Page 255 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

SHADOWDUSK EXPEDITION attack the golem incur its enmity. Otherwise, it shows
An expeditionary force has been sent from Shadowdusk little interest in them.
Hold (level 22) to collect Runestone fragments. The The mad golem is a stone golem with a challenge rat-
force consists of a chaotic evil human archmage named ing of 12 (8,400 XP) and these changes:
Akarrth Shadowdusk, a beholder named Gz'zarp, two • The golem is Huge and has 264 (23dl2 + 115)
grells, and two nothics. The grells and nothics are hit points.
Akarrth's servants, the beholder his tenuous ally. • Each of its slam attacks deals 24 (4d8 + 6) bludgeon-
The characters can easily strike up an alliance with ing damage on a hit:
Akarrth, but any such pact is doomed to crumble in • It has Intelligence and Charisma scores of 9.
short order because the archmage is insane. • It understands the following languages but can't
Treasure. Akarrth carries a wooden rod carved with speak: Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Dwar-
tentacles that serves as an arcane focus (10 gp), as well vish, Elvish, Infernal, and Undercommon.
as a spellbook bound in mind flayer skin that contains
all the spells he has prepared. The golem is too big to fit down any tunnel smaller
than 10 feet wide. Left to its own devices, it remains
here and waits for another Stonecloak to wander into
R UNESTONE CAVERNS the area, then attacks it.
All location descriptions for this level are keyed to map
20. The caverns and tunnels are uniformly damp from TREASURE
water that enters through narrow cracks in the walls Any character who searches the interior of the forge and
and ceilings, and the sound of dripping water echoes succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check finds
throughout. the soot-covered tinderbox, which contains a single
bead of force.
1. DESICCAT ING SYMBOL
3. SUNKEN PARADISE
At the end of the tunnel that leads down from level 19,
Ezzat has inscribed a glyph on the floor using a modified This cavern has a peaked roof 30 feet high and features
version of the symbol spell, requiring a successful DC a broad crevasse 300 feet deep. A rocky ledge surrounds
20 Intelligence (Investigation) check to spot. Cast using the crevasse.
a 9th-level spell slot, the glyph triggers the death effect After descending 200 feet, the crevasse breaks
(save DC 20) when any creature crosses over it. After through the roof of a vast cavern not shown on map 20.
the effect is triggered, ghostly skulls float above the area This otherworldly cavern is 100 feet high, 1,200 feet
where the glyph is inscribed. long, and 800 feet wide. It has the following features:
Light. The cavern is lit by phosphorescent moss that
2. MAD GOLEM'S LAIR grows on weird rock formations along the walls. A
Characters who approach this cavern from any direction dozen giant fire beetles that primarily feast on car-
hear stone smashing against stone. The cavern has a rion dwell here, adding to the illumination.
peaked roof 50 feet high and the following features: Fungi Forest. Half the cavern is a forest of towering
zurkhwood, interspersed with barrelstalks, bluecaps,
Construct. A hulking, mobile mass of jumbled stone
stands atop a natural rise in the center of the cavern. and trillimacs (see "Fungi," page 59).
It is using its fists to smash something. Lake. The other half of the cavern contains a 30-foot-
Forge. Carved into one wall is a stone forge that hasn't deep lake fed by three small waterfalls. Several small
been lit in ages. A rusty iron anvil sits atop a 1-foot- rocky islands rise out of the lake, each holding a num-
ber of empty huts (an abandoned kuo-toa settlement).
high granite plinth in front of the forge.
The fungus forest and the underground lake are home
The jumbled construct was once a 10-foot-tall stone
golem created in the image of Ha laster. In its madness, to all kinds of subterranean wildlife, including bats,
it has attached so many pieces of other Stonecloaks to fish, and non-biting insects. For characters who reach it
itself that it has become a lumbering, 17-foot-tall amal- safely, the cavern provides a secure, idyllic refuge from
gamation of stone torsos, limbs, and heads-all of which the perils of Undermountain.
resemble parts of the Mad Mage. 4. MYCONID COLONY
Any character who gets close can see that the object
being destroyed by the mad golem is a stone golem A myconid colony manages to thrive in this area, since
that resembles Halaster. Even if the characters inter- the tunnels leading to these caves are too narrow for the
vene quickly, the Stonecloak is already in pieces and Stonecloaks to squeeze through. The myconids must
can't be saved. endure the occasional gargoyle attack, however.
As the characters observe it for the first time, the mad The myconids provide strangers with food, water, shel-
golem removes the Runestone fragment from the pul- ter, and safe passage through their small domain.
verized remains of its latest victim and swallows it, then
begins attaching pieces of the destroyed stone golem 4A. MELDING CAVE
to itself. Swallowing the Runestone fragment allows Most of the myconids live in this cave, the ceiling of
the mad golem to ignore its Immutable Form trait and which is uneven and ranges in height from 15 to 30 feet.
restores all its hit points. Characters who interrupt or The cave's other features are as follows:

LliVEL 20 I RUN.ESTONE CAVERNS
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