The Necromancer's Tower
A short one shot adventure in a Necromancer's pocket dimension for second level players
The Necromancer's Tower
This short adventure can be set into any fantasy Dungeons and Dragons game, into an ongoing campaign as a little side quest, or a complete one shot for a small adventure. Feel free to adjust any part of the adventure for your own world.
The adventure is meant for players of second level, and there should be at least three of them. If you feel that your party may be overwhelmed, a friendly druid stuck in wildshape, or a happy go lucky Paladin who also stumbled upon the tower could greet your players at the entrance.
You can find the maps for this adventure here
Adventure Overview
Alioth is a very, very old man, who has devoted his life to the study of necromancy. Because it is not the most accepted school of magic, he has created a small pocket dimension with a floating island, on which he built a tower. Here he could research and experiment in peace. Because he has spent most of his years here, his people skills are rusty at best. The only time he leaves his tower, is to get supplies and corpses.
However, Alioth does not kill to get his corpses. He is careful which ones he exhumes from cemeteries, making sure that they are either pretty old already, or don't have family that would miss them. All in all, despite his research, he is not a bad person. During his years he has learned a lot about life and death, and if enabled to work longer, could unlock all kinds of secrets.
Unfortunately his memory is failing him. All the traps and riddles your players will find during the course of this adventure are Alioth's way to keep his memory from getting worse.
Starting the Adventure
Alioth has placed portals all over the world, and forgotten about most of them. It will be easy enough to let your players stumble upon one of them, a long forgotten teleportation circle that activates when someone steps on it. When they do, they are instantly transported to the pocket dimension's floating island, without an immediate way out.
Your players could stumble upon this portal during travel, or an NPC could send them out to investigate this portal that could potentially be dangerous. There are many other ways you could include this portal, feel free to make up your own.
Alioth the Necromancer
Alioth is a human male in his late 80ies. He looks frail but has powerful magic at his fingertips. As he is mostly alone, he dresses in plain gray robes, and does not have any accessories on him. His hair only has a few streaks of dark brown in what is otherwise white. He is very pale, as he doesn't see real sun in his pocket dimension.
The Tower
Once all of your players have arrived on the floating island, feel free to read this text or narrate your own description.
As the nausea from the sudden teleportation settles, you find yourself on a lush green island, floating in what looks like an endless blue sky. You feel no wind as your gaze wanders over the small island, and settles on an old, grey tower. No windows let you look inside, but at the base of it is a dark wooden door, reinforced with steel. No sound reaches your ears.
The Door
The door is resistant to being opened by force, has no doorknob, and a detect magic or a successful DC 10 Arcana check reveals an aura of abjuration magic. A certain word is needed to open this door.
For your players this means they won't be able to force their way inside. However, only a combination of 'open' and any type of swear word will immediately open the door. Feel free to drop hints or let the door open in another humorous way.
Ground Floor
The mentioned areas refer to the first map: 25_25NT1 - DM.jpg.
G1
This is the area of the door. Stone steps lead up to it. There are no markings on it, and no doorknob.
G2
The main area of the ground floor of the tower.
A successful DC 12 Investigation check of the shelves reveals a vial that appears to be empty but actually contains an invisible liquid. A successful DC 14 Arcana check reveals it to be a potion of invisibility. It will grant the effects of an invisibility spell to whoever drinks it.
The bookshelves are written in Common, Infernal, and Dwarvish. Most of them are on biology and anatomy, those that are Infernal have more sinister contents: Necromancy.
In the shelves and cupboards on the right side of the tower are personal items belonging to Alioth. Clothes, accessoires, shoes and the like.
The door leading into area G3 is locked. There are three indentations, one of them is filled with a red gem. As the party looks through the room, or is prompted by the door to do so, they will find a blue and a green gem hidden between books or socks.
Putting the gems in any order into the indentations on the door does nothing. Only once the players remove all gemstones they will hear the telltale sound of a door being unlocked.
G3
Alioth stores his supplies here. Food, water, whiskey, and everything else one might need to lead a comfortable life style. Nothing here reveals his interest in Necromancy.
Trap. Going up the stairs is not without peril. A near invisible tripwire is attached to a bucket filled with sharpened pencils. A passive perception score of 12, or a successful DC 10 Perception check reveals either the tripwire or the bucket. If no character finds it, they trip the wire and take 1d4 pencil damage.
The door leading into the first floor is unlocked.
First Floor
The mentioned areas refer to the second map: 25_25NT2 - DM.jpg.
1-1
This area looks half like a workshop, and half like a bedroom, though the second part has been neglected.
The first thing your players will notice is the corpse on the large worktable in the center of the room. A successful DC 14 Medicine check reveals the body has been dead for more than three days. One arm has been cut off.
What strikes their attention too is the creature standing at the opposite side of the room. It is large and looks grotesque, with various different types of skin stitched together to form a Flesh Golem. It will attack the moment someone tries to use the stairs that isn't Alioth, however it only has one arm. As it is unfinished, it lacks the multiattack feature, only deals 1d8 +2 bludgeoning damage. It's HP is 45.
Conveniently, the workshop to the left that has various saws and knives, also has a small iron cage in which a fire has been built. It can be used to trigger the Flesh Golem's aversion to fire.
1-2
In this area Alioth takes careful notes of all corpses he brings into his home, and what he has done with them. About ten of them have been used to build the Flesh Golem, others have been turned into skeletons.
Here the players will find undeniable evidence that Alioth is a Necromancer. However, he also notes down where the corpses have been taken from, and how he justifies his use of them. One, for example, did not have a family and would not be missed. Another may have been taken from an unnamed grave, or where it is so old, no one remembers the person anymore.
Alioth never kills to gain any of his creatures.
Second Floor
The mentioned areas refer to the third map: 25_25NT3 - DM.jpg.
To get into the next floor, the players have to find the right key. A multitude of them is hanging over the door, next to which is a barrel of water. All keys are made from one single material, gold, silver, electrum, platinum, etc, only one key is made from three materials: gold, silver, and copper. The players might see this with a successful DC 10 Perception check, or if they put all of the keys into the barrel of water. The correct, three material key will float.
If any of the wrong keys are used, the person turning the key takes 1d4 lightning damage.
2-1
Upon entering this long hallway, the party is greeted by a plaque on the wall opposite them. A torch hangs next to it, illuminating a phrase written in Common:
A Riddle
What can never be observed, but its presence prevents everything from being seen? Answer me this and you shall be guided to the other side.
The solution: Darkness. Upon extinguishing the torch and all other light the party may carry, they can safely pass. However, there is no confirmation of this when they do it. If they keep walking with the torch still lit, the six skeletons attack once they are about halfway down the hallway.
If the party extinguishes all lights, they can safely pass between them. The riddle could be changed, as it changes for Alioth every time he enters his tower.
2-2
Six skeletons stand on stands on top of rugs and line the walls. Their perpetual grins are threateing in the half darkness, but if your players are smart, they will be able to pass by unharmed.
Third Floor
4-1
The players step from the wooden steps into grass. It is soft, and a vibrant green. The door here is unlocked and leads into a beautiful inner garden with colourful flowers and lots of hedges. These hedges are magical, and won't allow to be cut down in any way. All of the walls are covered in vines, and fairy lights that dance around slightly give the entire floor dim light.
4-2
A successful DC 16 Perception check shows that there is something in the hedge here. It is a needle blight. It does not move, even when discovered, and cannot be pulled out of the hedge.
4-3
A trip wire hovers in the grass, connected from the thorny hedge to the lower wall. A successful DC 14 Perception check allows anyone to step over, as it cannot be disarmed. If you have a Rogue in the party, you may change these wires to nonmagical onces so they can use their abilities. If the trip wire is activated, all blights on the floor move out of their hedges to attack. Roll a Stealth check for them and compare it to your party's passive perception scores. The blights may gain a surprise round on the characters.
4-4
A vine blight can be discovered hiding in the bushes with a successful DC 16 Perception check. It too cannot be removed by force.
4-5
A trip wire hovers in the grass, connected from the thorny hedge to the lower wall. A successful DC 14 Perception check allows anyone to step over, as it cannot be disarmed.
4-6
A trip wire hovers in the grass, connected from the thorny hedge to the lower wall. A successful DC 14 Perception check allows anyone to step over, as it cannot be disarmed.
4-7
A trip wire hovers in the grass, connected from the thorny hedge to the lower wall. A successful DC 14 Perception check allows anyone to step over, as it cannot be disarmed.
At this point, the party may be able to run upstairs to escape from the blights. The unlocked door can be barricaded from the other side.
4-8
A vine blight can be discovered hiding in the bushes with a successful DC 16 Perception check. It too cannot be removed by force.
Top Floor
The door here is unlocked and leads into another round room.
5-1
In the middle of the room stands a stone slab with an iron pillar on each corner. The pillars reach into the ceiling, and out of it where a hole lets light into the room. On the stone slab is a creature like the party has seen before, an unanimated Flesh Golem. Behind the slabs stands an old man dressed in plain gay robes, with white hair and a magnificent beard that he has thrown over his shoulder. His hands are a little bloody.
"What the hell are you doing here?," he'll ask the players.
Alioth has more supplies here to make new undead creatures, and a bedroll as he often falls asleep here.
He is confused upon seeing the players as he hasn't had much contact with alive people in a while. He is a bit senile and often forgets things, but if the players are willing to talk, he will offer that they can leave his place with a reward if only they let him be in peace.
5-2
This teleportation circle brings the players back to where they were before they entered the tower.
Treasure
Whether given freely or taken from a dead body, the chest on this floor contains 200 gp scavenged from the dead. A blue gem necklace worth 25gp, an animate dead spellscroll, a +1 longsword taken from a dead warrior, and a beautiful travel cloak with the inside made to look like a starry night sky.
Alioth
Medium Humanoid, chaotic neutral
- Armor Class 13 (16 with mage armor)
- Hit Points 52
- Speed 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 10(+0) 16(+3) 13(+1) 16(+3) 12(+1) 14(+2)
- Saving Throws Int +6, Wis+4
- Skills Arcana +6, Nature +6, History +6, Medicine +4
- Damage Resistances necrotic
- Condition Immunities petrified
- Senses Passive Perception 11
- Languages Common, Infernal, Dwarvish
- Challenge 3 (700XP)
Spellcasting. Alioth is a 5th level spellcaster. His spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). He has the following wizard spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): mage hand, toll the dead, chill touch, prestidigitation
1st level (4 slots): false life, mage armor, magic missile, shield
2nd level (3 slots): blur, ray of enfeeblement, suggestion
3rd level (2 slots): animate dead, vampiric touch
Actions
Dagger. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 1d4 +3 piercing damage
Race to the Exit
If Alioth has been killed, the magic he used to hold up the tower fades. The players have 45 seconds to step into the teleportation circle or they will perish along with it.
Wrapping up the adventure
If you've used this as a side trek, your players will have easily gathered enough experience points to get to third level. No matter how they solved Alioth's encounter, they made it through the tower and safely back, congratulations! From here they will have plenty of options to continue adventuring, but those are up to you.
Made by Val the DM/ valkyrieshepard
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