Popular Reviews of Rivals of Waterdeep

Really been enjoying so far

Come in for the story, stay for the storyFirst thing I have to say about Rivals is, Wow. This story has taken me places I never thought it would. I originally started to listen to it as the cast had their episode on the Stream of Many Eyes and i recognized a few from the Dungeon Rats so naturally I wanted to get in on this because it would not only be pretty funny but offer me some insight on Waterdeep as I know little of it. What ended up happening is they unraveled one hell of a story straight from the get go and handed us such fleshed out and well made characters that you couldn't not be watching/listening to this show! I'll start with DMing style, Carlos brings forth a very powerful and evocative style of DMing. Building up the scene as though it were a large wave coming in and then having it crash down on you the listener and the rest of the players, it brings forth such a powerful way to convey otherwise missed details in this story. There is a heavy focus on emotion and character decision, which is fantastic in my books because we can always see a story about heroes blasting a hole through the enemy and saving the day but what we are really looking for is the journey along the way and what happened to our heroes, and with Carlos' style he brings this out very well from his players and they roll with it with style. Now if that didn't get you already downloading the episodes then let me tell you about the players. They players all bring very fleshed out and well made characters to the table. I'm not just talking about abilities and stats and all that jazz, i'm talking about that good backstory and personality. Each are driven with a very powerful purpose, whether it is loss, finding a new self, fighting against labels that were placed against them, or even just trying to understand a destiny that is thrust upon them, these stories shape powerful characters that draw from such a deep well of emotions that hit the listener so well. So if you're interested in that fantasy dice rolling action with high consequences, grand story, great dming, and well developed characters then you've struck gold finding this podcast because it is right for you! Give them a listen and you won't be disappointed!

It's a fantastic podcast with some really lovely personalities and characters in it. What really gets me, though, is the street-level interactions that the characters have with NPCs. I feel like most RPG shows, we see the players ushered into the highest halls of local government, dealing with Lords and Kings, or military Captains. In Rivals, sure, we meet those people, but some of the character interactions and memorable side-stories are characters who rarely take the spotlight: street kids, families in poor neighborhoods, workers. This makes the world feel so real, and lived in. It's masterful storytelling with an excellent cast.