Page 115 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

Steamer. Water dripping from a crack in the ceiling 17A. BONES IN THE MUD
falls into a cylindrical metal contraption at the center The water here is 2 feet deep, and the cavern floor be-
of the cave, and steam billows out of it. neath it is littered with yuan-ti bones.
Nagas. Unless they have been drawn elsewhere, two
spirit nagas named Excrutha and Serakath lounge on 17B. D EATH OF A NAGA
the floor near the back of the cave (see "The Ssethian The phantasmal scene of a spirit naga battling four
Scourges," page 109). yuan-ti purebloods plays out for characters who set foot
Chest. A wooden chest stands against the east wall. on this island. As characters view the scene, they find
themselves literally being drawn into it.
The nagas don't fear death, but they do fear the loss
Each character drawn into the scene temporarily be-
or theft of their rod of rulership and will do everything
comes one of the yuan-ti fighting the wounded Hexacali.
they can to safeguard it. A battle here attracts the thralls
The character gains the statistics of a yuan-ti pure-
from areas llb and !Sf, assuming they're still around.
While Agorra is under the effect of the rod of ru/er- blood with 2d20 hit points remaining.
Hexacali, a spirit naga with 3S hit points, is trapped
ship, she believes the nagas to be her allies and defends
on the island and fights yuan-ti characters to the death.
them to the death. She carries the key to the manacles
in area 13. Yuan-ti characters who drop to 0 hit points during this
fight immediately come to their senses and take 22
The steamer consists of two iron chambers stacked
(4d10) psychic damage from the shock of their illusory
on top of each other. Magical fire burns in the bottom
chamber, heating water that pours into the top chamber demise. Unlike any damage sustained in the battle, this
psychic damage is real. A character free of the vision
through the crack in the ceiling. Small holes in the sides
can free another character from it by using an action to
of the top chamber allow steam to vent into the cave,
shake or slap them.
keeping it warm and moist.
Treasure. One spirit naga has a rod of rulership If the characters defeat Hexacali, their last collective
coiled in its tail at all times. The rod's magic has been memory is of pinning the naga down to be slain and
spent for the day and can't be called upon again until the raised as a bone naga. The vision then ends for all char-
acters and can't take hold of them again.
next dawn.
The chest is unlocked and contains SOO pp, 330 gp, 17C. MIRROR GATE TO LEVEL 10
a silver necklace in the form of entwined serpents (2SO A wedge of dry land rises from the water to become the
gp), and a spell scroll of modify memory.
floor of a IS-foot-high cave with a mirror mounted to its
eastern wall.
15D. UNUSED LABORATORY
The mirror is framed by an assemblage of hundreds
A wooden table covered with alchemist's supplies stands
against the north wall of this damp, IO-foot-high cave. of tiny interlocking stone gears. This mirror reflects nor-
mally and is one of Halaster's gates (see "Gates," page
l5E. SPRING I2). Its frame is composed of an assemblage of hun-
A steady stream of water pours out from a crack in the dreds of tiny, interlocking stone gears. This gate's rules
wall of this alcove. The water fills up a natural stone are as follows:
basin, which in turn overflows onto the muddy ground. • Any creature that inspects the frame and succeeds on
This spring provides clean water. a DC IS Wisdom (Perception) check sees that one of
the gears has popped out slightly. If it is pressed, the
15F. TROLL GUARD POST
gear locks in place, causing all the gears to turn and
Two trolls charmed by the nagas' rod of rulership are the gate to open for 1 minute. When the gate closes, a
crammed in this alcove until they are drawn elsewhere.
different random gear pops out slightly, causing all the
gears to lock again.
16. LAIR OF THE BONE NAGA
• Characters must be 11th level or higher to pass
Bones. This 30-foot-high cave appears empty except for through this gate (see "jhesiyra Kestellharp," page
the bones of numerous creatures (humanoids and yu- 10). The first creature to pass through the gate trig-
an-ti) visible beneath the water. gers an elder rune (see "Elder Runes," page I2).
Hexacali. Lurking amid the bones is a bone naga (for- A creature that passes through the gate appears in
merly a spirit naga named Hexacali). area 2Sb on level IO, in the closest unoccupied space
next to the identical gate located there.
The bone naga tries to slay any living creature that
enters its domain. Creatures moving through this area
18. SERPENT GATE
must succeed on a DC IS Wisdom (Perception) check or
be surprised when the bone naga attacks. These 10-foot-high side caverns feature a standing gate
that grants access to level 11. Strikingly beautiful carv-
17. BATTLEFIELD C AVERN ings of serpents decorate the walls of these caverns.
This 30-foot-high cavern was the main front of the battle 18A. TRAPPED APPROACH
between the yuan-ti and the nagas.
An old yuan-ti trap meant to prevent approach to the
gate still functions in this area. A pressure plate under
the water and mud extends the full width of the cavern
entrance. A character searching the cavern for traps

LEVEL 8 J SLITHERSWAMP