saving throw to break free of the aboleth's control. On
a successful save, the kuo-toa flees to the underground
river by the shortest route and hides there.
Treasure. A thorough search of the beach yields^600
gp, a copper goblet (1 gp), a tarnished and dented silver
pitcher (5 gp), a rotted leather bracer inset with three
peridots (500 gp each), and a corked bottle containing a
spell scroll of magic weapon.
- PICK AND CHUULS
Slimy Water. This cave and the adjoining tunnels are
flooded to a depth of 10 feet with s limy water fouled by
the aboleth's presence.
Chuuls. Two chuuls hide in the murky water. If the
chuuls are defeated, an aboleth enters the cavern
from the northeast passage. This aboleth is a magical
projection created by Illuun to frighten away invaders.
(This projection is like the one in area 15.)
Rusty Pick. The walls and the 30-foot-high ceiling are
coated in slime. A rusty miner's pick is stuck in the
west wall just above the water line.
The miner's pick can be pried loose with a successful
DC 13 Strength (Athletics) check. It has no special prop-
erties and is in poor condition. - SLIMY ALCOVE
Slime. The floor of this damp alcove is 7 feet above wa-
ter level, and every surface is coated in slime.
Damaged Rowboat. At the back of the alcove is a row-
boat with a 1-foot-diameter hole in its hull. (A mending
cantrip can repair the boat, which is large enough to
hold four characters and their gear. The boat's oars
are missing, however.) - BEACHHEAD
This slimy beach is littered with dead crabs and fish
(killed by the aboleth-tainted water). Characters who
search the beach also find two fishing nets left here by
the kuo-toa. - Kuo-TOA REFUGE
Slime. Every surface of this 30-foot-high cave is
coated in slime.
Kuo-toa. Two kuo-toa whips, twenty adult kuo-toa, and
ten young kuo-toa (Small noncombatants) reside here.
One whip stands watch by the river while the others
rest on pallets. All the kuo-toa are poisoned from eat-
ing bad fish.
Caltrops. Caltrops made of sharpened bones lie scat-
tered along the river's edge. (The caltrops are meant
to discourage the aboleth from beaching itself in the
cave. Characters can easily spot and avoid them.)
The presence of the aboleth has tainted the under-
ground river and poisoned its fish. Lacking an alterna-
tive food source, the kuo-toa have been eating the fish
out of necessity, which has poisoned them. In their con-
dition, the kuo-toa fight only in self-defense.
If the characters approach the kuo-toa in a friendly
manner and offer them food or relief, the kuo-toa whips
lead them to the archpriest Noolgaloop in area 21a.
21. ARCHPRIEST'S CHAMBERS
These caves are coated in slime.21A. MAKING A GOD
Kuo-toa. Noolgaloop, a kuo-toa archpriest, is building
a statue in the middle of this 30-foot-high cave while
two kuo-toa whips stand perplexed.
Rotting Corpses. Mutilated monster carcasses piled
around the room's perimeter exude a putrid stench.
Noolgaloop is unwaveringly committed to reclaiming
its holy shrine (area 16), when the wiser course of action
would be to lead its fellow kuo-toa to a new home far
away from the aboleth and its servants. If the characters
try to speak with the archpriest in a language other than
Undercommon, Noolgaloop casts the tongues spell so
they can converse. It demands that the characters help it
complete the statue by retrieving the following items:- The legs and fur of a giant spider, to be fashioned
into wings - Enough wood to build a chariot (a large raft or a
zurkhwood mushroom would suffice) - A weapon worthy of a kuo-toa god
If the characters refuse to help, the archpriest deems
them agents of the aboleth and tries to kill them with the
help of its bodyguards and the kuo-toa in area 21b. If the
characters gather what it needs to complete the statue,
Noolgaloop thanks them but decides on a whim to re-
place the statue's current head (a rusty lantern) with the
head of one of the characters. Noolgaloop fully expects
the character to make this sacrifice for the good of the
kuo-toa tribe.
God Statue. The archpriest has already given its new
god a name: Klaabu. This "god" sprawls on the slimy
floor and consists primarily of a decapitated limestone
statue depicting a bare-chested male sea elf. Its hands
have been replaced with troglodyte claws, and addi-
tional limbs have been added in the form of a bugbear's
severed arms. A pair of rusty shortsword blades thrust
outward from the statue's breast, and it wears a kilt of
green moss. A rusty lantern serves as the god's head,
inside which rattles a fist-sized green gem-the control
gem for the green slaad in area 4. Any character who
casts identify on the gem learns its function.
The figure's added parts are held in place by the same
glue that the kuo-toa apply to their shields.
Monster Carcasses. The kuo-toa have collected more
carcasses than the archpriest needs. The rotting collec-
tion includes a dead darkmantle wrapped in a net, a bug-
bear's severed head and torso, a dead hook horror, and a
headless carrion crawler swarming with maggots.
21B. Kuo-TOA CARNAGE
Stench. The air in this cave is fantastically foul.
Kuo-toa. Four poisoned kuo-toa guard this area. Two of
them are using spears to cut the head and claws off a
dead chuul. The other two are feasting on the corpse
of a dead kuo-toa (a former companion).
Troglodyte Corpses. Lying about the cave are the reek-
ing carcasses of five dead troglodytes, one of which
has had its claws hacked off.LF.V!::l. 4 I TWISTED CAVERNS