68 .HallofDecay......................................................................................................................................................................
Gravenimagesofrottingcorpsesdecoratethishall,and
thefloorislitteredwithtarnishedcoins,piecesof
armor,brokenshields,axeheads,andotherbitsof
scrapmetal.Allnonmagicalobjectsmadeofcloth,leather,wood,or
metalthatenterthiscorridorinstantlydecayorcorrodetothe
pointofbeinguselessandworthless.Clothingandarmorfalls
apart,shieldsandweaponsbecomebrittleandineffective,and
soforth.Amendingspellcannotrepairanobjectdamagedin
thisfashion.
Anarchwaystandsatthewestendofthehall,through
whichcharacterscanseeintoarea 69.
Thisyawningarchwayhasakeystoneadornedwithan
ironbull’sskull,whichbitesdownonanivoryring.Adetectmagicspellorsimilareffectrevealsanauraof
necromancymagicemanatingfromtheivoryring.Iftheringis
yankedfromtheskull’sjaws,itdisintegratesandthe
destructiveeffectinthehallwayends.
Thestaircaseonthesouthsideofthehallwaydescends 25
feettoarea 71 onlevel 6.
69 .MechanusChain................................................................................................................................................................
Hotwindtingedwiththesmellofburningoilblows
downaforty-foot-diameterverticalshaft.Stone
balconiesprotrudefromthewallsonoppositesidesof
thisexpanse,withthewestbalconyfifteenfeethigher
thantheeastone.Twothickchainsrattleinthegulf
betweenthebalconies—oneascendingtwohundred
feetbeforedisappearingintoacloudyvortexlitbyarcs
ofpurplelightning;theotherwrappingaroundan
enormousmetalgearfloatingonehundredfeetbelow.
Anotherhundredfeetbelowthegear,asecondvortex
rages.
Todrivehisinfernalmachinery,Acererakcontaminateda
workforceofmodronsfromtheplaneofMechanus.Underthe
stewardshipofacorruptpentadrone,themodronsrerouted
oneoftheirgreatchainsintothetomb.Thesectionsofthe
shaftaboveandbelowthebalconiesexistoutsideofnormal
space,preventingtheshaftfromintersectingwiththetomb’s
otherlevels.
ModronIntervention
Thefirsttimeanycharactermovesoutontoabalcony,read:
Aripformsinthevortexhighabove,andninecube-
shapedcreatureswithwingsandshortbowsflythrough.
Theyarequicklyfollowedbyalargecrystaldecahedron
thatholdsaweirdstarfish-shapedcreature.
Apentadroneleadsasquadofninequadronesthrough
theupperplanarvortex,whichallowssafepassageintothe
shaftbutnotoutofit.Knowingthattheycannotreturnto
Mechanus,themodronsfightuntildestroyed.Oncethese
modronsaredealtwith,theshaftbecomesundefended.No
othermodronsaresentthroughthevortex.
Thepentadronecan’tflyonitsown,butitgainsaflying
speedof 30 feetandcanhoverwhileencasedinthecrystal
decahedron,whichgrantsitsoccupanttotalcoveragainst
attacksthatoriginateoutsidethevehicle.Thepentadrone
can’tmakemeleeattacksthroughthedecahedron,butitcan
useabonusactiontoopenasmallholeinanyofthe
decahedron’sfacetsinordertospraycreatureswithits
paralysisgas.
ThedecahedronhasAC 16 , 50 hitpoints,immunityto
poisondamage,resistancetopiercingandslashingdamage,
andvulnerabilitytobludgeoningandthunderdamage.Ifitis
reducedto 0 hitpoints,thecrystaldecahedronshattersand
thepentadronefalls.
Thecrystaldecahedronhasenoughroomtoaccommodate
oneSmallorMediumcreatureinadditiontothepentadroneif
acharacterthinkstoenterthevehicleusingmistystep,
dimensiondoor,orsimilarmagic.Insidethevehicle,the
pentadronecanattackasnormal.Whenthepentadronedies,
thedecahedronshatters.PlanarLore
CharacterswithproficiencyintheArcanaskillcanmakean
Intelligence(Arcana)checktodeterminewhat,ifanything,
theyrecallaboutplanarvorticesandMechanuschains.Witha
successfulcheck,acharacterlearnstheappropriateloreand
alllorewithalowerDC:
DC 10 :Planarvorticesareincrediblydestructive.Noone
canexpecttoenteravortexandsurvive.DC 15 :ThechainiscalledaMechanuschain.Suchchains
arecraftedbymodronsandusedinconjunctionwithother
machinerytokeeptheplaneofMechanusinworkingorder.DC 20 :ThisMechanuschainhasbeenrepurposedforthe
tomb.Onechainwouldbeenoughtokeepthetomb’straps
andothermechanismsinworkingorder.DC 25 :DestroyingaMechanuschainrequiresthecasting
ofthreewishspells.TheShaft
Theshaftis 400 feethighintotalandfeaturesdeadlyplanar
vorticesattopandbottom.Anycreatureintheshaftthat
entersaplanarvortexistornapart,itsbodyandpossessions
scatteredacrossthemultiverse.
TheMechanuschainformsaloopinconstantmotion.One
partofthechaindescendsatarateof 50 feetperround,
wrappingaroundthegiantgearthatfloats 100 feetbelowthe
eastbalcony,whiletheotherpartofthechainclimbstoenter
theuppervortexatthesamerate.
Thetwobalconiesareseparatedbya 15 - foot-widegulf,
throughwhichjanglingchainlinksriseandfall.Magicthat
allowscharacterstoflyortowalkonwallsmakesiteasyto
crossfromonebalconytotheother.Anycharacterwhomoves
atleast 10 feetbeforehandcanjumpfromthewestbalconyto
theeastbalcony.Becausethewestbalconyis 15 feethigher
thanitseasterncounterpart,acharactermusteitherpolevault
acrossthegap(usinga 10 - footpoleorsimilaritem)oruse
magic.Acharactercanalsocrosstheexpansebyleapingfrom
onebalconytothenearestchain,fromthatchaintotheother,
andfinallytotheoppositebalcony.Eachofthesejumps
requiresasuccessfulDC 10 Strength(Athletics)check.Any
characterwhofailsacheckmadetojumptoabalconyorchain
fallsdowntheshaftandintothelowerplanarvortexunless
somehowhalted.Afallingcharactercanlandonthefloating
gear 100 feetbelowwithasuccessfulDC 10 Dexteritysaving
throwbuttakesfallingdamageasnormal.