So I've been running Waterdeep: Dragon Heist for my players, and while the initial plans were for the story to go towards Xanathar, character choices made it more interesting to pivot towards Jarlaxle and the Bregan D'earthe as the main villains. Since they were in town anyway, owing to the fact that they're available to be picked up by the Nimblewright Detector, I decided to set up the Sea Maiden's Faire myself, with the following changes to the pre-built adventure. Spoilers for Waterdeep: Dragon Heist.
Fenerus Stormcastle, the lamplighter who receives the Stone of Golorr, still makes a duplicate and that is stolen by the Xanathar Guild after Stormcastle is arrested. However, instead of the tower, Fenerus hid the stone inside the casing of a lamp, as he'd have easy access to it, and be able to pick it up without seeming suspicious whenever he wanted. Unfortunately for our heroes, he hid the stone in a lamp in the dock wards. Specifically, Mistshore. Where I decided the Sea Maiden's Faire was going to be put on.
The characters had visited Mistshore before, so seeing it prettied up for the fair would be pleasant, and give them a sense of permanence to Waterdeep, instead of it feeling like there's just a new location every time there's an event. I decided that the fair would run for 7 days and that each day you would be marked by a magical stamp. Anyone who collected all seven stamps would be put into the drawings of a grand prize, which I have yet to actually finalize.
For the fair, I made the following encounters, rolling on a d10. A character could also forgo the roll to voluntarily seek out something that any member of the party had already seen.
1: A Competition-An almost American Ninja Warrior obstacle course proved to be the most popular attraction, with a 3 gold entrance fee and a pot containing said entrance fee for whoever completed it. The competition was comprised of 3 skill checks. You can fluff the actual challenges however you'd like, but this is how I played it:
The players could attempt either athletics or acrobatics for the first check, with a DC of 10. For the second skill check, the obstacle would be something intentionally tricky and possibly disorienting, so they'd be given the option of Fast or Slow; for Fast, they roll at disadvantage, but the DC is only 12. If they go Slow, they roll once for a DC of 15. For the third skill check, it would be some sort of hybridized challenge between the two physicality stats. So, they could either make an Acrobatics or Athletics check, DC 17, or they could make two skill checks, one Athletics and one Acrobatics, DC 13 for the 'dominant' skill and 10 for the 'secondary' skill.
2: A fight breaks out- Tensions are still high between the Xanathar Crime Guild, the Zhentarim, and the City Watch after the events at Gralhund Villa. And considering the Bregan D'earthe are also involved in this, well, how can you not show the city's current turmoil?
If your players have an affiliation with either the Xanathar Guild or the Zhentarim, or even the City Watch, the Bregan D'earthe, or the Cult of Asmodeus, they could become a target for random street violence. If they aren't affiliated with the party, you could also use an NPC that might be known to the players, such as Yagra Stonefist.
3: A performance: This encounter is pretty much entirely fluff. A music performance or some other form of a demonstration is happening, and the characters can enjoy it. Feel free to have them be bards who are putting magic into their music to create special effects, or swords dancers, acrobatics, animal trainers. Sneak in references to bands your players like.
If you need a little extra spice, those urchin children may be making their way through the crowd picking pockets. Unfortunately for them, a noble has figured them out and has sent one of his bodyguards to grab one of them he sees; the deaf girl, Nat. Players can either help catch the urchins or keep them from getting caught in the confusion of the crowd.
4: A curiosity shop: A shop that sells 2d10 trinkets off of the Trinket Table from the player's handbook. You can make them fancier or less fancy, and set your own prices. Additionally, the shop hides a secret; the owner hasn't realized one of his trinkets is actually a vastly underpriced magical item. Your players can roll arcana, insight, or investigation to pick out anything unusual; for me, I changed 'a paper fan that, when unfolded, shows the image of a sleeping cat' and made it into a Wind Fan.
My player saw the kitty fan and bought it without second thoughts, then promptly blew himself off the dock and into the harbor.
5: NPC Tourist: The players meet a character who has been traveling through Waterdeep, in line at the menagerie, in the crowd at a performance, or merely enjoying a reprieve on a bench. This NPC could be a seed you plant for a later plot arc; if you transition into Tomb of Annihilation, they might be a trader from Chult. If you have a personally written plot arc, they might be involved with that. They could serve as an NPC contact in a new city the player's might visit, like Luskan, Silverymoon, or Port Nyanzaru.
6: City NPC: The characters run into an NPC from Waterdeep, one they know already or haven't met yet. Volothamp, Renear Neverember, Jalester Silvermane, or other faction representatives. Or, you could introduce a new NPC who lives in the city, who perhaps ends up owing the characters a favor if they pay for some fair food or help them avoid someone they're trying not to have a conversation with; this NPC could provide future plot arcs, or simply serve as a small expert the characters can rely on later for things like history or medicine checks.
7: Mundane Goods Store: A shop selling mundane goods, such as weapons, adventuring supplies, flowers, or food. This is mostly a fluff encounter, but you could make things interesting. For example, two of my characters are from Kara-Tur, so I created an imported clothing store that happened to have both genuine Kozakuran garments, as well as imitations; the originals costed more. This could be a haggling opportunity for the players.
I also created a bard-painter, who used magic to enhance their painting abilities. They would accept a deal to spend one minute sketching you per gold piece given to them. Give them 25, you get 25 minutes for them to speed draw a caricature of your character.
8: The Gondian Arcade: Earlier in the adventure, some of my players had befriended Nim, the Nimblewright who lived at the Temple of Gond, and had become penpals with him. Since the Sea Maiden's Faire also showed off technological marvels, it made sense for the Gond Clerics to have a tent. But I decided that Nim deserved to make something nice, and thats when I decided to introduce a Pinball Machine to Waterdeep.
My initial tests of the pinball machine were too generous towards the players, who had no trouble finishing the challenge and claiming the prize, a Clockwork Amulet. The bard got nearly three times higher than he needed to. Here was my proposed version
The goal of the game is to inflict 60 points of 'damage' on the pinball machine, which translates to the score. You roll using your intelligence or dexterity modifier, no proficiency. The number you roll determines how many dice you use to add to your score.
I also ruled that players could use class abilities if they figured out how to incorporate them cleverly. If you allow this, set higher goals and perhaps expand the margin for Ball Loss. I made a rule that any magical effect (faerie fire, hexblade's curse) would wear off on the machine after 2 rounds due to the magical nature of the construction, and that they could only use class features (sneak attack, stunning strike, horde breaker) a number of times equal to their proficiency bonus. They performed better than I expected, so you may wish to tweak these rules, either expanding the margin for error or lowering the 'damage' outputs, but I feel the game goes too slowly otherwise.
9: Potion Merchant. Fala Lelafiir, the neighbor from Trollskull Alley, has set up a stall for their business during the fair and is offering both their regular stock of potions and a few rarities they've picked up along the way. i snuck a philter of love in there, among other things. Remember to price fairly!
10: Magical item vendor/fortune teller: A mysterious deep purple tent that contains a few magical items, safeguarded by an old item vendor who also tells fortunes. I rolled 2d4 times on Magic Item Table F; most of the items were so expensive the players either had to haggle or take loans if they wanted to purchase anything.
Fortune telling can be useful if you're planning out individual arcs for characters, or to foreshadow a single main arc up ahead, but plan these out ahead of time. I used tarot for this, so if you were going to transition into Curse of Strahd, you could use the mechanics from that.
As for the actual stone, it is located in a random lamp somewhere within the festivities. They can attempt to retrieve the stone during the day or the night, but it may lead to complications with the law, or perhaps a chase as a dock worker or a fair employee finds it first, or worse, a member of the Bregan D'earthe.
Additionally, I promised my players some manner of prize for whoever won the raffle drawing for the sea maiden's fair, with each of them picking a number and rolling a d50 to determine if any of them were lucky enough to win the prize. But I find myself unable to commit to what the prize should be. Poll for assistance!
Just want to say - am running Heist now, with the Alexandrian Remix (great stuff) and I wanted more depth to the Faire -to give it a carnival atmosphere and to beef up the games a lot (my players LOVE mini-games).
Thanks so much for this! I feel like, for background music, playing the song "She's a Beauty" by the Tubes. ;) Anyway, these are great ideas, and thanks for sharing! (My main difference will be probably having most of the events in one day, and to ensure that the idea of a reward - such as the exotic pet - is on display to give a lot of incentive for the characters to join in. And, by doing so, they will draw the obvious attention of Zord!)
Great job!
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So I've been running Waterdeep: Dragon Heist for my players, and while the initial plans were for the story to go towards Xanathar, character choices made it more interesting to pivot towards Jarlaxle and the Bregan D'earthe as the main villains. Since they were in town anyway, owing to the fact that they're available to be picked up by the Nimblewright Detector, I decided to set up the Sea Maiden's Faire myself, with the following changes to the pre-built adventure. Spoilers for Waterdeep: Dragon Heist.
Fenerus Stormcastle, the lamplighter who receives the Stone of Golorr, still makes a duplicate and that is stolen by the Xanathar Guild after Stormcastle is arrested. However, instead of the tower, Fenerus hid the stone inside the casing of a lamp, as he'd have easy access to it, and be able to pick it up without seeming suspicious whenever he wanted. Unfortunately for our heroes, he hid the stone in a lamp in the dock wards. Specifically, Mistshore. Where I decided the Sea Maiden's Faire was going to be put on.
The characters had visited Mistshore before, so seeing it prettied up for the fair would be pleasant, and give them a sense of permanence to Waterdeep, instead of it feeling like there's just a new location every time there's an event. I decided that the fair would run for 7 days and that each day you would be marked by a magical stamp. Anyone who collected all seven stamps would be put into the drawings of a grand prize, which I have yet to actually finalize.
For the fair, I made the following encounters, rolling on a d10. A character could also forgo the roll to voluntarily seek out something that any member of the party had already seen.
1: A Competition-An almost American Ninja Warrior obstacle course proved to be the most popular attraction, with a 3 gold entrance fee and a pot containing said entrance fee for whoever completed it. The competition was comprised of 3 skill checks. You can fluff the actual challenges however you'd like, but this is how I played it:
The players could attempt either athletics or acrobatics for the first check, with a DC of 10. For the second skill check, the obstacle would be something intentionally tricky and possibly disorienting, so they'd be given the option of Fast or Slow; for Fast, they roll at disadvantage, but the DC is only 12. If they go Slow, they roll once for a DC of 15. For the third skill check, it would be some sort of hybridized challenge between the two physicality stats. So, they could either make an Acrobatics or Athletics check, DC 17, or they could make two skill checks, one Athletics and one Acrobatics, DC 13 for the 'dominant' skill and 10 for the 'secondary' skill.
2: A fight breaks out- Tensions are still high between the Xanathar Crime Guild, the Zhentarim, and the City Watch after the events at Gralhund Villa. And considering the Bregan D'earthe are also involved in this, well, how can you not show the city's current turmoil?
If your players have an affiliation with either the Xanathar Guild or the Zhentarim, or even the City Watch, the Bregan D'earthe, or the Cult of Asmodeus, they could become a target for random street violence. If they aren't affiliated with the party, you could also use an NPC that might be known to the players, such as Yagra Stonefist.
3: A performance: This encounter is pretty much entirely fluff. A music performance or some other form of a demonstration is happening, and the characters can enjoy it. Feel free to have them be bards who are putting magic into their music to create special effects, or swords dancers, acrobatics, animal trainers. Sneak in references to bands your players like.
If you need a little extra spice, those urchin children may be making their way through the crowd picking pockets. Unfortunately for them, a noble has figured them out and has sent one of his bodyguards to grab one of them he sees; the deaf girl, Nat. Players can either help catch the urchins or keep them from getting caught in the confusion of the crowd.
4: A curiosity shop: A shop that sells 2d10 trinkets off of the Trinket Table from the player's handbook. You can make them fancier or less fancy, and set your own prices. Additionally, the shop hides a secret; the owner hasn't realized one of his trinkets is actually a vastly underpriced magical item. Your players can roll arcana, insight, or investigation to pick out anything unusual; for me, I changed 'a paper fan that, when unfolded, shows the image of a sleeping cat' and made it into a Wind Fan.
My player saw the kitty fan and bought it without second thoughts, then promptly blew himself off the dock and into the harbor.
5: NPC Tourist: The players meet a character who has been traveling through Waterdeep, in line at the menagerie, in the crowd at a performance, or merely enjoying a reprieve on a bench. This NPC could be a seed you plant for a later plot arc; if you transition into Tomb of Annihilation, they might be a trader from Chult. If you have a personally written plot arc, they might be involved with that. They could serve as an NPC contact in a new city the player's might visit, like Luskan, Silverymoon, or Port Nyanzaru.
6: City NPC: The characters run into an NPC from Waterdeep, one they know already or haven't met yet. Volothamp, Renear Neverember, Jalester Silvermane, or other faction representatives. Or, you could introduce a new NPC who lives in the city, who perhaps ends up owing the characters a favor if they pay for some fair food or help them avoid someone they're trying not to have a conversation with; this NPC could provide future plot arcs, or simply serve as a small expert the characters can rely on later for things like history or medicine checks.
7: Mundane Goods Store: A shop selling mundane goods, such as weapons, adventuring supplies, flowers, or food. This is mostly a fluff encounter, but you could make things interesting. For example, two of my characters are from Kara-Tur, so I created an imported clothing store that happened to have both genuine Kozakuran garments, as well as imitations; the originals costed more. This could be a haggling opportunity for the players.
I also created a bard-painter, who used magic to enhance their painting abilities. They would accept a deal to spend one minute sketching you per gold piece given to them. Give them 25, you get 25 minutes for them to speed draw a caricature of your character.
8: The Gondian Arcade: Earlier in the adventure, some of my players had befriended Nim, the Nimblewright who lived at the Temple of Gond, and had become penpals with him. Since the Sea Maiden's Faire also showed off technological marvels, it made sense for the Gond Clerics to have a tent. But I decided that Nim deserved to make something nice, and thats when I decided to introduce a Pinball Machine to Waterdeep.
My initial tests of the pinball machine were too generous towards the players, who had no trouble finishing the challenge and claiming the prize, a Clockwork Amulet. The bard got nearly three times higher than he needed to. Here was my proposed version
The goal of the game is to inflict 60 points of 'damage' on the pinball machine, which translates to the score. You roll using your intelligence or dexterity modifier, no proficiency. The number you roll determines how many dice you use to add to your score.
0-5: Miss, Lose Your Ball
6-10: 2d4
11-15: 3d4
16-20+: 4d4
Natural 20: 7d4
I also ruled that players could use class abilities if they figured out how to incorporate them cleverly. If you allow this, set higher goals and perhaps expand the margin for Ball Loss. I made a rule that any magical effect (faerie fire, hexblade's curse) would wear off on the machine after 2 rounds due to the magical nature of the construction, and that they could only use class features (sneak attack, stunning strike, horde breaker) a number of times equal to their proficiency bonus. They performed better than I expected, so you may wish to tweak these rules, either expanding the margin for error or lowering the 'damage' outputs, but I feel the game goes too slowly otherwise.
9: Potion Merchant. Fala Lelafiir, the neighbor from Trollskull Alley, has set up a stall for their business during the fair and is offering both their regular stock of potions and a few rarities they've picked up along the way. i snuck a philter of love in there, among other things. Remember to price fairly!
10: Magical item vendor/fortune teller: A mysterious deep purple tent that contains a few magical items, safeguarded by an old item vendor who also tells fortunes. I rolled 2d4 times on Magic Item Table F; most of the items were so expensive the players either had to haggle or take loans if they wanted to purchase anything.
Fortune telling can be useful if you're planning out individual arcs for characters, or to foreshadow a single main arc up ahead, but plan these out ahead of time. I used tarot for this, so if you were going to transition into Curse of Strahd, you could use the mechanics from that.
As for the actual stone, it is located in a random lamp somewhere within the festivities. They can attempt to retrieve the stone during the day or the night, but it may lead to complications with the law, or perhaps a chase as a dock worker or a fair employee finds it first, or worse, a member of the Bregan D'earthe.
Additionally, I promised my players some manner of prize for whoever won the raffle drawing for the sea maiden's fair, with each of them picking a number and rolling a d50 to determine if any of them were lucky enough to win the prize. But I find myself unable to commit to what the prize should be. Poll for assistance!
In which chapter did you set up the Faire for? Chapter 3? Middle of Chapter 4 before the finding the vault? I love this and would love to use it.
I love this! Well done!
Just want to say - am running Heist now, with the Alexandrian Remix (great stuff) and I wanted more depth to the Faire -to give it a carnival atmosphere and to beef up the games a lot (my players LOVE mini-games).
Thanks so much for this! I feel like, for background music, playing the song "She's a Beauty" by the Tubes. ;) Anyway, these are great ideas, and thanks for sharing! (My main difference will be probably having most of the events in one day, and to ensure that the idea of a reward - such as the exotic pet - is on display to give a lot of incentive for the characters to join in. And, by doing so, they will draw the obvious attention of Zord!)
Great job!