Go to Part 1

The vault in which Lord Neverember hid his stolen wealth was, in fact, constructed by the Melairkyn dwarves thousands of years ago and, today, lies beneath the Brandath family crypts.

Clan Melairkyn were the first to begin excavating beneath what is now Waterdeep. The earliest portions of Undermountain were, in fact, the Underhalls in which they made their homes and wrought their mithral-craft.

Near the Underhalls, the also built a ceremonial vault. The Melairkyn were worshippers of Dumathoin, the Keeper of the Mountain’s Secrets. Their cult believed that Dumathoin encoded his secrets in the veins of ore and precious stones he placed in the mountains he raised from the earth for the dwarven people. In their mining, the dwarves released Dumathoin’s secrets into the world. This angered Dumathoin and there was a period of discord beween the dwarves and the Mordinsamman (the council of dwarven gods). In order to appear Dumathoin and to protect his secrets, the cult would mystically bind the “secrets of the mountain” into items of finely-wrought dwarfcraft and then make offering of it to Dumathoin by securing them within ceremonial vaults.

After the Melairkyn civilization fell before an invasion of dark elves, the vault was looted and abandoned, its secrets – whatever they may have been – scattered to the corners of the world. The entrance was eventually buried by the passage of time. Nearly a millennia passed before the city of Waterdeep was founded, and the area near the vault became used as a burial ground which would expand to become the City of the Dead.

The Brandath family eventually constructed a mausoleum on the site. A hundred years later, as the mausoleum was being expanded, the excavations broke through into antechambers of the Melairkyn vault. Struck by the grand and mysterious beauty of the vault, the Brandaths of the time concealed the vault’s existence and used it as a site for performing ritual mummery based loosely on the original Melairkyn rituals as part of a secret fraternal order known as the Brothers of the Maroon Pin. A scandal eventually saw the Maroon Brotherhood shut down, and the vault lay largely forgotten under the Brandath mausoleum.

When Lady Alethea Brandath died, however, her husband, Lord Neverember, discovered the existence of the vault while making preparations for her internment in the old mausoleum. Gaining access to the inner vault, he realized it would be a perfect place to store the money he was embezzling from the city.

Once the money was safely ensconced, Neverember concealed the location of the vault using the Stone of Golorr. After blinding the Stone, he hid one of the Eyes in a crypt near his wife’s. His logic was that no one knew where the Vault was located except him, so no one would look there.

Lord Dagult, however, had not counted on the perseverance of the Cassalanters.They performed an exhaustive survey of sites associated with Lord Neverember, including his wife’s tomb. There they discovered the hiding place of the Eye and took it. (Ironically, they never realized they were standing almost directly above the vault.)

THE CITY OF THE DEAD

In 1250 DR, when Waterdeep’s graveyard had become hopelessly congested with the dead, the city began constructing public mausoleums and the character of the City of the Dead was permanently changed. Today much of it is a public park, dotted with mausoleums and crypt-complexes. (See Dragon Heist, p. 179.)

DUSK: At dusk, hundreds of driftglobes make their way from the inhavited part of the city and congregate in the City of the Dead. They spend the night here and then disperse, returning to the waking city at dawn. No one knows the reason for this.

NIGHT: At night, the City of the Dead is closed. Two city guards are stationed at each entry gate. It requires a DC 15 Dexterity (Stealth) check to slip over the walls.

GUARDIANS

SIR AMBROSE EVERDAWN (LG male human Tethyrian knight): An aging servant of Kelemvor (god of the dead), patrols the cemetery from sunset to sunrise, chasing off grave robbers and making sure the dead stay buried. Characters who creep around the cemetery in the dark have a 30 percent chance of running into him. If that happens, he escorts them out and alerts the City Guard if they refuse to leave.

BRANDATH TREANT: The largest tree growing by the main entrance to the Brandath Mausoleums is a treant. It awakens when one or more creatures approach and growls, “Only those of Brandath blood are welcome here! Begone!”

If someone other than a Brandath attempts to enter a mausoleum, the treant will animate two trees and attack. The treant and its animated allies are too big to enter all but the main chambers of Mausoleum C.

If Renaer Neverember (of Brandath blood) is present, the treant allows him and his companions to pass unmolested. It says to Renaer in passing, “Your mother was a lovely person.”

MAUSOLEUMS

The first small mausoleum built on this site was expanded with various antechambers and new crypts to hold additional members of the Brandath family. Other single-occupant mausoleums were added around the original structure, although many of these were subsequently razed to make way for the larger structures which now form the rambling crypt-complex of the Brandath family.

GENERAL FEATURES:

• Doors: The stone doors of the mausoleums are generally locked (DC 15 Dexterity check to pick the lock; DC 25 Strength (Athletics) check to force it).
• Coat of Arms: The Brandath coat of arms can be found upon the floor of each mausoleum. An DC 15 Intelligence (History) check can determine, based on the variations and progression of the heraldry, which of the buildings is oldest. (D is the oldest, followed by F, B, A, C, and E.)

MAUSOLEUM A – CELESTIAL STATUES: When this mausoleum was built, the popular style was for each grave to be marked with a statue of the deceased rendered as if they had been reborn as a celestial: Wings, glowing eyes (by way of persistent spells), and halos are common. One is carved as if they were an Empyrean – although the statue is life-size, it is surrounded by faceless, miniature people suggesting that its trues scale is much larger. Others are accompanied by couatl, pegasi, and the like.

• AREA 1: The statue in this chamber was enchanted to sing when mourners drew near. Over the centuries, however, this enchantment is fading and the voice fades and cuts, creating an unsettling and atonal melody.

MAUSOLEUM B – THE OSSUARIES: These four buildings in the southwest corner of the crypt-complex have been transformed into (or were built as) ossuaries. Some were “buried” by having their bones directly placed in these ossuaries, but in other cases bodies were moved here in order to make room for new arrivals elsewhere in the crypt-complex.

• AREA 2: The floor-to-ceiling shelving that once held the bones in this ossuary has collapsed, filling the entire building with tumbled piles of bone. 6 crawling claws (MM, p. 44) scurry among and tunnel through the bones (leaping out from unexpected angles).

MAUSOLEUM C – THE GRAND CRYPT: This two-storey tall building was built at the height of the Brandath family’s power and influence. Constructed of marble and porphyry, its Doric architecture is redolent of 13^th century Illuskan revivalism. The name BRANDATH is carved in Thorassian (common) letters above the doors.

• AREA 3: The vaulted main hall of the grand crypt is perpetually lit by three chandeliers with blue everburning candles. Plaques upon the floors and walls indicate where dozens of people have been laid to rest seemingly behind every wall. Bas reliefs serve as strange death masks.
• AREA 4: This side chamber is taken up almost entirely by the tomb of Sir Jom Shiaon Brandath, a half-giant. Carvings around his titanic sarcophagus indicate that he died seeking vengeance again “Lord Bombur,” who had “cruelly butchered” Sir Jom’s family with a cowardly assault upon his keep while Sir Jom was on campaign in the First Dragonspear War (1356 YD).
• SECOND FLOOR: The stairs at the south end of the building lead up to a second floor of tight, claustrophobic passages lined with crypts.

MAUSOLEUM D – THE FIRST CRYPT: This building is the oldest in the crypt-complex. BR_N__TH CRY_TS is carved in faded letters of the Dethek alphabet above the eastern doors. Age-worn stone can be seen everywhere, along with clear signs of repeated renovation. Individual crypt sites have been renovated, moved, and even removed over hundreds of years.

• AREA 5: This room was the original mausoleum on this site. See “Lady Alethea’s Tomb,” below.

MAUSOLEUM E – ULD’S CRYPT: Despite being the newest construction in the crypt-complex, this mausoleum is in very poor repair. Part of the roof has caved in, crushing several of the tomb sites within.

• AREA 6: A gravemarker identifies the sarcophagus here as belonging to Uld Brandath, a Waterdhavian magister who died in a freak accident years ago. (A gargoyle broke off the corner of a government building and fell on Uld, crushing him.) One corner of his sarcophagi has been staved in by the collapsed ceiling. Uld’s skeletal corpse wears a headband of intellect.
• CRAWLING CLAWS: Six crawling claws (MM, p.44), made from the hands of murderers who were sentenced to death by Uld, escaped from his sarcophagus and now infest the building.

MAUSOLEUM F – SMALL MAUSOLEUMS: Originally there were several dozens of these smaller mausoleums located in the Brandath crypt-complex, each containing a single body (or perhaps a small family unit). Many were raised in order to build the Grand Crypt and, more recently, Uld’s Crypt.

• AREA 7: One of the small mausoleums is obviously of much newer construction than the others. The name “LORD ANRI BRANDATH” is carved above the door. On the relatively plain sarcophagus inside, two dice appear to have been carelessly tossed (reading snake eyes). Lord Anri is, in fact, buried here. Lord Dagult had this mausoleum built and transferred Lord Anri’s body here when he renovated Lord Anri’s original resting place (see “Lady Alethea’s Tomb”).
• GM Note: Combined with the vision granted by the Stone of Golorr, this will likely function as a red herring for PCs who believe the Vault lies beneath Lord Anri’s tomb.

LADY ALETHEA’S TOMB

This room was actually the first Brandath mausoleum and it was the burial site of Lord Anri, who rested here undisturbed for many hundred years while his descendants lived, died, and were buried around him.

The ego of Lord Dagult Neverember, however, manifests in myriad ways. When his wife, Lady Alethea Brandath, died, Lord Dagult wished to exult her in death. Lady Alethea, however, had requested a simple tomb in the Brandath Crypts. Nevertheless, Lord Dagult got what he wanted by refurbishing Lord Anri’s tomb and burying her there, giving her a place of primacy.

LADY ALETHEA’S SARCOPHAGUS: Clearly newer than the rest of the crypt, a bouquet of wilted flowers lies atop her sarcophagus (which is sculpted in her likeness).

• GM Note: The flowers were left by Renaer.

PORTRAIT ON THE CEILING: A faded, chipped portrait of Lord Anri adorns the the plaster ceiling. He is identified in the portrait with a labeled banner. Fresh script around the perimeter of the painting reads, in four languages, “The beauty of our age, in death, is watched over by the spirits of her ancestors.”

• DC 14 Intelligence (History): The portrait was actually added to the crypt several centuries after Lord Anri’s time. In the portrait, he is wearing an alexandrite-tipped pin and is holding a distinctive dwarven compass in his left hand. (DC 17: These are symbols of the Maroon Brotherhood, an obscure fraternal order that was once active in Waterdeep but not longer exists.)
• GM Note: Lord Anri was not a member of the Maroon Brotherhood; the painting was commissioned by the brotherhood and added the symbolism retroactively.

SECRET PASSAGE: A DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) test discovers that the southern wall of the crypt is false, disguising the staircase leading to the old crypts beneath the mausoleum.

THE OLD CRYPTS

See the map on p. 71 of Dragon Heist.

STAIRS DOWN: Sconces for torches are placed on the walls, but there are no torches within them. The airy is dry. There is a thick coating of dust, but a large amount of fairly recent traffic has disturbed it up and down the main hall.

• DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation): The top step is scorched by a recent explosion. A DC 12 Intelligence (Arcana) check identifies this as the remains of a triggered glyph of warding. (GM Note: Triggered by the Cassalanter team that removed the Eye.)

AREA M2: One of the sconces has been ripped from the wall here and tossed to the floor.

• DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation): The remnants of a glyph of warding can be found on the floor here. It’s been rendered inactive by someone blotting out several key strokes of the glyph.
• Sconce: There was a secret compartment behind the sconce. It’s empty now. (GM Note: This is where Lord Neverember hid the Third Eye, which the Cassalanters then stole.)

TO THE VAULT: The collapsed eastern end of the tunnel is actually an illusion that conceals an intact archway filled with a heavy door of steel.

• The Arch: The keystone of the arch is decorated to appear like a mountain with a purple alexandrite gemstone in the middle of it (a variation of Dumathoin’s holy symbol). The voussoir have various symbols carved in them in alternation with dwarven runes: A dwarven compass, a serpent’s forked tongue, a scarabaeus, a brain with two tentacles (Ilsensine’s holy symbol), a broken arrow (Laduguer’s holy symbol). (GM Note: These are all symbols of the Maroon Brotherhood.)
• The Door: Obviously much more recent than the surrounding stonework (it was installed by Lord Dagult to provide some actual physical security for the vault), and has actually damaged some of the ancient symbols on the arch. It’s a 2-foot-thick vault door, with a DC 22 lock. There’s an alarm spell on the door, but it’s keyed to Lord Dagult and, assuming he’s still in Neverwinter, he’s too far away to get the ping.
• Beyond the Door: A 10-foot-wide hallway that slopes down to the Vault (see Part 6C). A glyph of warding has been placed so that it triggers on anyone stepping through the door.

DESIGN NOTES

Pretty much everything I’m doing here is aimed at giving the conclusion of the campaign enough weight to feel meaningful. Exploring the mausoleums and their history isn’t a particularly meaty interaction, but it invests the player into a specific place with specific meaning before they crack open the Vault. It also provides a nice thematic loop with the beginning of the campaign, which started with the PCs rescuing Renaer Neverember and getting drawn into his family’s drama.

Go to Part 6C: The Vault

Go to Part 1

The Stone of Golorr is described on p. 192 of Dragon Heist. What many people don’t realize, however, is that the Stone of Golorr previously appeared as part of WotC’s Stream of Many Eyes event and a tie-in ARG:

The Sage of Shadowdale hath hid on Earth a stone, of great power and imminent import. Its guardian, an exile from my realm, was spirited to Earth with this in tow; to keep it safe and secret ‘ere its prophesied return.

The continuity of the Stream of Many Eyes features a number of elements from Dragon Heist, but although it seemed to lead directly into the published scenario, that promise didn’t really come to fruition. The Stone of Golorr as it appeared here had a different back story, different properties, and even a prophesied destiny.

Since I found a number of elements in the Stream of Many Eyes continuity for the Stone intriguing, I attempted to blend the two continuities together. This effort, however, quickly went awry: Rather than simply combining the two continuities, I ended up riffing on the basic conceptual ideas and ended up basically reinventing the Stone.

There are no principles of design or anything like that which led me down this path; it’s a purely idiosyncratic creative response to the raw material. Maybe you’ll end up liking what you’ll see here, and maybe you won’t. If you do, great. If you don’t, the good news is that you can generally just use the Stone of Golorr as it appears in Dragon Heist. The only element you’ll need to pick up from here are the Three Eyes.

WHAT THE STONE IS

The Stone of Golorr is an artifact that once belonged to the Abolethic Sovereignty. For millennia it was held in a vault within the ancient floating city of Xxiphu on the world of Abeir, but it was lost during the Wailing Years.

According to some histories, it was brought to Abeir-Toril when Xxiphu first plummeted to the world and settled deep below what is now the Sea of Fallen Stars. According to others, an aboleth who came to Abeir-Toril before the arrival of Xxiphu created the Stone; or perhaps he fled to Abeir-Toril carrying the stone and Xxiphu came in pursuit of their prize. Some versions of the tale claim that the Stone was forged during the primeval battles between Shar and Selûne, in the very moment that the world of Toril was formed.

Whether the Stone predates or co-dates the creation of Toril, in arcane terms this gives the Stone a position of primacy, making it capable of effects which no magic item or artifact created in these younger days could possibly duplicate.

HOW THE STONE WORKS

When the proper ritual is performed, the Stone magically eliminates a memory or piece of knowledge from everyone on Toril except for the person who is attuned to the Stone.

PERFORMING THE RITUAL: The use of the Stone to erase memory is a special ritual-form of legend lore which takes 12 hours to cast. Performing the ritual requires:

• The ability to cast legend lore.
• Knowledge of the ritual modifications to the spell.
• The use of a second abolethic artifact, a small tetrahedron of red jade. (This artifact is still in Lord Neverember’s possession.)
• Special incenses suffused with the blood of an aboleth (2,500gp cost) and four ivory strips worth at least 50gp each.

During the ritual, the burning of the incense causes the four sides of the tetrahedron to unfold, revealing slots into which the ivory strips are then inserted. The Stone is then placed within the tetrahedron and the sides closed around it.

As the ritual completes, the tetrahedron opens once more, revealing the Stone of Golorr as it releases a burst of psionic energy. This energy attempts to refract through the person attuned to the Stone, forcing them to make a Wisdom saving throw with a difficulty commensurate to the scope of the memory or knowledge they are seeking to eliminate. (The memory of something with little significance and known to very few people would have a smaller DC than something of great significance or known to a large number of people.)

A group of people can attempt to perform the ritual together in order to reduce the difficulty of this saving throw by -2 per additional person (by spreading psionic refraction between them). The number of characters participating in the ritual is limited by the level of the character leading the ritual (i.e., a 5^th level character could lead a ritual with up to 5 people), and all participants must succeed at the saving throw in order for the ritual to be successful.

On a failure, the ritual member fails to refract the psionic energy and the memory they were seeking to erase is eliminated only from their mind. If a particularly significant piece of knowledge was being targeted, the failure might also invoke a general fugue state for minutes, hours, or days (at the DM’s discretion).

On a success, the knowledge is eliminated: Wiped clean from scrolls and inscriptions. Removed from all living memory except for those attuned to the Stone or participating in the ritual.

Note, however, that:

• This is very specific. For example, Neverember only eliminated the knowledge of the Vault’s location, which is why other lore regarding the Vault (like its existence and the keys required to open it) can still be found. As if reality had become a poorly expurgated book, you can still see where the “text” has been snipped out if you know where to look.
• This only destroys current knowledge, not the subject of the knowledge nor the ability to learn that knowledge in the future. Making everyone forget Bob, for example, doesn’t stop Bob from saying, “Hi! I’m Bob!”

USING THE STONE: Communicating with the Stone, receiving knowledge from the Stone, or performing the knowledge-erasing ritual requires the user to be attuned to the Stone. This can be a somewhat unpleasant process as the attunement takes the form of your thoughts slowly becoming compatible with the utterly alien, abolethic thoughtforms of the Stone.

THE STONE BLINDED

As Dragon Heist begins, the Stone of Golorr has been blinded by Lord Neverember; he has removed its three Eyes. This is not a physically difficult procedure: If someone is attuned to the Stone, an Eye can simply be physically popped out (or popped in). With the Eyes missing, however, the capabilities of the Stone are limited.

A simple physical examination of the Stone will make it clear that the three Eyes are missing.

BLINDED: The Stone is inert.

1 EYE RESTORED: With one Eye restored, the Stone can communicate, but still not see the secrets it once contained.

2 EYES RESTORED: Although still crippled, the Stone (and a character attuned to it) can now “see” the location of the remaining Eye and the immediate area around it. (This routes around a potential failure to figure out the location of the third Eye, and also speeds up the procedure of the third Eye Heist by essentially allowing the PCs to skip the normal surveillance requirements.)

3 EYES RESTORED: The Stone of Golorr is fully restored and operates normally once again.

SECRETS OF THE STONE OF GOLORR

The Stone of Golorr is a sentient magic item with an Intelligence of 18, a Wisdom of 16, and a Charsma of 18. It has hearing and darkvision out to a range of 120 feet. It can communicate telepathically with the creature that is attuned to it, as long as that creature understands at least one language. In addition, the Stone learns the greatest desires of any creature that communicates telepathically with it.

Speaking with the Stone is difficult as its thought processes are alien. As a result, the information it provides is often cryptic or vague.

Legend Lore: The Stone of Golorr has a maximum of 3 charges and regains 1d3-2 expended charges daily at dawn. While holding the Stone, you can expend 1 of its charges to cast the legend lore spell.

Using one of these charges, the Stone can share with its attuned holder the secrets which have been hidden inside of it, either through speech or through a telepathic burst of imagery and sensation. Its holder can direct this towards a particular secret if they are aware of its existence; otherwise the Stone will provide a secret according to its own perverse whim and alien predilection.

Examples of such secrets, ranging from the banal to the profound, include:

• Any number of horrible racial slurs.
• The elvish word essylathir, which means the beauty of eyes which are the color of a storm-tossed sea.
• The existence of a race of tawny-haired bipeds known as “fuzzies” that live in the High Forest.
• The Kingdom of Otheria, which ruled a demesne from the Sword Coast to the sands of Anauroch approximately 500 years ago.
• The name “Anu-Devan,” which was once the most popular male elven name.
• The Aurunean Invasion. Strange invaders wearing insectile helmets of mithral-and-gold came from a continent far to the west and invaded Faerûn. Apparently the Stone was used to eradicate all knowledge of the war, thus ending the conflict (since it also eradicated the navigational charts the Auruneans had used to reach what they called the Eastern Shores).
• The location of 16 bars of silver, buried in the rear yard of a tavern in Murann in 916 DR.
• The location of the Nexus (see Book of Eldritch Might III).
• An atrocity performed during the Crown Wars. Although history has long-maintained that the dark elf Ilythiiri attacked the smaller kingdom of Orishaar on the thinnest of pretenses to begin the Second Crown War, it turns out that the Orishaari actually betrayed the Ilythiiri at a wedding which was to unite their two people and slaughtered most of the Ilythiiri royal family. The knowledge of this was wiped from history by the Stone of Golorr, leaving the official histories to record only that the dark elves went to war “in supposed retaliation for Aryvandaar’s aggression against the Miyeritari. Consdiering that the moon elves of Orishaar had no connection with Aryvandar beyond a trade alliance, and the Ilythiiri had little to do with the beleaguered elves of Miycritar, this was a thinly veiled excuse for the Ilythiiri to seize some land from the moon elves.” (Lost Empires of Faerun)
• The spells blacksteel and midnight shroud (see Spells of Light and Darkness).
• The ritual required for the creation of a Hell cyst (see Part 3).
• The existence of the Shadowdusk family, and their holdings on Level 22 of Undermountain. (Or perhaps some other hook to Dungeon of the Mad Mage.)

Perceptive PCs may notice that many of these secrets were likely secured on Toril at a time when the Stone of Golorr was supposedly being held in a vault on Abeir. If they inquire on this topic, the Stone will reveal that when Abeir and Toril were reunited, it was ripped back in time to the point where the two worlds were sundered and then “skipping” through time, appearing in Toril at various, discontinuous points through history.

Memory’s Passing: If you lose attunement with the Stone you must attempt a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or the memories you shared with the Stone (i.e., the lost knowledge you gained from it) will begin to fade from your mind

DESIGN NOTES

Another option I looked at here was to allow each secret encoded within the Stone to be locked with a passphrase. To access the secret you would need both Stone and passphrase.  (The passphrase for the Vault’s location would have been “Brandath,” which would be seeded throughout the campaign with the Three Clue Rule.)

Passphrases might be vulnerable to certain divinatory attempts; or maybe it’s a requirement that the passphrase be recorded on a stone disc. If they’re NOT vulnerable to divinatory “hacking,” the use of passphrases would allow you to control exactly what information the PCs can pull out of the Stone. And the hunt for a passphrase can become an adventure in its own right (many times over).

I decided the use of passphrases was just an extra layer of complexity that Dragon Heist didn’t need, however, and so opted not to implement it. If you do, I’d recommend that the Cassalanters have a list of several passphrases they’re interested in feeding into the Stone.

WHERE IS THE VAULT?

Those seeking Neverember’s Enigma from the Stone will receive that information in two simultaneous streams of information:

• A tangled barrage of imagery: Twisted underground tunnels lit by strange lights. An endless field of corpses. Halls of stone. A golden dragon, aging so rapidly that scales shed from its skin. The sound of a silver hammer striking stone. A beam of sunlight in a darkened room. A chisel carving Dethek (dwarven) characters which transform themselves into two words: BRANDATH CRYPTS.
• A cryptic riddle: Where laid his wife to rest ‘midst bones of son’s blood sealed, there where Anri laid himself to rest lies that which Open Lord concealed.

Go to Part 6B: The Brandath Crypts

Go to Part 1

The PCs will spend a significant portion of this remixed campaign engaged with the other factions of the Grand Game: Investigating them, reacting to them, targeting them, getting pissed off at them, etc. Much of that activity will be structured around investigating the factions’ outposts and lairs, following the web of connections between them.

The revelation lists for each outpost and lair below adhere, at a minimum, to the Three Clue Rule. But you should remain alert for opportunities to dynamically generate clues in response to the PCs’ actions.

DYNAMIC CLUE – RESEARCHING A FACTION: If the PCs want to find a faction by doing general research, point them in the direction of one of the faction’s outposts. (Each outpost will contain clues that point to the Lairs, which are generally their ultimate goal.) See Rulings in Practice: Gather Information.

DYNAMIC CLUE – TRACKING BAD GUYS: Or backtracking them. Lean towards these trails leading to/from outposts, too. If the PCs are tracking the bad guys from an Outpost, though, it can be toss-up whether they’re heading to another outpost or a lair. In some cases, of course, simple logic about what the NPCs are likely to be doing will override this structural guidance, in which case you should go with the logical option.

DYNAMIC CLUE – INTERROGATION: Similar guidance applies when the PCs start interrogating faction members. If these are mooks they’ve found in the field, the interrogation will usually lead back to the outpost they’re based out of. If they’re interrogating people in an outpost, on the other hand, they’re more likely to spill the beans on the faction’s lair. Again, use common sense (particularly when it comes to established NPCs like Urstul Floxin or Nihiloor).

DESIGN NOTE

In distributing clues, my general rule of thumb for any given outpost was to include one clue in a different outpost of the same faction, one clue in a lair or outpost of a competing faction, and one clue with a response team. For the lairs, I included one clue in each of the faction’s outposts and then also includes at least one clue with a competing faction.

This was not a formula I followed slavishly and you’ll find a number of exceptions, but as a guiding principle it helped make sure that I didn’t over-cluster the clues and inadvertently create structural cul-de-sacs.

BREGAN D’AERTHE LOCATIONS

FENERUS STORMCASTLE’S HOUSE

• Letter Regarding Fenerus Stormcastle’s House (Seven Masks Theater)
• A Directive to Zorbog (Zhentarim Interrogation House)
• Sealed Letter to Fenerus Stormcastle (Response Team: Krebbyg Masq’il’yr)
• A Directive from Jarlaxle (Gralhund Villa – Artheyn Manor)

SEVEN MASKS THEATER

• Message regarding “Westra Moltimmur” and “Sapphiria’s Booty” (Fenerus Stormcastle’s House)
• Report on the Seven Masks Theater (Xanathar’s Lair)
• Playbill for the Seven Masks Theater (Response Team: Soluun Xibrindas)
• Letter from N’arl (Sea Maidens Faire)

LAIR: SEA MAIDENS FAIRE

• Report regarding guild difficulties relating to the Sea Maidens Faire. (Fenerus Stormcastle’s House)
• Following Krebbyg or Questioning Fenerus. (Fenerus Stormcastle’s House)
• Speaking with Malcolm Brizzenbright (Seven Masks Theater)
• Report on the Seven Masks Theater (Xanathar’s Lair)

CASSALANTER LOCATIONS

ASMODEAN SHRINE

• Arn’s Meeting Notification (Converted Windmill)
• Report on the Cultists of Asmodeus (Sea Maiden’s Faire)
• Proactive: Harpers hire the PCs to investigate the shrine. (see “Using the Cassalanter Outposts”, Part 3B)

CONVERTED WINDMILL

• Seffia Naelryke’s Visiting Card (Response Team: Vevette Blackwater)
• Arn’s Book of Worship (Asmodean Shrine)
• Injury Report (Terasse Estate)
• Report from Seffia Naelryke (Cassalanter Villa)

LAIR: CASSALANTER VILLA

• Proactive: Invitation from the Cassalanters
• Bregan D’Aerth’s Report on the Grand Game (Sea Maidens Faire)
• Questioning Cultists (Asmodean Shrine)
• Noble Sigil on the Mirror of the Fiend (Asmodean Shrine)
• Instructions from Lord Cassalanter (Asmodean Shrine)

XANATHARIAN LOCATIONS

GRINDA GARLOTH

• Note Regarding Gladiatorial Weaponry (Terasse Estate)
• A Recommendation for Materiel (Response Team: Fel’rekt Lafeen)
• A Directive from N’arl Xibrindas (Any Xanathar Response Team)

TERASSE ESTATE

• A Directive Regarding Materiel (Grinda Garloth)
• On the Delivery of a Mechanical Beholder (Xanather Sewer Hideout 2)
• Report from Seffia Naelryke (Cassalanter Villa)

XANATHAR SEWER HIDEOUT, TAKE 2

• Orb Confectioners’ Note (Response Team: Korgstrod Uxgulm)
• Report to Agorn Fuoco (Response Team: Vevette Blackwater)
• An Ill Man’s Note (Terasse Estate)

LAIR: XANATHAR’S LAIR

• Gralhund Report on the Grand Game (Gralhund Villa)
• Rescuing Ott Steeltoes (Zhentarim Interrogation House)
• A Note Regarding Gladiatorial Weapons (Grinda Garloth)
• Gladiatorial Gathering Point (Terasse Estate)
• Correspondence with N’arl Xibrindas (Xanathar Sewer Hideout 2)

ZHENTARIM LOCATIONS

ZHENTARIM INTERROGATION HOUSE

• Directive to Urstul Floxin (Response Team: Urstul Floxin)
• Crumpled Note (Yellowspire)
• Questioning the Zhentarim Response Teams (or being captured by them)

YELLOWSPIRE

• Tracking Urstul Floxin before the Gralhund Villa operation (Response Team: Urstul Floxin)
• Threatening Agorn Fuoco; he’ll sell out his friend to save his own life (Response Team: Agorn Fuoco)
• A Missive from Castle Ward (Gralhund Villa)
• Questioning Samara (Xanathar Lair)

LAIR: KOLAT TOWERS

• Xanathar’s Report on the Grand Game (Xanathar’s Lair)
• Cassalanter’s Report on the Grand Game (Cassalanter Villa)
• Teleportation circle (Yellowspire)
• Capturing Agorn Fuoco (Response Team: Agorn Fuoco)
• Questioning Samara (Xanathar’s Lair)

Go to Part 6: Golorr Artifacts

Go to Part 1

BACKTRACKING DALAKHAR

Once the PCs identify Dalakhar as the primary target of the explosion, they may want to try backtracking his activities.

A successful Charisma (Investigation) check can track him back to the Inn of the Dripping Dagger, located in the Trades Ward (location T3 on the 3^rd Edition City of Splendors map). He rented his room for one night and then left.

HIS ROOMS: Inspection will reveal that his room was scrubbed clean in a very professional fashion. A DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) check will reveal ash in the base of the room’s oil lamp suggesting that a piece of correspondence was burned. (It can’t be reconstituted through non-magical means, but was Renaer’s response to Dalakhar’s original missive setting up the meeting at Trollskull Manor.)

Laying out in plain sight on the pillow, however, is a round disk of black stone painted with Xanathar’s stylized beholder sigil. It’s a death mark, left here as a threat after Xanathar’s minions tracked Dalakhar here.

XANATHAR RESPONSE TEAM: The room is also being watched by a Xanathar response team (see Part 3C). If they see the PCs enter the room, they’ll most likely accost them and see what they know about Dalakhar.

If it’s been more than a day since Dalakhar was killed, the response team has been briefed on that and is also aware that “the boss knows a guy name Floxin – one of those Zhent bastards – was following that gnome dungbag; the boss has got eyes on Floxin now”.

(This might give the PCs an alternative route to the Gralhunds by tracking down and following Urstul Floxin. Putting in some more legwork might discover that Floxin is currently operating out of Yellowspire (see Part 3B), and they might be able to follow him from there to the Gralhund Vila.)

If it’s been more than three days since Dalakhar’s death, the response team is pulled from this location.

THE LETTER: Four days after Dalakhar’s death, a letter arrives at the Inn of the Dripping Dagger for him.

Dalakhar,

I had to give considerable thought to your request. But you were always kind to me even when your demonic master was not. If you are still in need of my aid, you may claim whatever sanctuary I can offer.

Kalain of the Nine Waters

Before he was killed, Dalakhar was thrashing around trying to find whatever aid he could. He was even desperate enough to contact Kalain, a former mistress of Lord Dagult’s. Inquiries can identify Kalain’s place of residence in the Sea Ward.

DESIGN NOTE

The late arrival of the letter is designed to push a clue to PCs after their initial visit: Those who leave their names with the owners of the Dripping Dagger, particularly those who specifically ask the owners to contact them if any new information crops up, will be rewarded with a proactive follow-up. (Alternatively, but probably less likely, it can reward PCs who follow-up on old leads.) Since the clue is non-essential for the current investigation, the slightly heightened risk of them missing the clue is offset by the benefit of adding depth to the game world: Little details like this make the players feel as if the game world is a fully functional, living environment that persists beyond their immediate line of sight. (Largely because that is, in fact, what you’re doing.)

KALAIN’S TOWER

Kalain lives in a dilapidated tower in the Sea Ward. See Dragon Heist, p. 88, although the Vault is not secretly located there.

AREA W8 – KALAIN’S STUDIO: Here are Kalain’s most recent paintings, documenting her descent into madness.

• DOCUMENT LOCKBOX: A document lockbox with three drawers sits on one of the tables (DC 13 Dexterity check to unlock). One of the drawers contains love letters she exchanged with Lord Dagult. Another drawer contains similar letters, but these have been torn to confetti. (She periodically removes a letter from one drawer, rips it to shreds, and deposits it in the other.) The third drawer contains a number of work papers left behind by Lord Dagult (see below).

KALAIN

Appearance: A beauty ruined by tragedy; lines of sadness are etched into her face. Long black tresses are streaked with silver turning to gray.

Roleplaying:

• Believes everyone is secretly an assassin sent by Dagult Neverember to murder her.
• Loses track of the conversation and abruptly starts talking about completely different subjects.
• Rubs her cheek with her hand with increasing vigor as she becomes distressed.
• Will activate creatures from her smaller, older, more peaceful paintings to assist her (fetching small objects, etc.).
• Sees Dagult, Waterdeep, and the monsters of he newer paintings as all being the same thing; will refer to them interchangeably.
• Speaks of Neverwinter as if she were a red-headed maiden who seduced Lord Dagult from her arms. Occasionally confuses Neverwinter and Alethea Brandath.

Background: Kalain, a famous Waterdavian painter, was commissioned to paint a portrait of Lord Dagult Neverember, then Waterdeep’s Open Lord, in 1475 DR. Her meeting with Neverember marked the beginning of a torrid affair that lasted over a year.

Their relationship faltered as Dagult’s visits to Neverwinter became more frequent and extended. He made promises to Kalain that he failed to keep, and when she raised the subject of a faithful commitment, he treated her poorly, for his true love was Neverwinter. Kalain became enraged after Dagult’s rejection and turned to painting monsters that, in her mind, represented him. Her power to harness the Weave clings to the fabric of her works, giving her the ability to bring these monsters to life on her command.

Ultimately Neverwinter left Kalain a little over four years ago. He used his influence to ruin Kalain and divorce her from Waterdeep’s high society. She was allowed to keep her home, but her works and her reputation were destroyed, slowly and methodically. Kalain’s spirit was broken, leading to the onset of madness. Now she locks herself away, content to let time erode the last of her conscience.

Key Info:

• She knows that Dalakhar was a spy working for Lord Dagult Neverember. He sent a letter requesting her help, but she waited several days before replying due to her bitter history with Neverember.
• If told that Dalakhar was killed, she will blame the PCs for killing him on Neverember’s orders and then rapidly escalate to concluding they’re here to kill her (unless they quickly talk her down)!
• During their final days together, Lord Neverember was obsessed with a “Melairkyn ceremonial temple or religious vault or something like that. He was always more focused on anything else rather than me. Rather than us.” If questioned, she can provide the papers described above.
• If asked if she knows where the “vault” is located, she will become quite distressed: “I should know this. He was fixated on it. It would make me so angry… so very, very angry… And now I can’t remember why.” (She was irrationally jealous because it was his ex-wife’s tomb, but because of the Stone of Golorr she can’t remember that any more. No one can.)
• If specifically asked, she will recount speaking with the Lord Victoro Cassalanter about Lord Neverember and the vault a few weeks ago, but she won’t otherwise volunteer the information.

Stat Block: CE half-elf bard (DH p. 195).

• Art Imitates Life: Kalain touches one of her paintings and causes its subject to spring forth, becoming a creature of that kind provided its CR is 3 or lower. The creature appears in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the painting, which becomes blank.The creature rolls initiative when it first acts. It disappears after 1 minute, when it is reduced to 0 hit points, or when Kalain dies or falls unconscious.

LORD DAGULT’S PAPERS

These papers mostly concern minor (and now thoroughly outdated) affairs of the city. There are a few pieces of unusual interest, however:

• A list of otherwise banal, crossed out tasks includes “move the dragon to the Melairkyn ceremonial vault.”
• Correspondence with Hammond Kraddoc of the Vinterners’, Distillers’, and Brewers’ Guild making it clear that Kraddoc gave Lord Dagult large bribes to cover up a scandal involving contaminated liquor in the Dock Ward.
• Notes apparently pertaining to a “ceremonial vault” built by the Melairkyn dwarves beneath Waterdeep centuries ago. The notes detail that such vaults were built by worshippers of Dumathoin, the Keeper of the Mountain’s Secrets. The dwarven cult believed that Dumathoin encoded his secrets in the veins of ore and precious stones he placed in the mountains he raised from the earth for the dwarven people. In their mining, the dwarves would release Dumathoin’s secrets into the world. This angered Dumathoin and there was a period of discord between the dwarves and the Mordinsamman (the council of dwarven gods). In order to appease Dumathoin and to protect his secrets, the cult would mystically bind the “secrets of the mountain” into items of finely-wrought dwarfcraft and then make offering of it to Dumathoin by securing them within ceremonial vaults. Such vaults, according to an ancient source, can be opned by “standing before Dumathoin’s doors and striking the scale of a dragon with a mithral hammer in the place where the sun’s light should fall.”
• An unsigned letter written to Lord Neverember four years ago stating that “the last of the three Eyes has been secured.”
• A letter from Dalakhar also dating to four years ago, reporting on his unsuccessful efforts to infiltrate the Enclave of Red Magic in the Castle Ward. (GM Note: This is literally a red herring. Dalakhar’s assignment four years ago has nothing to do with present events. The Red Wizards of Thay use the Thayan embassy as a cover for their local operations; it’s connected to the Thayan enclave in Skullport via a portal.)

DESIGN NOTE

I found Kalain to be a really fascinating character. For a long time, unfortunately, I couldn’t figure out how to fit her into the Remix. I eventually struck on the idea of having Dalakhar write to her for assistance so that the PCs could backtrack him and find a trail to her. Originally, I thought this would be a dead end: The PCs would meet an interesting character and get filled in a little bit more on the back story of the scenario, but there was nothing Kalain could offer towards their current investigation.

And then, in one of those glorious instances where creative thoughts heap one atop the next, I realized that there WAS a way that Kalain could contribute materially to the scenario. (It also allowed me to link to her from the Cassalanters, too, making it more likely that any given group will encounter her.)

Go to Part 5E: Outpost and Lair Revelation Lists

Go to Part 1

Dragon Heist launches with the PCs being hired by Volothamp Geddarm to find his missing friend Floon Blagmaar. Unfortunately, the scenario structure for this investigation is quite fragile, being formed from long sequences of linear clue-finding. There are also several continuity problems that we’re going to straighten out.

VOLO’S HIRING SPEECH

There are several problems here.

First, if the PCs don’t fight the troll or stirges that emerge from Undermountain, Volo has no reason to hire them. So if the PCs decide that discretion is the better part of valor here, the whole campaign never happens. (This is relatively low risk, but something you might want to give some thought to.)

Second, the adventure oddly claims, “Volo is embarrassed to admit he might have gotten his friend Floon in trouble, and he resists providing all the details of what happened the night Floon disappeared.” That must be some vestige from a previous version of the scenario, because in the published version of the scenario he does, in fact, tell the PCs everything that happened and has absolutely no reason to think he’s responsible for Floon’s disappearance. (Just ignore this continuity error.)

Third, when Volo hires the PCs, his hiring speech sets up a timeline of events which doesn’t line up well with the events described in the rest of the chapter. (According to Volo, Floon was kidnapped by the Zhentarim two nights ago, but “before the interrogation could begin”, the Xanathar Guild kidnapped him from the Zhentarim, and when the PCs arrive at the Xanathar sewer hideout, their interrogation of Floon has just begun. Where did the missing day go?) We’re going to clear this up (and prelude a later clue) with two new chunks of boxed text:

The figure who approached you strokes his mustache, adjusts his floppy hat, and tightens his scarf. “Volothamp Geddarm, chronicler, wizard, and celebrity, at your service. I am most impressed by your derring-do, and the truth is that I fear I have misplaced a friend amid the odious violence which has recently been seizing the streets of this fair city, and I could use your assistance in finding him. You’d be well paid, of course.”

PAYMENT: 100 gp per character, with 10 gp per character up front.

DC 10 Wisdom (Insight): Volo is stretching the truth about how much he can pay immediately. (Currently low on cash, Volo is awaiting royalty payments from Volo’s Guide to Monsters and he’s currently endeavoring to finish Volo’s Guide to Spirits and Specters, for which he is certain receive a handsome advance.)

FLOON: Once the job is taken, Volo identifies his missing friend.

My friend’s name is Floon Blagmaar. He’s got more beauty than brains, but he’s a great drinking companion. Last night he accompanied me to the Skewered Dragon, a dark, bawdy tavern in the Dock Ward. I called it an early night, but Floon remained – drinking and merrymaking.

His wife tracked me down here in the Yawning Portal half an hour ago and told me that Floon never came home last night. This was doubly surprising, as I had not previously been aware that he was married.

Floon is a handsome man in his early thirties with wavy red-blond hair. He is not difficult to pick out of a crowd, however, for he insists on always wearing a gaudy, 6-inch bas relief of a unicorn’s head on a chain of blue pearls around his neck.

(The necklace is a holy symbol of Lurue. It was Floon’s mother’s, but he’ll tell any of a dozen different stories for how he got it.)

TO THE ZHENTARIM WAREHOUSE

Tracking Floon from the Skewered Dragon to the Zhentarim warehouse is restructured as a two-part investigation.

BLOOD IN THE STREETS: Make sure to frame the “Blood in the Streets” incident on the way to the Skewered Dragon.

• Mention that the three men who have been arrested each have a black tattoo of a flying snake (one on the hand, two on their arms).

REVELATION #1: Floon was kidnapped by men with flying black snake tattoos.

• Canvassing the Neighborhood: Several people saw Floon and another man (Renaer) waylaid in front of the Old Xoblob Shop (see Dragon Heist, p. 23). Xoblob the Gnome can describe the attack (see Dragon Heist, p. 24). Searching outside Xoblob’s shop will turn up a gaudy, 6-inch bas relief of a unicorn lying in the gutter (see below).
• Questioning at Skewered Dragon: As the PCs arrive, the evening regulars are probably rolling back in. Several of them will remember Floon and be able to describe how he drank with Volo, Volo left, and then he was joined by another man, a “spoiled, rich noble who likes to rub our noses in it!” (Note: Berca, the bartender, knows that the other man was Renaer Neverember, the son of Waterdeep’s previous Open Lord, Dagult Neverember, but she won’t be free with that information.) Floon and the other man left around midnight. They were followed out by several men, one of whom had a tattoo of a flying black snake on his neck.

(Note: Contrary to the published scenario, the patrons of the Skewered Dragon do NOT know that the “flying black snake” men can be found on Candle Lane. Some of them may be able to identify them as Zhentarim gangsters at the GM’s discretion.)

REVELATION #2: Floon was taken to the Zhentarim warehouse on Candle Lane.

• Canvassing the Neighborhood (Looking for Tattoos): Several locals have seen men with flying black snake tattoos “up by the candle on Candle Lane” (see Dragon Heist, p. 24). Surveying the lane identifies the correct warehouse because it had a black winged snake painted above the front door’s handle. Asking workers at the other warehouses along Candle Lane can also point them at the right warehouse, and may also reveal that there was some kind of “ruckus” over there early this morning, with large groups of people coming and going.
• Questioning the Prisoners: The PCs may backtrack to the “Blood in the Streets” crime scene and figure out a way to talk to the Zhentarim agents being held by the city watch. (They’re likely to speak with Captain Staget, see Dragon Heist, p. 27). If they can convince these agents to talk, they’ll learn that they aren’t local, but were told to report to the warehouse as a safe haven after performing the hit on the Xanatharians.
• Tracking Floon’s Beads: Floon kept his wits about him as he and Renaer were being kidnaped. Breaking the necklace around his neck, he let the blue beads drop into the streets and alleys as they were carried to the warehouse. PCs who find the unicorn’s head in the street outside Xoblob’s may be able to track the trail of beads back to the Zhentarim warehouse.

PROACTIVE FAILSAFES: If the PCs’ investigation is running aground, consider using these proactive elements.

• Zhentarim hear that the PCs are asking questions about Zhentarim agents, safe havens, or both. A number of Zhent thugs (MM, p. 350) equal to half the number of PCs comes to intimidate them into going away. (Adroit PCs can turn the tables, question them, and learn the location of the warehouse.)
• A small squad of Zhentarim agents arrives at the Zhentarim warehouse. The kenku lying in ambush attack them, and the fight spills out into the street right in front of the PCs.

AT THE WAREHOUSE

As initially described in Part 1, after he lost his Eye to Xanathar, Manshoon needed to get back in the game. His agents eventually concluded that Neverember’s son, Renaer, might have another of the Eyes. They were right, although Renaer didn’t know it: His father had given him an elaborate, ivory mourning locket in honor of his mother. The Eye was hidden inside it.

The full dynamic in the first chapter, therefore, is this:

• Zhentarim agents snatch Renaer Neverember and his friend Floon Blagmaar.
• While questioning Renaer in Area Z5, they realize that the Eye is in the mourning locket and take the locket from Renaer.
• Renaer is hauled back down to Area Z2 and tied up next to Floon. Upstairs, the Zhentarim break open the locket (it can still be found in Area Z5), remove the Eye, and give it to a courier to carry to Manshoon.
• Floon is then hauled upstairs for questioning (the Zhentarim want to see if he might be worth a ransom).
• Xanathar’s agents storm the warehouse. They immediately find “the prisoner” (i.e., Floon), assume he’s Renaer, and several of their agents hustle him out to their sewer hideout. Meanwhile, Renaer takes advantage of the confusion downstairs to slip his bonds and hide in Area Z2.
• Xanathar’s agents do a perfunctory sweep of the warehouse and then take off, leaving the kenku behind to kill any Zhents who show up.

DEAD SNAKE: A black flying snake lies dead in the lower yard, pierced by an arrow. (GM Note: The Zhentarim tried to send it as a messenger during the attack, but a Xanatharian watcher shot it down.)

RENAER: Renaer will be able to tell the PCs that he was questioned by the Zhents about the half million dragons his father stole from the city; then they ripped off a locket that was very precious to him. If they find the locket and see the (now empty) secret compartment inside it, Renaer can also tell them that he had no idea that the compartment existed or what was stored inside it.

TO THE XANATHAR GUILD HIDEOUT

Once the PCs realize that Floon was taken by members of the Xanathar Guild, they’ll need to track them back to the Xanathar Guild Hideout in the sewers.

TRACKING: The Xanatharians exited the warehouse through the yard on the lower level and accessed the sewer half a block away down the alley. A DC 11 Wisdom (Survival) check easily tracks them that far.

Once in the sewers, it requires three successful DC 13 Wisdom (Survival) checks. On a failure, the PCs waste considerable time needing to backtrack and pick up the trail. If the PCs fail the test three times, they’ve wasted too much time: When they arrive at the hideout, they find it abandoned except for the goblin watchers in Q2 and Zemk, the usual keeper of the hideout, in Q5. Floon’s dead body lies in Q7. (Zemk will toss it into the sewer later in the day when he gets around to it.)

However, each time the PCs roll a tracking check, whether it’s successful or not, they can also make a DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) test to notice the guildsign (see below).

(Note: Even if the PCs only manage to recover Floon’s dead body, Volo, albeit a little disappointed with them, will still reward them for completing their mission.)

QUESTIONING THE KENKU: As described on page 25 of Dragon Heist, questioning the kenku may reveal the existence of the guildsign in the sewers (see below). Beyond that, the kenku are largely incapable of describing where the hideout is located. However, they can lead the PCs there (although they’ll be looking for opportunities to lead them into traps or otherwise betray them).

GUILDSIGN: Symbols scrawled in yellow chalk – a stylized representation of Xanathar – is marked at each tunnel intersection in the sewers, indicating the path which should be followed by the direction the main eye is looking. Once the PCs are aware of the guildsign, they can simply follow it back to the hideout.

To Part 5C: The Nimblewright Investigation