The Drow War Book Two. The Dying Of - RoseRed

Heart of Darkness
The final conflict in the book is with the archmage
Rannirak in the tunnels below Crom Calamar.
The Player Characters should, by now, realise
the importance of the Abyssal Altar, which Rannirak is
keeping below the city in the caverns from which the
Darkspear arose. The Abyssal Altar is the Dark’s anchor
on this plane. If it is destroyed, the Dark’s conduit of
power will be broken.
Information: What About the Rest of the
Drow?
The Ennead, the ruling body of the drow, are safely
within their own caverns further to the northeast. They
have entrusted Rannirak with the defence of Crom
Calamar. Although they knew that a force was being
mustered against them, they believed that it would be
cut to pieces. Not one member of the Ennead thought
that the city of Crom Calamar, much less the Abyssal
Altar, was in any serious danger.
Event: Reaching Rannirak
To reach Rannirak, the Player Characters must fight
their way into the Darkspear and activate the levitating
stone platform that drops down into the drow caverns.
If the drow are already in retreat, then hordes of them
will already be heading this way, trying to escape into
the underworld.
The platform is activated by a command word, but a
Use Magic Device check (DC 25) activates it without
needing this. If the Player Characters prefer, they can
run down the stone ramp that corkscrews around the
outside of the shaft or fly directly down. The shaft is
1,200 feet deep. Depending upon how well the battle is
going for them above, drow soldiers may be falling past
the Player Characters, screaming as they fall.
The Abyssal Altar
At the bottom, the shaft opens out into a vast cave. To the
north, many little tunnels lead off into the underworld.
These connect to the cavern systems and underground
settlements of the drow and are beyond the scope of
this book.
To the south is an opening ten feet across. Within it
a figure wreathed in flames stands between the Player
Characters and their goal. Beyond it the Player
Characters can see the Abyssal Altar for the first time.
Rannirak has gated in a balor, Skoreth, to slow the
Player Characters down while he casts spells to prepare
himself for the fight. The demon is under orders to
prevent anyone from reaching Rannirak; it lashes its
flaming whip at the Player Characters.
Skoreth (balor): CR 20; Large outsider (chaotic,
extraplanar, evil); HD 20d8+200; hp 290; Init +11; Spd
40 ft., fly 90 ft. (good); AC 35, touch 16, flat-footed 28;
Base Atk +20; Grp +36; Atk +33 melee (2d6+8/19–20,
+1 vorpal longsword); Full Atk +31/+26/+21/+16 melee
(2d6+8/19–20, +1 vorpal longsword) and +30/+25
melee (1d4+4 plus 1d6 fire plus entangle, +1 flaming
whip) or +31 melee (1d10+7, 2 slams); Space/Reach 10
ft./10 ft. (20 ft. with +1 flaming whip); SA death throes,
entangle, spell-like abilities, summon demon, vorpal
sword; SQ damage reduction 15/cold iron and good,
darkvision 60 ft., flaming body, immunity to electrical
Ibon Presno Gonzalez (order #73006) 8
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