TEXT:     
  A TALE of TWO CITIES
  A TALE of TWO CITIES 
  BALDUR’S GATE: DESCENT INTO AVERNUS
  BALDUR’S GATE: DESCENT INTO AVERNUS
  DM’s Resources for Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus 
  DM’s Resources for Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus 
  Chapter 1: A Tale of Two Cities
  Chapter 1: A Tale of Two Cities
  
  A TALE of TWO CITIES
  A TALE of TWO CITIES
  Credits
  Credits
  Writing: J. A. Valeur
  Layout: J. A. Valeur
  Interior Art: J. A. Valeur and art provided by the Dungeon 
  Masters Guild and used with permission under the 
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  BALDUR’S GATE: DESCENT INTO AVERNUS
  
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   INTRODUCTION 
   INTRODUCTION 
  1
  Introduction
  Introduction
  Contents
  Introduction ..............................................................................1
  Additional Hooks ...............................................................................2
  From Other Campaigns ...................................................................4
  Handling NPCs ..................................................................................5
  Chapter 1: A Tale of Two Cities ...............................................7
  Running Chapter 1 ............................................................................7
  Elfsong Tavern ...................................................................................8
  Dungeon of the Dead Three ............................................................9
  Low Lantern .....................................................................................10
  Vanthampur Villa.............................................................................10
  V
  enturing into hell requires some 
  forethought – not just for the characters, 
  but also for the Dungeon Master. The first 
  chapters of Baldur’s Gate: Descent into 
  Avernus is where you set the tone for the 
  rest of the campaign, as you prepare the 
  characters for their descend into Avernus 
  and challenge them with dangerous encounters in the seedy 
  city of Baldur’s Gate. 
  This document seeks to provide you, the Dungeon 
  Master, with tools and thoughts that will help you make 
  the start of your Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus-
  campaign an exciting experience for your players. It’s 
  strongly recommended that you read the chapters ‘About the 
  Adventure’ and ‘Chapter 1: A Tale of Two Cities’ before using 
  these resources. And always remember, the advice and ideas 
  given here are options – you know best what works at your 
  table. This product contains:
  Additional Hooks. Several ideas on how to get the 
  characters probably hooked and motivated to fight devils and 
  journey into Avernus!
  Changing Campaigns. Advice on how to transfer your 
  characters from either Ghosts of Saltmarsh or Waterdeep: 
  Dragon Heist to Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus.
  Running Chapter 1. Ideas on how to run each location in 
  Chapter 1, extra content and advice on scaling difficulty.
  Monster Stat Blocks. 20+ pages of monster stat blocks 
  covering every foe in the chapter, neatly arranged together on 
  pages, so you don’t have to  lip through several books.
  Thavius Kreeg’s Contract. A handout showing Thavius 
  Kreeg’s contract with the Duke of Avernus.
  Maps. Full-scale digital battlemaps covering every location 
  in Chapter 1, primed for virtual tabletops! Now also includes 
  two VTT-ready encounter maps for Baldur’s Gate.
  Additional Hooks
  Baldur’s Gate Descent into Avernus assumes that your 
  characters start out working for the Flaming Fist. 
  Furthermore, the campaign also assumes that this 
  relationship will take the party from trying to root out evil 
  cultists to going up against one of Baldur’s Gate’s leaders – 
  and, eventually, all the way to hell!
  While there’s some opportunity to expand upon the initial 
  hook along the way – using NPCs such as Reya Mantlemorn 
  and Lulu the Hollyphant – you may want to start the 
  campaign off with a stronger hook. A little extra motivation 
  can’t hurt when you’re trying to convince people to – quite 
  literally – go to hell. Below you’ll find some thoughts and 
  ideas on how to do that, which you can alter to fit your game.
  Dark Secrets
  If your players are making new characters for this campaign, 
  it certainly pays to consider giving them a shared ‘Dark 
  Secret’ (BG:DiA, pg. 208). We’re presented with some 
  different options and interesting roll tables, though there’s not 
  much advice on how you tie the secret to the campaign, which 
  is what we’ll briefly expand on here.
  Dark Secret as a Hook. Initially, the party’s dark secret 
  can serve as the reason why the characters are even doing 
  what Captain Zodge says. They’re forced to help him root 
  out the cultists, because he knows what they did – a fact he 
  continually rubs in their faces. Later, as the party stands 
  before Sylvira and are faced with the prospect of going 
  into hell, you can have the archmage (or Liara Portyr) also 
  be aware of the characters’ misdeeds, promising them 
  forgiveness if they undertake the dangerous mission into 
  Avernus. There’s of course many variations of how you can 
  set this up – what’s the secret, who knows, how do they use it 
  against the players, and so on – but as long as the deed was 
  bad enough, the prospect of absolution can certainly act as a 
  motivation for the players.
  Takes One to Know One. The party’s dark secret might 
  also serve as something the demons and devils can use 
  in their dealings with the party when they’re in Avernus. 
  Their misdeed might feature as they travel in Mad Maggie’s 
  dreamscape, an archdevil might smell the evil on them, or 
  they’ll stand face-to-face with the damned soul of someone 
  who died as a result of their wrongdoing. Bringing the 
  dark secret into the game this way gives the background 
  some meaning even beyond Baldur’s Gate and can create 
  rewarding opportunities for roleplay.
  Make it Personal
  If your players are creating characters specifically for this 
  campaign, you can let them know that the campaign starts 
  shortly after the city of Elturel disappeared. Suggest that 
  their character can either be from Elturel – avoiding it’s 
  disappearance because they live on the outskirts, were away 
  on travel, or through sheer coincidence – or that they have 
  some sort of bond with the city, such as relatives, a friend, an 
  item they’re looking for, or something along those lines. This 
  ensures that they’ll be motivated to figure out what happened 
  to Elturel as soon as they’re presented with it, and you can 
  use their ties to Elturel to add some drama during Chapter 2.
  As a note here, in the adventure Baldur’s Gate: The Fall 
  of Elturel, writers Anthony Joyce and Justice Arman does a 
  very good job tying the characters to the fall of Elturel. This 
  adventure can be used as an introduction to the events of 
  Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus.
  
  2
   INTRODUCTION
   INTRODUCTION
  A Noble Quest
  Instead of starting the adventure as the party negotiates 
  with Captain Zodge, you can have Reya Mantlemorn set the 
  party on their quest. As described in the campaign book (pg. 
  32), the young Hellrider has heard that Thavius Kreeg has 
  been spotted in the city, surrounded by Vanthampur guards. 
  You can elaborate on this: on the run from the Flaming 
  Fist, there’s no way Reya will be able to gain entrance to the 
  Upper City to look for him. Thus, she wants the party to gain 
  favor with the Flaming Fist, so that they’ll be allowed into 
  the Upper City. She offers the party 500 gp if they help her 
  find Thavius Kreeg, and suggests that the Flaming Fist will 
  probably also reward them for any help the party provides 
  them along the way.
  This hook has some advantages. First off, it starts the 
  narrative early and ensures the party actually meets Reya. 
  Second, it works just as well if you choose to skip the Dead 
  Three cultists-plotline (see Restructuring Chapter 1), or if 
  you’re bringing in characters from another adventure, such as 
  Ghosts of Saltmarsh or Waterdeep: Dragon Heist (see From 
  Other Campaigns).
  A Deal With the Devil
  For the more cynical characters, it might take more than 
  a pleading paladin or a few missing relatives to get them 
  involved. Here you can choose to draw on the campaign’s 
  unique flavor to pull characters in: devils and the Nine Hells.
  An obvious choice for this is Tiamat, the Dragon Queen. 
  You can have agents of Tiamat approach characters – perhaps 
  masking their evil disposition – attempting to enlist the party 
  to aid the Dragon Queen in overthrowing Zariel. Starting 
  small, they first offer a few hundred gold pieces for aid in 
  recovering stolen treasure from the Dead Three Cultists (thus 
  pushing the party towards Captain Zodge, the Elfsong Tavern 
  or directly to the Dead Three Dungeon). 
  After the party has demonstrated their usefulness, the 
  cultists ask them to eradicate the Dead Three Cult and 
  its backers entirely, sending them after the Vanthampurs. 
  Finally, the cultists pays the party handsomely for going to 
  Avernus to thwart Zariel’s evil plans with Elturel – perhaps 
  not believing the party capable, but figuring that anything the 
  adventurers can do to hinder Zariel will benefit Tiamat.
  Of course, involving the players with Tiamat requires you 
  to make some changes later, as the party runs into cultists of 
  the Dragon Queen. It also requires a party willing to work for 
  evil – or that the cultists present their tasks as benevolent and 
  altruistic, hiding their true motives. You can easily replace 
  Tiamat with any powerful devil, since the Lords of the Nine 
  are always trying to undercut each other – it might be agents 
  of Bel, who wants to overthrow the Duke of Avernus, or 
  perhaps the paranoid archdevil Dispater, who fears Zariel 
  is mustering forces to challenge him for dominion of the 
  Second Layer of Hell.
  Faction Hooks
  There’s also the option to hook individual characters or even 
  the whole party in through the factions they’re affiliated with 
  (DMG, pg. 21). Most factions will have an interest in Elturel’s 
  disappearance, although their reasons and goals might differ, 
  as suggested below.
  Harpers. “With the disappearance of Elturel, Faerun has 
  lost an invaluable beacon of hope and light – not to mention 
  the thousands of innocents who disappeared with it. Most of 
  those who survived fled to Baldur’s Gate – including, rumor 
  is, High Overseer Thavius Kreeg. Go to Baldur’s Gate, get 
  friendly with the Flaming Fist, and learn what you can. If 
  there’s a way to save Elturel, we need to find it.”
  Order of the Gauntlet. “The crater of Elturel stands as a 
  mockery to the holy city that once sat there. We need you to 
  investigate what happened to Elturel and, most importantly: 
  is there anything we can do to restore it? We’ve secured you 
  an assignment with the Flaming Fist in Baldur’s Gate – start 
  there and learn what you can, but take care not to let the 
  mercenaries corrupt you.”
  Lords’ Alliance. “As you probably know, Elturel was a 
  member of the Lords’ Alliance. We need to find out what 
  happened to it, and if there’s a risk to other cities in the 
  North. Go to Baldur’s Gate and see what you can learn. 
  Unfortunately, Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard, whom we 
  usually deal with, has disappeared as well. Without him, 
  Baldur’s Gate’s loyalty to the Alliance is tentative at best, 
  so you’ll need to be careful. We’ve gotten you in with the 
  Flaming Fist, but won’t be able help you beyond that.”
  Emerald Enclave. “The disappearance of Elturel is not 
  just evil, it’s an abomination. It threatens the Balance – not 
  just on our plane, but in the Cosmos itself. We must learn 
  what happened to Elturel and find a way to undo it – or, at the 
  very least, undo the harm caused by its disappearance. Go to 
  Baldur’s Gate, where the remnants of Elturel have fled, sign 
  up with the Flaming Fist, and find out what you can.”
  Zhentarim. “The disappearance of Elturel, Grand Duke 
  Ulder Ravengard and Thavius Kreeg creates an opportunity 
  for us. Baldur’s Gate is in disarray and Elturel is gone – but 
  maybe not forever. The Black Network needs to insert itself – 
  that means you – into the situation. Pal up with the Flaming 
  Fist and find out how this chaos will best aid us. Whoever can 
  save Elturel, or whatever is left of it, is most likely to end up 
  with the power. That needs to be us!”
  
   INTRODUCTION 
   INTRODUCTION 
  3
  Keeping Them Hooked
  Getting the players hooked initially might not be as hard as 
  keeping them hooked, once they realize their quest will take 
  them into the Nine Hells! For a campaign that seems to invite 
  morally ambiguous and somewhat selfish characters, there’s 
  not much of a reward for going into Hell – a risky endeavor 
  by any measure. It’s simply assumed that the characters will 
  happily volunteer to go on the quest to bring back Elturel 
  from Avernus, at great personal peril. While your players 
  might choose to be accommodating and just go along with it 
  (they’re here to play a campaign, after all) regardless of their 
  characters’ misgivings, there are ways to make their descent 
  into Avernus a bit more appealing.
  Wealth and Money
  The only monetary reward mentioned before the characters 
  descend into Avernus – beyond Captain Zodge’s initial reward 
  of 200 gp per character – is Falaster Fisk’s (Sylvira’s agent in 
  Baldur’s Gate) assertion that the tiefling archmage will pay 
  for the delivery of Thavius Kreeg’s infernal puzzle box. This 
  reward isn’t mentioned later under the ‘Candlekeep’-section 
  later in Chapter 1, but it seems that a tangible reward, such 
  as 500 gp, an uncommon magic item (an example could be 
  Heavensfall, the magical mace described on this page), or 
  some valuable spell scrolls and potions, might work to at least 
  make the journey to Candlekeep worthwhile.
  As for the journey into hell, you can have the archmage 
  offer to pay handsomely for the party’s services – offering 
  5,000 gp and Candlekeep’s gratitude if the party travels 
  to the First Layer of Hell and saves the city. Alternatively, 
  Sylvira can ask the party to stay for a few days, while she 
  informs other interested parties about the deal gleaned from 
  Thavius’ puzzle box. This allows you to have relevant factions 
  – such as the Lords’ Alliance or Liara Portyr on behalf of the 
  Flaming Fist – offer the party a monetary reward for making 
  the journey into hell and attempting to save Elturel.
  Fame and Power
  For some characters, the strongest motivation might not be 
  gold and wealth, but the prospect of fame and power. You can 
  have NPCs – Sylvira, Liara, even Reya Mantlemorn – appeal 
  to the character’s innermost desires. “Only a true adventurer 
  would dare go into the Nine Hells – such a hero would 
  hear their name sung in every tavern from Calimport to 
  Luskan!” or “Consider this: Right now, Elturel is leaderless, 
  lost, abandoned. Whoever saves that city will not only have 
  done Faerun a great service, they’ll also have made a strong 
  argument for who should hold power in a restored Elturel!”
  Redemption and Forgiveness
  If you’ve used the ‘Dark Secret’-background to tie your 
  players together and to Baldur’s Gate, you can use the dark 
  secret to motivate the party to undertake the journey to 
  Avernus. Sylvira (or another NPC of your choosing) knows 
  of the dark secret, and offers complete absolution (spiritually 
  and legally), if the party attempts to free Elturel from Zariel’s 
  grasp. After all, isn’t Hell where sinners go anyway?
  Expanding on a Previous Hook
  You can also bring back a previous hook to motivate 
  the character’s to travel beyond Candlekeep. A faction 
  agent reappears to offer more rewards and renown, Reya 
  Mantlemorn promises Elturel’s eternal gratitude if the party 
  helps, or the agents of an archdevil make lofty claims about 
  the adventures and treasures that await ahead.
  Heavensfall
  Weapon (mace), rare (requires attunement)
  While you carry this magic mace and contemplate or 
  undertake a malevolent act, Heavensfall enhances pangs 
  of conscience.
  Sacred. When you hit a fiend or undead creature with 
  an attack using this mace, the creature takes an extra 1d4 
  radiant damage.
  Heavens. While you carry this mace, you can use an 
  action to cast guiding bolt. Once used, this property can’t 
  be used again until the next dawn.
  
  4
   INTRODUCTION
   INTRODUCTION
  From Other Campaigns
  Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus might not be your 
  players’ first campaign. Below is some advice on how to 
  start this infernal campaign if you’re coming from Ghosts of 
  Saltmarsh or Waterdeep: Dragon Heist.
  From Saltmarsh to Avernus
  So you’ve played through some Ghosts of Saltmarsh and now 
  want to make the jump into the newest official campaign. But 
  how do you make the transition from maritime mysteries to 
  hellish excursions? Below are some ideas to inspire you on 
  how to go from one campaign to the other.
  A Traitor in Our Midst
  Skerrin Wavechaser (or some other important NPC in the 
  Saltmarsh campaign) is actually a devotee of Zariel, set on 
  the same mission as Thavius Kreeg and the Vanthampurs: 
  Procure souls for Zariel by condemning Saltmarsh to 
  the Nine Hells. The traitor has been spurring on pirates, 
  lizardfolk and sahuagin to bloody conflict, hoping for enough 
  bloodshed to fuel the ritual that’ll transport Saltmarsh to 
  the First Layer of Hell. As the party unravels the treachery, 
  they’ll find proof (such as an infernal puzzle box and secret 
  communications) that ties the traitor to Thavius Kreeg 
  and the Vanthampurs in Baldur’s Gate, as well as the 
  disappearance of Elturel. The Saltmarsh Council offers a 
  hefty reward for getting to the root of this problem – sending 
  the party to Baldur’s Gate if they are low level, or directly to 
  Candlekeep, if the party is already 5th level or higher.
  Devils of the Sea
  The sahuagin are the main threat in the three Saltmarsh-
  adventures, and specifically in The Final Enemy, although 
  their presence is felt as early as in Danger at Dunwater. You 
  can tie the events of BG:DiA to the sahuagin by having the 
  fall of Elturel be the reason for their increased aggression. 
  Perhaps the influence of their shark-deity, Sekolah, who 
  inhabits the River Styx (which flows through the Nine Hells), 
  is spilling over to the material place since the fall of Elturel. 
  Or perhaps Zariel has petitioned Sekolah and its worshipers 
  for a partnership, urging them to commit bloodshed that will 
  aid her plan to condemn more Faerunian cities to the First 
  Layer of Hell. The characters can discover this connection 
  between the sahuagin threat and the fall of Elturel either 
  through intermediaries – an emissary from Candlekeep 
  aboard the Emperor of the Waves (in the adventure Salvage 
  Operation), crazed devil-worshippers on an abandoned isle 
  (in the adventure Isle of the Abbey) – or they might find proof 
  with the sahuagin, as they investigate the stronghold in The 
  Final Enemy.
  Tammeraut's Fate and the Styes
  The last two adventures in the Ghosts of Saltmarsh-
  anthology feature higher level threats: the Drowned Ones of 
  the sinister sunken ship, Tammeraut, and a juvenile kraken 
  festering in the Styes. Both adventures can serve nicely as a 
  starting off point for a delve into Avernus.
  The Pit of Hatred in Tammeraut’s Fate might be a rift to 
  the Hells instead of the Abyss (and Syrgaul’s crew sworn 
  to Zariel instead of Orcus) meant to eventually swallow up 
  a nearby coastal city, such as Saltmarsh. To end the threat 
  for good, the characters must travel to Avernus, stop Zariel’s 
  evil plans and – perhaps – save Elturel. Likewise, the crazed 
  aboleth grooming a kraken in The Styes isn’t doing the work 
  of Tarizdun, but instead works for Zariel, preparing the Styes 
  (or Baldur’s Gate?) for its descent into Avernus.
  From Waterdeep to Avernus
  If you’re playing through Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and 
  want to make the jump to Baldur’s Gate: Descent into 
  Avernus, there’s a wide array of options available to you. 
  The assumption is that the characters are around 5th level, 
  having just secured (or lost!) the dragon’s cache. Because of 
  your party’s higher level – and because the characters have 
  already played through five levels worth of urban adventure 
  – you may want to skip or streamline some of the content in 
  Chapter 1, regardless of how you transition the party. See 
  Restructuring Chapter 1 for more advice on how to do that.
  Just Another Mission
  It’s likely that at least some of the characters have signed 
  up with the various factions in Waterdeep, thus making the 
  Faction Hooks an easy way to switch campaign. If characters 
  have joined Bregan D’aerthe, Jarlaxle’s reasons for exploring 
  Elturel’s disappearance will look much like the Zhentarim’s: 
  exploit the chaos to claim as much power and wealth as 
  possible.
  An Honorable Heist
  Having lived through a season of high crime and intrigue 
  in Waterdeep, the characters have built a strong reputation. 
  Having heard of the resourceful adventurers, Reya 
  Mantlemorn reaches out to the party – either making the 
  long trip to Waterdeep herself, or sending a letter asking 
  them to meet her in Baldur’s Gate – and asks for their aid. 
  She feels certain that Thavius Kreeg has been captured by 
  the Vanthampurs, but she’s a warrior, not an infiltrator – and, 
  surely, breaking out Elturel’s former leader is a heist worthy 
  of Waterdeep’s most famed heisters!
  Changing Locales
  At the moment, we don’t know if there’s a deeper reason 
  BG:DiA starts in Baldur’s Gate, but the content described 
  in Chapter 1 can quite easily be reskinned to fit Waterdeep 
  instead. If you want to include all the content of Chapter 1, a 
  faction might hire the adventurer’s to deal with dangerous 
  cultists, taking them all the way to a prominent noble 
  Waterdhavian family’s estate, where they’ll find the shield 
  of the hidden lord and Thavius Kreeg, the High Overseer of 
  Elturel (“oh, yeah, that city we heard of, which disappeared 
  suddenly a few weeks ago”). All you need to do then is replace 
  the disappeared Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard with a notable 
  Waterdhavian such as Mirt, Volothamp Geddarm, Renaer 
  Neverember, or the monk Hlam. You can even spare the party 
  the trip to Candlekeep, having Vajra Safahr replace Sylvira 
  when it comes to opening the infernal puzzle box, introducing 
  the party to Lulu the Hollyphant and whisking them off to the 
  First Layer of Hell.
  Alternatively, if you are still playing through Waterdeep: 
  Dragon Heist, you can make sure to set the Cassalanters 
  up as the campaign’s villains, and have them shelter the 
  treacherous Thavius Kreeg and his infernal puzzle box in 
  their villa. It will take a bit of rewriting to pull off, but could 
  make for a seamless transition from one campaign to the 
  next.
  
   INTRODUCTION 
   INTRODUCTION 
  5
  Handling NPCs
  When reading through BG:DiA, you’ll notice that the 
  campaign seems to rely heavily on a few key NPCs: Reya 
  Mantlemorn, Gargauth (the Shield of the Hidden Lord) and 
  Lulu the Hollyphant. We write ‘seems’ because it’s actually 
  quite doable (and perhaps, depending on your table, more 
  enjoyable) to play the campaign without one or more of them. 
  Below we’ll give suggestions on how to handle – or entirely 
  remove – these important NPCs.
  Reya Mantlemorn
  Reya Mantlemorn is the runaway Hellrider who steers 
  the party towards the Vanthampur Villa, Candlekeep and 
  eventually Elturel. She brings some drama to the story with 
  her personal involvement, and relays some of the Hellriders’ 
  backstory to the party. However, if you’d rather not have her 
  tag along, or she and the party take a dislike to each other, 
  you can easily write her out of the story. You can have Sylvira 
  provide the exact same information about the Hellriders as 
  she does, and any NPC the party meets in Elturel can point 
  the party towards the High Hall when they get there. The only 
  thing you’ll really be missing if you minimize Reya’s role is 
  the emotional weight her reactions give to certain situations – 
  Thavius Kreeg’s corruption, the fallen Elturel, and so on.
  Shield of the Hidden Lord
  Gargauth – the pit fiend inside the Shield of the Hidden 
  Lord – serves two purposes: it is the instrument with which 
  Thavius and the Vanthampurs plan to cause Baldur’s Gate’s 
  descent into Avernus, and it’s a companion/guide for the 
  characters on their travels in hell. Giving the party an evil, 
  sentient shield as a companion can make for some interesting 
  situations, but it is not without issues.
  First, the shield is a +2 shield that can cast several 
  powerful spells – and the characters get it very early. 
  Bounded accuracy is a thing in 5E, and you might find the 
  shield more than a little frustrating. Second, the plan to 
  use the shield to bring down Baldur’s Gate is a bit vague. 
  Additionally, while the Shield of the Hidden Lord might seem 
  important to the plot, the shield is barely mentioned again 
  until chapter 5, where the pit fiend may – or may not – help 
  the party against Zariel. Thus, you can quite easily write it out 
  of the adventure, if you’d rather not bother with it.
  Instead of using the shield, you can have Thavius and 
  the Vanthampurs’ plan be to smuggle hellfire weapons into 
  Baldur’s Gate and giving them to the Dead Three Cultists. 
  This way they can both bolster the ranks of devils in Avernus, 
  while also causing chaos and destruction in Baldur’s Gate, 
  hopefully bringing about its downfall. Simply place a few 
  Hellfire Weapons with the Dead Three Cultists – you can 
  give one to Flennis (D13), Mortlock (D29) and Vaaz (D33). 
  This has the added benefit of giving the party some magical 
  weapons before traveling into Avernus, saving them the 
  trouble of scrambling to get silvered weapons made!
  Alternatively, you can keep the Shield of the Hidden Lord 
  in the campaign, but dial down it’s powers – perhaps entirely 
  removing the +2 bonus to AC that comes with it. You can even 
  give Gargauth a more prominent role, having it take Lulu the 
  Hollyphant’s place as the party’s guide to important locations 
  in Avernus.
  Lulu the Hollyphant
  Possibly the most important NPC in the campaign is Lulu 
  the Hollyphant. She’s both plot-engine and infernal guide, 
  as she keeps the party moving from location to location in 
  Avernus – and is apparently so important that she will be 
  magically resurrected in Chapter 4, if she should die along 
  the way. In some ways, she can come to feel like the story’s 
  main protagonist – a role that you would traditionally reserve 
  for the party.
  Luckily, you don’t have to bring along a flying, golden 
  elephant, if you don’t want to. There’s various different ways 
  to replace her, but before we get to that, let’s first look at her 
  role in the campaign. Lulu is vital to the story at four points:
  • She points the party towards Fort Knucklebone after Ulder 
  Ravengard has been saved (pg. 72)
  • She’s the conduit for Mad Maggie’s ritual in Fort 
  Knucklebone, after which she points the party toward 
  Haruman’s Hill (pg. 86)
  • She points the party toward either the Spawning Trees or 
  the Demon Zapper after Haruman’s Hill is found to be a 
  dead-end (pg. 93)
  • She’s the conduit for the party’s travel to Idyllglen just 
  before the party can claim the Sword of Zariel (pg. 140)
  When reading through the sections where Lulu makes an 
  appearance, it is clear that while she has important functions, 
  they are not tied to who or what she is. You can easily replace 
  Lulu with any other creature or even an inanimate object, 
  if you want to. You can even do this in ways that seem a bit 
  more credible than the party just happening upon exactly the 
  flying elephant they need to save Elturel. Here is an example 
  of how you can replace Lulu with a small shard from the 
  Sword of Zariel.
  Replacing Lulu in Chapter 1
  In the first chapter, the only change you need to make is to 
  skip the part where the characters are introduced to Lulu the 
  Hollyphant.
  Replacing Lulu in Chapter 2
  • One of Lulu’s functions in Chapter 2 is as a friendly 
  combatant who can offer great aid during the many combat 
  encounters presented in this chapter. If you write her out of 
  the adventure, you may want to scale down the challenges 
  a bit. Luckily, no one encounter in the book is too hard, so 
  you can simply exclude encounters as you see fit, making 
  sure that the characters aren’t overwhelmed. 
  • When the party finds Ulder Ravengard in the Grand 
  Cemetery, the Grand Duke isn’t just wearing the Helmet of 
  Torm, he’s also clutching a small object in his gauntleted 
  fist. However much the characters try, they can’t open the 
  Grand Duke’s clenched fist.
  • As Ulder Ravengard describes his visions (or a character 
  sees the vision for themselves), remove any mention of Lulu 
  and instead highlight how the sword was missing a piece 
  before the woman plunged it into the ground (the sword 
  was damaged during Zariel’s final battle). This is when 
  Ulder opens his fist and shows the shard in his hand, which 
  he professes that Torm must have placed there.
  • Ulder (or a character who holds the shard) can feel its 
  urge to be reunited with the rest of the sword. Pherria 
  (or a character’s Arcana check) recognizes that the shard 
  has a small sliver of sentience, and that strong divination 
  magic might be able to unlock its memories and lead 
  the characters to the Sword of Zariel. As described on 
  the previous page, Gargauth, a Warlord of the Avernian 
  Wastelands, or the two kenku, can then point the party 
  toward Mad Maggie and Fort Knucklebone.
  
  6
   INTRODUCTION
   INTRODUCTION
  Replacing Lulu in Chapter 3
  • Mad Maggie performs the ritual on the shard, putting the 
  party through the same dream sequence (but without Lulu 
  making an appearance), although Dream 5: Revelation is 
  replaced with a vision of demons being spawned and slain 
  by Zariel wielding the Sword of Zariel, which Mad Maggie 
  interprets as ‘the path leading to the sword starts where 
  demons are either made or destroyed’. You can skip the 
  Haruman’s Hill encounter – or simply have it be a ‘random’ 
  encounter on the way to one of these destinations (which 
  you can once again have Gargauth or any other interesting 
  NPC they meet on their way direct the party to!).
  • At Haruman’s Hill, you can have the hellwasps steal an 
  important item from the players – such as the Shield of the 
  Hidden Lord or the shard from the Sword of Zariel instead 
  of Lulu.
  • At other points during the chapter, where Lulu might 
  feasibly play a role – such as in encounters with the 
  Wandering Emporium or when facing Olanthius – you can 
  either just ignore this aspect, or have NPCs recognize the 
  shard instead.
  Replacing Lulu in Chapter 4
  • Describe the Sword of Zariel as missing the shard, when 
  the party first sees it. 
  • The shard functions as the conduit for the characters’ spirit 
  journey into Idyllglen.
  • After the party has helped save Idyllglen, the shard floats 
  up to the sword and reattaches itself in a burst of gleaming 
  light, completing the restoration of the sword, and granting 
  hope that Zariel can still be redeemed – or defeated.
  Remove Only If Necessary
  This example of how you can write Lulu out of your campaign 
  is by no means the only way to handle Lulu. Whether you 
  should even do so – and exactly what you replace her with – 
  depends on your campaign and your players. If you feel like 
  your players will appreciate having Lulu around, and you 
  don’t mind playing her (or having one of your players control 
  her), then there’s no reason to change anything – she can be a 
  lot of fun for the right table. You can also choose to minimize 
  her role and actions at some points, while still keeping her 
  around as a conduit for background information and to keep 
  the characters on track.
  Other Alternatives to Lulu
  If you don’t like the idea of replacing Lulu with a shard from the 
  Sword of Zariel, here’s some other ideas:
  The Hand of Zariel. You can have the gauntleted hand that 
  Zariel lost during her fall replace Lulu. It fits nicely with Torm, 
  who’s holy symbol is a gauntlet, and can be played in much the 
  same way as a shard from the sword.
  Helm of Torm’s Sight. Perhaps Ulder or Pherria senses that 
  more information can be wrought from the Helm of Torm’s 
  Sight, but that doing so requires that the helm is repaired first. 
  Who better to repair a broken artifact than a mad witch living in 
  a dystopian junkyard?
  Nothing at All. Nothing seems like a poor replacement, but 
  it should be doable. If the characters only know that they have 
  to find the Sword of Zariel, the plot suddenly becomes much 
  more open as they leave Elturel. NPCs they meet may still point 
  them toward the mystical Mad Maggie, who’ll send the party 
  into a weird dreamworld to investigate Zariel’s fall, not needing 
  a conduit for the ritual, but only fools willing to risk their lives 
  and souls in pursuit of the delicious memories.
  
   CHAPTER 1: A TALE OF TWO CITIES 
   CHAPTER 1: A TALE OF TWO CITIES 
  7
  Chapter 1: A Tale of Two Cities
  Chapter 1: A Tale of Two Cities
  C
  hapter 1: A Tale of Two Cities serves as 
  the starting point for Baldur’s Gate: Descent into 
  Avernus. It’s an introductory chapter packed with 
  action, where the party gets a feel for the seedy 
  streets of Baldur’s Gate, and discover background 
  information, dark secrets and new allies, setting 
  them up for their descent into Avernus.
  Running Chapter 1
  Once you’ve set up for Chapter 1: A Tale of Two Cities, it’s 
  time to run the chapter for your players. It’s a long chapter 
  with a lot of content, most of which is very entertaining. 
  Below we’ll go over each of the major sections of the chapter 
  – Elfsong Tavern, Dungeon of the Dead Three, Low Lantern 
  and Vanthampur Villa – offering advice and inspiration on 
  how to run the content. First, however, we’ll shortly look at 
  how you can restructure Chapter 1 to fit your needs.
  Restructuring Chapter 1
  Chapter 1 is in essence an investigation. Initially, a mission to 
  discover – and eliminate – cultists of the Dead Three, which 
  later evolves into an investigation into the Vanthampur’s 
  and their involvement in the disappearance of Elturel. This 
  is a neat – and very fast – way of getting the party from 
  1st-level adventurers to seasoned 5th-level heroes before their 
  descent into Avernus. However, if you want to get to the point 
  (Avernus, in this case) faster, or you have a party starting at a 
  higher level, here’s some advice on how you can restructure 
  Chapter 1 to better suit your needs.
  As a note here, you can also find the appendix ‘Finding 
  the Dead Three’ with this download. The appendix contains 
  two additional encounters in Baldur’s Gate you can use in to 
  make the chapter a bit less linear.
  Skipping the Pirate Encounter
  The most expendable block of content is probably the pirate 
  encounter in Elfsong Tavern, which gets your party from level 
  1 to 2. While a good starting point for newer players, this bar 
  fight with unnamed bandits unrelated to the larger story isn’t 
  integral to the campaign. If you want, you can simply start 
  the adventure at 2nd level, skip the scuffle with the spurned 
  pirates and have Tarina insist on a few games of Baldur’s 
  Bones before she divulges any information about the cultists.
  Skipping the Dead Three Cultists
  While the cultists of the Dead Three might feature more 
  prominently in a future campaign, they play only a very 
  minor part in this campaign. Their function is more-or-less 
  just to get the party leveled up and to serve as a segue to the 
  Vanthampurs. You can use Reya Mantlemorn (or any faction 
  of your choice) as the hook instead (see Additional Hooks), 
  informing the party that she thinks the Vanthampurs have 
  Thavius Kreeg, leading the party straight to Amrik in the 
  Low Lantern, as she hopes to learn more about Thavius and 
  perhaps gain access to the Upper City.
  Straight to the Vanthampurs
  Most everything the party actually needs to know before 
  going to Avernus, can be found in the Vanthampur Villa: 
  Thavius Kreeg and his infernal puzzle box, the shield of the 
  hidden lord, and Falaster Fisk. If you have Reya Mantlemorn 
  give the party the mission, you could have the infiltration of 
  the Vanthampur Villa act as the start of the adventure. This 
  works especially well for a party that’s around 4th or 5th level 
  or have just played through Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. 
  If your party is starting at 5th level (as opposed to 4th 
  level), you can increase the difficulty of the Vanthampur 
  Villa by placing Mortlock Vanthampur and a few bandits or 
  cultists in the Villa’s Foyer (V3), and putting Amrik and his 
  bodyguards in the Dining Room under the Villa (V24).
  
  8
   CHAPTER 1: A TALE OF TWO CITIES
   CHAPTER 1: A TALE OF TWO CITIES
  Elfsong Tavern
  The characters’ first mission in Baldur’s Gate takes them to 
  Elfsong Tavern, where the following is meant to happen:
  • Find Tarina. The party finds Tarina, who wants the party 
  to help her kill a band of pirates coming to kill her.
  • Hear the Elfsong. While waiting for the pirates, the party 
  hears an elf spirit singing about Elturel (they can also play 
  tavern games and hear rumors!)
  • Kill the Pirates. The characters fight Captain Dead-Eye 
  and his crew of pirates.
  • Get Pointed to the Bathhouse. Tarina tells the party that 
  the cultists frequent a bathhouse several blocks away.
  All told, the party’s visit to Elfsong Tavern should make for 
  some entertaining play, featuring roleplay, tavern games, 
  an eerie elfsong and a good ol’ fashioned bar fight. Below is 
  some advice on how to run Elfsong Tavern.
  Setting the Scene
  You can set the scene by using the description below:
  As you enter the Elfsong Tavern, you find yourself immediately 
  enveloped by the heat and noise of a busy taproom. On one 
  side of the entrance stands a hulk of a woman, who’s clearly 
  got some orc or even ogre in her bloodline. On the other 
  side of the door is an empty suit of armor – not just ordinary 
  armor, you realize, as the empty helmet moves to glance 
  at you for a moment, before returning its eyeless gaze to 
  the taproom. The room itself is filled with a wide variety of 
  patrons, all of which carry at least one weapon – and, in some 
  cases, multiple – while either discussing and laughing loudly, 
  or engaging in hushed conversations in private booths. None 
  seem to take particular interest in you. Two young men serve 
  the tables, while the middle-aged man standing behind the 
  bar gives a slight nod as you enter.
  If the party is unsure where to start or how to find Tarina, you 
  can describe the following scene:
  Suddenly, a loud crash followed by intense shouting from 
  above silences the taproom. A few seconds later, a disheveled, 
  elderly woman stumbles down the stairs. At the bottom, she 
  turns back and shouts back up the stairs:
  “A fine lot you are, pushing an old woman down the stairs! 
  Fools too – I wasn’t asking The All-Seeing to help me cheat, I 
  asked him to help me uncover the real cheater. Yes, I said it – 
  should be Tarina kicked off the table, not me!”
  The woman is Rahima Sahiressa (BG:DiA, pg. 16), an acolyte 
  and astrologer who worships Savras, the All-Seeing God 
  of divination and fate. She might come into play again in a 
  minute (see ‘Killing Time – and Pirates!’).
  Cheating at Tavern Games
  A cheating character makes a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check 
  against the passive Perception of all onlookers. On a success, 
  they can reroll one of the game’s skill checks or one of the dice 
  they’ve rolled, if playing a dice game. On a failure, well, that 
  depends who notices...
  Killing Time - and Pirates!
  When the party speaks to Tarina, she insists that they stay to 
  help her against her old crew, which she thinks have found 
  her. The book leaves it up to you to decide how long it’ll take 
  before the pirates show up to accost Tarina. The characters 
  might wonder – and rightly so – if they’re meant to stay in 
  the tavern for days, as they wait for the pirates to eventually 
  show up. Additionally, it’s quite the coincidence that the party 
  arrives just in time to help Tarina against her old crew.
  By making just a few, simple changes, we can make this 
  scenario both more plausible and prevent the party from 
  concluding that simply beating the information out of Tarina 
  is the easiest way to gain the information they’re after.
  Instead of Tarina asking the party to help her against the 
  pirates, you can have her insist that they instead play a few 
  rounds of Baldur’s Bones (or another tavern game) with her, 
  before she tells them what she knows. Tarina sees this as an 
  opportunity to cheat the party out of some coin (see ‘Cheating 
  at Tavern Games’) before handing over information. 
  You can have the party play a round or two of Baldur’s 
  Bones, with an ante of 2 gold pieces. Then present an 
  interlude in the form of the ‘Elfsong’ sounding throughout 
  the tavern. You can then resume the game of Baldur’s Bones, 
  until the characters seem bored, confront Tarina with her 
  cheating, or simply demand to get the information. This is 
  when Lekard ‘Dead-Eye’ Cadavrus and his bandits arrive 
  downstairs, and a worried look comes across Tarina’s face. 
  In a hushed voice, Tarina quickly fills the party in on 
  her falling out with the pirates and offers her final bargain: 
  “They’s going to kill me and ain’t a soul in here who’ll dare 
  do nottin’. ‘Cept ye lot, that is. Ye’ll have to, if ye want to learn 
  what I knows ‘bout dem cultists ye’re lookin’ fer.”
  Meanwhile, the pirates are making their way up the stairs, 
  ‘Dead-Eye’ shouting at the top of his lungs: “I knows ye’re 
  here, Rhonda – or Tarina is it? That old bird said as much, 
  swore it on her All-Hearing or All-Knowing or All-Something-
  god! We even pricked her a little to make sure she wasn’t 
  tellin’ no tales!”
  Scaling the Encounter
  A bandit captain and seven bandits is a hefty challenge for a 
  party of 1st level adventurers. As a bandit herself, Tarina isn’t 
  going to provide much aid, and the book specifically says that 
  other patrons won’t intervene unless bribed. Here are some 
  ways you can increase the party’s chances:
  • Allow the party to ambush the pirates as they come up 
  the stairs, gaining a surprise round and funneling their 
  enemies, as they block each other on the narrow staircase.
  • Make Tarina a spy instead of a bandit and have the pirates 
  focus their attacks on her instead of the party.
  • If Tarina is killed, Dead-Eye offers a truce. If the party 
  protests that they needed information from Tarina, Dead-
  Eye suggests they find a priest and speak to the corpse.
  • If Dead-Eye is killed, any remaining bandits flee.
  What Tarina Knows
  After helping Tarina, she tells what she knows about the 
  bathhouse. If the characters fared badly in the fight with the 
  pirates, you can also have her suggest that they get a good, 
  long rest before going there – allowing them to get to 2nd 
  level and prepare themselvs for the hard challenges that 
  await in the Dungeon of the Dead Three. 
  If you want to make the road to the bathhouse a bit less 
  linear, you can also have Tarina instead supply the characters 
  with information that can help them find out where the 
  cultists hide, instead of sending them directly there. See the 
  appendix ‘Finding the Dead Three’ for more information.
  
   CHAPTER 1: A TALE OF TWO CITIES 
   CHAPTER 1: A TALE OF TWO CITIES 
  9
  Dungeon of the Dead Three
  The Dungeon of the Dead Three underneath a public 
  bathhouse run by the Vanthampurs presents itself as a classic 
  dungeon crawl, where the characters must fight – and kill – 
  cultists of the gods Bane, Bhaal and Myrkul.
  Jabaz and Qurmilah
  We’re told that the two masseuses who work in the bathhouse 
  during the day (areas D3 and D4) know about the secret 
  entrance, but won’t tell the party about it. This seems a 
  bit counterproductive. Instead, if your party arrives at the 
  bathhouse during opening hours to question the masseuses, 
  but don’t know where to go from there, you can have either 
  Jabaz or Qurmilah seek them out as they leave through the 
  bathhouse’s garden. The masseuse explains their suspicions: 
  “I think Mortlock is running some shady business on the side, 
  but I’m too afraid to say anything. He’s told me I can’t hang 
  around after hours, and there’s a hidden door leading down to 
  some dark, stinky place in the northern massage room!”
  D7. Bhaal's Altar
  It seems a wasted opportunity not to give this altar a function 
  of some sort. Consider having the words “Present your work 
  to the Lord of Murder” be scratched into the wall underneath 
  the steel mask. If a character places a body or body parts on 
  the altar (either from the corpse in D6 or one of the cultists 
  above) they gain a +2 bonus to Strength and Dexterity that 
  lasts 1 hour, during which they feel an increased urge to spill 
  blood and murder. If a character instead desecrates the altar 
  (breaking it, pouring holy water on it or something similar), 
  they feel like they’ve rectified a great evil, granting them 5 
  temporary hit points that lasts 1 hour.
  D12. Bane's Altar
  As with Bhaal’s Altar in D7, you can give this altar an 
  inscription and function as well. Above the altar is written: 
  “Submit your servant to the Lord of Darkness.”
  A character that forces an unwilling creature to kneel by 
  the altar (such as Klim, the noble already shackled in the 
  room) can use the iron consul’s Voice of Command-feature 
  once as a bonus action within the next hour. Similar to 
  Bhaal’s altar, a character that instead desecrates Bane’s altar 
  gains 5 temporary hit points.
  D13. Morgue
  Against characters of 2nd level, the master of souls’ fireball 
  is potentially campaign-ending. Consider replacing it with 
  fear or stinking cloud, both of which work well thematically. 
  D17. Myrkul's Altar
  Here we don’t need to make any alterations, except granting a 
  character that desecrates the altar 5 temporary hit points.
  D18. Gas Buildup
  This room threads a fine line between a non-issue and a total 
  party kill. With an initial explosion dealing up to 4d6 fire 
  damage, followed by a 25% chance of the roof collapsing for 
  another 4d10 bludgeoning damage, this room could very well 
  end the campaign if the characters are very unlucky.
  Consider either ignoring the possibility of a roof collapse, 
  or allowing the most likely character (such as a dwarf or a 
  creature with a background in construction) to realize the 
  structural damage with a DC 10 Intelligence check, giving 
  them time to warn the other characters before the collapse.
  D29. Mortlock Vanthampur
  The scene in this room is quite cinematic, but you can add 
  even more drama, if you want to. As the party enters, Vaaz is 
  standing over Mortlock, ready to finish him off. Seeing the 
  party, Vaz hisses: “So you’ve brought friends, eh, Mortlock? A 
  little late to the party, aren’t they?” before stabbing Mortlock 
  in the stomach and retreating towards area D33.
  If the party starts to chase after Vaaz, Mortlock begs in 
  a gravelly voice: “Hold up.. My pouch.. A potion.. I’ll tell you 
  everything.. I’ll help you..” while fumbling with his pouch, 
  clearly bleeding out. The potion is a greater potion of healing, 
  which the party can either administer to Mortlock, or take 
  with them.
  Mortlock will then tell his story, either in an effort to get the 
  party to heal him, or after they’ve given him the potion. He’ll 
  also warn them that Vaaz is very dangerous, and informs the 
  characters that there’s no other exits ahead. He suggests they 
  replenish their strength (take a short rest) before facing the 
  murderous cultist.
  Scaling the Encounter with Vaaz
  A 2nd-level character usually has somewhere between 10-20 
  hit points, and deals an average of 5-10 damage in a round. 
  Vaaz, a death’s head of Bhaal has 76 hit points (not counting 
  his ability to shrug off three attacks) and deals upwards 
  of 20-30 damage in a round with his two dagger attacks 
  because of his Aura of Murder. Furthermore, he’s resistant to 
  magic and can stun a target each round. 
  In other words, Vaaz is a big mouthful for a party of 
  2nd-level adventurers, especially if they’re low on hit points 
  and resources. Depending on their strength and numbers, 
  you may want to adjust the difficulty of this encounter:
  • As mentioned above, you can have Mortlock suggest the 
  party takes a short rest before facing Vaaz.
  • If Mortlock has been healed, he’ll aid the party against 
  Vaaz, who in turn focuses his attacks on the brute.
  • During combat, Mortlock will suggest to the party that 
  they shove Vaaz toward the statue of Bane, hoping that the 
  cultist will succumb to its magic.
  • Describe Vaaz as wounded, having suffered a few hits of 
  Mortlock’s greatclub earlier, reducing the cultist’s hit points 
  to a more appropriate number, depending on the party’s 
  strength.
  
  10
  10
   CHAPTER 1: A TALE OF TWO CITIES
   CHAPTER 1: A TALE OF TWO CITIES
  Low Lantern
  The characters’ visit to Low Lantern is a social encounter 
  bound to become a combat encounter. It presents itself as a 
  fun scenario, that should be pretty straight-forward to run 
  – and not too dangerous. By themselves, Amrik and his two 
  bodyguards shouldn’t be too much of an issue for a party 
  of 3rd-level adventurers, especially not if they’ve brought 
  Mortlock. But, there’s a wildcard in this scenario, that should 
  be handled with some care.
  Poisoned Drinks
  Amrik can signal the tavern staff to spike hostile characters’ 
  drinks with torpor poison – something he will probably do 
  immediately when he realizes the characters suspect his 
  involvement with the Dead Three Cultists. It’s a fun little 
  gimmick, but since torpor poison has a DC of 15, and renders 
  a character both poisoned and unconscious for 4d6 hours, 
  it might end the encounter before it begins, or cause one or 
  more players to sit out the entirety of the encounter (and the 
  rest of the adventuring day!), which isn’t very fun. 
  Noticing the Poison
  Instead of removing the poisoning from the encounter (which 
  would be a shame), you can give the characters a fighting 
  chance, allowing each character who is given a poisoned 
  cup to make a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check to realize 
  that the drink smells or tastes weirdly, before swallowing 
  the poison. This allows them an extra chance to avoid being 
  poisoned, although they won’t realize in time to prevent other 
  characters from drinking the poison.
  Adding More Saving Throws
  Additionally, you can have a character that drinks the 
  poison make three saving throws instead of one. The first 
  immediately, the second after three rounds, and the third 
  after a minute. On the first failure they become poisoned 
  and on the second failure they become incapacitated for the 
  duration (4d6 hours). This gives them at least a chance to 
  participate in the fight that inevitably breaks out when they 
  realize Amrik is trying to poison them!
  Handling Metagaming
  Finally, poisoning is always a bit hard to handle, since 
  players might insist that their character wouldn’t have drunk 
  anything, once you inform them that they’ve been poisoned. 
  On the other hand, you can’t very well ask the players if their 
  characters drink what they’re offered without making it 
  painfully obvious that the drinks have been poisoned.
  To get around this, you can have Amrik toast the characters 
  (for their cunning or some other perceived accomplishment), 
  the city of Baldur’s Gate or the disappeared Archduke Ulder 
  Ravengard, prompting the players to declare whether their 
  characters participate in the toast or not. Alternatively, you 
  can have players who argue that their characters wouldn’t 
  have drunk anything make a DC 13 Intelligence check, 
  allowing them to have abstained on a success.
  Vanthampur Villa
  The Vanthampur Villa is where the party will finally unravel 
  the conspiracy, face off with Duke Vanthampur and, most 
  importantly, High Overseer Thavius Kreeg. Once again this 
  looks much like a straightforward dungeon crawl, but there’s 
  a few things it pays to be aware of.
  V13. Thurstwell Vanthampur
  Thurstwell has important information, as well as the infernal 
  puzzle box, which is vital to the story. There’s no guarantee, 
  however, that the party will go up before they head down 
  into the sewer complex. Returning to fight Thurstwell after 
  clearing out the sewers will seem a bit flat, so you may want 
  to make it more likely that they confront Thurstwell first. 
  If Mortlock or Amrik is with the party, you can have them 
  direct the party to Thurstwell – Amrik because he sees 
  a chance to escape while the party kills his brother, and 
  Mortlock because he wants vengeance. Alternatively, you 
  can have the characters hear sounds of shrill shrieking and 
  frustration, as Thurstwell is working on the puzzle box, 
  hopefully drawing the party upstairs.
  V26. Temple of Zariel
  There’s a magical mace hiding in this statue’s head and 
  neck, which a character can find by breaking the statue. That 
  seems slightly unlikely – plus, +1 weapons are a bit bland. 
  You can substitute this mace for Heavensfall (see page 3 
  of this document), and have one or more characters with 
  a ‘righteous disposition’ sense something calling to them 
  from within the statue, as they fight the barbed devil in this 
  chamber, increasing the chances that they’ll actually find it.
  V36. Vanthampur Vault
  In the book, there’s not much advice on what to do with 
  Thavius Kreeg if the party doesn’t kill him. Indeed, it seems 
  that Thavius Kreeg is meant to die, so that the party has a 
  chance to face him later in hell. But, Thavius is also described 
  as a cowardly liar, so it’s unlikely he’d provoke the party into 
  killing him.
  If you want to make Thavius’ death a bit more likely, you 
  can have the former High Overseer break down in a fit of 
  guilt and self-pity, as the party levels accusations against him. 
  Moaning stuff like “Oh, what have I done, what have I done?” 
  and “Why me? Why? Oh gods, why?” before finally collapsing 
  in a sobbing heap on the floor, face-down. As the party – or 
  Reya – turns him over, they see black foam on his lips and 
  a small vial in his hand. Dying from the self-administered 
  assassin’s blood-poison, Thavius only has the time to mutter: 
  “Fools... There’s no sense fighting it... The Duke of Avernus 
  will get her way. She always does...” 
  Alternatively, you can have Reya Mantlemorn – if she’s 
  with the party – kill the infernal High Overseer in a fit of 
  righteous rage, once she realizes his treachery. This rash 
  and foul misdeed might become a source of regret for the 
  young woman, and serve as her motivation for traveling 
  into the Nine Hells, where she hopes to find atonement. You 
  can even have the Flaming Fist accuse the party of being 
  co-conspirators to the murder, using it as leverage to press 
  the party into going to Avernus to save Elturel.
  
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/Adventures/Eventyr/Complete DM's Bundle - Baldur's Gate - Descent into Avernus/Chapter 1 - A Tale of Two Cities.pdf