I actually think this is where your adventure should **stop being a dragon hunt and become an archaeological expedition**. One mistake I think a lot of published adventures make is turning a dragon's lair into "Room 1, monsters. Room 2, trap. Room 3, dragon." That would be a waste of **Anarath**. Your players have just spent two acts proving that Anarath exists. Let them explore one of the oldest cities in Faerûn before they ever see Iymrith. ## I would split Act 3 into districts instead of rooms. The city itself is the dungeon. Every district teaches them something about the city, Netheril, the phaerimm, or Iymrith, while also bringing them closer to the amphitheatre. Something like this: --- # Act III – The City of Statues Instead of "five rooms," Anarath becomes an open dungeon. The players choose where to explore, and each location provides lore, resources, shortcuts, and clues about the dragon. Iymrith is aware of them almost immediately, but she doesn't attack. She watches. ## District One – The Outer Gate The city's enormous gates stand half buried beneath the sand, surrounded by hundreds of dragon statues. Most are simply weathered stone, but some are gargoyles so perfectly still that even magical examination struggles to distinguish them. The purpose of this district is to teach the players that nothing in Anarath should be trusted at face value. The gargoyles do not attack immediately. They observe, reposition when unseen, and report everything to Iymrith. The gatehouse contains the first evidence that this city predates Netheril. Ancient Isstosseffifil carvings survive beneath later Netherese excavation marks, allowing the party to realise that two entirely different civilizations occupied the city thousands of years apart. --- ## District Two – The Buried Market Much of the old market district remains beneath the sand. Entire streets can only be entered through collapsed roofs or broken upper floors. Here the party discovers that Netherese archaeologists established excavation camps centuries before Iymrith claimed the city. These camps contain journals describing strange disappearances, gargoyles that seemed to change position overnight, and repeated references to an unseen observer studying the expedition. The journals end abruptly. The camps never left. --- ## District Three – The Hall of Kings This immense ceremonial avenue is lined with colossal statues depicting the rulers of Isstosseffifil. Every statue has had its face deliberately destroyed. Investigation reveals that this damage was not caused by time. It was carried out systematically using blue dragon claws. The party cannot determine why. Only later do they discover that Iymrith erased every face because she despises being watched by dead kings. It is a tiny glimpse into the dragon's personality. --- ## District Four – The Netherese Quarter When Netherese explorers rediscovered Anarath, they converted part of the city into an archaeological settlement. Libraries, magical workshops, dormitories, and laboratories remain remarkably intact. This district is where the party learns the true history of the city. Through journals and surviving records they discover: - Anarath predates Netheril. - The Netherese never fully explored it. - Several expeditions vanished below the amphitheatre. - The city was later occupied by phaerimm. - Iymrith originally fled from the phaerimm before eventually returning to destroy them. This is also where they learn that Iymrith has spent centuries excavating deeper beneath the city. She isn't guarding something. She's searching for something. --- ## District Five – The Phaerimm Depths Beneath the city lie tunnels carved by the phaerimm. Unlike the ancient streets above, these passages feel alien. Gravity behaves strangely, magical energy pools in unnatural ways, and remnants of phaerimm enchantments continue to function thousands of years after their creators died. This section becomes more dangerous than anything encountered so far. Dead Magic zones, Wild Magic pockets, unstable Netherese wards, and surviving magical constructs force the party to think rather than simply fight. Here they also discover evidence that Iymrith did not completely destroy the phaerimm. She imprisoned the last survivors. Whether that was mercy, practicality, or because she needed them alive remains unknown. --- ## District Six – The Amphitheatre Only after exploring enough of the city does the party finally reach its centre. The amphitheatre rises above every surrounding district, its stone seating overlooking a vast circular arena blackened by centuries of lightning strikes. At first glance it appears abandoned. It is not. This is merely the entrance. Beneath the arena lies the true lair. Ancient Isstosseffifil foundations merge with Netherese excavations, phaerimm tunnels, and chambers carved by Iymrith herself over centuries. This final dungeon should feel like descending through layers of history, each civilisation leaving its own mark before disappearing beneath the next. Only in the deepest chamber does the party finally understand the truth. Iymrith has known they were coming since they crossed into Anauroch. She has allowed them to explore her city because they have unknowingly removed ancient wards, solved puzzles she no longer cared to solve herself, and opened passages that had remained sealed for centuries. When they finally stand before her, she is not surprised. She is waiting. --- I think this structure gives Anarath the scale it deserves. It feels like a **lost city**, not just a dragon's dungeon. Every district advances the story, reveals more about Iymrith, and reinforces the idea that the players are walking through over three thousand years of history before they ever face the dragon herself. It also gives you room to place the lore you've already written about Netheril, the phaerimm, Isstosseffifil, mythallars, and the Sharn naturally into the adventure instead of delivering it as exposition.