Asyoutouchthering,thedustswirlsintotheshapeofa
small,feral,bear-likecreaturethatbillowstowardyou
withaghostlyroar.Ifthespiritsuccessfullyinhabitsthecharacter,givethe
playerObo’laka’scard(seeappendixF).Iftheattemptfails,the
spiritreturnstotheringandwaitsforanothercharacterto
touchit.
11 .GasPocket..........................................................................................................................................................................
Thissectionoftheundergroundrivercontainsabuildupof
flammablegasthathasarottenodor.Ifatorch,lantern,or
otheropenflameisbroughtintothearea,orifthesecretdoor
toarea 10 isopened,thegasexplodes.Eachcreatureinthe
areaofthegaspocketorwithin 15 feetofitmustmakeaDC
15 Dexteritysavingthrow,taking 22 ( 4 d 10 )firedamageona
failedsave,orhalfdamageonasuccessfulone.Theexplosion
burnsawaythegas,whichbuildsupagainafter 8 hours.
12 .TrappedChest...................................................................................................................................................................
Waterpoursfromcracksandseamsintheroughwalls
ofthiscavern,whosefloorisamuddypoolthatflushes
outintothetunnelbeyond.Justabovethepool’s
surface,alargetreasurechestdanglesfromrustychains
embeddedintheceiling.
Thechestis 6 feetlong, 3 feetwide, 3 feethigh,and
suspended 1 footabovethesurfaceofthe 5 - foot-deeppool.A
keyholeshapedlikeacacklingdemonskulldecoratesthefront
ofthelid.Encirclingthekeyhole,atinyinscriptioninCommon
reads,“Idevourallbutthegreatestthieves.”
Thechestislockedanddoesn’tappeartobetrapped.
However,adetectmagicspellorsimilareffectrevealsanaura
ofevocationmagicaroundit.Pickingthelockrequiresa
successfulDC 22 Dexteritycheckmadeusingthieves’tools.
Thisalsodisarmsthelock’smagicaltrap,allowingthechestto
beopenedsafely.
Ifthecheckfails,thedemonskullbitesdownonthe
thieves’toolsanddestroysthem.Ifthecheckfailsby 5 ormore,
themagicaltrapteleportsthecharactermakingthecheck
insidethelockedchest,whereuponthecharacterisrestrained.
Thechainsholdingthechestthenreleaseitintothewater,
whereitsinkstothebottomofthepool.Evenifthechestis
removedfromthewater,acharactertrappedwithinrunsout
ofairafter 5 rounds(see“Suffocating”inchapter 8 ofthe
Player’sHandbook).
ThechestisaMediumobjectwithAC 13 , 30 hitpoints,and
immunitytopoisonandpsychicdamage.Anycharacterwho
attemptstopickthelockorhitthechestwithameleeor
rangedattackwhileit’sunderwaterdoessowithdisadvantage.
Treasure
Thechestinteriorislinedwithleadandcontains 300 gp,a
goldtankardembossedwithasadfacethatsmileswhenthe
tankardisfilled( 250 gp),andastopperedbonetube
containingaspellscrollofremovecurse.
13 .StoneSkull.........................................................................................................................................................................
Asyoutouchthering,thedustswirlsintotheshapeofa
small,feral,bear-likecreaturethatbillowstowardyou
withaghostlyroar.Anycharacterwhopeersthroughtheskullcanseeinto
area 14 (seethedescriptionbelow).Theskull’sjawsare
openedwideenoughtoallowaMediumorsmallercreatureto
climbthough.
Eachtimeacreatureclimbsthroughtheskull’sjaws,oneof
theflamesinitseyesocketssnuffsout.Thethirdtimea
creatureclimbsthrough,thejawsclampshut,makingamelee
weaponattackwitha+ 10 bonus.Onahit,thetargetcreature
takes 22 ( 4 d 10 )bludgeoningdamageandisgrappled(escape
DC 19 ).Whileitremainsgrappled,thecreaturetakes 5 ( 1 d 10 )
bludgeoningdamageatthestartofeachofitsturns.Whenthat
creatureexitsthejaws,theflamesintheskull’seyesockets
reignite,thejawsopen,andthetrapresets.
Theflameswithintheeyesocketsgiveoffnoheator
smoke,andtheycan’tbeextinguishedexceptinthemanner
describedabove.Anycharactersearchingtheskulland
succeedingonaDC 15 Wisdom(Perception)checknotesthat
thelowerjawishinged.Astoutobjectjammedintotheskull’s
jawholdsitopenforaslongastheobjectcanwithstandthe
damage.Adetectmagicspellorsimilareffectrevealsanaura
oftransmutationmagicaroundtheskull.14 .Moa’sTomb........................................................................................................................................................................
Skullscrustedwithdriedmudglowerfromnichescut
intothewallsofthistomb.Astonesarcophagusstands
atthecenterofthechamber,itslidadornedwitha
coiledserpentcarvedinrelief.Behindthesarcophagus,
restingatopamarblepedestal,isanornatecrystalbox
withasmallhumanoidskullfloatinginsideit.Ifthecharactersenterthistombfromthesecretpassage
alongtheriver,theyseetheconcaveinnersurfaceofthestone
skullatarea 13.
Amazeoftinypassagesiscutintothewallsbeyondthe
niches,andanycharacterwhosucceedsonaDC 10 Wisdom
(Perception)checkcanhearthefaintyetgrotesquescuttlingof
insectsfromwithin.Hundredsoftarantula-sizedundead
spiderscrawlthroughthesewarrens.Nepartak’sSkull
TheskullinthecrystalboxbelongstoNepartak,the 10 - year-
oldgranddaughterofNapaka,thelastqueenofOmu.The
magicofthecrystalboxpreservesherconsciousness,but
centuriesofsolitudeandhorrorhavecausedhermindto
blankoutthedetailsofherplight.Thefirstcharactertoenter
thetombhearsNepartakcallouttelepathically:
Thevoiceofayounggirlechoesinyourmind:“What’s
happening?Whycan’tIsee?”Nepartakmagicallysensesthepresenceofintruders,using
telepathytoquestionallthecharacters.Roleplayherasa
terrifiedchildlostinthedark.Inherpanic,shemightaskany
ofthefollowingquestions:
“WhereamI?HowdidIgethere?”
“Whycan’tIseeanything?”
“Areyoufriendsofmyfather?Ishelookingforme?”