D&D 5E - The Rise of Tiamat

G h o s t l y Ro l e p l a y i n g
Even a confrontation with a good ghost should be harrowing.
This is a creature whose spirit is tied to the world out of
anguish, and any interaction with Ilda should be a precarious
process o f talking to a character who might fly off the handle
at any moment. She might vanish into thin air for no reason,
then return in a fury if the characters try to call her back.
• The pool’s revelations could drive a user insane
unless the questions asked were specific and dealt
only with the physical world, avoiding metaphysical
concerns. Gazing into the pool without first offering a
sacrifice was exceedingly dangerous.
• Using the divination pool required a personal sacrifice,
but over time, the pool’s demands grew steeper. If
others have been using the pool since Diderius died,
as Ilda suspects the yuan-ti do, its current price must
be dark indeed.
10. D i n i n g H a l l
Two long tables of plain stone stand at the south end
of this dining hall, while a long marble table stands to
the north. The door up the stairs leading to area 8 has
“? D A N G E R ” written in chalk on it. The door down
the southern stairs is spiked shut, and has “D A N G E R ”
scrawled on it in chalk.
Five bearded devils are seated at the marble table—
the last survivors of Varram’s expedition. When his
cultist followers were routed investigating area 11,
Varram left the devils here with instructions to guard
against any creatures coming out of that area. The
devils take their orders seriously, which means they all
but ignore the adventurers unless the characters attack.
If the devils are questioned politely, they tell the
characters only that they were ordered to remain here.
They admit that their master is Varram, and speak of
great treasure down the stairs to the south. The dwarf
has been gone for some time, but they have no idea what
happened to him.
If the devils are offered 100 gp or more in gems, they
also tell the characters that they have fought and killed
undead in the complex; that the dwarf lost something
important to his cult and needs the divination pool to
get it back; and that they are working for the cult on the
orders of their lord Zariel, Archduchess of Avernus, who
wants Tiamat out of the Nine Hells.
The characters are free to pass through this room,
including entering area 11—but they w ill be attacked
with glee by the devils when they leave that area.
11. T r e a s u r e V a u l t
W hile Diderius lived, this area was his bedchamber, and
it still contains an elegant bed, sets of bookshelves, a
large wooden chest, and a side table set with ewer and
goblets. The cultists sealed this room after a disastrous
run-in with its undead guardians.
On the Stairs. The dumbwaiter shaft from area
6 to the stairwell in front of the vault was once used
to bypass the long w alk from the bedchamber to the
upper parts of the complex for Diderius’s servants. The
dumbwaiter’s ropes and rotted wooden platform are
strewn across the stairs.
This area is guarded by 2 wraiths and 4 specters.
The wraiths are the spirits of warriors who pledged
their souls to Diderius in exchange for the w izard’s
exotic knowledge. They can be defeated in combat, but
their spirits are bound to the room by ancient magic,
causing them to manifest again 24 hours after being
destroyed. The specters are the reanimated souls of
three cultists who died here and of three yuan-ti that
died exploring the ruins. They do not manifest again
if destroyed.
A successful D C 18 Intelligence (Investigation)
check reveals a loose brick in the w all opposite the
door. Pulling the brick out reveals magic runes carved
into the wall that bind the wraiths that guard this
area. Marring the runes prevents the wraiths from
manifesting again if they are destroyed.
T r e a s u r e
The bookshelves contain magical treatises and notes
on divination that have withstood the ravages of
time. They detail the spellcasting practices of ancient
Netheril, and w ill fetch 750 gp if sold. If the characters
search the room, they find a crumbling book titled
Transubstantiality across Potentialities stuck between
the bed and the wall. If it is returned to the library (area
9), the ghost is free to move on from this world.
The silver ewer and four goblets next to the bed are
magical. If a character pours from the empty ewer
into an empty goblet, a fuming gas flows between both
vessels. A character who “drinks” from a gas-filled
goblet receives advantage on saving throws against
poison and resistance to poison damage for 3 hours.
Each of the goblets can be used to produce this effect
once per seven days.
The airtight chest holds seven silk robes kept free
from rot, and worth 50 gp each if sold.
The chest also holds an amethyst-set ring o f poison
resistance and two scrolls of protection from energy.
12. D i v i n a t i o n P o o l
This long gallery holds the magic pool that was the
source of Diderius’s power. The double doors to the
south have no markings on them, but they feature the
same hazard as the doors in area 4.
Broken arrows, bloodstains, and a dead cultist
are strewn across the floor of the chamber. A DC 12
Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals that the arrows
were shot from the north doorway leading into area 13.
The arrows are carved of stone and their heads are in
the shape of fangs, set with the symbol of a cobra with
a crown above it. A DC 18 Intelligence (Religion) check
recognizes the symbol of the yuan-ti god Merrshaulk.
If a character inspects the body, it is revealed that
the cultist died not from arrows but from a dagger
wound. A successful D C 15 Intelligence (Investigation)
check reveals that a dragontooth dagger was the killing
weapon. This was the unlucky cultist the duplicitous
Varram sacrificed when he used the pool.
The Pool. The pool is currently empty. Varram had
only just completed the pool's divination ritual when