damage on a failed saving throw, or half as much dam-
age on a successful one.
Treasure. Spite keeps a tiny jeweled chest inside his
rolltop desk. This chest (SO gp) is a replica of a full-sized
chest made of exquisite materials. The larger chest
(5,000 gp) is hidden on the Ethereal Plane by means of a
Leomund's secret chest spell.
A character can recognize the miniature chest for
what it is with a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana)
check. Spite alone can use the replica to recall the
larger chest, which contains two spellbooks titled Spells
of Spite, volumes I and II. These books contain all the
spells Spite has prepared, plus the following spells: ar-
cane Jock, Bigby's hand, disintegrate, forcecage, gaseous
form, glyph of warding, Leomund's secret chest, maze,
Melf's acid arrow, Mordenkainen's private sanctum, Ot-
to's irresistible dance, Tasha's hideous laughter, telekine-
sis, Tenser's floating disk, and true polymorph.llB. SKRIANNA^1 S ROOM
Skrianna has filled her quarters with creature comforts,
including silk bedsheets, soft furs from exotic beasts, a
bowl of fresh fruit, a censer of burning incense, and a
cushioned wicker reading chair.
Slcrianna's Diary. Skrianna keeps a diary in her desk.
The book affords a rare glimpse into the insane mind of
a Shadowdusk family member. In addition to expressing
contempt for her peers in Dweomercore, Skrianna rails
against the constraints placed on her by the headmaster.
She also speaks of an imaginary lover named Acamar,
who comes from the void beyond the sky, and talks
about visits to the Far Realm in her dreams. She makes
a passing reference to other family members, namely
Zalthar and Dezmyr, who dwell in Shadowdusk Hold
(see level 22) and plan to return to Waterdeep in force,
aided by some kind of giant construct that Halaster is
' building in Arcturiadoom (level 14).
Treasure. Skrianna's dresser contains ten sets of fine
clothes and a set of traveler's clothes. Her chest, which
has a mirror attached to the inside of the lid, contains an
intricately engraved wand of dark wood, a poisoner's kit,
and a vial of exquisite perfume (75 gp).
llc. VACANT ROOM
This room is unoccupied.llD. CEPHALOSSK'S ROOM
The rolltop desk in this room contains sixteen cloudy
jars with preserved humanoid brains in them. The foot-
locker holds nine similar jars, all empty. Cephalossk
hungers for fresh brains but subsists on preserved ones
when no other food source is available.
Treasure. Cephalossk keeps its spellbook in a desk
drawer. The book is made of thin copper plates held
together with mithral wire. Each page bears embossed
stanzas of braille-like writing called Qualith, which the
mind flayer reads with its tentacles. A non-illithid must
use a comprehend languages spell or similar magic
to comprehend the writing. The book contains all the
spells Cephalossk has prepared (see the sidebar in the
"Mind Flayer" entry in the Monster Manual).llE. ELAN'S ROOM
Fam iliar. Ela n's familiar, a black spider with blood-red
markings, clings to the wall above the door and tele-
pathically alerts the drow mage if it detects intruders
in the room.
Shrine. A small shrine dedicated to the demon queen
Lolth rests atop a nightstand by the bed.
After being alerted to the arrival of visitors by his spi-
der familiar, Elan spends 3 rounds traveling from area
13a to his dormitory. Elan greets strangers in a friendly
manner (see "Elan Tanor'thal," page 118).
The shrine almost resembles a lantern, designed to be
easily transportable. Contained inside is a black basalt
statuette of Lolth in her drow form, strung with cob-
webs. A detect magic spell reveals an aura of enchant-
ment magic around the statuette. Any creature that
touches the statuette must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom
saving throw or suffer a random form of short-term mad-
ness, determined by rolling on the Short-Term Madness
table in chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. A
creature that successfully saves against the madness
effect can safely hold the statuette.
Treasure. Elan's chest contains a set of black travel-
er's clothes, a spider silk pouch containing 38 pp, and
a black cloak with a cowl. Pinned to the cloak is an
obsidian scarab engraved with the insignia of House
Tanor'thal (25 gp).llF. NYLAS'S ROOM
A vile stench issues from an ogre zombie that stands
against the wall opposite the door. Its orders are to de-
fend Nylas while he is asleep in the room and to protect
the Red Wizard's spellbook (see "Treasure" below).
Treasure. Nylas hides his spellbook inside the ogre
zombie's rotting torso. Characters who have a passive
Wisdom (Perception) score of^15 or higher and come
within 5 feet of the zombie can see the spell book
wedged between its ribs. A character can use an ac-
tion to try to snatch the spellbook while the zombie is
animate with a s uccessful DC 12 Dexterity (Sleight of
Hand) check. No check is needed to remove the book if
the zombie is incapacitated or destroyed.
Nylas's spellbook has covers carved from coffin wood,
pages made of stitched humanoid flesh, and words writ-
ten in the Red Wizard's own blood. It contains all the
spells Nylas has prepared (see the mage stat block), plus
animate dead, blight, and contact other plane.- COMMUNAL SHOWERS
This room contains five shower stalls with iron faucets
and shower heads protruding from the walls. Water
is channeled here from an underground reservoir and
heated by magic, quickly filling the room with steam if
the faucets are turned on. - RECREATION ROOM
Students come here to relax and recuperate be-
tween lessons.
LEVEL 9 I DWEOMERCORE
.. ~ 123 A