Go to Part 1

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 13^th century as caravan masters, traders, and explorers. They own a villa in the Sea Ward ($51 on the 3^rd 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 3^rd 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.

Go to Part 5D: Backtracking Dalakhar & Kalain

Go to Part 1

The investigation which brings the PCs from the fireball in Trollskull Alley to the Gralhund Villa will be fully described in Part 5. For the moment, however, we do need to establish a few key pieces of revised continuity:

• As mentioned in Part 1, the Gralhund’s nimblewright and the Zhentarim agents tracking Dalakhar are NOT working together.
• The nimblewright uses 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 dashes forward, rifles through Dalakhar’s pockets, and takes the Stone of Golorr. It then runs off, returning to Gralhund Villa.
• Urstul Floxin is able to identify the nimblewright. The Zhentarim track it back to the Gralhunds and are out for both revenge and the Stone.
• Meanwhile, the PCs will have likely tipped off Jarlaxle and pulled Bregan D’Aerthe into the Grand Game. Jarlaxle and his agents will also know who the nimblewright belonged to.
• Xanathar doesn’t know that the Gralhunds have the Stone, but he has learned that Urstul Floxin, a Zhentarim agent, was present when Dalakhar was killed. The beholder is still not entirely clear who stole the Stone, but he has his agents observing Urstul Floxin and those agents have tracked him to Gralhund Villa.

This sets up the quadpartite confrontation (really quinpartite once you add in the PCs) at the Gralhund Villa.

DESIGN NOTES

The simple goal here is to viscerally evoke the cross-faction conflict of the Grand Game: The first scenario of the campaign features two of the factions (although the PCs only encounter one of them). The climax of the second scenario features three of the main factions plus the Gralhunds (and also the Cassalanters if the PCs are working for them at this point) all coming together in immediate conflict. That’s the essential story of Dragon Heist being told through action, and it sets the stakes for the rest of the campaign.

OBSERVING THE VILLA

The Villa, for our purposes, exists in one of two states when the PCs arrive: Before the Zhentarim Raid and During the Zhentarim Raid. The DM can select which scenario is true based on any number of criteria, but I’m going to use a simple metric: If the PCs arrive during the day, then the Zhentarim raid happens that night. If they arrive at night, then the Zhentarim raid is in progress. (And if, for whatever reason, they specifically decide not to go to the Gralhund Villa after tracking the nimblewright back to it, I’ll trigger the raid a couple days later and have the PCs hear reports of it – either through broadsheets or contacts or simply gossip in their tavern’s common room.)

Before the raid happens (i.e., if the PCs arrive during the day), the Villa is under observation by up to three different factions. If the PCs scout around the Villa, they may be able to spot these teams. The DC for Wisdom (Perception) tests is noted with each faction.

ZHENTARIM WATCHERS (DC 12): Two Zhentarim thugs are located on the roofs of the buildings near the estate, stealthily changing their position from time to time. They have been placed here by Urstul Floxin to make sure that neither the nimblewright, the Gralhunds, nor the Stone of Golorr leave the villa before the raid begins. They have a black flying snake with them to send a message if necessary.

The Zhentarim watchers spotted one of Xanathar’s gazers, but didn’t realize it was watching them (or that it has remained in the area). They are unaware of the presence of Jarlaxle’s team.

XANATHAR’S GAZERS (DC 16): There are four of Xanathar’s gazers in the area. At DC 16, the PCs spot one gazer. They spot an additional gazer for each PC who succeeds on the test or for every 2 points of margin of success.

Xanathar’s agents tracked Urstul Floxin and the Zhentarim watchers to the villa when he gave them their instructions. Xanathar isn’t sure exactly what Floxin wants with the Gralhunds, but he’s installed the gazers to find out.

JARLAXLE’S TEAM (DC 14): If Jarlaxle has been tipped off by the PCs, he has a team holed up in Artheyn Manor across the street from the villa.

The Artheyns are a mercantile family. Radford Artheyn, the patriarch, has packed up the household and temporarily relocated to the Moonshae Isles in pursuit of a rumored vein of black gold in Alaron. (See MOON1-3: Black Gold from the 4^th Edition Living Forgotten Realms for more on black gold, although the details aren’t actually important for this scenario.) Drop cloths cover most of the furniture in the three-story house. A watch team has been stationed by the front door (Area A), which is on the opposite side of the house from Gralhund Villa, and the primary observation team is on the top floor (Area B).

Area A: Fel’Rekt Lafeen (drow gunslinger; Dragon Heist, p. 201) and 2 drow.

• A Directive from Jarlaxle lays on a side table. (If the PCs search Artheyn Manor after the raid, Fel’Rekt has carelessly left this behind.) The directive, signed by “Jarlaxle Baenre”, indicates that Fel’Rekt is to keep a watch on the Gralhund Villa and “seize any opportunity to take possession of the Stone of Golorr”. Updates are to be sent twice daily via Fenerus Stormcastle, and someone named Krebbyg has been instructed to pick up messages from Fenerus twice daily for the duration of the Gralhund operation.
• GM Note: Fenerus Stormcastle’s House is a Bregan D’Aerthe outpost, see Part 3.

Area B: Two drow gunslingers and 6 drow.

Jarlaxle’s team are aware of both the Zhentarim watchers and Xanathar’s gazers.

THE VILLA – ADVERSARY ROSTERS

Adversary rosters make it easy for a DM to run dynamic locations in which the action spills over from one room to the next. If you’re not already familiar with their use, I recommend reviewing this article which discusses them in detail.

To use these rosters, simply ignore any references to NPCs in the published key for the Gralhund Villa. If the PCs enter the villa before the Zhentarim raid has begun, you should also obviously ignore any references to corpses or other signs of violence.

GRALHUND VILLA – PCs ARRIVE DURING THE DAY

GRALHUND VILLA – PCs ARRIVE AT NIGHT

STAT REFERENCE

Groundskeeper (Hurv) – cult fanatic, MM p. 345 or shadow, MM p. 269
Mastiffs – MM p. 332 or shadow, MM p. 269
Servants – commoner, MM p. 345
Gralhund Guards – veteran, MM p. 350

Yalah Gralhund – DH p. 220; noble, MM p. 348
Orond Gralhund – DH p. 213-4; noble, MM p. 348

Urstul Floxin – DH p. 216; assassin, MM p. 343
Zhentarim Thugs – thug, MM p. 350
Flying Snake – MM p. 322

Drow Gunslingers – DH p. 201
Drow – MM p. 126

Gazer – DH p. 203

THE VILLA – MODIFIED KEY

Area G11 – Orond’s Study: The mahogany desk is covered with papers, which consist of the Gralhund Study of the Grand Game (see Part 6D).

Area G12 – Library: Orond was studding A Missive from Castle Ward. He leaves it laying on the arm of one of the library’s chairs if disturbed (by, for example, a Zhentarim strike team breaking into this house).

• A Missive from Castle Ward: “We are now certain that the Second Eye was carried from the warehouse in the Dock Ward to Yellowspire in the Castle Ward. I no longer believe that it remains within Yellowspire, however. After observing the Zhentarim traffic here, I am convinced that they must be using a teleportal within the tower. If we wish to track the Second Eye further, we will need to access that teleportal or otherwise determine where it leads. – Chirada”

Area 15b – Guest Suite: Does not contain a teleportation circle or flying snakes.

THE PCs RAID THE MANSION

If the PCs arrive during the day and raid the mansion before Floxin shows up, what happens?

OBSERVATION TEAMS: Check to see if they spot the PCs’ infiltration. If they don’t, then nothing happens until they do. Then, broadly speaking:

The Zhentarim will send their flying snake to Urstul, who will hastily assemble his team and rush over. He still won’t arrive for 10+2d6 minutes, though, so it’s quite possible the PCs will complete their raid and leave. If that happens and the Zhentarim think they have the Stone, they’ll leave a message drop for Urstul and attempt to follow the PCs to see where they take it. If they don’t think the PCs have the Stone, one of the Zhentarim will follow them (to identify who the new players in the Grand Game are) and the other will maintain observation of the villa.

Xanathar’s Gazers will continue monitoring the situation, with one or more of the gazers following the PCs when they leave.

Jarlaxle’s Team will wait for an opportunity to present itself and then strike at the Stone. That might mean attempting to send a team into the compound (probably heading over the roof and entering through Area 17 – The Balcony), or it might mean waiting until the PCs have the Stone and then attacking them as they leave.

GRALHUND GUARDS: If the alarm is raised, then

• 2 of the guards from Area G8 – Great Hall will move towards the alarm.
• 1d4 rounds later, 4 armored guards from G4 – The Barracks will mobilize. 2 will head towards the alarm; two will move towards Lord Gralhund.
• 1d4 rounds later, the unarmored guards from G4 – Barracks who were NOT asleep will mobilize with weapons but no armor.
• 1d4 rounds later, the unarmored guards from G4 – Barracks who WERE sleeping will mobilize with weapons but no armor.

(It would take unarmored guards 5 minutes to don their chain shirts. They’re not going to wait on it if the villa is under attack.)

Beyond that general response procedure, though, simply use the adversary roster and play the characters appropriately based on the information they have.

OTHER APPROACHES: What about other approaches? For example, what if the PCs knock on the front door? Or bring the City Watch? Broadly speaking, if the compound seems threatened by armed force, similar responses will be taken. If a peaceful approach is being taken, successful Charisma checks may allow PCs to meet with Lord Orond. (Lady Yalah will not put in an appearance; she stays with the Stone upstairs.)

ZHENTARIM RAID TIMELINE

The night-time adversary roster assumes that the PCs arrive on the scene during the night, with the Zhentarim raid taking place in media res. If the PCs instead arrive during the day and settle down as their own observation team, then they’ll be able to watch the raid play out in real time.

FLOXIN’S PLAN: Urstul wants to enter the house quietly through G6 – Pantry, make a rush through G8 – The Great Hall, go up the stairs, and capture Lord Orond, Lady Yalah, and/or the children before the guards can fully mobilize. With hostages in hand, he believes they can negotiate for the Stone of Golorr and then leave.

This is what their raid looks like, broadly speaking (assuming the PCs don’t intervene):

• Urstul Floxin and 8 Zhents in black leather armor rendezvous with the 2 watchers and then all of them approach along the villa’s rear wall and pick the lock to the Pantry (G6).
• Inside they are surprised to discover two servants (the head butler and the cook) using the pantry for an illicit, late night romantic liaison.
• The halfling cook makes a run for the Kitchen (G5), screaming bloody murder. Which is, in fact, what the Zhents do: They murder both servants.
• The cook’s screams, however, alert the head maid who was working in the Laundry (G7). She comes to see what the fuss is all about, entering the kitchen to see the Zhents cut down the cook in the opposite doorway. She turns and runs back through the laundry screaming.
• Floxin curses and tells half of his men to chase her down. They catch up with her on the backstairs to the Servant’s Quarters (G19) and kill her. A couple of other servants who were coming down the stairs run back up, raising the alarm, and the servants eventually barricade themselves.
• Meanwhile, the head maid’s screams have alerted the guards in the Great Hall (G8). One of them runs out the front doors and circles around to the Barracks (G4) to raise the rest of the guard. The other three move into G7 and begin fighting the Zhents there.
• This actually works to Floxin’s advantage slightly, leaving the Great Hall (G8) empty. He and his force rush from the Kitchen (G6) into the south end of the Great Hall (G8), but before they can head for the stairs, two guards on patrol in the Parlor (G9) walk out the door. Urstul and his men attack, driving the guards back into G9 and killing them.
• Lord Orond emerges from the Library (G12), where he’s been studying late. Urstul, still in the hall just outside G9 sees him, gives a cry. Lord Orond flees up the stairs while Urstul and his men give chase.
• The guards fighting the Zhents in the Laundry (G7) are mortally wounded and fall back almost simultaneously into G8. The Zhents they were fighting give pursuit and kill them.
• Upstairs the guards in the Upstairs Foyer (G13) have already barricaded the doors to the Master Bedroom (G16) where Lady Yalah and the children are. So when Lord Orond comes rushing upstairs, one of the guards ushers him into the Guest Suite (G15). The guard is killed by Urstul Floxin as he shuts the door on his lord.
• Meanwhile, guards are pouring out of the Barracks (G4) and entering the house through both the Great Hall (G8) and the Kitchen (G5). They engage the second Zhent force in G8.
• Upstairs things are looking bad for the Gralhunds, with Urstul’s Zhents dispatching the other guard in G13. The Zhents downstairs hold the line and manage to kill a total of eight guards there, but after two Zhents are killed they’re forced into a fighting retreat up the stairs.
• A furious melee breaks out at the top of the stairs while Urstul desperately tries to break down the door in the Guest Suite (G15b) to reach Lord Orond and take him hostage. Some of the Zhents manage to break down the door to the Master Bedroom (G16), but are then forced to turn and fight as the guards come pouring up the stairs.

This is the point in time represented by the PCs Arrive At Night roster. At this point, as described in the original adventure key, there are the following corpses:

• G6 – head butler and cook
• G7 – head maid on the stairs up to G19
• G8 – 8 guards, 2 Zhent
• G9 – 2 guards
• G13 – 6 guards, 2 Zhents

(Note: There’s nothing special about this point in time. If it seems more dramatically appropriate, you can have the PCs arrive at any point during this timeline, although running things from the key will be slightly more complex as you’ll want to adjust the corpses, etc. accordingly in real time. Tracking the PCs attempting a stealthy infiltration from the north at the exact same time that Floxin and his team are infiltrating from the south can be a lot of fun!)

If the PCs haven’t interfered (and don’t interfere going forward) here’s what the rest of the raid looks like:

• Jarlaxle’s team goes into motion: Fel’Rekt Lafeen and 6 drow cross the roof of Gralhund Villa, taking up a position immediately above the Balcony (G17). The two drow gunslingers and 2 more drow move across the roofs and take up a position opposite the large windows of the Upstairs Foyer (G13).
• The Gralhund Guards manage to kill the rest of the Zhents. At this point, however, there are only four guards left.
• The drow gunslingers sniper the Gralhund guards through the window. Simultaneously, Fel’Rekt and his team drop onto the Balcony (G17) and break open the doors.
• Lady Yalah flees into the Children’s Room (G18). While his drow go to G15 and collect Lord Orond, Fel’Rekt spends 6 rounds dueling Hrabbaz, eventually killing him.
• Lord Orond is dragged into G16 and Fel’Rekt negotiates with Lady Yalah through the door. Lady Yalah eventually breaks and, sobbing, gives Fel’Rekt the Stone of Golorr. He and his team flee back the way they came as the City Watch comes bursting into the house on the lower level.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE PCs?

With all that being said, it’s considerably more likely that the PCs will intervene at some point. Once that happens, of course, everything is probably going to change. It’s impossible to speculate on that new outcome because the situation is so volatile and there are so many different ways the PCs might go in the confusion and chaos of the situation they find themselves in: Do they help the Zhents? The Gralhunds? Do they end up fighting Fel’rekt’s people on the roof and giving the Gralhunds a chance to escape or for the City Watch to arrive? Ultimately, you just have to play and find out!

There are a few points to make, however:

The failure of the Zhentarim is not foreordained. If the PCs draw off some of the reinforcements from the barracks, for example, it’s quite possible that the Zhents are able to kill the guards and take control of the Gralhund family.

If circumstances change, Lady Gralhund may be presented with an opportunity to give the Stone of Golorr to the nimblewright and have the construct escape with it.

Jarlaxle’s Team will look for an opportunity to intervene in Bregan D’Aerthe’s favor. In the default raid that comes quite late, but once the PCs get involved Fel’rekt may decide to have his drow crash the party much earlier. Or they might wait and attack the PCs after they leave.

Xanathar’s Gazers will not intervene. But they will attempt to follow anyone and everyone leaving the scene afterwards.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE STONE?

With all that being said, the EXPECTED OUTCOME of the Gralhund Villa sequence in this remix is for the PLAYER CHARACTERS TO HAVE THE STONE OF GOLORR.

(This is a really significant change to the campaign as published, so I’m putting it in bold here.)

ROOFTOP CHASE: If the PC’s DON’T have the Stone of Golorr, then it is likely that they’ve spotted someone fleeing the scene with it. This will probably trigger a rooftop chase, for which you can use the Rooftop Chase Complications from p. 72 of Dragon Heist.

AND NOW THE GAZERS: If you end up in a rooftop chase – here or anywhere else in the adventure – it will be a really cool visual for the PCs to suddenly see multiple gazers come swooping out of the darkness.

This is the scenario – the Stone of Golorr known and in the open – that Xanathar will have his gazers get involved. You might use this to cripple those carrying it, allowing the PCs to catch up. If circumstances allow, Xanathar might also be able to send a Response Team (see Part 3C) to intercept the chase, turning it into a three-way brawl for control of the Stone.

THE STONE IS LOST: If that fails (or the PCs don’t see the Stone leave or choose not to pursue it), figure out where it goes. Transport to a Faction Outpost (see Part 3) and then to a Lair (see Part 4) is the most likely outcome for any of the factions.

Go to Part 3: Faction Outposts

Go to Part 1

Let’s briefly discuss Chapter 2: Trollskull Alley. This remix is largely not going to be discussing this chapter of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist because it is mostly unimpeachable and almost certainly the best part of the published campaign. To briefly review:

• The PCs are awarded with Trollskull Manor, which they can “refurnish, rebuild, rename, and otherwise personalize.”
• The expectation is that they will reopen the tavern on the first floor, and a number of encounters and mechanics are given for doing so.
• During this time, their recent notoriety also results in them being approached by one or more factions who would be interested in having them join up.
• The factions ask the PCs to perform a series of missions for them, spanning from the time the PCs are 2^nd level until they are 5^th level.

The faction missions, it should be noted, are clearly intended to be interwoven with the ongoing events of what we’re referring to as the Grand Game, but this is one place where the campaign kind of glitches because the heavily compressed timeframe of the primary plot doesn’t really leave a lot of breathing room for integrating these missions (or running their new tavern for that matter).

This remix should help address this problem simply by virtue of decompressing the events of the Grand Game: Investigating the Faction Outposts (Part 3) and performing the Eye Heists (Part 4) will expand the timeline and give a little more room for integrating the faction missions.

Beyond that, there are only two tweaks I would suggest for Chapter 2: Trollskull Alley:

• Add 1-3 additional urban adventures that overlap with setting up the tavern and running the early faction missions.
• Review the Running the Game: Tavern Time essay here at the Alexandrian and use it to bring Trollskull Tavern to life. (UPDATE: I ended up doing a customized version of this for Dragon Heist. You can find it here.)

You might also consider fleshing out the faction missions and putting a little more meat on their bones, but I think you’ll largely find that unnecessary: As designed the faction missions will take up perhaps one-quarter or one-third of a session. As such, they’ll integrate with everything else that’s going on to create a dynamic, multi-faceted session that draws the players ever deeper into the rich life of Waterdeep. If the faction missions expand to take up a full session on their own, some of that effect will be lost.

On the other hand, giving each faction one meaty mission as a diversion or counterpoint to the Grand Game might make for a good change of pace. (That’s going to be beyond the scope of this remix, however.)

ALLIES IN THE GRAND GAME

Once the PCs have joined a faction, however, the PCs themselves become a vector by which those factions can become involved with the Grand Game.

The PCs can ask for help. Factions can provide assistance, particularly when it comes to intelligence gathering. If the PCs need help locating a faction outpost or lair, for example, their faction can probably help them with that. Of course, they might ask the PCs to do them a favor (in the form of a faction mission) first.

Have the factions push them for information. “How have you been spending your time?” “We heard you were involved in that fracas at the Gralhund Villa. What was up with that?” “We’ve noticed you haven’t been around a lot lately. We’ve got a vested interest in you now, and we need to know how to find you.”

Intermingle the factions. You can also have a PC’s faction become engaged with a faction of the Grand Game from a completely different direction. For example, maybe the Harpers are interested in exotic poisons which were shipped into Waterdeep (and are destined for the Cassalanters’ ritual). Or the Order of the Gauntlet might be interested in targeting Xanatharian slavers.

If these factions discover the Grand Game and/or the PCs’ role in it, they are likely to bring their own agenda to bear.

Bregan D’Aerthe is, of course, Jarlaxle’s faction and their agenda should be obvious. Look at areas of the campaign where Jarlaxle’s agents are present and consider simply making the PCs those agents (perhaps even giving them a small force of drow to command).

The Emerald Enclave actually has no interest in the Grand Game or Neverember’s ill-gotten dragons. They’ll assist PCs who have proven loyal to the faction, but, perhaps refreshingly, will make no demands upon them for the Vault or its contents.

Force Grey is allied to the Open Lord. If members of the Grey Hands or Force Grey bring the Grand Game to their attention, the Open Lord will quickly figure out what actually happened to the missing 500,000 gold dragons and she’s going to want the money back.

The Harpers know that the Cassalanters are actually demon-worshippers and, if they realize the PCs have gotten tangled up with them, will quickly warn them of the fact. The Harpers are more than happy to let the PCs keep the gold (although they will encourage them to “do the right thing” and return the money to the citizens of Waterdeep), but they want the Stone of Golorr, which they believe contains vital intelligence that can help them in their struggle with the Abolethic Sovereignty. It should be noted that the Harpers of Waterdeep are riddled with Zhentarim double-agents, and anything the Harpers learn about the PCs and their activities can very easily fall into Manshoon’s hands.

The Lords’ Alliance actually works directly for the Open Lord. If Jalester Silvermane becomes aware of what the PCs have gotten themselves tangled up in, he’ll arrange a discreet meeting with Laeral Silverhand as quickly as possible.

The Order of the Gauntlet will expect the PCs to tithe at least 25% of the horde.

The non-Manshoonian Zhentarim will see an enormous opportunity in the gold: Efforts are under way to reclaim and repair Zhentil Keep, and that money could be used to buy them a seat on the Zhentarim Council that’s forming to do so. This could really raise the profile of the local Zhentarim network, and the PCs would basically be buying their way into the local leadership of the Black Network. (Or they could pursue this thread all the way to the ruins of Zhentil Keep if that’s their predilection.)

DESIGN NOTE

These interactions serve to tie the material in Chapter 2 more tightly to the wider events of the campaign spine. Using the PCs’ factions to demonstrate the wider scope of how the factions involved with the Grand Game are integrated into the life of the city will deepen the scenario, while also providing the opportunity for creative players to find unique vectors for targeting their enemies. Finally, forcing the PCs to make some tough choices between the advantages and obligations of their faction allegiance will make those relationships more meaningful.

Go to Part 2: Gralhund Villa

Go to Part 1

Moving beyond the major villains, the Grand Game also features the participation of any number of other factions (including the PCs).

GRALHUNDS

The Gralhunds are a minor faction (at least compared to the four main villains) involved in the Grand Game. They simply hope to obtain the Vault for themselves, and use its riches to elevate their position in Waterdeep’s high society. (As described on p. 213, the Gralhunds believe that Lady Yalah should have been elevated to the Masked Lords years ago following the events in the novel Death Masks.)

Many dismiss the Gralhunds as petty schemers, but the truth is that they have had to be clever and conniving in order to punch above their weight-class in Waterdeep’s labyrinthine politics. Even now, as they play the Grand Game, they are struggling to compete with organizations that are far larger and have far more resources.

Thinking outside of the box, they embedded agents in Renaer Neverember’s household months ago. Because Renaer was estranged from his father, they knew it was a long-shot, but it paid off: The agents spotted Dalakhar’s surveillance of Renaer and identified him as an agent of Lord Neverember. When Dalakhar was abruptly pulled off of that assignment, the agents followed a hunch, followed up, and discovered he had ended up in Xanathar’s organization (presumably still on orders from Lord Neverember). The Gralhunds didn’t know that Xanathar held the Stone of Golorr, but when it was stolen they were among the first to suspect (and then know) that Dalakhar was responsible.

THE NIMBLEWRIGHT: Two days after Dalakhar stole the Stone, the Gralhunds located him and dispatched their newly acquired nimblewright to find him. In Trollskull Alley, the nimblewright uses a fireball spell to kill Dalakhar and the Zhentarim agents trailing him. The nimblewright then grabs the Stone of Golorr from Dalakhar’s corpse and flees the scene, returning to the Gralhund Villa with his prize (see Part 2).

DESIGN NOTE

The key decision here was to simplify the Gralhund back story. This quickly eliminates a whole slew of continuity errors from the campaign and simplifies a rather convoluted intrigue that the players are unlikely to ever fully fathom. But we’ve also simultaneously increased the scope of the Grand Game (by establishing that there are numerous minor factions all wrapped up in the intrigue) and given ourselves the opportunity to dynamically increase the number of factions involved in the Gralhund Villa sequence (see Part 2).

OTHER MINOR FACTIONS

OPEN LORD: The Open Lord of Waterdeep isn’t exactly a “minor” faction, but Laeral Silverhand is considerably behind the curve in the current Grand Game. She knows that Lord Neverember embezzled 500,000 dragons from the city, but as Dragon Heist begins she is under the belief that he already has the money in Neverwinter. She has agents working to recover it there, but little hope of succeeding (as she believes it has likely already been laundered into Neverember’s expansive plans for rebuilding and expanding Neverwinter). She has heard rumors of Neverember’s Enigma, but has yet to connect that with the missing dragons, and is also unaware of the Stone of Golorr (although she knows that a powerful artifact was stolen from the palace during the confused time period when Neverember was being ousted from power).

The most likely avenue for that to change — and potentially change rapidly — is through information blabbed to the City Watch. This could happen as early as Scenario 1 (depending on exactly what Renaer and/or the PCs report to the watch), but it’s quite possible for the Open Lord to never fully twig to what’s happening.

THE UNSEEN: James Introcaso, one of the original designers for Dragon Heist, wrote a supplement for the campaign called Unseen Waterdeep. It includes a new villain for the campaign — a half-doppelganger, half-illithid hybrid running a small gang of shapechangers who wants the gold in order to fund bribes to discover the identities of the Masked Lords (who he intends to assassinate and replace with his shapechangers).

If you want to crank up the byzantine complexities of the Grand Game by adding in more villainous factions, the Unseen are a great plug-and-play option for that. I’m not going to discuss them at great length, but:

• Consider introducing the Unseen by having them send a doppelganger disguised as a friend or ally of the PCs to politely pump them for information. (They may also be targeting other factions with the same tactic. Their goal is to quickly play catch-up in the Grand Game.)
• I would avoid adding the Unseen to the Gralhund Villa sequence (see Part 2). Partly to keep that complexity of the sequence under control, but mostly because adding them a little later will create the feeling that the Grand Game is attracting more attention and the stakes are ratcheting up.
• However, if the PCs have staged a successful heist on Jarlaxle’s ship without tipping him off about Neverember’s Enigma, then the Unseen can very easily slip in and fill that vacuum in any sequence where I discuss Bregan D’Aerthe’s involvement.

DESIGN NOTES

The Unseen also make a convenient exemplar for how other factions of your own design can be added to the campaign. Note that their method of introduction to the campaign is via a unique vector: The Zhentarim have kidnapped people. Cassalanters ask the PCs for help (perhaps in exchange for a percentage). The PCs have to ask Jarlaxle for help. The Gralhunds launched a violent assault. The Unseen’s introduction comes via social subterfuge and deceit. Similarly, the Unseen are also capable of deploying tactics that the other factions can’t. If you’re adding a new faction, try to make sure they’re bringing something new to the table, and not just rehashing what the current factions already provide.

BONNIE’S DOPPELGANGERS / THE BLACK VIPER: These aren’t really factions. They’re small, independent operators who almost certainly lack the resources to go up against the big players. (Of course, the same thing could be said of the PCs.)

Whatever the case may be, Bonnie’s Doppelgangers and the Black Viper are good examples of small-time players who can get swept up in the Grand Game.

• They might interfere with heists. (Either pursuing the same objective or just coincidentally breaking into the same establishment in pursuit of some other item of value.)
• They might be hired by NPCs to accomplish any number of ends. But, in particular, they might seek to steal the Stone and/or the Eyes from the PCs.
• They might also offer their services to the PCs (or be found by the PCs if they go looking for such services).

(Bonnie’s doppelgangers are described on p. 20 and are part of faction missions on p. 35 and 37. The Black Viper is described on p. 196 and is part of faction missions on p. 39 and 40. She also appears at the Cassalanter Estate, as described on p. 118.)

Go to Part 1C: Player Character Factions

Recently I reviewed Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, the most recent campaign supplement for Dungeons & Dragons from Wizards of the Coast. That review highlighted a number of places where, unfortunately, I felt that Dragon Heist came up a little short in terms of its design. Since writing that review, I’ve had several people ask — based in part, perhaps, on my previous experience remixing the Keep on the Shadowfell and Eternal Lies — if I would “fix” Dragon Heist for them.

Short answer: Yes.

Unlike Hoard of the Dragon Queen, for which I received similar requests, Dragon Heist has a lot of really great material in it. Material that’s worth bringing to your gaming table. The primary goal of this remix is, in fact, to make sure that you can bring even MORE of this material to your gaming table than the published campaign allows, and to re-structure the material in a way that will make it easy and rewarding for you to run the campaign.

With that being said: If you’re expecting something as expansive as my remix of Eternal Lies or as mechanically-oriented as my remix of Keep on the Shadowfell, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. My goal with Dragon Heist is more narrowly focused, although it will perhaps serve as an exemplar of how I often rework published material in order to create a richer, more dynamic, and (importantly) more robust scenario.

EDIT: In the course of writing and developing the Alexandrian Remix, the scope of the project expanded. This is discussed in more detail in Part 7: How the Remix Works, but the originally design-oriented discussion ambitiously grew into a much more prodigious project than I’d originally intended. These essays were not designed for use at the table, and became even less useful as such as time went by. If this is your first time visiting the remix, I recommend reading through this series to understand how and why it works. If you’re looking to actually run the remix, you’ll want to have run-time notes: A description of those can be found in Part 7.

This advice also holds if you’re ever feeling overwhelmed by the minutia of the Remix: Skip to Part 7 and read “How the Remix Works” followed by “A Simple Checklist.” It’s easier than you think!

COLLECTED EDITION

Patrons of the Alexandrian can download a collected edition of the Remix. This includes:

• The Complete Collection, a PDF with all 25 parts of the Remix plus the original review, addendums, and Running the Campaign essays in one convenient file.
• Justin’s Running Files, a Patron-exclusive collection of the documents I actually ran the campaign from (as described above and in Part 7 of the Remix). These are presented in Word format for easy editing and re-arranging to your heart’s content.

Review: Dragon Heist

Part 1: The Villains
Part 1B: Other Factions
Part 1C: Player Character Factions
Part 2: Gralhund Villa
Part 3: Faction Outposts
Part 3B: More Faction Outposts
Part 3C: Response Teams
Part 3D: Other Response Teams
Part 4: The Eyes of the Stone
Part 4B: Bregan D’Aerthe – Sea Maidens Faire
Part 4C: Cassalanter Villa
Part 4D: Xanathar’s Lair
Part 4E: Zhentarim – Kolat Towers
Part 5: Clues and Timelines
Part 5B: Finding Floon
Part 5C: The Nimblewright Investigation
Part 5D: Backtracking Dalakhar & Kalain
Part 5E: Outpost and Lair Revelation List
Part 6: Golorr Artifacts
Part 6B: The Brandath Crypts
Part 6C: The Vault
Part 6D: Faction Reports (Gralhund/Jarlaxle)
Part 6E: Faction Reports (Cassalanter)
Part 6F: Faction Reports (Xanathar/Zhentarim)
Part 7: How the Remix Works

ADDENDUMS
Addendum: First Impressions
Addendum: The Twin Parades
Addendum: Fancy Props
Addendum: Other Collaborators
Addendum: A Night in Trollskull Manor
Addendum: The Dragon of Dragon Heist
Addendum: Timelines & Starting the Campaign
Addendum: The Blinded Stone
Addendum: Tutors for the Orphans
Addendum: Dragon Heist – Accelerated!

From Waterdeep to Avernus

LORE
Forgotten Realms: A Textual History of the Yawning Portal

RUNNING THE CAMPAIGN
Running the Campaign: A Party at Shipwrights’ House
Running the Campaign: The Manshoon Heists
Running the Campaign: Creating the Characters
Dragon Heist: The Final Session

TRANSLATIONS
Chinese

DESIGN GOALS

In remixing Dragon Heist, I have three primary goals.

First, I want to make it a HEIST. Or, more accurately, multiple heists.

Second, I want to eliminate the original “pick a villain” gimmick and instead restructure the campaign to feature ALL OF THE VILLAINS. The goal is to get all of the factions interested in the Vault competing with each other, and then thrust the PCs into the middle of that situation, bouncing around and causing all kinds of chaos.

Third, we’ll be doing a general FIX-UP JOB. This will include an attempt to clean up the broken continuity in the published campaign and also an effort to make the campaign’s scenario structure more robust (by applying the Three Clue Rule, for example).

Because I don’t want to get too consumed with minutia, however, this final point will not take the form of attempting to track down every single continuity error in the scenario. Instead, I’ll be looking to perform a broader reorganization of Dragon Heist’s back story that will hopefully rearrange its diverse parts into a coherent whole, and then trust the DM to resolve the local continuity appropriately using these broad reference documents as their touchstone.

Even if you don’t own Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, I hope you’ll find some points of interest in my design notes and other discussion. But it probably goes without saying that in order to actually use this remix, you’ll need to own a copy of the book.

We’ll begin with the villains.

THE GRAND GAMES

Periodically throughout Waterdeep’s history the byzantine factions of the city — or some significant subset thereof — will become collectively fixated upon some objective. Thus will begin a Grand Game.

Sometimes the goal of a Grand Game will be arcane. Often it is clandestine, although quite public struggles are not unknown. (On no less than three occasions the Grand Game has revolved around the appointment of the Open Lord.) Whatever the case, the intense rivalries of the Grand Game give birth to all forms of subterfuge, covert activities, deception, and intrigue.

This is very much the case with the current quest for Dagult Neverember’s vault. Obliquely referred to by many players of the Grand Game as Neverember’s Enigma, the truth of the vault was sought even before the players realized it was a vault. At first, it was merely known that the disgraced and ousted Neverember was keeping some momentous secret, and those involved in the Game yearned to discover what the former Open Lord of Waterdeep was hiding.

When the vast scope of his embezzlement — a half million gold dragons! — came to light, however, many intuited the truth behind Neverember’s Enigma and its pursuit became even more frenzied.

In terms of the Dragon Heist campaign, we will focus on five factions participating in the Grand Game:

• Xanathar, a beholder crime boss
• the Zhentarim, a network of assassins and mercenaries
• the Cassalanters, a devil-worshipping noble family
• Jarlaxle Baenre, a drow swashbuckler who is the secret lord of a city, leader of the dark elf mercenary group Bregan D’Aerthe, and has surreptitiously come to Waterdeep as the captain of a traveling circus
• the Gralhunds, a minor noble family who is way out of their league

For each of these factions, we will want to know:

• What they’re planning to do with the gold (which is largely, with the exception of our revised version of the Gralhunds, dealt with in the original book)
• How they became involved with Neverember’s Enigma and what their current strategy for pursuing the Grand Game is
• How the PCs first interact with them and become aware of their involvement in the Grand Game

DESIGN NOTES

The concept of the “Grand Game” was created to give a convenient label to the proceedings. As the PCs are exposed to this label, it will help them conceptualize what they have become a part of. It also elevates the hunt for the vault, tying it into the long history of the city and the rivalry of its factions. As the PCs make the choice to join the Grand Game, it will be clear to them that they have crossed a threshold and become part of something larger than anything they have taken part in before. (And thus they themselves have become more important.)

The terminology of “Neverember’s Enigma” is deliberately cryptic. It allows the participants of the Grand Game to speak in code while wrapping their words in elliptical euphemisms, creating a sense of mystery which will invite the PCs to drive forward and discover the truth of what’s happening.

XANATHAR

When Xanathar had the Stone of Golorr stolen from the Palace of Waterdeep, he only knew that he was stealing an object of great importance to Lord Neverember (i.e., Neverember’s Enigma). When he later learned about the missing dragons, he believed that he was now in possession of the whole key to Neverember’s Vault. And he was perfectly happy with that. You don’t need to actually hold the gold if you’re the one who controls its location.

What he didn’t know was that the Stone of Golorr had been blinded by Lord Neverember, who removed its three Eyes. (More on this in Part 4 of the remix.)

Then the Zhentarim came to him with one of the Eyes and said, “We have two different parts of this puzzle. We’d like to make a deal.” Xanathar was enraged at both their presumption and his own folly, slew the Zhentarim envoys, and took the Eye they had brought to him.

Thus began the gang war between the Zhentarim and Xanathar. Xanathar was convinced that the Zhentarim had the other Eyes. (They didn’t. Although that changes shortly after Dragon Heist begins; see below.) The Zhentarim, for their part, wanted both vengeance AND their Eye back (and the Stone of Golorr itself for good measure).

The gang war, in turn, became the point at which everyone who knows what’s really going on in Waterdeep (or likes to think they do) became aware that a Grand Game was in progress. In the process, Dagult Neverember became aware that it was Xanathar who had stolen the Stone of Golorr and he reassigns Dalakhar to infiltrate Xanathar’s organization and steal the Stone back.

ZHENTARIM

The Zhentarim were originally founded as a mercenary force by the wizard Manshoon, but they’ve been a fractured organization ever since the Manshoon Wars, when multiple clones of Manshoon warred for supremacy.

Most of Manshoon’s clones were destroyed during the Manshoon Wars, but yet another has recently returned to Waterdeep (claiming, as they all do, to be the one true Manshoon). When he peeled off a large hunk of the local Zhentarim network that had been established by the Doom Raiders (see p. 198 of Dragon Heist), he became aware that Lord Neverember had used the local Zhentarim’s resources to embezzle hundreds of thousands of gold dragons from the government.

Manshoon wanted to know where that money has gone. He knew that Neverember didn’t actually have it in his possession, so he sent agents to infiltrate Neverember’s household in Neverwinter to find out. Those agents weren’t able to fully ascertain where the gold was, but they did identify the Eye as the key to getting it. They stole the Eye from the Protector’s Enclave and brought it to Manshoon, who through a combination of divinations and other espionage efforts eventually connected it to the Stone of Golorr which Xanathar had stolen.

CHAPTER 1 – A FRIEND IN NEED: After he lost his Eye to Xanathar, Manshoon needed to get back in the game. His agents eventually concluded that Neverember’s son, Renaer, might have another of the Eyes. They were right, although Renaer didn’t know it: His father had given him an elaborate, ivory mourning locket in honor of his mother. The Eye was hidden inside it.

The full dynamic in the first chapter, therefore, is this:

• Zhentarim agents snatch Renaer Neverember and his friend Floon Blagmaar.
• While questioning Renaer in Area Z5, they realize that the Eye is in the mourning locket and take the locket from Renaer.
• Renaer is hauled back down to Area Z2 and tied up next to Floon. Upstairs, the Zhentarim break open the locket (it can still be found in Area Z5), remove the Eye, and give it to a courier to carry to Manshoon.
• Floon is then hauled upstairs for questioning (the Zhentarim want to see if he might be worth a ransom).
• Xanathar’s agents storm the warehouse. They immediately find “the prisoner” (i.e., Floon), assume he’s Renaer, and several of their agents hustle him out to their sewer hideout. Meanwhile, Renaer takes advantage of the confusion downstairs to slip his bonds and hide in Area Z2.
• Xanathar’s agents do a perfunctory sweep of the warehouse and then take off, leaving the kenku behind to kill any Zhents who show up.

Renaer will be able to tell the PCs that he was questioned by the Zhents about the half million dragons his father stole from the city; then they ripped off a locket that was very precious to him. If they find the locket and see the (now empty) secret compartment inside it, Renaer can also tell them that he had no idea that the compartment existed or what was stored inside it.

DESIGN NOTES

The opening scenario thus introduces the PCs to both the Zhentarim and Xanathar. It should also become clear that they’re both interested in the money Dagult Neverember stole, but the exact nature of what’s being fought over (i.e., the Stone of Golorr) should remain a mystery at this juncture.

The other thing we’re doing here is cleaning up one of the scenario’s major continuity errors: Why was Renaer kidnapped? At this point in the timeline, the Zhentarim already know that Xanathar has the Stone of Golorr and that the Stone is the only way of finding the vault. Questioning him “about the whereabouts of the Stone of Golorr”, as the adventure suggests, makes no sense.

JARLAXLE BAENRE

As Dragon Heist begins, Jarlaxle is unaware of the Stone of Golorr or the Grand Game which is being played. His current agenda, as described in the campaign, is to convince the leaders of Waterdeep to support Luskan’s bid to join the Lords’ Alliance. Freshly arrived in his cover identity as Captain Zord of the Sea Maiden’s Faire, Jarlaxle is coordinating and ramping up his local intelligence operations.

NIMBLEWRIGHTS: One of Jarlaxle’s main objectives right now is the sale of nimblewrights. Built by the technomancers of Luskan, he’s brought several dozen of these constructs with him and is selling them at surprisingly compelling prices.

Why? Because he’s actually harvesting data from them. In Jarlaxle’s stateroom onboard the Scarlet Marpenoth (Area U4, see p. 143) there is a specialized crystal ball that allows him to look out through the eyes of any nimblewright and even review what they’ve seen. (We might think of this as a “recording”, but Jarlaxle refers to it as a record of witness.)

After the PCs identify that a nimblewright is responsible for the fireball in Trollskull Alley, they’ll be able to trace the local nimblewrights back to “Captain Zord”. If they speak with Jarlaxle about the nimblewright they’re seeking, he’ll first want to know why they’re looking for it. Following up on whatever the PCs tell him, his agents will discover the hunt for the Stone of Golorr (or he’ll simply review the record of witness for the appropriate nimblewright and discover the Gralhunds’ schemes).

Alternatively, the PCs might decide not to talk to him and instead sneak in and steal his records of sale (or access the records of witness in the crystal ball for themselves). Which is great because, bang, you’ve got a heist pointed at Jarlaxle’s ship.

DESIGN NOTES

If the PCs perform a heist on the nimblewright proprietor instead of speaking with Jarlaxle, it’s very possible that Jarlaxle won’t become aware of the Grand Game and his agents will not become involved in later stages of the scenario. That’s fine, though, because we’ve already gotten maximum bang for our buck from the player-initiated heist, right?

Full details on how the nimblewright-focused investigation is structured will be found in Part 5 of the remix.

CASSALANTERS

The Cassalanters were actually interested in Neverember’s Enigma even before they knew that 500,000 dragons were on the line: Lord Neverember was not the first person to hide secrets within the Stone of Golorr, and through their fiendish researches the Cassalanters have identified a number of other lucrative and powerful lines of inquiry they would like to pursue (see Part 6 of the remix).

They discovered that Neverember had hidden one of the Eyes in the crypt of Lady Alethea Brandath, Renaer’s mother. They went to the crypt and extracted the Eye from the magical wards Dagult Neverember had placed around it. (Ironically, they were literally standing on top of the Vault itself and didn’t know it.)

When the Cassalanters learned about the embezzled gold, however, their priorities quickly shifted: They saw an opportunity to save their children from the pact they had made with Asmodeus.

A PLEA FOR HELP: After the explosion, during the time that they’re investigating the nimblewrights, the PCs are contacted by the Cassalanters, who request an audience. The Cassalanters’ own agents were in Trollskull Alley that day because they, too, were tracking the Stone, so they know that Dalakhar was trying to bring the Stone to the PCs.

When the PCs arrive at the Cassalanter estate:

• They are given an opportunity to “accidentally” meet the Cassalanters’ children, who come running into the Entrance Hall (C1) while the PCs are waiting.
• Lady Cassalanter comes out personally to gather the PCs from the Entrance Hall and shoos the children away. She leads the PCs to the Reading Room (Area C4), where they can look out over the Butterfly Garden (Area C25). The children have scampered through the mudroom and are playing out there now. (Make sure to mention the black dragon head mounted on the wall of the room.)
• Lady Cassalanter introduces her husband and they tell the PCs a modified version of their plight: The twins were cursed at their birth by Asmodean cultists to lose their souls on their ninth birthday. The Cassalanters have discovered a ritual which can save them, but it requires them to sacrifice “one shy of a million gold coins”. They are quite rich, but even in leveraging everything they own they still can’t raise that monstrous sum. If they could get their hands on Neverember’s ill-gotten gains, though… Will the PCs please help them?
• And then, of course, Lady Cassalanter turns to gaze wistfully at her children frolicking with the butterflies.

Obviously they don’t tell the PCs that the ritual also involves killing 99 people. (Unless they have some reason to think that the PCs would think that to be a great idea.) They don’t technically need all the money, and are willing to cut the PCs in on 10% of it or agree to return the surplus funds to the city.

THE FEAST: If the PCs agree to help and succeed in delivering the gold to the Cassalanters, they receive invitations to the feast where Ammalia poisons 99 guests in the garden pavilion and the final ritual is performed.

You may be tempted to have the Cassalanters betray the PCs by having them be among the 99, but I actually recommend the opposite: If the PCs have delivered as promised, the Cassalanters are more than pleased with their work and are looking forward to a long and prosperous friendship with them. They’re invited to feast in the Banquet Hall (Area C15) where all the non-sacrificial guests are celebrating.

If the PCs haven’t discovered the Cassalanters’ true motives, it will be far more effective for them to be horrified by their implication in the mass murder.

DESIGN NOTES

As far as I can tell, Renaer’s mother has never been given a first name, so I’ve provided one. If I’m in error on this (I haven’t, for example, read the novels the Neverembers appear in) please let me know.

Note that everything the Cassalanters tell the PCs is true… from a certain point of view.

Go to Part 1B: Other Factions