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Waterdeep

Waterdeep, also known as the City of Splendors or the Crown of the North, was the most important and influential city in the North and perhaps in all Faerûn. For this reason it was considered part of the Western Heartlands of the Realms, even though it lay 150 miles north of Daggerford on the shores of the Sword Coast. Waterdeep was named for its outstanding natural deep-water harbor, and the city that grew up at this site became the commercial crossroads of the northern Realms.

Demographics

Humans 64%
Dwarves 10%
Elves 10%
Halflings 5%
Half-elves 5%
Gnomes 3%
Half-orcs 2%
Others 1%

Government

Waterdeep was ruled by a council whose membership is largely secret. These hidden Lords of Waterdeep maintain their identities behind magical masks, called Helms, and while they rule in public, none know the true identities of most of them. The subject of who the Masked Lords are became a common topic of noble conversation, and some consider it a game to discover the Masked Lords' identities, a game made more confusing by the fact the Lords themselves set their own rumors afloat. Among the Masked Lord sits one person that doesn't wear a mask to hide their identity. This person is called the Open Lord. There is only one Open Lord at any one time, but when the previous one dies or steps down, he or she is replaced by a new one.

Defences

Waterdeep maintained two separate armed forces, the City Guard and the City Watch. The City Guard served as Waterdeep's soldiery and its members staffed garrisons, road patrols, and watchposts, and served as bodyguards and gate guards. The Watch was the local police force.
Waterdeep had strong walls on its landward sides and was protected in part by Mount Waterdeep on the seaward side. Mount Waterdeep was studded with watch towers and defensive positions, and patrolled by special guard units on flights of griffons. Aside from this, Waterdeep also benefited from a large native population of the adventuring classes (including powerful mages, priests, and warriors) who were more than willing to deal with any and all miscreants who threatened their home city, and did so in the past. This often proved the City of Splendors' most potent defense.
The city also had the eight giant Walking Statues of Waterdeep. Seven of these statues could be animated by the Blackstaff of Waterdeep to defend the city, one was too damaged to be activated. These statues were extremely destructive, and only used to fend off armies or win otherwise impossible battles.

Industry & Trade

Waterdeep is a massive city that sells almost anything one can think of.
Docking at Waterdeep's port incurred a fee of 1 cp per 10 ft (3 m) of keel length per week. Sages and traders from Waterdeep were eager to listen to stories from wildspace and traded on all the products the city had to offer.

Coinage


Waterdeep has its own coinage system as described below:
1 Nib = 1 copper coin
1 Shard = 10 Nibs
1 Taol = 200 Nibs
1 Dragon = 100 Nibs
1 sun = 1000 Nibs
1 Harbor Moon = 5000 Nibs

Infrastructure

The walls of waterdeep are 30 feet in height and 10 feet in width. At the towers, it is 40 feet due to the presence of the tower.

Assets

Transportation


Waterdeep was characterized by its broad and busy streets and boulevards. Its heavy traffic, a constant during all day and most of the night, was monitored by the traffic wardens of the City Watch. The streets were kept well maintained and signaled by the Scriveners', Scribes', and Clerks' Guild, who manufactured and installed labels and signs in all intersections.
Public transportation was available in Waterdeep through several options:
Drays were large, two-floored collective carriages that held a large number of seats and traveles through preset trajectories along the main boulevards. Fares varied between 2 and 4 nibs.
Hire-coaches were two-wheeled, two-seat carriages that could be called and dispatched to specific locations. Hire-coach drivers roamed the city streets in search for passengers, who could call a free coach with a shout. Fares, agreed upon in advance, rarely exceeded 6 shards.
Carriages were luxury vehicles that could accommodate up to 8 passengers comfortably. Prices varied, but usually carriages and their respective drivers and servants were hired for an entire day.

Guilds and Factions

The following guilds were active in Waterdeep prior to the Spellplague and after the Second Sundering.

Baker's Guild

  Masters: Dundold Buldharroaz (LG hm commoner 5 Relchoz Hriiat (CN hm commoner 4), Hriiat Fine Pastries, Sammarin's Street, North Ward (N60)   Headquarters: The Master Baker's Hall, The Street of the Sword, Castle Ward (C27)   Requirements: 10 gp; by application to the Master Bakers: the ten senior (longest registered) guild members, plus the Master.  Dues: 5 sp/month   Skill Training: Artistry (culinary), Craft (baking), Profession (baker), Profession (miller), Profession (porter)   Members: 600 Bakers; Resource Limit: 6,000 gp;   Livery: White cloaks and hats with a light blue chevron on the left shoulder or brim of each.   Benefits   The Baker's Guild is very wealthy. Its wares are known to be of good quality, and many citizens of Waterdeep live largely on breads and pastries. This, of course, makes it of great interest to those trying to get money for investments in other businesses (which has increased this guild's influence with other guilds, and the influence of individual bakers with other merchants), and to thieves. As a result of the attentions of the latter group, most bakers have runners who both deliver hot wares to customers who place large orders, and serve to chase thieves and act as bodyguards to protect the bakers and their cash. These private guards have no authority, but the watch usually cooperates with them rather than resenting or cautioning them.

Carpenters', Roofers', & Plaisterers' Guild

  Masters: Halthos “the Hammer” Blund (N hm commoner 5 Elemos “the Hand” Dunblast (LE hm rogue 3), Dunblast Roofing, Ironpost Street, Trades Ward   Headquarters: The Stone House, Telshambra’s Street, Southern Ward (S2)   Requirements: 25 gp per individual; Dues: 10 gp/year (member 5 gp/year (apprentice)   Skill Training: Craft (carpentry), Craft (stonemasonry), Knowledge (engineering), Profession (engineer)   Members: 300 Carpenters, 100 Roofers, 100 Plasterers; Resource Limit: 5,000 gp;   Livery: Red caps, pierced in the brow with a row of three brass nails   Benefits   This guild is extremely busy and extremely rich, with many members; even casual labor hired by its members must be enrolled in the guild (even if only as apprentices), although the guild is continually unsuccessful in attempts to force the Lords to legally restrict building, construction, and repair within the City to guild members. The Lords have repeatedly taken the position that a building is the property of its owner, who may modify, repair, or rebuild it if he or she wishes, and that any system of inspection must remain within the power of the Lords, and not be made a guild affair. There have been several instances of guild members sabotaging nonguild work (to convince building owners to trust only the guild: “you can be sure our work won’t collapse around you . . . “), but by and large members of this guild are too busy for such mischief. They have their hands full just keeping up with demands from nobles to build this or that new, bigger, and higher, and from merchants to repair this or that as cheaply as possible so long as it won’t fall down, and finish it by tonight . . . Guild work is expensive: 1 gold piece per man per day on the site, plus 5 gold pieces for a guild surveyor-chartist, and 5 gold pieces for a guild engineer (usually the boss of a work crew, with the surveyor-chartist being the crew’s liaison with clients), plus the cost of materials, and a flat 10 gold pieces per day fee for “crew needs” (food and drink), regardless of the size of that day’s crew. This guild does serviceable work, although it boasts no great engineering genius in its ranks at present, and specializes in competent repair work. Most successful guild members undertake work in neighboring cities along the Sword Coast as far north as Luskan and as far east as Secomber, although their fees rise sharply the farther they get from the walls of Waterdeep. Most guild members who do outside work have arrangements with adventurers to persuade clients toying with the idea of not paying for work done, to make sure payment is prompt and in full. Outside the city, most guild members design their own buildings if a client ‘does not wish to, but inside Waterdeep that is the province of another guild, and members of this guild only do on-site surveying to match already-prepared plans (although they may occasionally pretend otherwise).

Cellarers' and Plumbers' Guild

  Masters: Hilithimm Turnstone —Master Plumber (CG hm expert 4 Jhalossan Turnstone (LG hm expert 3), Turnstone Plumbing and Pipefitting, Belnimbra’s Street, Dock Ward (D2)   Headquarters: The Old Guildhall, Gaustus Street, Trades Ward (T26)   Requirements: 5 gp; acceptance by the guild master only; Dues: 7 sp/month   Skill Training: Craft (carpentry), Craft (stonemasonry), Knowledge (engineering), Profession (engineer)   Members: 300 Masons; Resource Limit: 3,000 gp;   Livery: Deep orange caps and cloaks, with a red line trim border around all hems and cuffs   Benefits   This guild is small, highly trained, and somewhat scornful of the “thick-fingered clods” of the Carpenters’, Roofers’, and Plaisterers’ Guild, whose work they constantly encounter in the course of their duties; with the advent of the Loyal Order of Street Laborers, they have even less respect, as that guild’s trade in street repair used to be a primary source of income for this guild. The Cellarers’ and Plumbers’ Guild is now strictly concerned with digging building foundations, and keeping the sewers of the city functional and safe. The guild is engaged in constant small repair jobs in the sewers about the city, but is no longer responsible for restoring the surface of any street or courtyard dug up; they simply send a runner to the Loyal Order promptly upon completion of the work, and that other guild handles the repair. Their reward for hours of muck and backbreaking digging are the highest fees of any of the service guilds: 2 gold pieces per man per day or part of a day (most crews are two or three men in size) plus materials, and a “crew head” (food and drink retainer) of 10 gold pieces per day or part of a day. Materials commonly used include lots of pipe, fashioned by other guilds, depending on whether it is made out of metal or clay; the cellarers and plumbers lay it, support it with stones and talus or wooden collars of their own fashioning, and seal everything with various secret mixtures of pitch, gravel, lime, sand, and similar materials. Members of this guild unearth many things during the course of their diggings. By the rules of the guild, they are bound to tell only the owner (most will do so only if the owner is observing, or asks directly) upon request, or fellow guild members, of treasure, skeletons, valuables, secret passages, and the like (they may keep any of these that they can make off with undetected by the owner or the watch, by guild rules). Most senior guild members, in their work of draining cellars or repairing the sewage plumbing of old buildings, learn the general layout of the city sewers in 2-5 (1d4+1) years. Some believe that members of this guild know of underground pipes and cavities that lead nowhere, but are used by this guild for storing weapons, magic, and treasure—and disposing of the occasional corpse—where only earthquake or the guild will find it. Some believe that this guild knows of, or even makes, hidden tunnels leading into the treasure vaults of nobles, and the cellars of the Palace itself. Some are correct.

Coopers' Guild

  Masters: Rugglar Tossarim— Master Cooper (LG hm commoner 3   Headquarters: Coopers’ Rest, Pressbow Lane, Dock Ward (D31)   Requirements: 30 gp; upon acceptance by majority vote of the members; Dues: 3 gp/month   Skill Training: Craft (barrel-making), Profession (porter)   Members: 400 Coopers; Resource Limit: 4,000 gp;   Livery: Brown caps and cloaks, with blue and green trim lines at the hems   Benefits   The Coopers’ Guild is always kept busy. Many things that go aboard ships in Waterdeep’s busy port, notably pickled fish from the Fishmongers’ Fellowship and the wares of the Vintners’, Distillers’, and Brewers’ Guild, require its barrels. Members of this guild cut, steam, and shape the wood, and form and weld the metal (from hoopstock supplied by the Most Careful Order of Skilled Smiths & Metalforgers) of the bands, of barrels themselves, and charge 5 silver pieces to 5 gold pieces per barrel, depending on the size (from foot-long hand-keg, with rope handle, to 20-foot-long cellar cask; most produced are l-gold-piece, lo-gallon barrels). Long ago, Waterdhavians (and others on the Sword Coast) discovered that one of the best ways to smuggle things in and out of kingdoms is in sealed barrels, so the Guard inspects barrels at random, paying the guild a “resealing fee” of 3 silver pieces per barrel. A guild member caught smuggling will be fined heavily (usually 50 gold pieces). One caught with a dead body or two in a cask will be imprisoned, and may lose his or her guild membership (such membership losses are quietly restored by the guild when imprisonment ends)—and yet this happens constantly; most guild members cannot resist the “free gold” they are offered for doing so. Seventy-five gold pieces or more is expected, per barrel of contraband.

Council of Farmer-Grocers

  Master: Zelderan Guthel— Master Provisioner (N hm commoner 4 Baalbaas Partall—Voice of the Master (CG hm commoner 2)   Headquarters: The Market Hall, Traders’ Way, Castle Ward (C8)   Requirements: 1 gp/year, or 25 gp for life membership; none refused Dues: 5 sp/month   Skill Training: Knowledge (nature), Profession (farmer), Profession (gardener), Profession (shepherd), Profession (stable master)   Members: 300; Resource Limit: 3,000 gp;   Livery: Cloaks or sashes of bright green; in early summer, fresh floral blossoms worn at the left shoulder   Benefits   This guild is a consortium whose membership changes annually with the fortunes of harvest; memberships expire in Hammer, the dead of winter, and run for one year, except for roughly 25 life memberships, which are without exception held by very wealthy farmers with vast landholdings. The Council determines prices for raw grain and arranges milling and warehouse facilities in the city (both of which it controls the milling business provides the guild with its breadand- butter operating money, and when warehouses are emptied in winter, with no crops available to replace them until first harvest, the guild rents the space to other merchants. The guild also receives regular funds from the Lords in return for keeping the city’s granaries and icehouses full of provisions, to feed the Castle and the Palace, and have emergency food on hand in case of siege or crop disaster. The guild arranges market stall space for its members (although individual members must pay the daily fees), and provides cartage for spoiled food to the refuse dumps south of the city.

Council of Musicians, Instrument-Makers, & Choristers

  Master: Kriios Halambar— Master Musician (LN hm expert 3), known widely as “Old Leatherlungs,” Halambar Lutes & Harps, Street of the Sword, Castle Ward (C25 Maxeene “the Flute” Rhiosann— Lady Voice of the Council (NG hf expert 2)   Headquarters: The House of Song, Rivon Street, Trades Ward (T19)   Requirements: 30 gp Dues: 25 gp annually (members 15 gp (apprentices)   Skill Training: Artistry (musical composition), Craft (instruments), Perform (any)   Members: 98; Resource Limit: 980 gp;   Livery: Scarlet jackets, with slashed sleeves of white and purple, and deep green long cloaks and matching hats, with white and purple plumes   Benefits   This guild elects its master every seven years, nominating only candidates from within its membership, and eliminating the least popular candidate in successive ballots until a Master Musician is chosen. Kriios Halambar, the current incumbent, has never been unseated in such an election, and has held the post for 66 years (he is now 87 years of age). If he dies in office, the Voice of the Council (the young singer Maxeene) will run the Council until the regular seven-year election time comes again (although she may of course run as a candidate in that election). This guild admits only skilled, accomplished artisans as full members, and its members enjoy a good reputation for quality—and command high fees— as a result. Member performers gain a typical fee of 6 gold pieces/day. Member instrument-makers command 1 gold piece/day, with many days often involved in the making of a custom instrument. In Waterdeep, true professionals in music are not prima-donnas with difficult tempers or a need for creative self expression that overwhelms tact. Rather, they pride themselves on giving a client exactly what is desired or needed, performed superbly. Often clients write terrible tunes or lyrics for a guild member to perform at private parties, weddings, or other ceremonies. Members of this guild may embellish such efforts to make them sound better (previewing them in private before the performance for the client’s approval), but they never change a client’s work because “they know better.” It is just not done. Apprentices unable to cure themselves of such rashness will forever remain apprentices. Guild members do tutor non-musicians, and do give their own concerts, many now being performed at New Olamn’s moderate amphitheater. Among Waterdeep’s wealthier inhabitants, hosting (and sponsoring) such concerts of an evening is a popular pastime. Certain members of this guild create instruments of quality known throughout the Realms (especially a number of craftsmen of the Crommor noble clan). Guild members have a standing contract with the Lords to provide the signal-horns (also known as “war horns” or “battle trumpets”) for the guard.

Dungsweepers' Guild

Master: Zulgoss Helberad (CG hm cleric 2 of Lathander)   Headquarters: Muleskull Tavern, Ship Street, Dock Ward (D21)   Requirements: gp; by application to the Elder Dungsweepers— 6 senior members—their decision is absolute, but may be questioned 1 year after being made or reversed; Dues: 1 gp/year   Skill Training: Heal, Knowledge (local-Waterdeep), Lore (Waterdeep), Profession (porter)   Members: 650; Resource Limit: 6,500 gp;   Livery: Cap with red and orange feathers   Benefits   This is a poor guild, consisting of those who clean the streets (and, for a fee, the stables of others) in Waterdeep. Normally, they do not do sewer work, the province of another guild, but the city, for security reasons, reserves the right when necessary to contact the Master of this guild to hire guild members to help in such work (by the day; the city pays 5 silver pieces to the worker and 3 silver pieces to the guild, per worker). The Dungsweepers have a traditional right to “glean the sweepings,” keeping anything discarded for their own use. Obvious valuables are to be turned in to the Master for sale, the individual sweeper receiving half the sale value and the guild the other half. Guild members bring their sweepings to Fishgut Court, where large wagons provided by the guild take the refuse once per day under guard by a mounted patrol of fourteen guardsmen, to the “Rat Hills,” a refuse dump south of the City (see Chapter Four of the Campaign Guide for more). Prospective smugglers should note that the guardsmen inspect the wagons and their loads carefully as they are being filled and emptied, and as they re-enter the City, looking underneath and with an attendant low-level mage employing detect magic and detect invisible. There is little interest in joining this guild, as few fancy the working conditions. Despite its work and its poverty, this guild can be quite influential when the Master gets upset about something. He can quietly threaten to withhold guild services, or dump the dung in specified (embarrassing and inconvenient) areas, such as in front of a food market, festhall, or tavern. Wisely for all involved, the Master uses this power sparingly.

Fellowship of Bowers and Fletchers

Master: Halassiter Ahrlan—Master of the Bow (LG hm Fighter 16 Zorondar “the Nimble” Riautar (LN hm Fighter 8 Riautar’s Weaponry, The High Road, Trades Ward (T18)   Headquarters: The Citadel of the Arrow, Burnt Wagon Way, Trades Ward (T10)   Requirements: 5 gp to join; readily accepts new members; registry only at headquarters; Dues: 8 sp/month   Skill Training: Craft (bows), Knowledge (nature), Profession (woodcutter)   Members: 67; Resource Limit: 670 gp;   Livery: White jackets or cloaks with red diagonal stripes   Benefits   This guild is “free and easy” in its outlook. Its members are predominantly young, and not overly concerned with cutthroat competition. There’s enough demand for their wares to keep all members busy, and the guild has a respected inspection program (to ensure shafts are straight, fletches secure, and heads of sharp, symmetrical construction, resulting in flights true to aim) that, in turn, guarantees that nonguild bowyers and fletchers will never command a substantial share of business. This guild has the exclusive contract to produce the large shafts fired by the deck heavy crossbows of the Waterdeep guard’s rakers.

Fellowship of Carters and Coachmen

  Master: Jasril Malakar—Master Carter (NE hm F0   Headquarters: The Road House, Carters’ Way, Southern Ward (S13)   Requirements: 25 gp (for the owner of a coach or more than one conveyance), or 10 gp (for the owner of a single cart or litter by application to the Master (few are refused Dues: 5 sp/month   Skill Training: Craft (wagons), Knowledge (local), Profession (driver), Profession (porter)   Members: 700; Resource Limit: 7,000 gp;   Livery: Dark blue cloaks and long-peaked caps, with silver trim   Benefits   This guild is an association for all native Waterdhavians who own carts, wagons, coaches, litters, and winter sleighs and sledges, used in their business as a direct source of income. Most nobles and many wealthy individuals possess their own private coaches and litters, without being guild members. Woolmen and other merchants who use their own wagons to carry their own goods, but do not as a rule rent them out for the use of others, also need not be guild members. The Lords strictly forbid any efforts to restrict ownership of such conveyances within the city to the Lords on one hand and members of this guild (only) on the other. In recent years, guild members have stopped trying to get a legal monopoly; they are presently all much too busy trying to keep up with all the business of moving the goods and persons of Waterdhavians and visitors hither and yon within the city walls.

Fellowship of Innkeepers

  Master: Brathan Zilmer— Master of Hospitality (LG hm Bard 6), proprietor of The Pampered Traveler Inn, at the corner of Selduth Street & The Street of Bells, Castle Ward (C11)   Headquarters: Fellowship Hall, Waterdeep Way, Castle Ward (C39)   Requirements: 25 gp (by majority vote of the membership Dues: 20 gp/year   Skill Training: Diplomacy, Knowledge (local), Profession (cook), Profession (innkeeper)   Members: 175 Inns, ; Resource Limit: 3,500 gp;   Livery: None   Benefits   This organization is one of the oldest of all the guilds of Waterdeep, and one of the most relaxed. Formed long ago as a means of protection (all the innkeepers together hiring a group of heavily-armed bodyguards that none of them could individually afford to stop drunken taverngoers from returning to inns and getting into fights or destroying property, and to control noisy activity late at night), the guild now functions primarily as a means of sharing information. News of thieves, con-artists, brawlers, mages with urges to let off spells, and other “problem patrons” who are making the rounds from inn to inn is shared among members, speedily. The guild also arranges discount prices on ale, linens, laundering, and so on by placing orders in bulk for its members. Once every nine nights, the Fellowship Hall is opened by the Master as an inn—with dining and sleeping facilities—for members only, so that they can enjoy the comforts of an inn without being the hosts.

Fellowship of Salters, Packers, and Joiners

  Master: Rahannsoz Burihildar (LN hm commoner 2 Baerlos Dunthar (N hm commoner 1), Shippers’ Hall   Headquarters: Shippers’ Hall, Oar Alley, Dock Ward (D28)   Requirements: 5 gp; acceptance only by the Master Dues: 3 sp/month   Skill Training: Craft (alchemy), Knowledge (nature), Profession (herbalist), Profession (porter)   Members: 1,000; Resource Limit: 10,000 gp;   Livery: Yellow cloaks and high-peaked caps with a blackspoked carriage wheel on the breast and center brim, with a black sail curved around it   Benefits   This guild employs many young boys as runners, to keep its constantly-moving members in contact with each other and with the Master at Shippers’ Hall. Salters, packers, and joiners are the professionals at preparing goods for shipping long distances. Their fees vary: So much per cargo, depending upon how much is to be packed (and how difficult the task is, measured in terms of the time it will necessarily take) and the cost of the packing materials. Joiners make shipping crates out of finished lumber after the salters (who employ brine, salt, and many other preservatives, to protect perishable goods such as meat or fish) and packers have wrapped (in cotton, canvas, hide, or even clay, baked hard) and prepared goods for travel. Guildmembers travel about Waterdeep in response to orders sent in to Shippers’ Hall by various merchants, packing goods (especially delicate or perishable items) for travel out of Waterdeep —all though much of their work is in the docks area. Almost everything carried on shipboard, if not already in a barrel, does better crated than not. An hour’s crating by two Fellowship members might suffice to prepare the entire belongings of one adventurer for sea travel, in one readily-opened chest (for items used often) and three to five large crates, and would cost a total of 3 gold pieces for the labor and materials. Members of this guild do not stack or carry crates they have finished, but go on to another job. A client must hire members of The Fellowship of Carters and Coachmen, or the Watermen, to move such items to the conveyance they will travel in. The guild maintains stocks of packing materials for its members (not all clients provide such).

Fishmongers' Fellowship

  Master: Aybrauve Haltorel—Master Fishmonger (CN hm commoner 3   Headquarters: Seaswealth Hall, Seaswealth Hall Wharf, Dock Ward (D39)   Requirements: 5 gp; Dues: 2 gp/year   Skill Training: Profession (clerk), Profession (merchant), Profession (porter)   Members: 300 Fishmongers, ; Resource Limit: 3,000 gp;   Livery: Silver caps, with blue eyes upon either side, or sashes of silver with a single blue eye, worn hanging straight down from the left shoulder   Benefits   This poor, friendly, informal Fellowship is run by a retired fisherman, Aybrauve “Farfisher,” as he was known of old, who buys fresh fish from fishermen docking in the harbor. The fishermen themselves (including the large fleet owned by the Phull noble family) are not members of this guild. Fishing boats that dock at Seaswealth Hall’s wharf to load or unload fish are exempted from the city’s docking fee, and thus, many fishermen never tie up anywhere else at Waterdeep’s docks (or they anchor in the harbor, and swim or ferry ashore to avoid the fee. Aybrauve sorts, ices, and sends their catches (eels, crabs, and fish of all sorts) to the stalls of various guild members by means of fish carts run by his boys, all over the City. The watch observes the progress of these carts closely to prevent theft of the fish from the boys. Guild members can return spoiled, unsold wares at the end of the day for 1 copper piece per bucket. Aybrauve sells these spoils to the Farmer-Grocers for fertilizer.

Guild of Apothecaries and Physicians

  Master: Unthril Zond—Master Physic (LN hm Alchemist 5   Headquarters: The House of Healing, The High Road, North Ward (N51)   Requirements: 50 gp; acceptance by the Master only; Dues: 10 gp/year (member), 5 gp/year (apprentice)   Skill Training: Craft (alchemy), Heal, Lore (illnesses), Profession (herbalist)   Members: 150; Resource Limit: 1,500 gp;   Livery: Cloaks and tunics (never caps) of black, gray, and white bands, with a large white diamond, bordered in gray with the long points vertical, on chest and back   Benefits   This is one of the richest guilds in Waterdeep, and has a somewhat checkered history. On several occasions, various of its members have been implicated in smuggling, fraudulent investment affairs, and similar instances of criminally imprudent investments of their monies. No doubt some of their fellows (who have not been caught) remain rich and with shady connections. This guild has also been at odds with the Lords as a group. Repeatedly the guild has tried to have all nonmember medical practitioners (including all clerics) banned from practicing in Waterdeep, so they would have to join the guild or cease providing aid to the sick (eliminating any competition). The Lords have strenuously resisted such efforts, executing on two occasions members of this guild who arranged assassination attempts upon the life of Piergeiron. Despite the faults and politics of its members, the guild does provide services of high quality. It maintains a “Formulary ” in its headquarters (open to members only) that records agreed-upon formulae for many drugs and other medicinal remedies. It also keeps in stock some of the rarest ingredients needed to make these medicines, dealing with far-faring sea captains, traveling merchants, and caravan leaders to gain these from the far reaches of the Realms. Medical aid in Waterdeep is expensive; an examination is only 1 gold piece, but most drugs are in the 1-8 gold pieces per bottle range (a bottle usually contains 3-6 doses, most often 4), and medical attendance, with nursing, splints, dressings, emergency medicines, and the like, costs 10-20 gp/day, based on the ability of the patient (in the estimation of the guild members involved) to pay. DMs must determine the effectiveness of such medicines on a case-by-case basis; generally, poisons and fevers can be neutralized if treatment begins in time. Diseases and parasitic infestations can be held at bay, but rarely fully cured by such means (although medicines may buy time for natural healing and other means to work). Most physicians can provide overnight care of dressing, bandaging, drugs, sustenance, and therapy that is able to restore 2-7 (1d6 + 1) lost hit points, but only if a patient rests for at least three days afterwards.

Guild of Butchers

  Master: Kellatarn Nander— Master Butcher (NE hm commoner 3 Morathin “Hooks” Belmonder— Second Knife (LN hm expert 1) Belmonder’s Meats   Headquarters: The Butchers’ Guildhall, The Way of the Dragon, Dock Ward (D47)   Requirements: 25 gp; Dues: 3 gp/month   Skill Training: Handle Animal, Knowledge (nature), Profession (butcher), Profession (merchant), Profession (porter)   Members: 300; Resource Limit: 3,000 gp;   Livery: Crimson cloaks with purple lining   Benefits   This guild represents Waterdeep’s butchers: Those who slaughter, and cut up for sale, all manner of livestock, from ankheg to yeti (cattle and hogs are more common, although it should be noted that people in the North, including Waterdeep, have a taste for horseflesh). Guild law ensures that meat is properly bled, hung, and smoked or seasoned in certain ways, so that it is as clean and in as good condition as possible, and without exception, the butchers who are in business in Waterdeep are guild members. The Lords forbid formal price-fixing by the guild, but all meat is fairly expensive and similarly priced, being slightly cheaper in the docks area and slightly more expensive in the wealthy neighborhoods. Apprentice butchers pay no guild dues, but are direct employees of a member butcher. Most apprentices, seeing how profitable the business is, can’t wait to leave their poorly paid positions, pay the stiff entrance fee, and pass a rigorous examination of their skills by the Master Butcher. This guild also buys the occasional cargo of exotic meat (or slaughterable beasts) from ships, at bargain prices, reselling such goods among the guild members at substantial savings to the individual butchers, who may pass the savings on to their customers if they wish, but are not bound to do so. Most butchers wisely offer real bargains on such occasions, earning the goodwill of their clientele, and encouraging them to sample and acquire new (and often expensive) tastes in meat.

Guild of Chandlers and Lamplighters

  Master: Ormbras Delzord—Master of the Flame (LG hm commoner 2   Headquarters: The House of Light, Scroll Street, Trades Ward (T29)   Requirements: 5 gp, upon acceptance by the Master (who keeps the membership limited in size Dues: 3 sp/month   Skill Training: Knowledge (local – Waterdeep), Perception, Profession (porter)   Members: 150; Resource Limit: 1,500 gp;   Livery: Black caps with a gold flame device on both sides of the head (and, for ceremonies only, black tunics with a gold flame inside a gold circle on the breast)   Benefits   This is the only guild in Waterdeep whose members are predominantly youths. Aside from the Master and six senior (adult male) members, three of whom act as a mobile protection squad for the younger members, all guild members are youngsters. By day, they all make candles (mostly of tallow) at the House of Light, and repair lamps. By night, they run about the city with glow pots, tongs, and reach-poles, lighting lamps for the city (on contract, which provides the guild with its daily bread-and-butter money) and for private individuals, usually nobles. Guild members also sell candles, and, for a fee, will guide the way (or provide light for a traveler who knows the way) through the city by night. Most such boys and girls return often to the House of Light to give their monies to the Master, for all know what a tempting target a “lighter” clinking with coins is to thieves, drunks, other youths, and ruffians. A fistful of coins wrapped in a shirt or other cloth makes a handy sap. All lighters are trained to use such an improvised weapon and cry the alarm if attacked.

Guild of Fine Carvers

  Master: Malutt Mauksoun —First Master Carver (CN hm expert 5 Dannath Lisosar—Second Master Carver (LE hf expert 2), Patient Fingers Finework, Sleepers’ Walk, Trades Ward (T20)   Headquarters: House of the Fine Carvers, The High Road, Castle Ward (C21)   Requirements: 10 gp (member 3 gp (apprentice Dues: 4 gp/year (member 2 gp/year (apprentice)   Skill Training: Craft (tools), Craft (woodcraft), Knowledge (engineering), Lore (wood)   Members: 100; Resource Limit: 1,000 gp;   Livery: Royal blue cloaks with red and brown lines as borders   Benefits   Twenty-six Master Carvers and 73 Prentice Carvers make up this guild, which aids its members in many ways. Notably, it procures shipments of fine carving wood such as felsul-root, suthwood, and zalantar from far Chult and from the South via Tharsult. It sells “prentice pieces” (inferior or damaged work) to merchant captains heading south, where some pieces will sell for their curiosity, others because of the type of wood used, and some as mementoes of the savage North. The guild also arranges standard carving-tool sizes and qualities with the two smithing guilds, who make the chisels, knives, and gouges used by Carvers, and with the Jewelers’ Guild, source of the best fine sandpaper. The guild also arranges large jobs (such as all the benches for congregations in a new temple, or the paneling and relief-carving of an entire mansion or castle) by lining up the needed Master Carvers and giving them Prentice Carvers to learn on the job, at a price of 1 gold piece per Prentice per day. Master Carvers earn 2 gold pieces daily. This year has been good to the Guild of Fine Carvers. In recent years, cleverly-carved wooden toys made by guildmembers have gained greatly in popularity in the City of Splendors as gifts, so much so that the guild now operates a toyshop on Trader’s Way from which to sell their wares. With the creation of the new temple to Oghma in Castle Ward, nearly half of the Master Carvers and two-thirds of the Prentice Carvers are currently employed there in the renovations of the older buildings, adding decorative moldings and carvings suitable for the temple.

Guild of Glassblowers, Glaziers, and Spectacle-makers

  Master: Maersar Rillithar—Master Specular (LG hm Mage 4 Jhalassan Thond—Speaker for the Guild (N hf expert 2), Thond Glass and Glazing Shop, Sleepers’ Walk, Trades Ward (T24)   Headquarters: The House of Crystal, Copper Street, North Ward (N46)   Requirements: 20 gp; acceptance by majority vote of the entire membership; Dues: 15 gp/year (member 9 gp/year (apprentice)   Skill Training: Artistry (glass-blowing), Craft (glass), Profession (merchant)   Members: 65; Resource Limit: 6,500 gp;   Livery: Pink cloaks or robes with a large white circle on the breast   Benefits   This guild is a small, highly professional organization whose members take care to give fast, efficient, polite service, although glass is not cheap. While a simple, stoppered flask may only cost 1 copper piece, replacing a pane of glass runs from 4 copper pieces for a four-inch-square pane up to 6 gold pieces for a four-foot-square pane. Sets of bottles of uniform size, thickness, and hue are more expensive than “odd bottles.” The guild procures the finest sand (from certain beaches in the Tashalar and in Tethyr) for the use of its members in making glass, and provides emergency equipment and glass stocks for their use. A guild member convicted of deliberately breaking glass in place not belonging to him in any building in Waterdeep, without permission of the owner, or hiring someone else to do so (such as gangs of street urchins armed with rocks), is fined by the Magisters and expelled from the guild by the Master Specular. Such a miscreant can later be voted back into the guild by the membership, upon subsequent reapplication (and payment of another “entrance fee”). For many years, this guild was involved in an acrimonious dispute with the Watchful Order of Magists & Protectors over which guild would make crystal balls— a dispute that still causes grumbling long after the Lord’s Court ruling of twenty winters past: Anyone (including the Glassblowers) can create the crystal balls to the specifications noted by the client mages, but the balls’ enchantments can only be enspelled by individual, private mages working for themselves (not under hire by any guild, including the Watchful Order). This guild also makes many spectacles and magnifying glasses, typically costing 5-10 gold pieces each. Any full member of the guild has the skill to grind and polish a glass lens to a particular strength and focus.

Guild of Stonecutters, Masons, Potters, and Tile-makers

  Master: Buirholdan Skordar —Master Stoneworker (LG hm expert 3   Headquarters: Builders’ Hall, Coach Street, Southern Ward (S11)   Requirements: 30 gp; upon examination by the Master Dues: 5 gp/month   Skill Training: Craft (pottery), Knowledge (dungeoneering), Knowledge (engineering), Craft (stonemasonry), Profession (miner)   Members: 230; Resource Limit: 2,300 gp;   Livery: Gray cloaks and caps with an orange pickaxe, handle vertical and blade at the top   Benefits   This respected, busy guild has over 200 members (most of whom employ three to twelve assistants), some of whom quarry stone, some of whom cut, dress, and lay stone, and some of whom make clay or earthenware vessels or tiles, and lay tiles. Constantly busy on the rooftops of Waterdeep, where tile is slowly replacing thatch (which rots too quickly) and boards (which too easily catch fire when sealed with pitch, and too readily leak water inside, and rot, when not), members of this guild also build most of the city’s new buildings. The Lords frown on dwelling-places newly built entirely of timber, and restrict such structures to one story with a loft. Most buildings are now multistory, as Waterdeep has filled in almost all of the available space within the walls, and is now expanding upward. Stone is cut and hauled from the seacoast crags north of Waterdeep, and brought by ship from Port Llast and from Mirabar, where dwarves tunneling for new ores have found it very rewarding to break up the rubble they used to toss aside into regular, rectangular blocks and sell them for 1 copper piece each. That becomes 2 copper pieces a block in Waterdeep, and 3 copper pieces a block when a guild member builds a structure. Demolition of an existing structure on the same site is free if the guild member is allowed to keep what he can salvage of the stone. Repairs to, or building onto, an existing structure costs 10 gold pieces per guild member per day, plus 10 gold pieces expenses (lunches) per day, plus material costs (3 copper pieces a block; 5 copper pieces for marble, obsidian, or other finestone that requires a smooth polish), plus 3 gold pieces per day per assistant. Most such crews include five to eight assistants.

Guild of Trusted Pewterers and Casters

  Master: Dunbold Laraeikan— High Artisan (LG hm expert 5 Baerhar Surtlan—Voice of the Guild (CN hm expert 3), Surtlan’s Metalwares, River Street, Trades Ward (T40)   Headquarters: Pewterers’ and Casters’ Guild Hall, The High Road, Castle Ward (C34)   Requirements: 20 gp; upon acceptance by the Master Dues: 1 gp/month   Skill Training: Artistry (metal-work), Craft (tools), Lore (metal), Profession (merchant)   Members: 425; Resource Limit: 4,250 gp;   Livery: White sleeveless surcoats and aprons with the green silhouette of a tankard, handle to the viewer’s right, beneath a bell   Benefits   This guild has over 400 members, those who cast (rather than forge) items from metal. The guild livery depicts their two most popular products: a tankard and a bell. Bowls and hooks are probably the next most produced items. Prices in the Player’s Handbook provide a guide for the DM in improvising the costs of such wares. The guild buys the raw materials, and mixes a basic white metal mixture which it sells to its members cheaply (1 copper piece for a foot-long, three-inch-high and wide bar) as the basis for such castings, but members like to add their own “secret ingredients” to make their products superior. The “trusted” in the guild title refers to the fact that guild members will melt things down for recasting without query or comment. Precious metals are rarely handled by this guild; gold- and silver-work are the purview of the Jewelers’ Guild and the Splendid Order of Armorers, Locksmiths, and Finesmiths.

Guild of Watermen

  Master: Zzundar Thul— Master of the Harbor (guild title, not a city rank or position) (CG hm commoner 3 Jaster Thul— Guild Spokesman (LN hm commoner 2), Watermens’ Hall Headquarters: Watermens’ Hall, Dock Street, Dock Ward (D43)   Requirements: 10 gp; upon acceptance by the Master; Dues: 5 sp/month   Skill Training: Lore (Waterdeep), Profession (clerk), Profession (porter), Profession (sailor)   Members: 100, ; Resource Limit: 1,000 gp;   Livery: Blue shoulder-raincloaks, white shapeless hats   Benefits This guild is one of the busiest and most important in the City of Splendors. Its members keep the harbor clear of all litter (discarded crates, discarded seaweed from fishing nets, discarded bodies, etc.), run myriad small skiffs and ferries about the harbor and up and down the seashore of Waterdeep (for hire), and load and unload almost all of the ships that dock in Waterdeep’s busy harbor. This last mentioned work is done for a standard fee of 1 silver piece per man per hour, doubled if the cargo is dangerous (such as live, wild beasts, even if caged; incendiaries; exotic, volatile oils; or diseased or insane creatures). Watermen are allowed to keep “found” items from harbor floating debris; they can also keep unclaimed cargo after seven months, following a legal announcement of the cargo’s discovery, unless the owner identifies it to the satisfaction of a Magister. (If the owner does not wish to take possession of the cargo within the seven months, the city stores it, granting the Waterman involved a l-gold-piece “finder’s fee,” which he recovers from the owner later.) Watermen do not pilot large boats into or out of the harbor, but do work the clock around, loading and unloading vessels, and ferrying people to and fro, collecting their fees constantly as they work. (On highly profitable days, many Watermen pilot a boat over the deep part of the harbor, and drop in a copper or two to appease the sea gods.) All Watermen know the currents, depths, and backwaters of the harbor well, and the locations of various sewer effluents.

Jewelers' Guild

   Master: Stromquil Halazar —Master Jeweller (CE hm Mage 6), Halazar’s Fine Gems, Shield Street, Sea Ward ($60 Jhauntar Olmhazan —Gentleman Speaker for the Jewelers (NE hm expert 5), Olmhazan’s Jewels, The High Road, Castle Ward (C29)   Headquarters: The House of Gems, Gem Street, Castle Ward (C44)   Requirements: 40 gp; Dues: 25 gp/year   Skill Training: Appraise, Craft (jewelry), Knowledge (dungeoneering), Profession (merchant), Profession (miner)   Members: 100 Jewelers; Resource Limit: 5,000 gp;   Livery: Deep purple robes with a triangular, crown-cut white gem, point downward, on the breast, purple hats with white plumes   Benefits   Members of this small, tightly-knit and secretive guild are wallowing in money. They all have bodyguards (the Lords limit such private forces of non-nobles to 16 armed men at most, as they do to all guild members and other merchants resident in the city) and take elaborate security precautions, hiring dwarven artisans and powerful mages to devise traps to protect their gold and their gems. They also hire mercenary groups and adventurers privately, to bring them precious cargoes of uncut gems (sometimes stolen from the South) from afar, and are closely watched by the Red Sashes and the Shadow Thieves. At least two powerful guild members are agents of the Shadow Thieves. This guild conducts quiet but relentless vendettas against suspected gem thieves in Waterdeep. DMs should bear this in mind if PCs fall afoul of any guild member. Members of this guild will, however, buy and sell—with no questions asked—gems (cut or uncut), jewelry, and precious metals, fine chain, and wire used in their work. They also cut, polish, and mount gems, repair or reset jewelry, and appraise jewelry for other merchants.

Launderers' Guild

  Master: Jeldeth Khondar—Master Launderer (NE hm commoner 4 Ulraen Caulbor—Soap Master (LG hm commoner 2), The House of Cleanliness   Headquarters: The House of Cleanliness, Slipstone Street, Trades Ward (T22)   Requirements: 5 gp; registry at the House of Cleanliness (none refused Dues: 1 gp/month   Skill Training: Craft (alchemy), Craft (clothing), Profession (clerk), Profession (porter)   Members: 2,000, ; Resource Limit: 20,000 gp;   Livery: White caps and cloaks with an open human hand, fingers uppermost and spread, in silver on the breast of the cloak and center peak of the cap   Benefits   Members of this guild are an overworked, underpaid lot, who labor around the clock (most are family businesses, with the family members working in shifts) to wash the dirty garments of Waterdhavians in open-topped tubs full of boiling water and scented soap, and usually stirred with long poles (the honest” use for a ten-foot pole). Everyone buys his or her own scent: some use cider, some use wine, some use straight perfume, and some use strong herbs, but the guild provides various soaps for its members at cheap rates (1 gold piece per lo-gallon barrel). These soaps are sludgy mixtures, not hard bars or dry flakes. A launderer never guarantees that your garment will survive cleaning, and Waterdhavians do not expect perfection (nobles usually have their own servants launder difficult or delicate garments, and buy new garments for themselves often). Washing can be done while you wait (2 silver pieces per garment; it is put back on wet, and dries on the body), or overnight (1 silver piece per garment). Most launderers have numbered bins (with wooden tags) as a clothes-filing system—no tag, no laundry unless you pay 2 gold pieces or more for a new tag and your garments. Unless a launderer remembers you, there is also a wait of three or four days in case you’r are mistaken and someone else comes with the tag to claim the same clothes. All cleaning must be paid for when the clothes are left, not when they are picked up; this is due to nobles who refused to pay for cleaning, every time, on the grounds that it was not satisfactory. Magisters grew tired of the constant disputes and established this rule. A favorite trick of mercenaries coming into Waterdeep used to be to find some drunken patron in a tavern about their size, follow him and beat him up, take his tag and money, and promptly claim his clothes for their own. This practice was one of the reasons that the watch escorts many tavern-goers home, but the watch can do nothing about those gamblers who wager their laundry tags in card, dart, or dice games when all their money is gone.

League of Basket-makers and Wickerworkers

  Master: Felthauvin Mirrarmul—Master Worker (LG hm commoner 4   Headquarters: The League Office, Wall Way, Trades Ward (T14)   Requirements: 15 gp; upon acceptance by the Master Dues: 3 sp/month   Skill Training: Artistry (basket weaving), Craft (wicker), Knowledge (local – Waterdeep), Profession (merchant), Profession (porter)   Members: 1,400; Resource Limit: 14,000 gp;   Livery: Cloaks of gold, with red and purple diagonal lines forming a cross-hatch pattern on breast and back   Benefits   This poor, quiet guild has many members all around the city (as basketmaking can be carried on with ease in private dwellings, above the shops), usually 1,400 or more. Its Master, aided by his family, makes a tidy living providing guild members with supplies for their work: trimmed and bundled rushes and willow-wands. Master for life, Felthauvin owes his position to his unmatched skill at his chosen craft and his resulting ability to train members and would be members; he can also finish work for them in emergencies, perfectly matching their various styles. Felthauvin is a major landlord in the City, and has become personally influential as a result (thus able to deal as an equal with many far wealthier and more essential guilds), and able to bankroll the guild in difficult times. Felthauvin has many young sons and grandsons who “run the bundles” up stairways and alleys for him, and, as a result, know who lives where in Waterdeep better than any other person in the city except a member of the watch. (However, even the watch members only know two or three neighborhoods that well; Felthauvin and his “runners ” collectively know the entire city!)

League of Skinners and Tanners

  Master: Orgul Telethar—Leaguemaster (LE hm expert 3), Telethar Leatherworks, off Tower Trail by the harbor, Dock Ward (D50 Ilimar Chantreth —League Spokesman (LN hm expert 2), League Hall   Headquarters: League Hall, Tower Trail, Dock Ward (D46)   Requirements: 15 gp; Dues: 5 gp/year   Skill Training: Craft (leather), Profession (merchant), Profession (butcher), Profession (tanner)   Members: 75 Tanners; Resource Limit: 750 gp;   Livery: Leather armbands (almost a foot long, worn on upper left arm) of gleaming brown, with a red diamond representing a hide cut into it, a black skinning knife raised up in the center of this diamond   Benefits   This guild represents those who skin each animal slaughtered by a butcher. Usually the animal is sold to the butcher, and the skinner pays the butcher 3-10 silver pieces per skin, depending on its size and condition. Rare types of skins, or skins in rare hues, may cost a skinner up to 1 gold piece. The tanners then process the hides to produce leather, suede, vellum, and similar byproducts, which they sell to other guilds for the making of clothing, footwear, aprons, pouches, war harness (leather armor), and the like. Traditionally, this guild has made belts, scabbards, baldrics, straps, and suspenders itself. Other guilds consider the wares of this guild to be somewhat overpriced, but everyone needs their goods, and no independents have found it economical to continue operating outside the guild, so nothing is done to correct the situation (nor is it extreme enough to demand the Lords’ interference).

Loyal Order of Street Laborers

  Master: Kovran Helmses—Streetsmaster (N hm Fighter 4 Reina Thrasim— Voice of the Streets (CG hf rogue 3), Fetlock Court, Castle Ward   Headquarters: The Streets Office of the Loyal Order, Dretch Lane with adjoining warehouses for stone storage.)   Requirements: 15 gp (member), 5 gp (prentice acceptance by agreement of Street-master and Council (five annually elected members Dues: 3 gp/month (member 1 gp/month (apprentice)   Skill Training: Craft (stonemasonry), Knowledge (engineering), Profession (engineer), Profession (miner)   Members: 38 Illuminators, 100 Masons ; Resource Limit: 2,070 gp;   Livery: Red caps, gray cloaks and tunics with red pickaxe on right breast (point high, handle down), red trim lines at hems and cuffs   Benefits   The Loyal Order of Street Laborers was formed not by trade but by necessity and a Lords’ Edict. Answering an outcry to aid the constant cart and foot traffic of the city (made difficult due to heavy precipitation for four consecutive years), the Lords worked with the guild masters (and later, the full guild memberships) of the Cellarers’ and Plumbers’ Guild and the Guild of Stonecutters, Masons, Potters, & Tile-Makers, collecting over 200 craftsmen from both guilds and forming a guild for the express purpose of paving the major streets and avenues of the city and repairing any damage to said paving. While in seeming contradiction to the customs of noninterference by the Lords and disavowing a guild whose interest overlapped another guild, this guild was created to prevent a war between the two guilds, whose interests overlapped here, and to prevent either guild from making huge profits off of a necessary demand by the Lords. The two original guilds now have no control over the street construction or repair; they have to act through the Loyal Order if they need a paved street tom up in the course of their work. Members of the Loyal Order are among the busiest workers in the city, with full members cutting, dressing, and laying stones for streets (whether smooth-paved or cobblestone) and prentices handling traffic detours, mortar mixing, the hauling of stones, and the leveling of streets during repairs or construction. Prentices also handle the construction of corduroy roads under the supervision of a member Street Laborer; while the paved roads are sponsored by the Lords and fees collected from the nobles and the guilds, the corduroy roads (logs fitted cross-wise) are privately funded by nobles, businesses, and other individuals. Often, as in Trades Ward, a group of businesses along one street will pay to have the road built, and thereafter must pay for its yearly maintenance. Street planning and surveying is always jointly coordinated by Streetsmaster Kovran and Master Plumber Hilithimm, to ensure the maintenance of current access points to the sewers while creating or repairing roads. The hard work of this guild has paid off in the gratitude of the citizens (whose travel is now increased in speed and efficiency and cleanliness) and in money: Fees are 12 silver pieces/day per prentice and 3 gold pieces/day per member, in addition to the cost of materials and 10 gold pieces for food and drink expenses. Work crews tend to have 10 to 12 members and an equal number of prentices on paved road construction, two members and 10 to 12 prentices on corduroy road construction, or two members and three prentices on basic road repairs (either type). Road materials are provided by the Guild of Stonecutters (quarried stone and rubble) and agents in Amphail, Rassalanter, and Red Larch (timber for corduroy roads the cost of the stone is undercut by the Lords’ backing, reducing the Loyal Order’s cost to 3 gold pieces per block.

Master Mariners' Guild

  Master: Jheldarr “Stormrunner” Boaldegg— First Mariner (LE hm swashbuckler 7)   Headquarters: Mariners’ Hall, Cedar Street, Dock Ward (D44)   Requirements: 25 gp (none refused Dues: 10 gp/year   Skill Training: Knowledge (geography), Profession (merchant), Profession (sailor), Survival, Swim   Members: 107 Spice Merchants; Resource Limit: 1,070 gp;   Livery: Red hats with white plumes, red shoulder cloaks   Benefits   This guild consists of all ship captains and merchant fleet owners who are based in, or who often put into, Waterdeep. It represents their interests before the Lord’s Court, provides them with piloting training into and around Waterdeep’s harbor, maintains emergency warehouse space (and a “free” dock —that is, the guild pays all docking fees—with room for three vessels to load or unload from the guild warehouses), and provides accommodations and a private bar for visiting members at Mariners’ Hall. (Though listed as a guild hall, the main floor of Mariner’s Hall has full tavern facilities.) Ship captains pilot themselves into Waterdeep’s harbor, or signal from offshore that they require a guild pilot, by lowering all sails and running a red signal pennant up the mainmast. Aside from the standard city docking fee, such pilots are provided free by the city, but the pilot is always accompanied by a guard patrol, who inspect the ship’s crew and cargo on the way into the harbor to ensure that no hostile or illicit activities are being brought into Waterdeep. This guild has a long-standing, continual rivalry with the Order of Master Shipwrights, but cannot afford to maintain its own ship repair facilities. It does keep emergency stocks of rope and sail that guild members in a hurry can purchase at bargain rates instead of dealing in the city for custom made sails The guild also provides its members with fresh livery upon payment of their annual dues.

Most Careful Order of Skilled Smiths and Metalforgers

  Master: Hawkun Orsund— Master Hammer (N hm expert 6   Headquarters: Metalmasters’ Hall, the High Road, Southern Ward (S20)   Requirements: 30 gp; Dues: 20 gp/year   Skill Training: Craft (armor), Craft (blacksmith), Craft (weapon), Lore (metal), Profession (merchant)   Members: 100 Blacksmiths, 176 Scabbardmakers, ; Resource Limit: 2,760 gp;   Livery: Gray caps with black plumes, red tunics with a black vertical hammer, head uppermost, on the breast   Benefits   This guild represents the everyday blacksmiths who shoe horses and fashion such items as lamps, torch- and sign brackets, gratings and barred window frames, fire-shields and other hearthware, and chains. They also make the simpler weapons, such as maces, hammers, and flails. The everyday pieces of metalwork, from needles and spikes to bootjacks, kitchen hooks, latches and hinges, to candlesticks, are the “bread-and-butter” work of this guild, whose members are always busy and who prosper steadily. This guild provides its members with cheap, readily-available supplies of raw metals, brought by the shipload from Mirabar and elsewhere, and makes, stocks, and inspects smithy tools for the convenience of its members, who may rent or buy such from the guild. Most guild members are strong (Strength scores of 14 and up), have high Constitution scores (12 and up), and a high tolerance for heat and noise. For the unknowing, here is a point of etiquette: Never touch a smith’s tools except by his leave, and state your requirements as requests, not demands, or you’ll probably be told bluntly to take your business elsewhere. Members of this guild take pride in working quickly, in designing things with efficient elegance, and in reproducing replacements to exactly match an original. DMs must devise prices for such smithywork according to the complexity and size of an item, judged against the item prices given in the Player’s Handbook.

Most Diligent League of Sail-makers and Cordwainers

  Master: Geladar Nithrim— League Master (CE hm expert 4 Jelhuld Alaer—Tavernmaster (CE hm commoner 3), Full Sails   Headquarters: Full Sails (the League-run tavern and guild hall), Dock Street, Dock Ward (D35)   Requirements: 15 gp (none refused Dues: 5 gp/year   Skill Training: Apprise, Craft (ships), Craft (rope), Profession (merchant)   Members: 79 Ropemakers, 214 Chandlers; Resource Limit: 2,930 gp;   Livery: White cloaks and caps, and sky-blue robes; on the breast of the robes, two darker blue wavy horizontal lines (waves), and three silver stars above them Benefits   The vast amounts of rope and many sails needed by the ships based in Waterdeep and those who call at its busy harbor are made by members of this guild, who use the collective buying and bargaining power of this guild to obtain canvas, hemp, and other needed supplies as cheaply as possible from other guilds and from outside Waterdeep. There are never enough skilled merchants in this guild to keep up with the demand for new rope and sails; apprentices work on repairing sails (for ships whose captains can’t wait a week or more for new custom sails) until they are masters of their craft, and training them in sail design is then a simple matter. The guild takes pride in producing heavy-duty, long-lasting goods, although their wares are not cheap: A 100’ coil of heavy sail-rope is 10 silver pieces; a 100’ coil of thin, black, waxed cord, as strong as the sail rope but not for marine use, is 17 silver pieces. A simple lateen or square sail for small vessels, of “standard” (not custom) dimensions, will cost 500 to 700 gold pieces (30% less if the buyer is willing to wait several months a custom mainsail will cost 1,000 gold pieces. A full set of sails including a spare jib and mainsail for a merchant ship will cost 2,000 gold pieces (4,000 gold pieces for a large or triple masted ship, more again if the vessel is even larger and uses more sail). Interested buyers should note that nonguild sailmakers usually sell no-guarantees sets of sails for half what the Guild charges (and the guilds’ reputation for quality sails stands as a testament for their higher prices).

Most Excellent Order of Weavers and Dyers

  Master: Lady Tresh Lanngolyn (LG hf expert 4 Mellor Rhagust—Speaker of the Order (LN hm commoner 3), The House of Textiles   Headquarters: The House of Textiles, Nethpranter’s Street, Trades Ward (T27)   Requirements: 30 gp; Dues: 10 gp/year   Skill Training: Appraise, Artistry (weaving), Craft (cloth), Profession (merchant)   Members: 250 Weavers; Resource Limit: 2,500 gp;   Livery: Rainbow-hue dyed overcloaks and overgowns   Benefits   This guild is rich and busy and offends few. Its wares are reasonably priced and its dyes good—they bleed and stain little, and fade only slowly. Guild members will gladly dye garments to order, although patterns and devices must not mock, closely resemble, or duplicate the heraldic devices of the city, Lords, or nobles—a Lords’ Edict on this point is strictly obeyed by the guild. Guilds, nobles, and others with a clear legal right to such designs may, of course, order work bearing them from this guild, a process involving a written request bearing as witness a Magister’s (or Piergeiron’s) signature. The Order has over 2,000 members, most human, and over half female. Its current master is head of the noble family Lanngolyn, and she takes care that members avoid controversy, shady dealings, and large expenses, all of which makes this guild of little interest to adventurers.

Order of Cobblers and Corvisers

    Master: Falloor Malthund—Senior Merchant (CN hm commoner 6 Darion Sulmest (Ln hm expert 4), Sulmest’s Splendid Shoes & Boots, the High Road, North Ward (N49)   Headquarters: Cobblers’ & Corvisers’ House, Soothsayers’ Way, Trades Ward (T37)   Requirements: 25 gp (member), by application to the Council of Senior Merchants (members of the guild who have been members for 15 continuous years, or more) Dues: 10 gp/year (members), 15 gp/year (apprentices)   Skill Training: Appraise, Craft (leather), Craft (shoes), Profession (merchant)   Members: 732 Shoemakers; Resource Limit: 7,320 gp;   Livery: Gray cloaks or caps, with a brown human footprint (right foot, bare), toes uppermost, on the right shoulder or cap-front   Benefits   This guild is a quiet, always busy, wealthy lot, who make and repair shoes, boots, and all forms of footwear, including thick-soled wooden clogs for use in rain and snow. This is not a profession for the lazy—; Waterdeep’s inhabitants keep members of this guild working hard, and always try to get their own shoes or boots mended (or made new) first, before all the others waiting, by paying extra, and promising more. When a dozen or so customers do this in quick succession, ‘some guild members’ shops get a little frantic. Most apprentices, however, watching the money-roll in and reflecting on their dues (apprentices pay more than members), cannot wait to become full members, although the Council tries to keep active membership in the guild down to 200 persons. By guild law, each member can have up to nine, —but no more— apprentices. Guild dues are among the other things used to place large orders each fall (when herd animals that cannot be fed over the winter are slaughtered) with the League of Skinners & Tanners for basic, dark brown, heavy-duty finished leather for use in the making of footwear by the guild. These annual orders are for tons of leather, are carefully guarded by both guilds, and the Order gets their leather at a bargain price in return for providing the League coffers with a regular, large sum to tide League members over each winter. Members of the Order are known to be either hoarders (vast amounts of treasure secured somewhere in the city) or investors, with their money in dozens of businesses or properties. (There’s an old Waterdhavian saying, Most landlords are corvisers; they know best when and how to give the boot.”)

Order of Master Shipwrights

  Master: Lord Kelvar Helmfast— Master Shipwright (CN hm expert 7), “The Old Captain”; Zabardan Barpar— Speaker for the Shipwrights (expert 4), Shipwrights’ House   Headquarters: Shipwrights’ House, Dock Street and Asteril’s Way, Dock Ward (D19)   Requirements: 30 gp; only upon acceptance by the Master (there is no room for new members at present) Dues: 15 gp/year   Skill Training: Craft (ships), Diplomacy, Knowledge (engineering), Profession (merchant), Profession (sailor)   Members: 70; Resource Limit: 700 gp;   Livery: Cloaks and robes of blue, dun, and red, in three broad vertical stripes   Benefits   This guild collectively owns the construction sheds and dry-docks of Waterdeep (except for guild member Amagus, who has his own, and allows the city and fellow guild members to use it for a fee) where ships are built, although they have always been a small guild. Orlumbor’s gigantic shops have always commanded the lion’s share of Sword Coast shipbuilding, and the shops in Waterdeep are simply too small to lay the keels of the largest ships. The Order does a steady trade, however, producing and repairing the merchant cogs and caravels that ply coastal waters. The master merchants of Mirabar who own their own ships in Luskan.

Saddlers' and Harness-makers' Guild

  Master: Deljassa Rammathor—Guildmistress High (NE hf rogue 3), “Lady Wind”;   Headquarters: Saddlers’ & Harness-Makers’ Hall, Tulmaster’’s Street, Southern Ward (S6)   Requirements: 20 gp; acceptance by the Guildmistress High Dues: 7 gp/year   Skill Training: Craft (leather), Handle Animal, Ride, Profession (merchant)   Members: 75 Harness-Makers, 150 Saddlers, ; Resource Limit: 2,250 gp;   Livery: None   Benefits   This guild is led by a former thief and jockey who turned to breeding horses rather than racing them after several bad falls, and thence to making her own tack, eventually rising to head this guild. Deljassa has not been an active jockey or thief in over 15 years, and she is widely respected among the members of her own guild and among the guild masters of the city, as a shrewd and pleasant wheeler-dealer who gets what she wants (such as preferential treatment from the League of Skinners & Tanners for the leather her guild members need).

Scriveners', Scribes', and Clerks' Guild

  Master: Dablor Zimmulstern— Guild Master (LE hm expert 6), Scribe rank: High Atlar;   Headquarters: The Zoarstar, Quill Alley, Trades Ward (T25)   Requirements: 10 gp; Dues: 1 gp/month   Skill Training: Artistry (drawing), Craft (calligraphy), Linguistics, Profession (clerk), Profession (scribe)   Members: 50 Bookbinders, 24 Booksellers, ; Resource Limit: 740 gp;   Livery: Royal blue berets with silver quills on them   Benefits   This guild is a highly educated, professional group of men and women who letter signs, draw pictures (sometimes in front of a party audience, upon a noble’s hiring), compose and write letter stake dictation, design ornamental scripts, draw up legal tallies, and set down records, contracts, and accounts. Many guild members will even forge or counterfeit documents; these cost some very stiff fees— hundreds of gold pieces per document —since the penalties are so severe: Expulsion from Guild and city for very serious cases, with amputation of fingers and thumbs added if the forgery is treasonous or inflammatory, in a manner that threatens the peace of the area. The Palace retains a dozen guild members at all times to transcribe a record of all said before it, and retains one scribe for each Magister (for the same task). The watch also employs guild members to draw likenesses of fugitives described by witnesses, so that watch officers can carry these sketches when on patrol.

Solemn Order of Recognized Furriers and Woolmen

  Master: Thoss Bhalein—Master of the Order (NE hm commoner 5 Shalrin Meraedos— Gentleman Keeper of the Order (LN hm commoner 3), Meraedos Fine Furs, the High Road, North Ward (N48)   Headquarters: Guild Hall of the Order, Waterdeep Way, Castle Ward (C36)   Requirements: 25 gp fee upon application to the Master; refunded if application refused; Dues: 2 gp/month   Skill Training: Craft (cloth), Handle Animal, Profession (merchant), Profession (shepherd), Profession (trapper)   Members: 600 Furriers, ; Resource Limit: 6,000 gp;   Livery: Gray woolen cloaks trimmed with fur (winter), skullcaps of gray wool with a fur fringe (summer)   Benefits   This guild is rich, long established, and incredibly tightfisted, becoming even more so as the guild master and the members grow older. Its members, all of old families, attempt to control all trade in their field that enters Waterdeep by ruthlessly outbidding independents. Sabotage (such as mysterious warehouse fires or even highway banditry) is not unknown. The current Master, Thoss Bhalein, was elected from the guild ranks by the Order’s members upon the death of his predecessor some 30 winters ago, and he has let no one join the Order since he took office. He shows no sign of changing his views, even encouraging wealthy members of the Order to buy out weaker fellow members, to tighten the Order’s control; in his 30 years as Master, Thoss has seen the order shrink by 25% (now having only 40 current members) but its controlled revenues have risen by 40%. Thoss will be master for life (unless he resigns his post an almost unheard-of event; dying, bedridden Masters have often clung to their titles for years after real power has passed from their hands), and is presently 71 years old, but in remarkably good health. This Order is one of the most conservative in Waterdeep, and looks upon adventurers (and young, entrepreneurial merchants in any field) as dangerous, reckless brigands who, by their actions, threaten not only the good name of merchants everywhere, but the very stability of society. The “recognized” of the guild’s title refers to the proud assertion that no member of the Order deals in secondhand, doctored, or stolen wares, but is above reproach. This is largely true, but is a claim occasionally rendered a myth by certain unscrupulous guild members.

Splendid Order of Armorers, Locksmiths, and Finesmiths

  Master: Hallthor Duzmund—Master Smith (LG hm Fighter 12   Headquarters: The Metal House of Wonders, Belnimbra’s Street and Gut Alley, Dock Ward (D3)   Requirements: 35 gp; Dues: 2 gp/month   Skill Training: Artistry (metalwork), Craft (armor), Craft (locks), Craft (weapons), Lore (metal), Profession (merchant)   Members: 179 smiths, ; Resource Limit: 1,790 gp; Livery: Gray cloaks with a single blue star on the left shoulder   Benefits   This guild represents the most skilled smiths: Those able to craft weapons, shields, and armor superbly matched to the wielder and of lasting quality; the “finest quality” that mages enchanting weapons seek to find. Guild members can command the highest prices for their work, particularly for personalized weapons for adventurers and custom-designed locks and strong-doors for the vaults of merchants and nobles. Guild members also design and make ornaments of lasting beauty from wire and sculpted metal, such as the fantastic masks worn by many noble ladies of Waterdeep; metal birds that will flap their wings and trill if the hollow tails are blown through, as toys for the children of the rich; and elaborate party costumes of metal plates that can make the wearer appear to be a monster, for party or stage wear. Members of this guild also fashion signet rings and stamps for the guilds, noble families, and the Palace. (The Palace seal, the arms of the Lords of Waterdeep, was created by this guild.) Each guild member trains his or her apprentices for many years. Acquiring such skills is a full-time profession that does not allow adventurers to dabble and acquire skills thereby (the guild master’s fighting level is a reflection of his intimate knowledge of the properties and handling of the weapons he makes).

Stablemasters' and Farriers' Guild

  Master: Belihands Masker—Senior Master (LG hm commoner 5   Headquarters: The Guild Paddock, Walltower Walk, Trades Ward (T34)   Requirements: 15 gp; Dues: 3 sp/month   Skill Training: Handle Animal, Lore (riding steeds), Profession (stable master), Ride   Members: 193; Resource Limit: 1,930 gp;   Livery: Deep blue hats with white plumes   Benefits   This guild represents all who breed, train, capture, tame, house, and tend horses and other riding animals, including aerial steeds (but not aquatic creatures, lizards, or great cats), and sets standards for such care. The guild also provides its members with veterinary aid, and cheap rates on feed by buying in bulk. The guild maintains a registry of pedigrees and brands to discourage theft and aid the watch in tracing animals if they are stolen. Prices for guild members’ mounts are given in the game rules. Such businesses do take exhausted mounts for a lesser, “trade-in” value. Guild member Jhalathan Ilzoond is considered the finest griffon-tamer in the city, but owns only one such steed himself, which is housed at Castle Waterdeep and hired by the guard. The guard is the largest owner of griffons in the city; it stables over 20 in the eyrie on Mount Waterdeep, and another six (plus Jhalathan’s beloved “Firebeak”) at the castle. There are perhaps three dozen known aerial steeds regularly in Waterdeep in the private hands of residents, including pegasi, hippogriffs, and wind steeds. Members of this guild trained almost all of these.

Stationers' Guild

  Master: Azoulin Wolfwind— Master Stationer (NE hm commoner 3)   Headquarters: Stationers’ Hall, the High Road and the Way of the Dragon, Trades Ward (T31)   Requirements: 15 gp; Dues: 1 gp/month   Skill Training: Craft (alchemy), Craft (books), Craft (writing tools), Profession (merchant)   Members: 100; Resource Limit: 1,000 gp;   Livery: White robes, with a black quill pen on the breast   Benefits   This guild consists of those artisans who make both parchment paper and the cheaper rough-finished variety known in Waterdeep as “scrip.” The guild also produces its own ink, blotters, colored waxes for seals, gilt ink for use in illuminating documents, metal pen nibs, and the like. It also imports many large feathers from the South for use as fine quill pens. All guild members have their own secret recipes for preparing special paper, but the guild does supply its members with fine parchment (made in Stationers’ Hall) and the other products of their trade, at a discount.

Surveyors', Map-, and Chart-makers' Guild

  Master: Halaviir Touzoun —First Chartist (NE hem expert 4 Doroun Lhaerzor —Speaker for the Guild (CN hm expert 3), the Map House   Headquarters: The Map House, Waterdeep Way, Castle Ward (C40)   Requirements: 20 gp; acceptance by the Master Dues: 1 sp/month   Skill Training: Craft (calligraphy), Craft (map making), Knowledge (engineering), Knowledge (geography), Profession (engineer)   Members: 168; Resource Limit: 1,680 gp;   Livery: Green robes with a crossed chalk and dividers on the breast, green hats with white plumes   Benefits   The term “architect” is unknown in Waterdeep, though that type of work is not. Members of this guild design buildings and draw the required blueprints for all new buildings in Waterdeep, and all renovations which change the height of a building or add to its outside extent. This guild also does all the necessary surveying in the city, except for private building sites and road construction and repair sites. The guild maintains, at the Map House, a large and ever-growing collection of maps and nautical charts, which they will purchase from any who offer good specimens to them (at 1-5 gold pieces each). The guild sells copies of maps from this collection, typically at 25 gold pieces each, delivery to any Waterdeep address in nine days included. Rush jobs (two days) cost double. DMs should note that the First Chartist and the Speaker know the collection thoroughly, and also know charts and maps. They will pay more than the usual range for things they really need (for example, maps of cities in Thay, and good maps of far off, legendary Kara-Tur), but will refuse maps they know to be fanciful, wrong, or merely “treasure maps” with no details of the physical vicinity. Nautical charts (and of course, maps of the land) of the elven realm of Evermeet are a real rarity, and the elves take care that it stays that way. (Elves need no charts themselves, and their navy takes care that no other ships get near to Evermeet.)

Vintners', Distillers', & Brewers' Guild

  Master: Razaar Slissin— Guild Master (CN hm expert 5   Headquarters: The House of Good Spirits, the Rising Ride, Southern Ward (S3)   Requirements: 30 gp; acceptance by the Master Dues: 1 gp/month   Skill Training: Craft (alchemy), Lore (alcohol), Profession (brewer), Profession (merchant)   Members: 44, ; Resource Limit: 4,400 gp;   Livery: Purple robes with an upright drinking jack in white silhouette on the breast   Benefits   This guild has only 44 members, but it produces a prodigious amount of drink for Waterdhavians and for export. Guild members annually turn out thousands upon thousands of barrels of wine, beer, and various liquors, including the distinctive “zzar”: a Waterdhavian fortified wine that is fiery, orange, slightly almond flavored, and equivalent to sherry. Player’s Handbook prices apply to such wares; zzar is 2 silver pieces per jack, or 7 silver pieces per bottle. This is a difficult guild to join; years of apprenticeship to a member are necessary (or outstanding credentials in other brewing guilds around the Realms). The Master is careful to keep the membership low so competition will not hurt guild members.

Wagon-makers' and Coach Builders' Guild

  Master: Sarjak Belszour— Guild Master (LG hm commoner 6   Headquarters: The Coach & Wagon Hall, the High Road, Southern Ward (S5)   Requirements: 20 gp; Dues: 1 gp/month   Skill Training: Artistry (wood-working), Craft (wagons), Knowledge (engineering), Profession (merchant)   Members: 74; Resource Limit: 740 gp;   Livery: Brown cloaks with four white wheels on each front shoulder   Benefits   This guild builds and repairs coaches, wagons, and other conveyances for overland trade and travel (including, for extra fees, conveyances with an amazing variety of secret hiding places for use in smuggling and outwitting bandits). The skill involved in making durable, beautiful wagons is considerable, and years of apprenticeship are necessary. Conveyances produced by the guild are elegant and sturdy, lasting through quite a bit of abuse. Prices vary widely with the different types and sizes of conveyances. Custom-made wagons take two weeks to build. Wagons assembled from “stock” parts on hand can be finished in two days. The watchful order of magists and protectors Expect to be questioned at the gate, or when you register with a magister, regarding your ability to cast arcane magic. Wizards, sorcerers, and other arcane spellcasters who intend to stay in Waterdeep for any length of time are required to register with the city, and will be strongly encouraged to join the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors, headed by the Blackstaff. Members of the Watchful Order are expected to render service to the city when called upon, acting as temporary members of the City Watch or City Guard. Their expertise often helps investigators determine whether magic was used to commit a crime in the city. Members can also expect to be tapped for assistance during and after fires, natural events that cause multiple casualties, or other nonmagical disasters. Members of the WatchfuI Order form a more or less sociable association in the city, working together to keep an eye on any spellcasters who opt not to join their guild. Any havoc caused by a spellcaster in Waterdeep risks drawing the wrath of the Lords of Waterdeep so it behooves the Watchful Order to watch all its members.

Geography

Waterdeep was built on the site of the ancient elven settlement of Aelinthaldaar, which gave way to a farming community of humans that developed into Bloodhand Hold. This was conquered and renamed Nimoar's Hold before the name "Waterdeep" caught on. Waterdeep was the most common name used by the sea captains docking at the port to trade.

Natural Resources

The area surrounding Waterdeep is inhabited by many farmers and thus contains many fields of grains and livestock. Being close to the sea, the markets of Waterdeep sell fresh fish everyday. The mines underneath the city, also known as Undermountain have been considered depleted for a long time now.
Alternative Name(s)
The City of Splendors.
Type
Large town
Population
2,000,000
Inhabitant Demonym
Waterdhavians

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World
Forgotten Realms
Category
Waterdeep in Cities
Author
procyon668
Publication Date
27 Nov, 2019
Creation Date
2 Nov, 2019
Last Update Date
27 Nov, 2019
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