Good Classses/Races for Waterdeep: Dragon Heist?

[Merudo]

We are going to play Waterdeep: Dragon Heist soon and I was wondering if some classes/races work well for it.

Sort of like how poison-resistant races are great for Tomb of Annihilation & how good clerics & paladins work well in Curse of Strahd.

I heard there is a lot of social intrigue in the module so perhaps a charisma character would fit well in the party?

[DrowPiratRobrts]

I'm about to start running this campaign proper. We've done a couple of intro sessions in a small town of my making in order to teach new players, but now they're on their way to the big city.

I'm pretty familiar with the book and I don't think there's any one thing that stands out except Charisma as being better than normal to have. Others who've finished it already might have found something, but I think in general you'll be thankful for anything that somebody in the party can do well. Because you're in a huge city with lots of people and many many potential conversational encounters, Charisma will be a little extra valuable over the course of the campaign I'd guess. I wouldn't say it's enough to play something you don't want to play just so you can focus on Charisma though.

[Whiskeyjack8044]

Haven't had a chance to play yet, but from what I hear background features sound like they will be a lot more useful. Urchin, Crminal, City Watch, and Urban Bounty Hunter, specifically.

If I get the chance to play I'd run a Rogue Inquisitive with the Urban Bounty Hunter background. A private detective type. Rogue Inquisitor has a good blend of all three pillars of play, you'll be good at combat, have the skills to pull off any skullduggery, and with good INT and WIS you can help the Face with social interactions ( spotting when someone's lying or hiding something).

If you go Variant Human you can get Observant or Alert early, otherwise an Elf can get Elven Accuracy wich is soooo awesome. Personally I like the idea of a Forest Gnome detective using Speak with Small Beasts to ask a squirrel if it's seen anything suspicious.

[ProsecutorGodot]

Haven't had a chance to play yet, but from what I hear background features sound like they will be a lot more useful. Urchin, Crminal, City Watch, and Urban Bounty Hunter, specifically.

If I get the chance to play I'd run a Rogue Inquisitive with the Urban Bounty Hunter background. A private detective type. Rogue Inquisitor has a good blend of all three pillars of play, you'll be good at combat, have the skills to pull off any skullduggery, and with good INT and WIS you can help the Face with social interactions ( spotting when someone's lying or hiding something).

If you go Variant Human you can get Observant or Alert early, otherwise an Elf can get Elven Accuracy wich is soooo awesome. Personally I like the idea of a Forest Gnome detective using Speak with Small Beasts to ask a squirrel if it's seen anything suspicious.

Having played through this adventure I'd definitely second these points. There's not a lot that matters in your class and race choice as long as you aren't immediately going to risk breaking the law or attracting a significant amount of attention (a bugbear barbarian would probably not last long, irrespective of the villain you face)

Your parties skill proficiencies matter a lot more. Investigation is near crucial and not having anyone as a party face would put you at a disadvantage.

There is a catch though, if you plan on transitioning directly into dungeon of the mad mage you should make sure the character you've built is also a functional fighter. Your ability to fight isn't tested very hard in Dragon Heist (at least it wasn't in my experience) but Dungeon of the Mad Mage throws you right into the thick of it without the direct help of any allies you made outside of Undermountain.

[BloodSnake'sCha]

Skill monkeys and utilitie casters.
And a meat to take the attacks(hirelings).

[MilkmanDanimal]

Your DM may appreciate someone having the noble background, as there are a number of noble families in the adventure and that background is a really convenient plot hook. Race/Class isn't a huge deal; there's definitely a fair amount of combat so having people who can fight is good per usual and the number of social encounters means CHA is useful, but this isn't a Strahd "radiant damage for the win" kind of adventure. It's pretty open and flexible in the way it's designed.

[DrowPiratRobrts]

this isn't a Strahd "radiant damage for the win" kind of adventure. It's pretty open and flexible in the way it's designed.

That's the key I think. While having a Charasmatic character or and investigating type might be one really good way of approaching the campaign, I think a party full of sneaky rogues most people never even see would also work well. There are a lot of ways to approach a race to treasure filled with intrigue and warring factions.

[Vogie]

Races and classes are all over the map, save two - Dragonborn and Draconic Sorcerers. There's a dragonward over the city that hits dragonborn or dragon-blooded, plaguing them with visions in their dreams and daydreams, and keeps dragons out entirely.

You can certainly rule that it doesn't afflict those races and that subclass, but that's what's baked in, and confirmed by the Sage Advice Realmslore guy.

IIRC you'd only have races from the PHB, SCAG, and Elemental Evil in there (You do run into Genasi neighbors in chapter 2).


I also told my players that they were allowed the Revised ranger, as it's more easily applied to an urban environment than the PHB ranger. The main thing is having them think of the rule of law which applies to the PCs.

[GlenSmash!]

Skill monkeys and utilitie casters.
And a meat to take the attacks(hirelings).

Yay! My favorite role is still valued!

[Merudo]

Races and classes are all over the map, save two - Dragonborn and Draconic Sorcerers. There's a dragonward over the city that hits dragonborn or dragon-blooded, plaguing them with visions in their dreams and daydreams

Are the visions harmful or helpful?

Seems to me that playing Dragonborn/Draconic Sorcerer would help with the RP at the very least.

[Merudo]

Also, do most combats occur inside or at night? I've been thinking about a Kobold or Drow character that could be fun to play if Sunlight Sensitivity isn't too bad.

[Unoriginal]

Races and classes are all over the map, save two - Dragonborn and Draconic Sorcerers. There's a dragonward over the city that hits dragonborn or dragon-blooded, plaguing them with visions in their dreams and daydreams, and keeps dragons out entirely.

You can certainly rule that it doesn't afflict those races and that subclass, but that's what's baked in, and confirmed by the Sage Advice Realmslore guy.

IIRC you'd only have races from the PHB, SCAG, and Elemental Evil in there (You do run into Genasi neighbors in chapter 2).


I also told my players that they were allowed the Revised ranger, as it's more easily applied to an urban environment than the PHB ranger. The main thing is having them think of the rule of law which applies to the PCs.

This adventure contains a few Dragonborn NPCs, and they're just fine living in Waterdeep. Where have you read that the ward affected them?

[Merudo]

This adventure contains a few Dragonborn NPCs, and they're just fine living in Waterdeep. Where have you read that the ward affected them?

I guess he (or his DM) just made that up?

Also, is it fair to say that many/most of the potential enemies in the scenarios are humanoids? That would make stuff like Heat Meat Metal, Command, Hold Person, etc especially valuable.

[Vogie]

It was based on a Sage Advice: https://www.sageadvice.eu/2018/07/02/does-waterdeeps-dragonward-affect-dragonborn/

[DrowPiratRobrts]

Also, do most combats occur inside or at night? I've been thinking about a Kobold or Drow character that could be fun to play if Sunlight Sensitivity isn't too bad.

If you fight during broad daylight you'll almost certainly be apprehended by the City Watch unless your DM is more lenient. You may not get arrested, but the book makes it very clear that the City Watch know the streets better than just about anyone in the city and they will be very difficult to outrun. So yes, I'd say it's likely that much of your combat will take place inside or at night. But don't blame me if your party picks fights in the middle of the day. :biggrin:

[pdegan2814]

It was based on a Sage Advice: https://www.sageadvice.eu/2018/07/02/does-waterdeeps-dragonward-affect-dragonborn/

That's from Ed Greenwood who created the Forgotten Realms, so it's certainly got weight to it, but the published adventure itself makes no mention of it. I would wager that a significant percentage if not a flat-out majority of players who use the adventure will never see that tweet.

[pdegan2814]

I just finished playing through Dragon Heist, and I would say that there's little about it that really pushes you towards or away certain races or classes. I would say that characters geared more towards operating in the wilderness might not get the chance to shine quite as much, but they can still be effective. Just work with your group to come up with a reason why your Barbarian, Druid, Ranger etc. might be staying in a big city for a while. Someone mentioned the importance of Charisma skills, and they definitely come in handy, but you certainly don't need a whole party full of talkers. Honestly, your typical balanced party works just fine. You'll want some muscle, some magic, some healing, a sneak and a face, in whatever proportions you like. But 5E is fairly forgiving of "unbalanced" parties, so just have fun :)

In terms of races, the only one that sticks out to me is the Drow Elf, because of Jarlaxle's potential presence in the game. But whether that creates a problem or an opportunity is up to the group.

[MilkmanDanimal]

I guess he (or his DM) just made that up?

Also, is it fair to say that many/most of the potential enemies in the scenarios are humanoids? That would make stuff like Heat Meat, Command, Hold Person, etc especially valuable.

And this is my favorite autocorrect of the week.

Lots of the enemies are humanoids, but certainly not all. That being said, those spells are pretty useful in most compaigns, so, yeah, most definitely. It is a city-based adventure, which does mean big area of effect spells are likely less effective as a Shatter is likely to not be exactly the kind of thing the City Watch would like cast in the middle of their streets.

[DrowPiratRobrts]

And this is my favorite autocorrect of the week.


Haha, two great ones this week. My favorite was the poster talking about their DMs NPC doing a "loinshare of the damage" in combat.

[Merudo]

It is a city-based adventure, which does mean big area of effect spells are likely less effective as a Shatter is likely to not be exactly the kind of thing the City Watch would like cast in the middle of their streets.

Interesting. I was thinking of playing as a Tempest Cleric but you made me realize it's a good way to end up in jail for destruction of property.

Also I did some research and although the module is quite light on magic items, there is a decent number of spellbooks, scrolls, a headband of Intellect, and a few Wands to find. So it seems a Wizard will enjoy the loot more than most.

I'd also say a Sorcerer who takes the Subtle Spell Metamagic can abuse the hell out of it. The more I think about it the more it seems broken actually.

[sambojin]

I know I suggest this combo a lot, but Firbolg Moon Druid (or any druid really).

Lots of *good* disguise self, a touch of invis, plenty of scouting opportunities (rats, cats and spiders are great for seeng whatever you want in a non-combat sense), talk to beasts, and enough stat non-dependency that you can even plump for fairly good Cha or Int and a skill that uses it if you want. Nice'ish, fairly versatile spell list too, for non-combat buffs for you or your party.

Ghostwise halfling is also nice, because telepathy is amazing, even in combat. But especially during social or investigation encounters.

You wouldn't think it, but any druid subclass works really well in an urban environment. They've got just enough lock-down to make some encounters a lot easier as well (there's one doozy early on, depending on season, where an Entangle and Shillelagh is *the* combo for handling it easily.)

[RogueJK]

Skill monkeys and utilitie casters.


Or both. A Half-Elf Rogue/Wizard multiclass could be a good choice. (Eventually ending up as something like an Arcane Trickster 3/Bladesinger 2.) Lots of skills, plus utility casting, with bonuses to DEX, INT, and CHA.

[AchuakScale]

My drow characters are doing quite well for themselves so far, with one being a BM fighter and the other an illusionist wizard. Only a few rare occasions where sunlight sensitivity comes up.