DotMM Companion 23: Mad Wizard's Lair

The day has come at last for the adventurers to square off against Halaster Blackcloak in his private sanctum. However, the ending provided in Dungeon of the Mad Mage is lackluster at best. The final chapter of the DotMM Companion completely overhauls the level by adding the following features:

• In the Kingdom of Madness: a complete overhaul of Halaster's tactics, prepared spells, magic items, and more, made in an effort to satisfy the expectations of a master wizard who knows the enemy is at his gates.
• Penultimate Encounters, which function to soften up the adventurers in an unforgettable fight. The Dungeon Master has their choice of hurling one of these at the party:
  • The Elite Four: the adventurers must battle Halaster's four surviving apprentices in sequence!
  • The Prismatic Gauntlet: the adventurers must grapple with a prismatic wall while under assault by Halaster's minions!
  • Tarrasquic Park: the adventurers are teleported to a zoo-of-a-demiplane in which a tarrasque hungers for a hunt!
  • Welcome to the Thunderdome: the most basic encounter, it pits the empyrean Nalkara (heavy weight champion of Enter the Arena) against the party in a hemispherical wall of force while legion fans watch.
• Ultimate Showdownencounters, of which the DM should choose three!
  • The Big Halowski: the adventurers are the unwitting pins in Halaster's lethal game of bowling!
  • Checkmate: Halaster has kidnapped friends and foes across Waterdeep and Undermountain, pitting them in this game of living chess. As the adventurers find, both enemies and allies have been placed on their team and Halaster's, forcing them to choose which innocents live or die.
  • Clash of the Titans: a complete overhaul of Halaster's fight with the adventurers in his throneroom. This counts as three encounters.
  • Donkey Kong Redux: the adventurers must scale several ladders while under assault by barrels hurled by a giant ape!
  • Monty's Hall: the adventurers have three doors to choose from, and only one leads out of the demiplane Halaster has condemned them to! Better pick quick, otherwise the delayed blast fireball erupts!
  • Planar Hopscotching: Halaster battles the adventurers throughout the Multiverse! This counts as two or more encounters.
  • Snakes and Portals: can the adventurers catch Halaster as they race across the boardgame, beset by serpents and walls of acid?
  • Third Times the Charm: replacing all other encounters, the adventurers continuously battle Halaster each time he resurrects. In their final encounter, the Mad Mage drops the asteroid Stardock out of orbit and hurls it towards Toril! Only by the grace of Jhesiyra Kestellharp do the adventurers arrive in time to put an end to Halaster's fetal rampage!

As usual, this chapter of the DotMM Companion also includes:

• DM Notes. Notes including but not limited to spicing up the dungeon crawl with valuable roleplay with select NPCs.
• Areas of Note. Notes, room descriptions, scenes, and scripts for the various areas of the dungeon.
• Magic Item Descriptions. Save yourself the time of digging through the Dungeon Master's Guide to determine how the few magic items on this floor work. The appendix also lists the area the item is found.
• Monster Stats. Statistics are provided for all unique NPCs used on this level.

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Curse of Strahd

Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

Waterdeep: Dragon Heist