TEXT: Waterdeep's Notice Boards 2
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  original material in this work is copyright 2020 by Christian Eichhorn and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.
  Welcome to Waterdeep’s Notice Boards 2, a fresh 
  collection of quest seeds for the City of Splendors. As you 
  walk into this product, paraphrase or read out loud:
  “If you don’t like tongue-in-cheek quests, turn 
  around and walk away. This is no product for 
  serious folk.” The author spits and crosses his 
  arms. The spit makes a clean ringing sound as 
  it hits the spittoon head on. You hear someone 
  counting money in the distance.
  To run these quests, you need a Dungeon Master’s Guide, 
  a Player’s Handbook, the Monster Manual, and some time to 
  prepare the individual boards. 
  The quests can be tackled by parties of different levels 
  and offer balancing suggestions when necessary. To 
  facilitate on-the-fly balancing, which considers number 
  and level of all characters, a new metric called PowL 
  (Power Level) is introduced. To calculate the PowL of a 
  group, add the levels of all characters then multiply the 
  total by the number of characters. For example, a group 
  consisting of one 3rd and two 4th level characters has a 
  PowL of 33. This number is then used to calculate the CR 
  or number of enemies.
  2
  Cursed Genie Bottle! ............................................3
  Map: Sogesonoy's Flying Tower ............................. 6
  Haunted tavern! ...................................................7
  Held for ransom! ..................................................9
  Map: Lair of Persakhal's Abductors ......................... 12
  need Help CapturinG tootH fairy! .....................13
  spirit Hunters urGently needed! ........................15
  surveillanCe needed! ............................................18
  terriBle infestation! .............................................21
  Map: Lair of Honest Bob and Grokoles .................. 24
  WinGed menaCe! ....................................................25
  Map: Lair of Floohoosoon and Elder Brian ............ 28
  Author & Layout: Christian Eichhorn | @Squirrelgolem
  Editor: John Parker | @JohnnyOpie
  WATERDEEP'S NOTICE BOARDS 2
  
  BACKGROUND
  During a dance in the Castle Waterdeep, Sogesonoy 
  (chaotic neutral female djinni) smuggled in her golden 
  genie bottle to capture new pets. She placed it on a small 
  table, and whoever rubbed the cursed lamp got themselves 
  spirited away to Sogesonoy’s floating tower, located on the 
  Elemental Plane of Air. Meanwhile, the smirking djinni 
  hovered above the guests and treated herself to some 
  delicacies from the buffet. All of her victims were nobles, 
  high dignitaries, and diplomats. If they are not returned, it 
  could mean war!
  The curse on the lamp not only brought the rubbers to 
  the tower, it also turned them into pets. After Sogesonoy 
  felt satisfied, she returned home, but left her cursed 
  bottle behind—otherwise the characters couldn’t entrap 
  themselves and the quest would end right then and there.
  Adventurers urgently needed—a crisis has befallen 
  our city! Report to Seneschal Lohrmahr in the 
  castle if you have experience with one or more of 
  the following:
  • Mundane or magic abductions
  • Cursed or genuine genie bottles
  • Daring rescue operations where everyone 
  else has failed
  PREPARATIONS
  In the castle, Lohrmahr explains to the characters what 
  happened, now three days ago. In the meantime, the 
  Lords sent many guards and supposed professionals into 
  the lamp, to no avail. If the characters cast remove curse or 
  dispel magic on the lamp, it loses its properties for 1 hour, 
  but the trapped do not return. Using detect magic, the 
  characters can ascertain that the lamp is enchanted with a 
  spell of the conjuration school. Casting identify on it also 
  reveals a hidden enchantment of transmutation magic 
  which alters the rubbers in a random fashion.
  If the characters attempt to destroy the lamp Sogesonoy 
  appears, attacks the characters, and takes her lamp back 
  to her tower after the characters flee or lie dead. If the 
  characters defeat her, the lamp ceases to function, and 
  the trapped starve in the tower. As a reward, Lohrmahr 
  promises the characters 1,000 gp for every rescued noble 
  or diplomat—the previous rescue teams are of no concern 
  to him.
  Rubbing the lamp brings the characters to the tower. 
  Roll on the Random Beast table to determine the 
  characters’ transformation. Reroll duplicates so that each 
  character assumes a different form.
  3
  Never mess with a djinni! 
  They are mischievous 
  creatures. If you wish for a 
  pot of gold, they might drop it 
  on your head to kill you!
  CURSED GENIE BOTTLE!
  
  4
  Random Beast
  d8
  Beast
  1
  Badger
  2
  Bat
  3
  Cat
  4
  Crab
  5
  Frog
  6
  Rat
  7
  Raven
  8
  Spider
  SOGESONOY’S TOWER
  The characters trap themselves in Sogesonoy’s domain. 
  They have few possibilities to escape; they can end the 
  djinni’s concentration on her spells by rendering her 
  unconscious, free the trapped air elementals, or enlist the 
  help of the giant eagles, sworn enemies of Sogesonoy. 
  If the characters feel out of their depth, introduce the 
  trapped hummingbird familiar Odi (neutral female gnome 
  mage), a “surviving” member of the previous rescue 
  parties.
  FAMILIARS AND PETS
  Life as a Familiar. For the first 24 hours after arriving 
  in Sogesonoy’s tower, the characters become Sogesonoy’s 
  familiars as per the find familiar spell, except that 
  Sogesonoy can have unlimited familiars. If Sogesonoy 
  gives the characters an order, they must succeed on a DC 
  18 Wisdom saving throw to resist it—otherwise they have 
  to follow it to the letter. Additionally, the characters have 
  access to the following cantrips while in familiar form: 
  druidcraft, light, mage hand, mending, and produce flame. 
  These cantrips should allow the familiars to help her in the 
  household, Sogesonoy figures.
  Becoming a Pet. After 24 hours, the characters must 
  succeed on a DC 14 Intelligence saving throw or they 
  become mindless pets. The saving throw must be repeated 
  every 24 hours. Once a character has become a mindless 
  pet, the player loses control over the character. They can 
  only be reverted with a dispel magic spell. If the characters 
  should succumb to the magic and become mindless yet 
  adorable pets, the players can roll new characters who go 
  in for a second attempt to free their former characters. 
  Repeat until success.
  GENERAL
  The Tower. Sogesonoy’s tower floats in the Elemental 
  Plane of Air with no ground in sight. Airworthy 
  characters can fly away from the tower in any desired 
  direction and find their way back as long as they can see 
  the tower. Calm winds pass through the tower, creating a 
  constant breeze. The tower is constructed of white marble 
  with a few dark veins that occur in wavy patterns.
  The Pets. A total of twenty mindless pets roam about 
  the tower. They are made up of the original nobles and 
  various rescue parties. No animal appears twice. For 
  example, the characters can meet and fail to communicate 
  with a budgerigar, a weasel, a snow fox, an owl, a skunk, a 
  dung beetle, a goose, a dodo, and many more.
  TOP SPIRE
  The characters arrive already transformed at the Top 
  Spire after they rub the lamp. Read or paraphrase the 
  following:
  You arrive on a circular platform, smelling the 
  freshest air imaginable. You see exotic plants and 
  frolicking animals all around. On the platform’s 
  edge, there is a small balustrade, and beyond, only 
  the sky. To your dismay, you realize that your 
  body was transformed—you have become some 
  sort of small animal.
  Sogesonoy floats 60 feet above the floor and peruses a 
  thick tome labeled “1001 Wishes and How Not to Fulfill 
  Them.” She greets the characters when they arrive and 
  orders them to prepare food in the kitchen below.
  Giant Eagles. A convocation of giant eagles nests on a 
  floating island 8 miles away from the tower. A character 
  who succeeds on a DC 18 Wisdom (Perception) check 
  spots the island.
  LEVEL 3
  Read or paraphrase the following when the characters 
  enter the room for the first time:
  Transparent water tanks cover the walls of this 
  room, with spherical pockets of air inside. The 
  bubbles float about lazily but get agitated once you 
  enter the chamber.
  
  5
  The tanks store collected rainwater for the kitchen 
  and toilet. Inside the tanks, Sogesonoy has trapped three 
  air elementals. She sucks their life force dry to power 
  some of her experimental gear. Using the air bubbles, 
  the elementals form Auran letters, calling for help. The 
  characters can free the elementals by accessing them 
  through the toilet, for example, then swimming up to 
  Level 3, and breathing them in. Since there is water in the 
  pipes, the characters must dive to reach the higher levels. 
  Once freed, the air elementals attack and kill the djinni.
  LEVEL 2
  The northern part of Level 2 contains Sogesonoy’s 
  lab. A successful DC 16 Dexterity check using thieves’ 
  tools (!) opens the door. Remember: After the characters’ 
  transformation, they have lost their equipment and their 
  thumbs. Spiders can squeeze through the door frame. Read 
  or paraphrase the following, if the characters enter:
  Alien machines blubber, steam, spit, and flash 
  in this room. More than a dozen alchemical 
  ingredient racks adorn the walls and high stacks 
  of books cover the floor.
  The laboratory contains enough poison to kill 
  Sogesonoy a hundred times over. A character proficient 
  with alchemist’s supplies can pick a poison with an effect 
  of their choice. Other characters pick a deadly poison at 
  random (see “Poisons” in chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master’s 
  Guide).
  LEVEL 1
  This level houses a kitchen, a bathroom which includes 
  a toilet of inadequate cleanliness, and a storage area.
  Kitchen. The characters can use the kitchen to prepare 
  food. A successful DC 14 Wisdom check using cook’s 
  utensils produces a meal Sogesonoy is willing to consume. 
  If the characters mix a poison into the food which is not 
  tasteless, the DC increases to 18.
  Bathroom. The bathroom contains nothing of value but 
  offers access to the water tanks in Level 3.
  Storage Area. A giant rat “guards” the storage area. 
  It attacks all characters who aren’t a rat. The characters 
  find a set of tinker’s tools and thieves’ tools in the storage. 
  Additionally, they find many foodstuffs and three giant 
  eagle eggs.
  GIANT EAGLE NEST
  Sogesonoy stole the giant eagles’ eggs for an upcoming 
  breakfast. The twenty giant eagles are angry—extremely 
  angry. They want their eggs back; but they can’t fit into 
  the tower to retrieve them, and if they simply attack, 
  Sogesonoy might destroy the eggs to spite them.
  If the characters bring the eggs to the eagles or hide 
  them somewhere else in the tower and communicate this 
  to the eagles, they attack Sogesonoy and rip her to shreds.
  CONCLUSION
  If Sogesonoy dies or loses consciousness, characters 
  who haven’t become mindless pets revert to their normal 
  form. Additionally, the tower with all its inhabitants is 
  sucked through the genie bottle onto the Prime Material 
  Plane. The tower “makeshiftly” attaches itself to the Castle 
  Waterdeep—if the characters entered the lamp there. 
  All in all, the characters receive 6,000 gp for the rescued 
  nobles, if all survived.
  
  asHryn spire By dyson loGos
  
  BACKGROUND
  Smiling Ozuh (chaotic neutral female tiefling 
  archmage) is a notorious prankster. Her plan goes as 
  follows. She prepared the tavern’s cellar to look like the 
  inside of a mimic or creature, covering it with arcane 
  symbols, pigs’ blood and intestines—gruesome stuff, but 
  nothing brave adventurers haven’t seen before. 
  A number of homunculi (commoners) Smiling Ozuh 
  created also wait in the cellar, disguised as commoners 
  disguised as monsters. For example, they wear hollowed-
  out bull and goat heads and are covered in pigs’ blood, 
  like the rest of the cellar. The homunculi are disguised as 
  commoners under their monstrous’ guise in the hopes that 
  the characters kill them and then believe they have slain 
  mere actors.
  While the characters hack and slash in the cellar, 
  Smiling Ozuh leads real spectators into the taproom, 
  promising them to witness how a band of brave 
  Cheers my friends! I have recently been duped like 
  a darn hillbilly. I bought an abandoned tavern 
  from a shifty gnome—and here I ignored all 
  warning signs—for an outrageously good price. I 
  sent a small army of renovators into the Battered 
  Kettle, how the tavern was formerly called, but 
  none returned. Could you kindly meet me this 
  evening in front of the joint to go into the matter? 
  I would be much obliged! ~ Ozuh
  7
  adventurers soil themselves and run away screaming from 
  her actors. If the plan works out, the characters leave 
  the cellar victorious, bloodied, and unsoiled, facing the 
  shocked crowd—hilarity ensues!
  PREPARATION
  Smiling Ozuh, wearing a hat of disguise to appear like 
  a human, awaits the characters in front of the tavern. If 
  the characters see through her hat of disguise, she explains 
  that she is afraid to walk about looking like a tiefling—one 
  never knows!
  Ozuh explains the characters’ mission like so. Go into 
  the tavern, have a look around, see if they can find out 
  what happened to the workers. Save whoever they can, 
  and kill any aberrations the curse might have brought 
  forth.
  She hands the characters the keys and wishes them good 
  luck. If the characters ask for a reward, she presents them 
  a bag of diamond dust—the last of her savings. Whatever 
  sum the characters demand, she pretends to agree to, 
  after some masterful haggling. A character with a passive 
  Wisdom (Insight) of 20 or higher has an odd feeling about 
  Smiling Ozuh.
  THE TAVERN
  TAPROOM
  When the characters enter the room, read or paraphrase 
  the following:
  HAUNTED TAVERN!
  
  8
  A few rays of light creep in through the boarded 
  windows. Dust dances in the narrow beams, 
  disturbed by your movement. Dust also covers the 
  old tables and the chairs that rest upon them. A 
  pile of building materials lies against the far wall 
  next to a door which was left ajar. Above the bar 
  counter hangs an old painting, covered in grime.
  While the characters search the taproom, use the 
  opportunity to make them uncomfortable and create an 
  eerie aura. The floorboards creak when the characters 
  walk across, a few of the tools are covered with trace 
  amounts of blood, the faces of the people on the portrait 
  are abraded and unrecognizable. From below, characters 
  with a passive Wisdom (Perception) of 16 or higher 
  can hear quiet moaning. All items in the taproom, aside 
  from the building material, Smiling Ozuh hasn’t touched; 
  everything is as the previous owner left it.
  From the door on the far wall, which leads into the 
  cellar, escapes the smell of rotting flesh and blood.
  CELLAR
  A spiral staircase leads down into a 15-foot-square 
  cellar. Woodworms have eroded the shelves which hung 
  on the wall in the past. Dozens of broken jars and jugs lie 
  strewn about on the dirt floor. The floor is partially moist, 
  partially sticky, caused by the pigs’ blood. The characters 
  easily notice a trap door where a bloodstained rope leads 
  deeper down. The rope is new and has replaced a brittle 
  ladder.
  SECRET MEETING ROOM
  The rope ends in the center of 50-foot-square room. 
  Read or paraphrase the following when the characters 
  rope down:
  Several inches of blood cover the ground. Intestines 
  hang from the ceiling and skin covers the walls. 
  Towering piles of bloodied furniture and other 
  lumber stand all around. The skin on the walls is 
  tattooed with glowing runes; a red, pulsating light 
  reflects in the fresh blood before everything shortly 
  returns to darkness.
  The homunculi hide beneath the junk piles. A character 
  with passive Wisdom (Perception) of 15 or higher notices 
  movement in the blood which covers the floor. 
  When the characters arrive in the room, or when they 
  attempt to climb back up, the homunculi attack, intending 
  to die. Read or paraphrase the following:
  A horde of monsters springs from the piles, 
  covered in blood and gore. They scream with 
  bestial rage and storm at you with weapons raised!
  Monsters. The characters face five commoners, armed 
  with greataxes. The homunculi miss all their attacks 
  voluntarily, maintaining the semblance of being actors. 
  A character with a passive Wisdom (Perception) of 15 
  or higher notices that these aren’t real monsters. When 
  the commoners die, their masks come off, revealing their 
  human faces.
  Homunculi. A successful DC 18 Intelligence (Arcana) 
  or DC 18 Wisdom (Medicine) check reveals that the 
  homunculi aren’t real humans. A successful DC 22 
  Intelligence (Arcana) check reveals that they are artificial 
  creations, barely considered to be alive.
  Treasure. Aside from five grotesque greataxes there is 
  nothing of value.
  SURPRISE!
  When the characters climb back up to the taproom, 
  they encounter two dozen city folk and Smiling Ozuh. 
  She laughs, claps and proclaims: “And another band of brave 
  adventurers runs from our actors! Not as brave as you thought 
  after all? Welcome to Ozuh’s House of Horror!”  The city folk 
  hold their stomachs and cry a little while laughing.
  If the characters didn’t ascertain that the commoners 
  aren’t real and don’t run off, Smiling Ozuh retches and 
  pretends to be shocked when the characters reveal that 
  they killed the “actors.” To further deceive the characters, 
  Smiling Ozuh shoos away the spectators and asks the 
  characters if they can get rid of the bodies. There are saws 
  here, after all, and she can fetch a few sacks? And then 
  there are the other witnesses who she shooed away; those 
  come next.
  CONCLUSION
  If Smiling Ozuh manages to fool the characters, she 
  is content and leaves them alone. If the characters saw 
  through her charade, she will return; with a better plan!
  
  BACKGROUND
  The Shadow Thieves hold Adil el Persakhal against 
  his will in a secret underground facility. Agents of the 
  thieves’ guild captured Adil while he was on a secret 
  mission in Waterdeep and sent an extortion letter south to 
  Calimport. A rival faction at court intercepted the letter, 
  and Adil is on his own. To escape his prison, Adil bound 
  several notes on the backs of sewer rats which passed 
  through his cell—and wished for the best. Eventually, one 
  of the rats found itself in a trap of a rat-catcher who posted 
  the note on the board.
  PREPARATIONS
  If the characters bring 10,000 gp to Mirt the 
  Moneylender, he can facilitate the exchange and Adil is set 
  free; bummer.
  Dear Sir or Madam, if you find this note, please 
  help me, or post it on some sort of blackboard. My 
  name is Adil and I am the son of Syl-Pasha Feisal 
  el Persakhal. I am presently in distress and held 
  against my will by ill-reputed children of dogs. 
  To free me, you must place one thousand pieces of 
  platinum in Lord Walrus’s hands. If you secure 
  my freedom, I promise you compensation, rich 
  rewards, and friendship. This project is not risky. 
  Best regards. —Prince Adil el Persakhal
  9
  Alternatively, Mirt makes the following suggestion. 
  Instead of giving the Shadow Thieves free coin, why not 
  find their hideout and free Adil the old-fashioned way—
  sword swinging and fireball slinging? Mirt reveals the 
  location of a Shadow Thieves’ safe house to the characters. 
  There, he assumes, they can find a few suckers willing to 
  sing.
  The safe house is located in the cellar of an apartment 
  block in the Trades Ward, hidden behind a secret door. 
  The characters can open the secret door by flushing the 
  three toilets in the cellar simultaneously. The safe house is 
  a simple 20-foot-square room with many bunk beds and 
  a table. When the characters arrive, they find three spies 
  playing poker. One is completely naked. A successful DC 
  18 Charisma (Deception or Intimidation) check, or brutal 
  killing of two-thirds of the thieves, reveals the location of 
  the prison. If the lone survivor is the naked thief, he also 
  tells the characters of the secret stash in the prison (room 
  R3)—’tis the naked truth.
  Searching the safe house and succeeding on a DC 20 
  Wisdom (Perception) check reveals a secret compartment 
  under one of the bunk bed’s soiled mattresses. It contains 
  five vials of basic poison.
  THE PRISON — INTO THE SEWERS
  After the thieves spilled the beans, the characters have 
  no trouble finding the prison. They arrive at the staircase 
  leading down into room R1.
  HELD FOR RANSOM!
  
  10
  R1. RUG ROOM
  When the characters enter the room, read or paraphrase 
  the following:
  Twelve glowing spheres illuminate this room in 
  a hazy light. Dozens of rugs cover the floor and 
  walls; their sizes and colors vary greatly. It smells 
  faintly of lavender and mothballs. Aside from 
  the carpeting and the chortling stream of sewage 
  which runs straight through the room, it lies 
  empty.
  The glowing spheres are simple lampions enchanted 
  with continual flame. If the characters enter the room, 
  they encounter a number of rugs of smothering equal 
  to 3% of their PowL (Power Level), rounded down, with 
  a maximum of 5 enemies. To calculate the PowL, add 
  the levels of all characters then multiply the total by the 
  number of characters.
  R2. MOTHBALL STORAGE
  When the characters enter the room, read or paraphrase 
  the following:
  The smell of mothballs intensifies. Several large 
  crates line the walls of this room, leaving barely 
  enough space to turn. The floor is covered with 
  white balls most of which are trampled to a fine 
  powder.
  In this room, the characters find mothballs worth 250 
  gp, weighing 3 tons. A character with a passive Wisdom 
  (Perception) of 18 or higher finds the secret entrance 
  and the mechanism to open it on the northern wall. A 
  character who knows of the secret entrance—as revealed 
  by the thieves above—finds the secret entrance after a 
  10-minute search.
  R3. STASH ROOM
  When the characters enter the room, read or paraphrase 
  the following:
  Several broken brooms and rusty shovels cover the 
  floor of this chamber. A jar of pickled herrings sits 
  on a small shelf on the far wall.
  The pickled herrings are delicious but poisoned. A 
  character who eats some must succeed on a DC 18 
  Constitution saving throw or takes 1 poison damage and 
  feels an angry rumble in their innards.
  A character with a passive Wisdom (Perception) of 20 
  or higher finds a secret compartment hidden behind a 
  loose stone. If the characters learned about the secret stash 
  before, they find it after 5 minutes of searching. The stash 
  contains a necklace of fireballs with 3 charges and an agate 
  worth 500 gp.
  R4. GUARD ROOM
  When the characters enter the room, read or paraphrase 
  the following:
  A number of hooded rogues throw knives at a 
  chopped-up painting; it shows a pantomime. On a 
  small table in the corner stand several bottles of ale 
  and a shaky tower, built from many oblong pieces 
  of wood. Another rogue carefully pulls one of the 
  pieces out from the center of the construction.
  The characters encounter five bandits. Additionally, 
  they encounter a number of bandit captains equal to 
  2% of their PowL (Power Level), rounded down, with 
  a maximum of 4 enemies. To calculate the PowL, add 
  the levels of all characters then multiply the total by the 
  number of characters.
  Searching the bodies reveals a cell key, 56 gp, a jade 
  comb worth 10 gp, and a 4 by 6-inch drawing showing 
  one of the bandits and their happy family. On the back of 
  the drawing it says: 
  “In love, your Jordan. May our lucky star burn 
  forever.”
  R5. STAIRCASE TO THE CELLS
  If the characters descend the stairs, they find several 
  empty cells and a cell holding Prince Adil el Persakhal. 
  Read or paraphrase the following:
  The captive stands up, straightens their torn 
  clothing with a strict pull, and addresses you 
  thusly: “Shall we?”
  
  Aside from using the proper key, a successful DC 16 
  Dexterity check using thieves’ tools or a DC 20 Strength 
  (Athletics) check opens the door.
  RANDOM ENCOUNTER
  On their way out, the characters encounter Mothman 
  (see Monsters below) in room R1. Mothman is out for 
  figurative blood and wants to eat the characters’ clothes. 
  It only knocks the group unconscious and delights itself 
  on their fabrics. If Mothman is hit by mothballs found in 
  room R2, it takes 26 (4d12) necrotic damage.
  CONCLUSION
  Prince Adil el Persakhal wants to leave the premises as 
  soon as possible and is very taciturn until he has bathed 
  for several hours. Alas, he is completely broke and asks the 
  characters if they can loan him coin. Once Adil returns to 
  Calimport, he sends the characters diamonds worth  
  25,000 gp total via a hippogriff rider. It takes half a year 
  before the gems reach the characters.
  MONSTERS
  Mothman
  Small fey, chaotic evil
  Armor Class 16 
  Hit Points 84 (24d6) 
  Speed 10 ft., fly 60 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  4 (-3)
  22 (+6)
  10 (+0)
  13 (+1)
  16 (+3)
  15 (+2)
  Skills Perception +6, Stealth +9
  Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, slashing 
  from non-magical attacks
  Damage Vulnerabilities fire, radiant
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
  Languages Common, Sylvan
  Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)
  Flyby. Mothman doesn't provoke an opportunity attack 
  when it flies out of an enemy's reach. 
  Innate Spellcasting. Mothman’s innate spellcasting ability 
  is Wisdom (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). 
  It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no 
  material components:
  At will: acid splash (see “Action” below), inflict wounds (see 
  “Action” below), sleep
  1/day each: hold person, insect plague, silence, slow, Tasha's 
  hideous laughter 
  aCtions
  Acid Splash (Cantrip). One target, or two targets within 
  5 feet of each other, must succeed on a DC 14 Dexterity 
  saving throw or take 10 (3d6) acid damage.
  Inflict Wounds (1st Level Spell). Melee Spell Attack: +6 to hit, 
  range 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 16 (3d10) necrotic damage.
  Mothman is a depraved being 
  that preys on peoples' clothes and 
  dreams. Nobody knows where it 
  came from, but all know where 
  it must go: to the Nine Hells!
  11
  
  defiled Waters By dyson loGos
  
  BACKGROUND
  Joingard (neutral evil male frost giant thug) is a cursed 
  frost giant. A vindictive high priestess of Auril named 
  Aelyf reduced the frost giant in size to the height of a 
  gnome. After living for years with this humiliating size, 
  Joingard grasps at every straw. Recently, he heard of an 
  elusive fey creature called the tooth fairy. Allegedly, it 
  awards the slumbering with hard coin for every tooth 
  they leave under their pillow at night. Here comes the 
  interesting part—the rumor continues that if you manage 
  to capture the fairy and give it a kiss, it must fulfill you 
  one wish. Joingard is desperate to believe the tale, and 
  rightfully so—it works exactly as explained. With a caveat, 
  however. Whoever gets the wish fulfilled also becomes 
  the next tooth fairy.
  PREPARATIONS
  When the characters arrive, they see Joingard for the 
  first time. Based on his rugged looks, he could almost 
  pass for a small dwarf. However, his blue skin gives his 
  I need some face-smashing, gut-stabbing heroes to 
  help me capture the Tooth Fairy. I know what you 
  are thinking, stop laughing—I am dead serious. 
  Meet me in the Fiery Flagon in the Sea Ward. 
  Ask for Joingard
  13
  true nature away. If the characters make fun of his height, 
  he punches the culprit in the face, once he is restored to 
  proper size.
  Joingard explains his plan as follows: the group roughs 
  up some randos on the street to extract their chewers, then 
  place the teeth under their pillows for the night. Before 
  everybody descends into the realm of dreams, they have to 
  rig some sort of alarm trap, however. Else nobody awakes 
  once the fairy shows up. After the alarm goes off, the 
  group jumps the fairy and knocks it unconscious. Joingard 
  stresses that the fairy must not be killed, otherwise it spells 
  certain doom. If asked why Joingard won’t try this on his 
  own, he explains that he won’t risk it. This might be the 
  only chance he ever gets, and he has lost his battle prowess 
  due to the curse. If the characters uncharacteristically ask 
  for a reward, Joingard promises to pull a few shipwrecks 
  onto the coast that they can loot at their leisure. Once he is 
  returned to his magnificent size, that is.
  Collecting teeth is no challenge for the characters, unless 
  they are picky. Of note: Although the characters may not 
  be, the tooth fairy is extraordinarily picky. It doesn’t accept 
  teeth older than a day.
  THE FATEFUL NIGHT
  After the trap is set and the teeth are placed, the 
  characters and Joingard can go to rest. Assuming the trap 
  that the characters set is remotely functional, read or 
  paraphrase the following during the night:
  NEED HELP CAPTURING 
  TOOTH FAIRY!
  
  14
  The trap rips you from your dreams in the middle 
  of the night. A hulking figure stands in the room, 
  exclaiming: “Oh brocklor, here we go again.”
  The characters and Joingard face an orc war chief with 
  the following changes:
   
   It has colorful, tiny wings on its back.
   
   It wields a wand of wonder, fastened to the tip of its 
  greataxe, which it uses once on its turn in addition to its 
  two greataxe attacks.
  If the characters kill the “tooth fairy,” a wraith appears 
  during the subsequent seven nights and attempts to 
  kill them. Additionally, Joingard is very upset with the 
  characters.
  If everything goes according to plan and the group 
  knocks the orc war chief unconscious, Joingard steels 
  himself and plants a kiss on its mouth, muttering the 
  words:
  “By Annams’s shriveled elderberries. Well, I’ve had worse.”
  Once the deed is done, read or paraphrase the following:
  The room starts spinning, colors smudge into 
  each other, and words come out backwards. After 
  a loud plop, you stand in the midst of a beautiful 
  glade. Several suns shine in different hues, among 
  them some you have never seen before.
  IN THE FEYWILD
  A character who has previously visited the Feywild or 
  has a passive Intelligence (Arcana) of 16 or higher, realizes 
  where they have landed. After the characters have taken 
  in their surroundings, and Joingard has vented his anger 
  with a good cussing, a coven of nine green hags appears 
  in a circle around the group. They appear like beautiful, 
  barely clothed men and women of the elven race. They all 
  speak simultaneously:
  “We are the council, welcome to our domain. You have come 
  with one purpose in mind and we will fulfill a wish of yours, 
  but—”
  INTENDED DEVELOPMENT
  Joingard interrupts the coven with the following words: 
  “Return me to my original size, this is my wish!”
  The coven laughs and disappears. In a gargantuan puff 
  of smoke, Joingard appears in his original size with the 
  statistics of a frost giant, additionally armed with a wand 
  of wonders. From the nether, the council speaks: “Prove 
  yourself, impatient one!”
  A death slaad appears and attacks the confused 
  Joingard.
  SUPERIOR DEVELOPMENT
  It is entirely possible that one of the characters seizes the 
  moment and says a wish before Joingard has the chance. In 
  this case, the character becomes a new tooth fairy—there is 
  more than one. This entails the following:
   
   A pair of colorful, tiny but flightless wings grow 
  on the character’s back.
   
   A wand of wonder appears in the character’s hand.
   
   The character vanishes during a long rest and 
  spends 1d100 of the group’s gold pieces buying teeth. 
  If need be, the gold vanishes from the other characters’ 
  inventory. The character reappears rested after 6 hours 
  with many teeth in their inventory.
   
   The character can use plane shift once per day. The 
  destination must be in the Feywild or the character’s 
  previous location before using plane shift.
   
   By casting a remove curse spell at 7th level on the 
  character the condition ends.
  CONCLUSION
  If the encounter proceeds as described in Intended 
  Development, Joingard is cautiously optimistic—he 
  hasn’t noticed the tiny wings yet. He explains that if the 
  characters want to take him up on his offer to raise a 
  shipwreck, they only need to summon him by sleeping 
  with teeth under their pillows. Joingard then uses plane 
  shift to return the characters to Waterdeep, or wherever 
  they came from.
  
  BACKGROUND
  Pho (lawful neutral female gith githzerai monk) is a 
  planeswalking spirit hunter. The priests of Oghma have 
  called on her to capture a petulant ghost who haunts their 
  library, the Font of Knowledge. The priests’ efforts have 
  failed miserably. Likewise, but not as catastrophic, Pho 
  failed during her initial attempt. During the battle, she 
  destroyed many bookshelves and priceless books, which 
  grieves her. Nevertheless, the priests have allowed her to 
  make a final attempt at capturing the ghost since it has 
  killed many priests already, and the survivors are out of 
  options.
  The ghost is that of Weyon the Gouger (see Monsters 
  below), an ill-famed archmage who plagued the region 
  several centuries ago. Summoned by a cadre of gullible—
  now acutely eyeless—devotees, Weyon has returned as a 
  ghost to continue his relentless eye gouging. However, 
  first he has to learn of a way to create a proper body for 
  himself. In the Font of Knowledge, Weyon hopes to 
  uncover forbidden knowledge to further his machinations.
  I greet you! I am a wandering provider of a 
  valuable service, but I have found my match. Will 
  you help me fulfill my duty and reclaim my 
  honor? Come to the place you call an inn which 
  bears the name Celestial Calm. There, I wait for 
  you under the guise of Pho.
  15
  PREPARATIONS
  When the characters arrive in the North Ward’s 
  Celestial Calm, Pho greets them with an extended bow. 
  She explains that she is a spirit hunter and needs help 
  dealing with an especially dogged specimen. However, 
  the ghost mustn’t be destroyed, it must be captured in a 
  special contraption Pho carries with her. Pho presents an 
  oblong, black bottle inscribed with runes in the language 
  of the gith. Using a special technique, Pho, and maybe the 
  characters, can summon a weapon with which they can 
  defang Weyon the Gouger and collect him in her bottle. 
  Then, Pho can return with the bottle to her containment 
  unit, where she keeps a myriad of ghosts, trapped safely 
  for eternity, or until the unit fails.
  To help Pho efficiently, the characters must form a 
  so-called “psion pack” through a connection to Limbo 
  which Pho opens. With sheer willpower, the characters 
  must bend the untamed chaos into shape. Meditating 
  for 1 hour then succeeding on a Wisdom check creates a 
  psion pack with charges according to the Psion Pack table. 
  A character can make one attempt per week. Pho must 
  attempt a Wisdom check as well, but always creates at 
  least 1 charge.
  Psion Pack
  Result
  Charge(s)
  11 - 15
  1
  16 - 20
  2
  21+
  3
  SPIRIT HUNTERS 
  URGENTLY NEEDED!
  
  16
  PSION PACK
  Wondrous item, special
  A psion pack manifests itself as glowing spheres which 
  stack on your back, the number of spheres depending on 
  the respective pack’s charge. When you expend all charges, 
  the psion pack is destroyed. 
  As an action, you can expend 1 charge and point at a 
  creature within 60 feet of you. A continuous stream of 
  crackling blue and yellow energy lances out toward the 
  target. If the target is undead and has the Incorporeal 
  Movement feature, it must succeed on a DC 18 Charisma 
  saving throw or its speed is reduced to 0. The target 
  can repeat the saving throw at the beginning of its 
  turn, ending the effect on a success. You must maintain 
  concentration while the target’s speed is reduced to 0, as if 
  you were casting a spell. Other targets take 1d4 lightning 
  damage.
  For the duration, as an action, you can drag or pull the 
  target 5 feet in a direction of your choice while its speed is 
  reduced to 0.
  GOING IN: THE FONT OF KNOWLEDGE
  THE PLAN
  Pho makes the following suggestion to the characters. 
  After they meditate to acquire their psion packs, they 
  should sneak into the library and attempt to surprise 
  the ghost. If this succeeds, they may be able to capture 
  it before it unleashes its deadly spells. Using their psion 
  packs, the characters and Pho must pull the ghost toward 
  her special bottle, in which Pho will trap the ghost. Before 
  setting out, Pho warns the characters to never cross the 
  streams, and then advances.
  THE IMPLEMENTATION
  General Information. The Font of Knowledge is a 
  rectangular building, 500 feet long and 250 feet wide, with 
  a 60-foot-ceiling. Rows of bookshelves 5 feet apart cover 
  the entire floor, aside from a 15 feet wide main corridor 
  which cuts the room in half lengthwise. The bookshelves 
  are 40 feet high.
  The priests cower in front of the entrance and beseech 
  the group to do what they can. Read or paraphrase the 
  following, when the characters enter:
  One gigantic, open room lies before you, filled 
  with rows upon rows of bookshelves. At the far 
  end, you see books flying around in a small 
  whirlwind, and hear a hollow voice shouting 
  profanities.
  The Encounter. Weyon hovers in the library at a height 
  of 30 feet and peruses the books. Every hour, he crosses 
  the main corridor to access a different bookshelf. If the 
  characters approach in a stealthy manner, compare a 
  Dexterity (Stealth) group check with Weyon’s passive 
  Wisdom (Perception) to determine if he is surprised.
  Tactics. Weyon opens combat by casting weird, if he can 
  hit more than half of the group, rounding down. During 
  the subsequent turns, he follows up with a prismatic spray 
  and cloudkill. 
  Capturing the Ghost. When Pho is within 5 feet of 
  Weyon, she uses an action to trap the ghost within her 
  bottle. If the battle went over too smoothly, and Weyon 
  has more than half of his hit points left, he escapes after 1 
  minute. Pho proclaims that the characters must weaken 
  the ghost by damaging it before it can be successfully 
  trapped.
  CONCLUSION
  With the ghost of Weyon safely secured, Pho receives 
  her reward, minus damages, which equals to 5 sp and 2 cp. 
  She shares the proceeds with the characters and returns to 
  Limbo, where she puts Weyon into her containment unit; 
  never to be seen again?
  Weyon has gouged more than one-
  thousand eyes throughout his life. 
  He has preserved all the eyes in 
  jars, sitting in his spectorium.
  There, he bathed in the 
  attention of his former servants, 
  enemies, and annoying family 
  members.
  
  17
  Weyon the Gouger
  Medium undead, chaotic evil
  Armor Class 11 
  Hit Points 90 (20d8) 
  Speed 0 ft., fly 60 ft. (hover)
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  4 (-3)
  12 (+1)
  10 (+0)
  20 (+5)
  18 (+4)
  17(+3)
  Saving Throws lnt +9, Wis +8
  Damage Resistances acid, fire, lightning, thunder; 
  bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non-magical 
  weapons
  Damage Immunities cold, necrotic, poison
  Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, 
  grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, 
  restrained
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
  Languages Abyssal, Common, Undercommon
  Challenge 12 (8,400 XP)
  Incorporeal Movement. Weyon can move through other 
  creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. He 
  takes 5 (1d10) force damage if he ends his turn inside an 
  object. 
  Spellcasting. Weyon is a 20th-level spellcaster. His 
  spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 17, +9 to 
  hit with spell attacks). Weyon can cast invisibility at will 
  and has the following wizard spells prepared:
  Cantrips (at will): chill touch (see “Actions” below), mage 
  hand, mending, prestidigitation
  1st level (4 slots): detect magic, shield, thunder wave
  2nd level (3 slots): crown of madness, darkness, hold person
  3rd level (3 slots): counterspell, fear, slow
  4th level (3 slots): blight, ice storm, Mordenkainen’s faithful 
  hound
  5th level (3 slots): cloudkill, dominate person, telekinesis
  6th level (2 slots): globe of invulnerability, mass suggestion, 
  Otto's irresistible dance, true seeing
  7th level (2 slots): finger of death, prismatic spray
  8th level (1 slot): feeblemind, maze, power word stun
  9th level (1 slot): weird
  aCtions
  Multicasting. Weyon can cast chill touch as a bonus action, 
  if he used his action to cast a spell of 4th level or lower.
  Chill Touch (Cantrip). Ranged Spell Attack: +9 to hit, range 
  120 ft., one creature. Hit: 18 (4d8) necrotic damage and 
  the target can't regain hit points until the start of Weyon’s 
  next turn.
  Eye Gouge (Recharge 6). A creature within 5 feet of Weyon 
  must make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed 
  save, the creature takes 28 (8d6) necrotic damage and is 
  blinded for 24 hours. On a successful save, the target takes 
  half as much damage and is not blinded.
  MONSTERS
  
  BACKGROUND
  Madelina Cassalanter, the youngest daughter of the 
  noble house of Cassalanter, visits the Heart of Waterdeep 
  almost every night to rave like it is 1399 DR. Due to the 
  unusual route one must go, and seemingly random steps 
  one must take, to reach the Heart of Waterdeep, no one 
  could follow Madelina—for now.
  The Heart of Waterdeep is a pocket dimension 
  reachable by activating several hidden portal keys in 
  Waterdeep. It is a free town, ruled by a mad beholder 
  named Vinasaka. It is Xanathar’s sibling, in the sense that 
  they grew simultaneously in the same vat. Naturally, they 
  hate each other with a passion. For now, Vinasaka simply 
  enjoys watching the people who live in and visit its little 
  pocket dimension. It hovers over the town in the form a 
  planetoid eye, while the rest of its body is veiled behind a 
  misty cover.
  All visitors willfully subject themselves to a 9th level geas 
  spell from Vinasaka, preventing them from talking about 
  the Heart of Waterdeep outside the dimension.
  Greetings dear reader! Our family needs help 
  with a discreet matter. If you are of the stealthy 
  type and have done surveillance missions before, 
  please ask for Jolly in the Boar’s Head Inn. She acts 
  as the intermediate and judge of your skills and 
  character. Coin won’t be a problem. Cheers!
  18
  PREPARATION
  When the characters find Jolly in the Boar’s Head Inn, 
  she lays out the details for them if they agree to remain 
  silent about the matter. Jolly represents Lara Cassalanter, 
  Madelina’s mother, who is worried about her daughter 
  and fed up with her constant insubordination. Lara hires 
  the characters through Jolly to surveil her daughter, follow 
  her wherever she goes at night, and burn that place to 
  the ground—or whatever else the characters feel must be 
  done. A lucrative sum of 500 pp awaits the characters on 
  completion. If the characters agree, Jolly brings them to 
  the Cassalanter Mansion in the Sea Ward and supplies 
  them with guard uniforms, if needed. Additionally, she 
  points out Madelina and her room.
  If the characters approach Madelina directly and ask 
  where she is going, she giggles and tells them that she’d 
  be happy to take them along during her next trip. Unless 
  the characters lift the geas, she cannot provide any more 
  details.
  I can feel that mad flesh sack 
  floating around. It is so close, but 
  where; oh where? Sylgar, tell me where 
  it is, I implore you! Sylgar, no! What 
  are you doing with that dagger?
  SURVEILLANCE NEEDED!
  
  19
  THE CHASE
  During the night, the characters witness Madelina 
  leaving the mansion. She goes through the usual routine 
  to reach the pocket dimension:
   
   One has to collect the first loose stone they come 
  across.
   
   On the Market, one has to kiss the brass statue of 
  a horse.
   
   On Felock Court, one has to pirouette three times 
  while holding their nose.
   
   In the City of the Dead, one has to put their pinky 
  toe in one of the ponds.
   
   As the last step, one has to drop the collected 
  stone and a bit of their own blood into the well on 
  Virgin’s Square then immediately jump.
  Aside from the last step, the others can be performed in 
  random order. If done correctly, a portal opens inside the 
  well and takes the person to the Heart of Waterdeep.
  ENTERING THE HEART OF WATERDEEP
  When the characters first enter the Heart, as with all 
  visitors, the eye focuses on them. It comes closer to the 
  characters, while it shrinks, and finally appears as the 
  beholder Vinasaka before them. Paraphrase or read out 
  loud: 
  “New visitors to watch, I am exalted! Welcome to 
  the Heart of Waterdeep, my personal domain and 
  playground. If you want to stay, there is only one 
  condition. I have to put a teeny-tiny geas on you, 
  so you do not blabber about my retreat or sow 
  death and chaos.”
  Accepting the Geas. If the characters agree, harnessing the 
  power of its pocket dimension, Vinasaka puts a 9th level 
  geas on the group. The commands are: 
   
   Do not communicate about the Heart in any 
  imaginable or unimaginable way when not in the Heart 
  of Waterdeep.
   
   Keep the peace in the Heart, including, but not 
  limited to, attacking people or casting aggressive spells.
  Refusing the Geas. If the characters do not agree, 
  Vinasaka attempts to push them out of its dimension. 
  Characters who fail a DC 18 Intelligence saving throw pop 
  out of the well through which they entered. Vinasaka can 
  make a new attempt after 1 minute.
  Destroying the Heart. If the characters kill Vinasaka, the 
  pocket dimension collapses and 605 (10d20 + 500) people 
  pop out of the well in Virgin’s Square over the course of 
  one hour.
  EXPLORING THE HEART
  The pocket dimension contains an exact—yet bizarre—
  copy of the city block surrounding Virgin’s Square. It 
  is always night in the Heart, phosphorescent plants and 
  lichen grow all around, and above everything hovers the 
  almost all-encompassing eye of Vinasaka. 
  The Heart of Waterdeep houses free spirits, fishy 
  players, stranded criminals, and the otherwise persecuted. 
  Artists paint the houses with colorful murals, inhabitants 
  hang lampions above the street, and merchants sell 
  imported goods and exotic food from market stalls 
  throughout the plaza. 
  EARNING SAKAS
  Sakas are the currency of choice in the Heart. They are 
  created by Vinasaka from thin air and show the likeness of 
  the beholder on both sides—its face and its hindquarters 
  respectively. The characters can earn Sakas by divulging 
  secrets to Vinasaka who doles out a reward as it sees fit. 
  While located in the Heart, one can use sakas to create 
  any mundane item or creature by wishing for it. Vinasaka 
  receives the wish, and it is in its discretion whether an 
  item or creature is safe to create and if the wisher has 
  enough Sakas on their person. If not, nothing happens.
  The created item or creature vanishes when taken out of 
  the pocket dimension. In the Heart, sakas are exchanged 
  one to one for gold coins by merchants and inhabitants. 
  What do you mean by "that 
  note was not written by 
  me?" Who else could have 
  written it? It even has my 
  sign right here! I am me, no 
  doubt about it!
  
  20
  LOCATIONS
  The characters can visit locations of intereste according 
  to the Heart Locations table, although there are many 
  more. Reputable vendors make clear which items are 
  virtual—created by Vinasaka—and which are real. 
  However, fraud is not prevented by the geas.
  HeaRt Locations
  d6
  Location
  1
  Buggy’s Drafts and Draughts
  2
  Desire’s House of Delights
  3
  Jekatrina’s Hideous Poisons
  4
  Lumchek’s Smashies and Stabbies
  5
  Popa’s Stage
  6
  The Testing Grounds
  Buggy’s Drafts and Draughts. A pub owned by an affable 
  bugbear called Buggy. It smokes a pipe and arm-wrestles 
  with customers.
  Desire’s House of Delights. Desire, a fallen aasimar, 
  summons creatures to have fun with in her establishment. 
  She caters to almost all patrons and their wishes—
  discretion is advised.
  Jekatrina’s Hideous Poisons. Jekatrina is a green hag 
  who appears like a young girl with one skeletal hand. The 
  poisons she sells are not only deadly, but also painful.
  Lumchek’s Smashies and Stabbies. Lumcheck, a half-orc, 
  sells weapons that he and his twin have taken off their 
  enemies. Decades of killing has resulted in an enormous 
  supply.
  Popa’s Stage. A stage where one can perform a play or 
  sing to be judged by the famous Popa and earn some Sakas 
  to boot.
  The Testing Grounds. The Testing Grounds is an arena 
  where the owner Jumchek (twin of Lumcheck) can 
  summon deadly creatures to fight against.
  DEALING WITH MADELINA
  While in the Heart, Madelina works in Buggy’s pub as 
  the bartender for fun. She likes the liberating atmosphere 
  and exotic customers—a stark contrast to her noble house. 
  The characters can fulfill their quest in the following ways 
  (or another of your choosing):
   
   Kill Vinasaka and destroy the Heart of 
  Waterdeep.
   
   Report the Heart to the city officials about the 
  Heart, who seal the well on Virgin’s Square—merely a 
  temporary measure.
   
   Succeed on a DC 18 Charisma (Persuasion) check 
  and convince Madelina that she will bring doom to the 
  Heart if she continues to visit this frequently.
   
   Bring about the downfall of House Cassalanter so 
  Madelina can live her life in peace.
  
  BACKGROUND
  Grombil Whitehammer is the owner of 
  Whitehammer’s, a restaurant chain with joints in 
  Waterdeep, Baldur’s Gate, and Neverwinter. He recently 
  signed a contract with a devil called Honest Bob who 
  produces “tender chicken bits” from cockatrices, raised 
  in the sewers on mystery meat. The people who eat 
  Whitehammer’s famous Golden Nuggets partially turn 
  to stone, or completely petrify if they eat too much; and 
  most people eat a great deal too much because the Golden 
  Nuggets are—like the dwarves say—gilthoking delicious. 
  After a day passes, the customers who haven’t shattered in 
  the meantime revert to their original form.
  Grombil is not aware of the chicken meat’s origin. He 
  assumes some miser cursed his joint because of his great 
  success. Now, Grombil lures some adventurers to his 
  home with the note. He doesn’t want to direct them to 
  Whitehammer’s proper, or else people might assume there 
  is something wrong with his business.
  I have a huge problem with rats in my cellar—
  really huge. This is nothing for your run-of-the-
  mill adventurers. I need some experienced, heavy 
  duty killers with some sort of arcane backup. This 
  is a big quest, for big earners! Come to my place on 
  Soothsayer’s Way in the Trades Ward during the 
  evening—ask around for Grombil Whitehammer.
  21
  PREPARATIONS
  Grombil welcomes the characters in his home and 
  reveals the true purpose of his note. He needs some 
  mercenaries to figure out a peculiar problem and then put 
  the culprits in the ground. Paraphrase or read out loud:
  “You might know Whitehammer’s? That’s my 
  joint! The problem is with my business, not my 
  cellar, so we have to keep that on the down low. 
  So, here’s the issue: My customers keep turning 
  to stone. For now, I keep them in my office. Most 
  become normal again after a day or so—but the 
  one that dropped to the ground didn’t. Maybe it 
  was for the best. So, is this something you think 
  you’re up to?”
  Grombil takes the characters to his restaurant and gives 
  them the keys. They can investigate as they please. The 
  characters can find the following clues:
   
   A successful DC 16 Intelligence (Arcana) check on 
  one of the petrified patrons reveals that an airborne or 
  orally ingested petrifying agent is to blame.
   
   A successful DC 14 Intelligence (Nature) check 
  reveals the food supplies in the kitchen and storage 
  contain cockatrice meat.
  TERRIBLE INFESTATION!
  
  22
   
   A character who eats of Whitehammer’s Golden 
  Nuggets must succeed on two consecutive DC 11 
  Constitution saving throws or be turned to stone for 24 
  hours.
   
   A successful DC 18 Intelligence (Investigation) 
  check in Grombil’s office reveals a suspicious contract. 
  It contains the following subsection: “§3 III. a) ii) 
  For a life-time discount on tender meat bits, the 
  undersigned agrees to exclusively buy tender meat bits 
  from the partner, to not disclose the exclusive business 
  relationship to third parties, and to become the property 
  of the Viscount of Minauros.”
  If the characters ask Grombil about his suppliers, he tells 
  them that they drop off the raw meat in the storage room 
  during the night. Surveilling the storage room during the 
  night reveals two lemures—covered with potato sacks—
  who slither in through the backdoor. They carry crates 
  containing the cockatrice bits. The characters can follow 
  the lemures back to the sewer entrance from whence they 
  came.
  INTO THE SEWERS - YET AGAIN!
  The characters enter a nondescript maintenance room. 
  Dusty tools hang from the wall and construction materials 
  lie on the floor. A door on the south wall leads to Honest 
  Bob’s office.
  W1. HONEST BOB’S OFFICE
  Read or paraphrase the following when the characters 
  enter the room:
  A tidy desk and several filing cabinets stand in 
  this room. On the desk, two candles burn with 
  green flames and illuminate a poster hanging on 
  the wall. The poster shows a chained-up person 
  hanging from dungeon masonry. The person is in 
  the process of being tortured by a horned figure 
  with branding irons; in thick, white letters below, 
  it says “Hang in there!”
  Searching the room reveals extensive statistics and 
  bookkeeping. A character with an Intelligence of 18 or 
  higher who examines the files over the course of 8 hours 
  finds that Honest Bob runs a successful business and pays 
  proper taxes.
  W2. COCKATRICE PENS
  Read or paraphrase the following when the characters 
  enter the room:
  Dozens of leathery chicken-things scream and 
  fight on a caged island in the putrid sewer stream. 
  A cackling, winged fiend throws small bits into 
  the cage and watches the monsters fight for the 
  morsels.
  The characters find Honest Bob (imp) feeding the 
  “chickens” with rotten meat that the lemures fish from the 
  sewage. Honest Bob sits on a small throne with a golden 
  bucket attached to it from where it pulls the fodder. The 
  throne rests on the shoulders of four lemures who carry 
  Honest Bob around.
  Negotiation. The imp is not necessarily interested in a 
  fight. If the characters want to talk, Honest Bob promises 
  them to “disinfect” the cockatrice meat in the future to 
  prevent unwanted petrification.
  Monsters. If the characters choose the bloody route, 
  they must face one imp, four lemures, and a number of 
  cockatrice equal to 10% of their PowL (Power Level), 
  rounded down, with a maximum of 12 enemies. To 
  calculate the PowL, add the levels of all characters then 
  multiply the total by the number of characters.
  W3. ABATTOIR
  Read or paraphrase the following when the characters 
  enter the room:
  With three chicken-things tightly wrapped in its 
  left hand, a hulking beast chops their heads off 
  with a mighty slash of its greataxe. The severed 
  heads spin through the air, screaming in final 
  outrage. With a bloody slop, they land on the 
  dirty floor.
  The characters encounter Grokoles (minotaur). It is 
  Honest Bob’s Butcher and a weird one. It is soft spoken 
  and likes to impress people with its vast knowledge on 
  many subjects. Grokoles was once guarding a library 
  labyrinth and spent many decades reading. Once Grokoles 
  establishes that it is a peaceful and wise creature to lower 
  its enemies guard, it chops their heads off clean. It wields a 
  greataxe +1 called “Choppa.”
  
  23
  CONCLUSION
  Bloody Route. If the characters kill Honest Bob, it 
  regenerates in hell and returns after 666 days. Meanwhile, 
  Waterdeep is safe from sudden petrification, at least those 
  caused by the Golden Nuggets. However, after Honest Bob 
  returns, it opens a ranch not far from Waterdeep selling 
  basilisk steaks. Despite the hiccup, Grombil’s business 
  continues to flourish. Since Honest Bob is unable to supply 
  Grombil with the tender chicken bits, the contract is null 
  and void, and the dwarf can keep his soul.
  Negotiation. If the characters agree to Honest Bob’s 
  proposal to “disinfect” the cockatrice bits, the imp hires 
  a mad sewer priest of Ghaunadar. The priest named 
  Klorinat casts remove curse on the crates before the lemures 
  ship them to Whitehammer’s. 
  The Butcher. If the characters don’t discover and kill 
  Grokoles, the now unemployed minotaur finds work as a 
  sloppy assassin for the Xanathar Thieves' Guild after one 
  week.
  Far Future. After Grombil’s death, his soul goes to 
  Mammon, where he quickly ascends in rank to become 
  one of the Archdevil’s most trusted servants—unless the 
  characters "killed" Honest Bob.
  WHITEHAMMER'S MENU
  GOLDEN NUGGETS 
  GOLDEN NUGGETS WITH TATOS
  GOLDEN NUGGETS WITH SPECIAL SAUCE
  PIG SNOUT IN A BUN
  SKEWERED COW FEET
  SURPRISE SOUP
  SALAD
  FOOD
  2 CP
  3 CP
  3 CP
  4 CP
  4 CP
  1 CP
  9 CP
  DRINKS
  PURE WATER 
  CHERRY WATER
  SHORE FILTRATE
  WHITEHAMMER STOUT
  HOT MEAD
  MULLED WINE
  FIREWATER
  3 CP
  2 CP
  1 CP
  5 CP
  3 CP
  2 CP
  7 CP
  THE FOOD MIGHT CONTAIN TRACE AMMOUNTS OF RAT POISON
  
  roseWood street seWers By dyson loGos
  
  BACKGROUND
  In the sewers of Waterdeep, a crazed mind flayer 
  named Floohoosoon creates a race of superior brain 
  pigeons. Why? It remains a mystery, hidden beneath 
  infinite broken layers of thoughts in Floohoosoon’s 
  shattered mind. At his side, Floohoosoon carries a rust 
  bucket filled with a lobotomized part of an elder brain. 
  Floohoosoon calls it Elder Brian.
  Employing its swarms of brain pigeons, Floohoosoon 
  spies on Waterdeep, collects foodstuff to nourish itself and 
  Elder Brian, and searches for sanity.
  PREPARATION
  Asking Captain Meier (lawful neutral male human 
  guard) for help is a waste of time. All that the overworked 
  soldier can tell the characters is that there are pigeons 
  with their brains sticking out who are a general nuisance. 
  Adventurers who can find their source or nest and destroy 
  it receive 1,000 gp and a literal Get Out of Jail Free card 
  for minor offenses.
  The city urgently searches for venturesome 
  mercenaries to tackle the latest threat: brain 
  pigeons! Swarms of these spell-slinging pests 
  threaten the populace and yet worse, defecate 
  poisonous slime all over the city. Ask for Captain 
  Meier at the River Gate for the latest information.
  25
  The characters have no trouble locating a swarm of 
  brain pigeons by watching busy plazas and bakeries for 
  several hours. If the characters do not attack a swarm 
  of brain pigeons or interact with it in any way, they 
  can follow a swarm to a large sewage pipe in the Dock 
  Ward, where the swarms enter the sewers and fly to 
  Floohoosoon’s lair.
  If the characters attempt to talk to the brain pigeons, for 
  example using speak with animals, they get a gibberish as an 
  answer: 
  “Fly, poop, collect seeds, poop, go home and feed 
  master, poop.” 
  Since the swarm can communicate telepathically, no 
  spell is necessary, but it would be a sign of a diseased mind 
  to speak with dirty pigeons without magical aid.
  A successful DC 17 Intelligence (Arcana) check after 
  dissecting one of the animals reveals that they were 
  mundane pigeons once. A powerful, corrupting magic 
  enhanced their latent, evil abilities and made them what 
  they are now.
  One brain pigeon alone is 
  a menace. In a swarm, 
  they poison the water, 
  ruin harvests, and topple 
  kingdoms.
  WINGED MENACE!
  
  26
  INTO THE SEWERS - A FINAL TIME
  The characters enter the sewers at the spot marked on 
  the map. Paraphrase or read out loud when the characters 
  enter the sewer through the sewage pipe:
  The stench of civilization caresses your nose as 
  you wade through the chunky liquid. Glowing 
  excrement on the walls reveals the way deeper into 
  the den of filth.
  S1. CELLAR OF THE WIDE NET
  Paraphrase or read out loud when the characters enter 
  the room:
  A dank cellar where the floor is covered in fish-
  guts and a small gnome goes about their business. 
  The smell of rotten fish is overpowering.
  The Wide Net is a tavern in Waterdeep’s Dock Ward. 
  It is unrelated to the influx of brain pigeons. In the cellar, 
  the characters encounter Fluppi, a shackled gnome 
  commoner who is working off their debts by gutting 
  rotten seafood for the jambalaya. A successful DC 12 
  Dexterity check using thieves’ tools opens the shackles and 
  frees Fluppi.
  S2. BRAIN PIGEON ROOST
  Paraphrase or read out loud when the characters enter 
  the room:
  Red eyes in the darkness. Dozens—if not 
  hundreds—of pigeons coo and shuffle around in 
  this chamber.
  Monsters. Five swarms of brain pigeons rest in 
  the roost. They remain peaceful if unprovoked. If the 
  characters attack them, the swarms cast telekinesis on them 
  and float the characters to Floohoosoon.
  Treasure. Since pigeons are known as the lowest of the 
  low of the avian variety, they don’t hesitate to steal from 
  the citizens of Waterdeep. Using their mage hand, they 
  steal coin pouches, trinkets, and other valuables from 
  passersby. They have no use for the valuables and hide 
  them in their roost out of sheer malice. Digging through 
  the excrement for 1 hour reveals coins worth 319 gp and 
  jewelry worth 1,375 gp.
  S3. FLOOHOOSOON’S SANCTUM
  Paraphrase or read out loud when the characters enter 
  the room:
  The fresh smell of brine permeates this chamber, 
  while the floor is covered with a whitish liquid. 
  Small tadpoles whizz around the waters and evade 
  droplets which are falling down from the ceiling.
  Floohoosoon floats in the water, with the rusty bucket 
  containing Elder Brian close to him. Brain pigeons keep 
  it informed about the characters’ movements by flying 
  within 60 feet of it regularly.
  Escorted by Brain Pigeons. If the characters were 
  previously trapped by the swarms' telekinesis, Floohoosoon 
  takes the opportunity to have a meal. It uses its Mind Blast 
  on the perfectly aligned characters and attempts to use 
  Extract Brain.
  Entering Regularly. The mind flayer does not attack 
  the characters when they enter. Instead, it attempts to 
  converse with them using its telepathy. Floohoosoon 
  explains that it flew from its colony to lead a peaceful life, 
  but the surface dwellers don’t want mind flayers around, 
  it learned. Additionally, Floohoosoon is interested in 
  learning how strong the characters are and if they pose a 
  threat to it. It asks them if they ever saw a mythical dragon 
  and slew it. Or maybe they raided a village of giants to 
  brew potions of giant strength from their extremities? If 
  the characters leave it alone, Floohoosoon promises to 
  keep its brain pigeons clear of the city. At least until it has 
  created enough to subjugate the city, but it omits that part. 
  In exchange for the characters’ leniency, Floohoosoon 
  promises to tell them all it knows about the Underdark, if 
  they ever need information. After half a year has passed, 
  Floohoosoon unleashes its forces upon Waterdeep.
  
  27
  S4. THE VATS
  Paraphrase or read out loud when the characters enter 
  the room:
  Several barrels filled with a bubbling liquid stand 
  in this room. Inside, several pigeons swirl around, 
  their craniums pulsating ominously.
  In the vats, Floohoosoon grows its army of brain 
  pigeons. Whenever a specimen is fully grown, it joins its 
  brethren in the roost.
  A character with a passive Wisdom (Perception) of 14 
  or higher notices the secret entrance to the cellar of the 
  Two-legged Mermaid.
  S5. CELLAR OF THE TWO-LEGGED MERMAID
  Paraphrase or read out loud when the characters enter 
  the northern room:
  Dust covered shelves and cabinets contain jars of 
  marmalade, beetroot, mayonnaise, and more. One 
  wall is adorned with a portrait of a young half-
  orc, a half-elf, and a halfling.
  The Two-legged Mermaid is a tavern and Inn in 
  Waterdeep’s Dock Ward. It is unrelated to the influx 
  of brain pigeons. Searching the storage rooms and 
  succeeding on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check 
  reveals a secret compartment which contains a Zhentarim 
  codebook and two keys.
  The owner of the Two-legged Mermaid is a retired 
  Zhentarim agent named Big Stick (neutral male half-orc 
  veteran) who once ran with a group called the “three 
  halves.” The half-elf Sinda is already dead, the halfling 
  Bobby is still alive and possesses a third key. All three keys 
  combined open a portal to a treasure pocket dimension, 
  guarded by an iron golem. 
  CONCLUSION
  If the characters kill Floohoosoon, peace returns to 
  Waterdeep—at least in regard to the winged menace. 
  However, if the characters leave the mind flayer be, it 
  steadily grows its army of brain pigeons.
  MONSTERS
  Swarm of Brain Pigeons
  Medium swarm of Tiny beasts, neutral evil
  Armor Class 11 
  Hit Points 28 (8d8 - 8) 
  Speed 10 ft., fly 60 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  7 (-2)
  12 (+1)
  9 (-1)
  16 (+3)
  13 (+1)
  13 (+1)
  Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, slashing
  Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, grappled, 
  paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained, stunned
  Senses darkvision 30 ft., passive Perception 10
  Languages telepathy 30 ft.
  Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
  Innate Spellcasting (Psionics). The swarm's innate 
  spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 14, +6 to 
  hit with spell attacks). As long as it has more than half of 
  its hit points remaining, the swarm can innately cast the 
  following spells, requiring no components:
  At will: mage hand, minor illusion, ray of sickness (see 
  “Actions” below)
  1/day each: Bigby’s hand, dominate person, telekinesis
  Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature's space 
  and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any 
  opening large enough for a Tiny pigeon. The swarm can't 
  regain hit points or gain temporary hit points.
  aCtions
  Ray of Sickness (1st Level Spell). Ranged Spell Attack: +6 to 
  hit, range 60 ft., one creature. Hit: 9 (2d8) poison damage, 
  and the target must make a Constitution saving throw. On 
  a failed save, the target is also poisoned until the end of the 
  swarm’s next turn.
  Bombing Run. Creatures in a 5-foot-diameter-cylinder 
  below the brain pigeon must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity 
  saving throw or take 18 (4d8) acid damage.
  
  West seWers Complex By dyson loGos
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/Settings/Forgotten Realms/Waterdeep/Waterdeep's Notice Boards 2/1399969-20200302_Waterdeep2_PF_v1.pdf