- When a creature enters the trapped 10-foot-square
space marked on map 9 for the first time on a turn
or starts its turn there, the medusa statue in area 3
animates and shoots a magic arrow at the creature. (If
the headmaster is accompanying characters through
this hall, the arcanaloth uses a mage hand cantrip to
press the button and deactivate the trap.) - A stone button is concealed in the north wall, dis-
guised to look like a section of the staff that represents
conjuration. A character who searches the wall spots
the button with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Percep-
tion) check. Pressing the button results in a loud click-
ing noise as the arrow trap deactivates for 1 minute.
3. MEDUSAjUNCTI_O_N _____ _
The walls of this room rise vertically 10 feet, then angle
inward to a 20-foot-high apex. In the middle of the room,
standing atop a 1-foot-high cylindrical block of stone, is
a statue of a scowling medusa with a longbow and an
empty quiver. The statue gazes north.
When a creature sets off the trap in area 2, a poisoned
arrow materializes in the medusa's grasp as the statue
animates. It immediately draws back on the bow and
shoots the arrow at the creature that triggered the trap
(+6 to hit), dealing 6 (ld8 + 2) piercing damage plus 14
(4d6) poison damage on a hit.
The medusa statue is a Medium object with AC 15,
50 hit points, and immunity to all damage except force
damage. It weighs 1,200 pounds. A creature can use
an action to try to knock the statue off its base, doing so
with a successful DC 18 Strength (Athletics) check. If it
is toppled, the statue does not animate until returned to
its former position. (If Worm riddle learns about the top-
pled statue, she and her Resh golems set it right before
seeking to punish those responsible.)- FRESH WATER FOUNTAIN
Fountain. Fresh water from a natural spring pours
out of the mouth of a bas-relief carved to look like
Halaster's overjoyed visage, whereupon it spills into a
semicircular stone basin enclosed by a 2-foot-high re-
taining wall before draining out through tiny holes.
Guards. Flanking the fountain are two mezzoloths.
Braziers. Two unlit stone braziers shaped like clawed
hands rise from the floor at the south end of the room.
The mezzoloths ensure that no one tampers with the
academy's water supply or destroys the fountain. They
otherwise pay visitors no mind. - PORTRAIT OF A MAD MAGE
This room is empty except for an enormous red velvet
curtain that covers the north wall. A pull-rope on one
s ide of the curtain allows it to be drawn back. Behind
the curtain hangs a large abstract painting that depicts
Halaster surrounded by fields of bloody mouths and peo-
ple feasting on each other. Worked into the background
are various other bizarre figures from beyond the Mate-
rial Plane. Halaster's face is chillingly calm despite the
violent chaos around him, and his piercing gaze seems
to follow anyone who views the portrait.
LEVEL 9 I DWEOM e:RCORE
Any creature that beholds the painting must succeed
on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or suffer a random
form of long-term madness, determined by rolling on
the Long-Term Madness table in chapter 8 of the Dun-
geon Master's Guide. On a failed save, a creature can be
affected by the painting again, but not until its current
madness ends.- READING NICHE
Desks. In the middle of the room stands a row of desks.
Seated behind one of the desks is Spite Harrowdale
(NE male Rashemi human archmage who speaks
Abyssal, Common, Dwarvish, Elvish, Giant, and Pri-
mordial). His oni bodyguard, disguised as a half-ogre
named Dumara, stands beside him.
Bookshelves. Tall bookshelves packed with soft-cov-
ered notebooks line the northeast and southwest
walls. The books are organized by topic.
Pneumatic Tubes. A row of ten pneumatic tubes is fas-
tened to the back wall. Beneath the tubes is a shelf of
empty copper canisters.
Spite is holding a wand with a fight cantrip cast on
the end of it and reading a bone-dry biography of Ah-
ghairon, the archwizard who founded Waterdeep. If the
characters are being led through Dweomercore by the
headmaster, Spite smiles at them as they pass by. Once
they're gone, he and the oni cast invisibility on them-
selves and follow the characters, curious to learn their
intentions in Dweomercore. Spite and Dumara confront
the characters as soon as they can do so privately (see
"Evil Students," page 117 ).
The notebooks stored here are small and thin enough
that they can be curled up and stuffed in pneumatic
tube canisters. The books cover subjects of interest to
wizards, including spell component harvesting, rumina-
tions on the Weave, biographies of famous wizards and
liches, tips for creating realistic illusions, and essays
written by previous students on a wide range of arcane
topics. Any book in this collection that is removed from
Dweomercore magically disappears and reappears back
on its proper shelf.
PNEUMATIC TuBES
The tubes connect to the students' dormitories (areas
8 and 11). From left to right, the tubes are labeled "Tur-
bulence" (area 8a), "Violence" (area 8b), "Karstis" (area
8c), "Yarek" (area 8d), "Spite" (area lla), "Skrianna"
(area llb), "Vacant" (area Uc), "Cephalossk" (area 1ld),
"Etan" (area 11e), and "Nylas" (area llf).The door to this room is slightly ajar. Peering out from
within is Cephalossk, the mind flayer arcanist. It has
been too long since the mind flayer has fed on a fresh
brain, but it's willing to forgo attacking the characters if
they promise to help it feed on Spite's mind instead (see
"Cephalossk the Mind Flayer," page 118).
This workroom is filled with tables, braziers, and an
assortment of alchemical equipment.