TEST RUN 221
If the characters accept Bazelsteen's terms, read or
paraphrase the following boxed text to the players:
Bazelsteen takes you to a rusty barge anchored on the
River Styx a few hundred yards from the dock. Hang-
ing from the barge's loading crane by a rusty chain is a
ten-foot-diameter, spherical diving bell made of iron and
glass. Suction tubes protrude from the diving bell's lower
hemisphere like flimsy arms.Bazelsteen built the experimental bathysphere to dredgethe bottom of the River Styx for silted souls. He needs to
test it, but he's unwilling to risk his devils. Bazelsteen'sbathysphere is a Large object that can fit up to four
Medium creatures inside it. The hatch is located in the
bathysphere's upper hemisphere. Bazelsteen assures
the characters that the device is airtight and watertight.
Bazelsteen asks the characters to secure themselves
inside the diving bell while he uses the crane to lower
them into the river. Their job is to use the suction arms
to scoop up silted souls from the bottom of the river,which lies 40 feet below the barge. The djving bell is
attached to 50 feet of chain- more than enough length
to reach the river's bottom. There are four "suction sta-
tions" inside the diving bell, each one equipped with achair and some metal control levers.
Bazelsteen knows that the diving bell has enough air
to sustain one occupant for 1 hour (or four occupants
for 15 minutes each). To be on the safe side, he plans to
keep the diving bell submerged for only 10 minutes.
If multiple characters participate in the experiment,
Bazelsteen taps on the bathysphere before lowering itinto the water and tells its occupants, "Whichever of you
sucks up the most silted souls gets a soul coin."
Tortured souls coursing through the River Styx clawand scream at the bathysphere as they pass by. Once
the bathysphere is lowered to the river bottom, charac-
ters inside it can use its siphoning tubes to suck up the
silted souls that lie there. At the end of each minute, a
character operating a suction station makes a Dexteritycheck. The number of silted souls that the character
siphons is equal to the check result. The silted souls are
stored in tanks attached to the bathysphere's underbelly,
and dials on the tanks track the number of silted souls
in each one.
Fiends dine on silted souls like ambrosia. Silted souls
can also be formed into lemures once they're "rescued"
from the river's depths.DEMON ATTACK
Ten minutes after the bathysphere is lowered into theriver, ten vrocks swoop down from the sky and attack
the Stygian dock. Bazelsteen is lured away by the attack,
leaving the barge and its crane unattended. When Bazel-
steen leaves, have the characters roll initiative. Charac-ters in the bathysphere have no idea what's happening
on the barge, or vice versa, and the River Styx is so dark
that visibility in the water is reduced to 10 feet.
CHAPTER 3 I AVERNUSAny character left on the barge can take control of the
unattended crane. While seated at the crane's controls,the character can use an action to try to figure out how
to operate them, doing so with a successful DC 17 Intel-
ligence (Arcana) check. If the check fails by 5 or more,
the character accidentally drags the bathysphere 2d10
feet across the river bottom, dealing 5 (2d4) bludgeoning
damage to all creatures inside it. It takes three consec-
utive, successful checks to bring the bathysphere back
onto the barge.
After the characters each take a turn, a glabrezu
lands on the barge and rolls initiative. On each of its
turns. the demon uses its action and one of its pincersto try to snip through the bathysphere's rusty chain,
doing so with a successful DC 20 Strength check. If the
chain breaks, the bathysphere falls to the bottom of the
River Styx and remains there until salvaged. Once theglabrezu has taken three turns, Bazelsteen returns and
scares the demon away if it hasn't been defeated by then.
If the bathysphere's chain breaks, Bazelsteen dubs Test
Run 221 a failure and leaves the sunken party members
to their doom. Otherwise, the horned devil uses thecrane to hoist the bathysphere back onto the barge, dubs
the experiment a success, and rewards a soul coin to the
character who suctioned up the most silted souls.
Characters in the bathysphere begin to suffocate once
its air supply is depleted. Opening the hatch while the
bathysphere is submerged causes the River Styx to flood
the compartment, exposing its occupants to the river's
effects (see page 76).STYX WATCHTOWERS
THE STYX IS THE DEMONS' GATEWAY INTO THE NINE
Hells. The devils keep a watchful eye on its shores!- The Cartographer
Along the banks of the River Styx stand guard towers
spaced such that no demonic army can enter Avernus
without being spotted. Each tower outpost is within
sight of two others, and neighboring troops can quicklyarrive to aid in crushing an incursion should demons
emerge from the river. Zariel's devils garrison these
outposts, but in lean times when the souls of Avernusare dwindling, some of these structures remain vacant.
Also, the mutable landscape of Avernus leaves outposts
isolated from time to time.WATCHTOWER FEATURES
A typical watchtower is a squat, 30-foot-tall, open-topped
structure made of black basalt. Its other features are
summarized below.
Garrison. Unless it has been abandoned, the toweris staffed by an amnizu commander, a c h ain de vil
subcommander, ten bearded de vils (each one with
a hell h oun d on the end of a short chain), and two
spined de vils (see "Watchtower Locations" for how
these devils are deployed).
Bugles. Each devil on watch duty is issued an iron
bugle. Blowing the bugle is a bonus action that blasts