Page 223 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

QUALITH DOOR LOCKS EXPLORING T H IS L EVEL
Mounted on both sides of every door in the mind flayer
colony (areas 9 through 20) is a burnished plate of dark, All location descriptions for this level are keyed
alien metal embossed with a braille-like form of tactile to map 17.
writing known as Qualith. Mind flayers use their tentacles The caverns surrounding the mind flayer colony are
to read Qualith, which is composed in four-line stanzas dark and damp. The space occupied by the colony is
indecipherable to other creatures. A creature that touches smoothly carved from solid stone. Throughout this
a Qualith inscription, however, can receive fragmentary level, adventurers hear the constant thunder of the un-
insight into the multilayered thoughts contained in it. A derground river, which is especially loud in area 12 and
non-illithid that wants to understand a Qualith inscription slightly Jess so in areas 16 through 20.
in Seadeeps can make a DC 18 Intelligence check to inter-
pret the inscription. A failed attempt results in a crushing 1. TuNNEL PLEXUS
headache and requires the creature to succeed on a DC
11 Wisdom saving throw or develop a random form of The natural tunnel that descends from level 16 levels
short-term madness (see "Madness" in chapter 8 of the out before splitting into several passages that connect
Dungeon Master's Guide). A comprehend languages spell to areas 2, 5, and 6. These passageways have uneven
provides understanding of the inscription roughly equiva- floors and ceilings, the distance between which varies
lent to what a mind flayer would get from it. from 10 to 15 feet. Characters who navigate these tun-
Each door plate is imbued with psionic energy that func-
tions like an arcane lock spell. The Qualith inscription on nels occasionally come across the bodies of flumphs
the plate describes the genuflections a mind flayer must slain by the githyanki.
make with its tentacles to open the door. Other creatures
with at least four tentacles (such as flumphs) can imitate 2. DRIPPING CAVE
these motions to bypass the lock, provided they can inter- Water drips from stalactites that cling to the roof of this
pret the inscription. A creature must be within 5 feet of the damp, 30-foot-high cave.
door to open it in this way. Creatures without the requisite
tentacles and knowledge must deal with the lock by more 3. HALASTER'S MAW
conventional means, such as a knock spell. If magic is un-
available, a locked door can be forced open with a success- Most of this 30-foot-high cavern is taken up by a gaping
ful DC 30 Strength (Athletics) check. pit roughly 50 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet deep.
Clever adventurers might discover that a decapitated Its sides slope inward so that the floor of the pit is 30
mind flayer head, animated through an animate dead spell, feet long by 10 feet wide. A statue of a humanoid figure
can be used to access the locks.
lies shattered at the bottom of the pit.
The broken statue is all that remains of Aasathra
In the heart of Seadeeps, the ulitharid has built an Raghthroknaar, a female dragonborn adventurer who
enormous dynamo that channels the energy of an under- was turned to stone and placed here by Halaster to lure
ground river to power a series of interconnected metal other adventurers to their doom (see "Pit Trap" below).
capsules called psipods. The illithids under Extremi-
ton's command have kidnapped humanoids from Water- PITThAP
deep and Undermountain and put them to sleep in these A detect magic spell reveals an aura of transmutation
capsules, which link their dreaming minds to the ulitha- magic around the pit. Each time part of the statue is dis-
rid's dizzying intellect. These captives believe they're in turbed, the pit magically snaps shut like a giant mouth
Waterdeep, but the city they see and experience around and then slowly opens again. Creatures in the pit when
them is a fabrication created wholly by the ulitharid. it closes are crushed between its rocky walls and must
Within this alternate reality Waterdeep, or "Alterdeep," make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw, taking 88 (16d10)
Extremiton appears as any character it wants. Its favor- bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much
ite role to play is that of Durnan, the gruff, tight-lipped damage on a successful one. Creatures that are gas-
proprietor of the Y awning Portal. eous, amorphous (such as an ooze), or protected by an
Extremiton can make any environmental changes to impenetrable magical barrier (such as that created by an
Alterdeep and observe how its captive audience reacts. Otiluke's resilient sphere spell) take no damage.
Meanwhile, it continues to use its telepathy to reach out
to the Waterdavians in the city above, gathering more 4. FLUMPH CLOISTER
information to better realize its version of the city. Flumphs. Stalactites cling to the roof of this 20-foot-
high cavern. Lurking among them are nine ftumpbs.
G ITHYANKI
The flumphs are passive creatures that fight only in
After tracking the splinter colony of mind flayers to Un- self-defense.
dermountain, githyanki forces from level 16 have begun Secret Door. A secret door in the south wall is carved to
their systematic eradication of the illithid presence. resemble natural stone.
The githyanki forces on this level await reinforce- The flumphs telepathically share the following infor-
ments from level 16. Yaveklar, the knight in command, mation with friendly visitors:
intends to personally cut off the ulitharid's head and
present it to her superiors. Her second in command, • Mind flayers have established a splinter colony on this
Lashiir, wants to see Yaveklar stripped of her command level (areas 9 through 20). An ulitharid called Extremi-
for incompetence. ton leads the colony. Once the colony is secure and its

LEVEL 17 I SEADEEl'S
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