The city rises before you like a titan of stone and steel, its sprawling streets and towering spires stretching toward the heavens. This is Waterdeep, the City of Splendors, the largest and most densely populated metropolis on the Sword Coast. A place where merchants whisper of untold riches, where the powerful scheme from behind silvered masks, and where the shadows hold as many dangers as they do secrets. Over a hundred thousand souls call this place home—merchants and mercenaries, nobles and urchins, scholars and thieves. Its streets are a battleground, though not always one fought with steel. Here, power is measured in influence, in gold, and in the silent struggle between the city’s many factions. The Harpers, ever watchful, weave their hidden network to preserve balance and thwart tyranny. The Order of the Gauntlet, clad in righteousness, strikes against the wicked and the corrupt. The wild-born warriors of the Emerald Enclave seek to protect the natural world from the encroachment of civilization, while the Lords’ Alliance, a coalition of rulers and nobles, moves to maintain order in an ever-chaotic land. Yet the city is not only a stage for heroes. The Zhentarim, ruthless in their ambition, extend their black network of spies and smugglers, carving their dominion in shadow. The Xanathar’s Thieves’ Guild, led by the all-seeing eye of its monstrous beholder lord, tightens its grip on the underworld, drowning those who dare cross it in the deep of the harbor. In the depths of Skullport, the infamous Bregan D’aerthe, a brotherhood of exiled drow, pull the strings of mercenaries and outlaws alike. And above it all, Waterdeep’s own elite enforcers, Force Grey, strike from the heights of Blackstaff Tower, acting when the city’s defenses alone will not suffice. But amidst these clashing titans, one truth remains—opportunity is everywhere. For those with skill, cunning, and the will to seize their own fate, Waterdeep is a city of limitless possibility. And it is for this very reason that each of you, strangers until now, find yourselves drawn here. Whether by land or sea, you have come to Waterdeep, your path shaped by a single piece of parchment—an invitation, scrawled in elegant hand, signed only RD. The message spoke of fortune, of power, of a chance to carve your name into the annals of history. A promise of work, profitable and perilous. And so, beneath the evening glow of lanternlight, you arrive at the legendary Yawning Portal Inn, a place known for harboring the bold and the damned alike. The scent of spiced ale and roasting meat fills the air, mingling with the laughter of gamblers and the murmured conversations of those seeking their next venture. At the center of the common room looms the ancient well that descends into the Undermountain, its depths a legend of their own. Among travelers, mercenaries, and thieves, entering the Inn you arrive. Walking up to the bar you are greeted with a grunt from Durnan the gruff old dwarf that runs this Inn. Upon showing him your letter he directs you to a table near the back of the establishment. Sitting down, surrounded by three unfamiliar faces of individuals who had already arrived. You all wait for the one who summoned you here, the one whose words will shape the path ahead. This is where your story begins.