Page 120 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

drow, he is predictably treacherous. His silken words MEETING TH E HEADMASTER
are pleasant enough, but any alliance forged with him is Characters who trigger the alarm spell in area 1 are met
doomed to end badly- and most likely in bloodshed. by the headmaster, who otherwise dwells in area 15. When
Etan extends the false hand of friendship to new ar- in the company of visitors, the erudite arcanaloth tries
rivals while warning them to steer clear of the other stu- to remain civil even while impersonating the Mad Mage.
dents and the headmaster. "They're all insane," he says. It describes the academy in glowing terms and sings the
He likes to hang around where the action is, so he can praises of its excellent students and their devotion to
quietly observe where the characters keep their magic arcane magic. It claims to have a vested interest in all
items and spellbooks (which he fully intends on claiming that happens inside Undermountain and bears no ill will
toward adventurers who provide "a much needed sanitary
once they're dead). service" by ridding the dungeon of pesky monsters.
If the characters are just passing through on their way to
BONE DEVIL the lower levels, the headmaster offers to take them to the
A bone devil was accidentally summoned in the south- top of the stairs leading down to level 10. For safe passage
ern wing by Yarek, an overzealous student. After killing through Dweomercore, it requires one of the following:
its summoner, the devil discovered to its dismay that the • A payment of one magic item per party member
magic wards of Dweomercore prevent it from escaping • Slaying the bone devil in area 47
area 47. The arcanaloth offers adventurers safe passage If the characters choose to deal with the bone devil
through Dweomercore if they defeat the devil and send rather than give up their magic items, the headmaster
it back to the Nine Hells. leads them south through areas 2, 3, 6, 38, 39, and 46. It
waits for them in area 46b while they slay the devil in area
EXPLORING THIS LEVEL 47, then escorts them to the top of the stairs leading down
to level 10 as promised. After watching them disappear
Location descriptions for this level are keyed to map 9. down the stairs, the arcanaloth returns to area 15.
There are few light sources here; creatures that reside Visitors who decline the headmaster's offer are politely
in Dweomercore rely on darkvision or create their own asked to return whence they came and never show their
illumination with magic. faces in Dweomercore again. Those who refuse to leave
are attacked.
Any character who claims to be an arcane spellcaster in
1. ENTRY HALL
search of tutelage is invited to stay in Dweomercore and
These rooms form the entrance to what was once a lav- take the entrance exam. If the character accepts the offer,
ish underground mansion. the headmaster uses a teleport spell to transport itself and
the candidate to area 11 c, where it suggests the character
lA. LEFT HAND OF MANSHOON remain until the entrance exam can be scheduled. (If the
party includes multiple candidates, the arcanaloth keeps
Alarm. An alarm spell has been cast on the 20-foot-
square area marked on map 9. It silently informs the them together.) In truth, the arcanaloth expects the can·
didate to ignore its suggestion and explore the complex
headmaster in area 15 when visitors arrive. further. The entrance exam is actually about how the can-
Ceiling Mosaics. This room has a 30-foot-high arched didate deals with the other students. Any candidate who
ceiling. Bright mosaics on the arched roof depict wiz- can hold their own against the other students is granted
ards engaged in dazzling spell duels. admittance, having passed the headmaster's "exam"
Undead Guardian. Floating in the middle of the room, in so doing.
15 feet above the floor, is a man's withered left hand A character admitted to Dweomercore is free to wander
and forearm, severed at the elbow. the halls and talk to other students, until such time as that
character gets into trouble and is expelled or murdered.
Responding to the alarm spell, the arcanaloth makes
its way toward area 1 to greet the new arrivals (see the
"Meeting the Headmaster" sidebar). le. COAT ROOM
The limb belonged to a human archmage named The walls of this room are lined with rows of bare
Manshoon- or, more precisely, to one of his clones. The metal hooks.
clone challenged Halaster to a spell duel and lost more
than just the contest. Halaster turned the limb into a lD. WATER CLOSET
This room is equipped with stone sinks and toilets, each
guardian that attacks all intruders until the Mad Mage
or a creature that looks like him waves it off. The limb with a command word carved above it. The sink basins
has the statistics of an archmage, with these changes: and toilet bowls magically fill and flush with water on
command, and drain holes on their inside rims keep
• It is a Tiny, unaligned undead with 63 (18d4 + 18) hit them from overflowing. Two living unseen servants
points and blight prepared instead of banishment. (see appendix A) stand near towel racks, ready to hand
• It has a flying speed of 30 feet, and it can hover. out towels to guests.
• It has blindsight out to a range of 60 feet and is blind
beyond this radius. It can't speak or hear, and it can't 2. TRAPPED HALL
be blinded or deafened.
The recessed wall of this corridor has engravings of
eight wizards clutching staffs, each staff representing
lB. WAITING ROOM
This room contains six stuffed armchairs with garish a different school of magic. This hall also has two hid-
upholstery. den features:

LEVEL 9 I DWEOMERCORE