No threats reveaJ themselves to the characters as they
enter the castle grounds. Once inside, they spot two hu-
mans in plate armor lying dead on the ground near the
shattered gate, blood still oozing from their bite wounds.
As the characters approach the center of the court-yard, they see two h ell hounds standing guard in
front of the cathedral doors. These fiends have been
instructed by their devil masters to prevent any mortal
creatures from entering or leaving the cathedral.
The characters must defeat the hell hounds to gain
access to the cathedral. Have them make a DC 15
group Dexterity (Stealth) check to find cover amid the
rubble as they move. If half or more of the characterssucceed on their individual checks, the group check is
successful, allowing the characters to reach the base
of the cathedral steps without being noticed by the hellhounds. This grants the characters surprise when the
fight begins.CATHEDRAL ASSAULT
Four groups of devils and their allies are moving
through the cathedral. These groups are spread out to
cause as much havoc as possible, and have orders to kill
everyone in their path.
As the DM, you can decide where the charactersencounter each of these groups. These encounters
are meant to be run separately, although running two
encounters back-to-back with no chance for the charac-ters to rest or heal can be a good challenge for a pow-
erful party.
If you want to keep these encounters simple and
straightforward, you can have them take place in loca-
tions with no strange effects or hazards. If you want to
make an encounter more interesting, have the combat
take place during a quake (see the "Elturel Hazards"
sidebar, page 55). If you want a fight to go easier for
the characters, have some of the foes withdraw or have
some NPC survivors assist the characters.
Most of the survivors currently in the cathedral are
preparing for a last stand in the main crypts (area H16),
so that area should be free of devils unless the charac-
ters arrive there just as the devils do.
GROUP 1: ABISHAI AND CULTISTSThis group is led by the mastermind behind the raid
on the cathedral: Victuusa, a white abishai (see page
241 for its stat block). Victuusa serves both Tiamat and
Zariel in an attempt to gain the most favor, and is pres-
ently searching for the leaders of the Elturel resistance.It wants nothing more than to deliver the heads of those
leaders to Zariel personally. Victuusa leads six lawfulevil human cultists devoted to Zariel.
GROUP 2: CRAB ATTACK
A barbed devil named Dreb marshals a pack of eight
giant crabs through the cathedral. These crabs look
and act like normal giant crabs, except for the spines
protruding from their shells and the vile brimstonesmell they exude. The clacking of the crabs' claws on the
marble floors of the cathedral makes it impossible for
this group to sneak up on anyone.
CHAPTER 2 I El-TUREL HAS FALLEN
59