waterdeep dragon heist

(Jeff_L) #1

THEATER OWNER
The owner of the Pink Flumph, Iokaste Daliano (N
female Tethyrian commoner), is a selfis h, middle-aged
widow with no great love of theater. The Pink Flu mph
was her husband's passion; for Iokaste, it's strictly a
means through which s he can rub shoulders with the
city's elite. She requires the directors to choose plays
a nd hire actors, while she spends her time "on the job"
greeting important guests and promising them the fin-
est entertainment. She treats her actors a nd staff like
half-forgotten children, a nd s he turns away characters
who come to the theater seeking the Vault of Dragons
unless there's something in it for her. Appealing to her
greed backfires, since Iokaste wants all the treasure
for herself.


PATH TO THE VAULT
One of the dressing rooms (area P8) contains a secret
trapdoor in the floor that no one knows about. It can be
found with a successful DC 20 Wisdom (Perception)
check. This stone door has an arcane Jock spell cast
on it and can be pulled open with a successful DC 30
Strength (Athletics) check. A knock s pell or similar
magic also does the trick.
Below the trapdoor is a 30-foot-deep s haft containing
a wooden ladder. Characters who descend the ladder
find themselves at one end of a 20 -foot-wide stone pas-
sageway that gradually slopes down 100 feet before end-
ing at the entrance to the Vault of Dragons.

WISHES THE FAERIE DRAGON
lokaste's late husband, Algondar Daliano, had a violet
faerie dragon companion named Wishes. The faerie
dragon detests Iokaste but remains on the payroll,
begrudgingly using its magic to enhance performances
for the sake of preserving Algondar's legacy. It prefers to
remain invisible and unseen otherwise. lokaste refers to
it derisively as ~the flying serpent."
If the characters threaten it or endanger the theater,
Wishes uses its magic to confound and neutralize them.
As they make their way to the Vault of Dragons, it fol-
lows them invisibly. Once it learns about the gold in the
vault, the faerie dragon casts mirror image on itself,
turns visible, and addresses the characters telepathi-
cally. It demands a share of the hoard (at least 5,000
gp), threatens to tip off the City Watch if the characters
refuse, and makes good on its threat if the characters
don't share the wealth. The faerie dragon doesn't have
a hoard of its own, since it gives its earnings to unfor-
tunate Waterdavians by invisibly flying around the city
at night and leaving coins on doorsteps, window sills,
nightstands, and pillows.

THEATER: AUTUMN
----
At the end of their previous encounter, the characters
are no closer to finding the Stone ofGo/orr.Jarlaxle
is waiting for them at the Seven Masks Theater in the
Dock Ward. The theater caters to a lower-class clientele,
and ship captains and sailors are admitted for free. The
owner of the theater is a burly and jovial Shou man with
a braided goatee named Rongquan Mystere-another of
Jarlaxle's many disguises. Whenjarlaxle is away, he en-
trusts his stage managers to look after things.

SAPPHIRIA^1 S BOOTY
When the characters first arrive, all doors except the
ones leading backstage are locked. Characters who slip
in through rhe back see actors and stagehands bustling
about and the director arguing with the playwright while
the stage manager looks on helplessly. On the stage,
actors walk through their scenes and read their lines
to a mostly empty theater. Watching the rehearsal from
the front row while smoking a pipe isjarlaxle Baenre
(see appendix B), disguised as Rongquan. Hidden in the
shadows in various s pots are four drow elite warriors
ready to fight by Jarlaxle's side.
The play, Sapphiria's Booty, is a romantic comedy
about a blue-haired madam named Sapphiria who runs
a thieves' guild out of a festhall. When a charming sea
captain arrives with a hold full of booty from a faraway
land, Sapphiria decides to steal it. Zaniness ensues
when s he falls in love with the first mate, who is half her
age, while the captain falls in love with her. On one side
of the stage is a backdrop resembling the deck of a ship;
the other side is decorated to look like a madam's parlor
in a brothel, complete with a gaudy chandelier and a
fainting couch.
Westra Moltimmur (CG female llluskan human com-
moner with Insight +2 and Performance +6), the play's
leading lady, is one of Waterdeep's great treasures, and
the cast and crew are very protective of her. Now in her
seventies and having been married no fewer than seven
times, she has a brisk sense of humor and a zest for life.
She's also insightful enough to know that "Rongquan
Mystere" isn't what he appears to be. She has seen the
dark elves who watch over Rongquan and observed him
using s ubtle hand gestures (Drow Sign Language) to
communicate with them.

SPEAKING WITH RONGQ.UAN
Jarlaxle has instructed the stage managers to bring all
visitors to him. In the guise of Rongquan, he claims to
be a member of the Lords' Alliance who answe rs di-
rectly to Laeral Silverhand. He also seems to know all
about the characters' meeting with Laeral (see encoun-
ter l , "Alley") and says he can speak on her behalf. He
asks about the Stone ofGolorr and is disappointed if the
characrers don't have it. If they offer up the fake stone
recovered in encounter 9, "Cellar Complex," Rongquan
immediately realizes it's a fake.
If the characters aren't sure what to do next, Jarlaxle
imparts the following information:

CHAPTER 4 I DRAGON' SEASON
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