891131-The_Ruins_of_Undermountain_-_The_Entrance_Well_and_Environments

THE RUINS OF UNDERMOUNTAIN: THE ENTRY WELL AND ENVIRONMENTS NOTES FOR THE DM The Entry Well and Environments of Undermountain are intended as an introduction to the Undermountain dungeon crawl. These rooms are drawn from official D&D releases that include the original Ruins of Undermountain Box Set, plus some additional rooms that were detailed years later, while the rest of the rooms were designed for my own campaign. This module ignores the changes done to the dungeon in the 4th Edition release of Undermountain, and is designed to be set PreSpellplague (roughly late 1379 DR in Forgotten Realms). This area represents the locales that are commonly explored by most adventurers who enter the dungeon via the Yawning Portal, thus they have nearly all been explored before by other adventurers. The DM could provide a crude map of some areas of the area, although I wouldn't make it entirely complete, nor accurate (the later provides a lot of amusement). The DM is encouraged to roll random encounters from an existing encounter table (my own custom Undermountain Random Encounter Tables & Rumors is available on Dungeon Masters Guild, along with a PDF about Trobriand's creations, known as scaladar – Trobriand's Scalandicals). I've also produced a sequel to this adventure, which explores the passages and rooms to the west of the Entry Well, also available as a PDF on DMG as The Lanceboard Room and Librarium Environments. All my PDF's regarding Undermountain can be purchased as a Bundle as well. The Map provided is based on the original map of Undermountain, but the room numbers have been altered for the purpose of this module. In addition, I've included descriptions of the Yawning Portal for the DM's use, and to make descending into Undermountain a memorable experience. WATERDEEP AND THE YAWNING PORTAL Undermountain is a massive multi-level dungeon crawl that lies beneath the city of Waterdeep in Forgotten Realms. The following is basic information that player characters would know about Waterdeep, and is also intended as an introduction. Read the following concerning Waterdeep at the beginning of the adventure: You find yourselves in Waterdeep, the City of Splendors, one of the largest cities in the Realms, or at least in the North. The Year of the Lost Keep, 1379 Dale Reckoning, is coming to a close, and winter has come to Waterdeep in force. Fresh snow has fallen in the evening, leaving three feet of snow across the city, especially around Mount Waterdeep, which is currently blanketed in fog at the moment. The various wards are less busy than ordinary, as the winds have kicked up, and hail pours down, but the inns and taverns across the city are kept warm and smokey. When the PC's come to the Yawning Portal read the following: The Yawning Portal is a large rock and timber building huddled together with many others like it in the Castle Ward. It is only two stories tall. Smoke puffs from its chimneys, and its windows are foggy from within. The Yawning Portal is run by Durnan most days, who is has been and might still be secretly a Lord of Waterdeep (representing The Fellowship of Innkeepers), and also covertly the head of the Red

Sashes, a vigilante group. He says very little, and always wears bracers of defense. In his younger years days (he's roughly 56 by 1380 DR), Durnan was thought of as a “thinking man's barbarian,” and he is familiar with many spells, weapons, and brawling tricks from all over Faerun, including most of KaraTur and the steppes of the Horde. He is used to rowdy and powerful adventurers trying to push him and his patrons around, and he should be able to handle anything the players characters throw at him. Durnan always has at least one magical weapon hidden on his person in addition to any weapons worn openly. He and his family with be armed and wearing various protective rings (a ring of spellturning), magical amulets under their clothing whenever encountered. He can see regarded as an eighteenth level fighter with a very high strength, Constitution and Wisdom scores. He is also a follower of Tymora. He has a strong dislike for hobgoblins more than any other creature. He keeps a cleric of Tymora on staff at the Yawning Portal and pays the temple a daily fee. Patrons can receive healing for free from this cleric, although he or she will ask for donations to the local temple of course. These priests will never enter Undermountain with a group of player characters. Durnan always has four or more experienced fighters (treated as veterans) lingering around the tavern, which are all loyal to him. Durnan's wife, Mhaere, a quiet, devoted woman in her early 40's, is a low ranking cleric of Lathander (treat as a priest). Durnan's and Mhaere's daughter, Tamsil, often works at the Yawning Portal and has been trained in the ways of the warrior by her father and her mother's healing arts. In 1380 D.R. She is twenty seven years old, married to a close friend of Durnan's and has a young son who she named after her father (Durnan the Second, also called Durnan Tamsilson or Durnan Durnansblood). Read the following concerning the inside of the Yawning Portal when the PC's arrive there: The inside of the Yawning Portal is made up of a good sized taproom, with stairs heading up to a few private rooms. Wooden rafters line the space above you and many wooden posts support the roof. There are many tables about, all rather mismatched, but in the center of the room is what looks to be a wide well shaft of huge size, forty feet by forty feet in diameter. The walls of this tavern are adorned with shields, broken weapons, banners, and tapestries. A couple of dwarves, brothers by the looks of it, drink at the bar, deep in conversation. Most of the tables are empty, but two hooded figures sit together in the armchairs by the northern hearth, while a mismatched group of men, plus two halflings laugh and chat by the southern hearth. Numerous armed men sit at tables and at the bar. In one of the eastern tables an old man lays passed out with his head down on the table. A priest in fine vestments is speaking with a few of the brutes here. He wears a symbol of a coin with a smiling woman's face on it both as a ring and as an amulet. He seems friendly and cheerful. The staff is made up of a tall, stout man in his fifties who looks like he could wrestle a dragon barehanded with all the muscles on him, along with a lanky lad mopping a spill of some sticking substance by the stairs, and two pleasant young women bringing drinks to the patrons. “Close the door, it's cold outside!” someone from the larger group yells as you come in. It's quite warm in here, despite the fact that there's a giant well in the middle of the place, and its freezing cold outside. “Good day to you, stranger,” one of the wenches, a dark haired lass, says to you as you enter, as she buses a table near the entrance. If the PC's want a better look at the people in the bar then read the following: The three dwarves seem to keep to themselves, and they speak quietly in dwarf, keeping eyes on anyone watching them. When they see you looking their way they grow quiet, and glare

over their shoulders, only resuming their conversation when you look away. The two figures by the northern hearth appear to be two older men, both robed in different colors, one with a short gray beard, and the other with a long white beard. They seem to be recanting tales of bravado from their youth, but they speak in a few languages you don't know once in a while as well. The mixed party by the hearth have a dozen drinks around them, and they laugh and chant as the halfling's dance and clap for coppers. “What do ya call a dragon with no head and no scales?” one plump halfling asks the group. “Plucked!” one man replies, and they all laugh wildly. The cleric, a low ranking follower of Tymora, is paid by Durnan to work here, healing those who come back up the wellshaft for free (although he asks for donations). His name is Tilvar Nashlet, a cheerful and friendly man. He will not join adventurers going down into Undermountain. When the PC's are ready to descend the well then they need to pay Durnan the Bartender a gold piece a piece to get down. Read the following when this takes place: The bartender makes his way over to you. “Looking to go down into the depths, eh?” he asked. “You know it's dangerous down there... not everyone returns. Some do though... fellow named Bloodleaf went down and came up half a dozen times about a year back. A few month back some young halfling dropped down... disappeared, then come back up the next night with a sack full of rubies from some lost corner of the dungeon, ranting on about orcs and oozes and such. If you think you can handle it then it's a gold lion a piece for the winch, you can all grab on and we'll lower you down.” If the PC's want to know more about what lies in Undermountain then they can do a Persuasion check with Durnan. With the following DC's he tells them the following: DC 10: Durnan nods. “Lots of dark things below. Tunnels and trolls... mostly if you go alone through... dragons too... and worse in the deeper levels.” DC 12: Durnan begins cleaning a mug. “There's a little fellow, Boonlar he's called, used to clean my jakes in older times, who's become somewhat of an expert on much of the first level. He makes maps, and might be willing to pay you something for accurate and detailed maps of areas he's never explored. If you do survive and come back up, show me any maps you've made and I'll pass them on to him. Other folk have made maps too... mostly of the areas around the Shield Room... not all of which are accurate.” DC 15: Durnan smiles at you. “Keep an eye out for what I like to call 'camp rooms'... places you can ward off with doors, where you can rest. There's one not far from the bottom of the well, and another big one some old fools called 'The Undermountain Inn', although I wouldn't trust anything that staffs it, and the accommodations are nothing compared to Castle Ward standards. You feeling brave, or foolhardy, then head north of the Hall of Many Pillars, and west to get to the Lanceboard Room. Or go south and you may come across the Grim Statue.” DC 20: Durnan leans in close. “I've heard rumors lately about an ooze that can fill up an entire room... so watch out for that! It's a maze... the whole place,” he adds, “best treasures are found far away from the Shield Room... and in the lairs... of whatever things you come across.”

DC 25: Durnan whispers into you ear. “The big, famous rooms are where the fools go. Try a dark and dusty passage... but be wary. If there's treasure about then there's a reason why... and not all of it is worth taking.” DESCENDING THE WELL SHAFT When the PC's are about to descend read the following to them: Durnan hands you the rope, a thick knotted thing, which hangs down from a heavy winch above the well. “Hold on and don't let go... and don't trust anything you see... everything down there is a trap.” The tavern folk gather around you. The party from the southern hearth all begin to clap and chant. The man at the eastern table looks up and smiles. The two robed figures even get up and make their way to the well to watch, and the three dwarves turn in their chairs to watch as well. “A round of ale for the soon to be deceased!” one man yells, as a tray of drinks is brought out to you. “To your fortunes... may it favor the foolish... which is you,” another man proclaims. “Don't listen to him... just last week someone came back up full of golden treasures... the rest of his fellows did not though... poor folks.” “May you return in one piece... INSTEAD OF SEVERAL DOZEN!” someone else begins, and then the whole group completes together. Laughing and chanting continue. Some of the men are taking bets, asking for your names and cities of origin. “I'm hoping to make a killing off of your return... so don't get yourself killed,” says one of the halflings. When the PC's are descending the well read the following: You grip the rope as you are lowered down into the darkness. The tavern is warm, but the second you enter the well you feel a biting cold from below, like you've crossed some sort of threshold. “Better have brought a blanket for the dark, friends,” someone yells. “That ward keeps the cold out from the well, but ain't no warm goes back down for ye!” You are lowered down little by little, clinging to the rope, as you fellows grip the rope as well. The winch lowers it slowly. “Hold tight, and don't fight!” someone yells from above. “And watch out for rot grubs!” You are lowered further, but all you can see is darkness below. When you look up the hole is getting smaller, but you can still see the faces of the patrons around it. “May Tymora be with you!”someone calls. “Hope Beshaba ain't gonna be!” someone yells, but his voice is getting fainter. You've descend maybe sixty feet now, and the sound of laughter, songs and chanting above is growing quieter. The hole above is now a lot smaller as well. “Twenty gold says they get eaten by a grue!” someone yells above... but that's the last clear thing you hear clearly.

You descend further down, maybe eighty or ninety feet when you think you can see the bottom... a sandy piece of ground that's at least fifty feet further down. The sounds above are getting even quieter, no more than whispers now, then as you get within twenty feet of the bottom you can't hear them at all, and the hole above is quite small when you look back up. THE DUNGEON ROOMS 1) THE SHIELD ROOM This chamber contains the shaft which leading one hundred and forty feet up to the Yawning Portal Tavern. The rope hanging down connects to a bell in the Yawning Portal, which the player characters can use to be lifted out of the dungeon after a wait of 1d4 times 1d10 rounds time, or they could try climb up to the surface. Read the following when the players come here: This forty foot by forty foot chamber is dominated by the forty foot wide shaft in the ceiling, nearly as large as the room itself, ascending beyond your line of sight to a pinpoint of light high above. The floor is covered by a thick level of sand, gravel, and a variety of loose bones, broken bottles, a few discarded arrows, bolts, copper coins, dented brass mugs, and here and there a rusted dagger or an old, broken lantern. The walls are adorned with dozens of old shields, most of which look to be rusting and rather brittle, but others look like they were recently placed here, all of different shapes and sizes. One is a dented brass tower shield, another is a small round shield with a spiked in the middle, while many others are made of rotting wood, but others are of metal, and most have a particular symbol on them (there are at least two with symbols of Tymora, another with a symbol of Tempus, another with a symbol of Torm, as well as others). Graffiti has been marked into the walls, and over many of the shields in numerous languages, although most seem to be the names of what you can guess as hundreds of adventurers who have found this room throughout the years. Several dark red areas stain the ground here, clearly where something has died, although they are all dried and crusting. A large section of the eastern wall as been blackened, recently by the looks of it, which has incinerated several of the shields to brittle, black remains. There a numerous messages scratched and carved into the walls, such as (on the lower west section of the north wall, in Chondathan) 'A secret door lies here, but you can't open it, no matter what you try'. (On the western wall, in Dwarf) 'Ristel and I slew more orcs in the Hall of Heroes than I could count', with a second piece of writing below it reading (in Elf) 'that means five.' Another note that reads (in Alzedo): 'Don't listen to a word Ingim say, should you encounter him. He's a Cyricist, and a raving madman.' In big bold letters (in Chondathan) someone has written in blood, reading 'I can still hear the voices. I am the voices. You will be too.' In the northeastern corner someone has scratched in Chondathan 'This place is death. Flee if you can. Fuck Durnan and his lies!' On the western side you find another that reads (In Chondathan) 'The Lanceboard room is to the south when you hit the junction. Fun times if you dance all around.' On the eastern wall, near the floor, someone has written (In Damaran) 'In darkness we came, and darkness within us we ascend.' On the eastern side of the room, near the floor someone has written (in dwarf) 'Fif, son of Faf, of clan Melairkyn, returned to these halls on Hammer the 3rd, 1365 DR, the Year of the Sword'. Below it, in a different hand is written (in dwarf) 'Mif, son of Maf, cousin of Fif, of Clan Melairkyn, delved down here too. Marpenoth the 8 th, the Year of Risen Elfkin'. On the western wall someone has painted (in Chondathan) 'Wisdom of Kirin, number one: don't make a lot of noise. Danger lies inside. Praise Kirin'. Someone has carved 'scratch this out if you kill the ice devil', with 'fortunately we stole his

spear', in the same hand. Across the archway leading to the south someone has burned a message with a torch that reads (in Chondathan) 'This way to riches and wonders', although someone has painted over the words 'riches' and 'wonders' in blood, replacing them with 'ruin' and 'horrors'. The secret door can only be opened from the other side, as the note says. The shaft above climbs 140ft up. Once the PC's ring the bell to alert the people in the tavern then they must wait 1d4 times 1d10 rounds for the rope to descend down to them, unless it's already down. The shields on the walls may also interest the PC's. Few of them have any real value, and there are over a hundred of them so the DM shouldn't bother trying to detail them all. However, a few of them might stand out to the PC's, such as the following: There must be at least a hundred shields here, of a mix of sizes, from little bucklers, to tower shields. Most look to have been made of wood, and most them are in poor condition as a result. A few are made of metal, but they appear to be rusting heavily for the most part. The symbols on the shields vary dramatically. With a quick glance around the room you see shields depicting a number of holy symbols, such as: an upward facing silver gauntlet with an eye in the center (Religion DC 5 to identify as Helm, the God of Guardians and Protectors), on a tower shield that looks like it's been here for ages; a large wooden shield that has been painted gold, although the paint is fading and peeling now, which looks to depicting a sunrise (Religion DC 5 to identify as the symbol of Lathander, the Morninglord); below it is a smaller wooden shield, in fair condition, depicting a green leaf (Religion DC 5 to identify as the symbol of Silvanus, God of Nature); on the north wall is an oval shaped rusting metal shield where someone has painted red with a flaming sword in the center. (Religion DC 5 to identify as Tempus, the God of Battle). It looks to have been hacked at by axes, and slashed with swords many times, and someone has written a message (In Chondathan) on it that read, 'All hail the Lord of Battles, may he favor you and not your enemies!'; another shield, a beat up, square, bronze one, has a similar symbol, only it depicts a double-headed ax instead (Religion DC 12 to identify also as Tempus, only the owner was most likely from the far east, possibly Damara or the Vast). On the north wall you see a riven brass shield, pitted here and there with weak, crumbling areas, which looks worthless. Someone has written 'Nimraith' across it in cold letters. 2) THE PARLOR HALL The Parlor Hall is attached to the Shield Room, and leads out to the Hall of Many Pillars, as well as two smaller rooms that the PC's could explore if they'd like. There are two secret doors in this hall, one on the north wall, and one on the south. The door on the north wall can be detected with a DC 18 Perception check, and it can be opened by sliding it to the west. There is a 25% chance that it is open when the player characters come here. The south door can be detected with a DC 22 Perception check, and it opens by being pushed in, but there is only a 5% chance that it is open when the player characters come here. Read the following when the player characters come here: This twenty foot wide, and twenty foot tall hall extends for seventy feet, to a short stair that drops down into another room. In the corners a thick level of dust, old bones, and debris has built up. A large bloodstain lies near the eastern side of the hall, along with a scattering of bones that have been picked clean of any meat. Loose stones, more scattered bones, broken glass and a thick layer of dust is built up in the sides of the hall, with the center more or less clear.

On the north wall someone has carved a message (in Draconic) 'You are now in the hands of fate. Good luck.' On the other wall is another message, among a series of names like in the Shield room that reads (In Chondathan) 'Our luck ran out!'. On the opposite wall someone has carved (recently) (in Chondathan) 'TO BATTLE!' 3) THE OLD CAMP ROOM This large room is just north (via a secret door) of the Parlor Hall, and has been used as a camp spot for monsters and adventurers alike for years, and has gained the title 'Old Camp Room'. The room has a door in an alcove on the southeastern side, which opens by sliding it to the western side, which has a 25% chance of being left open by the last occupants. The room contains various chunks of stone, from numerous parts of the dungeon, and ruined furniture. With a Perception check at DC 18 the PC's find the head of a terrified looking half-orc among the loose stone, which belonged to an adventurer that was turned to stone ages passed by a medusa in this room. With a Perception check at DC 24 the PC's find old writing etched into a corner (in Illuskan) 'the Crystal Sphere Room. Invisible, but it is there.' When the PC's reach this room the western entrance will closed (if the DM rolled that the secret door to the south is open then it is just cracked open). An ogre will be sleeping on a bed of hides next to a sack full of loot (see treasure according to his challenge rating). He'll be awakened if the PC's open either door unless they have a silence spell on. Read the following concerning this room if the players characters come here: This fifty foot by thirty foot room has a flat twenty foot tall ceiling. A small alcove with only a eight foot ceiling is on the southeast side, where you can see the outline of a door made of stone. The ceiling is marred by black smoke stains, the ground has been blackened as well near the center, suggesting that many campfires have burned here in the past. Large pieces of stone, of different types, are scattered about the room, as is a torn up and heavily burned old red armchair, that currently lays on its side in the northeastern corner. Messages have been carved into the walls of this room as well. On the northern wall someone has painted (in dark pigment – in Chondathan) 'WELCOME TO THE OLD CAMP ROOM!'. On the eastern wall someone has carved (in Dwarf) 'If my ancestors could see what has become of this place they would piss in their tombs.' A recent message has been carved into the southern wall that reads (in Chondathan) 'That old armchair is NOT a mimic. We stabbed many times to make sure.' Finally, there's a second message on the southern wall that reads (in Orc) 'Beware the dancing elf maiden. She wears the heads of our warriors as her codpiece.' A pile of hides lays in the center of the room, all filthy. An ogre is sleeping in them. 4) OLD TRAP ROOM This small chamber is where an old trap of Halaster Blackcloak once operated, but it has since been shut down by adventurers in the past, and Halaster did not bother to reactivate before his death. The trap works as an electrified floor, effecting all the blue minor squares in the room. The trap could be reactivated, if someone rearmed it, which would require a Perception check at DC 25 to find a hidden control panel near the door, and an Investigation check at DC 20 to reactive it. Anyone who steps on the reactivated blue squares must make a Dexterity saving throw at DC 15 or they'll take 2d8 lightning damage. The chest is usually empty, and unlocked, but for amusements sake the DM could place a low level undead, or a small amount of minor equipment in it. Read the following if the player characters come here:

This small twenty foot by thirty foot room has a floor of blue and white squares. On the far end is a small metal chest. 5) THE HALL OF MANY PILLARS The Hall of Many Pillars is an oddly shaped room that has eleven narrow stone pillars in it, and is set ten feet below any other adjoining halls via several sets of stone stairs that drop down into the room. The room is a dead magic zone, including the stairs. A Perception check at DC 20 will reveal a loose stone on the southern most pillar, where the skull of an orc has been hidden. The stone pivots to reveal a long, narrow storage cavity, about the size of a man's forearm. Read the following when the player characters come here: Two broad steps lead down ten feet into a widening room crowded with a forest of stone pillars. Archways can be seen in its northern, western, and southern walls. The room is roughly forty feet across at its widest points. On the far walls some one has engraved a message, with an arrow pointing south (in Chondathan) that read 'terrible danger this way'; another engraving, with an arrow pointing the other direction read: (in Chondathan) 'Even worse this way!' On the northern wall someone has scrawled (in Chondathan) 'Don't fear the Reaper' with bold letters below it that read 'HE IS OUR FRIEND!' A painted arrow on the south wall is above a painted message that says 'exit'. Loose bones, some of which are of a huge size, a few scattered copper coins, and pieces of broken bottles litter the floor, along with a thick layer of dust like the other rooms you've seen so far. If the players head south and east then they come to a place where monsters often lurk, waiting on creatures to approach it. When the player characters initially come here a gelatinous cube will be moving through the bend. It can be detected with a DC 20 Perception check, or the lead players will walk into it, automatically engulfed by it without a saving throw. If the players head north then after twenty feet they'll come to a notorious junction know as the 'Pit Junction' has a shallow twenty foot deep pit in middle of it, partially filled with loose rubble, bits of bone and a few larger chunks of stone. If someone has reactivated the trap when the PC's come to it, then it can be detected with a DC 15 Perception check. Those who fall into it get a Dexterity saving throw at DC 15 to stop in their tracks, or they take 1d6 damage from the fall and 1d8 damage from falling onto sharp, rusting items. Read the following when the PC's come to this place if the pit is not activated: In the middle of this junction is a twenty foot by twenty foot square pit, which drops down twenty feet into the ground. The pit is partially filled with large chunks of rubble, loose bones, a thick amount of dust, and in the northeastern corner a blackened area where a fire must have once burned. 6) HALL OF (BROKEN) MIRRORS This eighty foot long, ten foot wide hall is lined on both sides with (broken) mirrors. Behind three of the broken mirrors are small nooks where it looks like treasure could be hidden, or even a small monster. There are two mimics that have taken the guise of unbroken mirrors here, and which have agreed to work together if any prey wanders close to them.

Someone has recently scrawled a gloomy message across the top of the northern wall, referencing this room's Shadowfel equivalent The corridor ahead seems to reflect your lights back from many glimmering (broken) surfaces, on both walls. It is ten feet wide, and eighty feet long, with numerous small alcoves on door sides of the room. Two of the mirrors near the eastern end are the only two that are unbroken. Someone has scrawled a message above the alcoves on the north wall that reads (in Chondathan) 'Here you pass into the Hall of Mirrors, but if into darkness ye go, shall ye then pass through The Hall of Fears!' 7) SMALL STONE DAIS CHAMBER This small chamber has a raised platform on the east end, where a stone dais stands. The room has been searched many times, so not much remains, although a human body has recently been sacrificed here to the demon lord Orcus. On a Perception check at DC 15 the PC's can find a crudely carved hole in one of the walls, where objects can be stored. Current a rat is living in the hole, which will bite if anyone sticks their hand in the hole. Read the following if the player characters come here: This small ten foot by fifteen foot chamber has a raised platform on the eastern end, up two wide steps, to where a slab of gray stone stands. The nude corpse of an old man lays draped over the dais, on his stomach. His arms are tied behind him with rope, and his legs are manacled. Someone has stabbed in at least a dozen times across his back and buttocks. His blood is spilled all over the dais, and onto the floor. Someone has written (in Chondathan) “FOR ORCUS!” in blood across the eastern wall. 8) THE SQUARE ROOM OF FIVE PILLARS This perfectly square room is most notable for the five stone pillars that occupy the center of the it like the face of a five sided di. The room has a series of three steps leading down to the east, and two adjoining tunnels. Eatable fungus normally grows on the northeast area, but is considered to be difficult terrain if anyone tries to walk into it. With a Nature check at DC 15 it can be determined that the fungus can be eaten. Recently an adventurer was turned to stone here by a medusa, and later shattered by a wandering minotaur. Read the following when the players come here: This perfectly square forty foot wide, long, and tall chamber has five pillars in the center, climbing all the way up to the ceiling. A short set of three steps heads down to the east. A mass of fungus covers the northeastern corner of the room. What appear to be the legs of a statue stand here, upright. A lot of shattered stone lies around it. When you look closely at it you realize that it must have been the statue of a man who was yelling and maybe swinging a now broken sword. On the western wall someone has used a torch to leave a dark message in soot that reads (in Chondathan) 'No escape!' In the southwestern corner someone has written another message that reads (in dwarf) 'Woe to my ancestors, if they could see what has become to their great city in these days. Curse Halaster Blackcloak. May he burn in agony forever'. Directly underneath it, also written in

dwarf, but in another hand is written 'Amen, brother'. On the south wall someone has written (In Chondathan) 'Horns, Scales, and Beardo were here. The Band of the Iron Eagles.' On the western wall someone has written (in Chondathan) 'Solomon Grundee, born on a Monday', and below it in a different hand someone has written (in Chondathan) 'Osric Stormbrow, servant of Lathander, bringing light to Halaster Blackcloak's darkened madness'. 9) THE HALL OF THREE LORDS This large chamber is the home of three huge non-magical statues, each depicting three long forgotten Waterdavian nobles. Etched on the bottom of each statue is a name (in Thorass) which read, from north to south, 'Onthalass'; 'Ruathyndar'; and 'Elyndraun'. Each is roughly sixteen feet tall, and have been damaged by adventurers who have chipped at them, carved their names around the bases, or in the case of the northern statue broken the entire right arm. Read the following when the player characters come here: Three huge stone statues stand on plinths in this large room, facing east. They are of noble-featured men in richly fluted plate armor, and they stand as if in contemplation or calm judgment, armed but not threatening. The northern most statue is missing its right arm, and it, along with others, have been heavily chipped, and marked with graffiti Someone has carved a message across much of the western wall (in Chondathan) that reads 'Hall of Three Forgotten Lords'. On the southern wall someone has also left a message that says (in Chondathan) 'Where the hell is all the treasure in this dungeon supposed to be?' 10) HALL OF DWARVEN RUINS This short hall is marked by a series of dwarven runes, leftovers from the days when Clan Melairkyn once lived in Undermountain. Anyone who can read them will understand that they tell the dwarven creation story: 'In the beginning there was nothing but earth, unmined and raw. Then, on the first day of creation, Moradin formed from the finest rocks and rarest metals. On the second day Moradin created great tunnels; on the third Moradin carved himself a wife, who he called Berronar; on the fourth he carved his children: Abbathor, Clangeddon, Dugmaren, Dumathoin, Gorm, Marthammor, Sharindlar, Thard, and Vergadain; on the fifth day Moradin ejected the slag from his mines to the surface, which would form into the races of men, giants, and even elves; on the sixth day Moradin forged the first weapons and the first armors; on the sevenths Moradin's children brewed the first beer; on the eighth day Moradin created a two new children, twins, to be called Laduguer and Duerra,who would would in turn create the gray dwarves; on the ninth day Moradin's son Abbathor stole all his treasure, and for that was shunned by his father; and on the tenth Moradin finally rested.' Read the following if the players come here: This short hall is adorned on both sides with a series of ancient dwarven runes, bordered in elaborate geometric designs. Someone has carved an inscription across the northern wall, right through the runes, which reads (in extremely crude looking Chondathan) 'On the eleventh day Moradin took a shit!' 11) DWARF CARVING CHAMBER This room was heavily carved by Clan Melairkyn, long ago. Depictions of dwarven battles cover the walls, ceiling, and even the floor. A stone door is on the north side of the eastern wall, which

appears to a be a small five foot by five foot wide room, although it actually holds a secret door, which can be detected with a Perception check at DC 30, and which opens if it is slid to the south. There is a 10% chance that the secret door has been left open when the players come here. Read the following when the players come here: This small ten foot by fifteen foot chamber has its walls, ceiling, and floor covered in elaborate carvings and depictions, all of dwarves fighting in dramatic battle scenes. On the north side of the room, on the eastern wall, is a stone door, which lies ajar. If the PC's open the stone door then read the following to them: The doors slides open to reveal a small five foot by five foot room, with nothing but a scattering of loose bones covering the floor. 12) THE SHORT HALL OF HEROES This area is the western section of the Hall of Heroes. It holds six statues, all appearing as stalwart warriors, facing east, on small platforms, which have mostly been destroyed. In a room to the south is a larger statue of Clangeddon, in poor condition. One of the statues, oddly, has been replaced by that of a foolish looking adventurer, giving a thumbs up with a big stupid smile on his face, in the position which he was turned to stone by a spell. If someone casts Greater Restoration on him then will be a very confused, but grateful adventurer, who believes that it's the year 1375 DR. His name is Mirt Tasselblade, a charming but foolish young warrior. He set off a trap months back with his fellows, who were later killed somewhere on the second level of Undermountain. Just north of the short hall is a broken trap that had numerous blade, all of which are rusting and smashed now. With a History check at DC 18 the PC's have heard the rumor that the dwarves hid treasures within the statues themselves. None of these statues have any sort of treasure within them at the moment. The PC's can do a Religion check at DC 15 to identify the large statue as Clangeddon Silverbeard. Read the following concerning this chamber: A short hall extends to the east, with six statues standing, facing east, on little platforms. Each statue has taken heavy damage, three of which have been broken at the waist, above the legs, and at the torso. One statue, however, stands out among the rest: its carved from a different type of stone, is slightly larger than the others, with more defined equipment, with a broad smile on his face, his hand up in the air with a double thumbs up. To the south is a small room where another statue, larger than any of these, stands. Another chamber is to the north. If the PC's investigate the south chamber, read the following: This fifteen foot by fifteen foot square chamber has a large statue of a great dwarf warrior, holding a great ax before it, and kneeling on one leg. One of its legs has been smashed apart, and its face is nothing but broken stone. It appears to have been adorned with gems at one point, but it seems someone has pried them all out, leaving many holes across the statue. If the PC's investigate the chamber to the north read the following: This small ten foot by twenty foot chamber has a series of broken, rusting blades sticking out of the wall. Some of the fieldstone has been dug up and piled in the northwestern corner, and someone has dug a ten foot pit into the floor... which is mostly filled with offal and

broken items. 13) THE DEEP WELL, A SECRET DOOR, AND A CURTAIN OF DARKNESS This section of the dungeon contains three interesting features: a secret room, a curtain of darkness, and a seemingly bottomless pit, the later two old creations of Halaster's, but the former was once a vault for clan Melairkyn, although it has been discovered numerous times since Undermountain was rediscovered. Unfortunately for the PC's Halaster realized this before he died, and enchanted the room with a delayed teleportation effect, which activates once the secret door is opened. The effect magically links the hall the PC's came through with a hall just south of the Grim Statue, the effect of which is meant to confuse anyone who falls into the trap, sends them to a notoriously dangerous location, and to get them lost in the dungeon. The secret door can be detected with a Perception check at DC 20, and it opens if pushed in and to the right. The curtain of darkness is capable of absorbing all spells, except extremely powerful epic level spells. The curtain blocks all vision, including darkvision. The bottomless pit beyond the curtain of darkness has another curtain of darkness around it. In addition, it has a magical effect around it that sucks anything into the pit, although the PC's get a saving throw to avoid being sucked in. Anyone sucked into the pit are slammed down ninety feet for 9d6 damage. The surging magical force that pulled them into the pit continues to effect anyone trying it get out, thus to climb the walls of the pit the PC's must make an Athletics check at DC 25. Anything that hits the bottom is then effected by a localized teleportation that then teleports them and all of their items to the precise location they were in before they fell into the pit. In addition, someone has carved a message on the wall that contains the secret door, with the intention of causing foolish parties to get themselves killed. Read the following when the PC's come to the curtain of shadow: You turn the corner to find the passage blocked by what looks to be some sort of fabric made out pure darkness that blocks the eastern passage, which looks to absorb all light. On the northern wall someone has carved (in Chondathan) 'Lots of treasure this way!' with an arrow pointing to the darkness, followed by 'to reach it close your eyes, and keep them closed!' In Chondathan someone else has written “Lies”. If the PC's pass through the curtain then read the following to them: You feel a wave of chills run through you as you pass through the curtain, only to find yourselves in another hall, with the curtain of darkness just behind you. The tunnel turns abruptly to the left about five feet from here where you see a column of darkness, much like the curtain you passed through. If the PC's discover, and open the secret room then read the following: The stone door pushes in and then moves to the side on a track built into the wall. Beyond it is a twenty foot by twenty foot square room. Unfortunately the room appears to be empty. Once the PC's head back out the way they came, they will notice that there is a door that wasn't there before, the result of the teleportation effect taking place. If the PC's go back toward where the curtain of darkness and the secret room are afterward they will find that both are gone, replaced by a longer hall with doors on the north and south walls, directly south of the Grim Statue.

Read the following when the PC's spot the new door: You turn the bend to head back the way you came when you notice that the tunnel now suddenly ends at a stone wall twenty feet from you, where a stone door stands, which also was not there before. The stone door will open with a strength check at DC 20, as no one has opened it in years. Read the following if the PC's attempt to backtrack toward the secret door and the curtain of darkness: You turn back toward the curtain of darkness, and the empty secret room that you found, but instead find a seventy foot long hall instead. About forty feet down the hall stone doors stand on both sides of the hall. If the PC's step into the column of darkness at the end of the hall then read the following to them: You feel a cold chill run through your body like before, then you feel yourself being sucked forward by an incredible force of energy! Before you is a terribly deep pit! Light sources don't work within the curtain of darkness, but they do work beyond it. They get a Dexterity saving throw at DC 20 to grab the ledge at disadvantage. If the PC caught in the trap can fly then they don't suffer disadvantage. The walls of the pit can be climbed or grabbed with an Athletics check at DC 20, although with disadvantage as well. When the PC's come across this pit it is assumed that other adventurers have fallen into it before, thus the DM should roll 1d4 random treasures, of level 1d6 for the PC's to find here. 14) THE HALL OF HEROES The Hall of Heroes once held forty statues of mighty dwarves, twenty each in rows, all of which are now smashed to pieces by adventurers looking for treasure within them. Five mimics have taken the forms of statues here at the moment, which are in cahoots with each other to catch prey. Read the following when the PC's enter the hall: A long hall stretches before you. Two rows of pedestals line the hall, as far as you can see, with broken pieces of stone, all apparently from at least forty statues that must have once stood on the pedestals, although five of them on the eastern side of the hall are still mostly intact, but a lot of stone is scattered across the floor, along with a mix of broken common weapons and many loose bones. Small stone plaques sit at what once may have been the foot of each statue, but whatever was written on them has been scratched out in each case. Most of the ground is stained red, the walls are heavily scratched up from where blades have slashed the fieldstones and one section of the hall has been blacked in a forty diameter area. Numerous old stone doors and halls line both sides of the room, most of which are open to some degree. On the eastern end is a set of heavy stone doors. The nearest door to the western end has a message painted across it in blood that reads 'The Bone Throne!' in large letters. It remains closed, as does the doors on the far end.

15) THE BONE THRONE A globe of light is a permanent feature in the room, hovering seventy feet above the floor. The mosaic tiles of the walls and floor, what is left of them, are gold hued iron pyrite, not gold. Adventurers have long since discovered this chamber, and pried all the gems from the throne. The thrones seat contains a rotting, once grand velvet cushion with silk tassels, now stained and worthless. Under the cushion, a hinged lid has been inset into the smoothed carved seat (which probably was once a giant sea turtle's under carapace). Read the following if the player characters come here: This grand room has shiny, polished walls and floors inset with golden mosaic stones, although several look to have been pried loose, two of which lies discarded on the ground. It is lit by a motionless globe of light, high up near the ceiling (seventy feet above the floor). Empty torch-brackets of fluted, discolored bronze project from the walls; each has a weep-mark on the stone below it, and a scorch mark from torches burnt in the past above it. At the south end of the room, four steep marble steps rise to a dais on which stands a giant-sized, high backed throne. This grand seat is fashioned of interwoven, bleached bones. Empty sockets suggest that gems once lined its arms. Two closed stone doors can be seen in the walls to either side of the throne. Old bones are scattered about the room. The skull of an orc lies on the seat of the throne. Many unusually large bones, like that of a great reptile, lay scattered about the room, including a draconic looking skull that lays on its side by the door. Someone has carved a message into the western wall that reads (in Chondathan) 'Who stole all the gems?' 16) TUNNEL JUNCTIONS NORTH OF THE SHIELD ROOM This section of the dungeon has two minor interesting features. Two secret doors allow access to the Shield Room and the Hall of Three Lords. The secret door that accesses the Shield Room can only be accessed from this side, and it has been marked as a secret door here. The secret door accessing the Hall of Three Lords is within a small five foot by five foot chamber. Read the following when the PC's pass through this section of the dungeon: This section of the tunnels is made up of a junction. To the west is an area of ground that looks to have been stained red with blood from a battle long ago, with slash and scorched marks burned into the walls. A stone door stands adjacent on the western wall, and a small alcove is on the southern wall, with a square outline marked in white paint. A small iron lever, although heavily rusted, is mounted into the lower wall on the southern wall. Above the square on the south wall is an inscription (in elf) that reads 'Secret door here' with an arrow pointing down to the square, 'it only accesses from this side, and opens into the Shield Room'. Another inscription has been written here as well (in Chondathan) that reads 'ELVEN LIES! It's a trap!' The secret door is not actually trapped, and opens if a metal lever in a small hole is pulled, which can be detected with a Perception check at DC 15. The small five foot by five foot square room is empty, but it has an obvious secret door, high on

the western wall, easily detectable because blood has dripped out of it from where a body was lodged years ago, but the PC's will have to crawl to squeeze through it as the ceiling is only three feet high, accessing an alcove hidden by an illusion in the Hall of Three Lords. The secret door opens if the PC's push it to the north, and slide it on a track. Read the following concerning this small chamber if the PC's open the door: The stone door slide out of the way to reveal a small five foot by five foot chamber, with an eight foot ceiling. On the western wall, five feet above the floor, is what looks to be dried blood that has dripped down from a straight line, which looks to be some sort of hatch. Someone has carved into the hatch (in Chondathan) 'To the Hall of Three Lords'. 17) THREE DOORS AND A PRIVY This segment of the dungeon contains three stone doors, all left open by adventurers who have been wandering through the dungeon, as well as an old privy, that drops down forty feet to a cesspool of filth that then drops down another fifteen feet. However, over the years several bodies have been disposed in the cesspool and for obvious reasons no one has been willing to go down to recover them. Anyone who delves into the cesspool is exposed to Filth Fever. With an Investigate check made upon searching the cesspool at DC 20 the PC's will find a discarded healing potion, and with a DC 22 check they will find 9gp at the bottom of the cesspool. In addition, with a Perception check at DC 25 they will find a small ruby worth 90gp. Read the following concerning the three door junction: This junction sits where three store doors stand, all left open. To the west is a hall with what looks like two sets of short stone stairs. The north is another hall, and to the east is a short hall. A fetid stink lingers from beyond the northern door. If the PC's turn the corner of the eastern wall then read the following concerning the privy: This short hall stops at four feet in to the south, where an old wooden privy sits, built into the stonework here. The smell here is rather rank. Someone has left a carving that depicts a wizard wrestling with a worm like creature in an incredibly crude manner. On one wall someone has also carved a message (in Chondathan) that reads 'here I sit, upon my rump, in dungeon deep, to take a dump'. 18) THE CHAMBER OF HANGING BODIES This otherwise mundane room is the home of a disgusting sight, a place where the priestesses of the Temple of Loviatar come to hang their victims in a particularly gruesome form of punishment, and possible death. Dangling from the ceiling are dozens of partially rotting bodies, many of which have been chewed on by carrion crawlers. Victims are brought here asleep, nude, and locked by their arms to hang until they are found and eaten by some wandering creature in the dark. Victims wake to smell the stink of the bodies around them, and to see them hanging next to them until a sunrod that the priestesses leave behind burns out. After twenty four hours the priestesses return, and if the victims are still alive they are brought back to the temple, which rarely ever happens. Read the following to the PC's when they enter this room: This twenty foot by thirty foot long chamber has a twenty five too high ceiling on the

western end, but with a five foot stairway that stretches the width of the room, the eastern end has a ceiling of twenty feet. Hanging off five foot long chains from the ceiling are the remains of four bodies, although most, especially those on the eastern side of the room, where they hang lower to the ground, look to have been eaten up to the waist. The smell of this chamber is horrid, and most of the bodies looks like they have been hanging for a long time. Near the stairs is what looks to be a burnt out sunrod. The symbol of a curled whip has been carved into the southern wall. Writing has been carved around the top of the curl that reads (in Chondathan) 'Pray for mercy, but except nothing'. Below that someone has carved another message that reads (also in Chondathan) 'Fuck this place.' 19) THE ARROW ROOM This chamber in the dungeon has gained the nickname “the Arrow Room” because of a large arrow pointing east on the southern wall, but other than that and some graffiti the room is insignificant, unless the DM wishes to spice it up a bit, or put an encounter in it. Read the following concerning this room when the PC's enter it: This large room is twenty feet wide, and thirty feet long, with a twenty foot ceiling on the east side, and a twenty five foot ceiling on the the west side, with a five foot set of stone steps dropping down and spanning the width of the room in the middle of it. A few bones lies the floor, several flagstone from the walls are been removed, but the only real significant aspect of the room is that someone has carved a ten foot long arrow, pointing east, on the southern wall, and painted the inside of the carving with what appears to be blood. Around the arrow are several other inscriptions that read (in Chondathan) 'Hall of Three Lords this way', and 'room full of hanging bodies the other way... hold your breath and watch out for ghouls.' Another inscription (in Chondathan) reads 'This place is a death-trap! Halaster is mad indeed!' Another inscription, in a crude hand, reads (in Chondathan) 'Am I?' A horrid stink lingers from the west of here. 20) HALLS OF DOORS This segment of the dungeon details two smaller segments, collectively called the Halls of Doors, with a small closed off inverted L shaped hall on the north side, and a hall containing three short halls of door, leading to a dead end, on the south side. The inverted L segment has often been used as a camp room for those wandering through the dungeon, as both doors can be shut in a small space. Read the following concerning this small hall when the PC's enter it: A small, inverted L shaped hall, with a stone door on the south and western ends, sits here. Within it you can see the remains of numerous fire pits where the bend in the L sits. Smoke stains mar the ceiling. A few broken bottles, pieces of bone, and other broken items lie around the area. On the lower side of the north wall is an inscription (in Chondathan) that reads 'The L, finest accommodations in all of Undermountain'. Another inscription has been carved into the flagstones of the eastern wall that reads (in Chondathan) 'No more treasure in the Hall of Heroes. We broke the last two statues apart.' Nearby it is another inscription (in Thayan) 'It's

true, we do lie a lot of the time.' The southern segment contains three stone doors, all open when the PC's come to them, as adventurers have passed into them recently, and left them open. Like many of the rooms down here, they have been searched of any valuables long ago, but this hall is also a notorious trap, set by Halaster, although the bait for the trap has long ago been taken, and luckily the dangerous part of the trap, poison gas, has long ago been depleted, so the trap acts more as a fright than anything else. The trigger plate that sets off the trap can be disabled with a Slight of Hands check at DC 20, and each of the doors can be blocked with a heavy enough weight, but since the trap is no longer dangerous no one has bothered to do so. The pressure plate can be detected with a Perception check at DC 20. Read the following concerning their appearance: A ten foot by twenty foot hall extends to the south, to an open doorway, with a heavy stone door that has been slid out of the way on a track. Beyond it is a segment hall with the same dimensions, with a second open door, followed by a third room of the same size, although it appears to have a small alcove on the western end. If the PC's enter the southern most segment all the doors swing closed at once, and lock at DC 25. Read the following when the PC's step into the southern room and this takes place: This last segment has a small alcove on the southern end of the west wall, but nothing is in it. You hear a clicking sound, and realize you have stepped on a pressure plate, then the door behind you suddenly slams shut, along with two other doors north of here, followed by latching sounds. 21) THE OLD VAULTED CHAPEL This large chamber is the site of an old dwarven Chapel to Gorm Gulthyn, the guardian of all dwarvendom, who will die in battle in 1383 DR. It is said that each time a clanhold fell a piece of Gorm died with it, and such was the case with Undermountain. The Chapel is a sacred site to dwarves, especially clerics of Gorm Gulthyn, but has been long abandoned. The chapel is quite large, and is dominated by a huge bronze statue of Gorm, which has been beaten and battered, but remains mostly intact due to its massive size. The room is also adorned with other statues to prominent dwarven warriors of legend, which were once adorned with bronze equipment, but all of it has been ransacked since that time. On the southern end of the room is a smaller room behind two great bronze doors that look to have been melted open. Within them was a reliquary, but all the relics have been pillaged as well. Read the following when the PC's enter this room: You enter a large chamber, forty feet long, and thirty feet wide, with a forty foot vaulted ceiling. On the north end is a thirty foot tall bronze statue of a stout dwarf. Smaller, yet oversized statues of other dwarves, two on the left side of the archway you came in from, one on the right, and five on the opposite wall, decorate this place. Each statue looks like it is supposed to hold a weapon in its hand, as well as a shield, and each looks they they wore some sort of plating or armor, but all of it has been removed, leaving the statues as extremely accurate nude stone carvings of dwarven men and women. On the southern side of the room is a pair of great bronze doors, although a man sized hole has some how been melted in the middle of them,

accessing a smaller room beyond them. The smaller room looks to have several stone daises in it, but you don't see anything of real value from here. The bronze in the main statue is worth roughly 5000gp, and the bronze in the doors are worth a total of 1500gp for both of them. The statues are not in perfect shape, and each weights a ton, but each is worth 1000gp to the right buyer, if they are intact. With a Religion check at DC 15 the PC's will know the following about the Chapel, although dwarves pass automatically: The great statue appears to depict Gorm Gulthyn, a dwarven deity of defense, known as The Guardian of the Dwarves. It is said that whenever a dwarven clanhold falls a piece of Gorm falls with it. Temples of Gorm Gulthyn are known to be decorated in bronze as his symbol is a bronze mask. 22) THE BONEPILE ROOM This large room is where a massive battle took place between the Melairkyn Dwarves and a large band of orcs and goblins. The dwarves attempted to make a stand here, but in the end hundreds died on both sides, and their bones are stilled piled here as a result. Read the following concerning the room when the PC's enter it: This large room is cluttered with huge piles of bones. A great battle must have taken place as the floor is stained red from blood around the center of the room, and in many places obsidian arrow heads are still stuck in the walls, or a deep slash marks have marred the fieldstones. A single message has been carved into the western wall that reads (in dwarf) 'may those slain here fight on with the Shield Brothers on High in the Dwarvenholme' 23) THE ASCENDING SQUARE This open square once held a wooden elevator that the Melairkyn dwarves operated which ascended up to a platform high above, which in turn still accessed a stairway that climbs up to partially buried basement of an old building north of the Yawning Portal that no longer stands. The wooden has long since rotted and collapsed almost a century before, and the shaft is so high that no one has ever attempted to climb it, nor has anyone bothered to use a fly spell to reach the top. The shaft climbs a hundred and twenty feet up to a stone ceiling, with a rail-less platform around it. A narrow passage access a stairway that heads up to a large room with a wooden ceiling, which is covered by a foot a dirt and packed rubble from above. Despite this there is an old ladder that thieves have used to reach this room within the last ten years, and trapdoor that accesses the city above, hidden in a patch of bushes. At one time there was substantial pile of old wood in the square but over the years adventurers and other intelligent beings have salvaged most of it for fires or lumber, so only a few large pieces remain. Beholders that dwell in the region have a habit of leaving interesting trinkets up here, as they reason that human beings ever both to reach the upper area. In one corner of the upper square in a small crack is a ring of feather falling, which can be found with a DC 20 Perception check. Read the following when the PC's enter the square: You enter a twenty foot by twenty foot square in the dungeon, with a ceiling that ascends far beyond your site, at least a hundred feet up.

Several large pieces of old wood lie scattered around the floor here. The DC to climb the walls here is 15, but being that the PC's would have to climb a hundred and twenty feet it is very dangerous. If the PC's manage to get halfway up with a light source then read the following to them: You ascended about sixty feet, and from here you can see that the shaft rises another sixty feet or so to a stone ceiling. It looks like there is some sort of platform surrounding the square above. Old boards and planks hang overhead, the remnants of some collapsed structure. If the PC's reach the top of the square then read the following: At the top of the shaft you come to a slightly larger chamber than the one below, twenty five feet by twenty five feet in a square. A narrow two foot wide rectangular passage juts off to the west on the north end of the room. In many places old planks have been nailed into the stonework, but whatever they held must have collapsed long ago, and the wood does not looks strong enough to walk on. If the PC's enter the narrow passage then read the following: This narrow passage heads straight for about fifteen feet then suddenly ends. Directly beyond it is a narrow stone stairway that is partially covered with dust, which heads up another forty feet or so to a larger room. When the PC's head up the stairs then read the following: At the top of the stairs is a fifteen by twenty foot room with a fifteen foot ceiling made of old plank-wood, but the boards look to be clogged with dirt, although in many places roots have begun to dig down through them. What looks like an trapdoor is in one corner. The room is cluttered with old barrels that stink of vinegar. A wooden ladder, fifteen feet long, lays in the middle of the room, covered in a lair of dust. If the PC's open the trapdoor and look above then read the following: You lift the trapdoor up, and slide it open, which causes dust to fall down on your face. You then look up to see that it access a large court between a series of buildings in the city, one of which appears to be the back of the Yawning Portal. 24) THE HALL OF SECRETS This ordinary looking hall is cloaked by the illusion of a wall that matches the walls exactly, with three spots which access the Hidden Tombs. If the PC's simply touch the illusionary walls they can pass through them. With an Arcana check at DC 25 the PC's detect the illusion as the sections of the wall appear distorted while looking into the with a prism, and radiate a weak dweomer. This hall is also the end point of teleport spell in The Chamber of Two Columns, a room somewhat south and west of the Grim Statue (itself far to the south of here). Read the following concerning the hall:

This hallway heads north for about a hundred feet, with several side tunnels heading west. On one far end is a small ten foot by ten foot alcove where it dead ends, and on the opposite end is a much larger chamber. A series of old footsteps head into the southern passage through the illusion, which can be detected with a DC 14 Perception check. If the PC's pass this check then read the following to them: You spy a series of footprints, quite old by the looks of them, that seems to walk right up to and somehow through part of the wall here. 25) THE HIDDEN TOMBS A series of sarcophagus are hidden behind an illusionary wall in these chambers, although all of them have been ransacked in the last few years, and all but one lie open. The one that lies open contains the body of a recently slain adventurer. His companions buried him here, after he was killed in a nearby chamber, and carved an inscription on the top of the sarcophagus as his marker. In the attached sub chamber are two additional sarcophagus. In that chamber a group of adventurers slew a giant spider long ago, and its dried up husk of a body still lays there dead on the floor. When the PC's enter the first section read the following: The halls open into a long chamber with a thirty foot ceiling and a rounded arched roof where old rusty chains hang, with rusting black lanterns hanging from them in turn. Three sarcophagus are in this place on large daises The lids on the ones on the far ends have been removed and dropped on the ground, but the middle one looks to be intact. A large pile of rust red eggs sits in the northeastern corner. The rust colored eggs are rust monster eggs, 3d12 in number, which can rust metal weapons and other items if the shells are broken. They are uneatable, but can be sold to the right buyer for 10-25gp. When the PC's looks into either of the open sarcophagus read the following: Inside this sarcophagus are a scattered of old bones, which have been clearly disturbed, in a haphazard manner. If the PC's view the middle sarcophagus then read the following: When you examine the middle sarcophagus you see that the lid looks to be damaged, as the edges are heavily chipped, and have been pried at. On the top of it someone has carved what looks like to be a depiction of a sunrise in a circle (Religion check at DC 15 to identify it as the symbol of Lathander, the Lord of Light. Below it is scrawled (in Chondathan) 'Here lies Rufus Brightblade, the second greatest left handed, one eared half-elf in all of the Trade's Ward. Died as he lived, by the sword. Hammer the 2nd, 1370 DR, The Year of the Tankard.' If the PC's remove the lid they will find the following: Inside this sarcophagus lies the decaying remains of what appears to be a one eared halfelf, clutching an elven style longsword in his left hand, which has been draped across his chest. He is dressed in common vestments, which are stained with old blood, and decaying studded leather armor.

Should the PC's search the body, and pass a DC 15 Perception check they will find an old letter in the pocket of the body, which his fellows did not notice when they buried him. Read the following if they succeed on the Perception check: You discover an old yellowed letter in the pocket of the corpse. It appears to be written in Elf, in fine handwriting. The letter reads, 'Dear Rufus, my heart goes with you, but into the depths I can not follow, for only madness and death lies in the doomed halls of Halaster's lair. Please, heed my words, do not venture down there with your drunken friends, or if you don't listen to me return to me someday. Love always, Daedra.' On the back of the letter is a second bit of writing, this time in Chondathan, that reads, 'Some of the privies access a room on the second level. Shits and giggles. Gold.' If the PC's venture in the southern alcove they will come across the other two sarcophagus Read the following if this takes place: A smaller chamber descends off the far corner of the sarcophagus room, where two more open sarcophagi sit. Old spider webs of great size hang from the walls here, but by the looks of them they have been hanging here for a decade. The dried up corpse of a slain spider of huge size lays here, on its back. It looks to have been burned, stabbed and smashed at in many places. 26) THE OVAL POOL This small room is the site of an oval pool of fresh water, which drips down from a narrow circular opening high above, coming originally from somewhere in Waterdeep. The water is a reliable source for travelers down here, and most who frequent the area know of it, although some have been known to contaminate it in the past. Monsters are come here, thus when the player characters arrive a trio of ettercaps will be drinking from the pool. Read the following if the PC's come here: This thirty foot by thirty foot room has a twenty five foot ceiling. In the southern side of the room is a twenty foot long oval pool of clear liquid. Something drips down from a one inch round hole in the ceiling into the pool, causing it to ripple about every ten seconds. Three somewhat humanoid creatures are kneeling over the pool, drinking. They have hideous, arachnid like heads, and dark bodies. 27) NIMRAITH'S REST This alcove has long been the resting place of a slain adventurer called Nimraith, whose mortal remains still lay against the wall. Read the following when the PC's come here: In this alcove lies a human skeleton, laying against the western wall, which looks to have been disturbed, almost like someone has tossed it around. Bits of leather lay about the remains as well. What looks to be a long dead stirge, dried out and impaled by a dozen arrows, lays on the floor in the middle of the room. On the wall, above the body, someone has carved a message (in Chondathan) 'Here lies

Nimraith. His shield now hangs in the Shield Room. May he not be forgotten.' 28) COBWEB CHAMBER This room is haunted by long standing cobwebs, made form some giant spider ages ago. Much of the webbing has been burned in recently years by adventurers who have braved the room. The floor is covered in small black stones, which were once part of three large statues, which still emit a faint, flickering dweomer, but the spell is fading now. On the northeast corner of the room two flagstones are loose, which can be detected with a DC 15 Perception check, and can be lifted up, revealing a two foot deep, 1 foot by 3 foot niche. Read the following concerning the room when the PC's first enter it: The floor of this area is strewn with stony rubble, and gray, dust-shrouded cobwebs hang from the ceiling to floor, although in some places they look to have been burned away, mostly in what looks like a path that heads further into the room. If the PC's discover the niche then they can look inside. Read the following if they do so: The niche drops down about two feet into the floor, being about one foot wide and three feet in length. Inside you find the tattered remains of what may once have been a linen backpack, a few loose bones. In addition, what looks to be a letter of some sort has been placed here, fairly recently by the looks of it, since it is in far better condition than the backpack. Oddly, a strange red cap, with ten little springy stalks hanging off it, with cheaply made eyeballs, sits down here as well. Allow the PC's to retrieve the note, and read it. It is written in (Alzedo) and it states 'Congratulations, you have passed the first test, the Prophet will be pleased. Take this skullcap as a reward for your discovery, and wear it for the next meeting. Your next task will be to locate a Listener. Hint: start in the Dock Ward, ask around.' The note concerns a beholder cult, although it is unspecific as to what cult, or if the cult still exists, but the DM can assume that it does. It is considered a side quest which may lead the PC's to the Dock Ward to discover what a 'Listener' is, which will turn out to be a blinded beggar that works for the cult. 29) THE GHOUL POOL This small room once held several traps, but adventurers have come across it often enough that not all of them are still functioning. When the PC's come up to the room from the north they will discover a broken portcullis trap. Read the following when they see this: A heavy portcullis stands in this hall, blocking off a square room beyond it, but strangely it is jutting up and down, as if it's part of some broken mechanism. However, it looks like someone has bent many of the bars, even melted a few of them, so you could pass right through it if you'd like. When the PC's look into the room beyond they will come across a pit trap filled with rancid water (which will give them filth fever if they fall in it), where the bones of a half dozen skeletons lay. The only trap still active in the room is the moving wall trap, but because the portcullis has been breached it too is not much of a threat any longer.

The portcullis trap can be deactivated with an Investigate check at DC 15, but it's too damaged to rise again. The moving wall trap requires an Investigate check at DC 25 to deactivate, which is why it's still functioning. The PC's will notice the pit trap with a Perception of 20, and it too can be disabled with a Investigate check at DC 20. The hidden wall trap can be detected with a Perception check at DC 22. Read the following concerning the inside of the room when the PC's see it: This square room has a doorway on the southern wall, opposite of your entrance. The door on the south wall is false, and part of the moving wall trap, and can not be opened by any means as a result. The moving wall trap moves at five feet a round till it hits the north wall, with nothing but stone behind it. The pit it thirty feet deep, with fifteen feet of foul water in it. 30) THE CHAMBER OF DEATH This chamber is the site of an old ambush, where around a half dozen adventurers from Tethyr were killed by a group of bugbears. All that remains of them now is a pile of old bones, and a few tattered, broken items. Cobwebs hang heavily in this room, but it is clear that someone has been here recently by a path that leads through them. Read the following when the PC's enter this room: This large square room is filled with cobwebs, although a clear paths heads through them toward a short set of three steps on the south end, where a ten foot by fifteen foot alcove sits. A large pile of bones lays in the alcove and spills out into the main room from down the steps. The dried out corpse of an obese man lays against the east wall, with a large pile of broken items around him. Written in Chondathan above his head, carved into the wall is the following (in Chondathan) 'Here sits Duncan Dank, a really nice guy but damn he stank, with him lies his sack of junk, sometimes useful but mostly funk, take one item but leave one in return, cheat him of his treasure his spirit your shall spurn.' 31) THE CIRCLE OF DARKNESS This “circle of darkness” is one of Halaster's “bottomless pits”, surrounded by an impenetrable darkness spell, which resists most spells, and darkvision, but not blindsite. Light sources don't work within the curtain of darkness, but they do work beyond it. They get a Dexterity saving throw at DC 20 to grab the ledge at disadvantage. If the PC caught in the trap can fly then they don't suffer disadvantage. The walls of the pit can be climbed or grabbed with an Athletics check at DC 20, although with disadvantage as well. When the PC's come across this pit it is assumed that other adventurers have fallen into it before, thus the DM should roll 1d4 random treasures, of level 1d6 for the PC's to find here. Read the following concerning the pit if any PC's steps into it: You step through the darkness and suddenly find the footing gone beneath you. Strange waves of force seem to be pulling you downwards! 32) THE TWO PILLAR ROOM

This room is fairly ordinary, other than the fact that it has two stone pillars holding up the ceiling. Read the following when the PC's come to it: This long hall is divided by a ten foot wall near the middle, where a stone door has been knocked down and cracked down the middle, thus forming two rooms into one. In the southern section are two dark colored pillars that reach twenty feet up to the ceiling. On the western wall someone has carved a depiction of a stairway, and have written (in Chondathan) 'Stairs to the second level this way'. Below that, in a different hand, someone has carved (in Chondathan) 'and to the Labyrinth'. 33) THE GRANITE STATUE This room is the site of a famous statue, which has been heavily damaged by adventurers over the years, which once depicted a beautiful, nude woman from the waist up. It also holds a small room that can be accessed via a descent down a ten foot drop. The is little left of interest in this room, as adventurers have found it many times over the years. Read the following concerning it: This twenty foot by fifty foot hall has a fifty foot ceiling. Rubble is scattered around the southeastern side of the room, where what remains of two large stone doors lie, apparently broken out of the wall by what must have been a huge impact by something very large. What remains of a large granite statue lies on the northwestern side of the room. It has been heavily chipped and damaged, and looks like a woman's nude stomach and chest, although someone has broken the breasts off, and apparently the arms, which lies in pieces about the room. Someone has moved the statue about ten feet from the center of the room since there are deep grooves in the floor which must have come from the statues base. Where the statue once rested is a two and a half foot square hole in the floor, which seems to drop down into the darkness. Someone has carved (in Chondathan) 'dead ochre jelly, empty otherwise' with an arrow pointing to the hole. Bones and pieces of broken items are scattered about here as well in great abundance. If the PC's descend down into the shaft they'll find that it drops down about ten feet to a rough chamber dug out of the rock, but nothing of interest is down there. Read the following concerning the rough chamber: Ten feet down the shaft is a rough earthen chamber, that drops down another fifteen feet, but looks to be mostly empty, save for some sort of burnt yellowish substance that dried all over the bottom of the shaft. 34) THE OLD SAND ROOM This oddly shaped area is a room entirely filled with great quantities of fine sand, and where a small wooden treasure chest was once hidden, and later discovered long ago by adventurers. Read the following concerning this room when the PC's come to it: This oddly shaped room is filled with sand, which has been heaped up in damp, lichen dotted peaks and valleys. In the middle of the sand is a little two foot wide pit. Laying on it's side on top of the sand is an old wooden chest, which has been smashed in placed and burned,

laying open and empty. Someone has carved into the western wall (in Chondathan) 'Chest is not a mimic'. 35) THE WATERY WORSHIP ROOM (SHRINE TO GULKULATH) Teleported beings from The One Way Teleport, which lies just to the west, will appear in this chamber, standing two feet deep at the arrival point, on the right side of the room, by the northern wall. The water is inky black, and no light source can allow the PC's to see through it. The teleport only function in one direction, and the only way out of the water is by going south, where the water slopes up in a ramp. It emerges from the water around a corner, out of sight of teleported arrivals. Arrivals who know this can easily reach dry corridors within a round or two. The sahuagin statue is said to depict a deity called Gulkulath, which a small cult in Waterdeep once worshiped, but no such entity ever truly existed. Few, if any beings, have any recollection on who or what Gulkulath was. However, someone who does claim to worship that being has been here recently and has left an offering. The source of the rippling (at the moment) is an ochre jelly, which can move at its normal speed, but the PC's are hindered by difficult terrain. It looks inky black if it comes out of the water at all, since it's been living there for some time and has adapted to the area. It is also difficult to pinpoint exactly what square it is in since the dark water is completely obscured, and it fights using blindsight. To the characters left (north) is an alcove containing a stone statue, the source of the dim purple radiance, of a sahuagin. Read the following concerning the room when the PC's arrive: You appear to be on the eastern side of a twenty foot by sixty foot hall, although a small alcove is directly northwest of you. A large statue of a gray statue stands in the alcove, made of weathered stone, which depicts a web-fingered, scaly-skinned fish-man with great, black pits for eyes, flaring, finlike ears, and a wide, fanged mouth. It glows with a faint purple radiance. A golden necklace hangs around the neck of the statue. On the northern wall someone has carved a message (in Chondathan) “Praise Gulkulath, Master of the Wet Depths!' With a DC 18 Perception check the PC's will notice that the head of the statue looks like it could be removed, with a fire blackened cavity inside it, but nothing is there anymore but a stone knob. A second knob is deeper in the cavity, which is actually a lever, which if pulled will cause four candle holders to rise out of the water, along with a bar that runs the width of the room. However, removing the head activates an old spell (unless the person who does so happens to worship Bane) creates three 'baneguards', which act as dread warriors, with rusting weapons and armor, but with red flames burning in their eyes and symbols of Bane on their shields. Read the following if they rise: After you remove the head of the statue you hear the hiss of multiple objects rising from the water, and turn to see three skeletal figures, dressed in rusting chainmail, with rusting longswords, standing before you, black water drips off them. Red light burns faintly in their eye sockets. On their shields, also rusting, are symbols of clawed fists, clenching a light source. Also in the water, although quite difficult to detect, which is why it hasn't been found yet, is a lost +1 longsword, the blade of which shines bright blue when undead are within thirty feet of it. It can detected with a DC 25 Perception check, but the light effect is not bright enough to pierce the inky water.

36) THE HALL OF A HUNDRED CANDLES This long hall was once lit by a hundred floating, flickering candles, but over the years adventurers took many of them, and then the spell that kept them lit and floating was broken by a dispel magic spell after that. Now, only a melted bits of candle wax lie on the floor these days. Read the following when the PC's come to this hall: This long hall is dotted with little bits of wax, which form two lines heading east, although the dots of wax are not consistent at all. On the far eastern end of the hall, on the northern wall, someone has etched a deep inscription into the flagstones. Read the following if the PC's come to this place: You follow the hall around to the south, then east, and then north, where it quickly dead ends. All along this path are small piles of wax. On the north wall at the dead end, about three feet above the floor, someone has carved an inscription deep into the wall that reads (in Chondathan) 'No golden thrones' 'Come with ease' 'By Nimraith's bones' 'Ye shall be pleased'. Above this inscription is another (in elf), written in charcoal, that reads, 'Seek not here' 'Twill not be found' 'Treasure lies, I fear' 'Far underground'. 37) THE HALL OF STAIRS The western side of this hall is marked by the presence of a mysterious phantom, that of a seven foot tall elf, and an unusual magical torch bracket that keeps any torch placed in it continuously lit. On the eastern side are two traps, one set in the stairs and a magical fire trap, and a stair that winds down to the second level. The phantom elven figure is cloaked in a mysterious mist, but neither of them are dangerous in any way, nor does the figure react in any way to the PC's. It can be passed through without harm. If a dispel magic spell is cast on it then it disappears for 1d4 rounds. It does not appear to either hear or see any one around it. It simply looks warily down the stairs on either side, and walks a few steps from time to time, always appearing to be waiting for something. The torch bracket was a creation of Halaster's, which keeps any fire magically lit when placed within it. When the PC's venture into this hall a torch is currently burning in it, but once removed it will only last as long as a normal torch would. When a torch is placed or removed from the holder then the mists mysterious disappear for 1d3 rounds. Read the following concerning the western end of the hall: A strange mist hangs in this hall, making visibility difficult. You barely make out a door on the far eastern side of the hall, but to the west you can see that the hall climbs about ten feet up a set of stone stairs. The area above the stairs is lit by a torch mounted on the north wall. A figure stands there, which must be around seven feet tall. If the PC's draw closer to get a good look at the figure read the following: The figure, when you get a closer look at him, appears to be an elf, only an unusually tall one. He wears gleaming black, fluted armor of what must be an ancient and unfamiliar

style. He has an ornately scabbarded long sword and dagger belted at the waist. He doesn't seem to notice you, and seems to be looking passed you, down the hall, as if he's waiting for something. After a few moments he turns and heads the other way, apparently looking down the other end of the hall. This figure, oddly, is somewhat transparent, almost like he's a part of the mist itself. On the eastern side of the room are two traps. The first is a trick step, which can cause the PC's to be tripped, and then roll down the stairs. The trap is set off when a PC steps on a pressure plate, which causes one of the steps to suddenly rise up, sharply, a foot or more. The PC's can detect the pressure plate and the rising stair with a DC 20 Perception check. Disabling the trap requires a DC 15 Investigate check. Players who set off the trap get a Dexterity saving throw at DC 15 or they fall prone at the foot of the stairs for 1d4 damage. Read the following if the PC's set off the stair trap: You feel your foot sink into the floor a bit, as a stone you walk on gives way, then suddenly the stair you are on trusts upwards, knocking you off your feet! Whenever the door leading east of this room is opened then a stair leading downward can be seen. The door opens inward, across its top step – as there is no landing. A fire trap was set by Halaster and continuously reactivates, and is completely magical in nature. It can only be detected with a detect magic spell in advance, or with a DC 20 Perception check to see a faint red dweomer. The trap can not easily be disabled, but a dispel magic spell shuts it off for 1d4+1 rounds. Whenever someone steps on, or passes above, the eighth step of this stairway or any step thereafter (roughly ten feet into the stairwell) then read the following to them: Without warning and with a sudden roar, flames spring into being all around you: on the walls, floor and ceiling – hungry, red, licking tongues of fire! The heat grows rapidly unbearable, and you hear a faint snarling noise! The flames erupt throughout the entire stairway, which descends a total of ninety feet to a dead end. However, somewhere near the bottom of the stairs, but before the PC's can see the bottom, is a row of stairs that act as a teleporter, which transports the PC's to a room in the second level known as The Black Boudoir. Players caught in the fire get a Dexterity saving throw at DC 18 to take half damage, otherwise they take 3d6 damage for every round they caught in the fire. In addition, the trap is set to summon a salamander, which is unaffected by the flames, that attacks anyone it sees. It carries a whip instead of a spear, which only does 1d4 damage, but it has a reach of ten feet. The salamander appears through the mirror, a magic gate (known as the Salamander Gate), which connects to a room on the Second Level of the Dungeon known as the Black Boudoir (see Ruins of Undermountain Box Set). The DM can decide whether or not the gate is functional from this side. Read the following if the Salamander appears: Suddenly a large, red, scaly creature appears before you, down the stairs! If has the lower body of a snake, but the upper torso of a man, only with rather demonic features. It seems at home in the flames, and wields a whip made entirely of fire! It's only attire is a small amulet around its neck, shaped roughly cross-like. 38) THE BLACK SQUARE

This twenty foot by twenty foot by twenty four foot square room is fairly mundane, with two exceptions, the fact that has been entirely blackened by fire, and the facts that one of Halaster's curtains of darkness hangs over the southern tunnel, which like all the others in the dungeon can not be pierced by any simple magic, nor darkvision. Read the following when the PC's come to this room: You come to a twenty foot by twenty foot room with a twenty four foot ceiling which has been blackened by flames. On the south side is what appears to be a doorway made entirely of darkness. 39) DEAD MAN'S THRONE: This small room has an usual effect that has long lingered here, causing ordinary objects to float and swirl in a circle above the seat of an old throne that sits here. The entire room radiates transmutation magic, caused by a malfunctioned spell cast long ago, which is rather harmless. A dispel magic will end the effect for a 1d4+1 hours. Almost a year ago a young green dragon was slain on the south side of the this room, and as a result the ground has been heavily bloodstained, creating squares of bloodrock in this room. Read the following concerning this room when the PC's find it: In the alcove stands an ornate, arch-backed, impressive throne, apparently carved out a single huge block of stone. It faces outwards, toward the corridor. On the south side of the room the ground has been stained red with a massive amount of blood that fills up about twenty feet of the hall to the south. Large bones lay scattered about the area, as are a scattering of graying, green scales. 40) ONE WAY TELEPORT This dead end is a teleport that sends the PC's to the middle of The Watery Welcome Room. Their light sources will reactivate, including ordinary lanterns and torches, in 1d4+1 rounds. The teleport effects anyone who steps within 30 feet of the alcove. Read the following when they come here: You can see something fairly small, dark and horizontal on the end (easternmost) wall of the corridor, with what looks like an inscription on it, but it's too far away to read, at about waist-height. If the PC's step within the ten foot section before the alcove and writing then they have entered the teleport, but before they are teleported read the following to them: A blue haze seems to rise before your eyes, silently and rapidly, obliterating the world around you as you stare at the cryptic inscription. The inscription seems to consist of a number of names and other nonsense, followed by the last line, glowing in deep blue common lettering: 'If you're reading this, of course, it's too late.' (to all within the corridor): Blue radiance is everywhere; you (and your comrades) are lost and floating somewhere not quite real. Blue, shifting light is under, over, and all around you. The light begins to fade, and you realize that yours legs and feet are colder-and wetterthan the rest of you. You're somewhere else, your light sources have been mysterious

extinguished, and you're standing in inky, dark water as deep as your thighs (chest if the PC is a small creature). A faint purple light comes from your left. Ahead of you, in the distance, you hear the water rippling as something in it is moving... 41) EYES IN THE DARK This corridors ends in a magical darkness, which resists magic to see through it, where the remnant of an old illusion of Halaster lingers, unfinished. The hall is quite harmless, but few adventurers have taken the chance to explore it. Read the following concerning this hall: A cold feeling washes over you, and the air somehow smells somehow sharp, like winter frost. The far end of the hall is cloaked in darkness, which your light sources don't seem to effect. Out the darkness you spy a pair of two large, menacing eyes, glaring at you. 42) THE BARREN CHAMBER This average sized room, known as The Barren Chamber, and is rather ordinary with no real interesting features, although a small side hall to the east does hold an empty wine rack on its western wall. Read the following when the PC's enter this room: This thirty foot by twenty foot room has a ceiling that rises fifteen feet above the floor, and looks to be empty. If the PC's enter the short side hall with the empty wine rack read the following: This short hall turns abruptly to the west and then dead ends where a empty wine rack stand, made of old, worn out wood, taking up the entire western wall, and broken in places where it looks like someone has tried to break passed it to the wall behind. Much of the wood seems to have been taken away. 43) THE BRASS DOOR The Brass Door is an ornate door that accessed a huge section of the Dungeon Level, including the Temple of Loviatar on the far eastern side. However, it is kept locked by the Temple of Loviatar to keep unwanted adventurers out of it. The door has a masterwork lock on it, plus an Arcane Lock spell, and thus requires a DC 30 check to open, although the DC drops by 10 if a dispel magic or knock spell is cast on it. The phase “Hail Loviatar, Maiden of Pain!”, will also drop the arcane lock spell. In addition, the door is trapped with a Flame Jet Trap. Anyone who tried to pick the lock and fails sets off the Flame Jets, which can be detected a head of time. Noticing the nozzles for the flame jets requires a DC 20 Perception check. The control panel to disable the trap is hidden on the north wall around the bend at DC 25. The door is only regularly used by slavers that bring slaves up from Skullport to sell to the temple through this doorway, but they enter through this door, and leave through the Arena, far to the north. Players who are caught in the trap get a Dexterity saving throw at DC 18 to take half damage, otherwise they take 4d6 damage. The flame jet burns for 1d4 rounds, before it resets. The face on the door is an image of Loviatar. With a Religion check at DC 20 the PC's could identify it.

Read the following if the PC's come across the door: At the end of this hall is an ornate brass door with a face of a sinister, angry looking woman dominating the face of the door. The door seems to have a keyhole and a handle for opening. 44) THE BLACK WATER HALLS This section of the dungeon is filled with black water, which also radiates a magical dweomer, and is very oily and heavy to the taste, but not overtly poisonous. All sources of ordinary and magical light are ineffective against its effect. A series of smooth, sloping ramps descends into it and out of it. Laying at the bottom of the pool, ten feet west of where the water begins, is a +2 mace, which can be detected with a DC 30 Perception check. If fire touches the oil then the entire pool will ignite and do 1d6 damage to anyone in it and they will then be on fire until they put the fire out (because it is an oil, they will have to do so with disadvantage). The oil will burn for 2d4+4 rounds before suddenly and magically going out. In Waterdeep the oil is regarded as a good source for short flares and torches, but not for lanterns as it only burns for a dozen seconds or so at a time. Nonetheless it can be sold for 4gp a vial, or bought for twice that in various shops across the city as “Undermountain Oil”. Read the following if the PC's come to it: The tunnel here begins to slant downward, where a pool of still, black water sits, and blocks the passage. 45) THE SHALLOW SHAFT This small room descends down one hundred feet, not quite far enough to reach the Second Level of the Dungeon, but below the entire first level. The first foot beyond the door is real ground, but the following nineteen are covered by an illusion that covers a steep sloping drop that descends all the way to the bottom. The bottom of the pit itself is littered with old bones, broken weapons and pieces of armor. Players who step onto the area of the floor that is covered by the illusion do not get a saving throw, and instead fall for 8d6 damage, then roll the rest of the way down into the pit. The first player in the party will likely be the only person who falls through the floor, unless two players are moving abreast of each other. When the players reach the archway to this room read the following to them: Before the archway someone has scratched a note (in Chondathan) 'Pit fall trap beyond this threshold – Zor'lius screamed all the way down'. In another hand someone has also written (in Chondathan) 'Ouch -Zor'lius'). Read the following if the players come here: You find a twenty foot hallway that accesses a larger room, which appears to be some sort of pit. If the PC's fall into the trap read the following to them: You step forward and realize with horror that you walk onto nothing, and then you fall

into the floor, face first. A second later you are dropping into a sloping passage, before you hit the slope itself and roll into the larger room to the north. ADDITIONAL ROOMS Should the player characters go out of bounds from the rooms presented in this adventure then the DM should consult the original Undermountain Box Set, or feel free to make up what the players encounter. I have detailed hundreds of additional rooms, including all the rooms in the surrounding area, which will be available as PDF's on DMG in the next couple of months time. However, if you don't want to have them explore any further I'd suggest putting them against a Wall of Force, a cave-in (which must be cleared), a host of monsters (perhaps a few dozen goblins charging their way), or some other obstacle.