Strixhaven: Hunt for Mage Tower

Second-Year Level Advancement

A Standalone Adventure

If you're running this adventure as a standalone, the mage hunters are acting independently, not as part of Murgaxor's schemes. These creatures have broken from their Oriq associates and enacted their own scheme to weaken Strixhaven. Believing their success will earn them a place of prestige among the university's enemies, they plot to bring down Strixhaven's newest star pupils: the characters.

Second-Year Encounters

Second-Year Courses

Mage Tower's Rules

Here are the rules of Mage Tower:

• Each of the two teams has an equal number of students, usually not exceeding five.
• Each team is represented by a small mascot creature that reflects one of Strixhaven's colleges, as described in the "Mascots" section of chapter 1.
• When the game begins, the two mascots are placed on high towers at opposite ends of the field of play.
• Each team tries to steal the opposing mascot and transport it back to the tower at their end of the field. Doing so scores one point.
• The game occurs in three phases of 20 minutes each.
• The team that scores the most points by the end of the third phase wins the game.
• Anything that could cause damage to a participant, mascot, or spectator or that would damage the field of play in any way is prohibited. Breaking this rule results in expulsion from the game.
• Questionable use of magic can be called as a foul by the game's referee. A faculty member fills that post during official games.
• Participants who accumulate three fouls are ejected from the game. Teams may not replace participants who foul out.

A Standalone Adventure

If you're running this chapter as a standalone adventure, the bayou creatures' aggressive presence is a result of the mage hunters' activity in the area, not Murgaxor's magic. Characters can find traces of the mage hunters' presence in area W5.

Mascot Hunting

Six mascots escaped Professor Sharpbeak's custody and fled to the grounds of Wiltroot Hall, drawn to the bog's latent decay.

Wiltroot Hall Features

The hall and surrounding grounds have the following features (areas not numbered are easily traversable but devoid of significant features or creatures):

• Building Ceilings. The ceiling of Wiltroot Hall (area W1) is 40 feet high. The ceilings of the observation huts (areas W2, W7, W9, W10, and W14) are 10 feet high.
• Building Doors. The doors to Wiltroot Hall (area W1) and the observation huts (areas W2, W7, W9, W10, and W14) are unlocked.
• Swampy Stinkbrush. The areas surrounding the clearings and walkways contain a mixture of nearly impassable, awful-smelling deep bog and thick undergrowth. These areas are 3 if the characters want to explore them, but it's clear that few creatures would intentionally pass through these areas.
• Walkways. The walkways and the platform underneath the hall are made of magically reinforced wood and enclosed by short guard rails. The walkways are two feet above the swamp. Hopping over the guard rail into the bog or clearings below, or pulling oneself up onto a walkway from the ground below, requires an action but no ability check.

W1. Hall and Learning Platform

This area is devoid of faculty, staff, or students, leaving the building full of class supplies. Up to three herbalism kits or poisoner's kits could be crafted from these materials, as well as up to three vials of antitoxin and two potions of healing.

W2. Observation Hut A

The clearing outside the hut is uninhabited.

W3. Southwest Clearing

This clearing appears to be empty. However, a DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals movement in the western part of the surrounding brush. If the characters linger here for a round, they catch the attention of two ankhegs. The aggressive creatures attack, retreating back into the brush only if the characters reduce one or both of them to 10 hit points or fewer.

W4. Southern Outskirts

If the characters approach the refuse, it reveals itself to be an aggressive black pudding. The black pudding has eaten the remnants of creatures slain in this region recently, so it's Huge. Its game statistics are otherwise the same. The black pudding tries to flee when reduced to 10 hit points or fewer, as do any puddings resulting from it splitting.

W5. Southern Clearing

This clearing holds two clues to the evil activity taking place in this part of the bayou.

W6. Southeastern Clearing

If the characters approach the two lumps, a guttural gurgle emits from them in tandem. Rising to stand is a fungal, mossy beast that groans, "Disturbed! I am disturbed!" before it attacks the characters. This momentarily animated fungal mass is a Plant but otherwise uses the stat block of an ettin. When it's reduced to 0 hit points, the creature melts back into the spongy bog floor.

W7. Observation Hut B

If the characters approach the hut, it becomes clear that the leafy canopy is obscuring a giant scorpion. The aggressive creature attacks, as does the ankheg that steps out from the brush behind it. The creatures fight alongside each other—another unusual event in this area. If the characters reduce either creature to 10 hit points or fewer, it tries to flee.

W8. Western Clearing

The characters' classmates Urzmaktok Grojsh and Melwythorne (two Witherbloom apprentices; see chapter 3) came here to explore the area. Ever the overachiever, Urzmaktok is taking advantage of the empty grounds to gather plant cuttings. He hopes to study them through the Fantastical Horticulture Club and petition his Witherbloom professors for extra credit if he successfully nurtures them. Timid for a third-year student, Urzmaktok convinced the lonely Melwythorne to accompany him to the grounds, both so Melwythorne might tell stories about his grove and so Melwythorne could protect him from any dangers.

The two Witherbloom students had decided to approach the puddles when the characters discover them. When anyone steps toward the puddles, they jiggle and solidify into two ochre jellies. If they see the characters, the jellies climb up onto the walkway in pursuit of prey. An ochre jelly reduced to 5 hit points or fewer tries to flee.

W9. Observation Hut C

When the characters enter this building, they smell the pungent algae within a large fountain bubbling up from the center of the floor of the lower level. This is a naturally occurring spring. A pockmarked stone carving in the shape of a stylized, anthropomorphic wave surrounds and collects the water.

Javenesh Stoutclaw (neutral good owlin Lorehold apprentice; see chapter 3) stands next to the fountain, tilting his head in confusion and ruffling his feathers while seemingly talking to himself. If the characters approach the fountain, they see that Javenesh is speaking with a water weird submerged inside it. Unlike most water weirds, this creature, named Lothannep, can speak and understand Common.

Lothannep lives in the fountain when the university isn't in session. Lothannep was bound generations ago to a pool located in the wilds off Witherbloom's campus. Lothannep's mage master released it long ago, and it has been wandering about as it pleases since.

[image: Sedgemoor is expansive and can be intimidating even for older students who explore its grounds]

Lothannep likes this hut but will be ejected once the Witherbloom faculty discovers the weird's presence. A character can befriend Lothannep by engaging it in friendly conversation and succeeding on a DC 13 Charisma (Persuasion) check, with advantage if the character is a Witherbloom student. The water weird can be persuaded to relocate to another body of water, but only if a character toward which it is friendly suggests it.

W10. Observation Hut D

The table in the building holds enough materials to create a set of painter's supplies and a set of calligrapher's supplies.

W11. Northwestern Clearing

When a character ventures toward the north end of this clearing, two giant elk burst out of the foliage. The giant elk are angry and confused, and they attack. If an elk is reduced to 20 hit points or fewer, it regains its senses and tries to flee.

W12. Northern Clearing

A character who moves toward the clearing's western side sees a giant boar munching on the mushrooms. Like the elk in area W11, the boar is angry and confused and initially attacks. If it's reduced to 10 hit points or fewer, it tries to flee into the bog.

W13. Northern Outskirts

This area is devoid of any creatures.

W14. Observation Hut E

If a character approaches the southeast corner behind the observation hut, two brackish trudges (see chapter 7) animate. Like the elk in area W11 and the boar in area W12, the trudges are initially hostile and attack. However, if a trudge is reduced to 20 hit points or fewer, it regains its senses and tries to flee.

The Contest

Stacking mascots without the creatures toppling over is a major bragging right, and the characters have the opportunity of earning that now.

Further, Greta Gorunn (chaotic good dwarf Lorehold apprentice; see chapter 3) has offered a belt of dwarvenkind as the prize for this contest. Her parents sent her the belt as a gift, but she thinks it's more fun to offer the belt as a trophy.

In this contest, up to four teams of two students apiece race to create the highest stack of gathered mascots. At least one team should consist of NPC students, and you should make rolls for them. If the characters have Rivals, two of them form this opposing team. If not, choose students from the "Fellow Students" section in chapter 3.

Characters who don't wish to form a team can participate by cheering or heckling, as described below:

• Encourage a Team. A character can shout encouragement to a single team. If they do, one member of that team has advantage on their ability check in the stacking game.
• Heckle a Team. A character can jeer and rankle a single team. If they do, both members of that team have disadvantage on their ability checks in the game.

Playing the Game

As noted above, each mascot-stacking team has two members, each of whom uses a wand. To determine which team stacks the most mascots, have each member of the team make one ability check of their choice, chosen from the following options: Dexterity (Sleight of Hand), Intelligence (Arcana), or Wisdom (Animal Handling). Record the check totals for each team member, then combine them for each team. The team with the highest combined total wins the game.

For example, if one member of a team gets a total of 16 on their Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check to expertly point their wand and the other member gets a total of 20 on their Wisdom (Animal Handling) check to stack the mascots comfortably, their combined total is 36—and they win the game if no other team has a higher total.

If there's a tie, add a tiebreaker round or use your discretion to determine the winner.

Relationship Encounter

During this game, characters might mingle with the other students. If there are students the characters wish to earn Relationship Points with, treat this as a Relationship encounter, as described in the rules found in the "Relationships" section in chapter 3. Have players note the results of this encounter on their tracking sheets.

Examining the Pests

Pests don't normally amalgamate and turn hostile, then transform back into harmless pests. If the characters examine the pests after the amalgamation is defeated, a successful DC 16 Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals little pools of regurgitated bait on the floor near the pests. Mixed in the pools are small, sharp pieces of same chitin found in area W5 near Wiltroot Hall. The pests ingested this chitin, leading to their strange transformation.

Practice Time

Once the characters resolve the altercation with the amalgamated mascots, the party on the Rose Stage resumes. Before the characters leave the area, Rosie Wuzfeddlims (chaotic good gnome Lorehold apprentice; see chapter 7) approaches them. The gnome announces that Aerojaunt Field is reserved for the characters' Mage Tower team to practice.

The characters' designated practice slot is at the end of this week. As a student referee, Rosie is tasked with helping the characters learn the rules of Mage Tower and the game's basic techniques. Further, as long as the entire party has not made a Rival of Rosie, she promises to gift their team a stone of good luck after they practice that can be used at the game later in the year.

Aerojaunt Field

Aerojaunt Field was once the university's primary sports field. Now, years after the construction of Strixhaven Stadium, the field sees far less use. Its official purpose is as a dedicated practice field for Strixhaven's high-profile student teams, whose official matches take place in newer facilities elsewhere on campus.

However, less competitive teams hold their matches on this field, most notably the Intramural Silkball Club. The elevated ramps used in silkball matches were permanently built into Aerojaunt Field, whose name evokes a popular silkball move that involves using magic to hop through the air.

Aerojaunt Field Locations

The following locations are keyed to the map 4.2. Descriptions assume the characters are using this field during the day. At night, the field is devoid of students.

Mage Tower Practice

After the characters arrive at the field, Rosie explains that the Mage Tower game the characters are practicing for will take place in nearby Strixhaven Stadium. The stadium doesn't have ramps built into the field. "But practicing with them is fun!" she explains. "Plus, you'll get better at the game! What's not to love?"

An Unwelcome Visitor

At the end of practice, after Rosie gives the characters her gift, read or paraphrase the following:

Emerging from the eastern dugout is a hulking blue slaad. The enraged creature fights to the death.

Any character who aced their Magical Physiologies Exam about slaadi (see "Campus Kerfuffle" in chapter 3) receives advantage on attack rolls made against the slaad during this encounter.

Studying Phase

The day before the Exam, the characters can study the course material. A character can use any ability check and skill during the Studying phase.

Once you've asked each player how their character is approaching the Studying phase, resolve that phase by having each character who studies make a DC 16 ability check. Make sure players keep track of their characters' rerolls and apply them during the Testing phase.

Testing Phase

On the day of the Exam, each character makes two ability checks related to parts of the test:

• Symbol Surfaces. Identifying the most suitable surfaces to scribe a symbol on requires a successful DC 16 Intelligence (Investigation) check.
• Avoiding Symbol Effects. Writing up the details of common methods to avoid triggering symbols, plus physical and mental techniques for resisting their effects once they have been triggered, requires a successful DC 16 Charisma (Persuasion) check.

Have each player note their character's Exam results—how many Student Dice they gained and what skills they used during the test—on their copies of the tracking sheet.

To the Scriptoria Collections

Professor Brenneth Blackstone approaches the characters after he's done proctoring their Exam. Once the other students depart, the professor addresses the characters:

Once the characters talk with Blackstone, they're free to go to the Scriptoria Collections. However, Blackstone doesn't need the book for a couple more weeks, so there's no rush to head to the collections.

Map 4.3 shows the Scriptoria Collections. For more about what the characters discover there, see the "Dangerous Knowledge" section.

Magical Skate-Off

If the characters follow the student who invited them, that student leads them behind Bow's End Tavern. Read or paraphrase the following:

One of the characters' peers approaches holding a wand and two skates, thrusting both forward with a grin. They say:

The wand the student is wielding is one of several scattered throughout the crowd. These wands are ordinary spellcasting foci imbued with minor magical effects. Strixhaven's instructors use them to help students practice their wand-wielding skills. These wands can create minor effects such as little puffs of smoke or crackles of energy, but clever spellcasters can use the wands while skating to perform minor jumps and acrobatic tricks on skates.

[image: Magical shenanigans are common on campus. Students especially love magically getting some air]

That's Not Supposed to Happen!

At the end of the skate-off, after the purse is given to the winner or distributed among multiple winners, one of the wands used during the skate-off accidentally summons a monster. Read or paraphrase the following:

The wand has summoned an angry and confused galeb duhr.

At the start of combat, the characters are outside the tavern's back exit (the western portion of area E5 on map 3.3 in chapter 3). Suddenly, a creature erupts from the ground, causing nearby students to scream and scatter. The galeb duhr fights the characters until reduced to 20 hit points or fewer, when it tries to flee.

Scriptoria Collections Features

The room has the following features:

• Astrolabes. These spherical copper devices were a gift to Director Quenthorne from a society of diviners. Most are situated along the northern wall in the middle and to the west, near the hearth. Magically enchanted to help the director see into other worlds and beyond, the centermost astrolabe has been corrupted as described in the "Is That Astrolabe Breathing?" section. If any character examines this central astrolabe for 1 round or more, skip directly to that section.
• Bookshelves. The sturdy bookshelves here are bolted in place. Climbing a bookshelf requires a successful DC 12 Strength (Athletics) check.
• Ceiling. The ceiling is 30 feet high.
• Door. Only one door leads in and out of the collections. It's unlocked during the day while the Biblioplex is open. At night, the door is closed, locked, and further sealed with an arcane lock spell. A character using thieves' tools can open the door with a successful DC 25 Dexterity check (DC 35 while the arcane lock spell is in effect).
• Hearth. The hearth in the northwest corner of the room is decorated with antique diviner's tools. Two comfortable chairs flank it in front of a smaller spherical astrolabe to the east and a table to the south that is covered in knickknacks and artifacts from Strixhaven's earlier days.
• Lounge. The lounge to the northwest includes several plush sofas and comfortable chairs, along with a heavy table covered in tomes and sheets of parchment left by a previous study group. The sharp letter openers on the table can be used as silvered daggers in a fight.
• Tables and Chairs. The room's chairs can be moved, but its sturdy tables are bolted to the floor.

Seeking the Professor's Tome

To find Weale or Woe: An Interpretive Sketch for Professor Blackstone or any other text in the room, the characters must take time to search the bookshelves. A character who searches the bookshelves for 1 hour can, at the end of that time, make a DC 13 Intelligence (Investigation) check, finding whatever book they seek on a success.

Is That Astrolabe Breathing?

After the characters find the tome for Professor Blackstone and gather any information they wish, or if they closely examine the central astrolabe, the astrolabe reveals itself to be a monster.

The mage hunters stalking the characters stumbled across this creature on the outskirts of campus. After imbibing potions of invisibility and feeding one to the creature to sneak it into the Scriptoria Collections, they told it to ambush the characters.

Read or paraphrase the following:

The astrolabe uses the stat block of a grick alpha, except it doesn't have a beak attack. The creature was waiting for an opportune time to attack the characters as instructed. The creature fights until reduced to 10 hit points or fewer, when it tries to lumber up the stairs and run away.

Delivering the Professor's Tome

So long as the characters deliver Weale or Woe: An Interpretive Sketch to Professor Blackstone before the third Exam, he lights up with relief. "Oh, the time you've saved me!" Professor Blackstone exclaims. "Thank you, students. I won't forget this—as promised, extra credit on the next exam is yours!"

Studying Phase

The day before the Exam, the characters can study the course material. A character can use any ability check and skill during the Studying phase.

Once you've asked each player how their character is approaching the Studying phase, resolve that phase by having each character who studies make a DC 17 ability check. Make sure players keep track of their characters' rerolls and apply them during the Testing phase.

Testing Phase

On the day of the Exam, each character makes two ability checks related to parts of the test:

• Augury Tools and Methods. Choosing the most effective tools and methods for casting augury requires a successful DC 17 Intelligence (History) check.
• Interpreting Weals and Woes. Reasoning out meaningful interpretations of cryptic scenarios paired with the results of auguries requires a successful DC 17 Wisdom (Insight) check.

Have each player note their character's Exam results—how many Student Dice they gained and what skills they used during the test—on their copies of the tracking sheet.

If the characters gave Weale or Woe: An Interpretive Sketch to Professor Blackstone before the Exam, their Exam results are adjusted as follows:

• If they failed the Exam, they pass instead.
• If they passed the Exam, they ace it instead.
• If they aced the Exam, they receive three Student Dice, instead of two.

The Opposing Team

The opposing team has as many members are there are player characters. If the characters have Rivals, those students are members of the opposing team. Choose the rest of the opposing team's members from the "Fellow Students" section in chapter 3 or create new students of your own to round out the team.

It's a Sing-off!

When the characters approach the study area where the opposing Mage Tower team waits, a student from the opposing team claps sardonically and challenges them.

If the characters participate in the sing-off, they'll gain an edge during the Battle of Strixhaven; see the "Determining the Winner" section below.

Strixhaven Stadium Locations

Built less than a century ago, Strixhaven Stadium is a monument to the status and legacy of the university. Important games of Mage Tower are played here, including the famous Battle of Strixhaven. The battle takes place only every three years, so the characters can experience it only once.

The following locations are keyed to map 4.4.

Before the Battle

Before the game, both teams and their mascots are expected to stay in their respective locker rooms. They must wait until they're called onto the field before they can level sarcastic comments at members of the opposing team. Feel free to roleplay this situation as appropriate. However, if the mood turns hostile, interrupt it with the start of the game.

The Battle Begins

When it's time for the game to begin, the magically enhanced voice of Professor Sharpbeak overwhelms all conversation, even flooding into the locker rooms.

Once the announcement ends, the teams are required to move from the locker rooms onto the main field. When both teams meet Professor Sharpbeak at the center of the field, Professor Sharpbeak snags the characters' mascot, flies it to the southern end of the field, and places it there. She then flies the opposing team's mascot to the field's north end.

Returning to the center of the field, she reminds the teams that magic is allowed, but harming other participants, the mascots, the audience, and the facility is not. After a breathless pause, she then blows her whistle. The game is on!

Resolving the Battle

The game takes place over three phases. In each phase, you should make ability checks for the student NPCs on the opposing team.

[image: The Battle of Strixhaven is among the most storied events on campus. Games are often talked about for years after they're played]

Returning to the Locker Room

When the characters return to their locker room, allow some roleplaying banter to take place.

Without warning, two mage hunters (see chapter 7) emerge from hiding places in the locker room and attack. The mage hunters entered the locker room unnoticed during the Mage Tower game and have been lying in wait for the characters to return.

Professor Sharpbeak is nowhere in sight, and it's up to the characters to save themselves. The mage hunters fight to the death.

Stuck in technical conversations on the field, Professor Sharpbeak doesn't return until the altercation with the mage hunters is over.

End of the Year

Once word gets out about what happened in the locker room, the characters are celebrated as heroes on campus. Feel free to add roleplaying scenes that reinforce how the characters' actions kept calamity away from Strixhaven.

If you're running this adventure as part of a Strixhaven campaign, the characters move toward their third year at Strixhaven as admired students on campus. They haven't yet learned Murgaxor's identity or what his ultimate plan is, but that information will surface soon enough. For now, the students can bask in their achievements, even as they look toward adventures to come.