- EXIT TUNNEL
Characters can exit the worm nur!>er} and return to the
Wormwrithings via this purple worm tunnel.
THE DARK HUNTERS
The Dark Hunters consist of Zhora Halle n (a drow
elite warrior) and ten drow. Each carries adventuring
equipment (bedroll, rope. a flask of oi l). three days'
worth of food and water rations. and 2d6 x 10 gp. Zhora
and her comrades survived the purple worm attack that
'>t>paratcd them from Hanne (see "Voice in the Dark"").
Zhora believes that Hanne is dead.
Twenty minutes after the characters first enter the
purple worm nursery through area 1. Zhora and her
Dark Hunters enter these caverns through the tunnel in
area 7. th<"n scale down to the cavern floor. They spend
a few minutes regrouping and making their way through
the southern echo chamber, then arrive in a rea 8 and
scale the resin strands to grab two purple worm eggs. If
they e ncounte r tht> adventurers and Hanne isn't present.
the drow are hostile, though they might be convinced
to enter a temporary truce with a successful DC 20
Charisma (Persuasion) check.
If Hannc is with the party and has b<·en well treated.
she and her mother have a quiet reunion. Zhora gravely
promises the adventurers that she will repay the debt
she owes them however s he can.
DEVELOPMENT
lf the c haracters reunite Zhora and Hannc, this act of
benevolence could lead to Zhora potentially aiding the
adventurers in chapte r 15. "The City of Spiders." Sec
that chapter for details.THE VAST 0BLIVIUM
Following Vizeran's directions. the characters find
the chasm known as the Vast Oblivium-the lair of
the behold e r Karazikar- twelve miles from the purple
worm nursery.
The beholder c reated the Vast Oblivium using its
disintegration eye ray. This lair consists of a central
chasm known as "Karazikar·s Maw." surrounded
by ten vertical shafts. These are interconnected
with horizontal tunnels resembling "spokes" and
honeycombed with small caves used by the beholder"s
followers and sla, ·es. A web of rope bridges crisscrosses
the maw. connecting passages o n different levels.I N HABITANT S
Karazikar cons ide rs itself the master o f all it surveys.
The beholder doesn'tlive alone, thoug h , keeping its lair
well stock<"d with disposable ~ervants.KARAZlKAR THE EYE TYRANT
Like most of its kind. this beholder is hateful and
paranoid, trusting no one. Its servants are keenly aware
that failure to please their master means death or
petr i fie at ion.
Karazikar has goals beyond simply ruling over its
domain. Long ago. the beholder heard rumors of anTHE VAST 0BUVIUM: GENERAL fEATURES
T1 e characters encounter the follow1ng features in the
al en andscape of the Vast Obhv1um.
L1ght. The tunnels and chambers of the Vast Obhvium
are d mly l1t by glowing fung1 and lichen.
Br~dges. The central chasm of Karaz1kar's Maw 1s
100 feet across. spanned by bndges made of gut and
zurkhwood that are anchored to metal nngs m the rock
walls of the tunnel entrances. The tunnels are staggered so
that the bridges cross over each other at d1fferent points.
From any bndge, a character can climb or drop 10 feet to
reach a bndge leading to a tunnel on an adJacent level.
Chasm. The chasm of Karaz1kar's Maw extends some
five hundred feet below the lowest bndged tunnels,
plungmg .nto darkness. A fall.nto the chasm deals 20d6
bludgeomng damage.
Shafts. The ten vertical shafts around the perimeter of
the chasm are each 30 feet w1de and 100 feet from top
to bottom. They're located 100 feet from the edge of the
chasm and connected to it by tunnels. Each shaft features
s1de chambers and small caverns, and has rope ladders for
Karazikar's slaves to move up and down them.arcane device known as the Maze Engine. capable
of shifting the gears of reality. During the last Great
Mod ron March. Karazikar capturt>d a pentadrone and
afterward became convinced the Maze Engine existed
in the Underdark. Unfortunately. the mod ron's axiomatic
mind couldn't be broken. and it perished rather than
reveal anything. Since then. the beholder has made it
known that it's interested in certain "curiosities.'" and
it rewards anyone who brings it more modrons or hints
about the exis te nce or location of the Maze Engine
(which is described in chapter 14).SHEDRAK OF THE EYES
The beholder's favorite slave is a human named
Shedrak of the Eyes. As Karazikar's "high priest.'' he
leads other slaves in worship of their master and carries
out the beholder"s commands.
Formerly an adventurer from the surface world.
S hedra k and his companions delved too deeply into the
Wormwrithings. His companions became Karazikar's
playthings for a time, but Shedrak a lone was able to
resist and withstand all ten of the beholder's eye rays.
Impressed by this feat of extraordinary luck, Karazikar
made the human his acolyte after breaking his mind
and his will. Shcdrak is completely mad. considers
Karazikar a god, and brooks no defiance or disrespect
toward his "divine master:·SLAVES
One hundred slaves of various humanoid races serve
the beholder. Some were captured while wandering too
far from their Underdark settlements, while others we re
purchased in the slave bazaars of Menzoberranzan.
The youngest slaves were born in the Vast Oblivium
and raised here. knowing no other life. Many of the
beholder's slaves worship it. particularly those born
here. their minds warped by the aberration's charm rays
and their lifelong captivity.
All of the slaves fear Karazikar. and the notion of
acting against the beholder seem s impossible to them.
However, witnessing the bravery of the adventurers ha~C H APTt::R 13 I Till V.OR\IWR!TlllNC S