1 square = 5 feet
MAP 3.3: CRYPT OF THE 11ELLRIDERSCRYPT O F THE HELLRIDERS
ZA.RIEL'S FALLEN COMPANJONS CANNOT REST. NOBODY
can in this nightmare hellscape.
-The CartographerWhen the characters arrive at this location, read or
paraphrase the following boxed text to the players:
Acrid smog swirls around a barren hill, rising from which
like giant tombstones are a pair of leaning monoliths,
each soaring more than fifty feet into the smoky red sky.
Dozens of armored knights kneel in motionless rever·
ence before the monoliths, between which a set of onyx
steps leads down under the hill.The onyx steps descend into catacombs containing the
remains of Hellriders who died fighting at Zariel's side.
Their restless spirits yearn for peace yet are doomed to
haunt this place until once more called to arms.
Dozens of dead knights kneel before the monoliths,
their foreheads resting on the pommels of their swords.
The knights' armor serves as caskets for their bones,
yet their corpses stay upright as though in prayer. Each
knight wears the faded regalia of Elturel.
ENCOUNT E RS I N TH E C RYPT
The following descriptions correspond to areas marked
on map 3.3. The entire crypt is terribly cold and
wreathed in ankle-deep mist. All rooms and passages in
the crypt are 10 feet tall and hewn from solid rock.
Cl. SEALED GATES
When the characters descend into the catacombs, read:
A pair of basalt doors block the passage ahead, their sur-
faces engraved with a relief of a knight locked in combat
with a devil. Both wield burning swords.The doors do not have visible handles, locks, or bolts,
and they are magically locked, hardened, and enchanted
to resist magic. Any spell cast to unlock, damage, or re-
mold the doors automaticaJly fails. Characters can use
dimension door or similar magic to get past the doors.
They can also slip through the cracks between the doors
if they have the magic to do so (such as the gaseous form
spell). Otherwise, they'll need the speak the pass phrase
"For Glory" to proceed any farther. Characters can learn
the pass phrase from Ubbalux the barlgura (as dis-
cussed in the "Pit of Shummrath" section, page 100).
If a character speaks the pass phrase aloud within 10
feet of the doors, the doors slowly grind open. The doors
close on their own after 1 hour unless they are held or
wedged open.
CHAPTER 3 I AVERNUS 101