since he can't easily carry the dragonstaff of Ahghairon
in dragon form. The dragon attacks only in defense of
itself, the staff, or the gold. The only individuals autho-
rized to remove the gold under Aurinax's watch are
Dagult Neverember and his appointed vassals, none of
whom are currently in Waterdeep.
The characters can try to convince Aurinax that they
have come on Neverember's behalf. Since he has never
met them before or heard Neverember mention them
by name, Aurinax is doubtful of their story. Fooling the
dragon requires each character within his line of sight to
succeed on a Charisma (Deception) check contested by
t he dragon's Wisdom (Insight) check. If even one char-
acter loses the contest, Aurinax senses that the group is
lying to him. These checks are made with advantage if
Renaer Neverember is with the party, since the dragon
remembers meeting Renaer when he was but a child
and can easily imagine a scenario in which Dagult Nev-
erember might use his son as his vassal. (The dragon
knows nothing of the animosity between Renaer and
his father.)
The characters can try to convince the noble dragon
that Lord Neverember embezzled the gold from the
people ofWaterdeep, and that it would be fair and just
to see the coin safely returned to its rightful owners.
Deep down, Aurinax knows where the gold came from,
but the dragon has allowed his greed and his agreement
with Lord Neverember to cloud his moral judgment.
With a successful DC 18 Charisma (Pers uasion) check,
a character can talk the dragon into allowing the gold to
be returned to the people to whom it rightfully belongs.
The check is made with advantage if the characters
brought a prominent city official with them, such as Mirt
or Vajra Safahr, or if one of t he characters professes to
be a worshiper of Bahamut.
Any Charisma (Intimidation) check made to influence
Aurinax automatically fails. After the first such attempt,
all future Charisma checks made by the party to influ-
ence Aurinax have disadvantage.
Aurinax uses Legenda ry Resistance to avoid being
charmed. If a character tries to charm him with a spell
and fails, all future Charisma checks made by the party
to influence Auri nax have disadvantage.
Treasure. Choose two alcoves in the vault. Piled in
one alcove are 500,000 gp, the combined weight of
which is 10,000 pounds. Scattered on the floor of the
second alcove are sixty-five 100 gp gemstones-all that
remains of Aurinax's current food supply.
Aurinax won't give up his gemstones or the dragon-
sta.ff of Ahghairon willingly, s ince they are his payment
for guarding the gold. If need be, however, t he dragon
is willing to use the staff's power on behalf of the city in
exchange for more gemstones.
LEAVING THE VAULT
As the characters leave the vault, with or w ithout the
gold, they are confronted by a hostile force sent by the
main villain or villains. If the vault doors were left open,
the characters encounter these antagonists in area V2;
otherwise, they're lurking outside the vault, waiting for
the characters to emerge:
- IfXanathar is the main villain, Noska Ur'gray (see
appendix B) arrives with six bugbears and a gazer
(see appendix B). If Noska is dead or otherwise indis-
posed, the beholder replaces him with Nar'l Xibrindas
(see appendix B) and his grell bodyguard. - If the Cassalanters are the villains, they send three
cult fanatics and three cultists. Victoro's doppel-
ganger manservant, Willi fort Crowelle, leads the
group in his tiefting guise unless the characters killed
him or otherwise disposed of him earlier in this chap-
ter or in chapter 6.
Ifjarla xle Baenre (see appendix B) is the villain, he
arrives with three drow gunslingers (see appendix B).
Replace no-name drow guns linge rs with Fel'rekt La-
feen, Krebbyg Masq'il'yr, and Soluun Xibrindas if they
a re alive and free.
If Mans hoon is the main villain, he sends his simula-
crum (see appendix B) along with Agorn Fuoco (NE
male Turami human bard; see appendix B), Yevette
Blackwater (CE female Tethyrian human swashbuck-
ler; see appendix B), and three Zhent thugs. If Agorn
and Yevette were killed or otherwise disposed of
earlier in this chapter or in chapter 8, replace each of
them with one additional thug.
The forces sent by Xanathar, the Cassalanters, and
Ma ns hoon attack the characters on sight.jarlaxle, on
the other hand, congratulates characters for unlocking
the Vault of Dragons and allows them to leave on the
condition that they go empty-handed. He intends to see
the gold safely returned to the city ofWaterdeep but also
demands the dragonstaff of Ahghairon for his trouble.
If Aurinax is alive, the characters can lure enemies to
the dragon. Aurinax attacks any creature that attacks
him or tries to steal his staff or the gold. He also defends
the characters if he has made a deal with them.
FACTION REINFORCEMENTS
If the characters joined one or more factions in Water-
deep and kept them informed of their progress, you can
have reinforcements arrive to help combat the villains or
introduce a new element to the situation.
Bregan D'aerth e. If jarlaxle Baenre (see appendix
B) isn't the main villain, he arrives with his lieutenants,
Fel'rekt Lafeen, Krebbyg Masq'il'yr, and Soluun Xibrin-
das, or three other drow gunslingers (see appendix B).
jarlaxJe offers to help the characters if th ey agree to help
him secure the gold for Waterdeep and the dragonstaff
of Ahghairon for himself.
Harpers. Mirt (see appendix B) a rrives with two
female human swashbucklers (see appendix B). If
he's still alive and not a lready with the characters, Re-
naer Neverember (see appendix B) replaces one of the
swas hbucklers.
Emerald Enclave. j eryth Phaulkon sends three
swarms of r ats to assist the characters. Once t he char-
acters are no longer in peril, the rats disperse through-
out the vault.
Force Grey. Vajra Safahr sends Meloon Wardragon
(see appendix B) to help the characters secure the vault,
unaware that Meloon has fallen under Xanathar's sway.
If Xanathar is t he main villain, Meloon helps the behold-
er's forces defeat the characters.CHAPTER 4' I DRAGON SEASON