Location Overview
Over a thousand years ago, the black dragon Chardansearavitriol, commonly known as Ebondeath, settled in the Mere of Dead Men, making his lair in the ruined citadel of Uthtower. Ebondeath became a dracolich and was worshiped by the Cult of the Dragon until the death god Myrkul’s influence waned across Faerûn and the dragon’s bones turned to dust.
With Myrkul’s return to the pantheon, his worshipers have quested across the seas to rekindle Ebondeath’s spirit. Led by the death priest Ularan Mortus, they unearthed the dragon’s mausoleum and awakened its slumbering soul, binding it to the unwilling body of the ancient green dragon Claugiyliamatar. Ularan Mortus hoped to use the dragon to capture the ruinstone, an artifact of great power. While they remain on the Sword Coast, Ularan Mortus and his cultists have claimed Ebondeath’s mausoleum as their headquarters in the area.
Following the “Leilon Besieged” quest, Ebondeath returns to the mausoleum: either in spirit form without the artifact, or in Claugiyliamatar’s body if it succeeded in stealing the ruinstone. In response, Lord Protector Neverember of Neverwinter offers the characters a purse of 8,000 gp to end the threat posed by the dragon.
Quest Goals
To succeed in this quest, the characters must break into the mausoleum and destroy Ebondeath’s malevolent spirit.
Travel to the Tomb
Once the party agrees to the contract, sages from Candlekeep send a messenger (via teleportation) with written directions to Ebondeath’s Mausoleum. The mausoleum lies under the Uthtower, an ancient keep swallowed by the mere. Trekking on foot into the salt marshes is arduous work, with or without a barge, and the journey takes well over a day.
Due to the recent proliferation (and likely destruction) of a great deal of undead from this region, the characters are likely to simply have a miserable day trudging through the muck. However, if you so wish, feel free to through in an encounter or two with undead that are fleeing the site of the battle at Leilon.
Arrival
Uthtower is buried deep beneath the bog. Using undead as laborers, Ularan Mortus excavated a deep shaft into the mud, shored up with wooden beams. Crude iron rungs were hammered into the walls of this pit, providing access to the entry hall of the catacombs (area E1). On the surface, the entrance looks like nothing more than a timber latrine sitting in the middle of nowhere. The shaft inside descends 120 feet to the catacombs below.
Characters who search the surface area and succeed on a DC 18 Intelligence (Nature or Investigation) check discern that a nearby saltwater lake has been recently disturbed: mud is splattered around the shore as though a wave of water was violently displaced here. The lake is very deep and connects via a murky underwater tunnel to the pool in area E8 of the mausoleum below. The dragon uses this route to enter and exit its lair.
MAUSOLEUM FEATURES
Ebondeath’s mausoleum has the following general features.
Lighting. Unless noted otherwise, the mausoleum is completely unlit and pitch dark. Adventurers require darkvision or their own light sources to see in here.
Construction. Ceilings, walls, and floors throughout the mausoleum are made from worked stone lined with granite flagstones. Ceilings are 30 feet high inside rooms and 20 feet high inside corridors.
Doors. Doors inside the mausoleum are 12 feet high and crafted of ebony engraved with images of death. Doors are unlocked but heavy, requiring a successful DC 12 Strength check to open. Unless otherwise noted, the doors groan loudly when opened.
Rubble. Large sections of the tomb have collapsed over the centuries. Areas of loose rubble count as difficult terrain and grant half cover to creatures hiding there.
Wards. The mausoleum is under the permanent effect of a forbiddance spell that is set to damage any fey creatures that enter. When a fey creature enters the mausoleum for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, the creature takes 5d10 necrotic damage.
Mausoleum Locations
The following locations are keyed to the map of Ebondeath’s Mausoleum:
E1. Entry Hall
Read the following boxed text aloud when the characters descend the shaft into this area:
The shaft descends into a worked stone hallway. One end of the hall has collapsed, and the other terminates in a pair of giant ebony doors. A thin layer of mist swirls over the floor and the air is unnaturally cold. As you step onto the flagstones, a voice from nowhere whispers:
“Who is dead but cannot die, the Lord of Bones, whose embrace is patient but sure?”
A detect magic spell reveals that the voice is an illusion. Characters who succeed on a DC 20 Intelligence (Religion) check recognize the “Lord of Bones” as one of the ancient titles given to Myrkul, god of the dead. If a character says this name aloud, the door at the end of the hallway silently opens.
E2. Cultist Camp
This chamber was once a storeroom but is now used as a camp for Ularan Mortus’s cultists. Bedrolls are laid over the floor and a fire burns in a brazier in the center of the room. There is one necromancer in here, plus one ghast and one priest for every character in the party, including sidekicks.
The characters surprise the cultists if they sneak up on them after silently opening the door from area E1. If combat ensues here, any monsters present in areas E3 and E4 are alerted to the battle and arrive after 1d4 + 1 rounds. The cultists in area E5 remain where they are but begin their summoning chant.
Treasure. The cultists carry 170 gp and 105 ep in loose coins, as well as five potions of healing.
Zombie Lair in Water
E3. Wine Cellar
Small, round peg holes on the walls are all that remain of the wine racks that once lined this cellar. The cultists use this space to house their mindless dead. There is one greater zombie in here per character in the party, including sidekicks.
Secret Door. The secret door in here leads to area E6 and can be uncovered with a DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check. To pop it open, a character must twist a torch bracket on the wall.
E4. High Priest’s Chamber
This chamber is used by Ularan Mortus and contains his backpack, bedroll, and a casket of treasures. Two giants’ skulls are mounted to the wall. If Ularan Mortus survived the “Leilon Besieged” quest, he is present here. Ularan Mortus has the statistics of a war priest. If Ebondeath recovered the ruinstone from Leilon, Ularan Mortus wields it in battle here (see the “Using the Ruinstone” sidebar).
Treasure. The death priest’s backpack contains 700 gp, 35 pp, eyes of minute seeing, and the following spell scrolls: raise dead, forbiddance, and holy aura.
USING THE RUINSTONE
Once per day as a bonus action, a villain can activate the ruinstone to undo one deed they have performed. The possibilities here are broad, but in combat it’s simplest to allow them the opportunity to “rewind” one action and take it again, or to reroll a failed saving throw (if it can still take actions). . Each use of the artifact has a terrible side effect: someone known to the wielder is also erased from reality. After the villain uses the ruinstone, roll a d20: on a 5-20, one of their allies disintegrates, on an 1-4, one of the player characters disintegrates. If a creature bound its soul to the ruinstone in the “Thalivar’s Beacon” quest, the artifact explodes when used and the creature who is bound to it disintegrates.
E5. Ritual Room
These ancient barracks have been cleared for use as a ritual room. A huge circle of ash has been laid out over the floor, surrounding a skull design painted in human blood. Around the circle, the cultists of Myrkul kneel in prayer for guidance from their god.There is one cult fanatic here for every character in the party, including sidekicks. Cultists who detect trouble nearby chant to their god for aid. If at least one cultist chants for three rounds, a bone devil appears in the circle to serve the cult.
Secret Door. The secret door in here leads to area E6 and can be uncovered with a DC 12 Intelligence (Perception) check. Characters who succeed on this check notice muddy scrapes on the floor beneath the concealed door.
E6. Halls of the Fiend
The hallways are haunted by the grotesque vestige of Ebondeath’s first high priest. This creature squirms along the passages and can be encountered anywhere in the area or in the nearby Vaults of the Uthlords (area E7). The vestige appears as a bloated, drowned death knight with horribly long arms. Its Longsword attack is replaced with the following attack:
Ghoulish Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d4 + 5) slashing damage, plus 18 (4d8) necrotic damage. If the target is a creature other than an undead, it must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
E7. Vaults of the Uthlords
Each of these burial chambers houses the remains of a different noble family of Uthtower. Their bones are interred inside niches in the walls, which are 3 feet wide, 3 feet high, 9 feet deep, and stacked three high along the walls.
When characters who aren’t devoted followers of Myrkul enter these chambers, the heaped bones begin to quietly stir. Characters who succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom (Perception) check notice the bone piles shifting. If a character disturbs the bones or returns to the same room, the bones arise from their niches and form skeletal swarms. Each burial chamber contains two skeletal swarms per character in the party, including sidekicks.
E8. Crypt of the First Royals
If the characters approach this area from the west, read the following boxed text aloud:
Graven steps ascend into a wide, octagonal chamber with a high, vaulted ceiling. The mosaic floor is littered with rubble, and a pool of murky water floods the far side of the chamber. Strange fungi cling to the moist walls.
To the north, an arched hallway plunges into the dark. As you approach, a hollow voice booms from beyond: “Who dares disturb the rest of Chardansearavitriol the Ebondeath?”
The characters now face Ebondeath. If the dragon fled Leilon in spirit form (see the “Leilon Besieged” quest), the party faces a spectral version of the dragon. This has the statistics a ghost, with the following important modifications:
• It has AC 15 and 225 hit points.
• The saving throw DC to resist its Possession power is now DC 20. When it possesses a creature, it gains access to their knowledge, class features, and proficiencies.
• Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Ebondeath uses its possession ability to jump between party members and turn them against each other. It fights to the end to protect its resting place.
If Ebondeath left the “Leilon Besieged” quest in Claugiyliamatar’s body, the party is now in trouble. Ebondeath has the statistics of Claugiyliamatar, except his breath weapon deals necrotic damage instead of poison damage due to Ebondeath’s possession. If the characters slay the dragon, they must then also face the ghost within!
E9. Ebondeath’s Lair
This ruined burial hall contains a heap of treasures that Cult of Myrkul have left as offerings to the dragon.
Treasure. The treasures gathered here comprise 14,000 gp, 1,750 pp, ten jet gemstones worth 100 gp each, two potions of supreme healing, a potion of storm giant strength , and a circlet of blasting.
Conclusion
Characters who destroy Ebondeath’s spirit can report their success to the authorities in Neverwinter, who award them a purse of 8,000 gp. If this is the final quest, their adventure ends here (see “Ending the Adventure” for more information).
Джерело: <https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dc/ebondeaths-mausoleum>
The Mausoleum
While Myrkul’s temple encompasses both the Uthtower and the catacombs below, its name—the Mausoleum of the Ebondeath—is used in reference to the entire house of worship. The above sections entitled “Unholy Ground,” “Myrkul’s Ebbing Aura,” and “The Rings of Myrkul” also apply to areas 13-30.
Originally, the mausoleum beneath the Uthtower served as both the cellars and crypts of the Royal House of Myrmoran. With the fall of the realm and Chardansearavitriol’s coming, the catacombs were expanded—a process that continued with the establishment of the Ebondeath Sect in the centuries that followed. (Careful deduction reveals that Chardansearavitriol must have employed magic similar to the Wizard spell reduce, for many of the chambers and passageways are far too small to have accommodated his bulk.) In the aftermath of the Time of Troubles, the dark waters of the saltwater swamp poured down the great staircase of the Uthtower as that edifice sank beneath the surface, inundating the catacombs below. When the waters finally calmed, the flooded Mausoleum of the Ebondeath rested deep beneath the bottom of the Mere, magically sunk even deeper into the bedrock by the last act of Myrkul.
Now that the Uthtower has resurfaced, even if only until dawn’s first rays drive the Eye of Myrkul from the sky, ancient mechanical pumps have begun to lower the water level once again. As the water level slowly drops, the clammy stone walls are unveiled and the cacophony of a subterranean rain shower echoes throughout the complex.
For every hour that passes following the rise of the Uthtower, the water level drops two feet until naught but puddles remain or the pumps are overwhelmed by the tower’s resubmersion. Except as noted below, passageways and rooms throughout the Mausoleum are of similar construction and initially filled with water.
Corridors and chambers have arched ceilings 12 feet high at their peaked midpoint, descending to 10 feet high at each wall. As such, depending on the length of time that has passed since the reemergence of the Uthtower, it takes a little less than six hours for the Mausoleum to be entirely drained of water. There is remarkably little silt throughout the complex, except in areas 20-26 where the dark waters of the Mere have deposited a great deal of the ambient silt. Nevertheless, gaps between stone doors and their sills allow the dark waters to run easily from chamber to chamber, even when such portals are shut tight.
Descriptions given below assume the entire complex has been largely drained of water, although the PCs would be advised to begin exploring well before the process concludes if they have the spells, magical items, or swimming skills necessary to do so, and the DM should adjust setting representations accordingly.
1. Entrance Hallway. The stone steps that lead up through the core of the Uthtower (area 6) also lead down into the catacombs below. A full seven revolutions below the first level of the Uthtower, the seemingly endless staircase ends in a 10' wide, 30' long hallway.
The first living being to pass into the hallway (whether walking or swimming) once the Uthtower rises from the Mere triggers a magic mouth. For the next seven rounds, the chanting of a solitary Priest of Myrkul echoes along the hallway. Although no meaning can be deciphered from the words of the ghostly voice, the unholy prayer engenders a feeling of great unease in any who listen to it.
2. Storeroom & Barracks. This rectangular chamber served the inhabitants of the Uthtower as a storeroom. For the Ebondeath Sect, the room doubled as both a guard chamber and barracks for the lowest- ranking members of the cult.
A careful search of the room reveals six shattered skeletons as well as a few badly rusted maces, scythes, and flails. For every turn of searching, ld6 gold, silver, and copper coins may be found, up to a maximum of 86 gp, 143 sp, and 98 cp.
3. Wine Cellar & Barracks. This chamber once housed the king’s wine collection. Small, round peg holes once held great racks of wine, but no other clues bespeak the room’s original purpose. Lower-ranking Priests of the Ebondeath Sect were housed here, and many bones as well as thick piles of solidified candle wax mixed with bone from their unholy ceremonies still cover the floor.
The secret doors in this room is cunningly crafted and difficult to detect. Elves and dwarves have a l-in-6 chance of finding the secret door; other races have a l-in-12 chance. A small gap does remain around the edges of the door, and this is sufficient to allow the unhindered passage of water. Any PC who carefully observes the slight current as the water level sinks has a normal chance of detecting either secret door.
4. Wide Hallway & Guardroom. This hallway leads to what was once a secondary storeroom for the folk of the Uthtower.
A total of six shields bearing the skull of Myrkul hang on the walls— three on the west wall and three on the east wall. While five of them are badly rusted and pocked with holes, one stands uncorroded and radiates magic when a detect magic spell is cast. When borne by a follower of a current or former god of the dead in the Faerunian pantheon—a roster that includes Jergal, Myrkul, Cyric, and Kelemvor—the shield acts as a shield +1, +2 vs. undead. In the hands of anyone else, it serves as a shield -1, missile attractor.
5. High Priest’s Quarters. This chamber served the inhabitants of the Uthtower as a storeroom. For the Ebondeath Sect, the room housed the cult’s preeminent leader, usually a high priest of Myrkul.
Nothing remains to indicate the room’s former purpose aside from a pair of giant, misshapen skulls that lie against the south wall. Anyone familiar with the anatomy of the giant races recognizes these skulls as belonging to fomorian giants. How they got here is a mystery, but these are the skulls of the legendary Sar and Helimbrar, brutes slain by the early Warlords of Waterdeep roughly four centuries ago and for whom the two southernmost peaks of the Sword Mountains are named. If contacted via a speak with dead spell or similar magic, either spirit can provide interesting perspectives on the history of Waterdeep in the time of Ahghairon. Once their true nature is ascertained, these skulls can be sold to interested sages for 500 gp each.
6. Barracks. This chamber is of newer construction than the rest of the Uthtower’s cellars and was built by the Ebondeath Sect. Priests of the Sect were housed here, and many bones as well as thick piles of solidified candle wax from their unholy ceremonies still cover the floor.
The room contains a scattered array of rusted weapons, none of which is usable. A careful search of the southwest corner reveals a tiny storage niche concealed by a false panel. (Thieves may use their Find Traps ability to locate the panel; otherwise, treat it as a secret door.) Within the secret cranny is a waterproof, plugged, bone scroll tube containing two clerical scrolls (negative plane protection and raise dead cast at 10th level).
The secret door in this room is similar to the one in area 15.
7. Denizen in the Dark. While the rulers of Uthtower once fashioned a series of traps in this passageway to protect the burial vaults beyond, they were removed by the Myrkulytes who traversed this hall regularly. With the sinking of the temple, only one guardian remains—a fiend who once inhabited the Mausoleum as a high- ranking Priest of the Ebondeath Sect and is now magically bound as a guardian of the crypts beyond.
As the knight denizen has long been stranded on the Prime, far from any open gate to the Gray Waste, he has lost many of his special abilities. In combat, the fiend attacks viciously, picking off the weakest opponents first. He stands in the middle of the hall but lunges to strike any PC emerging from the secret door.
In appearance, the denizen has a grotesque, cask-like body with gangly, misshapen arms that drag along the ground. His short legs belie his speed and grace. The fiend has a humanlike head and features, except for bilious fangs and glowing red eyes. He speaks in a low, guttural voice, but only to taunt and curse his foes. The denizen never checks morale, content to inflict harm upon his opponents or be slain (and thereby released from this onerous duty). Destroying the denizen saps the temple of 1 deific strength point.
The denizen has 60' infravision and extraordinarily acute senses of smell and taste. It can survive underwater without difficulty. Although denizens can wield weapons, this one is unarmed.
Knight denizen: INT average (10 AL LE;AC 1; MV 12; HD 8; hp 47; THAC0 13; #AT 1; Dmg ld6; SD regenerates 1 hp/day, immune to fire- or heat-based attacks; MR 30%; SZ M (7' tall ML 20; XP 2,000; FRE3.
20-26. Vaults of the Uthlords.
These seven chambers house the remains of Uthtower’s noble families. Burial niches in the walls behind carved stone plaques hold the remains of patriarchs, matriarchs, consorts, and immediate kin of the seven noble houses that held seats on Uthtower’s Council of Lords. The niches are 3 feet high, 3 feet wide, and 9 feet deep and stacked three- high along the walls. (Each niche on the map actually represents three separate niches, one stacked upon the other.)
The family crest of each house was once inscribed on the floor of each tomb as a mosaic, but the ravages of time and water have largely obscured the original designs.
Although the nobility of Uthtower considered it an honor to inter their kin here, few trusted their monarchs sufficiently to place wealth or items of magical power with the interred remains. As a result, few if any burial niches contain more than skeletal remains and ruined funerary robes. Most traps and spells cast upon the crypts were removed by members of the Ebondeath Sect who sought to walk unhindered among the crypts of the dead.
While empty niches are capped with plain, nonmagical stone, each occupied burial alcove is covered by a grandfather plaque resembling a bas relief of a male or female human face with dignified features. Beneath each plaque is inscribed the name of the person interred within, as well as the dates of their birth and death, and, in some cases, a cryptic inscription. Note that dates are given in Uth Reckoning, commonly abbreviated UR, with 1 UR corresponding to 146 DR.
If addressed or touched in any fashion, each grandfather plaque recites the inscription in the archaic dialect of the Common tongue once spoken throughout the Twilit Land and then falls silent. If attacked, each grandfather plaque defends itself and the burial niche it guards to the best of its ability; any other grandfather plaques in the same room join in the fray as well. Under no circumstances do the grandfather plaques allow anyone to defile the crypts they guard. (At the DM’s option, one of the PCs could be descended from one of the noble families of Uthtower and thus free to open the burial alcoves of one of the Vaults of the Uthlords should he or she so choose.)
Grandfather plaques: INT average (10 AL LN; AC 6; MV 0; HD 6+2; hp 27 each; THAC0 nil; #AT nil; Dmg nil; SA magic missile, shout, weakness; SD +1 or better magical weapon to hit; SZ S (1‘—2' tall ML 17; XP 2,000; MC Annual 3/49.
8. Vault of House Aunforthar. This burial vault contains the remains of thirty nobles from House Aunforthar, and thus thirty grandfather plaques. The family crest is a brilliant blue crab over three stylized waves.
9. Vault of House Scarthann. This vault contains the remains of twenty-seven nobles from House Scarthann, and thus twenty-seven grandfather plaques. The family crest features twin mountain peaks split by a ribbon of water.
10. Vault of House Hornsong. This burial vault contains the remains of seventeen nobles from House Hornsong, and thus seventeen grandfather plaques. The family crest is dominated by images of a great horn over a shattered castle.
11. Vault of House Greenmarch. This vault contains the remains of twenty-seven nobles from House Greenmarch, and thus twenty-seven grandfather plaques. The family crest include images of a great tree overlaid with crossed swords.
One of the niches in this chamber lies open and empty. A shattered and nonmagical grandfather plaque lies below the empty alcove. If the stone fragments are reassembled and placed in the proper order, the plaque’s inscription can be reconstructed and reads as follows: “Abadda Moonglamaer, Unicorn Prince of Phalorm, b. 378 UR, d. 501 UR.” Anyone who makes a cursory examination of the dates throughout the Vaults of the Uthlords realizes that Abadda’s date of death is thirty- one years later than any other recorded date and that the length of Abadda’s life was more than two decades longer than anyone else so interred. Also, anyone with specific knowledge of the ancient history of the Twilit Land realizes that there was no district named “Phalorm” in either Uthtower or Yarlith. See “The Curst Prince” sidebar for details of this mystery.
12. Vault of House Ruldegost. This burial vault contains the remains of twenty-one nobles from House Ruldegost, and thus twenty-one grandfather plaques. The family crest is dominated by images of a suit of armor on a field of fire.
At least one member of House Ruldegost escaped the fall of Uthtower, and his descendants survive to this day as a Waterdhavian noble family of the same name, although the family’s ties to ancient Uthtower have been forgotten.
13. Vault of House Bentather. This burial vault contains the remains of twenty-four nobles from House Bentather, and thus twenty-four grandfather plaques. The family crest is dominated by a great boar’s head atop a bloodied spear.
14. Vault of House Forkarl. This burial vault contains the remains of twenty-seven nobles from House Forkarl, and thus twenty-seven grandfather plaques. The family crest on the vault floor features a rampant griffon facing forward.
27-30. Royal Crypts of Myrmoran. These octagonal chambers house the remains of the Royal House of Myrmoran. Each great chamber is adorned with marble tiles bleached the color of old bone. The domed ceilings soar to a height of 30 feet.
Originally the central chamber was the only royal crypt constructed, but with the creation of Yarlith from the unincorporated territories of northern Uthtower, two more octagonal chambers were dug to the north and south. With Chardansearavitriol’s coming, the Royal Crypts of Myrmoran served as the wyrm’s primary lair, for the rest of the subterranean complex was too small for him to pass without the assistance of magic. A fourth chamber of identical construction was built as well. After the Ebondeath’s heralded ascension in the Year of the Dragon Altar (1202 DR), the members of the Ebondeath Sect transformed area 29 into an unholy chapel.
Any treasures interred within these royal crypts were removed by Chardansearavitriol to garnish his own hoard. As with much of the
The Curst Prince
Abadda Moonglamaer, an elven prince of the Fallen Kingdom who was transformed into a curst during the fall of Uthtower, still haunts the flooded halls of the Mausoleum. Although he primarily wanders areas 20-26 (5% chance per turn, noncumulative, of an encounter), he sometimes enters areas 27-30 (1% chance per turn, noncumulative, of an encounter).
Abadda Moonglamaer (curst): INT genius (17 AL CN; AC 3 (elven chain- mail. Dexterity MV 12; F9; hp 63; THACO 12 (base #AT 3/2; Dmg by weapon type, typically ld8 (longsword SA +1 bonus to hit with bows and swords, +4 bonus to hit species enemy (orcs SD immune to mind-related spells such as charm, ESP, hold, and sleep; immune to cold, fire, and energy draining; Str 17, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 14, Wis 17, Cha 7 (was 14 MR 85%; SZ M (5'8" tall ML 10; XP 8,000; MC Annual 2/32.
Abadda was once a Cleric/Ranger who venerated Corelion Larethian, but he has lost both his faith and all his magical abilities as a result of his transformation. He retains most of his class and racerelated attributes and skills, including a + 1 bonus to hit with swords and bows, the ability to find hidden doors, the ability to wield two weapons, a +3 bonus to tracking checks, and a +4 bonus to hit his species enemy (orcs), but the elven prince has lost his animal empathy, the followers he once attracted, his ability to cast Priest spells, and all of his other clerical abilities, in addition to his sense of smell. His elven magic resistance has been superseded by a complete immunity to mind-related spells such as charm, ESP, hold, and sleep. His elven infravision has been superseded by the 90' infravision exhibited by all curst. In elven chainmail, his chance to Hide in Shadows is 56%, and his chance to Move Silently is 55%. Like all curst, Abadda benefits from cure spells but can only be slain by a remove curse spell. If “slain" by any other method, he regenerates 1 hit point per day. (The lingering aura of Myrkul accelerates this rate to 1 hit point per hour while Abadda remains within the temple.) If decapitated, the elven prince’s body disintegrates into dust and a new body regenerates from the head (a process that takes twice as many days as the curst has hit points). Abadda cannot be turned.
Appearance: Abadda retains the build and bearing of a young noble elf, but his skin has paled to an unearthly white pallor. His eyes are dark pools. His hair is silky white. His face is hidden behind a skull mask he seized from the body of a Myrkulyte priest who drowned in the sinking of the temple.
Personality: Ere his transformation, Abadda was a charismatic green elf of noble bearing who was a shining example of the aspirations of Phalorm, the Realm of Three Crowns. While flashes of this personality remain, Abadda is now a tortured soul who seeks absolution and eternal rest. If Abadda is approached in a peaceful fashion and engaged in conversation, he may reveal fragments of his personal history as well as bits of lore from the Realm of Three Crowns. Abadda accedes to nearly any request for the promise of eternal rest. Unfortunately for his tortured soul, the fallen elf is unaware of what, if anything, can be done to end his centuries-old torment.
History: Abadda Moonglamaer was slain on the fields of Uthtower in the Year of the Lamia’s Kiss (615 dr) and transformed into a curst by a magical eddy of the Curse of Iniarv. For three decades he wandered the Mere of Dead Men seeking an honorable death in battle, but time and again he rose anew to continue his undying existence. In the Year of Tormented Souls (646 DR), Chardanseara- vitriol captured Abadda, seeking the Unicorn Blade that the fallen Warrior- Priest had once borne. In exchange for the promise of eternal rest, Abadda agreed to lead the covetous wyrm to the Unicorn Blade. Once the blade had been added to his hoard, the Ebondeath betrayed the undying elf and imprisoned him in one of the unused burial alcoves in the Vaults of the Uthlords. The present location of the Unicorn Blade is unknown. It was removed from the Ebondeath’s hoard by a Myrkulyte priest prior to the Uthtower’s sinking and has not been seen since.
For centuries Abadda lay undying in his silent tomb until a priest of the Ebondeath Sect discovered the anomalous nature of his internment in the Year of Chains (1321 DR) and removed the burial plaque to see what lay within. Once released, the elven curst was an object of great interest to the Myrkulytes, for his undead form was unknown to them. One of their experiments involved a greater doppleganger consuming the curst’s brain (which then regenerated). The doppleganger was then able to assume Abadda’s identity, even though the elven prince had died long ago. A measure of the curst's dementia must have infected the greater doppleganger, for the false Abadda fled the temple and returned to the lands of the Fallen Kingdom where he became a proud wanderer and bandit leader. The false Abadda—who bore Susk, the legendary Silent Sword, at the time—was eventually challenged and slain by Distyl of Nesme at the court of Alustriel, High Lady of Silverymoon, in the Year of the Wanderer (1338 DR), but none detected the doppleganger’s ruse, even in death. dragon’s hoard, many such treasures were removed from the temple by fleeing priests as the Uthtower and the catacombs sunk into the Mere.
Chardansearavitriol’s ascension transformed the dracolich into a disembodied spirit loosely tethered to his mortal remains. Whether this new form was a step forward or backward in Chardansearavitriol’s pursuit of divinity is a question best left to sages such as Velsaert of Baldur’s Gate. In any case, the Ebondeath now manifests within these chambers as a ghostly aura of terror that drifts among the sepulchers of the dead. This ghostly vestige first appears when the PCs enter area 27 (see below for details).
15. Crypt of the First Royals. The following description assumes that most or all of the water has filtered out of the room. The DM should adjust the description if the chamber is flooded when the PCs arrive:
Stone steps climb to a vaulted, octagonal chamber thirty feet high at its peak. The room is dark, and the mosaic floor is littered with bones, bits of stone, and puddles of mud. Arched passages, each 30' wide, lead north, west, and south into darkness.
As you reach the top of the stairs, a ghastly apparition appears in the middle of the room and unfolds its tattered wings. The terrible dragon reveals its bony frame, and its fleshless skull greets you with sharp spectral fangs and flaring red eyes.
Normally, Chardansearavitriol’s spirit remains at rest. During the Eye of Myrkul, however, the former dracolich is capable of manifesting a spectral form similar to that of a ghost, attacking those who invade its lair. The ghost of the once fearsome dracolich appears whenever a living creature enters the chamber.
Anyone seeing the ghost must save vs. spell at a —4 penalty. PCs failing their saving throws age 10 years, drop whatever items they’re carrying, and flee for 2d6 rounds. Priests above 6th level are immune to these effects, and other beings above 8th level suffer a -2 penalty to the saving throws (instead of -4). The rings of Myrkul afford no protection against the ghost’s aura of terror.
Chardansearavitriol’s ghost snaps at intruders with its bony jaws as it hovers in the air. This attack inflicts no damage but ages the victim 10-40 (ld4 x 10) years. For the effects of aging, refer to Table 12 in the DMG.
The ghost cannot travel beyond areas 27-30 and does not possess the magic jar ability of most ghosts. Holy water inflicts 2d4 points of damage per vial; a dispel evil or raise dead spell destroys the ghost instantly.
Ghost: INT high (13 AL LE; AC 0; MV 9; HD 10; hp 54; THAC0 11; #AT 1; Dmg special; SA age 10-40 years; SD +1 or better weapons to hit; silver weapons inflict half damage; immune to sleep, charm, hold, fear, poison, paralysis, cold-based attacks, and death magic; SZ H; ML special; XP 6,000; MM/130 (variant).
Destroying this manifestation does not slay Chardansearavitriol, but the ghost cannot reform until the next time the Eye of Myrkul appears. A dispel evil spell banishes the spirit for 3d6 turns but does not destroy it.
This royal crypt is largely empty except for the bones of a few shattered skeletons lying about the room. Four 3O'-wide, 15'-high arched hallways lead out along the cardinal points to the rest of the Royal Crypt chambers (areas 28-30) and Vaults of the Uthlords (areas 20-26).
Whereas the rest of the royals and nobles of the Mausoleum have burial niches carved lengthwise into the stone with a relatively small stone plaques covering their heads, the first two kings and first two queens of Uthtower have much grander tombs. King Uth I, his wife Queen Sarlani, King Ornoth I, and his wife Queen Mihath are each interred in one of the four walls. The body of each monarch was placed in a rectangular vault that was then sealed with stone shape spells made to resemble the recumbent profile of the deceased. If any of the tombs is disturbed, all four carved images step forth from their stony berths and attack as caryatid columns. The stone door sealing each tomb remains and can withstand 60 points of damage each before sundering; a stone shape, transmute rock to mud, or dig spell destroys a door automatically.
The four tombs are air-tight, then- contents sealed against the ravages of submersion and time. King Uth I’s tomb contains the monarch’s bones, a platinum diadem set with lapis lazuli dragons (worth 4,200 gp) and a rod of smiting (15 charges). Queen Sarlani’s crypt holds her bones and a bejeweled tiara (worth 5,000 gp). King Ornoth I’s tomb contains his bones and a gold sceptre topped with an emerald gem of insight (worth 2,500 gp for the sceptre alone, 8,500 gp with the gem). Queen Mihath’s crypt contains her bones, a phylactery of long years, and a beautiful gold necklace adorned with nine platinum teardrops (worth 580 gp).
Caryatid columns (4): INT non (0 AL N; AC 5; MV 6; HD 5; hp 22 each; THAC0 15; #AT 1; Dmg 2d4; SD +4 bonus to saving throws; half damage from nonmagical weapons; normal damage only from magical weapons; SZ M (7' tall ML 20; XP 420; AfAf/171 (golem, variant).
16. Crypt of Uthtower. The floor of this crypt is strewn with the bones of a few shattered skeletons. The walls are lined with 3'-high, 3'-wide, and O'deep niches stacked three-high along the walls.
Beginning with King Uth II, the bodies the monarchs and their royal consorts are interred in burial niches guarded by grandfather plaques. If the PCs break into the tombs, the DM should determine whether any treasure remains or whether it was removed via magic without disturbing the grandfather plaques.
17. Crypt of Yarlith. The following description assumes that most or all of the water has filtered out of the room. The DM should adjust the description if the chamber is flooded when the PCs arrive:
The floor of this 3O'-high octagonal room is slightly bowl-shaped, allowing mud to settle into it. A great heap of bones lies in the center of this shallow mud pool. Recognizable are the skeletons of several dozen humans as well as the bones of some great reptilian creature. Topping the 8'-tall mound is a fearsome, elongated skull with pointed horns and long, protruding fangs.
Scattered among the bones are countless coins, treasures, and antiquities. Mounted on the back walls of the room are three rows of thirteen plaques—39 plaques in total. Two of them are sculpted in the shape of a human visage.
The walls of this crypt are lined with 3'-high, 3'-wide, and 9'-deep niches stacked three-high along the walls. Only King Ornoth II and his wife, Queen Sadiya of Eigersstor, were interred here, and their burial niches are guarded by grandfather plaques. The other 37 niches are empty, and the plaques covering them are featureless and inanimate.
If the PCs break into one or both of the tombs, it is left up to the DM to determine whether any treasure remains or if it was removed via magic without disturbing the grandfather plaques.
A great heap of bones lies in the center of the chamber, including two dozen complete human skeletons and the remains of Chardansearavitriol, topped by the Ebondeath’s fearsome skull. Interspersed among the pile of bone are the remains of Chardansearavitriol’s hoard, including approximately 18,000 cp, 16,000 sp, 8,000 gp, 2,400 ep, and 600 pp of widely varying mintage. The majority of coins were minted in Uthtower or Yarlith and, if sold in small quantities to widely scattered collectors, might fetch up to five times their face value. Scattered among the coins and bones are 21 gems and pieces of jewelry, including six garnets (worth 100 gp each), two onyxes fashioned into chess pieces (a king and a queen, worth 75 gp each), four pieces of uncut crown of silver (worth 10 gp), six pieces of tremair (worth 100 gp each) amid the rotted remains of a once stunning Waterdhavian debutante’s gown, two aquamarines affixed to a silver armband once worn by an Uthgardt barbarian (worth 1,200 gp total), and one beljuril set in a mithral shoulder plate sized for a dwarf (worth 6,000 gp total). Three objects of art have survived the years of immersion, including an ornate Neverwintan water clock the size of a merchant’s coffer (worth 500 gp), the shell of a giant abalone painted with a montage of scenes set in the aquatic elf city of Iumathiashae off
The bones and hoard of the dracolich Chardansearavitriol wait to be plundered.
the coast of Evermeet (worth 1,600 gp), and a dwarven runestone forged of darksteel (worth 3,000 gp). The last is engraved with the sign of the Ironstar clan on one side—a four- pointed white star gleaming atop a rugged black iron anvil—and Dethek runes on the other face that tell the tale of the death of King Daurvos Frostbeard at the Stone Bridge. Last but not least, there are five dweomered items: a bone ring with 82 charges, a cloak of reflection, a human-sized suit of Laeral’s storm armor, the Twinned Crown of Uthtower (see the “New Magical Items” sidebar), and a wand of obliteration (18 charges) whose command word was lost long ago.
As the floor of the chamber is slightly bowl-shaped, the last foot of water never fully drains despite the work of the dwarven pumping system. The undead form of the last high priest of the Ebondeath Sect still stalks these dark waters, eternally defending the draconic entity it venerates. A skuz appears as a slimy coating on the water, similar to the algae growths on still ponds and lakes. A skuz can manipulate its slimy body, allowing it to take on humanoid and other forms and making it easier to attract prey. Although not an “item” per se, destroying the skuz saps the temple 1 deific point.
Skuz: INT exceptional (16 AL CE; AC 0; MV 1, swim 15; HD 11; hp 66; THAC0 9; #AT 2; Dmg 2d6/2d6; SA energy drain, spells; SD +2 or better weapon to hit, immunities (see below MR 25%; SZ M (7' long ML 20; XP 15,000; MC11: Forgotten Realms Appendix.
SA—Skuz attack by forming pseu- do-arms from their slimy mass. In addition to causing physical damage, each touch of a skuz drains one life level from its victim. Skuz can use the following spell-like abilities at will, twice per day: gaze reflection, suggestion, watery double, animate dead, and transmute dust to water.
SD—Skuz are immune to all firebased attacks and spells. Skuz can only be hit by +2 or better weapons and, because of their malleable body, suffer only half damage from magical edged weapons. The skuz is turned as “special” undead.
SW—Lower water causes 2dl0 points of damage to a skuz, and raise dead instantly kills it.
Destroying Chardansearavitriol’s bones is difficult, as Myrkul’s ebbing power protects them from most forms of physical, psionic, or magical assault save disintegrate and wish spells, a wand of obliteration, or a sphere of annihilation. Removing the dracolich’s skeletal remains saps the temple of 3 deific support points. (See “Myrkul’s Ebbing Aura” section for details.)
Hauling Chardansearavitriol’s bones out of the mausoleum requires 24 man-hours, assuming the PCs aren’t delayed. (Thus, three people would require eight hours to remove the bones, four people would require six hours, and so forth.) PCs can save time by using a bag of holding or similar item to transport the draco- lich’s remains. (Amalkyn the Black possesses just such an item.) Filling and transporting a 250-lb. bag requires 30 minutes, and there are approximately 3,000 lbs. of bones. The dracolich’s skull is too large to fit into a bag of holding but fits inside a portable hole.
30. Wyrm’s Parlor. This chamber served as the primary entrance into Chardansearavitriol’s lair. When the room is entirely drained, a shallow brackish pool, once fed by a freshwater spring, forms in the northwest corner.
The roughly hewn tunnel to the south is completely blocked some 60 feet down. The original sinking of the Uthtower caused the tunnel to collapse, forever sealing this entrance and exit to the mausoleum.
Silt covers the floor. Buried under the muck are the skeletons of a dozen or more Myrkulytes who failed to escape before the closing off of the tunnel sealed their fate. A careful search of the room reveals a few badly rusted maces, scythes, and flails, but nothing of value.
New Magical Items
Ring of Myrkul XP Value: 250 GP Value: 1,000 The rings of Myrkul were created and worn by Myrkulyte priests before the Time of Troubles. When Myrkul perished atop Blackstaff Tower in Waterdeep, his secret temple in the heart of the Mere sank into the swamp. A number of Myrkulytes fled the sunken temple and died, giving up their lives—and their magical rings—to the monstrous denizens of the Mere.
These gold bands painted black and adorned with the white skull of Myrkul glow faintly in the presence of a detect evil spell. The rings allowed the Myrkulytes to identify one another. More importantly, the rings served as keys, enabling the priests to enter their temple without incurring the wrath of many of its guardians.
Anyone wearing a ring of Myrkul has the ability to walk among the dead. All mindless undead and intelligent undead with fewer than fi HD do not attack the ring's wearer unless the wearer attacks them first. Moreover, the wearer can cast chill touch 3/day and ghoul touch 1/day. Prior to the Time of Troubles, if the ring wearer was a Myrkulyte priest, he could invoke a number of other effects, but these greater necromantic powers vanished when Myrkul died.
The most important power of the rings of Myrkul, not previously revealed, is the ability of three such magical bands, in conjunction with the manifestation of the Eye of Myrkul, to raise the Uthtower and its catacombs from the dark waters of the Mere, assuming each ring of Myrkul is borne by a sentient, living being within five miles of the Uthtower. In advance of performing such a function, each ring of Myrkul guides its bearer in the general direction of the Uthtower in the month leading up to the appearance of the Eye of Myrkul. This power manifests only if concentrated upon, and its accuracy increases as the power of Myrkul waxes anew.
Within Myrkul’s temple in the Mere of Dead Men, several additional powers do still accrue to the wearer of a ring of Myrkul. The wearer of the ring can issue simple commands to any animated skeleton or zombie within sight, although using this power should be considered an evil act. Moreover, the magic of the ring in conjunction with the temple’s unholy aura amplifies the chill touch and ghoul touch powers to 9/day and 6/day each, as well conferring the powers of vampiric touch 3/day and finger of death 1/day. The active use of such powers—not including the passive use of the walk among the dead power—is not without penalty. Every 10 levels of spell energy employed by a ring of Myrkul within the confines of the Uthtower or the Mausoleum of the
Ebondeath increases the deific support of the temple by 1 point, as discussed in the “Myrkul’s Ebbing Aura" section) and weakens the ring wearer by 1 hp permanently upon the passing of the Eye of Myrkul.
Several rings of Myrkul lost in the swamp have since been found. Evil, intelligent creatures are drawn to the rings as if by the 8th-level sympathy spell (range 30 yards). Amalkyn the Black and Helduth Flamespell, two of the many villains in this adventure, wear rings of Myrkul they found in two separate encounters with undead emerging from the Mere of Dead Men. A third ring of Myrkul may be found in a cairn deep in the Mere.
Twin Crowns of Myrmoran XP Value: 6,000 GP Value: 24,000 The Twin Crowns of Myrmoran were created by Iniarv, the Mage Royal of Uthtower, in the Year of Broken Lands (191 dr) at the request of the Council of Lords of Uthtower. Upon the sudden death of King Ornoth I and the decision to split the realm into two kingdoms for his twin sons, the archmage was commissioned to fashion identical crowns for the two branches of the Royal House of Myrmoran, known individually as the Twinned Crown of Yarlith and the Twinned Crown of Uthtower.
Iniarv enchanted powerful protections into the Twin Crowns. Unknown to the rulers or subjects of either realm, however, the Mage Royal entwined additional enchantments into the royal headgear to serve his own aims. The archmage had established his abode on the western slopes of the Sword Mountains near the end of the reign of Uthtower’s first king, attracted by the solitary lifestyle he could establish there and relative peacefulness of the area. Iniarv won the confidence of Uthtower’s second monarch and the title of Mage Royal to ensure the title would not fall to a rival wizard but otherwise cared little for the politics of the tiny realm. When the fledgling kingdom threatened to dissolve into civil strife, Iniarv worked behind the scenes to ensure that an amicable truce would be achieved so as to pursue his studies of the Art without disruption. Toward this end, Iniarv wove enchantments into the Twin Crowns that would both ensure a harmonious relationship between their two bearers and allow Iniarv to exercise a measure of control over both crown bearers if he was forced by events to intervene once again.
Individually, each of the Twin Crowns of Myrmoran provides it bearer numerous magical protections when worn. Such defenses include a +3 bonus to Armor Class and all saving throws, the protection of a mind blank spell, as well as immunity to all psionics, spells from the school of enchantment/charm, spells from the sphere of charm, or spell-like magical effects duplicating them. In addition, the bearer can cast shield, mirror image, fire shield, ironguard, and teleport without error once per day each.
When the Twinned Crown of Uthtower and the Twinned Crown of Yarlith are worn at the same time by separate individuals, an empathic link is formed between the bearers that allows them to sense the emotional state of each other at any time and communicate via telepathy once per week as long as both are on the same plane. When both crowns are worn by identical twins on the same plane of existence, the regalia’s full powers come to fruition. The two bearers become linked in mind and soul while wearing the Twinned Crowns, to the point where they become almost a single sentience. The twin crownbearers can communicate at will over any distance, and either twin can reach into the other's mind and cast spells their counterpart has memorized or regained, activate magical items triggered by silent act of will in the hands of the other twin, or even cast spells on their own form and have them affect the other twin instead.
The most obvious effect of these powers is to draw the crown bearers into a nearly unshakable friendship for as long as both continue to wear their crown. In most cases where the crown-bearers have radically different ethos, the weaker personality undergoes an alignment shift to that of the stronger personality. In the case of identical twins, the mental link forged by the Twinned Crowns fuse the bearers' identities to the point where they almost become one. Over time, it becomes progressively more difficult for either crown bearer to remove his regalia, to the point, after many years, that neither crown-bearer can live for any length of time without the magically-enhanced empathic bond.
Despite the risks entailed by protracted bearing of the Twinned Crowns, an even more dangerous evil lurks behind the strength forged by the bearers’ bond. Iniarv wove into them the power for a third individual to dominate both by means of a demand spell employable at will on either or both wearers, assuming they are on the same plane of existence.
It is unclear whether Iniarv survives and could (or even would) exercise mastery over any individual or duo who recover the long-lost Twinned Crowns of Myrmoran. Even if Iniarv is no more, it is unclear whether Iniarv linked this power to his own sentience or manipulated the monarchs of the Twilit Land via some third magical device that others might employ. As such, it is still risky to employ the magic of the Twinned Crowns, no matter how tempting the powers might be. the Dragon. Further adventures might include investigating the activities of the Cult cell in Leilon and thwarting further plots by the Followers of the Scaly Way.
18. The crypts beneath Iniarv’s Tower have lured more than one band of adventurers to their doom. The PCs might chose to follow in the footsteps of the Company of the Howling Wolf and discover whether the demilich still exists amid the remains of his fabled spell libraries.
19. The PCs might wonder at the activities of the yuan-ti in the region and be drawn into further plots involving allies of Esau Enoch (from “Slave Vats of the Yuan-ti” in Issue #69) and Amalkyn the Black.
20. The PCs could become involved in the Arcane Brotherhood’s hunt for Helduth Flamespell, when agents of the Overwizard of the North come looking for the renegade.
21. The PCs could search the Mere
of Dead Men for the Unicorn Blade, the famed sword of Prince Abadda Moonglamaer. The weapon, which was taken from Chardansearavitriol’s hoard during the fall of Uthtower by a Myrkulyte Priest, might lie beneath some haunted cairn, in the hollow of a hangman tree, or in the clutches of some other denizen of the Mere. Heroes who visit the mystic pool first encountered in “Dreadful Vestiges” (Issue #71) might receive a vision of the sword’s location and launch an expedition to recover it. Q
Lord of Iniarv’s Tower
Sir Justin Melenikus, male human Pa9 (Helm): AL LG; AC 0 (plate mail +3 MV 12; hp 53; THACO 12 (base #AT 3/2; Dmg by weapon type (ldlO+8 with gaun tlets of ogre power, two-handed sword +2 SA spell use; SD detect evil intent (60’ range), immune to disease, cure disease twice/peak, heal 18 hp/day; Str 16 (18/00 with gaun tlets of ogre power), Dex 12, Con 15, Int 14, Wis 17, Cha 18; SZ M (6'4" tall ML 18.
Sir Justin speaks Common, as well as auld wyrmish, dwarvish, lizard man, and orc. His weapon proficiencies include Blades, Clubbing Weapons, and Lances. His nonweapon proficiencies include Etiquette, Heraldry, Land-based Riding (horses), Local History (Waterdeep and the North), Reading/Writing (Common), and Religion (Faerunian). Sir Justin venerates Helm the Watcher.
Priest Spell: Bless.
Magical Items: Sir Justin is garbed in a gleaming suit of platemail +3, coupled with gauntlets of ogre power adorned with the symbol of Helm. He bears llumi- nus, a two-handed sword +2, +4 vs. undead that glows with a soft, pure, white light (equivalent to torchlight) when mentally commanded by the bearer.
Appearance: Sir Justin stands nearly half a head above most of his peers, and his broad, muscled shoulders look strong enough to bear a full-grown dragon on his back. The knight keeps his dark brown hair and muttonchop sidebums closely cropped, and his piercing steel grey eyes reveal his inner strength. Melenikus is rarely out of his armor, and he keeps his two-handed sword strapped to his back at all times.
Personality: Sir Justin is a powerful and imposing figure who speaks with the authority of years of command. He is unflinchingly honest and expects the best of himself and others. Sir Justin treats both allies and enemies with courtesy and respect but does not allow himself to be played the fool. Melenikus does not tolerate cruelty in any form or to any degree. Although he bound by the same code of honor as all Paladins, the knight is careful not to allow adherence to the letter of the law to blind him to the principles of justice and preparedness in the long run.
History: Justin was raised on an farm outside of Waterdeep until his sixteenth year, when most of his family was slain by raiding orcs near the end of a long, bitter winter. Justin survived by chance—left for dead after being knocked unconscious. Vowing to never again be unprepared, he made his way to Helm’s Hold, a fortified monastery dedicated to the god of guardians located some 20 miles southeast of the City of Skilled Hands. Years of hard work in the fields gave the would-be knight strong muscles and an indomitable spirit, and Justin found his calling as a paladin of Helm. In the years since his investiture. Sir Justin has been a strong force for the rule of law and the dispensation of mercy, working with the small and isolated communities of the Twilit Land in their struggles against the dangers of the Savage Frontier. The knight’s most recent efforts have been directed towards ending the threat to trade and travel along the High Road in the vicinity of the Mere of Dead Men. His zeal for this worthy task is increased by the economic suffering now being felt in the communities north of Leilon that are largely cut off from their lucrative southern markets.
Ebondeath’s Mausoleum
“Ebondeath’s Mausoleum” is balanced for characters of 12th level.
Location Overview
Over a thousand years ago, the black dragon Chardansearavitriol, commonly known as Ebondeath, settled in the Mere of Dead Men, making his lair in the ruined citadel of Uthtower. Ebondeath became a dracolich and was worshiped by the Cult of the Dragon until the death god Myrkul’s influence waned across Faerûn and the dragon’s bones turned to dust.
With Myrkul’s return to the pantheon, his worshipers have quested across the seas to rekindle Ebondeath’s spirit. Led by the death priest Ularan Mortus, they unearthed the dragon’s mausoleum and awakened its slumbering soul, binding it to the unwilling body of the ancient green dragon Claugiyliamatar. Ularan Mortus hoped to use the dragon to capture the ruinstone, an artifact of great power. While they remain on the Sword Coast, Ularan Mortus and his cultists have claimed Ebondeath’s mausoleum as their headquarters in the area.
Following the “Leilon Besieged” quest, Ebondeath returns to the mausoleum: either in spirit form without the artifact, or in Claugiyliamatar’s body if it succeeded in stealing the ruinstone. In response, Lord Protector Neverember of Neverwinter offers the characters a purse of 8,000 gp to end the threat posed by the dragon.
Quest Goals
To succeed in this quest, the characters must break into the mausoleum and destroy Ebondeath’s malevolent spirit.
Travel to the Tomb
Once the party agrees to the contract, sages from Candlekeep send a messenger (via teleportation) with written directions to Ebondeath’s Mausoleum. The mausoleum lies under the Uthtower, an ancient keep swallowed by the mere. Trekking on foot into the salt marshes is arduous work, with or without a barge, and the journey takes well over a day.
Due to the recent proliferation (and likely destruction) of a great deal of undead from this region, the characters are likely to simply have a miserable day trudging through the muck. However, if you so wish, feel free to through in an encounter or two with undead that are fleeing the site of the battle at Leilon.
Arrival
Uthtower is buried deep beneath the bog. Using undead as laborers, Ularan Mortus excavated a deep shaft into the mud, shored up with wooden beams. Crude iron rungs were hammered into the walls of this pit, providing access to the entry hall of the catacombs (area E1). On the surface, the entrance looks like nothing more than a timber latrine sitting in the middle of nowhere. The shaft inside descends 120 feet to the catacombs below.
Characters who search the surface area and succeed on a DC 18 Intelligence (Nature or Investigation) check discern that a nearby saltwater lake has been recently disturbed: mud is splattered around the shore as though a wave of water was violently displaced here. The lake is very deep and connects via a murky underwater tunnel to the pool in area E8 of the mausoleum below. The dragon uses this route to enter and exit its lair.
MAUSOLEUM FEATURES
Ebondeath’s mausoleum has the following general features.
Lighting. Unless noted otherwise, the mausoleum is completely unlit and pitch dark. Adventurers require darkvision or their own light sources to see in here.
Construction. Ceilings, walls, and floors throughout the mausoleum are made from worked stone lined with granite flagstones. Ceilings are 30 feet high inside rooms and 20 feet high inside corridors.
Doors. Doors inside the mausoleum are 12 feet high and crafted of ebony engraved with images of death. Doors are unlocked but heavy, requiring a successful DC 12 Strength check to open. Unless otherwise noted, the doors groan loudly when opened.
Rubble. Large sections of the tomb have collapsed over the centuries. Areas of loose rubble count as difficult terrain and grant half cover to creatures hiding there.
Wards. The mausoleum is under the permanent effect of a forbiddance spell that is set to damage any fey creatures that enter. When a fey creature enters the mausoleum for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, the creature takes 5d10 necrotic damage.
Map 4: Ebondeath’s Mausoleum
View Player Version
Mausoleum Locations
The following locations are keyed to the map of Ebondeath’s Mausoleum:
E1. Entry Hall
Read the following boxed text aloud when the characters descend the shaft into this area:
The shaft descends into a worked stone hallway. One end of the hall has collapsed, and the other terminates in a pair of giant ebony doors. A thin layer of mist swirls over the floor and the air is unnaturally cold. As you step onto the flagstones, a voice from nowhere whispers:
“Who is dead but cannot die, the Lord of Bones, whose embrace is patient but sure?”
A detect magic spell reveals that the voice is an illusion. Characters who succeed on a DC 20 Intelligence (Religion) check recognize the “Lord of Bones” as one of the ancient titles given to Myrkul, god of the dead. If a character says this name aloud, the door at the end of the hallway silently opens.
E2. Cultist Camp
This chamber was once a storeroom but is now used as a camp for Ularan Mortus’s cultists. Bedrolls are laid over the floor and a fire burns in a brazier in the center of the room. There is one necromancer in here, plus one ghast and one priest for every character in the party, including sidekicks.
The characters surprise the cultists if they sneak up on them after silently opening the door from area E1. If combat ensues here, any monsters present in areas E3 and E4 are alerted to the battle and arrive after 1d4 + 1 rounds. The cultists in area E5 remain where they are but begin their summoning chant.
Treasure. The cultists carry 170 gp and 105 ep in loose coins, as well as five potions of healing.
Zombie Lair in Water
E3. Wine Cellar
Small, round peg holes on the walls are all that remain of the wine racks that once lined this cellar. The cultists use this space to house their mindless dead. There is one greater zombie in here per character in the party, including sidekicks.
Secret Door. The secret door in here leads to area E6 and can be uncovered with a DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check. To pop it open, a character must twist a torch bracket on the wall.
E4. High Priest’s Chamber
This chamber is used by Ularan Mortus and contains his backpack, bedroll, and a casket of treasures. Two giants’ skulls are mounted to the wall. If Ularan Mortus survived the “Leilon Besieged” quest, he is present here. Ularan Mortus has the statistics of a war priest. If Ebondeath recovered the ruinstone from Leilon, Ularan Mortus wields it in battle here (see the “Using the Ruinstone” sidebar).
Treasure. The death priest’s backpack contains 700 gp, 35 pp, eyes of minute seeing, and the following spell scrolls: raise dead, forbiddance, and holy aura.
USING THE RUINSTONE
Once per day as a bonus action, a villain can activate the ruinstone to undo one deed they have performed. The possibilities here are broad, but in combat it’s simplest to allow them the opportunity to “rewind” one action and take it again, or to reroll a failed saving throw (if it can still take actions). . Each use of the artifact has a terrible side effect: someone known to the wielder is also erased from reality. After the villain uses the ruinstone, roll a d20: on a 5-20, one of their allies disintegrates, on an 1-4, one of the player characters disintegrates. If a creature bound its soul to the ruinstone in the “Thalivar’s Beacon” quest, the artifact explodes when used and the creature who is bound to it disintegrates.
E5. Ritual Room
These ancient barracks have been cleared for use as a ritual room. A huge circle of ash has been laid out over the floor, surrounding a skull design painted in human blood. Around the circle, the cultists of Myrkul kneel in prayer for guidance from their god.There is one cult fanatic here for every character in the party, including sidekicks. Cultists who detect trouble nearby chant to their god for aid. If at least one cultist chants for three rounds, a bone devil appears in the circle to serve the cult.
Secret Door. The secret door in here leads to area E6 and can be uncovered with a DC 12 Intelligence (Perception) check. Characters who succeed on this check notice muddy scrapes on the floor beneath the concealed door.
E6. Halls of the Fiend
The hallways are haunted by the grotesque vestige of Ebondeath’s first high priest. This creature squirms along the passages and can be encountered anywhere in the area or in the nearby Vaults of the Uthlords (area E7). The vestige appears as a bloated, drowned death knight with horribly long arms. Its Longsword attack is replaced with the following attack:
Ghoulish Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d4 + 5) slashing damage, plus 18 (4d8) necrotic damage. If the target is a creature other than an undead, it must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
E7. Vaults of the Uthlords
Each of these burial chambers houses the remains of a different noble family of Uthtower. Their bones are interred inside niches in the walls, which are 3 feet wide, 3 feet high, 9 feet deep, and stacked three high along the walls.
When characters who aren’t devoted followers of Myrkul enter these chambers, the heaped bones begin to quietly stir. Characters who succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom (Perception) check notice the bone piles shifting. If a character disturbs the bones or returns to the same room, the bones arise from their niches and form skeletal swarms. Each burial chamber contains two skeletal swarms per character in the party, including sidekicks.
E8. Crypt of the First Royals
If the characters approach this area from the west, read the following boxed text aloud:
Graven steps ascend into a wide, octagonal chamber with a high, vaulted ceiling. The mosaic floor is littered with rubble, and a pool of murky water floods the far side of the chamber. Strange fungi cling to the moist walls.
To the north, an arched hallway plunges into the dark. As you approach, a hollow voice booms from beyond: “Who dares disturb the rest of Chardansearavitriol the Ebondeath?”
The characters now face Ebondeath. If the dragon fled Leilon in spirit form (see the “Leilon Besieged” quest), the party faces a spectral version of the dragon. This has the statistics a ghost, with the following important modifications:
• It has AC 15 and 225 hit points.
• The saving throw DC to resist its Possession power is now DC 20. When it possesses a creature, it gains access to their knowledge, class features, and proficiencies.
• Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Ebondeath uses its possession ability to jump between party members and turn them against each other. It fights to the end to protect its resting place.
If Ebondeath left the “Leilon Besieged” quest in Claugiyliamatar’s body, the party is now in trouble. Ebondeath has the statistics of Claugiyliamatar, except his breath weapon deals necrotic damage instead of poison damage due to Ebondeath’s possession. If the characters slay the dragon, they must then also face the ghost within!
E9. Ebondeath’s Lair
This ruined burial hall contains a heap of treasures that Cult of Myrkul have left as offerings to the dragon.
Treasure. The treasures gathered here comprise 14,000 gp, 1,750 pp, ten jet gemstones worth 100 gp each, two potions of supreme healing, a potion of storm giant strength , and a circlet of blasting.
Conclusion
Characters who destroy Ebondeath’s spirit can report their success to the authorities in Neverwinter, who award them a purse of 8,000 gp. If this is the final quest, their adventure ends here (see “Ending the Adventure” f
Джерело: <https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dc/ebondeaths-mausoleum>
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