Page 124 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

damage on a failed saving throw, or half as much dam- llE. ELAN'S ROOM
age on a successful one.
Familiar. Ela n's familiar, a black spider with blood-red
Treasure. Spite keeps a tiny jeweled chest inside his markings, clings to the wall above the door and tele-
rolltop desk. This chest (SO gp) is a replica of a full-sized pathically alerts the drow mage if it detects intruders
chest made of exquisite materials. The larger chest in the room.
(5,000 gp) is hidden on the Ethereal Plane by means of a Shrine. A small shrine dedicated to the demon queen
Leomund's secret chest spell.
Lolth rests atop a nightstand by the bed.
A character can recognize the miniature chest for
what it is with a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) After being alerted to the arrival of visitors by his spi-
check. Spite alone can use the replica to recall the der familiar, Elan spends 3 rounds traveling from area
larger chest, which contains two spellbooks titled Spells 13a to his dormitory. Elan greets strangers in a friendly
of Spite, volumes I and II. These books contain all the manner (see "Elan Tanor'thal," page 118).
spells Spite has prepared, plus the following spells: ar- The shrine almost resembles a lantern, designed to be
cane Jock, Bigby's hand, disintegrate, forcecage, gaseous easily transportable. Contained inside is a black basalt
form, glyph of warding, Leomund's secret chest, maze, statuette of Lolth in her drow form, strung with cob-
Melf's acid arrow, Mordenkainen's private sanctum, Ot- webs. A detect magic spell reveals an aura of enchant-
to's irresistible dance, Tasha's hideous laughter, telekine- ment magic around the statuette. Any creature that
sis, Tenser's floating disk, and true polymorph. touches the statuette must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom
saving throw or suffer a random form of short-term mad-
1
llB. SKRIANNA S ROOM ness, determined by rolling on the Short-Term Madness
Skrianna has filled her quarters with creature comforts, table in chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. A
including silk bedsheets, soft furs from exotic beasts, a creature that successfully saves against the madness
bowl of fresh fruit, a censer of burning incense, and a effect can safely hold the statuette.
cushioned wicker reading chair. Treasure. Elan's chest contains a set of black travel-
Slcrianna's Diary. Skrianna keeps a diary in her desk. er's clothes, a spider silk pouch containing 38 pp, and
The book affords a rare glimpse into the insane mind of a black cloak with a cowl. Pinned to the cloak is an
a Shadowdusk family member. In addition to expressing obsidian scarab engraved with the insignia of House
contempt for her peers in Dweomercore, Skrianna rails Tanor'thal (25 gp).
against the constraints placed on her by the headmaster.
She also speaks of an imaginary lover named Acamar, llF. NYLAS'S ROOM
who comes from the void beyond the sky, and talks A vile stench issues from an ogre zombie that stands
about visits to the Far Realm in her dreams. She makes against the wall opposite the door. Its orders are to de-
a passing reference to other family members, namely fend Nylas while he is asleep in the room and to protect
Zalthar and Dezmyr, who dwell in Shadowdusk Hold the Red Wizard's spellbook (see "Treasure" below).
(see level 22) and plan to return to Waterdeep in force, Treasure. Nylas hides his spellbook inside the ogre
aided by some kind of giant construct that Halaster is zombie's rotting torso. Characters who have a passive
' building in Arcturiadoom (level 14). Wisdom (Perception) score of 15 or higher and come
Treasure. Skrianna's dresser contains ten sets of fine within 5 feet of the zombie can see the spell book
clothes and a set of traveler's clothes. Her chest, which wedged between its ribs. A character can use an ac-
has a mirror attached to the inside of the lid, contains an tion to try to snatch the spellbook while the zombie is
intricately engraved wand of dark wood, a poisoner's kit, animate with a successful DC 12 Dexterity (Sleight of
and a vial of exquisite perfume (75 gp). Hand) check. No check is needed to remove the book if
the zombie is incapacitated or destroyed.
llc. VACANT ROOM Nylas's spellbook has covers carved from coffin wood,
This room is unoccupied. pages made of stitched humanoid flesh, and words writ-
ten in the Red Wizard's own blood. It contains all the
llD. CEPHALOSSK'S ROOM spells Nylas has prepared (see the mage stat block), plus
The rolltop desk in this room contains sixteen cloudy animate dead, blight, and contact other plane.
jars with preserved humanoid brains in them. The foot-
locker holds nine similar jars, all empty. Cephalossk 12. COMMUNAL SHOWERS
hungers for fresh brains but subsists on preserved ones This room contains five shower stalls with iron faucets
when no other food source is available.
and shower heads protruding from the walls. Water
Treasure. Cephalossk keeps its spellbook in a desk is channeled here from an underground reservoir and
drawer. The book is made of thin copper plates held heated by magic, quickly filling the room with steam if
together with mithral wire. Each page bears embossed the faucets are turned on.
stanzas of braille-like writing called Qualith, which the
mind flayer reads with its tentacles. A non-illithid must 13. RECREATION ROOM
use a comprehend languages spell or similar magic
to comprehend the writing. The book contains all the Students come here to relax and recuperate be-
spells Cephalossk has prepared (see the sidebar in the tween lessons.
"Mind Flayer" entry in the Monster Manual).

LEVEL 9 I DWEOMERCORE
.. ~ 123 A
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