CONFRONTING THE DROW
The drow from Velkynvelve have pursued their escaped
prisoners throughout the first half of the adventure.
Along the way. they might have engaged the characters
in combat or set up a number of near-miss encounters.
At times. the adventurers might have believed they hadDROW CHASE COMPLICATIONS
d20 Complication
Uneven ground threatens to slow your progress.
Make a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to
navigate the area. On a failed check, the ground
counts as 10 feet of difficult terrain.
2 A fissure, rocky outcropping, or debris threatens to
trip you up. Make a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics)
check. On a failure, you fall prone.
3 You disturb a swarm of bats that makes one attack
against you before quickly scattering.
4 A colony of piercers hangs 20 feet overhead. As
you pass, one of them drops and makes an attack
against you.
5 You have to dodge around stalagmites and
columns. Make a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics)
check. On a failure, you take 1d4 bludgeoning
damage from running into an obstacle.
6 A mass of webbing blocks your path. Avoiding it
requires a successful DC 12 Dexterity (Acrobatics)
check. On a failure, you are caught in the web and
restrained. As an action, you can make a DC 12
Strength check, bursting the webbing on a success.
The webbing can a lso be attacked (AC 10; hp 5;
vulnerability to fire damage; immunity to poison
and psychic damage).
7 A patch of green slime drops from the ceiling,
requiring a successful DC l 0 Dexterity saving
throw to avoid. On a failu re, you are struck and
take 5 (ldlO) acid damage. You take 5 (1dl0) acid
damage again at the start of each of your turns
until the slime is scraped off or destroyed (see
"Dungeon Hazards" in chapter 5 of the Dungeon
Master's Guide).
8 The floor beneath you is smooth and slick with
moisture, requiring a successful DC 10 Dexterity
saving throw to navigate. On a failed save,
you fall prone.
9 The floor beneath you is littered with sharp rocks
and debris, and you must succeed on a DC 10
Dexterity saving throw to cross it. On a failure, you
take 1d4 piercing damage and the ground counts as
10 feet of difficult terrain.
10 The chase kicks up a cloud of dust, sand, or spores.
You must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving
throw to pass through the cloud. On a failure, you
are blinded until the end of your turn. While blinded
in this way, your speed is reduced by half.
11 - 20 No complication.CHAPTER 7 ESCAPE FROM THE UNDfRDARK
shaken off their pursuers for good, only to have the drow
show up unexpectedly. The characters' departure from
the Underdark offers the final opportunity for them to
confront their pursuers and settle the score.
The possibility that her prey might escape drives
Tlvara onward. In turn, she relemlessly pushes those
under her command to redouble their efforts to catch
the characters. At this point, the pursuit level tracking
set out in chapter 2 is no longer relevant. Tlvara and
her warriors catch up to the adventurers just before
they reach the uppermost level of the Underdark. The
adventurers can choose to lead the drow on a risky
chase, or stand and fight.DROW CHASE
If the adventurers flee from the drow, use the chase
rules in chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master's Guide to play
out the pursuit. The draw are on foot.lf she gets close
enough to do so. Tlvara tries to cut off the party's escape
by casting web across the tunnel ahead. In addition to
giving chase, the drow in the pursuit party pepper the
characters with poisoned crossbow bolts, hoping to
render some of them unconscious.CHASE COMPLICATIONS
Each participant in the chase rolls a d20 at the end of its
turn and consults the Draw Chase Complications table.
The result (if any) affects the next chase participant in
initiative order.
If the characters escape from the draw, they can exit
the Underdark unopposed. Tlvara returns in disgrace with
nothing to show for her considerable efforts, a !though she
and others from Velkynvelve might reappear when the
adventurers return to the Underdark (see chapter 15, "The
City of Spiders'').
If you want to extend the chase, the drow could pursue
the characters onto the surface, which places them at
a disadvantage once the sun comes up (see "Evening
the Odds").
U the draw catch up with the characters, the chase
becomes a combat (see "Stand and Fight").STAND AND F IGHT
If the characters stand and fight, or if the drow catch
them, they're in for a tough battle. Tlvara alone is a
challenge for a group of 8th-level characters, and she
is accompanied by her most powerful servants. The
attacking drow force consists of the following:
Ilvara, drow prieste ss ofLolth, armed with a tentacle
rod in addition to the usual equipment- Ash a, junior drow priestess (use the priest stat
block in the Monster Manual, but give Asha the
Fey Ancestry, Innate Spellcasting, and Sunlight
Sensitivity features of a typical drow) - Shoor andjorlan, drow elite w a.rriors Qorlan has
disadvantage on attack rolls, Dexterity checks, and
Dexterity saving throws) - Four drow warriors
If any of the named drow were killed in chapter 1, they
have been replaced by other drow with similar statistics.