Descent into Avernus

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

DEMONlCHOR


Demon ichor is what remains behind after a demon


dies. It's a reduction of demonic blood, viscera, and


bodily fluids with the consistency and odor of bile.


Enough demons die in Avernus that their ichor forms


pools and small lakes. Although the ichor is harmless


on most planes of exjstence, it can warp creatures on


the Lower Planes. Devils and other creatures have


found ways to use demon ichor in rituals and to improve


the performance of infernal war machines (as described


in appendix B).


When a creature comes in direct contact with demon


ichor in Avernus, it must make a DC 10 Constitution


saving throw. Fiends, oozes, plants, and undead auto-


matically succeed on the saving throw. On a failed save,


the creature is magically warped by the ichor, as deter-


mined by rolling on the Flesh Warping table. A spell that


removes a curse ends all ichor-related warping effects


on a creature.


!CHOR-COATED WEAPONS

Demon ichor is sticky enough to adhere to most weap-


ons. A creature in Avernus that takes damage from a


weapon coated with demon ichor suffers a flesh-warping


transformation if it fails its saving throw (as described


above). After hitting its target, the weapon is no longer


coated with demon ichor.


Foon AND DRINK


Wisdom (Survival) checks to forage in Avernus are


made at disadvantage. Water exists, but it tastes foul and


is hard to find. Food can likewise be scrounged, but the


flora and fauna taste revolting no matter the manner of


preparation. Even rations brought to Avernus taste bitter


and ashen.


RESTS IN AVERNUS


There are no "days" or "nights" in Avernus, but time


should still be tracked in hour increments. Thus,


the characters can take long and short rests as they


do normally.


0 PTIONAL RULES


Here are some optional rules that you can use to rein-


force the flavor of adventuring in Avernus.


COMMERCE
When it comes to the souls of mortals, the Nine Hells is
a lways open for business. In Avernus, the business is war,
making sure the front lines of the Blood War are continu-
ously replenished with fresh troops, weapons, armor, and
war machines. The main drivers behind this infernal com-
merce are treasure and soul coins.
Treasure is only valuable to devils because of its efficacy
in tempting and twisting mortals (humans in particular)
toward lives of corruption, ultimately leading them to for-
feit their souls. Because gold has been used for millennia
in the Nine Hells, adventurers can find gold coins from
civilizations long lost to history.
Silver is harmful to devils. Nevertheless, devils trade
silver to those wishing to eliminate rivals in their path.

CHAl'TER 3 I AVERNUS


F LESH WARPING
dlOO Effect
01-05

06-10

11-15

16-20

21-25

26-30

31-35

36-40
41-45

46 - 50

51-55

56-60

61 - 65

66-70

71-75
76-80

81 - 85
86-90

91-95

96-00

The color of the target's hair, eyes, and skin be-
comes blue, red, yellow, or patterned.
The target's eyes push out of its head on the end
of s talks.
The target's hands grow claws, which can be used
as daggers.
One of the target's legs grows longer than the
other, reducing its walking speed by 10 feet.
The target's eyes become beacons, filling a 15-foot
cone with dim light when they are open.
A pair of wings, either feathered or leathery, sprout
from the target's back, granting it a flying speed of
30 feet.
The target's ears tear free from its head and scurry
away; the target is deafened.
Two of the target's teeth turn into tusks.
The target's skin becomes scabby, granting it a +l
bonus to AC but reducing its Charisma by 2 (to a
minimum ofl).
The target's arms and legs switch places, prevent-
ing the target from moving unless it crawls.
The target's arms become tentacles with fingers on
the ends, increasing its reach by 5 feet.
The target's legs grow incredibly long and springy,
increasing its walking speed by 10 feet.
The target grows a whiplike tail, which it can use
as a whip.
The target's eyes turn black, and it gains darkvision
out to a range of120 feet.
The target swells, tripling its weight.
The target becomes thin and skeletal, halving its
weight.
The target's head doubles in size.
The target's ears become wings, giving it a flying
speed of S feet.
The target's body becomes unusually brittle, caus-
ing the target to gain vulnerability to bludgeoning,
piercing, and slashing damage.
The target grows another head, causing it to
have advantage on saving throws against being
charmed, frightened , or stunned.

BARGAIN-BASEMENT DEATH SAVES

Whenever a character fails a death save in the Nine


Hells, an archdevil may contact that character telepath-


ically and offer its assistance. The character must agree


to perform a task for the archdevil afterward. The na-


ture of the task is not revealed until the character agrees


to these terms.


A character who agrees to the archdevil's terms au-


tomatically rolls a 20 on their next death save. At the


same time, the character falls under the effect of a geas


spell (no saving throw allowed). lf this spell ends prema-


turely, the character immediately drops to 0 hit points


and is dying. The task that the character must complete

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