Page 299 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

HALASTER'S TOWER Demilich. Floating behind the table is a demilich that
looks like a human skull with a jagged crack that ex-
Encounters in Halaster's tower (areas 22 through 36) tends above and below one eye socket.
are keyed to map 23. The tower is contained in a demi- Shelves and Ladder. The walls are lined with 10-foot-
plane that exists outside Undermountain, yet all the tall, wooden shelves packed with jars of pickled newts,
normal restrictions to magic apply (see "Alterations to frogs' eyes, and other common ingredients used in
Magic," page 10). A portal connects areas 23 and 26,
the brewing of potions. A wooden ladder on rollers is
allowing passage to and from the tower. attached to a rail mounted above the shelves.
Ceilings in the tower are 20 feet high and flat. All
interior spaces are lit by continual flame spells cast on This demilich is all that remains of Branta Myntion,
gaudy iron wall sconces. a wizard who fell in with a bad crowd. Her hunger for
magic set her on an evil path as she hunted down and
22. TOWER ENTRANCE killed other wizards to acquire their spellbooks. Before
old age could claim her, Branta transformed herself
The double door to the north pushes open to reveal area into a lich. In this form, she came to Undermountain to
19 beyond. Creatures that head north through the door- plunder its magic. Halaster captured and enslaved her,
way get no sense that they're leaving Halaster's extradi- promising to free her if she helped him brew potions.
mensional tower and returning to Undermountain.
Tragically, that promise went unfulfilled.
This room, which has several other doors leading
Deprived of the ability to feed souls into her phylac-
away from it, contains the following features:
tery, which lies hidden in a dungeon far from Waterdeep,
Statue. Standing atop a raised stone dais in the middle Branta's skeletal form deteriorated. Now, over a century
of the room, facing the double door, is a life-size statue later, only her skull remains. Years of captivity have
of Halaster, his arms raised before him and his face driven the demilich insane, and it attacks anyone other
bearing an awkward smile. than Halaster.
Rat. Gnawing on a piece of celery at the foot of the Although powerful wards prevent the demilich from
statue is an ordinary, harmless rat. leaving Halaster's tower, the tower is not considered its
lair. Consequently, the demilich doesn't gain lair actions,
When he is not incapacitated, Halaster can touch the
nor does the tower exhibit the demilich's lair traits.
statue to teleport himself and anything he is wearing or
carrying to a space within 5 feet of the statue in area 28
CAULDRON
or the statue in area 33 (no action required).
The cauldron is held aloft by magic, and the fire beneath
it is also magical. Casting dispel magic on the cauldron
23. GNOME WITH No NAME
causes it to fall; casting the spell on the fire extin-
A 4-foot-tall, 2-foot-wide bronze-framed mirror leans guishes it.
against the far wall in this otherwise empty room. A Elixir of Timelessness. The cauldron contains twenty
creature that gazes into the mirror sees its reflection doses of a hot, oily black elixir that has grains of sand
take the form of a female gnome in leather armor. She floating in it. A creature that imbibes a single dose of the
speaks Common and Gnomish, and is surprised to see liquid gains the ability to cast time stop once in the next
the characters. Halaster trapped her in the mirror so 24 hours. A creature that imbibes multiple doses of the
Jong ago that she has lost track of time. The gnome has elixir gains the benefit of only the last dose consumed.
forgotten her name, after not interacting with other crea- One minute after it is removed from a heat source, the
tures for centuries. She longs to be free and asks the elixir cools and loses its magic.
characters to help her.
The mirror is a Medium object with AC 11, 4 hit CRATE
points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. The crate contains thirty corked and labeled bottles of
Breaking it or casting a successful dispel magic spell Halaster's Futuristic Frogmash, a foul-tasting home-
(DC 19) on the mirror frees the gnome. However, with- brewed wine. Each label bears Halaster's rune and the
out the mirror's magic to sustain her life, she instantly date 1531 DR.
ages and dies, leaving nothing but dust, bones, and A detect magic spell reveals an aura of abjuration
scraps of leather armor behind. magic around one of the bottles. Uncorking this bottle
causes an elder rune to appear in the air above it (see
24. POTION BREWERY "Elder Runes," page 12). The rune targets the crea-
ture that opened the bottle. If the bottle was opened
Cauldron. Fire erupts from a hole in the middle of the
with a mage hand spell or similar magic, the rune
floor. Floating 1 foot above the fire is a hefty iron caul-
dron big enough for a person to hide in. A plume of targets the caster of the spell, provided the caster is
black smoke rises from inside the cauldron. within 60 feet of the opened bottle. Determine the rune
randomly by drawing a card from the Elder Runes Deck
Paraphernalia. Behind the cauldron rests a wooden
(see appendix B).
table cluttered with brewing equipment. The floor
around the table is strewn with shattered glass and
25. FACTORY
empty flasks. Tucked under the table is a wooden crate
with Halaster's personal rune burned into its sides. Unseen S ervants. Six living unseen servants (see
appendix A) are gathered around two wooden tables,
where they are using mortars and pestles to grind

LEVEL 23 I MAD WIZARD'S LArR