Chapter 4: Sword of Zariel - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus

Chapter 4: Sword of Zariel. The characters should be 11th level by the time they discover the location of the Sword of Zariel. The weapon awaits them in a cathedral formed out of positive energy. Avernus abhors the structure and has surrounded it in a bloody scab, earning it the name the Bleeding Citadel. This scab has also engulfed a demon named Crokek'toeck that was sent by the demon lord Yeenoghu to devour the blade. The holy power of the citadel resists the scab's attempts to fully engulf it and make it one with Avernus, leaving the top of the citadel visible. The characters get directions to this location from Bel or Olanthius in chapter 3. Yeenoghu's demons carve tunnels through the scab as they search for a way to free Crokek'toeck and break into the Bleeding Citadel, which is otherwise impenetrable. A nalfeshnee named Trantolox oversees this force. Approaching the Citadel As the characters approach the Bleeding Citadel, read or paraphrase the following boxed text to the players: A great, disgusting scab the size of a large hill rises up from a stinking swamp of blood. The domed top of an alabaster temple pokes through the scab. Many black iron chains of Avernus converge on the building, attaching within the grotesque mound. Diagram 4.1: Chapter 4 Flowchart The exposed portions of the Bleeding Citadel are impenetrable and indestructible. If Lulu is with the characters, she shares her fear that the scab will eventually cover the entire structure, whereupon the citadel will be absorbed into the Nine Hells and the Sword of Zariel lost forever. She also tells the characters that the only entrance to the citadel is covered by the lower portion of the scab. Yeenoghu's demons have dug tunnels and chambers throughout the scab. Unless otherwise noted, Yeenoghu's forces attack characters they notice and fight until destroyed. The Scab The scab is 300 feet high. The lower 100 feet of the scab is hard as rock, and each 5-foot cube of hard scab has AC 17, 18 hit points...