TEXT:  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  by Ruslan Kim 
   
   
   
   
   
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica and all other Wizards 
  of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. This work contains 
  material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement 
  for Dungeon Masters Guild. All other original material in this work is copyright 2019 by Ruslan Kim and published under the Community Content 
  Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. 
  
   
  About this Guide 
  Combat is one of three main pillars of the game, 
  apart from exploration and interaction. And it 
  takes a lot of time to prepare and run good 
  combat encounter. The goal of this guide is to 
  help DMs who are running Waterdeep: Dungeon 
  of the Mad Mage adventure to get better 
  understanding on how to run combat encounters, 
  how to make them coherent, memorable and fun! 
   
  Preparation process divided into 3 steps: 
  1. Determining Encounter Difficulty. 
  2. Determining Surprise. 
  3. Determining Creatures’ Tactics. 
   
  First step will give you general understanding 
  about how difficult combat encounter might be 
  for your player characters. Each level of WDMM is 
  designed for PCs of particular level. I use a 
  guideline from Encounter Building section in 
  Xanathar’s Guide to Everything (XGE, p. 88) to 
  evaluate how many PCs of corresponding level 
  should be in the party to overcome the encounter. 
  Math is simple. If you have the same number of 
  PCs – it is good fight. If you have more PCs (2/3 of 
  number of PCs is needed) – they will pass it with 
  ease, but it still be challenging. If you have less 
  PCs (3/2 of number of PCs is needed) – encounter 
  will be hard, but still winnable. Also, I put notes 
  about combat difficulty, which I think is 
  important. Depending on this information you 
  can adjust the encounter for your group, skip it 
  entirely or think about possible defeat 
  consequences. 
   
  Second step is always up to DM, so you should be 
  prepared in advance. General guidance is written 
  in Player’s Handbook (PHB, p. 189). Basically, you 
  should determine who is surprised when the first 
  round of combat begins. To do so, you should 
  know answers for these questions: 
  Are creatures trying to hide? They roll Stealth. 
  Are they successful? Compare results to PC’s 
  Passive Perception score. 
  Are PCs trying to hide? They roll Stealth.  
  Are they successful? Compare results to 
  creatures’ Passive Perception score. 
  Based on the results you will understand who 
  will take actions in the first round of combat and 
  who will not. I also put my notes for the 
  encounters when circumstances may differ from 
  the standard procedure. 
   
  Third step will help you to understand how to use 
  creatures in combat. Where should they stand? 
  What course of action will be most efficient and 
  logical depending on the lore? Who do they need 
  to attack? Will they fight to the death? Will they 
  flee or surrender? I also put more detailed 
  explanation on how some creature’s abilities and 
  traits work. 
   
  Abbreviations and Font Styles 
  The following abbreviations are used throughout this 
  guide: 
  PHB = Player’s Handbook 
  MM = Monster Manual 
  DMG = Dungeon Master’s Guide 
  SCAG = Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide 
  XGE = Xanathar’s Guide to Everything 
  VGTM = Volo’s Guide to Monsters 
  MTOF = Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes 
  WDMM = Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage 
  WDH = Waterdeep: Dragon Heist 
  PC(s) = Player Character(s) 
  AC = Armor Class 
  DC = Difficulty Class 
  CR = Challenge Rating 
  hp = hit points 
  gp = gold piece(s) 
  AoE = Area of Effect 
  RAW = Rules as Written 
   
  The following font styles are used throughout this 
  guide: 
  Bold style is used for the creatures’ names 
  Italic style is used for the Spells. 
  Bold Italic style is used for the Abilities and Traits. 
  
   
  Level 23: Mad Wizard’s Lair 
  This level is designed for four 17th level PCs. If 
  you have more than 4 PCs, you can add more 
  creatures or maximize their hp to make combat 
  encounters more challenging. If you have less 
  PCs, you can decrease the number of creatures in 
  combat or use less optimal tactics. All creatures 
  in Encounter Difficulty section are compared to 
  17th level PCs. 
   
  Area 4 
  Encounter Difficulty 
  6 Helmed Horrors (CR 4, MM, p. 183) = 2 PCs 
   
  Surprise 
  Follow the standard procedure to determine 
  surprise. 
   
  Creatures’ Tactics 
  Helmed horrors are constructs with the ability to 
  reason and adjust tactical decisions. They won’t 
  communicate, flee, surrender or take captives. 
   
  The Helmed Horror can fly, so make them use 
  hit and run tactics and stay in the air out of melee 
  reach between their turns. Make them use 
  Multiattack targeting less armored PC. As a DM 
  you can choose PCs’ favorite spells for Helmed 
  Horrors’ Spell Immunity trait based on what 
  Halaster knows about the party. 
   
  Area 5 
  Encounter Difficulty 
  4 Invisible Stalkers (CR 6, MM, p. 192) = 4 PCs 
   
  Surprise 
  Follow the standard procedure to determine 
  surprise. The Invisible Stalker under effect of 
  Invisibility trait can Hide to surprise the party. 
  Creatures’ Tactics 
  Invisible stalkers are air elementals transformed 
  by powerful magic to hunt creatures and retrieve 
  objects to their summoner. They won’t negotiate, 
  flee, surrender or take captives. 
   
  The Invisible Stalkers can fly, so make them use 
  hit and run tactics. While they are Invisible and 
  PCs don’t have active spell effects such as See 
  Invisibility or True Seeing, the Invisible Stalkers 
  don’t provoke opportunity attacks and make all 
  attacks with Advantage. Make Invisible Stalkers 
  use Slam targeting less armored PCs and stay in 
  the air out of melee reach between their turns. 
   
  Area 6b 
  Encounter Difficulty 
  1 Pit Fiend (CR 20, MM, p. 66) = 8 PCs 
   
  Surprise 
  As a DM you can make party surprised when this 
  creature appears from the shield. 
   
  Creatures’ Tactics 
  Devils are lawful evil fiends from lower plane 
  called Nine Hells (PHB, p. 300) collecting souls of 
  mortals. They can’t die on Material Plane, so they 
  won’t flee or surrender. They can take captives 
  and can communicate via Telepathy. 
   
  The Pit Fiend can fly, so make it use hit and run 
  tactics and stay in the air out of melee reach 
  between its turns. Make the Pit Fiend use 
  Multiattack targeting less armored PC. Don’t 
  waste its actions on spells because they can be 
  easily counterspelled or dispelled without any 
  impact. All PCs starting their turn within 20 ft. of 
  the Pit Fiend must succeed on DC 21 Wisdom 
  save or become Frightened because of Fear Aura. 
  Frightened condition (PHB, p. 190) greatly affects 
  martial PCs, because they can’t move closer and 
  have Disadvantage on attack rolls, so you can 
  make the Pit Fiend focus on spellcasters while 
  this condition remains. 
  
   
  Area 9b 
  Encounter Difficulty 
  1 Deva (CR 10, MM, p. 15) = 2 PCs 
   
  Surprise 
  As a DM you can make party surprised when this 
  creature appears from the shield. 
   
  Creatures’ Tactics 
  Devas are angels that act as divine messengers. 
  They can negotiate, surrender, flee and take 
  captives. 
   
  The Deva can fly, so make it use hit and run 
  tactics and stay in the air out of melee reach 
  between its turns. Make the Deva use 
  Multiattack targeting less armored PC. Its 
  Healing Touch doesn’t work on the Deva itself. 
   
  Area 10b 
  Encounter Difficulty 
  7 Flameskulls (CR 4, MM, p. 134) = 3 PCs 
   
  Surprise 
  Follow the standard procedure to determine 
  surprise. 
   
  Creatures’ Tactics 
  Flameskulls are intelligent undead creatures. 
  They can negotiate, but they won’t flee, surrender 
  or take captives. 
   
  The Flameskull can fly, so make it stay in the air, 
  out of melee reach. Make the Flameskull cast 
  Blur at the beginning of the fight or even before if 
  there is a chance. On the next turn make it cast 
  Fireball targeting as many PCs as possible. After 
  that make the Flameskull cast 2nd and 1st level 
  Magic Missile spells targeting PCs dealing most 
  damage to them. Make the Flameskulls continue 
  with Multiattack once they out of spell slots. 
  Don’t forget to cast Shield when appropriate. 
  Area 11b 
  Encounter Difficulty 
  2 Scaladar (CR 8, WDMM, p. 315) = 2 PCs 
   
  Surprise 
  Follow the standard procedure to determine 
  surprise. 
   
  Creatures’ Tactics 
  Scaladar are constructs, so they won’t 
  communicate, flee, surrender, take captives or 
  use any kind of tactics. 
   
  Make the Scaladar use Multiattack targeting 
  nearest PC. 
   
  Area 13 
  Encounter Difficulty 
  1 Trobriand (CR 22, MM, p. 167, with changes) = 
  9 PCs 
   
  Surprise 
  Follow the standard procedure to determine 
  surprise. 
   
  Creatures’ Tactics 
  Trobriand is intelligent enough to negotiate, flee, 
  surrender or take captives. 
   
  Make Trobriand cast Forcecage using 20 ft. cage 
  option trapping as many PCs as possible, 
  prioritizing martial PCs. If some PCs are still 
  outside AoE of the Forcecage, make Trobriand 
  cast this spell again on the next turn using 9th 
  level spell slot. Don’t overrate Power Word Kill 
  because it is easily countered by 3rd level Revivify 
  or 4th level Death Ward, so it’s better to use 9th 
  level slot for one more Forcecage. Make 
  Trobriand cast Counterspell to prevent PCs 
  teleporting outside or destroying Forcecage with 
  Disintegrate spell. After all PCs are trapped, make 
  Trobriand cast Incendiary Cloud over the 
  
   
  Forcecage area targeting as many PCs as possible. 
  This spell deals damage every turn and also 
  blocks vision, so PCs won’t be able to escape 
  casting Misty Step and target Trobriand with 
  spells and abilities requiring seeing the target. 
  Once his Concentration on Incendiary Cloud is 
  broken or there is no PCs within its AoE because 
  it has been moved too far, make Trobriand cast 
  Greater Invisibility for additional protection. If 
  PCs wasn’t been able to leave Forcecage, make 
  Trobriand cast Fireball or use Poison Breath if 
  it’s available targeting as many PCs as possible. If 
  PCs managed to leave Forcecage you can make 
  Trobriand cast Chain Lightning. If there is no 
  chance to target several PCs at once with AoE 
  spells, make Trobriand use Multiattack using 
  Sword. Note, that in golem form Trobriand can 
  restore hp targeting himself with fire spells 
  thanks to Fire Absorption trait. Don’t forget to 
  cast Shield to boost his AC when needed. 
   
  Area 17 
  Encounter Difficulty 
  1 Arcturia (CR 21, MM, p. 202, with changes) = 8 
  PCs 
  3 Champions (CR 9, WDMM, p. 312) = 6 PCs 
  12 Mimics (CR 2, MM, p. 220) = 2 PCs 
   
  Surprise 
  Follow the standard procedure to determine 
  surprise. 
   
  Creatures’ Tactics 
  Arcturia can negotiate, flee, surrender or take 
  captives. 
   
  Arcturia can fly, so make her stay in the air, out 
  of melee reach. Arcturia has Legendary actions, 
  so even if she loses Initiative she can act after 
  first PCs turn. Make Arcturia use Frightening 
  Gaze if any PC is within 5 ft. If there is no 
  adjacent PCs, make Arcturia cast Ray of Frost 
  targeting less armored PC. Don’t forget making 
  Arcturia cast Shield as Reaction to boost her AC. 
  You can also make her cast Counterspell using 
  Reaction, but raising AC for a round is generally 
  better than cancelling one PC’s spell. If Arcturia 
  is aware about invasion of the party, make her 
  cast True Polymorph in advance or at the 
  beginning of the fight. Adult Silver Dragon is my 
  personal favorite, but you can choose any other 
  form up to 21 CR. Note, that Arcturia can’t use 
  Legendary actions, Lair actions and Legendary 
  Resistance trait of obtained form (MM, p. 11). 
  The form can be dispelled with Dispel Magic and 
  successful DC 19 spellcasting ability check. PCs 
  can also make Arcturia lose Concentration but 
  it’s not so easy because the Adult Silver Dragon 
  has +12 bonus to Constitution save. The form will 
  also be suppressed in Antimagic Field spell’s AoE. 
  Make the Adult Silver Dragon use Paralyzing 
  Breath targeting as many PCs as possible. On the 
  next round make it use Multiattack targeting less 
  armored Paralyzed PC within 5 ft., so all hits will 
  become Critical hits. Successful Frightful 
  Presence inflicts Disadvantage on PCs’ attacks 
  while the Dragon is within line of sight, so you 
  can focus on spellcasters until Frightened 
  condition remains. Make the Dragon use 
  Paralyzing Breath every time it is available and 
  follow up using Multiattack. Once True 
  Polymorph is ended, make Arcturia cast Mirror 
  Image. It is good defensive spell which doesn’t 
  require Concentration. On the next turn make her 
  cast Feeblemind targeting cleric or druid PC, so he 
  or she won’t be able to cast spells. On the next 
  turn make Arcturia cast Slow prioritizing martial 
  PCs. After that make Arcturia cast 5th level 
  Fireball if she can target 2 or more PCs. Otherwise 
  make her cast 7th level Disintegrate targeting 
  heavily armored PC, preferably under effect of 
  Slow spell. As any spellcaster Arcturia loses a lot 
  of power inside Antimagic Field spell’s AoE, but 
  note that she is immune to non-magical weapons 
  and her Paralyzing Touch still works inside this 
  spells AoE, so she can try to break Concentration 
  of the caster. 
   
  Champions won’t negotiate, surrender or take 
  captives, but they can flee. 
   
  Make the Champion use Multiattack with 
  Greatsword targeting less armored Paralyzed PC 
  to make all hits become Critical hits. Make them 
  
   
  use Shortbow only if there is no chance to attack 
  in melee. The Champion has very high bonus to 
  Athletic skill, so it can Grapple and Shove 
  effectively. Make the Champion use Second 
  Wind as Bonus Action once it loses more than 20 
  hp and use Indomitable when it fails saving 
  throw. 
   
  Mimics are predatory monsters. They can’t 
  negotiate, surrender and take captives, but they 
  can try to flee. 
   
  Make the Mimic use Pseudopod targeting 
  nearest PC to activate Adhesive trait. On the next 
  turn make it use Bite with Advantage granted by 
  Grappler trait. 
   
  Area 20 
  Encounter Difficulty 
  4 Ultroloths (CR 13, MM, p. 311) = 12 PCs 
   
  Surprise 
  As a DM you can make party surprised when 
  these creatures appear using Teleport. 
   
  Creatures’ Tactics 
  Ultroloths are yugoloth – neutral evil mercenary 
  fiends from Outer plane called Gehenna (PHB, p. 
  300). They won’t flee, surrender or take captives 
  but can negotiate using Telepathy. 
   
  The Ultroloth can fly, so make it stay in the air 
  out of melee reach and use hit and run tactics 
  when attack in melee range. Make the Ultroloth 
  cast Fear targeting as many PCs as possible to 
  decrease their combat effectiveness. Next round 
  make the Ultroloth cast Fire Storm targeting as 
  many PCs as possible. After that make the 
  Ultroloth use Multiattack targeting less armored 
  martial PC, because spellcasters isn’t very 
  dangerous for the Ultroloth thanks to Magic 
  Resistance trait and resistance to cold, fire and 
  lightning damage. 
  Area 24 
  Encounter Difficulty 
  1 Demilich (CR 18, MM, p. 48) = 7 PCs 
   
  Surprise 
  Follow the standard procedure to determine 
  surprise. 
   
  Creatures’ Tactics 
  Demiliches are intelligent undead creatures. They 
  can negotiate, but they won’t flee, surrender or 
  take captives. 
   
  The Demilich can fly, so make it stay in the air 
  out of melee reach. The Demilich has Legendary 
  actions, so even if it loses Initiative it can act right 
  after first PCs turn. Make the Demilich use Cloud 
  of Dust if any PC is within 10 ft. If there is no 
  adjacent PCs, make the Demilich use Vile Curse 
  targeting martial PC to decrease his or her 
  combat effectiveness and saves. If the Demilich 
  has less than a half of its hit points at the 
  beginning of its turn, make it use Life Drain 
  targeting as many PCs as possible. Otherwise, 
  make the Demilich use Howl positioning itself to 
  target as many PCs as possible. 
   
  Area 33 
  Encounter Difficulty 
  1 Halaster Blackcloak (CR 23, WDMM, p. 310) = 
  10 PCs 
  1 Empyrean (CR 23, MM, p. 131) = 10 PCs 
   
  Surprise 
  Follow the standard procedure to determine 
  surprise. 
   
  Creatures’ Tactics 
  Halaster is mad so it is up to DM if he will 
  negotiate, flee, surrender or take captives. 
   
  
   
  Assume that Halaster pre-casted Mage Armor 
  and Mind Blank before the combat. He is 
  absolutely useless inside Antimagic Field spell’s 
  AoE. If the party has access to this spell, I’d 
  suggest to make him cast Wish in advance to get 
  immunity to this spell’s effects (as it is written in 
  alternative effects of Wish, but don’t forget about 
  stress damage). According to the book, Halaster 
  is sitting on the throne which gives him benefits 
  of Improved Invisibility, so it's better for him to sit 
  on it every time. As an option you can make 
  Halaster sit on the throne under Wall of Force 
  hemisphere before the fight. It costs only one 5th 
  level spell slot, but at least he won't get alpha-
  striked. Halaster has Legendary actions, so even 
  if he loses Initiative, he can act after first PCs turn. 
  Every round make Halaster use Spell Ward as 
  his first Legendary action to gain 20 temporary 
  hit points burning 4th level spell slot. As a second 
  Legendary action make Halaster cast Fireball or 
  Dispel Magic, depending on the situation. Don’t 
  forget making Halaster cast Shield as Reaction to 
  boost his AC. You can also make him cast 
  Counterspell using Reaction, but raising AC for a 
  round is generally better than cancelling one PC’s 
  spell. Once Halaster’s first turn starts, make him 
  cast 5th or 6th level Confusion targeting as many 
  PCs as possible. On the next turn make Halaster 
  cast Meteor Swarm if he still has 9th level spell 
  slot. Continue the fight casting Chain Lightning 
  using 7th and 6th level spell slots and then Fireball 
  targeting as many PCs as possible. 
   
  Empyreans are the celestial children of the gods 
  of the Upper Planes. They can negotiate, flee, 
  surrender or take captives. 
   
  The Empyrean can fly, so make it stay in the air, 
  out of melee reach. The Empyrean has 
  Legendary actions, so even if it loses Initiative, it 
  can act after first PCs turn. Make the Empyrean 
  use Attack targeting less armored PC prioritizing 
  Maul over Bolt. If the Empyrean is standing on 
  the ground, save 2 Legendary actions to use 
  Trembling Strike right before its turn, so there 
  will be a chance that some PCs will be Prone 
  when the Empyrean’s turn starts. Otherwise 
  continue to use Attack. On Empyrean’s turn 
  make it use Maul targeting less armored Stunned 
  or Prone PC to attack with Advantage. 
  Area 35 
  Encounter Difficulty 
  2 Flesh Golems (CR 5, MM, p. 169) = 1 PC 
   
  Surprise 
  Follow the standard procedure to determine 
  surprise. 
   
  Creatures’ Tactics 
  Golems are elemental spirits bound into material 
  form by powerful magic. They blindly obey any 
  commands given them by their creators. They 
  don’t feel pain and don’t afraid of death. When 
  golem’s body is heavily damaged the elemental 
  spirit tries to break free causing golem to go 
  berserk. Golems can’t communicate, flee, 
  surrender or take captives. 
   
  Fire damage decreases the Golem’s combat 
  effectiveness a lot because of Aversion of Fire 
  trait. Make it focus on PCs who deal fire damage. 
  If the Golem goes Berserk, and several creatures 
  are at the same range, you can roll a die to 
  determine random target. 
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/MGtCE of DotMM 1-23/Monsters' Guide to Combat Encounters - For Dungeon of the Mad Mage Level 23 - Mad Wizard's Lair.pdf