Circle. A 20-foot-diameter magic circle inscribed on
the floor has glyphs that shed dim purple Hght. Seven
human corpses cocooned in burlap are piled in the
middle of the circle.
Nester. Floating next to the circle is a skull with pin-
pricks of purple light in its eye sockets and two skel-
etal arms hanging below it, one of which clutches a
bone dagger. (This is all that remains of Nester, one of
Halaster's oldest apprentices.)
The seven human bodies were obtained from a source
in Skullport and are waiting to be turned into zombies.
They are presently inanimate and harmless.
NECROMANTI C CIRCLE
A detect magic spell reveals a strong aura of necro-
mancy magic around the circle. A character who studies
the circle and succeeds on a DC 20 Intelligence (Ar-
cana) check can ascertain its properties. The check is
made with advantage if the character is a wizard whose
arcane tradition is the School of Necromancy.
Any skeleton or corpse animated inside the circle
becomes an undead with hit points equal to its hit point
maximum. In addition, the undead gains advantage on
saving throws against any effect that turns undead.NESTER
Nester's efforts to transform into a lich met with limited
success. Rather than follow the prescribed method, he
devised his own technique and botched the ritual spells.
Consequently, his phylactery was shattered, and his
body and mind have slowly crumbled away. The floating
skull and hanging skeletal arms are all that remain of
him; they move like they're attached to an invisible body.
Nester educates Dweomercore's pupils in the art
of necromancy, but his knowledge has become frag-
mented, and his mind tends to wander. He assumes the
adventurers are students sent to learn the darkest of the
magical arts and begins telepathically lecturing them
about zombies, often repeating himself. He attacks any-
one who tries to leave the lecture before its conclusion.
Nester is an archmage, with these changes:- Nester is undead and chaotic evil.
- He understands Auran, Common, Draconic,
Dwarvish, Giant, and Terran, but can't speak. (He
uses Rary's telepathic bond to communicate.) - He has the animate dead spell prepared instead of fly,
the blight spell prepared instead of banishment, and
the Rary's telepathic bond spell prepared instead of
scrying. He doesn't need material components to cast
any of his prepared spells. - He has darkvision out to a range of^60 feet.
36. WIZARDS' LIBRARY
This 10-foot-high chamber contains rows of 8-foot-tall
wooden bookshelves packed with hundreds of arcane
textbooks and dusty spellbooks. The spellbooks contain
virtually all known wizard spells of 4th level and lower.
A character who pores over the books for^1 hour can
find a particular spell by succeeding on an Intelligence
(Investigation) check with a DC of 10 + the spell's level.
37. PROFESSOR BRING
Desks. In the northwest half of the room, ten stone
desks are arranged in a semicircle facing inward.
Orb in Hand. In the middle of the room, a spectral hand
holds aloft a gray crystal orb.
TREASURE
The orb is a rare wondrous item called a professor orb.
Each professor orb takes the form of a smooth, solid,
5-pound sphere of smoky gray quartz about the size of a
grapefruit. Close examination reveals two or more pin-
pricks of silver light deep inside the sphere.
A professor orb is sentient and has the personality of
a scholar. Its alignment is determined by rolling on the
alignment table in the "Sentient Magic Items" section
in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. Regardless
of its disposition, the orb has an Intelligence of 18, and
Wisdom and Charis ma scores determined by rolling
3d6 for each ability. The orb speaks, reads, and under-
stands four languages, and can see and hear normally
out to a range of 60 feet. Unlike most sentient items,
the orb has no will of its own and can't initiate a conflict
with the creature in possession of it.
A professor orb has extensive knowledge of four nar-
row academic subjects. When making an Intelligence
check to recall lore from any of its areas of expertise, the
orb has a +9 bonus to its roll (including its Intelligence
modifier).
In addition to the knowledge it possesses, a professor
orb can cast the mage hand cantrip at will. It uses the
spell only to transport itself. Its spellcasting ability is
Intelligence.
Professor Bring. The orb found in this room is lawful
neutral and introduces itself as Professor Bring. It has a
Wisdom of 11 and a Charisma of 6. It speaks, reads, and
understands Abyssal, Common, Dwarvish, and Terran.
It strings its words together into long, seemingly endless
sentences and speaks in a drearily monotonous tone. It
has the following four areas of expertise:- The his tory of Undermountain (see "Dungeon His-
tory," page 6) - The grooming habits of shield dwarves
- Gemstone identification
- Xorn (as described in the Monster Manual)
38. "!JUST MET A GIRL NAMED
SKRIANNA"
Carvings. The walls of this hall are carved to look like
tree trunks. The arched, 10-foot-high ceiling resem-
bles a canopy of dead boughs and branches.
Skrianna Shadowdusk. The first time the characters
enter this hall, they encounter Skrianna Shadowdusk,
a female human mage (see "Skrianna Shadowdusk,"
page 118). She is leaving the study hall (area 39)
and heading to her quarters (area llb), or vice versa.
A light can trip cast on the top of her staff lights her
path. Skrianna's shield guardian marches a few steps
behind her. Floating nearby is a grell valet that has
Skrianna's spellbook wrapped in its tentacles.
LEVEL 9 I DWEOMERCORE 131