Page 283 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

13. WALKING DEAD 16A. BURNED LIBRARY
Berlain (see area 18b) lost her temper here a tenday
Zombie. A human zombie in rotting, soiled robes ago and used multiple fireball spells to destroy the
shuffles back and forth through the room. A powerful
room's contents.
stench of decay accompanies it.
Furnishings. Moldy furnishings include a bed, a desk Burned Shelves and Racks. The walls are lined with
strewn with yellowed papers, and a barren bookshelf. burned bookshelves and scroll racks.
Charred Furnishings. The charred remains of three
The zombie is what remains of Zail Ephram, a human
padded chairs and three coffee tables lie atop badly
wizard and adventurer who was killed in Shadowdusk burned rugs in the middle of the floor.
Hold. Melissara Shadowdusk (see area lOa) used an
animate dead spell to animate the wizard's corpse. The 16B. LABORATORY
zombie has nothing of value and attacks any creature A workbench along the west wall of this area is covered
that disturbs it other than its creator. with tools, components, and magical apparatus.
The papers on the desk are architectural drawings. Treasure. The bench holds a set of alchemist's sup-
Characters who spend 1 hour studying the drawings plies, a poisoner's kit, a healer's kit, and an unlit lantern
can piece together accurate maps of tiers 1 and 2 of Sha- filled with oil. A recently brewed potion of invisibility
dowdusk Hold, except for secret doors and areas hidden rests among other vials that contain mundane liquids.
behind them.
16c. CLEAN ROOM
14. TRAINING ROOM
Antimagic. All magic is suppressed here, as if by an an-
Mannequins. Two wooden practice dummies stand timagic field spell.
near the east and west walls. Tapestry. A tapestry on the south wall depicts a land-
Racks. A weapon rack and an armor rack hang on the scape of trees made of tentacles, and floating islands
north wall, one to each side of the doorway. of rock covered with drooling mouths and bloodshot
Mats. Canvas mats stuffed with straw are spread out to eyeballs (see "Treasure" below).
create a sparring area in the middle of the room.
This room is used to rid objects and creatures of unde-
The armor rack contains two shields and two suits sirable magical energy that might destabilize a sensitive
each of leather, studded leather, chain shirt, and plate experiment. In addition to the antimagic effect always
armor. The weapon rack contains one matched pair active in the room, any creature that passes through
each of longswords, daggers, battleaxes, quarterstaffs, this area has any magic items it carries and any magical
warhammers, and spears. effects active on it suppressed for ld4 minutes after it
exits. Detect magic cast from outside the room does not
15. FOUNTAIN detect the antimagic field.
Treasure. The tapestry weighs 30 pounds and is
A low-walled marble fountain with a statue of an aboleth
worth 250 gp (assuming the characters can find a buyer
as its centerpiece dominates the room. Water spills from
the aboleth's mouth and splashes noisily into the stone who appreciates its disturbing, otherworldly imagery).
basin. Drain holes in the basin's rim prevent overflow.
17. VERTRAND'S ROOM
TREASURE Vertrand. A bald, elderly man (Vertrand Shadow-
A detect magic spell cast on the fountain reveals an dusk) sits at a writing desk to the north, his back to
aura of conjuration around the aboleth statue, contained the doorway.
within which is the source of the water: a decanter of Bed. A simple bed stands against the south wall.
endless water. The decanter can be obtained only by de- Tapestry. A tapestry hanging on the east wall depicts
stroying the statue, which has AC 17, 60 hit points, and noble members of the Shadowdusk family, their fea-
immunity to poison and psychic damage. tures distorted in unnatural and frightening ways.
(Close examination reveals that the tapestry has been
TIER 2 damaged by mold, rendering it worthless.)
Stairs from areas 3 and 9 lead down 50 feet to tier 2. Vertrand has smooth flesh where his eyes should be,
Vertrand and Berlain, two thoroughly corrupt and evil for he surrendered his ocular orbits to a Far Realm
members of the Shadowdusk family, inhabit this tier. entity in exchange for blindsight. Having foreseen the
Barely perceptible whispers can be heard throughout arrival of intruders, Vertrand has elected to face them
the tier, and shadowy forms constantly writhe and recoil alone. "Death owns us all," he says, before rising to his
at the corner of each character's eye. feet and unleashing his destructive spells.
Vertrand is a human archmage, with these changes:
16. ARCANE SANCTUM
Vertrand is chaotic evil and speaks Abyssal, Common,
Three invisible will-o'-wisps linger in this area in case Deep Speech, and Undercommon.
Vertrand or Berlain require their services. • He has blindsight out to a range of 60 feet, but is blind
beyond this radius.
• He has the confusion spell prepared instead of
banishment.

LEVEL. 22 I SHADOWDUSK HOLD