Yearning to Breathe Free Waterdeep: Dragon Heist Primer Introduction: This FREE primer is designed to allow you to integrate your reputation with the Factions introduced in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist into the Yearning to Breathe Free campaign. This primer also offers a new faction: The Order of the Hellfire Hearth. Yearning to Breathe Free: When a prominent Waterdhavian Noble is murdered in what appears to be a ritual designed to empower the Order of the Hellfire Hearth, things grow bleak for the tieflings of Faerûn. In response to the murder, the Lords of Waterdeep begin rounding up and jailing tieflings with no cause. The Order of the Hellfire Hearth does not take the accusation of murder lightly, nor do they respond well to the summary imprisonment and demonization of their tiefling brothers and sisters. This climate of intolerance, bigotry and fear spreads outward through the Sword Coast, for as it is often said, “as goes Waterdeep, so goes the North.” As heroes of the Sword Coast, it is up to the players to discover the truth about the murder, bring the parties responsible to justice, and if possible, relieve tensions across the Sword Coast before the fragile peace between various factions of the North is irreparably damaged. by Travis Legge Cover Art Some artwork copyright Claudio Pozas, used with Additional Writers permission. R P Davis Some Artwork David Revoy Rafa Martins Dan Layman-Kennedy Interior Art Seth Rinker David Revoy edited by Sarah Scharnweber DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the CoastSample in the USA and other countries. file This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. All other original material in this work is copyright 2018 by Travis Legge and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. 2 YEARNING TO BREATHE FREE Order of the Hellfire Hearth in any way he can, and King Prelude to a Crisis Bruenor Battlehammer of Gauntlgrym has befriended many of the leaders of the Hellfire Hearth, offering This document is designed to give the Dungeon Master support and supplies to the tieflings. Many tieflings a toolkit to integrate the information in Waterdeep: who have answered the call to settle the Order of the Dragon Heist into a Yearning to Breathe Free Hellfire Hearth’s new holdings have connections to campaign. As Yearning to Breathe Free is designed the Zhentarim, which can offer aid and support to the for characters of levels 5-15, the suggestions within this tieflings, for a price. Perhaps most importantly, the primer operate from the assumption that Waterdeep: Hellfire Hearth has forged an alliance with the Harpell Dragon Heist will be run as a prelude, or the first phase wizards from their nearest neighbors to the North: of the Yearning to Breathe Free story. Longsaddle. Each of these alliances will be strained and tested by the course of the Yearning to Breathe Free Introduction adventure, but beforehand, the Order of the Hellfire On the continent of Faerûn, tieflings are people Hearth makes gestures to form alliances across the without a homeland. Distrusted in many communities, Sword Coast, including in the City of Splendors... the tieflings of the Sword Coast encounter prejudice and fear wherever they tread. Though the city of Neverwinter, How to Use This Book which is arguably the most welcoming and cosmopolitan settlement on the Sword Coast, is officially welcoming to The information included in this volume draws from tieflings, the citizenry is often suspicious of the infernal- and builds upon the information provided in both blooded. This leads to discrimination and fear on the Yearning to Breathe Free and Waterdeep: Dragon streets of Neverwinter, even if such behavior is not Heist. This information can be used to enrich either officially supported by the city government. campaign book and to serve as a bridge between both stories. Beyond the walls of Neverwinter, tieflings are treated less favorably by the other humanoid races. The smaller and more remote a settlement is, the less likely it is to Additional Information be welcoming to those with “the blood of Asmodeus.” Of Some of the NPCs discussed in Yearning to Breathe course, there are some exceptions, as some small and Free either draw from basic NPC stat blocks, or lacked remote villages celebrate their heroic tiefling residents, game traits. As Waterdeep: Dragon Heist includes but such cases are exceedingly rare. Across the Sword additional information regarding game traits and Coast, tieflings are tolerated at best, feared and hated at statistics for such NPCs, as well as additional information worst. regarding items and locations. In recent months, a new faction has gained some power, and a small foothold on the Sword Coast. The Waterdeep Order of the Hellfire Hearth is an organization formed The information below, can be used to supersede, to rescue young tieflings from those who would oppress replace, or supplement the information in Yearning to them and build a permanent home for the tiefling people Breathe Free. on the Sword Coast. Since its inception, the Order of the Hellfire Hearth has ventured into the Underdark to The People of Waterdeep liberate enslaved tieflings and to protect the mothers of There are several people within Waterdeep and the unborn tiefling children. In the wake of the Demon Lords surrounding area who have a role to play in the events of running rampant through the Underdark, hundreds of Yearning to Breathe Free. DMs may wish to include the women were left carrying tiefling babies. The Order wealth of NPCs detailed throughout Waterdeep: Dragon of the Hellfire Hearth was able to free several of these Heist in their campaign, particularly if the two are run women, bringing them into the fold and offering them back to back. protection and safety. The Order of the Hellfire Hearth has now set up two semi-permanent settlements in the North, straddling a gateway between the surface and the Waterdhavian Nobles Underdark. On the surface side, stands Camp Brimstone, Harkas Kormallis a quickly growing outpost-turned-village just south of Lawful good male human paladin Longsaddle. Below, Hrast Het stands as the Hellfire Harkas Kormallis retains the traits and information Hearth’sSample Underdark home. detailed in Yearning to Breathefile Free. As the Order of the Hellfire Hearth has amassed Helm “The Torturer” Kormallis lands and recruited tieflings and sympathetic Lawful evil male human knight humanoids from across Faerûn, they have also forged Though not explicitly stated in either campaign, it can a few important political alliances in the North. Lord be assumed that Helm Kormallis is a Masked Lord of Neverember of Neverwinter has pledged to aid the 3 Waterdeep, and therefore has in his possession a Lord’s point in a number of ways. Perhaps the party discovers Ensemble as described in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, the ensemble while investigating the murder. Do they Appendix A: Magic Items. hand it over or try and keep it for their own purposes? Or they could find out that the ensemble has gone missing. Kylynne Silmerhelve Was it stolen by the assassins? A member of the City Lawful good female tiefling noble Watch? What could a missing ensemble mean for the city? Magistra Silmerhelve receives a brief mention in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, Chapter 1: A Friend in Need. Waterdhavian Law Enforcement If running both campaigns, be sure to take note of the City Guard party’s interactions with the Magistra. While she may Any alignment, any race (though most are lawful humans, barely recall the party if they are respectful and courteous dwarves, or elves) (most people who come before her have the good sense As suggested in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, Appendix to be) if they treat her with disrepsect, rudeness, or B: Monsters and NPCs you may use the veteran stat otherwise in a manner out of step with her station this block from the Monster Manual to represent the majority can certainly negatively impact relations during Yearning of the City Watch, Sergeants and higher ranks may be . to Breathe Free represented by the knight stat block. Lady Laeral Silverhand The Waterdhavian Inquisition Chaotic good female human archmage Any lawful alignment, any race but tieflings (most are Lady Silverhand is detailed at length in Waterdeep: humans, half-elves, or aasimar) . The Dragon Heist, Appendix B: Monsters and NPCs As described in Yearning to Breathe Free, the information provided there can come in very handy, Inquisition is a loud and influential minority who usurp especially if any of the various parties involved in the authority through fear and indifference. Their true threat events of Yearning to Breathe Free are suicidal enough is only apparent to a few at their inception. The following to attempt a direct assault on the Open Lord. NPCs from Waterdeep: Dragon Heist could align Malcer Kormallis themselves with the Inquision, offering support: Rishaal the Page-Turner: The proprietor of the Book Neutral Samplegood male human paladin, deceased Wyrm’s Treasure is easily persuaded file that a conspiracy Malcer was a Masked Lord. This offers the Dungeon of Asmodeus-worshipping tieflings is responsible for Master a few opportunities to add complications to the the murder of Malcer Kormallis, and has no qualms plot of Yearning to Breathe Free as there are no details about lending aid to the Inquisition, should they ask. offered within that supplement as to the whereabouts of He takes his duty as a member of the Watchful Order of Malcer’s Lord’s Ensemble.