Dungeon and Dragons module - Dragon Heist

Welcome to Waterdeep, grandest city on the Swordcoast!

This book is advertised as an adventure module for D&D 5E, but it's actually a lore book about the setting for the adventure, Waterdeep. This is a good thing. This is why. 

The story takes place in the city of Waterdeep and is set up for new characters, those just starting their careers as adventurers. This starting adventure provides them with a home base in the city, invitations to the various Factions, and many things to do other than the Dragon Heist. Indeed, the "main story" as it were, doesn't start until chapter 3 and is only truly focused on during chapter 4. There are a total of eight chapters. The Dragon Heist is clearly not the focus of the book. 

No, the focus of the book is clearly establishing Water Deep as a city of adventure and providing the Game Master with the tools to tell their own story. 

The first chapter is a rescue mission tangentially related to the Dragon Heist. It gets the party involved with some of the city's residents, earns them some fame/credibility as adventurers, and rewards them with a home base. This is not just a house but a tavern. It is a place of business, which is then connected to other businesses and guilds. It is the start of adventures. As the saying goes, "You All Meet in an Inn". 

The second chapter focuses in on these connections. It speaks of how the guilds operate in relation to the tavern. It speaks of the tavern's neighbors, shop owners forming a self-contained community. It speaks of the Factions, and how one or more of them seek to recruit one or more members of the player party. It speaks of the missions those who accept such an invitation can go on.  Even the start of chapter 3 speaks of how the player party only gets involved in the main plot because of how this plot impacts this web of connections. 

Four chapters are given over to describing the lairs of the various villains. The book outright states that going to any of them is purely optional, and likely only to happen if the player party fails at some scripted encounter in chapter 4. So, there are four dungeons fully described with maps and treasures and thugs primarily included to sketch out a villain's organization. 

The final main chapter is a tour guide of the city. Literally, it is framed as something written for an in-universe reader. It describes the city's history, layout of its wards, guild system, law code, methods of moving around, and even tourist traps.  This has absolutely nothing to do with the Dragon Heist. It is just here to further flesh out the city. Which is just as well, because the Dragon Heist is pretty lame as written. 

Chapter 4 is the only chapter solely focused on the Dragon Heist. It is comprised of a series of scripted encounters where the player party scrambles to acquire the Macguffin before the villain does. There are 4 villains to choose from, and each villain has its own encounter sequence. Which is great for replay value, theoretically at least. Reading through it, I felt it relies on rail-roading to stay on track. One scene says the player party gets arrested, just arrested, like Cutscene Impotence in a video game. The book even suggests corrective measures if the player party gets the Macguffin too quickly. 

The artwork is fantastic. It looks great. It shows the many sides of Waterdeep in all its seasons. Occasionally, I came across two-page full spreads of a given scene. A pleasant surprise indeed. 

If this were an actual lore book instead of an adventure module, I'd give it full marks. Because the adventure itself is lack-luster and rail-roady, it loses points. 

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Dungeon and Dragons module -  Dragon Heist" a B+

Click here for my previous book review:  She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wiseman - Volume 1 (read for fun)

Click here for my previous book review: Today's Menu for the Emiya Family volume 2 (Read for fun)

Brian Wilkerson is an independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor's degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).

His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.