Tales from the Yawning Portal: The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan

Ceilings

Most of the hallways have 20-foot ceilings. Some rooms have ceilings of 20 to 40 feet in height.

Doors

Doors are made of beaten bronze or slabs of stone. While heavy, they can be opened without a check.

Unsafe Stonework

In some places, the corbel arches that hold up the ceiling aren't structurally sound. As a result, some spells might have disastrous effects. A spell like fireball (an explosion) or thunderwave (an area of thunder damage) has a 25 percent chance to cause a ceiling collapse within the spell's area, dealing 16 (3d10) bludgeoning damage to creatures in the area. This collapse might block or bury objects or exits.

Poisonous Gas

The lower levels of the ruins, including the rooms and passages of encounter areas 1 through 38, are filled with poisonous gas. The gas is an amber color, and its area is lightly obscured. Anyone can tell that the gas is irritating, but it takes a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Nature) check to discern the gas's toxicity. Flames in the gas sputter and glow redly, and any attempt to use natural means to ignite a fire has only a 50 percent chance of success. Fire used as a light source has an effective radius only half normal.

A creature takes 3 (1d6) poison damage every hour it spends in the gas. The gas is light, so it accumulates closer to the ceiling. Inhabitants of the dungeon have immunity to the poisonous effect of the gas.

The gas rises up and out of the ruins if the doors to area 39 are opened. It takes one month for the lower levels to clear completely. If the doors are closed again, the lower chambers refill with gas in two weeks.

Dried Potions

In some locations, characters discover the remains of a potion in the form of sediment in the bottom of a container. It is possible to mix this powder with water or wine and restore the potion. Wine creates a potion with full effect, but water shortens the potion's duration (if it has one) by half. If the powder is consumed by itself, there is a 1 in 8 chance that it acts as a potion of poison; otherwise, the powder has no effect.

Pressure Plates

Several areas have traps that are triggered by the operation of a pressure plate, which depresses when a certain amount of weight is put on it.

A character who succeeds on a DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check can find a pressure plate. The plate can be blocked, preventing the trap from triggering, by wedging it in the upper position with pitons or similarly strong shims. Doing so takes one character at least 5 minutes, and the character must make a DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves' tools. If the check fails by 4 or less, the character knows the shims aren't properly placed. If the check fails by 5 or more, the character doesn't realize the shims will fail to hold up the plate.

Center Display

The diorama in the alcove holds twelve tribal warriors, one scout, a mastiff, and a panther. The deer don't animate.

Niche A

In a river scene, a dozen commoners gather rushes, fish with nets, and carve a dugout.

Niche B

Twelve commoners are engaged in farming, planting maize and harvesting wheat. Five tribal warriors stand guard, and a cult fanatic (priest) in a bird costume is blessing the fields.

Niche C

The display portrays a temple upon a tiered pyramid. Seven commoners are bringing small offerings of gold and jade. Before the temple stands a cult fanatic handling a constrictor snake. Around him stand three costumed tribal warriors. One, dressed as a winged serpent, holds a spear; another is dressed as a bear with razor claws; the third represents a coyote holding a torch. There are also several stone statues of the gods. The bits of gold and jade are worth 5 gp each, and there are fifteen such items.

Niche D

A scene of tribal warfare involves twenty tribal warriors in combat. The ten warriors of one side are painted black, while the ten others are done in red. Warriors that are animated will fight animated enemy warriors first, but once they vanquish their foes they turn on the characters.

Niche E

In the display that depicts the creation of the world, all the statuettes are stylized and obviously nonhuman. These figures can be removed, but they don't animate. A god, adorned in green quetzal feathers, is mixing ashes with blood to form sculptures of a man and woman, while four towering figures painted red, black, blue, and white are standing about a fire committing suicide with their daggers. Two smaller figures are ringed by the four—the modest "Pimply One" is being consumed by the fire, while the braggart "Lord of Snails" cowers in fear.

Niche F

In a scene that shows various forms of crafting, twelve commoners are busy weaving rugs and baskets, carving totems, making pots, grinding stones for weapons, and making clothes.

Treasure

The staff held by the scout figure in the central diorama is actually a key and may be separated from the figure without affecting it. The key (worth 2 gp) is used to open the door to this room.

Cave-In

Attempting to dig upward through the rubble in the west end of the room results only in more detritus falling into the area.

Any further collapse deals 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage to each digger. Each digger must also succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or be buried by the rubble and take another 7 (3d4) bludgeoning damage. If the saving throw fails by 5 or more, the rubble engulfs the digger completely, and the trapped character can't breathe until dug out. Struggling out on one's own requires a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check, and doing so takes 1 minute.

Door

When the characters investigate the door that offers an exit from the chamber, read:

This door can be opened in a number of ways.

The key found in the diorama about hunting can be used to spring the door open when it is turned in the keyhole hidden under the keystone over the door. The keyhole can be found with a successful DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check.

Pitons or similar tools can be driven into the door to provide handles. Driving pitons into the door takes 1 minute and requires a successful DC 10 Strength check. With such a grip, the door can be opened with some force, but with no check needed. (Objects inserted into the holes that are already bored won't stay in the door.)

The two hinge pins can be broken (each has AC 12 and 20 hit points) and removed, but the door falls inward. Someone who holds the door and succeeds on a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check can keep the door up and lower it to the floor. Otherwise, the door falls, and those within 5 feet of it must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw to avoid the falling door. On a failed save, a creature takes 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage.

Pressure Plate

There is a pressure plate halfway down the hallway that triggers a trap when weight equivalent to that of three or four humanoids is on it. See "The Ruins: General Features" at the beginning of the adventure for details about pressure plates.

If the trap triggers, several of the logs swing out from either wall and buffet the party. Those in the plate's area when the trap triggers take 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage and are pushed 5 feet down the slope toward the double doors. Once they swing out, the stone logs don't swing back and thus effectively block the passage, since they bar the way from ceiling to floor with only a 6-inch gap remaining between the logs.

Slippery Mud

The floor of the chamber is very slippery, counting as 3. Any sudden actions, including those necessary for combat, may result in the character taking a spill. A character who uses the Dash action or tries to fight within the room must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or fall prone. The saving throw should be made before attacks are made. Creatures encountered here are unaffected by the mud.

Guardian

The creature at the base of the boulder is a giant crayfish (see appendix B). If it is approached, it will advance waving its claws in an aggressive manner and speak. If any member of the party can understand Olman, an ancient language, the crayfish will be heard to say, "Who is this? Who dares to enter the chamber of the guardian? You had better go, or I will have to discharge my sacred duty! Be off with you before I lose my temper!"

If the party retreats, the crayfish will not follow, but will take to marching back and forth in front of the boulder and will continue to threaten the party if they approach again. If the crayfish is attacked, it will immediately call forth its companion.

Creature

The boulder is in reality a huge shell inhabited by Kalka-Kylla (see appendix B), a giant hermit crab. The bamboo staff is one of its legs; a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Nature) check enables a character to discern this fact and get a hint as to Kalka-Kylla's nature before the crab moves.

When the characters enter the room, Kalka-Kylla is asleep and will not awaken unless the crayfish is attacked. Once it is awake, it may attack or bargain. It speaks Olman.

The crab can be reasoned with, if the party doesn't attack it and can come to terms with it. The crab denies any knowledge of this place, stating that it was brought into these warrens when very young. If asked for directions, it first sends the party to the rubble-filled staircase to the east, and then, if asked a second time, it sends the party to the west.

Southern Approach

If the characters come upon the doorway from the south, read:

Any attempts to open the door will meet with failure until the blockage is removed. Probing the silt will reveal its depth to be about 18 to 24 inches and its consistency as tenacious as quicksand. The silt can be scooped out of the stairwell, but it is semi-liquid and will quickly flow back. If water is forced, in quantity, through the silt, it will wash the silt under the door jamb and down the hall beyond, alleviating the blockage.

Northern Approach

If the characters come upon the doorway from the north, read:

The door can be forced open only a few inches, enough to see it is blocked on the other side by a mass of silt.

Wet Lime

Any flesh that comes in contact with the lime will take 1 acid damage per round. The lime must be removed from the skin to stop the damage, and it can either be wiped off or washed away.

If cloth or soft leather is used to protect flesh from contact with the wet lime, the lime will soak through in 2 rounds. Nonmagical leather armor won't absorb the lime, but each hour of contact with it reduces the armor's AC by 1, making the armor useless if its AC becomes 10. The lime can't be removed from the stone, since it isn't a coating.

Moving the Block

After the stucco is scraped away from the seams, the block can be pushed inward by the combined effort of up to four characters with a total Strength of 48 or higher. The stone is about 6 feet tall, 3 feet wide, and 3 feet thick. It takes 1 minute to push the plug 10 feet, after which it can be circumvented.

Trapped Doors

The doors are locked (DC 15 Dexterity check to pick with thieves' tools) and trapped. Opening the lock disables the trap. Forcing the doors open can be done with a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check, but the act causes a glass sphere on the other side of the doors to break. This sphere is attached to the doors just above the lock, and opening the lock pushes the sphere aside, putting it out of harm's way.

Someone who examines the door closely with a light source notices the glint of glass in the seam between the doors with a successful DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check. Even with the lock still in place, the lever on which the sphere rests can be moved by someone who succeeds on a DC 20 Dexterity check using thieves' tools. The painstaking process in the narrow space takes 5 minutes, and if the check fails by 5 or more, the sphere breaks at the end of the attempt.

Sleep Gas

If the glass sphere breaks, it releases green, swirling sleep gas throughout the area. Each time a creature ends its turn in this chamber, the creature must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 5,000 years. While poisoned in this way, a creature is also unconscious, and it is unaffected by the passage of time or by other poisons. If magic is used to cure the poisoned condition, the recipient is immune to the poison for 1 hour. A casting of dispel magic using a spell slot of 7th level or higher can also end the effect. The vapors linger for a month unless they are cleared away by a strong wind.

Treasure

The seal on the urns is made of beeswax and may be broken so that the lids can be removed. Each of the six urns contains the equivalent of twenty flasks of oil. A filled urn weighs 25 pounds.

The glyphs in the floor seal are written in Olman and translate as "Ah, defilers! Now you shall join me in my eternal resting!"

The monument is constructed from several parts. A great stone slab, 20 feet long by 10 feet wide, rests upon a 4-foot-thick monolith of rock of similar dimensions, and this, in turn, is supported by six huge blocks of dolomite. Every component has been covered with intricate carvings and glyphs. The top of the slab depicts a struggle between a dark-skinned man and a mighty, knotted serpent.

Engraved alongside this illustration are glyphs identical to those found on the door. Under these sigils are etched a series of four face-glyphs in a line. At the foot of the slab is a row of eleven of these symbols, all different in form.

The carved block is the resting place of Tloques-Popolocas, a servant of the shadow-loving Zotzilaha. The glyphs on the top of the slab give his name, and the date he died, 54–3–9, is written in the face-glyphs. One glyph is a glyph of warding (save DC 17), which casts bestow curse on everyone in the tomb if the crypt is opened by those who don't serve the god Zotzilaha. The curse lasts until it is dispelled, and 4d10 days after this tomb has been broken into, every cursed violator receives a visit from either Tloques or some other agent of Zotzilaha seeking retribution.

The eleven face-glyphs at the foot of the block correspond to the numbers 0 through 10. The tomb is opened by pressing the glyphs that correspond to the numbers of the date carved on the top, in order. When the 9 glyph is depressed, a grating sound issues forth and the top slab slides back a bit. The tomb lid can then be opened the rest of the way by the combined effort of one or two characters with a total Strength of 20 or higher.

Creature

The corpse is the body of Tloques-Popolocas, a vampire spawn with special qualities (see below).

If the characters examine the contents of the tomb, see "Treasure" for details. Any of the items can be lifted off or out if the characters so desire. If the mask and the pendant are both removed, Tloques starts to awaken. Dust is stirred up into clouds and begins to gather on the bones as they knit back together. His wasted form then sits up and gazes about. This part of the regeneration process requires 2 rounds, during which time the corpse has AC 12 and 27 hit points. (If they have not been removed, the corpse benefits from the bracers of defense and the ring of protection he is wearing; see "Treasure.") If either the mask or the pendant is forced back upon him before the 2 rounds elapse, he returns to death. If not, he then sits for 2 more rounds, while his flesh knits and swells out with the apparent vigor of the living. He gains 27 hit points in the first round and 28 hit points in the second round, and he has his normal AC of 17 but remains prone. He can use Multiattack to make two claw attacks in either of these rounds, but being prone, he does so with disadvantage. Within this period, if both the mask and the pendant are forced back on him, he can resist returning to death with a successful DC 10 Wisdom saving throw. When he is whole again, he attacks.

Tloques, having gained his power from his allegiance to Zotzilaha, isn't a typical vampire and doesn't bite. He has the Shapechanger trait of a true vampire, except he can't change into mist. Tloques also has the Children of the Night action option of a true vampire, but he calls only bats. He can innately cast the hold person spell at will, requiring no components, but his target must be able to see him. When he has a chance to do so, Tloques pulls his axe from the wall and then uses it for each of his two attacks per round.

He is a blood-drinker and attempts to subdue opponents, if not vastly outnumbered, so as to assure himself a constant supply of blood. To drink blood, Tloques must first drain it into a receptacle and then drink it, which can reduce the target's hit point maximum as a normal vampire spawn bite does.

Tloques will not pursue fleeing grave robbers from his tomb immediately, but instead will seek to regain his bearings in the world of the living for several days. He can track down cursed thieves later, or invoke the power of Zotzilaha to locate any treasure stolen from this place. In the intervening time, he might regain some of his former power.

Battleaxe

The battleaxe has a blade of bronze, and the haft is wound with snakeskin wrappings. The weapon detects as magical. It casts an ominous shadow in the shape of what appears to be a withered arm. Those who approach within reach of it feel a cold chill run up and down their spine, and anyone who tries to pull the axe from the wall finds it impossible to do so.

The weapon is a berserker axe that has a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls instead of the normal +1. The axe can't be picked up by another as long as its current owner, Tloques, remains alive. Concealed beneath the wrappings around the handle is a parchment containing the spells passwall, burning hands, and gust of wind. When the attuned wielder uses an action to say the correct words of power, which are engraved in Olman on the axe blade, one of these spells can be cast.

The axe has 12 charges and regains 1d6 + 4 expended charges daily at dawn. Casting a spell from it takes a number of charges equal to the level at which the spell is cast (5th for passwall, 2nd for gust of wind, and 1st or higher for burning hands; spell save DC 15). If the parchment is removed from the axe, the axe loses the capability of casting these spells forever.

Treasure

The mask has a value of 200 gp, and the pendant is worth 50 gp. Describe the other contents of the tomb if the characters examine portions of the corpse more closely:

• Beneath the mask are fragments of bone, as though the skull has been crushed. Within the fragments of the jaw is a spherical white onyx (15 gp).
• Strands of hair still remain on the skull, gathered into black obsidian and red pipestone tubes (worth 50 gp as a bunch).
• Above the mask, on the corpse's forehead, is a diadem of dark opals and jade discs (worth 200 gp).
• To either side of the mask are jade earplugs carved in several pieces to resemble budding flowers (the pair worth 30 gp).
• Draped over the rib cage is a breastplate made of loops of tubular jade interspersed with bone dividers (protects like studded leather, worth 200 gp).
• Scattered around the neck and through the rib cage of the corpse are one hundred fifty-six jade beads (each worth 1 gp) shaped like spheres, cylinders, tri-lobed beads, floral buds, open flowers, pumpkins, melons, and a snake's head.
• About the wrists are wide jade bead bracelets (bracers of defense).
• On the middle finger of each hand are carved jade rings, one in the form of a man holding the moon (a ring of protection) and the other a panther ready to strike (a ring of animal influence).
• Pressed into the fingers of each hand is a large bead, a jade cube (150 gp) in the right hand and a spherical agate (50 gp) in the left hand.
• At the feet of the skeleton lie two small containers, apparently of glazed clay, one fitted with flower-shaped plugs in both ends (it contains the dried remains of a potion of invisibility), the other holding a 1-inch-diameter piece of mother-of-pearl (5 gp).
• Lying among the hip bones is a 6-inch-long statue of a faceless man with large pointed ears. Plugged at the bottom, it is a bottle that contains an elixir of health.

Caustic Lime

The walls of this room are heavily coated with caustic lime. Any flesh that comes in contact with this lime will take 1 acid damage per round. The lime must be removed from the skin to stop the damage, and can be either wiped off or washed away.

Treasure

The small pyramid is made of silver (worth 5 gp). It represents the god of the moon and lightning, Apocatequil (A-poe-ka-TAY-kel). The fallen statuary was made of stucco and depicted other Olman gods. These include a coyote, a crab-headed figure, an alligator-headed god, a feathered warrior, and a jaguar.

Treasure

The eyes of the statue are pieces of polished obsidian worth 10 gp each. The sword is a +1 longsword in fine condition, made of laminated wood, inset with jagged teeth of obsidian. It deals an extra 2d6 damage to any creature of the plant type. The sword comes free easily, if any character pulls it up and out.

Moat

The 10-foot-wide section of floor that runs along the east, west, and north sides of the room is 10 feet lower than in the rest of the room, creating a 12-foot-deep moat. Characters who don't probe ahead will be unable to detect the drop-off until it is too late.

Lime

The walls are heavily coated with lime, which also pollutes the water. If a character stands in this water for more than 30 minutes, the soaked portions of the character's clothing begin to rot away.

Creature

The phosphorescent glow on the eastern wall is actually a giant slug named Tecuziztecatl (see appendix B), the Lord of Snails. Tecuziztecatl (Tay-COO-zeez-tay-COT-el) is highly intelligent and quite the boaster. In ancient lore it was considered to be related to the moon, a fact of which it is quite proud. During combat the slug will detail, in Olman, what it has in store for the characters and how hopeless their situation is.

If it begins to lose the combat, the slug will either "surrender" and after bargaining agree to help the party, or else it will flee and conceal itself in the moat. If the characters allow themselves to be helped, the slug will precede them to the north side of the moat and stretch its body across the gap, making it appear to be solid ground. Those who step on the slug without taking precautions will plunge into the moat.

The slug will lead the party toward the Tomb of Hurakan (area 12) and instruct them to open the door. Once the door is open, Tecuziztecatl will flee from the party and hide in the bottom of the moat.

Eastern Alcove

The eastern fountain has a small amount of concentrated lime solution near the bottom (dealing damage as the lime in area 5). It looks like cloudy water. A small amulet lies beneath the caked lime. The amulet (worth 65 gp) is made of brass and chrysoprase, engraved with the words "Lord of Snails." It is possible to use the amulet as a bargaining tool with the giant slug, which will accept it in return for allowing the characters passage to the Tomb of Hurakan.

In the southeast corner of the eastern alcove, a swarm of rats nests in the rubbish. The swarm is made up of diseased giant rats.

Western Alcove

The western fountain is filled with algae, and some bullfrogs are raising a brood of tadpoles in the water.

Creatures

The young woman is actually a nereid (see appendix B) named Dasa Zotz. Whether startled or not, eventually the nereid surfaces and a silvery laugh is heard. This creature is an agent of Zotzilaha. Unlike most other nereids, she is chaotic evil in alignment, and she speaks Olman instead of Common. She possesses an insidious and clever mind, concealed beneath her alien beauty and seeming naiveté. She retreats from close combat and conceals herself in the water.

The nereid has a pet named Chac, a giant lightning eel (see appendix B). If she calls to Chac for aid, she does so on her turn when she uses Water Lash. The waters begin to heave and boil, and the watery form of a human with an elephantine head, wearing an elaborate headdress and holding a trident, rises up. The eel comes near the surface and strikes when the watery "god" levels its trident at a character.

Treasure

If seriously threatened, the nereid might reveal the location of her treasure. At the deepest part of the pool is a grotto hidden behind a bed of kelp. In this cave are six golden statuettes (worth 50 gp each) and a golden mask (worth 250 gp). Also lying in the cache are two crystal scroll cases (worth 25 gp apiece), though water has destroyed the scrolls in them; a silver idol (worth 15 gp), which is actually a bottle holding a potion of clairvoyance; and a pair of gloves of missile snaring.

Sun Painting

The painting of the pyramid and the sun conceals a secret door. A character who makes a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check discovers that the portion of the work that depicts the sun is separate from the rest and can be depressed. Pushing it inward reveals and opens a secret door in the wall. The floor of the passage that leads north is 8 feet above the floor of the great hall. Accessing this secret exit causes any bars over the niches to retract into the walls and the pressure plates to reset.

Pressure Plate

The 10-foot square indicated on the map is the location of a pressure plate (see "The Ruins: General Features" at the beginning of the adventure). If more than 30 pounds is placed on the plate, the trap described below triggers.

If the characters detect the presence of this plate, they can remove it from the floor with 10 minutes of work and a successful check as for an attempt to block the plate from moving. A failed check means another 10 minutes of work is required, followed by another check.

Rolling Stone Trap

A millstone, concealed in the wall behind a layer of stucco, lies at the top of the steps. No nonmagical means can detect the hidden stone. If the trap is triggered, the mechanism pushes the millstone through the wall and sends it rolling down the stairs. When this occurs, anyone who has a passive Perception score of 14 or lower is surprised. Everyone rolls initiative, including the stone, which has a +10 bonus to the roll. On its turn, the stone moves 60 feet. Anyone in its path must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 27 (5d10) bludgeoning damage and have a 50 percent chance to drop anything carried in hand. A character whose saving throw fails by 5 or more takes maximum damage, is knocked prone, and drops anything held in hand. Dropped objects take damage from hitting the stone and end up somewhere on the stairs.

The stone ultimately crashes into the doors to area 25, breaking them open and destroying them. If beetles remain in the room, some or all of them come into the stairway agitated and looking for a fight.

Creature

The spherical creature is a gas spore that represents Nanahuatcin, the "sun."

Treasure

Near the center of the south wall is a sack made of fish skin. It contains seven silver pellets, each about the size of a sling bullet and worth 1 gp.

Cursed Treasure

If any treasure is removed from the pit, a curse will fall upon its bearer 1 hour later. The victim must succeed on a DC 15 saving throw, or it has disadvantage on Strength and Dexterity ability checks and saving throws until the curse is dispelled.

The jade plaque depicts two men, wearing padding on their arms and hips, with a large ball traveling between them. The figurines are carved in the image of a sun-god in a feathered robe. There are seven jade items in all, weighing 1 pound and worth 30 gp each.

Buried beneath the skeletons is a chalice of beaten gold, inset with six amethysts, that weighs 1 pound and is worth 150 gp.

Pelota Ball

The ball, made of rubber wound around a balsa core, is used in the game of pelota. It is the same size as the depression in the wall, which is one of the goals on this playing field. The ball is cool to the touch. If it is picked up, it suddenly jerks free of the holder's grasp and rebounds off the south wall, then speeds 30 feet to the north and hovers. It animates for the purpose of challenging the violators of the tomb to a game.

The ball can fly up to 30 feet on its turn, and it can hover. It makes melee weapon attacks with a +5 bonus, dealing 1 (1d4−1) bludgeoning damage on a hit. The ball has AC 13 and 50 hit points. It is immune to all damage except for magical effects that deal acid, fire, force, piercing, or slashing damage. The ball is immune to most conditions, but it can be grappled or restrained by effects that work on objects. It makes ability checks to escape such entanglements with a +5 bonus.

Start of the Game

Roll initiative. The ball uses its initial actions to bounce off the walls and strike at characters, trying to get them to strike back. When a character's attack hits the ball, it bounces off the south wall, and the depression in the wall briefly glows orange. After the second such occurrence, the ball will break off its attacks. A sound like that of a trumpet indicates that the game is about to start. The goal above the pit and another goal at the northern end of the hall 140 feet away are limned in orange light that remains until the game ends. When the characters hit the ball, it flies to the south and the southern goal flashes briefly. When the ball moves, it flies to the north, and the northern goal flashes.

How to Win

The characters win the game by propelling the ball into the goal above the pit while preventing the ball from reaching the northern end of the hall. If all the characters fail to hit the ball for 1 round, the faint sound of a drum dirge will be heard.

A character who attacks the ball successfully sends it flying south up to 15 feet. To knock the ball into the southern goal, the ball must be within 15 feet of the goal, and a player must declare that the character is trying to score. If the character's attack roll exceeds the ball's AC by 4 or more, the ball goes into the goal.

If the ball moves to within 5 feet of the northern wall, it can bounce itself into its own goal. To do so, the ball must make a successful attack roll against AC 15.

Once the ball is knocked into a goal, it sticks there for 1 round, impossible to remove without destroying it. If the ball enters the goal to the north, a number of magic missiles erupt from the goal equal to the number of conscious characters in the corridor. Each missile strikes a different character for 3 (1d4 + 1) force damage.

When the ball moves out of a goal, it flies to the center of the corridor and hovers, awaiting the start of another point. The game continues until the characters die or score a goal that puts them 2 points ahead of the ball.

Spoils of Victory

If the characters win, the ball becomes inert. The sound of triumphant drums erupts briefly, then the area goes silent. The southern goal goes dark, but the northern goal continues to glow orange. Investigation reveals that a small panel has opened in the back of the depression. Within the space beyond is a pouch made of fish skin that holds ten pink pearls (worth 20 gp each), a topaz and shell necklace (worth 50 gp), and a whistle made of an eagle's bone with feather decoration, which is an eagle whistle (see appendix A).

Creature

The statue is a petrified werejaguar (use the weretiger statistics). If the altar is molested or any of the room's contents are abused, the werejaguar becomes aware and seizes the first opportunity to attack with surprise. It can turn to flesh as a bonus action and then transform into cat shape, dropping its spear. (The magic on the creature renders it strongly related to earth and stone with regard to the curse on the bracelet of rock magic, described in appendix A). Its first choice of targets is always the weakest member of the party. If the werejaguar is reduced to 0 hit points, it reverts to human form and becomes petrified again.

The werejaguar's heart has been removed by magical surgery and is hidden in the head of the stuffed tiger (hinted at by the scars on man and tiger). Therefore, the cat-man might take damage or even die, but unless its heart is destroyed, it is reborn again whole in one day's time. If the lycanthrope's heart (AC 10, 2 hit points) is destroyed, the creature dies and turns to dust.

Treasure

In the belly of the stuffed tiger are 500 gp.

Eye of the Tiger

A secret door is concealed in the mouth of the wall carving. The catch to open it is hidden in the hollow of the right eye. The door and the catch each require a successful DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check to find.

Secret Passage

The calendar stone covers a door and a secret passage to a hidden tomb. A character who examines the calendar and succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check can see that it is held onto the wall by a smaller rod of stone behind it. The gap between the calendar and the wall is a few inches wide, so characters looking at the calendar in a specific way might notice the unusual mounting without making a check. In order to open the door, the sun symbol must be pushed into the wall. The calendar stone and the wall behind it then swing to one side on a set of hinges.

Treasure

The sacrificial knife on the table is a +1 dagger. The jade statue is worth 200 gp and weighs 9 pounds. In the tail of the stuffed cat is a scroll of protection (feline beasts and feline lycanthropes).

Northern Door

Even after the bar is removed, the false door will not open. It appears to open outward, but when a character pushes against it, three arms spring out from the lintel and surround the character. Spotting these arms among the entwined serpents in the lintel requires a successful DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check. The arms are treated as a pressure plate (see "The Ruins: General Features" at the beginning of the adventure) if a character attempts to jam them in place to keep them from moving.

A character caught in the trap can wriggle free only with a successful DC 20 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. Otherwise, unconfined characters can attempt to free a victim. The combined effort of two characters with a total Strength of 30 or higher is needed to pry back each arm, taking 1 round to move each one.

After a victim has been trapped for 5 rounds, the cover to a 5-foot-square pit starts to drop open. The pit is lined with spikes. The cover fully opens in 2 rounds, at which point the arms swiftly spring back into the lintel, releasing any victims to plummet into the 15-foot-deep pit. A fall into the pit deals 11 (2d10) bludgeoning damage. The spikes are hard rubber wrapped around balsa wood, placed for artistic effect.

Southern Door

The image on the southern door is the infinity symbol, representing the dual-god, the supreme god of creation. The door isn't latched, but it is stuck shut. A detect magic spell cast on it reveals that an aura of conjuration magic emanates from beyond the door. It takes a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check to bash the door open. If a creature does so, the door gives way suddenly, dumping the gate-crasher into a narrow space ahead. Any creature that enters this space is teleported to the west end of area 15, just outside the painted mural on the wall.

Double Doors

The message on the seal, written in Olman, reads, "Beware! Beyond this door is death!" Once the seal is broken by opening the doors, it may not be used to reseal the doors. The gold in the seal is worth 250 gp.

The door is trapped, but the only evidence of this fact is concealed within the door frame and under the stucco on the ceiling, completely hidden. When the doors are pushed open, five heavy crossbows, set in the ceiling of the room beyond, fire. Two are aimed toward each door, and the last is aimed down the center of the two doors. The crossbows have a +6 bonus to hit, and each deals 5 (1d10) piercing damage.

Fire Trap

On the floor just inside the doorway is a glyph of warding (save DC 17). The first character to step through the door and onto the glyph causes a wall of fire spell to spring up in the doorway, with the damaging side facing away from the character who entered. The wall remains in place for 1 minute.

Creature

Within the copper coffin is a doppelganger. The creature emerges from the coffin through a hole in the side facing away from the entrance as soon as the glyph is triggered. It assumes the form of any character trapped alone in the room and tries to attack with surprise. If it succeeds in slaying the character before the wall of fire expires, then it hides the body in the coffin.

The doppelganger is unfamiliar with the rest of the ruins but tries to act like the character it has killed until it is discovered. If the doppelganger is forced to fight the party, it assumes the shape of a creature of molten metal that shrouded in flames. The fire is an illusion and doesn't burn.

Liquid Fire

The first time a creature or an object enters or touches the silvery liquid metal of the sea or the rivers on a turn, or a creature starts its turn in such a place, the creature or object takes 3 (1d6) fire damage. If any of this fluid is carried out of this room, it evaporates in 1 minute. The ships and the coffin floating on the liquid deal similar fire damage if they are touched.

Chest 1

The lid is jammed on the first chest that the characters examine, requiring a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check to pry open. The chest holds ten coin necklaces, six pairs of jade earplugs (worth 15 gp a set), an alabaster statuette (worth 50 gp), and an agate ring (worth 5 gp).

Chest 2

The second chest is trapped. When hands are thrust into the treasure, a mechanical vise in the wall of the chest grabs the limbs within. A character must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or become grappled by the device (escape DC 15). A creature is restrained while grappled in this way. Roll initiative. Six mechanical needles spring out from the sides of the chest on initiative count 0. The needles can be attacked (AC 12, 5 hit points). Each needle deals 1 piercing damage.

A creature struck by one or more of the needles must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. The creature takes 21 (6d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. In either event, the creature is poisoned. The poisoned creature must repeat the saving throw every 24 hours, taking 3 (1d6) poison damage on a failure. The poison ends when the creature makes five successful saves against it. Until the poison ends, any hit points lost to it can't be regained. The poisoned creature is feverish and occasionally trembles, gibbers, or retches.

The chest holds nine coin necklaces, eight bracelets of beads (5 gp apiece), four small figurines of jade and coral (25 gp each), and three rings carved of jade and alabaster (10 gp each).

Chest 3

Operating the catch of the third chest requires more force than with the other two. If the catch is pressed, the chest lid sprays perfumed oil on anyone within 5 feet of it. The nozzles that produce this spray can be discovered by someone who succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check. The only way to disarm the "trap" is to disassemble the chest lid and remove it without pressing the catch. Doing so takes 10 minutes of work with thieves' tools.

When the catch is pressed, a lever wedged in the lid pops up, triggering the launch of darts. The tubes that hold these darts are sealed with a thin layer of stucco, so they're all but impossible to discover without damaging the chest. Someone who cautiously opens the chest can feel the pressure from the lever and see it by peeking into the chest. If someone can reach the lever through the half-open lid and hold it in place, the trap doesn't function. Holding the lever in place as the lid is opened requires a successful DC 12 Strength check. This check must be repeated in every round that the lever is held down. If the trap triggers, four darts fire from each of the chest's front and back sides. Each dart flies up to 60 feet, has a +6 bonus to hit, and deals 5 (2d4) piercing damage on a hit.

The third chest holds eleven coin necklaces, fifteen bracelets of obsidian, bronze, and shell (10 gp each), and two piles of gems (tourmalines, spinels, and topazes; sixty gems worth 5 gp each) lying upon two silver platters 15 gp apiece).

Treasure

The items at the corpse's feet include an agate carved in the shape of a heart (worth 15 gp) that is actually a stone of ill luck (see appendix A), a miniature gold llama (worth 50 gp), a ring of polished pink granite (worth 10 gp), and a silver plaque bearing the face of the sun (15 gp).

Pressure Plate

Near the midpoint of this corridor is a 10-foot-square pressure plate (see "The Ruins: General Features" at the beginning of the adventure) that triggers if more than 30 pounds is placed on it.

Shocking Blades

If the pressure plate is depressed, two of the carved warriors pivot out from the walls in front of the party, crossing their metal halberds before them to bar the way to the northern doors. The blades spark and hum when they are brought together. A creature that touches either of the blades takes 5 (2d4) lightning damage and must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become paralyzed while it is in contact. A paralyzed creature takes the damage again at the start of each of its turns.

There is barely enough room for a Medium humanoid to crawl under the crossed polearms and between the statues. Doing so without touching the blades requires a successful DC 10 Dexterity check.

Statue Guardian

If the characters approach the statue, the panther will stand and pad menacingly in their direction... and then continue on past them. The panther has a mental block that prevents it from being able to see humans, which initially applies to other humanoids as well. It likewise ignores familiars, but it attacks any beast companion or other non-humanoid present with the party.

If the panther is not attacked and is unable to find a target, it takes to pacing in front of the door. If the party attacks the cat, its mental block regarding other humanoids fails, and the panther attacks any such creature it can see. If it can see no target, the bewildered panther resumes its pacing.

Treasure

Almost all the weapons around the statue are useless, though the head of a +1 mace attached to a broken haft can be found.

Well of Light

The illumination inside the well comes from liquid light, a fluid that clings like oil if touched to a given surface and in the presence of other light eventually spreads to cover the entire surface.

If a creature falls into the well and is pulled out, the liquid light clings to a small portion of its body, then spreads to cover an additional 5 percent of the body every round. Eventually the liquid covers its eyes, nose and mouth. If this happens, the character can't breathe until the liquid is removed by immersion in water. In the absence of a light source, the liquid light doesn't spread, and a darkness spell renders it inert for 1 hour.

If anything is tossed into the well, brilliant light flashes upward and a bellowing voice fills the chamber. The voice belongs to Xipe, and he asks (in Giant) who has come and for what purpose. Nothing else happens, for Xipe can't be bothered to leave his lair to investigate.

Ceiling Tunnel

The hole in the ceiling leads to Xipe's lair. If the characters try to climb the walls, they discover the walls are too slick to be ascended in this way.

A surefire way of getting in is to tie a grappling hook to an arrow and shoot the arrow up through the hole. This method never fails to anchor the hook on something, for Xipe grabs the rope once it is fired through his front door. If a creature then decides to climb the rope up into the lair, Xipe starts to reel in the climber when it has ascended halfway.

A creature being hauled up into the tunnel can release the rope and drop into the well, taking no immediate damage (other than being covered in the liquid light), or it can swing its body outward and drop onto the floor, taking falling damage. Otherwise, Xipe pulls the climber into his lair in 1 round.

Creature

Beyond the hole in the ceiling is a chamber that measures 30 feet in each direction. It is the lair of Xipe, an oni. Xipe can't cast cone of cold, but he can cast sleet storm and fear once per day each. When he casts fear, he unleashes a great bellow that shakes the room.

Treasure

Xipe's treasure includes a wooden cylinder that holds a spell scroll of detect magic. Also in his lair are piles of rich cat furs, eight of the furs worth 5 gp each. Two leather bags beneath the furs hold 1,000 sp each.

Lastly, an intricately carved ivory cube about 1 foot tall stands on an ornamental table. The cube (worth 100 gp) is a trick box. To open it, two plugs on either side of the cube must be pushed in, and then its center slides out of a frame formed by the other four sides. This inner box opens like a chest. Within it is a silver and aquamarine necklace (worth 125 gp) and a parchment packet that holds three pinches of dust of disappearance.

Creature

The "tree" is Xilonen, a semi-sentient (Int 2), gigantic variety of polyp, similar to a sea anemone, once revered as the hairy mother goddess of corn. The polyp, which functions similarly to a roper, is very hungry. Its mouth is concealed among a nest of flailing tentacles and protected by sharp spines.

Treasure

Within the polyp's gut are twelve pieces of blue jasper (worth 10 gp each) and a silvery rod, actually a copper-nickel alloy, which is a wand of lightning bolts.

Bridge of Bars

A character can attempt to cross this pit by leaping from one bar to the next. There are a total of eight bars and 45 feet of pit. Moving across the bars is akin to moving across 3; moving 5 feet onto a bar, or between two bars, costs 10 feet of movement. If a creature attempts to move more than half of its base walking speed on any of its turns, it must make a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. On a successful check, the creature can keep moving. On a failed check, the creature stops moving to regain its balance and can move no farther on that turn. If the check fails by 5 or more, the creature falls into the pit.

The third and sixth bars along the way are corroded. When a character moves onto one of these bars, roll a d20. On a roll of 5 or lower, or 2 or lower for a Small character, the bar breaks. If the bar doesn't break and the roll is 10 or lower, some obvious sign of the bar's weakness becomes evident, such as chipping or bending.

Hazard

The bushes growing in the pit are carnivorous thorn slingers (see appendix B). Each plant lies beneath one of the bronze bars and casts its projectiles directly upward against anyone attempting to traverse the bars. A creature balancing on a bar when it is hit by thorns must make a Dexterity saving throw with a DC of 6 + the damage taken. If the saving throw fails by 4 or less, the creature falls prone, catching itself on the bar. (To stand up on the bar afterward, a character must make a Dexterity check as if attempting to move on the bars.) If the saving throw fails by 5 or more, the character falls in the pit.

Someone who falls into the pit always comes down on a bush, cushioning the impact. The fall deals only 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage, but the character lands on a plant's adhesive blossoms.

Creatures

Hidden in a pile of rubble in the center of the room is an amphisbaena—a giant, two-headed snake. It fights as a giant constrictor snake that can make two melee attacks on each of its turns, only one of which can be a Constrict attack. This ability increases its challenge rating to 3 (700 XP).

If the snake is slain, the four baboons leap through the hole in the ceiling and down upon the party. (They remained outside the room because of their fear of the snake.)

Treasure

The bones crushed beneath the fallen block belonged to two humans. This block can be moved by the combined effort of up to three characters with a total Strength of 30 or higher. A pouch tied on the waist of one corpse holds 40 ep. One of the humans wore a brooch of bronze and green quartz in the shape of a lizard (worth 25 gp). A silver and beryl-emerald ring (50 gp) is worn on a bony finger. A silvery dagger, actually made of a copper-nickel alloy and worth 10 gp, is stuck in the left boot of one figure. A scroll case holds a map of the territory in which these ruins are located. Finally, a crystal sphere, cracked in the catastrophe, has rolled into the shadow of some nearby rubble. It is made of polished quartz, 3 inches in diameter, and is worth 45 gp.

Crumbling Exit

If characters attempt to climb up the dirt embankments to the hole in the ceiling, they discover that the surface supports only 50 pounds. More weight than that on any space along the slope causes further collapse—each climber must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or be buffeted by dirt and rubble, taking 7 (3d4) bludgeoning damage. If the save fails by 5 or more, the rubble engulfs the digger completely, and the trapped character can't breathe until dug out. Getting out on one's own requires a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check, and doing so takes 1 minute.

Serpent Doors

The southeast exit from this chamber is a set of double bronze doors in the north wall at the end of a short corridor. Above them hangs a plaque inlaid with jade (worth 25 gp). The plaque depicts a two-headed serpent, with its second head where its tail should be.

Slippery Steps

After the statue breathes for the first time, the condensing steam makes the stairs slippery 3. A character who moves on the stairs must while they are slippery must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check or fall prone.

Secret Door

If the characters get to the top of the stairs without triggering the glyph, someone can discover the secret door here with a successful DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check. The door can't be opened from the outside, however.

Eastern Door

Close examination reveals that the stone in the center of the corridor is smoother than the surrounding wall. Because of this clue, it takes only a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check to find the secret door. The door can be opened by stepping forcibly upon an obvious cobblestone that is slightly raised from the floor. The door has two facing panels that pivot inward when it is opened.

Western Door

In front of the secret door is a dark stain on the floor, which makes the door as easy to find as the eastern one. This door swings on a horizontal pivot in the middle of the slab. Pushing in at either the top or the bottom of this secret panel causes the opposite end to swing outward, providing enough space to crawl through into the secret passage beyond.

Magic Mirror

The first creature to come within 10 feet of the mirror at the end of the corridor must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed check, the creature believes that it is in deadly combat with a feathered warrior that has emerged from the mirror. This effect is like that of a phantasmal force spell, with the character battling a warrior that has a +6 bonus to hit and deals 3 (1d6) psychic damage, as described in the spell. The effect ends if the affected creature deals the imaginary warrior a total amount of damage equal to the creature's own hit point maximum.

While under the effect of this magic, the creature is actually paralyzed, appearing to others as if it were just standing there staring into the mirror. If someone disturbs the affected creature, that creature can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on a successful save.

The Door

When anyone get close to the door, read:

The glyphs on the door tell a story in ancient Olman of a journey to find truth and light, which ended in failure and imprisonment in the land of the dead.

The door opens outward. When the characters pass through the doorway, read:

Trapped Mask

The mask (worth 25 gp) is the trigger to a trap. If the mask is taken off the wall, the lever it hangs on pivots up and three sets of iron bars drop, caging whoever is in the square in front of the mask. The bars are old, and they can be bent or lifted away from the floor with a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check.

Trapped Treasure

If any of the items on the shelves (worth a total of 450 gp) are touched, the exit door seals with an effect like that of an arcane lock spell, requiring the use of magic or a successful DC 25 Strength (Athletics) check to force the door open.

Creature

Coiled about the pillar, trapped within the magic walls of the crystal cylinder surrounding it, is a couatl. Because of its especially potent Shielded Mind trait, it is effectively invisible.

If the characters disturb any of the items on the shelves, the couatl speaks to the party in Common, its voice seeming to come from everywhere in the chamber.

There is actually no poison gas in the room, but as the characters spend time in here trying to get to the cure, describe how they seem to be getting weaker and weaker. They should feel as if time is running out.

Aura

A detect magic spell reveals an aura of evocation magic emanating from inside the crystal cylinder.

The Right Path

To reach the "cure," the characters must first face the challenge of ascending the northern steps, where the warrior stands. The warrior, a helmed horror, animates and attacks when it is approached. Once the construct is defeated, the characters can proceed to the center of the dais.

A character who attempts to reach the dais another way has no luck:

• Someone who tries climbing up the shelves takes 2 (1d4) force damage and is pushed back 10 feet.
• The heads carved into the western stairs babble when a character steps on them. That character feels too weak to continue, and sits down until helped away from the stairs.
• The eastern stairs are shrouded in dim light, which can't be made brighter by any means. Any character who mounts the stairs falls down and rolls back onto the floor, taking 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage.
• The southern stairs change color constantly. Anyone who tries to ascend them makes no progress (though they can be descended normally).

Once the characters reach the crystal cylinder, the couatl again speaks to them, still hidden from sight:

The surface of the crystal cylinder is cold to the touch and impervious to all blows. The enclosure has no visible gaps.

A gap appears in the wall if someone who has proficiency with thieves' tools touches the tools to the surface with the intention of finding a portal or a lock. The players might come up with other valid solutions, such as a wizard (clever person) touching the crystal with a wand (tool). It's up to you which alternative attempts work.

Cure in Sight

By the time the characters reach the pillar inside the cylinder, they feel very weak. On the top of the pillar in front of them is a potion bottle, but an invisible barrier prevents anyone from touching it. A glyph is etched into the side of the pillar just below the bottle. One more time the couatl speaks, its voice now seeming to come from the stone:

The top of the pillar is shielded by a wall of force that must be breached to reach the potion bottle. The wall can be destroyed by a disintegrate spell or by damaging the glyph inscribed below it. If someone pours holy water on the glyph, touches it with a holy symbol, or casts a divine spell on it, the wall of force disappears.

Aftermath

When the characters claim the potion bottle, the couatl becomes visible and flies out into the chamber. If the characters immediately attack it, the couatl calls them ingrates and fools, and then attacks back.

If the characters don't attack, the couatl smiles and thanks them for freeing it from its long imprisonment.

Treasure

Inside the bottle is a potion of healing. The mask, if it is claimed, weighs 30 pounds and is worth 25 gp. Miscellaneous items on the shelves have a total value of 450 gp.

Red Mirror

A creature that looks into the red mirror sees a ghostly white form next to its own reflection. This mirror falsely predicts the viewer's death. The ghostly image takes on the appearance of a monster or a trap from this adventure. The image then assaults and kills the viewer's reflection. The mirror functions only once per character; after a character has this vision, the mirror becomes a normal mirror for that individual.

A creature that touches the red mirror for the first time on a turn takes 2 (1d4) fire damage.

Black Mirror

A creature that looks into the black mirror sees its reflection blur and then reappear in ancient garb as if depicting a previous incarnation. The image says, in Olman, "Command me to answer, and I shall."

The image of a long-dead Olman is superimposed on the character's reflection. A command spell can cause the spirit to answer three yes-or-no questions (the one-word command is "Answer"). The spirit answers only questions spoken in Olman, and nods or shakes its head in response.

Any creature that touches the black mirror must succeed on a DC 13 Charisma saving throw, or all valuable metals and gems in its possession turn into lead and glass.

White Mirror

Reflections in the white mirror are blurred by what looks like a fine mist. Any creature that steps before this mirror and looks into it must make a successful DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be stunned until the end of the creature's next turn. If the saving throw fails, the mirror, which is really an ochre jelly of unusual color, comes out of the frame and falls upon the character. Behind this false mirror is a door, which can be opened once the jelly is removed.

Blue Mirror

The mirror on the western wall is actually a window of magical glass that offers a view of a pool of water. Any character who touches the glass must succeed on a DC 13 Charisma saving throw or be drawn through the glass, becoming submerged in the water. Weapons can be used to break the glass (AC 15, 20 hit points). If the glass is destroyed, the water in the pool and those trapped in it spill out into the room.

Golden Liquid

Any nonmagical object immersed in the basin reacts with the fluid inside, which turns the object into gold for 1 hour. If any of the golden liquid is removed from the basin, it becomes colored water.

Trapped Altar

The altar radiates an aura of transmutation magic if detect magic is cast on it. Any creature that touches the octopus figure sticks to the stone, becoming grappled (escape DC 15). Once a creature is stuck, the octopus-altar starts to spin, dragging the victim about the room. Within 1 round, the speed is too great for the victim to maintain footing, and the creature is dragged and bashed about, taking 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage at the end of each of its turns. A creature that comes free while the altar is spinning tumbles away from it and takes another 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage.

The gem in the center of the altar has AC 17 and 15 hit points. If it is destroyed, the altar stops spinning and the character is released. The gem is a cursed stone, but it appears to be a jewel of value, and it can be pried from the altar. If the gem comes in contact with a creature's flesh, that creature must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be affected as if by an Otto's irresistible dance spell, going into a spinning dance that lasts until the stone is released. To let go of the stone willingly, the creature must be the target of magic that removes a curse or breaks an enchantment.

If the creature dances for a number of minutes equal to its Constitution score, it must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or suffer one level of exhaustion. The creature repeats the saving throw whenever the same number of minutes elapses again, suffering one more level of exhaustion on a failed save.

Hill

A magical force pushes those who climb to the top of the hill in a random direction. A creature that ends its turn on top of the hill must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be pushed 5 feet off the top of the hill and knocked prone. If a creature slips, roll a d4 to see which direction it rolls off the hill.

Burning Sands

Any creature that ends its turn in this region must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or start to bleed profusely from the nose. This hemorrhaging causes a loss of 1 hit point at the end of each of the creature's turns thereafter. If the creature leaves the area, the bleeding stops at the end of its next turn.

Grassy Plain

Any creature that enters this region must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or refuse to leave it. A creature affected by the magic is allowed another Wisdom saving throw every 24 hours while the magic persists. A creature can repeat the saving throw every time it takes damage. If companions outside the area try to talk the creature into leaving, you can decide to allow the victim another saving throw. In any case, each time the saving throw is repeated, the DC increases by 1.

Flames

Creatures that enter this section are affected as if by a heat metal spell cast at 3rd level (save DC 15).

Ice

Creatures that enter this area are affected as if by a 3rd-level heat metal spell (save DC 15), but the damage is cold instead of fire, and the creature has no chance of dropping a chilled object.

Marshes

Any creature that enters this area feels a shortness of breath after 3 rounds and begins to suffocate after 3 more rounds.

River

Those who enter the river for the first time on a turn must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or forget how they came to be here and why they are here. A spellcaster also forgets how to cast one level of spells for each point by which the saving throw is failed, starting with the highest level the character knows. Forgotten spells can be prepared again. Dispel magic doesn't remove this effect, but remove curse or greater restoration can.

Pit of the Worms

Any character who enters this region must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be affected as if by a fear spell.

Creature

When any character starts into this room the pile of earth, which is a gibbering mouther, opens one eye, and then another and another, until many eyes of different shapes and sizes stare at the party. All about the eyes are fanged, drooling mouths that begin a cacophony of babbling. The creature attacks until destroyed but doesn't leave the room.

Treasure

The flask contains a dried potion of hill giant strength. The stone cylinder is a +1 rod of the pact keeper.

The urn holds the dried heart of a mighty yuan-ti that radiates transmutation magic if detect magic is used on it. Any character who eats the entire thing gains the permanent ability to understand the speech of snakes and yuan-ti.

Creature

In a web-covered opening in the wall of the steeply inclined chute, 30 feet above the where the lower end meets the ceiling of area 45, lurks a giant spider. The spider's lair is 10 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 4 feet tall. A character must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom (Perception) check to notice the tunnel or its occupant before the spider attacks. If the spider paralyzes its prey, it retreats into its lair with the prey to feed.

In the Chute

The cramped quarters of the tunnel impose disadvantage on weapon attack rolls.

Also, a creature in the chute struck by the spider must succeed on a DC 11 Dexterity or Strength saving throw (player's choice). On a failed save, the creature slips down the chute 5 feet for every point by which the saving throw failed. If a creature falls 30 feet, it plummets out of the chute, taking falling damage accordingly and rolling in a random direction (roll a d4) after landing prone in area 45. The spider pursues prey into the chute, but is unlikely to emerge to fight in an open area.

Upper End

The top of this passage is covered with a pewter basin, which requires a successful DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check to move.

Creature

The fouled water in the fountain contains a neutral evil water weird. It rises up and attacks characters who disturb the water.

Treasure

The "crayfish" is nothing more than the shed shell of a long-expired resident of the fountain. Beneath it is a platinum key and chain (worth 20 gp). The key unlocks the portcullis that blocks the exit in area 53.

Creature

The centaur figure is the mummified remains of a sacred offspring of Chitza-Atlan, the guardian of the gateway to the underworld. This guardian has two functions: to prevent any but the dead from entering these ruins, and to keep those creatures in the ruins confined there. Thus, if any character tries to exit this room by any door other than the one entered from, the centaur mummy (see appendix B) animates and attacks the characters. The mummy will also defend itself if attacked. A word or a pass from Zotzilaha will gain free passage.

Treasure

If all the junk jewelry is taken (eight hundred pieces), the total value of the haul is 80 gp. The real treasure is concealed in the bottoms of the two urns. Buried beneath the stones are two crushed silver masks (worth 25 gp each), an electrum serpent bracelet (worth 50 gp), a broken marble statue of a monkey (50 gp), and four silver hairpins set with jade worth (5 gp each).

Hazardous Hatch

Opening the hatch releases a whirlwind. The character who climbed up to open the hatch is hurled to the floor and takes 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage as the wind emerges and fills the 15-foot chamber. Thereafter, it costs 3 feet of speed to move 1 foot in the room. The hatch can't be shut, and the wind doesn't die down.

Each creature that starts its turn in this area must make a DC 13 Strength saving throw. (A character grasping the rungs of one of the ladders has advantage on the saving throw.) On a failed save, the wind throws the creature 10 feet in a random direction, the creature takes 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage, and it is knocked prone. If the saving throw fails by 5 or more, the creature strikes one of the rusty spikes, taking an additional 3 (1d6) slashing damage.

If a target thrown by the wind strikes an object, such as a wall, the target takes another 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage. If a target is thrown into another creature, that creature must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. On a successful save, the creature takes half the bludgeoning damage and isn't knocked prone.

A creature that moves only by crawling on the floor, using the corrugated surface to maintain one's grip, is safe from the wind.

Creature

The figure on the throne is a nahual, or alter-ego. It is essentially a doppelganger of chaotic evil alignment that is also a fiend (demon). It possesses the memories of the petrified character and tries to convince the party that it has just merged with the spirit of one of the character's earlier incarnations. Given a chance, the nahual leads the party to their deaths with false information gained from "memories" of its former life.

The nahual must be slain and the scepter touched to the nahual's corpse to restore the petrified character. A greater restoration spell also works, before or after the nahual has been slain.

Open and Shut

The stairs lead up to a blank wall that is the location of a secret door. This door can be opened by turning the wheel in the foyer. The wheel turns only after the lever is pushed up, and then only in one direction. Rotating the wheel opens the secret door, but it also opens the floor in front of the wheel to reveal a 10-foot-square pit, at the bottom of which can be seen a pale shimmer of bones. There is a 1-foot-wide ledge along the west edge of the pit for someone to stand on while working the wheel, and a 6-inch-wide footbridge of polished marble spans the center of the pit from west to east.

Crossing this beam, which is 3, requires a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. On a failed check, the character can't move farther during that turn. If the check fails by 5 or more, the character falls off the beam 30 feet to the bottom of the pit.

If the crank is released once the secret door is open, it unwinds quickly, pulling the door shut. To prevent this, the lever can be pulled down to lock the wheel in place—but doing so causes a portcullis to fall across the entrance to the stairs. The portcullis can be lifted by a character who succeeds on a DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check.

Easy Way Out

If the characters search the walls beside the portcullis, a keyhole can be discovered. The key from room 48 fits the lock, enabling the portcullis to be opened like a gate.

Hard Way Out

In the ceiling directly above the pit, a thin slab that looks like ordinary stonework conceals a sloping tunnel that leads upward. The slab can't be detected or manipulated from this side.

Field of Rubble

The temple area is filled with debris that offers no obvious passage to the interior. In the center of the south edge is an area where rubble is heaped over an opening that seems to lead down deeper into the debris. It is shaky and can be collapsed easily—any force applied to the heap by a creature with Strength 15 or higher will bring the rocks down. This rubble can also be caused to collapse by hurting a weighty object at it or using a spell such as thunderwave to create the needed force. Those within 10 feet of the collapse must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or take 5 (2d4) bludgeoning damage from falling debris.

Climbing elsewhere on the debris causes a minor collapse, dealing 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage to each climber. Each climber must also succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or be buried by the debris, taking 7 (3d4) more bludgeoning damage. If the saving throw fails by 5 or more, the debris engulfs the digger completely, and the trapped character can't breathe until dug out. Struggling out on one's own requires a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check, and doing so takes 1 minute. Any of these sorts of collapses open no access to the inside.

Fragile Roof

Each time a creature ends its turn on the portion of the roof that remains standing, there is a 20 percent chance that the roof beneath its feet gives way. The creature falls 35 feet, to the rubble below, taking 14 (4d6) bludgeoning damage.

Trapdoor Entrance

If the characters begin their investigations of the hidden shrine by arriving at the temple, they need to find a way in. One route is by way of a trapdoor in the floor about 10 feet in front of the altar. A character can discover the seam of the door with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check. Any creature that walks across the top of the door has a 1-in-12 chance of triggering it, for the mechanism is old, and long disuse has made it unreliable. Any skilled character's reasonable attempt to keep the door from opening works. Forcing the door to stay open requires a successful DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check. The trapdoor opens onto a slide that emerges above the pit in area 53. Anyone who slides down the tunnel to the hidden hatch at the other end is dumped into that room.

Secret Entrance

The second way to enter the tombs below is through a secret door hidden behind the left wing of the giant bat-thing carved upon the wall. A character can locate the door with a successful DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check.

The door can be opened if a character places a limb into the mouth of the carving. If this occurs, the mouth clamps shut; the teeth puncture the limb, dealing 11 (2d10) piercing damage; and a giant batwing folds out from the wall to reveal the passage. A creature trapped in the bat's mouth is grappled (escape DC 12) but doesn't take further damage.

The mechanical nature of the latch becomes apparent to any creature that examines the mouth of the bat sculpture and succeeds on a DC 10 Intelligence (Investigation) check. If the check succeeds by 10 or more, the creature deduces that the function of the mouth can be activated by placing any object (not necessarily an extremity) into it. This information can also be obtained by a creature that examines the mouth further and then succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check.

Once the wing has moved to reveal the secret door, it veils the lower half of the carving's face and the bat's black eyes start to glow. Any character who looks at them must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or be paralyzed. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each minute or whenever it takes damage, ending the effect on itself on a successful save. The effect ends after 1 hour, or earlier if any magical light is shone on the altar.

Development

After the secret door to the shrine is opened, a giant hyena moves into this area. It makes a lair behind a fallen pillar to the east, waiting to ambush any who emerge back through the door.

Hinged Altar Trap

Close inspection of the altar reveals handholds along the front side and hinges at the back, indicating that the altar can be lifted from the front and tipped on its side. This can be accomplished by the combined effort of up to three characters with a total Strength of 30 or higher. If the altar is lifted quickly by characters in a standing position, the metal wings whip through an arc from the sides of the altar to the front center about 4 feet off the floor. Each wing's leading edge is razor-sharp. Anyone in the path of a wing must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 13 (3d8) slashing damage. If a wing misses its first target, it sweeps past that creature with the possibility of striking another creature along the same path.

If the altar is tilted by characters while they are in a kneeling position, the wings whistle harmlessly overhead. The other way to avoid the trap is by being careful in the lifting.

The mechanism for the trap is inside the altar. Characters who lift the altar slowly and look underneath it can easily spot the levers and joints that connect with the bladed wings. The characters can prop the altar up, enabling someone to crawl under and disable the trap. Doing that requires 10 minutes of work and a successful DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves' tools.

Treasure

Beneath the altar is an 8-foot-deep pit in which are many items of value and two bodies cut in half. The treasure is very bulky. Resting on and buried in a pile of 20,000 silver pieces are the following items: fifty silver chased goblets (worth 5 gp each), twenty gold-plated statuettes (10 gp apiece), forty embossed silver chalices and servings (5 gp each), eighty pieces of jewelry (5 gp apiece), fifty mother-of-pearl pieces (1 gp each), a jade placard bearing the image of Zotzilaha (100 gp), and a marble statue of a reclining figure (50 gp).

It is very likely that if large portions of this treasure are taken, Zotzilaha finds out about it and sends a vampire or a giant bat to seek retribution.