D&D 5E - The Rise of Tiamat

The dead cultist was slain by Iskander. They argued,
the dead cultist turned to step onto the teleport circle,
and Iskander stabbed her before stepping through the
teleporter himself.
A character who inspects the body and makes a
successful DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check can tell that
the cultist was killed by a dragontooth dagger.
The balconies are set 8 feet above the floor and can be
easily reached by climbing. The floor of each balcony is
a teleport circle sim ilar to those found throughout the
tower. The controls are located beneath the railing of
the balcony, and can be found with a DC 8 Intelligence
(Investigation) check. These controls can take
characters only back to the main circle in this area.
The decorations in the room are reminiscent of a
Maztican style of architecture. Xonthal studied the
culture of Maztica extensively and incorporated many
Maztican motifs into his home.
9. C l o s e d C h a m b e r s
What use Xonthal put these rooms to is unknown.
Empty when the cultists arrived, they were quickly
repurposed as barracks. Bedrolls scattered about show
that between four and six cultists use each room.
The teleporter on this level is located inside a circular
chamber with a closed door. The door and the walls of
the room are made of thin, unpolished steel. The door
swings outward if a simple latch is turned.
When the characters arrive, one cult fanatic and
four cultists are searching the floor for Iskander. The
cultists quickly realize they can’t defeat the adventurers,
and they make a dash for the teleport room. They try to
escape to the lounge (area 11), where they expect to find
reinforcements.
10. Sh r i n e
When Xonthal lived in the tower, this shrine was
dedicated to Oghma. The cult traditionalists turned this
chamber into a laboratory for their studies.
Painted renditions o f dracoliches line the walls o f this
chamber, and a stone altar in the center o f the area
features the skeletal limbs and claws o f a dragon. A half-
dozen cultists look up in surprise at your appearance.
This room contains many notes and scrolls about
dracoliches but nothing of value.
11. L o u n g e
This chamber was Xonthal’s combination living room,
office, and den, used for studying, relaxing, and writing.
When they took over the tower, the cultists turned this
chamber into another dracolich laboratory.
A large fireplace in the center o f the room keeps this
chamber warm and cozy, its smoke magically vented
outside. About two-thirds o f the skeleton o f an adult
dragon is laid out on the floor, curled around the fireplace.
Before you have time for further assessment, however, a
half-dozen black-cloaked figures move to attack you.
The six cult fanatics in this room move in as soon as
anyone appears in the teleporter. If they can, the cultists
try to reach the teleport circle and activate it while one
or more characters are still on it. The teleport circle
takes only a few seconds to activate, so characters
standing in the circle won’t be able to move away unless
they have the ability to move as a reaction. The cultists
select the shrine level as the adventurers’ destination.
When the characters have time to examine the
skeleton (a black dragon), they can see that the bones
are disconnected and placed roughly, and that the
creature’s forelimbs are missing. They also see signs
that the cultists do their cooking here, finding a
collection of simple dishware stacked along the north
wall, along with sacks containing potatoes, turnips,
jerky, and flour.
Aside from the lovingly cleaned skeleton and notes
that a scholar might find interesting, this level holds
nothing of value.
12. O b s e r v a t o r y
Jorgen Pawl (mage) and 3 cult fanatics are outside this
chamber on the balcony when the characters teleport
in. A ll four wait to ambush the first character who
steps onto the balcony. If the characters explore the
observatory before investigating the balcony, the cultists
rush into the room, hoping to attack with surprise.
The skeletal forelimbs of a black dragon have been
mounted to the altar and enchanted with a permanent
animate objects spell. W hen the characters enter, it
won’t be apparent that the limbs are connected to the
altar or that they can be animated. Each limb has AC
10 and 50 hit points and can make one melee attack
per round at a creature within 5 feet of it: +4 to hit; 6
(ldlO + 1) piercing damage.
The room is occupied by two mages and five cult
fanatics who attack at the first sign of intruders. As an
action, one of the mages screams the command word
to activate the skeletal dragon limbs. If the cultist who
activated the limbs is killed, the limbs stop attacking,
but both mages know the command word. The cultists
all fight to the death.
This chamber is clearly the workplace o f a wizard. A pair
o f voluminous tomes on astronomy and astrology lie
open on a table. A massive telescope o f brass, crystal,
and polished mahogany rests on an intricate stand in the
middle o f the chamber. A ladder rests against one wall,
and an immense crystal lens is embedded in the ceiling.
Xonthal used this chamber for making observations of
the starry sky. The ladder is for reaching the ceiling-
mounted lens, which looks upward from the tower. Little
can be seen through it during daytime, but at night, the
lens gives the telescope a view of the entire sky from
horizon to horizon.