Tackling House Szind

One of the quests that you need to complete for the City of Portals city arc is the quest The House of Death Undone.  Like the other quests in this story arc, it occurs in the landscape area of Sschindylryn.  It is located in the eastern portion of the city and you have to maneuver around a few gates to get to it.  The quest takes place in the great drow stronghold of House Szind.  The quest giver is Oryne Belamadin who is located in Eveningstar.

Wapoyei making his way through Sschindylryn to the quest House of Death Undone.

Making the way to the entrance of House Szind.

The House of Death Undone is a unique quest in two respects: 1). dealing with “respawns” that are from killed enemies and 2). being engaged with some drow political dissension within a powerful drow house.  The layout of the House Szind fortress is also pretty fun, at least to me.  The largest portion of the fortress is a grand room that has three different levels.  The rest of the rooms are broken off of this main grand room.  The other rooms include a library, a laboratory, the servants quarters, a small temple, training room, kitchen, dining room, matron’s chambers, priestess’s chambers, and the ritual chamber.  The primary objective to completing this quest is to take out the necromantic cauldrons using some special flash stones that will exploded when they are placed inside the cauldrons.  The next objective is to take out the head necromancer, Relig.

Entering the primary room of House Szind.

Taking on the drow of House Szind in the main room.

The main room of House Szind is quite a spectacle. 

The first thing you will need to do in this quest is to find the flash stones.  These stones are located in laboratory which is located to the North of the main hall on the lower floor.  To get to the flash stones you will have to defeat some of the House Szind necromancers and their zombie pets as well as some guards.  These necromancers also have some pet dretches to throw into the mix.  The flash stones are located in something that looks like a desk/cabinet and they look like a parchment in your inventory.

Wapoyei making his way to the laboratory to find the flash stones.

Battling the House Szind forces to get the flash stones from the laboratory. 

After you pick up the flash stones you can then go off into various directions.  One of the major quest objectives is to go to the library, which is basically due east of the laboratory, and destroy the cauldron housed in there.  However, you can also head to the south to enter some of the other optional areas.  One of these areas includes a path that leads to a small temple.  Inside this small temple is an orange named Priestess of Lolth and her red named pet, an astral panther.  After you defeat the Priestess of Lolth and her pet you gain access to a chest and you might find a key to the kitchen.  Using this key can allow you to get access to the ritual chamber where the last fight occurs.  This key will be necessary if you don’t have a rogue or another party member who can pick locks and open locked doors as the primary door to the ritual chamber is locked.  The kitchen key gives the party a back way into the ritual chamber.

Heading to the southern portion of the house after leaving the laboratory.

Encountering the priestess and her pet in the Temple.

Picking up the kitchen key from the temple.

The kitchen key is a sickly green in color.

Another optional area is to enter the servants quarters.  In this area you will come across some more cauldrons and one of the optional objectives is to destroy these cauldrons.  As you progress through this room you will also encounter a number of zombies, and collecting up to 36 slain zombies is also another set of optional objectives (12, 24, and 36 drow zombies).  In the servants quarters you might also find the kitchen key.

Making our way further south into the servants quarters.

Battling the necromancers, zombies, and guards in the servants quarters.

Time to destroy a cauldron.

Up close and personnel with an undead drow necromancer.

Eventually you will have to make your way back to the library.  The library is the arcane center for House Szind and it is also where one of the cauldrons is located and it needs to be destroyed with a flash stone.  The cauldron that needs to be destroyed is actually in a side room to the library that can only be unlocked with a blue key that is in the main portion of the library.  The cauldron is also protected by two more astral panthers and there is also a chest in that room under an interesting drow portrait.

Entering the library of House Szind.

Discovering the blue key in the library.

The library cauldron is guarded by some more astral panthers.

The chest in the library in the cauldron room.

Another optional route is to make your way up to the kitchen which is on the second level of the fortress.  The route through the kitchen will eventually take you to the matron mother’s chambers and to her daughter’s chambers.  When you get to this part of the quest, you will over hear the priestess plotting the demise of your matron mother which you can then use to barter with the matron mother, therefore embroiling yourself into the dynamics of the drow political structure and maneuvering.  During this conversation with the matron mother you can either side with the matron mother and have the optional objective for defeating her daughter and then being granted the optional objective for destroying the cauldron in the daughter’s chamber or you can decide to fight and destroy the matron mother.

Making our way to the kitchen.

The path through the kitchen leads to the matron mother’s chambers.

The entrance door to the matron mother’s chambers.

Making it through the hallways to the matron mother’s and the priestess’s chambers.

Inside the matron mother’s chambers is an interesting snare trap that spawns spiders and a spell ward.

A quick look at the matron mother’s chambers.

Being rewarded after taking out the treacherous daughter of the matron mother.

After defeating the daughter or the matron mother, you can then make your way to the ritual chamber to fight the head necromancer.  The ritual chamber is a large room that has a few low level ramps.  The head necromancer, Relig, is surrounded by House Szind guards, drow zombies, assassins, and necromancers.  This fight can actually get quite hectic.  The fight doesn’t actually start until after you talk to Relig allowing you time to buff your party, particularly with deathward.  After you defeat Relig you need to destroy the two cauldrons in the ritual chamber to complete the quest.

Wapoyei making his way through the hallway to the ritual chamber.

Entering the ritual chamber.

Prepping to talk to the head wizard and to kick off a major fight.

All hell breaking loose in the ritual chamber.

Fighting the head wizard head on.

The types of enemies you encounter in this quest are primarily various versions of drow and undead drow.  However, you will encounter dretches, astral panthers, guardian panthers, spiders, and driders as well.  The traps all consist of spell wards and that one web snare trap that also spawns spiders along with a spell ward.  There are also a few hidden doors as well.

Overall, the House of Death Undone is fun and challenging quest.  The last fight in particular can be quite challenging and you might need to retreat and draw the enemies out in a more manageable fashion, especially if you don’t have a good form of crowd control.  Thanks for reading everybody and happy hunting in the House of Death Undone.