Waterdeep vs Lankhmar: Dragon Heist

I've only just started my 5e D&D journey, having played through Horde of the Dragon Queen earlier this year with some friends and really loving it. On a whim (after having launched A Hand of Knaves and still feeling the roguish vibe) I picked up the Dragon Heist (Waterdeep) campaign module last week and it looks really good.

Dragon Heist begins with a low-intensity mystery, allowing players to get a feel for their new characters, and slowly builds into a fun urban adventure. The city-based intrigue is strongly reminiscent of the AD&D 1st and 2nd ed. Lankhmar adventures, which I absolutely love. It's difficult to compare the two really, since my friends and I spent many game sessions navigating Lankhmar's dark, rogue-invested back-alleys, and I know little about Waterdeep - but still - I get a very Lankhmar-ish vibe from Dragon Heist. The city maps for both are spectacularly detailed - though I think I prefer the Lankhmar map for its colourful names and general layout.

A feature of the Dragon Heist adventure however, is its accessibility and the vast array of ready-made options, which give time-poor DMs plenty of scope to add detail, without asking them to invest hours in pre-game preparation, something older modules never really provided.

When I catch up with my playing group again, Dragon Heist will be sure to feature.

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