Dais and Throne – Temple of Elemental Evil Area of the Week 02/21/03

This page is a part (The Temple Ground Floor #10) of a playthrough that spanned the year of 2003. All the information was taken from TSR’s original AD&D adventure, the Temple of Elemental Evil.

For the players: The dais extends south into the Temple, forming a circular area. The floor, steps, and walls are black basalt, highly polished and gleaming. Four steps lead to the upper platform, and upon it is a great throne of purplish basalt, with leering demon faces and carved grinning skulls. Above the throne, the following words in the common tongue are chiseled into the curving wall:

THE POWER OF ELEMENTAL DEATH
BRINGS MORTALS LOW
BUT RAISES THE NAMELESS ONE
HIGH

The flags upon which the throne sets are ten-foot squares of granite, set in a mosaic pattern.

For the DM: If detected, note that the pervading evil is stronger here than elsewhere. A faint dweomer also radiates from the entire area.

The huge throne is carved of solid stone, immobile, and cannot be destroyed by anything but disintegrate or wish. Other spells, including those which affect rock or stone, have no effect.

The throne can be ordered to sink to the Greater Temple. Only a limited wish or greater spell can detect this movement capability. The possessor of the Orb of Elemental Death knows how to operate the throne merely by gazing upon it (magically becoming aware of the command words to make it lower or rise) and can control the throne by sitting on it while holding the Orb.

The throne can otherwise be activated by a wish, or by the following procedure. The user must step on the four color slabs directly before the throne, in proper order–brown, white, green, red–and then speak the name of Zuggtmoy. The throne thereafter sinks to area 340 when anyone sits upon it.