Descent into Avernus

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

1 square = 5 feet


MAP 3.3: CRYPT OF THE 11ELLRIDERS

CRYPT O F THE HELLRIDERS


ZA.RIEL'S FALLEN COMPANJONS CANNOT REST. NOBODY
can in this nightmare hellscape.
-The Cartographer

When the characters arrive at this location, read or


paraphrase the following boxed text to the players:


Acrid smog swirls around a barren hill, rising from which
like giant tombstones are a pair of leaning monoliths,
each soaring more than fifty feet into the smoky red sky.
Dozens of armored knights kneel in motionless rever·
ence before the monoliths, between which a set of onyx
steps leads down under the hill.

The onyx steps descend into catacombs containing the


remains of Hellriders who died fighting at Zariel's side.


Their restless spirits yearn for peace yet are doomed to


haunt this place until once more called to arms.


Dozens of dead knights kneel before the monoliths,


their foreheads resting on the pommels of their swords.


The knights' armor serves as caskets for their bones,


yet their corpses stay upright as though in prayer. Each


knight wears the faded regalia of Elturel.


ENCOUNT E RS I N TH E C RYPT


The following descriptions correspond to areas marked


on map 3.3. The entire crypt is terribly cold and


wreathed in ankle-deep mist. All rooms and passages in


the crypt are 10 feet tall and hewn from solid rock.


Cl. SEALED GATES


When the characters descend into the catacombs, read:


A pair of basalt doors block the passage ahead, their sur-
faces engraved with a relief of a knight locked in combat
with a devil. Both wield burning swords.

The doors do not have visible handles, locks, or bolts,


and they are magically locked, hardened, and enchanted


to resist magic. Any spell cast to unlock, damage, or re-


mold the doors automaticaJly fails. Characters can use


dimension door or similar magic to get past the doors.


They can also slip through the cracks between the doors


if they have the magic to do so (such as the gaseous form


spell). Otherwise, they'll need the speak the pass phrase


"For Glory" to proceed any farther. Characters can learn


the pass phrase from Ubbalux the barlgura (as dis-


cussed in the "Pit of Shummrath" section, page 100).


If a character speaks the pass phrase aloud within 10


feet of the doors, the doors slowly grind open. The doors


close on their own after 1 hour unless they are held or


wedged open.


CHAPTER 3 I AVERNUS 101
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