Page 289 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

Cassiok is insane and attacks anyone who isn't a mem- Each pillar is a Huge object with AC 13, 60 hit
ber of his family. The grick and the gray slaad defend points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage.
him. If reduced to 20 hit points or fewer, Cassiok uses Destroying a pillar reduces the dracolich's damage
his next action to break his staff of power in a retributive threshold by 10.
strike, cursing the characters as he does so.
41. SHADOWDUSK VAULT
MORPHING STATUE The Shadowdusks store their family's wealth here. The
A detect magic spell cast on the statue reveals an aura walls climb 15 feet vertically before angling inward,
of transmutation magic surrounding it and a powerful coming to a point 30 feet above the floor. The room's
source of necromancy magic deep inside it. contents are as follows:
Without significantly changing its mass, the statue
shifts form every few seconds, becoming various mem- Hoard. Treasure is piled in the middle of the room.
bers of the Shadowdusk family and, every so often, Statues. Three statues stand in shallow alcoves. Each
depicting Halaster Blackcloak or other humanoid crea- depicts a monstrously warped humanoid.
tures that have come into contact with it over the years. Each statue is roughly 6 feet tall and shows a human
When a humanoid creature touches the statue, it tempo- figure in robes, standing with arms outstretched. Each
rarily morphs into that creature before assuming one of one has been warped by the power of the Far Realm:
its other forms. Regardless of the form the statue takes,
its features are slightly deformed, as though carved by • The western statue has a mass of tentacles where a
an inept sculptor. normal creature's head would be.
Phylactery. Embedded in the heart of the statue is a • The face of the southern statue has been replaced
black sapphire the size of an apple. This gemstone is with a chisel-toothed maw, and its arms resemble oily
worth 5,000 gp and serves as the phylactery of Lynno- pseudopods. The head of the eastern statue has begun
rax the dracolich (see area 40). If the dracolich is slain, to flow and melt, but it is still recognizable as Halaster.
its life force becomes trapped in the jewel until it can TREASURE
possess another dragon corpse and rise again. The gem The treasure hoard consists of the following:
is destroyed if subjected to the fiery breath of an ancient
red or gold dragon; it is otherwise impervious to dam- • 2,200 pp, 24,800 gp, and 14,000 sp
age. The statue containing the gemstone is a Medium • Three gemstones amid the coins: a topaz (500 gp), a
object with AC 17, 40 hit points, and immunity to all star ruby (1,000 gp), and a jacinth (5,000 gp)
damage except force damage. • A tiny, incandescent blue sphere easily mistaken for a
magic gemstone (actually an ioun stone of insight)
TREASURE • A child's rocking horse, half scorched by fire, with a
In addition to his staff of power, Cassiok carries a spell- gold music box (750 gp) tucked in a small compart-
book bound in green slaad hide. It contains the spells ment under the hinged saddle
Cassiok has prepared.
AFTERMATH
40. LYNNORAX'S LAIR
Any humanoid member of the Shadowdusk family
Ceiling. This room has a 40-foot-high, domed ceiling. killed on this level returns as a will-o'-wisp unless
Dracolich. Lynnorax, an adult blue dracolich, faces the certain precautions are taken (see "Exploring This
double door to the east and exhales lightning in that Level," page 278).
direction as soon as it sees intruders. If Zalthar and Dezmyr are destroyed, they eventually
Pillars. The four pillars that buttress the ceiling are re-form as death knights are wont to do. Their ambition
carved out of black crystal and inscribed with ar- and hatred burn too fiercely for them to be able to give
cane runes. up their dreams of conquest, and they are too corrupted
Lynnorax fights without fear, knowing that its phylac- by the Far Realm to be redeemed.
tery (hidden in area 39) will preserve its life force if its If they return to find the rest of their family destroyed,
skeletal body is destroyed. the death knights expand their hatred to include the ad-
A detect magic spell reveals auras of abjuration magic venturers who dared oppose them. Out of desperation,
around the crystal pillars, which grant the dracolich the twins try to forge alliances with other denizens of
a damage threshold of 40. While in this room, the Undermountain, such as the drow of House Auvryndar
dracolich doesn't take damage from any single source or House Freth, the mind flayers of Seadeeps (level 17),
unless that damage is equal to or greater than its dam- or the cult of Shar in Vanrakdoom (level 18). If no such
age threshold, in which case it takes the damage as nor- allies remain, Dezmyr and Zalthar look deep into the
mal. Damage that fails to meet or exceed the dracolich's Underdark and the Far Realm, drawing forth aberrant
damage threshold is magically negated by the pillars. horrors by offering them promises of a new life in Un-
Each time the pillars negate damage to the dracolich, dermountain.
their arcane runes glow brightly.
The dracolich loses the pillars' protection it leaves the
room, so it prefers to fight here.

LEVEL 22 I SHAOOWDUSK HOLD
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