slippery,slopedwallsofapitrequiresaDC 25 Strength
(Athletics)check.
Newprisonersareslappedinchainsanddroppedintoa
randompit.Theyuan-tistripallprisonersoftheirbelongings,
whicharekeptinthestoreroom(area 13 )untiltheyare
properlyinventoried.Iftheyuan-tineedtogetaprisonerout
ofthepit,theydisconnectahookfromthelidanduseitto
hoisttheprisoneroutbythemanacles.
Eachpitcontains 1 d 3 prisoners,andthe“Prisonersofthe
Yuan-ti”sidebardescribesseveral.Ifaplayercharacterdies,
youcouldintroduceareplacementcharacterhereasa
prisonerhopingtoberescued.
Prisonersareforcedtowearmanaclesontheirwristsand
shacklesontheirankles.Themanaclesimposedisadvantage
onabilitychecksmadetoclimborswim.Theshacklesreduce
aprisoner’swalkingspeedbyhalfandimposedisadvantage
onabilitychecksmadetojump.Fenthaza(seearea 5 )carries
thekeysforthesebindings.See“AdventuringGear”inchapter
5 ofthePlayer’sHandbookforrulesonbreaking,escaping,and
unlockingmanacles(andshackles).
Teleporter
Theengravedstonediskinthenorthernalcoveisoneof
RasNsi’smagicteleporters(see“Teleporters”).
9 .TheFane...............................................................................................................................................................................
Anundergroundcathedralopensbeforeyou.Atone
end,asculpturedbalconyperchesatopfiverearing
stoneserpents.Blooddribblingfromtheserpents’jaws
fallsintoasemicircularbasin,andfromthereflows
alongaslopedtroughintoawidestonebowlsetinto
thefloor.Southofthebowlisamezzanine,prominently
situatedatopwhichisacauldronofsteamingbroththat
exudesfleshyodors.Tothewest,ahugegongcarved
withsnakepatternsstandsonasecondbalcony.Duringrituals,thefaneswellswithyuan-ti,buttheroomis
unguardedotherwise.Whenstruck,thegongcanbeheard
throughoutthetemplecomplex.Onestrikeannouncesthe
startofaserpentritual:whensounded,alltheyuan-tiwithin
thetemplecomplexarriveherewithinhalfanhour.Twoor
morestrikesinquicksuccessionsignalanalarm:when
sounded,yuan-tithroughoutthetempleconvergeonthis
locationasquicklyaspossible(seetheTempleRostertable).
BloodPool
Bloodspilledinarea 6 ischanneledintothisroom,andthe
centralpoolcontains 3 d 6 inchesofviscid,days-oldbloodfrom
previoussacrifices.Theyuan-tiwallowinthebloodfromtime
totime,andslavesaresometimesbroughtheretobeeaten
alivebycrazedrevelersortransformedintoyuan-ti(see
“Yuan-tiRituals”below).
Cauldron
Astewmadefromboiledfleshsloshesinsidethecauldron,
whichisheatedbyavolcanicventinthefloorunderneathit.
Upturningthecauldronisanactionthatrequiresasuccessful
DC 15 Strengthcheck.Whenthecauldronistipped,each
creatureonthefloorwithina 15 - footconeofthecauldron
mustmakeaDC 12 Dexteritysavingthrow,taking 4 ( 1 d 8 )fire
damageonafailedsave,orhalfasmuchdamageona
successfulone.
NorthBalconyandTeleporter
RasNsiandFenthazausethenorthbalconytoaddress
underlings.Toclimbup,acharactermustsucceedonaDC 13
Strength(Athletics)check.Thebalustradesaroundthe
balconyprovidehalfcoveragainstrangedattacksoriginating
fromtheroombelow.
Setintothebackwallisanalcovewithanengravedstone
diskonthefloor—oneofRasNsi’smagicteleporters(see
“Teleporters”).Portcullis
Aportcullissealstheentrancetoarea 10 .Abronzeleverisset
intothewallnorthofthegate,outofsightofarea 10 .Lifting
theleverraisestheportcullis,andpullingtheleverdown
causestheportcullistodrop.Yuan-tiRituals
Onceeverytendays,theyuan-tigatherinthefanefora
depravedritual.Theceremonytakesplaceoverthecourseof
onenight,withaskeletoncrewguardingtherestofthetemple
complexduringtheseperiods.
Duringtheritual,mesmerizingincenseisburnedinthe
wallsconces.(Seearea 13 formoreinformationonthe
incense.)Fenthazapreachestothecongregationfromthe
northbalcony.Astheceremonyreachesfeverpitch,shejoins
therevelersinthebloodpooltofeastontheslavesbefore
slitheringbacktoherquarters.Onoccasion,humanslavesare
transformedintoyuan-tipurebloodsorbroodguardsduring
theserituals.Toundergothechange,slavesmustbathewith
snakesinthebloodofsacrificialvictimswhileunderthe
influenceoftempledrugs.Thetransformationleaveseach
slavewith 1 d 6 levelsofexhaustion.Oncethey’veshedtheir
oldskin,thosewhosurvivetheprocessaretakentotheirnew
homeintheyuan-tinests(area 18 )torecuperate.Thosewho
diearefedtothehydrainarea 21.
Fenthazacanarrangeforcapturedhumancharacterstobe
transformedintoyuan-tipurebloodssotheycanroamfreely
withinthetemplecomplexandgetclosertoRasNsi.The
transformationcanbeundoneonlybyawishspellordivine
intervention.Characterswhosurviveitgainarandomformof
indefinitemadness(see“Madness”inchapter 8 ofthe
DungeonMaster’sGuide).Ahumanthatundergoesand
survivestheritualretainsitstraitsandgainsthefollowing
yuan-tiracialtraits.
Darkvision.Youcanseeindimlightwithin 60 feetofyou
asifitwerebrightlight,andindarknessasifitweredimlight.
Youcan’tdiscerncolorindarkness,onlyshadesofgray.
InnateSpellcasting.Youknowthepoisonspraycantrip.
Youcancastanimalfriendshipanunlimitednumberoftimes
withthistrait,butyoucantargetonlysnakeswithit.Starting
at 3 rdlevel,youcanalsocastsuggestionwiththistrait.Once
youcastit,youcan’tdosoagainuntilyoufinishalongrest.
Charismaisyourspellcastingabilityforthesespells.
MagicResistance.Youhaveadvantageonsavingthrows
againstspellsandothermagicaleffects.
PoisonImmunity.Youareimmunetopoisondamageand
thepoisonedcondition.10 .Harem.................................................................................................................................................................................
Anironportcullissealstheentrancetothischamber.Toraise
it,acreaturemustliftaleverinarea 9.