Descent into Avernus

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

96


PATH OF DEMONS


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SPAWNING TREES
For characters of /eve/^8

"De mons beget demons. Where their filth lands,


they spawn even more corruption."

TOWER OF URM
For characters of /eve/ 8

"A tower tumbles between planes on t he whims of


a mad mage. Where it goes next, nobody knows."


OBELISK
For characters of level 8
·'An unknown man with unknown purpose. Assist

him at your peril, lest he drag you into madness."


Mirror of Mephistar


For characters of level 8
'·Mirror, mirror, made of ice- look within, but at
what price?"

Pit of Shummrath


For characters of level 8


"Here you find a sticky s ituation. Poor Shummrath


isn't the fiend it used to be."


I CRYPT OF T H E HELLRIDERS
For characters of level 9

r


"Zariel's fallen companions cannot rest. No one


can in this nightmare hellscape."

ARC H ES OF ULLOCH


For characters of level 9


"Only fools step through UUoch's gates. They lead


to nowhe re a wise person wants to go."
.____

r KosTCHTCHIE's


MAw


For characters of level^10


I


"The e nemy of my enemy is my frie nd, but does the


same hold true for fie nds?"


DIAGRAM 3.2: PATH OF DEMONS

CHAPTER 3 I AVERNUS

-----"~,


l


SPAWNING TREES


DEMONS BEGET DEMONS. WHERE THEIR FILTH IANDS,
they spawn ever more corruption.

- The Cartographer


When the characters arrive here, read or paraphrase the


following boxed text to the players:

Treelike growths cluster along the shoreline of a lake of
bubbling, black goo. Each growth is formed from the
same ichor as the lake and has writhing, membranous
sacs budding from its limbs.
Five bearded fiends heap coals around the trunk of one
of the trees. As they hurl more coals onto the pyre, four
of their number cruelly poke and tease the fifth member
of their group.

Lakes of demonic ichor appear where demons are


slaughtered in great numbe rs. Malformed trees grow on


their shorelines, their branches laden with fleshy sacs.


These eve ntuaUy Bop to the ground and wetly break


open, each one releasing a fully grown abyssal chicken


(see the accompanying stat block). Abyssal chickens a re


carnivorous, temperamental. tasty bottom-feeders native


to the Abyss. They beat their l eathery wings to scare


predators and to help them run faster, and they taste like


fatty chicken.

With your permission, a character who casts the find


familiar spell can henceforth choose to conjure an abys-


sal chicken instead of a raven.


DEVILISH WORK C REW


Zariel dis patc hed infernal cleanup crews to scour the


lake shores for the trees and destroy them before they


become thickets. When the characters arrive, they e n-


counter a work crew of five bearded devils in the pro-


cess of raising a pyre around a tree to incinerate it. Pour


of the devils tease th e fifth, whose name is Krikendolt. A


vrock savaged Krike ndolt's skull during one of the many


battles of the Blood War, leaving him with terrible scars


and a brain injury that has turned h is alignment to c ha-


otic good. Krikendolt's comrades learned that he pities


the abyssal chickens, a nd they are now goading him into


s laughte ring the chicke ns on pain of death. Secretly,

Krikendolt keeps a n abyssal chicke n named Earwax


in his sack.

The devils are likely to attack on sight unless a char-


acter can convince the m to parley with a s uccessful


DC 12 Charisma (Persuasion) check. The devils won't

forgive their comrade for his compassion, but the char-


acters could persuade them to release Krikendolt into


their care if they offer the right price. Krikendolt knows


Avernus well, so he makes a good traveling companion


and guide. The characte rs can cure Krikendolt of his


disorde r using a heal s pell or similar magic, which re-


stores his lawful evil alignment.
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