Campaign traits are tailored to a specific Adventure Path and give your character a built-in reason to begin the first adventure in a new campaign. Campaign traits assume a lot more about your character’s backstory than do normal traits, and they are meant to help serve as inspiration for a player working to create a detailed and interesting history for her character. You have a certain amount of leeway in adjusting a campaign trait’s expected backstory once you’ve selected the trait that’s right for you; just be sure to get the GM’s approval before you run with a modified history.
All of the following traits revolve around characters that have a reason to be permanently in Waterdeep—the City of Splendors—or who are native to the metropolis. You can take a look at these traits to get a general, spoiler-free idea of the types of foes and challenges your character might encounter over the course of the Adventure Path. Knowing that there are going to be elements of espionage, roof-running, high society, and both urban and dungeon adventuring should help you build a character that fits more organically into the campaign you’re about to join. Note that these campaign traits may seem slightly more powerful or valuable than traits associated with other campaigns, since PCs begin the game at 5th level.
| Close Contact: |
| Waterdeep is too full of interesting people for you to be alone. In your journey from whatever past shaped you to the here-and-now, you've encountered a great many unique folk who have influenced you, for good or ill, such as Watchman Calmar Eberdeen (a good-natured young forensic specialist in the Dock Ward Watch), Welvreene Thalmit (risk-addicted friend to adventurers and proprietress of Castle Ward's Crawling Spider tavern), Mril Juthbuck (the friendly half-elven counter clerk of the Aurora's outlet in South Ward), or Thoimm Zalamm (an amicable and loquacious spectator long ago stranded in Faerūn by magic). Select a single NPC from the list above. You gain the NPC as a contact with a trust score of reliable. This bonus contact is in addition to the one free contact with which you begin the campaign. |
| Equity: |
| Many Waterdhavians live at the sufferance of their landlords, making do with run-down tenement quarters if they don't have the security of an inherited row house. Unlike most common folk, you are fortunate enough to own your own lot with a home or business—or, at least, to have it nearly paid off. You begin the game in possession of a building—either a home (which does not generate Capital) or a business (which generates Capital)—whose total value cannot exceed 2000gp. You have 1000gp of credit toward the building, which represents how much of it you own. If the total value of the building is 1000gp or less, you own all of it; if the value exceeds 1000gp, anything left over (up to the 2000gp limit) represents a claim on your building by someone else. For example, if your building is a tavern worth 910gp, you are the sole owner, and owe nothing on your property; conversely, if your building is a house worth 1290gp, someone else owns 290gp of your property, and you must pay that debt before you can become the sole legal owner. You must work with your GM to determine the exact nature and location of your building, as well as the specifics of who—if anyone—holds any mortgage you may yet owe against it. If you are the sole owner of your property, you begin the game in possession of a deed affirming your ownership. Copies of all such deeds are lodged with the legal offices of the Lords of Waterdeep and with the Scriveners', Scribes', and Clerks' Guild. |
| Heirloom: |
| As families grow older, they tend to accumulate all sorts of relics from previous generations, each with an attached story that fades or is renewed as it is inherited over and over again. Some heirlooms are merely curios, while others have greater import. Yours is somewhere in between, though you have held it for long enough to suspect that there is more to your ancestors' bequeathal than meets the eye. You begin the game with a single item of your choice, which can be literally any single object (including a magical item) so long as its value does not exceed 2500gp. Regardless of the item's nature, it possesses one of the following qualities, chosen by you, in addition to any other properties it may possess:
As far as you know, only you are aware of the nature of your heirloom when the game begins, unless you choose to share your knowledge with your fellow PCs. |
| Investment Returns: |
| There are always new businesses starting up in a city the size of Waterdeep. Few succeed on their own, but many are able to expand with the help of investors, backers, or patrons. You are at least partly responsible for the rise of some new venture, for which the ownership is appropriately grateful. You begin the game with 500gp worth of Capital as repayment for your investment in the business of your choice. This Capital must all be of the same type (Goods, Influence, Labor, or Magic), which should reflect the nature of the venture. For example, a seamstress's shop wouldn't reward you with Magic Capital, but might reasonably provide Goods or even Influence. As with any Capital, this could represent actual products rendered as dividends after some initial success (such as Magic from a magic shop) or a promise of a future favor or service in return for your help (such as Labor from a stable, to be called upon or collected when appropriately needed). Additionally, the entrepreneur you helped to succeed remains thankful and maintains a connection with you as a result of your financial or other assistance. You gain this NPC as a contact with a trust score of reliable. This bonus contact is in addition to the one free contact with which you begin the campaign. You must work with your GM to determine the exact nature and location of the business, as well as the specifics of who it is that owns and operates it, and how they do so. |
| Jaded Youth: |
| Now is a strange, sometimes exciting, and often confusing time to be alive and an aristocrat, in Waterdeep. As waves of exotic new trends sweep the City of Splendors, the world-weary, privileged youth of North and Sea Wards seek solace from their ennui by burying themselves in drow nouveau couture, slag music, or whatever other dance, slang, or diet is sweeping adolescent circles this tenday. Whether you are among the noble-born or simply riding their fashionable coattails, your finger is somehow on the pulse of what is chic in Waterdeep. You may make Knowledge (nobility) checks in place of Knowledge (local) checks to learn about Waterdeep, and in place of Diplomacy checks made to gather information within Waterdeep. Additionally, as a result of your activities and involvement in youth culture, older aristocrats and even some common folk may disapprove of you, shifting their initial attitude toward you one step closer to hostile (but never worse than unfriendly) and imposing a -4 circumstance penalty on Diplomacy checks made to adjust their attitude, if they are aware of your pursuits. Likewise, rebellious young nobles and their hangers-on, as well as those who cater to or seek to emulate them, may regard you with an initial attitude one step closer to helpful (though never better than friendly) if they recognize you as a member of their community, and you gain a +2 circumstance bonus on Diplomacy checks made to adjust the attitudes of such individuals. |
| Local Celebrity: |
| Waterdeep is a big city, making you quite a little fish in something of a large pond. Still, a good fish story isn't always restricted to the monsters that supposedly upend whole ships; like the piranha, stories about you—both true and otherwise—circulate with some regularity and growing enthusiasm, thanks to something you are doing or did in the recent past. For better or worse, you find yourself more and more frequently running into people who know your name, even if they don't recognize your face, and since you cannot seem to avoid your reputation, you have decided to embrace it. Unlike other PCs, you do not need to work to establish a reputation within Waterdeep. You begin the game with either a fame score of 5 + your Charisma modifier, or an infamy score of -(5 + your Charisma modifier). The choice is yours, but once made, your reputation or disrepute can be altered only through play. You must work with your GM to determine the exact nature of your reputation or disrepute, but your sphere of influence is generally limited to the city of Waterdeep. |
| Metropolitan: |
| While racism exists, on a greater or lesser scale, throughout all the Realms, it is difficult to live in a city like Waterdeep and remain completely ignorant of other cultures. Regardless of whether you appreciate or even respect them, the lives and identities of other peoples have a strong influence on your own, and the acknowledgment of that ethnic fusion is what makes you uniquely Waterdhavian. You gain a +2 trait bonus on Knowledge checks made to learn or recall information about specific cultures, and Knowledge (local) is always a class skill for you. Once per day, you may attempt a DC25 Knowledge (local) check to gain the effects of cultural adaptation as an extraordinary ability, with an effective caster level equal to one-half your character level (rounded down). Additionally, you begin the game knowing one additional language; this bonus language can be any language you choose, excepting secret languages (like Druidic), dead languages (like Loross), and exceptionally obscure or specific languages (like Mabrahoring). |
| Shadow Thief Sympathizer: |
| Though the Shadow Thieves have long been broken and banished from Waterdeep, plenty of ignorant would-be master thieves spin tales of their eventual (or current) secret return, lauding them as the greatest guild in the history of organized crime. You have ties to one of the many lesser groups that try to imitate the legendary Shadow Thieves, or are at least an admirer of their infamy, and your time spent honing your craft in the dark places of the city have taught you a few tricks about moving unseen through the night. You gain a +2 trait bonus on Stealth checks; this bonus increases to +4 when in areas of dim light or darkness. This bonus does not apply against creatures that can potentially see you in the dark (such as with darkvision or the see in darkness ability), or which use non-visual means to sense and pinpoint others or to make Perception checks (like blindsight). |
| Stockholder: |
| Whether you are wealthy enough to live off your own interest or so poor that you can barely squirrel away a few bits in a sock under the pallet, Waterdhavians agree that putting all of one's eggs in a single basket tends to be a poor idea. The nobility refer to this bit of common sense as "diversifying one's portfolio," while the common folk call it "a perfectly reasonable mistrust of banks." No matter which category you fall into, you espouse the philosophy that it's best to do different things with your money rather than spending it all in one place, and your willingness to carefully gamble a safe portion of your net worth has bought you a chance to cash in on Waterdeep's massive economy—or to provide additional evidence in support of Sock Theory. You begin the game with seed money invested in a business of your choice. The value of your investment can be any amount you desire, up to a maximum of 1000gp. This seed money does not count against your starting wealth, and may be withdrawn from the venture using the normal rules for investments. You must work with your GM to determine the exact nature and location of the business, as well as the specifics of who it is that owns and operates it, and how they do so. Your only guarantee is that your investment will see its first return or failure during the first in-game year. |
| Watchlisted: |
| Waterdeep employs multiple tiers of law enforcement to prop up the city's justice system. The most recognizable—and the most thinly spread—is the Watch, whose job it is to police the streets and generally guard Waterdhavian citizens. Being chronically shorthanded and understaffed in recent decades, the Watch have no real sense of humor and tend not to appreciate opportunists or casual criminals; contemporary security strategies focus almost equally on frightening potential future offenses out of first-timers as on the actual pursuit and prosecution of habitual lawbreakers, as you have seen firsthand. Choose a crime from among the laws of Waterdeep. Whether you actually committed the crime of which you were accused or not, the Watch was unable to determine, and thus were forced to let you go. However, you remain under a certain amount of scrutiny after being brought in on suspicion, and while the Watch stopped short of issuing any sort of punishment, they now know your face and are less likely to be forgiving should you turn up connected to any future crimes. You gain a +2 trait bonus on Knowledge (local) checks made with regard to the laws and justice system of Waterdeep, as well as a +2 trait bonus on Bluff and Sense Motive checks made against officers of the Watch, but suffer a -2 competence penalty on Diplomacy checks made to influence the attitude of any known officer or agent of the Watch. |