adjoining room (area X35) lurned into his office so that
he could keep this ro0m secret. The only other individ-
ual who knows about this room is Thorvin Twinbeard,
Xanathar's chief engineer, but he's not inclined to tell
the beholder about it.
Kegs. Each keg comes with a fuse and holds^5 pounds
of smokepowder (see appendix A). To collapse Xana-
thar's lair, at least two kegs must be placed at each weak
point (see "Destroy the Lair,'' page 100).Special Events
You can use one or both of the following special evencs
as the characters make their way through Xaoathar's
lair, or as they try to thwart Xanathar's agents in
Waterdeep.BLOOD AND FORTUNE
The beholder holds gladiatorial tournaments whenever
it needs a little violence to brighten its day. The winners
of a tournament receive trophies, and wagers are made
on the sly.
A single tournament has twelve combatants and con-
sists of three fights with short rests in between. Failure
to heed the following rules result in a combatant's dis-
qualification:
All tournament combatants must wait in area X7 until
they're called to area X6 to fight.- During a fight event, no combatant can leave the arena
or attack anyone who isn't a combatant in thac event.
TOURNAMENT STRUCTURE
Nosk2 Ur'gray takes the twelve combatants and as-
sembles them in four teams of three. To keep the fights
interesting, Noska tries to even out the teams as much
as possible. A team might have all player characters, all
NPCs, or a combination of the two.
The first fight pits team 1 against team 2. The second
fight pits team 3 againsl learn 4. The third and final fight
pits the winning teams of the previous two fights against
one anolhcr. A fight ends when all combatants on one
team are incapacitaled, killed, or disqualified.WINNING THE TOURNAMENT
Each member of the winning team who survives the
third fight receives a stuffed Xanathar doll with a pocket
in its mouth that holds a 100 gp gemstone. and an onyx
trophy carved to look like a smiling beholder being ca-
ressed by hands (worth 25 gp).TOURNAMENT WAGERS
Spectators like to place side bets on their favorite teams.
The maximum wager is 10 gp. A character who places
a wager on the team that wins the tournament receives
winnings equal to five times the wager.TROLLTIDE SLAUGHTER
Trolltide is a fun springtime holiday for most W.aterdeep
denizens, including Xanathar, but the beholder has
planned a cruel twist on the holiday this year.CHAPTER 5 I SPRING MADNESSThe Xanathar Guild recently captured some trolls in
Undermountain. The trolls are fitted with eyeless helms
and ball-and-chain shackles around their ankles. They
are then set loose in different wards of the city during
Trolltide. When the characters happen upon such a
scene, read:Children in troll masks run through the fog and drizzle,
knocking on doors and stopping adults in the streets.
Those who aren't placated with candied apples, sticks
of salted meat, and other treats perpetrate all manner of
tricks. A grumpy old woman has a rat thrown in her face.
A burly dwarf has his pipe pilfered.
A small crowd of onlookers is gathered around a ten-
foot·tall wicker effigy of a troll, stamping their feet as two
young men struggle to set the likeness ablaze with sput·
tering torches.
Suddenly a white-haired man bolts toward the crowd,
his face a mask of terror. Behind him lurches a massive,
green-skinned giant dragging a ball and chain across the
cobbled street. A blind helm covers the troll's eyes, but
its mouth ls a veritable cavern of sharp teeth. It flails its
arms, slashing at the fog around it, and lets out a horri·
ble wail of frustration. The crowd panics at the sight of it
and flees into the mist and rain. Meanwhile, two mem·
bers of the City Watch sneak up behind the blind troll,
hoping to strike a mortal blow.The white-haired man is a Waterdavian noble of no
real accomplishments named Bromas Sultlue. When
he sees the characters, he shouts, "It's a troll! Do some-
thing!" If the characters intervene, the two City Watch
vete ra ns fight alongside them. These constables act on
the same initiative count. On their initiative count each
round, there's a noncumulative^20 percent chance that
another veteran arrives and jo.ins the fray.
The troll is blinded while wearing the eyeless helm,
and lhe ball-and-chain s hackles clamped around its an-
kles reduce its walking speed to 20 feet. In this state, its
challenge rating is 4 (1,100 XP). As the characters battle
the troll, children in troll masks bravely pelt the creature
with candied apples.DEVELOPMENT
If the characters contribute to the defeat of the troll, the
City Watch is grateful. Bromas Sultlue congratulates
them and spends the next tenday recounting every detail
of the battle to friends and family members. The story
of the characters' heroism spreads. and they gain many
new patrons at their tavern. For the next six tendays,
when determining the tavern's profitability. add 20 to
rolls on the Running a Business table (see "Tavern
Keeping Expenses," page 41). Thereafter, add 10 to
such rolls to represent Waterdeep's lingering fondness
for the "Trolls layers of Trollskull Alley."