Descent into Avernus

(Jeff_L) #1
COLLAPSED BUILDING

A quake rocks the city, and a building collapses in the


distance. The characters hear cries for help emerging


from the rubble.

To keep the trapped victims from suffocating or being


crushed, the characters must succeed on a total of six


ability checks to rescue them before incurring three

failures. The base DC for these checks is 10. Possible


checks could include Strength (Athletics) checks to re-


move debris, Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks to squeeze
into tight places, Intelligence (Investigation) checks to

determine the best place to dig or support the structure,


or Wisdom (Perception) checks to notice dangerous

areas threatening to collapse further. You might also


decide that magic or other abilities could result in auto-


matic successes.
During the rescue, the commotion might attract
devils (see "Hateful Patrol" below) or other unwelcome
attention.
If the characters succeed in the rescue attempt, they

pull out three lawful good shield dwarves from beneath


the collapsed building: Strovin l ronfist, Kartra Boulder-


stern, and Velkora Ashenwell. Strovin and Kartra are


laborers (use the commoner stat block), but Velkora is


a mason and an acolyte of the dwarven god Moradin.


Her healing powers would be a welcome resource at the


High Hall. All three dwarves speak Common and Dwar-


vish, and have darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. They


also have resistance to poison damage and advantage

on saving throws against being poisoned.


CRY FOR HELP


The characters hear a voice shouting for help. If they


follow the voice, they find a male human under attack by


two bulezaus (see page 230 for their stat block) that


slipped past the devils and climbed the infernal binding


posts to Elturel.

If the characters save the man, he introduces himself


as Orin Ragron, a blacksmith who had a shop in Elturel.


Orin is actually an incubus in disguise named Faltrax.


The incubus is trying to gain information on the de-


fenses ofElturel, which it then plans to sell to the high-


est fiendish bidder. If the characters discover Faltrax's


true nature, the incubus flees.


GHASTLY MEAL

The characters catch of glimpse of four cloaked figures


sneaking out of an alleyway and into a residence, as


if trying not to be seen. If the characters enter the res-


idence, they see four gbasts standing around a table


eating the remains of a human family that perished here


during the trip to Avernus. The ghasts reek of death


and decay.


When the ghasts are dealt with, a successful DC 10


Wisdom (Perception) check discerns a faint c rying
coming from a cupboard. Inside is a young girl called


Shorah Hevrun. A noncombatant, she immediately at-


taches herself to the first character who is kind to her.


Shorah insists on accompanying the characters until


she feels safe. If they can get her to the High Hall, each
character gains inspiration, and the survivors there can


see to Shorah's care.


GHOUL PACK


Seven ghouls roam the streets of Elturel, looking for


their next meal. Their leader, formerly an adventur-


ing rogue, wears magical studded leather armor that


increases its AC to 13 (see "Treasure" below). These


former citizens of the city died when Elturel was drawn


into Avernus. Their souls were corrupted by the terr ible


power of the plane, leaving them in these undead forms.


Treasure. The ghoul leader wears +l studded leather


armor, carries an explorer's pack, and sports a belt


pouch holding a potion of invisibility.


HATEFUL PATROL

A merregon (see page 238 for its stat block) leads


three spined devils through the streets, looking for


mortal survivors or demons that have slipped past the


devilish forces below the city. The spined devils grum-


ble in Infernal, unhappy about being up here when they

could be fighting demons in the battle below. The merre-


gon takes their insolence in silence.

IMP SALES PITCH


As the characters pass an alleyway, they notice an imp


talking with a halfiing. The two are focused on each


other, making it easy for characters to get close enough
to overhear the conversation in Common. The halfiing, a

baker (commoner) named Pilster Pebblehuck, has been


hiding with his family in the basement of their bakery.


They are running out of food, so Pilster has braved the


streets to search for provisions. The imp, Perchillux, is


offering Pilster a month's worth of food for the low price

ElTUREL HAZARDS
In addition to the threats they'll face from fiendish crea-
tures and undead in Elturel, the characters quickly become
aware of the threats presented by the city itself
Falling. Any creature that falls from Elturel's loca·
tion high above Avernus plummets 500 feet into the
soul-shattering waters of the River Styx, taking 70 (20d6)
bludgeoning damage from the fall. The memory-wiping
effects of the river• are described on page 76. However,
characters who plunge into the Styx or the battle raging
around the river are likely killed immediately, with their
bodies beyond recovery.
Lightning. lightning from the Companion strikes the
city every minute or so. The odds of the characters being
harmed by the lightning are slim, but you can use it to
reinforce a sense of urgency as the lightning damages
a rooftop, triggers a building collapse, or strikes the
ground nearby.
Quakes. Every so often, the entire city lurches from
side to side as the great posts binding it to Avernus sink
farther into the ground. This results in the same kind of
damage that would be caused by an earthquake on the
Material Plane: loose objects fall, buildings are damaged,
cracks form in the ground and the streets, and creatures
fall prone.
When Elturel shifts, creatures standing on any surface in
the city must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or
fall prone. In addition, you can describe other damage and
drama resulting from a shift. Perhaps a building collapses,
forcing any creature close enough to be struck by falling
debris to succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or
take 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage.

CHAPTER 2 I ELTUR.EL HAS FALLEN
55
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