-
In this chapter, details of City life are provided
for players and DMs, so that the “feel” of
Waterdeep can make a campaign distinctive
and enjoyable, and to prevent hasty invention
on the part of a DM whenever player
characters go out into the streets to buy a
meal, hire a horse, or the like. This information
is given under headings, below, for
easy reference.
Religion
Waterdeep is undoubtedly the most tolerant
city of any size in Faerûn when it comes
to religion, and perhaps the most tolerant
anywhere. All creeds are respected, due to
the eclectic crossroads nature of the City, as
long as worship of a particular deity does
not involve the theft or destruction of other
beings (i.e. human or animal sacrifice) or
their property (believers may freely give
offerings, but non-believers should not be
compelled to do so), or wanton assaults
upon non-worshipers (followers of Tempus,
the war-god, for example, are not allowed
to run amok in the streets stabbing and
hacking).
A DM can thus use non-Realms gods in
play even if he or she wants to use THE
FORGOTTEN REALMS™ campaign setting.
All will be tolerated here; many travelers
from other planes trade here often. A DM
should bear in mind, however, that trade is
paramount in Waterdeep. Priesthoods that
attempt to restrict trade, or expect large
cash gifts to their deity, or who try to collect
temple tithes through coercion, will not be
popular.
There are few large temple complexes in
the City. In such a large and bustling center
of commerce, priests have relatively little
power and influence; large temples tend to
establish themselves in small communities
on major roads, where they are readily
r e a c h e d b y t h e f a i t h f u l a n d y e t c a n
dominate—if not control outright—their
surroundings.
Small shrines attended to by lay worshipers
(not permanent clergy) can be
found in many cellars and upper storeys of
buildings throughout Waterdeep. Places of
worship are forbidden by edict of the Lords
only in The City of the Dead, to prevent various
priesthoods from claiming tomb after
tomb as sacred to (and thus, exclusive to)
their deity, and charging fees for entry and
burial.
The staff and details of the temples in the
City that do have clergy (all save the shrines
are “large” temple complexes) are summarized
below. These clerics will all willingly
tutor adventurers of the right faith, class,
and alignment, if the proper offerings to the
furtherance of the deity’s work are made through the
temple, beforehand.
| DEITY | TEMPLE | CLERGY |
| Gond | The House of Inspired Hands (map: #60) | Priestess; Jhoadil Zulthind (Matriarch, female Matriarch(C8) |
| Lathander | The Spires of the Morning (map: #43) | High Priestess: Ghentilara (female 10th L cleric)
Prior: Athosar (Canon, male 6th L cleric) |
| Mielikki | (permanently-staffed shrine, map: #76) The Lady's Hands | Briosar Helmsing (Courser, male 5th L ranger),
Tehtira Bellsilver (Scout, female 4th L ranger |
| Mystra | The House of Wonder (map: #83) | High Priest (?Magister of Mystra?): Meleghost
Starseer (Necromancer, male 10th L magic-user) First Seeker: Ilbrost Mythyl (Enchanter, male 7th L magic-user) |
| Selune | The House of the Moon (map: #56) | High Priestess: Naneatha Suaril (female 16th L
cleric) |
| Sune | The Temple of Beauty (map: #80) | High Priestess: Ssaeryl Shadowstar (female 14th
L cleric) |
| Tempus | The House of Heroes (map: #49) | High Sword: Turk Bloodhelm (Superhero, male
8th L fighter) Prior: Maxtilar Rhebbos (Canon, male 6th L cleric) |
| Tymora | The Tower of Luck (map: #71) | High Priestess; Seenroas Halvinhar (female 14th
L cleric) Prior: Markos Zellizands (Prefect, 5th L cleric) |
Money
Waterdeep is a rich merchants’ city, the
c r o s s r o a d s o f t r a d e a n d c u l t u r e o f t h e
Sword Coast. Beings of many races come
from all over the Realms to live, work, and
do business here. Trade is transacted by
barter and in many currencies. Practically
any coin will be accepted for its metal value,
and gems are negotiable according to their
rarity, size, and quality (standard AD&D®
game values for copper, silver, electrum,
gold, and platinum pieces should be used, as
should the relative varieties and values of
gems described in the Dungeon Masters
Guide). DMs should bear in mind that the
Realms have some unique gem varieties,
and receive visitors from many planes; one’s
own invented coins and gems could easily
be introduced into play. Written notes-ofhand
are seldom honored by any save those
who issued them, or others of the same
noble family or merchant company or
Guild.
Waterdeep does, however, have its own
coinage, as do the cities of Silverymoon and
Mirabar in the South. Most cities honor all
coinage; “trade bars” of silver (which very
quickly corrode to a black hue) and electrum
in 10-gp, 25-gp and 50-gp denominations
are common throughout the North,
and used everywhere in the Realms (in the
South, gems are more often used for such
purposes).
Mirabar makes four-sided trade bars of
black iron; each is like two long, thin pyramids
joined together at their bases, to form
a foot-long spindle. These are valued at 10
gp in Mirabar, 7 gp in Luskan and Port Llast,
and 5 gp elsewhere.
Silverymoon mints a crescent-shaped,
shining blue coin called an Electrum Moon.
These are worth 2 ep in Alustriel’s lands and
1 ep elsewhere.
Waterdeep produces a square, flat brass
coin called a “toal,” issued and honored by
the Lords' treasury, which has a 2-gp value
within the City walls and very little value
elsewhere (most never leave the City, but
are changed to the standard coins of metal
value by those leaving the City). A toal has a
hole in its center to aid the user in collecting
toals on a ring or thong; one eccentric warrior
of long-ago Waterdeep always paid in
bills by means of a hurled dagger, on which
were transfixed several toals, aimed at the
bar or a pillar nearby. The much rarer “harbor
moon,” worth 25 toals or 50 gp, is fashioned
of platinum inset with electrum, and
consists of a crescent with a hole cut into
the center of its curve; its name comes from
its traditional use in the docks for buying
large amounts of cargo at a time. Also issued
by the treasury, this is another coin of lesser
value (about 2 platinum pieces) outside the
City walls.
Wages are discussed throughout this book
under the relevant guilds and under sections
dealing with specific activities. For
DMs wishing to determine wages for
actions not covered herein, basic unskilled
wages are 4 cp/day (2 cp per half-day) for
tasks requiring some strength (such as loading
and unloading goods), and 3 cp/day (no
half-day wages, usually, but lunch included)
for taking or issuing chits, blocking a shop
exit to shoppers who might otherwise leave
without paying, and other less demanding
jobs.
Pay for messengers and other bearers of
responsibility averages around 5 sp a day.
Bodyguards receive 8 sp to 1 gp daily,
depending on armor, weaponry, and demonstrated
skills they can offer the one hiring
them. Adventurers down on their luck
of ten regularly act as bodyguards, although
an old, feeble, or obviously wounded or
handicapped person will of course be
passed over for such employment.
Persons seeking casual daily employment
in the City gather, by tradition, at one of the
City gates in all seasons except high winter,
each day and wait to be approached by a
merchant who might hire them. (By tradition,
one does not call one?s skills or desire
for employment, but lets those who may
hire questions and examine quietly, and
make any approaches if interested.)
Average prices in Waterdeep are as given in
the Players Handbook, although those too
poor to at ford such fare (such as those being
paid the base price given above, daily, as a
casual worker) can buy a ?docker?s quaff?; a
skin of watered-down barley beer and a
round loaf of crusty brown bread baked
around sausage ends and meat scraps, for 1
cp. This provides many Waterdhavians with
their main meal, but it can only be bought in
one of the open markets of the City, and only
from late morning to early afternoon, each
day. Better fare on the streets is priced
approximately as follows: a tankard of ale is 1
sp; a jack of wine about 7 sp; and a simple, full
meal about 1 sp.
Waterdhavians vary widely in the
strength of their faith (and monetary devotion)
to their goal. In the interests of good
play it is suggested that the DM play the
majority of citizens with the same devoutness
(or lack of same) that Player Characters
dibplay. Those players and Dungeon Masters
wishing to leave out religion altogether
may do so without any detrimental effect
on play, although the ?flavor? of life in the
City will change.
Selected "Usual" Prices
for
Goods and Services in
Waterdeep
In this brief summary prices are provided for a few
things PCs may well desire or require. DMs should use
these as guidelines only—if something is in great demand
and shorter supply, prices will rise; if there is a glut, they
will fall. If a Guild is involved in the price-setting, that is
mentioned at the end of the entry; non-Guild operators
usually undercut the Guild unless what they sell is in so
much demand that they need not compete with Guild
prices. DMs are directed to pages 35
and 36 of the Players
Handbook, and pages 25-33, 35, 103, 107-108, 114-
118, and 121-125 of the Dungeon Masters Guide.
Additional information may be found on pages 26, 75-
79, and 84-89 of Unearthed Arcana, and on pages 25-26,
56-58, and 123 of the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide.
Prices given therein are considered to hold true, in general,
for Waterdeep, and are not duplicated here unless
modifications apply. Prices for unusual services—
bounty-hunting, for example, or for the sale of monsters
and monster eggs or young—are not given herein, as it is
recommended that a DM determine these on a case-bycase
basis, roleplaying all haggling.
<EQUIPPING THE
CHARACTER>
<PLAYER CHARACTER STARTING MONEY>
<PLAYER CHARACTER EXPENSES>
<VALUE AND REPUTED PROPERTIES OF GEMS AND JEWELRY>
Accounting: see “Bookkeeping”
Ale, tankard: 1 sp to 10 sp (varies with quality)
Baldric: see “Weapon-harness”
Barrel: 5 sp to 5 gp, depending on size (Guild)
Basket, wicker: 2-4 cp depending on size, durability
(Guild)
Beer (dark Stout), full quaff: 2 sp; 1 barrel: 20 gp (Guild)
Bells: wooden: 5cp/cast metal: 1-5 gp, depending on size
and tone (Guild)
Bookkeeping: 1 gp per day or portion of day spent on
accounts (Guild)
Boots: new: 3 gp/repair: 5-15 sp (Guild) a bonus of up to 5
gp is customarily paid for immediate (same-day) service.
Secondhand boots. 5 sp to 20 sp (markets)
Bottles (glass): new: 1 gp per bottle, matching sets, 3-6 cp
per bottle, “odd bottles” (Guild)/secondhand: 1 or 2
cp
Bowl, cast metal: average price 2 sp (increases with size,
finer workmanship, materials) (Guild)
Bread, fresh-baked: 1-4 cp/loaf (depending on size,
quality)/“waybread” (older, hard-baked): 2 cp/loaf
Building (including repairs or additions):
STONE: 10 gp/day per Guild workman and gp/day per
assistant plus 10 gp daily crew expenses fee, plus
materials (Guild). See also “Stone.” /WOOD: 1 gp per
man per day, plus 5 gp for a surveyor-chartist, plus 5
gp for a Guild engineer plus materials plus 10 gp/day
“crew needs” fee (Guild) See also “Lumber”: (does
not include “Excavations,” q.v.)
Candles, scented and colored: 2 sp each (Guild), used: 1-3
cp (for “nobles’ stubs”; i.e. ends)
Carrying Fare: 1 cp for a half-hour or less ride anywhere
within City walls, in an open trotting-cart (and up,
for better conveyance) (Guild)
Cart, new: 25 gp to 60 gp depending on size-all have two
wheels (plus a spare underneath), an open carrying
bed, and trails for beasts, the more ornate have a
seat for the driver, removable sides, etc. (Guild)
Chain: 1 gp/yard (ornamental) to 5 gp/yard (harbor or
gate) depending on size and strength (weight and
method of joining links) (Guild)
Chimney-Cleaning: 10 sp-1 gp/chimney (wealthy are
charged more)
Cloth, new-woven: 5 sp to 10 gp per bolt, depending
upon materials, demand, imported or local (Guild)
(does not include “Wool”; q.v.)
Clothing, tailored new: 5-20 gp/garment (Guild) “Off the
rack:” 2-15 cp/garment (depending on amount of
material, workmanship, materials used, style); secondhand:
2 sp to 4 gp per garment if tailored, 2 cp to
10 cp if not
Crockery, earthenware: 1 cp-6 cp per item, depending on
glazing, size, complexity, and durability
Crystal Balls: 4-8 gp, depending on size (plus enspelling
fee)
Divination, folk many prices, many methods: most who
can afford it purchase clerical magic
Drugs: medicinal: 1-8 gp/bottle (includes bottle, contents
yield 3-6 doses, usually 4) (Guild)
Dyeing, of cloth, provided by the client: 5 sp to 10 gp/
bolt, depending on complexity and difficulty of
desired result (Guild)
Excavations: 2 gp per man per day (or part of day) plus
materials, plus 10 gp/day “crew head” fee (Guild)
Ferrying (about harbor, to and from ship and shore): 2 cp
per trip per person carried, plus an additional 1 cp
per passenger if any accompanying luggage, pets, or
goods are not wholly carried by the passenger
(Guild)
Fertilizer: 5 gp/wagonload (manure), 7 gp/wagonload
(fish or bone meal) (Guild)
Firefighting, magical (if no Fire Guild hired): 10 gp per
building, regardless of success (Guild)
Firewood: 5 sp to 1gp/face cord (known in Waterdeep as
a “Stand”), ranging according to the type and dryness
of wood, and difficulty of procuring it (i.e higher in
deepest winter)
Fish, fresh-caught: 1 cp to 12 cp per fish, depending on
species, sizes, and condition
Furniture, wooden: 1 sp to 15 gp per piece, depending on
size, workmanship, and materials used, most “normal”
chairs, standing shelves, and mid-size plain
tables cost about 2-4 gp each (Guild)
Glass: 4 cp for 4-inch-square pane to 6 gp for a 4-footsquare
pane (Guild), for blown vessels, use “Bottles”
entry
Gowns, fine: 33-99 gp, plus cost of materials and perhaps
gems, provided or selected by client (Guild)
Guiding through City: 2 cp by day 4 cp by night (Guild)
“Hardware” metal work (latches, hinges, needles, spikes)
sold by weight, usually 1 cp per ounce (Guild)
Herbs: 5 cp to 8 gp/dry ounce (saffron is 40 gp/dry ounce)
Hooks, metal: 1 cp (fishhook) to 4 gp (grappling or meat) (Guild)
Horses, shoeing: 1 gp per shoe (includes making or fitting
and shoeing) (Guild)
Horses, stabling: 1 gp to 3 gp/night (includes night watch,
feeding, watering, cleaning and rubdown, exercise if
necessary) (Guild)
Horsehoes: see “Horses, shoeing” (the secondhand value
of a found shoe is 1 cp to 3 cp, depending on size and
condition)
Ink: sold by the 2 ounce bottle, 10 sp-4 gp per bottle
according to ingredients, such as gilding pigments;
always includes bottle (Guild)
Jewelry: varies widely according to value of materials,
from costume jewelry employing much brass, at 2-4
cp per piece, to elaborate pectorals worth up to
400,000 gp (Guild): many Waterdhavians wear rings
or belt buckles of worked gold worth 2-4 gp
Lamp Oil: 3 sp for a 2 ounce bottle, or 1 gp/flask (as given
in PH), or 10 gp/small key (sealed with tar)
Lamps: 4 cp (hand clay lamp) to 50 gp (waterproof lantern)
(Guild)
Laundry: 2 sp/garment “while you wait,” 1 sp/garment
overnight (Guild)
Law: professional witness, assistance of: 10 gp per day
(double if hired to state against charges of “severe”
crimes), payable in advance
Letters, written: 10 gp/page (includes materials) (Guild)
Lighting Through City (without guiding): 3 cp/trip (if
guiding, use “Guiding” entry) (Guild)
Livery, Guild or other: 3 gp/suit, plus materials (Guild)
Loading/Unloading, Docks: 1 sp per man per hour, 2 sp
per man per hour if cargo is dangerous (Guild)
Loans: 15-30% (see “Usury” in “Laws” section of text)
Lumber: 1 cp/board (2” x 4” x 8’ long) and 2 cp/bar (4”
x 4” x 8’ long) to 1 sp/board and 12 sp/bar depending
on type and condition; prices will vary with nonstandard
sizes
Magnifying Glasses: 5-10 gp each (Guild)
Maps: 25 gp in nine days, delivery to Waterdeep address
included; “rush” jobs 18 gp. Cost may increase if map
unusually large (Guild)
Meat, fresh: 10 gp (Whole carcass, average price), 17 gp
(smoked carcass), varying with condition and size of
carcass, type of animal (Guild)
Medical Care: 10-20 gp daily (includes nursing, splints,
dressings, emergency medicines, etc.) (Guild)
Moneylending, Moneychanging: 10% interest (for principal
of 100 gp or less) to 15% interest
Musicians, performing: 6 sp/day or occasion (whichever
is the lesser time), each (Guild)
Musical instruments, new: 1 gp/day of making (Guild);
most instruments take a month/secondhand: 30 gp
average (varies widely with type of instrument and
condition)
Night Watchmen: 1 gp each/night, per building watched
(unarmed; for armed men, “bodyguard” rates apply;
see text under “Wages”)
Packing: 3 gp for 1 hour of crating and packing = 1 person’s
typical belongings, readied for extended travel
(Guild)
Paper: scrip: 2 cp/ream; parchment: 5 cp/ream (1 ream is
roughly 10” x 14”, a two-sided sheet) (Guild)
Party Costumes: masks and suits of metal, 600 to 2,000
gp (Guild); 20-75 gp for ornate metal masks only
Pastries: 1 cp each, or if small, a dozen for 2 cp
Pens: 2 cp each (quill), 2-4 sp (metal nib, varying with
design) (Guild)
Perfume: sold by the 2 ounce bottle, always including the
bottle (which is sometimes quite ornate) and varying
in cost from 1 cp to 30 gp, depending on quality and
demand
Pictures and Likenesses: 2 gp each to 6 gp each (Guild)
Pots, cast metal: 5 gp each, average price (with lid, varies
with size, quality) (Guild)
Rope: 100’ coil of thin black waxed cord: 17 sp 100’ coil of
ornamental, silk braided cord: 25 gp (Guild)
Sail: single lateen sail 500 to 700 gp (30% less if several
months’ notice given) (Guild); non-Guild “no guarantees”
sails sell as low as 200 gp for full rigging, refer
to text under the ‘Most Diligent League of Sail-
Makers and Cordwainers”
Scrolls: see “Spells” if magical, “Paper” if not (price is per
ream, stitched together)
Seals: of metal, 12 gp for each design or likeness (Guild)
Security: see “Fire Guard,” “Night Watchmen,” “Spell
Guard,” and text under “Wages” for bodyguards
Ships: 5,000 to 7,000 gp (minus 1,000 to 1,500 gp if
“used”); for breakdown by type, see text under “The
Order of Master Shipwrights” (Guild)
Shoes: see “Boots”; reduce all costs by half
Signet Rings: see “Seals”
Signs, Lettering: 5 gp/day (or part of a day) (Guild)
Smith’s Tools: 70 gp (full and proper assortment, fine
tempering is required)
Soap: 3 gp per 10 gallon barrel to non-members (Guild)
Spectacles: 5-10 gp each “pair” (Guild)
Spell Guard, magical: 10 gp/day (Guild)
Spells (scrolls): see text under “The Watchful Order of
Magists & Protectors” (Guild) for prices; typically a
75% mark-up to non-members (sold by individual
Guild members, NOT by the Guild)
Spellcasting, at trials: 500 gp per divination spell cast,
paid by City if cast upon order of a City official
Spices: see “Herbs”
Stamp-marks: see “Seals”
Stone: 2 cp/block if purchased to do own work; 3 cp/
block laid by Guild for repairs or additions; 4 cp/
block laid by Guild when new structures built; 5
cp/block laid by Guild if marble, obsidian, or other
“finestone” (Guild)
Suspenders: 2 cp each set
Tankards, cast: 10 sp to 1 gp, depending on size and
workmanship (new), (Guild)/secondhand; typically 3 cp
Tiles: new: 1 cp to 3 cp each (varies with quality), laid: 1
cp each extra (or daily rate) (Guild)
Tote straps: 3 cp/strap (Guild)
Toys, metal: 5 cp to 5 gp (Guild)
Training, of mounts: 2 gp/day (2 weeks to 1 month
required, depending on desired result)
Wagons: 75-200 gp, varying with size, durability, style,
and length of time given to build, “custom” or unusual
sizes and style more expensive (Guild)
Weapon-harness: 1 gp per piece (e.g. belt, scabbard, baldric
= 3 pieces) (Guild)
Weapons, bladed: cost as per PH, plus 1 gp City fee (various
Guilds)
Wheels, replacement (for wagons and carts): 2 gp to 6 gp
per wheel, depending on size, design, difficulty of
job and materials required; double if job is a “rush”
or dangerous one, involving travel outside the City
walls (Guild)
Wickerwork, small: 1 cp/piece (Guild)
Window-frame: wooden: see “Building,” Metal, custommade
to fit: 5 sp-10 sp unbarred, depending on size, 2
gp to 10 gp if barred, depending on size, esthetic
design of the bars, and sturdiness (Guild)
Windowpanes: see “Glass”
Wine: 7 sp/jack, 1 gp/bottle, 20 gp/barrel to 4 gp/jack, 12
gp/bottle, 70 gp/barrel depending on quality, rarity,
“fashionability” (Guild)
Wool: 7 gp per bolt, fine-spun but undyed (Guild)
Zzar: 2 gp/jack, 7 gp/bottle, 40 gp/small key (Guild)
Haggling offers players and DMs a splendid opportunity
for roleplaying, and can serve to “open up” hesitant players
who are newcomers to roleplaying, as well as allowing
a DM to give players something of the “feel” (and the
occasional item of interesting gossip that might point the
way to an adventure or two) of the City. One can always
haggle in the open markets; undercutting Guild prices is
the way such merchants attract business. Food prices
(such as those given above) are not haggled over; a vendor
signals that certain wares are not to be haggled over
by giving an outrageously high price when a low price is
offered by a buyer, followed by stating the "real" price in
a clear, slow voice. Few shopowners who belong to
Guilds will haggle much; they may go down by 10%,
but no more (unless trying to unload perishable
goods that will spoil if kept longer). If pressed, they will
say, "Guild law, friend," or rarely (e.g. when selling
swords, where the 1 gp fee is involved) "Lords' edict,
friend," and close off any bargaining. If a vendor willing
to haggle reaches his or her lowest price, and a buyer
pushes further, the vendor will say, "Thief! Why not join
the Lords, and take my life, too?"
MONEYLENDING
Moneylenders are respected citizens of this
trading city; everyone needs extra money
from time to time. Moneychanging?the
conversion of one currency to another,
including goods (such as furs or weapons)
into hard cash?is the daily bread-andbutter
of moneylenders, who make a 10-
15% p r o f i t o n s u c h t r a n s a c t i o n s .
Moneylending involves a written promise of
collateral in the form of property (which
becomes the lender?s if the loan is not
repaid), and written terms of interest and a
time-limit; most loans are for one or two
months, and rates of interest charged vary
from 15% for small loans (anything under
100 pieces of gold, not including interest) to
30% for very large loans. There is mild competition
in this field, but most rates are similar
from lender to lender. A lender may
have two bodyguards (no more) by law, but
may request assistance from the Watch in
guarding large amounts of cash, carrying
such through the streets, or to be present at
a difficult transaction, although the Watch
cannot be held responsible for losses that
occur despite their presence. One of the
current Lords of Waterdeep, the former
mercenary general Mirt, has amassed a considerable
fortune by prudent moneylending.
Usury (the charging of outrageously
high rates) results, if detected, in the lender
becoming in debt to the City, who pay the
victim back the excess and may seize the
lender?s property or recover its money.
FENCES
Many merchants in Waterdeep will purchase
or trade for the occasional item of
dubious origin, particularly if the item is not
of overly distinctive appearances, they have
not heard that the Watch is looking for the
item, or have not themselves heard of a
theft involving such an item. ?Fences? who
do a lot of trade in stolen goods are rare.
Several, as might be expected, are to be
found in the docks area, but the most successful
are a rich noble who lives alone, and
the proprietor of a busy inn, whose guest
often bring ?extra? belongings that they
leave without, with no one of the Watch or
government any the wiser. Those fences
that have survived in this generally-lawabiding
City are both shrewd and paranoid,
and take elaborate precautions against
arrest and exposure and possible treachery
on the part of their clients. PCs who decide
to ?jump? a fence who is bargaining with
them may find themselves catapulted into
pit traps at the touch of a lever, or suffer
poisoned crossbow bolts fired by the fence?s
servants from the ceiling above or from
concealed holes in the walls behind them.
Most fences have means of acquiring shield
and wall of force protections?and their
treasure stores may well have golems and
more sinister guardians.
Asking in the ?rough? taverns of the City
is the only way to find a fence if one is not
familiar with the City. DMs should roleplay
attempts to find a fence to the hilt, bearing
in mind that thieves and undercover
Guards listen sharp in such taverns and that
PCs may be sent to a succession of NPCs
before one of them gives the name of the
?CONTACT? in the list below (usually with a
password or secret sign). Note that a fence
will pay 5% more than the ?usual? price
given below for items in his or her specialty
categories.
Known Fences of Waterdeep
NAME; CONTACT LOCATION; SPECIALTIES;
USUAL PRICE PAID (IN % OF STREET
VALUE
Alathann Ruil; "One-Eyed Jukk" at The
Bloody Fist, Presper & Snail Streets,
Dock
Ward (map: #272); Red Sails Warehouse
On
Cod Lane, Dock Ward (map: #265); weapons,
armor, fine metalwork; 40%
Balthorrr ?the Bold?; Balthorr, at Balthorr?s
Rare and Wonderful Treasures, The Street
of the Sword, Castle Ward (map: #29); gems,
rare coins, regalia; 40%
Chuldan Helmstar; Chuldan; at Helmstar
Warehouse, Dock Street, Dock Ward (map:
#267); carvings, statuary; 35%
Haerlit Thomm; Felzoun Thar at Felzoun?s
Folly (tavern), Salabar Street, The Trades
Ward (map: #193); Thomm Warehouse,
Sambril Lane, Dock Ward (map: #233); furniture,
distinctive furnishings; 35%
Jannaxil Serpentil; Jannaxil, at Serpentil
Books & Folios, Book Street, Dock Ward
(map: #275); maps, charts, and books; 30%
Lhund Dhaeromos; Hulfast, on the docks
(usually Wharf Street, Dock Ward); Dhaermos
Warehouse, Belnimbra?s Street, Dock
Ward (map: #281); exotic creatures, plants,
and all types of slaves; 30%
Orsabbas ?the Fingers?; Orsabbas, at Orsabbas
?s Fine Imports, Vellarr?s Lane, The
Trades Ward (map: #179); tapestries, wines,
perfumes; 30%
Phalantar Orivan; Phalantar, at Phalantar?s
Philtres & Components, The Street of Bells,
Castle Ward (map: #33); magic?written and
active (i.e. magical items); 35%
Torst Urlivan; Torst, at his inn, The Gentle
Rest, The High Road, The Trades Ward
(map: #191); Gentle Rest Stables, Deloun
Alley, The Trades Ward (map: #192); horses,
harness; 40%
Crommor?s Warehouse, The Reach, Dock
Ward (map: #2); ships & shipboard equipment,
cargos; 40%
Ulmar ?the Watchful?; Ulmar or Zhaegos;
Crommor?s Warehouse, The Reach, Dock
Ward (map: #2); ships & shipboard equipment,
cargos; 40%
Orlpar Husteem (younger brother of Orbos,
head of the Husteem noble family); Hala
Myrt at The Grinning Lion tavern, off Golden
Serpent Street, North Ward (map: #135);
Orlpar?s house on Golden Serpent Street,
North Ward (map: #160); spices, scents,
wines, and drugs; 60%
Plague and Fire
Disease is a danger whenever many beings
are crowded together; DMs should use the
modifiers given in the Dungeon Masters
Guide under ?Disease,? checking for disease
every four weeks (remember, in the Realms
a week is ten days) and parasitic infestations
every three weeks. Medical care in Waterdeep
is surprisingly good: rest, cleanliness,
herbal medicines, the presence of many
clerics and a relevant guild, and the use of
bread-mold cures and other substances to
help one?s body to recover are all understood.
Fees can, however, be high if a victim
suffers from anything major or complicated.
Severe outbreaks may result in buildings
being sealed up (with afflicted victims
within) for 4-6 months and then seared with
magical, cleansing fire by the Watchful
Order of Magists & Protectors, but curative
magics are always attempted before this is
done.
Fire is not as common in Waterdeep as it
might be. The collapse of a building often
douses the fire with a dull boom as the full
water cistern on the roof is emptied onto
the flames, or the building falls in, onto a
full cellar cistern. Watch officers are adept
at fighting fires with sand, night soil, the
removal of flammables, and in most cases,
the full cooperation of nearby City folk.
Timbers are used for most of the upper stories,
and for floors and furnishings, in
Waterdeep buildings, but this seacoast City
is damp (fogs and gentle mists are common)
and most wood is very slow to catch a light,
even when heating fires within are large,
and ground-level storeys and the floor
directly above them are usually of stone or
clay brick. Roofs are often a mixture of
boards, thatch, and slates, sealed with pitch.
Members of a certain Guild, The Watchful
Order of Magists & Protectors, will guard
building against fire, or attempt to extinguish
existing fires, for fees. A private home of
middling wealth and no especially flammable
or valuable contents is 35% likely to have a
protection contract with this guild; members
will arrive in 4-7 (1d4+3) rounds and
attempt to douse the flames by magical
means.
Wintering
in
Waterdeep
The importance of Waterdeep as a center of
trade, and the ready market its wealthy population
provides to merchants, keep the City
of Splendors busy for most of each year. The
North has fierce winters, however, and overland
trade is virtually cut off from the Inner
Sea lands, while travel within the North itself
is limited to a few brave (or foolhardy) adventurers,
who do not as a rule travel heavily
laden with trade goods. Even the shipping of
the Sword Coast is imperilled by ice and by
raw winter gales, although the harbor does
remain open year-round.
Wintering in Waterdeep offers a very different
setting for adventure than the other
seasons. The population is effectively limited
to those within the walls when winter
closes in, and few creatures arrive or leave.
Beasts of prey come down out of the
wilderlands to the fields outside the City
walls, hoping to catch some human-sized
meals. The Guards at each City gate are doubled
in number because of such menaces,
and equipped with long pikes. Occasional
Guard patrols try to keep track of creatures
in the vicinity of the City, and note how passable
the roads are. Few arrive at or leave the
City until the spring thaws are past, although
a few daring ?mudrunners? bring wide, flat
trade sledges through the mud of each thaw
to gain premium prices from the bored City
populace for their wares.
Everyone in Waterdeep over a winter has
plenty of time?time to plan next year?s business
affairs, or scheme about how to arrange
worsen as the weeks pass, and adventurers
this or that; in short, intrigue runs rampant.
are warned that trouble is far easier to find
when noble, merchant, beggar, and Watch-
It is damp and cold, and snows a lot; tempers
man alike are bored and irritated. Winter in
Waterdeep comes a week or so after The
Feast of the Moon, isolates the City two or
three weeks after that, and then deep winter
lasts two months before the first thaws begin
the slow warming process.
Thieves should note that many of the richer
merchants and nobles empty and shut up
their villas or houses and vacate the City for
somewhere warmer (such as Tharsult,
Tashalar, Narubel, or even Calimshan) to
spend the winter.
A NIGHT OUT IN THE
CITY
Waterdhavians generally work hard, make
large amounts of money as a result, and play
hard, too. By night, taverns do a steady
(though muted by regular Watch patrols)
trade, and the fest-halls and nightclubs --
there are many in the docks area, and a few
in all of the other City wards -- are wild,
crowded places, to say nothing of the private
parties in homes, the villas of the nobles, and
guildhalls. There is no "weekend", as there
are no weekly "holy days" or days off work
as we know them, although there are festivals
and special holidays throughout the year
(refer to the FORGOTTEN REALMS Campaign
Set for details; in Waterdeep, all holidays
described in the entry on The Calendar
of Harptos are celebrated), but Waterdhavians
ususally party at least once every 3
nights unless they are very busy with their
work (e.g. anyone involved in shipping goods
just before winter or just after the big spring
thaws) or are courting.
Waterdeep is lamplit by night (by The
Guild of Chandlers & Lamplighters): Castle
Ward very brightly, Sea Ward and North
Ward less so; and the other wards less and
less so. The City of the Dead is lit only by the
torches at the foot of Ahghairon’s Statue.
The City of the Dead is an active place by
night, although it is very heavily patrolled
by the Watch. Prostitutes and their clients,
and those wishing to transact private (usually
shady) business deals undetected, make
use of its dark expanses. In general, the
docks area has the noisiest taverns, and
Waterdhavians wishing to have a wild time
will go there. Except along the High Road
itself, noisy establishments in the North
Ward or the Sea Ward are effectively prohibited
by the Watch, and they frown upon
nighttime activity in The Trades Ward north
or east of The High Road, and in Southern
Ward north of Caravan Court. Rowdy,
home-bound Waterdhavians or visitors may
receive a Watch escort. Rowdies with no
apparent home to return to, or too drunk to
find it, will be taken to a cell until sober, and
then released without charge (unless, of
course, they have indulged in vandalism or
gotten into serious fights on the way).
DRESS AND APPEARANCE
All manner of clothing and garb may be seen
on the streets of Waterdeep. There are no
laws relating to dress except to prohibit private
citizens from impersonating Lords,
Magisters, or officers of the Guard or Watch.
Guild livery can only legally be worn by
Guild members, and is worn when appearing
before the Lords’ Court on official business,
during holidays, outside the City on diplomatic
trading business, when appearing
before a Black Robe, and at any private Guild
functions that Guild laws require it to be
worn to, such as voting meetings. Coats of
arms to which one is not entitled cannot, of
course, be copied and worn.
Nobles usually do not wear their coat-ofarms,
except in the form of signet rings, belt
buckles, or pendants; their servants wear
clothing emblazoned with their coats-ofarms.
Nobles may wear any sort of dress
without social censure; it is common for
noble women attending parties and other
“high society” functions to wear glittering,
diaphanous gowns of silk and sequins, their
lower bodies concealed by many layers of
translucent silk, each layer sequined in different
patterns, and their upper bodies festooned
with jewelry (and, if the weather is
cold, fur gloves that reach up to points at
the shoulders). Most “high fashion” noble
party dress involves masks, although many
are not intended to conceal the wearer’s
identity, but merely to provide a means of
further jewelled head adornment. Younger
noble ladies often wear gowns with elaborate
filigree “stomachers” in exquisite
designs (often set with gems), and the arms
and front of the noble lady will themselves
be covered with glued-on gold dust and
sequins. A “stomacher” is a rigid garment, in
this case of open wire-work worn over the
silken dress, extending from crotch or
breast; Waterdhavian examples often
sweep up both sides of the bodice into
fantastic swirls and points on the shoulders.
Mercenary and adventuring company
members usually wear the devices of their
organizations openly, with pride, on the
City streets; again, it is a crime to falsely
wear such garb, although a plaintiff must
prove (by oath of recognized officers of
such a body, or the enlistment rolls, or both)
that such a person is unlawfully bearing
such a device—such complaints are, as a
result, rarely successful.
Jewelry is worn by both sexes in the City
of Splendors; some people festoon themselves
with its glitter, and others never wear
even a single bauble (regardless of personal
wealth). All manner of hairdos may be seen,
and all types and colors of clothing are used.
There is no law against nudity or requiring
that this or that area of the body be covered,
but Waterdeep is a damp coastal city—
when it isn’t raining (or in winter, snowing),
there is usually mist about the streets.
Despite the sheltering mountain, the City
streets can also be windy in bad weather
and around highsun (dawn, dusk, and night
tends to be calmer). These conditions preclude
light or skimpy dress for most beings,
most of the time.
The fashions of other planes, as well as other
lands, may be seen on the City streets, so
dress is individual and variance is freely tolerated.
There is no such thing as “not in fashion”
in the City of Splendors, when it comes
to dress. Beings of almost all races may be
seen in the City, too. A typical Waterdhavian
would react with hostility and fear only to a
drow, an illithid, an obviously unhuman
native of the Lower Planes, and an armed orc
(as well, of course, as “monsters” such as
beholders and dragons); with all others, it’s
generally “business as usual.”
Again, the cosmopolitan nature of the City of
Splendors makes Waterdhavians very tolerant.
They tend to be talkative, friendly, easygoing,
and outspoken, but do not expect
others to be. Good Waterdhavian merchants
are very quick to sense how those they meet
like to speak and be spoken to (so that they
can make business deals with speed and to
mutual advantage and pleasure), and slow to
take offense. A Waterdhavian will usually
state plainly his or her feelings, often as a
warning (for example: “I don’t find that
amusing, friend,” said pleasantly to a stranger),
before showing clear anger. Some visitors
to the City have misinterpreted such
behavior as cowardice or lack of perception
(as in, “he was too stupid to even know I was
insulting him!”), but if they act upon such
judgments, they usually regret it. Most
Waterdhavians are slow to take fright unless
facing magic or monsters; a human threatening
them is quite likely to be stared at calmly,
or even sneered at. Lecherous and drunken
behavior, as strange manners of speech or
customs, tend to be tolerated. If a drunken
outlander makes a coarse suggestion to a
Waterdhavian who doe not find it amusing
or inviting, the suggestion will merely be
ignored. If repeated, the Waterdhavian will
leave if he or she wishes to, or simply state
his or her disinterest or lack of appreciation.
This process will continue for some time ere
fists fly or blades flash, as a general rule—
Waterdhavians with hair-trigger tempers
who don’t also happen to be magic-users of
stratospheric level simply don’t last long.
Waterdhavians, unless farmers or sailors
by profession, do not discuss the weather.
Small talk normally centers on matters of
commerce, and secondarily on warfare elsewhere
in the Realms (such as the constant
small-scale strife in the South, or the recent
bloodshed in Tethyr and between Ruathym
and Luskan); Waterdhavians tend to take a
sporting interest in such happenings.
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