Descent into Avernus

54

As the characters take in this scene, everyone rolls for

initiative. On their turns, Lulu and Reya see the three

humans about to be attacked by the devils and immedi-

ately move to defend them, regardless of what the char-

acters do. Lulu is hesitant to use her trumpet for fear of

hurting the family or attracting other fiends, but does so

as a last resort.

Members of the Hunt family reduced to 0 hit points by

the devils are knocked unconscious rather than killed,

as the devils are hoping to take them prisoner. These

devils don't offer that same courtesy to the characters or

their NPC companions.

AFTERMATH

If the characters save the Hunt family, Harkina ex-

presses her undying gratitude. Although a commoner,

she carries a longbow with which she is proficient. She

uses it to protect her family. In addition to her longbow,

she carries a quiver with forty arrows, twenty of which

are silvered.

Harkina can relay the following information regarding

the current situation in the city:

• Many ofElturel's citizens died when the city was

drawn to this terrible place. Still more have died in

the days since, from the attacks of terrible creatures, a

lack of food and water, and the collapse of many of the

city's buildings.

• Harkina and the boys have been hiding in the base-

ment of a tavern that had enough reserves of food

and water to keep them alive for a time. When those

provisions ran out, the family was forced to creep from

safety to search for more.

• The city has been split in two. Harkina has heard

from other survivors that this side of Elturel (formerly

the eastern part of the city) is the worse off. The High

Hall-the great castle that is home to Elturel's lead-

ers- is where she was planning to take her boys to

find safety.

HANDLING NONCOMBATANTS

The characters have the opportunity to rescue survivors in

the eastern part of Elturel, with all those survivors desper-

ate to have the party escort them to relative safety in the

western part of the city. When new fights break out with

vulnerable NPCs in tow, it's up to you how you want to

handle those NPCs in combat.

The easiest option is to have the NPCs stay back and

out of the way, limiting their options to following the

characters or hiding from enemies. During fights, you can

effectively forget about those NPCs, assuming that the

most capable among them are dealing with minor threats

in the background while the adventurers handle the potent

foes. You can also have combat-worthy NPCs join the fight,

if you're up for running them. Have all N PCs act on the

same initiative count, and focus their actions on assisting

the characters in combat, rather than engaging in side

fights of their own.

If the characters bring NPCs along, it increases the

chances of having an encounter as the party moves from

one location to another. Whenever you roll the d20 to

determine random encounters {see "More Encounters in

Elturel"), an encounter takes place on a roll of 9 or higher.

CHAPTER 2 I ELTUR£L HAS FALL.EN

1 ·~

• High Overseer Thavius Kreeg is the leader of the city,

and Harkina hopes that he is working on a plan to

rescue survivors and drive away the devils. If he's still

alive, Grand Duke U!der Ravengard of Baldur's Gate

is probably at the High Hall as well.

If the characters capture and interrogate a bearded

devil, or any other devil encountered in Elturel, it reveals

the following information in response to a successful

DC 15 Charisma (Intimidation) check, assuming the

characters agree to release it:

• The demon attacks from the River Styx intensified

when the city appeared in the sky.

• The demons are trying to climb the binding posts

or fly to the city, but the devils constantly push them

back. The devils are also trying to figure out how to

best use the city to their strategic advantage.

• Slowly and erratically, the spiked posts that bind

Elturel are being drawn into the ground, pulling the

city down toward the River Styx. (The devil doesn't

know how long that process will take.)

• The only reason the city is not already under the con-

trol of devilish forces is the demon attacks. Stemming

that abyssal tide is taking all the devils' resources.

• The devil assumes the city was brought here by Zade!,

the ruler of Avernus.

MORE ENCOUNTERS IN ELTUREL

After their initial encounter with the Hunt famjly and the

bearded devils, the characters are likely to want to get

to the High Hall as quickly as possible to locate Grand

Duke Ravengard. If you haven't done so already, unfold

the poster map with the Elturel side facing up so players

can get a sense of the city's layout and where they must

go to reach the High Hall. Map 2.1 on page 56 is a

shrunk-down version of this side of the poster map.

Whenever the party moves from one named location

to another, roll a d20. A roll of 11 or higher indicates an

encounter while the characters travel within the city.

For example, as the characters travel to a bridge, make

an encounter check. Then after crossing the bridge and

moving toward the High Hall, make another check. Also

make checks if the characters wander the streets or go

off in search of other survivors.

If an encounter is indicated, roll on the Encounters

in Elturel table or choose an encounter you like. Each

encounter can occur only once. If you roll an encounter

that has already occurred, reroll on the table or select a

different encounter. These encounters are described in

the sections that follow the table.

ENCOUNTERS IN ELTUREL

dlO Encounter dlO Encounter

Collapsed building 6 Imp sales pitch

2 Cry for help 7 Narzugon cavalier

3 Ghastly meal 8 Spouts of hellfire

4 Ghoul pack 9 Vrock philosophy

5 Hateful patrol^10 Zombie horde