Waterdeep	-	Buildings	-	The North
Castle Ward	Sea Ward	North Ward	City of the Dead	Trades Ward
Southern Ward	-	-	-	Dock Ward
1st Edition AD&D	-	FR1 Waterdeep and the North	-	Forgotten Realms

A complete description of all the buildings
in bustling, ever-changing Waterdeep is a
task beyond the scope of this book. Features
likely to be useful in AD&D® game play,
including the suggested adventures in a later
chapter, are located and described in this
section. Dungeon Masters should make
Waterdeep their own, filling in details as
necessary for exciting play, and the day-today
adventures of player characters.

Player characters visiting or resident in
Waterdeep have to live somewhere, as
thieves take a professional interest in persons
who try to sleep outside the walls of
the City each night and return when the
gates are opened at sunrise. Even when
such adventurers are a strong and fearless
band, there will be those times when they
do not leave the City before the gates are
closed at sunset, making necessary a stopover
or at the very least an unpleasant swim
or expensive ferry out of the harbor (which
never closes).

The neighborhood(s) around the chosen
lodgings of PCs must be detailed by a
Dungeon Master?and whenever PCs go
exploring, or try to find tutors to advance
their professional skills, a DM will have to
sketch in this or that local eatery, rooming
house, or home. Such work must be left for
individual DMs, as it necessarily responds to
the play of a particular group of gamers.

Buildings
The layout of buildings in play may become
important if PCs engage in extensive indoor
thieving, stealthy shadowing, and fighting.
Space considerations prohibit the provision
of floor plans for every building in the City,
but random generation of the overall natures
of buildings may be accomplished
using the table below. Random generation
of Class A buildings (see below) and of specific
buildings intended beforehand for use
in play is not recommended. DMs who contradict
themselves on building layout from
one PC visit to another are advised that
buildings in the City are constantly being
rebuilt, renovated, and repaired (a convenient
explanation).

Buildings in the City can be artificially
divided into four classes, as follows

Class A: The Palace, Castle Waterdeep, other
public structures (e.g. the Arena), Major Temples
(including The Plinth), Noble Villas. These
buildings are unique, generally large and
grand, and random tables are not given here

Class B: Grand Houses (without grounds or
walled gardens; villas always have such),
Large Warehouses, prosperous businesses,
Guildhalls. Buildings in this class have up to
four storeys, and may have extensive cellars
(usually connected to the sewers at some
point). Most inns in the City fall into this class.
(Note: random generation of Guildhall interiors
is not recommended.)

Class C: Row Buildings. This class describes
the great majority of City buildings, of two or
three storeys, and usually having shops on the
ground floor, with offices above and apartments
above that (or just apartments). This
class includes most of the taverns and rooming
houses in the City.

Class D: Lesser Buildings (hovels, sheds, small
warehouses). This class consists of one-storey
buildings, usually of wood, and are mainly
found in Dock Ward, with a few in Southern
Ward and The Trades Ward, and a handful in
the part of the docks which lies in Castle
Ward.

Once the class of a given building has been
decided by the DM, the following steps can be
followed if speedy random generation of
building features is desired.

Step 1. Determine number of storeys in
building, by deliberate choice or by the methods
that follow.

Class B: roll 1d8. Result of 1 = one storey,
no basement (cupola and/or skylights possible);
2 = two storeys, no basement; 3 = three
storeys, no basement; 4 = four storeys, no
basement; 5 = one storey with basement; 6
= two storeys with basement; 7 = three storeys
with basement; 8 = four storeys with
basement (tower with additional floors possible).

Class C: roll 1d4. Result of 1 = two storeys, no
basement; 2 = three storeys, no basement; 3
= three storeys with basement; 4 = 2 storeys
with basement.

Class D: roll 1d4. Even result = 1 storey and
basement; odd result = 1 storey, no basement.
Either type may have a dormer, cupola,
or tower to add partial upper levels, and leanto
additions on the sides.
 

Step 3. Determine function of building, by
deliberate choice or by rolling 1d10. Consult
the table below according to Building Class.
 
 
 

Die Result	Class B	Class C	Class D
01	Warehouse (multi-storey, with elevator or interior hoist)	Warehouse	Warehouse
02	Warehouse (multi-storey with elevator or interior hoist)	Ground floor shops with offices above	Warehouse
03	Offices of Major Business	Ground floor shops with apartment above	Warehouse
04	Offices of Major Business	Large shop with storage above (roll 1d4; even = proprietor lives above; odd = proprietor lives elsewhere and hires night watchman)	Warehouse
05	Rooming House	Rooming House	Dwelling (single family)
06	Rooming House	Rooming House	Rooming House
07	Ground-floor shop with apartments above	Ground-floor shops with offices and apartment above	Shop
08	Ground-floor offices with apartment above	Ground-floor shops with offices and apartment above	Office
09	Residence of a family of noble birth	Apartment block	Dwelling (multi-family)
10	Residence of a noble individual	Apartment block	Dwelling (space shared with rental storage space)

Features of the City Wards are listed hereafter.
Most inhabitants of Waterdeep know all of
the major thoroughfares, are familiar with the
general layout of the City, and know well the
neighborhood(s) where they live, work, and
go to eat or be entertained. Waterdeep is a city
of much traveling about and little restriction
on movement for social class or legal reasons