Lords of Waterdeep Gameplay Overview

Actions

Assign Agent

On your turn, place 1 of your available Agents on any unoccupied action space and immediately take that action.

1. Take 1 Agent from your pool.
2. Place it on any unoccupied action space of any Building (basic or advanced) on the board.
3. Immediately take the action shown on that space (just once).
4. If the space is on a Building owned by another player, that owner gains the benefit stated in the tile's Owner line.

• You cannot place an Agent on an action space that already contains another Agent (yours or another player's).
• You cannot choose to pass. If you have Agents available, you must assign 1.
• In the unlikely event that you cannot take any action, you must pass.
• If you have no Agents left to assign, you cannot take a turn. Play proceeds to the next player with available Agents.

Complete a Quest

After assigning (or reassigning) an Agent, you may complete 1 Quest if you have the required Adventurers and Gold.

1. Choose an active Quest card from in front of you.
2. Remove the required Adventurer cubes and Gold from your Tavern and return them to the supply.
3. Collect the reward shown on the Quest card (VP, resources, cards, etc.).
4. Place the completed Quest face-down on the Completed Quests area of your player mat.
5. If it is a Plot Quest, place it face-up near your player mat as a reminder of its ongoing effect.

• You may complete only 1 Quest per turn, regardless of how many Agents you assign or reassign.
• You can complete a Quest you just obtained this turn.
• Mandatory Quests must be completed before any other Quests.
• When a Mandatory Quest is completed, place the card in the Intrigue discard pile (not your completed Quests).
• Plot Quests provide an ongoing effect in addition to their reward. The effect applies for the rest of the game.
• Completing a Quest is optional -- you do not have to complete one.

Cliffwatch Inn

Cliffwatch Inn has 3 separate action spaces. You may assign more than 1 of your Agents here across different turns if spaces remain open.

1. Space 1: Take 1 face-up Quest card from Cliffwatch Inn and take 2 Gold from the supply.
2. Space 2: Take 1 face-up Quest card from Cliffwatch Inn and draw 1 Intrigue card.
3. Space 3: Discard all face-up Quest cards from Cliffwatch Inn. Draw and place 4 new Quest cards from the Quest deck, then take 1 of the new face-up Quest cards.

• Whenever you take a face-up Quest card, immediately replace it with a new card from the Quest deck.
• You can assign multiple Agents here on different turns as long as open spaces remain (still only 1 Agent per turn).

Aurora's Realms Shop

Take 4 Gold from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

1. Take 4 Gold from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

Blackstaff Tower

Take 1 Wizard from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

1. Take 1 Wizard (purple) from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

The Plinth

Take 1 Cleric from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

1. Take 1 Cleric (white) from the supply and place it in your Tavern.

The Grinning Lion Tavern

Take 2 Rogues from the supply and place them in your Tavern.

1. Take 2 Rogues (black) from the supply and place them in your Tavern.

Field of Triumph

Take 2 Fighters from the supply and place them in your Tavern.

1. Take 2 Fighters (orange) from the supply and place them in your Tavern.

Castle Waterdeep

Take the First Player marker and draw 1 Intrigue card.

1. Take the First Player marker (you will go first next round).
2. Draw 1 Intrigue card from the Intrigue deck.

Builder's Hall

Purchase a Building tile and put it into play under your control.

1. Choose 1 of the face-up Building tiles available for purchase.
2. Pay its Gold cost to the supply.
3. Immediately score any VP shown on the Building tile.
4. Place the tile on one of the open Building spaces on the game board.
5. Place one of your Building control markers on the tile to show you are the owner.
6. Draw the top tile of the Building stack and place it face-up in the vacated space in Builder's Hall.

• Buildings in play are available for anyone to assign an Agent to, just like basic Buildings.
• When another player assigns an Agent to your Building, you gain the Owner benefit stated on the tile.
• You do NOT gain the Owner benefit when you yourself use your own Building.
• Some Buildings have 'When Purchased and at Start of Round' effects that place resources on the tile.

Waterdeep Harbor

Waterdeep Harbor has 3 action spaces. Assigning an Agent here lets you play 1 Intrigue card. At the end of the round, Agents here are reassigned to other action spaces.

1. Play 1 Intrigue card from your hand and follow its instructions immediately.
2. If you have no Intrigue cards in hand, you cannot assign an Agent to Waterdeep Harbor.

• You may assign more than 1 of your Agents to Waterdeep Harbor across different turns if spaces remain (still 1 per turn).
• After ALL other Agents have been assigned for the round, Agents at Waterdeep Harbor are reassigned in order (space 1, then 2, then 3).
• Each reassigned Agent is moved to any other unoccupied action space (not Waterdeep Harbor) and the player takes that action.
• After reassigning, you may complete 1 Quest as usual.
• Attack Intrigue cards harm or penalize opponents. Utility cards benefit you. Mandatory Quest cards force an opponent to complete a small Quest before any others.

Start of Round

At the start of each round, resolve these steps before players take turns.

1. Remove the 3 VP tokens from the current round's space on the rounds track.
2. Place 1 of those VP tokens on each face-up Building tile in Builder's Hall. (VP tokens accumulate on tiles over multiple rounds.)
3. Resolve any 'Start of Round' effects on advanced Buildings currently in play (e.g., buildings that place resources on their space).
4. At the start of Round 5 only: each player takes the extra Agent of their color from near the Round 5 space and adds it to their pool. This Agent is available for the rest of the game.

• VP tokens that accumulate on Building tiles in Builder's Hall are gained by the player who purchases that Building.

End of Round

After all Agents have been assigned and Waterdeep Harbor reassignments are complete, the round ends.

1. All players return all their Agents to their Agent Pools.
2. The player with the First Player marker begins the next round.

• The Ambassador (if in play) also returns -- it is available again at the Palace of Waterdeep next round.

Key Concepts

• Adventurer Types: Clerics (white): needed for Piety Quests. Fighters (orange): needed for Warfare Quests. Rogues (black): needed for Skullduggery Quests. Wizards (purple): needed for Arcana Quests. Commerce Quests often need Gold or a mix of adventurer types.
• Quest Types: Arcana (blue border): magic-focused. Commerce (yellow border): trade-focused. Piety (silver border): religious. Skullduggery (green border): thievery. Warfare (red border): military. Your Lord card grants bonus VP for completing certain Quest types.
• Plot Quests: Plot Quests have a scroll notation and a colored name. When completed, they provide an ongoing benefit for the rest of the game in addition to their reward. Keep completed Plot Quests face-up near your player mat.
• Mandatory Quests: An Intrigue card type that forces an opponent to take a Mandatory Quest (orange border). A player with a Mandatory Quest MUST complete it before completing any other Quest. Mandatory Quests award few VP. When completed, place the card in the Intrigue discard pile.
• Empty Decks: If you must draw from an empty deck, shuffle the respective discard pile to form a new deck. Exception: do not shuffle completed Quest cards back into the Quest deck.