RolePlay onLine RPoL Logo

, welcome to Dragon Heist (Stolen Vault Edition)

14:03, 16th February 2025 (GMT+0)

World Lore.

Posted by DMFor group 0
DM
GM, 3 posts
Story Spinner
Dice Fibber
Sat 5 Oct 2024
at 15:36
  • msg #1

World Lore

Things every character would know:
DM
GM, 5 posts
Story Spinner
Dice Fibber
Sat 5 Oct 2024
at 15:43
  • msg #2

Cash and Crime

Half a million gold coins are hidden somewhere in Waterdeep. Many individuals know about the cache and are looking for it.

The city is threatened by escalating tension between two power groups that is on the verge of flaring into violence. The Zhentarim, a shadowy network of mercenaries, and Xanathar, the beholder crime lord of Waterdeep, are at odds.

Waterdeep is a city of firm laws and swift justice. Adventurers hell-bent on slaughter and plunder won’t fare well in the City of Splendors. The punishments for assault, arson, theft, and murder are severe, regardless of the reason for the crime.
DM
GM, 6 posts
Story Spinner
Dice Fibber
Sat 5 Oct 2024
at 15:44
  • msg #3

Nobility

House Amcathra. The Amcathras are a Tethyrian family that specializes in horse breeding and training, cattle ranching, wine-making, and weaponsmithing. The family motto is “We trample our troubles.” The family has a large villa in the North Ward, on the east side of the High Road between Hassantyr’s Street and Tarnath Street.

House Margaster. The Margasters are an Illuskan family whose business interests lie in land-based shipping and bulk goods trading. The house also has a quiet history of wizardry. The family motto is “Nothing is beyond our grasp.” The Margaster family estate is situated between Stabbed Sailor Alley and Shattercrock Alley in the North Ward.

House Phylund. The Phylunds are a Tashlutar family that captures and sells monsters. Monsters that can’t be trained as pets or guard beasts are sold to arenas or harvested for their meat, bones, and skins. The Phylunds sponsor adventuring parties and monster-hunting expeditions, and their motto is “What you fear, we master.” House Phylund has an estate on Copper Street, west of the High Road between Julthoon Street and Trader’s Way in the North Ward.

House Rosznar. Once banished from Waterdeep for smuggling, slavery, and other crimes, this Tethyrian house has returned and is trying to overcome its dark past and disgraceful reputation by focusing on legitimate business ventures such as wine-making and gem trading. The family motto is “We fly high and stoop swift.” Rosznar Villa is situated on Thunderstaff Way between Copper Street and Shield Street in the Sea Ward, west of the High Road.
DM
GM, 7 posts
Story Spinner
Dice Fibber
Sat 5 Oct 2024
at 15:48
  • msg #4

Guilds

Arcane spellcasters living in the city are required by law to register with the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors, so that they can be called on to defend the city with their magic in times of need. That's most of you.

To join a guild, one must possess a background, a proficiency, or a status that the guild values. For example, a character with the sailor background is welcome to join the Master Mariners’ Guild. One can practice a profession and not be a guild member, but such autonomy carries a cost. The guilds do everything they can to entice new members to join and pay for membership, and they go out of their way to hinder independent business owners, up to and including driving them out of business. A baker who refuses to join the Bakers’ Guild might find her flour supply cut off, while a wizard who refuses to join the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors might be denied access to sages, libraries, and other useful resources.

Guilds charge members monthly or yearly dues that vary. For simplicity, you can have a guild charge 1 gp per month or 10 gp for a year’s dues paid in advance. A guild can expel a member for any number of reasons, not the least of which is failing to pay dues.
DM
GM, 8 posts
Story Spinner
Dice Fibber
Sat 5 Oct 2024
at 16:02
  • msg #5

Factions

Bregan D’aerthe is a company of mercenaries originally made up of the much-derided and dishonorable castaways of destroyed drow houses. The group’s leader, Jarlaxle Baenre, is always looking for new members to fill the ranks, and loyalty is what matters to him most.

Emerald Enclave seeks to foster harmony between nature and civilization. Members living in Waterdeep help guard the city against unnatural threats, including aberrations and undead. They also watch over the City of the Dead (Waterdeep’s public cemetery) and the city’s parks. A character must demonstrate an interest in protecting nature or the natural order to join the Emerald Enclave. Druids and rangers are especially welcome.

Force Grey is an elite cadre of specialized adventurers, drawn from the ranks of the Gray Hands, whose fighting prowess is matched only by their loyalty to the city. Force Grey attracts the best of the best. Characters don’t begin their adventuring careers as members of Force Grey, but they can work up to that status.

Harpers are altruists who work behind the scenes to keep power out of the hands of evil tyrants. In the current situation, it doesn’t take long for them to suspect that the Zhentarim is wholly or partially responsible for the escalation of violence in Waterdeep. Various nobles and guildmasters in the city are Harper sympathizers.

The Lords’ Alliance is a confederation of cities and towns up and down the Sword Coast and throughout the North, including (among others) Baldur’s Gate, Mirabar, Mithral Hall, Neverwinter, and Silverymoon. Members of the alliance must come to one another’s aid in times of need, and the organization uses field operatives (diplomats, spies, and assassins) to safeguard its interests.

The Order of the Gauntlet's mission is to seek out and destroy evil before it gains a foothold. They are religious in nature, serving gods of lawful good alignment.

Anyone can join the Xanathar Guild, which, despite its name, doesn’t have official guild status in Waterdeep. Before membership is granted, however, an applicant must pass a test that always involves the perpetration of a serious crime. Possibilities include murdering a guild member who has failed Xanathar in some fashion, kidnapping a Waterdavian citizen, collecting a ransom, robbing a hire-coach, or looting a warehouse.

The Zhentarim is a shadow organization that trades mercenaries and goods (including weapons) for profit. They are a fractured organization. Those who support Manshoon want to destroy Xanathar and seize political and economic control of the city. Those who oppose Manshoon want to expose and destroy him before they are themselves apprehended or driven out of the city by the local authorities.
Sign In