D&D 5E Ideas for an evil force trapped in rock

[Agglomérante]

Help!

Imagine that the mine in Wave Echo Cave is up and running with skeletons mining away as they did in life. Every day three teams of 10 skeletons gear up with picks, hammers, chisels and shovels and put in an 8-hour shift * under the supervision of some deathlocks and wights.

There's more to it but here's the thing: the undead are digging to free a dark force trapped in the rock, encased there after losing an epic battle long ago. It's no coincidence that the power is near the mine:

• the ancient battle caused the tear in the Weave that powers the Forge of Spells.
• the dark force is responsible for the wave of negative energy that swept through Wave Echo Cave and raised the denizens from the dead
• whatever force thrust the dark power deep in the rock left mithral in its wake, a cone-like pattern of mithral emanating from a motherlode surrounding the dark power.

I'm having a hard time deciding on something engaging and interesting for the dark power. The PCs will only be 4th or 5th level when they encounter an evil power capable of raising dozens of undead from miles away. Options so far:

• it's an evil artifact
• the PCs stop the skeletons before they reach the power, so it remains mysterious
• it's a power of some kind but most of its body is still trapped in rock. It can be killed while it conjures aid, which is about all it can do.

I need to think outta the box. Please sprinkle some imaginative sugar.

* Edit: leaving 16 hours to do carry out pantomimes of activities in the other 16 hours of the day, including "sleeping" for 8 hours (see p. 2 of thread for more)

 

[Croesus]

I don't have any specific suggestions for you, but it occurred to me that this ties in nicely with the Nothic in Tresendar Manor. The Nothic is drawn to its crevasse because of the faint necromantic aura. This could be an echo (no pun intended) of what you have going on in Wave Echo Cave. You could have some ripple effects under Tresendar that might give the characters clues as to what is happening in WE Cave.

 

[Unwise]

1) The bones of a dead god - an item needed for the first step in attaining divinity and taking on his/her domain. One heck of a necromantic focus. Could also be used to summon the dead god back as an undead under the control of the necromancer. That will never work of course, he could never keep control, but the damage to the world will be done already.

2) A word - there is a crystal down there with a unique property. It sucks in sound and the sound keeps bouncing around inside it, trapped. The crystal currently contains one echo of the initial words of power spoken at the creation of the world. Released it could have untold power, distorted or reversed, it could unmake creation in part or in whole. Alternatively, it is the dying curse/scream of a dead god, captured before it could do its work/harm.

 

[Agglomérante]

1) The bones of a dead god - an item needed for the first step in attaining divinity and taking on his/her domain. One heck of a necromantic focus.

2) A word - there is a crystal down there with a unique property. It sucks in sound and the sound keeps bouncing around inside it, trapped.

Dude, you are definitely thinking outside the box! Thanks.

Think I prefer the bones of a dead god. It merges a power and an artifact. I don't think I've ever designed an artifact. Fun!

After 135 views you'd figure we'd have more ideas sprinkled here, but I guess it's a pretty restrictive scenario.

 

[Agglomérante]

I don't have any specific suggestions for you, but it occurred to me that this ties in nicely with the Nothic in Tresendar Manor. The Nothic is drawn to its crevasse because of the faint necromantic aura. This could be an echo (no pun intended) of what you have going on in Wave Echo Cave. You could have some ripple effects under Tresendar that might give the characters clues as to what is happening in WE Cave.

Thanks! Alas, the party's been there already, and I replaced the Nothic with a Grell or Grick.

 

[Ahrimon]

Check out the movie Wishmaster.

 

[Agglomérante]

Check out the movie Wishmaster.

I just checked out this "cool scene."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fvzPOQRRxw

Why do you recommend Wishmaster? What's the gist of the inspiration?

 

[Astrosicebear]

I like the bones of a dead god, but that is a bit much for FR lore.

How about the bones of an ancient dracolich... a dracolich thats phylactery was never found, so the only way the original heroes could devise to stop it, was to spread its bones all across the Sword Coast, encased in magical barriers.

Except over time, those bones began exerting force upon the world, and causing strange things to happen, mostly in an effort to re-assemble.

The bones cannot be destroyed without destroying the phylactery. So the PCs need to find it, but also could unwittingly carry the bones around and the dracolich could reassemble and they could be the very implement of the destruction they wish to prevent!

 

[AmerginLiath]

An evil force trapped in rock?



C'mon, I couldn't be the only one thinking it...

 

[Ahrimon]

I just checked out this "cool scene."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fvzPOQRRxw

Why do you recommend Wishmaster? What's the gist of the inspiration?

From what I remember the evil genie is trapped inside a ruby. So it popped into mind when I read the OPs thoughts about an evil force trapped in a stone.