D&D Tomb of Annihilation

AtaazKahakla

TherivercanyoncalledAtaazKahakla(“GorgeofDeath”)
inspireswonderinmostpeoplewhoseeit.Thecliffwalls,
whichvaryfrom 50 to 200 feethigh,arelinedwithrowupon
rowofcoral.It’salldead,butitretainsitsrainbowcolors,
makingthecanyonintoabreathtaking,pseudo-underwater
seascape.Mixedinamongthecoralsareintactskeletonsof
plesiosaurs,giantsharks,andotherseacreatures.

AtaazMuhahah

Showninmap 2. 2 ,AtaazMuhahah(“LaughingGorge”)isa
gapingchasmcrossedbyanancientstonespancalledthe
MonkeyBridge.Thestructuregotitsnamefromthemonkeys
thatperchonitswallsandhangbytheirtailsfromits
underside.Themonkeysareamixoflivingmonkeysand
ancientcarvingsthatarepartofthebridge.Mostofthe
carvingshavebeendamagedbytime,buttheskilledartistry
remainsapparent.
Thelivingmonkeyschatterandshriekcontinually,andthe
gorgeechoeswiththesoundoftheircries.Occasionally,the
echoesfromupanddownthegorgeoverlapinawaythat
transformsthecacophonyintohaughty,gloatinglaughter.
Whenthathappens,theterrifiedmonkeysfallsilentfor
severalminutesasthe“laughter”diesawaybeforeresuming
theirchatter.
Symbolicmazesarecarvedprominentlyontothebridge
anditssupports.AnyChultanandmostguidescanconfirm
thatmazesymbolsandthesolvingofmazesareassociated
withtheancientworshipofUbtao.Acharactercanrecallthis

informationwithasuccessfulDC 20 Intelligence(Religion)
check.

ShrineofUbtao

Astoneshrinestandsatthemidpointofthebridge.It

consistsofanimposingstatueofaChultanwarrior

wearingawarmask,hunkereddownlikeapanther

readytopounce.Likethemonkeyselsewhereonthe

bridge,thecarvingishighlystylized.Brightgemsflash

initseyesockets.

Ahumanskeletonliescrumplednearthestatue’sfeet.

Severalofitsbonesareobviouslybroken,butit’s

impossibletellwhethertheseinjurieshappenedwhile

thepersonwasaliveorwerecausedbyscavengersafter

death.

Thestatueis,infact,astonegolemcreatedtodefendthe

bridgeagainstancientinvaders.Itattacksanyonewho

desecratesit(includingtryingtoremoveitseyegems,which

arepurelydecorativeandworthless),whodamagesthebridge,

orwhopassestheshrinewithoutmakingtheproper

obeisancetoUbtao.Therequiredhomageinvolvesplacinga

fingertipatthecenterofoneofthebridge’smazelikecarvings

andtracinganunbrokenpathpastthestatue.Guideswhoare

nativesofChultwouldknowthis.Thesymboliclabyrinths

aren’tterriblycomplex;thebiggestdifficultycomesfromthe

lichensandmossgrowingoverthem.Iftheseareclearedaway

withaknifeorothertoolbeforetracingthemaze,itcanbe

tracedproperlywithasuccessfulDC 5 Intelligencecheck.Ifit’s

notcleanedfirst,theDCincreasesto 10 .Ifit’scleanedby

scrapingwithbarehands,thegoleminterpretsthatastracing

themazeincorrectlyandattacks.Tracingthemazewitha