Page 82 - Tomb of Annihilation

SEOOND STEPS
A massive brick and stone ziggurat rises from the jun·
The steps from level 1 to level 2 are 33 feet long and
gle. Two staircases angle up and across the front face, rise 20 feet. The stone is crumbling from age and decay.
one from the right, the other from the left, to meet at a Those who try climbing the steps find that, after the
landing on the second level 30 feet above your heads. first few, the stone crumbles into gravel beneath them
That layout repeats on the second level, and the third so they can't make any more progress. However much
the characters try to climb and demolish the steps, they
level, but with each successive layer adding less height
never seem to get any worse and the gravel never piles
than the one below it. The fourth level, 60 feet above the
up any deeper.
jungle floor, is an enclosed s.hrine or temple, its walls After the characters' first attempts to climb, they no-
adorned with labyrinth symbols. tice another chwinga standing among them at the base
The jungle encroaches right up to and onto this an- of the steps. Its mask resembles a chameleon's head. It's
carrying an orange and purple orchid and a red parrot
cient structure. The first flights of steps are choked with
feather, and it races up the steps with ease, literally light
creepers, tree roots, and flowering vines. It might have
as a feather on the fragile stones.
been surrounded by a city long ago, but the jungle is so
Characters can find parrot feathers in the jungle or
dense that it would take hours of searching to find buried lying around on this level after just a few minutes of
foundations and tumbled stones. searching. They need both the feather and the orchid to
climb the steps.
The ziggurat is encased in magic, which becomes obvi- THIRD STEPS
ous if anyone casts detect magic. This protective shell The steps from level 2 to level 3 (the level of the shrine)
prevents anyone from ascending the ziggurat by any are 20 feet long and rise 12 feet. The stairs are in excel-
means other than climbing the stairs. Characters who lent condition. but swarms of poisonous snakes slither
try to fly up rise above the trees but never get any closer over them. If snakes are killed, more crawl out through
to the ziggurat, as if they're flying into a powerful head- holes in the stone to replace them, so the swarms can
wind they can't detect. Those who try to climb a wall get never be destroyed or even weakened. No spells or abil·
halfway up, then inexplicably loses their grip and slide ities prevent the snakes from attacking someone who
back down. A ladder built to scale a wall never reaches climbs the stairs.
the top, no matter how long the ladder. A rope-and-hook After a few moments of examining the stairs, the char-
thrown up to catch the edge always falls short. Casting acters notice a third chwinga standing among them at
teleport or misty step moves the caster sideways instead the base of the steps. Its mask resembles a mongoose's
of up to the next level. Bypassing the tests by any means face, and it carries a red parrot feather and an orange
is fiat-out impossible. It might help to think of the whole and purple orchid. At the bottom step, the chwinga
situation as a fairy tale; it doesn't need to make sense, whacks a snake with its orchid to make it angry, then
because the magic of Orolunga is on a mythic scale that strokes the snake's ftank with the feather to calm it
overpowers the ability of any mortal. down, then lies down facing the snake, whereupon the
reptile crawls through the mouth of the mask and inside
FIRST STEPS
the chwinga. The chwinga then slithers up the steps
The steps from the ground to level 1 of the ziggurat are like a snake, untroubled by any of the other poisonous
50 feet long and rise 30 feet. A tangle of roots, vines, snakes. To climb the steps safely, characters must do
and creepers covers the steps. Characters can climb the the same thing, but this stage isn't automatic. Using the
first 10 feet as difficult terrain. After 10 feet, they begin orchid and the feather are easy, but a character must
getting scratched by thorns. If they continue, they take make a successful DC 10 Constitution saving throw af-
l slashing damage per foot climbed. After 20 feet, that ter swallowing a snake. Evil-aligned characters have dis-
increases to 2 slashing damage per foot. The thorns re- advantage on the saving throw. If the save succeeds, the
grow as quickly as they're slashed, burned, or destroyed, character can slither up the steps safely. If the saving
and they can't be parted by magic or by abilities. No throw fails, the character takes 17 (Sd6) psychic damage
damage is incurred for moving down the steps. and can try again, but the DC increases to 11. The DC
After the characters' first attempts to climb the steps, increases by 1 more with each successive failure.
they notice a chwinga (see appendix D) standing among
them. It's about a foot tall, and its mask resembles a tric- SAJA N 'BAZAS SHRINE
eratops' head. It's also carrying a large orange and pur- The shrine atop the ziggurat is a simple, rectangular
ple orchid. After a moment, it charges up the steps; the structure of brick. The outside walls are decorated with
thorns part before it and close immediately behind it. labyrinth symbols of Ubtao. Beyond the open doorway
To ascend the steps, characters must find more of the is a barren, dusty room, but any character with a passive
orange and purple orchids. They can be found in the jun- Wisdom (Perception) score of 13 or higher notes the
gle in 30 minutes if anyone in the group has proficiency aroma of incense.
in the Nature skill, or 60 minutes otherwise. Each char· Characters who enter without their orchid and feather
acter climbing the stairs needs his or her own orchid. find the shrine empty. Leaving and coming back with

CHAPTER 2 I THE LAND OF OHULT
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