Tuesday night we finished up Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, the adventure book for Dungeons & Dragons. It has been, as one player put it, nothing like anything we had used before. When the bard is the most important member of the party, you know you are in unfamiliar territory. What’s more, when you get to the final session and the climax of the adventure and you manage to sneak, bluff, and persuade your way through the entire thing, including the “boss fight” then you’re really doing something different.

Which is why I’m curious to see how Dungeon of the Mad Mage, the sequel, will play out, given it has a pretty strong focus on combat. I’m also curious about how I am supposed to handle the recent uptick in players. When I started, several players opted out. Once the game started picking up steam, now they are coming back, and I’m working with eight players again. It might be time to split the group in some way.