Background
Peter Niers stumbled on this old wizard’s tower two years ago and has made it his lair. He has been scheming from the tower to wrestle control of the different bandit groups from Christman and terrorize the wider region.
He is slowly building his retinue of undead by attracting them from the local area and paying the grave digger of Metz to deliver him 4 more bodies every week.
When Peter Niers has amassed 33 undead and struck a deal with the Greencloak Pikes, he will attack Christman’s Lair to claim the The Rites of the Pale Wedding.
Wandering Monsters
| 1D100 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1—20 | 1D6+4 Zombies. Undead Landsknechte. |
| 21—40 | 2D12 Skeletons |
| 41—50 | 1D6 Ghouls |
| 51—55 | 1 Ghast and 1D6+2 Ghouls |
| 56—60 | 1D6 Wights. |
| 61—65 | 1D4 Wraiths. |
| 66—75 | 1 Ghost |
| 76—80 | 1 Revenant |
| 81—85 | 1D3 Spawn of the Worm |
| 86—100 | Peter Niers. |
| :Encounter Table Tower |
Peter Niers is always accompanied by 2 Wraiths.
The Tower
No birds or insects within 50ft of the tower. Just sticky air and an oppressive silence.
Area 1 Wooden shed built adjacent to the tower. Main entrance. Simple wooden door (locked). Inside the shed, bits and pieces of human bodies. A Carrion Crawler hides on a hole under the stone steps. Simple stone steps to the tower entrance.
Area 2 Reinforced wooden door (locked) and covered in arcane symbols (Alarm spell). South wall a treasure chest with a poisoned dart (Save vs poison or death). Chest contains alchemical ingredients, 2 level 3 MU spell scrolls, the lost necklace of the Gravenstein family (3500 gp), 650 gp). Two doors on the Western side (unlocked). Both doors are covered in frost. A set of stairs in the North leading up to level 2.
Area 3 Storage room. Peter Niers cast a cold spell on the whole room. Filled with 12 corpses and individual body parts.
Area 4 Secret trapdoor to the basement area—Peter Niers’ actual hideout. Covered with dirt and sand. The other sides of the tower have grass growing.
Area 5 Level 2 of the tower. Southwestern wall has collapsed. Spiraling staircase on the Western side. Empty.
Area 6 Western and Eastern Walls have collapsed. 6 Skeletons with spears hold guard. Will push intruders off the tower (30ft drop. Save vs breath or take 2d6 damage.)
Area 7 Top floor of the tower. Arcane summoning circle in the middle. This is were Peter Niers converses with the devil Zalfaxx, which he summoned weeks ago. Zalfaxx told Peter Niers about the Bone Idol.
A Bone Golem stands guard.
Zalfaxx is willing to parlay with intruders and betray Niers, e.g., tell them about his Bone Idol and that the Remains of St. Jakobus can counteract it.
Area 8 Entrance to the basement. Wet and slippery stairs lead down into a crumbling basement.
Area 9
Area 10 Square room with a large central pillar (tower foundation). Scorch marks on the stones. Northern wall with 5 niches. Each niche has a grave candle. Candles 2, 3, 5 are lit. Extinguishing all candles reveals the secret tunnels on the Eastern side. Lighting all candles triggers a fireball spell.
Two tunnels on the Eastern side that lead deeper underground into a natural cave. Hidden by illusion magic.
Area 11 Central cave with a dark pond, 10ft deep. A Gibbering Mouther nests here and protects Peter Niers’ hideout.
Area 12 Peter Niers’ camp. A bedroll, candles, rations, his spellbook. He keeps a rotting corpse here to fall asleep next to.
Area 13 Small altar were Peter Niers keeps the Bone Idol. The Idol was empowered through human sacrifice. Implied evidence for the sacrifice of fetuses.
Bone Idol. Permanent effect of the Carrion Stench spell. Slowly raises and attracts up to 33 undead in a 24 mile radius. Brandishing the Bone Idol, the owner can command the undead. For the purposes of turning undead in the presence of the Bone Idol, treat the cleric as one level lower.
Rites of the Pale Wedding. A dark ritual to attain lichdom. The ritual requires a body assembled from human flesh, the sacrifice of several human lives, and a ritual incantation under the pale moon, completing a wedding ritual. Upon completion, the caster is turned into a lich. The caster transfers their soul into the body of the dead bride. Completing the wedding vows raises the bride to undeath and turns her into a walking phylactery. Peter Niers believes this is a way to achieve lichdem and creating a wife that will fulfill his every whim.
The Truth. The Ritual is a trap. Completing the ritual does make the caster a lich, but not in the way typically imagined. Transferring a piece of your soul to the undead bride fills her with unlife, giving her a full and independent (malignant) personality, with a deep loathing of the caster. The transfer also renders the caster unable to ever cast spells again. The bride in turns becomes a M-U of the same level as the ritual caster and knows all the caster’s spells. The caster gains eternal unlife, but is bound to be a rotting wretch, tied to the bride in eternal servitude. The caste retains their spell slots, which the bride can use at will to power her own spells, as long as the caster is within 30ft of the bride. The caster essentially becomes a spell battery. The Ritual can be easily adapted to switch or change the genders of the caster or bride