Page 265 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

22A. MAGIC CIRCLE Demon. A marilith demon slithers about the room.
Phylactery. Lying in the middle of the floor is a small
Circle. A circle of runes is inscribed on the floor.
Door Symbol. The door to area 22b has a large symbol ornate metal box (Ezzat's phylactery).
chiseled into it. (The symbol is Ezzat's personal sigil, Ezzat recently summoned the marilith to guard his
which appears nowhere else in the tower. It is purely phylactery. A geas spell cast on it by the lich requires the
decorative.) demon to protect the phylactery against theft or destruc-
tion. The marilith takes out its frustration at being stuck
A character who examines the circle and succeeds on
here· by attacking intruders. If a character snatches
a DC 13 Intelligence (Arcana) check can determine that
it confers the same benefit as a magic circle spell that the phylactery and flees, the marilith tries to pursue so
affects celestials, elementals, fey, and fiends all at once. as to avoid taking psychic damage from Ezzat's geas
The circle is permanent, but defacing any part of its in- spell. The stone plug in the floor is too heavy for the
marilith to lift.
scribed length renders it nonmagical.
A detect magic spell reveals an aura of transmutation
22B. EzzAT's SPELLBOOK magic radiating from the walls, which have more than
six hundred Runestone fragments embedded in them.
Statue. A shallow alcove holds a 6-foot-tall painted
Each fragment extends the duration of the geas spell
statue of Ezzat as he appeared in life. A leather-bound
affecting the marilith by 30 days. The Runestone frag-
tome (Ezzat's spellbook) is clutched to the stat-
ments disappear if the spell ends, their magic spent.
ue's chest.
The Runestone fragments can't be pried from the walls,
Secret Door. Hidden in the ceiling is a secret door lead-
ing to area 23 (see "Stone Plug" below). since the same magic that protects the stalagmite tower
from damage prevents their removal.
The statue projects an antipathy effect like that cre-
ated by an antipathy/sympathy spell (save DC 20) while PHYLACTERY
the spellbook is in its grasp. The spell affects all crea- Ezzat's phylactery is a box 6 inches long, 3 inches wide,
tures except Ezzat and is inactive whenever the spell- and 4 inches tall that weighs 2 pounds. It is made of ada-
book is removed from the statue. mantine with gold trim, and its interior is inscribed with
No spells or other magical effects can move or dam- tiny silver runes. A detect magic spell reveals a powerful
age the statue, which is a Medium object with AC 17, 33 aura of necromancy magic around it. Any character who
hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. examines the box and succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence
If the statue is destroyed, it turns to dust. A delayed blast (Arcana) check recognizes it as a lich's phylactery. (For
fireball spell (save DC 20) then immediately detonates in more information on lich phylacteries, see the "Lich"
its space. entry in the Monster Manual.)
Stone Plu.g. The secret door in the ceiling is an air- Destroying Ezzat's phylactery requires that it be
tight, circular stone plug 8 feet in diameter. A character struck by eight disintegrate spells at the same time. A
who examines the ceiling closely can spot the circular legend lore spell cast on the box provides the following
seam in the rock with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Per- insight: "Seek out eight magi who possess the power
ception) check. of disintegration and bring them to common purpose.
The stone plug, which weighs 1,000 pounds, has its Their combined force can destroy the phylactery." Other
rim beveled to keep the plug from falling through the reliable divination spells provide similar advice.
hole. It can be pushed upward with a telekinesis spell or
similar magic, or obliterated entirely with a disintegrate AFT ERMATH
spell. Characters who have a combined Strength of 34 If the characters destroy Ezzat and give his phylactery
or higher can push the plug out of the hole, provided
they have something firm to stand on. to one of the genies on level 19 (or remove it from the
dungeon themselves), the lich is effectively kicked out of
Treasure. Ezzat's spellbook weighs 13 pounds and
Undermountain. This outcome pleases Halaster, who al-
contains all the spells the lich has prepared, plus the lows a promising apprentice to take over the stalagmite
following: alarm, arcane lock, burning hands, charm tower. Drivvin Freth, the drow archmage encountered
person, clairvoyance, comprehend languages, cone of
cold, delayed blast fireball, Evard's black tentacles, fear, on level 12, is a good choice. IfDrivvin is unavailable,
Halaster invites some other evil archmage to take up
feeblemind, flesh to stone, geas, hold person, ice storm,
residence in the tower.
imprisonment, knock, levitate, magic mouth, maze, me-
Halaster uses a magic scrying sensor (see "Halaster's
teor swarm, mislead, plane shift, prismatic wall, remove
Lair," page 311) to check on Haungharassk, his prized
curse, telekinesis, true polymorph, unseen servant, wall
of force, and web. giant snail, once a day. If he discovers that the snail has
been killed or stolen, the Mad Mage uses the Runestone
to scream epithets that echo throughout the caverns.
23. E ZZAT'S PHYLACTERY
If the characters destroy the Runestone, Halaster sets
Lich Cave. This room is carved to look like a natural out to destroy all the gargoyles and Stonecloaks on this
cave with a 20-foot-high, domed roof. Hundreds of level for failing him. He then begins luring and binding
pebble-sized crystals (fragments of the Runestone) demons to the Runestone Caverns- nalfeshnees, gla-
line the walls, flickering like tiny stars as they catch brezus, hezrous, and vrocks, for a start. Eventually, he
the light. might get around to trapping a demon lord here as well.

LEVEL 20 ( RUNESTONE CAVERNS