The Passage Through the Abyss
This was completely unexpected on my part, but there is no clearly given way for characters to get down from Elturel (floating half a mile above the surface of Avernus) down to the ground. There are the massive chains from the foundations of the city to the ground but these seem like a death trap, doing damage every turn and with the risk of falling so I’m gad my players did not try them. I actually gave them a few options including a mechanical oversized hand-glider but they came up with their own. They had already rescued Ulder Ravenguard from the Grand Cemetery chapel, and there is a portal to the Abyss, specifically to the Endless Maze, Baphomet’s layer. The PCs decided that there must be other portals from the Abyss to the surface of Avernus and they just needed to venture into the abyss and find another portal to Avernus. I was not expecting this. But at the same time I was willing to go along with it as they were clearly not confident about my giant mechanical glider.
My version of the Endless Maze is not the same as canon (there is a description of this layer in 3.5E Fiendish Codex II: Hordes of the Abyss) but it worked well enough. The surface is a dark and foreboding forest, inhabited by fiendish dire beasts including fiendish aurochs (who the PCs mistook for gorgons - I did not bother to correct them). Underneath the forest floor is the actual labyrinth, a classic dungeon though with more turning passageways and fewer rooms. Here is the map I did:
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| 1 sq: 10ft |
In the top right of the map is the chasm - this is the precipitous way down from the forest floor into the labyrinth proper. Although the chasm itself is extremely deep, there are ledges about 30-50ft below the top which, as can be seen, sometimes connect to the labyrinth. The PCs rappelled their way down to the ledge and the entrance to the labyrinth.
There was a lot of combat but not all encounters were violent. As well as dealing with minotaurs and demons as befits Baphomet’s layer of the Abyss, there were also cultists and planar creatures with specific agendas.
In room 8 on the map there is a Molydeus demon called Falco who appears as an imposing human. He is interested in prosecuting the Blood War, so messing around with the devils of Hell and their plans to consume Elturel sounds like a good idea. He will thus offer to help the PCs navigate the maze to the exit portal. In return for this, the PCs must slay the Hezrou demon guarding an item known as the soul stone, which Falco wants to possess. I had written some lore about the soul stone being the crystallized remains of a fallen chaotic evil demigod but the PCs didn’t ask too much about it - the soul stone was just another McGuffin. Falco is aided by a chaotic evil tiefling warlock (fiend patron, level 6) called Kayaphass. Kayaphass ended up acting as local guide at Falco’s behest.
Some monsters have been borrowed and converted from other editions (converting from 3rd edition is relatively quick and simple), particularly the Molydeus and the Ghour.
The key to the map is summarised as:
- 3 minotaurs
- Gas trap - Con save DC 14 or 2d6 poison damage per turn.
- 3 bulezau demons
- Kayaphass’ chamber - 6th level warlock
- Empty
- Empty
- 1 Vrock
- Falco the Molydeus demon
- 1 Hezrou demon guarding the soul stone + treasure (10,000sp, 4,500gp, 600pp)
- Portal to surface of Avernus + 2 minotaurs + 1 minotaur boss
- 1 ghour demon
- 4 bulezau demons
As it happens the PCs slew the bulezaus in room 3, the hezrou in room 9 and the minotaurs in room 10, and encountered but did not fight the vrock in room 7. I’m glad they did not find the ghour in room 11 - although it might fit thematically, it was a lot more powerful and could have ended with TPK. I may have been easy on the PCs providing them with a local guide, but I really did not have the appetite to have them getting lost in what really is an Endless Labyrinth instead of getting on with rescuing the city of Elturel. Note that the map I’ve done does have passages leading off the edges to unmapped areas. Although possible to go off this map, I’m relieved that the PCs stayed within it. Anyway the PCs passed through the portal in room 10 and found themselves on the ground level of Avernus. In the distance there was a hill shaped like a giant monstrous hand, up against which was nestled a settlement with a wall of scrap iron. Welcome to Camp Knucklebone.
New Monsters
The Molydeus demon is found in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes for 5E (so I won’t give its stats here), but I don’t have that book so I adapted its stats from the 3.5E book Fiendish Codex: Hordes of the Abyss (2006). Similarly the Ghour as adapted from its entry in the 3E book Monster Compendium: Monsters of Faerun (2001). Both are very powerful, so I’m glad the PCs did not get into a fight with either.
The minotaur boss is based on the standard minotaur from the 5E Monster Manual with improved hit dice and represents a tough and experienced tribal chief among minotaurs. The bulezau demons are found in the back of Descent into Avernus.
AC 25, Speed 40ft, HP 150 (12d8+96)
Saves: Str & Con
Skills: Stealth
Senses: Darkvision 120ft, Tracking by scent, passive perception 15
Languages: Abyssal, Giant, Telepathy
Immunities: Poison & Electricity
Resistance: Fire, Cold, Acid, non-magical weapons
Actions & Attacks:
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