Arc S - A Sword of Sunlight - Curse of Strahd: Reloaded

_An adventure for five 8th-level characters._ In this arc, the players delve into the depths of the frozen Amber Temple in search of the long-lost hilt of the *Sunsword*: the one weapon that can help them defeat Strahd. But the Amber Temple is protected—by a scheming arcanaloth in disguise, a trio of maddened flameskulls, and a pair of deadly amber golems—and occupied by a host of other threats, from a recently arrived death slaad to the Dark Powers' first prisoner: the traitorous wizard Vilnius. As the players uncover the temple's ancient secrets, one question dominates their minds: Where did Patrina Velikovna, the dusk elf archmage and failed lich, hide the *Sunsword*'s hilt? Their search will take them to a group of meditating Mountain Folk, a maddened nothic, a table of wary spirits, and—eventually—the amber sarcophagus of the vestige of the Vampyr, where Strahd first accepted the dark gift of vampirism. But the *Sunsword*'s hilt, hidden in a secret demiplane within the Vampyr's prison, conceals a deadly secret: the disembodied spirit of Patrina Velikovna, who sought to use it as her phylactery. Can the players defeat Patrina and reignite the *Sunsword*—before Strahd's trials defeat them first? > [!lore]+ **Operations of the Amber Temple** > More than two thousand years ago, a secret society of good-aligned wizards built the Amber Temple as described in Chapter 13: The Amber Temple (p. 181). The society, first founded by an **archmage** and three **mages**, eventually came to include twenty-four **apprentice wizards** (Monsters of the Multiverse, p. 259), whom the founders trained to expand and continue their work. > > In the temple’s early days, the senior members of the society frequently departed its walls to capture and transport additional vestiges, described further in [[Lore of Barovia#Amber Vestiges|Lore of Barovia]]. Once brought to the temple, vestiges were taken to [[#S7d. Ritual Chamber]], where they were sealed inside amber sarcophagi. Once sealed, vestiges were locked away in the [[#East Vaults]], [[#West Vaults]], or—for vestiges of considerable lingering power—the [[#Amber Vault]]. > > While residing at the temple, the society’s **archmage** stayed in [[#S7. Archmage’s Quarters]], while its senior **mages** kept separate chambers in the [[#West Quarters]] and [[#East Quarters]]. One senior **mage** was always present to supervise the society’s **apprentice wizards**, who slept in bunk beds in the [[#West Barracks]] and [[#East Barracks]]. Senior **mages** and the **archmage** took meals in their own rooms. > > Members of the society guarded the temple from the [[#West Guard Post]] and [[#East Guard Post]] in eight-hour shifts, with four **apprentice wizards** and one **mage** assigned to each shift. Apprentices shared bunk beds, ate in the [[#Dining Hall]], and took guard duty on alternating days. When not guarding the temple, apprentices either gathered in the [[#Lecture Hall]] to learn from a senior mage, practiced spellcasting in the [[#Training Hall]], or helped with cleaning, cooking in the [[#Architect’s Room]] (then a kitchen), scribing scrolls in the [[#West Scroll Repository]] and [[#East Scroll Repository]], brewing potions in the [[#Brewing Room]], and otherwise assisting senior mages with their work. > > The temple contained two treasuries—[[#S6a. West Treasury]] and [[#S6b. East Treasury]]—which contained magical artifacts guarded by one **amber golem** each. Above them, rear balconies in [[#S2b. Atrium]] led to two shrines to the temple’s god of secrets. Apprentices advanced through the society’s ranks by undergoing trials at these shrines: those who resisted the terror roused by the *antipathy* spell of the [[#Shrine of Fear]] were promoted to journeymen and given authority over the other apprentices, while journeymen who resisted the *sympathy* spell of the [[#Shrine of Temptation]] became full-fledged wizards, permitted to journey with senior **mages** abroad to capture and transport new vestiges for the temple. > [!lore]+ **Downfall of the Temple** > The first generation of wizards within the Amber Temple dedicated themselves not only to the vestiges’ imprisonment, but also to the study of their essence and power, such that the wizards could continue to devise and improve rituals to capture, transport, and imprison them. As they died, the first generation—who knew too much dangerous information to risk interrogation under a *speak with dead* spell—were buried in [[#S3. Catacombs]], many beside treasures, relics, or magic items they had obtained in life. > > The second generation of wizards at the temple included many recruits raised from youth to fear the vestiges’ power, as well as several mages born and raised in the Amber Temple itself. With the temple’s amber vaults now largely filled, the second generation grew far more zealous than the first, withdrawing from study of the vestiges in favor of strict imprisonment. Any member suspected of studying the vestiges was severely punished. > > As the third generation of temple wizards came into power, a number of rising members secretly rejected the second generation’s zealotry. Instead, their curiosity drove them to seek out knowledge of the beings they had long imprisoned, yet rarely seen. Study of the vestiges resumed sparingly, and in secret, with only a few members daring to take advantage of growing lapses in security. > > One day, however, one of the senior **mages** of the temple—convinced that no harm could come from doing so, and driven mad by long-standing curiosity—disarmed the *arcane lock* protecting X33a. Vault of Shalx (p. 191) in the [[#Southeast Vaults]] and accepted the dark gift of Zrin-Hala, the Howling Storm. Zrin-Hala’s power, however, corrupted the mage, and he used the vestige’s dark gift to kill a rival **mage** soon thereafter. > > Although the perpetrator was caught and executed, the murder left the wizards of the Amber Temple insular and fearful. As the security wards continued to weaken, the vestiges reached out from their dreamless sleep within their sarcophagi and whispered to their captors in their sleep, driving them further into delusion and paranoia. > > The leader of the society, an archmage named Exethanter, adopted a habit of drinking only out of an enchanted ewer, described further in X22. Northwest Annex (p. 187). However, Exethanter’s apprentice, a paranoid man named Vilnius, grew convinced that Exethanter conspired to kill him, and secretly switched out the ewer with a disguised one filled with poison. When drunk, the poison killed both Exethanter and several other mages and apprentices, whose restless spirits lingered as **wraiths** and **specters** in the [[#Dining Hall]]. > > The society fractured. Wizards barricaded themselves in their rooms, and battles erupted in the halls. Some looted the catacombs or treasuries, then fled. In the end, only one wizard remained: Vilnius. Driven mad by his paranoia, Vilnius became terrified that enemies lurked everywhere outside of the temple, and hid himself away in the [[#Lecture Hall]] until he starved to death. The Dark Powers—born from the vestiges’ dark miasma, the clash of powerful magics, and the psychic resonance of so many violent deaths—entrapped his soul there, taking sustenance from his terror and despair. > > Several years after the society fell apart, arcane thieves—tipped off by former members who had fled the chaos—attempted to raid the temple for magical relics and treasure. Although they dug a shaft into the X33a. Vault of Shalx (p. 191) in [[East Vaults]] and successfully broke into [[#S6a. West Treasury]], all but one were killed by the **amber golem** that dwelled in the latter; their souls, entrapped by the Dark Powers, became **poltergeists**. The sole survivor fled with a pouch full of amber shards, which soon spread through the valley below and the lands far beyond. > > The temple, broken, shadowed, and hollow, slumbered forgotten in the mountains—until the dusk elf mage Patrina Velikovna stumbled upon the secret of its existence nearly two thousand years later. Escorted to the valley by a Vistani caravan after Strahd crushed the dusk elves’ rebellion, Patrina found her way to the temple, where she disarmed its arcane wards and sought the secrets that lay within. Disregarding the weaker vestiges that dwelled in the [[#East Vaults]] and [[#West Vaults]], it wasn’t long before Patrina uncovered her true prize: the ocean of arcane knowledge that dwelled in [[#S7b. Archmage’s Library]]—as well as the ghost of the **archmage** Exethanter who dwelled there. > > Moved by Patrina’s tale of the dusk elves’ persecution, Exethanter reluctantly agreed to take her on as an apprentice. Unbeknownst to him, however, Patrina secretly obtained forbidden tomes from the temple’s shelves and studied the dark arts, even as she communed with the vestige of Tenebrous within [[#S6c. Amber Vault]], hoping to grow powerful enough to become a lich. When Exethanter learned of her duplicity, he attempted to banish her from the temple—but Patrina overpowered him instead, binding his spirit and sealing it away within [[#S7d. Ritual Chamber]], where he could trouble her no more. > > With Exethanter’s ghost dispatched, Patrina set out to reshape the temple in her own image. She raised the society’s long-dead wizards as **flameskulls**, reprogrammed the **amber golems** to obey her commands, and keyed the temple’s wards to admit her alone. > > When Strahd conquered Barovia and began to gather mages to raise Castle Ravenloft, it was Patrina who brought him to the Amber Temple to tempt him with the power of Tenebrous—followed soon thereafter by the **archmage** Khazan, who Patrina reluctantly allowed to study the temple’s wealth of knowledge to avoid Strahd’s suspicion. There, Khazan, Strahd, and the great architect Artimus developed a plan for how Castle Ravenloft would be built: no ordinary keep, but a fortress hewn from the stone of the Pillarstone of Ravenloft itself, filled with protective enchantments and magical traps that would defend it from any invader. > > The Dark Powers, however, grew entranced by Strahd’s capacity for selfishness and cruelty—and, when Strahd grew envious of Tatyana’s love for Sergei, offered him the *amber shard of the Vampyr*. From their pact, the Dark Powers gained a foothold beyond the temple’s walls—and, when Strahd died and became a vampire, spirited him (and, due to his connection to the Fanes, the valley of Barovia) away into their eternal clutches. Although the Dark Powers now dwell all through and around Barovia, the Amber Temple is where their presence can be most strongly felt—and, as the umbilical cord from which Strahd’s prison was born, the place where the boundaries between worlds are weakest. # S1. Temple Exterior This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X1. > [!info]+ **Why Amber?** > A player who succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check recalls that amber has a unique magical property: it is a magical “insulator," and cannot be damaged or crossed by any kind of energy, be it magical or divine. On a result of 20 or more, the player further recalls that magical energies can pass through amber only very slowly, on a timescale of years to decades. > [!lore]+ **The Dark Miasma** > The founders of the Amber Temple built the temple, its sarcophagi, and its golems out of amber to leverage the substance’s unique insulative properties. The first generation of wizards believed that, by doing so, the vestiges’ influence could not reach beyond their sarcophagus prisons, the temple’s golems would be protected from their corrupting touch, and no evildoer could divine the temple’s location simply by following the trail of dark energies. > > The founding generation, however, failed to realize that they had sown the seeds of the later generations’ undoing—for, as the vestiges’ corruption seeped slowly from their amber prisons, the temple’s amber walls trapped those energies within the wizards’ living spaces, forming a “greenhouse effect" that, over time, exposed the wizards to increasing amounts of vestige corruption. By the time of the third generation, this corruption had congealed into a dark, invisible miasma that suffused the very air of the temple itself—one that twisted the minds of the wizards that dwelled there. Like primordial soup, it was this miasma that—as the society tore itself apart—birthed the Dark Powers. Now, more than two thousand years later, this miasma has thickened and grown so much that the temple itself is inimical to natural life. > [!info]+ **Rests in the Amber Temple** > Due to the dark miasma, any humanoid or beast that takes a long rest in the Amber Temple has dreadful visions and hears the vestiges’ whispers as it rests. That creature gains no benefit from its rest and, when it finishes its rest, must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or gain 1 level of exhaustion. > [!info]+ **Following the Shards** > Each amber shard longs to return to the sarcophagus from whence it came. While within the Amber Temple, or while within 100 feet of the temple, an amber shard glows and gently pulls in the direction of its parent sarcophagus. Both effects end when the shard comes within 5 feet of its sarcophagus. > > If a player possessing a vestige’s amber shard approaches that vestige’s vault, the vestige whispers the password to its vault, as described in X33. Amber Vaults (p. 191), into the player’s ear. > [!info]+ **The Tyrant’s Third Trial** > Each night the players spent in or near the Amber Temple, Strahd scries or tracks them as described in [[Arc R - Trials of the Mountain#R3b. The Tyrant’s First Trial|Arc R - Trials of the Mountain]]. If his _scrying_ fails, he also personally visits the Amber Temple to determine whether the players are there. > > When he first finds the players, Strahd dismounts Beucephalus, greets them, and asks “where they disappeared to" during the time they spent in Soldav. (Strahd isn’t aware of Soldav’s existence or protections). If the players refuse to disclose their knowledge of Soldav, Strahd smiles coldly, then assures them that he’ll find out—sooner or later. > > Regardless of the players’ answer, Strahd demands that his first victim—the one he first drained or chose during [[Arc R - Trials of the Mountain#R3b. The Tyrant’s First Trial|R3b. The Tyrant’s First Trial]]—submit themselves to be bitten again. If the player allows themselves to be bitten, Strahd bites them as described in [[Arc R - Trials of the Mountain#R3b. The Tyrant’s First Trial|Strahd’s Game]]. > > ***Summoning the Roc.*** If the players summon the **roc** of Mt. Ghakis using the *whistle of the Keepers*, the roc arrives from its nest atop the mountain’s peak within three rounds. When it does, read: > > --- > > *A great shadow blocks out the moonlight—and Strahd looks up, his eyes widening slightly.* > > *Above, a gargantuan raven as tall as the Blue Water Inn, with a wingspan twice as long, descends upon the mountainside. Great gusts of wind blow from each errant twitch of its wings, sending eddies of powdered snow whipping across the ice. With grace that belies its massive size, it alights onto the jagged crags below, its cart-sized talons crushing and gouging the stone beneath them.* > > *With a single, jerking motion, it throws its head forward toward Strahd and **shrieks** in warning and defiance. A thunderous wave of sound sweeps out across the mountain, the raven’s sonorous, booming cry ringing in your ears.* > > --- > > Pause to allow the players to respond. If none do, the roc’s interaction with Strahd proceeds as follows, assuming no players interrupt: > > * Strahd’s face darkens. “I have no quarrel with you," he warns the roc, his eyes glancing over its wingspan. “If you pursue this course, I cannot assure it shall end happily for you." His voice lowers to scarcely more than a whisper, and he murmurs: “Are you sure you wish to play this game?" > * The roc lowers its gaze and nods, its eyes glowering down at him. > * “As you wish," Strahd says. He then whistles for Beucephalus, which appears beside him. > > Strahd then turns to the players. “You seem to have made interesting allies indeed," he remarks. “Do not mistake this inconvenience for might—but I presume you know that you cannot stay atop this mountain forever." He smiles coldly, and, for a moment, his crimson eyes seem to glow in the darkness. “Such a shame it would be, of course, if your friends at lower altitudes required your assistance, and you were not there to aid them." > > Unless the players intervene, Strahd then inclines his head in a mocking bow—first to the roc, then to the players. “Another time, then," he says. He then mounts Beucephalus, bids the players and roc “good evening," and vanishes into the Ethereal Plane. (Strahd doesn’t again return while the players are at Mt. Ghakis. See [[Arc T - The Ladies of the Fanes]] for more information about Strahd’s further machinations.) > > Once Strahd departs, the roc can confirm the following information using nods and shakes of its head (though it won’t volunteer information the players don’t already know or suspect): > > * It is the roc of Mt. Ghakis. > * Its true name is Turul, and it was once the familiar of the Seeker, who is now Madam Eva. > * Its nest lies upon the peak of Mt. Ghakis. > * It is no friend of Strahd’s. > * If the players previously encountered it as a raven in [[Arc M - The Dragon's Manor]], it was the raven they encountered. > * It stole the third enchanted gem from the Wizard of Wines winery at Madam Eva’s instructions. (The roc won’t explain why, or disclose the gem’s location.) > * It can’t (and won’t) follow the players to the valley below to aid them in their fight against Strahd. (Its place is Mt. Ghakis.) > > The roc remains by the players’ sides until dawn, standing watch through the night. > [!abstract]+ **The Spirit Guide** > If a player befriends the roc, it appears in their dreams while it watches over their rest, hoping to convey a clue to the *Sunsword’s* location. When the player falls asleep, read: > > --- > > *As you drift off into sleep, you feel the darkness wrap around you, like a warm, comfortable blanket. You feel yourself falling, sinking into unconsciousness—until, finally, your eyes flicker open once again.* > > *Rather than your resting place, you stand amidst a graveyard of amber headstones, the air choked by a thick, sluggish mist. The sound of wings pierces the silence, and a raven touches down upon a nearby headstone, its white eyes flashing in the dim light. It inclines its head toward you, then caws softly in greeting.* > > --- > > The raven is a spiritual representation of the roc of Mt. Ghakis. If the player greets it, it takes off, then caws again, attempting to encourage the player to follow it. > > If the player follows the raven, read: > > --- > > *The dead grass of the graveyard crunches beneath your feet as you follow, the mists curling hungrily around your ankles. At times, the raven is little more than a shadow in the fog—until the fog peels away, revealing a tall, gnarled black tree surrounded by a dark, fetid mire. The muck is strewn with bones—thousands of them.* > > *The raven touches down upon the tree’s lowest branch and directs its gaze to a point near the mire’s banks. There, beneath the bones, a faint golden light flickers deep below the mire.* > > --- > > If the player wades into the mire and attempts to retrieve the source of the light, read: > > --- > > *The bones stir—and a figure bursts from the muck, its flesh sunken and gaunt, with pointed ears and deep, violet eyes. Its hands move to wrap around your neck—and you wake up.* ## S1a. Facade This area is largely as described in X1. Temple Facade (p. 183). However, add the following sentence to the end of this area’s description: <div class="description"> A thin blanket of mist drifts lazily from the archway, then splits, forming a low perimeter around the temple. </div> As the players approach, Kasimir quietly reminds them of Patrina’s cryptic message: that she hid the weapon they seek “beneath the roots of Strahd’s power, in the one place he feared to tread." (If the players appear uncertain how to interpret Patrina’s message, Kasimir, Ezmerelda, or Ireena encourage them to review the *Tome of Strahd* for clues.) > [!lore]+ **Patrina’s Riddle** > Fearful that Strahd might somehow eavesdrop on Kasimir’s dreams, Patrina concealed her message in a riddle. The “roots of Strahd’s power" refer to the gnarled black tree in [[#The Vampyr’s Sarcophagus]]. “The one place he feared to tread" refers to the canal of blood and souls around the tree, representing Strahd’s greatest fear: Death. > [!lore]+ **Birthplace of the Dark Powers** > The vestiges’ miasma birthed the Dark Powers—and it was within the Amber Temple that the Dark Powers found their first prey: the **mage** Vilnius, whose paranoia and jealousy had driven him to murder his mentor, the **archmage** Exethanter. > > Long before Strahd von Zarovich’s pact allowed the Dark Powers to spread their influence to the valley beyond, the Dark Powers kept Vilnius an immortal prisoner within the temple’s amber walls, locking away his soul—and that of every other spirit that dwelled there—as he spiraled further into madness, self-loathing, and hate. > [!info]+ **Mists of the Amber Temple** > The mists that surround the Amber Temple possess none of the powers listed in Mists of Ravenloft (p. 23). However, while the mists remain, Vilnius and incorporeal undead can’t leave the temple. (A **ghost** that possesses a victim ceases to be incorporeal while the possession remains.) ## S1b. Fissure This area is largely as described in X1a. Narrow Fissure (p. 183). However, a player with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 13 or greater hears voices echoing from the far side of the fissure. A successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check allows a player to discern the following conversation: * A male voice says: "Diona, you can't seriously want to go after them." (This is Coryllus, one of the three Mountain Folk who accompanied Chief Diegia’s daughter, Diona, to the Amber Temple.) * A female voice snaps back: "And what would we be if we abandoned them? They would go to any length to save us. We owe them nothing less." (This is Diona.) If the players make their presence known, Diona demands that they identify themselves and their purpose in visiting the Amber Temple. If reassured that the players are neither monsters nor power-seeking pilgrims, Diona warily invites them to enter—though more warmly if they claim to know her family. (Diona and Coryllus must remain within the temple to complete Diona's rite of passage, and won’t leave the temple willingly.) > [!lore]+ **The Missing Mountain Folk** > Four days ago, Chief Diegia’s eldest child and heir, Diona, departed Soldav for the Amber Temple, where she would spend six days and six nights in contemplation, thereby proving her resilience, strength, and will to resist temptation as per Mountain Folk tradition. Three friends accompanied Diona to the Amber Temple: the **berserkers** Coryllus and Meda, and the **scout** Duras. > > When the companions arrived at the temple and passed through X2. Entrance (p. 183) into X5. Temple of Lost Secrets (p. 183), they were surprised to find the temple’s three **flameskulls**—long thought to be dormant—guarding the temple from incursion. The Mountain Folk split, with Meda fleeing in panic for X6. Southeast Annex (p. 185), while the others took shelter in X15. Southwest Annex (p. 186). > > Separated from her friends and pursued by the sadistic **flameskull** Gaspar (see [[#S2e. West Gallery]] for more information about Gaspar), Meda took shelter in the eastern X3. Empty Barracks (p.183), where she found a secret door leading to X2b. Guard Room (p. 183). There, she found the frozen corpse of a **Barovian witch** clutching an *amber shard of Khirad*. (See [[#East Guard Post]] for more information about this witch.) Entranced by the shard’s allure, Meda took it for herself, hiding it away within her cloak. > > Soon after the flameskulls’ attack, the **arcanaloth** Neferon—disguised as the human wizard Heinrich Stolt—emerged and ordered the flameskulls to stand down. After hearing the Mountain Folks’ story, “Heinrich" solemnly informed them that X5. Temple of Lost Secrets (p. 183) was off-limits to them, but agreed to allow them to remain in X15. Southwest Annex (p. 186) in exchange for a “donation" of suitable power or value. (Diona made this tribute reluctantly, relinquishing her *stone of good luck*: an heirloom she had received from her father on her eighteenth birthday.) > > Each night since, as the Mountain Folk slept in X15. Southwest Annex (p. 186), each suffered vivid, terrible nightmares as described in **Rests in the Amber Temple** above—but none more so than Meda. Through its shard, Khirad, the Star of Secrets spoke to her, showing her visions of the Grand Conjunction: of the veils between worlds torn asunder; a weapon born of a thousand shrieking souls; and the corpses of her friends and family, serving the Great Shadow—Strahd—in eternal undeath. Khirad promised Meda that it could show her a path to averting this terrible fate—if only she found her way to its sarcophagus and accepted its gift. > > Last night, when Khirad’s dream ended, Meda awoke and crept quietly away toward X4. Overlook (p. 183). Although Diona and Coryllus continued to slumber, Duras—who had found himself unable to sleep—saw Meda slip out and resolved to follow her. Meda made it as far as X6. Southeast Annex (p. 185) before Duras caught her, and an argument ensued. Terrified of the fate she had foreseen and of Duras’s threats to reveal her duplicity to the others, Meda pushed Duras in a sudden attempt to flee—and, in doing so, accidentally pushed him down the wide stone shaft to X33a. Vault of Shalx (p. 191). The thirty-foot fall broke Duras’s neck, killing him instantly. > > Meda fled, passing through X8. Upper East Hall (p. 185) and X12. East Shrine (p. 186), then descending X14. North Staircase (p. 186) to X33c. Ghastly Vault (p. 192). There, she accepted Khirad’s dark gift, which transformed into a **nothic**. > > When Diona and Coryllus awoke, they found no signs of their missing friends. Both believe that Meda and Duras have been abducted—or worse. While Diona is determined to rescue them both, Coryllus (ever a grim pragmatist) believes that doing so is a foolhardy effort, and that the missing two are now likely dead. # S2. Temple Defenses > [!info]+ **The Arrow Slits** > A creature positioned behind an Amber Temple arrow slit (e.g., the **flameskulls** in X17. Upper West Hall (p. 187)) can only see in a 200-foot cone extending from that arrow slit. It can't see other creatures unless they’re illuminated or visible to its sight (e.g., darkvision or truesight). > > A creature looking into an Amber Temple arrow slit from the outside can only see in a 5-foot line extending from that arrow slit. ## S2a. Entry Hall This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X2. This area is largely as described in X2. Entrance (p. 183). If a player looks through either arrow slit, read: <div class="description"> Through the narrow slit, you catch a small, narrow glimpse of a cold, still chamber. </div> ## S2b. Atrium This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X4, X5, X5a, X11, and X23. > [!warning]+ **Sight in the Temple** > The X4. Overlook (p. 183) is 50 feet from X5d. Amber Reflections (p. 184), 100 feet from X5a. God of Secrets (p. 184), and 110 feet from X39. Plundered Treasury (p. 194) and X40 Sealed Treasury (p. 194). Players without sufficient darkvision or a sufficient light source can’t see them from X4. Overlook (p. 183). ### Overlook This area is largely as described in X4. Overlook (p. 183). However, add the following text to the end of this area’s description: <div class="description"> A faint, fiery light flickers from a trio of arrow slits along the west wall. </div> In addition, the first time the **arcanaloth** Neferon (described in X5. Temple of Lost Secrets (p. 183)) notices the players, he casts *mind blank* on himself, then assumes the form of Heinrich Stolt as described in X5a. God of Secrets (p. 184). > [!warning]+ **Neferon’s Senses** > Don’t forget that Neferon possesses truesight to a range of 120 feet. (See Truesight (Player’s Handbook, p. 183 or Player’s Handbook (2024), p. 377) for more information about truesight.) #### Heinrich’s Greeting The first time the players make any move to depart X4. Overlook (p. 183) and pass further into the temple, such as by approaching the stairs descending to X5. Temple of Lost Secrets (p. 183), the door to the western X3. Empty Barracks (p. 183), or the double doors to X6. Southeast Annex (p. 185) or X15. Southwest Annex (p. 186), Neferon casts *dimension door* to teleport into the western X3. Empty Barracks (p. 183) or X6. Southwest Annex (p. 183), whichever is closer to the players. Immediately after he does, read: <div class="description"> You hear the sound of footsteps echoing across the frozen floor. </div> Provide the players a moment to respond. If none do, or if any call out to the source of the footsteps, “Heinrich" exits onto the overlook to greet the players. When he emerges into view, read: <div class="description"> An elderly, wizened man steps onto the overlook. He wears a pale, white robe decorated with numerous colorful patches, each depicting a different object. A pair of gold spectacles with pink crystal lenses rests atop the bridge of his nose, just above a long, white beard that descends past his chest. "Good day," he says cheerily. “Might I ask why you are trespassing upon my property?" </div> > [!abstract]+ **Neferon's Disguise** > While concentrating on *alter self*, Neferon can't cast another concentration spell (e.g., *detect thoughts*), and glows with an aura of transmutation magic under the scrutiny of a *detect magic* spell. “Heinrich," who appears to be more curious and amused at the players' presence than hostile, can share the following information: * He is Heinrich Stolt, a wizard responsible for caretaking and safeguarding the Amber Temple. (A DC 21 Wisdom (Insight) check reveals this to be a lie.) * He has resided in the temple for the past ten years, ever since he found himself "spirited away" to Barovia by the Mists. (A DC 21 Wisdom (Insight) check reveals this to be a lie.) * He is joined in his mission by three **flameskull** servants, who aid him in repelling incursions by unwanted trespassers. "They can be quite temperamental," Heinrich says cheerily. "A bit fiery, if you understand me. But they're good bones, the lot of them." * He believes the Temple to be a "historical relic," but doesn't mind allowing visitors to explore its vaulted halls—so long as they make an appropriate donation in consideration of his efforts to preserve and protect it. If an opportune moment arises, “Heinrich" asks the players why they have come to the temple—and what they seek in its ancient vaults. If the players provide an unsatisfactory answer, "Heinrich" attempts to dig deeper, hoping to glean some insight into their intentions. If “Heinrich" believes a player to be lying, he gently chides them for "concealing the truth" and invites them to share the true reason for their presence. > [!abstract]+ **Heinrich & Strahd** > “Heinrich" hopes to conceal his relationship with Strahd. If asked whether he’s met Strahd, “Heinrich" replies: “In the time I’ve spent here, I have never had the pleasure or displeasure to see his face at my doorstep." If asked his opinion of Strahd, “Heinrich" replies: “I feel it would be wrong to form an opinion of the man without meeting him." (Both responses are technically correct, but intended to obfuscate the truth. A DC 21 Wisdom (Insight) check suggests that “Heinrich" isn’t being entirely forthright.) > [!abstract]+ **Heinrich & the Miasma** > If the players ask “Heinrich" why the dark miasma within the temple doesn’t harm him, he responds (truthfully) that he has “never suffered any ill effects from sleeping within the temple," and questions whether they “simply have weak constitutions." > [!abstract]+ **Heinrich’s Discipline** > If the players threaten "Heinrich" or refuse to answer his questions to his satisfaction, “Heinrich" stands up straighter, adjusts his glasses, and warns them grimly that, although he is "a peaceful man by nature," he "will not hesitate" to call upon the aid of his flameskull allies should the players attempt to deceive him or force their way into the Temple. "I assure you," he says with a dry smile, "I may be old, but I am far from incapable." > > If the players attack "Heinrich" or disregard his warnings, "Heinrich" uses his fly speed to rise into the air, warns them that they "have made a terrible mistake," and retreats into X5. Temple of Lost Secrets (p. 183), using his ***teleport*** action to teleport into X5a. God of Secrets (p. 184) as soon as it comes within range. Neferon and the flameskulls in X17. Upper West Hall (p. 187) then attack as described in X5. Temple of Lost Secrets (p. 183). > [!info]+ **Neferon’s Tactics** > In combat, Neferon begins by casting *chain lightning*, followed by *fireball*. If cornered or damaged, he casts *dimension door* to teleport to any of the following locations: X13. East Archer Post (p. 186), X25. West Archer Post (p. 188), or X8. Upper East Hall (p. 185). He then uses the arrow slits there to continue the fight. > > Neferon doesn’t chase the players deeper into the temple, preferring to remain behind cover with a sightline to X5. Temple of Lost Secrets (p. 183). He knows they’ll have to return to X5. Temple of Lost Secrets (p. 183) in order to escape the temple. > > If possible, Neferon uses his fly speed to remain hovering in the air at all times, preferring to remain near the ceiling of his current room whenever possible. > > If reduced to 62 hit points or fewer, Neferon casts *dimension door* to teleport to the skies above the Amber Temple, where he remains until nightfall. That night, if the players begin a long rest in or near the temple, Neferon casts *invisibility* and approaches their camp to weaken or destroy them, preferring to do so without engaging in open combat (e.g., by first casting *phantasmal force*, *detect thoughts*, or *suggestion*). > > Neferon never confronts the players without reserving at least one 4th-level spell slot (to cast *dimension door* and escape) and one 3rd-level spell slot (to cast *counterspell* if *dimension door* is countered). #### Heinrich’s Request "Heinrich" is glad to allow the players to explore the Temple in exchange for "a small fee—a minor service, really." If the players express an interest in doing so, "Heinrich" shares the following information: * Ordinarily, the Amber Temple is isolated and quiet. However, last night, a creature arrived from another world by means of “some strange portal": a slaad, of the plane of Limbo. ("A death slaad, to be precise," “Heinrich" remarks grimly, pushing his spectacles up his nose—“one of the most dangerous members of slaadkind.") * Heinrich was, with some luck (and the use of an ancient *arcane lock* mechanism built by the temple’s original inhabitants), able to imprison the creature in the temple catacombs. However, he fears that the slaad may soon escape and wreak havoc across the temple—or the valley below. (A DC 21 Wisdom (Insight) check reveals that “Heinrich" is indeed concerned about the slaad—but doesn’t appear authentically concerned about the safety of the Barovian people.) * “Heinrich" is glad to allow the players to explore the temple if they descend into the catacombs and “remove" (i.e., kill) the death slaad for him. (The catacombs, he shares, lie beneath the overlook, at the southern end of X5. Temple of Lost Secrets (p. 183)). If the players refuse to carry out “Heinrich’s" task, he responds as described in **Heinrich’s Discipline** above. > [!info]+ **Slaad Lore** > A player who succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check recalls the first paragraph of information provided in *Monster Manual* "Slaadi," *Monster Manual* (p. 278). On a result of 20 or higher, the character recalls all additional lore listed in that entry. On a result of 25 or more, a player recalls a death slaad’s elemental resistances, shapechanging ability, magical resistance, regenerative abilities, blindsight, and ability to cast spells. > [!info]+ **Neferon's Trickery** > As an arcanaloth, Neferon takes pride in holding to the letter of its word—but only the letter. Accordingly, while Neferon may allow the players to *explore* the Amber Temple, he has no intention of allowing them to depart with any items or knowledge of appreciable value. > > If the players ask “Heinrich" whether he will allow them to depart in peace, he promises that he “shall allow them to depart the temple with their belongings unmolested." If the players instead ask permission to keep any items they find, he smoothly promises to make “reasonable efforts" to negotiate the terms of any such exchange before they depart—"subject, of course, to reasonable disclosures of the item’s nature and value." > [!info]+ **Neferon's Eye** > Through the use of his truesight and *dimension door*, Neferon has deciphered the spellbooks held in X30. Preserved Library (p. 189), and so replaced his *banishment* spell (which he has correctly deduced won’t work in Barovia—especially after it failed to banish the death slaad to its home plane of Limbo) with the *arcane eye* spell. > > If he sees or hears the players enter X15. Southwest Annex (p. 186), X14. North Staircase (p. 186), or any area within [[#S3. Catacombs]], [[#S6. Amber Vaults]], or [[#S7. Archmage’s Quarters]], Neferon casts *arcane eye* to follow them, taking careful note of their strengths, weaknesses, capabilities, interests, and discoveries. (Given his Intelligence score of 20, +7 bonus to Perception checks, and +11 bonus to Insight checks, Neferon is able to use his *arcane eye* to read lips, and can therefore “hear" the players’ spoken words if the *arcane eye* can see their lips.) Neferon renews the spell as-needed, but doesn’t renew it while the players are resting, or if he has only one 4th-level spell slot remaining. > [!lore]+ **Neferon's Arrival** > A native of the plane of Gehenna, home of the yugoloths, Neferon was whisked away to Barovia by the Mists ten days before the players’ arrival at the Amber Temple as he sought to travel from Gehenna to Avernus for a potential business deal. Irritated at the detour, but determined to seek opportunities in this new realm, Neferon swiftly moved to explore his surroundings, learn about its inhabitants, and loot any of its knowledge, riches, and magic for himself. > > Neferon navigated the Amber Temple with ease, mentally documenting each vestige, treasure, and relic he came across. With his *dimension door*, no door was locked to him; with his *truesight*, no book in X30. Preserved Library (p. 189) was blank to him. He chose to lair in in X5a. God of Secrets (p. 184), recognizing its tactical advantages, and spent a full night casting a ritual that cloaked its head in magical darkness. > > Although the **flameskulls** proved suspicious of his presence at first, Neferon used his silver tongue (and *detect thoughts* spell) to convince them that he was Patrina’s inheritor, sent to reclaim the temple in her name after centuries of abandonment. He informed them solemnly that she had passed away some years after befriending him, and presented a *minor illusion* copy of her “last will and testament," which stated: > > --- > > *I, Patrina Velikovna, being of sound mind and body,* > > *in consideration of his many years of friendship,* > > *and in consideration of my lack of any living blood relatives,* > > *do hereby name Neferon of Gehenna my sole heir and beneficiary, inheritor of all lands, titles, properties, and fealties owed to me.* > > --- > > (The original will, Neferon informed the flameskulls sadly, had since been destroyed.) > > With the Amber Temple now fully within his control, Neferon ranged further afield, flying invisibly above the crags of Mt. Ghakis and probing the properties and boundaries of the southern Mists. Finding the Mists impassible, Neferon turned his attention north, observing Berez, Argynvostholt, and Krezk from the skies above. In Vallaki, he assumed a human’s guise and lost himself in the crowds, learning of the vampire Strahd von Zarovich, Strahd’s hibernation and recent awakening, and the siege of the village of Barovia. > > Curious to learn more of this land’s ruler, Neferon flew east, to Castle Ravenloft—but as he studied the keep from the skies, a lone bat pierced his invisibility with its blindsight and reported his presence to Strahd. When Strahd rode out upon Beucephalus and emerged from the Ethereal Plane to greet him, Neferon swiftly knelt and paid homage to Strahd as Barovia’s lord. Intrigued, but suspicious of Neferon’s interests, Strahd cordially interrogated Neferon as to his time and intentions in Barovia, even as Neferon attempted to subtly glean Strahd’s own intentions from the conversation’s opposite end. > > As their conversation unfolded, however, Neferon soon realized that Strahd had no intention of remaining in Barovia. Ever one of the bolder members of his kind, Neferon offered his services as a diplomat and advisor—in exchange for dominion over the Amber Temple and “fair compensation." When Strahd, laughing, asked Neferon what use he might have for a diplomat, Neferon coolly noted Strahd’s history of conquest, the way the Mists had captured him while traveling between worlds, and the incredible arcane power he’d sensed flowing into the castle’s tallest tower. “The veils between worlds are growing thin," Neferon said carefully, adding: “Should you ever find yourself in a position to take advantage of such a thing, I do not doubt that your Grace may find himself in need of an agent to carry out his will, be it a diplomat, translator, or counselor." Impressed, but wary of Neferon’s insight, Strahd agreed to consider Neferon’s proposal, and Neferon returned to the Amber Temple, satisfied. > > Neferon, however, was not the only victim of the impending Grand Conjunction. That night, as Neferon rested within X5a. God of Secrets (p. 184), the Mists spirited a **death slaad** from the plane of Limbo into X8. Upper East Hall (p. 185). Although Neferon attempted to banish it from afar, the slaad’s blindsight and perceptive ears soon allowed it to detect his presence—whereupon its sadistic bloodlust drove it to attack. > > Neferon fled, calling upon his new flameskull servants to defend him. However, he was dismayed to find their magic (as well as much of his own) did little to harm the slaad, whose wounds regenerated almost as quickly as they appeared. Thinking quickly, Neferon lured the slaad into [[#S3. Catacombs]], then used his ***teleport*** action to escape before sealing the slaad behind the ancient *arcane lock* enchanting the catacomb doors. Wary of the necromantic magic protecting the doors, the slaad withdrew to the catacombs and calmed its aggression—at least for a time. > > Neferon knows the catacomb doors won’t hold the slaad forever. Although he’s confident the creature hasn’t yet escaped, he knows the slaad’s *plane shift* might allow it to escape its prison and return to kill him. Although Neferon has begun reprogramming the **amber golem** in X8. Upper East Hall (p. 185( to serve him, he has been unable to open the doors to X40. Sealed Treasury (p. 194) and thereby recruit the services of the **amber golem** that dwells therein. With each hour the slaad remains alive, Neferon fears he is running out of time. > [!abstract]+ **Neferon's Deals** > If the players ask, Neferon is glad to strike additional bargains with the players, including (but not limited to) the following. > > ***Temple Layout.*** Neferon can provide a simple map of the temple (excluding [[#S6. Temple Vaults]] and [[#S7. Archmage's Quarters]], which he pretends not to know of) in exchange for one **rare** magic item in the players' possession, or three useful secrets that they know about the land or people of Barovia. > > ***Temple Inhabitants.*** Neferon can warn the players about the temple’s other inhabitants in exchange for one **rare** magic item in the players’ possession, or two useful secrets that they know about the land or people of Barovia. Specifically, Neferon can warn the players of the **amber golem** in X8. Upper East Hall (p. 185), the **poltergeists** in X38. Haunted Room (p. 194) and X39. Plundered Treasury (p. 194), the spirits in [[#Dining Hall]], and the "dreary apparition" that dwells in X9. Lecture Hall (p. 185). > > (Neferon doesn't know of the true identities or intent of the **specters**, which sense his fiendish nature and refuse to interact with him. Although Neferon attempted to investigate Vilnius's presence, Vilnius shrieked in rage and terror at his presence and vanished into the shadows. Neferon has been unable to encounter Vilnius again, though he has sensed Vilnius's presence each time he has entered the lecture hall thereafter.) > [!lore]+ **Neferon’s Phylactery** > When he first arrived in Barovia, Neferon had little fear of the dangers this new land might pose him. (See ***Back to Gehenna*** in Arcanaloth (Monster Manual, p. 313) for more information about Arcanaloth immortality.) He was dismayed, however, to find that his arrival in Barovia had done something extraordinary: severed his “spirit" from his demonic flesh and deposited it within a phylactery, which appears as described in X28. Hidden Phylactery (p. 189). (See **Fiendish Phylacteries** below for more information about Neferon’s phylactery.) Realizing the phylactery’s importance, Neferon hid it away within X28. Hidden Phylactery (p. 189), where it currently remains. > [!info]+ **Fiendish Phylacteries** > When a fiend enters the Mists, the Dark Powers split its being in two, thereby creating a way for it to return from death without escaping the Mists.^[Teeuwynn Woodruff, *Van Richten’s Guide to Fiends*, pp. 76-77 (TSR Inc., 1995)] Although the fiend’s intellect and physiology remain with its body, the Dark Powers place its vital essence into a phylactery (see Lich (Monster Manual, p. 202)). When the fiend’s body is slain, its mind transfers to its phylactery, where it may remain indefinitely awaiting a new body. (Unlike a **lich**, a fiend destroyed in this way must possess a living victim, and can’t create a new body for itself.) > > While the fiend remains in its phylactery, it and its phylactery gain effects largely identical to a *magic jar* spell, with the following changes: > > * The fiend can’t attempt to possess a creature for twenty-four hours after its body’s destruction. > * The act of possession consumes the possessed creature’s soul. > * While possessing a creature, the fiend retains the same number of hit dice. (See Hit Points (Monster Manual, p. 7) for more information about determining a creature’s hit dice by size, finding the creature’s average hit points per die, and calculating the creature’s hit points.) > * If the possessed body dies, the fiend’s mind returns to its phylactery, regardless of distance or location. > [!lore]+ **Neferon & the Players** > As an arcanaloth, Neferon prefers to sell his skills to the highest bidder wherever possible. Although intrigued by the opportunity to strike deals with the players, he believes he can secure far more fruitful rewards by allying himself with Strahd—the position of grand vizier to an elder vampire lord with armies of undead and powerful magic, Neferon knows, is a bounty that any fiend would kill for. > > Absent truly exceptional circumstances, no price will sway Neferon from his current loyalty to Strahd, and no assurance will convince Neferon of the players’ ability to defeat Strahd—not even an ignited *Sunsword*. Furthermore, if Neferon learns of the *Sunsword*, he devotes his efforts to obtaining it—diplomatically if possible, but by trickery or force if necessary. (Although Neferon has no intention of giving Strahd the *Sunsword*, he views it as a potential bargaining chip in the future—and a hedge against Strahd’s failure or betrayal, when the two inevitably part in decades’ or centuries’ time.) ### Nave This scene takes place in areas X5, X5a, and X5c. This area is largely as described in X5. Temple of Lost Secrets (p. 183), X5a. God of Secrets (p. 184), and X5c. Locked Doors (p. 184). ### Balconies This area is largely as described in X11. Northeast Balcony (p. 186), and X23. Northwest Balcony (p. 188). However, revise the last sentence of X23. Northwest Balcony (p. 188)'s description to read: <div class="description"> Nearly half of the balcony has fallen away, and the remainder sags toward the floor thirty feet below, with large cracks spiderwebbing across the joint where the balcony meets the northern wall. </div> ## S2c. West Garrison This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Areas X2a and X3. ### West Barracks This area is largely as described in X3. Empty Barracks (p. 183). However, add the following text to the end of this area's description: <div class="description"> Old carvings mark the walls in numerous places. </div> A player who inspects the carvings finds the following messages engraved in the stone: * "Azalin was here." * "Viktra + Elise" (with a heart drawn around them) * "Why did Vladeska Drakov cross the classroom? To shout at the other side!" * "ANKHTEPOT SMELLS" * "Harkon ate my homework" * A clumsy array of arcane runes. (A DC 13 Intelligence (Arcana) check reveals that the runes appear to be a failed attempt to conjure an *unseen servant*, with a parameter changed to allow the servant to do the scriber's homework.) ### West Guard Post This area is largely as described in X2a. Guard Room (p. 183). However, when a player enters this room, read: <div class="description"> You find a cold, empty room. Two arrow slits are carved into the east wall. In the northeast corner, something glints beneath a thick layer of frost. </div> The glinting object is an old, bloodstained crystal orb, worth 10 gp if cleaned. Close inspection reveals ancient fingerprints scorched black into the orb’s surface.(The orb was once the arcane focus of an Amber Temple apprentice mage, who was murdered by a rival when the temple fell into chaos.) ## S2d. West Annex This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Areas X15 and X16. This area is largely as described in X15. Southwest Annex (p. 186). However, no **dire wolf** or “bloodthirsty mountain folk" are present. Instead, add the following to the end of this area’s description: <div class="description"> A tall, broad-shouldered woman clad in wolfskin clutches a tall, single-bladed spear with a curved end, just beside a stocky man with thick, black stubble and a greataxe across his back. Dark bags hang under their bloodshot eyes. </div> The woman is Diona, the eldest daughter of Chief Diegia (use the statistics of a **champion** with AC 15 (leather armor) and a glaive instead of a greatsword). The man is Coryllus, a **berserker**, and Diona’s most loyal friend. Both have three levels of exhaustion. If the players enter without Diona or Coryllus’s invitation, the two Mountain Folk ready themselves for battle and demand, fiercely and warily, that the players identify themselves. “If you’re pilgrims of evil," Coryllus warns hoarsely, “or if you’ve done something to Meda and Duras, you won’t live long to regret it." The players can reassure Diona and Coryllus by succeeding on a DC 14 Charisma (Persuasion or Deception) check, succeeding automatically if they mention their time spent in Soldav or their interest in defeating Strahd. On a failure, Diona and Coryllus demand that the players depart and leave them in peace. (The Mountain Folk don't attack except in self-defense, but won't speak with or aid the players if they consider them untrustworthy.) If reassured, Diona and Coryllus can share the following information if asked: * Four days ago, Diona traveled to the Temple alongside three of her most trusted friends: Coryllus (a **berserker**), Meda (a **berserker**), and Duras (a **scout**), to complete the *Rite of Resilience* and prove her worthiness to take her mother’s place as chief. (To complete the trial, Diona must endure six days of meditation and contemplation within the Amber Temple.) * Ordinarily, the rite takes place upon the central floor of the temple, within the [[#Nave]]. This time, however, the companions were surprised when the temple’s three **flameskulls** (whom the Mountain Folk call “spirits of fire") attacked them without warning. (The Mountain Folk and flameskulls struck a bargain centuries ago: In exchange for sharing stories with the bored and lonely flameskulls, Rite participants would be allowed to visit the central [[#Nave]], but could travel no further into the temple. Unbeknownst to the Mountain Folk, Neferon has since directed the flameskulls to revoke that bargain.) * Three of them—Diona, Coryllus, and Duras—escaped into X15. Southwest Annex (p. 186), but Meda was separated in the chaos. Only the arrival of “Heinrich"—an elderly man who claimed to be a wizard and the caretaker of the Amber Temple—convinced the flameskulls to cease their attack and allow the Mountain Folk to reunite. * Heinrich, after hearing their story, agreed to allow them to carry out their Rite in the temple’s southwest annex, but declined to allow them to stay in the [[#Nave]]. In exchange for allowing them to remain, Heinrich demanded they donate an item of power or valuable secret as a tribute to the temple—a payment Diona made by relinquishing her *stone of good luck* (an heirloom she had received from her father). * Once the four reunited, Meda refused to speak of what she had seen in the deeper reaches of the temple. “That night, we all had nightmares," Diona says wearily, “but none worse than Meda," whose screams awoke the others twice that night. * This morning, Diona and Coryllus awoke to find Meda and Duras missing. Diona is determined to track them through the temple, while Coryllus is convinced that the two are “already as good as dead"—and that if he and Diona follow them, Heinrich and his flameskull cronies will see to it that they join Meda and Duras in death. If the players seem inclined to do so, or if the players previously mentioned their friendship with Chief Diegia’s family: Diona asks the players to help her find Meda and Duras, while Coryllus asks the players to convince Diona that her plan is “insanity." (Neither of them, Coryllus notes darkly, are in any fit condition to sneak anywhere, let alone fight. Diona retorts that it’s her duty as heir to her mother’s seat to save them if she can—"and bury them if I can’t.") > [!warning]+ **Don't Sleep Here** > If the players express an interest in resting within the Amber Temple, Diona and Coryllus warn them against it, sharing that "terrible visions and nightmares" torment and exhaust anyone who dares to do so. "We may need to remain here for the rite," Diona says, "but that doesn't mean you must as well." ### West Scroll Repository This area is largely as described in X16. West Scroll Repository (p. 187). However, a search of the south wall reveals two spell scrolls: a *scroll of sending* and a *spell scroll of protection from energy*. ## S2e. West Gallery This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X17. This area is largely as described in X17. Upper West Hall (p. 187). However, remove the *staff of frost*. > [!lore]+ **The Charred Corpse** > Jakarion was not Vilnius’s mentor, but a mage that came to the temple two years ago seeking the vestiges’ power. > [!lore]+ **The Flameskulls** > Patrina created the three **flameskulls** that dwell here approximately four centuries ago, shortly after sealing away Exethanter’s spirit. To do so, she used the skeletal remains of wizards killed in the temple’s downfall. The flameskulls, which are named Petra, Dominik, and Gaspar, retain the following hazy memories of their old lives: > > * In life, they were wizards, and members of a secret society. (None of the three remember why this secret society existed, or what it did.) > * Petra was killed when she attempted to “borrow" (i.e., steal) another’s property. (Petra doesn’t remember what she stole.) > * Dominik died by being stabbed in the back. (He believes, correctly, that the culprit was a rival who envied his magical prowess.) > * Gaspar died when he killed himself and an assailant in a fiery murder-suicide. > > The centuries alone have left the flameskulls bored, lonely, and insane. Although Patrina’s commands compel them to guard the temple from intruders, the three crave entertainment and companionship above all else. The three flameskulls also bear the following unique traits: > > * **Petra’s** flames burn a delicate violet. She has wrapped her skull in copper, silver, and gold “chains’ of melted coins, which she constantly rearranges with her *mage hand.* She enjoys admiring her (distorted) reflection in the temple’s amber walls, and is drawn to handsomeness, beauty and other exceptional physical features. If a player catches her eye, she demands that they remain indefinitely as her “pet," attacking if openly defied. (The players can calm her, however, with a DC 11 Charisma (Persuasion or Deception) check and suitable promises or flattery.) > * **Dominik’s** flames burn a deep blue. He has fused a gold medallion bearing the Amber Temple’s symbol into his forehead, and has a monotonous, gravelly voice. He hates company and demands that the players depart his presence, threatening to burn them alive if they linger or approach him. The third time the players refuse Dominik’s demands, he attacks, though the players can calm him by empathizing with his discomfort and succeeding on a DC 11 Charisma (Persuasion) check. > * **Gaspar** is wreathed in a tangle of orange-white flames that spark and pop. His skull is blackened with multiple scorch marks, both ancient and fresh, and several of his teeth are missing. He giggles and laughs incessantly (especially at gruesome or painful things), and adores fire and suffering—both others’ and his own. He enjoys using his magic to “poke" and “investigate" others—with his *mage hand* if they’re lucky, and with his *fire ray* if they’re not. (When Gaspar uses his *fire ray* in this way, he can control its movements, as if it were a *flaming sphere*.) > > If one flameskull attacks the players, the others don’t interfere. (If asked why, the flameskulls freely share that they can’t be permanently killed, and will resurrect shortly after their “deaths.") However, the flameskulls attack any player that attempts to permanently kill a flameskull using the means described in their ***undead restoration*** feature. The flameskulls won’t attack the players if “Heinrich" previously granted them permission to explore the temple. Otherwise, the flameskulls warn the players not to proceed on pain of death, with Petra chirping that she would “hate to see a potential pet’s face charred and ruined." (Petra is, however, glad to invite any trespassers to remain indefinitely as her “pet"—so long as they promise not to leave her hall.) > [!abstract]+ **Heinrich's Greeting** > If the players enter this area without first encountering "Heinrich" in [[#S2a. Entry Hall]], he uses his ***teleport*** to appear behind the **flameskulls**, then greets the players as described in [[#Overlook]]. If the players befriend them, the flameskulls are willing to share the following information if asked: * In life, they were wizards, and members of a secret society. (The flameskulls can’t agree whether they were members of the same secret society, or three different societies, with each flameskull taking a different position each time the argument arises.) * They were animated and bound by Patrina Velikovna, a dusk elf archmage, over four centuries ago. Patrina commanded them to guard the temple from all intruders. * Although Patrina occasionally brought guests to the temple, the flameskulls haven’t received any invited guests in centuries. A player who succeeds on a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check can convince the flameskulls to divulge the identities of Patrina’s guests: a man named Strahd, an architect named Artimus, and a wizard whose name began with a “K." (“Kazoo?" Gaspar suggests helpfully.) * Petra is bitter that Patrina wouldn’t allow her to keep Strahd as a pet—"tall and handsome, he was, if a bit mature"—while Dominik resents that Artimus claimed X20. Architect’s Room (p. 187) as his “workshop." Gasper, meanwhile, remembers “Kazoo’s" visit with fondness, and cheerfully recounts the time he convinced the wizard to cast *immolation* on him. (“You should try it," Gasper says. "Very cozy.") * Several years after Patrina first raised them, she abruptly vanished. The flameskulls haven’t heard from her since. “Since then," Dominik says coldly, “we’ve had no visitors but thieves." (If confronted, Dominik reluctantly concedes that the Mountain Folk have visited the temple in peace before, but notes, with some wistfulness, that Heinrich—the flameskulls’ current master—revoked the terms of their bargain.) > [!abstract]+ **Loose Lips** > If the players have delighted Gaspar by indulging his love of fire, he excitedly adds that, ten days ago, a strange creature appeared in the [[#Nave]]: a humanoid jackal that claimed to be Patrina’s heir. Although Petra scolds Gaspar for sharing “the Master’s secrets," she can confirm that the creature, which called itself Neferon, produced a copy of a last will and testament declaring him to be Patrina’s heir. > > A player who succeeds on a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check can convince Dominik to share the text of Patrina’s alleged will, which read: “I, Patrina Velikovna, being of sound mind and body, in consideration of his many years of friendship, and in consideration of my lack of any living blood relatives, do hereby name Neferon of Gehenna my sole heir and beneficiary, inheritor of all lands, titles, properties, and fealties owed to me." > > If asked, Petra reluctantly confirms that “Heinrich" is Neferon in disguise, but quietly wails that they “mustn’t tell him" that she told him so. (Her flames flaring a purplish red, she whispers dangerously that she’ll “make sure they regret it if they do.") > [!abstract]+ **Patrina’s Heir** > If the players inform the flameskulls that Kasimir is Patrina’s brother, Dominik responds with surprise, noting such a thing would be “impossible." If asked why, Dominik gravely informs the players that they or Kasimir must be lying. (“Mistress Velikovna’s will clearly stated she had no living blood relatives," he rasps.) > > The players can convince the flameskulls that Kasimir is Patrina’s brother by succeeding on a DC 23 Charisma (Persuasion) check. The players make the check with advantage if they provide some form of proof of their claims, and succeed automatically if their proof is indisputable. On a failure, Dominik informs the players that the flameskulls do not suffer insults to their master’s honor lightly, and that the players had best offer proof before making such accusations. (Dominik confirms, however, that if the players prove their story, their fealty would pass from Heinrich to Kasimir, as Patrina’s sole living blood relative.) > > If the players convince the flameskulls that Kasimir is Patrina’s heir, they cheerfully obey Kasimir as their new master. (Due to the enchantment animating them, the flameskulls can’t leave the temple.) However, if the flameskulls subsequently encounter Patrina’s spirit in [[#S6c. Amber Vault]], they turn on the players and serve Patrina’s commands faithfully. If the players befriend the flameskulls, a player who asks about the *Sunsword* and succeeds on a DC 11 Charisma (Persuasion) check can convince the flameskulls to share the following additional information: * Several months before her disappearance, Patrina brought a platinum sword hilt to the temple, its blade shattered and lost. The hilt was clearly magical, and power radiated from the sapphire set into its guard. * Patrina spent many weeks alone with the hilt in her workshop. The flameskulls don’t know what happened to it afterward, but recall that Patrina mentioned placing it “beneath the roots of evil," in an “amber home" where immortals feared to tread. ## S2f. East Annex This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X6. This area is largely as described in X6. Southeast Annex (p. 185). However, there are no flameskulls in X33a. Vault of Shalx (p. 191) below. ## S2g. East Gallery This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X8. This area is largely as described in X8. Upper East Hall (p. 185). However, revise the third sentence to read: <div class="description"> A trio of arrow slits cut into the western wall, directly across from a wide door that stands closed to the east. A thin carpet of mist rolls across the floor from beneath it. </div> A creature that passes through the mist feels as though it is being watched. > [!lore]+ **The Mist** > The mist that continuously flows from X9. Lecture Hall (p. 185) marks the lair of Vilnius, the Dark Powers’ first victim. As the mist flows forth from the temple via X2. Entrance (p. 183), it becomes the circle of mist that traps souls within the Amber Temple’s walls. ## S2h. East Garrison This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Areas X2b and X3. ### East Barracks This area is largely as described in X3. Empty Barracks (p. 183). However, a player with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 12 or greater notices the faded outlines of an ancient magic circle carved into the floor at the room’s center. A player who succeeds on a DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana) check identifies it as a basic summoning circle, often used for conjuring familiars. ### East Guard Post This area is largely as described in X2b. Guard Room (p. 183). However, revise the second sentence of this area's description to read: <div class="description"> Slumped in the northeast corner is a frozen, desiccated corpse wearing a black robe and pointed hat. Its right hand appears to be clutched around something at its neck. </div> The corpse, which has pale, splotchy green skin, belongs to Dorina, a foul-tempered **Barovian witch** who came to the Amber Temple nine years ago bearing an *amber shard of Khirad*. A player who inspects the corpse finds that its right hand is empty, with two of its fingers snapped off. (A player who searches for the missing fingers finds them on the floor nearby.) A successful DC 15 Wisdom (Nature or Medicine) check reveals that the fingers were snapped off within the past several days. In addition, a player who searches the witch’s corpse finds a single frozen *potion of healing* within its cloak. Dorina’s **ghost** still haunts this room from the Ethereal Plane, and has the unfinished business: “I must bring my amber shard to Khirad’s amber sarcophagus and ask Khirad how to escape Barovia." If the players investigate her corpse, Dorina emerges from the Ethereal Plane using her *etherealness* feature. When she does, if any player has a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 15 or greater, read: <div class="description"> An ethereal silhouette drifts forth from the wall behind you, resembling a green-skinned woman wearing a black robe and pointed hat. </div> Once she emerges, Dorina immediately attempts to use her ***possession*** to possess a member of the party, preferring to target a player that has already noticed her. If her attempt fails, she sullenly drifts back into the floor, her teeth bared in a defiant snarl. > [!abstract]+ **Dorina’s Unfinished Business** If Dorina successfully possesses a character, she pretends to be that character but slips away at the first opportunity. If she does so successfully, or if confronted, she attempts to reach Khirad’s sarcophagus in X33c. Ghastly Vault (p. 192). > > Unless prevented from doing so, Dorina (in the player’s body) then accepts the *dark gift of Khirad* and asks the vestige a single question: “How can Barovia be escaped?" A possessed player hears Khirad’s whispered reply: *When the stars align, and the veil grows thin, the door you seek shall be laid open.* > > A player who succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check recalls a ghost’s general weaknesses, which are as described in Ghost (Monster Manual, p. 147). Due to her method of death, Dorina immediately flees a possessed target if that target suffers cold damage or fails a saving throw against the effects of Extreme Cold (Dungeon Master’s Guide, p. 110). A player who notices Dorina’s ghost, or who attempts to speak with her after restraining her possessed target, can convince her to speak with them instead by succeeding on a DC 20 Charisma (Persuasion) check, or by claiming to be a servant of Strahd or Baba Lysaga and succeeding on a DC 12 Charisma (Deception) check. Dorina’s ghost can then share the following information if asked: * Her name is Dorina. She came to the Amber Temple nine years ago bearing an *amber shard of Khirad*, the Star of Secrets, seeking an answer to how she could escape Barovia. * As she ascended Mt. Ghakis, she was attacked by a "monster" (an amber-touched **barlgura**) and lost most of her supplies, leaving her stranded in the Amber Temple with no food or shelter. She froze to death shortly thereafter. Her spirit has been trapped here ever since, though Dorina doesn’t know why. (“The Mist traps us," she hisses. “It binds and ensnares, oh yes.") * Several days ago, a young woman—"One of those Ghakis savages," Dorina sneers, her lip curling—"invaded" her place of rest, "looking to steal." The girl took Dorina's amber shard and fled. If her ***possession*** attempt fails, Dorina continues to haunt the players until turned or killed, but flees immediately if dealt cold damage. While haunting the players, she uses her ***incorporeal movement*** to end each of her turns outside of the players' line of sight, returning once her ***possession*** has recharged. If the players offer to aid her in fulfilling her unfinished business and succeed on a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check, Dorina is willing to share the following additional information if asked: * She doesn’t know anything about the *Sunsword*. However, the conclave of specters in the [[#Dining Hall]] has dwelled here far longer than she, and may know the secret to finding it. * The mage that recently arrived in the temple (“Heinrich") is not human, but a fiend of the Lower Planes. It possesses a small box made of bone, which seems to bear some incredible value to it. It has hidden this box away deep within the temple. # S3. Catacombs This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Areas X31, X31a, and X31b. ## S3a. Central Catacombs This area is largely as described in X31. Central Catacombs (p. 189). However, if the **death slaad** Nardag (currently located in [[#S3b. West Catacombs]]) hears the players enter, it uses its ***shapechange*** feature to assume the form of a young human woman and conceals its greatsword within one of the amber husks in the western catacomb alcoves. It then calls out to the players, hoping to lure them into a false sense of security. Read: <div class="description"> A trembling woman's voice calls out from the western corridor. "H-hello? Is someone there?" </div> > [!info]+ **The Slaad** On the night before the players’ arrival at the Amber Temple, a **death slaad** named Nardag came upon a cloud of mist drifting through the plane of Limbo. Intrigued, and sensing the evil of the Dark Powers through the mist, the death slaad eagerly leapt into the mist, whereupon it was spirited away to the Amber Temple in Barovia, where the boundary between worlds was weakest. > > After initially appearing in X8. Upper East Hall (p. 185), Nardag sensed Neferon’s presence and immediately attacked. Ultimately, after fleeing Nardag’s attack, Neferon lured the slaad into the catacombs and sealed it there. > > Nardag knows it can escape the catacombs by casting *plane shift* to enter the Ethereral Plane. It has decided to remain, however, for two reasons. First, it enjoys basking in the miasma that birthed the Dark Powers, which it has adopted as unholy “gods" of darkness and death. Second, when it arrived in Barovia, Nardag carried a **blue slaad tadpole**, which it has fed many of the cadavers resting in X31b. East Catacombs (p. 191). The **blue slaad**, which Nardag has named “Bluetspur," grew rapidly to adulthood overnight, but obeys Nardag out of reverence for its greater strength. ## S3b. West Catacombs This area is largely as described in X31a. West Catacombs (p. 191). However, it is inhabited by Nardag, a **death slaad** that can speak Common. If Nardag is expecting the players, add the following to the end of this area’s description: <div class="description"> A young woman with long, braided hair lies on the floor, her back propped up against the wall behind her. One of her legs is twisted at an odd angle, and her teeth are gritted in pain. </div> If the players reveal themselves or greet her, the woman—who introduces herself as "Lorelei"—asks whether they're "friends of the creature that locked her here." "Lorelei" can share the following false information if asked: * Her name is Lorelei. She found herself abruptly spirited away from her home a day ago and found herself here—a place she’s never seen before, and without any food or supplies. * Upon her arrival, she was attacked by the "demon" that dwells in these amber halls. "It looks like a man," she croaks, "but it's not." She fled, twisting her ankle in the process, and the “demon" locked her in here. She's been trying to figure out how to escape ever since. A player with a passive Wisdom (Insight) score of 15 or greater notices that, despite the freezing temperatures, "Lorelei" isn't shivering, and doesn't appear to be cold despite her unseasonal clothes. A player with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 17 or greater notices a metallic glint in the alcove behind “Lorelei." (The glint belongs to Nardag’s greatsword.) "Lorelei" pretends to be a terrified, defenseless victim of the Mists, and thanks the players profusely for any aid or information they are willing to share with her. She releases her disguise, retrieves her greatsword, and attacks the players if the players attack her, reveal or challenge her true nature, attempt to take her greatsword, or discover the **blue slaad** in [[#S3c. East Catacombs]]. When Lorelei attacks, read: <div class="description"> The woman's form swells and bulges, her skin growing pallid, ash-grey scales. Her eyes lighten to a pale light-grey, her shoulders broadening as sharp, coal-black spines burst from the flesh beneath. Her stomach sags, clothes falling away, until a bulbous, flabby, clawed, toad-like creature stands before you. It bares its maw, revealing rows of shark-like, razor-sharp teeth beneath flat, slitted nostrils. "Finally!" it howls gleefully, and throws itself at you. </div> When Nardag attacks, the **blue slaad** in [[#S3c. East Catacombs]] emerges and joins the battle alongside it. Both slaad fight to the death. > [!info]+ **Nardag’s Tactics** > In combat, Nardag begins by casting *cloudkill*, then attacks with its ***greatsword*** and ***bite***. It prefers to attack whichever creature is most wounded or terrified; if no suitable target is available, it moves to attack a random creature it can see within 30 feet. > [!warning]+ **Assymetric Blindness** > Remember that, because Nardag has blindsight, it attacks players blinded by its *cloudkill* with advantage, while imposing disadvantage on their attacks. In addition, don’t forget that a blinded spellcaster can’t cast spells that require sight (e.g., *polymorph*). > [!info]+ **Nardag’s Worship** > Nardag can sense the presence of the Dark Powers within the temple, and seeks to kill the players as offerings to them. As it fights, it gleefully asks the players whether they can “sense them—the powers of darkness that rule the twisting mists." If the players confuse the Dark Powers with the amber vestiges, Nardag angrily corrects them, snarling: “They are not as those weak, sniveling remnants. They are greater and above them. They suffuse each gulp of air you swallow; each thought that drips through your skulls. They are in your blood, in your veins, and in your hearts. They are Death incarnate—misery and pain and despair and *beauty*—and I will make you an offering to them!" ## S3c. East Catacombs This area is largely as described in X31b. East Catacombs (p. 191). However, a **blue slaad** named Bluetspur stands on the eastern side of this chamber, disguised by Nardag's *major image* spell. While active, the *major image* disguises the blue slaad’s surroundings to appear as an empty corridor. A player with a passive Intelligence (Investigation) score of 15 or greater who approaches the illusion notices that the corridor’s contents don’t seem to obey the ordinary laws of parallax motion (almost as though the corridor is not three-dimensional, but flat). Bluetspur attacks any creature that passes through the illusion, perceives it, or attacks it. If it attacks, the **death slaad** Nardag in [[#S3b. West Catacombs]] removes its disguise and joins it in battle. Both slaad fight to the death. > [!info]+ **Curing Chaos Phase** > The players can cure the **blue slaad's** ***chaos phase*** disease by using Ithuriel's ***healing touch*** feature, a *lesser restoration* spell, or any other means of curing a disease. # S4. Western Temple ## S4a. Western Temple, Main Floor ### Brewing Room This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X19. This area is as described in X19. Potion Storage (p. 187). ### Architect’s Room This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X20. This area is largely as described in X20. Architect’s Room (p. 187). However, a player with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 10 or greater observes faint scuff marks along the bottom of the chest. (The marks were left by opening the chest’s false bottom.) In addition, replace the *tome of understanding* with a set of *eyes of minute seeing*, two old parchment scrolls, a moldy ink bottle, and three old quill pens. The first scroll contains a precise sketch of three amber sarcophagus, whose fronts are engraved with the following designs from left to right: (1) a gnarled tree encircled by a canal; (2) a tome upon a pedestal; and (3) an eye upon a hill. An arrow points to a circle around the leftmost sarcophagus (the one depicting the tree) from several lines of complex runes and arcane formulae. (A player who succeeds on a DC 18 Intelligence (Arcana) check identifies the runes and formulae as notes regarding some kind of conjuration magic—specifically, magic similar to the *demiplane* spell.) A scrawled note beneath the formulae reads: “Integrity parameter + duplication runes + inversion function = hidden physical demiplane within psychic manifestation. But who altered it, and why?" The second scroll contains a similar sketch of Castle Ravenloft's K60. North Tower Peak (p. 74), including K20. Heart of Sorrow (p. 59) below. A scrawled note at the bottom reads: “Composition: crystallized blood. Means of suspension: Unknown (nonmagical). Notes: Highly conductive to arcane energies, with potentially exceptional storage capacities. Arcane signature resonates with the mists around the valley. Why?" (The last word is underlined three times.) > [!lore]+ **Khazan’s Notes** > In the years between Strahd’s fall and Khazan’s own death, Khazan returned to the Amber Temple multiple times to investigate the secrets of lichdom and delve deeper into the knowledge that dwelled there. It was on one such visit that Khazan detected the subtle magical energies emanating from the amber sarcophagus of the Vampyr in X42. Amber Vault (p. 195). Further investigation revealed the sarcophagus bore a complex and powerful enchantment—one capable of duplicating a sealed vestige’s psychic “mindspace," stabilizing it as a physical demiplane, and hiding it away within the vestige’s psychic link. However, Khazan never learned of the enchantment’s maker (Patrina) or purpose (to hide the hilt of the broken *Brightblade*). > > As Strahd’s arcane advisor, Khazan also returned to Castle Ravenloft on multiple occasions to analyze the Heart of Sorrow, which had mysteriously manifested within the North Tower when the Mists first fell. Centuries later, when Strahd first learned of the Grand Conjunction, Strahd used Khazan’s notes as the basis for his ultimate scheme to channel the Fanes’ power into the Heart of Sorrow —and thereby escape from Barovia. ### West Temple Stair This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Areas X18 and X21. This area is as described in X18. Hallway (p. 187) and X21. West Staircase (p. 187). ### Dining Hall This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X22. This area is largely as described in X22. Northwest Annex (p. 187). However, there are two ewers on the table: the green copper ewer described in X22. Northwest Annex (p. 187), and an ordinary wooden pitcher. When the *programmed illusion* spell activates, the green copper ewer is disguised to resemble the wooden pitcher, and vice-versa. In addition, replace two of the **specters** with **wraiths**. The spirits don’t attack if the players pick up the ewer. Instead, after entering this room, a player with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 15 or greater feels a prickling on the back of their neck, and feels as though they are being watched. A player with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 20 or greater senses an ethereal presence in the room with them. A player who attempts to sense this presence’s disposition and succeeds on a DC 20 Wisdom (Insight) check receives a feeling of wariness and curiosity. The spirits emerge if a player picks up the ewer or greets the unseen presence and succeeds on a DC 10 Charisma (Persuasion) check. A player makes the check with advantage if they mention the *Sunsword* or forswear any interest in accepting the vestiges’ gifts. When the spirits appear, read: <div class="description"> Seven ghostly figures emerge from the walls. Each wears a simple robe, and several carry staves, wands, or books wrapped under their arms. Bloated veins bulge from their pallid, translucent flesh, their faces sagging or frozen in expressions of ghastly horror. Two of the figures seem darker than the others, their eyes flashing with pale, yellow light. One floats forward, its voice rasping through the air: “Why do you intrude upon the prison of the damned?" </div> The two darker figures are the **wraiths**. The others are **specters**. Modify their statistics as follows: * Each specter can cast *burning hands* once per day. When cast in this way, the spell deals necrotic damage instead of fire. * Each wraith can cast *counterspell* once per day and *dispel magic* twice per day. When another creature’s spell is countered in this way, the creature must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of its next turn. > [!lore]+ **The Poisoned Mages** > When Vilnius poisoned his master, the **archmage** Exethanter, seven other mages—five apprentices and two senior mages—died alongside him. Their spirits live on as the **specters** and **wraiths** that haunt this room, bound to the Amber Temple for eternity by the will of the Dark Powers. > > These spirits remember that they were once members of the secret society that built the Amber Temple, that this society existed to imprison evil vestiges, and that the society’s third generation—theirs—destroyed itself in a storm of paranoia, anger, and greed. The spirits also believe (correctly) that Vilnius, who dined but did not die with them, is the one who killed them. The spirits sense that Vilnius’s spirit is the anchor that traps them here, and wish to see him destroyed so that their souls might be freed. The spirits further know that Vilnius desires his master’s staff (see [[#Shrine of Temptation]]), and, due to their hatred of him, will do anything to stop him from obtaining it. The spirits are willing to share the following information if asked: * They are the spirits of mages and apprentices who perished in the Amber Temple long ago. * The Amber Temple was founded by mages who lived a century before them, who sought to imprison the vestiges of powerful, evil beings so that they would not be resurrected. (The spirits can confirm that these founders’ remains are sealed in [[#S3. Catacombs]].) * The spirits were murdered by Vilnius, the apprentice to the leader of the Temple's secret order: an archmage named Exethanter. Vilnius did so by poisoning the wine in Exethanter’s ewer. (Although Exethanter was also a victim of Vilnius’s betrayal, his ghost vanished from the temple approximately a year after the arrival of the dusk elf mage Patrina Velikovna. The spirits aren’t sure what happened to him, but suspect Patrina was responsible.) * If asked why Vilnius killed them, the specters share their belief that he was corrupted by "the call of amber," as so many of their colleagues were "in those final days." * Since Vilnius’s betrayal, the temple has fallen into the grasp of dark powers, which the spirits believe were born from the evil miasma the vestiges exude. The spirits felt those Dark Powers in their nightmares while they lived, and feel those Dark Powers’ presence entrapping them within the temple now. “They belong to the mists," a wraith rasps, “and the mists belongs to them." > [!abstract]+ **The Spirits of Amber** > If any player possesses an amber shard, either openly or secretly, the wraiths sense its presence (though not its precise location) and challenge the players to justify why they carry “a shard of evil’s touch." > > The players can calm the spirits by succeeding on a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion or Deception) check, made with advantage if they reveal an amber shard and offer it to the spirits, and made with disadvantage if any player has reached Stage Three of an amber shard’s Amber Corruption. On a failure, the spirits warn the players that they cannot allow any who seek the vestiges’ power to depart their chamber alive, and attack. > > On initiative count 20 of the first round of combat, the doors leading from X22. Northwest Annex (p. 187) slam shut and magically lock, requiring a successful DC 20 Strength check to force open. The spirits won’t share further information (e.g., the location of the *Sunsword*, or the password to open X40. Sealed Treasury (p. 194)) unless the players first destroy Vilnius’s spirit in X9. Lecture Hall (p. 185) and return with the amulet he wears, which is shaped like an upside-down “V." If the players agree to do so, the wraiths can share the following additional information: * Vilnius is no ordinary spirit. He is semi-corporeal and, as far as the wraiths know, may never have truly died. * Vilnius’s soul anchors the mists that surround the temple. If the players destroy him, the mists should disappear, freeing the trapped souls. * Vilnius’s soul, however, is anchored to his **quasit** familiar, Jakarion, and vice-versa. So long as either lives, the other cannot truly die, returning to life twenty-four hours after its “death." (The wraiths, if asked, can share all information regarding a **quasit’s** statistics, including its ***shapechanger*** and ***invisibility*** features.) * Vilnius’s amulet once belonged to his master, Exethanter, but Vilnius stole it from Exethanter’s corpse. > [!info]+ **The Grateful Dead** > If the players return with Vilnius’s amulet, the spirits are willing to share the following additional information if asked: > > * The wall between X39. Plundered Treasury (p. 194) and X40. Sealed Treasury (p. 194) conceals a secret door, as described in X5b. Secret Door (p. 184). > * The doors to X40. Sealed Treasury (p. 194) can be unlocked with a password, which is as described in X40. Sealed Treasury (p. 194). > * Nearly four centuries ago, the dusk elf Patrina Velikovna came to the temple seeking the tutelage of Exethanter’s spirit. However, she plotted against him in secret, and sealed his spirit away for as long as she lived. > * Some years after claiming the temple as her own, Patrina brought other men to the temple, including a noble named Strahd von Zarovich, a powerful mage called Khazan, and an architect named Artimus. > * Patrina vanished a little over a year after Strahd’s first visit. However, a few days before she disappeared, one of the wraiths watched her place the platinum hilt of a shattered sword within the western sarcophagus of X42. Amber Vault (p. 195). (“The amber rippled as though it were water," the wraith recalls, “and the hilt vanished within.") > [!abstract]+ **An Icy Reception** > If the players return to this room bearing the *staff of frost* from the [[#Shrine of Temptation]], the spirits manifest and command them to return the staff to its “vault," where the “betrayer" (Vilnius) cannot reach it. If the players refuse, the spirits attack, as described above. ### Shrine of Temptation This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X24. This area is largely as described in X24. West Shrine (p. 188). However, add the following to the end of this area's description: <div class="description"> A tall, glittering staff shaped like a jagged icicle lies across the statue's arms. </div> The staff is a *staff of frost*, with the following changes: * It has a maximum of five charges. * Its wielder can spend two charges to cast *fabricate* with a casting time of 1 minute, requiring no raw materials to do so. When cast in this way, the object created is formed entirely of ice and lasts for 10 minutes, at which point it melts away. * If the staff touches or overlaps with the effects of a cantrip or 1st-level spell (e.g., *mage hand*, *entangle*, or *minor illusion*), that spell is dispelled. (*This doesn't affect spells with an instantaneous duration, such as lightning bolt, or spells that only affect a particular creature or object, such as hold person.*) * The staff is cursed. While attuned to the staff, a character gains the flaw described in X42. Amber Vault, West Sarcophagus (p. 195). In addition, if a creature other than Vilnius removes the staff from the Amber Temple, the staff vanishes and returns to its original position in the [[#Shrine of Temptation]]. (The curse ends if Vilnius is destroyed.) The first time a player picks up the *staff of frost*, if they did so at Vilnius’s request, a soft woman’s voice whispers into their mind: “*Vilnius doesn’t deserve this staff. Use its power to deceive him, and take it for yourself.*" > [!info]+ **The Whispering Voice** > The whispering voice belongs to the Dark Powers, who hope to prevent Vilnius from obtaining the *staff of frost*. A player with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 15 or greater discerns that the woman’s voice masks a cacophony of whispers that precede her words. If the player previously heard the whispers of the Dark Powers in [[Arc O - Dinner with the Devil#Varushka’s Grief|Arc O - Dinner with the Devil]] or [[Arc Q - A Shining Beacon#The Abbot’s Redemption|Arc Q - A Shining Beacon]], they recognize the whispers as the same. ## S4b. Western Temple, Lower Floor ### West Hall This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Areas X5d and X36. This area is largely as described in X5d. Amber Reflections (p. 184) and X36. Lower West Hall (p.194). However, if any player inspects their reflection, read: <div class="description"> For a brief instant, a silhouette flickers across the reflection, mere inches behind yours. </div> The player must then make a Wisdom (Perception) check. On a result of 15 or greater, add: <div class="description"> The silhouette resembles a tall, dusky-skinned woman, her dark eyes fixed upon yours. </div> On a result of 20 or greater, add: <div class="description"> The tops of the woman’s ears rise above her raven-black hair, showing pointed tips. </div> The silhouette vanishes as quickly as it appeared. > [!info]+ **The Amber Apparition** > The silhouette belongs to Patrina’s spirit, which has a limited capacity to observe events within the Amber Temple. If asked, Kasimir can confirm, with some surprise, that the silhouette’s features resemble Patrina’s. “But her body lies in Castle Ravenloft’s crypts," he notes, frowning. “Perhaps it was an echo—a reflection of the temple’s own memory?" ### West Quarters This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Areas X37 and X38. This area is as described in X37. Wizard’s Bedchamber (p. 194) and X38. Haunted Room (p. 194). ### West Vaults > [!info]+ **The Amber Sarcophagi** > The amber sarcophagi throughout the Amber Temple are largely as described in Amber Sarcophagi (p. 191). However, accepting a dark gift can’t change a creature’s alignment. In addition, only one creature can form a telepathic link with a particular vestige at a time. > [!info]+ **Take One** > A player can’t accept more than one dark gift. Once a player accepts a vestige’s dark gift, all other vestiges within the temple refuse to offer them any additional dark gift, noting with distaste that their soul is “tainted" by another’s power. > [!info]+ **Stages of Corruption** > The first time a player fails a Charisma saving throw after using a vestige’s dark gift, that player immediately progresses to Stage Four of that vestige’s amber corruption, as described below. The player doesn’t receive the effects of Stage Three of that vestige’s [[Amber Shards#Stage Three|amber corruption]], and loses the effects of the vestige’s Stage Three amber corruption if they already possessed them. #### Breached Vault This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X33d This area is largely as described in X33d. Breached Vault (p. 192) and Amber Sarcophagi (p. 191). However, no **nothics** dwell in this chamber. In addition, modify the sarcophagi in this room (and their dark gifts) as described below. > [!info]+ **West Sarcophagus (Tomb of Delban).** > If a player touches this sarcophagus, read: > > --- > > *As you touch the sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by a vast, frozen wasteland. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came.* > > *Before you, strange, twisted monuments of ice arc unnaturally in leaping spirals and immense, impossible architectures, while shards of frost swirl on the wind, as thin and sharp as razors. Several hundred yards away, the earth falls away to reveal a deep, mile-wide pit, its sides rimmed in snow and frost. A constant column of red-hot magma rises in great, shifting blobs from the pit’s miles-deep base, swirling into the skies above as the pit’s bottom slowly darkens and cools. *The column of lava rises far into the atmosphere, turning black with cold until, finally, it is devoured by a frigid, blue-white star that hangs over the horizon.* > > *The earth trembles and, as the star orbits through the skies, you feel a terrible gaze fall upon you. A rumbling voice echoes through the air: “I AM DELBAN, THE STAR OF ICE AND HATE. DO YOU COME TO SEEK MY GIFT?"* > > --- > > If the player expresses interest in Delban’s gift, Delban offers the player the power to unleash “the cold of the void beyond the stars." To accept, the player must enter the column of lava and allow Delban to devour it. > > ***Delban’s Gift.*** Delban’s dark gift allows a player to cast _cone of cold_ without components three times per day. A player who accepts Delban’s dark gift instantly receives its disfiguring condition, as described in Stage Three of Delban’s [[Amber Shards#Amber Corruption|Amber Corruption]]. > > Each time the player uses Delban’s dark gift, they must succeed on a DC 5 Charisma saving throw or gain an additional stage of Delban’s amber corruption, as described below. The DC increases by 5 each additional time the player uses Delban’s dark gift, and resets to 5 each time the player gains an additional stage of Delban’s amber corruption. > > * **Stage Four.** The player gains a +3 bonus to their Constitution score and the flaw: “I burn with frigid fury at the meaningless of life." Their eyes emit a bright, spectral light, and the temperature is always frigid around them. > * **Stage Five.** The player gains a **coldlight walker**’s (Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden, p. 284) ***blinding light***, ***icy doom***, ***unusual nature***, and ***cold ray*** features, and the flaw: “I delight in reminding mortals of the fragility of their pathetic lives." > * **Stage Six.** The player transforms into a **coldlight walker** under the DM's control. If the player passes through the amber archway or accepts Delban’s gift, the telepathic connection ends, and the player returns to their previous senses. > [!info]+ **North Sarcophagus (Tomb of the Devourer).** > If a player approaches this sarcophagus while in possession of the butterfly statuette from [[Arc J - The Stolen Gem#J4a. Kavan’s Cairn|J4a. Kavan’s Cairn]], or the *twilight crest* from [[Arc J - The Stolen Gem#J6b. The Whispering Wall|J6b. The Whispering Wall]], the item glows purple and emits a soft, keening hum. (The light and hum fade after 1 minute, or if the item is removed from the room.) > [!lore]+ **The Broken Sarcophagus** > When the wizards of the Amber Temple first set off to contain the vestiges of evil entities, the vestige of the Devourer—the youngest sister of the Ladies of the Fanes, once known as the Dreamer—was the first that they found. They extracted her divine soul from the Whispering Wall, her corpse, and sealed it away within an amber sarcophagus. Still inexperienced in the art of sealing vestiges, the wizards’ ritual overlooked a single parameter in the Devourer’s binding—and ever since, a thin layer of the Dreamer’s mist has blanketed the temple floor. When the Dark Powers first wove Vilnius’s prison, it was this mist, tinged with divine power, that they used to do so. Two millenia later, the Dark Powers, empowered by Strahd’s evil and the nourishment they had taken from the souls entrapped in the Amber Temple, spun Mists of their own, which they used to imprison the land of Barovia. > > Since her sealing, the Devourer’s vestige slept silently in its sarcophagus . . . until, three months ago, Strahd von Zarovich came seeking its knowledge of soul magic. When the Devourer’s vestige refused to share its secrets with him, Strahd tore it from its sarcophagus and sealed it away within the Heart of Sorrow at the peak of Castle Ravenloft, where he could use the Fanes’ power to compel it to answer. Now, only scraps of the Devourer’s power cloak the shattered remnants of her millenia-old prison, echoing faintly with the tingues of the mantle she once wore. > [!info]+ **East Sarcophagus (Tomb of Drizlash)** > If a creature touches this sarcophagus, read: > > --- > > *As you touch the sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by a towering, decrepit stone hall. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came.* > > *Thick webbing cloaks the vaulted halls and ceilings, each web bearing dozens of small, silk-woven sacs the size of a man’s head. Each sac bulges and writhes with thousands of tiny, unseen forms, which flicker with a pale, eerie blue light.* > > *Before you, ancient gnawed bones cover the floor, surrounded by rusted weapons and armor. At the center of it all, resting upon a web that rises from floor to ceiling, stands an enormous arachnid, its bloated body covered with sharp, bluish-white spines. A humanoid torso rises from its back, ending in the head of an ancient, wizened crone. Eight eyes spread across her face; as she speaks, a ninth, gray eye opens atop her forehead.* > > *“I am Drizlash," she rasps, “the Nine-Eyed Spider. Have you come to accept my gift?"* > > --- > > If the player expresses interest in Drizlash’s gift, she offers the player the power to “defy the pull of the world—to walk untethered from earthly binds." To accept, the player must swallow a fist-sized egg sac offered by one of Drizlash’s eight legs. > > If the player passes through the amber archway or accepts Drizlash’s gift, the telepathic connection ends, and the player returns to their previous senses. > > ***Drizlash’s Gift.*** Drizlash’s dark gift allows a player to cast, without components, _spider climb_ (at will) and _blink_ (three times per day). A player who accepts Drizlash’s dark gift instantly receives its disfiguring condition, as described in Stage Three of Drizlash’s [[Amber Shards#Amber Corruption|Amber Corruption]]. > > Each time the player uses Drizlash’s dark gift, they must succeed on a DC 5 Charisma saving throw or gain an additional stage of Drizlash’s amber corruption, as described below. The DC increases by 3 each additional time the player uses Drizlash’s dark gift, and resets to 5 each time the player gains an additional stage of Drizlash’s amber corruption. > > * **Stage Four.** The player gains a +3 bonus to their Dexterity score and the flaw: “Only raw flesh can satiate my hunger, and I am always hungry." Its skin becomes a pale white-blue, and fangs grow in its mouth. > * **Stage Five.** The player gains a **phase spider’s** ***web walker***, ***multiattack***, ***bite***, and ***ethereal sight*** features, and the flaw: “I suffer from extreme paranoia, and am quick to anger." > * *Stage Six.* The player transforms into a **phase spider** under the DM’s control. #### Vault of Harkotha This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X33e This area is largely as described in X33e. Vault of Harkotha (p. 193) and Amber Sarcophagi (p. 191). However, modify the sarcophagi in this room (and their dark gifts) as described below. > [!info]+ **North Sarcophagus (Tomb of Yrrga).** > If a player touches this sarcophagus, read: > > --- > > *As you touch this sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by a circular glass platform. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came.* > > *This platform floats in an endless, shadowed void, with countless stars twinkling in the distance. At the platform’s center, upon a raised glass pillar, rests a spherical object covered in a fine red cloth.* > > *The distant stars shimmer, then coalesce, forming a woman’s silhouette. Her eyes are a pair of swirling spiral galaxies, and when she speaks, the cosmos themselves seem to tremble.* > > “*I am Yrrga, the Eye of Shadows*," she intones. “Do you seek my gift?" > > --- > > If the player expresses interest in Yrrga’s gift, she offers the player the power to “see the true nature of things, without illusions or lies." To accept, the player must lift the cloth and gaze into the glass orb that lies beneath it. > > If the player passes through the amber archway or accepts Yrrga’s gift, the telepathic connection ends, and the player returns to their previous senses. > > ***Yrrga’s Gift.*** Yrrga’s dark gift allows a player to cast _true seeing_ without components at will. A player who accepts Yrrga’s dark gift instantly receives its disfiguring condition, as described in Stage Three of Yrrga’s [[Amber Shards#Amber Corruption|Amber Corruption]]. > > Each time the player uses Yrrga’s dark gift, they must succeed on a DC 5 Charisma saving throw or gain an additional stage of Yrrga’s amber corruption, as described below. The DC increases by 5 each additional time the player uses Yrrga’s dark gift, and resets to 5 each time the player gains an additional stage of Yrrga’s amber corruption. > > * **Stage Four.** The player gains a +3 bonus to their Wisdom score and the flaw: “I loathe manifestations of order and trust." Their flesh grows pale and malleable, and their organs seem to twist and writhe beneath their skin. > * **Stage Five.** The player gains a **lesser star spawn emissary’s** ***unusual nature***, ***lashing maw***, and ***psychic orb*** features, and the flaw: “I seek to foment hatred and discord wherever I go." > * **Stage Six.** The player transforms into a **lesser star spawn emissary** under the DM’s control with no legendary resistances or legendary actions, and without its ***aberrant rejuvenation*** feature. > [!info]+ **West Sarcophagus (Tomb of Taar Haak).** > If a player touches this sarcophagus, read: > > --- > > *As you touch the sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by a desolate wasteland. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came.* > > *Mountainous canyons, ridges, and chasms cut through the earth like gaping wounds, bubbling with streams and geysers of churning lava. Each molten river flows into a large, central basin, framed by a semicircle of five great mountains that tower above the rest.* > > *Rising from the surface of the lake of lava, far above the cracked black stone and spouts of impossible heat, is an immense hydra clad in dark, platinum scales. Instead of one head, it has five, each maw wide enough to devour an entire village.* > > ***“I am the Great Taar Haak,"*** *it rumbles,* ***“the Five-Headed Destroyer. Have you the strength to claim my gift?"*** > > --- > > If the player expresses interest in Taar Haak’s gift, Taar Haak offers the player the “strength of titans." To accept, the player must wade into the lake of fire and be baptized beneath Taar Haak’s monstrous claw. > > If the player passes through the amber archway or accepts Taar Haak’s gift, the telepathic connection ends, and the player returns to their previous senses. > > ***Taar Haak’s Gift.*** Taar Haak’s dark gift allows a player to cast, without components, the *enlarge/reduce* spell (self only, at-will) and *enhance ability* (Strength and self only, at-will). A player who accepts Taar Haak’s dark gift instantly receives its disfiguring condition, as described in Stage Three of Taar Haak’s [[Amber Shards#Amber Corruption|Amber Corruption]]. > > Each time the player uses Taar Haak’s dark gift, they must succeed on a DC 5 Charisma saving throw or gain an additional stage of Taar Haak’s amber corruption, as described below. The DC increases by 5 each additional time the player uses Taar Haak’s dark gift, and resets to 5 each time the player gains an additional stage of Taar Haak’s amber corruption. > > * **Stage Four.** The player gains a +3 bonus to their Strength score and the flaw: “I’m always hungry for a fight, and I love taking gruesome trophies from my victims." Its muscles swell to a larger size, and short, orange fur covers its body. > * **Stage Five.** The player gains a **barlgura’s** ***reckless***, ***running leap***, ***multiattack***, ***bite***, and ***fist*** attacks, as well as its climbing speed, and the flaw: “I’d tear someone limb from limb with barely the slightest provocation." > * **Stage Six.** The player transforms into a **barlgura** under the DM’s control. > [!info]+ **South Sarcophagus (Tomb of Yog).** > If a player touches this sarcophagus, read: > > --- > > *As you touch the sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by a gargantuan, dark cavern. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came.* > > *From the cavern’s arched ceiling, hundreds of feet overhead, six stone ridges extend like spirals along the walls of the cavern, descending in a twisted helix toward the floor far below. The six ridges meet at the cavern’s base, converging to encircle a deep, dark hole filled with thick, bubbling tar.* > > *A shadow flickers from the highest stone ridge; as it steps into the dim, gray light, its features solidify, forming an enormous, black-furred hyena whose coat resembles dark, metallic spines. Thick tar oozes continually from its pores, and its yellow eyes gleam in the cavern’s darkness.* > > *“I am Yog, the Invincible," it growls, looking down toward you. “Do you seek my gift?"* > > --- > > If the player expresses interest in Yog’s gift, Yog offers the player the power of "unyielding endurance—to never fall, never falter." To accept, the player must step into the bubbling tar pit and allow themselves to be submerged. > > If the player passes through the amber archway or accepts Yog’s gift, the telepathic connection ends, and the player returns to their previous senses. > > ***Yog’s Gift.*** Yog’s dark gift allows a player to cast, without components, _stoneskin_ (three times per day). A player who accepts Yog’s dark gift instantly receives its disfiguring condition, as described in Stage Three of Yog’s [[Amber Shards#Amber Corruption|Amber Corruption]]. > > Each time the player uses Yog’s dark gift, they must succeed on a DC 5 Charisma saving throw or gain an additional stage of Yog’s amber corruption, as described below. The DC increases by 5 each additional time the player uses Yog’s dark gift, and resets to 5 each time the player gains an additional stage of Yog’s amber corruption. > > * **Stage Four.** The player gains a +3 bonus to their Constitution score and the flaw: “Pain is meaningless to me, and I revel in suffering—mine or others." A line of jagged black spikes grows along their spine, and its eyes glow a bright, sickly yellow. > * **Stage Five.** The player gains a **shoosuva’s** ***rampage***, ***multiattack***, ***tail stinger***, and ***bite*** features, and the flaw: “Once I’ve entered battle, I can’t distinguish between friend and foe." > * **Stage Six.** The player transforms into a **shoosuva** under the DM’s control. #### Vault of Thangob This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X33f This area is largely as described in X33f. Vault of Thangob (p. 193). However, modify the sarcophagi in this room (and their dark gifts) as described below. > [!info]+ **West Sarcophagus (Norganas).** > If a player touches this sarcophagus, read: > > --- > > *As you touch the sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by a vast, decrepit chapel. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came.* > > *Before you, stone coffins carved with pentagrams fill the sanctuary in long, perfect rows, their covers removed to reveal the ancient dead that lie within. At the chapel’s far end, atop a tall, granite dais, stands an additional coffin carved from pure obsidian.* > > *A living shadow floats above the obsidian coffin, clad in twisted darkness and an elaborate bone helm. Cold, gray eyes flicker beneath its visor; when the shadow speaks, its voice grinds like the sound of bone against bone.* > > *“I am Norganas, the Finger of Oblivion," it rasps. “Will you accept my gift?"* > > --- > > If the player expresses interest in Norganas’s gift, it offers the player the power to “turn life into undeath." To accept, the player must lie within the coffin and pull the cover shut over itself. > > If the player passes through the amber archway or accepts Norganas’s gift, the telepathic connection ends, and the player returns to their previous senses. > > ***Norganas’s Gift.*** Norganas’s dark gift allows a player to cast _finger of death_ without components three times per day. A player who accepts Norganas’s dark gift instantly receives its disfiguring condition, as described in Stage Three of Norganas’s [[Amber Shards#Amber Corruption|Amber Corruption]]. > > Each time the player uses Norganas’s dark gift, they must succeed on a DC 10 Charisma saving throw or gain an additional stage of Norganas’s amber corruption, as described below. The DC increases by 10 each additional time the player uses Norganas’s dark gift, and resets to 10 each time the player gains an additional stage of Norganas’s amber corruption. > > * **Stage Four.** The player gains a +3 bonus to their Constitution score and the flaw: “I do not feel joy, sorrow, or love—only hate, rage, and apathy." Its flesh becomes translucent and clouded in shadow, and its eyes glow yellow. > * **Stage Five.** The player gains a **wraith’s** ***incorporeal movement*** and ***life drain*** features, and the flaw: “I despise reminders of what I once was, and what I have become." > * **Stage Six.** The player transforms into a **wraith** under the DM’s control. > [!info]+ **South Sarcophagus (Tomb of Vaund).** > If a player touches this sarcophagus, read: > > --- > > *As you touch the sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by a vast, impenetrable void. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came.* > > *The ground beneath your feet shimmers with a thin layer of liquid water. Before you, a tall silver mirror stands alone amidst the darkness. Rather than your reflection, however, a golden mask hovers in the mirror’s depths, its surface carved to resemble a smiling human face.* > > *“I am Vaund, the Evasive," the mask whispers. “Have you come to seek my gift?"* > > --- > > If the player expresses interest in Vaund’s gift, Vaund offers the player the power to “flee from sight." To accept, the player must step through the surface of the mirror. > > If the player passes through the amber archway or accepts Vaund’s gift, the telepathic connection ends, and the player returns to their previous senses. > > ***Vaund’s Gift.*** Vaund’s dark gift allows a player to cast the _greater invisibility_ spell without components three times per day. A player who accepts Vaund’s dark gift instantly receives its disfiguring condition, as described in Stage Three of Vaund’s [[Amber Shards#Amber Corruption|Amber Corruption]]. > > Each time the player uses Vaund’s dark gift, they must succeed on a DC 5 Charisma saving throw or gain an additional stage of Vaund’s amber corruption, as described below. The DC increases by 5 each additional time the player uses Vaund’s dark gift, and resets to 5 each time the player gains an additional stage of Vaund’s amber corruption. > > * **Stage Four.** The player gains a +3 bonus to their Dexterity score and the flaw: “I do not feel joy, sorrow, or love—only hate, rage, and apathy." Its skin becomes a pale, ethereal blue, and its lips freeze into a permanent, ghoulish smile. > * **Stage Five.** The player gains an **invisible stalker’s** ***air form***, ***multiattack***, and ***wind swipe*** features, and the flaw: “I despise reminders of what I once was, and what I have become." > * **Stage Six.** The player transforms into an **invisible stalker** under the DM’s control. > [!info]+ **East Sarcophagus (Tomb of Seriach).** > If a player touches this sarcophagus, read: > > --- > > *As you touch the sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by an arid hellscape forged of black volcanic rock. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came.* > > *From above, a crimson sky blazes with impossible heat; below, gouts of lava burst and flow from deep fissures that scar the rocky earth. Before you, two fiery hounds stand upon a tall stone ledge, smoke and embers steaming from their nostrils as magma drips from their maws like saliva.* > > *Between them stands a figure clad in black steel armor inlaid with crimson markings. Its shoulders are rimmed with spikes, and scarlet eyes burn from the shadows of its devil-horned helmet. It wields a chain-metal whip in either hand, their spiked lengths crackling with swirling flames.* > > *“I am Seriach, the Hell Hound Whisperer," the figure sneers. “Have you come to ask for my gift?"* > > --- > > If the player expresses interest in Seriach’s gift, he offers the player the power to “call and command the hounds of the Nine Hells." To accept, the player must allow the two **hell hounds** to kill and devour them. > > If the player passes through the amber archway or accepts Seriach’s gift, the telepathic connection ends, and the player returns to their previous senses. > > ***Seriach’s Gift.*** Seriach’s dark gift allows a player to gain the effects of a ***summon fiend*** spell twice a day. (When cast in this way, the spell conjures a **hell hound**, rather than its ordinary fiendish spirit.) A player who accepts Seriach’s dark gift instantly receives its disfiguring condition, as described in Stage Three of Seriach’s [[Amber Shards#Amber Corruption|Amber Corruption]]. > > Each time the player uses Seriach’s dark gift, they must succeed on a DC 5 Charisma saving throw or gain an additional stage of Seriach’s amber corruption, as described below. The DC increases by 3 each additional time the player uses Seriach’s dark gift, and resets to 5 each time the player gains an additional stage of Seriach’s amber corruption. > > * **Stage Four.** The player gains a +3 bonus to their Strength score and the flaw: “I must regularly indulge my hunger for killing." A cloud of smoke and embers constantly emits from their mouth, which grows pronounced, canine fangs, and their fingers grow sharp, bestial claws. > * **Stage Five.** The player gains a **hell hound’s** ***keen hearing and smell*** and ***bite*** features, as well as its movement speed, and the flaw: “A weakened ally is little better than prey." > * **Stage Six.** The player transforms into a **hell hound** under the DM’s control. # S5. Eastern Temple ## S5a. Eastern Temple, Main Floor ### Lecture Hall This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X9. This area is largely as described in X9. Lecture Hall (p. 185). However, modify the first sentence of this area's description to replace "brightly lit" with "dimly lit." In addition, add the following sentence to the end of this area's description: <div class="description"> A thick layer of mist rolls lazily across the floor of this chamber. </div> A player with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 15 or greater notices that the mist flows *up* the stairs, rather than down—and that its source seems to be the lectern at the front of the room. > [!lore]+ **Vilnius** > The mage Exethanter first discovered Vilnius as a child in the streets of a distant city while away from the Amber Temple on a recruitment mission. Then, Exethanter was not the temple’s archmage, but a senior mage of the society, and Vilnius an orphaned urchin who learned to cast *mage hand* and *prestidigitation* from pilfered scrolls to steal from merchants in the city market. When he caught Vilnius attempting to steal his purse, Exethanter was not angered, but impressed by the boy’s aptitude for magic, and invited him to become his apprentice. Though Vilnius was suspicious of Exethanter’s generosity, he nonetheless accepted, too eager to escape the city streets. > > At the Amber Temple, Vilnius grew quickly under Exethanter’s tutelage, devouring his lessons with a hunger that occasionally unnerved his other teachers. Yet Exethanter grew fond of Vilnius and his intellect, continuing their studies together even after Exethanter ascended to take the place of Temple archmage when the position was vacated. > > Vilnius, however, never entirely escaped the suspicion and self-sufficiency he first learned on the streets. When the temple’s vestiges began to stir in their sleep, and the first rumblings of unrest began to spread through the society, Vilnius was among the first to cloister himself away from the others, leery that any (or all) of them might envy his position as Exethanter's apprentice and plot to usurp or kill him. It was Vilnius who first secretly convinced his peer, a young mage named Helwa, to invade an amber vault and claim the dark gift of a vestige that lay within, hopeful that this crime would eliminate the woman as a rival for Exethanter's favor. > > When Helwa murdered a fellow mage, Vilnius took it as confirmation that the other wizards could not be trusted. The vestiges’ whispers only drove him deeper into madness and paranoia, accentuating his suspicions. When, following a sharp and heated argument, Exethanter coldly remarked that he had “perhaps made a mistake in plucking Vilnius from the streets," Vilnius concluded that Exethanter meant to dispose of and replace him. > > That night, as Vilnius and several other mages dined with Exethanter, as was customary, Vilnius—a prodigy of illusion magic—subtly disguised Exethanter’s enchanted ewer as an ordinary pitcher, and instead filled the others’ cups with a disguised pitcher filled with poisoned wine. The other mages died gruesomely at the table; only Exethanter, sensing the danger, stumbled forth through the [[#Temple of Temptation]] toward his quarters, seeking an antidote—only to fall and leave his staff atop the statue there as he died. > > As he watched his master die, Vilnius was overcome with terror of the prospect of Exethanter’s vengeful spirit returning. To protect himself, he stole the **shield guardian**’s amulet, then hid himself away in X9. Lecture Hall (p. 185). > > The Dark Powers were born from Vilnius’s treachery that night, rising from the dark miasma that filled the temple’s halls. Craving the nourishment of Vilnius’s maddened paranoia and fear, the Dark Powers used their new power to entrap him within X9. Lecture Hall (p. 185); there, his body slowly wasted away over the centuries, until little but a shade remained. Vilnius became the Dark Powers’ first prisoners, and the Amber Temple their first prison. > > Since then, Vilnius has become something less than human — and something more. He believes himself to be alive, and fears the dead that dwell elsewhere in the temple. He dares not venture forth from the lecture hall, but believes—correctly—that if only he could return to the [[#Shrine of Temptation]] to claim his master's staff, he could walk freely from the temple without fear. When the players first approach or confront Vilnius, if they bear bright lights, Vilnius hisses and shies away from them, hissing that the light is “too bright" and warning them that “something might see." > [!info]+ **Vilnius’s Shadow** > A player with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 18 or greater, or 15 if Vilnius is standing in bright light, notices that Vilnius doesn’t cast a shadow. If the players confront Vilnius regarding his lack of a shadow, read: > > --- > > *Vilnius’s eyes narrow, and his pallid flesh seems to cling even tighter to his sallow, angled cheekbones. He pauses for a moment, tilting his head as though listening to an unseen voice, then nods. “It is decided, then," he says.* > > *His eyes darken, then blacken to voids, as the mists churn and swirl around him. His hand rises to an object beneath his cloak, which shines with a thickly amber light—as, from the floor beside him, an enormous metallic head begins to rise from the mists, followed by steel-forged shoulders, a metal torso, and limbs carved of thick, studded wood.* > > *"Remove them," Vilnius rasps.* > > --- > > Vilnius and the **shield guardian** then attack. > [!abstract]+ **Attacking Vilnius** > If the players attack Vilnius or display hostile intent, read: > > --- > > *Vilnius throws back his head and wails. “You are all dead!" he cries. “All dead!*" ^[Inspired by Robert Jordan, *The Eye of the World*.] > > *His eyes darken, then blacken to voids, as the mists churn and swirl around him. His hand rises to an object beneath his cloak, which shines with a thickly amber light—as, from the floor beside him, an enormous metallic head begins to rise from the mists, followed by steel-forged shoulders, a metal torso, and limbs carved of thick, studded wood.* > > *"Defend me," Vilnius rasps.* > > --- > > Vilnius and the **shield guardian** then attack. > [!info]+ **Jakarion the Quasit** > Vilnius’s **quasit** familiar, Jakarion, dwells invisibly upon his shoulder in the form of a **toad**. If combat appears likely, Jakarion uses its ***shapechanger*** feature to assume the form of a bat, then flies away from Vilnius, hoping to avoid taking damage. A player with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 20 or greater notices the toad’s depression upon Vilnius’s shoulder, while a player with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 15 or greater hears the sound of flapping wings as Jakarion flees Vilnius’s side. Vilnius is suspicious of the players and their intentions, and asks warily whether they are “dead, like the others." A successful DC 10 Charisma (Persuasion) check can convince him to share the following information: * He is Vilnius, a resident of the Amber Temple, and the sole survivor of a terrible calamity that struck it. (Vilnius won’t share the calamity’s nature, and only shudders, shaking his head, if asked to recount it.) * He’s been here by himself “for a long time," surviving mostly by eating vermin. “There haven’t been many rats for a while now," Vilnius murmurs, his hands trembling. “I’ve been hungry—so hungry." (Vilnus refuses any food the players seek to share with him, secretly fearful that it might contain poison.) * He believes that the creatures elsewhere in the temple intend to kill him. “They are dead things," he whispers—"demons that wear the faces of men. If you listen, you can hear their true forms shifting beneath their skin." * He doesn’t dare exit this hall without his master’s staff, which lies in the temple’s northwestern shrine. “Without it," Vilnius rasps, “I shall surely die as soon as I depart this room." (Vilnius can’t be convinced otherwise.) * Vilnius’s master was named Exethanter. “He knew I couldn’t follow him to the staff," Vilnius snarls, his hand curling into a fist. “Even in death, he chose to hurt me—to keep me here." (Vilnius stubbornly claims not to know how Exethanter died, though a DC 11 Wisdom (Insight) check reveals this to be a lie.) If the players ask Vilnius for information about Patrina or the *Sunsword*, he agrees to share what he knows in exchange for his master’s staff, which the players can retrieve from the [[#Shrine of Temptation]]. > [!abstract]+ **Denying Vilnius** > If the players return to Vilnius with Exethanter’s *staff of frost*, he anxiously demands they give it to him immediately. If the players refuse to do so, read: > > --- > > *Vilnius throws his head back and howls with rage. “So be it," he snarls.* > > *His eyes darken, then blacken to voids, as the mists churn and swirl around him. His hand rises to an object beneath his cloak, which shines with a thickly amber light—as, from the floor beside him, an enormous metallic head begins to rise from the mists, followed by steel-forged shoulders, a metal torso, and limbs carved of thick, studded wood.* > > *"Remove them," Vilnius rasps.* > > --- > > Vilnius and the **shield guardian** then attack. > [!abstract]+ **Vilnius’s Staff** > If the players give Vilnius Exethanter’s *staff of frost*, read: > > --- > > *An unholy light kindles in Vilnius’s eyes as his hands wrap around the staff. “Finally," he whispers, caressing it softly.* > > *His gaze darts up to yours, and his thin lips twitch into a smile. “You have done well," he says softly. “Now, I think your souls shall serve me a final time—for before I depart these halls, I shall sate this cursed hunger."* > > *His eyes darken, then blacken to voids, as the mists churn and swirl around him. His hand rises to an object beneath his cloak, which shines with a thickly amber light—as, from the floor beside him, an enormous metallic head begins to rise from the mists, followed by steel-forged shoulders, a metal torso, and limbs carved of thick, studded wood.* > > *"Break them," Vilnius rasps.* <div class="statblock"> <h2>Vilnius, First Prisoner</h2> Medium undead, neutral evil <hr> Armor Class 12 Hit Points 105 (14d8 + 42) Speed 30 ft. <hr> <table class="ability-table"> <thead> <tr> <th>STR</th> <th>DEX</th> <th>CON</th> <th>INT</th> <th>WIS</th> <th>CHA</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>6 (-2)</td> <td>18 (+4)</td> <td>16 (+3)</td> <td>18 (+4)</td> <td>14 (+2)</td> <td>14 (+2)</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <hr> Skills Arcana +8, Stealth +8 Damage Vulnerabilities radiant Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder Damage Immunities necrotic, poison Condition Immunities exhaustion, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, unconscious Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12 Languages Common, Abyssal Challenge 9 (5,000 XP) Proficiency Bonus +4 <hr> Amorphous. Vilnius can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch without expending extra movement to do so. Illusionist Prodigy. Vilnius can concentrate on up to five spells at a time, provided all spells are of the illusion school. If he would lose concentration on one, he loses concentration on all of them. Shadowed Restoration. If killed, Vilnius reforms in 24 hours if Jakarion is still alive, reviving with all his hit points. His new body appears in an unoccupied space within the Lecture Hall. Find Familiar. Vilnius can cast find familiar as a ritual without components. <h3>Actions</h3> Multiattack. Vilnius makes two attacks with his dagger and casts *major image* or *phantasmal force* twice. Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d4 + 4) piercing damage plus 21 (6d6) necrotic damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the end of its next turn. Phantasmal Force. Vilnius casts phantasmal force. A creature that fails its saving throw against the spell can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns. Major Image. Vilnius casts major image. <h3>Bonus Actions</h3> Blur. Vilnius casts blur. Mirror Image. Vilnius casts mirror image. The spell lasts for 1 minute or until Vilnius loses his concentration. <h3>Reactions</h3> Illusionist’s Trick. Trigger: A creature attacks or casts a spell targeting Vilnius, one of his allies, or an illusion resembling them. Response: If the target is an illusion identical to one of Vilnius’s allies, or an ally identical to one of his illusions, the two swap places, as though teleported by a misty step spell. Horrifying Visage (1/Day). Trigger: Vilnius takes damage from a creature he can see. Effect: Each non-undead creature of Vilnius’s choice within 30 feet must make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. A frightened creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. </div> > [!info]+ **The Shield Guardian** > Over the millenia, the **shield guardian** has become tied to Vilnius's life force. As such, its control amulet doesn't function for any creature but Vilnius. ### Training Hall This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X10. This area is largely as described in X10. Northeast Annex (p. 186). However, modify the **amber golem**’s statistics as follows: * It has the AC and hit points of an **iron golem**, and has lost none of its hit points. * It has the Strength and ***slam*** attack of an **iron golem**. * When it uses its ***multiattack***, it can replace one use of its ***slam*** with a use of its ***slow*** ability. * Its ***slow*** ability affects all creatures it can see within 20 feet of it. ### Shrine of Fear This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Areas X12 and X13. This area is largely as described in X12. East Shrine (p. 186) and X13. East Archer Post (p. 186). However, a creature that approaches the shattered statue feels a sense of unease. In addition, a player with a passive Wisdom (Perception or Survival) score of 15 or greater notices footprints in the frost that lead to the secret door. A player who succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check discerns that the footprints are less than a day old. (The footprints were left by the Mountain Folk Meda.) ### East Temple Stair This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X14. This area is largely as described in X14. North Staircase (p. 186). However, add the following to the end of this area’s description: <div class="description"> A trail of footprints breaks the frost and dust, descending into the darkness. </div> A player who succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check discerns that the footprints are less than a day old. (The footprints were left by the Mountain Folk Meda.) ## S5b. Eastern Temple, Lower Floor ### East Hall This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Areas X5d and X32. This area is largely as described in X5d. Amber Reflections (p. 184) and X32. Lower East Hall (p. 191). However, remove the **Barovian witches** from this area. ### East Quarters This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Areas X34 and X35. This area is as described in X34. Wizard’s Bedchamber (p. 194) and X35. Sleeping Guardian (p. 194). ### Southeast Vaults #### Vault of Shalx This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X33a This area is largely as described in X33a. Vault of Shalx (p. 193) and Amber Sarcophagi (p. 191). However, remove the **flameskulls** from this area. In addition, modify the sarcophagi in this room (and their dark gifts) as described below. > [!info]+ **West Sarcophagus (Tomb of Sykane)** > If a player touches this sarcophagus, read: > > --- > > *As you touch the sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by a vast, dark graveyard. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came.* > > *Around you, twisted, decaying vegetation covers sunken, crumbling headstones, which lie forgotten beneath a flat, gray sky. Tall, cast-iron fences stand scattered across the graveyard, their once-proud bars rusted and bent with age.* > > *At the cemetery’s center, the soil pulls away to reveal a deep, wide pit, its depths filled with an uncountable mass of humanoid corpses. Atop the pile rests an enormous, gray-pink worm with glistening flesh, its “head" splitting to reveal a round, jawless opening lined with concentric rings of sharp, hooked teeth. As you watch, you see that its flesh is not skin at all, but a writhing mass of millions of tiny, wriggling earthworms woven together like thread.* > > *“We are Sykane, the Soul Hungerer," the worm rumbles, a million, tiny voices intermingling to form a booming whole. “Do you seek our gift?"* > > --- > > If the player expresses interest in Sykane’s gift, Sykane offers the player the power to “resurrect those who have passed beyond the veil." To accept, the player must devour one of the earthworms that form Sykane’s flesh. > > If the player passes through the amber archway or accepts Sykane’s gift, the telepathic connection ends, and the player returns to their previous senses. > > ***Sykane’s Gift.*** Sykane’s dark gift allows a player to cast the _raise dead_ spell once per day as an action, without components. A player who accepts Sykane’s dark gift instantly receives its disfiguring condition, as described in Stage Three of Sykane’s [[Amber Shards#Amber Corruption|Amber Corruption]]. > > Each time the player uses Sykane’s dark gift, they must succeed on a DC 20 Charisma saving throw or gain an additional stage of Sykane’s amber corruption, as described below. The DC increases by 5 each additional time the player uses Sykane’s dark gift, and resets to 20 each time the player gains an additional stage of Sykane’s amber corruption. > > * **Stage Four.** The player gains a +3 bonus to their Constitution score and the flaw: “Expressions of life and joy disgust me." Its eyes become black voids, and its jaw unhinges, drooping uselessly past its neck. > * **Stage Five.** The player gains a **bodak’s** ***aura of annihilation***, ***unusual nature***, and ***fist*** features, as well as the flaw: “I seek out undead, and avoid the living." > * **Stage Six.** The player transforms into a **bodak** under the DM’s control. > [!info]+ **South Sarcophagus (Tomb of Zrin-Hala)** > If a player touches this sarcophagus, read: > > --- > > *As you touch the sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by an endless, flat plain. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came.* > > *Around you, dead brush and browned grasses sway above leagues of dry, cracked soil. Overhead, lances of lightning flash across the sky from churning black storm clouds, followed by pounding eruptions of thunder—but not a drop of rain falls to the parched earth below.* > > *Amidst the clouds, at the eye of the storm, the clouds form a humanoid silhouette that crackles and hums with lightning. Its lower body is a black tornado that descends to the ground below, chewing deep gouges through the landscape, and its mouth is a dark, gaping maw.* > > **“I am Zrin-Hala, the Howling Storm,"** the storm roars. **“Will you accept my gift?"** > > --- > > If the player expresses interest in Zrin-Hala’s gift, Zrin-Hala offers the player the power to “command the rage of the storm." To accept, the player must allow Zrin-Hala to spear them in the chest with a bolt of lightning. > > If the player passes through the amber archway or accepts Zrin-Hala’s gift, the telepathic connection ends, and the player returns to their previous senses. > > ***Zrin-Hala’s Gift.*** Zrin-Hala’s dark gift allows a player to cast _call lightning_ and _lightning bolt_ without components twice per day each. A player who accepts Zrin-Hala’s dark gift instantly receives its disfiguring condition, as described in Stage Three of Zrin-Hala’s [[Amber Shards#Amber Corruption|Amber Corruption]]. > > Each time the player uses Zrin-Hala’s dark gift, they must succeed on a DC 5 Charisma saving throw or gain an additional stage of Zrin-Hala’s amber corruption, as described below. The DC increases by 3 each additional time the player uses Zrin-Hala’s dark gift, and resets to 5 each time the player gains an additional stage of Zrin-Hala’s amber corruption. > > * **Stage Four.** The player gains a +3 bonus to their Strength score and the flaw: “I long to sear the flesh of my foes." Their feet fuse into cloven hooves, two bony horns burst from their head, and their fingernails sharpen into long, jagged claws. > * **Stage Five.** The player gains an **armanite’s** ***claw*** and ***magic resistance*** features, its resistance to lightning damage, and the flaw: “Every creature—friend or foe—is an opportunity to prove my strength." > * **Stage Six.** The player transforms into an **armanite** under the DM’s control. > [!info]+ **East Sarcophagus (Tomb of Fekre)** > If a player touches this sarcophagus, read: > > --- > > *As you touch the sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by a tall, dark stone chamber. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came.* > > *Twisted pillars line the chamber’s hall, interspersed with sculptures of snarling serpents. At the far end of the chamber, a dark stone altar rests upon a dais, bearing a painted porcelain bowl. Virulent purple mist bubbles from the basin, filling the air with a fetid, rotted odor.* > > *Behind the altar, with one thin, elegant hand atop the bowl’s edge, stands a woman: tall, with pallid, purple-grey skin and a dress of deep violet. Rather than hair, a cluster of gray-green fungi rise from the sides and top of her head, while purple lichens cover her eyes in a shape reminiscent of a masquerade ball’s mask.* > > *“I am Fekre, Queen of Poxes," she says. “Who is it that seeks my gift?"* > > --- > > If the player expresses interest in Fekre’s gift, she offers the player the power “to command and spread virulence and plague." To accept, the player must drink the purple potion from the ceramic bowl atop the altar. > > If the player passes through the amber archway or accepts Fekre’s gift, the telepathic connection ends, and the player returns to their previous senses. > > ***Fekre’s Gift.*** Fekre’s dark gift allows a player to cast _contagion_ twice per day, without components and with a range of 30 feet. A player who accepts Fekre’s dark gift instantly receives its disfiguring condition, as described in Stage Three of Fekre’s [[Amber Shards#Amber Corruption|Amber Corruption]]. > > Each time the player uses Fekre’s dark gift, they must succeed on a DC 5 Charisma saving throw or gain an additional stage of Fekre’s amber corruption, as described below. The DC increases by 5 each additional time the player uses Fekre’s dark gift, and resets to 5 each time the player gains an additional stage of Fekre’s amber corruption. > > * **Stage Four.** The player gains a +3 bonus to their Constitution score and the flaw: “I crave violence." Twin horns sprout from their skull, maggot-infested sores cover their flesh, and a reek of rotten meat follows them wherever they go. > * **Stage Five.** The player gains a **bulezau’s** ***rotting presence***, ***standing leap***, and ***barbed tail*** features, as well as the flaws: “I live for the kill," and “Death holds no fear for me." > * **Stage Six.** The player transforms into a **bulezau** under the DM’s control. #### Vault of Maverus This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X33b This area is largely as described in X33b. Vault of Maverus. However, modify the sarcophagi in this room (and their dark gifts) as described below. > [!info]+ **North Sarcophagus (Tomb of Savnok).** > If a player touches this sarcophagus, read: > > --- > > *As you touch the sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by a grand laboratory. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came.* > > *This chamber’s circular walls are lined with shelves, which groan beneath the weight of countless components, potions, and whirring devices. The floor, forged of glittering lapis-lazuli, bears the mark of an enormous pentagram marked with myriad runes and sigils. At its center, a white marble pedestal holds an orb carved from crystalline amethyst.* > > *Beside the pedestal stands a solitary figure, its features and limbs concealed by a long, white, cowled robe. Its hooded visage shifts toward you, shadows concealing the space beneath.* > > *“I am Savnok, the Inscrutable," it murmurs. “Do you seek my gift?"* > > --- > > If the player expresses interest in Savnok’s gift, Savnok offers the player the power to “shield the integrity of their mind, and to conceal its inner workings from all who might seek to invade it." To accept, the player must place their hands upon the amethyst orb. > > If the player passes through the amber archway or accepts Savnok’s gift, the telepathic connection ends, and the player returns to their previous senses. > > ***Savnok’s Gift.*** Savnok’s dark gift allows a player to cast _mind blank_ (self only) once per day without components. A player who accepts Savnok’s dark gift instantly receives its disfiguring condition, as described in Stage Three of Savnok’s [[Amber Shards#Amber Corruption|Amber Corruption]]. > > Each time the player uses Savnok’s dark gift, they must succeed on a DC 5 Charisma saving throw or gain an additional stage of Savnok’s amber corruption, as described below. The DC increases by 5 each additional time the player uses Savnok’s dark gift, and resets to 5 each time the player gains an additional stage of Savnok’s amber corruption. > > * **Stage Four.** The player gains a +3 bonus to their Strength score and the flaw: “I am prone to bouts of madness." They gain six inches in height, and their skin becomes transparent, rendering their veins, muscles, and organs visible beneath the surface. > * **Stage Five.** The player gains a **star spawn hulk’s** ***psychic mirror***, ***multiattack***, and ***slam*** features, and the flaw: “I am apathetic to all things, but obey all orders my master gives to me." (The player chooses their “master.") > * **Stage Six.** The player transforms into a **star spawn hulk** under the DM’s control. > [!info]+ **South Sarcophagus (Tomb of Tarakamedes).** > If a player touches this sarcophagus, read: > > --- > > *As you touch the sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by a vast ossuary. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came.* > > *This ossuary has been built to resemble a throne room forged entirely of bones. Lightless grey flames burn in countless skull-carved sconces along the walls, which are themselves built of interlocking femurs and decorated with human ribs.* > > *A tall throne stands at the chamber’s far end, built of skulls, ribs, clavicles, and femurs, each bone bleached a pale white. Above the throne towers a serpentine gray-scaled wurm, the features of its eyeless head swallowed up by its own massive, tooth-filled maw. Twin skeletal wings extend from its back, each wing’s bones brushing against the ceiling and walls of the chamber around it.* > > *“I am Tarakamedes, the Grave Wyrm," the wurm rasps. “Have you come to seek my gift?"* > > --- > > If the player expresses interest in Tarakamedes' gift, Tarakamedes offers the player the power to “soar above the world below." To accept, the player must seat themselves upon the throne, impaling themselves upon the sharpened bones that extend into their shoulders. > > If the player passes through the amber archway or accepts Tarakamedes' gift, the telepathic connection ends, and the player returns to their previous senses. > > ***Tarakamedes' Gift.*** Tarakamedes' dark gift allows a player to cast _fly_ three times per day without components. (When cast in this way, the player manifests bony, skeletal wings for the duration of the spell.) A player who accepts Tarakamedes' dark gift instantly receives its disfiguring condition, as described in Stage Three of Tarakamedes’ [[Amber Shards#Amber Corruption|Amber Corruption]]. > > Each time the player uses Tarakamedes' dark gift, they must succeed on a DC 5 Charisma saving throw or gain an additional stage of Tarakamedes' amber corruption, as described below. The DC increases by 3 each additional time the player uses Tarakamedes' dark gift, and resets to 5 each time the player gains an additional stage of Tarakamedes' amber corruption. > > * **Stage Four.** The player gains a +3 bonus to their Strength score and the flaw: “I am envious of my betters and cruel to my inferiors." Their fingers become long, bony, and white with crimson tips, while small, vestigial, bone wings emerge from their back. > * **Stage Five.** The player gains a **bone devil’s** ***devil’s sight***, ***multiattack***, ***claw***, and ***sting*** features, and the flaw: “I hate what I cannot have, and lust for all that is valuable or powerful." > * **Stage Six.** The player transforms into a **bone devil** under the DM’s control. > [!info]+ **East Sarcophagus (Tomb of Shami-Amourae).** > If a player touches this sarcophagus, read: > > --- > > *As you touch the sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by a lush, windowless parlor. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came.* > > *Flickering candles light this chamber, which is filled with plush divans, love seats, and futons decorated in shades of pink, pastel green, and scarlet red. A woman lounges upon a futon at the center of the space, surrounded by dozens of soft pillows. Her face is painted a clean, snowy white, but her full lips glisten a deep, sinful crimson. Her hair is pulled into a simple, neat bun atop her head, with all but two fine, dark strands pinned in place by a pair of ivory needles. Two small, crimson horns rise from her head on either side of the bun, their tips filed to soft, round ends.* > > *“I am Shami-Amourae," the woman murmurs with a smile, “the Lady of Delights." Her jade-green eyes glitter in the candlelight. “Have you come at last to seek my gift?"* > > --- > > If the player expresses interest in Shami-Amourae’s gift, she offers the player the power “to sway any soul by your words alone." To accept, the player must kiss Shami-Amourae’s lips. > > If the player passes through the amber archway or accepts Shami-Amourae’s gift, the telepathic connection ends, and the player returns to their previous senses. > > ***Shami-Amourae’s Gift.*** Shami-Amourae’s dark gift allows a player to cast _suggestion_ three times per day without components. A player who accepts Shami-Amourae’s dark gift instantly receives its disfiguring condition, as described in Stage Three of Shami-Amourae’s [[Amber Shards#Amber Corruption|Amber Corruption]]. > > Each time the player uses Shami-Amourae’s dark gift, they must succeed on a DC 5 Charisma saving throw or gain an additional stage of Shami-Amourae’s amber corruption, as described below. The DC increases by 5 each additional time the player uses Shami-Amourae’s dark gift, and resets to 5 each time the player gains an additional stage of Shami-Amourae’s amber corruption. > > * **Stage Four.** The player gains a +3 bonus to their Charisma score and the flaw: “I can’t get enough pleasure. I desire others to create beauty for me at all times." Their hair turns dark red and grows past their waist, their feet fuse into cloven hooves, and two small horns grow from their skull. > * **Stage Five.** The player gains an **incubus**’s ***draining kiss*** and ***shapechanger*** features, its telepathy, and the flaw: “I demand worship and loyalty from all that I meet." > * **Stage Six.** The player transforms into an **incubus** or **succubus** under the DM’s control. ### Northeast Vault This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X33c. This area is largely as described in X33c. Ghastly Vault (p. 192) and Amber Sarcophagi (p. 191). However, remove the **ghasts** from this room, and modify the sarcophagi in this room (and their dark gifts) as described below. In addition, add the following to the end of this area’s description: <div class="description"> A lone, hunched creature sits in the middle of the room, a torn fur cloak draped across its shoulders. </div> The creature, which once was the Mountain Folk Meda, is a **nothic**. When the players first interact with it or otherwise make their presence known, the nothic turns to face them. Read: <div class="description"> Purple spines arc from this creature’s back, its body lined with warped, ropy muscle. Brown patches cover its leathery flesh, though its hands and arms lighten to a pale, sickly purple, its crooked fingers ending in sharp, hooked talons. A single, large, baleful eye leers from the center of its skull, just above a bony, pointed jaw lined with sharklike teeth. In its right hand, something amber glints from a cord curled within its palm. The creature’s eye widens, a hysterical giggle slipping from its throat as a single line of saliva drools from its lipless mouth. “Hello," it says. </div> > [!lore]+ **The Nothic** > When the Mountain Folk Meda accepted the dark gift of Khirad, the Star of Secrets, her mind was overcome by the power of the knowledge he shared, twisting her body and mind into those of a nothic. In her current form, Meda has lost herself to madness, and no longer cares for anything but her own curiosity—as well as her mirth at her “revelations." Meda, who acts largely as described in X33d. Breached Vault (p. 192), is glad to speak with the players, though her words are almost always cryptic, mad, and interspersed with frequent giggles. If asked, she can share the following information: * She isn’t sure whether she’s Meda, but, after a moment of pondering, thinks it “sounds familiar." (“I have so many more interesting things to think about than *names,*" she adds, leering.) * She sought out the gift of the Star of Secrets to find “answers." (If asked why, she sweeps her claws out to the room around her and crows: “*This!* All of it—answers to it all." She shudders, adding: “And they were delicious." * Khirad “showed her the truth"—"the veil, the Mist that lurks and watches and devours and _waits_." If asked to explain further, or if the players appear to doubt her accuracy or sanity, Meda adds: “Haven’t you seen them? Haven’t you _felt_ them? The undying Mist—the ones who watch from afar and from all around us, who peer through the bars of the cage they’ve forged. The ones who are both powerless and all-powerful." (Meda is referring to the Dark Powers, but won’t elaborate further.) * The “cage" holds “the prisoner—the caged rat who capers and dances for their sustenance and amusement." With a giggle, Meda adds: “But the day is coming when the cloth upon the cage will slip, when the candle will tip, and the rat will burn through its cage. The stars are stirring and waking; soon, all will commune. All will _touch_ and be one." Her single eye glittering, she whispers: “And it shall be _beautiful._" (Meda is referring to the Grand Conjunction.) As the conversation unfolds, Meda tilts her head, as though listening to an unseen voice, then smiles and claps her hands. “Let’s play a game," she says in a sing-song voice. “If you can answer my riddle, I’ll tell you a secret." (If the players appear uninterested in Meda’s secret, she giggles and says, “Then perhaps you shall search these halls forever.") Meda is happy to (tantalizingly) hint—but not confirm—that her “secret" relates to the location of the *Sunsword*. Meda’s riddle is simple: “A rat scrabbles against the walls of his cage. Who is the rat, and who is his cager?" (The “rat" is Strahd, and the “cager" is the Dark Powers. Meda will accept any answer that roughly explains the Dark Powers’ history or identifies their true nature. Meda won't accept "the vestiges of the Amber Temple" as an answer.) If the players answer her riddle, Meda smiles toothily, congratulates them, and shares the following secret in a low, delighted hiss: “The thing you seek is drowned in blood." (Meda is referring to the canal of blood in [[#The Vampyr’s Sarcophagus]]. She won’t elaborate further.) > [!info]+ **East Sarcophagus (Tomb of Dahlver-Nar).** > If a player touches this sarcophagus, read: > > --- > > *As you touch the sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by a stark white chamber. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came.* > > *The walls, floor, and ceiling of this chamber are crafted entirely from concentric rings of human teeth. Nine indentations form alcoves along the walls, each holding the floating form of an unconscious humanoid. No two are alike—one bears the pointed ears of an elf, another the stocky build of a dwarf, while a third bears a dragonborn’s reptilian scales.* > > *A stone basin stands at the center of the chamber, mounted upon a risen dais with nine sides. Wispy, gray-white liquid strands swirl within the basin, dozens of shifting, ever-morphing faces bubbling from its surface.* > *Behind the basin stands a faceless, ten-foot humanoid, its body dotted with nine gaping mouths that drool a thick, viscous saliva. When it speaks, all nine mouths speak in unison, their voices echoing through the small space.* > > *"I am Dahlver-Nar," the creature rasps, “He of the Many Teeth. Do you seek my gift?"* > > --- > > If the player expresses interest in Dahlver-Nar’s gift, he offers the player the power to “flee death, and instead be born anew." To accept, the player must bathe its head in the liquid within the basin. > > If the player passes through the amber archway or accepts Dahlver-Nar’s gift, the telepathic connection ends, and the player returns to their previous senses. > > ***Dahlver-Nar’s Gift.*** Dahlver-Nar’s dark gift allows a player to gain the benefits of a _reincarnate_ spell nine times. A player who accepts Dahlver-Nar’s dark gift instantly receives its disfiguring condition, as described in Stage Three of Dahlver-Nar’s [[Amber Shards#Amber Corruption|Amber Corruption]]. > > Each time the player uses Dahlver-Nar’s dark gift, they must succeed on a DC 20 Charisma saving throw or gain an additional stage of Dahlver-Nar’s amber corruption, as described below. The DC increases by 10 each additional time the player uses Dahlver-Nar’s dark gift, and resets to 20 each time the player gains an additional stage of Dahlver-Nar’s amber corruption. > > * **Stage Four.** The player gains a +3 bonus to their Dexterity score and the flaw: “I have little sense of self—it’s hard to remember who I am or what I care about." Their teeth become long, sharp, and pointed, and their eyes glow a pale yellow. > * **Stage Five.** The player gains a **maurhezi’s** ***assume form***, ***multiattack***, ***bite***, and ***claw*** features, and the flaw: “I hunger for humanoid flesh, but can never sate my urges." > * **Stage Six.** The player transforms into a **maurezhi** under the DM’s control. > [!info]+ **South Sarcophagus (Tomb of Zantras).** > If a player touches this sarcophagus, read: > > --- > > *As you touch the sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by a grand, opulent throne room. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came.* > > *Ornate wall hangings decorate this chamber’s grand white marble walls, interspersed with tapestries of gold and purple thread. A golden throne sets atop a raised dais at the room’s end, gilded with platinum and inset with rubies. Upon the throne’s seat, laid upon a soft, violet pillow, rests a golden crown inset with gleaming gems.* > > *A man sits upon the steps to the dais, slender and handsome. He wears fine robes of deep blues and blacks, and two small horns rise from his forehead. At the sight of you, his lips curl into a smile; he stands, bowing deeply.* > > *"Zantras, the Kingmaker, at your service" he says, kneeling. “Have you come to claim your gift, my Lord?"* > > --- > > If the player expresses interest in Zantras’s gift, he offers the player the power to “command presence, loyalty, and obedience." To accept, the player must sit in the throne and allow Zantras to place the clone upon their head. > > If the player passes through the amber archway or accepts Zantras’s gift, the telepathic connection ends, and the player returns to their previous senses. > > ***Zantras’s Gift.*** Zantras’s dark gift allows a player to cast _geas_ (as an action) and _dominate monster_ once per day each without components. A player who accepts Zantras’s dark gift instantly receives its disfiguring condition, as described in Stage Three of Zantras’s [[Amber Shards#Amber Corruption|Amber Corruption]]. > > Each time the player uses Zantras’s dark gift, they must succeed on a DC 10 Charisma saving throw or gain an additional stage of Zantras’s amber corruption, as described below. The DC increases by 5 each additional time the player uses Zantras’s dark gift, and resets to 10 each time the player gains an additional stage of Zantras’s amber corruption. > > * **Stage Four.** The player gains a +3 bonus to their Charisma score and the flaw: “I expect my orders to be obeyed, and am easily enraged by disobedience." Their skin turns red, their hands each gain a sixth finger, and they grow a pair of small horns on their brow. > * **Stage Five.** The player gains a **cambion’s** ***fire ray*** feature, and the flaw: “I exult in every opportunity for wickedness and perversion." > * **Stage Six.** The player transforms into a **cambion** under the DM’s control. > [!info]+ **East Sarcophagus (Tomb of Khirad).** > If a player touches this sarcophagus, read: > > --- > > *As you touch the sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by a stone platform standing above an endless black ocean. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came.* > > *The ocean’s tides are rough, but pockets of stillness bubble up from below, forming stagnant eddies before the currents swallow them up once more. A dark moon eclipses the sun in the skies overhead, its terrible light encircled by dark, shadowed clouds.* > > *Floating in the air before the platform, haloed by the light of the eclipse above, is a tall, cowled figure, its features concealed by a long yellow cloak. Its whispers echo in the air all around you, each syllable reflected across the waves below.* > > *"I am Khirad, the Star of Secrets," the figure whispers. “*Has another come to claim my gift?*" > > --- > > If the player expresses interest in Khirad’s gift, he offers the player the power to “know the unknowable." To accept, the player must dive into the ocean below the platform. > > If the player passes through the amber archway or accepts Khirad’s gift, the telepathic connection ends, and the player returns to their previous senses. > > ***Khirad’s Gift.*** Khirad’s dark gift allows a player to cast *legend lore* and *contact other plane* once per day each. A player who accepts Khirad’s dark gift instantly receives its disfiguring condition, as described in Stage Three of Khirad’s [[Amber Shards#Amber Corruption|Amber Corruption]]. > > Each time the player uses Khirad’s dark gift, they must succeed on a DC 10 Charisma saving throw or gain an additional stage of Khirad’s amber corruption, as described below. The DC increases by 5 each additional time the player uses Khirad’s dark gift, and resets to 10 each time the player gains an additional stage of Khirad’s amber corruption. > > * **Stage Four.** The player gains a +3 bonus to their Intelligence score and the flaw: “I find everything hilarious, and never take anything seriously." Their eyes turn green, purple spines grow from their shoulders and spine, and their teeth sharpen to filed points. > * **Stage Five.** The player gains a **nothic’s** ***keen sight***, ***multiattack***, ***claw***, and ***weird insight*** features, as well as the flaw: “I delight in violating the secrets trapped in others’ minds." > * **Stage Six.** The player transforms into a **nothic** under the DM’s control. # S6. Temple Vaults ## S6a. West Treasury This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X39. This area is as described in X39. Plundered Treasury (p. 194. ## S6b. East Treasury This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X40. This area is largely as described in X40. Sealed Treasury (p. 194). However, revise this area’s description to read as follows: <div class="description"> Piles of amber are heaped against the west and east walls of this stone room. The southeast corner holds an additional pile: a mound of treasure. </div> > [!info]+ **How Much Amber?** > Each pile of amber is made up of thousands of fist-sized chunks of amber, and is approximately three feet tall and four feet in diameter. A player who succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check estimates that each pile contains approximately fifty thousand chunks of amber. > [!lore]+ **The Treasury** > The wizards of the Amber Temple collected many tons of amber in their quest to seal away the vestiges of evil entities. They then melted the amber down and reforged it into amber sarcophagi, as well as the two **amber golems** built to guard the temple. The treasure here also served as the secret society’s treasury, funding expeditions and supplies, as well as stipends for members and remittances to their families. The southeast pile, marked **Pile 4** in X40. Sealed Treasury (p. 194), contains only the following: * All cp and gemstones from Pile 1 * All sp and the silvered rapier from Pile 2 * The trunk, chest, jewelry, ep, and ceramic statues from Pile 3 * The iron ingots, holy symbols, copper chalices, and gilded skull from Pile 4 * The sp, crystal balls, bronze crown, and marble vases from Pile 5 * The cp and obsidian scepter from Pile 6 In addition, the **amber golem** attacks any creature that disturbs any of the piles or approaches the crack in the wall. Modify the golem's statistics as follows: * It has the AC and hit points of an **iron golem**. * It has the Strength and ***slam*** attack of an **iron golem**. * When it uses its ***multiattack***, it can replace one use of its ***slam*** with a use of its ***slow*** ability. * Its ***slow*** ability affects all creatures it can see within 20 feet of it. ## S6c. Amber Vault This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Areas X41 and X42. This area is largely as described in X41. Fissure (p. 195) and X42. Amber Vault (p. 195). However, there are no crates or **vampire spawn** in this chamber. In addition, modify the east and south sarcophagi as described below. > [!info]+ **East Sarcophagus (Tomb of Zhudun)** > If a player touches this sarcophagus, read: > > --- > > *As you touch this sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by the crest of a tall, stark hill. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came.* > > *The hill overlooks a rugged and desolate landscape. The soil is a pale lavender, split by cold, raised veins of cold, bright blue that snake between the soft, rounded mountains that flow like waves across the land. The sky overhead is an inky black, filled only with thirteen distant stars whose cerulean light flickers coldly across the void.* > > *Beneath you, the hill shudders—then splits, forming a crevasse that steadily widens, revealing an immense, white eye below. Across the horizon, dozens, then hundreds of mounds, hills, and mountains do the same, splitting to reveal purple-irised eyes, each larger than a village—and some, miles in the distance, larger than even the greatest cities.* > > *The eyes drift in their tectonic sockets, then, lazily, peer toward you. The entire planet rumbles with an alien, hollow voice that is at once a whisper and a shout, once which rings in both your ears and your mind.* > > ***I AM ZHUDUN, THE CORPSE STAR,*** the voice says. ***WHO COMES TO SEEK MY GIFT?*** > > --- > > If the player expresses interest in Zhudun’s gift, it offers the player the power to “animate the ancient dead." To accept, the player must allow themselves to fall into the great hole of Zhudun’s pupil. > > If the player passes through the amber archway or accepts Zhudun’s gift, the telepathic connection ends, and the player returns to their previous senses. > > ***Zhudun’s Gift.*** A creature that accepts Zhudun’s gift gains the power to perform the Rite of Stolen Life once per day, which is largely as described in Rite of Stolen Life (Tomb of Annihilation (p. 73)). However, a creature transformed by this ritual into the walking dead has Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores of 6 and none of its former personality, and obeys its creator without question. > [!info]+ **South Sarcophagus (Tomb of Tenebrous)** > If a player touches this sarcophagus, read: > > --- > > *As you touch this sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by a dark, ancient tomb. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came.* > > *The walls of this tomb are lined with engravings of skeletal lords, mages, and generals commanding armies of the undead. A pair of pedestals stands before you, each carved from enormous, powder-white bones. Upon the left pedestal rests an ancient grimoire bound in human skin; upon the right rests a small metal box inscribed with hundreds of intertwining arcane symbols.* > > --- > > The grimoire and box are magically locked, and cannot be opened without Tenebrous’ assent. > > The vestige of Tenebrous does not immediately greet the player when they arrive. Instead, Tenebrous emerges only if the player calls out to it, or if the player attempts to open the grimoire or box. When it does, read: > > --- > > *A towering figure steps forth from the shadows, more than thrice a man’s height. Its corpulent frame is laden with rot-bloated flesh and muscle, and dark sores cover its scarlet skin. Instead of a head, it bears the desiccated skull of a ram; behind it, ragged, batlike wings extend from its shoulders, while its thick-furred legs end with the cloven hooves of a goat.* > > *"Begone," the figure rumbles. “You are not worthy of my gift."* > > --- > > Tenebrous is willing to share the following information with the player if asked: > > * It is Tenebrous, the Shadow That Was. > * Its dark gift is the secret of lichdom—the key to “true immortality through undeath." > * The players are unworthy of its gift because (a) they are “too weak to deserve it" (i.e., they can’t cast 9th-level wizard spells), (b) their “hearts cannot bear its price" (i.e., they are of non-evil alignment), or (c) both. (Tenebrous refuses to elaborate on these reasons.) > * It has not blessed a mage with its gift in nearly four centuries. A player who succeeds on a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check and entertains or amuses Tenebrous in some way can convince it to share that this mage was “the elf-girl, whose righteous fury had burned her soul black." Tenebrous shakes its head, mourning its “disappointment that even she could not complete her apotheosis." (Tenebrous is referring to Patrina, and her death at Kasimir’s hands when her ritual remained incomplete.) “And yet," he adds, chuckling darkly, “that is not dead which can eternal lie—and perhaps one day I shall be surprised." (Tenebrous, who is referring to Patrina’s entrapment within the *Sunsword’s* hilt, refuses to elaborate on this.) > [!lore]+ **The Vestige of Tenebrous** > The vestige of Tenebrous is the lost divinity of Orcus, the Demon Prince of Undeath. Orcus briefly ascended to godhood by discovering the Last Word, a word of power capable of destroying deities. In this capacity, Orcus named himself Tenebrous, but died when a group of adventurers used the Last Word against him. Although Orcus was later resurrected, the lost divinity of Tenebrous wandered the planes as a vestige, and was eventually captured and imprisoned by the wizards of the Amber Temple. ### The Vampyr’s Sarcophagus If a player touches the **west sarcophagus** (the tomb of the Vampyr), read: <div class="description"> As you touch the sarcophagus, the room melts away around you, to be replaced by a stone chamber sixty feet across. Behind you, an arch forged of crystalline amber stands stark against the landscape, its archway filled with a shimmering, amber reflection of the room from whence you came. A tall, black tree stands at the far side of this room, surrounded by patches of dead, yellowed grass and swarms of gnarled, writhing roots. Its trunk weeps endless droplets of crimson blood, which collect in a circular stone canal. From there, the blood flows through four channels toward the room’s edges, where it drains into a deep, fathomless canal that encircles the chamber’s perimeter. Strange shapes and silhouettes swirl in the canal’s depths, briefly bubbling to the surface before sinking into the depths once more. The tree’s branches, dead and bare, bear no leaves or fruit—save for one: a luscious red apple that grows from the lowest branch. </div> > [!abstract]+ **The Radiant Relics** > If the player carries the [[Character Creation#Faith—The Sunrise Medallion|Sunrise Medallion]] or [[Character Creation#Justice—The Broken Blade|Broken Blade]], the relic responds as follows: > > * The medallion flickers with golden light, growing stronger and brighter as it approaches the bloody canal and, eventually, the *Sunsword* concealed beneath it. > * The broken blade emits a high-pitched hum and trembles violently, spinning like a compass needle in the direction of the bloody canal and, eventually, the *Sunsword* concealed beneath it. #### The Tree If the player approaches or interacts with the tree, or otherwise calls out to it, the vestige of the Vampyr emerges to greet them. Read or paraphrase: <div class="description"> A knot across the tree’s trunk stirs—then lifts, revealing itself to be the head of an enormous black snake, its length as thick as a man’s torso. The snake’s deep, crimson eyes turn to face you, and a night-black tongue flickers from its fanged mouth. "Welcome, little visitor," the serpent hisses. “Have you the will and ambition to claim my gift?" </div> The vestige of the Vampyr can share the following information: * It is the Vampyr, the gifter of eternal life through perfect undeath. “Many have sought eternal life," it hisses proudly, “but few are wise enough to seek eternal *youth*. For those few strong enough to claim it, my gift preserves them as they are—their beauty, their intellect, their power—forever." * Few are strong enough to claim its gift. The canal that surrounds this room is filled with the tormented souls of mortals who have died. “They have tasted Death," the Vampyr purrs, “and wish to be free of it. But they have not tasted my gift, and so remain chained to the grave for eternity. Only those who receive my gift can roam free, unshackled from the worms of the earth." * To accept its gift, a player must merely taste of the apple that grows upon the tree. "One bite," the Vampyr purrs, "and you shall know of the secrets of eternal life." If the player passes through the amber archway or accepts the Vampyr’s gift, the telepathic connection ends, and the player returns to their previous senses. > [!info]+ **Accepting the Vampyr’s Gift** > The Vampyr’s dark gift is as described in X42. Amber Vault (p. 195). However, a player that accepts the gift doesn’t gain an additional flaw. > [!info]+ **What the Vampyr Knows** > The vestige of the Vampyr recalls every creature it’s given its dark gift to, though it has no knowledge of the world beyond its sarcophagus or the existence of the inverted demiplane within its prison that contains the *Sunsword*. If the player rebuffs the Vampyr’s invitations, it laughs darkly and asks the player if they know “what awaits them after death." Regardless of the player's response, the Vampyr taunts the player with the fact that “their body shall rot in the ground, food for naught but worms." “Your legacy shall die," the Vampyr purrs, “and so you shall die a second time—as though you had never walked the earth at all." If the player shared their expectation of an afterlife, the Vampyr adds: “Even should your spirit be taken to the choruses of the Upper Planes, your being shall stagnate; you shall no longer learn or grow or accomplish or *matter*, apart from the energy and change and *life* that made your existence worthwhile. And should you find yourself instead amidst the Lower Planes . . . “ The Vampyr chuckles. “Then you may wish you had never been born at all." #### The Canal of Blood If the player approaches or inspects the canal of blood encircling the room, read: <div class="description"> A churning sea of ethereal figures swirls within the bloody depths, their limbs and claw-like fingers stretching forth in desperate pleas. From time to time, their faces bubble forth to the canal’s surface, shrieking silently in despair, before sinking back into the whirling morass. </div> If the player has a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 15 or greater, succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check, or submerges their head in the canal, add: <div class="description"> Below the wretched souls, in the depths of the canal, a weak golden light emanates from the space beneath the floor. </div> If the player tries to swim to the bottom of the bloody canal, read: <div class="description"> You plunge into the bloody depths, pushing past dozens of writhing specters. Their desperate moans echo through your ears, their ethereal fingers grasping for purchase around your limbs. You feel a tug, and a sudden cold—and look back to see a skull-faced specter gripping your legs. </div> The player can escape the **specter’s** grasp by succeeding on a DC 5 Strength (Athletics) check, reducing it to 11 hit points or fewer, or dealing it any amount of radiant damage. The first time the player fails to escape, roll initiative. On each of the specter’s turns, it attacks the player with its ***life drain***. On initiative count 20 of each round except the first, two more **specters** emerge from the depths to approach the player, attempting to grapple the player on initiative count 0. A specter that successfully grapples the player attacks on subsequent turns with its ***life drain.*** A specter flees if reduced to 11 hit points or fewer, or if it takes any amount of radiant damage. If the player reaches the bottom of the canal, which lies forty feet beneath the surface, read: <div class="description"> Below you, the bloody depths abruptly stop, ending with a rippling, shifting membrane. A faint golden light fills the open air beyond. </div> If the player continues past the bottom of the bloody canal, continue to [[#The Stolen Sword]]. #### The Stolen Sword When a player first enters this area, read: <div class="description"> Your body breaks the blood’s surface, and gravity abruptly reverses, pulling you into the open air beyond—and a near-perfect reflection of the chamber above, including the silent amber archway. Rather than blood-filled canals, however, the chamber’s ancient, cracked channels are empty and dry, flanked by pale, tender grasses that stand like silent sentries. No black roots pierce the stones of this pavilion; instead, where the black tree once stood, an old lavender cloth lies upon a carved stone pedestal. Something glints a metallic gold beneath the swaddling cloth. </div> The folded lavender cloth holds the broken hilt of the *Sunsword*. If the player reveals the hilt, read: <div class="description"> The cloth pulls away, revealing a broken platinum sword hilt, its gleaming metal untarnished by age or wear. Its crossguard curves upward like an eagle's wings, flaring sharply around a sunburst-shaped guard set with a large, deep blue sapphire. The sword’s blade seems to have been broken. A half-inch of jagged crystal thrusts forth from the platinum hilt, then ends abruptly in empty air. </div> If the player picks up or touches the blade, read: <div class="description"> The sapphire set into the sword’s guard kindles to life, shades of deep purple shimmering within its depths. You feel a shifting presence touch your thoughts, carrying with it a feeling of surprise—followed by fierce, piercing joy. </div> > [!info]+ **Patrina's Phylactery** > The *Sunsword* is Patrina’s unfinished phylactery, and contains her disembodied soul. While Patrina’s soul resides within the *Sunsword’s* hilt, it has the properties described in Sunsword (p. 223), with the following changes: > > * It can’t be attuned to, and its wielder can’t use it as a *sun blade*. > * It is a neutral evil weapon with an Intelligence of 20, a Wisdom of 17, and a Charisma of 16. > * It has no sentience of its own, and derives its sentience from Patrina’s soul. (It otherwise has all of the *Sunsword*’s senses and abilities as a sentient magic item.) > * While inhabiting the *Sunsword*, Patrina pretends to have the personality described in Sunsword (p. 223) in order to convince the players to bring the sword out of Vampyr's sarcophagus. If the player passes through the amber archway while carrying the *Sunsword*’s hilt, read: <div class="description"> You feel another stab of fierce, rippling joy—followed by deep, malevolent satisfaction. </div> ### Patrina’s Revenge If a player exits [[#The Vampyr’s Sarcophagus]] after obtaining the *Sunsword*, read or paraphrase the following text aloud to the other players, replacing “\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_" with the exiting player’s name: <div class="description"> You watch as ________’s hand sinks into the sarcophagus, the amber around it rippling like water. Then, slowly, as _______’s eyes open once more, their hand slowly withdraws from the amber’s surface—this time, with fingers wrapped around a platinum sword hilt. </div> At a suitable moment after a player withdraws the *Sunsword* from the sarcophagus, but before they exit X42. Amber Vault (p. 195), Patrina’s spirit manifests from the hilt. Read: <div class="description"> The hilt stirs—at first twitching gently, then lurching violently. The sapphire at the center of its guard shimmers, then flares a deep, malevolent violet. A thin stream of shadow floods forth from the sapphire, gathering and rising in the air until it forms a feminine silhouette: a tall, slender woman with long, raven-black hair, dusky skin, and long, pointed ears. "Now, that’s better," the woman purrs, her violet eyes flashing. She extends her arms, admiring her fingers and palms. “It’s been so long since I last tasted fresh air." </div> Patrina greets the players with mocking warmth, thanking them for freeing her from her “lengthy imprisonment." “You’ve truly no idea how *unpleasant* it is to have your soul trapped within an inanimate object for nearly four hundred years," she bemoans, inspecting her fingernails carefully, “especially when that object is hidden inside of an isolated demiplane, with no creature to talk to but the maddened ghost of the first creature that thought bloodsucking was some *groundbreaking* new idea." ***Patrina’s Schemes.*** Patrina is glad to share the following information if prompted or asked, pausing as necessary or appropriate to allow the players to respond: * She is Patrina Velikovna, the sister of Kasimir Velikov. * More than four hundred years ago (“as my baby brother no doubt has told you," Patrina sniffs), “Old King Barov" of the von Zarovich family decided to shake down the dusk elves for "pocket change." "Dear Uncle Erevan didn't like that," she says, showing white teeth in a grim, predatory smile. "And Barov didn't like that he disliked it. And so, dear Uncle Lion Cub found his family put to the sword, lands pillaged and destroyed, babes dashed across the walls—all of those *lovely* parts of war. * "It was in the aftermath of Erevan's downfall that dear Kasimir and I came of age," she continues. "Imagine this: You're a dainty, naive, young girl scarcely eighty years old, and all you see around you are your own beloved people, their backs breaking in Old King Barov's labor camps. What's a girl to do?" * Whether the players respond or not, Patrina continues: "I won't claim the glory or honor of being the first to call for rebellion, but I'd gladly claim the glory of being among the first when Barov’s son took the throne." She chuckles darkly, a low, throaty sound. "We thought him a naive starling—scarcely fifty summers old. How wrong we were." * She continues: "He broke us again, of course. Left us to the mercy of his favorite little travelers—the Vistani, who you may have met. Did you know that's where the names 'Velikov' and ‘Velikovna’ come from? Dear Kasimir feared that Strahd might learn of our relationship to dear Uncle, and suggested we take the name of the man whose caravan had taken us in." She rolls her eyes. “Of course, carrying out the traditional Vistani blood rite to *officially* become parts of the Velikov clan might have been a step too far, but my brother has always been one for *sentiment.* * “Of course," Patrina adds, “when the Vistani bore us to the valley, it soon became clear that this was to be our prison—and, in time, our graves." She smiles. “Thankfully, a chance encounter with a knight, a few drinks, and a *touch* of enchantment allowed me to learn of a temple high in the mountains—one that held the secrets to excising the scourge of the von Zaroviches and returning my people to their proper place." * She sniffs. "Of course, the old ghost I found here was suspicious about me—but even he crumbled in the end. I had an entire playground of new magic to explore, and I knew that another stupid, selfish old man wasn't about to stop me from getting what was mine." She shrugs. "So I studied. I learned. I waited. And by the time he found out… Well, by then, it was too late, wasn't it?" * "With dear Exethanter gone," she continues, "the future was mine for the taking. Most of the vestiges here were pathetic, offering only tainted scraps of power, but one..." She shudders with delight. "One offered *so much more*. Perhaps you've encountered it?" * If a player offers any name but "Tenebrous," Patrina is irritated and snaps, "A fool's answer. No, I speak of the vestige of Tenebrous—the gatekeeper of *true* power." If the player names Tenebrous, she nods smugly with a delighted smirk. "Oh, yes. And it wasn't power that would claim and devour me, like so many of these other weaklings offered. No; this was power that had to be *earned*. And I knew I wasn't yet worthy of it." * "In the meantime," Patrina continues, "dear Strahd came to the valley, as I'd long expected. By now, I'd realized that von Zarovich himself was only a man—a puppet of the age. If I were to kill him, one of his generals would rise up to take his place. My people would still be entrapped, weak, and squabbling for scraps. No; I realized that if I wanted to claim my people’s future, I needed to *use* that throne Zarovich had erected—not merely vacate it." * "Strahd may have been mature for a human," Patrina continues, "but he was so transparently *mortal*, as all humans are. So terrified of death and age—when I finally gained an audience with him, it was easy to prey upon that fear, to nurture it until it became a monster ready to devour his heart. He would have done anything to escape it, then—and I gave him a way out." * "He joined me to visit the Temple," she adds, “at my invitation, of course. He communed with Tenebrous as I had—though he insisted upon visiting with the other vestiges within the temple's vault. It was his own humble curiosity, he assured me; a general, wishing to know of threats within his realm. I indulged his whims, a mistake I now regret." * "You may understand my shock, then, when he denied Tenebrous's gift. He claimed, at least then, that matters of empire claimed his attention, preventing him from further delving into the study of magic. I thought it a trick of the light, but there was a glint of hunger in his eyes as he beheld the Vampyr's sarcophagus." * "And then—the Federovna girl." Patrina’s mouth twists in distaste. "Strahd’s darling little brother, the accursed prince, finds this comely little village girl and spirits her away to the castle. Strahd spends all of his spare time entertaining the happy couple—but I knew the lust in his eyes for what it was. Our lessons in magic dwindled, and soon ceased. I *bored* him now; in her, he had found a treasure that surpassed any I could offer him." Patrina takes a sharp breath. “And then—the wedding. The day the skies turned red. The day he ascended far beyond my power." * Pausing, Patrina shakes her head, then continues: "When I learned what he had become, I redoubled my studies of the dark arts. I knew that he had now grown beyond my power to control. And so I began to pursue Tenebrous's gift more vigorously—until, soon, I had assembled all of the pieces I needed to finalize its enactment." * "Tell me," she asks, "do you know the two ingredients of lichdom?" Regardless of the players’ response, Patrina laughs, continuing: "It's simple, really: a prepared phylactery—an object to house your soul—and a potion of transformation. The former, I had already prepared. Oh, it was a *delight* to think of housing my soul within the one thing that now struck fear into Strahd’s heart—his father’s broken blade of searing sunlight, its hilt enchanted and wrought from unbreakable platinum." She smiles ferally. “And to hide it away in the one place to which his heart would never return, and the one place where he would forever fear to tread?" (If the players point out the canal of bloody souls, Patrina nods delightedly. “Death," she hisses, her eyes lighting up, “has always been his source of greatest terror.") * “As for the potion . . . " Her eyes fall upon Kasimir (if present), and she shakes her head, tutting with disappointment. “I was betrayed and killed before I could drink it. Eight lives, sacrificed to brew it—wasted." (If the players suggest she sacrificed other dusk elves to brew the potion, she reacts with horror. “I would never harm my own people," she sniffs. “They have suffered enough; the future *belongs* to them. No; it was petty little _humans_ I claimed for my final experiment—_Barovians_, they called themselves, after the first monster of the Von Zarovich clan.") If Kasimir is present, Patrina smiles sweetly at him, her voice gaining a musical tone. “Fratricide can truly be a weight upon one’s soul—and not to mention *so* unbecoming." She spreads her hands, shadows wisping through the air to form a cloak across her shoulders. “But fear not, little brother. I’m pleased to share that I’ve thought of a way for you to suitably apologize—and you’ve even brought *friends* to help you do it." Patrina smiles. “You’ve brought me all the souls I need to finish what I started—and I’ve had nearly four centuries to make the preparations." If asked, Patrina is glad to further boast of her plans: * She intends to drain the players’ souls into the *Sunsword*, thereby allowing her to regain a body and complete her transformation into a **lich**. * Once she's done so, she'll consolidate her power within the Amber Temple, recover her spellbook, and find Strahd. "I shall find the source of his power over this land," she breathes, her eyes wide with delight, "take that power for my own, and *extinguish* him. Instead of a lord, his people shall know a *queen*— and the dusk elves shall rise again to sit atop the world, as we were destined to be." ***Patrina’s Temptation.*** When she has finished sharing her plans, and when the players have had an opportunity to respond, Patrina turns to Kasimir (if present), her expression softening. Read: <div class="description"> Patrina’s shadowed form flickers - then reappears alongside Kasimir, her hands resting gently on his shoulders. “Kas," she murmurs. “Leave these outsiders to their fate, and join me to fight for a better future—for our people, for the losses we've suffered, and to avenge the wrongs done to us all." Kasimir flinches—and then hesitates, his gaze not quite meeting yours. </div> The players can try to discourage Kasimir from accepting Patrina’s offer. If they do, Patrina makes any or all of the following arguments, which the players may attempt to rebut. Each time the players dispute one of Patrina’s arguments or make an affirmative argument of their own, have one of the arguing players make a DC 17 Charisma (Persuasion) check. The player makes the roll with advantage if their argument has a particularly strong logical or emotional appeal. Patrina might make one or more of the following arguments (in any order), moving to a new argument each time her previous argument succeeds or fails: * Patrina asks Kasimir whether his “tantrum in her laboratory" has achieved the results he had hoped for. “Did killing me bring back any of the humans who had already died?" she asks softly. “Did it help *their* people, the Barovians, let alone ours? Or did it lead only to greater calamity, with naught to show of it but blood and death?" * Patrina vows that only she can help Kasimir achieve vengeance against Strahd - and “the betrayer, Rahadin." “When Barov’s armies first laid waste to our forests, we vowed that, one day, his line would pay - and our people would have a home again," she hisses. “I never forgot that vow. Did you?" * Patrina warns Kasimir that Strahd is “surely aware" of his meddlings in the Amber Temple, and that it’s not long before he learns that Kasimir has found the hilt of King Barov’s broken *Brightblade*. “If he sees you with this hilt," she warns, “he will destroy you - and this time, not one of our people will survive. Only *I* can protect you; these outsiders will only bring you to ruin." * Patrina tells Kasimir that “only I can replicate the binding that once empowered King Barov’s *Brightblade* - and only I can repair and reforge it, so that we may wield the only weapon he has ever feared." * Patrina asks Kasimir, softly, whether he knows where King Barov’s *Brightblade* came from. “It was Uncle Erevan’s *Moonblade*, perverted and reforged," she hisses. “Before Strahd’s pet wizard broke it, it held Erevan’s soul sealed within it. This weapon *belongs* to us; it is *ours* to wield. It is our legacy, our vengeance, our *birthright* - together." * Patrina promises that, upon her ascension, she’ll have the power to resurrect every female dusk elf Rahadin slaughtered. “Every mother, wife, sister, and daughter we lost that day," she whispers, “returned to the lives they were always meant to live. Would that not be worth any price?" (This is a lie. A player who succeeds on a DC 17 Wisdom (Insight) check sees Patrina’s lips twist slyly, her eyes glinting with amusement at her suggestion.) Track the number of successful Charisma (Persuasion) checks the players make, as well as the number of failures. If the players have previously befriended Kasimir, they start with up to two automatic successes. If the players have previously alienated Kasimir, they start with up to one automatic failure. If the players accumulate three successes before three failures, Kasimir rejects Patrina’s invitation. Read: <div class="description"> Kasimir meets Patrina’s eyes. “You speak of a brighter future," he says, his voice tired. “But when I look into your eyes, I see only darkness and blood. It seems my sister died long before I killed you." Patrina’s eyes darken. “A pity," she rasps. “But then again, you were only ever another piece on the board." </div> Otherwise, if the players accumulate three failures before three successes, Kasimir agrees to join Patrina in her efforts to claim power from Strahd - no matter the cost to the players’ lives. (“I’m sorry," he says guiltily, as he moves to stand beside her. “But I owe this to my people.") > [!abstract]+ **Players Shoot First** > If combat begins before Kasimir has made his decision, Patrina fights as described below, while Kasimir aids neither side, paralyzed by indecision. At the beginning of each of her turns, Patrina makes one of the arguments described above. If Patrina’s argument goes unrebutted, the players gain an automatic failure. Otherwise, continue tracking the players’ successes and failures until Kasimir makes a decision or Patrina dies. ***Patrina Attacks.*** When Kasimir makes his decision, when the players first move to depart the room or attack her, or at an otherwise suitable time, Patrina commences hostilities against the players. Read: <div class="description"> Patrina waves a hand—and the great tentacles carved along the walls stir, then grind like stone against stone as they twist to cover the exits, blotting out the light from beyond. The light remaining in the room seems to shrink, and the shadows cloaking Patrina's form seem to grow. “Now," Patrina purrs delightedly, “it is finally time to finish what I started, all those years ago—and to finally take what is mine!" </div> Patrina then attacks. <div class="statblock"> <h2>Patrina, Vengeful Wraith</h2> Medium undead, neutral evil <hr> Armor Class 13 Hit Points 285 (38d8 + 48) Speed 5 ft., fly 60 ft. (hover) <hr> <table class="ability-table"> <thead> <tr> <th>STR</th> <th>DEX</th> <th>CON</th> <th>INT</th> <th>WIS</th> <th>CHA</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>6 (-2)</td> <td>16 (+3)</td> <td>16 (+3)</td> <td>21 (+5)</td> <td>14 (+2)</td> <td>16 (+3)</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <hr> Saving Throws Con +9, Int +11, Wis +8, Cha +9 Skills Arcana +17, History +11, Insight +8, Perception +8 Damage Resistances acid; cold; fire; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons Damage Immunities necrotic, poison Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, unconscious Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 18 Languages Common, Elvish, Abyssal, Infernal, Draconic, Sylvan Challenge 18 (20,000 XP) Proficiency Bonus +6 <hr> Incorporeal Movement. Patrina can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. She takes 5 (1d10) force damage if she ends her turn inside an object. Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, Patrina has disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls. Dark Embodiment. When Patrina is reduced to 0 hit points, all amber sarcophagi within 60 feet of her extrude tendrils of shadowed mist, which she inhales. Her ethereal form then grows solid, forming pale, undead flesh and sunken amber eyes. Her statistics are instantly replaced by those of her second form. Her initiative count doesn’t change, excess damage doesn’t carry over, and she retains none of the conditions she had in her previous form. She can immediately use her soul weapon feature. <h3>Actions</h3> Multiattack. Patrina makes two attacks, only one of which can be an amber tentacle attack, and can use charm wielder once. Amber Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target within 15 feet of one of the walls in X42. Amber Vault. Hit: 19 (2d12 + 6) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 19 Strength saving throw or be grappled (escape DC 19) or pushed 10 feet away (Patrina’s choice). If the target fails the save by 10 or more, it also falls prone. Corrupting Touch. Melee Spell Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (4d6 + 2) necrotic damage. Charm Wielder. Patrina forces the creature possessing the Sunsword to succeed on a DC 19 Charisma saving throw or be charmed by her for 1 minute. While charmed, the creature must try to follow Patrina’s commands. If the creature takes damage, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on a success. The effect ends if the creature no longer possesses the Sunsword. <h3>Bonus Actions</h3> Animate Golems (1/Day). Patrina summons shards of amber from X40, Sealed Treasury, and shapes them into two amber constructs. An amber construct acts on Patrina’s initiative, but takes its turn immediately after hers. Conjure Sarcophagi. Hollow amber sarcophagi spring into existence around each creature of Patrina’s choice within 5 feet of Patrina or a point she can see within 30 feet. Each creature must succeed on a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or be entrapped within its sarcophagus. Each sarcophagus has AC 15, 15 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. <h3>Reactions</h3> Patrina can take up to three reactions per round, but only one per turn. If Patrina would lose her reactions and isn't incapacitated, she loses one reaction instead. Indomitable. Trigger: A hostile creature ends its turn. Effect: Patrina can repeat the saving throw against one effect or condition currently affecting it. (This reaction has no effect if the effect or condition didn’t originally require it to fail a saving throw.) Counterspell (1/round). Trigger: Patrina sees a creature within 60 feet of her cast a spell. Effect: Patrina casts counterspell at 3rd level. A creature whose spell would be countered in this way can use its reaction to spend a spell slot of 1st level or higher and add the spell slot’s level to the level of the spell it cast. If the result is 4 or more, the creature can make a DC 19 saving throw using its spellcasting ability, gaining a bonus to its saving throw equal to the result. On a success, Patrina’s counterspell fails and has no effect. Ghostly Walk. Trigger: A creature Patrina can see within 60 feet of her ends its turn. Effect: Patrina moves up to her speed toward or away from that creature without provoking opportunity attacks. Amber Tentacle (2/round). Trigger: Patrina takes damage from a creature she can see within 30 feet. Effect: Patrina makes an amber tentacle attack against that creature. </div> > [!info]+ **Amber Constructs** > An **amber construct** has the statistics of an **amber golem**, but with the following changes: > * Reduce its hit points to 90. > * Replace its immunity to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons that aren’t adamantine with resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons. > * Remove its **immutable form***, ***magic resistance***, or ***magic weapons*** features. > * Remove its ***multiattack*** and ***slow*** actions. > [!info]+ **Changing Forms** > When Patrina transforms into her second phase, she notes, with pronounced irritation, that she had hoped “not to assume corporeal form before her preparations were complete." “It seems, however," she adds, her voice dripping with venom, “that you require my *fullest* attention." <div class="statblock"> <h2>Patrina, Half-Lich</h2> Medium undead, neutral evil <hr> Armor Class 20 Hit Points 262 (35d8 + 105) Speed 30 ft. <hr> <table class="ability-table"> <thead> <tr> <th>STR</th> <th>DEX</th> <th>CON</th> <th>INT</th> <th>WIS</th> <th>CHA</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>11 (+0)</td> <td>16 (+3)</td> <td>16 (+3)</td> <td>21 (+5)</td> <td>14 (+2)</td> <td>16 (+3)</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <hr> Saving Throws Dex +10, Con +10, Int +12, Wis +9 Skills Arcana +19, History +12, Insight +9 Damage Resistances cold, lightning Damage Immunities necrotic, poison Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12 Languages Common, Elvish, Abyssal, Infernal, Draconic, Sylvan Challenge 18 (20,000 XP) Proficiency Bonus +6 <hr> Soul Weapon. If Patrina isn’t holding the Sunsword at the start of her turn, it magically appears in her empty hand as her Shadowblade, a blade of pure darkness springing from the hilt. <h3>Actions</h3> Multiattack. Patrina makes four attacks with her shadowblade. She can replace up to one of those attacks with her life drain. Shadowblade. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) necrotic damage. Life Drain. Melee Spell Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (2d4 + 3) necrotic damage. If the target is a creature, its hit point maximum decreases by an amount equal to the damage taken, and Patrina regains hit points equal to the damage dealt. <h3>Bonus Actions</h3> Crackling Doom. Crackling bolts of lightning arc from Patrina's fingertips in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) lightning damage on a failure or half as much on a success. If a creature fails its save by 5 or more, it is slowed until the start of Patrina’s next turn. (A slowed creature must spend 1 extra foot of movement for every foot it moves using its speed, attack rolls against it have advantage, and it has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws.) Negative Energy Burst. Negative energy ripples out in a 5-foot-radius sphere from Patrina or a point she can see within 90 feet. Each creature in that area must make a DC 19 Constitution saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) necrotic damage on a failure or half as much on a success. If a creature fails its save by 5 or more, it also falls prone. <h3>Reactions</h3> Patrina can take up to three reactions per round, but only one per turn. If Patrina would lose her reactions and isn't incapacitated, she loses one reaction instead. Indomitable. Trigger: A hostile creature ends its turn. Effect: Patrina can repeat the saving throw against one effect or condition currently affecting it. (This reaction has no effect if the effect or condition didn’t originally require it to fail a saving throw.) Parry (1/Round). Trigger: Patrina is hit by a melee or ranged attack while holding the Sunsword. Effect: Patrina adds +6 to her Armor Class against that attack, possibly causing it to miss. Vile Teleport (1/Round). Trigger: A creature Patrina can see within 30 feet ends its turn. Effect: Patrina teleports up to 30 feet toward or away from that creature. She can cause each creature within 5 feet of her destination space to take 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. Fell Rebuke. Trigger: Patrina is hit by an attack. Effect: Patrina utters a fell word, dealing 10 (3d6) necrotic damage to the attacker. She then teleports up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space she can see, along with any equipment she is wearing or carrying. </div> When Patrina dies, read: <div class="description"> The platinum hilt clatters to the ground, its sapphire dull. The amber tentacles along the walls groan, the floor rumbling as they slowly return to their original place. Overhead, a burst of lavender light briefly flashes down the golden marble staircase from a source unseen. </div> ***Milestone.*** Defeating Patrina completes a story milestone. When the players obtain the cleansed *Sunsword* hilt, award each player 8,000 XP. (This should bring them to 9th level.) ### Igniting the Sunsword Once Patrina’s spirit is defeated, a player who inspects the *Sunsword* by casting the *identify* spell, or by spending a short rest attempting to attune to it or learn its properties, learns the following information: * The broken hilt is capable of generating a powerful radiant magic, but currently lacks the spark to kindle it. * The hilt is built to contain a humanoid soul, and appears to derive its power from that soul’s spirit and will. * The hilt’s magic appears to be strongest when it resonates with a spirit of a similar nature—a radiant soul, especially one with great faith or an affinity for the wielder. * To infuse a soul into the hilt, the wielder must first attune to it, then either (1) devise and use a ritual to forcefully bind the chosen soul, or (2) allow themselves to be temporarily possessed by the chosen soul. > [!info]+ **Sentient Magic Items** > A player who succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check recalls the following information about sentient magic items: > > * Sentient magic items are capable of sensing their environments and communicating with others, as described in Sentient Magic Items (p. 214). > * Sentient items have wills of their own, and may attempt to exert those wills upon their wielders in the event of conflict, as described in Sentient Magic Items (p. 214). Without a ritual to bind a soul to the *Sunsword*, the players must find and convince a spirit to inhabit it. Once infused with a soul, the *Sunsword* is largely as described in Sunsword (p. 223), with the following changes: * It has a **resonance level**, as described in **Resonance Level** below. * Its wielder gains a bonus to attack and damage rolls equal to its resonance level. (*This replaces its original +2 bonus.*) * It emits bright light in a minimum radius equal to 5 feet times its resonance level, and dim light for an additional number of feet equal to 5 feet times its resonance level. (For example, if the blade has a resonance level of 3, it emits bright light in a 15-foot radius and dim light for an additional 15 feet.) * It can emit bright light out to a maximum of 10 feet times its resonance level, and dim light for an additional number of feet equal to 10 feet times its resonance level. (For example, if the blade has a resonance level of 3, it can emit bright light out to a maximum of 30 feet, and dim light for an additional 30 feet.) * Depending on the nature of the spirit inhabiting it, it gains one of the following additional effects (your choice). (For example, St. Markovia’s spirit might allow the wielder to use the *shield of faith* effect, while an unsuitable spirit might grant no effect.) Once used, this feature can’t be used again until the wielder completes a long rest. | d6 | Effect | | :--:| :---| | 1 | As an action, the wielder can gain the effects of a cleric’s ***turn undead*** feature. | | 2 | As a bonus action, the wielder can touch a creature and restore a number of that creature’s hit points equal to 10 times the *Sunsword*’s resonance level. | 3 | As a bonus action, the wielder can cast *shield of faith* without components. When cast in this way, the wielder has advantage on Constitution saving throws made to retain their concentration. | 4 | As a bonus action, the wielder can gain the effects of a paladin’s ***divine smite*** the next time they hit with a melee weapon attack this turn. (If no attacks hit, the feature isn’t expended.) | 5 | As a bonus action, the wielder can cast *protection from evil and good* without components. When cast in this way, the wielder has advantage on Constitution saving throws made to retain their concentration. | 6 | No effect. > [!info]+ **Resonance Level** > The *Sunsword*’s **resonance level** measures its affinity for the soul that inhabits it. Calculate its resonance level as follows: > > * If the soul is Good-aligned, increase its resonance level by 1. > * If the soul was a priest or paladin of the Morninglord in life, increase its resonance level by 1. > * If the soul has a bond of loyalty or friendship to the wielder, increase its resonance level by 1. > * If the soul is dedicated to the destruction of Strahd von Zarovich or the freedom of Barovia, increase its resonance level by 1 while Strahd still lives. > * If the soul is unwilling or reluctant to inhabit the *Sunsword*, decrease its resonance level by 2. > > The *Sunsword*’s resonance level can’t go above 3 or below 0. > [!abstract]+ **Choosing a Soul** > The players have great freedom to choose a suitable soul to inhabit the *Sunsword*. However, not all spirits are equally available or receptive. Some of those spirits’ reactions (and the players’ ability to contact them) are described below. > > * **Exethanter.** Exethanter’s spirit amusedly declines, noting that he would be “wholly unsuitable" for such a task. (*Exethanter, who is Lawful Neutral and bears no personal enmity toward Strahd, has a resonance level of 0.*) > * **Erasmus van Richten.** Erasmus’s spirit cannot enter the Material Plane until the players lift Rudolph van Richten’s curse in [[Arc T - The Three Fanes]]. Once they do, a player who has befriended Erasmus can convince him to possess them and inhabit the *Sunsword*. Erasmus otherwise politely declines, insisting that he is dedicated to fighting alongside and protecting his father. (*Erasmus, who is Chaotic Good and is dedicated to the freedom of Barovia, has a resonance level of 3.*) > * **St. Markovia.** St. Markovia cannot possess a player unless first summoned by means of a seance, as in [[Arc K - The Fallen Abbey]]. (However, if the players failed to redeem the Abbot in [[Arc Q - A Shining Beacon]], the seance fails, and Markovia does not appear.) Once summoned, Markovia is honored by the players’ request, but expresses doubt as to her ability to oppose Strahd, given her defeat at his hands nearly four centuries ago. If reassured, Markovia agrees to inhabit the *Sunsword* and fight alongside them. (*Markovia has a resonance level of 3.*) > * **Sir Godfrey Gwilym.** Sir Godfrey’s spirit appears if called within the walls of Argynvostholt. He is honored to fight at the players’ side, and swiftly agrees to inhabit the *Sunsword*. (*Sir Godfrey has a resonance level of 3, or a resonance level of 4 if he has forged a strong bond of friendship with the wielder.*) > * **The Recently Deceased.** The players can summon the spirit of any character who has died in Barovia since their arrival by carrying out a seance, as described in [[Arc K - The Fallen Abbey]]. The seance must be carried out near either the character’s place of death or a place that held great meaning to them in life. Certain souls may require additional persuasion, at your discretion. (The spirits of characters who died before the players’ arrival have already been reincarnated, and cannot be summoned by means of a seance.) > [!info]+ **The Shining Sunlight** > The first time the players bind or infuse a soul into the *Sunsword*, read: > > --- > > The hilt warms in your hands, then turns hot, until it almost burns to hold—but no blisters or burns appear on your flesh. The shattered stump of its hilt flickers, then glimmers, then sears with light, until—slowly—a blade of pure, untainted *radiance* grows forth from the hilt. > > The light is gold: a hot, bright gold that doesn't bear looking at, and scaling past it toward white, almost the color of the Sun in the daylit sky. No metal forms that blade; the light itself feels alive, awake, and aware, *looking* at you.^[Inspired by Diane Duane, *A Wizard Abroad*.] > > The hilt trembles in your hands, emitting a low, steady hum that heightens in pitch to a sonorous, gleeful *song*. Then—the light withdraws. The burning heat cools. And silence falls—for a moment. > > There is a sudden, resonant *burst* of light and song, as a *tower* of golden light bursts from the blade, filling the space all around you. It seeps through every hole and every crack, forming a pillar of radiance that splits the skies overhead. The dark clouds roil, the very heavens trembling beneath its touch. Your shadows stretch out away from it, as if attempting to flee its burning brilliance in vain. > > And then—the pillar of radiance recedes. The burning fades to a faint, comforting warmth. The song falls to a faint hum, and then to silence—until all that remains is a blade of pure sunlight atop the sword's platinum hilt. > > --- > > The pillar of radiance is visible to all creatures in Barovia. Once the *Sunsword* is ignited, Strahd won't leave Castle Ravenloft unless the players are dead. # S7. Archmage’s Quarters ## S7a. Stair of Wisdom This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X5b. This area is as described in X5b. Secret Door (p. 184). ## S7b. Archmage’s Library This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Area X30.. This area is largely as described in X30. Preserved Library (p. 189). However, if the players enter this area after defeating the spirit of Patrina Velikovna, they encounter the spirit of the **archmage** Exethanter (see [[#Exethanter’s Hospitality]] below). ### Exethanter’s Hospitality When the players enter this area after defeating Patrina’s spirit, read the following text, or add it to the end of this area’s description: <div class="description"> The ethereal spirit of an elderly man with a long, white beard and a pointed-jet blue, wide-brimmed hat sits in a squashed, comfortable-looking armchair, looking faintly befuddled. </div> This is the spirit of Exethanter, the former archmage of the Amber Temple. Exethanter has the statistics of a **ghost**, with the following changes: * He has the hit points and skills of an **archmage**. * He has an **archmage’s** ***magic resistance*** and ***spellcasting*** features, but (due to his undeath and post-binding weakness) can’t cast any spells above 3rd level. In addition, he has prepared *sending* instead of *fly*. * He knows the following languages: Common, Elvish, Draconic, Celestial, Abyssal, and Infernal. If the players approach Exethanter’s spirit or otherwise reveal themselves, he greets them with some surprise. He can share the following information if asked: * His name is Exethanter. In life, he was an archmage and leader of the Society of Amber, the secret society of mages that founded and guarded the Amber Temple. (Exethanter can further share all of the information described in **Operations of the Amber Temple** and **Downfall of the Temple** above.) * In its final years, the Amber Temple descended into chaos and paranoia. Exethanter attempted to continue his weekly dinners with apprentices and other mages, but even he couldn’t resist using one of the “odd relics he’d picked up over the years"—the enchanted ewer in X22. Northwest Annex (p. 187)—to cleanse his drinks of poison. (“In retrospect," he sniffs abashedly, “it astounds me how deeply the vestiges’ darkness had penetrated my mind." He massages his ghostly temples, chuckling tiredly. “It’s astounding how much clarity one’s mind can find after one has passed away." * He has no knowledge of “Heinrich Stolt," and has never heard of any such individual. > [!abstract]+ **Exethanter’s Theory** > If the players ask how the temple became corrupted, Exethanter is glad to share his theory. “Ah, yes," he begins—“tell me, do you know why my predecessors constructed this temple from amber, from its sarcophagi to its golems, and even its very walls?" (A player who succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check recalls that amber has a unique magical property: it is a magical “insulator," and cannot be damaged or crossed by any kind of energy, be it magical or divine. On a result of 20 or more, the player further recalls that magical energies can pass through amber only very slowly, on a timescale of years to decades.) > > Regardless of the player’s response, Exethanter continues: “As the logic went, the amber sarcophagi would keep the vestiges’ magic entrapped within; any shreds of power that escaped during their transportation or sealing, as well as any that might leak out over time, would be concealed from tracking and divination by natural amber shielding. Our golems, too, would be protected from outside interference or corruption, their command matrices buried within their amber shells." > > Exethanter sighs, then asks: “Do you begin to see our mistake?" Regardless of the players’ response, Exethanter continues, wryly: “They—and, I should add, we—failed to account for the leakage from the sarcophagi. With the amber shielding around the walls, the dregs of darkness leaking from the sarcophagi had nowhere to go. Over the decades, so slowly that none of our instruments could observe it, that darkness accumulated invisibly within the temple’s walls until it formed a thick, corrupting miasma." He massages his temples, exhaling. “We were like a frog boiled in a pot, or a fish unable to name the very water it swims in and breathes. We became inured to it—and it choked us, worming its way deeper into our minds. By the time we might have noticed it, it was already far too late." Exethanter thanks the players for freeing him from Patrina Velikovna’s bindings. (“I presume I have you to thank for my sudden freedom?" he says merrily.) He is willing to share the following information about Patrina if asked, his face darkening at the mention of her name: * Following his death, his spirit lingered in the Amber Temple for over two millenia. “The miasma that filled these amber halls had given birth to dark powers, by whose will our spirits were imprisoned here," he notes solemnly. “Nameless and formless, they dwelled within the temple’s corridors for centuries, their power made manifest through the mists that bound and encircled us." (Although Exethanter sensed these “dark powers" “lurking within the shadows, and beyond the borders of reality," he never caught more than a glimpse of the power that shrouded them, and knows no more about them—or what they want—than this.) * One day, nearly four centuries past, a dusk elf named Patrina Velikovna came to the Amber Temple and found his spirit dwelling there. Lonely and entrapped within the demesne the Dark Powers had created, Exethanter fell “perhaps too easily" for her fascination with his knowledge and her tales of the “tragic fate of her people." “Perhaps I should have seen the darkness in her," he murmurs, pushing his half-moon spectacles up his nose, "but so many years spent amidst the temple’s darkened halls had numbed my senses to it." * Exethenter took Patrina under his tutelage “under two conditions—that she keep away from the vestiges that dwelled in the sarcophagi, and that she not touch any book I had not permitted her to." He coughs, adjusting his spectacles. "Needless to say, I eventually found she had broken both of these commandments—but by then, she had learned enough and grown enough in power that it was too late. When I confronted her and demanded she depart the Temple, she laughed and bound me within a sealing circle—which, to add insult to injury, was a design of my own making." * After binding him, Patrina summoned Exethanter occasionally to compel him to share his knowledge, though he warned her not to proceed down the path to lichdom she sought. “She was not the first student I had failed, nor the first whose capacity for evil I had failed to sense" he says, sadly. “She may have come to me with duplicitous intent—but I felt responsible for her downfall all the same." * One day, Patrina ceased to call upon Exethanter entirely. It was only later, when the vampire Strahd von Zarovich—who Patrina had spoken of and previously called her “student"—found Patrina’s bindings and called upon Exethanter’s spirit once more that Exethanter learned that Patrina had died. “Of course," he says, “the sealing ritual she had stolen from me had a flaw—it was never meant to be made permanent, and was tied to the caster’s life-force. Although I never told Von Zarovich of this, I suspected that, since she did not seem to have passed my leash to him, she must still be alive—somewhere." * Strahd used Patrina’s bindings to compel Exethanter to answer his questions on matters of arcana—“binding magic, rituals, leylines, and more." Exethanter sniffs, shaking his head. “Dangerous material. I never quite learned what he needed that knowledge for, but I often observed him recording his notes in a small journal. I would have been most curious to read it." If the players ask Exethanter about the *Tome of Strahd* or a ritual capable of manifesting the Ladies of the Fanes, Exethanter perks up, inquiring into the players’ knowledge and purposes. Once his curiosity is satisfied, Exethanter invites the players to discuss the matters further in his quarters. (If necessary, Exethanter notes that the ritual the players seek lies therein.) If the players agree to follow Exethanter to his quarters, he walks through the wall leading to X29. Secret Room (p. 189), then, if the players don’t swiftly follow him through the secret door, returns to apologize to the players. (“When one is intangible for so long," Exethanter says, clearing his throat as his cheeks flush, “one tends to forget what necessities others of a, ah, more *tangible* persuasion may require.") Exethanter then guides the players to the secret door that leads to X29. Secret Room (p. 189), and the secret door therein that leads to X27. Lich’s Lair (p. 188), apologizing for the “proliferation" of secret doors throughout the temple. (“It *was* built as a citadel, after all," he recalls thoughtfully, “designed to withstand any siege—while providing hidden, speedy transportation to its defenders.") As he and the players pass through X29. Secret Room (p. 189), Exethanter points out the secret door that leads to X28. Hidden Phylactery (p. 189), noting that the Society of Amber once used it to carry out the rituals that bound the vestiges to their amber sarcophagi. (If asked, Exethanter is glad to allow the players to explore it, though he insists that it is “merely an empty room.") ## S7c. Archmage’s Quarters This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Areas X26 and X27. This area is largely as described in X26. Secret Alcove (p. 188) and X27. Lich’s Lair (p. 188). However, no **lich** dwells here. In addition, a crystal chime lies in the desk’s uppermost drawer. Players who read Exethanter’s spellbook find that, in addition to the spells described in X27. Lich’s Lair (p. 188), it also contains instructions for enacting the *Rite of Conjured Divinity* (see below). If the players arrive here in Exethanter’s company to discuss the *Tome of Strahd* or the Ladies of the Fanes, he responds as follows: * **Tome of Strahd.** If the players give Exethanter the *Tome of Strahd*, he inspects it for a few moments, using his ghostly *mage hand* to flip through the pages while stroking his beard thoughtfully. “A fascinating cipher," he murmurs. “It’s one I’m not intimately familiar with, but I enjoyed a hobby of cryptography in my youth, and the structure here is similar to some I have read in the past." If the players appear interested, Exethanter suggests that they leave it with him for analysis, noting (without boasting) that he should require “no more than—oh, forty-eight hours to crack it." (Exethanter promises to communicate any findings to the players via his *sending* spell.) * **Ladies of the Fanes.** If the player ask for a means to commune with or conjure the diminished essence of a vestige (e.g., the remnants of a deity), he directs the players to his spellbook, which documents the incantation, components, and instructions for carrying out the *Rite of Conjured Divinity* (see below). (The players, he promises, are free to copy the spells therein for their own use if they wish to.) > [!info]+ **The Rite of Conjured Divinity** > The *Rite of Conjured Divinity* is a ritual that the wizards of the Amber Temple once used to conjure the essences of vestiges they intended to seal away. The Rite, which can be performed only by a character with the ***Spellcasting*** feature or the ability to cast rituals, requires three ingredients: powdered amber, a crystal chime, and a relic or symbol of the entity the caster wishes to invoke. > > To perform the Rite, the caster and four other individuals must first use chalk or similar means to draw a circled pentagram, at least fifteen feet across, at or within a location where the entity’s presence is strongest. Each ritualist must then stand beside a different point of the star, while the caster places the powdered amber at the circle’s center. > > The Rite has a lengthy incantation, which takes approximately one minute to complete and requires the caster and other ritualists to repeat the entity’s name three times, sounding the chime each time. The third time the chime is struck, the entity manifests within the pentagram, where it remains for the next 10 minutes. ## S7d. Ritual Chamber This scene takes place in Chapter 13, Areas X28 and X29. This area is largely as described in X28. Hidden Phylactery (p. 189) and X29. Secret Room (p. 189). However, the phylactery belongs not to Exethanter, but the **arcanaloth** Neferon, as discussed in **Neferon's Phylactery** above. This phylactery, which has an AC of 20 and 20 hit points, can’t be damaged or destroyed except by radiant damage dealt by the *Sunsword* or a spell of 5th level or higher. > [!abstract]+ **Exethanter’s Inspection** > If shown Neferon’s phylactery, Exethanter is surprised to see it, and asks to inspect it. “It appears to be reminiscent of a lich’s phylactery," he observes, “though I do not detect Patrina’s handiwork upon it, nor sense her magic. Its essence is both old, and yet new, as though it was created only recently, but from an old, even ancient soul—one far older than I." (Exethanter apologizes for his inability to share anything further without at least several days of further study.) # S8. Departing the Temple Each time he observes the players move to depart the Amber Temple, Neferon—flanked by the three **flameskulls** from [[#S2e. West Gallery]]—confronts them as they pass through X17. Upper West Hall (p. 187), X8. Upper East Hall (p. 185), or X5. Temple of Lost Secrets (p. 183). (In the latter case, he confronts them while standing atop one of the black marble staircases leading to X4. Overlook (p. 183). Neferon—as “Heinrich"—asks the players to identify any physical items they have removed from the temple. "After all," he says, "as this temple's caretaker, I am obliged to ensure that no artifacts are improperly removed from its ancient halls." ***Telling the Truth.*** If the players reveal that they have taken any items from the temple, “Heinrich" notes pleasantly that he would be “more than willing to negotiate the terms of acquisition," so long as the players fully disclose the item's nature and value. (“Heinrich" further insists upon inspecting unfamiliar magic items using his *identify* spell.) “Heinrich" is willing to allow the players to depart the Amber Temple with a magical item in exchange for a magical item “of equal or greater value," or "a secret of great power." (For example, the players might reveal the existence and true nature of the Keepers of the Feather, the existence of the *Tome of Strahd*, or the location of Soldav.) However, “Heinrich" won’t allow the players to depart with the *Sunsword* if he’s aware of its radiant properties. "You may depart in peace," he notes solemnly, "but I fear this item is too great a treasure for me to part with." If the players refuse to disclose an item’s value, or if negotiations break down, “Heinrich" shakes his head sadly, noting his sorrow that "one simply cannot trust people these days." He then uses his ***teleport*** action to teleport out of the players’ sight, preferring to reappear within or near the head of X5a. God of Secrets (p. 184). He and the **flameskulls** then attack as described in X5. Temple of Lost Secrets (p. 183), as well as **Heinrich’s Discipline** and **Neferon’s Tactics** above. ***Lying to Neferon.*** Players who lie to “Heinrich" can deceive him by succeeding on a DC 22 Charisma (Deception) check, failing automatically if “Heinrich" is already aware (e.g., through the use of his *arcane eye* spell) that the players possess one or more items that they have failed to disclose. If “Heinrich" determines the players are lying to him, he kindly asks whether they are “certain" they do not recall acquiring any items from the temple’s vaults or corridors, noting cordially that the Amber Temple “does not take kindly to thieves, be they willful or merely forgetful." If the players again lie to him, “Heinrich" innocently inquires about any items he is aware of by description, such as "a broken platinum sword hilt." If the players lie to him a third time, “Heinrich" shakes his head sadly, noting his sorrow that "one simply cannot trust people these days." He then uses his ***teleport*** action to teleport out of the players’ sight, preferring to reappear within or near the head of X5a. God of Secrets (p. 184). He and the **flameskulls** then attack as described in X5. Temple of Lost Secrets (p. 183), as well as **Heinrich’s Discipline** and **Neferon’s Tactics** above. > [!abstract]+ **Neferon’s Resistance** > Neferon offers no resistance to players who credibly threaten to destroy his phylactery. In exchange for allowing them to depart in peace, however, he asks that the players leave the phylactery somewhere safe where he can subsequently retrieve it. > > If the players refuse to do so, Neferon sighs, noting his apparent inability to stop them, and allows them to depart in peace. Unless prevented, however, Neferon subsequently uses his at-will *invisibility* and fly speed to follow the players as they depart the Amber Temple, following them until he finds a suitable opportunity to steal back his phylactery. When doing so, Neferon avoids fighting or confronting the players openly at all costs, preferring instead to use his nonviolent spells to recover his phylactery and (if he’s aware of it) the *Sunsword* before fleeing. > [!abstract]+ **Patrina’s Heir** > If the players inform the flameskulls that Kasimir is Patrina’s brother, Dominik responds with surprise, noting such a thing would be “impossible." If asked why, Dominik gravely informs the players that they or Kasimir must be lying. (“Mistress Velikovna’s will clearly stated she had no living blood relatives," he rasps.) > > The players can convince the flameskulls that Kasimir is Patrina’s brother by succeeding on a DC 23 Charisma (Persuasion) check. The players make the check with advantage if they provide some form of proof of their claims, and succeed automatically if their proof is indisputable. > > If the players convince the flameskulls that Kasimir is Patrina’s heir, they cheerfully betray “Heinrich" and obey Kasimir as their new master. (Due to the enchantment animating them, the flameskulls can’t leave the temple.) However, if the flameskulls subsequently encounter Patrina’s spirit in [[#S6c. Amber Vault]], they turn on the players and serve Patrina’s commands faithfully.