After the Heist [Waterdeep Spoilers]

[Bjarkmundur]

I want to continue running Waterdeep after the Vault, and tie up any loose ends, but I don't want to run Mad Mage. I'm currently choosing a villain for Dragon Heist since we will be finishing Gralhund Villa next session. I'm going to be basing my decision largely on what will create the best adventure once the module is finished.


Which ending do you think will create the most interesting post-Dragon Heist situation in Waterdeep?

I haven't read the last chapters of the module thoroughly. What changes for each villain after the gold has been removed from the vault?

[Wildarm]

Much of it depends on the groups status in the city. Working on the assumption they are heroes but not necessarily public ones, it would be know in the power circles of the city what they did and that they are flush with cash.


Zhents - Will want to get them to join them or invest. Perhaps the Doom Raiders see the threat of Manshoon and want the players to help. Go after the real Manshoon or another simulacrum.

Xanathar - Easy enough to have one of their faction contacts say that things are getting out of hand and weird monsters are appearing. Players track the issue to the Xanathar's dream suppressor causing trouble. Either find a way to fix it or take out Xanathar. Instead of combat you can suggest dismantling his support system of lieutenants.

Jarlaxle - He waits for the right moment and steals something important. The Dragon Staff would be my suggestion or perhaps the Stone. Faction group asks the players to find out who took it and retrieve it. I like the idea of the Stone which is full of secrets and lore. Tack on the additional requirement that they find out how to destroy it after they retrieve it.

Cassellantars - Harder one as their status in the city will really depend on what went on with the gold and their ceremony. If another group was the main villian, then you can just have a faction talk to the group of devil sightings in the city and they have to investigate and find the source. If they were the villians and failed, the players have to find definitive proof of what they were involved it. Basically, they need to get the contract and turn it over to the city an proof of their misdeeds.


Hard to pick one post heist villian. Look through each section for the details on the villians lairs and figure out which one most interests you. Xanathar is probably the best true lair with lots of unique NPCs to interact with.

[Bjarkmundur]

But the villains don't GO anywhere. Each villain is a hard encounter for 8th level characters or higher, meaning that when the adventure ends the villains are still villains. The group has only managed to move the goalpost. Am I right?

[Vogie]

But the villains don't GO anywhere. Each villain is a hard encounter for 8th level characters or higher, meaning that when the adventure ends the villains are still villains. The group has only managed to move the goalpost. Am I right?

Kind of. I'm only familiar with Winter, which is what I'm running:

The CR 8 Manshoon is actually his simulacrum - so when the party faces it at levels 5-6, they'll need to probably have some allies alongside them - I believe Chapter 4 actually references what each faction may send along if you call for aid. Even one of the level 5 faction missions from chapter 2, there is a mission to infiltrate Xanathar's sanctum into kill a mind flayer (CR 7), regardless who is the villain.

Actually infiltrating Manshoon's realm to go after the 'real' Manshoon is, IIRC, CR 12 (I could be wrong I'm AFB), and the normal tactics of any mid- to high-level spellcaster, like Manshoon, is to get outta dodge if he starts losing the fight. He has other sanctums he can run away to.

Same with Jaraxel or Xanathar - They are much more interested in self-preservation rather than killing the PCs. The goal of W:DH is trying to recover the Dragons (or the Dragonstaff, or both) from the vault, not to actually defeat the villains. If you level up the characters more, or continue those adventurers in another direction, those villains may recur in other directions.

[Evaar]

It may be possible to transition from the Cassalanters to Avernus. Having not had the opportunity to read Avernus I'm not sure how much it demands the Baldur's Gate chapters.