Page 179 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

Tools. Leaning against the walls of this enclosure are 12c. NORTHERN FOREST
a pair of 10-foot poles, each with a loop of rope at one In addition to features similar to those in area 12a, the
end, and a battered wooden tower shield. body of an 8-foot-tall myconid sovereign lies among the
When Yargoth gives the order to attack, three hobgob- dead-pierced by multiple hobgoblin arrows and burned
lins acting on the same initiative count load, aim, and like the other corpses. If the sovereign is touched, it
fire each of the flame cannons. The hobgoblins discov- trembles with life, having stabilized at 0 hit points. If it
ered these siege engines during their initial exploration receives magical healing, it awakens and ejects a cloud
of Trobriand's Graveyard. of rapport spores so it can communicate with its rescu-
A flame cannon is a bulky mechanical contraption ers. Award the party 450 XP for healing the sovereign.
that hurls casks of alchemist's fire that explode on im- The myconid sovereign, Chanterella, has a flaring
pact. Before one of these weapons can be fired, it must yellow cap and a ruffled yellow body half cooked by fire.
be loaded and aimed. It takes one action to load the It recounts the hobgoblins' horrific attack and mourns
weapon, one action to aim it, and one action to fire it. the destruction of its colony. In gratitude for helping it,
Each flame cannon has three casks of alchemist's fire the sovereign gives characters its hidden treasure (see
resting next to it. "Treasure" below). Chanterella then urges the charac-
ters to seek out Zox if they're looking for allies. The my-
Flame Cannon. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 60/240
conid has a high opinion of the gnome.
ft., one target. Hit: 3 (ld6) bludgeoning damage plus 17 (Sd6)
Chanterella won't leave these caverns. Although its
fire damage, and the target catches fire. While on fire, the
colony has been wiped out, the myconid sovereign wants
target takes ld6 fire damage at the start of each of its turns. A
to try to regrow the fungus forest. After helping the char-
creature can end this damage by immersing itself in water or by
acters as well as it can, it bids them farewell and invites
using an action to make a successful DC 10 Dexterity check to
extinguish the flames. them to return whenever they feel like it.
Treasure. A 1-foot-thick, 10-foot-square patch of lumi-
The stone enclosure has a hinged gate made of sturdy nous but soot-blackened purple mold covers the roof of
wooden poles lashed together with rope and held shut the northern alcove (marked X on map 13). Buried in the
with a simple latch. The hobgoblins like to starve the mold are two gourds, one containing a potion of diminu-
rust monsters for a few days, then set them loose on tion and the other a potion of longevity. Chanterella grew
this level. The rust monsters can't escape from the pen the purple mold and can silently command it to extrude
on their own, but they are drawn to the scent of metal. sticky tendrils, which it uses to lower the potions within
The hobgoblins use the wooden tower shield and 10-foot easy reach.
poles to wrangle the rust monsters outside their pen and Sunlight, any effect that cures disease, or any effect
keep the beasts away from their metal armor. that deals radiant or necrotic damage destroys the mold.
Twelve giant fire beetle glands illuminate the rust If the mold is destroyed while the potions are still hid-
monster pen. Each gland is the size of a small loaf of den in its mass, the potions fall and shatter on the floor.
bread and glows for ld3 days before going dark. A character in the alcove can use a reaction to try to
catch one falling potion, doing so with a successful DC
12. PARADISE LOST 11 Dexterity saving throw.
These 40-foot-high caverns once housed a thriving
fungus forest and a colony of peaceful myconids. The AFTERMATH
hobgoblins slaughtered the myconids, then burned
Defeating the hobgoblins calms this level for a tenday.
down the forest. A thin, pungent smoke hangs in the air
After that, Doomcrown sends more hobgoblin raiders up
throughout these caverns.
from Arcturiadoom (level 14) to gather metal for his fire
giant masters-unless the characters take the fight to
12A. SOUTHERN FOREST
him in the meantime.
Burned Remains. Blackened and smoldering zurkh- Months of work are needed to finish construction of
wood stalks, their caps destroyed by fire, stand amid the Simulacrux. If work on the project continues and
the charred remains of what once were neatly tended
Zox completes his arch, there's no telling whether it
fungus gardens. functions as intended. Scaladar simulacra created by
Corpses. Lying amid the razed mushrooms are the the arch might be defective or uncontrollable. It's also
charred corpses of ld4 giant fire beetles, ld6 myconid possible that the Simulacrux might be able to create
sprouts, and ld8 myconid adults. The glands have
rust simulacra of other creatures besides scaladar. It's
been torn out of the fire beetles' bodies. equally likely that the Simulacrux won't function at all,
A character who inspects the corpses and succeeds on prompting Zox to tear it down and build another metal
a DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine) check can determine that monstrosity in its place.
the beetles and myconids were killed by slashing weap- If the myconid sovereign in area 12 survives, it re-
ons and arrows, then burned. leases spores to seed the scorched earth, giving rise to a
new colony of myconid sprouts. The fungus forest recov-
12B. CENTRAL FOREST ers on its own, though it takes years.
This area contains the same features as area 12a.

LEVEi 13 11'.ROBRIAND"S CRAVEYARD