Lords of Waterdeep

Introduction

Welcome to Waterdeep, the City of Splendors! You are a Lord of Waterdeep, one of the secret rulers of this great city. Through your Agents, you recruit Adventurers to complete Quests and advance your agendas.

The Lords of Waterdeep all have the safety of their city at heart, but each one is also laying his or her own plans! Through back-door dealings, mercenaries, and plain old bribery, can you guide the city to become the greatest Lord of Waterdeep?

How to Win

The Lords of Waterdeep™ game is played in eight rounds. The player with the most Victory Points at the end of the final round is the winner.

Game Components

• Game board
• Rulebook
• Storage tray
• 5 player mats
• 100 Adventurer cubes:
  • 25 Clerics (white)
  • 25 Fighters (orange)
  • 25 Rogues (black)
  • 25 Wizards (purple)
• 33 wooden pieces:
  • 5 score markers
  • 25 Agents (5 of each color)
  • 1 Ambassador
  • 1 Lieutenant
  • 1 First Player marker
• 121 cards:
  • 11 Lord of Waterdeep cards
  • 50 Intrigue cards
  • 60 Quest cards
• 170 die-cut pieces:
  • 24 Building tiles
  • 45 Building control markers (9 of each color)
  • 60 Gold tokens:
    • 50 1-Gold tokens
    • 10 5-Gold tokens
  • 36 Victory Point tokens
  • 5 100 VP tokens

Setup

Before you can start playing, you’ll need to spend a bit of time setting up the game.

Game Board

The game board represents the various Wards of the city of Waterdeep.

• A track near the bottom edge of the board marks the passage of rounds, while another along the outside edge is used to track players’ scores.
• Unfold and place the game board in the center of the play area within easy reach of all players.

Agents

As a Lord of Waterdeep, you assign your Agents to further your interests in the city. There are 5 different colors of these wooden pieces, which represent various secret societies.

Each player chooses a color and takes Agents of that color. These form your pool of Agents. Place them on the “Agent Pool” area of your player mat.

The number of Agents in your pool depends on the number of players, as shown in the table below:

Each player also places 1 more Agent of his or her color near the Round 5 space of the rounds track. That Agent will be available for use on that round. A sixth (gray) space is included for use in future expansions.

In addition, the game contains 2 neutral Agent pieces: the Ambassador and the Lieutenant. These Agents do not begin play under anyone’s control but can be added to a player’s pool through game effects.

Score Markers

Each player has a circular wooden piece that matches the color of his or her Agents. Place these score markers on the scoring track in the space labeled “0.”

Counters representing 100 Victory Points (VP) are provided to mark when a score marker passes the “0” space in play.

Player Mats

Each player takes a player mat that matches his or her Agents’ color. This helps keep track of various game resources.

• Agent Pool: Here is where you keep Agents that you have not yet assigned (see “Assign Agent” on page 8). At the end of the round, all of your assigned Agents return to your pool.
• Tavern: This area holds the Adventurers you have hired until you use them to complete Quests. You also store Gold in your Tavern.
• Completed Quests: Whenever you complete a Quest, you place its card in the “Completed Quests” area of your player mat. Rules for completing Quests start on page 10.

Adventurers

Your Agents hire various Adventurers, whether noble heroes or mere mercenaries, to accomplish various tasks.

There are four kinds of Adventurers, represented by wooden cubes:

• Clerics (white)
• Fighters (orange)
• Rogues (black)
• Wizards (purple)

Different Quests require different kinds of Adventurers to complete. Along with Gold (see below), these cubes form the supply. Place them to the side of the game board, within easy reach of all players.

If there aren’t enough of a particular Adventurer type in the supply to hire, you can hire only as many as are available.

Other Pieces

The Lords of Waterdeep game includes several kinds of pieces, described below.

Building Control Markers

Each player has a number of die-cut tokens to indicate ownership of Buildings he or she has purchased. These tokens match the color of the player’s Agents.

Gold

Nothing comes cheaply in Waterdeep. Your Agents need plenty of cash to grease the wheels. Gold is used to buy Buildings, to complete many Quests, and to pay for other game effects.

Gold is represented by die-cut tokens, in denominations of 1 and 5 Gold. These also form part of the supply, which should be within easy reach of all players.

Victory Points

As you complete Quests, you score Victory Points (VP). Unpurchased Buildings accumulate VP over time, represented by die-cut tokens. As well, some Buildings and other game effects provide VP.

Place 3 Victory Point tokens on each space of the rounds track.

Buildings

The game board contains 9 basic Buildings, each of which has one or more action spaces to which Agents can be assigned. See “Assign Agent” on page 8 for more information.

There are also spaces for Building tiles, which players can purchase and put into play.

1. To start the game, draw 3 Building tiles and place them face up in each of the 3 spaces in Builder’s Hall.
2. The remaining face-down Building tiles form a stack, placed in the labeled space on the game board near Builder’s Hall.

Cards

Cards represent the tasks that Adventurers perform in your service, your sneaky manipulations, and secret victory conditions.

Lord Cards

The city of Waterdeep is secretly administered by powerful individuals known as the Lords of Waterdeep. Eleven Lord of Waterdeep cards (“Lord cards” for short) represent these hidden personalities.

1. Shuffle the Lord cards and deal 1 card face down to each player. Keep this card face down—your identity is a secret to your opponents.
2. Return the remaining Lord cards to the box, face down. They won’t be used for the rest of the game.

Each Lord card grants bonus VP for meeting certain conditions, as described in its rules text. For example, Khelben Arunsun grants bonus VP for completing Arcana Quests and Warfare Quests. Appendix 3: Lords of Waterdeep on page 20 summarizes the various Lords’ abilities.

Quest Cards

As a Lord of Waterdeep, you advance your interests by completing Quests, represented by Quest cards. See “Complete Quest” on page 10 for more about acquiring and completing Quests.

1. Shuffle the Quest cards and deal 2 cards face up to each player. These cards form each player’s active Quests.
2. Next, place 1 face-up Quest card in each of the 4 spaces of Cliffwatch Inn.
3. The rest of the face-down Quest cards form the Quest deck. Place the deck in the labeled space on the game board near Cliffwatch Inn.

Whenever a player must draw a card from an empty deck, shuffle all the cards in the respective discard pile to form a new deck and place them face down in the appropriate space of the game board. Do not shuffle any completed Quest cards back into the Quest deck.

Intrigue Cards

Intrigue cards let you secretly manipulate others to advance your ends. But be careful—your fellow Lords of Waterdeep are also skilled in intrigue!

1. Shuffle the Intrigue cards and deal 2 cards face down to each player. Keep these cards hidden from your opponents. See “Play Intrigue Card” on page 9 for more information.
2. The rest of the face-down Intrigue cards form the Intrigue deck. Place the deck in the labeled space on the game board near Waterdeep Harbor.

Start Play

The player who has most recently been to another city goes first. Give that player the First Player marker.

The starting player gets 4 Gold. The player to his or her left gets 5 Gold, and so on. Each player receives 1 more Gold than the player to his or her right until all players have received starting Gold.

Sequence of Play

The Lords of Waterdeep game is played in rounds. During each round, players take turns in which they assign their Agents to various tasks.

The game ends after 8 rounds have passed. The player with the most VP at the end of the eighth round is the winner.

Start of Round

The rounds track on the game board starts out with 3 VP tokens on each round space, as shown in the setup instructions. The VP tokens also serve to mark which round it is.

1. At the start of each round, remove the 3 VP tokens from that round’s space and place 1 VP token on each face-up Building in Builder’s Hall.
2. When Purchased/Start of Round: Some Building tiles have special instructions to be followed when the Building is purchased and at the start of each round. If any of those Buildings are in play, follow the start-of-round instructions for each. (See Appendix 1: Buildings on page 12 for descriptions of these effects.)
3. Once all start-of-round effects are complete, players take turns in order.

Start of Round 5: Each player takes the extra Agent piece of his or her color from the space near the rounds track and adds it to his or her pool. The extra Agent is available for the rest of the game.

Actions in a Turn

Each player takes turns, one at a time, starting with the player who has the First Player marker and proceeding to that player’s left.

During your turn, if you have Agents available to assign, you take one or both of the following actions:

1. Assign Agent
2. Complete Quest

Assign Agent

If you have any Agents in your pool, you assign 1 of them. To assign an Agent, place it on any unoccupied action space of a Building, whether a basic Building or one that has been put into play. You cannot place an Agent on an action space that contains another Agent (yours or another player’s) or on Buildings that are not yet in play.

• When you assign an Agent, follow the instructions for that action space. You take that action just once.
• You cannot choose to pass your turn. If you have Agents available, you must assign 1 of them. (In the unlikely event that you cannot take an action on your turn, you must pass.)
• If you have no more Agents available to assign, you can no longer take turns that round. For the rest of the round, play skips to the next player in order who still has available Agents.

Several basic Buildings have special rules, as described here. For detailed descriptions of all Buildings’ effects, see Appendix 1: Buildings on page 12.

End of Round

When all Agents at Waterdeep Harbor have been reassigned, the round ends.

At the end of the round, all players return all their Agents to their pools. The player with the First Player marker begins the next round.

Builder’s Hall

Builder’s Hall allows you to purchase Building tiles, which add new potential actions to the game.

1. Whenever you assign an Agent to Builder’s Hall, choose one of the face-up Buildings available for purchase and pay its Gold cost.
2. You immediately score any VP for that Building and place its tile in one of the open spots on the board. Place one of your control markers on that tile to show you are the owner.
3. After you purchase a Building, immediately draw the top tile of the Building stack and place it face-up on the vacated space.

Owner Benefit: Once a new Building is in play, it is available for anyone to assign an Agent to, just like any other Building on the game board. However, when someone other than the owner assigns an Agent to that Building’s action space, the owner gains the benefit described in the tile’s “Owner” line.

Cliffwatch Inn

Cliffwatch Inn has three action spaces instead of the usual one. You can assign more than 1 of your Agents to Cliffwatch Inn if it still has an open action space (but you still can’t assign more than 1 Agent per turn).

Acquiring Quests: At the start of the game, this Building contains 4 face-up Quest cards. Assigning an Agent to Cliffwatch Inn is the usual way to get new Quests. However, each action space has a different effect:

• Action Space 1: Take 1 face-up Quest card from the available Quests, and take 2 Gold from the supply and place it in your Tavern.
• Action Space 2: Take 1 face-up Quest card and draw 1 Intrigue card.
• Action Space 3: Discard the face-up Quest cards from the available Quests. Draw and place 4 new Quest cards from the Quest deck, and then take 1 of the new face-up Quest cards.

You can choose any of the available action spaces when you assign an Agent to Cliffwatch Inn. Whenever you take a face-up Quest card, immediately replace it with a new card from the Quest deck.

Waterdeep Harbor

Waterdeep Harbor has three action spaces instead of the usual one. You can assign more than 1 of your Agents to Waterdeep Harbor if it still has an open action space (but you still can’t assign more than 1 Agent per turn).

Assigning an Agent to one of those spaces has two effects:

1. Play Intrigue Card: By assigning an Agent to one of the action spaces on Waterdeep Harbor, you play a single Intrigue card from your hand. If you have no Intrigue cards, you cannot assign an Agent to Waterdeep Harbor.
   When you play an Intrigue card, you follow its instructions immediately. Its effect takes place just once. For example, Lack of Faith forces each opponent to remove 1 Cleric () from his or her Tavern if possible. If an opponent has more than 1 Cleric, you cannot force that player to remove additional Clerics with this card.
   An Intrigue card can be an attack, a utility, or a Mandatory Quest.
2. Reassign Agent: After all Agents have been assigned in the round, each player with an Agent in Waterdeep Harbor reassigns that Agent to another action space. In effect, that player takes an additional turn with that Agent. Players reassign Agents in order, starting with the action space numbered “1.” You cannot reassign an Agent to Waterdeep Harbor.

Intrigue Card Types

• Attack: Attack cards hinder or penalize opponents, often helping you in the process. For example, Lack of Faith is an attack that removes another player’s Cleric.
• Utility: These cards do something beneficial. For example, Call in a Favor lets you take resources of your choice from the supply.
• Mandatory Quest: You can force an opponent to undertake a minor but pressing task before finishing other Quests. See “Mandatory Quests” on page 11 for more information.

Some game effects also allow players to reassign Agents during play.

Complete Quest

After assigning an Agent, you may complete one Quest. Each Quest card specifies how many and what kind of Adventurers are needed to complete it. Often you need to spend Gold as well.

• You don’t have to complete a Quest if you don’t want to.
• You cannot complete more than one Quest on your turn.
• To complete a Quest, remove the required Adventurers and Gold from your Tavern. Return those tokens to the supply. Then collect the specified reward.
• Regardless of how many Agents you assign or reassign on your turn, you can complete only one Quest that turn.
• Reward: A completed Quest provides a reward to the player who completes it, shown on the “Reward” line. Rewards usually include VP and might include other things, such as Adventurers, Gold, or cards. If a reward includes Adventurers or Gold, take the appropriate pieces from the supply and place them in your Tavern.

For example, Spy on the House of Light grants a reward of 6 VP and 6 Gold. You immediately collect the Gold and advance your score marker 6 spaces along the scoring track as soon as you complete the Quest.

Quests provide a reward just once, when you complete them. After you collect the reward, turn the Quest card face down and place it on the “Completed Quests” area of your player mat.

Reading a Quest Card

Quest Type: There are five different types of Quests: Arcana, Commerce, Piety, Skullduggery, and Warfare. A Quest’s type provides an idea of what sort of Adventurers are most important to completing it.

Different Lords of Waterdeep score bonus VP for completing Quests of particular types. For example, Khelben Arunsun scores 4 bonus VP for each Arcana Quest and each Warfare Quest that player completes.

Requires: Each Quest card requires certain resources (Adventurers and Gold) to complete, shown on the “Requires” line by symbols:

• Cleric
• Fighter
• Rogue
• Wizard
• Gold

For example, Spy on the House of Light requires 3 Fighters (), 2 Rogues (), and 2 Gold () to complete.

Mandatory Quests

Some Intrigue cards are Mandatory Quests, which you play on opponents to hinder their plans.

When you play an Intrigue card with a Mandatory Quest, choose an opponent and place the card face up in front of that player. That player cannot complete any other Quests until he or she has completed the Mandatory Quest.

For example, Stamp Out Cultists requires 1 Cleric, 1 Fighter, and 1 Rogue to complete and provides a reward of 2 VP.

When a Mandatory Quest is completed, place the card in the Intrigue discard pile.

Plot Quests

A few Quests have the notation “Plot Quest,” which indicates that they are especially important to successfully managing Waterdeep.

Plot Quests have ongoing effects in addition to providing rewards. For example, Recover the Magister’s Orb has a one-time reward of 6 VP. However, it also grants an ongoing effect: Once per round, you can assign 1 Agent to a space containing an opponent’s Agent.

You can quickly identify a Plot Quest by looking at the name on its card. The name of a Plot Quest is a different color from those of ordinary Quest cards.

When you complete a Plot Quest, place its card face up near your player mat to remind you of the ongoing effect.

Ending the Game

The game ends after 8 rounds of play. At the end of the eighth round, perform final scoring for each player.

Final Scoring

Each player counts up VP and advances his or her scoring marker accordingly:

The player with the most VP after final scoring is the winner. In the event of a tie, the player with the most Gold wins.

Appendix 1: Buildings

This section lists the various Buildings that players can assign their Agents to. The game board has nine basic Buildings, and ten additional spaces are provided for Buildings that players purchase during the game.

Reading a Building

Each Building, whether printed on the game board or a tile in Builder’s Hall, contains the same kinds of information. See “Assign Agent” on page 8 for more information.

• Name: You can look up more detailed information about the Building by finding its name in Appendix 1: Buildings beginning on page 12.
• Cost: The amount of Gold needed to purchase the Building. For example, Helmstar Warehouse costs 3 Gold.
• Instructions: The resources that Building provides, which might be Adventurers, Gold, Victory Points, card draws, or other things. For example, Helmstar Warehouse provides 2 Rogues and 2 Gold.
• Owner: The player who purchased the Building gains the stated benefit when any other player assigns an Agent to that Building (1 Rogue, in the case of Helmstar Warehouse).

Basic Buildings

These Buildings are always available to assign Agents to (as long as they have unoccupied action spaces).

Aurora’s Realms Shop

Aurora’s Realms Shops acquire goods from every corner of Faerûn. This branch is just one of six in the city.

• Location: Trades Ward
• Action: Take 4 Gold () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

Blackstaff Tower

Blackstaff Tower is home to the archmage Khelben Blackstaff and his apprentices.

• Location: Castle Ward
• Action: Take 1 Wizard () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

Cliffwatch Inn

The proprietor of this rambling tavern knows a wealth of tales. The inn’s cellars are rumored to connect to the city sewers and Undermountain.

• Location: North Ward
• Action 1: Take 1 face-up Quest card from Cliffwatch Inn. As well, take 2 Gold () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.
• Action 2: Take 1 face-up Quest card from Cliffwatch Inn, and draw 1 Intrigue card.
• Action 3: Discard all the face-up Quest cards from Cliffwatch Inn. Draw new Quests from the Quest deck, and place them face up in the open spaces. Then take 1 face-up Quest card from Cliffwatch Inn.

Builder’s Hall

The headquarters for the Guild of Stonecutters, Masons, Potters, & Tile-makers is the first stop for anyone wishing to add to the great city of Waterdeep.

• Location: South Ward
• Start of Round: Place 1 VP token from the rounds track on each Building tile available for purchase.
• Action: Choose 1 Building, pay its cost in Gold, and put it into play under your control. (Place one of your control markers on the Building tile to identify the owner.) Score any VP for the newly purchased Building. Then draw a new Building tile and place it face up in the vacated space.

Castle Waterdeep

This mighty stronghold on top of Mount Waterdeep can be seen from nearly every corner of the city.

• Location: Castle Ward
• Action: Take the First Player marker, and draw 1 Intrigue card.

Field of Triumph

Exciting spectacles of martial skill are staged in this enormous open-air stadium.

• Location: Sea Ward
• Action: Take 2 Fighters () from the supply and place them in your Tavern.

The Grinning Lion Tavern

This tavern is adorned with battle trophies from all ends of Faerûn, but every one is a fake.

• Location: North Ward
• Action: Take 2 Rogues () from the supply and place them in your Tavern.

The Plinth

This needle-like tower is home to those faiths without the congregation to support an independent temple.

• Location: Trades Ward
• Action: Take 1 Cleric () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

Waterdeep Harbor

Waterdeep gets both its name and its wealth from this deep-water basin.

• Location: Dock Ward
• Action: Play 1 Intrigue card from your hand.
• Reassign Agent: After all Agents have been assigned in the round, each player with an Agent in Waterdeep Harbor reassigns that Agent to another action space. Start with the Agent in the action space numbered “1,” and proceed in numerical order.

Advanced Buildings

The 24 Building tiles represent advanced Buildings that players can purchase. Up to 3 Building tiles are face-up and available for purchase at Builder’s Hall at any time.

Each Building description includes some background information, including the city Ward in which it is traditionally located. This location does not restrict where you can place the Building tile on the game board.

Owner: When a player other than the owner assigns an Agent to this Building, the owner immediately gains the benefit stated on the “Owner” line. Place any Adventurers or Gold gained in this way in the owner’s Tavern.

Caravan Court

Caravans arrive frequently at this open-air plaza, and with them able-bodied warriors looking for work.

• Location: South Ward
• Cost: 4 Gold
• When Purchased and at Start of Round: Place 2 Fighters () on this space.
• Action: Take all Fighters () from this space and place them in your Tavern.
• Owner: Take 1 Fighter () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

Dragon Tower

The secretive wizard Maaril lives in this sinister tower.

• Location: Sea Ward
• Cost: 3 Gold
• Action: Take 1 Wizard () from the supply and place it in your Tavern, and draw 1 Intrigue card.
• Owner: Draw 1 Intrigue card.

Fetlock Court

Just north of Castle Waterdeep, this courtyard is a staging area for the City Guard’s mounted patrols as well as an impromptu concert hall for practicing bards.

• Location: Castle Ward
• Cost: 8 Gold
• Action: Take 2 Fighters () and 1 Wizard () from the supply and place them in your Tavern.
• Owner: Take 1 Fighter () or 1 Wizard () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

The Golden Horn

In this gambling hall, the grand prize is a golden horn filled with mysterious riches.

• Location: Trades Ward
• Cost: 4 Gold
• When Purchased and at Start of Round: Take 4 Gold () from the supply and place it on this space.
• Action: Take all Gold () from this space and place it in your Tavern.
• Owner: Take 2 Gold () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

Helmstar Warehouse

This seemingly legitimate business is home to one of the most successful fences in Waterdeep, Chuldan Helmstar.

• Location: Dock Ward
• Cost: 3 Gold
• Action: Take 2 Rogues () and 2 Gold () from the supply and place them in your Tavern.
• Owner: Take 1 Rogue () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

Heroes’ Garden

You can always find adventurers in this public park, retelling the stories of their exploits.

• Location: Sea Ward
• Cost: 4 Gold
• Action: Take 1 face-up Quest card from Cliffwatch Inn. You may immediately complete that Quest. If you do, you score 4 bonus VP in addition to the Quest reward. (You do not score the bonus VP if you complete the Quest later on.)
• Owner: Score 2 VP.

House of Good Spirits

The rumors of a hidden dragon’s hoard draws adventurers to this inn, but they stay for the drinks.

• Location: South Ward
• Cost: 3 Gold
• Action: Take 1 Fighter () and one Adventurer of any type () from the supply and place them in your Tavern.
• Owner: Take 1 Fighter () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

House of Heroes

The largest shrine in Waterdeep is dedicated to Tempus, the Lord of Battle.

• Location: Sea Ward
• Cost: 8 Gold
• Action: Take 1 Cleric () and 2 Fighters () from the supply and place them in your Tavern.
• Owner: Take 1 Cleric () or 1 Fighter () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

House of the Moon

This gilded temple attracts pilgrims in search of Selûne’s grace and power.

• Location: Sea Ward
• Cost: 3 Gold
• Action: Take 1 Cleric () from the supply and place it in your Tavern, and take 1 face-up Quest card from Cliffwatch Inn.
• Owner: Take 2 Gold () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

House of Wonder

This ornate tower is dedicated to Mystra, the goddess of magic.

• Location: Sea Ward
• Cost: 4 Gold
• Action: Spend 2 Gold (), and then take 2 Adventurers from the supply and place them in your Tavern. These Adventurers can be only Clerics () or Wizards ().
• Owner: Take 2 Gold () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

Jesters’ Court

Once a place where jugglers and comics performed, this alley between the Street of Silks and the Street of Silver has taken a more dangerous turn.

• Location: Castle Ward
• Cost: 4 Gold
• When Purchased and at Start of Round: Place 2 Rogues () on this space.
• Action: Take all Rogues () from this space and place them in your Tavern.
• Owner: Take 1 Rogue () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

New Olamn

This college is one of the best places to learn the bardic arts and is famous throughout the Sword Coast.

• Location: Castle Ward
• Cost: 8 Gold
• Action: Take 2 Rogues () and 1 Wizard () from the supply and place them in your Tavern.
• Owner: Take 1 Rogue () or 1 Wizard () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

Northgate

All trade between Waterdeep and the mining town of Mirabar inevitably flows through the Northgate.

• Location: North Ward
• Cost: 3 Gold
• Action: Take 1 Adventurer of any type () and 2 Gold () from the supply and place them in your Tavern.
• Owner: Score 2 VP.

The Palace of Waterdeep

This white marble palace stands as a shining symbol of the Lords’ Rule and is home to many embassies.

• Location: Castle Ward
• Cost: 4 Gold
• Action: Take the Ambassador piece and place it with your unused Agents. At the start of the next round, before any other player takes a turn, assign the Ambassador. See “Advanced Buildings” on page 22 for further clarifications.
• Owner: Score 2 VP.

The Skulkway

Smugglers used this short alleyway to move goods under the noses of the City Guard.

• Location: Sea Ward
• Cost: 4 Gold
• Action: Take 1 Fighter (), 1 Rogue (), and 2 Gold () from the supply and place them in your Tavern.
• Owner: Take 1 Fighter () or 1 Rogue () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

Smuggler’s Dock

This is the private dock of the suspected Lord of Waterdeep, Mirt the Moneylender.

• Location: Castle Ward
• Cost: 4 Gold
• Action: Spend 2 Gold (), and then take 4 Adventurers from the supply and place them in your Tavern. These Adventurers can be only Fighters () or Rogues ().
• Owner: Take 2 Gold () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

Spires of the Morning

Eight golden spires adorn this walled garden temple dedicated to the god of the dawn.

• Location: Castle Ward
• Cost: 4 Gold
• When Purchased and at Start of Round: Place 1 Cleric () on this space.
• Action: Take all Clerics () from this space and place them in your Tavern.
• Owner: Score 2 VP.

The Stone House

The home of the Carpenters’, Roofers’, and Plaisterers’ Guild, which has grown extremely rich from nobles’ efforts to upstage their neighbors’ villas.

• Location: South Ward
• Cost: 4 Gold
• Action: Take 1 Gold () from the supply for each Building tile in play.
• Owner: Take 2 Gold () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

The Three Pearls

This expensive nightclub is named for its original purchase price: three black pearls torn from a dancer’s outfit.

• Location: Dock Ward
• Cost: 4 Gold
• Action: Return 2 of your Adventurers of any type () to the supply. Then take 3 Adventurers of any type () from the supply and place them in your Tavern.
• Owner: Take 2 Gold () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

The Tower of Luck

Donations to Tymora from those who survived the depths of Undermountain quickly paid for the construction of this temple.

• Location: Sea Ward
• Cost: 8 Gold
• Action: Take 1 Cleric () and 2 Rogues () from the supply and place them in your Tavern.
• Owner: Take 1 Cleric () or 1 Rogue () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

Tower of the Order

This impressive structure is the headquarters of the Watchful Order of Magists & Protectors.

• Location: Castle Ward
• Cost: 4 Gold
• When Purchased and at Start of Round: Place 1 Wizard () on this space.
• Action: Take all Wizards () from this space and place them in your Tavern.
• Owner: Draw 1 Intrigue card.

The Waymoot

Simply speak your destination to this sign and the way will be shown to you.

• Location: South Ward
• Cost: 4 Gold
• When Purchased and at Start of Round: Place 3 VP tokens on this space.
• Action: Remove all VP tokens from this space and score that many VP, and take 1 face-up Quest card from Cliffwatch Inn.
• Owner: Score 2 VP.

The Yawning Portal

This famous inn, featuring the only known public entry to Undermountain, attracts adventurers of every sort.

• Location: Castle Ward
• Cost: 4 Gold
• Action: Take 2 Adventurers of any type () from the supply and place them in your Tavern.
• Owner: Take 1 Adventurer of any type () from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

The Zoarstar

The Zoarstar houses the Scriveners’, Scribes’, and Clerks’ Guild, and is a destination for anyone needing contracts or other documents.

• Location: Trades Ward
• Cost: 8 Gold
• Action: Choose a space containing an opponent’s Agent. You use that space’s action as though you had assigned an Agent to it.
• Owner: Score 2 VP.

Appendix 2: Agents

The Lords of Waterdeep employ Agents of various organizations to accomplish their ends. These Agents correspond to player colors in the game.

City Guard

Waterdeep is defended by its own army of soldiers, who patrol the city and the surrounding countryside. The City Guard also provides bodyguards for Piergeiron the Paladinson and for visiting dignitaries.

Knights of the Shield

Posing as a consortium of merchants and nobles, the Knights of the Shield in fact deal in information. The organization’s influence stretches along the Sword Coast and far inland.

Red Sashes

Vigilantes who protect the poorest parts of Waterdeep, the Red Sashes are masters of intrigue. They hide those who need to escape and find those who wish to stay hidden.

Harpers

The Harpers were founded ages ago by elven leaders, with the counsel of the legendary wizard Elminster. This secret society fights for individual freedom while balancing the needs of civilization and nature.

Silverstars

These devoted champions of the moon goddess, Selûne, tirelessly work for freedom and peace, even between longstanding enemies. They despise slavery and abhor the undead.

Appendix 3: Lords of Waterdeep

The Lords of Waterdeep form a secret council that has ruled the city of Waterdeep for centuries. In public, they are always masked and cloaked to disguise any details that could identify them. They are drawn from all elements of society: merchants, nobles, wizards, and common laborers.

In the Lords of Waterdeep game, these secret masters are represented by cards. The Lords’ identities are kept hidden until the end of the game, when final scoring occurs. Each Lord of Waterdeep has a personal agenda, represented by bonus VP awarded for completing specific objectives.

Appendix 4: Clarifications

The following clarifications address certain unusual cases that may come up in a game.

Advanced Buildings

• Heroes’ Garden: You cannot complete the Quest drawn at this Building if you have an uncompleted Mandatory Quest.
• The Palace of Waterdeep:
  • If you assign the Ambassador to Waterdeep Harbor, you cannot reassign it at the end of the round. (This restriction avoids memory issues.)
  • When you assign an Agent to the Palace of Waterdeep, the Ambassador might already be assigned to an action space. If so, you take the Ambassador from the assigned action space. This makes the action space originally occupied by the Ambassador available for assigning an Agent.
  • If another player assigns an Agent to the Palace of Waterdeep after you have taken the Ambassador but before you have had a chance to assign it, he or she gains no benefit from that action.
  • You assign the Ambassador before any other player, even if you have the First Player marker. In that event, you assign the Ambassador and then immediately assign another Agent.
  • If the Palace of Waterdeep leaves play, the Ambassador also leaves play. (This can make an action space available for assigning an Agent.)
  • Once placed, the Ambassador counts as an opponent’s Agent for all players. You do not gain the owner benefit for assigning the Ambassador to a Building you control.
• The Zoarstar: When you assign an Agent to an occupied action space in Waterdeep Harbor, you reassign your Agent immediately after the opponent’s Agent in the shared space is reassigned.

Quests

• Recover the Magister’s Orb: When you assign an Agent to an occupied action space in Waterdeep Harbor, you reassign your Agent immediately after the opponent’s Agent in the shared space is reassigned.
• Recruit Lieutenant: The Lieutenant counts as one of your Agents.
• Research Chronomancy: If you complete this Quest after reassigning an Agent from Waterdeep Harbor, you immediately assign the returned Agent. You cannot assign that Agent to Waterdeep Harbor.

Intrigue Cards

• Change of Plans: You must discard one of your own uncompleted Quests. Other players who choose to discard uncompleted Quests for VP must choose one of their own.
• Sample Wares:
  • If a second Sample Wares card is played in the same turn, the second Agent cannot be assigned to a Building in Builder’s Hall that already has an Agent on it.
  • If someone purchases a Building that has an Agent assigned to it by this card, the purchased Building’s action space remains occupied until that Agent is removed.

Rules Reference

These instructions summarize the game setup and the sequence of play.

Setup

1. Lay out the game board.
2. Each player chooses a color and takes a number of that color’s Agents that depends on the number of players:
   • 2 Players: 4 Agents per Player
   • 3 Players: 3 Agents per Player
   • 4 Players: 2 Agents per Player
   • 5 Players: 2 Agents per Player
3. Each player also places 1 more Agent of his or her color near the Round 5 space of the rounds track.
4. Each player places his or her score marker on the scoring track at the position labeled “0.”
5. Place the Adventurer cubes and Gold within easy reach of all players.
6. Place the Building stack, Quest deck, and Intrigue deck in the appropriate spaces of the gameboard.
7. Draw 3 Building tiles and place them face up in each of the 3 spaces in Builder’s Hall.
8. Each player takes a player mat.
9. Deal 1 Lord card face down to each player.
10. Deal 2 Quest cards face up to each player. Then place 1 face-up Quest card in each of the 4 spaces of Cliffwatch Inn.
11. Deal 2 Intrigue cards face down to each player.
12. Place 3 VP tokens on each space of the rounds track.
13. The player who has most recently been to another city goes first. Give that player the First Player marker.
14. The starting player gets 4 Gold. Each player receives 1 more Gold than the player to his or her right until all players have received starting Gold.

Sequence of Play

1. At the start of each round, remove the VP tokens from that space of the rounds track and add 1 VP token to each face-up Building in Builders’ Hall. Then resolve any start-of-round effects on Buildings in play. (If this is the fifth round of play, each player gains one additional Agent, located near the Round 5 space.)
2. Each player takes turns, one at a time, starting with the player who has the First Player marker and proceeding to that player’s left.
3. When all the Agents have been assigned (and possibly reassigned from Waterdeep Harbor), the round ends. All players’ Agents return to their pools.
4. The game ends after 8 rounds of play. At the end of the eighth round, perform final scoring for each player.

Actions in a Turn

During your turn, if you have Agents available to assign, you take one or both of the following actions:

1. Assign Agent: Place 1 Agent from your pool on an unoccupied action space of a Building. You cannot skip your turn if you have Agents available to assign. If you have no Agents left to assign, you cannot take a turn. Play proceeds to the next player until all Agents have been assigned.
   • Reassign Agent: After all Agents have been assigned in the round, each player with an Agent in Waterdeep Harbor reassigns that Agent to another action space. Players reassign Agents in order, starting with the action space numbered “1.”
2. Complete Quest: After assigning or reassigning an Agent, you may complete one Quest by paying specified numbers and types of Adventurers and Gold.

Final Scoring

At the end of the game, each player counts up VP and advances his or her scoring marker accordingly:

• Each Adventurer in your Tavern: 1 VP
• Every 2 Gold in your Tavern (rounding down): 1 VP
• Lord card: As specified by the card

The player with the most VP after final scoring is the winner. In the event of a tie, the player with the most Gold wins.

Glossary

Here’s a short list of words and phrases that have special meanings in the Lords of Waterdeep game.

• action space: Each Building has one or more action spaces to which players assign their Agents. When you assign an Agent to an action space, you immediately take the specified action.
• active Quest: All face-up Quests in front of a player that the player has not yet completed are active Quests.
• Adventurer: You complete Quests by taking the required Adventurers from your Tavern. There are four kinds of Adventurers, represented by wooden cubes: Clerics, Fighters, Rogues, and Wizards.
• Agent: You assign your Agents to action spaces of Buildings to use their effects. See “Assign Agent” on page 8.
• Ambassador: A special Agent that you can use by assigning an Agent to the Palace of Waterdeep.
• assign: You assign an Agent by placing it on an Building’s action space. See “Assign Agent” on page 8.
• attack: A kind of Intrigue card that harms other players. See “Play Intrigue Card” on page 9.
• Building/Building tile: The game board contains nine basic Buildings, and players can purchase other Building tiles and put them into play. Buildings contain action spaces to which Agents are assigned. See “Buildings” on page 6.
• card: The Lords of Waterdeep game includes three different types of cards: Intrigue, Lord, and Quest. See “Cards” on page 7.
• Gold: You spend Gold to purchase Buildings, complete certain Quests, and pay for other game effects.
• Intrigue card: You draw an Intrigue card by assigning an Agent to Castle Waterdeep. (Other game effects also allow you to draw Intrigue cards.) You play an Intrigue card by assigning an Agent to Waterdeep Harbor.
• Lieutenant: A special Agent that you add to your pool by completing the Recruit Lieutenant Quest.
• Lord card: Each player takes the role of a Lord of Waterdeep, represented by a Lord card. The Lord’s identity remains secret until the end of the game. Each Lord card grants bonus VP for accomplishing certain tasks.
• Mandatory Quest: A kind of Intrigue card that forces another player to complete a minor but pressing Quest before any others.
• occupied/unoccupied: A space that has an Agent assigned to it is occupied. You cannot normally assign another Agent to an occupied space. You must choose an unoccupied space (one that contains no other Agents).
• Plot Quest: A kind of Quest that provides an ongoing benefit as well as a reward.
• pool: The area where you keep your unassigned Agents. At the end of the round, all your Agents return to your pool.
• Quest: You complete Quests to score Victory Points and to earn other rewards during the game. See “Complete Quest” on page 10.
• Quest card: These cards represent Quests that players complete to score VP and earn other rewards. At the start of the game, there are 4 face-up Quest cards in Cliffwatch Inn, which players can take by assigning Agents to that Building. More Quests enter play as the game progresses.
• reassign: After all Agents have been assigned in a round, any Agents that were assigned to Waterdeep Harbor are removed and assigned to any unoccupied action spaces. See “Waterdeep Harbor” on page 9.
• reward: Upon completing a Quest, you earn the reward specified on the card. Quest rewards usually include VP and can also include other benefits. You earn the reward immediately and only once.
• round: The game is played over eight rounds. During each round, players take turns assigning their Agents to action spaces on the game board and completing Quests.
• supply: The supply contains Adventurers, Gold, and VP tokens available to players.
• Tavern: This area holds the Adventurers you have hired until you use them to complete Quests. You also store Gold in your Tavern.
• turn: During each round, players take turns. Whoever has the First Player marker goes first, then the player to his or her left, and so on. During your turn, you assign an Agent to an action space and may complete a Quest. See “Actions in a Turn” on page 8.
• utility: A kind of Intrigue card that helps you. See “Play Intrigue Card” on page 9.
• Victory Points (VP): You score Victory Points primarily by completing Quests. Other game effects can also provide VP.

Credits

Design: Rodney Thompson, Peter Lee
Development: Joe Huber, Peter Lee, Mons Johnson
Additional Development: Mike Turian
Editing: Jennifer Clarke Wilkes
D&D R&D Senior Group Manager: Mike Mearls
D&D Tabletop Games Manager: Rodney Thompson
D&D Senior Creative Director: Jon Schindehette
Art Director: Keven Smith
Graphic Design: Emi Tanji
Cover Illustration: Ralph Horsley
Game Board Illustration: Mike Schley
Card Illustrations: Eric Belisle, Steven Belledin, Zoltan Boros, Noah Bradley, Eric Deschamps, Wayne England, Jason Engle, Tony Foti, Tyler Jacobson, Todd Harris, Ron Lemen, Howard Lyon, Warren Mahy, Patrick McEvoy, Jim Nelson, Ralph Horsley, William O’Connor, Adam Paquette, Lucio Parrillo, David Rapoza, Richard Sardinha, Andrew Silver, Anne Stokes, Gabor Szikszai, Matias Tapia, Kev Walker, Tyler Walpole, Eva Widermann, Eric L. Williams, Matthew D. Wilson, Sam Wood, Ben Wootten, James Zhang
Prepress Manager: Jefferson Dunlap
D&D Brand Team: Liz Schuh, Kierin Chase, Laura Tommervik, Shelly Mazzanoble, Chris Lindsay, Hilary Ross
Imaging Technician: Carmen Cheung
Production Manager: Godot Gutierre
Playtesting: Mark Anderson, Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, Mark Globus, Genevieve Gorman, Joe Huber, Mons Johnson, Scott Larabee, Peter Lee, Joe Ludwig, Nissa Ludwig, Mike Mearls, Christopher Perkins, Bill Slavicsek, Rodney Thompson, Jennifer Tatroe, Kevin Tatroe, Mike Turian

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