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C R E D I T S

Based on the original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® rules created by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and the new DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

game designed by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, and Peter Adkison.

This product uses updated material from the v.3.5 revision.

This Wizards of the Coast® game product contains no Open Game Content. No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without written permission. To learn more about the Open Gaming License and the d20 System License, please visit www.wizards.com/d20.

D E S I G N E R S

ERIC L. BOYD, ED GREENWOOD, CHRISTOPHER LINDSAY, SEAN K REYNOLDS

D E V E L O P M E N T A N D E D I T I N G

BILL SLAVICSEK

F R E E L A N C E M A N A G E R

GWENDOLYN F.M. KESTREL

E D I T I N G M A N A G E R

KIM MOHAN

D E S I G N M A N A G E R

CHRISTOPHER PERKINS

D E V E L O P M E N T M A N A G E R

JESSE DECKER

D I R E C T O R O F R P G R & D

BILL SLAVICSEK

S E N I O R A R T D I R E C T O R D & D

STACY LONGSTREET

A R T D I R E C T O R

KATE IRWIN

C O V E R A R T I S T

MICHAEL KOMARCK

I N T E R I O R A R T I S T S

THOMAS M. BAXA, STEVEN BELLEDIN, ED COX, RALPH HORSLEY, RON SPENCER, BETH TROTT

C A R T O G R A P H E R S

ROBERT LAZZARETTI, DENNIS KAUTH

G R A P H I C D E S I G N E R S

KATE IRWIN, NICK ISAAC, MICHAEL MARTIN

G R A P H I C P R O D U C T I O N S P E C I A L I S T

ANGELIKA LOKOTZ

I M A G E T E C H N I C I A N

SVEN BOLEN

P R O D U C T I O N M A N A G E R S

JOSH FISCHER, RANDALL CREWS

Visit our website at www.wizards.com/dnd

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, DUNGEON MASTER, d20, d20 System, WIZARDS OF THE COAST, Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, Monster Manual, Expedition to Undermountain, all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., in the U.S.A. and other countries.This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events is purely coincidental. Printed in the U.S.A. ©2007 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

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EUROPEAN HEADQUARTERSHasbro UK LtdCaswell WayNewport, Gwent NP9 0YHGREAT BRITAINPlease keep this address for your records

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620–95732720–001–ENISBN: 978-0-7869-4157-5

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1First Printing: June 2007

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ContentsIntroduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

The City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5The City and the Dungeon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5Adventurers in the City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6Power, Wealth, and Authority . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Halaster’s Call. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Chapter 1: Undermountain Awaits . . . . . . . . .9What’s the Mission? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Creating the Illusion of Detail . . . . . . . . . .10The Lockout System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Random Encounters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Halaster’s Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11Undermountain’s Factions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Agents of the Eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12Church of Loviatar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12Church of Shar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12Halaster’s Heirs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13Skulls of Skullport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13Minor Factions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Entrances and Exits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14Physical Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14Portals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

The Levels of Undermountain . . . . . . . . . . . . .16The Upper Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16The Deep Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16The Dark Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16The Gauntlet Below . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Sublevel A: The Citadel of the Bloody Hand . . . . . . . . .16

Level 1: The Dungeon Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Level 2: The Storeroom Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Level 3: The Sargauth Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Sublevel B: The Shaft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22Level 4: The Farm Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Sublevel C: The Wyllowwood . . . . . . . . . . .23Sublevel D: The Lost Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25Sublevel E: Trobriand’s Graveyard . . . . . . .26Sublevel F: The Slitherswamp . . . . . . . . . . .27Sublevel G: Muiral’s Gauntlet . . . . . . . . . . .29Sublevel H: Troglodyte Warrens . . . . . . . .29Sublevel I: The Obstacle Course . . . . . . . . .29Sublevel J: Maddgoth’s Level . . . . . . . . . . . .29Sublevel K: The Crystal Labyrinth . . . . . .30Sublevel L: Arcturiadoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30Sublevel M: Vanrakdoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Level 5: The Maze Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32Level 6: The Seadeeps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32Level 7: The Caverns of Ooze . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Sublevel N: The Runestone Level . . . . . . . .33Level 8: The Terminus Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Sublevel O: Shadowdusk Hold . . . . . . . . . .34Level 9: The Mad Wizard’s Lair . . . . . . . . . . . .35Havens in the Deeps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Murkstones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36The Promenade of the Dark Maiden . . . . .36Skullport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37Spiderhaven/Underhaven . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39Wormbarrow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

2: The Adventure Begins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40Yawning Portal Inn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41Environs of the Entry Well . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47Random Encounters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50Dungeon Level Location Descriptions . . . . .52

1. Entry Well . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

2. Sluggard Sentrypost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .523. Sluggard Guardpost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .534. Hall of Many Pillars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .535. Hall of Shattered Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . .536. Mimic’s Larder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .547. Chasm of the Mad Mage . . . . . . . . . . . . . .548. Black Water Corridor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .549. Curtain of Darkness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5410. The Hungry Face . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5511. The Librarium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5512. Gateway to the Forest Kingdom . . . . . .5513. Falling Stair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5614. Southfort Portal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5615. Choker Corridors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5616. Chamber of the Well . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5617. Storeroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5618. Whitehelm Tomb Trap . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5619. Crypt of Shields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5720. Whitehelm Statue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5721. Whitehelm Mausoleum . . . . . . . . . . . . .5722. Whitehelm Tomb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Chapter 3: Crypt of Yeldoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82Random Encounters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84Other Threats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86Adventure Hooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87Finding the Crypt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88Quiet Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88Doppelganger Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88

What The Doppelgangers Know . . . . . . . .89What The Doppelgangers Sell . . . . . . . . . . .89What The Doppelgangers Buy . . . . . . . . . .90

Hall of the Black Helm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90Deepspawn Territory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .901. Helmwatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .902. Mortared Rubble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .923. Chamber of Floating Pillars. . . . . . . . . . .924. Grimlock Haven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .925. Dwarven Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .936. Well-Tiled Drow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .937. Crawler and Thickmist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .938. Hukurus’s Lair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .949. Crawler Hatchery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94

Crypt of Yeldoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9510. Slimy Skeletons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9511. Guardians of the Tomb . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9512. Crypt Chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96Crypt Aftermath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96

Getting to Belkram’s Fall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96

Chapter 4: Belkram’s Fall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Adventure Hooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113Finding Belkram’s Fall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113Spiderhaven. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113

Key Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114Exploring Belkram’s Fall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118

Guardians of the Upper Terrace . . . . . . . .119GS1: The Battlement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120GS2: The Yard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120GS3: The Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120GS4: The Barracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121GS5: Offi cer’s Quarters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121GS6: Arsenal and Storeroom . . . . . . . . . . 121

The Citadel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122Skeletal Scaffold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Creatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124P1: Landing Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124P2: Guard Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124P3: Barricade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124P4: Cavern Portal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124P5: Staging Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125P6: Ready, Set, Die! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125P9: Drexlyn’s Lair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Deeper Descent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140Dwarf Temple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140Belkram’s Tomb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

T1: Statuary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141T2: The Grand Stair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141T3: Foyer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142T4: Melairkyn Tomb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143T5: It’s All Clear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143T6: Slimed Again (False Tomb 1). . . . . . . .143T7 and T11: Leering Guardians . . . . . . . . .143T8 and T12: Purifi cation Chamber . . . . . 144T9 and T14: Hall of Alcoves . . . . . . . . . . . 144T10: Guardians True (False Tomb 2) . . . 144T13: Portal Passage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144T15: Belkram’s Tomb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145Bottom of the Shaft: Fire That Crawls . .145

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145

Chapter 5: The Maze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156The Maze Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

River Graymurk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157Adventure Hooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157The Minotaur Lair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157M1: Minotaur Shore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158M2: Crystal Chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160M3: Throne Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160M4. Minotaur Embankment . . . . . . . . . . 160Afterword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161

Fidelio, Prologue: A Paladin Cursed . . . . . . .161Fidelio, Quest I: Helmed Horror . . . . . . . . . .161Fidelio, Quest II: Annis Hag . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162Fidelio, Quest III: Umber Hulk Lair . . . . . .162Drow Outpost: Kyorlamshin . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

House Tanor’Thal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184Captured! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186Random Encounters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186D1: Guardpost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187D2: Drow Priestesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187D3: High Priestess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187D4. Slave Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187D5. Lolth Temple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187

The Runestone Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188Random Encounters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189Runestone Chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190R1: Storage and Bedchamber . . . . . . . . . . 190R2: Lore Cave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190R3: Flameskulls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191R4: Crystal Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Using the Runestone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192The Twisted Rune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Appendix: Magic and Monsters . . . . . . . . . .214Crown Adamant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .214Magic Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218Monsters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Beholderkin, Eyeball Swarm . . . . . . . . . . 220Myconid Venom Spore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

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IntroductionUndermountain. The name conjures images of sprawling dungeoncrawls, fantastic adventures, insidious monsters, and wondrous treasures. Originally presented as a huge (really huge) adventure for the FORGOTTEN REALMS campaign setting, this expedition presents Undermountain as a grand adventuring area for any DUNGEONS & DRAGONS campaign. Undermountain contains nine main levels and more than twenty sublevels, connecting to more extensive dungeons and caverns, and ultimately to the Underdark. In other words, Undermountain is just too big to fully detail in any single volume. Instead, this campaign adventure treats Undermountain as an unexplored underground region, a new realm that can attract characters for months or even years (as in the case of many nonplayer characters, or NPCs) of game time. It pro-vides the plots, power groups, and lore to enable a Dungeon Master (DM) to detail any corner of Undermountain, to create a vibrant long-term adventure setting—the ultimate dungeon crawl that feels realistic, exciting, and dangerous. The encounters presented in this book are designed to take a party of player characters from 1st level to 9th or 10th level. If the characters in your campaign are already higher than 1st level, it’s still possible to get a lot of play value out of this adventure. Undermountain stirs beneath a large city in your campaign world. In the FORGOTTEN REALMS campaign, Undermountain stretches throughout the bowels of Waterdeep, the famed metropolis on the Sword Coast. In your game, it can exist beneath any large city you want, long known in rumor and legend or newly discovered and waiting to be explored. The missions and possibilities are endless. This book brings Undermountain to life—make it your own!

THE ENCOUNTER FORMATThis campaign adventure uses the new encounter format for presenting encounters throughout Undermountain. Every encounter in the adventure is presented as a one- or two-page unit containing the information necessary to run the encounter, including the situation and how it might develop, statistics for monsters and traps, and a keyed map of the encounter area that can easily be translated to a battle grid or D&D Dungeon Tiles for use with D&D Miniatures. No two encounters provide exactly the same kind of information. Each one is tailored to account for the event it describes. If another part of the adventure should be refer-enced when running a particular encounter, the appropriate page reference is also included.

WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAYThis adventure is intended for use in any DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game. It can be dropped into any setting. You can use the entire sprawl of Undermountain, or you can use select parts of the massive dungeon to tell a specifi c story. The modular approach to the design allows you to customize the adventure to meet your specifi c needs. You need the Player’s Handbook (PH), Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG), and Monster Manual (MM) to make best use of this material. Throughout this book, superscript abbreviations are often used to denote game elements and other materials that appear in certain supplements. Those supplements and their abbrevia-tions are as follows: Champions of Ruin (CoR), City of Splendors: Waterdeep (CoS), Complete Adventurer (CAd), Complete Divine (CD), Complete Mage (CM), Complete Warrior (CW), Draco-

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REALMSLORE: WATERDEEPWaterdeep is primarily a human city with the best natural harbor on the Sword Coast. The harbor and much of the city are sheltered from storms howling across the Sea of Swords by the soaring rampart of Mount Waterdeep. The city is divided into “wards” (districts). The northwest-ernmost is Sea Ward, by far the wealthiest part of Waterdeep. It’s crowded with the palatial residences of “old money” nobles, the grandest shops, and great temples. Adventurers might find patrons in Sea Ward, but can expect to be followed by the city Watch at all times. North Ward, the northeastern-most city district, is almost as wealthy as Sea Ward, and is home to most nobles whose villas aren’t in Sea Ward. It’s also where the majority of wealthy but non-noble Waterd-havians dwell, and is dominated by grandiose “new money” mansions. Waterdeep’s center holds three districts. Castle Ward, the civic heart of the city, wraps around the landward side of Mount Waterdeep and contains Castle Waterdeep, Piergeiron’s Palace, and the great open marketplace known simply as “the Market.” Directly east of Castle Ward is Trades Ward, the city’s bustling heart of shopkeeping and artisans’ “finework.” It wraps around the City of the Dead, a walled cemetery that by

day serves the living as a green, pleasant park—and is locked up at night due to hauntings. The city’s south end is occupied by another two districts. South Ward, in southeasternmost Waterdeep, is dominated by warehousing, stabling, and caravan-equipping businesses, and is home to many poor laborers. Dock Ward lies to its west, bounding the north and east sides of the harbor. It’s the fishing, naval shipping, and notoriously lawless “seedy” end of Waterdeep, where the smells and squalor are greatest, drunken sailors brawl, and violence and street crime are most common. It’s been said Waterdeep’s true religion is making money. No official faith dominates, and almost all are tolerated or (in the case of evil or oppressive deities) worshiped in secret. Temples and private shrines are found throughout the city, and in Trades Ward soars the all-faiths tower known as “the Plinth,” serving as a grand temple for all faiths that lack their own holy building. It’s where “clerics for hire” are most likely to be found. Many of the names associated with Waterdeep are used throughout this adventure to refer to a certain place or a certain part of the city that stands above the great dungeon. Feel free to use or change these names as you like, to suit the city you have chosen to serve this role in your Undermountain adventure.

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nomicon (Dra), Epic Level Handbook (ELH), Expanded Psionics Handbook (EPH), Faiths and Pantheons (FP), Fiend Folio (FF), FORGOTTEN REALMS Campaign Setting (FR), Heroes of Horror (HH), Libris Mortis (LM), Lords of Madness (LoM), Lost Empires of Faerûn (LE), Magic of Faerûn (Mag), Miniatures Handbook (MH), Monster Manual II (MM2), Monster Manual III (MM3), Monster Manual IV (MM4), Player’s Guide to Faerûn (PG), Player’s Handbook II (PH2), Races of Stone (RS), Spell Compendium (SC), Tome of Battle (ToB), Tome of Magic (ToM), and Underdark (Und).

THIS ADVENTURE AND THE FORGOTTEN REALMS

No one can deny the strong connection between Under-mountain and the FORGOTTEN REALMS campaign setting. Still, we’ve endeavored to make the legend of Undermountain more universal so that it can be used in any D&D game. In the pages that follow, we’ve included occasional sidebars that add bits of history and FORGOTTEN REALMS lore concerning Undermountain. Use these sidebars for fl avor, to better use this adventure in a FORGOTTEN REALMS game, or to just gain a richer understanding of the dungeon depths.

THE CITYThe city above Undermountain is a bustling, cosmopolitan, mercantile crossroads where traders, shopkeepers, craftwork-ers, nobles, sailors, and laborers of almost all intelligent races

jostle to make or keep fortunes. Feel free to place Under-mountain beneath any large, wealthy, seaport/trade city in your campaign.

THE CITY AND THE DUNGEONA long-ago sage once said, “There is no city without Under-mountain, and no Undermountain without the city.” The city and the sprawling dungeon beneath it have infl uenced each other greatly, and continue to do so to the current day. The people of the city hear endless rumors and gossip (usually fabricated or wildly exaggerated) about goings-on in Undermountain, and there’s a steady fl ow of “shady trade” between Skullport (a subterranean town nestled between the city above and Undermountain below) and the city. This shady trade includes illicit goods such as poisons and slaves, and legal goods moved through Undermountain to avoid guild restrictions, taxes, and the notice of the authorities and trade rivals. Neither the Watch nor the City Guard patrols Undermountain. City and dungeon affect each other because of the many connections between them. The best known connection is the dry well, a shaft descending from the common room of the Yawning Portal Inn to the Dungeon Level below. The inn has at least two lesser-known links to Undermountain—a water-fi lled well and a secret door in its cellars. Other physical connections between the city and Under-mountain are known to the general public only by many

A typical street view in the City

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colorful stories. The City Guard, the Palace (workplace of city bureaucrats and civic workers), and the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors (the wizards’ guild of the city) know locations and details of most major pathways. The city’s adven-turers and sages agree that there are many lesser-known ways up and down, some forgotten but most controlled and kept secret by a few individuals, a family, a merchant cabal, or by nobles and guilds.

ADVENTURERS IN THE CITYIt’s said everything can be found, bought, and sold in the city above Undermountain. The saying isn’t an exaggeration, though what is truly available at any given time is subject to the normal whims of supply and demand. Adventurers intent on exploring Undermountain typically need to procure lodgings, healing and spiritual aid, magical aid, sages, mercenaries and hirelings, and they need to buy

and sell gear and trophies brought back from the dungeon. Countless businesses throughout the city deal in such trade.

Lodging: For short (and usually noisy) stays, rooms can be rented in most festhalls. Every ward has inns, at various levels of price and service, and rooms can be had for the week, month, or season. Greenglade

Tower is a large, popular, and clean room-ing house in North Ward, Sapphire

House is an “upmarket” Castle Ward inn and rooming house, and The House of Purple Silks in Sea Ward is a quiet, discreet,

and luxurious festhall that rents rooms by the night or week.

Divine Magical Aid: Ad-venturers can fi nd clerics at the

Plinth (Trades Ward) and in temples across the city,

and they can seek out visiting outlander

priests at temporary shrines set up in South Ward ware-houses at dawn and dusk.Arcane Magical

Aid: Wizards are most cheaply hired at the Tower of the Order (Castle Ward), headquarters of the Watch-

ful Order. A more expensive spell-caster is the tall,

vain, jewel-adorned Tessalar Hulicorm (a well-liked wizard knowledge-able about Undermountain). More expensive still

is the magical assistance available at Blackstaff Tower (Castle Ward).

Sages: Adventurers have traditionally discussed Under-mountain at the Yawning Portal Inn (for the price of drinks or a meal), but recently have taken to visiting the Great Library in the Font of Knowledge in Castle Ward, where the city’s fi ercely independent sages gather daily to research. Savant Sandrew the Wise of the temple charges a 10% tax on all inquiries conducted in the library, which now hosts an informal daily “Council of Sages.” The reclusive sage Haerun Mhammaster is also an expert on Undermountain; ask directions to his nearby house in the Elfstone Tavern (Castle Ward).

Mercenaries: Seek Blazidon One-Eye (a burly, scarred, semiretired veteran fi ghter who’s always armed to the teeth) in Virgin’s Square by day (where caravan masters and citizens looking to hire mercenaries know to fi nd him), and making the rounds of city inns and taverns by night, where he busily

Your friendly Watch

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