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DUNGEON MODULE BHB 01 

ESCAPE FROM THE LICH’S LAIR By Sean Davies 

 AN INTRODUCTORY ADVENTURE FOR PLAYERS OF ANY EXPERIENCE LEVEL 

  

    

FROM THE GENIUSES OVER AT BURNING HANDS BREWING COMPANY Visit us at - www.burninghands.beer 

 Within this module, players awake in the treasure room of the evil lich Vib’Bane. He has laid a devious 

amnesia trap on the artifact the players seek - the Goblet of Creativity - and they will have forgotten all of their skills right before the adventure begins. They will have to use teamwork and search out clues of their original trek through the dungeon to remember who they are, and escape. Vib’Bane will not let them leave so easily, though… 

(Note: This module contains a few craft-beer references that may be lost on non-beery players)  

Feel free to use this module yourself, but include this page and give credit to the author(s). Thanks, and have Fun! 

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Rules / Mechanics: All rolls in this module are based on d6s (6-sided die). Unless otherwise noted, 5s and 6s count as 

successes. This makes the module accessible to participants at any level of RPG experience, letting them 

see their character grow in real-time by adding extra dice to their dice pools. Try to have the players roll a 

handful of dice and count successes a few times when you get started to get them used to this mechanic. 

 

In combat against the PCs, their AC (armor class) is the target number for success on the enemy’s attack 

die. When the PCs attack they will simply need to roll the number of dice given on each character sheet 

under ‘attacks’ and look for 5s and 6s to count as hits. All hits remove a HP from the defending party. 

 

The PCs each start with 20HP, which will be depleted every time they suffer a hit. Try to spread the 

damage around and don’t let a PC drop until the final fight. 

 

All other skill checks and saves use 3d6, plus whatever bonuses are applicable. 

Example: if you have +4 Strength and have to make a strength check, you roll (3+4) = 7 dice. 

 

Searching an area broadly uses a “Search” roll (a stand-in for the Wisdom stat). Investigating something 

in specific uses a “Investigate” roll (a stand-in for the Intelligence stat). These are meant to stop 

confusion between INT and WIS in newer players. Let the PCs know that you’ll not volunteer all a room’s 

info, and that searching and investigating will usually give them some sort of hint/advantage/bonus.  Initiative is optional for this module and can be accomplished by a simple d6 roll. If multiple PCs go on 

the same number, they can choose between themselves who goes first, or the DM can choose based on 

which PC would be quicker. If you don’t want to use initiative, just have folks go in a set order each 

combat, with the enemies going first (because, as the DM, we have to be at least a little evil). 

 All writing that is in both bold and italic can be read aloud to the PCs at the appropriate time.  

Highlighted items are either usable items, or ‘Memories’ of skills from the PCs (Thorin, Felwyn, Ko-Jor, 

or Fiddle). They will have multiple triggering events throughout the module, and should all be triggered, at the latest, by just before the final conflict (Area 7). 

 

Grey highlighted passages describe NPCs and major enemies. 

 

This module is ‘on-rails.’ It’s a one-shot, and meant for new players to feel comfortable, so leave the 

choices to how the players deal with threats, not which threats they will encounter. There is a single 

branch (Area 5) depending on how much time is left. 

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Setting the Scene (point to each of the 4 Players as their description is read):

Your head is throbbing, your vision is blurred, and you can’t concentrate on a single thought longer than a second. ‘Another hangover, eh?’ you think to yourself. But your thoughts quickly shift to a much more immediate question: ‘Wait...where am I?’ Your senses are brought into sharp focus by a blinding light, and the ear-splitting sound of an explosion. You sluggishly shake away your dizziness and begin to see bright-orange embers dancing through the air. As your eyes adjust further, you see a wave of charred splinters fly within inches of your head. Your ears begin to scream with the high-pitched whine of tinnitus, through which you can make out the muffled bassy cry of someone to your right. You take a quick look around revealing a stone dining hall glittering with a collection of priceless treasures. Several other humanoids stand near you, all seeming to suffer from the same symptoms. 

There is a short, sinewy halfling in a fitted trench coat holding a gilded goblet high over his head in both hands [Fiddle], a robed elf clutching a dusty book and staring out from behind finely crafted spectacles in utter confusion [Felwyn], a stout dwarf holding a rune-encrusted shield close to his chainmaille-clad chest [Thorin], a massive human warrior in golden plate, two bloodied hand-axes held limply at her side [Ko-Jor], and a grey-haired knight in well-worked armor - the source of the bassy shout - standing at the far end of the room motioning for all four of you to follow him. Your hearing returns, and the strange knight shouts again: 

 “There’s more fireballs where that came from, we need to get out of here - NOW!” 

 He starts towards the ornate doorway at his end of this large oval room, madly cutting through an army 

of skeletal warriors on his way. About 10-feet away from you in the other direction, a demonic figure floats a foot off the ground, an evil smile of orangish-grey necrotic skin wrapped tightly around his skull.  

“You’re too late Triskel,” the figure rasps. “They did not avoid my amnesia trap as you have. Now they’re nothing but sniveling babes. I’ll have my goblet back and none of these whelps can do a thing about it!”  A chilling laugh sprays past the being’s teeth, moving cob-web-like wisps of dead hair that hang limply over empty eye sockets.  

“Come on,” screams the knight “... you’ve got the goblet! Now move, you fools!”   

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AREA 1 - Treasure Room (15-25 min)  

The PCs start in the final room of the dungeon full of treasure and housing the lich himself. It is 

a large, oval room made of ancient stone buried deep within the dungeon and filled with piles of gold 

and silver coins, and other treasures (feel free to describe specific treasures the PCs might know about 

from other games if it seems like fun - Zelda stuff, other D&D artifacts, etc.). The PCs are free to attempt 

to attack the Lich (new players will likely do this first-thing). However, he has ethereal Magical Armor 

that will prevent all but the greatest of blows. Make it seem like the PCs are ants at this time, and feel 

free to pepper in some insults to build hatred… 

 

“I’ve used more effort to squash an insect underfoot” “I believe I shall enslave your corpse as a fan-operator - you do produce a decent breeze” “Your powers are gone, though I’d likely find them wanting even on your luckiest day” “A feeble attempt, but what should I expect from such a feeble mind?” 

 

Vib’Bane will continue to taunt the PCs as they travel through the dungeon. These will show up 

in red, bold, italicized quotes. 

 

Eventually the lich will get tired of the fight and start in on the fireballs again… 

 

The lich begins to raise his boney talons, cutting white-hot eldritch runes into the very air itself. You feel the room begin to heat up… 

 If the PCs dawdle too long, Fireballs start to slam into them, doing 5 damage to each PC. If they 

don’t get the picture yet, have Triskel come back from dispatching 10-15 skeletons to shove a holy symbol 

into the lich’s face, which will stun him for 1 round, providing a distraction to escape. 

 

“You’ll not take us too, you fiend! We’ve lost to many of our kind already!”  

Loot (search):  Various treasures can be found in each room using a [Search] roll. Let each PC  

search up to once per room. The first time Fiddle searches, it triggers a Memory  of +3 Search for him. The PCs are unlikely to search this room, so feel free to  

move these treasures later on in the adventure. 

 

0 Successes - 4d6 Gold Coins 

1 Success - A magical blue-flame candle on a skull. This can light a room  

up, or set something on fire. It is not lit yet, though. 

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2 Successes -  A dusty old folded parchment seemingly empty with the  

barely-legible partial word ‘Marauder…’ on its front. If  

anyone is able to pull up the proper Harry Potter  

Incantation “I solemnly swear I am up to no good”, the map will 

illuminate the current room along with all enemies within it 

3 Successes -  A boney severed foot with a bit of mummified flesh stuck to it  

sitting in a glass case. If any player cuts off their foot (5 damage)  

and attaches this they will be immune to the bosses spells. 

Otherwise it will serve as a 5-dice melee weapon 

4+ Successes - A small gold ring with Elven writing around it, small enough that  

only a halfling would be able to wear it. If worn it creates a  feeling of foreboding evil in the wearer and could grant  

Invisibility (if it doesn’t break the adventure for your group) 

 

Optional Hazard / Tool: A large bone chandelier can be dropped on the center of the  

room to give the PCs a little extra time to search/escape, and it 

might shatter and do some damage to the Lich 

 

   

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AREA 2 - A Knight’s Death (10-15 min)  

The knight slams the door behind you, wedging it closed with his long sword. The rest of this room is a simple antechamber lined with 4 alcoves, all but one of them illuminated by blood-red candles. There is a heavy stone slab blocking the only other exit. 

 “I...I don’t think I can make it out of this dungeon alive. *cough* You must deliver the Goblet to Lady 

Hersbruck. Tell her...tell her I’ve fulfilled my oath to her in full”  You can see blood dripping down from under the winded knight’s breastplate, and the color is steadily 

draining from his face, highlighting blackening veins. He has only a few minutes of useful consciousness left.  

With this the knight sets his jaw and readies himself for death. He has suffered necrotic damage 

from the lich’s spells and cannot be healed. An army of raised skeletons start to beat on the other side of 

the door (faintly at first), and this knight will not move from this spot for anything. He will answer a few 

questions, but will quickly urge the PCs to leave to fulfill their quest. 

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Syr Triskel, Honor-Bound Knight HP: 1 Syr Triskel is mainly here for exposition. His voice is gruff, and he is dying so feel free to ham it 

up a bit on his dialogue. 

Available Info: highlighted info should be forced - “Dear gods above, the Lich’s amnesia trap wasn’t a myth - he must have set it to go off the 

instant the Goblet of Creativity was touched!” - “The Evil Lich Vib’Bane has plagued this land for decades, seeking out and eliminating all who 

challenge his monopoly on arcane knowledge. He forbids the crafting of any magical potions, especially those that bring goodness into the world - that’s why he wanted the Goblet. His evil must be stopped!” 

- “The Goblet of Creativity was rumored to hold the key to designing new potions outside of the evil influence of Vib’Bane. It was thought a myth, but we were hired by Lady Hersbruck to find it, if it existed, and to secret it back to the free-peoples of this land.” 

- “We left many dangers behind us on our way to the treasure room, as well as one of our allies. They may now be servants of Vib’Bane, though I hope they rest in peace. Be careful! You will need the skills of your entire party to survive. Look for clues to our past in each area” 

- “There’ll be an object that is very dear to him. That will be his weakest point.” 

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- “Lady Hersbruck is a shrewd, honorable regent. She has always treated me with dignity...she once saved me from a horde of Hill Giants by pretending to be an angry earth elemental. Her head works on a different level than mine, that’s for sure…” 

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Triskel will eventually be stabbed through the door by a skeleton’s pike just after rasping 

something like “come in close and I’ll tell you what I can…”. This will trigger a Memory:  

Sneak Attack (Fiddle skill): if the enemy doesn’t know you’re there, double your  attack dice 

 

Keep the PCs moving after a short expository period; use an endless army of angry skeletons if 

you have to!  

Loot (search):  Syr Triskel’s armor cannot be taken, and his sword is firmly wedge into  

the door jamb. However, the following items can be found if a PC 

searches his person: 

Upon specifically asking - 1 light healing potion (+d6)  

“it’s too late for me, you take it” 0 Successes - 3d6 Gold  

1 Success -  Holy Necklace depicting a seven-pointed star. Inscribed on the  

back are the letters ‘J.H.’ This was gifted to Triskel by Lady  

Justine Hersbruck after a brief fling they shared.  

She might want it back. This will trigger Fiddle’s Search  Memory if it wasn’t triggered yet, even if another PC found it. 

2+ Successes - If Fiddle checks, Triskel might be sitting on some lockpicks 

 

Optional Hazard / Tool: If all 4 candles are set alight in the alcoves, or if the PCs come up with a  

cooler idea, the stone door will open. Ko-Jor took one of the candles on  

the team’s way in to lock the door (it is still in her inventory). If the PCs  

start to investigate the alcoves, they each have strange magical 

etchings... A successful [Investigate] check by Felwyn will trigger a Memory of  

Felwyn’s +4 Investigate There is also an odd map in the carvings showing a ‘plus sign’ with a dot 

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on the NE side (this shows the location of the hidden item cache in Area 

4 - Maze’s End).  

Seeing the knight hold the door inspires a Memory in Ko-Jor of +4 STR.   

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AREA 3 - Lich’s Garden (35-45 min)  

The heavy stone door slams shut behind you, hopefully stopping the advance of your pursuers. Bright light floods into this large room from a hole in the ceiling, nearly 100 feet up - it must be mid-morning outside. Your adrenaline has started to fade, and the thought that you must have been in 

this dungeon all night heralds intense fatigue. As your eyes adjust, you notice a chaotic scene: dozens of clay pots, glass jars, and small statues lie shattered with soil and charred leaves scattered across a mosaic tile floor. Burnt skunky odor emanates from still-smoking piles of bines that smolder next to small leather pouches. A row of wooden bookshelves lies in ruin, apparently set alight in the same fashion. There seems to be no immediate threat, this may be a good time to talk through your next moves...  

Let the PCs take a moment to breath and introduce themselves to each other. They can investigate the area (there isn’t much here, really). Eventually the plant elementals come out and attack.  

Loot (search): 0 Successes - 4 Dropped Arrows, A slightly wilted but still beautiful  Cone-flowered green viney plant in a trophy case labelled “W.W.” 

1 Success - Lockpicks (if not found yet), Odd Red Plants*, Vine-covered exit, “It looks like your team burned these books...why would they do  that?” 

2+ Successes - A priceless Orchid of green and gold 

 

Optional Hazard / Tool: * [Investigate] will reveal them as mostly poisonous plants that can be 

added to Fiddle’s arrows to give him an extra dice in combat, or saved for their properties in potion-making. 

 “You think you’ve destroyed my garden? I’m growing new shoots into fresh soil even now...”    As you investigate, the sound of clay scraping along the ground alerts you to movement. Before you can react several lumbering masses of vegetation are moving in to attack!     

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Plant Elementals HP: 5 

- Attacks: Snare (3 dice), and/or Poison Barbs ([CON] success or 1 damage automatically) 

This triggers a Memory of Thorin’s +2 [CON], if it hasn’t been triggered already 

- 2 of these spawn at first, and they will come back to life once slain until someone uses fire to 

destroy them (including Felwyn’s pouches of salts) 

- Immune to all melee weapons that aren’t axes (they grab at swords and maces, dodging them) 

- Fire damage will instantly kill these things (torches will need a hit or two in combat to burn 

them, though - torches use 2 dice to attack) 

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If Felwyn even simply thinks of using the pouches here, it triggers 2 magical Memories:  Flame Spray (Felwyn Item): 4d6 fire damage, AOE, pouch consumed on use Orbs of Lightning (Felwyn Skill): 3-die attack to each of up to 2 targets 

 

This is Felwyn’s “Yer a Wizerd, Hurry!” Moment. 

 When the elementals die, plants start to grow over the door from which the PCs entered, and 

start filling the room, making it more and more claustrophobic and hopefully forcing the PCs to find an 

exit and escape. 

 When the PCs find the vine-covered exit: 

 Behind some loose branches lies a small, dark tunnel of tangled roots perhaps 3 feet in diameter. You cannot see the other side, but you don’t know of any other way out of this room…  

Any character trying to crawl through these roots must succeed in a [DEX] check or take 1 hit. 

This triggers a Memory of Fiddle’s +3 [DEX], if it hasn’t been triggered already 

 

Optional Hazard / Tool: On the other side of the tunnel, the roots all ball up in a single  

evil-looking, pulsing red knot. If this knot is hit in any way, the roots 

retract revealing a normal-sized hallway, helping all other PCs. 

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AREA 4 - Maze’s End (15-30 min)  

(It is pitch black in this chamber, you can only make out a few details of the damp stone wall immediately next to the opening of the tunnel…) [read if the PCs go into the room without a light already] 

 

Your light illuminates a small room, maybe 20 feet by 20. It is notably colder in here, and with the moisture in the air you can start to see your breath. The sound of dripping water echoes down 3 separate hallways in the other corners of the room, each marked with a strange glyph on the nearby stonework. Next to the tunnel through which you came sits a large wooden cask marked with dwarven runes... 

  

Loot (search):  Any, 0 Successes - Cask of Thorin’s Healing Ale (6 uses left, heals a PC for d6),  2 Pouches of Salt (mat. Component for Flame Spray) 

1 Success - 3 Dropped Arrows 

2+ Successes* - Hollow wall-stone with an Arcane Scroll of “Enlarge” - 1 use  * The PCs might already know where to find this from a clue in Area 2 

If any of the PCs try to drink from the cask specifically with the Goblet of Creativity, they get a 

boost of confidence and feel ‘pretty good, kind of invincible,’ and gain a ‘very positive attitude towards all 

this.’ They also get a flood of new ideas for beer flavor combinations that will likely take some time to 

precipitate into usable recipes. 

 

Hallway 1 (N): This hallway glistens with strange green-grey slime… [Investigate/Search] - there are no footprints in the slime. [Investigate] - glyph = midden/refuse If the PCs go down this hallway, they have to turn back from a wall of acidic goop, taking  

2 damage unless they succeed in a [CON] check. 

Hallway 2 (E): This hallway is filled with glittering cobwebs… [Investigate/Search] - The cobwebs seem to be moved by a slight breeze. [Investigate] - glyph = Shelly’s Lair This is the correct hallway and ends at the door to the next area without obstacles. 

Hallway 3 (S): This hallway seems very well-kept, and is cut at straight right angles. A shadowed figure lies on  

the floor about a dozen yards down the hallway... [Investigate/Search] - You can see scrape-marks in the dust that end at the lifeless body seen  

before - a devilish lad with reddish skins, horns and a spiked  tail. This is, or was, Ubex, a part of your adventuring group. 

“Your friend was brave, but I’m afraid backbone alone is not enough to challenge me” Ubex does not have any loot (or feel free to add in undiscovered loot from earlier  

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areas). He may jump up to attack as an undead for effect. 

[Investigate] - glyph = danger: traps If the PCs go down this hallway, they will be stymied by a pit trap and/or closing wall 

trap  

that will do 2 damage unless they succeed in a [STR] check. 

If they make it out of this trap, however, they will still be lead to the correct door to the  

next area. 

 

 

The door to the next area is locked. If Fiddle hasn’t found the lockpicks yet, they are 

sitting here on the floor. Does this mean that the PCs locked the door themselves? Hrmm...    

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AREA 5 - Shelly’s Nest (35-50 min)  

Silvery webs cover every inch of this room, blanketing the walls and sticking to your feet as you walk. Tightly-wrapped cocoons hang from the ceiling, no doubt housing the long-desiccated corpses of birds and bats. In the corners of the room you can make out bigger cocoons, some well over 5 feet tall. 

In the center of the space a gigantic spider lies on its back in a puddle of thick black goo, its 8 spear-like legs curled in towards its body. Behind this hideous centerpiece sits a heavy iron door. An opened slot just big enough for a pair of eyes is cut into it 5 feet off the ground, allowing an eerie wind to whistle through the room. 

Ko-Jor - a slow itch creeps into all of your exposed skin, intensifying into an annoying burning sensation... 

 

If Ko-Jor touches any of the webs in this room, she will take 1 hit - they have silver in them. 

 Loot:   0 Successes -  dead forest animals, most robbed of all their moisture 

1 Success -  6 Dropped Arrows 

2+ Successes -  Giant Spider Eyes, an rare and expensive ingredient in potion  

making 

 

Optional Hazard / Tool: Fire can set most of this room alight and kill some spiders. It will also  

cause additional cocoons to hatch prematurely, however. 

 After the PCs search the room for loot, or if they attack the cocoons, or when they announce they 

are about to leave through the far door (whichever comes first), one of the larger cocoons will explode 

into a mass of giant spiderlings (start with 5). 

 

The silence in this room is shattered by a distant blood-chilling scream that echoes from the direction of the metal door. After a tense pause, you now hear a strange scraping, like fabric slowly ripping. As you turn to see what made the sound you notice the floor in the far corner of the room distort and blur, almost as if it’s moving. Another ominous *RRRRRRIIIIIIP* echoes off the wall to your left. These masses of matted webs aren’t leftovers - they’re egg sacs. And they’re hatching!   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

BREAK (15-20 min) 

This is a good spot for a mid-session break. Go to the bathroom, talk about beer, etc. 

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After the break check the time:  - If there are more than 2 hours left, go to Area 6.2 - Hall of the Dead (hard) after this 

area. - If you are short on time, use the shortened Area 6.1 - Hall of the Dead (easy) after this 

area. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

 

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Giant Silver-Spinner Spiderlings HP: 1-2 

These are dog-sized baby giant silver-spiders. They will attack in a large swarm. 

- Attacks: Bite (2 dice), and/or entangle ([DEX/STR] success or stuck in place for 1 turn) 

This triggers a Memory of Fiddle’s +3 [DEX] and Ko-Jor’s +4 [STR] if they haven’t been triggered 

already 

- 5-10 additional spiders hatch every round, hopefully prompting the PCs to escape the room and 

seal the door behind them 

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The far door is locked. Once unlocked, it will require [STR] success to open AND to close/lock, 

and leads to a dark hallway filled with coffins and corpses. Make it clear that the spiders will continue to 

follow the PCs until they shut the door behind them (maybe have it squash a few grasping spider legs at 

the last second).   

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AREA 6.1 - Hall of the Dead (easy version) (10-15 min) 

 

The smell of decay hits your senses hard. Humidity begins to soak your clothes, weighing you down. You feel your fatigue might finally catch up to you. Hopefully the extra heat in this room means you’re close to the entrance. Just beside the door lies a great two-handed axe that glows with a faint red light, dimmed slightly by a mass of glistening silvery webs that make it seem as if it has been here for ages. 

Ahead lies a suspended metal walkway. It creaks and sways at your added weight, staying about 3 feet from either wall, and barely a foot above a greenish, bubbling pool of foetid goo. As the pit below gurgles and pops, you focus on the walls - they are rough, jagged; almost spiked. They are made of bleached bones, mortared together in a gruesome display of morbid masonry. 

More bones lay strewn about the catwalk - there was a battle here; a big one by the looks of it. It appears as though you fought past at least 20 skeleton warriors on your way through this part of the dungeon. Let’s hope the dead stay at rest as you make your way back out. 

 The fatigue triggers a Memory of: 

 

Last Stand (Ko-Jor Skill): tap into your inner-rage for +1d6HP (even past max) and an extra  

attack. 1 use only. 

 Ko-Jor will take 1-2 hits from her allergy to free the Baneslayer’s Battleaxe (7 dice attack), 

otherwise, any other PC can free it, but won’t be able to lift it. 

 If this is the first time Thorin sees the undead, he will have a Memory: 

 

Turn Undead (Thorin Skill): 6 dice, each success destroys an undead 

 

Give the PCs a single [DEX] check each to see if they stay on the platform the entire time. 

Black-goo-covered hands reach for 1 or 2 of them (especially if they fall), but they should be able to make 

it out without further damage. The hallway twists to the right, ending in an opening leading to the final 

room (go to Area 6). 

 

Loot (search):  0 Successes -  A long-dead knight lies half-stuck in the pit of goo, his armor  embossed with a banner of a majestic Goose soaring through the  clouds. It seems as if he was also trying to escape 

“You really think you’ll end up any different? That knight was far more  competent than you, and he still bent to my will in the end!” 

1 Success - It looks like you saw something shining in the bubbling muck,  

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but It must have been pushed away when you tried to grab it…  

2+ Successes -  One of the skeletons wears a Golden Bracelet of might, this will  

add +1 dice to all of a character’s rolls for the rest of the module 

 

If the PCs spend too much time here, feel free to have the chains on the catwalk snap, causing a 

cascading failure of the platform itself that threatens to slowly sink into the biohazardous goop. 

 

AREA 6.2 - Hall of the Dead (hard version) (25-35 min) 

 

The smell of decay hits your senses hard. Humidity begins to soak your clothes, weighing you down. You feel your fatigue might finally catch up to you. Hopefully the extra heat in this room means you’re close to the entrance. Just beside the door lies a great two-handed axe that glows with a faint red light, dimmed slightly by a mass of glistening silvery webs that make it seem as if it has been here for ages. 

Ahead lies a suspended metal walkway. It creaks and sways at your added weight, staying about 3 feet from either wall, and barely a foot above a black, bubbling pool of foetid goo. As the pit below gurgles and pops, you focus on the walls - they are rough, jagged; almost spiked. They are made of bleached bones, mortared together in a gruesome display of morbid masonry. This is some sort of catacomb… 

You hear rock scraping against rock, then a series of loud splashes. Horrid figures walking on mis-matched legs have begun springing out of the walls and into the sludge below. A cascade of falling skeletons continues down the hallway as the catwalk curves to your right and out sight. It looks like they want you to stay... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Skeleton Warriors HP: 1 

These warriors are composed of a mish-mash of humanoid bones and carry swords and clubs 

- Attacks: Slash/Slam (2 dice). 

- These skeletons are not meant to do much damage, but can pull the PCs into the goop for a nice 

scary effect ([DEX/STR] success to get out) 

- 2-3 additional skeletons spawn every round, up to a total of 10-15 

- Turn undead should chew through these skeletons handedly - make it seem super powerful 

- If the PCs have the Blue Flame Candle, the skeletons will shy away from it and let the players 

pass unharmed 

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After the first round of combat, if this is the first time Thorin sees the undead, he will 

have a Memory:  

Turn Undead (Thorin Skill): 6 dice, each success destroys an undead 

 

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Loot (search):  0 Successes -  nothing. 

1 Success - It looks like you saw something shining in the bubbling muck,  

but It must have been pushed away when you tried to grab it…  

2+ Successes -  One of the skeletons wears a Golden Bracelet of might, this will  

add +1 dice to all of a character’s rolls for the rest of the module 

 Optional Hazard / Tool: The walkway is rickety, but won’t fail. The PCs can swing the entire  

walkway into emerging skeletons to shatter them to bits.   

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AREA 7 - Final Battle with Vib’Bane (45-55 min) 

 

Six huge fireplaces crafted to look like screaming skulls line the walls of this room, all occupied with crackling blazes that spill a warm reddish glow into this hall. A mantle above one of the pits holds a collection of odd humanoid skulls in different states of decay. Some of the floor-tiles here have ancient magical symbols etched into them, and nearly a dozen of these are depressed several inches into the floor. It seems that some arcane puzzle has been solved here. That’s it! You remember this room - the main chamber just past the entrance! As you look up towards the double door leading to freedom, you see a tall woman in ornate and heraldic silver armor gagged and chained to the hinges, blocking your escape. She looks surprised to see you for an instant, but then steels her face with a grimace of angry determination. 

A sinking feeling of dread creeps over you. A raspy *hiss* begins to fill the room, like the sound of a scorpion’s nest. Your skin begins to crawl. Before you can cross the room to the chained figure, tendrils of darkness creep across the floor, coming together just in front of her. Dark spines begin to cover the captive as a hellish figure rises from the shadowy mass.  “You thought you could escape?! Nobody challenges my power and lives!”  

It is the Lich-lord Vib’Bane! He is clad now in ancient ceremonial robes of black, red, and gold, tattered and miskept. In one boney hand he brandishes a golden scepter capped with an eagle in mid-flight, in the other he grips an ancient book with one strange arcane word on its cover. He flings the book open with a flourish and starts chanting in a long-forgotten tongue...it’s time to end this! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Evil Lich Vib’Bane, Enemy of Free-Folk HP: 20-30 

Vib’Bane is a typical lich hell-bent on immortality and on destroying all competition to his 

power.  

He finds lesser wizards and craftspeople and eliminates them, sucking up their souls and  

creations to pad his own treasure hoard. He hopes to make it so that only he and his lackeys have  

the ability to make magic potions in the land, giving him a monopoly on their healing powers,  

which he plans to taint with evil magics to turn all who drink them into mindless zombies. 

He wears tattered red and black robes with gold trim - a forgotten garment from an ancient 

time. He carries a golden, eagle-capped scepter/rod in one hand and an evil spellbook in the 

other with the word ‘acquisitions’ scrolled on its cover - it is here he keeps records of all of his 

stolen artifacts and recipes.  

He has recently stolen the Goblet of Creativity, a magical artifact that gives its owner the ability 

to create new potions of pure goodness that can combat the evil of the world. 

Stats:  

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- Vib’Bane should be impossible to fight in the first room, and should get his ass kicked 

roundly in the final encounter of the dungeon (though he should dish out some serious 

damage, dropping, at max, 1 of the PCs). 

- He can do 2 actions per round, usually going again after 2 PCs have done their actions. 

Try to spread the damage out so that nobody gets killed early into fighting him 

- If the PCs aim at his book (or maybe another item if they had a good idea), it will count 

as a weak point/phylactery and do double damage. Make this seem like an 

accomplishment! 

- He floats around slinging spells and trying to avoid melee range. If he is tethered, or 

otherwise brought into close combat, he can swing with his scepter for a 5-die attack. 

- Spells: - Fireball (1-2 casts left): This will do 5 damage to all in the room. [DEX] successes 

will negate this damage 

- Cold-Snap: This will freeze up to 2 PCs and do 3 damage. [CON] successes will 

negate this damage 

- Tenacious Tickling: One PC is stuck laughing maniacally for 1 turn 

- Magic Missiles: 1-2 unavoidable damage to each of up to 3 PCs 

- Raise Dead: This will create 2-3 Skeleton Warriors from the fireplaces (use the 

rules from Area 6.2 for these skeletons, but feel free to add fire damage or 

reddish glow to them for effect) 

- Drain Life: He will do 1-2 damage to a PC, and heal 1-2 from himself 

 

When he is defeated, Vib’Bane will start to implode into his own robes. A hellish maw opens 

underneath him and a black carriage pulled by zombified clydesdales pulls his remains down into the 

underworld. His scepter and book burning up in a pillar of fire. He lets out an eerie scream, saying “you shall never defeat meeeeee!” before a magical explosion dispels all undead in the area 

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Loot:   0 Successes - “your search ends abruptly as you accidentally step on the wrong floor  tile. It sticks, saving you from the trap, but you think it best to watch  where you step in stead of looking for treasure…” 

1 Success - 4 Dropped Arrows, Odd Skull Collection 2+ Successes - You find the Lich’s Amulet of Protection +2 (if the battle is over) 

 Optional Hazard / Tool: If the PCs didn’t find it in Area 1, a large bone chandelier can be dropped 

on the center of the room to shatter and do some damage 

 

Additionally, the glyphs on the floor can be triggered incorrectly on  

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purpose, shooting spikes down from the ceiling. These will give the PC 3  

extra dice to roll against Vib’Bane during that turn (in addition to their  

attack). If these three dice all miss, however, the PC takes 2 hits.   

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AREA 8 - Epilogue (5-10 min) 

 

The chained figure at the door is Lady Hersbruk... 

 

If the PCs decide to kill her (perhaps thinking her a fiendish trap):  This will lead to a tense scene with a phalanx of knights outside the dungeon (a good enough  

cliffhanger). She has no loot on her other than the Signet Ring of House Hersbruk  

If the PCs free her: She will immediately ask: 

 

“where’s the goblet? Did you find it? Quickly - give it to me!”  

This may prompt suspicion, but the Lady’s intentions are true.  

 

If the PCs keep the goblet: 

 

“Very well, I trust that you will use it with honor. But be wary of anyone trying to acquire it, even for an instant. Vib’Bane may one day return, and will surely be after that artifact.”  

After this, read them the dialogue below as well. 

 If they let her have it:  

 

“At last, Vib’Bane’s corruption of this holy artifact is ended. The free peoples thank you for your service, great adventurers. I am permitted to provide each of you with a royal favor - for what might you ask?”  After the PCs do some character-building with their loot requests, she will ask: 

 

“What of the knight you traveled with? Where is Sir Triskel?” 

 

If told of his death, Lady Hersbruk will shed a single tear, though she keeps her face 

stern. She will once again thank the PCs for their efforts, and will escort them outside 

where a large squadron of knights on horseback will cheer their triumph. If the PCs 

want to discuss what they would do next, that’s great. Otherwise, the module is over. 

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