Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage

Regional Effects

The Terminus Level has been warped by Fazrian's presence, which creates the following magical effects that end when the planetar dies:

• A faint breeze bears the scent of roses mixed with sulfur. Characters who try to track the breeze to its source are led toward Fazrian in x. Warm blood oozes from the walls and drips from the ceiling, starting and stopping for no apparent reason. (The blood might attract ravenous, blood-drinking creatures such as stirges or vampire spawn.)
• The song of an unholy choir echoes through an area whenever a fight breaks out, then fades away when combat ends.

Beholder Zombies

Four beholder zombies, set loose by Halaster, wander the Terminus Level. Once they're destroyed, no more are encountered.

Duergar Patrol

The characters encounter six duergar (three males and three females) on patrol, their heavy helms and armor dripping with blood (see "x"). These duergar have orders to deliver adventurers to Valtagar Steelshadow unharmed. If a fight breaks out, they use Enlarge and defend themselves. If the battle goes poorly for them, the duergar turn invisible, retreat, and report to Valtagar in x.

Remorhaz

Released here by Halaster, this remorhaz creeps up on the characters and attacks. There is a 50 chance that a passing duergar patrol (see above) hears the ruckus and arrives on the scene at the end of the third round of combat. If the remorhaz is still around, the duergar help defeat it. Afterward, the duergar grumble that the remorhaz is but the latest monstrosity the Mad Mage has loosed in the mines. They otherwise behave as any other duergar patrol.

3a. Large Chamber

Iron tracks run through this 20-foot-high cave. A few abandoned mining tools lie scattered on the floor.

3b. Discarded Mining Gear

The floor of this 10-foot-high cave is strewn with rusty mining gear, including helmets, picks, shovels, and an iron sled for dragging ore.

4a. Invisible Spies

The duergar are spying on the fomorians and trying to remain unseen. If a battle erupts between the characters and the fomorians in these caves, the duergar use the distraction to skulk away and report to Valtagar in x. If the characters detect them, the duergar explain their purpose and offer to escort them to Valtagar.

Characters who succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check can identify the bare footprints as belonging to two separate bipedal creatures, both very large and deformed. These tracks crisscross the cave with enough frequency to imply that their makers dwell nearby. A successful check also reveals three sets of dwarf-sized boot prints, allowing the tracker to follow the prints straight to the invisible duergar.

4b. Something Wicked

Two fomorians dumped here by Halaster rest at the back of this 20-foot-high cave. These hideously misshapen giants are new to Undermountain and believe the mines are haunted by dwarven ghosts. In actuality, they have been rattled by the sounds of invisible duergar moving about and talking to one another.

The fomorians are tired of licking blood and slime off rocks to fill their bellies, prompting them to attack smaller creatures on sight.

4c. Dead-End Loop

This mine tunnel loops back on itself. The floor is littered with slime-covered rocks, which the fomorians have been licking for nourishment.

4d. Dead-End Fork

This tunnel terminates in two dead ends, both heaped with piles of rubble. The west fork once connected with a tunnel to the south, but the roof caved in. The collapse looks recent—within the past month or so.

6a. North Watch Post

Two female duergar named Kavalra and Nisha guard this chamber.

6b. South Watch Post

Four duergar, two males named Duldor and Grimdor and two females named Marna and Ukzorra, maintain a guard station here.

6c. Command Post

The northern half of the room contains a stone desk and a high-backed chair—furnishings brought here from area 16d. Seated behind the desk is Valtagar's captain of the guard, Rojkarn Ironhead, a duergar with 40 hit points. He wears a tall helm bristling with spikes and fitted with a scowling iron mask. He is flanked by two female duergar bodyguards named Brona and Ubrix.

Rojkarn is cruel, cantankerous, and blindly loyal to Valtagar Steelshadow. It pains him to see Valtagar submit to the evil planetar's will. Rojkarn spends much of his waking hours complaining about how the planetar is nothing but a mad tyrant and ranting about how duergar are meant to rule, not be ruled. With each new tirade, Brona and Ubrix roll their eyes in exasperation.

10a. Dining Hall

This room has a vaulted ceiling, rising 15 feet high. The guards in x notice any light or noise here and quickly investigate. The room has the following features:

10b. Den

This room is largely empty, having been stripped of furniture. Two male duergar guards named Malgorn and Zelk stand watch here. They have orders to escort visitors to Valtagar Steelshadow in x.

Malgorn is one card away from owning a complete deck of Three-Dragon Ante cards made of thin-pressed gold. He has begun obsessing over the missing card ("The Thief") and complains about it incessantly. He has found the other cards scattered throughout the Terminus Level and is storing them in a pouch tied to his belt. He's not optimistic about finding the last card, though. Sick of hearing about the situation, Zelk adds to Malgorn's misery by repeatedly asking him if he has searched in places he knows Malgorn has already thoroughly checked.

11a. Kitchen

The cook, Lorga, prepares bland mushroom stew. Despite his blinding cataracts, he knows his way around the kitchen and the adjoining pantry. If he hears one or more characters enter, he shouts in Dwarvish, "The stew will be ready when it's ready! Get out, lest ye taste none of it!" If they don't leave at once, he says, "My eyes are clouded, but my ears and nose work fine. Test not my resolve!"

A lesser restoration spell or similar magic restores Lorga's sight. He offers no thanks to whoever rids him of the disability. As dour and pessimistic as any other duergar, he quickly finds something else to complain about.

Lorga poses no threat (0 XP). He merely wishes to die serving Valtagar, whom he has known since the prince was a child. Lorga isn't holding out hope that he'll ever hear the belching forges of Gracklstugh again, but it infuriates him that Valtagar—a duergar prince—must kowtow to the "mad giant" Fazrian. Lorga suggests that the characters locate Valtagar and forge an alliance with him before they all fall to the giant's sword.

Once the hot coals are doused or swept from the fireplace, the chimney can be climbed easily. After 90 feet, it breaks into a damp, soot-stained natural cave roughly 50 feet square. The cave contains nothing of interest.

Turning the handle on the faucet opens a valve that allows fresh, cold water from an underground stream to pour into the basin and mix with the blood pooling there (see "x"). A stone plug covers the drainpipe in the bottom of the basin.

11b. Pantry

Fifty gray sacks rest atop stone shelves carved into the walls of this 10-foot-high room. The sacks contain edible fungi and dried moss.

Treasure

Eight blue star sapphires (1,000 gp each) are embedded in the eyes of the dwarf carvings—two gemstones per pillar. Each gem is set 18 feet above the floor and can be pried out with a dagger or similar tool.

Treasure

Aximus and Exekarus hide their spellbooks in the folds of their robes. Each book contains all the spells the arcanaloths have prepared, plus eyebite, forcecage, and incendiary cloud.

Valtagar Steelshadow

Valtagar wears a black robe with a cowl that obscures his face. Suspicious and volatile, he is a duergar archmage, with these changes:

• Valtagar is lawful evil.
• He has the Otiluke's resilient sphere spell prepared instead of banishment.
• He has these racial traits: He speaks Common, Dwarvish, Infernal, Terran, Troglodyte, and Undercommon. His walking speed is 25 feet, and he has darkvision out to 120 feet. He has advantage on saving throws against poison and resistance to poison damage. He gains the Enlarge and Invisibility action options described below.

Iron Masks

The iron masks are visors taken from the helmets of duergar warriors who followed Valtagar throughout his exile, only to fall in battle. Valtagar displays them not for sentimental reasons, but to reinforce his determination to return home.

Treasure

The mithral spellbook on the lectern weighs 30 pounds. It contains all the spells Valtagar has prepared. Its cover is embossed with a broken arrow, the symbol of Laduguer.

The iron strongbox contains 600 pp. Minted in Gracklstugh, these coins bear the stern visage of Deepking Horgar Steelshadow V on one side, the mind flayer skull symbol of Deep Duerra (the duergar god of conquest and psionics) on the other, and a Dwarvish motto on the rim that translates as "As low as we can go."

16a. Northern Smelter

The duergar are a male named Brok and a female named Fumira. Brok uses long-handled iron tongs to place chunks of iron ore in the forge. Once the iron melts, Fumira scoops out the molten iron with a long-handled ladle and pours it into two iron molds, which Brok clamps shut. They then take the clamped molds to x to cool. Afterward, they return to the forge with two empty molds and repeat the process.

Without their armor, Brok and Fumira have AC 10. They keep their war picks and javelins close by, but fight only in self-defense. If they detect intruders, they stop working and grouchily offer to escort the new arrivals to Rojkarn Ironhead, the captain of the guard (x)—leading the party through areas a5a, a3a, and a39. The duergar have nothing much to say to visitors, preferring to let Rojkarn answer any questions they might have.

If a fight breaks out, the duergar in x and 16d quickly join the battle. (The duergar in area a5a is deaf.)

The forge puts out tremendous heat thanks to a fire elemental magically trapped inside it. Runes carved on the inside walls of the forge prevent the elemental from escaping or harming anyone outside the forge. Destroying the forge releases the elemental, whereupon it attacks everyone in sight. The forge has AC 17, 80 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage.

16b. Southern Smelter

This room is identical to x except that the forge protrudes from the south wall, and the two unarmored duergar working here are a pair of females named Krinxa and Wolthra.

16c. Iron Stockpile

Old age has rendered the duergar smith, Ghorso, deaf and nearly immobile. His walking speed is 10 feet with the cane or 5 feet without it. Despite his age, he is fully armed and armored. He would rather die in combat than succumb to the ravages of age, but he fights only in self-defense. If the characters try to talk to him, he plays dumb and is not the least bit helpful. A lesser restoration spell or similar magic can restore Ghorso's hearing, for which he is not the least bit grateful. "Now I can hear every wretched noise in this gods-forsaken place!" he says with a sneer.

Clamped iron molds from x and a59 are brought here to cool. Once they reach room temperature (50 degrees Fahrenheit), Ghorso unclamps the molds, opens them, pries out the hardened iron ingots, and stacks them atop the existing piles. It's a tedious, thankless job.

16d. Barracks

This room contains two dozen iron cots arranged haphazardly in the middle of the space. Ten duergar, five males and five females, are asleep here at any given time, snoring loudly. The males are named Bulborm, Daarsh, Krod, Mranhaim, and Muzdrok. The females are named Azgra, Narlith, Roxinda, Sorka, and Svilla.

The duergar sleep in their armor and keep their weapons within reach. They awaken to sounds of combat in x or a59. A creature that succeeds on a DC 10 Dexterity (Stealth) check can sneak about the room without waking the duergar.

17a. Western Guard Post

Two male duergar, Kalrog and Klang, keep guard here. Klang is Kalrog's older brother, and the two are highly competitive.

17b. Eastern Guard Post

Smoke and heat from the forges billow into this chamber, keeping it a sweltering 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Two duergar—a male named Prax and a female named Torga—mind this watch post, incidentally standing guard over a variety of extra supplies that are stored here. Driven into the south wall are twelve stone pegs on which soot-stained leather aprons and tinted goggles are hung.

17c. Western Smithy

The duergar, Falthra and Helgra, craft weapons here. Years ago, a flying piece of molten iron put out Helgra's right eye; an iron eye patch bolted to her skull covers the empty eye socket.

Without their armor, Falthra and Helgra have AC 10. They keep their war picks and javelins close by, but fight only in self-defense. Visitors who trouble them are told to seek out Rojkarn Ironhead, the captain of the guard. "He wears a big helmet," one says with a sneer. The other can provide directions to x, where Rojkarn's office is located.

17d. Eastern Smithy

This room is identical to x except that the two unarmored duergar working here are males named Forn and Wulluk, and they're fashioning shields and bits of scale mail instead of weapons. Forn is fat and lazy, Wulluk old and cantankerous. They grate on each other's nerves and constantly put each other down. They otherwise behave similarly to the duergar in x.

17e. Armory

Stone pegs in the walls display six dwarf-sized suits of scale mail, ten helmets, ten shields, thirteen war picks, and thirty javelins, all fashioned from iron.

17f. Equipment Storage

The walls of this 10-foot-high room are lined with low stone shelves that hold worn mining picks and hammers. Rusty iron buckets, helmets, and shovels hang from stone pegs above the shelves.

18a. Old Scaffolding

A mine track passes through this cave, which is filled with torn-down iron scaffolding. Duergar miners can be heard to the west (x) and the south (x and a6b).

18b. Duergar Miners

Seven duergar—three males named Greorx, Hwahl, and Uzwurn, and four females named Awmok, Nezza, Proxna, and Warda—mine iron ore here. Eager for any distraction, the miners attack intruders on sight. Given the noise that echoes throughout the tunnels, the sound of clashing steel is unlikely to be noticed by the duergar in x and a6b. Magical explosions or other unusual sounds do draw their attention, though.

18c. A Miner Disturbance

Eleven duergar work here. Three of the workers are enlarged female duergar (Brakka, Korla, and Zagra) who use picks to break up a vein of iron ore that runs through the ceiling. Six normal-sized males (Hax, Mruuzdain, Oznur, Ramdrax, Tarnvur, and Yarox) work on expanding the cavern northward, while two normal-sized females (Nura and Speleosa) use hammers and spikes to separate iron from loose chunks of rock. If the miners notice the party, they attack, letting their enlarged allies barrel in first.

18d. Overseer

This section of the mine has been depleted of mithral and iron ore. It contains the following:

Stalagma is Valtagar Steelshadow's beloved mate, and only Valtagar knows that his wife is a dragon in disguise. In her true form, Stalagma looks like a slender, 30-foot-long dragon with shiny steel-gray scales covering her body, steely talons, and blade-like horns that sweep back from her narrow head. She has the statistics of an adult silver dragon, with these changes:

• Stalagma is lawful evil.
• While in duergar form, she has the Duergar Resilience and Sunlight Sensitivity traits of a duergar, as well as its Enlarge and Invisibility action options. In this form, she wields a glaive and can use her action to attack with it three times (+13 to hit), dealing 13 (1d10 + 8) slashing damage on a hit, or 19 (2d10 + 8) slashing damage in her enlarged duergar form.
• Instead of Cold Breath, she breathes acid in a 60-foot-long, 5-foot-wide line. The breath weapon deals acid damage instead of cold damage.
• She speaks Draconic, Dwarvish, and Terran.

Stalagma is as miserable and conniving as any duergar. She raised the gorgon, and it allows no one except her to ride it. The beast is smart enough to obey Stalagma's verbal commands, and it's strong enough to bear her weight while she's in her enlarged duergar form.

Stalagma attacks any non-duergar who aren't under her husband's protection. If additional reinforcements are needed, Stalagma bellows, "To arms!" in Dwarvish. Her booming voice causes the duergar in x and a6a to stop working and converge on her location with their weapons drawn. The battle cry also awakens the guards sleeping in x, who collect their weapons and investigate. If her gorgon mount is killed or she is taking too much damage as a duergar, Stalagma uses her next action to revert to her true form. Other duergar who see Stalagma in her true form flee unless Valtagar is present to reassure them that the dragon is their ally.

Stalagma controls the xorn by feeding them treasure from the broken-down mine cart. In addition to Dwarvish and Draconic, she speaks Terran, so the xorn can understand her.

19a. Way to Level 22

If anyone opens the secret door, the ultroloth appears and tries to slay them. It ignores those who leave the secret door alone, allowing them to move through the area unmolested. If threatened by three or more enemies, it tries to summon 1d6 mezzoloths, 1d4 nycaloths, or another ultroloth (see the "Variant: Yugoloth Summoning" sidebar in the "Yugoloths" entry in the Monster Manual).

Xindulus won't negotiate with adventurers unless they offer it something immensely valuable, such as a legendary magic item or an artifact.

19b. Empty Barracks

This room is empty.

20a. Halaster's Watching!

The characters encounter one of Halaster's scrying eyes (see "x") in this otherwise empty cave. The scrying sensor watches them until they leave, then disappears.

20b. Poisoned Miners

Three poisoned duergar (two males and one female) use picks to chip iron ore from the walls of this cave. If outnumbered, they turn invisible and join their fellows in x. Otherwise, they attack. The males are named Orn and Thumrok. The female is named Durundra.

20c. Poisoned Miners

Eight poisoned duergar (six males and two females) lethargically swing their picks, working iron veins in the cavern walls. They are hostile toward non-duergar. They're bold if they outnumber their foes but flee to x if that situation changes. The males are named Hrok, Jarazk, Krod, Mraginar, Norl, and Rok. The females are named Bralith and Sunmerva.

The cave is strewn with old mining equipment: shovels, broken picks, rusty iron sleds for dragging ore, and so forth. A casual search also yields a pair of empty water skins, a shattered wooden ale cask, and a 20-foot-long coil of hempen rope too old to be of much use.

20d. Empty Room

Dwarves dug through the south wall of this room, hoping to find rich veins of mithral. Instead, they found iron and poisonous gas. The room is empty, though characters can hear the miners working in x and a77.

23a. Grand Foyer

The 18-foot-high double doors to the west swing inward, revealing a stone-tiled foyer with a 40-foot-high ceiling. The area contains the following features:

23b. Hall of Final Judgment

The floor of this 40-foot-high chamber is shaped like the head of a double-bladed axe. The room, which smells of roses and sulfur, contains the following:

Fazrian is a lawful evil planetar that lacks the Healing Touch action option. Unless he is incapacitated, Fazrian can take one of the following lair actions on initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties) while on the Terminus Level:

• Blood flows from Fazrian's eyes until initiative count 20 on the next round. No creature within 120 feet of the planetar can regain hit points until the effect ends.
• Fazrian's eyes become smoldering black voids until initiative count 20 on the next round. All other creatures within 120 feet of the planetar have disadvantage on saving throws until the effect ends.
• Blinding magical light springs from Fazrian's eyes until initiative count 20 on the next round. If a creature starts its turn within 120 feet of the planetar and the two of them can see each other, Fazrian can force the creature to make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is blinded. The blindness lasts until the creature receives a lesser restoration spell or similar magic.

Once an exemplar of courage and good judgment, Fazrian now seeks to destroy any creature it believes is undeserving of continued existence. Fazrian's views are a mockery of what they once were. Every creature is guilty of "deformity" in the planetar's eyes. Unless someone can swiftly prove their innocence, Fazrian sentences that individual to an immediate death.

Persuading the planetar to render a verdict of not guilty requires at least one party member to submit to Fazrian's judgment. That character must then offer to surrender their own life to spare the lives of the others. Any character who stands before Fazrian and shows both courage and self-sacrifice is found innocent of the crime of deformity. Denials, protests, and challenges to Fazrian's authority are met with stern pronouncements of guilt. The planetar can tell when it is being lied to (thanks to its Divine Awareness trait), and characters who lie to Fazrian are immediately judged guilty.

The planetar has delusions of raising an army to sweep through Undermountain and purge it of those it deems abhorrent. Before letting innocents off the hook, Fazrian demands that they each swear an oath to serve it henceforth. Those who refuse to take the oath are found guilty of the crime of cowardice and sentenced to death.

Once judgment is rendered, Fazrian orders Raxxus to step forth, slay the guilty party or parties, and cast their bodies into the pit (see x). After the guilty have been punished, those found innocent are escorted by Raxxus to the arcanaloths in x for indoctrination. If the nycaloth is killed, the planetar takes up its sword and attacks the guilty.

Only a character judged innocent by Fazrian can alter the planetar's disposition enough to make it realize how corrupt it has become. Such a character can use an action to call on the planetar to look inward and judge itself, making a DC 26 Charisma (Persuasion) check as part of that action. If the player roleplays well, grant the character advantage on the check. A character who gets a failure on the check can't try again, but they can still help another character who then tries to convince the planetar of its own guilt. On a successful check of this sort, a lingering shred of goodness in Fazrian is awakened. The planetar weeps as it begs Torm for forgiveness. Then, in a final act of atonement and self-sacrifice, it impales itself on its sword and dies.

If the planetar dies by its own hand or at the hands of the characters, Torm bestows on each character a blessing of protection (see "Supernatural Gifts" in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master's Guide). This blessing is permanent if its receiver is a worshiper of Torm; otherwise, the blessing lasts for 10 days. Torm's blessing is not bestowed on any character who releases one or both mariliths that are trapped in the crystal menhirs (see "Standing Gate to Level 19" below).

23c. Garbage Disposal

A 20-foot-wide, 20-foot-high tunnel at the bottom of the pit in x leads south before coming to a dead end. The floor of the tunnel is covered with bones, bits of adventuring gear, and other debris.

At the end of the tunnel lurk three hungry otyughs. When they detect other creatures in the pit, they rush forth and attack while using their Limited Telepathy to taunt prey.

Treasure

The mace is a mace of smiting that belonged to Brythia. Characters who witnessed the ghostly scene in area 7 recognize the mace as the weapon used by the cleric in that vision.

The stone chests once contained coins hidden here by Melairkyn dwarves. The duergar broke open the chests and dumped the coins in a mining cart in x.