H4 The Throne of Bloodstone.pdf - Free

ut they have rotted almost entirely
away. Still, their former elegance is
suggested by the remnants of gold
thread that still hang about Zhengyi
like a frail spiderweb.
The Witch-King has been a devotee
of Orcus throughout his death,
and also through much of the life that
preceeded his demise. He is dedicated
to the principles of chaos and
evil, and he seeks to spread both
through the realms.
To this end, he has gathered the
army of undead that now faces the
armies of Damara across the Ford of
Goliad. Although their might is not
yet great enough to carry the invasion
southward, Zhengyi knows that eventually,
aided by the power of his
demonlord manifested on the Prime
plane, his forces will be ready to
sweep the armies of law and justice
from the land.
Formerly one of the wizards of
Thay, Zhengyi has managed to retain
his animation, at least in an undead
form, by the force of his evil and powerful
magic. His current state has bred
within him an irrational hatred of all
that is alive, such that he will seek to
slay life whenever and wherever he
encounters it. This is why he surrounds
himself with undead, or with
the denizens of the Abyss—they do
not remind him of his former, and
much more enjoyable, existence.
(Well, yes—he was chaotic evil then,
too, but that doesn’t mean that he
didn’t know how to have a good
time!)
But Zhengyi is a cautious and
methodical character—four centuries
of undeath will teach one patience, if
nothing else! Thus, he will do his best
to see that all of the characters meet
horrible and untimely deaths during
their visit to his citadel, but not if it
means that his own reign will come to
an end in the process. If a battle in his
throne room goes badly, for example,
he will teleport away before he gets
permanently killed. In this case, he
will teleport to Arctigis in the upper
chamber of the castle, where he will
warn the dragon of the imminent
threat. Then he will drop down the
shaft to the underground cavern, to
await the PCs there.
He will fight to the death in order
to prevent them from gaining access
to the gate to the Abyss, however.
Now, the Room
Whether the characters enter
through the front door (foolishly) or
use a passwall or other magical means
to come in from an unexpected direction
(much smarter), read them the
following description after they have
gained access to the throne-room.
This massive room apparently -- fills
the entire area of the castle at
ground level. The only light comes
from a blazing fire in the middle of
the chamber, where orange-red
tongues of flame flicker upward
from a bubbling pool of lava. The
domed ceiling rises nearly 50 feet
overhead in the center of the room.
The fire rests upon a raised platform
in the center of the room.
Beyond that platform rises
another, and then a wide flight of
stairs leads to a massive throne,
made entirely of bone. Stone
columns flank the throne, and also
stand in a line behind it.
If the PCs enter anywhere in the
southern half of the room, they will
immediately see the lich and its two
guardian daemons. If they come in
from the north, Zhengyi will be aware
of their presence—he can sense the
faintest disruption in this, his chamber
for all eternity—but it will be one
round before they see the Witch-
20
King, and another round before the
two guardian daemons come into
view.
Describe these characters using the
boxed text in the NPC capsule for
Zhengyi on page 19.
The two areas labeled with the cone
of silence on the map should be
noted. They are fully inside the room,
so a spellcaster standing outside of the
opened doors will not be affected.
However, as soon as he steps inside,
he will be unable to cast until he
moves out of the cone.
The bubbling lava pool and its fire
are an illusion, but a very good one,
even to the point of appearing to radiate
heat. This pool actually serves to
conceal the shaft that runs from the
dragon’s lair on the upper level of the
castle to the cavern and gate below.
The shaft is lined with lead, and will
thus defeat any attempts to passwall.
If the electrical charge in the door is
shorted by a character touching it or
otherwise triggering the trap, the
Witch-King will immediately sense
the potential threat to his castle. He
will begin casting spells, anticipating
a combat, until the PCs enter, or he
has cast all of the following spells (in
order): detect invisible, mirror
image, globe of invulnerability, invisibility,
conjure elemental (16-HD fire
elemental).
If the battle is joined in the throne
room, the lich will fight cleverly as
long as it looks like he has a chance of
winning the fight. If things start to go
badly, he will teleport out at the first
opportunity, resorting to a dimension
door spell if the teleport is interrupted.
The guardian daemons will fight
until one side or the other is
destroyed, or the PCs flee from the
castle. Their primary objective in the
fight will be to see that intruding
fighters do not have a chance to close
with their master—they they will