An unofficial overview and update of Waterdeep's Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors for D&D 5th Edition, and a fairly solidly conceived one at that. The book also includes new options for players who want to be members of the Watch Wizards:

• Subdual Spell: A feat that explicitly permits players to make their spells non-lethal. While this is well-designed, one wonders why you couldn't just allow the player to decide if it's non-lethal, as in the core rules. (Also, why the insistence on "subdual damage" as the term?)
• Watch Wizard Arcane Tradition: For players who actually want to be Watch Wizards proper. To be honest, this seems pretty powerful, especially if you're fond of countering other spellcasters.
• Guild Wizard background: A Sage-type background for wizards who either want to increase their Watch Wizard-ness, or non-wizards who want to be part of the club too. Pretty straightforward stuff.
• New spells: Probably the most broadly useful section, this includes some distinctive spells (such as Analyze Portal or Reveal Magic) as well as some stealth updates of spells from older editions (check out Trobriand's). Wound Bind might step a bit on healer turf, but the rest are all pretty good (if occasionally - and understandably - pretty specialized).

Definitely worth picking up if you plan to include the Watchful Order in your games, despite a few hiccups in the player options. Less useful for those who don't, though the spells are still probably worth a look.

A good supplement for your Waterdeep experience! Ads a feat that fits the flavor of WOMP (a friend's acronym for the order) as well as spells and good extra flavor for this staple group a grognard like me.

R P Davis is one of the preeminent 5e spell designers in the DM's Guild author community. This Guildbook is living proof of that. It's a 14 page book combines the best of crunch (game-mechanic design) and fluff (entertaining/informative prose & strong storyline narrative) for a Waterdeep book that holds equally tremendous value to players and DMs.

So far, my group and I were able to play with 5 of the dozen or so new spells provided. They all passed with flying colors in regards to balance, clarity of use. and ease of immersion into Waterdhavian magic culture. R P clearly did his homework on researching the popular Waterdeep hardback books of prior editions. As his ability to port them over into 5e parlance was done seamlessly and elegantly.

Newly ported content such as Waterdeep magic portal details, a feat, and an arcane tradition are also presented and of equally high design value. Adding "name spells" (ex. - Trobriand's Teleport) was a great idea as it more strongly connects the F.R. lore to the attached game mechanics. I truly love the archaic font and art use within the PDF. Gorgeous stuff ... and definitely helps add to the immersion and verisimilitude of Waterdeep culture.

I give this book a 5 Star Rating ... and my Seal of Approval! My only criticism at this time, is that I wish there were 30 more pages of R P's spells!

Solid book with very specific spells, a single feat (that I personally wasn't a fan of, but it's good), and some information like portals that go all over Waterdeep for use by the Watchful Order. A solid book that I want a physical version of to hand to my players.