Page 99 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

4. SILT PIT 8. STRANGE ROCK FORMATION
The giants avoid this cave, since they know it contains a Petrified Basilisk. What at first glance appears to be
40-foot-deep pit of silt, more commonly known to adven- a spiky rock formation in the middle of the cavern is
turers as quicksand. A character who prods the floor or really a petrified basilisk.
otherwise searches for traps detects the natural hazard Decor.Jagged spirals are carved into the walls and roof,
with a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check. but the crude artwork is incomplete.
The characters can avoid the pit by staying within 5 Descending Tunnel. The tunnel to the southeast de-
feet of the walls. If a character falls into the pit, resolve scends hundreds of feet to level 8.
the outcome using the quicksand rules in chapter 5 of
Hundreds of years ago, before the arrival of the stone
the Dungeon Master's Guide.
giants, an adventurer used a mirror to trick the basilisk
into targeting itself with its own petrifying gaze. It has
5. CAVE OF ECHOES
remained a fixture of this cavern ever since. A detect
Characters who enter this empty cavern hear the hum- magic spell reveals an aura of conjuration magic ema-
ming and chiseling of Gravillok, the stone giant in area nating from within the basilisk's belly. One must smash
6a. Two tunnels lead in that direction, and the sounds open the basilisk to get at the treasure inside. Its belly
coming from both are equally loud. If the characters cre- can be cracked open with a solid weapon hit.
ate a ruckus here, Gravillok hears the disturbance, stops Treasure. Inside the belly of the basilisk is a gold ring
working, and investigates. set with moonstones (250 gp) and a wand of conducting.
The wand, a common magic item, has 3 charges and
6. CRAFT HALL doesn't require attunement. The holder of the wand can
The walls of these caves are covered with abstract carv- use an action to expend 1 charge and create orchestral
ings, many of them unfinished. music by waving it around. The music can be heard out
to a range of 60 feet and ends when the holder stops
6A. STONEBONES CARV ING waving the wand.
Gravillok. The stone giant is using a chisel to carve on The wand regains all expended charges daily at dawn.
If the wand's last charge is expended, roll a d20. On a
the wall between the tunnels leading to area 5.
Carvings. Abstract carvings cover the walls, and chis- l, a sad tuba sound plays as the wand crumbles to dust
and is destroyed.
eled bits of stone lie scattered across the floor.
If the characters catch him by surprise or greet him 9. STONE CATHEDRAL
with hostility, Gravillok retreats to area 13 while shout-
ing out to his family in Giant, "Invasion! Arm yourselves! Decor. This chamber has all the looming hollowness
We're under attack!" Gravillok's deep bellow echoes of a cathedral. The walls have been sculpted into ex-
quisite arches, buttresses, and draperies. Carvings of
throughout the level. To the best of his recollection,
giant whorls and spirals cover the ceiling.
Gravillok has never seen small folk before. His instinct
is to treat them as vermin and smoosh them with his Crystal Formations. Three dramatic crystal formations
greatclub. If they attempt to parley and he can under- explode from the floor, each one roughly 10 feet wide
and 15 feet tall. Broken shards of crystal litter the
stand them, he stops attacking long enough to listen to
floor around them.
their words, then discounts them, concluding that the
interlopers must be responsible for the strange magic The stone giants eat the crystals that grow in this
bedeviling his family. The characters will have to work chamber. Ten pounds of crystals provide a giant with the
hard to change his mind. equivalent of a nutritious meal. The crystal formations
In addition to his greatclub, Gravillok carries a favorite regrow at a steady pace, thanks to Halaster's magic.
chisel, much too large for Medium or smaller characters Most humanoids would not consider them edible.
to use as an effective tool.
A successful DC 15 Intelligence (Religion) check iden- 10. XORTA'S FLUTE
tifies Gravillok's wall carving as a 30-foot-tall image of Xorta. The reclusive stone giant lairs here, shunning
Skoraeus Stonebones, the stone giant god. Gravillok the rest of her family.
hopes that Skoraeus will be honored by the carving
Bats. Ten giant bats cling to the cave's roof, their wings
enough to help him catch whoever has been tormenting
wrapped tightly around their bodies as they sleep.
his family.
Rocks. Strewn upon the uneven floor amid mounds of
bat guano are loose rocks that Xorta hurls at intruders
6B. TOOL STORAGE
and others who bother her.
The stone giants store their stone-carving tools in this
cave. The tools are too big and unwieldy to be used by Xorta reclines in the north alcove, partially hidden
anyone not of the giants' size. behind natural columns of rock. She uses her Stone
Camouflage trait to blend in with her surroundings.
7. SILT PIT Xorta has a mind to explore more of Undermountain,
but her parents won't let her stray far. She lacks the
Carved into the floor where the northeast tunnel meets
courage to defy them and knows they won't let her leave.
this cave is a large X (a warning sign). This cave con-
She has a 4-foot-long stone flute and likes to play it here
tains a silt pit like the one in area 4.
because the acoustics are favorable. She's still learning
LEVEL 7 I MADDGOTH'S CASTLE
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