Level 12: Maze Level

The Maze Level is designed for four 12th-level characters, and characters who defeat the monsters on this level should gain enough XP to advance halfway to 13th level.

What Dwells Here?

This level is a battleground between drow of House Freth and a tribe of minotaurs. The minotaurs hold sway over a maze of tunnels riddled with magical effects and traps, while the drow occupy the caves around an elegant fortress called Spiderwatch Keep—a staging ground for House Freth’s goal of conquering all of Undermountain.

Hostilities between the drow and the minotaurs have recently abated, in the wake of devastating losses on both sides. Drivvin Freth, a drow archmage, hopes to use this respite to his house’s advantage by summoning a goristro demon that will force the minotaurs to submit to House Freth’s control.

House Freth

From their dark bastion, the leaders of the house strive to keep their enemies, House Auvryndar (see level 10), from conquering the Troglodyte Warrens (level 11). Leading the effort is Erelal Freth, a drow priestess of Lolth. Her older brother Drivvin works at her side.

Erelal has communed with Lolth and believes that the key to securing the Troglodyte Warrens begins with the capitulation of the minotaurs on the Maze Level. Once the minotaurs are subservient to House Freth, the drow will use them to clear out and secure the warrens. To this end, Drivvin is devising a ritual to summon and control a goristro demon. By passing the goristro off as Baphomet, the demon lord of minotaurs, he hopes to win the minotaurs' obedience. But Drivvin has recently realized that his arcane knowledge is not sufficient to allow him to perfect the ritual—and he’s afraid of admitting his inadequacy to his sister.

The nature of the characters' prior association with House Auvryndar might affect how members of House Freth view them. If the characters collaborated with House Auvryndar and this fact becomes known to the leaders of House Freth, all future encounters with members of House Freth are likely to be hostile.

Shadowdusk Emissaries

Two low-ranking members of the Shadowdusk family (see level 22) arrived at Spiderwatch Keep a few days ago, claiming to be emissaries from Shadowdusk Hold who were seeking an alliance with House Freth. Tendra Nightblade and Maleen Shadowdusk have been feted and flattered by Erelal Freth since they arrived. The drow priestess recognizes the potential benefit of an alliance, although she is also trying to ascertain whether Shadowdusk Hold has made similar overtures to House Auvryndar.

What Erelal doesn’t realize is that House Shadowdusk has no interest in an alliance, and Tendra and Maleen have come to the Maze Level on a secret mission. Beholden to Halaster Blackcloak, the Shadowdusks have been ordered to convince Drivvin Freth to accept an apprenticeship under the Mad Mage. They have secretly informed him of Halaster’s interest and of Halaster’s offer to help him perfect the ritual that will bind a goristro to House Freth’s service. They now wait for Drivvin’s decision, while doing everything they can to ensure that he makes the right choice.

Minotaurs

Twenty-three minotaurs inhabit the southern half of the Maze Level. They spend most of their time fighting the drow. Their leader is a priest of Baphomet named Maku, a devout follower of the Horned King who has tried to summon the demon lord on numerous occasions. The minotaur priest believes that his ritual will be successful if he can amass a large enough pile of mutilated corpses for the demon lord to feast on.

Baphomet the Horned King

Baphomet is worshiped by those who strive to break the confines of civility and unleash their inner bestial nature. All minotaurs on the Maze Level seek to emulate him through their blood lust and savagery. He appears as a great, black-furred minotaur with iron horns, burning red fire in his eyes, and a massive bloodstained glaive. Fervent human cultists of Baphomet are sometimes transformed into minotaurs as a reward for their devotion and sacrifice.

Exploring This Level

All location descriptions for this level are keyed to map 12.

A 2-foot-thick layer of fog covers the floor in many of the Maze Level’s tunnels and caves; the area within the fog is heavily obscured. The fog can be cleared away by a gust of wind spell or similar magic. Fog that is cleared away returns in 1 minute.

The stench of death pervades the entire level, growing stronger as the characters get closer to area 8a.

1. Into the Maze

These caves have 20-foot-high ceilings. Their floors are covered by a 2-foot-thick layer of fog.

1a. Rusty Head

The rusted, severed head of a shield guardian lies on its side in the middle of the cave, under the fog. The minotaurs destroyed the construct and carried off its body for use in fashioning weapons, leaving its head behind.

1b. Foggy Alcove

The fog obscures the skeleton of a duergar lying on the floor near the back wall of this alcove. The duergar was impaled through the back with a broken-off stalactite by one of his kin and the body hidden here. The stalactite is still lodged in the duergar’s skeleton, which has been picked clean by vermin.

2. Light of the Dead

The earthen floors of these caves are covered by a 2-foot-thick layer of fog.

2a. Will-o'-Wisp

Two columns of rock support the roof of this 15-foot-high cave, the walls of which are spattered with blood from recent battles between drow and minotaurs.

An invisible will-o'-wisp dwells here, the dark essence of a female drow priestess named Z’reska, who was butchered by minotaurs. As the characters move through the cave, the will-o'-wisp flies into the tunnel that leads northwest out of this area and illuminates itself. It whispers, “Follow me!” in Elvish, trying to stay at least 50 feet ahead of characters who do so. It attempts to lure creatures into area area 7 and provoke a battle with the minotaurs. If the characters refuse to follow the will-o'-wisp, it turns invisible and trails them instead, waiting until one or more characters are near death before attacking them in an attempt to finish them off.

2b. Broken Lute

Hidden under the fog in this 10-foot-high alcove is a lute carved of pale wood. The instrument has been smashed beyond repair. A silver-inlaid Elvish inscription on its broken neck reads “Korynn.”

3. Dead End

The earthen floor of this tunnel is covered by a 2-foot-thick layer of fog. A twisting side tunnel with a rocky floor opens up to the northwest, rising out of the fog before coming to a dead end.

4. Faces in the Fog

The floor of this 15-foot-high side cave is covered by a 2-foot-thick layer of fog. Ghostly visages periodically take shape in the fog and then disappear—all of them adventurers who have perished in Undermountain.

5. Demon’s Triangle

Floor. The earthen floor of this cavern is covered by a 2-foot-thick layer of fog.

Pillars. Three natural pillars of rock support the 25-foot-high ceiling. The fog takes on a red tinge in the area between the pillars, each of which is painted with the fearsome image of a 20-foot-tall minotaur painted in blood.

Any character who succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Religion) check recognizes that the paintings on the rock pillars represent Baphomet the Horned King.

Madness of Baphomet

Any humanoid that enters the area between the pillars or starts its turn there must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or manifest a character flaw that lasts until the victim is subjected to a remove curse spell, a greater restoration spell, or similar magic. The flaw supersedes any conflicting flaw and is determined by rolling on the Madness of Baphomet table. A creature that succeeds on the saving throw can’t be affected by the pillars again for 24 hours.

Madness of Baphomet

6. Special Effects

These areas contain some of the Mad Mage’s harmless regional effects (see “area Halaster’s Lair"). The earthen floor throughout is covered by a 2-foot-thick layer of fog.

6a. “Help Me!”

The first time a character reaches this intersection, a faint call for help is heard coming from the tunnel opening to the north, which ends at a cave-in. The cry for help is an illusion, and characters who dig through the rubble find nothing in it.

6b. Rattling Chains

This 10-foot-high tunnel slopes up gradually to the north, so that its floor rises above the fog. Characters who pass this point hear rattling chains when they get to the fork in the tunnel. The sound clearly comes from the left passage. Further investigation reveals no source; the sound is one of Halaster’s illusory regional effects. The passage to the right contains nothing of interest.

Mirror Gate to Level 10

At the end of the west tunnel, a tall oval mirror framed in stone hangs on the rocky wall. The mirror’s frame is carved with vines that twist through eleven actual humanoid skulls mounted to the frame. Carved into the bottom of the frame are the following words in Celestial: “The dead know the secret.”

The mirror is one of Halaster’s gates (see “area Gates"). Its rules are as follows:

• Speaking the proper command word while standing in front of the mirror opens the gate for 1 minute.
• Characters must be 11th level or higher to pass through this gate (see “area Jhesiyra Kestellharp"). The first creature to pass through the gate triggers an elder rune (see “area Elder Runes").
• A creature that passes through the gate appears in area area 11e on level 10, in the closest unoccupied space next to the identical gate located there.

Casting speak with dead on one of the skulls forces it to reveal the gate’s command word (“Axallian”), which Halaster changes every few days. The skulls are otherwise hostile and refuse to answer questions put to them.

6c. Giggles

The earthen floor of this 20-foot-high cave is slightly concave, causing the fog to pool to a depth of 4 feet.

Whenever two or more creatures are inside the cave, the sound of an old man giggling can be heard everywhere in the area. No one outside the cave can hear the giggling, which ends as soon as the cave is no longer occupied by two or more creatures.

7. Minotaur Caves

These caves form the main living area for the minotaurs of the Maze Level. A 2-foot-thick layer of fog covers the floor throughout.

7a. Southern Cave

Ceiling. The ceiling ranges in height from 20 to 30 feet and is covered with stalactites.

Minotaurs. Stalagmites and floor-to-ceiling columns of rock are scattered across the area, the fog flowing slowly around them. Seven Minotaur lurk behind the stalagmites and rock columns.

The minotaurs are stationed throughout the cavern, guarding against a drow attack. They are famished, having been forced to sacrifice their food for Maku’s ritual (see area area 8a). They spring out when they see or hear any creatures in this area, charging intruders and ignoring any attempts to parley. The minotaurs fight to the death and loudly devour their kills if they are victorious. Any sound of combat in this area brings the five Minotaur in area area 7b as reinforcements.

7b. Northern Cave

This cave has the same features as area area 7a. Five Minotaur stand watch in this area and attack in response to any intrusion. The sound of combat here brings the seven Minotaur from area area 7a as reinforcements.

7c. Minotaur Graveyard

The minotaurs place their dead in this wedge-shaped cave, which has the following features:

Bones. The fog that covers the floor wraps around six large piles of minotaur bones.

Skulls. Dozens of minotaur skulls in various states of decay are jammed into niches and crevices in the walls.

8. Shrine of the Horned King

Maku, a minotaur shaman, has been busily collecting the remains of slaughtered drow, fallen troglodytes and quaggoths, and unfortunate adventurers in this area. He plans to use these remains in a ritual to summon the demon lord Baphomet. If the characters fought any minotaurs in area area 7b, Maku and his followers cannot be surprised here.

8a. Keep Calm and Carrion

The stench of death that permeates the dungeon is strongest here. As the characters approach this 50-foot-high cave, they hear minotaurs chanting and stomping. This area contains the following:

Minotaurs. The fog swirls through this cavern, agitated by the dancing of eleven chanting Minotaur.

Offal Pile. Low stone barriers constrain a massive pile of rotting, dismembered body parts.

Altar. Behind the offal pile stands a crude altar made of minotaur fur stretched over a frame of sinew-lashed minotaur bones. Two poles thrust out of the altar, each with a minotaur skull atop it.

Secret Door. The secret door in the west wall is an 8-foot-square section of stone that pivots on a central axis.

The minotaurs are led by Maku, who has 117 hit points, wears a shawl made of drow entrails, and clutches a brass horn (see “Treasure” below). The minotaur shaman treats all intruders as enemies to be carved up and added to his pile of dismembered bodies. His first action in combat is to blow his brass horn while the other minotaurs try to hack intruders to pieces.

Baphomet does not answer prayers, nor does the demon lord have any interest in Maku’s tribe. As such, the minotaur shaman’s ritual has no chance of working. But the sacrifices performed in this area have saturated the cave with evil power, such that any humanoid that makes a weapon attack in this area must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or be cursed with blood lust. While cursed in this way, the creature is hostile toward all other creatures it can see and must use its action each turn to attack the creature closest to it. (If multiple targets are equally close, the target is determined randomly.) Greater restoration, remove curse, or similar magic ends the blood lust on a creature. A creature that succeeds on its saving throw against this effect is immune to it for the next 24 hours.

The altar is made out of two minotaurs that were killed and devoured in a cannibalistic ritual. Any creature that touches the altar experiences a ghastly vision of being torn apart and eaten by minotaurs.

Treasure

Maku carries a horn of the Endless Maze. This wondrous item functions as a brass horn of Valhalla, except that the warrior spirits it summons come from the Abyss and look like minotaurs.

A single character can search through the pile of body parts in 1 hour, while multiple characters working together can reduce the search time proportionally. A detect magic spell can further expedite a specific search for magic items. The search yields a spider silk pouch containing 50 gp, two obsidian scarabs engraved with the insignia of House Freth (25 gp each), a jeweled anklet (750 gp), and one of a pair of gloves of missile snaring worn on the severed limb of its previous drow owner. (The matching glove can be found in area 8b.)

8b. Behind the Secret Door

Fog. A 2-foot-high blanket of fog covers the floor. Hidden under the fog in the northern alcove is a treasure pile (see “Treasure” below).

Standing Stones. At the south end of the cave are two 15-foot-tall standing stones hewn from black basalt. Carved into the lintel stone spanning them is a large blood-red X.

Standing Gate to Level 19

The standing stones form one of Halaster’s magic gates (see “area Gates"). When a creature comes within 5 feet of the gate, rivulets of blood begin to seep from the standing stones. The rules of this gate are as follows:

• The gate opens for 1 minute if a creature marked with a bloody X stands within 5 feet of it.
• Characters must be 15th level or higher to pass through this gate (see “area Jhesiyra Kestellharp"). The first creature to pass through the gate triggers an elder rune (see “area Elder Runes").
• A creature that passes through the gate appears in area area 5b on level 19, in the closest unoccupied space next to the identical gate located there.

Treasure

Characters who find the treasure in the north alcove discover a set of weaver’s tools, fourteen shortswords and six hand crossbows of drow manufacture, a sack of mushroom flour, a spider silk satchel containing 8 days of rations (dry moss and mushrooms), a silver holy symbol of Lolth (25 gp), and a glove of missile snaring (the matching glove can be found in area 8a). All these items are strewn atop 200 gp and 1,700 sp.

9. Foggy Caves

The fog is thicker in these caverns, rising above the floor to a height of 4 feet.

9a. Ambush Point

The fog in this otherwise empty 10-foot-high cave conceals a group of sentries from Spiderwatch Keep. Two Drow Elite Warrior, a female named Llorelve Dalambra and a male named Vorljas Imphiz’zal, are on guard here with two Incubus disguised as a pair of unarmed, scantily clad, supremely handsome male drow named Ezvir and Zaldo. All four are crouched down in the fog.

Llorelve and Vorljas spring up at the first sounds of creatures approaching this area, and they attack anyone they don’t recognize. Any humanoids they don’t know are assumed to be allied with House Auvryndar.

When either incubus is reduced to 30 hit points or fewer, it uses its next action to become ethereal and doesn’t rejoin the battle. It might reappear later to exact its revenge on those who harmed it, in a place and form of your choosing.

9b. Shapes in the Fog

As the characters move through this 10-foot-high cave, the fog here rises and coalesces into threatening, minotaur-like forms wielding greataxes. These fog minotaurs are regional effects created by Halaster Blackcloak (see “area Halaster’s Lair"). Each apparition takes a harmless swing at any creatures that pass through the area before sinking back into the fog.

9c. Unpleasant Descent

This 10-foot-high passage slopes down gently as it runs northward. At its final bend, the fog fills the entire passage, the last 20 feet of which are heavily obscured.

At the end of the tunnel, hidden beneath a breakaway floor, is a 30-foot-deep pit with stone spikes at the bottom. A creature that steps on the breakaway floor falls into the pit, taking 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage from the fall and 10 (3d6) piercing damage from the spikes. The pit remains open once the breakaway floor falls away. A character can spot the breakaway floor with a successful DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check, but only if the fog has been cleared away.

9d. Arch Gate to Level 6

A stone arch is embedded into the wall at the northeast end of this cavern. Carved into the arch’s keystone is an image of a hand pouring ale from a flagon. The arch is one of Halaster’s magic gates (see “area Gates"). The rules of this gate are as follows:

• If one pint or more of any liquid is poured on the floor within 5 feet of the arch, the gate opens for 1 minute.
• Characters must be 9th level or higher to pass through this gate (see “area Jhesiyra Kestellharp"). The first creature to pass through the gate triggers an elder rune (see “area Elder Runes").
• A creature that passes through the gate appears in area area 34a on level 6, in the closest unoccupied space next to the identical gate located there.

10. Webbed Passage

Fog. The earthen floor of this 10-foot-high tunnel is covered by a 2-foot-thick layer of fog.

Web Cables. Web cables crisscross the passageway and its alcoves (see the “Web Cables” sidebar).

Web Cables

The sections of the Maze Level controlled by House Freth are defended by barriers of thick webs as strong as iron cables. These webs are produced by an iron spider construct created and controlled by Drivvin Freth. The spider is stored in area area 12b when it’s not being used to create webs.

The web cables strung in area areas 10 through area 17 are designed to keep minotaurs and other oversized creatures out of places controlled by House Freth. The crisscrossing cables have gaps between them that Medium and smaller creatures can slip through easily. Larger creatures that can fit through a 2-foot-square hole can also pass through these gaps, but all others are unable to do so. The cables are slightly sticky to the touch, but cannot bind or hold creatures.

Each web cable has AC 19, 40 hit points, resistance to piercing damage, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. A creature can snap a cable as an action with a successful DC 30 Strength (Athletics) check.

11. Crickets and Bats

Any bright light in this broad cavern alerts the demons on watch in area area 17 and the drow guards in areas 18a through 18d. The cave contains the following:

Fog. The floor here is covered by a 2-foot-thick layer of fog that obscures mounds of bat guano. (If the fog is cleared away, drow, quaggoth, and giant lizard tracks can be seen in the guano. The tracks go in all directions, but most lead west toward the drow fortress.)

Bat Alarm. Hundreds of Bat cling to the 30-foot-high domed ceiling. The drow use the bats as an alarm of sorts, knowing that the creatures become agitated and expect to be fed whenever humanoids enter the cave.

Web Cables. The tunnels leading to area areas 12a and area 12b rise up out of the fog and are strung with web cables.

The drow release crickets into this area to feed the bats. Expecting to be fed, the bats start to shriek and flap about the cave when the characters arrive, alerting the drow guards in area areas 12a, area 12b, and area 18a.

12. Guarded Caves

These caves and the tunnels connecting them are free of fog.

12a. Standing Gate to Level 14

House Freth posts guards here to watch for trouble that might ascend from level 13. Several tunnels leading to this 20-foot-high cave are strung with web cables. One such tunnel slopes down gently to area area 11.

Undead. Six Minotaur Skeleton stand in the middle of the cave, ready to attack any creature that isn’t a drow.

Drow. Four male Drow Elite Warrior hide in the dead-end tunnels to the south. Any character who has a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 20 or higher spots these guards.

Standing Stones. The northern part of the cave contains two large standing stones, each of which has an inanimate minotaur skeleton embedded in it.

If a battle erupts here, the drow in area area 12b use signal horns to sound the alarm before joining the fight. They are quickly joined by reinforcements from area areas 12c and area 12d.

These drow are well trained, and their loyalty to House Freth is beyond question. Their leader, Tanimar Freth, is the second of Erelal’s three sons. He lost his right eye in a sword fight against a House Auvryndar rival; his empty eye socket and scar are plain for all to see. One consequence of his injury is that Tanimar has been relegated to guard duty. He fights alongside his younger brother, Xaphtal Freth. The other two drow are named Hexab Do’ett and Moltar Barrek’zorn.

If the battle turns against them, the drow use darkness spells to cover their retreat to the fortress (area 18). They know the tunnels well enough to navigate them blindly. Xaphtal seizes any opportunity to dispose of his older brother, provided the risk to himself is minimal. The other drow are not surprised by Xaphtal’s treachery—Tanimar least of all.

Standing Gate

The standing stones form one of Halaster’s magic gates (see “area Gates"). Its rules are as follows:

• Any creature that touches one of the standing stones is targeted by a maze spell (save DC 22).
• To open the gate, a creature must be trapped in the maze created by the spell, then escape. When the creature returns to the space it left, the gate opens for 1 minute.
• Characters must be 13th level or higher to pass through this gate (see “area Jhesiyra Kestellharp"). The first creature to pass through the gate triggers an elder rune (see “area Elder Runes").
• A creature that passes through the gate appears in area area 2d on level 14, in the closest unoccupied space next to the identical gate located there.

Treasure

Fastened to Tanimar’s cloak is an obsidian scarab engraved with the insignia of House Freth (25 gp). He also carries a spider silk pouch that contains two peridots (500 gp each).

12b. Iron Spider

Several tunnels leading to this 30-foot-high cave are festooned with web cables. The south tunnels slope down gently to area areas 11 and area 18.

Guards. Four male drow are on guard here.

Iron Spider. A giant iron spider stands motionless in the middle of the cave.

The drow (named Freb, Rylzzt, Urlimar, and Vanalfein) all carry signal horns that sound an alarm loud enough to be heard in area areas 10 through area 19. They raise the alarm at the first sign of intruders, bringing reinforcements from area areas 12a, area 12c, and area 12d.

The iron spider is a Large unaligned construct that stands 7 feet tall. It has AC 19, 80 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. Its ability scores are as follows: Strength 18, Dexterity 10, Constitution 10, Intelligence 3, Wisdom 3, and Charisma 1. Its climbing and walking speeds are 30 feet, and it can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check. It has blindsight out to a range of 60 feet and is blind beyond this radius.

As an action, the iron spider can shoot out a 6-inch-thick web cable up to 50 feet long, attaching the far end of the cable to a solid surface up to 50 feet away from it. As a bonus action, it can detach the other end of the cable from itself and attach it to a solid surface within 10 feet of it. Once it creates 200 feet of web cable, the spider can’t produce any more cable until the next dawn. The iron spider exists solely to produce web cables. It has no attacks and no instinct for self-preservation.

Like a scaladar, the iron spider has a control ring (possessed by Drivvin Freth). The iron spider obeys the commands of whoever wears its control ring. The spider is incapacitated in the area of an antimagic field spell. If targeted by a dispel magic spell, the spider must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against the caster’s spell save DC or fall unconscious for 1 minute.

12c. Quaggoths

This 30-foot-high cavern and the tunnels leading to it are strung with web cables (see the “area Web Cables” sidebar). Nine Quaggoth creep along the cables, attempting to hide from any creatures that enter the area. The quaggoths drop to the floor or crawl down the walls to attack intruders they don’t recognize.

12d. Giant Lizard Pen

Monsters. Ten docile Giant Lizard are tethered to iron spikes pounded into the cave floor. Five drow, one female and four males, watch over the lizards.

Fungi. The 20-foot-high walls are covered with ripplebark (see “area Fungi"), which the drow feed to the giant lizards.

The leader of this group is a female drow named Talabsyn Freth, the youngest of Erelal’s seven daughters. The others are unfaithful male subordinates named Beleth, Cazimir, Ryldgar, and Zakth. At the first sign of trouble, Talabsyn untethers the nearest giant lizard and tries to escape on its back, fleeing to her family’s fortress by the safest route while the males cover her escape. If her escape routes are cut off, Talabsyn surrenders and orders the males to do the same, hoping her captors try to ransom her. She betrays any of the male drow in a heartbeat to save herself—and the males do the same to her.

Drow scouts use the giant lizards as mounts. Each comes equipped with a saddle, reins, stirrups, and saddlebags containing 30 days of rations (dry moss and mushrooms). The giant lizards have the Spider Climb trait (see the “Variant: Giant Lizard Traits” sidebar in appendix A of the Monster Manual), which allows them to climb over the web cables and exit this area.

Treasure

Fastened to Talabsyn’s cloak is an obsidian scarab engraved with the insignia of House Freth (25 gp).

13. Roundabout

A bore worm—a metal construct similar in size and shape to a purple worm—hollowed out this donut-shaped chamber as part of excavating the passage that leads down to level 13. Characters who descend to level 13 encounter the worm (see “area Bore Worm").

Once an hour, the bore worm makes its way up the tunnel from level 13 and circles this area clockwise before returning below. The worm doesn’t fill the entire tunnel, so smaller creatures can try to slip past it. When the worm enters a smaller creature’s space for the first time on a turn, that creature must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a successful save, the creature avoids being crushed between the worm and the tunnel wall. On a failed save, the creature takes 22 (4d10) bludgeoning damage.

14. Dead End?

This 15-foot-high cave extends beneath area area 15. It contains the following features:

Web Cables. Web cables crisscross the tunnel that leads into this area.

Rock Formation. A 10-foot-high, 10-foot-wide rock formation shaped like a huge clawed hand thrusts up from the floor in the west end of the cave. (A secret door is built into the ceiling directly above the claw.)

The claw is a natural rock formation and shows no sign of having been sculpted. Creatures can easily climb up onto it. Lying on the floor next to the claw, in plain sight, is a stubby iron key with a head shaped like a tiny bulbous nose. This key unlocks the iron doors of Zox Clammersham’s palace (see area area 7 on level 13).

The secret door in the ceiling can be reached by anyone who stands atop the rock formation. The door is an 8-foot-square, 1-foot-thick slab of stone that pivots on a central axis. Pushing or pulling it open from below requires a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check. The secret door remains open until it is manually closed again.

15. Crickets

The characters hear the incessant chirping of crickets as they approach this 20-foot-high cavern. The area has the following features:

Web Cables. Both tunnels leading to the cavern are strung with web cables.

Crates. Dispersed throughout the cavern are ten large zurkhwood crates with mesh screens covering their open tops.

Secret Door. A secret door is set into the floor.

Each crate contains hundreds of harmless, chirping cave crickets, feeding from a 1-foot-deep bed of bat guano mixed with maggot-ridden offal. The cave crickets are used by the drow to feed the bats in area area 11.

The secret door in the floor is an 8-foot-square, 1-foot-thick slab of stone that pivots on a central axis. Opening it requires a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check. Applying 150 pounds of weight to either side of the door also causes it to swing open. Any creature that accidentally opens the door by standing on it can avoid a fall by making a successful DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. A creature that falls through the open door drops 10 feet and lands on the claw-shaped rock formation in area area 14, taking 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage.

16. Web-Filled Cave

This 10-foot-high cave is filled with web cables. Tucked in the northernmost alcove, not visible from either cave entrance, is a rotting quaggoth that choked to death on a vrock demon’s poison spores (see area area 17). The dead quaggoth has no treasure.

17. Demons' Ledge

Two ramps lead up to a 40-foot-high ledge that mostly encircles the walls of an immense, dark cavern. The ledge nearly surrounds the drow fortress. There are no gaps in the stone where the walls of the ledge meet the walls of the fortress.

Five Vrock are perched on the ledge, one each at locations area 17a through area 17e. These demons were summoned by Drivvin Freth, and they obey only his commands. The vrocks use their darkvision to scan the cavern for intruders.

When a vrock sees something suspicious, it emits a loud screech that can be heard throughout areas 10 through 19, alerting all creatures in those locations. The demons then eagerly join any battle that erupts.

17a. Northeast Perch

The vrock perched here focuses its attention on the ramp leading up to this area.

17b. North Perch

In addition to guarding this section of the ledge, the vrock here watches for trouble in the east moss garden of area 18i, and listens for intruders in area areas 15 and area 16. Web cables in the tunnels leading to those two locations prevent the vrock from exploring them.

17c. Northwest Perch

The vrock perched here is gnawing on a dead troglodyte. It has fashioned a nest for itself from the bones of troglodyte children snatched from the fungi gardens 30 feet below (area area 18i).

17d. South Perch

The vrock here pays close attention to the entrance to the minotaur caves south of it. The main cavern is strung with web cables, with the tunnels beyond descending to area area 7b. The vrock is too large to move through the cables.

17e. Southeast Perch

The vrock stationed here keeps a close eye out for intruders moving west from area area 11. Slumped against the back wall of a small cave behind it are the skeletal remains of an ettin that was killed by adventurers long before the drow fortress was built. Six gnome skulls hang from the skeletal ettin’s loincloth.

18. Drow Fortress

House Freth built its dark fortress in a 100-foot-high cavern, the roof of which is dotted with stalactites. Outside the fortress walls, the cavern floor is hidden under a 2-foot-thick layer of fog. The fog is absent inside the walls and around Spiderwatch Keep, the great edifice at the heart of the fortress (area area 19).

There are no light sources in or around the fortress. Anyone approaching with light draws the attention of the drow in the guard towers and the vrocks in area area 17.

The north end of the fortress grounds is where the drow cultivate food using the labor of prisoners and thralls. The spacious area southeast of the keep is used for military drills, weapon practice, and assembling before expeditions.

Fortress Defenses

The 30-foot-tall outer walls and the 40-foot-high towers that stand along them are fashioned from smooth black stone. The tops of the walls are tapered and lined with 5-foot-tall stone spikes spaced 10 feet apart. The spikes have sticky webs strung between them like barbed wire to hinder creatures attempting to cross over. For the effects of sticky webs, see “Dungeon Hazards” in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Each tower has a flat roof encircled by crenellated battlements. If an alarm is raised, the residents of the fortress mobilize quickly. Twenty drow emerge from the barracks in area areas 18e and area 18f, joining Rilna Freth (from area area 19c) and four drow elite warriors (from area area 19a). These drow take up defensive positions in the courtyard, spreading out to dilute the effect of area attacks. Against unusually strong foes, Rilna releases the prisoners in area areas 18g and area 18h, forcing them to fight for House Freth. But the moment the fight turns against the drow, the prisoners turn against their captors. In addition to the drow in the courtyard, invaders must contend with the drow in the guard towers, who can target creatures both inside and outside the courtyard. Each of the guard towers (area areas 18a through area 18d) is utilitarian and unfurnished. A tower has the following features and defenses:

• The tower’s stone doors are reinforced and barred from the inside. Siege weapons are needed to break them down.

• Arrow slits on the first and second floors provide three-quarters cover to those standing behind them. The rooftop battlements provide variable cover, depending on the angle of attack.

• Iron ladders and trapdoors connect each level of a tower, and the trapdoor in the roof can be bolted shut from below. Breaking through a bolted trapdoor requires a successful DC 27 Strength (Athletics) check.

• Each tower contains eight male drow (four on each of the first and second floors) who fire light crossbows through the arrow slits. This attack is the same as the drow’s hand crossbow attack, except it has a range of 80/320 feet and deals 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing damage.

• A male drow mage stands watch on the rooftop.

• Characters who have House Freth escorts or who wear clever drow disguises can approach the fortress openly. The mage atop the gate tower (area area 18a) demands to know who they are and why they have come, granting entry only if their answers raise no suspicions. As the visitors make their way through the tower, the drow mage summons a quasit and instructs it to notify Rilna Freth of the new arrivals. The quasit assumes bat form and flies to area area 19c to deliver the news. Rilna decides what to do with any visitors and leads those who seek an audience with her sister, Erelal, to area area 19k.

18a. Gate Tower

This tower serves as the primary entrance to the fortress. A male drow mage named Llaxdorl Freth (Erelal’s cousin) stands watch on the roof, and eight male drow are on guard inside.

Characters brought to the fortress as prisoners are stripped of their weapons and spellcasting implements as they pass through the tower. They are then detained in the courtyard until Rilna Freth (see area area 19c) decides their fate. Prisoners with no obvious value to the drow are sent to the slave pens (area areas 18g and area 18h). Everyone else is brought to Erelal Freth in area 19k for further questioning.

Treasure

Llaxdorl carries a spellbook bound in spider chitin that contains all the spells he has prepared, plus color spray, haste, and spider climb. Fastened to his robes is an obsidian scarab engraved with the insignia of House Freth (25 gp) and a spider silk pouch containing two blue spinels (500 gp each).

18b. Northeast Tower

This tower has a male drow mage named Ulvir Barrek’zorn on the roof and eight male drow inside. In addition to defending the tower, these drow are responsible for quelling uprisings in the nearby slave pen (area area 18g).

Treasure

Ulvir carries a black, leather-bound spellbook adorned with silver web filigree. It contains all the spells he has prepared, plus gaseous form, magic weapon, and Tasha’s hideous laughter.

18c. Northwest Tower

This tower has a male drow mage named Vrebbeth Imphiz’zal on the roof and eight male drow inside. In addition to defending the tower, these drow are responsible for quelling uprisings in the nearby slave pen (area area 18h) and gardens (area area 18i).

Treasure

Vrebbeth carries a spellbook bound in stitched grimlock flesh that contains all the spells he has prepared, plus arcane lock, gust of wind, and sleep. Fastened to his robes is a bone scroll tube that holds a spell scroll of telekinesis.

18d. South Tower

This tower has a male drow mage named Yrrlcheb Beltorzza on the roof and eight male drow inside.

Treasure

Yrrlcheb carries a spellbook bound in supple flumph hide that contains all the spells he has prepared, plus jump, mirror image, and sending. Fastened to his robes is a spider silk pouch holding 31 pp.

18e. South Barracks

This 20-foot-high curved structure has a stone door with no lock. The building houses ten off-duty male drow who are variously spending their idle hours sharpening and poisoning their weapons, eating, or meditating on curved stone benches spaced along the walls.

18f. North Barracks

This building and its residents are identical to area area 18e.

18g. Garden Slave Pen

The foul stench of troglodytes is obvious to any characters who approach this 40-foot-square enclosure, which has 20-foot-high walls of smooth stone, an iron-barred gate, and a 5-foot-thick roof of sticky webs with five Giant Spider atop it. The pen currently holds five adult Troglodyte and four troglodyte children (Small noncombatants), as well as a minotaur chained to the ground. The minotaur’s horns have been sawed off, and prolonged exposure to the troglodytes' stench has rendered the minotaur immune to its effects.

The spiders attack anyone who tries to tear through the webs or free the slaves trapped in the pen.

Any creature that enters the webs or starts its turn in them is restrained. A restrained creature can use its action to try to pull itself out of the webs, doing so with a successful DC 12 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. Each 10-foot-square section of webs has AC 10, 10 hit points, vulnerability to fire, and immunity to bludgeoning, piercing, and psychic damage.

The pen’s sturdy iron gate is held shut with an arcane lock spell that only drow (including drow characters) can ignore. Forcing it open requires a successful DC 25 Strength (Athletics) check.

Prisoners

The drow use the troglodytes to tend their gardens (area area 18i). The minotaur is too violent to be enslaved, so the drow are starving it until it either capitulates or grows so weak that the troglodytes can kill and devour it. The minotaur is restrained but can butt foes with its head instead of making gore attacks, dealing 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage on a hit. Its thick chains require a successful DC 30 Strength (Athletics) check to break, or they can be attacked. The chains have AC 19, 30 hit points, resistance to fire and piercing damage, and immunity to poison and psychic damage.

18h. Goblin Slave Pen

This pen has the same features as area area 18g, except that the stench of troglodytes is absent here, and there are no giant spiders on the web roof. The contents of the pen are as follows:

Goblins. Twelve armed but weary-looking Goblin are gnawing on bones and resting on straw pallets.

Refuse. The pen is littered with the skulls and bones of deep gnomes and goblins, as well as a few drow who angered Erelal Freth.

The drow use these goblin slaves as laborers. Each goblin suffers from two levels of exhaustion. The goblins cower and beg for their lives when faced with possible harm. Despite their pitiable appearance, they can’t be trusted and will do anything to survive, including betraying and eating their liberators.

18i. Gardens

These earthen fields provide much of the food that feeds House Freth’s forces in Undermountain. Edible moss is grown in the east garden, while the other two gardens contain rows of barrelstalks and bluecaps (see “area Fungi").

Tending each garden are two adult Troglodyte and three troglodyte children (Small noncombatants) that work under the watchful gaze of a male drow overseer. The Vrock in area area 17b and area 17c swoop down and attack any slave that refuses to work or any creatures that threaten the overseer.

19. Spiderwatch Keep

Fashioned from seamless black stone with veins of silver running through it, this windowless edifice bears a striking resemblance to a crouching spider. From here, Erelal Freth oversees all House Freth ventures in Undermountain, with her brother Drivvin as her advisor.

The central oval of the keep (area areas 19e through area 19k) has 15-foot-high walls and a 30-foot-high domed roof. The attached outer structures (area areas 19a through area 19d) have 10-foot-high walls and 20-foot-high domed roofs.

All outer doors are held shut with arcane lock spells that only drow wearing the obsidian insignia scarabs of House Freth can ignore. A successful DC 25 Strength (Athletics) check is needed to force open such a door. The inner doors have no locks.

When an alarm sounds outside, the occupants of the keep prepare for battle but remain where they are. They cannot be surprised, and any ability checks to convince residents that intruding characters are not a threat are made with disadvantage. This state of battle readiness is maintained until Rilna Freth tells occupants of the fortress that it is secure.

19a. Elite Barracks

Four off-duty female Drow Elite Warrior are stationed here: Ilanlue and Sabatrin Freth (the third and fifth of Erelal’s seven daughters), Iymn Vrindolin, and Mircolar Do’ett. They spend their idle hours sharpening and poisoning their weapons, eating, sparring, or meditating on curved stone benches spaced along the walls.

Treasure

Each warrior wears an obsidian scarab engraved with the insignia of House Freth (25 gp).

19b. Stores

The stone door to this curved structure has an arcane lock spell cast on it that only drow wearing the obsidian insignia scarabs of House Freth can ignore. This chamber contains stone shelves lined with provisions for the guards of the stronghold: two hundred spider silk packets, each containing 10 days of rations (dry moss and mushrooms), and one hundred full water skins.

19c. Castellan’s Quarters

The stone door has an arcane lock spell cast on it that only drow wearing the obsidian insignia scarabs of House Freth can ignore. These well-appointed quarters belong to the fortress castellan, Rilna Freth, a drow elite warrior with 110 hit points, and the younger sister to Erelal Freth. This area has the following features:

Hole. A 2-foot-diameter hole is cut through the roof. The hole, 20 feet above the floor, allows quasits in bat form to deliver messages to Rilna from the gate tower (area area 18a). A Small creature can slip through the hole easily, and a Medium creature can do so with a successful DC 17 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check.

Cabinet. A slender, glass-fronted cabinet made of black wood and inlaid with silver, web-like tracery stands across from the door.

Hammock. A spider silk hammock hangs to the west.

Chest. A padlocked iron chest to the east has a lid embossed with tiny spiders.

Rilna carries the key to the padlocked chest, or the lock can be picked with a successful DC 20 Dexterity check using thieves' tools.

Treasure

The chest contains 800 gp, six zircons (50 gp each), four garnets (100 gp each), a topaz (500 gp), and two Potion of Healing.

The cabinet contains twenty flasks, each one holding five applications of drow poison (see “Poisons” in chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide).

Rilna wears a platinum helm shaped like a spider with eight jet orbs for eyes (2,500 gp) and a spider silk cloak (50 gp). Fastened to her cloak is an obsidian scarab engraved with the insignia of House Freth (25 gp).

19d. Armory

The stone door has an arcane lock spell cast on it that only drow wearing the obsidian insignia scarabs of House Freth can ignore. The back wall is lined with boxes arrayed on shelves. Inside these boxes are thirty shortswords, thirty hand crossbows, and several hundred hand crossbow bolts.

19e. Hall of Spiders

This dark hallway crawls with hundreds of harmless spiders.

Visitors to the keep are led down the hall to area area 19k to meet with Erelal and Drivvin. The footfalls of passersby alert the guests in area 19f, who emerge from their quarters to greet and assess new arrivals.

19f. Guest Bedroom

Emissaries. Maleen Shadowdusk (CE female Illuskan human mage) and Tendra Nightblade (CE female Illuskan human assassin) dwell here.

Furnishings. The furnishings, made of zurkhwood, include a large bed with spider silk sheets and an armoire.

Light. A shuttered lantern with a continual flame spell cast on it hangs above the bed.

Maleen and Tendra have come from Shadowdusk Hold (level 22) on the orders of Halaster Blackcloak. Under the guise of seeking an alliance between Shadowdusk Hold and House Freth, they have extended an offer to Drivvin Freth to become the Mad Mage’s newest apprentice. Drivvin has told the two that he needs time to make his decision, and now the emissaries have grown anxious waiting for his answer.

Both emissaries show evidence of their (false) interest in currying favor with House Freth by coming to its defense if Spiderwatch Keep is attacked, but they flee the fortress if Erelal and Drivvin both fall in battle.

19g. Kitchen and Pantry

The main room of this area is a kitchen, with counters and cupboards lining the outer wall. Two unarmed and unarmored male drow named Elendar and Farril prepare meals here for the residents of the keep. Geas spells regularly cast by Drivvin prevent the two cooks from poisoning the food or drink.

The smaller room east of the kitchen is a well-stocked pantry.

19h. Bath

An iron tub stands in this area, with an iron pump nearby. The pump draws water from an underground hot spring beneath the fortress to fill the tub.

19i. Drivvin’s Study

Cape. A long black cape with silver, web-like embroidery and a silver spider clasp hangs from a peg by the door.

Furnishings. An ornate zurkhwood lectern stands bare in the middle of the room. At the foot of the lectern sits an adamantine chest with spider-shaped handles.

Treasure

The cape hanging by the door is a splendid garment worth 250 gp.

The chest has an arcane lock spell cast on it that only Drivvin can ignore. A knock spell or similar magic opens the chest, which is otherwise impregnable. The chest’s interior is divided into compartments and contains a pair of black leather boots, an empty water skin, a petrified basilisk egg, spider silk sack containing 175 pp, a potion of vitality, and two thick spellbooks.

The spellbooks contain all the spells Drivvin Freth has prepared, plus animate dead, animate objects, antimagic field, arcane lock, fabricate, finger of death, fireball, geas, globe of invulnerability, ray of enfeeblement, spider climb, and stone shape.

19j. Erelal’s Sanctum

Erelal uses this area to engage in numerous dark pleasures. The room contains the following:

Prisoners. Two male drow hang suspended from manacled iron chains anchored to the curved outer wall. Two other sets of manacles hang empty.

Cradle. Against the south wall, between the two doors, is an ornate cradle carved with spiders and fitted with a protective web-like canopy.

Table. On a small table next to the cradle sits a small black casket. The table has a lower shelf with a ring of iron keys resting on it. (The keys unlock the manacles in this room.)

Both prisoners have been strung up to face the wall, their bare backs covered in blood from the cuts inflicted by Erelal Freth’s scourge.

One of the prisoners is Hatchrin Alet’taz, consort of Erelal Freth and the father of her unborn eleventh child. He is unarmed and unarmored, and has 3 hit points remaining. Erelal is torturing him because she received a report that someone close to her was planning to poison her child after its birth, then found a vial of poison on his person. (The false report and the planting of the poison are both the work of Drivvin Freth, who wants to get Hatchrin out of his sister’s life.) Hatchrin promises any service to characters who can help him regain Erelal’s trust and thus enable him to see the birth of his child.

The other drow prisoner is a House Auvryndar spy named Varrn Telenna. He is unarmed and unarmored, and has 6 hit points remaining. Erelal has finished interrogating him, and Varrn is beyond caring whether he lives or dies. If he is set free, Varrn thanks the characters, praises Lolth for sparing his life, and plots his escape.

Treasure

The cradle is dressed in spider silk blankets. Six tiny jeweled spiders (250 gp each) hang from the cradle’s canopy by silver threads.

The black casket is a false offering of fealty brought by the Shadowdusk emissaries. It is set with mother-of-pearl and emblazoned with a painted gold emblem of the Shadowdusk family: a lit torch with three trailing embers, turned upside down. The casket weighs 15 pounds and is worth 250 gp as an art object. Its purple velvet lining holds a gold music box worth 2,500 gp.

19k. Mother and Brother

As the characters approach any of the doors to this area, they hear a female voice shouting in Elvish, followed by a male voice’s muted responses. Erelal Freth is chastising her brother Drivvin for his repeated failures to bring the minotaurs of the southern caves under drow control. The western door has an arcane lock spell cast on it that only drow wearing the obsidian scarab insignia of House Freth can ignore. The room’s occupants and contents are as follows:

Drow. Erelal Freth, a pregnant drow priestess of Lolth, reclines on a cushioned crystal divan of web-like design in the middle of the room. Two male drow are attending Erelal while Drivvin Freth, a drow archmage, paces angrily around the room.

Cabinet. A glass-fronted cabinet against the north wall contains a crystal decanter of mushroom wine and several varnished zurkhwood goblets.

Shrine. Against the east wall stands an impressive silver shrine to Lolth (see “Shrine of Lolth” below).

Erelal wears a flowing black and silver gown instead of armor, giving her AC 12, but is still armed with her scourge. The male drow with her are Chaszantar and Ulgreth, two sycophants vying to become her new consort. They both wear spider silk togas instead of armor, giving them AC 12.

Erelal is a mere thirty days away from giving birth to her eleventh child, but she refuses to let her pregnancy interfere with her work: the destruction of House Auvryndar and the conquest of Undermountain. A string of military defeats has left Erelal in no mood to entertain visitors, and her brother has yet to make good on his promise to enslave the minotaurs of the Maze Level. Visitors who have business or grievances with Erelal are dealt with as quickly as possible. Those who come to her with frivolous affairs are scolded, threatened, and sent away with a stern warning not to trouble her again.

If she is threatened, Erelal tries to summon a yochlol demon to defend her. If the shrine of Lolth in this chamber is intact, the demon summoning has a 90 percent chance of success. Erelal then hinders her enemies with a darkness spell before taking the safest exit. Giant spiders that she summons with the conjure animals spell use their blindsight to target enemies that are engulfed in magical darkness. If her defeat is inevitable and escape proves impossible, Erelal makes whatever concessions she must to save herself and her unborn child.

Erelal’s older brother is clad in a long gray robe with black, web-like tracery. Drivvin has convinced his sister that he has the power to enslave the minotaurs, which would enable House Freth to defeat the forces of House Auvryndar and secure its power in Undermountain. But, having realized that he can’t summon a goristro demon alone, the archmage understands that accepting Halaster’s offer and his promise of assistance is the only way his plan will succeed. Drivvin knows that if he leaves his sister to become Halaster’s apprentice—even though that act is ultimately for her own gain—he will be cast out from his family. Drivvin is looking for the right time to break the news to his sister, whose recent defeats at the hands of House Auvryndar have made her despondent.

Drivvin is a drow archmage, with these changes:

• He is neutral evil.
• He has these racial traits: He speaks Abyssal, Common, Dwarvish, Elvish, Goblin, and Undercommon. He has advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put him to sleep. He has darkvision out to a range of 120 feet. He can innately cast dancing lights at will, and can cast darkness, faerie fire, and levitate (self only) each once per day. His spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15). While in sunlight, he has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
• He has cast mind blank on himself.
• Once per day as an action, Drivvin can summon a demon that has a challenge rating of 6 or lower. The summoned demon appears in an unoccupied space within 60 feet of him, acts as his ally, and can’t summon other demons. The summoned demon remains until Drivvin dismisses it as an action or until the demon is reduced to 0 hit points.

If a fight breaks out here, Drivvin uses his first action in combat to cast time stop. He uses the extra time granted by the spell to summon a barlgura and cast fire shield on himself, as well as mage armor and stoneskin if he hasn’t done so already. Drivvin fights to the finish to defend his sister.

Shrine of Lolth

This shrine resembles a 6-foot-tall cage of polished silver webbing with delicate hinged doors. The silver cage is fused to the wall and can’t be detached from it. Inside the cage is a 3-foot-tall obsidian statue of Lolth in her drow form. The statue is smeared with sacrificial blood, and a blood-caked obsidian dagger rests at the statue’s feet.

Any creature that removes the statue from the shrine immediately contracts a disease called slimy doom. The disease lasts for 7 days or until cured with a lesser restoration spell or similar magic. A creature afflicted with slimy doom begins to bleed uncontrollably, and has disadvantage on Constitution checks and Constitution saving throws. In addition, whenever the creature takes damage, it is stunned until the end of its next turn.

Treasure

Erelal wears a platinum web necklace with tiny black crystal spiders dangling from it (2,500 gp).

The statue of Lolth weighs 250 pounds and is worth 2,500 gp as an art object. The obsidian dagger at the shrine is worth 250 gp.

The delicate crystal decanter in the wine cabinet is worth 250 gp, but it shatters easily.

Drivvin wears an iron ring that serves as the control ring for the iron spider in area area 12b.

Aftermath

If the characters fail to defeat Drivvin Freth, the drow archmage agrees to serve Halaster as an apprentice in exchange for the Mad Mage’s help in summoning and binding a goristro. The summoning ritual takes 30 days to prepare, and it is performed by Drivvin and Halaster in the courtyard of the drow fortress.

When the demon appears, Halaster traps it in a 5,000 gp ruby and gives the gemstone to Drivvin. Under the cloak of an invisibility spell, Drivvin takes the gem to area area 8a and breaks it, releasing the goristro there. Mistaking the demon for an emissary of Baphomet, the minotaurs watch as it devours the carrion in area area 8a. When it has no more carrion to feed on, it begins devouring whatever it can kill. Once its hunger is satisfied, the demon sends its new minotaur lackeys to kill everything on level 11 and bring it more food to eat. The goristro considers any drow wearing the insignia of House Freth to be its ally, and orders its minotaurs to go forth and slay all other creatures.

If Erelal Freth survives, she gives birth to her eighth daughter, Amalica, and continues to wage war against House Auvryndar and its allies. Amalica’s birth is viewed as a sign of Lolth’s favor, renewing House Freth’s resolve and turning the tide in its favor. Several houses formerly allied with House Auvryndar switch sides and send emissaries to Erelal with gifts for her blessed newborn.

If Erelal and Drivvin perish, House Freth’s allies abandon the house out of fear that Lolth has forsaken them. Without these allies, House Freth becomes too weak to defend itself against even its minotaur neighbors. The survivors hole up in the fortress while envoys are dispatched to the Underdark to secure reinforcements. Those reinforcements won’t arrive in time if Vlonwelv Auvryndar (see level 10) has her way.