massive chamber that occupies the entire fourth level of
one tower. She sits upon a throne carved from a single
black sapphire. with large diamonds set into its arms
shedding light at the matron's command.
Quenthel doesn't know that Vizcran DeVir is still
alive. and any memion of him piques her interest.
although she doesn't consider him a threat. After
Gromph disappeared. she sent underlings to Sorcere
to rid his sanctum of any incriminating evidence. They
found none. The matron mother doesn't know about
Gromph's secret inner sanctum or the grimoire hidden
there. If the characters explain the broad strokes of their
goal to get the grimoire out of the city, Quenthel allows
and supports their mission even as she secretly plans
to manufacture evidence that the adventurers were
behind the ritual that brought the demon lords to the
Underdark if they are caught with the grimoire in their
possession. She grants permission for the characters to
enter Sorccre and instructs the tower's inhabitants not
to impede their investigation.
As a Chosen of Lolth, Quenthel Baenre is, by herself,
a threat comparable to any demon lord. Surrounded by
the well-trained guards and magical wards of House
Baenre. she could annihilate the adventurers without
breaking a sweat. If the characters attack her, use
the statistics of the drow pries tess ofLolth with the
following modifications:
Quentht>l has an Armor Class of 19 (-3 scale mail)
and 132 (24d8 + 24 ) hit points.
She has an Intellige nce of 18 (+4) and a Wisdom of 20
(+5). Her saving throw bonuses are as follows: Con +8.
Wis + 12, Cha t 11. Her skill bonuses are as follows:
Insight +12. Perception +12, Religion +11. Stealth +9.- She's an 20th-level spellcaster who can cast any cleric
spell up to 9th level at will (save DC 20. +12 to hit with
spell attacks). - She wields a tentacle> rod.
- While seated on her throne. Quenthel can use an
action on her turn to cast disintegrate (save DC 19). A
target that fails its saving throw takes 1 0d6 + 40 force
damage. If th is damage reduces the target to 0 hit
points, it is disintegrated.
She has a c hallenge rating of 22 (4 1 ,000 XP).
XP AWARDS
If the party gainl> the support of Quenthel Baenre. award
each character 2.000 XP.jARLAXLE BAENRE OF
BREGAN D'AERTHE
The dashing and dapper commander of the Oregan
D'acrthr mercenary company.jarlaxle Baenre is a drow
warrior with centuries of experience. A nonconformist
in a culture where failure to conform usually means
death or ~xilf', he has learned to walk the line between
being too defiant to be part of drow society and being
too useful to get rid of.
In addition to witnessing first hand the destruction
wrought in Mcnzoberranzan.jarlaxle understands the
terrible implications of the demon lords' arrival in the
Underdark, and ht' knows that his brother Gromph isCHAPTER t!l ( liH CllY OF SPIDERSresponsible. j arlaxle knows that Gromph is hiding in the
city of Luskan on the Sword Coast, but he doesn't share
this information under any circumstances.jarlaxle has
eyes and ears everywhere in Menzoberranzan. and he
takes an interest in the adventurers particularly if they
travel wit h Grin Ousstyl.
Tf the characters agree to meet withjarlaxle in House
Do'Urden. read the following when they first arr ive.A drow house stands alone and forlorn with its back
against the west wall of Menzoberranzan's great vault.
Its towers are dark, its walls crumbling and in desperate
need of repair. The old fortress has the countenance of
a haunted ruin, but here and there you glimpse signs
of life: drow m black leather armor standing guard in
the shadows and magical flames dancing in the s tone
braziers that flank the ent rance. As you are led inside,
a pillared hall s trewn with broken statuary looms all
around you. Leaning agains t a cracked pillar is a drow
with an eyepatch and a wide-brimmed hat. A saber hangs
from his h1p, and he cuts a dashing figure. "Well met!" he
says with a smile.When Matron Mother Quenthel Baenre resurrected
House Do'Urden. she ordered her brother jarlaxle tO
look after the long-abandoned Do'Urden estate. He now
uses the ruined drow house as a Bregan o ·aerthe base.
Most of the house is off-limits to visitors. andjarlaxle
won't allow the characters to stay long.
jarlaxlc doesn't want the demon lords rampaging
through the Underdark or making it to the surface
world. If the characters reveal that their ultimate goal
is to send the d(•mon lords back to the Abyss,Jarlaxle
gives them whatever aid he can short of doing their
"dirty work" for them. If the characters mention VizeraP
DcVir,Jarlaxlc's interest is piqued. for he thought
Vizeran was dead. lle warns them not to trust that '·reh
of a bygone house." If the cha racters mention Vizeran's
pla n to make Me nzoberranzan the s ite for t he final
showdown with the demon lords,j arlaxle insists that
the characters choose a differe nt battleground. warning
them that Bregan D'aerthe will oppose any effort to visi
further destruction upon the city.
If the characters claim to be looking for a safe
way into Sorcere.j arlaxlc arranges for a member of
t he Council of Spiders to visit the party at a Bregan
D'aenhe safe house in West Wall. This male drow mage
brings scrolls of §reater invisibility-one for each pan)
member-and also gives the characters a password tha•
temporarily bypasses the tower's defenses. Characters
who speak the password while inside the tower won't
have to deal with the tower's guards and wards effect fo~
a period of I hour (see "Sorcere" later in this chapter).
Bregan D'arrthc makes sure that the characters
have no hol>tile encounters as they make their way to
the Academy.
Once he becomes aware of Gromph's grimoire,
jarlaxle does everything in his power to make sure
the characters get the grimoirc out of the city. Once