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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Neil the Knight" data-source="post: 7015250" data-attributes="member: 6801269">We were discussing before about how silly it would be for Devron to have his phylactery on his person. I mean if you had three thousand years to prepare you probably wouldn't have the ONLY thing that can permanently kill you in arms reach so this got me thinking about possible fun ways to play this out.In my research on Lich encounters, I came a cross a module published in Dragon #95 called Into Forgotten Realms. Here's the synopsis:"Lord Lashan [a local tyrant] and a picked group of bodyguards entered the [an] under- ground school and discovered that it was inhabited by the former head of the School of Wizardry until it was abandoned three hundred years ago when the city above was taken in a war. The archmage was left in the school at his own request, to pursue his own increasingly evil experiments and summonings.At long last the archmage, named Azimer, became a lich. He has also become gradually more and more insane, and even now as a lich he has but a tenuous grasp on reality. Azimer believes he is still a living human being and has continuous hallucinations and delusions that the school is active, that he is its leader, and that the world is his to command. He also believes there are unseen “enemies” constantly trying to get into the school, though he has done little to fortify the school over the years.When Lashan discovered Azimer, the lich at first believed that the warrior was one of his sorcerous pupils and asked Lashan to perform some errands. Though Lashan’s terrified bodyguards fled, attempting to escape the dreadful apparition of the lich, the hot-tempered and foolhardy Lashan elected to attack. Azimer be- came instantly convinced that Lashan was one of the “enemies” who wanted to slay him, and he quickly destroyed the ex-tyrant and all of his followers.Azimer has calmed down since then and will, if carefully treated, prove relatively harmless to an adventuring party unless provoked."The first thing that came to mind when I read the module is if, like <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/member.php?55491-werecorpse" target="_blank">werecorpse</a> , some one wanted to run a crazed or mad Devron, they could replace the entire Devron prison level with this adventure. Of course you would need to take out all the parts about Lord Lashan and his men but that isn't particularly key stuff to the adventure. Even if you opt not to use it I would recommend a read through because there are some good roleplay suggestions for running an insane lich.Then I begun to think about how I could incorporate it into my own game. I figured it could make for a good pocket dimension where Devron keeps his phylactery. I came up with two possibilities for how to get the party there. The first is to replace the third phase of the Devron set piece encounter with this adventure. This would mean that the second phase would end when Devron had lost all his hit points. At which point I would have Devron explode in a bright blinding light encompassing all the players. When the light faded the party would find them selves standing in the octagonal foyer of the Wizard school (area 2) and feeling slightly rejuvenated (short rest). As I mentioned before I will be playing with an experienced group of guys who will be on the lookout for the phylactery and know they don't have a tone of time before Devron reanimates, so the second possibility would be to place a small jar made of putter in Devron's chambers or amongst some of the loot. When picked up the jar would feel like there was something in it, maybe sand, a ring or a rolled up piece of paper, but if some one was to look in side or tip it upside down there would be nothing there. If detected with magic, It would radiate strong conjuration, which should seem odd as all conjuration  magic doesn't function in the prison layer. If some one tried to fish out the contents of the jar they would be sucked in and transported like before to the octagonal foyer. This idea keeps the three phases of the battle with Devron intact, doesn't rail road the party and kinda allows the party to work at their own pace.No matter how they get to the pocket dimension, how I fill the dungeon will be the same. I would only really want to use the frame work of this adventure, namely the map and monsters. The crazed lich Azimer would need to be replaced, seeing as how the party just fought a lich. Instead I was thinking of putting a giant floating head of Devron before he became a lich. (because what good boss fight is complete without a floating head). The head would obviously try and prevent the party from getting to the phylactery and have the stats of a beholder or some other beholder kin, depending on how rested the party is. Any sighn of Lord Lashan, his men and any previous adventures will need to be taken out.To ensure a final battle i was thinking of deleting the two secret chambers that lead around the head masters room where the floating head will be waiting. But once the party has faught and killed the floating head they can make their way through the tunnels to what in the modual is Azimars chambers. Here is where I'll place the phylactery and a pile of loot including the Book of Korbus.In room 21 scribbled on the walls is the recipe to become a lich. The modual adds that it is incorrect but I thought it would be fun to have it be real. It's at the end of the campaign any how so there isn't much harm in it. If any one is looking for how to become a lich there are a few great write ups. One in best of dragon magazine vol 2. "Blue print for a lich" and second is in RS1 Accessory " Van Richen's Guid to the Lich"And the final completely over powered thing (amungst an already Monty Hall worth of treasure) in the dungeon is a red dragons egg ready to hatch in two weeks. I suppose if for some reason I wanted to keep the campaign rolling I could have some kind of story line involving the red dragon from dragon spire and the egg.</blockquote>

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