Waterdeep has instituted a massive program aimed at reducing the amount of dangerous magical weapons in the city. Recent incidents where incredibly powerful swords, bow, and staves caused uncontrolled destruction and death have caused the Lords of Waterdeep to institute a “buyback” of powerful armaments at local City Watch outposts in return for shopping credit in the city.
A bald masked lord seems to be leading the efforts, issuing magically enhanced, animated notices in population centers advertising the buyback program called the Waterdeep Odious Trinkets Collection.
This program allows old, broken, unwanted, and sometimes illegal magical items to be collected and safely stored or broken down before they can cause harm to the community through misuse and malfunction. It’s highly suspected that the recent annexation of Mulmaster and the destruction of large parts of the city through magic items has also played a large part in the creation of this program.
Kravitz, a local City Watch captain, was contacted for interview where we met with him at an active collection station. Individuals were lined up into the street carrying a large variety of magic items. Some sparkled with obvious magical energy, although many looked as mundane as the next sword or bow you would find in a shop.
When I met the captain, he was looking over several golden sword hilts on the table that a slender human man was turning in, claiming that they were his “two sun swords” that he no longer wanted. The captain seemed unconvinced until the owner activated them, sprouting brilliant blades of light from their hilts and neatly slicing the tip off of the quill held by the quartermaster who was seated at the table. This seemed to satisfy the City Watch of the items authenticity.
After crediting the man and disposing of the two hilts in a collection barrel in back (seemingly containing a growing pile of these bladeless swords), the captain took time away from inspecting weapons to give us a few statements.
“It’s the damnedest thing,” he said to me, looking a bit aside himself, “when we started this collection program, we thought we’d get the odd family heirloom, maybe a few damaged swords from adventurers … but not this. We’ve received at least 12 sun swords, 15 shield guardians, 6 identical intelligent swords all claiming to be called ”Hazirawn”, and there’s more ridiculousness coming in by the hour. This outpost is going to be full of all sorts of magical items before the day is over.”
Although I was unable to visit a more heavily guarded section, I did note the presence of several other items of note in our interview area that had been collected: a large pile of brilliant gems with magical energy swirling inside, several brightly illustrated card decks marked “DO NOT TOUCH”, and a suspicious looking pike with a red butt in a secure glass case.
In addition to the voluntary collection, Kravitz said City Watch guards in different precincts are currently involved in going door-to-door to recover illegal magic items. These currently include any weapons known to be associated with elemental cults such as the groups that devastated Mulmaster, and any creations by known evil spellcasters.
The captain declined to report on individuals in the task force and the total amount of illegal items seized so far, only to say that the special force tasked with confiscating these weapons was doing an “… excellent job. We’re getting many of these evil weapons off of the streets.”
If you are visiting or a resident of Waterdeep and you would like to receive market credit for turning in a dangerous item, please find the nearest City Watch output. The officer on duty will conduct a check to see if the item is stolen or has been used in a crime, then present the city’s offer if it is on the approved list of items.
A private Waterdeep company destroys the weapons deemed necessary for destruction, the captain said. He would not state which one due to security concerns.
“I spit in the face of the Waterdeep guard. And the factions, turning on its own members. And soon they take away our hard-earned treasure too. If this be the case, I’d rather be dead and buried with my spell gems, my shield guardian, and whatever honour I had in the High Harpers. In fact, I’ve got a certain Netherese Archlich who owes me a favor. If the current course of events continue, I may very well *be* dead and buried with my items. In lichdom that is.”
(OoC Skraid was a season 2-7 level 20 character hit really hard by these proposed changes; losing his spell gems and shield guardian, not being able to earn gold after every adventure, and being forced to make a choice between the Harpers and his backstory as a Sage are too many strikes for me to want to play; especially since I was fairly active on the Harper discord leading up to Red War.)
It’s less of a “Buyback Program” and more of a “we break into your house and steal these things, here’s a gold piece” program. So prevent them going forward, fine. You are taking them away from established characters with reasons for having them. There is no player benefit for this. No “rule of cool” or “make it fun” stuff.
Waterdeep will be hit next by this chronomancy of the Red Wizards, mark my words, the items piling up are a disaster.
As a Chosen of Tiamat, and speaking for the Chosen of Auril, Artus Cimber whom I met recently in an unknown location, I can only express my skepticism at this turning in of magic. The famous chosen such as Tick Tary Tanner and the Seven of Mystra are rumoured to use great power obtained from a shard of the gods power. Szass Tam gathered and gutted many minor chosen to remove their God power, or so it is said, yet even the lich doesn’t know if the gods regard him as a bank vault of their power.
Speaking from experience I can only say the Chosen of Tiamat are early “tidbits” of Tiamat, with power confined in an item that they possess. Somewhat similar is the Ring of Winter, of far more power but which may require Artus Cimber to complete a destiny, or die horribly to release its energy for Auril. Chosen are not always spell slinging super people, depending on the God.
Who is to say that the rush of magic will not release another Crown of Horns? All that we see is Waterdeep again threatened, something Artus and myself will avoid as we dodge the hunters.
-Fineva Alassra Silverhand of Orogoth
Waterdeep: Against WMDs (Weapons of Magical Destruction). https://everytown.org/
I have always found the concept of “the chosen’ to be a fascinating one. Mortal individuals, walking the earth as a sort of avatar for a particular god. I simply must study this more someday.
That said, even if one has taken an artifact of evil and forged it into an instrument of good, I hesitate to refer to any good individual as a Chosen of someone like Tiamat. I have been to Phlan and seen what happened there. I have read reports and listened to stories of the events of the Tiamat incident. I would not advertise my connection to that kind of vile evil.
[…] be available. In addition, he has also struck a deal with the local Waterdeep city guard. Anyone turning in items for the Waterdeep buyback program can instead opt to receive credit with Fai Chen instead of gold value. Many will likely be […]