Page 277 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

not bestowed on any character who releases one or both Treasure. Scattered among the bones at the south
mariliths that are trapped in the crystal menhirs (see end of the tunnel are 1,300 sp, 600 gp, and a thin gold
"Standing Gate to Level 19" below). playing card stamped with the image of a masked man
Nycaloth. Raxxus serves as the planetar's execu- and titled "The Thief." The card is worth 10 gp and com-
tioner, ready to step forward and slay whatever Fazrian pletes a deck of cards found in area lOb.
commands it to kill. Raxxus can summon other yugo-
loths (as described in the "Variant: Yugoloth Summon- 24. SECRET VAULT
ing" sidebar in the "Yugoloths" entry in the Monster
This oval chamber has a domed ceiling 20 feet high, as
Manual) and tries to do so if reinforcements are needed.
well as the following features:
Characters who defeat the planetar can tempt Raxxus
with a bribe. Treasure in the amount of 10,000 gp or Bloody Hand. Dry blood stains every surface except for
more can change the nycaloth's attitude toward the a patch in the shape of a giant hand on the back wall.
party from hostile to indifferent; treasure in the amount Head and Mace. Piled in the middle of the room are ten
of 25,000 gp or more changes its attitude to friendly. shattered stone chests. A mace and a headless human
Raxxus won't hurt the characters if it's indifferent corpse lie on the floor next to this rubble. The corpse's
toward them and helps the characters if it's friendly to- severed head lies a few feet away. Maggots feast on
ward them. The nycaloth's disposition reverts to hostile the rotting remains.
if the characters threaten it or fail to make payment in a Any character who succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence
reasonable amount of time. (Religion) check realizes that the hand shape on the
Standing Gate to L· evel 19. The crystal menhirs are back wall resembles the symbol of Torm.
indestructible and form one of Halaster's magic gates Characters who witnessed the ghostly scene in area
(see "Gates," page 12). Striking either menhir with a 7 recognize the corpse as that of the cleric in the vision.
hard object or targeting one or both with a shatter spell Brythia Mulspeer and her adventuring companions
deals no damage, but causes an affected standing stone were exploring Undermountain when the perils became
to emit a loud ringing that awakens the marilith demon too much for them. Brythia petitioned Torm for aid, and
inside. Nothing else causes these demons to awaken. Fazrian answered the summons. The planetar provided
The first thing an awakened marilith does is free itself much-needed assistance and healing, then chose to
using its Teleport action option. The mariliths are hos- remain by Brythia's side as the adventurers descended
tile toward all creatures that aren't demons, and they de- deeper into Undermountain. When blood lust finally
spise angels most of all. If a marilith is released in Faz- took hold of the planetar, it turned on the adventurers
rian's presence, the demon and the angel fight until only and decapitated Brythia with its greatsword. This for-
one is left standing. If the planetar is forced to fight one mer cleric of Torm can be questioned using speak with
marilith by itself, assume that Fazrian emerges victori- dead. Having succumbed to Fazrian's blood lust, Brythia
ous with 60 hit points remaining. If forced to fight both wishes only to see the planetar redeemed.
mariliths by itself, Fazrian is killed and each demon is
left with 60 hit points. TREASURE
After being released from its menhir, a marilith can be The mace is a mace of smiting that belonged to Brythia.
magically compelled to divulge the command word that Characters who witnessed the ghostly scene in area 7
activates the gate. A legend lore spell or similar magic recognize the mace as the weapon used by the cleric in
also reveals the command word. The current command that vision.
word is "Yuraj," but Halaster changes it every few days. The stone chests once contained coins hidden here by
The rules of this gate are as follows: Melairkyn dwarves. The duergar broke open the chests
and dumped the coins in a mining cart in area 18d.
• The gate opens for 1 minute if a creature speaks the
proper command word within 10 feet of it.
• Characters must be 15th level or higher to pass AFTERMATH
through this gate (see "Jhesiyra Kestellharp," page Fazrian's death enables the duergar to regain control of
10). The first creature to pass through the gate trig- the Terminus Level. Valtagar has no immediate plans
gers an elder rune (see "Elder Runes," page 12). other than to fortify the level and prepare for his even-
• A creature that passes through the gate appears in tual return to Gracklstugh.
area 7 on level 19, in the closest unoccupied space Any yugoloths that remain make the best of a bad
next to the similar gate located there. situation. Aximus and Exekarus are more likely to aJly
with the duergar than with a band of adventurers, while
23C. GARBAGE D ISPOSAL
Raxxus prefers to accompany the adventurers rather
A 20-foot-wide, 20-foot-high tunnel at the bottom of the than stay with the duergar. If Xindulus is alive, the ul-
pit in area 23b leads south before coming to a dead end.
troloth takes its chances in Shadowdusk Hold (level 22),
The floor of the tunnel is covered with bones, bits of ad-
trying to forge an alliance with the death knights there.
venturing gear, and other debris.
Regardless of what happens, the Mad Mage contin-
At the end of the tunnel lurk three hungry otyughs.
ues to use the Terminus Level as a dumping ground for
When they detect other creatures in the pit, they rush failed monster experiments. Characters who leave the
forth and attack while using their Limited Telepathy to level and later return might encounter one or more of
taunt prey.
these horrors.
L£VE1 21 I TERMINUS LP.VF.l.