Saturday nights are game night in here in Kuo Manor and last weekend was no different. I ran a Session Zero for my gaming group’s Waterdeep: Dragon Heist campaign we’ve been planning for a while now. I’ve been playing a combination of D&D 5E and Pathfinder for about five years now, but this is the first campaign I’ll be running for experienced players. I am excited, but also a little nervous because I know the sorts of ridiculous things this group of people can come up with.
This will be a powered-up version of Dragon Heist, so things will be a bit different from the original published adventure. The characters are starting at level 5, and I’m also utilizing some third-party adventure content to make the story more interesting for my group. (I’ll make sure to mention where I’ve made big changes, and link to any extra content I utilize.) I will almost certainly loop in races from different settings for some NPCs because Loxodons are the best. I’m not particularly familiar with Forgotten Realms lore, so this is definitely a campaign that is happening in “my version” of Waterdeep rather than the exact cannon setting. Also, in this world races like tieflings and drow are uncommon, but not inherently evil. Because I have about a million better things to to put in my game instead of fantasy racism. With that said: here’s the cast of characters!
Dr. Toot is a half-drow College of Lore bard who was born in Waterdeep and currently operates a private investigator business on the seedier side of the city. His main weapon is a pan flute and he took a feat so he can cast spells and fight with his returning boomerang at the same time. He is a member of the Harpers.
Geldrick Flinteye is a deep gnome divination wizard who has lived in Waterdeep for decades after he retired from a smuggling career. He now makes his living as a forger. Deeply paranoid, he does not have a permanent residence. Instead, he is a permanent guest at various inns throughout the city. He is acquainted with Dr. Toot and occasionally acts as a source when the investigator is on a case.
Quay is a tortle path of the storm herald barbarian who is fascinated by the world and desires to seek out as many unique experiences as she can. A nomad through-and-through, she met Geldrick Flinteye during his smuggling days and the two have traveled together regularly since then. She arrived in Waterdeep about two years ago after Geldrick suggested that she should come explore the city.
Pomorra Tolme is a tabaxi Arcane Archer fighter who came to Waterdeep 5 years ago seeking adventure on a whim. She makes money as a competitive archer and likes to spend her free time practicing woodworking and relaxing in taverns and inn taprooms listening to the stories that people tell. It was in one of those taverns that she met and befriended Dr. Toot. Shortly after she came to the city a tale of a local master smith caught her interest. She tracked him down and discovered that he was a dwarf by the name of Orin Tolsar. The two became friends and eventually they worked together to combine Pomorra’s woodcraft and Tolsar’s metalworking to create a masterwork bow that she named No Strings Attached. She is also a Harper.
Eris is a Eladrin swashbuckler rogue who came to Waterdeep from the Feywild a decade ago and simply never left. She seeks out interesting experiences and tends to value style over substance. She makes her living through thievery, although she prefers to call it “item liberation.” She and Geldrick met shortly after arriving in Waterdeep because they used the same fence to offload stolen items.
This is the first time that our group has done an official session zero, but it ended up going really well! I asked questions about the characters’ backstories which served both to help me get to know them and also to help the players who have less practice with the role-playing aspect of D&D flesh out their backstories. I told the group that I wanted every Player Character to know at least two other the other PCs, but they went one step further and ended up coming up with an entire scenario that had them gathering together as a party to take down a human trafficking ring. It was so awesome to see that story come together over the course of the evening, and it also makes it really easy for me to come up with a way to gather the party together at the beginning of an adventure! Our story will open to our rag-tag group of adventurers sitting down to a celebratory dinner in the dining room of the Yawning Portal Inn, just in time for shenanigans to ensue.
Below the cut are super-spoilery DM notes for the future of the campaign. Definitely don’t read them if you are playing or will play in a Dragon Heist campaign, or if you just don’t like spoilers. Otherwise, read on! I’d love feedback on some of my partially formed ideas. Read more