The Three Faces of Evil

The Ebon Triad seeks to create a fiendish Overgod, a monstrosity of pure evil that combines the power of Erythnul, Hextor, and Vecna. The cult’s research indicates that a anciant being known as Kyuss is tied to the Overgod’s rise. Little is known of Kyuss, save that he was once a powerful being that spawned a horrific variety of undead creatures. Now, in the bowels of Diamond Lake, the Ebon Triad pursues rumors that the worm-like progeny of Kyuss have once again risen. Is the Age of Worms finally at hand?

“The Three Faces of Evil” is a Dungeons & Dragons adventure suitable for four 3rd-level characters. It is also the second installment of the Age of Worms Adventure Path, a complete campaign consisting of 12 adventures, several “Backdrop” articles to help Dungeon Masters run the series, and a handful of poster maps of key locations, all published over the course of the next 11 months in Dungeon. For additional aid in running this campaign, check out Dragon’s monthly “Worm food” articles, a series that provides additional material to help players survive this campaign. Issue #334 of Dragon provides comprehensive lists of all the things you can find for sale in Diamond Lake’s (often) dubious shops. Finally, you can head online to paizo.com to download Age of Worms Overload, a free PDF that includes details on the hinterlands surrounding Diamond Lake, stat blocks for nearly everyone in town, conversion notes for running the campaign in the Forgotten Realms or Eberron settings, and more.

Of course, you can also run “The Three Faces of Evil” as a stand-alone adventure, or even as part of a campaign of your own design.

ADVENTURE BACKGROUND

Long had the Faceless One toiled in arcane libraries and crumbling crypts in search of the true history of his divine patron Vecna, the Maimed God of secrets and intrigue. Unlike mighty Hextor or valorous Heironeous, Vecna once lived as a mortal, a legendary lich lord and before that a potent necromancer king. Unlike Pelor, whose naïve clerics sought divine messages in the movements of the sun, Vecna left a tangible legacy cut through the scant written records of human prehistory. Several texts claim Vecna’s august authorship, and more still, some of highly dubious authenticity, purport to record his spoken edicts. In one such account, the infamous Nethertome of Trask, the Faceless One came across a name that would change his life forever—Kyuss.

The Nethertome quoted an even older source, the fabled Way of the Ebon Triad, a blasphemous collection of apocalyptic essays, epic poems, and cryptographs that discuss the advent of an era of darkness called the Age of Worms, during which a great Overgod of evil would arise and mold the world in its own terrible image. Remarkably, the Nethertome suggested that this entity would form from an adhesion of three lesser divine entities—the gods Hextor, Erythnul, and Vecna himself. The Faceless One knew that if he could play a critical role in the creation of this entity, all of the world’s secrets would be open to him, and he might become entrenched in the new political and religious landscape. The arrival of the Overgod would be his introduction to true power. But for the Overgod to arise, the time must be right for the Age of Worms. And according to the Nethertome of Trask, the Age of Worms cannot begin until its harbinger, an undead colossus known as Kyuss, once again stalks the land.

Two years ago, a small cell of Vecna cultists affiliated with the Faceless One unearthed evidence of undead creatures infested with unusual segmented green worms in the hills south of Diamond Lake, a small mining town east of a metropolis known as the Free City. According to the Nethertome of Trask, Vecna had once conducted grim experiments in a subterranean cathedral in the same region. This confluence of Kyuss and Vecna reminded the Faceless One of the Age of Worms and his potential role in bringing about the birth of the great Overgod. The Faceless One tracked Vecna’s lost laboratory to Diamond Lake, in a cavern below an active copper mine managed by a dwarf named Ragnolin Dourstone. Using magic and extortion, the Faceless One convinced Ragnolin Dourstone to carve a secret shaft deep within the earth and into these hidden chambers.

The passage complete, the Faceless One and his minions moved in. They found a great marble-lined cavity they dubbed the Dark Cathedral, along with a small labyrinth beyond. They began their work in earnest. Soon, the Faceless One’s ministrations below Diamond Lake attracted the attention of other devotees to the Way of the Ebon Triad. First to arrive was a band of tieflings from the Great Kingdom to the east, warriors in service to Hextor who traced their fiendish blood directly to powerful entities of the past who played a role in the demise of that formerly vast empire. Led by an ambitious human cleric named Theldrick, the group attempted a temple coup in their homeland, and were cast out by their tyrannical brethren entrenched in the orthodoxy of the Scourge of Battle. Soon after their arrival, a small tribe of Erythnul-worshiping grimlocks entered the Dark Cathedral via a tunnel from the Underdark. Led by an oracle of Erythnul who had received the lore of the Ebon Triad in a revelation from one of Erythnul’s agents, the grimlocks agreed to join the Faceless One’s efforts to discover more about the unusual green worms in hopes that the Age of Worms is finally at hand.

Hidden within their secret base, the cultists of the Ebon Triad are a deadly threat to the Diamond Lake region. Soon, the Faceless One hopes to piece together the final clues he needs to set his plans into motion. If left undisturbed, this nest of evil might give rise to a terrible power beyond the reckoning of man.

Adventure Synopsis

“The Three Faces of Evil” requires the PCs to sneak into Dourstone Mine, destroy the Ebon Triad cultists, and defeat a newly born creature known as the Ebon Aspect. The miners themselves, while not necessarily innocents, aren’t cultists. The PCs must sneak by them or use Diplomacy to gain access to the mines. Once they overcome this obstacle, they must defeat each of the cults that comprise this cell of the Ebon Triad. Finally, as the last cultists fall, the Ebon Aspect arises to avenge its worshipercreators. Once the PCs defeat this abomination, they escape back to the surface, where they quickly become embroiled in another adventure.

This adventure is the second in the Age of Worms Adventure Path, a series of twelve linked adventures to be published in this magazine over the course of the next year. Last issue featured the first installment, “The Whispering Cairn,” as well as a detailed description and poster map of Diamond Lake, the rowdy town in which the Dourstone Mine is situated. While “The Three Faces of Evil” works well as a stand-alone adventure, you and your players will probably enjoy it a great deal more as part of the Age of Worms Adventure Path. Back issues of Dungeon #124 are available at paizo.com.

Adventure Hooks

The players can learn about the cult below the Dourstone Mine easily. If you’ve run them through “The Whispering Cairn,” the letter discovered in the Old Observatory provides a link between the corrupt mine manager Balabar Smenk and the Dourstone Mine.

If you haven’t run “The Whispering Cairn,” or if the PCs need further cause to investigate the goings-on below the Dourstone Mine, you can have Hesti Testapod contact them after he makes a disturbing discovery about the nature of a strange green worm the PCs (or one of his other agents) have recently provided him.

Part One: What Writhes Within

The wizard Hesti Testapod, the so-called “smartest man in Diamond Lake,” has spent many years researching local legends and lore. Recently, he’s unearthed increasing evidence of strange undead creatures infested with tiny green worms stalking the hills south of Diamond Lake. If the PCs have explored the Old Observatory in “The Whispering Cairn,” it’s possible they are responsible for providing the latest piece of evidence in the form of just such a worm, suspended in a jar of preservative chemicals. Hesti Testapod is worried that these undead creatures could represent a grave threat to Diamond Lake. Thus, he asks the adventurers to pursue the few leads he has uncovered so far. Hesti Testapod’s studies show that the worms might be somehow connected to an ancient temple hidden beneath the earth. According to his calculations, the temple is located beneath a copper mine owned by Ragnolin Dourstone. Ragnolin is known as a surly, paranoid, and greedy mine manager, and Hesti Testapod fears that he may be connected to the temple if it is currently occupied.

Hesti Testapod suggests that the merchant Balabar Smenk could provide a useful gateway to Ragnolin’s mine. Balabar and Ragnolin have a well known rivalry. Neither is trustworthy, but their animosity might be enough to make Balabar open to an offer of alliance with the party. The recovery of Smenk’s letter to Filge from the observatory in “The Whispering Cairn” indicates that Smenk knows more about the situation in the Dourstone Mine than he should. If you’ve run “The Whispering Cairn,” the PCs have no doubt heard of Balabar Smenk, and they may even be responsible for the deaths of his favorite indentured thugs and his old best friend. By the time the PCs have finished exploring “The Whispering Cairn,” Smenk already hates them and wants to see them destroyed or run out of town. Better yet, he comes upon the idea of sending them against the cultists below the Dourstone Mine, hoping to take care of two problems at once. If the PCs don’t set up a meeting with Smenk within a week of their encounter with Filge, the mine manager takes it upon himself to invite them to meet with him, ordering a subordinate to sneak into the PCs’ headquarters with a note setting up a rendezvous at Smenk’s home in Diamond Lake. If the situation warrants it, perhaps Smenk kidnaps a PC’s familiar (or, better yet, the baby owlbear from the Land Farmstead if the PCs have adopted it), just to show them that they’re dealing with a professional criminal. In either case, Hesti Testapod believes that the temple is occupied, and he worries that its inhabitants are behind the strange undead in the southern hills. He knows little of the Ebon Triad, but he has managed to uncover the location of an elevator within the mines. He tells the PCs that the elevator is the most convenient way into the temple.

Talking to Smenk

Crude, demanding, and insatiably greedy, Balabar Smenk (CN male human rogue 7) is a nightmare blend of amorality, avarice, and boundless gluttony. Unknown to Hesti Testapod, Smenk is secretly in league with the Ebon Triad. While the Faceless One managed to subvert Ragnolin with bribes and promises of power, he sees Balabar as another useful tool, particularly if Ragnolin turns against the Triad. Smenk currently provides the Triad cultists with food and supplies that the Triad’s agents pick up in town. Unfortunately, Balabar’s arrogance got the better of him. Since the Triad is a captive market, he has taken to selling them spoiled food, poor quality tools, and other goods at outrageous prices. Furthermore, in his last meeting with the Triad he hinted that he might need regular bribes to keep him quiet.

Balabar’s confidence received a crushing blow when he woke up next to the severed head of his right-hand man planted in his bed by grimlock scouts dispatched to send Balabar a warning. Smenk now knows that he overplayed his hand. Thus, he wants the Ebon Triad destroyed. The PCs, if they are in his debt, could prove the perfect weapon to distract the Triad or defeat the cultists while he escapes.

To encourage the PCs to assist him, Smenk claims (truthfully) that he is terrified of the cultists, and that he was pressured into helping them. He tells the PCs about his right-hand man, and plays up a sense of (imaginary) betrayal, as if his brand if villainy is somehow more respectable than that of the Ebon Triad. If the PCs uncover evidence of Balabar’s involvement in the cult, they may choose to go after him. As a 7th-level rogue who is constantly surrounded by a ring of guards and sycophants, Smenk is more than capable of defending himself against the PCs. If he is defeated, he begs, pleads, whines, and acts the part of the pitiful, miserable wretch. His swagger and arrogance quickly give way to pathetic pleas for mercy. If the PCs hand him over to the authorities along with evidence of his connection to the cult, Balabar is sentenced to several years of hard labor.

In short, the PCs have the chance to put Balabar in his place. Roleplay him as all the more annoying, arrogant, and grating because of it!

Infiltrating the Mine

Ragnolin Dourstone’s mining operation is poorly run. Ever the pragmatist, Ragnolin thinks it’s better to pay a few guards a good wage to keep the workers in line rather than offer a fair wage to his miners. He hires anyone who’s willing to work at his price (2 sp per day, plus room and board). Only the desperate or those unable to find work elsewhere remain here for long. In most cases, the miners work only long enough to earn the money needed to buy passage elsewhere. Many of the miners that do stick around are crippled ex-criminals unable to find other work. In addition, a number of the miners are convicted criminals who have been sentenced to hard labor. Ragnolin earned their service with a few wellplaced bribes in Diamond Lake.

This section of the adventure is relatively freeform. The PCs must come up with a reasonable plan to infiltrate the mine—there are a variety of possibilities. They could take jobs at the mine, they might sneak in, or they could bribe the miners to let them pass without incident. Note that as the mine is private property, the PCs should probably avoid simply storming it and slaughtering the guards. Survivors of such an attack run to town for help, and the PCs quickly find themselves in over their heads.

The Guards

The mine’s security force consists of two dozen guards (all 1st-level warriors). Half of them keep watch by day, the other half watch at night. The night watchmen are all dwarves, while the daytime guards are human.

Two squads of four guards walk the wooden stockade that marks the mining camp’s perimeter. The guards make one circuit around the camp each hour. If the PCs come within sight of the stockade, there is a 25% chance that one of the two guard groups is within 100 feet of the party. Use the rules for Spot and Listen to determine if the guards detect the characters—each of the guards has a +0 bonus for both skills. Two guards keep watch from the guard tower, while the other two keep watch over the gate. The guards are well paid, and most of them enjoy the near absolute power they exercise in the mining camp. The PCs suffer a –5 penalty on Diplomacy checks to change the guards’ attitudes. For every 10 gp the characters offer as a bribe, they gain a +2 bonus on their Diplomacy checks against the guards. Their initial attitudes are unfriendly, but they’ll let anyone in if they can be made helpful.

If the guards spot intruders, they blow the alarm horns they carry and attempt to surround the PCs. While the guards like to lord over the miners, they back down from anyone who looks like a capable fighter. If attacked, the guards fight until they lose half their number. A guard who drops below half his maximum hit points runs for his life.

Four of the human guards are cultists of Hextor. These warriors flee to the mines if any trouble starts. Three of them watch the passage to the elevator, while one descends and alerts the temple below. One cultist walks with each patrol, while the remaining pair are split between the gate and the guard tower.

The Miners

The miners are easy to bribe, as their poor wages and terrible working conditions make them open to anything that might damage Ragnolin. The PCs gain a +5 bonus on any Diplomacy check made to sway the miners to their side, with an additional bonus equal to the sp value of any bribe offered to a miner. Their initial attitudes are indifferent, but bribery makes it fairly easy for even the most crass PC to adjust their attitude to helpful. Helpful miners might hide the PCs, distract the guards, tell them of the sealed passage that leads to the elevator, and so forth. If the PCs start a fight, the miners run for their lives. None of them are connected to the Ebon Triad. There are 40 miners in all, and they work from sunrise to sunset, sleeping in bunks within the uppermost reaches of the mine itself.

The Foremen

Three foremen keep watch over the miners. These are Ragnolin’s personal lieutenants, and are tough to bribe and tend to stand up against troublemakers. Their initial attitude toward the PCs is unfriendly—bribes can provide a bonus on Diplomacy checks equal to +1 per 50 gp. The foremen carry alarm horns and never hesitate to use them if they spot an intruder in the camp.

The foremen are all humans. One, a rusty-voiced thug named Gerreld, mans the office during the day. He handles all the paperwork, the payroll, and other administrative matters for the mine. A limping man named Lordren is the overall commander of the camp, while a young man with a lazy eye named Carr is his assistant. The two of them accompany the miners into the tunnels each morning.

Ragnolin Dourstone (LN male dwarf expert 6) usually spends a few hours each day at the mines, either going over the day’s production with one of the foremen or looking around the mine to ensure there’s no sign of the cultists for anyone to notice. His initial attitude is unfriendly, and no amount of bribery can sway him. If the PCs somehow manage to make him helpful, he won’t volunteer any information about the Ebon Triad other than to warn the PCs to stay away from the mine.

The Mines

Any helpful foremen, guards, or miners can tell the PCs that there’s a recently installed elevator deep in the mines. They’ve been told that this elevator leads down to a set of caverns that Ragnolin is exploring in hopes of finding a new lode or vein—none of them (save the cultist guards) suspect the truth, and all of them know that intrusion into these caves is forbidden by their employer.

Once in the mines, the characters should have little trouble making their way to the elevator. The guards have set up several obvious signs warning the miners to stay away from the shaft, and the miners know better than to risk the guards’ ire.

The mines are crude passages and tunnels hacked into the ground. Torches are set into the wall every 50 feet, but half of them are burnt out and useless. Ragnolin is too cheap to provide good lighting in this place. Instead, most miners must carry their own torches and lanterns (purchased with their own meager salaries).

Forty feet from the main entrance, the passage to the elevator cuts down and to the left from the main tunnel. Timbers and planks nailed to the wooden frame of the passage’s entrance block access to the area beyond. A DC 18 Strength check or an assault (the barrier has hardness 5 and 15 hit points) smashes this barrier to pieces, while a DC 10 Craft (woodworking or carpentry) check disassembles the barrier in 1d4 minutes. In the former case, the guards make DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) checks to hear the commotion. A Craft check is too quiet for the guards to hear. During the day, 2d4 miners are present in the tunnels near the elevator entrance when the PCs enter. They make no attempt to fetch the guards, but they keep an eye on the characters in case the PCs are looking for trouble. If the PCs try to access the elevator shaft without first making the miners’ attitudes helpful, they report the party to the guards.

The Elevator

The tunnel to the elevator stretches to the west and has a sharp, downward slope. After 400 feet, the PCs come to a chamber in which a large, wooden platform with a 5-foot wall built around its edges. Struts rise 10 feet from each of the platform’s corners, joining in an X above the platform. A thick iron chain runs through the X’s midpoint to a large, wooden spool set in the middle of the platform. The platform is 10 feet wide and 10 feet long. When the elevator is at the top of the shaft, the chain is wrapped around the spool. As the car descends, the spool spins and the chain plays out above the car.

The elevator is operated by first releasing a brake mechanism set into the wheel and slowly turning the wheel. The elevator shaft descends 200 feet to area 1 below. The elevator car itself weighs 500 pounds. The maximum amount of weight a character can lower or lift with the elevator system equals five times his or her maximum load. In this case, the elevator can be moved upward or downward at a rate of 5 feet per round. If the elevator’s weight is equal to or less than the operator’s heavy load, it can be raised or lowered at the rate of 20 feet per round. Up to three people may use the elevator at once, with each additional person granting a +2 bonus to the highest Strength score among the operators, for purposes of determining load.

A character who tries to raise or lower the elevator when it is overloaded immediately loses control. The elevator doesn’t enter free fall, since the winch itself controls its descent somewhat. Characters inside the elevator must make DC 15 Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks to avoid losing their footing. While falling, the elevator descends at a rate of 50 feet per round. When it hits bottom, all creatures in the elevator take 5d6 falling damage. The elevator car itself suffers this damage as well—it has hardness 5 and 50 hit points.

1. The Dark Cathedral (EL 3)

The three doors in the northern reaches of this chamber provide access to three temples, each dedicated to a different aspect of the Ebon Triad.

In ages past, Vecna himself delved into the mysteries of life within this place. In those times, this chamber was a vast library, and the pool served as a potent scrying device for the lich. The books once kept here are long gone, and the pool’s magic has degraded to a shadow of its former power, yet this room still maintains an unsettling aura of antiquity and oppressive secrecy.

The contents of the pool are dark and viscous, and exude an aura of uncomfortable cold. A splash from the waters is enough to inflict one point of Dexterity damage (Fortitude DC 15 resists), and total immersion in the foul liquid inflicts 1d4 Dexterity damage per round (Fortitude DC 20 resists) from the supernatural cold. The liquid is opaque and dark, and the deeper one goes, the thicker it gets. Ten feet from the surface, Swim checks in the fluid suffer a –5 penalty. This penalty increases to –10 at depths from 10 to 20 feet, and to –20 at depths from 20 to 30 feet. Beyond a depth of 30 feet, the “fluid” of the pool becomes a solid similar to that of stone. What horrific mysteries may or may not be buried in the unknown depths below are left to you, but the creature that emerges from within in Part Five (the Ebon Aspect of the Overgod) should be an indication of what awaits exploration into such forbidden regions.

A DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check made in the area around the pool or on the platform above reveals blood stains, scratches from metal equipment, and scattered ashes. The denizens of the temple of Vecna to the north regularly conduct experiments on the pool, hoping to awaken an aspect of the Overgod that they believe dwells somewhere within.

Creatures: Two tiefling fighters from the temple of Hextor are on guard here. They keep watch from the pillars near the entrance to Hextor’s temple to the east of the elevator. When the elevator begins its descent, they move to stand guard near it. The guards have grown complacent with the monotony of their duty here. Thus, they tend to assume that anyone coming down the elevator is on an errand for one of the temples. They wear chainmail masks and tabards marked with a holy symbol of Hextor. Their arms are covered with elaborate tattoos bearing Hextor’s liturgies and images of various devils.

Tactics: The tieflings fight a delaying action. One engages the party in melee while the other rushes to the eastern gate to alert the cult of Hextor. Once he reaches the gate, the tiefling hammers on the door as a move action. Both tieflings know the secret knock needed to enter the temple of Hextor (see area 2), but the tiefling does not use the code. Instead, he pounds on the door knowing that the skeletons within will move out to attack intruders in response to the incorrect code.

Treasure: The uppermost platform above the pool bears a small, wicker basket filled with an offering to the Overgod. It contains 100 gp in a leather pouch and a silver idol of Erythnul worth 300 gp. Development: The final encounter in this adventure takes place in this chamber as well—details on this encounter appear in Part Five: The God in the Pool.

Part Two: Citadel of Hextor

The citadel of Hextor serves as the primary military arm for this branch of the Ebon Triad. As befits a lawful evil cult, the clerics and their warriors present a highly organized defense against the PCs. In addition to the encounter key provided below, the section “Temple Organization” provides an overview of the Hextorites’ plans in the event of an attack. They practice their basic tactics at least once per week, making them welldrilled, highly organized opponents.

Temple Features

The doors within the temple of Hextor are of strong wood. Unless otherwise noted, the chambers are dark. The humans in the temple tend to keep light sources nearby, usually everburning torches. The tieflings and undead rely on their darkvision.

As befits a lawful organization, the passages here are free of debris, trash, and graffiti. The temple is run like a military camp. The camp followers from area 3 gather up any refuse and transport it outside by night.

Before running encounters here, be sure to study the “Temple Organization” section in addition to the encounter key. Once the PCs enter the citadel, the clerics and their followers react to the intrusion with an intelligent, carefully orchestrated plan. If the PCs are rash or foolish, they might be overwhelmed and defeated in short order.

Temple Doors: 2 in. thick; Hardness 5; hp 20; Break DC 23; Open Lock DC 30.

2. Chamber of the Guardians (EL 3)

Before proceeding with this encounter, remember that the state of this chamber depends on whether the characters know the knock code. See the Tactics section below to determine what happens depending upon what knock the PCs use.

Creatures: The Hextorites keep animated skeletons in eight of the 12 suits of armor. These creatures attack anyone who enters without the proper knock. Even if the party uses the correct knock, the skeletons’ bells ring as two of them move to open the gate.

Tactics: If the characters use the knock code, the two skeletons closest to the door shamble over to open it. The bells hooked to their armor clang and ring. Cultists from area 3 arrive in 1d4+4 rounds to greet the visitors. If the characters attempt to batter down the gate, or if intruders enter without using the knock, the skeletons rise to attack. The bells on their armor clang as they ready their weapons, and the cultists from area 2 arrive in 1d4 rounds. The guards in area 4 must make DC 7 Wisdom (Perception) checks to hear the clamor. If they notice it, they arrive in 1d4 rounds to attack as well. If a fight breaks out here the guards and the cultists automatically hear the commotion and arrive as soon as possible. Treasure: The skeletons’ armor is too corroded to be worth anything more than scrap metal. Each suit is worth 100 gp.

3. Chamber of the Faithful (EL 3)

Creatures: This chamber serves as quarters for a large group of fanatical Hextorites who hope to enter the Scourge of Battle’s priesthood. These petitioners run errands for the Hextorites, make trips into town for special supplies, and provide manual labor. Their faith has been tested, and they have yet to be found wanting. If the characters have been active in the Diamond Lake region for a week or more, they may recognize a few of the cultists as locals from town. The PCs may have seen them while buying supplies or in the taproom of the Feral Dog.

Tactics: The cultists are fanatical in their dedication to Theldrick, the high priest of this place. They fight to the death and are suspicious of all newcomers. In battle they use their longspears to maximum effect, keeping back from their enemies while harassing with wild jabs. They use the aid another action to assist each other or to improve the fighting ability of their allies. They pay little heed to their injuries and tend to rely on the crush of their numbers to overwhelm an opponent. For example, a cultist might throw himself on a foe’s sword (using up an attack of opportunity) to allow his fellows to grapple the enemy without provoking such an attack.

The cult relies on these dupes to delay intruders. They are under orders to bring the fight to the main temple (area 11). If they fail in that mission, they throw themselves at the party to buy time for the rest of the temple’s defenders.

Treasure: A successful DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) check of the wooden crate in the center of the room reveals a small trove hidden beneath a loose flagstone. The treasure consists of a golden holy symbol of Hextor worth 100 gp and the broken blade of a silver, ceremonial dagger worth 50 gp.

4. Guard Chamber (EL 3)

This chamber serves as barracks for a pair of tiefling guards charged with watching the door. The guards rely on the cultists in area 3 to alert them to any trouble. They tend to take their time in responding to anything short of the sound of battle . Creatures: The two tieflings stationed here wear chainmail masks to conceal their faces. Both have elaborate tattoos of hellish fiends, symbols of Hextor, and prayers to Hextor written in Infernal along their bare arms.

Tactics: The tieflings have learned to fight as a pair. While one readies his axe, the other casts darkness on a coin or small stone and throws it into the midst of the enemy. The two then take advantage of Blind-Fight to harass their foes. If pressed, the second tiefling uses his darkness spell to cover their retreat to area 6. If cornered or cut off, they fight to the death. Treasure: The leather armor is a mundane suit that one of the tieflings is in the process of repairing, while the tools around it comprise a complete set of artisan’s tools. The tieflings carry their coins, a DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) check of one bed reveals a small, velvet bag containing 20 pp and a golden necklace worth 100 gp.

5. Chamber of the Beast (EL 4)

Use the following description as the characters approach the door to this chamber.

The lock can be picked with a DC 19 Dexterity (Thieves' Tools) check. Once the PCs enter this chamber, read or paraphrase the following. A single stone spike flickering with magical flame lights this area. Filthy hay, mixed with a generous amount of animal dung, covers the floor of this crude, cave-like chamber. Creature: This chamber serves as the home for the cult’s mascot, a vicious dire boar named Beast that was raised and tended by Theldrick. The creature attacks anyone it doesn’t recognize on sight. Scars cover its hide, while its tusks have been capped with iron. These modifications make the boar more intimidating in appearance but do little to alter its actual statistics.

Tactics: Unless the characters are quiet or clever, there is little chance that they face the dire boar here. If a cultist or the guard from areas 2 or 3 retreats past area 4, he uses a full-round action to undo the chains, open the door, and unleash Beast. The boar rampages through the area, bearing down on the characters with a berserker’s ferocity. It fights to the death. Luckily, it lacks the intelligence for tactics more complicated than a headlong charge. The cultists use Beast to buy time to prepare their defenses.

6. Inner Guard Chamber (EL 4)

Creatures: Three tiefling guards watch this area. Their tattoos depict holy symbols of Hextor, various devils, and scenes from Hextor’s unholy texts.

Tactics: The three guards attempt to prevent the characters from progressing any further into the temple. One uses darkness to disorient intruders, a second wades into melee, while the third runs to warn the high priest in area 10.

Chances are slim that the PCs fight the guards here. If word reaches them of intruders, they rush to the door just south of area 6 and bar it shut. Two of them wait at the door to repel intruders, while the third stands just outside this chamber, near the stairway to area 11. If the PCs attempt to batter down the door, the two guards fight them off while the third warns Theldrick.

If the PCs are trapped in area 11, the two guards move to guard the door leading out of the shrine while the third joins Theldrick in the upper gallery. Treasure: In addition to the coins listed in their stat block, one tiefling carries a plain, silver ring inlaid with several small emeralds worth 200 gp total.

7. Barracks

Treasure: The rack holds 6 javelins, a longsword, a composite longbow (+2 Strength), and four quivers of 20 arrows each.

8. Priests’ Chambers (EL 4)

This chamber is the residence of two priests of Hextor, a married couple named Garras and Kendra. The two serve Theldrick only grudgingly, and together they plot to seize control of this temple.

Creatures: Garras is a hulking brute whose large gut and bulging muscles strain against his half-plate’s straps and buckles. He is shaved bald and has a holy symbol of Hextor branded onto his face. Kendra is a slender, pale woman with long, dark hair pulled back in a tail. She wears a pair of steel earrings shaped into a holy symbol of Hextor. Her face is covered with several scars that mar her otherwise appealing features.

Tactics: The two clerics fight as an effective pair. Garras occupies the party, using his flail to trip his opponents. If possible, he drinks his potions in the following order: blur, bull’s strength, shield of faith, and barkskin. He casts bless before battle if he has sufficient warning. Kendra first calls for the undead in area 9. She directs the zombies to fight alongside Garras, then casts bane, then doom on a fighter-type, then cause fear on the same warrior she used doom against. She knows that paladins are immune to fear, and thus never uses cause fear against anyone wearing a holy symbol of a good deity. If the party has arcane or divine support, she uses her scroll of sound burst and her scroll of silence, usually casting the latter spell on a small rock and throwing it into her enemies’ midst.

Treasure: Kendra and Garras keep their valuables in a small, wooden treasure chest beneath their bed. The chest is locked (Open Lock DC 20), and Kendra carries the key. Within the chest is 200 gp in coins, a wand of enlarge person (42 charges), and a jeweled bracer worth 1,000 gp.

9. Chapel of Hextor (EL 4)

This chamber serves as the personal chapel for the three priests of Hextor active in this temple, Kendra, Garras, and high priest Theldrick.

The altar provides a permanent desecrate effect. Undead within 20 feet of it gain a +2 profane bonus on attacks, damage, and saves, while clerics suffer a –6 profane penalty on turning checks. The two torches are everburning torches. The chapel’s ceremonial objects are hidden in a secret compartment in the wall behind the tapestry; this secret panel can be found with a DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check. Characters who open this hidden compartment trigger a trap. The hollow is one cubic foot and is almost completely filled by a locked metal box (Open Lock DC 25). The box contains some Treasure (see below).

Creatures: A pair of troglodyte zombies dwell in this chamber. They attack anyone who lacks a symbol of Hextor, and obey the verbal orders of any of the three clerics.

Trap: The secret panel behind the tapestry is trapped. Anyone who opens it without first speaking the words “Hextor guide me” in Common or Infernal triggers its effects.

Inflict Light Wounds Trap: CR 2; magic device; touch trigger; automatic reset; spell effect (inflict light wounds, 1st-level cleric, 1d8+1, DC 10 Wisdom saving throw half damage); Search DC 26; Disable Device DC 26. Treasure: The box contains a golden chalice worth 250 gp, two silver holy symbols of Hextor worth 50 gp each, a pearl of power (1st level), and a silvered dagger with a jeweled hilt worth 150 gp.

10. Theldrick’s Chamber (EL 5)

The door to this room is locked (Open Lock DC 20). Theldrick, detailed below but likely encountered elsewhere, holds the key.

Theldrick keeps this chamber as his quarters. He attends to his personal business here, but otherwise spends most of his time in the main temple at area 11.

The weapons on the rack have no special abilities or qualities, while the chest normally holds Theldrick’s armor. If he is currently wearing this armor, the chest is empty.

The table holds the true items of interest here. The scrolls appear blank, but anyone who views them using detect magic sees a weak aura of universal magic. Read magic reveals writing in a strange script. A DC 40 Decipher Script check allows the PCs to crack the code. Otherwise, the must recover the codebook from the temple of Vecna (see area 27) in order to read the scrolls. When the PCs have cracked the code, give them Handout #1.

The book is Theldrick’s record of the Ebon Triad’s progress in the mines. Reading it over takes one hour. Read or give the players a copy of Handout #2 when they’ve read it. The book is written in Common.

The stone key opens the door that leads to the caves of Erythnul. It is marked with that god’s holy symbol.

Creature: Theldrick is the high priest of the temple and commander of the Ebon Triad’s military forces in the Dark Cathedral. He is a canny tactician and an eager fighter. One of his eyes is missing, and his face bears scars and burns from a battle against a young red dragon. He wears one of the dragon’s talons as a necklace. His black armor has a crude holy symbol of Hextor scribed on its chest plate in dried blood.

Tactics: If the PCs catch Theldrick in his room, he tries to surrender to buy time. He accuses the PCs of needlessly butchering his followers, and points out that their invasion of his domain is obviously illegal. In many ways, he is right. After all, the temple of Hextor has not yet broken any laws. Theldrick has taken care to avoid arousing any suspicion, and he has managed to keep the other two arms of the Ebon Triad in line. Lawful characters cannot simply murder him without just cause. He takes particular joy in taunting followers of Heironeous, calling them out on the cowardice of a sneaky assault, and scoffing that the PC’s actions reflect poorly upon the mighty Invincible One. In the meantime, his followers prepare a counterattack. If the situation is dire, they flee to the temple of Erythnul for help. Regardless of the situation, Theldrick never leaves the cathedral without a fight. Theldrick He uses his spells to escape, or orders his followers to attack the PCs in the main cathedral area outside the elevator.

Treasure: The weapons rack holds a heavy mace, a light flail, a heavy flail, and a light crossbow. Theldrick keeps his personal treasure and trophies in a locked (Open Lock DC 25) chest beneath his bed. The chest contains 70 gp in a leather bag and a fist-sized gold bust of a dwarf wearing a gem-studded crown worth 2,400 gp.

11. Battle Temple of Hextor

This is a battle temple dedicated to Hextor. Here, the faithful and heretics alike fight to the death for glory, honor, and the blessings of the Scourge of Battle. The clerics watch the battle from their sitting box while the other denizens of this place commonly gather along the balconies to take in the spectacle.

The walls along the arena floor are kept smoothed and polished, though a few cracks and pockmarks make climbing difficult but possible (DC 19 Strength (Athletics) check).

The statue in the center of the arena is nearly 20 feet tall. Unfortunately for the Hextorites, but luckily for the PCs, it is badly mounted on its pedestal. A single, strong push (DC 20 Strength check) sends it crashing down to the north. It slams into the balcony, creating a 10- foot-wide ramp to the upper level. The statue is difficult ground if anyone uses it as a ramp after it falls. While most of the chairs in the viewing box are mundane, one is magical in nature. A large, wooden throne branded with the symbol of Hextor has three gems embedded in its armrests. One opens or closes the doors to the arena floor, the second one locks the doors, and the third unlocks the doors.

Treasure: The blood-red ruby set on the statue’s forehead is worth 800 gp.

Development: The clerics of Hextor attempt to trap intruders in this chamber and defeat them from the safety of the balconies. The rabble from area 2 rallies here in an effort to draw the PCs into the chamber. The high priest Theldrick uses the temple’s throne to close the door behind the PCs and lock it. He then casts summon monster III to unleash a fiendish ape against them, followed by whatever spells have the best chance of disabling the characters. Once he is out of offensive spells, he uses whatever magic he has left to enhance his defenses and abilities. He then relies on his crossbow or, if the situation is well in hand, descends to the arena floor to melee the PCs.

The temple guards, if any are in this area, use their bows against the party. The clerics from area 7 use the tactics outlined in that encounter area to harass the party.

Part Three: The Caves of Erythnul

Unlike the other wings of the Black Cathedral, the caves of Erythnul are little more than natural fissures within the rock. The grimlocks who dwell here arrived several months ago at the behest of their leader Grallak Kur, a cleric who led his followers on an unholy pilgrimage through the Underdark. Dreams and visions sent by one of Erythnul’s minions guided Grallak’s steps until he arrived here. While the other factions distrust the grimlocks, they provide a convenient buffer between the forces of Hextor and Vecna. The area behind the western door in area 1 opens into a natural cavern that winds down a flight of stairs to area 12.

Cave Features

The grimlocks lack both the time and the inclination to sculpt their environment. They dwell within the caves here, a series of winding passages punctuated by a large, U-shaped cavern. Travel through this area is difficult, as the party must contend with rough ground and sheer slopes. The grimlocks, accustomed to difficult travel through perilous terrain, navigate the caves with ease. The PCs are likely not as well adapted to the environment.

The caves are lightless, and the walls are rough and cracked, making them relatively easy (DC 8 Strength (Athletics) check) to scale. Unless otherwise noted, the cave floors are difficult terrain. They are pitted with shallow holes, rocks, and other debris that make travel difficult. There are no doors, mundane or otherwise, in this area of the dungeon. The grimlocks lack the sophistication needed to construct them.

Grimlock Tactics

The caves are utterly dark. The grimlocks and their allies have no need for light. They take aim at any torches or lanterns the PCs carry, as they know of the chaos and fear that the dark strikes into surface dwellers. The article “Who’s Afraid of the Dark?” from Dragon issue #322 also provides advice and ideas for running encounters in the dark.

The grimlocks attack any lanterns or torches the characters carry. The typical torch or sunrod has hardness 5 and 2 hit points. Lanterns have hardness 10 and 5 hit points. If the grimlocks destroy a light source, it immediately goes out.

The grimlocks can also make ranged attacks to destroy a light source. See the rules for attacking carried or worn objects on Player’s Handbook page 165. Remember that objects only take half damage from ranged weapons.

If the grimlocks manage to extinguish the party’s light sources, they use ranged attacks to harass them from a distance. The grimlocks do their best to keep the PCs confused and engage in melee only if forced into it.

Unlike the Hextorites, the grimlocks are poorly organized. They tend to rush into battle with little planning, allowing the PCs to defeat them piecemeal. While they lack tactical and strategic cunning, they are still tough fighters who give and expect no quarter.

12. Stone Forest (EL 3)

The grimlocks use this chamber as a guardroom. A few of their warriors keep watch here, using the stalactites to conceal themselves against intruders. Envoys from the temple of Hextor announce their presence at this room’s entrance and never proceed any further without permission. Thus, the grimlocks move to attack anyone who enters or attempts to sneak into this place.

The stalactites and stalagmites provide cover. Squares with stalagmites are difficult to move through, requiring 4 squares worth of movement to enter. Creatures: Three grimlocks keep watch here. They wear loincloths and fight with crude, stone morningstars and javelins. Each has several small, sharp stones stitched into his flesh in the pattern of a five-pointed star. The pattern is the size of a human palm and is a crude representation of Erythnul’s holy symbol favored by primitive tribes. A DC 19 Intelligence (Religion) check reveals this information.

Tactics: The grimlocks attempt to hide behind the stalactites and stalagmites, granting them a +2 bonus on all Hide checks. Assume that they take 10 on their Hide checks, for a total Spot DC of 21, or 23 if the grimlocks do not have their shields readied. One grimlock stands near the chamber’s exit and uses his javelins against the party. If his two allies fall, he runs to area 13 to the south to warn his brethren.

13. The Ledge (EL 4)

This place provides an entrance to the great, U-shaped cavern that the grimlocks inhabit. This cave is at the top of the U’s left, upper edge. More information on this great cavern, and the dangers involved in navigating its sheer walls, is given in areas 14 through 17.

The grimlock kennel master, along with his two krenshar pets, stands guard here. The krenshars are kept in the area marked with a K on the map. The kennel master lurks at the edge of the chamber marked with a G.

The edge of this chamber is a cliff that drops 45 feet down. Iron spikes have been driven into the cliff face, making the Climb DC 10 to safely descend it. At the eastern end of this chamber is a small campsite for the grimlocks who man the caves on this side of the horseshoe cavern. Ashes from a small fire along with several crude sleeping mats can be found here, marked with an A on the Caves of Erythnul map.

Creatures: The kennel master and his two krenshars fight to the death to protect this place. The krenshars cannot climb the slopes, and were transported here only after the grimlocks put together a crude litter to lift them. Thus, they have no place to run.

The gray-furred krenshars are underdark offshoots of their species. The kennel master wears a cloak fashioned from the fur of an gray-furred, subterranean dire ape. He wears a wolf skull mask painted red to resemble his pets’ horrific visage.

Tactics: The kennel master attempts to hide at his location (Spot DC 21, assuming he takes 10 and with his +10 racial bonus for using Hide in a rocky setting). As the PCs enter the room, he moves to block the exit and calls out to his krenshars to attack. The krenshars use their scare ability to drive the PCs down the cliff to area 14 via the iron spikes pounded into the wall. While the grimlocks normally attack the PCs’ light sources, here they leave them intact so that intruders affected by the krenshars can spot and use the spikes. The grimlocks want to drive their enemies deeper into their lair so that the archers in area 14 can pick them off as they climb.

Treasure: If the PCs make a DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) check of the campsite they find four agates worth 50 gp each and a large ruby worth 200 gp.

14–17. The Horseshoe Cavern

The following encounter areas require a thorough familiarity with the rules for the Climb skill and falling. The PCs must navigate a cavern shaped like a horseshoe, first climbing down the cliff in area 14 while grimlock archers pelt them with arrows, then across the cavern floor (area 16) while risking an attack from the chokers in that area, and then back up a cliff face to area 17. The PCs might also take the short cut through area 15, but they must then face the grimlock barbarian who guards that passage. However, that might be preferable to battling her while trying to climb to area 17 from the cavern floor.

The grimlocks use the terrain to their advantage. They remain out of melee range, preferring to use their ranged weapons to whittle down the party’s strength. If possible, they retreat to lure the PCs into a false sense of security before quietly moving forward to attack as they climb one the area’s cliff faces.

14. Descent into the Dark (EL 4)

Note that the description above assumes that the party lacks darkvision or a light source that can illuminate the stone shelf below them. If the PCs can see the shaft’s bottom (it’s 45 feet below) they can see that the spikes form handholds all the way to the bottom. The shaft’s floor is covered with loose debris, a few shattered stalactites, and a number of stalagmites.

Creatures: Two grimlock fighters armed with bows hide amidst the rocks and debris of the shelf below and across from area 13. Even if the PCs’ light source reaches them, the archers use their natural coloration and the broken stones and other debris to hide. If they take 10 on their Hide checks, the Spot DC to notice them is 28.

The grimlocks’ ledge is accessible by a series of spikes driven into the wall (Climb DC 10) leading from the tunnel at area 15 to their perch. The shelf they stand upon runs the entire length of the cliff face opposite area three at the height shown on the map.

If the grimlocks wish to travel to area 13, they throw a rope up to the kennel master, who then anchors it while they tie it down to the ledge.

Tactics: These two archers wait until no more than one or two PCs remain at area 13 before opening fire. They prefer to fire at PCs forced to clamber down the wall via the spikes. When a character starts to climb, one grimlock throws a tanglefoot bag at each climber while the other fires arrows. Remember to keep track of the archers’ feats, particularly Point Blank Shot, and the range of their Blindsight ability (40 feet).

A character struck by a tanglefoot bag while climbing suffers its effects as normal. Determine his climbing speed and halve it for the bag’s effects, if appropriate. If a character is trapped in place, he cannot continue to climb up or down, but he suffers the standard drawbacks for fighting and defending himself while climbing.

The archers continue to harass the party until the characters make it to the base of the shaft. While firing, they yell out in Grimlock to alert the guards nearby. The archers prefer to remain in their perch to catch the PCs by surprise if they attempt to retreat. As ranged specialists, they prefer to avoid melee at almost any cost.

Treasure: The two grimlocks have a set of fine, ivory dice they looted from a drow war party. The dice have small gems set in their faces to mark the Drow numerals on each side. They are worth 300 gp each.

15. The Tunnel (EL 4)

This cave is little more than a wide crack in the rocks. Five feet wide and perhaps six feet tall, it provides a jagged, twisty passage. Use the Horseshoe Caverns diagram if the characters attempt to pass through this tunnel. The grimlocks use it to avoid their ex-allies in area 16. Fighting in the tunnel’s enclosed space is difficult with larger weapons. Creatures larger than Medium must squeeze through parts the passage. Any Medium creature fighting with a onehanded or larger weapon suffers a –4 penalty on attacks for squeezing. Light weapons function without penalty. The far end of the passage ends in a small, stone ledge with a crude rope bridge providing access to another narrow, rocky outcropping and a steeply sloped tunnel heading up and to the south.

Creatures: A single grimlock barbarian, a feral, wild creature, lurks within the passage. Normally, this brute waits near the tunnel’s southern edge, but if she hears the sounds of battle from area 14 she moves into the passage to intercept any intruders.

This grimlock wears battered armor and wields two dull, rusty knives. Her hair is long, knotted, and grimy with dirt, mud, and dust. She has a haggard appearance, with a gaunt, ropey physique.

Tactics: The grimlock lurks in the passage waiting for approaching PCs if she hears the sounds of battle from area 14. Otherwise, she keeps watch at the base of the rope bridge to area 12. If she spots PCs below her in area 16, she waits until they battle the chokers. If they defeat them, she quaffs her potion of bull’s strength, rages, and then leaps down upon them, taking 2d6 falling damage. In her lust for battle, she pays little mind to such incidental injuries.

Treasure: In addition to her equipment, the barbarian has several trophies from a drow priestess that she slew. In a bloodstained burlap sack are 200 gp, the preserved head of a female dark elf, and a wand of cure light wounds (34 charges).

16. Choker Tunnels (EL 4)

The passage is 10 feet wide and nearly 8 feet tall. If the characters enter the area beyond, read or paraphrase the following.

In their religious fervor to reach this place, the grimlocks were forced to tunnel through several feet of rock. When they reached this shaft, they pushed the accumulated debris down it. The debris pile is both difficult ground and a steep slope. Thus, it costs 4 squares of movement to enter each square it covers.

Creatures: A pair of chokers hides in this area. The grimlocks drove them from their original lair to this pit. Thus far, they have managed to survive on rats and other vermin, but eventually starvation will do them in. They hide in the debris pile and lash out at any character that draws close. Their hunger drives them to attack, even if they are outnumbered.

Tactics: The two chokers fight to the death. They attempt to hide at the top of the pile, next to the shaft’s wall, and watch the PCs’ movements. If a character draws within reach, they attack. Otherwise, they wait until the PCs attempt to climb the wall. At that point, they attack. Treasure: The chokers hide the remains of their past victims within the debris pile. Here, a DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) check uncovers the gnawed bones of two grimlocks along with a broken morningstar, a leather necklace set with four rubies worth 200 gp, and a cold iron longsword.

17. The Bridge (EL 3)

The rope bridge sways slightly, stirred by the almost imperceptible movement of air in this cavern. It consists of three lengths of rope arranged in a V-shape. The lower point of the V serves as a foothold, while the upper arms allow one to hold steady as they cross.

While the rope bridge appears fragile, the grimlocks took care to ensure that it is sturdy enough to hold them. Crossing the bridge is a slow, deliberate process at best. The bridge sways precipitously, while the rope has an unnerving tendency to creak and shudder as it bears weight.

Characters can move across the bridge at one quarter their normal speed without making a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. A PC who wants to move at half speed must make a DC 8 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. Moving at full speed requires a DC 12 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. Increase these checks by +5 if the PCs only use one hand to steady themselves, or by +10 if they use no hands. On a failed Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, a PC makes no progress. If the check is failed by 5 or more, the character falls from the bridge and suffers the appropriate falling damage. If the chokers in area 16 are still active, they move to attack.

Creatures: The three grimlocks on guard duty here wait a few feet up the passage on the far side of the shaft. They are unnerved by the feral grimlock at area 15 and prefer to remain out of sight. If they hear anyone crossing the bridge, they move out to defend the ledge.

Tactics: The grimlocks throw their javelins at anyone on the bridge and in range of their blindsight. If two grimlocks fall, the third one attempts to flee and warn its allies in area 18. The grimlocks would rather not damage the bridge, as it took many hours of intensive labor to build it. However, they may attempt to disturb it to send the PCs tumbling to the cavern floor. As a full-round action, two grimlocks adjacent to the bridge can grab and shake it. Any PCs on the bridge must make a DC 9 Dexterity saving throw to avoid being shaken off the bridge.

18. Cliff Chamber (EL 3)

This rough, uneven chamber consists of a series of sharp slopes leading upward. Each contour line on the map represents about a ten-foot rise. The characters can climb these slopes with a DC 4 Strength (Athletics) check.

Creatures: Two grimlocks stand guard here just outside room 19. Unless alerted, they pay little attention to their duties. They wrestle, sharpen their weapons, and talk loudly, granting them a –5 penalty on all Listen and Spot checks.

Tactics: The grimlocks try to use their longspears to attack PCs as they climb the sharp slopes in this chamber. Once they spot intruders, they shout for help. The monsters in areas 19 and 20 arrive in 1d6 rounds. Roll separately for each area.

19. Common Chamber (EL 5)

The grimlocks use this place as a general barracks. Normally, six of them rest here in between their guard duties in the outer areas of the cave. These grimlocks, like the guards in area 18, do not expect trouble. They suffer a –5 penalty on Listen and Spot checks as they argue, eat, or sleep.

Creatures: The six grimlocks do not carry their weapons. They must stop to pick them up on their way out of this room. If the PCs enter this room without alerting the guards, the grimlocks are unarmed.

Tactics: The grimlocks fight to the death. They are fanatics to Erythnul’s cause and are ready to die to protect their leader. They consider him a revered prophet.

Treasure: The grimlock warriors keep their personal treasure here, hidden in a variety of small nooks and hollows. There are four treasure caches in the room. Each requires a DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check to uncover. The first cache contains a jade figurine of Erythnul worth 200 gp, the second holds 50 gp in coins, the third has three garnets worth 50 gp each, and the fourth contains a silver necklace set with three gems worth 100 gp.

20. Chieftain’s Lodge (EL 4)

If the PCs manage to slip past the guards in area 18, the chieftain is here feasting on a fistful of hallucinogenic mushrooms. He sits atop his pile of bedding, jabbering and howling in Grimlock.

Creatures: The grimlock chieftain is a fearsome warrior, though his mind is almost utterly sundered. In his fanatical drive to achieve religious enlightenment, he has taken to ingesting massive amounts of psychotropic fungi. He believes that the PCs are heralds of Erythnul sent to test him. As he attacks, he screams taunts at them in Common and bids them to carry his regards to Erythnul. The chieftain’s body is covered with ritual scars and tattoos. They form a pattern of a holy symbol of Erythnul on his chest. His head is shaved bare, while his ears are studded with crude bone piercings.

Tactics: The chieftain is a simple, brutal warrior and a bully at heart. He seeks out the weakest-looking character and charges him in melee, ignoring other targets and even taking attacks of opportunity to pursue his chosen victim.

Treasure: The chieftain keeps his treasure mingled amidst his bedding. His personal cache consists of 4 rubies worth 100 gp each, 150 gp in coins kept within a leather pouch, a jeweled statuette of a drow warrior worth 450 gp, and a Heward’s handy haversack.

21. Temple to Erythnul (EL 6)

This place is the domain of Grallak Kur, the prophet of Erythnul who led the grimlocks on their unholy pilgrimage to this place. Grallak spends his time here deep in meditation, communing with Erythnul to learn that dreaded god’s wishes. Already, Grallak’s divine insights have greatly helped the temple of Vecna in its quest to raise the Ebon Aspect from the pool in area 1.

In order to ensure his tribe’s dedication to the Ebon Triad, Grallak Kur collapsed the passage that once led out of this cavern deeper into the Underdark, blocking any chance of escape. Creatures: Grallak perches atop a small stone ledge 10 feet above a smoldering fire. He tosses strange powders and mushrooms onto the fire. As he inhales the burning fumes, Erythnul’s visions come to him. His three servants, a trio of grimlock warriors, watch over him and tend to the fire. One keeps watch on the entrance to the temple. The grimlocks are under strict orders to never disturb Grallak. Thus, the guards assume that intruders are at hand if anyone approaches.

Grallak keeps a knotted rope anchored to his ledge. If he must climb down, he uses a move action to drop the rope to the floor, then clambers down (Climb DC 5). Grallak has sewn preserved eyes of a beholder into his empty eyesockets, giving him the strange, wide-eyed look of a madman. His hair is cut short and dyed red, while a holy symbol of Erythnul is branded into his chest. His teeth are filed into fang-like points.

His three guardians are the most fanatical worshipers of Erythnul among the grimlocks. They wear bronze masks that resemble holy symbols of Erythnul, while their flesh is studded in dozens of places with small, sharp bone piercings.

Tactics: The three grimlock guards use their longspears to hold off the characters. The guards adopt a position to attack the PCs while the characters must climb down the sharp slope to the cavern floor. Grallak Kur uses his magic to harass the PCs. He starts with entropic shield to protect against ranged attacks, then uses spiritual weapon and hold person on the party, targeting the former against a lightly armored spellcaster and the later against any tough-looking warriors. He then follows that with a mix of cause fear and sound burst. If he must venture into melee, he prefers to use divine favor and invisibility to boost himself as he moves to attack

Treasure: Grallak Kur keeps his treasure hidden behind a large rock wedged into a corner of the room. Uncovering it requires a DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check. His cache consists of 500 gp in coins, a silver holy symbol of Lolth worth 200 gp despite the great hacks and gashes cut into it, a pearl necklace worth 400 gp, and a rope of climbing.

In addition, Grallak carries two scrolls that summarize his latest visions. They are written in Common, as they are meant for the Faceless One, but the rambling, disjointed style is difficult to comprehend. A DC 10 Decipher Script check uncovers their basic intents. The letters state that a great power stirs, and that a swarm of worms is at hand. It speaks of a power growing in the pool of the Dark Cathedral, a power that will serve the Ebon Triad as a champion, but that a still greater force drives the power of evil forward. One passage in particular stands out: “At last the will of the Ebon Triad be done. With the return of great Kyuss, the Age of Worms is finally upon us!”

Part Four: The Labyrinth of Vecna

The Faceless One and his followers knew that they had uncovered one of Vecna’s great secrets when they discovered this strange labyrinth directly north of the Overgod’s bubbling pool. Powerful magic flows through this place, and the Faceless One suspects that at one time in the distant past Vecna himself dwelled within these halls.

The labyrinth of Vecna is a twisting series of passages honeycombed with secret doors. These portals open easily for Vecna’s worshipers, but heretics are unlikely to find them without an extensive search. With luck and diligence, the PCs can find the secret doors that lead to the labyrinth’s inner sanctum.

Labyrinth Features

The passages here are smooth, expertly crafted stone hallways and chambers. The doors are made of stone and are set on perfectly aligned hinges that allow them to open noiselessly.

The doors have hardness 8, 30 hit points, and a break DC of 30. The secret doors found throughout this area have the same stats. A worshiper of Vecna can find them automatically— the magic of this place makes the door obvious to the faithful. They hear lingering whispers in a strange, primordial tongue that pulls their attention to the hidden doors. More impressively, a worshiper of Vecna can cause these doors to open and close by merely willing it to be so. A Vecna cultist may open or close one door in this manner per round as a free action. Nonbelivers must make a DC 19 Intelligence (Investigation) check to find the doors, and must take move actions to open them.

Inner Sanctum Features

Areas 23 through 27 of this portion of the dungeon comprise the inner sanctum of Vecna. These chambers are wellbuilt, with smooth, polished floors and expertly crafted features. The doors and secret doors are as described above. In addition, these rooms are lit by continual flame spells cast upon the walls at 20-foot intervals.

22. The Labyrinth (EL Varies, see below)

This portion of the Dark Cathedral requires a bit of explanation. It consists of a maze inhabited by a small band of kenku rogues, sinister bird-men often associated with Vecna. These cultists defend the inner sanctum to the death. When they notice that heretics have entered their domain, they use the secret doors honeycombed through this area to surround and attack intruders from all sides.

The labyrinth is intentionally sized so that you can fit the entire thing on the typical battlemat. The black and white side of the battle grid bound into the Dungeon Master’s Guide is big enough to fit the entire maze. If you use a different grid, it should be 28 by 19 squares to fit the entire maze. Check the map to ensure that you place the starting point at the right place to map the entire maze. You should start the PCs at the 10th square from the left corner, along the long edge of the grid.

The “Labyrinth Features” section above details the secret doors and mundane doors found in this area.

The three chambers marked Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3 are campsites for groups of kenkus. Each of these rooms has bed rolls, crates of food, barrels of water, and other supplies. The labyrinth’s dire weasel guardians start in the area marked W.

Creatures: Four groups of monsters inhabit the labyrinth, three small bands of kenkus and a pair of dire weasels trained to patrol the maze. Each group is treated as a separate encounter.

Group 1 (EL 4): These six kenku rogues are charged with watching over the entrance to the labyrinth. They use a small peep hole in the secret passage east of their campsite to watch the entrance.

Group 2 (EL 4): A second group of six kenku rogues serves as backup to group 1. They move out to stalk the maze if they receive word of trouble from their brethren.

Group 3 (EL 6): This band of kenku includes the kenku leader, his sorcerer lieutenant, and 2 rogues. If the kenku leader hears word from groups 1 or 2, he moves his followers to the secret doors just south of the inner sanctum to ambush anyone who comes too close to the secret chambers.

The Weasels (EL 4): Two crafty dire weasels patrol the passages. If they catch the scent of any non-kenkus, they sound a horrific shrieking call before charging into battle. Make Listen checks for any kenkus in the area. They move to ambush the attackers if they hear the attack.

Tactics: The kenkus rely on stealth to overcome their foes. They use Hide and Move Silently to stalk the labyrinth, and move toward any light sources they spot. A group typically moves in trios, with two kenkus hiding while the third uses his mimicry ability to lure the PCs ahead or drive them into an ambush.

The kenkus duplicate the PCs’ voices, or create the sounds of a humanoid in distress to draw the PCs into an attack. They can mimic the dire weasel’s shrieks, and they have also heard enough of the Beast (the Hextorites’ dire boar) to mimic it. In general, assume that the kenkus can mimic any creature of CR 4 or lower.

Managing this encounter requires a fair amount of work. It is best to make a copy of the map that you can use to track the kenkus’ movement. If your battle grid is large enough, you can draw the maze for the PCs as they move along. While this might not be realistic, since it gives the players a bird’s eye view of the portions of the maze they have explored, it makes it far easier to keep track of everything.

Keep track of the monsters’ initiative, movement, and so forth as normal. They should make Spot and Listen checks to track the PCs, though if the characters have a light source the kenkus can spot them with ease. The kenkus never use light unless the party travels in darkness. In that case, they light torches and throw them away from their position to give themselves sufficient light to fight by without revealing themselves.

Since the kenkus rely on stealth and careful teamwork, they do not simply mob the party. Instead, each group in turn attempts to defeat the PCs. The corridors in the labyrinth are too narrow for more than a few kenkus to effectively work together.

Treasure: The three groups each keep their treasure in the rooms they use as quarters.

Group 1 has a total of 300 gp in coins scatted about their bedrolls and camping gear. Group 2 has another 200 gp in coins, along with a small lockbox (Open Lock DC 20) that holds two small diamonds worth 100 gp each. Group 3 has another 300 gp and a pair of eyes of the eagle kept hidden within a hollow in the floor of their chamber (Search DC 20).

23. Outer Sanctum

This is the outer sanctum of the temple of Vecna. This place was created thousands of years ago, when Vecna was still a living mortal being. When he made his relatively recent transformation to divinity, many sites where he spent time in his mortal life (including this one) surged with divine energy. Once, Vecna used this place to conduct unholy experiments. Now, his followers seek to recreate his works.

The pattern of green energy within the columns is a physical manifestation of the arcane and divine powers that surge through this place. Anyone who closely inspects a column must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or slip into a catatonic state. Anyone affected by the columns hears strange, whispering voices in his mind that seem to hint of great power and sinister mysteries. The victim is rendered helpless for 2d4 minutes. At the end of this time, he awakes from his strange state and suffers 1d4 Wisdom damage.

The strange bulges on the walls conceal human eyes embedded into the stone. If anyone other than a Vecna worshiper casts a divine or arcane spell of any level within the outer sanctum, the bulges open to reveal human eyes that dart back and forth, alerting all of Vecna’s cultists in this temple of the intrusion. In 1d4 rounds, the guardians from area 26 and 27 arrive to confront the PCs. In 2d10 rounds, any surviving kenkus from the labyrinth (area 22) enter this area to repel the intruders.

Tactics: The tactics entries in areas 22, 26, and 27 cover the particulars of the monsters that might come here to attack the PCs. In general, Vecna’s cultists fight to protect the wizards of this place, leaving them free to rain spells upon the enemy.

24. Storage Chamber

This place serves as a central storage point for the Vecna cult. Both the kenkus in area 22 and the denizens of the inner sanctum draw from it. Creatures of less than Small size can move along the pathway through the boxes and crates without penalty. Small and Medium creatures must squeeze, while larger creatures cannot fit into the room.

A successful DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check uncovers any item from the Player’s Handbook worth less than 5 gp. There are no weapons or armor stored here, and no more than five of any given piece of equipment aside from food and water.

Even more interesting, such a Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals telltale evidence that link these goods to Balabar Smenk. The crates and boxes are branded with his trading company’s sign, a rampant rooster perched upon a large gold coin.

25. Acolytes’ Chamber

The acolytes of Vecna bunk here. Normally, two of them remain in the inner sanctum while the other pair assists the Faceless One with his work within the laboratory (area 27). The acolytes have no treasure aside from the arcane items they carry.

26. The Inner Sanctum (EL 4)

This unholy place was one of Vecna’s lairs in his mortal days. Now, it is a chapel to his blasphemous faith. The pillars hold within them the trapped souls of those sacrificed within this temple. If the PCs have the opportunity to inspect them, the pillars consist of a thick, gummy, tar-like substance, and the hands that strain to escape from them are all left hands. Anyone who enters a square occupied by a pillar comes under attack from the desperate spirits trapped within. The pillar attacks with a +6 bonus. On a successful attack, the target cannot leave the square until he beats the pillar’s +11 grapple check. A pillar can only grasp one creature at a time.

The energy that dances along the walls casts a strange, eldritch light across this chamber. Any nonworshiper of Vecna who stares at it for more than a round must make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or suffer 1d4 Wisdom damage as his mind is overwhelmed with strange, fragmented shards of cosmic secrets beyond mortal comprehension.

The unholy energy of this place grants undead turn resistance +4. This bonus stacks with any turn resistance the undead might already possess.

Creatures: Two acolytes of Vecna and an allip occupy the Inner Sanctum. The allip is a spectral figure clad in wizard’s robes. The robe’s hood completely conceals the figure’s face, leaving it a black void. The two acolytes are humans wearing ragged, purple robes. They fight to the death to protect the Inner Sanctum, though if possible one runs to area 27 to warn the Faceless One of the intrusion.

Tactics: The two acolytes use their potions of gaseous form to escape to area 25, where they then drink as many potions as possible to prepare for battle. One casts message to alert the Faceless One of the intrusion. They then return to area 26 to use their scrolls and spells against the PCs.

The allip moves to attack the PCs, driven by an intense hatred of all nonbelievers. If reduced to half or fewer hit points, it darts for cover in the walls to stalk the PCs. Once they engage in combat again, such as against the returning acolytes or the Faceless One, it emerges to do battle once more.

Treasure: Set upon the altar are a variety of offerings to Vecna. They include two golden goblets worth 100 gp each and a bronze sacrificial dagger set with blood red rubies worth 400 gp.

27. Laboratory of the Faceless One (EL 7)

This is the work chamber of the Faceless One, the leader of the Vecna cult within this dungeon. Beakers burble with strange liquids as the wizards of this portion of the dungeon plot to awaken the aspect of the Overgod from its slumber.

The skeleton is a byproduct of a recent experiment in reanimation using alchemical processes. The books are the Faceless One’s spellbooks, along with the grimoires of the acolytes of Vecna who study beneath him.

The cauldron contains the rest of the unfortunate skeleton’s organs. Breaking the seal releases an awful stench. Anyone in the room must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or become sickened for 10 minutes. The cauldron contains a mixture of chemicals and human organs.

Creatures: The Faceless One wears green robes and a leather mask set with iron studs. Only his coal-black eyes are visible beneath it. His hands are covered with mystical tattoos. If the mask is removed, his face is a blank, featureless slate save for a small, sharp nose and a toothless mouth. He speaks with a lisp, and his frame is gaunt, almost fragile looking. His skin is as white as an albino’s.

His two acolytes wear tattered purple robes and prominent holy symbols of Vecna.

Tactics: The Faceless One’s first order of business is to cast summon monster III with his rod to summon a fiendish Huge monstrous centipede. The enormous beast fills most of the room, blocking the PCs and giving the Faceless One the chance to escape to area 25 where he prepares his defenses. His acolytes follow him if possible, but they gladly give their lives to delay any intruders.

Once the Faceless One has a moment, he casts false life and mage armor. If the PCs chase him, he uses web to hamper them, then summon monster III again with his rod (calling either a fiendish ape or another centipede, as the situation demands). He then switches to his offensive repertoire, casting spells such as lightning bolt, flaming sphere (with the aid of his rod), and magic missile. He fights to the death with a maniac fanaticism, as he does not want to see his work come to naught.

Treasure: The beakers, tubes, and other glassware are a complete alchemist’s toolkit. The liquids within them include two vials of acid, three vials of alchemist’s fire, and a wide variety of other chemicals.

Scattered about the Faceless One’s laboratory, amidst his tools and equipment, are 200 gp in coins, six garnets worth 50 gp each, a cloak of Charisma +2, and a +1 heavy steel shield of blinding. In addition to the monetary rewards found here, the PCs unearth the code needed to read the scroll found in area 10. This information is summarized in Handout #1.

Part Five: The God in the Pool

A hellish entity slumbers within the pool’s depths, slowly gathering the energies it needs to awaken. Unfortunately for the characters, their intrusion into this place arouses its wrath. If the PCs defeat all three cults, the Ebon Aspect rises to avenge its worshipers. As soon as the last of the three high priests (Theldrick in area 10, Grallak Kur in area 21, and The Faceless One in area 27) is slain or driven off, the aspect materailizes fully and clambers up from the pool in area 1. Luckily for the PCs, the Ebon Aspect of the Overgod is in a weak state as it has not yet summoned all its power.

If the PCs don’t kill the three high priests, and instead capture them, the Ebon Aspect’s manifestation is delayed for a short time. Only 1d4 hours after the PCs take their prisoners from this area, the Ebon Aspect manifests in the flesh. This action immediately slays any surviving high priests as it draws on their souls for its birth.

The Ebon Aspect takes ten minutes to gather its strength once it emerges, during which time it smashes the elevator car to splinters if it’s reachable. Once these ten minutes pass, the horrific fiend grows more mobile. It can sense the PCs to a range of one mile, as if with a constant locate creature effect, and it immediately seeks the PCs out, intending to slay them to the last.

If the PCs escape without killing the Ebon Aspect, the fiend slowly makes its way up into the mines above, killing anyone and everyone it encounters and eventually finding its way to Diamond Lake. If the PCs don’t stop it, the Ebon Aspect causes terrible damage and kills dozens before Hesti Testapod and several of the clerics and fighters from the Garrison can kill the menace.

Statistics for the Ebon Aspect can be found in the appendix. At this point, it’s a unique creature, but given the right conditions and time, more of the fiends may appear in regions haunted by the Ebon Triad.

Concluding the Adventure

Once the PCs escape from the Dark Cathedral, they must cope with the repercussions of their actions. The presence of the Ebon Triad in the mines could touch off some important developments in Diamond Lake. The cult obviously had the blessing of Ragnolin (the elevator didn’t build itself ), and the evidence gathered within the dungeon points to Balabar Smenk’s involvement. If the PCs present their evidence to the governor-mayor, both merchants face criminal prosecution. If either escapes, they may track down the PCs to serve their revenge at a later date. Both Ragnolin and Balabar face a long, hard fall from wealth and prosperity to near destitution if they must flee Diamond Lake.

Of course, both mine managers have plenty of friends in town. A few bribes, a couple of carefully handled meetings, and a host of old favors called in might gain both Ragnolin and Balabar their freedom. In this case, the PCs face not only an angry nemesis, but foes who still have the connections and wealth needed to make the party’s life miserable.

All the excitement should be just the thing to convince the PCs they need to take a break from Diamond Lake. The chance arrives next month, in “Encounter at Blackwall Keep,” by Sean K Reynolds. Learn the source of the green worms of Kyuss and pit your players against an invading force of lizardfolk in just 30 short days.