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The kuo-toa are hostile to strangers. If two or more of
them are killed or incapacitated, the survivors retreat
to area 21a.
At the start of each turn, any creature not immune
to the stench of troglodytes must succeed on a DC 12
Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the start
of its next turn. A gust of wind spell or similar magic can
clear the air in the cave for 1 minute, while removing the
troglodyte carcasses clears the air for good.- HOOK HORROR HOMESTEAD
Cave Features. This cavern has an uneven floor and
ceiling, the distance between them varying from 30 to
50 feet. The damp walls are lined with natural shelves
and beautiful rock draperies formed by water seepage.
Fungi. Growing out of mounds of bat guano are several
towering zurkhwoods, as well as patches of barrel-
stalk, bluecap, and trillimac.
Noise. Eerie clicking sounds betray the presence of
seven hook horrors.
The opportunistic hook horrors try to hook stray kuo-
toa, troglodytes, or adventurers and drag them away
to be devoured. Experience has taught them to avoid
contact with large, well-armed groups. A party of adven-
turers moving through the cavern with light sources is
enough to keep the hook horrors at bay, as they click and
chirp eerily to one another from the shadows.
It's only a matter of time before the aboleth enslaves
the hook horrors or drives them off. The hook horrors
have yet to encounter the aboleth and thus don't realize
the danger it represents.
23. HOOK HORROR LARDER
Ambush. A hook horror clings to a 15-foot high ledge,
waiting to ambush any who enter. The ledge is set into
the western wall, between the two tunnel entrances.
Bones. Lying on the floor are the bones of several trog-
lodytes mingled with the remains of kuo-toa and other
unidentifiable humanoids. Characters who search the
bones find a lost treasure (see "Treasure" below).
Fungi. Patches of barrelstalk, ripplebark, timmask, and
tongue of madness grow near the water that pools
against the eastern wall.TREASURE
Amid the bones is a common wondrous item called
a pipe of smoke monsters. While smoking this pipe,
one can use an action to exhale a puff of smoke that
takes the form of a single creature, such as a dragon,
a flumph, or a froghemoth. The form must be small
enough to fit in a 1-foot cube. It loses its shape after a
few seconds, becoming an ordinary puff of smoke.- TROGLODYTE TAKEOVER
Every surface of these caves is coated with slime. Sound
travels easily through the caves, though as one moves
toward the center of the complex, echoes from the un-
derground river become less obtrusive.
LEVEL 4 I n\'JSTED CAVERNSEighteen troglodytes live in these caves and respond
quickly to sounds of battle. These enslaved troglodytes
can't take reactions. When an enslaved troglodyte takes
damage, it can make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw to
break free of the aboleth's control. On a successful save,
the troglodyte fights for its own survival, not the abo-
leth's. Its first instinct is to flee if it can.24A. WEST SENTRIES
Three enslaved troglodytes guard this 30 -foot-high
cave. Shattered shields, broken spears, and torn nets
(trophies taken from the kuo-toa) lie heaped against the
walls. None of this gear is salvageable.24B. Kuo-TOA BONES
This 30-foot-high cave is littered with the bones of four
kuo-toa. The bones have all been thoroughly chewed
and their marrow sucked out.24c. GENERAL QUARTERS
Troglodytes. Unless they've been drawn elsewhere,
twelve enslaved troglodytes rest atop sawed-off sta-
lagmites in the middle of this 40-foot-high cave.
Pictographs. The walls bear pictographs of kuo-toa
abasing themselves before a creature that resembles
an otyugh (a bulbous monster with three legs, long
tentacles, and a gaping maw).24D. ABANDONED NURSERY
The kuo-toa used this 30 -foot-high cave as a nursery.
The cave has been empty since the kuo-toa were forced
to vacate it. Tiny fish bones litter the floor.24E. EAST SENTRIES
The underground river is loudest here. Three enslaved
troglodytes guard this 30-foot-high cave.Aftermath
This level has the potential to be greatly changed by the
actions of the characters.
The death of the aboleth allows the surviving kuo-toa
to reclaim their grotto (area 16). The kuo-toa victory is
short-lived, however, because the drow start attacking
them soon afterward. These attacks continue until the
kuo-toa are wiped out or forced to retreat upriver. After
taking over the grotto, the drow enslave the troglodytes
and use them to farm areas 3 and 5. Meanwhile, the
drow move the grotto's treasures to a more secure
location, such as the House Auvryndar stronghold
on level 10.
If the aboleth survives, it enslaves or kills off the
remaining kuo-toa in the coming weeks. The aboleth
also enslaves the ettin in area 2 , and its slime poisons
and kills off the fungi throughout the Twisted Caverns,
destroying the delicate ecosystem. The drow challenge
the victorious aboleth but are unable to defeat it on their
own, given the limited support they receive from House
Auvryndar. Several quaggoths that were once loyal to
the drow become the aboleth's thralls. The resulting
stalemate makes the drow desperate for aid, regardless
of the source.