Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage

LITHERSWAMP IS OESICNED FOR FOUR IOTH-

level characters, and characters who defeat

the monsters on this level should gain

enough XP to reach halfway to 11th level.

This level consis ts of muck-filled caverns

and decaying temples dedicated to evil de-

ities of the yuan-ti. The serpent folk lived

here until they were defeated by nagas known as the

Ssethian Scourges. Afterward, Halaster replaced the

yuan-ti with a bullywug tribe governed by a cruel death

slaad overlord.

WHAT DWELLS HERE?

Adventurers might find themselves caught up in the

war of Slitherswamp by encounte ring the thralls of the

Ssethian Scourges, the Blacktongue bullywug tribe, the

meddling ghost of a yuan-ti priest (see area 9), or watch-

ful agents of the Dweomercore mages of level 9.

THE SSETHIAN SCOURGES ~~~~~~~~~

The Ssethian Scourges were three s pirit nagas that

fought the yuan-ti of the Slitherswamp, eventually claim-

ing victory. Only two spirit nagas remain, Excrutha and

Serakath, along with their thralls and the remnants of

the third spirit naga, Hexacali, who was destroyed and

transformed into a bone naga by the yuan-ti.

The spirit nagas maintain a stable of thralls and use

a rod of rulers hip to insure their obedience. Every day

at dawn, the nagas gather their thralls in area 15a and

target them again with the recharged rod, and each naga

has the special ability to increase the duration of the

charm effect to 12 hours. Humanoid thralls that resist

the rod's magic often choose to maintain the appearance

of being charmed for the sake of their own survival,

because the nagas kill or chain up those they can't magi-

cally enslave.

Shortly after the Ssethian Scourges defeated their

yuan-ti foes, a tribe of bullywugs led by a death slaad

appeared in the S litherswamp. Frustrated by this new

obstacle to their dominance of the level, the nagas now

seek allies to slay the bullywugs and their leader. The

nagas know the locations of all the magic gates on this

level, as well as how to activate them. They share that

information with creatures that willingly serve them.

THE BLACKTONGUES ~~~~~~~~~

A year ago, Halaster used his magic to transport the

Blacktongue tribe of bullywugs, along with its small

army of giant frogs and giant toads, from a remote

marshland to this level of Undermountain. He seeded

them into those parts of S litherswamp once controlled

by the yuan-ti. T he bullywugs were quick to capture and

domesticate four carrion crawlers and a hydra.

Halaster also summoned a death slaad named Kuketh

to Slitherswamp. The Mad Mage keeps the slaad's con-

trol gem in his sanctua ry on level 9 and forces Kuketh to

serve as the bullywugs' king. The Blacktongues live in

fear of their new king, whom they call Yurk Y'blorkflug

("lord of fetid obliteration" in their language). The slaad

hates being under Halaster's control and takes out its

frustration on its subjects.

LEVEL 8 I SLITHERSWAMP

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