Spies in the House

The Blood Tide uses this underground passage to spy on House Deneith.

Requires access to adventure pack
Definition: Adventure Pack
A list of all adventure packs
: Sentinels of Stormreach

Spies in the House
Heroic level:	8
Epic level:	21
Duration:	Long
Heroic XP:	♣3,708Solo/Casual ♦6,560Normal ♥6,940Hard ♠7,320Elite
Epic XP:	♣19,015Solo/Casual ♦32,775Normal ♥33,858Hard ♠34,941Elite
Takes place in:	The Blood Road
Bestowed by:	Brysen d'Deneith
NPC contact:	Brysen d'Deneith
Quest acquired in:	House Deneith
Patron:	House Deneith
Base favor:	5
Purchase:	Sentinels of Stormreach or VIP
Extreme Challenge:	Yes

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Overview

The Blood Tide has discovered a way to infiltrate into House Deneith and are using it to spy on Stormreach's sentinels.

Brysen d'Deneith wants you to enter the Blood Road, find out where it leads, and destroy the Blood Tide forces you find inside.

Although part of the Sentinels of Stormreach pack, this quest isn't part of the chain and is strictly optional.
It is, however, required for the Epic The Pirates of the Thunder Sea Saga.

Spoiler Warning: Spoiler material below this point!

Objectives

Find the way through the Blood Road
Slay the necromancer, Rowan Watzun
Slay the elemental guardians (4 total)
(Optional) Rescue Kaylahn — Bonus (10%): Heroic( ♣371 ♦656 ♥694 ♠732 ) Epic( ♣1,902 ♦3,278 ♥3,386 ♠3,494 )
(Optional) Rescue Vasimus — Bonus (10%): Heroic( ♣371 ♦656 ♥694 ♠732 ) Epic( ♣1,902 ♦3,278 ♥3,386 ♠3,494 )
(Optional) Rescue Plorax — Bonus (10%): Heroic( ♣371 ♦656 ♥694 ♠732 ) Epic( ♣1,902 ♦3,278 ♥3,386 ♠3,494 )
(Optional) Rescue Ereniel — Bonus (10%): Heroic( ♣371 ♦656 ♥694 ♠732 ) Epic( ♣1,902 ♦3,278 ♥3,386 ♠3,494 )
(Optional) Rescue all of the prisoners (4 total) — Bonus (20%): Heroic( ♣742 ♦1,312 ♥1,388 ♠1,464 ) Epic( ♣3,803 ♦6,555 ♥6,772 ♠6,988 )

What to Expect

(15) Traps (fixed)
Overlapping floors
Puzzle (1 puzzle wheel)
Spawning/respawning monsters

Known Traps

Trap DCs NOT SHOWN IN MAP Many of the traps can be avoided or timed, with care

First Room

Spike trap just past the underwater tunnel: control panel on floor, at exit of tunnel into first underwater section
Sonic trap at surface level: control panel in northwest corner of first underwater section, on south wall, where enclosure juts west
Spike trap in underwater section to north of fence: control panel in northwest corner of first underwater section, on floor near Sonic panel (NO need to do except for traps bonus)
Spike trap in underwater section to west of fence (around underwater valve): control panel on south wall above valve, near surface
Spike trap at surface level, in front of tunnel heading north; control panel on pipes to east of tunnel mouth (southern panel of two, immediately out of water); trap easily avoided, but good to disable in case you fall from above
Spike trap at surface level, just inside tunnel heading north; control panel on pipes to east of tunnel mouth (northern control panel of two, next to tunnel)
Spike trap at surface level, on floor next to south wall: control panel at bottom right corner of N–S wall to east of trap; trap easily avoided, but good to disable in case you fall from above
Spike trap at surface level, along the west wall: control panel on pipes at top of steps in northwest Corner (near valve next to air jet); trap easily avoided, but good to disable in case you fall from above
Spike trap at surface level, around base of stairs in northwest corner: control panel on pipes to west of tunnel mouth

Connecting Tunnel

(Epic only) Grease trap in tunnel at top of first room, halfway up ramp: control panel on floor at mouth of tunnel, just inside grating (across from the first prisoner); can be disabled before grating is opened; appears to control nothing on Heroic
Wind/Fire trap in tunnel at top of first room, just before tunnels meet: control panel on stone pipe on north side of ramp, just before tunnels meet
Wind trap in tunnel at top of first room, just after tunnels meet: control panel on floor next to stone pipe on north side, where the water disappears; appears to control nothing on Heroic)
Electricity trap in shaft heading up at end of tunnel: control panel at bottom of shaft on pipes to north, east or south (location varies)

Electric Floor Rooms

Electric floor #1 following drop down after 1st shrine: No control panel; Fortitude saves (high damage, but not insta-kill); can be avoided by using walkway around side of room at floor level
Blade trap near air jet heading upward to Electric floor #2: control panel on north wall, to east of air jet, above end of long pipe
Electric floor #2 after air jet ride upwards: No control panel; Fortitude saves (high damage, but not insta-kill). You have to walk on floor – minimise time by running east and jumping onto boxes to get up to pipes
Cold air jets on pipes after defeating Fire Elementals: No control panel; can be avoided by using valves in order north, west, east
Air vents on south wall, at pipe level above Electric floor #2: No control panel; can be timed OR jump down to Electric floor #2, south of pipe, immediately before vents then run west (below vents) and jump onto boxes
Electric floor #3 after air jet ride upwards: No control panel; Fortitude saves (high damage, but not insta-kill). You have to walk on floor – minimize time by running east, under pipe, and jumping onto boxes to get up to pipes
Electric floors currently (Update 27) show a saving throw in the combat log.
Spike trap near 3rd shrine - Single spike, easily avoided (doesn't seem to pop up on Heroic) - Unknown control panel, but it's disabled already if you clear all traps on lower floors.
Lightning trap (ball lightning) near Gargoyle Scoundrels: control panel on north wall of east alcove (almost straight ahead from top of ladder); correct valve to turn is random, but you can run away before trap springs

Tips and Misc

Note: This is a complicated dungeon with many overlapping paths, with many secrets and multiple solutions to problems. It is common to hate this dungeon until you understand it, and then enjoy running it.

The quest starts with a long drop down a shaft, and continues forward from there. Ladders on opposite sides of the shaft leading back up have breaks in them, forcing anyone climbing back up to jump from east to west and back again, repeatedly, making a very long climb even longer – so summon hirelings before you jump.
Useful buffs:
- Acid, Cold, Electricity, Fire
- Sonic for traps at the start if not disabled
- This quest requires a lot of climbing and jumping like the Pit. Prepare yourself with continuous Feather FallingFeather Falling: This item is engraved with feathers and bestows a powerful magical effect. Whenever the wearer begins to fall from any height, this effect slows the descent dramatically, causing the wearer to fall like a feather. and Jump skill buffs.
- Some form of Water Breathing is helpful at the beginning for any rogue disabling the underwater traps. For others (even those avoiding active traps), it's nice but hardly necessary.
It's a LONG fall down at the start:
- You land in water, so jumping down is safe here – go ahead and cannonball.
- With feather fall you can fully buff yourself on the way down (it's that far a fall). You will land in the water at the bottom so feather fall is optional here (but very helpful later).
At several points, you have to continue your journey via air jet:
- Some air jets will take you where you need to go automatically when you step in them.
- Other air jets may need to be entered at the correct angle to get you where you need to go.
- At the lowest levels, some air jets will take you where you need to go, but other routes are available too.
The Green Wheel controls the set of air jets that is active at the next level up; each rune on the wall behind the wheel corresponds to activating a different jet there. Each jet will take you in a slightly different direction.
- Turn the wheel either once (or twice), so the first (or second) rune on the right is orange. This activates the first (or second) jet from the right on the next level. Either will work, some find one or the other easier.
- Head along the pipe by the wheel, until you are in front of the large vent with an air jet coming out of it.
- Jump up into the air jet – this will send you to the southwest corner on the next level up, where you take another air jet ride
- Watch out for Skeletons, Skeleton Archers, Necromancers, Water Elementals and Gargoyles at the end of the second jump!
Kill all skeletons to open the door to the first Prisoner (Plorax).
- Above the door to the prisoner there are 10 green crystals which turn red for every skeleton killed.
- Skeletons sometimes fall down to lower levels, and you need to go back down to kill them.
- Fighting the mobs on the north edge of the room (rather than nuking them from the south) seems to help avoid falling skeletons.
- If you do not kill all the skeletons, you can still proceed with the quest but miss out on 2 optionals (Rescue Plorax and Rescue all 4 prisoners).
On the level with the skeletons, there is a valve in the southwest corner of the platform.
- The valve starts an air jet, so watch where you stand (on top of the valve itself is a good place).
- The air jet will send you into the waiting wings of a pair of gargoyles, guarding a valve in the ceiling (also reached by climbing boxes).
- The valve opens the gate to the bridge that leads to Plorax. A valve on this bridge opens the gate to proceed with the quest.
- The Gargoyles can be ranged before crossing via the air jet.
(Optional chest) At the end of that hall is an upwards shaft with a long ladder. Just beyond the top, on the right, is a secret door with a lever:
- The lever will start/stop air jets that go back across the top of the shaft.
- Depending where you stand, the jets can take you to one of several alcoves.
- There is nothing in either the north or south alcove, but you can jump out and quickly back to the others.
- The middle (east) contains a locked chest and some breakables (required breaks to get Vandal bonus).
- If you face the (eastern) ledge to the chest area and position yourself to jump into the right-hand (southern) air jet stream (with the jet behind your back) it should help propel you forward, aiming you towards to the correct ledge.
- The Lever at the far end of the corridor can actually be unlocked with: Open Lock if you choose to sneakily slip past the skeletons.
The first shrine, next to Electric floor #1, is just about a point of no return, unless you have a high Jump skill or Dimension Door; might as well use them.
The electric floors are auto-hit, no saves. These floors do a tremendous amount of damage, especially on elite. Watch your step! The Electric floor #1 can be avoided by walking around; the Electric floor #2 (after the air jet upward), however, cannot. It is possible to ride the first air jet up to the pipes at the level of the elementals and avoid that electric floor.
- Be especially careful if you rely on hirelings. They have no AI for dealing with the electric floors and will stand there taking damage until they die. Best to have them hold position before entering an area with electric floors.
The air jet ride up to the level of Electric floor #2 is far more difficult than previous rides:
- The required path is covered with several traps. On higher difficulties, these deal incredible damage, so navigating this one without a rogue along is difficult, but possible.
- The easiest way: Face your character east, then sidestep onto the jet, push forward as you go up, and you should land on a good sized pipe and avoid some if not all the traps (and the Electric floor).
- If you land on the electric floor, run to the boxes near the northeast corner and jump up to the pipes there.
The elemental guardians at Electric floor #2 do not spawn one at a time (in earlier updates, each appeared after the previous one was killed).
- The cold jets on the pipes you're standing on will go nuts at some point during your battle with the elementals, so someone with good evasion and protection from cold can help in turning the three valves.
- The valves may be turned in an order such that no cold jets need be run through: Start with the valve on the north wall, then west, then east.
Watch out for the air jets coming from the five pipes on the far side of the room. They will blow you into the centre of the electric floor, which is pretty much auto death as you are hard to reach.
- Watch the sequence, for when all the jets blow at once – that lasts ~1 second. Time your run for immediately after that, and you'll only have to clear the first 4 jets (the last doesn't blow next in the sequence).
- If you do get blown off, push to the right, in the direction the jets blew you, toward the pipes there. If you can make that, you can easily get right back where you were.
A second ride on an air jet takes you to the third electric floor. This jet starts when the elemental guardians have all been killed.
- Again, this floor is auto-hit with no saves. Run/jump to the crates.
- A ranged attack can kill many targets from this platform before you climb up to face them.
The two gargoyles near the end, near a pair of valves, will have a conversation about lying... which then leads to them fighting each other. However, they won't kill each other. You can wait for them to activate and kill them yourself; this increases monster kill count by +2 if you're chasing kills.
- One of the valves extends the drawbridge; the other one sets off a powerful lightning trap (shoots out 4 ball lightnings). It's random which one is which.
- If you have a rogue detect traps and all six stone heads on the wall are visible (DC's vary), the wrong valve won't set off the trap.
The exit at the end of quest leads to the Harbor in front of the Waterworks, so "Finish" out if you want to grab your end reward quickly.

Prisoners:

Plorax is at the end of the bridge at the top of the first room.
Vasimus is Shortly after Plorax and just past the up ramp with grease, lightning and air traps. Before the waterfall double back to the left (north-west) and down the ramp.
Ereniel is one level up directly above Vasimus. Once you go up the ladder at the end of the passage at the T with hanging skeleton turn right (north) and her cell is on the right (east) close to the lever. She can be rescued without opening her cell door. How? Why? Who can say?
Kaylahn is very obvious at the top of a long ladder to the west wall on the far side of the room containing Electric floor #1.

Boss:

Rowan Watzun is in the southeast corner of the room just past Electric floor #1.

External links

Bonus XP

Discreet bonus: 28 or fewer monsters killed +5% Bonus.( ♣185 ♦328 ♥347 ♠366 )
Aggression bonus: 33 or more monsters killed +10% Bonus.( ♣371 ♦656 ♥694 ♠732 )
Onslaught bonus: 67 or more monsters killed +15% Bonus.( ♣556 ♦984 ♥1,041 ♠1,098 )
Conquest bonus: 100 or more monsters killed +25% Bonus.( ♣927 ♦1,640 ♥1,735 ♠1,830 )
Tamper bonus: 7 or more traps disarmed +10% Bonus.( ♣371 ♦656 ♥694 ♠732 )
Neutralization bonus: 10 or more traps disarmed +20% Bonus.( ♣742 ♦1,312 ♥1,388 ♠1,464 )
Ingenious Debilitation bonus: 12 or more traps disarmed +30% Bonus.( ♣1,112 ♦1,968 ♥2,082 ♠2,196 )
Mischief bonus: 16 or more breakables smashed +8% Bonus.( ♣297 ♦525 ♥555 ♠586 )
Vandal bonus: 21 or more breakables smashed +10% Bonus.( ♣371 ♦656 ♥694 ♠732 )

Notes:

Notes: Vandal Bonus is only achievable by peeking around the corner near the exit and shooting one of the final 2 boxes. Note 2: Anecdotally, Ransack is somehow possible. It's been seen, but rarely.

Breakables:

4 breakables before the first lightning floor.
- Four on the east side of the ladder that climbs through the lightning traps. Can be hit with an explosion (e.g. fireball or rune arm) or a skilled jumper can get across the chasm. There is a locked chest behind them.
10 more breakables before the second lightning floor; 14 total by this point.
- Four breakable bookshelves in the hallway past the necromancer.
- Two outside the wall by the first shrine. Easy to shoot from the ramp beside the necromancer, or after passing the bookshelf hallway.
- Four next to the valve under the next shrine, where the Fire Mephits and Guardian Gargoyle spawn.
8 more breakables from the cold elemental room to the end of the dungeon. 22 total at the end; 21 required for Vandal.
- Two at the southwest corner of the upper cold elemental area. (The wide waterfalls flowing out of multiple outlets; elementals shoot you from here in epic only)
- Two in the eastern alcove at the same level. (The room with the control panel for the gargoyle Ball lightning trap)
- Two in the brick hallway after the gargoyle trap.
- Two at the quest end, note at least one must be hit from range to get 10% Vandal bonus, as the quest-end trigger is in front of the breakables.

Loot

Chests: Five (six on Epic)
- One in east alcove at top of shaft with electric traps (locked)
- One near Ereniel
- One for killing Rowan Watzun
- One near Kaylahn
- Chest near the end
- One end chest on Epic difficulties
Collectables:
- Alchemy Table just west of Rowan Watzun
NPC rewards: Random item; choose from eight

Monsters

Name ^{( picture )}	CR	Type	Race
Air Elemental ^{( view • edit )}	●♦21Epic Normal ●♥32Epic Hard	Elemental	Air Elemental
Air Mephit Warrior ^{( view • edit )}	♦14Normal ♥14Hard ♠17Elite ●♦17Epic Normal ●♥18Epic Hard	Air Outsider	Mephit
Air Mephit ^{( view • edit )}	♦3Normal ♥5Hard ♠8Elite OR Summoned by another mephit: ♦3Normal ♥3Hard ♠3Elite	Air Outsider	Mephit
Animated Armor ^{( view • edit )}	♣17Solo/Casual ♦16Normal ♥23Hard ●♦22Epic Normal ●♥30Epic Hard	Construct	Animated Object
Arcane Skeleton ^{( view • edit )}	●♦22Epic Normal	Undead	Skeleton
Armored Iron Defender ^{( view • edit )}	♣17Solo/Casual ♦16Normal ♥23Hard ●♦22Epic Normal ●♥30Epic Hard	Construct	Iron Defender
Blood Tide Archer (human) ^{( view • edit )}	♦7Normal ♠12Elite ●♦22Epic Normal ●♥30Epic Hard	Humanoid	Human
Blood Tide Spy ^{( view • edit )}	♦7Normal ♠12Elite ●♦22Epic Normal ●♥30Epic Hard	Humanoid	Human
Disciple of the Shadow ^{( view • edit )}	♦7Normal ♥12Hard ●♦22Epic Normal ●♥30Epic Hard	Humanoid	Human
Fire Elemental ^{( view • edit )}	●♦22Epic Normal	Elemental	Fire Elemental
Fire Mephit ^{( view • edit )}	♦3Normal ♥5Hard ♠8Elite OR Summoned by another mephit: ♦3Normal ♥3Hard ♠3Elite	Fire Outsider	Mephit
Gargoyle Scoundrel ^{( view • edit )}	●♦22Epic Normal ●♥30Epic Hard	Monstrous Humanoid	Gargoyle
Greater Air Mephit ^{( view • edit )}	♦6Normal ♥8Hard ♠11Elite ●♦22Epic Normal ●♥27Epic Hard ●♠40Epic Elite OR Summoned by another mephit: ♠6Elite	Air Outsider	Mephit
Greater Fire Mephit ^{( view • edit )}	♦6Normal ♥8Hard ♠11Elite ●♦22Epic Normal ●♥27Epic Hard OR Summoned by another mephit: ♠6Elite	Fire Outsider	Mephit
Greater Ice Mephit ^{( view • edit )}	●♦22Epic Normal	Air Outsider	Mephit
Guardian Gargoyle ^{( view • edit )}	●♦22Epic Normal	Monstrous Humanoid	Gargoyle
Human Necromancer ^{( view • edit )}	♦4Normal ♥6Hard ♠9Elite	Humanoid	Human
Ice Mephit Warrior ^{( view • edit )}	●♦17Epic Normal	Air Outsider	Mephit
Ice Mephit ^{( view • edit )}	♦3Normal ♥5Hard ♠8Elite OR Summoned by another mephit: ♦3Normal ♥3Hard ♠3Elite	Air Outsider	Mephit
Necromancer Apprentice ^{( view • edit )}	♦6Normal ♥8Hard ♠11Elite ●♦20Epic Normal ●♥28Epic Hard	Humanoid	Human
Rowan Watzun ^{( view • edit )}	♠14Elite ●♦23Epic Normal ●♥32Epic Hard	Humanoid	Human
Skeletal Archer (Eberron) ^{( view • edit )}	♥5Hard ♠9Elite ●♦22Epic Normal	Undead	Skeleton
Skeleton ^{( view • edit )}	●♦22Epic Normal	Undead	Skeleton
Swashbuckler Scoundrel ^{( view • edit )}	♦7Normal ♠12Elite ●♦22Epic Normal ●♥30Epic Hard	Humanoid	Human
Warforged Pirate Marine ^{( view • edit )}	♦7Normal ♥9Hard ♠12Elite ●♦22Epic Normal ●♥30Epic Hard	Living Construct	Warforged
Water Elemental ^{( view • edit )}	●♦22Epic Normal ●♥31Epic Hard	Elemental	Water Elemental