The Collector’s note points the party to an impoverished area of Greenwood Village, known as The Alley) where the party can enter the sewer system and encounter incorporeal creatures to test the artifacts and learn how to use them before tracking down the quest quarry.
The party may want to investigate the artifacts to learn what they can about them before entering the sewer.
The party will encounter Disgusting Blobs in the sewers. (See the Disgusting Blob Intro Table). Once the party has successfully captured a Disgusting Blob in a Pyramidion Stone, they are ready to progress to their next objective.
Optional: You can use the Alley map as a starting point before the party enters the Sewer. There is a sewer cover located in the center of the map that leads to the sewers below the street. For more details about this map, see Chapter 4: The Spectral Hound.
Maps
Primary Objectives
- Travel to the Sewers
- Locate incorporeal creatures.
- Learn how to use the artifacts.
- Capture one or more creatures using the artifacts.
- Optional: Capture enough incorporeal creatures to refill all Cyclotronic Amulets, and leave with two full Pyramidion Stones for future refills.
Learning How to Use the Artifacts
Use the following information, along with the Magic Bearers Source Book entry for each item, to guide the party in learning how to use the items.
Source Book Links
Primary Uses
- Cyclotronic Amulet: stores radiant particle energy that can be harnessed and wielded with the aid of a Particle Wand.
- Particle Wand: used to project a radiant particle stream using the energy stored in a Cyclotronic Amulet. The radiant particle stream does damage to creatures and is capable of grappling incorporeal creatures that are normally immune to grapple.
- Pyramidion Stone: used to capture and contain an incorporeal creature. A Particle Wand helps grapple the creature above the stone, allowing it to absorb the creature into it.
Investigating the Artifacts
The following observations can be made when a PC investigates or examines an artifact.
Cyclotronic Amulet
- The Cyclotronic Amulet has a tiny, pyramid shaped notch on the bottom. (DM Only: When the tip of a full Pyramadion Stone is held in this notch for 30 seconds, the incorporeal creature in the stone is absorbed into the amulet and converted into radiant particle energy. The soul of the creature is destroyed. If the amulet already has 3 charges, nothing happens when the stone is held to it.)
- If a Cleric or Paladin touches a Cyclotronic Amulet, they can sense the radiant energy within it. If the amulet is empty, they only feel remnants of the radiant energy.
Particle Wand
- The Particle Wand is heavy and appears to be made of metal, which is very rare for a wand.
- If a Particle Wand is attempted to be used when the wielder is not wearing a Cyclotronic Amulet, nothing happens except for a faint zap sound, and a tiny wisp of smoke that puffs from the tip.
Pyramidion Stone
- The Pyramidion Stone has no visible seems, joints, junctions, or clasps other than an etched line marking the circumference of the apex. The stone is made of a single, solid quartz-like material.
- If a Pyramidion Stone contains a creature, its color appears more saturated and feels significantly heavier than when empty.
Disgusting Blobs
The Disgusting Blobs that live in the sewer will eat any type of organic food refuse, but they really enjoy the sewer shrooms that grow from the walls as shown in several places on the map.
Sewer shrooms can be used as bait to attract Disgusting Blobs to a specific place.
Vomit Chain Reaction: When a PC first sees a Disgusting Blob, they must pass a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or suffer the effects of Vomit Chain Reaction. Each PC only needs to make this check once per long rest. See Threat: Vomit Chain Reaction
The Disgusting Blobs are only interested in finding food and will mostly ignore the PCs unless attacked or otherwise interacted with.
Disgusting Blob Intro Table
Use the following table to vary the description when the party first encounters a Disgusting Blob.
| Eating Sewer Shrooms | Along the sewer wall grows a small colony of wet looking mushrooms. In front of the mushrooms, a bulbous and slimy green blob hovers in the air, aggressively swipping at the mushrooms and stuffing them into its gaping, teeth-lined mouth. |
|---|---|
| Sifting Through Refuse | A disguting green blob with two arms and wide mouth is hovering low over the floor of the sewer, its back to you as it sifts through refuse, tossing things left and right and over its shoulder. It occasionally finds a tasty morsel and laps it up into its mouth. |
| Drinking Sewer Water | A bulbous green blob with a gaping mouth full of human-looking teeth is gulping down water as it pours from a sewer pipe. |
| Wallowing in Waste | Before you lies a bulbous green blob with two arms. It seems to be bathing itself in the filth of the sewer. The grunts and blurts coming from the blob’s mouth seem to indicate that it’s actually enjoying itself. |
| Dripping Blob | The disgusting green blob before you is dripping a viscous, semi-transparent goo from its nose, mouth and eyes. |
| Horrific Blob | The horrific, jagged-toothed blob before you is utterly repulsive, with green, pulsating pustules covering its gelatinous, bulbous body. |
Sewer Shrooms
Sewer shrooms grow from the walls of the sewer, as shown in several places on the map.
PCs can harvest the shrooms on successful DC 12 Survival check. On fail, they harvest the shrooms but take 1d6 poison damage.
Sewer shrooms can be used as bait to attract Disgusting Blobs to a specific place.
Vomit Chain Reaction: If a PC eats any amount of sewer shrooms, they taste like vinegar but cause no immediate effects. The PC will suffer from Vomit Chain Reaction at the start of their next turn. See Threat: Vomit Chain Reaction
Threat: Vomit Chain Reaction
Vomit Chain Reaction: A creature suffering from Vomit Chain Reaction vomits on everything in a 10 foot radius. Any creature in range must succeed on a DC 12 DEX saving throw, or take 1d4 acid damage and 1d4 poison damage. Any creature in range must also succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer from Vomit Chain Reaction.
Threat: Sewage
Sewage: The first time a creature enters an area of the sewer with green sewage water, or anytime they start their turn in green sewage water, the PC must succeed on a DC 10 CON saving throw or suffer from Vomit Chain Reaction.
Threat: Swarm of Rats
Swarm of Rats: The party may encounter one or more Swarm of Rats at any time while in the sewers. Use a random encounter roll every 3 to 8 turns, or unleash the rats anytime the party feels safe or successful.
Threat: Disgusting Slime
Disgusting Slime: Any PC that enters a space or starts their turn in a space with slime must succeed on a DC 12 CON saving throw. On fail, the PC suffers from Vomit Chain Reaction. See the Map for slinme locations.
A PC may remove slime by using any type of fire. Once aflame, the slime quickly sizzles and boils down to a harmless residue. The slime is immune to slicing, piercing and bludgeoning damage.
Map: Sewer
The party begins in the bottom right corner of the map. The sewer is cast in dim light, with bright light in a 15 foot radius around the lamps attached to the emerald colored stone walls.
Use the details above to run the adventure as needed based on player choices.
As you enter the sewer, a warm wave of humidity washes over you. The unmistakable scent of feces and refuse overwhelms you. Water can be heard rushing from drain pipes further into the sewer.
The edges of the sewer corridor are paved in brick. The center of the corridor if 5 feet deep and filled with putrid water and sewage that flows towards a central chamber.
Sewer Shrooms
Green, glowing Sewer Shrooms can be found all over the map. See the Sewer Shrooms section above for details. They can help or harm the party depending on how they are used.
Disgusting Slime
Strands of green, viscous slime can be found all over the map, causing potential acid damage. See the Disgusting Slime section above for details.
Metal Bar Gates
Medium and smaller creatures can squeeze through the metal bar gates throughout the sewer.
At the DM’s discretion, the player may need to roll a DEX check to succesfully squeeze through without getting caught up by backpack, swords, crossbows, etc as they pass through. On fail, the charcter is stuck in the tight space until they move on their next turn. Follow the rules for small spaces:
While squeezing through a space, a creature must spend 1 extra foot for every foot it moves there, and it has disadvantage on attack rolls and DEX saving throws. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage while it’s in the smaller space.
Incorporeal Creatures
The party will encounter Disgusting Blobs (stat block) while exploring the sewer. See the Disgusting Blobs section above for details. These creatures are perfect for the PCs to experiment with the artifacts.
Disgusting Blobs can be found eating the Sewer Shrooms that grow throughout the sewer. The Blobs can also be found sifting through the garbage piles in the corners of the east wall of the mostly dry central area of the map. Each time the PCs come upon a blob, describe the grossness of it. See the Disgusting Blob Intro Table for ideas.
The Disgusting Blobs are only interested in finding food and will mostly ignore the PCs until they are attacked or otherwise interacted with.
The DM should spawn as many Disgusting Blobs as needed for the party to learn how to use the artifacts, trap a creature, and refill the Cyclotronic Amulets.
Central Chamber
The central chamber can be accessed two ways: through the metal bars in the center of the map, or through the heavy metal flood gate on the west side of teh central chamber.
Flood Gate & Ghost Handles
If the party reaches the large, circular gate leading from the northwest corridor into the central chamber, read the following:
The corridor abruptly ends at a large, metal flood gate. The flood gate is sealed. No water flows beyond it.
If the party searches for a way to open the flood gate, they find the remaining stump of a metal lever that was once used to unlock the gate. The metal lever was forcibly broken at some point in the past, but a ghostly lever has since taken its place. Read the following:
On the wall near the flood gate, you see what appears to be a broken lever that has long been broken. All that remains of the lever is jagged stump that seems too small to grasp.
If the party investigates the broken lever, or if a Cleric is present, they notice a ghostly protrusion from the remaining lever stump:
As you investigate the lever closely, you beginning to see a white shadow protuding from the lever stump. After a few moments, you see what looks to be the complete lever, but it has a smokey, translucent appearance.
If the party trys to pull the ghostly lever with their hands, their hands pass right through the lever and they cannot grasp it. The party can pull the ghostly lever by aiming a Particle Stream at it to pull it. If the lever is successfully pulled, a loud clanging sound echoes from the flood gate. The gates open and the sewage begins to filter through the small opening between the gate doors. The PCs can now freely move through the flood gate, but the central chamber is filled with sewage.
Conclusion
If the PCs have not yet discovered that a full Pyramidion Stone can be used to recharge a Cyclotronic Amulet, consider having players roll for Perception or Investigation checks that lead to helpful clues. Ideally, the party should leave the Sewer with fully charged Cyclotronic Amulets, and two full Pyramidion Stones for future refills.
Once the party successfully captures a Disgusting Blob (and ideally recharges all amulets), they can continue their practice or move on to the next phase of the quest.