#Trollskull Manor

[flosphenes]

My first time doing a little isometric room design

It's Osteryn's room in Trollskull Manor!

[tyviac]

fully built trollskull manor in the sims4 based off the waterdeep dragon heist floor plans and some other interpretations i found online then when it was completely accurate to the map inside i started knocking down walls and renovating it to match the changes our characters would want to make to it 😎👍

[0w0whatisthis]

Back in business, now operating out of trollskull manor, come up the back stairs for consulting

[everybodyloveshippos]

The Spectres!

our campaign party, owners of the Trollskull manor and tavern, general disturbers of the peace, generally weird but pretty cool* once you get to know them

*this depends very heavily on your definition of cool

names under the cut

[yourplayersaidwhat]

(Context: Previous session of Waterdeep Heist ended with the warlock finding dripping red writing on the wall of Trollskull Manor that read "GET OUT")

Warlock PC: Oh shit, I forgot about the bloody writing on the wall! Oh my god.

DM: Roll me a perception check.

Warlock PC: 18

DM: You can tell that this is definitely ketchup.

[shotimus]

Oh my god I should not be laughing as hard as I am at this.

So I started playing Baldur's Gate 3 playing my character from the Dragon Heist campaign I played in. I missed my half-elf cleric Julian Rolim Flavius Glynmenor that I had to bring him back for another round, especially knowing that Volo was in this game.

A little backstory from the Dragon Heist campaign. Julian hated Volo that entire campaign and actually tried to get him banned in Waterdeep. Why?

Because Volo promised the party money, but Volo didn't actually have the money so instead they got the deed to Trollskull Manor. Julian has been angry about this the entire campaign because he was in need of money (tldr his money was stolen before the campaign started) and had since declared Volo to be a scammer. By the end of the campaign when he became wealthy again, Volo dared to ask Julian for funding for his next book to which Julian swiftly stated, "Fuck no."

So here we are in Baldur's Gate 3, and Volo gets captured by the goblin army. Through a series of coincidences I ended up saving Volo, and I screamed laughing when I was given this dialogue option for Julian.

Julian wants his money, Volo, including backpay. You'd better pay up!

[seanofbeankeep]

My players: we want trollskull manor to have a cat.

DM Me sure a simple pet cat is doable

[i make a cat mobster boss npc who runs a illegal mouse boxing and catnip ring in the basement]

Players upon meeting ‘Big Tom’: can we cheekily re do our character choices to have a speak with animal spell?

DM Me: sure (shit now I have to make up the animal dialogue.)

-moments later-

DM Me: scram boys it’s a raid! (Cats running everywhere and yeowling)

And

DM Me: so you come to me asking for a favour, on the day of my kittens wedding

[skullhaver]

for athren: lovers, hanged man, death reversed. for adinar: empress, hierophant reversed, hermit reversed

(Athren Dahana) The Lovers: Which of your character’s relationships has been the most positive? (Romantic or otherwise)

Answered in detail here! Short answer: his Trollskull Manor friends <3

The Hanged Man: When has your character needed to step back and look at things from a different perspective?

The obvious answer for Athren is reassessing his narrative about Adinar's "betrayal," in light of learning that his brother was also doing his best to protect their family. 

In general though, Athren gets paralyzed by trying to gather as much information as possible, trying to see problems from every possible angle, etc. (Not that he's especially going at doing that, it's just a manifestation of his anxious temperament lol.) I think he would do well to look more at his life from the different perspective of, "what is the cost of inaction?" or "what is the opportunity cost of taking too long to make a decision?" He's getting better about this.

Death in Reverse: When has your character tried to fight change?

I was re-reading some Dragon Heist session notes recently because I'm an insane person, and I was struck by a line in the transcribed conversation between him and Fel'rekt where Athren basically said, "A reason I'm not more interested in allying with Bregan D'aerthe is because I'm scared for my safety and my family's safety." I forgot just how much this guy Refused The Call of being an adventurer! I think the "small fish in a big pond" vibes of the early acts of Dragon Heist had me roleplaying Athren as extremely cautious and slow to accept that he really could act like a PC and get away with badass shit.

(Adinar Dahana) The Empress: Who has been a positive female figure in your character’s life?

I'm not fully satisfied by how I've conveyed their relationship in the fics I have so far about them, but his House's Weapons Master has had a massive influence on his life. He spent more time with her than his mom 🥲 Adinar might have learned how to fight at Melee-Magthere, but working with her taught him about leadership and decision-making. In contrast to all the powerful women in his life who have used him, their House Weapons Master demonstrated how to exist within healthy power differences along a chain of command, and was an authority figure who always treated him with respect and dignity. (I'm not saying her name here because I have changed her name a dozen times and I might do it again because I'm still not happy with it lol.)

The Hierophant in Reverse: When has your character’s personal beliefs been challenged?

The decision to start working against their House wasn't easy for any of the Dahanas, but Adinar definitely had the hardest time wrestling with it. At the fateful family dinner where Athren first explains that he was approached to act as a spy, Adinar is ready to dismiss the whole coup plan out of hand. He's quite shocked when his parents take Athren seriously. He has to have a bit of a personal reckoning; he has been trying to ignore and excuse the abusive behavior of the nobles he serves for so, so long. He probably could have done so for longer. But it's hearing his parents say, "No, this is unacceptable, if we can do something to end this, we will" that really jolts him into action.

The Hermit in Reverse: When has your character felt the most alone?

Hnnng literally the Raelyn chapter of "Things Without All Remedy." A quote from the draft:

Matron Vandree told him he wouldn't be killed for his family's betrayal, but Adinar wasn't completely sure he was alive right now. He walked down the same House hallways, but nobody looked at him. He wore the same armor, but nobody called him to fight. He took orders from soldiers he'd once commanded. He was a ghost haunting his old life. That was often the look Raelyn Auvryndar had on her face, too, in the moments she thought no one else was looking her way.

[chaoticbard]

Honor

Dragonborn had a well-known dedication to honor, but how deeply rooted this trait was remains debatable. However, all dragonborn tended to view all living things, even hated enemies, as deserving of courtesy and respect. To dragonborn, honor was more than a word and was often considered more important than life itself. Cowardice was not simply undesirable among dragonborn, it was considered outright repulsive. [x]

As it goes with any average dragonborn, Alaara has a strong honor code. She tries to deal fairly and respectably with people she meets even if they're being a jerk. She finds it cowardly and dishonorable not to try her best to help those in need.

It's why in her BG3-verse, she goes out of her way to save the owlbear cub from the goblins and earn his trust, to ask Scratch to come to camp, to save Arabella and Yenna and let them stay with them. To invite Barcus to stick around a while before going off to find Wulbren. The list goes on.

In Waterdeep, it's why she helped find Floon and why she didn't throttle Volo when he only rewarded them with Trollskull Manor in its severely dilapidated state. It's why she was fine with her good ol' pals adopting rambunctious, troublemaking street urchin children, though she firmly refused to be their primary caregiver. She felt they could be turned around and made into good, upstanding Waterdhavian citizens given enough structure and discipline.

That being said, there are times when courtesy, honor, and respect are thrown clean out the window and not even remotely entertained from the get-go.

In BG3-verse, every single person/goddess that has grievously wronged her companions in camp is on the list. If and when she gets the chance to cause maximum amounts of harm to said individuals for having acted so dishonorably toward her friends, she's going to do so with pleasure. Cazador, Shar, Mystra, Gortash and Zariel, Mizora, and Vlaakith all better watch their backs. She'll gladly turn her infamous nickname, The Ravager, into something to genuinely fear.

In Waterdeep, nobody has specifically (as of yet) been put on her shitlist, but suffice it to say that anyone who enslaves others in some fashion would make it there easily. Anyone torturing someone. And probably anyone being an outright git to her loved ones too, even if it's petty.

[antivan-beau]

@stylographic-blue-rhapsody thank you again for your oc ask! “for athren: 3, 32, 38″

For folks who may not know, Athren Dahana is my D&D character currently embroiled in the story of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist! He’s a 5th level melee-focused rogue in the midst of a quarterlife crisis who dresses like an Elizabethan peacock. He and his parents (to whom he is fiercely loyal) are drow refugees from Menzoberranzan who had to leave the city after a failed coup.

3. How do they put themselves to bed at night (reading, singing, thinking?)

God I hate to open with this but I genuinely think he jerks off before reverie, like, on the regular. It’s the turn-your-brain-off stress-relief move.  When he’s staying at Trollskull Manor with his friends/party members, the pre-reverie routine is reading nonfiction. He works at a publishing company manning a printing press (when he actually goes to his job and isn’t off adventuring) and I think he liberally takes advantage of discounted books for employees. History and biographies are his favorites.

32. Do they have a go-to story in conversation? Or a joke?

There aren’t a ton of drow in Waterdeep and Athren is used to standing out. That means his go-to stories with new people are often about being an immigrant, which he has an easy sense of humor about. Transitioning from life underground to life on the surface comes with lots of funny opportunities for culture shock, or funny language-barrier stories as he started learning Common. He doesn’t talk at all about life in his home city, but that’s only partially because he wasn’t happy there. It’s more that he really loves Waterdeep: all the splendors and possibilities and the ways he’s been able to reinvent himself here.

38. What memory do they revisit the most often?

When Athren was young, the printing press was a new arrival in the Underdark. Books printed with movable type were rare, valuable, and much more likely to be printed in surface languages. From the time he was old enough to clean something, Athren worked as an indentured servant to a noble House. As a kid and teenager, he started to smuggle books out of the family’s study to read on his own then return. (Fun fact: Athren’s third language after Undercommon and Drow Sign-language was Elvish, which he mostly practiced through reading books.) His personal lending library was a success; he never got caught! A formative thrill for someone who would one day become a rogue.

Because Athren now works at a publishing house, he thinks all the time of the books he used to hide under his bed before returning to House vaults. He’s never really gotten over the feeling that books are really precious and maybe semi-sacred, so he’s unusually careful with how he handles them.

[danedear]

one of my DMs during our Dragon Heist bit of the campaign. her husband thought she'd enjoy being more of an omnipresent being 🌌 with gazers, an intellect devourer, a nimblewright & Vajra Safahr, the current Blackstaff of Waterdeep & our haunted abode Trollskull Manor.

i had a lot more fun working on this than expected

[sammichiart]

Late Nights at the Trollskull Manor

[flosphenes]

He Came In Through The Window

Due to some frankly chaotic choices by the whole party, Osteryn thought she would have to get away for the night from Trollskull Manor. And asked Renaer to be waiting outside her window just in case she had to GO.

Everything was fine she was just anxious and paranoid (cptsd will do that to a woman)

But she did let him in and he did stay the night on the couch in her room after she asked him to Stay.

She then had to sneak him out in the morning.

[gohar-adventures]

Key:

Player knowledge

Things all or most of the characters are aware of

Things that happened that Gòhar was not there for

Things Gòhar did on his own / only he knows

Gòhar thoughts

Important:

□ Investigate the eye-themed Sweets Shop in the South Ward

□ Go to the Mistshore, look for Grinda Garloth

Just for fun:

◪ Haunted doll watch

Done:

✓ Find Floon Blagmaar

✓ Restore Trollskull Manor

✓ Open Dragonskull Tavern

✓ Recruit the urchins

[elminsters]

about eurydice please! what are some of her favourites? scent, flower, location, animal, colour, season, etc? :D

thank you for asking!!

scent- old books, heliotrope, fireworks, and clove

flower- she loves any flower that is both medicinal and poisonous. henbane and poppies come to mind!

location- from the game? the last light inn. in the world? her studio apartment in baldur's gate. also, after she moves to waterdeep post-game she frequents the trollskull manor taproom with astarion and gale (it's a location from waterdeep: dragon heist that my tt party turned into an adventurers guild by day/friendly monster bar by night where blood is served on tap by my dhampir barmaid hehe)

animal- she likes misunderstood animals, like pigeons and spiders. her favourite is giant bats; it was the form she took when she escaped her circle, so they have special significance to her

colour- green stained glass and the specific shade of red found on leather-bound books

season- autumn!

[sisyphus-prime]

Hail and Well Met!

Greetings, PartyName! It would seem you've had a VERY busy couple of weeks! It's not every party that can scare off their adjuster like that! Don't worry, we aren't mad, just disappointed!

Pissing off a client in the same moment, too! Wow! Couldn't have done it better myself. Two birds one stone! Horrible job, superstar! We have added possible mechanophobia and Automatonophobia to your files. Legally, the safest way for us to move forward from this incident. Don't want our favorite adventurers in prison, now do we?

Now, here comes the meat of the issue: Who is going to replace Kris? We all know that Kris scared you deeply, with your Mechanophobia and Automatonophobia, but you still need an adjuster! So, here's what we're thinking.

Aldrach and Michael are two adventurers who have been working with DgM for a long time. They are heading north to investigate some cult activity, and have agreed to let your party accompany them! This will be an estimated two week trip, and will let you makesome gold in the meantime! After all, it seems like quest work has hit a lull, and we need to keep those ratings high!

If you're worried about leaving Trollskull Manor alone for an extended period of time, don't be! You're in a safe neighborhood in the rich part of town. The guard will keep your place secure. Maybe if you ask nice enough, your neighbor Dust can housesit. Wouldn't that be a trip!

You aren't required to go on this quest, but this will give us time to get you a new adjuster, and a quest to make some money in the meantime. You would be traveling to Red Larch in Dessarin Valley. Attached to this letter is a map of the region.

If this quest is of no interest to you, no worries! Please inform us as soon as able, so that we may inform Aldrach of your decision

Happy Travels!

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