Page 41 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

Four of the vats are empty, their contents having long 22F. SOUTH ALE STORAGE
since evaporated or been depleted. The southwest vat This room is identical to area 22e, except the pyramid of
contains a beholder zombie, which rises out of the vat
barrels has collapsed. Most of the barrels lie smashed
and attacks if disturbed.
on the floor. Fifty-nine of them remain intact, their ale
Barrels. There are thirty empty barrels, all made of preserved. Another three appear to be intact but are, in
iron-banded zurkhwood (a woody fungus). Most are in fact, three mimics placed here by Halaster. The three
such poor condition that they can no longer hold liquids hide within 10 feet of one another and fight together.
without leaking, but clever characters can use them to
safely avoid the pit traps in area 22d. 23. RUINED DWARVEN TEMPLE

22D. BARREL RUN These rooms once formed a temple dedicated to the
Beyond a 10-foot landing, this hall gradually slopes dwarven god Dumathoin, the Keeper of Secrets under
down toward the west. the Mountain, but Halaster has destroyed and replaced
most of their original contents.
Secret doors at the west end of the hall open into
areas 22e and 22f, respectively. Dwarves used to fill bar-
23A. DEFACED DWARVES
rels of ale and roll them down this hall to be stored in
the secret chambers. Light. The walls climb 15 feet, then angle inward to cre-
Pit Traps. The Melairkyn dwarves built three 20-foot- ate a peaked, 30-foot-high ceiling. The sloped upper
deep pits in the sloped floor to guard their ale supplies. walls have red glowing crystals set into them. These
The pits' covers blend in with the surrounding floor, crystals fill the hall with dim light. (Crystals pried out
though a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check of their fixtures go dark.)
detects each pit. Carvings. The lower walls were once lined with carv-
When a creature weighing 50 pounds or more steps ings depicting dwarves pushing mine carts toward the
on a pit's cover, it swings open like a trapdoor, causing west, but these works have been defaced and, in some
the creature to spill into the pit below and take 2d6 blud- cases, replaced with stony tentacles that protrude
geoning damage from the fall. The lid is spring-loaded from the walls.
and snaps closed after the creature falls through. A suc- Dwarf-Guarded Doors. A 20-foot-tall double door
cessful DC 20 Strength check is necessary to pry the lid stands closed at the west end of the hall. Carved into
open. A character in the pit can also attempt to disable the walls flanking the double door stand armored
the spring mechanism from the inside with a successful dwarves, their stony beards flowing out of great helms
DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves' tools, provided that conceal their facial features.
that the mechanism can be reached and the character Halaster used magic to distort the wall carvings al-
can see in the dark. most beyond recognition and to create tentacle-like pro-
Wedging at least two iron spikes between the pit's trusions that weren't part of the original design. These
lid and the surrounding floor prevents the lid from tentacles writhe as creatures pass by them- a harmless
opening, thereby making it safe to cross. The lid can effect created by the Mad Mage.
also be magically held shut with an arcane lock spell or
similar magic. The dwarves constructed the pit covers 23B. HALL OF DEAD DRAGONS
so that they won't open if an object is rolled over them. A
Ceiling. The 30-foot-high vaulted ceiling of this room is
character can circumvent the traps by climbing into an
supported every 20 feet or so by thick stone arches.
empty barrel and rolling down the hall or climbing onto
Skeletal Displays. Standing in the hall are the skele-
a barrel and balancing atop it as it rolls down the hall. tons of four Huge dragons, their bones held together
Balancing atop a barrel as it careens down the hall re- by wire and cement. A few pieces of each dragon have
quires a successful DC 20 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check.
broken off and fallen to the floor. A fifth dragon skel-
eton in a similar state of disrepair fills an alcove to
22E. NORTH ALE STORAGE
the south.
This chamber is hidden behind a secret door.
The room's walls climb 10 feet, then angle inward to This hall contains the posed, inanimate skeletons of
form a pyramidal cap with a 30-foot-high apex. Stacked five adult dragons- one each of brass, bronze, copper,
in the middle of the room are one hundred forty zurkh- gold, and silver. The gold dragon skeleton occupies the
wood barrels banded in iron. The barrels form a 21-foot- southern alcove, while the others are lined up in the
high pyramid with a base measuring seven barrels on main hall. The skeletons are harmless.
a side. Engraved on the lid of each barrel is a magical
glyph that radiates an aura of abjuration magic under 24. DEAD ADVENTURER
the scrutiny of a detect magic spell. What was once a dwarven shrine is now the tomb of a
Treasure. Each barrel contains 40 gallons of dwarven long-dead adventurer.
ale that has been magically preserved for centuries. Splayed across a broken stone bench in the middle
Removing a barrel's lid or breaking the barrel causes its of the room are the skeletal remains of a tiefling clad
glyph to fade away, ending the preservation spell on that in rotted leather armor. The skeleton clutches a quar-
barrel. If the ale is marketed as "Melairkyn Ale," "Un- terstaff that bas become brittle with age. A tattered
dermountain Ale," or something similar, characters can backpack contains adventuring gear that bas rotted or
sell a barrel of it for 40 gp in Waterdeep. A full barrel of rusted away.
ale weighs approximately 400 pounds.

LEVEL 2 ) ARCANE CHAMBERS