Introduction

Lost Halls of Everforge is a flame dragon wyrmling lair suitable for four or five 3rd-level characters.

1. Hall of Armaments

At the end of the hall near the Great Forge, the kobolds have placed four traps. A creature that steps on a pressure plate springs a dart trap: +3 to hit; 2d4 piercing damage;

DC 15 Wisdom Perception or DC 15 Intelligence Investigation check to find traps. In addition, springing one of these traps throws open the doors to the Great Forge, announcing the presence of the characters.

2. Presentation Hall

The first dwarf, or a creature of another race who has the noble background, who sits in one of the stone seats receives a blessing from the Everforge ancestors. One weapon wielded by that character becomes enchanted with a +1 bonus, as a dwarven spirit possesses the weapon.

3. Room of Respite

If a patrol is encountered here, the defenders retreat through the secret door into area 4 to use the rubble as cover.

4. Storage Area

The chests have been opened and looted, except for one made completely of iron. That chest is trapped and locked: DC 20 Dexterity thieves' tools check to open. If the chest is opened before the trap is disabled with a DC 20 Dexterity thieves' tools check, everyone in the room is exposed to a poison gas. The trap deals 2d6 poison damage, or half damage on a successful DC 10 Constitution saving throw. The chest contains 500 silver pieces, 5 gemstones worth 50 gp each, a potion of climbing, and a potion of healing.

A patrol encountered here snipes at characters from behind the cover of the chests and retreats through the secret door when pressed.

5. Guest Chambers

The barricade contains perches on both sides where kobolds can stand and fire over. It can be leaped with a DC 15 Strength Athletics check; otherwise it takes 20 feet of movement to move over it into the adjacent area. Smashing through the barricade requires a DC 20 Strength Athletics check.

A patrol encountered here uses the barricade as cover to snipe at intruders and retreats through the secret doors if the battle goes poorly.

6. Kitchen

An iron oven occupies the corner of the larger chamber. Arcane glyphs on the oven can be interpreted by a character who makes a successful DC 15 Intelligence Arcana check. The runes reveal the oven's command word, and the knowledge that when the command word is spoken (requiring an action), the oven instantly heats to cooking temperature. When this occurs, all creatures adjacent to the oven take 1d6 fire damage. The barricade is identical to the one in area 5.

7. Hall of Ancestors

The many mirrors can be disorienting to visitors. The defenders of the place are accustomed to this room, making them immune to its effect. Each character must attempt a DC 10 Intelligence saving throw at the start of each turn. Until a character succeeds, that individual has disadvantage on attack rolls.

In a secret compartment in the southwest pillar, which can be found with a DC 10 Intelligence Investigation check, is a potion of heroism.

8. Empty Rooms

A patrol encountered in this area uses the area's passages and chambers to snipe and fall back, forcing the characters to track them down to fight. The southern secret door serves as an escape route if necessary, but patrols do not use the northern secret door.

9. Smelting Hall

Moving through this room requires 10 feet of movement for every 5 feet moved. Creatures 10 feet away have total cover, and creatures just 5 feet away have half cover.

The twisted metal is attached very loosely to the walls and ceiling. With a DC 15 Strength Athletics check as an action, a creature can bring down the metal in an adjacent square, dealing 3d6 slashing damage to occupants of that square—with a 30% chance to bring down metal in its own square for the same damage.

10. Weapon Room

The animated armor in this room, left from the time when the Everforge clan lived here, guards the area against intruders. When a creature gets within 5 feet of it, the armor attacks, joined by four flying swords. The dragon's servants avoid this room.

11. Ore Room

If a battle happens here, the dragon's servants try to hide behind the piles of ore to gain half cover.

Eight stirges nest in the ore shafts but do not come out unless a battle breaks out here. If they emerge, they target characters and enemies equally.

12. Great Forge

At the end of round 8, if Igbalneum the flame dragon wyrmling is still alive, it plunges into the flame on the dais and grows into a young flame dragon in a burst of smoke and sparks—and more than doubling in size to the dimensions of a horse. At that point, the characters should flee. Even if they don't, the dragon spares them. He eats a few kobolds and flies away to lay waste to the area, taunting the characters as he goes. His plots can haunt the characters until they gain enough power to deal with him.

The elderly sage Spencius is a mere acolyte who hides once the battle begins but heals his master if possible. The eight kobolds are willing to die serving their dragon master, knowing that he would eat them in displeasure if they didn't fight. The other patrols slink away from the Halls and do not return.

Conclusion

If the characters defeat Igbalneum before the dragon transforms, Polla performs a 10-minute quenching ritual and severs the link to the Plane of Fire. She shows her gratitude by offering them 750 gp and one of the last pieces created by her clan: a suit of adamantine chain mail.

Introduction

Den of the Rotten Kings is a wererat lair suitable for four 3rd-level characters.

1. Freshwater Well

A metal grate in a featureless stone building at ground level leads down into this deep, freshwater reservoir.

Loose stones on the walls provide footholds for those climbing to the cistern 50 feet below. Every 10 feet, a foothold is set to collapse when stepped on, dropping the climber into the shallow water below and dealing 11 2d10 bludgeoning damage from the fall. A DC 15 Wisdom Perception check will reveal the dangerous footholds. A fall alerts the lookout in the cistern.

2. Cistern

The cistern is 40 feet deep. Hidden in the shadows high up on the east wall is a broken stone opening that takes an active DC 13 Wisdom Perception check to see. A bandit keeps watch over the cistern. If this lookout sees anyone unfamiliar, he throws bones and decaying meat at the intruders. This commotion awakens and attracts two bone crabs lurking in the water. These creatures, accustomed to devouring intruders, attack those on the raft.

On the alcove above sit three barrels. One of these contains the concentrated mushroom spores that King Sketch, leader of the Rotten Kings, has threatened to pour into the cistern. The other barrel contains black sawdust, which can be used as a ruse. Because of the finality of dumping the mushroom spores into the cistern, only King Sketch can make the decision to dump the spores. If the lookout is wounded or if it appears the characters will defeat the crabs, the lookout kicks the barrel of sawdust into the cistern to distract the characters before running off to warn the others of the intrusion.

3. Sacks

Lower-level members of the Rotten Kings sleep here. A thorough search of the sleeping piles reveals 16 cp and a dagger with its tip broken off. Though in poor condition, the dagger is hundreds of years old and worth 100 gp to the right collector.

4. Crossbow Trap

At the end of this hall is a sheet of canvas painted to look like the other walls of this chamber. Six heavy crossbows sit behind this canvas, tied to a tripwire on the south end of the hall. If the trap is triggered, each creature in the hall must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take 5 1d10 piercing damage. Spotting the fake canvas wall takes a DC 15 Wisdom Perception check, and disarming the trap takes a DC 13 Dexterity Sleight of Hand check.

5. Cages

The grates lead to two pits. Iron bars surround the inside of each pit, just far enough apart to keep out dozens of large rats that screech and snap at the victims from outside the bars.

The Rotten Kings use these cages to torture their captives. Those in the cages are just out of reach of the rats, and they must move back and forth to avoid getting bitten. The three thugs in this area are easily surprised given the cruel fun they're having and the screeching of the rats.

The thugs are tormenting a former member of the Rotten Kings named Kave, who was caught stealing from the Kings and sentenced to starve in the cages for his betrayal. If he is saved, he can tell the characters about the mushroom grove (area 6) and the feasting hall (area 10).

6. Mushroom Grove

These mushrooms are highly toxic, and disturbing them makes them burst. Anyone within 5 feet of a bursting mushroom takes 3 1d6 poison damage. The mushrooms require the strange black liquid flowing past the altar of the maiden (area 7) to become toxic.

7. Alter of the Maiden

This chamber was excavated centuries ago and then lost beneath the earth. The Rotten Kings discovered it a few months ago as they explored the strange mushroom grove. They describe the statue as the Maiden, and they treat the image as a deity.

Wrapped around the statue is an empty cloak. When it is disturbed, this cloak animates and attacks with the dagger of venom it wields. This increases the cloak's attack bonus to +7 and deals 7 1d4+5 damage. The first target hit by the cloak must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the target takes 11 2d10 poison damage and becomes poisoned for 1 minute.

8. Apothecary's Lab

Gessel the apothecary mage has been enslaved by the Kings for almost a year. So long has his torment lasted that he now fears everyone he sees. It requires a DC 14 Charisma Persuasion check to get Gessel to open up to the characters. If they persuade him to talk to them, he tells the characters that he has been concentrating the mushroom spores into a drug that, when inhaled, gives strange and wonderful visions and feelings of euphoria. Inhaling too much of the stuff, though, poisons and kills those who ingest it.

Within the chamber are three potions of greater healing and two potions of poison brewed from the strange spores.

9. Flaming Oil Trap

Four flasks of oil hang high on the ceiling. Stepping on a loose tile on the floor releases the flasks, which smash open and release their oil, which catches fire from the torches on the walls. Creatures within 15 feet of the explosion take 7 2d6 fire damage if they fail a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or half as much if they succeed.

Detecting the trap requires a DC 13 Wisdom Perception check, and disarming the trap requires a DC 13 Dexterity Sleight of Hand check. Instead of disarming it, characters can simply avoid the trap if they detect it.

10. The Feasting Hall

This room serves as the audience hall, meeting room, storeroom, and dining hall of the Rotten Kings. If they come under attack, the Kings tip over the tables and use them as cover. Three wererats, including King Sketch, and five bandits reside in the hall.

King Sketch is a wererat with 66 hit points. He wears a suit of gleaming black +1 leather armor, giving him an AC of 14. He fires a +1 light crossbow of elven make known as "Seeker." With the weapon, he has a +5 bonus to hit and deals 7 1d8+3 damage.

If things look bad, Sketch sends one of the other wererats to crawl through the tunnels to the alcove above the cistern. The wererat will dump the mushroom barrel while King Sketch flees to his private chambers.

The crates and barrels contain an assortment of stolen goods including ironware, bolts of cloth, herbs, tobacco, mead, and ale. These goods are worth a total of 105 gp.

11. The Warrens

The wererats of the Rotten Kings use these 2-foot-diameter tunnels to give them greater access throughout the den. Small characters can follow at half speed, but the wererats know these tunnels and can pass through them at full speed

12. King Sketch's Den

This is King Sketch's private chambers. In the east side of the chamber is a dresser and a large oak chest. If he is attempting to escape, King Sketch takes his treasure out of the chest and tries to drag it through a 3-foot-tall secret tunnel to the east that leads out into the city's sewers.

King Sketch's treasure hoard includes 1,486 cp, 1,301 sp, 85 gp, an ivory pair of dice worth 75 gp, an onyx locket worth 25 gp, a silk embroidered handkerchief worth 20 gp, a feather mask with silver thread worth 30 gp, and a soapstone pitcher worth 25 gp.

Conclusion and Further Adventures

If the Kings release the mushrooms into the water supply, the city is at great risk, and the characters might be blamed. They might have to go on a quest to find an antidote and restore the city's water supply. If King Sketch gets away, the characters might find themselves on a hunt throughout the city for the elusive wererat lord.

Introduction

The Clockwork Tower is an azza gremlin lair suitable for five 3rd-level characters.

1. The Clock Tower

PCs can enter the clock tower through the western side entrance or by way of a panel between the 6 and the 7 on the clock face. The panel, 10 feet off the ground, is difficult to see from where the PCs stand, requiring a successful DC 15 Wisdom Perception check. If they enter this way, they arrive in area 8, the clock's gears and driver.

A notice tacked onto the door at the entrance bears the seal of the Clockworkers' Guild and a message warning people not to trespass. A simple lock prevents immediate entrance, but a character can open it by using thieves' tools and succeeding on a DC 15 Dexterity check. If necessary, the door can be broken down (it has AC 15 and 18 hp) or smashed (with a successful DC 15 Strength check).

If the PCs ask townspeople about the clock tower, with DC 10 Charisma checks (Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion as appropriate), they learn much of the background information—though not any details about the gremlins.

2. Entrance Chamber

This room has a 10-foot-high ceiling. Intended as an office for the clockmaker, it was never used. The inspectors stored measuring equipment in the unlocked chest, some of which (worth 15 gp) they left behind when they fled the tower. The guild inspectors also recently stored explosive devices in the chest.

When lit, each of the two devices deals 22 4d10 bludgeoning damage 3 rounds later to all creatures within 20 feet. Creatures that succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw take half damage. A successful DC 15 Intelligence check can affix the explosive charge to an object such that it takes double damage. A brief inspection of the room, requiring a successful DC 10 Intelligence Investigation check, reveals recent tracks in the dust.

The desk seems empty, but it conceals a hidden drawer, requiring an average check to find. The hidden drawer holds rolled-up blueprints for the tower. With a successful DC 15 Intelligence Arcana check, a character learns that the tower had some function other than telling time, but the exact purpose is unclear.

3. Inside the Clock Face

This room has a 30-foot ceiling. It contains a replacement gear that has begun to corrode.

The southern ladder leads to a hinged panel in the clock face. Although it is difficult to spot from the outside, the ladder and the hinges make it obvious from this side; the panel provides access to the clock face and hands.

4. Main Gears

The Clockworkers' Guild inspectors noted an oddity when they performed their initial investigations: the gears in this section seemed unnecessary. The inspectors believed that the set of gears on the upper floor were sufficient to manage the clock. A character who makes a successful DC 15 Intelligence check draws the same conclusion.

The guild left a clockwork huntsman and a clockwork hound in this area to guard the tower. The creatures remain in a dormant state to preserve themselves, making them only dimly aware of activity in the tower. They ignore any action in this floor's southern area, but if a character interacts with the gears or the energy source (or if one of them is injured), they fully activate. The huntsman intones a warning, "Intruders. Leave now, or I will resort to force." It gives the characters 2 rounds to comply before it attacks. It also attacks if any character takes hostile action against it. The hound follows the huntsman's lead.

The shafts lead through the ceiling and provide small gaps through which smaller creatures can squeeze. The gremlins' tiny size allows them to pass through the gaps without any problem, and they use the shafts to hide from the clockwork creatures. If a larger creature is caught in the gears by purposefully moving through the area or being shoved into the gears, it must succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw or take 22 4d10 bludgeoning damage and be restrained. On a failure, the creature must repeat the saving throw at the start of its turn. On a success, the creature pulls free, is no longer restrained, and takes no further damage; otherwise; the effect of the gears continues.

The gears are recently oiled and in working order. Characters who search for the guild member's amulet can find it with a successful DC 15 Intelligence Investigation check.

5. Energy Source

An air elemental resides in this sphere. It defends its home, using the sphere's power to deliver a warning jolt of electricity to anyone who touches the sphere. The golden sphere grants any elemental, anyone holding a wand of lightning bolts, or any character within 50 feet who makes a successful DC 15 Intelligence Arcana check the ability to generate lightning equal to a witch's hex spell.

A character who can speak Auran learns of the elemental's desire for freedom. If the characters free the creature, requiring several days' worth of work and three consecutive successful DC 15 Intelligence Arcana checks, it grants them a boon: a wand of lightning bolts. If the characters smash the sphere (AC 14, 20 hp), the elemental bound to it dies.

6. Rubbish-Choked Stairs

Mounds of trash block the stairway leading to the second floor. The gremlins arranged the garbage so as to provide them a warning about intruders. A successful DC 20 Dexterity (Stealth) check is needed to move or avoid the trash without alerting the gremlins.

7. Workshop

This workshop is used to repair broken gears. The gremlins have maintained the workshop and have replaced one gear since they got here.

One workbench has tools of excellent quality (worth 10 gp).

8. Clock Driver

If the party has alerted the three azza gremlins that are in this area, they stay hidden in area 9, hoping that the turning gears deter further investigation. They maintain the lightning device, just in case they need to use it against intruders. The gremlins inspected the clockwork creatures in the room below and have tried to make more from spare parts. Their clockwork is a ramshackle creation that functions as a suit of animated armor without the Antimagic Susceptibility trait.

The gears turn at varying speeds. Characters who want to cross the gears to the other side of the room must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity Acrobatics check. Failure means a character falls between the gears, which crush and grapple her (see area 4).

The characters can stop or jam the gears, but doing so runs the risk of the gears flying apart and attacking the characters. Roll 1d20 for every round in which the gears are jammed. If the result is equal to or lower than the number of characters, one of the smaller gears breaks free and targets a character with a ranged attack at +5 to hit and dealing 11 2d10 piercing damage.

9. Covered Table

The azza gremlins merely want to be left alone to play with the lightning device. They are willing to parley with characters at first and express their desire to remain in the tower. The party can also convince the gremlins to relocate with a successful DC 15 Charisma Persuasion check, but such checks are made with disadvantage unless the characters bribe the gremlins with the tools or explosive charges from area 2 (or another appropriate item). If the party offers the wand of lightning bolts, the gremlins quickly agree.

If the party attacks, the gremlins fight. As a bonus action, the gremlin can use the lightning device to deal 9 2d8 lightning damage to a character and force the character to succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be pushed 15 feet. The gremlins use the device to push a foe back into the gears. The device can deliver two such jolts.

The clock's disconnected, solid bronze bells can be sold for 300 gp total, if the characters do not reconnect them to the clock.

Conclusion

If the PCs defeat or relocate the gremlins, they can restore the clock tower to working order. They must also convince the Clockworkers' Guild to leave the tower alone, or they can leverage the guild's resources to understand the tower's true purpose, one only hinted at in the clockmaker's blueprints. It is meant to perform a magical ritual over years, granting elemental power over lightning to the inhabitants of the tower—but this plan requires long study to uncover and put into action.

Introduction

Doom Croaker's Branches is a lindwurm lair suitable for four or five 4th-level characters.

1. Lifecurrants

The red berries are lifecurrants, which hold the juice that Grutilda asked the PCs to secure. Getting the juice from a lifecurrant is a tricky proposition: if a berry is pierced or slashed without great care, it explodes, sending purplish-red juices geysering forth in all directions. Any creature within 10 feet of such an explosion must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or be blinded for 1d3 rounds by the spraying juice. In order to get the juice safely, a DC 10 Dexterity Sleight of Hand check is needed, along with a small piercing weapon and a suitable container.

If the ravenfolk scouts in area 2 witness a lifecurrant explosion, they leave their hiding spots and attack while the PCs are blinded. The ravenfolk guards in area 2 remain in place to protect the hidden young (see below).

2. Ravens in Hiding

Traveling along the upper branch, starting where it intersects with the branch below, requires moving across uneven bark. This area is considered difficult terrain unless the moving creature makes a DC 10 Dexterity Acrobatics check.

Hidden under some loose bark in a hollowed-out portion of the branch, two ravenfolk guards tend to five fluffy-feathered ravenfolk babies. Three ravenfolk scouts hide nearby on the branch, keeping watch for intruders. If the PCs approach the hiding place (at the northern section), the guards emerge and attack.

If the ravenfolk scouts left this area to engage the PCs in area 1, the guards call out to ten ravens, who respond at the beginning of round 2 to harass the PCs. The ravenfolk, fearing the safety of both the young and their captured leader, attack without hesitation. If they are questioned after being defeated, the ravenfolk describe their plight to the PCs, admitting they cannot do anything against the lindwurm or its other servants for fear of reprisal. They beg the PCs to let them escape with their young.

Characters who try to jump down or who fall to the branch below risk skewering themselves on the silverthorns (see area 3).

3. Silverthorns

Creatures that fall or jump from area 2 onto the branch here take 1d6 bludgeoning damage. Additionally, each must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw. Those that fail also take 1d6 piercing damage as they are skewered by the silverthorns.

Very fine webbing, practically invisible unless observed carefully with a DC 15 Wisdom Perception check, runs among the silverthorns. Creatures that land on the branch disturb the webbing, which alerts the seven giant spiders here that a potential meal has arrived. The spiders hide on the underside of the branch. Two spiders attack in the first round, three more arrive at the start of round 3, and the final two join the battle at the start of round 5.

The silverthorns contain a potent sap that can counteract the effects of poison. A character can identify this quality with a successful DC 10 Intelligence Nature check. It requires an action to pierce the side of the thorn and extract the sap. The poison-cleansing properties of the sap disappear 1 hour after it is extracted.

4. Bloodleaves

The webbed forms are gnome siblings named Eddinna and Frillo Sweetsop, who accidentally came here through a different portal days ago and stumbled into the clutches of four ettercaps, which serve as lieutenants for the lindwurm. The ettercaps conceal themselves in the webbing when they notice combat taking place in area 3, and a successful DC 15 Wisdom Perception check is needed to see them in their hiding places.

The leaves attached to the branch are bloodleaves: semi- sentient, blood-drinking plants. They sense the proximity of warm-blooded creatures, and they swat with their broad, flat surfaces at any target that comes within reach. The 10-foot square directly in front of the stem of each leaf is the danger zone. When a warm-blooded creature starts its turn in one of those places, the bloodleaf attacks with a spiny swat (+4 to hit, 1 piercing damage, DC 11 Constitution save to avoid 1d6 damage as blood is drained). After a bloodleaf drains blood, it stops attacking for 1 hour. Ettercaps do not attract the attention of the bloodleaves.

Eddinna and Frillo are noncombatants, and they are from a world foreign to the characters. How these two NPCs might come into play later in the campaign is left to the DM.

5. Lindwurm

A 10-foot-square area on this branch is weakened by rot. Any creature that jumps onto or moves across this area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or fall all the way through, landing on a branch 10 feet below this one and taking 1d6 damage. A strong vine (Strength DC 10 to climb) can be used to get back up. The weak area is noticeable to a creature that makes a DC 10 Wisdom Perception check, and the entire weakened area falls away when any part of it is touched.

The ice-covered branch is difficult terrain, and any creature that uses the Dash action must make a successful DC 15 Dexterity Acrobatics check or fall prone at the end of its move.

The lindwurm begins the encounter squeezed into one of the holes at the southern end of the branch, where it has been keeping a close eye on its prisoner, the ravenfolk doom croaker. When a character arrives on its branch, the lindwurm emerges from its hiding place and attacks. The characters can use the passageways inside the branch, accessible through the holes, to take cover from the lindwurm and attack from hiding. As a Large creature, the lindwurm will not enter the passages.

The lindwurm hoards 150 gp, 4 pieces of quartz (worth 50 gp each), and an amulet of health in the worm tunnels, where the doom croaker is also held captive. The characters can also find lindwurm droppings for Grutilda.

Conclusion

If the ravenfolk doom croaker survives, she expresses her appreciation to the characters by offering to use her gift of prophecy to give them a glimpse of their futures.

If the PCs return to the village, Grutilda the ratatosk is equally appreciative of their efforts. Although she has no treasure or arcane gifts, she can craft a potion as promised. Also, the ratatosk are expert guides around the branches and roots of Yggdrasil. If the characters ever have need of interplanar travel, the ratatosk eagerly volunteer to take them to their destination by way of one of the World Tree's portals.

Introduction

A welcoming desert oasis offers respite from the searing wasteland, but this paradise has perils. Castle of Sand is suitable for three to five 4th-level characters.

1. Pool

The pool is really a small, shallow mud hole inhabited by a bulette, surrounded only by stones and the withered trunks of a few long-dead trees.

The actual water here is muddy and smells bad, but it is real, so animals and people can slake their thirst and canteens and waterskins can be filled. A character with a Constitution score of 9 or lower who drinks more than a swallow of this water gains one level of exhaustion within 15 minutes; the exhaustion lasts until after the character completes a long rest.

The bulette that lurks in the mud below the pool attacks if any creature (characters, horses, or camels) wades into the pool and stirs up the mud. The bulette is aware of the quicksand (and unaffected by it, thanks to its burrowing ability), so it tries to lure enemies into that area. When the bulette is reduced to 20 or fewer hit points, it burrows away to safety, if it can.

2. Quicksand

Imsim's illusion makes two areas next to the pool look like solid ground, but the terrain is actually quicksand. A creature that enters the quicksand becomes restrained and sinks 1d4 + 1 feet immediately, plus another 1d4 feet at the start of each of its turns. It can escape by making a successful Strength check; the DC equals 10 + the number of feet it has sunk into the quicksand. Another creature can also pull a trapped creature free, using a DC 5 points lower. Once a creature is completely submerged, it can't breathe and is in danger of suffocating.

3. Tomb

If characters look through the doorway, read:

What's actually here is an intact tomb, but one that is ancient and crumbling.

The "woman" is actually a mirager named Naydleh, who was imprisoned by Imsim for a murder committed generations ago. Naydleh uses hallucinatory terrain to keep the crumbling tomb looking fresh, clean, and well maintained, in the hope of luring passersby into looking inside. The manacles are sealed with an arcane lock, so they are DC 25 against lockpicking attempts and DC 30 for squeezing out of, breaking, or wrenching from the stone.

Naydleh uses suggestion against whomever it deems to be the party's leader. The mirager uses charm person only if it believes it can slip away before the spell expires. Naydleh is very convincing and persuasive even without these spells. It wants to escape captivity and get revenge against Imsim for a century of imprisonment, so it uses all its wiles to persuade the party that it's a kidnapped human.

Exactly what the mirager presses for depends on the characters' reactions. If they fall under the mirager's spells or they believe its lies and seem willing to fight whatever's in the house, Naydleh spurs them on. If they express doubts, Naydleh will settle for escaping now; it can come back for revenge later.

The sealed sarcophagus contains the skulls and neatly stacked bones of a half dozen nomads, all of whom have been dead for over a century.

House

The actual terrain in this area consists of a few crumbling walls and a heap of conveniently placed boulders.

The house appears in good repair for a possibly abandoned desert structure, but it's not as pristine as the tomb. Human-sized characters can easily see over the tops of the walls into the courtyard. The buildings are small enough that Medium characters must duck to get through doorways and must be careful not to bump their heads against the ceiling while inside, but they don't need to crouch uncomfortably, thanks to the "high" ceilings (for a Small inhabitant).

4. Courtyard

The actual terrain here is flat, gravelly ground.

Nothing of interest can be found in the courtyard, but if characters shout a greeting, they hear a voice from the receiving room (area 6) saying, "Welcome, travelers. Please join me in my parlor."

5. Veranda

This area contains boulders and a few fallen palm trunks.

6. Receiving Room

The ground in this area consists of stones, broken brickwork, and gravel.

The room's occupant is an illusion created by Imsim using project image. It shows Imsim as he really is, without visual enhancements. The dau is safely ensconced in his den (area 8). The image moves as Imsim moves, and his words are heard as if spoken by the image.

Thanks to the dau's Tangible Illusion ability, the image is fully physical and can even interact with things in the room for the first ten minutes of the encounter; Imsim serves tea and moves cushions around as necessary. For all intents and purposes, the image is as real as anything else in the room for those ten minutes.

After ten minutes, the image loses its tangibility so that physical objects pass right through it, and vice versa. Someone who examines the image carefully can then recognize the deception with a successful DC 13 Intelligence Investigation check. Striking the nonphysical image with an attack that does any damage dispels it completely.

All Imsim wants from this encounter is pleasant company and intelligent conversation. He welcomes news of the wider world and tales of the characters' exploits. The projected image answers most questions honestly, provided they're asked politely, including questions about itself, its nature, and the prisoner in the tomb. The dau has a short attention span and a strict sense of etiquette, but otherwise is a witty and gracious host.

The situation changes and Imsim turns hostile if characters:

After a minor infraction, Imsim chastises the characters for their bad manners and asks them to "respect the ancient traditions of hospitality" in his home. If the characters commit a serious breach, he demands that they leave, and if they refuse, he attacks. When his projected image is tangible, it can fight as if it were Imsim. If a fight breaks out, it triggers Imsim's programmed illusion of a djinni materializing behind the dau. The djinni can't fight, but it looks incredibly menacing in the crowded room and adds weight to Imsim's commands for order. If the image of Imsim is dispelled in a fight, the dau casts invisibility, dispels all his illusions (revealing the lush oasis to be a sun-baked mud hole), and flies away. If the bulette is still alive, it bursts through the ground in the midst of the party and fights to the death.

If Naydleh is brought into the receiving room, Imsim scowls and says, "You should not have set that loose." The mirager won't fight the dau directly but instead tries to get the characters to attack. A character who is under the effect of the mirager's suggestion spell is compelled to attack; any who are charmed consider the dau to be a dire menace to their new friend, but they're free to decide for themselves whether attacking is the best course of action. At an opportune point during this fight, Naydleh gets close to a weakened character, slakes its enormous appetite with Thirst Kiss, then flees, laughing, into the desert. Imsim makes one attempt at that point to stop the fight and get the characters' aid in recapturing the mirager. If the characters remain hostile, Imsim turns invisible and flies away.

7. Sleeping Room

The area actually contains gravel, stones, and a threadbare camel skin.

If the encounter with Imsim goes well, the dau invites the characters to spend the night in his home. They can sleep safely and comfortably in these rooms.

8. Imsim's Den

Beneath the illusion lie crumbling walls, gravel floor, a plush rug, a hookah, and stacks of books.

Characters are unlikely to see the illusiory version of the room described above, because Imsim keeps the door closed and barred while strangers are in the "house." When he dispels the mirage arcane, his rug, hookah, and books remain. The rug is exquisite but tiny (worth 20 gp), and the hookah is commonplace (worth 1 gp). The books are valuable: they include ten volumes on history, geography, philosophy, and other mundane topics, each worth 1d10 + 20 gp.

Conclusion

Included so each adventure has introductin and conclusion

Introduction

The Pirates' Cove is the lair of a blasphemous cult, suitable for four or five 5th-level characters.

1. Cave Entrance

Seven of Captain Jarzon's most loyal crew members are in the cave's entrance. Four of them are acolytes, full inductees into the cult of Shar-Ngolyeth who have magical powers. Two elf spies stick to the shadows and fight with hit-and-run tactics. The seventh guard is a berserker with boils and pustules all over his face, and squirming tendrils writhing on one of his biceps.

Any PC who has a passive Perception score of 16 or higher also notices a large bronze bell just inside the cave entrance.

All seven pirates attack as soon as they see the PCs, but they're celebrating and not particularly attentive (Stealth DC 10 to get surprise). If the PCs don't deal with them before the first round of combat ends, one of the spies uses his turn to ring a bell by the tunnel that leads out of this chamber and into the next. If this happens, six bandits arrive 3 rounds later from the sleeping cave (area 3), and the enemies elsewhere in the complex lay an ambush.

When the berserker is killed, his pustules grow and burst, spewing forth tentacles. His body distorts and twists, bones breaking and skin melting. On the round following his death, his corpse becomes a gibbering mouther, which will attack anything, including pirates, in the room.

2. The Maiden's Lake

The young woman, Charissa, is a drowned maiden who was killed several weeks ago in one of Captain Jarzon's foul rites. To answer her question, the characters must choose their words carefully. Mentioning Jarzon or the sacrifices sends Charissa into a rage, summoning eight shrouds, other sacrificial victims, to fight alongside her.

The PCs can convince Charissa to stifle her rage and tell them a bit about the cave and the pirates with a successful DC 15 Charisma Persuasion check. In that case, Charissa shares the following information:

If the PCs return to this room after having killed Jarzon, Charissa is gone, her unfinished business taken care of.

3. The Sleeping Cave

If the bell in the cave entrance has been rung, read:

If not, read:

If the PCs surprise sleeping pirates, they can deal with them how they will. If the pirates are awake, they attack. There are six bandits and two veterans in this room. When the others attack, one of the veterans, a woman named Price, noticeably hesitates. A character can appeal to her, telling her they're here to kill Jarzon and stop his sacrifices. If a PC makes a successful DC 10 Charisma Persuasion check, Price throws in with the PCs. She acts on her original initiative count, but attacks the other pirates instead of the PCs.

If Price survives, she tells the PCs that she doesn't like the new turn that Captain Jarzon's rule has taken, and she's not the only one. Most of the crew are loyal, but a few would follow her lead if she called for a mutiny. If the characters trust her, she accompanies them to the cove and fights with them.

Price also has the following information to share, if asked:

4. Rum Storage

The rum in this room is just rum. Although Price thinks something's wrong with it, the increased potency that the pirates feel when they come in here and drink is the work of a quartet of rum gremlins playing merry havoc with the pirates during their revelries. The goblins are all hiding inside empty barrels when the PCs enter, and they watch from hiding to see what the PCs will do.

The chest in the corner is locked. It can be opened with a successful DC 15 Dexterity thieves' tools check; breaking the chest (AC 10) requires dealing a noisy 10 damage to it. The chest contains coins and jewels worth 300 gp. Price does not object if the PCs take the loot or the rum.

Any characters in the cave are subject to the gremlins' aura of drunkenness, which makes it quite difficult to pick the lock while in the rum storage room. If a PC investigates the room closely, or tries to open the chest, the gremlins play pranks using prestidigitation. This looks like spectral activity, but any PCs in the room who make successful DC 15 Wisdom Perception checks notice one of the gremlins playing a prank.

If the gremlins are discovered, they attack once and flee.

5. Prison

If the bell has been rung, read:

If not, read:

If the bell has been rung, the bugbears are present, but they're lying in wait for the PCs. They attack from hiding, getting a surprise round if the PCs don't spot them in time. The characters can notice them with a successful DC 16 Wisdom Perception check, made with advantage because the prisoners try to warn them. If the bell has not been rung, the bugbears are out in the open and not expecting the PCs.

The locks on the cages are DC 15 Dexterity thieves' tools to open, or the PCs can use the keys they can find on any of the bugbears. The six prisoners in these cages are sailors and nobles. They're noncombatants, weak and hungry, but they can give the PCs information:

6. The Cove

This area holds Red Bertram (unconscious and nearly drowned), a noncombatant; Captain Jarzon, a cult fanatic; six acolytes around Captain Jarzon, and six bandits guarding the others. When battle ensues, the bandits move into melee, while the acolytes attack from range with spells. Jarzon takes out a knife and starts carving symbols into his arm, enacting a blood ritual.

If Price is present, she can convince the six bandits to join the PCs at the beginning of the second round of combat. The acolytes, however, remain loyal to Jarzon.

At the end of the second round of combat, Jarzon finishes his ritual and gives a shout of triumph. When this happens, a krake spawn bursts out of the shallow water behind him and consumes him whole. Then this aspect of Shar-Ngolyeth begins consuming everyone else in the room, starting with whoever is closest. The acolytes defend it, and offer themselves up to it willingly.

If the PCs kill Jarzon before he completes the ritual, the aspect of Shar-Ngolyeth still appears and consumes him, but it's a weaker version with half normal hit points.

7. Inheritor

If the PCs climb aboard the Inheritor, they can loot it to the tune of 800 gp, a chest that holds twelve gems worth 50 gp each, and an uncommon magical item. They can also take the ship, if they like, though they'll need a crew of at least twelve to sail it. If Price is with them, she'll lead the crew, but she expects to command the ship as her own and will fight to keep it.

Conclusion

If the PCs rescue Red Bertram, Captain Jenny is true to her word. She gives the PCs 150 gp apiece, and tells them that she owes them a favor. If the characters come back to Jenny without Bertram but the pirates have been slain, Jenny pays them 75 gp each, and she does not offer them a favor. Either way, within a few months, the PCs hear rumors of an island emerging from the waves not far from the island where the Inheritor was docked. Perhaps there's a connection—and the Temple of the Deep Ones lair provides a ready follow-up for a future mission.

Introduction

All-Seeing Eye is an oculo swarm and night scorpion lair for five 5th-level characters.

1. Entry Hall

This area was a mess hall and devotion chamber for Sanvi's followers. The sustenance on the table is an illusion that conceals mere trail rations and flavored water, but the fare is nutritious and grants a +2 bonus on Wisdom Perception checks made while in the temple.

2. Meditation Chamber

Sanvi's acolytes would meditate on current deeds and future possibilities in this chamber. When the temple was open to the public, Sanvi's followers entertained visitors here with fortune-telling, using their deity-given abilities.

A caster who has at least one divination spell prepared can recover two expended spell slots of 2nd level or lower after completing a short rest in this room.

A blackened crystal ball rests under one of the pillows, requiring a successful DC 10 Wisdom Perception check to discover. The crystal ball allows its possessor to ask it about a future event, but a curse on the device causes it to show the worst possible outcome.

3. Sleeping Quarters

Though Nimon does not use this room, he keeps it clean and ready for new initiates. In one of the chests, the characters can find a letter addressed to a former occupant of the room. It reads, "Your fee, as requested. I trust this will gain me access to the inner sanctum.—K.

4. Kitchen and Anointing Hall

When the temple was operational, the kitchen in the western part of this room served the needs of Sanvi's followers. The curtain conceals a fountain topped with a purple globe through which water flows. Beyond the fountain is a second curtain that encloses an apparently empty chamber. Although the water from the fountain is refreshing, its most important purpose is to reveal the secret door on the southern wall. Those who wash their eyes with the water can see the secret door. If no one does this, a character must succeed on a DC 25 Wisdom Perception check to find the door.

5. Many-Eyed Chamber

This hall provides a test for initiates and a deterrent to intruders. Anyone who passes through a beam at either height takes 11 2d10 radiant damage and a −2 penalty on checks that use a particular ability (from north to south, Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Charisma, Wisdom, and Intelligence). Avoiding each beam requires a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw—characters who discover the beam's effect can avoid the danger by slowly and carefully stepping over and crouching under the beams.

To open the secret door to the south, discovered with a DC 10 Wisdom Perception check, all beams must be broken at the 5-foot height. Interrupting a beam with the trunks from area 3, stones, cloaks, shields, or similar objects counts for this purpose—but when the beam is restored, the secret door closes. Using brute force to open the door requires a DC 25 Strength check.

6. Hall of Untold Futures

Touching the statues reveals that they spin freely, and turning the statues to face each other activates the magic of the lenses. They display a riot of images featuring alternate timelines important to the characters or to the region. Use this opportunity to describe specific campaign events that would have gone poorly if not for character choices or the vagaries of luck. Anyone who views the displays must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or become unnerved and suffer disadvantage on all attack rolls and ability checks for 1 hour.

A dozen blindfolds hang from a peg next to the door in the northwest corner. A divination spell cast in this room reveals that "Blindness shows the easy path" (a clue for area 7).

7. Unseen Pit

This area served as another test and deterrent. The pit is 20 feet deep. A creature that falls in takes 1d6 piercing damage from the spikes, in addition to any falling damage.

Anyone who cannot see the pit (by closing one's eyes or using a blindfold, or if the area is covered in magical darkness) does not fall in and treats the floor as solid in this area.

Opening the door to the east unleashes a gout of flame that deals 4d6 fire damage (DC 13 Dexterity save for half damage) to every creature in the alcove west of the door and releases a fire dancer swarm that attacks anyone not wearing a blindfold.

In the center of the pit are the skeleton and treasure of an unfortunate victim. In a tattered sack the characters find 200 gp and a potion of healing.

8. Storeroom

Three crates contain mundane supplies, and the fourth holds dozens of enormous crickets, food for the night scorpions in area 9.

A cloth bag behind the westernmost crate, containing four doses of night scorpion venom, is discoverable with a thorough search or a DC 15 Wisdom Perception check.

9. Night Scorpion Terrariums

This room is dark. If the characters illuminate it, they see that this U-shaped room holds glass cases filled with dirt and branches. The southern case is cracked and empty. A door next to the broken case leads south out of this room.

Two night scorpions that escaped from the broken terrarium attack intruders in this room.

10. The Last Acolyte

Nimon Velk has foreseen the characters' arrival and their potential role in restoring Sanvi to power. He greets them cheerily and answers any questions they have. Possible questions and Nimon's responses follow:

(Note: Nimon is unaware of the activated oculo swarms in area 13).

After Nimon answers the party's questions, he excuses himself to rest on the cot, and then dies peacefully in his sleep.

Nimon's guardian oculo swarm remains on guard, but it attacks only if the PCs threaten it or Nimon.

11. Priestess's Office

The books and papers describe visions received by Sanvi's followers, and some scrolls tracking their success or failure.

Priestess Elora Rennett noted the order's corruption, and her knowledge about Sanvi's departure and the order's imminent destruction, in a ledger hidden in a secret drawer, which can be discovered with a DC 15 Intelligence Investigation check. The drawer contains an enchanted hand mirror (requiring attunement) that allows its user to ignore cover when making ranged attacks—by magically seeing around corners.

12. Preparation Chamber

If a character invokes Sanvi's name while at the altar, the candles flare and provide an effect equivalent to daylight.

13. Eye Guardian

If the characters bring a lit candle, torch, or other source of light into this area, they can see normally. Twooculo swarms guard this chamber and attack the characters when they enter. In addition, a hidden spiked pit trap in front of the door to area 14 requires a DC 15 Intelligence Investigation check to locate. Anyone that walks over this area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or fall 20 feet, taking 7 2d6 bludgeoning damage from the fall and 11 2d10 piercing damage from the spikes.

14. Chamber of the Eye

When the characters enter this room, a powerful yet warm voice proclaims, "Welcome, seekers! You have my eyes at your disposal. Ask your questions when you are ready."

Each character receives an answer to one question about the character's personal future, similar to a divination spell but effective up to a month away, or a character can ask a question regarding a past mystery. The answer is always truthful. Guide your players to ask questions that enhance the campaign or reveal a hidden truth.

Conclusion

Once all the characters have asked their questions and received their answers, the temple fades away and leaves them standing in an empty grove. At least one answer hints at the temple's new location, and the characters can pursue that lead at their leisure. Sanvi intends to use the characters as an instrument to return to prominence, but she is a patient goddess.

If the characters ask for intercession on behalf of the injured townspeople, the blinded victims regain their sight. Doing so grants the party favorable status in the town and earns them a reward of 500 gp.

Introduction

The Alchemists' Guildhall is a rusalka lair suitable for four or five 6th-level characters.

1. Guardhouse

Two human veterans, Kewliza and Arleth, occupy the guardhouse. They were hired by the Alchemists' Guild to protect the area. The two veterans are on edge because of the alchemists' recent strange behavior. They approach visitors

peacefully, but if they are attacked, each blows a whistle loud enough to be heard at the nearest city watch house. A blown whistle brings four guards within 5 minutes.

The veterans say that no one is allowed into the guildhall without an invitation: the characters can leave a message here and wait to be contacted when a meeting is convenient. With a bit of persuasion (a successful DC 10 Charisma check), the characters can get Kewliza and Arleth to let the adventurers investigate—because they get the feeling something's wrong. The two appreciate their cushy jobs too much, however, to join the adventurers.

Each of the veterans carries a key to the front door. They possess no valuables and wear normal equipment. A wooden shelf in the guardhouse holds empty plates and glasses (used by the guards) and two potions of healing. The potions contain essence of rusalka, so imbibers have disadvantage on saving throws against the rusalka's magic.

2. Sitting Room

The locked front door bears a brass symbol of the Alchemists' Guild, a flask over an open flame. The lock can be picked by a character who uses thieves' tools and makes a successful DC 15 Dexterity check. Smashing the door, or breaking one of the windows, alerts the veterans at the guardhouse, as well as the guildhall occupants.

The room beyond contains serviceable furniture but is currently unoccupied. A DC 10 Intelligence {Investigation} check reveals that the furniture has recently been soaked with fresh water.

3. Dinning Room

The maid who normally cooks and cleans has hidden in the pantry (area 6), leaving the dining room a mess.

The man at the table is Vernor Avilleton, the alchemist who sold the tainted potion to the seamstress. Zaeriez has ordered him to wait here and shoo away trespassers. The vial contains a modified potion of fire breath. If visitors seem intent on investigating, Vernor was ordered to drop the vial in the center of the room, unleashing a ball of fire with a 30-foot radius, dealing 8d6 fire damage to anyone caught in the blast. A DC 13 Dexterity saving throw halves the damage. Vernor is immolated immediately.

4. Small Library

This small library is crammed with alchemical tomes, scrolls, and other writings, some of them quite rare. Several reading desks and chairs furnish the room. Various written works litter the tables.

A DC 10 Intelligence Investigation check reveals that the books open on the tables deal with either dangerous potion additives or mind-control magic. One of the scrolls is a scroll of fireball.

These books all bear a secret glyph that marks them as the property of the Alchemists' Guild. If the characters try to sell stolen books locally, buyers know to look for the mark and will report the theft to the authorities.

5. Sleeping Chambers

The door to this room is locked (Dexterity thieves' tools DC 10). The chamber is divided into two sleeping areas by thick silk curtains. Two alchemists rest in each curtained area, waiting to be summoned by Zaeriez. One is a fairly powerful mage, while the three others fight as cultists. They attack if disturbed and move to investigate any disturbances elsewhere. The mage's wand of magic missiles has rolled under his cot, and he carries a potion of speed, but it is tainted by the rusalka essence.

Adventurers can take a short rest here after defeating the occupants, but patrolling alchemists (or the lake troll) investigate before the PCs can complete a long rest.

6. Kitchen

There is little of interest here, but a (rock) gnome maid called Stavhy (a noncombatant) hides in the pantry. She came here when the creatures took control of the guildhall and is too frightened to try escaping. With access to plentiful food and water, she is prepared to wait in the pantry until she is rescued.

If the characters unlock the door (Dexterity DC 10) or break it down (Strength DC 5), Stavhy is prepared. She hurls a handful of flour directly into the eyes of the door opener, and then she flails about with a rolling pin. The victim of the attack must make a successful DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or be blinded for 1 minute. A character who makes a successful DC 10 Wisdom Medicine check can flush the victim's eyes and remove the blindness.

As a noncombatant, Stavhy can deal no damage and falls under the first blow she receives from a character. If the adventurers spare her, she can provide some valuable information:

If given the chance, she insists that the PCs take her to safety.

7. Bridge and Boat

Two water elementals lurk on either side of the bridge, just under the surface. They serve Zaeriez, tasked to guard the bridge against intruders. They also attack any creatures that swim from the shore toward the guildhall.

The Rowboat: A small rowboat is drawn up along the shore; it has two well-worn oars and seats three people. The water elementals ignore the rowboat when it is moving away from the building. If the rowboat pulls up to the porch or the entry point beneath the workshop, the water elementals attack. They swamp the rowboat in a single round, and characters in a sinking rowboat have disadvantage on their attack rolls.

8. Porch

Four eel hounds have adopted this porch as their sunning area. When the PCs open the door to the deck, one eel hound howls an alarm while the others swim to the opposite side of the porch to prepare an ambush. The entire water-facing edge of the porch is covered in slick spittle. Any character who falls prone in this area has a 20 percent chance of sliding off the porch into the lake, which is 10 feet deep.

If the characters try to approach the building by water, the eel hounds are the second line of defense after the water elementals. If Zaeriez is confronted by the characters before they defeat the eel hounds, the creatures swim to her defense, arriving 3 rounds after combat starts.

9. Alchemy Workshop

Zaeriez, the rusalka, orders Feldush the lake troll to attack, then attempts to dominate either a strong fighter or a wielder of arcane magic. Anyone who has imbibed a tainted potion within the last 24 hours has disadvantage on saving throws against the rusalka's magic. Zaeriez jumps into the lake if threatened but can swim up through one of the vats, which pull water from the lake. The alchemists continue to work, even if attacked.

The sandboxes are useful for occasions when fire, or some other alchemical reaction, must be neutralized. Those areas are difficult terrain.

The rusalka wears a string of pearls worth 500 gp.

Conclusion

If the adventurers defeat Zaeriez and her pet troll, the surviving alchemists are released from her enchantment. They reward the characters with 100 gp and a valuable promise: the alchemists will make a very rare potion of any sort free of charge. Of course, if the adventurers are willing to help procure ingredients for a separate commission, the alchemists would be happy to compensate them for their trouble.

Introduction

The Hive is a spawn of Arbeyach lair, also featuring giant termites and termite swarms, for five 6th-level characters.

1. Entrance to the Hive

A halfling named Vandin Yargill died here five days ago. The spawn stripped him of most of his gear. Only a pair of leather straps from his destroyed wooden shield, a canteen half-filled with water, and 7 gp remain. The spawn hope his body scares off rescuers.

2 Former Fungal Garden

The spawn relocated the termites' fungal garden to area 4 and let the existing fungi decay. The spawn and termites suffer no effects from the rot, but humanoids must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw to avoid becoming poisoned from the smell for 1 hour.

A character who searches through the goop and makes a successful DC 10 Wisdom Perception check finds a dagger with a monogrammed hilt set with a tiny emerald (worth 20 gp), dropped by Vandin as he attempted to escape.

The termites in this area are treated as a swarm of insects.

3. First Resistancee

The termites respond to commands from the spawn of Arbeyach, enough to avoid entry areas and wait for intruders. The aggressive termites act as a swarm of insects, and their swarm damage harms wooden objects in the area. The two giant termites pursue characters into the tunnels, and they move at normal speed through them. The giant termites chase PCs into area 2, but they let characters retreat through the tunnel to area 1.

4. Fungal Gardens and Larder

After moving the fungal gardens to this location, the spawn of Arbeyach enhanced them to strengthen the giant termite warriors. A creature that eats any of the fungus must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the character becomes poisoned. On a success, the character gains a +2 bonus on attack and damage rolls for 1 minute. Fungus removed from this chamber remains useful—and poisonous—for 24 hours.

The termites attack as a swarm of insects when intruders enter. They pursue PCs who move toward area 6, but allow intruders to retreat toward area 3.

Although the fungi thrive in animal corpses, the spawn prefer using their sacrificial victims' bodies. A few of value are left on the bodies: a copper bracelet with a lapis lazuli charm (worth 15 gp), a gold locket (worth 20 gp) holding a strand of blond hair and a scrap of paper inscribed with a stylized S, and an incense stick that acts as a mild insect repellent for 1 hour (termites take a–2 penalty on attack and damage rolls against anyone holding burning incense).

5. Chimney

The mound's prominent chimney provides modest airflow. Made of sand shored up with saliva and dung, it is purely functional. The spawn of Arbeyach fortified it to bar access to the tunnels short of a major demolition.

6. Royal Chamber

The mound's central chamber houses the giant termite queen, which the spawn of Arbeyach saw no reason to move. The queen defends her nest, and two giant termites scuttle around the characters to protect the queen. Termites from adjoining areas move to this chamber after a 2-round delay if the queen is in distress.

The three dozen termite eggs found in the chamber weigh 1 pound each, are worth 10 gp apiece to the right buyer.

7. Wood Storage

Dozens of termites fill this area, but they do not form a threatening swarm. The westernmost chamber holds partially eaten wooden objects, including Vandin's +1 shield, but the shield must be repaired before it can be used. A character who makes a successful DC 15 Intelligence Nature check realizes that the wood stores are inadequate for a termite colony of this size.

8. Final Redoubt/Treasure Chamber

The spawn set guards at several of the entrances to this chamber to prevent rescuers from reaching the sacrificial chamber (area 10). One spawn of Abreyach is stationed in this area and mentally alerts the other two spawn in area 10 when the party arrives.

The two giant termites might not be present if the party attacked the queen in area 6. If the characters battled the queen and the giant termites joined in, then only the spawn and two swarms of insects remain on guard here.

The spawn littered the southernmost dead-end tunnel with treasure to distract intruders and perhaps draw them away from the queen. If the party enters the dead-end tunnel to investigate the shiny wealth, they trigger a cave-in that may trap them in the tunnel until they can dig themselves out. When the tunnel collapses, characters must make a DC 14 Dexterity Acrobatics saving throw. Failure means a character is trapped in the dead end and takes 1d12 bludgeoning damage from falling stones. Those who succeed take no damage and remain in the main chamber.

9. To the Cellar

The 5-foot-diameter hole drops 20 feet down, and the hole itself is a trap. (The spawn can avoid it, and the termites are too light to activate it.) If a Medium creature climbs down the hole, the sand collapses and buries the creature, threatening to suffocate it. Clearing out the loose sand requires 5 rounds of digging.

Characters can avoid this hazard with a successful DC 15 Strength Athletics check or by jumping down the hole and taking 7 2d6 falling damage instead. A creature buried by the sand must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or begin suffocating after a number of rounds equal to its Constitution modifier (minimum 1).

10. Sacrificial Alter

If the characters reach this chamber without taking more than one short rest, the two spawn of Arbeyach here are distracted, concentrating on their nearly completed ritual, and can be surprised. That gives the characters a round to act before the following events begin to occur.

Characters have five rounds to save the wounded victim, after which time the NPC dies and the portal (area 11) is irrevocably opened. If the characters heal the victim, this halts the sequence of events (any existing effects persist). The spawn seek to kill the sacrifice in preference to attacking the PCs. If the characters end the ritual by saving the victim and killing the spawn, the portal closes and all existing effects end after 1 hour.

11. Ia'affrat's Portal

If the spawn of Arbeyach are successful in completing their ritual, as per the description in area 10, the demonic herald Ia'Affrat emerges from the portal at the chimney's mouth. If he defeats the characters, he devours them, absorbs the termites into his being, and inflicts exquisite tortures on the nearby townsfolk as his insect minions destroy the town. The party might be better off fleeing rather than confronting Ia'Affrat; victory is far from certain.

If the party thwarts the spawn's efforts, the portal goes dormant, once more awaiting the completion of the summoning ritual. Permanently destroying the portal requires considerable arcane might and might be the subject of further adventures.

Conclusion

Assuming the PCs stop the ritual, they prevent Ia'Affrat's emergence and the subsequent wave of destruction. If they rescue the victim, they receive a reward in gold and magic items (of the DM's choice) equivalent to 1,000 gp. The townsfolk proclaim the characters honorary citizens, and they receive free food and lodging whenever they're in town.

Introduction

Temple of the Deep Ones is the lair of a group of deep ones and their god, suitable for four or five 7th-level characters.

1. Rocky Shoals

The PCs start off in a rowboat, let off by a ship that brought them near the island but dared not approach closer. Just as that ship sails out of sight, the characters come under attack.

The group that sets upon the PCs' boat consists of four deep ones and a coral drake that they have tamed. The drake circles the rowboat, while the deep ones try to drag characters out of the boat and into the water. When someone falls in the water, the drake attacks that character.

After these threats are dealt with, read:

You can decide whether the PCs come ashore in the jungle (area 2) or the swamp (area 3).

2. Jungle

Navigating the jungle is difficult. After every hour the PCs spend walking through the jungle, one of them must make a DC 15 Intelligence Nature check. On a success, the PCs remain on track; three successes gets them through the jungle and within sight of the outer temple (area 4). On a failure, the characters get a little lost. They do not make progress in getting through the jungle, and they have one of the following random encounters (choose or roll 1d6):

3. Swamp

Navigating the swamp is as difficult as navigating the jungle, but presents different dangers. After every hour the PCs spend navigating the swamp, one of them must make a DC 15 Intelligence Nature check to stay on course. Three successful checks get the PCs through the swamp, and PCs trained in Nature can assist the lead navigator. When the navigator fails a check, the party does not make progress toward the temple, and has one of the following random encounters (choose or roll 1d6):

4. Outer Temple

The outer temple is guarded by six deep ones, a deep one priest, and the priest's trained otyugh. They attack any intruders they find, trying to capture rather than kill. If the priest is killed, the otyugh goes berserk, attacking anyone in the area, including deep ones, and devouring anything it kills.

5. Upper Edifice

The upper edifice is shrouded in dim light from the fungus. Inside are four deep ones, a deep one priest, and a deep one archimandrite next to the maw. They all attack the PCs when they enter, trying to subdue them and throw them down the maw.

6. The Maw

Climbing down into the maw requires a character to make three DC 20 Dexterity Acrobatics or Strength Athletics checks. If the party has brought climbing gear, they can use it and gain advantage on the checks. Falling down the full length of the maw, an 80-foot-deep hole, causes a character to take 8d6 points of falling damage.

As the PCs descend, they can feel the evil presence growing more and more aware of their presence. If they're climbing down the walls, the maw itself starts to lash out at them. If a character fails a check while climbing, a tentacle springs from the wall, trying to dislodge the intruder. A character attacked by a tentacle must make a successful DC 15 Dexterity or Strength saving throw to avoid falling the rest of the way down.

7. The Lair of Shar-Ngolyeth

If the party played through Pirate's Cove, they recognize the spectral form of Captain Jarzon, the pirate cultist whose actions caused this island to rise from the sea. Captain Jarzon is a specter who speaks for Shar-Ngolyeth. He will say little and answer few questions; the one piece of information that he'll give the PCs is that Shar‐Ngolyeth desires to bring the oceans forth to consume the land. If the PCs disagree with this course of action (and why wouldn't they?), then both Jarzon and Shar-Ngolyeth attack.

Shar-Ngolyeth does not exist entirely within this reality, and instead it animates the idolic deity on the altar. Jarzon fights until he is destroyed, and Shar-Ngolyeth fights until the idol is destroyed. If the idol is destroyed first, Jarzon unravels into wisps of smoke.

Conclusion

If the PCs destroy Shar-Ngolyeth's idol, the being's link to this world is severed. The kraken spawn that acts as Shar-Ngolyeth's aspect immediately withers and dies and the mist dissipates, but the island remains. It's up to the PCs to find a way out of the maw and off the island but, once they do, the trade consortium (if the PCs were hired by them) makes good on its deal and pays them the other 500 gp promised.

And the world is safe from the designs of Shar-Ngolyeth. For now.

Introduction

Monument of the Thunderer is a desert half-dragon lair intended to challenge a party of four 7th-level characters.

1. The Green Nuria

One of the mighty River Nuria's tributaries, the Green Nuria is rapid and unforgiving to those caught in its waters. Any creature that enters a space completely filled with water for the first time on its turn or starts its turn in one must make a DC 15 Strength Athletics check or be swept 15 feet toward the edge of the waterfall (see area 2). Succeeding on this check allows the creature to swim against the current, treating the river as difficult terrain.

2. Waterfall

The Green Nuria tumbles over the Red Cliffs into a verdant river valley 50 feet below. Any creature that falls over the waterfall can make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw to grab vines at the edge of the cliff and avoid falling. On a success, the creature can hang onto the cliff and takes no falling damage, unless it fell from a greater height (see area 7). On a failure, the creature falls, but is caught 20 feet from the ground by the thick vines growing in the water and takes falling damage equal to the distance it fell. If the save fails by 5 or more, the creature falls through the vines to the bottom of the valley.

Any creature that begins its turn in the vines takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage from falling water and must succeed on a DC 8 Strength saving throw or lose its grip and fall through.

3. Monument Approach

Four thugs, two bandits, and a berserker are on guard duty here, and have circled around a campfire and taken a break to eat. Their pet death dog, a mangy beast named Twofy, snaps up the scraps they throw him. The thugs and the bandits attempt to frighten intruders away, then attack with crossbows and alert the knights in area 7. The berserker, spoiling for a fight, charges the characters as soon as they approach the Raiders' side of the river. The thugs and the bandits support him with missile fire (see "Pillars"). The Raiders in this area each carry 1d6 gp.

Pillars. The thugs and the bandits shoot from behind the standing pillars, gaining half cover against attacks from the other side. A prone character gains three-quarters cover when behind a fallen pillar.

4. Barricade

When the Red Cliff Raiders were simple mercenaries, a trollkin veteran named Garlin was their leader. Now Zahiil's reluctant servant, she is dozing at her post, but awakens as soon as a wyvern snatches a character (see area 7). She wields a heavy crossbow and keeps watch over the eastern road from behind a barricade made of sharpened sticks and spears. A character who falls on the barricade or is forced into its space must succeed on a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 piercing damage.

Betrayal. Garlin holds little love for Zahiil and considers him an arrogant, condescending lout. She plans to murder him and make off with the gold he has been hoarding, and sees the chaos caused by the PCs' arrival as the perfect opportunity to strike. She does not attack unless provoked, but instead asks for the characters' help in defeating Zahiil, offering the party half of the gold hidden in his lair.

5. West Claw Guard Post

Ramshackle wooden walls have been erected around the right claw of the dragon statue to create a makeshift shelter for sentries. This station is abandoned, and the thugs assigned to it are typically found lounging around the campfire (area 3). The room is filled with barrels of beer and crates of rations—dried nuts, preserved crocodile, and stale honey cakes. A DC 10 Intelligence Investigation check reveals a hidden stash of 35 gp and 23 sp in one of these barrels.

Stairs. The "dewclaws" of the statue's front legs are actually stairs that lead here from area 3, and the "thumb" talons of the monument's wings are stairs that lead to area 7.

6. East Claw Prison

A makeshift wooden prison, similar to the guard post on the western claw, has been built here. Three guards watch over the two bound prisoners inside. The guards become aware of fighting in area 3 as soon as it begins, but want to avoid conflict. If the PCs don't attack their post and ascend the monument, the guards gather up their prisoners and flee past the barricade in area 4, hoping to ransom them in Siwal. The guards have divided up their prisoners' possessions, and each carries an art object worth 50 gp.

The two prisoners are locked inside a cell that requires a DC 15 Dexterity check to unlock. They are wealthy merchants (commoners) who, if rescued, might hire the PCs to return them to their home cities.

Stairs. The "dewclaws" of the statue's front legs are actually stairs that lead here from area 3.

7. Stone Wings

Three knights, equipped with lances instead of greatswords, sit by a cooking fire atop one of the dragon monument's colossal wings, eating and tending to their wyvern mounts. These knights were not part of the original Red Cliff Raiders and are unflinchingly loyal to Zahiil. The other Raiders fear this sinister trio, but respect their power. The knights take meals apart from their inferiors, eating fresh food and drinking fine wine.

Zahiil's knights have trained their mounts to snatch people and objects from the ground, both to drop enemies from the sky and to steal cargo from caravans and adventurers. While mounted, a knight can command its wyvern to snatch a creature using the Snatch action (see below).

When alerted by the Raiders in area 3, the wyvern riders spend their first turn picking up weapons, setting down food, and putting on helmets. On their next turn, the knights mount their wyverns and immediately fly toward the PCs. When in range, one knight uses its action to command its mount to snatch a character in its claws and hurl that individual over the waterfall. The other wyvern riders harry the characters on the ground. The knights attempt to throw only one character over the waterfall at a time.

The first wyvern to successfully grapple a creature lets out a triumphant shriek, waking the trollkin Garlin in area 4.

If a wyvern's rider is killed or unseated, a PC who mounts the wyvern can make a DC 15 Wisdom Animal Handling check as an action to command the wyvern to fly in a specific direction; if the check fails, the wyvern acts independently until the rider's next turn. After two successes, the wyvern obeys the rider's commands unerringly for the next hour, or until it takes damage or the rider dismounts.

Snatch. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) piercing damage. The target must make a Strength Athletics or Dexterity Acrobatics check contested by the wyvern's Strength Athletics check or be grappled in the wyvern's claws. The target's check automatically succeeds if it is Large or larger.

Platforms. The stone wings of the dragon monument are platforms that provide access to the monument's head. Each "bone" in the stone wing increases in elevation, with the lowest tier 5 feet above the ground, the middle tier 10 feet above, and the top tier 15 feet above. A creature can make a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check as an action to climb to the next tier.

8. Zahiil's Lair

Staircases representing the monument's ear frills lead to its hollow eyes. Each eyehole is 5 feet tall and opens into the dragon's head.

Using transmute rock, Zahiil the half-blue dragon mage created a rectangular room inside the dragon's head. In the back of the room is a stone pedestal that holds a shining orb of light—the divine spark. Piled around this pedestal is a heap of gold and jewels: 300 cp, 216 sp, 527 gp, and ten tiny sapphires each worth 30 gp. Zahiil tried and failed to integrate the divine spark into his body, and is suffering from a permanent curse because of his failure: at the start of each of his turns, he must make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or waste his action that turn doing nothing. Zahiil is still able to move, use a bonus action, and take a reaction as normal on a turn when he loses his action.

Use the mage statistics for Zahiil but add resistance to lightning damage and the breath weapon of a blue dragon wyrmling. These changes increase the mage's challenge rating to 7 and increase its XP value to 2,900.

Tactics. Zahiil realizes on the third round that his lair is under attack. He ceases his meditations and emerges from the dragon's head to cast a spell, then retreats inside until his next turn. If he is about to be confronted in his lair, Zahiil seizes the divine spark and stows it in a satchel at his side. He uses his strongest spells to keep attackers at bay until he can escape the monument using the Dash or Disengage action. If escape becomes impossible or he is reduced to half of his maximum hit points, Zahiil falls to his knees and pleads for mercy, hoping to escape captivity later.

Last Resort. The half-dragon has one final avenue of escape: to let the divine spark consume him. When Zahiil is reduced to 0 hit points while holding the divine spark, he can use a reaction to release the titan's primordial power and transform himself into a half-blue dragon archmage, ending the curse. In this state, Zahiil cannot cast spells of 7th level or higher, but can still cast lower-level spells using higher-level spell slots.

Zahiil's conscious mind is quickly consumed by the power of the spark. At the end of each of his turns, Zahiil must make a Constitution saving throw. The DC begins at 5, and increases by 5 for each turn he spends in this state. On a failure, Zahiil is completely overwhelmed by the spark's power, and both he and the spark disintegrate completely. The archmage's Magic Resistance feature does not grant him advantage on this saving throw.

Conclusion

The merchants of Siwal and Makuria are grateful to anyone who removes the threat of the Red Cliff Raiders, though not grateful enough to pay an additional reward. A song about the events is briefly popular in Nurian taverns. More lastingly, priest-theurges of Thoth-Hermes investigate the monument and establish a shrine to their god, in his guise as a friend to travelers.

Introduction

House of Reeds and Whispers is the lair of a pair of red hags, suitable for four characters of 8th level.

1. Yard and Porch

The reeds are 4 feet tall throughout this area, and the yard is difficult terrain. Dexterity Stealth checks made by characters in the tall reeds receive advantage.

It is possible to cut a path through the grass. One 5-foot square of reeds can be removed per minute. A keen eye (Perception DC 14) on the house reveals darting movement and then stillness. Eight eel hounds (TOB) "swim" through the hags' conjured vegetation. They plot to ambush the party as they approach the house.

The eel hounds use the shed to hide their young. Ten eel hound pups (AC 10, hp 4) lie helpless awaiting their next meal. Slaying a pup or removing one from the shed results in a yipping burble that immediately triggers the eel hound ambush. If a pup calls out, all eel hounds receive advantage on their first attack against the party.

The eel hounds attempt to surprise the party and receive advantage on their Stealth checks. The hounds use their swim speed in the reeds. Four hounds attack immediately, while the remaining four hang back and use their slick spittle ability to surround the PCs with a partial ring of foul excretions.

A DC 12 Sleight of Hand or Acrobatics check allows a character to grab the spying reed and prevent its retreat. If the stalk is grabbed in this manner, it can be killed with no attack roll. Grabbing the reed and severing its end provides the characters involved with Inspiration. Afterward, the eye quickly shrivels into dust.

2. Main Floor

The party is free to explore the main floor (the hags are in no rush to confront them). The desiccated remains of Nahl Fry sit at the top of the cellar stairs. His body is wrapped into the reed rope that descends into the darkness. His open mouth is filled with pulsing stalks.

Each character who becomes entranced must make an ability check of the character's choice (DC 12) and briefly explain how the ability check helps the character escape (for instance, "I use my charm to convince a street vendor to direct me to the front gate"). After 1 minute, all characters return to their senses; those who fail this ability check take 7 psychic damage and are frightened for 15 minutes.

The Collector's Shelves. Nahl's collection of curiosities is largely untouched by the sisters. Strangely shaped stones, pipes carved from bone, and enigmatic devices line the shelves in an orderly fashion. A few items of note include an ivory comb (worth 50 gp), an amber-encased scarab (worth 25 gp), and a pearl of power. A hidden compartment (Perception DC 12) at the back of one shelf slides open to reveal an ornate wood box containing three exquisitely cut sapphires (worth 300 gp each). The gems fit together in the anatomical shape of a heart.

3. Cellar

The reeds here do not hamper movement, but they do hide the reedlings in the room (see below). Two mounds of dirt from the hags' recent excavation provide half cover to adjacent combatants. The curtain of reeds provides three-quarters cover to the hags.

Three reedlings, each one treated as a child of the briar, rise randomly within 10 feet of the PCs and attack in the first round. Two reedlings use entangle while the third attempts a thorny grapple on a nearby target. Liori steps out from behind the curtain and enters combat in round two. She employs her siphoning aura, then casts barkskin and freedom of movement before moving into melee. Ijith stays behind the curtain and uses the needles to continue stitching new reedlings. Ijith creates a new reedling at the start of round three and again at round five. New reedlings appear at the curtain and can take actions in the round they are created. On round six, or if pressed into combat early, Ijith abandons her needlework and enters the fight in the same manner as her sister.

Fibrous Masses. Used to store the animal blood funneled here by the reeds, these masses provide magical boons to the red hags. As long as one of the masses is intact, a hag can spend an action to heal 10 hit points. Provide this information to the players when a hag uses this ability. The masses can be destroyed (AC 11, hp 15). If both masses are destroyed, the hags take 15 damage each and both are stunned for 1 round.

Behind the Curtain. The hags' living quarters behind the reed curtain fill the back of the cellar. The source of all the reeds is hung on the wall here: a complicated knot combining river reeds with hair from the hags in an intricate pattern. The knot can be destroyed with little effort. Doing so causes all the reeds leading from the cellar to Farris to wilt and die within minutes. If a close examination of the knot is made (DC 15 Investigation) prior to its destruction, the examining character is attuned to the knitting needles.

Conclusion

The PCs are rewarded by the residents of Farris as previously detailed. Storylines that could stem from this adventure include:

Introduction

Tomb of the Scorpion Prince is a venomous mummy lair suitable for four or five 8th-level characters.

1. Scorpion Stairway

The stairs are difficult terrain. Inside, awaiting intruders, are twenty scorpion cultists, hiding in crevices in the sandy floors: five in the east corridor, five in the west, and ten north of the pit. They attack after noticing the first character enter the hallway intersection.

The pit is 30 feet deep, noticeable by a character who succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom Perception check. When a creature steps into a pit square, the entire floor opens, requiring a character to succeed on a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw to avoid falling. At the bottom of the pit are two carrion beetles. If the PCs avoid the trap, a cultist opens it by leaping in, sacrificing herself to free the beetles, which climb the pit walls and attack. Climbing the walls requires a DC 10 Strength Athletics check.

The doors at the corridor's north end are false and trapped by a minor death glyph. They cannot be opened, and anyone attempting to do so must make a successful DC 15 Constitution saving throw or take 2d10 necrotic damage.

2. Fire Scorpions

Each of the six rubies is worth 500 gp and has a tiny numeral, 1 through 6, etched into it. All the gems are trapped except for the ruby containing the numeral 3. Each ruby removed other than number 3 unleashes a spray of fire throughout all squares in each of the triangular rooms, dealing 3d6 fire damage (DC 10 Dexterity saving throw for half damage). Although the fire does not affect the 10-foot- square area between the two triangular chambers, the first time the trap is sprung while a creature stands in that area, the tiles there turn into two swarms of scorpions. Also, when a ruby trap erupts, the doors between areas 1 and 2 lock for 3 rounds (Dexterity DC 15 to unlock).

3. Sandstorm

After three creatures enter this room, a circular breeze begins and increases until the force is strong enough to push the PCs. Any creatures in the room must make a DC 15 Strength saving throw. Those that fail are pushed directly away from the pedestal as scorpion stingers extend from the wall holes. Creatures pushed into the stingers take 2d10 piercing damage. The wind continues, requiring a DC 15 Strength Athletics check to move each round. The doors also lock (Dexterity DC 15 to open).

Two rotting winds, immune to the whirlwind, emerge from the pedestal and attack.

The smoky quartz (worth 350 gp) can be removed from the pedestal only after the rotting winds are defeated. A tiny numeral 4 is etched into the gem. Removing the gem from the pedestal stops the wind and opens the locked doors.

4. Scorpion Throne

Written in Common are haunting words: "Only the honored dead are shielded from the Scorpion Prince's wrath."

The fresh corpses are all that remain of the previous expeditions, their bodies placed here by the cultists. When the room is disturbed, the statue—which is actually a shabti—attacks. If all the characters crawl into the niches, the shabti deactivates for 1 hour, allowing the PCs to escape and remove the crown. The headpiece is a crown of wound closure, as per the periapt of the same name.

5. Earthquake

When a creature first moves 30 feet into this corridor from either direction, the area begins to shake. Creatures in the hallway must make a DC 10 Dexterity Acrobatics check at the start of each of their turns, falling prone on a failure. At the same time, five Stygian fat-tailed scorpions emerge from cracks in the floor and attack.

When a character first arrives at the center of this passageway, the floor cracks open, revealing a large brown carnelian (worth 200 gp). A tiny number 5 is etched into the gem.

6. Deadly Waves

The debris in the western end is difficult terrain. When PCs investigate the urn or reach the center of the room for the first time, the urn activates and spews a geyser of filthy water. Anyone in the chamber must make a DC 15 Strength saving throw or get pushed into the debris pile. A sarcophagus slime hides in the debris, while another oozes from the urn

A diamond (worth 750 gp) rattles around inside the skull of one of the sarcophagus slimes. The gem is etched with a tiny numeral 1.

7. Final Rest

The gems found in other chambers are the keys to opening this door. The diamond (1) goes into the circle-shaped hole, the ruby (3) into the triangle, the quartz (4) into the square, and the carnelian (5) into the pentagon. When the gems are put into the correct holes, the doors open. The doors are otherwise impassable through the use of force or magic. A DC 15 Intelligence check reveals the pattern. On a failed check, the adventurers figure incorrectly, triggering the trap described below.

If the gems are put into the wrong holes, gas fills the area. Anyone in the corridor leading from area 6 takes 2d6 poison damage (DC 10 Constitution saving throw for half damage).

When the characters gain access to the chamber, they have reached their final destination.

The sarcophagus bears the countenance of the Scorpion Prince. The facets of the crystal display the numerals 1 through 20.

After the PCs investigate for 5 rounds, doorways appear in the four stone structures, revealing four night scorpions, one in each. One creature has a stinger made of diamond, one of ruby, one of smoky quartz, and one of carnelian. A small stone pedestal rests inside each chamber, bearing an indentation that could hold a gem.

At the same time, the sarcophagus opens to reveal the Scorpion Prince, a venomous mummy. It says in a booming voice, "You have freed me from my sleep, and this land will again know my merciful rule!" The four gems fall from the door and begin glowing brightly.

All creatures attack the PCs. The Scorpion Prince is immune to all damage until his night scorpion guards are killed. In addition, the night scorpions cannot be dropped below 1 hit point until the corresponding gem is placed on the pedestal in the matching night scorpion's chamber, based on the composition of each one's tail.

When defeated, the Scorpion Prince gives a final proclamation: "You will never have my treasure, the sum total of my greatness!" The crystal dodecahedron cannot be sundered by normal means; however, pressing the facet bearing the numeral 13 (the sum of the numbers on the four key gems) shatters it, revealing the treasure within: a +2 longbow, a dagger of venom, bracers of defense, and 200 pieces of turquoise worth 10 gp each. A DC 10 Intelligence check reveals that the numbers on the gems are the key to accessing the crystal.

Conclusion

With the release of the Scorpion Prince, his spirit might be free to wander the land again, even if his physical form is defeated. The vile spirit could inhabit the body of a current leader, forcing that person to do terrible things. What ritual needs to be performed to remove the spirit?

The Scorpion Cult might disband after its failure in keeping the Scorpion Prince locked away, or the cult might harry the PCs until all the treasure they removed from the tomb is returned. The Scorpion Cult could even forgive the PCs, and later seek their help in undoing the damage that the characters did with their intrusion.

Introduction

The Dark Forest is an elder shadow drake lair suitable for four 8th-level characters.

1. Forest Path

The detritus on the ground makes it difficult to move silently, imposing disadvantage on the characters' Stealth checks.

2. Makeshift Log Bridge

The fawn was recently attacked by one of the elder shadow drakes, but escaped before it was killed. It made it as far as this spot before collapsing.

The tree trunk is roughly 3 feet in diameter and wet, making it slippery. Phosphorescent moss, which gives off an eerie green glow in the low light, covers portions of the tree trunk. A DC 10 Acrobatics check is required to walk across the tree trunk without slipping and falling into the rock-filled water below. Those who fall take 2d6 bludgeoning damage.

The alseids in area 4 likely hear the adventurers' activity in this area and send Tuallia, a young alseid warrior, to silently observe their activities. A DC 15 Perception check is necessary to discover him hiding among the trees. If the characters care for the injured animal or show it compassion, Tuallia reveals himself and asks the party to follow him to the alseid encampment (area 4).

3. Stream

The steep, 3-foot-tall banks of the stream are rocky, dropping down sharply to the water. The stream is 8 feet deep in most places.

The water's current is swift: PCs who try to cross to the far bank must succeed on a DC 14 Strength Athletics check. Those who fail the check are yanked from their feet, hitting one or more of the rocks in the water and taking 1d6 bludgeoning damage.

4. Alseid Encampment

The few surviving alseids are using this clearing as a temporary camp. The ground is fairly open, with a few large boulders and rock outcroppings. Tuallia leads the six remaining alseids, including one youngling and a critically wounded female.

The alseids can be convinced that the adventurers mean no harm to them or the forest if a character succeeds on a DC 12 Charisma Persuasion check, modified up or down based on Tuallia's earlier impression of the party. In such a case, Tuallia recounts the tribe's terrible ordeal and begs the party to destroy the two dragon-like creatures and recover Riatha's body for proper burial. What the alseids do not reveal, however, is that they are desperate to recover the Diadem of Moon and Stars, Riatha's magical crown.

The adventurers can take a short rest here. The alseids offer what amenities they can, although this amounts to little more than food and fresh water. Tuallia is proud and brave, but insists on remaining to protect his people—under no circumstances will he accompany the party to the burial mound clearing.

5. Clearing

The ground here is muddy; a tangle of fallen branches and deep piles of rotting leaves make it difficult to navigate (treat as difficult terrain).

The far end of the clearing narrows to form a large, arched opening. Beyond this natural doorway, the adventurers can see a large, earthen mound rising up from the ground.

As soon as anyone approaches this arch of trees, a large, tree-like creature emerges from the forest and steps into the opening, blocking the way. Read the following:

If the characters immediately turn and leave, the weeping treant allows them to do so. If they do anything other than leave (or if they leave and later the weeping treant catches them attempting to return), it attacks them without quarter.

6. Burial Mound

The steps are precarious in spots, but still serviceable. The mound's slope is easily climbed. The trees are particularly tall and dense around this area, and deep shadows envelop much of the clearing.

The clearing is quiet—even the sounds of birds have abruptly ceased. Thick mist swirls and drifts throughout the clearing, filling the air with an ominous and foreboding chill. Characters within the clearing must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for as long as they remain in this area.

7. Standing Stones

PCs who investigate the standing stones discover that many are spattered with blood, and a few have deep claw marks gouged into them. Well-worn, druidic-looking runes are carved into each of the stones.

Maalyreth and Shydrageth, two elder shadow drakes, lurk in the deep shadows, watching the characters. If the characters move past the stones and toward the pool (area 8), the drakes use Shadow Jump to come down among the PCs and attack!

The elder shadow drakes use their Speed Surge, Shadow Blend, and Shadow Jump traits to maneuver around the clearing, flanking their enemies and keeping the party off balance whenever possible. Maalyreth often flies above the battle to unleash his stygian breath against PCs in a group, while Shydrageth prefers getting close enough to bite.

They concentrate their attacks on any characters using fire or light spells against them.

8. Black Pool

The pool is 20 feet across and ringed with both humanoid and animal skulls. A dense blackness seems to rise from its depths.

The air around the pool smells fetid and sulfurous.

The mysterious, swirling cloud of darkness in the pool is a portal to the Plane of Shadow, where the two elder shadow drakes emerged from before they savaged the alseid tribe. Although what lies beyond the portal is beyond the scope of this adventure, it can be used in any way you see fit. The clouds are dense enough to be essentially solid, and a specific, magical command word or phrase is needed to part the blackness.

9. Shadow Drake Lair

The shadow drakes use this area to store treasure and food.

The characters see, scattered about the clearing, the decaying remains of three deer, a partially eaten boar, and a large bear. Flies buzz about everywhere. The smell here is absolutely putrid and nauseating.

Amid the jagged rocks lies the mutilated and partially eaten body of Riatha, the alseid shaman. A gnarled wooden staff with a crystal embedded in the top lies near her body. A delicate crown of woven silver and gold (the Diadem of Moon and Stars) still rests upon her brow.

As the party investigates the area around Riatha's broken body, three shadows erupt from the darkness of the nearby trees and attack.

10. Spiders and Webs

Spider webs fill the entire southwestern part of the forest. A faint, unpleasant smell rises here from the desiccated, half-eaten remains of various animals. Small victims—flies and other insects—are visible within the webs. A few still struggle, but most are long dead.

A difficult-to-reach clearing lies within these web-filled woods. Thorny bramble bushes and dense weeds surround the clearing, which is dominated by a formation of jagged rocks. Numerous spiders can be seen skittering about the ground and the trees. If the characters spend more than a few minutes in the clearing, they are attacked by five giant spiders.

Conclusion

If the characters defeat the two elder shadow drakes, they can recover the body of Riatha. If they return Riatha's body to the alseids (including the diadem), they earn the alseids' undying gratitude. Failing to return Riatha's body, or keeping the Diadem, earns the alseids' undying hatred and likely an ambush the next time the party visits the forest.

For further adventures, the characters might unlock the portal to the Plane of Shadow. They might also wonder what lies inside, or perhaps beneath, the burial mound.

Umbral Tower Lair Tie-In

This lair can be used in conjunction with the Ruins of the Umbral Tower lair that follows. If you want to use both maps and lairs together, the party can meet the shadow elf hunters when leaving the Dark Forest area.

Introduction

Ruins of the Umbral Tower is a shadow fey hunter lair suitable for four or five 8th-level characters.

1. Forest Path

Everything within 100 feet of the ruins is bathed in shadowy dim light. All land off the path is difficult terrain. The vegetation on each side of the path also obscures vision and writhes in an unwholesome way, stirred by unfelt winds.

2. Dark Pond

The shiny object at the edge of the 10-foot-deep pond is a gold ring on the pinky finger of a severed hand. Lurking at the edge of the pond are three giant crocodiles. One is within 5 feet of the hand, waiting to attack anything that approaches. Noticing the hidden crocodile requires a DC 17 Wisdom Perception check by the character approaching the ring—failure to notice it gives the crocodile a surprise round.

Two shadow fey hunters hide beneath low-hanging willow tree branches across the pond. If the PCs and the giant crocodiles fight, the hunters shoot at the characters during combat, hiding as a bonus action after each shot. They shoot for 2 rounds, then retreat and warn the hunting party inside the tower. If the characters ignore the crocodiles, the hunters fire arrows for 1 round and then run for the tower.

3. Stone Walls and Wards

A DC 10 Intelligence Nature check reveals that this stone is not native to the area, while a DC 15 Intelligence Arcana check reveals that the stone came from the Plane of Shadow.

The wall is cool to the touch and can be climbed easily, but any noise attracts the hound of night that patrols the courtyard. It rushes the first wall climber it sees, attacking and barking a warning to alert the tower residents.

Any characters who move through the opening trigger a silent alarm, which sends a mental warning to all the shadow fey hunters. This shadowy magical alarm can be noticed with a DC 20 Wisdom Perception check and can be removed automatically with dispel magic or similar effects.

4. Name

The shadow fey hunters learned that this building was trapped when one of their hounds wandered in out of curiosity. After examination, they chose to leave this security measure from the time of the tower's original owner intact. If the PCs investigate, read:

The entire shed is ensorcelled to drain the life from creatures while simultaneously trapping them. Three rounds after a living creature enters, a shadowy force field seals the entryway. At the same time, occupants of the shed feel a mix of dread and exhaustion. Starting in round 4, and each round thereafter, a creature in the shed rolls one of its Hit Dice and takes that much damage. That Hit Die is unavailable for healing until the creature completes a long rest. A creature dies from shock if it reaches 0 Hit Dice and is forced to roll another Hit Die.

Bringing down the shadow field can be accomplished inseveral ways:

The shed walls are immune to magical effects, and no teleportation magic works in this area.

If the situation seems dire, the galeb duhr (area 5) might intercede on behalf of the PCs. It can breach the shed floor in 1 round, breaking the spell and dismissing the effect. It expects some gratitude or gems as a reward, and it is not subtle about asking for compensation in Sylvan or Terran.

The locked chest can be opened with a DC 15 Dexterity thieves' tools check. Inside the chest are 200 pp and ten black opals worth 50 gp each.

5. Rubble

Hidden amid the rubble is a solitary galeb duhr named Longwinter, which resembles just another stone, of a pale white among many. The power of the tower's strange shadow stone perplexes the creature; Longwinter has been studying the stone and observing the shadow fey hunters for weeks, barely moving. The galeb duhr does not attack unless provoked.

If the PCs notice it with a DC 20 Wisdom Perception check, approach it peacefully, and find a way to communicate with it, the galeb duhr tells them it has seen hunters coming and going with black hounds in the area recently, skinning prey and also stringing human ears on necklaces.

The shadow fey observe what happens in the rubble by peering through cracks and holes in the tower. If they see the characters speaking with the galeb duhr, they attack everyone, bringing the elemental creature into the fight as an ally of the PCs.

6. Umbral Tower

If a character approaches close enough to look into the interior, he or she spots the prisoners kept there.

The number of enemies depends on how many creatures escaped during the chase scene and in the encounter at the pond. If none of those creatures are present, four shadow fey guardians accompany the leader of the hunting party, a shadow fey forest hunter named Tympyz. If all the creatures escaped during the chase scene, the four guardians are joined by two more shadow fey guardians, a second shadow fey forest hunter, two more shadow fey hunters from area 2, and the hound of night.

The shadow fey creatures prefer to attack with surprise when the PCs enter the tower. Tympyz commands the fight and uses her bow and arrows to target spellcasters. The hound concentrates on armored fighters.

Each round after the PCs enter the tower, there is a 5 percent chance that the shadow gate opens. If that happens, the shadow creatures withdraw and retreat back to their home plane if they have been attacked or even just threatened by the party.

Sacks throughout the tower hold the spoils gathered by the hunting party: four golden deer figurines worth 100 gp each, a diamond bracelet worth 1,000 gp, and a +1 breastplate, as well as a gruesome collection of human ears and scalps. If the shadow fey were able to gather up some of their loot and retreat, one of the three treasures is missing.

Conclusion

If the characters vanquish all of the shadow fey before the gate comes open, they can easily free the three gnome prisoners, who are scholars of shadow magic. Their leader, a rock gnome called Professor Probble, believes that the tower offers access to the Plane of Shadow. With the knowledge provided by the gnomes, who have little wealth but plenty of information, the PCs can enter the Plane of Shadow.

If the gate came open and some of the shadow fey escaped, the characters might want to pursue their quarry into the Plane of Shadow after they learn from the gnomes how to get there. Perhaps, once they get there, the characters discover that the hunting party was an advance scouting group for a larger attack force.

Introduction

The Warlock's Crypt is a fext and noctiny lair suitable for four 9th-level characters.

1. Burial Chamber

Characters who investigate the insides of the coffins find scores of deep, seemingly haphazard scratches.

One of the tapestries in the northern alcove conceals a secret door.

2. Chamber of Statues

The two statues depict deities of life and death. The face of the deity of life statue has been completely chipped away.

3. Mausoleum

The west sarcophagus contains two occupants, laid to restholding hands.

The east sarcophagus holds a child's remains. Worn and faded toys lie amid the dust.

4. Tomb

One urn holds a jumble of misshapen humanoid bones.

The other contains fifteen human skulls. Hidden beneath the skulls is a battered chest holding 260 gp, and a pair of gleaming silver daggers with roses engraved on their pommels (worth 20 gp each).

5. Tomb

6. Tomb

The urn is filled with bones from many different individuals, all jumbled together. If the bones are disturbed, a great cloud of grave dust billows up around the PCs, requiring a DC 15 Constitution saving throw to avoid being incapacitated from coughing for 2d6 minutes.

Searching through the bones reveals a scroll case containing seven tightly rolled parchments. Most crumble to dust as soon as they are touched. One does not, however—it is a scroll of spirit guardians.

7. Tomb

8. Bleeding Bride's Final Rest

The stain is old, dried blood.

Lifting the lid reveals a sheet of fine white linen that covers the body of a remarkably preserved, beautiful young woman in a faded bridal gown, her abdomen stained with blood.

The creature is a banshee. The lovelorn creature focuses her hatred on one particular character.

9. Burial of Honor

The Black Prince, a fext, is crouched in the shadows behind the coffin. If no one approaches the coffin, the Black Prince remains hidden, learning what he can about the party. If the characters head back to explore areas 3 through 8, the Black Prince sneaks away to report to the King in Silver in the temple (area 12). If the characters go through the archway into area 10, he quietly follows them until an opportunity arises to strike from behind.

If a character steps onto the stone platform, the Black Prince leaps out and attacks.

Investigating the contents of the coffin reveals a skeleton within wearing faded robes. A silver ring set with a small ruby is on one finger. The ring is valuable for its materials and exceptional workmanship (worth 800 gp), but the tiny symbols etched into the silver suggest there might be more to the ring.

A DC 16 Perception check when investigating the statue reveals a small panel, set into the base. Pressing the panel produces a faint click as the statue slides to the left, revealing a secret passage that leads to area 11.

10. Clensing Fountain

Some of the fext's noctiny servants have rigged a trap in the monstrous stone face of the fountain. Anyone who walks down the center of the hall, instead of staying near one of the walls, activates a hidden pressure plate, firing eight barbed javelins from the monstrous creature's mouth, four in the first round and four more in the second. The pressure plate can be spotted with a DC 15 Wisdom Perception check or a DC 15 Intelligence Investigation check. The javelin-hurling slot in the stone face can be spotted with a DC 17 Intelligence Investigation check. Wedging a shield or other object in front of the mouth does not prevent the trap from activating, but it catches the javelins before they go far, and jams the trap.

Barbed Javelin Trap. Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 50 ft., up to four targets or a single target four times. Hit: 27 (6d10) piercing damage, or half damage with a successful DC 16 Dexterity saving throw.

11. Vault

The vault, once the place where objects of significance to the deceased were interred, has been claimed by the King in Silver (currently in area 12) as his personal quarters. None but the king may safely enter here.

Guarding this chamber are three lich hounds. They leap from the deep shadows and attack anyone other than the king who enters.

Crude stick carvings of people being killed and dismembered are etched into the surface of the writing desk. A curved penknife encrusted with dried blood is stuck into the desktop.

A fine silver candlestick (worth 50 gp) holding four partially burned black candles stands toward the back of the table. If they are burned, the candles give off the sickly smell of scorched flesh.

A well-made, reinforced pouch sits on a high shelf. The pouch holds two potions of gaseous form and a slim dagger with splotches of dried blood on the hilt.

12. Name

Long stairs lead down to an enormous chamber of some sort.

This chamber was once a temple where the living came to pray for the deceased.

From the area to the west, the party hears the slowly increasing rhythm of beating drums, strange chanting, and muffled cries.

Water trickles from the cracked stone ceiling and down the walls in the southeast portion of the temple. Stagnant water, three inches deep, makes this area difficult terrain.

The King in Silver, a fext with maximum hit points, chants with both arms outstretched, silver daggers in each hand. The Red Prince, also a fext fext, stands next to him, pinning a woman upon the altar. Standing in front of the dais are twelve noctinys, in rapturous anticipation of the coming sacrifice.

Roaming about in the temple are four lich hounds, watching for trouble.

The PCs must act quickly to save the woman from a slow and gruesome death.

Beyond the doors leading east is a long, narrow corridor. The fext and the noctinys avoid entering this area. If the characters investigate, they discover that the passageway turns north and opens into a sepulcher that contains four burial alcoves. (If they find the secret door, they can discover another sepulcher to the south, also with four alcoves.)

Hundreds of small niches are carved into the walls of each burial alcove. The densely packed niches run from floor to ceiling. While some are filled with skulls, partially burnt candles, and tiny idols or other religious items, most of the niches contain little more than piles of rotting, rusting, or desiccated remains.

13. Northern Sepulcher

A gelatinous cube aimlessly roams the northern sepulcher. It is aware of the PCs as soon as they enter the corridor and silently glides down the hallway to attack.

Some of the burial niches in the western alcove (13a) are larger than the others and contain shrouded, skeletal remains. One such skeleton has fallen from its niche and lies crumpled on the floor. If the PCs disturb these remains, the ghostly forms of two wraiths emerge from the darkness of the niche and attack.

14. Southern Sepulcher

The floor of the eastern alcove (14a) is covered with bones. A successful DC 18 Perception check reveals the glint of a gem (an emerald worth 1,200 gp) in a niche near the ceiling. Touching or disturbing the bones in any way causes them to rise and attack as a bone swarm.

15. Antechamber

The fext sometimes come and go by way of this shaft, using gaseous form. Occasionally, when they capture someone destined to be sacrificed, they drop the captive down the shaft into the antechamber below, taking perverse delight in the pain and injury that such a fall causes.

Conclusion

If the characters can destroy the fext and their noctiny followers, they will have rid the area of a very dangerous threat. If they were able to rescue the woman, they can deliver her to her grateful family—which, depending on who those people are, can be used as a plot device, a new ally, or perhaps even the catalyst for the characters' next adventure.

Introduction

The Aboleth's Grotto is a nihileth lair suitable for four 10th-level characters.

1. Entrance

The entrance shows signs of a scuffle between the clerics and other volunteers sent by Reddick to investigate, and the group of fanatical sahuagin who worship the undead aberration, confusing it for one of their gods.

If the PCs search the dusty ground around the entrance, a DC 10 Intelligence Investigation check uncovers some fish bones, seashells, and a holy symbol from the Church of Light attached to a broken necklace. A check result of 15 or higher also reveals that some of the footprints are webbed.

2. Spider's Den

Once the giant spider is defeated, the characters can rescue the person in the cocoon. Climbing 20 feet up the slick cavern walls to reach it requires a successful DC 13 Strength Athletics check for every 10 feet climbed. Ripping through the cocoon and carrying down the person inside it requires a successful DC 15 Strength Athletics check. A failed check results in 2d6 points of bludgeoning damage to the person inside the cocoon, who is already in bad shape. Taking this damage renders him unconscious for 2d10 minutes.

The person trapped in the spider's cocoon is a villager named Thayne. He tells the PCs that he attempted to escape and return to Springwell, but the spider got to him first. He isn't sure how long he's been in the cocoon.

He also tells the characters that all the townsfolk who came to defeat the beast in the lake are dead. He says that they "turned on each other" once they started making their way through the grotto. He warns the party about the creature having "evil mind charms," and also about some fish people in league with the beast.

Thayne doesn't have any more information to offer,and asks the party for food and water before returning to Springwell.

3. Prison

This cavern serves as a makeshift prison. Several rusty chains and manacles are attached to the walls, and a dead acolyte of the Church of Light remains shackled to the northwestern wall. She's clutching her holy symbol with her left hand, while her right hand shows cuts consistent with a struggle. With a successful DC 12 Intelligence Investigation check, the PCs notice that all the shackles are lightly coated with a yellowish slime.

If the PCs spend too much time here without trying to be stealthy, the noise attracts the attention of a band of five sahuagin led by a baron currently in the narrow tunnel leading north to area 4.

The narrow tunnel floor is covered in muck (mostly bat guano). The guano has smothered the phosphorescent fungi, leaving this passage in complete darkness. A swarm of skin bats 7-10 bats would make a small swarm (based on the health of swarm of bats versus a bat), as the swarm of skin bats creature does not exist I would recommend changing to idividuals makes its home in this tunnel.

4. Steam Room

The bubbling coming from the pools is quite loud, and anyone who attempts a Wisdom (Perception) check that relies on hearing has disadvantage. Active and potentially harmful steam vents riddle the floor. On initiative count 20, roll a d6. On a 1, a random PC must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 5 (1d10) fire damage. The five nihilethic zombies in this chamber are immune to the steam. One of the zombies still carries a potion of healing in a pocket of its robe.

Creatures in the superheated water from the pool are scalded for 5 (1d10) fire damage. Any creature shoved into the pool must succeed on a DC 12 Strength Athletics check to climb out of it, but still takes scalding fire damage in that round.

5. Worshipper's Chamber

This room currently serves as the sahuagin's rudimentary quarters. Nets, tridents and shields litter the floor. A sahuagin baron and five sahuagin are in this chamber gathering equipment, ritual components and other items. They are preparing to leave for area 5, where a ceremony is taking place. They attack as soon as they spot the PCs. Searching the bodies yields a pearl necklace worth 2,500 gp, and a gold brooch in the shape of a fish worth 750 gp.

After defeating the baron and its underlings, the party hears a loud splash and grunting sounds coming from the southeast. It's the aboleth, raising more zombies in anticipation of the adventurers' arrival.

The water in the small pool is cool to the touch, but poisoned by the aboleth and unsafe to drink.

The tunnel east of this chamber is also covered in guano and completely dark. A giant wolf spider hides in a cavity near the eastern end of the tunnel.

6. Sahuagin Shrine

The sahuagin priestess thinks she's raising these zombies to serve their nihilithic master, but that's not entirely true. The aboleth itself is raising the zombies, but it has the sahuagin convinced that they are powerful enough to do so. The aboleth hopes that the promise of more power will keep these useful servants around when the time comes to spread the Void's influence throughout this region of the world.

The sahuagin are very protective of their makeshift shrine, and installed a falling net trap at the northern entrance of this chamber. The priestess attacks the PCs as soon as they enter the shrine. When the fighting commences, the five townsfolk rise as nihilethic zombies and attack the characters. Every two rounds of combat, two sahuagin swim up from the pool near the northern entrance to join the fight.

This pool is connected to a sahuagin settlement below ground, and serves as an escape route if the going gets tough.

7. Aboleth's Pool

The nihileth will use its Enslave acion and its Psychic Drain legendary action first; while the six zombies distract the PCs. The sahuagin baron and the two sahuagin fight to defend the aboleth, but won't protect the zombies.

If the PCs did not defeat the enemies in areas 3, 4, and 5, they join the battle after 3 rounds of combat, approaching from their respective areas.

Conclusion

If the adventurers defeat the aboleth and its zombies, any remaining sahuagin scramble to get away as soon as possible. Within days, Springwell's water supply returns to normal. The PCs earn the town's gratitude, along with the promise of free healing, food and shelter if their travels ever bring them to the area again.

Introduction

Bloodwood of the Cruor Circle is an alseid and blood hag lair suitable for four or five 10th-level characters.

1. Palisade

Characters attempting to climb the palisade must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 2d6 piercing damage from the thorny vines.

As the PCs pass through the gate, two of the alseids follow, ushering them along with spears.

2. Alseid Camp

If any of these creatures are approached, they say, "You must see the Mother," pointing toward the center of the encampment.

3. Bloodpools

The druids are preparing the pools to create sap demons. Some pools already have fully formed demons within them, while others have hints of the malevolent beings.

Approaching the pools or talking to the druids is not allowed, and the characters' escorts continue to usher them toward the center of the camp. An attempt to gain access to the cages upsets the druids and their followers. The two alseids serving as escorts attack, along with three alseid druids and two sap demons, which erupt from the pools. The sap demons attack with surprise, and thus gain advantage on their first attacks. A successful DC 20 Intelligence Arcana check is needed to discern that fire affects the sap demons as a haste spell and cold affects them as a slow spell.

4. Bloodwood Circle

Mother Congeala is a blood hag. The two ettercaps are infected by sap demons. The two alseid druids are members of the Cruor Circle named Marasen and Illian. The rest of the alseids in this area leave when Mother Congeala appears.

A successful DC 20 Intelligence Arcana check enables a character to realize that the ettercaps are infected by sap demons, as well as understanding the effects of fire and cold on such creatures.

Conclusion

Defeating Mother Congeala and her two druids causes the rest of the alseids to flee the area. The trees cease weeping blood, and the way out of the forest can be easily found. If the characters were looking for a certain person who was taken captive, that individual can be found in one of the other two huts in the circle.

Introduction

Imperial Ghoul Outpost is an iron ghoul lair suitable for four or five 10th-level characters.

1. Entry

A DC 10 Intelligence Investigation check reveals that the curtain is made from duergar skin and sewn together with ligaments and thick beard hair. As the PCs investigate, five wraiths emerge from the eastern wall. The tortured souls of the slain clan leaders, the wraiths appear as the duergar did in life. (Use the Adventure Hook details to describe the wraiths individually.)

During combat, if the PCs address any of the wraiths by name, the spirits become visibly confused: all attacks against them are made with advantage. In addition, the reminder of their mortal lives prompts each to provide one piece of helpful information after their fitful souls are put to rest:

Among the mining equipment are Ogel's googles. They act as a regular magnifying glass, but they also are enchanted to enable the wearer to cast detect magic once per day.

2. Bone Chambers

The painted areas contain a variety of magical sigils. A DC 10 Intelligence Arcana check reveals that the sigils are not complete, but they are necessary components in necromantic rituals. A DC 20 Intelligence History check reveals that these sigils are often used by the Ghoul Imperium.

Each of the secret doors in the two largest bone constructs can be found with a successful DC 15 Intelligence Investigation or Wisdom Perception check. The doors are not locked but are trapped with necromantic magic that deals 2d10 necrotic damage to anyone attempting to open them. A DC 15 Dexterity thieves' tools check disables the trap on a single door.

The 15-foot-square bone constructs are hollow. Within each one is a single diamond resting atop a pile of bones. A slight flickering within the diamonds is evidence that a duergar soul is trapped in each. These souls power the magic of the room. With a DC 15 Intelligence Religion check as an action, a character can release a soul from its prison.

If both souls are released, the following happens:

When the characters open any of the secret doors, bones break away from the six structures to form a bone swarm. At the start of every round after the first, any living creatures standing directly between any of the four smaller bone structures must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw as the structure move together violently and then return to their starting positions in the following round. A failed saving throw results in 3d10 bludgeoning damage.

The secret door in the southwest corner can be found with a DC 20 Intelligence Investigation check but can be opened only with the use of magic, such as a knock spell, unless the souls are released from the diamonds.

3. Soulsplit Ore

When the first living creature touches the cavern floor, the veins of ore pulse brightly for an instant as fourteen jumbled skeletons rise and attack from among the bones on the floor. Use minotaur skeleton statistics, except for size Medium.

Four spaces in this chamber are trapped. A successful DC 20 Intelligence Arcana check discerns the location and operation of each one. When a creature steps onto one of these squares, stalagmites of soulsplit ore erupt from the floor. A successful DC 15 Dexterity saving throw allows the creature to avoid the sharp stalagmites; otherwise the victim takes 4d6 piercing damage. Each trap can be deactivated separately with a DC 20 Intelligence Arcana check as an action. If the PCs heard the warning from Thrua Mukgrim's wraith, any checks they attempt here are made with advantage.

The cavern floor is difficult terrain. Usable equipment from explorers who have died here over the years is easily salvageable: four 50-foot lengths of silk rope, two waterskins, twelve torches, three backpacks, twelve sacks, a steel mirror, two bullseye lanterns, eleven flasks of oil, a healer's kit, two crowbars, a climber's kit, a bag of caltrops, four bedrolls, and a mundane wand. Searching the debris and making a successful DC 15 Intelligence Investigation check yields a set of golden earrings (worth 100 gp), a thin platinum bracelet bearing a drow house insignia (worth 400 gp), and a potion of greater healing in a decorative silver flask of deep gnome design (worth 500 gp).

4. Ripples

The water here is 10 feet deep and murky enough to conceal the six darakhul ghouls working beneath the surface, using their war picks to extract pieces of soulsplit ore for analysis. They walk across the cavern's floor at half speed, climbing onto land as part of their normal movement.

When the PCs use the raft or break the surface of the water, the ghouls move to attack when the raft is 10 feet from shore. A ghoul can use an action to bring its weaponry to bear against the raft; if one does so, it sunders the raft, spilling any passengers into the water.

The soulsplit ore's magical properties have leached into the water here, giving it a slightly necromantic tinge. Any creature touching the water at the start of its turn takes 1 necrotic damage.

5. Iron Marshall

An iron ghoul called the Iron Marshal captured Traas Mukgrim and is questioning the hostage. The suffering duergar is conscious but diseased with sewer plague, having only 1 hit point and suffering from five levels of exhaustion.

Buried beneath the soil of the three islands are six putrid haunts, two at each one. They rise when a character enters an island square or interacts with Traas. The Iron Marshal and two lich hounds wait in the 20-foot-deep water, biding their time to attack at the right moment. Several sections of this cavern show structural weakness: a solid strike with a piercing weapon empties the water quickly. This weakness is noticed with a DC 15 Intelligence Investigation check, made with advantage if the PCs heard the warning from Ynoh Mukgrim's wraith.

With an action and a DC 10 Strength check, a character using a piercing melee weapon can strike the wall and split it floor to ceiling, draining all the water in 1 round.

If the PCs did not defeat the darakhul ghouls in area 4, two arrive every other round after combat starts to assist their leader.

Beneath the water, in the center of the chamber floor, stands a 10-foot-tall obelisk made of splitsoul ore. Ancient, indecipherable script is etched into the obelisk, and the writings writhe and wriggle when observed, as if telling some sort of grisly story. This column's power, and how it can be used, is left to the clever machinations of the DM.

Conclusion

The defeat of the Iron Marshal and its soldiers strikes a blow against the Ghoul Imperium's expansion. The lich ruling this area does not give up easily, however. If the duergar attempt to mine the soulsplit ore, they face further attacks. The PCs might need to drive deeper into Ghoul Imperium territory to keep the ore away from the undead.

Traas Mukgrim, if rescued, heard the undead creatures speaking of their expansion plans. He might have important information that the PCs can use to plan their assault against the Ghoul Imperium.

Introduction

The Cistern is a deep drake lair suitable for four or five 10th-level characters.

1. Entrance

At the bottom of a long stone staircase stands a crumbling archway. A tunnel extends into the darkness beyond. The air here turns slightly sour, and a faraway drip of water echoes in the quiet. Several rats regard you from near the bottom steps; their eyes watching your every move.

The entrance is protected by a magical ward. A line of rat bones crosses the floor just inside the tunnel's entrance. It is difficult to see (Perception DC 15), and if this area is crossed without proper examination and disenchantment or disassembling—requiring either a DC 14 Intelligence Arcana check or a DC 14 Dexterity thieves' tools check—the bones explode into slivers. Characters within 10 feet of the entrance must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, taking 9 2d6 + 2 piercing damage on a failure, or half damage on a success. Spellcasters can choose to study the ward closely while disenchanting it. Such examination (Investigation DC 17) provides them with advantage when attempting to disenchant Hada's other ward at area 2.

The triggering of the ward alerts the ghouls in area 3; they prepare to ambush the PCs by hiding in the watery pits described in area 2. If a speak with animals spell is cast on the rats, the caster receives images of a massive scaled claw and of a tall woman in a black cowl coming and going through the entrance; occasionally she travels with smaller humans.

2. Collapsing Tunnel

The walls of the dark tunnel are damaged in many places, and stones lie in heaps on the ground. Sinister glyphs and playful graffiti are scratched into some of the rock. Each step you take is punctuated by the soft splash of ankle-deep, fetid water.

The tunnel to the abandoned cistern is in bad shape. As the deep drake grew from a hatchling to a juvenile, its passage through the tunnel damaged the walls. A proper examination (Perception DC 13) reveals deep claw marks; PCs who are familiar with stonework receive advantage on this check. The tunnel is flooded with water from the adjacent sewer. Two hazards in this area might slow the PCs.

Watery Pits: The flooded floor hides two pits. The sudden drops into deep water are difficult to spot (Perception DC 15) but can be safely avoided by skirting their edges. Stepping into such a pit immerses the PC in 10 feet of water. A successful DC 14 Dexterity saving throw allows a character to grab the edge and avoid the effects of the foul water. PCs forced to swim in the water must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 hour; the save can be repeated every 15 minutes. Climbing out of the pit can be done automatically as part of movement.

Falling Stones: Hada has warded the tunnel. The ruinous state of the walls made it easy for her to affix small bundles of humanoid bones and hair to a faulty section of stone. Noticing the grim effigies is difficult (Perception DC 15), although dwarves and characters with a background in stonework have advantage on the check. If identified, the bundles can be disenchanted or disassembled with a DC 14 Intelligence Arcana check or a DC 14 Dexterity thieves' tools check. Otherwise, characters who come within 10 feet of the ward trigger it, causing stones to fall from above. Anyone within 20 feet of the wards must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 15 3d6 + 5 bludgeoning damage on a failure, or half damage on a success.

Imperial Ambush: If the ghouls in area 3 noticed the triggering of the ward in area 1, they hide in the watery pits and attack the party at an inopportune moment. The undead suffer no ill effects from the water. See area 3 for details on the ghouls and their mission.

3. Overflow Chamber

The tunnel widens ahead, leading into a small ruined chamber. Two large drains in the center of the chamber fail to effectively remove the sewer water from the tunnel. Two iron grates lean against a pile of stones near the drains. A pile of waist-high debris lines the western wall. A faint moan can be heard coming from inside the drains.

This chamber serves as host to a small unit of imperial ghouls, led by an iron ghoul known as Officer Naragal, that are tasked with stealing Hada's pet drake. Currently, three imperial ghouls await the return of Naragal, who is in area 4 attempting to communicate with the drake. They are hidden behind the rubble along the western wall. The ghouls attack the PCs on sight. They carry nothing of value with them, but a missive from a legion commander details their orders in the Darakhul tongue. The missive refers to the deep drake as a "serpent of shadow."

The Drains: The drains are full of Hada's zombies. In each round of combat (up to a maximum of ten) after the ghouls attack, a zombie crawls out of one of the drains and attacks the PCs. Covering a drain with one of the grates takes an action and a successful DC 12 Strength Athletics check. If both grates are replaced, no further zombies arrive.

Imperial Ghouls' Tactics: The ghouls attempt to surprise the PCs. They coordinate their attacks to use the zombies as flankers when possible.

4. Cistern

A crumbling staircase leads 20 feet down into an enormous cistern. Four columns stretch from the silt-covered floor into the darkness above. A stone gorgon's head leers at you from its location on the nearest column. A small stream of murky water seeps into the chamber by way of an aqueduct along the top of the western wall. From the darkness to the east you hear a soft voice, its tone at once soothing and sinister.

The voice is that of Officer Naragal, an iron ghoul, who is attempting to coax Hada's deep drake away from its sleeping mound in the cistern's northeast corner. Interrupting Naragal has the following consequences:

Officer Naragal's Tactics: Officer Naragal attacks the PCs. He uses the columns as cover. Even if he is struck by the drake's necrotic breath weapon, he does not retaliate; the drake is too valuable to him.

Planting Charun's Beacon: The beacon can greatly assist the party in this potentially deadly encounter. Planting the beacon and unfurling its linen wrappings requires an action. Doing so has the following consequences:

Once his fight against the death butterfly swarm ends, Naragal can attempt to destroy the beacon with his glaive. Destroying the beacon requires Naragal to be adjacent to it and use an action to slice it in two (no roll required).

Hada's Cage: In the southeast corner of the cistern, five children are trapped inside Hada's bony prison, all 6 to 10 years old. Two boys, Sama and Yurj, and three girls, Ela, Omine, and Belo, watch the fight in terror. The youngest, Sama, is ill and injured. The children refuse to leave the relative safety of the cage until the combat is over. Even afterward, the children need to be convinced before they believe that they have been rescued. Coaxing them from the cage takes a confident and comforting tone (Diplomacy DC 12), or the offer of curing (healing spells) or tending to Sama's injuries (Medicine DC 12).

The Table: Hada's table contains numerous components for necromancy spells. A close study (Investigation DC 14) of her work indicates that she had a fascination with exploding bones. A careful examination (Perception DC 14) of the table itself reveals a hidden drawer containing a bone handled +2 dagger, a spell scroll (3rd level) of animate dead, two potions of supreme healing, and a water-damaged journal. The journal describes Hada's desire to use her magic to give orphan children better lives than her own. Most of the writing consists of her plans for avenging various wrongs done to her; her madness is evident.

Conclusion

When the characters return to the surface, Tallenya is there to pay their fee, assuming all went well. If the characters return with rescued children, payment is made. Given the evidence of ghouls and necromancy, the town authorities order the cistern and tunnel collapsed and Hada's furnishings and remaining items burned.

How Hada came to possess the egg of such a terrifying beast remains unknown, but the city would appreciate a group willing to explore deeper into the underworld, perhaps leading to an encounter with the Imperial Ghoul Outpost from this volume or other creatures of the deep earth who knew Hada. If Officer Naragal or any of the imperial ghouls survived, they might also have set a watch on the passages leading here, in anticipation of visitors from the surface.

Introduction

Fane of Serpents is a titanoboa lair suitable for three to five 10th-level characters.

1. Wellhouse

The well is 30 feet deep. The water at the bottom is brown but drinkable.

2. Lower Temple

The lizardfolk that remain on the plateau use this crumbling temple as their dwelling. The basket holds their next meal—five dead birds and a mostly dead rat. The twelve lizardfolk hide behind the temple (or wherever they can) and attack when most of the characters are inside the structure. They shoot their bows through gaps in the walls, gaining three-quarters cover from the stonework. When half are dead, the others flee.

3. Grand Ramp

A nest of three poisonous snakes is located behind the ramp, at the southern end of the structure. Otherwise, this level is empty.

4. Concealed Entrance

Two irregular passages that connect to Thont-Aisk's den are hidden behind heaps of rubble and foliage. The rubble is a mix of collapsed masonry and pieces of the cliff that have sheared off over the centuries. Rubble-filled squares on the map are extremely difficult terrain: every 1 foot of movement uses 4 feet of the moving creature's speed.

The titanoboa doesn't use these exits often, so the areas show few signs of disturbance. The openings can be found with a physical search of the immediate area—climbing over the rubble and pushing aside thorn bushes—but not by scanning it from 10 or 15 feet away.

5. Sun's Path

At the height of this temple's glory, the setting sun on the spring and autumn equinoxes shone exactly along the row of low pillars, squarely illuminating the great head in area 6, and the shadows of the pillars created the illusion that the head was floating. Curious characters can figure this out with a successful DC 15 Intelligence Nature or Religion check.

6. The Great Head

Aside from the great head, no features remain in this temple. The head is one of the ramag (see Unlikely Heroes for 5th Edition), an obscure race of portal-building humanoids that rarely leave their magical cities and planar redoubts.

7. NPC'S Camp

Karakin Aram and the other NPCs pitched their camp in the sheltered space between the ramp and the "wall" surrounding the temple of the great head. A careful search turns up 800 gp worth of valuables, mostly in the form of jewelry and gems sewn into blanket linings or in concealed pockets inside knapsacks.

8. Upper Temple

The lower level of the platform is 10 feet above the floor, and the upper level is 20 feet above the floor. At the center of the upper platform, an open pit plunges 50 feet down into a dark cavern. A strong animal smell wafts up from the pit. The sides of the cavity are curiously rippled in a deep, wavelike pattern; the indentations allow the titanoboa to slither up the walls of the shaft. Thont-Aisk will climb up from its den in 2d4 rounds if the lip of the pit is struck hard with a metallic object at least three times. This is how Aram summons the serpent.

9. Thont-Aisk's Den

Omit the final sentence of the read-aloud text if Thont-Aisk is not in its den for some reason.

The cavern is featureless except for stalagmites, stalactites, and the bones of the titanoboa's victims, accumulated over the centuries of the snake's life span. The floor of the cavern is difficult terrain for characters but not for Thont-Aisk. A 1-hour search among the bones reveals a stiff, moldering rucksack containing 700 gp, 10 pp, and some rotted paper. A second hour of searching uncovers a small wooden box containing 800 sp plus an opal-studded bracelet worth 50 gp, and a third hour uncovers a potion of flying and an electrum necklace worth 150 gp. No more treasure will be found after three hours.

Opposing Adventures

Karakin Aram is accompanied by two or three other NPC adventurers (include a fourth opponent if there are more than four player characters or if you want the final fight to be very tough on the PCs). You can decide the race and gender of each NPC. The individuals are:

Karakin Aram, a mage with a ring of evasion, a potion of invulnerability, and a potion of animal friendship.

Azat Avetis, a gladiator with a potion of fire giant strength and a potion of speed.

Stepan Zhirayr, a veteran with a potion of flying and a potion of fire breath.

Zabayda Gabukoj, a gladiator with a potion of heroism and a potion of invisibility.

These adventurers intend to ambush and kill the intruding PCs. They drink their potions just before entering combat. They attack as PCs explore the third level. Their most likely deployment puts Avetis nearest the enemy, Zhirayr poised to take to the air and attack enemy spellcasters, and Aram at the top of the ramp to level 4, where he can throw a few spells down into the intruders before racing back to the pit to summon Thont-Aisk. These NPCs are experienced pros, however, so they adapt their deployment and tactics to the situation. One might even engage the player characters in conversation to suss out their strengths or lure them into a trap (but the speaker won't be Aram).

Whether the NPCs are winning or losing the battle, eventually Aram strikes the edge of the pit to summon Thont-Aisk. The titanoboa arrives 2d4 rounds later, on its own initiative count. It won't attack Aram (because of his potion of animal friendship), but the other NPCs and player characters are equally appealing meals in its eyes. Typically, the giant snake attacks the closest target, but you can also select its victim randomly or choose the target that offers the most drama.

Introduction

Sky Stairs of Beldestan is a vampire warlock lair suitable for four characters of 14th level. It can be a lead-in to Citadel of the Void Dragon, or it can be played independently.

1. Mountain Road

The stone cells are each large enough to hold two or three people, and all have simple coverings over the doors to keep wind out. The fountain is fed by a mountain spring, and the water is extremely cold. The amulet seller Alina Skyseeker, the incense-seller Qakkim Paresh-walla, and the baker Khareem all hawk their wares to a steady stream of pilgrims.

Questioning pilgrims, merchants, and other visitors reveals basic information (no check required), and purchasing amulets or incense may provide additional information with a successful Charisma Persuasion check. See the table below for details.

Those who know the lore of Beldestan can make a DC 16 Intelligence Arcana or Intelligence History check to learn that the stairs are, indeed, the work of prehuman architects, and those who survive the trip to the top often return drastically changed.

2. Hermit's Hut

The hermit's hut is a communal gathering space for priests and pilgrims; it's the warmest of the shelters and always filled with smoke and incense. The priest of Azuran the Wind Lord is Gulham Kahn, a man of 40-some years with a long, curly black beard and a bald head kept wrapped in a sky-blue turban. He is eager to see someone, anyone, restore safe passage to the stairs, or at least to roust the rocs from their nesting site. To help in this effort, he offers a reward of 100 gp to anyone who pledges to climb to the rocs' nest and slay the creatures. He also advises them to make an offering (see area 3) before beginning the climb.

3. Gate of Sphinx and Camel

The sphinx is a petrified gypsosphinx that animates when questioned—it responds with a curse (as the hex spell so that attacks against the PCs deal extra necrotic damage and all characters suffer disadvantage on Constitution checks) that lasts for 24 hours on those who climb the stairs without making an offering of either bones or incense.

4. First Stairs

These stairs twist and turn in a rough spiral, and are made of reddish-black stone with streaks of white. Climbing them takes 6 to 8 hours. They end at a height of about 8,000 feet.

5. Roc's Nest Landing

These nests are home to three rocs, two parents and one of their fully grown offspring . The parents are in the nest nearer to the southeastern stairs down. The rocs have no treasure, and are delighted when food walks directly into their lair.

6. Second Stairs

Much like the first stairs, another few thousand steps go up. These are of a grayish-green stone and end at an altitude of about 16,000 feet. The air is much thinner here, and climbing these stairs takes 7 to 9 hours.

7. Meadow of Stones

The star drake calls himself Najma Al-Beldestani, and he considers himself the keeper of the meadow, which is a powerful oracular set of tablets. Anyone who casts a divination spell in the meadow discovers that it automatically acts as a higher-level spell (if the caster wishes). A guidance spell acts as augury, augury acts as divination, and divination acts as foresight (for a single casting). The two dwarves, Orgo and Rethsa, know this (and have brought a spell scroll of augury and an important question of their own). Few others know the secret, though Najma offers to "help guide the learning" of any priest in the party in exchange for a hefty bribe (1,000 gp in value or more).

The secret stairs here can be opened by finding the Tablet of the Azure Door; it is clearly labeled as "the stone of opening the way" in Draconic. Reading the invocation on the stone slab (or using a knock spell) opens the secret door. Najma can open and close the door at will (and can use it as an escape route if hard pressed).

If the star drake is killed, the party can find 330 gp, 1,000 sp, and a ruby worth 250 gp hidden under a fallen monument stone.

8. Hidden Stair

Unlocking the Azure Door opens a bluish, glowing portal that leads to thousands more stairs. If the characters do not open the door, other options include flying off the meadow of stones and up 400 yards to a reasonable landing spot on the stairs. Doing this might draw the attention of the invisible stalkers in area 9, and it prevents any possibility of surprise.

9. Temple of the Wind Walkers

At the top of the hidden stairs is Valeed Al-Zalam, the warden of the temple and a vampire warlock. He is served by six invisible stalkers and three dissimortuum. After long years of study, he believes he can summon and bind an elder monstrosity to serve him. Indeed, if he survives his encounter with the characters, he proceeds to summon a star spawn of Cthulhu to the temple, and then launches a rampage against all towns and villages near the stairs, carving out a new kingdom for himself and his followers of the gods of the Void in Beldestan.

Valeed's crypt is hidden within one of the temple pillars; finding it requires a successful DC 18 Wisdom Perception check or a detect magic spell. Opening it requires shattering the pillar (which has 300 hit points) or using magic to dispel the arcane lock on the pillar. Valeed's treasure includes spell scrolls of chain lightning, dispel magic, and cone of cold (which he might use in combat against flying foes) and a ring of protection +1 (which he wears). He wears a golden dragon torc set with turquoise worth 900 gp.

10. Lost Ledge

A character ascending the stairs by flying can see a small ledge on one side of the stairway, with glints of gold. This is a statue of Sunbright Farsheed, a dragonkin prophet of Azuran, that was lost 100 years ago when magic warped the stairs. The statue weighs 200 pounds and is worth 4,000 gp to anyone who can get it off the stairs. It is considered a deeply sacred relic by all those at the base of the stairs, so removing it by way of that route may prove problematic.

At your option, the statue might be haunted by a wispy shroud of pious Brother Qayoom the Eternal, once a priest of Azuram and now a simple haunt that can provide some advice to those climbing the sky stairs. He makes it clear that melting or breaking down the statue of Farsheed is an unholy and profane act.

11. Final Stairs

The last section of the stairs is guarded by three voidlings, which attempt to destroy and discorporate any creatures climbing the last section to the top.

Conclusion

If the characters make it past the warlock Valeed and to the top of the stairs, they might find a number of things at the top, depending on what direction you want to go next. Possibilities include:

Anyone who returns successfully to the base of the stairs is honored and welcomed, and given the title Al-Faraz, meaning "of the summit."

Introduction

Citadel of the Void Dragons is a void dragon lair suitable for four characters of 14th level. It is a logical sequel to Sky Stairs of Beldestan, but it can be played independently.

1. Top of the Stairs

The portcullis requires a DC 21 Strength check to lift. Close inspection reveals some claw marks of unusual size on the flagstones near the portcullis (where the dragons lift and lower it). Most visitors fly when they approach the citadel, but the gate keeps out those few who climb to the citadel.

2. Courtyard of Bones

The courtyard is the landing runway for the void dragons. A long string of chests filled with food for humans lines the wall next to the mage's chamber (area 5). The courtyard is otherwise deserted.

3. The Axis

The citadel's axis is, remarkably, a deeply flawed and low-quality sapphire, weighing roughly 2 tons. It's the magical focus that keeps the citadel aloft; if it is struck or chipped with a bolt of magical force or a weapon, three things happen.

First, the axis resonates with a deep, ringing tone, and the entire citadel shakes as if affected by an earthquake spell. Creatures that fail a DC 18 Constitution saving throw lose concentration on spells. Creatures that fail a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw fall prone, and must attempt a second Dexterity saving throw; if this fails as well, they are flung off the citadel and begin falling toward the earth miles below.

Second, a chip of sapphire worth 1,000 gp is removed from the surface of the axis. This chip can be replaced in its original location with a mending spell.

Third, all creatures aboard the citadel are immediately aware that its stability is threatened, and they either rush to investigate or prepare to escape. The creatures of the chamberlain's tower (area 4) appear in rounds 1, 3, and 5 after the axis is struck.

Striking the axis with a mithral or steel weapon shatters the weapon (adamantine weapons are not affected). A bard who is given enough time with it might discover resonant frequencies and figure out its function in holding the castle aloft (a successful DC 16 Intelligence Arcana check is sufficient).

4. Chamberlain's Tower

This 100-foot-high chamber has stairs up to a second floor where the citadel's chamberlain once lived; dusty furnishings are neglected throughout the tower. The tower's chamberlain is long dead, but the tower's name has remained unchanged.

Its first floor is guarded by a corpse mound built of bones from the courtyard. The top floor is home to two monolith champions, and their commander, a spectral guardian that resembles a knight in red armor. They strive to keep visitors out of the citadel, either by escorting them to the stairs, or by chasing or killing those who will not leave peacefully.

5. Mage's Chamber

Yrsinestra has dominated a human mage named Olessy Plendremin to serve as a guardian (and later, as nanny and arcane tutor to her wyrmlings). The mage takes his new duties seriously, and will attack intruders in the courtyard or in his chamber. The twelve library automatons attempt to defend the library's books and scrolls, and a shield guardian defends the mage.

The chamber is filled with centuries of arcane lore. The manuscripts here are almost all concerned with star magic and shadow magic, with void creatures such as the mi-go and star spawn of Cthulhu, and with the life and power of the various living stars and celestial beings. The collection includes the spells dimension door and shapechange, in a wizard's spellbook, plus spell scrolls of daylight and cone of cold.

This is an excellent place to introduce spells of the Star and Shadow schools as well (See Deep Magic: Illumination by Kobold Press). Many such spells can be found in the chamber's writings with an hour of searching.

6. Skybridge

The doors on the bridge are magically trapped to discourage visitors from outside. Touching either door triggers a gust of wind spell, which pushes intruders who fail a DC 14 Strength saving throw off the bridge. The fall to earth results in 20d6 falling damage; the use of any flying or teleportation magic avoids the damage. Either door can be opened safely by saying "Open" in Draconic, Infernal, or the Void Speech; the word echoes loudly enough to alert inhabitants beyond the door that they have a visitor.

7. Jade Vault

Examining the jade pillars closely requires a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw against hypnotic pattern, or the viewer stands charmed until someone deals damage to it (usually, an angry void dragon or mage).

8. Upper and Lower Lookout Tower

The tower connects the courtyard side of the citadel with the bottom of the citadel's stone base, where a tower descends 100 feet to another lookout platform. Both are always watched by Arundara and Charita Amal, a pair of rakshasas bound in servitude to the mage Olessy Plendremin (see area 6). If the rakshasas see someone sneaking into the citadel, they ring a gong to alert the castle watch in the chamberlain's tower (area 4).

If the mage is slain, both rakshasa lookouts head for the stairs and leave.

One of the rakshasas wears a gold and mithral necklace worth 500 gp.

9. Mi-Go Gardens

The door to this chamber is heavy and airtight, to contain a rich atmosphere suitable for the growth of vegetation.

The room is home to six mi-go that serve the void dragon as messengers and scholars, dissecting creatures of the void and creating devices of interest to the mage and the void dragons. They fight to the death to defend the chambers.

The secret door to the south is an arcane passageway; it requires a DC 18 Perception check or a detect magic spell to discover. Once it is found, a DC 17 Intelligence Arcana check reveals that a knock or dimension door spell opens it, as does the ability to fold space (as the void dragons and mi-go can do with their void traveler abilities).

The mi-go tend their peculiar plants and extract ichors and spores from them for use in some distant trade. The gardens are almost ready for a final harvest, whereupon the mi-go midwives will return to their distant travels through the void. A successful DC 17 Intelligence Nature check reveals that the remaining plants include lampfruits (which glow even in an airless void) and purple starvines (which induce a state of vegetative hibernation and are useful in healing). Altogether, a dozen lampfruits and a half-dozen starvines are worth 3,600 gp to the right buyer.

10. Void Chamber

The void dragon uses mirrors to see visitors entering its lair. If the party enters by way of the stone block, convey the following information to any character who has a passive Perception of 16 or lower:

If any character has a passive Perception of 17 or higher, add:

If the party enters by way of the secret passage, read:

Yrsinestra, an adult void dragon, sits on the ledge 50 feet up; her mate is currently hunting. All intruders are met with a blast of stellar flare breath while climbing up to the ledge or flying to it—but the dragon doesn't stay there for long. As soon as intruders commit to coming up to the ledge, Yrsinestra leaps down to one of the three large sunstones and fights from that high ground with full attacks. She shifts position freely among the sunstones without needing to withdraw against non-flying foes.

11. Mirror Ledge

The nest where Yrsinestra perches above the main chamber has an excellent view of the chamber below. At the back of the ledge are three eggs that will hatch within 2 weeks. These large, orange-shelled eggs at first glance resemble smaller versions of the sunstones in the chamber below, and their exterior is extremely stony and durable (AC 20, 30 hit points each).

The treasure on the ledge includes 8,000 gp, three bars of platinum worth 1,000 gp each, a scattering of hundreds of semiprecious stones such as amethysts, turquoise, and chalcedony (worth a total of 2,500 gp), and a silver crown set with opals and peridots that is enchanted to allow the wearer to cast an alter self spell once per day.

In addition, much of the dragons' treasure is kept in an interdimensional vault. If the characters can find it (requiring detect magic and then knock), the vault contains a hoard golem serving as a guardian, and also holds 13,000 gp, 42,000 sp, 123,000 cp, three platinum bars (worth 4,000 gp each), a +3 shield, a staff of cold, and a ring of protection. The pride of their hoard is a matched set of star sapphires, each worth 5,000 gp and enchanted with a feather fall spell and a shield spell, which trigger when circumstances warrant. The sapphires emit humming, resonant tones related to the strength of ley lines and arcane forces around them; louder tones indicate greater magical energy.

Conclusion

If the PCs kill Yrsinestra, her mate Astraxis is motivated to seek them out, ideally with a company of twenty noctiny minions, its monoliths and mi-go, and whatever other survivors it can muster from the citadel. If the characters decide to turn the citadel into a fortress of their own, one of the living stars of the Court of a Million Stars will visit within three months, inquiring about their right to hold the property and suggesting that they declare their fealty to the Court. But that is another adventure entirely.

Introduction

A Triangle in Shadows is an umbral vampire lair suitable for a party of four 15th-level characters. Magic weapons are highly advised.

1. Entry Porch

Caragorn installed the statue of Zenobia as a joke. It is a nonmagical object, but those who later meet Zenobia will notice the resemblance, even though it portrays her before her transformation into an umbral vampire. The blindfold is his commentary on the woman.

The iron door is locked (requiring a DC 15 Dexterity check with thieves' tools). Making more than one attempt warns Marzel, the tower's concierge, of visitors, and he readies his hounds of the night that are currently in area 4. The door can be forced open (Strength DC 15) or destroyed (AC 19, 27 hit points).

2. Foyer

The sideboard contains drinks from the fiery to the diabolical (one of them is midnight tears, another one pale tincture, and two others are bottles of fermented kraken's blood). The pictures are of Caragorn and Philadon as they looked in life. Their uniforms are those of ancient nations (History DC 25 to recognize) that have been dust for centuries.

If Marzel knows the heroes are here, the right-hand door swings open and four hounds of the night rush out to attack. Marzel will follow, using his pipes to cast confusion on his foes, then switch to his bow and its sleep poison. If Marzel has not been alerted, the room is empty.

The interior doors are a rich, deep mahogany, and are unlocked. The iron spiral staircase is narrow—characters must go up single file—and is treated as difficult terrain. The staircase leads to area 7.

3. Marzel's Quarters

This room belongs to Marzel the dark satyr, who serves as the tower's concierge and attendant. He secures and butchers the bodies that the hounds of the night bring back, tends to the demands of his masters, steers the tower to its next destination with the soul organ, and keeps the riffraff from interrupting the idylls of Caragorn and Philadon.

Marzel has obsidian skin, red eyes, and insect legs. He has been provided with a bellboy's jacket and a small pillbox-style hat. If surprised, he buys time by casting fear or using his pipes to cast confusion, then opens the northern door to release the four hounds of the night within, and supports them with his bow and sleep-poison arrows.

A small chest beneath the bed contains 1,500 gp and 100 pp, taken from the bodies. His masters care not for money, so Marzel uses this for the house fund.

4. Kennel

Four hounds of the night currently roam the room. They attack anyone other than Marzel or the masters.

5. Kitchen/Workshop

Umbral vampires do not eat in the same fashion that mortal creatures do, but they do enjoy decadent smells and flavors. Marzel uses this space to reduce victims to their base essence, which is then either sprinkled over braziers to scent the upper room or smoked in a hookah. He also uses the area to prepare his own meals, and to work the mortal remains of his captives into components for the soul organ (see area 7).

The long table shows the fresh bloodstains of his most recent acquisitions, the three dwarven hunters. The large bin is stuffed with dorreqi parts that Marzel uses to make his sleep poisons and pipes. No recipes or formulae can be found, since he has been making these items from memory for a long time.

6. Meat Locker

IMarzel puts the remains of his prey here. The objects in this room vary from jerky-tough corpses to the freshly flensed and beheaded remains of the dwarven woodcutters.

An ochre jelly makes its lair here. The creature stays out of Marzel's way, hanging on the ceiling. If an individual paws through its treasures, however, it drops down and attacks.

7. Ballroom

This ballroom is where Philadon and Caragorn entertain mortal guests, who are later drained of their strength and life and taken to the meat locker below. The space has only a few items in it, including tables and chairs stored along the walls, and the soul organ mentioned above.

The soul organ is a magic device developed by Philadon that is made of the corpses of the vampires' strength‐drained victims. It looks like a large church organ made of glistening, fresh meat. Lungs and intestines serve as pipes, teeth become keys, and bones become foot pedals. When the organ is played, the decaying heads mounted over the keyboard scream. The soul organ moves the tower swiftly through the planes and protects it from divinations and other locating spells. In this way Caragorn has stayed one step ahead of Zenobia. Caragorn, Philadon, and Marzel all know how to operate the device, but anyone else must make a successful DC 30 Intelligence (Arcana) check to operate it correctly. The organ is fairly fragile (AC 10, 30 hit points) but can be repaired using fresh corpses—again, an easy task for Marzel, Caragorn or Philadon, but nearly impossible (DC 30 Arcana) for others.

If the heroes attempt to use the organ, the two umbral vampires in area 8 will be warned and prepared for invaders. If no attack comes within a half-hour, they come down into the ballroom, ready for a fight. If Marzel is still alive when the organ is used improperly, he comes immediately, bringing his hounds of the night.

8. Bedroom

Unless they are summoned elsewhere, Caragorn and Philadon are lounging here. They wear the tattered remains of the fine raiment seen in the portraits earlier. They are not receiving visitors at the moment

Both umbral vampires cast mirror image at once, then black tentacles. Only after attempting to restrain their opponents do they use their umbral grasp. They will use shadow blend, then strike for maximum efficiency.

Three rounds after combat begins with the two male umbral vampires, Zenobia, the third side of this romantic triangle, arrives. If the heroes have not dealt with Marzel, she will be at half strength (42 hit points) from her battle with the attendant. She calls Caragorn all sorts of names (Incubus! Tempter! Seducer!) and Philadon as well (Philanderer! Faithless! Betrayer!), but will attack the heroes first, deciding to sort out her differences with Philadon and Caragorn later.

The balcony over the City Fallen into Shadow might be an illusory projection, or a true portal into that realm (at the DM's option). If the former, dealing 20 damage to the illusion disrupts it. If the latter, breaking the window (again, by dealing 20 damage) moves the entire tower bodily into the tenebral plane of shadow. The huge creature is a peaceful native of shadow, and would have the statistics of a whale, but other natives are not as kindly.

The two small rooms off the bedroom (8a and 8b) are a bath and a closet. The bath is dominated by a large tub filled with shadows and blood. The closet is filled with ragged and archaic finery from all eras. It includes a cloak of displacement attuned to Philadon, and an arrow-catching shield attuned to Caragorn. They will equip these items if they suspect interlopers are in the tower. Also among the uniforms is a bag of devouring.

Conclusion

Destroying the soul organ traps the tower in its present location, and the tower loses both its magical nature and its baleful influence.

Breaking the balcony window on the top floor ends the illusion, or propels the tower into the Plane of Shadow itself, with consequences beyond the scope of this adventure.

The harp, the hookah, and six of the writhing stone statues can be sold for 250 gp each. The weapons on the wall are of archaic design, but nonmagical. The books are all in Void Speech and other esoteric languages and deal with magical theory, and the eight most usable can be sold for 250 gp each.

Zenobia is outraged at both Caragorn and Philadon, but will take out the heroes first to clear the battlefield. If the characters choose to flee, only then will the jealous umbral vampires fall on each other.