Dray

Drays were large two-story carriages used as public transportation in Waterdeep.

Description
Drays were long carriages with multiple rows of benches for passengers. The lower floor had glass windows and the upper floor, accessible via a spiral staircase at the back of the carriage, was open to the air. The driver sat at the front of the dray, on the upper floor, in order to have a better view of traffic and other dray drivers.

Passengers boarded the dray through a back door whenever it stopped or slowed down sufficiently. The typical dray fare varied between 2 and 4 nibs, usually collected by fare takers who stood at the back of the sitting area on the lower floor. Fare takers usually only accepted coins minted in Waterdeep in order to avoid the hassle of inspecting foreign currency for purity and authenticity.

Dray routes were most common along the main thoroughfares of the city, namely the High Road, Waterdeep Way, the Way of the Dragon, and the wide avenues that departed north and south of the Market.

During winter, fewer drays remained in service, but the Fellowship of Carters and Coachmen, the Wheelwrights' Guild, and the Wagon-makers' and Coach Builders' Guild worked together to convert some drays into sledges, so that they remained fully operational throughout the harshest parts of the season.

History
Drays were invented by Lantanese exiles between the late 14 and the late 15 centuries DR.

By 1492 DR, drays were routinely employed by the Zhentarim group known as the Doom Raiders as transportation and to convey messages throughout the city.

Around the same time, one of the drays in service was operated by a talking mare named Maxeene, who worked as a Harper informant observing the comings and goings of people of interest as they traveled within the city.

Appearances

 * Waterdeep: Dragon Heist