Page 11 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

UNCOVER THE 'TELEPATHIC SPY end, she does everything in her power to keep adventur-
Prerequisite: 9th level or higher ers in Undermountain alive. Her abilities are, however,
An ulitharid (see appendix A) has been using telepathy limited in her current, bodiless form.
to contact random people in the city and learn all it can Jhesiyra can exert control over Halaster's magic gates,
about Waterdeep. Those the creature has contacted keeping adventurers from passing through them if she
know nothing of the ulitharid's true nature, only that an thinks they lack the might needed to defeat the perils be-
alien intellect has reached out to them for information. yond. In terms of game rules, characters are prevented
Word of these telepathic intrusions has begun to spread from passing through a gate when their experience level
throughout the city, gaining traction as more than just fails to meet a prerequisite (the recommended character
a mad rumor. Several of Durnan's regular patrons have level for which the dungeon level is designed). Any char-
spoken at length about it, and Durnan believes the acter who doesn't qualify is pushed back without being
source might be somewhere in Undermountain. In fact, harmed when trying to step through the open gate. Only
he thinks a horrific, psionic monster called an elder a wish spell can allow a character to pass through. As
brain might be lurking in the dungeon. Not wanting to the Dungeon Master, you can suspend this restriction
alarm anyone with rumors of mind flayers, he keeps this and allow characters who don't meet the level prerequi-
conjecture to himself for now. site to pass through a gate, particularly if you think they
Durnan urges adventurers to find the source of the have the resources to survive and overcome that dan-
telepathic contact, learn its intentions, and put a quick gers that await them.
and decisive end to it if those intentions are hostile. (The Jhesiyra can't stop characters from moving between
ulitharid awaits them on level 17.) If the party deals with dungeon levels by more conventional means. Whenever
the threat, Durnan promises to make sure the deed is they enter a dungeon level designed for characters of a
never forgotten but offers no tangible reward. higher experience level,Jhesiyra sends them the follow-
ing telepathic warning in Common: "Turn back! You're
not prepared for the danger that lies ahead!" Characters
UNDERMOUNTAIN SECRETS are free to ignore her warning. She can't and won't elab-
Appendix C of this book contains the Secrets Deck- orate on the nature of the danger that awaits the adven-
paper cards for you to photocopy and hand out to the turers or communicate with them in any other way, for
players when their characters learn reliable information fear of being detected by Halaster.
about Halaster and Undermountain. Powerful divination magic can revealjhesiyra's dis-
Any character who spends at least four hours in the embodied presence throughout Undermountain. But
Yawning Portal is likely to overhear tall tales about the not even a wish spell or divine intervention will allow
Mad Mage and his dungeon. Not all rumors are to be direct, two-way communication with Halaster's former
believed, however, and characters need keen ears and apprentice.
sharp insight to determine which stories have weight.
Have each character make a DC 20 Intelligence (Inves- DUNGEON FEATURES
tigation) check or Wisdom (Insight) check. If the check
succeeds, the character learns a secret about Under- For the sake of avoiding repetitive descriptions, com-
mountain, and the player can draw a card from the Se- mon features of Undermountain are summarized here.
crets Deck. ALTERATIONS TO MAGIC
Players can hold onto these cards for later reference.
When the characters meet an NPC in Undermountain Halaster doesn't make it easy for creatures to enter or
who knows a fact, have one of the players draw another leave his dungeon. No spell other than wish can be used
card from the Secrets Deck to determine what that NPC to enter Undermountain, leave it, or transport oneself
knows about Halaster and his dungeon. from one level to another. Astral projection, teleport,
plane shift, word of recall, and similar spells cast for
jHESIYRA KESTELLHARP these reasons simply fail, as do effects that banish a
creature to another plane of existence. These restric-
Among the greatest of Undermountain's secrets is the
story of jhesiyra Kestellharp, who was one of Halaster's tions apply to magic items and artifacts that have prop-
most gifted apprentices until it became clear to her that erties that transport or banish creatures to other planes
Halaster was irrevocably insane. She fled, but Halaster as well. Magic that allows transit to the Border Ethereal,
dragged her back to Undermountain and trapped her such as the etherealness spell, is the exception to this
in the Citadel of the Bloody Hand, a dungeon complex rule. A creature that enters the Border Ethereal from
under Mount Waterdeep connected to Undermountain. Undermountain is pulled back into the dungeon upon
Jhesiyra escaped her prison when its wards failed leaving that plane.
during the Spellplague. To hide from Halaster, she mag- Magic that summons creatures or objects from other
ically confined herself in the stones of Undermountain. planes functions normally in Undermountain, as does
She now exists in a bodiless state, inhabiting the very magic that involves an extradimensional space. Any
dungeon itself. Halaster is unaware ofjhesiyra's pres- spells cast within such an extradimensional space (such
ence but also wonders over her disappearance following as that created by a Mordenkainen's magnificent man-
the Spellplague. sion spell) are subject to the same restrictions as magic
cast in Undermountain.
jhesiyra's plan is to use adventurers to defeat Halaster
so that she can seize control of Undermountain. To that

UNDERMOUNTAI N OV.ERVJEW
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