SPOILERS FOR CALL OF THE NETHERDEEP

Call of the Netherdeep is a campaign set in Exandria, the world of Critical Role created by Matthew Mercer.

I have virtually no knowledge of Critical Role.

I haven’t read the comic books or the tie-in novels. I haven’t watched the animated series. Of the original show itself, I’ve watched a number of clips, a couple of episodes, and Matthew Colville’s phenomenal recap of the Season 1 finale. (Which still brings tears to my eyes.)

I haven’t even had the time to dive into the Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount or the Tal’dorei Campaign Setting.

Nonetheless, Call of the Netherdeep is something that I’ve wanted Wizards of the Coast to do for awhile now: Release a sourcebook for a campaign world (e.g., Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount) and then support it with a full campaign book. (Ravnica, Theros, etc. They’d all be more useful with an accompanying campaign book.)

In any case, this review tackles Call of the Netherdeep on its own terms and only its own terms.

OVERVIEW

Call of the Netherdeep starts the PCs at 3^rd level (and eventually wraps up as they hit 12^th level). Things kick off in the coastal village of Jigow, where the PCs have arrived just in time to enjoy the Festival of Merit. While enjoying the festival games, they fall into rivalry with another group of adventurers who are also competing. As the festival draws to a close, both groups race through the Emerald Grotto, an underwater obstacle course, in order to claim a magical spear that has been stuck into the side of a shark.

When the shark is killed, its death throes knock open an underwater temple that has been lost since the time of the Calamity (a semi-legendary apocalypse). Inside the temple, either the PCs or their rivals claim the Jewel of Three Prayers, an artifact which once belonged to Alyxion the Apotheon.

The PCs are then sent to Bazzoxan, a small city that was built around Betrayers’ Rise, a huge temple complex dedicated to the Betrayer Gods and squatting atop a vast dungeon. The Rise had been abandoned since the Calamity, but would-be explorers delved too deep and awoke Abyssal portals. Bazzoxan is now a military compound — the front line in a war against demons and abominations streaming up from below.

While in Bazzoxan, the PCs will run into scholars belonging to three different factions from the distant city of Ank’Harel who have come to Bazzoxan because [SPOILERS FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER, TELL THE PLAYERS NOTHING]. Heading into the depths of Betrayers’ Rise themselves, the PCs discover another temple that adds extra magical mojo to the Jewel of Three Prayers.

Following one or more of the scholars back to Ank’Harel, the PCs join their faction. After completing a series of faction missions, the PCs are eventually granted access to the ruins of Cael Morrow, a city which was destroyed during the Calamity and now lies sunken below an underground sea beneath Ank’Harel.

Within Cael Morrow, the PCs eventually discover (and enter) the transdimensional prison in which Alyxion the Apotheon has been held since his “death” during the Calamity. Within this prison, the PCs explore manifestations of Alyxion’s memories, learning the true story of what happen to him. In short:

• He was born under the red moon of Ruidus, which is considered bad luck.
• He entire life was, in fact, an endless string of bad luck.
• During the Calamity he prayed to the gods three times for assistance to save those in peril, and three times the gods answered his prayer (creating the Jewel of Three Prayers).
• When Gruumsh attempted to destroy all life on the continent of Marquet with a single blow of his spear, the Apotheon countered the blow with his semi-divine power. Cael Morrow was destroyed, but the rest of the continent was spared.
• The fury of Gruumsh’s blow, combined with Alyxion’s parry and the destruction of Cael Morrow, ripped open an interdimensional space into which the strange energies of Ruidus flowed. This was the Netherdeep, and it became Alyxion’s prison.

Recently the Netherdeep has been leaking, its strange energies escaping in the form of ruidium – a reddish crystal that is both immensely powerful and also corrupting. The PCs have been encountering ruidium since the beginning of the campaign, and it turns out the factions in Ank’Harel want access to its source so that they can either exploit it or destroy it (depending on their individual agendas).

At the campaign’s finale, the PCs confront the Alyxion in three different forms, ultimately deciding whether to kill the Apotheon, redeem him, or unleash him. A decision which will have consequences for all of Exandria.

THE RIVALS

So if we strip away the Critical Role tie-in, what’s the log line for Call of the Netherdeep? What’s the pitch? Why would you pick this campaign over any other campaign?

Well, as you can see from the summary, this is an epic adventure: From humble beginnings, the PCs journey across vast distances to save the world.

There are, of course, any number of such campaigns, but Call of the Netherdeep is a well-formed one. The transition from the gothic depths of Betrayers’ Rise directly to the sun-drenched streets of Ank’Harel, for example, is beautifully vivid, and speaks to the varied and richly realized milestones in the PCs’ journey. The underwater themes of the adventure — in the Emerald Grotto, Cael Morrow, and the Netherdeep —  also give it a distinctive flair.

But Call of the Netherdeep’s truly unique calling card is the Rivals: Five NPCs who form their own adventuring party and dog the PCs’ heels throughout the campaign.

So my elevator pitch for Call of the Netherdeep would be:

It’s an epic adventure, like the Lord of the Rings. But you have a group of rivals who are competing with you for glory.

The best thing about the Rivals are the rivals themselves: Ayo Jabe, Dermot Wurder, Galsariad Ardyth, Irvan Wastewalker, and Maggie Keeneyes. Each is given a great backstory and strong personality, which are then expertly presented in three or four paragraph briefings. Each is also given an individual goal to pursue.

The result is very easy to pick up and play, with lots of varied opportunities for cool interactions. In fact, if you paired these up with character sheets, you’d have a great party of pregenerated PCs, which speaks to just how solid these characters are.

The Rivals are then given a really great introduction, being individually introduced during the festival games in Jigow, so that the players have a chance to form one-on-one relationships with them (instead of the Rivals just becoming an undifferentiated mob).

Unfortunately, in practice, the Rivals are then marred (possibly crippled) by the adventure’s execution.

The core problem is that the campaign is railroaded. Or, more accurately, that it’s railroaded badly. We’ll discuss this in more detail momentarily, but as far as the Rivals are concerned, this railroading hamstrings their ability to actually have a rivalry. A rivalry generally requires you and your rival to be in competition to achieve a common goal and/or to demonstrate your superiority in a field of endeavor.

But like most bad railroads, Call of the Netherdeep (a) scripts predetermined outcomes and (b) struggles with presenting a clear, actionable agenda.

So the rivalry largely works at the beginning of the campaign — when the PCs and the Rivals are both clearly aimed at winning the Emerald Grotto race — but then rapidly falls apart. You can’t race to achieve a goal before your rivals do when the campaign has failed to define what your goal is. Nor can you meaningfully race someone if they’re scripted to show up in the next cutscene.

The other major problem is that the relationship between the Rivals and the PCs is defined entirely by attitude: The Rivals are Friendly, Indifferent, or Hostile.

This gauge is basically designed to produce fail-states in the rivalry.

If the Rivals are Hostile, for example, they are constantly framed up to either:

• try to steal the magical artifact from the PCs; and/or
• attack the PCs and try to kill them.

In my experience, there are two Unforgivable Sins that an NPC can commit:

1. They can kill a PC’s pet.
2. They can steal the PC’s shit.

Anything else (even assassination attempts) can probably be forgiven, but if an NPC does either of these things? The PCs will never forgive them and will almost certainly kill them on sight.

So if the Rivals go Hostile, the overwhelmingly likely outcome is that the PCs will kill them very early in the campaign. And then, obviously, no more rivalry.

On the other hand, if the Rivals go Friendly, the logical outcome is that they’ll offer to work with the PCs. As Call of the Netherdeep says:

If [Ayo Jabe] gets the sense that the characters have stumbled onto something big, her eyes grow wide. She decides that she and her group want a piece of the action and proposes that they travel with the characters, saying that there’s safety in numbers. A character makes a successful DC 13 Wisdom (Insight) check realizes that she isn’t hiding anything and wants nothing more than to be part of a grand adventure.

It seems rather likely that the PCs will agree with Ayo Jabe’s logic… and now you have five GMPCs to deal with.

This, honestly, feels like a huge headache to me. Even running one NPC companion can create issues with spotlight time and bias (perceived and actual), as I discuss in more detail here. But the really big problem is combat balance: Running 5^th Edition D&D for a group of ten PCs is infamously difficult because the action economy means results in any encounter with a small number of opponents (one or two or three) just getting absolutely curb-stomped.

Crucially, Call of the Netherdeep is not designed for this: The encounters are neither CR-balanced for ten party members, nor are they designed for large groups. Betrayers’ Rise, for example, is made up entirely of encounters with 1-3 opponents, and will be absolutely steamrolled if the PCs and Rivals have teamed up.

The campaign clearly knows it has a problem here, so — even though it explicitly mentions that Ayo Jabe will offer to work with the PCs — it just silently assumes that the PCs won’t do that.

Problem solved, right?

No.

Rather the opposite, actually, because the book, as part of its bad railroading, just blithely includes multiple pre-scripted scenes which assume that the Rivals are definitely not working with the PCs.

This is actually something that Call of the Netherdeep does quite often, and it’s honestly kind of bizarre: An NPC will approach the PCs, offer to work with them… and then the book just assumes that they don’t do that.

Maybe the authors have just literally never had players willing to work with NPCs before?

Regardless, the result is badly broken.

To sum up: The Rivals are incredibly cool. But if you run them the way the book tells you to, then somewhere around Chapter 2 they will end up either:

• dead;
• no longer rivals of the PCs; and/or
• breaking the campaign.

I think we can mark this down as “rough around the edges.”

Go to Part 2: The Dungeons

Go to Part 1

Aggah-Shan’s guards regularly patrol this level. There are 10 guards in total.

• A patrol of 1d2+1 guards cycle through Areas 18, 17, 20, 21, 22, and 19. (They move to a new area every 2d6 rounds.)
• The remaining guards are generally resting Area 21.

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AGGAH-SHAN’S GUARD

Medium undead, lawful evil

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Armor Class 16 (natural)

Hit Points 112 (15d8+45)

Speed 30 ft.

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STR 18 (+4), DEX 15 (+2), CON 16 (+3), INT 10 (+0), WIS 15 (+2), CHA 12 (+1)

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Saving Throws Str +7, Dex +5, Con +6

Skills Athletics +10, Intimidation +5

Damage Immunities poison

Condition Immunities poisoned, exhaustion

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12

Languages Giant

Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

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Slavish. The guard has advantage on saving throws against being frightened, charmed, or turned.

ACTIONS

Multiattack. The guard makes three attacks with its necromantic mace.

Necromantic Mace. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. Hit: 8 (1d6+4) bludgeoning damage and 7 (2d6) necrotic damage

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Aggah-Shan’s guard are undead warriors, wrapped in brown funerary linens and wearing crimson-red Anubian helms. Through the jackal’s mouth their skull can be seen, with red flames in their eyesockets. Each wields a top-heavy mace which crackles with purplish necrotic energy. They carry large, copper shields in the shape of a beetle’s wings.

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AREA 16 – THE OTHER THRONE OF IRON

A throne of black iron and gray stone sits in the middle of a blue-tiled room. The ceiling is painted with roiling flames.

TELEPORTATION THRONES: Characters using the throne in Area 12 to teleport arrive on the identical throne in this area, and vice versa.

SECRET DOOR: DC 30 Intelligence (Investigation) check to detect. The door is not trapped, but opening it releases the permanent wail of the banshee in Area 23 so that it can also be heard by characters in Area 16.

• Listening at the Door: DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check can faintly detect the wail. Hearing the wail in this way, however, inflicts 3d6 necrotic damage (DC 15 Constitution saving throw for half damage).
• Wail of the Banshee: The wail has no effect on constructs or undead. All other creatures who hear the wail are afflicted by a powerful death magic and must succeed on a DC 25 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, a creature with less than 100 hit points instantly drops to 0 hit points. Creatures not reduced to 0 hit points instead stuffer 9d8+50 necrotic damage (or half damage on a successful save).
• Dispel magic will suppress the wail for 1d4 x 10 minutes.

AREA 17 – THE HALL OF SCENTED SMOKES

A dozen magical braziers line the length of this hall. Lighting any one of them causes all of them to alight, filling the room with colorful smokes carrying pleasant scents.

AREA 18 – LEY-LACED STATUE

A classical statue of a bare-chested archer bending his bow back, his foot placed upon the breast of a maiden who lies nude at his feet. Thick, blue-black veins run through the marble.

INTELLIGENCE (ARCANA) – DC 16: The statue is carved from ley-laced marble. This statue acts as a pearl of power that can be used up to four times per day. It is currently keyed to an adamantine arrow which fits into the archer’s bow (and is currently either in Area 15 or carried by Aggah-Shan).

LEY-LACED MARBLE

Ley-laced marble is a naturally occurring stone. During the metamorphic processes which form the marble, ley-energy permeates the impurities lacing the sedimentary rocks. The resulting marble (which is usually found on or near ley lines) is possessed of properties similar to a pearl of power. (In fact, it’s hypothesized that pearls of power were created by reverse-engineering ley-laced marble.)

Unlike pearls of power, however, ley-laced marble is not particularly efficient in its retention of magical energy. In addition to being difficult to excavate from the ground, ley-laced marble must be maintained in such large chunks in order to maintain its properties that it is rarely if ever portable in any true sense of the word.

However, rites have been perfected which allow a piece of ley-laced marble to be keyed to a specific object. Anyone carrying the keyed object can access the powers of the ley-laced marble at a distance of 1 mile per character level.

AREA 19 – HALL OF GILDED SKULLS

Six skulls gilded in gold sit on cushions placed atop marble pillars. Two pillars stand empty.

SKULLS: Each skull has a named burned into its dome — Verana, Elmchaea, Enel, Siust, Atath, and Mosdyna.

DM Background: These skulls belonged to Aggah-Shan’s enemies.

AREA 20 – AGGAH-SHAN’S LIBRARY

Most of the volumes in this library reveal a mind consumed with a strange, compulsive disorder: Gambling odds calculated, recalculated, and then calculated again. Written out at great length in varied tabular arrangements — vast expanses of endless tabulated data.

AGGAH-SHAN’S SPELLBOOK: But this library is also home to Aggah-Shan’s Spellbook. The book is designed to be opened by placing Aggah-Shan’s bony finger into the skull-faced keyhole on the cover. If any other finger is placed in that keyhole or if someone attempts to force the book open, it triggers a prismatic spray trap (DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation) to detect; DC 14 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools) to disable; DC 20 Dexterity saving throw if triggered).

BOOK OF MRATHRACH: The library also contains the Book of Mrathrach (a chaos lorebook).

BOOK OF MRATHRACH

In those days when the Masters of Chaos still stirred and the echoes of their spirits were manifest within the Temples of the Screaming Dead tended by the midnight priests of the Earthbound Demons, there walked upon this earth the Man who would have made demons of all men; who would have immanentized the mortal flesh in eschatonic blood.

This book tells the bloody tale of Mrathrach. It purports to be a reconstruction of an ancient verse epic, although the passages of verse preserved within its pages are broken and irregular (although somehow beating with a primal pulse when read aloud).

Mrathrach was a warlord in the demon armies which “fought black-backed against that oily light of piety’s tyrannicies.” His faith to his master, “the Duke Gellasatrac,” is lauded and entire passages are given over to describing the great deeds of martial honor and the bloody human sacrifices he offered to Gellasatrac’s glory.

But when the war turns against the demon armies, the poem becomes an elegiacal transformation of the strife of conflicted duty. In the end, it describes how Mrathrach agreed to betray Gellasatrac to “the greater glory of the Masters and the presecient schismed schemes of the Shallamoth.”

And he drank of the Black Blood, the Holy Gift of Gellasatrac. So Mrathrach became the First of the Vested — vested in the trust of his masters; vested in their power; vested in their fate. The first quenching by which the bands of power would be forged.

AGGAH-SHAN’S SPELLBOOK

Spells marked with * are from the Ptolus sourcebook.

CANTRIPS: chill touch, shocking grasp

1^st LEVEL: burning hands, charm person, color spray, detect chaositech*, detect evil and good, dissonant whispers, endure elements, expeditious retreat, feather fall, fog cloud, grease, jump, mage armor, magic missile, shield, silent image, sleep, Tenser’s floating disk, unseen servant

2^nd LEVEL: aid from the future*, alter self, arcane lock, blindness/deafness, blur, darkvision, enlarge/reduce, flaming sphere, invisibility, levitate, mirror image, ray of enfeeblement, rope trick, see invisibility, spider climb, suggestion

3^rd LEVEL: blink, conjure animals, fly, gaseous form, haste, hold person, hypnotic pattern, Leomund’s tiny hut, lightning bolt, magic circle, slow, tongues

4^th LEVEL: banishment, confusion, conjure minor elementals, polymorph, stoneshape, stoneskin, wall of fire

5^th LEVEL: animate necrosis*, animate objects, cloudkill, contact other plane, divinatory expungement*, enervation, mislead, wall of stone

6^th LEVEL: chain lightning, create undead, disintegrate, eyebite, flesh to stone, move earth, teleport trace

7^th LEVEL: month of Vallis*, prismatic spray, teleport

AREA 21 – AGGAH-SHAN’S GUARD

1d8+2 of Aggah-Shan’s necromantic guards can be found here. (There are 10 total. The others are patrolling this level, as described above.)

AREA 22 – THE FALSE PHYLACTERY

BATH: The southern end of this chamber is a bath made of black marble with two silver dragon heads looking out over the room.

PRISMATIC CUBE: Levitating in the center of the room is a set of double-layered prismatic wall spells forming a cube.

FALSE PHYLACTERY: Within the prismatic cube is a hollow mithril statue in the shape of a man lying on a cushion of blue velvet. A heart-shaped trapdoor on the statue’s chest can be opened, revealing adamantine wires which have been welded to various points within the statue and then bound together into a very specific and cleverly-woven knot. The statue has an arcanist’s magic aura placed upon it to make it appear to be a lich’s phylactery (but it is not).

AREA 23 – TRAPPED HALL

Beyond the secret door in Area 16, a short hallway leads to Area 24.

WAIL OF THE BANSHEE: This area is filled with a permanent wail of the banshee. The wail has no effect on constructs or undead. All other creatures who hear the wail are afflicted by a powerful death magic and must succeed on a DC 25 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, a creature with less than 100 hit points instantly drops to 0 hit points. Creatures not reduced to 0 hit points instead stuffer 9d8+50 necrotic damage (or half damage on a successful save).

• Dispel magic will suppress the wail for 1d4 x 10 minutes.

TRAP – CRUSHING WALL: In addition to the wail, this area also has a pressure plate in front of the door to Area 24) that triggers a crushing wall trap (affecting everyone in the hall).

• Mechanical trap
• DC 17 Intelligence (Investigation) to detect the trap.
• DC 22 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools) to disable the trap.

DOOR TO AREA 24: The door is also trapped. Anyone touching the door triggers an incendiary cloud (that lasts for 1 minute, moving into Area 16).

• Magical trap
• DC 17 Intelligence (Investigation) to detect the trap.
• DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) to identify the spell effect.
• DC 20 Dexterity saving throw for half damage.

AREA 24 – TRUE PHYLACTERY

PRISMATIC CUBE: Levitating in the center of this room is a set of double-layered prismatic wall spells forming a prismatic cube. Inside the cube if a forcecage.

TRUE PHYLACTERY: Within the forcecage is a sphere of adamantine (4-in. thick). Within the sphere are three humanoid figures of taurum (the true gold which makes common gold naught but a bauble), each inscribed with a single rune upon its chest.

Destroying the figurines destroys Aggah-Shan’s phylactery.

Go to Part 3: The Mrathrach Machine

Go to Table of Contents

This detailed key for the Poisoned Poseidon, was created by Tominar. It’s designed to be used in conjunction with the maps and adversary roster from the Remix. “The area numbers are keyed to the drawn map of the Poisoned Poseidon, but it should be fairly easy to match them up.”

CULTISTS

NPCs from the adversary roster are expanded here, including names, loot, and some descriptions.

Iron Consul – Fahul: Wears a cloak that has the symbol of Bane on the reverse side.

Master of Souls – Remigio: Has the keys to his quarters (Area 3).

Necromites: Each carries a pouch containing 2d6 silver.

THE POISONED POSEIDON

As the PCs approach the location, read the following:

The port is busy with people, porters carrying goods, horses towing boats up the canals and many people. Most of them dressed poorly and looking dejected. You see a man whispering to a group of refugees, pocketing a few coins and them pointing them to the north side of the harbour. As you make your way towards the tannery district, the smell of excrement, lye and rotting flesh assaults your noses. You see a large ship, sunken into the muddy ground and supported by a number of wooden beams. On the side of the ship, painted in flaking red letters reads – the Poisoned Poseidon.

1. THE MAIN DECK

The main deck is generally kept clear, but there might be a stack of tanned hides ready for sale. A crane has been installed on the poop deck that is used to raise and lower heavy material from street level. The ship stinks of lye, excrement and rot. As you look around the deck you see some stacks of tanned hides ready for sale. To the front of the ship there is a set of double doors, and to the rear there are two single doors. There is also a staircase that descends into the lower levels of the ship.

Standing on the deck are a heavily built man sitting on a barrel under the centre mast, as well as two men and a woman playing dice on the fore deck. Every so often someone comes up the stairs to pick up or drop off a some materials.

2. WORKER’S SLEEPING QUARTERS

Six bedrolls are haphazardly placed around the room. The bedrolls are empty of valuables but hidden in a pot is a mother of pearl comb worth 25gp.

3. REMIGIO’S QUARTERS

The door to these quarters is locked at all times – DC 12 Thieves’ Tools check or DC 14 Strength check. Remigio keeps the keys to his cabin and his desk on him at all time.

There is a made bed, a large deerskin rug and a desk.

Desk: On the desk are a number of writing materials and an emblem depicting a white skull inset into a black triangle (DC 13 Intelligence (Religion) check to identify this as the symbol of Myrkul, the Lord of Bones and the God of Death). Similar depictions are roughly carved all over the desk. The desk also has two locked drawers.

Desk Drawers (DC 14 Thieves’ Tools check or DC 14 Strength Check): One drawer contains a number of letters (Handout: Poseidon’s Correspondence). The other drawer contains a coin pouch container 35gp, 40sp and an onyx worth 30gp. It also contains three red potions (potions of healing).

4. MEETING ROOM

The door to this room is unlocked. Opening this door reveals an unlit room, with a large table surrounded by chairs in the center. The area around the head of the table is covered in roughly carved symbols of a skull in a triangle. DC 20 Intelligence (Religion) check to identify as the symbol of Myrkul.

5. THE LOWER DECK

Most of the lower deck is used to store the untreated skins of slaughtered cattle that are delivered to the tannery, along with the blood, dirt, manure, hooves, and horns that come with them. The floor is dirty, the stench of excrement and rot is stronger in here. There are crates and barrels stacked around the room, and another set of stairs going down. At the aft of the ship you see four closed doors, in a U–shape, and to the fore, are two doors.

6. SHRINES

In this cabin there are three small shrines. A symbol showing a white skull set into a black triangle is decorated with black candles, one is lit with a green flame. Another shrine depicts a black hand, under which are three daggers driven into the wood of the counter. The third shrine depicts a skull surrounded by 9 red droplets in a circle. This shrine is clean but lacks any offerings.

7. ARMOURY

This cabin has three small racks against the walls that contain an assortment of weapons. There is an assortment of mundane weapons – 5 daggers, 3 shortswords, 3 maces, 1 war hammer and 1 whip.

8. MURDER SQUAD QUARTERS

These cabins each contain a bed. During the day three of the cabins contain the remaining members of the murder squad resting. They wake up and investigate if any loud noises are heard on this deck or the deck above. Each cabin also contains a footlocker containing a set of commoner’s clothes, a set of cultist robes (necromites) and 1d6 gp and 3d8 sp.

9. HOLD

The hold of the ship is filled with barrels, crates and stacked pieces of leather. The area is lit with covered lanterns and appears to be empty. To the north and south you see sets of double doors. An incredibly strong scent of urine can be detected to the south. There is also another staircase going further down, into an unlit area.

10. TREATMENT ROOM

If the doors are listened at: You can hear the sound of metal rasping on leather, and occasionally two voices talking to each other.

Hanging on the walls are a collection of curved knives similar to the ones the workers are using.

There are two tanners working on removing hair from the soaked hides. If they notice the party, they ask what they’re doing here. They will accept most explanations, cower and shout out if attacked. If left without an explanation they will go and warn either Remigio below, or Fahul above.

11. VATS

If the doors are listened at: You can hear the sound of liquids splashing, and occasionally two voices talking to each other.

In this room are two tanners soaking hides in three large vats, wearing pegs on their noses. If they notice the party, they ask what they are doing here. They will accept most explanations, cower and shout out if attacked. If left without an explanation they will go and warn either Remigio below, or Fahul above.

12. LOWER HOLD

This level is dark, damp and unlit. The floor is made of packed earth that is turned to wet mud in places. Dotted around the place are a few rotted barrels, from which a blue liquid has leaked out and dried. To the south, you see a set of double doors.

If listened at doors: You see a faint, flickering green light through the gap in the doors. Daytime: You can hear a faint humming coming from beyond the doors.

13. SURGERY TABLE

In the center of the room sits a large table. On top of which lays the corpse of a naked middle-aged woman. A man in black robes stands hunched over the corpse with his back towards you. He seems to be moving his hands while humming. Beside him is a small table containing a disturbing variety of surgical instruments and three brands (each with a holy symbol of the Dead Three). On another table across from him sits a bundle of clothes and other personal effects. At the opposite end of the room, through the broken hull of the ship, there is another set of doors.

Among the surgical equipment can be found the Poseidon Papers, and among the belongings can be found Shohreh Netitia’s Refugee Papers.

Unless the players have been particularly loud, Remigio doesn’t notice them until they bring attention to themselves.

Refugee Papers: A DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) test reveals the papers to be forgeries. The forgery can also be detected if the PCs look to verify the origin of the papers (for example, by cross-referencing the refugee lists in the High Hall; or tracking down the official tabularius whose authorizing seal supposedly appears on the papers).

14. CATACOMBS

A tunnel has been carved out of the earth, supported by wooden struts embedded in the wall. Niches that are stacked with urine-soaked skins line the walls ahead.

15. PRISONS

Prison A – To the north is an alcove lit by a flickering lamp. A man and a woman in chainmail are sitting at a table playing five finger fillet. Two iron doors are set into the walls near them.

East Cell – Locked (DC 15 Thieves Tool, DC 20 Strength). Inside lies Reya Mantlemorn, unconscious. Reya is a Hellrider (DC 10 History/Insight for Harry to recognise and vice versa). She snuck into the city with some of the early refugees. One of the refugees in her group turned up dead a week ago (Wemba Oshrat). Reya started investigating – and was jumped.

North Cell – Unlocked. Reya’s gear is in here.

What Reya Knows: Most of the people who have gone missing were refugees. Remigio wanted to know about other Hellriders and Knights of the Companion in the city. Was out of Elturel on patrols when it happened – then escorted some refugees to Baldurs Gate. Knows that some refugees are entering the city with forged papers – doesn’t know where they get them from and will only bring this up if specifically asked. If the players seem honourable, then she will ask to join them.

Prison B – One cell is empty. The other has the body of a Flaming Fist spy (male, dark skin, shaved head) who was trying to infiltrate the Dead Three. The body is dressed in robes similar to the cultists upstairs and carved into his forehead is the emblem of the Flaming Fist. With him is a pack containing a red potion (healing), a vial containing an eyeball floating in a yellowish liquid (potion of clairvoyance). There is also a Flaming Fist badge and 15gp.

Go to Part 1

AREA 10 – LOWER ANTECHAMBER

A chamber of white, blue-veined marble. The walls, floor, and ceiling are lightly rimed with frost.

There are 6 wights (MM, p. 300), 2 ghasts (MM, p.), and 2 frostbanes.

DOOR TRAP: Any living creature touching the door leading to the hallway triggers a cloudkill that fills the room for 10 minutes.

• Magical trap
• DC 16 Intelligence (Investigation) to detect.
• DC 16 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools) to disable.

AREA 11 – GORGON GUARDS

The walls and ceiling of this chamber are painted sky blue with blood-red clouds.

Standing guard upon a pair of double doors crafted from glistening ebony are 2 gorgons (MM, p. 171).

AREA 12 – THE IRON THRONE

A long red carpet leads up to a small dais on which sits a throne of stone and iron.

THRONE: The throne is designed to teleport its user to Area 16 (in Aggah-Shan’s Sanctum). To operate the throne, the user must strap themselves into it. During the teleport, carefully positioned spikes sprout from the chair, inflicting 20d6 points of damage (no save). (The spikes pass harmlessly through a skeletal figure.)

• Mechanical trap
• DC 11 Intelligence (Investigation) to identify the trap.
• DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana) identifies the teleport properties of the throne.
• DC 20 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools) to disable the spikes (but this also disables the teleport effect).

TELEPORT TRACE: Aggah-Shan has blocked divinations leading to his sanctuary, but if he has recently used the chair (25% chance) a teleport trace or similar effect will reveal the chair’s destination.

AREA 13 – ADAMANTINE SKELETONS

The vault (Area 14) is guarded by 4 adamantine ettin skeletons.

VAULT DOOR (10-in. iron): AC 19, 300 hp, DC 24 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools)

ADAMANTINE ETTIN SKELETON

Large undead, lawful evil

---

Armor Class 14 (natural)

Hit Points 85 (10d10+30)

Speed 40 ft.

---

STR 21 (+5), DEX 10 (+0), CON 17 (+3), INT 2 (-4), WIS 10 (+0), CHA 4 (-3)

---

Skills Perception +4

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14

Damage Immunities poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren’t adamantine; critical hits become normal hits

Condition Immunities poisoned, exhaustion; can’t be poisoned

Languages Giant, Orc (can’t speak, but can understand)

Challenge 5 (1,100 XP)

Proficiency Bonus: +2

---

Two Heads. The ettin skeleton has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks and on saving throws against being blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, stunned, and knocked unconscious.

ACTIONS

Multiattack. The ettin skeleton makes two adamantine claw attacks.

Adamantine Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8+5) slashing damage. This counts as an attack with an adamantine weapon, automatically dealing a critical hit to objects.

AREA 14 – FALSE VAULT

This outer vault contains:

• 3,113 gp
• amber gold earring (525 gp)
• ceremonial electrum dagger with star ruby pommel (930 gp)
• death mask of beaten gold (85 gp)
• gold medallion with black opal gemstone (1,500 gp)
• golden sphere (75 gp)
• heavy wrought gold bracelet (650 gp)
• beaded headdress (100 gp)
• ornamental silver skullcap, inclaid with runes and a moonstone set above the brow (315 gp)
• small gold statuette of a maiden on a unicorn (175 gp)
• potion of restoration
• heavy crossbow +2
• dagger +1

Playtest Tip: There are two reasons for the specificity in Aggah-Shan’s vaults. First, it makes looting the place cooler than just “you find 4,355 gp in jewelry.” Second, because Aggah-Shan isn’t on site, the likely outcome of any heist here is that he — and his organization — will be looking for the PCs. Each item can be targeted by divinations. Each item the PCs fence can be traced. Each item gives a vector for continuing the scenario by other means.

SECRET DOOR: DC 25 Intelligence (Investigation). Panel slides away to reveal a second vault door. Moving the panel without applying pressure to the correct sections triggers a trap. A gemstone inset on the vault door shoots out 1d4+1 beams of purple-black energy, targeting any characters in line of sight (starting with those closest).

• Magical trap
• Melee Spell Attack: +12 to hit, one creature. Hit: Life drain, dealing 10d10 necrotic damage. The target must succed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or its hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the damage taken. This reduction lasts until the creature finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.

VAULT DOOR (10-in. iron): AC 19, 300 hp, DC 24 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools).

AREA 15 – TRUE VAULT

The inner vault contains:

• 1,000 pp, 4,300 gp, 8,765 sp
• Gems: violet apatite (50 gp), graveyard plume agate with white flames (60 gp), block of green jade (125 gp), rusteen (210 gp), 25 peach sunstones (10 gp each), 25 red sunstones (10 gp each)
• Potions: giant strength, healing, endure elements (x2), enlarge, magic weapon, spider climb
• Scrolls: alter self, levitate, blur, jump, mage armor, minor illusion, shield, mirror image, charm person, conjure animals, summon fey
• horn of goodness/evil (wrought from a bicorn’s fluted horn of white and black)
• horn of Valhalla (this specific horn is tied to the ancestors of the Grey Mountain barbarians who are marching on Ptolus, see Night of Dissolution, p. 5)
• horn of silence (advantage on saving throws against sonic effects when held; 1/day create silence spell that can be dismissed with a second blow; 1/day create the effect of a shatter spell)
• (75% chance) adamantine arrow keyed to the ley-laced marble statue in Area 18. (If it’s not here, then Aggah-Shan has it.)
• Book of Lesser Chaos and Book of Greater Chaos

HORN OF GOODNESS/EVIL

This trumpet adapts itself to its owner, so it produces either a good or an evil effect depending on its owner’s alignment. If the owner is neither good nor evil, the horn has no power whatsoever. When the horn is blown, it produces the effects of a magic circle spell. If the owner is good, they can choose for the circle to be effective against fiends or the undead. If the owner is evil, they can choose for the circle to be effective against celestials. The horn can be blown once per day.

Go to Part 2D: Aggah-Shan’s Sanctum

Go to Part 1

AREA 1 – ILLUSORY WALL

The stairs from the White House bottom out into a small room with an iron chest.

ILLUSORY WALL: The wall immediately to the north of the stairs is illusory, created with a major image spell (cast using a 6^th level spell slot to make it permanent). A DC 21 Intelligence (Investigation) is required to discern the illusion for what it is.

WIGHTS (12): There are 12 wights (MM, p. 300) behind the illusory wall. They attack when the trap on the iron chest is activated (they can see through the wall without any problems) or if anyone passes through the wall.

IRON CHEST: Empty. It is locked (DC 13) and trapped. (DC 18 to detect). Anyone touching the chest must succeed at a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or become paralyzed. In addition, they exude a carrion stench for 2d6+2 rounds that causes all creatures within a 10-foot-radius to become poisoned for 1d6 rounds unless they succeed at a DC 14 Constitution saving throw. (Characters must repeat the saving throw for each round that they remain within 10 feet of the stench-exuding victim.)

AREA 2 – THE DOOR CHOICE TRAP

The north door in this room is gilded with silver. The south door is gilded with gold. Each door has a magic mouth.

ENTRANCE SCRIPT: Entering the room from Area 1 triggers the following script from the magic mouth. Leaving the room and re-entering will trigger the script again.

• Both Doors: Each of us will ask a riddle. To pass us you must answer true.
• Door of Gold: One shall always tell the truth.
• Door of Silver: One shall tell a lie.
• Both Doors: One question you may ask; then answer must be given.

FALSE SOLUTION: It’s a trick. If asked, “Will the other door tell me yours is the right path?” (or some similar circumlocution), then the Door of Silver will say “Yes” and the Door of Gold will say “No” (logically indicating that Silver is the correct door). But opening either door will trigger a fireball trap (14d6 fire, DC 20 Dexterity saving throw for half damage; Detect DC 14).

TRUE SOLUTION: Ask a door, “What is your riddle?” Then answer the riddle accurately and the door will open safely.

GOLD’S TRUE RIDDLE:

Do not begrudge this,
For it is the fate of every man.
Yet it is feared,
And shunned in many lands.
Causes problems, and sometimes gaps,
Can hobble the strongest, and make memory lapse.
What is this danger we all face?
For being part — of the human race.

ANSWER: Old age.

SILVER’S TRUE RIDDLE:

With this you can do wondrous things.
Look at things close or far away.
You can see things big,
Or you can see things small.
Or maybe you don’t see them at all.
I come in many colors and hues,
Sometimes green and sometimes blue.
And when I’m read — it’s not from shame.
But from something with a different name.

ANSWER: Eyes.

AREA 3 – WIGHTS, GHASTS, AND A FALSE DOOR

There are 6 wights (MM, p. 300) and 6 ghasts (MM, p. 148) in this room.

FALSE DOOR: Fashioned of copper. Touching the door triggers a chain lightning trap (10d8 damage, DC 20 Dexterity saving throw for half damage, leaps to 6 additional targets; Detect DC 16).

AREA 4 – ANTECHAMBER

A cream-colored carpet runs across a beautiful floor of crimson-patterned tile. A picture of a young man hangs on the north wall; a picture of a ghastly, skeletal figure hangs on the south wall.

NORTH PICTURE: Depicting a youth with chocolate brown hair, darkly tanned features, and dressed in robes of blue silk. Purple lightning dances between the fingers of an out-stretched hand. (This depicts Aggah-Shan as he was in life.)

SOUTH PICTURE: Desiccated features, but wearing the same robes of blue silk. The figure is wreathed in flame, with the sun limned in eclipse behind him. (This depicts Aggah-Shan as a lich.)

AREA 5 – BLADE BARRIER TRAP

TRAP: Any living creature entering the 10’ x 10’ area between Area 4 and Area 6 triggers a blade barrier which blocks all four directions out of the 10’ x 10’ area. This simultaneously triggers the trap in Area 6.

• Magical trap
• 6d10 slashing damage (DC 20 Dexterity saving throw for half)
• DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation) check to detect the trap.
• DC 20 Intelligence (Arcana) to identify the nature of the trap.
• A dispel magic spell permanently disables the trap.

AREA 6 – ULULATING FOUNTAIN

A statue of a wraith-like maiden with her mouth gaped wide serves as a fountain, pouring a black-tinted water into the stone pool below.

UNHOLY WATER: The water in the pool is unholy water (30 vials worth).

TRAP: Any living creature touching the water or the statue triggers a trap.

• Magical trap
• DC 16 Intelligence (Investigation) to detect the trap.
• DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana) to identify that the trap will transform the water; DC 18 check reveals the full properties of the trap.

Poison Cloud: The water emerging from the siren’s mouth is converted into a poison cloud. (DC 16 Constitution saving throw or suffer 4d6 poison damage and become poisoned; the saving throw must be repeated each round.) The cloud expands 10 feet per round to a maximum radius of 60 feet (filling this entire level out to Area 2).

Siren’s Song: The statue begins ululating a siren’s song. Living creatures within hearing must make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw each round or become captivated, moving towards the fountain and then drowning themselves in it. (Those moving through danger — such as the blade barrier in Area 5 or the poison cloud — have advantage on the saving throw.)

Alerting the Complex: The siren’s song will bring any wights and ghasts from Area 3 or Area 10 that are still alive. Everyone else in the complex will maintain guard positions, but will be alerted.

AREA 7 – VASES OF LITHUIN

A collection of nineteen vases placed on pedestals around the room Some are fluted ceramics, while others are more finely crafted and crystalline in nature.

INTELLIGENCE (HISTORY):

• DC 18: These are Lithuin vases. Incredibly rare. Individual vases are worth 1,000 gp each.
• DC 26: This collection specifically demonstrates the evolution of Lithuin vase-craft. It’s unusually complete, and its collected value would be doubled (to 38,000 gp).

INTELLIGENCE (HISTORY) or (INVESTIGATION) – DC 20: The vases are covered in Lithuin runes (now undecipherable), but two of the vases also have a different symbol carved on their bottom:

DM Background: The symbol is that of the Shuul (Ptolus, p. 126). These vases were purchased from the Shuul (who make regular archaeological expeditions to Lithuin).

LITHUIN

Lithuin is a semi-legendary city that was inhabited by Titan Spawn who “sailed from beyond the sea.” They were specialists in the arts of kaostech. The location of the city was long-lost and many scholars believed it never actually existed. Various chaos cultists, however, have recently rediscovered it, and the Shuul have also come into possession of its secret location.

AREA 8 – COPPER FOUNTAINS

Several shallow copper basins are on the floor of this area. Other basins are suspended from the ceiling or built out from the walls. Copper tubing runs in tangled mazes throughout the chamber, gushing forth with multi-hued liquids here and there, creating kaleidoscopic pools of effervescent hues.

SECRET DOOR (Detect DC 15): Twisting one of the spigots causes a large basin to drain and then spin out of the way, revealing the passageway to Area 9 behind it.

Playtest Tip: Although this may initially appear to be the only route to the lower levels of Aggah-Shan’s Catacombs — in which case having a mandatory skill check to get down there would be a questionable choice — in practice these catacombs can also be approached from the OTHER direction (exploring up out of the Mrathrach Machine). In addition, triggering an alarm will cause the wights and ghasts in Area 10 come up; they will leave the secret door open, revealing its location.

AREA 9 – WHIRLING POISON BLADES

The stairway is filled with poisoned blades that come whirling out of razor-thin slits in the walls. Putting any weight on five of the stair treads will trigger the trap (which remains in motion for 5 minutes).

• Mechanical trap
• DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check to notice the razor-thin slits in the wall.
• DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation) to identify the trap; DC 16 identifies 1d4+1 trigger treads; DC 18 identifies all five trigger treads.
• DC 16 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools) to disable.
• +8 attack bonus, 3d10 slashing damage, DC 14 Constitution saving throw or 2d6 poisoned damage. Targets all characters on the stairs when triggered.

Go to Part 2C: The Lower Catacombs