Transcript
Villains of Waterdeep, Artor Morlin the Baron of Blood, is an ancient and cultured vampire who moved through society for seven centuries with a secret lair in Waterdeep’s North Ward. The Dungeon of the Crypt lies beneath Waterdeep’s graveyard, where vampires, werewolves, and even an undead beholder views Artor Morlin as master. The Unseen are a cabal of doppelgangers who infiltrate guilds and nobility by murdering prominent Waterdhavians and taking their places. The half-illithid doppelganger, Hlaavin, runs the Unseen from a Dock Ward festhall, covertly infiltrating Waterdeep’s upper echelon.
The Kraken Society is a network of merchants and informants across the North. Its leader is Slarkrethel, an ancient and immortal Kraken in the Northern Seas. In Waterdeep’s Dock Ward, the society trade in secrets and is linked to the abduction of citizens sold into slavery in distant Calimshan. The Xanathar’s guild is Waterdeep’s dominant criminal organization. Xanathar, its beholder leader, is a title, not a single creature. Beholder after beholder has held the name. The Xanathar rules through lieutenants who sometimes impersonate as Xanathar to hide its true nature. Bregan D’aerthe is a company of drow mercenaries from the Underdark, led by the cunning drow, Jarlaxle Baenre.
They operate secretly in Waterdeep. Jarlaxle hides in Waterdeep, disguised as the human captain, Zardoz Zord, running a carnival from a ship in the harbor. The Zhentarim, also called the Black Network, is a mercenary organization. In Waterdeep, its darkest branch is led by a clone of Manshoon.
Manshoon’s clone schemes to rule the city as Open Lord. His failed alliance with the Xanathar has erupted into open war between the two powers. Beneath Waterdeep sprawls Undermountain, the dungeon of Halaster Blackcloak, one of the mightiest wizards alive. Halaster began delving centuries ago, sinking into madness as he dug ever deeper. He fills his dungeon with deadly traps and monsters, watching intruders for his own amusement. Below the city on the underground river Sargauth, lies Skullport, a lawless port of smugglers, pirates, and slavers.
Captives are auctioned in Skullport to drow, illithids, and worse. Overhead float 13 disembodied skulls, enforcing a fragile, brutal order. The Plague Rats are a guild of wererats active across the North. In Waterdeep, they are based in Deloun Alley and operate from the Dock Ward and sewers. Beyond the city walls, they hold the Rat’s Maw. A warren burrowed into the reeking refuse mounds of the Rat Hills, Waterdeep’s garbage dump. A cult of Asmodeus worship thrives secretly among Waterdeep’s nobility, led by Lord Victoro Cassalanter.
Victoro and his wife, Ammalia, traded the souls of their children to Asmodeus for power and fortune. They work ruthlessly to reclaim the souls before due.
