Descent into Avernus

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

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the characters, the assassins decide to alter their plans.


Both fiends turn invisible and follow the party in hope


of an opportunity to kidnap one or more characters and


deliver them to Zariel. If they succeed, Zariel invites the


rest of the group to her flying fortress to negotiate terms


for their comrades' release (see "Zariel's Flying For-
tress," page 130).

TALKING TO MORDENKAINEN


Mordenkainen is a stern, bald man with a neatly


trimmed black goatee beard and a pe netrating stare.
When his tower arrives in Avernus, Mordenkainen steps

out onto the balcony to address th e fiends gathered be-


low. Fights frequently break out between the yugoloths

as they jostle for his attention.


Zariel's assassins often lurk here, so Mordenkainen


presents a simulacrum of his true self that disintegrates


into a pile of snow if it is destroyed. The real archmage


remains deep inside his tower and swiftly shunts the
building to another plane in times of danger.

If the characters make themselves known to Mor-


denkainen's simulacrum. he demands to know their


reasons for visiting. The archmage doesn't know the


location of the Bleeding Citadel, nor does he care to find


it. Even so, he claims that "balance will be maintained


in the universe" by giving the characters directions to

a lesser mage who also studies the workings of magic


in Avernus-specifically, a "mage of no re nown" who


haunts the site of an obelisk. The yugoloths recently told


Mordenkainen about this stranger and his guidance has


an ulterior motive: if the characters end up slaying the


mysterious mage, Mordenkainen has one less rival to


contend with in Avernus.

OBELISK


AN UNKNOWN MAN WITH UNKNOWN PURPOSE. AsSIST
him at your peril. lest he dragyou into madness.
-The Cartographer

When the characters arrive at this location, read or


paraphrase the following boxed text to the players:

A thirty-foot-tall obelisk ringed by seven smaller standing
stones rises from the crest of this hill. A tall man wearing
tattered robes strides between the standing stones, ges-
ticulating wildly and screaming curses into the wind.

The pit fiend Bel imprisoned the barlgura demon Ub-


balux inside this circle of standing stones. To torment

his adversary, Bel revealed that the secret to escaping


the prison was hidden in the arcane runes etched across


the standing stones. Ever since, the tormented demon

has tried futilely to solve the riddle and escape. The fig-


ure pacing the standing stones is Ubbalux masquerad-


ing in human form using a disguise se/fspell. The magic


of the obelisk prevents the demon from leaving the circle

and stops any form of divination magic from affecting


the stones or targeting a creature inside their perimeter.


CHAPTER 3 I AVERNUS

Ubbalux appears as a tall human wiza rd. The demon


stole this appearance from the last visitor to stray into


his stones (after Ubbalux ate him). If the characters ap-


proach, the "wizard" greets them eagerly and is keen to

divulge details of his studies, but his conversation often


trails off on confusing tangents. The following informa-


tion can be gleaned by speaking with the false wizard:


The wizard claims that he no longe r recalls his name


or place of origin.


  • If asked about the Bleeding Citadel, the wizard prom-


ises to direct the characters to "someone who can


help," provided they help him solve the enigma of the


obelisk first.

Ubbalux can truly help the characters find the path to


the Bleeding Citadel, but the demon hopes to manipu-

late the characters into releasing it from its prison first.


If they become aware of its ruse, the demon admits to


the deception and pleads for their help (see "Develop-
me nt" below).

A WIZARD'S THEORY


The wizard claims that each standing stone is keyed to


one of the eight schools of magic (abjuration, conjura-


tion, divination, enchantment, evocation, illusion, necro-
mancy, and transmutation). His theory s uggests that the

central obelis k grants a boost in arcane power to mages


across the cosmos, and he urges the c haracters to aid


him in empowering it. Tn truth, Ubbalux has concocted


this theory to dupe the characters into testing his latest


escape plan. Characte rs who examine the standing


s tones and succeed on a DC 15 In telligence (Arcana)


check discern that the arcane runes do indeed relate to


the eight schools of magic.

The wizard requests that each character places a


hand upon a different stone, to "assist in c hanneling

the streams of magic."' When their hands are in place,


STANDING STONE EFFECTS
School Effect
Abjuration You gain a +2 bonus to AC for the next^24
hours.
Conjuration A monodrone appears in an unoccupied
space within S feet of you and follows you
around until it's destroyed. It is indifferent
toward all creatures, including you.
Divination You gain the benefits of a true seeing spell
for the next hour.
Enchantment The standing stone casts confusion on you
(save DC 15). The spell lasts for 1 minute.
Evocation The standing stone casts magic missile, tar-
geting you with five missiles.
Illusion An illusory swarm of harmless bats or
pigeons (DM's choice) flutters over your
head for the next hour. A dispel magic cast
on the swarm ends the effect.
Necromancy You also take^30 necrotic damage from the
standing stone.
Transmutation Your skin turns blue for the next^24 hours.
A remove curse spell ends the effect on you.
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