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C2. FUNERARY CHAMBERS
There are several funerary chambers in the catacombs.
When the characters enter one of these rooms, read the
following boxed text to the players:
Large iron burial urns are positioned reverently through-
out this hall, each engraved with a noble coats-of-arms
from the city of Elturel. Polished swords, lances, and
shields hang from racks on the walls.If a character says respectful words over the urns or
disturb them in any way, three ghosts of Zariel's knjghts
arise from their remains. The ghosts solemnly reveal
the following information:
• The knights fought and died alongside the angel
Zariel when she waged war in Avernus.
• Zariel's crusade ended in failure. Most of their gener-
als, including the angel herself, fell to evil and trans-
formed into fiends.
• One of Zariel's generals, Olanthius, killed himself
rather than embrace tyranny. Zariel raised him as a
death knight to ensure his loyalty.
• The knights' souls are cursed to remain here. They
yearn for the afterJjfe, but the oath they swore to
Zariel binds them to her service. They beg the charac-
ters to help them find rest.
If the characters promise to help the ghosts achieve
their final rest, the ghosts provide the following addi-
tional information:
• Olanthius despises Zariel but is s upernaturally
bound to her service. The ghosts suggest there is still
good in him.
• Olanthius keeps quarters here in the catacombs. His
rooms may contain evidence of his humanity that the
characters can use to appeal to him.
Once s ummoned, the ghosts remain by their urns
until the characters leave the catacombs or free their
souls. If a character defiles any remains, the ghosts use
their Possession powers to drive the trespassers from
the catacombs.
C3. KNIGHTS' CASKETS
When the characters approach one of these areas, read:
I
Recesses in the walls hold iron burial caskets. Each cas- I
ket has a single, healthy red rose resting on its lid.Each of these corridors contains six caskets arranged in
stacked pairs.
Being entombed in Avernus has corrupted the spirits
of these knights. Each casket contains a single wraith
magically held at bay by the rose laid on the casket. If
a character removes a rose from a casket, the flower
immewately withers and dies, and the wraith arises
from the casket to attack any living creature or fiend
that it sees. A wraith can't touch any of the roses on the
other caskets.
C H APTER 3 ( AVERNUSC4. WARLOCKS' TOMB
When the characters peer into this room, read:
An iron urn heaped with human bones squats in an al-
cove at one end of this hall. On the wall nearby, a carved
relief shows a column of mounted knights charging
through a portal into a fiery hellscape.Zariel's warlocks helped build the Crypt of the Hell-
riders to gain infernal power in their mortal world.
When they died , their cursed bodies were dragged into
Avernus to guard the tomb for eternity. Eight mummies
now lurk inside this chamber and guard the path to the
memorial steles. If the undead hear the characters else-
where in the catacombs, they hide inside the large urn
to the west. When the characters enter, they try to creep
out silently and ambush them.
Treasure. One of the mummies carries a wand of
secrets, and another wears a necklace of fireballs. Ifthe characters defeat the undead, they can claim these
items for themselves.
C5. MEMORIAL STELES
When the characters enter this room, read:
Four memorial steles stand in this hall, each engraved
with hundreds of names. A legend etched at the top of
each stele reads, in Common: "Here lie the fallen. May
their souls echo here until the end ohime."
Adorning the wall across from the steles is a carved re-
lief showing a solemn, blindfolded angel on the back of a
mammoth with feathered wings. The mammoth is reared
up on its hind legs, and the angel holds her sword high.
All around them are the broken bodies of fallen knights
and devils.Characters who use detect magic or similar magic to
examine the steles discern a strong aura of necromantic
magic emanating from the engraved names.
While the steles remain empowered, necrotic energy
lashes out at anyone who touches them. A creature
touching a stele must make a DC^15 Dexterity saving
throw, taking^36 (8d8) necrotic damage on a failed save,
or half as much damage on a s uccessful one. If the soul-
bound parchments in both ritual rooms (area C6) are
destroyed, the steles deactivate. The characters can then
free the warriors' souls by striking their names from the
stone. As the names are removed, the knjghts' ghosts
fade from view with gasps of relief. If all the names are
struck from the stele, each character gains the benefit of
a bless spell that lasts for^24 hours.
C6. RITUAL ROOMS