Council of Waterdeep

The Council of Waterdeep was a temporary conciliary body formed in the 1480s DR to deal with the arising threat the Cult of the Dragon posed to the people of the Sword Coast and the North.

Organization
The council was attended by delegated from five of the most influential and powerful factions of the west and the North. These 'Five Factions' included the league of city-states known as the Lords' Alliance, the knights of the Order of the Gauntlet, the druids of the Emerald Enclave, agents the Harpers, and the merchant-mercenaries of the Zhentarim.

As the largest and arguably most influential of the factions—being the representative of several major cities—the Lords' Alliance sent seven delegates to hold seats on the Council of Waterdeep. Other groups sent a single or only a few delegates, each accompanied by their own aides.

Activities
The council held four sessions over the course of months during which the cult, and their chromatic dragon allies proved to be an ever-increasing threat. During each of their meetings, the various factions measured how the council's actions aligned with their own interests, and weighed how many resources they could pledge to the cause. A single band of adventurers served as something of an intermediary between the factions, trying to balance the needs and ideologies of any one group with those of the others.

History
The Council of Waterdeep was formed soon after a group of adventurers uncovered a plot by the Cult of the Dragon. The cult was amassing a horde of wealth to appease their goddess Tiamat, and transporting it to the Well of Dragons aboard Skyreach Castle in preparation for a ritual that would summon her to Faerûn.

As the gravity of this potentially catastrophic event became apparent, delegates from the Sword Coast's most powerful factions were dispatched in secret to Waterdeep. The Harper agent Leosin Erlanthar—who had previously been taken captive by the Dragon Cult— invited a group of adventurers to their meeting, and explained to them its cause.

First Council
During the first Council of Waterdeep, the member-factions

The council tasked Leosin's adventurer comrades with the investigation of Varram the White, one of the cult's leaders that recently went missing.

As the council came to an end, each member in attendance—and in fact everyone on the Sword Coast—heard the boom of the Draakhorn being sounded. The ancient draconic artifact was a call-to-arms for dragons across the lands, and was a grim sign of the conflict that would soon arise.

At some point between the first and second councils, the Lords of Waterdeep chose to have Lady Laeral Silverhand succeed Neverember as Open Lord of their city, and thus take on the role as lead representative of the Lords' Alliance.

Second Council
Following the sounding of the Draakhorn, dragons across the lands became more and more aggressive, and numerous people were attacked. A second council session was called in response.

During their second meeting, the Council of Waterdeep learned of the adventurers' dual successes, both in their investigation and their pursuit of Maccath the Crimson, an Arcane Brotherhood expert on the draconic artifact known as the Draakhorn. The Emerald Enclave then solicited the adventurers to investigate the destruction in the Misty Forest caused by the green dragon Chuth. They believed the dragon was being manipulated by one of the cult's five wyrmspeakers.

Following the council's second meeting, an agent representing a collection of benevolent metallic dragons informed the adventuring party they wished to hold a secret meeting of their own to help thwart the efforts of Tiamat's minions.

Third Council
The third Council of Waterdeep was formed to assess how each of the factions had been faring up until that point.

saw each of the Sword Coast's factions begin to make their decisions about what resources they would pledge in the cast against the Dragon Cult.

Despite the adventurers' victory, uncertainty and mistrust plagued the council around this time. Gossip spread among its members that a political aide from Neverwinter killed one of the delegates assistances from Mithral Hall, and subsequently took their own life. These rumors were unfounded however, as the two deaths were actually caused by a succubus spy aligned with the Cult of the Dragon.

In the end, the council dispatched the adventurers to pursue two separate missions that could grant them the upper hand against the cult's efforts. They were first tasked with investigating seditious members of the cult at Xonthal's Tower, that could grant them a boon in the coming conflicts. The adventurers were then offered rapid transport to meet with the Red Wizards of the lich-regent Szass Tam of Thay. The Thayan Red Wizards were eager to bring to justice to Rath Modar, a member of the Thayan Resurrection and noted Cult of the Dragon ally.

Fourth Council
At its fourth and final meeting, the Council of Waterdeep learned that the Cult of the Dragon and their Red Wizard allies were perilously close to completing the ritual to summon Tiamat from the Nine Hells.

The fourth and final meeting of the council saw the adventurers step up and help direct the advisory body. They helped unite the council at the perilous moment just before Severin Silrajin and his fellow cultists appeared poised to summon Tiamat from the Nine Hells.

Resolution
In the end, the Five Factions of the council banded together and formed a unified army that marched upon Tiamat's Temple in the Well of Dragons. The allied army fought through hordes of undead summoned by the cult and forced to face off against the cult's evil chromatic dragon allies. Fortunately, the metallic dragons joined the battle in the skies above. In the end, the cult's leader Severin Silrajin was briefly able to cajole Tiamat to arrive on the face of Toril, but she was ultimately cast back down to her domain in the Nine Hells.

Members

 * Connerad Brawnanvil, an ambassador of Mithral Hall and son of one of its' former kings.
 * Dagult Neverember, the cunning Lord of Neverwinter and one-time Open Lord of Waterdeep.
 * Delaan Winterhound, the council's sole member from the Emerald Enclave.
 * Isteval, a retired Cormyrean Purple Dragon knight and representative of the city of Daggerford.
 * Laeral Silverhand, Neverember's successor as Open Lord of Waterdeep.
 * Melandrach, elven King of the Misty Forest that represented both his realm and the inhabitants of the High Forest.
 * Ontharr Frume, an exuberant and stalwart knight of the Order of the Gauntlet.
 * Remallia Haventree, the soft-spoken but fierce delegate of the Harpers.
 * Rian Nightshade an agent of the Zhentarim that acted as an attaché to Lord Neverember.
 * Taern Hornblade, the diplomatic High Mage of Silverymoon.
 * Ulder Ravengard, the earnest Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate and Marshal of the city's Flaming Fist army.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * The Rise of Tiamat