Dungeons & Dragons - A Guide to Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus

This thing is a work in progress, and it will be ugly until it is done. Right now, this guide is a pile of loose notes that will slowly be organized as I read through the whole book and sort out what you need to know to run this effectively.

In certain cases, I’ve moved information around to keep it all in one spot. For example, I put all the Elfsong info in the same spot when running down the Elfsong Tavern scenario.

For now, this document should serve as a nice way to get a head start on preparing the book or a glimpse to see if it is something you want to run.

Links

Infernal War Machine Rules pdf
Vehicle Chase Rules pdf
Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes Zariel pdf
Dragon+ Issue 26
WebDM discusses Baldur’s Gate: Descent Into Avernus

Summary

1. Elturel has been pulled out of the Realms and into Avernus
2. Zariel is targeting Baldur’s Gate next
3. The heroes are trapped in Baldur’s Gate, as the city is trying to keep out refugees
4. Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard has gone missing - was on a diplomatic mission to Elturel
5. The Flaming Fist drafts the heroes. They must root out followers of Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul.
6. The group learns that the cultists are financed by Thalamra Vanthampur, one of the three dukes of Baldur’s Gate (and secret disciple of Zariel). She’s using money that she stole from Tiamat!
7. Thalamra’s plan is to sabotage the Flaming Fist and take over the city, so that it can be pulled into Avernus.
8. Thalamra has the Shield of the Hidden Lord, which is corrupting the city.
9. Thavius Kreeg, evil former ruler of Elturel, is hiding in the city. If slain, the group will run into him again in devil form (pg 132).
10. The heroes might liberate a spy linked to Sylvira Savikas, an expert on the Nine Hells.
11. Sylvira lives in Candlekeep. Her spies are trying to find the infernal contract Thavius signed, that doomed Elturel.
12. Sylvira can get the group to Avernus. Her friend, Traxigor, can cast plane shift.
13. In Avernus, the group gains a guide - a hollyphant named Lulu (who seems to have some kind of connection to Zariel)..
14. In elturel, the group can ally with Ulder Ravengard.
15. To free Elturel, the group must either destroy “the Companion” or break the chains. Doing either will involve searching Avernus for the means to do so.
16. Lulu begins to remember things about the sword of Zariel. The sword can destroy the Companion.
17. The adventurers might cut a deal with Bel, former ruler of Avernus. They might also run afoul of Yeenoghu’s pet or meet Arkhan the Cruel.

Summary by Character Level

Level 1: The heroes join the Flaming Fist, find Tarina at the Elfsong Tavern, and defeat the pirates hunting her.

Level 2: The group explores the dungeon under the bath house.

Background  (page 7)

Long ago, the angel Zariel led a band of angelic soldiers into Avernus, wading into the Blood War (the eternal war between demons and devils). Some angels fled and went back to Mount Celestia. They are known as the Hellriders.

Zariel lost a hand. She ordered Yael, an ally, to take her sword and hide it. Yael fled with the hollyphant, Lulu.

Zariel and two generals, Olanthius and Haruman, were captured and sent to Nessus, the 9th level of the Nine Hells. Asmodeus welcomed her and gave her control of Avernus, supplanting Bel. Haruman became a narzugon. Olanthius killed himself, and rose up a a death knight.

Zariel felt betrayed by Elturel, and when the city was being threatened by a vampire, she made a contract with Thavius Kreeg. This contract caused a radiant sphere to appear over the city. Inside of it was a trapped planetar. This sphere is known as the Companion.  The light of the Companion drove out the vampire.

Thavius knew that the Companion would eventually shift. He fled the city and hid in Baldur’s Gate. The Companion transformed into an orb of negative energy and pulled Elturel into the Nine Hells.

The Nine Hells is Awful: I really get a kick out of the idea that when a character does something selfish in the Nine Hells, they get inspiration (see pg 9). Make sure you’ve got the right players for something like that, though, as that one player will ruin it for everyone else.

Fireballs: In older editions, fireballs would fall from the sky and sometimes track and target mortal intruders. In this book, it is said that pieces of the lost paradise that once was Avernus fall from the sky as burning meteors (pg 9). Finding a relic of the former paradise gives a fleeting feeling of joy.

Travel in Avernus: The Dm just decides how long it takes to get from one place to another. The Wandering Emporium (pg 126) can show up almost anywhere, at any time.

Chapter 1: A Tale of Two Cities (pg 10)

The Flaming Fist: An army of mercenaries who work for Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard. Ravengard is an honorable man, but the Flaming Fist have been known to be cruel.

Ten days ago, Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard went to Elturel on a diplomatic mission. While he was there, Elturel was pulled into Avernus.

Thavius Kreeg, refugee from Elturel, is being sheltered by Duke Vanthampur. (pg 11)

The Vanthampur family is in debt to Zariel. She and her sons are trying to use the Shield of the Hidden Lord to doom Baldur’s Gate, and get it pulled into Avernus as well.

Gargauth, The 10th Lord of the Nine

The Shield of the Hidden Lord (pg 225) is apparently linked to an archdevil first described in older editions. When I made Emirikol’s Guide to Devils, I dug up all the lore on Gargauth that I could find. Here it is:

In the early days of the Nine Hells, Gargauth lived in Nessus and was one of Asmodeus’s closest advisors. Gargauth realized that a member of the court named Astaroth was actually a demon and a minor deity in disguise. Astaroth had achieved the title Treasurer of Hell, and fled after stealing a number of valuable secrets. The information he stole aids the demons in the Blood War to this day.

Asmodeus ordered Gargauth to hunt down Astaroth. Gargauth did so, defeating Astaroth and consuming his divine spark. Gargauth had acquired godly powers.

Gargauth spent time roaming the planes, utilizing his power to cast plane shift once every 9 days.

Appearance: Gargauth often appears as an 8-foot-tall human with a mustache. He always has a poisonous snake wrapped around his arm.

Weakness: He is vulnerable to silver. It is said that he was once almost killed by a mortal who threw a sack of silver pieces at him.

Current Whereabouts: Prior to Descent Into Avernus, Gargauth was said to be trapped in the Wells of Darkness, an Abyssal prison plane that holds a number of powerful entities.

The heroes should be level 5 when they get to Avernus.

The Basilisk Gate pg 12

Flaming Fist: Very bribeable. 10 gp is enough to be allowed through the gate.

Captain Darmin Zodge (veteran MM pg 350): Evil human trying to prove that he is worthy of running the Flaming Fist.

• Accompanied by 6 veterans (MM pg 350): Issio, Minaqua, Nelestree, Oliver, Soltus, and Thalkara.

Liara Portyr: She runs Fort Beluarian in Chult, and she is on her way to Baldur’s Gate. Her uncle is Duke Dillard Portyr.

Meeting Captain Zodge (pg 12): Zodge gives the heroes a badge and asks them to kill any members of the Dead Three that they can find. Pay: 200 gp. He asks the group to seek out Tarina at the Elfsong Tavern.

Elfsong Tavern (pg 16)

Zodge has spies watching the group. If the heroes don’t go to the Elfsong Tavern within 2 days, he sends 6 veterans (MM pg 350) and a flameskull (MM pg 134) after them.

Don’t Forget the Elfsong: The tavern is haunted by a spirit that sings a song in Elvish every once in a while. On pg 18, there is a section called “Elfsong”. Usually the spirit sings about a lost love, but this time it sings about Elturel.

The group can learn that the Companion is the name of the artificial sun that hovered over Elturel. They can also learn about the Hellriders, the knights of Elturel, and how some of them actually rode into the Nine Hells on horseback to fight devils.

Owner: Alan Alyth (commoner MM pg 345). 75-years old, half-elf. Runs a moneylending business on the side.

Patrons:

• Skrawldar Fane (commoner MM pg 345): No eyebrows.
• Lala Stout (spy MM pg 349): Evil halfling burglar.
• Oloric Witmirth (commoner MM pg 345):Impoverished playwright.
• Whaul Nightley (thug MM pg 350): Jovial half-orc.
• Rahima Sajiressa (acolyte MM pg 342): Astrologer, worships Savras.
• Willow Brownbug (druid MM pg 346): Snooty halfling apothecary.

Tavern Locations (pg 16)

E1. Taproom: Tables, private booths, 3 padded chairs near a fireplace, chest full of games.

• Foods: Fish cakes, crab cakes, cheese-and-potato soup, loaf pudding soaked in syrup and lightly salted almonds.
• Bartender: Alan Alyth
• Servers: Falten and Yimiur (commoners MM pg 345)
• Bouncers: Klank (animated armor MM pg 19) and Skoona (half-ogre MM pg 238)
• Patrons: Commoners MM pg 345 and thugs MM pg 350.

E2. Lounge: People smoke here.

E3. Private Dining Room: Has a mounted green dragon head.

E6. Kitchen: 3 cooks (commoners MM pg 345)

• Chenna Fatrabbit: Cheery halfling chef.
• Azar Valsheem: testy human sous chef.
• Klav Martilmur: Blind human pastry chef.

E7. Upstairs Dining Room: Tables where people are playing Baldur’s Bones, a dice game (see sidebar pg 16). This is where Tarina is.

Dealing With Tarina (pg 18)

• (Real name: Rhonda Thunderbell) Chaotic Evil human bandit (MM pg 343)
• She is cheating at Baldur’s Bones. The people she is playing with are too dumb to notice.,
• She ripped off her fellow pirates on the Uncivil Serpent and has been spending the loot.
• She sometimes works for Nine-Fingers, the local thieves’ guild.
• She will help the heroes if they agree to protect her if the pirates come looking for her (see “With Friends Like These” on pg 19).
• She doesn’t want to share what she knows until the pirates are taken care of (“What Tarina Knows” pg 19.

E8. Private Dining Room: Umber Hulk head mounted on the wall.

E9. Fancy Guest Suite: Canopied bed!

E10. Private Dining Room: Displacer Beast head mounted on the wall.

E11. Large Guest Room: Oshalla (sahuagin priestess MM pg 264) She was exiled from her kingdom and doesn’t really leave the room. Alan Alyth brings her meals.

E13. Alan’s Bedroom: Rug of smothering (MM pg 20) Alan’s got 91 gp, 176 sp and 288 cp in a chest.

With Friends Like These (pg 19): The pirates come to the Elfsong Tavern looking for (“Tarina”) Rhonda Thunderbell.

• Lekard “Dead-Eye” Cadavrus (bandit captain MM pg 344): Tries to kill Tarina on sight. He has a bit of money on him.
• 7 bandits (MM pg 343)
• The Uncivil Serpent: Some wacky groups will probably go check out the pirate ship. 11 bandits (MM pg 343) are on board.
• Sailing Ship (DMG pg 119) AC 15 HP 300 Damage Threshold 15 Crew 20 Cost: 10,000 gp Remember that damage threshold means that you need to do 15 points of damage in one shot to do any damage to the ship at all.

What Tarina Knows (pg 19)

There is a bathhouse nearby that links to a dungeon where the followers of Dead Three are.

Ding, the group hits level 2.

Dungeon of the Dead Three (pg 20)

Cultists of the Dead Three are detailed on pg 231.

The Dead Three are Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul, quasi-divine adventurer entities.

Bane: God of Tyranny

• Seeks to rule the world. Has a jet black right hand.
• His followers are warriors who seek to rule through martial strength.
• Types of agents )pg 232) Fist of Bane, Iron Consul, and Black Gauntlet of Bane.

Bhaal: God of Murder

• Likes to kill those who seem to be beyond the reach of death. Always wears a red handkerchief.
• Agents (pg 233): Night Blade, Reaper of Bhaal, and Death’s Head of Bhaal.

Myrkul: Lord of Bones

• Can bind souls into wax skulls, which can be used to glean knowledge from the deceased.
• His followers are wizards and necromancers.
• Agents (pg 234): Necromite of Myrkul, Skull Lasher of Myrkul, and Master of Souls.

Arrival at the Bathhouse (pg 21): City residents come here during the day and evening.

D1. Courtyard: An imp (MM pg 76) is invisible, watching. It will fly away and alert Thurstwell, Duke Vanthampur’s oldest son, what is happening. Thurstwell is hoping the heroes will kill his brother, Mortlock.

D2. Baths: 1d6 commoners MM pg 345

• Night: 3 night blades (pg 233) guard the place. The necromite (pg 234) from D4 might come to help.

D3. South Massage Room: Jabaz (commoner MM pg 345) androgynous human masseuse. Knows that Duke Thalmra Vanthampur owns the place, fears Mortlock, and knows about secret door in D4 but won’t volunteer it out of fear.

D4. North Massage Room:

• Qurmilah (commoner MM pg 345): Female human masseuse, knows what Jabaz knows.
• Night: Necromite of Myrkul (pg 234)
• Secret Door: Spotted with DC 10 Perception. Beyond it is a staircase that leads down to D5.

D5. Welcome to the Dungeon: Limestone

• Ceilings: Rooms have wooden beams AC 15 10 HP. Destroy all beams: 25% roof collapse. DEX save DC 15, 22 dmg, half dmg on save. Are becomes difficult terrain.
• Doors: AC 15 HP 5
• Water: Certain areas of the map are flooded - difficult terrain.

D6. Bloated Corpse: Dead for 2 days. Was a Bhaal worshiper who failed in his duties.

D7. Bhaal’s Altar: Just a mask.

D8. Moldy Tapestry: Yellow Mold (DMG pg 105)

D9. The Dead Three Doors: Doors depicting Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul.

D10. Necromites’ Room: 3 Necromites of Myrkul (pg 234). They’re pretending to be dead.

D11. Partially Collapsed Crypt:

• Spellbook 1: Burning Hands (PH pg 220), Detect Magic (PH pg 231), Disguise Self (PH pg 233), fog cloud (PH pg 243), ray of sickness (PH pg 271), silent image (PH pg 276).
• Spellbook 2: Charm person (PH pg 221), find familiar (PH pg 240), identify (PH pg 252), magic missile (PH pg 257), sleep (PH pg 276).
• Spellbook 3: Cloud of daggers (PH pg 222), darkvision (PH pg 230), detect magic (PH pg 231), feather fall (PH pg 239), mage armor (PH pg 256), magic missile (PH pg 257), Tasha’s hideous laughter (PH pg 280).

All of these books were owned by necromites. You might want to stick some Myrkul lore in them.

D12. Bane’s Altar:

• Prisoner: Klim Jhasso (noble MM pg 348) He is claiming his family will pay a reward for his return (they won’t).
• Kazzira: Fist of Bane (pg 232)
• Yignath: Iron Consul (pg 232) Is torturing the prisoner. Has a kety on his belt that can be used in D22 and D30.
• Free Klim or touch freestanding suit of platemail: Gauntlets animate and attack as flying swords (MM pg 20)

D13. Morgue:

• Flennis: Master of Souls (pg 234)
• Skeletal Rats: swarm of rats (MM pg 339)
• She has a dusty spellbook. It’s locked (the key to it is in her hair. The first time it is opened, the opener must make a CON sv DC 14. Fail: You are vulnerable to necrotic damage for 24 hours.

D14. Hungry Rat: Rat (MM pg 335)

D15. Flooded Room: Difficult terrain.

D16. Flooded Crypt: Disturb sarcophagus: Ghostly Battleaxe: +5 to hit, 6 (1d8+2) dmg

• Can’t be hit.
• Can be dispelled.
• Acts in initiative count 20.
• Shuts off when all creatures leave the room.

D17. Myrkul’s Altar: It goes like this:

• Light black candles.
• Words appear on the wall: ”RISE AND BE COUNTED”
• Say the words out loud: 3 skeletons (MM pg 272) rise up and serve the speaker until they are destroyed or their new master dies.

D18. Gas Buildup:

I'll be adding more to this regularly. Check back often and thanks for reading!