Descent into Avernus

The devils don't know where the Bleeding Citadel is,

but they do know someone who could help. For the price

of a soul coin, the devils direct the group to a mysterious

outlander (see "Development" below). If the characters

are unable to pay, they must return later with the coin

and track down the fiends on the lake shore.

TREASURE

The fiends carry five soul coins (one each, see page

94) and three vials of demon ichor (see page 78).

DEVELOPMENT T he fiends tell the characters about a powerful mage

who visits Avernus from other planes and often pays

yugoloths for their protection. If anyone knows where to

find this Bleeding Citadel, it's surely Mordenkainen! The

fiends mark the location of the wizard's tower on the

players' map of Avernus. Following this lead takes the

group to the Tower of Urm.

TOWEROFURM

A TOWER TUMBLES BETWEEN PLANES ON THE WHIMS OF

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

- The Cartographer

The Tower of Urm jaunts across the multiverse. It is

present in Avernus only if the characters arrive here

after speaking to the fiends in the cleanup crew (see

"Spawning Trees," above). lf the characters arrive when the Tower of Urm is

present, read or paraphrase the following boxed text to

the players:

An iron tower rises atop an island on a lake of boiling blood. No windows penetrate the tower's walls, and its only visible door opens onto a high balcony. Red lightning crackles constantly between two horns of metal on the tower's roof.

Mordenkainen, a chaotic neutral human archmage,

often sojourns to Avernus to study how the Nine Hells

affect the schools of magic. This archmage of Oerth

leads a powerful group of adventurers called the Circle

of E ight and has authored several planar tomes. He has

also c rafted many renowned spells.

Mordenkainen takes the tower with him when he

leaves Avernus. Its empty iron foundations remain be-

hind to mark the site, and when tbe tower returns, it

locks itself into place with a satisfying clunk. Mordenka-

inen pays yugoloths to carry out his bidding in Avernus.

His wages are so attractive that these fiends have taken

to gathering outside his tower. There are nine mezzo-

loth s and three nycaloths present here at any time.

The fiends aren't looking for trouble, since they're more

interested in landing a lucrative contract with the mage.

Two of t he nycaloths-Torgrazk and Shraal-are

loyal to Zariel and have been sent here to assassinate

Mordenkainen. If they overhear his discussions with

ABYSSAL CHICKEN Tiny fiend (demon), chaotic evil

Armor Class 13 (natural armor) Hit Points 10 (3d4 + 3) Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft. (see Bad Flier below)

STR 6 (-2)

DEX 14 (+2)

CON 13 (+1)

INT 4 (-3)

Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightning Damage Immunities poison Condition Immunities blinded, poisoned

WIS 9 (-1)

CHA 5 (-3)

Senses blindsight 30 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 9 Languages understands Abyssal but can't speak Challenge 1/4 (SO XP)

Bad Flier. The abyssal chicken falls at the end of a turn if it's airborne and the only thing holding it aloft is its flying speed.

ACTION S Multiattack. The abyssal chicken makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its claws. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage.

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) slashing damage.

CHAPTER 3 I AVERNUS 97