Tower of Alteration

The entrance portal to this tower is underwater, and the whole first level is flooded. Complex master Glyph of the Law and Glyph of Enfeeblement are inscribed just inside the portal, and it also bears a complex glyph with a dual effect (cold damage and paralysis, cast at 12th level). On each side of the archway entrance there is a Caryatid Column, which is difficult to distinguish from the remaining intricate stonework of the tower (standard spot hidden door roll to notice). These columns are imbued with the alteration magic of the tower and can each cast a few spells (once per day, at the rate of one per round: Darkness 15' Radius, Haste (self only), Polymorph Other (into a Moray Eel), Telekinesis . They have Stoneskin effects operative.). They attack if any creatures not accompanied by an Aboleth attempt to enter the tower or if attacked themselves.

Inside this Tower, Abjuration spells do not function at all except in area 21d under special circumstances (see below), or unless they are priest spells cast by Savant Aboleth. Saving throws against Alteration spells cast by Savant Aboleth are made with a -1 penalty. Individual tower levels are roughly 20' high. The ground level of this tower (21a) is protected by a stone golem (identical to the ones in area 19), and the pool contains a Shaboath Golem which denies access to the other tower levels.

A pencil-thin line of raw magical power reaches from the central point of the floor of this tower to the central point of the ceiling. This can be seen with Detect Magic or True Seeing. It cannot be dispelled in any way (but see the description of area 21d below). This Line runs from the hemisphere of magic in area 21c to the sphere in area 21d; this feature is common to all the four Great Towers.

A wide stone ramp leads up to the second level of the tower. Chamber 21b is protected by two 12 HD Greater Water Elemental. The whole chamber is flooded, even though the characters are now well above the surface level of the surrounding sea.

Chamber 21c, the third level, is occupied by a Savant Aboleth of great power (12th level Priest/14th level Wizard). Two master glyphs (Glyph of Enfeeblement and Glyph of the Slime Curse) are inscribed on the walls of this hemispherical chamber. The creature has an active Stoneskin spell running.

The central 10-foot area of this tower level has a hemispherical mass of what can be seen with True Seeing or Detect Magic to be a core of powerful, raw, alteration-based magical energy. The savant can use this in addition to spell or melee attacks, to hurl balls of raw alteration magic at one target inside this area per round (attack roll needed, saving throws apply as normal). A target so struck is affected as per one of the following spell effects (roll d6): Color Spray, Slow, Weakness, Dimension Door (forced back to the pool at area 20), Polymorph Other (into an Ixzan), Irritation. A successful saving throw vs. spell negates the effect. However, each time the savant hurls such a missile this drains 1 point from the Magical Force Units (MFUs) of the tower apex (area 21d), and the DM should keep track of this. As a final note, any water elemental summoned by the savant has no chance of becoming out of control.

If the PCs can defeat the savant (or force it to flee), they can gain access to topmost level of the tower, area 21d. While the savant lives and is in this tower, an impenetrable Wall of Force bars the way upwards past the first 10 feet in height of the spiral rampway leading up to 21d. This cannot be dispelled and only disappears when the tower savant is slain or forced to abandon its post. The whole top level is shrouded in magical darkness; only True Seeing can reveal what lies within. A 5-foot-diameter sphere of pure Alteration-based magical force is poised at the very top of the topmost tower level, unmoving. This sphere stores Alteration energy gained by the sacrifice of spellcasting creatures in area 25; currently, it has 56 MFUs (Magical Force Units). The PCs have to reduce the MFU count to zero to disable the tower and ultimately make it possible for them to destroy the Grand Savant's Tower.

This can be done in one way, and one way only. The school of magic opposed to Alteration is that of Abjuration; therefore, Abjuration spells must be cast directly at the globe. For self-affecting spells (such as protection from normal missiles), the globe must be touched, which causes the spellcaster to lose 2d10 hp from magical damage (no saving throw). Any wizard spells from the School of Abjuration, and also priest spells which have Abjuration listed as at least one of the "schools" for the spell in the Player's Handbook (such as negative plane protection) will do. In all likelihood, a Fly spell or levitation magic will be required to reach the globe. For each spell level of abjuration spells cast into the sphere, subtract 1 MFU from the total. Lost MFU points are regenerated at the rate of 1 MFU point per day. If the PCs cast any other spells at the globe, nothing happens (the spell fails utterly). Striking at the globe with a magical weapon drains one plus from the magic of the weapon but inflicts no damage on the globe.

Not until the MFU scores in all of the four peripheral Great Towers are reduced to 25 or below can the PCs enter the Grand Savant's Tower, and not until all are reduced to zero can they reach the Grand Savant's chamber itself. Thus, the DM must keep exact track of MFU tallies for each tower.