Death to the Mind Master!

Death to the Mind Master! his one-shot adventure, intended for four to Dire Straits five 7th-level players, brings them face to face with some of the most terrifying inhabitants of Things aren't looking good for our heroes. the Underdark: illithids, more commonly known as mind flayers. The party stumbles Even between what you brought, what you stole from the upon a burgeoning colony that is on the verge drow raiders, and what you’ve managed to forage, supplies are Tof birthing an elder brain, with which it would running low. You stumbled across a tribe of friendly myconids be a serious threat to any sentient creatures in both the a month ago, who provisioned you handsomely, but even that worlds above and below. hasn't been enough. You’ve been able to keep from being Unbeknowst to the party, however, an interplanar strike force of githzerai has been surveilling the mind flayers for overrun by all manner of strange beasts, though, oddly, you several weeks. They are getting ready to assault the colony in haven’t come across any other sentient creatures in the last a ceremonial event called a rrakkma, and any young githzerai few days. You’ve been moving ever downward, though it’s monks that survive the cleansing of the mind flayer enclave anyone’s guess which cardinal direction you’re headed in. will come of age. The githzerai were not expecting the party This morning, you found and defeated a very disquieting to wander along, though they are prepared to make use of monster: what appeared to be a small brain on four bestial their entrance... legs. It posed no problem for your powerful adventuring party, Creatures referenced here can be found in the Monster Manual, Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, and Volo's Guide to but for those of you in the party who know some of the lore of Monsters. Stat blocks for creatures from the latter two books the Underdark, it can only mean one thing: mind flayers. are reproduced below. Reading through the relevant sections on gith and mind flayers in these books will furnish the DM Now extremely wary, the party presses on down the solitary with useful background. path, and as they move forward, the more perceptive of them begin to get the sense they’re being watched… Introduction Read the following to the players: The Assault Begins The party must make their way down the path and enter the mind flayer enclave. You are members of a well-known adventuring party that operates out of Mirabar, keeping the city safe from all kinds of Biological Structures. Though the colony has taken beasts, dragons, aberrations, and so on and so forth. You were possession of natural caves and excavated some rooms, the recently sent to investigate rumors of drow activity on the interior of the enclave is built of organic matter in addition surface. You found an expeditionary force that was trying to to stone and black metal. Walls, floors, and ceilings are reinforced with tough chitin. capture the population of a wood elf village on the borders of Ceilings. Ceilings are 15 feet high unless otherwise noted. the Lurkwood. Before you could figure out a way to deal with Illumination. All rooms within the colony are lit by fleshy, the threat, almost the entire party was itself captured. flickering, bioluminescent orbs mounted to the walls or Only one of you escaped in time to follow the drow as they hanging from the ceiling. The lights shine with an descended back to the Underdark. Putting together snatches unearthly green light unless an alarm is activated. of information gleaned from overhearing your captors, it Interior Doors. Each interior door within the colony is a seems the dark elves were taking you to the drow capital of fleshy sphincter that opens when a creature approaches Menzoberranzan, where you were to be sold as slaves in an within 5 feet of it, then quickly closes behind the creature and its companions. The doors can be locked down in auction attended by the most powerful matron mothers of the emergencies. city. On the last day before you reached the capital, the one Under Construction. The mind flayers have not been here party member that escaped the drow's clutches in the long enough to have fully finished the construction of the Lurkwood managed to get the jump on the solitary guard colony itself. Partially assembled mechanisms, occasional watching the party. You then turned the tables on your captors malfunctions, and gaps in the organic matter covering the and dispatched the company of drow raiders. rock walls speak to the unfinished nature of the enclave. There is now a problem, however: to go forward means Guardhouse being recaptured and enslaved, and to go backward risks The party comes upon a strange door that blocks the passage alerting a small army of drow at each of the three guard posts forward, with a window carved into the rock beside it. If the you passed on the long, dark road down. Your only choice is to party is moving quietly and approaches stealthily, they can take Samplean abandoned trail you passed the day before, one that peek through the window and seefile three quaggoths and one the drow seemed eager to move past quickly. quaggoth thonot named Virak, who serve as guards. If not That was three months ago. detected by this point, they can break through the door with a DC 12 Strength (Athletics) check and gain surprise on the quaggoths. If the party does not take precautions, the quaggoths hear the The githzerai are willing to help the party combat the mind players coming and take them by surprise once they enter the flayers, though they insist on speed and will only respond to guardhouse. questions with a successful DC 12 Charisma (Persuasion) As noted above, the whole colony appears to still be check. Ezhelya speaks Undercommon as well as Gith, but if partially under construction. The party can discern this with necessary, she can communicate telepathically in a limited a DC 15 Wisdom (Arcana) check. A door opposite the way. The gith, as interplanar travelers, are almost entirely guardroom entrance leads into a 20 ft. tunnel that ends at an unknown to inhabitants of the Material Plane, which is organic, sphincter-style door. doubly true of the reclusive githzerai. The players may be Treasure. In a small metal chest to one side of the room, able to remember some bits and pieces of gith lore if they the quaggoths have stored a few items collected from a pass a DC 25 Intelligence (Arcana) check. previously captured drow expeditionary force—a piwafwi, Though the door the githzerai entered from has been three spell scrolls (one of comprehend languages, one of fly, sealed, the three of them, by using their psionic power, are and one of greater restoration), and three potions of greater able to overwhelm the door mechanism for another exit from healing. the transformation chamber. This door leads directly into the common room of the enclave. Brain Library The door from the guardhouse opens on the brain library of Common Room the mind flayer enclave, which at the moment only has one Floating near the 30-foot ceiling of this large room is the brain floating in a containment chamber, that of an mindwitness that serves as the communications hub of the entertainingly insane (for illithids, anyway) kuo-toa. A mind colony. It is also what broadcasts the alarm, and if it is flayer named Ralayan stands in the center of the room, defeated, the alarm ceases, though the doors remain having been warned of the approach of sentient creatures by inoperable. the colony's leader, the ulitharid Siqalzzak. Around the mind A mind flayer named Aurangaul, Siqalzzak's second-in- flayer are arrayed three grimlock thralls, and they all command, stands in the center of the room with two kuo-toa immediately engage the party when they enter. thralls, and they attack along with the mindwitness in After two rounds of combat, the lighting in the room defense of the colony. changes from greenish to flashing red, and a telepathic If all enemy creatures besides the mindwitness are slain, klaxon begins to sound as Siqalzzak realizes a squad of and it is incapacitated, the gith can psionically compel the githzerai has used the entrance of the adventurers as a mindwitness to answer questions about the enclave. It can distraction to begin their assault, and that the colony is under also share information with the players immediately before serious threat. All of the doors in the room become battle, at the DM's discretion. inoperable, except for one that is still partially under construction. Elder Brain Chamber If a player wishes to interact with the kuo-toa brain, they With the defeat or incapacitation of the mindwitness, the may touch the vessel and make a DC 15 Wisdom saving lighting changes back to green and the klaxon ceases. throw. On a failed save, the character takes 2d6 psychic Siqalzzak, who has been busy attemping to coordinate the damage. On a success, they can ask the kuo-toa one question mind flayers in defense of the enclave, realizes what has related to the illithids, and after answering (cackling madly all happened when it begins to lose contact with its troops. This the while) it speaks only insane gibberish. ulitharid is the extremely rare and abnormally powerful result of the ceremorphosis process that creates new mind Transformation Chamber flayers. It unseals the doors between the common room and The one door that still works in the brain library leads to the tunnel that connects to the elder brain chamber and another tunnel and malfunctioning door, which opens onto prepares itself to fight whatever comes through the door. (If the transformation chamber, where the illithids create more the party attempts a short rest, Siqalzzak grows impatient of themselves through ceremorphosis. and comes to them.) The tanks against the wall are against still under When the party enters the room, they face not only construction, and tables here and there are covered with Siqalzzak, but also two intellect devourers that are its pets. clutter and alien-looking implements. Two dead mind flayers The walls of the chamber remain partially finished, but it is lie on the floor, as do two dead green-skinned humanoids— clear the elder brain tank awaits only an occupant to fill it. part of the githzerai strike force. The other surviving Before the intrusion of the party spoiled its plans, Siqalzzak members of this particular contingent look up as the players was preparing to sacrifice itself and its brain. With the enter. They are a githzerai zerth named Ezhelya and two assistance of the other mind flayers, it would have githzerai monks, the brothers Hurm and Nurm. transformed into a new, immensely dangerous elder brain. Siqalzzak taunts the party before it and its intellect devourers attack. Secretly, it is beginning to worry. Siqalzzak is having trouble communicating directly with the other illithids and can really only sense the number of sentient Samplebeings in the area, which is beginningfile to drop precipitously.