Descent into Avernus

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

DREAM 2: BETRAYAL!


Characters who are conscious when the first dream


ends proceed to the second dream:


A Aame-encircled battlefield appears on a barren
hell scape. At the center of the circle, Lulu and the angel
lie unconscious and prone, horribly injured. You see your-
selves standing in defense of Lulu and the angel, facing
outward as six small, spine-covered devils creep closer.
In the distance, a formation of battered and retreating
human warriors disa ppears through a portal.
"The devils!" hisses the hag's disembodied voice. "You
must defeat those devils!"

The characters must defend Lulu and Zariel from the


six spined d evils. At this point, the characters and the


devils should roll initiative. The dreamscape combat


that follows pits the characters against the dream-devils.


The characters begin combat at full hit points, minus


any psychic damage taken in the previous dream. All


damage dealt by the dream-devils converts to psychic

damage. The devils let out dying screams and fall dead


when reduced to 0 hit points.


This d ream ends when half of the spined devils are


reduced to 0 hit points. When the dream ends, the bat-


tlefield fades to black as the dream sequence proceeds


with the next dream.

DREAM 3: DEVIL DEAL


Characters who are conscious when the second dream


ends proceed to the third dream:


A landscape filled with thick, black smoke and the smells
of death and decay expands to encompass everything.
The small devils that survived the previous dream kneel
before you and offer to serve you if you spare their lives.

If the characters agree to accept the devils' terms, the
devils take the sky and fly away, returning to help the
characters in the next dream. Otherwise, the devils fade

away into nothingness and don't reappear later on.


Once the characters make their choice, this dream


e nds and fades to black as the dream sequence contin-


ues with the next dream.

DREAM 4: DESOLATION


When the fourth dream begins, read:


You wander a vast, barren landscape of utter devastation.
Black sludge rises rapidly out of the ground, enveloping
your feet and gripping you tightly, overwhelming you with
a horrible sense of loss.
"Don't let the sludge consume you!" says Mad
Maggie's disembodied voice. "You must push through
her defenses. She must look!"

CHAPTER 3 I AVERNUS

Have the characters roll initiative for their dream-selves.
Each character is restrained by the black sludge. On its

turn, a character must use its action to try to get free of


the sludge, doing so with a successful DC 15 Strength


(Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If at least


one character accepted the devils' terms in the previous


dream, spined devils swoop down from the s ky to help

the characters pull free, granting advantage on each


character's ability check.
A character who gets free of the sludge rises up into

the air and quickly shakes off the sense of horrible loss.


For the rest of this dream, the freed character can do


nothing except use the Help action on each of its turns


to assist another character still trapped in the sludge.


A character who fails the initial check to escape the


sludge must repeat the check at the start of each of its


turns. With each failed check after the first, the char-


acter takes 22 (4dl0) psychic damage as the sense of


horrible Joss intensifies. If a character is reduced to 0 hit


points by this psychic damage, its dream-self becomes

completely submerged in the sludge and is lost.


The dreamscape can continue into the final dream


provided at least one character's dream-self escapes


from the sludge.

DREAM 5: REVELATION


Characters who are conscious when the fourth dream


ends proceed to the fifth and final dream, which is


as follows:


Lulu rests on a black cushion at the center of an inky
void. She is unconscious and alone, a beam of bril-
liant white light sh ining down upon her. Next to Lulu,
a large gleaming brass spyglass rests atop an ornately
carved tripod.
Lulu awakens and looks peacefully around her. Seeing
the spyglass, she approaches it, pressing one eye against
the eyepiece. Lulu then steps back suddenly, eyes wide,
mouth open, her face alight with excitement. She cries
out, "The sword, the sword! I know where it is!"

As the dream ends, the characters and Lulu wake up in


the ritual space. Lulu can barely contain her joy at redis-


covering what she believes is the location of the Bleed-


ing Citadel, and she impatiently begs the characters to


start the next leg of their journey.


If none of the characters' dream-selves made it to the


e nd of the dreamscape, Mad Maggie is eager to repeat


the ritual. Conversely, Lulu might regain enough of her

memory to lead characters on the next leg of the journey


without having to endure the ritual a second time. Mad

Maggie is unhappy if she doesn't get to see the whole


dream, and is less likely to help the characters get to

where they need to go if they refuse to see the dream


sequence through to the very end.
If the characters made it to the end of the dreamscape,

then Mad Maggie did as well. Experiencing the agonies


of such pure suffering, the hag oozes contentment. As


Jong as the characters have done nothing to displease

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