Descent into Avernus

100

PIT O F SHUMMRATH

HERE YOU FIND A STICKY SITUATION. POOR SHUMMRATH

isn't the.fiend it used to be.

- The Cartographer

When the characters arrive at this location, read or

paraphrase the following boxed text to the players:

A deep rift slashes across the surface of Avernus for as

far as the eye can see. The canyon is over a mile deep

and filled with a lake of green slime that undulates as

though breathing. From a nearby cliff, a tributary of the

River Styx cascades down into the slime.

Dangling from a bent iron crane that leans out over

the chasm is an iron cage containing a hairless, green·

skinned humanoid wearing shackles on its ankles. The

crane lowers the cage by a chain i nto t he sl ime, immers·

ing the creature in the goo for a minute before hoisting

it back out. This dunking continues again and again, and

the trapped creature seems helpless to stop it.

Long ago. Bel imprisoned a rival pit fiend named

Shummrath at the bottom of this deep chasm. Over the

years, Shummrath has been reduced to a fetid lake of

slime. Ancient regenerative properties maintain some

semblance of life within the sludge. allowing visitors to

communicate with Shummrath telepathically. However,

a tributary stream from the River Styx has spilled into

his canyon and polluted the devil's mind. Shummrath

now only retains thirty seconds of memory and conveys

a single thought repeatedly.

Those who establish communication with Shummrath

discover that the devil repeats the same thought over

a nd again: it failed to show proper deference to Bel and

will have its revenge. Shummrath can talk to the c harac-

te rs telepathically, but his mind unerringly loops back to

this same vengeful thought.

IMPRISONED ULT ROLOT H

When the characters arrive here, they spot an ultroloth

imprisoned in the iron cage suspended over the chasm.

T he iron crane has a magically powered winch mecha-

nism that repeatedly dunks the cage into the goo, nearly

drowning the prisoner with each submersion. The ul-

troloth, Baazit, is bound by dimensional shackles that

prevent it from teleporting away.

Baazit contacts the characters telepathically as soon

as they're in range. The ultrolotb was imprisoned by a

pit fiend for stealing soul coins. Baazit promises to show

the characters how to form magical servants from the

goo if they free it. Baazit can also direct the group to

Bel's forge (see "Bel's Forge," page 113).

A character can jam the crane's winch with a crowbar

or similar tool, preventing it from lowering or raising

Baazit's cage. Once the cage stops moving, a character

can try to use th ieves' tools to unlock the cage door,

CHAPTER 3 I AVk:RNUS

doing so with a successful DC 20 Dexterity check. A

knock spell or similar magic also unlocks the cage door.

CREATING A HOMUNUCULUS

Characters can follow Baazit's instructions to scoop out

a handful of the slime and spend an hour molding it into

a tiny humanoid shape. At the end ofthis time, the slime

animates as a loyal, lawful evil homunculus made of

dripping green jelly. Each character can only have one

of these servants active at a time. If a character makes

a second homunculus, the first one melts into a sticky

puddle of inanimate goo.

TREASURE

Characters who free or slay Baazit can claim the dimen-

sional shackles that restrain it.

D AMMING THE STYX

If the characters are traveling with the ice imp (see "Mir-

ror of Mephistar," page 99), it leads them to the na r-

rowest point of the Styx's tributary river and sets about

hammering its five shattersticks into the rocky ravine

walls (see the "Shatterstick" sidebar on page 99). The

imp asks the characters to stand guard while it works.

As the imp places the shattersticks, eight spined devils

swoop down and attack. One m inute after the last shat-

terstick is activated, the combined seismic activity of all

the shattersticks triggers a huge rockfall that fills the

gully, creating a dam.

With the polluted River Styx cut off from the chasm.

Shummrath slowly starts to regenerate its mind and

reform its body. After^48 hours, Shummrath reforms as

a pit fiend and flies off to wage war on his rival, Bel. If

the characters visit Bel's forge later in the adventure (see

"Bel's Forge," page 113), they find it under siege from

Shummrath's hastily mustered forces. The attackers are

quickly overwhelmed, forcing Shummrath to retreat to

some far corner of Avernus to escape Bel's wrath.

DEVELOPMENT

1f the characters successfully dam the River Styx, they

can return to the Mirror of Mephistar to claim recom-

pense. Rigorath the cambion tells them that Ubbalux

must swear fealty to Mephistopheles to escape the

standing stones. If Ubbalux does as Rigorath suggests,

swearing its undying fealty to Mephistopheles, the arch-

devil makes it possible for the barlgura to escape.

If the characters return to the obelisk with the news,

Ubbalux begrudgingly accepts these terms and reveals

Crypt of the Hellriders

map. Ubbalux says that the death knight Olanthius,

guardian of the tomb, knows the secret location of the

Bleeding Citadel. The demon also reveals that "For

Glory" is the pass phrase to open to the catacombs.

where many of Zariel's fallen comrades are interned.

As the characters leave the obelisk, they witness Ub-

balux swear fealty to Mephistopheles, whereupon black

ice forms around the standing stones and causes them

all to crack at once. UbbaluJC is able to leave the ring of

standing stones at that point, crying "Finally! I am free!"

into the howling wind.