The Castle
Halaster constructed this castle to serve as a temporary
residence for guests, then abandoned it when he decided
he didn' t really want the company. Maddgoth's claim
to the castle has so far gone unchallenged by Halaste r,
and it's not clear whether the two wizards have ever
crossed paths.
Characters who approach th e castle can examine it for
points of entry. The main entrance is a door at the base
of the south tower (area 17). The castle also features an
open courtyard (area 23) with doors leading to areas
on the first level. The faerie dragon's preferred route is
through a secret trapdoor on the roof (area 47). In addi-
tion, the corner towers have arrow s lits that Small char-
acters can squeeze through, and the central structure
has windows fitted with crystal bars as strong as steel
that are spaced 6 inches apart.
Maddgoth's castle is now controlled by Otto the faerie
dragon, whose right to owners hip is predicated on the
argument "I found it and it's mine and you can' t have
it." The castle is a beautiful structure. Its walls, floors,
and^20 -foot-high ceilings of smooth gray stone can't be
damaged or magically altered except with wish spells.
The interior walls have colored glass blocks embedded
in them. The blocks are not lit when the characters first
arrive, but pulling a lever in area 37 causes each block
to s hed colorful light as bright as that created by a con-
tinual flame spell. Maddgoth's magic keeps the tempera-
ture inside the castle steady at^70 degrees Fahrenheit,
but characters can shut off the heat by pulling another
lever in area 37.
Exterior doors are made of stone with adamantine
hinges, and, like the castle walls, are impervious to
damage. Interior doors look like fancy stained glass
windows with iron hinges on one side. Each one is fitted
with panes of colored glass set in an iron framework.
The door handles are likewise fashioned from iron. A
locked interior door can be forced open with a success-
ful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check. Its lock can also
be picked with thieves' tools and a successful DC^15
Dexterity check. Shattering a door's glass panes creates
an opening large enough for a creature to fit through.
Characters near the castle and inside it are shrunk
to one-twelfth their normal size a long with their gear.
Almost everything they encounter inside the castle is
similarly reduced in size, creating a sense of normalcy.
Maddgoth's homunculus and Otto the faerie dragon are
noteworthy exceptions; use their modified statistics for
encounters in the castle.
17. MAIN ENTRANCE
There isn't a stoop or other s urface to stand on outside
this castle entrance, but hanging on the front door is
a crude wooden sign inscribed with the words "Otto's
Castle" in Draconic. The exterior door is not Jocked, but
opening it triggers a permanent alarm spell that rings
throughout areas 18, 28 , and 38. This alarm warns the
faerie dragon and Maddgoth's homunculus that visitors
have arrived, though neither creature makes any effort
to greet them.
The room contains the following:
Pedestals. Four white marble pedestals stand near the
west and east walls. Atop each pedestal is a corked
flask made of opaque green glass.
Servants. Four living unseen servants (see appendix
A) are dusting the pedestals and flasks, using dusters
made of cockatrice feathers.
GREEN FLASKS
Uncorking or breaking a green flask releases a cloud of
invisible poison gas called essence of ether. The gas fills
a 10-foot-radius sphere and dissipates within seconds.
Any creature in the cloud when it forms must succeed
on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become poi-
soned for 8 hours. Creatures poisoned in this way fall
unconscious, but they wake up if they take damage or if
another creature uses an action to shake them awake.
LIVING UNSEEN SERVANTS
Attacking a servant, s natching its feather duster, o r
otherwise disturbing the contents of this room triggers
combat. On their first turn after rolling initiative, th e
living unseen servants knock the green flasks off their
pedestals, causing the containers to shatter on the floor
and release their poison gas (which has no effect on the
unseen servants). The servants have no weapons but
can a rm themselves with weapons dropped by creatures
rendered unconscious by the poison gas.
The living unseen servants are bound to this room
and can't leave of their own volition.
OTTO'S GAME
Otto the faerie dragon spends much of its time stalking
the castle hallways (areas 18 , 28, and 38) and takes regular
naps in area 43a. While awake, the faerie dragon prefers to
remain invisible and likes to play pranks on guests.
Otto's favorite prank is to sneak up on a guest, engulf it
in a cloud of euphoria gas, and sneak away while remain·
ing invisible the whole time. Its second favorite prank is
to cast mage hand and use the spectral appendage to tap
guests on the shoulder. Any time it performs such a p rank,
the faerie dragon has a 25 percent chance of betraying
its location with a giggle or a snicker. The faerie dragon
must then relocate itself on its next turn to keep from be·
ing caught.
Casting a spell that requires concentration causes the
faerie dragon to become visible-after which it can move,
cast a spell that doesn't require concentration (such as
color spray or hallucinatory terrain), and use its bonus ac·
tion to turn invis ible again. Otto is careful about casting
spells that require concentration, because it can't con-
centrate on the spell and stay invisible at the same time.
It normally casts mirror image before casting a spell that
requires concentration, trusting that its images will protect
it while it maintains concentration on the spell. If Otto
succeeds in incapacitating a guest, it tries to remove the
guest's weapons and gear, then spends the next hour hid-
ing these items throughout the castle.
Otto reserves its polymorph spell for a truly dangerous
adversary, turning that enemy into a frog before making a
hasty escape.
If the characters get rid of Maddgoth's homunculus, the
faerie dragon takes a shine to them and offers to pay them
50 gp for each trinket they deliver to it. Otto collects trin·
kets and has a secret stash of coins (see area 43b).
LEVEL 7 I MADDGOTH'S C,\STt.E
