Descent into Avernus

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

Barber Pricing. Burney charges 1 gp for eacb service


involving grooming. Burney can provide some small

amount of magic healing, but only does so for good-


aligned creatures, and at no cost.

If someone offers Burney a soul coin for any reason,


she looks extremely disappointed and turns it down.


She refuses even to touch one.


FROM HERE TO AVERNUS

Fhet'Ahla, an amnizu (see page 228 for its stat block).


provides imps as couriers as well as a variety of spell-


casting services for transmitting information over long


distances. The more secure the means, however, the


more expensive the service. Additionally, Fhet'Ahla acts

as an exchange for soul coins, offering 100 gp in coins


or gemstones for each soul coin delivered, and can serve


as an official notary for the signing of in fernal contracts.


Fhet'Ahla failed a critical mission at some point in


the past and gained the disfavor of Asmodeus. As a
punishment, Asmodeus posted him with Mahadi. While

Fhet'Ahla doesn't owe Mahadi any kind of debt, he is on


the wrong side of Asmodeus and has no idea how many


centuries this service will last. The amnizu is also for-


bidde n from challenging Mahadi's authority in all mat-
ters pertaining to the operation of the Wandering Em-

porium or any other special assignments the rakshasa


receives from Asmodeus.

Delivery Pricing. Fhet'Ahla charges a single soul


coin for parcel deliveries weighing 5 pounds or less.


For a larger parcel (up to 50 pounds), he charges two


soul coins.


Notary Pricing. Fhet'Ahla charges a single soul coin


for notary services and collects a single soul coin for


exchanges that don't involve the soul of a celestial. If a


celestial is involved, he collects ten soul coins.


ICHOR'S AWEIGH!

Elliach, a lawful evil human mage, collects and sells


flasks of demon ichor (see page 78). Exposure to de-

mon ichor has warped Elliach in the following ways:


• Elliach's arms have become tentacles with fingers at


the ends, increasing his reach by 5 feet.


• Elliach's ears sprouted wings and flew away. Con-


sequently, he is deaf. He relies on lip-reading and


hand gestures.
Elliach met Mabadi while on the run from debt col-

lectors. Mahadi saw the value in paying off Elliach's


debts and bringing him to Avernus to work in the Wan-

dering Emporium. Thought to be insane by many of the


other vendors, Elliach uses demon ichor in a host of


magical experiments, none of which seem to have the


intended results.


Demon Ichor Prices. Elliach sells demon ichor for


100 gp a flask and buys demon ichor for 25 gp a flask.

Z 'NETH'S L ARVA FARM

Z'neth is a bitter, old hobgoblin warlord who buys and


sells larvae (see chapter 2 of the Dungeon Master's


Guide for statistics). Mahadi facilitated Z'neth's rise


to power, helping hjm destroy entire kingdoms on the

Material Plane. Z'neth's conquests eventually caught the


eye of the mighty god Maglubiyet, who offered Z'neth


CHAPTER 3 I AVERNUS

a command on the battlefields of Gehenna. Before he


could wrack up his first victory on that plane, however,


Mahadi collected on Z'neth's de bt and bore him away to


Avernus, where he languishes in obscurity, far from the

planar battlefield he had hoped to die on.


Z'neth procures larvae from yugoloths and sells them


at marked-up prices to hags and other interested buyers,


giving half his proceeds to Mahadi in exchange for food


and other necessities. Z'neth's wares are of little interest


to adventure rs. However, Z'neth is fond of using his prof-


its to hire assassins to kill Mahadi, which the rakshasa


finds endlessly amusing.
If the characters pay his establishment a visit, Z'neth

offers them nine soul coins (all he has) for Mahadi's


bead. Ageas spell prevents the hobgoblin from divulging


Mahadi's true form. Mahadi greets Z'neth's would-be


assassins w ith a smile and is more than happy to accept


Z'neth's soul coins as payment for goods and services at


his fine restaurant.

Larvae. At any given time, Z'neth has 2d6 larvae


trapped in cages. He charges one soul coin per larva.


ZARIEL'S FLYING FORTRESS


This 450-foot-tall structure is mobile and therefore


doesn't appear on the poster map of Avernus or on map


3.1. From th is flying fortress, Zariel oversees the de-


fense of her infernal realm.


Attempting to infiltrate the fortress while it's on the


move proves lethal due to the hundreds of devils on-
board. While undergoing repairs and refueling at the
Stygian Dock (see page 123), Zariel and most of her

crew aren't present, leaving the fortress with a skeleton


crew that consists of the following hostile forces:


• An erinyes named Nariangela, who guards the bridge


on the command deck (the fortress's topmost deck)


• Eighteen bearded devils in plate armor (AC 18),


patrolling the lower decks in pairs

• Three bone devils, circling above the fortress


INFILTRATING THE FORTRESS


Characters can enter Zariel's flying fortress using any of


the following routes.

ROOFTOP HATCH
Characters capable of flight can enter the flying fortress

through an unlocked, 10-foot-square hatch on the flat


top of the flying fortress. The hatch is watched by the


bone devils that fly above the fortress and leads to a

corridor just outside the bridge on the command deck.


The corridor is not guarded while the flying fortress is


moored at the Stygian Dock.

SIGNAL VENTS
Tiny hatches in the hull connect to 1-foot-diarneter
chutes that ascend to the vessel's command deck.

During battle, Zariel's imp couriers use these chutes to


enter and exit the flying fortress. Characters reduced to
Tiny size or in gaseous form can navigate these narrow

chutes to reach the command deck.

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