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There was a time when the Styx was the front line of the Blood War. That is no longer the case: the legions of Hell have pushed back the demonic hordes, and the front lines now lie somewhere Abyss-ward of the Avernian hexcrawl where the Remix is set.

This region, however, is still marked by its long history as a battlefield. Chunks of territory here, on both banks of the Styx, have been held by the demons at various points during the long aeons of the conflict, and their legacy can still be found imprinted on the wastes.

With the front so near, there is also a constant churn of espionage, with demonic infiltrators and fifth column quislings endlessly seeking any advantage which might turn the tide of war. Such agents might easily recognize the PCs as pawns to be used against Zariel.

CROKEK’TOECK

In the original version of Descent Into Avernus, Crokek’toeck is a powerful demon that was pursuing Yael and Lulu and imprisoned within the Bloody Cyst (Hex F4) when it erupted. For the Remix, it is less clear that having him trapped within the cyst makes sense (although maybe it does for your version). You might also reposition Crokek’toeck:

• In the prison of Plagueshield Point (Hex G5b).
• Simply rampaging around the Avernian plains, perhaps pursued by the 9^th Cohort (Hex J6).
• In the service of Yeenoghu, who will dispatch him to the PCs’ service if they can somehow negotiate with him.

Whatever the case may be, see p. 150 of Descent Into Avernus for details on how Crokek’toeck might be used to break the chains holding Elturel.

KOSTCHTCHIE

The demon Kostchtchie is imprisoned in Hex J2. As described in the Dance of the Deathless Frost adventure, Kostchtchie has a phylactery (currently hidden in Hex D6) with which one can either control him or bargain with him.

Even without the phylactery, a freed Kostchtchie desires vengeance on Zariel for his long imprisonment, making him a powerful (if somewhat unreliable and senselessly violent) ally against her. Kostchtchie also possesses the strength necessary to break the chains holding Elturel.

The PCs might learn of the phylactery from:

• Rumors (see the rumor table in Part 7I).
• Bel, who knows that if some deniable third party (i.e., the PCs) freed Kostchtchie it would be a thorn in Zariel’s side.
• Bitter Breath, who once sought Kostchtchie’s phylactery.
• The Sibriex (Hex E5).

Any of these sources, or perhaps subsequent investigations with the Archmagi of Thraxai in the Purple City, would reveal that Baba Yaga was the one who originally made the phylactery, and that her once-apprentice the Witch-Queen (Hex B3) might know something of value.

YEENOGHU

The Gnoll Lord would sooner eat your face than speak to it, and even getting into the same room with the Beast of Butchery isn’t exactly easy. Arranging the meeting will almost certainly involve the PCs heading Abyss-ward, somehow crossing the front lines of the Blood War, and then miraculously arranging a meeting. (Crokek’toeck, Kostchtchie, or perhaps some other demonic ally might be able to make introductions?)

But here’s the thing: He really, really, really doesn’t like Zariel. And the legions of devils that are about to pour out of the Elturel project are a serious problem for him.

If – and this is a big if! – the PCs can convince him that they are the solution to one or both of these problems, then Yeenoghu can be an incredibly powerful ally: Not only can he break the chains holding Elturel himself, but he literally has an army of gnolls, demons, and demonic gnolls that can be put at the PCs’ service if they play their cards right.

Yeenoghu also prizes the Sword of Zariel. It may or may not be the best use of it if the PCs obtain it, but Yeenoghu would give much to obtain it.

SHUMMRATH

Shummrath is neither a demon nor an active faction of Hell (since it’s been reduced to a canyon full of green slime), but it is nevertheless a powerful entity in the region and we should briefly consider it.

As detailed on p. 100 of Descent Into Avernus, it’s possible to restore Shummrath to its original form as a pit fiend, in which case it is capable of raising a small force of devils from those once loyal to it. Restored to his full glory, Shummrath might be:

• A valuable ally in fighting Zariel (although his animosity is overwhelmingly directed at Bel and relatively difficult to point in Zariel’s direction).
• Capable of severing the chains holding Elturel.

The barely sane telepathic residue which is Shummrath’s current consciousness will be difficult to either commune or negotiate with, but he does crave freedom to seek his revenge and may be willing to pay a price for that.

Homework: You may find it worthwhile to create response teams for each faction. Response teams will allow you to bring a faction “onstage” whenever it seems appropriate (attacking warlords, drinking in a caravanserai, trying to murder the PCs). You can probably scavenge these with minimal effort; for example, pulling legionnaires from Zariel’s Flying Fortress or demonic gnolls from the dream machine visions.

Go to Part 7G: The Devils of Baldur’s Gate

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As the PCs are drawn deeper into the feuding politics of the local Avernian wastes, they will slowly become aware that the seemingly titanic powers which rule over the entire plane are similarly fractious and riven with feuds.

As the PCs become more powerful, the eyes of these powerful factions will be drawn to them. Some may view them as threats. Others will see them as opportunities.

The question facing the PCs will be whether or not they can turn this attention to their advantage, most likely by turning the factions against each other, finding a way to frame what they want so that it’s also to the advantage of a potential ally, or both. Because it’s very likely that they will need to gain powerful help if they are going to succeed in their quest to save Elturel. There are several key goals in the Avernian Quest which will, at the very least, become more easier to achieve with a heavy-hitter on their side:

• Killing Zariel cancels all of her infernal contracts, but the PCs will almost certainly not be able to kill her by themselves. Fortunately, Zariel has created many enemies during her reign in Hell, including numerous devils and demons.
• To sever the chains holding Elturel will require the aid of a powerhouse ally (a redeemed Zariel, released Gargauth, Bel, or Tiamat).
• The PCs might also wish to free the planetar trapped within the Companion. Bel, Tiamat, and Gargauth can all help guide the PCs towards achieving this.
• Finally, it may be necessary to open an interplanar gate through which the people of Elturel can be evacuated. Bel, Tiamat, or the Archmagi of Thraxai in the Purple City could create such gate.

And, of course, the players are quite likely to concoct their own schemes and goals, any one of which could benefit greatly from their alliances with the major factions of Avernus.

The price of such powerful favors, though, should be high. This is Hell, after all, and the opening offer will most likely be their mortal souls. The PCs will have to figure out how to make a compelling offer that they can live (and die) with.

ZARIEL

As the Archduchess, Zariel is ultimately the hub around which all the intrigues of Avernus turn. She’s the spider at the center of the web; the queen at the core of the court intrigue. Thematically, this is great, because the entire Descent Into Avernus campaign also turns around Zariel.

What Zariel Wants: The destruction of the Abyss and the Sword of Zariel.

Unless the PCs give up on the idea of saving Elturel, they’re unlikely to form a relationship with Zariel. See Part 6B for details on bargaining with Zariel, but the only thing she’s likely to give up Elturel for is her Sword. (A redeemed Zariel, of course, changes everything.)

What Zariel Offers: Zariel controls the fate of Elturel (through the Bellandi pact, the chains, and the Companion). Of course, she also has the legions of Hell at her command, so there’s a quite a bit she’s capable of doing if it can somehow be made worth her while.

BEL

Bel was, of course, the former Archduke of Avernus. Here’s a quick summary of Bel’s history for easy reference.

• Rose from a lowly lemure to engineer a coup which overthrew Gargauth (then the Archduke of Hell)
• After her fall, Zariel served as one of the Dark Eight, Bel’s generals. She was freqeuently rebellious, ignoring or disobeying Bel’s commands. (But she was also successful, so he tolerated it.)
• In the 13^th century DR, Bel was targeted for “assassination” by Glasya. Bel fell into a magical coma and suspicion fell on Dispater, the Archduke of Dis (exactly as Glasya had intended). This was the beginning of the Reckoning (see Part 6D). Bel remained in his coma for most of the Reckoning, emerging only near the end of the conflict. Zariel was imprisoned by Tiamat at the end of the Reckoning.
• In the 14^th century DR, Gargauth attempted to invade Hell with the Dark Gods. After smashing the invasion, Bel captured Gargauth and presented him as a captive to Asmodeus. Asmodeus had Gargauth bound into the Shield of the Hidden Lord.
• In the 15^th century DR, a rift filled with baatorians opened in Avernus, triggering the Rift War (also Part 6D). Bel blew it. The baatorians overwhelmed the Avernian frontiers, allowing demonic armies to also freely invade Avernus. Glasya arranged for Zariel to be freed from Tiamat’s prison and she rallied the legions, defeated the baatorians, and drove back the demons. Asmodeus demoted Bel back to the ranks of the Dark Eight and made Zariel the new Archduchess.
• Bel has served “loyally” ever since.

What Bel Wants: To be restored as the Archduke of Avernus.

He’s unlikely to think that this will actually happen immediately as a result of the PCs’ actions, but if he sees a chance to discredit Zariel (losing Elturel would be a major embarrassment and setback for her) or simply distract and inconvenience her, he’ll take advantage of it.

Bel knows that Zariel deeply desires the Sword of Zariel, and so he would be interested in acquiring it as a future bargaining chip. If he becomes aware of its true properties (i.e., the spark of goodness inside it), he will become even more intrigued. He probably won’t take the idea of redemption seriously (such thoughts are anathema to the very nature of a devil), but he’s likely to perceive it as a potential weakness or Achilles’ heel for Zariel.

What Bel Offers:

• Deep knowledge of the metaphysics around Elturel’s doom. Bel controlled the Dock of Fallen Cities and was Gargauth’s first master (see Part 3B). His forge also oversaw the construction of the Solar Insidiator (aka the Companion) and knows that there are adamantine rods which can be used to open it which were lost when the flying fortress carrying them crashed.
• Bel has the power to personally sever the chains holding Elturel. (But knows this is only useful if the Bellandi pact has been undone.)
• He can create a gate back to the Material Plane.
• While he could join an open fight against Zariel (and prove invaluable in defeating her), he’s exceedingly unlikely to do so. Bel has an almost infinite reserve of patience and the ability to scheme in terms of centuries at a temporal scale almost beyond mortal comprehension. What he will do is obliquely suggest potential allies like Crokek’toeck and Kostchtchie.

TIAMAT

Tiamat is the Queen of Evil Dragons.

• She once ruled Avernus, but the evil dragons born of the vast spawning pits she created proved ineffective in the Blood War and Asmodeus deposed her. (This epoch of Avernus would have predated Gargauth’s rule by eons.)
• Tiamat remains imprisoned in Avernus; like devils, she is unable to journey to the Material Plane unless summoned. (Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes shares that some mortal scholars believe that Tiamat was imprisoned in Avernus due to a curse inflicted at the end of the dragon-giant wars. It’s possible that Tiamat came to Avernus hoping to raise draconic legions to aid her followers during the war; or perhaps she made a bargain with Asmodeus. Or this may be entirely mistaken and Tiamat’s involvement in the dragon-giant wars were actually those of an avatar, with her “curse” just being the banishment or destruction of her avatar.)
• During the Reckoning, Zariel and Tiamat were allied in the Siege of Dis. Towards the end of the Reckoning, Tiamat turned on Zariel and imprisoned her in her citadel. Zariel was eventually freed by Glasya during the events of the Rift War, after which Zariel became the Archduchess of Avernus.
• Zariel has forbidden Tiamat from leaving her citadel, which guards the entrance from Avernus to Dis (Hex C1).

What Tiamat Wants: To be free of Avernus.

• Tiamat herself has no interest in ruling Avernus (and being Asmodeus’ pawn). But a viable scheme that installs someone loyal to her (e.g. Arkhan) on the throne of Avernus is something she’d be interested in.
• There are actually a significant number of rituals which can free Tiamat (in either the short or long term). Most of these require one or more powerful artifacts. If the PCs can get their hands on one of these, Tiamat would readily bargain for it. (If your players haven’t done Tyranny of Dragons yet, for example, you might have them get one of the Dragon Masks, which Arkhan will see gets passed along to culists on the Material Plane, triggering the events of that campaign. Or, if they have played the campaign or you’re more of a stickler for strict continuity, perhaps they recover one of the Dragon Masks from wherever it was left at the end of Tyranny. Maybe they even need to go on a side quest to obtain it from one of their former PCs.)

What Tiamat Offers: Most or all of the PCs’ negotiations with Tiamat will likely happen through her emissary Arkhan.

• If the PCs have both copies of Bellandi’s pact, Tiamat’s fire could destroy them.
• Tiamat can sever the chains of Elturel.
• Most abishai are servants of Tiamat, giving her access to vast numbers of soldiers independent from the blood legions. (See p. 149 of Descent Into Avernus.)

GARGAUTH

Detailed notes for Gargauth are presented in Addendum: Playing Gargauth. Gargauth is different from the other factions presented here because he doesn’t really have an organization or base of power. However, his place in the chain of succession for the archdukes of Avernus (Tiamat through an unknown number of intermediaries to Gargauth to Bel to Zariel) is significant, and his relationships with the other factions may be both significant and insightful for the PCs. If freed from the Shield of the Hidden Lord, Gargauth is also a powerful entity in his own right who could help the PCs achieve many of their goals.

(Gargauth is also notable because the PCs might not bring him to Avernus at all, in which case he’ll play no role in this phase of the campaign. Which is just fine.)

What Gargauth Wants: Gargauth’s primary goal is being freed from the Shield of the Hidden Lord. He might accomplish that by convincing the PCs to help him; or he might pursue it by betraying them and continuing the pursuit of his bond to sacrifice cities to the Blood War.

Being restored as Archduke? Interesting, but he knows there’s no clear path to making that happen. (Although if Zariel were removed and he was in just the right place at the right time…?)

Becoming one of the Dark Eight? Also interesting, and perhaps far more plausible.

What Gargauth Offers: As noted, a freed Gargauth can help the PCs in a number of ways (killing Zariel, severing the chains holding Elturel, etc.). The trick is that this will only happen if he’s properly bound or motivated before being freed. If the PCs don’t dot the i’s and cross the t’s of any agreement with Gargauth before freeing him, he’ll just thank them sincerely, cackle at their naivete, and then disappear into the multiverse.

THE PURPLE CITY

Baron Tolmanen, Agamemnova Hex, and Lux Arakxis of the Purple City (Hex F2) exist as something of a midway point between the warlords of the Avernian plains and the powerful factions that rule Avernus: They are known to deal with both, their level of power and influence lies somewhere between them, and their ambitions would seek to propel them into the latter.

If Bel, Gargauth, and Tiamat are Those Who Would Be King, then these are Those Who Would Be Those Who Would Be King.

The Purple City can thus be a natural transition point in your campaign. When the PCs ask their warlord buddies about contacting Bel, they may be referred to the potentates of the Purple City to make the introductions. Conversely, if Tiamat becomes curious about who these new sword hunters are who have been stirring up trouble and are rumored to be traveling with Zariel’s celestial mount, then perhaps Arkhan will call in some old favors with Lux Arakxis to investigate the PCs (or kidap Lulu!).

What They Want: Power and wealth. Each of the three factions of the Purple City also seek advantage against the other two.

What They Offer: If you know the right people, the Purple City can be both a safe haven and a place to resupply in the unforgiving wilds of Avernus.

• Baron Tolmanen is a veteran of the blood legions and maintains contacts with many of his former comrades. (Perhaps some serve on Zariel’s flying fortress? Or in Bel’s honor guard?)
• The Archmagi of Thraxai are well-versed in infernal and arcane lore. They might even provide an alternative to Mad Maggie for recovering Lulu’s memories. (Perhaps they know how to build a dream machine? Or could similarly repair Maggie’s if it was stolen from her?)
• The March are infiltration specialists well-versed in the security systems of Hell. They also have a heartstone, one of the dream machine components.

Homework: If you’re interested in further expanding the infernal politics of the campaign, consider developing one or more of the Dark Eight. Zariel, of course, rose from their ranks, and they are constantly scheming and vying with each other for power and prestige.

Go to Part 7F-B: Demonic Powers

What do you do when your players run away from a scenario?

Why do players turtle up instead of pursuing the scenario hooks? Why do some players insist on running off to do their own thing?

Is any of this really a problem? And what can a GM do about it?

The new video pipeline I talked about last time, unfortunately, completely failed. The editing service I hired simply could not deliver usable video files. So I’m re-trenching and will be attempting to find a different editing solution to help streamline my editing process.

Then things got worse because Adobe Premiere updated and promptly started crashing my GPU. Adobe is in denial that the problem even exists, which is… fun.

I’m also looking into potentially buying new camera equipment. My current setup, for reasons I haven’t been able to diagnose, keeps glitching the video in long takes… and all my videos are long takes. With a different equipment I’ll probably be able to do more single-take videos, which will ALSO speed up the post-production time table.

In any case: Stop listening to me grouse about my production woes! Go enjoy the video!

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The PCs are given a map of Avernus while in Candlekeep (see Part 4C: At the Threshold of Hell). However, there are two key features missing from this map:

• The Dock of Fallen Cities
• Fort Knucklebones

This is a curious lack because these are, in fact, the first two locations that the PCs will need to navigate between when they leave Elturel.

The stated reason for these locations being missing from the map is so that the DM can place them “wherever they want.” But this doesn’t really make any sense. I suppose there is a kind of warped logic at work here, insofar as the only effect of all this will be to immediately convince the PCs that the map is worthless and navigation in Avernus is meaningless.

Insofar as we want navigation to be meaningful and the map to be useful, however, this is obviously an intolerable state of affairs.

Therefore, we have already placed the Dock of Fallen Cities and Fort Knucklebones in the Avernian hex key:

• Hex H3 – The Dock of Fallen Cities
• Hex I4 – Fort Knucklebones

The final step here is to modify the player’s map to also show these locations. To this end, you’ll find a graphical patch that can be applied to the map of Avernus below.

We’ve done this before to support our changes and additions to both Hellturel and Baldur’s Gate. As in those instances, the patch is a small section of the full map which can simply be overlaid the original image. (Reproducing the full map would not be fair use or ethical.)

You will find it easiest to apply the patch if you buy a digital copy of Jared Blando’s map from his online store. The patch has been presented at the same resolution as these high quality files, making it trivial to apply the patch using any photo editing software.

A FEW NOTES ON GEOGRAPHY

In order to place these locations in our hex key, I started by looking for a suitable location for Fort Knucklebones. There’s actually a group of unlabeled hills on the original map which seemed quite suitable.

I then decided to take the feature originally described as being the Stygian Dock, which lay appropriately near to Fort Knucklebones, and repurposed it as the Dock of Fallen Cities. (In the patch I have added several additional pillars and the images of sunken buildings.)

Having purloined the Stygian Dock’s original position on the map, I needed to find a new location for it. Locating it downriver from the Dock of Fallen Cities, I photoshopped in the appropriate features, using the illustration of the Stygian Dock located on p. 132 of Descent Into Avernus as a basic guide.

I hope you’ll be pleased with the results!

Go to the Avernus Remix

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The struggle for power in Avernus is eternal, and this struggle is not limited to the machinations of powerful dukes and archduchesses. In the Avernian wastelands, countless warlords squabble for territory, leading gangs riding infernal war machines.

In the area around the Dock of Fallen Cities, where Descent Into Avernus takes place, there are currently seven active, notable warlords. These warlords have been taken from the campaign book itself as well as the DMs Guild supplement Warlords of Avernus by Rodrigo Kuerten. The Warlord Reference, below, provides a comprehensive list and cross-references so that you can easily review and use the warlords.

There are several things that the PCs can gain from the warlords:

• Most importantly, information. Every warlord should be considered to know the location of at least one dream machine component. (Use Part 7I: Avernian Rumor Tables to determine what each warlord knows.) When asking other people about the components, the PCs should be frequently pointed towards either the warlords or their organizations (or both) as the “devils who know things” and might be able to help.
• Many of the warlords are mercenaries (or, at the very least, willing to fight if the price is right or the favor owed is great enough). They are potentially valuable allies whose force may be instrumental in the PCs carrying out various schemes.
• The warlords also have access to other resources. If the PCs decide that they need something, you can usually default to saying, “A warlord has it.” And then let them figure out how they’re going to get it.

Thematically, the warlords introduce the factional conflicts in Avernus into the campaign, mirroring the high-level faction politics of the plane which are likely to play a major role in how the campaign’s finale will play out and which will be detailed in Part 7F: Factions in Avernus. The Random Warlord Interaction Tables will help you portray their endless strife, and you should keep a few key ideas in mind:

• In order to get what they want from the warlords, the PCs will probably need to help them achieve their goals. (Many of these goals will be focused on jockeying for position with the other warlords.)
• The PCs cannot be friendly with every warlord. In fact, becoming friends with one will almost certainly mean making an enemy of at least one other (and more likely two or three). They can’t have their cake and it, too. They’ll need to make some hard choices about how they’re going to navigate the factional politics of the warlords (which will, in turn, help prepare them for the even more difficult choices they’ll make navigating the higher level politics of Avernus).

As the Avernian hexcrawl begins, make sure to establish the warlords early and often. The random encounter tables in Part 7H should help to make their presence pervasive, but make sure to have people mention them and talk about them, too.

Indicate early on that the warlords are a valuable source of information (for both the dream machine components and other aspects of the Avernian wastes). If the PCs are asking someone for information or about a particular resource and they don’t know anything, you’ll rarely go wrong having them suggest that a warlord might have what they need:

• A Nirvanan cogbox? Doesn’t ring a bell. But the Soul Collectors are always collecting junk like that.
• You want to blackmail Baron Tolmanen of the Purple City? Good luck with that! You know who might know something? Carol D’Vown. She knows all kinds of gossip.
• You need money? I heard Raggadragga is flush with soul coins and looking to hire some muscle. He’s been hanging around Fort Knucklebones of late.

You can just roll on the Random Warlord Table below and come up with a plausible suggestion. (It doesn;’t even necessarily need to be true.)

Finally, don’t just focus on the warlords. There’s a bias towards this in both Descent Into Avernus and Warlords of Avernus, but you’ll want to make a point of incorporating the members of their gangs into the campaign. Let the PCs bump into gang members throughout the wastes – whether at the Alvskraema caravanserai (Hex B2b), the Bloody Crescent (Hex D4), Fort Knucklebones (Hex I4), or just riding through the Ashlands. Being introduced to a gang through their common members will usually make the warlord seem more significant when the PCs get a chance to finally meet them.

Homework: Add a handful of specific gang members to each warlord’s gang. You probably don’t need more than 2-4, although you’re likely to end up adding more if the PCs begin interacting with a particular gang on a frequent basis.

WARLORD REFERENCE

ALGORAN: A tulgar who has founded a gladiatorial arena which hosts well-attended competitions.

• Gang: Soul Collectors
• Lair: Hex B6
• One of the three warlords (along with Kolasiah and Bitter Breath) whose lairs lie in the mountains ringing the Ashlands. Recently allied with them to wipe out Smiler’s Defilers (DIA, p. 133).
• Recently acquired a modron slave who has a Nirvanan cogbox.
• Primary Reference: Warlords of Avernus, p. 2

Hooks:

• Always interested in new slaves for the arena. The more exotic and dangerous, the better.
• Wants to issue a challenge to another warlord to bring their “champions” to a gladiatorial showdown and might want to send the PCs to bear the message. (There’s only a slight chance the message might send the other warlord into a rage.) This might be another warlord of the Ashlands (Kolasiah or Bitter Breath), or perhaps he’s looking for someone willing to make the longer journey to challenge Feonor or Princeps Kovik.

BITTER BREATH: Formerly a pit fiend named L’zeth, Bitter Breath was demoted to a horned devil by Zariel shortly after the Archduchess claimed the rulership of Avernus.

• Gang: Marauders
• Lair: Hex A6
• One of the three warlords (along with Kolasiah and Algoran) whose lairs lie in the mountains ringing the Ashlands. Recently allied with them to wipe out Smiler’s Defilers (DIA, p. 133).
• Collaborated with Bel in an effort to overthrow Zariel in the first days of her rule.
• Attacked the group escorting the befuddled Lulu to Celestia (resulting in the amnesiac Lulu escaping and finding her way back to the Material Plane, see Part 6D).
• Primary Reference: Descent Into Avernus, p. 90 & Bitter Rivals, p. 5

Hooks:

• Although Bel distanced himself from Bitter Breath after her fall, she may still be able to arrange introductions (either with Bel or those highly placed in his circle).
• Bitter Breath may remember her encounter with Lulu, and be willing to trade for that knowledge.
• Bitter Breath once sought Kostchtchie’s phylactery and knows that the Witch-Queen (Hex B3) has secret lore relating to it.

CAROL D’VOWN: An alchemist and technomancer. Her “gang” consists of infernal constructs she has made.

• Lair: Hex D2a
• In a relationship with Feonor, having met her at Mahadi’s Wandering Emporium years ago.
• Primary Reference: Warlords of Avernus, p. 4

Hooks:

• Always searching for a suitable gift to show her affection to Feonor.
• Wants a sample of tissue from the Bloody Cyst (Hex F4) for her experiments.
• Needs a specially crafted crucible of Baatorian steel. (There’s a mine in Hex E2 and the crucible might be forged by Uldrak in Hex D5.)
• Has a heartstone, which she uses in her alchemical experiments.

FEONOR: A powerful human necromancer who gives the gift of undeath to many of her followers.

• Gang: Golden Doom
• Lair: Hex I2
• In a relationship with Carol D’Vown. Previously in a relationship with Mahadi (of the Wandering Emporium).
• Has a number of amphibious infernal machines.
• Primary Reference: Descent Into Avernus, p. 91

Hooks:

• Lady Bladeharrow, Feonor’s undead devil forgemaster, needs barrels of dryad-wood. (The PCs might be able to find some for sale at Mahadi’s Emporium.)
• If anyone were to hurt Carol D’Vown, Feonor would be interested in identifying the guilty party (and then wreaking vengeance upon them).
• Feonor is always in the market for corpses, particularly unusual ones, to continue her studies.
• Lady Bladeharrow has a supply of Phlegethosian sand.

KOLASIAH, THE INFERNAL MEDUSA: A member of the Golgari Swarm, Kolasiah and her gang have come to Avernus from Ravnica seeking power.

• Gang: The Lost Golgari
• Lair: Hex A5
• One of the three warlords (along with Bitter Breath and Algoran) whose lairs lie in the mountains ringing the Ashlands. Recently allied with them to wipe out Smiler’s Defilers (DIA, p. 133).
• Primary Reference: Warlords of Avernus, p. 8

Hooks:

• Seeking a way of returning home.
• Would value any news of a powerful spellcaster not allied with Zariel.
• She believes (falsely?) that Feonor has access to an artifact capable of interplanar travel.
• Her lair’s forge contains a set of astral pistons.

PRINCEPS KOVIK: A princeps in the 8^th Infantry Legion. After the legion was devastated during the Blood War, the survivors went rogue under Kovik’s command.

• Gang: The Eighth Remnant
• Lair: Hex J5
• Hunted by Signifier Hraxioch’s cohort (Hex J6).
• Recently destroyed the lair of the Goreguts Gang (Hex J3).
• Primary Reference: Descent Into Avernus, p. 91

Hooks:

• Seeking to raise funds by selling weapons produced in the Kovik Fetterworks at Mahadi’s Wandering Emporium. Might be interested in caravan guards moving the weapons; or might even seek to have the PCs actually establish and run the emporium stall.
• Assassinating Signifier Hraxioch would be a good way to get in Kovik’s favor.

RAGGADRAGGA: A wereboar leading a gang of lycanthropes and lycanthropic devils.

• Gang: Goreguts
• Lair: Hex J3 (destroyed)
• The Goreguts got into a war with the Eighth Remnant and decisively lost; their lair was recently destroyed, leaving only a ragged band of survivors.
• Primary Reference: Descent Into Avernus, p. 87

Hooks:

• He’s actively seeking anyone with resources or skills who might help him rebuild the lair.
• He’s also looking for alternative locations for a lair (including the possibility of seizing one).
• He also would like to return to the lair long enough to bury his dead.
• He’d like to stage a raid on the 8^th Remnant’s lair (Hex J5) to steal back the infernal war machines they took from him.

Homework: You may find it useful to create an authoritative reference collecting all of the information for each warlord in one place. I can’t do that here because it exceeds the limits of fair use, but it would be relatively easy to do and will likely make it a lot easier to juggle the warlords in active play.

OTHER WARLORD SITES

Alvskraema Tavern (Hex B2b): Although it serves a wider clientele, it’s not unusual to find a cluster of infernal war machines from a warlord’s gang parked in the courtyard of the Alvskraema. Haskari’s weapons forge and Meltrus’ expertise in repairing war machines also draw gang-related clientele.

Bloody Crescent (Hex D4): An enormous rock shaped like a semicircle, providing a sort of half-pipe. The Warlords of Avernus use it for stunt duels on their infernal war-machines.

Uldrak’s Grave (Hex D5): A tinker’s shop that serves as a pit stop for infernal machines that need cheap repairs.

Ruins of a Warlord’s Lair (Hex F6): Once belonged to Jevvka of Osternia, a local gang that was wiped out by Bel.

Fort Knucklebones (Hex I4): A sort of Port Royal for the Avernian warlords where they come for supplies, recreation, and repairs.

RANDOM WARLORD INTERACTION TABLES

The warlords are constantly contending with each other for position, territory, resources, souls, and power. Based on Factions in the Dungeon, these interaction tables can be used to procedurally generate conflicts between the warlords.

RANDOM WARLORD TABLE: This table can be used to randomly determine one of the warlords.

d8	Warlord
1	Algoran
2	Bitter Breath
3	Carol D'Vown
4	Feonor
5	Kolasiah, the Infernal Medusa
6	Princeps Kovik
7	Raggadragga
8	Thalamra the Warlord Hunter

Note: Thalamra’s role as a warlord hunter is detailed in Part 7G: The Devils of Baldur’s Gate.

WARLORD CONFLICT CHECK: Each time the PCs either (a) interact with a warlord or their gang or (b) visit a “hub” (e.g. Fort Knucklebones, the Purple City, Alvskraema, etc.) there is a 1 in 4 chance that a conflict has occurred between the warlords. Roll twice on the Random Warlord Table to determine which two factions have come into conflict. (If you roll the same number twice, either re-roll twice to create a multi-factional conflict or assume some sort of civil strife.) Then roll on the Warlord Conflict Table below.

d20	Outcome
1-7	Stalemate/Skirmish
8-10	1 Faction Damaged
11-13	1 Faction Crippled
14-16	1 Faction Destroyed
17	Both Factions Damaged
18	Both Factions Crippled
19	Both Factions Destroyed
20	Factions Unite

Stalemate/Skirmish: The gangs are largely unaffected by the conflict. They may be on high alert, you may wish to subtract one or two members from their ranks, and/or their members may have recent injuries or new scars. The conflict may leave them ripe for alliances against their recent foes.

Faction Damaged: A damaged gang has suffered losses equal to roughly 25% of their strength.

Faction Crippled: A crippled gang has suffered losses equal to roughly 50% of their strength.

Faction Destroyed: A destroyed gang has been eliminated. Their lair may lie empty, be occupied by the other faction involved in the conflict, or restocked randomly. Their population has been killed, driven off, or enslaved.

Factions Unite: The two gangs have allied with each other. (Possibilities include: One of the leaders may have been killed. The alliance may be for a short-term goal. They might be using both of their lairs or have collectively moved into just one.)

Design Note: The pacing mechanics here have not be been playtested. You may need to finetune the frequency of events based on how things are playing out in your campaign: On the one hand, you don’t want stuff happening so quickly that the warlords are just utter chaos and the PCs can’t profitably get involved with them. But you also don’t want it so slow that nothing happens before the campaign is over. If all else fails, just trigger a warlord event whenever it feels right and use the random tables as inspiration for what’s happening when you need them.

INTERPRET RESULTS: Like a random encounter table, the output here is designed to be flexibly interpreted. The tables will broadly describe the effect of what happened, but you’ll need to figure out what actually happened.

For example, if you roll a conflict between D’Vown and the Golden Doom, that might indicate that the romantic tryst between D’Vown and Feonor has come to an acrimonious end. But it might also mean that Lady Bladeharrow has suborned Feonor’s undead and seized control of the Golden Doom, forcing her to flee to D’Vown’s lair (and loving arms) for sanctuary.

Remember that these tables are generating conflicts between the gangs, which may or may not include the actual warlords. Even mortal gangs can be quite fractious, and the underlings of Avernian war machine gangs often squabble with each other. It’s not unusual for these squabbles to escalate, creating predicaments that the warlords want nothing more than to extricate themselves from. (“Two devil gangs, both alike in dignity…”)

INTERSECT RESULTS: The last thing you need to do is figure out how these events will intersect the PCs. Stuff that happens completely offscreen and that the players never learn about might as well have never happened at all, so you need to figure out how these events impact the PCs. Common techniques include:

• Rumors. NPCs have heard news about what happened and are passing the story along. The rumors may or may not be completely accurate. (e.g, “Did you hear that Lady Bladeharrow killed Feonor and took over the Golden Doom?”)
• Encounters. The PCs have a wandering encounter related to the evolving events. (e.g., the next time they see Golden Doom riders they notice they have a new signet brand; or they encounter Feonor fleeing across the Avernian wastes being pursued by members of her former gang)
• Scenario hooks. The change in the status quo might generate new opportunities for the PCs. The most straightforward approach is to have one of the warlords involved in the conflict approach the PCs or post a job offer related to the conflict or its outcome. It takes slightly more effort to make the PCs aware of an opportunity that they might proactively pursue. Remember that the warlords are not above (attempted) press-ganging. (e.g., Feonor wants someone to assassinate Lady Bladeharrow or Lady Bladeharrow is in the market for a new necromancer to maintain the Golden Doom)

You don’t need to have these events intersect the PCs at the exact instant that the check is made. You have the flexibility to place the intersection at the place which makes the most sense or which is most dramatically effective.

Similarly, the conflict doesn’t have to be completely resolved at the moment that it intersects the PCs. (Even though you’ve technically generated an outcome, that outcome only needs to “stick” if the PCs don’t get involved and change the course of events.) There are few things more compelling than stumbling into the middle of a fight and needing to figure out what’s going on and what you want to do about it.

Keep an eye out for opportunities to explain how the actions of the PCs have either directly or indirectly affected (or created) the conflict. It’s a great way for the players to feel like the actions of their PCs are having an impact on the world around them (because they are).

Finally, don’t limit yourself to only thinking about the primary parties involved in the conflict. If Raggadragga manages to get his revenge on Princeps Kovik and cripples the 8^th Remnant, what effect does that have on the balance of power? With Kovik dealt with, what does Signifier Hraxioch of the 9^th Cohort (Hex J6) turn his attention to?

Go to Part 7F: Factions in Avernus