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Balancing Encounters: Waterdeep Dragon HeistClick to magnify

Balancing Encounters: Waterdeep Dragon Heist

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D&D encounters have a sweet spot, that perfect middle ground between ease and difficulty to maximize player satisfaction. Ideally, a DM should provide the tension of possible defeat in combat without demoralizing frustration, as well as hope for success in the face of meaningful obstacles.

Of course, groups can change, and the characters within them definitely will, and especially in public play at a convention or game store, it can be hard for DMs consistently adjust battles on the fly and maintain the right level of challenge... That's why we've done the work for you!

Balanced Encounters: Waterdeep Dragon Heist re-edits each encounter in that urban caper adventure to offer a spectrum of nine levels of difficulty, and provides guidance for determining which one will suit your table best.

From the trio of new players learning the game to the group of seven veteran adventurers navigating new challenges in the City of Splendors, this 40+ page document provides methods for gauging the power of a party of adventurers and adapting every combat scenario to their level of prowess. Even DMs experienced in altering adventures during play will find this product useful in speeding up that process and providing a starting point for improvisation!

This product adapts and expands the structure used to balance encounters in D&D Adventurer's League, but with a full explanation so no familiarity with any Organized Play program is necessary. The thematically appropriate encounter changes described here are equally useful in AL or non-AL games.

In addition, appendices of bonus content specific to this adventure help adapt the various faction missions on which characters might be sent and makes the renowned earned on those missions more meaningful in the final battle. Instantly improve your Dragon Heist campaign with a quick download of Balanced Encounters: Waterdeep Dragon Heist!

If you love this product, or if you think it could be improved, please leave a review, star-rating, or comment-- all input is read and considered, and could show up in a future revision!

If you enjoy this product, please check out these and other bestselling DM's Guild titles by co-author Jeremy Forbing:

Cover of Forgotten Realms Archetypes ICover of Her Dying WishCover of Unearthed Archetypes ICover of Eberron ArchetypesCover of Ravenloft Archetypes II

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Reviews (2)
Discussions (3)
Customer avatar
Thomas P December 13, 2022 11:05 pm UTC
Would this work if I wanted to run the adventure for a party of two players from levels 15-20? I'm considering using Waterdeep: Dragon Heist as a "a few years later..." after I'm done running Descent into Avernus. I used the balancing encounters supplement for that, and it's worked great so far.
Customer avatar
Quentin M June 27, 2021 7:16 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Any chance of a printer-friendly version?
Customer avatar
Le T August 13, 2019 9:21 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Hey everyone. I just wanted to let you all know that if we reach Best Silver Seller I'll provide an Appendix that includes variant encounters in the case that you do not own the Hardcover Adventures:
Hoard of the Dragon Queen (Winter: Mistshore and Winter: Old Tower)
Princes of the Apocalypse (E8: Reading Room and E10: Audience Room)
Out of the Abyss (Autumn: Cellar Complex)
Curse of Strahd (Winter: Mausoleum, K17: Flesh Golem, and Caught At Last)
Tales from the Yawning Portal (Q7: Boss Fight, Spring: Mausoleum, Spring: Converted Cellar, Autumn: Cellar Complex, V4: Hall of Moradin, Leaving the Vault of Dragons with Xanathar - Noska is Dead, Leaving the Vault of Dragons with Manshoon - Agorn and Vevette are Alive, X18 w/out Xanathar, Ammalia Cassalanter, C10: Kitchen, J10: Captain's Cabin, K3: Kitchen, and the Level 5 Zhentarim Faction Quest)
Tomb of Annihilation (Q5: Sleeping Area)
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Customer avatar
Le T January 29, 2020 1:49 am UTC
PURCHASER
Well, this got Silver! Guess what I’m going to be doing now?
Reply
Customer avatar
Le T February 01, 2020 9:33 am UTC
PURCHASER
And the preliminary version of this has been completed, now just a couple more steps and we should be good to go!
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42
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File Last Updated:
April 09, 2019
This title was added to our catalog on April 06, 2019.