The Portal Opens

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Requires access to adventure pack A list of all adventure packs : Menace of the Underdark

The Portal Opens
Heroic level:	None
Epic level:	22
Duration:	long
Heroic XP:	N/A
Epic XP:	♣13,257 Solo/Casual  ♦17,357 Normal  ♥17,654 Hard  ♠17,951 Elite
Takes place in:	SSchindylryn Ziggurat
NPC contact:	Korrex Dunhaven
Quest acquired in:	Eveningstar
Patron:	Purple Dragon Knights
Base favor:	8
Free to Play:	No
Extreme Challenge:	No
The Portal Opens map (legend )

Overview

Enter the Sschindylryn Ziggurat and meet Elminster at the portal that leads to the Temple. There, find and defeat the High Priestess. Sschindylryn can be accessed through Eveningstar Cavern.

• This is the end quest for the City of Portals story arc. You must complete The House of Rusted Blades, The House of Broken Chains, and The House of Death Undone (in any order) to enable access to this quest.

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Spoiler Warning: Information below this point can be considered spoiler material!

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Objectives

• Gain entrance to the Temple of Lolth
• Defeat the High Priestess
• Find the spider brooch component.
• Find the ceremonial dagger component.
• (Optional) Kill Utheo Myar, the slavemaster (8% base XP)
• (Optional) Slay the giant spider Shev'aal (8% base XP)

Known Traps

None.

Tips and Misc

• This quest consists primarily of a series of corridors that lead to a larger room, with an objective to accomplish for each room.
• Corridors are guarded by Acolytes and Wizards as well as driders, Drow assassins and fighters. Dungeon scaling operates heavily in this quest, so expect larger mobs with larger parties.
• The first large room is where you'll eventually leave (via a yet-to-be activated portal) to meet the High Priestess boss. Once you clear the Drow enemies in this room (there will remain some spiders on the upper level), Ana and Elminster will arrive.
• The objective changes quietly and doesn't require you to speak to Elminster: Retrieve a ceremonial spider brooch and dagger from rooms located on corridors left and right of the central room. You may retrieve the items in any order. On entering a corridor, there will be some resistance to clear before you find a portal that leads you to each objective area. Each objective area is a corridor with two paths: one to the objective, another to an optional where you eliminate slavers or destroy spiders in a disused lair. A party member with Open Lock or Knock will be needed for some doors on these optional paths.
• Near each objective entrance is a shrine, so spell casters and healers can take some luxury in power-casting for offense and defense in each area, then using the shrine as you leave the objective area.
• Each objective room has an orange-named boss. The dagger is guarded by a Blademaster; the spider brooch by a Wizard. Each boss has a moderate guard of driders, archers, mages and fighters that defend each room. On opening the door, the boss's will immediately head towards your location to attack you. It's practical for small parties not to enter the room but to divide and conquer: Let the boss approach alone, destroy him, then lure others out. The items in each room are guarded by a force field that drops once all resistance is eliminated. Once the boss is down, the remaining forces of each room aren't especially deadly except on Epic Elite.
• After both brooch and dagger are retrieved, return to the central room and approach Elminster, who will automatically recognize that you have the components. The central portal activates and a guardian drider will appear. After he gives a "None shall pass!" speech, most players will recognize him for the inept Pythoneque "Black Knight" that he is and quickly finish him off for a chest.
• End-fight time: Use the shrine on the upper level if required, buff your party and enter the central portal. Ana will enter the portal immediately after that guardian is down but there is no rush to join her, nor is it necessary to attempt to apply any buffs to her.
• You'll enter a large circular room with a central altar and a large portal ahead that players cannot enter. Players can return through the last portal they entered and to the shrine of the central room.
• Ahead on a platform is your first of three waves of attackers; several Drow of various types will attack you--but not before the High Priestess, standing near the larger portal, realizes that Ana is the Thread of the Weave incarnate, charms her and compels her to enter the restricted portal into the Demonweb. The priestess then orders the Drow to attack.
• Once all the Drow are neutralized, you fight the High Priestess for a time. When her health is down sufficiently, she'll animate many statues of driders and spiders to attack your party. The priestess cannot be attacked or damaged until all guardians are destroyed. Sometimes one or two of these don't sense the party, so if the priestess doesn't speak again to resume the fight, look for stragglers.
• After you give the priestess another beatdown, she will call for her last wave of defense: four dracolith demons and a handful of dretches.
• On dispatching these, you can finish attacking the priestess to an inch of her life. Put your Voice of the Master on when you see a large bull-like demon appear. He kills the priestess and warns you not to attempt to enter the Demonweb (on some occasions, you might actually kill the priestess, but the end-game dialog between her and the demon will still be heard).

Bonus XP

• Aggression bonus: 77 monsters killed +10% Bonus. No experience numbers available.
• Onslaught bonus: >100 monsters killed +15% Bonus. No experience numbers available.
• Conquest bonus: >123 monsters killed +25% Bonus. No experience numbers available.
• Vandal bonus: 21 breakables smashed +10% Bonus. No experience numbers available.
• Ransack bonus: 26 breakables smashed +15% Bonus. No experience numbers available.

Loot

• Chests:

• NPC rewards: Standard, including a chance of +3 Tomes

Named Loot

• Blade of the High Priestess - Dagger: 2[1d4]+6, Spellcasting Implement +18, Potency +72, Improved Paralyzing, Wisdom (Damages Wisdom), Wounding, Slay Living [ML:21,BtCoE]

Monsters

Monster Information

• Acolytes
• Acolytes of Lolth
• Collared Slaves
• Deathjump Spiders
• Draegloths
• Dretches
• Driders
• Guards
• Guardian Statues - Spiders
• Guardian Statues - Driders
• Harrowers
• Master Wizards
• Underdark Assassins

Named Monsters:

• Chaszoj'ryn - Orange-named drider
• Hamajj Hru'un - Orange-named drow
• Hekta Szind - Red-named drow priestess; end boss
• Preistess of Lolth - Orange-named drow
• Shev'aal - Optional orange-named spider
• Sorntran Arkenep - Orange-named drow
• Utheo Myar - Optional orange-named drow