Page 43 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

26A. Do NoT FEED THE OwLBEARs! move through other creatures' spaces, and creatures
Owlbears. Two owlbears left here by Halaster are hun- can move through its space, treating it as difficult ter-
gry and attack anything that enters this room. rain. Whenever the sphere enters a creature's space or
Sarcophagi. A dozen elven sarcophagi arranged about a creature enters its space while the sphere is rolling,
that creature must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving
this dusty room have been reduced to rubble.
throw or take 55 (lOdlO) bludgeoning damage and be
Carvings. Time and neglect have all but destroyed wall
carvings that depict elves mounted on elk, parading knocked prone.
A creature within 5 feet of the sphere can attempt
through a forest as the seasons change around them.
Secret Door. A secret door in the north wall leads to slow it down by using an action to make a DC 20
to area 26b. Strength check. On a successful check, the sphere's
speed is reduced by 15 feet. In the sloped hallway, this
Treasure. Characters who search the room for trea- reduction lasts only until the end of the sphere's next
sure find a 10-pound clay pot lying amid some rubble turn. If the sphere's speed drops to 0 on a flat surface, it
near the south wall. The pot is painted with images of a stops moving and is no longer a threat.
bare-footed elf druid leading a march of small, uprooted
shrubs that seem to be walking of their own accord. 26D. BLOODLETTING CHAMBER
A detect magic spell reveals an aura of transmutation This 10-foot-high room holds a row of six slanted stone
magic around the pot, which is a common wondrous tables intended for ritualistic bloodletting. Each table is
magic item called a pot of awakening. If one plants an fitted with rusty shackles and leather straps. Under the
ordinary shrub in the pot and lets it grow for 30 days, lower end of each table, set into the floor, is a shallow,
the shrub magically transforms into an awakened circular stone basin for collecting blood.
shrub at the end of that time. When the shrub awakens,
its roots break the pot, destroying it. The awakened 26E. ABANDONED STUDY
shrub is friendly toward whoever planted it. Absent com- Makeshift Desk. The lid of a stone sarcophagus rests
mands from its creator, it does nothing. atop two misshapen blocks of stone, creating a make-
shift desk at the south end of the room. Behind it is a
26B. SECRET TOMB
high-backed chair made of charred wood that has one
In the middle of the dusty tomb rests a 7,500-pound al- armrest missing.
abaster sarcophagus atop a 1-foot-high block of granite. Wall Niches. Beyond the desk and chair, dusty books
The lid of the sarcophagus is carved in the likeness of a
are crammed into niches in the south wall. Similar
regal elf of indeterminate age and gender, with a yawn- niches in the other walls contain tall, alabaster fu-
ing cat stretching on the elf's chest. The cat is part of the nerary urns covered with dust and cobwebs (seven-
lid's carving, not a separate sculpture. teen in all).
A character who inspects the sarcophagus closely
and succeeds on a DC 17 Wisdom (Perception) check Treasure. The alabaster urns are cracked, chipped,
realizes that it's a solid block of alabaster with a fake Ud and worthless. They contain nothing but dust-for the
carved to appear openable- a false tomb built to con- most part. Buried in the dust inside one of the urns is a
found would-be treasure-hunters. tiny white pouch containing dust of disappearance.
The books cover the subjects of alchemy, dwarven and
260. HALASTER'S CRUSHING EYE elven history, engineering, gemcraft, the study of mon-
Destroyed Tables. Three stone tables lie strewn about strosities, and weather prediction. All of them are falling
apart, but stuffed among the mundane tomes is a badly
the room, surrounded by ceramic shards that were
once funerary urns. (The owlbears in area 26a are burned wizard's spellbook that still contains the follow-
responsible for the destruction.) ing spells: comprehend languages, crown of madness,
Sloped Hall. A 10-foot-wide, 10-foot-high hallway to the darkvision, gaseous form, ray of sickness, remove curse,
Tenser's floating disk, and unseen servant.
south slopes gently upward to area 26d and contains a
rolling sphere trap.
AFTERMATH
The 10-foot-square section of floor marked X on map
2 is a pressure plate. When 20 or more pounds of pres- If they're weakened but not eradicated, the goblins begin
sure depress this plate, a 10-foot-diameter stone sphere constructing traps around the perimeter of their market
painted to look like a bloodshot eyeball careens from to better protect themselves against aggressive adven-
an alcove at the top of the sloped hallway and down the turers and bad neighbors. They favor collapsing roofs,
passage toward area 26c. With a successful DC 20 Wis- falling nets, and poison darts (see "Sample Traps" in
dom (Perception) check, a character searching the hall chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master's Guide). The goblins
for traps can spot the pressure plate. Wedging four or also train and deploy giant rats, using them as watch-
more iron spikes or similar objects under the pressure dogs. Some of these might be Rizzeryl's wererats in rat
plate prevents the trap from activating. form, sent to infiltrate the goblin lair and spy on adven-
When the sphere is released, all creatures present roll turers who find their way to the goblin bazaar.
initiative, and the sphere rolls initiative with a +8 bonus. Destroying the two Xanathar Guild outposts allows
On its turn, it moves in a straight line until it reaches the goblins to expand their territory. Unless the goblins
a corner, then changes direction to follow the sloped are also wiped out, goblin patrols become more com-
tunnel until it comes to rest in area 26c. The sphere can mon throughout this level of the dungeon.

LEVEL 2 I ARCANE CHAM SF.RS
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