Broadsheets of Waterdeep
Only the most wealthy and powerful Waterdhavians can afford large private libraries of bound tomes. Though the majority of citizens can read, and they do so often both for pleasure and to feel “on top of Mount Waterdeep” (which means commanding a view of current events, politics, trade activity, and near-future business opportunities), most citizens only own a few well-worn chapbooks, some traditional “long scrolls,” and a large selection of the “short scrolls” commonly known as broadsheets (typically 1 cp on the street or in specialty shops).
Broadsheets are short, written newssheets that specialize in tabloid-style news, filled with political rants, sly social comments, jokes, and serialized “adventures” (often bawdy or pranksome) and are usually available for sale on the streets and in specialized shops. Chapbooks are apt to contain anything from poetry to furious arguments against guilds, governing policy, or methods of tiling roofs. However, chapbooks are most often devoted to memoirs and to romantic tales of either the tearful (for goodwives) or bawdy (for jacks old and young) variety. Long scrolls tend to have writing on one side only, and they are the form of choice for setting down religious texts, accounts that are maintained over time (large ledgers are favored for official coinkeeping, however), and spells that will be cast directly from the writing.
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