Paragon adventure help for idea needed

[aco175]

My group of 14th level characters just met Baba Yaga in hetr hut and went on a quest for her to tell them how they can destroy a lich phylactery that have won in a fey gladiatorial arena by defeating the lich champion who was wearing it. Nex week they will return to Baba Yaga and I have no idea how it should be destroyed. I was looking for a side quest that will last a week or two of play time and not be the focus of a whole campaign arc.

I was thinking of having an extra dimentional space in the thing itself with 3-4 encounters with traps and a few undead. Some sort of tough fight with an imprisioned elemental or devil or such. Something like this is in Dungeon Delve for 23rd level, so I could take some of this and go with it.

I was also thinking of how the thing could be activated to gain entrance. One of the overall arcs in the campaign is that this lich and the death knight generals are on the marck to invade the neighboring kingdom, leading to a massive battle in the mountain pass where this oparty and the other 2 we are running all at various times will meet and complete varioous battles to become the heroes. The highter level party will end up fighting the lich and the last death knight along with some sort of primordial. I could have this party blow up the phylactery to destroy the morale of the evil army by needeing to gain entrance only in the view of the lich. Although in reality if the lich saw they had the item it would most likely turn its attention on them.

Any ideas. Thank you

 

[Quickleaf]

[MENTION=27385]aco175[/MENTION] Did you ever play Planescape: Torment? There were several extradimensional spaces like the Modron Construct/Labyrinth and Ravel's Maze which - with a heavy coating of undeath - could make for an interesting basis for your extradimensional lich's phylactery.

Each of the 3 main encounters inside the phylactery might be related to different things binding the lich to life (Er, undeath). More on that below. Between them there might be a maze of bleached bone and creepy mist which threatens to separate the PCs and make them appear as each others' enemies (a unique skill challenge perhaps?); moving between each encounter requires following the right lantern-bearing specter thru the maze (a puzzle/riddle perhaps?).

Encounter 1 - The lich's thirst for power thru accumulation of arcane lore incarnate. A magical codex puzzle (think the old wheel from the Pool of Radiance computer game) in a ruined library with an ever increasing number of ghosts/wraiths attacking until the codex is solved. Alternate solution might be to lure all ghosts out of library then destroy it.

Encounter 2 - The lich's pride and desire for recognition incarnate. A mage-king (representation of the lich in his prime) holds court for an array of undead in various states of decomposition, but treats them as if alive. They all are essentially "yes men", toadying to their king. If the PCs can diplomatically acknowledge the lich's successes while pointing out that he went too far and that he is surrounded by dead sycophants - then the true nature of the court is revealed to the king and he turns into a skeleton and crumbles to dust. Alternately, if thenPCs can't resolve it diplomatically, they can carve through legions of death knights and forcibly dethrone/uncrown the king, likewise turning him to dust.

Encounter 3 - The lich's lack of faith in the world/gods/fate incarnate (hence his need to impose order/control upon it). A sphere of annihilation is atthe center of the maze, threatening to consume anything that approaches it - anyone consumed turns into a hostile ghost/wraith while inside the extradimensional phylactery. The sphere hovers above a chasm of dead souls grasping upward. Two crumbling bridges lead out to the sphere, one marked "Hope" (guarded by a decrepit undead) the other "Faith" (guarded by a dark angel). Defeating both guardians automatically fails the maze, expelling the PCs with some penalty. Healing the decrepit undead or convincing the angel to return to the light allow the PCs to pass. One solution is to leap into the sphere of annihilation, representing no fear of losing control and facing whatever the future holds. Alternately, throwing a representation of the lich's attachments (from other encounter?) I to the sphere is another solution.

Good luck, sounds like fun