D&D Tomb of Annihilation

WreckoftheStarGoddess

Awoodenvesseliscaughthighinthetreebranches,

brokenintothreechunks.Itresemblesaship,but

therearedifferencesthatmarkitclearlyasnota

seagoingvessel.Thesternisthelowestpiece,

hangingprecariouslybyitsriggingabout 50 feet

aboveground.Themiddlesectionappearstobe 15

feethigher,andthebowsectionisfirmlywedgedinto

anestofbranchesanother 10 feetabovethat.

Aweakvoicecallsout,“Hallo,ontheground.Can

youhelpus?”

TheStarGoddesswasa 90 - footskyshipfromHalruaa.It
flewlikeablimp,withtheaidofanamazinglighter-than-air
gasbag.AcrewofHalruaanadventurerswasusingitto
exploreChultfromtheairwhenitwasattackedbyaflockof
pterafolk.Thepterafolkslashedtheairbag,andthevessel
crashedintothejunglecanopy.Asshowninmap 2. 13 ,the
woodengondolabrokeintothreepieces,whichnowhang
precariouslyinthetreetopsatthreedifferentheights.The
deflatedballoonistangledinthebranchesabove.Thecrash
couldhaveoccurredanytimewithinthepast 3 d 10 days.
Climbinguptothewreckisrelativelyeasy,thankstomany
vinesinthetreesandlinesofrigginghangingfromtheship.A
successfulDC 10 Strength(Athletics)checkisenoughtoreach
theshipfromtheground.Thesamecheckmustberepeatedto
movefromonesectionoftheshiptoanother;alternatively,a
charactercanjumpdownfromahighertoalowersectionwith
asuccessfulDC 10 Dexterity(Acrobatics)check.

CrashSurvivors
ThevoicecallingtothepartybelongstoThasselandra
Bravewing,theship’scaptain(NGfemaleHalruaanhuman
noble).Sheexplainsthesituationbrieflybeforesheweakens
andhervoicebecomestoosofttohearfromtheground.The
othercrashsurvivorsincludetheship’snavigator,Ra-das(N
maleHalruaanhumanscout);themaster-of-arms,Falx
Haranis(CNmaleHalruaanhumanveteran);andthreeother
crewmennamedBrax,Nhar,andVeliod(NmaleHalruaan
humanguards).Ra-dasandFalxareinthesternsection;the
otherNPCsareallinthemidsection.

Theshipwascarryingsupplies,butmostofthecargo
spilledtothegroundwhenthegondolabrokeapart.The
survivorscancatchrainwaterinbuckets,butthey’vebeen
withoutfoodforseveraldays.Asaresult,alltheNPCshave 4
levelsofexhaustion(seeappendixAofthePlayer’sHandbook
foreffects)andarenotstrongenoughtoclimbtotheground
ontheirown.

UndeadScavengers
Whencharactersfirstarriveonthescene,theyseeeight
ghoulslurkinginthefoliagebelowthewreck.Eachghoulhas
asmallbluetriangletattooedonitsforehead—thesymbolof
RasNsi.Theghoulshavethree-quarterscoverfromtrees,and
theywithdrawfromtheareatemporarilyifthesituationgets
toohot.
Afewminutesaftercharactersclimbuptothewreck,it’s
attackedbythreegirallonzombies(seeappendixD).The
monstersapproachfromtheeast,andbecausetheyhavea
climbingspeed,theycanmoveanywhereonthemapaseasily
asontheship.TheNPCsfightback,buttheyaren’tvery
effectivegiventheirexhaustion.Thegirallonzombiesaren’t

abovegrabbingenemiesandtossingthemofftheship;oneor

twooftheNPCguardsshoulddiethatway.Acharacterwho

fallsoristhrownofftheshipcanhalvethefallingdamagewith

asuccessfulDC 10 Dexterity(Acrobatics)check,representing

clutchingatvinesandbranchesonthewaydown.

Treasure

ThereisnotreasureaboardtheStarGoddessoramidthe

debrisunderit,butcharacterscansalvageweapons,clothing,

andenoughsuppliestoassembleoneexplorer’spackandone

priest’spack.

WyrmheartMine

Aclanofshielddwarvesoperatedthisironmine(map 2. 14 )

upuntilfortyyearsago,whenitwasconqueredbyayoungred

dragonnamedTzindelor.HewHackinstone(see“Findinga

Guide”)hopestoreclaimandreopenthemine,andhegladly

enliststhecharacterstohisaid(orropestheminunwillingly,

ifhemust).

Tzindelorhasamassedafollowingofkobolds,whocallher

Tinder.Sheoccasionallyleavestohuntbutspendsmostofher

timesleepingatthebottomofthemine.Thekoboldsrigtheir

sharedlairwithnumeroustraps.Manypartsoftheminestill

showsignsofthedwarves’battleagainstTinder,includingthe

scatteredandcharredbonesofthosewhodied.

Thedwarvesleftthreeorecartsinthemine,allinworking

orderorrepairable.Thecarttrackcirclingthemainshaftis

quitesteep;notassteepasstairs,butsteeperthanmostramps.

Theorecartsarebuiltsothatthedownhillend(thefront)is

higherthantheuphillend(theback).Thisallowsthemtosit

levelontheslopingtrack,buttheylookoddonlevelground.A

heavydrawropeandharnessarehookedtothebackofeach

cartsothatatraineddinosaurcouldpulltheheavyloadupthe

track.Astout,lever-operatedbrakecontrolsitsdescent.

Cartscanbeshuntedontothesidepassagesifthetracks

areswitchedusingacrowbar(oneisstashedneareachsiding).

Whencharactersarrive,thetracksaresettobypassallthe

sidingsandrunstraightthroughtothebottom.

Somecarts’brakesareinbetterconditionthanothers.Ifa

brakefails,thecartracesoutofcontrolroundandroundthe

pituntilitsmashesintothebarrieratthebottomofthetrack.

Everyoneinthecartwhenithitstakes 1 d 6 bludgeoning

damageper 20 verticalfeetthecartdescended.Thosewhobail

outbeforethecarthitstakeshalfdamage,basedonhowfar

thecartdescendedbeforetheyjumped,buteachcreature

mustalsosucceedonaDC 10 Dexteritysavingthrowor

tumbleovertheedgeofthetrackandplungetothebottomof

theshaft.

1 .Office

Thisbuildinghaswallsmadeofcloselyfittedstone

withlargewindows,andawide,overhangingtileroof.

It’snowovergrownwithvinesandcreepers,butthe

structureisstillsolid.

Thedoorisswollenshutandmustbeforcedopenwitha

successfulDC 12 Strength(Athletics)check,butthewindows

canbeclimbedthrougheasily.Startledlizardsandbirdsflee

throughthewindowswhenanyoneenters.

Thebuilding’scontentshaveallrotted.Ledgersmildewedinto

slimelongago.Tablesandcabinetsarecoveredwithcreepers,

birddroppings,andthebonesofsmallanimals.Stoolscollapse

ifanyweightisputonthem.There’snoinformationand

nothingofusehere.