Dramatis Personae

Dramatis Personae

Introduction

Something evil is trapping the souls of the dead and draining life from all who have been raised from death by magic. This worldwide “death curse” not only prevents the raising of the dead but also causes creatures that were previously raised from the dead to wither and die. The source of this death curse lies in a trap-riddled tomb hidden beneath a lost city in the depths of a vast jungle.

Tomb of Annihilation is a Dungeons & Dragons adventure that takes place on the peninsula of Chult in the Forgotten Realms. Chult is a tropical wilderness composed mostly of jungles, plateaus, impassable mountains, and belching volcanoes. You can substitute a different jungle setting, changing location names as needed. Alternative D&D settings include the Amedio Jungle of Oerth, the Savage Coast of Mystara, the jungles of Xen’drik on Eberron, or a comparable setting on your home campaign world.

This adventure is designed to begin with a party of four to six 1st-level characters, who should advance to 11th level or higher by the adventure’s conclusion.

Story Overview

The characters are drawn into the story by Syndra Silvane, a retired adventurer and merchant who, years ago, was raised from the dead. Now, she’s withering away. When she consulted priests, Syndra learned that the affliction was widespread and that no spell could cure it. She spoke to her friends among the Harpers, who determined the source of the affliction: an ungodly necromantic device called the Soulmonger. The Harpers received their intelligence from a lich, but they don’t know much about the Soulmonger other than its name and general whereabouts. Adventurers willing to help Syndra must travel to Chult, a land of jungles and monsters, to find the Soulmonger and destroy it.

Unknown to Syndra and her allies, the Soulmonger is trapping the souls of the dead and depriving liches of the means to trap souls in their phylacteries. (The Soulmonger snatches up the souls before they can be trapped elsewhere.) Szass Tam, the most powerful lich among the Red Wizards of Thay, has sent operatives to Chult to steal the Soulmonger or, failing that, destroy it. Leading the Thayan expedition is Szass Tam’s devoted lieutenant, Valindra Shadowmantle. Valindra has been warned that adventurers might cross her path, so she’s prepared for them.

Also lurking in the heart of Chult is Ras Nsi, a mythic, villainous figure among Chultans. Ras Nsi was a human paladin and a sworn protector of the city of Mezro. He betrayed his oaths and was banished. Rather than redeem himself, he raised an undead army to conquer Mezro. The would-be tyrant was defeated and banished once more. Mezro was later destroyed by the Spellplague (or so it seemed), during which Ras Nsi lost his power to create and command undead. He withdrew to the city of Omu, leaving the vestiges of his undead army to roam unchecked throughout the jungle. That was not the end of Ras Nsi, however. Bitter over his loss of power, he forged an alliance with the yuan-ti lurking in the ruins of Omu and underwent a ritual of transformation, becoming a yuan-ti malison. As a yuan-ti, Ras Nsi imposed his terrible will on the evil snake people and became their leader.

Beneath the cracked and broken streets of Omu lies a secret yuan-ti temple called the Fane of the Night Serpent, where Ras Nsi holds sway and plots to bring about the end of the world. Omu is also home to the Tomb of the Nine Gods. As the characters explore this multilevel dungeon, they encounter the spirits of Omu’s trickster gods and are potentially inhabited by them. Each god embodies a different alignment, and any character inhabited by one gains a special power as well as a flaw. The nine trickster gods don’t get along, and they try to push one another out of the characters' bodies. As the gods fight over their living hosts, the characters must deal with the deadly traps and monsters that guard the Soulmonger. Venturing deeper into the tomb, they uncover clues about the dungeon’s evil architect-the archlich Acererak-and learn that the Soulmonger is feeding souls to an undead horror called an atropal. Once it consumes enough souls, the atropal will transform into an evil god.

Destroying the Soulmonger ends the death curse affecting the world, while killing the atropal incurs the wrath of Acererak. Under normal circumstances, the enraged archlich would be far too great a foe for mortal adventurers to overcome, but with the trickster gods of Omu on their side, the heroes have a fighting chance.

Running the Adventure

To run this adventure, you need the D&D fifth edition core rulebooks (Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual).

Text that appears in a box like this is meant to be read aloud or paraphrased for the players when their characters first arrive at a location or under a specific circumstance, as described in the text.

The Monster Manual and Volo’s Guide to Monsters contain stat blocks for most of the creatures found in this adventure. You don’t need the latter reference to run Tomb of Annihilation, as all the necessary stat blocks from Volo’s Guide to Monsters are included with the new monsters in appendix D.

When a creature’s name appears in bold type, that’s a visual cue pointing you to its stat block in the Monster Manual. If a stat block appears in appendix D, the adventure’s text tells you so.

Spells and equipment mentioned in the adventure are described in the Player’s Handbook. Magic items are described in the Dungeon Master’s Guide, unless the adventure’s text directs you to an item’s description in appendix C.

Abbreviations

The following abbreviations are used throughout this adventure:

Adventure Summary

The adventure is likely to play out as follows.

The adventurers are teleported to Port Nyanzaru, the only major settlement in Chult. After exploring the city (chapter 1), they embark on an expedition into the wilds of Chult (chapter 2), eventually finding the ruined city of Omu (chapter 3). The characters don’t know that Omu is their ultimate destination from the outset; they must find clues or evidence pointing in that direction.

In this adventure, three creatures know that the cause of the death curse lies in Omu: Grandfather Zitembe in Port Nyanzaru, Valindra Shadowmantle in the Heart of Ubtao, and Saja N’baza in Orolunga. Several creatures know Omu’s location: the guides Eku and Salida in Port Nyanzaru, Valindra Shadowmantle in the Heart of Ubtao, the aarakocra of Kir Sabal, Zalkoré of Nangalore, Saja N’baza in Orolunga, and the red dragon Tzindelor in Wyrmheart Mine. If the characters are unable to locate Omu or ascertain the source of the death curse, the following additional creatures might possess the knowledge they seek, at your discretion: Krr’ook in Dungrunglung, Nephyr in Firefinger, Nanny Pu’pu in Mbala, Bwayes O’tamu in the wreck of the Narwhal, the survivors of the Star Goddess shipwreck, and Red Wizards under Valindra Shadowmantle’s command.

As the adventurers explore Omu, they are either captured by yuan-ti or forced to confront them in their underground temple (chapter 4). Not far from the yuan-ti temple is the entrance to the Tomb of the Nine Gods (chapter 5). The Soulmonger lies deep within the tomb, which is riddled with puzzles, traps, monsters, and magical wards. Best case scenario: the adventure concludes with the destruction of the Soulmonger and the heroes' daring escape from the tomb. Worst case scenario: the characters succumb to the evil of Acererak, and their souls are devoured.

Who Is Acererak?

Acererak is a powerful lich known and feared throughout the multiverse. Much of his past is forgotten, but ancient texts assert that he comes from a world called Oerth.

Acererak travels the planes in search of artifacts. When he finds something useful or interesting, he locks it away. Although he’s powerful enough to pursue godhood as other liches have done (Vecna being a prime example), Acererak has no interest in being a god or being worshiped. He prefers to create evil gods and unleash them on mortals and immortals who oppose him.

Despite passing up opportunities for godhood, Acererak attracts his fair share of followers and worshipers. He doesn’t grant spells, nor does he give his devotees much of his precious time. Mostly he likes to watch them suffer and die as a result of their magical pursuits and folly.

Although he has lived on many worlds and crafted countless demiplanes, Acererak spends most of his time building tombs. He fills each one with treasure to attract powerful adventurers. He then kills them off in terrible fashion, using deadly traps and monsters while baiting and ridiculing them. The terror he evokes scars their souls, which he traps in his phylactery, the location of which is one of the multiverse’s greatest secrets.

Not too long ago by human standards, Acererak found an atropal adrift at the edge of the Negative Plane and built the Soulmonger to nourish it to godhood. The lich chose one of his tombs-specifically the Tomb of the Nine Gods on Toril-to serve as the atropal’s nursery.

For more information on Acererak, including his statistics, see appendix D.

Death Curse

Understanding how Acererak’s death curse works is vital to running the adventure smoothly.

The Soulmonger was activated 20 days ago and remains active until it is destroyed. While the Soulmonger is active, the following effects are in play:

• Any humanoid on the planet that has been brought back from the dead begins to waste away. Its hit point maximum is reduced by 20 (1 for each day the Soulmonger has been active) and decreases by 1 every midnight until the Soulmonger is destroyed. If a humanoid’s hit point maximum drops to 0, it dies. Traveling to another world or plane does nothing to halt the wasting effect once it has begun.
• A humanoid whose hit point maximum is reduced can’t increase or restore it. This is true whether the creature’s hit point maximum is reduced by the Soulmonger or by some other life-draining effect, such as the touch of a wight, wraith, or similar creature.
• If a humanoid dies anywhere on the planet, its soul becomes trapped inside the Soulmonger. Only the destruction of the Soulmonger can free the trapped soul.
• Any spell that breathes life into the dead (including revivify, raise dead, resurrection, and true resurrection) automatically fails if cast on a humanoid whose soul is either trapped in the Soulmonger or has been devoured by the atropal (see “Soul Devouring” below).
• The Soulmonger does not affect the workings of speak with dead spells or similar magic. The death curse has no effect on preexisting ghosts or spirits.

Meat Grinder

Tomb of Annihilation can be played as written, or you can make it even more difficult by running it as a meat grinder. This mode of play is suitable for experienced players who have highly optimized characters and who don’t mind putting those characters in jeopardy for the sake of a good challenge. It is less ideal for players who are inexperienced or get anxious at the thought of losing their characters.

You must choose to run the adventure as a meat grinder from the very beginning. In this mode of play, the Soulmonger gains the power to draw characters who are close to death, and the following rule applies:

• A death saving throw succeeds on a roll of 15 or higher (instead of 10 or higher). This effect ends when the Soulmonger is destroyed. Other rules concerning death saving throws remain unchanged.

Soul Devouring

The soul of any humanoid that dies while the death curse is active becomes trapped inside the Soulmonger. The soul remains there until it is consumed by the atropal or the Soulmonger is destroyed.

Once a soul becomes trapped in the Soulmonger, it’s only a matter of time before the atropal devours it. You can determine the status of a trapped soul at dawn on any given day by secretly rolling a d20. On a roll of 2 or higher, the soul remains trapped in the Soulmonger, at least until the next dawn. A roll of 1 indicates that the soul was devoured by the atropal. A creature whose soul is devoured in this horrific manner can’t be returned to life by any means, including divine intervention.

If the Soulmonger is destroyed and you haven’t been tracking the status of a particular soul trapped within, grab a handful of d20s-one die for each day the soul was trapped-and roll them together. If you roll a 1 on any of the dice, the soul was devoured before it could be set free.

Spells such as commune and divination can be used to determine whether a soul has been devoured or whether it’s still trapped in the Soulmonger.

How many souls must the atropal devour to become a god? It could be thousands or millions. Ultimately it’s the DM’s call, but the default assumption is that this apotheosis could take months or years.

Replacement Characters

The death curse means that, for the most part, dead characters stay dead. If a character dies and there’s no reasonable way for the player to continue playing that character, you can have the player create a new character. A replacement character should be the same level as the rest of the party.

Chult attracts adventurers from all over the world, and the activation of the Soulmonger draws even more adventurers than usual to its untamed wilderness. The player characters are among the earliest to arrive, but adventurers from across the globe begin to converge in Chult as the crisis mounts. It should not be difficult to introduce new characters to replace those who have perished. A new character might be the last surviving member of a doomed expedition, a guide who has lived in Chult for years, a lone explorer seeking glory or treasure, or someone racing against time to save a loved one affected by the death curse. Work with the player to come up with a story that makes sense, given the circumstances.

Ticking Clock

Tomb of Annihilation is a time-bomb adventure. In other words, time is of the essence. The characters are under pressure to find and destroy the Soulmonger quickly, since many lives depend on it.

Time pressure aside, Chult is a land ripe with adventure possibilities, and characters might be drawn by curiosity or circumstance to locations such as the garden ruin of Nangalore, the dwarven forge of Hrakhamar, or the pirate haven of Jahaka Anchorage. Such locations present dangers that, when overcome, prepare the characters for greater threats awaiting them in Omu. If the characters reach Omu too soon, they probably won’t be high enough level to survive there for long. When the characters make inquiries about Omu, paint the lost city as a terrifying place so that players feel the tension of wanting to get there quickly, but not too quickly.

Character Advancement

Characters begin the adventure at 1st level and gain XP by defeating monsters. After each game session, add up all the XP earned and distribute it evenly among the party members. If the characters gain enough XP to advance a level, encourage your players to level up their characters before the next session. Ideally, the characters should fall within the desired level range for each chapter of the adventure, as shown in the Suggested Character Levels table.

Suggested Character Levels

You can slow the rate of advancement by withholding XP, “banking” it until you’re ready for the party to level up. Conversely, you can hasten level advancement by awarding ad hoc XP for making discoveries, completing goals, roleplaying well, and surviving or avoiding deadly traps. Any such ad hoc award should be no more than what the characters would earn for defeating a monster with a challenge rating equal to their level. For example, a fair ad hoc award for a party of 2nd-level adventurers would be 450 XP, which is what the characters would earn for defeating a challenge rating 2 monster. As with other XP awards, the amount should be divided evenly among all party members.

As the DM, you can dispense with XP tracking and allow characters to gain levels at whatever pace suits your campaign, using the Suggested Character Levels table as your guide.

Chult is loaded with fun distractions, alluring locations, and opportunities for characters to explore. Consequently, it can be hard to gauge what level the characters will be when they arrive at adventure locations. Again, let the Suggested Character Levels table guide you. For example, if the characters are 4th level and about to stumble into Omu (chapter 3), you might want to steer them in a different direction, throw random encounters at them until they’ve reached 5th level, advance them to 5th level automatically, or adjust encounters in Omu to make the threats easier to overcome.

Starting at Higher Levels

Although the adventure assumes that the characters begin at 1st level, you can start them off at 5th level or 9th level instead.

Characters of 5th level will still find parts of chapters 1 and 2 challenging. If an encounter becomes too much of a cakewalk, you can introduce enemy reinforcements. Hold off on XP awards and level advancement until the characters reach Omu in chapter 3.

Characters of 9th level will steamroll through chapters 1 and 2, and that’s fine. Spend less time on encounters in the jungle, and steer the characters toward Omu as quickly as possible. Once they arrive, run the adventure as you normally would. Characters at this level will still be challenged by chapters 3 and 4, particularly if you play the yuan-ti as intelligent adversaries. Hold off on XP awards and level advancement until the characters enter the Tomb of the Nine Gods in chapter 5.

Starting the Adventure

The adventure’s default starting location is the city of Baldur’s Gate on the Sword Coast, in the Forgotten Realms setting. However, any large settlement will do. Possibilities from other D&D worlds include the Free City of Greyhawk on Oerth, the city of Specularum on Mystara, and the city of Sharn on Eberron.

To get things rolling, read or paraphrase the following introductory text to the players:

For the past several days, the talk of the streets and taverns has all been about the so-called death curse: a wasting disease afflicting everyone who’s ever been raised from the dead. Victims grow thinner and weaker each day, slowly but steadily sliding toward the death they once denied. When they finally succumb, they can’t be raised-and neither can anyone else, regardless of whether they’ve ever received that miracle in the past. Temples and scholars of divine magic are at a loss to explain a curse that has affected the entire region, and possibly the entire world.

At this point, invite the players to explain why their characters are together, how long they’ve been together, and what they’ve been doing. If the characters don’t know each other, you can have them meet at Syndra Silvane’s residence.

Syndra Silvane’s Curse

The party’s benefactor is a retired adventurer named Syndra Silvane. Being a wizard and merchant of no small repute, she has magic to expedite the party’s journey to Chult as well as treasure with which to reward characters for their assistance.

When you’re ready for the characters to meet with Syndra, read:

You have been invited to the home of Syndra Silvane, a retired adventurer and merchant. A uniformed attendant leads you up a grand staircase to the third floor, then ushers you into a wood-paneled room with a fireplace, comfortable chairs, and a heavy table bearing goblets and bottles of wine. The darkly paneled walls are hung with maps and sea charts. Racks, shelves, and cabinets hold hundreds more rolled-up maps and charts.

A person is seated in an overstuffed chair near the fire. You can’t discern a gender, because only the person’s head emerges from under a heavy blanket draped over the chair, and an embroidered hood and silver mask conceal the wearer’s face. Even the person’s dry, raspy voice provides no clue. “Help yourselves to wine, and seat yourselves, friends—I hope I may call you that.”

The masked speaker is Syndra Silvane. She is a Tethyrian human archmage, with these changes:

• Syndra is lawful neutral and speaks Common, Dwarvish, Elvish, and Halfling.
• Syndra’s hit point maximum has been reduced to 79 by the Soulmonger’s death curse, and it decreases by 1 every midnight. If her hit point maximum drops to 0, Syndra dies and can’t be brought back from the dead until the death curse has ended (and if her soul hasn’t been devoured). Destroying the Soulmonger is the only way to halt the attrition and restore her hit point maximum to normal.

Roleplaying Syndra Silvane

Syndra tells the characters her story and makes her request. Roleplay the encounter, paraphrasing the following information and responding in Silvane’s dry, cracking voice to the characters' questions:

Syndra

“I was an adventurer years ago. I died once and was raised from the dead. I have since closed the door on that stage of my life.”

“The death curse you’ve heard about has struck me. I don’t know how much longer I’ll last before I perish. Clerics have no help to offer. They’re stymied by what is happening.”

“My contacts in the Harpers have learned that the cause of the death curse is a necromantic artifact called the Soulmonger. According to their sources, the Soulmonger is somewhere in Chult.”

“Chult is a peninsula ringed with mountains and choked with rainforests. Enormous reptiles, savage goblins, and an army of undead prowl its jungles and ruins. Mapping the place has always been nigh impossible, and nothing is known about the region’s current geography beyond a few miles from the coast.”

“Working from dozens of sea charts, log books, and explorers' journals, I assembled everything known about the current state of Chult into one map. I’ll provide it to you if you undertake my mission.”

“When you’re ready to depart, I will teleport us all to Port Nyanzaru, the only major settlement in Chult. I’ve been there several times before, so there’s little chance of mishap. Once there, I’ll stay with a friend named Wakanga O’tamu. He’s one of seven merchant princes who rule the city.”

Syndra has misgivings about sending inexperienced adventurers on so dangerous a quest, but she isn’t taking any chances. She fails to mention that other, more experienced parties of adventurers have been sent to Chult already. All have disappeared, and Syndra fears the worst. In truth, they fell victim to the perils of Chult or crossed paths with Valindra Shadowmantle, and were never seen or heard from again. If the characters urge Syndra to seek out a more experienced party of adventurers, she replies dryly, “I already have.”

Quest: Destroy the Soulmonger

Syndra Silvane, a retired adventurer, has tasked us with finding and destroying the Soulmonger. This necromantic artifact is the apparent cause of the death curse which is afflicting any who have been raised from the dead. According to her sources, the Soulmonger is somewhere in Chult, but exactly where is unknown. She has assembled all the information she has on Chult and given us a map with all of the details that she has discovered on it.

If we complete this task Syndra has promised each of us our choice of a rare or uncommon magic item.

Treasure

Syndra promises each character a rare or uncommon magic item, delivered upon successful completion of her quest. (At the end of the adventure, each player can choose an appropriate item, subject to your approval.) Syndra also expects that the characters will find enough treasure in Chult to make them as rich as kings.

If the characters press for coin up front, Syndra gives each character 50 gp to defray expenses in Port Nyanzaru.

Players' Map of Chult

At this point, give the players a copy of Syndra Silvane’s incomplete map of Chult (see the poster map as well as handout 1 in appendix E). Syndra gladly answers their questions to the best of her ability, but she doesn’t know much more about Chult than what’s on the map. She knows Port Nyanzaru well enough to assure characters that they can buy supplies there.

Teleporting to Chult

In the interest of time, Syndra is prepared to use a teleport spell to transport herself and the heroes to Port Nyanzaru. If the characters agree, don’t bother rolling to determine the spell’s accuracy. Syndra knows the city’s Harbor Ward well enough to arrive on target. She chooses an outdoor location near the docks as her destination. When the characters arrive in Port Nyanzaru, skip to the “Arrival” section in chapter 1.

Character Hooks

Appendix A presents two new character backgrounds that players can select with your consent: the anthropologist and the archaeologist. In addition, the Player’s Handbook and the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide contain a number of character backgrounds that are well suited for this adventure. If your players are having trouble fleshing out their characters' backgrounds, share the ideas from the Character Hooks for Select Backgrounds table with them.

Character Hooks for Select Backgrounds

Welcome to Chult

With the exception of a few coastal settlements, Chult is untamed tropical wilderness: dense jungles and snaky rivers ringed by mountains, volcanoes, and sheer escarpments. Walls of mountains to the west, south, and east shield the interior from the sea and from the view of sailors. The rivers are so sluggish that it can be difficult determining which direction is upstream and which is down. The rivers pick up speed only where they thunder down through steep-sided gorges.

The safest entry points into this overgrown realm (“safest” is a relative term in this context) are on the north and east. The coast from the Bay of Chult to Refuge Bay offers beaches on which to embark into the uncharted jungle. Along the entire coast, the Bay of Chult is the only spot where travelers can find welcoming civilization. The rest of the peninsula is a breeding ground for bloodsucking, disease-bearing insects, monstrous reptiles, carnivorous birds and beasts of every variety, and murderous undead. The farther one moves from the coast, the more humid, hot, and inhospitable the land becomes.

Weather

Chult is hot, humid, and rainy throughout the year. The temperature regularly climbs as high as 95 degrees F (35 degrees C) during the day and seldom falls below 70 degrees F (20 degrees C) even at night. A day without rain is rare, but rain varies from a steady mist to drenching downpours.

Visibility in heavy rain is limited to 50 yards. Beyond that distance, only Huge or larger objects can be distinguished. Missile weapon ranges are halved during rain.

On days that receive heavy rain, there’s a 25 percent chance of a full-blown tropical storm featuring sheets of rain, high wind, lightning, tall waves at sea, and immense surf along the coast. Guides who know the conditions in Chult recommend hunkering down and staying put on these days. Travel by river is impossible (canoes are swamped by waves within 15 minutes of launching). If characters insist on traveling by foot, every character gains 1 level of exhaustion automatically and must make a successful DC 10 Constitution check or gain another. Skill checks to avoid becoming lost are made with disadvantage on storm days.

Gods of Chult

A central figure in Chult’s history is the greater god Ubtao, who long protected the land and Chultan civilization. But Ubtao grew angry over his worshipers' endless warring and their reliance on him to solve all their problems. More than a century ago, Ubtao simply abandoned Chult, and his influence hasn’t been felt there since that day. When he left, the Chultans suffered a crippling spiritual blow, but eventually the disunited, warring tribes learned to put aside their petty conflicts and unite as one people. To this day, the dinosaurs of Chult are still revered as Ubtao’s sacred children by many Chultans, even though Ubtao himself is no longer popular.

With Ubtao gone, the Chultans turned to other deities, including ones introduced to them by missionaries from distant civilizations. Waukeen, a goddess of trade, is revered by Port Nyanzaru’s many merchants. Other deities with shrines in the city include Gond (god of craft), Savras (god of divination and fate), Sune (goddess of love and beauty), and Tymora (goddess of good fortune).

Besides spreading word of their deities, however, too many foreign missionaries also exploited the Chultans and their land for profit, which led to many conflicts. The temples and shrines persist, but most of the clergy are now Chultans. Foreign clerics who proselytize too energetically aren’t welcomed in Port Nyanzaru.

Races of Chult

Members of every race and nationality of Faerûn can be found in Port Nyanzaru, but few of them ever travel more than a hundred yards beyond the city walls. The native peoples must be divided into those that are commonly known and those whose presence is legendary or only suspected. The first group consists of Chultans (humans), aarakocra, Batiri (goblins), dwarves (including albino dwarves), pterafolk, and tabaxi. In the second category, weretigers are suspected to be present in small numbers; explorers and hunters sometimes report seeing grungs (frog folk) deep in the jungle; and yuan-ti are rumored to be making a resurgence in remote areas.

In addition to these known and suspected residents, a crew of frost giants has come to Chult seeking the Ring of Winter and an expedition of Red Wizards is hunting for the Soulmonger, but the presence of these bands is still unknown to the larger population.

Finally, the deep jungle is overrun by skeletons, zombies, ghouls, and other types of undead. Everyone in Chult is all too aware of their presence.

Chultans

Chultans are the human natives of Chult. They have dark skin, black hair, and a rich culture. Driven out of the jungle by monsters and undead, they took refuge behind the stout walls of Port Nyanzaru, gave up their dynasties, and united to become a mercantile power in the southern ocean, eager to do business with anyone who visits their perilous land. A few Chultans migrated northward and established outposts in distant cities such as Athkatla, Baldur’s Gate, Calimport, Memnon, and Zazesspur.

The lines of kings and queens that once held political sway throughout Chult have been mostly wiped out by time, war, calamity, and misfortune. They’ve been replaced by Chultan merchant princes who learned the art and craft of trading from Amnian and Tethyrian profiteers, and who now use their wealth to forge profitable alliances and to steer the fate of their frontier realm.

Chultans dress in light, colorful clothing appropriate for the tropical climate. They trade in gold, gemstones, jewelry, textiles, spices, rare herbs, ivory, wood, unrefined metal ore, and other commodities plucked and plundered from the jungles, valleys, and mountains of Chult. Among themselves, all Chultans still speak their own languages (a mix of exhaled and inhaled vowels, consonants, and tongue clicks), but any who deal regularly with foreigners also speak Common fluently, often with a heavy, characteristic accent.

Chultans in Port Nyanzaru seldom don armor because of the climate, but large, colorful shields made from toughened dinosaur hide are ubiquitous. These shields are called hlang and function as ordinary shields. In melee, they favor the traditional yklwa (pronounced YICK-ul-wah), a short, broad-bladed, one-handed, spearlike weapon. For more information about the yklwa, see “Buying a Special Item”.

Chultan Names

You can use the following lists to create Chultan NPC names on the fly. Some Chultans adopt their old dynastic names as surnames.

Male Names:

Atuar, Atumwa, Chiwa, Dengo, Emporo, Juma, Kundé, Kwalu, Losi, Mezoar, Mzolu, Olu, Osaw, Rindawan, Selu, Teron, Ugor, Vazul, Weshtek, Yapa

Female Names:

Azuil, Bati, Chuil, Déla, Eki, Fipya, Isi, Joli, Katéla, Lorit, Mainu, Naboli, Nyali, Omoyala, Razira, Sana, Tefnek, U’lolo, Wadizi, Yuta, Zaidi, Zamisi

Dynastic Names:

Agolo, Atazi, Balaka, Bolélé, Dawa, Ekulu, Hakal, Imbogoro, Jaharwon, M’wenye, Natombe, Ngore, Oboko, O’tamu, Sahandi, Talro’a, Utugelu, Yudan, Zuberi

Aarakocra

Tribes of aarakocra live atop the mountains and plateaus of Chult. Aarakocra leaders are skilled dancers who use their dances to inspire their followers as well as cast spells.

Aarakocra strive to defend the land against the forces of evil. They have a reputation for aiding explorers who are lost, sick, or in some other trouble, provided those explorers aren’t intent on plundering Chult’s natural resources or exploiting its inhabitants. The aarakocra are natural enemies of pterafolk and the gargoyles of Omu.

One aarakocra tribe has laid claim to a remote Chultan monastery called Kir Sabal. This site’s existence is well known in Port Nyanzaru because the structures can be seen from the River Olung through occasional breaks in the jungle along the eastern bank. Little is known beyond that, however, because the cliffside structures are so difficult to reach from the ground. The aarakocra there shelter the last descendants of Omu’s royal family, who hope to someday restore their reign.

Batiri (Goblins)

Chult is home to scores of independent goblin tribes collectively known as the Batiri. A Batiri tribe is ruled by a queen (use the goblin boss statistics). When a queen dies, fighting ensues until a new queen emerges victorious and proclaims herself ruler of the tribe. While the Batiri have many cultural and mythical aspects that make them unique, they behave essentially like other goblins; they are superstitious, cruel, suspicious of outsiders, fractious among themselves, and just as likely to torture and eat other humanoids as they are to trade with them. They are not only sadistic but highly creative in their tortures. For example, they enjoy tying enemies to trees, dousing them in honey, and leaving them to be devoured by insects over the course of several days, if a larger predator doesn’t finish them off first.

War Masks

Batiri warriors wear oversized wooden war masks into combat. Each goblin paints and decorates its own mask to make it look as fearsome as possible. Aside from intimidating enemies, these masks serve the same purpose among the Batiri as coats of arms among noble knights of Faerûn. Batiri of opposing tribes might not know an enemy’s given name, but they’ll know Snarling Crocodile or Fanged Ape.

Battle Stacks

Batiri warriors sometimes ride on each other’s shoulders in battle, in a formation known as a battle stack. These can be up to nine goblins tall. Each goblin tracks its hit points individually, but the stack moves and makes ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws as one creature. Only the goblin at the top of the stack can attack, and only the goblin at the bottom can move (all goblins stacked on its shoulders move with it). The goblin at the top makes all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma ability checks and saving throws for the stack. The goblin at the bottom makes all Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution ability checks and saving throws for the stack. A battle stack can’t jump, but it can grapple or shove another creature, swing from vines, and use the Dash, Disengage, Dodge, and Hide actions. The stack has advantage on melee attacks because of its built-in “pack tactics” effect; all the goblins are waving spears at the enemy, even if only one can hit.

When a goblin in the stack drops to 0 hit points, it is thrown from the stack. If the stack succeeds on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw, it remains intact (albeit one goblin shorter). On a failed save, the stack collapses and all the goblins fall prone in a 5-foot-square space. To form a new battle stack, a goblin must use its action to climb onto the shoulders of another willing goblin within 5 feet of it. Other goblins can join an existing battle stack in the same way. A goblin can use its action to remove itself from a battle stack, landing in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the bottom of the stack.

The Batiri invented battle stacks as a way to combat creatures much larger than themselves as well as a way to reach enemies in trees. The battle stack formation has the added effect of making the puny goblins appear taller and more fearsome to their larger enemies. Battle stacks are not effective against other ground-based threats, since all but the topmost goblin give up their attacks and mobility to be part of the stack.

Dwarves

Most of the shield dwarf strongholds beneath Chult were destroyed by intense volcanic activity. Hundreds of dwarves were forced to flee their collapsing halls, only to be slaughtered and devoured by jungle predators. A few made it to Port Nyanzaru, where they remain to this day. Some of these survivors are albinos (see appendix D for more information).

Frost Giants

Twenty frost giants came to Chult in search of the Ring of Winter. Their ship is anchored north of Kitcher’s Inlet, and teams of frost giants are scouring the jungle for signs of the ring and its wearer, Artus Cimber. A female frost giant named Drufi leads the hunt. So far the frost giants have gone about their business unnoticed, but it’s only a matter of time before they encounter a Flaming Fist patrol from Fort Beluarian. The frost giants hate Chult and its climate, but they won’t give up the search for the ring no matter what the cost.

Grungs

These predominantly evil frog folk live in villages scattered throughout the jungle. They build their primitive structures from mud, vines, and wicker, and are more comfortable in trees than on the ground. They pepper enemies with poisoned arrows and leap from branch to branch without leaving any trail.

Not all grungs are evil. A few are willing to help explorers in exchange for food or treasure. Evil or not, grungs warn away intruders by hanging the bodies of slain foes from trees at the edge of their territory.

Some Chultan guides are aware of one grung village due south of Port Nyanzaru, just above the headwater of the River Tiryki (pronounced tee-REE-kee). For more information on this village, see “Dungrunglung”. Appendix D contains additional information on grungs.

Pterafolk (Terror Folk)

These malevolent flying reptilian humanoids swoop down on unsuspecting prey, steal what they can, and retreat to their high lairs to gloat over their stolen loot. The suddenness and violence of their raids has earned them the nickname “terror folk” among other races of Chult. They are natural enemies of the aarakocra. See the pterafolk entry in appendix D for full details.

Tabaxi

Tabaxi are feline humanoids, originally native to the western continent of Maztica. Some Chultans refer to them as “cat folk” or “leopard people.” Groups of tabaxi wound up in Chult after escaping from slavers. They are a cultured people and seldom evil. A few work as guides out of Port Nyanzaru. Others enter the jungle in small groups to hunt grungs and goblins for their own purposes.

Tabaxi hunters can be encountered anywhere in Chult. Tabaxi minstrels are seldom met outside Port Nyanzaru. Appendix D includes statistics for both. Tabaxi can also be player characters (see Volo’s Guide to Monsters for tabaxi racial traits).

Undead

Over a century ago, the warlord Ras Nsi raised an undead army to conquer the city of Mezro. The army consisted mainly of dead Chultans raised as zombies and cannibals transformed into ghouls. Ras Nsi and his legion were defeated and driven back into the jungle. Before Ras Nsi could organize another attack, Mezro planeshifted away, and Ras Nsi was stripped of his god-given powers. Declaring himself an enemy of the world, he threw his lot in with the yuan-ti. The remnants of Ras Nsi’s undead army spread through the jungle like a blight, until now they claim hundreds of miles of wilderness as their hunting ground. To make matters worse, Acererak filled out their ranks with horrible undead creatures such as girallon zombies and tyrannosaurus zombies, mainly to discourage explorers from getting too close to Omu. As the atropal feeds on the souls of the dead, it grows in power. Eventually, it will become powerful enough to control these ravenous undead creatures. Until then, the undead hordes of Chult have no leader.

Weretigers

Chultans infected with weretiger lycanthropy haunt the jungle in small families or prides. Everyone in Port Nyanzaru has heard this rumor, but not all believe it.

Weretiger prides avoid outsiders, including adventurers, but a few evil weretigers enjoy making a sport of hunting intruders who come to plunder their land. Since weretigers can appear human, they readily pose as Chultan hunters, guides, rescuers, or explorers to lure in prey. These evil weretigers usually worship Malar, the god of the hunt. Others continue worshiping whatever deities they revered before becoming lycanthropes.

Yuan-Ti

After being driven out of their ancient city (see “Hisari”), the yuan-ti claimed the ruins of Omu as their demesne. Their spies in Port Nyanzaru keep a wary eye on the merchant princes, would-be treasure hunters, and adventurers. Characters might also encounter yuan-ti purebloods, yuan-ti malisons, and yuan-ti abominations searching the jungle for hidden settlements and lost treasures.

The yuan-ti of Omu believe that a sealed portal lies somewhere under the Peaks of Flame and that opening it will enable Dendar the Night Serpent to enter the world. The god Ubtao was supposed to stand against Dendar, but with Ubtao gone from the world, the yuan-ti believe nothing can stop the Night Serpent. They have dedicated an underground temple to this serpentine destroyer of worlds, but they are a long way from fulfilling their ultimate goal.

Additional information about yuan-ti can be found in Volo’s Guide to Monsters, as well as appendix D.