- HALASTER'S SANCTUARY
These areas serve as Halaster's private abode on this
level, though the Mad Mage himself is not present.
45A.SPECTRALSKULL
The single door leading to this room opens inward,
swinging toward the east. The room has a flat ceiling^20
feet high and contains the following features:
Statues. Two ll·foot-tall statues of elephant·headed
men stand in the southern corners. The one closer to
the southern exit is a stone golem. The other statue is
inanimate and harmless.
Dais. An arched double door carved with screaming
devil faces stands closed at the back of a dais. Floating
in front of the double door is a giant, ghostly human
skull with a long beard.
The devil.faced doors have nine hidden locks, each
of which requires a separate knock spell to open. Both
doors also swing open when one or the other is touched
with a silvered weapon, or if someone speaks Infernal
while standing on the dais.
The ghostly skull is neither a creature nor an object,
but a magical force. It has darkvision and truesight out
to a range of^60 feet, but it can't perceive any creature
warded by a nondetection spell or s imilar magic. The
skull can't move or be moved from its space, and it can't
be damaged. Because it's without substance, other crea·
tures can occupy its space. A successful dispel magic
spell (DC 19) cast on the skull causes it to vanish for^1
minute. The skull also disappears while contained in an
antimagic field. No other magic has any effect on it.
If the skull sees any creature other than the real
Halaster in the room, it screams, "You're not me!"
When this happens, all creatures in the vicinity must
roll initiative, including the stone golem. The skull acts
on initiative count^30 and again on initiative count 15.
On each of the skull's turns, all creatures in the room
except the stone golem are telekinetically thrust straight
up into the air, then cast down hard onto the floor. Each
target takes 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage and ends the
turn prone in its space. (Although the telekinesis effect
is magical, the damage it deals is not.) Only when there
are no more creatures left to toss about does the ghostly
skull cease its assault.
When the ghostly skull screams, the golem uses its
first turn in combat to block the south exit, pushing the
door closed and shoving smaller creatures out of the
way automatically. By occupying the space north of the
door, the golem prevents the door from being opened.
The golem remains stationary and attacks creatures
within its reach, returning to its original position only
when no other creatures are left in the room.45B. HALASTER'S STUDY
Desk. A black crystal desk covered with melted candles
and empty ink jars stands in the middle of the room.
Chair. Behind the desk, attached to a thin iron chain
and draped over one corner of a tall black crystal
chair, is a fist·sized, gleaming black gemstone-the
control gem for the death slaad on level 8 (a legend
lore spell or s imilar magic confirms as much).The desk has a single drawer, in which Halaster has
placed one of his many spellbooks. This thin tome has
a black leather cover with Halaster's rune burned into
it. Any creature other than Halaster that opens the
book triggers an elder rune that targets that individual
(see "Elder Runes," page 12). Draw a card from the
Elder Runes Deck (see appendix B) to determine which
rune appears.
Treasure. Most of the spell book's pages have been
torn out. Written on the few pages that remain is the fol·
lowing meager collection of spells: disguise self, levitate,
nondetection, and unseen servant.46. DETENTION AREA
Dweomercore's faculty and students are entitled to
freely use creatures imprisoned here as test subjects in
their demonstrations and experiments.46A. PRISON CELLS
A lO·foOt·high hallway contains six iron-barred cells,
their doors held shut with arcane Jock spells. Faculty
members and students can ignore the spells and open
the cell doors normally. Forcing open a door requires
a successful DC 25 Strength (Athletics) check or a
knock spell.
The cells contain no furnishings other than waste
buckets. The middle cell on the east side of the hall
holds three goblins abducted from Azrok's Hold (level
3, area 21) by Wormriddle. Their names are Evilfinger,
Pulk, and Tobble. If they are rescued, the goblins wait
until their rescuers fall asleep, then rob them and es-
cape. Until then, they follow the party and contribute as
little as possible.46B. PETRIFIED WIZARD
The statue in the middle of this room is a former
pupil- a dragonborn mage whom Halaster turned to
stone with a wish spell over a century ago. The statue
stands atop a 2-foot-high, 5-foot-wide stone cylinder
engraved with the following words in Common: "Follow
the rules. Obey your instructors. Don't be this guy."
DEVIL ON THE LOOSE
A conjurer named Yarek summoned a bone devil in area
48 and promised to set it free on the condition that it
kill his nemesis, Skrianna Shadowdusk. The bone devil
agreed. After Yarek released the devil, it immediately
murdered him. To fulfill its agreement with the mage,
the devil must now kill Skrianna. Wards placed on these
chambers prevent the devil from leaving, however, and
the greater wards placed on Undermountain by Halaster
prevent it from getting away by plane shifting.
Before he died, Yarek used a sending spell to warn the
headmaster about the escaped devil. If the arcanaloth
persuades the characters to destroy the devil in ex-
change for safe passage through Dweomercore, it waits
patiently for them in area 46b while they confront the
fiend in these chambers.
47A. ALAS, POOR YAREK
Characters who examine the doors to this room (each
marked with an asterisk on map 9) notice thin silver1.f:VEL 9 I DWEOM ERCORE 133