TOXIC B REW
Failed potions are tossed into the stone basin, adding to
the toxic brew within. Any creature that starts its turn
immersed in the brew is poisoned until it leaves the liq-
uid and washes itself off with water.
Two poison weirds lurk in the toxic brew and try to
grapple creatures within reach and pull them into the
basin. These creatures are water weirds with a chal-
lenge rating of 4 (1,100 XP) and these changes:- The weirds are invisible while fully immersed in the
toxic brew. They die if forced to leave the basin or if a
purify food and drink spell is cast on the toxic brew. - A creature takes 10 (3d6) poison damage at the start
of each of its turns while grappled by a poison weird.
23. WORMRIDDLE'S S ANCTUM
These chambers are claimed by Wormriddle the night
hag (see "Wormriddle the Night Hag," page 117). If
she hasn't already been encountered and defeated else-
where, there's a 50 percent chance she's in area 23b.
Otherwise, she's in area 23c.
The hag's plane shift spell doesn't work in Under-
mountain, but she can use her heartstone to escape
to the Ethereal Plane if outmatched. The flesh golems
in area 23c form Wormriddle's first line of defense. If
they're defeated, the hag seeks out the headmaster, who
directs the hag to round up the students and form a
posse to hunt down and destroy the interlopers.23A. SMOKE-FILLED HALL
This chamber is heavily obscured by smoke billowing
out of two stone braziers. The night hag uses the smoke
to deter students from entering her sanctum. The smoke
blocks vision entirely, and creatures in the smoke are
effectively blinded. Each brazier bowl contains dozens
of tiny holes through which the smoke seeps. Liquid
poured into a brazier drains away quickly and does noth-
ing to stop the billowing smoke.
Wormriddle fashioned tight-fitting iron lids for the bra-
ziers and keeps them in area 23b. If both braziers are
properly covered, the smoke in the room begins to dis-
sipate, making the area lightly obscured after 1 minute
and clear after 5 minutes.
2 3 B. WORMRIDDLE'S DEN
IfWormriddle the night hag is here and has been
alerted to the presence of intruders, she assumes the
form of a young halfling girl named Medley. In this form,
she wears a black witch's hat and sweeps the floor with
a small twig broom. The hag's den has these features:
Bones. Cat bones cover the floor.
Iron Lids. Leaning against the north wall are a pair of
25-pound, circular iron lids (covers for the braziers in
area 23a).
Bed. Mummified cats hang rr/m a decrepit four-poster
bed near the south wall. (Tu~d ~er a moldy pillow
is a jar filled with the night hags dirty toenail clip-
pings, which the hag uses to weave evil magic.)
Dolls. Behind the bed, mounted to the wall, is a shelf
lined with eight dolls. A ninth doll has fallen off the
shelf and onto the floor.
In her halfling form, Wormriddle claims to be one
of Dweomercore's most promising students and offers
to take characters on a tour. If the characters accept,
she leads them to area 23c and orders her golems to
attack. If the golems have already been defeated, the hag
weeps over their loss and turns ethereal to escape the
party, only to return once she rounds up the students
and forms a posse. If the characters attack her here, the
night hag turns ethereal and flees.
Doll Collection. The dolls are crudely fashioned in
the likenesses of the students currently enrolled in
Dweomercore. The eight on the shelf represent Spite,
Cephalossk, Nylas, Skrianna, the Horned Sisters, Elan,
and Karstis. The doll on the floor represents Yarek,
the student recently killed by the bone devil in area 48.
Each doll incorporates bits of the student's hair or some
other sample from its body (foul-smelling slime in the
case of Cephalossk the mind flayer).
Embedded in the stuffed chest of each doll is one of
the night hag's toenail clippings, signifying and enabling
her secret power over the individual represented by the
doll. A character who succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence
(Arcana) check can ascertain that the way to rob this
power is by replacing the hag's nail clipping with a piece
of the character's own body. Doing so enables the char-
acter to use the effigy to visit harm upon the student it
represents.
For a doll to function, both it and the creature it rep-
resents must be in Undermountain. A character who
has placed a piece of themselves in a particular doll can
use an action to mutilate the doll in one of the following
ways to gain a desired result:- If the doll's eyes are pierced with pins or needles,
the student it represents is blinded until the pins or
needles are removed, or until a remove curse spell or
similar magic is cast on that student. - If the doll is stabbed through the back with a knife or
similar sharp instrument, the student it represents
is paralyzed until the instrument is removed, or un-
til a remove curse spell or similar magic is cast on
that student. - If the doll is set on fire or torn apart, it is destroyed,
and the student it represents must make a DC 14
Constitution saving throw. On a successful save, the
student is stunned for 1 minute. On a failed save, the
student instantly drops to 0 hit points and is dying.
23C. FLESH GOLEM WORKSHOP
If Worm riddle the night hag is here, she's in her natural
form, searching the room for a misplaced wooden coffer
(see "Treasure" below).
Stench. The room smells like rotting meat.
Golems. Unless the characters already encountered and
destroyed them elsewhere, four flesh golems lie under
stained white sheets atop wooden trestle tables in the
middle of the room.
Work Area. A fifth table surrounded by patches of dried
blood is covered with saws, needles, spools of black
thread, and bits of decaying flesh. Next to this table is
a wooden barrel that holds humanoid body parts in
various stages of decay.LEVEL 9 I DWEOMERCORE 127