Descent into Avernus

wreck's location, but Balakros the imp knows where the

wreck is and can lead the characters there if told about

it. Lulu might also suddenly remember the wreck's loca-

tion, at your discretion.

RELEASING THE SIBRIEX

Fetchtatter and the chain devils attack characters who

try to free the sibriex. Breaking three of the six chains

that bind the sibriex allows it to slip free, whereupon

it flies into the air and tries to get as far away from the

iron scaffold as possible. Each chain has AC 19, 33 hit

points, a damage threshold of 10, and immunity to fire,

poison, and psychic damage.

F LESH WARPING

When a creature fails a saving throw against the si-

briex's Warp Creature effect, you can roll percentile

dice and consult the Flesh Warping table (page 78)

to determine an additional effect, which vanishes when

Warp Creature ends on the creature. If the creature

transforms into an abyssal wretch (see the accompany-

ing stat block), the effect becomes a permanent feature

of that body.

A creature can willingly submit to flesh warping, an

agonizing process that takes at least 1 hour while the

creature stays within 30 feet of the sibriex. At the end

of the process, roll once on the Flesh Warping table

(or choose one effect) to determine how the creature is

transformed permanently.

DEVELOPMENT

After tricking or magically compelling the sibriex to

divulge the location of Bel's adamantine rods, the char-

acters can set out to recover the rods from the wrecked

flying fortress.

ABYSSAL WRETCH
Medium fiend (demon), chaotic evil

Armor Class 11

Hit Points 18 (4d8)

Speed 20 ft.

STR

9 (-1)

DEX

12 (+1)

CON

11 (+O)

INT

5 (-3)

Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightnin g

Damage Immunities poison

WIS

8 (-1)

Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, poisoned

Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 9

Languages understands Abyssal but can't speak

Challenge 1/ 4 (SO XP)

ACTIONS

CHA

5 (-3)

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one targe t.

Hit: 5 (1d8 + 1) slashing damage.

CHAPTER 3 I AVERNUS

WRECKED FLYING FORTRESS

A WEAPON MADE FOR AN ARCHDEVIL, RAVAGED IN BAITLE

and ripe for plunder.

-The Cartographer

To reach the wrecked flying fortress, characters must

c ross a hot, windswept plain wracked by magical fire

storms. Flying characters and fast-moving infernal war

machines can easily avoid these fire storms.

Characters traveling on foot must succeed on a DC

20 group Wisdom (Survival) check as they cross the

fireswept plain. On a failed check, a fire storm filling a

60-foot cube sweeps across the ground and engulfs as

many party members as it can. The storm then attaches

itself to one randomly determined party member, stay-

ing centered on that creature for 1 minute. At the end of

the duration, the storm detaches from that creature and

moves off in a random direction. The storm must remain

in contact with the ground at all times. If it becomes sep-

arated from the creature to which it has attached itself,

the storm moves off in a random direction and ceases to

endanger the party.

Any character that enters a fire storm for the first time

on a turn or starts its turn there must succeed on a DC

20 Dexterity saving throw, taking 44 (8dl0) fire damage

on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful

one. The fire storm ignites flammable objects that aren't

being worn or held. A successful dispel magic (DC 18)

cast on the storm causes it to flame out and disappear.

ARRIVAL AT THE WRECK

When the characters arrive at th e wreck, read or para-

phrase the following boxed text to the players:

A towering wreck rises from the scorched hellscape. It

looks like a giant sword blade, tilted to a twenty-degree

angle and partly buried underground. Much of its ex·

posed hull is rusted and torn asunder. Hot wind screams

as it tears through the hollow structure, and six giant

vultures circle high above it.

After demons crippled this fortress in battle, Zariel

abandoned it and left it to rust. The fortress is 150 feet

tall, but the lower third of it is buried underground.

All t he lower decks have been picked clean, but the

command deck at the top still holds promise. Charac-

ters can scale the wreck's torn outer hull to reach this

deck, which is 80 feet off the ground at its lowest point.

Climbing the outside of the wreck without proper gear

requires a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check.

Characters who can fiy have no trouble reaching the

command deck.

The "giant vultures" circling above the wreck are six

vrocks that attack anyone who gets within 50 feet of the

command deck. If three vrocks are killed, the remaining

ones flee and don't return.