96
PATH OF DEMONS
r
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. Assisthim 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 9r
"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 DEMONSCHAPTER 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'tforgive 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.