The Vainglorious Villainy of the Lecherous Lich (potential for mature themes)
All across the kingdom, a “famous swordsman” known as Vothario has been victimizing females for decades. Once a handsome young elf bard, he charmed his way across the kingdom and never spent a night alone. The years grew long and the conquests piled higher until one day he met a drow sorceress. Although he knew better than to risk sharing a bed with the nemesis of his race, Vothario’s vanity got the best of him. He somehow believed that such a “trophy” would be worthy of a song so great he would become legendary among his people as a bard, an elf, and as a lover. After the encounter, he spurned her just as he had spurned all of the others before but this one would have her revenge. She cursed him with a vile affliction, a horrible disease that destroyed his looks and drove him mad.
This madness eventually convinced Vothario to take the dark path to becoming a lich. Somehow he convinced himself that if could extend his existence beyond that of a normal elf, already a long life, he could one day reverse the process that had ruined him. Naturally, this was a delusion but such was Vothario’s insanity and a lich he became.
Vothario now resides in Lalhalla, an ethereal keep, the former residence of a female wizard who fell victim to his overtures. Lahalla occupies the same space as a ruined tower in the center of a large town on the prime material plane. This ruined tower is believed by the locals to be haunted by the spirits of the dead and it is in a sense. It is because of the perceived haunting that the ruins remain where they are and go largely undisturbed.
It is from this residence, when the moon is full, that Vothario uses his magical ectoplasm corset to travel between the ethereal plane and the prime material plane to find a new conquest. His vanity and his madness do not allow him to force himself on his victims but he uses his magic to deceive them. Unfortunately for his victims, Vothario is not easily forgotten as he almost always leaves a remembrance in the form of his disease behind. Vothario chooses only the most attractive victims he can find and his search for them can take him anywhere in the kingdom. He uses his shadow walk spell and the shadows created by the full moon to accomplish his task in a single night.
Preparation
DMs should be careful to gear this adventure to the sensitivity level of their players. Certain aspects can be glossed over, but in order to achieve the full effect, to draw the players fully into the adventure and instill a good degree of hatred and loathing for the antagonist, those same aspects can even be heightened. Knowing your group of players is the key to determining just how far you can go with this scenario.
The Layout
The inside of Vothario’s ethereal keep, Lahalla, is covered in mirrors and portraits of him as a youth. The interior of the keep has been enhanced by a wish spell so that all of the mirrors shows the owner of the keep as a youth. The layout of Lahalla is simple. The entrance is through a shattered mirror within the ruined keep located on the prime material plane. If one turns ethereal at the right moment, they appear to be walking through the mirror. Once through the portal you are in a thirty by thirty foot foyer. Either end of the far thirty foot wide wall are arched openings to stairways. Each is ten foot wide, going upward, and curving toward one another to meet at a landing which is out of view until one is at the bottom of the steps on either side. From the landing where they meet, a single stairway then leads up to Vothario’s sleeping chamber on the second floor and directly over the foyer.
Mouthing Off
If anyone other than Vothario crosses the foyer a magic mouth is triggered:
“Puzzles of Pacifism are my pride,
If you fail in your quest, you’ll wish you had died.”
Vothario is not really a pacifist, he is a liar, but he does have a number of traps set to slow any approaching enemies. If his traps slow down an enemy, it allows him time to cast some spells in advance of their arrival above. The acoustics of the ethereal keep are such that any noise at all in the foyer travels up to the second floor.
Carpet Crawlers
Approaching within five feet of the left stairway triggers a magic mouth:
“An entirety of effects that coruscate refulgently are not inevitably auriferous by nature.”
This is a warning, after a fashion, but is also meant to entice some investigation. It is a obfuscated way of saying, “All that glitters is not gold.” There are twenty steps leading up and curving to the right before reaching a ten foot by ten foot landing shared with the symmetrical right stairway. On both sides the carpet runner that covers the steps appears to be woven with fine golden threads. On this side it is, in fact, a mimic. Closer inspection might reveal that fact but it also has a good chance of making the investigator more vulnerable to a surprise attack (such as if they reach down and touch it to examine the threads closely).
The mimic is charmed by Vothario. Vothario brings it back a meals from the prime material plane. If intruders ignore or simply do not understand the warning, the mimic will allow a pair of potential victims to climb the stairs partially before exuding its sticky slime and thus surprising two enemies at once.
Mimic: CR 4; Large aberration (shapechanger); HD 7d8+21; hp 52; Init +1; Spd 10 ft.; AC 15 (–1 size, +1 Dex, +5 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 14; Base Atk +5; Grp +13; Atk Slam +9 melee (1d8+4); Full Atk 2 slams +9 melee (1d8+4); Space/Reach 10 ft./10 ft.; SA adhesive, crush; SQ darkvision 60 ft., immunity to acid, mimic shape; AL N; SV Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +6; Str 19, Dex 12, Con 17, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 10.
Languages: Common.
Skills and Feats: Climb +9, Disguise +13, Listen +8, Spot +8; Alertness, Lightning Reflexes, Weapon Focus (slam). (A mimic has a +8 racial bonus on Disguise checks.)
Adhesive (Ex): Exudes a thick slime that acts as a powerful adhesive, holding fast any creatures or items that touch it. An adhesive–covered mimic automatically grapples any creature it hits with its slam attack. Opponents so grappled cannot get free while the mimic is alive without removing the adhesive. A weapon that strikes an adhesive–coated mimic is stuck fast unless the wielder succeeds on a DC 16 Reflex save. A successful DC 16 Strength check is needed to pry it off. Strong alcohol dissolves the adhesive, but it can grapple normally. It can dissolve its adhesive at will, the substance breaks down 5 rounds after the creature dies.
Crush (Ex): A mimic deals 1d8+4 points of damage with a successful grapple check.
Mimic Shape (Ex): Can assume the general shape of any object that fills roughly 150 cubic feet (5 feet by 5 feet by 6 feet). Cannot substantially alter its size. Its body is hard and has a rough texture, no matter what appearance. Anyone who examines the mimic can detect the ruse with a successful Spot check opposed by the mimic’s Disguise check.
Advancement: 8–10 HD (Large); 11–21 HD (Huge)
The Right to Remain Silent
Approaching the right stairway triggers another magic mouth to say the following.
“Watch your step, as they say,
The garden path is a moment away.”
This stairway appears identical, but symmetrical, to the stairway on the left. If someone moves from the first step to the second, a programmed image spell kicks in and creates images of two people identical to the person climbing the stairs. The nearer of the two images is aligned and overlapping the actual person but perhaps not for long. (If two people climb the stairs together, both will be duplicated by the images, but each only once.) Just after the images appear a teleport spell effect transport the stair climber(s) outside of the ethereal keep, to the mirror entrance. The images, however, remain and continue to climb the stairs duplicating the original stair-climbing action of the actual climber(s). As the images mount the subsequent steps, further duplicate images will take their places on the lower steps and follow the original images upward. The effect creates a repeating loop of images, an army of duplicates, climbing the stairs in a confusing array. If further attempts to climb the stairs are made by others, the same effect transpires even if that means that images of climbers appear to be overlapping. The effect is meant to confuse intruders for as long as possible and give the inhabitants additional time to prepare for defense. Undead do not trigger the effect. A DC 25 Will check negates the teleporting effect. Even if someone makes their saving throw to negate the teleporting effect, and returns to the bottom of the steps, their duplicating images will continue to climb the stairway.
Lurking Above
If anyone other than Vothario passes the threshold of the first step above the landing, that action triggers another magic mouth:
“You’re clearly no match for my wrath,
Now prepare to do some math.”
Again, a lie. The second of Vothario’s charmed guardians is a rust monster. It rests behind a tapestry in an alcove above the final stairway to the second floor. Because of the mirrors, it can see anyone coming up the stairs. It is not intelligent enough to be concerned with self-preservation. It drops among the PCs when it sees its best chance to put itself in range of as much metal as it can.
Rust monster: CR 3; Medium aberration; HD 5d8+5; hp 27; Init +3; Spd 40 ft.; AC 18 (+3 Dex, +5 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 15; Base Atk +3; Grp +3; Atk Antennae touch +3 melee (rust); Full Atk Antennae touch +3 melee (rust) and bite –2 melee (1d3); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; SA rust; SQ darkvision, scent; AL (Always) N; SV Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +5; Str 10, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 8.
Skills and Feats: Listen +7, Spot +7; Alertness, Track.
Rust (Ex): A successful touch attack with its antennae causes the target metal to corrode, falling to pieces. Touch can destroy up to a 10–foot cube of metal instantly. Magic armor and weapons, and other magic items made of metal, must succeed on a DC 17 Reflex save or be dissolved. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +4 racial bonus. Metal weapons that deal damage to a rust monster corrode immediately. Wooden, stone, and other nonmetallic weapons are unaffected.
With One Eye Open
Vothario’s sleeping chamber is the height of opulence. While the walls, and even the ceiling and floors, are all mirrored they are accented with fine tapestries, paintings, and statuary depicting Vothario in various flattering situations and poses. In one painting he is being honored by throngs of followers, their own visages obscured in shadow. On a tapestry Vothario is mounted and leading a charge toward certain victory, his steed stealing an admiring glance back at him. The many bronze, brass, and ceramic likenesses show him to be physically in near perfect proportion.
(Vothario's statsw needs more work - MC)
Vothario (Lich, elf male Brd17: CR 19; Medium undead; HD 17d12; hp 102; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; AC 16 (+1 Dex, +5 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 15; Base Atk +6; Grp +7; Atk Rapier +7 melee (1d6+1/18–20); Full Atk Rapier +7/+2 melee (1d6+1/18–20); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; SA fear aura, paralyzing touch, poison, spell-like abilities, spells, touch attack; SQ DR 15/bludgeoning and 15/magic, darkvision 120 ft., drow traits, immunity to cold, electricity, polymorph, and mindaffecting attacks, light blindness, SR 12, turn resistance +4; AL NE; SV Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +8 (+2 racial bonus on Will saves against spells and spell-like abilities.); Str 12, Dex 13, Con —, Int 18, Wis 12, Cha 22.
Languages: Common, Elven, and Undercommon.
Skills and Feats: Bluff +22, Concentration +19, Craft (any one) +20, Hide +8, Knowledge (arcana) +20, Listen +11, Move Silently +8, Profession (any one) +17, Search +12, Sense Motive +9, Spellcraft +20, Spot +12; Diehard, Skill Focus (Concentration), Spell Penetration, Weapon Focus (rapier), Weapon Specialization (rapier). (+2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks which is included above. A drow who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if she were actively looking for it. Liches have a +8 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks which are included above.)
Spell-Like Abilities: All bardic abilities are still available to Vothario.
Bard Spells Known: (cast 6/8/7/7/7/7/4; caster level – 17th) 0–dancing lights, detect magic, detect poison, ghost sound, mage hand, mending, open/close, read magic, resistance; 1st–charm person, endure elements, mage armor, magic mouth, true strike; 2nd–bear's endurance, blur, bull's strength, cat's grace, fog cloud; 3rd–arcane sight, dispel magic, haste, slow; 4th–confusion, detect scrying, dimension door, enervation; 5th–cloudkill, dominate person, summon monster V; 6th–programmed image, shadow walk. (Spells need work more work. - MC)
Fear Aura (Su): Liches are shrouded in a dreadful aura of death and evil. Creatures of less than 5 HD in a 60-foot radius that look at the lich must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by a fear spell from a sorcerer of the lich’s level. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same lich’s aura for 24 hours.
Immunities (Ex): Liches have immunity to cold, electricity, polymorph (though they can use polymorph effects on themselves), and mind-affecting attacks.
Violet Vein Disease: Any living creature coming in physical contact with Vothario must succeed on a Fortitude save DC 20 (Contact) or become infected; Incubation 1 day; damage 1d2 Int and 1d2 Con.
Paralyzing Touch (Su): Any living creature a lich hits with its touch attack must succeed on a Fortitude save or be permanently paralyzed. Remove paralysis or any spell that can remove a curse can free the victim (see the bestow curse spell description).
The effect cannot be dispelled. Anyone paralyzed by a lich seems dead, though a DC 20 Spot check or a DC 15 Heal check reveals that the victim is still alive.
Touch Attack: A lich has a touch attack that uses negative energy to deal 1d8+5 points of damage to living creatures; a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 lich’s HD + lich’s Cha modifier) halves the damage.
Turn Resistance (Ex): A lich has +4 turn resistance.
Possessions: +3 rapier and ectoplasm corset (ethereal 3/day).
Vothario’s phylactery is the three foot by three foot mirror placed in the center of the ceiling of his sleeping chamber. It is a masterwork mirror, made from the finest glass backed by highly reflective mithral. Of course, it looks like any other mirror to the casual observer and given that the entire ceiling is covered in mirrors, it is hard to detect. However, unlike all of the other mirrors in the ethereal keep of Lahalla, his phylactery shows his true form. Should an adventuring party come to destroy the lecherous lich and confront him in his sleeping chamber they might catch a glance of his reflection in that one mirror and note that it is different from all the other mirrors. Naturally, they’ll still have to puzzle out that it is different and why, but noticing it in the first place is truly half the battle. The DM must determine the DC of noticing the reflection based on circumstances and lighting conditions. Use a base DC of 25 and work from there.
Adjusting the Adventure
Vothario is a tough opponent but scaling him downward is possible by lowering his hit points and removing some of his spells as if he has recently come back from a tough encounter outside of his ethereal keep. To scale him upward, raise his level. The rust monster and mimic guardians can both be advanced should their encounters require toughening up for a particular campaign.
