of 20 or higher, the character finds the back-and-forth
tracks of several bugbears, a troll, and a hook horror.
Characters who have darkvision or light sources
bright enough to illuminate the ceiling can avoid piercer
drops by steering clear of the stalactite formations,
and attempts to do so are automatically successful. If
no such attempts are made, a single piercer drops on
the first light-carrying creature to cross the cavern.
Whether it hits or misses, this piercer can't attack again
until it makes the long, slow climb back to the cavern
ceiling. After the first piercer drops, avoiding the cav-
ern's stalactite formations becomes a simple matter.
- THE ALCHEMIST
In this cavern, a green slaad posing as a human alche-
mist makes its home. Its lair has the following features:
Gourds. The walls are set with shelves at various
heights. They hold numerous gourds, most of which
contain failed alchemical elixirs.
Stone Block. A rough-hewn block of stone in the middle
of the cave serves as a table. It is covered with a set of
alchemist's supplies.
Almost a year ago, the green slaad was drawn to
Undermountain, deprived of its control gem, and set
loose by Halaster. It has explored several levels of the
dungeon in its quest to find the gem. For now, it has
adopted the guise of a scatterbrained, shabbily dressed
young man who has, for reasons he would rather not
d ivulge, set up an alchemist's lab in this cave. The slaad
refers to itself only as "the Alchemist" and claims to
have been kidnapped by Halaster from someplace it
can't remember.
The Alchemist bargains with creatures for materials
it needs, trading potions for fungi and equipment. What
it's really looking for is its control gem, which it senses
is close by (see area 21a). It doesn't want help finding the
gem, though, for fear that the treasure might fall into the
hands of those who try to control the slaad. If the char-
acters obtain the gem and return it to the Alchemist, it
cheers, turns invisible, and flees with the gem.
If the characters seem interested in knowing more
about the Twisted Caverns, the slaad warns them about
the ropers in area 6. Also, it has struck up a friendship
with the "two-headed giant" in area 2 and urges the
characters to speak with it, since it has lived on this
level for a long time.
POTIONS FOR SALE
The Alchemist is happy to trade potions for supplies. For
one potion, it demands 20 pounds of edible fungi and
five tongues of madness (which characters can harvest
from the surrounding caves), plus 50 gp worth of adven-
turing gear. The Alchemist has no use for coins, gem-
stones, art objects, or magic items. Each time the char-
acters pay the Alchemist a visit, it has one of each of the
potions described below available to trade. Each potion
is a common magic item. It keeps these potions on its
person, and a sneaky character can try to pilfer one with
a successful Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check contested
by the slaad's Wisdom (Perception) check.
LEVEL 4-I TWTSTED CAVERNSPotion of Comprehension. When you drink this po-
tion, you gain the effect of a comprehend languages spell
for 1 hour. This liquid is a clear concoction with bits of
salt and soot swirling in it.
Potion of Watchful Rest. When you drink this potion,
you gain the following benefits for the next 8 hours:
magic can't put you to sleep, and you can remain awake
during a long rest and still gain its benefits. This sweet,
amber-colored brew has no effect on creatures that don't
require sleep, such as elves.- CAVE OF CRYSTALS
Xorn. Three xorn feast on crystals near the western
edge of the cavern, while harmless bats flutter below
the 30-foot-high ceiling.
Difficult Terrain. A thick mix of mud and bat guano cov-
ers the ground. Treat this area as difficult terrain.
The xorn protect their crystalline food source. If a
xorn loses more than half its hit points, it disengages
from combat on its next turn and sinks into the floor,
never to return.
TREASURE
Once the xorn are defeated, the characters can retrieve
forty fist-sized crystals worth 10 gp each.6. TANGLED ROPES
Ropers. This 30 -foot-high cave holds a forest of stalag-
mites, some of which are broken. Two ropers lurk
among them and ambush anyone who happens by.
Uneven Floor. The uneven floor is strewn with bits of
chewed-up armor and bone, as well as the occasional
copper piece or silver piece.TREASURE
Each roper has ld4 gemstones (100 gp each) lodged
in its gizzard, which characters can cut open once the
roper is dead. They can also gather up a total of 32 cp
and 11 sp scattered across the floor.- MAD WIZARD'S RETREAT
A human wizard, the lone survivor of an expedition to
the Underdark, has taken refuge in this 30-foot-high
cave. The cave contains the following:
Light. Phosphorescent moss growing in patches on the
walls dimly lights the entire cave.
Fungi. Gardens of barrelstalk, ripplebark, timmask, and
tongue of madness grow throughout.
Mage. Near the north wall, a slight woman wearing
tattered gray robes over black pants sits on a 2-foot-
tall toadstool. Her long black hair is tied back with a
swatch of gray cloth that matches her robe. A quasit in
toad form sits on her knee.
DARRIBETH MELTIMER
The woman is Darribeth Meltimer (CG female Chon-
dathan human mage, with the darkvision spell cast on
herself and prepared instead of suggestion). A former ad-
venturer, she was driven insane by contact with demons
in the Underdark. A greater restoration spell or similar
magic is needed to restore her sanity, without which