Dungeons & Dragons - A Question of Ethics 5e Conversion

 

You can buy the original, 3rd edition D&D version of this adventure here. It is literally one dollar.

I am working on a series of 5e conversions (meaning that I am converting adventures from older editions of D&D to the 5e rules system) that I will use in my shiftspice campaign, which I will be resuming in 2021. 

This group of heroes went through the Tomb of Annihilation, and then played through a series of higher level DMs Guild adventures.

Planning my Campaign

The plan now is to run the group through nothing but old Monte Cook adventures, all converted to 5th edition. This article contains the first of these conversions.

My campaign plan right now looks like this:

• (lvl 12) A Question of Ethics
• (lvl 12) The Harrowing (from Dungeon Magazine #84)
  
• (lvl 14) Mysteries of the Dead Gods (based on an article Monte wrote in Dragon Magazine #240)
• (lvl 14) Demon God's Fane
• (lvl 16) A Paladin in Hell
• (lvl 18) Labyrinth of Madness

I might work in a couple more smaller, 1-2 session Monte adventures. Possibly something from Well of Worlds, or the Hellbound boxed set. The problem is that I've already run my favorite adventures from those products in my campaign world, so it doesn't make sense (though literally nobody but me would even be aware of the continuity issues).

Sigils: The Labyrinth of Madness has 20 sigils that the group must acquire to make it to the end of that dungeon. The sigils, once touched, appear like glowing tattoos, on your body. By the end of the adventure, the sigils will line both arms of each hero like a "sleeve" of tattoos.

If you read the adventure and the Labyrinth of Madness errata, you'll see that the sigils in the labyrinth make things very difficult. As written, you need to keep backtracking through the dungeon to obtain the sigils, and if you don't have one you need, certain things in the dungeon don't even exist to you.

My solution here is to have the group acquire all of the sigils before they even enter the labyrinth. That means they'll find at least one sigil in this adventure. They'll need the sigils to deal with the lifebane.

Lifebane: I have a hard time reading the Labyrinth of Madness backstory (it's a wall of text to me), so here it is in a more simple form:

1. The Dyris: In the Underdark, a race of evil pale-skinned humans called the dyris built a vast underground temple. In this temple, they opened gates to the Abyss and the plane of Pandemonium.
2. Energy: Evil energy seeped through the portals into the temple.
3. Lifebane: Over many years, the energies combined and became a semi-sentient force known as the lifebane.
4. Corruption: It began to twist, reshape, and corrupt everything around it.
5. Transformation: It turned the dyris into serpent-creatures similar to the yuan-ti.
6. Underdark War: The dyris waged war with mind flayers and drow, and eventually started to die out.
7. Lich Ruler: The last of the dyris ended up sealed in to their home, the labyrinth, by their lich leader, Im-Ravin.
8. Sigils: The lifebane was also trapped inside. It wanted out, and created the sigils as a way for people to navigate and open the sealed labyrinth.
9. Divine Explorer: A titan (an "empyrean" in 5e terms) named Aerthun found the labyrinth and now rules it.
   

Changes: I've already foreshadowed Aerthun in my Dungeon Academy campaign. I made him the secret son of the Raven Queen and her consort, Ryltar (a former character from my 4e HPE campaign).

In my campaign, I'm going to say that when Aerthun opened the Labyrinth, the lifebane seeped forth and spread - it is now swiftly expanding, spreading throughout the multiverse. It is a force that both bolsters evil and 'poisons' good. 

Ultimately, the adventurers will need to go to the labyrinth to 'cut off the valve' that is spewing the lifebane forth. 

The lifebane is what will trigger all of these Monte Cook adventures. It will:

• Create the 'blood ribbon' disease and poison the magic pool from A Question of Ethics.
• Empower Lolth's daughter to try and take over the Demonweb in The Harrowing.
• Cause the dead gods to stir in Mysteries of the Dead Gods.
• Create the umbral taint from Demon God's Fane.
• Cause the illness that kills Klysandral the paladin (even though, as a paladin, he is immune to disease) in A Paladin in Hell.

My Sigils: For my game, I am going to say that the sigils are a magical phenomenon - the multiverse itself is reaction to the lifebane. The sigils are sort of like "arcane antibodies' that are accessible to those who fight the affects of the lifebane. 

I might tie the sigils to some god-like entity, not sure yet. This group is linked to Gwynharwyf, a fey warrior who fights demons from the Savage Tide campaign, and the group's barbarian tribe worships a phoenix, which aided the group in the Tomb of Annihilation.

In my campaign, I've also established that certain characters are living embodiments of the laws of the multiverse. The sigils could somehow spring from them:

• Rule-of-Three: Bidam from my Planescape campaign.
• Unity-of Rings: Theran from my Planescape campaign.
  
• Center-of-All: Lilia from my Dungeon Academy campaign.

In my campaign setting, wherever Lilia stands is literally the center of the multiverse.

The Tomb and the Labyrinth: One thing that amuses me is that the Tomb of Annihlation is actually sort of similar to the Labyrinth of Madness. They're both deadly dungeons in the jungle, and each involves a serpent god. It's a nice way to end my campaign, echoing back to how it started - an actual embodiment of the Unity of Rings (Everything goes in circles, what goes around comes around, etc.).

More Foreshadowing: I will also use this adventure to set up things that will happen in A Paladin in Hell. In that adventure, it is best if the group is friends with the actual paladin - Klysandral. So what I will do is place Klysandral's temple (which will be pulled into the Nine Hells) in the town of Adurath, which is described in this adventure.

I won't post the temple from A Paladin in Hell in this article, to avoid confusion. 

A Question of Ethics

Stat Stuff: I'm running this for level 12 characters. The DMG has handy guidelines for scaling damage and DCs for heroes of different levels.

Damage Guidelines: We'll use the damage severity guidelines from the DMG:

• Setback: 4d10
• Dangerous: 10d10
• Deadly: 18d10

Trap Stats: We'll use the "dangerous" trap stats from the DMG. 

• Difficulty Class: Between 12-15. 
• Attack Bonus: +6 to +8
  

Adventure Summary: Here is a real quick summary of this adventure

1. Fair: The town of Adurath is having a fair, which includes a sort of wizard duel/competition.
2. NPC Adventurers: The heroes meet a group of NPC adventurers, who have a beef with a tribe of mostly peaceful stone giants nearby.
3. Stone Giants: The giants are camped near a tomb that the NPC adventurers want to raid. The giants are in the region looking for a very rare mineral.
   
4. Outbreak: Word spreads that a deadly disease has broken out.
5. Devious Scheme: The NPC adventurers want to infect the stone giants with the disease.
6. Tomb Raid: Once the giants are dead, the NPC adventurers want to raid the tomb.

So yeah, this one can go in many different directions. I really love this adventure. I have recently gotten sick of excessive, superfluous combats in D&D.  In this one, it's possible the group will have 0-1 combats. The tomb is almost entirely comprised of traps, aside from one stone golem.

Adurath: Population 1,440.

Major NPCs:

• Mayor Vesta Lictor: She runs the town.
  
• Thouslo the Six-Fingered: Chief Constable.
• Yelladin Nyst: Cleric, well-respected.
• Stallis Silvereyes: She is wizard, sells potions and magic items. You might want to say she sells sovereign glue, which could come in handy later in the adventure. It's expensive, though: At least 50,000 gp! She should also sell scrolls of knock (cost: 250 gp).
  
• Norris Testament: Owns an inn called the Knight's Parlor.

In my home game, I'll be working in a huge cast of characters from A Paladin in Hell, too. I won't put them in this conversion, though.

The Fair of Adurath

The fairgrounds are just north of the village. 3 days of fun and food! The arcane challenge takes place in the first day.

Zoo: Has crocodiles, peacocks, gazelles, a stirge, a slightly large spider, and a giant preying mantis.

Stage: Mayor gives speeches, actors put on plays, various contests (including an eating contest which sounds like a fun thing to expand on). 

Challenges: Archery competition (which Taragana, one of the NPC adventurers, participates in), fencing, dancing, cooking, and....

Arcane Challenge

I'm going to re-organize this a bit. The way it's presented in the .pdf had me jumping back and forth.

Rules:

• 3 Rounds: There are 3 rounds. Each round is held one round apart. 
• Judges Scoring: 3 judges award points on a scale of 1-10 (though some rounds have point awards built in and are not subjectively scored). Judges can each hand out up to 3 points for style and finesse.
• Point Awards: 1st place = 10 points. 2nd place = 6 points. 3rd place = 2 points.
  
• No Meddling: Participants can't cast spells to interfere/with/affect other contestants. Those who do are eliminated and fined 100 gp.

Judges: 

1. Mayor Vesta Lictor: She runs the village.
2. Yelladin Nyst: Good cleric.
3. Gistronatal: Elf wizard, one of the NPC adventurers, famous for his glowing stones. if given the chance, he'll badmouth the stone giants.

Contestants: Three spellcasters take part, plus (hopefully) at least one of the heroes.

• Stallis Silvereyes: Local wizard, sells potions and magic items.
• Evran the Master Enchanter: 10th level
• Vanoruca: 12th level gnome sorcerer.

Round 1: Each contestant tries this in turn. A 12 foot diameter boulder is rolled down a hill. The wizard must destroy it with style. 

Boulder: The boulder is Huge sized. We can use the guidleines in chapter 8 of the DMG to make some boulder stats: 

AC 17 Damage Threshold 10 HP 50

• Damage Resistance: fire, lightning. 
• Damage Immunities: lightning, poison, psychic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
• Condition Immunities: Charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned

Participants:

• Stallis: Tries to destroy the boulder with lightning bolt. Doesn't work well.
• Evran: Summons thoqquas to destroy the stone. 
• Vanoruca: Casts disintegrate twice, making quick work of the boulder.

Analysis: Vanoruca will win in two rounds unless a character can beat them. Look at disintegrate:

"This spell automatically disintegrates a Large or smaller nonmagical object or a creation of magical force. If the target is a Huge or larger object or creation of force, this spell disintegrates a 10-foot-cube portion of it. A magic item is unaffected by this spell."

Round 2: There is a peacock feather on the flat top of a 100 foot tall tower. Whoever retrieves the feather first and brings it to a judge, wins.

• Stallis: Teleports to the top, levitates down.
  
• Evran: Fly spell.
  
• Vanorunca: Fly spell.

Analysis: I'm a bit confused by this. We are told there is no interference allowed. So doesn't that mean that as soon as someone grabs the feather, they win? I mean... unless they drop it.

That means that Stallis wins, as she will teleport up there and get it. The other two will have to use an action to cast fly, and then can only fly 60 feet. 

Picking Up an Object: Double-checking in the PH. You can pick up a thing for free on your turn. That means you can teleport and pick up the feather on the same turn.

Round 3: Each contestant has their own haystack. Somewhere in each one is a needle. The winner is the first person to find their needle.

• Stallis: Uses her rod of metal and mineral detection.
  
• Evran: Casts gust of wind, which doesn't go well at all.
  
• Vanorunca: Casts locate object!

Analysis: I think Stallis wins, and I'll explain why.

The rod converts to 5e very simply:

Rod of Metal and Mineral Detection

"This rod pulses in the wielder’s hand and points to the largest mass of metal within 30 feet. However, the wielder can concentrate on a specific metal or mineral. If the specific mineral is within 30 feet, the rod points to any places it is located, and the rod wielder knows the approximate quantity as well. If more than one deposit of the specified metal or mineral is within range, the rod points to the largest cache first. Each operation requires a full-round action." 

Boom, Stallis finds it. 

Quick Note: What's interesting here is that the stone giants are looking for a specific mineral. They could find it easily with this rod. Where is the mineral? In the final room of the tomb in this adventure!

Look at locate object:

"The spell can locate a specific object known to you, as long as you have seen it up close--within 30 feet--at least once. Alternatively, the spell can locate the nearest object of a particular kind, such as a certain kind of apparel, jewelry, furniture, tool, or weapon."

I don't think the participants are shown the actual needles. They're just presented with a haystack. Sure they know what a needle looks like, but they haven't seen that needle.

I could be wrong, but that is my interpretation.

Winner: I'd say that, if no character enters the challenge, Stallis wins.

Prize: You get a tiny trophy of an animated wizard, and a wand of magic detection.

Company of the Shining Stone

These NPC adventurers are neutral. They are very annoyed that the stone giants are blocking them from getting in the tomb, so they are going around the fair badmouthing the giants. They will not mention the tomb - they don't want the characters getting in there first.

They are named after the continual flame stones that Gistontral likes to use. I didn't realize that continual flame was permanent. Gistontral's trademark. Maybe the citizens covet them, and he gives the stones to people he likes.

• Verrek: (Berserker MM pg 344) Half-orc barbarian. Has a +1 frost brand and a periapt of health.
  
• Murt: (Champion Volo's pg 212) Dwarf fighter. Has a rope of climbing.
• Gistrontal: (Evoker Volo's pg 214) Elf wizard. Has a pearl of power.
• Taragana: (Assassin MM pf 343) Halfling rogue. Has a deck of illusions.

Drama: What's cool is, when Verrek draws his frost brand, ".. you can extinguish all non-magical flames within 30 feet of you." So that means that the only remaining light is Gistontral's continual light stone.

The Plague of Red Ribbons

On day 2 of the festival, herders from the south show up and warn of a terrible spreading sickness. 

• Deadly: It causes 'bloody rents in the body.' Once you get it, you die in a few days.
• Infection: It seems to spread through contact with corpses or blood of the infected.
  
• Sheep: There are sheep just 10 miles from Adurath that are infected.

The Quandary

Periapt of Health

The heroes will spot Gistrontal and Murt talking with the herders. 

Verrek and Murt will quietly go and get an infected sheep (Verrek is safe, he has a periapt of health).

They seal the sheep in a bag, sneak it to the stone giant camp to infect the giants.

The Giants

There are 11 stone giants total: Amar (stone giant dreamcaller, volo's pg 150), 8 adults (stone giant, MM pg 156), 2 young (ogre MM pg 237).

They are in the region because they have heard that tintibulum is in the hills.

Tintibulum: This metal can be used to soundproof walls and containers and also grants immunity to "sonic energy", which isn't a thing in 5e. I guess we could say immunity to thunder damage? The shatter spell does thunder damage, so that works, I guess. 

Camp: There is one tent, which Amar sleeps in. It also contains supplies. The other giants sleep under the trees.

Their camp is right by the entrance to the tomb. The giants didn't even know it was there - it was hidden by an illusion. The NPC adventurers dispelled the illusion before being chased away. The giants are too big to go in the tomb.

Skirmish: The Company of the Shining Stone actually tried to attack the giants, and it didn't go well. They've been licking their wounds ever since.

Negotiating: The stone giants speak only Giant. It is possible to convince them to camp elsewhere.

Stone Giant Research

Let's pause for a second and look up info on stone giants. I don't really know much about them. It's possible we'll find some material to flesh this out a bit.

From the Monster Manual:

• Reclusive, quiet, and peaceful.
• They spend a lot of time creating stone carvings in quiet caverns.
• They value art.
• The tribe's best carvers are their leaders, shamans, and prophets.
• They are skilled at rock throwing/catching.
• They view the world outside the underground as dreamlike, where nothing is fully real.
  

From Volo's Guide to Monsters:

• The world outside the caverns is an "unreality where nothing lasts and therefore nothing has significance."
• Those who aren't skilled at art are pushed to the fringe of society.
• Speaking Stone: An upright stone cylinder into which writing is carved in a descending spiral. As the cylinder is turned, you can read the writing.
• Passing Through Their Land: The stone giants will want a gift - a service of some kind. A task, usually: Chasing kobolds out of the area, retrieving something from a lake.
• They eat bats.
• They hate purple worms, because the worms destroy their carvings.
• On the surface, they are active at night, as they don't like daylight. When one dies, they join the "ancestors of stone", brought to a room with rows of dead giants who slowly over the years calcify and become stalagmites.

Let's check out the Stone Giant Dreamwalker from Volo's:

• On a quest, seeking inspiration.
• Some are driven mad by the "alien surroundings" of the world outside the caves.
• Creatures who start their turn within 30 feet of the dreamcaller become charmed (save at the end of each of your turns).
• Petrifying Touch: It can touch a charmed creature, CON sv DC 17 fail: petrified! The giant can adhere the creature to its stony body. The petrified person can't be restored until the stone giant is dead!

That's a lot of cool stuff! 

I don't quite understand the petrifying touch. Here it is:

"Petrifying Touch. The giant touches one Medium or smaller creature within 10 feet of it that is charmed by it. The target must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the target becomes petrified, and the giant can adhere the target to its stony body. Greater restoration spells and other magic that can undo petrification have no effect on a petrified creature on the giant unless the giant is dead, in which case the magic works normally, freeing the petrified creature as well as ending the petrified condition on it."

So... it grabs a petrified creature and sticks it to its body? Is it glued on? Does it get absorbed inside the giant?

I think I'm going to say that the creature gets absorbed. I don't know. I can't picture a stone giant walking around with three petrified adventurers glued to their leg or torso or whatever.

Revised Camp

 Now let's make the expanded version of the camp:

Tent: The tent is made from purple worm hide. If you're a nice DM, you might want to place some "stone salve" here, gunk that can de-petrify a creature. This might come in handy once the group gets to area 5 of the tomb.

Fire: When they eat, they cook up a bunch of bats, which are in the trees in plentiful amounts.

"Statues": The camp is dotted with creatures that Amar has turned to stone:

• Displacer beast
• Troll
• Owlbear
• Snakes
• 2 Boars
• 3 Wolves

Schedule: The giants sleep during the day. At night, two giants go out and search for the tintibulum. The others partake in activities:

• Play catch with stones (or a petrified monster).
  
• Carve a speaking stone, telling the story of their search for the tintibulum.
• Amar works on a huge carving around the mouth of the tomb entrance, creating a depiction of the stone giants pummeling the Company of the Shining Stone.
• Cook up a huge pot of bat stew.

Negotiating: The group could make a deal. While Amar is used to the "overworld," the other giants are anxious to go home. They'll tell the group that they can go in the tomb if they promise to help them find the tintibulum (which, it turns out, is actually in the tomb).

The Tomb of Hareth the Neverlost

** Before the group goes in, make sure you know the marching order. There are a number of devastating traps in here and you definitely want to have this info in advance. **

Who is Harseth? We don't know much about Harseth. He apparently was a gnome who used his illusion magic to pretend to be a human.

• Ceilings: 10 feet high.
• Doors: Stone, each has a lever next to it. Pull lever = door slides into the stone floor.

1. Entrance: Arched entryway

2. Harseth's Legacy:  An 18 foot tall statue of a wizard (this statue destroys the trap boulders that might come from room 5 soon).

Touch the Statue: If you touch this statue and say "Harseth," the next spell you cast will be 1 level higher than normal.

3. Guardian: 8 foot tall wizard statue (it is actually a stone golem MM pg 170). 

4. Library of Lost Lore: Statue, bookshelves protected by a sheet of glass.

Glass: Magically reinforced. Damage Threshold 5 HP 40.

If the glass is shattered, all of the books age and crumble to dust.

Floor: Searching the floor reveals a small trigger stone. Pressing it causes the glass sheet to slide into the floor, giving the heroes access to the books.

Books: Total value: 4000 gp. I made up a bunch of books relevant to my campaign.

• Lolth and the Culture of the Drow (info relevant to The Harrowing)
• Ochremeshk the Demon God (the villain of the Demon God's Fane)
• Half-scorched copy of Emirikol's Guide to Devils: My DMs Guild supplement, contains info on Stygia and Malebolge, places the group will probably go to in A Paladin in Hell.
  
• Serpent Gods (includes info on Dendar, who was relevant to the tomb, and some info on the dyris, who are in the Labyrinth of Madness).
• The Old Gods of Nyrod (A book about the first campaign I ran when I was 12).
• The Arrow of Fate (the artifact that merged Tiamat and Bahamut into the dragon uber-god Io, which happened in my 4e Scales of War campaign).
• Mind Flayer Philosophy: Discusses mind flayer info, including lore on Ilsensine and Maanzecorian, the dead illithid god who will play a role in Mysteries of the Dead Gods
  
• Nerull and the Raven Queen (Nerull was the old god of death that the Raven Queen betrayed and supplanted. Their son is Vorkhesis, the entity that kicked off this whole campaign)
• Great Tales of Wildspace (discusses The Mystic, the first spelljammer my group had way back when, and speaks of the legend of Galactica Vexx, the space pirate whose crew played through the mind flayer trilogy)
• Shadow Pearls (a book discussing Demogorgon's shadow pearls, which can transform swaths of land into a demonscape - this happened in my Savage Tide campaign)

5. Trap: This is a crazy trap. Here's how it works:

1. Detect: A character who examines this hallway can make a Perception check to spot the triggers. Let's say that it's DC 15 to spot the first one, and a DC 20 to spot the second, as it is further in. 
2. Disabling: The characters will have to disable both pressure plates. Arcana DC 15, or DEX check with thieves' tools DC 15. Fail = trigger the trap.
   
3. Trigger: Character walks down the hall, triggering up to two pressure plates (one 5 feet in, one 25 feet in).
4. Contact: 1-2 rolling cylinders roll down the hall. When a cylinder first connects with a character: CON save DC 12 fail = petrified! If the character is petrified, then the cylinder(s) roll over and shatter them into a million pieces! Petrified characters automatically fail DEX saves.
   
5. Shatter or Smoosh: If the character makes the CON save, then they must make a DEX save DC 15. Fail=10d10 bludgeoning damage. Success, half damage pushed back to the statue in room 2, where the rolling cylinder touches the statue and magically disappears.
6. Recovering: This is a really brutal trap. I'm inclined to give the stone giants "stone salve", which can de-petrify a creature. If the group wants to take the time to glue their friend back together (with sovereign glue sold by Stallis in town) then they can use the stone salve to bring their friend back to life.

Sovereign Glue

6. Hall of Great Fortune: The door used to enter this room is trapped. Remember, the doors in here are opened via a lever that causes the door to slide into the floor. 

I'm going to change this one, a little. In the adventure, a magic mouth appears once the lever is pulled, but that doesn't make sense because the door slides into the floor. Right?

Approaching the Door:

• Approach: Once the group gets within 15 feet of the door, a magic mouth appears and says: “Return from whence you came, or face the dire wrath of Harseth the Neverlost.” 
• Detect: Perception DC 20 to see faint shimmering runes on the door.
• Disable: Arcana DC 15 or DEX check with thieves' tools DC 20. Success = trap nullified. Fail: trap triggered.
• Note: I'd also give the group an option. If they make their perception check, they can see that the lightning bolt won't fill the hallway. If they press up against the walls, they can harmlessly discharge the lightning bolt without taking damage, although their hair might get frizzy.
  
• Trigger: A character pulls the lever to open the door. 
• Effect: A lightning bolt shoots down the hallway! Everyone in the hallway must make a DEX save DC 15. Fail = 8d6 lightning dmg. Success = half damage.

The Actual Room: The room beyond appears to have an urn and a small sarcophagus with glowing runes on it. Both empty. This is an illusion. Investigation check DC 15 to see through it. 

The real room has mundane treasure worth a total of 1085 gp, plus a few weapons. The 3e "masterwork" weapons in 5e are just, really nice well-crafted items, no special bonus.

7. The Tomb: The hallway is enchanted to turn you around. Let's say that a character can defeat this with an Investigation check DC 15 or by casting dispel magic (Make an ability check using your spellcasting ability DC 15)

• Door: Is sealed with an arcane lock (STR check to bash open DC 25), and is trapped.
• Detect: Investigation check DC 15.
• Disable: Arcana DC 15 or DEX check with thieves' tools DC 20. Success = trap nullified. Fail: trap triggered.
• Trigger: When the lever is pulled to open the door.
• Effect: A fireball spreads down the hallway (affecting only the hallway). DEX save DC 15. Fail: 8d6 fire damage. Succeed: half damage.
  

The Room: Contains a sarcophagus that is 3 feet long, covered in mystic runes, 6 urns, and a coffer.

• 6 bronze urns: Worth 200 gp each.
• Coffer: Contains 2,000 gp worth of jewels.
• Secret Panel: Spot it with an Investigation check DC 12. There's a secret niche in the wall, holds magic items: Robe of scintillating colors,  ring of protection, and Harseth's wand:
  

Harseth's Wand of Imagery

Wand, uncommon (requires attunement by a Spellcaster)

This wand has 7 charges. While holding it, you can use an action to expend 1 of its charges to cast the major image spell (save DC 15) from it.

The wand regains 1d6 + 1 expended charges daily at dawn. If you expend the wand's last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, the wand crumbles into ashes and is destroyed.

8. Corridor of Symbols: This is crazy. There are 5 invisible hovering symbols placed in the hallway, each flanked by a pair of statues of Harseth. 

In 5e, a symbol is supposed to be on a surface or object. Let's say that the symbols are on the floor between each statue.

Detect: Investigation check DC 15

Trigger: Walking between a set of statues. The glyph glows. Each creature within a 60 foot radius sphere is affected.

1. Death: CON save DC 15. Fail: 10d10 necrotic damage. Success: Half damage.
2. Pain: CON save DC 15. Fail: Incapacitated with excruciating pain for 1 minute.
3. Insanity: INT save DC 15. Fail: Target is driven insane for 1 minute. Can't take actions, can't undertand creatures, speaks in gibberish, DM CONTROLS THEIR MOVEMENT, WHICH IS ERRATIC. I'm sorry... but you know what to do. Run down the hall toward the symbols, my sweet summer child. You're free now.
4. Fear: WIS save DC 15. Fail: Frightened for 1 minute. Drop what you're holding, move at least 30 feet away from the glyph on each of your turns.
5. Death: Yeah, that's right. Monte used death twice! CON save DC 12. Fail: 10d10 necrotic damage. Success: Half damage.

9. The Magic Pool: The door to this room is sealed with an arcane lock (STR check to bash open: DC 25). Once past the door, the group have arrived at the final room!

Crystalline Formations: These huge shards are actually the tintibulum that the stone giants are looking for.

Pool: Drink from it: CON save DC 12. Fail: Take 5 poison damage.

Former Use: Before the pool 'went sour,' it had a positive magic effect. If you drank from it, you regained a spell slot as if you had used a pearl of power. I would guess that some characters would love to try to repair this pool and use this place as a base.

Tintibulium: Tintibulium possesses the unique property of full immunity to thunder energy. That means that not only can it be made into items immune to sonics, but it also can be used to make soundproof walls and containers. It is worth twice as much as its weight in gold, and is much rarer."

Campaign Note: I just thought of something. I can say that the lifebane from Labyrinth of madness has corrupted this pool.

Conclusion 

There we go! What happens next is up to what the characters did. If they befriended the giants, they can hand over the tintibulium. If they are murder hobos... they have tintibulum, a poison pool, and the magic items that once belonged to the Company of the Shining Stone.

Don't forget to pick up the actual adventure, A Question of Ethics on the DMs Guild. It's only a dollar.