Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus is an adventure module for the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons, released on September 17, 2019. It also serves as a tabletop Interquel of sorts between Baldur's Gate II and Baldur's Gate III, set roughly 100 years after the events of the former and shortly before the events of the latter.
The adventure begins in Baldur's Gate, where adventurers are being drafted by the Flaming Fist to help them defend the city, which is in the midst of a refugee crisis following the "disappearance" of the neighboring city of Elturel. But soon after, they become involved in a treacherous quest that takes them to Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells of Baator and the main battleground of the Blood War between devils (led by the archdevil Zariel) and demons (led by various demon lords), along with some yugoloths, local warlords, and a certain evil dragon goddess caught in between. With the fates of Elturel and Baldur's Gate at stake, adventurers must navigate through the infernal landscape with the help of infernal war machines, and deal with the various denizens of Avernus who will either help them in their quest or prevent them from returning home... including those with tempting offers that the adventurers can bargain for.
This adventure provides examples of:
- Always a Bigger Fish: The archduchess Zariel would like to believe she's the biggest fish in Avernus. She is not, not with a true goddess like Tiamat hanging around.
- Angelic Transformation: Anyone who is attuned to the Sword of Zariel and is deemed worthy of its power is transformed into an angelic version of themselves. This includes a change in alignment and personality, sprouting feathered wings, gaining True Sight, etc. However, the sword is also very strict in how it operates — meaning that, while wielding it, its personality overrides the wielder's to a degree, forcing a new set of personality traits onto them.
- Artifact of Doom:
- The infamous Hand of Vecna makes an appearance in this adventure, being wielded by Arkhan the Cruel. He believes he can use its power to free Tiamat from her prison in Avernus, even as the artifact slowly corrupts his flesh into a state of decay. In order to stave off its detrimental effects, Arkhan resorts to using the artifact to snuff the life out of good-aligned creatures from wherever he or his servants can find them.
- The Shield of the Hidden Lord functions like this, as the archdevil Gargauth is imprisoned within it and can telepathically communicate with any creature that comes into contact with it, often to compel them into committing cruel and evil acts for him. It was once safeguarded by the Hhune family, only to be stolen by the Vanthampur family as part of Duke Thalamra's Evil Plan, and the adventurers can acquire the shield and even take it with them to Avernus if they choose to. From there, Gargauth can even assist the adventurers in their quest within Avernus as long as they can find a way to free him from the shield.
- Ascended Demon:
- A bearded devil named Krikendolt appears to be of chaotic good alignment, but this is mainly due to brain damage he had suffered from a previous battle in the Blood War. Unfortunately, this turned him into a punching bag for his fellow bearded devils, who looked down on him for his newfound sense of compassion. The only way he can be restored to his original lawful evil alignment is through a heal spell or a similar kind of magic.
- In the endgame, an enemy can become this if the adventurers prove successful in redeeming them. With a newfound sense of hope for herself after being forgiven by the adventurers, Zariel takes her angelic weapon, the Sword of Zariel, and reverts back to her angelic form. Doing this not only redeems her, but saves Elturel.
- Big Bad: The archdevil Zariel serves as this for the entire adventure. With much of the story taking place in Avernus, the layer of the Nine Hells in which she has dominion over, chances are that the adventurers may cross paths with her in their quest to save Elturel. And if they do encounter her, the adventurers should be really careful lest they wish to invoke her infernal wrath. She is solely responsible for offering Thavius Kreeg the Companion through an infernal contract fifty years ago which allowed her to claim Elturel and its citizens, making use of said contract to gather more mortal souls for the Blood War. She also had Duke Thalamra Vanthampur carry out her own Evil Plan of becoming the next Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate so that Thalamra can offer the city to the archdevil the same way Thavius did with Elturel.
- But Thou Must!: You can't avoid conscription into the Flaming Fists early in the adventure to help Baldur's Gate with its current refugee crisis. It's mentioned in-universe by Captain Zodge that they have the legal authority to both draft adventurers in times of great need, and have the authority to execute you if you refuse, which is done as a way to intimidate you into the Fist's service. You can't go forward with the adventure until you agree to help the Fists.
- Call-Back: The book discusses the history of Baldur's Gate, even mentioning the infamous Bhaalspawn incident from the past century.
- Canon Immigrant: This adventure is the one that makes Critical Role canon to the Forgotten Realms setting (thus making Exandria part of the canonical D&D multiverse) with the introduction of Arkhan the Cruel (based on Joe Manganiello's Player Character of the same name), whose character profile makes a reference to his exploits in Exandria. In particular, on how he acquired the Hand of Vecna following the battle between Vox Machina and the namesake archlich.
- Central Theme: What it means to be evil. Several characters are presented as evil when you first meet them, but eventually are expanded upon and their motives and past are discussed in regards to why they ended up the way they did. Zariel in particular gets her motives and reasons explored.
- A Chat with Satan: The module encourages a DM to do with to the player characters, often by having fiends try and tempt the heroes into giving in and becoming like them. Many of the higher ranking fiends on both sides are likely to try this, especially if they see the adventurers have a chance at shaking up the status-quo of the Blood War.
- Conscription: The story begins with the adventurers being drafted into the Flaming Fist, coercing them into helping the mercenary company defend Baldur's Gate as they handle the refugee crisis. According to Captain Zodge, the Flaming Fist is empowered to draft adventurers in times of emergency, and they can execute them on the spot for refusing their call, though he would rather insist that they accept.
- Contemplate Our Navels: One of the random encounters the players can have in Elturel is a vrock who broke off from the Blood War. The vrock is now thinking over his lot in life, the nature of the war, and what all of this pain and suffering is for. If spoken to, he actively discusses these things with the players without hostility. In fact, being nice and talking to this vrock can get the players some useful information if one rolls a relatively easy Persuasion check, such as what the demons are planning to do.
- Deal with the Devil:
- As befitting of the setting of the adventure, adventurers would have the option to forge infernal pacts with the devils within Avernus, from the rank-and-file imps up to the cunning and all-powerful archdevils.
- This is what caused Elturel's disappearance into the Nine Hells in the first place. Fifty years prior to the events of the adventure, Elturel's High Overseer Thavius Kreeg struck a deal with the archdevil Zariel to provide him the Solar Insidiator (better known as The Companion) to rid the city of the undead threat. In reality, Zariel was making use of this deal to bring Elturel and its citizens under her control and turn them into Cannon Fodder for the Blood War.
- One of the ways Elturel can be saved is by making one with Zariel. If the players wish to, they can offer to join the Blood War as devils in exchange for saving the city, or they can offer themselves (if heroic enough) as a sacrifice to her in order to free the city.
- Death of Personality: The waters of the Styx wash away any memory of those lost therein. The water loses its potency after being removed from the river, but even then it can still wipe away memories of those who get it spilt on them. A full dip in the waters can be enough to erase a person's entire personality.
- Deliverance from Damnation: The best ending to Zariel's character is this. By making a convincing enough argument and returning her sword to her, she can be redeemed and return to her status as a Celestial and return home.
- Deuteragonist: Lulu. She's a celestial hollyphant who lost her memories before arriving in Faerûn, but feels compelled to help the adventurers as they journey to Avernus and becomes unquestionably the most important ally in the story. She is actually a close friend of Zariel, and was entrusted by the former angel to assist in keeping the Sword of Zariel from falling into fiendish hands. She then lost her memories and her spellcasting ability as a result of Mahadi splashing her with water from the River Styx and selling her out to the devils. But not before the now-archdevil Zariel decided to spare her former friend and sent her to Faerûn with her mental faculties restored.
- Dirty Coward: Thavius Kreeg is presented as a guy only interested in saving his own neck, which is done with the specific intention that players will want to see him fail. Kreeg made a deal with Zariel to save Elturel, even using that deal to claim he saved the city and allowing him to gain massive political power. However, Kreeg "forgot" to mention that this deal would eventually cause Eltruel to fall into Avernus. When Zariel comes to collect, Kreeg says "Screw This, I'm Out of Here!" and books it for Baldur's Gate, even trying to do the same thing to Baldur's Gate to save his own hide. If Kreeg dies before the adventurers head to Avernus, he ends up in Avernus as a devil. Even then, he's just openly sobbing because he's imprisoned in Zariel's flying fortress as an amnizu, bemoaning only his own fate and no one else's.
- Disc-One Final Boss: Duke Thalamra Vanthampur. She's the main antagonist of the Baldur's Gate section of the story, and is a major foe to face before the players even learn about the situation going on with Elturel. Once she is defeated, the player is able to begin the process of heading to Avernus.
- Dragged Off to Hell: The adventure features an entire city that was...well, dragged off to Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells. It is later revealed to be part of a deal between Thavius Kreeg and Zariel, as mentioned above, and Zariel wanted Elturel so that she can gather more mortal souls for the Blood War. Depending on the adventurers' actions during the adventure, Elturel may end up returning to the Material Plane or be trapped in Avernus forever.
- Dreaming of Times Gone By: Thanks to a ritual performed by the night hag Mad Maggie, the party can experience a demonic incursion into the Material Plane that happened over a century ago that became Zariel's Start of Darkness.
- Dysfunctional Family: The Vanthampurs are a credible threat at the start, but despite their power, they simply cannot at all work together, which is what allows the party to stop them. Duke Thalmara is ruthless and cunning, but she does not care for her sons with regards to her own plans, and all three of her sons are either willing to backstab each other, or don't care to work together towards their common goal. Mortlock, for example, will just flat out give away his family's role in the crisis just because they won't get along (as well as his brothers conspiring with the cultists to betray him), while Thurstwell only bothers to spy on people who would get in the way of his mother's plans, but doesn't care at all for his siblings to bother helping. Capitalizing on this dysfunction is why they are ultimately defeated by the adventurers.
- Early Game Hell: Downplayed compared to other adventures, but the very first combat encounter is designed around using roleplay to get allies to help fight off a group of bandits inside a tavern. The issue is that the leader of the bandits is a bandit captain, an enemy close to 70 hit points, which is more than an average party will have until they get around level 10, and whose default attacks have a large chance of hitting, plus he can attack twice. If the players don't secure allies in the tavern, it's very likely a Total Party Kill will follow. Thankfully, the encounters after this are more balanced and fair to the players, since the book encourages leveling them up after the first battle.
- Early Installment Character-Design Difference: Zariel herself has had a major facelift since her first 5e appearance in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes
. - Easy Amnesia: In-Universe. This is the reason the River Styx is so difficult to approach. Even being only slightly splashed by it can cause people to lose their memories, and falling into it means risking being affected by effects similar to the feeblemind spell, at which point if not removed from the river within thirty days, the user loses their memories forever.
- Eldritch Location: Avernus is a place mortals were never really meant to go to, and it shows. Being in Avernus means running the risk of becoming corrupted into evil or going mad, there is demonic ichor that can horribly mutate anyone who makes contact with it, and being within the plane itself weakens one over time while also gradually running the chance of flat out corrupting someone. There are very few locations in Avernus that offer respite, and everywhere else are extremely dangerous due to the demons and/or devils being present.
- Enemy Civil War: The demons of the Abyss and the devils of the Hells are constantly battling it out, which is good for the rest of the multiverse, since either of those forces would be a force to be reckoned with alone. The different archdevils of Hell also don't really get along, and many of them (namely Bel) are looking to usurp Zariel. Finally, Tiamat and Asmodeus rarely see eye to eye (to eye to eye...), and she would certainly not mind having one of her own servants rule Avernus in her stead.
- Enemy Mine: Individual devils may work with adventurers to further their own ends, the most powerful of these being the archdevil Bel, who hopes the party will sabotage Zariel's plans. Some devils, such as Zariel's pit fiend general Lucille, are also perfectly willing to let players go about their day as long as they don't intervene in the Blood War on the demons' behalf.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: If a good-aligned Paladin or Cleric who is at least level 10 offers their soul in exchange for saving Elturel, Zariel will be shocked at that level of selflessness. So much so that it gives the players advantage on the Charisma roll to redeem her.
- Evil Matriarch: Duke Thalamra Vanthampur, matriarch of the noble Vanthampur family and a member of the Council of Four in Baldur's Gate, is secretly plotting to take over the city as its new Grand Duke and offer it to the archdevil Zariel, with whom she is very loyal to. Even her own sons (except Mortlock, whom she and her other sons despise) are also helping her with her goals by acquiring the Shield of the Hidden Lord from the Hhune family and assisting the Cult of the Dead Three in carrying out murder sprees across Baldur's Gate to hinder the Flaming Fist's influence over the city.
- Evil Power Vacuum: Redeeming or killing Zariel will surely result in this as many other fiends will end up contesting for control over all of Avernus, causing widespread chaos across the plane. Knowing this, the adventurers may then choose to either leave its denizens to their own devices, support a powerful figure in taking Zariel's place, or rule Avernus on their own terms.
- Evil Versus Evil: Being the location of the Forever War that is the Blood War, adventurers will often find
devils and demons fighting each other within Avernus. - Fallen Angel: Zariel, the archduchess of Avernus. The adventure also allows the player characters to learn the story behind her descent into devilhood. Though later in the adventure, and only if the adventurers are persuasive enough to redeem her, Zariel relinquishes her position as an archdevil and returns to her former, angelic self.
- Fallen Hero: Zariel herself, as well as Haruman and Olanthius, two Hellrider paladins once loyal to the angel Zariel who followed her into damnation. Haruman, now a narzugon, willingly sold his soul to join Zariel's legion, while Zariel brought Olanthius back to "life" as a death knight against his will.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Asmodeus, archduke of Nessus and Supreme Master of the Nine Hells, obviously falls under this trope given the setting of the adventure. It states that he was the one who offered Zariel a place in the Nine Hells as the archduke of Avernus, a position then taken by the archdevil Bel, so that she can pursue her vendetta against the demons and become his champion in the Blood War. He also has Mahadi under his thrall as well, with the rakshasa acting as The Mole to privy into all sorts of dealings and information from within the Wandering Emporium that might otherwise escape his attention. And by the adventure's end, he may even offer one of the adventurers the opportunity to rule Avernus as an archdevil should Zariel be redeemed or defeated.
- Guest-Star Party Member: Reya Mantlemorn, a Hellrider of Elturel who was away when the city vanished and is seeking to find out why. She joins the adventurers during the events in Baldur's Gate, and if the party is mostly good-aligned, remains with them from relatively early in the story, all the way until the players decide to leave Elturel to explore Avernus, at which point she stays behind to help defend the city. With the stat block of a veteran, she'll be very useful in surviving up until that point.
- Halfway Plot Switch: The first chapter of the adventure is about investigating the actions of an evil cult in Baldur's Gate. After that, the rest of the adventure focuses on going to Avernus to rescue the city of Elturel after it's been dragged into it. The aforementioned cult had absolutely nothing to do with the disappearance of the city.
- Hate Sink: Thavius Kreeg, throughout the adventure, is displayed as a Dirty Coward with no Freudian Excuse or justification for his actions. This is done with the intention that the players will dislike him. In desperation to save Elturel from its vampiric ruler, he made a deal with Zariel to save it. But from that moment, he used that deal to claim he saved the city, allowing him to gain massive political power. Knowing that Elturel would eventually fall into Avernus, however, he left it to its fate when that time comes and fled to Baldur's Gate, and attempted to do the same thing to the city just so that he could survive. If he dies before the adventurers head to Avernus, he ends up in Avernus as a devil because of his pact, but when encountered aboard Zariel's flying fortress, he's crying because he didn't think Zariel would have him suffer anything bad. He's a selfish man who cares not for the many innocent people who died for his own ambition.
- Heel–Face Turn: Zariel, of all beings, can undergo this later in the adventure. But for this to happen, the adventurers must have the Sword of Zariel in their possession and present it to her alongside a persuasive argument for her to return to her former angelic self. Should they be convincing enough, Zariel eventually relinquishes her position as an archdevil and aid the adventurers in saving Elturel.
- Heel Realization: If the adventurers prove to be convincing enough to sway Zariel back into good, the archdevil eventually comes to realize that she may have gone too far with her vendetta against demonkind before reclaiming her sword and reverting back to her angelic form. Bonus points if the adventurers brought Lulu and/or Olanthius with them, as their presence makes Zariel feel remorseful that her actions almost costed her friendship with Lulu, and/or left Olanthius to suffer a Fate Worse than Death.
- Hell Has New Management: Should Zariel be redeemed or defeated, another powerful character can fight to take her place and claim Avernus for themselves. Either one of the demon lords (Baphomet, Yeenoghu, or Kostchtchie) would rule Avernus and shift the balance of the Blood War in their favor, Bel reclaiming his title as archduke, Gargauth becoming the new ruler of Avernus after being freed from the Shield of the Hidden Lord (and most likely betraying the adventurers in the process), Arkhan the Cruel becoming a Puppet King in Tiamat's stead, or one of the adventurers themselves would become willing to rule Avernus on their own terms.
- Heroic BSoD: Throughout the adventure, the hollyphant Lulu firmly believes that there's is still a spark of hope to save her friend Zariel, and she actively encourages the adventurers to use the Sword of Zariel to try to sway the archdevil back into goodness. Should they fail to redeem her, however, then such a tragic outcome would drive Lulu into deep despair, causing her to suffer the effects of a long-term madness.
- Heroic Sacrifice: A variation. Whoever attunes to the Sword of Zariel transforms into an idealized form of themself, and a good-aligned warrior. However, this is permanent and no spells can undo it, and even if the sword is returned to Zariel and she is redeemed, the previous wielder is forever changed. As a result, taking up the sword means essentially sacrificing your old identity forever.
- Horrifying the Horror: Throughout the campaign, the player is reminded many times about how the devils of Avernus are terrified of Zariel. Even if they want to undermine her, they dare not make a move against her openly. But even Zariel is afraid of Tiamat. If the player convinces Tiamat to aid them in saving Elturel, Zariel's only strategy for dealing with her is to kill the players and hope Tiamat leaves.
- I Gave My Word: Players run into a number of evil beings who will keep up their end of a bargain if a deal is made with them.
- A spined devil named Uldrak wants the players to get Tiamat's blood to remove a curse she put on him. He offers to help the players free a dao named Ralzala if they lift the curse on him. He is actually an evil Empyrean who Tiamat turned into a spined devil when he tried to defeat her. After regaining his true form he is not under any obligation to keep up his end of the deal, but does so regardless.
- Ralzala herself made a pact to serve Zariel and currently wants out. She offers to direct the players to the forge of Bel and put in a letter that will help them. While she is evil, she will still honor her word with no strings attached.
- If the players convince Tiamat to aid them, she surprisingly keeps up her end of the deal without betraying them, helping them attack the chains holding Elturel in the Hells, as agreed.
- There's a chance to save Elturel by making a deal with a demon, but it comes at a high price. A Good-aligned Paladin or Cleric that's at least level 10 can offer their soul as payment in exchange Elturel's safety. Zariel will, at first, be shocked by that level of compassion, giving players advantage on the check to redeem her. However, if the check still fails, Zariel will take that adventurer's soul for her own. Despite this, Zariel will be true to her word and save the city from the Nine Hells, just as she promised.
- Infinity +1 Sword: The Sword of Zariel, a legendary sword wielded by her when she was still an angel before she fell from grace. If the sword deems someone worthy enough to wield it, then they not only get a +3 blade, but one with a ton of perks. If you can wield the sword, you resist radiant and necrotic damage, learn the Celestial language, your Charisma becomes 20 if it's not already that high, you gain a flying speed and truesight, gain a few minor beneficial properties, gain advantage on all Insight checks, and deal extra radiant damage that can potentially blind your target with every hit. However, the path to saving the city might involve giving up this sword to Zariel in exchange for saving the city. Not to mention, the sword itself is sentient, and it only lets anyone use it if they're deemed worthy enough by the sword itself. Finally, it causes a Loss of Identity, as the characer who attunes to the sword becomes an angel in all but name, albeit with their personality completely overwritten.
- Klingon Promotion: If Zariel would be redeemed or killed in the adventure, a power-hungry and ambitious character might consider using this opportunity to take over Avernus for themselves. In which case, Asmodeus is offering to transform the character into an archdevil and effectively become the new ruler of Avernus.
- A Lighter Shade of Black: The adventure presents devils as this. Devils are Lawful Evil creatures, and while they do commit evil deeds, they have a hierarchy and do act within the rules. Demons, being Chaotic Evil, destroy and ruin anything and everyone they meet. Due to this, the book details how, ultimately, devils are less of a threat at times than the demons since you can haggle with a devil. Try to haggle with a demon, and you'll likely get killed instead.
- Loophole Abuse: If players make a deal with Zariel to save Elturel, they have to specify that in addition to destroying the chains holding it, it must be returned to the Material Plane or she will leave the city in Avernus.
- Magic Map: The map of Avernus was made by a madman (or rather, he went mad in the process of making it) and only reveals parts of the landscape that the players are either on their way to, or have already discovered. The voice of the cartographer also provides commentary on places marked on the map.
- The Mole: Mahadi's employee Burney is actually an Ancient Copper Dragon named Balarystul sent by Bahamut to keep watch on Tiamat's activities.
- Multiple Endings: The book offers a few different ways to resolve the fates of Zariel and Elturel, and there are several options for how to handle both. Primarily they boil to:
- Zariel: Redeem her by returning the Sword of Zariel to her and convincing her to return to the angelic host, fight and defeat her, surrender to her and become devils to fight in the Blood War, make a deal with her, or if you have a good-aligned cleric or paladin, make a Take Me Instead deal.
- Elturel: Convince Zariel to save it (either by redeeming her or making a deal with her), free the planetar trapped in the Companion to bring the city back to the Material Plane, receive aid from other forces to free it, or have it remain in Avernus.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: In Candlekeep, there's an ogre wearing a headband of intellect, which he obtained from a halfling adventurer that he killed a few years ago. After putting the headband on and gaining the increase to his intelligence, he was soon overcome with guilt and has come to renounce his violent ways by studying ethics.
- Never Mess with Granny: Early into the adventurers' trip across Avernus, they'll run into Mad Maggie, a night hag warlord who leads the Knucklebones gang that operates out of a ruined fort near Elturel. She's overall polite and is willing to help the adventurers with their quest should they make it known to her. But should she be wronged by the adventurers, especially if they mess with her Sacred Hospitality or steal one or more of her gang's infernal war machines, she will not hesitate to give them hell just to teach them a lesson.
- Only the Chosen May Wield: The Sword of Zariel, while only meant to be wielded by its namesake Fallen Angel, can also allow itself to be attuned to by anyone the artifact deems as "someone who embodies bravery and heroism".
- Orcus on His Throne: The players can run around Avernus doing almost whatever they please without Zariel making any effort to stop them until they choose to confront her. Justified, since she is focused on the Blood War and unless warned by one of her underlings, she won't even know the players are in Avernus.
- Order vs. Chaos: The central conflict of the Blood War. Both devils and demons are evil bastards, but they are in some disagreement about what should happen to the multiverse once they conquer it. Lawful Evil devils want to turn it into an endless, dystopian nightmare where there is no free will and all are part of a strict hierarchy culminating in Asmodeus. Chaotic Evil demons, on the other hand, just want to indulge their vices and sow chaos and destruction wherever and whenever they see fit.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: One of the deals players can make with Zariel is to give her the Shield of the Hidden Lord. She destroys the shield and releases the devil trapped within, Gargauth, in an injured state. She then orders him killed. Garguath begs for mercy if this happens. Dick move, but Garguath is a devil, and if he cuts a deal with the players himself he will try to kill them the moment it's concluded.
- Point of No Return: In-Universe example. The players will eventually find a way to enter Avernus, but regardless of methods, the ally helping them to so is often instructed by the DM to very clearly spell out this trope. If the players want to prepare and get ready, now is the last chance they will get before they go to Avernus.
- Practical Currency: The soul coins function as this, often being used as fuel for the infernal war machines. You can also expend one of three charges from the soul coin to either gain temporary hit points or telepathically communicate with the soul trapped within.
- Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: Mahadi's barber Burney only charges 1 GP for her services and turns down soul coins. This is because she is actually a servant of Bahamut in disguise.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Three of them are present throughout the adventure:
- Gargauth, a pit fiend so powerful and influential that he's known as the Tenth Lord of the Nine, is currently trapped in a magical shield. He wants the adventurers to free him, but his imprisonment has left him weakened enough that even mortal adventurers could take him out.
- Kostchtchie is a demon lord who was defeated by Zariel recently. Rather than slaying him (as doing so will allow Kostchtchie to be reincarnated back in the Abyss), she dumped him in a pit within Avernus, guarded by chain devils who keep him prisoner. Adventurers can free him if they need a distraction while searching for the Sword of Zariel.
- Tiamat, as usual, is stuck in Avernus. She doesn't really mind.
- See You in Hell: As befitting of the adventure, Duke Thalamra Vanthampur says this verbatim as she is killed by the adventurers.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog: Jander Sunstar, a Friendly Neighbourhood Vampire from Ravenloft, returns here for the first time in the 5th Edition. He is found impaled on a metal spike in Avernus.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Jander Sunstar, a random high elf warrior that players find within Avernus stuck on a pike to suffer for some past event. It turns out he was one of the primary reasons for Zariel's descent, as he and many other Hellriders fled back to the Material Plane after entering Avernus due to being overwhelmed by the horrors of the Blood War. And in doing so, he sealed the portal closed and left Zariel and her remaining troops in Avernus to die, essentially acting as the face for what caused Zariel's fall. Despite this, he's a very minor character in the overall story.
- Soul-Powered Engine: An infernal war machine is fitted with a furnace fueled by soul coins, which can then provide enough power for the vehicle to be operable as long as the souls that are trapped inside haven't yet been destroyed by the furnace.
- Story Branch Favoritism: While the adventure has several different endings with ways to achieve them, it's clear that redeeming Zariel is the one most intended. It's the only one with a clearly written epilogue, is the easiest of all of the possible endings to get since you have ways of lowering the requirements to achieve it, and it's the ending where Elturel is saved, people and all, without having to sacrifice people or make a deal with Zariel. All the other options for this adventure are less fleshed out by contrast.
- Summon Bigger Fish: One of the ways Elturel can be saved is with Tiamat, with whom the adventurers can make contact through her champion Arkhan the Cruel. In this case, she is more than willing to help them free the city by breaking the chains binding it as well as destroying the Companion as long as they can deal with Zariel and/or support Arkhan into ruling Avernus in her stead. Should the adventurers confront Zariel as Tiamat helps them free Elturel, the archdevil will focus on attacking the adventurers with the hopes that the dragon goddess will cease her efforts upon the deaths of her accomplices.
- The Starscream: The archdevil Bel is essentially this to Zariel ever since after Asmodeus' decision to replace him with Zariel as archduke of Avernus. And while he rankles at Zariel's rulership of the layer of the Nine Hells that was once his, he doesn't attempt to challenge her directly as long as he thinks Asmodeus supports Zariel. Should the adventurers make themselves known to Bel of their quest to save Elturel, he makes good use of this opportunity to turn them into Unwitting Pawns in his plan to overthrow Zariel and reclaim his rule over Avernus.
- Take Me Instead: A good-aligned Paladin or Cleric who is at least level 10 can offer their soul in exchange for saving Elturel to Zariel. Should a player do this, Zariel will be so shocked by the idea of someone being that selfless that it gives the players advantage on the Charisma roll to redeem her.
- To Hell and Back: Bluntly speaking, this is the gist of the module. The adventurers must brave the first layer of the Hells, Avernus, and return alive with the city of Elturel and its surviving inhabitants.
- Tricked into Signing: A major part of why Elturel has fallen into Avernus is due to this. After making a contract with Zariel, Thavius Kreeg created the Creed Resolute, a magically binding oath to defend the city and nation. In truth, the Creed Resolute essentially binded those who swore the oath to the city itself, meaning when the city was transported to Avernus, people who had made the oath were dragged along with it and easy pickings for Zariel.
- Truce Zone: Mahadi's Wandering Emporium essentially serves as this within Avernus, and is one of the few places in the plane that the adventurers can seek refuge from the dangers of the infernal wasteland as well as conduct business with its merchants. Besides them, anyone is welcome to visit the emporium at any time as long as they follow the following rules: "No fighting! No spellcasting! No exceptions!"
- Undying Loyalty: Arkhan the Cruel serves his goddess faithfully. Even when offered the chance to rule Avernus, he would rather do so in Tiamat's stead than make any bid for power on his own.
- Urban Warfare: The Elturel section of the module amounts to this. Now in Avernus, Elturel's streets have been overrun with fiends that are either hunting down survivors or are battling each other. The players have to fight a rather grueling trail of enemies to make it to their desired location, with various random encounters on the way ranging from fights to civilians needing help.
- Villain of Another Story: Tiamat's role in this module. She is the master of Arkhan, who seeks to free her from Avernus. She doesn't directly involve herself in the campaign unless the players convince her to aid them against their mutual enemy.
- Wasteland Warlord: Avernus is rife with countless gangs that roam on infernal war machines, each being led by a ruthless and brutal warlord. Among these warlords are Raggadragga, Mad Maggie, Bitter Breath, Feonor, Princeps Kovik, and Smiler the Defiler. Since Zariel is too focused on the Blood War to get rid of them, she is content with letting the warlords destroy each other instead.
- Weaponized Car: The infernal war machines are presented as these throughout the adventure, being utilized by the denizens of the Nine Hells both as weapons and as means of transportation across the hellish landscape. And to better fit with the post-apocalyptic aesthetic of the plane, infernal war machines can be upgraded with various weapon stations, armor, and gadgets to suit the operator's tastes.
- We ARE Struggling Together: The more powerful devils don't get along at all with each other, which contributes to why Avernus is in such a chaotic state (besides the Blood War). They plot to betray one another, with the archdevil Zariel being the one most are looking towards as their target. And throughout the adventure, adventurers can find many devils who, despite being their enemy, are willing to sabotage Zariel or other devils, just to obtain either power or revenge.
- Weird Currency: The adventure introduces soul coins, which are essentially coins with mortal souls trapped within them. They are highly valued by devils and are used throughout the Nine Hells as payment for various goods and services, forging infernal deals and bribing other fiends.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: The players can invoke this late-game to try and convince an NPC to help them. Specifically, they can try and make a persuasive argument for Zariel to return to her former angelic self. Should they be convincing enough and have her sword in their possession, Zariel eventually relinquishes her position as an archdevil and aids the adventurers in saving Elturel.
DISCLAIMER: This adventure is a work of fiction aimed at providing you and your friends with many hours of fantastic entertainment. Although devils and the Nine Hells play prominent roles in this story, the evil they represent is meant to be fought and overcome. Wizards of the Coast fully endorses the kicking of evil's butt. Let darkness fall and light prevail! We strongly advise that you do not play this adventure backwards, lest Asmodeus appear in a puff of smoke to talk politics, as archfiends are wont to do.
