Page 139 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

Skeleton. An animated drow skeleton clad in a tattered 3A. NARTHEX
black cloak stands in the middle of the hall. The skele- Two 20-foot-tall statues of Lolth guard the mouth of the
ton is missing one of its hands and clutches a wand in temple. Each statue is a Huge object that can be climbed
the other (see "Treasure"). with a successful DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check.
The skeleton found itself trapped in this hall shortly West Statue. This statue depicts Lolth in her monstrous
after Muiral animated it. On each of its turns, the skel- form, with the upper body of a female drow and the
eton points its wand threateningly at intruders but can lower body of a bloated spider. From its upraised
do nothing with it, since it has no spells and can't speak. hands, the statue casts forth stone webs that fan
Bereft of weapons, the skeleton has a challenge rating of across the ceiling.
0 and is worth 0 XP. East Statue. This statue depicts Lolth in her drow
form, kissing a scourge as stone spiders crawl
TREASURE
across her body.
The skeleton's wand is a +l wand of the war mage.
3B. NAVE
3. HAUNTED ThMPLE OF LOLTH
Altar. An altar of pale gray stone carved to look like
This temple of the Spider Queen has vaulted, 30-foot- a rectangular mass of webbing stands atop a dais.
high ceilings draped in cobwebs. Muiral visits the tem- Three drow banshees kneel before the altar, weeping
ple to hear the lamentations of three drow priestesses as they utter prayers to their demon goddess. (Twen-
who lost all favor with Lolth and became banshees. ty-five feet above the altar, a 10-foot-square shaft in the
If Muiral (see appendix A) is here and detects the ceiling climbs 10 feet to level 9, area 41.)
characters approaching, he casts greater invisibility Braziers. Purple flames issue from stone braziers that
on himself and stands between the statues in area resemble giant spiders. (Originating from gas vents
3a. When the first character enters the room. Muiral under the floor, these flames shed bright light in a 15-
becomes visible as he casts a wall of force spell, using foot radius and dim light for an additional 15 feet.)
the barrier to cut off that character from the rest of the Corpses. The banshees recently finished off a pair
party. He then engages the character in single combat. of adventurers, leaving their corpses to rot in the
If the wall is brought down or he is outmatched, he casts squares marked X on map 10.
animate objects on one of the Lolth statues in area 3a or
Charinidia, Grazthrae, and T'riizlin were priestesses
on both spider-shaped braziers in area 3b.
transformed into banshees by Lolth for their vanity. If
Muiral stays at least 30 feet away from the banshees
their prayers are interrupted, they attack, staggering the
to avoid their mournful wail. He is immune to their hor-
timing of their life-draining wails as follows:
rifying visages, having gazed upon them many times.
• Charinidia wails on her first turn in combat.
• Grazthrae wails after taking damage for the first time
VLONW ELV'S PULPIT
in combat.
From the spider throne in area 2Sb, a creature can trans-
• T'riizlin wails after one of the other banshees is
mit messages that echo through every room and corridor
of Muiral's Gauntlet. The drow priestess Vlonwelv uses destroyed.
this device to broadcast propaganda, proselytize, summon
A detect magic spell reveals an aura of conjuration
subordinates, marshal forces, and taunt interlopers. As
magic around the altar, which is 30 feet long, 15 feet
the characters make their way through Muiral's Gauntlet,
wide, and 3 feet tall. Like a mass of webs, the altar has
they hear one or more ofVlonwelv's announcements echo
gaps across its surface. The first time a creature touches
throughout the dungeon, her words spoken in Elvish. A
the altar, eight swarms of insects (spiders) magically
few translations include the following:
pour out of it. The spiders quickly enshroud the altar
• "The Spider Queen blesses House Auvryndar! The bat-
and attack all creatures within 5 feet of it, pursuing prey
tle to break House Freth's hold on the passages below
that flees. If they are left alone, the spiders crawl back
brings victory after victory. We have seized key positions
into the altar and disappear after 1 hour, whereupon the
formerly held by our enemy. The defeat of House Freth is
inevitable. Praise Lolth!" trap resets.
• "Gelgos Argonrae and Jevan Kron'tayne are to be com- During his last visit to the nave, Muiral took any items
mended for the capture of a House Freth spy. Rewards of value from the dead adventurers. Characters who in-
shall be paid to each of their houses. Praise Lolth!" spect the corpses find the following:
• "The Spider Queen watches. We are all her children.
• The northern corpse (that of Kravos, a tiefiing rogue)
Praise Lolth!"
• "Minarra. Report to the temple at once." wears leather armor and clutches a shortsword. Ne-
• "Patrol Six, report to Captain Zress for immedi- crotic energy causes his flesh to shrivel.
ate orders." • The southern corpse (that of Zundra Underdottir, a
• "Pay no heed to false reports of an attack on our strong- dwarf barbarian) wears hide armor and has a greataxe
hold above. Our forces under the command ofT'rissa lying nearby. Her face is frozen in a horrific scream.
Auvryndar have taken Stromkuhldur. Skullport will swiftly
If a character casts speak with dead on a corpse and
follow. Praise Lolth!"
asks what it knows about Undermountain, the corpse
shares a secret determined by drawing a card from the
Secrets Deck (see appendix C).
LEVEL 10 I M UIRAl.'S CAVN1 I ET