Demon Zapper
The purest of souls lures fiends into a hellish trap. Zap! Zap!
—The Cartographer
When the characters approach this location, read or paraphrase the following boxed text to the players:
Radiant light cascades from a rusted metal monument shaped like the upraised mandibles of a giant beetle.
The light cascades from a unicorn named Mooncolor, who is trapped inside a 10-foot-diameter sphere of magical force that prevents any matter from passing into it and blocks any spells cast into or out of it. The sphere is suspended between the zapper’s spines, 50 feet above the ground. This light lures demons like moths to a flame, annihilating them when they get close. While trapped in the sphere, the unicorn can’t use any of its magical abilities.
The sphere targets the nearest fiend that moves within 100 feet of it, discharging a beam of radiance that forms a line 5 feet wide and up to 100 feet long, extending to the target. Any creature in the line that has 100 hit points or fewer disintegrates into a pile of ash. Creatures with more than 100 hit points in the line must make a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw, taking 260 (
To free the unicorn, the characters must destroy the rusted metal structure around it, which has AC 14, 250 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. The structure crumbles when it drops to 0 hit points, causing the sphere of force to slowly sink to the ground and fade away. If the characters free the unicorn, it accompanies them if they are of mostly good alignment.
Ralzala the Dao
A dao named Ralzala defends the demon zapper. Ralzala swore loyalty to Zariel to gain revenge against a rival dao who tried to ruin her. The dao regrets the arrangement and wants to break her pact with the archdevil.
Ralzala hides under the ground at the base of the zapper. If the characters damage the zapper, Ralzala emerges from the ground, casts
Ralzala knows an oracle named Red Ruth, who could surely divine a solution to her problem. Being bound to the demon zapper, Ralzala is unable to seek out this oracle herself, but the characters could do so in her stead. She tells them to speak with Red Ruth in the corrupted forest nearby and follow her instructions to break the pact. This leads the players to the area Bone Brambles.
Bone Brambles
Your future is written in your blood. She’ll open your veins to paint the story hidden in your heart.
—The Cartographer
When the characters arrive at this location, read or paraphrase the following boxed text to the players:
A maze of warped trees and bonelike vines stretches before you. Calcified corpses merge with the trees, covered in fungal pods that feed on the blood oozing through the undergrowth. Here and there, narrow paths wend deeper into the wood.
In a bygone age, the night hag Red Ruth corrupted a community of dryads by fouling the roots of their trees with mind-bending poison. As the dryads fell to evil, their forest was wrenched from the Feywild into Avernus. Those dryads who resisted the poison died trying to merge back into their trees. The rest crumbled to ash and became restless, tortured spirits akin to banshees. Contented, Red Ruth made her home at the heart of the twisted wood.
The characters can venture into the wood out of curiosity or to find the oracle that Ralzala hopes can break her pact with Zariel.
Encounters in the Brambles
The following descriptions correspond to areas marked on map 3.4.
B1. Entrances
Characters who circle the tangled stretch of woodland uncover five separate paths leading into its interior. Impassable brambles choke the woodland outside these trails and even grow overhead to blot out the sky.
To avoid getting lost in the wood, the characters must succeed on a DC 15 group Wisdom (
B2. Dead Ends
If the characters get lost in the brambles, roll on the Dead Ends table to determine where they end up, or choose a result that they haven’t encountered yet.
Dead Ends
| d4 | Dead End |
|---|---|
| 1 | Dead traveler |
| 2 | Dryad spirits |
| 3 | Shambling mounds |
| 4 | Thorn trap |
Dead Traveler
The corpse of a drow rests at the end of the path, her flesh impaled by hungry vines and her face twisted in an expression of horror. The traveler wears a
Dryad Spirits
Three cursed dryad spirits (use the banshee stat block to represent them) approach the characters and demand to be reminded of the “wonders of life.” At your discretion, a character can mollify the spirits with a sweet story, a kiss, a song, or anything else that reminds the dryads of home. If the characters fail to satisfy them, the three spirits attack.
Shambling Mounds
Three Shambling Mound arise from the brambles and attack the characters.
Thorn Trap
The characters spot a hawthorn staff entangled at the end of the path, buried behind a 15-foot-deep thicket of thorns. Each 5-foot-square section of thorns counts as difficult terrain and has AC 11, 15 hit points, immunity to psychic damage, and vulnerability to fire damage. If damaged but not destroyed, the thorns magically regrow to full health after 24 hours. The thorns restrain any creature that ends its turn within 5 feet of them. Any creature that starts its turn
The staff at the center of the maze is a decoy and crumbles to ashes in the hands of whoever claims it.
B3. Red Ruth’s Lair
When the characters arrive at this location, read or paraphrase the following boxed text to the players:
A cave-like hovel lies at the center of the maze. Hundreds of bones and body parts hang by twine from the entrance, and the ceiling is strung with garland made of bloody entrails. The air buzzes with flies.
Red Ruth, a night hag, makes her lair inside this gory den. She wears a dress made from stitched-together bones. Strings of infants' skulls hang around her neck and chatter nursery rhymes incessantly (and in different languages) as she talks.
Evil visitors from all over the multiverse travel to Avernus to hear Red Ruth’s divinations and sample her mystical brews. If the characters talk to Red Ruth about the dao’s curse, she offers them a deal for her assistance (see “area Hold the Fort” below).
Red Ruth sells potions brewed from blood, which she gladly trades for
Red Ruth’s Bargains
| Goods | Price |
|---|---|
| Potion, common or uncommon | 1 |
| Potion, rare | 2 |
| 3 |
Hold the Fort
Red Ruth says she knows how to free Ralzala the dao from her pact, but she won’t tell the characters until they’ve performed a favor for her first. The hag explains that she’s long overdue for her bath—it’s been a couple of centuries at the very least since she last washed. She asks the characters to arrange and pay for a pampering session at Infernal Rapture in the area Wandering Emporium. She warns the characters of one other condition before they decide: they must watch over her grove while she’s gone. If the characters attack or threaten Red Ruth during this negotiation, she simply slips away into the Ethereal Plane and doesn’t return until they leave.
The night hag can divine the location of the Wandering Emporium by spilling some of her own blood on the ground and studying the pattern that the blood makes. Red Ruth can then point to a location on the character’s map of Avernus. (The location can be anywhere you choose.) When the characters arrive at that location, they encounter the Wandering Emporium just as the night hag predicted. Although Red Ruth knows that the owner of Infernal Rapture is a rakshasa, she doesn’t share this information with the characters, expecting them to figure it out on their own.
Characters who return from the Wandering Emporium with confirmation of Red Ruth’s appointment must watch over the grove for a few hours while the hag leaves to take her bath. During this time, the cursed spirits of the dryads arise to destroy Red Ruth’s lair as punishment for her crimes. This force consists of two dryad spirits (use the banshee stat block) and a walking, undead tree (use the treant stat block, except the tree is undead and has resistance to necrotic damage).
If the characters defeat the undead, Red Ruth fulfills her end of the bargain when she returns. Otherwise, the undead tree collapses the entrance to Red Ruth’s hovel. The night hag is not pleased and uses her Etherealness trait to walk through the collapsed entrance of her cave, disappearing into her lair without so much as a goodbye.
Treasure
The dryad spirits have no treasure, but the undead tree has a dead gnome skeleton lodged in a hollow cavity in its trunk. The skeleton wears a witch’s hat (actually a
Development
To honor her end of the deal, Red Ruth reveals that Ralzala must drink the blood of a titan to free herself from Zariel’s pact. The night hag says that Uldrak might be able to help but warns “he’s not what he used to be.” If the characters show her their map, she identifies Uldrak’s location. This sends the group to Uldrak’s Grave.
Uldrak’s Grave
A fallen titan or a wimp with delusions of grandeur? I’ll leave that for you to decide.
—The Cartographer
When the characters arrive at this location, read or paraphrase the following boxed text to the players:
The cracked helm and sword of a titan lies half buried in the ash of Avernus. A spherical stone set into the sword’s pommel still gleams with scarlet radiance.
The empyrean Uldrak quested into the Nine Hells to slay Tiamat and win glory for his deity, Surtur, but he was beaten handily by the dragon queen. The empyrean wasn’t slain; instead, Tiamat cursed him for his impudence by transforming him into a spined devil. This wretched creature now hides inside the helmet that he once wore. For millennia, Uldrak has dwelled in this spot, forlornly plotting to restore his true form.
Dealing with Uldrak
Uldrak is a bitter creature who barely remembers his past. Long ago, he learned how to remove his curse, but the solution was so beyond him that he consigned himself to failure. Now, he’s more interested in scrabbling to survive than trying to escape the Nine Hells.
Uldrak’s empyrean heritage still lingers in his voice. He understands all languages, and when he speaks, he randomly switches language to Giant. Millennia of isolation have unhinged his mind, so he argues with himself often, even in front of strangers.
Uldrak reveals his sorry tale to any who ask him about the empyrean’s whereabouts. Characters who came here to extract Uldrak’s blood (see “area Bone Brambles,” above) can make a DC 12 Intelligence (
Treasure
The sphere set into the pommel of Uldrak’s sword is an
Development
To regain his true form, Uldrak must spill some of Tiamat’s blood on the ground of Avernus. Fighting Tiamat in his present form would be madness, but Uldrak has learned that a dragonborn named Arkhan the Cruel carries some of Tiamat’s blood in a reliquary around his neck. Uldrak reveals that the “gem” glowing on the pommel of his old sword is in fact an
Arkhan’s Tower
He wears the hand of evil, yet his goal remains just beyond his fingertips.
—The Cartographer
When the characters arrive at this location, read or paraphrase the following boxed text to the players:
A dark tower looms on the horizon, its black spire rising hundreds of feet, its ramparts bristling with charred skulls mounted on iron spikes. The tower’s apex splits into five narrower spires that jab at the sky like clawed fingers. Circling above the tower’s peak is a great white dragon stained with ash and soot.
As you get closer to the tower, you notice figures shuffling atop its ramparts—undead guards in various states of decay.
Arkhan the Cruel has claimed this tower as his base. Here, with the help of a tortle death-priest of Tiamat named Krull, the dragonborn warrior researches ways to assert his will over the artifact known as the
Dragons tore the obsidian rocks of Arkhan’s tower from the fiery volcanoes of Avernus. Fifty Skeleton and thirty Zombie stand ready to defend the tower, which is also guarded by the adult white dragon Obatala. When it detects intruders, the dragon roars to alert Krull, who emerges from the tower to greet new arrivals. Krull, whose shell is carved with Draconic runes that spell out prayers to Tiamat, is joined by four Ghoul that serve as his assistants. The ghouls gnaw on bones and eye the characters hungrily as Krull negotiates with them. Under no circumstances does Krull allow intruders to enter the nine-story tower and disturb his experiments or Arkhan’s chambers.
Krull is willing to lead the characters to Arkhan if they have something valuable in their possession, such as the
In addition to its undead defenses, the tower has four smaller dragons living inside it: a young black dragon named Slarkas, a young blue dragon named Vistalancer, a young green dragon named Vermilius, and a red dragon wyrmling nicknamed Flash. These dragons attack characters who invade the tower and fight to the death to defend it.
Treasure
Krull wields a
Development
If the characters convince Krull to lead them to Arkhan, the tortle guides them safely to the Monument to Tiamat (see “area Monument to Tiamat"). The characters could also stake out Arkhan’s tower and await the dragonborn’s return. Arkhan reacts here as he does at the Monument to Tiamat, except that he can’t summon Asojano the chimera.
Monument to Tiamat
Draconic devils roost in a giant skull, through which the dragon queen speaks with five tongues.
—The Cartographer
When the characters arrive at this location, read or paraphrase the following boxed text to the players:
A colossal dragon’s skull leans against a mountainside, surrounded by bones the size of houses. Acrid smoke rises from the skull’s maw. A military tent has been pitched among the bones, and parked next to it is a two-wheeled infernal war machine.
Gathered around this tent are a dozen chattering, reptilian humanoids with gleaming swords, white scales, and white, leathery wings.
A tunnel at the back of the skull leads to Tiamat’s lair. The devils nesting within the skull, the abishai, are believed to carry out her bidding—or perhaps guard over her prison on orders of Asmodeus.
From the depths of her lair, Tiamat can hear the prayers and pronouncements of faithful servants who call out to her from the maw of the colossal dragon skull. If the dragon queen chooses to reply, her five hissing voices issue from the darkness, amplified by the skull as they give commands and finish each other’s sentences.
It would be madness to assault this location without an army. Abishai of all colors nest in the sulfurous caves behind the skull, and scores of white abishai pour forth to counter any assault or invasion.
The infernal war machine parked next to the tent is a Devil’s Ride belonging to Arkhan the Cruel’s minotaur bodyguard, Torogar Steelfist.
Arkhan the Cruel
The dragonborn Arkhan the Cruel is in the tent along with his manticore companion, Chango, and Torogar Steelfist, his savage minotaur bodyguard. Arkhan visits the monument to commune with his queen and report on his ongoing battle of wills to master the
If the characters approach Arkhan’s encampment, the twelve white abishai at the camp rush forward to intercept them. Characters accompanied by Krull the tortle (see “area Arkhan’s Tower") or who have something Arkhan might consider valuable are permitted to approach his camp.
Arkhan believes he can use the
In battle, Arkhan uses
If Arkhan finds himself overwhelmed with opposition, he orders the abishai to attack. Arkhan can also use a bonus action to call forth Asojano, a chimera lairing in the depths of the colossal dragon skull. This evil monster in the service of Tiamat considers Arkhan a friend and ally.
Development
The characters most likely come here to bargain with Arkhan for a vial of Tiamat’s blood in his possession. If they acquire this reliquary, they can return Tiamat’s blood to Uldrak and use it to break his curse. Uldrak excitedly splashes the vial’s hissing contents onto the ground at his feet. Moments later, he sheds his fiendish skin and grows back into his true form, that of a lawful evil empyrean. Laughing gleefully, Uldrak yanks his sword from the ground and gladly provides the characters with a gallon of his blood so they can break the curse on Ralzala. When this is done, he casts
Returning to the demon zapper, the characters find that Ralzala also honors her word. After gulping down the empyrean’s blood to free herself from her pact, she etches her letter of introduction to Bel onto a basalt tablet and directs the characters to his volcanic lair. The adventure continues in Bel’s Forge.
Bel’s Forge
An ousted archduke sulking in a volcano, eager to reclaim his stolen throne.
—The Cartographer
When the characters arrive at this location, read or paraphrase the following boxed text to the players:
A gargantuan volcano dominates the horizon. Clouds of fire and ash spew from its caldera, and the air trembles with its angry grumblings. A vast, multilayered fortress has been hewn into the volcano’s rocky slopes.
Bel, one of the Nine Hells' greatest military minds, dwells in this iron keep. From this bastion, Zariel’s second-in-command and the former lord of Avernus oversees the forges that furnish weapons and armor for the Blood War.
An army of devils guards Bel’s fortress, and his dark magic alerts him to intruders within its walls. Strangers who venture too close are assaulted by a strike team of two Horned Devil leading ten Bearded Devil. If the intruders survive and linger in the area, a whole army of devils descends upon them.
Characters can gain an audience with Bel if they have a letter of introduction (available from the dao Ralzala), or if they’re captured or killed by Bel’s forces. Bel delights in raising his enemies from the dead to interrogate them, especially if they appear to be outlanders. Infiltrating Bel’s fortress is possible, but only if the characters have magical means of shielding themselves from his divinations. If they befriend Olanthius (see “area Crypt of the Hellriders"), cut a new deal with Red Ruth (see “area Bone Brambles"), or perform a quest for Mephistopheles (see “area Mirror of Mephistar"), they could feasibly infiltrate Bel’s fortress by smuggling themselves in with any tribute their ally brings before Bel. Whether the characters smuggle themselves inside, arrive with a letter of introduction, or get taken into custody, they eventually arrive at the lowest level of Bel’s fortress, where Bel lairs.
Forge Features
Bel’s forge is carved out of volcanic rock and has soaring, 50-foot-high ceilings throughout. Other features of the forge are summarized below.
Heat. Bel’s forge is unbearably hot, with an ambient temperature of 130 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. The extreme heat has detrimental effects on creatures not acclimated to such environments (see “Extreme Heat” in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide).
Lava. Open rivers of lava are channeled through the forge to smelt ore and soften metal. Any creature that enters the lava for the first time on its turn or starts its turn in it takes 33 (
Encounters in the Forge
The following descriptions correspond to areas marked on map 3.5.
F1. Descent to the Forge
Read the following boxed text to the players when their characters reach the lowest level of Bel’s fortress:
A wrought iron spiral staircase descends into a cavernous forge. Channels of bubbling lava wind through the complex, casting fiery light over huge anvils. Chained giants with coal-black skin and fiery orange hair hammer out weapons under the malignant gaze of a pit fiend seated in a flying throne. Throughout the forge, sparks fall like rain.
The pit fiend is Bel (see “area Roleplaying Bel” below). Only he can control his Large flying throne, which has a flying speed of 15 feet and can hover.
F2. Fire Giant Blacksmiths
Four Fire Giant in chains are using enormous hammers and anvils to craft infernal weapons and armor under Bel’s watchful eye. A clutter of giant-sized objects surround each giant’s anvil: iron buckets containing oily water, coils of greasy chain, mounds of iron filings, and more.
The fire giants' names are Drumra, Jalt, Rosska, and Zrakorn. While chained, the giants have a walking speed of 10 feet. The giants despise Bel but are bound by magic to do as he demands. The chains that bind them can’t be broken or unlocked except by Bel.
F3. Weapons Rack
These racks contain weapons awaiting delivery to the front lines of the Blood War. Most of them are too big for Small or Medium characters to wield effectively.
Treasure
Among the larger weapons are three magic weapons sized for Small and Medium characters: a pair of
F4. Pool of Magma
Inside this cavern, steel pylons and gantries keep a huge and terrible new machine suspended above a pool of magma. The machine is Bel’s secret weapon in his cold war to overthrow Zariel. When the characters arrive here, the infernal machine is still under construction and far from complete.
Roleplaying Bel
Bel oversees the manufacture of weapons and armor for the Blood War. Though Asmodeus has instructed Zariel to accept Bel as her advisor, Bel and Zariel loathe each other and invent distractions to keep them apart. When Bel learns of the characters' intentions, he decides to use them as pawns to tarnish and ultimately overthrow Zariel.
Bel outwardly plays the role of Zariel’s loyal vassal. Secretly, he uses telepathy to hatch a treasonous plot with the characters. Bel’s plan is as follows:
- Bel wants the characters to retrieve nine adamantine rods that were stolen from his forge by Zariel’s spies. Once all nine rods are returned to him, Bel is willing to divulge the location of the Bleeding Citadel.
- Bel suggests that the characters speak to a sibriex that was recently captured by his spies. Sibriexes are hoarders of forbidden lore, and this particular one has been a good source of information for Bel. It might know where Zariel’s spies hid the adamantine rods.
- To help the characters reach the sibriex, Bel offers to provide them with a barge they can use to ply the River Styx.
Bel doesn’t tell the characters that the Companion (what he calls the Solar Insidiator) was built in his forge, nor does he reveal that it has a planetar trapped inside it. Bel also fails to mention that the nine adamantine rods are the keys to unlocking the device and freeing the planetar. If the characters ask what the rods are for, Bel says, “That’s not really any of your business. This is the best deal you’ll get in Avernus. I suggest you take it.”
If the characters become belligerent or demanding, Bel sighs and snaps his fingers, causing the infernal chains to fall off the fire giants. He promises freedom to any fire giant that kills an intruder, prompting the giants to attack the characters without mercy. Bel then steeples his fingers and watches the battle unfold. In battle, the fire giants hurl buckets, tools, and heavy chains instead of boulders. They also try to shove enemies into channels of molten lava.
If the characters defeat the fire giants, Bel commends their victory and offers them the same deal as before. If the characters refuse him a second time, Bel smiles and says, “A pity. All those poor people in Elturel were counting on you.” He then offers to teleport them out of his fortress, so they can be on their way. Gracious host that Bel is, he won’t attack the characters directly unless they attack him first, in which case he casts
Development
When the characters are ready to leave his forge, Bel teleports them back to the surface. If the characters agreed to Bel’s terms, an imp named Balakros is waiting for them when they return to the surface. Bel instructs the imp to help the characters reach the sibriex. The imp has performed this task before and knows, without having to be told, that its orders include reporting back to Bel and whispering everything the sibriex said into its master’s ear.
If characters refuse to let Balakros accompany them, the imp bids them farewell, turns
River Travel
Balakros offers to lead the characters to an iron barge moored on the shore of the River Styx. An iron road leads from Bel’s volcano to the barge, and it’s patrolled by Bearded Devil that won’t attack the characters as long as Balakros is leading them. Lashed to the sides of the barge are demon skulls and bones. Characters who travel by barge must pass underneath the area Stygian Dock on their way to the sibriex.
The barge is 30 feet long, 15 feet wide, and sturdy enough to transport up to two Huge infernal war machines. Twelve Merregon under the command of a bone devil named Krinjak operate the barge’s oars. Krinjak’s instructions are to take the characters where they need to go. Although it professes loyalty to Bel, Krinjak is secretly a spy for Zariel. After taking the characters as close to the sibriex as the River Styx allows, it flies off to warn Zariel that the characters are working for Bel.
Overland Travel
If the characters would rather travel to the sibriex in some other fashion, Balakros the imp offers to serve as their overland guide, since it knows where the sibriex is. It can also point to the sibriex’s location on the characters' map of Avernus.
Sibriex
A breeder of horrors and a hoarder of secrets, a sibriex is said to be as old as the Abyss.
—The Cartographer
When the characters arrive at this location, read or paraphrase the following boxed text to the players:
Spiky chains lash a fifteen-foot-diameter, floating blob of quivering flesh to a 20-foot-tall wrought-iron scaffold. Two fiends wrapped in chains stand atop the scaffold, torturing the bloated creature’s flesh by tightening its chains. Demon ichor oozes from its wounds, forming a shallow pool around the scaffolding.
A third, jackal-headed fiend uses a bronze horn to yell loudly at the bloated prisoner in multiple languages. It sits cross-legged about half-way up the scaffolding.
Bel’s fiends captured a sibriex and have been torturing and interrogating it for quite a long time now. The sibriex is
The demon ichor that pools around the scaffolding smells terrible but can be easily avoided. For more information on demon ichor, see “area Demon Ichor”.
Two Chain Devil named Shalok and Jank are torturing the sibriex under the guidance of Fetchtatter, a cruel arcanaloth who signed an infernal contract with Bel, guaranteeing the arcanaloth’s loyalty to Bel in exchange for magic items and spellbooks. All three fiends are immune to the sibriex’s Warp Creature power.
Fetchtatter uses its speaking horn to address the sibriex, treating it like an idiot child. The arcanaloth’s declarations typically begin with, “Tell me everything you know about…” and end with a long pause as it waits for the sibriex to answer. The sibriex has grown increasingly obstinate, much to Fetchtatter’s chagrin. The arcanaloth offers three
Treasure
Fetchtatter wears a
Interrogating the Sibriex
Before it was captured by Bel’s fiends, the sibriex wandered throughout Avernus, amassing information from every location it visited. At your discretion, the sibriex could have knowledge of other locations shown on the characters' map of Avernus. It gives up what it knows only if the characters use magical methods of interrogation. It doesn’t know anything that can help the characters find the
The sibriex uses its telepathy to contact the first party member who comes within 120 feet of it, offering information in exchange for its freedom. The character with whom the sibriex is speaking telepathically can detect the insincerity of the sibriex’s offer with a successful DC 17 Wisdom (
A character can, with a successful DC 17 Charisma (
Releasing the Sibriex
Fetchtatter and the chain devils attack characters who try to free the sibriex. Breaking three of the six chains that bind the sibriex allows it to slip free, whereupon it flies into the air and tries to get as far away from the iron scaffold as possible. Each chain has AC 19, 33 hit points, a damage threshold of 10, and immunity to fire, poison, and psychic damage.
Flesh Warping
When a creature fails a saving throw against the sibriex’s Warp Creature effect, you can roll percentile dice and consult the Flesh Warping table to determine an additional effect, which vanishes when Warp Creature ends on the creature. If the creature transforms into an abyssal wretch, the effect becomes a permanent feature of that body.
A creature can willingly submit to flesh warping, an agonizing process that takes at least 1 hour while the creature stays within 30 feet of the sibriex. At the end of the process, roll once on the Flesh Warping table (or choose one effect) to determine how the creature is transformed permanently.
Development
After tricking or magically compelling the sibriex to divulge the location of Bel’s adamantine rods, the characters can set out to recover the rods from the wrecked flying fortress.
Wrecked Flying Fortress
A weapon made for an archdevil, ravaged in battle and ripe for plunder.
—The Cartographer
To reach the wrecked flying fortress, characters must cross a hot, windswept plain wracked by magical fire storms. Flying characters and fast-moving infernal war machines can easily avoid these fire storms.
Characters traveling on foot must succeed on a DC 20 group Wisdom (
Any character that enters a fire storm for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there must succeed on a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw, taking 44 (
Arrival at the Wreck
When the characters arrive at the wreck, read or paraphrase the following boxed text to the players:
A towering wreck rises from the scorched hellscape. It looks like a giant sword blade, tilted to a twenty-degree angle and partly buried underground. Much of its exposed hull is rusted and torn asunder. Hot wind screams as it tears through the hollow structure, and six giant vultures circle high above it.
After demons crippled this fortress in battle, Zariel abandoned it and left it to rust. The fortress is 150 feet tall, but the lower third of it is buried underground. All the lower decks have been picked clean, but the command deck at the top still holds promise. Characters can scale the wreck’s torn outer hull to reach this deck, which is 80 feet off the ground at its lowest point. Climbing the outside of the wreck without proper gear requires a successful DC 15 Strength (
The “giant vultures” circling above the wreck are six Vrock that attack anyone who gets within 50 feet of the command deck. If three vrocks are killed, the remaining ones flee and don’t return.
Lower Decks
The lower decks are riddled with holes, allowing easy access to the fortress interior. Characters can ascend to the command deck without needing to make ability checks simply by moving up through the ruins of the lower decks, but the wreckage inside the fortress makes the ascent arduous.
Bone Whelks
Bone whelks are large mollusks that excrete an adhesive to attach skulls, bones, and other detritus to their bodies for protection. These slugs scour the wreck for organic matter to feed on, clinging to torn sections of wall, floor, and ceiling while taking shelter from the searing winds and hungry vrocks. Characters who try to make their way up through the interior of the wreck are attacked by five Bone Whelk. Too slow to mount an effective escape, the bone whelks fight to the death.
When a bone whelk dies, it emits a scream that has a 50 percent chance of attracting the vrocks, which attack other creatures (including bone whelks) indiscriminately.
Soul Intake
Deep inside the wreck is a 5-foot-diameter, cylindrical pipe made of iron that runs almost the full height of the fortress. This pipe was designed to siphon tormented souls from the River Styx, feeding them into a 10-foot-diameter cistern below the command deck to power the fortress. The pipe can be accessed by a hatch on every deck except the command deck. Nesting inside the cistern at the top of the pipe is a monster resembling a 30-foot-long centipede that exudes necrotic sludge. If it hears one of the hatches open, it slinks down the pipe to devour any creatures it sees. This creature uses the remorhaz stat block, with these changes:
- Whenever the monster would deal fire damage, it deals necrotic damage instead.
- It has immunity to necrotic damage instead of cold damage.
Command Deck Features
The command deck, shown on map 3.6, has the following features:
Iron Surfaces. The floor, walls, ceilings, and doors are made of iron that has been twisted, bent, and ruptured in places. Ceilings throughout are 15 feet high.
Light Sources. Areas that are exposed to the outdoors are dimly lit by the hellish red sky of Avernus. Beyond that, the only light sources are harmless showers of sparks that periodically rain down from gashes in the ceiling.
Slant. Like the rest of the fortress, the command deck leans at a twenty-degree angle, with area area W5 being the lowest part of the deck and area area W8 being the highest. The sloped metal floor is difficult terrain.
Command Deck Encounters
The following descriptions correspond to areas marked on map 3.6.
W1. Bridge
Unless they’ve been defeated elsewhere, the six Vrock flying above the wreck swoop down to attack characters as they explore this area.
Sparks rain down from gashes in the ceiling of what used to be the bridge, much of which is open to the sky. The room has been picked clean, though rows of stripped-down consoles and a few dangling chains remain.
None of the consoles are operational, though characters can salvage them for wires and other metal components.
Development
As the characters explore this location, they hear several loud infernal war machines approaching. Through holes in the wall, they can see three vehicles screaming across the hellscape toward the wreck:
- Two Devil’s Ride, one driven by Chukka and the other by Clonk (see “area Chukka and Clonk"). Each kenku carries a small bag containing three
Soul Coin . - A Tormentor crewed by Barnabas the flameskull (using its
mage hand spell to drive) and three Redcap. Clinging to the vehicle’s outer hull are six Redcap.
Mad Maggie has sent this force to search the wreck for machine parts and other valuables. The Tormentor and the Devil’s Ride have 12 hours of fuel remaining before they need more
If the characters left one or more infernal war machines parked outside the wrecked fortress, Chukka and Clonk search those vehicles while Barnabas leads the redcaps and madcaps into the lower decks of the wreck in search of treasure. If the characters left area Fort Knucklebone on good terms with Mad Maggie, the flameskull and the kenku won’t give the party too much trouble. However, the madcaps might try to steal one of the characters' infernal war machines or inadvertently release the monster lurking in the soul intake pipe (see “area Soul Intake").
W2. Alarm Console
Characters can access this room from the deck below by climbing up through a hatch in the floor. They can also enter this room through an iron door. Describe the room to the players as follows:
Jagged gashes in the outer wall allow the hellish sky of Avernus to light this room. An open hatch in the floor leads down to the lower decks, and a metal console is plugged into one wall.
Any character who flips the switches on the console while it’s plugged into the wall creates one or more of the following sound effects, which can be heard throughout the wrecked fortress:
- A blaring alarm klaxon
- Loud, discordant instrumental music with screaming vocals
- A soothing, female-sounding voice saying “Aj ta noss iz’lech’iz ta kraj-ka-nok Asmodei das,” which is Infernal for, “You are important. Promotion is your destiny. Asmodeus loves you.”
- A deep, devilish voice saying “Chy’gwa urnossk!” (“Abandon ship!” in Infernal) over and over
W3. Damaged Machinery
Describe this area to the players as follows:
Sparks rain down from torn holes in the ceiling, falling onto a pair of rectangular machines that have been torn from the walls. The machines now stand in the middle of the room, their loose wires sticking out like bad hairdos.
Each machine resembles a metal file cabinet covered with switches and dials that no longer do anything. A character who spends at least 1 hour taking apart a machine can discern its original purpose with a successful DC 20 Intelligence (
- The larger machine was used to scramble telepathic communications within 1 mile of the fortress.
- The smaller machine could send telepathic transmissions to all devils within 1 mile of the fortress.
W4. Records Room
Characters who listen at the iron door to this room hear an inhuman cackling sound beyond. They need
Crouched on a pile of humanoid bones in the far, lowest corner of this room is a hunched gnoll that looks underfed. It gnaws on a bone while cackling maniacally to itself. Near its nest is another iron door.
Lying on the floor near you are a pair of glass, bell-shaped horns attached to some loose wires. They look like they were removed from a pair of tall, slender, metal machines standing against the wall opposite you.
The gnoll is a shapechanged death slaad under the effects of a
While the slaad is feebleminded, its Intelligence and Charisma scores are 1, and it can’t cast spells, activate magic items, understand language, or communicate in any intelligible way. It’s not even self-aware enough to revert to its normal form. It eyes characters suspiciously but doesn’t attack them. It has no weapons but can use its action to bite someone on its turn:
Bite
Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 8 (
Casting
Machinery
The bell-shaped horns lying on the floor attach to the fronts of the two machines standing in the corner, neither of which is operational. Each machine resembles a vertical file cabinet covered with switches and burnt-out lights. A character who spends at least 1 hour taking apart a machine can discern its original purpose with a successful DC 20 Intelligence (
- The larger machine was used to transmit messages to other flying fortresses. (Messages were sent by speaking into the machine’s glass bell.)
- The smaller machine was used to broadcast messages throughout the flying fortress. (One could broadcast a message by speaking into the machine’s glass bell.)
The larger machine is damaged beyond repair, but a character proficient with tinker’s tools can spend 1 hour attempting to repair the smaller machine using parts scavenged from other machines on the command deck, doing so with a successful DC 15 Intelligence check. Once the machine’s glass bell and a few wires are replaced, the device can be made to function for 24 hours. During this time, characters can use the device to transmit their voices throughout the wrecked fortress.
W5. Adamantine Rods
This chamber is at the lowest point of the command deck. Describe the room to the players as follows:
This dark room contains a metal console that has torn free of the wall to your right. Pinned between the console and another wall is a small, desiccated, winged devil that looks like it was crushed to death. In another corner stands a 3-foot block of infernal iron—a locked safe with clawed feet and a three-dial mechanism built into its thick door. Each dial bears numerals written in Infernal.
The safe is stuck to the floor with
After three unsuccessful attempts to open the safe with the wrong combination, an alarm klaxon sounds throughout the command deck. The alarm is loud enough to startle any vrocks still circling above the wreck, but the alarm attracts no one. The alarm stops after 1 minute.
The safe contains nine adamantine rods, each one weighing 3 pounds and engraved with runes that spell out the words “Solar Insidiator Lock” in Infernal, followed by a number from 1 to 9. These are the rods that the characters are searching for. Characters familiar with Thavius Kreeg’s infernal contract recall that “Solar Insidiator” is another name for the Companion. Armed with this knowledge, a character who succeeds on a DC 10 Intelligence (
Dead Devil
A spined devil was operating the console when the fortress crashed into Avernus. The console tore free of one wall and pinned the devil against another wall, crushing it to death. The console is nonfunctional, and its original purpose can’t be ascertained.
W6. Black Bell
Once per minute, a hollow “ka-clunk” sound emanates from this room, which contains the following:
This room contains two rusty iron crates in one corner and an iron, bell-shaped contraption bolted to the floor in the opposite corner. The bell is nine feet tall and painted black, with several dents and dings in it. Every so often, the bell emits a loud “ka-clunk” sound.
Each crate contains twenty iron flasks of demon ichor (see “area Demon Ichor").
A
W7. Stirge Nest
Describe this area to the players as follows:
This chamber contains a stripped-down metal console and several rusty pipes that extend from floor to ceiling. One of the pipes has a two-foot-long gash in it.
The console’s original purpose can’t be determined.
Ten Stirge nest in the pipe with the gash in it. If the pipe is jostled or otherwise disturbed, the stirges fly out and attack.
W8. Signal Desks
This hall has four doors leading off it. Behind each door is a closet with a miniature console and chair bolted to the floor. These consoles have keys and function like Infernal typewriters. An imp stationed at each console would type orders from superiors on small slips of paper before delivering them to their intended recipients. Rigged above each desk is a long, slender horn through which bridge officers could dictate their orders.
Development
As the characters prepare to leave, a warband arrives to scavenge the wreck. This warband is led by one of the warlords described in the “area Warlords of the Avernian Wastelands” section. The characters have a few rounds to hide, set an ambush, or return to their vehicles before the enemy warband arrives.
Each warlord has a different reason for visiting the wreck, as outlined below.
Bitter Breath. The horned devil is thinking about turning the wreck into a base and wants to inspect it.
Feonor. The archmage heard a rumor that someone has been stockpiling demon ichor inside the wreck, and she plans to steal it.
Princeps Kovik. Kovik’s spies in Bel’s Forge have told the chain devil about the adamantine rods. Kovik plans to sell them to Mahadi the Rakshasa (see “area Mahadi, Emporium Master") for
Returning the Rods to Bel
Bel isn’t really expecting the characters to return the nine adamantine rods to him, and he looks positively disappointed if they do. (“We didn’t even sign a contract!” he laments.) Rather, he hoped they might use the rods to unlock the Companion, thereby freeing the planetar trapped within it and potentially ruining Zariel’s plans for Elturel. Bringing the nine rods back to Bel merely implicates him in the plot to free the planetar. After uttering a few choice curse words, he strongly encourages the characters to take the rods to Elturel, stick them in locks along the Companion’s equator, and see what happens.
Happy to let the characters keep the rods, Bel makes good on his promise to reveal the location of the Bleeding Citadel. He tells the characters that the
Warlords of the Avernian Wastelands
As the characters cross the wastelands of Avernus, they will likely run afoul of petty warlords scavenging for
In Avernus, a warlord’s power is measured by the strength and size of its gang, and the threat posed by its infernal war machines. As one warlord bites the dust, another inevitably rises to take its place. Bitter Breath, Feonor, and Princeps Kovik are merely the latest in a long series of warlords to plague the Avernian expanse. If Zariel wasn’t so busy fighting the Blood War, she would rid Avernus of these roaming pests; as things stand, she’s content to let the warlords wipe each other out instead.
If you need to add some excitement to the adventure, have one of these warlords show up to challenge the characters. One warlord might be after
Avernus has more warlords than the ones described here. You can create new ones, each with their own gangs and infernal war machines. Don’t worry about throwing too many infernal war machines at the characters. You can curtail the characters' reliance on infernal war machines by restricting their access to
Infernal War Machine Combat
All the warlords described in this adventure use infernal war machines to strike fear into their rivals, fend off demons and other threats, and flee from Zariel’s devil patrols. The rules for infernal war machines in appendix B are meant to help you adjudicate situations that arise during encounters, but combat involving infernal war machines works best with “theater of the mind”-style play, where it’s more important to capture the emotion of a chase than know the exact location and orientation of every vehicle on the battlefield.
If a situation arises that the vehicle rules don’t cover, fall back on the core rules. For example, if a character wants to leap from one moving vehicle to another, determine whether the character succeeds or not with a Strength (
Bitter Breath
Bitter Breath is a resentful, vindictive warlord that fell prey to the cutthroat politics of Avernus. Formerly a pit fiend named L’zeth, it strove to undermine Zariel while courting Bel. Shortly after claiming rulership of Avernus, Zariel demoted L’zeth to a horned devil.
For a while, L’zeth nursed its damaged pride. Eventually, the despondent devil reignited its ambitions and became involved in a plot to overthrow Zariel. The archdevil’s spies learned of the plot. As further punishment, Zariel removed L’zeth’s wings and cursed the horned devil so that it could no longer enter into deals. Any document that L’zeth signs melts away, and any words it utters turn to smoke in its mouth. Thus did L’zeth become known as Bitter Breath.
Bitter Breath’s Marauders
Zariel has declared that no other devil may associate with Bitter Breath. However, Zariel’s decree hasn’t stopped the fiendish outcast from joining forces with a gang of marauding hobgoblins under the command of a battle-hardened hobgoblin warlord named High Graj Karkajuk.
Bitter Breath drives a Tormentor that has an Infernal Screamer (see “Infernal Screamer”) instead of a Harpoon Flinger. Hobgoblin round out the Tormentor’s crew. High Graj Karkajuk drives a Devil’s Ride and commands a pair of Scavenger driven by Hobgoblin Captain and crewed by ordinary Hobgoblin. See appendix B for the vehicles' stat blocks.
Feonor
Feonor is a willowy, neutral evil archmage with milky-white eyes and a parasol made of bones and human flesh. Her rivals know her as a powerful necromancer. They suspect that she fled the Material Plane to escape some horrible fate, but the truth is she was invited to Avernus by Mahadi, the rakshasa master of the Wandering Emporium (see “area The Wandering Emporium"). During a visit to Feonor’s world, Mahadi fell head-over-heels in love with her zombie-like indifference. Not long after arriving in Avernus, Feonor grew bored of Mahadi’s attempts to impress her. Without so much as a farewell, she took to the Avernian wastes on one of the rakshasa’s infernal war machines and never looked back. Years later, Mahadi still refers to her as “the one the got away.”
The scowl on Feonor’s face hints at her constant annoyance with the multiverse around her. She prefers not to speak, and when she does, it’s typically only in whispers, her short sentences interspersed and punctuated with frustrated sighs.
Golden Doom
Feonor rides around in a Demon Grinder called Golden Doom, so named because Mahadi fitted it with gilded death armor (see “Gilded Death Armor”). The vehicle is driven by a ghast, and its other stations are operated by Ghoul. She also commands a force of ten Crawling Claw. A pair of Tormentor crewed by Mezzoloth provide escort.
Princeps Kovik
This particularly cruel chain devil commanded the Nine Hells' 8th Infantry Legion, “Terror Incarnate,” which was crushed on the banks of the River Styx by the demon lord Kostchtchie. Blaming its superiors for the defeat, Princeps Kovik gathered the surviving members of its legion and formed the Eighth Remnant, a marauding gang of devils no longer beholden to the infernal hierarchy.
The devils that serve under Kovik do so willingly because the chain devil has earned their trust. Newly disenfranchised devils regularly flock to Kovik’s banner. The chain devil’s emblem is the numeral 8 made out of iron chain on a crimson field. Kovik aims to gather enough strength and infernal war machines to do what no archdevil has been able to do: drive the demons back to the Abyss for good.
The Eighth Remnant
The Eighth Remnant chases down any potential source of
Kovik has a Devil’s Ride and travels with two Bearded Devil on similar vehicles. The rest of the gang consists of four Barbed Devil on a Tormentor and eight Bearded Devil on a Demon Grinder. Members of the Eighth Remnant never use demon ichor in their vehicles.
Quest for the Sword
Lulu’s dreams lead the characters on a wild goose chase to Haruman’s Hill in search of the
Diagram 3.2 and diagram 3.3 are flowcharts that show the two paths characters can take through Avernus to reach the Bleeding Citadel: the Path of Demons and the Path of Devils, respectively. Neither is literally a “path,” but rather a sequence of locations that the characters must visit in order. If the characters wander off these paths, use optional encounters to pull them back (see “Other Locations,” and “area Roaming Encounter: Smiler the Defiler").
Each encounter location tied to a path has a recommended character level, as noted in diagram 3.2 or diagram 3.3. If your group’s average character level is lower than the recommended level of their destination, introduce some random encounters or reroute them to another location first to raise their level.
Allow characters the opportunity to explore locations on the poster map of Avernus in any order they please, or let them jump back and forth between the paths as they see fit.
Haruman’s Hill
Behold! Zariel’s dog crucified those who betrayed his mistress in battle.
—The Cartographer
Haruman’s Hill is marked on map 3.1. When the characters arrive at this location, read or paraphrase the following boxed text to the players:
Wrought iron trees line a trail that leads to the summit of a steep hill. Anguished knights are impaled on the trees' metal branches, their bodies writhing in torment as bloated stirges feast on their blood.
Haruman, a human paladin of Helm, was one of Zariel’s most devoted Hellriders. He crucified deserters to Zariel’s cause on “Coward’s Way,” a line of tortured souls leading to this desolate hill. Each soul is pinned to a barbed, metal tree. Inscriptions above their heads attest that most of them were mortal knights who abandoned Zariel during her assault into Avernus. Flocks of Stirge buzz between the branches, feasting hungrily on the screaming, crucified victims. The stirges attack the characters only if they try to free the captives (see “area Haruman’s Arrival” below). Roll
Jander Sunstar
Near the summit of the hill, the vampire Jander Sunstar is impaled on one of the largest iron trees. This elf warrior, cursed to an eternity of undeath, tried to redeem his corrupted soul by swearing to hunt down his own kind. Later, he volunteered to join Zariel on her crusade into the Nine Hells. Stirges now swarm back and forth from Jander’s body, preserving his existence by injecting him with the blood of his traitorous companions.
Jander pleads for the characters to cut him down so that his soul can move on from this accursed place. He reveals the following information:
- Jander and Haruman were both part of a host of warriors who joined the angel Zariel in her assault on the Nine Hells.
- After charging through the portal into Avernus, Jander panicked and fled back to Elturel. He betrayed his braver comrades by sealing the portal behind them.
- Jander and his fellow deserters never revealed their shameful retreat and betrayal of Zariel. It was a badge of shame that the Hellriders, as they were came to be known, would wear in secret until the grave.
- After years of anguish, Jander chose to face the sun and throw himself on Lathander’s mercy. The prayer fell on deaf ears, and his soul was condemned to the Nine Hells to suffer for his sins.
When she beholds Jander impaled on the iron tree, Lulu’s memories of him return. She remembers his betrayal of Zariel and gives him a pitiful look. She then admits to the characters that she’s made a mistake leading them here and needs to ponder her dreams in more detail to discern the Bleeding Citadel’s whereabouts.
Haruman’s Arrival
If the characters free Jander or any of his companions, their bodies crumble to dust in grateful release. In response, twenty Stirge attack the group. When the second round of combat begins, any crucified souls remaining on the trees wail in terror as Haruman, a narzugon, swoops down from the sky on his nightmare steed to punish the interlopers. He begins the encounter 300 feet away and orders the nightmare to close the distance between him and the adventurers as quickly as possible. As Haruman attacks, a hellwasp appears from a nearby nest and tries to grab Lulu and fly off with her (see “Development” below).
If a character damages Haruman with an attack, a fresh tree bearing the character’s name sprouts from the ground nearby, listing the character’s crime as “assaulting an officer.” Any character who sees their name on a tree for the first time must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or become
Treasure
Haruman uses
Development
If the hellwasp abducts Lulu, it takes the hollyphant to its nest. If the characters wish to rescue Lulu, they must storm the nest (see “area Hellwasp Nest").
If the characters thwart the hellwasp’s abduction of Lulu, the hollyphant is grateful and apologizes for leading them to the wrong place, admitting that her memory of the Bleeding Citadel is hazier than she initially realized. Having pondered her dreams further, she says that two sites in Avernus seem important to finding the Citadel: a place where demons manifest (see “area Spawning Trees"), and another where demons are destroyed (see “area Demon Zapper"). Lulu has no preference which to investigate first, so she points out both locations on the characters' map and leaves the decision to the characters. Each of these locations opens a different branch of investigation that ultimately leads to the Bleeding Citadel. See diagram 3.2 and diagram 3.3 for overviews of the two paths—the Path of Demons and the Path of Devils.
Hellwasp Nest
Fallen angels are meat for hellwasps. Steer clear, lest you nourish their young with your flesh.
—The Cartographer
Throughout Avernus, aggressive hellwasp colonies shape enormous nests from the cocooned carcasses of slain angels and other fallen celestials. Such structures are magically buoyant and must be tethered by chains to the surface of Avernus. The cocooned angels writhe unpleasantly from the motion of the larvae gorging on their insides, creating the false impression that they still live. Because of this, the mere sight of a hellwasp nest has been known to drive mortals mad. This entry describes a typical nest, such as the one Lulu is carried to from Haruman’s Hill.
When the characters encounter their first hellwasp nest, read or paraphrase the following boxed text to the players:
A gigantic sac of wet, papery material floats high above the surface of hell. Angelic figures with feathery wings stick to its surface like flies in amber, their bodies struggling futilely underneath layers of gunk. Iron chains at the bottom of the structure tether it to the hellish landscape.
A typical hellwasp nest contains eight Hellwasp, although twice this number are typically out hunting when the characters arrive. If they paralyze every character in the party with their stings, the hellwasps move them to their larder at the top of the nest (area area N4) to be used as food for their larvae.
Encounters in the Nest
The following descriptions correspond to the areas marked on map 3.2. A hellwasp nest has no stairs, so the characters must fly or use climbing gear to traverse between levels. Each level of the nest is basically one large chamber. Map 3.2 includes a side view of the nest that shows how the various levels stack atop one another.
Map 3.2 shows where dead angels are entombed in the hellwasp nest’s translucent walls. The angels' well-preserved corpses, which are visible to creatures inside the nest, keep the nest aloft. Removing them from the walls causes the nest to slowly sink to the ground.
N1. Entry Level
The nest’s entrance is on its underside, where one or more heavy chains tether the nest 100 feet above the surface of Avernus. The hellwasps keep this level mostly clear to avoid blocking off the hatcheries above. Even so, discarded gear accumulates here among the gory effluvia expelled from the wasps' devoured captives.
Treasure
Anyone searching through the junk finds a backpack containing five
Development
Too much noise here alerts the hellwasps in area N2. Creatures rooting through the junk must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity (
N2. Drone Cells
This level is honeycombed with octagonal cells crafted by the hellwasps from a regurgitated mulch of bone, sand, and fat. Three Hellwasp are here unless they were drawn to area N1 by the characters' intrusion.
N3. Hellwasp Larvae
This level of the nest is always on high alert and contains three Hellwasp.
Hellwasp larvae are incubating inside the angel carcasses on this level. If a character takes piercing or slashing damage within 15 feet of an angel carcass or moves within 5 feet of one, the carcass explodes and releases
N4. Larder
The hellwasps gum their victims to the walls of this level using the same regurgitated bile that forms their nest. Two Hellwasp are stationed here at all hours.
If Lulu was abducted and brought to the nest, the characters find her here, stuck to a wall (see “Development” below). Any creature that ends up gummed to the walls can use an action to try to free itself, doing so with a successful DC 20 Strength (
Treasure
Ruined gear belonging to previous abductees is scattered across the floor. Characters who search through the gear find three
Development
If the characters free Lulu, she admits that her memory of the Bleeding Citadel is hazier than she initially realized. Having pondered her dreams further, she says that two sites in Avernus seem important to finding the Citadel: a place where demons manifest (see “area Spawning Trees"), and another where demons are destroyed (see “area Demon Zapper"). Lulu has no preference which to investigate first, so she points out both locations on the characters' map and leaves the decision to them. Each of these locations opens a different branch of investigation that leads to the Bleeding Citadel. See diagram 3.2 for an overview of the Path of Demons and diagram 3.3 for an overview of the Path of Devils.