Out of the Abyss

SLAVE PARADE

To impress its neighbors and rivals. one of the ruhng

houses organizes a parade of its choicest slaves. The

characters encounter the parade as it meanders along

the boulevards of Qu'cllarz'orl.

Dozens of naked and chained slaves form the

parade. their bodies painted with dyes and perfumes.

Leading the s lave parade is a drow noble, while order

is maintained by 4d6 drow warriors in full ceremonial

house regalia.

THE RIF T S

Three large chasms score the floor of the cavern of

Menzoberranzan.

CLAWRIFT

The Clawrift's uncharted depths have long been

rumored to extend into the Abyss. This legend

was seemingly proven true when the demon lord

Demogorgon emerged from the Clawrift, obliterating

the rope bridges that once extended across it. Bregan

D'aerthe spies are assessing the damage from their

base in a ruined drow compound overlooking the

Clawrift. {The compound was once House Oblodra, a

powerful drow house that was destroyed by Lolth over

one hundred years ago during the Time of Troubles.)

MISTRIFT

This long gorge at the city's center earned its name

from the rolling clouds of steam that forever billow

up from below. A number of subterranean streams

flow out of the Mistrift's vertical walls. tht!ir icy waters

cascading down into the darkened void below. Half a

mile down. the runoff collects in an ancient aquifer. its

waters superheated by an adjacent magma flow. Arcane

watermills collect water from the falls. diverting it to an

underground cistern that the drow can tap into.

WESTRIFT

The newest of the city's large clefts, Westrift swallowed

up three drow houses and a score of lesser dwellings

when it opened its yawning maw three centuries ago.

In more recent years. the rift has become home to

hundreds of giant arachnids. which have filled much of

the cleft with their webs and nests- to the extent that

anyone falling into the rift has a 75 percent chance

of being caught in a web. taking no damage from the

fall but attracting ld4 + 1 hungry giant spiders. See

"Dungeon Hazards" in chapter 5 of the Dungeon

Master's Guide for rules on escaping webs.

Characters entering Menzoberranzan by means of

Vizeran DeVir's secret tunnel come to a secret door that

pulls open to reveal a narrow ledge 60 feet below the

lip of the rift. Characters can scale the cleft wall with a

successful DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check. as there

are abundant hand holds. Any character who fails the

check by 5 or more falls.

TIER BRECHE

The Great Stair of Tier Breche rises from rhe Aoor

of Menzoberranzan to the cavern housing the

three branches of the Academy: Melee-\1agthere.

a pyramid-shaped edifice where drow warriors are

trained: Arach-Tinilith. a spider-shaped cathedral where

drO\v priestesses worship their demon goddess: and

Sorcerc. a magnificent tower where drow mages learn

to ma!>ter the magical arts. on-drow are forbidden

from entering this part of the city.

The stone steps are some three hundred feet wide

and rise nearly the same distanee. A pair of giant jade

spiders flanks the stairway at the top, ready to animate

to attack non·drow that climb the steps. The two jade

spiders have the statistics of stone golems with the

following statistical modifications:

The jade spiders have 250 hit points each.

They have a climbing speed of 30 feet.

• They have truesight out to a range of 120 feet.
  Roll for random encounters as the characters
  explore the Academy grounds. You can roll a d20 and
  consult the Tier Breche Encounters table. or choose an
  encounter that you like. The party can avoid random
  encounters by succeeding on a DC 17 Dexterity (Stealth)
  group check. Sounds of battle are common at the
  Academy; however, drow guards are trained to tell the
  difference between training exercises and the sound of
  real combat. The latter attracts reinforcements in the
  form of ld4 elite drow warriors every round until the
  perceived threat is eliminated.

TIER BRECHE ENCOUNTERS

d20 Encounter

1-6 Drow acolytes

7-12 Drow mages

13-20 Drew warriors

DROW ACOLYTES

The characters encounter 2d6 female drow acolytes

out for a walk. There is a 25 percent chance that a

drow priestess ofLolth is with them, filling the young

devotees' heads with wisdom and instructing them on

the Way of Lolth (see "The Way of Lolth" sidebar). If

they come under attack, the acolytes withdraw to Arach·

Tinilith while the priestess stands her ground.

0ROW MAGES

The characters encounter ld3 drow mages out for a

walk. There is a 50 percent chance that these mages are

members of the Council of Spiders and of a mind to help

th<' characters infiltrate Sorccre. should the characters

reveal that they are in league with Vizeran DeVir. These

mages offer to cast greater invisibility spells on visible

characters and escort the party to Cromph's sanctum

in the tower. As long as the characters are under

the protection of these mages. they have no hostile

encounters until they enter Gromph's sanctum (see

"Sorcere'' for details}.

DROW WARRIORS

The characters encounter 4d6 drow warriors on a

training t>xercise. There is a 50 percent chance that

ld4 drow e lite warriors are with them, providing

instruction and discipline. Jf they spot non·drow on

Academy ground:;. the drow try lCl kill any intruder.

C HAPTf .R 15 I T l H! C I T Y OF SPJ0£1tS

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