!E. YEK THE TALL
Torches. Flickering torches in iron brackets light
this room.
Bugbears. Four bugb ears stand in the room's corners.
Goblins. A handsome man wearing a golden circlet on
his brow (Yek the Tall, a goblin boss in altered form)
reclines on a mound of cushions at the north end of
the room, eating an apple. Ten goblins (Yek's toadies)
lie about on moldy cushions around him.
Prisoner. Chained to the south wall is a male dwarf clad
in leather armor who has been gagged. He has cop-
per-orange hair, but his beard has been shaved off (see
"Shaved Dwarf" below).
The bugbears work for Yek because he pays them. A
bugbear abandons Yek and returns home to Skullport
(on level 3) if given a bribe of 5 gp or more.
lfYek orders the goblins into battle, they fight reluc-
tantly. If half are killed or incapacitated, the rest flee.
The goblins also run away ifYek is slain.
Yek wears a gold circlet (see "Treasure" below) that
has transformed him into a beautiful adult male human.
In this form, his size is Medium. If the characters hum-
ble themselves before Yek and appeal to his vanity, they
are treated fairly. If they attempt to steal from him or
have harmed any of his underlings, Yek sentences them
to death and orders his goblin toadies and the bugbears
to attack. Yekjoins the fray only in self-defense.
If the characters and Yek part company on peaceful
terms, three ofYek's goblin toadies try to speak to the
characters afterward, away from the goblin boss. They
plead with the characters to end Yek's "curse" by steal-
ing the circlet that has transformed the goblin boss into
a human. They don't have a plan for doing so and are
hoping the characters can devise one. The toadies can
get all the other goblins out of the hall, but they have no
control over Yek's bugbear bodyguards.
Shaved Dwarf. The beardless dwarf is Copper Storm-
forge, a member of the Fine Fellows of Dagger ford ad-
venturing party. His hatred for goblins increased tenfold
when they chopped off his beard, and if he is set free, he
tries to kill every one of them.
As a reward for setting him free, Copper gives his
liberators what he claims is an authentic map of the Sar-
gauth Level (level 3). Copper folded the map into a tiny
package and tucked it between his butt cheeks to hide it
from his captors. He doesn't realize the map is fake and
utterly worthless.
Copper is a shield dwarf scout, with these changes:
- Copper is neutral evil.
- He has these racial traits: He speaks Common and
Dwarvish. His walking speed is 25 feet. He has
darkvision out to a range of 60 feet, advantage on
saving throws against poison, and resistance to poi-
son damage.
He has no weapons.
Treasure. The goblins under Yek carry a total of 60
cp and 25 sp. Each bugbear carries a large pouch that
contains 15 gp.
Yek's circlet is an uncommon magic item called a
circlet of human perfection. Only humanoids can at-
LEVEL 2 I ARCANE CHAMBERStune to it. The circlet transforms its attuned wearer
into an attractive human of average height and weight.
The circlet chooses the physical characteristics of the
form, such as age, gender, skin color, hair color, and
voice. Except for size, the wearer's statistics and racial
traits don't change, nor do items worn or carried by the
wearer. Removing the circlet ends the effect.lF. YEK'S TREASURE
This room contains the following treasure:- A gruesome diorama featuring the stuffed corpses of
a beholder and six goblins, all of them in battle poses
and adorned with costume jewelry - An ivory chessboard on a low stone table
A 9-foot-tall, 3 -foot-wide framed painting ofYek, de-
picting him in his regal human form, standing proudly
with his golden circlet on his brow - A hefty, iron-banded wooden chest with iron rings
for handles
Characters who loot the diorama find fifteen pieces of
costume jewelry worth 1 gp each. The ivory chessboard
is worth 25 gp. The wooden chest is filled with 2 , 000 sp.
The painting ofYek has no real value, though a clever
character can sell it for 50 gp by convincing a naive
buyer that the painting depicts a figure of historical
importance; doing so requires a successful DC 13 Cha-
risma (Deception) check.
- KALABASH'S CHAMBERS
Kalabash was one of Halaster's apprentices, though
not one of the original seven. He has been trapped in a
pocket dimension for hundreds of years now and is com-
pletely insane. Characters might stumble across him as
they explore his chambers.
2A. WATER PUMP
In the center of this room is a rusted iron hand pump
and a deep stone basin. This pump draws water from a
spring between levels of the dungeon. Using an action to
crank the pump draws ld4 + 1 gallons of potable water
into the stone basin.2B. ABANDONED LABORATORY
This room is filled with dusty tables and cauldrons. Its
stone hearth is cold. Piled atop the tables are alchemi-
cal tools and equipment, all of it ancient to the point of
being unusable. Disturbing the laboratory in any way
alerts the specter· in area 2c.2C. WIZARD' S KITCHEN
This decrepit kitchen contains an oven range, a washing
basin, a hearth bearing a covered cook pot, and shelves
filled with pots, pans, and cooking tools.
A specter hides in the covered cook pot, emerging if
the lid is lifted or if the specter is disturbed by noises
from area 2b. The specter can command four nearby
pots and pans to do its bidding; treat these objects as
flying swords that deal bludgeoning damage instead
of slashing damage. If the specter is defeated, the pots
and pans clatter to the ground, becoming inanimate
once more.