FAER ZRESS
.\n unu..,ual magical energy the drow call faerzress
pcrvadt'S much of the Undcrdark. The origin of this
my~tC'riouo; arcane power is unknown. Legend claims
it I'> an anr1en1 eh•en magic dating bark to the time
when tht" dark elves were fir::;t exiled from the world
above. The drow and other Unclerdark creatures use the
properties of areas suffused "ith faerzress to protect
their <;eulcmcnts.
·\rea<; suffused with faerzre~ ran range in size from
a ft'\ doLen feet across to ::;everal mile in diameter. and
feature the following effect:;:
Area!> suffused with facrzrcss are always filled
with dim lighL
A creature in an area suffu:.ed with faerzress has
advantage on saving throws against any divina-
tion spt'lls. If a divination spell doesn't allow a
savin~ throw, the caster must succeed on a DC 15
Constitution saving throw to cast the spell. Failing
thi!> :;ave means the spell is wasted and has no effect.
Any creature attempting to teleport into, within. or out
of a f..1erzress-suffuscd area must succeed on a DC 15
Constitution saving throw. On a failed sa\·e, the c rea-
tur<" takes ldlO force damage and the teleportation
attempt fails. Even if the sa\·e o;ucceeds. th e teleporta-
uon attempt can suffer a mishap as if the destination
was known only by description. regardless of how
familiar the destination actually is. Sec the table in
the teleport spell for more information.
Areas suffused with faerzress have become tainted by
the chaos of the demon lords. When a spell is cast in
a faerzrcss-suffused area. the caster rolls a d20. On a
roll of l. the c;~ll has an additional effect. determined
by rolling on the Wild Magic Surge tabl<" m chapter 3.
~classes.~ of the Player's H D.lldbook.
Though f.1erzress can't be dispelled. its effects are
temporarily supprrssed in the area of an antimagic field.EQUIPMENT
The equipment the characters hnvc on hand will depend
on what they wer<" able to salva~c or ~teal in their
escape from Velkynvelve. Indeed. one of the primary
rca~on!> for the party to visit known c;eulements in
the Und<"rdark is to acquire proper equipment and
prOVISIOnS.CRAFTING
C..haracters can use downtime durm~ th(•ir tra\els
to c raft cquipmt-nt. provided they arr proficient with
the necessary tool!> and have access to them (see
-Downtime Activities· in chapter 8 of the Player's
1 land book). Having to improvise tools doubles the
crafting umc·. and some items require materials mar
arc-hard to find in the Undcrdark. mcluding wood and
other surface-world plantc;. Leather. bone. or zurkhwood
(sec ·Fungi of the Underdark-latc>r in this chapter)
might ... uhstitute in some ca ... e'>. Crafting can include
modifying -.ca .. engcd or s<tlvnJ{ed items to fit other
need~. -,urh as creating a makeshift •mit of armor from
gat h~rc>cl pirct>s of armor and o ther materials.COMPONENTS
Spellca<;t<"N might be without m~tcnnl components
for the1r .,pells (see -components· in c-hapter 10 of
the Pla.~er's Handbook). They can at·quire component
pouchec; and spellcac;ting focu..,c•-, from d<"feated enemy
c;~llca..,ters. settlements. and trader .... or they can
craft suc-h items during their downtime acth'ities while
tr:weling.MADNESS
At the be t of times. the Underdark is a bilarre. alien.
and inhospitable world. but the inftuf'nce of the demon
lords ha.., transformed it into a domain of madness and
chaos. Fauzress acts as a cataly ... t. ~preadin(lthe demon
lords' m::~clness throu(lhout thl· l 'ndt•rdark.
On<·e the party escapes Velkynvrlve and strikes
out into the Underdark, begin taking into account the
cfft!C'lA of demonic madnr.ss on th~ chnracters' sanHy
(see "Madness" in chapter 8 of thr Dungeon Master's
Guide). At various times in thr adwnture. characters
will h<> called upon to mnke a ..,avin(lthrow to resist
som<" madness-inducinJC rffert. In addition. you can have
one or more characters make a -.av1n(l throw a~ainst
madne<>s whenever one of the followinJC e\'C'ntS occurs:
The characters encounter or w1lnt".,., o;omething par-
ticularly alien or disturbin~ (surh ac; a demon lord).
The characters stay in a f.1cr7ress-suffused area for a
long tim<" (ei~ht or more con'>e<'uthe hours).
A rhnrarter takes psychic clt~mng<>. particularly in an
area suffused with facr7rcso.,.
In Our of thr Aby<>s. mad nee;" is mrasured in
three level<;:MADNESS lEVELS
Level Effect
Bout of short-term madness (lasts ldlO minutes)
2 Bout of long-term madness (lasts ldlO x 10 hours)
3 Bout ofindetinite madness (lasts until cured)A cremure's madnes" level st<Jrt-. at 0. When the
creature fails a madness savin~ throw. its madness level
inrrt>nc.es by 1. and the crraturt> immediately suffers the
level' c. effect (as dNcrminC"d by rollinS~: on the Short-Term
\1adness. Lon~r-Tcrm ~taclnt>""· or Indefinite Madne..c;s
table m the Dunljcon \1,1stu'<> GUide. as appropriate).
\\'hen the effec t ends. the cre'lture'c; madncs'> Je ... el
doesn't chan~te. Any time the rre.murc'c; madne.,s level
inrreasec;. it c;ufff'r'l the effc>rt of tht> new lc\CI.
If a creature with lr\·e l 3 madnec;s fails a madnesc;
c;avin(lthrow. it~ marlne.,'>le\el beromc.., I. In this way.
c-haracter'> r<m potenually accumulaw multiple forms
ofmadncc;c;,
Bout" of <;horl· and lon(l-term maclnr..,.., can be cured
as de.,criht"d m the DunRc-on Masrr-r-... Guide. Given
th<· demonic <;ource of the madne..,.,, rt>m01·e curse
and dio.,pe/ t-ulare also cffccti\t' <1" rure!; A Arearer
re"ror<ltion spell or more powc·rful mar;zic i" needed 10
cure indc>finite madnc<;s and ahn rt'..,et~ a creature's
madness level to 0.l'flt. l'll R 2IINTO OA RIC'H'SS
~I