Read-only: Adventure hooks

Whether you're just finishing up character creation or wrapping up an adventure thread, the posts below contain adventure hooks to help guide your next steps. Think of them as starting points — opportunities waiting to be seized by bold and curious characters.

Some hooks might be short, low-stakes scenes — an errand job from a guild, a mysterious client selling a magic item, or a strange rumor at a tavern. Others might lead to deeper mysteries and long-term entanglements like those in Undermountain. It’s all up to you which you pursue (if any).

If a hook sparks your interest, let me know in your individual character thread and we’ll work together to spin it into a new game thread. You can also use this game's Tiny Tavern thread to connect with other PCs looking for that adventure, or just add some flavor to your downtime.

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Scroll down to see the current adventure hooks. New ones will be added over time, and old ones might vanish or evolve — such is life in the City of Splendors.

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Mapping the Undermountain: Level 1
The Yawning Portal is a renowned tavern and inn nestled near the eastern base of Mount Waterdeep. Its name comes from the massive, 40-foot-wide well that dominates the center of the taproom—an open maw plunging deep into the earth. This ancient shaft once served as the foundation of Halaster Blackcloak’s mighty tower, long since reduced to rubble. The well’s interior is lined with aged, mortar-bound stones, worn smooth by time and use.

Suspended beside this gaping hole is a sturdy winch and a rope-and-pulley system, operated by the tavern’s no-nonsense proprietor, Durnan. For a fee of 1 Dragon, he personally lowers adventurers into the darkness below—or pulls them back up, should they survive. The rope, long enough to reach the dungeon floor 140 feet below, is darkened with old, dried blood—a grim reminder of the dangers beneath.

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Obaya Uday, a priestess of Waukeen from the distant Chultan city of Port Nyanzaru, has taken up residence at the Yawning Portal. Hearing of the dungeon’s infamous reputation, Obaya now seeks bold adventurers to retrieve arcane relics in exchange for generous payment.

She offers to purchase any unwanted magic items recovered from Undermountain, paying well above standard value—and always in platinum for ease of transport. With her funds secured by Waterdeep’s banks, Obaya can complete transactions within hours.

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Korlis Thann, a lean half-elf in a worn scholar’s cloak, is a cartographer with an obsession—mapping Undermountain, level by level.

He can often be found hunched over a table in a shadowed corner of the Yawning Portal, sketching faded dungeon layouts on cracked parchment with trembling precision. A former apprentice to a mage who vanished in the depths, Korlis now funds his obsession by trading maps and rumors, always eager to add more to his growing collection.

What he wants now is simple: a complete and accurate map from the bottom of the Yawning Portal well through to the entrance of Level 2. He’s willing to pay 75 gold pieces for a rough draft and up to 10 pp for a detailed, comprehensive and reliable version with room markings, traps, and points of interest.

A Silent Patrol
In the bustling Yawning Portal, a worn poster on the job board catches the eye:

10 gold per adventurer – rescue mission, no experience required.

It instructs interested parties to gather at a marked table in the tavern an hour before sundown.

Durnan nods toward the spot when asked, where a few curious souls have already gathered. As the sun dips lower, a young woman approaches—graceful, striking, and silent.

She says nothing, but her eyes are sharp with purpose. This is Lily. She was once a mermaid, but cannot speak anymore. And she needs your help.

A Hot Opportunity
Among the usual mercenary notices on the Yawning Portal’s job board, one is written in thick, blocky script:

Seeking smart adventurers. Cunning over muscle. Good pay. Ask for Grusk.

When asked, Durnan nods toward the hearth where a broad-shouldered half-orc sips ale, a tangle of parchment blueprints spread across the table in front of him. His calloused hands are marked with old burn scars, and his eyes burn with quiet ambition.

Grusk Ironsunder, a blacksmith by trade, recently acquired an old forge in the Trades Ward—a place once belonging to a dwarven artisan who vanished decades ago. It’s got a large, hidden, reinforced, underground room full of ancient tools… but it’s also riddled with magical traps, unstable alchemical gear, and something Grusk only calls "the clicking thing."

He needs a crew—not brutes, but adventurers with sharp minds and steady hands—to clear the forge safely, so he can reclaim it and get back to his craft. Payment is promised in gold and goods, and if the party handles themselves well, Grusk may offer them long-term work or custom gear in return.

Property for Sale – Cheap
Pinned to the edge of the Yawning Portal’s job board, half-covered in older notices, is a handwritten flyer in delicate script:

Shop for sale – Dock Ward. Inherited, not needed. Inquire inside. Price negotiable.

Curious inquiries lead to a quiet table near the bar, where a young woman waits with a nervous smile and a bundle of old keys. Her name is Marisa Vale, and she recently inherited a small apothecary storefront in the Dock Ward from an uncle she never met. She has no interest in staying in Waterdeep and wants to sell it quickly.

But there’s a catch.

Marisa hasn’t stepped inside the shop herself. Locals say the building has been abandoned for years, and strange lights are sometimes seen through the shuttered windows at night. A city clerk who investigated once found the door mysteriously locked—and refused to speak of it again. There are whispers of alchemical experiments, failed summoning, or something worse sealed behind its walls.

Marisa is offering the shop at a steep discount, for 1,500 gp. She even offers the keys with a hopeful look for a party of adventurers willing to explore it and clear it, for whatever is left inside. "I just want to be rid of it. But someone should know what’s inside before I sell it. Right?"

Below the City
Tucked between bounty postings and missing pet flyers on the Yawning Portal’s job board is a curious slip of parchment, water-stained and written in precise dwarvish runes:

Treasure lies forgotten beneath Waterdeep. Vault sealed. Secrets buried. Wealth for the bold.

When asked, Durnan frowns and mutters something about "another fool chasing shadows," but nods toward a dim corner where a wiry, travel-worn dwarf sits alone, his boots still muddy from the road.

Jari, the Wanderer is friendly enough, though his stories change depending on how much ale he’s had. He claims to have found the entrance to an ancient vault hidden in the Southern Ward's sewers, locked behind dwarven stonework and secret doors. He speaks of relics, coin, and "a dwarven ghost that swore at me in three dialects."

But something in his eyes says he’s not telling everything.

Ashes to Ashes
Tacked to the Yawning Portal’s job board with a blackened splinter of wood is a fresh, crisply folded notice:

Opportunity beyond the city. Good coin for strong arms and sharp eyes. Speak with Lord Aldred Selyan.

When asked, Durnan gives a grunt of disapproval. "Always someone looking to carve the wilds while the embers are still warm."

Lord Aldred Selyan is a lean, silver-tongued noble from the North Ward, freshly returned to Waterdeep after years rebuilding outlying estates. After a wildfire scorched a swath of land just north of the Ardeep Forest, Selyan sees a future in its ashes: clear the deadwood, harvest the timber, open the land for farming. He's hiring guards and scouts to protect the workers and "keep things orderly." Selyan is no cartoon villain—he speaks earnestly of food shortages, displaced farmers, and the need for strong rebuilding after years of hardship. Yet his ambition may blind him to the longer scars his work could leave.

Opposing him is Delaan Winterhound, a weathered ranger of the Emerald Enclave, whose own flesh bears the burns of the wildfire. Delaan argues that the lands must heal on their own, without axes and plows, or the deeper magic will be lost. But Delaan is no flawless hero either— his bitterness toward "civilized folk" could doom entire communities to starvation if no compromise is found.

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The ground itself still smolders with old magic. If the PCs step into this dispute, they must decide for themselves what "healing" truly means—and whether any choice can be made without leaving scars.