Dungeon of Death The Dungeon of Death is a subterranean structure located under a grassy hill just within the southern edge of the Lurkwood near the headwaters of Shining Creek , one of the tributaries of the River Surbrin . Its story is one of the darkest of any dungeon in Faerûn . History . Originally a Dwarven gem mine belonging to the Deepdelve Clan , established shortly after the Dwarven kingdom of Gharraghaur fell to constant invasions from orc s , bugbear s , troll s and worse in - 3611 DR . Most of the Deepdelve clan were killed by a band of medusa e who , in turn were killed by a massive troll invasion . This history of death would continue unabated whilst the trolls occupied the place . The self - styled ' Troll King ' , a two - headed troll named Glarauuth sent out raiding parties to capture human slaves and bring them back . These slaves , when not doing forced labour , were imprisoned and made to breed as much as possible . The babies produced would then be sent straight to the troll ' s dinner tables . This was how the place earned it ' s current moniker . Around 1280 DR a small band of dwarves from the Foehammer Clan attempted to retake the mines but their plans went awry , they disappeared and history does not record their fate . The place has claimed the lives of untold adventuring parties and those few that survive long enough to tell their tale speak of a curse and a toll of blood that is demanded just to pass the doors . Over the next 40 years or so though , the dungeon was inhabited by many different evil creatures who all perpetrated unspeakable acts of foulness . In approximately 1340 DR a nest of nabassu began occupation of the dungeon . They too raided the area for captives , but not to use as slaves , for nabassu have no need for such things . Since nabassu eat to increase their infernal powers , everyone brought back was to become a meal . Their most numerous servants were members of the Blue Bear tribe of Uthgardt . Unbeknownst to them , they were under the direct control of an evil annis shaman named Tanta Hagara who , in turn , served the nabassu . Tanta Hagara provided the tanar ' ri with all the humanoid food they needed and the barbarian s who served her were none the wiser . In 1369 DR Tanta Hagara and the Blue Bear tribe were all killed in the destruction of Hellgate Keep . Without their most able servant and her minions , the nabassu decided to move on to a different location and start again . A single nabassu though , elected to stay behind and rule over the ruin by himself . His name was Viscaris and he saw his peers departure as an opportunity to spread terror and woe throughout the north . Unfortunately , very few of the tanar ' ri who lived in the dungeon stayed with him and he was still a juvenile demon , not having devoured enough souls to mature . He complicated matters for himself by insisting that he would only eat someone who was ' worthy ' . By the next year , he only needed to eat four more . Viscaris sent his two alu - fiend allies , Anderia and Estellia to spread the location of the dungeon to adventuring parties and to say that it was unguarded now that the demons had left . Still , it ' s dire reputation dissuaded most from braving the place . As an added measure to ensure Viscaris only gets the best of the best , he will only eat those who get past all of the traps on the first level of the dungeon . The Shadow Curse . Due to the innumerable evil acts perpetrated by the various inhabitants of the dungeon , the place carries a unique curse , a curse which permeates the stonework itself . It causes shadows to become deeper and more dense than one would normally expect and sometimes they move of their own accord . Any living creature who passes the threshold of the dungeon not protected from evil is afflicted by the curse , though they won ' t know it straight away . The curse saps the most useful attribute from those within its boundaries . Warriors become weaker , rogues get slower , wizards minds become hazy , etc . If the curse is allowed to sap the attribute from a victim completely , they fade and become a part of the evil that afflicted them .