside, overall I think it’s cool that each major villain has their unique spying system, now that you’ve added the nimblewrights. The DM can use these to bring the villains onto the scene whenever the PCs seem to be getting too far ahead.
Xanathar – gazers
Bregan D’aerthe – nimblewrights
Cassalanters – imps disguised as ravens
Zhentarim – old school agents/spies
Think of the clairvoyance crystals as video recorders; and they record constantly. So with nine nimblewrights sold, Jarlaxle is generating 216 hours of “footage” every day. He physically can’t review all of it; it’s generating faster than he can watch it.
So if the PCs tell him (directly or indirectly), “Hey! There’s some interesting stuff the Gralhunds are doing!” He can (and does) go check the footage. As it is, he just missed it or missed the significance of the snippets of footage he reviewed. Or he hasn’t gotten to checking their footage yet. (They are a rather minor noble family.)
Thanks for the reply. I imagine he would have some lackeys reviewing the footage, but maybe if he’s managed to place nimblewrights in several more exciting households, as you suggest, then J. and his team might well be distracted by other opportunities / storylines… cheers for the ideas!
Hey Justin,
while reading through a few of the chapters that deal with the introduction of the Cassalanters and was wondering why it is recommended to set this up before the Gralhund heist? Having the players obtain the item, they may then ask “what is this?” Afterwards, the Cassalanters will explain the gist of the Grand Game.
I understand the reverse: Explain the game before jumping into it, but I’m worried my players won’t grasp the concept without being exposed to it.
So, my straightforward question is: How have your players responded to being explained the Grand Game before being involved?
Partly it’s pacing: Having some cross-traffic activity during the investigation is a nice way of giving the investigation some texture.
Partly it’s setting stakes: This is the part in the noir story where the PCs think they’re just investigating a murder and then they discover that, no, it’s a whole lot more complicated than that.
Having that revelation come in the middle of the investigation is more effective than at the end because it then colors and transforms the investigation itself. “What we’re doing is more important than we thought!” is a stronger revelation than “what we just finished doing was more important than we thought!”
The adventure as written also has a weak point here: If the PCs show up at Gralhund Villa and don’t know what the Stone of Golorr is, there are A LOT of scenarios where they get to the end of the scene… and still don’t know what the Stone of Golorr is.
(This is mitigated somewhat in the remix by the lore dump the PCs can find in the villa itself.)
Having the Cassalanters say, “Dalakhar was carrying the Stone of Golorr. We need to know where it is.” clues the PCs in and gives them a more interesting and actionable agenda at the Gralhunds’.
In practice, of course, none of this may play out this way even if you do trigger the Cassalanter approach during the investigation: In my current campaign, the PCs rejected the Cassalanters request for assistance, so the Cassalanters never shared their information with them. It was the Gralhunds who ended up revealing the existence of the Stone of Golorr and the true nature of the Grand Game to them, and the PCs are now in an alliance with them.
If the pc’s enter at projected time…and haven’t tipped off jarlaxle… they help defeat the zhentarim, and gralhunds are left with stone? I’m thinking having the nimblewright flee with stone during fight, and the gazers attack the nimblewright? Or capture the nimblewright. As a 25,000 gp item xanatar would have reason to steal it, even if he doesn’t know what it carries…
How does one “transfer” ownership of a nimblewright?
Hi Justin,
Can you explain why Dalakhar was trying to visit Floon? Is it the same reason as given in DH, that he wanted the adventurers to look after it?
Many thanks
You shouldn’t feel bad about confusing Floon for Renaer! Everybody does it!
Check the timeline in this post. And also the REMINDER! section of this post (the one we’re at the bottom of).
I think the logic of Dalakhar wanting to work with the PCs is strained: His goal is to get to Lord Dagult. So in the Remix, Dalakhar just wants to meet with Renaer. Renaer suggested Trollskull as a neutral meeting place. Ka-Boom.
If that doesn’t work because the PCs didn’t turn Trollskull into a tavern, then maybe Dalakhar mentioned he needed help and Renaer thought the PCs might like the job.
Or just go with the original explanation if it works for you.
Hey brother! Running your awesome remix now and I realized that the nimblewright built by Nim couldn’t have a crystal, nor would Zord/Jarlaxle even know about it. I looked through your remix and couldn’t find a fix. The Dragon Heist adventure doesn’t have an explanation either. My fix was that Jarlaxle/J.B. Nevercott knew Nim was building one and brought him a crystal ‘To make sure Nim’s friend would work’, because J.B. Nevercott wanted to make sure Nim had everything he needed. I had used J.B. earlier to entice one of my drow players and figured it would be a better cover than Zord in the city.
Nim didn’t make the Gralhund’s nimblewight in the remix.
But your solution also works. And has the interesting aspect of providing a new lead pointing at Jarlaxle.
Why did you remove the nimblewright detector?
The original review goes into some of it.
Primarily, moving the function of the detector to Jarlaxle’s ship creates the opportunity for a heist.
I’m not sure if this has been covered anywhere, but my searches on the site haven’t dug it up:
You often refer to the technomancers of Luskan. Do you mean the technomancers of LANTAN? One is the City of Sails, a free port that Jarlaxle is keen on. The other is an island nation of technologically advanced gnomes and humans.
Luskan. The one Jarlaxle is from.
They could certainly be gnomes from Lantan that Jarlaxle kidnapped and brought to Luskan. That sounds like the sort of shenanigans he’d get up.
Hello Justin,
If I am understanding correctly, if the PCs agree to help the Cassalanters, do the Cassalanters give them ALL their information, including their eye, on the spot?
If not, what is the intended pace that they provide their information and their eye?
In addition, if the PCs blatantly refuse that offer, wouldn’t the Cassalanters just kill them? They have them cornered in their house.
@Finn I know I read that they only give their eye once the PCs recover the other 2 to be the final eye to complete the stone.
I am also curious how much information the Cassalanters have shared in other games as I am about to run that session for my group next.
I felt like the Cassalanters in my game wouldn’t approach the group until after the heist at Gralhund Villa. They did have some imps keeping an eye on what the PCs were doing. Now they are going to try and hire the group and let them know a bit more about the game and what the stone is capable of.
First off Thank you for this! My WDH game is going great and I owe a lot of credit to the work you put in with this remix. I am having trouble with one aspect regarding motives of the Cassalanters meeting with the party.
Quick backstory. Two of my characters are twin tieflings according to their backstories they were born to a Waterdeep human family. The father thought them an abomination and wanted them dead. The midwife stowed them away and a tiefling couple adopted them and moved into the underdark to keep them safe. I thought this fit pretty well to make the parents the Cassalanters as they are devil worshippers. Their eldest son now a chain devil. The two characters born as tieflings, and now their human kids whom Asmodeus will be taking the souls of. The characters a few sessions ago learned about their birthparents being the Cassalanters but didnt know how to take it as they were unaware of thier adoption.
So what I’m struggling with is why at this point in the game are the Cassalanters reaching out to the party? Do they let on to knowing of the Grand Game? Also, do you have any advice on how to play out the parental aspect of this?
Thanks in advance for your time.
Pete
This is primarily discussed in Part 1 of the Remix.
In short: The Cassalanters become aware of the PCs and are seeking to recruit them as agents for the Grand Game. Why? Well, the PCs either have valuable contacts with people involved with the Grand Game or the Cassalanters are likely to THINK that they do (Renaer, Dalakhar, etc.). Also, the PCs — being PCs — have the sort of skills that can make them valuable agents; their effectiveness already demonstrated by how they recently rescued a noble scion.
Re: The parental angle. I’d either have the Cassalanters ignorant of the fact that these are their tiefling children (it’s been a long time after all), putting the PCs in the position of power in deciding when or if to confront them with that fact.
Or I’d go to the other extreme and have the Cassalanters use it in their recruitment pitch. Their version, of course, will be that the PCs were STOLEN from them as infants! They searched everywhere, but could never find them! Their tiefling blood is, of course, just another manifestation of the horrible curse that was placed on their family.
Justin,
I’m definitely going to the extreme. I love that idea!!!! thanks!
I just did the fireball chapter! Or rather, started it. I’ve been using your guide this whole time, and was using it in this case too. One of my PCs ended up chasing down Urstol. So we’re going to have a one-off where he’s going to have to try and escape from Gralhund Villa while the other PCs try to find him. Any pointers on connecting the two?
Hi Justin,
Running the remix right now and I love how logical it makes the story.
Question: 15 minutes after the Fireball, Renaer Neverember shows up. Twenty minutes after that, Barnibus Blastwind and Saeth Cromley show up and shut down the city block.
Do you think that Neverember would explain to the city watch that he knows the identity of Dalakhar? Why or why not? Would this significantly affect the PC’s interactions with the watch in future encounters, such as after the Gralhund Mansion?
Hi, I’m Andrea from Italy!
I’m using your remix version for the campaign, it adds more sense to the whole story. I reached in the last session the fireball event…the party went to the Cassalanter Villa to talk to Ammalia & Victoro. Well, they believe something is wrong with the story the nobles said about getting the money to “counter spell” the curse on the twins. And they want to verify the truth with a major priest of a good aligned temple in the city. They want to know if it’s true that you have to use 1 milion dragons to make the rite. I don’t know how to handle that…can you please help me?
@Andrea: I think the guiding principle is that it’s perfectly OK for the PCs to figure out that the Cassalanters aren’t who they say they are.
With that being said, I’d probably split the difference. The expert will probably say something like:
– There are many different rituals which can break demonic or devilish curses. Or at least attempt to do so.
– But this sounds more like the Cassalanters have struck a bargain with some devilish power to break the curse; quite possibly the devil who cursed their bloodline in the first place.
– Devils love the despair created by these types of “impossible” goals: Huge wealth. Firstborn children. A mass sacrifice or the sacrifice of a beloved.
– Even when the act itself is not morally corrupt, the desperation to achieve the impossible will drive the victim to corrupt their own soul.
This keeps some enigma around it (further investigation required), but is a reasonable pay-off for the PCs’ caution and gives them plenty of warning that there’s more going on here.
Hello Justin!
Love your remix. Although I do have one question.
Let’s just say that the PCs haven’t really made a name for themselves, have not opened up the tavern, and Renaer does not trust them. What kind of reason should I have for Dalakhar being there in that case?
Do you think I should pause Fireball and have my PCs go on a quest that makes them more reputable around town, so that Dalakhar has reason to ask for their help?
Preliminary question: Does Dalakhar know that Renear doesn’t trust them? If all he knows is that the PCs saved Renaer, he might be under the mistaken belief they DO have a good relationship with him and that can justify it.
Otherwise, the simplest contingency is to remove the causality: The PCs are just coincidentally nearby when Dalakhar is assassinated.
You might also look for other hooks: What factions are the PCs tied up with? Could one of them ask the PCs to investigate the murder of Dalakhar (a known agent of Lord Neverember)? Or could they be given a mission to tail Urstul and end up following him as he follows Dalakhar?
There are also other potential ways to loop the PCs into the Grand Game . There are lots of NPCs and locations in the Remix that you can drop scenario hooks for and then see where it goes.
Thank you, Justin. Your work is amazing and great help.
The primary reason as to why Renaer doesn’t really trust them is mostly because the party is of neutral/evil alignment and they tried to rob his home after rescuing him. It may be true that Dalakhar doesn’t know about Renaer, but at the end of the day the same question remains: why would Dalakhar approach newbie adventurers that have barely begun to make a name for themselves and trust them with his master’s most prized artifact?
Yeah, it might be the case that I would indeed need to go the faction route if I’m going to want to start Chapter 3 early. Having Davil ask the PCs to tail Floxin and presenting the fireball that way would be a good option, but I may just have to bite the nail and acknowledge that the players could feasibly tail the Nimblewright back to the Gralhunds if Fireball happens right before their eyes.
Hi Alexander, I realize its been years since you made this. But hoping you can help.
In short, how are the Nimblewrights controlled, how if at all possible is their ownership switched. Can Jarlaxle control the ones he has sold? The Gralhunds were forced to surrender in my game (deception using children as leverage). And they handed over nimblewright, stone and papers (also Bregan Darthe were attacking).
On the spot, I made up a “control rod” of some sort that is attuned to the nimblewright. Im not 100% set on the idea though. Thoughts?
Im running your remix of WDH, and absolutely loving it. The players just raided Gralhund Villa and now have the stone. (Did in one session should have stretched it to two). Anyway They took out Floxin and a team of Zhentarim during the day, so no night attack. Had Bregan Dearthe attack instead during their raid.
Anyway, they snuck through window, which happened to be be Childrens bedroom. Spared Hrabbaz, but told him to get out with the children. cornered the Gralhunds and as said “got” the nimblewright. I slightly regret it, and plan on Jarlaxle showing up at their tavern with a team, forcing them to hand it back over, and wanting to make a deal with the party.
I wonder what happens to Zord’s crew disguises when they are taking players on a rowboat to the main ship to meet Zardoz? Or would they use a whole ship just to sail one mile?
Hello Justin!
Just making you aware that there may be some small inconsistencies with the revelation lists and this page that you may want to edit.
In the revelation list for “Dalakhar was carrying the Stone,” I don’t see it mentioned that the Cassalanters also know this information, as presented in this page.
It is also mentioned in the revelation lists that the dead Zhentarim thugs (upon Speak with Dead) know Dalakhar was carrying the Stone of Golorr, but in this page, the information is more vague, just that he was carrying an object of importance.
On an unrelated note, how do you feel about using a roll table to deliver clues? I was thinking of putting the “three types of witnesses”, as well as the nimblewright descriptions, into a table and roll 1d3 and 1d4 for each witness, with the exception of Jezrynne Hornraven and Martem Trec.