hundred years ago, and that these modrons are likely
remnants of that march. The tridrone doesn't admit
this (not wanting to acknowledge its failure), though it
might be convinced to follow the characters if they offer
to lead the modrons out of the Labyrinth. Additionally,
the tridrone knows the Labyrinth well, and befriending
the modrons grants characters a +5 bonus to Wisdom
(Survival) checks made ro navigate the region.
The tridronc warns the characters to avoid the center
of the Labyrinth, explaining that a malfunctioning
"Orderer" is there. The characters might know the
device by its other name: the Maze Engine. Because
the device was built on Mechanus, its magical energy
resonates with the modrons. The tridrone explains
that an Orderer is designed to bring order to chaos by
altering reality. A malfunctioning Orderer can be very
dangerous, however, altering reality in unexpected ways.
The tridrone knows exactly how far it is from the device.
Because its knowledge of magic is limited and its focus
on rejoining the Great Modron March is all-consuming,
the tridrone has never thought about whether the Orderer
might provide a solution to the modrons· predicament. If
the characters express an interest in investigating this
possibility, the tridrone leads the party to the center of
the Labyrinth where the Maze Engine is found.YEENOGHU'S HUNT
About twelve miles from their encounter with the
modrons, as they travel th rough the Labyrinth, the
characters hear sounds of howling in the distance off
and on over the course of many hours. Sometimes
the sounds get closer or fade away, echoing strangely
through the surrounding tunnels.
Eventually, the characters enter a smaller tunnel
leading upward. As they move forward, they can clearly
hear the sound of fighting ahead. Bestial howls and yips
can be heard, along with deeper roaring. A successful
DC 13 T ntellige nce check recognizes the language of
the battle cries as Gnoll. The characters can retreatHUNTED BY YEENOCHU
If you'd like Yeenoghu to play more of a role in this chapter
of the adventure, it's easy to do so. When the gnolls killed
by the characters do not rejoin the hunt, the demon
lord circles back to the site of the goristro's demise and
discovers his slain minions- and also picks up the scent
of the adventurers.
later in the adventure, Yeenoghu hunts down the
characters to make them pay for their impudence
(ideally when they are much higher in level). Before the
final confrontation, give the characters hints that they
have become the demon lord's prey. They might face an
increasing number of gnoll ambushes, for example. One
or more of their attackers might refer to them as "prey of
Yeenoghu," or otherwise taunt them by speaking of their
impending doom.
The characters should have time to prepare for the fight
they know is coming, and to think about tactics other
than facing Yeenoghu in straight-up combat. For example,
becoming the demon lord's quarry might work to their
advantage later in the campaign, making them the perfect
bait to lure Yeenoghu into a trap in chapter 17, "Against
the Demon Lords."CJI \P'TCR HI THE LABYRINTH
away from the sounds of combat, but doing so means
backtracking for six miles to find another route. lf
they continue ahead, they are confronted with a grisly
scene. Though the characters likely have no firsthand
experience of a goristro, they recognize the creature
from the information provided to them by Vizeran DeVir.As you move forward. the sounds of furious battle grow
louder. The tunnel ends at a ledge twenty feet above the
floor of a large cavern, giving you a perfect view of the
conflict below.
On the shores of an underground lake, a pack of
frenzied gnolls and hyenas surrounds a demon standing
nearly twenty feet tall, with massive arms, clawed hands,
cloven hooves, and the head of a bull. This is a goristro,
whose heart Vizeran DeVir has instructed you to claim.
Leading the gnolls is a figure of fearful countenance,
twelve feet tall with the head of a snarling, amber-eyed
hyena. He wie lds a massive triple flail, whose whirling
heads smash into the larger gorist ro. The gnolls howl
their master's name as he strikes swiftly, again and
aga in: "Yeenoghu! Yeenoghu!"
The larger demon roars, slashing with its bull's horns
and flailing with its claws, but to no avail. Yeenoghu
evades or shrugs off its attacks, even as gnoll archers
pepper it with arrows. Then the gnolls swarm the goristro
a s it begins to fa lter, bringing it crashing to the ground.
In less than a minute, the battle is won. The demon
lord Yeenoghu pulls back the goristro's head by the horns
and rips out its throat with his teeth. He throws back
his head and his howl o f t riumph echoes through the
chamber, shaking the s tones themselves. Several hyenas
nipping at Yeenoghu's heels leap onto the goristro's
corpse and begin feasting on its flesh. As you watch,
these hyenas transform into gnolls.Any adventurer witnessing this horrible tableau must
succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or gain
one level of madness (see "Madness" in chapter 2). If
this causes the character to suffer a bout of indefinite
madness. determine the nature of the madness using
the Indefinite Madness of Yeenoghu table in appendix D.
Yeen oghu (see appendix D) has been wandering
the Underdark since he was first summoned. and the
adventurers have run across him and his pack. The
characters' only advantage at this moment is that they
haven't yet been detected. Considering their level at this
stage of the adventure, the players might be creating
new characters quite soon if they dare confront the
demon lord.
If the characters stay hidden and observe. Yeenoghu
leaves in short order. He is restless and eager for new
prey. Yeenoghu gathers up most of the gnolls and hyenas
and leads them down a tunnel on the right side of the
cavern. Eight gnolls led by a gnoll pack lord remain in
the cavern, feasting on the goristro's corpse.