dwarf watches each location and communicates what
it sees via the bronze bell. The scrying circle functions
for no one else. It is suppressed within an antimagic
field and can also be dispelled (DC 17). When the cir-
cle ceases to exist, the ghostly eyestalk sensors in the
above-mentioned locations disappear as well.
Secret Door. The secret door can be spotted with a
successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check_ A pedal
hidden in the floor, when stepped on, causes the door to
swing inward.
Xl7. PROMENADE
Pillars carved with eyes follow the curvature of the hall,
and these eyes seem to track creatures as they pass by.
This isn't a magical effect but an optical illusion.
Mlfiordomo. If he's not with Xanathar in the arena
(area X6), Ahmaergo (see appendix B) is conducting a
routine inspection of the dungeon. The characters can
hear the dwarf's echoing footfalls as he approaches their
location. If he sees intruders and is outnumbered, Ah-
maergo retreats to area X22J heads downstairs to gather
reinforcements from area X28, and leads a search party
to capture the interlopers. If he sees only one intruder,
he draws his axe and attacks.
Secret Door. The northernmost end of this hallway
displays a fresco of a leafless tree that has lidless eyes
embedded in its branches. Pressing a specific eye
causes a door-shaped section of the wall to swing open
into area Xl6. Characters can find the secret door and
the switch with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Percep-
tion) check.X18. AUDIENCE CHAMBER
Xanathar greets visitors and makes speeches to its min-
ions in this 40 -foot-high domed chamber. Characters
who were seen by the scrying sensors anywhere in the
dungeon complex can't surprise the creatures here. The
magically lit room contains the following features:- The circular floor is tiled in black marble and bears a
gold mosaic ofXanathar's symbol. - Jutting from the ceiling is a bronze, bell-shaped pro-
tuberance. (This fixture is the other end of the sound
amplifier described in area X16.)
Displayed against the curved walls are a dozen lifelike
statues (the remains of humans, drow, dwarves, gobli-
noids, and kobolds who defied the beholder). - Hidden in the floor is a secret trapdoor.
While in this room, Xanathar uses its ring of invisi-
bility to remain unseen and can use a bonus action to
activate or deactivate a psychedelic display of magical
lights, each one the size of a human eyeball. The lights
fill a 10-foot cube in the middle of the room, and the
beholder can throw its voice so that it seems to emanate
from the same area. Any character who succeeds on a
DC 13 Wisdom (Insight) check can tell that the display
isn't the source of the voice.
If the beholder is here, ifs using the psychedelic
light display to deliver an incoherent, self-aggrandizing
speech to a group of sycophantic underlings consist-
ing of ten human bandits and two duergar who have
never seen Xanathar's true form. These minions clutch
tankards of Wyrmwizz Ale (a cheap Skull port brew)
and toast Xanathar whenever the beholder commends
itself. Xanathar's treacherous drow mage advisor, Nar'I
Xibrindas (see appendix B), stands in front of the open
door to area Xl 9, clapping weakly at the speech. Float-
ing next to Nar'l is his grell bodyguard. IfXanathar has
been warned that the characters are near, it wraps up its
speech and grants them an audience; see "Facing Xana-
thar," page 99, for more information.
If Xanathar is elsewhere, this room contains only
Nar'l and the grell. Nar'l tries to lure adventurers into a
showdown with the beholder. If he is wounded. he flees
through the trapdoor in the floor and retreats to area
X35 while the grell covers his escape.
If the party includes members of Bregan D'aerthe and
Nar'I recognizes them as such, he gives them his vial
of eyescratch poison so they can blind Xanathar with it.
This act of treachery, witnessed by the grell, turns the
creature against him.
Secret Trapdoor. A hidden trapdoor in the floor can
be found with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception)
check. 1t can be lifted with a successful DC 12 Strength
(Athletics) check, revealing a wooden ladder that leads
down to area X29.Xl9. XANATHAR'S SANCTUM
This magically lit room has a fiat, 30-foot-high ceiling
and contains several features:- Luminous violet particles drift through the air like
mist. A successful DC 12 Intelligence (Nature) check
reveals that these are Underdark spores. - A 20-foot-diameter fishbowl dominates the room.
Filled with water. it also contains a small coral reef. a
miniature shipwreck. and a sunken treasure chest.
A smaller fishbowl, 3 feet in diameter, rests on a ped-
estal next to the larger bowl. A dwarf wearing a skull-
cap adorned with eyestalks feeds a trout-sized fish
that swims in circles in this smaller bowl. - A 10-foot-diameter silver mirror is embedded in the
western wall. Letters are engraved into its frame. - The eastern tunnel starts^10 feet above the floor and
gently slopes upward to area X21. (Xanathar uses this
passage as an escape route.)
If Xanathar (see appendix B) is here, it's invisible and
speaking affectionately to the fish while the dwarf, Ott
Steeltoes, feeds it.
DwarfFishkeeper. Ott Steeltoes (see appendix 8)
is Xanathar's fish keeper. If he sees intruders and the
beholder isn't present, Ott draws his dagger and stam-
mers, "You shouldn't be here! Stay back, or I'll call the
boss!" Ott can't telepathically communicate with Xana-
thar, but he thinks he can. He closes his eyes and fran-
tically asks for Xanathar to return to its sanctum and
disintegrate the intruders.
Fishbowls. Xanathar's pet fish. Sylgar, is the only
creature that the beholder loves as much as itself. ln
fact, there have been many Sylgars over the years. but
Ott is skilled at acquiring a replacement before Xana-
thar realizes its beloved pet has died.
Sylgar's large fishbowl weighs about 6,000 pounds,
and the treasure chest at the bottom is real (see "Trea-
sure" below). The small fishbowl weighs^60 pounds
CHAPTER 5 I SPRING MADNESS