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In forgotten times, archdevils used these twin arches totransport entire regiments to other planes of existence.
The arches' magic has waned significantly, but there's
still enough magic left in each one to transport crea-
tures to another location in the Nine Hells. Characters
who use a detect magic spell or similar magic to exam-
ine the arches discern a powerful aura of conjuration
magic around each one.
When a creature approaches within^100 feet of either
arch, the stonework emits a loud, resonant hum thatgrows louder and higher in pitc h as the creature draws
closer. As a creature passes through an arch, a roaring
sheet of flame fills the archway, teleporting the creatureto another location in the Nine Hells. Any creature or
object that passes through the arch while the portal is
open is transported to the same destination. Each arch
is wide enough to accommodate infernal war machines.
To travel to a specific destination, a creature must
have visited it before or be able to point to its location on
a map. Characters who point to Kostchtchie's Maw ontheir map as they pass through an arch are teleported to
the top of the demon lord's prison-chasm.
If the characters fail to pick a destination, determineit randomly. Ask a playe r t o roll a d20 on the poster map
of Avernus. The location closest to where the clie rests
becomes the destination. If the die rolls off the map, the
DM chooses a destination.The portal remains open and fixed to the same desti-
nation for 10 minutes, after which it deactivates as the
arch that created it crumbles and falls to the ground.KOSTCHTCHIE'S MAW
THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY JS MY FRIEND, BUT DOES THEsame hold true for fiends?
- The Cartographer
When the characters arrive at this location, read or
paraphrase the following boxed text to the players:
A dark chasm gapes between grumbling volcanoes that
spew lava and smoke into the hateful sky. The air trem-
bles with the bellowing of some monstrous creature in
the dark depths of the chasm.The demon lord Kostchtchie (see the accompanying
stat block) resembles a squat hill giant with short, bandy
legs and a grossly shaped head.
Frost giants who forsake the ir gods and turn to demon
worship can summon Kostchtchie with bloody offerings
left on altars of hewn ice. If the demon lord chooses to
answer the giants' call, he hunts and fights alongside
them for a time, infecting the frost giants with savagemadness and bloodlust before disappearing back to
the Abyss. Kostchtchie's favored weapon is Matalotok,a warhammer forged by the frost giant god Thrym (see
appendix C for more information about this legendary
magic item).CHAPTER 3 I AVERNUS_,
On his most recent visit to the Nine Hells. Kostchtchie
was defeated by the archdevil Zariel. who took his
hammer and chained him at the bottom of this chasm,
knowing that killing him would simply cause him to re-
form on his icy layer of the Abyss. Without Matalotok,
Kostchtchie's immunity to cold damage becomes resis-
tance to cold damage.Shackled by ever-tightening magical chains that pre-
vent him from casting spells, Kostchtchie squats in a
10 -foot-deep, 80-foot-diameter pool of black tar in a cav-
ern at the bottom of a chasm, his hands chained behind
him. His unholy screams and vile epithets can be heard
for miles. Characters who attempt to communicate
with the demon lord are met with guttural cries of an-
guis h and frustration. In sporadic moments of lucidity,Kostchtchie glares at a character and bellows, "FREE
ME!" or "BRING ME MY HAMMER!'' in Giant first and
Abyssal second. If that fails to garner the desired reac-
tion, Kostchtchie resorts to using telepathy to contact
the nearest character, demanding its immediate release
while offering nothing in return.THE CHASM
The chasm descends to a depth of^500 feet. Although
there are abundant handholds and footholds, the route
to the bottom is steep and treacherous. Characters who
can't fty must make DC 15 Strength (Athletics) checks to
ascend or descend the chasm without climbing gear. If a
check fails by^5 or less, the character makes no progress
on their turn. If the check fails by more than 5, the char-
acter falls to the bottom of the chasm.PRISON GUARDSA chain d evil named Mazer and four hell hounds guard
the demon lord. If they detect intruders, the houndspounce down from high caves as the devil emerges from
the tar pit.
Mazer keeps Kostchtchie's c hains tight at all times.Hidden in the tar pit are dozens more chains (each
100 feet long) that Mazer can use its Animate Chains
action to animate. Mazer uses these loose chains to
bind enemies or drag them into the tar pit, which is
difficult terrain.
If the chain devil dies, Kostchtchie's chains loosenenough for the demon lord to break free of them. Once
free of its chains, the demon lord regains his spellcast-
ing abilities.DEVELOPMENT
If Kostchtchie is freed, the he cries out to Zariel (in
Giant) that he's coming for his hammer and swears to
crush her with it. He then casts wind walk, which turns
him into a cloudy form with an astonishingly fast flying
speed of 300 feet. In this form, he travels with great
haste across Avernus, determined to get his hammer
back. Characters swift enough to follow in his wake are
led to Zariel (see chapter 5).
With Kostchtchie freed, the characters can return tothe Crypt of the Hell riders, where Olanthius dutifully
reveals the location of the Bleeding Citadel (see chapter