Living in Waterdeep - Part 1

The original Waterdeep campaign began with a festival - or rather, the promise of a festival. Waterdeep was celebrating 100 years since the royal family stepped down from their throne, choosing to turn leadership of the city over to the people, rather than face an otherwise inevitable civil uprising and the grisly executions it would bring. Since that time, the royal family remained an established part of the city’s history. Though they had no more power or authority than any other exceedingly wealthy citizens, they maintained a high cultural value, and a certain amount of respect in the eyes of the general public. As such, Waterdeep held an annual festival in celebration of the city’s liberation, hosted by the ‘king’ himself.

The annual festival attracted huge numbers of people to the city. Businessmen came hoping to sell their wares or skills. Tourists came from all over the world to explore the city’s immense beauty, rich history and incredible works of art and architecture. Thus, mercenaries, explorers and other such groups came, seeking patrons for their more exotic life-styles. In a city filled with millions, there would always be work for a bodyguard, or a guide through the hazardous countryside, or other, more questionable professions. Amongst the huge numbers flocking to the city were five names in particular; adventurers, unaware of what future lay in store for them.

Dex, an infamous and cunning Halfling, known to some (mainly the authorities) as a thief of unrivalled skill, and his travelling companion Kyrune, a master Shadar-Kai swordsman, and skilled manipulator of the arcane. Flo, a Kalashtar priest whose unsavoury past led her to take on a mission of peace-keeping and life-saving. Tamas, a morally troubled Deva wishing to be a paragon for good, yet disturbed by his uncertainty of what ‘good’ meant to him. Eowimylith, (or ‘Milo’) an embittered Elf whose quest for vengeance against the entire Drow race created a Ranger nigh-unparalleled in combat prowess. These five travellers met on a treacherous forest path leading to Waterdeep, and decided it would be safer to journey in a group than alone.

While travelling, they began to develop something of a rapport. When they were ambushed by predators of the forest, it took the skills and strategy of all five to slay the creatures, and their potential as a mercenary team became apparent. They decided to stick together, at least until they managed to find work, at the festival. However, upon reaching the borders of the city it became apparent that all was not right. The huge numbers of travellers who should have been entering the city were instead all set up in tents and temporary fixtures, over a mile from the city gates. There were even Waterdeep guards surveying the crowds of people as they went about their business. After questioning some of the crowd, the party learned that there was a guard troupe established at the bridge into the city, who were refusing entrance. When they went to see for themselves, they discovered that the watch was few in number, but heavily armed. The captain was an abrasive man, gruff and impolite. When asked why the city was closed to travellers, he merely responded that nobody was allowed in without specific documentation granting access - these were the orders of Pelias.

The name struck a chord with Milo. Pelias was known to the majority of elves on the continent as a well respected Eladrin sage, and advisor to any seeking guidance. However, he held no political power whatsoever. There was no reason for him to be giving border-patrol orders in Waterdeep, unless some great change had occurred in the city, as well as the elfin community. On further questioning, the gruff captain became increasingly aggressive, threatening the young elf with violence. This was enough of an excuse for the party - a conflict immediately ensued. As the skirmish raged, it became clear there was something odd about the captain. Despite carrying a war hammer, a large shield, and thick plated armour, he kept his distance from the party, and seemed to be attacking them with flourishes of magic. When one of Tamas’s arcane blasts caused the man to lose his footing, a strange change occurred. Rather than falling from the bridge, the captain caught on to the edge, though the weight of his equipment kept him from climbing up. His shield and war hammer were already falling into the cliffs below, when suddenly, his armour fell with it. The figure which rose from the side of the bridge was, rather than that of the muscular man who fell, that of a small, slender-looking, Doppelganger girl. The rest of the border-team looked even more confused than the party at this revelation - creating an opening just long enough for the party to strike. The Doppelganger cast one or two simple spells in an attempt to harm or blind the party before fleeing, while the rest of the guard force were dispatched.

Inside a small building beside the bridge, designed to keep a usually more relaxed troupe, the party found a short hand-written note, as follows:

“Violet - I know we’ve already discussed the border situation.
However, there are some promising mercenary types among
the travellers. Perhaps we should consider their abilities for
helping with the “situation?” Don’t let them in without a
fight just yet - we can’t bring just anybody in. But if they
really want to get past the guard, perhaps it can be a ‘trial run’
for their employment….
I trust you to serve Waterdeep in full capacity.
P.

Milo, curious about Pelias’ goals in the city, saw no need to remain in the camps - and so, the party made their way into the city of splendours.

Once inside the city, the party had little idea of where to go first. Attempting to find out what the “situation” in the city was, they perused some of the local establishments. However, everywhere they looked they found the same thing; Warforged, clearly freshly built and shaped to look almost elfin themselves (with pointed ears and chins) were parading the city and purchasing all of the wares of virtually every shop, while the non-elfin population of the city seemed to have dropped surprisingly low. Whether or not the increase in elves led to Pelias’ sudden political power, or vice-versa, the party did not know, but it seemed reasonable to assume the two were connected.

Seeking somewhere to stay while in the city, the party found a small establishment known as ‘The Fox-Trot Inn,’ the owner of which was a human by the name of Dr Bob NPC Theodore Architect The Archaeologist PhD. Squared, or Dr Bob for short. He had experience contracting with adventurers before and was in fact a known ‘agent’ for groups in the area who had no work on hand. Deciding that with tension and unease filling the city, it would be prudent to hire protection, he agreed to give the party room and board in return for their working for him. Nothing so boring as bouncer work, they were assured - he had others for those mundane jobs - but instead, being his eyes and ears in the city, keeping tabs on the many suspicious characters who were cropping up. Also, Dex refraining from stealing his new employer’s possessions fit nicely into Dr Bob’s job description.

When the deal was made and contracts were signed, Dr Bob filled the party in on the Waterdeep political situation. Seemingly, just coming up towards the festival, the city was attacked by a grand dragon, who seemed to appear and disappear at will. The city guard was useless against it, as it simply flickered away when arrows were shot at it, reappearing somewhere else seconds later. Much of the city was devastated in a single day and when the dragon finally seemed to halt its attacks, disappearing and not coming back, Piergeron, the Unmasked Lord of Waterdeep was found dead outside his palace, a hole burnt into his chest by a black acid.

With the city’s leader dead and the fear that the dragon would strike again before elections could be carried out, the people naturally turned to the king to take temporary control. The king, however, was not unscathed by the dragon attack either. While chaos raged throughout the city, his barely-adolescent son disappeared; It was assumed that he was buried somewhere beneath the rubble of one of the Prince’s Quarters, a villa found on the luxuriously wealthy Tartarus Island, where the worst damage from the attack occurred. Being an elderly man whose health was already failing him, this loss was too great for the king to bear. He fell suddenly and exceptionally ill, growing delusional and feverish, with only a few short-lived moments of lucidity every so often. Thus the people of Waterdeep had no clear leader, to take charge during this stage of emergency.

Until Pelias arrived.

He came to the city with an entourage of both Elf and Warforged warriors, announcing that he knew the cause of the recent turmoil. With that, he presented two surprising travelling companions: Drow men, by the names of Ná and Véc. While the residents of Waterdeep feared the denizens of the Underdark greatly, as the city sat directly above one of the largest caverns in the entire world, Pelias insisted the Ná and Véc had no ill intent against the people of the city. Instead, they had come to him, with word that the Drow were amassing an army to attack the city; That the dragon they sent was only the preliminary skirmish. However, Pelias promised that he could fight the Drow. He would, if granted permission by the people, assume leadership of the city, devise a plan for its strategy and create an army so colossal it would destroy the monsters of the Underdark once and for all.

He was immediately given complete control of the state.

With the team caught up to speed, they decided to take the load off. They ate and rested, preparing for the work Dr Bob said there would be for them the next afternoon, with Milo singing praises and excitement the whole night, about Pelias’ goal to destroy the Drow. When the did awake the next morning, Dr Bob informed them that Pelias was holding a public rally to inspire courage and support among the people of the city, hoping to recruit more soldiers to the cause. As soon as they left the Inn, it became clear to them how he intended to buy public confidence: even from so far away, the top of a gargantuan Warforged was visible over the rooftops, standing nearby the Goldenspire Palace. It was with this monstrous brute that he intended to attack the Underdark.

Passing through the alleyways of the city, moving towards the gathering, the party encountered a dwarf minstrel, playing a flute, clearly hoping to earn a few coins from those on their way to the meeting. While they casually threw a few coins into the musician’s hat, he nodded towards them as if in thanks. Then he nodded up towards the opposite end of the alleyway. Immediately the party were surrounded by half a dozen muscular dwarves. As the inevitable fight broke out between the two factions, the musician remained out of the way of the combat - dodging stray attacks and offering only the occasional shove or kick to those who stumbled towards him. However, as each of his comrades fell before the overwhelming offence of the party (and particularly, of Kyrune) he only seemed to grow more satisfied, smirking to himself. Eventually, with the last of his companions unconscious, the party surrounded him. Milo stepped forward, blade pointed at the figure’s throat, and demanded “You dare signal for our attack when we offered you coin willingly?”

He responded in a clear, light voice, which did not fit someone so gruff in appearance. “It could have been a ruse. You must have money to spare if you can give it away for a few whistle-blows.” Then he laughed. Eowimylith pulled back his arm, as if about to cut through the man, though he never had the chance to strike. His blade hit the ground, immediately followed by pattering droplets of blood, as a knee struck his nose like lightning. Stunned, the party saw the dwarf’s form had given way to that of the young Doppelganger girl, who was now scaling the wall of the alley with an impossible alacrity. Reaching the rooftop barely a second later, she turned and smiled down into the alley. “Or it was a test. Which you passed, of course. I’m Violet, by the way.” The last of her words echoed in her absence as she dodged back to avoid an arcane attack hurled by Tamas. She did not reappear.

Flo helped Milo to his feet, examining his nose, which fortunately remained unbroken, despite the eye-watering sting he felt in it. Having brushed themselves off and ensuring they were free from serious injury, the troupe continued toward Pelias’ rally. Dex offered a disgruntled kick to one of Violet’s newly-impoverished companions, for the error of stirring while his coin-purse was separated from him. Milo and Tamas each gave a chuckle at this, beckoning Dex to join them on the walk.

Birth of the Campaign

The ‘Dead Waterdeep’ was never my initial plan for the campaign. Since my first time ever running a D&D game, in July 2009, I had a concept for a story taking place within a city like the one Waterdeep is described as. It would involve a highly influential elfin figure, who uses his stature to manipulate politics within the city. He would create strong racial divides within the city, gaining much support from the elves, and attempt to convert the city into his own personal elfin stronghold. As the group I was a part of was swapping Dungeon Master with each game however, I didn’t have the opportunity to run the storyline for more than a single game. I used the basic premise as the narrative for my turn as DM, but it came across more as an introduction for the villain rather than a story within itself - by the end of the session, the manipulative elf Pelial was utterly loathed by the party, and became an established villain, popping up in other games.

While I did enjoy the reaction Pelial garnered, I was never satisfied with the story’s execution - its scope having been far narrower than I would have liked, due to squeezing the whole event into about five or six hours. However, several months later, opportunity knocked. A new group of players came together, with the intention that I would be a permanent DM. Realising I had my chance to explore the full potential of the story; I decided to run it as the plot for my campaign’s entire heroic tier.

Unfortunately, this group was ill-fated. While we did make it more than half-way through the story-line, even making it that far was difficult. After the first few games, the group’s tank resigned - his work was piling up, and free time became an issue. When another member was due to become a father, games became fewer, further apart, and eventually stopped altogether. We simply couldn’t find a time that suited everyone to get together. Frustrated by the split, I lost interest in telling the story - to me, it had run its course. I didn’t want to re-run all of the set-up without any reason to believe that the same thing wouldn’t happen again. Thus, my Waterdeep campaign was dead.

In late 2010, however, two of the players proposed that we find another friend of ours who could join us, and continue the storyline with a three-person party, instead of the hard-to-organise five-person. Not wanting to contrive some reason for three members of the party to suddenly be replaced by one complete stranger, yet also not wanting to reboot the entire concept, I devised a new plan: Start a new campaign, set in the same world as the original, but taking place years later. The old story would be part of the history of this new one, with events having played out exactly as I imagined they would if the party had gone as far as they did, but then quit where the did. This would allow me to both tell a new story, yet also, finally unveil the ending of my original plot. There was only one problem: my players desire to stay playing their original characters. Like me, they didn’t want all of their hard work to be for nothing.

With an update in the character builder introducing several new races, I came up with the perfect solution - Revenants. The party didn’t simply quit, when the players’ group fell apart, but died, in an epic struggle. And now, roughly two centuries later, they were coming back to life. Returning to right the wrongs of their destinies. Only now, they couldn’t remember how they had died. They couldn’t remember very much at all of their previous life.

Thus, a lot of this campaign would be about self discovery. Finding out how they died would require finding out about the history of the city. And so, the ‘Dead Waterdeep’ campaign was born out of the remains of my old Waterdeep storyline.