Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage

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26A. Do NoT FEED THE OwLBEARs!

Owlbears. Two owlbears left here by Halaster are hun-

gry and attack anything that enters this room.

Sarcophagi. A dozen elven sarcophagi arranged about

this dusty room have been reduced to rubble.

Carvings. Time and neglect have all but destroyed wall

carvings that depict elves mounted on elk, parading

through a forest as the seasons change around them.

Secret Door. A secret door in the north wall leads

to area 26b.

Treasure. Characters who search the room for trea-

sure find a 10-pound clay pot lying amid some rubble

near the south wall. The pot is painted with images of a

bare-footed elf druid leading a march of small, uprooted

shrubs that seem to be walking of their own accord.

A detect magic spell reveals an aura of transmutation

magic around the pot, which is a common wondrous

magic item called a pot of awakening. If one plants an

ordinary shrub in the pot and lets it grow for 30 days,

the shrub magically transforms into an awakened

shrub at the end of that time. When the shrub awakens,

its roots break the pot, destroying it. The awakened

shrub is friendly toward whoever planted it. Absent com-

mands from its creator, it does nothing.

26B. SECRET TOMB

In the middle of the dusty tomb rests a 7,500-pound al-

abaster sarcophagus atop a 1-foot-high block of granite.

The lid of the sarcophagus is carved in the likeness of a

regal elf of indeterminate age and gender, with a yawn-

ing cat stretching on the elf's chest. The cat is part of the

lid's carving, not a separate sculpture.

A character who inspects the sarcophagus closely

and succeeds on a DC^17 Wisdom (Perception) check

realizes that it's a solid block of alabaster with a fake Ud

carved to appear openable- a false tomb built to con-

found would-be treasure-hunters.

260. HALASTER'S CRUSHING EYE

Destroyed Tables. Three stone tables lie strewn about

the room, surrounded by ceramic shards that were

once funerary urns. (The owlbears in area 26a are

responsible for the destruction.)

Sloped Hall. A 10-foot-wide, 10-foot-high hallway to the

south slopes gently upward to area 26d and contains a

rolling sphere trap.

The 10 -foot-square section of floor marked X on map

2 is a pressure plate. When 20 or more pounds of pres-

sure depress this plate, a 10-foot-diameter stone sphere

painted to look like a bloodshot eyeball careens from

an alcove at the top of the sloped hallway and down the

passage toward area 26c. With a successful DC^20 Wis-

dom (Perception) check, a character searching the hall

for traps can spot the pressure plate. Wedging four or

more iron spikes or similar objects under the pressure

plate prevents the trap from activating.

When the sphere is released, all creatures present roll

initiative, and the sphere rolls initiative with a +8 bonus.

On its turn, it moves in a straight line until it reaches

a corner, then changes direction to follow the s loped

tunnel until it comes to rest in area 26c. The sphere can

LEVEL 2 I ARCANE CHAM SF.RS

move through other creatures' spaces, and creatures

can move through its space, treating it as difficult ter-

rain. Whenever the sphere enters a creature's space or

a creature enters its space while the sphere is rolling,

that creature must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving

throw or take 55 (lOdlO) bludgeoning damage and be

knocked prone.

A creature within 5 feet of the sphere can attempt

to slow it down by using an action to make a DC 20

Strength check. On a successful check, the sphere's

speed is reduced by 15 feet. In the sloped hallway, this

reduction lasts only until the end of the sphere's next

turn. If the sphere's speed drops to^0 on a flat surface, it

stops moving and is no longer a threat.

26D. BLOODLETTING CHAMBER

This 10-foot-high room holds a row of six slanted stone

tables intended for ritualistic bloodletting. Each table is

fitted with rus ty s hackles and leather straps. Under the

lower end of each table, set into the floor, is a shallow,

circular stone basin for collecting blood.

26E. ABANDONED STUDY

Makeshift Desk. The lid of a stone sarcophagus rests

atop two misshapen blocks of stone, creating a make-

shift desk at the south end of the room. Behind it is a

high-backed chair made of charred wood that has one

armrest missing.

Wall Niches. Beyond the desk and chair, dusty books

are crammed into niches in the south wall. Similar

niches in the other walls contain tall, alabaster fu-

nerary urns covered with dust and cobwebs (seven-

teen in all).

Treasure. The alabaster urns are cracked, chipped,

and worthless. They contain nothing but dust-for the

most part. Buried in the dust inside one of the urns is a

tiny white pouch containing dust of disappearance.

The books cover the subjects of alchemy, dwarven and

elven history, engineering, gemcraft, the study of mon-

strosities, and weather prediction. All of them are falling

apart, but stuffed among the mundane tomes is a badly

burned wizard's spellbook that still contains the follow-

ing spells: comprehend languages, crown of madness,

darkvision, gaseous form, ray of sickness, r emove curse,

Tenser's floating disk, and unseen servant.

Aftermath

If they're weakened but not eradicated, the goblins begin

constructing traps around the perimeter of their market

to better protect themselves against aggressive adven-

turers and bad neighbors. They favor collapsing roofs,

falling nets, and poison darts (see "Sample Traps" in

chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master's Guide). The goblins

also train and deploy giant rats, using them as watch-

dogs. Some of these might be Rizzeryl's wererats in rat

form, sent to infiltrate the goblin lair and spy on adven-

turers who find their way to the goblin bazaar.

Destroying the two Xanathar Guild outposts allows

the goblins to expand their territory. Unless the goblins

are a lso wiped out, goblin patrols become more com-

mon throughout this level of the dungeon.