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We’ve previously discussed:

• The continuity errors in Lulu’s backstory.
• The continuity errors in Zariel’s backstory (including seeking vengeance against a Demon Lord of the Abyss by attacking the Nine Hells).
• The failure to pay off the rediscovery of Lulu’s memories after positioning them as THE central mystery of the second half of the campaign.
• That many of the tools given to the DM for managing Lulu’s memories are conceptually great (like a list of memory triggers and a definitive reference for her backstory), but unfortunately flawed and incomplete (i.e., giving a “definitive” reference that has both continuity errors and glaring omissions).

I’ve also briefly talked about my dissatisfaction with placing the Charge of the Hellriders in 1354 DR despite the fact that it was already legendary and of uncertain truth in 1358 DR. (This is definitely a non-essential fix. But, yes, I’ll be fixing it.)

In this installment of the Remix, we’re also going to be looking at Lulu’s dream quest and the other “memory dives” in the campaign.

One of the potential problems with Descent Into Avernus is that the PCs lack any sort of personal relationship with Zariel. She is, at best, a distant antagonist. Despite this, at the end of the campaign, the PCs are assumed to come face-to-face with her for the first time and immediately help her redeem her soul. This makes it really difficult to get the players emotionally invested in Zariel’s ultimate fate.

This is what makes the idea of Lulu’s dream quest so awesome! The PCs can actually experience the Charge of the Hellriders, the fall of Zariel, and all this other cool history the campaign is built around. They may not actually meet Zariel, but they’ll nonetheless get a chance to know her and, therefore, care about her.

… except the dream quest doesn’t actually do that. The dive into Lulu’s “memories” are structured around five “dreams”:

• Dream 1: Explicitly something that didn’t actually happen.
• Dream 2: Didn’t happen and isn’t a memory.
• Dream 3: Actually just part of Dream 2.
• Dream 4: Not a memory.
• Dream 5: Lulu looks through a telescope and sees where the Sword is (except she doesn’t, actually).

This is a huge missed opportunity!

Dream sequences often all flat because they aren’t real and don’t mean anything. But they can be really amazing if they ARE meaningful and have real stakes. Which is absolutely the case with Lulu’s dream quest: Her memories are the central mystery of the campaign, right? And at stake is the location of the Sword of Zariel, which is the key to saving an entire city. Insofar as the players give a crap about this campaign, they will give a crap about what is revealed here.

Which is why it’s so frustrating that literally nothing is revealed.

So we’ll also be looking at how to structure these memory dives to provide a compelling “memory mystery” that delivers meaning and memorable pay-offs (pun intended). In fact, we’ll be adding a couple new memory dives to further enhance this portion of the campaign.

DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF ZARIEL & LULU

This is designed to be a broad, authoritative overview of the back story for Zariel and Lulu. You can assume that any place this reference contradicts the book-as-published that the change is deliberate.

THE AVERNIAD

• Aeons ago, when the cosmos was still young and the Great Wheel had not been fully turned from the primordial planar chaos, Zariel fought in the Legions of Heaven. She served under the command of Ashmedai, a Celestial Marshal who rode a golden, winged lion.
• Ashmedai and his legions were sent to Avernus. At this time, Avernus was a paradisical plane. Elysium and the Seven Heavens both desired to add it to their realms, and so their armies clashed upon its emerald plains.
• The full tale of the Averniad is beyond the scope of our discussion today. (There are some who claim the full complexities of the celestial epic cannot be told in the course of a single mortal lifetime.) The important bit comes at the end: In the Great Betrayal, Ashmedai wrenched Avernus from the grasp of both Mt. Celestia and Elysium, instead claiming it for himself and aligning it with the Eight Hells. Thus Avernus became the Ninth Hell.
• Ashmedai’s legions schismed between those who remained loyal to him and those who remained loyal to Mount Celestia. Ashmedai himself became Asmodeus, and his legion of fallen angels, using Avernus as a staging base, conquered Hell, wresting its crown from the brow of the dark lord Ahriman.
• Zariel’s Long March: During the Fall of Avernus, Zariel’s commander – an angel named Chazaqiel – followed Asmodeus. Zariel and a small band of angels loyal to Heaven broke away and began a long march across Avernus before finally escaping down the River Styx (which in those days followed a very different course).

MEETING LULU: Her experiences during the Fall of Avernus had tainted Zariel’s mind with bitterness and anger. While recuperating within the starry groves of Lunia, Zariel met and befriended Lulu, a hollyphant who called the silvered forests of that plane home. When Zariel’s soul found peace and returned to Heaven’s legions, Lulu accompanied her as both friend and warmount.

THE TRIAL OF ASMODEUS

• Long after the events related in the Averniad, a heavenly strike force penetrated Hell and captured Asmodeus, bringing him back to Mount Celestia to answer for his crimes. (There are some who believe that Asmodeus allowed himself to be captured, knowing what would happen next.)
• Asmodeus claimed rights under the Pact Primeval. Also known as the First Law and quite possibly the first legal code to ever exist, it had been a founding agreement among the first Planes of Law that had emerged out of primordial chaos (and later became the Seven Heavens and Mechanus). Other pacts, such as those between Celestia, Elysium, and Olympus, had been based upon the authority of the Pact Primeval. By the time Asmodeus made his appeal, the Pact had been supplanted by other codes, but most of those codes ultimately still derived their legal standing from the Pact itself. Therefore, Asmodeus’ appeal to the Pact could not be ignored.
• Thus began the Trial of Asmodeus. Primus of the modrons was appointed as a neutral arbiter and judge.
• The alleged crimes of Asmodeus, spanning aeons, were limitless. Even the testimony to their effect was seemingly without end, as an angelic horde bore witness, one after another. At last Primus, having grown weary of the proceedings, called a halt to the testimony: The scope of Asmodeus’ illimitable acts had been well-established and their sheer quantity was irrelevant.
• Zariel, who had not yet had the opportunity to testify to the atrocities she had personally witnessed, was outraged. She violently demanded that she be allowed to speak, and when Primus ordered her to be silenced, the altercation sprawled into a brawl which completely disrupted the proceedings. (Was this the moment that Zariel first came to Asmodeus’ attention? Or had he had his eye upon her from the beginning?)
• Asmodeus’ defense was simple: Although his former comrades interpreted his actions as a betrayal, they had not actually violated the principle of the Law. Indeed, they had upheld the Law by preventing an alliance between Hell and the Abyss which might have swept away all other planar powers. The Blood War fought by his devils now safeguarded Law from the Chaos of the Abyss.
• In the end, Asmodeus prevailed. His acts may have been Evil, but Primus ruled that they were ultimately in accord with the Law, and were thus in accord with the Pact Primeval. The law which had once been the bedrock of Heaven now became Asmodeus’ holy right to test the merit of mortal souls (i.e., tempt them to evil) and claim those souls which were Hell’s due. (However, as part of Primus’ ruling, Asmodeus was also bound to always carry the Ruby Rod of Asmodeus, an artifact that both signified Asmodeus’ divine rights, but also bound him – and, through him, the other devils of Hell – to uphold the bargains they made with mortals.)

THE PURSUIT OF YEENOGHU

An almost incalculable amount of time then passed, during which Zariel and Lulu were living an eternal, angelic existence. Zariel remained of a martial temperament, waging war upon the forces of evil.

THE FIRST VISIT TO IDYLLGLEN

• Several centuries ago (we could perhaps say the 8^th or 9^th century in Dale Reckoning, during the internecine conflicts which resulted in the Fields of the Dead becoming the Fields of the Dead), Zariel became aware that the demonic lord Yeenoghu had invaded the Material Plane and was personally leading a gnoll army that was sacking settlements north of the River Chionthar.
• Zariel and a band of angels journeyed to the Material Plane to put an end to Yeenoghu’s depredations. They caught up with the demon lord in the village of Idyllglen.

THE DAUGHTER OF ASMODEUS

• Zariel’s task force weren’t the only ones hunting Yeenoghu, however. A strike team from Avernus lead by Glasya, daughter of Asmodeus, had also been tracking Yeenoghu. They arrived during the battle and helped rout the demon lord.
• Yeenoghu escaped, but his army was decimated and scattered to the winds. After the battle, there was tension between the celestial and infernal hosts, but Zariel and Glasya spoke for a short while and – having briefly been strange allies in the Blood War against the Abyss – agreed to go their separate ways.

Go to Part 6D-B: Lulu’s Memories (Zariel’s Crusade)

Go to Part 1

Now that we’ve looked at what vaguely passes for continuity in Descent Into Avernus, let’s look at what preceded it.

The first thing to note is that Zariel was not previously involved in the famous Charge of the Hellriders. Variants in that continuity are covered in more depth as part of the Textual History of Elturel, but the short version is that:

• The Charge was originally an almost legendary event in 1358 DR (which makes it unlikely that it happened in 1354 DR).
• The original explanation for the Charge was that the knights were riding to rescue a companion.
• This was later changed to “long ago warriors of Elturel literally rode through a gate into the Nine Hells to pursue and destroy devils that had been plaguing the people.”

You can see how, in Descent Into Avernus, this was changed again to something between “holy crusade that was the whole reason they had signed up in the first place” and “pursuing and destroying DEMONS that had been plaguing their people.”

TIAMAT, THE LORD OF AVERNUS (1977)

Way back in 1977, the original Monster Manual said that “Tiamat rules the first plane of the Nine Hells where she spawns all evil dragonkind.”

In the Manual of the Planes (1987), we are told that, “The watchdog of the Hells’ front parlor is Tiamat.”

In Monster Mythology (1992), Tiamat “infests the uppermost of the Nine Hells with her consorts, each a Great Wyrm of a different color — one red, one white, one green, one blue, and one black.” (These consorts are an evolution of Tiamat’s “guard” in Supplement I: Greyhawk (1975), when she was merely the Dragon Queen and her “major abode is in a stupendous cavern far beneath the earth.”)

We’re also told in Monster Mythology that Tiamat’s “relations with the baatezu [devils] that populate the Hells and stray into her realm at times is the subject of considerable speculation by sages.” (Which is basically the author, the esteemed Carl Sargent, saying, “I’m really trying to figure out why the evil Dragon Queen is in charge of Avernus.”) These “sages” have traditionally said that she’s been at war with the devils, but now it seems that the devils may be seeking to make some sort of pact with her to aid them in the Blood War.

PLANESCAPE: PLANES OF LAW (1995)

In Planescape: Planes of Law we are told that there are giant fireballs that just randomly appear around Avernus for no apparent reason. “Some sages say the fireballs represent the will of the nameless archduke of the level.” (emphasis added)

“Speaking of the archduke: Bel, the pit-fiend commander of the armies of this layer, leads immense legions across the plane, scouring every inch of it for invaders and searching for honors from the archduke.” Bel has “been appointed by the Dark Eight” and is the senior general of Avernus (with other generals “bowing to Bel’s experience and political muscle.”)

This is the first reference to an Archduke of Avernus. But if they’re nameless, what happened to Tiamat?

“Tiamat, the Lady of Dragonkind, guards the only known entrance to the next layer. It’s only through her lair that one can arrive in the verdigrised plains near the Iron City of Dis.”

Note: I’m pretty confident that “watchdog of the Hells’ front parlor” in the Manual of the Planes was just a poetic rephrasing of “Tiamat rules the first plane of the Nine Hells” from the original Monster Manual. Here, however, the meaning has glided towards guarding a literal “front parlor;” i.e., the path to Dis.

DRAGON #223 – THE LORDS OF THE NINE (1995)

Planes of Law came out in February 1995. As noted, it included Bel as a general and left all but three of the Lords of the Nine mysterious and unknown. This, it should be noted, was a diegetic mystery — it’s not just that TSR wasn’t telling you; it was that their identities were a mystery to the characters in the game world itself.

But in the November 1995 issue of Dragon Magazine (#223, which would have been released in August 1995), Colin McComb writes “The Lords of the Nine”: “The Lords of the Nine Layers of Baator have been revealed at last! Do you dare to read about them?”

And, indeed, McComb provides identities for all nine archdukes. And this is done diegetically. A character named Willgan the Dogged has discovered their identities and is ready to tell all!

Note: I belabor this mostly because I’m fascinated by the decision process to drop this entire aspect of the Planescape setting almost immediately after publishing the boxed set.

Regarding Bel, we are told, that “the original Lord of Avernus (not Tiamat, contrary to popular belief) found herself imprisoned and entrapped by her warlord, the pit fiend Bel, thousands of years ago.” Bel is siphoning more of the Lord’s power for himself, but is still beholden to the Dark Eight.

GUIDE TO HELL (1999)

Chris Pramas’ Guide to Hell is Zariel’s first named appearance. She is described as the “original Lord of Avernus.”

Pramas also described the Reckoning: A great war in Hell which started when Zariel laid siege to Dis. Her allies – Moloch and Belial – simultaneously launched an assault on Stygia. Mephistopheles eventually broke the siege on Dis, forcing Zariel back to Avernus. The final battle was to be fought in Maladomini (the seventh layer of Hell), but Asmodeus pulled a coup: Geryon, Lord of Stygia, had suborned the generals of the other Lords’ armies. On the day of the ultimate battle, the generals mutinied, declared their loyalty to Asmodeus, and ended the war. Bizarrely, only Geryon – the only Lord to remain loyal to Asmodeus – was subsequently ousted from his position of power.

The generals, however, were empowered as the newly created Dark Eight. This council runs the Blood War from Nessus, the lowest level of Hell.

The pit fiend Bel, after running successful covert ops missions during the Blood War under the command of the Dark Eight, became Zariel’s right-hand man in Avernus. He then betrayed and imprisoned her, rendering her powerless.

Note: Describing Zariel as the “original Lord of Avernus” might seem in direct contradiction to Tiamat having held that position before. This is most likely intended as a straight-up retcon, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be so: My head canon is that Zariel, the original Lord of Avernus, has been intermittently deposed from time to time over the course of long eons, including stints by both Tiamat and Bel.

MANUAL OF THE PLANES (3rd EDITION, 2001)

The references to Avernus in the Manual of the Planes are largely a very short summary of the material from Guide to Hell, but there’s one addition to the mythology: “Bel still keeps Zariel prisoner somewhere deep in the Bronze Citadel so that he can siphon her hellish power to himself, increasing his own abilities while slowly reducing her to just another soul shell.”

This is repeated in the Book of Vile Darkness (2002), where Zariel is kept in the Bronze Citadel where Bel “draws off her power to extend his own.”

FIENDISH CODEX II (2006)

Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells largely reiterates the continuity from Guide to Hell (in a more complete form than that necessarily found in the Manual of the Planes).

The Dark Eight, however, are now based out of Avernus where they “eschew the title of duke, preferring the rank of general.”

Zariel remains “imprisoned in the bowels of the Bronze Citadel,” where she “languishes under the cruel knives of the abishai torturers that carve bits off of her flesh to feed to their master.”

Note: The context here is somewhat confusing and could be interpreted as meaning that Zariel’s flesh is being fed to Tiamat, who is traditionally the master of the abishai. A closer reading, however, makes it clear that the “master” here is referring to Bel, and the abishai are those who are serving him due to a pact he has forged with Tiamat. (Remember Sargent’s sages who rumored that a pact was being negotiated with Tiamat?) This continuity is consistent with Bel “drawing off her power,” with the method now being defined as some sort of devilish cannibalism.

MANUAL OF THE PLANES (4th EDITION, 2008)

The 4^th Edition of D&D really features a completely different planar cosmology, but there is some continuity here that makes it potentially worthwhile to take a peek.

Zariel is not referenced, but “a circle of pit fiends known as the Dark Eight serve as Bel’s vassals and councilors. Bel governs only at their pleasure, and he must constantly consider whether his actions will meet with the approval of the Dark Eight.”

Note: They are both his vassals AND he serves only at their pleasure? Go home, 4^th Edition, you’re drunk.

What we’re seeing rather bluntly manifest in this text, however, is an uncertainty and confusion which has crept into who and what the Dark Eight are: They were originally established as being based out of Nessus (i.e., Asmodeus’ court) and could be seen as a parallel power to the Lords of the Nine: In other words, there were eight archdukes who ruled the layers of Hell (plus Asmodeus, the ninth) and there were the Dark Eight who served as military generals.

But somewhere along the way they had slid from Nessus to Avernus and ended up in the power structure of the Archduke of Avernus.

Having the Dark Eight be the generals of Avernus became my head canon more or less by accident, as I had not fully delved into their history yet when I started thinking about them in relation to the history of Gargauth and Bel.

DUNGEON #197 – CODEX OF BETRAYAL: GLASYA, PRINCESS OF THE NINE HELLS (2011)

This article by Robert J. Schwalb seems to be the only reference to Zariel in 4^th Edition. She remains the original Lord of Avernus and she “ruled thus for many eons.”

We are also given a new continuity for the end of Zariel’s rule, revolving around an alternative version of the Reckoning.

This Reckoning was an incredibly convoluted soap opera involving Asmodeus’ daughter Glasya. Long story short, she single-handedly convinced all the Lords to go to war with each other. In this version of reality, the Dark Eight already existed but were also the pit fiend generals in command of the Archdukes’ armies. At Asmodeus’ command, the Dark Eight betrayed their masters and ended the conflict.

Note: The Reckoning reputedly lasted for an “eon,” but this doesn’t really track with the very specific series of events described in the text.

The Dark Eight then took all the legions of Baator to Avernus. Once there, they hunted Zariel down and imprisoned her. Bel was then raised up as “a puppet ruler over her realm.”

Why this happened is really unclear, because Zariel had actually been part of the faction loyal to Asmodeus. The article even says, “Strangely, though, Asmodeus’ allies suffered the worst,” but doesn’t have even the slightest hint of an explanation.

RISE OF TIAMAT (2014)

“Asmodeus recently reinstated the fallen angel Zariel as the Archduchess of Avernus, reversing an earlier decision that allowed a pit fiend named Bel to take the throne.”

Note: I’m fairly certain that this is the first reference to Zariel being a fallen angel.

“While in exile from her seat of power, Zariel was at the mercy of Tiamat — a fate that rankles her still.”

Note: Remember when I mentioned that the reference in Fiendish Codex II to Zariel being tortured by abishai on behalf of their master could erroneously lead one to believe that she was being fed to Tiamat? I’m fairly certain that’s exactly what happened here.

MORDENKAINEN’S TOME OF FOES (2018)

I’d be curious to know if Descent Into Avernus was already in development at the time this book was published. (And, if so, how much influence it had on the text.) In any case, this is the book that retcons the entire history of Zariel being the original Lord of Avernus.

Long, long ago, during the Trial of Asmodeus, Zariel got into a brawl with her fellow angels, demanding to give testimony to Asmodeus’ crimes.

We are also told that Zariel is Asmodeus’ “most recent recruit.” Zariel grew obsessed with the Blood War and believed that the hosts of Mount Celestia could descend upon Avernus and wipe out both the devils and the demons of the Blood War.

“Accompanied by a mob of mortal followers, she cut a swath through a legion of devils before their numbers overwhelmed her. A delegation of bone devils dispatched to the site by Asmodeus recovered her unconscious form beneath a small mountain of her slaughtered enemies. After allowing her to recover in the depths of Nessus, Asmodeus installed her on Avernus as his champion and new lord of that layer.”

Note: This probably explains where the random dream image of Zariel being unconscious on the battlefield – which is not consistent with any other continuity from Descent Into Avernus – came from.

This transition from Bel to Zariel is described as marking a new chapter in the Blood War, with Zariel preferring aggressive offensive tactics instead of simply sustaining a passive defense of the Avernian frontiers. Her obsession with fighting on the frontlines, however, has distracted her from the courts of Hell and made her a political pariah without alliances with the other Lords of the Nine.

Note: Oddly, this just takes the previous description of Bel from Guide to Hell – freshly aggressive, politically isolated (he was often referred to in Hell as Bel the Pretender) – and applies it to Zariel instead.

Go to the Avernus Remix

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I was trying to avoid doing this, but as with Elturel, I ended up doing a fairly deep dive into Zariel’s background as I was working on the Remix. After digging into sources from across multiple editions of the game, I thought it might be interesting to share the results. Perhaps more importantly, a lot of this material will influence Part 6D: Lulu’s Memories, but I don’t want to weigh that material down by trying to discuss all of this there.

In addition to Zariel herself, this textual history will also briefly look at adjacent topics (primarily how the rulership of Avernus shifted both diegetically and non-diegetically over time).

DESCENT INTO AVERNUS (2019)

Let’s start by looking at the version of events laid out in Descent Into Avernus itself. Or rather, as we’ll see, the many versions of those events. (The continuity is rather tangled.)

TO BEGIN WITH: Zariel and Lulu, her hollyphant warmount, were friends for centuries.

GENERATIONS BEFORE THE 14^th CENTURY: In response to a prayer to Lathander, Zariel is sent to the village of Idyllglen in the Fields of the Dead to drive off a gnoll invasion.

13?? DR – ZARIEL’S CRUSADE: Zariel leaves Mount Celestia with Lulu. She goes to Elturel and creates the order of knights which would become the Hellriders.

• The knights swear a personal oath to Zariel that binds them to her service even after death.
• General Yael was Zariel’s most loyal general.
• General Olanthius was in love with Yael. (It’s unclear if this was reciprocated.)
• General Haruman
• Among the knights was Jander Sunstar, a reformed vampire.

Note: I find the use of “General” (and the fact that the Crusade had so many of them) curious. It would seem to suggest that Zariel managed to raise an army of thousands or even tens of thousands.

The Crusade is referred to as such only twice (and in lower case). But I think it’s a useful term. And referring to Zariel’s knights as crusaders is probably a useful bit of nomenclature.

135? DR – IDYLLGLEN: Yeenoghu personally leads an attack on the village of Idyllglen. Zariel leads the Hellriders to repel the attack.

There is an implication that Yeenoghu fled to Avernus, leaving the portal open behind him and that the Riders immediately followed him on the Charge (see below): “As Zariel prepares to send her forces through the portal into Avernus…” (DIA, p. 144)

But this is a continuity error because the boxed text earlier on the same page reads: “The angel slashes her sword across Yeenoghu’s chest and utters a spell. A portal opens behind the demon lord as the mammoth rams its head into Yeenoghu. The demon lord is sent tumbling through the portal, which quickly closes behind him.”

Note: This material also contradicts how the Hellriders got their name – i.e., for riding into Hell – because they’re referred to as such before doing so.

1354 DR – THE CHARGE OF THE HELLRIDERS: Zariel leads the Elturian knights into Avernus.

Some of the knights panic, ride back through the gate, and seal it. They become the first Hellriders, telling a false tale of their “glorious” achievements.

• VERSION 2: The future Hellriders didn’t flee until the middle of the battle. (Lulu says, “Victory was within our grasp until some of the Hellriders betrayed us. They retreated through the gate and sealed it behind them.”

Note: This is also inconsistent with how the Hellriders got their name, once again suggesting they were known as such before and/or during the Ride and not just after it.

• Jander Sunstar was among those who fled back through the portal. It’s implied on p. 93 that he was the one to actually seal the portal.

Note: It’s possible he was also a general and actually led or triggered the retreat back through the portal, but it’s vague. I don’t think he was a general (see below), but my personal head canon is that he was the highest ranking officer among those who betrayed Zariel and he subsequently became the first High Rider of the Hellriders. (Partly I like the poetry of both the first and last High Rider having been vampires.)

The rest of Zariel’s army fights to utter destruction.

If the memories Lulu recovers in Fort Knucklebones are real (which they probably aren’t), then at some point during the fighting Zariel and Lulu are both knocked unconscious.

Zariel’s hand holding her Sword is cut off. As it falls towards the ground, she orders General Yael to take the Sword and hide it. Lulu goes with Yael and they hide the Sword.

• VERSION 2: Zariel ordered Lulu (not Yael) to hide the Sword and Yael went with Lulu.
• VERSION 3: Zariel ordered Yael to hide the Sword and also ordered Lulu to help Yael do it.

Note: These seem like subtle differences, but thematically there’s actually quite a bit of weight to exactly who was charged to do what in those final moments.

Olanthius, Haruman, and Zariel are captured and sent to Nessus, the lowest of the Nine Hells.

• VERSION 2: Asmodeus appeared in front of Zariel on the Avernian battlefield and immediately offered her command of the Blood Legions in exchange for her fealty. In this version, Yael and Lulu are there to witness Asmodeus make the offer, but flee with Zariel’s Sword before Zariel accepts and becomes an archdevil.

1354 DR – LULU AND YAEL HIDE THE SWORD OF ZARIEL.

Lulu and Yael blundered into a group of demons led by Yeenoghu, but narrowly escaped.

Note: This probably makes more sense if we assume they crossed the Styx in an effort to escape Avernus with the Sword, only to be forced back across the River when they encountered Yeenoghu’s legions.

Crokek’toeck, a demon follower of Yeenoghu, chased them across the Avernian plains.

Just before Crokek’toeck could catch them, Yael plunged the Sword into a rock and Lulu “made a trumpet sound” with her trunk before pouring “every ounce of her celestial being into it,” causing a fortress or alabaster palace to spring up around the sword “hedging out evil.”

• VERSION 2: Lulu “gave up [her] magic and memories, and Yael gave her life” to construct the palace.

Lulu flew up into the sky and watched as a bloody scab grew from the ground to engulf the palace and the enormous demon.

Lulu became disoriented and flew away, leaving Yael behind.

1354 DR – ZARIEL’S FALL: Asmodeus immediately offers Zariel rulership of Avernus, replacing Bel. She accepts. (This either happens on the battlefield in Avernus or in Nessus, see variants above.)

General Haruman joined Zariel in swearing fealty to Asmodeus and became a devil. He ends up watching over Haruman’s Hill.

General Olanthius commits suicide. He’s raised as a death knight and ends up watching over the Crypt of the Hellriders.

Note: This is described as “most of her generals fell to evil.” This would suggest there were only three generals in her army – Haruman, Olanthius, and Yael – and two of them fell to evil.

1354 DR – LULU WANDERS AVERNUS: For “several months.”

Lulu goes to Fort Knucklebones and meets two kenku named Chukka and Clonk who were working on an infernal war machine.

Lulu goes to the Wandering Emporium, where she is “befriended” by a rakshasa named Mahadi.

Mahadi splashes Lulu with water from the River Styx, stripping her memory and her spellcasting.

Note: This contradicts the version of events in which Lulu sacrificed her memories to make the alabaster fortress. See above.

Mahadi gives Lulu to a group of devils who take her to Zariel as a gift. “Zariel had Lulu sent back to Faerun with her mental faculties restored. Unfortunately, the damage to Lulu’s memories was not so easy to repair.”

Note: No idea what “with her mental faculties restored” is supposed to mean. Neither her memories nor her spellcasting abilities were restored to her.

Zariel’s last words to her were: “This is who I am. When demons die, they cry out my name in terror.”

1444 DR – THE PACT OF THE COMPANION: Zariel makes the Pact of the Companion with Thavius Kreeg.

149? DR – SYLVIRA FINDS LULU: Sylvira finds Lulu near a portal to the Nine Hells in the Fields of the Dead west of Elturel.

Note: So did Lulu spend 140-ish years just floating around the portal she came back through? Was this originally meant to be the portal that the Hellriders used (even though we’re told that it was “sealed” elsewhere)? If not, then… what was this portal? Why was Lulu there? Is it still open? Where in Hell does it lead, exactly?

1494 DR – TODAY.

Go to Part 2: Previous Zariel Continuity

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There are several different ways that the PCs can complete the Avernian Quest, but the most immediate (and the one they’re most likely to be pursuing as they leave Elturel for the first time) is the Sword of Zariel. The vision they receive from Torm and the shredded remnants of Lulu’s memories point them towards a pair of kenku at Fort Knucklebones.

THE HISTORY OF FORT KNUCKLEBONES

The kenku Lulu is looking for are long dead. Lulu actually came to Fort Knucklebones hundreds of years ago, shortly after Zariel’s fall (see Part 6D).

See, there has always been a flock of kenku at Fort Knucklebones. For as long as anyone can remember. Longer, actually. The people in charge come and go, but the kenku are always there. The current boss is Mad Maggie, but before that there was:

• Lord Fauxen, a human warlock
• A flock of vrock, who secretly used the fort as a forward supply base in the Blood War
• Xartemug, a pit fiend

And so forth.

Although no one remembers Lulu here and no story of her original visit has been passed down, there is a vestige of her to be found among the local kenku: Kenku speak by mimicking words that they have heard. Flocks of kenku have small, unique collections of word “performances” that are collectively shared and passed down from one generation to the next. One such “word of the foreflock” in the Knucklebones flock is Lulu saying the word “love.” For generations, when these kenku have said that they love each other (or anyone else), they have spoken it with Lulu’s voice.

The kenku will recognize Lulu’s voice and become quite excited about this.

FORT KNUCKLEBONES

Fort Knucklebones is a trading post; a sort of Port Royal for the Avernian warlords where they come for supplies, recreation, and repairs. This also makes it a useful hub of operations for the PCs.

Mad Maggie is the current potentate of the fort. Although not a warlord herself, she is seen by them as an equal and the neutrality of the fort is (generally) respected.

The fort itself, based around an outcropping or red rock shaped like a clawed hand, is somewhat described in Descent Into Avernus, p. 80:

• There’s a rampart of rock, bones, and metal debris with a gatehouse.
• The outer court, roughly the area that lies between the rampart and the knuckle gates.
• There are four courtyards located between each of the knuckles. These courtyards are fronted by the knuckle gates, which can be shut for an additional line of defense, but are generally left open.
• There is a fastness within the outcropping, with access caves from most of the knuckle courtyards. The fastness includes various storehouses and also Maggie’s demesne.

Note: Fort Knucklebones is also likely to be the PCs’ first introduction to soul coins as a form of currency. Take the opportunity to push home the “you’re not in Kansas any more” moment. Check out Addendum: Soul Coins, for a more detailed look at how the coins can be used in Descent Into Avernus.

BETWEEN THE KNUCKLES: There are four courtyards located between the “knuckles” of the outcropping.

• The tinker’s shed, a service station for war machines run by the kenku. A large cave at the back of this courtyard serves as a garage. The kenku live in a number of smaller caves that line the fingers to either side of the courtyard. A number of these caves are quite high, and the kenku have to climb ladders carved into the rock. (According to the flock’s oral tradition, before their entire species was cursed, the kenku of Fort Knucklebones could simply fly up to these caves. That’s how long they’ve been living here.)
• The Well, a bar built up around a rare natural spring of clean water. This spring is the reason Fort Knucklebones has been so constantly occupied. The barkeep at the Well is named Natasha the Dark; she claims to be a “cloned daughter of Baba Yaga.” (This would imply that she’s the clone-sister of Iggwilv. She’s probably making it up. But who knows? Maybe she’s the real Tasha who invented Tasha’s hideous laughter and Iggwilv stole her)
• The arcade is filled with market tents. Maggie’s infernal bank, run by an imp named Sarcasia, can also be found here. (It houses her stockpile of soul coins, acts as a moneychanger, and offers loans of various sorts.)
• The hostel, located in the broad space between thumb and index finger, is more of a public campground. No fees are charged. Anyone can grab a slab of space and pitch a tent. (Maggie figures that if people are staying here, they’ll be spending money at the arcade and that’s where she gets her cut.) The imps love to play practical jokes on people staying here.

Note: “Tinker’s shed” is the generic term on Avernus for war machine repair shops or service stations. They take the name “shed” because they’re usually rather small. The kenku’s facility here at Fort Knucklebones is expansive, but still referred to as a shed.

INHABITANTS: For ease of reference, here’s a list of NPCs at Fort Knucklebones. Also arranged as a random table just in case:

If the PCs do end up making Fort Knucklebones a hub for their operations in Avernus, I’d recommend adding a few extra characters to this list and working it up with a Tavern Time™ structure. This is a good example of where smart prep means waiting to prep something until the players have started wading into it and you know you’ll need it.

KNUCKLEBONES ENCOUNTERS: Don’t use up all the encounters in the first fifteen minutes the PCs are at Fort Knucklebones. Or even their first visit. This stuff can build over time.

• Chukka & Clonk: Help repair war-machine (DIA, p. 83)
• Mickey: Limping from injury (DIA, p. 83)
• Imps: Play a practical joke (DIA, p. 84)
• Imps: Want PCs to kill Wazzik (DIA, p. 84)
• Barnabas: Find the flameskull’s missing tooth (DIA, p. 84)
• Redcaps: Offer PCs a severed finger as a friendship gift (DIA, p. 84)

If you rework Fort Knucklebones using the Tavern Time™ structure, you can pull these encounters into the NPC “topics of conversation.” (You’ll want 2-3 per NPC.)

Bonus Encounter: Natasha the Dark wants someone to cast hideous laughter on her. It reminds her of her sister.

THE 1-TO-10 SCALE: This is briefly described on DIA p. 80-81. It’s basically a mental shorthand for tracking what an NPC’s attitude is towards the PCs. You can actually track this sort of thing for all NPCs, on your campaign status document if it seems useful to you.

ARRIVING AT FORT KNUCKLEBONES

When the PCs come to Fort Knucklebones for the first time, we don’t want the kenku they’re looking for to be the first thing they see. Looking for the kenku will mean exploring the fort, pushing and pulling them into encounters with the various locations and characters here.

REDCAP WATCHPOST: There’s a watchpost in the fort’s ramparts manned by redcaps. Use the encounter described in DIA, p. 81.

OUTER COURT: As the PCs pass through the watchpost and into the outer court, describe three specific people (or groups of people) doing things around the courtyard. (One of these might be an encounter, but that’s probably not necessary right now.)

Note that you want to be specific. You don’t want to just describe a generic mélange of activity (e.g., “The courtyard is full of strange-looking creatures. There are horns and tails and a faint smell of sulfur.”). You want specific stuff they can choose to interact with.

None of these should be kenku. I recommend including a warlord gang (maybe hanging out around their war-machines outside the Well) as a way of foreshadowing or, if the PCs choose to interact with them, introducing this aspect of the campaign. (More on these gangs in Part 7E.)

FUTURE VISITS

On future visits to Fort Knucklebones I recommend having:

• 1d3 or 1d4-1 NPCs in the Outer Court and the Well.
• Having 1d2 or 1d3-1 NPCs in the other courtyards (plus whatever NPCs would logically be there, like the kenku in the garage).

If you expand the cast of characters here, you can probably bump those numbers up a notch.

Have one or two encounters on each visit. (If you haven’t gone for a full Tavern Time™ structure, in which case they’ll be keyed to the NPCs as you generate them.)

QUEST OF THE DREAM MACHINE

In the published book, Mad Maggie uses her dream machine to unlock Lulu’s memories and then Lulu’s memories guide the PCs as they journey across Avernus (through the twin railroads).

We are more or less going to invert this structure:

• The PCs come to Fort Knucklebones.
• The kenku explain that they can’t help, but maybe Mad Maggie can.
• Mad Maggie is intrigued (in large part due to her obsession with Zariel lore and Lulu’s presence in the rare tapestry she owns, see Part 6D). She has a machine that she thinks could be used to recover Lulu’s lost memories.
• Just one problem: The machine doesn’t work. It’s missing four key components. The PCs will need to find these components in order to make the machine work.

To find these components, the PCs will need to explore Avernus (as described in Part 7). Once they have the components, the dream machine can be repaired and Lulu’s memories recovered (as described in Part 6D-I).

Homework: How did Mad Maggie get the dream machine?

THE FOUR COMPONENTS:

• Nirvanan Cogbox. Used in a variety of infernal machines, these cogboxes come from Mechanus.
• Heartstone. Used by night hags to infiltrate the dreams of their victims. It’s used as a prism or beam-splitter in the dream machine.
• Phlegethosian sand. Obsidian sand pounded from the jagged, rocky plains of Phlegethos, the fourth layer of Hell.
• Astral pistons. Another component used in various pieces of infernal machinery. The pistons are actually extruded into the astral plane, maximizing their mechanical output. It’s an outdated technology and rarely used these days.

MAGGIE’S LEADS

In addition briefing the PCs on the parts she needs, Mad Maggie can provide them with some initial leads on where they may be able to find some of them. The alphanumeric hex references below are map coordinates from the hex map in Part 7B, which you can use to quickly identify where these leads can potentially take the PCs.

Astral Pistons: She’s heard that an oni named Malargan — the forgemaster of Kolasiah, a local warlord — has a set of astral pistons in his forge. (Hex A5)

Astral Pistons: Uldrak the Tinker, whose shop is based out of a titanic helmet located in the western end of the Plains of Fire, had a set of astral pistons in stock a few years back when one of Maggie’s riders (now dead) needed repairs for an antique war machine. It’s possible he might still have a supply. (Hex D5)

Heartstone: Mad Maggie and Red Ruth (Hex B4) were part of a coven along with a third night hag named Gaunt Gella. Mad Maggie believes that Red Ruth killed Gella and stole her heartstone. Maggie suspects that Red Ruth is still located somewhere in Avernus, but she doesn’t know where. However, she has heard rumors that Red Ruth has been seen at Mahadi’s Emporium from time to time, and the PCs might check there for a lead to Red Ruth’s current location.

Note: “Gella” means “the one with the golden hair.” Consider having a quiet, emotional moment for Mad Maggie where she remembers the beautiful hair of her fallen friend. It’s up to you whether or not Red Ruth was actually responsible for Gella’s death.

Alternatively, Gaunt Gella was bald, but collected the heads of blonde mortals. (Maggie can still fondly remember how beautiful the hair was.)

Nirvanan Cogbox: Nirvanan cogboxes are a modronic technomancy. Maggie has heard that a modron ship crashed on the shores of the Styx contra-Dis from Fort Knucklebones. (The ship is located in Hex H5, but it’s actually an elemental galleon from Eberron and does not have a cogbox.)

Design Note: At least three instances of each component have been seeded into the Avernian hexcrawl. (The Three Clue Rule waves hello.) In Part 7I: Avernian Rumor Tables, you will find additional rumors that can lead the PCs to these disparate sources.

Mad Maggie gives four leads, and she should give them all at once. She gives two different sources for one component, one possible source for a second component (although she doesn’t exactly know how to track that source down), and an incorrect location for the fourth component.

This spreads four experiences across these leads:

For one component, the PCs have two leads and can choose one. (Establishing the idea that they have multiple options for finding the components.)

For another, they’ll have to follow up their lead to figure out where they can actually find the component. (Establishing the idea that they’ll need to actively investigate to find these components.)

For the third component, they’ll discover a dead end and need to find a different way.

For the fourth component, they’ll have no lead at all. (Establishing the idea that this isn’t just a “do what Mad Maggie tells you” fetch quest; instead, they’ll be in the driver’s seat for figuring out how to obtain these components.)

With no additional explanation, simply receiving these four leads from Mad Maggie will teach the players a lot about the form, structure, and expectations of the Avernian hexcrawl.

Go to Part 6D: Lulu’s Memories

Go to Table of Contents

The PCs’ goal in Avernus is to free Elturel, and this requires three things:

1. Bellandi’s pact with Zariel must be broken.
2. The chains holding Elturel must be severed.
3. Elturel must be returned to the Material Plane.

Of these, the essential modus operandi is the first: For most of their time in Avernus, the PCs can be strictly motivated by figuring out how to break the pact and the campaign will keep ticking along happily. In fact, it’s theoretically possible for them to actually destroy the contract only for them to then realize that, pact or no pact, Elturel is still physically stuck in Hell.

BREAKING THE PACT: There are three ways to break Bellandi’s pact.

1. Both copies of the infernal contract must be brought together and then destroyed. Destruction requires special effort, such as dipping the contracts in the River Styx, the fires of an ancient dragon (perhaps Tiamat?), or a wish
2. If Zariel is redeemed, she will cancel all of her infernal contracts.
3. If Zariel is killed, all of her infernal contracts are canceled.

SEVERING THE CHAINS: The chains holding Elturel can be severed before the infernal contract is broken, but they will simply reform. They are a metaphysical manifestation of the contract and become physically severable only when the contract no longer exists. They can be severed in four ways.

1. Zariel could do it with or without the Sword (because it was her pact which formed them).
2. The PCs could form an alliance with a powerhouse (Bel, Tiamat, or a released Gargauth; but not the planetar or any holy power other than a redeemed Zariel for metaphysical reasons).
3. The Sword of Zariel can cut the chains.
4. There is a control room for the Dock of Fallen Cities in Zariel’s Flying Fortress, which can be used to release the chains.

RETURNING ELTUREL: If the PCs break the contract and sever the chains, then Elturel is left floating above the plains of Avernus. Now what? Moving an entire city through planar space is a non-trivial task, that’s why Zariel bathed the city in the Companion’s light for fifty years in order to build up an etheric charge (see Part 4B).

Good news, though: When that negative charge was reversed to generate the energy wave that brought Elturel to Avernus, an equal and opposite charge was passed into the Companion. (That’s the reason it’s been crackling with lightning this whole time.) This means that if the planetar inside the Companion is released, it will be able to literally lift the entire city out of the Nine Hells and return it to the Material Plane.

1. The PCs can release the planetar by retrieving the adamantine key rods.
2. A redeemed Zariel can also do so.

ALTERNATIVE – GATE ESCAPE: Once Bellandi’s pact has been broken and the chains severed, it becomes possible to evacuate Elturel. (Prior to that, anyone who was in Elturel when it was brought to Avernus is bound and cannot leave the Nine Hells.) We’ll be seeding a few options for opening long-term gates that last long enough for thousands of people to pass through them into Part 7; it’s also possible that the PCs might be able to convince powerful allies (like Tiamat or Bel) to do the same.

A full-scale evacuation option, however, is a corner case I’m not going to spend time prepping unless the players jump for it. The particulars of the evacuation will depend a lot on current circumstances. Things to think about:

• How can the PCs make sure everyone in Elturel knows about the evacuation?
• Who might attempt to stop the evacuation? (Zariel launching a full-fledged devil invasion of Elturel to prevent her prizes from escaping is definitely an option at this point.)
• How will the PCs protect the gate?
• What other problems, roadblocks, and catastrophes might afflict the evacuation effort?
• What factions can help the PCs (and how)?
• What ethical quandaries need to be resolved? (For example, who gets to go first? And should some people be allowed to go at all? Some factions might not want High Rider Ikaia and his vampiric spawn coming with them.)

To make things really epic, remember that we’ve set up the metaphysics so that it’s literally the good souls in Elturel which keep the city floating above the Avernian plains. Although in this scenario the chains are no longer dragging the city down, if those souls literally leave, the whole city could begin rapidly falling. Imagine:

• A final siege upon the gate’s position by Zariel.
• One whole half of the city cracks loose and falls into the Styx below.
• The PCs desperately trying to get the last few thousand people through the gate as the ground begins to crack and crumble around them!

BARGAINING WITH ZARIEL

Things an unredeemed Zariel could potentially do:

• Give the PCs her copy of the Bellandi pact.
• Cancel the Bellandi pact outright.
• Sever or release the chains holding Elturel.
• Release the planetar from inside the Companion.

The only thing Zariel is willing to trade for is the Sword of Zariel. (The published adventure suggests a couple other possibilities, but given the scope of what Zariel is giving up — a plan 50+ years in the making and tens of thousands of new foot soldiers for her armies — it’s really difficult justifying any of them.)

I further recommend that, by default, Zariel will only trade the Sword for the physical contract itself. (Primarily because the special effort still needed to destroy the paired contracts is more interesting than just having Zariel do it herself.) Smart PCs will make sure the bargain includes a provision that Zariel won’t send a task force of devils to steal the contracts back from them.

If the PCs can sweeten the deal (giving her the Shield of the Hidden Lord, agreeing to kill one of her enemies, etc.) they might be able to get her to cancel the contract outright or sever the chains, too.

REDEEMING ZARIEL

As we’ll discuss more in Part 6D, the Sword of Zariel contains a literal spark of goodness: Zariel placed a shard of her own soul in the Sword deliberately, knowing that the devils were coming for her and sensing her own weakness. The Sword will thus offer the PCs an opportunity to redeem Zariel if they have the chance.

If Zariel is redeemed, she can (and will):

• Cancel all of her infernal contracts.
• Sever the chains holding Elturel.
• Release the planetar.

This is more or less the “official” or “best” ending of Descent Into Avernus. If the PCs can pull off the redemption, they pretty much solve the whole problem in one fell swoop.

ALTERNATIVE – DREAM MACHINE REDEMPTION: As an alternative to the Sword of Zariel, it might also be possible to redeem Zariel by somehow maneuvering her into the dream machine with Lulu, forcing her to relive her memories, and, thus, giving her the opportunity to make a different choice.

This seems like a pretty long shot. But if one of the players make a 1,000 IQ play and they somehow manage to pull it off, more power to them. (Knocking Zariel unconscious and literally dragging her into the machine is one way. In her hubris, she’d probably also be willing to agree to get into the dream machine for a price considerably lower than the Sword of Zariel.)

RAID ON THE FLYING FORTRESS

In Part 7D, I’ll be redesigning Zariel’s Flying Fortress using the Raiding the Death Star! scenario structure. There are two things the PCs can gain by raiding the fortress:

• Zariel’s half of Bellandi’s contract.
• Access to the control room for the Dock of Fallen Cities (which they can use to detach the chains if the pact has been broken).

ALTERNATIVE – ASSAULT ON THE DOCK OF FALLEN CITIES: I’ve put the control room for the Dock of Fallen Cities on the flying fortress mostly to simplify my prep. In practice, there are some shortcomings: You can justify Zariel having the controls on her mothership, but logically it probably makes more sense for the Dock’s control center to be onsite. There’s also a real risk of déjà vu (with the PCs raiding the fortress for the contract, going to destroy the contract, and then having to raid the fortress again to disengage the chains). You can work around this by either allowing the PCs to set the controls to disengage once the contract is destroyed (so they can do both tasks in one raid) OR by making the second raid distinct and interesting in some way (by increasing security, for example).

Alternatively, you could move the control center to some spire or turret in the Dock of Fallen Cities and prep an alternative scenario in which the PCs (having somehow destroyed the contract) must now assault the Dock and release the chains!

(For example, you could take this map, put this map at the bottom of it, and then put this map on top of the second map. Stock it up with a devilish security team and some magical defenses and away you go.)

POWERFUL ALLIES

There are some very powerful allies (or, at least, allies of convenience) that the PCs can make in Avernus. Likely candidates include Bel, Tiamat, and Gargauth (if he’s freed from the Shield of the Hidden Lord). Kostchtchie, Crokek’toeck, Yeenoghu, and maybe even Shummrath are significantly less likely options.

These allies can:

• Help the PCs kill Zariel. (Without such aid, it’s extremely unlikely the PCs can pull this off.)
• Sever the chains holding Elturel.

Almost without exception, all of them are more likely to do the latter than the former. And, of course, getting any of them to help is going to come at a price.

UNLOCKING THE COMPANION

Unlocking the Companion requires nine adamantine control rods which were lost when Zariel’s previous flying fortress crashed (DIA, p. 118). The unlocking process is briefly described on DIA, p. 154.

Note that I’m deliberately getting rid of the option of shattering the Companion by hitting it with the Sword of Zariel. Because the Sword can also sever the chains, my personal preference is for it not to be a one-stop shop for solving the whole problem. Your mileage may vary, however, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with a Sword-wielding PC swooping up and hacking the planetar out of its prison.

ALTERNATIVE – RODS, RODS, EVERYWHERE: As written, all nine adamantine control rods are located in the wrecked flying fortress. Alternatively, the fortress could have been looted decades ago and the rods scattered across the Avernian plains. Maybe Zariel has recovered some and they’re in her current fortress; maybe Bel has some; maybe some warlords prize them; maybe Maggie has one and doesn’t even know what it is (the PCs see it early in the campaign and later realize – OMG! – it was right in front of them the whole time!).

This will extend the campaign, but can be used to push the PCs into interacting more widely/deeply with locations in Avernus.

REVELATION LIST: THE BIG THREE

There are a number of revelations necessary for the PCs to complete the Avernian quest, so let’s whip up some revelation lists. Like the list in Part 3C: The Vanthampur Revelations, I’m including brief descriptions of each clue for clarity since many of these clues refer to material that won’t be available until after this post goes live.

HOW TO FREE ELTUREL: Break the pact and sever the chains to free the city. Then you’ll still need to find a way to take it home.

• Liashandra. The demon sent to stop Zariel from claiming Elturel will happily share her knowledge of how it can be prevented.
• Bel’s Forge. The original plans for the Dock of Fallen Cities would spell it out.
• Gargauth. If pushed to the brink (see Addendum: Playing Gargauth), Gargauth can explain how to save Elturel.
• Dock of Fallen Cities. (Partial) The control instrumentation would indicate that the chains cannot be disengaged unless the pact has been broken.

HOW TO BREAK THE PACT: Get the other half of the contract from Zariel, kill her, or make a bargain with her.

• Sylvira and Traxigor. They explain this in their “mission briefing” before the PCs go to Hellturel.
• Pherria Jynx & Ravengard. If the PCs tell them that they have Bellandi’s copy of the contract, Jynx knows enough lore to recognize what they have to do. Ravengard will explicitly tell them that this is what they should do.
• Gargauth.
• Talking to almost anyone in Hell. Pretty much everybody in Hell knows how to break an infernal contract.

HOW TO SEVER THE CHAINS: Can’t be done until the infernal contract is broken. Requires someone or something of incredible power. Zariel herself could do it using the control room on her flying fortress.

• Studying the Chains. DC 16 Intelligence (Arcana) check while studying the chains with proper tools/spells will make it clear how much strength would be required; and possibly that the chains have a remote connection to something that must be controlling them.
• Liashandra. She doesn’t know where the control room is, but knows that it must exist.
• Bel’s Forge. The original plans for the Dock of Fallen Cities. Bel himself may also offer it in trade.
• Gargauth. If pushed to the brink, Gargauth can tell them how “impossible” it is to release the chains.

HOW TO RETURN ELTUREL: Open the Companion and free the planetar.

• Bel’s Forge. The original plans for the Dock of Fallen Cities or Companion reveal the negative charge built up in the Companion.
• Dock of Fallen Cities Control Room. Instrumentation reveals the negative charge built up in the Companion.
• Gargauth. If pushed to the brink, Gargauth knows the planetar can save the city.

REVELATION LIST: ADDITIONAL REVELATIONS

The revelations above reveal WHAT the PCs need to do. These supporting revelations point to HOW they can do it.

ZARIEL WANTS THE SWORD: And therefore might be willing to trade something for it.

• The Vision from Torm (Lulu’s Memories)
• Maggie (Fort Knucklebones). She’s an expert in Zariel lore.
• Original Hellriders. Any of the original Hellriders know how important the Sword is to Zariel.
• Swordhunters. Found throughout the Avernian plains, seeking Zariel’s long-standing bounty for its recovery.

THE TRUE NATURE OF THE SOLAR INSIDIATOR: There’s a planetar locked inside (and maybe you should free it).

• Bel’s Forge. Where the Companion was built. The original plans can be found there; they have been notated to indicate that the control rods were lost in the wreck of Zariel’s previous flying fortress.
• Dock of Fallen Cities Control Room. Instrumentation reveals true nature of the Companion.
• Gargauth. Gargauth knows. He may be willing to reveal this information without being pushed to the brink if circumstances / the offer is right.

BEL’S FORGE IS WHERE THE COMPANION WAS BUILT: And you can find out how to open it there.

• Maggie (Fort Knucklebones). Knows the Companion was designed at Bel’s Forge.
• Gargauth. Doesn’t know how to open the Companion, but knows it was built at Bel’s Forge.
• Dock of Fallen Cities Control Room. Instrumentation bears Bel’s forgemark.

LOCATION OF THE CRASHED FLYING FORTRESS: Where the adamantine control rods are.

• Bel. He knows.
• Maggie. She knows.
• Avernian Warlord Rumors. PCs can hunt for rumors (see Part 7I).

THE SPARK IN THE SWORD: The Sword of Zariel contains a spark of Zariel’s divine light (and could be used to redeem her). This is not a proper revelation, but it is a significant info-dump so it may be worth pointing out here.

• Lulu’s Memories. Foreshadow the truth.
• Claiming the Sword. The moment of claiming the Sword makes it crystal clear that the spark exists (and why it exists). See Part 6D.

Go to Part 6C: Quest for the Dream Machine