Dungeon of the Mad Mage and the "Withered Heart (spoilers)

[Jester David]

Is there a plot to DotMM? I couldn't find one in my read-through.

Not really.
Which is a big plus for many, who have been asking for something that isn’t about the end of the world...

 

[lluewhyn]

In my game, I am using the "withered heart" as a plot device, not a magic item. I am treating it like a reliquary where the necromancer's spirit resides after his body was destroyed; it is pure spirit now and cannot reconstruct a body like a lich. I removed the side effect of instant death and, by attuning to it, you can telepathy communicate with the spirit trapped within; no need for "Speak with Dead."

If you don't mind, I'm going to use a variant on this idea, minus some of the Faction stuff (mostly because I didn't set them up ahead of time). My PCs found the Box last night as the last encounter of the evening, and are intrigued by what's in the box, along with the requisite Se7en quotes. Much more interesting than the pointless death trap written in the module.