The Nutcracker

Gaspar has gotten a request for a specific magic item: an enchanted nutcracker. The creator of the nutcracker, Heinrich Drosselmeyer, lost it to some wererat burglars several years back. Gaspar has tracked them to the Bralian sewers, the first level of the Bralian underdark. He has a crude map that should get them to the right area. The party will take a small tunnel through a manhole, following the directions Gaspar's directions.

Plot points/Scenes

1. Sewer Entrance: After following the directions, the party will come to a wider tunnel where the water is deeper, about 4.5 feet. Characters who are above the water line treat it as difficult terrain and have disadvantage on attacks. To the north, there is a metal door (AC 18) that requires a key or a DC 18 thieves tool check.


The ledges on each side are ten feet above the water level for a total of 15 feet from the bottom of the tunnel. The party will come out on the southern side.


Hazard: The water coming out of area 4 is toxic. Characters in the water must make a DC 16 Constitution save and take 3d6 poison damage and 1d6 acid damage every minute spent in the foul water.


2. Boat and Bridge: Tied to the southern end of the tunnel is a small boat that the wererats use to ferry supplies. It is flat bottomed and very light, capable of being carried or dragged along tunnels. There is a small bridge on the western end of the tunnel. Chracters weighing more than 180 lbs without making an athletics or acrobatics check must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or have the bridge break underneath them and throw them into the water below.


3. Wererat Den: Behind a ramshackle door (AC 10, 20 hp), the living quarters of the wererat clan, Clan Loosetooth. There are several wererats there and could be hostile to the party if they barge in. The guards at the door can be bribed with shiny things equal to 25gp in value. There is a Bralian sewer worker there as a prisoner. He is a gnome name Gnarli Deepdarrow and he has a helmet with a driftglobe set in the forehead. He was able to keep it because the wererats hated the light and couldn't get it out of the helmet. He explains that he was sent down to fix a sewage issue; there was a breakage at the water treatment junction at the mage tower junction so magical sludge is coming down in the sewers. He has a box of filters and solvent—he is sitting on it—but he needs to get to the pipes that are spewing the waste.


Interrogating any of the wererats (DC 15 intimidation or bribing them (25gp) will reveal that the Great Rat King was given power from the Holy Juice and the four sacred fonts of power feed his strength. Wormclaw, the previous leader of the clan, is willing to tell the party which parts of the sewer have the four sacred fonts. He wants things to go back to normal so he can challenge the Rat King for leadership. He has a key to the door in area 1.


4. Rat King's Gate: Standing on either side of the filthy water are two wererat guards, the Rat King's Chosen. They are unconcerned with the party being on the other side of the tunnel but will fight them if the party tries to enter area 4. They are wererats except that they can spit acid as a bonus action in their wererat form. Two warms of plague rats scurry around them. If they begin to lose, they will dash into the water and swim up to area 7, alerting the Rat King and the other Chosen.


Upon the bridge that connects the two sides of this passage is a wall of water. Putrid water. In addition to the wall of water effects, creatures attempting to pass through the wall must make a DC 18 Constitution Saving throw or take 3d8 poison damage and 3d6 acid damage or half as much on a successful save. Additionally, a failed save causes the creature to stop their movement inside the wall and must continue to make saving throws until they pass or are involuntarily pushed out.


On the other side of the wall are two gelatinous cubes taking up the remaining space on the ledges around the putrid water.


5. Forgotten Graves: At some point, the sewer walls collapsed, allowing the caskets of some long dead persons to fall out. The Rat King has used his shamans to animate these corpses. 2-3 Skeletons.


6. Ooze Junction: There are a number of oozes swimming around in the water here and will attack the party upon approaching and then retreat into the sewer pipe below to pop out at area 8.


7. The Rat King's Court: The Rat King is a massive wererat, juiced up on the magical sludge coming into the sewers. He stands in the center with his shamans pouring the sludge on him in a near constant stream. He stands in a central platform surrounded by a wide, circular trench about 20 feet wide. He will not engage unless the party attacks or otherwise makes themselves known. The reason is that there are glyphs of warding under the water so that anyone passing by them without the rat king's express permission, a wall of putrid water as described in area 4 is formed.


There are two sewer pipes spewing magical sludge that need to be fitted with filters and treated with solvent. If the party tries tampering with them, the rat king will attack. The rat king will fight the strongest party member with the shamans providing support from the back. The party, if they distract the rat king, can allow Gnarli Deepdarrow to affix the filters.


8. Spider Lair: Four giant spiders live here. They have an uneasy alliance with the rats. If the party can convince them to switch sides (DC 15 Persuasion) then they will show up on round two of a fight with the Rat King.

9. Control Room: On the pillars are several levers than can change the flow of the pipes and open the gate to area 10. Deepdarrow knows the correct sequence that would shut off the ooze getting to the central chamber. Otherwise, it is a DC 18 intelligence check.

10.