Black Bucket Hunt

A Black Bucket Hunt was an annual revel and treasure hunt held in Waterdeep that ultimately led into Undermountain. It was sponsored each year by a different noble family and tacitly allowed by city officials. It had no purpose or meaning beyond entertainment for apathetic and cynical nobles, but by the second Hunt, it became quite popular among the upper echelons of Waterdhavian society that were able to observe the hunt from safety on the surface.

Description
A Black Bucket Hunt began at a party hosted by a noble family. The wealthier, usually more senior members of the House sponsored the event: by providing the treasure to be hunted; paying healing fees to clergy of various faiths; and hiring wizards to facilitate the Hunt, enforce the rules, and, beginning with the second Hunt, provide visual observation of the participants while they wandered about Undermountain.

At the kick-off revel (where much alcohol was available), the ceremony began with the Black Bucket being escorted by a bevy of women wearing masks. The large Bucket appeared to have seen many years of hard use and was blackened by exposure to fire. It contained tokens that were drawn by the participants to randomly determine teams. After the drawing, there were typically at least eight teams with a minimum of six persons on each team. The empty Bucket was then filled with rubies and twelve tokens that granted the bearer freedom from city taxes, fees, and fines for one year. In a flare of pageantry and showy spells, the Black Bucket was teleported away to "a secret corner of Undermountain". Likewise, monsters were summoned and sent off to provide a challenge to the hunters.