During Universal Fan Fest Nights, guests at Universal Studios Hollywood can venture into the Forgotten Realms to experience a walkthrough entitled “Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep.”
‘Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep’
Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep is described by Universal as:
Join fellow Harpers on a DUNGEONS & DRAGONS quest to save Waterdeep from the clutches of the notorious beholder, Xanathar the Beholder, in the in-world action-packed DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: Secrets of Waterdeep.
The walkthrough experience is housed inside a soundstage on the studio lot, much like a haunted house during Halloween Horror Nights. Several rows of metal stanchions and ropes form the exterior queue.
Along one exterior wall, projections depict descriptions of character classes from Dungeons & Dragons, like Fighters.
The first room that guests enter features one long screen along a wall, with other walls covered in art from the Dungeons & Dragons guidebooks and beyond.
A short presentation then begins, offering guests background information on the city of Waterdeep and the Harpers, “guardians of justice sworn to oppose dark forces.” This presentation also introduces the four character classes that guests will encounter during the experience: Rogues, Clerics, Fighters, and Wizards.
The screen then opens up to welcome guests into the first room of the experience: a workshop, filled with weapons, gear, and an appearance from a High Elf.
She comes in to share quest details with guests, prompting one to interact with a crystal ball on a nearby shelf.
Once the crystal ball responds, a portrait on the wall to the elf’s left begins to divulge the details of the impending quest: Xanathar, the founding crime lord of the Xanathar Thieves’ Guild in Waterdeep, seeks to destroy the city with the Dragon Staff of Ahghairon. Xanathar has aligned himself with a red dragon and seeks to remove the barrier that prevents dragons from entering Waterdeep.
Guests, along with the leaders of the local Harpers, must team up to steal back the Dragon Staff of Ahghairon and save Waterdeep from its impending doom at the hands of Xanathar.
At this point, the two local leaders of the Harpers enter the fray, a Tiefling and a Human. They invite guests into the next room in the experience, through the two curtained entryways shown in the photo above.
The pair and guests enter a stone-walled room covered in wanted posters for Xanathar, the “insecure diva.” They’re looking for (and eventually find) the Rod of Absorption, and recruit guests to learn to hurl Vicious Mockery, an insult cantrip from Dungeons & Dragons lore.
At that point, a dragon flies overhead (thanks to projections on the ceiling), and sets two corners of the room ablaze. The dragon warns the group that Waterdeep will burn, and they will take all of their treasure (dragons, in D&D lore, are known treasure hoarders).
At this point, the pair of Harpers split the party, with one half of the guests going with the Human, and the other half sticking with the Tiefling. At this point, guests enter the next room, filled with treasure and bathed in blue light.
The pair finds a puzzle, and surmises that by solving the puzzle, they can escape this new room.
The Human casts Bardic Inspiration, bringing light to the dark room.
A set of doors implies that Xanathar’s lair is nearby, but when the Tiefling goes to inspect a large treasure chest, she finds that it is, in fact, a Mimic! In D&D lore, a Mimic is a shapechanger monster that can polymorph into an object, and is often disguised as a treasure chest. The Human then casts Thunderwave, which stops the Mimic.
Following the Mimic’s defeat, a set of symbols appears in various colors on the walls, and the guests help the Human determine the order and colors of each symbol to solve the puzzle and unlock the doors to Xanathar’s lair.
Sure enough, the Dragon Staff of Ahghairon awaits in the next room, stuck amongst a pile of gold and jewels.
The Human attempts to use the Rod of Absorption to absorb the power from the staff, but at this moment, Xanathar reveals himself and casts Disintegrate on the party. As the battle ensues, an opportunity strikes for guests and the party to use Vicious Mockery on Xanathar, and guests are guided into the next room.
As the Tiefling fights off the effects of Xanathar’s Sleep spell, the pair of Harpers and guests find themselves in a forest.
At that moment, the entire forest is cloaked in red light, as a new foe appears (and looks mysteriously familiar to the High Elf we encountered at the beginning of our adventure).
Our villainess then reveals that it was she who set us on our quest to obtain the Dragon Staff, on behalf of the Cult of the Dragon.
The Tiefling then fires back with the Wand of Lightning Bolts, sending shocks through the forest and defeating their foe, and ultimately, saving Waterdeep.
Watch the full experience for yourself in our video below:
For more Dungeons & Dragons at Universal Fan Fest Nights, take a look at the exclusive D&D merchandise available at Universal Studios Hollywood.
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For more Universal Studios news from around the world, follow Universal Parks News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For Disney Parks news, visit WDWNT.