Page 106 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

Decor. Hanging on the wall between the beds is a Treasure. The Dragonchess set weighs 30 pounds
7-foot-diameter sandstone disk carved with a medu- and has beautifully carved and enameled pieces. A char-
sa's glaring visage. acter who succeeds on a DC 25 Intelligence (History)
check realizes that the set is one of four made by Em-
33. SLAAD IN THE 0CTOBASS peror Umyatin, who ruled an ancient human civilization
called Imaskar that spanned much of Faerfin ten mil-
The door to this room is locked, its key lost.
lennia ago. Collectors aware of its history will pay up to
Windows. Two crystal-barred windows look out over 2,500 gp for the set.
the courtyard (area 23).
Furnishings. Four overstuffed chairs face each other 34B. CLOSET
with a low circular table between them. This closet is stuffed with robes, sleeping gowns,
Octobass. An octobass, a 12-foot-tall fiddle, leans in the shoes, and slippers hanging on racks or stacked neatly
northeast corner, its bow on the floor nearby. Trapped on shelves.
in the octobass is a naked old man (a shapechanged
gray slaad). 35. CLOAKROOM
Maddgoth removed the slaad's control gem and, for Apparel. Coats, cloaks, robes, wizard hats, and other
fun, ordered the creature to crawl inside the octobass apparel hang from hooks on the walls.
and remain there. Mind Flayer. Standing north of the door is what ap-
The old man claims to be Zartem, a wizard whom pears to be a mind flayer.
Maddgoth invited to the castle for dinner. He further Most of the apparel on display was taken from wiz-
claims that Maddgoth stole his spellbook and used ards whom Maddgoth killed. Consequently, they come
magic to trap him inside the octobass. If the characters in all sizes and fashions. Many of these items have ob-
shatter the fragile instrument, the slaad is no longer vious burn marks, tears, bloodstains, and other defects
bound by Maddgoth's parting instructions and attacks suggesting how their previous owners met their ends.
its liberators. The slaad prefers to fight with its great-
sword (which is hidden from view while it's in the octo- MIND FLAYER COSTUME
bass) or catch multiple foes in the area of a fireball spell. Closer inspection reveals that the mind flayer is a fea-
tureless wooden mannequin dressed in a convincing
34. MADDGOTH'S SUITE mind flayer costume, complete with black robe, cowl,
The frame of the outermost door has a platinum coin and rubber mask. A Medium character who wears the
wedged into it (see area 19). The door has a stained costume can make Charisma (Deception) checks to
glass "M" worked into its design. Anyone who listens at impersonate a mind flayer. Such checks are made with
the door hears deep snoring coming from beyond it. advantage if the costume is viewed in poor lighting or
from more than 15 feet away. A character who wears the
34A. MASTER BEDCHAMBER mask has disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks.
Maddgoth slept as little as possible and spent almost no A character who wears the robe and cowl has disadvan-
time here. The room's features are as follows: tage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks. The robe and cowl
can't be worn over heavy armor.
Decor. The wood-paneled walls are decorated with six
framed portraits of a fat, smiling wizard clutching
a wand. A thick, brown, wall-to-wall carpet covers
the floor. Maddgoth gathers intelligence on wizards across
Game. In the southwest corner, two wooden thrones Faerfin, prepares dossiers on several "promising" ones,
face an impressive Dragonchess set on a table. and stores these records here.
Bed. A large four-poster bed stands against the west
wall between two crystal-barred windows. A hefty fig- 36A. GATHERED INTELLIGENCE
ure sleeps under the covers, snoring loudly. This room contains rows of wooden cabinets stuffed
with disorganized files chronicling the magical exploits
The snoring lump under the covers is an illusion. of thousands of wizards dating back hundreds of years.
If the covers are pulled back, the snoring stops as it's Half of the dossiers are so old that they've crumbled
revealed that there's no one in the bed. Casting dispel to dust. Scrawled on most of the remaining ones is the
magic on the bed also ends the illusion. word "DECEASED" in Maddgoth's hand, while a hand-
A detect magic spell reveals an aura of conjuration ful of dossiers bear the word "LICH" instead.
magic around each framed portrait of Maddgoth. When
a creature casts a spell in this room or disturbs the fig- 36B. SECURE RECORDS
ure in the bed, the six wands depicted in the framed por- The door to this room is locked and trapped with a glyph
traits magically spring from their paintings, gaining the of warding spell. Maddgoth took the key with him, and
statistics of flying swords, and remain detached from opening the door by any means other than using the
the paintings thereafter. Replace the wands' Longsword proper key triggers the spell. Picking the lock requires
action option with the following: thieves' tools and a successful DC 15 Dexterity check.
Magic Missile. The wand shoots a dart of magical force at one An examination of the door accompanied by a suc-
creature that it can detect within 60 feet of it. The target takes 3 cessful DC 19 Intelligence (Investigation) check detects
(1 d4 + 1) force damage as the dart hits it unerringly. the nearly invisible glyph, which is scratched into one

LEVEL 7 I MADDGOTH'S CASTLE
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