D&D 5E - The Rise of Tiamat

If the characters attempt to leave the area without
a pearl, both paths curve away and bring them back
here after a short walk. If the characters leave marks,
items, or companions behind in this area, all the same
conditions apply here as in area 1.
5^Pa g o d a
A placid pond fills the center o f this open space. A stout
pagoda rises from a huge boulder that stands in the water
like an island. An arched bridge crosses the water to the
pagoda, whose red roof is held up by six sturdy pillars and
capped with carved fish. A human male wearing yellow
silk robes embroidered with red and gold fish stands
in the pagoda. You hear exotic music being played on a
stringed instrument.
When the characters arrive, the robed figure bows to
them, moves into the pagoda, and sits down on the
boulder where it protrudes through the floor of the
pagoda. He waits patiently for the party to join him.
Around the boulder, the floor of the pagoda is not
wood, but rather is a rock garden of decorative stones
and brushed sand. A charcoal pit smolders beside the
boulder where the man sits.
The master of the pagoda does not speak, and he
waits as long as it takes for the adventurers to follow
him. When they enter the pagoda, he gives a brief smile
and proffers silk cushions. He then waves his hand and
an iron tea kettle rises up from beneath the embers. The
kettle resembles a scowling face with thick features, and
a character who studies it may recognize it as a dao with
a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) or Intelligence
(Arcana) check. The man pours clear water from a clay
jug into the kettle and adds tea leaves. He bows to the
kettle and shows great reverence to the vessel, then
lowers his head in meditation. Soon steam rises from
the kettle.
The tea brewer is a dao magically disguised as a
human, and the pot brews not tea but a deadly gaseous
poison. The tea kettle is also the dao’s magic jar
(described below).
With a successful D C 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check,
a character realizes that an innate ability lifted the
teapot from the coals (move earth acting on a small clay
column). Characters who watch the leaves going into
the kettle can attempt a DC 13 Intelligence (Nature)
or Wisdom (Medicine) check. Success indicates
the character recognizes drakeswort, a potentially
lethal herb.
If characters do nothing, the steeping drakeswort fills
the pagoda with poisonous vapor, and the dao encloses
the pagoda in a wall o f stone (including the roof),
trapping the poison and the characters inside. He uses
Earth Glide to sink into the boulder. With his body safe
beneath the ground, his soul jumps into the tea kettle,
and he monitors the characters’ escape attempts and
enjoys watching their suffering. For the next 3 minutes
(30 rounds), creatures inside the pagoda (except the
dao in his magic jar) must make a DC 13 Constitution
saving throw against poison at the start of each of their
turns. On a failed save, a creature takes 14 (4d6) poison
damage, or half damage on a successful save. Three
successful saving throws in a row confer immunity to
the poison.
Trapped characters have several options for escape:
• The stone walls are AC 5, 6 inches thick, and have 15
hit points per inch of thickness (90 hp total). Motivated
characters can create air holes in the walls.
• Dumping the kettle into the fire reduces damage to 7
(2d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half damage
on a successful save. Smoke from burning drakeswort
is less dangerous than steam.
• Plugging the kettle’s spout or extinguishing the fire
reduces the saving throw DC to 8.
• Damaging the tea kettle forces the dao to return to the
pagoda. When the dao’s soul inhabits the kettle, the
face is slightly animated. Anyone touching the kettle
notices the eyes looking around the pagoda. The kettle
has AC 5 and 20 hit points. If it takes more than 10
points of damage, the dao returns to his body, emerges
from the stone, drops the wall o f stone (because he
can’t breathe the poison either), and attacks.
If characters attack the dao before his trap is sprung, he
fights back, making full use of invisibility, move earth,
and his other abilities. He shifts the odds in his favor by
killing the weakest characters first. The dao fights to 45
hit points or fewer, then retreats into the earth.
A jade gemstone sits inside the teapot. If it is carried
out of this area, either path leads characters back to
the sundial.
If characters leave the area without the jade gemstone,
both paths curve away and bring them back here after
a short walk. If the characters leave marks, items, or
companions behind in this area, all the same conditions
apply here as in area 1.
6. St a t u e G a l l e r y
Six suits o f ornate plate mail stand in this area as if on
guard. Battered and bashed pieces o f armor and weapons
are scattered across the carpeted floor before them. Moss
and lichen cover the armor, though it remains free o f rust.
Another pathway opens up at the far side o f this area.
When the characters begin exploring the area, two suits
of animated armor swing into motion and attack. Each
time a suit of armor is destroyed, two more activate.
When there are no more suits of armor to activate, the
suits reassemble themselves from the components
littering the ground as long as any character remains
in this area.
Each time a suit of armor is destroyed, roll a d6. On
a roll of 6, a large bloodstone rolls out of the armor as
its pieces fall to the ground. If the bloodstone is carried
out of this area, either path leads the characters back to
the sundial.
If the characters leave the area without a bloodstone,
both paths curve away and bring them back here after
a short walk. If the characters leave marks, items, or