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This is the under dungeon located on the basement of an old abandoned mage tower in Netheril. The tower is now in de desert of Anauroch in one oasis · Medium · Medium

The Ashen Mnemonic

Below the buried tower, the dead remember everything except who they were.
Rooms
8
Foes
10, CR 1 to 6
Traps
8
Treasure
10,350 gp
12345678Entrance
Select a room on the plan to open it.

The party is in

1. The Guarded Threshold

Seen

Something wanders by

At a glance

The threat

Mnemos, the damaged intelligence beneath the tower, is neither fully alive nor truly mechanical.

Wandering monsters (1d3)

  1. 1

    1 swarm× Name-Plate SwarmCR 2

    When: The party disturbs archive shelves or leaves a damaged name-plate in a corridor for more than a minute.A crawling knot of bronze name-plates, chains, and scraps of stolen memory.
  2. 2

    Memory-Shattered CaptiveCR 3

    When: The party opens a cell, crosses the bridge loudly, or speaks a personal name near a stasis alcove.A translucent former prisoner whose body flickers between several possible shapes.
  3. 3

    1d3× Ashen Record-KeeperCR 1

    When: The characters carry active magic past a corridor bell or fail a check while navigating the gas vents.A small floating construct with a cracked blue lens and hooked bronze limbs.

Rooms

8
1

The Guarded Threshold

2 foes1 traptreasuresecret

What they see

Read aloud

A narrow spiral stair descends from the Servitor Galleries into a circular threshold chamber. The lower steps are dusted with gray ash, and a sealed mural passage opens behind a relief of a faceless mage holding a broken star.

Features

  • Two entrances connect this room to the Servitor Galleries, one by stair and one through the secret mural passage.
  • The mural passage can be opened by pressing three missing stars in sequence.
  • Stone pillars provide cover from the guardian's line of sight.
  • A bronze threshold bears the warning, "Speak no name that you cannot defend."

What the GM knows

Monsters

2× Ashbound CustodianCR 1

Former Netherese custodians reduced to ash-skinned humanoids with bronze masks fused to their faces.Tactics. They block the descent, use the pillars as cover, and attempt to grapple intruders while the second custodian activates the alarm glyph on the threshold seal.

Traps

Unauthorized Memory WardDC 14 poison and psychic damage, plus poisoned for 1 minute

A floor sigil flashes when an unauthorized creature crosses the threshold. It releases a green vapor mixed with a pulse that briefly fills the victim's mind with someone else's memories.Disarm. Disable the three copper contacts beneath the threshold using thieves' tools or cover the sigil with ash taken from the stair.

Treasure

Maintenance Name-Plate250 gp or significant value to a Netherese scholarmagical

A bronze access plate engraved with a partial maintenance code. It grants advantage on checks to operate the spell-engine in room 6.
Room secrets · GM only

Notes

The custodians can be deceived by presenting a genuine Netherese name-plate or convinced to stand down with a successful claim of authorized maintenance. If the alarm glyph is triggered, room 3 begins venting gas one round later.

4 doors: W (normal), E (normal), N (normal), S (archway)

The place

What it is

The Ashen Mnemonic is the lower vault beneath an abandoned Netherese mage tower, sealed beneath the sands of Anauroch and reached through the Servitor Galleries.

Atmosphere

The lower vault is cold despite the desert above, with dry air that tastes of copper, ash, and old incense.

The threat

Mnemos, the damaged intelligence beneath the tower, is neither fully alive nor truly mechanical.

History

The vault was built by the Netherese arcanist Vael Turog beneath his private tower during the final generations of Netheril.

Rumors

1d5
Roll a rumor

  1. 1Caravans avoid the oasis because travelers hear their own voices calling from beneath the sand.
  2. 2The old mage tower contains a vault where Netherese nobles paid to have their minds made immortal.
  3. 3A faceless guardian protects a bridge below the tower and asks every intruder what name they would die to preserve.
  4. 4Green vapor has begun rising from cracks around the oasis after a recent sandstorm.
  5. 5A scholar vanished after finding a bronze plate bearing the name of someone who has been dead for a thousand years.

Plot hooks

4
InvestigationThe Dreams Beneath the OasisPeople sleeping near the oasis have begun speaking in ancient Netherese and drawing the same black tower in the sand. A local healer believes the dreams originate beneath the abandoned mage tower.From: Sura Venn, an oasis healer and reluctant divinerReward: A cache of purified water, a desert guide, and a charm that protects against one memory-altering effect
RetrievalThe Name in Black BronzeA recovered Netherese name-plate identifies an ancestor of a respected regional family among the vault's prisoners. The family wants the plate returned and the prisoner's fate uncovered.From: Lord Hadran Qel, an embarrassed antiquarian nobleReward: A translated Netherese spellbook and political favor in the nearest settlement
CrisisStorm over the OasisThe vault's leaking spell-engine is intensifying a magical storm that threatens caravans crossing the Anauroch. The characters must reach the lower vault and stop the leak before the storm becomes permanent.From: Mira of the Glass Compass, a caravan captainReward: Rare desert trade goods, 500 gold pieces, and safe passage across the affected route
NegotiationThe Guardian Who RemembersAn escaped captive has begun hunting travelers in the ruins, but its attacks show signs of deliberate restraint. It may be negotiated with if the characters can prove that Mnemos is manipulating its memories.From: A wounded ruin-scout named PellReward: The captive's aid against the final guardian and access to a hidden route around the sanctum wards

Corridors

4

  • Between rooms 2, 3, and 4

    Thin streams of green magical vapor drift along the floor before vanishing into engraved drains. The currents reveal hidden pressure vents and grow stronger near unstable spell-engine conduits.

  • The spiral stair descending from the Servitor Galleries

    Bronze name-plates have been pried from the walls and scattered across the stairs. Some bear the names of Netherese prisoners, while others whisper when touched.

  • The hall between rooms 4, 5, and 6

    Tall slabs of black glass provide cover but reflect scenes from the archive rather than the viewer. A creature hiding behind one may see movement approaching several seconds before it arrives.

  • Near the warded door to room 8

    Small copper bells hang from hair-thin crystal wires. Most are silent, but one rings whenever a creature carrying active magic passes nearby.

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