Dungeon Level
Known Rumors & Tales
Core Rooms
Common Knowledge. The most commonly explored tunnels in all of Undermountain, these are the chambers that lie directly beneath the Yawning Portal. It is also the easiest to find maps for and information on.
- Common Knowledge: "Everyone who knows aught about Undermountain knows the core rooms - those closest to the bottom of Durnan's well, of course. They're also the ones most folk pass through most often, so what's inside them changes often. Things get killed, new things wander in from elsewhere to set up shop for a bit. They're often the saddest and weakest of creatures, as none of the more powerful things want to live that close to where us upworlders come tramping through all the time, so it's about the only space those pathetic specimens can find to live unthreatened by other creatures, usually. Makes it a grand place for those new to adventuring, it does."
- On Passages to Other Areas: "There's one passage that leads north, into the North Chambers, one to the west into the Crumble Halls, and one to the east into the Horrorhalls, though that one's sealed by a door, thank ye kindly gods. Southwise, however, there's several doors and passages that lead into the South Chambers - it's where most folk end up when exploring the Core Rooms."
- Myriad Rumors of the Core Rooms, True & Otherwise
- "They say that there's some one spot what teleports you away to another part o' the core rooms. You'll know you've found it when it's too late, sad to say."
- "Ye be careful down in those rooms - it's not the monsters ye have to be wary of, but other adventurers. There's some what lie in wait for other 'venturers and attack them on their way back to the well. Seems they find it easier to murder their fellows and take the goods they've gained than to risk the halls of Undermountain themselves."
- "I've heard stories that there's a bottomless pit hidden somewhat among the core rooms tunnels. Terrible, falling forever...although, come to think of it, I'm not sure why ye don't just land in the Storeroom Level...Perhaps it cuts all t'way through!"
- "Many of the creatures ye can find here - among those what can think and talk, naturally - are often open to bein' hired, if ye've a mind to such. Many are outcasts from tribes and such-like, and so know some of the tunnels. They might not even stab you in the back at first chance! I wouldn't bet on it, though."
The South Chambers
Uncommon Knowledge. Perhaps the best-known of the Dungeon Level outside of the Core Rooms, the South Chambers have a reputation as being rather defensible. As such, intelligent monsters often lair here or attempt to lay claim to sections of it as their own territory. Well-known for the Hall of Keeping Kings and the Hall of a Hundred Candles.
- Uncommon Knowledge: "The South Chambers are much like the Core Rooms, in that they're most-oft home to creatures solitary and pathetic. But the South Chambers are larger - the Melairkyn dwarves built on a grander scale here, and there are more than one hall in here that you can't see to either end of when you stand with a lit torch in their midst. There are also strange landmarks that many delvers use to find their way, such as the floating candles of the Hall of a Hundred Candles, or the corpse-thrones of the Hall of the Keeping Kings. There are many empty chambers within it, and occasionally creatures make their lairs in them."
- Pathways: "Other than the Core Rooms, there is only one other section of Undermountain's Dungeon Level that the South Chambers lead to: the Labyrinth, though some say there is a single passageway that leads to a place called the Crownways, marked for its tombs of kings, throne chambers and other such things. It is also known to have at least one set of stairs that descend down into the Storeroom Level."
- Myriad Rumors of the South Chambers, True & Otherwise
- "Due to the stairs that lead deeper into Undermountain, it isn't uncommon to find creatures from those deeper levels - or even the wild Underdark! - within the halls of the South Chambers. In recent years, folk have seen drow and even illithids in those halls."
- "It is said that an insane mage is responsible for the Hall of a Hundred Candles, and when you near it you must be careful: he is occasionally to be found within, meditating in the flickering light, regaining calm over his madness. Disturbing him will end badly."
- "I've heard tell that there are some long stretches of hallway that seem to stretch forever on uselessly. In truth, they bear secret doors that lead into small, hidden rooms and storage areas sometimes used by smugglers, slavers and thieves from above and below to hide their treasures...or the evidence of their deeds."
- "It's said that the Lords of Waterdeep once discovered a hidden temple to Bhaal being operated out of the South Chambers, and ordered it destroyed. Though they succeeded, some lingering curse yet remains over the area of the old altar, drawing terrors sacred to the Lord of Murder to it."
The North Chambers
Uncommon Knowledge. Considered more perilous than the South Chambers, the North Chambers are difficult to classify. There are rarely quite as many monsters as in the South Chambers, but traps and strange waiting magical effects are more common. Extremely well-known for its near-apocryphal Long Dark Stair, which supposedly rises all the way to one of the streets in Waterdeep.
Horrorhalls
Rare Knowledge. On the other side of a well-marked door from the Core Rooms is the Horrorhalls, old dwarven constructions that are positively run amuck with monsters. No one seems to know where these creatures come from, save that they are predatory (as much on one another as on hapless adventurers). It is rare that folk venture in here, and even rarer that they should return.
The Eastcaves
Rare Knowledge. A section of natural cavern, complete with subterranean ecosystem, these caverns have a number of creatures from the Underdark, including a purple worm and similar creatures. It is home to no intelligent, social creatures.
The Crownways
Rare Knowledge. "Ah, the Crownways. There is a reason Undermountain is such a rich place for adventurers, friend, and half that reason is the Crownways. They say that these halls are riddled with the gold-filled tombs of a thousand minor Northern kings from over the centuries. And not just the kings of men, either - there are the remains of dwarf-kings and elven lords there as well. Of course, those who go to raid these tombs do so at their own peril, for the dead like being stolen from as little as the living do. Ye'll know you're in the Crownways when you begin to see crowns chiseled into the stone of the doorway arches."
- Pathways: "It is said the surest way to find the Crownways is to venture as far south as the South Chambers will allow, and then find the tunnel that runs westerly. That corridor leads directly into the Crownways, most assuredly."
- "According to some of the stories I've heard, if ye find yourself lost in the Labyrinth, heading southerly will eventually lead you to the Crownways."
- "I've heard that there's one of Undermountain's gates that leads into the Crownways. In the eastern edges of the Crumblehalls, there is a long passageway that runs north-and-south. Partway down this hall is a branch-off which ends in a dead end. Those who go all the way down to the end of this branch will be transported to the middle of the Crownways, most assuredly."
- Myriad Rumors of the Crownways, True & Otherwise
- "They say that there are six dwarf-kings who are not dead but merely slumber in the Crownways! The dwarves believe that when they awaken, they'll usher in a new and glorious rise of dwarven kingdoms across the North, bringing peace and prosperity for all."
- "Beware, for there's a twisted and mad sword to be found there. It's a mighty sword, gleaming silver, but it will hollow out its weilder's soul and replace it with its own!"
- "If ye've a mind to, there's a stair that leads down into the Storage Level of Undermountain, one level beneath the Dungeon Level. Be careful, though - creatures aplenty watch the bottom of those stairs for new meals."
- "Some other adventurers who come from there say that there's a small tribe of ogres who've taken over the place. Strong, but stupid, though they do serve a master of some kind. Can't say what, though."
Dunmyr's Folly
Rare Knowledge. A few know the name of these halls, and fewer still know its history. Perhaps a hundred years ago or so, an adventurer named Dunmyr attempted to seize this section of the Dungeon Level as his own keep from which to base his operations. Though he and his company worked hard to not only establish safety and security in these halls, but to lay claim to the gate in this area that is said to open somewhere on the streets of Waterdeep, their preparations were for naught when the horrors of Undermountain came calling. One day when he returned home, he discovered beasts lying in wait. Exactly what it is that slew him is the subject of many pieces of Undermountain lore. Many agree that they were automatons of some kind, as it is not uncommon to find such magically animated terrors in these halls.
The Labyrinth
Uncommon Knowledge. "Ware ye the Labyrinth, friend. Too many have become lost within it. There are magics at work that twist and confound the mind. There are damned few rooms and damned too many corridors in this section. Ye'll know it when ye arrive: its walls are covered in ink, chalk, and all manner of other markers, but don't bother: there's a sadistic magic on the place that replicates any such mark a thousand-fold throughout the winding passages."
- Pathways: "It's hard to miss the Labyrinth, truth be told. It lies westerly of the South Chambers, and north of the Crownways. Should you find yourself in the Crumble Halls, it is both south and east of those corridors."
- "The Labyrinth is rife with gates, be ye warned. Some simply move you to another part of the Labyrinth, twisting you about endlessly. There's a one-way gate from the Crownways - it'll take ye to the Labyrinth, but not back. There is also another gate - somewhere in its center - that whisks ye away, but no one knows where it leads. No one seems to come back from there."
- Myriad Rumors of the Crownways, True & Otherwise
- "Beware, for there's a minotaur at the heart of this labyrinth. T'is a proper labyrinth, after all, and what is a maze without a minotaur?"
- "A small tribe of kobolds has settled into a part of the Labyrinth. They can be found hunting its halls betimes, looking for food - always searching for food. They've definitely got a lair there somewhere, though I've never heard of where it might be."
- "There are said to be strange gates within the Labyrinth that are opened by walking the halls in a certain way. Where they go or where they are, no one knows."
The Crumble Halls
Uncommon Knowledge. So-called for the number of features in this series of tunnels that seem to be in ruin or general disrepair, the Crumble Halls are known for the strange rooms that have been established among its dark ways: a library, a well-room, several tombs and the like. Many of the dangers here are hazards and traps, magical and mundane, rather than (necessarily) the monsters.
The Echoes
Rare Knowledge. Sometimes called "the Last Stand of the Melairkyn," these tunnels are almost wholly devoid of living creatures entirely. Instead, they are the site of a dozen or more scenes of spectral slaughter, as the ghosts of Melairkyn dwarves flee from assailants unseen, torn apart and dying screaming over and over. So frustrated are these restless spirits that after their death scenes, they sometimes attack the living after their gruesome deaths.
The Gameshalls
Uncommon Knowledge. These halls are so named for two of its rooms: the Lanceboard and a strange chamber of doors. Aside from the dangers such "games" pose, these halls are quite similar to the neighboring North Chambers, in terms of threat.
