under stony cowls and their arms raised toward the
iron disk.
This room is one large timekeeping device. Every day
at dawn and at dusk, the wizard statues exert invisible
magical force upon the suspended iron disk, causing it
to flip over within its circular frame like a coin. During
the day, the sun symbol is visible on the disk's under-
side; at night, the disk displays the moon symbol on
its underside. When the disk rotates, half of it swings
up into the dome-shaped concavity in the ceiling. The
lower half swings downward, with 10 feet of clearance
between its outer edge and the floor.
A detect magic spell reveals auras of evocation magic
and transmutation magic around the statues, which
defy all attempts to move or break them. If a creature at-
tempts to turn the disk manually, the statues discharge
lightning that fills the room. All creatures in the room
at that moment must make a DC 18 Dexterity saving
throw, taking 22 (4d10) lightning damage on a failed
save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Crea-
tures in direct contact with the iron ring or the disk, as
well as creatures clad in metal armor, have disadvan-
tage on the saving throw.- ARCANE SCRIBBLINGS
Chalkboards. Mounted on the walls are several black-
boards on which arcane phrases and formulas are
written in chalk.
Table Trap. A wooden table in the middle of the room
bears a collection of dusty flasks and beakers. The
table is draped in cobwebs and obviously hasn't
been disturbed in a long time. The paraphernalia
is meant to distract viewers from the polymorph
trap upon which the table rests (see "Polymorph
Traps," page 180).
The chalk scribblings were left by one of Arcturia's
failed apprentices. Any character who studies the mark-
ings and succeeds on a DC 16 Intelligence (Arcana)
check can tell that they are attempts by one individual
to unravel the secrets of spells beyond their comprehen-
sion. Spellcasters who have the disintegrate and Resh
to stone spells on their spell lists can tell that those are
the spells being researched, though neither spell can be
learned from these incomplete scribblings.
Sounds of battle in this room can be heard by the
hobgoblin guards in area 25 , who investigate if alerted.
(T hey approach from the east.) - EXPERIMENTS
The doors to these rooms have arcane Jock spells cast
on them that allow Arcturia alone to pass. A door can be
forced open with a successful DC 25 Strength (Athlet-
ics) check.
23A. SHOE HULK
Lying in the middle of this room is an old shoe with a
scorpion hiding in it. If the shoe is disturbed, the scor-
pion scuttles out and attacks the nearest creature.
The scorpion is, in fact, an umber hulk under the
effect of a polymorph spell made permanent with a wish
spell. The umber hulk reverts to its true form and at-
tacks when its scorpion form is reduced to 0 hit points.23B. BAD BLADES
A corroded steel helm rests atop a pile of rusty swords
in the middle of the room. When another creature en-
ters the room, the pile of swords gathers into a vaguely
humanoid form with the helm surmounting it and at-
tacks. This assemblage of rusty steel has the statistics
of animated armor, except that its attacks deal piercing
damage instead of bludgeoning damage.23c. RODENT OF UNUSUAL SIZE
Monster. A giant two-headed rat (use death dog statis-
tics) is trapped here. This rodent is the size of a hu-
man and is hostile toward all intruders.
Meat Chute. In the ceiling near the north wall is a rect-
angular opening, 12 inches long by 6 inches wide, that
forms the mouth of a stone chute leading up.
Every few hours, a brick of rotting meat slides down
the chute from a hidden chamber above. The meat hits
the floor with a wet smack and is promptly eaten by
the monstrous rodent. A Tiny or gaseous creature can
access this small, hidden chamber by cl imbing up the
chute. There are no exits from the upper room, which
contains only hundreds of bricks of pink, rotting meat
and a magical mechanism that pushes them down the
chute at random intervals. It's impossible to discern
what sort of creature the meat has been harvested from.23D. GUFFAW THE STONE EATER
This room contains the smashed remains of a dwarf
statue and a plump deep gnome (svirfneblin) named
Guffaw Gravelstock, who was plucked from his Un-
derdark gem mine by Arcturia. He is unfamiliar with
Undermountain.
Arcturia's magic has given the gnome an insatiable ap-
petite for carved stone. He uses his war pick to break up
the statue and is devouring it slowly, one piece at a time.
He can't keep himself from stopping to eat any carved
stone he sees-and there's no end to how much he can
consume. He begs to be left alone so he can finish his
meal in peace. A successful dispel magic spell (DC 19)
cast on Guffaw rids him of his unique magical malady.
Treasure. The instant he is cured of his malady, Guf-
faw coughs up two diamonds (5, 000 gp each). He is just
as surprised to see the gemstones as anyone else, and
he offers them to the characters as a reward for "saving"
him. He then seeks out a way back to the Underdark,
wanting nothing more to do with Undermountain.- EMPTY CLASSROOM
Chalkboard. A blackboard covers the entire east wall.
Written across it in big chalk letters are the words
"YOU ALL FAIL!" in Common.
Desks. Whenever a creature enters the room, seven
stone desks magically rise from the floor, facing the
blackboard in an arc. (The desks sink back into the
floor when all creatures leave the room.)
Secret Door. A secret door in the south wall pushes
open to reveal a dusty, web-choked passage between
this room and area 25.
LEVEL 14 I ARCTU'RlADOOM