Summary
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is an exceptionally fun low-levelDungeons & Dragonsmodule that takes players into the fabled city of Waterdeep amidst a treasure hunt for the mythological Vault of Dragons, which is said to lie somewhere in the city. Multiple factions, NPCs, and antagonists all want to find the Vault, and the characters are placed squarely in the middle of this kerfuffle.
So, if you’re venturing to Waterdeep for the first time, you might be wondering what character builds are best for the module. This list has you covered. Here are the best character builds for Waterdeep: Dragon Heist.
Background
Criminal
One of the most important factions in Waterdeep is known as the Bregan D’aerthe, a collection of drow mercenaries who serve a man named Jarlaxle. Regardless ofwhat season you’re playing in, Jarlaxle can prove to be a formidable ally or enemy, depending on how you play your cards.
This build is ideal, as you are more likely to gain membership in the Bregan D’aerthe with this class/species makeup. Only drow can join, so you must select this species if you want to get on the good side of Maestro’s Fall’s central antagonist.
Hermit
You might not think druids can fit nicely into an urban caper like Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, but this actually isn’t the case. First, as factions play a large role in the way the campaign works, having a nature-loving druid in your party might just help you make allies with the Emerald Enclave, a renowned faction within the city.
Plus, the circle of stars druid can work nicely for this campaign from both a roleplay standpoint and a character optimization one. Circle of stars druids have access to a lot of great buffs and damage abilities that aren’t reliant on them being surrounded by nature. Plus,the spring seasonantagonist can prove a tough challenge, meaning you’ll want all the support classes you can get.
Hell of a Summer
Soldier
Waterdeep has its own city guard known as the Gray Hands, an elite squad of fighters who are loyal to Waterdeep and protect the city at all costs. Playing a fighter with a soldier background can lend itself well to this faction.
Fighters are best suited to the summer season in Waterdeep, as the antagonists for this season are quite challenging. Playing a stockier character with a decent number of hit points is extremely helpful. Select the eldritch knight subclass just so you have some access to magic, even as a fighter.
Scribe
Wizards are always going to be a great class to play in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. The city itself is highly magical already, but if you play the module during the winter, you’ll find that there’s even more need to have a highly magical party in tow, especially when it comes to joining guilds like the Harpers.
The order of scribes subclass and sage background can prove helpful here, boosting Intelligence-based stats and granting abilities like the Awakened Spellbook feature, which allows you to swap out damage types. Choose aasimar just to give yourself the ability to heal as well.
Sailor
If you’re looking for a great backstory to get you into Waterdeep, consider using the sailor background combined with storm sorcery to justify your arrival in town. Perhaps you were a sailor on a trade ship before you got caught up in the events of Maestro’s Fall.
The reason this build works well for Waterdeep is twofold. One, arcane casters are always useful in Waterdeep. Two, having a sailing background can prove helpful for many of the challenges you’ll face during Maestro’s Fall. You’ll be surprised how often this can come in handy as you play through the module.
Artisan
Artificers also make for a great class in Waterdeep, thanks to the abundance of materials you can find in town. Plus, midway through the module, you’ll get access to a special building that you can use as a home base and workshop for all of your magical tinkering needs.
This artificer build is great for Spring Madness as well, as the season is quite challenging, and the alchemist can help support their party more easily than other arcane casters. Plus, having an artisan background can help when it comes to trade and negotiating with factions in town.
Entertainer
Maestro’s Fall features some of the most fun holidays that players can partake in during their time in Waterdeep. Depending on how their adventure goes, the climax of their adventure may even occur during a highly colorful carnival, making this season ideal for bards.
The college of glamour bard and entertainer background work especially well for this season, for perhaps obvious reasons. Additionally, select the abyssal tiefling fiendish legacy so you can get access to excellent spells like Poison Spray, Ray of Sickness, and most importantly, Hold Person, which can prove useful during chase sequences in Waterdeep.
Paladins can also fit right into Waterdeep thanks to the city faction known as the Order of the Gauntlet. This Order is highly good-aligned and seeks to destroy evil wherever it is found. Membership in this faction is highly helpful, as it can grant the party access to powerful healing magics even when they’re low-level themselves.
Additionally, if you intend to join this order, becoming an oath of the crown paladin can prove highly synergistic in terms of roleplay. Hell of a Summer is the ideal season for this build, as the antagonists of this season are extremely evil-aligned.
Tiefling or Elf
Charlatan
Monks and other melee-based fighters can prove extremely helpful during the Spring Madness season, as antagonists during this season have ways of getting aroundcertain magic abilities. So, if you rely more on your fists than you do on spells, you’ll be in good shape.
Because this is an urban-sprawl-based campaign, full of taverns and other institutions of ill repute, a drunken master monk fits right in in terms of roleplay. Use the charlatan background to complete the character concept, which is also helpful thanks to its Dexterity-based buffs.
Lastly, as mentioned, wizards just make for exceptional characters in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. When going up against the antagonist for Winter Wizardry, you’re going to want all the help you can get in terms of Counterspells and other magical prowess.
However, relying just on magic can sometimes prove tough. So, you might want to consider using the bladesinger Unearthed Arcana subclass for your wizard, which will give you access to melee-based proficiencies. Select the artisan background to increase both your Intelligence and your Strength, which is perfect for this build.
