who succeeds on a DC^20 Wisdom (Perception) check
spots the pressure plate. The trap triggers whenever a
weight of 50 pounds or more is placed on the pressure
plate. Darts fire from holes in the walls against the crea-
ture that triggered the trap, making a ranged weapon at-
tack (+7 to hit) that deals 10 (4d4) piercing damage. The
trap resets each round.
A search of the walls and a successful DC^20 Wisdom
(Perception) check is sufficient to spot small holes in the
serpent carvings. T he characters can spend 1 minute to
plug the holes, which prevents the trap from attacking.
The pressure plate can be disabled with a successful
DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves' tools.
1 8B. STANDING GATE TO LEVEL^11
Two pillars with giant stone snakes wrapped around
them rise from the muck. Chiseled into the lintel stone
across the top are the words "DON THE CRYSTAL
CROWN" in Dwarvish. This gate's rules are as follows:- The gate opens for 1 minute if a creature wears King
Melair's crystal crown (see level 6, area lld) while
standing within 5 feet of it. - Characters must be 11th level or higher to pass
through this gate (see "Jhesiyra Kestellharp," page
10). The first creature to pass through the gate trig-
gers an elder rune (see "E lder Runes," page 12). - A creature that passes through the gate appears in
area 1 la on level 11, in the closest unoccupied space
next to the identical gate located there.
- YUAN-TI TEMPLE
The roof of this cavern soars to a height of^80 feet, and
the muddy water throughout is 2 feet deep. Dominating
the cavern is a ruined yuan-ti temple filled with statues
depicting the same winged serpent with its fanged
mouth open. A character who succeeds on a DC^15
Intelligence (Religion) check recognizes the statues as
depictions of Sseth, a yuan-ti deity. Flickering torches
on the sides of the temple illuminate the structure.
19A. AMPHIBIOUS GUARDS
Eight bullywugs and three gia nt frogs stand guard
in the water outside the temple. The bullywugs try to
paralyze intruders using their spears, the tips of which
are coated with carrion crawler mucus. Characters
paralyzed by the bullywugs' spears or swallowed by the
giant frogs are brought to area 19d and held there until
Kuketh can be s ummoned from area^20 to devour them.19B. NARTHEX
A 10-foot-tall statue of a winged serpent stands at the
entrance of the temple between two submerged stone
ramps. The ramps are slippery and rise to meet the floor
of a 20 -foot-high antechamber, the floor of which is sub-
merged under 1 foot of murky water.
Decorative columns carved to look like intertwined
snakes line the chamber's walls.19 c. NAVE
Water. Murky water covers the floor to a depth of 1 foot.
Ceiling Fresco. This chamber has a vaulted ceiling^30
feet high. A fresco on the ceiling has mostly crumbledaway, but the portions that remain suggest serpentine
images that were probably quite fearsome.
Statues. Four statues of winged serpents stand to the
north, two in the water and two above the waterline.
(Torbit, a bullywug assassin, hides behind the par-
tially submerged statue in the northwest corner.)
Platform. Between the two middle statues , a mostly
submerged ramp rises to the top of a dry platform,
at the back of which is a closed door that opens
into area 19c.
Torbit might have become king of the Blacktongues if
not for his devotion to Kuketh. He jealously protects the
temple that is his master's seat of power, killing any who
enter without permission. Torbit is an assassin, with
these changes:- Torbit is chaotic evil.
- He has these racial traits: He can breathe air and
water. He speaks Bullywug, and can speak with frogs
and toads. He has a walking speed of 20 feet and a
swimming speed of^40 feet. His long jump is up to^20
feet and his high jump is up to^10 feet, with or with-
out a running start. He has advantage on Dexterity
(Stealth) checks made to hide in swampy terrain. - In addition to his weapons, Torbit carries one piece of
a shattered jade staff (see "Treasure" below).
Treasure. The foot-long piece of jade that Torbit car-
ries was found in the muck. He doesn't realize that it's
a fragment of a jade staff crafted by ancient yuan-ti that
was discarded in Undermountain by Halaster years
before. See area 39b on level 6 for more information on
this yuan-ti device and how it can be reassembled. By
itself, the jade fragment is worth^100 gp.
19D. APSE
This 30-foot-high chapel has the following features:
Mud-Cak ed Statue. Dried mud has been heaped onto
a large, winged snake statuE; to the north, giving it
a vaguely frog-like appearance. Poor-quality carved
offerings and worthless stones are piled before
the statue.
Altar. A stone a ltar in the center of the room bears carv-
ings of serpents.
Any character who inspects the altar and succeeds
on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check notices that
one of the altar's carvings has a button carved to look
like a serpent's eye. If this button is pressed, a secret
compartment on the north side of the altar opens. Inside
this compartment is a slender red taper (see "Treasure"
below). Kuketh and the bullywugs are unaware of the
altar's hidden compar tment and the treasure within.
Treasure. The red taper is a candle of invocation
dedicated to Sseth, the neutra l evil yuan-ti god. If the
candle is removed from the altar by a creature that is
not a yuan-ti, green mist billows up through cracks in
the floor and coalesces into two yu an -ti abomina tion s.
These temple guardians attack any creature that is not
a yuan-ti. When reduced to^0 hit points, they revert to
clouds of green mist and disappear without a trace.
If the yuan-ti abominations are not killed, they rid the
temple of enemies and turn it into their lair.l.£VF.L 8 I SLJTH£RSWAMP 115