Page 31 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

!E. YEK THE TALL tune to it. The circlet transforms its attuned wearer
into an attractive human of average height and weight.
Torches. Flickering torches in iron brackets light
The circlet chooses the physical characteristics of the
this room.
Bugbears. Four bugbears stand in the room's corners. form, such as age, gender, skin color, hair color, and
Goblins. A handsome man wearing a golden circlet on voice. Except for size, the wearer's statistics and racial
traits don't change, nor do items worn or carried by the
his brow (Yek the Tall, a goblin boss in altered form)
wearer. Removing the circlet ends the effect.
reclines on a mound of cushions at the north end of
the room, eating an apple. Ten goblins (Yek's toadies)
lF. YEK'S TREASURE
lie about on moldy cushions around him. This room contains the following treasure:
Prisoner. Chained to the south wall is a male dwarf clad
in leather armor who has been gagged. He has cop- • A gruesome diorama featuring the stuffed corpses of
per-orange hair, but his beard has been shaved off (see a beholder and six goblins, all of them in battle poses
"Shaved Dwarf" below). and adorned with costume jewelry
• An ivory chessboard on a low stone table
The bugbears work for Yek because he pays them. A
A 9-foot-tall, 3-foot-wide framed painting ofYek, de-
bugbear abandons Yek and returns home to Skullport
picting him in his regal human form, standing proudly
(on level 3) if given a bribe of 5 gp or more. with his golden circlet on his brow
lfYek orders the goblins into battle, they fight reluc- • A hefty, iron-banded wooden chest with iron rings
tantly. If half are killed or incapacitated, the rest flee.
for handles
The goblins also run away ifYek is slain.
Yek wears a gold circlet (see "Treasure" below) that Characters who loot the diorama find fifteen pieces of
has transformed him into a beautiful adult male human. costume jewelry worth 1 gp each. The ivory chessboard
In this form, his size is Medium. If the characters hum- is worth 25 gp. The wooden chest is filled with 2,000 sp.
ble themselves before Yek and appeal to his vanity, they The painting ofYek has no real value, though a clever
are treated fairly. If they attempt to steal from him or character can sell it for 50 gp by convincing a naive
have harmed any of his underlings, Yek sentences them buyer that the painting depicts a figure of historical
to death and orders his goblin toadies and the bugbears importance; doing so requires a successful DC 13 Cha-
to attack. Yekjoins the fray only in self-defense. risma (Deception) check.
If the characters and Yek part company on peaceful
2. KALABASH'S CHAMBERS
terms, three ofYek's goblin toadies try to speak to the
characters afterward, away from the goblin boss. They Kalabash was one of Halaster's apprentices, though
plead with the characters to end Yek's "curse" by steal- not one of the original seven. He has been trapped in a
ing the circlet that has transformed the goblin boss into pocket dimension for hundreds of years now and is com-
a human. They don't have a plan for doing so and are pletely insane. Characters might stumble across him as
hoping the characters can devise one. The toadies can they explore his chambers.
get all the other goblins out of the hall, but they have no
control over Yek's bugbear bodyguards. 2A. WATER PUMP
Shaved Dwarf. The beardless dwarf is Copper Storm- In the center of this room is a rusted iron hand pump
forge, a member of the Fine Fellows of Dagger ford ad- and a deep stone basin. This pump draws water from a
venturing party. His hatred for goblins increased tenfold spring between levels of the dungeon. Using an action to
when they chopped off his beard, and if he is set free, he crank the pump draws ld4 + 1 gallons of potable water
tries to kill every one of them. into the stone basin.
As a reward for setting him free, Copper gives his
liberators what he claims is an authentic map of the Sar- 2B. ABANDONED LABORATORY
gauth Level (level 3). Copper folded the map into a tiny This room is filled with dusty tables and cauldrons. Its
package and tucked it between his butt cheeks to hide it stone hearth is cold. Piled atop the tables are alchemi-
from his captors. He doesn't realize the map is fake and cal tools and equipment, all of it ancient to the point of
utterly worthless. being unusable. Disturbing the laboratory in any way
Copper is a shield dwarf scout, with these changes: alerts the specter· in area 2c.
• Copper is neutral evil. 2C. WIZARD'S KITCHEN
• He has these racial traits: He speaks Common and This decrepit kitchen contains an oven range, a washing
Dwarvish. His walking speed is 25 feet. He has basin, a hearth bearing a covered cook pot, and shelves
darkvision out to a range of 60 feet, advantage on filled with pots, pans, and cooking tools.
saving throws against poison, and resistance to poi- A specter hides in the covered cook pot, emerging if
son damage. the lid is lifted or if the specter is disturbed by noises
He has no weapons. from area 2b. The specter can command four nearby
Treasure. The goblins under Yek carry a total of 60 pots and pans to do its bidding; treat these objects as
cp and 25 sp. Each bugbear carries a large pouch that flying swords that deal bludgeoning damage instead
contains 15 gp. of slashing damage. If the specter is defeated, the pots
Yek's circlet is an uncommon magic item called a and pans clatter to the ground, becoming inanimate
circlet of human perfection. Only humanoids can at- once more.

LEVEL 2 I ARCANE CHAMBERS