of his family manage the wine business while he fo.
cuses on his duties as a Masked Lord. Unfortunately, he
lacks the principles and sound judgment that have led
to House Thann's success in the past. He also places
the welfare of humans above nonhumans. In the past,
he has used Zhentarim thugs to inflict harm on nonhu-
mans who sought positions of political power in the city.
Now the Zhents are blackmailing Corylus, threatening
to expose his bigotry unless he uses his influence as a
Masked Lord to cover up their illegal activities.
The characters are most likely to encounter Corylus
as he travels through the city by coach, accompanied
by six human guards who watch his back and keep the
rabble at bay. Corylus refuses to speak with the party.
If the characters become an annoyance, he has eight
crooked members of the City Watch (human veterans)
crack down on them, then uses his position as Masked
Lord to clear any charges leveled against these Watch
members. Corylus refuses lo be indebted to anyone, so
any attempt by the characters to curry favor with him is
met with suspicion, if not outright hostility. Even if they
dispose of Manshoon, Corylus refuses to acknowledge
that he owes them anything.jELENN URMBRUSK
jelenn (N female Tethyrian human noble) is a proud
woman in her fifties who desperately wants to get out of
debt. Several bad investments ruined her money-lend-
ing business, and most of her reliable customers have
turned to other providers such as the Cassalanters.
Jelenn could have borrowed money from any of a num-
ber of nobles in the city or sold off some of the property
her family owns in Waterdeep, but doing so would have
turned her private financial woes into local gossip. Fear
of that exposure led her to borrow money from the
Zhentarim instead-a decision she has come to regret.
The Zhents working for Manshoon promise ro keep
their relationship secret on the condition that she do
everything in her power to further the group's welfare in
Waterdeep.
When not dealing with her slimy creditors,Jelenn is
occupied with Masked Lord business. She has no time
for a face-to-face meeting with anyone she doesn't know.
Characters can confront her as she comes or goes to
and from her villa, but she never travels without sixteen
guards who form a protective wall around her. II the
characters brazenly mention Manshoon or the Zhen-
tarim by name to her,Jelenn demands that they leave
her alone or face dire consequences.Jelenn's threat is
mostly bluster, since she's not eager to make enemies.
If the characters freejelenn from the yoke of the Black
Network by defeating Manshoon, her debt is effectively
canceled. Jn her delight, she grants them a special favor
(see ··special Favors" in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Mas-
ter's Guide). On the other hand, if they threaten to go to
the press with Manshoon's ledger in an attempt to black-
mail or discredit her, she pretends to go along with them
while secretly using her influence as a Masked Lord to
make their lives difficult.
CllAPTF.R 8 J WINTl!.R WIZARDRYDEADWINTER D AY FEAST
The Fellowship of Innkeepers in conjunction with the
Bakers· Guild. the Guild of Butchers. and the Vintners'.
Distillers·. and Brewers' Guild decides to hold a Dead-
winter Day feast for the residents of Trollskull Ailey.
Broxley Fairkettle (see "Sample Guild Representatives,"
page 41) asks the characters if they would be willing
to host the feast in their tavern. He believes the gesture
would be appreciated by their neighbors, in light of the
recent deaths in the area (see chapter 3).
If the characters offer up their tavern for the feast,
guild representatives arrive to stock and decorate it for
the event. During the three days before the holiday, the
tavern is bustling with activity and excitement. Hun-
dreds show up on the day of the feast to partake-not
only residents ofTrollskull Alley. but also folk from
neighboring streets. There's plenty of food to go around,
but the tavern practically groans under the weight of the
crowd, and additional tables arc set up outside to handle
the over£low. People don't appear to mind, even as heavy
snow begins to fall. Members of the City Watch are on
hand to make sure everyone behaves.
Nothing violent happens during the Deadwinter Day
feast, but the tavern suffers damage as a result of the
crowds. The Carpenters', Roofers', and Plaisterers'
Guild offers to make repairs for free, but the characters
must close the establishment for a tenday to facilitate
the work. The closure has no effect on business in the
long term, however, since the feast fosters such goodwill
that clients return in force when the tavern reopens.
The feast is a great opportunity for characters to
hobnob with neighbors, guild members, and City Watch
constables, as well as to gather information on local
happenings.SECRET SIMULACRU M
ff the characters make an enemy of Manshoon, he tries
to capture one of them and replace that character with
a magical duplicate created using the simulacrum spell.
lf one of the players is absent for a game session and
circumstances allow it, Manshoon targets that character
for replacement while the rest of the party is distracted
by other matters. You don't need to roleplay the char-
acter's capture; just assume it happens. To create a
simulacrum of the character. Manshoon needs some
hair, fingernail clippings, or other piece of the charac-
ter's body. Once he obtains the necessary components
from the captured character, he creates the simulacrum
and sends it to the party with instructions to spy on the
group and undermine it from within.
If Manshoon embeds a simulacrum within the party,
talk privately to the player whose character has been
replaced. Then have that player run the simulacrum
until it is destroyed or the character it replaced is rein-
troduced. The simulacrum has the same statistics as the
character, but it has only half the character's hit point
maximum and can't gain levels.