Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage

(Jeff_L) #1

12D. PIT OF BONES
A 20-foot-deep pit spans the corridor in this location.
The bottom of the pit is filled with the bones of rats that
fell in and fed on each other until they all died.



  1. VAMPIRE DENS


The stench of death pervades these filthy dens.


13 A. MAD SPAWN
Brek, a vampire spawn who s uccumbed to despair and
madness after falling out of Keresta's favor, is crouching
on the ceiling in the northeast corner of this otherwise
empty room, muttering to himself. He believes intruders
to be figments of his imagination until they attack.

13B. RESTING SPAWN
The Boor of this room, littered with scores of wooden
coffins, is difficult terrain. Some of the coffins are in-
tact, while others have fallen apart with age. Most are
empty, but three of the coffins contain resting vampire
s pawn named Deviana, Ezra, and Yuri. Characters who
s ucceed on a DC 15 Dexterity (Stealth) check can move
through this room without waking the spawn. Other-
wise, all three awaken and attack.
Treasure. Characters who search through all the
coffins find a silver rod with one end carved in the
s hape of a key (70 gp). The rod unlocks the double door
in area 18.

13c. EMPTY HALL
Six web-draped pillars buttress the 20-foot-high ceili ng
of this otherwise empty hall.


  1. TEMPLE CHANDLERY
    Torches used throughout Vanrakdoom are coated with
    a black wax that burns with a purple flame. The cultists
    of Shar know the secret process of making this wax,
    which they also use to fashion thei r candles.
    This room contains all the s upplies and tools needed
    to create black wax candles and torches, including flasks
    of oil, ceramic crucibles, and wooden candle molds. T he
    s upplies and tools rest on wooden tables spaced haphaz-
    a rdly about the room.

  2. SHATTERED THRONE
    Ceiling. The vaulted ceiling soars to a height of 30 feet
    and is braced by ornate, crumbling stone arches.
    Fog. The room is lightly obscured by fog.
    Vis ion and Crumbled Thron e. Any character who
    crosses the chamber's midpoint experiences one of
    the shadow dragon's fleeting visions and notices a pile
    of rubble at the end of the hall: the shattered remains
    of a stone throne.


DRAGON'S VISION
In this vision, the character is standing next to a skeletal
warrior with red pinpricks of light in his eye sockets
(Lord Vanrak Moonstar). Slumped in a stone throne,
he says, "ls this to be the legacy ofVanrak Moonstar?
A s hadow king damned to rule these moonless halls,
fending off assassins, mad wizards, and ghosts of the

ancient dead? Is this all that Shar has to offer? I have
drunk my fill of darkness and loss, old friend." With
that, the vision ends.

VANRAK'S THRONE
Fog swirls around the pile of s hattered stone near the
south wall that was once Vanrak's throne. If anyone
approaches within 10 feet of the rubble, a smoky projec-
tion of Umbraxakar rises from the shattered throne and
tries to frighten away interlopers, though it can do no
harm. It fades away if the rubble is disturbed.
Treasure. Buried under the rubble is Vanrak Moon-
star's ancient mithra/ armor (chain shirt), which has the
additional property of granting its wearer darkvision out
to a range of 60 feet. If a character dons this armor in
Vanrakdoom, two s h adow assa ssins (see appendix A)
materialize nearby and attack the character.


  1. ARCH G AT E T O LEVEL 15
    Ceiling. This chamber soars to a height of 30 feet.
    Arch. A stone arch set into the south wall is decorated
    with gold-inlaid images of dragons in flight. Carved
    into the wall above the arch are the following words in
    Draconic: "Only a dragon can unlock this gate."
    Fountains. Alcoves to the west and east contain stone
    fountains, each carved to look like a perched bronze
    dragon spouting water into an ornate stone basin.
    The fountains are fed by an underground spring and
    flow with clean, cool water. The living in habita nts of
    Vanrakdoom depend on this water for their survival.
    A fountain's 4 -foot-tall dragon sculpture can be broken
    off with a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check
    and used to activate the arch gate in this room. Each
    sculpture is a Small object that weighs^500 pounds.


ARCH GATE
The arch is one of Halaster's gates (see "Gates," page
12). Its rules are as follows:


  • The gate opens for 1 minute when a real or illusory
    dragon touches the arch. An artistic rendering of a
    dragon, s uch as a dragon-shaped figurine or a drawing
    of a dragon, also opens the gate.

  • Characters must be 13th level or higher to pass
    through this gate (see "Jhesiyra Kestellharp," page
    10). The first creature to pass through the gate trig-
    gers an elder rune (see "Elder Runes," page 12 ).

  • A creature that passes through the gate appears in
    area 30a on level 15, in the closest unoccupied space
    next to the similar gate located there.



  1. LOST DWARVEN HORN
    Fog. The room is lightly obscured by fog.
    Hooks and Horn. The walls are lined with small iron
    hooks upon which pictures were once hung. Hanging
    from a hook on the east wall is a gold horn encrusted
    with gems (see "Treasure" below).
    Vision. Any character who spends at least 1 minute
    searching the room experiences one of the shadow
    dragon's fleeting visions.


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